What have we been up to?

Hello family and friends!  You're probably wondering what we've been up to these past few months, seeing as the blog hasn't been updated lately.  Well, we've sure been busy!  Here are some of the things we've been up to:

We got a new cat, Monty!  We adopted him from my work friend Aaron.  His boyfriend is really allergic to cats, so Monty needed a new home.  We'd been wanting to get another cat, but weren't sure how our existing cat Kitten would respond.  So we decided to foster Monty to see if things would work out.  So far, it's been a few months and we're making pretty good progress.  Monty and Kitten still are wary of each other, and Kitten will still chase Monty around, but we think they are working it out.  Monty is so cute, we love him and are happy to have a new addition to our family!

He fits right in! Snuggling with Chels

 

 

In November, Candace got a promotion at work!  In August, my company went through a big restructure, so my position changed from designer-in-training to merchandising lead.  I had a co-merchandising lead, and then a merchandising manager who oversaw our work, and then the store general manager above the merchandising manager.  Before the restructure, I was the design trainee below two store designers--with the restructure, one decided to leave the company, and the other became the merchandising manager.  We ran this way for a few months, and the work load definitely increased, especially as we geared up for the holidays.  In late October, the merchandising manager decided to give notice, and I was offered and accepted the position.  So now I am in this new position and it's going pretty well.  There are definitely more responsibilities and tasks associated with the new position, and I have a team of people I am directly in charge of, but I think I'm up for the challenge!

 

 

Last, but definitely not least: some of you may know that with the election in November, Washington State was the sixth state to legalize marriage equality, and the first state to pass marriage equality by popular vote. Very exciting! Find out more here: Marriage Equality Washington State and also here: Americans for Marriage Equality.  Washington state has a three-day waiting period from the time a marriage license is attained, before it becomes valid (for opposite or same-sex couples).  The law went into affect on December 6th, so the first same-sex couples were able to marry on December 9th. Chelsea and I were able to apply for our marriage license on December 7th.  We were very excited!  We expected a huge crowd, but luckily missed having to wait in a big line.  The staffers at the court house said the line was very long the entire day prior--they opened at midnight on Dec. 6th to accommodate the many people who wanted to apply right away. 

 

 

 

It was a surreal experience, being able to legally apply for and receive a marriage license.  I'm so proud of our state!  Chels and I are so lucky to be able to get legally married, only three and a half years after our wedding.  Some people have been waiting a lifetime for the law to catch up with love, and some never got the chance to legally marry their partner.

 

On Thursday, December 13th, Chels and I went to the courthouse to have a civil ceremony.  We had a wonderful judge preside over our wedding, and a few close friends were in attendance.  My best friend Todd and our cousin Claire were our witnesses.  It was nice!  Chels was so funny, she was actually a little nervous!  It was very sweet. Our friend Jamie took pictures for us, so as soon as we get them back, we'll post some on the blog.  Afterwards, we went out to dinner and were joined by some more family and friends.  It was a great evening, and we are planning to have a party in Seattle this coming year to celebrate.  Cheers to marriage equality!