Beginning Summer 2013

It has been over a year since I last blogged. Lots and lots has happened. I am not going to try to catch anyone up -- but then maybe just a tiny update.

Love:
Chase is great. Love being married.  Simple as that.


Life:
Working at the Playhouse and at Des Moines Social Club ( and by working I mean volunteering). I also work (meaning get paid) at a scrapbook store and an after school program.  I also am running a custom cards business via etsy. Take a Look.

Looking forward to:
Our Lilacs blooming
The weather finally being warm
Fresh fruit and veggies from the Farmers Market.
The cup of coffee I'm currently brewing in our French Press.









Simple as that.
Tomorrow is back to the real blogging process.

Blogging is Cheaper than Crafting

The weather is really beautiful here. In the 60s, just enough wind, and just cloudy-enough blue skies. The weather makes me so much more motivated. I am so much more willing to stay away and get involved in a project when I have windows open and the house smells summery. You know what I mean right? The smell of open windows and breeze blowing through your curtains. Love it. 

Let me tell you, I have been crafting like crazy. Last weekend I had the blessing to help plan and decorate for my newest sister-in-law, Brigitte . I, sadly, don't have any of pictures from the day itself, but I did make pennant banner that had some of her wedding colors and we had fun vases of big happy Gerber daisies accented with bamboo kitchen utensils. Sounds a little janky but it was really cute I think! It was fun to be with all of the women in my new McCool family. 

Also I have been scrapbooking and organizing. I have worked on my SMASH* book a lot lately and you can see the pages I have finished here on Facebook. I am pretty proud of what I have done so far and will do March in April. Gotta collect the stuff for the whole month then put it in the book.

We also ordered this simple coffee table: 

I want to paint it some how to reflect our decor in our living room. We have grey/black furniture with some white pieces and mostly black-framed prints. I am totally on a chevron kick (we don't have it anywhere else in our house) so I am tempted to paint it on the top of the table. Stephanie sent me this photo for inspiration.

I think I want to paint it grey and turquoise with orange as the little stripe. Loud but in a small dose I think it would be manageable and colorful... But I cannot decide. Suggestions?

See I've been crafting a lot because teachers simply aren't needing substitutes. Whoops. It could be a crazy expensive hobby if I didn't only use coupons to buy things. The craft stores around here always have 40% or 50% coupons. And at Joann's I can get a teacher discount on top of that! Not too shabby.

But nevertheless I will need to get a job to support my crack craft habit. (Don't worry, I have not and don't do drugs). So I have been applying to jobs. Don't want to jinx it... so I'll post if something good happens.

Thanks for reading. I'm really getting back into blogging daily. Goes through seasons I guess. If it is cold and gross I dont want to blog-- I want to sleep. Now things are happier and warmer! :)

Bad Bad Blogger

I am really bad at this blogging thing. I go to blog and get distracted... ohhh old episodes of Storage Wars...

All is going so well here in DSM. Here are the updates!

School/Thesis: Chase and I had a come to Jesus meeting and created a new and better organized plan for my thesis' completion.  He is actually helping me stay motivated-- which is so great. I have made a lot of progress and am actually excited to work on it again. Today was a 3 hour stint of work and it felt great. I am shooting to get it done asap-- meaning March. Oh crud. I put it on the internet... now someone might see it and hold me to it... that is okay.

Work: I have been working at Caribou Coffee since November 1. And its fun and the people are very nice but I just recently have started the process of becoming a substitute. I had an interview yesterday and am currently in the process of becoming approved by Des Moines Christian School to substitute. I have an interview tomorrow with Des Moines Public Schools. I think it will be interesting to see all of the different schools around DSM and hopefully make some connections and decisions about where I would like to work.
Also I have been working on To Kill a Mockingbird at Des Moines Playhouse which opens this weekend. The show is super lovely and the cast is doing a great job. It has been really wonderful getting involved in the local theater community.  Last rehearsal is tonight... Break a leg!
Don't forget I blog at desmoinesisnotboring.com every other Wednesday.


