Sweet, sweet finals week

How nice of you to notice my terrible pun!
Because let's face it: there's nothing sweet about finals week.

Well, unless you want to count being closer to being done with the semester. And being closer to graduation, whenever that may come.

Speaking of graduation, my husband graduates from college on Saturday! THIS Saturday! I'm so proud of him that it's pretty ridiculous. I really do think I'm more excited about it than he is.

And two other things that are sweet about finals week: two batches of peanut brittle, and two batches (six pounds) of fudge made.
Although, since we're talking about how finals week isn't sweet, let me rephrase that: Of the two batches of peanut brittle I made, I effed one up. As in, I had to throw it in the trash. Wax paper doesn't work on everything, so it seems, especially when the peanut brittle is ridiculously hot. And I burned myself while making the fudge. Minor burns, but still. And the kitchen is a little more of a wreck than it was before, considering all of the dishes I used for this... DH is on campus finishing some programs for one of his classes, and when he gets home I have a feeling he's just going to look at the kitchen and wonder what the heck I've been doing, seeing as there's chocolate/marshmallow cream mix on the stove and a stack of dirty dishes that, I admit, I have no intention of doing tonight. Nope. Not at all.

I would take pictures of said fudge and peanut brittle, but I don't think I should be showing my dirty kitchen off to the world. It just... Wouldn't be right.

Oh! Lesson for today: If you're going to make two batches of fudge at one, do NOT let the ingredients fool you. USE. A. REALLY. BIG. POT. As in, take the "large" pot that you usually get in a set (the giant thing that can fit spaghetti noodles comfortably without being too big)... And then get one larger. That marshmallow cream was no joke!

On a non-food-related note, I took my last "final" final today.
On a semi-food-related, I have a final in the form of a paper that's due tomorrow, and I put off completing it so I could make, you guessed it, a ridiculous amount of peanut brittle (which isn't so ridiculous, now that over half of it's in the trash) and a FAR more ridiculous amount of fudge.

Well, DH just got home and he must be used to me making a mess in the kitchen or doesn't think it's a big deal or something, because he just shrugged it off.
And now we're back to homework.

Oh, who am I kidding? I'm going to procrastinate some more.

Ah, the life of being a (grad) student.

Two more days, two more days!!!!!

I'm psyched because after today, I only have TWO more days left of the semester. Two two two two TWOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!! :)

I've got one final to email a professor, one I've already turned in, and two in-class finals to take - one on tomorrow and one on Tuesday.

And after that? I will have survived my first full year as a grad student!
You know, excepting the summer classes I'll be taking in a couple weeks, but no big deal.

On Thursday the husband and I are going to a scholarship dinner. I feel just a bit goofy about it because I know that I'm supposed to dress up. I took the opportunity to go shopping.

Perfect timing for that shopping trip, too. Apparently the post-prom season is the perfect time to go shopping for dressed. And even better?
I took my father-in-law and my younger brother-in-law with me to go shopping for said dress.

Yes, you read that correctly. My father-in-law and younger brother-in-law.
Believe it or not, we actually found a really nice dress.

I'd forgotten what it was like to be in the hordes of people looking at prom dresses. I tell you, DEB was so neon bright it was scary. And Younkers, where I found my dress, had PACKED dressing rooms.
With reason, apparently. The hubs and I went to Olive Garden last night and there were apparently still people going to prom. I figured at the end of April they'd be done, but I guess not.

I have to say... I'm pleased with the dress I bought. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't afraid of embarrassing my husband.

(Psst... My mentality was somewhere between "Look like the awesome wife that I am" and "OWN THE ROOM!!!" hahahahaha... I'm just a little on the arrogant side about looking good with my husband) ;)

Before I forget... To the hubs and I have been married for 11 months :) and just one more month until our first anniversary!

Forrest Gump is on right now, so in Forrest style I say...
"And that's all I have to say about that."

:)

"On the road again. Sing it with me, Shrek! I can't wait to get on the road again."

Well, Donkey might have been anxious to get "on the road again," but if we're being completely honest... I think i'll do just fine without it.

Don't get me wrong, I love traveling, but when you're packing to go anywhere - especially when you're moving! - it's pretty much just one big pain in the tuckus (check out an episode or two of The Nanny if you don't know what that means).

Ok, so let's see...
Apparently FH forgot that we were going to go apply for our marriage license on move-in day. We discussed this and agreed on it, and when I mentioned it to him today he looked at me like I'd grown an extra head. Lovely.
We figured it out, though, and we're going to try to meet at the courthouse in the morning right when it opens, before heading to the apartments to sign the lease.

We actually got our first wedding gift yesterday! I was exciting, and so nice and unexpected. I'd planned on not working at my job close to school after graduation, and have only been there since January and I only started actually getting hours in the last month. I figured when my boss said "gift" that it was something small as a sort of "thank you for working" type gift. Nope, it was two fruit bowls! They're actually quite pretty. I might actually have to start buying fruit!
And then to go with that... a thread I'd read talked me into peeking at our registry, and I saw that somebody had bought us a gift... of course, target.com is lame because they won't let me look at the overview to see *if* anything was bought, so I actually clicked to see *what* was bought, and to my surprise there actually was something purchased! and the best part is that what was purchased... wasn't fruit bowls! So someone else got us a gift! It's all kind of exciting!

