Update

Let's look at how the countdown is going.

1. August 22 - Drury starts, 4 days til... DONE
2. August 26 - Mom's birthday, 8 days til...DONE
3. September 3 - Bethany gets married, 2 days til...  JUST 4 MORE DAYS
4. September 5 - Dad's birthday AND Labor Day, 3 days til...
5. September 8 - My birthday, 34 days til...
6. October 12 - Organizational Communication ends, 2 days til...
7. October 14-23 - Fall break, 1 day til...
8. October 24 - Organizational Change starts, 6 days til...
9. October 30 - Saints game in St. Louis, 1 day til...
10. October 31 - Halloween, 22 days til...
11. November 22-26 - Alabama for Thanksgiving break, 18 days til...
12. December 14 - Organizational Change ends, 1 day til...
13. December 15 - Public Relations ends...18 days til
14. December 19  January 2- Winter project begins...15 days til
15. January 17 - Spring semester starts...10 days til
16. January 13 January 27- Winter project ends... 49 days til
17. Mary 16-26 - Pennsylvania for spring break...11 days til...
18. April 6 - Good Friday off...1 day til
19. April 7 - Jim's birthday...1 day til
20. April 8 - Easter...29 days til
21. May 7-12 - Finals...3 days til
22. May 10 - Graduation rehearsal...1 day til
23. May 11 - School ends...1 day til
24. May 12 - My graduation...7 days til
25. May 19 - Robert's graduation...1 day til
26. May 20 - Our wedding!

So school has officially started.  In fact, I'm almost done with week two.  After tonight I'll be 1/4 of the way finished with seminar in organizational communication.  Yahoo!

We had a fun time celebrating Mom's birthday.  We had a delicious dinner with my grandparents.  Red velvet cake was included of course!

Robert was the RA on call over the weekend, so we had to stay in town.  He only has three more RA on call weekends EVER!  Let's celebrate with him. :D

I found out that the winter project is now January 2-27.  That's good news, folks.  That means I actually get about two weeks off for Christmas!  The bummer is that it overlaps with the spring semester for ten days, but I think it will be tolerable.

I had proposed a formal request to the Drury graduate council in hopes that I would be able to take an MBA class at SBU in the spring instead of an MBA class at Drury.  The classes sounded identical, and if I could take it at SBU it would mean:

1. Cheaper tuition
2. Less money spent on gas
3. Time saved by not driving 90 minutes each time I have class
4. It's online for eight weeks at SBU so it would be over faster, and I could work on it whenever I want

Anyway, the proposal was thirteen pages long, and I thought it was very impressive.  I found out on Monday that I was denied 4-0.  It was a major blow at first.  Thankfully, I have a very kind fiance and parents who keep telling me it happened for a reason.  Right now I can only see it as a negative and a let down.  On the bright side, my adviser said my proposal was impressive.  Whoop-di-do.

I read OurSpace by Christine Harold this week.  It wasn't exactly a fun read, but it was tolerable.  I'm almost finished with my book review for it.  Progress, baby!

Also, just in case you were wondering - 263 days til our wedding!

