Favorite Faces in my Favorite Places :)

I am soo excited to be going to SEAHO tomorrow. SEAHO is a regional housing conference for graduate students and professionals who work in the field. I went last year and it was in Birmingham, AL. It was a great time of bonding, learning, and seeing a new city. I participated in the Case Study competition with a great partner. Though we learned a lot, it was a RIDICULOUS amount of work and kind of disappointing because we got ripped apart by the judges. Needless to say, I will not be doing it again and I am sure Forest won't be either:
Here we are at the closing banquet.

We look sooo happy... j/k we were mad that we put so much work into our presentation and didn't get good marks.
This year I was going to do interviews with the schools in Hampton Roads. Unfortunately, no housing jobs are available in the area :( This is a mixed blessing because this year this conference is in Williamsburg :) YAYAYAYAY! Soo the fact that I don't have any interviews means I can spend more time with my wonderful fiance and fabulous friends in the area! I guess I am not completely disappointed especially since I had an interview today and it went really well... so we will see what comes of that. I get to meet my Big's new man, go a ZTA birthday extravaganza, hopefully go to Saddleridge, finish off marriage counseling with our Deacon and see my parents. It is going to be AWESOME. YAY for seeing the people I love!
The other benefit is that I have wedding appointments all day on Saturday. We are going to put in the final invitation order and solidify a lot of other details like menu cards, programs, dress fittings, dance lesson (sssshhh Daniel can't know about that), photobooth, and other stuff. That is going to be a good time especially since all the stress with the invitations is pretty much done and other with. Though I wouldn't recommend this vendor at ALL, I think I am going to be happy with them in the end. To top off the greatness of Saturday, I am going on a double date with my best friend and her new boyfriend. I have been waiting our whole lives to be able to go on dates as couples and now we finally can :)

God is great

I have had a really good weekend. Good times on Friday and Saturday night with great people. Downtown Clemson is always a good time except for the fact everything closes at midnight on Saturdays (I know LAME). I realized though that I have had a lot of fun these past two years and met some really awesome people to have that fun with :)

We are on our way somewhere... not sure where but apprently we are EXCITED!

I went shopping in Anderson yesterday and spent way too much money. But hey I bought a really cute suit, two dresses (one for the conference next week and the other for my bridal shower), and a super cute shirt. All in all its good sometimes to spend too much money on things you need. In my personal opinion, retail therapy ROCKS!

My new navy suit :)

I was really blessed by church this morning. The message was all about the purpose and meaning of Lent. In my youth, I never understood Lent and I'm pretty sure most adults around me didn't either. Most people would just say "I'm giving up ___" and that to me was what Lent was about. I learned today that the 40 days of lent mirrors Christ's 40 days in the desert where he fasted and prayed. Christ was preparing for his ministry and to do that He spent sacred time with his Father. In the same way, Lent is supposed to be 40 days of cleansing, prayer, and meditation to strengthen our relationship with God and prepare for Easter!! Giving up something for Lent is supposed to be cleansing and a way to concentrate more on God just like Christ fasted for 40 days to prepare his soul for his ministry. YAY for learning something new at church :)

St. Patrick's Cathedral in Ireland!

Manning Staff

I have been reminded this week and specifically this morning what a wonderful staff I am blessed to have. This is RA appreciation week and I feel bad that I have not done enough to appreciate the wonderful work that my 15 lovely ladies do everyday. All of these girls have huge hearts and ridiculously busy schedules. Through it all, they continue to be a blessing to me and to all the girls in the building. They do everything that I ask them to do and even act like they enjoy it (well maybe not things like fire inspections but who would enjoy that?) They represent me and the department SOO well that so many Manning residents wanted to be RAs next year. Not one person declined the position in Manning for next year.. Not ONE! This is amazing because being in a highrise isn't the most appealing place to live especially if you are going to be a sophomore.
Even during their week to be recognized, they put together along with hall council a party to recognize our custodial staff. They made food, gift baskets, and made signs for all the residents to sign (one for each of the custodians). Our custodial staff was so blessed by this sign of appreciation and I was proud to see their huge hearts in action. Though being at Clemson the past two years has not been the easiest thing, I can definitely say that I am blessed by the people I have met.

