Finals are almost over!!

Things just don't settle down when you're this close do they?? I've been taking finals the last couple of days. Tomorrow is my last one....yayyy!!!! I can't believe we're graduating this Saturday :( VT was the best. I hope to come back to Blacksburg with Katherine & Shon and Holly & Arthur for many more football games...next time as an alumni!! So this week I've got to work on getting graduation necessities (like cap & gown, that sort of thing) and.......packing for our honeymoon!! Can you believe I'm already packing because I cannot. Most of my clothes are down here anyway so I've gotta pack a few of them up to take home with me this weekend! My goodness time has really flown by. I can still remember freshman year 4 years ago. At this time 4 years ago I was probably studying on the bridge with Ben....and now I'm getting ready to marry him. Cuteness, huh? I hope everyone is having a great Mother's Day!

Recent News

Blacksburg weather is just so unpredictable.

  

Yesterday it was in the 30's and snowing...in April.  Typical.  This weekend it's supposed to be in the high 60's.  No wonder I get sick so much!  I can't wait to move to a warmer climate soon....say....Virginia Beach?! 

 That's right, all this week Ben and I have been securing an apartment we found in VA Beach.  (Hence the non-posting) We're pretty friggin' excited!  Of course, it's not right next to the beach...but it's about 20  minutes away...which is a heck-of-a-lot closer than we are now (considering we're in the mountains).  We actually found a 2 bedroom 2 bathroom place which (because of a special deal they have) was a lot cheaper than some of the other apartments in the surrounding area.  I'm hoping that our family and friends will consider visiting us slash taking a vacation this summer in VA Beach (free room!) I know I already have 4 takers.  I never thought I would live near a beach...I guess it's true what they say--Join the Navy, See the World (....starting with Virginia Beach....)

Back to your regularly scheduled program

Here are a few pictures from Ring Dance this weekend.

Me, Ben, Arthur, and Holly.   The theme this year was "Hollywood" so it was perfect for Holly's Junior Year Ring Dance. 

Your two favorite people ;)  (Ben likes to pretend that he's the same height as me b/c he knows it annoys me.)

I just love bumping into Aicel everywhere on campus.

That's pretty much all the photos I took!  Can you believe that??  I have always been an OCD photographer (minus the talent) just because I love having photos.  They're good for record-keeping.  ;) But I guess this semester a lot of things have had to change in my life.  I have been so flipping busy 24/7!!  Maybe that's the reason for the occasional breakdown...hmmm makes sense.  

Well Ben and I went to Michael's Arts and Crafts store in search of vases for the reception.  The plan is that the bridesmaids will just put their bouquets in the vases once they arrive--because 1) that's a huge money saver and 2) the girls won't want to lug them around anyway once they're dancing and 3) the bouquets are going to be gor-geous.  Just imagine a large bunch of  blue hydrangeas with the stems wrapped in ribbons and pearls.  WOW can't wait :)  But anyway here are the lucky vases!  I was originally looking for a more rectangular-shaped kind but these were the perfect size and I think they'll be pretty anyway.  

And here's where I got the idea:

Ben and I have quite a few busy weekends coming up.  I'm gonna list all the Saturdays coming up between now and the wedding.  See if you can believe this:

(4/4)--THIS weekend

(4/11)--we're going to get our marriage license

(4/18)--2 term papers due the next week!!

(4/25)--is my bridal portrait (by my lovely sister, of course!!)

(5/2)--is Holly's 21st birthday

(5/9)--final exams!!

(5/16)--Ben & I graduate and Ben is commissioned the previous day

(5/23)--holy crap it's the WEDDING

NOW you can possibly see why I've been having such major breakdowns lately.  Usually I get really stressed out and get really nervous (not about anything in particular, just shaken up) then Ben calms me down and I'm okay the next day.   You know, just the norm.  Okay now I have to go fold some laundry.

My To-Do List

1) Finish this paper due in 4 hours.  --I just love/hate leaving things for the last minute.