Another Week Passes

Another eventful week. :)  Robert started getting the ball rolling for his summer job.  Did I mention this before?  He'll be working at the church 30 hours a week doing janitorial projects (cleaning the carpet, painting, mowing), living in the dorm as the summer RA (this will only include two weeks of work because that's the only time his dorm will have campers, but the rest of the time he gets to live there and eat for free), and about 10 hours a week at the school cafeteria.  Hopefully he'll be doing some yard work for neighbors.  If you need any yard work done or have random projects let us know!
I'll be babysitting and taking classes this summer.  I'll be babysitting Cooper and Miles for my dear friend Carey three days a week.  Getting to hang with their family is such a treat!  I'll continue to watch them three days a week during the fall semester.  And in the fall I'll be babysitting for some SBU professors three days a week.  They have a very precious 14 month old little boy who will be fun to be around too.
Robert schedule his wisdom teeth extraction time this week.  Eek!  It'll be at the beginning of June that way he can get all healed up before he goes to South Africa.  He's going on a mission trip with our school and will be gone July 10-23.  He still needs about $1000.  I'm not sure if anyone actually reads this, but if you're able to donate and would like more information just write a comment or send me a message.
Bummer news: Wednesday the Ford dealer called which got me totally excited.  He said that Ford orders are really backed up, and my car won't be here til the first week of July.  It's a bummer because it was supposed to be here within three weeks from now.  The biggest deal is that I'll be driving to Springfield (60-70 miles round trip) to go to school six days a week for the month of June.  That's about 1500 miles ish.  It would be awesome to have my car then because it'll get 40-48 mpg while my current car gets 22 mpg.  Boo!
Also, it's been a total debacle with my Drury email stuff this week.  As I suspected might be the case I'm already out of the loop since the other nine people in my cohort already go to Drury.  I'm the only one without a Drury email, and the professor has been sending up important emails apparently.  Sweet.
I'm the RA on call this weekend so I'm working in the dorm office for seven hours.  Then I get to babysit my dear friend Elise's little sister Christi.  Should be fun!  Robert and I are leading music at the Encounter tomorrow at church.  You should come!

Becoming a Grown Up

Another good and busy week.  Tuesday I got to go to Windermere (where I worked last summer) to see some dear friends and have a wedding showing for Loretta.  I got her a waffle iron.  Which if you knew Loretta you'd know this item will be used on a daily basis. haha

I had two tests and a speech last week.  I don't know how either test turned out, but I felt decent about both.  I got an A on the speech which is encouraging after my last speech.  I really can't figure out that professor.

Robert and I went to Springfield to Wednesday to celebrate 13 months of dating.  We went to the mall, Chili's, and a park.  I'm blessed!

At Jordan Valley Park

Thursday Robert and I got to have dinner at El Rodeo with our dear friend Harrison.  Delightful! 1. El Rodeo is my fave local restaurant.  The food comes in approximately five minutes and tastes delicious every single time.  2. Harrison is hilarious.  He and Robert picked me up and what was waiting in the back seat for me?  A precious baby animal calendar.  How thoughtful.  haha

We had this gigantic pageant thing called Mr. and Miss Southwest Friday night.  Residence Life was in charge of it.  Boy am I glad to be done with it.  It went really well, but it was a ton of work.

Robert and I spent yesterday together.  I love weekends without much to do.  I vacuumed, washed, and waxed Robert's truck while he worked on a research paper.  We went to the town library.  $2 for a grocery bag full of books.  Hello!  We got four puzzles and about 20 books.  We worked on a puzzle while watching the Cardinals kick butt that night.  We made dinner together: grilled pork chops, grilled veggies, and mashed potatoes.  I attempted to make dessert but the heating element in the oven decided to spark and essentially explode.  Hadn't planned on that.

Robert and I had the honor of playing for Carey's third grade Sunday School class this morning.  So great!  Then I got to work in the nursery.  Quote of the day:  Eisley called me Miss Robert.  I didn't mind. :)

Robert and I got to hang with Chad and Natalie today.  We painted a canvas for their house.  Now we get to be with them wherever they go!  We're so pumped to have them in Bolivar with us this summer and next school year.

Just in case you forgot, I have four more weeks of class and one week of finals until I'm a college graduate!!!

Big Week

This was a pretty big week for me.  The first week back after a break is always interesting.

Monday: I got the paperwork to fill out for graduation.  It was pretty exciting to see that I'll be graduating cum laude.  It's really cool to see that I'll my hard work has paid off.  I also met with Dr. Leo.  I am so very thankful God has given me such an amazing doctor.  He is very knowledgeable and does an excellent job of relaying the information to me.  He said my ultrasound looked perfect.  My blood counts are still low.  He switched my iron supplement to Bifera which is supposed to be easier on my stomach.  The main bummer is that although it's still OTC it costs $20 instead of $3.  It's totally worth it though to not feel sick.  We hired the new RA to replace me.  It's a weird feeling.  It seems like I just became an RA.  I think Bekah will do a great job.  It's hard to balance investing in the girls for the last month and a half of school and starting to let go.

