NEW BLOG

Once again I'm reminding you that I have a new site and I did in fact already import this one so everything I've ever posted is there as well. That means I may one day delete this blog but I'm waiting for awhile, if I ever get around to it at all.

http://mmbailey.blogspot.com

Wedding Post

Okay, I have finally found some time to post about our wedding, but I'll warn you: it's very short and brief, with only 3 pictures from what I took of days leading up to the big day. I'm working towards getting pictures from people via facebook and myspace, which takes me a good amount of time.

Anyway, the post is at my new site:

http://mmbailey.blogspot.com

That is also where most, probably more like all, of my future posts will be.

I may even try to import this blog into that one so I only have one address but I'm not getting around to that either for awhile!

9 Days

We're 9 days away!!! We did the paperwork yesterday for our marriage license, so we won't just be having a big party, it will be legal too.

The real reason for the post: because it has been my journal over the last year. I've finally hit that point of feeling that there is a lot left to do. I just heard back from the campus lady about all the stuff I emailed her about almost 2 weeks ago and now have just 5 days to finish everything she needs. The caterers added a bunch of stuff to our contract, which we've never signed a copy of, so know I am going through what we had decided on originally and making the new contract match it again.

I'm trying very hard to be positive about it, because the wedding is supposed to be a celebration and I don't need it to be causing me stress. I'm just ready for the next 9 days to pass, so it can FINALLY be May 30th.

On a more positive note, I decided today that I'm most excited for Marcel to see me walk down a very long aisle in my beautiful white dress and exchanging the letters we've written to each other, which aren't going to be shared until the wedding; and not to mention:
our honeymoon in Las Vegas!

Other countdowns I've started:

2 days: Marcel graduates

3 days: Sisters arrive

4 days left of work

5 days until everything has to be into campus

6 days until I'm on vacation

7 days: Bachelorette party & Mom arrives

8 days: Dad arrives & rehearsal dinner

9 days: WEDDING

New Blog Site

The wedding is only 12 days away and somehow I remembered to make a new blog address. I think it's because I know I have so much to do but am left to needing to work out details with Marcel, but he's in finals mode until tomorrow night. I'm not going to delete my old address because it has served like my journal since graduation and would like to think that I may update it occassionally, but I'll now primarily update:

http://mmbailey.blogspot.com/

I hope that's easy enough to remember, even if most of you will just have to update your list of blogs you follow! Can't wait to make the first real post, but not until I'm a Bailey ;)

I've Been Thinking

Since last night's Grey's Anatomy my mind has been running. It was such a good episode in terms of television season finales, and it was also very emotional and relational. I feel pretty sappy that a TV show can affect me like this, but I can't deny it; plus those of you who really know me already know this about me!

Since the day Marcel proposed to me we've prayed to always realize what is really important in the wedding (to us, hardly anything, besides the vows) and that the bigger thing is the marriage. The show made me re-realize a few things:

• We will forever put the other person's hopes, dreams, desires, needs and wants before our own
  
• Life will get messy and we'll face things we never could have dreamed, but God prepares us for all our challenges
  
• God brought us together nearly three years ago (1 week shy!) and He'll keep us that way if we keep him in our relationship
• There are rewards to marriage that you can never imagine until you are experiencing them firsthand
• I'm blessed to have found Marcel when I did, so that we could experience everything in life together.
• Marcel loves me more than I ever thought someone could be loved--he told me today that he loves me 85 trillion times more than I love him!

I'm only 15 days away from becoming a wife and am continually praying, not only with Marcel, but in my own prayer time, that as the wedding gets closer and closer I lose focus on the little things and the wedding things, but instead take time to consider the bigger things: the vows we'll be taking when we commit ourselves to each other and finally become husband and wife.

Update

I feel like it has been quite some time since I posted, but I have no new pictures to share and I don't like to blog without some pictures. However, that isn't to say my life has been boring; in fact it has been a crazy adventure lately.

I am officially 100% moved into our new apartment and hoping to get the majority of Marcel's stuff there in the next week or so (I don't think he knows that's my plan!) so that we don't have to do it so close to graduation and the wedding which are only 7 days apart anyway. I'm shortly headed to my old house one last time to make sure it is in fact clean before I meet our landlords after work tonight. My roommates (I'll probably always call them that) and I had a great last few weeks at our house and while we're all very excited for the next step in our lives we are just as sad to walk away from 3-4 years of living together.

So I'm 100% moved in but wish I was 100% unpacked. I just sit in our house and see boxes and boxes and don't really know where the stuff inside the box should live. I have been able to get a lot done but our "office" is still looking very scary. Wish me luck for the next few days to make sure moving and unpacking haven't driven me crazy.

I'm enjoying only being 22 days away from our wedding. Things are still coming together nicely, as they have throughout the planning process. I'm finding a lot of little, yet important, things to get done that I had never thought of before. We continue to pray daily that God will prepare us in every way, mentally, emotionally, physically, spiritually to be ready for the step we are about to take together and that we remember that the wedding is only 1 day in the rest of our lives together!

