• I love not watching tv with my husband. Our tv is rarely on, and that makes me beam.
• I got a new cell phone. This one's gonna take me awhile to learn. It matches my purse, and that makes me happy.
• I'm reading classic older kids literature. Anne of Green Gables was first. Now it's Secret Garden. I can't wait to see the movie after I finish the book and see how it compares.
  
• I get to attend a special pizza party at school tomorrow. This should make my husband happy - one less lunch he has to make for me.
• Yes, my husband packs my lunch AND makes me breakfast every day. I am so lucky! Seriously, how did I get this lucky???!!!
• Christmas Break is almost here! Counting down to many good things!!
• We got our wedding pictures from our photographers last week - about 1,200 to absorb and remember and cherish. This makes me all mushy inside.
• In the last week, 3 friends have gotten engaged! It's so fun to celebrate with them and remember our engagement one year ago!

So many days I get tired of dealing with the kids (oh, by the way, I'm teaching now) who don't care for my help. They want the answers. Some don't even care about that.

I have to teach them to be grateful for my (or other teachers') help.

I also have to learn that I can't always help those students who don't want or aren't ready to admit their need for help from a more experienced, more educated person.

This morning one of our rough kids (yah, this kid likes to fight with ya, but I can tell deep down he's worth fighting for) was pleading for my help in math. He expected me to give him the answer, but I knew he had to learn it for himself. I taught him what he needed to do to figure out the problem and find the solution. Once he knew the answer was right he couldn't wait to get out of there.

Feeling used, I started pondering about which next student I can help who will actually hopefully, maybe appreciate it. All of the sudden, as he walked past me out the door, I heard him make a sound which echoed in my head, "Thank you!"

It literally took me a couple seconds to process it was so unexpected.

If I would have already moved on to the next student I probably wouldn't have heard it. I would have missed his expression of gratitude if I wasn't listening for it.

How many times do we run to our Father above hoping for a quick and easy answer and so often forget to express gratitude for His unending mercy, His patience, His guidance, His wisdom?

May we never forget to express our thankfulness, and may we shout it from the rooftops for the rest of the class to hear!

With that, I boldly express my gratitude this Thanksgiving season...

• my HUSBAND
• my husband's family
• my family
• our family
• our jobs
• our affordable and adorable apartment
• our two working cars
• the opportunity to serve others
• our health
• good, restful sleep
  
• our opportunities to travel
• Thanksgiving Break
• God's faithfulness
• God's patience
• my husband's patience
• coffee
• friends who travel life with you so much they become family
• new beginnings
• date nights
• starting new traditions
• sunny days
• the gift of salvation through no work of our own

Looking forward to being with family this week. Lots and lots of family. I am blessed.

I miss blogging. I hope to return to you soon. There's so much to update!

Going from single to married is certainly a big change. Surprisingly, though, it wasn't difficult to adapt.

The change coming up that will be a big adjustment is Josh returning to work. The downside of being done with school Memorial Weekend is starting school super early!

It's been soooo nice to have Josh home for the last month! It's all I've known, and I have gotten spoiled!

Every morning Josh sends me off with coffee and breakfast. That's after he daily helps me out of bed. Pretty soon the time we have been rolling out of bed is the time he will be at work!

Every afternoon I get to come home to Josh with my lunch ready!

The dishes get done, the laundry gets done, dinner gets made - all almost "magically".

We will have a whole new routine. I have promised I will resume working out Monday, Wednesday, and Friday mornings. I have to remind myself that's a good thing.

We will be sharing more household duties IE I will need to do some more of the laundry and dish washing.

We will both be working and both be exhausted by the end of the day. We'll need to go to bed earlier and get up earlier. Will we lose our social life?

I know I will look back fondly on our first magical month of marriage and will look forward to next summer!

Ahhh, life is good.

My husband brought me coffee in bed this morning. I get to enjoy it while I blog and listen to him getting ready in the bathroom.

I LOVE him so much!!!

Hello & Goodbye.

Just wanted to post in the midst of all the Wedding Weekend festivities a quick hello (things are busy, obviously) and a quick goodbye (I will be on honeymoon!).

It's great to have my closest family and friends all together to celebrate Josh's & my commitment to one another!

