Guess who got their rings yesterday?!

Yay!

BOO

So Ben and I have been looking at apartments to visit sometime soon (we're pretty sure we know where we'll be stationed--but I'll make that announcement when it's final). We're moving pretty soon after we get back from the honeymoon, so we've really gotta take care of this soon. After searching for a while, we finally got to liking a particular one--seems like it's in a relatively good neighborhood. It's a typical starter-apartment (basically just a cleaner college apartment) except the rooms are a good size and there are 2 walk-in closets. I know. Two! (And as young as Ben and I are, we both sure have acquired a TON of clothes in our young lives. I'm particularly surprised at him: he has THIRTEEN pairs of jeans. I only have four. But I'm going to work on that this weekend. wink.) So needless to say those two walk-in closets would be well used and greatly needed.
However
today, upon further inspection, I notice that the website says: "laundry facility available". My heart fell. We will have to research further to see if any units come with a W/D...but unless that happens it looks like this one is not gonna be the one. (Call me crazy but there's no way I'm gonna be lugging mine & my husband's laundry all the way down the hall.)

Engagement Pics!

My sister took our engagement photos this past summer. She did a beautiful job and I was so happy with the way they turned out. And now she's a master editor too! Check them out at her website :)

P.S. Thanks for all the well-wishes yesterday--on the blog, in person, by email, by text... It was a hard day, but I got through it and now I'm okay. I really appreciated knowing y'all were concerned for me.

She's gettin antsy.

Some adjectives to describe my day so far:
-teRRible
-horriBle
-nO gOOd
-vEry baD

I will try to describe some of this later. For now, I have to finish my paper due at 4pm (which counts for 20% of my grade) that had completely slipped my mind until I saw it on the syllabus about 2 hours ago.

*Oh and a message to the Empo workers: STOP FREAKIN TELLING ME NOT TO EAT IN HERE!!!! I seriously just re-lived the Office Space TPS reports scene. "Do you know you're not supposed to eat in here?" "Yeah can you go ahead and throw out your food" "You need to put that up" IM NOT TWELVE PEOPLE. I DONT HAVE TIME TO EAT AND I CAN EAT WITHOUT SPILLING!!!

Sorry to be in such a bad mood. I love you all, I'm just tryin to take this off my shoulders so I can finish my paper.

Love ya! Award :)

Awww this one's toooo sweet. I like this award. Erica at Rick & Erica Always, Forever gave me the Love Ya! award.




Here are the accompanying rules:
“These blogs are exceedingly charming. These kind bloggers aim to find and be friends. They are not interested in self-aggrandizement. Our hope is that when the ribbons of these prizes are cut, even more friendships are propagated. Please give more attention to these writers. Deliver this award to eight bloggers who must choose eight more and include this cleverly-written text into the body of their award.”

1. Katherine @ The Klegin Family
2. Katie @ True Life: I'm an Army Wife
3. Jessie @ Ever Thine. Ever Mine. Ever Ours.
4. D.A.R. @ First comes love, then comes marriage...
5. Adrienne @ For the Love of Weddings
6. JLC @ French Kiss
7. Hannah Noel @ that [engaged] girl
8. Brittney @ The Perfect Pair

Oops...I did it again.

Went to the tanning salon on Monday. Don't start with me on how bad tanning salons are for your skin--I know this and I believe it, and I don't plan on using them past the wedding. If you feel the need to tell me how bad they are, then you probably aren't as white as I am. Oh excuse me, I meant PALE. Just for one day I want to be a tan, healthy-looking, princess. I think you know which day I mean ;) And I will be. But for now, I'm suffering. Tanned once last week and once this week--both for only SEVEN minutes. Both times I walk out with a sunburn. Hello aloe. BFFL?

The end of the season

Do you ever resolve not to get stuck on a TV show early on in its premiere--and then by the end wish that you had followed it??

I sure do. I wish I'd been keeping up with The Bachelor. I really got kind of sick of it lately because every show is the same--the guy always asks the girl to marry him--and then a few months later the engagement is off. Everyone just seems fake on those shows because true love (read: Trista and Ryan.

