One More Month...

Till I Get married! It's scary, exciting, everything all at once. I am getting really anxious. I am tired of planning for the day and I want it to be here already. I love our apartment, but I don't love being by myself. Well... I can handle it for now. But take for instance last night. I had nothing to do so I went to bed early. There was a spider on my wall. I had to kill it myself. =(
I actually slept ok last night. I haven't been sleeping too well. Maybe I am still getting used to somewhere new. I have been feeling super tired though lately. This weekend Jonathan and I met with Pastor Bob one last time. We went through our vows...the whole thing and said them, out loud. I cried... it felt so weird. You see so many weddings but now its us, saying the things you hear all the time. I cry at other people's weddings but this time it was different. I am gonna lose it at my wedding. That ok though. I will ok as long as Jonathan doesn't cry. Then I will REALLY lose it.

Home Sweet Home

I got the keys to my apartment on Monday! I loooove it so much. It is so perfect. Moving is alot of work, but fun work. I love going to Target. The apartment is on the secong floor. This means a lot of stairs... also a great leg work out. Hmm. I haven't used the pool or spa yet but I am looking forward to it. My parking spot is convniently located right next to my building. I have a spot. That is so cool! I don't ever have to worry about "Where am I gonna park?" or "Should I park in the driveway and get woken up and 7 am to move my car?". I also have a whole fridge to myself. This means a Costco package of yogurt and I don't have to write my name on it. Another cool thing is shower curtains. I have never had to use one untill today. I think they are kind of fun. Maintanence men came today and fixed pretty much whatever I asked them too.

The only bad news is that I am not living with my husband yet. I am alone...for now. So if anyone would like to come over (girls only, sorry guys), please let me know. I would love to have you over.

Go To Peets

I am tired of seeing Starbucks every 2 blocks. Today I went to Peets. The coffee is just as good, the atmosphere about the same. I think it might even be cheaper than Starbucks. In case anyone doesn't know, if you order your coffee and are drinking it at the shop, you should get it in a real mug. 1. Its funner. 2. It doesn't waste another cup. 3. I think its cheaper ( not sure though). Coffee is yummy. I am not addicted, however I do enjoy a nice cup of joe. It doesn't really wake me up in the morning. A shower or actually moving around in the morning is what wakes me up.

In conclusion...

I always got in trouble at school when I would finish a research paper with "In conclusion".

Drink Peets coffee. haha I just had a typo, I wrote peeps instead of Peets. I guess Easter is soon here.

Sick of...

Two things I am sick of: rain and gas prices rising.

Today at work it rained all day so I was inside from 8:15 to 6 pm with noisy 3 and 4 year olds. When I was helping the kids out of and into their cars, I got soaked. My socks were wet and I hadto deal with that the rest of the day. And my thin dress pants were soaked almost to my knees (exaggeration) and the classroom was freezing (not an exaggeration). It finally stopped late in the day. My drive home was nice and partly sunny but then I noticed it. Rotten Robbie, usually the lowest gas prices was at 2.75. I guess Costco has pretty good gas prices because there was a huge line last night. I so badly wish I could get rid of my car and use public transportation like my fiance. But I don't know if I could do that. I admit it. I can't live without my car. Sad but true.

Time Flies

The time changed last weekend and I got it right. I was up on time, my cell phone automatically changed itself. However, I have really been feeling the hour missing. I slept 10 hours last night. I can't believe I let myself be that lazy. Lucky for me, I have extra time in the day because my subbing job is over. I don't have to be at work on MWF till 4pm, and I only work for two hours. So today I went grocery shopping with roomates, ate some yummy lunch, took care of some stuff online, made a few phone calls then headed to the gym. I got there at 2:50 and I couldn't believe the time went by so fast! I only had like 20 minutes to work out. But yet the only two hours I worked were soooo slow. I don't get it.

Speaking of time flying, our wedding is in less then three months. Holy smokes. I can't wait for this wedding to be over. I mean, I am excited and our wedding will be a great time, I just can't wait to start our new life together. I hope this time goes by fast.

