Eternity Is Now

Experiments in Baking

2012-02-15T14:21:00.000-05:00

I made red velvet cheesecake brownies for the ladies I visit teach. I thought it would be a good Valentine's day treat. I took pictures of the whole process and then realized that I didn't take a picture of the finished product! You will have to take my word for it that they looked pretty close to the ones on the recipe. So, here is the recipe.

Eggs, sugar, food coloring, and vanilla look weird together.

Melted chocolate and butter

Mix everything together and add the flour.

Pour it in the pan.

Make the cheesecake topping

Dollop

Swirl

They are really yummy and cute. It was a fun adventure. I really like being in the kitchen and cooking new things. I'll be adding this to my repertoire.

Wreath Obsession

2012-02-14T13:26:00.000-05:00

So, this year I want to make a wreath for every month. So far I have 4 of 12. February, March, June, and December. I finished the March wreath a couple days ago and it is AWESOME! Here is my inspiration:

Thank you to Ramblings From the Sunshine State for the inspiration.

Here is mine:

Here are the pictures and how I did it.

I started by wrapping my round foam wreath form with dark green yarn.

Then I combined my three colors and made a ball for easier wrapping.

It is kind of a pain to wrap all three at the same time, but it is totally worth it. It looks awesome!

Then I took felt and cut out my rainbow flags (2 sides). I attached them with tacky glue to a piece of yarn and tied the ends to the wreath. I took the same felts and cut circles and then spirals to make the rosettes. Once I cut the spirals (I forgot to take pics of that part), I rolled them with dots of glue to keep them together and pinned them to the wreath. The pot of gold is double sided and the coins are just circles of yellow felt. Easy-peasy.

I am kind of obsessed with yarn-wrapped wreaths! They are so cool looking and way easier than I thought they would be.

And now, for something completely different!

This is my ridiculously mobile child. He can pull himself up on things, not always successfully, but he is way too good at it for my taste.

Little Changes

2012-02-08T16:43:00.002-05:00

I am trying to make a few little changes to help my emotional, mental, and spiritual health. I am doing pretty well on my physical health. Eating healthier foods, working out for 30 mins every weekday. That was a good change. I feel better, I have a little more energy, I am stronger, and getting more toned, which, after a baby, I certainly won't say no to.

I am trying very hard to pray morning and night. I am good about night prayers, but morning prayers are harder with a baby. I have to make an effort to remember to pray when I wake up to a fussing baby. Slowly but surely I'm getting there with that.

I am also trying to read my scripture every day. I have never been able to be consistent and I can feel it when I am not. I feel more energy when I read my scriptures. It seems like it wouldn't make that much of a difference, but it really does for me. I've taken the promises of prophets and put them to the test. Those promises are true.

There are still a few things I want to be better about, blogging for one. Writing in my journal is something else that I really need to improve. I haven't written in longer than I would care to admit. There was a time when I wrote at least every other day. I also want to start reading like I used to, but I am just so tired by the time I can actually sit down and do it that I just end up watching mindless tv shows. I've started going to bed a little earlier and reading for a little while to calm my mind and help me fall asleep faster. Baby steps are my focus right now and I feel like I am making a lot of progress. All these little things make a huge difference to me.

These Are the Days

2012-02-05T16:34:00.001-05:00

I have a difficult child. I know that everyone's kids are difficult in their own way, but I feel my difficulties every day, almost all day. Yes, that includes nighttime. You see, Benjamin does not like to sleep. He will take 3 naps, but none of them are more than 30 minutes. He will follow these naps with about 30 minutes of smiles and fun times and then it is back to being tired, fussy, and in constant need of attention. When I put him down for a nap, he screams. When I put him in his crib at night, he screams. The only times he doesn't do it is when someone is over or his daddy is home. He wakes up at least twice in the early morning and cries for food. I have let him cry for an hour and a half before and he will not go back to sleep unless I get up and feed him.

Anyone who knows me knows that I need more sleep than most people. I don't function well without it. That being said, I haven't had a full night of sleep since November of 2010. I am running on empty. My body craves nothing but sugar and I have to force myself to make healthier choices. I love my sweet little boy, but he takes everything I have. I felt strong impressions that we needed to have a baby when we did, but sometimes I wonder why this is that time. What am I supposed to learn from this experience? I don't quite know yet. i hope I figure it out soon so I can move on to a new learning experience that requires less lost sleep.

Some of My Craftings

2012-01-31T13:53:00.001-05:00

Here are some of the crafty things I have made over the last year.

I made this for my cousin's little girl, Sadie Kay

Egg carton ghosts

This whole thing cost me $6 (excluding paint and scrapbook paper)

Melted crayon art

Same frames as the 'Boo' different background

Wrapping paper and wood letters

This one is for my good friend's baby Cassandra

I won't be making another one of these for a while. They are hard and take forever.

Valentine's Day wreath

Spring or Summer wreath

The Happy Things

2011-11-27T16:44:00.005-05:00

There have been a lot of happy things in my life lately. My dad was able to be here for Benjamin's blessing. He is deployed at the moment, so we waited until he could come. It was important for me to have him there. He and my mom were here for Thanksgiving and we shared our delicious food with Erik and Mariel. My dad loves Benjamin. He can't get enough of him, but then... neither can my mom. They are now Oma and Opa to avoid confusion in the future.

Benjamin is wonderful. He is learning and growing so fast that I can hardly keep up. He can grab things that are in front of him without help. He is learning to put everything in his mouth. He loves tummy time and will stick his little bum way up in the air as if he wants to launch forward. I won't lie, I don't want him to be mobile yet. Too much work for me =P. He still won't sleep through the night, but I made the decision to start putting him on formula. I agonized over it for quite a while before finally deciding that it is the best thing for me and it is better for him. He doesn't get hungry as quickly which means he sleeps longer. I can get 4 hours out of him instead of 3. He isn't a huge fan of formula and I am still nursing him every other feeding for now, but he is doing just fine and I am doing better too. I never enjoyed nursing. I never felt that bonding that so many women do. I felt like it was just a means to an end. I get more bonding from bottle feeding. I know I could pump and all that, but Benjamin also doesn't handle my milk when I have been drinking cow's milk. He spits-up a lot when I have milk and then he nurses. I am not a huge milk drinker by any stretch of the imagination, but I do enjoy it on cereal and whatnot.

On the eating front, Benjamin loves his rice cereal! He would probably eat that all day if I would let him. He took to it no problem and I can't wait for him to try other foods in a couple of months. He is doing pretty well with bath time again, but he wants to sit up on his own and it makes him hard to bathe. Oh babies, they are just so unpredictable. I sure do love my little boy.

Casey is now working a second job so that we can pay all our bills and have food to eat. He works at Subway in the mornings and the Hut at night. It is hard to have him gone so much, but we are managing the best we can. He is a trooper and I am grateful that he is willing to work so hard to provide for us. This coming week we are taking a trip for our anniversary. Yes, it was on the 24th, but that was not an ideal travel time. His wonderful mom is going to be watching Ben for the time we will be gone and I am looking forward to some uninterrupted sleep.

Margret and Benjamin... not fighting

We were The Who for Haloween

Matching argyle

Our Doctor Who pumpkins

Froggie bum!

He is pretty dang cute!

He loves the bugs

Remember That One Time?

2011-11-06T19:25:00.005-05:00

Yeah, remember that time when I was going to be more consistent in posting. Babies just take so much time.

Benjamin is 3 and a half months old. He rolls over from tummy to back and back to tummy. He will be crawling before I know it. He can grab the bug toys that hang from his swing and pulls them to get them to make noise. I am amazed by how impressive he is. He laughs, smiles, and makes super cute noises. He is mostly in 3 months stuff, but he can wear some 3-6 and even some 6 month clothes. He is just so sturdy.

He has a little cold right now and it makes me sad. His little nose is all stuffy and he has a wet, but not hacking, cough. I just want to make it all better, but there is so little I can do.

Picture time!

10 Years

2011-09-10T21:38:00.002-04:00

It is hard for me to believe that it has been 10 years. I remember everything so clearly. We had just moved into our townhouse in Burke. I was working on my schoolwork that morning when my brother turned on the TV. That was an unusual occurrence. My mom made a rule that we could not have the TV on if our sibling was on the computer working on schoolwork. I wasn't really paying attention until he called to my mom to come down to the basement. "A plane hit the World Trade Center." He said calmly.

