Reflection of 2009

I can hardly believe that today marks the end of yet another year. Time seems to go by so quickly nowadays and when I think back on it, so much has happened this year! I am going to appropriate this idea from another blog and fill you in on what happened month by month since I lacked in regular blogging this year ;)

January

Last year for New Year's Eve/Day, Nick reserved a hotel room for us downtown Omaha where we spent the night swimming and watching fireworks :) We then proceeded to go back to our room and watch Dog the Bounty Hunter until it was time for the fireworks to start!

I also started my last semester of college in January with 6 weeks in a seminar class at MOWest and them student teaching the rest of the time with Mrs. Hyatt. It was quite an experience!

February

February was marked with me anxiously awaiting my Praxis results to see if I would pass and offically get my teaching certificate after student teaching. The verdict was in and I passed all of my tests which was such a huge relief!

I took over the full responsibility of teaching all of my classes at Maysville, which brought on extreme exhaustion. Sadly I was already counting down the days to Spring Break and how many more lesson plans I had to make! I honestly thought that was the toughest part of student teaching (the lesson plan making).

Nick and I celebrated Valentine's Day together and I can't remember what I gave him or what I received!

March

March saw me still super busy student teaching along with the added pressure of applying for jobs here in Omaha. I was banking on my Special Education certification to help me get a job, however, was devestated after my first interview to find out that the Praxis certification that was accepted in MO, was NOT accepted in Nebraska, thusly resulting in me feeling as if I had wasted a whole semester in college taking the Special Ed classes.

My friend Kati was preparing for her wedding in June and I went to her bridal shower in March. It was a blast and really seemed to kick off the wedding season for us, although our weddings were still three months away :)

April

April ushered in a much needed break from student teaching! I remember feeling so relieved that last Friday before spring break knowing that I was going to get to spend a week with Nick where we weren't rushed doing wedding stuff and could just enjoy eachother's company!

Towards the end of April Martha and her sister, Teresa, had a bridal shower for me which was wonderful! Nick and I received so many lovely things and plus, it was great getting to see some of my family that I know wouldn't be able to make it to Omaha for the wedding.

May

May saw many changes in my life, but not as many as the following two month. On May 9th I officially was done with college and celebrated with Graduation and a Graduation party which Nick's parents came down all the way from Grand Island, Ne, for! I was beginning to get nervous about moving away from home after the wedding, and was trying to spend every minute I could with my family! Nick and I were working hard every chance we got to get wedding stuff straightened out, and were pretty much all but done with the preparations!

Mom and I spent some time garage saling together, which is a favorite past time of ours!

Nick and I seriously began tossing around the idea of getting a dog after the wedding, and after quite a while of looking for one in the papers and on the internet, I found a Husky breeder in Grant City, MO. We chose a black and white male and decided to pick him up about a week after we got back from our honeymoon in July. We didn't know then what we were getting ourselves into :)

June

Cue the wedding music! This month proved to be a busy one for the churches! My friend, Kati, got married the first Saturday of June and I got married the last, which worked out really good because we were both in eachother's weddings!

Kati and Jesse at their wedding :)

Nick and I take a moment at Kati's wedding to stop for a picture!

After nine months of vigorous planning and preparation, the month for our wedding was upon us. Thanks to Nick's grandma Rosie, we were able to use the larger and nicer room at our reception hall because it wasn't booked! Therefore, we had a kitchen and ended up getting to have a dinner and a much better set up! Ethan and I literally spent all day the day before our wedding decorating the room, tables, etc! It really turned out beautifully, and I couldn't have done it without him! Our wedding went off without a hitch, except Nick kept trying to put my ring on the wrong hand during the ceremony :) The reception was wonderful and everyone had a blast Polka-ing right up until midnight!

July

July began with us in Durango, Colorado, for our honeymoon!

Some beautiful mountains on our drive through Colorado.

Nick in front of the steam engine that pulled our train to Silverton, Colorado :)

Me in front of of Mesa Verde National Park :)

Then the weekend after we got back from our honeymoon we made a trip to Missouri to give my family their souveniers and to get our puppy, Akiba.

August

After applying for jobs in several different places, I finally landed one as a Pet Care Specialist at the Petshotel in the local PetsMart store! It was absolutely a dream come true because I got to play and work with dogs all day!

Nick and I were enjoying training our puppy and he began to catch on fast to the housebreaking and to other various tricks I was teaching him.

September

September began with a phonecall from my best friend, Martha, telling me that her boyfriend proposed to her and they are planning a wedding for later in November! She had been dating him for quite a while and they are expecting a baby, and are due in January!

Nick and I found ourselves on the road quite a bit and made a trip down to Missouri for my birthday. We began discussing wanting to have a family sooner than we originally thought, but were a bit apprehensive as we still wanted to have our "couples" time and were really enjoying married life :) For a few months we let the idea rest.

October

October 3rd brought our first snow of the season, and it was wayyyyyyyyyyyyyy to early for our liking! Akiba absolutely loved the snow and didn't know what to think of it as first :)

Mom and Dad hosted a dinner for us at the June Conley Building in Maysville so that the rest of my family who couldn't make it to the wedding could meet Nick. Uncle James cooked the meats for us and everyone else brought a dish. We had lots of people there and I think it may have been a bit overwhelming for Nick :)

Nick and I made our annual trip to Vala's Pumpkin Patch to get our pumpkins for carving.

Nick's is on the left and mine is on the right ;)

This month Nick also celebrated his 29th birthday and I made him lasagna and garlic bread for dinner :)

November

This month ended up being incredibly busy for us! Nick took a week off of work to go back to Grand Island and deer hunt. At that time I made a trip back to Missouri and spent a week with my family. Mom and I enjoyed going to Kansas City and going junking and Christmas shopping :) Thankfully, Nick ended up getting a deer whose meat is sitting in our deepfreezer right now waiting to be ground!

A few weeks later we went back to Missouri again for Martha and Jason's wedding which was really nice.

This month Nick and I spent Thanksgiving with his family and his mom and I went shopping for some good deals on Black Friday :) We also began to talk seriously about having a baby the following year.

December

December 4th Nick and I got a positive pregnancy test!!!!!

Three tests can't be wrong!!!

We then announced it to my parents and grandparents when they came down for a visit the following weekend. They were thrilled and Mom and Grandma bawled :) Nick called his parents and told them over the phone, not wanting to make as big a deal about it to them as they are already grandparents.

December 19th we had our Christmas with his family in Grand Island which was a lot of fun. I spent the morning shopping with his Mom while he and his dad went out and walked some ground trying to stir up deer.

Then we headed to Missouri on Tuesday the 22nd for Christmas. A little earlier than we had planned leaving, but we were trying to beat a major snowstorm that ended up hitting Christmas Eve, and kept us at my folk's house until the Sunday after Christmas :) I am sure Nick was getting bored, especially because it wasn't his own family, but I frankly enjoyed all of that extra time with them!