I couldn't be happier!

Today has been a great but exhausting day! We moved stuff of Josh & Jeremy's to Jeremy's new house, then stuff of Josh's to my brother & sis-in-law's, and then stuff of Josh's to our place.
We were SO blessed to not have the thunderstorms they were predicting!

Speaking of weather, we can now see our wedding day on the long-term forecast. Those things change sooooo much this far out, it's amusing to see them go from cloudy thunderstorms one moment, and then to perfect sunny, back to thunderstorms, and then back to sunshine all within a few hours.

I'm glad we don't need to worry about a back-up wedding or reception location in case of rain. However, we plan to take numerous photos outside all around downtown South Bend. If it's thunderstorming, we cannot do that. Also, if it's sunny and 85, we cannot do it either. I will die of the heat.

This girl is happy with 75 degrees, and that's about it. I just know that if we are outside longer than a minute, my dress will be soaked with sweat and all the makeup dripping off my face. Not pretty. It's something we will play by ear. We have a couple indoor locations, but I'm not sure how many will randomly be open on a Sunday holiday afternoon.

After the move today I was spent. All I could think about was sleep. Before I was even on my way home, I was planning out my nap. But instead I have a lovely telephone conversation with my friend Kate in Florida and then went to my friend Kris' to sample some of the desserts she is making for the reception. YUM! Seriously, if you're coming to my wedding, come hungry!

Oh, we will have so many fun fabulous things are the reception; I am so excited!!

We are transitioning "my apartment" to "our apartment". Rooms have been rearranged and repurposed. The guest bedroom is now our office. But we will still make room for a mattress during the wedding weekend. I promised my college roommates a place to sleep. There are random boxes and piles throughout the place, and I'm quite uncertain what happened to a lot of stuff. But we will adjust. We will organize and get situated over time, and I'm looking forward to doing that with Josh as we establish our first home together!

I've got to head out. I'm meeting mom & Jen for the final dress fitting! And I'm treating them to frappe's!

I'll try to post some pictures, as I realize it's been awhile since I've uploaded many.

"Wedding Stuff" has been the subject of most emails I send out lately. Emails to vendors, family, friends, attendants, Josh, our pastor...

We are getting married in 9 days, and I am thrilled! There is still much to do between now and then. I have been taking some time off work to get wedding stuff accomplished. Josh has been a tremendous help. My mom too; it's been fun to run all sorts of wedding errands with her, get her opinion on jewelry, dress options, etc. My brother and sister-in-law have been a huge help as well.

I'm excited for the big day! I'm excited to see close friends and family! I'm excited for the honeymoon! I'm excited to make a home with Josh!

We have been super blessed over the last 6 months and two days as we've planned the wedding. So many people are helping us, making sacrifices of time, money, energy, resources. We are incredibly grateful! We have received discounts on literally almost everything we have purchased. We are just amazed by all the help!

I've experienced a lot of stress here and there, but I've given it all away this week. My awesome wedding coordinator is taking care of everything that was causing me stress. We are so blessed!

Tomorrow is moving day. A lot of Josh's stuff is already at our place; he's been working so hard and bringing boxes over for the past couple weeks. Part of his furniture will go to his brother Jeremy's house, and part will go to our place. I'm praying for nice weather. We've had insane thunderstorms the last week. One this week I actually had to take shelter in the basement. I haven't done that since I was high school aged!

Well, much to do that I'd better return to! I just wanted to post real quickly since I've been MIA lately. If you need more blogs to tide you over in my absence, you can always check out Josh's posts here. I love reading his thoughts, and I think you will too. Enjoy!

Things have been ...

a) busy
b) overwhelming
c) stressful
d) exciting
e) all of the above.

Answer: E

I'm behind on blogs. Behind on reading lots of them. Behind on writing lots as well.

My sweetie has actually been the better blogger lately, which is pretty impressive. I love reading his blogs, so of course he gets a shout-out.

He and I were just talking earlier (was it today? Wow, it's been a long day!) about blogs. We are looking forward to having a joint blog once we get married. We already have the name picked up, but it isn't being revealed quite yet. What we're trying to figure out is if we will continue with our individual blogs.


