Miss Me?

Hello All,

Sadly, it has been WAY too long since I have updated my blog.  My excuses for not writing in awhile are this: First, I was in Mexico for a week and a half.  Second, my computer died and I am still without one.  Third, even if I borrowed Heath's computer, I have no internet at my place (yet).  BUT, right now I am at Heath's parent's house, using his computer and I have some free time to write a little bit!

Mexico was great, Heath and his parents, and me and my parents all went to the Cancun area for a week and a half right after school got out.  Oh and did I mention I graduated? Yeah, don't feel like it yet, but I'm sure I will come September when Heath goes back to school and I don't!!  Anywho...Mexico was great, the weather was great right up until the day we left! 

Got back and started my new job!!  I am now an Assistant Project Manager at Translations.com!  My dear friend Amy Dill works in the Sales department and suggested I apply for the position.  I found out right before we left for Mexico that they were considering me for the position and two days later they called and offered me the job!  So we got back from Mexico on a Saturday and I started my new job that Monday! I've been there now for a little over a month and I love it!  It is long hours because we're a little understaffed but they are working on hiring more people.  I love what I do and I feel like I'm utilizing skills that I have that I actually enjoy using.  So I'm hoping I can stay working here as long as Heath and I are in Corvallis!

Heath and I are getting closer to the wedding! 34 days! I'm pretty sure we have most of the big details worked out and all our vendors picked and set up, now we just need to finalize numbers and little details.  I can't wait - if I think about it too much I start getting a little nervous!

Also, I moved into the apartment which Heath and I will be living in once we get married!  It's two story, one bed, one bath, and really cute.  Heath and I have been slowly setting it up and unpacking boxes in our spare time (what's that?!) and I can't wait to finally share that place with the love of my life. 

That's all for now and I probably won't be able to update again until I get a computer or internet, which probably won't be until after Heath and I get back from our honeymoon.

Graduated!!!

I graduated! College life is done!!  It is weird looking back on the 4 years I spent at Oregon State University.  The activities I was involved in like ballroom dancing, Chi Alpha Christian Fellowship, Calvary Chapel, etc.  The people I've met and stayed friends with and those that were friends during specific times in my life; I just can't believe how much I have gone through.  College brought me tears and heartache as well as love and happiness.  It was a journey I'm glad to say I survived and managed to enjoy for the most part!  There will be many things I will miss, including: ranting about crazy English teachers with Kalin, getting chai tea and bagels from Java, having a building I can call my own (Moreland), finding exciting new authors and books because of a class I took, and many more. However, there will also be many things I will not miss anymore, such as: having classes with crazy, mean English teachers, having to run across campus to print papers off last minute and get to a hot and sweaty classroom in Moreland, not being able to find a computer at the library, and walking a half hour in the rain when I straightened my hair that day, etc.  I'm sure I will be walking into a slew of new ups and downs with the next part of my life which will hopefully included a job with salary and benefits.  Special thanks to everyone who helped me to celebrate my graduation on Sunday!

Favorite Products

I really enjoy reading beauty blogs so I decided to make a post of my own reviewing a few of my favorite products!  It's always easier for me to buy someone's product when I can see someone's personal review of whether or not it was worth the money.  So here are a few of my favorite products!

Aveeno's Ultra-Calming daily moisturizer is my life saver!  I use it everyday and it has visibly reduced the redness on my face and given me softer skin.  It's perfect for my sensitive skin.  The one downside is it costs about $16 at a drugstore; but I pay it because I know it works.  I've been using it for 3-4 years and I wouldn't change it for any other brand.  It does last a long time, I can usually get mine to last around a year since I don't need much to moisturize my face. 

As silly as the bottle looks, the smell is quite good.  I would have never picked it out on my own but I got it as a gift from Heath's mom and I wear it all the time now!  I have never been one to have a favorite smell and I always get a new perfume each time I'm out because I like to try new ones, but currently, out of the 3 different brands I use, this one is my favorite.

This product is great for catching fly-aways.  I will put it in damp hair if I am going to blow-dry my hair to help protect it from the heat and when it is dry but a little frizzy I will put a little dab in to tame it down.  Be careful of over-use or too much at once or it can make your hair a little greasy. 

That's all for now, when I get new products (happens rarely as I have no money) I will try to review them on here!

Wedding Quilt

Saturday I began the quilting process! My sister-in-law Elisha took me Joann Fabrics and we picked out some fun colors to use!  She showed me how to cut everything to correct dimensions.  Who knew there was so much math in quilting?!  Time for me to brush up on my addition of fractions skills.  I decided to make a wedding themed quilt for Heath and I.  I'm attempting to make it a queen size, though it may end up being smaller as my sewing machine skills are very low and I end up loosing a lot of fabric with I'm sewing two pieces together.
Elisha's mom let me borrow her sewing machine until I decided whether or not I wanted to buy my own (or get it as a gift, etc).  Here are 4 of the 5 fabrics we chose (I couldn't find a picture of the last one online).

The first fabric (with the wording) is the base fabric I picked out  -- notice the wedding themed wording--and as our bedroom is going to be somewhat brown themed, I thought brown and blue would look nice!

