Wow, I can't believe it's been so long since I had time to update

I can't believe it has been so long since I last posted. Work and school and life keep me very busy. It is not very easy to plan a wedding and go to school and work together. School has been very stressful this semester, but I am finally done. My take home exam for my last class was due to day at 4 p.m. I am so glad I have a month break before starting up again. Lets see if I can remember what has been going on. My sister and brother-in-law moved to Alabama a little over a month ago. Luckily they were able to come home for Thanksgiving. They got home on Tuesday night. On Wednesday (before Thanksgiving) Scott, Desiree, and I went to Davids Bridal so Desiree could try a different bridesmaids dress to see if she liked it. The lady there was very helpful. She told me the color I had found at another David's Bridal had been discontinued, but they had a new color in the dress available, Cornflower. It is a really pretty blue color. I hope they are going to have that color available in the spring because I love it. I got to try on my wedding dress again...it's definitely the one! It was so beautiful and the bridesmaid dress looks really good with the Thanksgiving was great! We got to spend time with family and friends through the weekend. This weekend Rod, his Aunt Theresa, and I are going down to North Carolina to visit his brother Char and his sister-in-law Jackie. I am so excited because we will finally get to spend the weekend with them. We are going to celebrate there birthdays this weekend. Jackie, Theresa and I might even get to Davids Bridal so Jackie can check out the bridesmaid dress.

Ok so I took a break and have now decided to finish updating. It has been a crazy week/weekend. My grandfather is in the hospital. He has been in critical condition. I thought he was going to pass away on Friday. It's been awful. I just hope he is still holding on when Rod and I get out there on Christmas day. Rod, Theresa and I were going to leave for NC on Friday night but we postponed our plans because of my grandfather. I actually thought I was going to fly out on Saturday to be with my family. It's hard not to be there, but thank god for cell phones. Anyway, we decided to go because I just needed something to distract me this weekend. We left Saturday morning. Once down there, we went to David's Bridal to look at the dress. Then we went to lunch at this really good Mexican restaurant. After that we went back to Jackie and Char's apartment and waited for Char to get home from work. I took a nap then we went out to an Irish Pub. It was pretty decent food, but it was awful service. After that we went home and Char and Jackie opened their birthday presents. Then I fell asleep on the couch and everyone else watched a movie. On Sunday we went to the mall to go Christmas shopping. Rod and I still have a lot of shopping to do, but it doesn't much matter because my mom is out in CA with her dad and my brother just flew out there today. We only need to worry about my dad and at least one gift for Rod's aunt. I guess that will be what we are going to do this weekend. I also need to do some laundry so I have clothes for CA.

Wedding planning is going ok. I finally booked a DJ. When Rod and I are in CA we are meeting with our photographer to take our engagement photos, with our baker to see what we would like to do for our cake and to taste more cakes, and the church planner to work on the wedding ceremony. Rod's mom is also coming out with her doggies :) I am so excited to meet Wizard her new puppy and to see Ming again. She is also going to help us get some wedding planning done. I also plan on getting my hair cut by my aunt while I'm out there. She is going to be so surprised out how long my hair has gotten.

Well, I only have 2 and 1/2 more days to get through before it is Christmas vacation. I can not wait. I am so glad that my grad school is over for the semester (I got 2 A's...WOHOO!!!) and now my work is almost over. I love working at a school and having a Christmas vacation and the summer off. I am so excited for the summer to come. That means I am off and I only have to complete one class. Then I am taking the second summer session off and getting married :) I can't wait! Only 7 months and 2 days till I get married! I should go and finish dinner. Let me know if I didn't update enough and I can update more! Hope everyone is having a happy holiday season! I'll talk to you all soon!!!!!!!

I finally have time on a Sunday to publish

So, I've been insanely busy! School and TV (my addiction) takes up a lot of my time. Then the rest of the time I'm spending with Rod and my family and sometimes friends. Let me see if I can remember what has been going on...hmmm. A few Thursday ago, I took the front bumper off my car by hitting a pole in the parking garage. I think that may have been the most embarrassing day of my life. Anyway that made Rod and I start looking for a new car. On Friday, we went to 3 different Ford dealerships and looked at cars. Then on Saturday we took Abigail to the vet and now she's fine. Then we went to the corn maze after dark. That was so much fun. Sunday we spent the day at home and I tried to clean around the apartment. It's not perfect yet, but it's a vast improvement. Then last week we bought a new car :) A blue Ford Escape...just what I wanted!!! Then on Friday we headed down to Rod's brother's apartment for the night. We left at rush hour and it took us 6 hours instead of 4. Next time we are definitely going to leave at like 7. Then on Saturday we went to Vicky's baby shower. That was so much fun. I LOVE Vicky! She is so sweet! She is so beautiful pregnant. Then we stayed with Cody and Natalie on Saturday night. I love getting to see them. I wish we lived closer so we could see them more often. They have a new bulldog puppy and her name is Spike. She was adorable. She's teething right now so she liked to chew on Rod's shoe laces. It was really funny. We went to dinner on Saturday night at this Chinese restaurant that was really good. Then we watched a movie but I only made it through half of it. On Sunday we got up and drove home. We got back an hour before Rod had to leave for a business trip to Indiana. I don't like when Rod was gone, but it was sorta nice this time because I had a major test on Tuesday I needed to study for. I took Tuesday off of work mainly because I wasn't feeling good but that could have been nerves for my first test in grad school, so I studied all day in bed. Then Tuesday night Rod got home from Indiana. The rest of the week was pretty uneventful. On Friday, I stayed in Ashburn. Stef, Drew, Des and I were going to go to the Broad Run football game however it was raining. Stef, Des and I had dinner together and then we just hung around my parents house and talked. Drew got home late and I'm assuming he went to the game, but I don't know because I never got a chance to talk to him :( I'm sorry I missed you this time Drew. We'll have to get together when he's home for Thanksgiving. Anyway, yesterday my mom, sister, and my friend Stef went shopping for bridesmaid dresses. I wasn't planning on trying on any dresses, but I ended up trying a few on. I was really mad because I'm a big woman and they didn't really have any dresses available in my size. Most of them were ugly and not fashionable. I didn't understand why they sell beautiful dresses for big people online then don't have them in their store for the people to try them on. I don't plan on buying a wedding dress unless I get to try it on first to see how it would look on me. Anyway, I ended up trying on this beautiful dress and I absolutely fell in love with it. It fit me perfectly and it actually didn't make me look fatter. Everyone loved it on me. Then my sister and Stef found a beautiful dress that they liked that looked good with my dress however we weren't sure about color. Then they tried on another dress that was in Champagne color and it looked great on them. I need to talk to my two other bridesmaids and see if they would like the color on them. I want everyone to be happy, so if they don't like the color then will find a different color. I kinda want to wait until the spring line comes out anyway to see if we like any of the other colors. So we went to lunch and then when we got home we looked online to see if the dress they liked came in the Champagne color. Unfortunately it does not, however, they do have another dress that looks almost identical without the beadwork on the top that is offered in Champagne. We'll have to see. Yesterday afternoon, I went shopping with Marissa because she is going on an anniversary trip with her husband for their 2 year anniversary. She wanted a couple of new clothes to take with her. She found a lot of cute stuff and so did I. Then we went to dinner at Red Robin. That was yummy and it was nice to spend time with Marissa. I miss her! I used to work with her but then I took this new job. I like my new job better than my old job, and I'm glad I don't work there anymore, but I do miss my friends from ORCC. When I got home from shopping last night, I found Rod had cleaned our apartment. It looks GREAT! I know he hates how messy it gets and its all my fault. I need to learn to clean more . Anyway, I watched some TV and then I went to bed. I was so excited that I got to sleep another hour in today! Yay for time changes in the Fall. Today, Rod and I are headed to Target then we are going to get lunch. Then at 3 we are meeting his Aunt and her 2 new five week old foster kittens. We are going to visit with her and do some stuff then I'm sure we will go to dinner and come home. I hope everyone has had as wonderful of a weekend as I have had!