I miss my nose ring. Yes, I had a nose ring, and yes, I took it out a few weeks ago. I had promised Josh before I even got it that I would remove it for a wedding (and I didn't mean a wedding we would be attending). Ideally, I wanted to remove it for the ceremony and put it back in for the reception and indefinitely into the future. However, it has not been a good, healthy piercing. This really did not surprise me, and I've only rarely had a good, healthy piercing. I knew that when I removed it, the nose got all red and puffy, and that is NOT how I want to look during my wedding. So, I made the sad decision to take it out.


I had grand plans of posting about all sorts of things since it's been so long since I've blogged. However, it's late, and I need to get up early enough to head to Elkhart before church tomorrow.

What's goin' on?

1. Voting: my college classmate Troy is competing to win a trip to the Tony's. Great voice, great talent. Very easy to vote, and you can do so repeatedly here. Voting ends Tuesday, June 1 at 3:00 Eastern time.

2. Nervous tummy: Since high school I have had a lot of stomach problems, especially while under stress. Needless to say, I'm under a lot of stress currently. But in 5 weeks, I will be on our honeymoon and will hopefully be feeling better then!

3. Researching music: We have yet to come up with a first dance song. This just adds to my #2 above.

4. Enjoying a long weekend: Holy cow, this Memorial Day weekend has been awesome.

5. Accomplishing much, but still so much more to accomplish. It feels never-ending, but it will be much better after the wedding. Isn't it funny how the wedding seems like the end, but really, it's just the start of the marriage? So bizarre.

6. Receiving rsvp cards. I LOVE getting these in the mail, but I'm always sad when people decline.

7. Rearranging the attic, making room for Josh's stuff, etc.

8. Dress fittings: I think I have done 3 so far. The 4th is tomorrow. Fingers crossed.

9. Hair & makeup: I did a trial run-through and had a great experience with the salonist.

10. Coughing and having a raspy voice: Apparently I'm allergic to cottonwood. You see it floating around all the time lately. It's giving me a runny nose, itchy eyes, a sore throat, a bad cough, and a weak voice. My mom is going through the same thing.

A day with no plans actually makes me freak out. I can't not do anything. Not when so much needs to get done. I can't relax. I can relax in a little over 6 weeks. And I will. We have reservations all set for our honeymoon. We are staying at really nice places; I'm so excited!!

It was nice to sleep in this morning and nice to just kinda laze around in pj's for awhile. I caught up on The Office; although, it seems like maybe I missed an episode somewhere in there. Who was that IT guy? Where did he come from??

I made blueberry coffee, which I was THRILLED to discover recently at my fave coffee bean store in farmer's market. I sorted through stuff, looking for gift certificates that I purchased a few weeks ago and promptly lost. Grrr, restaurants love gift certificates because of people like me. Boo! And I took care of emails that needed to be sent and phone calls that needed to be made.

I need to work on thank you cards. Oh, I'd better not get started on my list of what I need to do. What's the point of just repeating what needs to get done when instead I could be working on actually doing what needs to get done? Which reminds me, I need to find a birthday gift for my dad.

Well, I'm about to head to Old Navy to see what remains from their $1 flip flop sale, if anything. I heart flip flops. Hoping for a brown pair. And then I meet up with Josh - yea!

I close with this: last night I dreamt I was watching a Notre Dame football game with a large crowd but was distracted by sweets. There was a massive spread of desserts (think 10 big church potlucks worth), and I bypassed everything for wedding cake. I'm so looking forward to cake!

Today was a not so great day. It included a trip to the BMV, which automatically takes it out of contention for a great day.

But I just kept plugging away, working hard. Then I realized I needed to go home quickly to change clothes for the baseball game.

Our church sponsors a southeast little league team, and tonight was our night. I'm not gonna lie; heading over I was not thrilled due to the rain and cold temps. But I bundled up in layers and took my best baseball bleachers blanket. Got to visit with some girls from my Growth Group and enjoy the game AND an awesome hot dog-the little joys in life.

I left after about 1 1/2 hours and then headed to my parents' to spend some time with them. Mom is going out of town for a few days so I wanted to say goodbye to her. Dad was nice enough to transfer the license plates so I can drive Bo legally. Yes, my new car is a boy, and his name is Bo. So far we are getting along great!

