Well ok I haven't done a ton of internet browsing but a little bit! :) I LOVE THAT FIRST SITE. It makes me want to quit my major and go into clothing design. :)
My definition for a holiday pie is none other than the beautiful holiday pie from... (drum roll please)
Yes you heard me... McDonald's!
And here it is!
I did not take this picture by the way. It's kind of ugly but the best I could find.
This beautiful little joy is a toasted confetti cake, coated with darling sprinkles, filled with the warm and gooey goodness of pudding, and placed within a gorgeous red and yellow cardboard box! (And only 50 cents) This is about as close to heaven as you can get... at least from McDonald's!
Never tried them out?? Wait no longer. Get in your car and go get one right now! It will change your life!
Some of you may know my 'secret' but some may not. It is not something that I necessarily tell a lot of people because it makes me look quite 'excessive' but just thought I'd get over that fact and blog about it. Because I love it!
I LABEL MY SHOES!
Not all my shoes. Just my high heels. I love being able to find them easily and have them in boxes so they don't get nicked up.
ALSO...
I ORGANIZE MY CLOSET BY STYLE AND COLORS (rainbow order)!
Again, I love being able to find things quickly. It helps SOOO much! (And I got this idea from my sister!)
But it's not only these things that are crazily organized in my life. I LOVE organization and basically go a bit extreme at times. I don't ever get annoyed when other people's things aren't organized though so no worries. I'm not judging your house when I come over! :)
And the end is in sight. I am almost done with my first semester of my junior year. CRAZY! But I am so ready for Christmas break! We had a WONDERFUL Thanksgiving break (a whole week) and got a ton done. And Thanksgiving was AWESOME! Check it out on my sister's blog.
But although I can see the end, there are plenty of things in the way of me really getting there and all I want to do is lay down and sleep until December 16th. But here's my list anyways!
Learning in Classroom Contexts presentation
Write a philosophy statement
Write music unit objectives for grades PK-6
Create 2 pretend report cards for a music classroom
Finish up my last 2 Personal Wellness Assignments
Personal Wellness Final
Read Dante's Inferno
Write a paper on Dante's Inferno
Take a quiz on Dante's Inferno
Finish my Teacher's Work Sample- bleh!
Write 3 pages of reflection on my 20 hours of classroom observation
1-2 page paper on my 5 hours of classroom observation with Nicole
Make a Tone Color Worksheet
Teach 1 more lesson in a HS choir classroom
Teach 1 more lesson in Conducting class
Conducting Final- this includes knowing 10 composers and their dates from each musical era. -GRRR!
Learning in Classroom Contexts final
Memorize 4 songs in foreign languages (and learn them as well-woops)
Learn 3 piano accompaniments for another singer's jury.
Humanities Final
Perform in Christmas Concert
Perform in Christmas Camraderie
Elementary Music Method's Final
PLAN MY FIANCEE'S BIRTHDAY PARTY!!!
Play in Church 2 times
Go to UNI Glee Club Concert.
And that's it! WOO... So I may be absent for a few weeks! See you all back here on December 16th!!!
So although this post will also contain a few old pictures (Half Marathon and an apple picking adventure) the main reason for this post is CHRISTMAS DECORATIONS!!! My roommates and I are officially ready for Christmas. Although there aren't many, it definitely makes our apartment feel more cozy and warm. I am also a believer in not really decorating till after Thanksgiving, but since we only have 2 weeks after Thanksgiving and aren't here at all during the week of Thanksgiving, we decided to get some 'good quality time' with the decorations and put them up now! I LOVE CHRISTMAS!!!!!!!!
OK... so the pilgrim on the left is Jorge. He belongs to Aimee His turkey's name is Frank. Aimee's dad gave it to her a long time ago and so she brought it to school with her. Our roommate Becky LOVES Jorge. So one day, Aimee and I were shopping and found the pilgrim on the right. Aimee bought it for Becky and now Jorge has a friend. His name is D'Sean. His turkey's name is Rufus. The elephant in the middle was my grandma's. She used to put all of her rings on it when she was washing dishes and I loved it. So when she died, I took it and now all of us hang our rings on it when we do dishes. We named it Alfie. So they got all geared up for Christmas as well!
And here are a few old pictures from the Half Marathon and an apple picking day with Matt and my friends Abbey, Sky, Lauren, and Stephen! ENJOY!
HALF MARATHON!!!
WE MADE SWEET SHIRTS!!!
The whole group... Marie, Laura, Amy, Nicole, Aimee
Matt and Chris came to support us and were great sports even when we glared at them and complained.
WE FINISHED... Sisters stick together!!!
AND APPLE PICKING!
