Moving, Massages, and My Heart

Moving

Rachel and Heather are moved into their apartment for the most part. Yes, Rachel and Heather. I have moved back home to Jackson. I have waited a week to decided what I wanted to reveal on here. While still using discretion, I feel comfortable enough sharing the basics of what happened. I was fired from Patriot Environmental. Yes, I know how awful that sounds but I can honestly say that I did nothing wrong and I was released unjustly. A couple of weeks ago there was a sexual harassment issue at work. I was the victim and the man who was causing the problem was fired. Unfortunately, the management felt that in order to "avoid future performance issues among the crew" that I could not be a part of their team. I was given no warning and no opportunity to switch to another position (where I wouldn't be the only female). So last Tuesday I was "released" from Patriot. I have struggled with the situation. I feel cheated and hate how unfairness of the whole situation. But I am resting in the fact that I, personally, didn't do anything to justify being fired and that God has a plan for me.
I just hate the limbo phase that I am in, with no potential jobs. At the same time, I am exhausted from working 5 weeks of 12 hours days with only 3 days off. God's timing is not my own.

Massages

My days off were originally scheduled for yesterday and today. As soon as I found out what my days off would be, my mom set up a one hour massage and an adjustment at the chiropractor for me. After losing my job, I thought I would cancel my appointments. Thankfully, we still had the money set aside for the appointments and T told me to keep the appointments. I honestly needed them. Not only physically but emotionally and mentally. It was a little bit of heaven and I feel rejuvenated and ready to face whatever comes next. I have only had one other massage before and it was a 30 minute free massage. The hour was SO worth it! I had no idea. But I definitely won't be forgetting it anytime soon.

My Heart

The one good side I have seen out of being "sent" home is that I get some much needed time with the hubby. :) Yesterday we had a date day and just spent time enjoying each others company. After my appointments we ran some errands. Before it would have just felt monotonous and part of the everyday routine but it was good. He even took me to the fruit stand, checked for cut open watermelon before I got out of the car and did not complain about fruits and veggies for a single second. It was a miracle. ;) We ate dinner at Soul Shine Pizza and created our own pizza. Wheat crust, marinara sauce, crawfish, sauteed onions, and green bell peppers. We created a crawfish etouffee pizza. SO delicious! We had planned on going to see the movie Killers but we still had a few hours to kill before it started. We talked about going home but I knew that if I went home I wouldn't want to get back out to go to the movie, so T suggested that we go to the Renaissance shopping center. He took me to Barnes and Noble and let me sit and read for almost an hour. It was so sweet and relaxing. He went and looked at car books. Of course. ;) We walked around window shopping a bit, got a waffle bowl of ice cream to share then headed to the movie. The movie was pretty cute. I love Katherine Heigl and I definitely liked Ashton Kutcher in this movie. Usually his characters get on my nerves. Just keeping it real!
It is nice to sleep in and not set an alarm clock but I wake up between 4:30-5 every morning like clockwork.I am usually able to fall back asleep around 6 and can sleep for a couple hours longer. It also never fails that I am ready for bed when the sun goes down.

Later this week: Weight loss, keeping it off and good eats!

Has it really been a month?

I've been working in Alabama for a month now. Time seems to have flown by but I am sure that has to do with the fact that I am working 12 hours a day and have only had 3 full days off since I got here.
I miss blogging so much! I try to at least read some blogs but I have not commented faithfully at all. Thankfully, Honey(Heather) brought her laptop down here with her and she is sweet enough to share it with me. That's right. 3 Clegg girls all working down in Mobile together. :) Our town home will be ready this coming Friday and I am SO beyond excited about not living in a hotel.
T has been able to come down here to visit twice and I am so thankful that on his days off that he is willing to drive 4 hours to be with me, even when I still have to work. Those are precious moments that I absolutely cherish. I asked to have this upcoming weekend off so that I could go home and move some things back for our apartment but it was not approved. I haven't been able to go home since I got here and I am having withdrawals. I miss T, my family and my friends but I know that this is temporary(even though it is a long term temporary). Hopefully there will be some normalcy in my schedule and routine once we move into the apartment.
Some things I appreciate:
- T. He is so sweet and so supportive. This is by no means easy but we both know it is necessary. He is forever patient. He had about an hour to teach me to drive Heather's standard car and, though I am by no means good at it, I did it!
- My job and work family. This job has and will enable us to not struggle so much financially. If you have been around this blog for any amount of time, with both of us in college and working average paying jobs while in school, money has been a serious issue. My first paycheck was for a week and a half and, basically, equalled what T and I were making together in a month at home. I still can't even wrap my mind around it. But I am very grateful and blessed.
- My parents and siblings. My whole family was together on the 4th of July since I was graced with having the day off thanks to watermelon. :o) Then my mom came back and spent some time with us "big girls". More moments I cherish. My sisters, Rachel and Honey, are an ultimate support system. Rachel and I work the same shift but on completely different areas of the site and she is still living with family friends while I am at a hotel. Heather is working night shift so we only catch little moments together every once in a while. Despite not seeing them consistently, I am so grateful to have them here with me.
- Jade. After working 12 hours with all men, it is SO nice to have a female to hang out with after work. I met Jade through her brother, who works with me in the Boom Repair Shop, and we instantly hit it off. She works in the office for one of the subcontractors and she is basically the only female with that company. We are both starved for female companionship. ;) 

