Whatever you are

So I've been wanting to write for a while, but I wasn't quite sure how to put my thoughts into words... or at least good ones.  So for the past few weeks the weeks and the semester draws to a close, I am starting to feel the end of the semester blues.  I don't really know what to do with myself now without my head stuck in a book or in a project non-stop.  It's funny because the whole time I just wanted life to slow down.. funny how life works that way.  As I now face my last semester, I am faced with that terrifying reality that every graduate faces: doing what I want to do for the rest of my life (aka: finding a job). I know that the first job I get is not somewhere I have to stay for 30 years or anything, but it's just the thought of this huge change and transition in my life.

I feel like God has been growing and stretching me for some time now.  It was actually a big transition for me to go from dating to engaged, having the most intense semester of my life, and some highly emotional situations, but God has shown me His way through it all.  But I feel like I just finished that hurdle and I have another one right ahead.

Well I must say thank God for the scriptures (literally.. thank you, God) because they are such an encouragement, better than any pep-talk.  My facebook friend posted today Colossians 3:23-24 which states:

 "Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance. It is the Lord Christ whom you serve."

 

 This is such a great reminder... I just have to worry about serving the Lord, and He will take care of the rest.  And He has proven it time and time again.  This also reminds me of the quote by Abraham Lincoln which states:

"Whatever you are, be a good one." 

 

It doesn't matter what I do, as long as I work hard and do it for the Lord.  Lemmetellya, change is hard.  But we have the Creator of the Universe to help us at any moment of any day.  I'm pretty sure you can get through anything with Him. Actually I'm 100% sure.

So I'm thankful for these little reminders and encouragements, they sure help me, and I just thought I would pass it along~

With Love,

The Good Life

So I know it's been a while.  Life has been... busy, to say the least. (I actually should be writing a paper on climate change right now... why would I ever want to put that off??) This has been an insane semester for me... 20 credits and 3 studio classes for me and a full time (big boy) banking job for Cal.  We get to see each other most evenings while I'm buried in my home work and he's calling venues and caterers (he's the best fiance ever).  But you know what? I love it.

Sometimes Cal and I get too caught up in whats ahead.  How AWESOME will it be to go home together instead of parting separate ways at the end of each night.  How amazing will it be to wake up next to each other.  How we can cook oriental foods together and watch New Girl or do whatever we want because we won't be distracted with boat loads of work.  The good life. But then we have to remind each other how awesome our life is now too.  There is only this point in our life once.  We are only going to be engaged for a short time, and then we'll be married till we're old and gray (which will be awesome in it's own way).  This is such a special time in our life and so was dating.  It was when we became friends, when there wasn't the other stresses of marriage.  And I know that being in school is awesome, too.  I have done so many projects that I just love and enjoyed, and I have loved collaborating and working with other people.  I need to stop wanting to rushing it along and wishing for whats ahead.  I want to love every single minute of this life.  And also not be too naive about the future.  I know that marriage will not be a "... and they all lived happily ever after.." and will present it's own challenges, but I know God has given us the tools to face those challenges.  So here's to a non-idealized future and a messy but perfect present.

The Good Life.

With Love,

Wedding Inspiration

    So Cal and I have a lot of planning to do as far as wedding planning.  There are so many little details to cover! But I honestly love it.  At first it was really overwhelming for us, cause we didn't even know where to start.  So I did what I do best - went on pinterest for a little inspiration, hehe. :)  Cal and I want our wedding to be a bit more personal so were incorporating a lot of DIYs, which I love.  So once I got adequate inspiration from pinterest, I made a collage of all the items I am looking for and made a spreadsheet for friends and family to keep their eyes open for at garage sales and goodwill, etc.  It has been great so far, and it's overwhelming how great and how good people are at finding these things for us!  We are so so thankful. It helps me a bunch too, being a very visual person.

Here is our inspiration!

Who knows if it is actually going to turn out like this, but it's great for me to use this as a guide.  Like other collages I've made, I did this at www.picmonkey.com. Love that program!

Also, if you have any ideas or more inspiration, I would LOVE to check it out!!

Happy Friday!

With love,
Cath

And I am going to marry that man.

Sometimes, he just blows me away.  It doesn't always hit me at first, sometimes it's in the drive home at night when I really think about how loving and selfless  and all around awesome he really is.  And it's in so many ways.

It's in the way he will volunteer to do something even though it scares him half to death because he feels God told him to do it... and then he ends up nailing it.

It's in the way he will not only give a homeless man money at McDonalds, but will talk with him about his journey and his past.

It's in the way he will use his day off to look for internships for me online.

It's the way he loves to play trivia in the car on long car rides.

It's in the way that all he requests for his birthday is that I watch the Star Wars Saga with him.

It's in the way people come up to me and tell me what a blessing he is.

..... and I am going to marry that man.

 

Happy birthday to the best man on the planet.