I finished my finals yesterday. I am so glad to be DONE! I'm done with my undergrad, and I'll be walking in the ceremony on Saturday at 10 in the morning! I'm so excited!
... Although I'm a little irritated. I missed points on a final that I shouldn't have missed, because I was waiting on someone to do their job... It's a long story, and I really don't want to get into it.

I'll miss my roommates, but if we're being truthful?
...

I'm perfectly ok not having to room with girls ever again. EVER. AGAIN.
Don't get me wrong, I love them. But there are some things that I have just had ENOUGH of.
Who seriously moves someone else's stuff into a room they share with someone without asking? There's a whole lot MORE to that story, but I'll save you the drama.
I got the head's up while I was out to dinner with FH, FMIL, and FBIL (the younger one, that is), and I swear my head about exploded.

But I'm all moved out, so I shouldn't let it bug me. But still! This mess is FAR too ridiculous.

Anyway, we're moving into our apartment tomorrow, and I couldn't be more excited!
At the same time, however, I'm starting to get into my "Ech, I'm over it" mode. I'm assuming that's the lack of sleep talking, but we DID just move a ton of stuff today.
FH made two separate trips with my stuff before my dad came and then we all left with a load (well, mine was technically just a trunk-full). I almost feel weird saying that, and then I remember that we lived in a dorm that was more like an apartment. So in addition to movies, books, clothes, and stuff of that sort, I also have bathroom stuff and a bunch of kitchen stuff.

On Sunday FH took my engagement ring back from me after I got off work. And then either Monday or Tuesday (somewhere along those lines) he took it and my wedding rings to the jeweler to get everything soldered.
I should have them back no later than the 12th! So essentially 6 days, if you count that it's the end of the day.

FMIL and I may be looking for her dress for the wedding this weekend. No idea what we're looking for, though.

Random question: what do you buy as a Mother's Day gift for someone who isn't very feminine and would probably prefer a mop bucket to a diamond necklace or bracelet? (more specifically, someone who would prefer something USEFUL).

Two of FH's wedding presents came in the mail! I'm really excited to see them. I didn't open one, and I took a quick peek in the packaging of the other one so that he wouldn't see what I got him.

You know, I'll have more to say next time I post (which hopefully won't be as long of a wait as it was for this particular post), but right now I'm just exhausted.

Here's hoping that everything goes smoothly when we go to move into the apartment in just over 8 hours!

Eloping sounds better every day. I blame the movies.

Don't get me wrong, I'm excited to get married.

But at the same time, I'm sick of wedding planning.
I'm sick of worrying about paying vendors, getting fitted, making sure everybody has their clothes, buying decorations, wondering when people are going to stick the damn RSVPs in the mail when I stuck a stamp on every single little envelope after paying $1.05 between RSVP stamps and invitation stamps, keeping track of dates like when we have to finalize the wedding cake, keeping track of the guys as far as them all getting fitted - heck, I can't even remember what guys are wearing are wearing what color vest and tie! I only remember the color of the vest and tie FH is wearing and what color our dads are wearing.

I'd much rather eat string cheese and yogurt, and dance the samba and the cha cha all day - which works, because I'm rather fond of all of those.

And I'm sick of the girls who can talk about NOTHING but planning their weddings and how much their love their fiancés and all that mess.
I just want to be like "HELLO, DO YOU HAVE A LIFE? WHAT DID YOU DO BEFORE YOU GOT ENGAGED?????????"

Yes, planning a wedding is exciting, but that doesn't mean you should lose your brain and not be able to competently talk about nothing else.

Frankly, I'm beginning to think that weddings are overrated, and they cost way too much anyway. Especially if you're not getting married in a church.
And believe me, we're not getting married in a church.
Even as a little girl I never saw myself getting married in a church. I was more of the "outdoors-in-a-flower-garden, take-your-allergy-medicine, watch-out-for-the-bees!!" wedding vision.
If I traded that in for a church, then I had my heart set on stained glass windows.

Well, that didn't happen, but I'm rather pleased with how it did end up working out.

I'm so sick of things not going as planned.
I blame the movies.
Because you expect everything to be perfect. Right? Right.
But in all reality, it's not perfect.

Leading up to the day there's all this stress.
I've only taken off the wedding day for work, because financially it's the only thing that works for me, as I'll already be taking off two other days that month - one day for moving into our apartment and the very next day for graduation.
And that's going to take a big chunk out of my paycheck, which does not please me at ALL.

And when you tell people this, they look at you like "Have you lost your mind? You're going to be MARRIED, a NEWLYWED! Why are you going into work if you can take it off?"
Because let's face it, there are bills to be paid.