2) Find out which ship Ben will get by the end of the day --Basically this information will determine our life together over the next couple of years, including when he will and will not be home

3) Continue researching apartments in the Norfolk area.  Hopefully find a reasonably-priced 2Bedroom with Washer/Dryer in a nice neighborhood so I don't feel scared to go outside when Ben is away. 

4) Get wedding invitations ready to go out--including stuffing, stamping, addressing--the works.  

5) Research graduation ceremony plans

6) Read for tomorrow's class

Ridiculous.

Spring Break is officially here!!

I finished my last midterm today. Ugh. I am so glad to get all that over with. Now on to a full (and I mean PACKED) week of wedding planning. You know...all the stuff I have to take care of now that I'm finally going home. Could be fun--could be stressful--we'll just have to see what this week brings. One thing I know: I'll be glad when the break's over (isn't that weird to say?) because 1) I'll have TONS of wedding stuff taken care of and 2) if it's stressful, then it will be done. I'm the type of person that if things are truly stressful, I just want other people to make the decisions for me--because I just don't care. OR could it be because I'm so indecisive?? Hmm...I don't know. I can't even make up my mind about that. Truly though, I've never met another person who is more indecisive than me. Let me know if I have a competitor. I'll keep you updated on the outcome of the next couple of days.

Monday, no Fun-day

Okay the weather didn't help me out at all. However, I finished my paper & presentation all while listening to the little neighborhood kids outside my window throwing snowballs at each other and singing "Fire Away" (you know that little tune?) Cuties. I can't be mad at them even if they got out of school and I didn't.

Also: last night some talented college kids built a 10 foot snowman. Only at Virginia Tech can we engineer a feat beyond other's imaginations. :-P But seriously I'll try to take a picture. It's pretty impressive.

A note to the weather:

This is the one time I'm asking you to freeze so that my class tomorrow will be cancelled. If that happens I will have an extra 2 weeks to work on this project & presentation. That would be sooooo great mmmkay?

Seriously. Please freeze.

FREE wedding photography

Sherrlyn Borkgren contacted me about a great deal she has for brides: FREE wedding photography!! If you're getting married & are depressed by the rising prices, you should definitely check out her website. I looked at it myself and she seems like a really well-qualified photographer with a great big heart for helping out those less fortunate (on her website she mentions that "this year, portions of all wedding income go to the Democratic Republic of Congo to help tell the story of nine year-old Belice, a rape survivor.") Here's the portion she emailed to me:

I listened to Brandon Heath's song "Give me your eyes" and decided that I would give away a free day of wedding photography. Brides only need to visit my blog for details and tell me about their wedding and how they will help pass the love on.

I only mention it because if I were newly-engaged and starting the whole process again I would definitely give this lady some much deserved attention!!

*****

Blacksburg today: major snowfall. It has continued to snow throughout the day. What a pretty mess. And it's not too cold so I really don't have much to complain about!

I hope it freezes tonight--then I won't have to give my presentation (scheduled for tomorrow) until after Spring Break (2 WEEKS from now!!) That would be amazing.

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.

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.

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?? :)

3 random facts

1) First day of school is tomorrow!! I think I've got a little back-to-school nerves although I don't even know why--my schedule is way too easy this semester.

2) Ben helped me rearrange my room yesterday. I think it looks so nice and so much bigger. It's already nice to have a change of scenery for my last semester.

3) I'm waiting anxiously to hear of the safe arrival and delivery of my niece or nephew and also to hear that Tom and Julie are doing well. I know this is the most exciting moment of both of their lives and I can't wait to (hopefully) see them and meet the baby this weekend!! That child sure is stubborn though--(definitely takes after his/her father!!)--because it was due on Thursday and seeing as that didn't happen Julie's induction date was scheduled for this morning and the child just does not want to budge!!! It's okay...sometimes I like to sleep late too :)

Oh my life.

A late posting for yesterday + an early posting for today!

Well I FINISHED my final exams. FINALLY. I have no clue what my grades are (and won't for probably another week...) but I am just so thrilled that I can just relax and enjoy the downtime....oh WAIT that won't be happening. The (very-near-future) In-Laws came down today to celebrate Arthur's (Ben's twin) graduation and commissioning. We went out for a nice dinner then we all gathered with Holly's (Arthur's fiance) family back at Arthur's town-home.

