Married!

It's official!  Jacob and I are now Husband and Wife!  It was the most perfect ceremony that I could ask for.  The Justice of the Peace was SO nice, and everything that she said was perfect, and there was no mention of God whatsoever.  She had us say traditional vows, and then let us say our own vows right at the very end before we kissed.  The JOP was very busy, so we didn't have time to walk down into the Riverwalk to get to the more private places, so we did it at one of the entrances (the one across from the Alamo).  We went down some steps and there was a very pretty water area with some fountain stuff, and that's where we did it.  It's actually the Wishing Well portion of it, I found out, so that seems kind of perfect :).  Since it was a public place, there were plenty of strangers.  A crowd gathered to watch us get married, and it was a little disconcerting at first, but it was nice that they shared in our moment!  At the end they all clapped for us, which was nice.  2 guys from Jake's Flight happened to walk by, so they stayed until it was over.  I think one of the guy's dads videotaped part of it, so Jake is going to try and get a copy!  They also signed as our witnesses, which we didn't need, but it didn't hurt to have them!  After we were married, we got 2 coins (quarters, obviously the best coin) and tossed them into the wishing well together.  It was perfect!  We don't really have any pictures of the wedding, maybe 3 of when it was happening, and we also don't have any pictures of us at the spot from after it's over.  We do have a ton of video from a camera, but the audio is really bad!  But, seeing it is almost as good as seeing it and hearing it...lol.  Jake's vows were the most perfect thing I have ever heard in my life.  He made them personal, and they were sweet, and he vowed to embrace my love of Harry Potter.  When I heard that, I just burst out laughing!  There's some video of it, it's pretty funny....and it was the most perfect moment ever.

Change, Change

Just so everybody knows:  California is awesome!  The family I'm living with is awesome, the babies are adorable and sweet (and at times completely overwhelming) but I'm having the time of my life, and I'm sad that come June I'll have to leave.  But!  On to a new subject:

In 3.5 hours, I will drive to the airport, board a plane, and go to San Antonio!  I'll fall asleep, wake up, and see Jake for the first time in 8.5 weeks.  That's a long time to go without your man, but I've had a pretty good time without him :P.  On Friday, at 1:45, we will be married, hopefully on the Riverwalk!  I have to write my vows.  I'm so excited.  I've never felt so happy in my life, and in some ways I just keep waiting for the other shoe to drop.  I'm hoping it won't!  Peace out!

Of Course

On my one day this week to sleep in, I of course wake up at 7 in the morning.  How is that right or fair?  Let me answer that - it's NOT!  Lol.

Yo-Yo the Tiny Dog

My grandmother had two dogs.  She loved them both, but Yo-Yo the tiny dog was a little bit more special to her.  Both dogs were very very naughty, because she wasn't the best doggy parent.  Not big on rules.  Anyways, after she died, Nelson found a new home, and Yo-Yo found a new home in our home.  He has to compete with 4 big dogs for affection, but he found love in myself, Sydney, and my Mom.  My evil twin (not really, just my little sister who is such a TEENAGER) hates Yo-Yo.  She hates small dogs, and hated him as soon as he came in the house!  He did have bad habits then (peeing in the house, being kind of aggressive, barking a lot) but he's gotten a lot better about all of the bad habits (and is completely housebroken).  Evil Twin continues to exacerbate the poor dog, and purposefully antagonizes him!  What a meanie!  So, it has been decided that Yo-Yo the tiny dog should come and live with me!  And, since Jake is a SAINT, that is what is happening :).  When we get a house or apartment, tiny dog will come fly out and live with us in the great state of California.  Yay!  I had kind of dreamed of getting our own pet, one that we picked out ourselves, but Yo-Yo was so special to my grandmother, and my grandmother was so special to me, that I don't mind keeping her doggy around.  Plus, he actually is incredibly sweet and loving and cuddly.  Can't complain about that!  Here's some pictures of him (he's so darn cute!):

Snoozing on the couch!

In his 4th of July bandana, before heading to the Eno Festival

 Sleeping with Jake!  Aw!

In his bomber jacket...oh for crying out loud, he's so darn cute!

Now, I did make it seem like it was all because of Anna that he's coming to live with us, but actually it's not.  With all of the big dogs around, there's a lot of competition and stuff, and he really wants to be Alpha, but is at the bottom of the totem pole!  So, we think that it will really be best for him if he's the only dog again, like he was before Nana got Nelson.  Did I mention how saintly Jake was?  He's not Yo-Yo's biggest fan, but he knows how important it is to me!  He's a good man.

