Last Thursday night I spent in Silver Spring because I had to be at graduation the next morning at 8:00am. I did not want to drive up by myself Wednesday night and my Dad kindly offered to drive me and spend the night at 9501 with me. I was pretty happy about having a driver and someone to stay with me because the Grandi's house can make very strange noises at night and it always sounds like someone is walking around downstairs or creeping up the staircase. Plus, the doors shake when the wind blows and it still startles me. I didn't realize how happy I was that someone was staying with me until I woke up Friday morning and realized that I had slept the entire night quite soundly. I felt like I had had such a great night sleep. I usually don't feel very rested when I have to stay by myself. It was so wonderful to wake up and feel completely safe and rested. I love my Dad. He was so sweet to drive me up to Silver Spring late at night and keep me company on the two and a half hour drive. He is great. I feel so loved and taken care of.

EDIT: Thursday, May 28, 2009
I would also like to thank my Dad for driving me up to my lasik surgery today and driving me back. He was so sweet and took care of me all day. He made sure I was well fed and that I got sleep and that I put in the right eye drops at the right time. I thank God for giving me such a loving and caring father. I love him very much. Thanks Dad for spending so much time with me. :)

I turned in my last paper and took my last final today.

I am finished graduate school.

I cannot even begin to express how excited I am. I nearly danced out of the door of my classroom where I took my last final. It was all I could do to keep from laughing and cheering. All of my graduate student friends are so jealous that I finished in a year; no on finishes a graduate degree in only a year at Maryland (unless you are crazy determined to marry Jared this year and not next year). By the grace of God I survived and now I can start with fun stuff like visiting Michelle this weekend, going to La Tolteca on Thursday, planning my wedding, and spending lots of time with Jared and my family.

la la la

Cream colored ponies and crisp apple strudels...

These are a few of my favorite things:
(and for my shower or birthday or wedding you can buy any or all of these)

* (&) Ampersands (anything with them on it or in the shape of them... paper weights, bookends, pictures, cards...etc. I like them in silver the best, but other colors would be fun as well).

* Polka dots (sheets, cards, curtains, aprons ... etc.)

* Extra 5 quart bowl for my Kitchen-aid mixer (I can't seem to register for this at Target or Macys - sad sad)

* Stamp pads

* Alphabet Stamps

* Bath and Body --> Sweet Pea lotion (the stuff in the glass bottle is my favorite, but I like any of the creams) and Jared has the Pumpkin Spice wallflower (so you can buy refills if you want).

* Victoria Secret --> Love Spell is my favorite scent.

* Picture gift cards!! We want to get a lot of pictures printed out and put all over our walls. So either frames (which I have tried to register for the ones I like so you get the general idea) or gift cards to go get pictures printed out. We really want one of Annie's pictures printed on a canvas.

* Quilting material --> the plastic cutting squares, the rolling cutters, the quilting board, thread in all colors, material (or gift cards for material)... Talk to Mrs. Shelton and she could probably offer suggestions. :)

* Sewing machine :) YAY!!

* La Tolteca

* The Story of Ferdinand (the Bull) - childrens book (love)

* Robert Munch collection of books (called Munchworks I think... love)

* Pippi Longstocking Books!!! (love)

* Corduroy books (love)

* The Story of Ping (the duck - another childrens book ... love)

* Put Me in the Zoo (love)

* Harold and the Purple Crayon Books

* Any or all Dr. Suess Books

* Go Dog Go

* Jeeves and Wooster books

* Olivia books

* Mike Mulligan and his Steam Shovel

* Any Babar books

(I love all the childrens books that I have put on this list, but I especially love the ones that I wrote "love" next too).

I'll add to this list as time goes on.

A sneak peak at the groomsmen...

Here is the best looking groomsman in my wedding modeling the suits Jared picked out. Anna has more pictures on her blog. Click HERE to see them. I love white shirts and vests together. The ties even match the dresses almost perfectly! I doubt any of my bridesmaids will be willing to model their dresses. So you will just have to wait until the wedding to see them looking awesome. Everyone is going to look so wonderful. These are the details I like about my wedding, along with shopping for wedding bands with Jared and making the invitations and stuff like that. Those are actually enjoyable and relaxing. I like the simple things that don't require anyone else and their input. ha.