Just sitting around in the frontroom at Gma's talking :)

The guys playing some late-night poker on Xmas Eve

Christmas morning and Lauren looks sleepy!

While in Missouri for Christmas Nick and I began talking seriously about getting rid of Akiba. As much as we loved him, he was costing us quite a bit of money for boarding anytime we wanted to go somewhere, and honestly, he was beginning to cause me more stress at home for reasons I am unsure of. So while in Missouri I made a posting on Facebook advertising him, and that very day a girl I went to college with said she was interested. Well to make a long story short she bought him and we dropped him off Sunday in St. Joe on our way home. Needless to say, it has been a huge stress relief for me since I am at home all of the time right now.

And now it is New Year's Eve and Nick and I are enjoying ourselves at home. We rented a couple movies and watched Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian, and he's playing a Call of Duty game on our new Wii. Hopefully this next year is as good as this year was....and with a baby on the way I don't see how it wouldn't be! Until 2010, later :)

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year!!!!!!

Well nearly another year has flown by as it's but a few days until Christmas! I find it amazing how quickly the holidays and birthdays seem to come up nowadays! I remember when I was little it seemed like it took foreverrrrr for Christmas and such to get here. But now it really creeps up on me!

Tonight Nick and I are having our Christmas together. We originally were going to exchange our gifts and such on Wednesday, but thanks to the unpredictable weather of the midwest we had to move it up to tonight as the weather man is calling for icing and snow on Wednesday, so we are heading to Maysville tomorrow after Nick gets off work. I was afraid that we weren't going to be able to make it to Missouri for Christmas because of the weather. However, Nick suggested going down a day earlier than planned so that's what we're doing :) It is so strange to think that this is the last Christmas that it will be just the two of us! I know it will be just as wonderful next year but am kinda sad to think that this is our first and last Christmas together as just the two of us (for a long time anyways!). I think that is just the hormones talking :)

This past weekend we went back to Grand Island to celebrate Christmas with Nick's family which was a lot of fun! We both got some nice things and I think everyone loved what we bought them! I have found that my niece, Jordyn, is warming up to me more quickly every time we see her! I am so glad and Mollie seems to think that she will want to be my helper when we have the baby and are back there which is neat :) Well I had better wrap it up for tonight. Have to finish some stuff around the house before leaving for Missouri tomorrow! Merry Christmas!!!!

Something to Blog About

So I'm finding out that I'm not very good at keeping up with blogging, and I think I have discovered the problem......I simply don't have enough exciting things going on in my life to justify writing every few days :P However, all of that is about to change and the blogging community is about to hear from me more frequently because as it so happens, I DO have some news that will give me some writing ammo for the next 9 months or so :)

In my last post I told you I would write again when I had some news, as so that bring me to this post today. Nick and I have been talking about wanting to have a family over the past few months, and we just recently decided to get serious about it ;) Well two weeks ago or so I began to suspect that I was pregnant (I won't go into detail about why :) ) and so a week ago this past Friday I woke up at 4:30 a.m. and couldn't get back to sleep as that was the day I was planning on taking one of those pregnancy tests. So, after lying in bed for about 25 minutes I finally got up and snuck downstairs to take the test without waking up Nick.

Well it didn't take long for that second little pink line to show up in the result window and a feeling of disbelief came over me! I was so excited that I got online right then to see if it was possible to get a false positive result in my case and it wasn't!!! I didn't tell Nick that I had taken it yet as I wanted to take a second one and make sure before telling him! Well the second test concluded what the first had and so I called and told Nick; however, he wanted me to take one more because he just "wanted to make sure" :) So I got one of those digital ones that is supposed to read "Pregnant" or "Not Pregnant" and a very conclusive "Pregnant" read on the screen less than a minute into the test!

So needless to say he finally believed me and we now have an appointment made for January 4th for our first doctor visit. They apparently are going to do an ultrasound first and then I will see my doctor so we have an idea of when my due date will be. I am excited yet nervous because I am just afraid something is going to go wrong and then we will have gotten our hopes up for nothing. Anyhow, as for telling the family, Mom and Dad and Gma and Gpa were up here at our house yesterday to spend the day with us, and I gave them the news as an early Christmas present. I actually took a picture of the 3 positive pregnancy tests and put it in an adoreable fram that said "Grandkids" around the edges.

Needless to say they were super surprised and Mom was in disbelief most of the day :) I have been feeling extremely good except for being extra thirsty, emotional, and clumsy! I feel fortunate that I haven't had any morning sickness and haven't been excessively tired, and so hopefully that continues :) So that is my big news, and before this post gets unreadably long I will wrap it up!

Enjoying married life :)

I really can't begin to describe how much I love getting to be with my best friend/husband all of the time! I have just been thinking lately about the weekends that I would spend on the road to get to come and spend a day here in Omaha with Nick, and I just can't say how glad I am that those have come to an end! Now we don't have to rush and try and fit everything into one day or weekend...we can just do what we want when we get around to it...not hurring necessary :) For example, this morning we got up and sat around that house for a bit trying to wake up. Then we decided to go hit some garage sales, go to the local Farmer's Market, and then we just took our time meandering through an outside shopping area called Village Pointe. The weather is just beautiful today and after Nick finishes changing the oil in my car we are going to go do some mini golfing and round out the night with some grilled steaks and corn :)

Lately we have been talking quite frequently about trying to start our family within the next year or so. Nick is going to be 29 this year and he, understandably, wants to still be young when we have a family so that he feels like playing with the kids and stuff, as do I! For the longest time we had been takling about waiting a few years before having kids, but the more we talk, the more excited we get, and I think the sooner it will happen! We have been discussing the idea of trying to get pregnant this winter so the baby would be born around next fall, but it all kind of depends on the job situation of his right now. He thinks ideally he would like to have another job and stuff before we get pregnant so that we aren't stuck at his current place (as we would be if I got pregnant because of it being considered a prexisting condition by many). However, I just don't want to wait too long :) Anyhow, so within the next couple months maybe I will have some different news ;)

Well I think this post has turned out to be a little more significant than the last, so I will stop while I am ahead :)

Updates and Rambling

Okay so maybe i am not as good at keeping up with blogging as I orginally thought I would be :P The past month has been really busy what with work, the puppy, and just life in general! I am still loving my job but just wish Nick and I could spend more time together, but at least we have more time together now than we did before we were married!

So the other day my best friend, Martha, called and told me that her boyfriend proposed to her! They are planning on getting married sometime in November as she is pregnant and is due probably at the beginning of February! I just still can't believe she is going to be a Mom! Makes me think about having kids and starting a family which Nick and I have been discussing lately, and we are thinking that maybe we will start "trying" next year, which is both exciting and nervewracking! I definitely want to have some "couples" time together first, but want to have kids while we still feel young enough to keep up with them!

Anyhow, in the past month I guess I haven't come up with much to blog about! If anyone ever reads this, I apologize for my absence, and will try to be more faithful in blogging!