Some things I am looking forward to:
- Moving into our apartment
- A trip home, whenever that may be.
- Getting into a routine.
- Cooking, blogging, and making the most of my evenings.
- Getting a DVR. :) I have cable in the hotel but with our crazy schedules we can't really watch any shows consistently. I look forward to being spoiled and having it on hand again.
- Buying a brand new mattress and bedroom furniture for the bedroom that Honey and I will share.
- Having my dog Lady here with us once we're in the apartment. T and I decided that Lady should come stay with me so I can have some "company". He will be keeping Coach with him in Mississippi. Coach doesn't adapt to new surroundings as easily as Lady does and he enjoys the yard and being able to run free. So even though Coach is "my" baby, he will be staying at home with T and Lady will be coming here.
- Mani and Pedi with Jade sometime this week.

Menu Plan Monday - It's been a while!

It has been a while since I did a Menu Plan Monday. And our kitchen has been a disaster bit of a mess because of it. This week I am going to be putting my crockpot to use and eating rice and beans. I still have a ridiculous bean stockpile from Brookshires closing out sale. Also, I don't work until Thursday so I will be trying some new recipes which is always fun!

Side note: T is feeling MUCH better. They think that he had Giardia which is an infection of the intestines caused by a parasite. It is usually caused by tainted tap water. We have no idea how it got it because we only drink bottled water. The antibiotics they put him on flushed it out and he no longer looks like he is pregnant. ;) He also said that he wants "real" food this week. That clear liquid diet did not bode well with my hubby.

BREAKFASTS
I have perfected my morning protein drink. I absolutely, positively have never found a healthy drink that I like. But this is amazing! I am going to be sharing on that later this week. =) T always eats cereal for breakfast. He is a creature of habit and I have no intention of trying to convince him otherwise. It's less work for me! Ha.


Lunches
Mostly leftovers at school/work for both of us.

Dinners
Southwestern Pinto Bean Soup (new, crockpot)
Crockpot Red Beans and Rice
Mom's Cream Cheese Chicken (crockpot)
Slow Cooker Carnitas (new, crockpot)
Lasagna

Where did the time go?

Once again, I went a week without blogging. I sat down wanting to update but feeling like I didn't know where to start. I decided to catch up on my blog reading first and found my inspiration. Ashley is hosting a 7 things party - so I am joining in!
7 things about Ashley - right here, right now.

1) I miss my mom. She is out of town for Spring Break with our church's middle school choir. I can't wait for Common Ground's homecoming concert on Sunday.

2) I have a seriously sick hubby right now. T rarely gets sick (unlike me!). The following might be TMI but I don't know how else to explain and document what has happened without these details. It started as gas(burping) on Thursday evening. It slowly progressed to diarrhea and last night he started throwing up on the way to his parents' house. Over the last few days his stomach has slowly swollen, obviously bloated and hard, sensitive to the touch. I went to work this morning because he insisted that the didn't need to go to the doctor. I got a text message from his mom asking me to please bring him into her clinic at 2pm so I left work early(thank goodness for a somewhat an understanding boss). They ran blood work and did a stomach x-ray but they didn't see anything unusual. He has lost almost 10 lbs from his normal average weight. So they sent us home with 3 prescriptions to be filled to treat the gas, diarrhea and vomiting. They said if the swelling doesn't go down after he has been on the medicines for a little while, then we will go from there. He is a pitiful patient and absolutely does not like the fact that he is on an all clear liquids diet. Poor T-baby. :(