I finally have 5 minutes to update :)

So life is insane right now. If I'm not at work or school, then I am busy with school work. I probably have more downtime than I think, but when I do I just like to relax. I feel like my days are packed yet some days I'll come home and watch tv at night. I don't know why I haven't felt like updating my blog. I have thought about it several times but I never get to it. Well, this morning I thought I would update it while I wait to use the bathroom to get ready for this wedding we are going to. This is the 5th wedding we are going to since May. All have been beautiful in their own way. I have seen some things that I want to incoporated into our wedding and something I do not. I know Rod is tired of going to weddings. He is not a wedding person, but he has been a great sport about it. (Minus the dancing part! He hates to dance!!!) So anyway we are going to a friend of mine from high schools wedding. Funny how most of the people who have gotten married have been people I graduated with. Only one of Rod's friends is married and only two are engaged. Well, I better go to get ready. I'll update more maybe tonight or tomorrow.

I am so busy!

It is crazy how busy I have been. I think about updating my blog all the time, but I just never find the time to do it. I finally decided I just need to make the time. I should be spending some time with Rod, but we are going to go out to dinner tonight so I can update my blog for a few minutes. Work is great. I love my job. There are a couple kids that are really difficult, but two that I absolutely love.

School is going ok. It seems really busy, but it's not as bad as this summer. I am definitely less stressed now than I used to be. My cohort definitely keeps me a little less stressed. The people (mostly girls) are great. We keep each other motivated and they definitely help me through my problems. I actually enjoy having to tape counseling sessions because I get to be a client of someone and although it's not real real, you talk about real problems and I feel it actually helps me. My theories class is hard, but not too bad. The professor has spread stuff out through the semester. I just need to start studying because we have an exam coming up next month that is worth 25% of our grade.

Wedding stuff is coming along. We got our invitations in and they look great. I know I'm crazy because I still have more than 10 months, but I'm really busy so when I have time to work on the wedding, I do. My aunt is supposed to be talking to a hotel to get a deal for us. I think she's going to be great at doing this because she is a travel agent and she knows how to get the best deal. My mom and I are going to call DJs this weekend to try to find someone to hire. I sorta don't really care who are DJ is as long as they can keep us on schedule and don't really interrupt the reception. Well, I think thats about it for right now. If I think of anything else, I'll continue to update.

Sorry it's been so long!!!

So I have been incredibly busy since the last time I logged in. My classes started again and they are going to keep me busy. Also, my last day at ORCC was last Friday. I'm glad I'm not working there anymore but I really miss all my friends from there. I almost cried on my way out. It was really sad. I started my new job on Monday. It is going to be very interesting to say the least. I'm a paraprofessional in a self-contained classroom for children with special needs. I can't write too much about my kids for confidentiality reasons, which is fine because I haven't met them yet, but it will be an interesting first day. I love the people I'm working with and right now we are going to be working one-on-one with these kids which is AWESOME! My school is nice and we have 2 awesome classrooms. Also, I have to be at work from 7:15 to like 2:45...No more getting home from work at 6! Also it is right off of 66 and it only takes me 15 minutes to get to work now instead of 45. I am so excited. The other great thing is the school is right behind where I go to grad school so I can keep my car in my school parking lot and just walk over to class on Tuesday and Wednesday. No more paying for metro parking...wohoo!!! Rod and I haven't ordered invitations yet, but we are going to order them on Friday if I can get my act together and get everything typed up the way we want it. Well, I better go. I have to go to work today and I'm going to run by and pick up Starbucks on my way to work :) I'll update soon when I get a little more time.

Invitations!

I found invitations!!! My mom, sister, and I went shopping last Friday at Hallmark and I found invitations for our wedding. Yes, I know it's 11 months away, but I think we are going to order them soon. It seems like my life is just flying by. Our wedding is going to be here before I know it. I have been to 4 weddings this summer and we have one more in October to go to. Each one has given me ideas for my wedding. I am getting more and more excited as the time goes by. I even made my own wedding planner instead of buying one. I think it is going to help me keep organized.