New New New!

Sorry for such a long gap in blogging the past month! I have been so busy settling down into married life and raising a new puppy that I haven't been able to blog much! So Akiba is growing like a weed and is doing great on his housebreaking! He has had an accident in about 3 weeks now (knock on wood!) and I am so happy with how it's going. Sure it sucks that I have to get up with him at 7-7:30 every morning, but he's not soiling his crate at night and on the weekends he even lets me and Nick sleep in a bit!

Along with a new puppy and routine there has also been another recent change. Drumroll please...........I got a jot at the local Petsmart PetHotel as a Pet Care Specialist!!!!! This past Monday and Wednesday I have been watching training videos and reading books and taking tests, and needless to say I am tired of that boring stuff and am feeling tortured seeing all of these dogs and not being able to really interact with them. However, tomorrow I get to begin training in the kennel part which I am totally excited for!!!! Tomorrow I am getting my schedule for next week so I am excited to see what it will be like!!! Anyhow, I am getting tired and still have stuff to do tonight so I am going to call it a night! Hopefully my next entry comes quicker than this one has :)

P.S. I also got a new phone today...the LG enV3 which is awesome! If you're looking for a new one with a full keyboard you should definitely check it out!

The Wedding, the Honeymoon, and All that Comes After

The Wedding:

So the wedding is over, the cake has been eaten, and the honeymoon is a fond memory. I am officially Mrs. Spotanski and a resident of Omaha, Nebraska. It is strange not having to worry about the wedding or having to plan and coordinate a hundred things! The wedding was a complete blast! There ceremony began at 4, and I nearly cried through the whole thing (Martha's the only one who saw it, though :) ). Then we took some pictures and went to a park to take some pictures, and then right before the reception, Nick and I decided that we could wait no longer for a Mountain Dew, and so we ran to the gas station in our wedding outfits! LOL.

The reception was a great time, excluding the DJ. The guy got our names wrong when introducing us, and then had to keep asking what we wanted to do next. He was extremely disorganized and we decided that we could NOT recommend Showtime Music to anyone. However, aside from that, the food was great (bbq brisket sandwiches), the cake was awesome, and Nick's Dad's band really made our wedding a night to remember :)

The Honeymoon:

Nick and I had plans to leave Omaha for Durango, Colorado, by 11 a.m. the day after the wedding, however, we decided to stop back by the hotel to say thanks and good-bye to everyone before leaving. Then we had to come home to get our bikes, luggage, and last minute stuff; therefore, we didn't get on the road until 1 p.m. This put us into Colorado Springs (where we stayed Sunday night) around 10 p.m. or so. We made it to Durango the next day around 2:30 after a nervewracking drive through a mountain pass near the great divide, and so we just decided to relax that first day in Colorado. Tuesday we went white water rafting, and did some more shopping. All day Wednesday was designated to the Silverton/Durango Narrow Gauge Railroad which was neat, but a lot of riding (7 hours total :P). Thursday we went to Mesa Verde National Park and saw Anisazi (sp?) cliff dwellings. Friday morning we took a horseback ride and then went to Trimble Natural Hot Springs in the afternoon. Saturday, being the 4th of July we just bummed around town and then watched fireworks from our balcony that night. Sunday we drove home all in one day (16 hours!). All in all we had a great time!

After it All:

So this past week is the first I have spent at home as a married woman, and it really has been a pretty productive week! We have a pantry in our kitchen/front room and I have been working on cleaning all of the clutter out of it so that it can be used to put our food in and such. Needless to say our frontroom is full of crap that we have to clean up tonight before we leave tomorrow to get our puppy. It's nice feeling like we don't have to accomplish everything in one day, though :) This has been a long and kind of boring blog, but I wanted to type it all in one go, so I didn't forget :) I have posted a few pictures taken by me and my family at the wedding, and of the honeymoon, though, and will post some taken by the photographer soon! Enjoy!

Me and Dad during the Father/Daugther dance

My niece, Jordyn :) She loves being tickled!

One of the first peaks in Colorado

Our hotel looked like Shakespeare's Globe Theatre!

On the train a rainbow formed as the train let off steam!

In front of the Engine.

And now Nick's turn :)

Me at Mesa Verde

Nick and I in front of Spruce Tree House Cliff Dwelling. So neat!!!

One of the cliff dwellings from above

We decided to eat out at a nice restaruant one night; this was Nick's choice of dinner: Trout and Potatoe :)

And my choice was a 8 oz. Sirloin :)

Miniature golfing (we saw two snakes on the course!)

The Fourth of July fireworks that we watched from our hotel room balcony :)

Two Weeks and Counting!

So it's finally beginning to hit me that two weeks from this moment right now I'll no longer be Ms. Osborn, but rather Mrs. Spotanski. It's bittersweet as I am excited to move foreward with my life to see where it takes me, but then again I am sad to leave my family, and furthermore I am kinda nervous for the financial responsibility that I am about to take on and such. I know that I have nothing to be nervous about financially, but it's just such a new experience and all.

As excited as I am for the wedding, I am ready for the stress to be gone. I think our honeymoon to Durango is going to be a great chance to just relax and unwind after the stress of the wedding and just life in general. Tonight I started packing up some clothes and odds-and-ends of mine to take to Omaha on Monday and it felt so weird to be packing my stuff up to move it all. However, as anxious I am for all of this, I am really excited to start my new life with Nick!

New puppy picture!!!

So tonight Ethan and I took a trip (and i do mean trip!) to Grant City to see mine and Nick's new puppy, Akiba. After the nearly run stop-signs, winding road, and getting the car stuck in foot-deep mud I was almost to the point of just turning around and going home and just going to see him some other night. However, I got a call from the woman as I was finally on my way there after getting out of the mud (Thanks Duane Willaims!!!!!!!!!!!!) asking if I was still planning on coming and I told her the story, and she said she'd be glad to wait, and so we finally got there and this is what we saw:

Well, naturally I am soooooo excited to pick him up on July 11th :) So out of all the horrible stuff that happened on the way there (too much to recount), this was totally worth it!!!!

New (future) Family Member

Nick and I decided quite a while back that after our wedding we would get a puppy shortly thereafter. We were originally thinking of getting a Jack Russell Terrier, but only because they are fairly small dogs that would seem to fit our house well. However, the more we talked, the more we found that both of us are "big-dog-people" and we discussed how much we like his brother, Ryan's, Siberian Husky, Kia.

So we have decided to get one for ourselves :) Looking in the paper here in Omaha and in Kansas City there really seems to be hardly any Huskies to be found. So I was searching online a few days ago and found a breeder in Grant City, Mo (about 40 miles from Maysville) with pups available at the price we were expecting to pay. So we have decided on a little black and white male that we decided to name Akiba. The picture below was taken by the breeder when he was a little under a month old. I am going to go see him on Tuesday and then Nick and I are going to pick him up a few days after our honeymoon on either July 6th or 7th or so! I will put up more recent pics of him when I have them!

