Hurricane Irene: The Aftermath

Hurricane Irene. I am slightly sick of the name. And terribly upset that she did not "do" anything. I know it sounds terrible to say that but, if I am going to miss work and have to stay inside I atleast want SOMETHING to happen. I was out walking around during most of the storm. I hate to see what happened to North Carolina, but I would not have minded if Maryland got wiped off the map... ;)

On the flip side I am praying for the families affected in North Carolina and glad that nothing too bad happened to my hometown of Wilmington, North Carolina. The most damage we had was a fallen branch and a couple of blown up transformers. Which was the most exciting event of the whole evening. Annapolis freaked out its citizens for no reason. To be honest I almost think they did that to try to boost the economy. Now I have a TON of water in pitchers and bottles on my kitchen table that might take me a month to drink. And water is too precious to waste...

On a more positive note I was able to spend the whole weekend with my fiance. It was so wonderful to be able to spend so much time with him and plan parts of our wedding. We had an amazing time bonding together. I love just being able to snuggle up next to him and watch a movie. We hardly have to say anything, but we know that we are growing closer by the moment. It was also nice to be able to spend so much time with our dog Tora, or better known as the "gopher". She spends so much time under the bed that we joke around and call her a gopher instead. Poor animal. Two natural disasters within one week and she does NOT want to come out from underneath the bed.

So far classes have been wonderful. It is so nice taking online classes so I can devote more time to wedding planning, work, and my fiance and dog. My newest obsession of Pinterest and theknot.com is also helping me plan our wedding. These websites have been so helpful with ideas and inspiration, it helps me get an idea of what I want our wedding to be like. My old roommate Keri Powers Pye has also helped me in my inspiration. She gave me a HUGE stack of Bride magazines. I love looking through the magazines reading articles, getting ideas, and trying to pick out THE PERFECT wedding gown. I am supposed to go to a Bridal Convention in DC in September with my sister to get more ideas. I cannot wait to set an appointment to go try on dresses.

Enough wedding talk for now, I really need to finish my homework before I play. I hope everyone is ok from Irene!

Hearts on Fire

On August 10, 2011, my best friend and lover asked me to marry him. He proposed to me on the top deck of the Carnival Fascination with the Grand Bahama Island and sun rise in the background. It was such a beautiful scene and such a picturesque moment. Pure perfection. I don't think he could have chose any more of a perfect moment for the proposal. I am just so happy to begin this stage of our lives together.

So far wedding planning has been a cinch. Everything has fallen into my lap. Adam's mom and grandmother are doing our engagement annoucements in the newpapers. I have access to the most beautiful country clubs, beach clubs, and wedding sights in Wilmington, NC and almost all of North Carolina. My mom's best friend offered to travel 5 hours from Greenville, SC to Wilmington, NC to do my flowers for dirt cheap. And Adam's best friend, a future Culinary Institute of America graduate, called me and offered to do the catering and cooking for the reception. So many things have come together without stress and without me "looking" into those options. It has been so wonderful and I am thoroughly enjoying engaged life. I love having a ring on my finger and to be honest I cannot stop looking at it. I am so amazed at how it shimmers and sparkles in the light. It is amazing how a small ring can change your attitude and your whole outlook on life.

I am so blessed to have such a wonderful fiance like Adam. We think exactly alike with what we want for our wedding and reception. It is so nice that we don't have to argue or compromise with what we want because we both want the same thing. It is SO amazing! I am so excited to continue to plan the rest of our wedding and excited to see how things come together! Stay posted for blips of my wedding details!

Today I just started a new chapter in my life. It was my first day of work at the United States Naval Academy Midshipmen Store. I LOVE it! It was so amazing and super easy! Plus I get to see my fiance every day, have weekends off, and holidays, AND the same schedule as Adam. HOW PERFECT?! I can't wait to see what next week brings me!

As of right now, Adam and I are just hanging out before the storm hits. He is not allowed to leave Annapolis, and I personally, do not want to leave or go anywhere without him. I am hoping things will not be entirely too bad, but I am not sure and slightly worried. I just looked at pictures of my hometown in North Carolina and it does not look good. And the storm has not even hit yet. My prayers go out to them and to us here in Maryland. The eye of the storm is supposed to pass over Ocean City, Maryland. I am stocked up on food, coke, candles, and water. I hope I will be ok, but we will see. I have survived hurricanes before. I am slightly worried about flooding and downed trees. That will not be a fun event to take care of. I am not looking forward to power outages and no air conditioning. I hope the storm passes quickly and without too much damage. Atleast I have the whole weekend to plan wedding details! :) Stay safe y'all!