I start my job in less than 2 weeks. I am so excited. It is going to be less stress and more time I get to spend at home. I'll have more time to do last minute wedding stuff. Also, Rod and I will be able to go away for the weekends in the fall. These last 2 weeks at my job now are killing me though. I have no desire to do anything. I just feel like sleeping. I have at least one thing I need to get done before I leave next Friday. I really should be working on it. I don't think it will take me very long. Then when I get done with it, I can just hang around next week packing up my desk and such. I really like the guy that is replacing me. We started on the same day in October and we had the same trainer. He is a good guy and I think he will do a better job than I am doing because he is not lazy.

School starts next week. I'm not ready to go back but I got an A in both the classes I have taken so far so lets hope this streak continues. At least my next two classes are on Tuesday and Wednesday from 4 -6:50 so they shouldn't be too bad. I am sure there is going to be a lot of work and a lot of reading but I think I should be ok, especially with a less demanding job. Well, I better get some work done! I'll post again soon.

Back from Phoenix/Vegas

Rod and I got back from Phoenix and Vegas yesterday. We left Friday afternoon for Phoenix. We got to see his mommy's house. I love it! It is so cute and it has a swimming pool. Char, Jackie and I went swimming in the pool on Friday night. Then Saturday we drove to Vegas. It's a 5 hour drive from Phoenix. It wasn't too bad until we got on the strip and it took us 45 min to get to our hotel. We stayed at The Venetian. Our rooms were AMAZING!!! They were huge. We had a sitting room that fit lots of people, our own personal fax machine that had our own personal fax number that was disconnected after we left, a king size bed, and a HUGE bathroom with this wonderful, amazing tub!!! I could have stayed in the hotel the whole 4 days! Saturday night we went to see Zumanity. Rod's aunt got sick before the show and had to leave, but the show was amazing. It was hilarious. There was tons of audience participation and one guy even told everyone he had to use Viagra. There was a lot of nudity, but it was so funny. Sunday we went to get the tuxes. Unfortunately they didn't have Jackie's dad's tux. We were at Afterhours for 2 1/2 hours. It was crazy. Luckily we got everything worked out so we had tuxes for the wedding. Sunday afternoon we walked around inside MGM Grand, then we went back to our hotel. After dinner, Rod's mom, Rod and I completed the favors. They were candy bars with personalized wrappers. They were a little more difficult than I thought they would be but it only took us about 45 to an hour to complete. Then Rod and I walked across the street and saw the volcano at the Mirage at 10. Then we walked down to see the outside of Treasure Island. Then we went back and I took a bubble bath in the luxurious bathtub. On Monday Rod's mom and I went downstairs to reserve time on the gondola rides for Jackie and Char and for Rod and I. Then we found out Char wanted us to be at the MGM Grand at 10:30 to take Jackie's wedding dress down to the chapel so we threw clothes on and headed out. Rod's mom, aunt, and I delivered the wedding dress to the chapel and then helped Jackie get into her dress. The wedding was at 12:00 pm and it was great. It was small but perfect. It was funny though because the officiant was nervous and when he took the rings off the pillow I thought they were going to fall on the floor. Rod looked great in his tux! The maid of honor had this cute red halter dress and she looked good. Her hair was so cute! Jackie's dress was gorgeous (I think I'm going to go to the same store)! The dress was made for her. They measured her and then the dress was made for her how she wanted! She was so beautiful. She got her hair and makeup done at the MGM Grand and they did a fantastic job. Char looked nice too. After the wedding we took some photos. Then we got in a limo bus and toured the strip for an hour. The reception was at the Venetian. It was very very nice and the food was delicious. After the reception we took our gondola rides. It was fun and we were told it was good luck to kiss under every bridge and surprisingly Rod kissed me under every bridge. After that we spent some time with Rod's mom and aunt. Then we went back to our room and rested for a bit. Later that evening Rod and I walked up to the M&M world. They had every color M&M you could imagine. We went back to our hotel after that and I passed out. On Tuesday morning we checked out of our hotel. Then we went to the MGM Grand to get the tux bags. We went and returned the tux and stopped for lunch on our way back to the MGM Grand. We stopped at this Taco Bell where there was this guy working there named Sean. His hat said customer maniac and boy was he. He was helping a little girl get soda because her arm was bandaged. Then he was going back behind the counter when our number was called and Rod was getting up to get it and he said he would get it. Then he got us forks and napkins. Then he took some orders, then came out and cleaned some tables, then stopped by our table to ask if he could get us more to drink, then when we were finished he took our trash from our table. He was so amazing. You rarely get customer service like that at a pricy restaurant let alone a fast food place. He was famous though because there was a poster in the Taco Bell about him and a radio station had even interviewed him. After lunch we returned to Jackie and Char's room and we took some of their luggage with us. Then we went to the Excalibur and bought tickets for The tournament of Kings. We went to that and then we drove back to Phoenix. It only took us 4 and a half hours to get home, but we didn't get in till 12:30 a.m. We unpacked the car and found out the stuff in the cooler got wet including the M&M's I had bought. I was so sad. After that I tried to go to bed. I finally fell asleep and our alarm was supposed to go off at 6 so we could get up and showered and dressed before our flight, but unfortunately our alarm didn't go off. His mom woke us up at 6:30 and we had to rush to get ready. We made it to the airport and hour and 20 min before our flight, but the Phoenix airport is great because it took us 10 minutes to get to our gate. It is nothing like Dulles. By the way did I mention I HATE Dulles. We got in 30 minutes early and called my sister to pick us up. They had to circle forever because it took an hour to get our bags off the flight. My dad took all of us out to dinner (Desiree, Scott, Rod and I). Then Rod and I went to pick up my car from Stef's house and we came home so our kitty could get his medicine. Our one kitty is sick. He got sick right before we left. Luckily our vet was able to get him in on Friday, so Rod dropped him off and Stef picked him up. The vet was so accommodating because they charged our credit card even though we didn't pick our cat up. Anyway today I gave the cat medicine then I went back to Ashburn because I realized I had forgotten my work laptop at my parents' house so I went to get it. I planned on doing work, but I haven't done any tonight and I don't think I will. I'll probably work tomorrow morning. Then my mom and I and maybe my sister and her husband are going invitation shopping. I ordered some sample invitations online, but I didn't like any. I know I have time, but I'm trying to get things done before life gets crazy again with work and school. I have one more week off from school and then I go back. When I'm busy with school, I don't have much time to think about other things. I bought at 3 ring binder today to start organizing my wedding stuff. I'm going to print out a calendar so I can start writing on it all of my appointments and things I need to get done. I'm also going to start keeping all of my contracts and other things that have been completed so I have everything in one place. Anyway, I'm going to go work on my guest list. I'll update soon. Hope everyone is doing well.