Sigh. Love them. Picked them. It worked.)

would not falter once the cameras are turned off. But now that everyyyone seems to be talking about it--and yes I've read the spoilers--it seems like such an exciting, yet totally mean and undeserving season. If I had an opinion on the girls, which I don't, I would probably be more invested in who he chose.

hopefully a brief cloud

I really don't like posting things when I'm not in a happy mood, but I kind of feel like I need to get this off my chest. Honestly I've been affected by so much tragedy in the last three years and I was just wondering if this was at all normal for someone in my position (not that I expect anyone to know).

April 16, 2009 will mark the 2 year anniversary of when 32 lives were taken on my campus. I still remember that day. I was in my dorm, sitting at my desk, still in my pajamas when it all happened. I heard down the hall that something was going on across campus, so we all went to the windows facing the drillfield and saw Norris Hall with multiple ambulances outside of it. Luckily we couldn't see much more than that since the building was so far away from my dorm--but we knew something was horribly wrong. After multiple emails from the school telling us a gunman may be loose on campus and to stay inside, of course I got freaked out. I can't even tell you how many things went through my head that day. I stayed in my dorm almost all day watching the news, almost in a zombie-like fog like many of the rest of the students. The death count kept rising. First the reporters said there were 5 or 6 confirmed deaths. Then it jumped to 15. Then to 20-something. Finally up to 32. I hadn't been able to reach Ben all day since the phone lines were flooded with worried parents trying to call their kids to see if they were okay. I was worried about him, especially since I had heard that the Cadets were guarding the doors to some buildings (not exactly where you want your boyfriend to be when there is apparently a gunman loose). The list of victims was released gradually that week; as soon as the school could contact their families. We listened all week to hear if any of the victims were friends we knew. With 32 victims, chances were that most people on campus knew someone. I went to grab dinner that night with a few friends to bring it back to our dorm (the campus had not yet confirmed that the gunman was killed) and there were multiple policemen inside the dining facilities, with heavy-duty armor and automatic guns. Can you imagine walking around your college dining hall knowing that the campus was this worried about you that they would set up armored guards inside the dining hall? The videos and pictures of Cho that NBC released haunt me every time I think about them. The outpouring of love and support from friends, family, and people I hadn't talked to in a long while certainly helped me to feel loved in such a tragic situation.

Last month you may have heard another murder occurred on my campus. Many of the details are still not out since it occurred recently, and I think the campus was just shocked again that such a heinous crime happened while many of us who were here for the April 16 shooting were also present in Blacksburg for this one. In some ways this one seemed more gruesome than the first because it was such a personal murder. I can still remember reading in the paper that the policeman did not call for an ambulance because the girl was "clearly dead". I noticed that phrase, but it wasn't until more details came out that I knew what it meant. I can't even enter that building anymore. I used to grab late night snacks with Ben in the little cafe that it happened in, and I will continue to refuse to go near it in these last 4 months that I'm on this campus. So many people have lost their lives tragically on this campus, and they were only trying to improve themselves in college, just like me.

Today news came out that a husband and wife in my neighborhood (back at my parents' house) were involved in a possible murder-suicide gone wrong. My sister and I recognized the house from the pictures. It was a family I had met when we first moved up there. I went to elementary school with the oldest son, who was in many of my classes. His mom would often come into the school to read to our class (I can't remember completely, but I think the class was split up into groups so that parents could interact with us). The weird thing is I was just thinking about his mom the other day. For some reason I've always remembered that she read "The Snowy Day" by Ezra Jack Keats to me and three or four other kids--then we talked about it afterwards. In one of my classes the other day, that story came up and I immediately thought of her. Imagine my surprise today to learn that she had passed away this morning. I am so sorry for that family. To the three kids who are all around my age, know that my deepest sympathies are with you and I will be praying for your family in the coming weeks. I can't imagine having to face that kind of pressure and deep sadness in the months before I graduate like my old classmate will.

As of 4pm today....

there are only 99 days. This is weird. I've been watching the countdown for almost one year now (by the time we get married we will have been engaged for 14 months)...so seeing that it's down to 99 days makes it seem soooooo close. :)

The Letter Game

If you want to play, leave a comment on this post letting me know and I'll assign you a letter! You just post ten things that you love that begin with your assigned letter. I got the letter J from Mrs. Mojito Maven at Make Mine a Mojito.

