old friends are fun.

Tonight I hung out with some of my old friends from high school. I've decided that old friends are fun, and acting sixteen years old again every now and then is pretty entertaining. It's so strange to think about how much we have all grown up and how different we are as people, yet we still enjoy each other's company and reminiscing on old times :) We had a great time just catching up and laughing at how stupid and weird we are used to be. If only you could hear all of our old stories... trust me, there are a lot. And they are all hilarious.. at least they are to us!

Here we are as goofy high schoolers! :)

Spring Break 2006 -- seniors!

In our youth minister's garage.... with icee flavoring. Like I said, we were WEIRD!!

Senior year on a church trip to Disney World!

Mission Tour!

We spent our night talking about old times, traveling around Hoover in a mini-van, and scarfing down pizza, Rotel dip, and beer. Could it get any better? I don't think so :)

It's so weird being grown up. One of us is married, another is engaged. We are all graduated and have big people jobs. But I'm so glad that we can all still find the time to get together every now and then. 

Ladies, let's do it again SOON!!

love day.

Chuck and I have never been the Valentine's Day couple. Even though we've been each other's Valentine for the last seven years, we've just never made a huge ordeal out of the day. Maybe it's because we don't see the point in a scheduled day where you are "supposed" to do this and that to show the person you love just how much you love them. Isn't loving someone bigger than just being there to give a Valentine's Day gift on a Hallmark holiday? Unfortunately, thanks to the invention of things like Facebook, holidays like this have gone private to public. It isn't really about showing love for one another, it's about displaying your love for the world to see. Sadly, I feel like this day has morphed into, "Look what my love got me! Isn't he wonderful????" Maybe that's just my cynical personality talking, but I'd much rather have Chuck do something to show his love on a day where it isn't expected.

However, that doesn't mean that today doesn't make me think about how much I do love Chuck, and how thankful I am for him. There are so many reasons why I am ecstatic to be marrying him.

1. He is Mr. Dedicated. He has more passion for life, more drive, and more enthusiasm than anyone I know. He knows how to "love what you do and do what you love" and he encourages me to do the same.

2. He has a heart of gold and cares so much about his friends and his family. He is so kind, and doesn't hesitate to put others before himself. 

3. He will take pictures with me whenever I ask... even though it's his least favorite thing ever.

4. He is darn good looking, if I may say so myself. And I may spend way too much time looking at him :)

5. He has such a great family. And he's a family guy, which I love. One of the most attractive things, to me, is a man who is involved with his family and loves them more than anything. And I appreciate Chuck's heart and how I know he is going to, one day in the far far future, be an awesome and involved dad to our perfect family.

6. He takes me to his lake house and on his boat. One of my favorite places here recently. And I miss it! We need warm weather soon so we can enjoy it again.

7. He is hilarious. And his sense of humor makes me laugh.

These are the few of many, many, many reasons why I love him to absolute death. And I am a better person because of him, his kindness, his selflessness, his motivation, his ease, his calm spirit, his laughter, his humor, and his charm.

i like to brag.

.... brag on my friends, of course :)

PS -- my moment of ADD: I've had this blog now almost a whole year and I JUST now figured how to design it like I want.  Took long enough, didn't it??  It's okay.. I've always known I'm slow at the whole "computer" thing.  That's what Chuck's for :)

Anyway, so last night I was supposed to work, but I got put on call.  Answered prayer?  Yes.  I needed an on-call night, and Superbowl Sunday was the perfect day for just that.  I got to hang out with Chuck, Cameron, Robbie and Zach due to not going into work, and it was glorious.  I really, really, really love my friends... and sometimes I think I don't let them know that enough.

So, I'm going to do a little bit of a bragging post and brag on my friends a bit :)

The beautiful Cameron.. aka "my person".

Cam and I became friends during the summer of 2008, our first semester of nursing school. We befriended over a random conversation that lasted until 5am at her apartment on June 16th (yes, we celebrate our anniversary... haha). Since then, she has been my best friend and I couldn't imagine life without her. She's that person I can call at a random time to tell her a two minute story, and then the conversation is done and that's the end of the phone call. Our friendship isn't one that depends on lengthy phone calls or set aside hang out times. We are just simply ourselves, and it's such a relief to just be... me. She's there when I'm grumpy and tired, or when I need to vent, or when I just need to call her to tell her that I'm glad she's my friend. She's an uh-mazing cook (follow her recipe blog! check it out here!), she knows how to encourage and to listen, and she's genuine. Even when she needs something, she never hesitates to put her friends first. And I'm so glad I get to call her my best friend.

The talented and kind-spirited Christina.

Christina and I became friends during our junior year of high school, when we were both Hoover Ambassadors.  We just kind of hit it off and I couldn't be more grateful that God allowed us to find each other. Christina has the most beautiful heart of anyone I know and is always there when I need someone to talk to. She is the best at giving advice, even from 3000 miles across the country. She also has a lot of patience, because I've been a horrible friend lately that has been terrible at keeping in touch. But, because she  is who she is, I know she won't hold it against me and will be there to talk as soon as I make myself pick up the phone. Most of the time, we call each other for an "update" in our lives, and then end up being on the phone for two hours, forcing ourselves to hang up even though our conversation isn't over yet. She is beautiful, talented (she is pursuing her acting career in LA!), and one of the cutest girls you will ever meet. She is going to make one gorgeous bride in June, and has created the cutest wedding blog to help other brides plan their big day! Check it out here! I am so fortunate that she has felt it important to stay friends with me, even from California. Christina is one of those sound friends that's just not going away... and I'm thankful for that.

The hilarious and perfect Whitney.

