Reminiscing

Ellory's sister, Kellsye, is in London (and other parts of Europe) right now and it made me REALLY miss Europe. So in the spirit of reminiscing, I thought I'd post some pics from my trip back in 04. Hope you enjoy!

Rome (4 days):

Vatican City

New friends waiting for a tour

The Coliseum

Trivi Fountain

Naples (3 days):

Mt. Vesuvius and Pompeii

London (4 glorious weeks):

My dorm room for the month

Changing of the guard

Self explanatory for those of you who read/watch Harry Potter! :)

London Bridge

Artistic (attempt) window in Westminster Abby

Holly and I at Stonehenge!!

Scotland (1 day/1 night):

We saw some bagpipers but the scenery is just amazing!

Wales (1 weekend):

Biking down the beach...AWESOME!

Paris (4 days): Definitely my favorite place that I've ever visited

Back of the Notre Dame (right before a bird pooped on me...go figure)

The Louvre (I could have spent all weekend in there)

The Eiffel Tower...obviously

Excitement and Rant all in One!

Okay, so I'll start by apologizing for the long gap between posts, but I haven't felt like posting anything lately.

Well, Ellory got a new job!! He's been working at IBM in inside-sales for about a month and a half now. He loves it which makes me happy :). We moved him into his own apartment this weekend and it's amazing! We both really love the apartment - it's the perfect location, perfect layout and TONS of space, which is nice. My favorite is the master bathroom - I'll post pics when I get home.

Work has not been all that great lately. For the few of you that know what happened six months ago, well it started happening again and if I didn't have bills to pay I would probably have quit by now.

WARNING: small rant following.

What is it about my last two jobs (excluding day camp because I LOVED FBC!)? Seriously the last two "professional" jobs I've had have totally sucked. One paid me well but I was forced to change students' grades and deal with the complete idiocy and ignorance of an administration. Sometimes I wonder if I would still be teaching if it weren't for that horrible experience with that school administration. Now this job is really flexible with my schedule but the pay is CRAP. Who would have thought that I'd be working as basically a secretary after getting my degree? Definitely not me. God keeps reminding me to focus on Him and His plan for my life because sometimes what I think is best for me is not what He has planned.

Other than the job thing, everything else is going great! I'm excited for this weekend because our two favorite couples are coming over to see the new apartment! Hopefully I'll get on the ball and post pictures Monday. We'll see...

Hope you have a blessed day!

Two posts in one week!?

I know, I know. I never post twice a month let a lone twice in one week....but I'm trying to get better! :) Plus, I've been super bored at work lately.

Just a quick update. I've started several new things lately that I'm very excited about.

You know that I've started going back to school. This has definitely been a new experience. First of all, it's community college and I'm just in the pre-reqs so I'm in class with a myriad of people. Most of us are older... of course I'm getting this information from reading assignments because it's a class that is entirely online. Anyway, some of these people are stupid. I'm sorry...but they just are. The class is REALLY easy. It's Law and Ethics in Healthcare which honestly makes me roll my eyes. The assignments are easy, there's just a lot of them. But these people can't follow simple directions. Our prof clearly states that for one of our weekly assignments we have to write a 4 - 10 sentence summary of an article we find. Well, some of these people post 2 sentence summaries...hmmm. How can you summarize a 2 page article in two sentences? Anyway, I guess it's just a totally different world from my classmates at Baylor.

Something you might not know is that I've started taking a dance class again! Wohoo!!! For those of you that know me, you know that dance used to be my life and my one and only love. Well, I haven't taken a class in 5 years...that's right 5 years. I've missed it. So I went back to my old studio, which has been remodeled and makes me sad, but I'm getting over it. The only adult class they're offering this year is beginning tap. Well, not to sound arrogant, but even after 5 years I don't think I'd need to start over (in tap at least). So, for some stupid reason I decided to take the highest level of ballet they offer. Haha. My old teacher, who hasn't taught a real class in 4ish years because she went back to school is teaching it! I had my first class last week. I'm in a class with 14 year-olds. Are you kidding me?! Not to mention that they're ALL tall and SUPER thin, they're good (not as good as we were at that age though. I'm not biased :)). They are really nice though and didn't point and laugh. I don't think I was horrible, but I did get really frustrated because my mind remembered how to do it all, but my body was like "what the hell do you think you're trying to do?" I remember getting really frustrated because I was getting dizzy after doing two turns. Two turns? Things that used to come so naturally I'm now having to really concentrate on. Anyway, hopefully I'll get better as the weeks progress. I hope so because it hurt to walk for three days after that class.

Here's an old pic courtesy of Sara Sparrow. Senior year Drill Team Officer Camp. (If I find more pics that are digital I'll post them later).

I've also started volunteering at our church. I'm working on the welcome team and helping parents check-in their children before the service starts. I've only done it twice, but it's fun and I really like being a part of the church. Ellory and I have been going there for over a year now and still don't know very many people there so it's nice to know some names and faces in our church home.