So here we go (in no particular order):

1. Java - I've learned that even if you don't like coffee or don't drink it very much--by the time you hit college--you'll be a lover. The caffeine gives me a little punch in the face and I'm able to finish that paper or project I was working on.

2. Jesus- Can I get an Amen?

3. June- What a great month. Not too hot, not too cold. Flowers are out and everything is beautiful and Spring-y with lots of new energy. Oh and seeing as how I will be a teacher for the rest of my life.....it's the beginning of summer break!!

4. Jewelry- (Not to be superficial or anything) but what woman doesn't appreciate a nice piece of jewelry??

5. Junk food- Yummm.

6. Slim Jim- I'm gonna go ahead and count this as a "J" thing because even if it were called Fat Jim, I would love it.

7. Jane Austen- I have yet to find another author who I like as equally as I do her. I think we could've been best friends if we lived in the same time period.

8. Janet & Jerry- (My mom and her twin sister) are coming to visit me tonight in Blacksburg. I'm kind of excited to see them.

9. Jim Halpert- (from The Office) "Jim's always staring at the camera."

10. Juice- Especially apple juice....or as my family calls it: "Appah Deuce"

One Hundred

Today's number, boys and girls, is 100.


100 for my 100th post! Yay!



And 100 for how many days are left until our wedding!!!!!!



How exciting that they coincided on the same day! (Okay I kind of made that happen...but how exciting that they coincided in the same week!!)



**More news: Go check out my sister's blog. She told me something about herself today that I had never known until now. I about fell out of my chair I was laughing so hard. Since she's decided to share it with the world, I think you should also go check it out.

**One last thing: A Southern Accent is giving away 2 free headers for her 400th post!!! How sweet! I sure hope I get picked.

DRAMA on a Monday Night!

Ohhh man was there some drama in the college apartments tonight!

So I went to Ben's apartment after class so we could eat dinner together. We eat, we watch a little TV with his roommates...then we hear someone revving their engine outside. Not like playful revving--like redlining it for at least 60 seconds. And then redlining a few more times, later. Naturally our curiosity leads us all to go on the porch and look outside at what is making this ruckus. A clearly drunken idiot is in his car with a beer in hand revving his engine. He was fighting with his friend-girl who lived next door to Ben (not girlfriend all one word) and clearly he wanted to show his masculinity and anger by revving the engine of his huge truck.

Ben's roommate's (D's) girlfriend (K) then drives up coming back from work (she lives next door). So Ben's roommate (D) jumps over the railing of the porch (don't worry it's a 1st floor apartment) to go walk her and their dog in because...in case I didn't mention...there's a stupid idiot. Drinking. While his car is running. So clearly there's no way he would see the girlfriend and the dog if he happened to back up.

As soon as D&K come inside and come back out to the porch, the idiot throws the car into reverse and HITS K'S CAR. We all saw him do this. So he starts driving away. D jumps over the porch again and runs after him yelling "HEY YOU HIT MY CAR. COME BACK HERE YOU HIT MY CAR" Luckily, the idiot had enough sense left in him to come back and park the car and eventually step out and look at the damage. All the time proclaiming: "Theresss no way I hit your vann. My truck ain't that high" (Um. Yes it is. And yes you did. You have 6 witnesses.)

So basically after a period of him running down the street and D chasing him (don't forget he was drunk so he couldn't run that fast) he decided to turn back and come back to the apartments (WHAT??? I know. Quite a strange move, even for a drunk person.) Then he gets a dog (not his) out of friend-girl's apartment next door and starts being a little too rough with it. It's a pitbull but it really seemed sweet--didn't bark or anything just seemed a little confused and was very quiet. So anyway it got to the point where I started yelling at him (ME? CONFRONTATIONAL? WHAT???) for being rough with the sweet dog. He was an idiot, and I had Ben by my side, so I wasn't worried about yelling at him. Eventually he came over trying to sweet talk me (drunkly) and telling me I needn't be scared of things because "Thatsss whatsss wrong with thisss world" Ok bud. You're an idiot.

