Asia & Chocolate

What a year!

Wow, what a year 2009 was?

For me it can pretty much be divided into two parts: pre-wedding and post-wedding/home renovation.

The months leading up to my wedding on May 30, 200 were hectic to say the least - leaving little time for blogging. Every waking (and some non-waking) moments were spent on the wedding. It was lovely, but glad it's behind us!

And the months since? Well, we've been busy.

Since my last real post on October 21, we've finished up our 9-month-long home renovation and moved in! We actually moved in right around the middle/end of November, so leading up the holidays it was crazy. We had to move all of Josh's stuff out of the POD that was sitting in the front yard, move all of our wedding presents up from my parents house and then finally move out of our apartment. All of that while cleaning our new house (thanks Mom for helping!) and moving in.

For the most part we're unpacked, all but the last few stacks of stuff - papers, pictures, mementos - piled high in the guest bedroom. I did buy a bunch of plastic containers this past weekend so that we can organize it all. And every night I spend a little time back there filing and sorting. I just get overwhelmed sometimes when I go back there because there's just so much stuff that I need to put away and organized. Who knew bringing two lives together could be so tedious! :)

Really, life is grand - that's why it's been so silent on here. Marriage is awesome. I'm still a domestic goddess, cooking from scratch, couponing and the like. Josh has taken up hunting - he's actually out in the woods somewhere right now trying to find the deer he shot earlier. I'm glad I'm not a hunter --it's DANG cold out there. (22 degrees!)

I feel like 2009 was such a monumental year, with big events, big accomplishments and just a fun time spent with the man I love. The holidays were great with both of our families. And really I just hope there's more of the same in 2010 (although with less stress, and little more down time in our brand newly-remodeled home.)

Happy 2010!

I love ...

... or at least talk about these things a lot ...

A current wordle of my blog.

What are YOU talking about?

(Previous wordle)

Two glorious months ...

Today marks the two month anniversary since I've been married ... and it's been great! Let me recap.

Josh and I had a wonderful wedding (many thanks to our generous parents) and it was truly all I ever hoped it would be. We had a simple ceremony and a fun reception with lots of food, fun and dancing. We seriously had a blast. Our only regret is that it didn't last longer and that we weren't able to spend more time with the people we love. It is SUCH a blur - everyone told me that going into the day, and they were absolutely 100% right.

(photo by evinphotography.com )

Our honeymoon to Zihuatanejo, Mexico was amazing. We couldn't have asked for a more relaxing and luxurious vacation. We stayed at The Tides resort and would highly recommend this place to everyone. The rooms are clean and beautiful. We had a beach view room on the second floor, which overlooked the beach (duh!). We had a private plunge pool on our balcony, so in the evenings after a long day on the beach (such a hard life!) we would retire to our room and watch the sunset from our plunge pool. It was sooo relaxing. The food was a.maz.ing, incredible (yet pricey, bring the debit card with lots o' money). All, in all, so relaxing and fun. We went snorkeling, parasailing and went to a Mexican fiesta for some adventures, but I think our favorite part was just relaxing on the beach on the large king-size suspended beds under the cabanas. Heavenly!

Since returning from the honeymoon, I moved to Huntsville, Alabama. More to follow on apartment living, renovating our home and the vendors we used for the wedding and reception!

can I ask for a re-do on my week?

In the past week I have ...

1. Had my debit card number stolen and had a fradulent charge made on my checking account. Therefore I had to cancel my debit card and am waiting for a replacement.

2. Later that day I got a large bill from the hospital from my 12-hour stay when I had surgery. Do you know how much the WHOLE bill was?? $13,000!!! I had no idea hospitals were so expensive. Thank God I have insurance and don't have to pay the whole thing. But I still have to pay a lot.

3. I got scammed in Craig's List. I thought I had sold my car, but then the transaction started sounding fishy and I research CL scams and it was exactly what was happening to me. So no sold car. The price of the car would have covered the hospital bill.

These three things have compounded an already busy week. Wedding planning is insane! It's like have an extra job.