Married Life: I love it. Being married is amazing. Chase is a really good husband and we still really like each other. Good to hear right? Our apartment is really great. Its just exactly what we need. Still no microwave and still no dishwasher... but I'm okay with that. Chase and I last weekend went to my cousin Julie's wedding in Texas. It was a fast jam packed weekend but it was amazing to see our family and friends. I needed that recharge. Living here in DSM isn't bad at all. I actually like it -- even though I am very far from some of my favorite people! 


What is Next: I hopefully will have some long term subbing. I have been making some awesome recipes lately. Really ready for the snow to be gone... even though we only have about two inches. Gotta buy some more teacher clothes. Other stuff.

Hunting for my Mitt'ns

Today my new business cards arrived. They are very very cool. They are square and funky and I love love love them. Why am I using words in multiples multiples multiples? Anyway.

As we sit here in front of our gangsta* Christmas tree watching amazing hilarious TV (we're watching The League -- which is beyond R rated at times but so funny) and just being a lazy married couple. We're very good at that. Being lazy and married to each other.

For those of you who have been wondering what I am actually going to do with my education (which seems to be pretty much everyone outside of my immediate family and friends) I have good news. I am serving as a dramaturg in two productions here in DSM. One is a super family friendly one and the other is a bit edgy/meatier. Happy Lauren.  More as they grow closer.

Hey guess what? Christmas is coming soon! Bet you didn't realize that eh? I am very very proud to say that I am one present away from being totally done with my Christmas shopping. Now I will admit-- we don't do lots and lots of presents in my family (or in my new McCool family) but I really love finding really good thoughtful things that people will actually enjoy. I tried really hard to shop locally and stuff... which basically meant buying loads of stuff off Etsy.  My parents sent us some presents via the USPS and they are making me crazy. Crazy because I am really bad at not opening presents that are just staring me in the face. I have a feeling my parents sent us one of Rusty's Gang. Mostly because the box looks like it holds a Rusty dog... don't know but we'll see. Have no idea what I am talking about? Check Out Rusty and the Gang or visit his Etsy website.  


I have been reading a really amazing book about the Gilded Age. It focuses on Tom Thumb and his wive Lavinia. It is a novel but its based on real events... you know a historical novel that isn't a bodice ripper. I have also joined Goodreads which is like the ultimate bookFacebook. If you like reading at all take a look.


Okay for something less fluffy. The political heat is wild here in Iowa. Chase and I don't plan to caucus but of course we are addicted to the Drudge Report. It will be so interesting. The candidates are all over the city. We've seen Bauchman's bus and I met the pilots of Ron Paul's airplane. Chase's brother and sister in law (tobe) saw Newt, Chase's Dad met Santorum... and well as anyone who has read the news lately knows Mitt isn't really spending lots of time here... but I'd still love to meet him...  that really has nothing to do with his political career... I'd just like to tell him I wrote part of my thesis about him. He should consider himself lucky -- I mean after all is is the only presidential candidate that is mentioned in my Thesis. 


Oh crap. My thesissssss. Oh bane of my existence... Naw. I just am so close to being finished and yet so far away. Tomorrow I am going to spend the entire day working. If I don't get distracted by laundry, the internet, gift wrapping, cleaning, cooking, organizing, shopping, sleeping, watching NCIS, or, or, or... see my point? Anyway...


Speaking of thesis topics the weirdest thing happened today. I was reading one of my favorite self-described Mormon Mommy blogs and the blogger announced that she was pregnant for the second time.  Now know... I have never met this woman, probably never will, and I am one of her thousands of readers yet I was very very excited for them. I in no way shape form or fashion want to have children right now, but I was so happy for them! Isn't it strange how people put so much about them self on the internet -- so much so that their readers feel like they are actually involved in the blogger's life... oh wait. This is getting tooo meta. Me writing about blogs and being a blog reader on my blog for my readers. Okay I'll stop.

Well I think I'll stop here. Mostly because my mac, Gabby, is about to die. She's showing me the red battery and I had to turn her screen to nearly off. Thanks for putting up with my randomness.

Heaven in a Dixie Cup

Our apartment is finally a house. We have unpacked all the boxes and are organized.  Which is nice because we had the space to put up our Christmas tree. It leans a little and and doesn't really have enough lights but we love love love it. Currently, we are watching Dexter in the glow of the tree. Nothing says Christmas like serial killers.

