Not long after my last post I made a decision to stop blogging. I decided I was sharing too much online and becoming too personal. But as I've looked over previous posts, I realize how much I enjoy having a record of life events and happenings. Little things that don't always stay in memories. Thus, I have decided to give blogging a try once more, but to keep things light, and less personal.
So, since fall 2011 what's new?
Tad and I moved from our condo to a beautiful house about a mile away. We have a big backyard for Valencia, lots of space for us and kids, fantastic neighbors, and I can still walk to work, though it takes me twice as long.
I'm working at the same school, and still love it. This year I am also at the middle school one day a week. I don't exactly love it, but I'm trying to enjoy having new experiences. I am a fully licensed, certified SLP and a permanent district employee. Like I said, very happy with my job.
My grandma passed away in early 2012, which was absolutely devastating for our family. We grieved together and have come to a new normal. My grandpa moved into a Christian retirement community and is happy as a clam there. My other grandma has recently moved from Nevada to a retirement home in Seattle near my aunt.
Tad and I have done quite a bit of traveling including a trip to visit his grandparents in St Louis, our 1st anniversary in New England, a couple trips of to the PNW to visit family and friends, and a trip to Colorado to visit friends. We are in the beginning stages of planning an international trip, either to Spain or Japan.
I was elected as CCLVI secretary in Louisville in 2012 and have enjoyed serving in that position for thae last couple years. I do not plan to run for re-election this summer.
Tad and I changed churches to one closer to home and joined a home group. We'It's been a blessing having friends in our local area.
And that pretty much sums it up. Life is going well, God has bestowed many blessings on us.
Showing posts with label Tad. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Tad. Show all posts
Thursday, November 7, 2013
Monday, November 7, 2011
7.23.11
Tad and I have been married for just over 3 months, and it's still sinking in that I'm married. The week of my wedding was wonderful, but went by much too fast. I want to relive it over and over again, hehe :D
The Wednesday before the wedding I had my hair trial, which was a lot of fun. That was also the day that Tad's groomsmen John and Nate arrived. John flew, Nate drove. The boys came up to my parents' house for dinner, a swim, and a game of Word on the Street. It was fun getting to chat more with John and Nate. I had only ever met John once and hadn't seen either of the guys for a few years at least. Mom took a liking to Nate and spent the weekend trying to set him up with one of my friends, primarily Raelene.
Thursday, Mom and I got our manicures and pedicures together. Mom sent a text to Raelene about the "hunk" of a groomsmen who "likes walks on the beach". Becky, Krista, and Jen arrived in the afternoon and we enjoyed getting ready for my bachelorette party. Raelene made sure we were well dressed with crowns, light up rings, temporary tattoos, and a sash for me. We enjoyed a delicious dinner at Miguel's. I had a sangria and a mojito and shared enchiladas with Anja. We saw Fabio playing a saxophone in a bathtub, and the restaurant gave us a free mudpie.
Meanwhile across town, the boys were earning tons of tickets at Dave & Busters, and Tad was breaking a glass.
Becky, Jen, and Krista and I returned to my parents house where my dad made us margaritas and we enjoyed some jacuzzi time.
Wedding Eve (aka Friday), I took my 3 girls out to lunch at the Rancho Bernardo winery. It was a gorgeous day, with delicious lemonade, sandwiches, soup, salads, and cheesecake. We had a little time to rest in the afternoon before the rehearsal. Everything at the rehearsal went smoothly. The family and guests got to met and mingle, etc. Then it was straight to the rehearsal dinner at Villa Capri 2. Most of the rehearsal dinner is fuzzy to me. I was extremely out of it and emotional with wedding jitters. Tad and John kept me pulled together. The food was all incredible, everyone had more than enough to eat and enjoyed chatting.
After dinner it was back home. We opened some gifts that had arrived and exchanged our gifts with each. I gave Tad an engraved pocket watch and he gaveme an engraved jewlery box. Surprisingly, I dd sleep that night.
I feel the events of the wedding day will remain more special if I do not chronicle them in a blog, but it was an inredible day. Better than I had ever dreamed of. From the note Tad had written to me to be read while getting ready, to all the snapshot memories of the ceremony, taking pictures with our friends and family, and having a BLAST at our reception. We have our pictures back already, I can't wait to see the video :)
I love my husband!<3
The Wednesday before the wedding I had my hair trial, which was a lot of fun. That was also the day that Tad's groomsmen John and Nate arrived. John flew, Nate drove. The boys came up to my parents' house for dinner, a swim, and a game of Word on the Street. It was fun getting to chat more with John and Nate. I had only ever met John once and hadn't seen either of the guys for a few years at least. Mom took a liking to Nate and spent the weekend trying to set him up with one of my friends, primarily Raelene.
Thursday, Mom and I got our manicures and pedicures together. Mom sent a text to Raelene about the "hunk" of a groomsmen who "likes walks on the beach". Becky, Krista, and Jen arrived in the afternoon and we enjoyed getting ready for my bachelorette party. Raelene made sure we were well dressed with crowns, light up rings, temporary tattoos, and a sash for me. We enjoyed a delicious dinner at Miguel's. I had a sangria and a mojito and shared enchiladas with Anja. We saw Fabio playing a saxophone in a bathtub, and the restaurant gave us a free mudpie.
Meanwhile across town, the boys were earning tons of tickets at Dave & Busters, and Tad was breaking a glass.
Becky, Jen, and Krista and I returned to my parents house where my dad made us margaritas and we enjoyed some jacuzzi time.
Wedding Eve (aka Friday), I took my 3 girls out to lunch at the Rancho Bernardo winery. It was a gorgeous day, with delicious lemonade, sandwiches, soup, salads, and cheesecake. We had a little time to rest in the afternoon before the rehearsal. Everything at the rehearsal went smoothly. The family and guests got to met and mingle, etc. Then it was straight to the rehearsal dinner at Villa Capri 2. Most of the rehearsal dinner is fuzzy to me. I was extremely out of it and emotional with wedding jitters. Tad and John kept me pulled together. The food was all incredible, everyone had more than enough to eat and enjoyed chatting.
After dinner it was back home. We opened some gifts that had arrived and exchanged our gifts with each. I gave Tad an engraved pocket watch and he gaveme an engraved jewlery box. Surprisingly, I dd sleep that night.
I feel the events of the wedding day will remain more special if I do not chronicle them in a blog, but it was an inredible day. Better than I had ever dreamed of. From the note Tad had written to me to be read while getting ready, to all the snapshot memories of the ceremony, taking pictures with our friends and family, and having a BLAST at our reception. We have our pictures back already, I can't wait to see the video :)
I love my husband!<3
Wednesday, July 6, 2011
Wedding Jitters
Somehow I thought I would be immune to wedding planning related stress and pre-nuptial butterflies. Boy was I mistaken! At some point in June, after moving home for the summer, I found myself thinking, "gosh, I'm going to be sad when I don't have any more wedding things to plan.". About a month later, I'm feeling that I will be very glad when the planning is over, and I can just have my wedding. Once you get down to counting weeks, the pressure is on to finish up all those little hanging details. My mom and I (and Tad have been checking them off steadily, but it still feels like there's so much left to do!
And then, on top of that, the butterflies have hit. Tad had his butterflies early, thinking about how things would change, etc, etc. I knew if I were to have them, they would be close to the actual day. It's not a "oh my goodness am I making the right decision?" kind of nervousness, I know Tad is the one for me, and I want to marry him. It's the "oh no, I'm at one of those big life events" nervousness. The same kind of nervousness I got around high school and Biola graduation. This is a great change for my life, I'm just going to feel nervous now until it actually happens.
Fortunately, my nervous freak out moments are balanced out with moments of great excitement. I've been telling people it changes by the hour. Thank goodness July 23rd is almost here!!!
And then, on top of that, the butterflies have hit. Tad had his butterflies early, thinking about how things would change, etc, etc. I knew if I were to have them, they would be close to the actual day. It's not a "oh my goodness am I making the right decision?" kind of nervousness, I know Tad is the one for me, and I want to marry him. It's the "oh no, I'm at one of those big life events" nervousness. The same kind of nervousness I got around high school and Biola graduation. This is a great change for my life, I'm just going to feel nervous now until it actually happens.
Fortunately, my nervous freak out moments are balanced out with moments of great excitement. I've been telling people it changes by the hour. Thank goodness July 23rd is almost here!!!
4th of July 2011
Last Independence Day as a free woman....just kidding! :D
This year, 4th of July actualy FELT like 4th of July. In contrast to last year's 60-something degree, overcast day, this year we were given a bright, sunny day with highs in the mid to upper 80s. Now that's summer!
Our family invited the Jennings family over to swim and enjoy dessert and the Westview fireworks. It was a pretty good show. We joined our neighbors at the end of the street to watch from the comfort of our own neighborhood.
On the actual Fourth of July, Tad drove up in the late morning to hang out. We worked on some wedding plans (specifically the seating chart) and went swimming in the afternoon. My grandparents and uncle Jeff joined us for a bbq dinner. Tad and I were the only ones up for fireworks (since my family had already seen some on Saturday) and set out a bit early to pick up some snacks.
Tad had brought chocolate covered cherries with him, and we picked up a couple apple pies and a smoothie from McDonald's on our way to the Mira Mesa fireworks. We had to park a few blocks away, but arrived in the grassy park *just* as the show started. It was a beautiful show, especially since it was our first to watch together :)
We rounded out our night by dropping in to see Raelene at work and chatted with her for a bit while she started closing up.
This year, 4th of July actualy FELT like 4th of July. In contrast to last year's 60-something degree, overcast day, this year we were given a bright, sunny day with highs in the mid to upper 80s. Now that's summer!
Our family invited the Jennings family over to swim and enjoy dessert and the Westview fireworks. It was a pretty good show. We joined our neighbors at the end of the street to watch from the comfort of our own neighborhood.
On the actual Fourth of July, Tad drove up in the late morning to hang out. We worked on some wedding plans (specifically the seating chart) and went swimming in the afternoon. My grandparents and uncle Jeff joined us for a bbq dinner. Tad and I were the only ones up for fireworks (since my family had already seen some on Saturday) and set out a bit early to pick up some snacks.
Tad had brought chocolate covered cherries with him, and we picked up a couple apple pies and a smoothie from McDonald's on our way to the Mira Mesa fireworks. We had to park a few blocks away, but arrived in the grassy park *just* as the show started. It was a beautiful show, especially since it was our first to watch together :)
We rounded out our night by dropping in to see Raelene at work and chatted with her for a bit while she started closing up.
Sunday, June 26, 2011
Birthday in Hollywood
Last week I celebrated y last birthday before becoming a married woman with Tad and some of my favorite girls in the Hollywood area. Becky and I always have a birthday outing (her day si two days after mine). This year's outing was scheduled around Tad's surprise for me: tickets to see the taping of Conan!
Tad and I picked Krista up in Orange County and met Becky at the Hollywood and Highland Center (a huge mall on Hollywood Blvd). The plan was to have lunch and see some of the walk of fame. We only had time for lunch, but it was still fun. The mall is pretty cool. It's really big and has all sorts of little decorations around about being famous. There's a large courtyard with one of those in-the-ground fountains for kids to play in. We ate at CPK and enjoyed quesadilla appetizers and a bbq chicken pizza with bacon. Becky and I got Tad to tell the waiter it was our birthdays so we could get free icecream sundaes, hehe
Tad and I had to be to the Conan lot by 1:30 to claim our tickets, so we bid farewell to the girls and headed up to Burbank. The waiting was quite boring. We picked up our tickets , went through security, and then had about an hour to kill. There was a small souvenir stand, but it was overpriced. It might've been more exciting if we had been waiting somewhere other than a parking garage. Since we had V with us, we got called early to ride on a golf cart over to the sound stage (a nice treat since it was a bit of a walk and rather warm out). Once there we waited for another 45 minutes of so before getting to go into the studio.