3) I have serious senioritis. I am ready to get my 2 degrees and find a full-time job. This whole working 35-40 hours a week AND being in school thing is for the birds. ;)

4) It is Spring Break and I decided to throw off my work schedule. Instead of closing at work every night as per usual, I am working 11-7. Not sure if I like this(even though I was only there for 2 hours of my shift today). The morning crew is very different from the night crew and not in a good way. I am still looking forward to getting home before 11pm every night this week though.

5) We did SO good on the eat from the pantry challenge in January but I have totally gone off from that. I am determined to do better and finish March off by spending less on groceries. I desperately need to find time to catch up on all of my coupons. It's lost somewhere in my long, long to do list.

6) I was supposed to go on a Spring Break weekend trip with some of my girl friends from church to see one of my dearest friends, Savannah, at school. She goes to Pensacola Christian College in Florida. They don't get a spring break so it has worked out in years past to go visit her on the last weekend of our spring break. BUT this year their Bible Conference is that weekend. So no trip. :( Instead, I got to take the money we had put aside for my trip to go clothes shopping. It helped make the situation a little better. ;) I was SO excited to find clothes that made me feel comfortable and adult. At 22, I still want to be in style and fashionable but apparently I have a different definition of modesty than most clothes designers. When I have money to shop, I can never find clothes that I like, make me feel good about my body and are MODEST. Anyone else have this problem? I think I might dedicate a whole different post to this. ;)

7) I feel completely guilty eating food when T can't have any. So here it is 9pm and I have not eaten dinner yet. Oops. I guess I need to go fix this problem.

Sorry it is nothing in-depth or insightful right now. Too many things swirling around in my mind, I guess.
Since I am school free, hopefully I can get back into my blogging swing. Is it weird to miss blogging?

Hope everyone has a great Monday!

Two Years Ago Today

*Deep breath. DON'T run down the aisle.*

Two years ago today, I married my best friend. There is no one else I would rather spend my life with. It hasn't always been easy but it is worth every bit of effort that has been put into it.
Unfortunately, I have only gotten to spend a few minutes with T today. I picked him up at work at 7:45 and he dropped me off at school so that he could go home to sleep. He picked me up after classes and I was greeted by a dozen roses, Reese's, a candle, and a card with the most precious hand-written note. I honestly wasn't expecting anything. His phone needed to be upgraded and I told him I'd buy him the iPhone for his anniversary present. When we went to pick it up, he told them to upgrade mine to an iPhone as well. So we gave each other iPhone for our 2nd anniversary. As soon as we got home, he had to leave to go to work. He was supposed to have the night off but when he got to work last night they told him he had to take the 4pm-midnight shift. :( I'm not going to lie, I cried a lot last night(I'm blaming it on harmones... yeah).
Only stolen moments with Prince Charming today. Guess I need to go eat dinner and try to be productive. ;o)

Oh, deer...

 And yes, that is supposed to be spelled like that. Read on. ;)

I can only be still for so long. The 4-5 day migraine was bad enough. Less than a day of being migraine free and I woke up with a sinus headache. Lovely. I spent the day with a box of nearly gone kleenex and a consistent flow of dayquil. I feel a little bit better. No more sore throat, coughing, or runny nose. Mostly just sneezing and a slight headache. =)

Having my sweetheart home for the evening helped. T went in for his shift at 2 and got to come home about 4 hours early(around 6:30) because of the "snow storms" coming. Considering typical Mississippi weather, it really would surprise me if we only got flurries. ;) But the community is not taking any chances and many schools have already canceled school for tomorrow. Ah, snow days in Mississippi! Oh, and since his contract pays him to be there the full time, he got paid for those extra 4 hours that he was home.

T came home and, without saying a word, cooked our dinner tonight. I didn't ask or anything. So sweet! Of course, it was part of our Eat from the Pantry challenge. He made Jambalaya with cajun deer sausage. We have been eating deer meat a lot lately and I feel like we haven't even made a dent in it. We still have some in my mom's freezer and my sister is giving us a deer roast. I feel like deer meat is coming out of my ears but I am so grateful that we have it for this month long challenge!

