Back to School

School has started back and already it is kicking my poor behind. I have to wake up in the middle of the night to let Sadie out because she isn't quite up to making it through the night without an accident. Then after I mess up my sleeping schedule I get a few more hours of sleep until I need to start getting ready for my 8am class. It would help if parking wasn't so crazy.

Thankfully only two of my classes insisted on doing the dreadful introductions. They wouldn't be so bad if I was on time with my degree but I'm nowhere near. I should be finishing it up but it seems like I'm just starting. First I did just the basics and didn't dare question my advisers on what I should be taking. I had wanted to teach high school English and they told me I need to major in English then. So I took almost every English class there was at my school. Then I changed to elementary because I don't think I could handle the stress of state testing and big high school kids. I loved spending time sitting in on classrooms but I learned something extremely important. I enjoy kids, I love to play with them, bond with them, and talk to them. I don't necessarily want to tell them about math and sentence structure. I realized by wanting to teach I really wanted to decorate a classroom and play with kids.

I'm marrying a pastor and by being a pastor's wife most churches will automatically expect me to fulfill the role of children's minister. If my future is planning VBS and teaching Sunday School and children's church then I don't want to add full time teacher to that list of activities. Instead I like working for my dad and helping out with the family business of finance. So I changed my major and found a good adviser that told me exactly what to take and when to take it. So I hate introducing myself because everyone else it is their first or second year and it is my fourth. I should be done by now, a lot of my former classmates are finishing up already and I'm just starting. It's embarrassing and I despise talking about it. I just want to get my degree and finish without even walking the stage.

Wisdom Teeth

Earlier this week I had my wisdom teeth pulled. It wasn't too bad since they knocked me clear out for it. I looked away when they started to put in the magic needle that would make me forget this whole experience. Needles freak me out, I can't stand them. Most people find that funny since I used to have a lot of piercings but there is a big difference between making a small hole and injecting stuff into you.

Anyway the next thing I knew I was waking up in a comfy chair hooked up to a machine checking my blood pressure. I asked the nurse how long I had been sitting there and she told me 40 minutes! I couldn't believe I'd been knocked out that long. I think my mom and brother were disappointed in my amount of loopiness. They were hoping I would be talking nonsense all day like the last time I had any kind of pain meds. But I slept it off and then was just sore for the next few days.

Jacob helped watch Sadie and make sure she went out like she was supposed to. She is getting more into routine which is great. Allen brought me flowers and was so sweet! Leah and Krysten stopped by twice to bring me ice cream and see how I was doing.

The only bad day was Wednesday. I tried to go back to work too soon. It was my day at the church and I thought oh I can handle just going in and getting the bare minimum done. But I couldn't. I started feeling sick to my stomach and hot. Poor Allen didn't understand the urgency when I said we needed to go. I guess I did a little too good a job at sounding calm and collected because when he didn't move, I rushed him and he looked shocked at the sudden change in tone. I had to keep stopping on the walk back to the car. I only had to cross a small field but it felt like forever. Then when we sat in the car I told him to turn the AC on full blast and then I leaned over and threw up in the parking lot. Allen put his hand on my back and later apologized for not realizing how miserable I was feeling at first.

Sadie Kay Bramlett

My corgi baby is here! Her official name is Sadie Kay Bramlett but we call her Sadie. Sadie for Sexy Sadie a song by The Beatles, Kay for Duck Dynasty, and Bramlett because that's Allen's last name and my future name.

I am sleeping on the couch until she is better potty trained and can trust her on the carpet. So far she's been pretty good. She snuggled up to me around bed time and just passed out. I got up and took her out multiple times throughout the night so I'm tired. Whenever I felt her start moving more than just rolling over in her sleep I took her out or put her in her pen lined with puppy pads. She whined in the pen unless I laid next it where she could lay next time. After she went or starting falling back asleep I'd take her back to the couch so I could sleep too.

Nicky doesn't seem too sure about her, Buster likes her, and we still need to introduce her to Ringo and Mumford. Poor Nicky was so excited to see me until he saw her. He doesn't dislike her but is wary of her for now. I think the pen helps because she can't run around the house freely like he can. I've been making sure I still love on him just as much or more than the puppy. I read that doing so shows his dominance and lets alpha dog know he's not being replaced.

I'll be happy when she's potty trained and I can sleep in my comfy bed again but for now it's not too bad. Her cuteness helps make up for my lack of comfort.

Marry and Bury

This weekend we went back to Allen's hometown. We were there for two reasons.

