10 Months Married and Counting

So... long time no blog! Part of that is because we don't have internet access where we live out in the country for my lap top. I have internet access on my cell phone, but that screen is way too small to be writing blog posts. So I'm currently at the public library writing this long over due post.

So I've already been married for ten months! Where does the time go? Before you know it, my one year wedding anniversary will be here on Easter Sunday April 5, 2015. I'm looking forward to it. I'm also looking forward to this year and what the future holds. Of course it will be hard to top last year with our wedding, honeymoon, and starting our married lives together. But I'm sure God's got more good things in store for us.

We've learned so much about each other over these last ten months and grown closer as a couple than we ever had before. I love my husband and the Lord more and more each day. I've grown closer in my relationship to God over these last ten months as well. There's nothing quite like changing everything in your life all at once to really help you depend more on God than you ever have before.

I got married, moved, and changed my name. I've had to adjust to a new town, a new house, a new husband, new schedule challenges, new conflicts, new problems, new friends, old friends moving away, not getting to see old friends as often due to work and life being busy. It's a whole lot of new things all at once and it's hard to adjust at times.

Sometimes I feel like the rug has been pulled out from under me. I feel like I've been thrown out into the real world of married adult life and it is a lot of work. However, it is rewarding and comforting to know that I've always got God and my husband by my side to rely on, whenever I'm feeling down or overwhelmed by it all. It isn't always fun and games, but we do laugh and smile together every day.

Life can be hard and a lot of work whether you're single or married. But I wouldn't trade my married life for the world. We hope to start growing our family in the future, Lord willing of course, and it will be neat to see how God provides for all the details of that growth. We can't let our human minds get overwhelmed by this world and all its problems. We just have to trust that God will provide and make it all work out as only He can.

This is our favorite wedding photo of them all.

I'm Married Now!!!

That's right folks. I finally did it! I got married! On Saturday April 5, 2014 I got married to the love of my life and my best friend Mark. It was such a wonderful & emotional day. And it has been a busy whirlwind adjusting to our new lives together as a married couple ever since. Sometimes I feel I have to stop and catch my breath because it all goes by so fast!

We have already been married now for 3 months! I still can't believe it. We had a great wedding & reception & had a blast on our honeymoon in Gatlinburg, Tennessee. I didn't want the honeymoon & vacation to end. But like all things in life, it must come to an end at some point. Now life is back to normal, the new married normal that is. And I often find myself feeling bored and hungry for more fun now that a lot of the fun & excitement of the wedding & honeymoon is over.

I feel like I've been bit by the fun & travel bug ever since summer hit. And nothing seems to quench my thirst for fun. No amount of ice cream, walks outside, movie watching, swimming, or eating water melon seems to help. My only hope is that a trip to my favorite local water park called Holiday World & Splashing Safari in Santa Claus, Indiana with my hubby will do the trick. Weather permitting of course, we hope to go there very soon for a day of fun & make a weekend trip out of it.

We also want to go back to the Indiana State Fair this year in August. We went last year together and had a lot of fun & are looking forward to it. The summer is going by so fast & we hope to fit in all the fun we can before it's over. So while the adjustment to married life has been difficult at times, it has been good overall & I wouldn't change it at all. We still look forward to seeing each other every day & discovering together what the next day will bring.

God knows what plans He has in store for us & we are looking forward to a long happy future together. As our "couple" verse says in Jeremiah 29:11, "For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." We love that verse so much that we have part of it engraved on our wedding bands.

Here's to spending a lifetime together honey, I love you!

Top 10 Worst Dates Ever

Since my wedding is fast approaching, I thought for fun I would take a walk down memory lane about my top ten worst dates ever. So please enjoy and have a good laugh while I count down the top ten worst dates I've ever had in no particular order:

1. The guy who bought me a dozen roses on the second date, then never called me again. (Good times. Ha ha.)

2. The guy who snuck me into his basement to watch a movie & didn't want his parents to know he had a girl in the house. (I was like you didn't tell your parents I was coming over? What are we in high school? Thanks. Ha ha.)

3. The guy who on the fifth date said he liked me enough to date me, but not to be boyfriend and girlfriend. (So he didn't really like me THAT much. Ha ha.)

4. The first date I ever had, was with a guy who was so quiet, talking to him was like pulling teeth. I was so glad when our date was over. (He went in for a hug at the end of the date & I was thinking, "Really?")

5. The guy who on our first date, when we went to McDonald's to order some food off the dollar menu, made me pay. (I know I'm a cheap date who likes a good deal, but that's not the way to impress a girl.)

6. The guy who lived seven hours away so I took a road trip with my brother to his town to meet his family & friends. We stayed at his friends house which was the filthiest & stinkiest house I had ever spent the night at. (The people had locked their dogs inside all day, so the house smelled like animal...  well you know. All I could think was, "You let your girlfriend & her brother sleep here?" Ha ha.)

7. The guy who I had to break up with via text message because I could never get a hold him by phone or in person. He replied, "Ok." Then he later lied & made up stuff about me on facebook & said I had cheated on him. (How nice of him.)

8. The guy who always fell asleep on our dates while we watched movies on tv. I would ask if he was tired & wanted to go home & he would say, "I wasn't asleep, I'm fine." (SURE...then why are you falling asleep? Ha ha.)

9. The guy who broke up with me after we had one disagreement. (I wanted to work it out, but he wouldn't talk to me anymore after that.)

