A Birthday, Homecoming, Anniversary and Concert

Well, it's been a busy couple of weeks in the Zaruba household. My 25th birthday has come and gone. We spent the weekend up in Minnesota and it was really nice to spend some quality time with my family. It seems like it had been forever since I had been home! The weekend was spent taking some more senior pictures of Daniel, eating a lot of food, having drinks with some friends and hanging out with my family. It was a great weekend! But again, it was too short and the end came too quickly.

Last week seemed to crawl by. Probably because AJ and I had such an amazing weekend planned out! Finally Friday came and it was the start of our Anniversary weekend! AJ even surprised me by sending a dozen roses to my office! The note on the card said: "A rose for every month we've been married." Loved it! :)

That night, AJ got into town and we walked down Main St. in Cedar Falls and stopped at Indulgence. There we enjoyed a nice glass of wine while sitting out on the sidewalk, enjoying the amazing fall weather. Then we had 8pm reservations at Bourbon St. It was the first time AJ had ever eaten there and it had been forever since I was there and wow was the food amazing! The best part was we had a $50 gift card from the hotel in honor of our anniversary. After dinner, we walked back to our hotel - The Blackhawk Hotel in Cedar Falls. It's a very cool old hotel that still has the vintage look and feel to it. The room was so neat and they had roses on our pillows and rose petals all over. We also had some champagne and chocolate. It was a great night.

Saturday morning we drove into Waverly for Wartburg's Homecoming. We went to a friends house for some home made breakfast which was great! Then we attended the Homecoming parade before making our way to campus. We spent pretty much the whole time running into people we knew from college and catching up with them. It's also so great to get back on campus and see the people who have been such a big part of our lives. It's truly like going back home. Wartburg's community is so close-knit and it's always nice to go back and be a part of that - even if it's just for a little while.

Before leaving town, AJ and I picked up our anniversary cake. The Waverly Bakery is where we got our wedding cake from. One of the cool things they do is give you a free cake for your one year anniversary. This is one thing that AJ was really looking forward to! For the past year, AJ has not let me forget the fact that he didn't get any of our wedding cake on our wedding night except for the small pieces we fed each other. So this free cake was a big deal for us... okay, for AJ. :)

That night, we stayed at a small hotel in Toledo, IA that had some themed rooms. It was a lot of fun because it was so different than a normal hotel. Our room was called Aces Wild and had a casino theme. This was a surprise to AJ until we got there and I think he really enjoyed it. We ordered in pizza, ate some cake and enjoyed some wine. It was another perfect night.

Sunday morning we were able to sleep in, which we did! Then we packed up and heading west back home to Council Bluffs. Yes, that's right, I said we. :) I took Monday and Tuesday morning off from work. On Sunday we pretty much just relaxed around the house and enjoyed each other's company.

Tonight was AJ's first concert at Riverside High School and I wouldn't miss it for the world. He did an outstanding job! And I was not the only one to think so! These were just some of the quotes I heard after the concert:

• Phenomenal! Just great, night and day difference from last year!
• You bring so much energy to the program.
• What a great concert! You really pick songs that the kids enjoy singing!

Of course AJ would be modest and tell everyone that it's really the kids that are doing great and he just waves his arms. But he does give them a great energy and he works harder than he gives himself credit for. It always amazes me to watch AJ when he's up on stage and in front of his choir. You can just see the passion in his eyes and when he talks and when he's conducting. You just know that AJ is meant to be in front of a choir. He makes it all look like so much fun too! And it really makes me miss choir! We did record the concert so if any of your are interested in watching all or some of it, just let us know.

All in all, it has been a great weekend and past couple of weeks. I'm not looking forward to having to leave again tomorrow. It's getting harder to want to leave Council Bluffs every time I get over here. It feels a lot like home (even though I don't live here) and it's so nice to be able to sleep in my own bed next to my husband!

Well, I have a lot of other thoughts, but this blog is more of a recap. I'll be sure to get those thoughts down for another blog! I hope you are all enjoying the nice fall weather before the next season comes along... :) God Bless.

Growing Up & Learning Lessons

I'm probably past due on getting another blog up and for that, I apologize. I know how many of you depend on this blog on a weekly basis and I have failed you. :) 

This weekend, it is my birthday. And I'm turning 25. Yup. 25. I am officially getting old. According to my dad, a quarter of a century! And apparently, the one thing I was looking forward to about turning 25 (a lower car insurance) is just an urban myth! I'm so disappointed! Now, I know a lot of you - especially anyone older than me - are probably thinking "Psh, 25 is NOT old! You're still young and have plenty of years to go!" And you're right. In all aspects, 25 is still very young. But it's also an age where I am getting older and maybe (if I'm lucky!) more mature. I definitely realize that I have a lot of growing up to still do, but I think I'm off to a good start. I'm sure learning a lot of lessons along the way. So I thought I would take the time to share some of these lessons with all of you.