Happy 1 year anniversary of our engagement

So Rod and I got engaged 1 year from today at 2a.m. Technically it was the 30th in VA and the 29th in CA where we got engaged. Actually now that I think about it, today is my half birthday too. So happy 22 1/2 birthday to me :) I know I'm silly. I spent most of this weekend doing homework. Yesterday I went to the gym then we helped a friend of mine move. Then I came back and worked on one of my papers. I never finished it though. Then I did some reading. This morning I got up and finished one of my papers. Then I read for another and wrote another short paper for my group project. Then I worked on my other paper that is due tomorrow. I sorta just took from my group project paper. I think it works though. Then Rod and I went to dinner. We went to Outback. It was ok, but Rod didn't like it too much. I don't think we'll be going back. Not to mention Rod had a horrible headache. He looked miserable the whole dinner. He didn't really want to eat anything from there either. I felt really bad. Sometimes I wish he would just tell me when he doesn't want to go places. He made a comment when we got the bill that I could have made it for cheaper and he's right. The chicken that I got there, I have made up my own version of it and actually it's almost as good if not better. Oh well, like I said, we won't be going back there. I'm so excited because tomorrow is my last class of the semester. Technically there is one more, but Jackie and Char just had to get married on a Monday (not that I mind since I'm going to be in Vegas instead of class). I feel bad that I'm not going to be there to present our project with my group. I feel like I'm being a slacker even though I know I'm not, but I feel like I'm pawning off responsibility on the rest of the group. They said they don't mind, but I also feel like I haven't done as much work as they have. I really need to do some more work for this project. One thing I know I need to do is write a letter to the editor of the Washington Post. I don't think it will ever get printed, but that is one of the responsibilities I took on. I think I also said I would write something else, but I can't remember what it is. I'll have to look back on our project plan. I'm worried because I'm not sure what to expect from this professor for our project grade. So far I'm doing well, but I'm not sure if he is going to grade me low because of not being there to present for class. It will suck if I get no points for that class since I am doing the paper that is due for class as well as I have put input into my group project. OH well, anyway, I better get back to work. I'll try to update once more before I leave on Friday, but it depends on how much homework I get done. Ttyl!

Sorry for not posting in awhile

So on the 18th was mine and Rod's 5 year anniversary. Unfortunatley he was out of town, so instead one of my best friends and roommate from college went out to dinner with me. It was a lot of fun getting to spend some time with her. Especially because I see her everyday (we work together now) but I never have a chance to really talk to her. Plus we got to talk about some bridesmaids stuff for my wedding. I really enjoyed the night even though I couldn't be with Rod. Rod got home on Wednesday, but I had tons of homework to get done. Thursday I had an interview at Falls Church City Public Schools. It went well and she just wanted to call my references but she seemed to really like them. Then on Friday, Rod had off so I expected he would go out and get me an anniversary gift. Especially since Friday July 21st, was one year until our wedding. I called him during the day and he said he didn't go out so I got disappointed and assumed I wasn't getting anything for our anniversary. When I got home from work, I decided to do some homework. Then we decided we would go out to dinner and a movie. Rod realized I was going to be missing two showes I watch on Friday night and I said that's ok I can just tape them because we had a new VHS tape. Then he asked how would I do that since the VCR was gone. I turned around and for our anniversary Rod had gotten me DVR from Comcast. I had wanted Tivo or DVR for awhile and let me tell you, I didn't know what I was missing. DVR is GREAT!!! I was really excited. So we went to dinner and a movie. Then we got home about 1:30 and I went straight to bed. I got up on Saturday morning and went to the gym, then to work, then Marissa and I went to lunch and shopping for a dress for Jackie and Char's wedding. We went to Fair Oaks Mall and unfortunately someone spilled something and I wasn't paying attention and I slipped and fell and pulled a lot of muscles. Luckily the fall wasn't for nothing because I was able to find a dress for the wedding. Then Rod took the metro out and we had dinner with my dad. On Sunday, I did tons of homework and wrote 2 papers. I also did a crap load of laundry starting at 8:30 in the morning. I did almost all the laundry before Rod even got up for the day. Later in the day we were leaving to go grocery shopping and as we opened the door a little envelop fell and it said we had a package at the front desk. It turned out it was my anniversary gift to Rod. He wanted a machine to make his own soda at home. It's really actually kinda cool and less calories than regular soda. The package had been there since the 19th. I was really upset because I could have given it to him on Wednesday, but they never tell you things are at the front desk. They assume that the person delivering the package will knock on your door and then leave a note if you don't answer. Well, they did neither. Noone knocked on our door or left a note saying we had a package at the front. I don't know why the people at the front desk wait for 4 days until they decided to give you a note. I'm sure they didn't really want the boxes sitting there for 4 days. Oh well, it's not our fault. At least it came and it works :) On Monday I went to school. We have a ton of work plus a group project, but luckily the semester is almost over. For me next week is my last class. I have 4 papers and a group project to get done before Rod and I leave for Jackie and Char's wedding, but it will get done. Yesterday, I found out that Falls Church City Public Schools wants to hire me which I am really excited about because they will help pay for my schooling. Unfortunately, today I found out I am going to have to resign the job I have now. I thought I had explained it to my boss that I was only going to be working here part time after August and that I was looking for a job that would pay my tuition, but I guess she didn't understand. They want to have someone who is able to do their documentation more than 20 hours per week. I'm really disappointed because I was hoping to make some money for Rod and I to buy a house, but at least my new job will be less stressful. I will have no deadlines and no responsiblities. I'm really going to miss the people I work with though. Anyway, I better go. I should be doing work, although I'm really not feeling well so maybe I'll go home soon. I'll post again soon, I promise!

