Travel Plans

Now that the Boy is officially employed, we have begun negotiations to find a workable wedding date. In my experience planning a wedding is like practicing for diplomacy. There are so many things to consider: finances, traditions, his family, my family, his wishes, expectations, other people's weddings, etc... Instead of thinking of it as an obligation, I have decided to look at it as a problem-solving challenge. And I am determined to make it all work.

(Don't hold your breath.)

Much to my delight, the Boy suggested I fly back to Scotland with him in January. Now that I have booked my tickets (for not cheap but less than I was expecting), I can't wait. It will be great to have him here with my family for three weeks, but now I get to spend four more weeks with him! (Thank you, Elizabeth, for letting me invade your home once again- I can only hope that the improvement in your son's attitude while I am there is compensation enough.)

I will get to be with the Boy, even though he will have some work- I love that I'll be able to feed him and take care of him. Perhaps that sounds a little goofy, but I don't get to do those things for him very often, and I love it. My trip also means I will be able to spend time with his friends and family, which is especially handy now that we'll be living there.

Plus, we might be able to go apartment hunting! (Yes, I am way too excited about this possibility). I can't even explain how nice it would be to know what my future home will look like ahead of time.

News!

Praise the Lord! Finally, the wait is over! After months of waiting and uncertainty, the Boy has snagged an awesome job at a university in Glasgow. I am so proud of him, and so thankful that he is going to be able to keep doing what he loves. This job is perfect on so many levels:

1. The Pay- it is great! (We won't be scrapping for pennies, and we should be able to come visit the US every once in a while)

2. The Location- it means we can live in a city we are both familiar with, close to his family and friends. We can keep attending his church, and we can probably live without a car for a while.

3. The Job- it is a great position, that happens to be exactly what he wants to be doing. The Boy is thrilled about it, which is what matters most to me, and I can already tell they value him way more than where he is currently. Plus, he already knows some of the other faculty there, so he doesn't feel like the odd-man out.

4. The Timing- ask me more about this, but it is just so clearly an answer to prayer.

5. It means we can finally set a date to be married!!


There is, of course, one sad side to this. It means that we will officially be living in Scotland after we're married (something my family is a little disappointed to hear). I know it will be an adjustment, but the Lord will continue to provide. Plus, I love that I finally know our future location.

I am really excited at the thought of starting our life together. This last part is totally true, despite my response to the announcement. In my defense, I was sleeping when the Boy called, and I think, I thought I was dreaming or something. My brain couldn't comprehend the good news. It was only after the call, when I shared the news with others that the awesomeness of it hit me.

Emotional break downs

Lately things have been getting to me. This place of nothingness and waiting has turned me into an emotional wreck. It seems like I end up in tears at the drop of a hat. Most recently, I have been feeling like a burden (without a job all I do is take up space and demand attention). In my head, I know I will see the Boy in December, which is not too far off, but being apart is absolutely miserable. I have nothing to do all day, but think about him and miss him.

Maybe I am just hormonal, but I would certainly welcome my sanity back with open arms. The melodrama is getting a bit old.

I am so thankful the Boy is so understanding and patient, because I am sure I am not all that pleasant to talk to these days. No matter how down or pathetic I get, he listens and keeps reminding me to trust the Lord. He is really very sweet:

"You're not a lot of trouble. And even if you were, I wouldn't
care one hoot - and I would still be insanely in love with you."

If nothing else, my experience with this emotional drama, has made it clear exactly the sort of man I am going to marry- sweet, loving, patient, encouraging, the list goes on. I am very blessed to have found him, and I fully intend on keeping him. :-)

Bears and the inconvenience of hibernation...

The Boy has acquired some odd fascination with bears. He is coming to CA for the Holidays and, when I asked what he'd like to do, he insisted that he wants to see a live bear in the wild. I curse whoever put this idea in his head because I fear I'll never hear the end of it until I feed him to a bear. When I explained that bears hibernate in winter, he felt that was pretty inconvenient and suggested I simply wake them up. Alright, babe. I'll get right on that.

Now, I'm sure he just brings it up to annoy me. He finds it humorous to antagonize me and then he claims he is doing it out of love, to stimulate my mind (that is seriously a direct quote). Smart men are a pain in the rear. However, it is easy enough to ruin his little games if I simply agree with him or respond with questions:

The Boy- "Are we going to see a bear?"

Me- "What kind of bear do you want to see?"

This requires him to think to play along, and in the end he usually gets bored and changes the subject for me. He cracks me up.

I will end with Akin's assessment of the above:

A: Like a little kid- if you don't laugh at their fart jokes,

they get bored and decide to flush stuff down the toilet
instead.

Wedding Ideas

The idea of wedding planning does not make me giddy like most girls. When I think of wedding, I think lots of stress, lots of money, and lots of fuss. Don't get me wrong, I am over the moon about getting married, but the process of getting there may cause me to rip my hair out.

Thankfully I have a good friend who loves this kind of thing to get me through it. She has shown me that wedding planning can be enjoyable. Akin, I love you more each day!

Here are a couple things I like so far:











(This post was imported from another site and post-dated.)

Congrats Jess and Mark!!

Yay! My big sister got engaged last weekend, just after her birthday. I am so happy for her!

When I returned from DR, the difference in her was obvious. It is such a beautiful thing to see her happy, and she is happier than I have seen her in years. Her fiance is a great guy. The whole family loves him, and I love how supportive he is towards my sister. Plus, he is handy- my grandmother's biggest requirement, and a matter which she has questions about in regards to my choice of husband. I also love that he gives her a hard time every once is a while- some one has to! (Jess likes to joke that Mark and I are so similar, she feels like she is marrying her sister- I totally approve.)

It is sweet that I get to share the whole engagement period with her and that we both get to share the stress of wedding planning at the same time. I can't wait to give my toast at her wedding- I've been collecting material for years. hehe...

Summary of My Life

Since I've been all over from Scotland to Israel, I thought I would highlight the things people keep asking me about:

1. Engaged- My boyfriend of a year and half, asked me to marry him in July! We are hoping to get married within the year, but we are both unemployed and penniless. As soon as one of us finds a job, we will know which country we'll live in, and begin wedding planning.

2. Unemployed- I am currently jobless. I graduated from college in June '07, spent a year abroad, and now I am finally back in CA, searching for employment. I am also seriously considering going back to school to get a Master's, but that will have to wait until after I'm married and settled. Who knows where I will end up.

3. Living back with the folks- for the time being my parents are generous enough to let me live with them. It is good to be home and to spend time with my family, who I didn't see all year.

4. My days- are spent searching for jobs and filling out applications, e-mailing friends, and missing the Boy.

5. Waiting- There are lots of unanswered questions in life at the moment. I promise to fill you in as the answers become clearer.

It certainly is a journey.