My mom sat down to see what the reporters were saying and as she did we watched the second plane hit the towers. We couldn't believe it. She said it was a terrorist attack. I immediately freaked out and started crying. She calmed me down and soon after we got a phone call from my aunt who was in a panic. "Is Mike ok?" she asked frantically. We didn't know why until seconds later when the report came that the Pentagon was hit as well. My mom let her know that my dad was not in the Pentagon since he was in Arizona at the time. As soon as she was off the phone with my aunt, my mom called my Grandma Stacey to let her know that her son was ok. My grandma was never an emotional woman. My dad told me once that he had only seen her cry once. She cried when she found out her youngest son was ok.

We sat and watched the news all day. We watched the towers fall and brave men and women try and save lives. I can't even begin to imagine how the people in New York felt. It was all so surreal and scary and I was hundreds of miles away from them. I was not hundreds of miles away from the Pentagon. I went outside and saw a faint plume of smoke. I don't know if it was from the Pentagon or not, but I knew that my perception of safety here would never be the same.

I am so grateful to the men and women who risk their lives every day to protect this country. I wish that it did not have to come at so high a cost. I wish that there was a way to ease the pain of those who lost loved ones on that awful day. I wish that people would be quicker to remember instead of being so quick to forget. September 11, 2001 changed our country forever. Let us always remember what happened on that day, but not dwell on it. Let us learn from it and come together as a nation. On that day, a woman in France said, "Today we are all American." Politics, party lines, differing opinions. Let us set them aside and feel the way that french woman felt. Today we are all American. Don't ever forget that.

Ok, Seriously?

2011-08-29T17:18:00.004-04:00

I fail at blogging. My sweet little bean is almost 6 weeks old and I have yet to say one word about him. So, here goes.

Labor and Delivery:
I woke up at about 6:30 on July 20th (4 days after my due date) with contractions. It took me about 2 hours to realize that is what they were, but they were contractions nonetheless. I woke up Casey, he showered and by that point the contractions were about 6 minutes apart. We decided to head up to the hospital (45 minute drive) and got on the road. Of course we called my mom and Casey's mom and they both started heading for the hospital. My mom had a 9 hour drive, Linda didn't.

We got to the hospital, checked in, and they checked me out. 1cm dilated... I just about had a fit. It was inconceivable to me that I could be having such close and painful contractions without being farther along. They had me stay for an hour, checked me again and... no progress. The doctor suggested we go wander around the mall for a while. That was not a possibility since I could hardly stand up when the contractions hit every 5 minutes. We went to the hospital cafeteria and had some lunch, I didn't eat much. Then we went down to the lobby and sat there until I couldn't stand it anymore.

We went back up and, lo and behold, 3cm dilated! Huzzah! I got checked in and sat in the jacuzzi for a while until I was in too much pain to even do that. Casey was a champ the whole time. I got back in the bed and they gave me some painkillers, but didn't want to give an epidural until I was a little closer to having the baby. I should have insisted. They checked me at about 5 and I was 5cm dilated. The midwife still hesitated to give me the epidural. An hour later I was 9.5cm and pretty much ready to push. My mom go there just in time. I pushed for 30 mins and at 6:35 pm...

Benjamin Casey Adams was born!

8lbs 5oz 19.75 inches. He is healthy and wonderful.

We took him home on the 22nd. My mom left on the 29th. That was hard. She was a big help. Fear not! Casey's birthday was not forgotten. We had a nice dinner at home with his parents and my mom. It was really nice.

Benjamin had his first appointment on the 26th. He was unhappy about being naked to be weighed and measured. He is not a fan of being naked. For the first month or so he wouldn't breastfeed so I had to pump and bottle feed him, then suddenly he started breastfeeding. Babies are weird.

He is almost 6 weeks now and he is awesome! He smiles and makes eye-contact. I have a ton of pictures still on my camera that I need to download. I will still put some of the older ones up.

He is a hipster baby

This might be my favorite picture of him so far!

This was a lucky pic. I love him so much!

He twitches a lot when he sleeps

I will try to update more consistently. We'll see how long that lasts.

Once More With Feeling!

2011-06-29T15:46:00.002-04:00

We are moving to our "permanent" apartment tomorrow and Friday! I am freaking out a little bit. It is very short notice, but I am absolutely thrilled to have a more permanent home. I can actually get ready for the baby now. I've been having a really hard time with being in limbo for so long. We will be in the old apartment of two of our friends. Dave and Tara moved out and we are moving in. I am looking forward to making the apartment reflect our little family. I miss them being here, but it is all part of life.

Right now I am just grateful for all the amazing friends I've made here. It is a lot harder to be the one left behind than to be the one leaving. I am not used to it. I'm used to being the one leaving and having all the new and amazing experiences, but I am totally stoked for my friends to have such wonderful things happening in their lives. They certainly deserve it!

Maybe after we get moved in I will get some pictures of the nursery. I am so excited to give Benjamin a special place in our home. I'm terrified to have such a huge life change, but it is going to be well worth it in the end. All in all, life is not too bad.

The Final Countdown

2011-06-23T11:27:00.003-04:00

Weekly trips to the doctor, waiting to move again, watching my friends leave, and trying to get ready for our little boy. That about sums up my life right now. We have less than a month until my due date. That is a scary thought. We have pretty much everything we need, but I don't want to set anything up because we are about to move again. I hate being in limbo.

We had some nonsense with our former landlord and ended up getting $125 of our $625 security deposit back. He was pretty much a jerk about it and didn't believe us when we tried to defend ourselves. Giving us 10 days notice to get out was really unprofessional and the whole thing left a bad taste in my mouth. Thankfully, that is over and done. We had a meeting at the apartments we are trying to get into and it is looking good. I just hope we can get in before the end of the month so we won't have to pay another month of rent for this one. We'll see, I suppose.

I also found out today that my senior paper either did not get submitted or was not good enough to pass. Either way, I have to resubmit it before I can get my diploma. It would be nice if I could have a relaxing final month of pregnancy, but life always seems to get in the way of my relaxation. It was nice to have my mom here for a week and then to go down to her house, but life was waiting for me when I got back here. Meh, life is just life and it always will be.

Sometimes I Wonder

2011-05-25T16:17:00.002-04:00

Sometimes I wonder about myself. Why do I struggle so much to filter my thoughts and words sometimes? It gets me in to trouble too often. I really do try to keep my unkind or even moderately offensive thoughts to myself, but it is really hard sometimes. I suppose that happens to most people.

Anyway, back to more real things. We moved the last of our stuff into our temporary apartment today. I didn't realize how stressed I was about it until it was done. If this apartment wasn't going to be so gosh darn expensive during the school year. A lot of people are moving out of Treemont so I am not all that worried about having to stay here, but it is still a little bit of a concern. Casey is totally chill about the whole situation. He keeps me much calmer than I would be otherwise. I'm glad I picked him.

In baby news, at my last appointment my ultrasound showed that our son is breech. I am really hoping he will flip over because I really do not want to have a C-section. Everything is getting so close and I am pretty nervous about the whole thing. I have a few friends who have had c-sections and I just don't think it would be ideal for me. I suppose it is all in the Lord's hands in the end, so I will go with the flow.

It has been a long few weeks of what I thought would be a relaxing month. Silly me.

So Much For That Idea

2011-05-08T19:55:00.005-04:00

Here I was thinking that life would be nice and easy after all our school stuff was over. Boy was I wrong. But first, GRADUATION! We are both college graduates. Go us! My mom came up and Casey's mom, dad, grandpa A, and sister all came down to support us. It was awesome.

Woohoo! Go me!

Casey is the second of his siblings to graduate, but he is the youngest to do it.

Casey, our friend Darla, and I all wore green Chucks in honor of President Smith.

And then we fake threw our caps for the camera.

