It's finally that time...

In less than 2 weeks I will be a college GRADUATE! Can you believe it???? I never thought the day would come. I can celebrate now because I have completed my last term papers and given my last presentations! All I lack before walking across that stage is 3 final exams... and I honestly am NOT worried about them at all. One is for an online class (that is open book), one is for a class that I have an overall average of 101.5... don't ask how that's possible... and one is for Senior Seminar where we have to take 8 different tests over Communication or Mass Media courses we've taken in our time at ASU. I'm pretty sure even if I don't study for them, there's no way I could fail the class and not graduate. And that's all that really matters anyway... graduation!

I walk the stage Saturday, December 10th at 2pm. After that, Ryan and I are driving to Dallas to have an early Christmas with my mother-in-law's side of the family. Our friend from the Christian Campus Center, Christene, is going to ride to Dallas with us because she doesn't have a car and her parents were going to have to buy her a plane ticket to get home for winter break. It was so sweet when she told her mom that we were going to give her a ride. She had her speaker phone on, and all I heard was "Well, praise the Lord!!!!!!" So sweet.

The only slightly stressful thing about graduating early is the time of year I'm looking for a job! I haven't had any luck (yet... I'm not giving up completely!) at any radio stations in town, and that is definitely my dream job. It's just the time of year, I think... no one is hiring during the holidays. At least not for the work I'm looking for... please pray for me though! At this point, I just need a job. I applied at Michael's craft store online today, which would probably be a last resort, but it will be good to have options. I also just submitted an online application to be a bank teller at Wells Fargo. I'm hoping this college degree will help me out a little! I'm willing to wait to hear back from a radio station, but I need income in the mean time. Today was really trying, but I'm not giving up. God's hand is in all of this, and I know He will work this situation out for good, because I love Him and I am called according to His purpose! (Romans 8:28).


I am so excited to be done with this chapter in my life and open a new one (whatever that may be)!

Oh that I may rejoice!

We got TONS of rain this past weekend and it was so, so wonderful. We kept our front door open as it poured down all Saturday afternoon and through the night. The temperatures are slowly but surely lowering, and dare I say it, it's almost feeling like autumn!

I have completed my first true crochet project. I don't really consider the few scarves that I've made anything big... but I made the CUTEST baby beanie hat for my great niece! I actually made 2, the first one wasn't terrible, but not as perfect as I wanted it to be. Of course, it's too small for my 3 month old great niece, but I think it will be perfect in January when Ashley has her little bundle of joy, Kylie. Speaking of Kylie, Ashley's baby shower is coming up! I'm excited to help plan and organize it... it's so much fun to be able to plan and craft all things baby without actually feeling the responsibility of parenthood.

I should totally post these pictures that I keep promising... like my apartment with pictures on the walls, our sponsored child from Haiti, Rose, and this hat that I crocheted. I promise, I will get around to it! I'm hoping that Ryan and I will get iPhones soon so uploading photos to the computer will be that much simpler.

Oh! And I think I'm finally getting the hang of this couponing thing. Like I've said before, I'm no extreme couponer... I just use a Sunday newspaper insert and occasionally some I'll find on the internet. I did, however, save nearly 28 dollars the other night at H-E-B! That's definitely the most I've ever saved with my coupons, but I also saved 19 last night. I'm getting pretty excited about this. :)

I love saving money... especially because I'm not exactly bringing a whole lot of it to the table right now. 18 hours a week at minimum wage just isn't cutting it anymore. I'll be SO SO SO ready to graduate and get a new job.

Tomorrow is my mommy's birthday. I love her so much.Definitely wouldn't trade her for anyone else's mommy. Ryan and I are taking her to lunch to celebrate. It should be a fun time. :)

Ryan and I are also going to Dallas this weekend for a friends wedding. It will be great to visit with my in-laws for a few days.

I think I'm finally out of my "funk." I'm enjoying life again... things are looking up. and up. and up. Praise the Lord.

Little Rose

To be honest, I'm a little overwhelmed. I feel like crying and I'm frustrated because I'm not sure if its from joy, sadness, or some crazy mixture of both.

God is so good! As I was sitting here in my quiet apartment contemplating my somewhat heavy heart, I heard something outside and looked out the window to see rain falling gloriously to the ground. Praise the good Lord in heaven! This makes my heart smile because just 3-4 hours ago, my small group was praying for rain. Such wonderful reassurance that God hears us when we cry out to Him.