The boys...Stephen, Sky, and Matt.
The girls... Abbey (left) is one of my personal attendants and Lauren (middle) is one of my bridesmaids!!
So many of you might know that next fall, Matt and I will be living apart most likely. Since I will be finishing up my last semester of classes at UNI before student teaching and he will be starting his dentistry school adventure, we will be living in separate places during the week. We definitely aren't looking forward to this but have just been trusting God to take care of it, and He sure has.
I recently had to figure out my schedule for this next spring semester and so I just decided to make sure that I could finish in 4 years and that I had all the classes covered. When I did this I realized that next fall (if I take 18 credits this spring and 7 this summer) I will only have 14 credits left. And they are all education classes except for choir and voice lessons. This means that I will only have to be in Cedar Falls from 2:00 on Mondays till Thursday night. That's only 3 nights and 3 days at UNI and the rest at home with Matt! SO EXCITING!
I have also gotten a few ideas about where I will be living at UNI and have totally seen God's faithfulness come into play there as well! HE IS SO GOOD!!
Psalm 106:1 "Praise the LORD! Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good! His faithful love endures forever."
Today, Nicole Farley, Marie Palmquist, Laura Bunkowski, Aimee Sargent, and I completed our goal from the past 4+ months.
WE FINISHED A HALF-MARATHON!!!
And what a beautiful day it was to run. Although at times, we may have felt as if we were going to die, we did it. Nicole and I ended up running the last 6ish miles together and speaking encouragement to ourselves almost the entire time. There were a few swear words that almost leaked out due to our body's condition and lack of strength. But we finished.
Nicole and I finished in 2 hours and 16 minutes... not the best time, but we weren't going for that. We just wanted to finish. The other 3 finished ahead of us and did WONDERFUL!!
Matt and Chris were there cheering us on and so encouraging. Afterwards, we all went out to Carlos O'Kelly's to celebrate our wonderful victory.
Aimee and I will most likely never be running a half-marathon again, but the other three weren't quite as negative towards the idea. So... we'll see if there are any running events in the future at which cheerleaders will be needed. :)
Here is a sneak peak of a few of our engagement pictures. They are unedited though. The rest will be coming when everything gets done!
It was such a fun time. One of our friends, Kate Cahill, took them and it was so fun to have her there! We got a bit goofy sometimes...especially when her side kick, Laura McCasland, started playing songs like "Who let the Dogs Out". ENJOY!
Do you not know? Have you not heard?
The Lord is the everlasting God,
The Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary,
and His understanding no one can fathom.
He gives strength to the weary
and increases the power of the weak.
Even youths grow tired and weary
and young men stumble and fall
but those who remain in the Lord
will renew their strength
They will soar on wings like eagles.
They will run and not grow weary,
They will walk and not be faint!
Psalm 89 1 I will sing of the LORD's great love forever;
with my mouth I will make your faithfulness known through all generations. 2 I will declare that your love stands firm forever,
that you established your faithfulness in heaven itself. 3 You said, "I have made a covenant with my chosen one,
I have sworn to David my servant, 4 'I will establish your line forever
and make your throne firm through all generations.' "
Selah 5 The heavens praise your wonders, O LORD,
your faithfulness too, in the assembly of the holy ones. 6 For who in the skies above can compare with the LORD ?
Who is like the LORD among the heavenly beings? 7 In the council of the holy ones God is greatly feared;
he is more awesome than all who surround him. 8 O LORD God Almighty, who is like you?
You are mighty, O LORD, and your faithfulness surrounds you. 9 You rule over the surging sea;
when its waves mount up, you still them. 10 You crushed Rahab like one of the slain;
with your strong arm you scattered your enemies. 11 The heavens are yours, and yours also the earth;
you founded the world and all that is in it. 12 You created the north and the south;
Tabor and Hermon sing for joy at your name. 13 Your arm is endued with power;
your hand is strong, your right hand exalted. 14 Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne;
love and faithfulness go before you. 15 Blessed are those who have learned to acclaim you,
who walk in the light of your presence, O LORD. 16 They rejoice in your name all day long;
they exult in your righteousness. 17 For you are their glory and strength,
and by your favor you exalt our horn. [b] 18 Indeed, our shield [c] belongs to the LORD,
our king to the Holy One of Israel. 19 Once you spoke in a vision,
to your faithful people you said:
"I have bestowed strength on a warrior;
I have exalted a young man from among the people. 20 I have found David my servant;
with my sacred oil I have anointed him. 21 My hand will sustain him;
surely my arm will strengthen him. 22 No enemy will subject him to tribute;
no wicked man will oppress him. 23 I will crush his foes before him
and strike down his adversaries. 24 My faithful love will be with him,
and through my name his horn [d] will be exalted. 25 I will set his hand over the sea,
his right hand over the rivers. 26 He will call out to me, 'You are my Father,
my God, the Rock my Savior.' 27 I will also appoint him my firstborn,
the most exalted of the kings of the earth. 28 I will maintain my love to him forever,
and my covenant with him will never fail. 29 I will establish his line forever,
his throne as long as the heavens endure. 30 "If his sons forsake my law
and do not follow my statutes, 31 if they violate my decrees
and fail to keep my commands, 32 I will punish their sin with the rod,
their iniquity with flogging; 33 but I will not take my love from him,
nor will I ever betray my faithfulness. 34 I will not violate my covenant
or alter what my lips have uttered. 35 Once for all, I have sworn by my holiness—
and I will not lie to David- 36 that his line will continue forever
and his throne endure before me like the sun; 37 it will be established forever like the moon,
the faithful witness in the sky."