So, that was graduation. I was happy to be a hermit and totally de-stress this past week. I was doing just that until we found out that our landlord found people to move in on June 1st. That means we have less than a month to find a new place to live. We would just pray that we get into Treemont, but we are 9th on the waiting list and only 2 people are moving out in the next month. So much for life being uncomplicated after graduation. Being seven and a half months pregnant and dealing with the prospect of moving a lot sooner than I was expecting is not so fun. Oh well, life must go on.

A Few Words on Procrastination

2011-04-09T16:13:00.004-04:00

I have never really been a procrastinator. It just isn't something that is easy for me to do. I have to get things done in a timely fashion or I freak out. That being said, I am procrastinating doing anything for my Saints, Signs and Symbols paper. I have no idea where to start, what my thesis is, or where to look for good information. Believe it or not, but there are not that many reputable articles about Saint Barbara. So, of course, instead of working on my paper I am writing this blog post.

On an ecstatic note, my senior show is done! All I have to do is fix my paper and do my oral presentation (on the 15th, yikes!) and I will be done with senior show for good! Also, we went up to the temple with my parents on Thursday and my dad was sealed to his parents. It was a really wonderful experience. I love the temple. It also allowed me to be a social media missionary. My co-worker from the summer of 2009 asked what it means to be sealed. I feel that I gave an informative, but not overwhelming response and she said that it was a beautiful concept. I don't know if she will ever join the church, but it is nice to talk to people who are open-minded about things.

And now, some random pictures from the cruise because I keep forgetting to do a full recap.
Here we are at Tulum. The water was entirely too gorgeous

We are the three dwarfs; Grumpy, Preggo, and Cheesy (aka Zaphod)

Its a cactus... wearing a sombrero.

Sadly, Casey didn't win the hairy chest competition, but he did get a snazzy medal.

Casey loved the tiny turtles.

That's all for now. Back to attempting my paper.

The End Is In Sight

2011-03-31T20:03:00.002-04:00

I have been less than diligent about maintaining this blog. I will have to consult my journal to remember everything that has happened since January 2nd when I announced my pregnancy.

January
~ I turned 22 on the 24th.
~We found out that my dad will get promoted and have to go to Djibouti on April 15th
~Classes started and were fairly unremarkable

February
~I finally started gaining weight
~I vacuumed up a freaking huge spider at 2:30am and saved Casey from it
~We were called to be on the Provident Living Committee
~I made boeuf bourgingnon for Valentine's Day and it was AMAZING!
~We bought everything for our new bed except the mattress
~The Jeep broke down... again
~Casey had a solo in The Redeemer and was absolutely wonderful

March
~Its a boy!!
~Our spring break cruise was amazing! I'll try and remember to have a separate post about it
~I had a Senior Show related epiphany that led me to change my style
~I finally had to buy maternity jeans

Those are the most important things that have happened to us over the last 3 months. As far as school goes, I still have to finish senior show, senior paper, my saints, signs and symbols paper, contemporary issues paper and presentation, and finals. Somehow seeing it all out there is not comforting. Casey has to finish his senior paper, write an America and the Enlightenment paper, one more German test, other than finals I think that is it for him. Also, he is playing one of the Muleteers in Man of La Mancha over Maymester. He is weirdly excited to play a creeper.

That is all for now since I am using this to avoid things I should be doing.

This Will Be a Good Year

2011-01-02T09:07:00.002-05:00

I really do feel that way. Senior show for me, senior paper for Casey, but we can both handle it. We made it through last semester and now we only have one left. After that we have the summer for Casey to work and me to have our first baby in July.

Yup, I'm pregnant. 12 weeks right now. I am finally getting over the all day "morning" sickness. I am still tired out of my mind, but I am doing ok. Senior show will be interesting since I am doing oil painting, but I am going to take every precaution to keep from getting too many fumes. I hear linseed oil is a great way to clean my brushes instead of turpentine. We will see how everyone else's smells affect me. If it gets bad I will just do it at home. I figure Professor Himes can't really get mad at a pregnant lady for that, but who knows.

We had a wonderful Christmas at my parent's house. I got a sewing machine! I am super excited. Casey is far more excited for the Wii! I am pretty stoked about it too. We are going to try to get him to lose 26 pounds by his 26th b-day. It shouldn't be that hard. He loses weight pretty easily. I received a very special gift as well. My uncle Jim and aunt Rochelle decided to give me my grandma Stacey's wedding ring. It was very emotional for me, my mom, and my dad. I was never very close to her, but I really miss her a lot. I am the youngest granddaughter and I was not expecting to get something so precious. It is a beautiful ring and I am honored to have it. Anyway, Christmas was great. We played games, ate amazing food, and hung out. After that, we came to visit Erik and Mariel for New Years. They are awesome! We head back home today.

I have my second doctor's appointment tomorrow and I'm really happy that Casey gets to come. He couldn't come with me last time because he had class. He is going to be such a cute daddy. He is super stoked to have a baby. He wants a girl, which I think is the sweetest thing ever. I don't really care as long as it is healthy and happy, but mostly healthy. I am due sometime in July. My doctor told me around the 16th or so, but when do babies ever come on time? My mom is totally over the moon about this. She is probably more excited than anyone. This is, after all, the first grandchild.

That is all for now.

1 Glorious Year

2010-11-25T07:15:00.002-05:00

So, this is a day late, but here is my anniversary post.

1 year ago I married my best friend. He is the most wonderful man I've ever met. This may sound cheesy, but he really does complete me. I am a neurotic mess sometimes and he helps me see that things are not as bad as I am making them. He is calm. If I had married someone just like me, I would not be happy. I needed Casey more than I ever knew. I sure do love him.

So, in the past -almost- three months we have both still been plugging away at school. Casey is back at the Hut. Working and doing school has been hard for him, but he always stays positive. My three business classes are difficult, but I am at least going to pass them. Next semester brings Senior Art Show. That will be very intense.

That is really all that has been going on in our little family.

Insert Creative Title Here

2010-09-02T20:59:00.002-04:00

We are back here at school after an arduous summer filled with car repairs, fests, and APX. Casey's car needed a new radiator the day before we were going to head back. We also had to rent a uhaul to get the rest of our stuff back home. I made the decision to leave early and drive all night Friday. It ended up being a really good decision since a 14 hour drive ended up being an 18 hour drive with the uhaul. Driving all night wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. The energy drink I had ripped up my system and kept me nice and awake. We got home at about 4 pm Saturday and had amazing friends come help us move back in to the apartment.

Classes started on August 30th and we are both fully into the swing of things. I am taking 3 business classes and am a little overwhelmed already. I chose the business minor as kind of a passing thing. I really wish I had chosen something I enjoy more, but I figure I can suffer through this and have it to put on a resume. I'm just grateful for and amazing husband who helps me get through the stress.

That is all for now.

My Heart is in the South

2010-08-10T14:26:00.003-04:00

I love my parents house. I love their little city. I love the south! I just got back from a week of hanging out with my friends and parents, making some super cute skirts, and watching a lot of movies. I don't have a whole lot else to say. I am back here with Casey and we have a little less than 3 weeks before we head back to school. The sales reps are still doing really well so Casey is happy about that, but he is ready to head back to school too. We are both just done with being here.

So long summer, hello having something productive to do!

5 Weeks Left

2010-07-24T22:48:00.002-04:00

We have had some interesting things happen in the past little while. My car decided to have the same issue for the second time this year. Cylinder 2 was misfiring and we would have had to replace the cylinder head. Since we are poor young married college students, we decided to just sell it. We got 700 for it which is more than I hoped for considering the issue. I was not sad to see it go. I really hated that car for most of the time I had it. It was nothing but trouble for me. So we are down to one car and will have to get a uhaul to get our stuff back, but it is cheaper than replacing an cylinder head.

Thing number 2 was Casey's birthday celebration. We had it yesterday so that Casey could work today and get more jobs. We went to Cempazuchi, a Mexican restaurant here in Milwaukee, and it was wonderful. Casey wanted to go because Guy Fieri ate there. Y'all should Youtube it and check it out. After that we went and looked at TVs at Target. When we get the backend check we are going to buy a nice big flat-screen. Well... big for me is smaller than most people would consider big, but anyway that isn't important. After that we wandered around Barnes and Noble for a bit and then headed over to German Fest. We ate good food, listened to some excellent German music, and watched a live Glockenspiel just to name a few things. It was very fun. Casey thoroughly enjoyed himself and so did I.

