DIY: Man Bouquet

With the fall season arriving, SO many things are changing. The sweaters and scarves have come out of the closet, the air has that wonderful, crisp, twinge to it, pumpkin and fall scented candles are coming back and can I say, I am in FULL welcoming of all these things! I love the fall season.

The fall season reminds me of alot of things, one of those things being when I had fallen head-over-heels in love with the most handsome man ever. He always spoils me and treats me SO special.

These are some flowers from an arrangement that Austin had picked out for me a few weeks ago. How lucky am I to have such a handsome man that hand picks flowers at the florist with such precision?  He never disappoints and every single arrangement is always so unique.

So, then I got to thinking..... What could I do for Austin that had the same hand picked and unique quality that he always exhibited for me? Sure, I could get him flowers and I am certain he would love them because they would have came from someone who loves him more than anything, but, then I came up with a better idea. As the old saying goes, "To get to a man's heart, you have to go through their stomach" and that is exactly what I decided to do.

This is how the "Man Bouquet" came into existence.

First, I needed to get everything I would need to put this bouquet together.

I used a vase that we had from a previous arrangement, colored tissue paper, floral foam that florists use sometimes when putting arrangements together, and skewers to act as the "flowers". This one happened to be fall themed, so I matched my colors and embellishments accordingly.

The important stuff

I also bought some little things that I knew that were his favorites that would speak directly to his stomach. I tried to buy things that I could make little sayings out of like, "You are SUCH a GoodMAN," (for the Mr. Goodbar) and "Honey, you're ROASTING!" (for the honey roasted peanuts).

 After accumulating these items, I got to work.


You want to start out putting the tissue paper you want to use inside the vase. Don't be afraid to use a couple sheets to enforce the bottom so that when it is all put together, your goodies won't fall through.

This floral foam is going to be what holds everything up in your bouquet. I bought a half circle because I knew that I wouldn't need that much and I thought it would suit the size of my vase. The foam comes in many shapes and it is pretty pliable. Just be careful when you are using it, it can get pretty messy.



I made an impression on the foam so I knew how much to cut off so that it would fit into my vase.

I used a simple kitchen knife to cut the foam to my desired shape. Make sure that you cut it in a place that you don't mind getting dusty from the shavings. Over the sink might be a good idea if you are able to do it that way. Its pliable with your hands when you apply pressure, but I needed to cut this one down so it would fit inside my vase. 

After cutting it down, it fit into the vase like so. You want to make sure that the tissue paper surrounds it so that it cannot be seen from the outside of the vase.



It made it easier to take the foam out of the vase and put it together before I connected it with a vase. It is easier to push in the "flowers". I covered the floral foam with tissue paper and then I put the "flowers" in so that the foam was covered so that it wasn't in site.

Once all the "flowers" were in place, I took the foam and put it back into the vase. Careful to make sure that the tissue paper in the vase is covering the foam from the bottom.

The finished product! Don't forget to add your personalized notes if you made any. I attached mine after I cleaned up and it looked great! This is such a fun project and you can personalize it or modify it however you want to. That's what I liked the most about it because it is totally up to you what you use and how you use it. Austin loved it when he came home!

Have fun creating!

When You Know, You Just Know.



These are all pictures taken during the time of my senior year. The middle one and the one to the upper right of it were included in my graduation announcements that were sent out. The upper two on the left are pictures of my best friend, and partner in crime, Sarah, and I from senior prom and the Prescott Vs. Bradshaw game. Obviously you can see by the smiles on our faces that we WON against Prescott and showed those Badgers not to mess with us! I was also a very dedicated choir member during my high school years. My family got some family pictures taken also during this time.

Before Austin and I started dating, I was on the cusp of finishing my high school education. With graduation soon approaching, I was very anxious for the school year to be finished. With hours of homework and finals, my last choir concert, and graduation coming, I didn't have time for any distractions until I laid eyes upon the most handsome man I'd ever seen.................