Garage Saling, Graduation, Growing Up

Garage Saling:

This past weekend marked the beginning of "garage sale season" for Mom and I :) On the first Saturday in May several neighborhoods in Liberty have neighborhood-wide garage sales and we just love going to them! This year Mom and I were planning on leaving around 6:30 a.m. Saturday morning to head to Liberty; however, Greg and Wendy called Friday afternoon and were telling us they were garage saling and so I mentioned it to Mom and she decided that she wanted to be spontaneous (say what!!!???) and that she wanted to go down and garage sale that night and stay in a hotel and then garage sale more the next day! So we went down and in just the hour and a half that we garage saled that evening I found pretty much everything that I was looking for (vhs/dvd player combo, big dog pet taxi, books) which was great!

I just love getting to do this with Mom and we have decided that this is our "deer hunting" ;)


Graduation/Growing Up:

Five days from now I will officially be a college graduate!!!! EEEEEKKKKKKK :) I honestly never knew if this day would really come and couldn't be more ready for it. These past five years have really flown by and I have enjoyed my college career, but now am ready to move on and get other parts of my life started :) This section is double-titled because I believe that with Graduation comes the neccessity (sp?) to grow up, and although I am ready for graduation, I'm not sure that I'm ready to be a "grown up" :) I love my family and am kind of daunted by the thought of moving 3 hours away and not getting to see them everyday. However, I'm sure that after a few months I will adjust to it and know that I will love getting to be with Nick everyday :) (that's the bright side :) )

Blessed, Bridal Shower, Bad Weather

As I was deciding what all to talk about tonight, I found that I had so much to say and so forgive me if I seem a little long winded :)

Blessed:

I have always known that I am blessed to have a wonderful family and group of friends, but I don't think that I (or maybe anyone else, for that matter) spend enough time reflecting on this and how different our lives would be without these people. I recently graded some essays in my sophmore class and some of the students wrote about some of the their horrible home lives, and it just really made me aware as to how wonderful I have it. Sure there are days when I come home from school/work tired and butt-dragging and then there's this little note at the end of the island asking me to do the laundry, vacuum, sweep, or something of the like, and I get thoroughly upset because all I want to do is relax. However, after reading about how bad some people have had it (and still do have it) I am thankful that God has given me the life he did.

Mom, Grandma Foogie, and Me at my bridal shower.....I have such a wonderful family :)

Bridal Shower:

This topic kind of ties into the "blessed" category. Today Martha and Teresa had a bridal shower for me and Nick (although, naturally Nick didn't come :) ) and it was so wonderful to get to see some family members that I had not seen in over a year, and whom it will probably be another year before I see them again! There were probably 25-30 people who came which is a wonderful turnout for a shower! Teresa and Martha just worked so hard on everything and the food, games, and just everything turned out amazing! I was glad that Martha and Kati finally got to meet, seeing as they will both be in my wedding about 2 months from now :) And I kid you not, Nick and I seriously got tons of wonderful gifts!!! It took me probably 45 minutes to an hour to open all of them, and then when I got home I brought them all in the frontroom to show Dad and they literally filled up the entire frontroom! We got everything from towels, kitchen utensils, a standing mixer (that I have wanted for soooooo long! LOL), to a clock, photo albums and picture frames, and an amazing hope chest that Dad made for me (another thing I have wanted for years!) I am just so thankful for having such a wonderful, supportive family and am so glad that we don't have to go out and buy these sorts of things now :)

The gorgeous hope chest that Dad made me is in the front :)

Bad Weather:


Tonight around 9 p.m. we had our first tornado warning of the year (as far as I can remember, anyways!) which I was dreading. If you know me, then you know that I hate bad weather especially since we don't have a basement because we have to go out to Grandma and Grandpa's when the weather gets bad. Nick and I have been talking and have decided that a full basement (finished or unfinished....doesn't matter to us) is pretty much a requirement in our next home, especially if we stay in the Midwest. Hopefully this year we don't have as much severe weather as we did last year.....it seemed like every night in Omaha there were tornado warnings, which particularly bothers me there because we don't have anywhere to go for shelter there, and because about 3 miles away from Nick's house a tornado hit last summer and did a lot of damage. In other words, I am a big baby and would love to live somewhere tornados aren't common :)

Wonderful, Wrapping Up, Winter

Wonderful:
Spring break is drawing to a close and I cannot describe how much I needed this past week off! I spent the whole of the week up at Omaha with Nick which was wonderful! U forgot a stack of essays on my desk at school that needed to be graded, which turned out to be okay because I was really then just forced to relax and enjoy my break. Plus, they will be there for me tomorrow morning at 7:30 a.m. when I arrive at my room :) I am planning on giving them back on Friday because that will give me plenty of time to go back over the grades I gave the others and make sure that I am happy with the grades I am giving, and also because I know there will be these few students who will complain and ask why they didn't get a 100% and frankly the comments I provide and the grading rubric attached should suffice as an explanation, but alas it won't and so they won't be able to continue questioning me throughout the week. Maybe that's the chicken way out, but I think that students should be able to read the comment and see all the marks on the rubric and understand why they received the grade they did.

Wrapping Up:
This semester seriously has been the busiest ever and I am so ready for it to wrap up. I have only two full weeks and a day left in my student teaching career and am so totally counting down the days :) I think it will be different when I have a classroom of my own because it's kind of tough just jumping in and taking over mid-school year. Anyhow, these last seven weeks have been so busy and I am ready for them to draw to a close, plus, I have so many other things to look forward to this summer and so the end of student teaching essentially marks the beginning of everything else!

Winter:
Well I am hoping winter is officially on the way out and I can assure you, it will not be missed by me :) Saturday was my last day in Omaha and it was so nice outside and I could only wish I had more time with Nick, but then got to thinking that the next time I see him I will be done with school and Winter should be over so we should be able to spend much more time outside!

Excellent and Excited

Excellent:
So far this week has turned out to be the best of my student teaching experience! My sophomores finished a personal narrative and are doing some practice stuff for the end of the course exam to come in late April. My Juniors just finished reading Poe's "The Fall of the House of Usher" and are working on Hawthorne's "The Minister's Black Veil" which were two of my favorite stories in high school. My MoWest supervisor came for an observation yesterday during second hour and it went really well and he thought highly of my lesson plan which made me feel great! I am just so thankful that he came during second hour because they are a spirited group who usually have a lot to say in discussion, very unlike third hour where I could stand on my head a sing a song and they wouldn't be impressed or phased :P

Excited:
Friday after school I am heading to Omaha to spend the whole of the next week with Nick and I can hardly contain my excitement! It's been three weeks since I have last seen him, and most of the times we were together before that was only for a day and a half or so, and usually that Saturday was busy with us working on wedding stuff, so it will be so nice to have lots of time together this time!!!