10. The guy who called me before our first date, talked to me for a few minutes, then he sent me a text message & said he didn't like the sound of my voice & had to cancel our date. (That's the lamest line I have ever heard to get out of a date. I mean I don't sound like Fran Drescher or anything. Ha ha.)

What's the best worst date I ever had? The guy who stood me up on our second date, which led me to call up my now fiance & ask if he was free to go on our first date. He said yes & he said that maybe that guy stood me up for a reason. Now I know what that reason was...so I could meet & fall in love with the love of my life... Mark! I can't wait to marry you in just over a month! I love you.

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year! (The 2013 Year In Review)

I can not believe it is the last day of 2013 already! This year has just flown by! But I do remember at certain points it seemed to be dragging on and going very slow. Well no longer! This year has been filled with so many great blessings and changes, I don't even know where to begin.

I guess I will just talk about the overall theme of the year which comes down to one person: my fiance Mark. He came into my life late in 2012, asked me to marry him in early 2013, I said yes, we've been getting to know each other even better as we've been planning a wedding since mid 2013, & I will be marrying him in spring of 2014!

I'm so excited to be entering the next phase of my life with him by my side, as we walk through changes, challenges, and blessings together. I hope we can emmulate the love and salvation of Christ through us to others through our upcoming marriage. I hope and pray that we will become the people Christ desires us to be as husband and wife. I hope and pray that he teaches us how to be a good wife and a good husband & how to manage our lives together as one flesh, one unit, & one family.

I know God has great things in store for us despite the challenges that may lie ahead, but I know that through it all, God has a will & a plan. He has a plan to provide for us & to conform us into His righteousness lived out in these earthly bodies & in this fallen world. If we only make an impact on one person in our lifetimes, at least that is one person we can show Christ's love to & make an impact for God's holy kingdom, just like He's made an impact in our lives.

I look forward to marrying my best friend, the man of God, whom I love & I look forward to all the blessings that are to come in 2014! Have a Happy & Blessed New Year Everyone!

P.S. I had a wonderful birthday in November. And we had a wonderful Thanksgiving & Christmas season & got to visit with both of our families a lot & enjoyed all the food, gifts, & get togethers that the holidays bring.

November Already?!

I can't believe it's November already! This year has been flying by and it's been a whirlwind ride that is for sure. So much has happened it's hard for me to know where to start. I guess I will pick up where my story left off ha ha. Now my memory is a little fuzzy on the exact details and time period of everything that has happened since June, but I am going to do my best.

In July my fiance Mark & I celebrated July 4, 2013 with a cookout at his family's house and some of my family came too. Then Mark & I went to another cookout at some friends of his family. Then we went & watched fireworks with my family downtown. I also watched some other fireworks with my family on July 3, 2013. Overall, it was a fun holiday.

The first weekend in July, my fiance Mark & I took a day trip to McCormick's Creek State Park in southern Indiana near Ellettsville. We had a picnic in the park. Then we went for a hike down the hillside, to the waterfalls, through the creek, & underneath the waterfalls. It was beautiful, scenic, fun, & romantic. Afterwards, we ate dinner at delicious barbeque restaurant & then got ice cream. It was a very fun weekend day trip.

Then a few weekends later, my dad, my cousin Brian, my fiance Mark, and I all took a trip to Holiday World & Splashing Safari in Santa Claus, Indiana. We went to the water park there & had a blast. We rode all of the new water slides and I even converted my cousin into a water park lover like me! He went back several more times after our trip there because he just couldn't get enough fun! We had a blast & I enjoyed my mini-vacation for the day. :-)

In August, the wedding planning really began. My dad gave me a first payment towards the wedding costs and we booked our wedding photographer. We also started a wedding registry. And started planning out other wedding details. We also attended a wedding of some friends of ours & had a lot of fun and got more ideas to use at our wedding. We also went to the Indiana State fair & ate a lot fair food ha ha.

In September, we booked our wedding DJ and began picking out the music we want to be played at the reception. I also got some free wedding decorations & flowers from friends of mine who had recently gotten married. We also bought a washer to go with the free dryer someone had already given us so now have a washer & dryer for when we get married. Also, we had a free engagement photo session by my sister aka the photographer. God keeps providing for us & it's great to see. :-)

On October 5, 2015 we had our 1 year anniversary of when we had started dating. We visited some of my relatives who were visiting Indy from out of town. Then we went to see a matinee movie. And then we ended the evening by going out to a nice dinner at Cheesecake Factory. We even got dessert with our meals and it was delicious! We had a great anniversary.

On October 13, 2013 we went to the annual church hayride just like we did last year and had a blast. We ate food at the cookout, roasting marshmallows around a campfire, & went on a hayride around the farm. Mark also enjoyed playing football with a group of people there. It was a lot of fun and I'm looking forward to it next year as well.

The wedding was 6 months away at that point. So throughout October we booked a wedding videographer and did cake tasting at a local bakery. I also went to a bridal store with my bridesmaids, our grandmothers, my aunt, & future mother in law to try on & check out some bridesmaid dresses. I liked the dresses even though the prices seemed a little high & the service wasn't that great. I checked out some other places & even bought some clearance dresses from the mall which I thought would work but, soon discovered that they wouldn't. So after all that I decided to go back to the bridal store we had originally all gone to and go with the dresses I really wanted.

Also, in October I got a new job & I love it! God really worked out all the details and the timing of it. I'm learning so much all the time and I look forward to becoming a certified pharmacy technician very soon. While it has been an adjustment from one job to another & a lot of changes, it has been good overall. I know I'm where I'm suppose to be. :-)

That brings me to November. This month I bought fake flowers for the wedding and made my bouquets and so far one boutonniere. I also tried on my wedding dress again with a new bustier I ordered & it fit much better with that. I have also ordered a better hoop skirt to go underneath the dress & a little jacket to match the dress. Those should arrive later this month.

