coffee mugs.

Hi friends!  It has been a LONG time... but I'm back!

And now for my first post of 2013.

Many of you know that Wes is in India.  He left February 7th and will be home February 23rd.  such a long time! :(  Just trying to keep myself busy.  I've been extremely blessed to have so many people sending me encouraging texts and emails while he is away.  For the past 6 days I've been occupying my time with work, school, cleaning, friends, and pinterest!  And today I decided to do my first DIY pinterest project.

Something simple.  I wanted to personalize coffee mugs for Wes' Valentine's day present.

Materials: white mugs and a sharpie.  Write the message on the mug.  Bake at 350° for 30 minutes.  Let cool before using.  Hand wash only.

Love how they turned out!  I showed Wes his present on our skype date tonight.  He loves them too!  Excited for him to come home and use them :)

Pinterest project success!

there's a mouse in the house!

i guess thats what you get when living in an apartment.

a couple of nights ago, my mom found droppings under the kitchen sink. we cleaned them up and by the next morning there were more. we called maintenance, they came and put down sticky mouse traps under the sink. today, mom and i went through everything under the sink and cleaned it out. after not finding the mouse we taped up the holes to the walls under all the sinks in my apartment.

I DO NOT LIKE THIS.

the fact that i own a cat is somewhat comforting. if that mouse makes it out of the cabinet under the sink Cleo will be on it. however, having just finished my parasitology class at school you could say that i am slightly neurotic about parasites... which rodents can carry. so if in fact that rodent has parasites and Cleo kills it, she will get parasites. which would not be ideal. so if that mouse would pick a different apartment or live outside where it belongs that would be best for everyone!

my tuesday dilemma

every tuesday i have the same dilemma. the choice whether to nap or not to nap.

here is the situation.

tuesday mornings i wake up at 5am to be at school at 6am for kennel - we clean the cages and let the animals out. it takes about an hour and a half. then i have classes until noon. i usually don't have homework because i have tests on mondays so we have just started new material. but i am always so tired when i get home from school. i eat lunch and it just feels like taking a nap is the right thing to do.

and every tuesday i work at 3:30pm. in the past when i have napped before work, i sleep too long so i'm groggy and grumpy when i wake up. then i go to work for 6 hours and i'm home a little before 10pm. do whatever and end up going to bed at 11-11:30pm. sometimes i can't fall asleep because i took a stupidly long nap.

do you see the dilemma?

it is a problem.

today this is probably what will happen.

i won't go out because its cold and i'll end up spending money. there is nothing on tv, but i'll watch it anyways get bored and the next thing i know i'll be asleep.

so i guess you could say this blog helped me to shorten the unavoidable nap that i will be taking.

:)

todays Christmas

what happened to Christmas?

its all about the shoppers, shopping and gifts.

is anyone else concerned with the craziness of people getting into fights, the rudeness and desperation to buy gifts?

it's almost not even enjoyable anymore. Christmas is getting worse each year and further from what it's really about. Let's start over and celebrate the birth of Christ, spend more time with family and less ripping wrapping paper open.

at work the other night i heard the worst Christmas song of my life. it was a version of 12 days of Christmas except its called

12 Pains of Christmas

1. finding a Christmas tree

2. Rigging up the lights

3. Hangovers

4. Sending Christmas cards

5. Five months of bills

6. Facing my in-laws

7. The Salvation Army

8. whining and charities

9. Finding parking spaces

10. Batteries not included

11. Stale TV specials

12. Singing Christmas carols

Pathetic. complaining about Christmas, is this what its about? unfortunately some people think so.

i enjoy getting Christmas cards! my future in-laws are awesome! and i like Christmas songs! but all the shopping and things that go with it, no thank you.

just remember to be thankful for the reason we celebrate Christmas. and for the gifts you do receive.

first midterm.

school update.

on friday i will have finished my fourth week of classes which means MIDTERMS. woo! classes are going very well and i have learned so much already. i took my math midterm today. is it sad that i'm upset i have a 96%? i feel like its not quite good enough hah. in my animal tech class we've learned how to do dog and cat restraints in terms of holding them safely for procedures in a vet office or hospital. we went over TPR; temperature, pulse rate and respiratory rate. the best part about this class is that we have a kennel at my school and get hands on experience with the dogs after we learn stuff.. today my group and i worked with a dog nam

ed chowder. he's a seven year old golden/lab mix and is the sweetest thing ever. we used our stethoscope to find all these fun things today with him. it was kinda awesome. but i need a lot more practice, its hard to find these things on a dog andi haven't even tried it on a cat. but i'm going to practice practice practice on my kitty, cleo. i'm pretty much rocking my classes four weeks in and hope to keep it that way.