I'm all alone :(

I'm all alone tonight. Rod is in New York. I would stay with my family, but they are all in California and my sister and her husband have not moved up here yet. I don't really like being alone. I mean I like having alone time, but I don't like sleeping in a place by myself. I guess I'm just weird. Anyway, class was interesting today. We didn't get out till 4. I just hate having class for so long everyday. The papers for this class are very time consuming, but there are only a few more weeks. I just need to get working on them. I think I'm going to concentrate on getting some school work done tonight and tomorrow night while Rod is gone. One of my friends from class, Jess, is going to go out to dinner with me tomorrow night so I won't be sad since it is Rod and my 5 year anniversary and he won't be here to celebrate it with me. Anyway, I better start reading. I'll update later!

I'm actually posting twice in one week! Go me!!!

So I had class today and I realized this class is going to kill me. The class has only 4 weeks left and I will only be attending it for the next 3 weeks. I have Char's (Rod's brother) wedding to attend in Vegas on the last class. I'm not that disappointed except I feel bad because we have to present a group project and my group has to present without me. So anyway, the reason this class is going to kill me is because besides the group project, we also have 2 papers due every class. One is due on Sunday night by 5 p.m. and the other is due in class. Now it wouldn't be so bad except the last week I have to turn them in by Thursday since Rod and I are leaving on Friday for our trip. Not only that, but the class is on Monday from 9-5 which means I am missing 8 hours at work that I vowed to make up. They wanted to turn me to hourly for 32 hours a week, but I said I wanted to stay salaried until August. I'm crazy! I'm not sure how I'm going to pull this off. My only thought is that for the next few weeks and weekends no one is really going to be seeing me. My sister is here this week, so I have to make some time to see her. Actually I'm staying at my parents' house tomorrow night so I'll get to see her then. Too bad I'm going to miss my brother-in-law this trip. He flies home tomorrow and I don't think I'll get to see him before he leaves. Who knows. Anyway, I should be working on the tons of homework I have before next Monday. I'll post again soon. I promise!

It's been too long!

I've come to a realization that I cannot keep this thing updated. It's funny because I love reading everyone else's blog and I'm disappointed if they are not updated, yet I never update mine. I am going to try to get better at updating mine more often. My life is just crazy right now. I'm working full time and going to grad school part time. I didn't realize how hard it would be to balance my life with work, school, my fiance, and my family. When I was in college it didn't seem so hard. Probably because I didn't have a full time job and I didn't live with my fiance. Now when I get home from work I'm exhausted. I don't want to cook dinner, I don't want to do anything. It sucks because that means we go out to dinner a lot more often than I think we should. Mainly because I'm trying to lose weight, and I want to save money to buy a house. The weight thing is a big issue. I bought an elliptical machine thinking I would get up when Rod gets up and work out while he was getting ready for work. Since I've had the machine I have only gotten up 3 or 4 times in the morning to work out. It's frustrating because I know I want to lose the weight yet I sabotage myself at every point. I need to learn to give up the things I love to eat and try to eat a lot healthier. I'm going to try really hard to eat healthy. My dad now has to eat really healthy because of some health problems. My mom is going out of town tomorrow so I'm gong to probably stay with my dad some nights and I can work on eating healthy when I'm with him. It's hard being with Rod because he can eat anything and not really gain any weight. I mean he really hasn't gained much weight since college. I hate it! I need to learn that even if unhealthy food is in the house, that doesn't mean I have to eat it. For awhile I was really good at eating fruits and vegetables and baked chicken and fish, then everything went down hill when I start grad school. Well, no more. I'm really going to get better! (Check back in a week and I'll let you know how I'm doing) Ok so the other thing is I'm really close to my family, but I don't get to spend as much time with them as I would like. I feel bad because when we go over to my parents' house I always feel as if Rod is bored. He always seems to be in a bad mood. He has gotten closer with my family over the years, but I still feel something bugs him. I know part of it has to do with the fact that he could think of things he could be getting done around the apartment rather than sitting around at my parents' house. I guess another option would be me visiting them myself. I was at my parents' this week a lot. We went for the 4th of July, but my dad was in the hospital so we just hung around the house in case family was trying to find out what was going on. Then I stayed at their house on Wednesday to help my mom. I sat with my dad at the hospital for an hour on Wednesday night and then I went to the gym with my mom. I was going to make her dinner when we got home so she wouldn't have to think about it, but she wanted to cook. She did an excellent job too! It was this chicken and roasted vegetables. I really enjoy my mom's cooking. She likes to experiment with a lot of things and most of the time they turn out great! Anyway, Rod and I went to their house yesterday too. We went to a wedding of a friend of mine from high school. It was a very nice wedding and really fast. After the reception we went back to my parents' house. Then we went to visit one of my roommates from college and her kitties (their not kittens anymore). I really enjoyed it. It dawned on me yesterday that Rod and my wedding was 1 year and 2 weeks from then. That sounds like a long time, but I know it is going to go by really fast. Our 5 year anniversary is coming up. I can't believe it has been that long. I was really excited then I found out Rod is going to be in New York for work on our anniversary. They are probably staying in a really nice hotel in Times Square. I really want to go with him, but I have class on Monday and then I doubt I could get off of work since I have taken so much time off of work lately and I have a major deadline at the end of the month. It would be so cool if I could go with him to New York. I told him he would have to take me back. Oh well, I guess you just live with those things. Well, it's almost 10 and I need to get to bed. I have class all day tomorrow and I need to stay awake. I promise to update this more often! TTYL. Have a good night all! :)

My brother is a high school graduate!!!

