ENGAGEAVERSARY

Today is our engagement anniversary. I still can't believe that the boy I love went from being my boyfriend to my fiance to my HUSBAND all in these past 365 days! What a joy it has been watching Matthew take on these new titles and transitioning into them so well. So much has happened in these past 365 days, it's kind of hard to wrap my head around all of it. You can read all about how Matthew proposed to me HERE!

We were engaged a little under 7 months (208 days to be exact) and those months were probably some of the longest months of my life. They probably felt that way because Matthew and I were living about an hour apart and really only got to see each other on the weekends. I remember multiple times we were frustrated with ourselves on making such a "long" engagement. We had honestly thought about moving our wedding date up a bit, but in the end it worked out perfectly. Those 208 days were all in God's timing. We were able to plan and prepare for our wedding/marriage, and looking back now, I wouldn't have changed those 208 days of our engagement (I also wouldn't add any days to our engagement lol 208 days was definitely plenty long for us!) I thought I knew happiness 365 days ago, but come to find out, I had a lot of happiness left to discover (and still do!) 

I know that anniversaries will only get better from here. Days like today are the little ones, but it's still fun to celebrate even the small events. And I'm overwhelmed when I think about the fact that we haven't even really begun to scratch the surface of this whole marriage thing. 

Matthew, it is an honor to have your last name, and to be your wife. Having you introduce me to people as your wife will never, ever get old. What an adventure these past 365 days have been!

We had an engagement picture as well as a wedding picture taken at the same spot where Matthew got down on one knee. All three occasions were very exciting, and that's now my favorite spot on Tech's campus. 

December 22, 2014 was a really, really good day, but every day after that one has only gotten better.

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ENGAGEAVERSARY

2014 :: Part 1

Everyone is doing their 2014 year review so I am. too! I actually had completely forgotten about doing this fun post until I got on this morning and saw all of yours. It's so fun reading all of them!   So here is January-May!   JANUARY We announced Matthew had accepted a GA position with Tech (which paid almost all of his MBA) We found out late December that he got it but we wanted to wait until he got the official offer. We celebrated with Applebees!

 

Matthew gave me my Valentines Day present early

You can read all about that here :)

 

FEBRUARY

Celebrated my 1 year blogging anniversary!

 

Celebrated Valentines Day in the same area code!

  Took a Spontaneous roadtrip to Chattanooga for the day!

  MARCH Matthew baptized me in front of some of our closest friends at our church  in Cookeville on March 6th

 
Celebrated Matthew's 22nd birthday! I took the day off and we spent it together and then had dinner and cheesecake with his family.

  APRIL Intramurals were in full swing for the spring semester

  Played nerf assassins with the SOC Literally walked around with a small nerf gun in my purse for a couple of weeks. It was so much fun and I think we all grew a little closer because of this game.

  Spent Easter weekend at home with good weather and lots of egg hunts!

  -Decided I was going to get a 1 bedroom apartment! Looked at multiple ones but finally decided on the one I am in now and LOVE it!   Participated in Walk4Water with the SOC in Cookeville

  Attended the annual spring tea with Matthew's mom and grandmother! Jenny got to come this year too

  MAY  Matthew's older brother graduated with his Masters

 

Got the key to my new apartment and had a lunch date with Matthew

in my apartment floor that same day :)

 

Went on a mission trip with the SOC to Georgia

 

Got home from the mission trip and found that Matthew had moved me into my new apartment while I was gone!!

  In honor of our 4 year anniversary I did some recapping Year ONE Year TWO Year THREE Year FOUR   Celebrated our four year anniversary with good food and baseball!

 

Part 2 will come tomorrow!

