Load up the U-Haul, this blog's movin'!

I figured since my clothes, decorations, dresser, vanity, and essentially the entirety of my life is currently packed up and moving, the blog will also be moving and getting a new name as of June-ish.

You can find all my new adventures in post-graduation, marriage, etc here:

the-humphrey-happenings.blogspot.com

I'll be posting there, as well as some interjections by Joshua from time to time (I hope!)

Thanks for reading!

Elated

And with this last 11 page paper on the stack, I give you the final paper of my college career, completely in line with MLA guidelines and reviewed for grammar and punctuation. This monumental occasion occurred at about 3pm on Thursday, April 30. The final piece of my educational puzzle? "A Theory of T.S. Eliot and How He Believed Himself to be a Modern Day Ezekiel. Furthermore, a Look at The Wasteland and how it Shows Eliot in His Journey of Exile and Repentance Back to Christ" Cow. That's long. It's not the title, don't worry. But, I felt like the paper was that long. Now, it's over and I can dream of curtains, moving, and a sweet little puppy named Grimm.

Glory, Hallelujah!

Puppy!

This is puppy. Puppy will belong to Josh and I after we are married. Puppy needs a name. It's a boy puppy and we want it to sound kind of ferocious and tough.

Any suggestions?

Some Details

OK.

Life has calmed down a little bit now that I have turned in one of my papers, so I can manage to squeeze in a real update about the Future Humphrey Family of Two.

We are going to be living at Josh's current house and renting it from his folks. After looking at our options (and trust me, we looked at a lot of them) we decided that living in the house was probably the best thing for us right now. Med school is still uncertain for next year, so we want to be ready to move whenever we need to. One of the neat things about moving into the house is that we are painting it and cleaning it up a bit to look more like a house, not a college boy crash pad. I am up to my neck in paper, electric cords, and other various things boys accumulate, but Josh is being a total help with cleaning through things and getting on board with my attention to house details. The painting is done (for the most part) in what will be our room (eek! 53 days!) We painted it a light blue at the request of Josh and we're going to use my current comforter. The overall look will hopefully turn out how I want, but when you mix twall, houndstooth, damask, light blue walls, and brown furniture, you just got to cross your fingers and hope for the best!

I also started painting the living room and I'm really happy with the color that turned out. It's pretty neutral since Josh's dad requested we keep it simple, but it's nice to be able to cover up all those marks on the walls from the six different boys who have lived there at various times. My dad bought us a 6 foot ladder to use since the ceilings are so high and I started painting last weekend. Oh man, I didn't know a 12 foot wall took so long to paint!! It was quite a process and I was super tired when I finished, but it's quite pretty now.

Curtains are next for the house. I'm making them in the next few months, but hopefully can start keeping an eye out for some good prices. (Joann's in particular is my favorite.) I found some great ideas in Better Homes and Garden's Decorating Idea's Under $100, so hopefully I can utilize those and come up with some inexpensive, pretty things! Finally, I'm rearranging furniture in my mind about a bajillion times a day, so hopefully I settle on something soon!

Busy, busy as you can tell. Between all of that we have tests, showers, graduations, and a trip to NY with my family in the near future. Whew. I'm going to be starting a new blog once we get married, so if you have some cute ideas for names, please pass them along.

Where is time going!?

Oh Gosh, my Golly!
Time is just flying by here in College Station. School will be over in 3 weeks, followed by a wonderful trip to NY, and then marriage! Where is all my time I had at the beginning of the semester?

The job hunt is still on, no luck for either Josh or myself, but we know that God is good and will place us where He needs us. We're both just being faithful in knowing that God will provide for us and that all will work out.

Wedding stuff is well underway. We should finish it up soon, so that is very exciting news (for me, anyway). I will admit, I miss planning and dreaming up color schemes and silly things like that, so I just need some friends to get engaged and I can simply live vicariously through them.

There's my quick update. Hopefully I stop to breathe soon and can post more about what we did for Easter and what to expect of this blog once I get hitched to my good lookin' hubby-to-be!

Confused?

So, I said I had posted wedding dress photos.

I did, but it was really hard for people to find them.

Josh has said he doesn't do blogging, so I don't have to hide the link.