I decided to take Bo over to Elkhart to meet Coby (Josh's car) as I surprised Josh. Yah, sometimes I just can't stay away from him. :)

So, we watched some tv, researched honeymoon accommodations online, snuggled, and had our daily devotional time of reading a Psalm and praying together. (Caren, we have added your house sale to our prayers. We've already been praying for you and Chad in other ways. Keep us posted.)

I am getting really excited about the honeymoon. We just got information about a special package deal that we can take advantage of - similar to when we went to Bloomington for a weekend getaway!

On the way home, I filled Bo up with gas for the first time. Everything with Bo is exciting, and I'm so reminded not to take things for granted. This is a lesson God has been reminding me of a lot lately. Most recently - to not take our jobs for granted. We are blessed in so many ways. I don't say so to brag, but to give glory to God.

I am reminded of a song that says, "I have been blessed; now I'm gonna be a blessing." I want to be open to allowing God to use me to bless others. Any thoughts or ideas on how I/you/we can be a blessing to others?

I was just thinking this evening, "Wow, I can't believe it's been almost a month since my car accident. Almost a month without a car. Almost a month that I've been inconveniencing my parents and using their car. And there's no end in sight."

All along, Josh & I have been praying specifically that God would make it very clear to us what car we should get. There had been a few potentials along the way but never ones that were very clear to us that we should get.

So, we've kept searching. And we've kept praying about it every day.

My mom is driving out of town next week, and Dad will need transportation while she's away. I knew I had til Wednesday. Since I am ridiculously busy, that meant I had part of Friday evening and part of Saturday to find a car, have it looked it, bargain the price down, and purchase it. Hello, pressure.

I'm not gonna lie; a couple of the last few days have been really discouraging. Now add in the pressure of the time constraint, and we're up for real fun!

Tonight I shut my phone off during Josh's concert (they, by the way, did a fAbuLoUs job!!), and it was off for a couple few hours. When I turned it back on there was a voicemail. It was from Shellie, my Pampered Chef consultant who is organizing our Pampered Chef shower, so naturally I assumed the call was regarding the shower.

Wrong!

"Hi, Jennifer. This is Shellie. I was calling to let you know I have a car for you. For free."

A friend of theirs from church is giving me his car. I've been told it's rusty and needs new tires eventually. I believe it's bigger than I wanted. But suddenly I just don't care anymore. I don't care if it has crank windows, a cassette player, and a silly sounding horn. It's free! I feel so lavished upon.

After getting the voicemail, I was so sunned I was speechless. This, as Josh can attest to, does not happen often!

Josh: "Did you want a Buick?"

Me: "No."

Josh: "Let me put it this way: Will you consider a Buick?"

Me: "YES! Of course."

Praise the Lord for His goodness and for others sharing their blessings. He certainly did make it very clear indeed!

This will be brief, as I am quite sleepy and really looking forward to crawling into bed. I just thought I'd post a note.

I'm still battling with insurance companies. I will tell everyone I know how awful Harleysville Insurance is. Oh, and feel free to tell everyone you know, as well!

In the meantime, I'm soooo grateful to have my parents nearby who are making sacrifices to carpool so I can drive one of their cars.

I finally had time to car shop Saturday. Josh came with me, thankfully. The weather was horrible (40 degrees, wind, rain...), and after a ton of searching we walked away with only one weak contender. It was no fun!

There are still a couple places I want to check out. But I am totally open to suggestions or opinions of good OR bad local car dealerships. A bigger place like Basney or Gates doesn't have cars priced at what I can afford. So, think small. Think local. Think trustworthy. And share with me any advice you may have!

I can't believe today marks only 8 weeks until the wedding. Josh pointed that out to me today, and I just about freaked out. Let me make it clear: I am eagerly anticipating beginning married life with Josh! But what I am concerned about is running out of time to get everything done for the wedding. Gulp! I definitely don't want to be prancing around in a panic at the last minute trying to get everything done.

Work lately has sucked up a lot of my personal time, and it's been hard to lose personal time without getting anything in return.