Working at Caribou has been pretty good. The people are lovely and I have discovered that I really love Eggnog Mochas. Yes. That is Eggnog + Chocolate + Espresso + Whipped Cream + Nutmeg.  I learned the first week of living in Iowa that "AE Eggnog is the best." At first I was very confused. When did American Eagle start making Eggnog. Well I learned that it actually meant Anderson Erickson which is a local dairy. When I was at Fareway (a grocery store -- perhaps Iowan?) I tried a sample of Mocha Nog by AE. It was heaven in a Dixie Cup. It is the cold version of a Eggnog Mocha. If you can get yourself some. You wont regret it. Chase does not like Eggnog. And thats fine. More for me.

This week I hopefully will get to do some interviews for my theatre blog at DesMoinesIsNotBoring.com . I am making some awesome contacts here in town and am excited to see what the future holds.  Okay gotta pay attention to Dexter... its getting intense!!!!!!

Office Space

I am about to make a dangerous statement. Ready?

I really don't get/understand/find funny the movie Office Space.
Thats all.

But today has been a day in our office. Between emailing and cleaning and organizing and all I feel like I've been in offices all day. I woke up at 6 with Chase (I had the day off) and just did some stuff around the house (I don't actually remember what I did this morning... remember how I don't sleep well?). Then around 10 or so I finally made my way to the Social Security office to get my name changed. Pause here for a moment. Name changing is a difficult process. Lots of paperwork and lots of running around with proofs of identity. Anyway.

I got there and there were about a billlion people waiting. Okay more like 50. I'm not exaggerating. I was number X16 and they were only on number X3. I was there for around 25 minutes and they only got to X5. Yep. I had a lunch date with the fabulous Keelia so I left and came back. Right as I pulled up the person who was X17 was coming out of the building. Looks like I made the right decision. This time I walked in and wham in five minutes I was out of there. And I got to have a great lunch with Keelia. We went to Gateway Market and it was really good. It will be in competition with Palmer's for my fav downtown lunch place.  Its too expensive for groceries. Trader Joes and Hyvee over in Jordon Creek are just as good and by far cheaper. Anyway.

After that I went to this TJ Maxx like store called Gordmans. Well their clothes are terrible but they have tons tons tons of great house stuff. I loved it! I got some stuff for our house and a new frame for one of my wedding presents from Chase. Our house is starting to look really good.

Speaking of our house-- tonight we will conquer the office. Our office. We have separate desks and chairs -- something I learned from my parents -- and we face opposite directions. Meaning we don't have to worry about each other space. To each his or her own. Mine of course is super cute and colorfully decorated. Chase's is surrounded by all his important degrees and licenses and still not set up-- he's been working a lot lately! So anyway. We'll finish organizing this room and then we'll only have one room left to go!

Here is the before...

The living room. Which will not be finished anytime soon. We bought a couch and it should be delivered on Friday. We bought it at a place that delivers. And we have in our minds challenged the delivery guys to get the bad boy up the stairs. So hopefully I will have a couch on Friday. If not we'll go to plan B. Which we don't have yet.

Here is the couch we picked.... hopefully next time you see it it will be in a photo of our living room.

 

I'm going to recover the pillows. Those aren't my favorite. 

Well that is all for now. Chaser will be here soon and we're headed to dinner. I'm too lazy to cook tonight -- sooo he's going to take me out!

Good husband.

Oh to sleep, perchance to dream!

I don't really remember the last time I slept through the entire night.
Probably back in high school.

At Liberty I had debate dreams.
At UNCG I sang songs from Evil Dead.
At Home I just wake up for no reason. My dad thinks its because I nap too much.

Here in Des Moneys I just cannot sleep through the night, and now for the first time its impacting someone other than me! Poor Chaser. I wake up and wiggle and squirm and stuff and he of course looses sleep.

I am just tired. My body is tired. My mind is tired. My everything is tired.


I try to take some Unisom every now and then... but then I always feel groggy the morning after. So much that when I took some last night I ended up sleeping about an hour after I woke up.