Above is our first staff picture... We are missing Janelle (who is in Italy right now) and Alexa (who came to us this semester)

Wedding Planning vs. Marriage Preparation

I have been thinking of the difference between these two things ever since Daniel and I went to Engaged Encounter. Everyone has been asking me at least once a day how wedding planning is going.. I have had a couple different responses to that normally I say "Its going great... almost done" lately with all the invitation drama I have been answering "sooo stressful to be 8 hours away and planning a wedding". All the little details such as menu cards, jewelry, flowers, place cards, invites, programs, favors, etc.. can be overwhelming especially since I am not a planner at ALL... the joke is I have never planned anything EVER ... (which isn't true btw I was an RA and planned things all the time)and now I am planning a wedding.
People rarely ask how marriage preparation is going and the more I think about it that is WAY more important. I am making a lifetime commitment to another person. I am committing to be there in the good and the bad times AND to give everything I am to this person; physically, emotionally, and spiritually. Married love is meant to be the closest thing to God's love on earth. Daniel and I are supposed to be agents of God's love and grace to each other WOW! That is awesome AND a lot of responsibility. I definitely want to be prepared to be the best wife I can and Daniel and I both want to be prepared have a successful, happy, God-centered marriage. So far we have done many good things to prepare and I am excited for the final preparations to come!
Society generally doesn't have a great message about marriage. You rarely ever see celebrities that stay together and every minute on the news someone has had an affair or having a baby with a staff worker. There are always the stories of domestic abuse and the reports of how high the divorce rate is.. even in my own life many of my friends have divorced parents or parents who are "together" but unhappy... But with all the negativity surrounding marriage ... the excitement over weddings has multiplied. There are a billion different wedding shows, websites, magazines etc. Society loves to talk about how important it is to have a beautiful and expensive wedding but who knows what happens to those couples after the big day??
All and all I think if people spent just half the time they spent wedding planning - planning and preparing for their marriage, marriages would be much stronger and the divorce rate would be lower.

Hott Mess

Pretty much this sums up my life right now. My brain is in a billion different places so I do things like leave my keys in another building (far away from mine) so I couldn't get into my room. Yesterday, we had a meeting across campus and I left two signs that I was supposed to bring back. Today, I grabbed a bottle of body wash thinking it was lotion. I put it all over my face. I had no idea that it was body wash until in the middle of class my face started burning. After class, I looked in the mirror and my face is bright red and peeling. I am completely broken out and I look like I have wind burn on my face :( I am definitely a Hott Mess!!

Anxiety

For some reason, I have been feeling extremely anxious about everything. The last two days I have woken up with intense anxiety about work, class, job, wedding ... pretty much everything. Its one of those things where I feel so anxious that I can't really get things done... I would really like to wake up without my heart racing and muscles tense :(
I have been having drama with some of the details with the wedding which is extremely frustrating. The whole reason you hire someone is so they have to do the work and you don't!!! AHHHH! I just don't understand why someone cannot do something right ... I am not asking for perfection just COMPETENCE.
Since, I have been away or unavailable the last two weekends I am getting super behind in school stuff. Not that it matters that much because all I need to do is pass my classes. But I generally always get good grades, so I would like to do a little more than pass. Its just hard to get motivated.
Job search is extremely stressful and it is for everyone. I feel bad about complaining about it because everyone in my program is going through the same type of thing. The only difference is instead of looking anywhere in the US like most people I am looking in such a specific area. I am still waiting to hear about my last phone interview with CNU and I have another one next week. But the fact that its been a week since my phone interview and I haven't heard makes me think I didn't get an on-campus. That may just be me being paranoid but it still is a cause for anxiety ...

