Show Us Your Life: Alma Mater

I graduated from Sherman High School in 2007. I was a cheerleader for all 4 years and played softball freshman and sophomore year. I don't really have anything special to say about SHS. We have the longest rivalry in Texas. Sherman Vs. Denison.... Its called the Battle of the Axe. Its been going on for over 100 years.

After high school, I went on the Tyler Junior College. I actually loved TJC. Probably because I just loved Tyler. Tyler is in East Texas and it has roughly 120,000 people who live there. Over 10,000 of those people go to TJC. And 35,000 of those attend Green Acres Baptist Church. Yes, I said 35,000. Tyler is the "Rose Capital of the Nation". It got its name due to the large quantity of rose bushes in the area. Tyler also has America's largest rose garden.

Tyler is great place to raise a family. Bryce and I hope to go back there when he is done with the military in 2013.

While I was in Tyler, I worked at the Boys and Girls Clubs of East Texas and I miss it terribly!! I absolutely LOVED those kids!! I was a Youth Development Professional and a SEE Paraprofessional. Those words sound fancier than they really are. I worked there for 2 years and was a teacher in the SEE program. The SEE program stands for Sequential English Education. I, along with other Education degree college students worked in a classroom and we taught the BGC kids English. All of the students were way under their reading level and our goal was to get them to their level or higher.

I received my Associates from TJC in December of 2009 and them moved back home to plan a wedding. I plan to go back and get my Bachelors degree once I move back to the states.

Hapy Valentines Day AND 1 Year Anniversary to my Husband!

First off, let me wish everyone a Happy Valentines Day!

Now what everyone might be wondering... our anniversary. It is true, today is our original 1 year wedding anniversary!!

To the people who read my blog that don't know me, Bryce and I got married on April 25, 2010. No one knows about our valentines anniversary....until now!!! :)

First, let me give a little background...

In January of 2010, I moved home to plan our wedding after graduating from college. Bryce was at basic training and Tech school (Air Force) while I was at home. Our original plan was to get married in April and then move immediately to Germany where Bryce would be stationed for 3 years. We learned that this was going to be impossible and we had to change up our plans...

Here's the story....

My mom is a teacher at Sherman High School and I was a substitute there to earn a little extra money while I was living at home. I graduated from SHS in 2007 so I knew a lot of the teachers.

My mom is friends with my old cheer coach at SHS... I will refer to her as Mrs. R.

One day my mom was telling Mrs. R about our wedding plans. Mrs. R has a son in the military and knows all the in's and out's of everything. She informed my mom that it would be impossible for us to get married and then move immediately to Germany.

Here's why... the military requires a lot of paper work. After we got married, I would need to get a military passport (different than the normal ones), have doctor's appointments so I could be released to go overseas, get a couple of shots (eek), and so much more.

Mrs. R knows that all the paper work is a loooong and difficult process. She knew it would take months to complete it. And boy was she right!!

After my mom heard this news, she came rushing into the room I was subbing in and told me the news. We immediately had to come up with a solution! What in the world are we going to do?? The only thing we could come up with was...make it official earlier than planned!

So that's what we did.. that afternoon, I called Bryce's mom and told her the idea. Once Bryce called me that night, I told him the idea. He thought the idea sounded great.

So the very next weekend would be February 14, 2010. Bryce was in San Antonio for Tech School and wasn't able to go very far away from the base. We were just going to go to the court house in San Antonio to make it official.

Then a grand thought came to mind... my old youth minister lives in Austin! Him and his wife had such a huge impact on my life, I knew it would be so special if he could marry us!

I gave him a call and we told him our situation...he was more than willing to marry us on Feb 14, 2010. I will refer to him as KG.

I was so thankful and soooo very excited!!

Then the day came....February 14, 2010... KG worked at a church that overlooked some beautiful land with a small stream going through the land. It was BEAUTIFUL!! And so perfect! KG met with Bryce and I before we tied the knot while both of our families went to get lunch. After they ate, they came to the church and we had a small ceremony.

It was by far the most special moment in my life. We said our vowels, exchanged rings, and kissed!

After the small ceremony, Bryce's sweet sweet mother and grandmother put together a small reception. They bought a cake, had sparking grape juice, and they even made a small bouquet for me!! It was so special!

Now you might be thinking...why didn't you tell anyone?????

Well, we felt it was unnecessary. After Bryce and I got married, we went back to our normal lives. Bryce was at Tech school for the next few months and I went back home to finish planning our April 25th wedding.

It didn't even really feel like we were married because we were apart the whole time. I did go visit him a couple of times over the weekends.

Why did we still have the April 25th wedding? Because we had already put so much money into it and everything was almost all planned. And of course, my dream as a little girl was to have THE dream wedding.

You also maybe thinking... did the paperwork really take a long time? Long enough to get married early?

Actually, I thought it was crazy at first but yes...it took me forever! It took 6 weeks to get my new passport in. I had a packet about an inch thick that I and a doctor had to fill out. If I would have waited until April, there is no way I would have been able to go to Germany with Bryce.

I know if for a fact because Bryce has a friend over in Germany who had to leave his pregnant wife back at home because she didn't have all of the paper work done in time. He spent about 10 weeks in Germany without his wife.

