Week 45: Traveling Ohio

Jonathan, Tim and I at Ryan and Cassie's wedding!

Happy Memorial Day! I hope everyone is enjoying the weather, even though it has been a little bit rainy, it is definitely starting to feel like the seasons are changing. Not much of a need for jackets anymore! This week has been crazy for us, so we are very glad to be starting a new one and to have an extra day off today.

We started out with a pretty normal week, Jonathan worked on Monday while I went to the doctor, got shots, went to Target then did some studying when I got home. After Jonathan was done with work we went on a run/walk (it was a nice mix), then we went to the library so Jonathan could get a card! I grew up on the Minerva Public Library, so it was fun to show him around! They changed my name on my card and removed my mom from it, the librarian estimated that I have probably had mine since I was about 4, so I'm impressed by how well it has held up! Afterward, we stopped to pick up a few things from the store, then we came home, had some leftovers and handled some office stuff.

Tuesday Jonathan worked and went on a run, I did some school work and made granola, but was not feeling super well. For supper we had sausage links on the grill and mac and cheese. The evening consisted of a whole lot of nothing since we knew what we were coming up against for the rest of the week.

I had to work in Avon Lake Wednesday-Friday, so that ends up totally 12 hours of driving and 24 hours of work. They are long days and leave me pretty exhausted. Wednesday, Jonathan stayed home and did some work around the house. Thursday, he went to Celina to work in the office. That night, he went to Beer Barrel for pizza with Graham and Dillon and spent the night at Dillon's house. He really enjoyed getting to spend some time catching up with Dillon. They were roommates before he upgraded to having me as a roomie, so he said they got to sit out on the porch and chat while the sun set, good, quality guy time. Since Jonathan was gone and I am a chicken, I went and spent the night at my parents' house instead of staying here by myself. Friday, Jonathan worked at the office again, then we were both on the road at about the same times, so we chatted about the podcast I got him hooked on, caught up with what we had missed with each other for the past two days and planned supper. I called and ordered pizza, he went to Drugmart to pick up a few things we needed and got the pizza then we both got home about 10 minutes apart from each other! It was a fantastic night of junk food, relaxation and catching up with each other.

Photobooth fun!

Saturday morning we had mushy pancakes, relaxed a little bit, got ready and headed out for a 3.5 hour drive to Dayton for a friends wedding! It great to see some of Jonathan's friends from college who, honestly, have become my friends as well. Thankfully, we all get along really well and it was a lot of fun. The only negative was the drive and the fact that I have a wedding curse. Every single time I go to a wedding, our table eats last. This is not a joke at all. We could be table number 3 and, somehow, that table goes last. Every time! We were tablet 10 out of, like, 13. It makes no sense, but we were last. I wish I knew how this happened, but I really don't know. Our wedding is the only wedding I have been at where I actually got to eat first. This wedding was a new record though! They had two kinds of lasagna, meat and veggie. I love me some lasagna and I hadn't had a lot for lunch, so I was pretty pumped about this lasagna stuff! Truth be told, nothing beats Mama Haas' lasagna, but I typically don't complain because I just like Italian food in general. Well, the guy before me took the last little bit of meat lasagna. Fun fact - I hate most veggies, so here we are, tray and a half of veggie lasagna, absolutely no meat lasagna. Needless to say, I was disappointed. I had some of the veggie lasagna and a roll, but otherwise I just had some dessert, which was amazing, and then we stopped to get me a beef and cheddar on the way home. After all the vegetarian stuff I just had to go to the place whose motto is "we have the meats". I downed that puppy in about 3 minutes. All in all, it ended up working out and we had a great time! It was a rough drive home, but Jonathan handled it gracefully. We got home about 12 and crashed pretty hard.

We love a good photobooth

Sunday morning we woke up and went to Damascus for church, then we hit Aldi's and stopped at my parents' house for some milk. Once we got home, we scrounged up some lunch then took a nap. Both of us were exhausted, so it was much needed! Dinner was cajun pork chops, one of our favorite things, and we watched Bourne Ultimatum while we ate. Unfortunately, when we were almost at the end, the DVD stopped working. If you have seen the Bourne movies you know that this is actually a very large deal. Like, they are so good and intense that you can't just stop half way through scene 14 of 20 and be okay with that. We got a little bit creative. My parents were at the square dance, so we just went over to their house, popped the DVD in their DVD player and finished it up there! Once we were done, we packed up and came back home, problem solved! The thought process was - if the DVD is broken, they probably have it on the DVR, so we would be safe either way! 