We have a huge pack of deer steak and I don't have a clue what to do with it. Unfortunately, I have never really done a lot of cooking with deer meat. Growing up, we never really had deer meat on hand. What we have used is just basic(sausage with breakfast, jambalaya, red beans and rice, etc). So if you have any ideas or recipes, send them my way!

So Long, Farewell

Disclaimer: I know some people think we are crazy for this, but this is my record book of sorts. When I look back at the changes we made in 2010, I want to know the reasoning behind them and that is what I am doing - documenting our decision and reasons behind it. Thank you and happy reading. ;0)

Trevor asked me last night what I thought about giving up cable. The thought was absolutely shocking to me at first but the more we talked about it, the more I saw his reasoning behind it. The most obvious reason is that it would be saving money by eliminating an extra bill. Another reason that he pointed out was that with our crazy work schedules, we often find ourselves sitting in front of the TV the few waking hours we have together. T said he would rather go for a walk with me, put together a puzzle or just spend quality time with me without the TV as a backdrop. This reason melted my heart a little. I LOVE spending time with T and it is so rare for us to have time together, and we often miss out on doing anything truly worthwhile. This will also help us fulfill one of my 101 in 1001 goals(to spend quality time daily with each other).
I am by no means saying that this will be easy but I think it is a challenge that I am definitely willing to take on. It's not like we will be cut off entirely from television entertainment. Local channels broadcast some of the shows we watch weekly, we can watch other shows not on local channels on the internet and will will be keeping our Netflix account.
We will be making the switch to local channels only in the next few days. In the meantime, I am going old school and recording what I want to save off of my DVR to my ancient VCR. Ha.

Hairdos and Homecoming

Well, better late than never, right? The hairdo pictures will be 2 weeks old on Wednesday. Misplacing my camera, among other things, kind of messed up my plans to get the pictures posting sooner.

Winnie, D'Lynn and I went on a little mini road trip to get our hair "did". I am the type of person that when I find a hair dresser that I like, then I am sticking with them. Even if I have to drive an hour and a half for my haircut. ;)
Winnie and D'Lynn wanted their hair chopped off. I, on the other hand, wanted a trim. Literally. She took off the ends and relayered... and I was good to go. None of this 6-inch "trim" junk for me.

Here is my D. Grace waiting patiently for her turn. Her hair is ridiculously thick. Yes, I (with the straight/thin hair) am very jealous. But it is just too much my 10 year old (soon to be 11!) sister to style, manager, or even brush on her own.

D'Lynn got her hair cut short, layered and thinned out. It is now much more manageable for her now.

I didn't get any pictures of it after it was fully styled but our hairdresser, Adrienne, took advantage of D'Lynn natural curls. It is now short, curly and absolutely adorable!!!

Winnie had enough length to donate her hair.

This is basically the finished product. I would show you a picture of the front after it was completely style but I have a feeling that Winnie would kill me (the picture is really attractive). ;o)

It was a pretty eventful day - considering that we blew a tire almost as soon as we got to Hattiesburg. We had stopped long enough to eat lunch with my dear friend Ashley Paige, pick up our tickets for the Homecoming football game the following Saturday... and low and behold, my tire blows! It scared me to death, but thankfully we were only going about 10 miles an hour because we pulled out of the parking lot and the light had turned yellow ahead. =)

A few days later, Sweetheart T and I went back to Hattiesburg for the University of Southern Mississippi's homecoming game. I had a great time catching up with my sorority sisters, the lovely Alpha Delta Pi ladies. :)

This is my big, my lovely Diamond sister, Miss Lauren Rose! She was soo busy trying to finish up her last year of nursing school when she became my big - but she was amazing.

This is my Ime! Ila and I lived down the hall from each other our first year at USM. She went through informal recruitment for ADPi the next fall and once she was given her bid, she invited me to join in on the fun. =)

This lady is one of the reasons I fell in love with ADPi and realized they weren't the stereotypical sorority. Rachel Mowdy, I love you so much! You are such a strong Christian and inspiration and even though there is distance between us, I cherish our friendship!