Some things I was thankful for this week:

1. I met with the caterer on Thursday and I've all but booked him. So excited to have that out of the way.

2. I started a Beth Moore Bible study on Thursday nights that I am super excited about. I've never done a Beth Moore study before and I know I'm going to love diving into the Word with these women and Beth.

3. My wonderful fiance is always a bright spot in my life. He's wonderful, caring, and always listens when I have a bad. We got to have dinner at my favorite restaurant in Huntsville last night. It was such a good evening of conversation and relaxation. We have the best time together! (Good thing since we'll be together for the rest of our lives ... :) )

4. God loves me, pursues me, comforts me and is faithful to me even when I'm being a butt and can't see the forest for all the stinkin' trees in my way.

I know there are many more things I am thankful for (oh yeah, sleeping in this morning was wonderful ... and a three day weekend is great too!) ... but that's all I have time to write. Off to David's Bridal for flower girl dress fitting. Love the wedding planning (most of the time).

Goal-setting 2009

I know I'm a few days late with my goals for the new year, but I needed a few days for the new year feelings to ruminate inside me. I wanted to see what desires came to the surface of my heart and mind for this year, and these are the top 10 goals I have set for myself in 2009.

1. Attend Financial Peace University with Josh. - I believe that as newlyweds being on the same page financially is HUGE. We talk a lot about finances as it is and we set goals together and discuss how we want to spend our money once we get married, BUT I think going the extra step and attending the 13-week session will bring up issues we haven't even thought about and really get us on the same page.

2. Get MARRIED! And move to Huntsville. - This is a no-brainer and will definitely happen. That's kind of why I wanted it on my list, so that at the  end of the year I'll be able to look back and say I at least accomplished ONE thing on my list. Sneaky, aren't I? :)

3. Stay ahead of wedding preparation. - This means staying on top of my to-do list, getting things done in advance when I can. (I'm almost done with my wedding invitations because I don't want them to sneak up on me at the last minute.) I have almost 5 months left to plan this thing, so I have plenty of time. I must use it wisely.

4. Meditate on one Bible verse a month. - Some people, like my little brother who does Bible Bowl, are probably laughing at this goal, but I haven't been very disciplined about meditating on Scripture this past year. I want to get back to it, with a bite-sized goal.

5. Make it a priority to have everything laid out the night before for the following day. - My life is so much less stressed when that happens. All I have to do it get myself up and get ready, grab a couple of things and walk out the door. When I have to remember to pack something for lunch or put something in my gym bag, I inevitably forget something. When everything is set out the night before I don't forget anything and my mornings are much less stressed. This leads me to my next goal:

6. Make a schedule for myself each week. I have set up an excel spreadsheet for every hour of my day. I have then filled in all the regular activities like sleeping, working, church, etc. Then I take a look at the rest of my time. It gives me a sense of purpose for my week and lets me see the big picture, instead of just taking it one hour at a time.

7. Have a date night every week with my to-be-husband. - Right now this is NOT a problem because we go out at least once a week just the two of us, but I want to make it a pointed habit at this stage of the game. That way it's a habit for after we get married and for years to come.

8. Join a church in Huntsville and make friends. (Possibly even join a small group this year.) - Josh and I have been regularly attending one church in Huntsville over the past few months and I really like it. I would like to probably visit some other churches before making the final decision. And then once the decision is made, plug in to the church.

9. Tell myself "no" again. - This is less of a tangible goal and more of a renewal of a mindset. I have become lax over the holidays with telling myself no to sweets or to shopping. But it's time to let myself hear the word "no" again and exercise some self-control.

10. Make my bed every day. - I am borrowing from one of my best friend's blogs, but really it's something I've started to strive to do. Everything looks and feels better when the bed is made up. It also makes me more inclined to picking up the floor, or clearing off the desk. It sets an atmosphere of cleanliness in my room, and that's what I need this year.

What are your goals for this year?

Car for sale!

My car died. Yes, while making my weekly trek to Huntsville a couple of weeks ago. So last week, the day before Thanksgiving, I bought a new-to-me car: a 2002 Honda Civic. I LOVE Hondas. (And everyone that I've talked to about it has had the same reaction: "you will LOVE driving a Honda." Of course I know this already because I've owned two Hondas before and LOVED them.)