Whitney and I have been friends since freshman year of high school. If you ask her, I wasn't "cool" until I befriended her, but I think it's all a matter of perspective :) Whitney and I have so many memories together.. sleepovers and boy talk as weird high schoolers, long phone conversations during college, and weekends that I spent up at Lee visiting her and getting to know her awesome friends. Whitney is never, ever one to keep a dull moment alive for long.. she is sure to put her piece of entertainment on a situation, whether it be by a prank, a detailed story, or something else. She is beautiful and light hearted... and she's sure to keep me in a good mood.

The goofy and entertaining Zach.

Zach and I have been friends since high school.. off and on, that is. We were all close while we were all attending Hoover High, but once we went to college and Zach was a senior at Hoover, we grew apart for a few years. But, because he's smart, Zach came crawling back to us not too long ago... :) Ok, maybe not crawling back, but you know. He is quite the friend to have and is always up for a nice gossip or dramatic story. I am fortunate for him because he is a friend that truly cares, even though he may not express it a lot of the time. But, hey, he's a guy. What more can you ask for? He is also a blessing in Chuck's life since Chuck got him into triathlons. He's a workout partner, a training buddy, and just an all around good friend. And he's always up for some advice from my all-knowing wise self :) Love you, brother.

The jolly green giant known as Robbie.

This picture breaks the norm and bothers my OCDness of the post a little bit, but I had to use it because he displays Robbie's personality so perfectly. Robbie and I have been friends since he and Chuck became "best buds" (ha) our sophomore/junior year of high school. They became friends after Robbie joined the praise team at church, and I'm so glad they hit it off like they did... because it provided me with a new friend, too! Robbie is awesome... just trust me. He's "tough", but really he's a big teddy bear.. (just don't tell anyone). He's leaving in March for the Navy, and I couldn't be more sad about it. Robbie is like a brother. Sometimes I don't even think of him as a boy... not in a bad way, he's just always there, always a friend, always just Robbie. He's hilarious, sometimes short tempered, and cares about his friends to an extreme. He's so much fun to have around and I'm going to miss him so much. I'm so glad that I've been blessed to call him my friend for so many years now!

So there. I've never been the girl with an umpteen number of friends, but I like it that way. I'm close to those that mean the most, and that's what matters to me. They are all unique, all wonderful, and all mean so much to me.
Of course, there's Chuck.. and of course he's my friend, but I brag on him all the time. I figured I'd give the others a shout out for once :)
So, I'm blessed by each one of you!
And I love you all very, very much!!

Have a wonderful Monday!

Townhome renters!

It's official!! Chuck and I will be moving into an adorable town home together after we are married. And yours truly will move in May 1st! Oh my.. my own place. Without having to deal with a roommate! The only roommate I will ever have ever again will be my husband, and I'm so okay with that. No more sharing a living space with anyone but myself and Chuck. Whew.. roommates are so overrated :) Not that I dislike living at home.. I love being able to see my mom and Emily all the time and save money. But, my roommate experiences in college were not the greatest. Some of my roommates weren't too bad, but others were terrible. So, having my own space will be so nice.

Here's the front! I love the adorable red door!

All of these pictures include the furniture of the family that is currently living there, so picture either empty rooms or rooms with our furniture (that is actually non-existent at the moment... we'll need to fix that...)

This is the den when you first walk through the front door. Every room as tall ceilings, and that first door on the right leads to a tiny hallway with a spare bedroom, extra bathroom, and closets for storage.

Our kitchen! With lots of cabinets, counter space, a bar, and then where the photographer is standing is space for a kitchen table.

Master bedroom. And no, we do not plan on having a crib in ours anytime soon :)

Master bathroom with "his and hers" sinks. My own sink.. what a relief. And that standing shower you can see, a tub to the right, and our closet is in the bathroom, as well.

Can't wait to move in!

Have a fabulous Saturday!

Love you all!

Honeymoon!!

Chuck and I have officially picked and booked our honeymoon! And may have done a happy dance or two to commemorate the milestone (and because we are super excited about the location!!) Chuck spent an ungodly amount of hours doing research, talking to unforgettablehoneymoons.com, talking with AAA, doing calculations to figure out what all would work within our budget, plus a million other things that I'm sure I don't even know about... and it all lead to an amazing honeymoon that is officially BOOKED!

We are going to....

Sandals Royal Bahamian!!

And staying in the Royal Village Honeymoon Villa Suite, where we will have a butler, 24-hour room service, and our own villa located on the quieter part of the grounds away from the hussle and bussle. The Royal Village area (where we are) has 10 separate villas that share 3 private pools, and only those staying in that area have access to those pools. We were able to book this for 65% off! Which is why we were blessed with the opportunity to have our own private villa :) AHH! So excited!

And, because we are part of the Royal Village and staying in a Butler Suite, we get fancy transportation to and from the airport.. in either a Rolls Royce or a Mercedes Benz! Chuck and I will be rollin' up in style ;)

We loved this location of Sandals because it has a private island just offshore that is owned by the Sandals resort as well. You can either take a motorized boat, or kayak/sail yourself over to the island for a more private beach. There's a pool, spa, restaurant, and private areas with hammocks and stuff on this island as well, as well as some awesome snorkeling!

Also a bonus of the Royal Village, we get access to Gordon's Restaurant located on the pier.

And, of course, there will be lots of time spent relaxing and doing nothing in one of these :)

Chuck and I looked into (literally) every location possible for the honeymoon... St. Lucia, Jamaica, Antigua, Antiguilla, Mexico, Turks and Caicos, Dominican Republic, Barbados, Bermuda.. plus more. And the Bahamas ended up being everything we wanted for a good price. The most important things we wanted was our own private villa so we weren't sharing walls with an annoying neightbor that we could hear through the walls of a hotel, and snorkeling. We wanted pretty water, and the Bahamas have just that!

I don't think we could BE more excited. Now... where's July???