Blah, Blah, Blah

Tonight I am keeping it short and sweet. This past week has probably been the best so far which is nice considering that next week is the last before Spring Break. I gave my first test in LA2 and I was concerned that it was going to be too easy, however, I had several students who didn't do too well and it really did a good job of separating those who had read the texts from those who had not. So that's good :)

Testing Kids, Testing Me, Testing Hair/Hairdresser, Testing Me...again

Testing Kids:
Well tomorrow I give my first test since I began teaching back on Feb. 17th and I'm a little nervous because I hope it's challenging enough. It's a test for my LAII classes over non-fiction that we have been working on for the past month. It will be interesting to see how they do and what kind of abilities I have for test-making. Then they are going to be starting their first essay with me which is going to be a personal narrative over a choice or event that changed their life. So all-in-all it's looking like the rest of this week won't be too terrible.

Testing Me:
Next week is our last week before Spring Break and I can honestly say that I have never been more anxious for or needed a break so badly as I do now! LOL. Ethan is home on Spring Break right now which I am more than a little jealous of :) It will be nice getting to spend the week with Nick in Omaha.

Testing Hair/Hairdresser:
Speaking of Omaha, I am planning on calling a hair salon there and making my wedding day appt. and then a trial run for when I'm there on Spring Break to make sure that it's going to turn out the way I want! Definitely don't want any suprises in the hair dept! Haha. I have found the hairstyle I want to go with and I think it will work well with my veil, but I definitely want to try it out plenty ahead of time, just in case I don't like how it looks or something, but I'm sure it will be great because it's kinda similar to how I do my hair sometimes.

Testing Me....again:
I have been pushing my limits these past few days by staying up later (GASP!!!! I know :P) and I have determined that I must be a reincarnated 85 year old lady because I can barely keep myself up until 10 p.m.! I was in bed at 9 last night! Sad, eh? Well, my old lady senses are telling me that my bedtime is fast approaching and so I'm afraid I must obey and lie down if only for a bit......

Just Keep Swimming

Well this past weekend was a nice break away from school and lesson plans. I went to Omaha Friday after school let out and Nick and I ordered/picked out wedding flowers Saturday afternoon, ordered/picked out wedding bands, and Sunday we worked on our bridal registry at Bed Bath and Beyond. I swear it's getting harder and harder to leave Omaha every time I go up there! This weekend starting Saturday (yes....SATURDAY!!!) I began dreading leaving him. It just sucks because we have been waiting sooooooooooo long to be together and even though we know it's getting soooooo close, it just seems like it will never actually arrive! However, we have figured out that there will only be two or three more time when we get to see eachother for only 1 1/2 days, so I suppose it's do-able ;)

Tomorrow I don't have to teach (yay!!!!) because I have to go to an Education Expo in St. Joe where schools from all over the Midwest will be taking applications and trying to give out information about working for their school district. I really do not want to go to this dumb thing because the only school from Omaha that will be there is Omaha Public and their schools are located in North Omaha (bad part of town) and their test scores are really bad, and they are the one district in Omaha that I would definitely not work for, so it all just seems like it will be a waste of time. Anyhow.

The rest of the week is looking pretty sucky as far as teaching goes because I don't like what I'm teaching right now, but I think next week will be better :)...............hopefully! We'll see!!!

The World's Smallest Violin......playing just for me

So here goes another "Woe is me" post, so please just bear with me or come back in a few days for a better one :)

So I am feeling entirely spent, as usual, and sick of making lesson plans. Nick asked me if I am coming to Omaha this weekend because he misses me, and so I have been working on lesson plans for both classes next week and am just feeling entirely run down. It's only 9:15 p.m. and I am having a hard time keeping my eyes open. However, now I get to go see Nick and figure out flowers for the wedding and order wedding rings as well, so it will be a busy weekend. I am really just looking forward to Spring Break because I need some time away. I never imagined that I would be this exhausted while student teaching.....And now I'm afraid I must retire to my bed because it's calling so stongly!

Break, Bummed, Bridal Shower

Break
1. Well we are now a week into March, and I am counting down the days until our Spring Break (April 6-10) arrives! Hopefully we get the whole week off (i.e. no more snow days) so I can spend it up in Omaha with Nick. We are planning on painting our frontroom that week (olive green) so we can get it all ready before family begins to come up for visits. When break arrives I only have two more weeks after that for student teaching which is sooooo exciting for me! I even have my lesson plans for this coming week already pretty much figured out, which is nice :) The way I figure it up, excluding Spring Break, I have to make lesson plans for 5 more weeks, so I think I can handle it! It's just a matter of being able to do all I am planning for in that time; however, I wouldn't be disappointed if I didn't get to poetry in LA2 ;)

2. Tomorrow we have a teacher's in-service, so the kids don't have to come, but the teachers do for workshops. However, that doesn't really bother me because it's a break from the kids and from teaching ;) It's not that I don't like teaching....I do, but it just wears me out and I am ready for it to be over.

Bummed
I had my first interview for a Special Ed. position this past Friday and I was super excited. However, I walked out of the interview feeling much less excited. Basically during the interview they asked if I had any experience writing IEPs or working with Sp. Ed. curriculum and so I said "No" which was the honest answer. The interviewer said that he doesn't think that just having passed both Sp. Ed. Praxis tests and having taken some of the coursework would qualify me to teach Sp. Ed. in Nebraska. I am going to call the Nebraska Department of Education tomorrow to try and get some answers, but I literally lost it the moment I got to my car. Not because I felt negatively about the interview, but because I felt as if I have wasted the last year of my life pursuing my Sp. Ed. certification, along with lots of money on the tests. It just seems like nothing can ever go right or smoothly for me....or Nick....boy we'll be a good match! Haha

Bridal Shower
Saturday I went to Kati's bridal shower which turned out to be a lot of fun! I had never really been to a Bridal shower and really enjoyed it. It almost seems like an official beginning to the wedding season and stuff for us to come! Martha is going to have my bridal shower on April 25th which will be fun, except for the fact that I don't like being the center of attention :) Something that could be potentially problematic on our wedding day too :)

Busy Busy Busy!!!!!

Well I can already tell that this coming week is going to be a hectic one, and it's only Sunday! This will be my first week to have full control of everything for the whole week, so I'm a bit anxious. Plus, for some reason I am just not feeling that my lesson plans are exciting or enjoyable to the kids. I feel like I'm doing the same stuff all of the time, but don't know how to "jazz-it-up" with some of this boring nonfiction stuff we're covering. I am excited to finish it because the next unit we're going to do is Greek Drama including some of "Oedipus" and all of "Antigone" which is right up my alley :)

Oh, so a few days ago I applied to a few schools in Omaha, and two days after applying I got an e-mail from the Papillion La Vista school district asking if I could send them three letters of recommendation and if I could come in for an interview this coming Friday at 1:30!!!! I was so excited I almost cried! I have been sooooo stressed lately and nothing seems to be going right, so to get contacted for an interview really gave me a confidence boost :) Please pray for me! I will post how I think it went soon!