The final thing is that I get to go to my parents for a week in August. I am really looking forward to seeing my parents and friends. And then less than a month after I come back to WI we will be heading home! That is about it for now from us.

At Long Last

2010-06-29T21:53:00.003-04:00

After far too long, I am updating my blog. Life has been pretty eventful since my last post. We went to Disney World with Mariel and Erik and my mom. It was awesome! I would post pictures, but I don;t have any. We spent the first day at Magic Kingdom. I loved it! I have been to Disneyland, but this was so much better than that. We walked all over and rode tons of rides. The lines were pretty short so we didn't have to wait around. It was sweet. The best part of the day was meeting Belle. She is my favorite Disney princess by far. The fireworks over the castle were just amazing. When they told us to "have a magical day" at the front gate, they meant it.

Day 2 was EPCOT. It was nice to go on rides that involved sitting. Casey and I rode Spaceship Earth 3 times in 3 different languages. English, Spanish, and German. Yeah, we are nerds. Soarin' was probably my favorite ride. It was amazing! I felt like I was going to get my feet wet in ocean. It was crazy! The firework/laser show was ok, I liked the one at Magic Kingdom better. I wish we could have spent more time at the World's Showcase, but one day is just not enough.

The last day we went to Hollywood Studios. It rained like crazy pretty much all day. I would have to say that my favorite ride was the Rockin' Roller Coaster, although the Tower of Terror is a close second. We were pretty much soaked the entire time. It was great!! There were hardly any people there and that made it all the better. We left before the laser and fireworks because they weren't sure if they were going to happen.

The Orlando Temple was the last thing we did on Spring Break. It is really beautiful. It was the first time I had been to the Temple with my mom since my wedding. After that we drove back to GA then to VA. School ended on a high note since we both got good grades.

Right after school got out we came out here to WI. APX "forgot" that Casey was married so we lived in an extended stay hotel for 5 weeks. We finally got into our apartment and I love it! It is fantastic! I am much happier here in WI now that I am not in that dumb hotel.

On the 19th we had our final open house. Linda took care of everything which was really nice. After the open house, Casey flew back to WI and I drove down to school for the week. It was a simultaneously good and kinda crappy week. I locked my keys in my car, there was lots of wedding drama(my friend Ann's wedding was Saturday), and I really missed my husband. Girl's night, shopping, swimming, and hanging out with friends made it bearable.

That is it for now. I hope you enjoyed this lengthy installment of our lives.

Disney Here We Come!

2010-02-26T22:19:00.002-05:00

We are going to Disney World for spring break! I can hardly wait. I have never been to Disney World, but Casey has. I have been to Disney Land though so I am pretty excited to have both on my list of places I've been.

On a completely unrelated note, my dad should be home for good before his birthday, which is the 31st of next month. I am so glad that he will be home so soon. My mom is way past ready for him to get back. So that means... bum buh BUM!

Wedding Open House in PTC! We will have it on the 24th of April. We don't have a location yet, but my mom is on that like white on rice. I might update more about that as the time draws closer. I am actually really looking forward to it.

That's really all the exciting news in our lives. Love to all,

The Adams

Wisconsin?

2010-02-16T14:01:00.002-05:00

So, we will most likely be in Wisconsin for Casey's job this summer. He is working for APX alarm systems again. I hope we will be near my cousin, but it all depends on where the sales are good.

Some very exciting news! I saw grass today!!! The snow may be abating at last! No more cold, wet toes. Also, I will be able to get my car registered in VA to go along with my eventually change in residency. I need to get on that eventually. I have stuff filled out and all that. I just need to go to the DMV and do it. Blech!

On another pleasant note, Professor Himes gave me a great complement by saying that I am excelling at monotypes in printmaking. I will get pictures up on facebook eventually. Other than that life is pretty average. I love my hubby and that is all that really matters!

More Snow

2010-01-31T09:48:00.002-05:00

We got at least a foot more snow yesterday. Casey, Kory, Rachael, and I went sledding. I wish I had pictures of Casey's spectacular wipeouts. He is so cute. We had lots of fun and then celebrated our friend Brigham's birthday here at our apartment. It was great to have people over. The apartment is perfect for parties, except for the slightly weird location. That's all for now.

21 years or 2 months

2010-01-24T20:47:00.002-05:00

So today was my 21st birthday. It was pretty uneventful, but nice. Got up, went to church, made some bread and a cake, and then hung out with some friends for a while. The good stuff was yesterday. Casey, Kory, Rachael, and I drove up to the Temple and did some sealings. It was wonderful. I wish I could live down the street from the Temple so I could go there all the time.

After the Temple we went back down to Mo's house to see her and steal her away to the Terra Cotta Warrior exhibit in DC. Sadly, it was sold out. We went back to Mo's and had dinner. It was wonderful! Then the four of us headed back home. We made a quick stop at Casey's parent's for some strawberry cake with yummy whipped cream frosting; my fave! We finally dragged our butts to bed at midnight, but that was an awesome birthday eve.

Casey and I have been married for 2 months now. It is great. We don't fight or really get very mad at each other at all. People keep saying it will happen, but I don't think so.

Our honeymoon cruise was AMAZING!!! We had so much fun, ate way too much food, and spent far too much money, but in the end I wouldn't trade it for anything! We went to Progreso and Cozumel Mexico. I liked Progreso better because we got to go see the Dzibilchaltun ruins. We climbed all over the stones and took lots of pictures. Cozumel was too windy for us to do anything on the beach trip, but I did some reading and Casey napped. On the ship, Casey was in the Hairy Chest Competition. Very funny. He lost, but I still think he is very hairy and fun. He also competed in one of the game show things they had... and lost. We played giant chess and Chinese checker too. It was just wonderful.

School is going well so far. We are both keeping up with our classes and trying to keep sane. We will see how that goes when midterms get here.

That is all for the Adams family *snap snap* for now,

<3

Marital Bliss

2009-12-19T08:43:00.003-05:00

We are loving married life. I sit and write this as the snow outside piles up on our porch and everywhere else. So far we have at least a foot, most likely far more than that. Anyway, back to married life.

We just finished finals. Our Christmas break will be simultaneously relaxing and busy. Lots of time with Casey's family and some time with my mom, then our cruise. I am really excited to go with Casey. It has been 4 years since my last and only cruise. Casey has never been. It will be a great honeymoon.

Life is just wonderful! Our apartment is Christmasy, presents are under the tree, and our fireplace dvd helps us think we are warm in this chilly basement. Maybe I should make something in the oven =P

Here We Go

2009-11-25T15:53:00.002-05:00

So we are now officially sealed together for time and all eternity! Yesterday was exhausting and we were very glad to be home at the end of it.

We got to the temple at 8:30ish for me to go through and we were sealed at 12:30. It was so wonderful! Words cannot fully express how amazing the gospel is. I am so grateful for everything that I have been able to learn and do.

We were 45 mins late to our reception, but it was great. The food was wonderful and everything was just awesome. Mariel got some wonderful pictures and I can't wait to see them.

Today we are just relaxing, opening presents, and unpacking my stuff. The apartment is a mess right now, but it will get better =).

That is all for now, thanks to all who came and saw us sealed, came to the reception, and especially everyone who prayed for my dad to be home!

So close!

2009-11-19T15:32:00.002-05:00

My dad is home!!!! He got to the ATL airport at about 7 this morning! I can't express how grateful I am for prayer and the people who have kept us in theirs! Wow... talk about tender mercies of the Lord.

Everything is in place and we are moving forth with the wedding. So, on Tuesday I will shed my single status and enter the ranks of the married women.

This past Tuesday I met with the stake president and he signed my wonderful shiny (not really) new temple recommend. I am so thrilled to get to go to the temple I can hardly stand it!

Life is good.

No!

Life is great!

No!

Life is AMAZING!

Single Digits

2009-11-15T14:41:00.002-05:00

We are down to the wire here. Everything is in place, my dad is on his way home, the wedding stuff is pretty much all taken care of, and I am pretty much keeping up with my schoolwork.

