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Luckiest girl in the world

So yesterday was the big day - I packed up everything in my little 2 bedroom apartment in little Albion, Michigan and made the move down to Goshen, IN (the large metropolis) I've been waiting for this day for SO LONG as I have been moving my goods from Michigan to Indiana for about a month and I have gotten SO SICK of moving! With the help of my man Mike, my wonderful mom and brother, my extremely hung over roommate Stange, and a late addition of Koski - we loaded everything up in record time and made the move!

The trip was relatively uneventful - arrived at our little house to find Mike's parent's and neighbor - who already had the trailer allllll unloaded (perfect moving strategy to follow behind a little bit). We got some things moved in and had all plans to have a little cookout at Mike's parents house to celebrate the move and allow our families to spend time together. Our families left to their respective places to get showered up and ready and Mike and I did the same.

Little did I know that this dude had some tricks up his sleeve!!!!

I walked out of the bathroom after being all ready to go and I found a note hanging in the kitchen - quoting my favorite Dave Matthews Band song and had a picture of the South Bend Silverhawks - where we went for our first date. This note led me to another note, at the bottom of the stairs. It included another line of "Two Step" and had pictures of DMB, the Charlottesville Pavillion, and NYC. This note told me to look at the top of the stairs - I went up there and there was yet another note! This one still had DMB lyrics and a picture of the two of us from my brothers wedding - right after we confessed our love to each other! This ((crazy)) note told me to meet him on the roof!

The roof! I think my exact words were "you've got to be kidding me!" So I climbed out onto the roof (it's flat!) and Mike was waiting for me with 2 glasses of Blenheim wine and a bottle from our trip to the Blenheim Vineyard in Virginia. We toasted to the move in and walked around the roof  talking about future plans for the space and I turned around and he was down on one knee with a ring out!!!!! I said YES! We laughed, we cried, and hugged and kissed and I kept saying no way! But it's true!!! After calming down a bit (and putting Tinsley back in the house as she had jumped through the window) we sat and had a glass of wine together on the roof before heading out to meet up with our families!

Ecstatic - obviously! The ring is gorgeous and represents our families and our lives!

We went to Mike's parents house where we were greeted with love and cheers from his parents, my mom, my brother Mike, and my aunt and uncle who drove in from Michigan. We shared laughs and stories and had the best time with each other.

We are both so very blessed and lucky to have found one another. I can't think of a better person to spend the rest of my life with (not even Dave Matthews). I can't believe all the changes happening in life - but it's an amazing thing. I can't wait to venture on this journey together.

And no, there is no date set, yet. It just happened.
((Always the first question asked))

We got guns y'all!!!!

As of June 9, I will be considered a Hoosier. Well, not technically, but at least as far as where Tinsley and I lay our heads at night. I am beyond excited to begin this next chapter in my life - I am moving in with the man of my dreams and my best friend.

Laundromat around the corner from us. Where am I living again?!

Given my past, I previously made a vow to myself that I wouldn't move in with someone before being engaged/married. However, as I am sitting here in this "new" living room, after doing 3.5 hours of work pulling rocks out of the garden, and my dog sleeps comfortably between my legs - I know that I am in the right place. My man will come home from work in a little while, we'll say a prayer for our future before having dinner together, and share stories about our day and be sure to say 'I Love You".

He and I have discussed how my move to Goshen is a big sacrifice, but really I continue to look at is as a gain. I will be combining my life with an individual who makes me feel loved every single day and I know that I am so blessed and fortunate to have him in my life. Additionally, I will be attending Western Michigan University as a member of their Doctoral program in Educational Leadership. This is an absolute dream come true - yet I never thought I would be ready to pursue this degree at 25.

So far, I am 1 chapter into a book for my summer school class and I really don't have much idea about what I am going to be studying but I know it's going to be great. I debated about what I wanted to actually obtain my degree in, and I think that Educational Leadership is going to open up doors that I never thought would be possible.

All in all - I am so excited about where I am going and what the future holds for me, Mike, and Tinsley. Recently I have been asked, "Where would you like to see yourself in 5 years" ... I think the question brings out a lot of uncertain feelings but I do know this - In 5 years I would love to be anywhere, doing anything with MSD because I know it will involve love, laughter, family, and friends. 

florida food brings on some good memories!

Being here in Panama City Beach has made me break out of my comfort zone a bit and order some food I wouldn't typically order - I truly believe in eating local food when on vacation (or on a work trip, ha).