Tuesday: I ordered my new car!!!  I have been very thankful for my Pontiac Sunfire.  It's served me well for the past five years.  We've had some good memories together.  It was my very first car.  It has never broken down or gotten a flat tire.  However, it's time to upgrade a bit.  I ordered a 2011 Ford Fiesta.  It should be here in 3-7 weeks.  It's cool to think that I'll be the first owner.  Although my Sunfire was kept up pretty well, I think the previous owner was a smoker.  What was my clue?  A couple of burn marks on the ceiling and chair.  The dealer said I've chosen a pretty "basic" version of the Fiesta.  It's interesting to see how "basic" has changed over the past ten years when my Sunfire was made.  My Sunfire is "basic" - manual windows, manual locks, manual mirrors, no keyless entry, etc.  My "basic" Fiesta will have automatic windows, automatic locks, keyless entry, MP3 hookup, CD player, etc.  I'm most excited about the locks and windows.  It's the little things, baby!

Wednesday: I worked in the church nursery in the morning and evening.  I'm guaranteed a good laugh every single time I work.  Three year old boy: "I use plastic spoons to bench press, but sometimes Mommy cooks with them."  Obviously, what he's doing is normal, and she's the weird-o.  On Wednesday nights my family always eats dinner with my grandparents (Memaw and Pepaw).  Memaw is quite the cook!

Thursday: I meet with Carey every Thursday morning.  Our time together is such a breath of fresh air.  She's an excellent example of a loving and Godly wife, mother, and friend.

Friday: I got to have lunch with my dear friend Tarah.  Tarah and I have been friends since we were in diapers.  It's a bummer that we don't get to hang out quite as much now, but every time we get together it's great.  Conversation comes so easily with her.  I gave a speech in advanced public speaking.  It didn't go as well as I had expected.  It's different when you don't prepare for a test, presentation, or paper and then do poorly.  But when you prepare and study your butt off you should be rewarded properly.

Saturday: I was the RA on call this weekend so I worked 1:00-5:00.  It was open dorm so I got to go over to Robert's room.  We watched Superstar.  Hilarious!  Then we played a game called trains.  Robert dominated.  I guess guys never get too old to play with trains.

Sunday: We all got to eat lunch with my parents.  Delicious!  Then Robert and I walked around the neighborhood.  It's 80 degrees today, people!  Now I'm working in the dorm office from 2:00-5:00.  I got employee of the month at work last week and was rewarded with a $15 giftcard to Subway.  I think tonight will be a perfect night for a free dinner date with my man.

This week looks like it should be pretty chill.  No tests, papers, or presentations.  Just lots of work and babysitting. 

I've been reading a book called One Thousand Gifts.  It's a great challenge.  The author spent several months writing down 1000 gifts and blessings.  What a great way to show our gratitude.  I think there's something to be said for actually stopping to write down gifts.  It makes it seem more real.  I want a heart that continually seeks an attitude of gratitude.

48 days til graduation.

I've Seen Better Days

Oh man.  It's been a whirlwind of a week.  Recap:

- Went to KC with Robert on Monday.  Crazy trip.  Didn't get back home til 2am.  Plus side: Got to see my dear friend Jen for a bit.

- My car broke down.  Pretty much everything that could have gone wrong happened.  I put it in reverse and it went kaplunk, put it in drive and it revved up a bunch, the check oil light came on, the check battery light came on, and the power steering went out.  Of course when my dad came to look at it it worked fine for him.  Does that sort of thing ever happen to anybody else?  We had a friend look at it.  Apparently the carborator (spelling?) was totally clogged.  Scary!  He fixed it. :)

- I had mono last spring.  With that it's totally normal to have low white blood cell counts, low platelet counts, high monocytes, and high lymphocytes for about six months.  So every few months I've gone in to have my blood re-tested.  It's been nearly a year now.  I got the results to my most recent test two days ago.  Everything is still out of whack.  Very discouraging.  My doctor is finally being proactive and has referred me to an oncologist and hematologist (cancer and blood doctor), but it's really scary.  If something is wrong I want to nip it in the bud.  So I guess the oncologist (Dr. Leo) is going to look over my records and then set up an appointment with me.  It could be something like: "No worries.  You're white blood cell counts are always low.  Happens to the best of us."  Or, as my primary care physician mentioned, it could be something like: "You have leukemia or lymphoma.  Wish we would have done something about it when we realized your counts were off 12 months ago!"

