Wednesday, December 30, 2009

Ok- just one more, this is video of the proposal! :)

Video taken by Brew's cousin Macey-- no sound (sorry)


Probably the last post of 2009

Well I haven't updated in a while... for those of you who don't know, I had a WONDERFUL Christmas! Just so happened that Christmas morning, my wonderful boyfriend & best friend, Brew, proposed!!! :-D

He gave me my Christmas gift this year in about a 3 foot cubed box. Inside was 8 other boxes gradually getting smaller ALL wrapped. Lol I had to unwrap them all and when I got to the last one, he got down on one knee & asked me to marry him! I was freaking out (in the good way!) I'm so unbelievably happy! It's amazing in the last 2-3 years what I've gone through but I'm thankful for every minute because it's gotten me where I am today! ♥

We haven't "officially" set the date (we're getting together w/both sets of parents this weekend to decide for sure), but right now it looks like June 26, 2010 will be our big day! I'm super excited. Not just for my wedding day but to spend the rest of my life with him! :)

<- my ring, white gold, 1/4 carat princess cut, he picked it out all by himself & its perfect! :)


<- Us later on, on Christmas Day at my aunt's house.



Well that's all for now, I hope everyone else had a great Christmas & that everyone has a Happy New Year! Here's to a great 2010!!!

Wednesday, December 2, 2009

One year today!

Hey! Well I'm not going to make a long post but I did want to make a short one-- today is Brew & my 1 year dating anniversary. I've never been big on celebrating dating anniversaries (and I guess I'm still not- we couldn't celebrate tonight because he had to work :( ) but I can say that I can't believe how much happier I have become in the last year. My life is complete & that has EVERYTHING to do w/Brew. He is my soulmate & my best friend. I love him with everything that I have and I'm so thankful to have him! <3 So Happy Anniversary, Brew. Here's to many more anniversaries in our future!

Thursday, November 26, 2009

Happy Thanksgiving

So its Thanksgiving and I thought I'd take the time to write a few things I am thankful for this year!!!

  1. My wonderful boyfriend & best friend, Brew. Definitely my better half, I don't know what I'd do w/out him! ♥

  2. My family (all of them, even the not-so-normal ones :))

  3. My friends, especially Nicole, Stefani [ok, so she counts as family too!], Abby, Whitney... thank you for always being there for me! ♥

  4. Brew's family, that I love like my own! ♥

  5. My clogging family, Class Act :)

  6. My co-workers at the YMCA who make still working there bearable :)

  7. The teachers & staff at Blennerhassett who have made feel extremely welcome during my long-term sub job there. I will miss you all after my job ends!

  8. My health, and the health of my loved ones

  9. Having a home, even if I still live w/my parents, I'm glad I have a place to live at all!

  10. The brave men & women that serve in our country's military that protect our freedoms.

  11. Being from/living in America, we take our rights/freedoms for granted so often!

  12. Being from/living in WV. So there's not always a lot going on here, but I'm proud to be from a beautiful state with wonderful people.


I probably left things out that I will think of later! I hope everyone has a safe & happy Thanksgiving!

Wednesday, October 21, 2009

Frosty Fall Leaves...

Well it's been a while since I wrote so I thought I'd update.

My long term sub job is going great! It got extended to the end of December!!! :) Which is awesome, I already enjoyed one good paycheck, I could get used to this! I also am enjoying the kids (which have become "my" kids officially haha) And I enjoy the middle schoolers more than I EVER thought I would. They crack me up lol.

Brew & I are great as always ♥ This weekend we're going to Morgantown for the WVU game! :)

Well those two things are pretty much consuming my life right now! Haha. So that's about all I have to update on! In 3 words or less= life is good. :)

Tuesday, September 29, 2009

Thankful :)

For all the times I felt cheated, I complained
You know how I love to complain
For all the wrongs I repeated, though I was to blame
I still cursed that rain
I didn't have a prayer, didn't have a clue
Then out of the blue

God gave me you to show me what's real
There's more to life than just how I feel
And all that I'm worth is right before my eyes
And all that I live for though I didn't know why
Now I do, 'cause God gave me you