I discovered today that it takes me about almost 2 full hours to do my hair. An hour and 10 mins of that are just curling it! Thank goodness I will have help. With 2 curling irons going it should g much faster.

Who would have thought that everything could fall into place so quickly. It seems like time has been non-existent lately. People say how long it seems to take right before you get married. I have discovered that the days are long, but they pass faster than I would have ever thought possible. So, soon Casey and I will be sealed together for time and all eternity. I can't wait.

Wow!

2009-11-08T14:49:00.002-05:00

I had my temple recommend appointment with my bishop today. I am so excited I can hardly stand it! I get to go to the temple and be able to have all the blessings of the temple. To quote Pride and Prejudice: "It is too much! It is too much! I wish that everyone could be as happy as I am!"

Cake is taken care of and that was the last thing other than getting my train bustled that was on my list. Done done done! Now I just have to wait... ugh.

19 days and Counting

2009-11-05T21:28:00.000-05:00

Flowers: Check!

All I need to take care of is the cake! Sweet... no pun intended.

So Little Time

2009-11-02T13:05:00.003-05:00

We have 22 days left and I am in a scramble. I went down to GA to pick up my dress over the weekend. It is amazing!!! I would post pictures, but well... Casey reads this blog too. It is so beautiful. I have the caterer all taken care of, the reception site is booked, I have a DJ, a photographer, the invitations are sent, and I just have to take care of cake and flowers.

Keeping up the schoolwork and wedding plans is getting pretty stressful, but I am keeping it together. Casey and I are going to pick out a tux today and then I am heading back here to school for more non-stop homework. Oy... it will all be here faster than I can blink.

The Plans are Raging On

2009-10-20T11:37:00.002-04:00

That's right. Raging!

I have a reception location, I am meeting with the caterer on Friday, and I am working on ordering things that I will need from the interwebs. Life is going about a million mile an hour right now and that is all I really have time to write.

drumroll

2009-10-18T15:14:00.002-04:00

So it looks like we will be able to be sealed on the 24th of November!!! I am so excited I can hardly stand it. I am rapidly making plans for a small reception here near SVU and then we will have two open house in May when my dad gets home. My dad is scheduled to have leave starting the 17th and should get to GA within 4 or 5 days.

So far, I have a DJ that is on standby for a location. The reception space is in the process of being reserved. I am going to check it out tomorrow. This week I am going to call the Temple and schedule my endowment session and the sealing. They are going to be on the same day. Yes, I know I am crazy... but I have no choice.

I met with my bishop today and we talked about plans and such. I am going to have my interview for my temple recommend around the 10th and then I will meet with the stake president within a few days of that. I was able to go do baptisms on the 13th of this month and it was amazing! I love knowing that I am worthy to go to the temple. It is pretty much one of the best feelings in the world.

Now that the wedding plans are underway I will try to keep this thing updated, but since everything is happening so fast it may be spotty. So far so good... just 37 days left!

Let Them Eat Cake

2009-09-13T14:01:00.002-04:00

So I am bored and looking at wedding cakes online. There is one that I really like, but I am not on my laptop so I can't save the link...

So this one would have sage green fondant ribbon and dark purple calla lilies instead of being white.

This cake is a similar deal as the one above... sage green satin ribbon, purple gum paste calla lilies. Oh... and no gum paste dots. I think they are tacky.

So there is my boredom.

It'sGood to Be Back

2009-09-10T08:58:00.002-04:00

Casey and I are finally back at school... still not married, but back at school. I am taking some pretty fun classes.

Spanish 101: yes, I am taking another language class. I thought it might be 'fun' to take it so Casey and I can talk to each other in 3 languages, English, Spanish, and German. He is taking German. To continue:

Intro to Business: I am a Business minor now. I thought it would be a good idea to have a little business background to go with my Art major.

Intro to Printmaking: I love art classes! They make my life happy and slightly less stressful.

Ballet: I have to take Phys. Ed. classes to graduate. This means I have to find classes that don't involve a lot of running. Also, I love love love ballet! I have always wanted to be serious about ballet, but I am not flexible. Alas...

Bookmaking: This is a great class so far! I am loving it! Again, art classes are wonderful.

Institute: I am in the Life and Letters of Paul class. It seems pretty good so far, but I don't know how it will be. It only meets once a week, so I haven't had a good taste of it so far.

Those are my classes. I am pleased with how things are going so far this semester.

Change in Color

2009-08-15T10:45:00.003-04:00

Our colors are now Sage Green and Plum...

I want to use these flowers

Ascari Mini Calla Lilies

Aren't they gorgeous?
I'm thinking something like this for a bouquet.

not sure about the peacock feathers, but I love the idea of this bouquet.

Chapter 2: The Proposal...

2009-08-13T01:50:00.003-04:00

All this time i had been cunningly telling rachel i was having a hard time finding a ring...not too much to be obvious i was just stalling with the real one, but enough, and in different ways, that she actually believed me.

So my long time (as in since probably march or april) idea was that on my birthday i would, at some point, try to get kinda saddened and talk about how epic my birthday had been, but it just wasnt quite enough, that i wanted something more...then would bust out the ring and say something simple, i never got it concrete.

Well the big day came and i made my claim "oh dont take away the baby they"....oh, wait...thats another story, nevermind, anyway...Mamma Stacey thought it would be a great idea to propose at the restaurant we were going to have dinner at, which could have been nice. i thought, though, "you know, i proposed once in mass public, i kinda wanna do this in a more casual, intimate, but still romantic setting"...which meant her house...as at one point i was gonna do it in the car or while we were shopping, i had a few times i thought one thing or another would be really good and i was gonna go on the fly, but i decided i really just wanted to do it at her house.

We were at her house, about to leave to go...somewhere....im pretty sure it was dinner...and i couldnt wait anymore. i already knew no matter what i wouldnt really be able to pull of "slightly saddened at something i didnt get" because i was too doggone excited. i pulled her outside into the hall and started trying to get out something to the effect of "this birthday really has been the best birthday ever, but there's still one thing i really wanted...but you're a classy...no, er...um...traditional kinda girl and so i knew you wouldnt get it for me, so i went ahead and got it..." i already dont remember if i tried to say anything else, or if i mentally said "screw it" and got on one knee and asked her if she'd marry me.

I dont remember -exactly- what all happened after that, except that there were some tears (of joy), some hugging, some kissing, and a "yes" thrown in there somewhere in the beginning.
Between an excellent day of great food, shopping, bowling, getting a Martin acoustic guitar, all from/with my honey, and having her re-accept to be sealed to me for eternity with what is -her- ring (and not a borrowed one), it really was the absolute best birthday i've ever had in my life.

Fin. :-P

Chapter 1: The Ring...

2009-08-13T00:50:00.005-04:00

So, I've been lovingly nudged a few times in the short ribs to post the story of the real ring/proposal. someday i may add a few details to the original proposal story...but seeing as how this one trumps it, maybe not :-). I apologize in advance for how wordy I get.

Way back in the day when we were still new at the "hey, we're actually gonna get married somday" game, Rachel and I were online looking at rings on zales.com. at first it was a "I like this kind of stone, i dont like this kind, that kind fo band is nice"...but it ended up as one ring, an "I want -that- one" kind of thing...

fast forward a long time. i had back and forth debated on whether or not to get that ring as rachel had many times suggested other possible rings, but more than once enforced that that one was still her all-time favorite. I found out the band she wanted happened to be one of the ones you could get online without the stone. I ordered it July 2nd. since it was a "special order item" it said allow 3-4 weeks delivery but i went ahead and ordered it 2nd day ground. i was hoping to propose on my birthday...

well, sure enough i thought it should have been shipped a lot earlier than it was and was getting really worried it wouldnt get here in time. I do believe it was monday the 20th (my birthday is the 24th) that the ring showed up at my apartment door in alabama. i was as giddy as a little school girl...now, i should have ordered the stone a lot sooner but i had figured id wait for the ring...well, i ordered the stone online next day air or something...but found out that they -had- to ship it to my billing address, which is -not- alabama...so i cancelled that order and started frantically searching for some local jewelers.