2 months

* Rings purchased
* Invitations finished and mailed

God has richly blessed me with the most wonderful fiance (for me) ever. I am continually amazing how we think the same way about everything important. And he is so sweet and considerate and helpful. He helped me so much with the invitations when I was feeling stressed and he has done so many other things (even just little things) that have just made my life easier and happier. I thank God for Jared and his wonderful self. I am greatly blessed.

Oh, and my parent"s yard is looking AMAZING!! They are doing such a wonderful job making it look nice for my wedding. We should have taken before and after pictures. It looks so good. And the corn in the garden is up!! Sweet!

Favorite New Jars of Clay lyrics
I don’t understand why we can’t get close enough
I want your kite strings tangled in my trees, all wrapped up
I don’t understand why we can’t get close enough
I’ll be the comets that are falling from the sky you light up

You’re my shirt iron-on, I’m the tick, you’re the bomb
You’re the L and the V, I’m the O and the E
Am I speaking clearly?

I forgot to post these this weekend. These are the books I read in April:

* Humility - C.J. Mahaney
* The Mystery of Marriage
* The Awakening
* This Momentary Marriage - John Piper

I haven't started any for May yet because I have been so busy. I guess I will read all four books in the second half of the month. This year I am 13 books in 4 months. Woohoo!! I can't believe I have made it four months so far. :) Oh, and all my paperwork for graduation is in. Now I just have to pass my three classes, write another 5000 word paper (I have 2500 words written so far), make two powerpoint presentations, give two powerpoint presentations, do two sets of homework, grade two sets of labs (48 labs), and a final. Sigh. School is almost finished!! It is wonderful. I can't wait!!!!!

I am doing something today that I have never done before... I am willingly skipping my afternoon class * ... And not just any class, I am skipping the class the my adviser teaches and there are only 12 of us in the class. He is bound to notice I am missing. I hope I graduate. heh.

I was honestly planning on spending the weekend at 9501 because I have a ton of work to do before graduation, but I was talking to Jared earlier this week and he sounded like he was having a really rough week. I thought it would get better, but when I talked to him yesterday he sounded really discouraged. So I called him at lunchtime yesterday and asked him if he would like to have dinner with me tonight and see me this weekend. And of course he said, "yes". I figured you have to skip class at least once in your life, right? :) And cheering Jared up is worth the downgrade from an A to a B any day.

* I have unwillingly skipped a Friday of classes for my cousins wedding three years ago. I also have skipped one Friday lab for the women's retreat, but I okayed it with the professor and he said we weren't doing anything in class other than going over homework problems. I don't count either of those as skipping class.

For the many of you that have asked to see Jared's house I post this picture.
I was telling him that I love pink dogwoods and I wished that we could have one someday. So he sent me a picture and said, "like this one?" Apparently Jared has had a pink dogwood in his yard since he moved in last May and I never noticed (in my defense I have only been over there four times and the tree wouldn't have had its flowers in bloom when I went).

So here is a picture of my adorable house-to-be!! And my lovely pink dogwood-to-be. So exciting. I can't wait to be able to wake up and look out my front window at this beautiful tree. Love love love. Isn't Jared's house adorable?!? I adore it. And he has planted a whole bunch of bushes and plants recently too so the front looks even better. :) Oh, and note the white handrail... I painted that with Anna's help.

I love Jared.

New favorite Britain's Got Talent act: Diversity

Classic Chariots of Fire. I love that song. wow. I love it. And the lead dancer is a physics major... so that is pretty much awesome!! And that little kid is adorable!! Oh, and the two guys backstage are hilarious at 3:13. I can't wait to see how they top this.

