Spring Break

Spring break was nice AMAZING!

The Saturday after I got home we (mom, Kass and I) decided to go to Davids Bridal and try on wedding dresses for the first time.  I knew what kind of dress I wanted but I didn't have the wedding dress lingo down yet so I brought pictures and described it.  The girl helping us, Hanna, was great! She pulled out many dresses like the one I described and a couple more styles to try on just for fun.  When I put the first one on I got a huge smile on my face, not because I knew it was the dress, but because I had a wedding dress on and I knew this was really happening.  I probably tried on 8 or 10 dresses but none of them screamed out THIS IS IT!  So, we thanked them for their time and went home.

Then on Sunday I went to a bridal fair at The Links at Gettysburg with my mom, Kassidy, Dianna, and her mom.  It was my first bridal fair so I wasn't exactly sure what to expect and I was a little unprepared.  I found out about it because I was interested in the venue.  It's a beautiful golf course with a stream running through it, a stone bridge, flowers and gorgeous souroundings.  As we walked in we were handed a glass of champaigne (which I have to find out what it was called...DELICIOUS), and bags full of papers and magazines.  We walked around to all the diferent vendors, trying cakes, looking at flower arrangements & photo albums and talking to DJ & limosine companies.  As they were asking me questions I realized I didn't know much about how I wanted my wedding to be, so I just kind of guessed and told them what I thought.  Anyways, it was a lot of fun and I have a lot of numbers and new ideas, and I planned to talk to Shane about our wedding so we had a better understanding of what each of us wanted.

On Tuesday night I made an appointment with J&B Bridals in Chambersburg.  Once again it was just mom, Kass and I. I knew they had a designer that I loved so I couldn't wait to try on dresses there.  This time I had Jami helping me, she picked out so many beautiful dresses.  I picked which one I wanted to try on first and once I had it on I thought "this might be the one".  I loved it, but I still wanted to try on more because you never know whats going to look good on you.  Jami suggested I try on this other style that was very similar but had a slight difference. (I would describe them, but I can't take the chance of Shane seeing this)  I didn't think that it would look good on me with my body type but it was very pretty so I gave it a try.  To my surprise she was right!  I loved this style and this dress even more than the first one.  It actually looked amazing with my body type and I was in love! I said "Yes!"  We put a down payment on it that night so in a couple of months I can go back and try on MY wedding dress!

On the next couple nights Shane and I just hung out, talked more about wedding plans and what we like.  I think we I have picked our colors, a deep pink/watermelon, mint green, and tangerine orange! Bright and Beautiful!

Example of the colors

On Thursday night I decided to go camping with Shane (eeek). Okay, it wasn't that bad!  The hike up to the campsite was hard and tireing but I made it, so I was happy.  Shane was so excited that I was going with him, since he has been bugging me for forever.  We also took Willow with us, which kinda made me feel better about sleeping outside.  I helped collect branches to burn and set up the tent.  We sat on chairs made out of rocks, listened to music, talked and cooked hotdogs over the fire.  All-in-all it was a nice night.

Before going home on Sunday I needed to have some time with my girls, so Friday night Shane and I went to Cancun with Ariel and Shaynna.  It wasn't that busy but it was nice to see each other and hang out for a bit. We still got a lot of laughs in.

Love them

Chelsea has a little!

It was that time of the semester, for new girls to come out and join the sorority.  I was so excited as this was my frist time watching others join, and then to top it off I became a big sister(within the sorority that is).  I was 6th in line to get a little sister and it just so happened that we had 6 girls wanting to join.  The night we found out who our littles were, I couldn't wait to start making shirts with letters on them for her.  My littles name is Steph and she is the best little I could ever ask for! I am so happy she decided to join and become a part of an amazing family.

Me and Steph the night she got in!

 Some of our family. Ash, Nicole, Kristin (my big <3), me and Steph

Me, Jenn, Kristin and Steph

Courage

This is going to be a long one....

   

A LOT has happened since I last blogged!

Fall semester 2011 has ended.  Im sad to say I did not get all A's but I did pass every class! I was thrilled to go home for a long, much needed break. The first part of my break consisted of working.  I was so happy I got to go into work, I missed decorating cupcakes and the girls that work there soo much!  I also lounged around the house, watched movies, baked, and made my first sorority shirts.  They turned out way better then I imagined they would.

