7 (somewhat) Quick Takes

I know in the blogging world the "7 Quick Takes" post is supposed to be done on Fridays, but I figure since I've never actually participated in them and at this moment I have a lot of random thoughts, I'd give it a try.

1. This weekend was really tough. I realized on Saturday while driving down to CS that I even though I had managed to tell Husbandy "I don't want you to go" everyday for the last two weeks (just like I did before last semester), I hadn't had a good cry about it yet. This was weird to me cause last semester there had been a couple of nights and other random times that I had cried over the thought of him being gone for so long. At that moment I thought, "I don't feel like I'm going to cry, last semester went by pretty quickly, I can do this!" Wrong. Saturday night I lost it. Luckily, Husbandy was there to comfort me, but that wasn't the case Sunday as I was driving away. I think I held it together (sun glasses on) while telling him bye, but the second I was out of site I cried. Silly me, I let myself get used to him being around everyday. :p It's only the first night and I already miss him so much. Last time things got a little easier as I started to get used to the lifestyle, so hopefully that happens again.

Saint Joseph, Saint Thomas Aquinas, Saint Augustine of Hippo, and Saint Joseph of Cupertino please intercede for Jason this semester. As the patron saints of students and test takers, as well as Jason's confirmation saint I know you are the people to have on our side. :)  I ask that these prayers are said through Christ our Lord.

2. While at Mass today it hit me, one especially good thing about this semester and me going down to CS more often is that I'll get to go to St. Mary's. I. Love. St. Mary's. Everything about it is so uplifting. The priests there are amazing, the music there is awesome, but the thing I love the most is the congregation. Too often at Mass in Dallas I am disappointed by the lack of participation. But at St. Mary's there are 1100 other people (plus another however many other people go to different Mass times) fervently participating. Additionally, the people there want to be there. The students are no longer going to Mass because their parents make them go. They go to be a part of the community and to worship with the Church. Awesome! It's so encouraging to know there is youth with this kind of passion and spirit for the Lord. I love it, it brings tears to my eyes to hear the prayers being said and the songs being sung by so many people at once. St. Mary's has impacted my life in so many ways, the people, the priests. I'm lucky to have that kind of parish in my life, and am so glad Husbandy and I got married there! If it were an hour away from Dallas I'd be there every Sunday.

3. I think this is why I am also so passionate about Texas A&M. The community there is like no other place I've ever seen. The sports are good, the education is great, but when I was deciding where I wanted to go to college, the spirit at A&M is what blew me away. I love it. I think the saying "From the outside looking in, you can't understand it. From the inside looking out, you can't explain it," says it all. I love that university, the ways it molds students into better people, the traditions it holds (Muster and Silver Taps to name a couple), the spirit it brings. One thing I can't fathom is when someone says they don't like A&M. I'm sorry, I just can't understand it. I know everyone loves the school they went to and that's fine. Really, I hope a person likes the school they went to, if not, they really missed out. There are so many schools to choose from, there has got to be one that fits everyone. But how can someone not like a university that holds such high standards for it's faculty, staff, students, and duty to its country. When the bonfire fell in 1999 it amazed me how the university came together. I love this quote from the former Vice Student Body President of UT:

 "I learned something tonight. For all us Longhorns who discount A&M in our neverending rivalry, we need to realize one thing. Aggieland is a special place, with special people. It is infinitely better equipped than us at dealing with a tragedy such as this for one simple reason. It is a family. It is a family that cares for its own, a family that reaches out, a family that is unified in the face of adversity; a family that moved this Longhorn to tears. My heart, my prayers, and the heart of the UT student body go out tonight to Aggies and their family and friends as they recover from this great loss. Texas A&M, the Eyes of Texas are Upon You--and they look with sincere sympathy upon a family that has been through so much tragedy this semester."

I love A&M and everything it stands for. I'm proud to be Fightin' Texas Aggie and always will be.

4. Have I told you how much I love my niece? Every time I see her, I think I love her more. The other night I was holding her and she was intently starring at some angel figurines my mom has, so I said the Angel of God in her ear four or five times. I love these little moments. She has captured my heart.

Angel of God, my guardian dear, to whom God's love entrusts me here. Ever this day be at my side, to light and guard, to rule and guide. Amen.

5. While driving home Sunday from CS, I thought about how awesome my family is. From my immediate family, to my aunts and uncles, to my cousins, to my in laws. Everyone is so encouraging. I'm so proud of everyone. This weekend I went and watch my cousin's band play. It's really cool to see how great of a guy he's becoming and how talented he is. I'm proud to say we're related. My mom is overcoming a lot of obstacles this summer, I'm glad she is one step closer to moving on. My sister and her Jason have impressed me with their faith. The thought they are putting into the sacrament of marriage is encouraging. My brother and his wife are teaching me what it is to be parents. They are learning of parental sacrifices. Husbandy is impressing me with his determination. He always has. That's obviously not even close to everyone, but my family is pretty stellar.

