Day 48 & 49: Oops

I totally forgot to post yesterday... probably because my day was pretty uninteresting. It rained... I worked... did some laundry... and then watched Beni for a bit while Amanda and Javier went out alone for the first time. I'm also finally in the last stages of this sinus infection thing I've been dealing with I think. Thank God.

Today was just as uneventful, but you can enjoy this picture of Beni smiling earlier... he probably had gas, but I just like to think we've bonded...

And here's a picture of one of the rings I've been eyeing. Everyone should tell Jake how pretty it is lol...

Day 47: April Fools

So, I totally didn't even realize today was April Fools Day. Bummer. Anyways, there's not much to update on other than the fact that i just freshly dyed my hair using clairol's new foam stuff which is basically idiot-proof. Thumbs up. Other than that I'm still sick and it's still cold. On the bright-side, Jake should be heading back to Okinawa tomorrow... or maybe it was today. I'm not sure cause the time difference is confusing when the unit writes updates, but either way, he'll be back to his room and regular internet sometime this upcoming week, which means regular phonecalls and skyping, yayyyy!! He's also attempting to get leave sometime soon but I'm not going into detail on that cause I'll probably jinx it. So instead, here are some pics from my sushi date with Sarah B. today...

Day 46: Blah

Well, I'm finding that this whole blog a day thing is a bad idea to have on crappy days. Today was rainy and cold, which would not have been so miserable if I didn't have some sort of lopsided sinus infection thing and 3 exams in a row on campus. I say lopsided cause my nostrils decided they would play tag with who's going to be clogged. I blame myself for it cause due to bad prioritizing, exams, and work hours I've been averaging around 5 hrs of sleep. Which, anyone who knows me well knows that's about half of what my body prefers/requires. Combine all these factors and you can spell Sara, b-i-t-c-h. This would all have been remedied had I just been able to come home and climb in bed to snuggle and drink hot tea with Jake, but alas... I can't always get what I want. Although, I'm pretty sure that's what I need, and according to the Rolling Stones that means I should get it. But, on a happier note, here's a picture of Beni the frog prince after his bath today...

Day 45: Ideas I'm Toying With So Far..

So, it's getting extremely difficult to focus on regular things like homework when I'm so excited. I'm a planner. I like to know what to expect, deadlines and being able to envision what something will look like in my head... which is probably why the military drives me so crazy. Anyways, because of this I've been getting ideas together already when I have about a year and half to go. A little crazy, yes, but also fun lol. And in the long run I'll be grateful I was so crazy cause everything will be planned out in as much as advance as possible and I'll have minimal stress. Yayyy-- so I'm smart, not insane. Now that I've gotten the thumbs up from Jake on having a "reception" back at the house, I've been looking at simple, mostly DIY ideas to decorate aka cheap! And I found all these ideas from one website, thanks to Jake's mom, Amy.

I'm obsessed with this cake. I've found a handful that I like, but would probably change some colors or decorations, but this one I love, as is.

Day 44: Jake Got to Call & Ring Shopping With Kristin

Well, my phone started quacking around 5:30am this morning with an incoming call from an unknown number. And low and behold, it was Jake. There's some pay phones on ship but Jake doesn't have a calling card to use them since before they were sent to help with disaster relief he had a pre-paid international cell phone (which, is obviously out of minutes now). But apparently one of the guys on ship had a calling card he let other guys use. I didn't expect to get a phone call from him until he got back to Okinawa in another month or so, so despite the fact that it was a quick 5 minutes, it was quite a nice surprise-- and one of the few times I didn't mind waking up at 5am. Plus I got to talk to him on Facebook for a quite a while afterwards. God, I'm such a girl these days.

After the nice start to my morning, I begrudgingly trekked to a mediocre day at school, came home for a quick nap and then left to meet Kristin at the mall to ring shop! Pre-engagement, I had no interest in jewelry. I don't wear it, I had no particular "taste" in, and I honestly didn't see much of a point of it-- other than wedding rings of course. So, after researching and browsing online for the past few weeks I found what I like and ventured into the overwhelming stores to see stuff in person. Lord do they make online pictures look bigger and shinier online. I was completely re-educated and found a ring I'm absolutely in love with! Unfortunately, long distance relationships means a couple emails back and forth as a decision-making process and I can't call it mine yet nor depend on it being mine eventually. But trust me, as soon as a decision is made, I'll be showing off whatever it is we decided on.

Day 43: I'm A Slacker

I've been gone most of the day and am too tired to actually post about what my day has entailed, so that'll be cover tomorrow. But for now check out my awesome block-building skills...

Day 42: A Miiiiiiillion Ideas, One Jackpot

So, up until now I've never given much thought to what I'd want in a wedding, which i guess is abnormal for a girl but, oh well. But because of my lack of daydreaming or whatever you'd like to call it, I've had a million ideas running through my head this month. I was really heart-set on the idea of going to Vegas for awhile (basically until today). I've always been pretty cheap (I mean, I buy my sheets from Walmart-- which I find completely acceptable and comfortable), so I've been trying to find the option that offers the most bang for our buck. And then today, I fell in love with my newest idea and if Jake does not like it he's going to have one hell of a time convincing me to do something else lol.

I started browsing local options for venues and low and behold calvert county has a vineyard. Who knew? And after seeing pictures I was over the Vegas idea instantly. I guess I can blame the fact that I grew up in south county, so at the end of the day that's where I want to be. So, ceremony location = solved (well, technically I'm still awaiting Jake's approval, but how could you not like this place?). So of course then I started looking at the details of a reception. No matter how hard I try I cannot picture Jake and I at the head of a table with a fine catered meal inside a fancy schmancy venue. Ideally, I think we're outside with beers in our hands. Because of this I just can't seem to justify using the vineyard venue (which only allows their one chosen catering company) for a reception. Maybe it makes me a redneck, but I want a cookout! So, I googled cookout caterer in Maryland and hit the absolute jackpot. We're talking about a variety of delicious cookout food options (some of my favorites, mind you) that average about $15 per person. This also includes all the utensils, napkins, plates, condiments, bread, ice tea, lemonade and sales and labor tax. Yes, yes, yes. The company also does table, chair and tent rentals if needed. So, what better idea suits us than to have a catered cookout in my nice backyard, with a bar, music and simple decorations? Nothing real fancy and traditional. Basically a big, fun party. I'm completely sold on the idea. And I'll close this with some pictures of the vineyard, my backyard.