Oh Shenandoah, I Long to See You.

Hello again!

Boy, I'm just not keeping up with this lately (and my ability to write even remotely effectively has quite  clearly suffered from it). But we'll talk about that another day..

Now that Joey has started the on-crew phase of Prototype, life is a little bananas sometimes. The gist of it: now the work week is seven days long (but still 12+ hours each), and every nine days he switches shifts. So one "week" he works regular day hours, the next noon to midnight, the next all nights, and then another fourth schedule the final week. At the end of this four shift cycle he gets four days off before the cycle starts all over again. It has been a bit of an adjustment, but at least its not forever. 

We had really been wanting to get back to the Shenandoah Valley and visit our alma maters, particularly during that gorgeous fall we've been missing so much. Luckily, Joey snagged just the right crew that allowed us to head up to Virginia two weeks ago for his first four day weekend. So we left Charleston at three in the morning on Friday and spent a too fun weekend back home in Virginia!

Because our time was limited we made our best effort to squeeze in as many visits with friends and walks down memory lane as we could. We first stopped by SVU when we got into town to see old friends and professors, plus a little lunch with our dear friend Mallory and her little Jane. 

Next stop was VMI for Parade with the Rasmussen family---it was so good to see them all again! 

The kids had fun learning about Parade and some of the VMI traditions.

Following Parade we said goodbye to the Rasmussens and met up with some of Joey's Rats for dinner at one of our old favorites, Macados. We've missed those spicy thai peanut wings!

After sleeping for nearly twelve hours (remember that whole leaving at 3am thing?), we spend Saturday in Lexington window shopping and visiting more of our old haunts. We also got to see the helicopters take off from the VMI parade deck for FTX!

I didn't have many specific requirements for our trip, except for one: we absolutely had to have lunch at the Bistro on Main. Its where I had lunch with my friends the afternoon before Joey and I got engaged and their four cheese lasagna is to die for---I get it every time! And the parmesan artichoke dip is a great way to get that appetite going too. 

And what's a trip to Lexington without Sweet Things?!

Behold, the most amazing waffle cone ever created. All others pale in comparison. Truly. 

After a walking off a little of our honeydew sorbet from Sweet Things, we headed back to Buena Vista to spend some more time with Mallory, Andrew and little miss Jane before meeting up with more friends for dinner, plus a great engagement story from Marty and Amber. Hooray for weddings!

Sunday was our last full day in Virginia. We tagged along with the Brandts for church (during which I put a screaming, wailing Jane to sleep, pretty much making me Wonder Woman) and some afternoon lunch and napping. We just love them!

And the Rasmussens were so kind to invite us for dinner which meant more time playing and yo-yoing with those four adorable peanuts. We loved listening to their stories and seeing how much of a chatterbox Ewan has become!

On our final morning we got together with Brinn Willis to work on a new project (more on that later!) and then visited Mal and Jane one last time--we just can't get enough of our darling "niece" and love being her "Aunty Meggles and Uncle JoJo". 

Joey can attest that I am obsessed with decorative cabbages--so gorgeous!

We took one last walk around SVU before getting on the road again. Boy I miss those gorgeous trees and mountains and weather and…and just all of it!

Oh and the rooster tree! Five years in BV and I could never remember to pull over and snap a picture of the rooster tree. So check that one off the list!

Goodness you guys, I just love Virginia! I maaay have cried intermittently for the first couple hours after we left. We both have so many great memories there---the halloween dance where we first met three years ago, the steps of Main Hall where Joey proposed, the countless nights spent studying together at VMI, the first home we had together after getting married….Lexington/Buena Vista really is our home and where we feel absolutely and completely happy, and we can't wait to go back again.

I Graduated Once

That's right folks, I graduated from Southern Virginia University yesterday. After five years and two majors, I'm finally done. While it wasn't a surreal experience for me (I definitely wasn't one of the students saying 'pinch me, this isn't real!'), I sure am glad I made it, and it definitely feels nice to have accomplished that goal. And even though I could've graduated last year, I'm glad I stayed a fifth year and got to learn what I did (from great experiences and not-so-great experiences). And of course, I wouldn't trade my extra year with Joey for anything.