Wow, I can't believe my brother has graduated from high school. It's amazing how fast 4 years go. He's taller than me but he's still the baby! He's going away to college next year and I don't know what my mom is going to do without him here. The graduation ceremony was nice and short. There were just over 400 graduates and the ceremony only lasted an hour and a half. The speakers were very short!!! Rod didn't really want to be there, but he was a good sport. Then we came back to my parents house and took a nap. Then my sister, her husband, my mom and I went to someone's graduation party. It was nice, but we didn't stay too long because my mom is chaperoning project graduation tonight. Rod left to go shopping while we were gone, so now I'm at my parents house and I have nothing to do. I guess I shouldn't be complaining about not having anything to do because my grandparents are here and I need to spend some time with them because they are leaving on Tuesday. I think I will go and do that now. I'll update later. Hope all is well with everyone else.

It is unbelievable how busy life gets!

I hate being a grown up! I am always so busy. I'm working full time and I'm taking classes. Not only that, but I'm trying to fit in spending time with my fiance and my family and it all is stressing me out. I am trying to find a new job right now. Actually, I know what I want to do, but I just need to apply. Lately I have been so tired I haven't even tried to finish this application. Maybe this weekend I will have some time.

I am really enjoying my classes, but it is hard because there are a lot of group projects. First, I don't really like group projects. They don't always represent who I am and the kind of student I am. Second, it is hard to work out schedules when everyone is working and going to school. One person I am working with doesn't even seem like he/she wants to be in the program. Why would you spend all the money on the classes if you are not sure you are going to finish the program?

Work is killing me right now. Some days I have things to do and other days I just sit here twiddling my thumbs. I feel like I should ask for something to do, but I don't want to. I want to sit here and do nothing, but I don't want to get in trouble either. I so trying to get this new job so it will be less stress with school and they will help pay for school.

Because I am so busy, I haven't been getting to the gym as many times as I would like to. I have decided I am now going to buy an elliptical machine so I can work out in the morning before I go to work. I still want to go to Curves and all, but I need more. I really want to start eating healthier and working out more so I can lose weight before my wedding next July. Really I need to lose most of the weight before January so I can buy a dress. Anyway my plan right now is to buy the elliptical machine and get up at 5 with Rod and workout while Rod is getting ready for work and then I can get ready. I think it is a great idea. I think it will give me more energy too. We are going to go look for the machine I want tonight I think.

Tomorrow my brother is graduating from high school. Where did the years go? I can't believe he is 18 and about to graduate. I feel so old. I want to be a kid again sometimes. I want my parents to pay for everything and I want to not have to worry about bills and housing and such. Oh well, I guess you have to grow up some time. At least I live near my parents. I don't get to see them as often as I would like to because of work and school, but I normally get to see them once a week. Sunday, we are having a BBQ for Father's Day and my brother's graduation. It should be fun! Hopefully some of his friends show up :)

So wedding stuff is on my mind when I don't have work to do. I have been working on my guest list and it isn't going how I would like. I thought I would have a problem finding enough people to invite to the wedding, but I have realized that is not the case. I am over the church limit by 25 :( I have an A list and a B list. Unfortunately some people I would like to invite are on the B list. I may think about not inviting some of the family in CA, but I feel obligated to. I'm not sure what to do. I guess I didn't realize how many friends of mine and Rod's would be making the trip out to CA for the wedding. Don't get me wrong, I am really excited that our friends will get to be there, but now I don't have room to invite some of my grandparents' friends that I would really like to invite. I have to go back over the list. A lot of the planning is done so I'm not to concerned about those things. I have already booked the church, booked the time and date of the rehearsal, booked the reception site, and booked the photographer. My mom and my cousin are going to take care of the DJ for me. All I have left is finding a hotel for out-of-town guests and things I can do here! I'm really excited about the wedding and I know the next year is going to go by really fast. That is why I am trying to get so much stuff done while I have the time. I think I am going to order Save the Date magnets this weekend. My idea is I'm not going to put save the date, instead I am going to put our name, our wedding date, and the location of the wedding. Then with the magnets I will send a little slip of paper that includes a hotel for our out of town guests to book rooms at :) Anyway, I better go. I am at work and I should really do something here. Talk to you all soon.

It's been a long time!

So this is the first chance I've had to sit down and write a little. These last couple of weeks have been filled with laughter, tears, lots of stress, and a lot of fun. On May 13th Rod and I and my roommate from college chaperoned an after-prom party. Stef and I were up until 5:45 on Sunday morning and Rod stayed up till 6:15. Then we got up at 9:15 to make sure everyone got up by 10 to go to breakfast at someone else's house. It was a lot of fun, but exhausting. My sister also graduated from college on May 13th. Obviously I was busy chaperoning a party and being responsible adult, so I didn't get to be there for my sister's graduation.

The next Friday, May 19 I threw my sister a bachelorette party. We didn't do a whole lot, but I think most people enjoyed it. My sister looked pretty happy. She got a lot of nice candles, oils and such. We had a couple of drinks and reminisced about the when we were younger. It's amazing how fast the years go by.

Then on Saturday May 20 I threw a surprise party for Rod's 25th birthday. It was unbelievable I was able to keep a secret for so long. It was so hard to keep a secret especially when I knew three weeks in advance that Rod's mom was flying in from Arizona. At first I was unsure of how I was going to get him out to my parents' house to surprise him, but his mom came up with a great idea. We had his aunt call him and ask him to come out and help her move a couch for FOHA (Friends of Homeless Animals). We didn't think he would say no to his aunt and he didn't. It was awesome because Rod had no clue. Not to mention, there was crap load of people that showed up. Cody, Rod's roommate from college, and Cody's girlfriend Natalie drove up from NC. Rod's friends from high school were there. His Mom flew in from Arizona. His Aunt was there. Also his brother and his brother's fiancee, Char and Jackie, drove up from NC to be there to celebrate with him. Some of my friends from high school showed up to. We had a great time and my mom and dad made great food. They let me spend time with my friend's and they took care of all the cooking and hosting. I love my parents for helping out like that. After the party Rod and I help clean up and then we headed back to our apartment. Cody and Nat stayed with us Saturday night and we went into DC with them on Sunday. We had a lot of fun. It was nice to spend time with them since we hadn't seen them in a long time.