Responsibilities and Relaxation

Today I officially took over all of the responsibilities of a full-time teacher. Since last Wednesday I have had the Sophomores totally, and today I was handed over the Juniors as well. I figured I would be totally stressed today, but it went suprisingly well, even if the projector did die :) Tomorrow and the next week or two may be a different story as I know it's going to be busy! I have figured it up, and if we get our Spring Break (April 6-10), then I have 36 more days of teaching (not counting weekends) which means 7 more weeks of making lesson plans. Hopefully it goes quickly!

Nick is coming down this weekend which I am super excited for because he's not been here since before Thanksgiving. Well, my Xbox 360 is calling me, so I'd better answer :)

Week One Down (almost)

My first week officially student teaching is nearly over and I am drained. I am also astounded at how fast the students go through some of the work that I have planned! For instance, today I had planned some stuff that I thought would take a while, but we were done with it in half the time! I'm afraid that I am going to have to overwork myself in order to make sure that we aren't endind up with half of the class period with nothing to do. I just don't know how to do it. Maybe Mrs. Hyatt can provide me with some insight....

Oh, I applied for a job last night. There is a K-12 Sp. Ed position opening with Westside Community School district and I applied last night. Dr. Eicher called and spoke to some director of Special Ed in that school system and gave him my name and told him about me and he said the man seemed very interested, so that's exciting :) I will keep you posted! Hopefully next week goes better than this week!

Officially Ms. Osborn

This morning at 7 a.m. Mrs. Hyatt called and said that her little girl was at home sick with the flu and that she would be staying home with her, and so I was in charge for the first five hours of classes, after which I left for eletronic fingerprinting. All in all the day went pretty well. I definitely think that my most challenging class is going to be 5th hour (LA2 right after lunch). There are a few boys in there and a few girls that talk so much and I really forsee myself needing to find an effective method of dealing with them.

Tomorrow is my first day of actual teaching (will do all 3 classes of LA2) and I think i am pretty much ready, so we'll see :) Hopefully I am as optimistic for the next day tomorrow night!

Thank God!!!

After checking nearly every ten minutes this morning to see if my Praxis results had been posted yet, around 10 a.m. I saw that they were up and I passed my second and final test!!!!!!!!!!!! Yayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy :) This means that I am eligible to get my special ed teaching certificate and that I can start looking for a job now which I am super excited about! I got a hold of Dr. Eicher and he wants me to come in and meet with him in March so we can get a hold of his friend that works in the Omaha school district and see if they have any sp. ed openings, which is exciting :) Will update you when I know any more!!!

Exhaustion

So as you can tell by the title of this entry, I am feeling extremely tired and, not run down, but rather sluggish and grouchy. This past week was my first of student teaching (where I did no teaching :P) and it went very well. But, although I have been going to bed between 9 and 10 p.m. every night and don't get up until 6:30 a.m. I am so tired every day. This might be attributed to the long days I spend just sitting and observing in the class and such.

However, today was better because I got to actually help and work with the students when they were writing essays of Of Mice and Men, so that was nice. Believe it or not I think that the classes I am going to enjoy the most are my 6th hour (16 boys and 2 girls---La2) and my 7th hour (La3). Well, the Westminster Kennel Club Show is on so I had better go and watch it :) Ciao.

It's "Ms. Osborn" to You

Today was my first day in the high school and of student teaching and it, honestly, was rather boring (not that I mind, though)! As mentioned in an earlier blog I'm sure, I have three LA2 sections and three LA3 sections. All of the classes seems to be pretty well behaved for the most part, with a few exceptions in a class or two (which is to be expected). The sophmores are just finishing Of Mice and Men and Mrs. Hyatt said that I will probably be able to start taking them over later next week. She said that it will be a little longer before I take over the Juniors because they are still reading The Great Gatsby which she is going to finish up.

My planning period during fourth hour, which is right before lunch, and so it makes for a nice, long 1 1/2 hour break where I can eat at my leisure, grade, make copies, and just prepare for the second half of my day. Yesterday before I came home from Omaha I was so upset because I was just so nervous about student teaching and nervous that I would be thrown in pretty quickly, but Nick kept reassuring me that it would be okay and that I had nothing to worry about. Turns out he was right (as of today), but don't tell him that ;) He is just so good to me and I am so lucky to have someone like him by my side and encouraging me during this new point in my life, and I couldn't ask for anything better! Hopefully when it is time for me to take over the class in full I am still feeling so happy! But hopefully that won't be for a few weeks :)

Wedding and Relaxation Plans

Tonight I am back in Omaha and it feels so good to be back!!! Nick is feeling good which is great and he is studying for his third CPA exam right now, which explains the time I have to type this. This weekend we are going to work on some wedding stuff and try and get some taken care of. Tomorrow I am going to go to Hy-Vee and talk to the head Florist about wedding flowers and see if I can't get a price estimate, then on Saturday Nick and I are meeting with our Pastor for the first time and are going to start getting wedding ceremony stuff taken care of which is exciting!!!

Think we may hit the mall on Saturday after our meeting at the church and then we are just planning on relaxing and enjoying couples time together :) Well, it's time for me to kick back and relax :) Ciao!

Me

I was browsing some of my friends' blogs this evening and found an interesting idea to make into a post tonight. The following is supposed to be a list of 25 things (but ended up being 18) that you may or may not know or care about me, but I had fun doing it :)

1. I hate cheese with a passion. Not just cheddar, but mozzerella, pepper jack, colby jack, swiss, etc.....When I go to restaurants I order my hamburgers with ketchup only and get the weirdest looks when I ask for no cheese :P

2. I once tried to rescue a baby rabbit that my uncle's Beagle, Desperado, got a hold of. I bottle fed it and fixed up a bottle warmer for it to snuggle up to. A few days later it died while I held it.

3. Sometimes I have a hard time feeling sympathy towards people even when probably the most hardened person would feel something. I'm really not a horrible person, but I'm sure some may think of me like that.

4. I used to be afraid of the music played at the intro to the show "ER".

5. I am addicted to sci-fi novels and movies (i.e. Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, The Earthsea Cycle)

6. I always drive 5 mph over the speed limit ;)

7. I want to own my own pet boarding kennel someday.

8. I don't think I will be able to wait long after getting married to start our family.

9. I have an absolutely atrocious (sp?) short-term memory but can remember things that I shouldn't be able to (i.e. playing on the playground in Kindergarten).

10. I think I have Rosacea.

11. I am not a morning person whatsoever...stay out of my way when I get up :)

12. I think that my creativity has diminished over my past few years in college.

13. I actually really like my future in-laws!

14. Playing board games is one of my favorite past time's in the winter!

15. To relax I either play Xbox 360, surf the net, or watch tv.

16. I am not nearly as active as I should be, but need to be because I have a wedding dress that I need to stay the same size for :)

17. I have officially had my heart broken once, and it wasn't until after I got over it that I met my future husband.

18. I have broken only one heart (that I'm aware of).

So I have found that I am too tired to finish this tonight and may pick up on it another day....Oh I feel like an old lady sometimes :P Off to bed!!!