It was really cool being there. Everything from the show is just, right there. The studio is a bit smaller than it looks on tv. Once things got started, it went by quickly. The warm up comedian came out and interacted with the audience while explaining safety rules. Andy came out, and then the band started playing. The show tapes pretty much in real time. The band starts a song as you go into commercial, they keep playing during the commercial, and then finish as the show comes back.
It was a great show to be at. Conan's monologue was a pretty good one, and all 3 guests (Neil Patrick Harris, Emily Mortimer, and a great comedian) were all really entertaining. After the show, Tad and I agreed that it was a neat experience, but not something we needed to do regularly. :)
By the time we were finished and out of the lot, it was 5:30 time for dinner. And what is Lindsey's current favorite birthday restaurant? RED ROBIN! We met Becky and Krista and en at a Red Robin in the Glendale Galleria mall. It was nice to get to hang out and chat some more (and to see Jen). Tad and I shared a "Groovy Smoothie" which was fantastic! The table consensus was that it tasted like jelly beans. I also tried a new burger: the pub burger. FANTASTIC!!! It has like monterey cheese, garlic mayo, onion straws, and mushrooms. I think there are a few other things, but yeah, new favorite tied with the BBQ burger.
This meal around we got Krista to inform the waiter of the birthdays and enjoyed a second icecream sundae. Boy do we live on the wild side! Once we'd finished our icecream it was about 8:00, which meant it was time for Tad and me (and Krista, who we were driving home) to hit the road. While dropping Krista off, I got to see their little puppies, so adorable!
It was a great day. I felt a little strange not having my parents around (they were on vacation in China), but we'll just celebrate a little late. My family is into having birthdays last the entire month of your birth. Tad took me out to lunch just the two of us the day before my birthday (Father's Day) at Red Lobster. I had cocnut shrimp, and we got a key lime pie and a brownie a la mode. Raelene and I went out Friday for happy hour at applebees and had margaritas and appetizers. I have so much to look forward to for 24: getting married, a new job, and a new life with my husband. Definitely looking forward to my first birthday as a maried lady :)
Tad and I picked Krista up in Orange County and met Becky at the Hollywood and Highland Center (a huge mall on Hollywood Blvd). The plan was to have lunch and see some of the walk of fame. We only had time for lunch, but it was still fun. The mall is pretty cool. It's really big and has all sorts of little decorations around about being famous. There's a large courtyard with one of those in-the-ground fountains for kids to play in. We ate at CPK and enjoyed quesadilla appetizers and a bbq chicken pizza with bacon. Becky and I got Tad to tell the waiter it was our birthdays so we could get free icecream sundaes, hehe
Tad and I had to be to the Conan lot by 1:30 to claim our tickets, so we bid farewell to the girls and headed up to Burbank. The waiting was quite boring. We picked up our tickets , went through security, and then had about an hour to kill. There was a small souvenir stand, but it was overpriced. It might've been more exciting if we had been waiting somewhere other than a parking garage. Since we had V with us, we got called early to ride on a golf cart over to the sound stage (a nice treat since it was a bit of a walk and rather warm out). Once there we waited for another 45 minutes of so before getting to go into the studio.
It was really cool being there. Everything from the show is just, right there. The studio is a bit smaller than it looks on tv. Once things got started, it went by quickly. The warm up comedian came out and interacted with the audience while explaining safety rules. Andy came out, and then the band started playing. The show tapes pretty much in real time. The band starts a song as you go into commercial, they keep playing during the commercial, and then finish as the show comes back.
It was a great show to be at. Conan's monologue was a pretty good one, and all 3 guests (Neil Patrick Harris, Emily Mortimer, and a great comedian) were all really entertaining. After the show, Tad and I agreed that it was a neat experience, but not something we needed to do regularly. :)
By the time we were finished and out of the lot, it was 5:30 time for dinner. And what is Lindsey's current favorite birthday restaurant? RED ROBIN! We met Becky and Krista and en at a Red Robin in the Glendale Galleria mall. It was nice to get to hang out and chat some more (and to see Jen). Tad and I shared a "Groovy Smoothie" which was fantastic! The table consensus was that it tasted like jelly beans. I also tried a new burger: the pub burger. FANTASTIC!!! It has like monterey cheese, garlic mayo, onion straws, and mushrooms. I think there are a few other things, but yeah, new favorite tied with the BBQ burger.
This meal around we got Krista to inform the waiter of the birthdays and enjoyed a second icecream sundae. Boy do we live on the wild side! Once we'd finished our icecream it was about 8:00, which meant it was time for Tad and me (and Krista, who we were driving home) to hit the road. While dropping Krista off, I got to see their little puppies, so adorable!
It was a great day. I felt a little strange not having my parents around (they were on vacation in China), but we'll just celebrate a little late. My family is into having birthdays last the entire month of your birth. Tad took me out to lunch just the two of us the day before my birthday (Father's Day) at Red Lobster. I had cocnut shrimp, and we got a key lime pie and a brownie a la mode. Raelene and I went out Friday for happy hour at applebees and had margaritas and appetizers. I have so much to look forward to for 24: getting married, a new job, and a new life with my husband. Definitely looking forward to my first birthday as a maried lady :)
Saturday, June 11, 2011
More Bridal Fun
Last weekend was my second in a row jam packed with wedding related fun. On Saturday, I had my San Diego bridal shower, and on Sunday, my parents, Tad, and I went to my friend Christine's wedding. Here are some highlights from both!
My shower was a lot of fun. It was quite different from the Biola one in that there were about 3 times as many people, we had it in our house, and it was mostly relatives and family friends rather than college friends. The party planning was a team effort by Raelene (my maid of honor), my mom's friend Kathy (who did much of the cooking), my mom's friend Diana, and my mom.
The theme was "Around the Clock", which turned out to be a lot of fun. Each guest was given a time of day on their invitation and asked to bring a gift that would be used during that time. For example, for the morning times I received a toaster and a waffle maker. For the afternoon times: a popcorn popper with a movie and penguin hot chocolate mugs. For the evening, candles and our ceramic toothbrush and tissue box holders.
The party was fairly laid back, as most parties with that many people have to be. We enjoyed delicious afternoon tea foods including scones, fresh fruit, sandwiches, and a lemon cream dessert. My mom and I had planned the games together. We did a memory game with different kitchen items on an apron that I wore and walked around the room. We also had put together a "How well do you know Lindsey?" activity. Mom and I brainstormed a list of 20 questions about me: everything from "How old is she?" to "What's her favorite Disney princess?". The night before, we asked Tad the questions and wrote down his answers. That made giving the answers more fun at the party because we could read Tad's response. Krista got the most right with 13/20. Raelene was a close second with 12/20. Both beat Tad who got 10/20.
The final activity we had planned was the first kiss game. People wrote down a couple things about what made their first kiss memorable on an index card. Volunteers read the cards and I had to pick the "most romantic" one. The rest of the time was spent visiting with my guests. It was a very nice party.
Our party continued on Sunday with Christine (Elizabeth, as she goes by now) and Eric's wedding. The weather was pretty much perfect for a June wedding: sunny but not too hot. It was held at Los Willows in Fallbrook. Los Willows is a property basically designed for hosting weddings. There is a beautiful lake next to a big sloping lawn with a gazebo, a bar area with belly tables, several other buildings for getting ready, and a semi-permanent tent.
Tad, my parents, and I arrived quite a bit early and enjoyed exploring the grounds a it before the other guests arrived. There was some mingling time beforehand to sign the guestbook and enjoy a glass of lemonade. It was a beautiful ceremony. True to her personality and interests, Christine arrived in a boat, accompanied by opera music. A unique touch that I haven't seen at a wedding before was a foot washing that she and Eric did.
The party that followed was also quite beautiful. We sampled many delicious appetizers during the cocktail hour and enjoyed their signature drink "Honey I Do", a blue mai tai. Tad and I got to chat quite a bit with Elizabeth and Matthew too which was nice. The dinner reception was quite fun. We sat with my parents and four mutual friends between my mom and Christine's mom.
Tad and I used the dancing time to practice a bit for our upcoming day. We've decided we still need a bit more practice ;) haha. All in all it was a great afternoon and evening. Christine and Eric looked very happy and we're happy for them starting their new lives. My thought now is "The next wedding I attend will be my own!", a very exciting thought :)
My shower was a lot of fun. It was quite different from the Biola one in that there were about 3 times as many people, we had it in our house, and it was mostly relatives and family friends rather than college friends. The party planning was a team effort by Raelene (my maid of honor), my mom's friend Kathy (who did much of the cooking), my mom's friend Diana, and my mom.
The theme was "Around the Clock", which turned out to be a lot of fun. Each guest was given a time of day on their invitation and asked to bring a gift that would be used during that time. For example, for the morning times I received a toaster and a waffle maker. For the afternoon times: a popcorn popper with a movie and penguin hot chocolate mugs. For the evening, candles and our ceramic toothbrush and tissue box holders.
The party was fairly laid back, as most parties with that many people have to be. We enjoyed delicious afternoon tea foods including scones, fresh fruit, sandwiches, and a lemon cream dessert. My mom and I had planned the games together. We did a memory game with different kitchen items on an apron that I wore and walked around the room. We also had put together a "How well do you know Lindsey?" activity. Mom and I brainstormed a list of 20 questions about me: everything from "How old is she?" to "What's her favorite Disney princess?". The night before, we asked Tad the questions and wrote down his answers. That made giving the answers more fun at the party because we could read Tad's response. Krista got the most right with 13/20. Raelene was a close second with 12/20. Both beat Tad who got 10/20.
The final activity we had planned was the first kiss game. People wrote down a couple things about what made their first kiss memorable on an index card. Volunteers read the cards and I had to pick the "most romantic" one. The rest of the time was spent visiting with my guests. It was a very nice party.
Our party continued on Sunday with Christine (Elizabeth, as she goes by now) and Eric's wedding. The weather was pretty much perfect for a June wedding: sunny but not too hot. It was held at Los Willows in Fallbrook. Los Willows is a property basically designed for hosting weddings. There is a beautiful lake next to a big sloping lawn with a gazebo, a bar area with belly tables, several other buildings for getting ready, and a semi-permanent tent.
Tad, my parents, and I arrived quite a bit early and enjoyed exploring the grounds a it before the other guests arrived. There was some mingling time beforehand to sign the guestbook and enjoy a glass of lemonade. It was a beautiful ceremony. True to her personality and interests, Christine arrived in a boat, accompanied by opera music. A unique touch that I haven't seen at a wedding before was a foot washing that she and Eric did.
The party that followed was also quite beautiful. We sampled many delicious appetizers during the cocktail hour and enjoyed their signature drink "Honey I Do", a blue mai tai. Tad and I got to chat quite a bit with Elizabeth and Matthew too which was nice. The dinner reception was quite fun. We sat with my parents and four mutual friends between my mom and Christine's mom.
Tad and I used the dancing time to practice a bit for our upcoming day. We've decided we still need a bit more practice ;) haha. All in all it was a great afternoon and evening. Christine and Eric looked very happy and we're happy for them starting their new lives. My thought now is "The next wedding I attend will be my own!", a very exciting thought :)
Thursday, June 2, 2011
Job Applications and Wedding Plans
I always seem to be caught off guard by how busy a person can be, even when they technically have not. I am finishing out week 2 of summer vacation and have somehow been extraordinarily busy, even outside of the trip up to LA. Since graduation I have applied for 3 schol district positions and 3 private practice positions. None of the school districts are ready to review applications. I have an interview next Friday at one of the private practices. It is the position I am currently favoring because of its location and population. Prayers are always appreciated. I left a message for the other private practice today and submitted my resume to the third PP. I am very excited to see which door God opens for me, especially because once I know where I'll be working, Tad and I can look for an apartment.
Tad has also been busy on the job front. No new interviews, but he's had a few job leads. A man from PLC works at one of the locations Tad applied and said they respond well to inside recommendations. Tad just finished an aplicaiton for Office Depot and is working on several school positions that are available.