Anniversary

Today is the marking of a year spent with the most awesome guy in the world. I can't believe this year went by so fast. Its been filled with so much craziness....graduating, visiting parents in Iowa, getting engagaed. But nothing will ever compare to the excitement of him showing up at my house on Tuesday March 8th, 2005 and holding my hand for the first time and asking me to be with him. After waiting for sooo long and debating in my head about if this guy was even interested in me, I wasn't even sure it would ever happen. I thought I was going to die of shock when my mom told me he stopped by their house to ask their permission to start dating me. Yes, my mom sort of ruined the suprise. But it still shocked me coming from him. I was so excited that night. Of course I didn't sleep and walked around the next day with a huge smile on my face. The next time I saw him I remember how weird it felt and how akward I was feeling. I don't feel that anymore, thats for sure. I remember our first date...waiting, talking to my roomates and watching out my window for when he would show up. He was wearing a blue shirt and some crazy cool tie. We went to dinner at Maggianos in Santana Row. The two of us in this huge booth in a huge restaurant with a huge family style plate of spagetti. For the first time, he told me I looked pretty that night. Once again, me feeling akward and good at the same time.

Tonight we're going back to Maggianos. Our first family tradition I guess. =)

Leave and Cleave

I have been doing some pre-marital counseling with Steve and Kathleen Mueller, who are awesome and kind people. We have been going through a book called Preparing for Marriage. The title speaks for its self. We recently were talking about how in Genesis 2:24 it says that a man shall leave his father and mother and shall cleave to his wife. I am not married yet, but I am starting to practice that. My natural instinct when I am in an emergancy is to call dad. Now days, that is starting to change to "Call Jonathan". Tonight I got out of work and my car was not starting. I called Jonathan. He came to my rescue. Then I call Dad. I thought about how lucky (and spolied;) ) I have always been to have my Dad come and take care of my car, and pay for it too. I decided that its about time I took care of things myself. I called my dad back and told him we could take care of it. This is a big step for me. Leave and cleave.

Bunnies

A cute fluffy brown bunny has made its home in our front lawn. Its been munching on our lawn for breakfast and using our lawn for its toilet as well. We heard from our neighbor George that there are baby bunnies hiding somewhere on the side of our house also. I am not a big far of pets but bunnies I can handle. I have had quite a few bunnies for pets in the past. But all had tragic endings.
We got two at one time. Both boys. One named Roger and one named Peter. Peter was a fiesty rabbit and ran away from home. Roger was my favorite...I loved him so much. I was about eight when I went to Disneyland. I came back for my brother to break the news that Roger had died of heat stroke while we were gone. He burried him in our back yard. I guess that when rabbits over heat they make a screaming sort of noise. Now, I don't know if that is true or if my brother was lying. That was a sad day for me. I had many other rabbits to try and replace my beloved Roger, but none ever did.
I watched Wallace and Gromit: The Curse of the WereRabbit last night. One of the special features was how they made the bunnies out of clay and wire. It looked so easy to make. If anyone hasn't seen this movie, you should. Why? Because it is funny and because it has bunnies in it and bunnies are cute.
Which makes me think of Easter and the Easter Bunny. Now that I think about it, a giant rabbit leaving eggs and candy for children is rather frightening.

Sad Day for Miss Jamie

Today I was one of my favorite student's last day ( if your teachers ever said they don't have favorites, they lied). Her mom just got a job so she can't have Amy in part time at school. This girl is so adorable, a little Korean girl. She is also amazingly bright but still is a kid and giggles like all the other girls. She kept telling me how much she likes me today and how much she's going to miss me. It broke my heart. I also didn't have my camera and I wanted a picture with her. Luckily today was picture day and the photographer let me take my pic with her in it. I am really going to miss this girl. I hope I have a daughter like her some day...I mean she most likely won't be Korean...but I hope she's as sweet.

Rearranging

This weekend I rearranged my room. That means that everything on one side is now on the other side. But I still sleep on the same side of the bed.

Its weird walking in and turning one way, expecting to see my desk, but its not there. I also added a decorative pillow to spice things up a bit. Jonathan made a point that I won't be living here for too much longer. I still think its nice to have it cute while i'm here.

Tonight I also ate pizza at Round Table. The sharks scored more than 4 goals, which means a free one topping personal pan pizza! My parents were nice enough to give them to me. We ate the free pizza (with Sausage ontop) and watched some speed skating.