Josh has been so amazing lately. He had Friday off work, and he came to my apartment after I left for work, and he cleaned up a very messy kitchen and living room. Today he helped me in the bedroom. Things had gotten really bad, lots of clutter and disorganization, and I felt too overwhelmed to even know where or how to begin. Now I am inspired. I have to force myself to stop picking up.

Always much to do, but up next: go to bed - yea!

Knowing I would be stuck at home this evening without a car worried me all afternoon.

It turned out to be totally fine and actually very nice. I played catch-up on apartment things. Ya know, dishes, mail, trash, etc. Things that I've been neglecting.

I feel better when my apartment is more organized.

Speaking of feeling better, I do feel better. Today I've only used I think 4 tissues, which is awesome compared to yesterday (more like 4 every 10 minutes). I seem to be a bit clogged up today, but my voice is back. I didn't have a headache today. So, I'd say things are on the upswing. Yea, God!

More good news: no rubella test required! There's just a lot of outdated and incorrect information online.

I'm gonna try to look at a car tomorrow. I've never bought a car. I'm glad Josh is going with me!

I've been staying up SO late. I'm determined to go to bed early tonight. When I'm up so late (12 - 1), there's virtually no way I'm getting up early to work out. So, go to bed early, get up early, workout, and hopefully be happier and healthier all around.

Do I have allergies?

I don't know. I've never been diagnosed. Never been tested.

I just know I am feeling miserable! It was annoying the past few days. But suddenly Monday night it jumped from annoying to miserable.

I've got a runny nose, watery eyes (or runny eyes as I told my co-worker), sore throat, headache, and feeling like my head is heavy yet surrounded by clouds - or cotton.

Anybody care to diagnose me?

In other medical news, apparently I need to prove to the state of Indiana that I've had a rubella shot before they will allow me to get married. Um, lame...

It was great to come home after work today, walk up to the front door and realize I had just short of an entire hour to myself. At home, where I could do what I want even if that meant doing nothing. I didn't have to scarf down a meal in a limited amount of time. I didn't have to re-pack bags or work on wedding stuff for an hour or get in touch with different people. Even though eventually, yes, I do need to return some calls, make some calls, send emails, plan some details, I just don't need to do that now to fill up my one hour of free time.

I've never been so grateful for one hour.

Today is the 6th day I've been without a vehicle and have been forced to battle insurance.

I was in a car wreck because a guy disregarded the red light in front of him and kept on driving into the intersection. I hit the brakes when I saw him, but it wasn't enough. CRASH!

Thankfully I am fine. My car, poor Lulu, is not. I am so distraught over all this. I'm desperately trying to see what God is trying to teach me.

Josh & I had a fabulous plan to live cheap and pay off debt. Neither of us are going further into debt; it's just some old stuff we are taking care of. And we have promised we are not going into debt for the wedding. I've been saving up money for my wedding for YEARS. We have a set amount we are taking from. The rest is supposed to continue being built on for our second honeymoon in December. And then built on for a house.

It's all earmarked.

NONE of it is supposed to go to an unexpected, unplanned, but needed purchase of a car NOW!

Yet, here I am without a working car. And one that will probably be declared "totaled" because repairs would cost more than she is worth. Even if I could've gotten more years out of her. She was a fine car, and I am not ready to give her up.

Unfortunately, reality is knocking on my door.

It's been a rough battle, but again, I'm grateful it wasn't worse.

It's nice to be with a teacher who gets a Spring Break. Last year we day-tripped to Chicago.

This year we drove to the Washington D.C. area. With stops it was about 12 hours. The Lord protected us through all the construction and mountains and tunnels, etc.

Here are some pics from the trip:



Yes, our friends Jason and Gail tied the knot in Maryland. They were the very first couple we double dated with. I knew Gail pre-Josh, and Josh knew Jason pre-me. It was a beautiful wedding for a beautiful couple.

We just got our engagement photos tonight, and Josh & I could not be happier!!
I just had to post a few to share! Enjoy!

Oh my goodness - I'm dreaming about the guest list! More like nightmares actually. We have over 400 on the guest list. The dream was that I discovered a list with over 50 more people we had to invited. Argh!