One of the things I've learned is that the real world is not like college. And maybe colleges need to prepare you more for this reality. For one thing, there are no Outfly's in the real world. For those of you not aware, Outfly is a Wartburg holiday tradition. Once a year (in the fall), the student body president declares a day of the week Outfly. However, nobody knows when the day will come and you don't find out until 6:30 that morning when you are woken up by people yelling and banging on doors. Then all our classes are canceled for the day and instead students can do whatever they like - sleep, go shopping, play in the Outfly golf tournament, enjoy other campus activities and games, etc. It is one of the greatest days of the year to a Wartburg student. :) As alum, you get an email sent to you the day of Outfly as well, which is really just a cruel reminder that you are no longer in college and cannot take a day off to catch up on sleep or enjoy the nice weather. Lesson learned.


Instead of Outfly's and Movie Knights and everything else you get to do in college, the real world is made up of paying bills, budgeting to make sure you have enough money to pay those bills, remembering when to get your oil changed, keeping the apartment clean so it doesn't turn into a bachelor pad when your wife isn't there... so on and so on. Lesson learned. 


I'm also learning that work isn't everything. Making a lot of money doesn't make things okay if you're not happy. And making a lot of money doesn't matter when all you want to do is live with your husband. A job is just a job. You can make whatever you want from it - make the most out of any job. And you should - you should always work your hardest at any job you have and be grateful, but you also need to be happy doing it. Staying at a job for the wrong reasons isn't going to solve any problems. You need to do what's best for your happiness. For your marriage. For your life. Lesson learned.


As AJ and I grow together as husband and wife, I'm learning that marriage is not perfect. Okay, I'm not sure that 'learning' is the right term here. Maybe it needs to be 'being reminded'. I think that I was naive when it came to this thought. Marriage is a lot of things, but not perfect. It never is. It never will be. Marriage is hard work. It takes patience and courage. It takes commitment and trust. Marriage is trial and error. It's also a support system. Marriage is something that can make things better or make something easier. Marriage is a beautiful friendship. But all of it - the good and the bad - take some effort. Marriage is not like a fairy tale story. Lesson learned.


Another thing I'm learning is that Sundays are currently the worst day of the week. And every week, it gets harder and harder to say good bye to AJ. We have been fortunate enough to be able to see each other every weekend that we've been apart, even if it's just been for one night. But there is never enough time on the weekends. Not enough time when you try to do all the stuff you couldn't do during the week. Not enough time when you spend a lot of hours on the road getting places. Not enough time to  make up all that lost time from the week with your husband. Not enough time when you just want to spend some quality time with your family - who you also don't get to see enough. There is just not enough time and some things have to be pushed until the next weekend. Lesson learned.


So there you have it, 5 lessons I've recently learned. Maybe they've helped you gain some insight for yourself. Or maybe you have some already learned insight that you can share! Whatever the case, we all still have some growing up to do and there will always be lessons to learn.

Numbers & things

I thought you might enjoy some numbers... I do find them interesting....

Austin and I have have been together (as a couple) for 153 weeks.
We have been married for 48 weeks. 
In just 4 short weeks, we will celebrate our one year anniversary of marriage.
We have not lived together for the past 8 weeks. 
But of those 56 days living apart, we have been able to see each other for about 18 days (give or take).


It's different to take a look at our time together that way. To really break it all down. I'm not sure why I decided to figure this out, but I was hit with the realization earlier this week that I was going on week 4 on being out of my office and on the road for work. That in itself has been very exhausting and hard to get any real work done that is quickly piling up on my desk! 


When I totaled the number of weeks AJ and I have been living apart, I was honestly surprised it had already been 8 weeks! I'm not sure what I expected. It does feel like we've been apart for so long, but maybe being able to see each other every weekend still has been more helpful than we know. Or maybe I was shocked by the number because I've also had so much going on at work. Whatever the reason, it has still been a long 8 weeks. And I think it's starting to affect AJ and I more now. 

