A Proposal is Blogworthy

So, Trent and I are engaged. This is MY version and thought processes of the events that led up to our engagement. I'll let him tell you the real "behind the scenes" story of what really took place without me knowing. Let me crack my knuckles and begin typing out the events that led up to the best night of my life. (I hope you are sitting comfortably and don't have anywhere to be for awhile)

It all started Friday night. Trent and I decided to do one of our greatest "Trent and Abby" things to do: drive around to anywhere and everywhere in his truck. It's a special treat for us to take his truck because we get to sit up higher (as opposed to his Saturn) so we can enjoy the scenery and each other's company. We started in Nappanee, headed to Elkhart, went through Mishawaka, and ended up at his house. (I thought) he felt bad about us not going out to eat or anything on a Friday night so he said, "Hey, why don't we just go out to eat Sunday night, since you don't have to work." That sounded good to me, a nice little date with my boyfriend on a Sunday night. I thought we would go to Logan's or something and didn't really think much more about it. Until Sunday morning...

I woke up at 9am to get a major load of spanish homework done for the week. I knew I would have a lot of time because Trent told me on Saturday that him and his dad and brother were going golfing at around noon and were playing 18 holes. This meant that it would take them about 4 hours to finish golfing. I was glad, it gave me time to finish my spanish homework. As I sat in my pajamas at the dining room table with sheets of spanish words spread out around me, I received a phone call from Trent at about 11:30am. He called to say that they were headed out to the golf course and mentioned something about our dinner date. He suggested that we went to a place in Syracuse called The Frog, "a nice italian restaurant" he said. He said he heard Mary and Jerry (a couple from our church who live on Lake Wawasee) talking about it and it sounded nice. I said, "aw man, a nice restaurant? That means I actually have to take a shower and not just wear my hair in a ponytail." He laughed and said, "Nope, you gotta shower." I agreed, he said he had to go, and we said our goodbyes.

After the conversation, I was very curious why we were going to a nice restaurant on a random Sunday night, something not typical at all for us. Then my thoughts and heart began to race. Could this be the night?! Is he taking me to a nice restaurant on the lake to propose to me?! I couldn't contain my excitement and texted my mom with "Trent's taking me to a nice restaurant in syracuse. this could be the night!" she texted back with, "let's hope so!" haha! Then, about a half hour later, my sister came home and when she walked in the door I said, "Well, I might be getting engaged tonight." haha! Then I proceeded to tell her what Trent told me on the phone.

The whole afternoon I debated with myself about what was going to happen that night. Were we or weren't we?? Ben called me at about 4pm and said he was home from Purdue and was coming over to return my car to me. I thought, "he's back kinda early", but it was a momentary passing thought and didn't think more of it. He came over and I was hesitant to tell him about Trent and I going out to dinner. I didn't want to lead on that I suspected something because I already knew Ben knew what Trent was planning. I didn't say a word and Ben left.

Trent got done golfing and picked me up at about 5:45pm. On the way to the lake, I noticed that Trent was awfully chatty. His mouth was running a mile a minute! But, sometimes that happens to him when we've haven't spent much time together. So, I didn't think too much of it except in the back of my mind thinking, "he might be nervous about tonight." I tried so hard not to get my hopes up because I would've been a little upset if it didn't happen that night. So I tried to remain calm and just think of it as a date night.

We got to Syracuse and I saw the parking lot to the restaurant. However, we drove past it and he turned down one of the lake roads. He said, "Oh crap, I took a wrong turn, I need to turn around in someone's driveway." So he pulled up to someone's driveway and said with an enormous grin, "Hey! This is Mary and Jerry's house!" As I was saying, "Trent, hurry up and turn around so these people don't see us in their driveway," he parked the truck and proceeded to open the door to get out. This was the moment that solidified my suspicions: we are definetely getting engaged tonight.

I was in shock and slowing got out of the truck, absolutely dumbfounded. I'm pretty sure I looked totally stunned when Mary greeted us at her door with a "Hey! I didn't expect to see you two here!" I smiled like a confused fool as we walked through their house to see Jerry sitting on the back porch. Jerry greeted us and Trent asked with a huge smile, "Hey do you think we could borrow your boat for the night?" Jerry replied, "Sure go ahead!" Then Trent led me to their pontoon, I sat down, still in shock and very confused. I noticed a table set up on the boat but didn't think anything of it because Mary said, "Sorry about the table, it's still there from boat church this morning." Trent steered the boat out of the channel and we were off.

As we were speeding down the lake, so many thoughts were running through my mind. Where are we going? Is he taking me to a restaurant by the lake? But why would we need to drive a boat to get there? I turned around to my smiling-like-a-fool boyfriend and simply said "Trickery!" We arrived at our destination between two docks and we plopped down the anchors. Once again, I was confused. Are we getting off the boat and eating in that gazebo over there? Is that amazing house over there a restaurant? Are we eating at all cuz I'm starving! Oh geez, we better get to eat. So I asked, "Are we eating?" about 5 times and Trent finally said that we were. We sat around on the anchored pontoon for a few minutes and watched boats drive by. I asked with a curious grin, "So, are we waiting on something?" He smiled back and lied, "I don't know." It started to get hot so I rolled up my pants, sat down on the side of the boat, and stuck my feet in the water. Trent thought it was a good idea so he sat down next to me and he took some pictures of our feet in the water. Not long after Trent suddenly stood up and said, "Hey, who's on that speed boat over there?"

I hesitated because I knew another surprise was on the way but eventually stood up to see Jerry driving the speed boat with Ben and Todd surprisingly on there as well. They were dressed up particularly well in black pants, white dress shirts, and black ties. I flashed a huge smile, I knew they had the food. Again, the moment Ben and Todd stepped onto our boat and Jerry drove away, I knew we were going to be eating dinner on our boat and Ben and Todd were our servers. However, I still didn't know when the questions was going to be asked.