Other things to look forward to this month are: my birthday on Nov. 22, Thanksgiving, & continuing working on wedding things. The wedding is now less than 5 months away and will be here before you know it! But I'm looking forward to it. It will be a lot of fun! And I can't wait to marry my best friend. :-) God has already worked so many things out in my life and I know that He will continue to.

Summer is Finally Here!

It's official! Summer is here! Yesterday was the first official day of summer and so far it has been a blast. So far I've gone swimming, done gardening, gone walking, had ice cream, and made s'mores in a bonfire. I love summer and this is gonna be a great one. I get to spend it with my fiance and make some fun memories together. We've already made some and plan to make more soon.

On Thursday June 20, 2013 we celebrated Mark's 28th birthday. We ate at Orange Leaf frozen yogurt shop, went swimming, visited his family, ate dinner at Famous Dave's BBQ Restaurant, then had ice cream at Mrs. Curl's with my aunt who met us there. Then we left, hung out, talked, and laughed about all the fun we had on his birthday. We have so much fun together and always crack each other up. It's great to have a best friend and a fiance all in one. :-)

Mark & I at Orange Leaf eating frozen yogurt on June 20, 2013.

Tomorrow we are going to celebrate his birthday again with the rest of his family and go swimming again. Then next weekend we are planning to go to holiday world if the weather is nice. I'm also looking forward to the 4th of July. I hope he can meet more of my relatives if they all get together to celebrate with a cookout and then go watch fireworks. Yep, this summer is going to be great.

Ready for Summer Fun!

It's still technically spring time, but I am in the mood for summer and all the fun that summer brings. Cookouts, ice cream, swimming, water parks, regular parks, watermelon, getting tan, gardening, walking, hiking, biking, bonfires, fishing, camping, etc. I plan to do a lot or most of those things this summer with my fiance Mark. This will be the first summer that we've spent together and we both hope it's going to be the best, most fun summer ever.

Here is a little preview to some of the fun we've already had to kickoff the summer season:

 

Last Sunday we went to Riley Park. The same park we went to on our very first date last September. We ate ice cream, laughed, talked, and took a walk together. We had a lot of fun. I have more pictures to upload but for some reason blogger is not letting me upload them right now lol. Maybe I will try again later. Mark and I plan to have a fun summer together. We are even are planning to go to the Splashing Safari Water Park at Holiday World next month. Yep, should be a great summer. :-)

Spring is Finally Here!

That's right folks spring is finally here! Grass is turning green, flowers are blooming, trees are blooming, ants are invading my house, it's warm and sunny out much of the time, and I'm loving every minute of it! Well except for the ants invading my house part lol haha. April has been a good month so far.

On April 5, 2013 Mark and I both took the day off work to celebrate our six month anniversary of when we first started dating. We had a blast that day. We went to lunch at Red Lobster which was delicious. Then went to the canal downtown to walk around on a beautiful sunny day and we took some pictures while there. It was the best six month anniversary I've ever had and it was my first. This is the longest relationship I've ever had and I look forward to spending the rest of my life with Mark. He truly is a wonderul, Godly man, and such a blessing to me in my life.

Here are some pictures of us at the canal on our 6 month anniversary on April 5, 2013. (Which will also be our wedding day this time next year.)

 

This last one is my favorite. :-)

 

I've started some of my wedding planning and I'm in the beginning stages with all of that. But so far it's going well. I also am working on studying to get my pharmacy technician's certification (license) and I just paid the very last of my school loans off! So I set goals and so far with God's help I am meeting them. It's been a great start to spring and I know that only good things are to come over this next year. I can't wait to see what all God will do. :-)



Blessings Pouring Down

So many good things are happening that I feel as if my cup is running over with blessings right now. :-)

Over the weekend we had our last premarital class and it has been such a blessing. It's been a great learning experience and we met nine great couples who have been an encouragement to us throughout the class. We have exchanged information with them all and hope to keep in contact with them. Someone might even start to lead a couples bible study/small group with them to build upon those foundations of friendship we formed in the class.

Mark and I had a fun day together on Sunday. Before our last class we got donuts to celebrate completing the seven week course. Then after our last class and church, we went out to lunch to and then went shopping. We had a fun "us day" to unwind from all the busyness we've had going on lately.

My Sundays are going to be more free now since I decided through prayer and God's leading to leave the singing group. It was becoming very stressful to keep up with it amidst my busy work schedule and still find time to have a day of rest while off work. Even though it was hard to give it up, I know it was the right thing to do as my life is constantly changing and evolving right now. Now I can use my Sundays off to honor God by going to church, resting, and spending time with Mark, our families, and friends which will be nice.

So my other great blessing to share with you all is that yesterday at work, I got the job offer for the pharmacy tech-in-training position! And I accepted it! And will be getting a raise later this month! This is such a blessing and huge answer to prayer! It feels so great to finally feel like you are reaching a goal with God's help. When He promises to provide, He really does hold tight to those promises.

Valentine's Day was also a blessing which I haven't gotten to share about on here just yet. I spent the whole day with my fiance and it was a blast. First, we went to Lincoln Square Pancake House and had a V-day brunch which was delicious. Then, we went to my sister's house to wish my youngest niece a happy first birthday. Then, we went back to my house and got all dressed up to go out to dinner. My brother took some nice engagement pictures of us in the backyard before we left.