Now, about the fun part of life, wedding planning. It's been so refreshing to be able to spend a few hours at a time working on wedding details without feeling guilty. Mom and I met with the videographer and showed him around the church and reception site. I worked on my bridesmaid gifts, bought Tad's wedding gift, and have been helping with a few of the details for my shower this weekend. I thoroughly enjoy all of it and will be a tiny bit sad when there isn't anything more to plan, haha! :)
Tad has also been busy on the job front. No new interviews, but he's had a few job leads. A man from PLC works at one of the locations Tad applied and said they respond well to inside recommendations. Tad just finished an aplicaiton for Office Depot and is working on several school positions that are available.
Now, about the fun part of life, wedding planning. It's been so refreshing to be able to spend a few hours at a time working on wedding details without feeling guilty. Mom and I met with the videographer and showed him around the church and reception site. I worked on my bridesmaid gifts, bought Tad's wedding gift, and have been helping with a few of the details for my shower this weekend. I thoroughly enjoy all of it and will be a tiny bit sad when there isn't anything more to plan, haha! :)
Monday, May 23, 2011
Post Graduation Fun
The day I had been longing for for nearly two years finally arrived: graduation. Grad school was so ridiculously stressful and overwhelming at times that it seemed like it would never end, but id did. praise God for his mercy and grace! It was a nice ceremony, nothing too remarkable or memorable, but a nice ceremony. I think I may have been more impressed had I not experienced the wonderfulness of Biola graduations. The three things that were better about SDSU's graduation: 1) it was indoors, so we weren't all sweaty and sunburned by the end, 2) Tad was able to be there to celebrate with me, and 3) I got a master's degree and got "hooded" on stage. Valencia liked this one better because she got her name called as we walked across.
Following the ceremony my department held a reception in the lobby of our building to celebrate and for our families to meet the other students and the faculty. I met up with my entourage (Tad, my parents, Stephen, Raelene, and Tad's 'aunt' Judy) there and enjoyed some refreshments. It got pretty crowded pretty fast, but we stayed long enough to take a few pictures and for my mom to re-met Charlotte, who was already clinic director when Stephen received speech therapy there at age 4.
From the reception we (minus Raelene, who had to work) went to Casa Guadalajara's in Old Town for lunch. This was an easy restaurant choice because we were all ableto take the trolley and avoid traffic. Lunch was a good chance for my family and Judy to get to know each other a bit better and for my mom and me to share a grande strawberry margarita. ;) The one other thing that was better about this graduation than Biola's was that I didn't have to do a huge move home and say goodbye to my pup for 10 days.
The celebrations continued on Saturday with a trip to the San Diego Zoo Safari Park (FKA Wild Animal Park). Some of the anesthesiologists in my dad's department help out the vets at the zoo. As a thank you, they periodically get the opportunity to go on the caravan excursions in the park enclosures. This year the department opened the opportunity up to the family members. And that's how all 6 of us (my family and Tad) found ourselves outside the park at 7:30 am on a Saturday.
I had been on the caravan tour once before when I was about 9 with Braille Institute and was thrilled to get to go again. The 60 some of us in the group divided into 4 different safari trucks and set out for our 2 hour excursion. We had a delightful guide named Amanda who I swear knew everything there is to know about animals that I forget exist if I don't go to the zoo for a while. We saw rhinos, gazelles, Asian sheep and deer, and several antelope whose mating cries sound like belches haha. I took tons of pictures, which can be viewed on facebook.
The interactive portions of our tour came in the feeding of a male rhino named Bo-Poo and a female giraffe (whose name we were not told). We fed Bo-Poo apple slices and the giraffe Australian acasia leaves. Both were interesting experiences; on one hand, having your hand in the mouth of a wild animal, on the other, having an animal's long tongue wrap around your hand. It was a lot of fun, minus the fact that Valencia couldn't come along for that part of the day. She stayed in a kennel near the entrance and was not very happy about it.
After our tour we enjoyed a nice catered lunch of sandwiches, salads, and cookies while listening to a presentation on special equipment for animal surgeries. We had the rest of the day free to enjoy the park. My family spent the next several hours enjoying a jungle carousel ride, watching the bird show, and visiting the gorillas, elephants, and tigers. My parents and brothers headed for home in the early afternoon, and Tad and I stayed for another hour or so. We were really glad we did when we got to see a cheetah cub up close. The day really made me think about how many wonderful things God has created on this earth :).
Tad and I tried to enjoy my "no more school" days to the fullest before I moved home and was a little farther away. Bright and early Monday morning we trolleyed from the condo to County Center to pick up our marriage license. It felt quite a bit like being at the DMV, except people were (generally) a lot less grouchy. License in hand, we trolleyed back to the condo. Tad joked for the next couple days that now I REALLY couldn't back out because he had spent $50 on it, lol.
The rest of Monday we worked on packing my things and cleaning. By the time we had eaten dinner we both needed to see something other than the inside of my half empty condo. Remembering the Coldstone gift card I was given for graduation, I declared it to be time for icecream. This was a good decision on my part because when we got to Coldstone, there was a sign out front that read "Happy Hour: Mon-Fri 5-7 pm. Buy one get one free.". It was 6:00. Yay for free icecream! I got cheesecake with Kit Kat and Tad got Peach Iced Tea (which was INCREDIBLE! I highly recommend it.) with heath bar. A very tasty way to spend an evening. :)
The next day (Tuesday) we had ourselves a bit of a day trip. We left in the afternoon for Long Beach and met Krista for dinner at Subway. Upon completing our meal, Tad said he was still hungry. So, we walked across the street to Taco Bell for caramel empenadas. Once our desserts were finished it was time to go to CSU Long Beach for Becky's graduate recital. I had the pleasant surprise of seeing Karissa and Vanessa there.
Becky's recital had originally been scheduled for Good Friday, but her teacher had advised her to reschedule because there were some things that needed repairing on her clarinets. This was disappointing at first, but turned out to be a huge blessing because Becky's parents were able to come. They flew in late Monday night from the Philippines and were quite jetlagged, but seemed very happy to be able to be there. It was nice for me to see them again too.
Becky looked and sounded beautiful. I was surprised at the end to realize that she had played a 90 minute recital. That's a lot of playing! The reception that followed was delightful as well. There were several kinds of cheeses, smoked salmon, cookies, a delightful fruit salad, and two very rich cakes (one white with berries, one chocolate), plus a variety of sodas.
The next two days were spent moving out of the condo. We were able to load up most of my furniture and things on Wednesday and come back Thursday for the rest of it. It was surprising to me that the move was bittersweet. It goes to show just how sentimental I am and what a difficult time I have with change. I was thrilled to be moving out and getting away from a certain roommate, yet I still felt weird about leaving the place I had lived for nearly two years. Other than home, that's the longest I've lived anywhere. One thing that's for sure, I am beyond excited to share my next home with Tad! =D
*A side note, I created this post on May 23, but did not finish it until about a week later. I didn't predict the future, just took my time blogging, hehe*
Following the ceremony my department held a reception in the lobby of our building to celebrate and for our families to meet the other students and the faculty. I met up with my entourage (Tad, my parents, Stephen, Raelene, and Tad's 'aunt' Judy) there and enjoyed some refreshments. It got pretty crowded pretty fast, but we stayed long enough to take a few pictures and for my mom to re-met Charlotte, who was already clinic director when Stephen received speech therapy there at age 4.
From the reception we (minus Raelene, who had to work) went to Casa Guadalajara's in Old Town for lunch. This was an easy restaurant choice because we were all ableto take the trolley and avoid traffic. Lunch was a good chance for my family and Judy to get to know each other a bit better and for my mom and me to share a grande strawberry margarita. ;) The one other thing that was better about this graduation than Biola's was that I didn't have to do a huge move home and say goodbye to my pup for 10 days.
The celebrations continued on Saturday with a trip to the San Diego Zoo Safari Park (FKA Wild Animal Park). Some of the anesthesiologists in my dad's department help out the vets at the zoo. As a thank you, they periodically get the opportunity to go on the caravan excursions in the park enclosures. This year the department opened the opportunity up to the family members. And that's how all 6 of us (my family and Tad) found ourselves outside the park at 7:30 am on a Saturday.
I had been on the caravan tour once before when I was about 9 with Braille Institute and was thrilled to get to go again. The 60 some of us in the group divided into 4 different safari trucks and set out for our 2 hour excursion. We had a delightful guide named Amanda who I swear knew everything there is to know about animals that I forget exist if I don't go to the zoo for a while. We saw rhinos, gazelles, Asian sheep and deer, and several antelope whose mating cries sound like belches haha. I took tons of pictures, which can be viewed on facebook.
The interactive portions of our tour came in the feeding of a male rhino named Bo-Poo and a female giraffe (whose name we were not told). We fed Bo-Poo apple slices and the giraffe Australian acasia leaves. Both were interesting experiences; on one hand, having your hand in the mouth of a wild animal, on the other, having an animal's long tongue wrap around your hand. It was a lot of fun, minus the fact that Valencia couldn't come along for that part of the day. She stayed in a kennel near the entrance and was not very happy about it.
After our tour we enjoyed a nice catered lunch of sandwiches, salads, and cookies while listening to a presentation on special equipment for animal surgeries. We had the rest of the day free to enjoy the park. My family spent the next several hours enjoying a jungle carousel ride, watching the bird show, and visiting the gorillas, elephants, and tigers. My parents and brothers headed for home in the early afternoon, and Tad and I stayed for another hour or so. We were really glad we did when we got to see a cheetah cub up close. The day really made me think about how many wonderful things God has created on this earth :).
Tad and I tried to enjoy my "no more school" days to the fullest before I moved home and was a little farther away. Bright and early Monday morning we trolleyed from the condo to County Center to pick up our marriage license. It felt quite a bit like being at the DMV, except people were (generally) a lot less grouchy. License in hand, we trolleyed back to the condo. Tad joked for the next couple days that now I REALLY couldn't back out because he had spent $50 on it, lol.
The rest of Monday we worked on packing my things and cleaning. By the time we had eaten dinner we both needed to see something other than the inside of my half empty condo. Remembering the Coldstone gift card I was given for graduation, I declared it to be time for icecream. This was a good decision on my part because when we got to Coldstone, there was a sign out front that read "Happy Hour: Mon-Fri 5-7 pm. Buy one get one free.". It was 6:00. Yay for free icecream! I got cheesecake with Kit Kat and Tad got Peach Iced Tea (which was INCREDIBLE! I highly recommend it.) with heath bar. A very tasty way to spend an evening. :)
The next day (Tuesday) we had ourselves a bit of a day trip. We left in the afternoon for Long Beach and met Krista for dinner at Subway. Upon completing our meal, Tad said he was still hungry. So, we walked across the street to Taco Bell for caramel empenadas. Once our desserts were finished it was time to go to CSU Long Beach for Becky's graduate recital. I had the pleasant surprise of seeing Karissa and Vanessa there.
Becky's recital had originally been scheduled for Good Friday, but her teacher had advised her to reschedule because there were some things that needed repairing on her clarinets. This was disappointing at first, but turned out to be a huge blessing because Becky's parents were able to come. They flew in late Monday night from the Philippines and were quite jetlagged, but seemed very happy to be able to be there. It was nice for me to see them again too.
Becky looked and sounded beautiful. I was surprised at the end to realize that she had played a 90 minute recital. That's a lot of playing! The reception that followed was delightful as well. There were several kinds of cheeses, smoked salmon, cookies, a delightful fruit salad, and two very rich cakes (one white with berries, one chocolate), plus a variety of sodas.
