Stories of Our Trips Around the Sun

Monday, Monday, Monday

2011-09-12T10:28:00.000-07:00

So I have reached my Senior year at UNCC and I have to say it's been an ok semester but Mondays are rough. I am at the UNCC campus from 1:00-9:30pm. It's now 1:30, 8 more hours to go. But on the upside, only 11 more of these Monday's to go! It's been a rough ride, trying to obtain my bachelor's degree but I wouldn't change a thing. I've met a lot of people, and a lot of really great professor's along the way. I honestly don't know what I am going to do without school. It has taken over so many years of my life, I will probably be bored without it. 1 year from now, ask me...

I guess I better make my trek to class. Happy Monday all!

Getting Settled

2011-08-14T13:26:00.000-07:00

I will be 26 years old in 21 days. Wow! I can't believe it! Where does time go?

This weekend Chad and I were able to get a china cabinet from some good friends for a great deal. I have not had any dining room furniture at all! All I have is an old table from work that we never eat on, it just gets piled with usual items. I have been so excited, preparing the area for this beautiful piece of furniture. Forgive me for not taking a before photo, or a "real" before photo. The space used to house two old bookcases full of magazines and books. I took a picture after I cleaned and rid the area of those unsightly bookcases. The TV cabinet on the left is actually being handed down to my sister who lives in Raleigh. So... don't mind that! I also took one with sweet Charlie. I think he hates it when I take close ups. :)

All of this making decisions about buying big furniture and finally putting away our china is making me feel more like I am ready to be settled. Don't mishear me. I am not ready for a baby, just yet. I just feel like I am moving away from my "unsettled" former self. I am in my senior year at UNCC and have actually started to take a peek into the job market. I am feeling more and more ready to be out of this phase in my life.

This morning we went to get the china cabinet, and a bookcase (we still need a place for our books, and yes I did recycle all of those magazines...). When my dad drove off from helping unload it, and I got the bookcase and china cabinet just where I wanted them... It hit me, I need more space! Could it be? I am finally ready to buy a house? Just another step into this unknown territory. I'm starting to get excited. I still have two very stressful semesters left but I am excited, excited about this new chapter in our lives. Here are a couple of shots of the area. We also bought a dining room table from them but can't get it until November because they are still trying to sell their house. So imagine that TV stand gone, the old work table, gone, and a real, and I mean REAL dining room table? I am sooooo excited!

So here are a couple of closer shots. I can't believe how many books I actually got on that bookcase. I am still working on my china. That's why you don't see any of it. I do have a vase out in my china pattern. I am so glad we registered for china (Thanks Shannon for talking me into it!). I don't know when we will buy a house, hopefully within a year. This task has definitely made me feel more ready for a house, and ready to be settled.

I can't believe I have reached this point in my life. Time flies when you're having fun!

Where have you been?

2010-08-31T06:40:00.000-07:00

I mean, where have I been?

It's been a crazy summer and I never thought I would say this but I cant wait until fall gets here!

Since we last spoke, we have been to the highland games in the mountains, Mrytle Beach, and Indianapolis for the Moto GP race, thankfully our next trip isn't until December 27th to the mountains for a cabin trip! I am exhausted just thinking about this summer. Chad and I have probably traveled a total of 4,000 miles all together! Insane! This is exactly what we want to do, Travel!

School has started back so maybe this means I can slow down a little bit? Hmmm?

I turn 25 on Saturday, I can hardly believe it. We are having s BBQ on Sunday with a big pool party to go with it! Its going to be a lot of work, but I know we will have a good time in the end. Food, family, friends, sounds like fun to me.

Sorry this blog is not very good. I am also, sick... Yay! I think it's all starting to catch up with me. I just hope it doesn't turn into asthmatic brochitis like last time. Taking my vitamins, and resting now. Let me be well by the weekend.

Hope you all are well! Have a great long Labor Day weekend!

Today is July 26, 2010

2010-07-26T06:19:00.000-07:00

Do you know what this means? Chad and I have been married for a whole month! We went for a swim yesterday evening and as we were swimming around he looked at me and said, "I can't believe we made it this long!" haha I laughed at him and said I know, look at your hair! We have been together going on 7 years. It will be 7 years on February 25th. A silly hairdo is not going to scare me away. It was my idea in the first place, I just didn't know if he would go through with it. But, knowing Chad he wont turn an opportunity up like that. It has been a wonderful month together. It is fun to look back at the pictures. Chad's mom and I looked at them together recently and cant believe how perfect everything was. We are going to the beach this weekend and I have a surprise; we put an album together for them. I know she will cherish it. I also have all of the pictures on cds so that she can't pick and chose certain ones she would like to have. I hope to do something special for my mom too. I think she was ready for a break from wedding planning, really from anything wedding. It's a lot of work. It's been a month! I can't believe it.

T Minus 8 days

2010-07-23T07:44:00.000-07:00

A week from today we will get to escape for a short weekend at the beach. Chad's whole family is leaving for the beach this week. We took off so much time for the wedding and the honeymoon so we will only be able to go on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. I won't argue because I feel blessed to just have the short time that we will be there. I am excited to look for seashells because in Key West there were none. :( I am an expert shell seeker and it's hard to go to a beach with absolutely none. I imagine I will have plenty of pictures, especially of his family's reaction to his new "look." hmmm... :P

Mommy's Little Monster

2010-07-20T12:04:00.000-07:00

It is July 20th. Can anyone believe that? This means that Charlie is 10 months old, wowee! He is my little monster and everyday he tells me that he wants a sister named Lucy, hmmm? Am I ready for number 2? Egh... Maybe when he is 2. He has grown up so much; no more chewing, no more wanting to go out every hour on the hour, we're over the puppy visits at the vet, he's becoming a big boy. I think he is just about 45lbs which I would be more than happy to have a 50lb bulldog. I don't know if I can take him running and dive bombing me if he gets over 50lbs. He has been staying at 45lbs for the past few weeks but Chad says he won't really be full grown until he's about 2 years old. He is still so small compared to Bailey so Chad and I call him our little package. Sometimes I will go in the living room and he will be snuggled up to Chad and he will say, "look at my little package" (not in a vulgar way, get your mind out of the gutter). Here are some cute pictures I just took, just a couple of minutes ago. :)

Highland Games

2010-07-18T17:24:00.000-07:00

"Oh there's sober men and plenty, and drunkards barely twenty, there are men of over ninety that have never yet kissed a girl but give me a ramblin' rover, Fae Orkney down to Dover, we will roam the country over and together we'll face the world..."
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I haven't really had much time to blog lately. Life has set in this summer; seems like once something is over with there is something else to anticipate. Chad and I love the life we are living and wouldn't change anything we have done together thus far. It is very nice to get away for the weekend and when we went to the Highland Games it was the perfect getaway.

There are no real words to describe the feeling at the Highland Games. It is almost like you step into a different time, a different country, a different world. First things first, you have to ride an old school bus up the side of Grandfather Mountain to get to the "Meadow." Once you step foot off the bus many smells reach your nose; some good, some not so good. The first smell was the smell of a burning fire because there were hundreds of people camping. It was an interesting site to see because you have to walk through the campground to get to the gates. Almost everyone was in a kilt or some form of traditional Scottish attire. The temperature was wonderful; it was in the upper sixties when we got there. When you get through the gates you begin to smell breakfast. There were breakfast biscuits or traditional favorites like Scottish eggs (Chad's new favorite breakfast item). The next thing I remember was hearing all the bagpipes playing the Scottish anthem of sorts.

The view was amazing and you could almost hear the music echoing off the mountains. When you see the playing fields, it's almost like a huge football field, only they are not playing football. Around the field is a track, then around the track are all the tents which house the "Clans." All of the traditional Scottish names you think you would see, were there, MacArthur, Graham, Wallace, Mackay(Shannon, does James spell his name like that?), MacDougall, Munroe, Ramsay, along with many others. It was really nice because there was a constant breeze which sent all the Scottish flags flying, it was so neat.

We hope to visit the Highland Games in Laurinburg in the beginning of October and Chad's parents hope to join us. I think Chad and I will be all decked out in Scottish garb when we go. I will make sure and let you know about it and post some pictures, it should be a sight to see.

Micro-cotton Towels

2010-07-14T18:34:00.000-07:00

Chad and I have actually had time to sort through almost all of our wedding gifts this week, Charlie too. He feels the need to be a part of everything to do with the pile of wedding gifts. We got everything we could have ever needed. The coolest thing that I pulled out to use today wasn't bought off of our registry; Biltmore Micro-cotton Towels. We avoided registering for overly priced items like some of the Biltmore items because we know how everyone is trying to scrunch their spending. These towels are $14.00 a piece regularly; we received 4, including hand towels and wash cloths. These towels are amazing!! If you are in need of new towels you need to check these out! Or, you ladies that I know who are getting married, you need to register for these, and Lori, your kitty party, register for these! They dry fast and they dry your body fast. When you are all done they aren't heavy with water; strangest thing. Pretty awesome. You may think this is a silly reason to blog, but I am so happy about these towels. They were meant for us. Thanks to Frankie and Elaine! You read my "wish I could have all Biltmore stuff" imaginary registry. Especially now that I hear Biltmore merchandise will be non- existent in a few short months.

Adventures of Mr. and Mrs. Brown

2010-07-13T12:27:00.001-07:00

I cannot tell you how many amazingly fun adventures we have been on since our honeymoon! I think there are more than the fingers on my hand. We have been on the adventures of fixing Chad's car, the adventures of the English bulldog (Charlie has an upper respiratory infection, yay!), the adventures of renting a car, the adventures of going back to school, the adventures of my dad throwing his back out (he is stuck upstairs, I am a little scared), and the adventures of Hallmark Ornaments. Is there a rule that says when you go on vacation that when you come back you have to go through hell? I need a vacation after my vacation! It has been a rough week.

We were able to go to the Highland Games this past Saturday and Chad and I are official Graham Clan Members, yay! Chad was so excited to hear about his ancestors and we brought home lots of information for him to read too. We have an official Graham genealogist now that can help us trace back to specific relatives and know specific dates. I keep wondering when things will slow down but it doesn't look like they are going to anytime soon.

We have made our Christmas plans. Last night we chose which cruise we are going on. We leave on December 11th for 6 days. We are leaving from Charleston and we have 2 days in separate cities in the Bahamas and 1 full day in Key West, and a couple days at sea. We are so excited. We are posting a map of the world in our front room (office, spare bedroom) of all the places we have been and all the places we still want to go. We are planning a big trip in the Spring of 2012 because I graduate in the Winter of 2011 so we are all going to celebrate in Scotland and Ireland. So far we have a group of 7 people going. We look forward to that trip everyday, and our savings keep growing little by little. Between now and then we will settle with smaller more affordable trips, like our cruise in December.

I will leave you with a couple of fun pictures of Chad and I in Key West, smile. :) Also check out the few I put on our slideshow from our parasailing adventure.

Highland Games

2010-07-09T19:34:00.000-07:00

Our first day trip adventure as Mr. and Mrs. Chad Brown. We are headed to Grandfather Mountain Saturday for the Scottish Highland Games. Chad has been researching his family tree the past 6 months and it turns out the Graham Clan will be there tomorrow. Chad is the first born Graham in his line in North Carolina. The other Graham's migrated to the Virginias many many years ago from Scotland. He is so excited to learn more tomorrow. Ancestry used to be a hard thing to find out and expensive, but not now. I hope to share many pictures and bring back lots of info. Stay tuned. :)

Sex on Fire

2010-07-08T12:59:00.000-07:00

This was a song that I just learned of on our Honeymoon. I am not referring to any activities that happened during our honeymoon. This song will forever be stuck in our head when we think of our honeymoon because it was blaring on the radio when we went up parasailing. It was awesome. Here is a great picture that Chad and I love and hope to have it framed on the wall very soon. We had so much fun together and it was so nice to get away from EVERYTHING! By everything, I mean everything, no bills, no harping family members, no responsibilities. The only responsibilities we had were to each other and it was the best feeling in the world!

Send Me on My Way

2010-07-07T07:30:00.000-07:00

Our Wedding day... hmmmm, smile. It was an amazing weekend to say the least. There was stress and there were tears but at the end of the day when everyone had left, Chad and I were married and it was the happiest day of our life! I have chosen a few select pictures that make us smile, from rehearsal to posing for the camera before the wedding. Please enjoy! :)
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The rehearsal. There were a lot of laughs at the rehearsal because none of us really knew what we were doing. They kept looking to me for answers, "Well, how do you want it Beth?" I have no idea? This picture on the left is priceless and it caused my dad to stutter when Pastor Scott said, "Who gives this woman...?" Our faces are priceless, apparently Chad is about to pee in his pants, Chad's dad Mike is leaning over laughing, well... you see my face, and my dad, haha. Good Times. Now the picture on the right I posted so you could see Chad's lovely boutonniere. I figured if I had to carry that silly bouquet he needed something too. :)

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Here is a picture of my hair which turned out better than I ever could have imagined. It also took a little longer than we expected which pushed everything back which then put everyone in a frenzy. It did take about an hour to get all of those silly bobby pins out too. But it was worth it. :) On the right, one of my favorite pictures of Chad, his parents, and I. All smiles, all happy! :) I don't know what we would do without them. I think I saw a couple of tears in Chad and his dad's eyes when I made it up to the gazebo.

Here's a lovely photo of my parents and us. The sun in my dad's eyes. And my sister's and I on the right. I think the dresses were perfect, the flowers were perfect, I wouldn't have it any other way. :) How about some actual wedding pictures?

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I would like to post one more picture, of all the boys. I want to send a special thank you to my cousin Daniel and Dylan for standing in for Chad's brothers. We appreciate you guys going out getting a outfit and being a part of our ceremony. That's all I am going to say about that. :)

The photo on the right, coming down the aisle, tears and all. Eyes on Chad, eyes on Chad, eyes on Chad. Smile. :)

And... We're married!

This was a very brief journal of photos but I hoped you enjoyed it. We had a blast! Now we are Mr. and Mrs. Chad reminds me every night. :)

Back to North Carolina, Back to Life

2010-07-03T15:09:00.000-07:00

I can't say whether or not I am happy or sad to be home but I can say that I am happy to see my babies. I can't wait to share stories with my friends, and I am looking forward to going through all of our wedding pictures. I guess you could say I am happy to be back but I already miss The Keys.

I am also very happy to go see Eclipse. Ofcourse it had to come out while we were on our honeymoon! I think we have a pretty big group that wants to go, it should be interesting.

These next few days are going go be rough getting back into the groove of things but I hope to post some pictures for you, wedding and honeymoon. Keep an eye out, I will have some posted soon. : ) Have a Great Weekend!

Relax, Slow Down

2010-07-01T19:16:00.001-07:00

Today I realized something, do you ever think you are living your life in fast-forward speed? Chad and I were relaxing in the pool today and we have observed some strange people. Today I think we met the fastest person. She practically told everyone in the pool her life story in 30 seconds. She is from New York, hmm? Most people we have met are from up North. She is 38 years old but not married to the man she is vacationing with. She is "pretty much" an attorney, or so she thinks. She is in school to be a paralegal? Hmmm? She also wants the wrinkles removed from her cleavage, it makes her look "old." hmm? There are 4 pools at our hotel so Chad and I moved over with the "older" people because they were more our speed. Since Chad and I have been here we have realized that most people who live in Key West live relaxed, slow-moving kind of lives. They enjoy the dinner they are eating, or the drink they are drinking, they don't rush to your table with the check; they don't rush at all. This woman we met today was all about rushing. Soak up the moment you are living in right now, relax.

Good Morning Key West

2010-07-01T05:11:00.001-07:00

Rise and Shine! This morning we are headed to Duval Street, Mallory Square, Ernest Hemingway's House, and the Key West Lighhouse. We decided we would check-out on Friday so we have time to explore the gulf coast; this will be our last full day at Parrot Key. We've gots lots of fun planned between now and 8:00 tonight. We are also going to the sunset celebration at Mallory Square tonight.

We will be home in a couple of days. I miss my babies. I call to ask about Jack and Charles just about every other day. I can't wait to see them both, I especially can't wait to see my Charles. I miss having him in the bed with me because he is so affectionate. It won't be long and he will fill the nook between Chad and I. : )

Whew!

2010-06-29T18:32:00.000-07:00

Man, what a vacation. Chad and I have needed this more than you will ever know. Today we found out some disheartening news. My paw paw passed away last night. What do we do from here? egh. I am stuck. Chad and I went to see the Southernmost point in the USA this evening and we stood together watching the sunset and I couldn't help but be comforted that my paw paw is resting now. He wasn't deathly ill that I know of, he just grew tired and his organs began to give out. But I feel better knowing that he is resting safe in the arms of God and it won't be long and I will see him again. The sunrises and sunsets are amazing here in the Keys; it's almost like in the "City of Angels" when they go see the sunrise and you can hear singing, or music. Enchanting.

Today was a nice relaxing day. We went parasailing this morning and it was AWESOME! Neither of us have ever been before so we sat on the back of the boat and he punched it! We paid an extra $30 to have him videotape and take pictures, I can't wait to see them. He took "oh hell what did I get myself into," and "thank goodness I am not going to die" pictures. I can't wait to see my face. We were sky high and the water is so clear you can see turtles, sharks, corals and all kinds of other sea life. Words can't describe my happiness.

We spent the rest of the day by the pools at the hotel; there are four. I had the most amazing panini from the cabana by the pool. Chad was recuperating from all the scotch he had this afternoon. When you are relaxing and sitting I don't think you realize how much you have had until you stand up. I don't think he will ever do that again. I sat in the pool listening to other people; most of all the people are talking about work. It is sad that you go on vacation and you talk about work. Work is the furthest thing from Chad and I's minds. Hmmm? Yep.... Gone!

This evening after Chad had a nap we went to the Southernmost point in the USA. 90 miles from Cuba. Then we went to Duval street. We saw Maragaritaville, Cowboy Bills, and we went into pretty much every gallery we could see in an hour. Tonight wasn't the night we planned to go to Duval Street and they suck money out of you for parking so we had an hour and twenty minutes. I am more for the tasteful stores, like the galleries. I am not so sure about those stores with the " Hookahs?" Chad says in India they use them to smoke tobacco but here in the USA those lazy bones smoke weed in then. Stupid if you ask me and Chad and I are totally against that stuff so we just walked by those stores. Definitly make time to check out all the galleries, absolutely amazing!

All in all it was an amazing day and I look forward to spending more time in the ocean tomorrow at Fort Zachary Taylor. If you are home check out the webcam. We will be there! Have a Happy Hump Day!

Looks Like We're Going to Be Stuck Here For a While

2010-06-28T18:55:00.000-07:00

So... Looks like we are going to be stuck here in Key West for a while, road closed, might have to get a job. I don't know if we will be back? Send some rum, wish you were here.

Noooo, not really. We don't have our computer with us but I figured out how to blog on my iPad so guess what, I am blogging for you!!

I have already talked to a few friends and family about our adventures here already. We have only been here for a day but we have done more here in Key West at the beach that we have ever done at any other beach. We decided after we saw the bluest of blues oceans that we needed to explore those waters so we decided last night that we would do a 30 mile tour of Key West's oceans, on a jet ski. Neither of us have ever been on a jet ski so it was an experience. With Chad's motorcycle expertise he took right to it. Did I mention that Key West's waters have been affected by the storms off the coast of Mexico? That means big waves, and us on a jet ski, INSANE! It was loads of fun and my legs are killing me from clenching to the seat!! It was amazing, we saw things we wouldn't have seen otherwise, sea turtles, C130s dropping Army Rangers with parachutes, cruise ships from the ocean, we saw where the submarines hid out during WWII, it was awesome! Don't worry I bought a waterproof camera, and I took pictures, when we stopped of course. We also saw the house from Real World Key West from a few years ago, it rents for $4500!

Since we were so mesmerized by the blue waters we have a reservation to go Parasailing tomorrow morning. We have also already been to Duval Street, Mallory Square, and Fort Zachary Taylor. We hope to go see Smather's Beach tomorrow after our Parasailing adventure. We get a discount for watersports since our hotel allows them to use the bay our hotel is next to. It helps out a lot on pricing, that's why we are doing so much, and WE'RE ON OUR HONEYMOON!

I can't believe we are married, Chad always shows me his wedding band, it makes me feel tingly inside. I am so happy. Can't wait to show you some pictures. : P

I'm Getting Married Today!!!

2010-06-26T04:29:00.000-07:00

In less than 10 hours I will be Mrs. Chad Graham. It is going to take me some time, learning my new name. :) I am being a nervous bride this morning, thinking of where I need to be at what time, and what I still need to pack for Key West? I won't blog again until we are back from our honeymoon but I am sure I will be full of stories by then.