Dipped Pretzels

One of the shirts I made. Frontside

 Backside

The next awesome thing that happened on break was my best friend Dianna and her boyfriend Ethan got engaged! I was super excited and so happy for her.  She also asked me to be her M.O.H. (maid of honor). I am obviously thrilled and can't wait to help her plan her wedding.

Christmas day was nice.  I got quite a few giftcards which I loved because that meant shopping! I also got my kitchen aid and I didn't get to use it yet, but I can't wait to try it out.  After opening presents at my house, Shane and I went to his dads for lunch, and then back to my house for the rest of the night.  It wasn't as rushed as it usually is and it was nice to only have to go to one other place.  Also over Christmas we fostered a lab/pitt mix puppy from the SPCA. He is soooo adoreable and soooo well behaved.  I love him so much already.  His name is Jasper, and he's supposed to go back January 11th but I don't see that happening.  Willow and him are not the best of friends yet because he likes to bite at her feet, but we are teaching him not to do that and I'm sure they will become friends soon =]

My beautiful kitchen aid

Jasper

Kassidy has been planning on getting a tattoo for so long, and on Christmas she got a gift card for a tattoo shop.  So, she set up an appointment and I went with her for her first tattoo.  It was really neat to watch someone actually get one upclose.  She did such a great job and said there were only a couple spots that hurt.  Every once in a while she would make a funny face, but mostly she (and I) tried not to laugh.  Her tattoo turned out really great!

Ahhh!

Finally, the most exciting thing that happened on break: I got engaged!!!



I had been working all day and Shane and I had planned to go out for dinner after, so we went to Crazy Horse Steak House.  Dinner was great and afterwards Shane said he wanted to go to City Park to see if the Christmas lights were still up.  I didn't suspect anything because he had been talking about it all break and we never had the chance to go.  Once we got there, we got out of the car and Shane got our scrapbook out of the back seat.  I asked why he had it, and he said he wanted to start a new tradition of looking through our scrapbook at the end of each year.  I thought it was kind of strange but also sweet.  We sat down at a picnic table and I began flipping through the pages, Shane would not help flip any of the pages, he said I had to do it myself.  Finally, after the last page I did, I turned it over and the last page said "Will you marry me?"  At that moment he got down on one knee and asked.  Honestly, I stared for a second or two before reacting because I was totally surprised and did not expect it, but then of course I said yes.  When we walked back to the car he handed me roses and I began texting everyone! haha

First picture as an engaged couple

My scrapbook page

My roses

And me being excited =]

(Oh the ring is on my left hand but since I took the picture using my phone it flipped everything...lol)

Life

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is one of my FAVORITE times of the year! I love how the house smells when the turkey and stuffing is cooking in the oven, the warm fall colors that the house is decorated in and most of all the family I am surrounded by.  Before going home I celebrated Thanksgiving with the Thetas and we all had a really good time.

At home, I was thankful to....

spend time with friends

bring a friend home (Tony) who otherwise would have been stuck at school all week

finally see breaking dawn with my mom and sister!

see my grandparents, uncle and cousin

go out to dinner at BWW

build a gingerbread house

see my pets

go to DC for a day

Dad and I doing the dishes after dinner

Shane and I

Girls house

Boys house

Kassidy and I decorated a gingerbread house while Shane and Tony decorated another to see who did the best job. I give them credit for their sleigh on the roof but overall, girls won!

Shane, Tony and I in DC out side of the National Museum of the American Indian

Cousins

Sorority Girl

I never thought I would join a sorority, but now it is one of the BEST decisions I have ever made!

In the last two weeks I have learned so much about myself, the other girls, and what a sorority really means.

At first I was just looking for a way to make some new friends, but I quickly learned that is not what a soroity is.

They are a family.

They make you feel like you are a part of something bigger and they really care about each other.

This was one of the hardest things I've ever done because I went into it all alone. I didn't know a single girl in the sorority, but I became very close to my pledge sisters fast.

Now I have a huge group of sisters that I know will be there for me if I ever need anything, and I will be there for them as well.

The experience of becoming a sister has made me feel more confident in myself, stronger, and more trusting.

Theta Sigma Delta

We Are One!

Taco Bell Trip

To my right is my "Big" Kristin

Pledge Sisters.

Shelley and Anna

When you get into a tight place and everything goes against you, till it seems as though you could not hang on a minute longer, never give up then, for that is just the place and time that the tide will turn. 
~Harriet Beecher Stowe