We cut all the fabric into strips of varying sizes and I began sewing them together in rows.  Once I get all the blocks done I will sow the blocks together with it switching between horizontal and vertical direction of the strips.  I'll be sure to post pictures as it is coming together!  Need to get all the blocks done then figure out the next step.  Haven't begun to learn about the backing and a border, etc.

Also, Heath says I need to blog about more exciting things...I just have no idea what is more exciting than quilting!

Fill In The Blank Friday

FILL IN THE BLANK FRIDAY:  Taken from this blog here!

M

MY DREAM VACATION WOULD BE: Well vacation for me is relaxing, so my dream vacation (not traveling) would be some remote island with not many people and beautiful beaches and warm water and my man (once he's my husband - 3 months!).  My dream traveling vacation would be Israel and all around there.


THE BEST TRIP I'VE EVER TAKEN: was all around Europe.  Went to France, Switzerland, and Italy all in a month.  It was a blast, saw so many things and was blown away by everything.  Wish I could do it again!


THE MOST IMPORTANT THING TO TAKE ON A ROAD TRIP: Dramamine!! I get super car sick so road trips are no fun without it.  And snacks and good music you can sing along with.

THE NEXT TRIP I'M LOOKING FORWARD TO IS: my honeymoon to Cabo San Lucas in September. =]

IF I HAD TO PICK ONE CD TO LISTEN TO ON A LONG ROAD TRIP, IT WOULD BE: probably a CD with showtunes/Glee mixes.  Depending on who was riding with me.  Anything I could sing along with at the top of my lungs!

THE BIGGEST DISASTER I'VE ENCOUNTERED WHILE TRAVELING WAS: Probably my trip in southern Spain with Shannon, we missed every bus we tried to catch and our hostel wasn't actually located where they said it was so we almost had to sleep on a bench for a night but then found a hostel with one twin bed we could share.  Disaster, but at the same time extremely fun and an awesome memory.

MY FAVORITE TRAVEL MEMORY: I absolutely loved seeing Monte St. Michael in France.  It was beautiful and fun to hike around the town with my parents and my friend Shannon, then finding our hotel (not easy) and getting there and playing cards all night.

The End is Just The Beginning

As it gets within the single digit number of days until my college graduation, I can't help but feel a little scared.  Our whole lives are school, all preparing us for reaching "the real world."  Do I feel prepared? No.  Do I feel ready? No.  Am I glad to be done with school? YES.  But now what?  The age old question that you are asked from your Junior year in High School until a little after you graduate from College is: What do you want to do with you life?  My honest answer?  I have no clue. None.  The one that sounds the most appealing? Being a stay-at-home mom.  Is this practical and possible?  Not yet; especially since I don't have any kids and Heath has more schooling before he can be the bread-winner.  So my next best options?  Trying to find a job I don't hate.  I can get along in any job, deal with any type of boss, but I would prefer to have a job I actually enjoy. 
I've come to realize that I really enjoy working with people, but that people also wear me out if I get overly involved, so jobs in social service might be too much.  So what's the next best thing?  Receptionist/Secretarial type work.  It's the perfect balance of customer interaction while still having office work to keep you busy.  I'm really detail oriented and I love being organized.  Most people would criticize someone for aspiring to be a secretary, it's not a career goal most people fantasize about; but I think I would be really good at it and might just enjoy it!  I'm not cut out for the competitive business world, I don't care about reaching the top and climbing some ladder, I just want a job I don't hate.  So here I go, off into the real world to find my calling (as they say), except I've already found my calling, my calling is to serve the Lord, and I realize I can do that anywhere.  So all I ask is for prayer that I will be placed in a job where God can use me.  And if you know of any good job opportunities I suppose passing those along wouldn't hurt either ;-)

Adventure for a New Hobby

I've decided I need a new hobby.  And as I am getting married soon I wanted to choose something that I would be able to do in my spare time at home.  As I look towards marriage and being a wife there are certain traditions I don't want to die off as my generation becomes more and more technologically advanced, more about instant gratification, and less about doing things yourself.  So here are a few things I am going to learn how to do, hopefully before I become a wife (so I have until September!).  Or at least within the first year or so.

1. Learn how to can fruit, make applesauce, etc
2. Learn how to make homemade bread
3. Learn how to quilt
4. Learn how to make my own pie crust and pie filling (the filling I suppose goes under the canning category)
5. This will probably come with quilting but I want to learn how to sow minor things like tears in pants or buttons that have fallen off, etc.

I think 5 is enough for now, though I am sure there will be more things I can think of later on.

So to start off my adventure I am spending next Saturday afternoon/evening with my lovely sister-in-law who quilts and she is going to help get me started!  I'll post about it later.  My current challenge is trying to find an idea for a quilt to make.  I think our future bedroom colors are going to be brown tones, so maybe something for that room.  Or maybe just start with something fun.  Maybe a wedding quilt since our colors are purple and gold (though gold might be hard, maybe make it yellow for the quilt).  Thoughts?