This is the picture that I had come across on a lazy night after work.
Isn't he the most gorgeous man ever?? :)

Austin and I had been friends for quite awhile but our actual friendship hadn't started until I came across this photo on Facebook and commented on it. We both found out we loved Disney characters, baseball, along with a bunch of other things in common, and for us, it clicked instantly. After talking for awhile, we started to hang out and spend every free second we had with each other. Austin came to my last choir concert, Graduation, and even came to be by my side at the hospital when I needed surgery for an aggravated appendix. He always was, and still is, by my side and supporting me every single step of the way. During the summer, we went on tons of fun dates and experienced some things we never experienced before with each other. Before we knew it, we were TOTALLY and irreversibly IN LOVE :).



This is us now. Absolute BEST FRIENDS and SO in love.

I won't pretend that we are absolutely perfect, although most of the time we would LOVE to think we are. We have our problems, our ups and our downs. We have a TON of good days for every one bad day we have. I think the reason why we are so strong and why we love each other so much is because we are learning more and more everyday about what makes a relationship successful. Patience, support, compromise, trust, respect, and empathy are just some of the main ingredients for a healthy, amazing relationship. Without one, or not enough of one from both sides, the recipe is incomplete. We appreciate the qualities that the other one has, good and bad, and love each other even more because we both know that at the end of the day, it IS us till the end. We learn from each others mistakes and work together. As Austin put it, "I know you hear people say relationships are 50/50. But that never made sense to me because you shouldn't be in a relationship 50% of the time. It should be ALL the time. Both people need to be in it 100% for it to work out." Let me tell you, we are both in it over 100%. We are SO crazy about each other that we actually argue over who loves who more.

It is such an amazing gift to have found the person you know your supposed to be with. To no longer search or be alone is the best. Although Austin doesn't believe me, I knew I loved him the first time we ever spent time together. I know its kind of corny to say, "When you know, you just know" but its totally true. I think anyone who is happily married can vouch for that statement. I thought it was completely idiotic when I was younger to hear that when people would say that, but it IS true and you WILL find someone who will prove that to you. I am so glad to have found mine :).

I love you so much Austin Morrison.

The Little "Train" That Could

I could feel my annoyance swelling into hot, prickling tears as I looked at my homework load for the week. A test in my Spanish class, a test in my Biology class, two papers to write, an hour and a half long video lecture to watch for Biology, AND my normal homework load for the week along with cleaning up the loose ends for one class that ended early this semester. This couldn't be right, I had to be reading something wrong. Sadly, everything I was reading was correct and due within a week. "Okay," I told myself, "I can do this."

As you can tell, this is how the past couple weeks have been going, which is why I have been absent from my blog. Homework assignment after homework assignment and due date after due date, the semester had come into full swing and I was feeling the stress. My gas light had come on and I was no where near a gas station to fill up.

After completing both papers, my weekly homework load, and lecture watched, I felt better even though I had two tests that were coming up that I was NOT excited for. Whoever created things called "tests" must not have known that they would be the source of hatred from college students for years to come.

On a happier note, I did have something fun on my plate for the week. TRAIN!

My handsome and completely amazing man bought me tickets for the Train concert along with a dinner reservation for an early birthday present! I am SO completely spoiled. I had so much fun shopping and coming up with an outfit to wear, he just HAD to give me an excuse to go shopping :). Pictures from the concert and my outfit adventure to follow soon!

With the Train concert flirting the end of the week, I was quite ready for the week to end, all my homework to be done, and to spend some concert time with the love of my life.

On top of the many wonderful things Austin has done for me, he has influenced me to get onto an exercise regimen, despite my heavy work load during the week. I figure that on top of writing about various things during the week to have an outlet for for my emotions, exercise will give me the chance to be healthier, spend some time with my love by exercising together, and it will get me into shape for our California trip in November.