It didn't take long because as Todd was setting the table and pouring the white grape juice, Trent layed down a linen napkin before me that was embroidered with pink lettering that said, "Abby Miller, will you marry me?" The ring was tied to a pink ribbon sewn onto the napkin. He got down on one knee and asked me to marry him. I said yes of course and the tears started to swell in my eyes. I was shocked at how emotional I got because I had been expecting him to propose ever since we picked out the ring a week after school ended. So, I said yes, we kissed and hugged, Ben took TONS of pictures, and we finally got to eat! It was absolutely perfect. I had no idea Trent would be so creative and propose to me on a boat! I thought for sure that he would propose on the 4th of July, but was wrong, and glad I was wrong!

Trent did such an amazing job but I know (from the conversation on the ride home) that he had a lot of help. His mom and dad made the food and helped him plan the engagement, hide the ring, and keep things under wraps. Ben and Todd did their parts making sure every detail was carried out as Trent had planned and keeping me out of "the know." And Phyllis was delighted to do her part and embroidered the napkins for Trent. Thank you all so much for making this truly the best night of my life. It was PERFECT. I love you all!

Well, time to go, we've got a wedding to plan!

Abby

Just......Vile.

As you probably have already noticed, I have really been slacking on the blogging. But really, nothing much is going on other than school, work, and church. And everybody (I think) who reads my blog already sees me regularly so they already know what's going on, therefore, why write it down?!

However, I cannot live my life any longer without telling you about the horrific thing that happened to me today. This morning, around 8:00am, I sat down in the computer lab at school for my 8:30 stats class, second row, second computer in. I was the first one there so I logged on to the computer and checked my email and facebook. A few other students walked in and took their seats at their computers. Then, around 8:15, this tall, large, unattractive, middle-aged guy walks in from the front of the room and sat his stuff down at the first computer in the first row, caddy-corner to me. I knew he was not in our class because I had never seen him in there before and he looked...confused. Still, out of the corner of my eye I saw him sit down, log on, and proceed to print some stuff. I was minding my own business and ignoring the man when suddenly (and regretfully) I looked over at him and saw what could only be described as "gag-reflex-inducing". The man's pants were so far down his butt, I swear, half of it was exposed for the entire class to witness! I mean, come on, how could he not have felt a draft?! It was huge, white, and hairy and the crack was sooooooo wide and deep! Definetely NOT what I wanted to see at 8 in the morning! I was disgusted and I'm pretty sure my face showed it. I got this lump in my throat that made me want to gag. It was so nasty, it made me shiver. Thank goodness he finally found out that we had a class in there and he wasn't supposed to be in there after 8:30, and left. Still, that haunting image of the biggest, hairiest, deepest butt crack I've ever seen in my entire life will be with me til the day I die. UUUUGGGGHHHHH!!! *shivers*

So how was your day?? :)

Abs

Busy with Breakouts

Do you ever get so stressed out that at any given moment you feel like you want to curl up in the fetal posistion and just stay there for a few hours? Yep, I'm there. School.... school... and more school. Scheduling for my last year of school has been more stressful that I thought. I've been trying to get with my advisor for a week and but he's never available or he doesn't email me back. I enrolled in one summer class and trying to get into another summer class but I need to meet with the professor and get his position. He hasn't emailed me back either. Also, homework is piling up! Papers, projects, reading, assignments, more papers... gggaaaaahhhh! So much homework and not enough time to do it! Between classes, work, and church... i-yi-yi!

Then, my fafsa got rejected because I didn't provide parental information (cuz I live on my own now), well apparently the financial aid office didn't think I was supposed to be "independent." So now I either have to prove that I am independent or provide them with my dad's info. Thank goodness I have a wonderful mother who took care of this for me! *hopefully* it will be taken care of for good in a few days.

My schedule seems so crazy lately.
It starts on Tuesday. I have class from 8:30am-6:45pm and Trent and I don't get home til about 8pm. I have just enough time to eat and catch American Idol.
Wednesday I usually work from 7-1 then I go to my mom's from about 5-8:30ish. Not much homework gets done on wed.
Thursday is pretty much identical to tuesday.
Friday I usually work from 6:30-1. Friday night is pretty much the night to just take a breather from the week and prepare myself for the weekend.
Saturday is my busiest day. I typically work from either 7-2 or 10-4. Since we have to be at the church at 3:30, it's a mad rush to get there. We usually get back from church around 8. By then I am exhausted and ready for bed at like 9.
Sunday I work 10-4. Then at night I finally get some time for homework so I do that pretty much all night.
Monday is the best b/c I get to sleep in and catch up on homework. So Monday is pretty much my laundry/homework day.

Sorry for the negativity. I know other people's lives are probably way more busier than mine, but geesh. All I can say is thank goodness summer is only about 5 weeks away and it's starting to warm up. I wish I could write more, but what do you know, I have to get ready for my Psi Chi induction ceremony tonight at 6. Just one more thing to check off the list... *sigh*

Abby

I'm 22!

*gasp* 22. wow. I am NOT this old yet. I'm boycotting my birthday this year. I'll just turn 21 again, that'd be fine with me.

Pictures are here!

Abs

Dough Therapy

I always think about the deepest things when I'm work, usually when I'm making dough. Something about the no-thought-required part of making dough allows my mind to wander all over the place. I listen to the radio and the u93 morning guys crack me up. They're always asking people to call in about a weird phobia they have, or if anything lucky happened to them on their birthday, or their reaction to a woman who was caught breast feeding her baby while driving and talking on the cell phone all at once. Good discussions like that.

In between laughing at the radio when I'm by myself, I usually think about my future. About where I'm going to be in the next few years and who I'll be around. Like I've said before, next year is my last year of college (I hope) and I'll be going solo, without Trent. In my previous posts I've talked about how I'll probably feel lonely and sad. About how I'll miss hanging out with Trent and having someone to talk to. Basically, I talked about how crappy/lonely it's going to be.

