Thursday, August 29, 2013

USAFA Parents' Weekend

I haven't been posting regularly lately, and that means one thing: school recently started.

Yes, I've been teaching for a few years now, but the beginning of the year is ALWAYS hectic trying to establish routines. Hopefully I'll be back to normal soon.

As for today, though, I just felt the need to post. Exactly four years ago, I was driving out to Colorado by myself for the first time to visit Dan for his Air Force Academy Prep School Parents' Weekend. It's really more like Girlfriend weekend, to be honest, but whatever. We'll appease the people who gave this weekend its name however many years ago.

I met up with a friend who I'd been talking to all summer. I saw Dan for the first time since Basic Training. We did SO MUCH tourist stuff in Colorado Springs, and we loved every second we had together.

Each year, Parents' Weekend falls on Labor Day weekend. He has five total, and THIS WEEKEND marks number five out of five! It's finally really setting in that he is a senior. He REALLY IS GRADUATING in nine months.

I can't believe it. I'm so ecstatic!

For kicks, here's a photo collage from that most amazing weekend four years ago:


Our love has grown even stronger since then, and I can't wait to see that handsome man graduate SO SOON


Monday, August 26, 2013

Deck of Cards Anniversary Book

Bear with me if you've already seen this post (on my old blog, Always Write 2012). I am slowly but surely trying to transfer all of my DIY projects to THIS blog so people don't keep finding by crafts on my OLD blog. I want them reading over here!

Last fall, I joined a website called Pinterest. I was skeptical at first, but I have gotten some of the best craft ideas from there, not to mention all the delicious recipes I find! If you haven't heard of it, CHECK IT OUT now! :)

Anyhow, while browsing, I found an amazing idea for an anniversary gift for Dan. We celebrated three years of dating on February 25th, 2012, so I realize this post is long overdue (as in... a year and a half overdue -- oops!). My apologies.

Basically, I wrote out 52 reasons why I love Dan (similar to the fishbowl gift I made for him for our one year anniversary, but this one's more compact!) and put one on each card to complete an entire deck. I used the Joker cards for the front and back covers, and I think it turned out really cute. Dan LOVED this gift, and I had fun making it. I wouldn't advise using the jewels I did, though, as they made it larger and unable to close -- oops!

And what would a blog post be without pictures?

I started by punching two holes in each card and them assembling the deck with binder rings.

I made even strips of cardstock to glue on each card...


small pieces of cardstock for each card! 

I wrote one reason why I love Dan on each piece of cardstock

...and then I glued one to each card!

I painted matte Mod-Podge over each one to make sure they stay on the cards...

I let them dry on paper towels, but next time I would use something that wouldn't get stuck to the cards. I had to peel it off afterward.

I hot-glued two charms to each card.

all put together...

the cover














the back cover..

so pretty :) 

inside the box I gave it to him in :)

scrapbooking paper on a shoe box! Someone forgot to buy a gift bag.. ;)

All ready to give to Dan! :) 

If you ever have any creative ideas, let me know. I am always looking for new things to make to give as gifts and to blog about!

Friday, August 23, 2013

21st Century: Meeting Internet Friends

Warning: This story is going to sound super strange, but I promise it's not THAT weird.

When I was 13, I found a forum online. I started posting there, and I made several friends from all over the world. Now, I'm 26, and I still keep in touch with many of those people. It's so great having friends on several different continents! That said, I became very close friends with a girl my age named Lucy. We talked and talked. We noticed we have MANY similarities. We are "twins". The problem? She is from England. SO FAR AWAY.

When Dan found out he was heading to England for three weeks in the summer of 2012 for Air Force OPS, I instantly knew he had to meet Lucy for me. Luckily, he was able to. She showed him around London, and he even got to go out with Lucy, her boyfriend Simon, and some of their friends. I WAS SO JEALOUS.

And then she planned a visit to the USA for June of 2013. TALK ABOUT ECSTATIC! We planned for MONTHS on end, figuring out all the fun things we would do while she was here. She came with her boyfriend, Simon, and Dan took his three weeks of leave while they were in town.

We showed them all around Colorado, and then we drove to the Grand Canyon. We checked out the Hoover Dam and stayed for a few days in Las Vegas. Their trip concluded with more wonderful tourist spots in Colorado. WE HAD A BLAST. I did not want them to leave. Thankfully, they are coming back out next May for our wedding, and Dan and I will be staying with them for the last few days of our honeymoon.

It's truly WONDERFUL having such a great friend, despite the fact that she lives all the way across the ocean. Isn't technology AMAZING???
























































I hope you enjoyed the exorbitant amount of pictures of us posing with things. We didn't mean to take so many, and Dan and Simon were definitely not impressed. They had a wonderful time too, though, and they even got to have some guy time. They were SO SICK of taking pictures for us by the end of the trip (or maybe by the second day).