6. Also while driving home, I busted out my iPod which I haven't listened to in a while. I'm not sure why I don't use it more, I just don't. I heard songs I forgot even existed. It makes me slightly more excited about my six hour roadtrips each weekend. I was reminded of artists like Ten Shekel Shirt, Chris Tomlin, Matt Maher, Shawn McDonald. I actually found myself skipping a lot of songs so I could hear more of theirs. I need to re-download iTunes to my computer so I can update my playlist. I had iTunes on Husbandy's computer, but he had to wipe it. If you know how to get it back with all my songs let me know. :)

7. I do cherish this time I have with my mom. Not a lot of people get this sort of opportunity. I am getting to know her heart a little more than I did and our relationship is growing. I've always been close to my mom, but this time is showing my how great of a woman she is. She encourages me to be a better person.

Wow, it's really late. There's probably tons of corrections in this post that need to be made, but I'm tired. You get my point though, I'm sure. :)

August Rush

WOW! It's has been a LONG time since I've been on here.

August has been a whirlwind of a month. It began, in what was technically July, at a wedding. The wedding was filled with wonderful family and friends. Some of the people there we hadn't seen in a while, and it was so so good to catch up. They all kept us laughing and we danced until we were kicked out! We then "resumed" the party at my cousins house (it included a movie and most of the girls falling asleep).

Work made the beginning of the month interesting with transitions and shortened weeks. I worked the longest hours I've had to work since being there! Jason kindly pointed out that they weren't nearly as long as the long hours I was working at PwC though. He was most certainly right!

I worked the long hours knowing vacation was right around the corner. I think this was the most ready I've been for a vacation in a while. Since starting at Merit I had only taken 3 days off, and not even at the same time, so vacation sounded good.

On Tuesday the 16th we were on our way to Florida! It had been a year since we were there last, so it was good seeing Jason's family. When we got to Orlando, Jason's parents picked us up and we headed of to Fort Desoto (St. Pete's) to camp! We were slightly disappointed by the campsite cause we thought we were going to be on the beach. As it turned out we were more on the backwaters of the Gulf and it made it feel like we were on the lake. Even if this was the case, Jason, his dad, and Weo were fishing in no time.

Sidenote: Fun story about saltwater fishing licenses in FL...if you're a resident it costs you $.50 for the year, if you're a non-resident it costs you $18 for three days! Ridiculous!!

I got a lot of sun with Jason's sister and was able to relax. Well, I take that back, a lot of the time I was worrying what critter was going to join me in my chair. During the day squirrels stalked you if you ate outside, or if you were just sitting there. One time Jason's mom and I were sitting outside and I felt something hit my chair....I looked to the right, and a squirrel was on my chair about to crawl in my lap. All I can remember is seeing a little squirrels head right by me. EEW. At night it was the raccoons you had to worry about. One came up about 5 feet from Jason's dad and started eating Jason's dessert. Another one opened a roped shut cooler and stole our brownies! I'm telling you, they were some bold rodents.

Thankfully we had a boat and were able to go find a real beach. It was fun watching Jason fish cause I know he loves it so much. While boating back to our campsite we saw dolphins, and they were super close! They are such beautiful animals, luckily that wasn't their only appearance.

Camping was fun, but we got out of there a day early. Me with tons and tons and tons and mosquito bites (Seriously, I probably had about 150. At first they didn't look so bad, then they got redder and redder. I think my body freaked out cause I had so many. I'm still strictly sticking to pants, which is hot in the Texas heat, but hope that will change before the first Aggie football game!) and Jason on the hunt for a new wedding ring. :( His original is currently somewhere in the Gulf of Mexico. That was a shock when he nonchalantly asked me "Oh, do you have my wedding ring?" "Nooooo" "Oh, crap." That didn't make for a good day, needless to say I was a little mad. I'm now torn between if he should get the same ring, or a different one. On one hand I feel like he should get the same one cause a different one would be weird, on the other hand I like other bands more than his old one and he's open to getting a new one this time around. Either way I'm happy we had the ring insured. I know Jason felt really bad and he's promised it will never happen again. ;)

Once back in Lakeland we saw lots of family and hung out with Jason's best friend from childhood, Jared. It was really good to see his family, so many came over to his parent's house to say hi which was really nice. It was also really good to see Jared. He's a lot of fun, and is really turning his life in a good direction.

After more relaxing days around the house and playing Wii Fit, it was time to leave. :( We had so much fun and will hopefully see his family in May when Jason graduates!

I was really bad a taking pictures, here are some of the few did take:

The month ended on a sad note, as Jason had to go back to College Station. It was sooo good having him home for the summer. He brings so much joy to the house, and got a lot of stuff done for my mom. I think she might miss him just as much as I'm going to (even if she says I'll miss him more :p ).

I'm in high hopes that the semester will go by fast as it is football season. If you're in Dallas and are EVER going to CS, let me know cause we can definitely go together!

I just have to keep reminding myself after this semester is over I'll get to have him home for Christmas break, then he goes back for one more semester, and then we'll settle down somewhere in Dallas. I'm talking about buying a house and having babies!

Hope your August was filled with blessings! Maybe with Jason gone I'll find more time to update yall about the oh so exciting stories of my life.