I cannot imagine what it would be like if I had kids to take care of or a husband that wasn't so understanding. I can't imagine what it would be like if I didn't have a job that I was done with everyday by 3pm.

Oh yeah. My job. I really like the company Caribou. I really like their product and their operations. I'm trying to get my stuff all set up so that I can substitute and make more money in each day.

This is kind of a boring post. I need to stop blogging later in the evening. Tomorrow I'll do better. This will be a post I don't like to on Facebook.

Gift Cards, Diamonds, and Applesauce!

Hello readers... those of you that have stuck with me through this great famine of postings.

I got married. Did ya know that. I have a new last name. I live in a new state. I have to get a new driver's license. Oh and I have this fabulous new ring...

That ring on the right is Chaser's. Yes it has a piece of meteorite embedded into it.
I don't want to over do it with wedding stuff. So here are two more photos.... one silly...

 

Me the Bridezilla! 

And us at our first look...

  

It was a perfect wedding. I can keep adding little by little more photos.

We've moved into our new apartment and it is really great. Its perfect sized, great location, and slowly but surely coming along. Right now I am sitting in our kitchen at our pub table waiting for Chaser to get home. I got off work at Caribou Coffee today at 1030. So I've been home today napping and trying to make myself clean-- unsuccessfully. Well the nap was successful, the cleaning? Not so much! Right now the house smells amazing. I  had some "starting to get mushy" apples so I made applesauce. And Lordy, Lordy, it smells amazing.

I'm making a new recipe for dinner tonight. It has goat cheese, shrimp, tomatoes, arugula, and hearty wheat bread. Should be very good... we'll see. Chase is a trooper he's been trying lots of new stuff. Some he likes more than others-- but hey at least he's trying.

Of our whole apartment the kitchen is the only room totally set and organized. Well minus hanging artwork. We were so blessed with giftcards and money for wedding presents that our kitchen is just perfect. You may have noticed I changed the title of my blog... it mentions our lack of a microwave. Well its kind of a personal challenge. We don't really have a lot of counter space (we store the toaster oven under the sink) so I didn't want to get a microwave. Well so far we've done pretty well... eating fresh food and no microwaved dinners. Now I must admit... We do have an electric water kettle.

Today I accidentally found myself listening to the Glen Beck Radio Talk show... yikers. Chase and I for some reason are fascinated by Herman Cain and the fact that he's running for president. He's just really entertaining-- not sure that is a good quality for a president.  But then I soon realized who it was ranting through my radio and I switched back to the CD of our wedding playlist that I keep in my car. Another random fact -- Hyvee has really good tomatoes and I really love Trader Joes' um... everything. Okay enough randomness.

Lots of good stuff is happening. Job is good. Church is good. Life is good. Being married is the bestest thing ever. Really. I love it. We're super tired all the time from working so much but we just turn giggly and have fun together anyway. I know mushy mushy mushy. Thanksgiving is heading our way and this will be my first one with out my parents. Kinda rough.

To be really honest, that is the only thing I don't like about Des Moines-- that my parents don't live here too. Oh and that they have 70 degree weather right now :)

For all of you that celebrated with us in person or in thoughts and prayers  we cannot simply find the right words to thank you. We still get a little teary-eyed when we talk about it. We are so blessed.

More tomorrow. If your lucky! Hahah or maybe I'll go another month or so!

I'd like to wish congrats to all of the miracle babies (all babies are miracles!) that have been born in the last month. I have some killer "other people's babies" fever. Meaning I like playing with your baby but not interested in having my own! Hahah.

Wedding Haiku

Chase Arrives Today.
Way too busy for blogging.
Weddings are Intense.

One stomach virus away from my goal weight...

I am sick.
It is 2:16 am and I'm awake because I can't sleep anymore.
I was in the middle of babysitting the sweetest of babies when it hit me.
Luckily his mom was home for the moment, and she told me to go home.
I am thankful she did.

I will spare you the details.
But if I was trying to loose some weight for the wedding this nasty bug would have helped me succeed.

Let me just say. Popsicles are amazing.   They are the only thing I can eat.
Sometimes.