Dear Maryland

Dear Maryland,
I am overly frustrated with the lack of health system in this state. I am sick and tired of being sick and not knowing what is wrong with me. I know what is wrong, yet you who have a DR. infront of your name do not. I am really perplexed at how you graduated Medical school in the first place. I know that I have a kidney infection and I am your common, everyday kid off the street studying nursing. If I could write myself a prescription, I would. All I have to say is if I die from this kidney infection I will have my parents sue you and revoke your title for passing me on to someone else to be someone else's problem. I am disgusted with your lack of effort and professionalism. I am so frustrated with the fact that you did not even try to diagnose what is wrong. I am angry that you don't know the signs and symtoms of Kidney infection and that when I told you that I have had kidney problems before you wave your hand at me. SO dear Maryland, if I have to miss my cruise because of you, it will not be good... I am so ready to be OUT of this state and in a state that has a GREAT health care system! One more year of this hell hole.

On a more positive note I leave for the Bahamas in three days. I have started packing, but I have not finished. I put together a look book of outfits I have packed and now I just have to decide what I want to wear on which day.

Yes, I might be a slight OCD freak for doing this, but I think it is so cute and such a great idea. I only packed outfits with a few to spare. I always over pack and this way I will not overpack my bag and be able to wear everything that I pack. But I did over pack bikinis. I have about a million! I plan on wearing at least two a day!

I am so excited, nervous, anxious, and happy to FINALLY see my boyfriend! I cannot wait and I am soo stoked! I am also really nervous. I had a day dream about seeing him for the first time in a month and I got butterflies. Cute right? I just can't wait to run into his arms and feel them wrapped tightly around my body.

So I've had a bad day, or two, or twenty.

Why must everything happen at once? When you run out of things, you just don't run out of one thing. You run out of ten things all at once. Or something breaks, everything breaks. For instance, today not only did I run out of toothpaste, but I also ran out of deodorant, contact solution, laundry fabric softener, shampoo & conditioner, razor, dog food, tampons, and medication. Really? You all had to run out at the SAME time? And these things aren't cheap. They add up to an expensive bill. Which I have to pay. Which takes away from my Bahama spending money. And another example: during a power surge, two of my strip outlets blew. My laptop is broken, my phone is broken, and Adam's car broke down. Joy. More bills and things to pay for. And unlucky for me... Money doesn't grow on trees. I know some people might say, "Well don't go to the Bahamas and use that money to fix things and pay bills." Well... I really need this vacation. I need to get the hell out of Annapolis so I can survive another year away from the beach, my family, and my friends. I also need this vacation to motivate me through school and work. If I didn't have a vacation. I would have numberous mental breakdowns throughout the year. Why? I just don't get it. Blah.

On a positive note. During my "emergency" last night, I ran for an hour straight. I want to say I almost ran 5-6 miles. And now I am sore, but it went towards my Bahama body workout plan. I also only have 10 more days until I leave for the Bahamas with the love of my life. I am so excited and I wish I was packing up and boarding the ship already. But I guess I can wait 10 more days. It will make the trip and wait all the more better.

Tonight I will be going to dinner with a few (maybe 6-10) NAVY girlfriends and wives. I am really excited because I need a good girls night. A night where I have friends to talk to and confide in. Friends who understand my situation and what I am going through. I am so excited! :)

Hopefully my days start looking up as my countdown shortens! Carpe Diem!

Our Story

Our Story. How Adam and I met and a little background information.

Me
I was born on October 10, 1990. I was raised in Greenville, SC. I am the oldest of five children. I attended Southside Christian School for most of my life. When tuition was raised I was sent to Riverside Middle School, where I made some of the best friendships I have ever had. After completing two years at Riverside, I transferred back to Southside for 1 year and almost 2 semesters. I lived in South Carolina for 16 years before moving to Wilmington, NC, where I met the love of my life.
Adam
Adam was born in Anderson, SC on October 17, 1989. A year before me. He lived in Greenville, SC for a few years. In fact, his family lived just down the road from me. His father being the manager of a restaurant meant frequent moving. And so they relocated to Fredericksburg, VA. Shortly after Adam's parents went through a nasty divorce. His mom moved to NC and moved into her parents old house. In order to maintain contact with his children, Adam's dad followed.
How we met
I was so nervous. Growing up going to Southside were my graduating class consisted of 57 students. Most of them growing up together our whole lives. So meeting new people, was going to be interesting. I can remember what we were both wearing. How we looked. The exact details. Wednesday, April 11, 2007, I walked into English 3. A class normally for juniors in high school. At the time I was taking an American Literature class at Southside which was the equivilent of English 3 at John T. Hoggard High School. I introduced myself to the teacher and to my surprise, all she cared about was some stupid "Junior Paper" and sent me to the back of the classroom to a desk in the corner as my punishment. With much confusion, I turned to the kid next to me and tapped him on the shoulder, "Excuse me, can you please explain to me what the heck a 'Junior Paper' is?". The blonde head slowly turned toward me and laughed. "It's only the most important paper of your junior year. It prepares you for Senior Project." Whelp. He got me. Instantly with that blonde hair, blue eyes, surfer boy look. I feel in love instantly. So I just smiled and nodded my head like I understood completely. In reality, I was even more confused than before.