Lazy Days

This weekend has been a much needed break from the past few weeks! As you know by now, I am incredibly stressed by the Senior Seminar class I am taking this semester and from working on lesson plans for my student teaching which will begin a week from tomorrow. So, this weekend I vowed to relax, even if it killed me :) So incase anyone is wondering just what this weekend, I have put it below...

Friday Evening: Ethan came home and we played Xbox 360 for a while, then I went to town with Mom, watched tv, and then went to bed around 9:30p.m.

Saturday: Slept in, played Xbox 360, watched Ethan and Dad play Wii Mario Kart Racing, sorted through all of my clothes and decided what I will sell in a garage sale this spring and what I have to wear for student teaching. Grandma and Grandpa came over last night and we had a Thanksgiving dinner (complete with whole roasted Turkey and all!), then Ethan played piano and I sang with him. After they left Mom, Dad, Ethan, and I played "Scene It Squabble" (a boys vs. girls one) and then I played nintendo for a bit. I ended the evening with a nice chat with Nick.

Sunday: I did absolutely NOTHING today. I played Xbox and watched Ethan play, and then we played the Wii Mario Kart Racing. I made a Thanksgiving Leftover Sandwich for supper and am now half-watching Extreme Makeover: Home Edition.

As you can see, this was the most unproductive weekend in months, but it was badly needed! This week will be another story, so it was nice while it lasted!

Busy as a Bee!!!!!!!!!!!

These past two weeks have been the busiest that I can remember in a long time........and not a good busy either! I swear my Senior Seminar class is going to be the death of me! We have class every day from 8-12 Monday-Friday for three whole weeks. It's essentially like having a weeks worth of homework everyday. I have been going to bed at 10p.m. for the past few weeks because I have just been so exhausted! I can't imagine how tired I will be when I start my student teaching. I am almost afraid that I won't be able to get everything done or do anything justice and still have time to breathe what with student teaching, the planning that goes along with it, wedding planning, going back and forth to Omaha, etc.....Not to mention job hunting and interviewing before too long (hopefully!). May 9th can't come fast enough!!!

Playing Nurse

Tonight I got my first taste of what it will be like to have a sick kid someday and having to run to the store for meds at hours when any sane person is at home in bed! I am in Omaha at mine and Nick's house watching tv while he rests upstairs in the bedroom. He seems to have come down with the flu or something. I made us chicken and noodle soup for supper and hope that he didn't get sick off of it, but I haven't and I ate it, so maybe it wasn't the food. I sure hope not! I hate seeing him feel bad, especially when we have such limited time together, but oh well! At least I am still here getting to be in the same house :)

Tomorrow we are supposed to go to a new member orientation/dinner at the church we have been going to, but I would prefer to stay home so he can rest up. He is just so sleep deprived and I think that it has weakened his immune system. I'm sure he will insist on going and say that he's feeling better, but I have reassured him that there will always be another time to go to new member orientation a few months down the road, so we'll see how tomorrow goes.... :P Hopefully he gets to feeling better soon, but until then I'm playing nurse!

Hmmm

My first day of senior seminar went pretty well today and I must say that I really feel ready to do my student teaching. I am also ready to get my sp. ed. praxis results back so that hopefully I can get job interviews underway and maybe even have a job secured by mid March or so. It would just be so helpful for me to have a job secured for next year fairly soon because with graduation, the wedding, and moving to Omaha, it would just help to take a lot off of my plate.

I know that I just drone on on here, but I'm sure no one looks at my blog too heavily, so I'm sure no one will mind the may pointless blurbs I stick up here :P

Blah blah blah

It is back to school tomorrow for my final semester and I couldn't be more ready! I have a student seminar class for the first two weeks of this semester, then starting Feb. 2nd I am going to be in the high school full time, which, suprisingly enough, I feel pretty ready for. I think that the class I will be student teaching for will be the ideal setup: I have 3 LA2 classes and 3 LA3 classes so that means only 2 preps which will be nice.

I realize that my blogs lately have not really consisted of anything of importance, but have gotten into the habit of just letting my brain spill thoughts out here. Maybe I should do it right before bed so that my mind is empty and I sleep better........hmmmm...may have to start tomorrow!

Testing the Dress

Well my final Praxis test is over and done with (considering I passed :P ) and I actually feel pretty good about it! As soon as I get my passing (hopefully!!!) grade back I am supposed to get ahold of Dr. Eicher who seems to have become my personal advocate because he is going to set up job interviews for me in Omaha, which would be amazing!!! I am hoping to have a job lined up for next school year by mid March.

Martha and I went to David's Bridal today and they wouldn't even let us look at or try on Bridesmaid dresses because the only help people with "appointments" for that day :P What a joke! It's not like we needed any help or anything...just to try on and maybe get a bridesmaid dress for her. So instead we went to a few other places to look, but to no avail. I did find a very cute dress that i wanted to get for our rehersal and rehersal dinner, but there was no way I could bring myself to spend the $69 they wanted for it. Sigh. Maybe I can find it cheaper on Ebay :) After we got done in the city I tried on my wedding dress here at home for Martha to see and she liked it. However, it seemed a bit more snug up top than it did last time I tried it on (at the end of November) so I am going to have to make sure that I don't gain ANY weight whatsoever because it fits just like I need it to. I am just planning on trying it on every month to make sure that it still fits and such......Hopefully by June 27th it still is fitting just right :) Only a few months left, so as long as I can stay away from the chocolate until then I should be okay ;)

Just thinking...

Tomorrow at 7:30a.m. I take the test that will really determine the rest of my life as far as work goes. It is my second and final Special Ed. Praxis test, and if I pass (I will get my results Feb. 10) I will be fully certified to teach K-12 special ed!!!! Hopefully it goes well! I am actually pretty confident and feeling good about the possible content, so now all I can do is work hard and pray. I should actually probably be in bed right now because 6:10a.m. is going to come early tomorrow morning :P

After I take my test Martha and I are going to hit David's Bridal in KC and see if she can't find her a bridesmaid/maid of honor dress for my wedding. I have been looking at a lot of wedding stuff this past week and think I have finally found a hairstyle that i am going to try (and practice a LOT) for Kati's wedding....so we'll see how it goes ;) Still not sure how I want do my hair....I am thinking either half-up or similar to Herminone's at the Yule Ball. Hmmmmm.....really it is a huge choice when one thinks about it.....your hair really can affect how you look so it has to be just right.....May do some more looking at hairstyles before hitting the hay. Maybe next post I will actually have something to say. Ha!!! Right ;)