To see the bridal pics, just go here: ricciswhitedress.blogspot.com

Enjoy!

Super Cute Swimwear!

Hey Ladies!
If you want cute swimsuits that you don't have to worry about having awkward moments in, check out this site:

www.limericki.com

They have really cute stuff! I'm ordering this one:



It's called the LIZZIE and I love it! So, everyone go buy them, NOW!

Josh... Don't click around this post!

Hey Ladies!
For anyone who wants to see them, my bridal pics are up here! There are some ground rules, so please read the note before you start super scrolling. They aren't hard rules, just courtesies for my honey who wants the dress to be a surprise.

Thanks!

girl-don't-run say what?

I just gave a verbal agreement that I would run a 5k in 9 weeks.
Yup.

I think I'm about to puke.

I hate running. I loathe it! I think it's awful.

So, why run?

Well, some encouragement and conviction from this, this, and this.

I know that I should be doing more for my body. I wish I could run. I think all those girls with their oversized shirts, cool headbands, and neato running shorts are so cool. Plus, I want new shoes... but can't justify them. And my iPod is lonely just sitting in my purse. It needs to feel the wind on it's screen. I want a "running mix".

So, 9 weeks. After I run my 5k... I will get new shoes. And a cool iPod sports case. Until then, the old nikes will be on my feet and I'll be ace-bandaging my iPod to my arm.

I'm going to be "training" 3 days a week: monday, tuesday, and thursdays. Anyone in? I'm going to try and run at the rec, or somewhere that I can deem safe from being kidnapped.
I'm going to need encouragement in the form of accountability. And tasty granola bars.

If you want to run with me, even just once a week, please let me know! I need all the people along side me as I can get!

proverbs 31 and potato heads

I think it's all hit me.

I'm getting married. And this is a big deal.
I know, maybe it should have clicked sooner, and I promise, I knew I was getting married, but I just didn't let it all snap into place. This weekend it snapped somewhere between finding a place to live (as in, together) and figuring out our budget.

Now, it's sunk.

Guess what else I've figured out? I'm really excited. Like, really super excited. I get butterflies and I smile like an idiot when I think about it!

So, as a congratulatory gift, I finished Proverbs 31. Now, I'm excited AND have a purpose. Not only do I have all these feelings and emotions, but I have a place to direct them.


I also made this:



It doesn't have a purpose, I just thought it was funny.

Some Photos for the previous post...

Here are a couple of the table tags I've made with fonts, photoshop, and a lot of time. These will hang from the centerpieces on the guest tables.

Triumphs!

So, I just went online to my handy dandy wedding checklister thing of all the little tiny details that need to be done for the wedding and realized a couple of things:

1. I am the worst as sending out Save the Dates (they're a month late)
2. I did make some serious dents in the list over Christmas holiday
3. I ONLY HAVE 4 MONTHS LEFT UNTIL MY WEDDING!

I know... to Josh (and any other guy who has/had 4 months left) it's an eternity. For me, I feel like my time is flying by!

A small triumph I had was getting all the menu cards and programs typed up and formatted how I want them. Praise the Lord for MS Word and my font website. This website lets you download a LOT of different fonts all for free! Which has, in turned, let me save a LOT of money by making my own save the dates, programs, and other things while still using fonts that aren't limited to Lucinda Calligraphy. I will warn you, there are some shady fonts (I know... people have no shame) but if you stick to the calligraphy, handwritten, retro, etc fonts, you steer clear of all that gunk.

Another achievement was getting Josh fitted for his tux, as well as getting all of the groomsmen, usher, and dad's tuxes picked out! Now, it's just up to the boys to go get measured and remember to pick up their stuff on time. The girls all have their dresses ordered, and only a few shoes need to be picked out, but other than that... everyone is going to have their outfits ready with 3 months to go! Yes!

Upcoming projects include figuring out jewelry for my girls, getting their gifts together, and finishing up my outfit(s). If you didn't know... I'm changing after the reception... and I still need to find a dress. Or make a dress... I'm not sure which. Other items on the list are getting the aisle runner painted and finishing the centerpieces.

Good stuff, good stuff.