I paid $300 while in Huntsville to get the old car drivable so that I could make it back home. And now I'm trying to sell it. It's definitely a fixer-upper ... but hey, to each his own. I need something reliable, which is what I have now ...

Know anyone who wants an old fixer upper? Listed on Craigslist.

My life in bullets

(I wrote this a week ago ... but didn't post because I wanted to add pictures. So it's a little old now ... but still kind of current .)

Evidently I'm no longer a consistent blogger. Life is just too much fun ... and too busy ... for me to blog.

Weekend recap:

• I drove to Huntsville on Friday afternoon and then Josh and I headed to Birmingham to spend the night with his friends Charles and Sarah. Charles will be in our wedding, so it was good to finally meet him.
• Saturday was the Auburn Alumni Rugby Match - where I got to meet many of Josh's college teammates ... some of which I liked and some of which ... :) I did get to meet another guy who is going to be in our wedding ... and he was great!

• We then drove to Josh's family lake house and spent the night there. It's just nice to get out there ... relax out in the middle of nowhere.The lake was crystal blue and the leaves were really pretty. We didn't get to stay long.
•  Sunday night we got back to Hunstville and had dinner with Josh's mom.
• Lots of driving. Looking forward to this weekend where we will stay in Huntsville for the weekend and attend one of his friend's wedding. I've GOT to figure out what I'm wearing.

Wedding update:

• The reception site has been confirmed! YAY! The Martin Center in Brentwood will be the place for fun! I think it's perfect and I can't wait to figure out all the details.
• ...which is what I've been trying to do. In the next few weeks I'm meeting with the florist, baker (cake) and caterer. Should have that all set up before Christmas, at least.
• In the next few weeks I'm going to head out and try on some wedding dresses. For some reason I'm dreading it, but hopefully it will turn out to be fun.
• We are registered ... and if you want to buy me anything for Christas, there's a TON of possibilities. :) Just kidding. We are registered at a lot of places, though ... Dillards; Bed, Bath & Beyond; Target; Pottery Barn; and Anthrolpologie (you have to look up my wish list there).

So that's what's going on. It's all very exciting ... although it looks pretty boring just in bullet points ... but this girl is busy!

my tummy hurts and a myriad of thoughts

Why I haven't blogged much lately:
1. blogging takes time, something of which I have very little these past few months
2. I am now a fiancee, which means I spend much time with a great man named Josh
3. Josh lives in Huntsville, Alabama, which means I spend almost every other weekend traveling
4. Traveling means the time that I have at home is crammed pack full of work, getting things done and spending time with people I love in Franklin
5. my younger brother Michael got married last weekend [Photos from Michael and Katie's wedding to follow ...]
6. I had surgery on Friday
7. all of these reasons leaves me very little time to process my thoughts enough to write them down

But having surgery has left me with some recovery time on my hands ...

I have contemplated whether or not to even write about this on my blog. I know I mentioned it a few posts below, but I didn't really go into detail. And I'm not sure I'll go into a lot of detail now. But this blog has become a journal for me and if I don't write something, then  may not write anything, and I feel compelled to write SOMETHING.

During a recent regular check up my doctor found something unusual in my abdomen. She asked me to humor her concerns, which she said were small, and have a test run. I obliged and her concerns were validated. There was something abnormal in my body. She said it didn't look like cancer, but surgery would be needed. She assured me that if it was indeed what she thought it was, then the surgery would be minor and recovery would be quick.

I had never had any type of surgery before and so I was somewhat scared, but tried to be level-headed about it all. This was definitely uncharted territory for me.

We scheduled the surgery for October 10 and Josh made plans to be here for the pre-op appointment as well as the surgery and the rest of the weekend. I am so thankful that he is in my life, and especially glad that he made the decision to be right by my side through the whole thing. He had to calm me on many occasions, but he's a trooper and such a servant. I love that man!

Going into surgery was fairly easy; God had given me such a peace about it all. Everything went exactly as I hoped. The IV didn't hardly hurt and when they gave me the anesthesia, I just remember a few words and I was out. I wasn't fearful or worried at all. (Thank you to all who prayed for me!)