With -MUCH- Love,

DIY: Antique Gold Affect

Hey there! So I got all three of these candle holders from a garage sale for $1 (the guy just wanted to get rid of them) and I liked them but I really wanted to freshen them up and give em a new look! Hey why not for a buck?

So here's the down low...

What you'll need:

• Candle holders... or any objects in your house that is in need of a makeover
• Gold spay paint (man I love that stuff!)
• Black acrylic paint
• "Dry" paint brush

 How to:

 1. Spray on the gold spray paint outside, making sure to make nice even coats over the entire object.

 2. Make sure to turn it upside down to get those spots underneath!

 3. Then once it's dry, paint black paint with your dry brush.  You will want to put it in all the nooks and crannies - this gives it it's old vintage feel.

 4. Once it is slightly dry, wipe off the paint with a dry paper towel.  Just do it on the surface, and leave the black in the deeper areas!

Aaand.. done! Seriously. Easy as that.

 

Enjoy!

With Love,

Engagement Story

So as many of you probably already know, Cal and I are engaged!! Here is our engagement story:

So Cal and I have been talking and planning on getting married for a long time... as in around 2 years.  So with this long of time to plan and wish for getting engaged and getting hitched, it would be hard to not see this coming.. but somehow Cal managed to surprise me - big time.  It was around a week before the July holiday weekend when I suggested that we go on a picnic to the beach rather than going to the parade which we always do on the Fourth.  He agreed, and we loosely made plans for our excursion.  The weather threatened to rain out our fun, but it thankfully held off and we made some wraps and snacks and headed out toward the beach.  Now he was super chill and on the fly about the whole thing, so I had nooo clue at all.  I seriously said during lunch "Yano, I wish we could talk more about this whole engagement thing, I hate not being able to talk really at all about it. Like I almost thought you were going to do it today, but there is NO way, since your not nervous or making sure everything is going along to plan."  Literally. But he still gave no hints!

We then went to another beach that we had both been to together, and had fun memories there in the past.  We laughed and talked and looked out over the water.  A little while later, when we were both quietly taking in the view, he said he had a gift for me.  He described the gift, saying it was like me, unique and different on the outside, but once you really get to know it and look deeper into it, you see really how beautiful it is.  I still had no clue. I laughed and said maybe I should see the gift so I could understand it better.  He smiled and said I had to wait a little bit.  He then pulled out a little book out of his pocket and said it was a flip book and he wanted me to flip through it.  I saw that he drew a ring and a heart on the cover, and I started to sit up a little straighter and my heart started to beat a little faster.  As I flipped through it spelled out: "Will you marry me?" As I was reading this he got on one knee and said "Cathy, will you marry me?" At this point I am freaking out.  I am taking in the book, the gorgeous ring in front of me, and the love of my life asking me to be with him to the day we die.  I gasp and smile and eventually say yes, which he said felt like eternity.. which was probably a few seconds. We laughed and giggled and hugged and he placed the ring on my finger. We laughed and talked and had to pinch each other to see if it all was really real. It was a sweet moment of happiness that I will never forget.

It kind of blows my mind how faithful God has been to our prayers.  It somewhat seems like it has been a long time coming, yet I am nervously excited for this short time in our lives while we are engaged.  God has given me the man of my dreams, the man knows how to take me at my worst and encourages me to be my best. I am so blessed.

This cutiepatootie reenacted it for me :)

Thank you for all the love and support, the encouragement has blown us away!  We truly appreciate it.

With love
Cath and Cal

Maybe when we're 80 things will slow down...

You know, one thing I really like about blogging is that you can make all your recent memories stand still with a single blog post.  Cal and I were talking about how if we don't really take time to soak in and enjoy the happy little things around us, life is just going to fly by without really knowing what hit us.  So here is just a pile of recent pictures and memories of things that I don't want to forget...

Cal and I went out to ice cream last weekend with my family.  We joked and laughed and played games all night and it was wonderful.  I love when we're all just goofs! Side note: figured out that sundaes are just not my thing - the plainer the better for this girl! (lol I know it's sad that it took me 20 years to figure this out.)

 Fishing is the must boring/frustrating/rewarding thing one can do.  I enjoy to fish because it reminds me of fishing when I was a little girl with my daddy.  Good times!

Bahaha and Cal makes some pretty accurate (and hilarious!) fishy faces!

A warm and cuddly little max.  Mmmm.

Campfires with my bestie on summer nights. Now that's what I'm talking about.  Also - that is an awful fire.  Paper and logs apparently doesn't really work.  Gasoline? Now were talking...

I love this man more than words could say.  This picture reminds that even when things get tough, or busy, or confusing that I have the most wonderful man for me on this planet.  I am so blessed to have him.

 And here's a little video of us being goofs and showing off our "moves."  I think this one will make me laugh for years! :)

With Love,