Anyway, there's some of what's going on in life right now. I'm having lunch with Jen Bush Saturday and hopefully meeting her and Elizabeth early next week as well. I'm so blessed by her friendship and am SO excited that they're in town. I'll post pics next week.

Also, please pray for Jen and Ryan McCrady. They are going through some stressful times right now and need prayer. Thanks!

Have a blessed day!

Ellory's Birthday

So Ellory turned 25 on the 29th and we celebrated all weekend. I only have pics from his actual birthday though so I'll be brief.

(The weekend before we added Ellory into Jen's birthday celebration...which was a blast! :))

Friday (his actual birthday):
Ellory came over after work and I decided to make fondue...all three courses! We had cheese fondue which didn't turn out all that well...too much flour we decided. Then we had some beef and chicken with oil and some awesome sauces. I think this was Ellory's favorite course. Then we had chocolate with fruit and marshmallows....definitely my favorite. Dinner was accompanied with two bottles of wine. I know, two bottles, but it was his birthday :) After dinner we went outside and he smoked one of his birthday presents (a cigar). Here are some pics from the night:




Saturday:
We went to lunch with my mom to celebrate Ellory's birthday. Then we went to Ellory's mom's house to celebrate with her and Kellsye. The three womens (as Ellory would say) made dinner and cake and just hung out. We always have a great time and this was not an exception!

Monday:
We celebrated by going to dinner with Ellory's dad...yes we ate, again! He took us to Buffalo Wild Wings then to La Madeline for dessert. Can't go wrong with either of those (especially La Madeline, one of my favs).

Hopefully another post will be coming soon. I'm trying to get better at taking pictures because I know posts aren't as fun without pictures.

Have a blessed day!

Summer of Change

So as Jen so kindly pointed out, I haven't updated in awhile. This summer has definitely been a summer of change. Here are some of the highlights:

1. I GOT A NEW CAR!!!!
So, at the end of June my grandmother pointed out that my car sucked...haha. She said that I needed to get some things fixed, which I did but didn't really have the money to get them done. I went to have it checked and serviced and found out that it would be about $3000 just to fix it...haha, yeah right. The next week Ellory and I went to look at new (well, new to me) cars. I just thought we were looking, hadn't even cleaned out my car when we found the PERFECT car for me. Six hours, yep six hours, later I was the proud owner of a 2005 Black Mazda 3i. I said goodbye to the old Coug and haven't missed her since! Here are some pics!

I love it!!!!!!!

That's right...a back seat with doors to get into it!

I now have 6 cup holders and the music controls on the steering wheel! :)

2. I got a new phone!
I saw this Palm Centro in Walmart one day for $18 and thought it strange that a Palm phone would only be $18. I'm still not 100% sure as to why, but I did some research and so did Ellory on the phone itself. A week and a half ago Ellory called me from Sams...he saw it there for free with a new plan or $50 with an upgrade. Well, both of us were eligible for upgrades but didn't feel like spending $50 for a phone when our old ones worked just fine. After about 30 minutes of talking to the guy at Sams, we told him we'd just go next door to Walmart and get them for $18. The guy says..."you want me to make a call?" I chuckled and said, "sure, why not." When we left we each got the phone, a month data plan and the upgrade fee all for $32 a piece. The guy, said, "how's that?" And, my amazing boyfriend says, "throw in covers and you have a deal." The guy went to the back and brought out a pack of three covers and said, "here ya go." So, Ellory and I both have identical phones now but we LOVE them! (Ours our black)


3. Career change!
I'm not sure you can actually call it a career change seeing as how working in an office isn't really a career...but whatever. When I dropped the pre-med designation to my degree while I was in college, no one told me that you can't do ANYTHING with a Biology degree without having more education. So....with the support of family and friends I've decided to go back to school to pursue a career in Diagnostic Sonography. For those of you that aren't familiar... Diagnostic Sonographers are those that do the sonograms of pregnant women (they also do sonograms of all different parts of the body). The really frustrating part is that there are only 2 programs in the Metroplex for this career and one of those two costs $36,000. To make it worse, they each only take 10 students every June. So, I've got one shot at one program. AND, because I don't have direct patient-care experience I have to get an Associates Degree. When I first started down this path I thought I could finish my prerequisites by June....well I have to have them done by December in order to apply to the program. With a lot of prayer and talkin it out with Ellory I am going to continue to do what I have to but I won't be able to actually apply until next December and hopefully start the 18 month program in June 2010. It's definitely a lot longer of a plan than I'd like, but I know that if it's what God wants He will bless it and guide me through it. I'm excited and hopeful for the future. I start my first credit class on the 25th! Ah...weird this whole going back to school thing.

Thanks for reading. I'll try to update more often so the posts aren't as long.

Have a blessed week!

