Dreams in the Making

Seriously, people.
I landed a good one.
Don't ask me how I got so blessed, but I did.
My boy happens to also be my adventure buddy.
He's taken me to see Chicago.
He's introduced me to stargazing in the country.
He's even taught me how to drive a stick shift.
All of which were things on my "want-to-do-and-see" list.
Last month,
after living in Missouri my whole entire life..
I finally got to see the Saint Louis Arch up close and personal.
It was really cool!!
We even got to ride to the top with this really nice guy from California.
He kept confirming that San Diego in August is practically the greatest place to be ever.
Which is awesome.
Cause that's where we plan on honeymooning.
(!!!)
So thank you Californian STL Arch pod passenger guy.
You rock.
But anyway, we got there early enough that we missed most of the tourist crowds.
And got to enjoy the view fairly peacefully.
It's funny, even though these are silly things that I've always wanted to do...
just hanging out at 630 feet in a giant metal sculpture means so much more
when you're with your best friend and love of your life.

Later that day we moseyed around the mall and played a game.
"See how many items you can buy for your house spending no more than $50 in separate stores in the most expensive mall in the St. Louis area"
It was fun.
And difficult.
But we did it!!
We managed to fall in love with Anthropologie (which is even greater in store than online...who knew?)
get verbally ambushed by fine china saleswomen in Macy's
and buy the girliest hand soap that Stephen has ever used.
All in all a good day with my man.
Gotta love him.
He's good for keeping my sanity in all of the busy.
Plus we're cute.

you're killing me, smalls!

Admit it.
When you were a kid you watched the Sandlot.
And if you were at all a pre-teen girl you had a crush
on Benny "The Jet" Rodrigues. 
Who wouldn't?!
I had a HA-UGEmongous 
butterfly induced 
starry eyed
wish he was my celebrity boyfriend
crush on this kid. 
So, when Stephen and I were watching the
ultimate summer flick the other day
I mentioned that little detail from my
giggly-girly-little-Jessie past.
He laughed.
And quipped
(he's quite good at quips)
"Funny, you liked Benny...and ended up with a guy that looks like Smalls."
I stopped.
Studied his face for a second.
And proceeded to have my mind blown.
He was right. 
Check it. He's not lying.

I laugh though.
It's funny how when you are "in control" of your future and decide what "you want"
it seems you very rarely choose the same things that God would.
If it were up to me, 
I can't say that I'd immediately chose my man to be 
well, my man.
I never saw myself with a dirty blondish/brownish, country boy, pilot who likes taking risks and keeps a much more meticulous house than I do.
But you know what? 
I wouldn't have it any other stinking way.
You know why?
Because he's God's match for me.
He completes me in ways I didn't know I was lacking.
He does stuff I had no idea that I'd actually enjoy.
He's broadened my little bubble of a small town world and encouraged me to enjoy adventure again.
But mostly, he loves me more than I could ask for or deserve.
No, he's not perfect.
But you really find a great thing when you find someone who loves you as Jesus loves them.
It's mindblowing, actually.
Just keep that in mind next time you get all control-y and choosey and think you know your future better than the One who's already written it. 
He probably has a choice a million times better than the one you think you want.
Just sayin.
So yeah, Stephen may not have been what I dreamed about at sleepovers...
...but he's what I dream about now.
I love that boy, with all of my heart.
And I'd choose him every time.  

snow day.

we got slammed.

and by slammed I mean with a half a foot or more of snow.

and ice.

and sleet.

and everything else that winter had in it's tool belt.

now, please let it be known that I am not winter's biggest fan.

I think that the hush and the brightness that snow lends is amazing.

I don't however think that the awful driving conditions, cold, and being trapped somewhere for days on end is amazing.

My fiance is amazing though.

I have finally found someone who drives me around while I hang out the window with my camera like a paparazzi dog.

I was kidnapped by my pilot with the four wheel drive truck

(whom we've named Thor in honor of it's greek-god-like abilities to drive over the snow)

and taken on a wintery tour of the country.

I loved it.

I mean, this route is amazing in the summer

and has some of the most amazing star-gazing around.

But with the untouched purity of the fresh fallen snow...

man, it was beautiful.

(except for of course the bird dance party on the bridge.)

I love this mister that I've found.

I love our adventures.

And that's how we spent our snow day.

I can't wait for more adventures.

Surprise. Surprise.

So, Valentines Day was a first for me this year.

It's the first year I've had someone to share it with.

And what a someone he is.

For weeks before he made secret plans and 

taunted me with clues that lead to nowhere.

However when I arrived it all became clear.

Admist the smooth sound of 40's jazz in the background...

this was my view:

Pretty awesome, right?!