For all the times I wore my self pity like a favorite shirt
All wrapped up in that hurt
For every glass I saw, I saw half empty
Now it overflows like a river through my soul
From every doubt I had, I'm finally free
I truly believe

God gave me you to show me what's real
There's more to life than just how I feel
And all that I'm worth is right before my eyes
And all that I live for though I didn't know why
Now I do, 'cause God gave me you

In your arms I'm someone new
With ever tender kiss from you
Oh must confess
I've been blessed

God gave me you to show me what's real
There's more to life than just how I feel
And all that I'm worth is right before my eyes
And all that I live for though I didn't know why (didn't know why)
Now I do (I finally do), 'cause God gave me you (God gave me You)

God gave me you


~ Bryan White Lyrics

Monday, September 14, 2009

Super Excited!

Great News! I just got a sub position for 6 weeks starting this Thursday!!!! I'm super excited!

It's at Blennerhassett Elementary (which I haven't ever done any hours at or anything) in a Special Ed. (Multi-Categorical) classroom. I'm going tomorrow to talk to the principal and teacher I'm subbing for to iron out some details & questions I have.

I'm looking forward to it not only because I'll have a job (aka money for once lol) but also because I'm considering getting my master's degree in special ed multi-cat. so this will be a good opportunity to see if that's what I want to do for sure.



I'm thinking a celebration is in order :)

Wednesday, September 9, 2009

Fall around the corner...

Well, I haven't given an update for a while, so I feel like I should...

* Brew & I are doing wonderfully. ♥ We have our moments occasionally but I know without a doubt he's the one for me. I never understood that "just knowing" feeling before. We just fit together. He's my best friend too. I'm very blessed. We have had the marriage talk, and he's keeping his thoughts on the time frame of an engagement to himself ;) But from what we've talked about we're thinking sometime in the Summer or Fall of next year for wedding bells. ;) We shall see!!! I'm just glad that he puts up with me haha. And I love his family as well, I feel like they are already MY family too. ♥

* School has started and I've started substitute teaching! I worked a day and a half last week at Lubeck and so far this week I worked a half day today and I'm scheduled for a half day tomorrow at Neale. It's been a pretty easy job so far. I get to teach & make money at it for once, but yet once the day is done, I'm done & don't have to worry about anything else. The only downside is obviously not knowing when I'll work and the like. That and being GLUED to my cell phone. I've missed a few calls because of that. It's totally automated so if I miss a call from the system it just calls someone else. So I have to make sure that it's on and with me all the time!

* Next weekend (the weekend of the 25th) Brew & I are going with Nicole & Alex to Cedar Point!!! We're actually leaving that Thursday, driving to Morgantown & staying w/Nicole that night, and then going up and staying at the park all day Friday and staying Friday night up there, and driving back Saturday. Should be lots of fun!!!



Ok well that's pretty much everything that's going on now! Until later...

Sunday, August 9, 2009

hulu... and a new baby!

So I saw that weird Hulu commercial on tv and thought I'd check it out. I now see no reason to ever pay for cable (other than football games that is). It's amazing, they have TONS of shows on there...

Not long ago I caught some of the show "The Secret Life of the American Teenager". Yes. It's one of those teen-drama things, comparable to Dawson's Creek & 7th Heaven. But needless to say once I logged into Hulu I searched for that show and lo and behold every episode was on there. Sooo I started watching it. Now I'm hooked. In a couple days I've watched 10 episodes online. It's ridiculous, yet it's a good show. But if you are interested in "catching up" or just watching any show you can think of, go to Hulu and it's probably there...



In other news... Brew's newest niece was born on August 6th! Makalyn Noelle, and she's just gorgeous. I'm so looking forward someday to "inheriting" those two beautiful girls as my own nieces too :)

That's all I have now! Until later...

Saturday, July 25, 2009

one for july

Ok so it seems that I only manage to update this thing once a month. Maybe because my life hasn't really been that exciting or changed that much. That's ok with me though. I'm happy :)

So I'm officially approved to sub in Wood County. Still no calls or interviews or anything. That part is a little disappointing but I guess August isn't here yet. I wasn't counting on getting a job, because of the huge number of applicants, most of which more qualified than me, BUT I was hoping to get at least one interview, just for the experience/exposure. Oh well. I guess summer's not over yet, so we shall see.