18 Days till McCool-dom

Well I went and did it. I finally allowed myself to start purchasing furniture for our new apartment.

I know.
You're really excited.
I've been talking about it forever-- and now I've finally done something concrete!

Chase asked me to pick out and buy a kitchen table and chairs and figure out what bed I wanted. So being the impatient woman I am I immediately started perusing websites for good deals.

We have a little kitchen and no formal dining area so I thought a pub/counter height table would be the best for us. Just a two seat-er. Don't worry-- when we have dinner parties we have other options. You'll have to be invited to see how creative of a decorator the latest Mrs. McCool can be.

Target was the winner - here are some photos:

They should show up at Chase's Parents' house soon. He gets to try to put them together!

Speaking of being the latest Mrs. McCool -- there is yet another Mrs. McCool-to-be! Chase's brother proposed to his gloriously lovely girlfriend and they have set the date for next June. We're very happy. Chase and I really like her and I'm excited to get to spend more time with her.

I had my first bridal shower this Sunday. Hosted by two of my mom's best friends -- it was beyond wonderful. I am so thankful for each and every woman that came. Each of them has played such important roles in my life. From my kindergarten teacher, to my middle school venting-listener, to my grandmother to long time family friends. Lots of really great memories and people. And they all gave so generously. I about started to cry... but... I made it through. Just so very happy. Some photos were taken and I'll upload them to wedding photo album online at some point... If Mrs. B. will send them to me :) Hint hint.

I mentioned in my last blog post that I was getting a bunch of new makeup samples and fun things from Stephanie who works at a department store as a makeup retailer. She's got great taste and I love the things she sent me to try. I'm NOT a big make-up-wear-er I just don't care enough -- especially when I'm not going anywhere or doing anything. But she gave me such fun stuff to play with and I'm enjoying trying new things. Especially since you know... I have occasions on the horizon.

She sent me some things I already knew I would love, but she also sent me some Kiehl's Midnight Recovery Concentrate. Holy cow. It might be totally mental -- it probably is seeing that I've only used it twice-- but its super great for my skin. So great that I'm tempted to shell out the cash for a full sized bottle.

Emily arrives this weekend and we're going to run up to GSO for a night to have a night of cooking and crazy movie watching with our friend Mike. If you're in town and free on Saturday let us know. We'll see what we can make happen. 

Thats all for now. I've been working on those pinwheels for days and finally finished. Only 213525262 things left on my wedding to-do list :) I'll start again bright and early tomorrow. Who am I kidding? I love every minute of it.

Still no update on the thesis.  Waiting.....

A Wedding in Photographs

well.. two photographs.

I have been working like crazy for two days straight on these pinwheels...

 

and buying make up under the influence of my makeup expert Stephanie...

Camera photos are just the bestest. Hahah. 

I should receive two boxes in the mail today... one from Stephanie full of more makeup! (Photo to come) And one from the artist that made Chase's wedding band (no photo to come-- not yet!)

Off to my daily trip to Micheal's at nine o'clock for purple paper , a flower girl basket, and some other do-dads.Then going to sit with a family friends grandma while they have a night out -- which means do more crafts at someone else's house instead of mine! :) Gotta love those coupons from the website.

23 days... and 23 hot glue burns

I was supposed to nanny this morning but sick kids kept their Mom home - so I have the morning free.

Yesterday I spent the ENTIRE day working on a project that will be my own twist on this:

Of course, as perfectionist I some times become, the pinwheels look perfectly uniform just in lots of different sizes. But Lordy, Hot Glue guns could be used as a form of torture.. I guess thats kinda like being tarred and feathered...anyway. But its worth it.


I have a feeling that today is going to be an emotional day. I'm kind of tired already and I need to spend the day going through my "keepsakes" that are stored in my closet. Lots of old cards and little tokens that hold memories. I am really going to have to evaluate if I need to keep things to "keep the memory" or if I have the memory with out the material item. Can you tell I'm a devoted fan of Hoarders?

Okay, so I think the new facebook formatting will break me of my facebook habit.

26 days...