However, yesterday when I was at work, I had another one of those dough-making epiphanies. Maybe I won't be sad. Maybe I'll actually talk to my classmates and make friends for once. Maybe I won't have to rely on Trent so much. I'm gonna have to drive by myself and learn how to drive in the crappy weather. I'll actually have to be independent for a change! Not that I'm totally dependent right now, I pay my own rent and my own tuition. But just the sheer fact of being alone is independence for me. I have plenty of people around me who take care of me on a daily basis. I guess what I'm trying to say is that being by myself up here at IUSB is going to be a growing experience I need in order to kinda become an adult. I'm such a follower so being by myself is gonna force me to make my own decisions and become more independent.

I think it'll be good for me and Trent's relationship too. I think it'll be good for us to spend a little bit of time apart. We've been together almost daily for over 5 years now and it's always been "Trent and Abby," like we're just one entity. Well, hopefully after next year it'll be "Trent" and "Abby." You get me? lol We've meshed together so much over the years that we're kinda losing our orignal selves and becoming the same person. I just think that by spending a little bit of time apart will help us get back to "Trent" and "Abby" and we'll be better as a couple, kinda rediscover each other. It'll be fun! :)

I feel very optimistic about the coming year. It might be hard and lonely at first, but it'll only better me in the long run.

Abby

p.s.- Based on my previous grades, I have been given the opportunity to become a lifetime member of Psi Chi, a national honor society for psychology students. Yay!

New Look

Ta-da! My blog now has a new look to represent spring. However, upon Trent's discovery, what you're seeing as my new colors may not be what I'm seeing :( What I see is a pretty olive green as the background, and you might be seeing a greyish green--not what I wanted! I picked out the colors on Trent's home computer and they showed up different on his laptop. Then we looked at it on my laptop... another color. Oh well, Trent likes it and I'm tired of messing around with colors, so it's gonna stay like this. Now, the new blog banner has a different story.

I've been working on this thing for 3 days! (with Trent's help of course) And I'm still not 100% satisfied with the final product. I think I need to refine my photoshop skills to get what I really want. All I wanted was a picture frame that had some pictures in it sitting on top of a picnic table overlooking a scene. Is that so hard?? Obviously it is cuz it took me 3 days to finish it. Oh well, I wanted something spring-like and I think I got it. Lemme know what ya think.

Abby

V-Day Recap

"I hate Valentine's Day" is what I've been saying for years, even though I have a boyfriend. Trent and I usually boycott Valentine's Day because we just view it as a made up holiday. I hate how it makes single people feel like crap. I refuse to buy a card or chocolates because I do not want to support these companies. Call me a sourpuss, but that's just my opinion. Just because we don't make a huge deal about Valentine's Day doesn't mean I won't do a little something special for my love.

This year, I made *surprise*cupcakes. Chocolate cupcakes with red sprinkles. That's it. And Trent gave me Dove chocolates with caramel, my favorite. Trent has been asking me for about a week "Are we doing anything for Valentine's Day?" I finally broke down and told him we could go to Red Lobster only because I have a giftcard from Christmas. So we decided to go to Red Lobster after church. We were hoping it wouldn't be so busy since we wouldn't get there til 8. WRONG. We made our way through the sardine-packed waiting area and waited in line just to put our names in. After about 30 seconds, we both said screw it and left.

We drove to Olive Garden and the situation wasn't any better. This time, we didn't even get out of the car. We drove all around South Bend looking for somewhere to eat. We were starving! By then, I didn't even care where we ate, I just needed some food! hah Even though we were starving and driving around.... we had soooo much fun. I LOVE just driving around with Trent. We were spending time together and having a good time, what more could we have wanted? We just laughed at the situation and ended up at Martin's supermarket. We decided to find something to make at home.

Neither one of us cook... ever. We ended up in the pasta isle and decided to make a fettucini recipe that was on the noodle box. We grabbed some cheesy garlic bread and headed to his house. We got there at about 9:30 and made our dinner together, in our dressy clothes. It was so much fun. We're goofballs anyway so we had a good time. We finally got to eat at about 10:15. By then, we weren't even hungry anymore because we were so tired. Our dinner was so delicious though. We ate the leftovers for lunch today.

So that was our lovely, hectic Valentine's Day. It was a nice day. All I really want for Valentine's Day is just to be with my love. And that's what happened, I was satisfied. Thank you for being you. Lesson learned for next year: make a reservation.

Abby

Blog Parched

Since I've been slacking on the blogging lately (due to school papers and tons of reading), and Trent reminds me almost everyday "Abby, you need to post!", I've decided to just post a survey I took on facebook a few weeks ago. It's called "25 random things" and basically it's 25 things you may or may not have known about me. Sorry guys, I'm out of ideas.

1. I'm kind of a hypcondriac. Every little thing that goes wrong with my body makes me feel like I'm close to death.

2. I really love school. I wish I could be a professional student and never graduate so I don't have to get a "real job"

3. I lived with my parent(s) up until last year. I had to move out of my house cuz we sold it. I now live "on my own" with my older sister in an apartment. I love it.

4. I've been working at Pizza Hut since I was a junior in high school. I can do everything except the manager's paperwork.

5. Drinking alcohol gives me a headache

6....therefore, I've never been drunk

7. I hate driving anywhere other than in my own town (probably b/c of what happened to me in #20--scarred me 'literally' for life!). I've never even driven to the mall.

8. I cannot function in the mornings without my thermos of coffee.

9. I always use hand sanitizer before I eat at restaurants and I wash my hands before eating anything at home

10. I have a "good side" when pictures are being taken of me.

11. I am probably the biggest people pleaser you'll ever come across. I just hate conflict. I even try to make strangers feel comfortable around me

12. I have a blog. abbyrm.blogspot.com

13. I feel really awkward around kids. I just don't know how to talk to them or act around them.

14. I like to wear colored/patterned socks. You will rarely see me wearing plain white socks.

15. I cannot wear my hair the same way everyday. It's either straight, wavy, down, up, halfway up... I need change!

16. I always lose weight during the school year and gain weight during the summer. Last year I weighed 98 during the winter and gained 14 pounds during the summer! probably not too healthy, but oh well, I've evened out since then

17. Unlike everyone else my age, I still have another year of college. It's not good to change your major your junior year.