My final paper is off to Jared for proof reading. It will be bound and on my professors desk by Monday evening, Lord willing and the creek don't rise. :) YES!! I am off to go start my next paper and write some answers to my homework questions.

stats:
(because I would care about things like this... numbers are cool!!)
* 61 pages (not including the references, table of content, executive summary, title pages, etc)
* 209 paragraphs
* 1013 lines
* 10057 words
* 50304 characters (which means my average word length is more than 5 letters long)
* created January 13th
* first draft finished April 25th


To finish before graduation (countdown):
* three sets of homework
* one final to take
* a ten page single-spaced paper (6000 words)
* two powerpoint presentations
* two different labs to grade (48 labs in total)
* fifteen classes, 1125 minutes of class (18 hours and 45 minutes)
* one final to proctor
* one final to grade


27 days until graduation!
32 to perfect vision!!
77 days (11 weeks) until marriage!!!!!!

And happy 43rd month anniversary, Jared!! It has been a wonderful 43 months. I love you, dearly!

Check out this new blog.

http://chronicwarfare.blogspot.com/

Tonight I am going up to Odenton to see Michelle and eat pizza and watch movies... Last time I saw her was at my wedding shower back in March. I am so excited to get to see her again!!

Back in October of 2007 Michelle and I started watching Christian Bale movies. I am not really sure why, but now it is just the thing to do. We planned our first CBAD (Christian Bale appreciation day) while stuck in the back of a crowded SUV on the way up to an Orioles baseball game and while eating uncooked chicken fingers (GROSS) at the game. Michelle claims that these two events bonded our lives together. We hadn't really ever done anything together before that day. It was then that we realized that we both like green pepper and onion pizza and that our families never ordered that combination. So we decided that the main food of CBADs would be Ledos green peppers and onion pizza.

After that first CBAD was started hanging out more and going to the gym and cooking dinner together. Christian Bale movies are hard to come by these days since we have almost watched them all (American Psycho will never be part of any CBAD), but we usually start off by watching one of his movies and then we can watch something else. heh. We've watched some movies that are quite memorable (some good memories and some we would rather forget). It is always fun together with Michelle and take a break and relax. This year it has been a little harder to find time for Michelle because she graduated and live about 40 minutes away, but I think this is our 5th or 6th CBAD of the school year (that isn't too bad).

Oh, and it isn't a CBAD unless we eat an entire large Ledo's pizza for dinner and breakfast the next morning!! Lovely! Ledos is always an adventure as well. Life is great. I am going to miss having Michelle less than an hour away from me to hang out with once I move back to Salisbury, but she knows that my guest bedroom is always open for her. heh. I actually registered for the same quilt that is on her bed for my guest room; so she will feel right at home when she comes to visit. Long live Michelle, CBADs, HSM, and Ledos pizza!! Thankfully, there is a Ledos in Salisbury. :D

I miss being a part of Jared's life.

In the past two days I have written 7 pages of my research paper for graduation. That brings my total up to 18 pages (or 36 pages once I double space it). Double spacing the paper is one of the most exciting parts. I keep waiting to do it closer to the end so it will be so exciting. Woohoo. Last night I called Jared and, while he was marking up a copy of a new blueprint for a job he is starting soon, I marked up lab reports, highlighted useful sections of journal papers, and wrote a few sentences here and there for my paper. It was just nice to hear his voice every so often while I was working. I look forward to just BEING in the SAME place as he is. That will be so nice. Being apart for three years has been rough. Sigh. I am tired of it.

I look forward to missing Jared and realizing that all I have to do is walk into the next room to see him. I want to hear his wonderful sweet voice singing and whistling around the house. On tiring days full of mundane work I want to be able to see his smile, hear his laugh, and feel his warm hand in mine telling me that everything is going to be okay. I want to be able to eat dinner together instead of listening to each other describe our meals over speakerphone. On rainy days I want to just sit home and accomplish stuff around the house. When he gardens and fixes things around the house I want to be able to stick my head out the back door and tell him I love him. I just want to experience life in the same dimension and place as the person that I love the most!! I miss being a part of his life and I miss him being part of my world.

