101 in 1001 Update #11

Wow I can't believe it's September already.

I'm not really sure where the summer went! It just blows my mind to think that next summer I'll be getting married. I've still got a ton to do, and despite already having been engaged for a year now, I'm not that far ahead when it comes to wedding planning. Oh well, I'm not going to freak out about it for another few months. Then the craziness can begin.

I am happy to say that we had our engagement pictures taken by the lovely Heather from HRM Photography and I'm very pleased with how they turned out.

I love this guy

To be honest, I can't really recap the past month since it passed by in such a rush. I know I got my bridesmaid's dresses sorted, I know I nailed down a few accessories for my bridal outfit, I know I met with our minister, but it's all sort of a blur. I'm hoping that time will slow down a little bit now, and that I'll actually get to put in some time not only with the cool DIY projects I have planned for the spare bedroom (so I can finally do my first project reveal) but also so I can work on some of the customized things I have planned for the wedding.

I'm actually really happy it's September. I just love fall, it's probably my favorite season. I love the leaves, the crisp smell of the air, the lack of bugs, cool breezes, apples...I could go on, but I'll stop there. All of my nesting instincts kick in when the rush of summer is over, and suddenly I want to cook and bake, decorate, and get ready for Christmas!

Completed Goals:

2. Get my hair cut and highlighted (2/2)

14. Go one week without eating dessert for four weeks (4/4) - I did it! I'm pretty relieved to have accomplished this one, since I'm planning on making an apple crisp later on today
25. Plant a garden in my backyard and maintain it throughout the summer - I grew one cucumber, which I picked yesterday, and I am going to count this as a very small success, since for a while there it looked like we were not going to get any cucumbers! 
26. Grow and use three varieties of herbs (3/3) - I grew lemon thyme and lemongrass this summer, and managed not to kill them. I'm going to plant them in the ground, and hope that they survive the winter, since they're apparently perennials
69. Get engagement shots done (2/2) - I'm actually relieved to have this crossed off my list, I'd much rather be behind a lens than in front of one

70. Book a minister - the next step is to take a pre-marriage course of some kind, I'm actually (strangely) looking forward to it 

Goals I'm Working On: 
6. Go for a run/bike ride every week, weather permitting (48/143)
13. Eat a vegetarian meal once a week for three months (8/12)
32. Learn how to sew - I don't think this is ever going to be something I'm good at, but I hemmed a pant leg yesterday, with some of the messiest stitches I've ever seen
48. Go on one date night a month (10/32) - we went to the Western Fair, and I had SO MUCH FUN! I've never played fair games before, and Jeff kept laughing at me because I kept jumping up and down in pure excitement
49. Take a picture of Jeff and I once a month (10/32) - engagement pictures count, right? 

Completed Goals: 29/101

Bambi Got Run Over By A Civic

Does anyone recognize the song I was referencing?

Well it's a little lot late, but I'm finally getting around to writing about what happened to my poor car at the beginning of December. But first, I must warn you - if you have a great love for deer, don't keep reading this post. (Haha) I used to be one of those people who was against venison and hunting, always wondering who on earth could ever do that to Bambi's mom, but after a few events concerning a stupid deer...well let's just say that my position has drastically changed.

Until my deer incident, I'd never been in a car accident. No speeding tickets, no parking tickets, nothing. I actually took great pride in that. Well, that's all out the window now.

I can't put into words what it was like that morning. It's all somewhat of a blur because after it happened I was riding on a wave of adrenaline, followed by shock. I remember driving along (ironically, having just gotten my car tuned for winter & oil-undercoated), minding my own business, humming along to the radio when I saw a deer emerge out of the trees on the passenger side of the road. I remember clearly thinking "Oh, a deer! I never see one this close to the road, and it's running this way! Deer hop kind of funny....it's still running this way...there's no way we'll hit each other" and BAM! The deer slammed right into my passenger door...its back end smacked my rear-passenger door. I noticed that there was deer spit on my window.

Yes, those are some very detailed thoughts but that's probably the clearest part of the whole debacle. And all of this happened in just a few seconds, just long enough me to start braking (but not too hard, because I had noticed a car approaching in my rear-view mirror) but not long enough for me to have slowed down enough for the deer to hit the front of my car. In fact, I'm glad that it hit the side of car because it could have been so much worse if I'd hit the deer straight on. I actually didn't damage the front of my car at all, which made this an easy insurance claim. The deer fur on my car didn't hurt either.

