happenings

I haven't written lately! I know. I'm horrible! And so much has happened!
We booked the venue AND a photographer!
His name is John Shim, and this is his website: http://www.johnshim.com/
He's very talented and we are so happy that he is going to be shooting our wedding!

I have been super falling more and more in love with my fiance! It still feels amazing and awesome to say that! We have had crazy days lately. Just a lot of going and going and not much time for relaxing! We went crafting and got supplies to make bunting and went antiquing some more and he found some real cool suspenders this weekend that he is going to wear to the wedding!

We went to North Carolina to see his Poppy (mine too now I guess!) this weekend. Friday we went and finalized some stuff with our venue, which we were pleasantly surprised that it had been expanded for the same price that we paid for when it was smaller, then Saturday we drove up and spent the day walking and holding hands and spending time with family and eating way too much food. We went antiquing in Greensboro and got some delicious chai tea at a cool coffee shop where Santa was drawing pictures, found some cool stuff for Nathan, but not so much for me, but it's ok :) Today we went to church and ate more tons of good food and I am stuffed! We stopped at another antique store in Lavonia that was incredible, but we didn't have enough time to look at everything in there! It was humongous! Then we went and ate pizza and talked about married life and what we want and got some scratch off lotto tickets (I won 2 free tickets!) and laughed a lot :) We also locked my keys in the car this morning after church... but all ended up well with only a few bad words said. (Just kidding)

I started a new job at the school! It doesn't pay awesome, but the schedule is great and anything is better than nothing! Most of that money is going to go towards the wedding! I just want to get married right now. I love Nathan so much. He's the sweetest! The other day I was having a bad day (it happens...I'm a girl) and he kept calling me his cinnanom bun. Yes, cinnanom. So when he came over to see me he brought me some cinnamon doughnuts from Krispy Kreme :) He's wonderful! And I need to snatch him up quick and for forever!

I need to start working on my nursing stuff since I go back in less than a month... Oh man. Am I looking forward to it? Yes... and no. It was stressful and wonderful and I learned a lot, but it strained a lot. I lost social time, free time, fiance (then boyfriend!) time, and sleep. I lost a lot of sleep. But, I am looking forward to learning more and edging closer and closer to my degree. I need prayers!

G'night!

pretty walk at Poppy's house

venue!

suspenders!

expanded venue!

somber & love

Today I wrote a 6 page paper for med surg and I'm not done. I took a nap.

I also went to see Nathan's grandma, Mama Lou.

She's just one of the sweetest women I've ever met and I'm glad that I got to know her even for a little bit before her decline. She has cancer, and she's being so strong. Her faith in God astounds me. Nathan and I were talking about this the other day. She said that things are the way that God wants them to be and everything would work out. This woman who is dying of cancer, is stronger than I have ever been to even speak that. It's the bravest thing to be able to say that and have faith the way that she does.

Nathan took the sweetest picture of her and her husband, his Papa Sam, praying together. It's inspiring, sad, humbling, and love.

It was so nice to be able to talk with her and just sit and be. She wanted Nathan to play the piano immediately when we came in, and he did. His playing always makes me tear up because it's so beautiful, but watching her just take in the music was amazing. I could tell it was just what she wanted and needed to hear. I can just see how much it makes her whole day to hear him play.

I need to appreciate what I have in my life. If I can live to be as faithful and happy and wonderful as Mama Lou, then I'll be truly blessed.

time...

It seems like there isn't enough time in the day while at the same time, sometimes at least, there is all the time in the world.

It seems that it was October and then I blinked and when I opened my eyes it was December. It's awesome and bad at the same time. I feel rushed. I leave for New York Tuesday morning and I haven't had a chance to pack yet! It doesn't seem so bad, but I have to work all day tomorrow, wrap a few presents that I haven't gotten to yet, and drive 2 hours back home to spend the night so that it will be easier to leave to go to the airport in the morning. Oy.