That was a dream, but the reality is we are at over 400, and I keep thinking of more I'd like to invite.

The next reality is that I just won't be able to invite everyone I want to invite. Sigh...

In other news, the weather this week is BEAUTIFUL!!! Sunny and warm!! I'm getting a pedicure tonight (it's been over 3 months since the last because who needs a pedi during winter when you never show your toes?), and I'm so excited!!

I was up early before dawn today. I'm sooooo not a morning person, but I was able to accomplish much. And it is kinda nice to see the sun rise.

It's been an insanely busy week where I am constantly rushing from one commitment to another and I can't focus on one because I'm so focused on what I have to do next. I've been totally not myself. My fiance was so concerned, which I appreciate. It's just a crazy time. Fortunately, things should be a bit better tomorrow (fewer commitments), and then Friday morning we get to leave town and leave all wedding duties behind for a few days, yahoo!

We are heading east, exploring new territory together. Attending a wedding and spending time with friends. Hopefully getting to do some site-seeing as well. Can't wait to get away with my sweetie!

Got to kill some time at Dunkin' Donuts this morning. I see they're now selling cool t-shirts, and they're celebrating 60 years in business.

Got home, saw this email and see they're giving away free samples of their latest pick-me-up!

It's supposed to rain all day. And I am fine with that. It's a light rain. Tomorrow sun should return. And it's NOT SNOWING!!!

I am looking forward to being out east soon. Josh & I are going to our friends' wedding, and we couldn't be happier for them. It will be my 3rd wedding within 4 weeks, which makes me deliriously happy. I've always loved weddings. Going to them now while being engaged makes them even more special. And of course I'm observing all the details while I'm at these weddings, taking pictures, and taking notes!

Also, while we are out east, we will be so blessed to visit my old friends Peter and Lisa-Jo! Josh hasn't yet met them, but I know he will fall in love with them. It's been YEARS since I've seen them, as they've been literally all over the globe.

In 101 days I will become Josh's wife. I am thrilled. The other day someone asked me when the big day is. I answered. And then he asked, "Are you ready?" I did this laugh/sigh combination while I shook my head. I clarified my response verbally and said, "Am I ready to spend the rest of my life with him? Yes. Am I ready with all the details of catering, decorations, flowers, invitations...? No."

Tonight we are meeting with a caterer. I feel absolutely unprepared and clueless. And yesterday, all the stress that both Josh and I are experiencing (wedding, work, living, etc.) hit us hard. I pray things will get better after this weekend after one big work thing is over for him. There's still plenty more coming up, and it pains me to think of the work events I will have right before the wedding. Oh well. We'll get through somehow!

Looking Forward To . . .

• jean day(s)
• free pastry day at Starbucks
• Jason & Gail's wedding
• a day off
  
• meeting with the caterer
• adding more states to Josh's & my "states we've visited" list
• watching Josh's kids sing this weekend
• gettin' more wedding stuff done
• getting to see friends & family fourth of July weekend
• seeing old friends out east
• spring & summer
• the flowers coming up in the front yard
• my house being purged, organized and clean again

• The sun is out, and it's been "warm" lately - up to 40 degrees. Yet, I still have to scrape frost off the car every morning this week. It exhausts me. And makes me late for work.
• I hate when I hear strange noises when I'm the only one in the building at work. It's a relief then to discover it was just an incoming fax.
• I didn't notice my eyes were dry until the eye doctor told me so yesterday.
• Do you think that's because I've been crying so much lately??
  
• Chocolate cinnamon coffee is a great thing.
• Am I the only one who gets weirded out when I see a car that is the same make, model and color as mine? I think, "Who stole Lulu?!"
• Yes, my car's name is Lulu. I know I'm not the only one who names their car. Please feel free to share your car's name.
• I hate when people feel the need to "reply all" when nobody else needs to hear their thoughts.
• Likewise, I don't like when someone doesn't "reply all" when they really should.
• 4 months from today I get to marry my love!!!
• Hmmm, the city's tornado sirens are going off. I hope it's just a test. You don't get a warning with those like you do on the radio or tv - "This is only a test."
• How sad am I that I am watching Family Feud episodes that I've already seen?!?!
• Today has seriously felt like 4 days long. I can't tell what's going on, but it feels like I've carried around the weight of 4 days work today. Feels like I've gone through an entire work week in one day.
• I picked out a new pair of glasses. Still need to pick the sunglasses.
• Going to bed early again - two nights in a row. Yea.
  