I really like the olympics. I like watching the opening ceremonies where all the countries come in. Its nice to see all different nations coming together, although it sounds cheesy. It must be such an honor to represent your country. I love the countries where there is only one athlete, alone and proudly carrying their flag. That must be a huge honor. I can't wait to watch figure skating. I used to be one of those girls who watched it all the time and went to the Stars on Ice tours at the arena. I love to watch it but never put me on ice. I am a horrible skater. It hurts my feet.

Valentine

Here's a cute one for you folks. Yesterday Arveen was smiling at me. I asked him, "Why are you staring at me?" and he said shyly, "Because I love you". Then he ran away. He came back and I asked him again, "What did you say?" and he said, "I love you!". Then I said, "You love me? You want to be my Valentine?". Arveen replies, "I'm not a card!... I wear shoes!".

I guess that Valentines are only a card, not the person.

Speaking of that day, I am not sure how I feel about this holiday. I really think its a weird one. I was always anti-Valentines because it seems so superficial. I know someone loves me because they got me red roses on February 14th. I would rather get one flower (not a red rose) on a random day. I guess I shouldn't wait till Hallmark tells me to let someone know I care.

To all my friends who "actually read this", I appreciate you and love you today, February 9th, because you find my blog semi-interesting. =)

Have a great day.

Pre-Marital Crisis

I think it finally hit me. The stress of planning a wedding. It crept up on me slowly... and then BANG. It hit me. Figuring out how much money is left in our buget, making everyone happy (ie the mother of the bride). And ontop of that, I am going through some weird nesting sort of thing. I can't stop cleaning and I am always thinking about what I am going to be making for dinner. I actually spent time ironing the other day. I can't even remeber the last time I ironed. I am reading books like "The Excellent Wife". What is going on with me? My floor never seems to be clean enough. Jonathan better get used to long hair showing up everywhere cause I am shedding like none other. I can't believe I am getting married in less than five months.

Greetings From Iowa

Hi everyone who reads this. I am in Iowa. The sun is about to set on a very lazy day for me. Its great here. Outside there are beautiful houses and snow...lots of it! The weather is cold. Today it was warmer... 20 degrees. =) Being here is great. Jonathan's family is awesome. His mom is sweet and gentle and his dad is funny. His brother Will is funny too. We got here Saturday night. Sunday was church. Will is part of a team that does puppeteering and they had a performance Sun night. It was great. Monday was an adventure, driving like an hour to get to a decent mall. Then coming back and having dinner ready, and leaving on another long drive to the movie theater. Everyone fell asleep. We wacthed the Chronicles of Narnia. It was really good! Today Jonathan and I faced the cold and walked Downtown. I got to see the Mississippi river, and visted the muscatine library. They also have a cool yarn shop with really expensive yarn. Then we came back to chicken nuggets for lunch, and watched Fantastic Four. lol. Bad choice. Oh well. Now we are being lazy again. Jonathan is sleeping. This is a great vacation already. Every morning I go wake up Jonathan then go downstairs and food is placed infront of me. Its so great! The weird thing about Iowa is that noone else seems to like it here. I think its beautiful. It really is a white christmas!

The Final Final

Today I took my last final! Woo hoo! I woke up at a wonderful 6 am and walked to the bus stop in pitch black freezing weather. I got there 15 minutes early, but I didn't study much...at all. I don't think I did that bad. I walked out of there and seconds later sold my books back, for the last time. I got 81 dollars. Not bad. I took half of that and bought my cap, gown and tassel and a cup of noodle. Then I had graduation practice. It was actually fun. I thought I wouldn't know anyone, but I recognized a lot of faces. The coolest thing was I talked to this girl who was in the class I had the final for that morning. She is actually a Christian and goes to Westgate church. That was really cool. She's a funny person too. Its a shame that I meet cool people like that the last day of school. Today has been long and crazy but really fun. Three more days till Iowa. I don't know how I will be able to stand the cold weather. I am a wimp. I can hardley stand this California night weather. Two weeks and three days till Disneyland! Two days till Graduation! Tomorrow is also a big day. My preschoolers have there Winter Program. This means showing off to parents what we have taught the kids. I don't like interacting with the parents very much. Some of them are very nice but some are just plain crazy. Same goes for the children. Well, time to rest up; there are so many more festivities this week.

