A Week in Retrospect

 This week has been a whirlwind and a half.

The church I attend invited a preacher to come and to speak to us every night this week.  I love Gospel Meeting Week, ever since I was a kid I've loved this week.

 We went through the entirety of 1 Peter, one chapter a night.  Surprisingly, the end of the week not only left me spiritually nourished, but desiring to read Leviticus.  We spent the majority of the week focusing on how to be "holy" and Leviticus is the best place to learn these lessons!  I look forward to spending the next week diving deeper into this book of the Bible!

  

Confession:  I love Sonic Drinks.

There's just something about going to Sonic during Happy Hour, getting a drink at half price, and carrying on with your day.  I could live without their food, although I admit I have been tempted by their mozzarella sticks a time or two, but the drinks.  Oh boy, do I love them.

I have a signature drink from them too.  Sure, I'll branch out every once in awhile, but my staple is Strawberry Limeade, Light Ice.  It just works for me.

 On this specific day I was grabbing drinks for some friends and something terrible happened.  They didn't hear me say "strawberry" the crucial element of my Strawberry Limeade, Light Ice.  And somehow I ended up with just a plain limeade.  Ew.  What's the point?  Why is that even an option?  Was this an intentional act of hatred toward me?

 This week marked the "Quarter of a Century" Birthday for me.  I'm old.  Ancient.  But at least I get fun rings!  

Hmmm, people keep giving me rings lately...

 This here is my girl.  I love her to pieces and my heart is being ripped out of my chest every time I think of leaving her.  I'm in denial.  Who thinks she would like to move to TX with me?  Anyways, I had the honor of picking her up from school one day this week.  Homegirl JUMPED off the bus and RAN to me when she saw me waiting in the driveway.... Day. Made.

Since Mister up and took all of my belongings to the land of Texas, I've been staying with one of my favorite families here in town.  More on them later, for now let's focus on their canine.  Bailey is my favorite dog in the whole world.  The whole world.  Every morning as I leave for work, I'm greeted with so much love from her that it's impossible to not be happy.  Instant mood boost in furry form.  Maybe I can bring her with me to Texas too.

As a Florida girl, I'll admit I'm partial to the warm weather.  It's finally starting to warm up in Kentucky.  The days are longer.  The sun is brighter.  Pretty soon I'll be able to say sayonara to the heavy winter jackets!

They're here.  

Finally.  

Girl Scout Cookies!  

These bring back so many wonderful memories of being in Scouts as a kid, but most importantly they are beyond delicious.  Do-si-do's are a personal favorite, but I will never turn my nose up at a Trefoil.  Also, I'm the only human in the world who dislikes Thin Mints.  Sorry Girl Scouts of America.

I had the wonderful experience to take dinner to a sweet elderly couple from my congregation this weekend.  Thinking I was going to just drop off the food, and head out in about 10 minutes flat, I was instead warmly whisked away to look through the husband's extensive collection of WWII Material.  His wife wasn't feeling well, so we spent the afternoon looking through photo albums they had put together, and explaining to me many of the things he saw firsthand in the war.

To say I was humbled is an understatement.  This man, who is a true hero (and has more than enough medals to prove it!) welcomed me into his home and delighted me with his stories that I had only seen in textbooks.   Not only did he have a keen recollection of what it was like back then, but he also was sharp enough to joke with me (making me laugh more times than I can count).

I have two favorites from his collection:

1.  The Nazi Helmet he found after a Battle. He let me hold it as if it wasn't a big deal!

2.  His Bowling Trophies.  He has over a hundred more up in his attic.  When I asked why he kept them and liked bowling so much, he simply replied, "it's how I met my wife".  My heart almost burst with so much love for this man at that moment.  He is truly wonderful.

I went to fulfill a simple task  for them and instead left having been uplifted myself.  Such an amazing and unexpected experience.

 Confession:  I love Star Wars.

In a very nerdy fashion.

For my birthday I was gifted with a Darth Vader Alarm Clock.

My life is officially set. Forever.

Hope y'all had encouraging weeks as well.  

Thanks to all who have made it a blessing for me!

Ash

Movin' & a Groovin'

Guess who came for a visit this past weekend?  Mister Derek!  

Apparently when one decides to get married and move half way across the country, you either sell all of your things... throw all your things away... or spend a weekend packing your items into boxes and loading them onto a U-Haul that your wonderful fiance will drive to Texas.  

We went with Option C.  I like my shoes.