18. My parents got divorced when I was 18, after I graduated high school. My mom got remarried around Thanksgiving in '07 and lives in Plymouth. My dad has been with his current girlfriend for about a year. He lives with her in Granger. I really like both of the people my parents are with.

19. I wear the same jeans almost everyday to school. Hey, if I feel like I look good in them, why NOT wear them everyday?!

20. I didn't get the training wheels off of my bike until I was 7. Probably b/c my brother made me crash when I was 5 and my teeth went through my bottom lip. I had to get 5 stitches, you can see them in my kindergarten school picture

21. Today, Trent and I agreed that if he buys a rediculously expensive lens for his camera with his tax money, then I get to upgrade the engagement ring I picked out ;)

22. I use cherry-flavored Chapstick. (But I've never kissed a girl) -- if you don't get the joke, you're too old lol sorry!

23. This sounds very cliche, but Trent really is my best friend. I tell him everything, even stuff he really doesn't want to hear about. And if you tell me a secret, he's more than likely going to know about it.

24. I've just recently discovered that I don't have to take a shower EVERY single day. People cannot tell whether or not I've recently washed my hair, so it doesn't matter

25. When I was 9, I wrote "F--- you" on a piece of paper and stuck it in our neighbor's mailbox. I didn't even know it was like the worse cuss word haha. I was with my brother and some friends and they all ratted me out. It was probably the worse thing I ever did as a child...lol my bad!


p.s.- I've been thinking about changing my blog background colors to something more spring-like. fall is over!

Out.

Abs

I'm Not Gonna Die Afterall!

I had my doctor's appointment this morning at 9. I told him everything that has been going on and he said this happens to a lot of people, more than people realize. He said that a valve in my heart is supposed to go only one way but sometimes it will go the other way. This causes my heart to skip a beat or beat really fast for a second, which causes me to become lightheaded. Also, when I drink a lot of caffiene, that causes my heart to beat faster which doesn't help the valve. And for my leg cramps, I need to start taking a multivitamin and keep hydrated. I'm not getting enough potassium in my diet so the multivitamin will help with the muscle cramps. Sooo...... I'm normal. He said if this keeps happening more often or if I feel like it interrupts my life too much, I might have to wear a heart monitor for a week to see if I have some kind of irregular heartbeat.

Yay! I think I'm gonna be alright! Flintstone vitamins, here I come!

Abs

Still Feelin' It

Just an update on my last post about almost fainting in the shower. Last Thursday while I was sitting in class, I had the feeling again. My heart started racing, I began to get hot, and started shaking a little, but it only lasted for maybe 30 seconds. I think the only reason I was feeling this way again was because I was thinking about what happened in the shower. Sorta like psyching myself out, like my body was reacting to only what was in my mind.

The day after (Friday) I was at work thinking about what happened to me in class. I texted my Mom about what had happened and we agreed that I needed to go see the doctor. Wise decision. I made the appointment for next week on Wed (2/4)

I'm eager to hear my diagnosis. The most common concensus I've heard from other people is that I'm either dehydrated or have low blood pressure, or maybe even anemic. I think it's either a blood problem or a food/drink problem. Whatever the case may be, I'm just ready to hear it and literally cannot wait until my appointment next week.

You see, Tues in class I was just sitting there watching the prof write on the chalkboard and I got the feeling again--hot, shaky, racing heart. This time, I wasn't even thinking about what has been happening to me. It just sprouted up out of nowhere, but only lasted about 30 seconds again. But today was worse. I woke feeling weak and very tired. Definetely not motivating for school. I got to school and just felt disoriented. I drank about 2 bottles of water (to try and get hydrated) and had to pee like crazy! lol Anyway, I couldn't concentrate in class so here I am. Skipping my 10:00 class and blogging. I just didn't want to have to go through another class feeling that miserable and not being able to concentrate.

I'm waiting for Trent to get done with his class at 11:15 then we're going to lunch. I hope that after lunch, after I get some more food in me, I'll be able to make it through my 2 afternoon classes without a hitch.

Can it be wednesday already?!

Abby

I Almost Died This Morning

I had the most terrifying thing happen to me this morning. I seriously thought it was the end of my life. Here's the story.

I woke up early this morning, had school at 8:30, so I got up around 6am. I was soooo tired, more than usual, and a little disoriented. I had my electric blanket on the usual "5" heat setting (out of 20) like every other night and I woke up sweating like every other night. I finally drug myself out of bed, disoriented and sweating. I put on my glasses, grabbed my hairbrush and towel, and headed to the shower.

Like I said, I was abnormally hot this morning so I kept the shower water a little cooler than normal. However, towards the end of the shower, after I had just put conditioner in my hair, I felt a little chilly. Therefore, I turned up the heat just a tad. Not 1 minute later, I felt VERY woozy.

My heart started racing like crazy and I started to shake. What's going on?!?! I was starting to lose my vision! I desperately tried to rinse out the conditioner in my hair and turn off the water. If I was dying, I was definetely waking Rachel up asap to help me! I reached for the nozzle but couldn't find it! I had lost my vision completely! Everything went black. I softly groaned in fear as I frantically searched for the nozzle. After what felt like 10 minutes, I finally found the nozzle and turned off the water. Where's the shower curtain?!? Get me outta here! I stepped out of the shower as I started to get my vision back. All I could do was dry off and just sit on the the edge of the shower in my towel, shaking in terror. What the heck just happened?!?

I started to calm down and stopped shaking. I headed back to my room, hair still halfway drenched with conditioner. I sat down on my bed and took a glance at the mirror. I seriously looked like a ghost. There was absolutely no color to my skin at all. I was so confused. Did I just almost die?! Or a little less extreme, pass out?

I'm still a little shook up about what happened. I think I just got too hot from the shower and my body couldn't handle it that early in the morning. This has happened to me before, though. Last year when I had 8:30 classes I would wake up early to take a shower and would suddenly feel very weak. I just had to turn off the water and go to my room to lay down for a few minutes. This time was a lot worse, though.

What a scary experience! Lesson learned though: don't keep the electric blanket heat too high and keep the shower water cool!