T and myself. Sadly we didn't get any really good pictures of us, which seems to be a regular occurance. I will work on this. But it makes it a little difficult when he hates the camera. ;)

Football! Bleeding black and gold for my Eagles!

The sunset over the Admin building was beautiful! I love sunsets but it's even better when there is a lovely setting in the foreground.

After the game, we went out to eat at Chili's. Ok, so really we wanted to eat somewhere that T could watch the end of the State and LSU games. We picked a table that had a great view of the games and we were good to go. We spent the rest of the night hanging out with friends and catching up. We stayed the night at a state park. I love camping. Unfortunately, the air mattress that we had aired up that morning didn't get sealed properly (not pointing any fingers) ;).
Since we got back after quiet hours (10pm), T didn't want to re-air up the mattress. So we "slept" on the ground.

Ok. T slept. I didn't. ;o) And I even had a bruise the next day to prove that I was laying on a pinecone. Yup, a pinecone shaped bruise on my upper right leg. HA

That's my sweetheart!

The beautiful view from our campsite.

Me out on a log. Apparently T was as intent on taking pictures of me during my little quiet time as I was of taking pictures of his. :)

We packed up our tent and decided to go for a hike.

The woods were beautiful... (and I actually saw some fall colors!)

The weather was perfect!

On the way home, we stopped at the 49 flea market which was right across from the State Park where we stayed. It was surprisingly large and I found so many little things that I wanted. Unfortunately (or is it fortunately) we didn't have the money to spend this trip... so we'll just have to go again! ;o)

Ok. So there is my weekend wrap up... about a week late.

My 100th post is coming up. And get ready for a giveaway! Keep your eye open for it... and don't just stick around for the giveaway. ;o)

I will be doing another post tomorrow on my amazing Monday. Such a rare occurrence that it deserves it's own post. haha

Happy Birthday, love!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

to
my best friend,
my sweetheart,
the love of my life,
my Gilbert Blythe/Prince Charming,
my husband,
Trevor R.A. Spence.
I love you, Angel!

I went for the kill and tried 3 new recipes tonight. I follow The Pioneer Woman like a lost puppy dog. I love her writing style. And her photos, especially of food, are just divine!
So, in honor of T's 21's birthday, I made Ribs, Baked Beans, and Potato Bundles. Trevor loved it! I was so excited. It was a great day finished with a wonderful candlelit dinner. :o)

Disclaimer: If you want stunning photos, go to The Pioneer Woman herself. MY pictures do not do these recipes justice!

The ribs were outstanding! Of course, there are a whole lot left over but we got the larger pack at Sam's for the same prize as a small rack of ribs from anywhere else. :) We'll eat a couple of meals off of this. haha

The baked beans were great. I changed up the recipe to make it work better for me. This housewife only has one oven, likes to have a meal done at one time, and can't cook at 3 temps at once. ;)


The potato bundles were by far my favorite part of the meal... which is saying a lot. It was all amazing!
And the plate.

Moving on Up

First off some pictures of our babies! =)

My big girl, sweet Lady! Being still and quiet
while Trev was sleeping. Poor Angel had a
migraine!

My precious baby boy, Coach! I love
him so much! And he's only a little
spoiled! ;)
____________________________________________________________________
On to the main subject - we're moving into our own apartment! Now this might not seem like that big of a deal to some but it is a huge deal to me. =) As much as I hate the actualy moving process, I am pretty excited about this move. Though it isn't far from where we are now, it's a place of our own. Believe me, I have done ALOT of moving since Fall of 2006 between going back and forth between dorms and home at school, our apartment in Hattiesburg, our apartment at Disney, living with Trevor's parents, and currently living with Heather. The longest we have ever been in one place was the 7+ months we were in Orlando.
But...
Tomorrow we will be signing the lease and moving in to an apartment in Ridgeland. And we get to stay still for Atleast 12 months! I am not looking forward to the actual moving process(though I should feel like a pro at it by now), I am beyond excited for us to have our own place. I get to set up house for my sweet husband. It will be great because it will be ours. Despite two things: 1) we will be working on a very tight budget & 2) my husband wants a PIRATE guest bathroom. haha.