I've been thinking about grad school and what I want to get my master's in. I have decided I will probably do Special Education, though I haven't decided what to specialize in. I think gifted education would be so much fun...but depending on the job situation I may get it in multicatigorical special education. We shall see. I am not taking any classes this year. I want to take some time off school in general, and keep up with the job search, and save money.

Money is daunting to me. I usually do a good job as far as knowing what I have and pay and getting things paid on time. But here I am 23 years old, living at home, the only expenses I have are my $171 monthly car payment, fuel, and stuff I do/need for myself. Yet, I manage to have a little over $1,000 total in my checkings AND savings accounts. I feel like I can't make any headway. I think not working much last semester kind of hurt that too. Anyone have any ideas? Other than planting a money tree... It just worries me because I do want to move out but sometimes I don't see HOW I'm going to afford it. Even now with babysitting I'm bringing in $320 a week. It just seems to disappear... I guess part of it is because I never took out a student loan. But I just find myself thinking of other people my age, with a job that pays the same or less, and wonder how they have the money to pay for rent, utilities, car payments, gas, groceries, cell phone, car insurance (which mine if I were to get my own policy would be around 190/month!), cable, etc. and still have money left for entertainment purposes. It's beyond me.

Hmm so I didn't mean to go off on a rant there. Oh well.


I have another future blogging idea... but I will save that for later :)

That's all for now!

Tuesday, June 30, 2009

update

Well it's been a while since I've written so I thought I should. Since I last wrote I went to the Outer Banks w/Nicole. It was a lot of fun. Pics are on my facebook and myspace.

So life is good now. I'm graduated as I posted previously. Right now I'm applying for literally every job that comes available. So far I think I've applied for 15(ish) jobs. I just got a TB test done (the lady told me I needed to have had it in the last 2 years, which I hadn't) and as soon as I get it read and turned in to the board office I can be up for approval to sub in the Fall. I'm not expecting to get a job right out of school because of the volume of applicants, but I would like to get at least an interview or two. I'm counting on subbing this coming school year. By the following year I am hoping to get a job, and then I'll expand my search to nearby counties, as well as Wood. I'm babysitting this summer, it's keeping me busy! I'm still working some at the Y too.

Things are wonderful with Brew. In a couple days we'll of been officially together for seven months. Time flies! And yes, we've even had the big "m" talk (lol- marriage in case you didn't get it). We talked about the time-table of everything. It's definitely in the future for us. Not super near future, but it's def. there. It may seem fast, but I've known and been friends with him for six years prior to dating, and I tell you it's a whole different ballgame w/him. It's like all those cliche's about fate and meant to be and just KNOWING that they are the one are true. I've never had that before. Even in my previous relationship I thought that's what I wanted, it seemed like the right next step to take. But it was nothing like I feel now. He just completes me.

Ok ok enough mushy stuff. Haha. I'm going to go try and do something productive with the rest of my day! I'll post again soon!

Friday, May 29, 2009

new computer!

My graduation gift from my parents came the other day! A laptop! :)
You can't really tell from the pic on the right (I took it w/my cell phone so it's not so great) but it's a pretty dark blue :)

On another note-- one week till I go to the beach!!!!

Wednesday, May 20, 2009

New chapter beginning

Well I am now officially a college graduate... scary huh? Actually it doesn't quite feel different right now, because I'm kind of in waiting. I'm waiting for my certification to come back from Charleston so I can sub, but something tells me that it won't get here before school is out for the year, so I'm really not counting on any jobs till Fall. But I'm enjoying my time off. Yesterday Brew & I went to the Columbus Zoo (kind of in place of the camping trip which we may do later this summer its just we don't have the money now) but it was a lot of fun.




I have tons more pics on my Facebook if you want to go see the rest.


I'm also trying to be semi-productive on my time off, I've been working on cleaning and organizing my room (almost done) which that was wayyyyy overdue! After that my next task is to work on cleaning our dining room (aka-junk room) out, in search of the stack of savings bonds I have that have gone M.I.A.

My parents bought me a laptop which I am really hoping gets here before I leave for the beach!