Yesterday, I went out to dinner with some of the coaching staff to Dusty's Oyster Bar & Dining - a smaller "homey" restaurant with delicious seafood, friendly and busy wait staff, and dollar bills pinned to the ceiling from patrons from all over! Very cool! To start off the meal, some got a crab and lobster dip that, when paired with pita chips, was amazing! I also was adventerous and took the plunge and tried out oysters. First oyster I had was raw but dipped in cocktail sauce, horesradish, and was served (lightly termed) on a saltine cracker. It was actually pretty good and went down smoothly! From there, I tried a baked oyster: garlic and parmesean, delicious! Because I was being "such a trooper" the next, and most logical, step was to try one raw. So, after a little bit of deliberation and letting it sit in the shell on the table for a bit, I slurped it out like a champ :)

For my meal, I ordered BBQ shrimp, which came served in a bowl mixed all together with potatoes and cooked onions. It was very good! Again, not something I would typically order, but it was worth it and very good!

Today was a great day. We had practice in the morning which went really well. It was a bit chilly at first, but then the sun really started to beam up and it was great. The team had an awesome, but really hard practice and came back to the hotel to enjoy the rest of the day! I was fortunate that I came back and had a little bit of lunch then suited up and took 2 hours of my day to sit like this....

Ahhhhhh can't beat that! Spent 2 hours out there (was longer than I thought it'd be but I am surprisingly not burned, yet) I enjoyed some music and read some of The Girl Who Played With Fire, and relaxxxxxeddddddddd.

After a "little" nap, I saddled up with some of the coaches again and off we went to dinner ((I just got back from it and I CAN'T remember the name for the life of me, if I remember, I'll edit)). I enjoyed some fried pickles for an appetizer with the rest of the table and then got a red snapper sandwich (delicious and fully of flavor) complete with FRIED OKRA!!!!!

I LOVE when I can go to places, especially in the south - makes me think of my beloved and truly missed, Mam-ma. My Mam-ma made the BEST friend okra, fried chicken.... anything. She was such a great cook and always made cooking look effortless. So many of my memories of my Mam-ma involve some sort of food or restaurant. Every time we were in Kansas City, she had Cinnamon Toast Crunch waiting for us, never failed. I remember her being in the kitchen, spending so much time at the stove (using pans that were way too heavy for her) in order to prepare meals for us. One summer, Mike and I stayed back at Mam-ma's while my parents took Brian back to Michigan for surgery on his knee. On this trip, Mam-ma (must have been sick from cooking) and she made Mike and I this AMAZING meal consisting of cheesy noodles and hamburger - SO GOOD! We went back home and raved to mom about the food and she asked Mam-ma what she made... turns out it was Hamburger Helper. haha :) Sooooo simple (and nutritious ;) ) and we loved it because it was at Mam-ma's!

Just thinking about her now brings tears to my eyes thinking about all of the fun times we shared just her and I, her with my family, and the entire family together. She was such a loving, caring person who would do anything for any of us - we were so fortunate to have her in our lives. 

While thinking about blogging about my Mam-ma, I decided that I would do a Google search to see what comes up. I looked at images first and was creeped out when I saw a picture of a headstone that looks almost identical to my Mam-ma and Grandads... weird! It wasn't, but definitely did take me back. When I looked at the regular search results, I found some geneology tree that said that my Grandad is still alive! (updated in 10/11) WOW! This is news to me.... maybe he's similar to Tupac, Elvis, Whitney, and Michael Jackson.... everyone said they were gone, but I still have my doubts ;) It was still cool to read around a little bit and explore more about my family. So many good memories - I wish I could have known my Grandad more - I was 4 months old when he passed away - but I know that he has always been with me. It comforts me even more to know that my Mam-ma, Grandad, and my daddy are up there reunited - I'm sure they're enjoying each other's company more than I can even imagine. 

                  Minnie Margaret (Arthur) Sims                          George Richard Sims

June 15, 1922 - March 21, 2044                June 16, 1921 - December 30, 1986

At this point in life, my family is trying to figure out how to take the next step... part of this next step is to sell Tara - the cabin that has been in our family since 1988 and holds so many dear memories of our family, friends, and most importantly, my dad. One year, my dad went out on a hunting trip with his brother, my Uncle Paul, to Montana. He came back with a beautiful buck and an elk. An elk! The elk was shipped out to Michigan, traveled up to West Branch and took place on the wall in my parents bedroom. The elk, or "Elka" as my mom so coined it was a bit of a creepy thing (like the Mona Lisa) but gave so much character to the room. With the selling of the cabin, Elka is going to be heading to Arizona to hang in my Uncle Gary and Aunt Tab's cabin. They have been working on this cabin for several years and I believe it is finally near completion! I am really happy to know that it will be hanging there and staying within the family - I'm sure my dad would be really happy about that.

I love this place and I always will. I'm sure I'll write more when it's sold.