The Christian Campus Center went to retreat this past weekend. It was a great time. Our guest speaker was Milton Jones, president of the Christian Relief Fund. I must say, he is a REALLY neat guy. His stories are truly remarkable. I recommend his blog.

www.miltonjonesblog.com

www.christianrelieffund.org

I'm excited to say that this weekend, my small group decided to sponsor a little girl, through the Christian Relief Fund who was displaced by the earthquake in Haiti. She is 3 years old and her name is Rose. I love her so much. She was the first face I saw in the sea of sponsorship cards. She's beautiful. They're all beautiful, but I know that this was the child for our group. I feel this odd connection with her. And I want her to know how much she really is loved. We only have one picture of her right now, but I will try to post it soon.

I can't imagine how much love someone can feel for their own, flesh and blood, child. I'll probably never meet Rose, but she's already changing my life.

I ask for prayers for little Rose, and for my group as we take on the responsibility of this sponsorship. I also ask for prayers for myself. I know it may sound selfish, but I'm just in a funk right now. I'm wanting to do so much to further God's kingdom, but I find myself getting in the way. I need to truly hand everything over to Him, and quit trying to deal with my struggles on my own. I also need to quit taking out my hurt, anger, and other frustrations on other people. I'm working on being a nicer person, because really, as a Christian, I'm setting a lousy example with all this negativity I've allowed in my life.

On that note, I think I'll finish this episode of Grey's Anatomy and head to bed. Ryan went to bed early because he pulled an all-nighter last night doing tons of homework. I love him even though he does such crazy things.

Where did my summer go?

Can you believe it's already September?!?! Today, I have been married for 2 whole months! Occasionally I get the feeling that I can't wait to be married... and then I realize, OH WAIT! I'm living my dream. :)

Speaking of dreams, I had an absurd one last night... Justin Bieber and I were best friends and I was trying to get a picture with him to prove it to people and my camera kept messing up so I never had my proof. BUT I did get to ride on a private jet with him. Gosh, I'm weird.

Ryan and I had our friend Casey over for dinner last night and we made egg rolls! It was quite hilarious watching Casey trying to roll them... his first one looked like a burrito! I must say though, it was SO much cheaper to make them at home and we had a TON! So yummy. :) I think I love my deep fryer a little too much... and my waistline is starting to show it... eek!

Good news, good news! Singer/Songwriters JJ Heller and Matt Brouwer are coming to Johnson Street Church of Christ in San Angelo soon! I believe the date of the concert is November 19th and it is going to be a worship style of performance. SOOOOO excited!

In other news, Ryan and I have volunteered to host a small group bible study in our apartment on Wednesday nights. Everyone at the Christian Campus Center tonight got to pick what small group they wanted to be in, and we had 11 people sign up to be in ours! For now we have 8 girls and only 3 guys, but I told the girls to bring their boyfriends, so we'll see how many we total in the next few weeks. I'm so excited to have this opportunity! It will definitely give me a reason to keep the apartment clean, and a wonderful time to get to know some of the freshman better. :) Seriously though, I'm stoked. I've never really been a part of a small group like this before, and what better place to have it than my home?!

My radio show, "Motivational Mondays" starts back up next week. Tune in to Ram Radio from 7-8 pm to hear some great, uplifting music! I will also be reading world news every weekday at 3:30pm! Ram Radio is an internet station, so you'll have to go to www.angelo.edu/services/ramradio and click "listen" on the left side of the page to tune in! You can also check out my radio facebook page by doing a facebook search for Amanda on Ram Radio.

I'm also working on some NPR (National Public Radio) that will air on 90.1 FM in San Angelo on Tuesdays at 1pm. I've been producing a Singer/Songwriter show hosted by local Singer/Songwriter Daniel Makins. Starting the first week in November (hopefully) you'll be able to hear me and get some updates on what's going on at Angelo State University.

I'm excited about this semester... after all, it's my last one ever! Then it's off to finding a true career in radio... which I hope to be a promising one. :)

The beginning of the end... or something of the sort

Okay, the title of this entry may seem depressing at first, but I promise it's totally NOT! I am about to embark on my LAST SEMESTER OF COLLEGE! SO excited! I think it finally hit me when I took my final exam for my FOURTH and final Spanish course. Since I took it online through Midland College, the semester ended this week, leaving me 4 final days of summer without any homework. And you know what? I'm totally not complaining because even though this was my first experience with summer school and I took 12 hours of online courses all while turning 21, getting married, honeymooning, and moving out for the first time ever... this has honest to God been the best summer of my life.