Exercise, here we come!


 

With Train, exercise, my week work load dwindling, AND one of my classes finished for the semester (Whoop!!), I also have the support of my amazing love, along with my family and friends, to keep me going!

Found this on the screen of the computer along with a card when I went to take my test. Austin is SUCH a keeper! :D

Out of the Ordinary

Rolling with the motions. The routine of everyday. It becomes so easy to get used to a set schedule. A set mind-set. Get up, go to class, go to work, come home and make dinner, write a paper and reply to a discussion board post, drain in front of the television and go to bed. Get up the next morning and repeat.

Life can be so chaotic at times and it is almost nice to not have to think so much when you have a set schedule.

It can be so easy to become cynical about everyday life. You get used to the fact that bad things are going to happen at some point and it almost doesn't surprise you when it does happen. The thing that Austin has taught me is that not everything has to be as horrible as we make it. We can deal with angry customers and people all day long and it is fairly easy to let them influence our days too. It takes a strong minded person to not let the pressures of everyday get to us. Car troubles, friend and family troubles, career and education worries, financial stresses, and other things happen on a daily basis that we can't always control.

I came across this post from a very talented writers' blog and I found such inspiration from this, even though I am not the most religious person you can find:

"These are some of my absolute favorite hints that the seasons are changing. Little clues, that fall is coming and winter is not far behind. The best part is when it's still summer, still summer, still summer, and then one morning...it's fall. There's no exact date, there's no way to tell for sure when it will happen, it just...happens. I love how it parallels God's nature and is an illustration of who He is. 

When we are praying for something to happen or change, there are often signs that things are shifting. However, we're still in the summer's heat of a problem. We're still in the midst of the hardship. We still don't have a job, we're still sick, our loved ones still aren't saved. It's easy to become cynical that things will always be this way. But God has designed things to only last for a season. 

It's a set amount of time that only He knows, but it WILL end. I love how C.S. Lewis put it, "Isn't it funny how day by day nothing changes but when you look back everything is different?" That's why I love fall so much. It's an illustration and testament that the Creator of the universe uses to point us to Him. To remind us that, though we be in the midst of a trial, it's not a permanent situation. We will never change the seasons on our own, but God will change it when the time is right. No sooner and no later.

Seeing the signs of fall this past weekend in Prescott did my heart so good! It was the perfect reminder that God is at work, things are changing, and to stop and enjoy the moments we are given. Don't lose heart if you are dealing with an issue or challenge. Soon you will be looking back on it. Soon...it will be fall."

click here to read more from this amazing lady! Austins' sister, Rachel, is an amazing writer who inspires, encourages, and gives great tips!

I never realized that I focused on all the little, negative things so much that it was affecting other aspects of my life too. My relationships with my family, friends, and the love of my life were all punching bags to the things that were happening to me. It's easy to let that happen to the ones you love because you know they will always be there for you when you need them to, but sometimes, it's hard to see how intense we may be acting sometimes.


It wasn't until recently that Austin helped me realize that my life had become a routine. I wasn't doing anything fun or out of the ordinary and it was making me go insane. I was just doing what I had to do and not what I wanted to. I looked on Pinterest for crafts and things to do with free time, but I never did anything with it. I love to bake, but I stopped because so many other things became more important. But I am realizing now that it's the things we don't think are important that are the most important. Doing something nice for yourself every once in a while.  

I resurfaced my old, ugly, lamps into something more fitting and modern for my space.

My handsome Director filming a short film in the living room at 12 AM.

Although there are no pictures of me (since I was behind the scenes taking pictures) I made my debut in this short film as a 'concerned neighbor who faces her death by the hands of this guy'. He does NOT like cheese pizza!

The last poor soul who brought him a cheese pizza.