On Monday, my sister came out to spend the night with us and just get away from wedding stuff. Rod's mom and his aunt were here that evening as well. We went out to dinner at Ruby Tuesday. It was nice spending time with both sides of my family.

On Tuesday May 23, Rod turned 25 and I started grad school. Class was ok but slightly overwhelming. After class I met Rod, his mom, and his aunt at Costal Flats in Tysons Corner to celebrate Rod's birthday. It was nice spending time with Rod's family. His mom headed back to Arizona on Wednesday.

Thursday, I took off of work so I could spend time with my sister before her wedding. My grandparents came in on Wednesday and my aunt and cousin flew in early on Thursday. I picked them up at the airport on my way to my parents' house. We spent some time doing stuff around the house then at noon my mom, her friend, my grandma, me, and Ashton another bridesmaid got our nails done. It was fun and they did a great job. Then we went back to my parents' house and Ashton, my mom and I finished decorating the wedding cake. Ashton and I had such a great time doing that. That afternoon, I went to pick up Rod from the metro station, then we picked up my friend Stephen from the airport. He flew in to be in my sister's wedding. I almost drove past him at the airport because he looked so different. Then we went to Jazz on the Lawn. It was great to see my brother play a jazz solo. He did a great job and we all enjoyed listening to it. My mom had the band surprise my brother and play happy birthday for him since his birthday was on Friday.

Friday was my brother's birthday. It also happened to be my sister and Scott's rehearsal and rehearsal dinner. Rehearsal was a lot of fun and productive. Then dinner was really yummy! We had Red Hot & Blue. Normally I don't like BBQ, but the pulled pork with BBQ sauce and ranch was awesome!!! After dinner we went home and hung out. Then my sister realized I had forgotten to bring the necklace she wanted to wear for her wedding so I drove back to Arlington late Friday night.

Saturday was my sister's wedding. My sister was beautiful and the ceremony was amazing. I cried. Scott's ring got stuck on my finger, but at least I didn't lose it or scratch it. After the wedding we took a crap load of pictures. Then we headed to the reception site. Lunch at the reception site was really good. It was a beautiful place. The DJ did a good job. Everyone loved my maid of honor speech. I got so many compliments :) Even Rod said I did a good job...heheh. I got Rod to dance at the reception. In our almost five years of dating, my sister's wedding was the first time Rod had danced with me. After the reception most of my family headed back to my parents' house for an after party. It was so much fun. We had a great time.

On Sunday, the family ate breakfast at my parents' house. Scott and Desiree were supposed to be there, but they had to take Scott's cousins to the metro station. They got there right as some of us were about to leave so Rod and I got to watch them open the gift we got them. Then 10 of us headed to mine and Rod's apartment. We parked here so we could all head into DC. 4 of them went to the Dodger/National game, and 6 of us went to see some monuments in DC. We walked around DC for a few hours, but it was soooooo HOT. We almost died! We had to be back to Ashburn before 6 because my mom was throwing a surprise birthday party for my brother. We got back into Arlington and had lunch at California Pizza Kitchen or CPK as my aunts from CA call it. Anyway we got back in time to see my brother surprised. Then we hung out the rest of the evening.

On Monday, memorial day Rod and I said goodbye to family and then headed back to our apartment so we could get stuff done. Stephan came with me because he stayed with us all week. The week was busy filled with my grad class, entertaining Stephen, and writing a paper.

On Friday, I had rehearsal for another friend's wedding. After rehearsal, Rod, Stephen and I got dinner. Then some friends of ours came over to my parents' house at 9 and we reminisced about high school until 2 am. Desiree and Scott got home from their honeymoon at about 1. We talked about their honeymoon for a few minutes. Then everyone headed home and we went to bed.

Saturday - Desiree, my mom, my grandma, and I went to Sears to get pictures taken. It was a lot of fun. Then Desiree and I went shopping. I love shopping with my sister. We always seem to find something together. Then we headed home for lunch. After that I took a nap. Then it was time to get ready for Tiffany and Ben's wedding. The wedding was really nice. Tiffany looked beautiful. Then we went to the reception. Dinner was excellent. We had fun talking to people and catching up. After the reception, some of us went back to my parents' house and Drew came over. We stayed up until 3 talking (really they stayed up and I lied on the couch with my eyes closed from 2-3).

Yesterday, I said good bye to Stephen :'( and then I went to church with my family. I really enjoyed going to church with them since I hadn't been in a long time. Then Rod and I headed home because I had some work to get done for grad school.

Now we are at today. That was a lot to catch up on. When I look back at the last 4 weeks, it's amazing I'm still sane. I was sooo busy! Anyway, today I went back to work. Stefanie interviewed at my company today. After the interview we went out to lunch with Drew, a friend of ours. It was a lot of fun. Then I had to go back to work :( I'm not really happy with my work right now. I guess I'm just stressed with working full time and going to school. I think I'm going to apply to be an assistant teacher. If I quit my job and become an assistant teacher, I can get a tuition reduction. It's $500 less a class than I'm paying right now. I'm going to apply and if I get a job, then I'll quit the one I have now. Anyway, after work I had to go to school to do a counseling sessions with one of my peers. It was slightly nerve racking to tape myself couseling someone else, but we enjoyed it. And now I am starving so I think I am going to get off of here to make some dinner. Mmmmmm Tacos!!! Well hope this catches you all up. Thanks for trying to keep up to date with me. If you have any questions, just email me. Love you all. Hope you have a great evening.

