Monday, Monday, Monday

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

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?

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

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

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

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

"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.

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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.

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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.

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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

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

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.

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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.

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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.

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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

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

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

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.

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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. :)

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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

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

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

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!

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

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!!!

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?

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

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.