Sooo much to update!

Wow!!! It seriously has been too long since I've even THOUGHT about posting a new blog on here!

So in a quick nutshell (because I don't have too much time), here is what's going on in my life!

-I'm getting married!!!! January 16, 2010!

-Which obviously means that I got engaged...Trevor proposed on June 13th in a totally cute way! (he wrapped his arms around me while I was doing dishes and kissed my cheek and held up the ring and asked me to be his wife!) I said yes.

-The last few weeks have been a whirlwind of getting ready...

• -dress? check.
  
• -church site, reception site? check, check.
  
• -excited friends and family? BIG check.
• -all the little details? um...yeah, I still have a TON to do!

Hopefully I can keep updating this baby with all the fun little details now....

But we do have the bridesmaid outfits completely taken care of (we're ordering the shoes tonight). Here is the dress I picked for the beautiful ladies to wear!

In the Mood...

I'm having one of those days...

...the kind that just puts you in the mood to curl up on the couch and watch a movie that you KNOW you will cry out all those tears...

Maybe I can get Trevor to watch it with me, but I'm thinking something like, P.S. I love you, or maybe the Notebook. Some other movies that jerk those tear ducts of mine are the football movies...you know the ones! Friday night lights, We are Marshal.

Tissue box handy?... Cause here I come!

Hair Today Gone Tomorrow

So Friday I was sitting at work and I decided that I was sick of my hair.

I have very fine hair so with the length of long, it gets stringy by the end of the day and that's just gross! Plus blow drying and straightening that amount usually took about 20 minutes and that's not even curling it to make it pretty!

So I called Hair We Are and set up an appointment for 9 am Saturday to get it chopped off.

And I did.

A whole foot! It's a little longer in front with a bunch of layers and I love that it takes less than 10 minutes to dry and style my hair and it looks healthy and great all day!

I'll put up better pictures of it, but here's one from just a few minutes ago because people on facebook were getting impatient to see it...

Yep, a whole foot gone!

Moving Along...

I feel like the tortoise in the tortoise and the hare story. I know eventually I will win this so called race, but I so want to be going fast right now!

I'm moving. Again. Fourth time in the last year and a half! Fifth in the last two years!

I can honestly say I enjoy moving. I LOVE rearranging things and opening my boxes and unpacking and finding new treasures that were once old that I forgot about!

But this is probably the worst move yet!

I'm heading home to the 'rents house and saving money that way and just being smarter with everything before Trevor and I officially take the plunge and two become one! :D I'm gonna crack down on my spending habit and try to budget everything with cash as much as possible...not even use my check card or checkbook. That way I can literally see and touch how much I can spend.

SO! As for the moving bit, I've been on my own for over a year now and I have enough to live off of and then some! I have a whole kitchen, living room, bathroom, bedroom and misc area! How am I supposed to move that all into one little bedroom at my parents' house?!?

I'm dropping my beautiful, comfy sectional couch at my brother and sister-in-law's place this weekend in Mankato. Hopefully that will be nice for them! That leaves everything else!

Well last night I got some boxes out and started packing. First, I washed all the dishes left over because my roommate and I lead VERY busy lives and don't get to them right away always. Then I cleaned out the fridge and did some more dishes. Then I packed up a butt load of my stuff from the kitchen! I'm almost done in that room now (which makes me proud).

I loaded up the boxes into the mom-mobile and headed over to Trevor's apartment. I figured since I'll probably be doing some cooking over at his place the next year or so, why not stock him up on all the kitchen necessities? Plus, it's less to move when we do get married!

When I got to his place my head started to ache! Yesterday I wrote about our amazing romantic dinner. Well, I was going to do the dishes before he came home as much as I could, but there was no hot water! So we left them and decided to enjoy each other's company.

That means they were there when I got there to move my kitchen in... FUN!

Well, I rolled up my pant legs into Capri's (it was really warm in his place) and I got my already pruned fingers to work again in the soapy water. 2 hours later I was fully unpacked, organized and cleaned up in that kitchen! I was pretty darn proud of myself!

Then I remembered that I like to randomly buy cards when I'm at wal-mart that make me think of Trevor and my relationship. So I wrote out a card to express how much he means to me!

I taped it on the door frame of the kitchen and locked up and headed out.

Home at last at 11:00pm, I rewarded my hard work and pruney hands with a snickers ice cream cone and crawled into bed.

A little after midnight I got a text from the man of my dreams... "I love you so much honey"

I was glad I could do something for my Wah Wah that would show him a little how much I appreciate all he does and all he is for me!

All the while, I got one part of my moving done...

So after work and "hiding in my shell" today, I'll start back up on the cleaning and packing of my room tonight...maybe.

Trevor's off work tonight! :D

Treasure Hunt

So I've had this planned out for about a month. Well, not entirely planned out... I had the who, the why, the where, and the what...just not exactly the when.
The when presented itself this last week. Sunday afternoon would be the opportune time to fulfill my plans. And it was!

I had written a letter to Trevor that said something along the lines of "hurry, shower, get dressed in the clothes I laid out for you and follow the clues till the final destination!"