One. We had to discuss wedding plans with his side of the family. His dad still needs to find a way to come here and meet my parents. Then we talked about what the groom's side is responsible for and what the bride's side has. News to us was Allen's dad is supposed to pay for my bouquet. We just thought he covered the rehearsal dinner. And the Parkers plan on helping us with the honeymoon. So I'm giving up my dreams of Hawaii for now and agreeing to go on a cruise. Allen immediately started looking up cruises and they're booking up fast so we need to get a move on in that area.

Two. Allen got licensed! Not got his license like he can drive now but licensed by the church. Now he can perform wedding ceremonies and funerals. The pastor left out until last minute that when he called Allen up to present the license he was going to call me up too since we're getting married. The look on my face was that of shock and fear because I hate going up in front of people. I'm more of a behind the scenes person. Allen's home church is huge too. I'm used to 30-100 people max. His church has on average 600 people there! I was terrified but I was there for him.

Money Doesn't Grow On Trees

Money problems. Everyone seems to have them. I used to be free of them for the most part. I still don't have as many bills as most since I live at home and I'm thankful for that. But lately I've been struggling and it sucks.

I had this nice big amount saved up from when all I had to pay for was my car insurance and my gas. Then I took summer classes and had to pay for those, there went a chunk but it was still ok. I still had my safety net. Then I got a new car and that pretty much wiped me out and added to the list of monthly bills now I have a car payment. I tithe.

I'm about to get a corgi so I have to pay for that. I need to pay my parents back. I dropped a summer class and after I paid for the classes my dad paid me back for them. Well that money went to the car and to the huge deductible for upgrading to full coverage insurance. Now I owe dad for a class I dropped. I owe mom for using her card to buy Allen's wedding ring.

I have to get my wisdom teeth pulled and have to pay for half of it myself because my mom can't afford the whole thing and her part of wedding expenses. She keeps hoping Dad will offer her help with it but so far no go and we don't want to ask for it so unless he offers I plan on paying her back for half. She doesn't expect me to but I want to because she is struggling without child support. My little brother hasn't gotten a job yet so she still has to pay for his gas and insurance as well.

Allen struggles too and I help him when I can. Unfortunately, my safety net is gone so I can't help him right now. It is all so frustrating but we'll make it through. I'll just have to keep praying and budgeting.

Things I Wish I'd Known Before We Got Married (book)

I just finished the book Things I Wish I'd Known Before We Got Married by Gary Chapman. It was helpful and insightful. He brought up things I hadn't thought about.

Before I say anything else about it my only complaints are that sometimes he gets a little pushy about reading his other books like The Five Love Languages and he puts down his early years of marriage a lot. I intend to read his other books because this one was actually helpful but I don't need a plug in every other chapter about how I should get read the others. And he makes his marriage sound terrible throughout the whole book. As if he and his wife just hated each other after marriage.

Other than that it was good. I think my favorite chapter was I Wish I Had Know That Toilets Aren't Self Cleaning. This chapter discussed how couples need to talk about who does what around the house. His example was in his house he never saw who cleaned the toilet he just knew it was cleaned. In her house her dad always cleaned it so she expected him to do that once they were married and he had no clue. This led to a fight after a few weeks of no one cleaning the toilet. His idea is to have each person make a list of things they know need to be done like cooking, cleaning, mowing, etc. Then put the lists together and make a master list and make 2 copies. Then you each take a copy and put the initials of who you think should be in charge of each thing. Then when you're both done compare your lists and where you differ you discuss it until you come to an agreement on who does it or if you will share the responsibility.

There were other chapters like personality, love languages, and how you marry into a family not just one person. Yes you marry that person but their family becomes your family and there is no escaping that.

I highly recommend reading it even if you're single, dating, engaged, or married.

Coming Home Soon!

I am finally about to achieve my dream! I have wanted one for so long and now it is almost mine! I am getting a corgi! I have to wait for her to turn 6 weeks old and she is 4 weeks now. The wait seems to be taking forever even though I know the time will just fly by.

Nesting has begun as well. Last night I bought a collar. I have been making a list of things I need to get for her to feel welcome upon her arrival. I am so excited!!! Corgis are so cute with their little stubby legs!

My only concern is my shih-tzu, Nicky. He has been king of the house for about 3 years now. We got him when he was a puppy, as a birthday present to me from my brother, Steven. Unfortunately for me, he quickly became my mom's dog. I would go to school or work and she would spend all day at home with him. He grew to love her more than anyone in the house which is fine. After my parents divorced I believe Nicky was a great comfort to her so I'm ok with him choosing her over me.

