Happy Birthday

It is my special guy's 25th birthday. I think he is pretty swell, so I thought I would share with you a few fun facts about him...

1. Chris and his family play Jeopardy. Now, this isn't a board game, they DVR the show and have designated notebooks where they keep score. This will always and forever amaze me.
2. He is extremely helpful, even though he is 3 hours away. When he is here he will give Jasper a bath when needed, help with yard work, etc.
3. He sings all the time... all... the... time...
4. He doesn't realize how loud he is, which always makes #3 enjoyable.
5. He enjoys reading girlie books that I give him, haha...
6. Blacksmith... those of you who are my New Year's Eve friends are laughing I am sure.
7. He desires to do short term medical mission trips which I think is pretty cool.
8. He can not stand water drops on counter tops or floors and detest crumbs even more so... this makes clean up after cooking very helpful.
9. He can talk about eyes for hours.
10. His favorite "cake" is Boston Cream Pie. Still trying to figure out how to make this sucker.
11. He went to MU because he wanted to go to a big school (I think it was just due to the fact that he wanted to go to big sporting events). He did a lot of amazing things there and met a lot of great people.
12. He hates winter but loves skiing. This just doesn't make sense to me...
13. He has the back of an 80 year old.
14. He loves going to movies, strictly for the popcorn.
15. He stays in on Saturday nights when we aren't in the same town so we can have "date nights" three hours apart. Pretty darn cute if you ask me.
16. If I leave shoes out in the living room, he puts them against the wall or in my room.
17. He can spend mass amounts of time organizing his desk.
18. He does not care at all about what other's think about him. This fascinates me to no end.
19. His laugh is contagious.
20. He has never met a stranger.
21. He is a great cook.
22. He has a dessert stomach. It does not matter how much he eats, put something sweet in front of him and it's gone.
23. He does not worry.
24. He has gray hair.
25. He is pretty much the most fabulous thing since sliced bread (maybe even before that).

Happy Birthday Chris!!

Cooking

I have started something new this semester of attempting to make a meal or two on Sunday nights that will last me the entire week. I am doing this in attempts to ward off any temptations of just swinging through the drive thru on my way home from my practicum or being so frustrated when I open the cabinets that have nothing in them, that I go to bed hungry and mad.

This whole "quest to cook" has brought up a lot of Susie home maker feelings within myself. I can not WAIT to be able to cook dinner at night and be able to sit down and enjoy it over conversation about the events of the day. With life being as hectic as it is right now, this dream is placed on hold (at least until October, yay!). But, I still venture through the web in hopes to find new, simple, and delicious recipes to try out. Kraft has become one of my favorite sites. This week I think I am going to make Cheesy Chicken Salsa Pasta and maybe get some items for Greek Salads.

Also, I am SO excited to use some of my new cake stands and ice cream dishes. Aren't they just to DIE for???

Furthermore, I get to use the "Special Date Plate" soon. Chris's birthday is on the 20th and so I am currently trying to find a great cake to place on the plate (haha, rhymes). Any suggestions? He asked for white, so I might make my mom's wedding cake, yummy.

So Long 2009

I know, a little late. I have been meaning to sit down and write this for sometime now, but never had the motivation. Until our snow day =) Natalie did this on her post, believe it or not, I was intending on doing something along these lines, but here goes nothing. 2009 was a pretty good year, can't really complain. A lot of fun events occurred...

In January, 2009, my sweet niece made her arrival. Kharis is a sweet little thing and the life of the party when she is around. It amazes me how 10 people can sit around a table and focus on an 11 month old and not talk about anything else. She will be celebrating her 1 year birthday this month, fully equipped with a tutu and Cons.

I celebrated my 25th birthday in May. It wasn't as bad as I thought... As a result of an amazing gift, Chris and I road tripped it to Chicago to see the Cubs and Cardinals play. It was a great mini trip full of fun.