So we call the cops. They come and ask him if he was drinking. He replies "Yess." They ask him if he was driving, he replies "No sssir." (Sorry bud, you lost that one...you forgot you just had 6 witnesses.) Eventually they handcuff him and put him in the car. Then his friends drive up (they had been called to come get him prior to our calling the cops) and we find out the truck WASN'T EVEN HIS. So now let's review his checklist for the night:

1) hit K's car (which she's trying to sell, by the way)

2) with a car that's NOT EVEN HIS...so his friend (whose car he stole apparently) will have to pay the damages to K's car--& let's not forget drunky was redlining his friend's truck multiple times so that leaves him with more damages to pay

3) all while driving under the influence, causing him to be handcuffed and spend the night in jail.

Think he just ruined his life in one night? Do I feel sorry for him? No. I don't feel even an ounce of pity for calling the cops on him because he chose to get in that car. That was when he wrecked his own life. Who knows? Had he not hit K's car in the parking lot...he could've been driving on the streets and could've killed someone.
Oh by the way. Found out he is in the Marine Corps reserves. NOT ANYMORE!

**Who in the world gets drunk by 6pm on a Monday? Let's all say it together..."Someone had a case of the MAUNDAYS"

You ask...I'll tell....

So here's what I'll have on my finger for the rest of my life:

I admit it. Ben spoils me :)

By the way.....

Ben and I rented Fireproof the other day and watched it with some friends.

(We went to Blockbuster and they only carried 5 copies...which were all sold out...and we eventually had to stalk the poor employee restocking the shelves.) But the point is, it's an amazing movie. (Even Ben liked it.) I'm thinking about buying it sometime soon. I completely recommend it.

To Do List:

1. Reorganize my life.

The last couple of weeks have been so crazy and full that my life has spun (almost) out of control. I've been so caught up in wedding planning and trying to get used to school work that I've completely missed out on opportunities to be a friend. So this week my goal is to set up a date to meet up with all my girlfriends (whether just two of us at a time or all together). I've really only been spending time with Ben--which, of course, I've enjoyed--but it'll be nice to get back together with some girls, too. Sometimes a girl just needs her friends around her.

P.S. Ben and I bought each other our wedding rings yesterday. Yay! So exciting.

Wedding on the Brain!

Hopefully, Ben and I are going to pick out & order our wedding rings tomorrow (exciting!!!)....so I've kind of had "wedding" on the brain all day. Here is a little preview of my wedding (in 3 months & 17 days)... Are you excited?? Because I am. If you can't tell already.

PHOTOGRAPHY

image from My Photographer!! Ben Rasmussen Photography

Wow. What an incredible picture!

4 images above from Grazier Photography

CAKE

Want to see a preview of our cake? I got the idea from my photographer's website. This is basically what I chose (except blue ribbons & a blue hydrangea topper....and maybe our monogram on the middle tier).

image from Ben Rasmussen Photography

BOUQUETS & WEDDING PARTY

Here's a little something like my bouquet (mostly hydrangeas but also other white flowers):

image from Google Images

The girls' beautiful bouquets:

image from Google Images

Who ever thought I would choose black bridesmaids' dresses?? Not me. But they just look so classy, don't they? I think the blue flowers will really be set off by them as well!

image from Google Images

I love this picture of the bridal party---minus the L.A.-ness. We'll definitely have to do something like that...

image from Google Images

HAIR

Seeing as how Katherine will be shooting my bridal portraits in about a month...I've been searching desperately for pictures of hair that I like. I L.O.V.E. these two pictures (that I actually found from The Perfect Pair.) So I think it's safe to say that one of these two babies is going to be my hairstyle of choice.

image from the Knot

image from hair by juliet

GOING-AWAY DRESSES

Aren't these 3 dresses from David's Bridal just gorgeous? ...And can you tell I love blue? :)

all 3 dresses from David's Bridal

LEAVING THE RECEPTION

I'm thinking of using sparklers outside of the reception once we leave. I really like the way the pictures turn out at night.

image from Grazier Photography

Ahh! I can't wait.

A little about ME!

Hannah Noel from that [engaged] girl sent me some questions:

1. Cotton or silk sheets?

I've never slept on silk sheets (yet), but I'm positive I would love them. I love it when my pillow and sheets are cold; then I wrap my blanket around and warm myself up. But cotton sheets do that just fine....just as long as they're not flannel!!!

