let's play catch up

Well, so much for the "I'm going to blog regularly about my life" thought that I had. I don't think writing my last post over a year ago counts as "regularly". Either way, here I am so let's get reacquainted and fill you in on Hubbard highlights. First of all, as of May 2012, we have been living in Huntsville. Zach accepted a job and here we are. I however, have been unemployed since leaving my job in Auburn in April. The words 'leaving' and 'Auburn' in the same sentence sounds terrible to me. To be perfectly honest, I cried for weeks over leaving Auburn. At the same time, I was SUPER excited about Zach and I moving on with life and out from under the college life. But, Auburn was home. Looking back, I can't believe we stayed for 7 years. Auburn is everything to me. It's much more than a football team and who the new coach is going to be. Don't get me wrong, Auburn football is high on the list of my favorite things (win OR lose. War Eagle, ALWAYS). Auburn is the place I had to embrace when home was 8 1/2 hours away. Auburn was the place where education really started to come alive and I realized all the opportunities that were available to me. I met my very BEST friends in that town. Friends that will last a lifetime. I found a church that meant (and still does) the world to me. It's the place that I learned to deal with people from all walks of life and some professors who I didn't understand. People will say, "Sarah, you may be from Florida, the most geographically southern state in the "south" but, you're a Yankee" but little did they know how southern some of my roots are. Auburn, Alabama made me feel at home and I never felt out of place. The best part about Auburn was meeting my husband and lifelong best friend. Once we got married and he started grad school, we started referring to Auburn as "home". One day, children will hopefully come into our lives and I never thought I would be the kind of parent to persuade my child to attend my alma mater but hey, Auburn is one of the best things that ever happened to me. Why not teach my babies "War Eagle" and make Aubie their favorite friend? My wedding rings came from Ware Jewelers in Auburn. Zach said his Dad gave his Mom her engagement ring from the same store(correct me if I'm wrong Ms. Kim). To me, this is a personal Auburn tradition in the making. I hope to pass on this idea to a son or future son in law. You see, Auburn is more than a team or coach. I could spend a lot more time sharing my Auburn experiences but perhaps I should move on. 

Huntsville has been good so far. Zach loves his job and I can't be more glad that he is happy. I'm hoping to find a job sometime in the near future. Being a housewife has it's perks. For one, I make my own schedule each day and I'm not expected to be somewhere at a specific time. The downside is being alone most of the time. I mentioned above that initially after the move, I was always sad about no longer being in Auburn. That feeling is still there but its not consuming so much of my life anymore. I never thought that being the new kid on the block was going to be so hard. I found myself wanting to be at home alone even when it wasn't good for me to be that way. Making new friends wasn't appealing at first only because I was wishing for the old friends to show up at any given time. Once I got over it and realized that wasn't going to happen, it got a little easier to let new people into my life. Today, the hardest part about new friends is continually building the relationships. The only way to become part of the group and know the inside jokes and be able to comment on the events in life is to keep on putting myself out there. People keep saying that it just takes time. I guess six months isn't enough time. I'm really starting to hate all of the awkward feelings and being the new people in town. I also hate that I find myself being so negative about the whole thing. I keep reminding myself that God hasn't forgotten about me. He knows what my job will be and when I will have one and IF i'm suppose to work at all. He also knows I desire to fit in and feel accepted in a new environment and will place me where I need to be each and every day. What I've learned from all the changes in my life is that He wants to teach me something and I need start listening and hear what He has to say. I just haven't put all the pieces together yet. I have told people that since we moved I haven't been very happy. I'm not sure that is a very fair statement. On certain days I do feel unhappy but it's not just because we left Auburn. It's so many things I can't put into words. Yet, there are other days that I'm thrilled to be here especially with Zach. I look forward to life here in Huntsville. God has a plan and I'm ready to see it fulfilled. 

Lastly, the blog needed a new titled. For those who are reading for the first time, the title used to be "single wide status". If you need an explanation you can ask me. But the change makes sense for 1) it doesn't apply to our lives anymore and 2) I found out that "single wide status" holds a place in the urban dictionary to describe the white trash status of a girl. Well, no need to have that attached to me. Anyway, Rocket City Rookies it is. At least for now. 

we're grandparents!

Yes, you read the title correctly. Our turtles are having baby turtles! It's not like me to write about my pets. But here it goes. Back in March of 2007, i was in Chicago with family and Zach called to tell me he caught me a baby turtle and it was all mine! I think i actually squealed with excitement. Up until this point I had fish, and hermit crabs (YAWN). I'm allergic to pretty much everything else, so turtles sounded like a great idea! I had been around Zach's family long enough to know that animals in all shapes and sizes would be apart of my life. Once I found out how long this baby turtle might live, I knew I was in it for the long hall. Needless to say, Zach didn't have a clue how excited I was about this new addition to my life. When I returned home, I couldn't stop talking about how cute and small the turtle was! It wasn't any bigger than a quarter. Obviously, the first step was, what's the name going to be? I had thought pretty hard about this decision when I remembered that my brother had a turtle once. I want to say his turtle died, or maybe he just set it free but he named it Mike Jones. He told me once that he thought it would be funny to name it such, Mike Jones being a famous rapper and all. And well, if you know Josh, he isn't a rap fan whatsoever.

