Gainesville so far...

Gainesville so far is great! We are loving Florida and more importantly being married. When we first moved in, I told Jace that we are living our dream and I still can't wipe the smile from my face. We are finally together, married, and Jace is in one of the best programs in the nation for tax law. What we have prayed and waited for has finally come to fruition and the wait was worth it!

School seems to be going well for Jace. It is sorta like graduate school in that it is different. Jace tells me about school and even though I have no idea what he is talking about, I listen. From what he tells me everything is code and regulation intensive. He has to back up everything he says with the code and regulation. Again, I have no idea what this stuff means but I am thankful that he does. He is impressed by his professors. They are the authors of his textbooks and have personally written code and regs. He says he is learning from the best. As for his work load, about every other night he camps out at the library and reads and works on problems. He does his thing and I curl up with reality TV!
He has met some guys and he says most are married. I have only met one wife and am dying to meet more.

As for what Gainesville is like, its nice. It rains every day here, usually in the afternoons, and when it rains it comes a downpour. It is humid and hot, around 85 most days. People are not nearly as friendly as the people we know in Lex and in MS. We are missing some good ol' Southern hospitality. I just want to hear someone ask, "how's your momma and them?" We are also used to seeing churches on every corner and that is not necessarily the case here. We tried out a church on Sunday and when we left I told Jace that we may have to kiss a few frogs until we find the right one. We are definitely missing Crestwood and First Baptist, Jackson now.

After cleaning, organizing, and putting away all of our stuff we feel at home in our 600 sq. feet apartment. I was thrilled to realize that we have so much storage space. We have a pantry, linen closet, walk-in closet, and outside storage. Here is a few pictures of our "Florida Home" as Jace likes to call it (as if we have multiple homes!)



Our little kitchen

The long bathroom countertop is a blessing!

 

Our bedroom. (The euro shams are different colors thanks to a Bed, Bath, and Beyond mixup!)

Lenny, the Lizard, lives on our porch...along with SEVERAL of his friends

Living room
 

It isn't much but it's ours. We have tried to make it homey and we feel very comfortable here. It is the typical apartment with white walls but Jace has a large collection of prints for a 28 year old. We have three golf prints in our apartment which gives the walls some color. For instance, every night I go to bed with two men: Jace Stamper and Ben Hogan hitting his famous one iron shot. Don't be jealous!

We also survived the first week of grocery shopping. We went to the grocery about three or four days straight. If you gave us a gift card to Wal-Mart or money for our wedding--BLESS YOU!!! You helped us tremendously and we were so grateful to have the resources to pay for our groceries and needed items. Surprisingly, the Wal-Marts are not that big. There are two Super Wal-Marts but they just didn't have the selection we were hoping for. Currently we shop at Publix and love it, however, it is a tad pricey although the selection is out of this world!

While we have been in Gainesville, I did something that I have wanted to do for almost two years now. I cut all my hair off! Six inches total! My hair comes to my jawline now and I like it. I was that bride that grew it out for the wedding and then off it went.

Saturday night we ventured downtown and visited Lake Alice. While we were there, we saw our first alligator and he was bigger than my liking. While admiring the alligator and making my getaway plan if need be , the UF band was practicing in the background. Nothing like hearing a little drumline to get you excited for football season!

All in all, life in Gainesville is good. We are happy. So far in marriage I have done more things than I thought I could do and have gone outside of my comfort zone but the reward is oh so sweet. People told us marriage would be an adventure and it is. We still have lots to learn and things to do but are so thankful to do it by each other's side.