Thank you all so much for your sweet comennts on yesterday's post. Reading all of them make me even more excited!! Y'all are the best! :) 

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2014 :: Part 1

I was kidnapped...kinda

I was going through old pictures the other day and realized I didn't share this with y'all.   Last spring semester, I think it was in March or around that time, Matthew had a pretty big paper to work on. We had an intramural game that night so he had to stay up late to finish it, you know typical college stuff. Well I went back to my apartment after our game and he went back to his to continue working on it. I showered and went to bed like normal.   ****Here is something you need to know. I lived in an apartment with two of my friends and it was all a one story apartment. I had one of the bedrooms in the back part of the apartment and sometimes got creeped out because out of my window at night was really dark and a lot of bushes. I kept my blinds closed 98 % of the time. Also, I keep my phone on silent while I sleep. Ya girl doesn't want to be bothered, LOL just kidding. I wake up 1-2 times a night on my own so there really is no need to leave my phone on vibrate.****   Anyways, back to the story, I went to bed like normal and around 2:00 AM, I heard this noise, insert minor panic attack and thoughts of someone coming through my window to kidnap and kill me. I also notice my phone is lit UP and then a call from Matthew comes in. I answer it and immediately ask "ARE YOU AT MY WINDOW?!?" and I hear him laughing and he says yes, insert total relief that I'm not about to die.   So I get up and raise my blinds up, while still talking to him on the phone (I'm not sure why I didn't raise my window?) I asked him what he was doing all nonchalantly, like it's totally normal for him to be there at 2:00 in the morning. He told me he had just finished his paper and wanted to celebrate by going to Steak 'N Shake for half price milkshakes.   My thoughts went exactly like this... I have to be at work in like 6 hours....but half price milkshakes I'm going to be exhausted tomorrow....HE IS JUST THE CUTEST THING STANDING OUTSIDE MY WINDOW IN THE FREEZING COLD I hope I don't fall asleep at work tomorrow...but milkshakes... and in about 2 seconds I was putting on a big sweatshirt and hopping in his car to get MILKSHAKES.  

    We were as giddy as 4 year olds laughing and dancing the whole car ride there. Matthew told me he had been outside my window for about ten minutes knocking on my window and had even gone back to his car a couple of times because he didn't want to wake up my roommates. Is he not the sweetest thing, EVER?!?              

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I was kidnapped...kinda

Anniversary weekend

Last Thursday on our anniversary I had to work, sadly so Thursday afternoon when I got off I rushed back to my apartment to change and get ready. I walked into my apartment and saw the prettiest flowers on my table

 

  

We went to dinner at a local restaurant here in Cookeville called Char and it was delicious. It was our first time eating there and needless to say it was well worth it!

 After we ate we still had awhile before our movie started so we went back to my apartment and watched HGTV and I dozed off on the couch (seriously, I am like 60). I also gave Matthew his anniversary present, I honestly had no idea what to get him.

I searched for weeks and then came across the idea of putting his graduation cap and gown in a shadow box and LOVED it.

While he was in Huntsville taking the first part of the CPA, I went over to his apartment and grabbed it out of his closet. His Beta Alpha Psi cords and stole are red and black, so it makes Tech's school colors look red and black but they aren't. They are purple and gold!

When he graduates in December I will put his second cap and gown and hood in a shadow box and when he has an office in our home one day we will hang these on this wall with his two degrees and certifications in the middle!

 

 

Our movie, The Million Dollar Arm, started at 10pm and it was SO GOOD! If you are wanting to see a good baseball movie then we definitely recommend it!

After the movie I was EXHAUSTED! Matthew dropped me off at my apartment and I was out as soon as my head hit the pillow.

 

Friday I had doctor appts in Nashville, so back after I scheduled the appts I looked at the Nashville Sounds schedule to see if they had a game that night, since we would already be in Nashville and they did!! I got us tickets to see them play that night at 7.

 

We ate dinner at a cute little burger place called The Pharmacy. Here are a few pictures from their website...

{Source}

 

It was the cutest little place to eat at!! I had heard many many great things about it but when we drove up to it I was a little skeptical but it just goes to prove, you can't judge a book by it's cover. They have a small dining area inside but most people that come through want to eat outside and we definitely wanted to eat outside. We ate under the covered patio (the top right picture, up there). The burgers were amazing and huge and I couldn't finish my meal. We wanted to try one of their famous milkshakes but there was no way we could even think about trying to drink a milkshake after eating that.

 

After we ate we headed to the Sounds game! It was starting to get cloudy and it looked like it was going to rain, I had checked the weather before and brought my rain jacket and Matthew brought his umbrella.

 

It did end up raining some during the game but it wasn't too bad and stopped shortly after it started and out came the prettiest rainbow!

We sat on the second row for most of the game but then realized there was no one coming to sit in the first row so we moved down for more leg room!

 

 

They played a great game and won!