AND I'm that much closer to graduation. I seriously can not emphasize enough on how much I really am ready to be done with school though. And homework. FOREVER! No Masters degree for this chick... honestly, a BA is more than enough for me. :)

I am so excited to finally be a true grown up with a big girl job. Now, I know I won't be making a TON of money, but I am totally fine with that as long as I'm doing something I enjoy. And I remember some adults from my church telling me a few years ago "you have the rest of your life to work, why wish your youth away?" and I promise that is not the case.

I believe you're only as old as you feel... and I'm still feeling pretty young! I am so excited to take on the world... and I seriously think I'll have more free time when I'm done with school. Instead of work and school and homework, I'll just have to worry about work! :)

I want to learn to crochet

Yes, I know that may make me sound like an old lady, but I don't care. I genuinely want to become fantastic at crocheting. My nephew and his wife have a little girl, and my niece Ashley is pregnant, and I feel like this is the perfect opportunity for me to learn how to make super cute things for the babies to wear!

I have another week before school starts, and I'm working on getting this stinkin' apartment cleaner. I'm going to schedule a time for a carpet shampooing... which is really desperately needed... and I feel like I need to scrub EVERYTHING... like really... I have this urge to scrub the walls for some reason? I just want this place to be perfect and clean... even if it is for just a short amount of time. :)

ALSO, I really need to hang up all of our paintings and pictures and what not. I got the okay from the landlord to put nails in the walls, but I'm afraid I'll put something somewhere and decide that I don't like it there after all.

We've been married for a little over a month now, and I'm loving every minute of it. I do find that I'm getting lonely while Ryan is at work though. I'm used to having at least my dog around for company, but no such luck here at the apartment. I think if Misty (my dog) wasn't so old, we'd move her over here with us, but my parents' house is her home... she'd freak if we put her in a new environment. Alas, I want a puppy. I think I'll try convincing Ryan of this in December when I graduate. :)

Ooh, wonderful news, by the way! We found out that I received nearly $3,000 in grant money for this semester, and that on top of my $1500 scholarship means that I'll get a REFUND of something like $939! Such a huge blessing! I jokingly said that "maybe we should have gotten married sooner!"... but I still think we waited just the perfect amount of time. Still pretty amazed that I will be getting PAID to go to school... what a crazy thought! Ryan received the same amount of grant money, but he doesn't have the scholarship that I do, so he'll still owe a little, but my refund will cover it. SO glad that we won't need to take out another loan for him. I'm not sure how far in debt he is, but I'm honestly not too worried about it. I mean, ASU is a fairly affordable school, considering our other options, and our God is in control!

I'm getting a little nervous about the idea of graduation and getting a big girl job... but I think I'm probably more excited than anything!

Is there a coupon for that?

I have the next 2 weeks off of work before school starts. When I first found out, I felt kind of worthless, because that's just 2 more weeks without me providing any financial income to our marriage. HOWEVER, I've been cleaning this mess of an apartment and grocery shopping and cooking like a good little housewife! :)

Last night I made us some delicious cheesesteak sandwiches. Tender steak, mushrooms, onions, sherry wine, worchestershire sauce, and cheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeese! Ryan rated them better than anything I've previously made EXCEPT for the mind-blowing meatballs. Haha! I asked him at lunch today if he wanted me to get stuff for more meatballs when I go grocery shopping tonight and he was like, "um of COURSE!" Silly boy.

I've been meaning to ask my wonderful mother in law for some of his favorite recipes that she makes. I might give her a holler soon. :)

I really do enjoy grocery shopping and cooking and all that jazz, but what makes it all even more fun is COUPONS! No, I'm not an "extreme couponer"... I don't have enough time to invest in that. However, I DO clip coupons out of the Sunday paper and that little insert they send you in the mail once a week. We rarely shop at Albertsons (even though it's across the street from our apartment complex) because it's usually REALLY overpriced compared to Wal Mart or HEB. This being said, last week I clipped some Albertsons store coupons, and got about $16 worth of groceries for something like $6.78. I was really impressed with myself. Granted, it was only 2 bags of groceries and not a big trip, I saved some money and got us some name brand food items for cheaper than the bargain prices! :)

Wet Carpet and Avoiding Wedding Disasters

Well, since the last time I wrote, our hot water heater (that in itself seems redundant... so I'll call it our water heater) leaked up THROUGH our floors into our hallway and our bedroom. How did I notice this, you ask? Well, our bed does not have a frame, so our box spring is sitting on the floor. While I was walking past the bed the other day, I brushed it with my foot and felt that it was wet. This really confused me because the carpet between the wall and bed wasn't wet... just the box spring. I'm guessing this is because there was the pressure of the bed on the carpet, I don't even know... I put one of our little fans on it hoping it would help but it didnt. ANYWAY, then I see a spot in the hallway. Thinking Ryan had just stepped there when he got out of the shower, I put a towel down to dry it up.

