A Year Ago

Last year, on this exact date, I graduated from graduate school. When I graduated not only did I take away a new degree, but also lifelong friendships and wonderful memories. It was two of the best years of my life and I have my friends to thank!

The week of graduation was fabulous. The week before we had wrapped up Literacy Camp (my clinical placement during my last semester), I had finished all my exams, and I successfully presented my master's project - all of that was over and this last week was wide open! My roommate and I really took advantage of a free week. Sure we should have spent some time packing so we wouldn't have had to throw everything into trash bags at the last minute, but who wants to spend free time packing? (not us)

We spent the week laying out in the park, eating Mexican at least once a day, and doing whatever the heck else we wanted to for five whole days. Right across the street from the park we loved and about a mile up that road was the historic stone called Judaculla Rock. We didn't care for the rock as much as we cared for the scenery before the rock. It was located on a huge farm, surrounded by mountains. It was one of the most gorgeous places I've ever seen. Meg (my roommate) asked me to take some pictures of her here to give to her mom and boyfriend - and that's where we went! Here are some pictures of the farm and of Meg!

Six Years Ago

Husband and I never did the "check yes or no if you want to be my girlfriend" deal. We hung out for a while, knew we wanted to keep hanging out, and somewhere down the road started calling each other our boyfriend/girlfriend. Since we never deemed a particular day when we made it official, we always count our first kiss as the day we started dating. And that day was April 1st.

It was actually late at night/into the early morning April 1st. I had just gotten back from being a sponsor for a mission trip to Philadelphia. I think right before I left for the trip was when we really started developing feelings - because for the longest time all we both wanted was friendship. We talked and texted throughout my trip and when I got home (late) from the trip, we couldn't wait until the morning to see each other. We hung out for about an hour or two watching tv and laughing, and right before I went home we kissed. A memory that will forever be perfectly sketched in my heart.

Oh, how the years have flown by... Here are a couple photos from memory lane.

{our first NC State football game}

{celebrating husband getting accepted in to the NC State Engineering program}

 {on the way to the top of Mount Washington}

{Acadia National Park}

{with Spiderman at Universal Studios}

{skiing at Sunday River in Maine}

{at a wedding in Louisiana} 

Twenty-Ten

What an amazing year this has been. Definitely one of the most accomplished and memorable years thus far in my life. I'm always amazed at how quickly years pass by the older I become. A year ago I was starting my last semester of grad school (and last semester of school ever!) and living in the NC mountains; with the blink of an eye it's 12 months later and everything has changed. That's life - always changing. But... if life didn't move we wouldn't grow into who we need to be.

I am overwhelmed with joy to look back on such an amazing year and share it with you all. I am also really embracing the new year; I'm looking forward to what it holds in store for me, my husband, us as a pair, and life in general.

My Memorable Moments of 2010:

1. I finished my seven-year plan of test taking, studying, sitting in classrooms, and reading entire textbooks. At some point I doubted the time would ever come, but it did. And sometimes (dare I say it) I wish I were back in those classrooms.

2. I passed the praxis and my master's project. I feel like I've written on this before either here or on another blog, but I am so very proud of these two accomplishments. I put a lot of hard work, anxiety and stress, and time into these two and passing them reassures all the hard work the past several years has been worth it.

3. Chris and I both graduated. It took a little bit longer than we had planned (and our parents had planned), but we made it. We worked hard and now hold substantial degrees and are very proud of them.

4. I had the wedding of my dreams. I was never one of those girls that fantasized about their wedding from day one. I just wasn't. When I started wedding planning I wasn't even really sure what I wanted, what details were important to me, or what exactly I wanted to look like that particular day.But somehow, with a lot of work and a lot of help, July 17, 2010 turned into the most perfect day I could have ever imagined. I wanted a beautiful ceremony and a fun, all-night reception and I was blessed with both! (This reminds me I need to get back on my BEV posts to share more of our wedding)

5. We honeymooned in St. Lucia and I went out of the country for the first time. This isn't completely true because I have been to Canada, twice, but I usually don't count that (sorry if that offends any of my Canadian readers). I can re-state it: I flew out of the country for the first time. It was gorgeous down in the Caribbean and I hope I get to visit again.

6. I moved from NC to AL. This may not sound like a big deal to some, but I have lived in NC my whole life. 25 years - born and raised. I knew no other state other than a visit. We've been living down here almost five months and I've realized I love NC. It's my state, it's our state, and we have plans to eventually make our way back to the state we call home. This move has been hard on both of us, but it was crucial to Chris's new career and we are so blessed and happy for his opportunities.

7. I turned 26. Which may not seem like such a big deal, but it was to me. I am now officially "upper-twenties." Initially I was scared of 26, but I have definitely embraced it and been enjoying it.

8. I was introduced to Kooley High. You most likely have no clue who Kooley High is and have no clue as to why this is important to me - so let me elaborate. When I went to grad school Chris stayed in Raleigh for school and through a friend he discovered a local hip-hop group called Kooley High. He was immediately a fan and I listened to him rant and rave over this group for months. I finally was able to see them perform on a weekend trip to Raleigh in the Spring and I was hooked right away. They are from the Raleigh area, came together through the NC State hip-hop club, and are currently in NYC making a name for themselves. Over the course of several months we became friends with four of the guys. They are down to earth, humble, and amazingly talented. Even if you do not care for hip-hop, you have to recognize their talents when they hit the stage. KHigh's DJ, Ill Digitz, was the DJ for our wedding, Charlie Smarts (one of the emcees) was our announcer, and all of the guys made it to our wedding and gave a three-songed, late-night performance at our reception. It was amazing! Look out for these guys and check out their tour dates to try and go see them while they play locally!

Several other memorable moments took place throughout this past year, but you would probably just pass by this post if I continued to make it much longer. I hope that 2010 was as good to you as it was to me. I also hope that we all can be blessed, happy, and a little bit wealthier through 2011. Happy New Year!