While I listened to the speakers at graduation, I did think about my past five years at SVU and kind of watched my life as a super fast movie. And If there's anything I've learned from my experience, its that God definitely knows me and cares about me and my future. The random scholarship award that got me interested in the school, my last minute vocal audition that got me another scholarship, the good relationships with faculty members, the wards I was in, the proximity to VMI, all the special people that I met along the way---everything in the past five years has worked out so wonderfully and has helped make me who I am and what my life is like now. Everybody has a different idea of how God acts in our lives, but for me, I know He had an active hand in guiding me through everything, from my initial decision to check out the school, through each year that led me to this point. I never would've thought that I'd end up here, but boy am I glad I did. SVU really has been great for me for so many reasons, and I hope the university continues to grow and succeed so others can have equally great and life changing experiences as well.

Despite the fact that it rained half way through graduation (did I mention the ceremony is outside?), it was a great morning and I'm glad my family and Joey (my biggest cheerleader of all) were able to come and share it with me.

So, now its on to packing, cleaning, and then moving in to our new apartment (hopefully tomorrow), finishing up all the wedding stuff I physically can (with the help of Joey and good friends), and tying the knot in 18 days!
I know I know, its absolutely nuts that its finally so close--and that I've (almost) managed to live through an 11 month engagement to tell the tale!

DesignFest!

No one asked how I spent today, but I'm going to tell you anyway! Work has definitely started to pick up and things are being scheduled and tweaked every hour. So off and on for over 8 hours today, I have designed the following for SVU's Travel Study Program:

Six individual posters for upcoming trip meetings, which included time scouring my collections of travel photos and my own trip photos (which always takes longer than you think to find a usable photo)...

Formatting the posters for six slides to play on flatscreen monitors around campus...

An 11x17 poster of all of the interest meeting dates, plus reformatting it into a 3x6 handout...

And updating the Travel Study website (which I'm still in the process of doing), which, for someone rather inexperienced in web design like me, is always a major project!

My eyes and fingers definitely need a break!

One Heck of an Opportunity

Designed by moi. Wow, I don't know where this new style has come from, but I'm diggin' it--and what's more, my art professor and boss are diggin' it too!

Sneak Peek: Senior Show

Well here it is! A sneak peek at the poster I designed for SVU's senior art show. The class still has to approve it, but I think its not too bad...its definitely a different style for me but I worked really hard on it and I think its going to really stand out on campus.

Mary Poppins

Well, i am two weeks late in posting...life has been crazy the past couple weeks! I have gone to monticello, New York City, and Washington DC all in the past ten days. What a life! most of my time was taken up by preparations for NYC--i work for travel study so i had to do some extra things for the trip besides getting my own things together. but...

NYC was AMAZING! at first i didn't like the hustle and bustle of the city, but by the end of the trip i was loving it and all of the amazing things i saw. I got to do and see things that some people will only read about in textbooks, like seeing the original Starry Night and going to the metropolitan opera.

so, on to my M List item. The friday i was there i saw Mary Poppins, with the original Mary and Bert. Holy Cow--it was the greatest thing i've ever seen!!! Mary Poppins pulled full floor lamps and plants out of her carpet bag and made a bed appear where there was none! In the big tap number, Step In Time, Bert tap dances on the ceiling. ON THE CEILING! it was so cool. and then at the end Mary Poppins flies right over the audience. I had tears welling up in my eyes i was so excited and happy. I loved every minute of it and hope to see it again. Simply wonderful! I whole heartedly recommend seeing it!

There Are Stranger Things...

wow, i never thought i would actually get a blog; i always just thought it was a strange idea...but after seeing some of my friends' blogs, i decided that having a blog might be nice--not for anyone else, but simply for me. I love finding fun photographs, crafts, recipes, art, facts, etc...but i usually just tuck them away in a random file on my macbook. But these are the kinds of things i want to share! so here's what i'm thinking: this little blog will be my way of "sharing" what i find, think up, see, taste, and love. it doesn't matter to me if anyone else reads this blog--the point of this isn't to be the most interesting, dramatic, or exciting blogger around--but i think it'll be nice to share things, even if its just between me, myself, and i.

and now (drum roll, please)..........my first bit:

so, i am in the production of Annie Get Your Gun at Southern Virginia University this summer. at first, i wasn't too interested in the whole wild west idea, but after researching vaudeville, wild west shows, and gibson girls, i am so intrigued. the gibson girls are my favorite--if i were alive in the 1880s, hands down i would be one!