I found one and the guy said he could have the stone ordered wednesday and it would come in thursday afternoon and it would take about an hour or so to fit it in the setting. this would work great but there was a chance id already be working by then and not be able to come in...i was cutting it close, really worried id have to come up with some non-birthday proposal...
Thursday morning the guy called me and said the shipment came in early. i got there not too long after, gave him the ring, and before i got my first job for the day was able to get the ring, the -day- before my birthday. if i was giddy when i got the band alone, i was super-duper giddy to have the whole thing, and know i didnt have to wait terribly long to propose...

To Be Continued...

Random Sidenote!

2009-08-11T09:34:00.003-04:00

How did I forget to post that I got a new car?

There she is. No name yet, but it will come.

Another totally unrelated tangent, I saw Julie and Julia yesterday. So, of course, I am going to blog about it. I didn't really care all that much about Julie Powell the blogger, but Julia Child has been one of my favorite famous women for a long time. I watched her on PBS back before we even had cable. Her relationship with her husband was so beautiful. You could tell that she tried so hard to be happy with her life, but it was still hard sometimes. Her desire to have kids and not being able to was heart-wrenching. The scene that touched me the most was thus:
Julia receives a letter from her sister saying that she, the sister, is pregnant. This causes Julia to sit down and begin to cry. Her husband asks what it is and when she says she is so happy for her sister you can feel the pain in her voice. That expression of emotion is exactly how I am feeling about my current predicament wedding wise. I am truly thrilled for all my friends that are getting to have the wonderful blessing of being sealed in the temple, but every time I think about it... it is really hard. I guess I always thought that everything would be sunshine and daisies when I was getting ready to be sealed... boy was I wrong.

For some reason, I thought this would be easy. It isn't. This is one of the hardest things I have ever experienced. I don't know if I have ever felt such deep emotional pain and turmoil in my life. I know that Heavenly Father understands my sacrifice, but that doesn't make it any easier. He does however send little blessings to my life. For example, a (former) co-worker of mine was getting rid of a couch and asked if anyone at work needed it. I said I would love to take it.

So when Casey and I finally get married we will have a pretty much new couch bed...

An end table...

And a kitchen table with four chairs! This is not including the bed and dresser that my parents are giving us. Also, Casey has a loveseat that we will get. We won't be starting out as totally poor college students who need furniture. I am so grateful for wonderful people in my life, and there are so many!

MINE!!!

2009-07-25T12:34:00.003-04:00

I have my ring!!! Casey is amazing! That is all that really needed to be said!

In Loving Memory

2009-07-21T19:44:00.001-04:00

I forgot to post this a while back...

In honor of Halpert, the 2001, Dark Gray Saturn SL1:

Though his body will be picked to the frame by needy car owners, his spirit will always remain with us.

I owned Halpert from the Summer of 2007 until July 17, 2009. He was a ghetto car... especially at first. No door panels, loud exhaust, and some other things led my dad and I to the junk yard in search of scraps. We found a dome light, a spare tire, and even a few interior upholstered things to make Halpert more presentable. There was still one door without a panel and no cigarette lighter in the end, but he was a good little car.

I got my license and drove Halpert up to SVU within the same week. He shuttled me back and forth to and from campus, Walmart, home, and any where else. We paid more for a new transmission than for the car itself when the transmission went out.

Halpert ran well and got great gas mileage until July 2, 2009. As I drove home from work with a co-worker behind me, I had to stop behind a man who was turning across traffic. I was hit from behind. I and my co-worker were, and are, ok, but Halpert did not fare so well. His trunk was a mess. He was towed to a shop here in PTC and they began to assess the damage. It would have cost more to fix the car then the cost of the car and what we paid for the new transmission.

I received a phone call on the 14th that State Farm would be declaring my car a total loss. On the 15th I went to the shop and cleaned out what remained of my belongings in the car. That was difficult. We drove away from Halpert for the last time. Today, at 12:00pm I signed my name on the title of my car and the State Farm agent took it. I no longer own Halpert. This note is a way for me to let out the emotions that I am feeling over the loss of my first car.

Halpert never disappointed me. He was a good car. My friends and I would make fun of him and yet we loved him anyway. So many good memories...

A Little Ray of Sunshine

2009-07-13T09:36:00.002-04:00

I got a new phone! It is totally awesome. It is the LG Env2... basically the greatest phone known to man. Anyway, so that is my happy thing. I also got a rental car last Thursday which helps a lot! It is a new Pontiac Vibe. I would not recommend the car based on the fact that I can hardly see anything when I am backing up. Talk about blind spots!

I was able to go and get the last thing that I need for Casey's birthday on the 24th. I am so excited I can hardly stand it. It is going to his best birthday ever. And of course, last but certainly not least...

HARRY POTTER ON TUESDAY!!! WOOOOOO!!!

One More Crisis

2009-07-03T09:00:00.004-04:00

So yesterday I got in my first real car accident. I mean, I tapped the back of my mom's car once and messed up her paint job. Anyway, yesterday after work I was driving home there was a guy who had to stop to wait to turn onto a side street off of highway 16. So, my co-worker Kendall was driving behind me and didn't realize that I had come to a full stop. She was going probably 35-40mph when she hit my trunk. I started to move forward as much as I could once the guy turned, but there was nothing we could have done. I smacked my head on the headrest, but other than that I am fine and so is she.

Her Jeep fared pretty well. It has some minor scratches on the front bumper. My car on the other hand...

I couldn't drive it home because the tire was rubbing the frame on the driver's side. We had to have it towed. It is sitting in my driveway and it makes me sad. We can't get the fixing started until Monday what with the 4th of July coming right up. Kendall will be picking me up for work in the mornings, but it sucks to not have a car again.

I just really wish Casey was here. It would help me deal with this a lot better. I didn't realize how bad my car was until we got back to it on the side of the road to give the keys to the tow truck man. That was when I actually started to let myself be upset about it. I am doing ok now... I am a bit sore, but it is alright and not unexpected.

wow....

2009-06-25T04:15:00.000-04:00

that was -really- long for being filled mostly with unimportant ramblings about my life...oh well, gnight!

-Me

And now, for something completely different:

2009-06-25T03:44:00.000-04:00

A post from me. its late, really late...its about the time ive been going to bed the past few nights, only this time its not because ive been staying up reading Harry Potter like a recent addict...which shouldnt really be seen as a simile i guess, since i -am- a fairly recent addict...i've been working to read through at least book 6 by the time the 6th movie comes out so that rachel and i can go see the midnight showing together. i just finished book 5 after having read just over 500 pages of it in 2 days...for me that is totally epic like you wouldnt believe to be reading that many pages of -anything- in 2 days... :-P

tonight, however, im just up this late because i dont get on the computer very much anymore. i got back to my apartment around midnight and thought "huh, i think i'll get on the computer for a bit before i go to bed", and now its 2:45 in the AM...

Anywho, things are goin pretty well, all things considered. I've been installing security systems for APX alarm this summer. no, you dont have to be a dishonest scumbag to -install- the systems, just to sell them...all the same, leaving out information here and there certainly has its place. case and point about the sales reps: i almost had to take down a system i had just barely put up because we (data entry and I) found out the the credit for the account was run on the customer's deceased brother......now apparently this is not nearly as common as i thought it was, pretty rare, actually...but still.

i'm mostly babbling right now with no real form or reason as to my paragraph structure. but since i never really post anything, i figured someone out there might be remotely interested in my goings-on, er, going-ons...interested in what's going on in my life. anyway, i was installing for about a month in albany, GA (pronounced al *bay* knee by the true locals) and for the rest of the summer i'll probably be where i'm at now, in montgomery, AL.

its been fun. its been incredibly frustrating at times. i have completely broken down once or twice (out of the view of the customer, of course) for how i couldnt get something to work or how i was ruining someone's house...but with anything, you have your ups and downs. i have plenty if stories, but none worth randomly sharing on a blog without some kind of reason to share it i suppose.