I remember screaming, because I could see the look in the deer's eyes as we hit and it scared me. The deer pushed me a little bit towards the middle of the road but I didn't swerve. It was then that I was riding a wave of adrenaline, and wisely pulled over to the side of the road where there was more shoulder. I saw the deer stumble to the other side of the road in my rear-view mirror. I thought that there would be minimal damage (from a full-grown male deer, running full speed at me? That was dumb) and that everything would probably be fine. I was shaking so badly that I could barely dial Jeff's number. I think I was pretty incoherent on the phone, considering that I couldn't really tell him where I was. He told me to get out of the car to see if there was damage...and that's when I fell apart.

My first glimpse of the damage

This door was really dented too, it's just hard to tell in this picture

Yep, that's deer fur stuck in my door handle

As soon as I got off the phone with Jeff I heard my phone ring again. I was outside staring at my car, wondering how on earth I'd be able to pay for this much damage. My caller id showed that it was the company that I'd had a second interview with the day before. My heart stopped, because I knew that they were calling all the applicants to say either yes or no, and I just thought to myself 'please don't be more bad news...I won't be able to handle much more'. Luckily, it was good news :) I made my new boss laugh when he was going over the details when I said to him "I'm sorry I'm not soaking all this in right now, I just got hit by a deer and I'm on the side of the road talking to you!" This all happened within 30 minutes, which just goes to show you how quickly your life can change. 

Around $4700 in damages and a week later, I had my car back. The repair shop I took it to did a great job, and although the experience was a life-affirming one for me, I'll always be more cautious around deer now! 

Bambi, you better watch out, I'm gunning for you! 

101 in 1001 Update #3!

Wow this month flew by! I meant to update my running progress a few weeks ago, but I haven't had the chance since....I GOT A JOB!!! Wooo! After almost 7 steady months of job searching it finally happened. I am now an accounting coordinator at a large moving company. I started December 6, and it's been going very well so far! How I got my job is a fairly ironic story involving a deer and an isolated country road, but I think that story deserves it's own blog post. With that said, having a job is definitely the reason that I'm slacking with this whole blogging thing, as I thought I was getting a lot better at it recently. I've thought about adding a tab where I post recipes either weekly or monthly. At first I was thinking weekly, but when I come home from work I'm pretty exhausted, so I'm going to go with monthly. That was the new blogging development that I hinted at in my last update. So get ready for Menu Monthlies, where I will post a few of my tried and true recipes!

Moving on to my running progress, I was actually doing really well at the beginning of this month and did my four runs, but then I 1) Got hit by a deer and didn't have a car for a little while, 2) Got a job and was extremely exhausted after work every day, and 3) Caught a really bad cold and couldn't go out for a run anyways. With that stuff plus Christmas, I haven't been to the gym in at least 2 weeks. So the new year is a great excuse to step it back up! I did complete week 3 of my C25K with relative ease, and I may repeat it since I won't be as accustomed to running next week. I'm definitely getting more used to being up earlier every day and working, and since I'm over my cold now and have my car back I'm actually really looking forward to working it out at the gym again!

As for my 101 in 1001 list, this month I am adding one goal. This goal was incredibly important to me, caused me many sleepless nights, seemingly endless amounts of tears, and had me endure criticism from myself and others. You guessed it - the job thing. I never wanted to publicly put it on my list, but it has always been on there in my mind, so I've decided to put it in my freebie slot for my wedding. That may seem like an odd choice, but it's necessary wedding funding, so I say good enough!

Completed Goals:

59. Spend our first Christmas morning together in our new house - This was kind of a freebie, but it meant so much to Jeff, who really hasn't woken up in a home of his own on Christmas for quite some time

74. Get a job! (So I can start paying for all this wedding stuff) - I am so relieved now, it's cliche but it's really like a huge weight has been lifted off my shoulders!

78. Organize the storage area in the basement - We have finally gotten rid of our moving boxes in the storage area! 

85. Organize all closets - With the end of the boxes also came the end of the disorganization of our closets

Goals I'm Working On:

6. Go for a run at least once every week, weather permitting (10/143)

34. Try 8 new foods (4/8) - I tried venison this month after this whole deer incident (I never wanted to eat Bambi before he tried to run me off the road)

48. Go on one date night a month (4/32) - We're going on a New Year's date night tomorrow, we have reservations at a new restaurant and then we're seeing The Hobbit in 3D!

49. Take a picture of Jeff and I once a month (3/32)

Christmas Eve

58. Try three new restaurants together (1/3)
63. Book a photographer - We're meeting with a photographer in two weeks to see more of her portfolio, I like what I've seen so far!