 Our 1st Valentine's Day together Feb. 14, 2013.

 Mark & I all dressed up.

 The gorgeous ring.

This one is my favorite. 

We enjoy laughing together so much.

Next, we went out to dinner at a really fancy seafood restaurant downtown. He surprised with the dinner and with a rose already there waiting for me. After dinner, he surprised me with taking me out for ice cream for dessert at Coldstone Creamery. Then, we went back to his house and watched a movie. All in all it was the best Valentine's Day we both have ever had.

Mark & I at dinner with the lovely rose he gave me.

We have been enjoying getting to know each other and our families better and I look forward to all the blessings that are to come in the future. God is good all the time, and all the time God is good. :-) May your upcoming St. Patrick's Day this Sunday and first day of spring next week be happy and full of hope for the good things to come throughout this year. God bless and keep on dancing with joy for all of God's blessings to come. :-)

The Best Valentine's Day Ever!!!

This is going to be the best Valentine's Day ever! And my early Valentine's Day surprise was wonderful. My boyfriend Mark kept dropping hints about wanting to propose (whether he meant or not lol). I figured out pretty early on that he wanted to "pop the question" on Valentine's Day. It kind of become common knowledge to me & those I talked to about it, "Well when he proposes on Valentine's Day...I think he's going to propose on Valentine's Day...on Valentine's Day I will probably be getting engaged." It kind of took some of the fun & excitement out of it to be honest.

So when Mark then asked last Saturday night if I would be disappointed if he didn't propose on Valentine's Day I said no but maybe a little. Then I started thinking, if I know him well & I think I do, he's either try to psych me out so he can still propose on V-day or propose on another day. And knowing him I knew he was too excited to wait until after V-day. So I had it narrowed down to either the next day, Sunday, or today, Valentine's Day. Then I thought wow I could be getting engaged tomorrow (Sunday).

And to my surprise and delight my boyfriend Mark proposed to me on Sunday, February 10, 2013 at around 7:15am. I was still surprised even though I had a feeling it was coming, but I was so excited. He had mentioned to me that he had a surprise for me (not related to V-day). When I came inside he gave me a box of Thin Mints Girl scout cookies & said that is your first surprise. That's when I knew what the second surprise was going to be. :-)

He asked me to sit down on the couch. Then he went & grabbed something & put it behind his back. Then he said these words, "Four months ago, I said a phrase (to you) that changed our lives forever, 'I love you'. And it was the second happiest moment of my life. I want this to be the first." Then he got down on one knee & asked, "Will you marry me?" And I said, "Yes."

He then pulled out a stuffed puppy dog from behind his back that was holding a little, red, heart-shaped box that said,"I love you," on it. He opened the box & a beautiful, sparkly ring was inside. He must have put it on my finger at some point because I was so excited it was kind of a blur to me ha ha. I just remember looking down at my hand & thinking how beautiful the ring looked on it. Then we hugged each other & said we loved each other. It was one of my happiest moments & definitely one I will never forget. I'm glad he decided to surprise me instead of asking on V-day as originally planned ha ha. :-)

God has truly blessed me with a wonderful fiance' & a wonderful future ahead. Our couple's verse that we picked for ourselves as a part of the premarital class we are taking at my church is Jeremiah 29:11. It reads, "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord,"plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." I am holding fast to this promise in God's word. I'm fully expecting it to come to pass, over the course of the next year as we prepare and plan for our future together.

I know that with His strength, all things are possible. As it says in Philippians 4:13, "I can do all this through him who gives me strength." As long as He is at the center of our relationship & our future, it will be full of strength and joy.

Marriage doesn't have to be an end to an enjoyable life, as many today view marriage to be. Marriage can be a wonderful beginning to a life full of joy, blessings, and enrichment if we are committed to God first, and our spouse second. Please don't let your view of marriage become skewed by the negative view the rest of the world has about it. God created marriage and has great plans for it, if you will have faith, hope, & trust in His ways.

May your Valentine's Day be one filled with God's awesome love, for you and for us all. Happy Valentine's Day! And Happy 1st Birthday to my youngest niece! Auntie Crystal loves you! And Happy Anniversary to my job, where I've been for 4 years today (yes romantic I know lol ha ha)! And Happy Valentine's Day to my fiance' Mark, the love of my life. :-) May it be a day that we never forget. :-)

Great Things Happening, Great Things to Come

So many great things have been happening since my last post and I know more great things are to come in the future. In the last two weeks God has done just what I said He would if I believed and had faith in Him. He worked out the new job possibility & now it is about to become a reality! I got the job offer to become a pharmacy associate and I'm so excited! I also applied for the pharmacy tech-in-training permit with the state, per the pharmacist's advice last week. Then just today I got the congratulations email that said my permit was issued! Woohoo! I start this Sat. in the pharmacy and I'm so pumped!

Another great thing that is happening is that the Christian singing group I'm in called Special Moments has been accepted to sing at a local Christian Coffeehouse & Ice Cream Shop called His Place. It features local Christian bands & singers on weekends. We will be singing there on Sat. Feb. 16, 2013 from 7-9pm & I'm so excited! It will be a great outreach to the community & it might even become a regular thing for our music group.