Waking up was a whole different story. I have never been in so much pain in my life and the feeling of waking up from anesthesia was terrible. I remember going in and out of consciousness and just feeling miserable. They were supposed to keep me in the recovery room for 30 minutes only, but I stayed there for an hour and a half. And even when I got back to my room I wasn't totally awake yet.

The reason for longer wait times and more pain was that the surgery lasted twice as long as they had suspected because the damage inside me was much worse than the doctor had originally thought. A general surgeon had to be brought in to remove my appendix and one other organ before closing me up. They had to make more incisions than they originally planned to and so it's going to take more time to recover than they had said in the beginning.

It's now been three days since the surgery and I'm still in pain, but it's getting better each day. I'm able to move from a sitting to a standing position without much help and I'm able to move around a little more quickly. Thank GOD for pain medicine, time and healing ... those first two days were miserable!

To be thankful for ...
1. They were able to remove everything diseased in my body and there is less than a 20% chance that it will come back.
2. I do not have cancer.
3. According to the doctor, I shouldn't have any trouble having children.
4. I felt no pain before surgery, so really I am blessed that this problem was found and that they performed the surgery.
5. Josh has been such a blessing through this whole process. He has been completely understanding, patient and kind. I CANNOT imagine going through this without him. I love you, baby!
6. My friends and family have prayed for me and taken care of my needs. They have called, visited, brought candy and flowers. I know that I am loved.
7. My health. I have a clean bill of health now and sometimes it takes something like this to really appreciate what you do have.

What are you thankful for?

re-entering the blogosphere?

Either I'm a total lazy bum, or life has gotten in the way of my blogging. I'd like to think it's the latter. Actually, I'm pretty sure that's it. Having a fiance is like having a part time job. :) One that I wouldn't trade for anything. And since he lives in Hunstville, it means that one of us travels every weekend.

This weekend I'll be the one traveling, and then we'll be doing some traveling together because we're going to a football game (more to come on that) and then the lake. All crammed into two days. Fun, but busy.

Life has been even more crazy for me because my younger brother Michael is getting married next weekend, so we've been focusing on showers and getting ready for the festivities. should be a blast. And then the weekend after that I'll be having a minor surgery. It's not a big deal, but I've never had surgery before, so it kind of is a big deal. Maybe I can blog a lot while I'm recovering.

All that to say, I need to get back to blogging, putting my life on (digital) paper and just being a part of the wonderful blogging community out there. I miss you guys!

The Engagement

For those of you who haven't heard through a phone call, e-mail, facebook or twitter, Josh and I are engaged!

Here's the story ... So the two of us met about 2.5 months ago. And while that may seem like not a very long time to know you want to marry someone, we knew we wanted to get married around about 3 weeks into it. They say that "when you know, you know." And I can attest that it was true for Josh and me. Of course there was a lot of discussion about all of life's issues surrounding marriage and spending a life together: family, children, where to live, faith, morals, goals, football (he's Auburn, I'm Tennessee), jobs, finances, dreams and everything in between. But we just seemed to know from the beginning that this was it for us.

And it hasn't been a secret to our friends and family that this relationship was serious ... the engagement would probably happen as soon as we got our ducks in a row. (We were in this for good.) My mom and grandmother had graciously given me my great-grandmother's wedding and engagement rings to use for my own.

About a month ago Josh and I went looking for the perfect ring setting. We planned to put my great-grandmother's diamond into a new setting and I had a good idea what I was looking for and so I didn't think it would take very long to find it. That Saturday, we had planned to shop around at several places, but after the second store I was getting overwhelmed with all the choices and was frustrated that I couldn't just pick something. So we stopped and went to dinner. We had no plans to go back and look anymore that weekend because we weren't in any hurry. But on Sunday afternoon we were spending time with my best friend and her husband and I decided I needed a best friend opinion. We went back to the first store and it was just a few minutes later that I knew which setting I wanted. I was shocked that I knew, but I did, and April agreed with me. Before we really had time to process what was happening, Josh was putting the setting on reserve and would come back later with my great-grandmother's ring.