 

It started out pretty hot but by the middle of the game it was feeling pretty good out!



 

On Friday nights after their games they always have a firework show and we stayed to watch

 

 

After the game we stopped at Sonic to get half price milkshakes!

We had so much fun celebrating our 4 years together, I honestly can't think of anyone else I would rather be with.

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Anniversary weekend

F E B R U A R Y goals

 

 

.   Thank goodness January is OVER. It is my least favorite month of the year and to be honest it is just a depressing month lol. Now that it's over that means one month closer to spring & summer and you won't hear me complaining about that!! I didn't write out January goals so I am just going to jump right into my goals for February!   1. Keep up with daily Bible reading. Matthew and I have started a daily Bible reading and by the end of the year we will have read all of it! I want to get in a routine of reading before bed instead of laying there scrolling through my Instagram and Facebook feed. I have done pretty well the past couple of weeks but there are some nights where I have my phone in hand listening to the news.   2. Be a servant, every single day One of my goals for 2014 is to be a servant of Christ, every day. Whether it means helping with the SOC or helping someone at work, I want to be a servant.   3. Workout more This is still a struggle for us. After working all day I am not in any mood to go workout but we have done better since the beginning of the new year. We still don't have a routine down but we are s-l-o-w-l-y getting there!!   4. Celebrate Valentine's day I love Valentine's day, some don't but I won't turn down a day to celebrate! Even though we have already exchanged our Valentine's day gifts we are going to go to dinner on Valentine's when I get off (Matthew actually made the reservations a little later because he knew I would want to freshen up a little after I got off lol) at a local place we both love here. I am still trying to decide on what I want to wear that night!!  What are your plans for Valentine's Day?   P.S. I got a new phone case & it looks just like that up there and I am OBSESSED.

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F E B R U A R Y goals

101 in 1001

A few of my favorite bloggers have made out a list of 101 things they want to do in 1001 days. I love the idea and as soon as I finished reading their lists I started making a list of my own! I actually have had this list completed since before Christmas but just never took time to post about it. It's exciting to think of all the different things that will happen in the next 1001 days. I really like the idea and think it's a great thing to do considering I love making lists and having goals.  

     

Start: January 22, 2014

End: October 18, 2016

 

For others:

1. Go on at least 2 mission trips

2. Send a care package to a new college student at our church

3. Send out 101 letters snail mail style (0/101)

4. Go on at least 2 service retreats (work retreat, cleaning retreat, etc)

5. Help make at least 5 dinners for a family in need (0/5)

6. Bake Christmas cookies for my neighbors

7. Bake Christmas cookies for the nursing home

8.Help someone pull off a surprise

9. Serve dinner at a homeless shelter

10. Host a yard sale to benefit for a cause

11. Send flowers to a friend

12. Throw Matthew graduation party #2

13. Sponsor a child

14. Coupon & donate stockpile to mission trip

15. Help an elderly couple at church somehow

16. Be someone's maid of honor

17. Be someone's bridesmaid

18. Help provide Christmas for a family in need

19. donate hair to locks of love, again

20. Have a random acts of kindness month (0/30)

21. Raise $1,000 for a cause

22. Visit nursing home regularly

23. Cook for the ladies of the SOC

24. Complete at least 5 service projects with the SOC

25. Mow someone's yard

26. Pay for a whole meal for my family

27. Help someone move

28. Host a wedding shower

29. Host a baby shower

30. Throw Mady a graduation party

31. Invite someone to Thanksgiving or Christmas that doesn't have family to go to.

32. Big sister program with the SOC girls

 

Relationship

33. Marry Matthew

34. Plan a surprise day trip

35. Go to the beach together

36. Get into a workout routine together

37. Visit 10 different cities together (0/10)

38. Start our own Christmas traditions

39. Surprise Matthew with lunch at work

40. At least 1 dress up date per month

41. Explore all of Cookeville with Matthew while we are still here

42. Get engaged

43. Engagement pictures

44. Plan our wedding but plan for our marriage more

 

For the homemaker

45. Learn how to make homemade laundry detergent

46. Learn how to knit

47. Learn how to sew

48. Make all cleaning products homemade

49. Meal plan for an entire month

50. Cook dinner every night

51. Create a cleaning schedule

52. Learn how to cut Matthew's hair

 