Derek and I hadn't seen each other since our lovely engagement weekend (that was over a month and half ago, not that we are counting).  Needless to say, we were very excited to see each other!  I picked him up at the Airport pretty late on Friday night, and we drove around downtown Nashville trying to find a place to feed Mister-I-Haven't-Eaten-In-Hours.  We settled on Lonestar because:

1.  Mister had never eaten there.

2.  Mister thinks Steak is delicious. 

3.  There was no available parking downtown. 

4.  You are allowed to throw the peanut shells on the floor.

We got back to Bowling Green well after midnight on Friday (a pit stop to our spot at the Parthenon Park and a few wrong turns weren't helpful).  While I spent the last night in my Apartment, Mister stayed the weekend at a sweet couple's house who are some of the most wonderful people I know.  Also, they decided to spoil Mister with homemade Banana Nut Bread and coffee, setting the bar pretty high with the breakfast options I'll have to provide to him in the future!

 About 7:30 on Saturday morning saw me outside of the U-Haul store laughing as the slightly ghetto-esque lady kept making fun of Derek.  For not wearing pants. 

"It's cold out here man, don't you have any pants?"

"You could have picked up the truck later if that would have given you time to put on some pants!"

"Let's go inside so you don't freeze without your pants."

Just to clarify:  Derek was wearing shorts, and it was pretty chilly, but he had prepared himself to be moving all of my heavy boxes.  But this ladies complete in-your-face appraisal of Derek's apparel, coupled with the lack of sleep from the night before had me giggling like a school girl. I mean he clearly was wearing pants.

We drove back to my apartment to find that I hadn't packed up all of my possessions yet.  Oops.  I won't even attempt to come up with any excuses.  It was just weird to pack my stuff for this move. The majority was done, I just had the extra ...stuff... left.  We spent the morning putting things in boxes, and the afternoon putting the boxes on the truck.

Guess how many times Mister complained/whined?  Zero.

Guess how many times I complained/whined?  Don't be nosey.

This move is kind of a big deal for me.  I'll be starting a new life, I'll be in a foreign land, I'll be living with a boy.  I knew I had to downsize some of my possessions, I just didn't realize how hard it would be.

For instance, that stash of stuffed animals I've acquired since childhood.  I bid adieu to some teddy bears that I just didn't need anymore, and kept the few that had significance in my life.  This one was pretty easy.

I also channeled my inner self and really, really was honest if I was going to wear certain clothing items again.  Five million Gator Hoodies were not a necessity.  Jeans that I sometimes wear Hiking weren't either.  Mustard Yellow flats with the bow?  I will never get rid of them.  Ever.

But when we came across my great-grandmother's suitcases, the one's she traveled from Poland to America with during the war, I might have had a meltdown.  Don't worry we kept the suitcases.  But what caused me to get overly emotional was these two suitcases were filled with all of my trophies and medals from sporting events throughout childhood. Derek very sweetly sat with me as I explained to him why I won each one, how i loved gymnastics but was too tall to be any good, how some of my softball trophies were just participation trophies, but some were for being in first place.  Basketball and Golf trophies were there too with memories of the banquets I attended and speeches given.

This was the breaking point for me.  I knew the wise thing was to get rid of them.  Yes, they would be cool to show my kids one day, but realistically, the memories I have are always there and the trophies weren't a necessity to keep.  After Mister hugged me for awhile and let me ramble on about my childhood, I knew it was time to throw them away.  I won't pretend I was an emotionally strong enough person to walk with him to the dumpster.  I couldn't be the one to throw them away.  So instead I insisted I needed to clean out the fridge right then.  Which wasn't a lie. Technically.

After church on Sunday, we dined at Rafferty's to use the balance of a gift card I had.  We left knowing we had a few odds and ends to load on the truck,  but Mister decided I needed a treat for being so cooperative the previous day.  Or, he wanted ice-cream himself and knew twisting it in my favor was wise. He's very smart. I love him.  I wasn't fooled Mister.

When it comes to our respective sweet tooth's Mister and I are quite opposite.  

He likes everything chocolate.  Chocolate ice-cream, with chocolate toppings, and chocolate sides, and chocolate all around, and chocolate, chocolate, chocolate.

I like a mixture of fruity and sweet.  Fruity ice-cream, with fruit topping.  And cookie dough.  And cheesecake. And Marshmallow Topping.  Ohhhh the Marshmallow Topping.  It's like pure wonderfulness.  I love it.

A long weekend of packing and general fun with my Mister (which might have included him getting a black eye from my furniture) had come to a close. He was leaving much more quickly than I preferred, but I was happy for the time we did have. I apologize in advance for the sappy comment I'm about to make:  Not spending our engagement together is making more thankful for the commitment we will be making in marriage.  I love having him around and getting to share in the small normal aspects of our individual lives.  

This is him beginning his voyage.  He stopped for the night and made it safely back to Texas.  I'm thankful for his help and his ability to love me despite my neurotic break downs.