However, Nicky does not like sharing his space. He can handle our big dog, Buster, occasionally coming in (until Mom starts loving on him more than Nicky). But Buster is normally outside so Nicky doesn't worry about him. Allen likes to bring Ringo over sometimes because they live in a small apartment and Ringo has a lot of energy. So we will let him come over and run around the backyard, plus Buster loves to play with him and he doesn't do that much now that he's older. When Ringo comes inside Nicky will tolerate it but he doesn't particularly like it. Again, he's fine until Ringo gets attention from Mom or plays with Nicky's toys.

Hopefully it goes well with my corgi. Only time will tell.

He's So Fluffy!

Allen had told me he found a kitten in the parking lot of his apartment days ago. He tried to catch it but it ran away. He didn't want to keep it but he did want to get it away from all the cars. Since he didn't catch and I never saw it I started to forget about this mystery kitten.

Then as we were walking into his apartment after taking Ringo, the dog, out to use the bathroom I heard a faint yet familiar noise. (I used to have a lot of cats, like 20.) I turned on instinct and saw a gray fluffy, dirty, little kitten hiding under a parked car. Meowing constantly for attention, I felt so bad for the poor thing. Allen said I wouldn't be able to catch her because she would just run away. But I tried anyway, I knelt down and meowed back to it and stuck my hand out for her to come to. At first she hesitated but then she ran right to me and I scooped her up.

As I walked in with her in my arms I asked if she was thirsty in a baby voice. Allen was feeding Ringo and hadn't looked up yet so he responded with "I just gave him water." Then he looked at me and was like "no, we cannot keep it. I already have a cat and a dog." He had a point but I couldn't leave her in the Texas heat in a parking lot. So we gave her food and water and I put her in the sink to give her a bath. Turned out the gray kitten was actually gray and white, she was that dirty.

After playing with her for a couple hours I went on the hunt to find her a home. She stayed with Allen for 2 days until the day of our engagement. Then my friend, Leah, was able to take her home to her kittens that were about the same age. She fits in great and it turns out she is actually a he!

Colossal Coaster World - VBS 2013

This year's VBS theme was Colossal Coaster World. Making a church look like a theme park is surprisingly easier than expected. It helps when you can use another church's decorations once they are done with them. I helped with crafts, its my favorite area.

Day 1: There were way more kids than we expected to show up but it was great. The kids were excited and well behaved (excluding a few pains). Our craft for the day was fireworks. We cut out circles and let the kids pick paint colors and then they dripped paint in a pattern of their choosing. For the younger kids they picked the color but we did the dripping. Once they were satisfied with the pattern we would come around with salad spinners and place the paper in it. If they were big enough they were allowed to spin it themselves but if they were little and not quite strong enough we would spin it. The result was a cool firework pattern. The only problem was glitter got everywhere because we let them put glitter once they'd spun it and a lot of them wrote their names in yellow on the back.

Day 2: For the rest of the week we had less kids than day one but still quite a few showed up. Our craft that day was making a basket out of paper and yarn. Turns out kids are not so great at following instructions when it comes to origami. Nathan and I had practiced the craft earlier that week so we knew how to do it and were able to help the ones who were struggling. The other helpers needed help too during the first round of kids because they hadn't practiced. We went a little over on time that day.

Day 3: We made optical illusions! They put a picture of Paul and Silus on side of a folded piece of paper and on the other side we taped coffee stirrers to look like prison bars. In the middle of the folded paper was a pencil. When they spun the pencil in their hands the people looked like they were in and out of prison.

Day 4: Picture frames! Everyone knows them, they're pretty easy for everyone. Most parents don't use them though. to encourage the parents actually putting it somewhere around the house we took pictures of the kids throughout the week so they'd have a picture to put in it before they took it home.

Day 5: We made bookmarks out of paperclips. This and the fireworks seemed to be everyone's favorite craft. They picked the color paperclip, color of yarn for hair, and another color for the bow to tie the hair with. Once they were done with the hair we came around with tape and added googly eyes. The kids loved them and treated them more like new toys rather than a bookmark.

Painting With a Twist - Call of the Wild

I have a list of events I want to talk about without posting too many things at once but I had to talk about my engagement before anything else. So now back to girls night from forever ago.

We tried Painting with a Twist for the first time and absolutely loved it! There are different themes at different time slots for every day. On their website they have a calendar of events and a picture of the painting for that time. We signed up for Call of the Wild which was night sky with a wold howling at a moon.