The next two days were spent moving out of the condo. We were able to load up most of my furniture and things on Wednesday and come back Thursday for the rest of it. It was surprising to me that the move was bittersweet. It goes to show just how sentimental I am and what a difficult time I have with change. I was thrilled to be moving out and getting away from a certain roommate, yet I still felt weird about leaving the place I had lived for nearly two years. Other than home, that's the longest I've lived anywhere. One thing that's for sure, I am beyond excited to share my next home with Tad! =D
*A side note, I created this post on May 23, but did not finish it until about a week later. I didn't predict the future, just took my time blogging, hehe*
Monday, May 16, 2011
Round Up at Indian Hills
Part of Tad's and my ministry involvement this year has been with the Caravans program at Mission. Caravans is a Christian scouting organization similar to Awana. The kids earn badges to develop themselves physically (e.g. sports, archery, etc), mentally (e.g. astronomy), socially (e.g. entertaining), and spiritually (e.g. missions). They also learn the Nazarene articles of faith and participate in ministry projects. At the end of the year (the program runs September to May), the kids get to go to camp. They participate in all sorts of standard camp activities, put their memory work to the test, and receive awards for the year.
Tad and I have been helping with the 5th and 6th grade boys group, which has been very challenging at points. But, camp was fun.
It was held at Indian Hills camp in Jamul (east county San Diego). Much of the camp is OldWest themed, and, following in that theme, the kids sleep in cabins, tents, teepees, or covered wagons. This year Mission stayed in the covered wagons. The wagons are a very cool idea, and I felt very close to my pioneer roots, but they were pretty cramped and got cold at night. Oh well, such is the life whilst camping.
Here are some highlights from the weekend.
Tad and I were able to (just barely) snag rides with others headed out to camp. I rode with one of the missionary families currently on furlough. It was neat getting to chat more with the dad about what they're up to and where God is leading them in the next year or so. There was a bit of time to settle into our wagons once we arrived and then evening worship. I absolutely love worshipping outside. I feel it really adds to the experience to be looking at GOd's creation while worshipping him. Pastor Bev from our church was the speaker for the weekend. Her message centered on being "Ferocious, Fanatical, Faith-Filled Followers of Jesus Christ" taken from the story of Jesus healing the paralytic man who was lowered through the roof. Following the service there was hot chocolate and cookies and it was off to bed.
Saturday was a full day, started out with pancakes and eggs for breakfast and a morning worship service. The majority of the day was filled with rotations of typical camp activities. Our boys started out with archery, which Tad and I eagerly participated in. From there we moved to the derby car races. This was a little disappointing for our kids because their cars weren't waited, but everyone else's were. A lot of the Mission kids won prizes for design though, which was nice. Arts and Crafts followed derby cars. Tad and I took that opportunity to introduce Valencia to the tire swing on the playground. She wasn't really a fan. As soon as that rotation was up, it was time for lunch (chips and sandwiches). The boys had swim time next. Considering it was only about 70 outside, Tad and I skipped the pool, but the weather didn't stop any of the kids. Once they were dried off, we took them to the obstacle course and then to recite their memory work.
My favorite rotation of the day was the zipline. I had only once before gotten the opportunity to go on a zipline, and I chickened out. But not this time. It was a very scary feeling at first, but the second time was much more fun. The boys' last rotation of the day was soccer and sharks and minnoes on a sports field. Dinner was a bbq complete with burgers, hotdogs, and potato salad. The evening finished out with worship and awards for the drby car races and obstacle course and roasting marshmallows over a campfire.
Sunday we had cereal and pastries for breakfast and one last worship service. After the service they gave otu the memory awards and the completion of badges etc. Lots of our kids got memory awards. After that it was time to pack up the cars and head home. It was a long couple of days chasing after kids, but I think it was a great way to close out the year. I'm excited to start out our second year as Caravans leaders :)
Post Graduation
Tad and I have been helping with the 5th and 6th grade boys group, which has been very challenging at points. But, camp was fun.
It was held at Indian Hills camp in Jamul (east county San Diego). Much of the camp is OldWest themed, and, following in that theme, the kids sleep in cabins, tents, teepees, or covered wagons. This year Mission stayed in the covered wagons. The wagons are a very cool idea, and I felt very close to my pioneer roots, but they were pretty cramped and got cold at night. Oh well, such is the life whilst camping.
Here are some highlights from the weekend.
Tad and I were able to (just barely) snag rides with others headed out to camp. I rode with one of the missionary families currently on furlough. It was neat getting to chat more with the dad about what they're up to and where God is leading them in the next year or so. There was a bit of time to settle into our wagons once we arrived and then evening worship. I absolutely love worshipping outside. I feel it really adds to the experience to be looking at GOd's creation while worshipping him. Pastor Bev from our church was the speaker for the weekend. Her message centered on being "Ferocious, Fanatical, Faith-Filled Followers of Jesus Christ" taken from the story of Jesus healing the paralytic man who was lowered through the roof. Following the service there was hot chocolate and cookies and it was off to bed.
Saturday was a full day, started out with pancakes and eggs for breakfast and a morning worship service. The majority of the day was filled with rotations of typical camp activities. Our boys started out with archery, which Tad and I eagerly participated in. From there we moved to the derby car races. This was a little disappointing for our kids because their cars weren't waited, but everyone else's were. A lot of the Mission kids won prizes for design though, which was nice. Arts and Crafts followed derby cars. Tad and I took that opportunity to introduce Valencia to the tire swing on the playground. She wasn't really a fan. As soon as that rotation was up, it was time for lunch (chips and sandwiches). The boys had swim time next. Considering it was only about 70 outside, Tad and I skipped the pool, but the weather didn't stop any of the kids. Once they were dried off, we took them to the obstacle course and then to recite their memory work.
My favorite rotation of the day was the zipline. I had only once before gotten the opportunity to go on a zipline, and I chickened out. But not this time. It was a very scary feeling at first, but the second time was much more fun. The boys' last rotation of the day was soccer and sharks and minnoes on a sports field. Dinner was a bbq complete with burgers, hotdogs, and potato salad. The evening finished out with worship and awards for the drby car races and obstacle course and roasting marshmallows over a campfire.
Sunday we had cereal and pastries for breakfast and one last worship service. After the service they gave otu the memory awards and the completion of badges etc. Lots of our kids got memory awards. After that it was time to pack up the cars and head home. It was a long couple of days chasing after kids, but I think it was a great way to close out the year. I'm excited to start out our second year as Caravans leaders :)
Post Graduation
Friday, April 29, 2011
Easter Weekend 2011
This year, since I didn't really get a spring break between SDSU's schedule and my internship schedule, I decided I would once again have an Easter break and spent a 5 day weekend at home in PQ.
Friday afternoon Tad drove Steve and myself up to PQ and we spent the afternoon hanging out. I was unable to attend the Maund Thursday sevice at Mission because of class, which was unfortunate because it sounded like an amazing service. Tad described it to me and walked me through the prayer and meditation points. They had done it in a stations kind of manner with a station for communion, foot washing by the pastors, and writing your sin/burdens on a paper and nailing them to the cross. Though I wish I had been at the actual service, Tad helped me gget int he right mind frame to be ready for Good Friday service.
My family hasn't been to a Good Friday service in at least 10 years. The first two or three we went to at PLC were comrpised of dramatic monologues and no real scripture readings. Thus they left us feeling very depressed and wondering where the scripture was. Tad felt very strongly that we should go to Good Friday, and since I wanted to stay in PQ for the weekend, I comprised to going to PLC. Since the two of us were going, my parents decided to come along, and we were all very happy to have gone.
There were no dramatic monologues. Instead it was alternating scripture readings and wroship songs, accompanied by the Easter choir. It was the right kind of somber that Good Friday is supposed to be.
I spent Saturday morning hanging out with Raelene. We got breakfast at Golden Bagel and ran into a friend from band in high school. We then ran a few errands, picking up an Easter basket for Nate and a portfolio for me to use at job interviews. I used the rest of Saturday to catch up on some homework and compile my portfolio.
Easter Sunday this year was disappointingly gloomy. It was mostly cloudy all day, and I don't think the temperature got above the mid 60s. But, Easter is Easter. My dad and Steve played in the brass ensemble for both the 8:00 and the 9:30 services, so Mom, Tad, and I drove separately and went to the 9:30. It was a nice service, though the sermon seemed very odd to us for Easter. As I put it, it would have been very uplifting for a memorial service, but was quite depressing for Easter.
Back home, my grandparents joine dus for Easter lunch, which we ate in the dining room with the furnace on since it was to cold outside for our usual picnic style. We played a couple rounds of Word on the Street and enjoyed watching a dog show on TV. After they headed home, Tad helped me with a bit more of my work, and then drove Steve back to State.
Monday morning I had my first CFY job interview. It was at a private practice in Rancho Bernardo, and I'm really hoping I get the position. I think I'd be a good fit for them and vice versa. I'm hoping to hear back next week, so we'll see. Prayers are appreciated.
Upon arriving home from my interview, I was delighted to see that the wedding favors had arrived. I'm very excited about them! When Mom got home from volunteering at Braille, we went up to Hallmark to pick up mor ethank you cards, and I worked on the notes from my bridal shower.
Tuesday was wedding planning details day. Mom and I went to Joann's and Michael's to find a few things for my veil and for tags for the favors. We got quite a bit done. Then Mom dropped me off at the condo, and thus ened my long weekend.
I'm down to less than 3 weeks left of the semester, and could not be more relieved. This next week will be tough with my last week of internship and running two IEPs, but I know God can lead me through it.
Friday afternoon Tad drove Steve and myself up to PQ and we spent the afternoon hanging out. I was unable to attend the Maund Thursday sevice at Mission because of class, which was unfortunate because it sounded like an amazing service. Tad described it to me and walked me through the prayer and meditation points. They had done it in a stations kind of manner with a station for communion, foot washing by the pastors, and writing your sin/burdens on a paper and nailing them to the cross. Though I wish I had been at the actual service, Tad helped me gget int he right mind frame to be ready for Good Friday service.
My family hasn't been to a Good Friday service in at least 10 years. The first two or three we went to at PLC were comrpised of dramatic monologues and no real scripture readings. Thus they left us feeling very depressed and wondering where the scripture was. Tad felt very strongly that we should go to Good Friday, and since I wanted to stay in PQ for the weekend, I comprised to going to PLC. Since the two of us were going, my parents decided to come along, and we were all very happy to have gone.
There were no dramatic monologues. Instead it was alternating scripture readings and wroship songs, accompanied by the Easter choir. It was the right kind of somber that Good Friday is supposed to be.
I spent Saturday morning hanging out with Raelene. We got breakfast at Golden Bagel and ran into a friend from band in high school. We then ran a few errands, picking up an Easter basket for Nate and a portfolio for me to use at job interviews. I used the rest of Saturday to catch up on some homework and compile my portfolio.
Easter Sunday this year was disappointingly gloomy. It was mostly cloudy all day, and I don't think the temperature got above the mid 60s. But, Easter is Easter. My dad and Steve played in the brass ensemble for both the 8:00 and the 9:30 services, so Mom, Tad, and I drove separately and went to the 9:30. It was a nice service, though the sermon seemed very odd to us for Easter. As I put it, it would have been very uplifting for a memorial service, but was quite depressing for Easter.
Back home, my grandparents joine dus for Easter lunch, which we ate in the dining room with the furnace on since it was to cold outside for our usual picnic style. We played a couple rounds of Word on the Street and enjoyed watching a dog show on TV. After they headed home, Tad helped me with a bit more of my work, and then drove Steve back to State.
Monday morning I had my first CFY job interview. It was at a private practice in Rancho Bernardo, and I'm really hoping I get the position. I think I'd be a good fit for them and vice versa. I'm hoping to hear back next week, so we'll see. Prayers are appreciated.
Upon arriving home from my interview, I was delighted to see that the wedding favors had arrived. I'm very excited about them! When Mom got home from volunteering at Braille, we went up to Hallmark to pick up mor ethank you cards, and I worked on the notes from my bridal shower.