Grease

Last night, Marcel and I were lucky enough to be able to attend Grease in Portland's Keller Auditorium. I was invited because I am a part of Pacific's Alumni Association, everyone who graduates becomes a part of it, I didn't do anything special! I knew it was a "cultural" event which Marcel likes to have me do to open my world up to new things, yet it was one I was actually really excited for. Even with the group ticket prices, I couldn't afford to buy the tickets just because so we went for Marcel's birthday, which is on Sunday. I even treated him to dinner before at his place of choice: P.F. Changs. Little did we know, we'd be there for happy hour and get out with dinner for 2 and dessert for $20!

We had a great time, even if they did overplay Taylor Hicks' role in the whole thing! He did get to sing one of his new songs and we decided that it will make the playlist for our wedding, which is getting closer and closer. We can't wait ;)

At P.F. Chang's

The fountain outside the Keller

Grease is the word!

Before the show

My driver ;)

After the show waiting in the parking garage

Marcel's Presentation

Today Marcel presented his senior thesis entitled Percussion In Ensemble. He composed a percussion score (I think that is the correct musical term, but I could be far off!), taught musical, but non-percussionists their new instrument, and today conducted them in concert. With the help of a friend he even made a video using clips of their 5 rehearsals to see how far they came as an ensemble. He then had the audience participate by clapping or snapping at different beats to add to the piece. Everyone had so much fun.

The conductor

The next generation percussionist

The happy couple on a very happy day!

I also took video of the performance, but only the first minute or so. I realized his mom was doing the same thing and Snoh (Marcel's brother) was getting restless and is very fascinated with digital cameras.

I am so proud of Marcel for such a big accomplishment. He's one step closer to graduation!

Bridal Shower Weekend

This last weekend, my mom and sisters(Emily & Hannah) were in town. The main reason they came was to help me move into my new apartment and we all had the brilliant idea to do double duty and have a bridal shower for my very upcoming wedding. My mom and sisters did a great job planning the thing, with the help of my bridesmaids, Amy and Kelly. We played a lot of fun games and had good food, just what a party should have! I had a lot of good friends at the shower, including Marcel's mom and aunt who drove down from Washington. I had seen our wedding colors together in a magazine, but until the shower I had yet to see it together. They were even able to find fake pink and orange daisies for decorations--it was a relief to love how it came together so beautifully!

My wonderful sisters & maid of honors

My awesome roommates & bridesmaids

The girls of my family

Enjoying the party they planned so perfectly!

The bouquet for the rehearsal dinner

The Bridal Party

A priceless picture to the photographer

High school buddies

(the original MB2--squared!)

The guests

Sunday, the day after the shower, we went into town and I was finally able to wear my dress again! They finally brought it from Idaho, and we went to David's Bridal because I decided I wanted a veil for the big day. It was nice to have it on--it made me realize May 30th is actually going to be here and I'm not planning for a day so far away. I cropped the picture below to cut out my dress even though Marcel doesn't know how to read my blog just to keep everyone in suspense. Only my mom and sisters have seen it on and it will be that way for 40 more days!

My lovely sisters who have been tremendous help the last 7 months!

Bridal Shower Preview

I'm exhausted and we still have a TON to do before my family leaves tomorrow but I took pictures from their cameras and am so excited about them, so here's one of us!

Before my bridal shower

Hannah's In Town

My littlest sister, Hannah, has been in town since Monday after driving out our new car (a picture will be coming, I've yet to take one!). We've completely moved my stuff out of my current house, except a few key items I need until May 1st, when I have to be out of the house, oh and of course the big furniture. Marcel and I decided that we should take her to do something fun so we were very cheap hosts and took her bowling.

Our bowling alley has free bowling on Thursday nights for students, so we all bowled for free! It is something I only did 2 times the whole time I was in school. Marcel won both games, and I was very disappointed in my bowling performance, but we had a blast anyway!

Sisters reunited at last!

The big winner

Easter & Snoh's Birthday

Yesterday, Marcel and I had a very busy Easter Sunday. We headed up north to Olympia/Lacey (I always say we go to Olympia, but I'm pretty sure they live in Lacey!) after 2 church services in Oregon, one we attended and one I taught. It is a drive that I hate actually driving, but had to because I'm still in the rental car and Marcel is not authorized to drive it. We stopped halfway through the trip for food and drink because I had gotten sick the night before. We weren't there for too long, because Marcel had school to get back for, but all in all, we had a great time. Got to see some family-to-be and had a pretty relaxing day off from everything.

Onto the best part: pictures!

The birthday boy on his new bike
(in the garage, because it was trying to flood yesterday!)

Mr. & Mrs. Bailey (in 47 days)

Me and Myah, Marcel's darling cousin, who instantly attached to me, just like she did 6 months ago on Thanksgiving. We know that we'll have one just like her someday:)

A pretty silly picture but we took it ourselves

All the kids enjoying their birthday cake in the kitchen

(it was delicious and made by the same guy doing our wedding cake!)

Hope everyone else had an Easter as good as we did!