Which speaking of which I'm also looking forward to heading back to the outer banks! Nicole and I are leaving June 5th, driving to Jennifer's house (a friend of ours who moved to NC after high school) to visit her for a day, then the next day are meeting up with the Dugans in Salvo where we will be for the next week! We'll be driving back the 13th. So I'm looking forward to it :)

Alrighty well I feel like I've rambled on enough, not much else is going on now! So until later...

Friday, May 1, 2009

Romans 8:28




So this has to be one of my very favorite bible verses and I thought I'd share it w/you and my thoughts on it.

Anyone that knows me, knows that I'm a planner. Now, I'm also flexible with them, but I am a planner. And when things don't go the way I think they should, I get a little out of sorts. I know I'm not alone in that, lots of people are that way. When things were chaotic in my life not so long ago, I often felt lost, and like God had abandoned me. That everything in my life was falling apart and going to crap... I thought I had everything all worked out and now that things weren't going the way I thought they should go, I just didn't know WHERE to turn.

I had stumbled on this verse a long time ago, during sunday school. I had made a note of it and promptly forgot it. Until later, when I was going through that difficult time last year, I found it again and looked it up. It hit me all at once when I read it.

We as humans think we know everything. We think we know what is best for us more than anyone. Even as a child we refuse to believe that our parents have more knowledge and experience and can see the "big picture" much more clearly than we can. But God is different. God doesn't just see what is going on in our lives now and what has happened in our lives in the past. He can see beyond that. He can see everything all at once, past, present, and future. He knows the path our lives will take. He KNOWS what is best for us, maybe not what is easy now, but what is best for us in the end. I like to think that I know what is best for me but I don't. My view is SOOOOOO narrow compared to His. So why should I wallow in my sorrows alone? God is working for the GOOD of those who love Him and have been called according to His purpose (aka Christians). So with that I began my next task of trusting in Him.

That's not so easy either. It's hard to surrender that element of control to someone else. But see God is here for each one of us, to guide us through the difficult times. If we learn to TRUST that He has a plan for us, He will guide us through the storm.

Now I'm not saying I'm still good at it. I still doubt that my prayers are heeded, and I still like to think I know best. But whenever I'm going through a hard time, I can look back on His Word and know that in ALL things, He is working for the good of ME.

With lots of prayer, I got through the roller coaster of a year I had, and now here I am, finally happy again, and this time on a deeper level than ever before. He knew what He was doing! <3

Saturday, April 18, 2009

Spring is finally here

It's such a BEAUTIFUL day outside! Sunny, 75 degrees, it finally feels like Spring! I just hope the warm weather is here to stay!

So things have been going really well lately. Student teaching is almost over, it's really gone by fast! I only have three weeks left, then a week off, then GRADUATION! It's insane. I'm really excited to be done though, and to start subbing and if I'm lucky get a full time job. I'm planning on getting on the "preferred sub list" at Lubeck and Neale, and maybe another school or two, so I can hopefully work every day or close to every day a week. My next step is moving out! Right now there's two possibilities I'm working on. One is if I can talk her into it, maybe getting an apartment with Abby. The second, is to hopefully rent my aunt's one bedroom apartment by myself. I'm not sure which I'll end up going with, it depends on a lot of things. It'd be fun to live with Abby but it also might be good for me to live alone (or semi-alone, I know I'd have friends over all the time!) So as soon as I can get on my feet financially that's my next step. This summer is going to be all about saving money and paying down on my car as much as possible so I can hopefully get it paid off ASAP.

Brew and I are great. You know I just can't put into words how right everything is with him. It's the weirdest thing and something I've never experienced before. I've been in love most definitely before, but what I have with Brew is more than that, it's just like we fit together in ways I never thought possible. I LOVE his family to death, and it's just like our lives were meant to merge! lol. Anyway, we're wanting to go camping at Blackwater Falls after my graduation before I start babysitting for the summer. We're just looking for a couple of people to go with us to share the cost, and so our parents won't have a problem with us going alone (especially mine are pretty conservatively opinionated about that sort of thing.) So hopefully we'll get to go. I think it'll be so much fun. I haven't been to Blackwater Falls since I was about 4 so I obviously don't remember much about it.