I go to Rachel's house every other weekend. its always the highlite of my...fortnights...after two weeks at a time of not being able to see her, hold her, or kiss her, it always feels nice to remember what its like to have a fiancee you love with all of your heart. her mom, of course, is always there and she is a blast as well. i honestly couldnt ask for better (future) in-laws. if you pardon my attempt at explaining it, its not like hanging out with rachel and her mom, its like hanging out with rachel and a mutual friend that i met through rachel and happen to not have known for nearly as long. i feel i have a healthy respect/fear of her dad. knowing that he really isnt nearly as intimidating as he might seem, but all the while still knowing that he decides whether or not i get to stay alive...its a good balance, id say...

er, not wanting my comments about rachel to be outdone by my comments about her mom/parents, i end, sappily, this way: I -really- need to get to bed as, afterall, in 3.5 hours ill be waking back up to text/talk to the most beautiful, wonderful, amazing woman that i know.

-Me

I Should Update On Wedding Stuff

2009-06-23T18:13:00.002-04:00

but there is nothing to update. Here is a quick update on my dad.

He flew up to Indiana on Friday. On Monday he left and flew to Bangor, Maine. After that, he got to fly to Shannon, Ireland, but didn't get to leave the airport for long (he got fish and chips). Then he heads to Bucharest, Romania and then to Kazakhstan for a few days. Those are the only things I really know right now.

Thats about it. I thought you might want to know.

...And There It Goes

2009-06-19T15:43:00.001-04:00

My dad left today. He will be in Indiana until Monday and then he heads to Afghanistan. He will be in a tent with no way of contacting us for the first little while that he is there. This sucks. I feel blank.

So Here It Is

2009-06-13T23:00:00.004-04:00

I am going to complain about my life in this post. I am warning you all before you continue reading.

I hate my life right now. The only thing that is keeping me from curling up in a ball and ceasing to care about anything is the people who care about me. It just hit me about 20 minutes ago that my dad is leaving in like 5 days. He will be gone for a year. So for a year I have to deal with my dad being gone, not being able to get married until next year, and did I mention my dad being gone for a year with no leave?? I read things that my other friends are going through with their wedding planning and how hard it is to wait for a few months without their significant other before the big day. Guess what folks, I get to feel that for a freaking year! It must be really hard to be getting married over the summer, finding an apartment, and being sealed to the man you love for eternity when you want to.

My life is hard right now and even though I know it will all be fine a few years down the road when I am sealed to Casey it will all be ok. Right now though, every time we get a wedding announcement in the mail, every time I read someone's wedding plans, and especially when I see the young married couples in my ward I want to cry. It just isn't fair that the military gets to interfere in my life once again. And it isn't even like my dad is in a high enough position to ask for time off for my wedding. This just sucks.

I am not mad at any of my friends who are having minor issues with wedding planning, I am not mad at my dad or the military, I am mad at the situation and how much it sucks. Ok.... I'm done now. I hope I haven't offended anyone.

Keeping My Head Above Water

2009-06-06T11:57:00.002-04:00

This has been a pretty rough week for me emotionally. I am working through a lot of residual issue and such, but I think that I will be mostly ok soon. My life is moving forward: working, cleaning, talking to my wonderful fiance, reading, being creative, and everything else. All things considered I am doing better than I could be.

On the wedding front: we ordered my wedding and temple dresses last Saturday! I am really excited about that. I can't wait to try on my very own dress... it is gonna be amazing! We have to wait for the order to get here and all that, but its not like I don't have time. Other than the dresses, the wedding planning has essentially come to a full and complete stop. Not having any clue when the date will be makes it hard to do any planning.

On the family front: my dad comes home for 10 days starting Monday! It will be wonderful to see him. He and my mom are going on a cruise for a few days, so I will be alone int he house again. I hate that. Oh well, my mom gets home from trek today and Casey will be here this weekend. I took Monday off of work so I can spend some time with my dad, mom, and Casey (until he heads back to work). It is going to be a good weekend.

Well that is it from me for now. Much love to all of my wonderful and supportive followers =). It really helps.

<3 Rachel

One Major Hitch Before We Get Hitched

2009-05-30T11:27:00.002-04:00

So I found out this morning that my dad may not get any R&R. This would mean that if he was able to come to a conference in Charlottesville and if the military doesn't decide to change it to a video tele-conference instead then that would be the first week of December. Apparently, the wedding of your only daughter is not a good enough reason to try and fly out of Afghanistan. I am not mad at my dad... I am really upset with the situation. It is really hard to watch all my friends who are getting married with what seem like very few and very small issues and I have no idea when I will even be getting married.

I am really struggling with this and no one outside the situation understands how I am feeling. As much as I love everyone who has and will offer support, this is a situation that I don't think any of them truly understand. It totally sucks... I just want to cry. There is a real possibility that I won't be getting married until next April or May when my dad finally gets home. If that is the case, I will not be attending school in the spring and possibly the fall either. I am really upset about this and I just need to let it out.

I just kinda wish that everything could be easy. I'm just lucky that I have such a wonderful man in my life to help me deal with this. I sure do love him.

Workin' the 9-5

2009-05-21T07:41:00.001-04:00

I GOT A JOB!!! I start work today at 9 at dum dum da dummmmmm Prima Music. It is a company that distributes sheet music and books to music teachers, school, etc. I am basically going to be doing inventory, but it is 40 hours a week and 7.50 an hour! That is a buck an hour more than I made last summer so WOO! Life is good. Anyway, I need to ge pack myself some lunch and eat some breakfast. But WOO I have a job!!!

heidy ho

2009-05-18T10:39:00.002-04:00

so, Rachel gave me her password a while ago so that I could randomly post from time to time...well, she event went as far as to make me co-author and i -still- havent posted...til now of course...hi all, this is me. i have absolutely nothing worthwhile to say at the moment except that i'm totally excited to get married to the most wonderful woman i've ever met.
as a side note, im in georgia/alabama installing security systems for APX. its an alright gig so far, it should pick up soon though. see ya!
-Me

General Update

2009-05-14T13:16:00.002-04:00

Just a general, non-wedding update. I have a job interview with Prima Music. I am pretty excited. I hope that it works out. Anything is better than the Daycare center...

Invites

2009-05-12T13:28:00.002-04:00

I think I have an idea for what invitations we are going to use. Unfortunately I can't do anything with that idea until I know whether or not we really will be getting married on the 21st of November. As of right now it looks good, but we will see. The military likes to throw curve balls at my family. Anyway, back to the invites... here they are. Obviously they will have our pics and colors that match ours better. But yeah, I like these ones better than the ones I wanted before (which incidentally are being used by Darla and Chase.) I guess everything works out for the best.

Cats and Dogs Living Together... Mass Hysteria!

2009-05-08T20:32:00.001-04:00

So I added Casey to the list of authors on this blog. He will now be able to post whatever and whenever he wants. Let the chaos begin. Just kidding sweetie.

Ring 1 Engagement Pictures

2009-05-06T13:01:00.000-04:00

When we went up to the Temple on the 24th to do baptisms, Mariel took some pics for us. I am calling them the engagement phase 1 pics. Here are a few of them for ya.

She is definitely going to do our official pictures. We have to wait on my "real" ring before we can do that though =).

If You Are Planning a Wedding...

2009-05-06T12:07:00.000-04:00

You must get this book! It is excellent. I have found a bunch of ideas to save money on my wedding. Just my personal recommendation.I have an older edition and the only difference is that you can tell that it is a little dated =P. Oh well, it is all good. I think it would be an excellent investment for all my fellow wedding planning women =).

Flowers Flower Everywhere...

2009-04-28T09:24:00.000-04:00

So I have an idea for what I want as my bouquet. I found a picture and absolutely love it! Anyway here it is.

It is red roses, Seeded eucalyptus, and hypericum berries.

Registration

2009-04-20T14:46:00.000-04:00

Casey and I went with Chase and Darla to Roanoke and registered at Target and Bed, Bath, and Beyond. We are also registered at Amazon.com. We were in Roanoke forever! My feet and lower back hurt so bad after we were done.

We went to Target first and registered for everyday dishes and some other fun stuff. We traded scanners with the Chase and Darla and scanned something random. It was hilarious. After that we went to Olive Garden and ate yummy food. Calamari, salad, bread sticks, Zuppa Toscana, and Chicken and Gnocchi soup. It was all so good.

Our next stop was Bed, Bath, and Beyond. By that point Casey and I were a bit tired. It got progressively worse as we walked through the store. The scanners at Target were much better. After a little while, we both started getting really tired and sore. We put pretty much everything on our list onto the registry. There are a few more things that we need to put on there, but it is ok, it will get done.