If you are interested we are going to meet you guys in front of one of the web cams in Key West. On Wednesday night we are going to drive to Marathon and stand in front of the Sombrero Beach Point Camera and wave at our family and friends. All you have to do is go to www.floridakeyswebcams.tv and click on the Marathon Cam (The one with the big palm tree), then one person will have to control the camera to turn to us (my sister will do this), all you have to do is click on our cam and we will be there. We are going to try and be there at 7:00pm. If it doesn't come up for you, I think you have to have a flash player. It will blink at the top of the screen asking if you want to run the flash player; it's that simple. :) Hope to see you there!

I guess it's time to quit relaxing and get to work! I will see most of you at 6:00pm tonight. Have a great week!

What Would Jesus Do?

2010-06-24T12:21:00.000-07:00

Jesus... Have you ever seen the movie, "Jesus?" I don't know if it is nearly as accurate as "The Passion of the Christ," but it is a little bit easier to watch. It's one of my favorite movies. When I picture Jesus in my head, I picture the gentleman who played Him in that movie. I don't know what Jesus looks like, but I have a perfect picture in my head of what my Jesus looks like. I often flip to the book of Matthew in the Bible to read about Jesus and I often put in that movie to have a picture in my head.

We go through so much day to day and we complain, "gripe" and grumble but have you ever taken a look back at your life and realized how blessed you really are? Is it worth all of the grumbling? I read about Jesus, and I read things Jesus has said and I am reminded what he went through, for me, and for you. Do you realize that without him we may not be here today? Do you realize how much pain and suffering he went through? Then, how can you complain right now? You are alive, walking, breathing, and most of you don't live a very shabby life. If you are reading my blog, you are on a computer; probably your own. This also means you have some form of Internet, right? Do you know how many people live without those things in their lives?

We all have bumps in the road but we should all be thanking God everyday for the many blessings that we have in our everyday lives. Have you thanked God for that drink of water you just had? Some people don't have clean running water. What about that vacation you keep talking about? Have you thanked him for the job that you have that gave you the money for that vacation? What about your family? I know for certain that your family life isn't always the best? Everyone disagrees, even the best of relationships have disagreements. Don't annex family out of your life, one day they may be all you have. Forgiveness, also mentioned in the book of Matthew; Matthew 6:14-15, For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you; but if you do not forgive others, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses. Please forgive. There is no use in being against people, be the good person and forgive and move on. Your life will be so much better, and God will forgive you.

Sometimes I just get so fed up. Some people don't even take the time to realize what they do have. They spend all their lives talking about what they wish they had, or wishing they had what someone else had. Feel blessed with what you do have and promise me today that you will remember what Jesus went through for us. I can bet you it was a million times worse than the stress that you have been through this week. Kneel and pray, right now. Thank God for your life, and thank Him for giving you His life.

This Will Probably Be My Last Blog... As a Single Lady

2010-06-23T17:54:00.000-07:00

I can't believe we are getting married on Saturday! Chad has been telling me all evening, blog, blog, blog, blog about something. What should I talk about? Lori keeps nudging me to post some pictures from the bachelorette party, hmmm? I don't know if I am up to that tonight. It was a lot of fun. 5 of us went to Strike City and it just happened to be "Island Night," which was so perfect! We bowled for 2 hours; that's a work-out. Then... We went to Beantown? It was fun and I am sure I made some memories I will never forget, hehe. Anyways, we had a blast! Jill, Lori, Korie, Tammy and I. I don't know if I am ready to post pictures quite yet, silliness! Chad's bachelor party? I didn't have anyone document that. There were 5 of them as well, Randy, Ken, Keith, Richard, and Chad. All I know is he was home around 3:30am about an hour after me. After all of that, I know we have some great friends and we thank God every day for blessing us with them.

Tammy told us she had a dream that we had a baby, and since she has been unemployed, she babysat for us? hmmm? Don't think we are ready for one of those yet! We still have so much life to live as newlyweds. Why rush into things? I will be 25 in September and Chad is 26. I think I want to be 32. 32 is a good age to have a baby. That gives us 7 years. 7 years to conquer the world! 7 years to grow our nest egg and buy a house, 7 years to have the job of a lifetime, 7 years of quiet nights, sounds nice. 7 years.

Key West... I have kind of forgotten about our trip to Key West. We have been so busy planning this wedding the past week that I almost forgot to get the suitcase out! We are doing a lot of this wedding stuff on our own to save money so it's a lot of work. It will all be worth it though. I am most looking forward to being able to finally call Chad my husband. Forget the rehearsal dinner, forget the flowers, the cake, the dress, forget all of that stuff, what means the most to me is our vow to one another, being able to call each other husband and wife. I can't wait Chad! I love you.

With this ring, I thee wed...

2010-06-21T12:01:00.001-07:00

I am so happy to tell you that Chad's wedding band finally came today. We had his wedding band special ordered from Ireland. Since we have been tracing Chad's roots we have become more interested in Irish/Scottish history. I always told Chad I would order whatever he wanted or go to a jeweler and buy which ever band he wanted. Well... he decided several weeks ago and it finally came today. What, only 4 full days left until the BIG day. Great timing, huh? The bands are finally together. Chad bought mine months ago; Chad was a little more choosy but I think he is so excited about this one!
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His is engraved with the Celtic Lovers Knot. The Lovers Knot design is attributed to sailors and seafarer's who would weave the knot with two pieces of rope to give to their sweethearts as mementos. Pretty neat!

Happy Birthday, Happy Father's Day!

2010-06-21T05:14:00.001-07:00

My family likes to do both together. My mom and dad were both out of town this week. Both for completely different reasons. Mom was in Beaufort for business and dad was in Texas because my Paw Paw is under care of Hospice. My mom's birthday was on the 16th so we didn't get to celebrate until last night. My dad was home in time for Father's Day but I don't know if he was happy to leave his dad, my paw paw.

Do you know what it is like to be separated from your family? The only family I know here in Charlotte is my immediate family (mom, dad and sisters). I never grew up around 95% of my family and we were lucky if we were able to see them every 2 years. It's hard and it is not the best feeling in the world. The grandaddy that I got to see several times a week died several years ago. Now we reach as far as we can to try and touch the ones that are still alive in Texas. I am getting married next week and none of my family will be there. It's hard and I am not going to say this about you but some people in the world take for granted that they live 2 hours, 1 hour, or even 30 minutes or less away from their families. I don't and when you have one who lives half-way across the country who is dying, it is hard. You cling tight to the photos of the summer you spent with them, or the long-weekend they spent with you, the pictures when you were young, and they were young, wishing you could go back to those moments.

What do you do when you are this far away? I breathe a deep breath and let out a huge sigh because from here I can do nothing. Yesterday was Father's Day and I didn't send my Paw Paw a Father's Day card. Now I am feeling regret, would he have gotten it? All I can do is pray at this point, maybe he might make it and prove to everyone what a strong man he is?

At least I got to spend Father's Day with my dad. I will continue to ponder and pray for my Paw Paw but I truly am blessed to have spent Father's Day with my own dad. Chad was able to see his dad on Father's Day. Chad and I are blessed. Sometimes, well, all the time, I pray to God that I would be just a little bit closer to my family. Right now I can look forward to a trip with Chad to Texas, next year... What will next year be like? Well, for today, I will continue to live for today. Thank you God for giving me today. What will today be like?

Key West is Beautiful Tonight!

2010-06-16T18:16:00.000-07:00

So... Only 11 more days until we hit the road. I haven't really been able to get excited about Key West because of all of the stresses of the wedding planning. Chad and I will be in Key West for a week and then we have several days to make our trip home. We are going to explore the gulf coast of Florida on our way back. I have heard there is some killer seashell seeking to be had over there. If I lived at the beach I am sure I would have barrels of seashells everywhere. It's almost like birds foraging for food; in the end they are rewarded. So I dig in the sand at the beach and in the end I am rewarded with magnificent seashells.

Chad proposed in August of last year, it has been 10 months. We have known about our general wedding date for a long time; sure the location changed a couple of times. We always knew we were going to get married in June. I always wanted to be a June bride. Here we are almost a week away. We can't even believe how much time has flown. He will be my husband, and I will be his wife. hmmmm : ) When Chad and I are in Key West I am sure we won't even look back. We have been waiting for this for so long and it is finally happening to us. Our animals will be in good hands, and we have a house sitter. All we will be worried about will be beautiful sunsets and each other, as it should be.

If you want to see how Key West is doing tonight, check out the web cams at:
www.floridakeyswebcams.tv

End of an Era

2010-06-15T08:50:00.000-07:00

This weekend Chad and I embarked on ending a long journey we have been on together. A lot of money was put into this journey, more than you can even fathom. We decided after long discussions that we were going to sell our 120 gallon fish tank. Since we are getting married we have so much stuff and need the extra space. We have been taking care of fish tanks for almost as long as we have been together. It was something we thought we would learn about together. It started off small and grew and grew and grew. Amazingly after taking the fish and coral to a gentlemen in Belmont and spending 8 hours cleaning everything, we sold the tank just hours after we finished. It's gone already. We thought it would be much harder to sell, but it's gone. We decided that we are going to continue to rent for a few years because we are growing a nest egg for a down payment on a house. The more we put down the less we will have to finance.

I was so sad to get rid of Kevin and Spot. They are the fish we have had the longest. When starting out in this hobby we had a 46 gallon tank and we experienced things like ick and we never had fish for long. Once we were able to get rid of the ick, these guys have lived the longest. 2 years I think. They are my babies. This nice gentlemen in Belmont, NC has a small shop called Advanced Aquatics and he only has the best specimens and no ick. So we took Kevin and Spot to him and I know they will go to a good home.

Now there is an empty hole in our home, a silent area which once was filled with noise. It's strange and sad but I know we will have a nice fish tank again some day. Now we will work on getting new flooring in our house; hopefully laminate. Our landlord has always said she would put in new flooring but we never could because of the big tank. After everything settles down from the wedding we will look into flooring. Now Charles has his own area. He doesn't know what to do either. I even washed the cover to his bed so now he is really confused. He's my baby too. I think he could sense my sadness. Him and Chad stayed on me all night so I wouldn't have tears. They did a good job. I would like to go see my babies if they haven't sold already. maybe Saturday.

The end of an era. Hmmmm... What territory will we conquer next? How about an Ant Farm? I am trying to talk Chad into another bird; a cherry head conure (I posted some videos of them on my video bar). He wants one too but not this soon. I will keep you posted on that one. Thanks for reading.

11 more days! 12 until Key West!

2010-06-14T15:02:00.000-07:00

2 More Recipes on My Learning to Cook Blog

2010-06-11T08:41:00.000-07:00

Here is the link if you want to check it out:

http://www.learningtocook-beth.blogspot.com/

Yesterday I made Tex-Mex Spaghetti Casserole and Spicy Crab Dip, Enjoy!

Today is Friday. I should be shouting from the roof-tops that it is finally Friday but, silly retail hours... I have to work tonight and tomorrow. Jack is in the other room telling me, "Night-Night Momma." It's not night-night time Jack. Silly bird! These next two weeks are going to be crazy. I am trying to work more before we go on our honeymoon because I don't get paid vacation either; that's practically 2 weeks I will be going unpaid. We will make it. I am excited about getting away to Key West. Only 16 more days until we leave, 15 days until we say I do.

Time flies when you're having fun!

Thoughts

2010-06-09T07:18:00.000-07:00

Do you have a favorite smell? My favorite and Chad's too in the whole wide world would be lavender. Several months ago we planted lavender in our garden. Monday it flowered for the first time, and without a doubt the best smell ever! We will forever love the smell of lavender since our trips to the Grove Park Inn and Spa. We have missed that this year. We put it on hold due to our wedding plans. We hope to get back to Asheville next spring if not before then. We are going away for Christmas together to create our own memories and our own traditions but we are going back to Key West. We haven't even been and we are already going back. How does that happen? Charlie and I are lounging at least the first part of the morning. There he is, already taking a nap, and we just got up! Silly dog!
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My showers... I feel so blessed, these special people in my lives took out the time and money to plan such pretty showers for me. I will be forever grateful. the first shower I went to was the one Chad's aunt Nancy planned (his sister-in-law took part too but she wasn't there at the time). Everything was so pretty, she had all of the colors matching, it was perfect. The games we played were hilarious, and the food was perfect. I think we were all ready for a nap by the time it was over. Jill took a picture of my tattoo; Nancy touched it by accident. It is still healing but it doesn't hurt anymore so no worries. It is perfect though, I love it!
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I had been bothering my mom and my sisters about honeymoon gifts. We have received a lot of household things but nothing for the honeymoon and we are going to KEY WEST! We have no beach towels of our own, no beach bags, we needed sunscreen, etc. So my mom blessed me with beach towels and a beach bag at this shower! Yay! We are so excited, our fund is growing slowly but surely. We found this website: http://www.floridakeyswebcams.tv/ it is awesome. We go online everyday to see the sunset, and to see how the weather is, generally. It is so cool. If you have time you should check it out. I am going to change my video bar to show videos of Parrot Key which is where we are staying, check those out too. Most people we know have never been but are hoping to go soon. I hope to provide them with lots of info when we get back.

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The next shower was thrown by my best friend Lori and Melanie! I was anticipating them both but I couldn't wait to see what they had planned because it was all top secret! It was so great! The food was great, the dessert, even better. And I think I laughed really really hard a few times, so good news, I lost weight too! hehe, probably not! My mom surprised me with an even prettier beach bag, beach towels, sunscreen, and tanning oil. When I held the towel up I didn't even realize, I kind of looked like a mermaid.
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I was also so surprised and so happy when I opened Shannon's gift, a handmade, knitted blanket for Chad and I. It was so special. We definitely passed that one around, and someone actually tried to steal it! My sister got it all on camera too. Handmade gifts are always so special. We will cherish it forever. I also received some of my china, towels, and other various things off my registry. We are so excited to finally have a full kitchen, almost. We haven't had to return anything, everything was perfect!
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All in all it was a great weekend. We have one more shower this weekend. Our church decided that they wanted to throw us a shower too, so we have that one on Sunday afternoon. I am so excited to see everyone at church. I think it will be great! This one is a uni-sex shower too so men and women will be there, I am so excited! Chad and I have been so blessed and we have been staying on top of Thank you notes. I mailing a whole stack today. Thank you to all of you who have done so much for us! We love you all!

I am alive at 12:25

2010-06-08T09:25:00.000-07:00

I just paid a pile of bills, egh! I guess it will be ok though because when we are in Key West I won't have to worry about bills being due. I am starting to get excited. Less than 3 weeks now and I will be Mrs. Chad Brown-Cracker (Mrs. Chad Graham). I had two lovely showers this weekend and we all had so much fun! I don't have too much time to blog about it now so I will do a special bridal shower blog with pictures sometime soon. Maybe tomorrow? I am off the next two days to finalize some wedding details so maybe I will scratch in blog time somewhere in there.

I am alive at 12:25. I can't complain about my life because God has really blessed Chad and I. It's a beautiful day outside and I have 11 and a half more hours to live before tomorrow. Hope you all have a blessed day!

Check out my youtube videos in my video bar. A bulldog who thinks he's a hound, hehe.

Rite of Passage

2010-06-05T08:46:00.000-07:00

I think I am ready to share our news about our "rites of passage." It's almost been two weeks; I can't even believe it. I can't even believe I did it, without screaming like a little girl. .

Chad and I got tattoos to celebrate our, "union." Nooooo, we didn't tattoo our names on our butts or anything, and I can assure you Chad doesn't have my face tattooed to his shoulder or my name in a heart on his heart. We put a lot of time and consideration into where and what we were going to get. I always said I wanted a tattoo but nowhere on my body.

Well, I decided after looking at probably a million peoples tattoos. I decided I wasn't going to get what they got. I knew I wanted to do something meaningful. I took a tinsy winsy piece of family history and twisted it into something current. I took one of Jack's feathers with me, and I took an American Indian tattoo and just put Jack's feathers in it's place. So I now have two of Jack's feathers attached by a small yellow bead. Oh yeah, on my foot. Chad and I didn't tell anyone what we were going to get. Especially me because I didn't want to second guess what I had finally chosen. Many people said I shouldn't get it done on my foot because it would hurt but they way I look at it is you are going to have that tattoo on your body the rest of your life, the pain will only last for a short period of time. So... get the tattoo where you want it.

Chad looked into his family history; he is Scottish by the way. He chose a Scottish Highland Cross, with lots of Celtic knots and he had it tattooed on his back. We had discussed getting them in Key West on our honeymoon but I couldn't bring myself to do it. I wouldn't be able to see the tattoo shop beforehand, so we decided not to go that way. We looked into every tattoo parlor within 50 miles of Matthews. We chose Tattoo Bill's off of South Tryon. Many celebrities including Paul Sr. and Mikey from Orange County Choppers have been there. We went a week ahead of time so I could check out their setup, and I was satisfied.

A really nice girl named Madison tattooed me. She said I did well for my first tattoo especially considering it was on my foot. It only took about an hour. Chad's took 2 and a half hours, whew! A really nice guy who has been doing tattoos for 31 years named Will or "Snake" did Chad's tattoo. We both survived and we are both proud owners of our first tattoo's.

No showers for our showers

2010-06-05T08:33:00.000-07:00

It is a pretty day outside, the birds chirping, and warm rays of sunshine on my face. I hope God blesses our wedding day with a beautiful day like today. I have a bridal shower today, yay! All of this excitement the past few months and the wedding is just three weeks away. There has been a lot of stress and anxiety but most of that was lifted on Wednesday when my mom and I went over to the Reid House in Matthews to finally see the inside and sign the contract. After all the remodeling it is beautiful, and after all that we have been through with them they lowered the price $350 for me, yay! That $350 can now be put to good use.

I hope the showers will be a way to getaway from some of this anxiety. My future sister-in-law was unable to be at the shower she helped plan so I hope Chad's aunt Nancy isn't feeling too burdened today. We will get there early to help her out some. I bought gifts for both of them to thank them for all the time and effort they put into it but I guess I won't be seeing my sister-in-law. I will save it for a better day. I do appreciate all the work it takes because I was right in with all the planning for the one my mom and sister threw and I too have thrown showers myself. I always feel like the hostesses deserve something too because it is a lot of work! I will have to think of something special for Melanie and Lori too! We have another shower tomorrow which I am excited about too!

Everything is coming together, and it's starting to feel a little better. Ask me how I feel when I am in the car on the way to Key West for our Honeymoon. Hopefully I will feel better by then. : )

Ouch Charlie, That Really Hurt.... Charlie bit me.... Check out the video on my video bar, hehe

2010-06-02T18:06:00.000-07:00

Learning to Cook

2010-05-31T08:21:00.000-07:00

First recipe has been posted on my new blog, enjoy!

www.learningtocook-beth.blogspot.com

#46 check, check, double check

2010-05-27T05:16:00.000-07:00

Yesterday Chad and I embarked on one of our "things to do before we die" tasks, sort of a way of celebrating our marriage. Yesterday marked exactly 30 days before we say our I do's so we thought we would celebrate now, 30 days in advance by doing something special together. We did, and we are so happy! I don't quite want to spill the beans on my blog yet because there are still people we want to talk to before we advertise online. We don't want people hearing through the grapevine if you know what I mean? This was a huge thing for me to do, something I have always said I don't think I want to do but now I can check it off my list, no regrets! #46aa One check for me and one for Chad! Yay! Y

30 days

2010-05-25T08:57:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow will mark 30 days until we get married, yay! It feels like just yesterday Chad was asking me to marry him. Look how happy we were, we still are but this was the day before we left Hilton Head. It was a blast and a memory we won't soon forget. Yesterday we got the boys shirts, they are so awesome in person. Hopefully Chad's dad will love it so much he will want to wear it everyday. We will see them on Thursday so he will get to see the shirts then. I hope Chad's mom and I can get some shoe shopping done then. I got my shoes but there is always room for another pair!

I don't know what I would do without Chad's parents. They have always been there for us. Mike (Chad's dad) has been on a wild goose chase for some citronella candles for me. We need 10, or more, for the reception. They will be a part of our table setting but we just can't seem to find the right ones. Most of the time when we find them they are in buckets, or in big pots. We have bowls that we are using with sand in them, so they need to be the perfect candle. Oh well, I am very grateful for him looking all around for me. There just isn't enough time in the day for me to look all over, nor the vehicle to take me there. So here I sit, no ride, no way out.