Selah 38 But you have rejected, you have spurned,
you have been very angry with your anointed one. 39 You have renounced the covenant with your servant
and have defiled his crown in the dust. 40 You have broken through all his walls
and reduced his strongholds to ruins. 41 All who pass by have plundered him;
he has become the scorn of his neighbors. 42 You have exalted the right hand of his foes;
you have made all his enemies rejoice. 43 You have turned back the edge of his sword
and have not supported him in battle. 44 You have put an end to his splendor
and cast his throne to the ground. 45 You have cut short the days of his youth;
you have covered him with a mantle of shame.
Selah 46 How long, O LORD ? Will you hide yourself forever?
How long will your wrath burn like fire? 47 Remember how fleeting is my life.
For what futility you have created all men! 48 What man can live and not see death,
or save himself from the power of the grave [e] ?
Selah 49 O Lord, where is your former great love,
which in your faithfulness you swore to David? 50 Remember, Lord, how your servant has [f] been mocked,
how I bear in my heart the taunts of all the nations, 51 the taunts with which your enemies have mocked, O LORD,
with which they have mocked every step of your anointed one. 52 Praise be to the LORD forever!
Amen and Amen.
Yes, the UNI Concert Chorale has been invited to sing in Carnegie Hall on March 20th, 2011 to premiere a original choral/orchestra work by David Childs... AND THAT MEANS THAT I AM GOING TO SING IN CARNEGIE HALL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Last night I got a message from my dad which basically made my whole day/week/month/year/etc. Basically Chris, my rocking brother-in-law, figured out how to hook up my dad's new hearing aids to a phone so that what comes through the phone goes directly into Dad's hearing aids. This allows him to be able to hear everything said very clearly and effortlessly. PRAISE GOD!!! Success has been found finally! It was so good to hear his excitement and to have him say that he actually heard what I said on my message. It was really easy to hear him too (since the device doesn't use a normal phone mic he didn't know how clear it would be). So although his hearing is not healed, the Lord has blessed him through this! One step towards the 'impossible' prayer of complete healing!
Last night I went to bed around 12:30 (which is totally because when I came home early to go to bed, my roommates were all tempting me by watching House Hunters together. :) It's totally their fault.) But then I got in bed and just tossed and turned and couldn't fall asleep because I just can't seem to escape it...WEDDING PLANNING!
Lately it has seemed that I can find any excuse not to do homework or go to this or that by simply doing some wedding planning. As I laid in bed I just started thinking about a few things and then... WAA-BAM!!! Ideas started rolling in right and left. And instead of trying to sleep without success I just decided to get up and write them all down.
So 5-6 pages, 2-3 lists, and 1 1/2 hours later, I finally got to bed.
A few weekends ago the search for my dress began. My family went on a vacation to Minnesota and the girls fit in a bit of shopping! My cousin, Tara, came with us and it was just such a wonderful day! We found some good choices up there but nothing for sure.
Then, last Monday I had a few hours to spare and so I went to a little boutique here in Cedar Falls called Simply "I" Do. My friend Laura McCasland came with and we found some great deals and one pretty sweet dress option.
So I called my mom about this dress and she and Nicole decided to come up this weekend to look at that dress and go to a few other boutiques. Laura McCasland came as well as Laina Bishop. We started at another boutique here on Saturday and found one GORGEOUS dress, but wanted to check out the other one from Simply "I" Do again before we said yes to that one. And a good thing we did.
We purchased the INCREDIBLE dress from Simply "I" Do and it feels SOOO good to have that decision made. Here are a few pictures of the day! Sorry, but none of these are "THE DRESS." That one can't be shown in public! :)