ALSO, I'm hoping to go to the beach with Nicole and the Dugans (family we babysit for). I won't be getting any extra pay because they only need one babysitter, but Nicole wants me to come so we can hang out together during the days and basically just for company. I still wouldn't have to pay for a place to stay or for gas so basically it's a free trip to the beach! We're going back to the Outer Banks too which is wonderful cause I absolutely LOVE that place (I've seriously decided that's where I want to go for my honeymoon one of these days!) So hopefully that pans out too.

So all in all, it's a beautiful day and life is good :)

Sunday, April 12, 2009

He is Risen!



Happy Easter Everyone!!! <3

Saturday, April 4, 2009

Happy Birthday, Me!

Well today's my birthday! I can't believe I'm 23... it's nuts. As for my plans today... I'm mostly planning on NOTHING. Other than lounging around the house that is!





I already know this birthday will be 83294720387 times better than my last, simply because I'm so much happier now. I have some WONDERFUL and great true friends, and even if I had to find out the hard way who those people were, I'm blessed to have them!






And most of all I've got Brew and with him I really couldn't be happier!







Annnnnd that's all I have for now! Until later!

Sunday, March 1, 2009

Lessons learned.

Well I can't believe I'm sitting here and I'm one week away from being done with my first placement... that means that I'm halfway done w/student teaching! Yikes! I've enjoyed it so far though, it's definitely been a lot of work!

So I'm just recently realizing that I'm truly feeling happy again. I feel like my life is right on track and I'm feeling very blessed. I don't know why it's starting to hit me now, but the past year has been a rough one, one in which I've learned a lot of lessons... mainly, the biggest lessons I've learned is that God is in control- He has a plan for me even when it's not the same plan I have. I've learned that truth is often the best, even if it might be hurtful, I've learned it's ok to be happy, I've learned not to settle for less than I want, and I've learned that true friends will stick by your side through everything-- I mean EVERYTHING. I think I might just mention some friends of mine that have truly been a blessing to me, even when times were rough, and even when things were on the rocks...

Stefani- I can't thank you enough for everything you've done for me in the last year or so. Some of which I know you don't realize. You were there for me when the rest of the world walked out. You're the closest I have to a sister! I'm not looking forward to your fiance whisking you off to Europe, but I guess it'll give me an excuse to be a world traveller ;)

Nicole- We def. had our struggles and our rough points lately, but just as I knew, we made it through it. I can't imagine my life without you (haha sounds like we're dating) We've been friends through so much and I know we're gonna be old ladies sittin' in our rocking chairs-- probably talking about something inappropriate! Haha <3

Whitney- I know we haven't had a lot of time to hang out lately, but I always know that you're here whenever. You have the biggest heart, and can always see past people's weaknesses (esp. mine!) and be a friend. We need to spend more time together!!!

The rest of the cloggers (especially Abby and Teresa), and The YMCA clan (namely- Ashley, Allison, and Britt)- you've been there to listen to my ranting and raving, always giving advice or just putting up with me!


And there's one person I can't leave out, one that is my very best friend and recently my significant other ;)

Brew- you're amazing. I've never been so drawn to one person as I am to you, we can practically read each others minds, and you know me on a deeper level than I even know myself. You have always been there for me, and always giving of everything you have for me. I have so much fun with you, all the time, you make me laugh when it's the last thing I feel like doing. I know we have our moments (we're BOTH stubborn lol) but I'm so happy with you, and I can't thank you enough for all you do for me!


So to all my friends, my TRUE friends, thank you for everything, I love you all!!!

Sunday, February 8, 2009

Updates

So I haven't been too great at updating as of late. So I'll give you the rundown...

Student Teaching
My life has been consumed by student teaching. I'm enjoying it though. I really love working at Lubeck. The teachers & staff there are just great. And with the exception of a couple...shall we say... challenging... students, the kids are great too. I passed the social studies test too and was just granted full admission to student teaching in social studies 5-9, which means I'm def. getting my specialization. I'm really excited to be done, I can't believe it's only a couple months away!