Mark & I are doing very well. We have been enjoying getting to know each other & each others families better. I hope he can meet more of my friends in the future whenever time & schedules allow haha. He is very special to me & I want everyone else to meet him & get to know why I think he's so great. I guess you could say he's another "great thing" I have going on in my life right now lol haha. And I hope it never ends. :-)

God has been doing so much & teaching me so much. The more I seek Him, the more He reveals about Himself & about me. I am learning more about His perfect will for my life & how He wants to refine me to become who He wants me to be. He wants me to live out His will for my life & not my will for my life. The more I surrender to His will, the more joyful, blessed, amazed, & thankful I become for all the ways He's using me more than I could ever think or imagine.

As it says in Ephesians 3:20-21,

"²⁰ Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, ²¹ to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen."

This is my prayer for all of you who may be reading this blog. :-)

To Him be the glory forever & ever! Amen.

Happy New Year!

Goodbye 2012. Hello 2013! I'm still getting used to writing & saying 2013. I keep wanting to say & write 2012 instead since that's what I'm used to haha. So the week of Christmas turned out to be great. On Sun. Dec. 23, 2012 I got to meet & celebrate Christmas early with Mark's mom's side of the family. It was a lot of fun & I felt so thankful to become a part of their Christmas celebration. His relatives were all hilarious & made me feel like I fit right in.

On Fri. Dec. 21, 2012 (The Not So End of the World Day haha) I visited with my aunt & grandma. Then I went to my nephew's 3rd birthday party & had a great time celebrating with family. Later that day my cousin invited me to go swing dancing with her & her boyfriend that night. So I drug my brother along & my aunt & uncle came too & another cousin. We all had a great time & it was good to finally go out dancing again. I hadn't gone swing dancing in at least over a year! lol.

On Mon. Dec. 24, 2012 (Christmas Eve) Mark came to my aunt's house & got to meet my mom's side of the family. He also got to meet my cousin who I'm very close with & her new boyfriend. Yes, we both brought our new boyfriends to Christmas Eve! A big step I know lol. They both seemed to fit right in though, which was great. We even went to a midnight mass (well 11pm technically) together which was very neat.

On Tues. Dec. 25, 2012 (Christmas Day) Mark had to work. So my dad, brother, & I took all of our Christmas gifts for my nieces & nephews & went to my sisters house. We visited & the kids opened up all of their gifts. Then we all went to my aunt & uncle's house on my dad's side of the family to celebrate Christmas day with my dad's relatives. We had a good time.

Before I new it Christmas was over & work returned to normal for the most part which was nice. Then it was time for New Year's Eve on Mon. Dec. 31, 2012. I rang it in with Mark by my side, some sparkling grape juice, cheese ball & crackers, and a kiss at midnight. Which was a first for me since I have never had a boyfriend around New Year's. It was probably the best Christmas & New Year's I have ever had. :-)

So now it's 2013 & it's already off to a great start! The job opportunity I had talked about previously which didn't work out at the time, might be happening soon! I am praying that it all works out & if it does that means I can move to a different area that I can't wait to be a part of. God is really doing some mighty, powerful things in my life right now & I'm so thankful for it. If you just have faith & believe that God can do great things in your life, He will. My only resolutions are to trust, believe, surrender, obey, and have great faith in God's promises all throughout this upcoming year.

So Happy New Year to All! May God bless you & teach you His promises to you in this new year.

'Tis the Season...to Be Jolly!

"Fa lalalala lala lala!" Yes I just sang a Christmas carol online hahaha. Well so far this Christmas season has been very busy, yet very merry. I have gone downtown with friends and family to see the Christmas tree, made Christmas cookies & candies to give people, bought gifts, wrapped gifts, exchanged gifts, put up & decorated the Christmas tree, put the outdoor Christmas lights up, written & mailed Christmas cards, & gone Christmas caroling at the nursing home (& had a blast singing there last Sunday). Yes it has been busy, but I have been trying to enjoy it along the way too.

So last Sunday my boyfriend Mark & I exchanged Christmas gifts. And guess what? We both gave each other the same photo of us in a picture frame! I opened his gift first & starting cracking up because I knew I had printed the same photo & also put it in a frame along with his gifts. What are the odds? I thought that was very cute and sweet. I guess great minds really do think alike. ;-)

We then went to church together which was nice. Then he came with me to the nursing home to watch me sing Christmas carols to the residents there with my singing group. 

 

My sister also came with her three older daughters & everyone had fun singing along to the music & listening to the kids ring the jingle bells.

Later, we went to my sister's house & visited with her & the kids & had fun. I also gave them some of my Christmas cookies & they scarfed them all down joyfully.

Me & my youngest niece Adelise in our matching Christmas outfits lol.

We are so cute together. :-)

My boyfriend Mark & my niece Adelise. Adorable!

So last week I made five types of  Christmas goodies to give people as gifts: peanut blossom cookies, pina colada cookies, Mexican wedding cake cookies, peanut butter cornflake candy, & puppy chow. It all came out delicious. But I sure am glad to be done baking all of my Christmas cookies & candy though, it's a lot of work! I finished it up over the weekend & now I'm scrambling to give them away before they start to dry out lol. I didn't have to do all this work, but I wanted to. Christmas just doesn't feel the same without all the Christmas cheer and goodies.

 Mexican Wedding Cake Cookies.

Pina Colada Cookies.

 

Peanut Blossom Cookies.

I am looking forward to the hustle & bustle to die down at work. Since I work in retail it's been more stressful lately, but the extra cash in my paycheck I got tonight was nice to see. I've been able to pick up extra hours lately which has been a blessing, among many other blessings I've been receiving lately. I'm looking forward to upcoming Christmas parties with family & friends & ringing in the new year too.