I am on the phone with Chad now. I told him I was blogging and he said he wanted to know when I was going to start my, "Learning to cook" blog. He knows that when I start it he will get good eats, as long as it all turns out ok. I will get there. I haven't had the time. I am off tomorrow but so is my sister so we will probably be running errands all day (her errands not mine). She graduated on Saturday and she is off for a week before she starts her new job. Bigger pay, benefits, everything. She thought she would take a week off before she ventures into the real world.

She's got me into this Justin Bieber craze. He has grown on me a lot. This girl ate a chip with queso from a tiny pool with a huge "Cubby" in it. The pool wasn't even big enough for him. It was full of queso and she ate a chip with "Cubby Queso" on it and won front row seats to Justin Bieber and backstage passes, what are the chances? I will eat some "Cubby Queso" to go see the Zac Brown band! Heck yeah I would. Anyways, I downloaded my first Justin Bieber song today, sad to say. I downloaded "Stuck in the Moment." I remember when I was a kid and I was crazy for Hanson, well, I am still crazy for them but they sound different now. Oh well, $1.29 later, I am "stuck in the moment." Photo courtesy of Brotha Fred

This week

2010-05-24T05:17:00.000-07:00

This week marks a fun week for Chad and I. This Wednesday will be sort of a "rite of passage" for us. I don't know what's going to happen or how it will all turn out but we are excited! I will post some photos a month from now. It's the sort of "rite of passage" I tried to do with my grandmother when I was almost 16 I think when I spent all summer in Texas. Well, guess what Bojo, I'm gonna do it! We wanted to do something like this when we were in Key West but I decided for both of us that it probably wouldn't be a good idea. So we are going to do it before we get married, yay!

We had our first meeting with Pastor Scott on Saturday and it was great. We did some catching up and talked about spirituality and marriage; that it's the most important thing for a marriage because without God we wouldn't be here. Everyday Chad and I have a 10 minute devotional alone, reading in the book of John. And then we have a 10 minute devotional together talking about John, and then we pray. I think Chad and I are already really strong but I think God makes us stronger. Now we just have to decide which story we want him to preach about at our wedding, hmmm? We meet him in Kernersville this weekend on Saturday which should be fun. Then we are going to swing by Childress on our way home to take some photos of the grapevines and buy a case of wine.

I hope you all have a blessed week. I hope to post something on Wednesday about my sister, she graduated from Johnson and Wales on Saturday, yay! I took some great pictures for you Bojo! I will post something then! Have a great day!

Learning to cook

2010-05-21T05:35:00.000-07:00

I have a new blog called Learning to cook. Since Chad and I are getting things of our own now so that we can have a full kitchen I am going to "learn to cook." Don't get me wrong, I know how to cook but I am going to try some new recipes and blog about them. I hope you will check it out. I hope to start sometime next week.

What a happy day!!!

2010-05-19T14:59:00.001-07:00

Some months ago UNCC sent an email to my student email account asking me to do a survey of the new Student Union. The Student Union is a place for students to hang out basically. There is a Barnes and Noble, a food court, a movie theater, a salon and some other shops. I decided to take the survey because I really liked the Student Union. They decided to offer a drawing to all of those who completed the survey; the prize was a brand new Apple iPad. I opened my student email on a whim this morning because my semester is over, but something told me to check it. When I opened my email this nice gentlemen had written to inform me that I won the iPad!!!

I can't believe it! I couldn't find anyone to take me over there to pick it up this morning. Everyone was busy or wouldn't answer their phones. This afternoon I was able to go over and pick it up. I am so excited. I called everyone to tell them the fun news. These things are upwards of $500. They even gave me a nice case for it. I can read books, listen to my iPod, connect to the Internet, watch TV, everything!! I am so excited! I have my iTunes downloading now. I can't wait to play around with it a little bit.

What a surprise! I needed this, a boost to make me feel better. This has truly made my day! Yay!

It's done downloading!!! I am going to show everyone! My sister has won front row seats and backstage passes to Justin Beeber and tickets to American Idol. It's about time I won Chad and I something! Yay!

37 more days?

2010-05-19T07:32:00.001-07:00

Could be 38 more days until our honeymoon, but it's also 37 more days until we become husband and wife. On June 3rd we are going to get our marriage license downtown. I am kind of nervous about it but it will probably be ok. I don't like going downtown especially to the courthouse, so... it should be interesting.

We have pretty much all of our plans wrapped up. We just reserved our rental car for our honeymoon. We figured we would save the miles on our own car and put them on a rental car. Key West is many miles from Charlotte, NC. We had another group of friends offer to throw us a shower so that pretty much fills up our schedule between now and the wedding. Jill graduates this weekend, next weekend is Memorial Day then the following weekend we have two showers back to back then the next weekend we have another shower, then the weekend before the wedding we have our bachelor/bachelorette parties, then we're getting married!! :) Time flies when you're having fun!

I think we have decided to take a video camera to Key West with us. It is going to be so pretty, we want to video tape when we go kayaking, when we ride the catamaran to go snorkeling, the lighthouse, the wildlife, etc... When we come home we can show everyone how amazing Key West is so we can plan a Family vacation there. Yay! At least we can say our room is paid for, all we need to pay for now is gas, food and fun! I don't think we will come back.

37 more days!

Happy Birthday to You!!!

2010-05-19T07:01:00.000-07:00

First, all I have to say is wow to whoever commented on my Trop-A-Rocka blog. That's exactly how I feel, whoever "Anonymous" is? I can't wait until Sunday to see how Bret is doing after all of his illness. He will be on Oprah today for those who don't know. :) Thanks for your comment!

6 years and 2 days ago someone special entered our lives. Chad has been calling him our six-year old all week, hehe. Our birdy Jack turned 6 on Monday. I can't believe that it has been 6 years. When Chad and I first met on February 25th, 2004 we knew that we had a lot in common. All through art school I had a passion for drawing, painting, photographing tropical birds like macaws. I have tons of artwork in the closet of macaws that I had done. I didn't know at the time of meeting Chad that he loved macaws too. One day a few months into our being together we walked through this pet store in Monroe called Pet Palace; it is no longer there anymore. They had Scarlet Macaw and we went many times to play with him. Then we thought, we could handle one of these on our own? So we started to look around; we weren't going to settle for the first one we saw, he was $2000. We found a breeder in Wesley Chapel, NC called CCBirds; a family who had the same love for birds we had. Come to find out she just had 3 blue and gold macaws hatch. We went over to visit and as soon as I walked in the door she had me wash my hands she handed me a paper towel and she put Jack in my hands. He was no bigger than the palm of my hand.

Now, 6 years later, he's a big boy. He has been saying some new things lately, like "Hold on," and his name, "Jack." Here are a couple of pictures we took of Jack and Charlie together, brothers. They try to play with each other but Jack doesn't realize that his can-opener can hurt someone and Charlie doesn't realize that he has 40 lbs of force behind his paws so it's kind of funny to see them 'try" to play together. He's 6 years old, I can't believe it! Happy Birthday Jack!

Trop-A-Rocka

2010-05-17T17:20:00.000-07:00

Are you going to purchase Snapple's new flavor "Trop-A-Rocka" when Bret Michaels wins next week? Bret Michaels made it into the final two! I don't know how the finale will be since he has been so sick lately but I am so happy he made it to the finals! Sharon was third but I think Donald kicked her off because she was crying so much, oh well! I am so happy for Bret and happy for his charity to support Juvenile Diabetes. Their challenge was to create their own flavor for the Snapple company and all proceeds from selling it will go to the winner's chosen charity. Bret's flavor is called Trop-A-Rocka, awesome! It is actually a Diet Snapple for those with Diabetes, like Bret. Chad and I were kind of irritated by Bret during the very first episode but his creativity and drive helped us grow to like him more. Now we look forward to tasting Bret's "Trop-A-Rocka." Good Luck Bret!

Good Morrow

2010-05-16T07:27:00.000-07:00

It's Sunday morning! I am so excited about Celebrity Apprentice tonight! I love Donald Trump and I love the idea of the show. There are only 5 left, my two favs still left, Sharon Osbourne and Bret Michaels. Donald Trump will be cutting them down to 2 tonight so we will see who makes it!
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On Friday night we went to see Cavalia in the Big White Top in downtown Charlotte; and... it was AMAZING! I never realized what horses are capable of! These horses would run out and do routines without any help, they just knew what to do. It was wonderful! Did you know that they have 62 horses that travel with them? They have 29 stallions which is the most stallions any show has ever traveled with. The photo on the left was my favorite part of the whole show. 2 horses ran out by themselves and rolled all over the ground then 2 more, and 2 more, and 2 more and then one final one. There were 9 horses all together and they were just out there alone, running together, and playing together. Then, one girl came out and had them doing all these crazy routines together. One girl, 9 horses, and they listened to her every word! Chad and I are going to buy the DVD when we get paid because it was so great, we want to see it again. Look it up online; they travel the world. Next weekend, sadly, is their last weekend in Charlotte. Here is a link to their website, http://www.cavalia.net/
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You want to see what else I did on Friday night, I held 2 red-eyed tree frogs!!! I can't get the picture to upload to the blog website so I am sorry I cannot show you. I am not one to hold creepy crawly things, but Dylan let me hold his frogs Friday night and I had to take a picture! They were cold to the touch. I guess their body temperatures are a lot different than ours. But, it was so great and I held them without flinching! I had them both grasping to one hand. Who would have thought, I, would hold a red-eyed tree frog?
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Chad and I are going on an adventure today, I don't know what and I don't know where but I am excited. I am so excited to experience life with Chad by my side and in 38 days I will be able to call him my husband! Have you sent your RSVP card yet?

Happy Hump Day

2010-05-12T10:07:00.000-07:00

It's Wednesday, ohhh Wednesday. This week has really flown by for me. I don't know if it is that we are transforming the store (at work) to Father's Day, or that I am getting really nervous about the wedding so it seems like it is approaching fast and furious? Well, who cares, it's Wednesday and I am off from work.

Time to clean house and get some much needed playing done with Charlie, oh... and he's getting a bath! I think he is going through some sort of teenager thing; they say English bulldogs get it the worst, acne! Who would have thought a dog could have acne, but he does, and we cream him up every night before bed, poor kid! The vet said that after he is fixed it will go away. Serves us right for waiting; we thought we would wait because it would give Charlie a chance to get some of those masculine bulldog features, like the blocky head, and the wide chest. He is definitely getting there, my sister says his head is too big for his body? Poor kid, getting picked on too. We will probably get him fixed while we are in Key West because we decided that since he is still young and rambunctious that it is in his best interests to stay at the vet this time. Then, after he is all fixed maybe he might calm down a few notches and can stay with one of his grammy and grampy's?

This afternoon I am fixing dinner for Chad too, "Mozzarella Meatloaf." Have you heard of it? Well, it is great, and Chad has never had it before. He loves it when I have dinner ready when he gets home. He will be excited about this one, especially if he has to work overtime. He has been working overtime a lot lately which helps our wallet but it's hard on him. He is the manager of the new company in their business, "Metal by the inch." They have a policy that it will ship out the same day you order it, so it puts a lot of pressure on Chad. He will have a good dinner when he comes home tonight. :)

Have you sent your RSVP yet? I have gotten maybe 15, and 95% of them are yes. I hope yours is a yes too! I hope you all have a happy hump day!

Looks Like Someone Has a Case of the Mondays

2010-05-10T04:59:00.000-07:00

It's Monday, but today marks the start of a new week. Thursday I will take my last two exams, so that means no more school this semester, yay! Today I have to go in to work and clean up the mess from Mother's Day and bring in Father's Day.

How was your Mother's Day? We spent Mother's Day with Chad's mom on Friday evening and Mother's Day with my mom yesterday. Chad's mom lost her mother some months ago so I know it was probably hard for her yesterday. I think we did good for both of our Mother's, gave them things that they like to show our appreciation for how much they have done for us in our lives. My sister and my dad and I all went in together and got my mom "Cavalia" tickets. I am so excited, we will go on Friday to see it. Sad to say, Cirque du Soleil doesn't allow cameras, bummer! We have been to all the Cirque du Soleil shows that have been to Charlotte. This show will be a little different because it involves horses. I would have loved to have done something like this for Chad's mom but she is undergoing some minor surgery, today actually, so I didn't know if it would be appropriate. All in all I think our Mother's enjoyed their days!

And how was my day, I am not a Mother-Mother, but I do have two animals who call me mommy. Lets not talk about babies. I cannot tell you how many people have asked when we are going to have kids since we are getting married next month. We aren't ready for kids yet! I am almost 25 and Chad is 26, too young as far as I am concerned. We want to see the world, and enjoy ourselves as a married couple, and have a good financial pillow underneath us before we jump off that cliff. I am not saying never, just give us some time. I graduate next year so, maybe sometime after that, after we have bought a house, and after we go to Ireland/Scotland.

I had a lovely day yesterday with my animals. We got up around 8am and went to the 4-mile Creek Greenway off of Rea Road by Trader Joe's. It was awesome! We have never been there before but we always see it when we go to Trader Joe's. So we set out to explore it yesterday. It is literally a four mile walk through the woods/wetlands. We saw so much wild life and Charlie was in heaven. It was the best way I could have started my day. We all got great exercise yesterday! We then went to Ride Now, a motorcycle place in Concord to see what they had for their sidewalk sale; lots of t-shirts for $6.99. Chad got one and then we headed home to spend some time with my mom. We all sun-bathed by the pool for a few hours in the afternoon and had hamburgers on the grill for dinner.

All in all it was a great weekend. We did go out "dancin" on Friday night at RiRa, it was AMAZING! We love The Plaids, since they can't come to our wedding we are going to have a party sometime next year and have them, because they Rock! We were out until wee hours of the morning but it was fun, and we will continue to see them when they are around because they are so much fun, not to mention they know us by name now! :)

I hope you all had a wonderful Mother's Day and I hope you have a great week! Enjoy your Monday!

Good Morning Blog

2010-05-07T05:07:00.000-07:00

The beginning of a long day I am afraid. I have to work today and it is the Friday before Mother's Day! Do you know what that means? I work in a card shop so that means lots of people waiting until the last minute for Mother's Day cards. Well, I guess it's not last minute until Sunday, but we will have a lot of sales today.

We are going over to Chad's parents house this evening after work to celebrate Mother's Day. Chad's mom as of earlier this week still had to work on Mother's Day so we may or may not see her on Mother's Day. We were going to have another girls day sometime because she and I still need shoes for the wedding. As a matter of fact I think we all need shoes for the wedding, I don't even know if Chad's dad and brother have any shoes to wear with their outfits either, hmmm? Chad doesn't so I can bet they don't either. We miss Chad's middle brother and his wife a lot. "Just give it time," Chad's mom says, so we are giving it time...

After we celebrate Mother's Day with Chad's mom this evening, guess what? Our night is not over! We are going to RiRa to see The Plaids; Our all time favorite local band! We were going to have them at our wedding but they are busy unfortunately. So tonight we will go see them! Guess what, I also have to work tomorrow morning. We better not stay out too late. I will have to be on my game tomorrow because it will be even busier. Maybe I will at least get a nap on Saturday afternoon? Sunday I hope to get more sun. I am pretty brown as it is, but I keep working on it so my wedding dress will look pretty against my skin.

Here are a couple of Bridal Shower pictures. Chad's Aunt Nancy called me last night, she is so sweet to have jumped in to help Whitney plan the Bridal Shower for Chad's side of the family. Anyways, here are some photos of the shower my sister threw for me. The picture on the left is the toasting flutes Chad's mom bought me. It was so special because I had just added those to my registry so we could get them for the wedding, and she got them, Surprise! I was so happy, they are so pretty! The picture on the right, CRATE AND BARREL, CRATE AND BARREL! Thanks Lori, you are the best!

This picture on the left is more Crate and Barrel, some utensils Chad picked out! The lady at Crate and Barrel insisted on Chad carrying the "zapper," look now we have a gravy whisk! We all need one of those! haha... And of course the picture on the right, Fine China, a whole place setting. I was so happy! I registered for it at the last minute because they say you only get one chance, this was my chance and I got a whole place setting, and then some... :) There are so many more pictures but there is not enough time to post them all. But it was a wonderful shower and I will forever be grateful to all of those who put in the time to make it happen, a

and all of those who have given me such wonderful gifts. You all made happy memories for me!

I guess I better get to work. egh... I'll make it. Ask me at about 2am when we are still sitting at RiRa talking to the band, ask me how I feel then. I know it will be fun, but it's going to make for a long day tomorrow! Hope you all have a Happy Mother's Day for those who are Mothers! :)

Bridal Shower, Over in a Flash

2010-05-01T17:00:00.000-07:00

I have been up since 5am. My sister and I went to the Belk Charity Sale this morning and spent the rest of the morning preparing for the shower. It was a lot of fun, but it's 8pm and I am beat! I was very happy with the turnout. It was a lot of fun! I think everything I received was from one of our registries: toasting flutes, fine china, towels, knives, cook books, Tommy Bahama sheets, etc, etc, etc. I have already opened almost everything and hope to put most of it to use with the exception of my fine china. When I have more energy and time I will post some photos for you to see! I hope you enjoy the rest of your Saturday!

Good Morning Blog

2010-04-20T18:19:00.001-07:00

It's Monday morning, and I am tired. All these weeks are starting to run together. Yesterday was my first day off in 7 days, and today I am going back to work. I am starting to drool over Parrot Key. I only have 2 more weeks of school and then exams, so after that it will be all wedding and honeymoon from there. It's creeping closer and closer. Hopefully I will have plenty of rest by then, maybe, maybe not?

Saturday, my lovely sister Jill is throwing me a Bridal Shower! Yay! I have tried so hard to keep my registries in order because they keep discontinuing my stuff! I guess I either pick the good stuff or the stuff no one else likes? hmm? Well, I am so excited just to see everyone! I finished my side of our invitations last night, now the number is up to 78! I know they all won't come but the numbers sure add up fast. Now we just have to do the names in Chad's address book. You think he has an address book? No! I guess after all of this WE will have an address book, haha! I guess I will call the secretary at his work today and see if she can give me some addresses; I guess I am on my own with this one. I am not going to be upset with Chad's mom, she has been through soo much the past couple of weeks. Finally we are going to have a girls day all day Wednesday. Hopefully by next Monday I will have all the invitations in the mail. Keep your eyes peeled, I think I have most of you in my address book! : ) I will leave you with a picture of the beach we are going to in Key West, Bahia Honda Beach! I am soo excited!!!!

Parrot Key

2010-04-20T18:19:00.000-07:00

Have you ever heard of Parrot Key? It's in the Florida Keys and it is a luxury tropical paradise. This is where Chad and I are going on our honeymoon! We are so excited! It is really reasonable too! We went over to some friends house and in between hearing about the silly bachelor party plans Randy mentioned Parrot Key. We didn't know where in the Keys we wanted to go or where would stay but now we do. Apparently Jimmy Buffet's headquarters are here too. All of this wedding stress and school stress, and work stress, and we are finally going to be able to relax! We will be leaving the Sunday after our wedding and coming back the following Sunday, if we come back!

Indianapolis in August

2010-04-17T18:28:00.000-07:00

Indianapolis, our first adventure excluding our honeymoon as Mr. and Mrs. Brown-cracker(as Lori calls us, should be Graham-cracker). At the end of August for my birthday we will be heading to Indianapolis for the Moto Grand Prix (MotoGP) race! Yay!!! Valentino Rossi (Chad's favorite) has won 8 championships thus far. He is currently contracted to race with Yamaha for 2 more years but we want to make sure we get to go see him before he retires. Off to Indianapolis we go!
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Valentino has been one of Chad's favorite racers for a long time. Every year he keeps up with what he's up to and always tries to see the races on TV. Since he races MotoGP they race all over the world, not like Nascar that just races in the US. MotoGP only comes to the US twice the whole season, to Laguna Seca in California, and Indianapolis (this will be the third year they have raced in Indy). Valentino Rossi is from a little city in Italy called Urbino (which we plan to visit someday!). Valentino just turned 31 in February, 10 days before Chad turned 26. Guess what else, Valentino has English bulldogs!!! His longtime friend Guido passed away recently but he has two new pups now. The picture to the right is a photo of Valentino and Guido. Maybe we will name our next bulldog Guido? hmm? Anyways, hopefully Valentino will have a win when we go. Last year a hurricane actually hit Indianapolis when they were racing so I hope we will also have better weather. In MotoGP they still race in the rain, so either way we will get our moneys worth.