Now let me back up. In high school, Trevor would sometimes wear a white button up or a black button up with jeans...my FAVORITE look! And especially as of lately, he's been bulking up and lifting weights again so I went out and bought him a nice black button up collared shirt that I couldn't WAIT to see him in!

And on top of the shirt on the bed was his first clue. "Sugar we're going down swinging." "Rain or shine, a great photo shoot location!" "Jack and Jill went up the hill." and "the Island is calling." For those of you who know the Willmar area, Robin's Island's old swing set was where he needed to go for his next clue. (our pictures were taken there...) Tied to the rusty old swing set at the top of the hill was a yellow balloon that he had to pop. Inside that was clue #2.

"Meet the parents" "not quite Aunt Bee's kitchen" "dessert shooters make you drunk on love." Anyone? Anyone?! Trevor got it! He was headed to applebees! Right inside the door by the host/hostess stand he found the red balloon with clue #3 inside.

"Sneaking out late tapping on your window" "winter 2006" "first kiss location." Yeah, this one is a bit more personal so I don't expect anyone other than the two of us to easily get that one... the red balloon tied to the front door at his parents house held the 4th clue.

"You never said hi, I never said hi" "All work and no play"...(sorry, I'm trying to do this all by memory and I can't remember the clues for this one I had written down...) The fourth location I had Trevor go to was the Green Mill where he works. Next to where his schedule is posted was a light blue balloon. Inside was clue #5.

"Go eagles go!" "School days, school days, dear old golden rule days" "We went to a play here where the highlight was Paul H****'s brother getting tackled on stage." Almost there! He headed back across town to find a green balloon tied to the bike rack at the Community Christian School. The final clue #6 was inside.

"Home run!" "____ sweet _____" "Go Cardinals!" He texted me that he was on his way home....and I texted him "k, let me know when you get THERE." Little did he know I was already there! I had let myself in while he was running around town looking for balloons to pop and I had gotten all fancied up in a really nice dress and made a wonderful dinner! We had lemon pepper blackened chicken, onion buttered pasta, sparkling apple cider, and devil's 3 layer cake for dessert! Candles lit, the house picked up and of course the night wouldn't be complete without my dear friend Frank's voice soothing us from the CD player.

Let me tell you...when he walked in wearing that black button up, not having shaved because he wanted to hurry so he had the gruff going on (ladies, you know what I'm talking about!) with the clues in his hand and that smile...I melted!

After eating and lovingly gazing into each other eyes, we got up and danced to Mr. Sinatra's music.

The night went so well....he's got a lot to live up to when he proposes! :D jk...kinda!

Oh "Mother" Where Art Thou?

Saturday night was when we got back from Fine Arts and I immediately went from taking care of 19 teenagers to 4 kids... I can honestly tell you they're about the same amount of work!

So two weeks ago I got a call from a guy at church. He and his wife had won a cruise to the Bahamas (rough life right there for ya!) but they needed someone to watch their 4 kids (ages 5 to 13) for a week. I told them I work during the day, but I can definitely do evenings and spend the night if needed. They were very happy with that because as it turns out, the husband's sister could watch them during the day but not nights!

Last Tuesday I went over to their house for the "grand tour" and rules and any questions I may have to be answered. The two things they really stressed where: 1. they LOVE to tattle on each other and 2. they will try everything and anything in their power to get the password for the dish for "restricted" shows.

Since starting Saturday I have found out 3 things: 1. they LOVE to tattle on each other, 2. they will try everything and anything in their power to get the password for the dish "restricted" shows, and 3. they each have such unique personalities it CRACKS ME UP!

Crystal is 13 and a HUGE help with the other kids! She gets to stay up later than the other kids so we'll usually spend that last hour or so of the day hanging out and watching movies and talking. She's probably the biggest threat to the password on the dish tho. She's tried "don't you trust me?" of course my response is "I do. I just need to respect your parents' wishes and do what they asked: not give any of you kids the password." Well, she was able to get the password changed to numbers she knew because her aunt gave in! (I changed it to a whole new password this morning before heading to work tho which upset her a little...).

David is in the 4th grade. He is the immaculate little angel! He's not usually up by the time I leave, but he was this morning! He had his bed made and clothes on and pj's put away! He also LOVES to tell the truth...even about things that really aren't relevant to what you're talking about!

Daniel is in his own little world at the age of 7. He is so funny cause he mumbles so I can't understand him, but it's more he likes to hear his own voice. He's really low maintenance and just loves his transformers and tv shows! This morning he made me really uncomfortable tho...in a funny way! I was fully dressed and doing my makeup and hair in the bathroom when he comes in, obviously just woken up. Here's our conversation:
Me: Good morning Daniel! Do you need something? (usually he just goes into the family room and turns on the tv till breakfast)
Dan: Nope *(he goes to the toilet)* I just have to go to the bathroom.
Me: Well, I'll be done soon but otherwise you can use the other bathroom...
Dan:*(by the time the words leave my lips, he's pulled down his pants and sat on the toilet) That's ok, I'm almost done.
Me: *(a little embarrassed and looking the other way) Well, I'll just step out for a sec...

LOL! I'm glad I can laugh about that now cause that was awkward!!!