We made our way to Omaha yesterday around noon central time. We were both really tired and honestly I was a little silly because I was pretty sad to leave and didn't know how to react otherwise. The Omaha airport is actually pretty little. But its not bad or anything. I thought I was going to get bumped and a voucher for 200 bucks. Not so lucky. But I did get an exit row seat and was seated next to a gentleman who's wife and daughter live in Yemen. He was kind and not annoying. That is a nice thing. Once I arrived in Houston I walked to my next gate and it was already boarding. Another nice thing. The woman at the desk was very funny and make the whole process kind of fun- believe it or not. She wished everyone safe flights in the language of their last name's origin. She didn't assume anything- she would ask if she didn't know. But anyway it was just yet another nice thing.

Then-- I actually boarded the plane.

It was a six-seats-across-er. And I was in the VERY last row, in front of the bathroom, in the very middle of two people. But I was excited because there were on-board TV's and there was an NCIS marathon on USA! Very pleased. So pleased that I even texted my parents, emily, and Chase. But then right as we were taking off a message popped up saying it would cost me to continue watching. Nothankyou. I returned to my book. The Diary of Dora Damage -- it wasn't that bad. A bit racy at times, but over all its pretty good. I mean I did read almost 200 pages :)

So after a kind of miserable - hot sweaty and cramped - two and a half hours I made it to RDU and started working my way back to the park and ride. With out much difficulty I actually found Sadie rather quickly, and was prepared to drive back to Jvegas. But mom and dad asked me to not drive and to instead stay with my aunt. So I did. Michelle is very gracious. I walked into her house and saw a wall decal that I really wanted.  This is a copy of it:

I don't think we'll be able to get the actual decal but I am trying to think of something so we can have a portable version. Maybe I'll get a little one and place it on a canvas or something.

Early this morning I drove back to babysit and was welcomed by an explosive diaper. Thats all I am going to say about that. I really hate it when Mommy bloggers give too many details. If you are a mommy blogger and this offends you-- I'm sorry, I'm sure you're a great person and I like knowing things about your kids, just not all things :)

After babysitting I did some errands, visited Michelle M., and came home and started working on resume's and looking for jobs in DSM. Anyone have any leads? Something theatre-y? Something artsy? Something a girl with a master's in theatre might be good at? I have some good leads already but I am always welcome to more!

Mom and I sat down to do the wedding to-craft list.
It
is
quite
long.
Yikes.

But tonight I'm going to watch NCIS and be lazy. Tomorrow I'll babysit then head to Micheal's. Lots of crafting ahead!

1 Month Till McCool-dom

I am sitting in the guest room in Chase's parents' house and just relaxing. I've watched lots of TV. Taken a lot of naps, and gone shopping. Wonderful! Since I turned in my second draft of my thesis to my advisor and he gets two weeks to read and get revisions back to me. Hopefully after this next set of revisions I am going to be on my way to defending my thesis!

But during this two weeks I have a jam packed schedule. I have been nannying/babysitting/kid watching like crazy and I plan to keep that going. It has been a blessing for me because it has let me "have a job" with out "having a job."  That makes sense right?

Emily, one of my bestest friends/female soul mate, will arrive on October 8 and I am soooo thankful. I have so much wedding stuff to do. So much wedding stuff. Most of it is the "details," the little bits and pieces that go into making the wedding a masterpiece. Lots of paper to be folded, welcome booklets to be created, photographs to be framed, and wedding party gifts to be put together. But I'm very excited. It will be great to have Emily to talk to and be with while making this magic happen.

One other thing I really would like to make are pillows influenced by this Etsy seller: lovecalifornia

I am planning to put my own spin on them but I really love their quarkiness and how happy they are. Hopefully with the help of sewing extraordinaire Emily I can make ones for NC, VA, OH, IA that will fit onto standard size decorative pillows that you can get a craft supply stores. You know the boring white kind that fit inside of a much cooler pillow case. Anyway.

Speaking of Craftiness my Dad, who blogs here, started a new Kickstarter project today. It is centered around this awesome dogs he makes out of metal. If you've ever been to our house you've seen the prototypes for many years just chilling on our front porch. Well now you can have Rusty and the Crew come hang with you and your family. Trust me, he's easy to get along with and hangs out with the coolest people. You want to be a part of his gang. Check out Rusty's blog (everyone has blogs these days) and consider sponsoring his trip to stardom on Kickstarter.