Being married will be wonderful and no one can convince me otherwise!

This video is incredible!! This is from Britain's got Talent. I love seeing the crowd's faces before and after she starts to sing. It is priceless. Plus, I love the song.

Click here to watch.

Last Chances to see Delirious...

June 14th - Long Island NY - free

August 6 - 8 - Hershey PA - free

September 4 - Frenchtown, NJ - prices come out in May (it is a festival)

Dad, I am thinking the festival sounds pretty neat. I think it is going to be 30 bucks for the festival, but you will get to see some other bands too. Last years line-up looked pretty awesome. You can see it by clicking HERE. It is better than going to a conference like the first two. Anyhow, think about it and let me know!! I definitely want to see them one more time before they stop touring. :)

God willing, I am:

* 43 days away from graduation

* 49 days away from perfect vision!!

* 93 days away from being Jared's little wife!


I scheduled my lasik surgery today. Sweet. I am having it done with the guy who did Tiger Wood's eyes. heh. He is really awesome. I met with him today and he is one of the nicest doctors that I have ever had to interact with. So happy! God is good. I'm very excited!

North Carolina

Men's Basketball Champions in 2009

* I remember watching the UNC game in 2005 (when they won the national championship). I think I might have watched it with Jared. heh. I know I watched the final four with Linnea (Jared was off singing in some competition where he was telling Hannah that he loved me) and we drank icees and my siblings made fun of me for being excited about mixing three flavors of icee together. heh. Good times!

So maybe big things happen in my life when UNC wins the national championship. Last time Jared asked me out and this time we are going to get married. Maybe be will have our first child the year they win their next championship. :)

They also won in 1982 -- which is the year before Jared was born and my parents were married... You could tie that in there somehow. In 1957 my Dad was born and without my Dad being born there would be no me. So that year is significant. And I really don't know how the year 1993 affected either of us. But UNC won that year too. Maybe I should just limit this analysis to the years that I have cared about UNC basketball. In that case, just read the first two paragraphs and move on.
Go Tar Heels!!

Wow. It is the end of March. I just finished my fourth book today at the gym. This is cutting it too close for me. I don't have time to really sum up any of them, but here is what I read this month. Oh, and I am running out of books to read so send me any books that you think I would enjoy!!! I need books. Or at least I need a better selection of books... I just have a few right now so I am going to have to read the ones that I have. I like choices.

* The Silent Boy - Lois Lowry
* The Great Divorce - C.S. Lewis
* The Scarlet Pimpernel
* Respectable Sins - Jerry Bridges

I've also finished 15/30 thank you notes and have written 6/50 pages of my main paper. I've read 9 journal articles in the past two days and I am working on two different homeworks and a case study. So, I don't know where the April books are going to fit in, but I am determined to find time for them. I can't give up now!

Oh, and thanks to everyone who was involved in my wedding shower. I felt so loved and special. It was better than I thought. Thanks! Planning it around my favorite foods was such a great idea!! I loved it. I will always remember it fondly, especially when I use my awesome new cookbook with all my recipes from everyone. Thank you thank you Aunt Suzanne, Hayley, and Sarah, Mom, and everyone else. :)

And to think, I even got notes from people that live far away from me. Thanks Hornors, Stef, and Sarah Foley! Everyone was so sweet to me. I didn't expect notes and presents from people that couldn't come. That almost made me cry. It was so great that even though they couldn't be there they still took the effort to make me feel so loved. I have my stack of cards sitting by my bed and I read them when I get discouraged. :) They remind me of how good God is to me. I am richly blessed with some great friends both at home and far away. I am looking forward to seeing ALL of you in July!

So far this weekend I have graded almost all my labs, helped Luke with math, gone to breakfast with Hannah and Elijah, tried on my wedding dress, and gone to dinner for Hope's birthday. ha. Coming home is such a distraction, but it is good. Seeing Hannah and little Elijah this morning put me in a much better mood than I was in yesterday. heh.

Off to go study for my midterm.