Wedding and things

This last weekend we got to go to my wonderful friend Heather's wedding. I had never been to a civil wedding ceremony so this was quite the experience. Luckily, the ceremony was short and sweet (it was like 110 degrees outside and ants were all over the ground) :). It was followed by a full course meal and some yummy appetizers. I was SO grateful to just enjoy some relaxation and time with my hubby and close friends. The wedding was held at the Desert Botanical Garden in Phoenix. Congratulations Heather and Chris, Heather, I will miss you!

This week has been really difficult as far as schooling goes. I had a killer hard exam last week in Neuro communications which I landed the lowest grade I have ever gotten in grad school on a test. I had a full blown 4 essay question exam with multiple parts to write this last weekend, and I have an Aphasia exam tomorrow. Let me just say my one relief is that I get to go clothes shopping with David (he's getting new tennis shoes) after I am done, and I haven't been shopping in a LONG LONG time. If you know me, I used to go clothes shopping a couple times a month back when I could afford it and had the time :)

I am so excited for Halloween this year. Last year I made a last minute t-shirt that said "Go Edward" for my costume...lame i know. Seeing everyone else dress up made me realize how much more fun I would have if I did that too. I was thinking about having my mom make me the blue dress off of Disney's "Enchanted" and being Giselle....Any other thoughts as to what I should be? I find it so difficult to find any costumes in stores that weren't made specifically for hookers so time is of the essence. And....we got to decorate my speech room with Halloween-y things today, it is SO cute! Here are pictures of the wedding!

These pictures are all courtesy of Kimberly Jarman, Heather's Photographer...I can find her information for you if you are interested.

And these are my pictures, not nearly as good.....

Some random thoughts:

1. This week has gone much better. I think that last week when I put up my post about friends, I honestly was having a difficult week. ALL week people, including my sweet hubby were just grouchy and stressed. I'm thankful for fresh starts!

2. We purchased tickets to see the Phantom of the Opera at Gammage (ASU) in November and are SO excited! We loved seeing Wicked and how amazing the music is.

3. I am thinking more and more about doing foster care once David and I start having our own children. At one of the places I work, I saw one of my kiddies sitting outside the school office. Mind you this little one is in first grade and it was close to thirty minutes after school had gotten out...he was waiting for his bus that never came. This little boy was just transferred to "his new family" this week, away from his little 3rd grade foster brother (who just got adopted a few days ago) who so tenderly made sure he was taken care of. Working in my field I have seen and heard of so many children going through the system who have just had HORRIBLE lives and they still survive and keep pushing forward. My heart goes out to these little ones and I want to badly to take care of them and let them know they are safe and loved.

4. My ward had their supersaturday this past weekend and I made some 12*12 wooden square with the word BE in the middle and the word prayerful, humble, grateful, etc. around the edges. If I weren't lazy i'd post a picture, but they tured out really good. I learned not to press down wet modge podge scrapbook paper and then pull your fingers up, it will tear the paper!

5. My mom and I ordered a basket from bountifulbaskets.org and we got 3/4 full of a laundry basket full of fresh fruit and veggies for only 15$. You should try it!

A new season

This week has been an odd emotional week for both David and I. We are learning new things about each other and trying to figure out how to meet each other's needs and wants along with our new schedule. We are stressed. We are tired. We are having fun with old friends. And we are still trying to figure out the married thing.

In my last post I mentioned that I went to a really good friends bridal shower last Friday...and it REALLY made me realize just how much I miss being with friends who share my interests, friends I can talk to about our husbands, our dreams, our sorrows...and know that I won't be judged. I miss friends that I can just be downright silly with, because they are downright silly too. And I think its because once I got married, my perspectives on life and who I associated with changed...drastically. Many of my friends are still single, and while that is fine....we are on different wavelengths. I don't find myself talking about the cute boy in institute, or joking about immature little things. I have had to grow up in a certain way (this is a good thing...I love my husband to death). However, this has distanced me from some of my best friends. I am in a ward that I love and I've made some good friends in, but none I feel i can just invite over to scrapbook or watch movies with or share my feelings. David is wonderful, girls just need good girlfriends.

As I have said in the past, we are heavily considering buying a house when are lease ends in february/march. And while I love my ward, perhaps this will be the start of a new season. Perhaps David and I will be able to move into a ward where there are people like us...similiar in age with similiar interests. I think this is something we both really need, because we have a small gap in our lives as most of our friends are either out of stayed or single and have lost common ground.

The girls and two boys in year 2 of my masters program all drink....and so while they have built friendships over drinking at bars and being drunk, I have been left behind because I don't attend those functions.

I used to despise change, and part of me is still afraid of change because of its uncertainty. But I know it gives growth and opportunity. I really like this quote: "If we don't change, we don't grow. If we don't grow, we aren't really living."-Gail Sheehy