The race is Sunday August 29th. We are planning on driving on a Friday, sightseeing on Saturday, race day all day Sunday and then driving home on Monday. Chad bought our tickets about 3 weeks ago to make sure we have seats. We were able to get box seats, right before the first turn just as they are decelerating from a straightaway. We will also be covered if it rains, but it's not going to rain!! I am so excited, this will be a first for both of us. My sister is joining us too because we have turned her on to motorcycle racing. Since she will have graduated she will be able to travel with us. Maybe she will drive her new car, but hopefully I will have my new car by then, I guess we will see when we get closer to time. We do officially have tickets so there is no backing out now. I am sure I will post all kinds of pictures afterwards too! Chad's dad bets it will be well over 300. I don't miss a beat!

Chad and I talk about it everyday, almost more than our honeymoon because we are so excited. Just thought I would share some of the excitement with you. : )

Yes it's Ladies Night...

2010-04-17T04:58:00.000-07:00

On Thursday night I think I went on my first real "Ladies Night." Wow, I know. I am going to be 25 soon, and I just had my first ladies night. Lori and I made really good friends with a new girl at work named Emily, and just as soon as we start becoming really good friends with her, she decides to move away to Yellowstone National Park (crazy I know). Anyways, she was like the perfect person to talk about art with because she too is an artist like me. All of my friends from art school moved far and away and then Mel moved away with Brandon. So it has been nice having someone to doodle with and discuss art with. Lori, Emily and I decided to have one final outing before she leaves.

Emily found out that Strike City downtown at the Epicenter had half price martinis on ladies night on Thursdays. They also have bowling too, plus your shoes are free on Thursday if you are a lady. Once Lori and I got off from work at 9pm we set out for the light rail. This was my first experience with the light rail and I have to say it is really nifty! It was no time and we were at the Epicenter and we didn't even have to walk far, it was right there as we got off from the train.

I haven't bowled in a long time. We went a few Sunday's with Chad's parents a a few years ago, but it had been a while. The first few throws, I made strikes, and then there were more strikes, and a couple of gutter balls, and a few spares, and I won! Yay! I wasn't even really trying, maybe it was the alcohol? I don't know but we had so much fun, I hate that this was our last outing at least for 6 months until Emily comes home. But it was so much fun. I forgot to tell you, for some reason after each one of our turns it would tell each one of us Happy Birthday. it never failed, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday. This group of a few guys and a girl set up in the lane beside of us just before we finished and they noticed it was our birthday apparently? We told them that no it wasn't our birthday. Just as we were changing our shoes our waitress brought out 10 shots I think, a "Red-headed slut" for us all! It was so funny, and something we won't soon forget. I think it made all of our nights. A few great martinis and a "Red-headed slut!"

What a fun first Ladies Night! I hope we can go back to Strike City for my bachelorette party. I keep dropping my sista hints. We'll see! I hope you all have a lovely weekend! Chad and I are finally going to buy his wedding band today! Yay! Date Night! I am so excited! I was marking off the days for the wedding at work on the schedule and the days for our honeymoon and it hit me then, "this is it!" I am probably going to be crazy nervous that day, just about 2 months away, ahhh!!!

A Big Seat for a Big Boy

2010-04-07T07:10:00.000-07:00

Charlie is going on 7 months now. It's hard to believe he was only 7 weeks old when we brought him home. He was too small for a cat carrier. Now he can sit in the front seat like a big boy. We recently bought him a seat belt to wear in the car (just in case!). When Chad's uncle was in town they had a lengthy conversation about our dog and their dog, and he mentioned having a seat belt for their dog. That same weekend Chad went out and bought one. He doesn't mind a bit. He loves going on car rides. Pretty much every time we take him outside he goes right to the passenger side door. We go for a walk everyday, and he knows that 2 or 3 days out of the week he gets to go to the park, so that means we get to go for a ride. Sometimes we go and have lunch with daddy, maybe we might do that today, hmmm?

A Walk in the Park

2010-03-31T07:03:00.000-07:00

Mr. Charlie gets a walk everyday and if it is raining he gets a walk in Petco. It has been so pretty out lately, we have been taking him to the park. We started off small with about a 45 minute walk but Monday we thought he had grown tired of that same walk in the park. We decided to take him on a trail walk. We weren't sure if he would like it or not so we started small, and after 45 minutes he was still trotting. So... my big boy walked 3 miles on Monday! He makes for a well behaved little boy if he gets his walk everyday. Sometimes when it is threatening rain we have to walk him closer to the house but since Matthews is going through a beautification process, the walk is not too shabby. He is our little bulldozer, he gets everything on the ground, because he is so close to the ground. My dad refers to him as a bulldozer, I guess because he is so strong too.

He tells us everyday he wants a sister named Lucy. I don't think that kind of money is in our bank account right now, and I think Mr. Charles needs to be mature before we introduce another puppy. We are going to buy a house first before we go down the road of another dog too. Charlie will have to wait. I think he is frustrated because he hasn't quite figured out how to play with Jack yet. I will take some pictures on our trail walk this afternoon. There are 5 miles of trails at Frances Beatty Park so we have many options. It is very pretty right now too because everything is in bloom. We are also going to the park on Easter, the park in Concord. Chad, Charlie and I will have a picnic lunch and 2 nice walks in between. My whole family will be out of town, so I decided to spend Easter just the boys and I. I will take pictures there too! Have a Happy Hump Day!

What's Goin' Down in Funkytown?

2010-03-19T07:51:00.000-07:00

A friend of mine says that almost everytime she comes into work. I just have to laugh, now I catch myself saying it! This week has been a pretty fun week; Chad and I have been researching honeymoon destinations. It seems to me that everything we have looked at here in the neighborhood of North Carolina is going to cost us $2500-$3000 for what we want. Grove Park for a week, spa for a few days, $3000, Biltmore Inn for a week, spa treatments still at Grove Park, $2500. I challenged Chad, that we could go on a cruise, rent a car to drive to Tampa, Florida, for less than $3000. Guess what? I found a cruise that leaves Tampa the Monday following our wedding for just around $1500 all together, taxes included! So now what? We still can't decide? hmmmm? It is a lot of fun, throwing ideas around. Where do you go the week after your wedding? Somewhere romantic, somewhere relaxing (after all this planning and money, we need to relax), preferably somewhere everyone doesn't go on there honeymoon, somewhere different (doesn't everyone go to the Carribean on their honeymoon?), I don't know?? We need to decide... We are getting married in Charlotte on June 26th, and our reception will be at my mom and dad's house on June 26th. So we better get crackin! That's less than 100 days!

Getting Back to Normal

2010-02-25T10:34:00.000-08:00

Boy has it been a long week. Our baby being in the hospital has really taken a lot out of us. I am proud to report that he came home on Tuesday and he is feeling much better. He has been sleeping in the bed with us the past 2 nights so I that I could monitor his breathing. I have not gotten much sleep, not because of watching him, just because he snores louder than any human. I had to kick Chad to make sure he was breathing because he is so much quieter than Charlie. hehe. The hard part has been to keep him from running and jumping. He doesn't realize he's sick and that makes it a little hard. The vet says he should take it easy for the next couple of weeks. I will post some pictures soon; his little arms are bare because they had to shave them to give him antibiotic fluids and medications. We call them his little bracelets. Just thought I would let you know he is doing much better. : ) Thank goodness for the emergency vet!

Life Lesson Number 136

2010-02-22T17:01:00.000-08:00

Charlie will be 6 months old on March 15th, hard to believe already. When we decided, ohhh probably 4 years ago that we wanted an English Bulldog, we knew there were going to be risks. They already have compromised airways due to their "smushed" noses, and small palates. We knew this going into it, but did we know we would already be dealing with him in the hospital at just 6 months old? No!

I am a nervous wreck. On Friday my sister and I were in a serious car accident, I have been in loads of pain since then and had to go to the hospital again today. Yesterday Charlie was acting really sluggish after he had been out playing in my parents back yard. He seemed tired, like anyone would be after playing in the yard, so... no harm. When I went to bathe him, to make him feel better, he choked up some blood. I knew it wasn't right, so immediately I was crying and losing myself. I thought I was falling apart. I could barely hold my head up as it was, and now my heart was falling out of my chest. We rushed to the emergency animal hospital, and his oxygen level was 75%, he has aspiration pneumonia. He's not even 6 months old. They think he got this from choking down some vomit at some point and it turned into pneumonia. He has been undergoing oxygen therapy for 24 hours. I call as often as I can, without driving them insane, and we went to visit this afternoon. He is so pitiful with his little "daisy" collar on, and IVs coming from a couple of his paws. I couldn't hold him because he is in an oxygen chamber but he poked his face out to kiss me. They say that after 2-3 days of therapy and antibiotics he should be on the up and up. He has a fan club at the hospital so I know he well is taken care of. I will keep you all updated, and if you would all keep us in your prayers.

I hope to get some rest tonight. I have only had 12 hours of sleep since Friday, in pain, and worried out of my mind about Charlie. Our wedding plans are being looked at a little closer since we paid $2000 to the vet yesterday. Keep us all in your thoughts and prayers as we make it through this, I know we will, but it's hard to stay positive when things come crashing down on you. All things happen for a reason, and I know God is with Charlie right now, and with us, keeping us strong. Thank you to all of you who have responded to our needs, and I promise to keep you all posted. Goodnight.

Where are the Monarchs?

2010-02-19T06:31:00.000-08:00

I think Monarch butterflies are one of the most beautiful butterflies on earth. Have you ever wondered where the butterflies go? The other day in anticipation for spring, we were filling up all of my bird feeders and my dad was hanging up my new blue bird house; I asked Chad, "where do the butterflies go in the winter?" Of course he didn't know either. The thought left my mind as I continued feeding the birds. I had nearly forgotten about it that night when I was getting out of the shower. I flipped on the TV to see what was on, and there was a program about Monarch butterflies. Sometimes I wonder if I am just a teensy bit psychic?? So, I put on my nice warm socks and climbed in to bed. Here's what I learned:

Monarch's go through four stages in their life cycle, all in one year. In February and March they come out of hibernation to find a mate. They migrate north and east to lay their eggs. This begins stage one of the new year for the monarch butterfly. In March and April the eggs are laid on milk-weed plants and it takes about four days for them to hatch. Two weeks from hatching the now, Caterpillar finds someplace to attach itself so it can start the process of metamorphosis. The butterfly emerges and feeds on flowers and enjoying the short life it has left which is only 2 to 6 weeks. This butterfly will die after laying eggs for generation number 2. The second generation is born in May and June and then the third generation in July and August, all going through the same life cycle.

The fourth generation is a little bit different that the previous three. These butterflies are born in September and October, only they don't die after 2 to 6 weeks. Instead, they migrate! They migrate to warmer places like Mexico and California. They live 6 to 8 months before starting the whole cycle all over again. Monarchs are the only insect that migrates to a warmer climate that is 2500 miles away. 2500 miles!! They cannot withstand the freezing temperatures elsewhere so they migrate south, just like birds for the winter. Did you know they use the same trees every year, usually in the same location! There is a small town in Mexico that greets them every year when they get there. They have sort of a "Monarch" festival to greet the butterflies. One day I hope to venture to Mexico around "the day of the dead" to greet the butterflies. I hear they arrive in the millions at a time. It's like a cloud of butterflies.

Now you know where the butterflies go, pretty amazing. God put a lot of thought into his creation. Praise God for the Monarch butterflies, I can't wait to see them in a couple of months!

Happy Valentine's Day!

2010-02-14T17:06:00.000-08:00

I guess it is Valentine's Day, isn't it? Well, I hope you all had a happy one. I had to work today, it wasn't a mad rush, today was filled with stragglers. It was a fun day laughing with friends at work, and then spending the evening with my fiance'. I love saying that, apparently he does to because he proudly introduces me as such. It feels so nice, I can't imagine when he I can call him my husband... I imagine it will feel nice too.
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Chad and I celebrated Friday night when it snowed 6 inches. We left the house when it had just started and there was 2 inches on the ground when we made it out of the restaurant. We had dinner at Fontanella Italian Restaurant in Matthews. If you have never been there, you should try it, it's wonderful. We had a bottle of Pinot Noir, shared bruschetta, and had a wonderful Italian meal. We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. In the springtime I love to spend time outside digging in the dirt so Chad gave me tulips this year. Since they are perennials they will come back every year, and when I see them, I will always remember the year we celebrated 6 years together, and the year we got married. It is very special. I had a time keeping Charlie off of them, he wanted to enjoy them too. He also wanted my teddy bear. But, he got his own present, a red "baby."

We went over to my mom and dad's house for dinner and they had boxes of chocolate for each of us. I have never really been a fan of assorted chocolates, I prefer chocolate covered strawberries, but, it was sweet none-the-less. I definitely know someone who will enjoy them. Charlie is munching on his Valentine's Day treat as we speak. A Kong filled with peanut butter, his favorite. We are also watching the Olympics, something Chad and I love to watch together. We have been anticipating it for some time now. We have spent 2 winter Olympics together and one summer Olympics. Maybe one day we can go see them in person rather than watching them on TV. Chad loves the speed skating, and I love curling, but all of the sports are all fun to watch. I can't imagine how else we would spend Valentine's Day. I hope yours has been as special as mine.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Good Morning Sunshine!

2010-02-14T07:45:00.000-08:00

It is so nice to see the sunshine. I think we have been hit with too much wet stuff this year, rain, snow, sleet, ugh... This last snow was kind of nice, Chad and I were able to go to dinner and get home before it was too bad, and then the next day it had all practically melted. So, I can't complain. I am however not to happy about the weather they are predicting tonight and tomorrow, more wet stuff. Maybe we are preparing for a dry summer or something. I wish we had a week for this all to dry up, a week of sunshine...

Happy Valentine's Day All! Chad knows me well. He bought me tulips this Valentine's Day, something I can plant in the ground. He knows how much I like to work in the garden, so he bought me something that will come back year after year, something I can enjoy for more than a week. hmmm... I don't know about you all, but I think I am ready for spring, I am ready to see green grass, daffodils, and feel warm sunshine. 6 more weeks of winter, right? Maybe God will bless us with spring sooner than the groundhog predicts?? The sunshine is out today, one of the many blessings I can thank God for. I think I am going to walk Charlie before I head to work. I hope you all have a blessed Valentine's Day with the one's you love! :P

Week of Love

2010-02-09T03:41:00.000-08:00

Chad and I have spent the past week or two getting special things together for each other because it is a special month for us. We don't "usually" celebrate Valentine's Day, sure, we get a card, blah blah blah, but we don't go all out like some new couples do, or the high schoolers. But, this year is different, I am his fiance' and he is mine, and we are celebrating our 6 year anniversary of being together, and Chad is turning 26, and... we are getting married in 4 months!!! So... we have been getting little things together for each other to celebrate. I have had his birthday gifts wrapped for a couple of weeks and on the table, now there are a few others, and boy am I interested. But, we have to wait... we promised.

This Friday we are going out to dinner, we are going all out this time, ordering a bottle of wine, relaxing, and enjoying ourselves. Next week we are going with Chad's family to his favorite restaurant, "Buca di Beppo" for his birthday, he is excited about that, because we had so much fun last year.

So it is a special month for us and I feel extremely blessed to have Chad with me everyday because there are a lot of people who don't get to spend Valentine's Day with their loved ones. They are serving their country in Iraq, and Afghanistan and all over the world. We thank them for that everyday, and pray for their safe arrival home.

Happy Valentine's Day, and I hope everyone enjoys this wonderful week of love! : )

It's 10:48

2010-02-05T07:37:00.000-08:00

It's finally Friday! It felt like Friday yesterday, but it wasn't, it was just Thursday. What to do today??? I had to go to the Doctor yesterday, so I went to the UNCC Student Health Center, and it was free! I do have an infection, maybe that explains why I have been so sluggish. Hopefully I am on the road to getting better now. I guess I will be going to work at 1pm, I do have other things to get done before then...

We have two birthdays to go to this weekend, both of them are turning 1! Caleb and Cole, from different families of course. Caleb's mommy is going to Las Vegas for our wedding, she is behind the whole bachelorette thing too, which I hope to get to the bottom of.

Cole's daddy plays Modern Warfare with Chad everyday. We got a new TV and then Chad helped Doug pick out a new TV, so now they play online together on their new TVs. yay! That means I have to buy 2 gifts, I never know what to get. I always feel that they probably have plenty of toys, so maybe not a toy, so then what do you get them? hmmm? Clothes, egh... Books, egh... I just don't know, I think Chad and I will be going to Toys-r-us tomorrow after work. Does anyone have any ideas?

Have a Happy Friday!

Carolina Slugs

2010-02-01T15:05:00.000-08:00

Today we were off, both of us. We actually took off for my sister's "manager project" but school was cancelled for her and so was her project. Oh well, we had a very nice day together. We went to Tommy Bahama to decide on his outfit for the wedding. We also had lunch out together, it was very nice. Anyways, that's what we did today. I feel like we have been laying around like slugs the past few days. Snow really puts North Carolina into a frenzy, and no one really knows how to handle it. We just stayed in, rented movies, ate in, and turned into little slugs. Tomorrow it's back to work, and back to life. That's ok, I am ready to get back on track. I think they are predicting the next WINTER STORM already. I told Chad, we are not slugs, so we will not act like them. Oh well, I guess we will wait and see. I don't think North Carolina Meteorologists really know?

This was Charlie's first time in the snow. I was at work Friday night and it started to come down really hard about 4:30, it was so pretty. Chad got pictures of him then, and then we made the poor fella sit in the snow for a picture a couple of days later. Boy do we torture him. He shows it on his face too. Oh well, he's only 5 months old, once! He is 30lbs now. He has slowed down a lot in his weight gain, I am hoping he is going to be a petite English Bulldog, not one of those over-weight ones. Next month we are getting him fixed. They say if you get them fixed at 6 months the chances are dramatically decreased in getting certain types of cancers.

My first test of the semester is tomorrow, which reminds me, maybe I should be studying? My show comes on tonight so I have an hour and a half to get some study time in. Wish me luck. I hope you all have a great week!

Happy 100th post!

2010-01-20T06:32:00.001-08:00

It is official now, I will be Mrs. Chad Graham on June 22nd, 2010 at 6pm. The bill has been paid, the rooms are reserved, my dress is on the way... well... there is still a lot to do, but the biggest things, in my eyes, are out of the way. Words cannot describe how excited I am; I am getting married!!!
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Being a teenager, thinking about how I wanted my wedding, I never pictured having a destination wedding, let alone in Las Vegas. But now, I am 24 and I have changed. On February 25th, it will be 6 years years for Chad and I. I guess when you have been together for so long people think, "It's about time," but it shouldn't be that way. Chad and I decided to make a life together before we get married, spend time together, learn about each other; with the divorce rate as high as it is, why not be absolutely sure.

I think 6 years has given us a huge stepping stone for our marriage. Honestly I don't think much will change, of course we will be happy, but we are happy now, I guess my name will change, our taxes will change... Not much... I know that in the Bible and everyone's traditional beliefs say you should be married before you live together and such, but times have changed now and I think it has helped our relationship more than it has hurt it. You know? We have pretty much fallen in to the marital rituals, we have a bank account together (4 to be exact, that's how many they say there should be, 2 individual, 1 savings, and 1 joint), we pay bills together, he cooks, I clean, everything works in perfect harmony. The only thing we fight about is, "What's for dinner?"

So... on June 22nd, it is a big day for me, even though you think, "It's about time!" When we go to the spa for our massages that morning, and when I go to get my hair done, and my veil put in, my make-up done, and my dress put on, it will finally be time for OUR moment; the moment I have dreamed about all my life, the moment I have played in my head a million times. I think 6 years will make this moment more powerful for us. We have been through so much together, we waited for each other, we took our time learning about each other and now we get to seal the deal. On June 22nd, 2010, there will be a live broadcast at 6:00pm on the Caesar's Palace website and I hope that those of you who don't get to come will be there with us for our moment. I wish you could all be there. It's never too late to make reservations, the rooms are only $100/ night, and you get 10% off if you mention our names. Keep it in mind... If you don't get to come there will be a reception on July 17th, possibly at Pine Lake Country Club, not official yet.

I am so excited, not nervous, excited. He is the man of my dreams, I don't need to be nervous. My wedding dress is said to be here on Monday January 25th. There will be a private fitting with all of my friends. If you want to come... email me! I need some positive reinforcement on my dress, I am very self-conscious. : ) My cheeks hurt, I am so happy!

Thoughts, on my day off

2010-01-11T07:05:00.000-08:00

It has been kind of nice to be out of school for a month to recuperate and spend time with family. But tomorrow it will be time to get back to school and back in the swing of things. No more sleeping in (until 9:00am), and definitely no more hiding from my computer. I am actually looking forward to some of my business classes this semester. I know I will look back at these blogs when I am all done and laugh. It seems like this has all taken so much of my life away but it is a stepping stone in the big picture of my life. It will be done and over with before I can turn around. I know there will be days when I wish I was in school. So let me suck it up and be happy, these are supposed to be the best years of our lives right?