I'll miss ya Mister... 116 days until our wedding! 

Ash

Just look at the Snow Ma'am

Every little girl looks forward to that day in which the one man who makes her heart go pitter-patter will drop the big question.  The question that promises a life together.  The question of Marriage, and a life devoted to each other. The big question has to be done perfectly, has to meet the expectations of the girl, and often her friends and family.  With today's technology and social media advances, there are even bigger pressures on the gentlemen in the world to make the proposal one of even more finesse, frill, and flare.  For most girls, big productions are pretty high on the list of qualifications for the event.

I only had one requirement.   

Ask my daddy first.

I confess, I am Daddy's Little Girl, and have a bond with my father that I realize is unique and special.  He has helped me to grow into the adult that I am, and having his respect to my future husband is a requirement.  Having my future mister ask my dad's permission was kind of a big deal.

Enter Derek.  The aforementioned future mister.  With many hindrances, mostly geographic, he accomplished my one proposal requirement.  Mister lives in Texas, I abide in Kentucky, and the parental unites reside in Florida.  A sneaky proposal was not in the equation, or so it would seem.  Good thing I'm completely gullible and was plagued with one of those colds that typically goes around during the winter, or I would have seen the big question coming from miles away (literally).  

Derek informed me he was going to visit my parents for the weekend.  

In Florida.  

From Texas.  

Without me.  

I will say that I was smart enough to pick up on why he was making this trip.  You don't just buy a plane ticket to visit your girlfriends dad.  Unless there's a reason.   What I didn't pick up on were the vague details he gave me about his return trip home.  While talking about his itinerary, he kept talking about heading back home to spend the rest of the Holiday with his family.  How was I supposed to know I was being mislead?

"I can't wait to see my sister when I go home!"

His sister and her husband were visiting for the Holidays from out of town, and Derek doesn't get to see them often.  Made sense.

"I'm an uncle again!  Can't wait to see my second nephew after I leave!"

His other sister had just had Baby #2 while he was in Florida, and Derek enjoys being an Uncle, so of course he would want to rush back to see the new little guy.  Once again, it made sense!

What I didn't pick up on:  He was overly vague about when he would be seeing these people.  I interpreted his plans as being immediate.  As in, get on a plane, fly back to Texas, visit his family.  He, on the other hand was being quite the deceiver!  The last I heard from him as he left the Tampa Airport, was that my daddy hadn't murdered him after he made his request, and he was "heading home".

Enter me.  Gullible.  Sick.  Tired after working all week.  Please realize I was nasty sick.  Curl up in your comfy (read: not cute) PJ's Sick. Don't move unless it's to add another blanket Sick.  Hair in a messy (read: still not cute) bun Sick.  Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup heating up in the Crockpot. Laying on my couch watching Pride and Prejudice... with the Director Commentary on.  Don't judge.  It wasn't the Collin Firth version either.  Okay, you can judge me on that.  I wasn't planning on leaving my warm couch for the rest of the evening.  It was cold outside, I was warm inside, Mr. Darcy was being stoic, and I needed to know why the Director filmed from specific vantage points.  My evening was set.

This is about the time that Derek called me.  Hoping he was just letting me know he landed safely and that he would talk to me later, I answered while watching Elizabeth reject Mr. Darcy in the rain.  

"Hey!  It's snowing here!"

"Yea?  It's snowing here in Kentucky too."

"Really?  Why don't you go outside and check out the snow?"

"Um, no."

"But I bet it's pretty!"

"I bet it's cold."
"It's probably worth it!"
"It's probably not."

"It will be romantic - like we are both together!"

"Or I can just see it from the window."

"Ashley!  Go.  Look.  At.  The.  Snow."

"Fine."

Above is the Snow I desperately needed to go outside to see.  It wasn't much (I really could see it from out the window).  But you could tell it had potential to be more by the end of the night.

To say that I was not cooperating with his sweet plans is probably the biggest understatement of his life.  And to say that I am dense for not picking up on what was going on, in hindsight is probably the biggest understatement of my life.  I feel as if I need to defend myself.  I'm not typically combative or purposely difficult.  I tend to try to go with the flow. I usually find Derek's random outbursts of fun and crazy ideas to be intriguing and hilarious.  But I didn't feel well.  It was freezing.  And, yanno, Mr. Darcy was on.

I grudgingly paused my movie.  Wrapped the blanket around me, and shuffled...slowly... to the kitchen window.  Pulling down the blind I laid my eyes on the best sight in weeks.  

My Mister had officially surprised me!

Don't worry, there's more to the story.  A full night of unexpected surprises still lay ahead.  I'll divulge the details soon!

Ash