This weekend I'll head to Austin to take care of some things, such as centerpieces and save the dates with Katherine, who is coming in on Saturday from Dallas. Woohoo! I love that I've gotten to see her at least every 6 weeks since she moved. I wish I saw her more, but I'm grateful for seeing her as much as I have.

More Big Verbs

Last night in Her Hands we had to confess the sin that the Lord was laying on our hearts at the moment. Thankfully, I am so blessed to have never had to struggle with eating disorders or self esteem issues or so many things a lot of girls go through.

Not that I'm using this for a "Oh, I'm so great" moment... I promise.

We have to confess our sin to someone older this week. I went to dinner with my mentor and her family after church and got a chance to tell her of mine, but I'm going to write about it here as well.

I, Ricci, battle idleness 98% of the time. I mean in everything! I am just lazy half the time, preferring just to sit around as opposed to being active. The problem is, it has effected (affected? I'm never sure) two huge areas of my life:

1. my walk with the Lord and spending time in the word.
2. my accountability with others

I've failed to tell the great girls in my life where I see them struggling, and I've made excuses for not fixing problems I'm having.

Great.

This is so huge. And it's not easy to correct. But, thankfully, this is something that I've noticed and have begun to correct, though it's a slower process than I would like.

I was directed to Proverbs 31:27 this morning, it says: "She looks well to how things go in her household, and the bread of idleness (gossip, discontent, and self-pity) she will not eat." (AMP).

This is that whole big passage that discusses what a woman of the Lord looks like. It's daunting. It's HUGE. It's also full of really good stuff.

The first verse on what that woman looks like is in Proverbs 31:10, "A capable, intelligent, and virtuous woman--who is he who can find her? She is far more precious than jewels and her value is far above rubies or pearls." (AMP). These are, as we would say in class, verbs that get circled and smiley faced in school for using them. They are strong verbs, not soft.

Capable: competent, skillful, good, able, accomplished, adept, adequate, effective, efficient.
Intelligent: brilliant, knowing, intellectual, knowledgeable, keen, alert, sharp, quick-witted, smart.
Virtuous: moral, proper, right, righteous, rightful, decent, modest, nice, pure, continent.

BIG verbs! These are things I want to be, things we, as women, should all want to be! And, being God, he gives us a detailed look at what this woman does in her day to day that makes her all these wonderful words!

All this back to my original verse, 31:27, it says that a woman who has these traits is not going to be full of idleness, self-pity, gossip, or be discontent. Instead, I want to focus on being and seeking out these other verbs. I want to work on being efficient with my time, knowing in the Word, and righteous in my decisions.

Woah. Big stuff before 7am. So, my scripture that I'm memorizing today is Proverbs 31:10 and 31:27. If you see me, ask me about them, ask me what the Lord is showing me as far as how to apply these to my life. I would love the conversation as well as the accountability.

Wise Women Obey the Lord (and learn to NOT breathe through their nose while learning to SCUBA)

This week we're reading the chapter called "Wise Women Obey God". It seems simple enough for me to take in. I think, "Ok. Cool. I do that." And I do, but I've definitely learned in the last few years that what God desires and where I sit are two very different things.

Tying this all into my Countdown class, this week we were learning about submitting to our husbands and how he is the head of the home and we are helpers. This doesn't mean anywhere that I am less of a person, or that I am less valuable, it just means that as a wife, I am called to let Josh lead. Before we left, we were reading scripture and going over things and I asked Josh:

"Do I do a good job of learning to submit."

And Josh, sweet Josh. Josh who always tries to make me feel good, never says a rude thing to me, replies:

"I think you pick and choose. But sometimes, you bow your neck and just refuse because you want to be in control and don't want to be wrong."

Ouch.

So, I'm hanging out in Ephesians for a couple days to see what I can learn about why submission works. Because if I am a wise woman, I will want to obey the Lord, who is in fact, telling me to submit to my husband. Thankfully, I have every confidence that Josh will be a wonderful leader. (Besides... if you hear the husbands role... dude. I totally love that I don't have to make the decisions he does.)

Big Week.