The New Year so far
Well I'm sure most of you probably already know, because I'm not sure that many read this, if any actually, but the new year has been getting off to a good start for me. In all aspects of my life. I just started dating a long-time friend of mine, Brew. At first I was leery about jumping into another relationship, but the more I thought about it, the more I thought "why not?" One of my new years resolutions was to stop convincing myself I shouldn't be happy. He makes me happy. So, we are taking our time and enjoying each other and spending time together. I'm so comfortable with him too because we've been friends for years so there's not that awkwardness that comes with new relationships.

Looking Ahead

Some things I'm looking forward to in the next few months are...
-Changing Placements: I love it at Lubeck, and I don't necessarily want to change schools, but I'm looking forward to working with fifth graders, it'll be nice to have kids that can tie their own shoes ;)
-Possibly going to Morgantown at the end of this month: plans are for me, Brew, and Levi (Nicole's bf) to go to Morgantown to stay w/Nicole the last weekend in Feb. All assuming her grandma's tests/surgery goes well, which we're praying does!
-Stefani's Bridal Shuffle in March: It'll be fun, I've not really been a part of a wedding party, and I love spending time w/her, and yea I'm just looking forward to it :)
-My Birthday!: Just cause it's my birthday. Although there's nothing real special about turning 23...
-Spring Break: Who doesn't look forward to Spring Break? I love teaching but it's always nice to get a break!
-Graduation: DUH!
-Summertime: goals over the summer are to SAVE MONEY for Stef's wedding in Thailand, and hopefully *crosses fingers* have enough money to start the process of moving out!



Ok I hope that update is sufficient. Now I'm going to go back in the living room... my family and Brew are watching The Dark Knight. Batman's not really my thing, I sat through 45 min. of it before I got bored & decided to get on here...

So with that I'll sign off! :)

Friday, January 2, 2009

New Year, New Beginning

Well it's 2009! Wow that's hard to believe...

I'm definitely welcoming the new year this year. The past year has been up and down, mostly more downs. But I really am happier now, and I'm looking forward to the new year & what's to come.

I start student teaching on the 12th. I'm excited, and a little bit nervous, mostly excited though. I'm just looking forward to graduating, getting a "real" job, and moving out.

As for resolutions, well I'm not usually one to make resolutions... sure as I say I WILL do this or that, it lasts a week if you're lucky. But nevertheless I came up with a few...
  1. Be frugal/Save as much money as possible - this probably should've been at the top of last year's list but oh well. I'm only working about 10 hours a week at the Y during my student teaching semester, if I'm lucky, so that means my paychecks will be more than cut in half. I'm hoping to be able to pay for almost everything. I have my car paid up till February now, I'm going to try and pay at least February's payment with my last decent paycheck from the way. So hopefully I'll only have to scrape together enough to pay for 2 or 3 months. Then my next goal is to pay my car off a year early. It's a 3 year loan and I've been paying on it for a little over a year, I only owe about $3000 on it so I'm going to try and save money over the summer to pay it off before next Christmas.
  2. Pay more attention to my health - I don't neccessarily want to lose a lot of weight, I've done pretty well throughout college. I've gained about 10 lbs since I graduated high school 5 years ago, which though not great, is definitely better than some of my peers I graduated with. My eating habits just suck. I eat out too much, I skip breakfast too often, and I don't eat enough fruit & veggies. I know that, so I want to try and eat better. I also have a free YMCA membership I seldom use. Now that I'll have weekday evenings free (or semi-free, aside from lesson plans & grading and all that) I don't have an excuse not to go exercise. I still clog, and it's great exercise but I don't do it enough. 2 hours, one day a week isn't what I should be doing. So that's one goal I have, to get in better shape, and eat better. My family genes suck so I hopefully can get into some life-long habits this year.
  3. Stop feeling guilty about being happy - That's one thing I've been dealing w/since Seth & I broke up. I know it's stupid but I can't help feeling guilty that I am happier since we've not been together, especially since he hasn't reached that point yet. I KNOW it makes no rational sense because the choice to end our relationship and everything was mutual. But because I care about him, I sometimes feel guilty that I HAVE been able to move on to greener pastures and be happier when he's been struggling. But I know I shouldn't... I need to keep looking to the future with no regrets and trust that God has plans for both of us, and be truly happy.
Well that's about it... we'll see where I am a year from now on those ;) lol.

Now I'm going to go get ready to babysit... so adios!