The Last Days of School

I have one week of school left. Forever. At least for now. I have been in school for 20 years. Yes thats right. I started school at 3 years old at Challenger. That is when my mom started working there. Now I work there! And I am finally graduating college. I have been in college for five and a half years. People keep asking me if I am excited and I don't really know how I feel. I am glad that I don't have to do anymore tests, essays, APA style research papers, no more turnitin.com, no more teacher evaluations, etc. It still does not feel real. Maybe when I put on a black gown and cap, I will feel like this is real. I am really going to miss going to school. I like the going part but not the doing. I love meeting new people in my classes. I really do like learning about children and stuff. I will really miss how easy it was to meet people who are not Christians. I have met an awesome friend in the last few years at SJSU. When I first met her, I knew she had no belief in God at all, but the other day she told me that after last summer she started to think that there was a God. I was so excited to hear that. She is such a funny person. She always made me laugh with her random stories. This morning in class this guy kept talking about Chuck Norris. It was funny. This morning was funny too. I think my alarm went off... well, I think that I ignored it because next thing I knew it, it was 8:13. I usually leave my house at 8:15. I still made it on time. Phew! Winter makes me have really bad personal hygiene. Its too freakin cold in the morning to get into the shower. The other day I had to pour hot water on my windows to defrost them. Its officially winter! I am also getting ready to go to Iowa to meet my fiance's parents. I am really excited to meet them and see how they are. I'm sure its going to be a blast. Then, I am going to Disneyland for New Years. I love Disneyland. And I have always wanted to go with a "significant other". All my dreams are coming true. lol. ANYWAY, I guess soon I will know how it feels to be a college graduate. I hope it doesn't hurt.

Days Off

So I only had one class today. I usually have two, but my teacher wanted to take the week off. YEAH! My tuesday night class is cancalled as well and I have no classes on Wed. What to do with all this free time? Well, I tried to get together with some friends I haven't seen in a while. Nothing seemed to work out for today. So I must result to laziness. I have been on my computer messing around with I Tunes. I am making different playlists and adding some of my music. Fun times. I think its kind of weird that I'm using I tunes but I don't have an I Pod. Hmm.

I also thought about going wedding dress shopping. This is hard work. You wouldn't think it would be. You think you're going to try one dress on and then you cry and say "This is it". But no. You try on lots of ugly dresses. You find a gorgeous one thats out of your price range. You get tired of trying on these dresses which are heavy and sometimes uncomfortable. You sometimes don't fit the dress so you are sucking in and can barley breath. I shouldn't complain too much. All the pain will be worth it..once I find that perfect dress. The benefit is that I get to marry an amazing guy; so i'll do anything to find that perfect dress to be his beautiful bride.

I have less than one month of school left untill I graduate. PRAISE GOD! 26 days until I leave for Iowa to meet the parents. 40 days till i'm in Disneyland! (side note: I had a dream last night that Disneyland was too crowded and we didn't get it. This dream was far too realistic). And only 7 months and 4 days till I am getting married!!! Yikes. So much is happening.

Back to School

Today I started my Practicum for class at Hoover Middle School. It's really close to my house, which is nice. When I showed up, I had no idea where to go, so I asked a girl if she could show me. She was nice enough to walk me over. I felt like I was a new student, going to school for the first time. I got a map of where I was to go for the first four periods of school. The first was an art class. I had no idea where this building was. The administration at the office was not too friendly or helpful. So i'm walking around aimlessly, I step in mud. Yup, it still feels like a first day of school. I ask a PE teacher where it was, and she pointed in the right direction. Meanwhile, announcements are being broadcasted. There was a break in at the school last night. They know its a student because of what was taken. They ask the students to write annonmous notes saying if they knew anything about it. I realize very quickly this is not Challenger school. I go into the first class. Most of the students are Hispanic and bigger than me. Kind of scary. During class I just walked around and introduced myself to the kids. Next class was a reading class and a language arts class. I got to tutor some boys who were having a hard time. A sixth grader was reading at a 2nd grade level. In the same class are kids who are reading at a high school level in sixth grade. This must be really hard for the teacher. The teacher was really great. She told me that she had taught in a private school and then moved to public school. She realized that at private schools, there is no challenge. The students are tested before being admitted and parents are paying for there kids to be there so there is not much problem with motivation. This really stuck out to me out of everything I heard today. These kids in public schools are in a tough spot. They are not bad kids, they are just in bad circumstances. They don't know anything other than what they have experienced, and they don't believe there is life outside of San Jose. Mrs. Austin was telling me that one of her sixth grade students was running away from home; her mom would be searching for her all night long. Kids are still kids though. Girls between classes were talking about Napolean Dynamite, and about how cool Tinker Bell was.

