Thursday, June 30, 2011

Apartment for husband and wife!

Well, its official - my fiance and I got approved for an apartment! We are sooo excited! (:

This is actually the first apartment that i have picked out. hehe. All the other times my roommates have always picked them out and then i moved in. But this time i got to help pick it out! i got to take a tour of it and everything! i felt sooo adult like. hehe. Its not an apartment for roommates  - its an apartment for husband and wife!

It makes me feel like it needs to look really nice. Like all my little girl decorations need to be updated to a more sophisticated taste. lol. After all, my husband needs to like the apartment too. hehe. I am extremely excited to decorate though! And i'll try not to make it all girl. hehe. (:

Its crazy to think that in less then 2 months i will be living with a boy. okay not a BOY..... he'll be my husband - but this is a VERY new (and exciting) experience for me!

It sometimes surprises me that every day i find that i am more and more proud of my future husband. He is out of town working his little booty off in the hot sun. It takes a certain type of man to do what he is doing and my heart is filled with pride! (: I am extremely proud of that man that he is becoming.


On a side note... a light bulb at my work just burned out. And i mean BURNED out... like it was just smoking. awesome!


new apartments, light bulbs, and love - M

Thursday, June 23, 2011

Conversations with a 5 yr old.

The other day at work i had a simply lovely conversation with a little girl. lol.

It all started because of my "big, huge hello kitty purse".

One day i was watching Kandee Johnson's youtube channel and she had a Whats in my Pregnant Purse Video  and i ABSOLUTELY fell in complete love with this adorable hello kitty purse! Yes, yes, i know.. i am like 5 yrs old.
Anyways.. i ended up buying this wonderous purse and i get compliments on it all the time! (ask my Fiance... hehe... all the time people always say "thats a really cute purse.")

Well.. my purse hangs on the chair at my work and so people can see it... its kinda on display. lol


So i am at work the other day and this little girl... probably about 5 yrs old comes up to me and says "i like hello kitty more then you.. even though you have a big, huge hello kitty purse". (see.. i AM like 5)
SOOOO cute! I begin a little conversation with her about all the hello kitty stuff i had when i was younger... and the stuff she has now. She was precious. 

The most amazing part was the wonder that was in this little girl's life still. It was that feeling of "i can do whatever i want to do in life!". That feeling that so many of us lose in our lifetimes because of fear, or hurt or insecurity. That little girl didn't have that. She just stood there and talked to me about all the wonderful stuff she had and all the things she wanted to do when she got older. I miss that feeling of being able to conquer the world and nothing can hold me back! 
I know that i need to get that back. Kick fear, insecurity, and past hurt out of my life and run into my destiny. (: 

Ever since talking to that little girl at work i have been looking at my life and have been really noticing how often fear, insecurity, and hurt can keep me from my life. Even in talking to different friends and hearing them share some of their fears -- i am able to see how badly it can hurt our lives. And now, more then ever, i am noticing it with my upcoming marriage. I cant let it hurt my life or my marriage. So my new goal is to purposefully work on my fears, hurts, and insecurity. Conquer it all! (: All things are possible with Christ who strengthens me. 

big purses, conquering insecurity, and love. - M

Wednesday, June 15, 2011

Romantic dates on a budget. (:

Since every dollar is accounted for in this wedding and getting an apartment. My amazing Fiance and i have to get a little creative for dates. (:

I expressed to him that i needed a romantic date. Just him and i being together, enjoying each other's company. My Fiance sure knows how to deliver!!!

He took me on an amazing picnic by this beautiful waterfall. We had to walk a little bit but it wasn't that far of a walk. We walked down to right by the waterfall and had lunch. It was about 10 degrees cooler by the water! We were gonna go swimming but the water was way to cold!


It was fun just talking about things and sitting by these gorgeous man-made waterfall! Like i've said before... i love the simple pleasures of life. (:


After "hiking" (it was like a .25 mile walk really) back to our car we went and changed into our "date clothes" (which pretty much was jeans and tank top lol) and went to the $1.50 movie. We, of course, stopped by the dollar store to stock up on snacks. hehe. The movie theater in town plays older movies (like movies now on DVD) for $1.50 each. (: SUCH a great deal! 
We were going to watch the new fast and the furious movie.... but apparently they were cleaning the seats so we watched Water For Elephants instead. It was pretty good. 

