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! :)
Friday, August 19, 2011
Saturday, August 13, 2011
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!
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!
Tuesday, August 9, 2011
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! :)
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! :)
Sunday, August 7, 2011
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.
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.
Tuesday, August 2, 2011
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 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!
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