Day 53: my oh shit face

As in, "oh shit, this class is going to kill me after a week of pigging out down south."


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Day 52: separating again :(

Silliness at the airport...lol


This will be the last separation for a while! Next time we see each other, it will be wedding time!!! Yayyy!!! - Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Day 51: silly doggies

There are a bunch of toys and balls around and yet they still fight over the same ones. Lol


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Day 50: on our way home

I find that the sky is pretty no matter the zip code. :)


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Day 49: home shopping!

Spent some time at wal-mart buying some cleaning supplies for our new home! I shudder to think what all this would have cost in NYC. Lol


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Day 48: we found a place!

They had us at "salt water pool." lol


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Day 47: Our first military ball!

My first formal occasion in the military! ...oddly enough, I felt a little bit like I was in high school again. Lol except this time with alcohol.


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Day 46: driving in the car

We tried to go house hunting. That didn't work out too well. But it was nice to drive around. :)


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Day 45: my/our first Valentine's day!

Random Joycie fact: I have never spent Valentine's day with a significant other...until this year! Yayyyy :) Jeff and I went to a lovely restaurant in Nashville where I had steak and he had lots of lobster. We love our lobster! And then we took pictures in the car to commemorate our first valentines day...because we didn't take any in the restaurant. Lol


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Day 44: in memory

Took the day off for bereavement and spent a good deal of time at school to sew. Quinnie! I've missed you! She was great company as I worked on a tutu... I figured there is no better way to remember my awesome grandma than to do some sewing...she was my inspiration when it came to learning to work a sewing machine...


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Day 43: happy birthday Rich!

The Shelalas love their chocolate. Lol


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Day 42: come on scab! Fall off!

Couldnt wait for my scab to finally fall off so I kept rubbing neosporin on it until it "fell off..." soooo impatient!


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Day 41: sad news

My grandma on my dad's side passed away after a long battle with pancreatic cancer. She was a trooper who loved me and my family so much, and despite the distance still found ways to make sure I knew she cared even if it was as simple as a handmade card. I'll always hold her close...


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Day 40: morning light...

Gosh I love the sun!


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Location:Grand Central Pkwy,,United States

Day 39: west elm I love you!

My new favorite home store!


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Day 38: icy starfish buddy

Sooo I don't have ice and even if I did, the icebag I got from the emergency room was covered in dried blood and smelled like firewood, bacon and blood...sooooo I bought an icepak! Ain't he cute!


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Day 37: pulled from a biohazard bag...

Remnants of my bloody Sunday!


My pants are now super cool. - Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Day 36: little did I know

That five minutes after this pic, I would bomb down the slope, get clipped by some lame ass sitting in my way, flip over face first, bust my lip open and spend the afternoon in the Dartmouth emergency room getting four stitches...


Despite the hit to my vanity, I'm glad the injury wasn't more serious and that I at least have a good story to tell. :) - Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Day 35: quiet day at the cabin

First Saturday in forever I got to sleep in! It was wonderful! Naomi and I just chilled out, stayed in the hot tub, read books, watched tv... So that's what relaxing is like...


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Day 34: Vermont!

The best thing about driving to Vermont is being soooo tired that you sleep the whole way there. I am such terrible road trip company. Lol


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Day 33: gotta love my doctor

He ALWAYS takes care of me...even if it means injecting my second toe with some crazy needle to make me (eventually) feel better. :)


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Day 32: only in New York

...would you see a small "marketplace" that used to be a nightclub that used to be a church. (that's where the spotlights are coming from)


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Day 31: almost 8 years later...

I met Suk when I was studying in Nagoya for a semester in 2004. It's so amazing to me that despite our language barrier (she spoke mostly Korean and I spoke mostly English), we still found a way to be good friends...I loved that Japanese was our common language. Almost 8 years later and we got to meet again in NYC! Yay!


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Day 30: Jane of the Jungle

Stayed up suuuuper late to make this purse then promptly went straight to work after. Insanity! Can't wait til I have the option of making this a full time thing. :)


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Day 29: doggy!

He looks a little like he's tired of life. Lol - Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Day 28: I <3 Sally

If you haven't done your taxes yet, and live in NYC, you should see Sally at the 72nd street H&R block. She. Is. The. BEST! - Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Day 27: my wedding has exploded...

...in my room. Lol


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Day 26: pizza eggs

They taste waaay better than they look AND they're under 300 calories! And filling! What!! :) - Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Day 25: not my kind of chamorro

Met Jeff's best friend Adam for the very first time and had a lovely Mexican dinner! :) On the menu, there was Chamorro! I thought for sure their special was some awesome Guamanian food, which makes no sense in a Mexican restaurant, but you know, it would have been nice. Lol


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Day 24: tree!

I don't know why but I love the color of the sky during twilight hours. I think it's pretty! :)


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Day 23: this is what happens...

..when you can't find your iPhone headphones. You gotta use noiseless ones but hold the phone to your mouth because it doesn't have a mic on it. :(


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Day 22: raaaamen

Zuzu ramen sooo good


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Day 21: wedding craftiness begins!