I know school will definitely make the time fly and before I can turn around I will be getting married. June 22nd, 2010 at 6:00pm I will be walking down the aisle to the man of my dreams. We have decided to road trip our way home from Las Vegas for our honeymoon. We couldn't be more excited. There will be so much to see. We are definitely stopping at the Grand Canyon, Denver, Colorado, Kansas City (to see Hallmark), just to name a few. What better way to spend time together? Routes my change before we actually get there but it is definitely something we want to do. I can't believe in 5 short months he will finally be my husband...

So are you ready for some pictures of Charlie yet? Blah Blah Blah about life and love, let's see some pictures of Charlie! These pictures are mostly for you Bojo. We are so sad we aren't coming to Texas in March, so sad they had to postpone their wedding. We hope you guys can come to our wedding, if not, our party. I think our party is going to be on July 17th, 2010, but we will let you know for sure, soon. That's a lovely picture of me, but it's one of Chad's favorites, he caught us both catching flies... hehe

Charlie is about 25 lbs now, and he is almost 4 months old, he will be on January 14th. He goes for his last puppy visit on Friday when he will get his rabies shot, the last of his puppy shots, more heart worm medicine, very expensive kinds of stuff. Oh well, no regrets for us, he is perfect in every way and he is getting really good at some of his commands, "Sit, Lay down, Easy..." Completely potty-trained too, I haven't seen him make an accident in a few weeks. Once he has all of his shots we are going to take him to a dog-park, fun!!

He has learned to watch out the window, he loves it, and he doesn't like to be interrupted, especially by a camera. He doesn't bark to speak of. I was kind of worried about that but Chad says that most English Bulldogs don't bark a lot, soo... I guess that's a good thing. He's such a good dog, as long as he gets his walk everyday, otherwise he misbehaves. I can't imagine any other dog. Can you believe Chad is talking about a sibling for Charlie already? I told him we need a bigger house before we get another one. At least let me get Charlie through all of his puppy visits! Maybe let us get our new TV first. See... we were supposed to be getting a new TV before Charlie came around but when our landlord told us we could get a dog, the TV went out the door. So let's see about a new TV first, how about a new house too, oh... and let us get married, and go on our honeymoon, then we can "talk" about another dog. hehe

Boycott

2010-01-06T07:24:00.000-08:00

I have been out of school for almost a month now. I struggled more that I ever thought I would. So... I have been boycotting my computer! I spent so much time doing homework on the computer that I associate school with the computer. So I haven't been on the computer at all the past month. No emails, no blog, no nothing. I just now looked at my grades, today! School starts on Monday so I guess I better check my emails and get back to blogging, back to 49er express. ugh... Life!

Happy Thanksgiving and Merry Christmas!

2009-11-29T06:47:00.000-08:00

We celebrated Thanksgiving with Chad's parents last Saturday. It was a lot of fun because we helped them decorate their Christmas tree. It is amazing how many ornaments you can accumulate over your lifetime. We celebrated with my family on Thanksgiving. We all played a hilarious game of Scrabble, there were some very silly words. My sister and I took the grand prize, we tied for first, both with 134 points. That was pretty good for me.
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Chad and I were both off Thursday and Friday so we had planned to put up our Christmas tree because my school schedule is about to get really crazy because it is the last week. So we planned on Friday putting it up. After.... our Midnight Madness. We were unable to go to Midnight Madness last year because we were at the beach so we were for sure going this year. Since we have been almost every year we have learned the ins and outs of it. Never go at Midnight because you will never find a parking spot. So we went at 3:00am. It was very pleasant when we got there, we got a front row parking spot and there was no traffic to speak of. We got some great deals at Bed, Bath and Beyond, and Victoria's Secret. With a $60 purchase you get a "runway tote" full of a bunch of goodies. I spend $60 easy, their bras were "Buy one get one 1/2 price." It was a lot of fun but I was ready to see my bed after filling up on nutrients at Cracker Barrel. We were home around 8 and back in bed before some people had even got up. It is a fun tradition that Chad and I participate in every year.

By noon we were ready to put up our tree. Charlie has never seen a Christmas tree so we had to lock him up in the kitchen. He kept himself entertained for a little while. We decided to put our train around the tree this year, perfect timing, we have Charlie now. It took around 3 hours to decorate and I didn't even have to put lights on it. I just have 150-200 Hallmark ornaments and I have them all in their original boxes, so that took some time. Nothing beats Hallmark ornaments though, they are all so pretty and almost all of them have memories attached to them.

This year we decided to put a few lights outside. We have never done it before but it turned out really nice. We didn't do much because goodness knows we don't need a huge electric bill. The tree and everything turned out so pretty. We can enjoy it for what, 26 more days? That's kind of scary, 26 more days! What? Time flies when you're having fun, I guess. Especially when it is spent with the love of your life.

On Saturday after I got off from work we took Charlie on his first walk in the park. It was hard to get good pictures of him because he wanted to walk between Chad and I, right between both of us. So when I went ahead he cried like a little baby. As you can see. It amazes me, he looks more and more like an English Bulldog everyday. His face gets a little wider, as do his shoulders, and his little waist stays just the same size. He is so perfect. He had a blast, I think. He loved smelling the smells and meeting new people.

Chad's parents came over the same night to see our Christmas tree. By then Charlie's energy was spent. He curled up with daddy in the chair, and he was out. Every now and then he would get a burst of energy and show everyone his skills of pushing around a Frisbee. By the time Christmas comes around I think he will be ready for his skateboard. He amazes me everyday with new things he learns and how he changes.

The Southern Christmas Show

2009-11-11T14:34:00.000-08:00

I have been thinking since well, August that I wanted to go the Christmas show this year. We tend to go over the weekend since that's when we are usually off but this year we are going in the middle of the week. I am hoping that it won't be as crowded and we might find a few more Christmas gifts. We have almost finished Chad's side of the family, I just need to put a little more thought in to my family, hmmm? I have some ideas but I always second guess them, hmmm? Maybe something might strike my fancy at the Christmas show. We are going next Wednesday with Chad's parents which I think will be a lot of fun. They haven't been in a few years so I think it will be a great time to jump start the season.
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Working at the Hallmark store always keeps me on top of Christmas shopping, and the inevitable countdown. What is it now? 51 days? Chad and I have decided to spend little to no money on one another and treat our families this year. We are going to make Christmas extra special for every person in our family. The only thing we plan on buying each other is our wedding bands. It is going to be something special that him and I will share together forever. Mine will be a surprise from him and his will be a surprise from me. Where will we open them?
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51 more days, right? I can't believe it! 7 months until our wedding day, another... I can't believe it!

My love

2009-11-09T12:40:00.000-08:00

The purity of a person's heart can quickly be measured by how they regard animals. ~Anonymous

Here are a few sweet photos of the wonderful other man in my life. : )
Here is one of him at this very moment.He is getting big already. I don't know who I would be without Charlie. There is no psychiatrist in the world like a puppy licking your face. ~Ben Williams

End of a Great Weekend, Start of a Great Week

2009-11-09T04:58:00.000-08:00

I have learned not to worry anymore because everyone wastes so much time in their lives worrying, and you miss so much of your life that way. I have learned to cherish the little things in life and let those things that bother me float away. I do what my heart tells me and I think that should be enough. : )
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This weekend was great, every little nook of it. From Friday night being silly with Mel and Lori, the air show all day Saturday, even Chad's brother's birthday party. I can't complain. I had a great time with friends and family from beginning to the end of our weekend.

I could start with Friday night, but nothing can describe the silliness that came over all of us. Even Mel with her sniffles, she played right along with us. Just go to the Hallmark store and find "Mike," he is the coolest stuffed animal on the block. Trust me, he won't be around long, because he is just so cool.

Saturday was a fun day from 8:30am to 8:30pm. We had been anticipating this air show since last year. We just happen to be riding by last year with Chad's brother and sister-in-law and knew we had to see it the next year. So we did. I had to work on Sunday so we managed to squeeze it in on Saturday. I hoped that it wouldn't conflict with his brother's party, and I think it did, but again, no worries because we still went to the party even though we were sunburned, and exhausted. We brought a gift, and a gift for the hostess, and we were only 30 minutes late. We had been away from our babies since 8:00 that morning. It was really hard but we made it all work. Chad's dad was able to go to the airshow with us and I think he had more fun watching how excited Chad was then seeing the airplanes. They were like two kids in a candy store. Chad wished his brother's could go but Bradley had a lot of work to do with his horses and Andy was preparing for his party so we didn't want to impose.

It was very exhilarating, not like a Blue Angels Show. The Blue Angels are like none other. The speed they go breaks the sound barrier so you can imagine how exciting it is to see them. This was a different kind of exhilaration, these planes were a little bit slower, but it's just amazing to think that they are all more than 50 years old, and they flew in the war. We had to pay $10 to get in but it was well worth it because you were able to get up close to all of the planes and even in some of them. And... all of the pilots and men who helped restore all of them were there too, plus all the money they took in will help restore more airplanes and keep the show there every year. The people who just sat on the hill really missed out, because there was so much to see inside. Did I mention the bombs! There were bombs, that was the most fun part because we were so close you could feel the heat. It was a blast, I think we will go every year from now on, just to support all of those men and women, who make it their life.

Immediately following the airshow we went to his brother's birthday party. Chad was so excited about the gift he had gotten for him. When we got there, there was an interesting feeling in the air, and we all including his parents felt like we were intruding. No offense to anyone, but you can help your feelings. We enjoyed ourselves and they especially enjoyed all of the sports talk from Andy's father-in-law. Around 8:30 we were starting to worry about our animals. Anyone who has animals will understand, plus it was freezing cold, and my nose just wouldn't warm up. So we made an executive decision to bow out after Whitney's brother. We were sitting there alone, so we decided it was probably time to leave. We had a great time, and wish Andy nothing but the best.

All in all it was a great weekend, and if I could, I wouldn't change a thing. I am trying to practice this no regrets thing in my life. You only live once. What a great life I have, I cannot complain. Complaining is for crazy people.

You can overcome anything if you don't bellyache. ~Bernard M. Baruch

Good Morning My Sweet

2009-11-06T06:49:00.000-08:00

I worked last night with the ever so fun Ann Marie. We got a lot done, I think I am Christmased(is that a word?) out. Chad called last night while I was at work, usually updating me on Charlie. He was actually calling to tell me they gave him the day off Friday (today). I guess they realized how hard he has been working and told him to sleep in today. I never get Chad during the week, so I am so happy to say we have had a wonderful morning. I had some homework to do on the computer but it joys me to hear all three of them playing together in the living room. It made me want to get my work done that much quicker. We have some errands to run this morning, we have to finish off his brother's birthday gift, and we are actually getting a few Christmas gifts today. I need to get all of the pictures off of my D-40 so I can have a free memory card for the airshow tomorrow.

We are so excited. If anyone is going to be around Monroe this weekend, they are having the annual WWII airshow, bombs and all. We are going for my granddaddy; he loved airplanes. I think he would have gotten along with Chad so well. I guess we will see him in heaven. I am going to honor him tomorrow. I will wear my jumpsuit and army tags he gave me and take lots of pictures for him. I miss him so much. When we were kids we thought he was annoying at times, always video recording us. Now looking back at those videos and hearing his voice, well, I miss him. Around Thanksgiving especially, he was always here for Thanksgiving. hmmm... I guess I will leave it at that. I hope you all have a great weekend.

Sinus Headache, Puppy Breath, and My Poor Toes

2009-11-02T08:15:00.000-08:00

I wasn't scheduled to work today but I was going to go in to fill a gap since by boss wanted the day off. No biggie, plus I could get some extra hours to pay for Charlie's #2 vet visit next week. The only problem was I woke up this morning with a splitting headache. Oh well, I probably could have gone in, but I would have had to walk and it's cold and wet outside so I am saving my breath and resting today.

As for Charlie, I try and get him to rest with me, and it starts with head butting, growling, and gnawing on my feet. Then finally after an hour he gets sleepy. The only thing is he puts his face right in front of mine, and he has that sweet and stinky puppy breath. I know I am going to miss him as a puppy when he gets bigger but I wish I could find a remedy for that stinky breath.

He has been wrestling with a duck stuffed animal for about an hour. Now he's all tuckered out. Looks like it's nap time.

You Complete Me

2009-11-01T15:56:00.000-08:00

So here is the blog for all of you who have been anxiously awaiting it. To all of you who have been keeping up with what Chad and I have been up to and to all of you who have no idea, here is our story.

Chad and I moved out on our own about 2 and a half years ago. We moved in to a duplex just across the street from my mom and dad, owned by a family friend who has known my sister's and I since we were wee little girls. We were so happy to be on our own and out of our parents hair. We were starting our life together, encountering bumps, road-blocks, and some of the happiest moments of our lives. What has happened the past week hits close to the top of our happy life changing moments list. Right up there with Jack, and Chad asking me to marry him, this is an all-time happy moment. I have so much love in my heart, for me and about 100,000 other people. I am so happy.
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We have completed our little family... for now anyways. Last Wednesday Chad and I set out on a journey to bring home our second little boy. We didn't know what to expect, or how happy it was going to make us. We started the week knowing what was coming and when the day came we were beside ourselves. We drove about an hour and a half to Climax, North Carolina, just south of Greensboro to a little house on a hill. All we had were a couple of pictures. We prepared quickly the night before because at first we didn't know he would be coming home with us so soon. But, we were given the go-ahead to bring him home, he was ready. So much excitement had come over me. When we got there and I saw him and his brothers for the first time, I was so excited. I couldn't believe this moment had finally come. There he was sitting, looking up at me.

2 years ago, this was just not possible. We had signed a lease agreement that said, No Pets. But, now that our neighbors have moved out, my landlord came to me, and said, "I've known you for a long time, and I just can't see saying no to you, I don't feel right about it, you can have a dog." It was music to my ears and I immediately ran inside and called Chad. This has been about a month ago, that we found out. We have tried so hard to keep everything a secret because we didn't know when, or how we were going to do it. Chad and I are meant to be you see, both of us wanted a bird, so we got Jack, and both of us wanted a dog, an English bulldog, both of us. No arguing what kind of dog to get because we both knew we wanted the same. So when she told us we could have one, it was just a matter of when, where and how much?

We scowered the Internet, so many scammers and so many mixes. Nothing felt right. It looked like we were going to have to travel to Georgia to get one. But, just about 2 weeks ago Chad found a breeder in Climax, NC. This gentleman was so nice, so informative and everything just felt right. We didn't care which sex, we just wanted a healthy, pure-bred English bulldog. Which was exactly what he had. Three boys, three perfectly beautiful boys. He sent us photos of all three and their daddy, "Hummer" and mommy "Chili Pepper." I didn't know we were going to have a choice. I was getting anxious because I just couldn't believe it was all happening so fast. At first he told us it would be two weeks before we could bring him home but when we called him to schedule a time to visit he told us we could bring him home. I was ecstatic. I didn't think I would make it through work on Wednesday. But I did, and we set out on our trek to bring home the dog that would complete us.

Everything worked out perfectly, we held all three. We just knew them as 1, 2 and 3. We have had names picked out for 2 years, and have done more research on bulldogs than humanly possible. We were ready. When I picked him up, I knew he was the one. He was like a roley-poley. He spoke to me, he grunted and looked into my eyes, and that was it. He was my Charlie. As bad as I hated it, we made the trip home with him in a kitty crate. No... I didn't hold him, but I did rip the gate off and comfort him through the small opening. I peeked at him through the door and told him, "You don't know me yet, but I love you with all the love one person can have in their heart."

The past few days have been a whirlwind. He has only made 2 accidents in the house since we brought him home on Wednesday. He is just so perfect. We took him for his first vet visit on Friday, and they told us he was perfect. The vet told us that such perfection in a bulldog comes from a great breeder, and we thank god for our breeder. We never thought we would get a bully with Championship bloodlines, but we did, only because it guarantees that he be healthy. And that he was. We were scheduled to meet Chad's parents for dinner after the vet. They had no idea. We were in the yard with Charlie when they pulled up and they both had the biggest smiles on their faces. He is just so little right now and my mom says that because of his colorings it looks like he is wearing pants. They couldn't believe we had kept it a secret. They knew we had wanted one for a long time. When they came to visit, Charlie was just beginning to become comfortable with his surroundings. He was wild, growling and playing with everyone. They loved him. How could you not? Chad's dad called Saturday just to check on him.

Everyday is a good day in our house. Everyday he is doing something new, and more funny than the day before. He loves everyone. We make little trips across the street so he can get acquainted with other people and other animals. Bailey isn't to sure of him yet because he is so little, and so full of energy. I have my camera sitting out so I can catch those perfect moments when your heart just melts, because they don't stay this way for long. We have had such a great weekend, despite having to work everyday, I have still been able to enjoy Charlie. Chad stayed over at Mom and Dad's for several hours with him last night while I worked. They all carved pumpkins and watched college football. Everything in our lives seems so perfect, everything has fallen into place. We are so happy, I don't know what else could make me happier than I am now, other than walking down the aisle to Chad. I have more love and happiness in my heart than ever.

Now you know our story, now you know our secret. I will keep you all updated on his milestones (bath time, walking on a leash, etc). His name is Hummer (for his Daddy) Charlie Walker (for my Grandaddy) Graham, just for the record.

He completes us. : )

It's going to be a long day

2009-10-28T05:25:00.001-07:00

I have had a long week already. I had a huge exam yesterday that consumed the past few days for me. But, it's over, thank goodness.

Today Chad and I are taking somewhat of a road trip when we get off, to Greensboro. We needed to pick up a Christmas gift or two so we thought we would head up that way. I know it's crazy, on Wednesday at 4:00pm traveling all the way up there for a Christmas gift?? Well let's just say it's something we have had in mind for a while. It's going to be great! We are knocking out the Christmas gifts right and left. Maybe when Christmas comes we will actually be able to afford our wedding bands. That would be a relief!

I hope you all have a lovely day! If I can get through work, I will be having a great day!

Jumping out of my skin

2009-10-25T16:24:00.000-07:00

A couple of weeks ago we found out some exciting news and have been sitting on it for a while. Or at least to me it seems like it's been a while. Things are progressing and we are hoping to have definite answers this week. Well, it's all very definite, but timing is key now. I am still a little leery of broadcasting online because we aren't for sure yet but hopefully in the next week or so we will at least have some photos. We just keep crossing our fingers and praying to God. We are ecstatic more and more as the days pass. This will truly be an act of God if everything goes as planned. I can't wait for you all to be excited with us because this has been something Chad and I have only dreamed about. God blesses us everyday and I praise him right now.

"I don't have a thing that I got on my own. I don't have a care that I carry alone. But I have a God, who's carrying me. I don't have a sin that He doesn't forgive, and I don't have a heart that is worthy of His. But, I have a God, He still loves me. So I don't need a temporary man-made deity, when I've got the real thing, I've got the real thing. The Lord of all the earth, the Maker of all things, He alone is the One True God. Kingdoms rise and fall, but even through it all, He remains the One True God."

Words and lyrics from Mark Harris' "One True God"

Lazy day

2009-10-24T16:32:00.000-07:00

Chad and I have been going non-stop for a long time. I work 80 hours a week, basically with school and my "full-time" job. Chad is in his busy season at work so he's been working extra hard. I have been going through some stressful situatons so we have been escaping every weekend to some of our favorite places, Biltmore, Renaissance Festival, Gamecocks games, etc. We go non-stop all week, and then all weekend. Well, this weekend we had a choice, busy, busy, busy, or lazy, lazy, lazy. Well, as you can see we chose lazy. It's actually pretty awesome. We work too hard not to have a lazy day every now and then. It helps me get some much needed housework done that I can't do when I am so busy during the week. You don't know how much I wish I could have a day off during the week to myself. Those days don't happen much for me. Tomorrow we were going to go to the Balloon Festival in Statesville but I spoke to a Balloon man and he said the weather is probably not going to coopperate with the balloons tomorrow. So we decided to stay home and have another lazy day.