Abby

12-hour School Day

Yep. Exactly 12 hours ago Trent and I were headed up here to IUSB for our first day of school. And we're still here. I had class at 8:30 this morning- statistics. Not too bad actually. I had a math class last semester that dealt somewhat with statistics so I already finished the first 8 assignments that aren't due for the next few weeks :).



10am- english class. Oh wait, "Imagining King Arthur" class. Yep. Sorta like Russian Art History, hmm? Another pointless required class. Maybe I'll learn something interesting though, like I did in my Russian Art History class. The prof isn't as funny, though :(



11:15- lunch. Trent and I went to Burger King to get some high quality brain fuel to carry us over til now. We got back to the school at about noon and hung out til our 2:30 class. I did some homework for my stats class (so easy).

2:30- non-experimental methods class with the same prof from my stats class. So, I heard the same thing twice. Basically for this class, we work on one big project throughout the semester. Not too shabby. It's supposed to prepare us psych majors for out advanced lab that we have to take out last year in order to graduate.

3:45- Meet up with Trent again to waste more time until our 5:30 class. This time I didn't do homework and we just sat around and laughed at each other. Oh and I kept telling him that he can't leave me next year.

5:30- anthropology. We have a few prjoects to do and homework and quizzes here and there. The prof said it's going to be pretty easy-going since we all have different majors and it's a required class. We only took 20 minutes to go over the syllabus then we were done for the day. Would've been nice to leave early from class if Trent didn't have class til 8 :(

So here I sit. In a huge computer lab with 5 other people. It's about 7:30 and I'm exhausted. These days are going to be tough. I'm hungry and tired.... so I'm cranky. *sigh* Sorry I'm in such a blah mood. At least on thursday we'll get to leave at 6:45. And we only have to come up here twice a week. Yaaaaay! :D happy face. Soon I'll be home eating and watching American Idol...

Well you have a great night!

Abs

A New Semester is Quickly Approaching!

It's true! Trent and I start school this coming Tuesday, the 13th. This semester should be fairly interesting, as usual. We only have to drive up to IUSB two days a week BUT we start at 8:30am and don't leave until 6:45pm or later. Yikes! But we do have breaks in between our classes to squeeze in some lunch.

My classes this semester consist of: introductory Anthropology, Statistics for Psych majors, Non-experimental research methods, and some sort of English class. So 4 classes in all. My stats class and non-experimental methods class is with the same prof whom I've had in the past. She was very nice and relaxed and just reminded me of a mom, probably because she is. I'm going to try to test out of taking the first semester of spanish, so I'll be taking an exam for that this semester as well. I'm excited for school to start up again, like always. I just love school. Can't I just be a professional student the rest of my life??

I'm extremely excited about this year, 2009. Things will be happening, just you wait. ;) I'm proud of Trent for making it to his last semester. He will more than likely graduate in May and I couldn't be happier. Him graduating is symbolic to our relationship. It means so much. It's the end of one long college chapter of his life and beginning of a new chapter. He's going to be moving on to bigger and better things. I just can't help but be so happy for him.... so happy for us.

HOWEVER, him graduating means that he won't be going to school anymore (duh) BUT I still have one more year left. That means, no more rides to school together. I'll be making the journey to IUSB all by my lonesome next year. :( Although next year will be amazing in one aspect, it's going to be sad being at school without my buddy. No one to be cranky in the mornings with, no one to sit next to me while I "sudoku", no one to tell me to stop wiping my boogers on the seat, no one to brave the horribly snowy roads with, no one to skip classes and go shopping with, no one to share my free small fries Burger King coupon with, no one to make egg sandwiches with, no one to wait on me to go pee for the 5th time that day ... and the list goes on. I'm gonna miss my best friend next year. I'm worried that I'll be terribly lonely at school. I'm very shy so it's hard for me to just make friends. *sigh* we'll see.

So those are my thoughts about the upcoming year and a half. I'm super happy for Trent and his accomplishments and I pray he can trudge through this last semester without the stress crushing his spirit. Just a few more months, babe! I know you can do it! It's going to be hard for me next year at school without you, but once I graduate, I'll get my reward :)

Abby

Drawing is Fun!

So, it was 10pm and Trent and I were bored. Therefore, we decided to draw a little comic of our day. Here is my interpretation of our day, but mostly my interpretation of his drawings. I thought I could do them more justice. :) Click on the picture to enlarge. Enjoy!

1. Abby working at Pizza Hut at 7am
2. Trent still sleeping at home
3. Abby's done at work at noon
4. Trent meets Abby at her apartment
5. Trent and Abby play an intense game of RockBand
6. Trent and Abby go to the park to take some pictures
7. Trent mostly takes pictures of Abby
8. Trent and Abby go back to Trent's and play Mario Kart on the wii
9. Trent watches "Fun with Dick and Jane" while Abby sleeps
10. Trent and Abby decide to draw a comic of their day
11. Trent drives Abby home
12. Good night kiss!

Check out Trent's blog to see his drawings. Have a great night!

Abs

The B.H.A. Christmas Post

OK everyone, here is my "big, hairy, audacious" Christmas post. Let's start with last Saturday, the 20th.

After church, Trent and I went to my aunt and uncle's for Christmas. I always look forward to going to my aunt and uncle's. Good food and funny people are a great combination. We played "dirty bingo" for the first time this year. We divided it by guys and girls gifts. I brought a Victoria's Secret heavenly perfume/lotion combo and received a $20 Kohl's giftcard. Not too shabby. I would've stole the Gap giftcard, but my turn was over :( After the bingo game, we took our annual Christmas photos of every family and couples. Then the "kids" headed to the basement to play RockBand. It was me, Ben, Trent, and my two boy cousins. Then the older guys made their way downstairs to play beer-and fart-filled games of pool. Needless to say, I was the only girl in the basement in a fart-filled basement. It was great! :D

The next Christmas festivity took place at my Mom's on Christmas Eve. She lives in Plymouth and I LOVE going over there for Christmas. Once again, amazing food and funny people, gotta love it. I received some amazing gifts this year. Above all, the laptop that I'm currently typing on ;) It's a 15" Compaq and I love it. I asked for a smaller netbook, but this will just have to do I suppose haha ;) My sister got an xbox360 with RockBand so that's probably what I'll be doing the rest of my break. Ben got an amazing canon camera that he loves. My parents really went all out this year. After opening gifts, we played a hilarious game of mad gab. We always play games when we get together but we've never played mad gab before. It's very funny and quite entertaining.