I am soooo thankful for Mrs. R. If it wasn't for her, I would have been stuck in the states for who knows how long!

So there it is!! It's so nice to finally get that off my chest... HAPPY ANNIVERSARY BRYCE!!! I LOVE YOU SO MUCH!!!

Show Us Your Life: Beauty Tips

Today is Show Us Your Life: Beauty Tips over at www.kellyskornerblog.com. I haven't been posting the past 2 weeks of SUYL because they have been about kids and I don't have kids yet.

I don't have many beauty tips but I will share what I have been asked about a few times...

1. My hair- People used to always tell me that my hair was so soft. I never really do anything special though. I shampoo and condition it just about everday. The for volume, I blow dry it upside down. Before I blow dry it, I add some silk therapy and volumizing spray on my roots. Once blow dried, I straighten it with my chi straightener.

Once I first moved to Germany, I had to use a Europe outlet so I had to buy a cheap straightener. Let me just tell you, there is a huge difference between a chi and any other kind of straightener. The chi really makes my hair softer and it is so much faster because its so hot.

One thing I do is always switch out my shampoos and conditioners. I have about 5 different brands in my shower and switch them out everytime I shower.

I NEVER use Pantene. I have always heard that it creates build up on your hair. I LOVE dove! But only use it once a week. I also Love Aussie shampoos. My all time favorite is Bed Head for brunettes.

Once I get it washed, blow dried, and straightened, I use Bed Head Masterpiece hairspray and a small brush to tease my hair for volume.


Skin Care: Now this is what I'm talking about!! I use Arbonne for skin care. It is a little expensive but TOTALLY worth the money! I don't have the complete kit but I'm working towards it. Right now, I use their RE9 Advanced system. Its an anti aging system. I use the eye cream and serum and then use Mary Kay moisturizer after I apply the Arbonne.

I am also a consultant for Arbonne and HIGHLY recommend it to everyone!

Bye Bye Bryce...Hello Texas!!

Bryce left for his deployment on Saturday. It was horrible. Actually, horrible is an understatement. It was devastating!! I dropped him off at about 5am. It was the saddest goodbye ever! I hope I will NEVER have to say goodbye for 6 months ever again!! I don't know how people do it for 15 months! wow!

After I dropped him off, I went back home and went to bed. Coming home was the second saddest part. Walking in the house knowing I am now going to be alone for 6 months was horrible. I managed to sleep until noon...not normal! When I got up, I cleaned some of the house, packed some and then went to my really good friends house (Kristie). She fed me dinner and then I stayed the night with her. She is so sweet...she didn't want me to be alone the first night Bryce left. Thank the Lord for her. If I had to sleep in my own house alone that night, I probably would have cried myself to sleep.

The next day, I came home and wasn't feeling good. I was kind of lazy. Took a shower and packed some more and then headed over to Kristie's again. She made some AWESOME fried chicken with green beans, corn, biscuits, and mashed potatoes. YUM! It was sooo good!! Then I came home and went to bed.

Today I have had run a bunch of errands before I head out to Texas in the morning! WOO HOO!!! I am SOO excited!!! I am going over to Kristie's again tonight for dinner. She has really been taking care of me!! :) I have to be at the airport at 7am and then I fly out at 11am. I should be in Texas by 8:30pm but with the time change, it will feel like 3am for me! I am going to be pooped!!

The next time you hear from me, I will be Texas bound!!!!!

Anniversary

Since Bryce leaves for 6 months tomorrow and will miss our first anniversary, we decided to celebrate a little early. Last night, he took me to eat at Toarmina's. It is an Italian restaurant in downtown Landstuhl. Bryce and I always talk about how nice all the restaurants are. If there was a Toarmina's in the States, people would walk in thinking the plates would be $50 each. Well, over here in Germany, all of the restaurants are nice. This is my reasoning...It is a treat for the Germans to go out to eat. It is a social experience for them. When Germans go eat at a restaurant, they will stay there for hours. For Americans, it is a treat to go to a nice restaurant. So I think thats why all of the restaurants are nice.

Here is a little bit of the German Culture in eating out...

When you get to a restaurant, there is a coat rack where you are supposed to leave your coat, scarf, etc.

Once you get a table, the waiter will bring the menus and once you are ready to order, you are supposed to close your menu so they will know you are done looking at the menu.

The food is brought out to you when it is done cooking which means not everyone's food at the table will be brought out all at once. Once you have your food, you are supposed to eat it immediately even if no one at your table has their food yet. The Germans want you to eat your food while it is hot.

Once you are done eating, the waiter will pick up the plates but they will not ask if you are ready for the check. They will never ask you. They expect you to stay for awhile since eating out is a social experience. If you are ready to leave, you have to tell them you are ready for the check. Sometimes, if Bryce and I are in a hurry and we ask for the check when they come to pick up the plates, they look totally surprised and probably wonder why we wanted to leave so early. Bryce and I have walked into a restaurant and have seen people sitting at a table who were finished with their meal and they were still there once we left.

Even-though the restaurants are really nice and the plates are presented very nicely, the prices aren't that bad! The main courses are usually around 8-12 euro which is about $10-15 a plate.

Coke is the same price as water...sometimes cheaper. Last night at Taormina's, The coke was 2,50 euro and the water was 4,00 euro (periods and comas are opposite in Germany).