Tuesday was wedding planning details day. Mom and I went to Joann's and Michael's to find a few things for my veil and for tags for the favors. We got quite a bit done. Then Mom dropped me off at the condo, and thus ened my long weekend.
I'm down to less than 3 weeks left of the semester, and could not be more relieved. This next week will be tough with my last week of internship and running two IEPs, but I know God can lead me through it.
Friday, April 22, 2011
STOMP!
On Wednesday the 20th I went to my second big Biola Alumni event, accompanied by Tad, Amanda, and Amanda's boyfriend Ben. Before seeing Stomp at the Balboa Theater in downtown San Diego, they held a lovely hors devours reception at the Bristol Hotel. Amanda and Ben met us at the condo and we carpooled down to the hotel.
The reception was on the top floor of the hotel, in a ballroom that was open air (there is a ceiling, it's just retractable.). I imagine it's a lovely location forn evening summer wedding reception. We mingled with a few of the people there and greatly enjoyed the food. Free food, even if it is appetizers, is still very welcome to us students. They did a little presentation about what's new with Biola, mostly building projects and the like. There was a current student there playing guitar and artwork on display by an alumna who lives in San Diego.
After the presentation they did the drawings for Biola apparel prizes (I didn't win anything, but Amanda did.) and we walked as a group over to the theater. Tad had studied the maps and directions and was able to lead the way, tkaing a short cut through Horton Plaza. We arrived in our seats just in time for the show to start.
It was quite an interesting and fun show. If you're not familiar with Stomp, it's a percussion group that uses every day items to make music. There were numbers using brooms, sinks with rubber gloves and water, decks of cards, newspapers, lighters, and trash cans. The lighters number was one of my favorites with the combination of the clicking noises and the flickering lights. It reminded me of the the book The Outsiders, hehe.
Something I didn't expect about the show was how much comedy was involved. It's all non verbal, but that made it even more fun. For example, in one of the numbers with brooms, one guy walks out with a mop, looks round, and then goes off stage to get the right "instrument".
After the show, we took a few pictures outside the theater, and then Tad went to get the car to pick us up. Amanda, Ben, and I enjoyed the stylings of a saxophone street performer, who ended up being joined by two of the Stomp performers, styling on the metal newspaper boxes. It was way cool. When they had finished, we walked up to say hi. Ben got his program signed, and we all took a picture with them.
I had a really good time. It was great to get to spend more time with Amanda (and Ben) and to have a fun night out in San Diego. :)
The reception was on the top floor of the hotel, in a ballroom that was open air (there is a ceiling, it's just retractable.). I imagine it's a lovely location forn evening summer wedding reception. We mingled with a few of the people there and greatly enjoyed the food. Free food, even if it is appetizers, is still very welcome to us students. They did a little presentation about what's new with Biola, mostly building projects and the like. There was a current student there playing guitar and artwork on display by an alumna who lives in San Diego.
After the presentation they did the drawings for Biola apparel prizes (I didn't win anything, but Amanda did.) and we walked as a group over to the theater. Tad had studied the maps and directions and was able to lead the way, tkaing a short cut through Horton Plaza. We arrived in our seats just in time for the show to start.
It was quite an interesting and fun show. If you're not familiar with Stomp, it's a percussion group that uses every day items to make music. There were numbers using brooms, sinks with rubber gloves and water, decks of cards, newspapers, lighters, and trash cans. The lighters number was one of my favorites with the combination of the clicking noises and the flickering lights. It reminded me of the the book The Outsiders, hehe.
Something I didn't expect about the show was how much comedy was involved. It's all non verbal, but that made it even more fun. For example, in one of the numbers with brooms, one guy walks out with a mop, looks round, and then goes off stage to get the right "instrument".
After the show, we took a few pictures outside the theater, and then Tad went to get the car to pick us up. Amanda, Ben, and I enjoyed the stylings of a saxophone street performer, who ended up being joined by two of the Stomp performers, styling on the metal newspaper boxes. It was way cool. When they had finished, we walked up to say hi. Ben got his program signed, and we all took a picture with them.
I had a really good time. It was great to get to spend more time with Amanda (and Ben) and to have a fun night out in San Diego. :)
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
Meeting the Family
In almost 5 years of dating and engagement, Tad's and my families had not met (with the exception of my Aunt Diane who met Tad's paretns when we were in Seattle). We all thought this was an important fact to remedy prior to the wedding.
Tad's parents and sister made the three day drive down from Tri Cities, spent the weekend enjoying the beautiful San Diego weather we were blessed with, and left Sunday to make the drive home. They were able to see some of Tad's and my favorite SD spots, meet my family, and participate in the first of the wedding events: my Biola bridal shower.
The Tildens arrived Thursday afternoon. While I was working on a group project and then in class, Tad helped them check into their hotel and unload the "treasure" his mom had brought down for him. I got out of class early and was able to go with them out to dinner. Upon Tad's prompting and recommendation, they decided to try the fondue place in La Jolla called The Melting Pot. Tad's whole family loves fondue, and Tad has been dying to go there since he first heard of it. The food was absolutely delicious! We shared three pots of fondue (one classic Swiss, one cheddar, and one spicy Mexican style), two different entres with shrimp, chicken, steak, vegetables, and a wide variety of sauces, and two pots of dessert fondue (bananas foster and dark chocolate with amaretto). Tad had thought it might make a nice rehearsal dinner location, but we decided it was not the best option based on time.
Friday was our fun in the sun day. Mrs. Tilden had requested going to the beach, and it was perfect weather. So first stop was Ocean Beach. There were surprisingly few people there and it was beautiful. Valencia had the most fun I've ever seen her have jumping in the waves. We might actually get her into my parents' pool this summer. ;)
Tad's dad requested taking the driving tour of PLNU and since it was already lunchtime, we stopped by Point Loma Seafood. Great choice, they absolutely loved it, which was not too surprising. It's been a family favorite since LONG before I was born.
Our final destination on the San Diego in a Nutshell tour was Seaport Village. Tad and I split off from his family for some just us time and explored the hot sauce and pet stores. His family enjoyed the specialty shops and picked up quite a few items, especially at the hot sauce store, lol. From there we met my parents and Steve at Marie Calendar's for the initial family meeting. It went rather well, slightly awkward as things like that usually are, but not bad. Stephen was the life of the party and kept us entertained. I love that kid.
After a light snack there, my family and I zipped down to University to meet Steve's astronomy club at a Chinese place called Wong's Golden Palace. Steve got to mingle a bit with some of his classmates and we discovered the best potstickers any of us have ever had.
Thus ended day one of my busy, crazy, fun weekend. I got back to my parents' house, went to bed, and then came day 2.
Tad dropped his mom and Jeana off Saturday morning and then headed off with his dad to a job fair for General Atomics in Poway. Raelene arrived shortly after and the five of us (me, Mom, Raelene, Mrs. Tilden, and Jeana) piled in my mom's Highlander and set out for La Mirada. It was a bit squishy, but we had an enjoyable car ride discussing a lot of "favorites" of everyone. :o)
Becky and Krista threw a beautiful shower for me. It was so wonderful to see so many of my close Biola friends. They had prepared so very delicious treats: pineapple and double chocolate cupcakes, macadamia nut kisses, strawberries, and hazelnut chocolate espresso beans, plus several kinds of delicious punch and iced tea. They started out by having everyone say their name, how they had met me and a favorite memory. This was really fun for me. Amanda talked about our crazy experiences on Winds tour junior year, Diana talke dabout going out for Thai food, Jennifer talked about Biola graduation and Narnia in December, Raelene talked about going home for Christmas our first year away at college, Becky talked about our crazy train trip to Tri Cities, Mrs. Tilden talked about going to Newport for Thanksgiving, and Krista talked about my first trip to Berry Cool.
We played several fun games including a "how many of these items do you have in your purse?" game, guess the famous couple who's taped on your back game, and guess how many kisses are in the jar. Mom won the purse game, and I came in second. In the famous couples game, I had Tarzan and Jane. They were very cute and included Valencia who had Pongo and Perdie from 101 Dalmations. A few of the other couples were Cinderella and Prince Charming, Adam and Eve, and Romeo and Juliet. Mrs. Tilden guessed hers first (after Mom) with Lucy and Ricky.
I received some wonderful gifts from the girls, and opened all of them without breaking any ribbons. They have warned me to beware of their gifts at the San Diego shower, lol. The girls closed with a time of paryer for Tad and me. I cannot say enough how blessed I am to have such wonderful friends.
Witht he guys waiting for us at home, we said our goodbyes and made a quick drive through Biola to show Mrs. Tilden. The menfolk plus my grandparents were waiting for us when we got home. We bbqed burgers and enjoyed a nice meal together. I accompanied the Tildens back down south so I could go to Mission with them on Sunday. Palm Sunday was the day that the licensed ministers served communion, so both Tad's family and I were able to be there for that. After church we went out for lunch at Anthony's in La Mesa before the Tildens hit the road for home.
It was a very crazy weekend, filled with a lot fo fun things. It's also a relief to have had our families meet. We ask for continued paryer for Tad's job search, for me to finish my semester strong, and for the wedding plans to continue falling into place.
Tad's parents and sister made the three day drive down from Tri Cities, spent the weekend enjoying the beautiful San Diego weather we were blessed with, and left Sunday to make the drive home. They were able to see some of Tad's and my favorite SD spots, meet my family, and participate in the first of the wedding events: my Biola bridal shower.
The Tildens arrived Thursday afternoon. While I was working on a group project and then in class, Tad helped them check into their hotel and unload the "treasure" his mom had brought down for him. I got out of class early and was able to go with them out to dinner. Upon Tad's prompting and recommendation, they decided to try the fondue place in La Jolla called The Melting Pot. Tad's whole family loves fondue, and Tad has been dying to go there since he first heard of it. The food was absolutely delicious! We shared three pots of fondue (one classic Swiss, one cheddar, and one spicy Mexican style), two different entres with shrimp, chicken, steak, vegetables, and a wide variety of sauces, and two pots of dessert fondue (bananas foster and dark chocolate with amaretto). Tad had thought it might make a nice rehearsal dinner location, but we decided it was not the best option based on time.
Friday was our fun in the sun day. Mrs. Tilden had requested going to the beach, and it was perfect weather. So first stop was Ocean Beach. There were surprisingly few people there and it was beautiful. Valencia had the most fun I've ever seen her have jumping in the waves. We might actually get her into my parents' pool this summer. ;)
Tad's dad requested taking the driving tour of PLNU and since it was already lunchtime, we stopped by Point Loma Seafood. Great choice, they absolutely loved it, which was not too surprising. It's been a family favorite since LONG before I was born.
Our final destination on the San Diego in a Nutshell tour was Seaport Village. Tad and I split off from his family for some just us time and explored the hot sauce and pet stores. His family enjoyed the specialty shops and picked up quite a few items, especially at the hot sauce store, lol. From there we met my parents and Steve at Marie Calendar's for the initial family meeting. It went rather well, slightly awkward as things like that usually are, but not bad. Stephen was the life of the party and kept us entertained. I love that kid.
After a light snack there, my family and I zipped down to University to meet Steve's astronomy club at a Chinese place called Wong's Golden Palace. Steve got to mingle a bit with some of his classmates and we discovered the best potstickers any of us have ever had.
Thus ended day one of my busy, crazy, fun weekend. I got back to my parents' house, went to bed, and then came day 2.
