So long, August!

Its almost September! Good riddance, August! It always feels like September heat is much more bearable than August heat, just because it's September. :)

August has been a good month, don't get me wrong... and it has truly flown by. Earlier this month, I was finishing two summer courses, "summering" for two weeks in the middle, and then started back at school. This past week in particular has been challenging to get back into the groove of a hectic schedule.

This past weekend was a little tough because my family and I had to say goodbye to our beloved patriarch. My precious grandpa went home to Jesus. This is comforting for me because I know that he is in a much better place. I can just imagine the joy he has now, probably hiking or fishing in a place even more beautiful than his Colorado. I will always remember his love of the Dallas Cowboys, M&M's and "Circus Peanuts", helping him fold the laundry, going on walks, and the sweet smile on his face. I was blessed to have him in my life this long.

We had such great style back then: My legit Tweety Bird shirt, and Tara's pigtails and Barney shirt!

Well I don't want this post to be sad or depressing, Grandpa definitely wouldn't want that! 

Monday was the first day of school, and it went swimmingly! As "head TA" this year, I had to get preparations in order for the lecture and labs for the week. Thankfully, we didn't run into any hiccups- especially because the bossman decided to cut the syllabus down from 150 pages to 68 pages... 68! He's going soft on these kids... ;-)

Some of my TA duties this week included:

• Making copies of syllabus and other handouts
• Preparing a seating chart
• Taking pictures for said seating chart
• Picking up 90 blue books for the first exam: the second day of school! (Needless to say, I had to fight the crowds of undergrads in the MSC bookstore)

Gosh, when I write this out, it doesn't seem as crazy as it was when I was running around...

On top of being a teaching assistant, I'm taking three classes: back to back to back. YIKES.

• Financial Analysis for Agribusiness Firms: First for the day, thankfully! Looking like this will be the time-consuming, dreadfully boring course this semester.

• Strategic Agribusiness Management: Instantly liked the professor, very laid back and funny.  Although the subject is not my favorite, I think it will be an interesting class.

• Real Property Analysis: My elective! ha! Anything real estate fascinates me, our guest lecturer yesterday gave an entertaining lecture over the history of the real estate financing market. Geez, how nerdy do I sound?

Finally, I wanted to recommend an app that I have been so completely obsessed with since I got it: Living Earth. It shows real-time satellite images of the earth. I took these two screen shots two days ago:

Check out Hurricane Issac!

I just love how you can see the lights at night!

 A new way to have the world at your fingertips! :)

It's Official!

Our HONEYMOON is officially booked...flights and all!

Time to stock up on beachy dresses and swimsuits for our week in Jamaica!

Secrets St. James Montego Bay Resort

Yes, Please!

 Ringin' in the New Year on the beach sounds like a pretty good deal to me! I cannot wait to get there! :)

Growing Pains

Ok, so I don't really mean growing pains, but the past few days have been full of little changes for my family! I spent all last week at home with the family, and my mom and I would wake up early and go walking with Duke. This dog is probably the sweetest, cutest, and LAZIEST dog ever. Nah, not really, but Duke does like to drag after we get one block down the road! One morning after we got back to the house I decided to take a few cute pictures of him. :)

Here's one from SIX years ago! Our precious puppy!

THEN

NOW: Those brown eyes! :)

This weekend was spent moving Tara aka Tarable, TareBear, Boo into her dorm! I had to haul a ton of her stuff to College Station...and I was lucky enough to get stuck with her very fragrant dryer sheets. Note to self: don't leave sickly sweet smelling dryer sheets in a hot car--- they will overwhelm you every time you climb into the car, resulting in an instant headache! But it was all worth it for the baby sistah!

The backseat of my little car!

In addition to moving Tara in, my Daddy was so sweet and switched out the light fixture in our kitchen! And what a man, he can pull off wearing pink! :) We also celebrated Melanie's early birthday with a family dinner to Chili's and indulging in a molten chocolate cake. mmmm!

Finally, I got my handsome groom to get fitted for a tux...doesn't he look so pleased?! Trust me, he was enjoying picking out clothes! ;)

Hope y'all are having a great week!

[Insert Cutesy Title Here]

Yesterday, I was lucky enough to spend a few hours with my dearest friend of TEN years now.... The goofy girl I met in seventh grade Spanish is now going to be a bridesmaid in my wedding!

We went to try on her bridesmaid's dress, and she looks GORGEOUS in it!

 

 My mom and I also were able to pick up THE DRESS this morning!! I am so blessed that the dress has just been a dream to deal with... it was delivered early (it was supposed to be in around October), and alterations have been a breeze (I'm a shorty and didn't have to alter the length at all- I was SHOCKED!!) 

Tomorrow I head back to College Station to face the hectic rush of the start of the fall semester, and Sunday is dedicated to moving yet another sister into the dorms. I am so looking forward to this semester full of tailgating with family and friends, our first football season in the SEC, and planning for exciting things in our future!

Little Bride and Groom

I know I just wrote a blog post.. but I just HAD to put this on here!

137 days til I get to marry this cutie...but who's counting?

Tasty Treats!

Well so far this week has been quite successful!

Found some wedding shoes
Got a Planner! (yes, I get excited about school supplies...why else would I still be in school?!)
Got my dress fitted... I pick it up on Thursday!
Worked on ceremony songs & the reception playlist

I have been getting suggestions (mainly from my little sister) to put some recipes on the blog. Well here's a salad that I made last week that I kind of threw together and it actually worked!

When You're Too Lazy to Go to The Grocery Store Salad:
Spinach
Avocado
Clementine
Feta Cheese (Tomato and Basil seasoning)
Olive Oil & Vinegar Dressing

This is such a delicious dressing! Y'all NEED to try it!

It's not a pretty salad but it sure was tasty!

It was so good and it worked out perfectly as a meal because it finished off most of the food in the condo before I headed home for the week! It would have been even better if I threw walnuts and tomatoes in there.

While I've been home, I was finally able to celebrate my birthday with my family. When my mom asked what I wanted as a birthday cake, I immediately thought of a recipe I saw on Pinterest. A Red Velvet Trifle. MMMM! This is so sinful but WONDERFUL!

What are some new recipes that you have tried out recently? I'd love to hear about them!

Finally Summer!

I am FINALLY on my summer break! I took both sessions of summer school at A&M and I am 9 hours closer to graduation. Financial Statement Analysis, Marketing, and Management are now checked off my list.

What was the first thing I did to celebrate?

I went to SPOONS, of course!

In my two weeks before the fall semester starts, I have a TON of to-do's:

• Second dress fitting
• Dentist appointment (bummer)
• Find a make-up/hair stylist for the big day (if y'all have any recommendations for anyone in D/FW let me know!!)
• Keep up my INSANITY workouts... HOLY COW I have never been so sore!
• Get crackin' on preparations for the fall semester.

I have also been watching the Olympics practically every night they've been on. My absolute favorite sports to watch are Women's Gymnastics, Swimming, and Women's Soccer. I think my fascination with gymnastics started when I was little and my mom would sit me and my sister down to put our hair in sponge curlers for church the next morning. How I didn't hate gymnastics after that Saturday night ordeal, I don't know! :)

What are your favorite Olympic events to watch?