I added one goal this month:
74. Get a job! (So I can start paying for all this wedding stuff)

Completed: 10/101

My Proposal Story!

I am a true romantic in the way that I absolutely love hearing stories about other people's proposals, so I thought I'd share mine in case any other 'romantics' are out there somewhere. So here it is.

As many people who keep tabs on my little blog are aware of, Jeff and I took possession of our first home two days ago. Little did I know that Jeff was also planning on proposing that same day. Friday morning, Jeff had more energy than normal; he was packing up all of our stuff at light-speed, and he kept pushing me to be out the door! Now I know why of course, but at the time I was a little bewildered. We went to the lawyer's office to pick up the key to our house around two in the afternoon, and Jeff suggested picking up a paint sampler of the color I wanted to paint the walls of the main floor of our house to 'save time'. He told me that he was planning on getting started on the edging while I went out and picked up the rest of our paint in Dorchester and made a run to Home Hardware to get all of our supplies for the big move, which was happening the next day. I almost blew his plan when I told him that I didn't want him to get started on the edging, because anybody who knows Jeff also knows that he absolutely hates to paint, particularly edging. I didn't want him to get frustrated and make a big mess! He asked me to trust him, and after a little discussing the matter back and forth, I gave in. I'm so glad that I did! When we got to our house, we were touring around, and he kept asking me if I was going to get the paint. I wasn't even suspicious!

Once I left for the paint store, he kept asking me when I thought I'd be on my way, and he made me tell him when I was coming back. I walked in the door, keys and a bag from Home Hardware in hand, and just froze in the entryway. Because there was Jeff, standing in the middle of our new living room, holding a ring box, our song playing on my Ipod stereo, with the words "Will you marry me? Check Yes or No" painted on the wall behind him in huge letters. I dropped my keys, my hands were shaking, and just froze, speechless.

Jeff grabbed my hands and pulled me into the center of the room. He got down on one knee, and told me that he couldn't live one more day without me agreeing to marry him and spend the rest of our lives together. I said yes of course!!! He got up off his knee, put the most amazing ring on my finger, and then we slow danced around the room, letting the music surround us. It was truly a beautiful moment. It still makes me tear up, just thinking of how I felt in that moment and how perfect it was for us.

Once Jeff had told me the story of how he had planned out the whole proposal (he's sneakier than I realized, or maybe I'm just not very suspicious!) I checked the 'yes' box on the wall in paint. The whole 'check yes or no' part is a nod to a country song Jeff and I love - 'Check Yes or No' by George Strait. Here are the lyrics to the chorus:

Do you love me, do you want to be my friend?

And if you do, well then don't be afraid to take me by the hand,

If you want to. 

I think this is how love goes; check yes or no. 

Clearly a fitting song. :) Jeff actually had made a playlist of our songs, which is what he played as I walked into the room. He played "Big Green Tractor" by Jason Aldean, "Come A Little Closer" by Dirks Bentley, and "Check Yes or No" by George Strait. 

Jeff, you did a good job! I love you!

Here are a few pictures of the wall, and my sparkly ring. I don't have too many, because we didn't have a whole lot of time before we had to get to work unpacking and unloading boxes. Whew! The past three days have been pretty crazy, but I've never been happier in my entire life. 

I so wish we didn't have to paint over this, but I'll always know it's there somewhere, under the paint. :) 

I catch myself staring down at my hand all the time now!

So pretty!

Graduation Celebration

I just realized that I never posted anything about convocation, which is crazy considering all of the blood, sweat, and tears that went into me graduating in the first place! I am so incredibly happy that my undergrad is over, and though I will likely go back to school at some point, I'm really enjoying a break from it all. It's hard to put into words, but being a student really is a full-time job. It's always weighing on your mind - there is always a paper to write, an exam coming up, readings to do (which are always at least 20 pages too long) and classes to prepare for.

Graduation at Western is comically ironic - in typical "Western" fashion it is not easy or simple, and at a certain point you start to wonder if it's worth it after all. It's not entirely different from a big final exam. I arrived at the school at 7:45 am to pick up my regalia(following the directions on the website), anticipating an hour-long line that is the norm in university. However, there was no line, so I ended up being way way too early at the school on a very hot day. By the time that I headed over to Thames Hall to wait with all the other graduates at 8:30, I was already hot, sweaty, and tired. We were all supposed to be there at that point so we could receive important information about how graduation was going to go down, but in a typical move, these announcements didn't start for another half hour. There was no air conditioning or seating, which was something I should have anticipated. When I was talking with the other graduates I was lined up with, we all joked about how Western wanted to be part of one last traumatic event in our lives before they released us into the world. Finally, at 10:00, I got to sit down, which I have to say was one of the best things that had happened to me all morning.