everything else update.

on thursday i get to watch the stump boys for a few hours! i can't wait. with school i don't watch them very much. its been a couple months :( i hope they don't look too big, i might freak out! on thursday night natalie and i are going to see the new twilight movie at midnight. this is movie number four part one, breaking dawn. we are excited to continue the tradition! even tho i will be getting no sleep that night. on friday i finish up midterms and will officially be halfway done with my first term of classes. time is moving so fast! i can't decide if the next 18 months are going to go slow or fast. on saturday i move apartments to one closer to school and a little less expensive. i will say i am very glad to not have to deal with the morning traffic, merging from 37 to 69 is a pain. and cleo has really enjoyed the moving process.. like a giant jungle gym all the time. i can't wait to not see boxes everywhere. except i have to move my stuff again in six months so maybe i just shouldn't unpack. hah.

time for homework. and maybe take a break and play some mario cart with wes! he is so good to me, he helps me study, sits with me when i do my homework and helps me take breaks. its better when hes around. i love him.

my life for the next days 18 months.

last monday i had orientation for my new school, new program, and new career path.

i am attending International Business College. they work with the Vet Tech Institute which is where i will be for the next 18 months. it is an accelerated and very time consuming program. so if you thought i was busy before you can forget about seeing me now. i have breaks every season for about a week and holidays of course. but all the instructors have told us what little life we had before is over, at least for the next 18 months.

i'm in school 5 days a week. classes change every 8 weeks, but for the first 8 weeks i have class starting at 7:50 monday through friday. i get out at different times each day. but i have to get up at 5:30AM which if you know me, then you know that i am NOT a morning person and this is a serious adjustment. oh yah and as part of the program we have kennel duty where we take care of the animals at the school. on tuesday mornings i have to be up at 4AM in order to be at kennel on time. -i am going to die- if anyone is awake that early, give me a wake up call!

but to give you kind of an idea about how things go, i started classes on tuesday, had a quiz on friday, will have 3 tests on monday and another one on tuesday. i have homework and readings every night and i'm still working at the dog bakery. so goodbye social life. say a prayer for my sanity and the sleep that i will be missing.

apart from the changes of getting up early and being even busier, i am very excited about this program and my new school. i get to wear scrubs everyday, learn about animals and have hands on experience with small animals, large animals, and exotic animals. sounds good to me!

i'm sure i will have lots to share as the weeks go by, the problem will be finding the time to write about it.

engagement pictures

Wesley and I received our engagement pictures this week and I'm so excited about them. They are fantastic! One of Wes' friends shot them, she did a great job.

Here are just a few of our favorites!

There are more on my facebook page.

:)

bridesmaids!

let me introduce to you my bridesmaids,

Natalie - sister, maid of honor

Kelly - sister

Emily - best friend

Bonnie - future sister n law

so yesterday was an exciting day, for the first time ever ALL five of us, including me, hung out. we met at davids bridal. did some dress shopping and found the dress for everyone! it was pretty quick and definitely easy. they got along, we laughed. it was fun. after discussing alterations, especially for miss kelly anne, we took care of ordering and all those fun details. then we went to dinner at mcalisters. yum. and had some more laughs and the girls got to know each other.

and here are my lovely ladies rocking a stunning watermelon pink.

please note this is NOT my color.

i have the best group of girls!

so happy they will be there with me on wesley and I's special day.

who goes to court at 21?

oh me!

three years ago this december i was in a four car pile up on fall creek heading to a final at IUPUI. i got sued for it last november right before the two year deadline. so its been pushed back three or four times and FINALLY this morning i made my appearance in small claims court.

let me just say it was quite the experience. and i'd like to stay out of that place. forever.

it's over. well almost. the judge will make his decision soon enough. all I know is that i'm beyond over it. and once this december rolls around the accident will fall off my record.

but seriously who get sued at 20 and goes to court when they are 21.

absurd people in this world.

wedding details.

it has been exciting, overwhelming and very stressful trying to get all these wedding details in line. but TODAY i booked the reception venue and the church! phew. that was the big stressor for sure. do you know how important those details are. ohmygoodness.

So what have I accomplished completely.

Wedding Date - check!

Bridal Party - check!

Guest List - check!

Find my wedding dress - check!

Church - check!

Reception Venue - check!

Now, it's time to finalize the catering. do engagement photos. send out save the dates. make invitations. do flower details. decide on music. plan the honeymoon. find the cake! and oh a bunch of other things.

one step at a time, planning a wedding is a crazy business.