2. Do you use your snooze button often?

Yes, unfortunately. I've always been a terrible morning person. I wish I could just wake up and go get in the shower...but usually I like to sleep 5 minutes more...then force my eyes open...and just lie in bed for another 10 minutes (I guess just to convince myself that I'm waking up on my own terms. I'm very stubborn like that.)

3. What's the stupidest thing you've ever done?

Stupidest thing I've done: worry about my life with Ben and moving in the Military. That's definitely stupid because I know I'd rather be with him in Japan than without him in Virginia. He's just too wonderful.

4. What's your top 5 favorite heart-warming chic-flicks?

Just 5?? At the top of the list is Pride & Prejudice. I just love that movie (the Kiera Knightley version) and especially the book. But I'll save that for another post. The rest of the list would be filled with (in no particular order): Sweet Home Alabama, The Notebook, The Holiday, and Father of the Bride (partly because of my love for Brad Paisley & Kimberly Williams-Paisley; and partly because...oh I don't know...in a little over 3 months I'm getting married)

5. Who would you rather go on a date with: Hugh Jackman or PatrickDempsey?

Probably Hugh Jackman. I'm an Office girl....so I've never watched an episode of Grey's Anatomy. But Ben and I promised each other one celebrity date & Hugh is not my man: I picked Mark Wahlberg. (Who does he pick but the classy artist, Tara Reid.)

So you wanna have as much fun as I did in answering some interview questions??

Here are the directions:

1. Leave me a comment & your email address saying, "Interview me." If you dare...

2. I will respond by emailing you five questions (I get to pick the questions).

3. You will update your blog with the answers to the questions.

4. You will include this explanation and an offer to interview someone else in the same post.

5. When others comment asking to be interviewed, you will ask them five questions. (You get to choose the questions.)

My name is Caroline and I'm an aspiring barber.

I gave Ben another haircut last night. Not tryin to make myself look good or anything....but DANG i'm good at that. Maybe I should just forego the whole "elementary school teacher-thing" and just be a men's hair stylist. Ya. I can really see myself in a barber shop. Right.

Playing catch up

So I went home this weekend for a short visit. It's only been 2 weeks since I've been down here in Blacksburg for school, but it felt like I hadn't been home in a long time. I've been really stressed lately--I don't think I'll ever really get "on track" with both school and the wedding. So the last two weeks have basically felt like I had a huge concrete block on my shoulders. I would come home from class and almost cry because I didn't know what I needed to do--study or plan. So that was why I wasn't writing very much. I didn't really want to be a Debbie Downer. I'm not feeling any better in that aspect (yet), but I did want to get back on here and join the world again.

I finally got to meet my niece this weekend! She's now two weeks old and is truly one of the most beautiful babies I've ever seen. She'll just look at you while you're holding her in your arms. And she's so tiny!! I suppose she's rather tall for an infant but still so tiny! Her little fingers and little ears were so precious. I just loved the way she'd just stay quiet and grunt every once in a while in a cute little infant way. Tom and Julie are both in love with their little girl. It's been a difficult first two weeks for them, I'm sure, but it's easy to see how much they love her. I most likely won't get to see them for a couple of weeks due to my being at school, so (Tom and Julie) please feel free to keep me updated :)

I also made a trip to the public library while I was home so that I could cheat and check out a few of my "textbooks" instead of buying them (oh the joys of being an English major--please don't kid yourself I have to read 27 books this semester alone. I kid you not. Oh yeah and plan a wedding.) But anyway while I was rushing in to get the 2 books I knew they had, I passed the "New" section with all the library's newest books...and one particular book caught my eye. There was a picture on the front of a Navy man (in uniform of course) kissing his new bride.

The funny thing is the Navy man looks a LOT like my fiance. The title of the book: The Military Wedding. Did I pick the book up? No. I snatched it like I was in a race and took off to find my other books. I couldn't help but smile. These last couple of weeks have introduced all the many things I don't know about the military--so I was really beginning to worry about minute things that you can't find out in a general wedding planning book--like when is the sword arch performed?? Before or after the pictures?? Inside or outside the church?? With all guests present or without?? I found most of my answers in this little book. Believe me, for the next 110 days (or 3 months and 21 days) I am going to study this book like it is goin' out of style. Oh and by the way--the author specifically states that the book was written for civilian brides who are marrying military grooms--and the book was published around the time when I got engaged. Meant to be?? :)