Tad dropped his mom and Jeana off Saturday morning and then headed off with his dad to a job fair for General Atomics in Poway. Raelene arrived shortly after and the five of us (me, Mom, Raelene, Mrs. Tilden, and Jeana) piled in my mom's Highlander and set out for La Mirada. It was a bit squishy, but we had an enjoyable car ride discussing a lot of "favorites" of everyone. :o)
Becky and Krista threw a beautiful shower for me. It was so wonderful to see so many of my close Biola friends. They had prepared so very delicious treats: pineapple and double chocolate cupcakes, macadamia nut kisses, strawberries, and hazelnut chocolate espresso beans, plus several kinds of delicious punch and iced tea. They started out by having everyone say their name, how they had met me and a favorite memory. This was really fun for me. Amanda talked about our crazy experiences on Winds tour junior year, Diana talke dabout going out for Thai food, Jennifer talked about Biola graduation and Narnia in December, Raelene talked about going home for Christmas our first year away at college, Becky talked about our crazy train trip to Tri Cities, Mrs. Tilden talked about going to Newport for Thanksgiving, and Krista talked about my first trip to Berry Cool.
We played several fun games including a "how many of these items do you have in your purse?" game, guess the famous couple who's taped on your back game, and guess how many kisses are in the jar. Mom won the purse game, and I came in second. In the famous couples game, I had Tarzan and Jane. They were very cute and included Valencia who had Pongo and Perdie from 101 Dalmations. A few of the other couples were Cinderella and Prince Charming, Adam and Eve, and Romeo and Juliet. Mrs. Tilden guessed hers first (after Mom) with Lucy and Ricky.
I received some wonderful gifts from the girls, and opened all of them without breaking any ribbons. They have warned me to beware of their gifts at the San Diego shower, lol. The girls closed with a time of paryer for Tad and me. I cannot say enough how blessed I am to have such wonderful friends.
Witht he guys waiting for us at home, we said our goodbyes and made a quick drive through Biola to show Mrs. Tilden. The menfolk plus my grandparents were waiting for us when we got home. We bbqed burgers and enjoyed a nice meal together. I accompanied the Tildens back down south so I could go to Mission with them on Sunday. Palm Sunday was the day that the licensed ministers served communion, so both Tad's family and I were able to be there for that. After church we went out for lunch at Anthony's in La Mesa before the Tildens hit the road for home.
It was a very crazy weekend, filled with a lot fo fun things. It's also a relief to have had our families meet. We ask for continued paryer for Tad's job search, for me to finish my semester strong, and for the wedding plans to continue falling into place.
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
38 Days and Counting
There really hasn't been much going on in my life over the last month, but I like to write and blog and talk to myself, so I figured I'd post something.
SDSU's spring break came and went. I had less free time that week than a typical week since it was the last week of my internship before a month off. That being said, I am now enjoying the month off of the internship. To enjoy my month off I have been writing papers, doing projects, and working on CCLVI scholarship committee things.
Tad is still on the job search. Continued prayers are appreciated. He has had several interviews over the past few weeks and is still waiting to hear back on a tech related position at Sharp Memorial Hospital (the one where I had my internship last semester). We are preparing for a visit from his family this weekend. They are starting the drive down today and plan to arrive Thursday evening. They'll get to meet my family, and his mom and sister are coming to my Biola bridal shower which is this weekend.
The countdown in the title refers to graduation, now less than 6 weeks away. The countdown for after that is 102 days until the wedding, yay! I just have to get to graduation so I can enjoy the wedding countdown more. )
SDSU's spring break came and went. I had less free time that week than a typical week since it was the last week of my internship before a month off. That being said, I am now enjoying the month off of the internship. To enjoy my month off I have been writing papers, doing projects, and working on CCLVI scholarship committee things.
Tad is still on the job search. Continued prayers are appreciated. He has had several interviews over the past few weeks and is still waiting to hear back on a tech related position at Sharp Memorial Hospital (the one where I had my internship last semester). We are preparing for a visit from his family this weekend. They are starting the drive down today and plan to arrive Thursday evening. They'll get to meet my family, and his mom and sister are coming to my Biola bridal shower which is this weekend.
The countdown in the title refers to graduation, now less than 6 weeks away. The countdown for after that is 102 days until the wedding, yay! I just have to get to graduation so I can enjoy the wedding countdown more. )
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
Life at Perkins
Things at Perkins have begun to look up. Since my midterm review, my supervisor has been giving me a lot more feedback and assistance, which is greatly appreciated. I'm also starting to be a lot more confident about my sessions, which only helps.
I no longer feel like I'd be miserable working in a school. I've begun to pay closer attention to job postings sent to us and am compiling a mental list of where I plan to apply. Thus far, I have 3 school districts, a private practice, and a pediatric position at a hospital. The fantastic thing about what's open right now, is that a lot of it is up in North County, exactly where I want to be.
58 days til graduation, and it cannot come soon enough!
As a P.S., Tad is on the job search and prayers would be appreciated. He has n interview tomorrow for a position at Sharp (where I was last semester) and is really hoping it goes through. :)
I no longer feel like I'd be miserable working in a school. I've begun to pay closer attention to job postings sent to us and am compiling a mental list of where I plan to apply. Thus far, I have 3 school districts, a private practice, and a pediatric position at a hospital. The fantastic thing about what's open right now, is that a lot of it is up in North County, exactly where I want to be.
58 days til graduation, and it cannot come soon enough!
As a P.S., Tad is on the job search and prayers would be appreciated. He has n interview tomorrow for a position at Sharp (where I was last semester) and is really hoping it goes through. :)
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
Valentine's 2011
Our Valentine's Day plans this year were not quite as detailed as last year's surprise date, but we still had fun. This year, we spread our celebrations out over a couple weeks. Tad planned a surprise date for me again, but couldn't wait until the actual weekend to go out, so the weekend before our 4.5 year anniversary he took me to Black Angus. I teased that this was a mistake, as it s now my new favorite restaurant.
Valentine's weekend I took Tad on a surprise date. I took him out to Red Lobster, but I wanted it to be a surprise for as long as possible, so I wrote the directions as clues that I gave him along the way. This was my first time at Red Lobster, and I was quite pleasantly surprised. I got the cocnut shrimp, Tad got the salmon, and we shared a piece of key lime pie.
I, unfortunately, got sick with a cold on Sunday. I stayed home from caravans and my internship Monday and Tad took care of me. It was very sweet, just in a different way. On Valentine's Day (Monday) Tad made orange chicken for lunch and got a pizza for dinner. He surprised me with a chocolate pasta dessert and watching The Princess Diaries. Outside of being sick, it was a good weekend.
Valentine's weekend I took Tad on a surprise date. I took him out to Red Lobster, but I wanted it to be a surprise for as long as possible, so I wrote the directions as clues that I gave him along the way. This was my first time at Red Lobster, and I was quite pleasantly surprised. I got the cocnut shrimp, Tad got the salmon, and we shared a piece of key lime pie.
I, unfortunately, got sick with a cold on Sunday. I stayed home from caravans and my internship Monday and Tad took care of me. It was very sweet, just in a different way. On Valentine's Day (Monday) Tad made orange chicken for lunch and got a pizza for dinner. He surprised me with a chocolate pasta dessert and watching The Princess Diaries. Outside of being sick, it was a good weekend.
Friday, January 7, 2011
Of Toasters and Blenders
Tad, Mom, and I have spent the first few weeks of the New Year hard at work with wedding plans. Tad and I have done two cake testings (quite delicious), we've exhausted the search for bridesmaid's dresses and decided to make our own, gone to florists and printers and stationery stores, and completed our registries.
Tad was a sweetheart and fille dout the paperwork and such for both our registries while I was still in Nevada. When I came home, we spent an afternoon and evening, running around Macy's and Bed Bath and Beyond with the scanner choosing things. It was quite a bit of fun, both getting to scan things, and planning our future home together.
I had my first dress fitting, which is a blast getting to spend so long in my dress. It felt very princess-y. We took our engagement photos, and have had a preview of them, but are still waiting to see all of them. And this Sunday, Mom and I are going to the SD bridal bazaar to get leads for the few things we have left.
Tad was a sweetheart and fille dout the paperwork and such for both our registries while I was still in Nevada. When I came home, we spent an afternoon and evening, running around Macy's and Bed Bath and Beyond with the scanner choosing things. It was quite a bit of fun, both getting to scan things, and planning our future home together.
I had my first dress fitting, which is a blast getting to spend so long in my dress. It felt very princess-y. We took our engagement photos, and have had a preview of them, but are still waiting to see all of them. And this Sunday, Mom and I are going to the SD bridal bazaar to get leads for the few things we have left.
Friday, December 31, 2010
Ten Highlights of 2010
I feel like I was just writing one of these posts for 2009. I certainly have years that are filled with fun things and changes. As fun as it is, I won't mind when grad school is done and things are a little more relaxed in my life. Here are some of my favorite things from the year. :)
On the ferris wheel at Boomers
The hat shop in Seaport Village
In front of our hotel
On the farm in Cambria. This is the next picture I'm going to submit for the GDB calender.
Me with my supervisor Joann
Thanksgiving Day at my parents'
Looking back, 2010 has been a wonderful year with progress made towards my Master's degree and plenty of time spent with my love. 2011 can only get better from here!
Family Cruise in the Caribbean
At the very beginning of 2010 my entire family took a fantastic vacation to the Caribbean Islands of Puerto Rico, St Thomas, Dominica, Grenada, Bonaire, and Aruba. We had a week onboard the Caribbean Princess. My favorite part of the trip was seeing the joy on Valencia's face on our catamaran ride in St Thomas.
First Valentine's Day Spent with my Love
This was very special to me. In the 3 and 1/2 years we had been dating, Valentine's day had never been a convenient time to be together. Now that Tad and I live int he same city, it's usually convenient to be together. Tad planned a very sweet surprise date for me. We made a cherry vanilla cake, and then re-created our first date by going to Boomers for mini golf and go carts. After which we got our favorite appetizers at Applebee's.
On the ferris wheel at BoomersSpring Break with my Biola Girls
For a fun change, instead of visiting my Biola girls (Becky and Krista), they came to me. We spent a few fun days catching up and exploring San Diego. We watched Walk the Line, had Rubios with Tad, and spent a day in Seaport Village. I sure do love those ladies!
The hat shop in Seaport VillageMother-Daughter Trip to SF
In April, I happened to get a four day weekend, which happened to coincide with the California Council of the Blind convention in Burlingame. We flew up and enjoyed a long weekend of relaxing, shopping, and seeing old friends. We ate out at an old favorite Chinses restaurant one night, had dinner with friends from church another, and got to see my friends Amy and Dave as well as Valencia's puppy raisers. Oh, and I went to some convention related things lol
In front of our hotelElizabeth & Matthew's Wedding
My friend Elizabeth got married on April 24 at the Grand Tradition in Fallbrook. It was a beautiful day and a beautiful wedding. It was also another fun excuse to get to dress up and go to a party with Tad. We enjoyed spending time together, meeting some new friends, eating some delicious food, and celebrating Elizabeth and Matthew's marriage with them. :)
Birthday Weekend with Becky
Becky's and my birthdays are 2 days apart and we have found a way to celebrate them together every year since we met freshman year at Biola. This year was no exception. I did the train ride up to Fullerton and had lunch with Becky at The Olde Ship (a pub!). We had our birthday dinner at Red Robin, and Krista and I watched Becky perform in the orchestra pit for Biola Youth Theater's production of Cats!. It is good to have a birthday buddy! =)
4 Year Anniversary
This was only our 2nd anniversary actually spent together, the 1st being our one year. Like Valentine's Day, Tad planned a surprise date for me, which consisted of a delicious Round Table pizza and a movie night in with mocchi to snack on. By dating anniversary 5, we will be married!
Family Summer Vacation
Our week of family vacation kicked off with a trip to the Griffith Observatory and the Hollywood Bowl concert. We went with the Biola Alumni Association and enjoyed a spectacular Tchaikovsky concert complete with fireworks. Several days later, we embarked on our trip to Cambria. It was a relaxing week of tidepooling, shopping, farm exploring, Hearst Castle touring, and Olallaberry pie, yum!
On the farm in Cambria. This is the next picture I'm going to submit for the GDB calender.Sharp Community Re-entry Internship
This fall I had my first off campus clinical experience. And I loved it. I became a part of the family at the day treatment program at Sharp Memorial. I learned a lot, met some very cool therapists and clients, and became very confused about what I actually want to do after graduation.