Here's hoping for a stress-free week.

Sunday night I look at my upcoming week and am amazed at how clear it is.

I'm traveling for work Tuesday, which should be really good.

Wednesday is an eye doctor appointment.

And that's it.

Amazing.

I know it probably won't stay this way. I mean, with all these free evenings, it provides for many opportunities to do wedding stuff, which I do need to do.

But to see such openness, such availability... it makes me giddy. I think I shall end tomorrow with a movie I borrowed from my housemate. I saw it once in theatres and remember nothing about it. So, that should be fun! I'm tempted to watch it tonight, but know I should go to bed instead.

Goodnight!

Birthday hangovers are great. All the good things from yesterday just flow into today.

This morning I got to sleep in, then dance and sing along with U93's 90's show while getting ready.

I'm wearing my new birthday jeans, enjoying some Michael Buble, and smiling.

I'll soon be heading out to brunch with my future mother-in-law.

It's a good day. Another good day. Thank you, God.

I saw this sandwich description that someone on facebook had made for lunch. It sounds so yummy I want to make it myself at some point. I know I'll forget about it, so this is a reminder to myself:

• brie
• turkey
• cranberry
• honey mustard
• toasted bread

I could probably throw some romaine on there too.

Hungry?

A year ago I was all distraught about saying goodbye to my last day in my 20's. I had big plans for a big celebration.

This year I'm fine going to bed early. Tomorrow will be low-key. A nice dinner out with my sweetie. I'm looking forward to it.

I've got plenty of other things on my mind. Such as planning a wedding.

I've also been reminiscing about last year's Memorial Weekend away. Reading this post reminded me how absolutely positively delightful the weekend was.


Gotta make new plans for Memorial Weekend this year. Where shall we go? What shall we do?

2011's Memorial Weekend, Josh & I will be married. In fact the wedding is only 129 days away! I look forward to sharing many more holidays as husband and wife. I love you, sweetie!

• I'm wearing my favorite long comfy sweater that's practically a robe.
• I'm also wearing blue jeans!
  
• I get to see old roomie Alicia for lunch today.
• I'm getting things done.
• I get to see Josh tonight!
• Dinner at John & Heather's tonight!
• Good news about a work event in May that equals less money we have to spend, YES!
• Good music that I get to listen to today.
• Encouraging friends
• Tomorrow's my birthday, and I get lunch with Mom at one of my favorite special occasion restaurants!
• Upcoming brunch with Janice
• Making plans for the wedding weekend!
• The heater under my desk keeping me warm. :)
• Knowing "this too shall pass."
  

This morning started getting stressful. Really stressful. Overwhelming. It took a break right about the same time I took a break (imagine that!), and then the afternoon was stressful as well. I was realizing all that needs to be done, and things were being added to my calendar like crazy.

I had to run errands after work. While on the way to my first stop, my honey called me. Funny, I was just thinking about calling him. He told me the good news that he was on his way to run an errand in the town between us (we live about 30 minutes apart) so he asked if I wanted to meet up with him and go out for dinner. Of course!

It was such a nice change, going from stressed to happy. Anxious to hopeful. Upset to peaceful.

We ended up doing Thai - yum! And then running errands together - Meijer, David's Bridal, and a quick stop for Hot Donuts Now.

Over dinner we got to talk about all the craziness of our calendars, and just talking about it with Josh helped me calm down. We got to be our cute usual selves together, laughing and being silly. Being stress free. He helps keep me sane. He helps me refocus and recharge and remember that God has got our backs, and He's got it all under control.

See why I'm marrying this man? Thank you, God, for blessing me with Josh!

Is there anything good on TV anymore? For the first time in MANY years, I'm not watching ANY TV on a regular basis.

I think my regular TV viewing probably started with ABC's TGIF. Those Friday night shows changed over the years, and I kept watching. Oh, and I can't forget Growing Pains, Who's the Boss, & Family Ties! I guess those came before TGIF.