Defense of Valentine's Day

I LOVE Valentine's Day :) Even when I didn't have a significant other, I would go out with girlfriends and give people that I cared about cards. On this day, I hear a lot of people say that it is a dumb holiday, only for card companies and that you should treat your significant other with affection all year around or you shouldn't be dating them... blah blah blah. Hear is my defense of Valentine's Day: The history of Valentine's Day is a really interesting one (I just looked it up). The short story is -Way back when, the emperor of Rome outlawed all marriages and a priest named Valentine performed secret marriages. He was found out and beheaded for his crime. I know that is morbid but the point is: LOVE is important in all its forms, it was so important that a priest was martyred because he believed in it. Marriage is an outward celebration of love to the world and so that is the easiest target. I do agree that you should treat your significant other with love every day but we all live busy lives and do not have the time or money to give gifts, go on dates, or spend an entire day concentrated only on the one we love. Life unfortunately just doesn't work like that (though I wish it did) Since we don't have the time or money to do that every day, it is awesome to have a day set aside as a symbol of love. The idea that Valentine's day is dumb because we should do it everyday is like saying we shouldn't celebrate Christmas because we should remember Christ everyday... well of course we should! We all know the daily struggles of our lives and how easy it is to get distracted. The reason we have holidays is to bring us back to remember what is truly important :)
Ok now since I am done with my soapbox, my Valentine's day was awesome :) Daniel came down on Friday night and we went out in Clemson. That is always a great time! Yesterday, we went to Greenville, spent the day there just enjoying each others company. Daniel got us a hotel for the night so we got ready and went to one of our favorite restaurants for dinner. Unfortunately, the meal wasn't good and we sent it back twice. That is really weird because we have been to this restaurant three times before and got the same thing ... Finally, we ordered something else and had an awesome time. We went to the movies and say Valentine's Day. It was a great movie (even Daniel liked it ... though not sure if he'd admit it). This morning we had room service breakfast which has become our new V-day tradition (last year we spent a weekend in DC and had breakfast). Today we have been hanging out and doing wedding stuff, right now he is working on the invitation wording and getting the correct addresses :) All in all great weekend spent with my favorite person :)

Fav Love Quote: "If you look for it, I've got a sneaking suspicion... love actually is all around."

Disappointment

Sadly, I got my first rejection email from a possible job. Though I know that I will get rejected from jobs, this one is particularly disappointing because it is the only job in Residence Life in the area that I need to be in. It is possible for other jobs to open up in the next two months so I am hopeful but definitely disappointed. I know in my head that if God shuts a door then it wasn't his will anyway ... but that doesn't change the fact that I wanted that job and didn't get it. That position was perfect in so many ways including continuing education, close to Daniel's work, and aligns perfectly with my experience. Time to focus and apply for more positions!

Victory!

My comp exam is done and turned in!! Though it wasn't difficult, I had such a hard time buckling down and getting it finished ... but now it is DONE!! I feel such a sense of relief. Now I can concentrate all my attention on job search and wedding planning :) To make this day even better, I got offered another phone interview this morning and Daniel is coming tonight. YAY! I am so excited to see him but am really nervous about him driving all this way when it is supposed to snow. I am praying hardcore for safe travels.

COMPS

For those who don't know generally in a Masters program you either have to do a comprehensive exam or a thesis, luckily I am in a comps program so no thesis for me!! YAY! However, my comprehensive exam is due tomorrow and I am struggling with the motivation to do it... I mean you would think that since it is the big wall standing between me and graduation I would be rushing to finish it. Sadly that is not the case and I am BLOGGING instead of doing my exam. It is funny how not a whole lot has changed since I was a high school student. I always thought that when I got to college I would be responsible and plan ahead for assignments - definitely didn't happen. Then I thought when I got to graduate school I would be responsible and plan ahead for assignments - also didn't happen... maybe it will happen when I get my Ph.D? or J.D.?

Wish me luck!

Life Changes

The blog name "growing pains" describes perfectly what I feel like right now. I am suddenly hit with stress (some good, some bad) of wedding planning, marriage planning, graduating with my Masters, finding a job, and really just figuring out what kind of friend, wife, daughter, sister, mother (not anytime soon!!!) professional, and person I want to be. I feel like with going into a new stage of life most things in life are uncertain... I have no idea where I am going to live or work, I don't know how my friendships and family relationships are going to change (I am hoping not too much...), and really I am not too sure what I want to do with my life. Most of these uncertainties are a normal part of life and so I am just trying to do the best I can navigating through them. I know that at the end of the day God has a much larger plan for me then I could ever have for myself and He knows whats going on ... I am just praying that sometime I might get a tiny glimpse of it too!