Mike Jones

So, in memory of Mike Jones Senior, I named my itty bitty turtle Mike Jones as well. Let's move this story along (Mom always told me to learn how to summarize). A year or so down the road, I was given another baby turtle. At this point a friend hooked me up with an aquarium and everything to go with it. I was so excited about the new addition to our little family that I had to come up with yet another ridiculous name. I immediately came up with Brooke Hogan (Hulk Hogan's daughter). 

Brooke Hogan

After Zach and I got married somehow the number of turtles got up to 9 until two passed away shortly after having them. With seven turtles and two aquariums, I was really starting to feel like a Hubbard. Lets not forget  the two snakes (in cages) living on our front porch. Anyway, after the turtles got big enough it was time to actually find out the sex of the turtles. Out of our 4 stink pots (common musk turtle) we have 3 girls, 1 boy. I was sad to find out that Mike Jones was indeed a female. Name change? no way! 

You're probably wondering what the other names of the remaining five are. Even though Zach doesn't agree, I named the other two stink pots as well. 50 Cent and T Swift. You must pronounce 50, like fiddy. It only makes sense. 

50 Cent

Taylor Swift

The other three turtles are some sort of pond sliders (ask Zach if you really care). The oldest one, I have no idea what it's name is. I think it's either, Michelangelo, Leonardo, Donatello, or Raphael (once again, you can ask Zach). The second oldest is Holt. If you know Adam Holt well, that's who we named him after. Somehow that came about when Zach was with Adam...I think. And the last one (still a baby in my mind) is Squirt.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

Squirt from Finding Nemo

Well, this brings us up to speed. We figured out that our turtles were mating (interesting...) and we also knew that if one were to get pregnant, it wouldn't have a place to lay any eggs. After a trip to Home Depot, we finally came up with a egg laying contraption (love nest) to attach to the aquarium. We watched Mike Jones go in and out of that thing for weeks. She finally popped out two eggs. Later, a third was found but we have no idea who it belongs to. Either way, we kept the eggs safe and warm (eventually put them in our homemade incubator) and BAM! two eggs are finally hatching! Early this morning we think around 3 am (Zach stayed up watching its progress and fell asleep), one of the turtles completely emerged from the shell. 

beginning to crack

nose popping out

do you see him?

so small!

The other day, I told Zach I named him Bentley. Why? I don't know. It's just a name and I think I did it to irritate him. He says if I name it, I will get attached. He's totally right. But if the little guy survives, we plan on giving him away. Until then, we have two more eggs to go!

347 days and counting

It's almost that time again. I can't believe the time passed like it did. It's been hard, fun and full of love and laughter. Life with Zach is better than I ever imagined it to be. Before we know it, another year will go by and our life will be changing yet again.

If all goes as planned, Zach will graduate with his masters (may 2012) and we will be moving and hopefully find a new adventure, with new jobs, new scenery, and well, a fresh start. Don't get me wrong. Fresh start doesn't indicate we need to start over or are burnt out in anyway. But from my perspective life in Auburn has been great but a year from now we won't be college students, nor will we be putting kids into grade school, or even spending our days in a rocking chair sipping sweet tea. My point is, life after school in a college town can feel like you're in constant limbo. Auburn is great for being young and enjoying the college life as well as a great place to raise a family or come back to after many years and retire in War Eagle country (i.e. sipping on tea comment).  So as much as i love it here on the plains, I think in my heart it will be time to move on. Yet on the other hand, God's plan always trumps mine.

Until all these life changes take place, I look forward to celebrating my first anniversary with my best friend. People like to ask, "Can you believe you've been married almost a year?". The answer is no, I can't believe it. However, I do believe it's been the best year of my life. My blog title "single wide status" refers to living life in the trailer park. For the first few months of marriage, living in our trailer with no space to put everything made me think I was going to die in that trailer. Life wasn't easy. Adjusting to small spaces and realizing that God had me there for a reason was hard to understand. Wanting that dream home and wishing my kitchen was huge or that i had a laundry ROOM not hallway, seemed so far from reach. Yet, I came to love our single wide. No, the roaches aren't my friends and the random moments when water doesn't flow from the sink or shower isn't ideal but i love it nonetheless. Zach makes it worth it. Second to my love and devotion for Christ, having a Godly husband and a Godly marriage is the best thing in life. You can't beat it!

As our second year of marriage begins in a short few days, I can't imagine what God has in store for the Hubbard's. Our Auburn chapter may be coming to a close but life as Mr. and Mrs. has just begun! Until death do we part!

new adventures

Well, I decided to blog. Not because all the cool people are doing it but because I want to write it all down. tell our story and let others join in on their own time. Whether you read our blog everyday or you never come back, I'll at least have my memories in chronological order.