The fact that he lived in Huntsville would make it hard to him to maneuver getting the ring all squared away without me knowing, so I thought. We'll come back to that in a minute.

So this past weekend rolls around. Josh had been telling me that he would probably not propose before September. I thought that was perfect since it would be about three months after we started dating. I knew he had been back to the ring store once, but I didn't think there was any way that he could have the ring yet. So, I wasn't suspecting anything.

I left work on Friday around 4:45, as I usually do, in order to get a head start on the traffic going south on I-65 to Huntsville. I knew we would be spending the weekend at the lake with his entire family and I wanted to get there as quickly as possible. I was making great time and was about 15 minutes away when Josh called. He was just leaving his mom's house after picking up his four-wheeler and going to grab a bite to eat. I told him that I hadn't eaten yet and was getting hungry. So, he decided to head for his house and wait for me to eat.

When I pulled up to the house I saw him run inside and leave his dog outside. I thought that very strange, but when I questioned him about it, he said something to the tune of "I was just going to see if my dog would jump on you." OK? (I found out later that he had to run inside and put the ring in his bag before I came inside.) So he got ready to go to the lake and told me we were going to go to a nice restaurant (The Chef's Table) in Huntsville before we headed out of town. It's one of my favorites, so far, so I agreed - even though I was wearing jeans, a t-shirt and flip flops. I was totally underdressed, but he convinced me it didn't matter. (I don't know anyone else in Huntsville, so I decided I didn't care.)

We had a nice dinner and then ran by the grocery store on the way out of town to pick up some weekend essentials. By the time we got down to the lake, it was nearly 10 p.m. and I was beat. We grabbed a drink and headed out to the deck for a few minutes when he suggested that we walk down to the dock. His mom just bought this beautiful lake home and the dock had just been completed. I kind of wanted to go to bed, but I thought I would humor him and go see the dock first.

We found our way down to the dock in the dark and were just admiring the stars, talking about how amazing stars were. If anyone knows me very well they know that I LOVE stars. One of my favorite verses is about stars. I also have a star tattoo and love viewing the sky sparklers from my parents home out in the country. So star gazing is a favorite thing for me to do. And they were gorgeous on Friday night.

While we were gazing at the stars and talking ... I started to think that this would be the perfect place for a proposal. I knew it wasn't going to happen - because he didn't have the ring. So, I was SHOCKED when he pulled me to him and said "I have something even cooler to show you." That's when he dropped down on one knee and proposed with the ring I picked out and my great-grandmother's stone. I said "YES!"

Surprising enough, there were no tears. I always thought I would cry when I got engaged, but really it wasn't too emotional. I was really just very happy. So, we walked back up to the house and toasted to our engagment and sat out on the deck for a little bit before going to bed.

Like me, you might be wondering how he got the ring by this weekend! Well, a few weekends ago he had told me that he had an extra football meeting and that he wouldn't be up to Franklin until late on Friday. Come to find out, he had no meeting and had busted his butt to get up to Franklin before the jewelry store closed. Then that Sunday he told me he had to be back to Huntsville early in order to do laundry and get ready for the week. I kind of got upset because I had wanted to spend the afternoon at the park, which we ended up doing. He told me later that afternoon that he told me he needed to leave early, not to go back home, but to go to the jewelry store. I then instructed him that he needed to be a better liar in order to trick me and get to the jewelry store. HA! He had already done that and only needed to go to pick up the ring! So the next time he was in town he went to "get coffee" after church and I went home with my parents. I knew he was going to the jewelry store, but I thought he was only dropping off my great-grandmother's ring - NOT picking it up! I was surprised by the proposal, even though I thought I could never be surprised. (My parents tried to throw two surprise birthday parties for me in my lifetime, and both I knew about - so my all-knowing streak has ended.)

So there it is. The story of how we got engaged. Unfortunately we didn't take any pictures of ourselves this weekend, but I did take this picture of my ring the morning after. It's hard to get a good picture because the ring is so sparkly. :-)

The wedding date is not set yet, but is looking like it will be sometime next spring or early summer. I've already bought bridal magazines and have started getting overwhelmed by all that goes in to a wedding. But I'll just do one thing at a time ...