We are going early in the morning to my sister's induction to the honor society at Johnson and Wales. Then we are going to do our wedding registry at Belk's. I am hoping right about 2:00 and I can get in an afternoon nap, I don't see those much either. We have been enjoying our lazy weekend. Chad had a dental procedure on Thursday so he has been recooperating from that. His teeth look beautiful now. It's hard to believe you can erase 15 years of not going to the dentist. He is very lucky. Don't forget to take lazy days to yourselves. I don't know about you but I cherish those days just as much as the busy fun days away from home. : )

The Leaves Keep Falling

2009-10-19T15:18:00.000-07:00

We live under about 8 big oak trees. Big oak trees equal about a zillion leaves. Our wonderful neighbors moved out a couple of weeks ago so we get to take care of the yard 100% now. I don't mind at all, it's actually kind of fun, until you bring in the zillion leaves that come to visit this time of year. I decided that we would rake our yard once a week until all of the leaves are gone. It's worked out pretty nice because we always have a pretty yard, not a leaf-covered yard. The trees return a favor to us when it's cold because they're like insulation to us , our vehicles are never covered in frost because of the trees. So... I guess it's ok that we have to rake every now and then. They keep our plants and house warm in exchange for cleaning up after their waste. People are saying we didn't get much of a fall this year, well, I don't think it's over yet. You have to have a few cold snaps to get acclimated to the chilly temperatures. I still think it's fall! I am going to enjoy my pumpkins and my mums for a little while longer.

This past weekend we helped Chad's brother and sister-in-law celebrate their 1 year anniversary. Time flies when you're having fun I guess. It seems just like yesterday that we were preparing for their wedding. They invited us out for dinner, hmmm? Maybe it should have been the other way around. I wish I could have invited them but then I would have felt obligated to pay for their meal, and goodness knows I don't have that kind of money laying around. I wish we could have though, maybe one day we can make up for our shortcomings. It was a lot of fun none-the-less. We went to a modern meditteranean restaurant at Southpark called M5. It was a beautiful restaurant and the food was just as good as the restaurant looked. I would recommend anyone to go there. We gave them one of our nifty pumpkins. I bought a couple and painted them a while back and people like them so much I have been painting them for everyone. Just give me a shout and you too could have a spider covered pumpkin. : )

I hope you all had as lovely a weekend as we did. We are looking forward to the weekend ahead. We play Vandy on Saturday which will be a lot of fun, and then on Sunday we are going to the gem-mine and Annual Hot-air balloon festival in Statesville. I hope you all have a great week! Cheers!

The love of my life and the Biltmore

2009-10-14T16:09:00.000-07:00

Chad and I have been together for almost 6 years now. People look at us as a married couple and have looked at us that way for a long time. We don't really fight to speak of, we live together(for 2 years) and we have been sharing our assets for a long time. But I don't look at us as an old married couple. Our relationship is full of so many wonderful surprises that most relationships don't have. He still gives me butterflies and he still does those little things that make me fall in love all over again. The other day I was studying rather hard and I don't think I had gotten out of the chair I was sitting in for 2 hours. When he got home from work, he made me hot cider and brought me homemade vegetable soup. It meant everything to me. I love those days when he brings home flowers for no reason or just decides spur of the moment he wants to take me out. The busy life I have, he seems to do all the right things to keep me sane. I think we were meant to be.
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Saturday was not a good day for me. I had been looking forward to it for a while and all of the ends just didn't meet. Chad's parents cancelled due to illness and his brother and sister-in-law didn't come either so I was bummed. I feel like I have to work extra hard around them and when they didn't show up it made me feel inadequate to some extent (I understand their reasons but even still). Everything ended up fine, just that initial burn bothered me. We had a great time at the Renaissance Festival, we laughed, a lot, and he just kept reminding me of our little secret and it kept me upbeat and happy. It's the little things he does that mean the most to me. Like the wonderful day he gave me at the Biltmore.

On Monday we went to the Biltmore house, and we had a blast. People keep reminding me of the rain, but Chad and I weren't bothered by the rain at all. We still hiked, saw everything we wanted to see, and did everything we wanted to do. And even though I didn't get nice sunny pictures of the mountains... When God closes a door he always opens a window, even though it was raining God still gave me great photos. This is the first time we have been able to come in warm weather, but guess what? It was in the high 40s. I think that's colder than when we went in the spring. It was wonderful. We didn't venture from the actual Biltmore property this time, we explored everything around the house. My favorite part of this trip was being able to see the four new rooms that opened. My favorite was the Nursery. It was beautiful and the coolest thing about it was they had a whole floor sitting area showing you how they went about restoring everything. I have to say I don't think I will ever get tired of the Biltmore, and we only have to travel 2 hours to get there. There were people from Wisconsin, Texas, Minnesota, New Jersey. And it is basically sitting in our backyard. We should all be happy, having such a place in the state we live in.

Now that the Biltmore has become so popular you have to make reservations to get in the house. You have to pick a date and time, and a lot of times there aren't times available on dates you chose. But thankfully there was a 9 o'clock available for us when I made reservations. We went through the house in about 2 hours. We don't usually eat at the "Stable Cafe" but this time we decided it was a must. Most people think it's too expensive but the price was comparable to eating at a place like Olive Garden. Not too bad. We filled our bellies, Chad had a beer specially brewed for Biltmore and I bet you can guess, he loved it.

Once we were full we started out on our journey around the estate. We were the only brave ones. But good thing because no one obstructed the view from my camera. Everything was so pretty despite the rain. We hiked to the bass pond this time. Chad wished he had his pole with him, but I think it is restricted anyways. We were able to get at least one good picture of us. I was hoping for some engagement pictures but the weather didn't cooperate. Can you see the flower Chad picked for me? It's in my hair, a pretty pink rose. That was probably illegal, but it's the thought that counts. One of my favorite parts of the day was seeing the Italian water gardens. Last time we were there they were working on them. This time they were blooming and full of life. I got some great photos of koi. Chad wants to frame a few for our bedroom. You can see the raindrops on the water, pretty neat. This was one of my favorite photo opportunities. I've told Chad for many years that when we buy our first house I want to put in a Koi pond. I guess we just have to buy a house first.

Our day together was wonderful. It worked out since it was fall break and Chad's vacation days just got renewed. I think he has almost 4 weeks of vacation days now, so one day wouldn't hurt. The rest we will probably use for our wedding and our honeymoon. We're probably going back to Biltmore for Christmas too (by the way they were putting up Christmas trees while we were there, the fake ones). We're probably just going to buy a season pass this time, that way we can go whenever we want for a year, for free basically. We're going to do the Segway tour next time too, in hopes of better weather. It was a fun journey as it always is, and it was even better having my soul mate by my side.

Work, Date Night, and the Renaissance Festival, then... work again...

2009-10-12T16:37:00.000-07:00

Unfortunately like my lovely fiance' I don't get to work 7-4, or an 8 hour shift, every day, 5 days a week. So last week I worked Wednesday all day, Thursday I went to school 7:00-12:30 then worked 2-9pm, then on Friday I worked harder than ever from 9-5 which amounts to about 19 hours I think, Lori too. So needless to say, oh wait I worked Monday too, all day and on Tuesday I went to school all day. But, anyways point being I deserved every bit of fun I had over the weekend. On Friday night my "fiance'"(I love saying that) treated me to dinner which was so nice after my long day. We were given some great news on Thursday but things aren't for sure yet so I am not disclosing any information. I don't want anything to leak out too soon. But it made our weekend, I think we celebrated... well, all weekend and on Monday(today).

Saturday we had plans with several people to possibly go to the Renaissance Festival. We were ready at 8am but the only person who made it was my sister, she always makes it! Chad's parents unexpectedly couldn't come and we never heard from his bro. We had a hearty breakfast out and were there at 10am when the gates opened. Chad and I have a routine when we go to the festival but it all went to hell when they started drinking alcohol. We made friends with so many people even the King and Queen! It was a lot of fun trying to describe Las Vegas to them because it is before their time. They wished Chad and I well. It was so special, they stopped just for my sister and I. My sister introduced herself to a lot of people including the town drunk, he held her hand for a while and was actually calling her "Britney Jill" so after that she referred to herself as "Britney Jill." It was freaking hilarious. She also made friends with the booger man. I don't think that's what he is but he told us he likes to pick his boogers, and he's green. His name is "Gilly Do." He loved my sister, I think he even tried to kiss her at one point. My favorite part was when we met Maximilian the knight who jousted earlier in the day. He was so handsome and so tall. My sister has been coping with her recent breakup, and I think he made her feel so much better. He was gorgeous!

We had so much fun! We stayed out there from 10 until 6pm. We met the tree man and he talks this year, usually he is mute, but he was very friendly to all of us, he even posed for a picture. We saw six or more shows, including the joust. We supported all of the traveling artisans by buying some of their art. We didn't even buy anything for ourselves, we spent all of our money on others. It was all wonderful and we are going back at least 2 more times we have marked on our calendar. Our sole purpose for going was for my sister. She needed this more than anything and we are happy to say she had a blast, so mission accomplished!

Oh, I forgot to add the Gamecocks won!!!!!! So that's 5-1 for us, and we are ranked 22nd! Go Gamecocks!!! I had to work on Sunday so we relaxed Sunday afternoon but today we went to the Biltmore house and it was wonderful. I will blog about it soon, with lots of pictures too!

No news

2009-10-07T15:14:00.000-07:00

Just a typical Chad, Beth and Jack week. Work, play golf, study, go to school, work, study, take pictures, play outside, work, study, go to school, you get the point. Nothing exciting happening so far this week. I am recovering from my weekend illness. I feel a whole lot better this week, thank goodness because we're going to Biltmore on Monday. I have really been looking forward to this trip. We haven't been when it has been warm in a long time. I have seen some photos on News Channel 36's website of the mountains, and it is all just beckoning me. The photos here at the beginning are photos from people around Charlotte that have been to the mountains this past weekend. The colors are looking pretty nice.

Chad and I are going to get some engagement pictures made at the Biltmore. Nothing professional. We didn't hire someone to go with us. I will post some when we get back. We have planned to tour the Biltmore countryside this time. We're going to hike to the bass pond, and go see our groundhog friend that we see every year when we go. It's always cold about the time we visit, either at Christmas or in early March for spring break. So this year I think we will be very comfortable and able to do a lot more. I promise I will have plenty of pictures to share. You know me, I can't go anywhere without my camera. I only have my Nikon now. Sadly I passed on my Olympus digital pocket camera to my future "mom." She has been struggling with her camera for so long. Since I bought my Nikon I have no use for my pocket one, so I gave it to her. Chad paid $299 for it new about 3 years ago. I think she will get great use out of it. Sad to say I won't be able to hide my Nikon in the Biltmore. I will try to get some shots on the patio at least. See you all when we get back!

So much for fun

2009-10-04T07:17:00.000-07:00

On Friday morning I set out to have a great day and to have a great date night with my fiance'. I headed to work and all was good. I tried to finish some jobs I had started and my boss and fellow sales associates noticed all the work I had done the night before. So my day was going great, everyone was happy and we were getting a lot of work done. I put out a lot of fall candles the night before but I had 2 shelves left and I decided I would go ahead and put out some Christmas ones. Well it was a bad idea because one of them set me off on a sneezing frenzy. The sneezing never stopped and then my nose started to run. Oh great! Let me just say that today (Sunday) I am congested, and uncomfortable. I have gone so long without a runny nose accompanied by a sinus infection. I guess it's time. Maybe my body is trying to tell me something. Maybe it's telling me to slow down? I work too much, and I don't have a lot of down time. No time to watch TV, no time to go shopping, no time to see friends, no time to watch Twilight, no time to do anything. I work, study, go to school, sleep, work, study, sleep, work, work, work, a neverending cycle.

I hope that next weekend will break the cycle for me. On Saturday Chad and I have plans to go to the Renaissance Festival with his parents but it might get pushed back to the next weekend. Because... The Gamecocks are 4-1 now and they play Kentucky next Saturday at home. Chad doesn't want to miss this game. So we are hoping that his parents will join us at Williams Brice stadium to see our Gamecocks slaughter the Wildcats. They haven't been with us to a game since they saw the Arkansas game three years ago. I work on Sunday for our infamous Ornament Debut. Then on Monday, the day I have been waiting for, for weeks. We're going to the Biltmore House!!! Yay! We're actually on fall break on Monday and Tuesday and I am off both days so hopefully it will be a great time for me to relax, and hopefully I will be feeling better by then. I bought my own insurance policy before the start of this school year, so at least I know I have good coverage in case I need to go to the doctor. But for now I will lay in the bathroom floor against the cold tile with my tissues in hopes that the stuffiness will go away.

Date Night

2009-10-02T05:16:00.000-07:00

So I have been looking forward to this day all week. It is quite possible that I have had the week from hell. I know I have a job, Praise God! and I know I have a fiance' who is actually in the country but inevitably it still became the week from hell. I will spare you all because I don't really want to relive all that happened this week so you are off the hook. No long drawn out stories today. I will talk about how happy I am to be free this afternoon. I do have to work today but I am so happy that I am free from schoolwork tonight. Finally I can go out with Chad and not be lethargic. Sometimes I have these very long long long days, school at 7am then work, then I come home and Chad wants to go to the driving range. Sometimes I feel like I just want to lay on the cold bathroom floor and conk out but I go with him anyways. I hit two baskets worth of balls then I am really ready for bed. But I forgot who is going to do the pesky homework that creeps up after that? Oh well, not today, no homework, and we're not going to the driving range tonight.

We are going to do leisurely things, like walking the mall, having dinner together. Maybe tonight I can finally let loose and leave school and work behind for the time being. I will come back to it on Monday. Maybe I will have a glass of wine and then put the corks in my nose. This is the kind of night I have been waiting on. Sure it makes me look silly, but I need silly, I need laughs. So.... Itinerary for tonight, FUN, LAUGHS, SILLINESS, and above all DO THINGS THAT MAKE ME HAPPY, not stressed out and tired. I am excited now, countdown to Date night 8 more hours, can I make it?

Renaissance Festival Wedding?

2009-09-30T05:55:00.000-07:00

Chad and I went to the driving range yesterday afternoon and we came home to the silliest message on our answering machine. It was my friend Lori saying that there was a contest at the Renaissance Festival where you could win having your wedding there in a couple of weeks. Hmm... You think I am not going to try? Chad and I are all about spontaneity, this would top all spontaneous things we've ever done. Well... besides getting married in Las Vegas. At the end of her message she said that she was really looking forward to our Renaissance Festival wedding. (Photos courtesy of royalfaires.com). We always go two or three weekends each year to the Renaissance Festival. Oh how I would love to be a traveling artisan. We have made friends with a few of the artists there just from going every year. Chad tells me every year how we should just get a season pass. I'll never forget the years that they had Boo and Brew. They would sell tickets for this one night when they would open at 7pm until midnight for halloween. It was so much fun, a lot of people dressed up in silly costumes, plenty of beer to go around, and shows with a "loose cannon" as they say. It was 30 degrees that first time we went. It was soooooo cold! But we had a blast. They haven't done it the past couple of years because of rain. When it rains at the Renaissance Festival it gets so muddy.

10 more days and we can finally go to the Festival! We can spend all of our money and have a great time in the process! Actually for this weekend only if you have a coupon you can get in as a couple for $20. That is a deal because they are normally $20 a piece. When you get there you have to delight yourself with a visit to the Cappuccino Inn for a warm caffeinated beverage. Then you go and see your first choice of shows which usually for us is Don Juan and Miguel. After that you mosey down the lane to visit some of the artisans and hear the harpist. You just have to make it by 11:30 to see the Jewels of the Caravan for their first show. They are the best belly dancers you will ever see! Then at noon you have to go and see the first Joust. After that you will be ready for a Turkey Leg, and you have to have one of these if it is your first time! You can wash it all down with a margarita or a beer. Make sure you bring your id because there is plenty of alcohol to go around. You absolutely have to go see Dextre Tripp, he is amazing! He does crazy things on a rope! You also need to see Drums and Drones, we've bought a couple of their cds because the music is so relaxing. We love Celtic music! Don't forget to see the glass blower too, we always go say hello to him and buy something to support him. You could go see the second joust but there are so many other shows that it's ok to miss this one. Just make sure you see the joust to the death because it's pretty fun. It makes for a long day but it is worth it. Chad and I usually stay until they close the gates on us at 6. If you get a chance to go it's so much fun, something different to do in this sleepy town. It goes on from October 10th- November 22nd. You may spend $100 there but it is a $100 well spent!

Tests, Golfing, and Trying to Keep My Sanity

2009-09-28T06:07:00.000-07:00

So tomorrow is Test 1 in my Business Law class. I feel like I know my stuff but you just never know? Sometimes you go into a test and think "Hell yeah, I made an A for sure!" Then you don't do so hot. So I am going to carry my business law book around in hopes I might see something I didn't see the first time that might help me on the test. Since I go to UNCC now this whole test thing is a little bit different. If the classes were large at CPCC most of the time you took your tests in a testing center. This is a little bit different. Since there are thousands of kids that go to UNCC compared to CPCC I guess you just take your test in class with the 399 other kids. My first Accounting II test was interesting. 300 calculators going at the same time, you can guess how I did on that test. I was pulling my hair out! I think my Business Law test will be a bit better because there are no calculators involved. But there are still close to 400 people. Whew! I have been doing a little better with my anxiety and my hair isn't falling out as fast. I bought a new Pantene Pro-v shampoo that is supposed to help with breakage and falling out. We'll see how it goes.

Chad and I have picked up a new hobby that has been longing for us. A way to take out stress on something, a golf ball actually. Chad and I have been hitting golf balls around. We found a really good golfing range and golf course off of Providence Road called Charlotte Golf Links. We went yesterday and it was a lot of fun and relieved a lot of stress for me. Actually I hit better with a 3 than I did with an actual driver. I was hitting the ball almost as far as Chad. Golf is an old past-time for Chad. He used to go everyday and every weekend with his friend David so he's pretty good at it. He tells me I have a good swing that I just need a little more practice at not digging the ground up. We're hoping to go and actually play 18 holes one day but our weekends are pretty full.

This weekend we are going to the Gamecocks game on Saturday, and helping our neighbors move on Sunday. Then the following weekend we are going to the Renaissance Festival, I work Sunday and then on Monday we are going to the Biltmore House. So maybe the weekend of the 17th we will be able to play a round. I think my dad is going to go with us, we offered to pay his way as a part of his birthday so I hope he'll go. He's really really good and he's played most of the golf courses around Charlotte, so maybe he'll have some good tips for me.

Once I get through my test tomorrow I think I will feel a lot better. I also have a meeting with my advisor about my "future" which should be interesting. I think this is the part when I need to tell them what I want to do the rest of my life. I will let you all know what I decide, it too is something that has been plaguing me. But I think I have made up my mind, we'll see what my advisor thinks. hmmm? Then we're going to hit more golf balls, yay! Hope you all have a lovely week!

Welcome Christmas

2009-09-23T14:15:00.001-07:00

Welcome Christmas, what? Today is September 23rd, not December 23rd. Oh well, I guess that's what I get for working at a Hallmark store, for 7 years. Christmas for 8 months out of the year. Good news is that this year I learned from some mistakes and have finished our Chistmas shopping. Yes I said it, we finished our Christmas shopping with the exception of Hickory Farms and those few items that don't come out for a few more weeks. Chad and I, for the past few years have been waiting until we get our Christmas bonuses to buy presents. At the end of last Christmas season I bought big containers and started filling them as I found things for people. It is going to make this Christmas that much easier and Chad and I can use our bonuses on that new TV we've been saving for and on our wedding bands. We felt like waiting until the last minute only made things more stressful so why not buy things through the year as we travel and as we go places and skip the whole stressful Christmas shopping part. When Christmas comes we can enjoy it with our families and we can do the thing I have been waiting to do for so long... Buy our wedding bands.

I don't know what I would do without my lovely friends at Hallmark. They are making this wedding thing so exciting for me; always asking questions and providing advice. It makes me so excited. They are all such good friends. Tomorrow we are making a trip to Asheville for Hallmark Christmas open house convention. Melanie, Shannon, Barbara and I are making the trip. I am so sad my bestest bud Lori couldn't come. Maybe we should have planned a little better. I will bring her back something special. Look what happens to us when we see Christmas stuff, look at Shannon's face! I don't think our faces will look like that at 7:30 tomorrow morning. We'll make it, and I will take some pictures for all of you to see what Hallmark is up to. I hope you all are getting ready for Christmas, before you can say Merry Christmas it will be here. Enjoy fall while it's here but make sure you get in on some of those end of summer sales before they're gone. Once they're gone it's full on Christmas for everybody. I will have awesome fall pictures from Biltmore in a couple of weeks. We are also going to the Renaissance Festival that weekend too. We have another coupon if someone wants it. Two tickets for $20. The tickets are usually $20 each so it's a very good deal. If you have never been, this is definitely something to see. And 2 for $20 you can't beat it. The coupon is good for opening weekend October 10th and 11th. Let me know if anyone wants it.

Go Gamecocks!