I am excited though. I don't really like planes though, which is weird because I didn't have a problem with them until a trip (which I can't even remember which one it was or how long ago, weird) but we hit turbulence and I thought I was going to have a heart attack and teet in my pants I was so scared. Now when I board a plane, I am grasping the seat for dear life the entire flight. I pray and pray and pray and pray. It's just not the way I want to go. You know, screaming in terror and being able to realize my horror before I either get crushed to death or burn alive in an airplane explosion or suffocate going hundreds of miles per hour, miles in the sky. No thanks. BUT, that being said, I am SO very excited to share New York with Nate. I have never been into the city myself. It's always been the Island. So, this time, we are going to spend a majority of time on the Island, but we are going to be brave tourists and venture into the city for the day. Hot dog vendors, THE TREE, (maybe) iceskating, photos, shopping... all of it! It will be fun, I think. Even if we get lost, it will be a fun story later...

I still have a little "cold", although it has gone from my throat into my sinuses and now I can't breathe. It probably didn't help that I went home this weekend and because my mom is in mid-move, my bed was gone. I had to make a makeshift bed on the ground with blankets. Kind of like camping, except more like what I imagine jail cots are like, except worse. And I kept waking up gasping for breath in the middle of the night because my mouth would close or I would wake up drooling all over myself OR I would be in pain and need to roll over because my prison cot felt like a prison shiv in my back.

Anyway, I'm excited. No work, no school, no worries and lots of boyfriend and family time for 6 days. I can't wait!

Thanksgiving.

I am SO incredibly thankful for tons of things.

I'm thankful for how God is working in my life, and even though I am not perfect, He blesses me and teaches me something everyday. I'm thankful for my wonderful family, no matter how crazy they are. I'm the most thankful for my wonderful boyfriend Nathan, who I appreciate more and more everyday and I am so blessed to have him to love. I'm thankful for my job and my coworkers (even if they drive me nuts sometimes), my grades in school, getting INTO nursing school and STAYING in, my upcoming trip with my family and my love to Long Island in December, my home that stays pretty messy because I'm busy/lazy, pinterest, the energy to handle a part-time job and full-time school and a full-time relationship, neighbors that are relatively quiet most of the time, seasonal coffees from Starbucks, all of my friends (who all seem to be getting married and having babies), and my health. I'm so thankful for EVERYTHING that I have, and I thank God for many things every night.

Nathan is one of those many "things". I have written on and on about him, but I just love him so much. I think about us often, about how we came to be and how there were a few times when I was sure that we wouldn't be (in the beginning). It really brings to light that "everything happens for a reason" thing. I waited for about 2 years for God to bless me with someone, and sure enough, he sent me Nate. It's been 9 months since we met and I am so happy! I feel like I've known him forever and ever. I'm comfortable and in love and he still makes me get butterflies in my belly. I am just the most thankful ever for him.


Tomorrow I get to have Thanksgiving with Nathan and his family and extended family and maybe ride a horse. I'm excited!

increased sleep latency = pinterest, blogging, & netflix

Well, actually it isn't increased latency if it's just disrupted sleep patterns which is very much what it is. I just went to bed at 9, woke up at 11 something, and I have my very first ever nursing clinical at 7 in the morning. Will I get ANY sleep? Perhaps. Maybe in an hour or two my circadian rhythm will kick back into "oh crap, you're supposed to be asleep" mode and I'll hit the pillow and make some Z's in sleepytown. Probably not.

Nursing school is... stressful still, but I am FINALLY getting into the swing of things. I think in the past two weeks I will have taken 3 tests, done my first clinical (STRESS CITY), written 3 papers, practiced for finals, and all the while maintaining a relationship with my Nathan and a part time job that gives me more hours than I could possibly want. I am relieved though, that I am officially going into finals with B's in ALL of my nursing classes. I don't know what is going to happen, but I have been praying, and God has carried me through this semester at my hardest points, and I know that he will continue to carry me through if it is what I am supposed to do.

My Grandmother and Dad are coming down from New York to say hello and to pack all of my Dad's stuff to move to New York and then Nathan, my brother, and I are going up to New York in December. Too many New York's.

Nathan and I went to this really good pasta place tonight called Mirko. It has homemade pasta and sauces and it was delish! Definitely will be going back again!

Happiness is Here.

Well, I finished nutrition. We will see how I did.