Up at 2 am trying to figure out how best to make paper flowers...I hand dyed these!!! :)


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Day 20: out of practice

My kanji looks TERRIBLE! :(


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Day 19: reunited!

Gosh it feels so good to have my engagement ring back! I sent it out for cleaning and was nekkid for a week! Felt weird. :( But the ring is back, sparkly and new lookin' and right where it belongs! :)


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Day 18: early morning

Something so awesome about such a clear sky and seeing a bird perched on a tree...


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Day 17: two digit numbers!

So excited! Now we are down to two digit numbers til our wedding! Yay!!!


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Day 16: You know it's a rough day...

...when you're listening to Kelly Clarkson on Pandora and identifying with Ne-Yo as he's singing sad love songs. lol



I don't think I've been this wallow-y since... maybe that one time way back when I got my heart broken and didn't think it could ever get fixed. So dramatic. lol

I think it's been a while since I've been contemplative on this. Probably because I haven't needed to be. I got luckier than I ever expected, meeting the man I did, falling in love, and now on the verge of getting to move and spend the rest of my life starting and ending my days with him....

But old habits die hard. I still think too much. I still am overly sensitive about stupid shit. I still worry that the other shoe will drop.

Growing up, I used to always ask those in love, "But how do you know?" They all always said the same thing: "You just do." I didn't get it until I did. You just know.

The road to "just knowing" wasn't easy. It was fraught with incompatibility, heartache, tears, and 30 lbs of weight gain and subsequent weight loss.

You know what was easy? After finally getting to the "you just know," part, and just knowing, how easily the word "yes" fell off my lips when asked to spend the rest of my life with just this one person. It was a snap.

Saying "yes," was the easy part.

Getting to "I do"? Not so easy.

You see, when you decide to have a wedding (different from a marriage), all these outside things start trying to push their way into your two person bubble.

Some of it is awesome, like when people hear your love story and tell you cool things like, "you sickos make me believe in love again," or getting to try on pretty dresses and deciding which one will be most likely to make your future husband make his ugly cry face as he's watching you walk toward you.

But some of it messes up your two person bubble. People's (however well intentioned) differing opinions; the "Wedding Industry" and all the random expectations it holds; the financial greatness of it all....

Unless you're eloping or really really self-assertive and unbending, weddings are never entirely or exclusively for the two people getting married.

Suddenly, you're trying to make everyone happy. But you can't. And you wonder if the decisions you're making are the best ones. Worst of all is when you wake up and suddenly have to wonder if the decisions you're making and the ones you've made are making your partner happy. Because that's the part that matters.

It's so hard not to second guess. It's even worse if you're a born overthinker AND a Psych major. And it's the absolute worst if your past is impeding on how you are perceiving your present....

This probably doesn't make sense, all of this. Sigh.

Saying "yes," was just so easy. It was a very large and important decision that came so easy and with no regrets.

The obstacles that follow are what is difficult. Especially when I'm pitting myself against...myself. lol

The key to winning?

Remembering that saying "yes," was just so easy and "just knowing" exactly why.

And maybe listening to Ne-Yo sing sad love songs so you can laugh at how overly dramatic you are.

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Day 15: lombardi's, finally!

After living in NY for the better part of 10 years, I finally had pizza from America's first pizzeria...!


...and it was delicious. :) - Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Day 14: time flies

Just yesterday, it feels, me and Daj were waking up to each other, and having tickle fights... And now he's old enough to know how to work a PSP and show his uncle Jed how to play a game on it.


He's also old enough to reason that hugging isn't for boys but since I'm a girl it was perfectly acceptable to hug and kiss me goodbye. Lol Gosh where has time gone? - Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Day 13: let's dance

Well...not me, unless it's Bollywood. Lol Went to my first ballroom dance competition (as a spectator) to see Jen and Sean dance! They were so good!


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With this ring...

I picked up our wedding rings today... They're simple bands, with just a few words engraved on them...and I cannot wait to wear mine!


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Day 11: haiku to my scale

Oh scale, I loathe you. And fear you. Yet I need you. See you tomorrow.


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Day 10: leeeet there be light!

Finally changed my lightbulbs! Wooooooohooooo Let the productivity begin again!


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Day 9: inconsiderate

I hate how people do things without thinking about how it affects others. Some lady in the garage was in a hurry to drop her car off and blocked the way out! Grrrrr


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Day 8: lazy bone jones

Basically did nothing today because I didn't wanna ask my super for a ladder to change the lightbulb. Fail. Thank goodness for lamps!


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Day 7: ridiculous line

For the Kardashian store...wtf, people be crazy




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Location:Broome St,New York,United States

Day 6: Abigail Bartlett

Cutest dog.





Without her, I dont think I ever would have found love. <3

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Day 5: oh sticky heating pad

My sore/crampy body loves you!




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Day 4: I know it looks gross

But Kappazushi green tea from Japan taste so goo'!




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