- I skipped all my classes on Tuesday.  I like to think of it as a mental health day.  Think my absences will be excused?

- I work in the church nursery on Wednesday mornings during a Mom's Bible study.  I have older 2's and younger 3's in my room.  Quote of the day: While playing with Play-Dough one of the kids stuck a blob on his finger and shouted, "Finger puppets!!!" Presh.

- I helped buy a new microwave for the dorm.  One of the fun parts of being an RA. ;)  In case you were wondering, it's not a good idea to microwave a cookie with a sheet of computer paper and a metal fork in there in as well.  Shocking.

- I sponsor a girl named Happiness through World Vision.  She lives in Zimbabwe, and I've been sponsoring her for a year and a half.  I wrote her the other day.  I'm so thankful for the opportunity to bless and be blessed by her.

- Sad story: On December 15 I ordered two tickets to a Yellowcard concert in KC on April 5.  Robert's favorite band of all time is Yellowcard.  When we first started dating he mentioned he wished he could have gone to one of their concerts before they broke up.  Well, this month they're releasing a new CD and going on tour.  March 13 is our 1 year anniversary.  So I got us tickets 3 months ago (4 months before the concert) to celebrate.  Guess what.  Robert has a choir concert the same night and will fail choir if he skips us.  What else? There are no refunds.  See ya later, 70 bucks!

No Such Luck

Well my attempt to donate blood was unsuccessful to say the least.  My iron was too low.  Speaking of blood, today I went to the doctor to get a CBC test done.  I've had low white blood cell counts for about 10 months now.  Hopefully this time it will be better.  I love the lady who usually draws my blood, Molly, but she had a baby about 3 weeks ago.  That's totally awesome, but she abandoned me in my time of need!  She knows my veins.  Today's experience was far from pleasant.  Poked the right arm: a few droplets came out.  Threw it away.  Poked the left arm: Absolutely nothing came out.  Poked the right arm again: A bit came out.  It's not very encouraging when the nurse says, "Hope this is enough to test it."  Cool.

I think my two tests went well yesterday.  Although stressing about tests is not fun, it's always exciting to get out earlier than usual.

I met with my dear friend Carey yesterday morning.  We've been getting together one morning a week for over a year now.  We share what's going on in our lives and then discuss the book we're reading.  So far we've read Calm my Anxious Heart, Choosing Gratitude, and now we're reading A Beautiful Offering.  Lately I've been learning that becoming more like Jesus isn't just going to happen one day.  It's a conscious effort.  I'm learning more and more what God requires of me.  I may not always choose the right thing, but I'm growing.

 Carey's cuties: Miles (above) and Cooper (below)

I'm the RA on call this weekend. Basically this means I'll sit in the dorm office Saturday from 5:00-midnight and hand out toilet paper twice because the other 150 girls are gone for the weekend.  If I'm focused it's usually a really good time to do homework.  I'm hoping I can write a research paper for Medieval and Renaissance Literature.  It's about Langland and his work of "Piers Plowman."  Should be invigorating.  haha

Robert's basketball team, the Viscous Fishes, fell to the Fascist Giraffes last night.  I'll know they'll get a victory soon though.

It rained/sleeted/snowed last night, but this is nothing compared to the 20 inches we got a couple of weeks ago.  Alright, off to class.  Happy Friday!

Test Week

I've entered week 5 of classes.  That means it's time for the first round of tests.  I have two on Thursday.  Trying to motivate myself to start studying early.

I'm going to attempt to give blood this afternoon.  This is a huge deal for me.  I tried giving blood when I was a junior in high school (about four and a half years ago), and it was not successful.  After sitting there for over an hour with a gigantic needle in my arm the nurse finally decided my blood had clotted so she threw away what little blood I had produced.  I was left with a horrible bruise for about a month.  Here's hoping this time it's more of a positive experience.