The last weekend I was in Council Bluffs for example, AJ really wanted to go out to eat or just get out of the apartment! I however, just wanted to relax, cuddle on the couch with AJ and watch Grey's all weekend! It's probably because I have been on the road so much for work and poor AJ is only ever in the apartment or at school. We did compromise though and AJ convinced me to go out for breakfast on Sunday morning before church. I think he really appreciated that as well. 


We also finally made it to a church service over in Council Bluffs that week (as briefly stated). We had been meaning to try and get to a service but it just wasn't happening. We had actually received a recommendation from a couple in the church choir at Zion. Their daughter goes to a church in Council Bluffs so they passed along the information. The neat thing was that I had already looked up a list of the churches in CB and the one they gave us information for was on my list to go and check out! :) The church is Saint John Lutheran Church. It is a beautiful church very close to downtown Council Bluffs - and close to the library!! (another one of the first places I Googled!) It was a really great service too - it was at 11am, which AJ and I both appreciated! ;-) And they had two pastors, one of which had just been ordained this past June. She was actually the one to give the sermon and she did a great job. We also heard the Choir sing! The senior pastor, Jon, came up and talked to us after the service and was so friendly! He made us feel very welcomed and made us excited to go back! AJ also connected with the choir director and the organist, who both said they were willing to help accompany for his high school and middle school choirs. And of course they invited him to join the choir which he plans on doing. 


It was nice to finally make a service over there. It feels like another step in becoming more apart of that community. It also sounds like we have a lot of chances to get involved. The church is actually relocating temporarily while they do some remodeling at their current building. So we'll have to see what happens and how AJ and will get involved. 


And finally, this past week also had another big step for AJ and I - but especially AJ. He received his first paycheck from Riverside!! It was very exciting! And also very cute as he woke me up early on Saturday morning to tell me the check had been deposited! :) For the first time in our married life (48 weeks!) we have a dual income. Even better yet was today was my payday! 

AJ and I have had a number of talks about our finances and bills and budgets. And we're so excited about what it will mean to us to have dual incomes. We are both firmly committed to putting as much 'extra' money into savings as possible. We did this with the money AJ had from his long-term sub job at Marion and those savings were what saved us during our transition from Waterloo to Council Bluffs and into AJ's new job. And as I typed that I realized the connection - SAVINGS can SAVE you in tough times! :) 


Well I think that's about it for this week. AJ and I are meeting in Des Moines tonight and spending the night in a hotel. I'm pretty excited because the hotel stay is free with the Marriott Reward Points I have gotten through work in all my travel and setting up other meetings! It should be a pretty nice hotel too! Then tomorrow I'm staying in Des Moines for Amber's bridal shower and bachelorette party which will no doubt be a great time! And finally, on Sunday, I'm meeting Amanda for pedicures and lunch. Should be a great weekend! I think AJ is still figuring out his plans for the rest of the weekend, but hopefully he'll have as much fun as I'm guaranteed to have! :)

Three years

It's been three years. Three years ago, I ran into a bit of bad luck but within 24 hours of that event, my luck had turned around. AJ and I started dating. I'm not sure either of expected what the next three years to bring, but we have been grateful and blessed by everything. Especially of the fact that we're coming up to just about a month away from our one year wedding anniversary - something we're very excited to celebrate! :)

This past week, I was out in Nebraska for the Husker Harvest farm show. I was able to take yesterday (Friday) off and spent it here in Council Bluffs with AJ. Luckily for me, this weekend was also Riverside's Homecoming! So yesterday afternoon I drove to Oakland to watch the Homecoming parade - which AJ was judging. It was so much fun to watch all the students throughout the parade and see their school spirit! And it was nice to continue to meet more of the people that AJ works with. Throughout the parade and then again at the football game that night, I heard numerous comments and praises from other faculty and community members about AJ. How excited they are to have him at the district, all the good things they've heard about him, how he brings so much enthusiasm to his work, and so on and so on. It made me so proud! :) I know without a doubt that AJ is putting his very best into all the work he's doing at the school, but it's so nice to hear it from other people to. And to hear that they appreciate all he's doing so far - and he's only getting started! It also made me feel very welcomed into this community and very excited to become a part of that once I'm over here full-time.

The parade and the football game were both a lot of fun. And I felt much more in place this game as I had ordered some Riverside Bulldogs sweatshirts for AJ and I to wear! Unfortunately, the football game didn't go quite that well... when we left at the beginning of the 4th quarter, the score was 0-57. But that didn't waiver any of the school spirit from the crowd! And that was good to see!