So what are some of your Christmas blessings that you are most thankful for lately? And what are some of your favorite Christmas traditions or memories?

God bless. Merry Christmas. And Happy New Year to All!

Very Thankful For...

So I turned out to be right. My previous post did turn out to be my last post as a 25 year-old. As of Thanksgiving Day Nov. 22, 2012 I turned 26 years old. And I had some great birthday celebrations. On Wed. Nov. 21 I was off work so I started out the day with a delicious birthday breakfast with my family at Lincoln Square Pancake House.

Later on that night I had a yummy birthday dinner at Texas Roadhouse with some of my good friends and my cousin. I even got the waiters to embarrass me by telling the whole restaurant it was my birthday and everyone in the place yelled, "Yee haw!" to me. Hahaha. It was fun.

On Thanksgiving day aka my birthday Nov. 22, I got off work at 3pm. After work, I went to my aunt's house to eat Thanksgiving dinner and celebrate the holiday and my birthday with my dad's side of the family. Afterwards, I went to my boyfriend's parent's house to eat dessert, celebrate my birthday, and take part in their "Thankful Basket" family tradition.

This is how a thankful basket works. Each day of the two weeks before thanksgiving you write something you are thankful for on a piece of paper. You then fold it up & put it into the basket. Once Thanksgiving arrives, you gather the family together, pass the basket around, and each pick out a note and read it until all the notes have been read. For extra fun, you can also try to guess who wrote what. It helps if you can recognize everyone's hand-writing too haha.

I really enjoyed taking part in the thankful basket tradition with Mark's family and I think it's a great tradition to have. It reminds us of what the holiday season is about: giving thanks to God for the many blessing and lessons He gives us in this life. Right now I'm thankful for so many things that I think I will have to make a list here for you all to read.

What I am very thankful for during this Thanksgiving and Christmas season:

• My salvation & personal relationship with Jesus Christ.
• My wonderful boyfriend Mark who is such a blessing and encouragement to me. :-)
• My wonderful family.
• My wonderful friends from work, church, and every where else in between. Also to my friends who are my family in Christ.
• All the ways God provides for me: financially, with food, with shelter, spiritually, emotionally, physically, etc.
• All the ways He uses me to serve Him through: The Christian singing group I'm in that sings at the nursing home, the Christian artists group who supports, encourages, & provides great fellowship, the small group girls Bible study I'm in who are always there for me, & the many other ways God uses me to encourage & witness to others.
• For my life & being able to serve Him everyday that He blesses me with air to breathe.

I hope you all have a great month of Christmas celebrations. Just remember that "Jesus is the reason for the season." God bless. And remember to keep: being thankful, running, dancing, singing, laughing, and loving others during this holiday season.

What are you thankful for during this Holiday season?

Happy Holidays...

I had a great Halloween and I'm looking forward to Thanksgiving and my birthday which is on the same day. I love the holiday season and I'm glad it has officially begun. I went to haunted house with some friends, passed out candy to treat-or-treaters, and went to a Halloween costume party with my boyfriend. We went as Popeye and Olive Oyl and had a great time.

I'm looking forward to celebrating the holidays with my boyfriend, family, and friends by my side. Who knows this might be my last post as a 25-year-old! Haha. I will write a longer post next time when I have more to share. Until then dance, laugh, live, and love! God bless. :-)

The Perfect Day

Since most of my post is positive I will get the disappointing news out of the way. Just in the last few weeks I found out that the job position I thought God had opened up just for me closed. Yes God closed one door of opportunity in my career path. However, I know that He will open up a window somewhere else, at some point. And I'm looking forward to that. In other news, God is answering prayers in other areas and that is wonderful.

My relationship with my wonderful boyfriend Mark is going well and I'm loving every minute of it. Two Sundays ago we got to spend the whole day together and it was great! I went to church with him and his family, went to his family's house to eat lunch and watch the Colts game, and then went to a church cookout and hayride. We had a blast and the weather was perfect. In fact the whole day was perfect. I will never forget that day. :-)

Here's a picture of Mark & I at the church hayride on Oct. 14, 2012.

Also, I had a great time yesterday and today hanging out with my sister minus her five children. It was nice to have some one-on-one quality sister time and to have some fun. Yesterday we celebrated my birthday a month early by doing something we've wanted to for the last five years. I love touring old historic houses and yesterday we toured the President Benjamin Harrison house in downtown Indianapolis.

Then we each ate a yummy cupcake at 111 Cakery on 16th Street downtown. I had a pumpkin cupcake with cream cheese icing and she had a turtle cupcake. It was delicious. We ate dinner at a Peruvian restaurant in Fountain Square called Mama Irma's and it was awesome. I had cilantro rice with chicken and vegetables and fried plantains on the side. Later on, we went to Burlington Coat Factory where I found some much needed new purple slippers for only $6.99 and a cute headband for only $0.98! I love a bargain.

Today we watched a movie called October Baby at my house. It was a really touching story about a 19 year old girl who found out she was adopted and set out to find her birth mother and where she came from. She also learned that she had been born out of a failed abortion attempt and that she had had a twin brother who died as a baby. It was a tearjerker, but it was also very encouraging, joyful, and had some good comic relief in it as well. I highly recommend it.

My music practices have been going well and singing last week at the nursing home went great again. I get so much joy and encouragement from singing to the people there. And so do they. They are always so thankful when we come and they always say that they look forward to us coming back. I look forward to singing to them next month about Thanksgiving and about Christmas in December as well.