None of us have much talent when it comes to the arts. Well, that's not entirely true. Krysten is amazing at painting nails. But as far as being an artist goes we aren't very skilled. It is slightly disappointing for me because all three of my brothers are very skilled in either music or art. In Jon's case he's great at both, he can paint, draw, sculpt, and play guitar, banjo, piano, bass, harmonica, violin, and I'm probably forgetting some other instrument. He is hogging most of the talent in our family.

I have zero art or music skills. But Painting with a Twist doesn't require talent, it requires following the instructions and it'll come out great! All we had to do was sit at our easels and do what the teacher told us. We had fun joking around with the other people there and painting our first piece of art. If you ask Jon it's not real art but it's the best I can do so to me it is art.

I highly recommend going and trying it at least once. I can't wait to go again!

Would You Go With Me

July 5 seems forever ago but it was only this past Friday. It is the day I got engaged!

It started out normal. I went to work and nothing seemed out of the ordinary. I was looking forward to going to Olive Garden on a double date when I got off.  Then Allen starts talking about some errand he needs to run before we go so to make sure I'm ready early. So I try my best to get ready early but like most girls it simply doesn't happen. Instead of running his errand now he wants to stop by the church because Jacob needed help with something. I looked at the time and thought he was crazy because we didn't have time, we would be late. Jacob just wanted us to be there while the praise band took pictures for the church website (that's the cover story I was told). When we walked in we couldn't find Jacob and I was getting frustrated because we were late. They weren't in the sanctuary like normal instead Jacob was out front and he was the only band member there!

I was so mad that I got on to him telling him he was cutting into date night. Then Allen told me to sit down and grabbed his guitar. I assumed they were trying to take a picture so I was still mad. Then they started playing my favorite Josh Turner song, Would You Go With Me, and I realized what was going on. I'll admit at first once I realized what was happening I was scared, I was thinking oh my gosh this is too soon, I'm too young, we haven't been dating long enough. Then as I sat there I started thinking oh my gosh he picked the perfect song, the perfect place, and I love it!

I am truly amazed at everyone's ability to keep a secret since normally my friends and family are terrible at keeping them. Now I have to actually plan a wedding and not just pin wedding dresses I like.

Safe Haven (The Movie)

I love to read and I love to see how the movie of a book I cherished comes out. While the book is almost always better, I'm normally satisfied with how things turn out. Rarely am I left angry because they changed it so terribly (Other Boleyn Girl, I'm looking at you).

Safe Haven of course changed some things but nothing that messed with the overall plot too much. They simply took out small details that would have made it a richer a movie.

SPOILERS

The main change is how she gets away. Granted you figure out the whole story through a series of flashbacks but they changed the frequency and details of them.

MOVIE: Katie is running away from a struggle that just happened where she stabs her abusive drunk husband and runs for her life. She runs to a strangers house and asks for quick refuge. She then cuts and dyes her hair and goes to the bus stop in a panic. Kevin is using his police privileges to search the buses for her and barely misses the bus she is on. She then stops in a small town and decides to live there.

BOOK: Katie plots and waits her escape to every last detail. She takes the smallest amount of change out of her husband's wallet. She buys a prepaid phone and sets the house phone to forward calls to the cell phone, testing it to make sure there is no noise when it forwards the call. She sneaks over to the neighbors house often and they are not strangers but close friends. She conveniently looks like their deceased daughter and she takes her information so she can use her ID so Kevin will have an even harder time finding her.

There are other changes but overall I loved both the book and the movie. Nicholas Sparks knows how to tug on the hearts strings and make you cry at least once by the end of the story.

Monsters University

I went and saw Monsters University with my friends Leah and Krysten, Krysten's boyfriend David, and my boyfriend Allen. We enjoyed it!

Every Pixar movie starts with a short film and while the girls thought the story of two umbrellas falling in love and watching other inanimate objects smile and help them was adorable the boys were not amused. They thought it was stupid and a waste of animation.

The actual movie though was great! We laughed and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. It was great to see how different character relationships formed and what younger Mike and Sully were like.

SPOILER ALERT

If you haven't seen it and hate spoilers stop here.

I was shocked and delighted to see that after cheating on the final exam Mike and Sully were expelled and did not magically find a special loop hole to get back in. They simply do not graduate college. I'm not happy that they failed but I was shocked. Most children movies have a happy ending and the ending is happy but not the way I expected. Instead of graduating and getting their dream jobs, Mike and Sully go to Monsters Inc. and start from the bottom until they get to the jobs they have when we watched them the first time. They go and start out in the mailroom and over the years they move up to a higher level until they reach the status of Scarer and Scream Tank monitor. They rough it and don't give up. They don't get the dream career simply handed to them, they work for it and never lose sight of their dreams.