AJ has cast the musical for You're A Good Man, Charlie Brown and they start having their first practices this week! And his high school choir has also been chosen to sing at the SIAC (School Improvement Advisory Committee) meeting this upcoming Tuesday, which is being held in Carson, IA. He's also been getting students to sing the National Anthem at various sporting events and singing the Pledge of Allegiance every morning at the middle school. Hopefully all this exposure will help him to continue to build the program and get more students involved!

Labor Day Weekend

Last week, I spent most of my time in Boone working the Farm Progress Show. Needless to say, it was a long week and when I finally left the showgrounds on Thursday night at 8pm, AJ had convinced me to come visit him in Council Bluffs. He is just too irresistible! :) And as I drove into Council Bluffs, I had such the strangest feeling. While driving on the interstate, you can see our apartment complex. In the short time we've lived at this apartment, we've made it more like a home than any other apartment. Probably because of all the extra space! And so this apartment feels like home to me - more so than any other place. But driving into Council Bluffs, I find it odd that I can call an apartment there home when I am so unfamiliar with the surrounding area. I really don't know where anything is in Council Bluffs. I can just barely manage to find my way to Oakland or Carson to the schools. It was a fairly unsettling feeling. Hopefully AJ is becoming more familiar with the area and one day (soon-ish?), I will know my way around the area. 

I love being back at that apartment though. I am having a lot of fun decorating it and making it a really nice place to live - even if AJ is the only one who gets to enjoy it! :) I was especially exciting when I was at Target last Friday to see the fall decorations! And of course I had to buy some and went straight home to put up all our fall decorations. And once we were back in Minnesota, I finally found a plant to put on top of our fireplace and decorated it with some fall accents. And then I plan to just switch out the accents for each season! 

AJ and I had a great Labor Day weekend. It really was perfect fall weather and that makes me very happy!! I obviously love fall and it is by far my favorite season! I love sweatshirt weather. I love the cool nights. I love the colorful falling leaves. I love the warmth from bonfires. I love the Friday night football games. I love the fall season smells. And of course, I love that in under two months, AJ and I will be celebrating one fabulous year together. We have been so blessed within the past year. And although we're apart now, we continue to grow stronger every day. 

AJ and I were able to enjoy a lot of time with family and friends over the weekend. We had a bridal shower for my cousin Courtney. We had our annual Reedstrom reunion out at the farm with a lot of family. And we were also able to get together with the Jones side, along with some of Matt's (Courtney's fiance) family. The greatest part about that night was that all eight of us cousins (plus AJ and Matt) were not only all in the same state, but in the same building! It had been a long time since that had happened - probably our wedding last year! We had a great time reminiscing and telling stories and getting our traditional pictures taken. :)

All in all, it was a great weekend. Although it went by way to quickly - as it normally does. And it was hard to say good-bye again. As it always is. Although I will be traveling this week, next week and the following week for work, AJ and I are hoping we'll be able to spend some time together. I'm hoping I'll be able to be out in Council Bluffs for Riverside's homecoming next week after work at the Husker Harvest farm show in Grand Island, NE. 

But we'll be sure to keep you all updated! :) 

Full-time Teacher; Part-time Lover

Finally, after much nagging (as a good wife should know how to do...), I finally got AJ to sit down and write up a blog on this experience during his first couple of weeks at school. It is below:

Wow, what an experience- my very first full time teaching job! For those of you that have read the earlier blogs – I am the new 5-12 Vocal Music instructor for Riverside community schools in Oakland, IA. If you were even the least bit curious as to how it is going for me, I hope to settle your wanderings in this blog- Here goes nothing…

Week one:

The very first full week of this new chapter in my life was actually more about learning than it was about teaching, The very first day of the week I was stuck at the UNairconditioned High school for the new year kick-off for teachers and staff. Sweat dripping down my back, I listened as the principal, superintendent, veteran teachers, and AEA professionals sprinted through their important information just so they could get to their offices to sit in front of a fan. I was already overwhelmed and to make matters worse I still had to find time to go to the middle school to sit through the exact same thing! As I staggered out of the auditorium I was able to find myself a few hours of planning time to get some copies made and some rearrangements done around my makeshift office. I really can’t explain to you how it feels to have 4 years of college waiting to be able to have an office to call my own – now I had it and I didn’t know where to start. When the first day was finished I was able to do some extra planning at my apartment back in Council Bluffs before finally calling it quits late into the night – only to do it over again the next day.