One of my wonderful friends, Ashly, got engaged in October. It was so much fun to be a part of this great event and I am looking forward to the wedding in April, 2010. I love seeing her so happy!
Chris invited me to attend the annual "Eye-ball" in October. It was great fun to celebrate with him and get all dolled up. I look forward to the next (and last) "Eye-ball".


And finally... the countdown has begun. At this point, I am 11 months away from graduation. So far, God has allowed all of the pieces to fall into place perfectly and I am trusting He will continue to do the same for my last fall semester (summer is already set). I have started at an amazing facility this semester for my practicum and am really enjoying learning all the ropes for beginning my own practice, if I am led in that direction.

That's 2009 in a nutshell! It was fun, but I am ready for the New Year. 2010 will be full of fun, big, exciting times. Happy belated New Year everyone!

That's Right, I am Weird and Fabulous!

Well, this is fun. I have been tagged by BOTH Danavee and Whit as having a "Fabulous Blog". HA! Perhaps during my two week break, I can update a little. I would like to learn all the cool tactics like linking pages and all that jazz. But that is beside the point...

The purpose of this award is to disclose five obsessive compulsive traits that I exhibit. I am with you Danavee, how are these two things related? One will never know, but here is a little incite on the weirdness that is me.

1. I am a self diagnosed OCD patient. Seriously. I sit in class and hear people almost brag about having this disorder while I keep my mouth shut thinking, "Really!? This is something you DESIRE TO BRAG ABOUT!?" Anyways, back to me. I obsess over things, lots of things, and it is very difficult to come out of the "trance" as I would like to call it. I shared this example with Whit today and will share it with the blogging world now.

Yesterday, I decided I wanted a fire during the evening while I worked away on my homework. I went to Lowe's to purchase Fat Sticks in order to make the fire making process easier, I had practiced with two previous fires during the week and felt like I was capable of a perfect, toasty fire to enjoy while undergoing the unenjoyable task of homework. Chris left my house at about 3:45 and I began to build my fire quickly afterwards, telling him that I would sit down and work on my homework immediately after he left and get it done. At 5:00 I am sitting in front of my "fire" which is really just newspaper burning, so stinking upset I couldn't stand it. All the while I had only completed TWO sentences of my paper due to the fact that I wanted a dang fire and couldn't start it. After letting it die out twice and using up an entire lighter, I gave in and went to Walgreen's at 7 and bought starter logs. This is just a minor example of how if I get something stuck in my head, it does not leave. I am working on my self talk techniques, ha.

2. I am extremely tactile. I love touching things. That sounds really strange, but it is true. I use to play with people's elbows. I loved the feel of elbow skin between my fingers. I haven't done that in a while, my new craze is Chris' ears. I sit there and mess with them until he gets sick of it and then I sit there and obsess over it.

3. I am a counter. I use to do this a lot more than I do now. I think I was bored a lot or perhaps I just wanted to focus on something else. Who knows, but in college I would count the steps from my apartment to class, I would count letters in words, number of times I checked the door, how long it took me to brush my teeth (which had to be met or increased each day), etc. Weird, really weird.

4. Like Danavee and Whitney, I am a picker. I LOVE sunburns. Give me a sun burnt back and I am happy for hours.

5. While I don't do this anymore, I used to always read the last chapter of a book before the beginning. I think it was a control issue. Something like, "Haha you book, you think you can drag me in circles, but I know how you end, take that!" I have since relinquished my control over books and have allowed them to do their job in a correct manner, you are welcome books.