Wow....It's pretty sad when you don't update your blog in almost 4 months

Hi all! Sorry it has taken me so long to update this thing. At one point I actually took the time to update it and it never saved. Well here is what has gone on since January 12th. I turned 22 on Jan. 30. In early February, my mom and I took a trip to California. We had a great time. We spent the superbowl at my aunts where the Steelers won (mine and Rod's favorite team). Go STEELERS!!! While out there we found a reception site, booked a photographer, and made sure we got a Thursday rehearsal even though its over a year away. In March was my mom's 50th birthday. We had a party for her (she actually hosted it!) but my sister surprised her by showing up at the party. She was really happy. April was very eventful. I found out I was accepted into grad school at Virginia Tech Northern Virginia Campus for Counselor Education. Also, Rod and I went to London. Rod had a conference to go to for work so I decided to tag along. Unfortunately we were not on the same flight out. I was panicking before we left because I was afraid we would not be able to find each other at the airport. My flight got in 3 hours before his so I just had to wait around at the airport and hope to find him in a strange country where our cell phones didn't work. I came up with the plan that if we didn't meet by 12 noon then we would head to the hotel. Well I waited for him at the baggage claim as opposed to going all the way through customs. I waited and waited. I was sitting right at the baggage claim his bags came off of and I never saw him. Well I called my mom panicked because if he hadn't gotten on the flight there was no way someone could have told me. She told me he hadn't called so she assumed he had gotten on the flight. I was crying because I was in a strange country by myself and the hotel reservations were under his name. My mom told me to go to the United baggage place and see if they could help me. I went there and the guy was really nice and said he would see if he had been on the flight. I spelled Rod's last name for him and the guy told me Rod hadn't gotten on the flight. I really started to panic then. The guy sitting next to him told me to go through customs and go into the departure area and see if anyone in that United area would be able to help me more. I went through and luckily Rod saw me. It was just about noon and he was about to head to the hotel. I went up to him and I just started crying. After that scare everything was great. Our hotel room was very small. First, the lift (elevator) held a maximum of 4 people but really us and our luggage barely fit in it. Then you had to open the lift door, walk out to the left, close the lift door, open a fire door, then go to our room door and open it. The room door didn't open all the way because of the hallway wall. You walked down the hall to a tiny room that just barely fit the bed and had room to walk next to it. There was a desk at the end of the bed. My luggage went under and on the desk. Rod's luggage went next to the little wardrobe next to the bed. The bathroom was very very tiny, but it was great for steaming Rod's clothes since we didn't have an iron! Wednesday through Friday I was by myself because Rod was at his conference. Basically I just walked around and looked at the beautiful buildings. I didn't go into any of the famous places though because everything was just too expensive because of our crappy exchange rate. In the evenings Rod was free so on Wednesday night we went to see The Lion King musical. That was a lot of fun. Thursday night we went to Buckingham Palace and walked around the parks. Friday night we went on a Jack the Ripper tour. That was awesome. There was only six people on the tour besides the tour guide. A mother and daughter who were on the tour were also from Virginia (what a small world!). On Saturday Rod and I went to the Tour of London. We spent a lot of time there. It was neat because we got to see the crown jewels and we got to hear about the torture that took place there. Very fascinating. On Sunday we flew home. Since we have been home, I've been really busy at work. Not to mention my sister is getting married in 2 and a half weeks. These last 2 weeks before the wedding are going to be absolute insanity. My brother's prom is this weekend and my mom and I are making the corsages and boutonniere. My sister is also graduating this weekend so my parents are going to that. Rod and I are going to be at my parents house so we can take pictures of my brother all dressed up and to chaperone an afterprom party...wohoo! Then next Friday is my sister's bachelorette party that I am planning. Then on Tuesday the 23rd I start grad school and it's Rod's 25th birthday. I know it sucks my first class is on his birthday but he doesn't care. On Thursday is my brother's Jazz on the Lawn, which I'm hoping I'm going to be able to get out of school to go to. On Friday is my brother's 18th birthday and my sister's rehearsal and rehearsal dinner. On Saturday is the wedding. On Sunday we are having a brunch for my sister and her new husband and then spending time with the family. Don't I sound busy. Also not to mention I'm trying to lose a few more pounds before the wedding so my dress looks a little bit better. We'll see how that goes. Anyway that's my life right now. I'm crazy busy!!! Well, my fiance made me dinner and it's getting cold so I better go eat. I'll try to update soon, but don't expect an update until after the wedding!

Wow, I finally have a little time to write!

So I should be doing work right now, but I'm procrastinating. I'm almost done with doing the job I hate. I am about to start on the job I really like, the actual writing of documents. I have a writers block though. My document is supposed to be medium level. It's for higher-ups in the company so it can't sound dumb.

Anyway, enough about work. I reserved Rod and my wedding date. We are getting married on July 21st, 2007 at Wayfarers Chapel in Rancho Palos Verdes, CA at 10AM in the morning. For all of our friends here in Virginia, we're going to have a reception back here. It probably will be a fun backyard bbq or something like that.

R0d's working on building a computer right now. Most of the parts have arrived. I think he's ordered everything, but he was talking about ording another hard drive. The 19in. monitor he ordered is sitting on our desk. That thing is HUGE compared to both our laptop screens. It's amazing how tiny it makes are other two computers look, and that's just the monitor.

My mom and I are going to start cake decorating together. She is going to give me lessons. I used to love it when I was a kid, but I haven't done it in a long time. I would really like to try to make my own wedding cake. Is that crazy? I have an idea of what I want and I think it would be really easy, but we'll see. I'll practice and then see what I can do. My mom and I are also going to take a class on wedding flower arranging. It sounds really neat. The class and my cake decorating lessons are my birthday gift.

I can't beleive my birthday is in 18 days. I'm going to be 22. WOW!! Where did the time go? I feel so old, yet so young. I don't know, I guess it's just a weird time of my life. I have accomplished so much and yet there is so much I still want to do. I really want to go to grad school. That is my next big step. Hopefully I can finish my application this weekend and send it on Saturday, or Monday. I can also take my application in and drop it off. We'll see how much I can get done tonight and tomorrow. Well, I better get going. I have some training to do and then I need to drive home in rush hour traffic. What fun!