Today, Chase was sworn in as a Lawyer in the State of Iowa. I'm so blessed by him as a friend and as a partner in this crazy time in our lives. He is working on finding his perfect niche here in Iowa. I really believe in him and his talents. We are looking for clubs to join and groups to get involved with here in DSM. Got any suggestions? I don't want to say too much, but I am hopefully going to start blogging for a DSM entertainment website doing theatre and culture reviews. Wonderfullllly excited. I hope that even my non Des Moines readers on this blogs will also take the time to click on over to that weekly blog too.

Life here over the next month is going to radically change. And I cannot wait to chronicle it here on this blog. One month from now I'll be based in the midwest and Lordy, yall are going to have to support me through that one. They don't have Bojangles here. They have weird named grocery stores (Hy-vee? Wha?) and the city doesn't shut down when it snows. It will take some getting used to.

Are ya ready? This next month is going to be a whirlwind. I hope to blog a lot more than I usually do... keep reading and keep checking in daily. And Comments are always welcome.

Me and my Eqsuire

--edit--- please note that I spelled Esquire incorrectly... blame it on the headache.


Chase passed the BAR! Wooo hooo. I am so proud of him - not surprised at all - but very excited.

We also found a great apartment. Its a great price. Its a great location. Its a great size. Its small but not tiny. Its got character but isn't awkward. Here is a little hint of what it looks like... I'll take better before photos before we actually start moving stuff in to the space...

Hehe. Not a very good photo eh?
Yeah the apartment people didn't think when they were taking photos...
But trust me its great.

We are 25 households away from having in all of our RSVP's. People are still on my good side. Mostly because I'm so stinking excited to get married.

I have the worst headache. The worst. I have had one two days in a row and nothing is helping. Last time I had a headache this bad I was in Iowa and Chase made me a big ol' bowl of Kraft Mac and Cheese. And it helped. Well I just finished my m'c and well. The headache is still with me. I want to sit in a dark room and listen to a book on tape and do nothing. I think my Emily is sending me her migraines. I love me some Emily. But she can keep her migraines.

I am one chapter away from being done with my thesis revisions. I want to work faster but I am really worn out from my head hurting. So I am just trying to be reasonable with myself. Difficult.

Tomorrow -because I am crazy- I am going to Durham to have lunch with Martha, do a little shopping, and deliver to her the massive amount of clothes I have collected for Freedom 4/24's Frocks for Freedom.  If you are any where near Lynchburg you should go this upcoming weekend- I think its going to be a great time! Here is the Facebook Event page.

Okay I have to stop. My heads killing me.

It feels like Noon

I have been awake - on purpose - since 2:00am.

Yep, you read that correctly. When I was at BGSU I realized that I work best in the middle of the night. Way late at night. So I went to bed early and set two alarms to wake me up during prime working hours.

And it works. It really works. I get so much more done when no one is posting to Facebook, trying to chat with me, or sending me emails that need answering. Plus the phone doesn't ring, Mom doesn't need me to help, and Chase isn't being sweet and distracting me. :)

I got an entire chapter of my thesis revised and planned out down to the articles that I will reference and the passages I will quote. All on my graph paper. Love that graph paper. I hope to get this paper written before the weekend is over and then I'll move on to the next chapter. The next chapter has  significantly less edits to be made and I am hoping to have that one all finished by Tuesday. The last chapter needs about ten pages added to it. Plus I need to finish an intro and conclusion and I think I will be pretty much done by Monday 11 days from now.

Mom made pancakes. Blogging takes second place to pancakes made at home.
More later.

100 YEARS / STYLE / EAST LONDON

Details and Dogs

I haven't blogged in such a long time. I haven't really had anything interesting to share with the world. Friday afternoon I received the first set of edits from my thesis advisor but since I was at my uncle's wedding in Myrtle Beach I just decided to wait until Sunday night to start revising my chapters.  Here's a couple of great photos from the wedding. Good lookin' family if I may say so myself.