2009-09-21T16:52:00.000-07:00

Our weekend was incredible. I think I took a nap for 4-5 hours on Sunday trying to recoup. We went to the Gamecocks' game Saturday night. Let me just say that I would go to a college football game any day before I would a pro game. We had front row seats to the Panther's game a couple of weeks ago, and let me tell you, NO SUPPORT, AT ALL! You go to a Gamecock game and the stadium rumbles. It holds almost 90,000 people so if you get one side screaming GAME and then the other, COCKS, the stadium moves. It is unreal, unlike any other sporting event I have ever been to. We left the house around 1pm, the game didn't start until 7pm. We got there around 2:30pm. Yes, I know, 4 hours of tailgating, and it was awesome. There is no team like the Gamecocks I have to say. Check it out. When you get there, there are all of these zones fenced off. They all have names, "The Coop," "The Touchdown Zone," etc. Not just anyone can get into these areas. You have to either have a "Cock-a-boose," or a parking place. These parking places cost $15,000 each, the "Cock-a-booses," anywhere from $250,000-500,000. These tailgating areas are unlike any I have ever seen. We have been Gamecock fans for almost 10 years now. My mom's business owns a "Cock-a-boose," and several "Touch-down Zone" parking places. We had plenty of places to roost for 5 hours, and there was plenty of food to go around. If you ever get asked to go to a Gamecock game, do not turn it down because it is so awesome. Starting about an hour before the game, every 15 minutes they play the rooster call warning that the time is drawing near. We were so excited by then. When you hear that sound it's like it runs through your blood, excitement comes over you and you can barely sit still.
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We were lucky enough to get 50 yard line seats for this game. It is all free, we didn't pay a penny, except for the t-shirts we bought. It's all paid for by my mom's company, pretty sweet. We never know about seats until we get there. But, since we have touch-down zone parking there are huge big-screens under the awning there in case we don' t have seats. But, this game we did. We played Florida Atlantic, which is not a well known team but it was still fun. We had a lot of fun leading up to the big game. My dad snapped this shot of this little girl enjoying a Corona, not really but it looked like it, hehe. We had a pretty good time tailgaiting this time because we were celebrating my dad's birthday and my sister Jill got to go. She always seems to be the life of the party. I think she had too much to drink at Childress so she laid a little low at the game. Usually there are a lot of recruits hanging our at our cockaboose so there's not much room inside. But there were no recruits there that early so we got to enjoy our food in the cool air. It was nice getting in out of the hot sun. Otherwise we stayed outside of the caboose underneath a tent to see all of the activities going on outside the stadium.

Game time finally came around and it was time for "Cocky" to reveal himself. I think he is the coolest mascot! They have a huge unveiling of him at every home game. He's hidden in a black box that shoots out smoke, and then he pops out! The team shortly follows him. This is the best part of the whole game, besides the winning part. There are just no words to describe how this stadium feels, it really shakes because of all of the excitement. It was a good game, we played poorly in the first half still with a lead but we came out in the second half full of force beating FAU 38-16. We had a great time and can't wait for the next game. Unfortunatly we can't make it to this weeks Thursday game against Ol Miss but we are going to the next one against South Carolina State before facing Tennessee. I am so glad my parents brought me up as a Gamecock fan, I don't know who I'd be without being a fan of college football. I am also glad Chad took to it almost 6 years ago, because then where would I be? Who knows? All I know is this is one of the many things we agree on, and I am glad of it.

The Harvest

2009-09-19T05:16:00.000-07:00

Much to my surprise there were many grapes still on the vine at Childress but you could tell where they had already been. They picked, I don't know 7 bins full just for the grape stomp. When we arrived I was so surprised by how pretty it was decorated and I couldn't help but run through my mind how pretty it would be to have our wedding there. The band was there warming up, they had candles lit, service people there to help, and plenty of wine to go around. Now don't think we are changing our minds now, it will just be a very nice Plan B. I just wanted to say that it was lovely and I would tell any of my friends.... Shannon.... to get married there because they throw a good party and the food was spectacular. This harvest party was much like one of their pairings parties, where they pair some of their best wine with food. You visit 6 or 8 different tables, to try 6 or 8 different wine and food pairings. At the harvest party they featured Mr. Childress' red varietals. I think they were all very good but the first station was my favorite which was"Pinnacle." If you ever get to Richard Childress' winery/vineyard, make sure you taste his "Pinnacle." It is a very full-bodied red wine with a mixture of Cab Franc, Merlot, and Cabernet Sauvignon. It has some cherry flavors with a spicy smooth texture. Try it next time you go! I think if you do his signature tasting you get to try it, which is $15.

Once you make your way around and taste all of the wine and food you get a free glass of wine out of all of the ones you just tried. Then they had little stations set up around where you could try other things they have, such as the wine-a-rita which was wonderful. You have to pay for every glass after your free one which was ok because we just ordered bottles after that. The band was great, they were called "The Plaids," I would hire them in a second for our wedding because they played awesome music. Don't you think it would be so much more fun to have a band rather than a DJ? I don't know? Maybe it's just what you prefer? We really liked these guys, we might hire them because they were awesome! My parents kept saying we shouldn't stay all night because we have a long day tomorrow but we couldn't help but stay. Plus... I wanted to stay for the "Stomp." I had been awaiting this moment all day, to finally get to stomp the grapes.

That time finally came too, and they had two ladies dressed up as "Lucy." It means something to them because their grape crusher is named Lucy, she's not real, it's a machine I mean. Soooo many people wanted to take part in this momentous occasion. I thought a lot of people would sit out because they didn't want to get their feet dirty, but boy was I wrong. I quickly pulled off my shoes and got in front. I was one of the first ones in, and then more people piled in. It was so weird, having grapes beneath your feet, ewww. Squishy and then little rough parts, and then sticky. I just couldn't believe that's what they used to do back then. I mean I could think of a lot of different ways, oh well, I can now say I have stomped the grapes, yay! Before anyone r got in, when we were all down there alone, we tasted some... and you wouldn't believe how sweet they are. No wonder they have such good wine, they have awesome grapes!

We all went back upstairs after I had my stomping fix to hear more of the band. Nothing could have prepared me more for what happened next. My sister was a little wild when we got back to the band. She had us all dancing! She was dancing with anything that had legs. She danced with an old man! CRAZY! At one point they played a Journey song and we were all dancing with our "significant others" and she was all alone, so she invented the "circle dance," where we all get close and dance in a circle, all 5 of us! We had a newspaper person from the "Triad" taking pictures of us, pretty hilarious! Maybe we will dance like that at our reception, one big circle! My sister was so silly, she even went up there and grabbed the microphone herself. The band wasn't up there but she didn't care, it was so funny. We had such a good time, great food, great wine, and great friends. I would recommend to anyone to try and go to one of their parties because it is so much fun. Worth every bit of our $25 each.

I can't wait until we get married, we are going to have so much fun in Las Vegas. If Vegas is half as much fun as this was, I will be happy. I know it will, probably just the bachelor/bachelorette parties alone will be just as fun. I can't imagine the wedding part of it. Then we get to come home and throw a huge shindig. You can bet there will be some Childress wine there. I hope you all will be there to share in our joy!

Childress Winery and Vineyard Annual Grape Harvest

2009-09-16T18:24:00.000-07:00

My birthday was last Friday September 4th, whooo! I am officially 24 now. The lady at Costco tonight told me I was too young to buy alcohol, I told her to take a second look, yes, 24! Mean old lady. Anyways, almost my whole family was gone on my birthday weekend, so sad when that happens! But my wonderful Graham family took excellent care of me on my birthday. A few months ago, Chad and I and my parents made plans to go to Childress for the harvest of the grapes to celebrate mine and my dad's birthday. My dad's birthday is on Monday so perfect timing. The shindig at Childress is on Friday, it costs $25 per person and it is going to be great! Food, Wine, Music, and they let whoever wants to, stomp the grapes. Of course they don't make wine like that anymore but it's going to be fun, and perfect place to use my new camera. I was missing my family on my birthday, not to mention I had no birthday cake, so this is going to be a great way to make up for missing them. I will definitely post lots of pictures.

It's going to be a long weekend. I have school from 7:30am-12:30, work from 3-9pm, then I rise and shine early Friday to work 9-5pm then mom and dad and Chad are picking me up from work to drive to Childress which means getting home late. Then Saturday I rise and shine early again to be at work 9-1pm then mom and dad and Chad are picking me up at 1 and we are leaving for Columbia for the football game which doesn't start until 7 so needless to say we will be home really late. So I am hoping on Sunday I will get some resting time. I think I exhausted my future "mother-in-law" today when I told her our plans. I am exhausted just talking about it. But, it's going to be tons of fun, I hope the Gamecocks can pull out a win this week after the stressful game we played last week.

I hope you all enjoy the rest of your week and I wish all of you a restful weekend!

Wedding Planning Bliss

2009-09-13T17:09:00.000-07:00

Today I had my first bite of wedding planning bliss; I went to look at wedding dresses. I didn't really know what to expect so I went to the place that is advertised and people talk about, David's Bridal. There is a very large one across the street from the mall so that's where we went. My sister Jill accompanied me, I know I can always trust her opinion.

As soon as we walked in we were greeted. I filled out a paper with all of our wedding details so they would know who else would need outfitting. I didn't really know what to expect but my "helper" or salesperson was very nice and she knew about all the dresses they had. All I brought was a magazine with a few "dog-eared" pages. I didn't know if I should take my spanks, my strapless bra, or my slip? They actually provided all of that for me which was nice. They gave me a "Bridal" packet with some samples and a catalog of all of the dresses. She helped me every step of the way. It helped especially when she brought me some of those heavier ones. She just lifted it over my head like it was a feather. My sister took some photos of the ones I liked best, so far. I can't really post them though because Chad is one of my frequent blog viewers, Hey honey! I want him to be stunned when I walk down the aisle. I think he had an idea of what I wanted but my vision has made a 360 since I tried them on today.

It was so much fun and I look forward to my next wedding dress-a-thon. I am going on Wednesday with my future "Mother." She wants to check out Belk's sales for a dress and then we are going to go look at more dresses for me at someplace different. It is kind of hard planning it because Chad and I are always together so I have to plan it on days when he's not with me. I am sure all of my closest pals, you know who you are, will get to see photos of the dresses I liked best. It's so exciting! If anyone has any ideas of places around here, please let me know.

Day Trip

2009-09-12T14:47:00.000-07:00

Today we decided to take a break and go outdoors. Those of us who live in Charlotte are very lucky to be half-way from both the beach and the mountains. Well... I guess we're a little bit closer to the mountains? We got up this morning when our bodies were ready to get up, about 9am. We had a nice breakfast and then we packed up the car for our "day trip." My birthday was last Friday and to treat myself, the week before I bought myself a Nikon D-40. I have been so busy with school and work that I haven't had a chance to take any really good pictures with it. Today was going to be that day. We decided to head towards the mountains. We didn't know where we would end up, we just knew Asheville was about 2 hours away. We usually take 321 to 40 but today we took 74 "around the bend." I didn't like it as much because you go through Gastonia, and Shelby and some other little towns. A lot of stop and go. My favorite part about going up 321 is once you get past Hickory it's like the mountains appear, and it is always so pretty.

Oh well, we didn't go that way but we still had fun. We saw some places we had never seen before or hadn't been to in years. About noon-time we made it to Lake Lure. It was so pretty. I was surprised because there weren't that many people there. I guess it was kind of like the calm before the storm because once October comes the mountains pretty much become a zoo. I don't know if Chad had ever been to Lake Lure but it's been about 10 years since I've been there. I think once he saw it he started planning his fishing trip there. You can rent motorized boats so I think he was thinking it would be perfect for he and his dad. Chimney Rock is also right there by Lake Lure and goodness it's been probably 15 years or more since I have been there. Probably when I went with girl scouts. It is actually $14 per person now to go to Chimney Rock. Crazy! We might do that excursion when we go in October to Asheville.

Since we vetoed Chimney Rock we followed the river a little bit until we found a clearing. By clearing I mean clear of people. There were a lot of people picnicking by the river. I wanted a place to set up my tripod to take slow exposures of the river. I got a few neat filters from my future in-laws for my birthday, a polarized and UV filter. When I was photographing the river the polarized filter made a huge difference, you could see the bottom of the river through my camera, just like polarized sunglasses. See the difference? The photo on the right is polarized and the one on the left is not. Pretty neat!

We had a great day together. We were only gone for about 5 hours. We got a lot of vitamin D and a lot of exercise. I can't wait until October when we get to go to Biltmore. Since Chad and I have been together, ohhh about 6 years, we venture to Asheville every year. This year we will have gone twice. We usually go in the spring. Since we might be going to scope out Vegas this coming spring we figured we'd do our trip in October to be sure we don't miss it. I don't think we have ever been in the fall together, to Biltmore I mean. We've been at Christmas, on Christmas actually, and then in the spring. So this will be fun, and pretty, I am pretty sure the colors will be changing by then. I am sure I will have plenty of pictures to show you. It's officially 1 month from now, we are leaving on October 12th. What a great day this was!

My fiance'

2009-09-10T18:14:00.000-07:00

You know when you start back to school after a long summer break it's always hard trying to get back in the groove of things. I guess I assumed after 3 weeks I would be well into my groove. But I wasn't and I am not. Working almost full-time with Christmas almost in full swing and taking 3 harder classes at a new school, is all kind of getting to me. Don't get me wrong, I am going to make it, it's just taking a little more adjusting time than I thought.

I don't think I would be as sane without the love of my life, my "fiance'." It's so funny saying that because we have been together for so long it just doesn't seem real. He keeps me from going insane through all this. I only have to work 9-5 on Friday and then I am off Saturday and Sunday so I picture us having a great weekend of relaxation. I wonder if he has figured out what I have planned for Saturday? We are going to ride up 74 towards Asheville to hunt for waterfalls. Now that I have my great camera I haven't even been using it. I haven't really had the time, but I am hoping on Saturday we can find some great NC waterfalls. I will definitely post some photos when we go. We are going again October 12th when we go to the Biltmore house with his parents. I love fall, I know it's not officially fall until September 22nd. But I am ready to welcome it.

My fiance', (I love saying that), got more front row seats at the Panther's Game for Sunday, in the end zone. He asked his brother already. If his brother doesn't go, I guess I will be second choice. But if he does go, I am going to look for a wedding dress. I don't know if there is a season for wedding dresses or not but I am hoping it might be the off-season, which might mean good deals? I am thinking $150, I think that's fair. Tommy Bahama has a "dress" that I am considering if David's Bridal doesn't produce one I like. I think it will all become more real to me when I put the first one on. If anyone wants to go with me, I am hoping to go Sunday, the invitation is open. I love all of this fiance', wedding stuff. Did I tell you? I am having my bridal portraits done at the Biltmore next April! I will keep you all posted on my wedding happenings. Especially you Bojo. : ) luv u

Stress Relief, Where Are You?

2009-09-08T17:24:00.000-07:00

Where are the friends when you need them, where is the money when you need it, where is stress relief when you want it most? This weekend I was hoping for a chance to let loose and relax but it didn't happen. Online accounting homework, due, Online calculus homework, due, wedding contract, due, due, due, due, due. When does it ever end? This wedding stuff is lingering over my head and no one seems to understand. They want you to sign your life away to them and then pay them loads of money. I think I want to enjoy the fun part of being engaged before I sign all my money away. Our wedding is ten months away, what will a couple more months of making them wait for my money, hurt? None, I say!

I am so stressed out in need of some serious stress relief. You know I tell these things to Chad and he just doesn't understand, like most men, I hope. It's like he thinks it all just happens, no stress necessary? Well, plenty of stress I think. Trying to get a family of 15 a couple thousand miles away for a wedding. It doesn't just happen I can tell you. It's making the beach look much more nice. But, in a few months I will revisit the contract and the reservations, and the money and maybe I might feel a little better? Maybe there won't be as much homework due, and maybe there might be more money in my bank account?

I have all of these great stress relievers sitting around and it's almost like I am ignoring them. I have a new camera, one of my favorite things to do. We have a PS3 and one of the most fun games out there "Little Big Planet." I don't know why I can't relax. I don't know what my problem is. Is there anyone out there that understands? I am so tired and stressed. I think I need someone to Hail Mary me out of this before I go crazy.

Photos

2009-08-31T17:49:00.000-07:00

Here are a few photos of our weekend that I took with my new camera. I love taking pictures and if I knew my camera wouldn't get stolen I would take it everywhere with me. This first one is me at work getting a fun shot of Shannon "arranging" to accomodate the never-ending flow of Christmas merchandise.

Here is a shot I took looking up at one of the new buildings downtown while standing in the mobs of people after the game. I can't believe I could hold it steady enough to get a good shot. Pretty neat! This building is not quite done yet but cool looking none-the-less. This was taken around midnight on Saturday. The clouds look pretty scary.

Here is sweet little "Mo." I am auntie Beth to this little fella at least for a year or so. He loves romaine lettuce and baby carrots. He really squeaks like a little piggy too. He loves auntie Beth and Uncle Chad.

And here is a photo of one of our little "Blue legged" hermies. These guys are so much fun to watch and I never could get a good shot of one of them with my other camera. But... now with my macro setting I can get as many angles as I want.

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Sometimes you just have to treat yourself. Chad and I haven't treated ourselves in a long, long, long, long time. In this case thanks to the leftover financial aid I was able to get my camera, and a new mattress for Chad and I, oh and a great dinner at Texas Land and Cattle. And I don't owe a thing. God has really blessed us this past weekend. : )

Feeling Lucky

2009-08-30T14:04:00.000-07:00

Chad and I have lived on our own for over 2 years now. We've learned how to manage our bills, and keep a home on our own. Since I was old enough to to put on my mom's dress, I kept my own house. I cooked, cleaned, and wore high-healed shoes. Well, maybe I wasn't old enough quite yet, but I thought I was doing a good job keeping up my make-believe home. I can't say that Chad and I have struggled because we have done pretty well paying our bills and still having the few things we want. Now.... we don't go out and but cd's every weekend, we live without cable, and we only go out to eat every other weekend, so we are pretty good about saving our money. More recently we have tightened up even more since the "idea" is to get married in Vegas, in June, 2010. But this weekend was different than any other weekend in our past 2 years living on our own. It was like the stars aligned just right, or like we played a game of poker, and not only won, we had a full house.

I don't know if any of you have ever had a weekend that worked out like ours' has but let me say, our weekend was unreal! First, on Thursday a huge dream of mine came true, I finally went out and bought a DSLR. All of the photos in this blog are from my new camera. I went with the Nikon instead of the Canon. The man at Wolf Camera said it was all about how it felt and how I wanted the controls to be. Well, lets just say the Nikon ruled over for me which was weird because I have always wanted a Canon. I bought the camera on Thursday but never got around to playing with it, Thursday or Friday. This is where our next bit of news comes in. Chad came home from work on Wednesday asking if we wanted free PSL seats at a Panther's Pre-season game. I had never been before so of course we accepted. He came home on Friday with Row 1A seats, front row! Perfect chance to play with my new camera. After we got settled on Friday night we went out on a date to Texas Land and Cattle, I had a few Texan Margaritas, Chad had a few Texas beers, we had fried jalapenos and an awesome dinner. Perfect way to start our weekend, because we had a long one.

We have not had great time with beds. Well, I have always had a nice mattress to sleep on so when I first met Chad's mattress, I learned that all mattresses aren't nice and soft like mine. I had a premium top of the line $900 Original Mattress and Chad had a 30 year old one that probably didn't have a working spring in it. He slept on it every night but he didn't know any better, that's all he had and he wasn't going to ask his parents to go out and buy him one. Chad's not one to complain. So guess what, we moved the mattress with us. I learned to sleep on it as well, but I dreamed of the mattress we would have in the future. My cousin moved in with my parents about 17 months ago and didn't have anywhere to store his mattress. My parents said they would buy us a new bed frame if we agreed to get rid of the antique mattress so we could keep Daniel's. So we did, and his was a step up but it had a huge dip in it from him sleeping in the middle, and it couldn't be flipped. About a week or so ago Daniel moved out, so you'll never guess? We had a bed frame without a mattress, so we pulled out our aero-bed and slept on it for a week and a half. I was really missing my bed now. But Saturday came, and we went looking for a mattress. We went three places, and who would have thought it would have been like buying a car? This guy was going to pay my sales tax, and this guy was going to give me 2 free serta sheep, and the third guy was going to give us free delivery. Well, I got the BMW of mattresses, free sales tax, free delivery and a free sheep. Who says I can't wheel and deal?