Well, we woke up the next morning, and the towel was SOAKED. So... I called maintenance. They were at our apartment within 5 minutes. I think they said it was a clogged overflow pipe or something like that. Okay, I'm really not savvy with the lingo, so that either made complete sense or I was way off.

They fixed the pipe or whatever, and then the carpet guy came and turned our bed up against the wall and proceeded to rip up our carpet in our bedroom. We've had 2 huge fans going since Wednesday. They said they'd be by to pick them up on Friday, but here we are 2 days later than that and they're still in my home. Grr.

On a happier note, my best friend Julie (who was also my maid of honor) got married yesterday. It was neat to finally meet the other bridesmaids (her friends from college) after hearing so much about them. I think everything went fairly smoothly. I'm actually glad her wedding was at 3pm instead of 7 like mine because, though we were exhausted when it was over, I was able to go home at like 630.

At the rehearsal, Kevin, one of the ministers who married them, said there would definitely be one thing that did NOT go according to plan, but that everything would be okay anyway. At the time, I kind of felt like he was jinxing it, but every wedding I've been to was that way, so it really wasn't a huge deal.

For Julie and Reed's wedding, it was her wedding dress. Poor thing. It was a lace-up corset top and the boning on her right side broke. The dress was still wearable, but it wasn't perfect, like every bride deserves. We all wanted so bad to fix it, but there was really nothing anyone could do. As I saw tears well up in her eyes, I had to get her away from any mirrors in the room because she kept staring at the dress and seeing imperfections. At the end of the day, it wasn't as noticeable as she feared, and it was still the happiest day of her life. I love her and wish her a lifetime full of happiness.

I think I'm getting the hang of it!

After a handful of attempts at the "perfect meal" for my husband and myself, I think I've finally found the recipe! It's hilarious, really, because it's SO simple. Meatballs. I'm not even a huge fan of meatballs... but I sure did surprise myself with this dish.

I remember telling Ryan, close to tears, the other night that "I'm just a terrible cook... I'll never get the hang of this... I just want you to genuinely enjoy a meal that I cook for you... and don't you dare pretend that you like something you don't!"

We woke up on Sunday morning, and I told him that I was going to try this seemingly easy meatball recipe I found on the internet. He asked what was in the sauce that I was going to put on them, and I told him: Heinz Chili Sauce and grape jelly. I wish you could have seen his face when he heard the "grape jelly" part. I could tell he was very suspicious of the whole idea.

When I got home from church, Ryan was at work (he doesn't get off until 6pm on Sundays), and I decided to make the meatballs from scratch. Time consuming, but easy enough. I took 1 lb of ground beef and mixed it (by hand) with 1 lb of ground pork. I then added 2 cups of seasoned breadcrumbs and 2 eggs (that's the messy, but fun part of the whole mixing!). I then made meatballs from the mix and browned them in a skillet and put them in the crock pot.

After I had made all the meatballs, I took the 12 oz bottle of Heinz Chili Sauce and whisked it together with an 18 oz jar of grape jelly and poured the mixture over the top of the meatballs and cooked them on low for 4-5 hours (for the last 30 minutes or so I had the crock pot on warm).

I then made mashed potatoes to complete the meal, and had it all on the table for Ryan when he got home.

He loved it! I really didn't expect him to. I mean, I thought they were tasty, but he was using adjectives like "delicious". I asked him if the meatballs were something he'd like for me to make for our next party and he looked at me like I was crazy and said "These are too good to share. When you make them again, I want the whole thing to myself."

Needless to say, my heart smiled a little... and I hope I'm out of my terrible cooking rut. I know it all comes with experience, and I don't have the most of it... but it really is fun trying... especially when my husband enjoys the end result!

I'm a married woman!

This is my third week as a true grown up. I'm living in an apartment... with my HUSBAND! It feels so natural, so... perfect.

Our wedding in itself was perfect. I honestly can't remember how many times we've used that word, perfect, to describe the day. We drove to Abilene on our wedding night to stay in a hotel before driving to the DFW airport the next day, and the whole time we were grinning from ear to ear, repeating "Gosh, that was perfect... I wouldn't change a thing."

This being said, we DID get pulled over that night... for going 72 in a 65 (night time). Thank the Lord our friends had written "Just Married" on our windows, or the deputy might not have believed us.