Me with my supervisor JoannEngagement
Probably the happiest day of my life to date - on November 23, my sweetheart asked me to be his wife. I am thoroughly enjoying being able to call him my fiance and enjoying planning my wedding. This highlihgt to be continued in 2011 ;)
Thanksgiving Day at my parents'Looking back, 2010 has been a wonderful year with progress made towards my Master's degree and plenty of time spent with my love. 2011 can only get better from here!
Saturday, December 18, 2010
Wedding Planning
Tad and I have been engaged for almost a month now and have a tremendous amount of planning already done, all thanks to my mom. Right away she jumped in and started doing research for us. She, thus far, has kept a perfect balance of being involved and providing suggestions, but also letting us make the decisions. She's made me a wedding planning binder, collected a couple bridal books, and is making me a scrapbook of our engagement and wedding planning time.
Here's all that we've accomplished in the last 4 weeks :)
We're getting married on July 23, 2011 at PLC (my home church) with a reception to follow at the Courtyard by Marriott in Rancho Bernardo. Since PLC doesn't have any outdoor place to take pictures, we're using the duck pond right by the Marriott. I have asked Raelene to be my maid of honor and Becky and Krista to be my bridesmaids. Tad has asked his best friend JC to be best man (ironically JC is getting married two months after us, and Tad will be in his wedding party), his roommate Nate to be a groomsman and will ask my brother Stephen to be a groomsman.
I have my dress. I'm absolutely in love with it!!! My mom and I found it on our first day shopping. We went first to the shop where she bought hers, a place in La Mesa called Amour. I tried on several dresses there and really liked one of them. We were all set to buy that one after looking at another couple shops. We looked at a secondhand place which had beautiful dresses that weren't any cheaper than the brand new ones. On a whim, we decided to go to one more store before deciding on the dress I loved.
There's a place called Here Comes the Bride across the freeway from my condo. We wandered in, without an appointment, and were helped by this delightful lady named Jeanie. She was so helpful and sweet. I tried on 5 dresses there, and knew right away when I tried my dress on. It is modern, sophisticated, and very me, and that's all I will say before the wedding :D
We've also ordered our cake topper, booked our DJ and photographer and are looking at florists. We've picked purple, yellow, and silver for our colors.
As I said, we've got quite a bit done for the amount of time we've been engaged, and I'm loving every minute of planning! :)
Here's all that we've accomplished in the last 4 weeks :)
We're getting married on July 23, 2011 at PLC (my home church) with a reception to follow at the Courtyard by Marriott in Rancho Bernardo. Since PLC doesn't have any outdoor place to take pictures, we're using the duck pond right by the Marriott. I have asked Raelene to be my maid of honor and Becky and Krista to be my bridesmaids. Tad has asked his best friend JC to be best man (ironically JC is getting married two months after us, and Tad will be in his wedding party), his roommate Nate to be a groomsman and will ask my brother Stephen to be a groomsman.
I have my dress. I'm absolutely in love with it!!! My mom and I found it on our first day shopping. We went first to the shop where she bought hers, a place in La Mesa called Amour. I tried on several dresses there and really liked one of them. We were all set to buy that one after looking at another couple shops. We looked at a secondhand place which had beautiful dresses that weren't any cheaper than the brand new ones. On a whim, we decided to go to one more store before deciding on the dress I loved.
There's a place called Here Comes the Bride across the freeway from my condo. We wandered in, without an appointment, and were helped by this delightful lady named Jeanie. She was so helpful and sweet. I tried on 5 dresses there, and knew right away when I tried my dress on. It is modern, sophisticated, and very me, and that's all I will say before the wedding :D
We've also ordered our cake topper, booked our DJ and photographer and are looking at florists. We've picked purple, yellow, and silver for our colors.
As I said, we've got quite a bit done for the amount of time we've been engaged, and I'm loving every minute of planning! :)
Sunday, November 28, 2010
Black Friday
(The end of the semester took over and delayed my blog posts, I started this and am now finally posting it a week before Christmas, lol)
My family avoids leaving the house at all costs on Black Friday. Tad, however, LOVES Black Friday. He asked me this year if I would like to join him and experience it first hand. I said "sure, why not."
I would have enjoyed the experience more had I not been sick, but all in all, it wasn't bad.
Tad spent Thanksgiing with my family and brought with him all of the Black Friday ads. After everyone had headed home, we spread them out and decided which deals we absolutely could not pass up. We narrowed it down to about 10 stores, which I thought was a little ambitious, but Tad thought we could manage it. We decided to head out around 2:30 am, so at 10:45 pm I crawled into bed to get as much sleep as I possibly could before our expedition.
It was strange, driving around at 3:00 am. We went from my parents's house to Tad's place to pick up some blankets and much needed caffeine. Our first stop was JC Penney's. We looked at the wedding bands they had on sale and inquired about how long ring sizing took. I tried on some shoes, and then, empty handed, we moved on.
Next was Target where we raided the electronics section for super cheap movies and video games. After Target came Macy's (to look at more wedding bands) and Bed Bath and Beyond (to pick up new sheets for Tad). We tried to go to Border's, but they weren't open yet, so we stopped by Aaron Bros for art supplies for my older brother and Sears to take advantage of the sale on fleece blankets. The final stop before we crashed was Walmart. There was nothing of interest to me on sale, so I opted to stay and nap in teh car. I was glad, I got a full hour in while Tad navigated the zoo inside.
We arrived back at my parents' around 8:30 am, in time to grab a quick nap and soome breakfast before meeting with the wedding coordinator at the Marriott. On our way home from that we stopped by Border's and got the new Taylor Swift album.
I was pretty sick, and very exhausted, so I didn't enjoy the experience as much as I could have. But I think I'll do it again next year. It was fun driving around together, and we did get some really good deals. Plus, we didn't get trampled by any mobs :)
My family avoids leaving the house at all costs on Black Friday. Tad, however, LOVES Black Friday. He asked me this year if I would like to join him and experience it first hand. I said "sure, why not."
I would have enjoyed the experience more had I not been sick, but all in all, it wasn't bad.
Tad spent Thanksgiing with my family and brought with him all of the Black Friday ads. After everyone had headed home, we spread them out and decided which deals we absolutely could not pass up. We narrowed it down to about 10 stores, which I thought was a little ambitious, but Tad thought we could manage it. We decided to head out around 2:30 am, so at 10:45 pm I crawled into bed to get as much sleep as I possibly could before our expedition.
It was strange, driving around at 3:00 am. We went from my parents's house to Tad's place to pick up some blankets and much needed caffeine. Our first stop was JC Penney's. We looked at the wedding bands they had on sale and inquired about how long ring sizing took. I tried on some shoes, and then, empty handed, we moved on.
Next was Target where we raided the electronics section for super cheap movies and video games. After Target came Macy's (to look at more wedding bands) and Bed Bath and Beyond (to pick up new sheets for Tad). We tried to go to Border's, but they weren't open yet, so we stopped by Aaron Bros for art supplies for my older brother and Sears to take advantage of the sale on fleece blankets. The final stop before we crashed was Walmart. There was nothing of interest to me on sale, so I opted to stay and nap in teh car. I was glad, I got a full hour in while Tad navigated the zoo inside.
We arrived back at my parents' around 8:30 am, in time to grab a quick nap and soome breakfast before meeting with the wedding coordinator at the Marriott. On our way home from that we stopped by Border's and got the new Taylor Swift album.
I was pretty sick, and very exhausted, so I didn't enjoy the experience as much as I could have. But I think I'll do it again next year. It was fun driving around together, and we did get some really good deals. Plus, we didn't get trampled by any mobs :)
WE'RE ENGAGED!!!!
"Marry me Juliet. YOu never have to be alone. I love you, and that's all I really know. I talked to your dad, go pick out a white dress. It's a love story, baby just say yes."
Oh boy did I say yes! Here's the story :)
Tad proposed on 11/23/2010, after almost 4 and ½ years together. We’re very excited to be planning our wedding for July 23, 2011. <3
*Her Side*
For me and Tad, the answer to the question “Have you talked about getting married?” has been “yes” for a while now. Early on though, we decided we didn’t want to get engaged until we had lived in the same city for at least a few months. So when Tad moved to San Diego last December, after almost 3 and ½ years of dating, I was pretty sure I’d be getting engaged sometime this year. I just didn’t know when.
I knew he was planning it by summer, as I overheard snippets of conversations between him and my mom and my friend Raelene. I looked for hints of a proposal any time we went out starting at my birthday (in June). Yet he still managed to completely take me by surprise.
The week of Thanksgiving I was working at my internship Monday-Wednesday. I saw Tad Monday evening and was not expecting to see him again until Thanksgiving. I had class Tuesday night after work and was coming back home right after my internship on Wednesday. That being said, here’s the story. =)
I woke up bright and early (6:25) on Tuesday morning and was immediately confused. I use a travel alarm clock and am extremely regimented in where I put it. When it goes off in the morning , I jump out of bed and turn it off as fast as I can so it doesn’t disturb anyone else. My alarm clock was in a different place than I usually put it. I discovered that it was in some sort of open plastic tub, which had other stuff in it, namely feathers. My only thought while digging to get to my alarm clock was “Why the heck did Anja (my roommate) put my alarm clock in a box of feathers after I went to bed?!?”. I got the clock switched off (really hoping I hadn’t woken Anja) and set out to figure out what this mystery box of feathers was.
Again not wanting to wake my (supposedly) sleeping roommate, I took the box into the bathroom and flipped on the light. I then saw that taped to each of the feathers were pictures. Some were of me as a kid (holding my little brother as a baby, blowing bubbles, dressed as an angel for Halloween when I was six), some from high school and college (me and Raelene before prom, one of my senior pictures, my favorite picture from Romania), and some of me and Tad (our first picture together, on vacation with my family in Hawaii, celebrating his new job in San Diego). There happened to be 23 altogether: an interesting coincidence since I’m 23, he proposed on the 23rd of November, and we will be married on the 23rd of July. Looking at through the pictures, it clicked (as I became more awake) what I was looking at. In Tsubasa Chronicles, the anime series that got me interested in anime (and still by far my favorite), a princess suddenly loses all of her memories, and her childhood friend takes great risks to travel across different dimensions to find them. These memories are found in the form of feathers. Tad had found all of my feathers. I knew that the pictures were what he had asked my mom and Raelene for.
I had a minute of thinking about how sweet this was, and then remembered that I wasn’t planning to see Tad at all that day, or the next. For the second time that morning I was very confused. I wondered if maybe I wasn’t supposed to have found the box yet. Though not wanting to wake him up before 7:00 a.m., I decided I should call him. I intended to say something to the extent of “I’m confused, and I think you know why.”
Yeah, the thought didn’t even cross my mind that he could possibly be in my apartment. I threw on a sweatshirt over my pj’s, grabbed my phone, and went into the living room (once more thinking of my “sleeping” roommate).
I closed my bedroom door behind me, looking at my phone to find Tad’s entry in my recent calls list. I hit send on my phone and looked up and was momentarily startled by a figure sitting on my couch. I hung up the call when I realized it was Tad. First question “Who let you in?”, COMPLETELY confused once more. And Anja replied from the corner “That would be me.” So much for being concerned about waking her! I found out later that Anja had been enlisted to plant the picture box, let Tad in, and take pictures.
I went and sat on the couch next to him. “You have no idea what’s going on right now do you?” he asked, grinning mischeviously. “I have some idea,” I replied. Um, no, by this time I (finally for that morning) knew EXACTLY what was going on!
He handed me his stuffed Mokona (a Tsubasa character) who had a feather taped to him. I noticed another glob of tape and peeled it off to find a ring. Tad took it from me, got down on one knee, and said some very sweet things (only a few of which do I remember because I was thinking “holy cow he’s proposing” over and over again) which concluded with “Lindsey Rose Hastings, will you be my wife?”, to which I very enthusiastically replied “YES!”