WEST COAST

I have successfully made it to the west coast of the United States!  I woke up in North Carolina, and I fell asleep in California!  My mind can't seem to wrap around the idea that I'm all the way on the other side of the country!  Almost as far away as I could be in the continental U.S.!  I flew into San Francisco, but the family I work for is actually in San Jose.  It's only like, an hour away.  My first flight was wonderful.  Marvelous!  I was nervous the night before about all the flying, especially by myself, but it turned out to be okay!  I bought a water bottle and a small thing of drammamine before the flight at RDU and it cost 11 DOLLARS!  So overpriced and crazy!  I took the drammamine and it worked perfectly.  I got a window seat, and there was no one in the middle seat.  It was very quiet, very relaxing, and almost therapeutic.  I listened to the music they provided and read my cheesy romance novel...drank some coffee. We landed at O'Hare, and I was all agog.  It was an enormous airport!  They have this awesome underground passageway connecting one side of the airport with the other, and there's lights all over the place, really cool colored lights on the sides, and on the ceiling!  I just stood back and stared for 5 minutes like the country bumpkin that I am!  I had an hour to spare once I got to my gate, and I got pretty bored.  I got antsy!  So, I was already antsy when I got on my plane to San Fran.  It felt like the longest flight of my life!  The first 2 hours went fast, but the second 2.5 hours went by like MOLASSES.  So slow!  I got super antsy and I couldn't wait to get on the ground and get off of the plane.  The several screaming children probably didn't help!  We finally landed, and I finally got to my new home in San Jose!  My impression of San Jose:

It's very sunny!  As opposed to the lush green landscape of NC, everything seems sort of brown and sparse!  There's mountains, but they aren't like the Blue Ridge mountains...they're different.  The air is very, very dry, and my nose can already tell the difference! Did I mention that it was sunny?  

OMG SO TIRED!  MUST SLEEP

Wedding Registry

Recently, some people have been asking me if I have a wedding registry.  I didn't at the time, and was told to make one!  So, I have registered at Bed, Bath and Beyond.  I put a lot of stuff on there, and it was really overwhelming!! But, it's all stuff that I want/need, so the idea of getting any of the things on there is pretty exciting!  I did feel kind of bad putting some expensive stuff on there, but Claire told me that there was no harm it putting it on there.  So, if anybody who reads this blog actually checks the registry, please don't judge for the Le Creuset Round French Oven!

School's DONE!

So.  I have been so busy these past 2 weeks that I have completely forgotten about blogging!  There has been a lot of driving back and forth between Boone and Durham (for Easter, after the zoo, stuff like that).  I am happy to say that I am in Durham for good!  Well, for the next 2 days, anyways.  On Friday I will fly out to San Jose to be a nanny for this family (a friend of a friend).  I am very excited, because it will be my first time seeing the west coast, and what better way to see a new place than to live there?  I will be in CA for a month, and I'll fly back early June.

Today I turned in my last paper, and I took my last exam.  I am done with school for the foreseeable future.  It is a little scary, because I've never not been in school before, but I in no way regret my decision to take some time off.  I will miss App State, because I really did like that school!  It's my favorite of the 3 that I've been to.  But, my therapist has taught me that it doesn't really matter which school you go to...as long as you are happy on the inside and feel complete with your personal self, the school that you're at doesn't matter.  So, I know that I'll find my way to a school again someday, when I have a better idea of what direction will be the best fit for me.  I think that finishing my degree is important, but for right now, discovering the things that I enjoy and the things that I am interested in is more important.  How can I make a decision about my career if I don't even know what I like?  I can't. Bingo.

For those of you who don't know, Jacob and I are officially engaged.  Even though we were already planning on getting married this summer, he proposed via hangman puzzle.  I thought it was very original and I loved it.  He still wants to get down on one knee at some point the next time we meet, but I count the hangman puzzle as legitimate.  My ring is the same ring that I've had for almost a year (he gave it to me last summer as a promise ring, because he thought that I'd say no if he proposed!) but I have had it sized down to fit better, and it was dipped in a metal to keep it from tarnishing...it's beautiful!  It looks like new.  Here's a picture of it:

We are getting married on May 20th, during his graduation weekend.  I am going to start looking for apartments soon for us, because he'd like me to move out there as soon as possible.  Yay!

So, even though right now my life currently has no direction, in 3 weeks I will become Mrs. Gray, and I will reach the pinnacle of: HOUSEWIFE!  With health insurance, a home, and a loving husband.  My job will become helping him with everything that he needs so that he can continue to provide for us.  I'll help him study his butt off so that he can become fluent in a foreign language, and we can go live in Alaska or something (actually a legitimate possibility).

I might try and get situated in California before posting again, so for now, adieu!