Gradually I moved up and moved on to Beverly Hills 90210 & Party of Five, followed by Dawson's Creek & Felicity.

Then Thursday night's Must See TV on NBC came along. Another set of shows that have changed over the years I've watched, most recently tuning into The Office weekly. Oh, and don't forget all the seasons of 24.

This year however, I've lost interest in The Office and don't feel any compulsion to tune in to 24.

Don't get me wrong: It's not like I don't watch ANY TV. I only wish that was the case; I'm just not that cool. When I'm home for lunch, I frequently watch some Family Feud and Who Wants to Be a Millionaire. Sometimes I'll tune into reruns of King of Queens and Friends after work. If I happen to be home on a Monday I'll watch How I Met Your Mother. If I'm home on a Wednesday, I'll gleefully tune in to ABC's new show The Middle. Josh's aunt introduced us to that over Christmas Break, and I get such a kick out of it.

Heck, even now, I'm watching an episode of CSI Miami just for something to stimulate brain activity.

But there's nothing I must catch every week. And I LOVE it that way!

Any show you don't miss?

We were able to take advantage of a nice Valentine's Weekend special at Jared, the place that never has specials or sales! And we now have beautiful wedding bands! Both of us are so eager to wear them! After they were sized down, we got to pick them up with out-of-town friends who were gathered for dinner together; it made the event even more memorable. Thanks for joining us, friends!

I was up late last night, and I'm having a hard time functioning today. I wanted to eat a banana for breakfast, but I couldn't open it. Grrr!

Yesterday was Fat Tuesday, and the big local thing is to get paczkis (pronounced "pooch-key"), basically a glorified jelly filled donut - except for the Strawberries & Cream version; that is much better and totally worth it. I have only tried a paczki once - 1 or 2 years ago when some magically appeared in our office. I'm kinda regretting not getting one yesterday. Oh well, there's always next year!

So, that was yesterday. Then there's today. The beginning of Lent. The practice of giving something up for Lent has never been a part of my religious traditions, but the last couple years I keep thinking more and more about it. I'm certain there are plenty of things I should be giving up anyways! Are any of you giving something up for Lent?

Today I had the best father! Because he went out in the snow storm and brought me lunch!

Today I had the best fiance! Because he called me midday, just to say hi!

Today I had the best sister-in-law! Because she came over tonight just to hang and chat!

Thank you, God, for blessing me!

Apathetic?!? REALLY???

Yah, for the first time that I am aware of, a reader checked their response to one of my blog postings as "apathetic."

The lamest part is that it wasn't on one of my pointless posts of "I'm sleepy; I need coffee." or a post giving my readers the latest updates in my life. Nope. It was in response to a post where I reminisced how one year ago I had this incredible opportunity to show God's love to a stranger, and I took it.

God offered ME a part in HIS play, and I did it. God gives us all a choice - to be a part of His story or a part of our own story apart from Him. It's a shame if your response to that calling is one of apathy.

Well, I feel like it's been awhile since I've posted. What's going on lately? . . .

• So looking forward to seeing Kate in town from Florida!
• We passed our interview with the Pastor of Church A so we can now start the process to plan the ceremony.
• We keep going around and around on a bridesmaid dress.
• I'm having fun planning food, music, special touches, etc.
• We opened up two registries. Plan to do two more.
• I'm hoping to go to bed early; I'm exhausted.
• We are looking at a rental property as a possible place to live together once we get married but still waiting for specifics.
• I'm looking forward to watching the Colts in the Super Bowl!
• Planning a wedding is a lot of work.
• Went to the local civic theatre for a show last week - fun!
• Got an important meeting tomorrow. Moving on up in the world.
• Going out with my girls this weekend.
• Taking a stationery DIY class.
  

Busy, busy, busy...

Periodically I like to look back on my blog to see what I was doing a year before. This post from a year ago is one of favorites. It's good to go back and remember. Such an amazing experience to be a part of God's work!!

Sometimes I get so comfy cozy at home on my lunch break, curled up under a blanket on the sofa watching "Who Wants to be a Millionaire" and munching on chocolate covered pretzels that I just want to stay here and not go back to the office. . .