The ceremony was actually awesome, I really enjoyed our guest speaker, and the day started to pick up after that. Crossing the stage to have my hood placed on me was one of the biggest adrenaline rushes I've ever had in my entire life. That right there made it all worth it - the lines, the heat, everything seemed so inconsequential when I realized the gravity of the situation. It was one of those moments that I will always remember. I want to thank my parents for making all of this possible; thank you for supporting me, encouraging me, and listening to me when I felt that I couldn't take one more step. Thanks for sticking with me, no matter what. I can't fully express my gratitude, either in verbal or written words, but I just want you to know how much I appreciate your love. I'm a graduate now!

Entering Alumni Hall

Grad ceremony

Getting the hood placed on me

One expensive piece of paper

Hoodin' it up

As the guest speaker, Margaret MacMillan put it, with the 'graduation team'!

Flying high

Jeff turns 25!

Amidst the craziness occurring in our lives right now (I really had no idea how many phone calls I'd have to make after purchasing a house...that was naive) I attempted to throw my boyfriend a surprise 25th birthday party. While I don't think it was too much of a surprise, as several of us kind of gave away the "surprise" part of it all, I think a fun time was had by all who stopped by to celebrate Jeff's birthday. I got to try out a few new recipes - I tried cucumber cups stuffed with spicy crab and a nacho bean dip, which everyone really seemed to enjoy. I think I'll probably make the bean dip again. Thank you Pinterest!

I think it will probably be the last time I try and throw a 'surprise' anything, since I have such a hard time keeping secrets when I get really excited. At least when it comes to Jeff, since I'm really bad at hiding my feelings from him. I'm sure knew a good chunk of what was going on all along just from reading the emotions on my face when I tried to be sneaky about his party. He's just so hard to surprise! Also, the suspense was probably ruined when Jeff arrived for the party (where people were just supposed to drop-in so he wouldn't see a bunch of cars in the drive-way and also so people could come and go as they pleased) and my dad asked me in front of Jeff "is Jeff supposed to be here yet?" Oh man!

Oh well, with planning a party out of the way I can focus on getting rid of things Jeff and I won't need at our new house and on packing, which I have not even started to do yet. Not to mention job-hunting, which has not been going the greatest. Since talking about it only makes me feel bad, and since absolutely everyone asks me about it, I don't think I'll touch upon it too much here.

I keep meaning to take 'glamour shots' of our apartment so I can always remember the first home we lived in together, and in typical fashion, I keep putting it off. But not any more! This week I will (hopefully) get things accomplished! There are only 17 days left until we get possession! 

Birthday boy! Such a cheesy photo, but I love it

I`m a home-owner!

I am a proud first-time home owner!! My boyfriend and I recently decided to take our cohabitation to a whole new level and make the commitment of home ownership together. After a few months of searching, we fell completely in love with a beautiful little home about 10 minutes east of the city. For a starter home, it`s in fairly good shape. There are a few odd cosmetic choices here and there - the one textured wall in the master bedroom for example - that I`m not totally in love with, but I`m told that you have to accept quirky things when you buy your first house. We go through it one final time next week for our home inspection!

I know the timing could certainly be better, I`m graduating in just a few short weeks and I have yet to find a job. Whew, the pressure is definitely on for me to find one! That aside, sometimes the best things in life happen to you when you least expect them or when they seem to happen to you a little too quickly. Case in point: I was only eighteen when I fell in love with my boyfriend, and I know that there were people that said I was probably too young to know if it was really love, or that I shouldn`t get so serious about a boy at that age, and here I am, three years later (pretty much) and more in love than ever. I know that the road ahead will be difficult, and we`ll have to put a lot of ourselves into the house for the next few years, but I really could not be more excited. The dreamer in me keeps reminding me that this will be the house that I live in as a newlywed, the house my child(ren) will take their first steps in, and the house that will hold so many memories for me in the years to come.

With that said, I have got my work cut out for me in the upcoming weeks! The sellers had a really motivated closing date, so we`ll be moving in about a month and a half. I feel like a kid waiting for Christmas in November, when it seems like Christmas is so far away, when in reality it is just around the corner!!

This will be our home sweet home on July 13th! Can`t wait!