Adventures

53. Go on a girls weekend trip

54. Go to Disney World

55. Take a cooking class

56. Take a calligraphy class

57. Have dessert before dinner at a restaurant

58. Have a progressive dinner at restaurants

59. Visit New York during Christmas time

60. Go camping

61. Go fishing

62. Ride on a train

63. Go to an SEC football game

64. Fly by myself

65. Go on a cruise

66. Meet someone famous

67. So skiing

68. Go canoeing

69. Go white water rafting

 

Future Business

70. Style a whole wedding by myself

71. Learn all about floral design

72. Become a registered Dental Assistant

73. Expanded Functions

 

Goals

74. Start recycling

75. Read the entire Bible

76. Graduate with Bachelors degree

77. Save 15k on my own

78. Make a budget & follow it

79. Keep up with planner

80. Completely organize email (with folders)

81. Start my own Etsy shop

82. Buy a car

83. Have a legit Pinterest party

84. Make a scrapbook of our love story

85. Get a massage

86. Buy a new lap top

87. Commit to skin care routine

88. Learn all the settings on my camera

89. Learn photoshop

90. Do what matters most

91. Start a garden

92. Make an infinity scarf

93. Run at least 2 5k (0/2)

94. Learn how to monogram

 

Stay Crafty My Friends

95. Go to a blog conference

96. Meet another blogger

97. Start a link up

98. Reach 2,000 readers

99. Blog everyday for a month

100. Record a vlog

101. Make a book of favorite posts

 

 

I will be updating this list as I cross things off! I am so excited to start this. I plan to try to add a few of these into my monthly goals to help me complete this list. I will be using the hash tag #scmf101in1001blog to keep track of my progress on Instagram and Twitter.

If you have made a 101 in 1001 list or are thinking about making one I definitely recommend it & let me know because of course I want to see it and encourage you to complete it!! :)

Happy Wednesday fiends!!!! 

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101 in 1001

2014 goals {His & Her edition}

I took a little break from blogging over Christmas. I had planned on starting back up regularly right after Christmas with a recap and then a post about my goals for 2014 and then January goals but to be honest I just haven't felt up to it. I have gone back and forth between Murfreesboro and Cookeville more times than I want to count up so that I could be home for the holidays and just because I want to be there around Christmas. This was my first Christmas living away from home and all I wanted to do was to be back for longer than 3 days. Thankfully I had the 2 days after Christmas off so I was able to be there a little bit more and I got off early on New Years Eve and we headed straight home. But now the holidays are over and I'm back in Cookeville and I am glad and ready to get back on a normal routine. I'm ready to unpack my bags and stop living out of my Vera Bradley tote and 31 shower bag. I will eventually get around to sharing my Christmas with y'all...eventually   So for those goals...  Matthew and I sat down and decided we wanted to make some together and some personal ones. So here they are...   Matthew's 1.Pass all 4 parts of the CPA exam 2.Complete MBA program 3.Have a job lined up before he graduates 4. Be a servant of Christ, every day 5.Healthier lifestyle (workout, eat healthier, smaller portions, etc)  6.No coke     Mine: 1.Save money 2. Be a servant of Christ, every day 3.drop down to part time at work this fall and finally become a full time student again 4.healthier lifestyle (workout, eat healthier, smaller portions etc) 5.Wake up earlier 6.Run a 5k 7.No coke 8.Simplify 9.Have more social media free weekends    Ours: 1. Start a devotional together 2. Workout (healthier lifestyle in general) 3. At least 1 date night a month 4. Take a couple of day trips to a new place (close by of course)     So there you go! I might just be the last one to share my goals for 2014 but oh well! I have more than enjoyed reading yours and I am so excited for everyone and pray that we can meet them all!! Tonight we are going to watch the Predators play against the Anaheim Ducks! This was one of my Christmas presents from Matthew and I am so excited! We are stopping by Chili's (my fav) for dinner and then we will be Nashville bound!    P.S. So far I have gone 9 days without any type of coke, and I would probably give my left arm right now for a large coke from McDonalds but I am just going to drink my water instead! The caffeine headaches have FINALLY stopped, thank the good Lord above. I flat out thought I was going to die last Thursday it was hurting so bad, I know I am a big ol baby when it comes to this lol. 

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2014 goals {His & Her edition}