At night I can’t help but think about how nice it would be to have my lovely wife by my side. She is my rock, my comfort and my best friend. I would need to learn how to live in a new place, doing a new job, and meeting new people without her. This was something I thought we vowed never to have to do. I want her here, but I also want her to be happy which means staying at the job which prevents her from being with me. Our checking account likes her being there too!

The second day was much like the first – only THIS time I was at the middle school and was attempting to do much of the same things I tried to do at the High School. To my dismay, I was only able to get a fraction done due to mandatory meetings and curious faculty that just ‘needed’ to meet the new director. Don’t get me wrong I DO love it that people are so interested in me, but I also would like to have everything ready for the very first day of school. I ended up planning at the school until early evening before finally calling it good and heading back to my apartment.

The first day of school was finally here- I had a good night’s sleep all my stuff in my car and my confidence to boot. I was finally on my way to start my career and I was anxious/nervous/excited/ and everything in between but most of all – I was ready.  The bell rang and my choir students started to file into the room as if it was just another day at school – if only they knew how important they were to me. I did my speech, I talked about rules and expectations, and I talked about my hopes for the year. The students didn’t look terribly impressed, I expected that because choir students do expect the choir teacher to SOMETHING musical during class. After the students left I had 2 study halls of a mixture of students that just sat quietly and stared off into space like most students do during a study hall – which makes it much easier for the teacher! Now that the study halls were finished – it was now time for me to head down to the middle school and meet the 5^th grade students for the year! I wasn’t expecting what was to happen next.

The 5^th grade class started to file in, bouncing and trotting along like it was recess one after another… after another.. after another… until I had close to 45 fifth graders in my classroom at one time. I knew that the only way to get anything done was to establish the rules about talking very stern and very fast. So I did. By the time class was done – I was exhausted and so were they. I knew that they had not enjoyed the class or me very much because of how strict it needed to be. I was desperate – so I turned to a fellow teacher who gave me an idea of how to split the class into two smaller sections. I took this advice and ran with it – the new principal (who was having a MUCH harder time than me) accepted the idea and told me do please do what made me happy- so I did!

The last two days of the week went about like the first day, and by the final bell on Friday – I was ready to hibernate and see my wife. We went to the state fair with my sister and my soon-to-be brother in law, but to my surprise when Liz arrived – she was alone! Originally, she was going to come with a friend from work but backed out at the last minute which allowed Liz and I so stay in a Jacuzzi suite at a local hotel. Which was my idea that she stole!!! That little stinker!

Imagine if you will, that you are going to prison and you are looking at your loved one and saying your goodbyes. You are about to go to a place that is scary, unfamiliar, stressful and lonely. How would you feel? Pretty helpless? Sad? Depressed?   Well, those are the feelings I feel each time I leave my wife and have to do a 4.5 hour drive alone towards the place I am trying to call home. Nothing like being a full time employee and a part time lover….

I am in the middle of my second week here at Riverside and I must say that it is pretty much how I expected it to be – It is a lot harder to be away from my lovely wife than I originally thought, but the relationship I am building with my students is beginning to form and I can tell that it will continue to grow throughout the year. Stay tuned for more updates for the year AND about the musical that I am doing at Riverside: “You’re a Good Man Charlie Brown” based on the comic strip ‘Peanuts’ by Charles Schalk.

Time gone by

Well, about a month has past - just over actually - since "we" moved out to Council Bluffs. I say "we" since AJ's really the only one living out there still! It has been a tough month. I'm not sure either of us really knew what to expect other than the fact that it would be hard and we weren't going to enjoy being apart. We have been very fortunate in the fact that we've been able to see each other every weekend still, but as it is my busiest time of year at work and AJ in the first couple weeks of school in his first year, the weeks have not been fun. Every day and every night we are tested. The strength of our relationship is testing. Our patience is tested. Our sanity is tested! :) I do believe without a doubt that our relationship will be much better off from this time apart. I believe that we will learn to cherish each other more, love each other more and show each other our affection even more. I'm not sure I thought that was possible before our move, but now I am a firm believer. :) 

AJ and I are grateful to each and every one of you for your impact in our lives throughout this time. We are grateful for your friendship, love and support. And because of those things, we know we will be okay. We know we can remain strong.

I've been trying to pester AJ into writing a blog on his first couple days of school because I'm sure you're all dying to know about it! But he has been busy - apparently continuing to plan for his upcoming school days. :) As soon as I can though, we'll get something up for you. 

I'm not sure this is the best update, but just some thoughts as we reach our first month apart. May God continue to grant us the strength and patience we need.