Aunt Michelle and Me

I have a lot to do. I expected it. But I have a lot to do. I had to reorder some books I -stupidly- returned to the library before leaving BG. But for the price it would cost me to have someone check them out and send them to me I bought used ones off of Amazon.  As a result I am pretty much broke!  Well not really. I have been babysitting like a pro but I come home from each job and immediately put that money in to our Mattress/Couch/other Furniture fund. This week I am dog sitting and babysitting all day on Thursday and once on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. 

Leo being Super Cute

But its not like I actually have the chance to go out on a spending spree anyway. Not much to do here in J'vegas. I mean I could go to Marshall's every day or two but I just don't really need any clothes. I also keep finding great stuff for the house but not buying it.  I am trying to have as little as possible stuff to cart back to Des Moines. 

Mom was the Matron of Honor

Wedding plans are the other time-taker in my daily routine. The big plans have all been made but there are so man details left to be seen to. Wedding cake toppers, decorations, jewelry, hair styles... on and on and on... Details.  Yesterday I paid the deposit to the guitarist, made hair appointments, mailed some invites (I have bad luck with putting the wrong addresses on things!), and organized the RSVP's. Let me just say three things.

1. You don't just RSVP if you are attending you also RSVP if you are not attending. RSVPs are really important to those planning. We have to give numbers and we have to pay per person. This also goes for you if you are a relative or member of the wedding party. RSVPs are just polite and wonderful and welcomed. Please. Please. Please. Oh and RSVP early. Before the requested day .  /end rant/
2. I am really stinking excited. Crazy Crazy Crazy excited. Every time I receive one of the aforementioned RSVPs I get so excited. 
3. There are so many people that I wish could make the list of "invited." Chase and I have big families so that took a good 2/3 chunk of our available slots. Then the rest were those "close family friends" -- you know the friends of your parents that know all of your business.  Thus the limits of space. It would have been different if we could have gotten married at First Baptist. But No Saturday night weddings at the Church. So no wedding for Lauren at the church.

On the domestic front we are still trying to find the perfect place to live. We've looked at a couple little houses that are up for rent and don't have any concrete answers from the homeowners yet. We have a good apartment complex in our back pocket but we are just keeping our eyes open. One of the houses is adorable and YELLOW! Lord knows I love some yellow... so we'll see. I kind of have the feeling that we will end up at the apartment at first.

Grandma and the Granddaughters!

So um I have a feeling this is a boring blog post. I am just crazy excited to get married and move to Des Moines. Not excited about being so far away from my parents. We'll see.

Silly Parts of the Blog:
I am addicted to NCIS. Cannnnot stop watching.
I want about every single solitary item in the new Boden Catalog.  Gift Cards Welcomed.
I drink a lot of coffee. A lot. Yet could nap at any point. Don't understand.
I would really like to have a cat.
I am crazy excited to decorate our new living situation - love this inspiration.
I would like to finally get my car cleaned - its got to stop raining!
I haven't gotten to read as many books as I would have liked.
I have a recipe for chocolate cobbler that I am dying to make.
I also have a recipe for caramel apple cheese cake that needs to be made. 
I really love that all of these frozen yogurt places are popping up everywhere. Low(er) Cal Blizzard!
I am really excited to have Stephanie and Emily finally meet!
I am - for one of the first times ever - excited to buy makeup (for the wedding).
I am crazy excited for Chase's wedding band to arrive.
I have the darn best looking wedding party. Everyone is so darn good looking!

Um thats all of the randomness for now.

How to Wait for a Hurricane

1. Sit in your house. 
2. Calm the dog down because he's as nervous as all get out.
3. Try to not check the news every five minutes. 
4. Check and make sure you have everything ready including art supplies, books, oh and flashlights.
5. Wait.
6. Wait.
7. Look outside.
8. Wait.
9. Nap.
10. Wait.
11. Watch last night's TV on Sidereel.
12. Take another hot shower.
13. Fill up some pitchers with water.
14. Make sure Grandma remembers that she's to come over for the duration of the store. Yes Grandma, the storm is coming Today. Yes. The Hurricane. Yes your staying at our house. Okay see you soon.
15. Wait.
    
    Notice the trend?