This next week is not nearly as busy, I only have to go up to Avon Lake one more day, so that is super nice. We are having steaks, ham and potatoes on the grill throughout the week and then Fiesta Chicken with rice sometime this weekend!

Continued prayer requests would be for my tests. Passing grades, low stress, study motivation, the whole shebang. 

Have a great week and a happy memorial day! We love you all!

Love,

Alli and Jonathan

Week 44: New Normal

Honestly, at this point, I think we can just all assume posts will be showing up on either Sunday OR Monday! This shall be a new normal as Jonathan and I also adjust to a new normal! The past week has been our first glimpse of what life will be like for the near future. I have been working some, Jonathan is now knee-deep in working from home and we are beginning to figure out a new routine. There are still quite a few hurdles we will jump and changes that will come into play, but for the moment, we are adjusting to the new, crazy, unpredictable place we are at right now in life.

After last weekend, Monday probably should have been relaxing, but it really wasn't for the most part. Jonathan worked and I studied, cleaned and did laundry. After he was finished, we went up to Alliance to go grocery shopping, get my mom her mother's day/birthday gift and pick up a shovel. When we got home, I made skillet beef pot pie, a new recipe for Jonathan to taste and it was a hit, then we meal prepped, did dishes and proceeded to relax for a hot second! We watched a show and then went to bed early since we both had early mornings coming up.

On Tuesday I had went to work at one of the corporate offices in Avon Lake for training. It is about a 2 hour drive and I am not done until 6:00. It made for a very long day and by the time I got home (at around 8:15) I was completely exhausted! Jonathan had the evening to himself so, after work, he did some of our landscaping then went to play basketball with Kyle at one of the churches in a nearby town, which he really enjoyed. By the time he got home I was already in bed! 

Free table!

Wednesday was our slower day. Jonathan worked while I studied, then we went for a nice, long walk after he was done. Once we got back, Jonathan made chicken on the grill to go with our alfredo - it was some of the best chicken alfredo we have ever made, it was SO good! Afterwards, we hopped in the truck and went to pick up a free table out of one of our neighbors' yards because, well, Jonathan just really wanted to grab it and I was an easy sell! We have two tables but, I mean, really, who can ever have enough? Anyway, once we got back from getting the table (it took, like, 10 minutes tops), we sat down and went over our finances before purchasing gifts we needed to for a few of the weddings we have coming up, so many awesome friends getting married!

On Thursday, Jonathan worked, mowed and weed-eated while I was at work. I finally got to go work in a store! I got my training check-list done and got to re-familiarize myself with the computer system. It was a new store, so it was a pretty slow day, but I enjoyed the people I worked with. When I got home, I had pork tacos, a new crock-pot recipe we tried and really enjoyed! Jonathan caught a cold at some point through the week and did not feel well at all on Thursday.

Friday was another day off for me, so I went shopping, picked up milk and studied while Jonathan worked, then we straightened up the house and started getting everything ready for the Haas family to come over! Mom and Dad hadn't seen the place since moving day and we had not had the chance to spend time together as a "just the 5 of us" family. Of course, we have LOTS of people we love and consider family, but we enjoyed getting to spend some time together as the Haas crew. It was also a chance for us to celebrate Mom for Mother's day and her birthday since Mother's day was spent at graduation and Jonathan and I cannot see her on her birthday. We had salad, creamy bacon pasta and popcorn for supper and played Ticket to Ride for entertainment. It was such a great night and we really enjoyed hosting the fam.

Jonathan and Mom's progress!
Super exciting!

Saturday I spent the hours of 9-6 working in Minerva. It was my first time working in the pharmacy there and it was a great day! I learned a lot and enjoyed my time. It felt pretty short after the other two days I worked this week! My working weekends is going to be a major adjustment for the lil Landis fam. We treasure and prioritize time together and weekends are when we get to do the most of that. Jonathan working at home is another new dynamic and we were worried it would get a bit boring being at home, but he is so amazing at staying in the office and working that it really doesn't feel like he is home all day! Working and being home truly are two different modes! So, at the moment, we are both still enjoying our time at home. Anyway, this weekend Jonathan got to start doing a few things at home as he adjusts to having the house to himself on some weekends. The new table needs some love and we wanted to re-finish it. It was previously painted, but we are more into the natural, wood finish, so that's what he is going to make it! Thankfully, my mom has done a bit of refinishing, so he went over there to get a tutorial on Saturday and is now set to start on the whole process of undoing what's there and making it pretty again! He also did laundry and went on a run after he got back! When I got home, we had leftovers and watched a show before I had to go get ready for bed and get some sleep before the next day.