On Christmas Day, I headed over to Trent's to spend the day with his family. Ben spent the night at Trent's because the rest of our family had other places to be Christmas Day. It was great though, having him at Trent's. We opened gifts in the morning and it was wonderful. I got TWO awesome, cute, functional pair of shoes from Trent's parents and plenty of clothes and patterned socks :D Trent pretty much stuck to my list which was fine because I didn't really NEED anything (like every Christmas). Trent also got a camera for Christmas so it was fun with Ben there too because the boys just played around with their cameras the whole day. Even while we were playing scrabble, they could not keep their hands off of them! I got a little frustrated actually lol. After playing scrabble, we ate a very delicious Christmas dinner that Trent's Mom made. Then had an even more scrumptous dessert. I've definetely had my fair share of amazing cuisine this past week. I mean, prime rib two days in a row! After dinner, the three of us headed back to my apartment to open up stockings. I put the usual in Trent's stocking- one gift and a butt load of candy. However, Trent got a little more creative with mine and Ben's stockings. I received two more pairs of socks, some floss, a snickers energy bar, a flash drive, some extra strength tylonol, and other random things. Ben pretty much got the same in his. Clever, Trent. The rest of the night was filled with the boys taking pictures of Rachel and Derek and his boys opening their gifts. Ben drove back to my Mom's to stay and I headed to Trent's to stay the night before we took off for Ohio. Or so we thought...

Technically, I'm supposed to be in Ohio right now with the rest of Trent's relatives. I went to bed expected to wake up at 5:30am and on the road by 7. However, at 6am, Trent walked into my room and said "Hey I don't think you set your alarm. But that's okay cuz we're not leaving yet. The roads are covered in ice." So I slept in til 9 when he came back into my room and woke me up for good. He told me that we might leave at noon so I got in the shower at 10:30. Right after I got completely ready, I mean.. hair dried and straightened, dressed, makeup on.. Trent's dad came upstairs and said, "Well, we're not going to Ohio." Aw man! All I said was, "Well, I'm ready to go!" lol. So we didn't go to Ohio. Bummer. They kept telling me about all the fun (wink) I was going to have with their family.... oh well. So Trent, his brother and mom, and I went to the crazy, people-filled mall instead. It was a nice relaxing day, nonetheless.

Now here I sit. Reflecting on this great holiday season. I think the best part was being with people I love. It's so great knowing that there are people around you who love you so much and care about you. I feel so at home whenever I go see my family and even when I'm with Trent's family. I can't even imagine what it would be like to spend Christmas alone. I think that's what I'm most thankful for this holiday season. I would've had just as good of a time even if I hadn't received any gifts at all.

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas!

Abby

What a Day!

I have never had a day at work like I had today. Wow.... what a day. It seriously felt like a dream, all of the crazy moments. Let's get on with this..

I was supposed to work at 10am and the "dough girl" went in at 7am. I woke up this morning from a dead sleep (I had Christmas at my aunt's last night and we didn't get home til 1) to the sound of my cell phone ringing at 7:18 and what do you know? It was Alysha, the dough girl. She was opening that morning and called me in a panic. "Abby! We have a major problem! The power went out and I can't get ahold of Drew (my manager). I've called his cell and his house phone and no one's picking up!" Half asleep and looking at my own dead clock I said, "Oh my, that IS a problem. I don't have power here either. Um... well, call P.J. (the other manager) and if all else fails, call Hacha (the managers' boss)." She said okay, I wished her good luck, and we hung up.

I wasn't too panicked because I normally set both my alarm on my phone and my regular clock alarm for occasions such as this. However, I could NOT get back to sleep. I was supposed to wake up at 9 but I just layed in bed and worried about Alysha at work. Finally, at 8:45, my sister knocked on my door and wanted to let me know that the power was out. I called Trent and asked him if his power was out and it wasn't. They live on one of the last streets in Donnybrook so they're actually on Nappanee power. Then I called Alysha and thankfully Drew answered. He said there was still no power at work and he'll see me soon. So...! I got up, brushed my teeth in the dark, and headed to work at 9:30.

I got to work and Alysha and Drew were playing phase 10 in the silence and cold. They had already gotten most of the preps done that they could do without power, but no dough-making of course. We use machines for that! Plus, dough doesn't rise very well in a cold building. So the three of us sat in the building, talked and laughed about this crazy situation, and called our loved ones about this madness. Drew was getting fed up that the power wasn't coming back on so he was going to let Alysha and I leave but be "on-call" in case the power came back. We were just about the leave when all of a sudden, at about 10am, the power came on! We were so happy and busted our butts to get some dough made and other things done. This didn't last long because at about 10:15, the building went dead again. Disappointed, we still tried to get more things done but an hour later, Drew let us leave.

I went to Trent's because they still had power and I could warm up there. I didn't stay long because at about 11:45, I got a phone call from Drew saying that the power came back on but he wanted me to stay home for about a half hour just in case it went off again. Well, it didn't and I headed back to work at about 12:15. The power flickered in and out for a few more hours but Drew and I finally got everything made and prepared for the day at around 2:30. He left and I handled the store until 4. Business was starting to pick up when I left at 4 and the night crew was rolling in by then. Whew! My crazy powerless day was over! So I thought...

Trent and I had just started a continuing game of scrabble when I received yet another phone call from Drew. Apparently after I left work, the night crew got KILLED with orders and Drew was unable to help because he was at a family Christmas party. Off to work I headed again to help out the night crew. However, I only stayed for about 40 minutes, enough time to make some pan dough. My work day was finally over at 6pm. I am pooped!