Austin and I worked together and baked cupcakes and made home made cream cheese frosting. Something he had never done before and something we had never done together. Not to mention it gave us the excuse to make a mess in the kitchen, laugh like there was no tomorrow, and re-connect on a creative level. :D

After doing these things, I felt SO much better about everything. It was like some of the weight from everything that had been going wrong had been lifted from my shoulders. It helped bring me and those people who did these things together closer. The bad times do pass; all the bad times are meant to teach us a lesson. Austin and I are taking the challenges that we are being given and working through them to become stronger for each other. It is all one big test and I know we can make it through all of them together as long as we both work to hold up the other one when we are down or when things aren't going right. Without those hard times to work through, where comes the improvement? We want to be the best people we can be and to be the best we can for each other. Things do change and get better as time passes! I promise!

Our new goal: to come up with fun, different things to do together and for ourselves every once in a while. It mixes up the ordinary and gives us an excuse to laugh and be together!

College: The Rough Ride

Who knew the 'Rough Ride' in Roughriders would be so accurate.

College. The essence of the future and the vision of tomorrow. That is what I was always taught as I sat in my high school classrooms. Teachers would always tell us how important it was to go to college and get an education so that we could get better jobs, have better futures for ourselves and our families, and so that when the time came for us to govern our own freedom, that we could do so. It was embedded into my mind from a very young age to always strive for bigger and better things that I never thought possible; things that my parents never thought possible of themselves.

 

Now that I am in college, I am no longer wondering what it is to experience what it feels like. Rather, I am living it each and every day. No one told me I would no longer be able to eat, sleep, breath, feel, or even function, without college breathing down my neck. I always felt that I worked really hard in my previous schooling to be ahead, and for the most part. I felt smart and important in my personal schooling world, because I knew that if I worked hard enough I would excel. I would see the benefits that I worked SO hard for; and for the most part I did, and I was perfectly content with that.

 

Until college came that is.

 

June, before my freshman year at Yavapai College, and I am wide eyed and completely lost. I hadn't registered for classes yet because my high school counselors never informed me that I could register in April before I graduated from high school. When I got to the college, I felt almost like a kid who had lost her mom, frantically trying to figure out what to do, or where to go, to get help. I went to the closest desk I could find that looked  like there was an employee of the college working and asked where I needed to go to get started. She looked like I was asking the most idiotic question ever and motioned to a sign closer to the ceiling stating 'Admissions'. Down the hall and over to the right was another lady sitting behind a computer desk, keys on the keyboard making fast clickity-clackity noises. Maybe this lady could help me, despite the help I got at the previous desk. She looked up with an annoyed expression and asked if I needed help. When I told her I was a Freshman and had no idea what I needed to be doing, she asked for my school ID. ID?? Where did I go to get that?? Feeling slightly ridiculous, with the expression hotly written across my face, I told her I didn't have one yet. She took down my name and told me to wait in the waiting area.

 

While sitting in the waiting area, there were multiple brochure racks with various things written on them. Scholarship websites, Veterans Upward Bound, and information on other surrounding colleges were written in bold lettering. What felt like an eternity (and it probably was at the pace they worked at in that department) finally came to a halt when a woman came out, and called my name. She shook my hand and led me back to her office. After having a lengthy conversation about degree programs (what were those??) and classes that might fit for me, she sent me on my way with a list of classes I might try and register for. Still confused, I got up, walked out, and found the closest computer I could find. I logged in and navigated around Yavapai College's website until I found 'register/drop classes'. For that second, I was relieved to have made some progress until confusing boxes with course numbers and categories came up. After three hours, optimal confusion, and many closed classes later, I registered in 9 credits. 9 credits? What did that mean? All I knew was, I was registered in 3 classes and they started at the end of August. Before I left, I checked to make sure all my financial aid stuff was squared away. Of course not. With forms in hand for my parents and I to go over, I was eager to get out of that place.