I had room checks last night.  I'm a resident assistant so I have to check the girls' rooms on my hall every two weeks.  It's always funny to see the different concepts of "clean."  For some girls it involves dusting, cleaning the mirror, vacuuming, sweeping, taking out the trash, doing laundry, making the bed, cleaning the bathroom, and spraying air freshener.  For other girls it involves having a messier room than my room is on "messy" days.  It's rather funny actually.

Robert's intramural team played last night.  They almost pulled out a victory but ended up losing by three points.  They play again tonight at 6:30, and I just know the Vicious Fishes are going to get their first W.

Epic accomplishment: When Robert and I first started lift weights I couldn't even lift the bench press bar (45 pounds).  I know...pathetic.  A few weeks ago I started to be able to do 10 reps.  Well today I did a max lift of 65 pounds!  That's the bar (45) plus a ten on each side (20).   I'm sure I'll be feeling it tomorrow.

Mom and I went on a walk today.  I miss the days where we used to always work out together in high school.  I love talking with her.  She's the best!

There's a first time for everything

Well, here I am making my first post.  Not sure exactly how to start, so I guess I'll just jump into things.

Mom and I have had a lovely girls weekend.  We watched Despicable Me and went out for dinner yesterday.  Today we had MAJOR shopping success.  That's a big deal for us.  It's so hard to find clothes that fit well when you're tall.  We ended up going to New York and Co.  Success!  Then we found this little German tea house.  Precious!

 This picture was taken of Mom and me at Easter

I've been babysitting the Scowden girls all evening.  The girls have officially fallen asleep.  We had fun tonight.  We had pizza and grapes, watched Veggie Tales: The Wizards of Has, Eisley napped, we played "The Mermaid Game" (An Amy Grabowski specialty), the girls took a bath, we read, and then it was bedtime.

School stuff:  I have my first tests of the semester next week.  Both happen to fall on Thursday: Communication Theory and American Public Address.  I've been trying to make myself study over the weekend.  I've made the study guide for APA so that's a start.  It's exciting and scary that this is my last semester of college.  It's rather surreal actually.  I'm excited to be done with early morning classes, chapel, cafeteria food, and loud dorm life.  However, at the same time I know I'll miss the friends I've made, my fantastic professors, and not having to make my own food.  I had receive an email with my acceptance to grad school in December, but I got the official letter this week.  Another reminder that I'm starting a new chapter of my life.  I have thoughts going through my head like, "Will I be able to handle grad school?" "Will I make friends in my classes?" "Will my professors care?" "Will I get lost on my first day?" I try to ignore those thoughts since it's still a little less than four months away.

RA stuff: This is my fourth and final semester being a resident assistant in my dorm.  It's been rewarding to see the girls on my hall grow over the months.  I find myself starting to detach myself though.  When things happen I just think, "What does it matter?  I'll be gone in three months."  Probably not the best attitude, but it is true.

 After the Homecoming Parade last year

I am so thankful for my wonderful boyfriend, Robert.  We've been dating for almost a year.  He's my first boyfriend, first kiss, and first "I love you."  This past year has been so great!  For Valentine's Day Robert took me to Build a Bear where I made a super cute bear named Franklin.  I had made reservations at The Keeter Center, the restaurant at College of the Ozarks.  It's where my high school prom was, but Robert had never been there before.  It was so special!  They had a Valentine's menu, a band with electric guitar/stand up bass/drums, pink roses, candles, a dance floor, and fantastic food.  I got chicked with cous cous, and Robert got salmon with braised spinach in a phyllo pastry.  After that we walked around the campus for a bit.  It was very nice outside!  We wrapped it up by going to Fedora, a fondue restaurant.  Delicous!

 At a NYE party

My brother, Jim, plays professional basketball in Portugal.  He got to come home for Christmas, and this week my dad has been there visiting him.  He'll be back tomorrow night.  I guess Jim said this week has been the coldest week so far while we've been having the warmest week in a very long time.  Dad got to see Jim play (they won!), they went to the beach, had dinner at friends' houses, and even got to go to Belgium for a few days.

 Jim and me on a train in England

Alright.  I think you're officially updated on all the background information.  May this be the first of many posts!