beyond newsworthy.

Jesus amazed me the other day.

I was watching the news in the morning as i ate my breakfast (now theres a sentence i never thought i would say) and the story really jumped out at me. They were talking about the massive destruction that was left in the wake of a giant tornado that swept across Mississippi, and showing video of totalled houses and uprooted trees - you know, the usual tornado stuff. But then they mentioned a church that sustained substantial damage, and showed the church - heavily damaged but still standing - and interviewed the one man who was inside the church when the tornado hit. Dale Thrasher - an everyday kind of a guy - was on national television sharing with the world how his Lord and Savior directed him to crawl under the communion table in the sanctuary, which saved his life. I kept waiting for the network to cut him off, or to go black, or do something to keep the name of Jesus out of the spotlight, but Dale went on to share that he felt it was God's will that he would survive - God saved him from an eternity in hell a number of years ago, and he saved his life again in this storm - so that he could continue to share the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ and that the name of the Lord would be praised.

I think my jaw hit the floor. I had been so wrapped up in being thankful for the little things that God had been doing in my life, taking care of details and directing me down the paths that He had chosen for me and just sending me little pieces of joy to brighten my every day life, that I kind of forgot that He is a hugely awesome God who is more holy than i can comprehend and so big He holds the universe in His hand.

My heart goes out to those who have been and are being affected by tornados, but my heart is also encouraged at knowing that the saving power and grace of my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ is being proclaimed and praised in the midst of turmoil and tragedy. and on the national news no less. what an AWESOME God we serve!!

wonderful wedding weekend.

i dont even know where to start this post. i feel like i accomplished so much this weekend. three of my four bridesmaids came on saturday and we went to Davids Bridal to go dress shopping. the lady that was helping us was really nice and a lot of fun. i tried on a bunch of dresses and found something that i really liked about all of them. the last one i tried on was from last year, off the sale rack. it had everything that i liked about all the other dresses, all in one dress. and best of all, it was less than half the original price! talk about amazing. its not what i thought i was looking for when i walked in, but it is absolutely perfect. i would post pictures cuz i want you all to see it and ooh and aah and say WOW thats amazing, but i also dont want Mark to see it before Oct 3.
We also found a dress that we liked for the bridesmaids. i can show you that one. it will be green. this is the only picture we have of it. at one point we had all three of them in the dress, and one that was even the right color. we really did not do so well at taking pictures of the bridesmaids dresses.

and then this afternoon, julie and i designed the save the dates! they look amazing. i cant wait to see them all printed and whatnot.
and if thats not enough, we also met with a caterer and got an estimate, and then i spent the rest of the day researching caterers and photographers.
i feel like i have accomplished so much. i have to remind myself that there's still a lot to do.
but hey, its 'my special day' after all... and if i want to bask in a premature feeling of accomplishment, then by all means thats what i'll do.
life is good.

this could get ugly.

anyone wanna take a wild guess who the Steelers are playing on my wedding day? really. just take a wild guess. just a stab in the dark really is all it would take.

why does the universe pick NOW to have my life start playing out like a movie script?

not my fault.

there is no real good excuse for my hiatus of updates. but i have a bunch of substitute kind-of-interesting excuses instead. here goes:

I am blaming my lack of posting on:

1. Maine. I know its been almost a whole month since i spent a weekend in Maine, celebrated my good friends wedding, and got this amazing rock on my finger, but that was just the beginning. It seems like all my free time and brain space have since become occupied with dates, venues, caterers, flowers, dresses, photographers, decorations, centerpieces, and weather reports. it wakes me up early and keeps me up late. it gives me great joy and stresses me out all at the same time. I am very close now to having a plan. i am excited :)
2. My refridgerator. my guess is that the fridge got jealous of the large amount of time i was spending on the wedding and decided to act out in order to get some much needed attention. long story short: i have a whole new appreciation for the phrase "jello mold" (i am also worried that the bathrooms and laundry are plotting a similar scheme to get my attention)
3. Easter. no, i am not blaming Jesus for my lack of blogging. i'm not that petty. or stupid. this was the first real holiday i spent with Mark's family. and these people like their parties :) it was a whole weekend affair of family, and egg hunting, and more candy than i could/ should eat in a year.
4. Jon Gosselin. i saw him the other day when i was driving to my cousin's house for lunch and to talk wedding. (see? i blame Maine) well at least i thought i saw him. so my internet time that day was spent doing some reconaissance on the type of car he drives to confirm that it was in fact Jon that pulled out right behind me. my life is so glamorous :)
5. Obama. extended the deadling to qualify for the tax credit for first time home buyers. which means our search for a place to live once we get married (Maine again!) kicked into high gear. we researched like crazy, went and looked at some houses in MD over Easter weekend, fell in love with one, and just last night signed all the papers necessary to make an offer. now, we wait. we have 14 days to pull this off and know we have a nice tax return coming our way next year.
6. the NFL.as if normal wedding stuff isnt enough, i've recently also become preoccupied with wondering if the Steelers and/or Ravens will be playing on our wedding day, who they will be playing, and the nasty implications that could arise if it turned out they were playing each other... the official schedule will be revealed on April 20. i await with baited breath. (is that the right phrase? sounds a little fishy to me)
7. Philadelphia. i spent two days this week and a total of 23 billable hours in Philly counting cars. this made for some long days, lack of sleep, and lack of time to actually be in my apartment in the evenings. I had fun and enjoyed my time in the city but it ate up all my blogging time.

see? its obviously NOT my fault.

top ten.

things no one ever told me through 4 years of engineering school:

1. Grades don't matter. The guy at the bottom of the class has the same (if not a better) chance of landing a job after graduation as the girls at the top of the class.
2. There is a good chance, depending on the job you take, that you will use absolutely NONE of what you learned in school.
3. Learn how to golf. everybody's doing it.
4. Time management really is important. if you thought school was busy, just wait.
5. Food and electricity and gas cost real money. And 'swipes' are not a legitimately recognized form of currency anywhere outside of Geneva College.
6. Calculus has little to no practical purpose. Spend more time perfecting your mental math skills.
7. Brush up on your gambling skills. anything from the Super Bowl to the Final Four to the birth date of Randi's baby can and will have bets placed on it.
8. Never wear a skirt to work. unless you are absolutely, positively, 100% certain that at no point during your day someone will say to you 'i'll just put this long plot on the floor and then you can roll it up.'

things i learned in school that were actually useful:

1. you can't push a rope.
2. water doesn't flow uphill.