Once the movie was done we went to walk around at a beautiful scenic bridge. We just walked and talked about things. Its amazing what conversation can do for a relationship. 



I was getting a little hungry so we decided to go to Red Robin and share something. We ordered "clucks and fries" or something like that. lol. So we got chicken strips, shrimp, and fries... they even put it in two separate baskets. The waiter gave us 2 boxes of fries when we were leaving too! (:

Overall, it was an amazing date!!! Ya... we can't go out and see the newest movie or go to a super expensive restaurant. But we can take joy in every moment together! (: 


romance, waterfalls, and love. - M

♥ . ♥ . ♥




Thursday, June 9, 2011

addressing envelopes and issues

Today i will  be mailing off my invitations (after i go and buy some stamps) Hooray!!! (:

Addressing all the envelopes the other day made it feel very very real! (: (:
The day is coming up quick and now we are announcing to everyone that we are getting married! (Although a lot of the family already knows and have been BUGGING us, asking when they will be getting the invitation. hehe).

Its silly but i am very excited to drop all them in the mailbox!




On a different note : yesterday we had another session of pre-marital mentoring. I babysat all day yesterday so we didn't have our session until 8pm and i didn't get home until midnight!!! We went over the homework we did and talked about our expectation for marriage. Its soo amazing to be apart of this mentoring because it is bringing up subjects i wouldn't have even thought to talk about. Its allowing my Fiance and i to get to know each other on a very different level then we did before and it is truly preparing us to handle the inevitable situations that will come up in marriage.
Its nice to start addressing the issues now... as opposed to later on when we are in a heated argument. The mentoring enables us to take a look at our future spouse and say "oh... okay. .. so because of this in your past ... when i do that... you react in this way." It just gives us insight and knowledge of the person in a new and refreshing way. 
I am learning a lot, not only about my Fiance, but even about myself. (: 

I am soooo glad that we decided to do the pre-marital mentoring. The book we are working out of (Saving Your Marriage Before It Starts by Les and Leslie Parrott) has a workbook with self-tests in them... and it is just soo helpful! (: I am excited for the next 9 weeks (its a total of 12 weeks) and to see how much more we will learn and grow! (: 

stamps, workbooks, love. - M

♥ . ♥ . ♥


Tuesday, June 7, 2011

dinner with a friend

So.. yes... as i have explained in my other post... yesterday wasn't the greatest BUT i did manage to be able to have dinner with my close friend Alyssa (we went to school together in 2008 and she was in town for a friend's wedding.)

We decided to go to Olive Garden and have the soup and salad dinner special. We also ordered an appetizer of calamari, chicken strips, and fried zucchini. Oh my goodness! It was all soo delicious and i definitely ate to much.  

It was nice just visiting with her and catching up. We hadn't seen each other for over a year! (last time she visited.. martin and i were in the beginning stages of our relationship and now... we are planning a wedding!) Alyssa ordered a delicious Mocha that looked so wonderful i ended up ordering it too.

It even came with a cute little miniature biscotti. I didn't finish mine because 1) i was WAY to full and 2) it was 7pm and i needed to sleep. 

We also ordered their teeny tiny desserts. It was chocolate moose with chocolate crust and dark chocolate shavings on top. It was the perfect amount. (:

When we were leaving and driving back to my place to recover from the amount we consumed - we talked about how we love the simply pleasures in life. The things that delight our heart. One of which was dinner with a friend. Just a simple dinner with great conversation. (: 

I don't need a whole lot of thrill or excitement to be happy. I don't need tons and tons of money (as long as my bills are paid, i have a roof over my head, and food on my table). I enjoy sitting on a blanket at the park with my Fiance. I enjoy dinners with a friend. Going to a museum. Watching a play. Listening to music. Taking  a walk. Its the simple things that i enjoy most. (: I don't want to take it for granted. 

simple pleasures, tiny desserts, and love, - M

♥ . ♥ . ♥



& i had a bad day

"Woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning" is a phrase i never truly understood. BUT today.... that is what happened. Not only was it the wrong side of the bed.... but i think it was the FAR wrong side of the bed.

it all started yesterday (enter flash back music)........

i do NOT know what my problem was yesterday but i was extremely rude to my Fiance. It was the kind of day where i argued just for the sake of arguing. My feelings got easily hurt over the tiny little nothings. And even after forgiving him... an hour later i would be mad about it again. what?? I was exhausting my Fiance's emotions and i frustrating myself that i couldn't get ahold of my emotions.
I was feeling stressed, annoyed, mad, upset, overwhelmed, and tired. The wedding day is approaching fast and there is still a lot of pay for, an apartment to still find, and i am about to partner my life with someone. The pressure of it all just came crashing down on me yesterday.