That is all for now!

Quick Bridesmaid Update

2009-04-08T10:07:00.000-04:00

I have a picture of the capes. They will be white. I'm not sure if they will have the muff or not. It all depends on cost ;-).

My mom will be making these, so don't worry about buying them.

Let the Planning Commence!

2009-04-07T14:30:00.000-04:00

I am so bad about updating these things!

Short update: I am engaged!!!

Long update:
Casey and I decided a while back that we wanted to get married. The only problem was timing and money.
Timing: With Dad leaving for Afghanistan in late June we had a quandary. November felt right, but we had to make sure that it would be kosher with the Army. We still have no definite word on that, but we should know when dad gets there.
Money: Casey has none. No money = no ring. The only reason that we were not engaged before now is because I did not have a ring. We decided that we could wait until the summer for it to be official.

The Story:
March is the month of proposals here at SVU. Mariel and Erik got engaged on the 20th and Darla and Chase got engaged on the 21st. I was feeling pretty crappy at that point. It was obnoxious to me that all of them could wear shiny rings and plan stuff while I felt left out and anxious for my own. I, of course, expressed these frustrations to Casey. He in turn talked to Kory and Rachael about his own frustrations. They told him that they thought we deserved to be engaged just as much as anyone. This lead to a fun little idea.

He asked me if I was ok with a borrowed ring until he could buy me one. I told him that I was ok with waiting, but to use his best judgment. He decided to take the ring from Kory and Rachael so that he could give it to me. I knew that he had the ring, but I had no idea when or how he would propose.

There was a dance on the 27th of March. Casey had rehearsal before the dance and I went down with my amazing roommate Mo! We danced for a bit and then he got out of rehearsal. About halfway through the dance our song, She's Got a Way by Billy Joel, came on and we started dancing. He sang a little bit to me. He was shaking pretty bad and I figured that he was about to propose. When he got down on one knee in the middle of the dance floor I was still totally taken by surprise. "Rachel, will you marry me?" He said with the box in hand. I took the ring and hugged him. "Nothing would make me happier." was my response. I have never uttered a truer statement. We hugged and spun around for what seemed like forever. Finally I handed the ring back to him and said, "are you gonna put that thing on me or what?" He shakily slid the ring onto my finger and we hugged and kissed again.

After that everything is kind of a blur. Everyone was cheering, the DJ announced what had just happened, and 50 million people hugged me. Out in the hallway I called my mom and a few others. Liisa, my maid of honor, was really happy to hear that it was finally official. After a few pictures, a bunch of us left to go to Leehi's. It was so great. I still can't believe that I am engaged!

So again, we are planning on November 21. We will be getting married in the Washington DC Temple. There will be two receptions, one in Northern Virginia and one in Georgia about a week later. Here is a little wedding info:

Colors: Cranberry and Sage

Registries: Target and Bed, Bath, and Beyond(nothing on them yet). We might also register at Amazon.com.

My Dress: Casey saw it before we started dating... oh well. The colored panel and sash will be sage green. I want a white, fur trimmed cape to wear out in the cold VA air.

Casey's outfit: Tux with a cranberry vest and tie.

Bridesmaid Dresses: They will be cranberry... that is all I know so far. I am also considering white capes with fur trimmed hoods for the bridesmaids too. These will be sewn by my mom.

Groomsmen: Tuxes with cranberry vests and ties.

That is about all I have for now.

Christmas Past and New Years Plans

2008-12-29T08:50:00.000-05:00

Happy late Christmas to all! It has been a crazy few days. The rest of my family is sick and I am trying to not get sick. I leave for BV tomorrow, which is a few days ahead of when I was planning originally, but I will talk about that later.

Christmas was wonderful! My dad had to put a bow on his head as he does every year. He is opening a gift from me. I made both my parents a mix cd. So yes, I put that huuuge bow on a slim cd case. I love to do silly things like that. Anywho, we ate waffles for breakfast and then go to the presents. It was good fun other than the fact that Bix felt like poo. Ah well, such is life I suppose. I had a pretty good haul from the parents and Bix this year. Bix gave me The Office season 3 and the rest is from the 'rents.
Good stuff this year. The books are all of Jane Austen's novels. I know, I know, I am a romantic but I am totally ok with that.
Dinner was standing rib-roast. It was crusted with rosemary and horseradish. So tasty and delicious. We also had stuffed mushrooms and spinach and apple salad with apple balsamic dressing and goat cheese.

My parents are silly and like to dance. They did this while dinner was cooking, so I took advantage of their momentary lapse in attention and took a few pictures.

For New Years Eve I am heading up to noVA. I am going to a party with a Casey and then we are going to stay at Mo's house. It should be a lot of fun! I am ready to go back up to BV and see the people that are there. I haven't spent nearly enough time with my now married friends and I am staying with two of them, so I am excited. Anyway, I have lots to do before I leave tomorrow!

My Hairs Be Cut

2008-12-23T10:47:00.000-05:00

So as you can see, I got my hairs cut! Yup, I said hairs. I am really happy with the change. It was long overdo in my opinion. Also, pay no attention to the ghost dad in the background. He didn't get out of the picture fast enough. I haven't had bangs since I was probably 12 or 13 so it is a little weird to see them when I look up.

My life is kind of boring. Alas! I wish I had some funny stories to tell everyone, but as it is I don't. I have been listening to the Lord of the Rings audio books. I don't really have time to read them before my Orson Scott Card class next semester, and this is a lot easier. I can't wait for that class. I mean seriously, C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien taught by Orson Scott Card! How could life get any better? I don't think it could. I am definitely going to have a full plate next semester, but I am ok with that. 17 credits and 2 institute classes. I am also going to try and get a job so that I have more money to take to England with me in July.

I can't wait to go back to England! It is one of my favorite places. That is what I have decided. After my trip in 2007 I can't get enough of England. Beauty, history, great fun. What more could you ask for? Not much... not much. I will be spending 3 glorious weeks there. We will be in London and then Oxford, but the Professor that is going with us will be letting us go other places as long as we go with other people and let him know first. On a small side note, I will be there when Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince comes out in theaters!!!! I am so excited that I don't even have words to express it!

That is about all I have to say for this post. I suppose my life is a bit more exciting than I thought.

Home!

2008-12-20T21:07:00.001-05:00

I got home a few hours ago. That drive just seems to get longer each time. 8 hours isn't too bad, but it still seems like it takes forever. Being home just feels so great. I love it. Good food, great company, comfy bed, and fuzzy cat. Good times.

Finals went well. So far, I have stellar grades this semester, but not all of them are posted. After my German final on Thursday I drove up to Northern Virginia with some friends to see a friend. She didn't end up getting there (after being in China for a semester) while we were there, but I had fun being in NOVA anyway.

One of my close friends and I ate the best sushi ever. Then we went to see my old house, followed by his old house. We used to live about 30 minutes away from each other and didn't even know it. Anyway, Casey and I met up with one of his good friends Grant and wandered around the mall for a while. Then we went to Grant's house and played Rock Band for a few hours. It was great fun. After that, we went to see Casey's Dad's bluegrass band play. That was super fun. Finally, we drove two hours to Casey's house to stay the night and head back to SVU in the morning. We left at about 8am and I picked up a friend and then dropped her off at the airport on the way home.

That is about it for me. Merry Christmas to all. I may post again on or after Christmas!

Finals Week

2008-12-14T15:50:00.000-05:00

Finals are here and it is time to start stressing. This time last year I was sitting in my room making crazy videos of my roommate and me trying to study. I actually feel pretty well prepared for my finals this semester compared to my first semester here.

My schedule for finals is nice and spread out:
Monday: 10am Astronomy
Tuesday: 10am America and the Enlightenment (A horrible combo of Philosophy and US History)
Wednesday: 7am Classics of Western Literature
Thursday: 1pm German
My other classes did not have finals, or if they did, they are already over. YAY!

Thursday is when I check out of my room for the break and head up to NOVA to see a friend who will be getting back from China soon. Then I drive back to good old GA on Saturday. I can't wait to get home. It is going to be a great break.