 

After some help from a friend to tell me where I needed to go and how the campus worked, my first semester started. Quite a bit more work than high school but still manageable. I was content with the fact that I was getting some classes out of the way and felt SO much more prepared for the next semester to start. When registration for Spring came about, I was ready. 11:59 PM with my little paper with the classes I wanted and the times and days I needed in front of me, I was ready to sign in and make the frantic scramble to get my classes. It was first come first serve. But unfortunately, everyone else was ready too, and I spent a whole hour trying to log in at the least. The server was too full of other people logging in and out, dancing the same tango I was. After some time, I finally was able to register for everything I needed. 15 credits consisting of 5 classes. I knew what that meant now. I was apprehensive at first because I knew that was quite a bit more of a work load than my previous semester, but I wanted to try it.

 

Spring semester about KILLED me. I scrambled every single week to get my online and in-class work done. Homework assignment after homework assignment, reading after reading, and work day after work day, the semester went by. But then the curve ball was thrown at me; singing AND dancing. I enrolled in a choir class because I loved choir and I felt like maybe it would keep me sane throughout the semester. When our final concert came up and we were told we were to sing and dance to the Hairspray musical, I almost fell out of my chair. "Are you serious?? I can't dance" I said to my teacher. He chuckled and said I would learn to if I wanted to pass. Born with two left feet, I knew I would make a complete fool out of myself on stage. After intensive practicing alongside my normal day to day homework, the concert had arrived and so had my other finals.

 

I wore this poodle skirt that my grandma and I made many years ago for a different choir concert, this shirt I found at Ross, flats, and I couldn't forget the hairspray :)


 

The concert went better than I had expected, but, not by much. I blended in with everyone and my mistakes we not noticeable to the audience eye (Austin and my parents swear by it). My mistakes were noticeable to me, but that was okay because I knew going into it I wouldn't be winning any awards for my dance moves. 

 

After my concert, the rest of my finals came which created horrible, horrendous knots the size of golf balls all throughout my back. I became the hugest stress ball ever, worrying that I would fail all my classes and become a total loser.

 

I was completely ecstatic when I found that I had gotten A's in ALL my classes! Go me! Take that college!
 

  

 

They actually gave awards for good grades in College! I was back to where I was in high school, and it felt good.
 

 

 

Since the Spring semester, I kept going. I took a summer class and am now taking another full Fall semester, although not quite as loaded as Spring. My plan is to finish my Associates degree by next summer and transfer to NAU-Yavapai to work on a Bachelors degree in Applied Human Behavior. Hopefully it should only take me about a year and a half to two years to complete, but who knows what the future holds.

 

Trust me, when things get tough, it is SO hard to be optimistic about the future. It feels like you are at the dark end of the tunnel with a teeniest dot of light at the end of it. If college has taught me anything, it's that you have to be VERY organized to get things done efficiently. If you aren't, things are going to be very difficult, and why not make it easier on yourself when you know it will be difficult anyways? I don't know where I would be without the amazing support of Austin and my family. When things get tough, its okay to cry. Cry to the people that are there to support you. Most times, you will feel better about it, and maybe relieved. It's easy to become a victim to the self discouraging that we all do to ourselves. It is definitely hard for me to tell myself to keep going when there are so many other things I'd rather be doing. The thing is though, this time in my life is crunch time and it's not going to last forever. This is the time where I am learning to be an adult through college experiences and times. You don't learn to be an adult the day you turn 18. It's all the times I have cried and all the stress I have felt in the past two years that are helping me to see that I should have enjoyed my time being a kid. But the important thing I am learning now is that the fun times will come back eventually, and college doesn't have to be all bad. Not ALL the fun goes away once you go to college.

 

 All the work I am doing now will pay off in the long run and I will be better equipped to be an adult, employee, wife, someday mother, family member, and person in my community. It's never fun to see everyone else having fun outside while you are stuck inside doing the things you  have to do and not the things you want to do. But all the times I do stay inside and do what I need to do will pay off, I just have to keep focused and keep going. I know I can do it!