I go on a family vacation with HIPSTERJACK and his familia this weekend. I'm nervous, but excited. I have never felt more comfortable with anyone in my entire life. He's still able to give me butterflies and the biggest smiles and tingles and make me laugh so hard I cry. God is trying to show me something, whether he's my soul mate or not, and I'm trying to have open eyes and ears and arms to take it all in.

I have become quite the sap lately and everything makes me contemplate crying. In a good way of course. HIPSTERJACK says things to me that make me want to cry and grab him and never let him go. It's a love like in the movies. Granted, we have our differences, but they aren't severe enough (not nearly!) to be judgmental of each other. I have fun with him and he has my heart. I still pray for a clear head when it starts to wander into self conscious territory, but this man shows no sign of NOT loving me. I don't know why I worry. I guess it's a fault of being human.

My apartment is almost settled. I go to Florida soon with family. I start my nursing school soon. Good things are happening... Except for me turning 25, but that's another blog for another day. Thank you God for everything :)

Sweet Progress.

Well, life has been going pretty swimmingly lately. I feel immensely blessed!

In an update from last month, I will probably go to the nursing school that accepted me, but I have an interview at another one on Thursday! Choices are always better than being forced to go one way without a say, so I'm still excited. :)

My dad is sober now and doing well. I'll continue to pray about that! My mom loves her job and her boss treats her wonderfully and with respect, which is something she wasn't used to having worked for huge corporations. My brother is still my brother and doing brotherly things.

My love life has take a good turn. I am still dating the hipsterjack guy, which is going extremely well. I met his family last night for his birthday. :) I am in puppy love for sure. OH! He is not going to Chicago! My prayers were answered, and it seems that I am doing something right because God wanted him to stay for some reason or another. This guy... he is just the best. We get along amazingly, he's sweet, smart, and super talented. I can't wait to see where this takes me. :)

School is... school. I am getting burnt out again. I guess 2 years straight of school will do that to you. Just 2 more and I'll be done and making money and living on my own! (Unless the world implodes in 2012, in which case my degree won't matter and all of my stress would have been for naught.) Algebra is kicking my butt, and it's so hard to make it to my 9:00 class in the morning.Work is decent. I have to work a lot lately which cuts into study time at school (which drives me insane) and date time (which helps me keep my sanity), so I will have to see. This week though I have 4 days off after Monday! Tuesday I have to meet Hipsterjack's best friends and their wives. We aren't "officially" boyfriend/girlfriend yet, but I like where it's going. :)

All in all, things are going really well besides the fact that I am physically and mentally drained.

Blessed!

Well, I just got home from spring break. It was the first one that I have ever been anywhere on. My brother and I and 3 of his friends decided that Key West would be fun, so we went there and had a super wonderful relaxing trip even though it took 14 hours each way. :/

I got some awesome news and some sad news while on "vacation". I got accepted to nursing school, which eases a bit of stress from my mind and adds some at the same time (now I have to find an apartment, etc.). BUT I got accepted, and I am that much closer to being able to help people! On a sad note, a friend that my brother and I knew and went to church with committed suicide. It's so sad. I hadn't talked to him in years, but my brother said that he was really depressed the last time he saw him. It's so sad that someone feels that they need to do something like that to ease their pain. I am praying for his family.

The earthquake in Japan is sad as well and I've been praying a lot for them. My cousin is in the navy and they are stationed over there. I just pray that the nuclear power plants don't explode. :(

I am still seeing my hipsterjack guy, and no word on Chicago yet. I can only continue to pray that he can stay and find a job here, especially since me getting accepted into nursing school will put me much closer to him. I get to see him Wednesday and I am so excited. We both talked for hours the entire time we were both on vacation. I really like this man.

My dad is in New York for 3 weeks to visit my grandma. She adopted a dog today from a last chance rescue, and I am so happy for her that I could cry. I know that having something to take care of will help her in dealing with my grandpa's passing. I pray for her and my dad a's well.

So, all in all, a lot of praying has been going on. I have to be at work at 7 this morning and I can't sleep! I'm praying God will help me stay awake at work! ;)
Until something else awesome happens,
Adios!