No worries, we just got a warning. :)

Looking back, there were a few minor details that I was stressing over on our big day, but I just LOVE how everything unfolded. Simply beautiful. Just like I had always imagined.

Our honeymoon was beyond awesome! We went to Las Vegas (we both turned 21 in May, so this was perfect timing)! I had never been before, so just walking the strip and seeing all of the buildings, fountains, etc, was incredibly neat. Ryan was excited to gamble, but once we actually got down to it, we lost money way too quickly. We decided to have 40 bucks a piece to gamble at our own leisure, and I think I ended up losing a total of 10 on a slot machine and keeping my 30. Ryan, on the other hand, lost 20-30 real quick on one game of black jack, and decided to quit while he still had some money. He did, however, win $156 on a slot machine off of ONE spin that cost 40 cents while we were waiting for our dinner reservations... VERY cool. I swear, you would have thought we won at least $1000 with the way we reacted. It was such a blast. :)

Exactly a week after our wedding (the day after we got home from the honeymoon), my niece Ashley got married... to a gentleman named... RYAN. Yes, we both married Ryans. They are expecting a baby in January. So exciting... this means me and MY Ryan can hold off on the whole baby thing for a while and play with theirs! ;)

Speaking of babies... my nephew Jason and his wife Laura had their baby girl Layla on the 13th. I haven't been over to see her yet, because I won't be able to refrain from loving on her, and Ryan has been pretty sick for the past week or so and I don't want to give her anything... especially with her being 3-4 weeks premature.

I have found that I'm not as good of a cook as I'd hoped to be... but I'm having so much fun trying. It's always fun to have dinner ready for Ryan as he gets home from work (even though it IS at 9:30pm).

We still don't have the apartment as clean as I'd like it... but I mean, really, it's taken weeks just to get all the boxes from our wedding gifts out of here! Still in the process of moving the last of my stuff over here from my parents house... and we will hopefully have that completed this weekend.

I'm missing my mom and dad, and my fat little dog... but Ryan and I visit them often. I'm not sure if my dog will ever forgive me for moving out, but she's always excited to see us when we stop by.

I love my parents so much... and I'm so grateful for the way they raised me; knowing I deserved nothing less than perfect. And I thank God every day that Ryan fits that description.

I can honestly say I love my life right now... and I wouldn't change a thing.

my heart

I'm in love. Deeply, madly, butterflies in my stomach, I can't catch my breath, 16 years old kind of love.

Yes, I'm aware that Ryan and I started dating when we were 16... and geez, that was over 4 years ago... but I love him even more now than I did then.

When I hear a love song, I picture his face. When I imagine the future, I see us with children that are breathtaking and beautiful... because they look like him.

I love everything about him.

his laughter.

his smile.

his kind heart.

his gorgeous eyes.

the way he rolls those eyes when he thinks I'm being "a goof."

the way he knows what buttons to push in order to make me furious.

the way he knows that I'll only be mad at him for a moment.

the way my hands fit perfectly with his.

the way he tries to slip my hand into his pocket when we're walking and holding hands.

his sense of humor.

his optimism.

his constant encouragement.

the way he brings me back to reality in a split second.

the way he forces me to see the good in others.

the way his eyes light up when he gets excited about something.

the way he always wants me to choose where we're going or what we're doing... even though he knows that I hate making quick decisions.

his patience.

his love for life.

his acceptance.

the fact that he calls me by my last name... which will soon be his.

the way he admits when I'm right... sometimes. ;)

the way he makes me feel beautiful even when I know I look far from it.

the way he acts around children.

the fact that he wants children of his own.

the way he calls my mom "mom."

the fact that my dad calls him "cousin Ryan."

hearing him say "I love you" to his parents or grandparents on the phone.

the fact that he's willing to share his family with me.

the look on his face when he listens to a song for the first time.

the fact that I know he'll have that song memorized by the next time he hears it.

the fact that I have to tip-toe to kiss him.

the way he kisses me.

the way he brushes the hair out of my face.

the way he jokes around.

the fact that he's such a hard worker.

his motivation.

his care-free heart.

his love for animals.

the way animals love him.

how much he's grown up in the past 4 years, but can make me feel like we're 16 again.

the way he loves me.

the way we've only become closer over time.

the way I miss him when we haven't seen each other all day, even though we spent a year and a half apart.

the way I cry in chick flicks now because I know how it feels to have something so great and the thought of that being taken away is heartbreaking.

and most importantly, his love and faith in God and how I know that he will always keep Him in the middle of our relationship.

In 5 months I become a Marlar.

and

I. can't. wait.

:)