I am very disappointed in myself and how i reacted yesterday. There was no need for it. I really need to get better at communicating and not just blowing up. well..... i am learning and growing. And the worst part is that the day before i felt in my heart about how i need to uplift the people in my life. Its crazy how God will give you a revelation and the devil will try to knock you down! Well i will NOT let the devil win!!!!

My Fiance and i talked (after it was all said and done) and made up. I apologized for being sooo hideous and explained my heart a little more.

THENNNN this morning happened! Last night i slept terrible (mostly because i was still repenting for my behavior the previous day) and this morning I must have turned my alarm on my phone off  (i set THREE alarms and NONE of them went off)! So i woke up late, jumped up... and grabbed my stuff to get ready. I went to the bathroom and put my contacts in. Well.. my left contact disappeared! I blinked and it must have fallen and got lost! I looked around the bathroom and couldn't find it ANYWHERE! i was already gonna be late so i had to go to work. I had one contact in!!! When i got to work my eyes were starting to hurt (because my eyes are trying to focus and they can't..since i only could see clear out of one eye). So... i had to wear my glasses today. Oh joy! Not only do i just loathe my glasses... they are a little on the crooked side! ha! This is fun. Then when i get to work..i find out that the owner of my work will be in today (i am PRAYING that they won't show up until after i am off work). My Fiance texted me and encouraged me by telling me he loves me and i can turn my day around and to find the strength and courage. (:

So.. that is what i am going to do. Sure my morning wasn't ideal.... and i never wear my glasses in public.... but i will turn my day around. The JOY of the Lord is my strength! I will laugh at the devil for trying to ruin my day and outlook!!!

Today is the day that the Lord has made, i will REJOICE and be GLAD in it!!! (: (Psalm 118:24)

turning days around and love, - M

♥ . ♥ . ♥

Sunday, June 5, 2011

Be Uplifting

"Kind words can be short and easy to speak, but their echoes are truly endless." - Mother Theresa

Something that my heart has been focused on lately  is our speech. Our words.  The way we talk to people. The way we talk to our family, co-workers, friends, and other people we encounter.
It absolutely incredible (and maybe a little scary) the authority we have in our speech. In Psalm 18:21 it says that life and death are in the power of the tongue! what??
That is ALOT of responsibility. We have the divine ability to tear down OR lift people up just in the way we talk to one another.

I know for myself if someone says a cruel or rude thing to me.... it could ruin my whole day! BUT when someone encourages me or compliments me... it could uplift me for the whole week.

When we name call, talk down to someone, be short with them, or talk out of hurt or anger... we are ultimately bringing out death on someone. death! not living! dead! When we think about it in those terms it can definitely change your attitude about being rude.
On the other hand when we encourage, uplift, speak softly, and compliment one another... we bring them to a place of life. We lift their spirits up. (: Who doesn't want to do that?

Now i know we aren't perfect! I am certainly not!!! There are times when we get angry and our lips just can't stop the horrid words that come out. The Bible (Ephesians 4:26 ) says to be angry and sin not.... but again, we are not perfect. We NEED a Savior.

But lets be aware of our speech. The words we say to one another. In all we do lets speak uplifting and encouraging words. Even when we are sooo angry and we want to call the person who cut us off in traffic a blankety-blank. Even when our loved ones hurt us sooo bad and upset us so much we want to yell at them and call them bleep bleep. Lets take a step back and remember that our tongue carries power.

This is something i realized this morning. The words i may choose to say (or YELL) at someone that would bring about death, i would HATE for someone else to say it to the person. Here is a hypothetical example. If someone got really really angry at my Fiance and called him a bleeping bleep and told him he was dumb and stupid and smelled..... i would be IRATE! I would be sooo upset that someone would say that to this man that i love. So WHY do i feel like its okay to say these things when I am the one who is mad.

Its not okay.

So... i am going to try my hardest to speak life and no longer death. When i am angry and my initial reaction is to say something hurtful... i will take the extra moment to calm myself down and remind myself that i can either speak life or death in this moment. It will be a challenge... but the people around me are soo worth it! (:

speaking life and love, - M

♥ . ♥ . ♥ .