I didn’t cry. I just smiled and laughed, a lot. One of the funniest things to me, besides being caught completely off guard, was that for the last couple months I have carefully planned every outfit in case of proposal, and when it actually happened, I was in my pajamas!
Tad saved me an hour on the bus by driving me to my internship, where I dragged him inside to show him and the ring off.
It was a perfect way for him to propose, and I’m so blessed to have him as a fiancé and soon-to-be husband.
*His Side*
I guess my side of the story is a lot longer than hers. For me, I'd been planning to find a way to propose to her since April. It started by finding her ring shortly after Valentine's day this year, and watching the "extra inventory" get helped out the door with a discount. Not to try and be cheap, but I was on an extremely short budget, and was hoping to get something really nice while being frugal. It worked.
As for the how, I was first going to try and get her on April 1st, being the generally silly person that I am to lure her into a sense that I was being silly the entire day about how I didn't want her as my girlfriend anymore, and then propose towards the end of the day. But I had yet to ask her dad at that point, and was working very long shifts at work; finding the time to meet with them was near impossible.
Now, on to plan two. Along with three, four, five, and several others, I felt like any good ideas I had were never going to pan out in my favor. I went through phases of modifying songs (most notably "Love Story" by Taylor Swift, knowing how much she loves it, and knowing that it would make such a big deal to her if it was made into something she would always remember. Conveniently, Lindsey Rose fits in the same relative space as Juliet).
With the talking we'd been doing about planning our wedding, (after four years, it's a natural progression), we had decided on some dates and she had wanted to get it official for planning's sake soon (being Thanksgiving). Being that I was at this point "running out of time", and having finally gotten a solid time to ask her dad, I went on to plan some way to get a complete surprise.
About half-way through June, I figured out my method of proposing. While I didn't completely decide every detail at that point, I thought that I should start the preparations. I started hunting down some pictures from her mother as well as best friend in order to get a broad spectrum of memories that she would have from throughout her entire life, not just ones since I was involved. After I had my pictures, I got them printed off, and then had some feathers ready to tape them onto. Then I grabbed my Mokona doll, taped the ring onto it, and that part was set.
The hardest part was trying to figure out how I was going to ambush her in the interest of actually surprising her. I knew she knew, and I knew she was constantly expecting me to propose any time we were together. That meant only one thing to me, early morning, preferably before she'd even left for the day. It would be even better with her telling me, at one point, that she didn't want it to be "too late". I knew that this would probably catch her completely off guard, which the way any good proposal should be. I was originally going to surprise her at work with the ring, but had to alter my course when I found out that I would need to be at work in the morning instead of at night, as I had thought.
The most nervous part for me, out of all of the various things, was definitely asking her dad (although they were both there, so it was more parents than just her dad). While I had no concern if she would say yes, I know her parents had gotten to see a really bad side of me and my life way back in the beginning of our relationship, as I was struggling with a lot of life issues at that time.
As for the actual asking her, the worst part was waiting from alarm clock going off to her coming out. While it may have only been 15-20 minutes, it definitely felt like an hour or more. I was worried my surprise was ruined when her roommate's dog barked, knowing that I was there. After she finally came out, it was a huge relief, because I wouldn't have to care about the logistics anymore, and it would finally be over. I hadn't really written out a speech in my mind, or honestly really planned the speech part out at all. The only part that mattered was the actual question to me. The irony of it all was that I thought that I was going to be the one who cried, just because I know that I had certainly not deserved her for the time I had her, even if I knew she'd say yes. The only part that I can really say was scripted was the fact that I knew I was going to ask her with her full name, and that I would ask her to be my wife, over "marry me".
It might be nit-picky, but I thought it means more to be asked to be something of that level of importance to a person, instead of just an action. You get married on a day, you get a wife for the rest of your life. And I will indeed have a wife, Lindsey Rose Tilden, and she will be mine until the day God takes us home.
Taken by my mom on Thanksgiving
Oh boy did I say yes! Here's the story :)
Tad proposed on 11/23/2010, after almost 4 and ½ years together. We’re very excited to be planning our wedding for July 23, 2011. <3
*Her Side*
For me and Tad, the answer to the question “Have you talked about getting married?” has been “yes” for a while now. Early on though, we decided we didn’t want to get engaged until we had lived in the same city for at least a few months. So when Tad moved to San Diego last December, after almost 3 and ½ years of dating, I was pretty sure I’d be getting engaged sometime this year. I just didn’t know when.
I knew he was planning it by summer, as I overheard snippets of conversations between him and my mom and my friend Raelene. I looked for hints of a proposal any time we went out starting at my birthday (in June). Yet he still managed to completely take me by surprise.
The week of Thanksgiving I was working at my internship Monday-Wednesday. I saw Tad Monday evening and was not expecting to see him again until Thanksgiving. I had class Tuesday night after work and was coming back home right after my internship on Wednesday. That being said, here’s the story. =)
I woke up bright and early (6:25) on Tuesday morning and was immediately confused. I use a travel alarm clock and am extremely regimented in where I put it. When it goes off in the morning , I jump out of bed and turn it off as fast as I can so it doesn’t disturb anyone else. My alarm clock was in a different place than I usually put it. I discovered that it was in some sort of open plastic tub, which had other stuff in it, namely feathers. My only thought while digging to get to my alarm clock was “Why the heck did Anja (my roommate) put my alarm clock in a box of feathers after I went to bed?!?”. I got the clock switched off (really hoping I hadn’t woken Anja) and set out to figure out what this mystery box of feathers was.
Again not wanting to wake my (supposedly) sleeping roommate, I took the box into the bathroom and flipped on the light. I then saw that taped to each of the feathers were pictures. Some were of me as a kid (holding my little brother as a baby, blowing bubbles, dressed as an angel for Halloween when I was six), some from high school and college (me and Raelene before prom, one of my senior pictures, my favorite picture from Romania), and some of me and Tad (our first picture together, on vacation with my family in Hawaii, celebrating his new job in San Diego). There happened to be 23 altogether: an interesting coincidence since I’m 23, he proposed on the 23rd of November, and we will be married on the 23rd of July. Looking at through the pictures, it clicked (as I became more awake) what I was looking at. In Tsubasa Chronicles, the anime series that got me interested in anime (and still by far my favorite), a princess suddenly loses all of her memories, and her childhood friend takes great risks to travel across different dimensions to find them. These memories are found in the form of feathers. Tad had found all of my feathers. I knew that the pictures were what he had asked my mom and Raelene for.
I had a minute of thinking about how sweet this was, and then remembered that I wasn’t planning to see Tad at all that day, or the next. For the second time that morning I was very confused. I wondered if maybe I wasn’t supposed to have found the box yet. Though not wanting to wake him up before 7:00 a.m., I decided I should call him. I intended to say something to the extent of “I’m confused, and I think you know why.”
Yeah, the thought didn’t even cross my mind that he could possibly be in my apartment. I threw on a sweatshirt over my pj’s, grabbed my phone, and went into the living room (once more thinking of my “sleeping” roommate).
I closed my bedroom door behind me, looking at my phone to find Tad’s entry in my recent calls list. I hit send on my phone and looked up and was momentarily startled by a figure sitting on my couch. I hung up the call when I realized it was Tad. First question “Who let you in?”, COMPLETELY confused once more. And Anja replied from the corner “That would be me.” So much for being concerned about waking her! I found out later that Anja had been enlisted to plant the picture box, let Tad in, and take pictures.
I went and sat on the couch next to him. “You have no idea what’s going on right now do you?” he asked, grinning mischeviously. “I have some idea,” I replied. Um, no, by this time I (finally for that morning) knew EXACTLY what was going on!
He handed me his stuffed Mokona (a Tsubasa character) who had a feather taped to him. I noticed another glob of tape and peeled it off to find a ring. Tad took it from me, got down on one knee, and said some very sweet things (only a few of which do I remember because I was thinking “holy cow he’s proposing” over and over again) which concluded with “Lindsey Rose Hastings, will you be my wife?”, to which I very enthusiastically replied “YES!”
I didn’t cry. I just smiled and laughed, a lot. One of the funniest things to me, besides being caught completely off guard, was that for the last couple months I have carefully planned every outfit in case of proposal, and when it actually happened, I was in my pajamas!
Tad saved me an hour on the bus by driving me to my internship, where I dragged him inside to show him and the ring off.
It was a perfect way for him to propose, and I’m so blessed to have him as a fiancé and soon-to-be husband.
*His Side*
I guess my side of the story is a lot longer than hers. For me, I'd been planning to find a way to propose to her since April. It started by finding her ring shortly after Valentine's day this year, and watching the "extra inventory" get helped out the door with a discount. Not to try and be cheap, but I was on an extremely short budget, and was hoping to get something really nice while being frugal. It worked.
As for the how, I was first going to try and get her on April 1st, being the generally silly person that I am to lure her into a sense that I was being silly the entire day about how I didn't want her as my girlfriend anymore, and then propose towards the end of the day. But I had yet to ask her dad at that point, and was working very long shifts at work; finding the time to meet with them was near impossible.
Now, on to plan two. Along with three, four, five, and several others, I felt like any good ideas I had were never going to pan out in my favor. I went through phases of modifying songs (most notably "Love Story" by Taylor Swift, knowing how much she loves it, and knowing that it would make such a big deal to her if it was made into something she would always remember. Conveniently, Lindsey Rose fits in the same relative space as Juliet).
With the talking we'd been doing about planning our wedding, (after four years, it's a natural progression), we had decided on some dates and she had wanted to get it official for planning's sake soon (being Thanksgiving). Being that I was at this point "running out of time", and having finally gotten a solid time to ask her dad, I went on to plan some way to get a complete surprise.
About half-way through June, I figured out my method of proposing. While I didn't completely decide every detail at that point, I thought that I should start the preparations. I started hunting down some pictures from her mother as well as best friend in order to get a broad spectrum of memories that she would have from throughout her entire life, not just ones since I was involved. After I had my pictures, I got them printed off, and then had some feathers ready to tape them onto. Then I grabbed my Mokona doll, taped the ring onto it, and that part was set.
The hardest part was trying to figure out how I was going to ambush her in the interest of actually surprising her. I knew she knew, and I knew she was constantly expecting me to propose any time we were together. That meant only one thing to me, early morning, preferably before she'd even left for the day. It would be even better with her telling me, at one point, that she didn't want it to be "too late". I knew that this would probably catch her completely off guard, which the way any good proposal should be. I was originally going to surprise her at work with the ring, but had to alter my course when I found out that I would need to be at work in the morning instead of at night, as I had thought.
The most nervous part for me, out of all of the various things, was definitely asking her dad (although they were both there, so it was more parents than just her dad). While I had no concern if she would say yes, I know her parents had gotten to see a really bad side of me and my life way back in the beginning of our relationship, as I was struggling with a lot of life issues at that time.
As for the actual asking her, the worst part was waiting from alarm clock going off to her coming out. While it may have only been 15-20 minutes, it definitely felt like an hour or more. I was worried my surprise was ruined when her roommate's dog barked, knowing that I was there. After she finally came out, it was a huge relief, because I wouldn't have to care about the logistics anymore, and it would finally be over. I hadn't really written out a speech in my mind, or honestly really planned the speech part out at all. The only part that mattered was the actual question to me. The irony of it all was that I thought that I was going to be the one who cried, just because I know that I had certainly not deserved her for the time I had her, even if I knew she'd say yes. The only part that I can really say was scripted was the fact that I knew I was going to ask her with her full name, and that I would ask her to be my wife, over "marry me".
It might be nit-picky, but I thought it means more to be asked to be something of that level of importance to a person, instead of just an action. You get married on a day, you get a wife for the rest of your life. And I will indeed have a wife, Lindsey Rose Tilden, and she will be mine until the day God takes us home.
Taken by my mom on Thanksgiving
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