That is an idea of life I feel people are starting to forget. No one wants to do the crappy job, instead they expect to start higher and higher simply because they went to school. And we look down on those who don't go to school. I myself am guilty of this, I judged one of my best friends for not going and we are no longer friends now. There is nothing wrong with entering the workforce right out of high school. College isn't for everyone and that's ok. As long as you work hard and can support yourself then you don't need a fancy degree. If you want a career where school is required like a doctor than by all means go to school. I'm not saying college is pointless but I am saying it is ok to admit that it isn't for everyone and there's no shame  in that.

So Many Plans So Little Time

Normally my week consists of going to work for my dad on Monday and Friday only, and for the church Wednesday and Saturday. After work or on my days off I'm at home hanging out with my boyfriend, Allen, my brother, Jacob, and my mom. If I'm not hanging out with them then I'm reading or playing the Sims. I live a simple existence. But these past few weeks have been really busy. For the first time ever I forgot about plans with my friends!

It started out like a normal week, I went to work, I posted my first blog and I did my homework for my biology class that thankfully ended yesterday. Tuesday I went to Krysten's (best friend 1) apartment with Leah (best friend 2) and Krysten painted our nails. That's her hobby and she's great at it. Feel free to look her up on instragram, krysten_renee. We had a girls night and made plans for Leah's upcoming 21st birthday. The rest of the week was normal until Saturday. Saturday was the day to begin decorating for VBS, then after being there for hours I had to rush home to finish some homework before the birthday festivities. Krysten and Leah wanted to go out to eat sooner than I thought so instead of taking my time to get ready after my homework I had to rush and run out the door. We went out to eat, Painting with a Twist (highly recommend), and saw Monsters University (hilarious).

Sunday I went to church, picked up some pictures from Walmart, and then drove about 40 minutes to go to Allen's church because he works in a small town church not so close to where we live. Monday I worked, movie night with Marian (friend from church) we watch Safe Haven (read it first) and cried at the end, game night, and then took 2 tests for class. Then that brings us to yesterday.

Yesterday I worked at the church because I had to work for my dad today. The 3rd is always incredibly busy at a loan company. After work Allen and I took my pastor out to lunch. Then we ran some errands he needed to do and went grocery shopping. Everything was going smoothly and then when we were about to drive away, a woman backed into Allen's car! We had to wait on the police to come file a report. Thankfully a man stayed with us and gave a statement because he saw the whole thing and the woman was claiming we were at fault when we were already completely backed out of our spot when she started backing up. After that we went to his apartment and unloaded the groceries, called the insurance, and I rescued a kitten that was hungry and dirty in the parking lot. After all that we went to my house so I could take my final and be done for the summer. Then my friends called and asked when I was coming over. Apparently during the birthday fun we'd made plans to get nails decorated for the 4th! I felt terrible I couldn't go and I completely forgot about them!

Allen wins best boyfriend award here because he helped me with my final and text Krysten and made plans for her to do my nails afterwards. It was very sweet and I was so happy!

That was my week so far. I'll post more detailed thoughts on Monsters University and Safe Haven later.

Introduction to Me

For starters, I have never had a blog and so I'm not really sure I know what I'm doing or if I'll make it past this first post. Chances are no one will even read this because I don't want to make my friends read my blog so hopefully someone out there will just happen to find me and like what I talk about. The topic will be my life: things that happen at work, books I've read, struggles with class, and social things like family, friends, and my relationship.

My Family: I have my parents, though recently divorced a few years ago most wouldn't notice, they get along great about most things. I have three brothers whom I love. Jon is the oldest, Steven next, followed by me, and then Jacob is the baby. There is a slight age gap so we're kinda paired off. Jon and Steven are children of the 80s while Jacob and me didn't come along until the 90s. I love that my big brothers are older though, I have seen movies and heard songs that my peers have never heard of. When I was younger this created some confusion because I had no idea certain things, like the band Presidents of the United States of America, were old until my friends had no clue what I was talking about.

My Boyfriend: Allen is the most amazing boyfriend I could ask for. He is going to school to be a preacher and I'm prepping myself for the reality that I will someday be a preacher's wife. We have been together since October of 2012. Sometimes poor Allen has to deal with how introverted I am. He is very extroverted so its hard when he wants to hang out and all I want to do is curl up in a corner and read all day long. But we make it work and I love him for understanding that I'm a bookworm and once I start a good book its hard to stop.

I think that sums up my life right now. I'll try to post something once a week.