The Fuzzy End of the Lollipop

This photo describes me perfectly right now.

No matter how hard I try, everything has just been turning out as a big, gooey, broken mess. 

Today

I just studied my butt off for a Research Methods class I thought I would do well on, since I was understanding class discussions. 

NOPE.

It was terrible.

And I skipped one class to finish an assignment for this Research Methods class (which again, I thought I understood but ended up kicking my butt too), and it turns out its not due until wednesday.

I used to be so good at keeping things together, 

but I just feel like I'm a total mess right now.

And I've just had a hard month.

Happy Birthday, Joey!

January 25th will forever be one of my favorite days, because that's the day my sweetheart was born. And without him, life wouldn't be nearly as wonderful. 

Some Things I Love About Joey

----

his smile and those dimples.

his cowlick. I just like the way his hair looks.

his happy disposition. Even before I knew him I noticed it.

he likes the same, relatively obscure bands as me.

his love for ethnic food and trying new things.

how he always makes sure I'm taken care of first, even when he could use some TLC too.

he loves the gospel so much.

he can't wait to be a daddy.

he shares my affinity for dachshunds.

he knows his denim.

the way his eyes light up when I meet him at VMI.

he loves the office and arrested development as much as I do.

he is incredibly kind.

he's got mad yo-yo skills.

he'd do anything to protect me.

he's one smart cookie.

he makes me want to be better.

he loves me. 

he is quick to forgive me.

he supports me and my goals.

any time we are at a store and they ask if we want to donate a dollar to some charity, he always says yes.

he puts up with my dumb-girl moments.

he's simply the sweetest, most thoughtful, and sincere man I know.

and he's a total stud.

Happy birthday, my darling. You truly are the greatest. You've brought inexpressible joy to my life, and I'm so lucky to have you for the rest of forever. 

For the Peanuts: About Me Drawing

Our first project in Art for the Young Child at the beginning of the semester was to write our name and incorporate the letters into drawings of things that tell about ourselves. My professor explained that this is great for kids to do in new group settings to break the ice and introduce themselves, and it also gets the creative juices flowing. Then as a group, the kids can talk about their drawing. I included things like VMI and the Navy (for Joey), utensils - because we like to cook and eat, scotland, dance shoes and music, a dachshund, and a needle and thread.

I just used an ink pen, but obviously having the little ones incorporate color by using crayons or colored pencils would be great. And I have to say, even as an adult, this was a lot of fun and it was interesting thinking about things that I would share about myself. 

the Weekend: Pho + Frozen Yogurt

Let me tell you what, I had been looking forward to Saturday all week--and even though I've been sick for two weeks, I made sure I was healthy enough for this day! We planned a day to Roanoke so I could buy fabric to make my dress for Midwinter Formal at VMI, he could get running shoes, and we could both enjoy Pho and spring rolls at Pho Saigon. And to top it off, we could use our Groupon for frozen yogurt at the Yogurt Cafe.

Again, if you haven't had Pho....well you need to. Its been one of Joey's favorites since he was a teenager and I'm so glad he introduced it to me. It's the best feel-better food out there--totally kicks chicken noodle soup's butt. 

Since the Groupon was $12 of frozen yogurt for $6, and it was just the two of us, we went a little crazy and got three different combinations to try. 1: cake batter and cookies and cream, with sprinkles, granola, and butterscotch. 2: cheesecake with blueberries, strawberries, cherries, and granola. 3: chocolate and peanut butter with health, caramel, and hot fudge. 

And the mess.

And yes, we realize that it was a saturday and we said no sugar except for sundays, but we made a special exception since I had a coupon, and we just made up for it by not having tons of sugar on sunday, so its still only one sugar day for the week!

Despite still having a cough, it was a delightful day. And! I ended up finding shoes to wear with my wedding dress (which my mom is bringing down on Saturday!!) and we got to play with an adorable (yet somewhat manic) Papillon at the pet store. Hooray for fun dates!