I was already planning on designing our own bathroom but Trevor wants a "manly" bathroom. Pirates? We looked last night and today and couldn't find anything that wasn't too childish, embarrassingly freaky or just straight weird. SO we reached a compromise of doing a nautical theme. He can still have boats, captain's wheels, maps, treasure chests, etc. But this way we can even it out with lifehouses, anchors and life preservers. =) I was rather excited at this lovely compromise. Much better than skulls and crossbones being all over the guest bathroom.

__________________________________________________________________
Tonight is my first night to be sleeping completely alone since getting married. I stayed with friends in Hattiesburg for one night but we stayed up talking half the night until we all passed out in exhaustion. But tonight, it is just me and the babies, Lady and Coach. Trevor is in Tennessee until late tomorrow night or Saturday morning for his cousin's funeral. I wasn't able to go for multiple reasons, the main one being that one of us had to be here to sign our lease tomorrow and start moving our furniture and belongings in. I miss him terribly!
His being gone also means that I will have to start moving our things by myself tomorrow. Poppa is going to help us some one Saturday. The plan is to use our car, Poppa's truck and possibly Trevor's dad's truck so that we can get it all done as quickly as possibly. Sadly enough, because of all the moving around we have belongings scattered everywhere! We have our things here at Heather's house, things at my parent's house, some things in my parent's storage building and a lot of things at Trevor's parents in the shop. Hopefully we will get a lot done since summer school starts on Monday.

The last few days have been very emotionally trying and difficult. I have had multiple small breakdowns today. I am trying to pray more and worry less. It is very hard because the last few days I have felt like I was being completely attacked by Satan. Everything seemed to keep piling up and there seemed to be no end to it. I owe a million thanks to my parents for helping me out and keeping me sane. I hate asking for help but there are times when you have to. I love and appreciate Poppa and Moms more than I could ever express.

Girl time

I only have time for quick post before heading to Clinton for some much needed "Girl Time". I love my husband and I am very glad that he is my best friend, but just like he wants AND needs time with his guy friends, I want AND need time with my girls. :)

I went to Mom and Poppa's house last night for some absolutely delicious chicken and dumplings. I was hoping to see Heather since she broke her nose yesterday and everyone got to see it except for me. But she decided to take it easy and go to bed early, which is very understandable. I got to see pictures on her blog today and it is quite lovely!

School this morning went well and I got back my mid-term grade for my Drafting class - 96.7 WOOHOO! I worked for 5 hours this afternoon and, surprisingly, it flew by. I am not working tomorrow because as soon as Trevor gets out of his one class in the morning we are heading to watch the lil guys while mom takes Joshua to see my favorite doctor. Well, I don't think he will actually get to see Dr. Veda(my neurologist at UMC) the first time around, but Josh is going to his office. Hopefully they can find a solution for Joshua's migraines. I know Dr. Veda helped me out tremendously!

Saturday, Trevor and I are doing the "SHINE" project with Pinelake and several other churches in the Jackson Metro area. I am so excited to serve! Saturday night I am going to see the Beauty and the Beast ballet with ALL of my sisters and my mom. I can't wait! It has been so long since all of the girls went and did something together. I am guessing the boys and dad(and maybe Trevor) will have a Guy's Night/Daddy Date.

Sunday is our one year anniversary! What an amazing year it has been =) It has gone by so quickly but it has been a year full of blessings and memories. I am excited about having a day long date with my sweetheart.

That is all for now. Have a lovely Thursday evening!!

Wishes

Last night was amazing. As I worked outside at Ursa's Hat Cart, I had the opportunity to see Wishes in a completely different light. Not as a guest, not as a cast member peeking my head outside of the door to catch a glimpse of the fireworks, but as a spectator of the guests. The looks on peoples faces, the wonder, the excitement and the realization of all the possibilities - I saw it all first hand. And I won't lie... It definitely gave me goosebumps.

It was beautiful and the understanding, once again, that I am a part of making the magic hit me. There is no real way to describe it. It was so special.



This is a picture Trevor and I took a few days ago after he got off work. My Angel is in his costume and I must say that I think he is completely adorable. The last few weeks have been hard as we have adjusted to working and having different schedules. But it has become easier as we have learned to take every moment and savor them. The sweet moments in the morning before we even get out of bed, where we lay there and can find complete bliss in just looking into each other's eyes. =) Those and seeing him waiting on the couch when I get home from work(yes, the roles are usually switched from how I wish they would be) and he just opens his arms in such a welcoming manner. I love being in his arms, it is so precious to me.