Feeling Uninspired

Over this Christmas break I have gotten totally spoiled by getting to stay a week at a time in Omaha with Nick. Today I had to return home in order to prepare to take my second Special Ed. Praxis (which, after passing, I will be totally certified to teach k-12 sp. ed!) and because I think the family was getting anxious to see me. However, I returned home to Mom nagging me about this and that which didn't make leaving Nick any easier! It makes me wonder if after Nick and I are married if she will be the same way (nagging) when we come back to visit......I think part of it has to do with still having the sense of being my "boss" while I am here home. Sigh.
I do love being up in Omaha.....It gives me a sense of actually being an adult and being my own master ;)

Monday it's back to school for me for my final semester! I'm not exactly looking forward to student teaching, but the idea of graduating in May really tickles me :) The woman I am doing my student teaching under this semester is going to be a good on to have supervising me. I don't officially go into the high school classroom until February 2nd as I have a 3 week "senior seminar" on campus until then. I am on the fences about whether or not I am excited to do my student teaching. On one hand, it will make the time go by faster and will keep me busy...but on the other hand I almost feel like doing my student teaching in English is not really going to benefit me in the long run because if I do pass both sp. ed praxis tests then I will be persuing that as my career. I am also just not sure if I am confident enough in my abilities and knowledge to teach English because it's been so long since I have been in a high school english classroom and I just feel out of the loop, and almost uninspired. Sad, eh? Maybe it won't be as bad as I am making it out to be.............I can hope, at least :P

New Year's Resolution........or not!!!

So 2009 was ushered in but a few days ago and Nick and I celebrated staying in a nice hotel downtown Omaha where we were able to watch fireworks and then swim afterwards. We waved goodbye to 2008 (which was the best year for us so far!) and welcomed 2009 with a kiss. I have vowed not to make a New Year's resolution as I am never able to keep it :P But who can!? I just want to remain as happy as I have been this last year and be a great wife for Nick.

I finally was able to snap a picture of my new car:

My 2006 Toyota Camry!!!

So now to be totally unoriginal.......I found this questionnairre on another blog and thought it would be fun to fill out myself and reflect upon 2008 :)

Where did you begin 2008?----With my friend Martha at Melinda Morrow's apartment in Maryville playing games and chatting.

What was your status by Valentine's Day?----Single and sad about it.....I could hear my biological clock ticking :P

Did you have to go to the hospital?----Yes....to have a bump on my chest/breast checked out (turned out to be a bilateral cervical rib)

Did you have any encounters with the police?----Not one..........ask my brother about his speeding ticket thought ;)

Where did you go on vacation?----Took our last family vacation to Florida and Disney World :) Nick and I went to Adventureland around Des Moines as well.

Do you know anybody who got married?----Several cousins including Sarah Hamilton, and my friend Mark Henderson.

What sporting events did you attend?----None.....I am not really a sports fan.....hopefully next year I can say I have been to a Husker's game, though :)

Where do you live now?----Still living at home in Maysville, but that's okay with me. However, I also call Omaha, Ne, home now and will be moving there within the next few months!

Describe your birthday?----I don't celebrate my birthday on my actual birthday because we enjoy doing stuff outside, so we celebrated it at the beginning of September. Nick came down to spend the weekend and we all gathered out at Gma and Gpa's to celebrate my turning 23 and Lauren's turning 7. It was kind of rainy and so we weren't able to have the traditional bonfire...however Nick, Dad, Greg, and I shot our bows. I remember also that I was still hurting from having my wisdom teeth removed back in early July so that made it less enjoyable. Nick ended up asking Dad for permission to marry me that weekend, and then on the 19th of September Nick proposed!!!!!

What's the one thing you you thought you would never do but did in 2008?----Decided that I want to teach elementary Special Ed!

Any new additions to your family?----Two adorable kittens--Luna and Socks :)

Favorite Month?----It would either be April or September...I met Nick in April and we got engaged in September :)

Any regrets?----Thankfully none that come to mind!

What do you want to change in 2009?----I want to become more comfortable with the idea of living away from home and such. Right now the thought is very intimidating.....I am close to my family...

Overall how would you rate last year on a scale of 1 to 10?----I would have to say an 8 or 9....this year will be a 10 when I marry my best friend :)

Have any life changes in 2008?----Not really...but 2009 will definitely be the opposite!

Change your hairstyle?----I let my hair go back to it's natural state, which sure is a change for me!

Get a new job?----No, but I went back to an old one at Grand Paws Kennel which I absolultely loved!

How old did you turn? 23

Did anything embarrassing happen?----I'm sure it did.....sadly my memory is not what is once was (I think!)

Be honest--did you watch American Idol?----Nope.....only watched the very first season and then the auditions.

Start a new hobby?----Does planning a wedding count as a hobby???

Drank Starbucks in 2008?----Never tried it and never plan on it.

Are you happy to see 2008 go?----It was a wonderful year, but this year is going to be even better, so how can I be sad?

What school did you go to?----Missouri Western State University

What's something that you shouldn't have done, but enjoyed doing?----Not sure there is anything.......boy am I boring or what!!!???

Did you change much?----I'm sure I did, but it's not evident to me. I know I have made peace with myself and such, so I guess that's a big change...

Are you happy with who you have become?----Incredibly....I can only hope that I continue to evolve for the better.

Did you fall in love?----Sure did!

Did you kiss anyone?----I don't kiss and tell ;)

Did you go to any camps?----Haven't been to a camp for many years.

Did you see any movies at theatres?----At least three I can remember: Leatherheads, The Dark Knight, and Twilight.

What song were you hooked on?----The whole of the new album by Panic! at the Disco and "I'm Yours" by Jason Mraz.

Did you go to the beach?----Daytona Beach, to be exact :)

Did you get really dressed up for anything?----My friend, Mark's, wedding.

What are some inside jokes for the year?----I never had any, but am sure I was the butt of some.

What is the funniest thing that happened?----Not sure if I would say it was funny, but I'm sure the family would......I fell down the staircase on Christmas Eve.

What is the saddest thing that happened?----Honestly, probably quitting work in December....I loved my job and the people there.

What is something that really made you smile?----Watching Lauren open gifts on Christmas Day and her being my shadow on Christmas Eve. I guess she told Wendy, her mom, later that she wished I were her big sister! Made my heart melt!!!!

What are your plans for New Years?----Nick and I stayed at a hotel downtown Omaha, watched fireworks, t.v., a movie, and swam!

Think back to the beginning of the year and now think of now....what's different?----I have this shiny rock on my left ring finger ;)

What's the same?----The love of my family, friends, and God.

How was your last winter?----We got more snow than I can ever remember, which resulted in many days spent inside and a bout with cabin fever ;)

Spring?----Wonderful.....I got to travel to London for a second time and really became amazing friends with my roomie (Kati Atchison).....and I also met Nick!

Summer?----The best I can remember....I worked, traveled between Maysville and Omaha almost weekly, went on vacation, fished, swam, etc.

Fall?----School was extremely hard this semester....probably the second toughest yet. On the other hand, Nick proposed and we began wedding planning, so that was a boost!

Was 2008 your best year?----It was so far :) I know that this year and subsequent years will be amazing as well!