The youngest of the 4 is Violette, but everyone calls her "V" She's adorable! She's 5 years old and VERY opinionated. She has this gorgeous long CURLY hair and is constantly following me around asking what I'm doing and telling me little stories. She is also the biggest tattle of them all. If Dan's foot happens to brush against her stuffed kitty, I will know within seconds! I calmly tell her he wasn't trying to hurt kitty at all, and it was an accident.

So there you have it. My "kids" for the week! It's been fun and I've gotten to know them all lots better. I'm just looking forward to a nice afternoon after work where we can do something instead of being cooped up cause it's rainy!

FiNe ArTs BaBy!

Friday at 2:00 I headed out from work on what would be a long, tiresome, but oh-so-worth it weekend!
Fine Arts was here at last!!!
From work, Angie and I ran quick to my place (of all things to forget, a hair brush is definitely needed!), to her parents' place (drop of the munchkins), then to drop $127 on groceries to feed 24 people!
3:15 we made it to the church, grabbed our cd player (wisest decision..read on!) and costumes and met the kids. We rearranged the food in the 3 coolers and loaded up the cars. We got into a big circle and prayed all at once (my favorite prayer time!) for safety driving and for the focus to stay on God even while we were at competition.
3:45 we loaded up the vans and prayed each vehicle's safety in getting to the cities.
4:00 we were on our way!!! We stopped once for switching Denise and Angie for drivers then continued on. We hit the edge of the cities about 6pm (Our head van was a speeder!!!) and along with that came a little rush hour traffic we had to weed through.
Let me take this moment to say some of our kids' parents let us use their van because we were one short. I happened to be driving this van. I'm pretty good about keeping my eye on the gas and the speedometer and other gauges to make sure everything's in tip top shape. Well, we started to get into start-stop traffic with rush hour stuff and before I knew it, the van's gauge was telling us the van was about to overheat...fast! So we took the next exit and pulled over on a residental street and called the other vans to let them know we had to stop.
On a side note, the kids whose van this was had named it Bo-Jankady! Because it is a little bit on the older side and that was the sound it would make every-so-often when you first started it up...
I called my friend Lundon who was the youth pastor at the church we would be spending the night, and he came within 20 minutes with the big 15 seater church van! We shifted all our stuff and continued on our way.
Sadly tho, we had to leave Bo-Jankady there because the coolant had run completely dry! AND I had the great privilage of calling the parents and owners of Bo-Jankady and letting them know. This would prove to be a continuous adventure for the rest of the weekend...
We met back up with all our peoples for grabbing a quick bite to eat, then we headed over to the church to practice, watch movies and hang out. I also went with 2 other leaders to buy coolant and get the van back to the church which proved to be easy but showed us how bad Bo-Jankady had gotten and attention it would need...Bed time was 11pm because we needed to get up EARLY! I was up first at 5:50 and got everyone else up at the time they requested all the while getting myself ready and packing everything and everyone up! 24 people. THREE vans and one station wagon. 3 coolers of food. 24 people's stuff and costumes...we were on the road by 7:30! I was so proud!
We got to North Central University, found decent parking, registered, and had time to find a quieter place to run through one of the dramas before the day fully began!
9:30 and we started! We were good about running to and from the different locations for the different time slots and the day was going very smoothly until #13 on the roster. We had 2 groups at the same time! So we split up and went to the different locations. Maeve was doing a solo human video for the one I went to and when it was her turn to perform, we put her cd in and pressed play..."no disc" showed up! The cd player was an older one and couldn't read the cd!!! So I thought quick and asked the judges if they minded letting us move down one slot to give me enough time to run and get the cd player we had so wisely packed...they were totally ok with that so I took out my heavy earings and RAN!!!! It was only 2 blocks away, but with everyone else crowding the halls and entry ways, I was slowed down quite a bit...BUT! I made it back in time, heaving chest as I tried to catch my breath. I put my earings back and and we set up Maeve to do her HV. SHE DID AWESOME! She got the highest score from one of the judges out of anyone in our group! (a 38 out of 40 possible).
After a quick lunch, Katy (Bo-Jankady's owner) and I headed over to meet the tow truck man at the van to varify that Katy had AAA to cover the cost of towing the van. Then within an hour we were back and ready to hear how everyone had done.
We were super excited to hear Ashley's name announced when her worship dance routine was awarded a superior with invitation rating. But the moment of truth came when we held hands tightly and awaited the announcement on the top human videos...THE GLEAVES WON!!! Well, they scored high enough (superior with invitation) to get invited to compete on the NATIONAL level in ORLANDO, FL!!!!
The ironic thing is they just worked on their hv not even for 2 weeks before competing!
On our way home, we stopped at Fuddruckers so the kids could play some games if they wanted and eat plenty of food before piling back in the carivan of min-vans and the station wagon. We also pulled out the score cards for all the dramas we did and read off the comments and scores...guess what!? EVERY GROUP GOT A SUPERIOR RATING! And the were only a point or two from getting superior with invitation! Not bad for a drama group that just started and had their first time (us leaders' first time too) at fine arts!
I'm so proud of my kids!