I firmly believe that my parents are right: Happiness is being married to your best friend. And I have such a wonderful earthly best friend!

2 days!

I have been writing in my journal but decided to make a random entry here while I wait in the Interior Design house for my teacher so that I can turn in my project that is due tomorrow.
I am going to give myself *happy* points because not only did I get this project done and it looks really good(if I do say so myself), but I am turning it in early. It annoys the mess out of me people know when things are due but continually procrastinate. In the case of this project, we got an extension of two day and I had mine done before the original due date. But because of printer problems here at the ID house, it hasn't gotten plotted yet. Also, I chose to take a test early and I turned in a portion of my paper that is due in 2 weeks for reviewing and received extra credit. :)
So far, I am rather pleased with my morning.
I have been busy setting up home in the little apartment that I will share with Trevor. It is so exciting. I know it isn't small but we won't be in Hattiesburg forever(I mean, honestly, we don't even want to be in Mississippi for more than we have to) so there is no point in looking into something "bigger and better".
In 2 days I will be a married woman! True to prediction(a large joke among me and some close friends) I am the first Clegg girl to marry and the first one "living on my own".
Besides not enjoying school entirely, life is amazing and wonderful. I am beyond happy!

Home Sweet Home

I moved into my apartment last week. And though it is small and not top of the line, I love it. It is so good to finally have a place to call my own. I have slowly gotten some unpacking done and I have been reorganizing the furniture until it is just to my liking.
Trevor came over last night and what was supposed to be a couple hours of organizing and "home-ifying"(to quote Trevor) the apartment soon turned into him being there until 2 am putting up shelves and making everything seem more like home. It's beautiful in its simplistic way and I love it!
The guest bedroom is still a mess of boxes and chaos but it will be taken care eventually. I will get it done before March even if I have to stay up into the wee hours of the morning (again).
School has been challenging so far this semester but, for some odd reason, I am enjoying it. Well, I take that back. I am not enjoying ART 113 and all the wire sculptures I have been making. But this too shall pass and I will be stronger afterwards. :)
My favorite classes so far are my World Lit. class and my history class, which really isn't that surprising for me. As long as we don't start reading poems or anything, I will be fine!

Well, I am off to work on some more homework!

Enjoying the silence

It's Christmas day.
And yes, I am hiding in my room, typing away on my laptop.
I woke up this morning and cooked Crawfish Etouffee for my family. I love making it and I look forward to it every Christmas. This year has flown by so quickly. It seems unreal that it is already a new year, a year in which I will get married and start a new part of my life. I'm excited but I don't want time to pass too quickly.
As always we opened presents last night, Christmas Eve. Mom and Poppa gave me money to shop for clothes, particularly a jacket and a few pairs of earrings. And, of course, I got the wonderful(sometimes random) presents from the little guys. Those are always my favorites!
Winnie, Trevor and I are going shopping tomorrow. It will be the first time in years that I have bothered shopping the day after Christmas. I usually don't feel like dealing with the crowds but I am looking forward to it this year, strangely enough.
Mom and Poppa gave "Team Clegg" a Wii for Christmas so the entire family has been taking turns playing(which explains why I am hiding in my haven and enjoying some peace and quiet.

I also have to call a real estate agent tomorrow about a house that Trevor and I might buy. I am really hoping that this works out because we desperately need to find a house closer to USM. Once I move in with him after our wedding in March, I will have to commute 45 minutes every day to school and work. We are praying for a solution that will show itself soon.
I found a precious house that had been foreclosed on. It is close to the school, in a decent neighborhood and a great price. 3 bedrooms!! Hopefully it is still available and I can make an appointment to see it on Thursday.

Trevor and I are making a list of places to go. Here are some of the things that are on our list for the next year or so.
- Bellingrath Gardens in the springtime.
- Disney World - HONEYMOON!!
- Bucks County, Pennsylvania*
- Bel Air, Maryland *
- Biltmore Estate - We both went when we were younger and want to go back. :)
That's all for now but goodness knows I'm sure the list will grow with little trips every now and then.

*These two places are to visit Historical Preservation Certificate programs. These schools are the only 2 places in the country where I can get my HPC, so Trevor and I will end up living in either PA or MD for 2 years.