Sunday I worked again in Minerva. Jonathan went to church, grocery shopped, cleaned the apartment, worked on the table, watched a movie and enjoyed some much needed relaxation after feeling sick most of the week! I got home and we basically just repeated the night before - leftovers and a show. Not together, just to clarify. We ate dinner and chatted, then went and watched a show.

As you can see, our weekly routine is drastically changing! Me working weekends changes the dynamic a lot and we are learning how to adapt to all of it! Please continue to pray for our adjustment period. I would also ask for prayers as I am studying and preparing for the NAPLEX and MPJE. Very ready to have those over with! Also, this week is completely crazy and we are both going to be doing a lot of traveling, so please pray for safe travels for the two of us. It is going to be a long week, but we are hoping it will be an anomaly in our schedules, definitely not something we plan to get used to!

Thank you for taking the time to see what we are up to! We love sharing our life with you, no matter how mundane/boring it may be! Love you all, have a great week!

Love,

Alli and Jonathan 

Week 43: Introducing Mr and Dr Landis

Hello! I know, I am a day late again, but with everything going on this week, I appreciate your understanding! This week was all graduation prep and craziness!

Monday Jonathan worked while I studied, got my hair done and went to the store. The nice thing about being home together is getting to go on a walk during lunch. When the weather is nice, we go on a walk together to get the mail after we eat, it is quite relaxing and a great time to spend together! In the evening I did the dishes and Jonathan vacuumed, then we went on a short walk before heading to game night at the Haas farm. It was a super nice day so we played games outside - Kubb and Boccie ball. Definitely felt like spring!

First grill meal!

Tuesday I made granola in the morning, then studied while Jonathan worked. We went on our lunch walk, then finished our work for the day. After he was done, Jonathan went on a run then came back and moved the wood and rocks from our front yard up to the woods. While he was doing that, I finished studying. For dinner we had pork chops on the grill and potato waffles - and those actually turned out well this time! Once we were done with supper, Jonathan got ready for Bible study, I got ready for bed and made some cookie dough, then we watched a Bull to finish out the evening!

Wednesday was a busy one. I made cookies, studied, packed, got the mail and did dishes while Jonathan worked, mowed and packed as well. For dinner we had some leftovers then headed for Wapak. We stayed at Grahams, so once we got there we lugged our stuff in, put it inside the door and went to Scoops for some ice cream with him and Dillon.

On Thursday, Jonathan went to work in Celina and I went to bootcamp in Ada. Basically, bootcamp is just two days of studying before graduation to review some of the more difficult subjects before the NAPLEX and MPJE. I was an hour early, but it was nice to have time to get in there, adjust back to seeing everyone, greet classmates, things like that. After bootcamp, I went to Jalapenos to pick up dinner for Graham, Jonathan and I, we ate and then went to Bible study. It was a day of lots of food, to be honest, we were both stuffed by the time we got home! Everyone brought a dessert to share since it was the last Bible study and it was all just delicious. It was a late night for us, definitely hard to leave our awesome friends there. Steve and Elise gave us a card and I made the mistake of reading it on the way home. There were lots of tears (from me, Jonathan held it together). We are both so sad to be leaving the first friends we made together. It was just fun to have those people around us who were just ours. They didn't have any preconceived notions or opinions of us, they just welcomed both of us in with open arms and loved us well. 

Friday was another day of bootcamp and work. Once we both got back to Graham's, we went to Happy Daz for dinner then went to see Avengers. It was such a great movie and, in spite of being warned about the extreme emotional toll it was supposed to take, I did not cry. It brought all the stories to a close and was done well. 