There... I have disclosed several VERY strange things about myself and now I get to tag some folks to do the same. Andrea, you are now tagged three times, get on it woman! Also, I would like to tag Ashly, Natalie, Haley, Mom, and Katie. I know that is six... Like I said, I have stopped counting =)

13

I was trying to hold off on this blog entry until next month when the title could be 12, but this morning I just needed a reminder. Thirteen is the number of months I have left of school. Next December, I should (key word) graduate! When I realized this two or three weeks ago, my heart was overjoyed. School has been a long road for me, those who know me can attest to that. It has drained me and changed me in many ways. But... 13 more months and I will have a piece of paper in my hand stating I can go and listen to people and help them place goals in their life to overcome their problems. Yay piece of paper!!
For now my biggest obstacle is finding an internship for next semester. I have to work evenings and the occasional weekend which will be awesome (not so much), but that's what has to happen. If any of you know an LPC who works evenings, let me know! I am still searching.
But, for now, I dream a lot. There are many statements that begin with, "When I finish school..." and here are just a few:

• My house will no longer be neglected, projects here I come.
• The bags under my eyes may disappear.
• Working out will be a time filled with music and fun, not lectures on my ipod or note cards tumbling from the treadmill.
• Weekends will be once again mine!!! This is probably the most amazing thing, no waking up at 7 on the weekend just to get a head start on homework.
• I can actually come up with some fun lesson plans on my own without stealing them from others.
• Chris and my mom won't have to constantly remind me that I can do this, hopefully conversations will be more joyful and not stress underlined.
• I won't have to spend big bucks on books that I loath, I can actually get books that are easy and enjoyable.
• I can become involved in church again, something I miss.
• My friends might actually see my face!!
• I won't have to answer the question, "What are you doing?" with the replies "Reading", "Writing a paper", "Listening to a lecture", "Driving to class", "Sitting in class", "In the library"!!!

These are just a few... I am proud of myself that I will be able to accomplish 60 hours of grad work in 2 and a half years, with an academic scholarship, while working a full time teaching job. Sometimes I really don't see why I am putting myself through it, but then that overachiever in me kicks in and I seem to get by. I know this is a pretty boring post, but extremely important to me. Thanks to all of my amazing friends and family who put up with the stress, tears, not being able to hang out, etc. and have continued to be there anytime I call. 13 more months!

Making Memories and Having Fun

So... I didn't get to blog last weekend, little behind. The past three weekends have been fun, fun. Lots of little things have been going on and a few big as well. Three weekends ago was Fall Fest at the Boschen household. This is for his dad's side of the family and I felt very privileged to be able to attend. There were TONS of new faces, lots of food, a homemade haunted house, and a guest that I was very excited to meet.

Last weekend was a wonderful three day weekend, wonderful. I was planning on going up to St. Louis to hang out with Chris for Halloween, but he was kind enough to come to Springfield on account of my stress level. I had the whole day Friday to do a little reading, cleaning, and relaxing before he got into town. We had a date night that night and it was delightful. Saturday was full of pumpkin pancakes, making a special day plate, handing out some candy, and watching Charlie Brown. Pretty sweet if you ask me!

This weekend, Chris and I headed to MU to see a game. I was very excited to go to MU with Chris. While I been there before, it was fun to be with him and have him tell me a few things about his old stomping grounds. It was a beautiful day and we had a lot of fun, despite the terrible game. Next time, we hope to have a bigger group so we can tailgate.

Next weekend is cake pop weekend extravaganza. I have to make quite a few cake pops for two parties and some sugar cookies. Somewhere in there, homework will creep its ugly head in as well. I keep telling myself, one more year...

A New Hobby

Danavee has motivated me to attempt to post every week, so I guess this is my new hobby... This past weekend was the long awaited "Eye"Ball. Basically, Chris's school puts on a dinner and dance every year for the fourth years. It was fun! I got to buy a new dress, dance, have some amazing chocolate cake, and last but not least have a great night out with Chris. It was also amazing to think about the fact that this time next year, Chris will be a fourth year and only have 6 more months left of school, YEAH!!! I cannot express how excited I am by that fact. Here is a picture from the night.

I also want to share some pictures of a few cute Halloween decorations I put up. I am excited to decorate for Christmas already! However, I do wish I was home a little more to enjoy it.