I know it is not likely that anyone is reading this. But I would MUCH rather type than write a journal out by hand. So even if I am just talking to myself, I shall keep on typing. :)

MERRY CHRISTMAS!! Happy Birthday, Jesus!

Contemplating...

I'm in Destin with Trevor and his parents. I'm enjoying every minute with him. Josie has gotten so big and she is honestly one of the most precious babies I have ever been around. And in March she will be my niece :)

I was reading the xanga of an acquaintance and was completely struck with awe, horrow, and fear as it made me think. The sweet girl lost her love, unexplained and unexpected. As I was reading, I couldn't help feeling like an intruder into her thoughts but I couldn't stop reading. I couldn't tear my eyes away. I couldn't help but think about me and Trevor. How completely heartbroken, angry and unwilling to live if that happens to me, or rather when that happens to me... I was stuck in that train of thought for a long time when it suddenly hit me: I shouldn't be so worried or upset thinking and contemplating the future, the what-ifs and the buts.

I'm noticing the small things now. The precious Trevor-isms. I love him. No doubt in my mind or anyone else's for that matter. :) I've found myself savoring every moment that I have with him... I'm just praying that whenever I stop appreciating and start taking for granted that I God will remind me of this moment and these thoughts. Let me cherish each moment and PLEASE prepare me, whatever may come, whenever it may come.

I love you, Trevor Race Allen Spence.

*Christmas*

I absolutely adore Christmas. For many, many reasons. Some which are general, others which are more personal and feel slightly deeper.
Ila's birthday was great. I'm going to miss her so much next semester!
Bellingrath was beautiful as always and I believe I am more in love with Trevor than ever before. He was amazingly sweet and adorable the whole evening, keeping me smiling. Ashley "Squared" Long met us after dark to take in the lights. I enjoyed going back through the house, again. I can never get enough of it :) This year was different from last year. We got there early enough to be able to look around in the day light and wander down the paths and to the river which are blocked off once light falls. We got many wonderful pictures of Trevor and myself as well as with Ila, thanks to her photography loving mother(even if some of them do look like senior portraits). Overall, Christmas vacation has been wonderful so far!
Trevor and I get to go on a Wal-mart date tonight to go grocery shopping for mom. Thursday, we will be opening presents to and from Heather and BJ. They will be leaving Friday for Indiana, so we'll open some presents early. Rae and I are contemplating whether or not the "big family christmas present" will be revealed. It's the first year that us "big girls" are being left out of the big present and apparently this one is supposed to beat all others. Hopefully we'll find out Thursday. This suspense has been killing me for a month. =)
Trevor and I will be leaving for Destin on Friday and we plan on coming back sometime Sunday afternoon/evening.

Breaks from school are wonderful. Unfortunately, they pass entirely too quickly.

82 Days!

Only 82 days left to plan our wedding. Maybe I am insane thinking I can pull this together so quickly... All I know is that I am incredibly happy and I cannot wait to spend the rest of my life as the wife of Trevor Race Allen Spence. He is so incredibly amazing, wonderful and adorable.

Thankfully, this semester is over. It was honestly one of the hardest semesters of my life. I'm praying next semester will be easier, and I have a feeling that it will be easier. The courses that I am taking aren't supposed to be too bad. My job will help me rather than hinder me. And NO basketball. I have no regrets about working with basketball but I also have no regrets about ending it.

Some may consider my crazy for passing up a chance to go to Cancun for free. But it wouldn't have been a pleasure trip. I would have had to work the whole time I was there, put up with all the crap down there and that wouldn't have been the end. After putting everything away and doing all of the laundry, I would have had a Christmas break only lasting a few days to come back and work an extra month. All in all, not worth it to me.

Instead, I'll fill my time with wedding planning, hanging out with some of the best of friends and my family, and going on mini roadtrips. =) I'm excited about the prospects.

I haven't seen Trevor for days, and I miss him incredibly. He's working for his uncle. I'm glad he has the opportunity to work but I hate having to go without talking to him and seeing him. I know I'm spoiled but I can't help that I love him so much. ;)

Well, I'm off to go work out and then finish packing my stuff to go to Ime's house. She is having her birthday party Monday night and then Tuesday we are going to one of the most wonderful places in the world, Bellingrath Gardens. I love it there and it captures the very essence of what I love about Christmas. I absolutely can't wait!