I'm also excited about some fun fall activities I have coming up in the next few weeks. I'm going to a haunted house this weekend and a Halloween party next week. There are good things to come ahead and I'm thankful and blessed to enjoy it all. Thank you Lord. Until next time...dance, laugh, live, and love. :-)

Pleasantly Surprised

So since my last post on here I've had: two more singing practices, celebrated my brother's 22nd birthday, seen my nieces and nephew sing in front of church during church service, and had two more dates with the nice guy that I mentioned in my previous post. Each date we go on, is better than the last one we went on. He is a very funny, smart, cute, honest, and sweet Christian guy. I feel very blessed to have met him and am enjoying getting to know him better each day.

We have fun when we hang out and really enjoy each others' company even if we are just talking or playing cards together. We had the best date yet last night. He made me dinner, fully furnished with delicious food and drink, candlelight, and even some Kenny G music (per my suggestion ha ha). It was better than any five star restaurant you could eat at, because I knew it was from the heart. We had some great conversations and a great connection.

We even took a little personality quiz for fun to see how compatible our personalities are. And we seem to be pretty compatible and be hitting it off pretty well. Early this morning, he asked if I thought we were becoming more than just friends. I said yes.

He said, "I think I have a girlfriend now. What do you think?" I responded sarcastically, "Really who is she?" Haha. Then I said, "I think you might have a girlfriend now." Then I asked, "Does that mean that I have a boyfriend now?" And he said, "I would say so." So as of today, we have both decided to pursue a dating relationship with one another. And I'm pretty excited about it. :-)

I'm excited to see where the Lord takes me in the future. I'm also excited to see what doors He will open in my career, dating relationship, serving opportunities, friendships, and in the pursuits of my passions and dreams. May the Lord establish my plans and steps! Not my will, but His be done.

As it says in Proverbs 16: 1-3 & 9:

"1 To humans belong the plans of the heart,
    but from the Lord comes the proper answer of the tongue.

² All a person’s ways seem pure to them,
    but motives are weighed by the Lord.

³ Commit to the Lord whatever you do,
    and he will establish your plans.
⁹ In their hearts humans plan their course,
    but the Lord establishes their steps."

Stood Up, But Not Standing Down

So in case the title of this post hasn't given you a hint as to my topic yet already, this post will involve my new blog theme of dating. Yes it's been a busy week and a half since my last post, but I will quickly bring you up to speed.

On Friday Sept. 14, I went to a play with the Christian artists group couple I told you about in the last post. One of the girls in the group who likes to act was acting in the play Arsenic and Old Lace. It was a hilarious play! After seeing it I really want to rent the original 1940's movie version on Netflix sometime which had Cary Grant & Boris Karloff in it, if I'm not mistaken.

On Sat. Sept. 15, I relaxed at home most of the day and then went to the Beech Grove Fall Festival that night with my family. I was suppose to have a first date with a guy I met online that night but he texted me an hour before we were suppose to meet at the bowling alley and said he couldn't make it. At least he let me know though that he was going to stand me up. I prefer courtesy to none at all. We both decided that the fact that he lives an hour and a half a way, was too far apart anyway.

On Sun. Sept. 16, I sang at the nursing home for the first time with the music outreach group I'm now a part of. I really enjoyed it! The residents in the audience were so responsive and most of them sang along, smiled, clapped, and one elderly gentleman even said several times, "Good job guys!" It was a very encouraging and uplifting experience. And afterwards we got to talk to a few of the residents and they were very supportive of our singing and thankful for us being there. God really is working through this music outreach group!

On Tues. Sept. 18, I had a fun girls night out with two good friends of mine from work. We ate at a yummy Mexican place for dinner, got frozen custard, and then visited at my friend's house. We had a nice time visiting and catching up. Later on, we even got pumpkin spice lattes at Starbucks. I've been in a pumpkin spice mood lately with the cooler fall weather we've been having.

On Wed. Sept. 19, I was suppose to have a second date with a seemingly nice guy. We were suppose to meet at 2pm to play putt putt at a local putt putt place. When 2:15-2:20 rolled around and he had not yet returned my call or text I decided I wasn't going to wait any longer. I was hungry anyways so I went and got some lunch. Stood up for a second time in less than a week. That was fun haha.

As I was eating my food in my car it dawned on me that another guy I had been talking to, whom I had met online, but had not yet met in person was also off work that day. I texted him and asked if he would like to hangout since my other date had canceled. He said sure and it was a beautiful day so I drove and picked him up. We went to a local park and swung on the swings and talked.

Then we went to Starbucks, I had a delicious pumpkin spice latte, he had a salted caramel hot chocolate, and we played Uno with the Uno cards he had brought. All in all it was a better date experience than the other one that had happened earlier in that day. So even though I was stood up, I did not and am not standing down. Just when the Enemy thinks he has you discouraged in life, God likes to prove Him wrong and encourage us all and lift us up all over again.

Today Sun. Sept. 23, I had singing practice with my music outreach group, ate at Olive Garden for dinner with my dad and his girlfriend, then went for a 2.5 mile walk to the park with my brother. It was a beautiful day/evening for it and it felt good to burn some calories. I need to start getting back into more indoor exercise as it gets cooler out, but until the weather gets too cold out I still prefer working out outside lol.

I may not know what God has in store for me in the future, but I know He's got some good plans for me. His plans way are better than anything I can ask for or imagine. As in says in Ephesians 3:20-21, "Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen." May He do more for us all, more than we could ever ask or imagine.

Until next time...walk on, sing on, date on, and don't stand down!

God is Good!