In general it was a different and scary experience. I realized how blind and innocent I was in junior high. It made me sad to see a girl eating lunch alone by a tree, and how I wish I could have sat with her and be her friend. Public schools face a lot of issues that private schools don't. The teachers at pubilc school have only 50 dollars for supplies. Teachers are selling pencils to students for 10 cents and giving lectures about ruining the supplies because its all they have.

It was scary being the new kid, even though i'm in college. As I was walking in the hall between classes, blending in with the hundreds of junior highers, I felt more at ease when one girl said hi who I had met earlier. I made a friend!

Menker Relief Efforts

So the Lord gives and takes away. I know this because He gave us a roomate and then mysteriously took her away. She left me a voice mail saying she can't move in, she can't afford it, blablabla. Typically I would get furious. Part of me was mad, at myself for trusting her. I mean, I even told other people they couldn't move in because she was. But I trust that God will provide for us. He always has. So if your reading this and know a cool Christian (preferrably) girl around 18-30 who needs a room to rent, send her my way.

Meanwhile, in tough times we pull togther and do all we can. One thing you can do is PRAY. Pray I find a perfect roomate fast. Since we are probablly going to have to cover some of the extra rent, we are organizing a Menker Roomate Relief Garage Sale. These next two weeks might be a bit tough financially. If you want to buy some of our old crap and support us, come on Saturday morning.

And after that you should go to Saturday morning bible study. My favorite way to start Saturday mornings. 10:30 am at the crusade house. If only I could be half as wise as Dr. Dolphin...

By the way, yesterday was my birthday and it was really awesome. A day filled with lots of love. I'm so blessed to have such loving people in my life. I'm 23 now! Woo hoo. I think I like getting older. I feel more like a real adult everyday. Maybe some day i'll get there. I bet after I graduate college I will feel more adult.

I just realized i'm way off on some other topics now and not sure how to end this.

Better Late than Never

I often forget to rejoice in the amazing things that God does in my life. Recently a natural disaster struck New Orleans, where both my parents grew up and a bunch of family still lives. By God's grace they are all safe and sound. Talk about perfect timing, my aunt flew here to California the Saturday before the hurricane came. Although she still doesn't know if her home is ok, and she can't use her cell phone to contact any of her friends, at least she is not one of the many whose lives were taken by this distaster. Two other family members were airlifted off their roof. Crazy how I see these things on the news. It doesn't seem real, but its part of me and my family.
Saturday night I was praying for a roomate and on Sunday by crazy perfect timing I found one. And not just someone who needs a room to rent but someone who actually wants to live in my house in particular. Then, last night as I was at Cary's birthday party I really missed my camera (actually Jonathan's camera). My borther accidentally took it home with him like three weeks ago and I don't see him often. Minutes later and my mom leaves me a voice mail saying that she has my camera. That means I will get it back today at work, and hopefully I will get to put pictures on Flickr. I really have missed it. =)

There are really so many things to be thankful for.

Lately I haven't been praying enough, but when I do, He answers. I think sometimes I don't deserve that but thats what God is all about.

Liverland

Kids have great imaginations. This week at work, three year old Cade has been taking us on adventures to "Liverland". Hmm..Liverland. I can only imagine. There is a play boat on the playground and he would yell at everyone, "Get in! We're going to Liverland!" Cade proceeded to chaufer us to Liverland. He would tell us when we arrived, and then announce, "Now, we are going to the pool!" So Liverland has a pool? What is Liverland?? Is it like Disneyland? Personally I dont really like liver. Maybe Cade does. What about like Pizzaland? Then I thought it could be Livermore and he's just confused, yet he seemed so confident. So I asked his Mom about this so called Liverland. Turns out Liverland is actually Neverland. So cute.