Thursday and Friday I looked forward to going to English class. English meant getting to see Adam, and hanging out after school before I went home. On Friday during class when we were supposed to be working on our papers I asked Adam to borrow his phone because "I was looking for a  new one and wanted to see how his worked." He agreed and handed over his phone so he could continue his nap. All I really wanted to do was give him my number. After playing around I handed him his phone back and got back to working on my paper. He looked at his phone, laughs and says, "What am I supposed to do with this?" "Call me." After class ended I walked out to meet my sister to head home. And my phone started ringing. Yes he called. And we talked for hours. The following Saturday night we talked for 6 hours straight. And Sunday the same. The following week we were assigned a group project. Adam and I were put in a group together. So we set a time on Wednesday afternoon (April 18) to get together to work on our part of the project. Adam came over to my house where we baked cookies and worked on our papers and projects. When it was time for him to go, I walked him out to his car, hugged him to say goodbye. When I was caught by surprise by a kiss planted on my lips. Short and sweet. And he hopped in his car and drove off.

We have been inseperable ever since. :)

12 days.

Free

Nothing is ever free. Everything has a price. Life, love, politics, clothes. The list goes on and on. Everything costs something. And money doesn't grow on trees. So hjow do we achieve the things we desire? Simple: work. Working to achieve a goal might be one of the most satisfying things in life. The end goal becomes more appreciated and has a higher value. Because of the cost. Giving up your time, energy, and effort. Of course we all want free things. Who doesn't? But when we work hard for something, we enjoy it more. It means more to us. I cannot stand when people just expect everything to be handed to them. Yes, I know. I used to demand my parents to buy me new clothes, shoes, etc. when I was in middle school and high school. But living on my own has opened my eyes to a whole new level of appreciation for the value of things. The past year I have been working two jobs almost everyday. Killing myself to pay bills and make ends meet. A few weeks ago, I ended things at one of my jobs. I want to enjoy life more and slow down. So far things are going well. I have been doing considerably well serving. And I am really enjoying it.

I cannot believe that Adam will be a senior this year. Time has really flown by so fast. It feels like just yesterday that we were sitting in English class together talking about our summer plans. And now, here we are, four years later planning our lives around each other. People keep asking me (mostly my family) when we are going to get engaged. The answer is: I don't know. Don't get me wrong, we have talked about it, and we talk about getting married. But I believe that Adam wants the moment to be absolutely special. Something that we will remember and cherish forever. We are just trying to live our lives in the moment, thankful for each breath we are given. Because you never know when your last day may be.

On another note, the Bahamas is only 12 days away! I am so excited and each day I can hardly contain my excitement. Each day I make a little more money for my Bahama money spending fund. I am also on the search for the perfect dress to wear to our formal dinner on board the ship. So if you have any ideas I am open to suggestions. Only 12 more days! AHH!

Major Confusion

After finishing my devotion this morning, I was left in a state of confusion. After thinking about my devotion and what it said. I started to get so irritated. I sometimes get confused and mad about what Christians say and do, and what they tell other people is right and wrong. For example, my devotion said that it is wrong to date and to save yourself for the person you are going to marry. Well excuse me? How are you going to find out your "husband" is the person you want to marry without dating him? And HOW do you know that it's ok to date "this guy" because that person is going to be your future husband. HOW DO YOU KNOW? Gah sometimes Christians really irritate me. I mean, I understand saving yourself for your husband sexually. And waiting for the marriage bed, but really? Dating? Common. Had I not dated all those losers in middle school and in high school I would have never known that Adam would be the perfect guy for me and make the perfect husband. I would have never known that there is nothing better than Adam and would have wondered the rest of my married life if I could have done better. I just don't get it. It's like saying the past 4 years of my life have been in sin because we are not getting instantly married. The past 4 years of my life have been spent getting to know and growing to love this man that will one day be my future husband. I have learned how to get along and how to sacrifice. How to fight and how to make important decisions together. I would have never learned any of that without spending so much time with this one man.

And I am tired of all these crap books being put out like "I Kissed Dating Goodbye". So you kissed dating goodbye, then what? You're ok with dating multiple girls at one time and sleeping around? Yeah right. All these books are so stupid. There is really no way to find out who you should be with in your future without reaching out and dating people. No way. You are not a mind reader, and even if you knew that persons thoughts you wouldn't know their reactions to certain situations. Or how they treat you around friends and family. I mean... Really. So irritated with some of the Christian population right now. It's a wonder why people push Christianity away for some of the insane, bizarre rules they create.

Look at the bigger picture people. It's about YOUR heart and YOUR relationship with God. If dating someone takes away from that, then it is wrong. But if dating someone encourages that, then it is right and good.