I was definitely in heaven now, Panther's game that afternoon and free delivery on our mattress. We chose a Serta mattress but it's a new line by Vera Wang. It's comparable to my other mattress at my parents house. Chad didn't know how to act sleeping on a new mattress. But he didn't because guess what, he bought a Play Station 3. Starting to see my weekend? Yeah I don't know? The stars must have aligned like I said. But, guess what else? It still doesn't end! Since I got such a good deal on our mattress I went ahead and bought a new bedspread. I went to Belk's and they had a bunch of red-dot clearance items plus you get an extra 50% off the red-dot merchandise. I found a Biltmore bedspread set that was originally almost $400 marked down plus I got an extra 50% so it only cost me $75, A BILTMORE SET! What are the chances? After I got the bed made it was time to leave for the Panther's game. I had to pry Chad from his PS3. I was looking forward to just coming home to sleep in my new bed.

The Panther's game was fun but people weren't as up-beat like we're used to at college football games. I wasn't going to complain because we had the best seats and they were free. We were very grateful because how often does that happen? We had never been to an NFL game either. They were row 1A in the front row right where the players come out onto the field. Perfect seats for first-timers. Not anything to obstruct our view. We also met some people beside us that live less than a mile from where Chad's parents live and they went to Piedmont high school. Small world. We had so much fun that night. Drinks, Friends, and a football game. We tailgated for a couple of hours with some guys Chad works with. We were also able to see the Westin hotel downtown because a few of them were staying there. It's a pretty hotel. We would definitely go again if we were offered seats. I would recommend it for any other local Charlotteans. Something so close to home, and a little out of the ordinary. I was so ready to get home to my new bed. We got home around midnight, not too bad. I went to bed after a much needed shower and Chad, well you all know what Chad did, he played video games until 3 am. I had to get some much needed rest because our weekend was still not over. I had to leave for Columbia at 7am to get our next surprise!

7am rolled around and it was time to get up, well time for me to get up. Chad stayed behind to prepare our living room for our new couch. This couch was actually given to us by some Gamecock tail-gating buddies. I went to Brueggar's for breakfast at 6:45 and I was contemplating Coke or Mr. Pibb and when I spoke I said "could I please have a Mr.Coke?" You could tell I was sleepy. But, never-the-less I trucked on to go get our much needed couch. We have been living with a futon that we bought from Wal-mart 2 years ago, it was falling apart and uncomfortable. Now we have a very nice sectional that really makes the room much more homey. It is in very good shape, it almost looks like it was never used. You kind of sink into it when you sit down. Perfect for afternoon naps, just what I have been waiting for. And... it was free!

And so ends our wonderful "lucky" weekend. And just so you know we didn't really spend that much money, the stars just lined up for us. Everything worked out perfectly, and we finally received some much needed/wanted "accessories."

"Good things come to those who wait..." Abraham Lincoln

Happy Birthday to me!

2009-08-27T18:30:00.000-07:00

My birthday is not now, it's next Friday, a week from tomorrow. But today I treated myself and celebrated my happy life by buying the best present ever, a Nikon D40! waaaaaa!!! I have a Film SLR and a compact digital but I have only been dreaming of a DSLR, and today I got one. I went to Best Buy last night to play with it and it was marked down from $499 for $449, what a sign. I already knew I was going to buy it this weekend but that really made me want to buy it even more.
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I can go to Best Buy and play with the camera for hours and no one ever bothers me. So... needless to say I did not want to buy it from Best Buy, I don't think they know anything about cameras. As soon as I got out of school today I called Wolf Camera, and guess what? They had it marked down from $499 to $449, but you also have to buy a memory card too. I told them to throw in the best one they had for high speed and I was on my way! This all happened in my favor too, because guess what? I got a 10% discount for being a current UNCC student, what are the chances? So it was all only $446, meant to be I would say!
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I had school 8-12:30 today and then had to be at work at 3 to work until 9pm so I have had NO time with my camera, but Chad has. He knows more about it than me, and it's my camera, well, I guess it's ours. I did promise him we could call it the C-camera since my other one is called the B-camera. Get it? B (Beth)-camera, C (Chad)-camera, inside joke I guess. I promise to post pictures from my new camera on Saturday, tomorrow is a busy day too, but I plan on taking my camera with me wherever I may go. I promise I will post some goofy shots, hehe. Hope you all have a great Friday! B.

Happy news in my little household

2009-08-22T17:56:00.000-07:00

Friday was a great day for me, I was off, I picked up my school books, and my stomach felt a little bit better. The best news came when Chad got home, well for starters we finally got Chad's car back after being in the shop for 2 weeks (we were rearended by a lovely hispanic gentleman). All is well now and a "depreciation" check is on the way. It makes me happy that we have his car back but this news is even better. Chad has been struggling with his work situation, he has been working his butt off for 6 years, is on time everyday and never uses all of his paid vacation. He always talks about getting a new job where he feels better appreciated. Well, on Friday he was offered a promotion at work. He would no longer have to work in the shop, he will have his own office and will be learning a new computer program for the company called Auto CAD. He will also be the manager of the new "side" company where they sell metal by the inch. This was exciting news for us because it will be more money and Chad will be getting paid salary now. He is more excited about his job than ever and I couldn't be more happy and proud of him.

My Favorite Things

2009-08-21T06:40:00.000-07:00

"Raindrops on Roses, and whiskers on kittens, bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens, brown paper packages tied up with strings, these are a few of my favorite things. Cream colored ponies and crisp apple strudels, door bells and sleigh bells and schnitzel with noodles, wild geese that fly with the moon on their wings, these are a few of my favorite things. Girls in white dresses with blue satin sashes, snowflakes that stay on my nose and eyelashes, silver white winters that melt into springs, these are a few of my favorite things. When the dog bites, when the bee stings, when I'm feeling sad, I simply remember my favorite things, and then I don't feel s bad...." Julie Andrews "My Favorite Things"

I think I am coming down with something, I have been sick for a week. Chad thinks it's just the stress I have been experiencing recently. Who would have thought stress could make you feel this bad. How do you relax? I don't really, work, sleep, clean house, work, sleep, work, day off, ok time to relax. But, I can't relax, looking at these Calculus problems is making me cringe. I keep telling myself, I am going to make it through this. I read a description of a person with my horoscope and I don't always believe those things but this description was me in a nutshell, "The perfectionist, worries, very smart, dislikes noise and chaos, eager, hardworking, loyal, easy to talk to, practical and often shy." Me in a nutshell, pretty scary. How do they know that? Most of those things I agree with, perfectionist, I have been told that all my life. In fact, my sister and her friend made homemade egg roles last night, 100 of them, and they wanted me to help, they said my first one was perfect, and so was every one after that. They said it took them 10 to get it right, what are the chances? But the one that sticks out the most in the description is "worries."
I would have to say, worry is an understatement.

Oh well, so how do I get past this? I have decided that on payday next week, I am going straight out to get a pedicure, that's always fun. Maybe I will go to a yoga class? When I took yoga I was a changed woman. Ok so yoga, pedicure, maybe buy that David Cook CD, and maybe a new purse. Material things, lovely, it's going to take material things to calm me down. Maybe I just need to skip the pedicure, the CD, and the purse and go straight to the hard stuff, THE SPA! I will let you know how this fight with myself ends up. I think maybe I'll call the doctor.

Something Good

2009-08-18T18:05:00.000-07:00

"Perhaps I had a wicked childhood, perhaps a miserable youth, but somewhere in my wicked, miserable past, there must have been a moment of truth. For here you are standing there loving me, whether or not you should. So somewhere in my youth or childhood, I must have done something good. Nothing comes from nothing, nothing ever could, so somewhere in my youth or childhood, I must have done something good." Julie Andrews "Something Good"

Whoever says life is easy, well there is no way in the world that could be true considering what I've been through this week. These past few days have been so challenging. It's hard seeing my parents having a hard time too. My dad has been out of work for almost 6 months. Having three girls in college definitely puts a hurting on their income. Thankfully all of my schooling has been paid for by grants so I don't owe anything and I don't have to struggle to pay my tuition.
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One of the things that has caused a lot of hardship this week is paying for my books and parking. Financial aid doesn't pay for books or parking. So $800, where do I get it from? Money surely doesn't grow on trees and I don't have any hidden in my couch cushion. Everything is taken care of now but it has caused so much stress. Chad has been so wonderful, always offering to help pay but I hate to ruin all that we have saved. I have figured out alternate ways of paying so all is well now. I don't understand why they have to make it so hard for students, they know we don't have any money. Oh well, how else do you learn? Life wouldn't be any fun if we had everything given to us on a silver platter. I guess I will look back one day and think how silly all of this worrying was. Now that it is all settled, I will have confidence in the coming weeks, Bachelors degree here I come!

"What will this day be like, I wonder? What will my future be, I wonder? It could be so exciting to be out in the world, to be free! My heart should be wildly rejoicing, oh what's the matter with me? I've always longed for adventure, to do the things I've never dared. Now here I am facing adventure, then why am I so scared? .... Oh I must stop these doubts all these worries, if I don't I just know I'll turn back. I must dream of the things I am seeking, I am seeking the courage I lack. The courage to serve them with reliance, to face my mistakes without defiance, show them I'm worthy and while I show them, I'll show me. So let them bring on all their problems. I'll do better than my best. I have confidence, they'll put me to the test. But, I'll make them see that I have confidence in me. Somehow I will impress them, I will be firm but kind .... With each step I am more certain, everything will turn out fine. I have confidence, the world can all be mine, they have to agree I have confidence in me!" Julie Andrews "I Have Confidence"

The best love

2009-08-17T05:06:00.000-07:00

"The best love is the kind that weakens the soul and makes us reach for more. It plants a fire in our hearts and brings peace to our minds, that's what you've given me, and that's what I hope to give you forever..." ~Nicholas Sparks "The Notebook"

My day off, paper flowers and "Mo"

2009-08-14T12:58:00.000-07:00

So today I had the day off. I never get Fridays off, but I did today and it was so nice. My sister moved up to Raleigh this weekend so everyone was gone. Since she's living in the dorms at NC State she can't have all of her animals so I inherited one. His name is "Mo," like a Mohawk, because it looks like he has a Mohawk. He is a guinea pig. He is not quite full grown yet so he's small and sweet. It kind of satisfies my urge for an animal with fur. So since I can't have a dog or a cat, I will have a guinea pig. He's so cute, he talks too, sounds just like a baby pig. I love his face, when he looks at you it's just, awe.... I have a new little cuddly bunch of joy to take care of. So on my day off I tried to figure out which of the bags of stuff I feed him and which time, and filling up his water bottle. He always wants attention to, so good thing I was off, so he could get better acquainted with me.
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I love to watch Martha Stewart, I don't always get to watch her because she comes on a noon time but when I am home I love to get good tips from her. About a year ago I saw her make these flowers out of crepe paper, they were so pretty. She said you could buy all of the stuff to make them at Michael's. So I went straight to Michael's but they didn't have any of it. On Thursday Chad and I went to Michael's because we were in the shopping center and I found the packets of stuff to make the flowers. I was so excited. While I was baking a cinnamon cake to take to Chad's parents for our cookout I made a few for Chad's mom. They look so real. Martha says that they don't require water, attention, they don't make a mess, and they last forever. How perfect! Sorry I don't have a real picture, I took what ones I had made to Chad's mom. I also got these cute little galvanized watering can pots to put them in. It's so cute. I have a bunch to make. I have enough for all of the special ladies in my life, my mom, Chad's mom, and Chad's brother's wife, or my future "sister"-in-law. No matter how much she hates me I still include her because I don't hate her and neither does Andy's parents. If she only knew how we felt, but she doesn't take the time to think about how her "in-laws" feel. We still care about her, none-the-less. Pointing fingers is not a way to solve anything. So I am making her some flowers too.
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We went for a cookout at Chad's parents' house Friday evening and we had so much fun. They even picked some crab apples off the tree and grilled them, how inventive! We filled our bellies to the brim so that we could sleep good because Saturday we went fishing. We had been out to Badin Lake before but this time we all explored to find new places to fish. We didn't catch much because we walked and moved around so much but it was fun. It's nice being off Friday, Saturday and Sunday. I have gotten some much needed rest on these days off. On Saturday evening we went on a hunt for my new camera. I would love to have a Canon but they are $100 more expensive and $599 is a pretty hefty price tag. So I have settled with a Nikon D-40 but get this, every place we went the camera either wasn't working or the store was closed. So I am hoping to go to Wolf Camera today because they know what they are talking about. So it's Sunday, today we are going to fly kites in Concord at Frank Liske park, then we are going to Wolf Camera. I want to be sure that this is the camera I want because it is very expensive. I keep checking the photography classes at UNCC, but they are all still full. I'll keep checking. I love photography, I would love to take the digital class so I can learn to use my new B-camera. Chad says we have to call it the C-camera because we already have a B-camera, oh poo!
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Well, now you know about my days off. They were wonderful and restful. Next weekend I won't be so fortunate because I have to prepare to go to school.
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God please watch over me, and let me get through these last couple of semesters.

Years of Love

2009-08-12T05:09:00.000-07:00

Love doesn't make the world go round. Love is what makes the ride worth while.

~Franklin P. Jones

Now that we have told our closest family and friends I can blog about our good news. While on our vacation Chad asked me to marry him. We are so excited. I don't even know where to begin. We will probably be having our wedding away just with our immediate families in August of next year. It will give both mine and Chad's family a chance to get away together and celebrate as a family. When we get back from where ever we may go, we are going to have a big party or reception as it is called. We started making a list of our closet friends and family that would make the trip and it quickly grew to over 100. Chad is a very private person so we decided to take my family and Chad's family away somewhere that they have never been and get married there. It is all about our families and we want everyone to have a good time.

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Our party... well, it's going to be big because I can't imagine cutting anyone out. I am thinking it will be just like having the ceremony with everyone because we will have a projector screen to show pictures from the actual ceremony, maybe we will get someone to video record it, hmm? It's going to be exciting none the less because I already have people recommending djs and everything. I have even had people asking where we are registered already. It has only been a week! Everyone is so excited for us, they have been waiting in anticipation for so long I guess.

I know you are thinking, what about the ring, and the proposal, how did it happen?? Well, the ring is more than I could have ever dreamed of. I have had people all week complimenting Chad's great taste. I think I have had the question, "Did Chad pick it out all on his own?" about 100 times. Yes he did. I also had someone ask if Chad could pick out her jewelry from now on. It's not your conventional solitaire it is actually two diamonds together I guess it could symbolize Chad and I and the union we are going to make? Then all around it, it has little stones lining the band. Very sparkly. I didn't want him spending a ton of money, but I guess it's ok, I am so happy.

Ok so the proposal, well, we had been in Savannah all day but the sunset was gorgeous that night so we went out together for a walk as it was getting dark. I have had people ask "How did he keep it a secret all week?" Well, I had some banking problems when we got there. The bank never deposited my check, yeah, weird I know. So I was a big wreck at the beginning of the week so he couldn't see laying that on me until the bank settled THEIR problem. Anyways there are these cabanas on the beach at the place we stayed and they are $60 a day, yeah I know. So we didn't rent one, but we would go visit them in the evening because they were so nice. I decided to sit down and we leaned back together and there it happened.

I was so happy I can't remember everything he said verbatim but it was mostly, that he didn't have me wait 6 years without reason, in our 6 years together we have built a foundation for a happy, healthy marriage and that he has loved me since he saw me at Guitar Center that first day and when we played in our cheesecake at the cheesecake factory and when he put his arm around me that first night. It's making me melt as I sit here thinking about it.

I am so happy! My family is so happy, and Chad's family, well, words can't even describe. We are so excited about the future and I can't wait to have all of you there to celebrate! I will let you know when I have more details.

R and R

2009-08-09T16:07:00.000-07:00

This is the latest that Chad and I have ever been on vacation and it was so worth the wait. I have almost 300 pictures from our trip documenting all of the fun we had. I did get into few fights with my camera but all is good because the love of my life is buying me a new camera for my birthday. I hope that my parents will get me a tripod so I can get some better moonlight pictures. This picture to the left is a photo of the bass pond and the indoor pool area. The photo to the right is a sunset picture I took looking through the sea oats. It is currently the photo on my computer wallpaper.

While on the beach we listened to XM Radio and I found a new love fo David Cook. I love his new song "Come Back to Me." I took the photo to the left one morning after carrying all of our stuff to the beach. The palm trees are so pretty but with the Palmettos come palmetto bugs and they are huge nasty roach thingys. eeewww! The photo on the right is of a starfish I saved. He was stranded on the sand and I pushed him back into the water. We saw a bunch of these little guys. Since there is really no slope to the beach a lot of sea creatures call this beach home. There were 1,001 sand dollars which was really neat.

Every night that we were at the beach it stormed but it only lasted 2 hours late in the evening. It always left behind the most pretty sunset and gave way to awesome sunrises. The photo on the left is me the morning we came home. Excited to get home to Jack but still sad to leave the routine we had created. The photo on the right is Chad and I at the most pretty sunset. We were both a wee bit tipsy from he 190 proof frozen beverages we had from Frosty Frogs. In Hilton Head as long as it is concealed like in a styrofoam cup you can take it from the restaurant, so that's what we did. I believe it was 22 ounces. It took me an hour to drink it I think.

This picture on the left is a moonlight picture when we all went fishing, Emily, Dylan, Chad and I. It looks like it is bright outside but it is just a high shutter speed which allows more light into the camera. That is my sister, getting a little tired, we didn't catch anything that night, but we had a blast together. This last picture for this post on the right is Chad and I underneath the Oak Trees at Harbor Town where the Hilton Head lighthouse is. One of our last nights out. It is so pretty down there because of all of the spanish moss. I will have more pictures for you to see soon.

The Adventures of Chad and Beth

2009-08-07T17:33:00.000-07:00

We returned today from a restful trip to Hilton Head Island. You would think that it was in Ohio because there were more people from Ohio there than South Carolinians. The locals make a joke out of it and have tons of Ohio paraphernalia for sale. It was so much fun and we had many wonderful moments together, as a family and as Chad and Beth (The Browns). We didn't really go anywhere but we did a lot. We spent 6 hours each day on the beach (we stayed on the beach from 9 until 4 basically). We are brown as brownies, well not that dark but pretty caramel. We ate in almost every night, everyone taking there turn to fix dinner. We ate out twice, at Paula Deen's and at a great seafood restaurant called Aqua Grill. I could go on and on and on about our trip because we had so much fun and so much happened.

After being down there for two days and realizing how much room we had my parents wondered why we didn't invite Mike and Ann, Chad's parents. It was too late to invite them because his mom's schedule is so crazy but we had room enough for 4 more people. My mom, dad, my youngest sister Emily and her boyfriend Dylan, and Chad and I were all who went. The place we stayed was so awesome. It is a time share place that was given to us for a week by one of my dad's home owners. It was so nice, they even roped my parents into a meeting about buying but since my dad is out of work they declined. The property at Hilton Head is sold out but there is a new property at North Myrtle that is just as great. They are still two steps from buying it, dad said when he gets his job back they are going to call them. It would be awesome to have a Marriott time share.

The biggest part of our trip besides going to Paula Deen's was spending every day out on the beach. Hilton Head is a very different beach than what we're used to. The beaches are so wide, so at low tide the beach is hundreds of feet wide so if you sit too far back you have to walk a quarter of a mile to the water. It is awesome. It doesn't slope much so when the tide is high the water is still very shallow. This makes it perfect conditions for sand dollars. However you cannot take live ones from the beach, it is against the law. There are thousands of them beneath your feet in the water. When you step on them it just feels like a bump in the sand but it turns your feet yellow. The only problem I had with Hilton Head was seashells, there are none! I found a little baby jars worth of seashells, little miniature ones. Oh well, we are going to Oak Island with Chad's family, hopefully in October.

One of my most favorite parts of our trip besides the cabana and besides Paula Deen was the lighthouse. I have a checklist of all of the lighthouses in the Carolina's and I am determined to keep checking them off, well, Hilton Head gets a check, and it was beautiful. What made it even more grand was all of the live music and all of the great boats coming in. We went earlier in the afternoon but when I saw the sunset we made a quick run back to the lighthouse so I could score some good images. These are all my own photos. I took almost 300 pictures on this trip. If you need a photographer, here I am. We did not climb the lighthouse because we were so mesmerized by the music and the wonderful yachts coming in. Maybe when Chad and I are retired we will be blessed with a beautiful sailboat to sail around the world.

There is so much to say about our trip, so many stories to tell, but I think I will scrap them (scrapbook). I am sure you will all get to see the pictures soon. After I pay $100 to have them all developed. We made some great memories together this past week and as every day passes I realize more and more than Chad and I are meant to be. People say, you've waited six years for him? Well, those six years mean more to me than anything and we have made a strong foundation for our future together in those six years. After this trip, it is for sure now that there will be many more where that came from.