Saturday morning the three of us went to Lulu's, a new diner in Wapak. It is one of our favorite breakfast joints to go to, there was one in Bluffton and we really enjoyed going when we were in Ada. Of course, they JUST moved to Wapak as we were leaving, it would have been within walking distance of our apartment! Now we just know where to go for breakfast when we go back to visit. Funny thing, we saw a guy from our small group, Matt, both at the movies AND at Lulu's when we were out! We got a good laugh out of that! I guess it's true, great minds think alike! We didn't do breakfast until about 10:30, so we just skipped lunch. We got back around 11 and I went back to bed while the guys played some video games and then went out to do some yard work. Graduation practice was at 2:30, so I set my alarm to make sure I would make it in time for that. I did, it was pretty simple only lasted for about 45 minutes. Once I got back, we made burgers and had some pretzels and dip for supper, then we played some games for our last evening in Wapak.

Sunday was an early morning since we both needed to get there pretty early to get seats and to get in line. The 40 minutes of waiting allowed me to have some pretty sweet time with some pretty sweet people for the last time. I got to chat with some of my friends from the beginning of pharmacy school who I still cherish as a few of my favorite people ever. The ceremony was very well done, the speaker was good, they were very efficient and no one tripped! Once we recessed and got the whole family together, we went over to the pharmacy building for pictures and some snacks. Mom, Dad, Shem, Jonathan, Emily, Pam and Ken were all there, so we got all the different picture combinations figured out, I found some friends for pictures and then we headed out. Unfortunately, it was a little chilly out, but, thankfully, no rain, so we will take it! We all headed to Upper Sandusky for some Mexican to celebrate. It was so nice to have everyone together, though we did miss Dustin and Sara. Mom and Pam got free ice cream for Mother's day and were kind enough to share it with the rest of us. Shem was kind enough to drive the truck back so Jonathan and I could ride together. I am pretty sure this mostly was a benefit to me since I slept the whole ride back. We came home, unpacked and then went to the Haas farm for dinner with my grandparents. Lasagna, yummy dessert, quality time, celebration and dominoes were a great way to celebrate with a few of the people who got me through school. I am so thankful to be done with school and couldn't appreciate all the love and support I have been given over the past few years from all of my family and friends. It feels great to be done with school, but there are a few more hoops to jump through before I am a pharmacist. 

The next few weeks are going to involve a lot of adjusting as I start working for Drug Mart as a graduate intern. Our meal plans are pretty hap-hazard and are going to be up for lots of change, our schedule is going to be totally different and we truly have no idea what to expect. Please pray for us as we both adjust to these life changes and job changes! Jonathan is still getting used to working at home and we have plenty more things to figure out as all of this moves along. Another prayer request is still a passing score on the NAPLEX and MPJE as I get ready for life as a pharmacist!

Thank you so much for being on our team as we have been transitioning. It has been a rough couple weeks and doesn't look to be getting much easier in the near future, but it has still been going well thanks to all of you. We are so thankful and love you all so much! Have a great week!

Love,

Mr. Jonathan and Dr. Allison Landis 

(keep scrolling for graduation pictures!)

Finally done!

Allie Harrison - one of my best friends since Chem Refresher before Freshman year, roommate for 4 years!

Adam and Cody - two of my absolute best friends since move in day, these two are the greatest. Fun fact, Cody (right) was Jonathan's roommate sophomore year which is how we met!

Couldn't have graduated without this guy - for sure got me through

Love these people. These 4 are the reason I survived pharmacy school and made it there in the first place! 

Landis fam!

Week 42: "Homemaking"

Loving the beautiful spring weather!

Google defines homemaking as "the creation and management of a home, especially as a pleasant place in which to live", which is a lot of what our week has looked like. We are still not feeling completely at home, but we truly love where we live and are beginning to feel a bit more comfortable every day. Moving is always a little challenging because, for awhile, you just feel completely displaced and like a complete outsider until everything adjusts, so this adjustment period is just weird in general, but, as I said, every day it feels a little bit more like "home".

Another challenge for me (Alli), has been not having any real schedule and not knowing when I am going to need to do something. I have been doing a lot of studying, but I also had a lot of new hire things to do with Drug Mart. A lot of what I had to do was not really in my control, so I was just waiting to hear what I needed to next and didn't know when I was going to be able to complete these tasks. This type of operation is not what I am used to and is not what I enjoy at all, but it all worked out! Monday I went and completed my drug screen, then I met with my district manager to complete my new hire paperwork. While I was in Canton getting my drug test, I went to Target to get a few things we needed for the house. Once I was home I worked on finishing cleaning and organizing our spare room and bedroom, then I did laundry. It was a bit of a long day, to be honest, but the house looked a lot better and my new hire tasks were well underway, so that was nice. Jonathan completed his first day working here from home, it went really well and I like having him home with me! After he was done, he finished putting his clothes away and helped me finish the spare room, then we went to my parents' for game night, which was a lot of fun!