This morning in scuba I learned that breathing with your nose while underwater is NOT a good thing. I'm trying to like scuba, I want to like scuba, but I get very uncomfortable in the water and I feel like I'm going to suffocate. I need to have guts like this kid and I think I would do much better. I don't think Heather would mind a trade off of mine and Hayden's bravery for an afternoon, either!

Fun stuff tonight, I'm hanging out with Josh, a groomsman, and a new friend of Josh's named Majid. I'm really excited. So excited that I'm making Tater Tot Casserole, salad, and cupcakes! Woo! We're gonna all just hang out, watch movies, play Wii, and get to know Majid. Yay, I love new people!

facelift & random things.

So, I think I know of about 2 people who read this, but my blog is getting a face lift uproot overhaul.

At the very beginning of this blog, I was blogging my thoughts over a book I was reading called "Passion and Purity" by Elizabeth Elliot. If you haven't read them, please do. I think they are the only things I have ever written worth reading.

This time, I'm hoping to blog 2 things, my rereading of P&P and my thoughts on my Her Hands class. Don't worry, those of you wanting to know the nitty gritty of my day to day existence will still get your fill, though I would like to keep that mixed in with my other things.

That said, I have refused to participate on the fb trend of 25 random things and tag everyone to read it, instead I will post it here and if you are lucky enough to find it, save my 2 people who follow this, you'll get some insight into me.

25 Well Thought Out Things About Me That I Want You To Read And Take Away That I Am Interesting And Thoughtful

1. I bought a new ring this weekend that is really cute. Unfortunately while sitting here I took it off and realized that it is turning my finger green. Sadly, I won't be wearing this ring anymore. And it cost me $3.50... so I'm very upset.

2. I gripe and complain about wedding planning 85.8% of the time. Actually, I really enjoy it. I'll be glad when it's over, but for the most part, it's been really fun.

3. I always used to make fun of girls who went to college only to get a husband. Actually, I still think it's ridiculous. However, being one of those girls who now aspires to never use her degree in the conventional working world and want nothing more than a jetta with kiddie seats in the back... I have to think twice when I make jokes about an mrs degree. That said, a piece of advice I offer is to be careful who you laugh at, because you may just be there and not realize it.

4. I love cupcakes and all associated paraphernalia. I almost spend $15 on cupcake liners because they were fancy looking and not at all practical. I own 3 books on cupcakes, a book on muffins, a cute little 24 cake carrier, and many various decorating items.

5. One day, I want to move to Namibia, Africa. Josh wants to do Medical Missions there, and I want to spend my time dong whatever it is a missionaries wife does. Josh would like to spend his weekends playing with his baja bug on the dunes along the coast. If you would like to donate to his cause of cruising around with a lifted vw bug, please make checks payable to me.

6. The only movie stars I ever find attractive are ones who play spies and secret agents. Most recently, I've realized that I have to stay away from 007 and Bourne. Sad.

7. In the last year, my heart has been completely broken for people who don't know the Lord. Like, hard core. It just makes me so sad to see people making mistakes and choices that they will regret someday. I have also learned that I am not very gentle in approaching said people. I'm working on it. The Lord is good.

8. My church is like my second home. It is full of families who let me come over and crash on their couches, people who would be there for me whenever I need them, and women who love me and are so willing to show me their mistakes and let me learn from them! (www.lhbc.net). Seriously, if you're looking for a church home and you're in the b/cs area, CALL ME! I would love to have you come. If LH isn't your thing, that's cool too. If you still want to look, I'll make time to go with you to visit other churches! I'm staying at mine, but I'm so willing to help you find one!

9. When I'm not wearing my engagement ring, don't panic! There is a 100% chance that I forgot to put it on that day. No, I didn't call off the wedding!

10. I'm pretty obsessed with decorating. As Josh and I have looked for places to live, I've mentally moved my furniture into each space. No lie. Painted all the walls. And mentally purchased more furniture from IKEA. Still no lie.

11. If I didn't feel like I needed to do something positive for society, I would move to NY and become a dog walker.

12. My doppleganger is a famous star who drinks too much good wine, eats imported chocolates, and spends more money on shoes that her mortgage payment.

13. Someday, I will own a west highland white terrier. I am going to name it Tonks. Like her namesake, she will frequently sport hair that is different colors.