It's kinda funny that we were powerless at work today because last night at church, Jim talked about Jesus being the light of the world and talked about how it feels to be in the light and out of the darkness. We just feel so much better when we're out of the darkness, just like when we finally get power back. *sigh* I am SO thankful that the power is back and I hope it stays on this time. I have to work tomorrow morning at 7am and I'm PRAYING that I do not have to deal with what Alysha dealt with today. PLEASE God...

Time for bed.

Abs

Semester Reflections

Since the semester came to a close last week, I thought I would write about all of the crazy circumstances that happened.

I had a few wonderful shockers this semester as far as grades. Remember my Russian art history class? Well, the very first day of class my strict, yet hilarious professor told the class that it was very hard to receive an A in her class. She said you really have to earn an A. This made me extremely nervous until I got an A on my midterm. We had a few writing assignments and I mostly got B's on them. So coming into the final, I had no idea what my grade was. I studied so much but after I took the final, I felt very apprehensive. I felt like there was stuff on the final that I didn't even think I needed to study. I thought for sure that I got a C on it. I was wrong. Last Thursday I emailed my professor to see what my grade was and she said I got a 99/100 on the final and an A+ in the class. WHAT?!!! Are you freaking kidding me?!? How in the world did I get an A+ in RUSSIAN ART HISTORY?! lol I was very.... dumbfounded hah! Anyway, I learned a lot about Russian history from about 1870's to the 1940's. Very interesting stuff, actually. I know that Dostoevsky wrote Crime and Punishment and Tchaikovsky composed The Nutcracker. AND I actually know how to pronounce these names ;) I think the reason I got a good grade was because it's easier for me to remember weird things, like the names of these artists. Isn't it much easier to remember a name like Rimsky-Korsakov (who wrote "Flight of the Bumblebee," by the way) then John Smith?? Well, I think so.

Another shocker was in my social psychology class. This class' grade was based solely on 4 tests and the final. The whole class was out of 500 points, 100 points for each test. No room for error here, kids. The first test I got an 82... not thrilled about that grade, but hey it was a B. Then, the second test I got a freaking 74... really wasn't happy about that one! My grade was sitting at a very low B. After that, I needed a game plan. Since I finally discovered after 2 tests that they were based on only vocab words and experiments in the textbook, I studied those hard. Hundreds of notecards later, I finally got a 94 on the last 2 tests. It was about time I got A's on those darn tests! So, now comes the final. I finally raised my grade to a high B, close to an A-. I figured it out that I had to get an A+ on the final to finally get a 90%(A-) in the class. Psshhh! Yeah right, I knew I was NOT going to get a freakin A+ on that final. So I thought..... I checked my grade 2 days ago and guess what?! I got the highest grade on the final which meant I got 100/100 on the final. WHAT?!!! So I ended up with an A- in the class. WHEW! By the way, in case you cared, 'high need for cognition' means that you enjoy deep-thinking. I, on the other hand, have low need for cognition :)

My other 3 classes (philosophy, math, and my library class), I did consistently well throughout the semester. I had and kept an A+ in my math class from the very first grade. My professor told me that I had the highest grade in the class during the entire semester. The library class included easy assignments about how to use the resources at the library. I did very well on the final project getting a 299/300 and my professor asked if she could use it as an example for next semester's class. I was a little surprised that I got an A in philosophy, however. Some days I either really didn't understand the material or I just didn't care about what was being discussed. Somehow, I don't really know how though, I got an A.

I hope it doesn't feel like I'm bragging about my grades. It's just that I've never gotten all A's before and to get them in college...? Wow, I'm just proud of myself. I studied hard and prayed harder. Actually, you know what, I think it was the coffee. ;)

Thanks for listening to my ramblings

Abby

Survey: Part 4

Finally! This is the last section of this crazy-long survey. Ugh... :)

[136] Do you have a boyfriend or girlfriend? yep... 5 years and 2 months

[137] What annoys you most? anything rythmic (like a clicking clock or snoring) while I'm trying to sleep

[138] Fave 'scary' movie? I don't really like scary movies

[139] Fave 'action' movie? is Fight Club considered action?

[140] Fave 'romantic' movie? Love Actually

[141] Do you have an accent? doesn't everybody?

[142] Who is your role model? Jesus! lol

[143] Do you like surprises? I do

[144] What's the ideal age to die? anywhere over 85 I guess

[145] Do you like to dance? very much so

[146] Ever took ballet? nope, just gymnastics when I was like 5

[147] Bold or pastel colors? both are good

[148] Do you still wear Tommy Hilfiger? I never did

[149] What brand do you wear most? American Eagle

[150] What do you normally watch on TV? cops, I freaking love cops!

[151] Do you have any 'special' talents? I can stick my foot in my ribs... it's hard to explain but I'll show you sometime if you ask me to

[152] What's your favorite sport? didn't I already answer this question?

[153] Can you swim? yep

[154] Can you play a musical instrument? I learned a little Norah Jones ditty on Trent's keyboard. but that's as far as my musical talents go

[155] What star sign are you? pisces

[156] Do you prefer public schools or private? well since I went to a public school then I guess public

[157] Do you care what people think? yes, I think everybody does to some extent

[158] Have you ever shot a gun? just my brother's BB gun

[159] What's your biggest fear? dying or having someone close to me die

[160] How many hours of sleep do you normally get? anywhere from 6-9... depends on the day

[161] Regular ice or crushed ice? regular, I hate crushed ice, it gets in the way of the drink

[162] Blue ink or black ink? I think I prefer black for some reason

[163] Are your clothes mostly loose or tight fit? I have equal amounts of both (b/c I gained 12 pounds over the summer so now I have a lot more tight-fitting clothes) but I feel uncomfortable in stuff that's too tight

[164] Have any peircings? just in my left ear, the other side closed up

[165] Gold or silver? white gold

[166] What kind of shampoo/conditioner do you use? Pantene beautiful lengths, I'm trying to grow out my hair again. If the shampoo doesn't help, it will still make me think that my hair is growing faster ;)

[167] Do you blow dry your hair? everyday, depends on how much heat I use though. more heat for straighter hair and on the cool setting for wavy hair. in case you cared haha

[168] What do you sleep in? sweat pants and a baseball t-shirt

[169] What's the last book you've read? just books for school, probably my social psych book for my final yesterday

[170] Britney Spears or Christina Aguilera? Christina has a better voice, Britney is a little cookoo!