Then I gave Ben a haircut!! It was my first time cutting a guy's hair AND it had to be military standards for tomorrow's commissioning. A lot of pressure for a first-timer, huh? But I think I did a pretty good job--maybe Ben will have to keep me around now--free haircuts ;)

Tomorrow--(oh I mean today)--I will have to get up in 6 hours to help proofread Ben's final project (ah the joys of being an English major) and then we will go straight to Arthur's and Tyler's graduation ceremony--followed by both of their commissionings (Tyler is Arthur and Ben's good friend here at school). Hopefully I will get some good pictures. At least I get to see how a commissioning runs before I help out at Ben's next May.

A little help: These are geese....

...And these are swans (technically for yesterday). Count the swans!

Quick Post

I thought this one was so cute for today--10 little lords a leaping. Sorry I can't post more right now: I have a paper due in a couple of hours so I'm thinking maybe I should get on that. Just wanted to keep up the countdown! 10 days until Christmas!!

"We ain't fakin', y'all!"

Proof that those of us who have moved away from our native area may speak differently when we go back:

(I got this while doing my project--it's on linguistics--go figure)

"Native speakers of a vernacular dialect who have moved away and now speak more standardly often must attempt a kind of balancing act. They may feel constrained to shift to some degree back to the native dialect when visiting with family back home."

OK so I've never experienced that much of a shift. But it is true that everytime I talk to someone in my family I hear a little bit of twang come back in my voice.

Tell me why...

I've had this project for 3 weeks now and I'm just beginning it now--7 hours before class? Things would have been so much easier if I had just gotten it done over Thanksgiving break..... boo me.

VT football and JMU

Football game tomorrow night at Miami!!! I only wish it were a home football game. VT has a horrible home football schedule this year. We went a full month without a home game. What a terrible thing for my senior year... boo :( But here's a pic of me and my friend Cara at last Thursday's victory vs. Maryland. She is such a great friend. And there's no way I would've lasted this long in Chem without her!!

So THIS WEEKEND I'm going to JMU to visit my bfffffffff Courtney!!! I'm so excited. And I'm sure there will be pictures from all that mess so be sure to check back sometime next week. I have 2 major tests tomorrow (don't you just love it when classes coincide--i swear the teachers do this to kill me) so I won't be doing much else today but studying. So in order to not completely lose my mind I promised myself this little time to blog.

I'll leave you with a funny moment from one of my favorite shows, The Office. Here it is.

Wanna know what I was doing on Thursday?

THIS is where I was.

Ahem. Go Hokies.

I haven't posted since Sunday....LAME

My 22nd birthday was on Tuesday. I had a pretty normal day--it's true that once "21" is over the rest of the birthdays are just turning another year older. I found that out this year. I wasn't bored or anything, actually I was pretty content with the small celebration I had. Ben took me out to The Farmhouse on Tuesday night--it's a nice restaurant just outside of Blacksburg. We had a good time; he's such a sweetheart.

My friend Lauren came over yesterday to bring me the cake she made for me... I couldn't believe she made me a cake but it's so cute (and so good too!!) She set the actual cake on top of Reese's candies (which happen to be my favorite candy) which I thought was very creative. Here's a quick picture I took of the cake (and she set it all in an enlarged martini glass--verryy cute)!

I should've taken the tinfoil off, but I think you get the gist.

And more good news--my friend Hannah is traveling up for the weekend!! (she now goes to school at UNC) I'm excited to watch The Office with her tonight...it was kind of our tradition before the show became really popular (yeah--we were trendsetters).

So my week did seem pretty boring to me but after typing all of that, it seems that it was actually pretty eventful. Hope you've all been having a good week!

Hmm..

So Ben and I are at our regular hang-out spot (the Empo) and just look at what we have to look at. Please feel free to zoom in to get a better look. (I'm referring to the figure right behind me in the picture.) Ben says he sees this girl everywhere around campus and she ALWAYS wears heels and a tiny tiny skirt. Hmmm.....do you look in the mirror before you leave your room? Homegirl's short coat is actually longer than her skirt.....