Tuesday we were both home for most of the day. I cleaned up some of the house stuff, but mostly studied while Jonathan worked. After he was done, we went to the landlord's to drop off our rent, then we went to TrueValue to look at mowers and to get an extra key for the truck. We also went to get our freezer, so now we have all of our meat right here! It is quite an exciting time for the Lil Landis fam, we can just go down and get whatever we want for dinner - quite the life we live here! Shem came to help unload the freezer, so we got to show him the new place!

I'm assuming everyone drinks milkshakes out of mugs?

Wednesday we had a complete home day. Jonathan worked, I studied, then we had leftovers, Jonathan mowed, we watched a show and had milkshakes. Afterward, I did some reading while Jonathan prepared for Bible study. Home days are good days for the Lil Landis fam, we thrive at home...especially when we have been interacting with people a lot!

Our Thursday was a little crazy, at least, I was very overwhelmed. I had a long day of computer training to do at Drug Mart, so I was happy to get home. Jonathan had a slow day at work, then went on a run around the neighborhood and played some guitar. I studied and got dinner ready. We had beef roast with carrots and onions, mashed potatoes and gravy - it was all delicious! At 7 our wonderful small group Facebook videoed us in so we got to enjoy small group like we were there in person! It was really awesome and we loved it.

The weekend has been pretty great, to be honest. Friday I had some studying to do and had to go in to town to finish my training quick, Jonathan had a good work day and then we went to Mom and Dad's for Kyle's surprise birthday party! It was so fun to surprise him, he said he wasn't expecting it at all! Ashton is in town, so I was excited to get to see her, she is always too far away! We got to meet some of our neighbors and it was good to spend time catching up. It was quite a late night though, we didn't get home until 11:30! Now, I know, we are in our 20's, we're supposed to thrive at all hours of the night because we are young and "blah-blah-blah" - but we are morning people! So we are thriving pretty early, making it difficult to thrive late!

Thankfully, we got to sleep in on Saturday and thoroughly enjoyed it! Once we ate breakfast, we went out for the day. With the move and adjustments, we haven't had the chance to really enjoy time together the past few weeks, so we took a date day. I needed an outfit for graduation, so we went shopping in Canton! It was a lot of fun, we got a few things we needed around here and I got shoes and a dress for graduation. For lunch, we went to TGI Fridays and then we just looked around for some stuff we needed for the house. Jonathan got some stuff to wash the cars with and we also got a table for our little lemon tree to sit on, that way it can get more sun! After we were finished shopping, we went to the Landis' for a family get-together. We love a good party and this weekend was full of them! Uncle Cliff was in town from California, so we got to see him and some of the rest of the family who were in town, which is always a good time. Our Friday and Saturday were really just a whole big party!

We, again, didn't get home until late, so this morning was pretty rough, especially for me because I am a wimp. Since the move, we are checking out different churches around the area. This morning was an interesting experience. I will simply say - we did not find our new church home and the exploration will continue. An interesting experience, but not one we would like to repeat. After that we went shopping, then came home and had yummy leftovers. After we ate, we did some dishes, then I had to take a nap. Jonathan went to TrueValue while I was asleep and got a mower, so that is quite exciting! We are very much so adulting. Once I finally got up, he mowed and I cleaned a little bit. For dinner we had grilled ham and cheese with a rice thing, it was simple and delicious. Now we are just in the office, getting our lives organized for the next week!

I have things that have to be done at school, so we are going to have some traveling this week - therefore our meal planning leaves a lot to be desired. We have YET to use our grill since the weather has been crappy and we haven't had our life together, so grilling is the main priority this week. Honestly, we may not use anything else to cook with, but we shall see! 

Prayer requests:
- help settling into our new home
- Jonathan adjusting to working from home
- Alli preparing for the NAPLEX - we just want a passing grade!
- finding a community and friendships here!

Thank you so much for all of your love and support. We love you all so much! Have a great week!

Love,

Alli and Jonathan