Longest Post Ever

So this past weekend was CRAZY!! Here's a quick (as quick as I can be :)) recap:

Friday:
Ellory and I left Flower Mound around 10:30 a.m. to head to Houston for Grant and Kelly's wedding. We got to Houston, picked up his tux then checked into our hotel. Side note: I booked our hotel through expedia.com which was a non-refundable payment. Our hotel SUCKED. It was in this back alley (after getting home and looking again at the picture online, they photoshopped the pictures ALOT), our room was dirty, the manager was extremely rude and wouldn't give me more than 1 extra towel. I've already complained and will hopefully get reimbursed.

Friday evening:
We went to the rehearsal and rehearsal dinner. The dinner was pretty fun. There was good food and an open bar. Here's a pic of Ellory and I at the dinner:
Saturday:
After getting up to eat breakfast, I went back to bed while Ellory went to the Butrum's house for a cook-out with the guys. I pretty much relaxed and slept which was nice.

Saturday evening:
This wedding was pretty much the most extravagant wedding I've ever been to, let alone ever been a part of. We met the groomsmen and ushers at the reception site and rode a party bus over to the church for the ceremony. The sanctuary of this church was decked out with tons of flowers:
The pictures don't really do it justice. Ellory looked amazing!!! The tuxes for the guys were very fancy...supposedly the only tux that's higher is one with a top hat! Ha. Here's some of me and my handsome man!



To add to the extravagance of this wedding, Kelly looked absolutely beautiful! Her veil was the full-length of the dress. Here's a picture, but again, this does not do her justice:

After the 45-minute ceremony we headed back onto the party bus were there was champaign and beer chilled and waiting for us. The bus took us back to the reception where Grant and Kelly rented out the entire clubhouse of this huge country club. They had about 4 rooms that people could sit to eat, tables outside on the patio, an ICE BAR, and a candy room!!! Now, the candy room was probably the most inventive thing I've seen at a wedding. Instead of giving individual party favors to each guest, they had a small room set-up with a huge table. On the table were cute little bags with cute little pink close-pins. There were about 10 - 12 different jars with little scoops and tongs for you to make your own candy bag....literally it was like a candy store! Then, we were talking to the wedding planner and she said that it was all Kelly's idea and she made ALL of the candy!! Crazy but adorable. Okay, here are pics of all that I just described!!!!

The Clubhouse

Room #1

Room #2

Room #3

Room #4

Bar made of ICE!!!!

Grant and Kelly's initials carved into the ice bar

Boot ice sculpture icing down some beers

Candy/cookie favors

Cute label they had on all the candy/cookies

Even though everything was awesome and so extravagant, Ellory and I had to leave about an hour after we got to the reception. We left around 10 and went back to the hotel. Gave Beaton the key, changed clothes and got our bags. We headed back to Flower Mound around 10:30 p.m. Saturday night and got back around 3:15 a.m. Sunday morning.

Sunday morning:
Ellory still had some things to pack/get done before he left in the morning so I tried to stay up with him and we both went to bed around 4:30. His mom came and picked him up around 8:00 a.m. on Sunday morning and they left for the airport. He's in Spain now until Sunday, and that makes me sad.

Anyway, that's the tale of our whirlwind of a weekend. Here's the last pic of the weekend!

Have a blessed day!!

Update

Sorry that it's been so long since a post. Things have been kinda crazy.

Since I last posted a few exciting things have happened. I guess it was two Saturday's ago now I went to Jen Bush's baby shower. It was so cute and exciting! Jen is one of my first friends to have a baby and it's really weird. It just seems like life is happening so quickly..not just for me, but for my friends too. Jen and Stephen are going to be amazing parents! They are both such caring and nurturing people. Elizabeth is a lucky baby!! Unfortunately, they are moving in a month and this makes me very sad. Jen is one of my favorite people. Most of you probably know this, but we taught together at A.J. Moore and I couldn't have made it without her. She is so encouraging and uplifting, and no matter how down I'm feeling about myself, she always has a way to lift me up. Anyway, here are some pics from the shower!

Opening presents!!! Notice all the cute pink decorations!!!

The mother-to-be and me

Classic pic. Except we're on the wrong sides Jen!!! What were we thinking?!

My Mom and Me

So...to continue with the update. The day after the shower Ellory and I went to church with his mom like usual then she decided to take us to lunch and a movie. Well...after lunch at Lubys (don't judge...it's good) we went to see the new Indiana Jones movie. The movie was okay, but Ellory's mom decided we needed to turn our one matinée into a double-feature. She says that as long as it's against Hollywood she's all for it. :) For those of you who aren't aware, a double-feature means you pay for one movie but you see two. Well, our double-feature turned into a triple-feature. Go figure. Ellory and I have never done this and the one time we do, it's because his mom suggested it!! It was great. We also saw Maid of Honor and Iron Man. I'd say Iron Man was probably the best of the three.

Memorial day was great. Ellory and I just relaxed and enjoyed each other's company.

This coming weekend should be interesting. We're going to Houston for a wedding then Ellory is leaving for Spain on Sunday. :( I'll be posting early next week to let you know how the weekend goes.

Hope your day is blessed!!