It's Spring!

I have to apologize. I have neglected this blog for a few weeks now. Even when I did have the time to blog, I always thought I would have more time, so I never really updated it with everything that has been going on in our lives. 

The Cruise

Well, about three weeks ago, we got a letter in the mail from carnival telling us that we won a free cabin for any cruise of our liking. We called them up, and it was real. So, we decided to pack our bags and head to Mexico this March. We are bringing Devin's business partner Mike and his wife Madi with us, so it should be really fun! We leave March 15th and return March 22nd - 7 days baby! I can't wait to see Puerto Vallart and Cabo - two places I've actually never been to before. I hear you can rent dune buggys out there and explore the jungle with them.... Let's just say I'm excited!

School Life

As for school, I have been swamped. I'm starting to feel the pressure now (especially because I will miss an entire week of school in March!).  Working 20 hours a week on top of school is slowly draining me! I'm picking up another class for the second half of this block starting on Tuesday, and I already know I'm going to hate my life. I've felt really stressed already, but I'm doing my best to handle it. I just don't give myself time to relax... and that means no cleaning the house, no making real meals, no doing anything except the necessities. I have done a pretty good job so far. I've had a few papers due, some big projects, and small assignments that I've done well with. I have two projects due this week that I've finished and I also have a paper due next week that I haven't even started on. But, I've noticed that as long as I write down my "to-do's," cross them off, and then work on the next one, I'm ok. No breaks, just keep moving forward! Let's just say I'm glad this is the last semester I'll ever have to take 17 credits in. 

Nudoma

This little word is the name of my husband's company. Check it out: Nudoma.com Well, the new name. (They just changed it from Klass Color to Nudoma - which I think was a strategic move on their part) Things have been going really well. They still have incoming sales with BYU, UVU, and other companies, but they have decided to focus on the residential market. I don't want to say too much about it and give it away.. but it's cool. It could change the way people print for the rest of their lives. 

They are in the Utah Entrepreneurship competition right now. They have made it two rounds so far, and they have two more to go. For the next round, they submit a video and a business plan to the judges who then pick 10 out of the 30 contestants to advance. Once they are in the top 10, they get a mentor to help them with their business, and they present in front of 1,000s of people at the University of Utah. The fact that Property Solutions won second place back in 2003 and is a successful business is a great sign. They win $40,000 for the Grand Prize if they make it all the way. 

It's exciting to be in the middle of all of this, but it's also stressful! Being the wife of an entrepreneur is hard. He has had a lot of big projects lately that I can't but try and help him with.  Devin has also been awesome and picked up a second job to make sure we have a secure income always covering our expenses, but at the same time... it stinks because we both work so hard and don't get much time to see each other. I can't wait until the company starts producing enough to give us a steady income of a set amount so that he can quit running around like a madman and working on a million things at once. It's pretty impressive though that they have any money coming in - most entrepreneurs have sales but can't pay themselves a penny for at least 5 years. I guess that just goes to show how lucrative this business could be.

And here's the thing. I know he's going to make it big. I just do.There's something in my bones that can sense it. They've already been offered $200,000 this year for their company as is, without even meeting with investors, and without having a huge sales revenue (it's big, but not that big). I can only imagine how much the company will be worth in anther 5 years.... And I don't know long it will take, but I'm willing to suck it up until then, especially if owning his own business is Devin's dream.

Looking Up

In the middle of all this stress, it's so important for me to remember how blessed I am. I am blessed to be at this amazing University, getting a hugely discounted education. I will be graduating in 1 year! I have a fantastic job and an amazing boss. I love where I work and go to school. I love my husband, and he is truly the best man I know. We have an amazing apartment at a cheap price! We have two awesome cars that I personally got to pick out :) We are going on a cruise in two weeks! I have family and friends that love me, and a support system that will always catch me when I fall. And it's spring.

There's something about spring that just makes everything better.  When you're in your darkest moments in winter, and you don't think anything will change, all the sudden the weather warms up, the sun comes out, the snow disappears, and tulips start popping out of the ground. Birds chirpping, bees humming, kittens being born. It's truly magical. I love this poem by Emily Dickinson that reminds me to just look up during the day. The light that bounces around during spring time, especially right now (early march) is magical. And wonderful. And inspiring. It's not something we can explain, (or see even really) but it's something we feel.

Enjoy! And remember to look up this spring.

A Light exists in Spring
Not present on the Year
At any other period —
When March is scarcely here

A Color stands abroad
On Solitary Fields
That Science cannot overtake
But Human Nature feels.

It waits upon the Lawn,
It shows the furthest Tree
Upon the furthest Slope you know
It almost speaks to you.

Then as Horizons step
Or Noons report away
Without the Formula of sound
It passes and we stay —

A quality of loss
Affecting our Content
As Trade had suddenly encroached
Upon a Sacrament.

-Emily Dickinson