This week has been an amazing testimony to the faithfulness of God when you fully trust Him with every area of your life.

On Sunday, I had a good time of communication with God and I re-surrendered all of the areas of my life into His control and not my own. I told Him whatever He wanted to do with my life, He could. That includes my finances, my dreams, my passions, my relationships, everything. Not my will, but His be done.

On Monday, I finally had the interview for the possible new career path I had mentioned in my last post. And even though the other position I had applied for had just been filled over the weekend, God made a way and created a new position just for me! In the next few months I will be able to transition into this new position, in a new area, at my current job and I'm very excited about it! It will be more mentally challenging, a better use of my skills, and it will pay a little better too, which are all answers to prayer!

On Tuesday, I met with a young, married, Christian couple who I found on meetup.com. They lead a Christian artists group, a Christian artists Bible study, and a Christian praise band among other things. They are passionate about bringing other Christian artists together for fellowship and encouragement to others. I had a great time meeting and getting to know them better and they invited me to a local play that one of the actors in the group will be performing in on Friday night! I'm excited to get to know them better and meet other Christian artists like myself in the near future.

On Wednesday, I went for a 1 mile run around my neighborhood. It was my first time running again since I fell running a few weeks ago and hurt my knee really bad. It felt good to get back into it and not let my fear of possible injury hold me back, from getting the exercise I need and doing what I love. After running for about 16 minutes I also trimmed bushes and pulled the weeds in my front yard for 1 hour. So now my house has better curb appeal again and looks like someone actually lives there lol.

On Thursday, I met with an older married, Christian couple who I also found on meetup.com. They lead a Christian acoustic outreach group in which they sing and play guitar once a month at a local nursing home. They also write, publish, and sell their own songs, books, and games online. They are a very sweet couple and we had a great time getting to know each other today. We also had a great time singing together and practicing the songs we are going to sing this Sunday at the nursing home.

Overall, I can tell that God has some amazing things in store for me and I'm so glad that I'm trusting Him with all of it because it's way better than anything I could do on my own! Praise Jesus!

Time Flies...

Wow time really does fly when you are having fun haha.

My Favorite Gatlinburg, TN Vacation 2012 Photos:

Me atop the Great Smoky Mountains in Gatlinburg, TN, July 2012.

 Me during a one mile hike up the mountains to a waterfall.

Me at the bottom of the beautiful waterfall!

The beautiful mountain view behind the timeshare we stayed at.

Me and my silly 7 year-old cousin at a Titanic Museum in Pigeon Forge, TN. 

We tried to recreate a famous scene from the Titanic movie, but better lol.

 Me and some friendly black bears, taking a break together on a bench. Haha.

 Me at the waterfall in front of our timeshare.

Notice more of those playful little black bears again in the background.

 

One of the many gorgeous mountain views I was able to capture.

So my vacation to Gatlinburg, TN overall was a blast and should get me through the next year or so until my travel cravings start to come back. Of course I spent way too much money on souvenirs, attractions, and the like. So I will probably spend the next year trying to make up for what I spent on vacation, saving as much money as I can, and trying to get my last school loan paid off. I can't wait to be debt free! If only for a little while. I am also pursuing a new career field and hope to continue to study on my own and eventually break into this new career field. More about that at a later date...

In other news, my boyfriend of four months and I broke up at the end of May, not long after my last post. While it was hard to get through at the time, looking back I now know that it was for the best. I really learned how important it is to communicate how you feel and what you are conflicted about with the person you are in a relationship with and not through a third party. I also learned how important it is to see how well the other person deals with conflict or whether they shutdown and avoid it altogether. An argument or conflict sometimes really is a good test to see what the true character of a person is like, as opposed to how they claim their character is.

God is in control of all aspects of my life right now, whether it makes sense to me or not and whether it's easy or not. And lately it has been hard to learn the lessons that He has been teaching me. I have been reading a lot lately about sanctification and maturing in the faith and I truly believe that is what God is trying to do in my life right now. He is refining me into what He wants me to become and not what I  currently am. He seems to be refining me by fire too at times. But I know it's for my own good even though I can't see what's coming next, I'm trusting Him to guide me along this crazy path that we call life.

I'm not sure at this time what I really want to do with this blog. I'm almost tempted to add one more topic to the title. And that topic would be "dating." I have recently in the last month or so gotten back into the dating scene and it has been interesting to say the least. I have some pretty good dating stories new and old alike that are worth a good laugh if nothing else.

Over the last three years, all of my dating experiences have all been good learning experiences for sure. And I've come a long way in learning what I do want and don't want in a potential life partner. I am hopeful that eventually God will bring the right person along when the time is right. I have a feeling that it will be soon, but I'm trusting Him either way on the timing. I've met some great people along the way, made some great memories, and learned a lot about myself in the process. So I guess it's been a blessing in a way, even if it doesn't always feel like it.

Perhaps, a new topic to add to this blog would revive my passion and motivation to write on here again. I have gotten back into dancing a little recently when I went swing dancing a few weeks ago and I joined a dance social group on meetup.com. So I'm just trying to reprioritize my life right now and figure out how best to spend my time. So maybe a new topic that is fresh on my brain would help this blog and give it the new flavor and zest that it needs to make it one of my priorities again. Haha.

So what do you, the audience, think? How does this sound? "Dancing, Dieting, Dating, and a Diary." Too long? Or I could just take off the dieting part and have, "Dancing, Dating, and a Diary." I kind of like the second one better. Maybe I will try a new name out for a while and see if I like it and how it goes.

Until next time...dance on and date on!