My man worked all day to set up this dinner for two.

Of course, he cooked it himself and provided the ever present

Coca-Cola in a glass bottle.

While we had the camera out I finally took pictures of my ring

with something besides my phone.

After dinner, we watched

The Notebook.

I had never seen it.

I did not cry.

Thank you.

All of this is because I mentioned how cheesy I thought the holiday was.

He proved me right.

But it was worth it.

And I am so glad that my first Valentine is and forever will be

my one and only Valentine. 

breakfast.of.champions.

So this morning, 
my oatmeal decided to throw a party while it was cooking.
But who can blame it?
I mean, it's Wednesday...and Valentine's Day Eve.
So it's sort of the most party reason-ful day there is for a while.
Anyway, in all of it's cooking-soaking-up-water-and-making-itself-edible-Wednesday-party...
it kind of exploded all over my mom's freshly cleaned microwave.
But because of the crazy insane earliness of the time....apparently I thought it would be funny to take a picture so I could share with all of you. 
In hindsight...
it's kind of been a reflection of my day. 
You see, my darling boy is planning a surprise for tomorrow.
Mainly because I once quipped about how cheesy I think V-Day is.
So, in true boy form...he took it upon himself to knock my socks off with cheesiness.
Apparently.
He must've forgotten that I'm lactose intolerant.
But he is my first ever Valentine's day date. Ever.
(aw.)
I have a bunch of random clues.

Like it involves: 

meeting him at the airport, 

40 feet of rope, 

food, 

possible disaster, 

my camera, 

at dusk, 

looking nice, 

and not being claustrophobic. 

But I swear I'm still clueless. 

Seriously people.

Help!

Needless to say--my brain--quite like the oatmeal--is throwing a party for the end of work tomorrow.

Also like the oatmeal,

it's mushy and exploded all over the place.

Mainly from life, overuse of Photoshop, and this little thing called a wedding.

But, it's still useful.

Sort of.

I did greet a customer in the drivethru today by saying "One, two, three, four" instead of my usual greeting because I was watching a co-worker pump syrup into a cup.

We all had a good laugh at my silliness.

Kinda like I laughed at my oatmeal.

And then decided to share it with the internets.

Like my silliness.

Moral of the story:

Breakfast is the most important meal of the day...because it could clue you in to how your day will unfold.

On a Not Very Particular Tuesday.

Currently:

-editing photos.

-indulging my obsession with The Civil Wars.

seriously.

-rejoicing about having one bridesmaid dress found and purchased.

-missing the boy with all of my pea-picking heart.

-trying not to fall asleep after today's 3:45am wake up call.

-making a list on my blog after writing a blog about making lists.

-going away to make googely eyes with the boy on skype.

kbye.

Ps: the hot stuff in the photo is my sis...photo by me...yummy delicious sunlight by God.

All About My Acceptance of Short Term Memory Loss Prevention Devices

or.
How I've conformed and decided to become a "list maker".
I'm not a "list maker".
Never have been.
Even in college I kept most of my homework information in my head 
and scattered around in my notebooks
and STILL managed to maintain a pretty good GPA.
Thank you.
Every planner I have ever purchased gets used for a week before spending the rest of it's calendar days in empty and lonely non-use on my shelf.
But somehow every other person in my little circle of life is a list maker.
And they like it.
They're awesome at it.
And then there is me.
Don't get me wrong, I love the idea of it all.
I love the idea of being organized.
I love all of the beautiful gorgeousness that organization supplies come in.
But it never sticks.
Except for this time.
I shall proclaim it from the mountain tops!
My name is Jessica and today...
today I got overwhelmed by to-do's.
Today, my brain became jumbled like the pieces of a dumped out game of Bananagrams.

(which btw you should play...because it's fun...and sometimes cute boys even leave you notes in the tiles that make your entire day because we're just that sickeningly cute like this: )

Today, I swallowed my lazy pride that likes to shrug and say "Meh."
Today, I become a list maker.

I figured that in my short journey to becoming a Mrs. should probably involve me learning how to make lists.
You know, so that when we grocery shop that we don't just continue to buy Mac n' Cheese and orange juice because it's all I can think about. 
Or so I actually remember to finish my homework for my pre-marital-marriage-prep-thing that we're doing with my pastor.
Oooh...and maybe so I remember to actually make lists.
Totally going to put on my list..."make a list."
Yep.
Basically I'm just that awesome.
So in case you would like to join my Short Term Memory List Prevention club...
...because who wouldn't...
here is a free printable one for YOU, my lovelies!!

Designed by yours truly.
Because lists should at least be pretty.
Ok, so I'm going to go cross "design a to-do list" off my to-do list...
or something.