14. I listen to HSM3SY in my car. A lot. Judge me, I don't care.

15. I started growing my hair out 3 years ago because I knew that if I got married after college I would want my hair to be long. I hadn't even met Josh at that point. I just knew. Right now, it is about a 1/4-1/3 way down my back and I hate it. The day after we're married I'm hacking it off. I will sing out in jubilant praise that all of this hair is gone. It's going to be short. Really, really, short.

16. At some point in my life, I want to write children's books. My mom thinks I will be the next Stephanie Meyer, she's so nice. I have no desire to write for teenagers because it has to have a lot of drama for them to care. I want to write bedtime stories or something like Stellaluna. Cute books, not Gossip Girl.

17. Speaking of, I hate all things Grey's Anatomy, Gossip Girl, 90210, and mostly any other drama induced night time soap opera. I just think they're stupid. The only episode of Grey's worth anything is the one where Christina Ricci blew up. Sadly, I realized that the rest of the series was not so explosive.

18. During the Summer of 2007 I lived off of: chicken, rice, popsicles, pudding cups, crystal light, vegetables, almonds, cashews, craisins, chocolate chips, and corn muffins. That was it.

19. I plan to adopt kids. I want to have at least one of my own, but I'm way serious about adoption. Thankfully, Josh is on board.

20. I eat Jason's Deli at least once a week at my job. Be jealous.

21. I love plants, but I have the polar opposite of a green thumb. I can kill plants with astounding haste.

22. I'm getting married in 129 days. Hooray!

23. Post It notes are God's gift to offices. I use at least 15 of them a day and I always find them floating around my purses. Usually, I have them stuck onto my phone and reinforced with tape. I seriously can't quit using them.

24. I SHOULD be more of a Dell person (if you really know me you know why) but I pledge allegiance to the macintosh corp. of america. Sorry!

25. I'm currently writing a 10 page paper on cupcakes for my creative writing class. (Just in case you didn't believe #4).

Sew Fun!

Hey All,
So, Heather Hendrick decided to do a sewing class on March 7 at her house. THEN, decided it would be even more fun if LOTS of women hosted and took them and we took pictures and compared what we made.

Good stuff, huh!?

Well.

I signed up to teach a class and so I'm looking for 5-6 gals to take a class with me! We're probably going to look at making pj pants and skirts. If you want in on the fun, just send me a comment and I'll get you in!

I'm sew excited!

Anyone wanna bakefest!?

My boss's brother is in the Army and his brigade is trying to collect a dozen HOMEMADE cookies for each soldier in his group... that comes to 48,000 cookies that are needed! So, if you want to help out, we'll need to know by 1/14... that's next week. The cookies will need to be in our office by 1/22 and I would be more than happy to pick them up from you if you want to make them!

So, if you want to get your bakefest on, comment or feel free to give me a call (I'm in the church directory!). If I don't answer, just leave me a message and a number I can call you back on!

Thanks!

Oh Yeah... a Blog!

Hey Blog World!
Well, the holiday is over and tomorrow I head back to College Station and back to work. It's always hard for me to get the energy to jump back into life, but I don't really have any other choice, so I may as well make the best of it. With the end of the holiday comes the bright eyed beginning of a new semester. With that, comes the top 5 events of my 2008:

1. Said Goodbye to Katherine and Abby. These girls are amazing and I love them dearly. I just wish I lived in Dallas, too!

2. Something HUGE was that I got baptized! This was all part of a very long weekend full of very wonderful surprises and events! It was such a whirlwind, I'm so glad I have photos to remember it!

3. That same weekend, I got engaged to Joshua Dale. It was wonderful and absolutely perfect, as Katherine can attest to. It took a lot of people to pull it off, but it went flawlessly and I can't wait until we get married this summer!

4. I started my senior year in Aggieland, which is bittersweet. Sad because (at the time) I thought I would be leaving it, but now I'm STAYING AROUND! Our football team had a stellar season (haha)... but oh well! Gig 'Em Ags!

5. The big bummer to my year was that I failed my first class in college... boo! But, armed with a 97 lab grade and a tutoring pass for spring, I am coming back with a vengance this semester to beat it down!!