Yeah, that's the part that movies don't tell you about.
Paying bills.
What if one or both of you sucks at dancing, or you can't agree on a first dance song, or one wants to choreograph and the other one doesn't?
What you do when you can't afford to take off work?
They ignore that the hotel rooms that give you the flower petals and the sparkling cider and the whole romance deal? Yeah, those are over $200 a night. Believe me, I checked.
They don't tell you what happens when you GET to the hotel (other than what people typically think of when they think of getting to the hotel after getting married... oh, don't make me say it! ... Ok, ok, having sex, you know that whole deal).
So you're not thinking about parking the car, or dragging your luggage inside. You expect that it'll all magically be set up!
But no. You have to carry in your luggage, unless you decided to have things already at the hotel (like your wedding dress bag, your clothing for the next day, some pajamas, toothbrush, toothpaste, maybe some sensible shoes!).
You have to park the car, unless you decide to pay $18 for valet parking.
Yes, $18. I looked this up.
And movies keep you thinking some mess about being carried over the threshold when, in all reality, you're both probably tired and chances are he has no desire to be picking you up in a dress that probably adds an extra 20 or 30 pounds of weight to you, if not more if you decided you wanted to go the route of hardcore princess-y ballgown with lots of fluff.
And from what I've heard, sex is kind of messy. As in, you have to put down a towel or you change the sheets right after or something. Ooooookkkkkkkkkkkk, yeah, you never hear about that in movies.

Let's face it, I can pretend all I want to that this doesn't bug me, but I'm a little upset at the prospect of not having a honeymoon. Movies lead you to believe that you get married and you leave for your honeymoon the very next day or a couple days after the wedding or something.
Well, there are a number of couples who are waiting to take their honeymoons - anywhere from a month later to having it as a trip for their first anniversary!
But if you didn't know that and you either weren't having a honeymoon or were having a delayed one, you end up thinking there's something wrong with you.

Because if we're being honest, sometimes people can't afford everything you hear about in the movies.
And movies glamorize weddings far too much.

Yes, weddings are exciting.
Yes, it's wonderful to be able to marry someone you care about so much.
Yes, it really shouldn't be this big of a deal.
But yes, it still bums you out.

People who talk about going to Mexico, the Bahamas, France, Italy, Spain, Hawaii (particularly if you live on the other end of the United States), Disney World...
Yeah, I'm a huge fan of Disney World, and probably always will be no matter how old I get...
But they don't preface this with "Not everybody can afford this, so you may not be able to try this at home."

And then when I mention this to FH, because he manages to get it out of me that I'm upset about a lac of honeymoon - because every newlywedded couple goes on a honeymoon, right? - he suggests taking out a loan for beforehand, paying it back ASAP once he works more hours during the summer, and us having a honeymoon.
Except I'm of the belief that if you have to take out a loan to a honeymoon or a wedding, well, you probably shouldn't be doing it to begin with.
End of discussion.
I can wait for years to go back to Disney World or Vegas if it means that we don't have to pay back a loan that was taken out specifically for that.
It's called a vacation for a reason. Meaning you should be able to take it without worrying every second about how you're going to pay it back. Maybe for a moment worry about work and making up hours or something, but not about how you're going to pay back the vacation you're on.

Maybe I'm just jaded. We've been engaged for 2 years and just over 4 months - and we're not getting married for another month yet.
I'm so sick of weddings that it's oozing out of my pores.
I thought it was exciting that Prince William and Kate Middleton are getting married exactly one month before us.
Now I'm just ready for talk of weddings to be over, so i can get on with life.

With my husband and our dog, of course, provided that we take the dog with us, but nonetheless.

This whole wedding planning thing is just stupid now, and it just makes me want to go in the shower and cry.

Nobody ever tells you that wedding planning will be such a headache.

...
Ok, I think the stress of finals and term papers is getting to me.
Because once you get past being concerned about jobs and the apartment and bills... Let's face it, I'm not really all that concerned about the wedding.
I really do NOT want to even LOOK at my thesis for my seminar class. She bled all over EVERYBODY'S paper - in blue ink, no less! (Honestly, I just thought that was kind of weird. Yes, our school color is blue so in a sense we "bleed blue," but if you're bleeding on a paper then why not do it in red ink? Or at least something that stands out from black a little bit more than blue ink does!)
And my paper for Experimental Psychology... I'd be lying if I said I'd started on it.

Although in all reality, I just changed my topic last week. Originally I was going to do it on sensory deprivation and isolation tanks (which I think was somewhere along the lines of you lose one sense and the others become sharper), but when it came down to it that was just a topic that I picked because I really couldn't find anything else more interesting to talk about.
And it's kind of hard to get up the motivation to work on a paper when you don't give a damn about it.

So I changed my paper to being about the use of animals in research.
I have to write an outline, and then do the paper... My paper is due on Saturday.

::Insert little kid whine::
"I don't WANNA!"

Ok now that's enough of that.
I think it's time for string cheese and yogurt.
And to actually make an attempt at my term papers. I mean, I DO graduate in... let's see, it's not quite midnight, so 11 days.

You know, instead it might actually be time for bed. I dunno.

Toodles.