[171] Spiderman or Dare Devil? Spiderman

[172] Have you ever broken a bone? nope *knock on wood*

[173] Shower or Bath? shower, baths make me feel dirty for some reason.... I don't know, sitting in my own filth may have something to do with it

[174] Do you have any cavities? 4, but they're filled

[175] Have you ever wore braces? yep from 8th-10th grade

[176] What do you live in? an apartment

[177] Would you choose true love or to be rich? true love for sure

[178] Do you have Cable? amish cable haha

[179] Do you play any computer games? just solitaire

[180] How long did it take you to finish this? oh let's see... about a week! haha


Abs

Survey: Part 3

[91] Ever got a detention? the closest I've ever come was getting a 1/2 hour 'study table' from Ms. Cole in 8th grade

[92] Ever been suspended? no way!

[93] Better: Punk or Prep? prep but it would be fun to go punk for a day

[94] Ever blew a beverage out your nose? no way that would hurt so bad

[95] Do you like jaw breakers? not really, I'm too inpatient

[96] What color is your room? cream, boring

[97] What do you say a lot? "whatev" "good grief" "oh geez"

[98] What's your best personality trait? I'm pretty mellow and always optimistic

[99] What's your worst personality trait? selfishness

[100] Do you have any medical problems? allergic to amoxacillin, found that out the hard way one time

[101] Are you listening to anything? the fan of the space heater

[102] What's the last movie you've watched in Theatre? Role Models, very funny

[103] Who is your favorite friend? aw that's not fair!

[104] Who do you get along with the best? everyone! I hate conflict

[105] Who do you fight with a lot? Trent, but we don't really 'fight' or even argue all that much

[106] Who is your funniest friend? my brother

[107] Do you talk too much? not at all, people actually tell me that I need to talk MORE

[108] Ever fell asleep in class? never

[109] Sneakers or open-toed shoes? sneakers?? open-toad shoes?? who calls them that anymore?! I wear SHOES

[110] Can you do a cartwheel? sure can! those years of gymnastics did me well :)

[111] Ever been camping? a few times, my favorite part of camping is making breakfast over the fire

[112] Shorts or jeans? I really don't like wearing shorts, even in the summer. I hate being cold and I know that everywhere is air conditioned, so why risk it?

[113] Double dates or just the two of you? double dates are good every once in awhile but I like to be just the two of us most of the time

[114] Do you go to camp? went to church camp for like 10 years!

[115] When's the last time your parents spanked you? I don't think I've ever been spanked. I was the easiest child to raise, you know ;)

[116] Can you rhyme well? not really

[117] Have you ever belonged to a gang? oh yeah, cuz we have so many gangs in Bremen

[118] Know people who belong to a gang? nope

[119] Do you smoke ciggarettes? ew no

[120] Indoors or outdoors? outdoors only when it's warm

[121] Have you ever gotten beaten up? nope

[122] Do you know how to cook? not right now, but I think I'll be okay at it when I become a wife

[123] Do you know how to do laundry? yeah, I actually enjoy doing laundry :)

[124] When you get a pizza, how many slices do you eat? usually 2, but pizza does BAD things to my stomach (Todd knows)

[125] How tall are you? almost 5'4"

[126] Do you consider yourself too fat/skinny? nah

[127] Do you watch the superbowl? just for the commercials

[128] What's your least favorite color? I don't really like orange

[129] Have you ever faked being sick? nope

[130] Ever done something illegal? yeah! I speed on a daily basis

[131] What's the longest you've stayed up? 4 am at middle school (and college lol) sleepovers :)

[132] Are you afraid of dying? I am, but I'm learning not to be

[133] What's your biggest regret? nothing really

[134] Ever picked up a hitchiker? heck no! I never would either

[135] Is your name on any bathroom walls? I doubt it


~Abby~

Dr. Abby Miller

Today I had an epiphany. As I was working hard at making dough this morning at work, with the smell of yeast in the air, and listening to the morning guys on U93, I began to think about my future. Considering this semester flew by (like they always do), I realized that after next semester, I only have one measly year left of college. Woah. Many things will be changing even within this year. Plans are being made that will affect my entire life. My life is moving forward. And that made me very apprehensive.

But then I began to think about school. I love school so much. I love learning about all the random things in my classes, including Russian art history. A few people have recently asked me if I was going to try for my Master's. And you know what, I think I want to. Why shouldn't I? I really like school and I'm getting better grades than I ever have before. I began to think about my future job. I realized that my dream job would be to do research with a group of other psychologists. Making people take surveys and doing experiments sounds like so much fun to me. Then I realized that those kind of people usually have a PhD. Then I thought, why couldn't I get a PhD?? What's stopping me? What's the worse that could happen? I know there's the money issue, but if I go broke, I know there will be people who love me so much that they would take care of me. Even if I fail, at least I tried to attain some sort of dream.

This idea got me extremely excited this morning. What would happen if I had a PhD? Would I make a lot of money doing what I would love doing? How awesome would that be!? It seems so out of the norm from what I'm used to. I always thought I would live the cookie-cutter life by graduating college, getting married, getting a mediocre job that I didn't really like but paid the bills, having kids, living in Bremen for the rest of my life... which doesn't sound bad, but it's just too "average." But now I realize that I don't have to live like that. I can do things out of the ordinary. I can get a PhD, move away, and maybe not even have kids. It's my life and I can do whatever I want with it. I'm so excited!! :D

On another, kind of random note... why do I think that my life hasn't "started yet" just because I haven't graduated college yet, I'm not married yet, and don't have kids yet? It's weird to think that I'm not "living" just because of those things. Why do we think that "life" is all about going to work and having a spouse/kids?? Is that the best we can do? I don't know, it was just a thought I had.

Things will be dramatically changing for me in the next two years or so. I used to be scared. Now, I'm ready!