Quantum of Solace

To continue our tradition of competition, Marcel and I each filled out a bracket for the NCAA March Madness tournament. As always, Marcel followed all the teams the whole season and MaryBeth simply waited to complete the bracket when it became available and simply went based on seeding and if she had heard of the teams or not--it was enough for her to win the last 2 years! However this year, it wasn't. Marcel won the bet this year, and marked the first bet he's won on a sporting event. I am now 6-2, still something I think is worth bragging about! Last year, going into the championship game, I was down by 9 points and if Kansas won it all I'd get 10 points and end up winning (I only picked Kansas to win the whole thing because Hannah had just moved there!) and they did so I won too! This year I was up by 3 but Marcel had a chance to get 10 points if UNC won, which they did ;( I decided it was pretty cool that for the last 2 years one of us had correctly picked the champion!

We decided we were going to win a movie of our choice for winning. I wanted him to buy me Marley & Me, and he picked:

Quantum of Solace (007)

I'm gladly buying it to fulfill the bet but am very disappointed to be adding a "boy" movie to our movie collection. Marley & Me would have fit in much better!

There's always next year :)

50

Today is a special day, and not in the sense that Marcel and I always mark our "special day" (anniversary, but month style--the 22nd of every month we take special care to make sure we are together and can simply have some time to talk, catch up, and realize how much we love each other). It is now 50 days until our wedding! I've been waiting for this day simply because its the next chain link I'm saving, along with 100, 75, 25, and 1-10, but also because I know 50 days means its right around the corner! With everyday I'm discovering another reason why I can't wait for May 30th! Yesterday's reason: no more grocery shopping for 2 houses!

Some planning still has to get done, like another pack of invitations for addresses we're still missing, and confirming our menu and details with the location, but I trust fully that everything will fall into place perfectly in plenty of time so I can sit back and simply enjoy the big day!

What's left of my chain:

Keys

Today, Marcel and I went to sign our lease. Everything went extremely well. They were even nice enough to only make us sign a lease until December 31st, since we're hopefully going to be in Idaho by then, considering Marcel or I get into school there.

We have keys and can start moving in whenever we want now! I've had boxes in my room forever and still have yet to buy packing tape to prevent myself from packing prematurely. Well, now the time has finally come. Everything keeps falling into place so nicely. It is extremely comforting to see things work out so well. We truly do have God on our side!

Cute Commercial

My mom sent this to me the other day and I thought it was so precious. I figured most people who read my blog have kids so I'd post it here to spread the love.

I hope Marcel has this relationship with his daughters (plural, yes--I grew up in a family of 3 girls and would LOVE that for my family!) one day!

April Fool's Day

I almost made it through my whole day without having a trick played on me. It helped I'm sure that I haven't seen Marcel today, but I was certain that being at the gym with so many kids, there was no way to hide from it being April Fool's Day. But at 8:30 as the last kid was going home, my streak ended. He told me he was going to Disneyland when school got out, but on a day like today that means he's not!

Marcel and I are getting our keys tomorrow :)

New Car

We got the offer for my beat-up Malibu on Friday. Marcel and I went car shopping most of Saturday and test drove a handful of different vehicles. Just like before we got the offer when I was on and off the phone with insurance companies, I was on and off the phone with my mom, because we weren't thinking we'd be car shopping for many years!

The Crazy Story

Monday, we went to test drive a Pontiac Vibe, simply from a picture my mom sent me from the Idaho dealer and 1 commercial I saw, but Pontiac isn't with Chevy here like in Idaho, so they didn't have one. Because of that we test drove another Chevy Malibu & an HHR, just something Marcel threw in for something very different. We were so close to buying the Malibu but I had to take Marcel back to campus for class. I then went to the old Malibu and got the last of the stuff I had in it (took some more pictures of the crazy amount of damage) and authorized the tow company taking it to a salvage yard somewhere. Picked up Marcel and instead of heading back to Chevy to buy the Malibu, we found the Pontiac dealer to test-drive a Vibe. Marcel had to test drive a Mazda 3 to get to the Vibe, because the lot is actually 2 lots about 5 minutes apart. He loved it for the power, but not much else (probably because of my influence on how ugly the interior was!). We both test-drove the Vibe, he a lot longer than I because I really only needed to know if I could see out the mirrors, the sun shade didn't take up the whole windshield, I could reach the radio and heat/AC buttons, and the interior was pretty. He was at first disappointed with the power of it until he realized he was going 60 much faster than he expected. It quickly became clear that we both enjoying driving and riding in the Vibe than the Malibu--so our decision was made!

There were still so many decisions to be made...Marcel and I had been judged/stereotyped/looked at funny (insert correct word here) before we'd even get out of the car at each dealer we went to, and with our blessing, my mom and stepdad will actually be the ones working with the Idaho dealer to get us the car. We used the dealer's website to figure out which of the 10 we wanted. As soon as we get the check from the "guilty" guy's insurance, they'll head down and pick up the Bailey's new car--I'm less than 2 months away from being a Bailey!

The new car

2009 Pontiac Vibe

Wrong color, but the picture is just from online

Through the entire process of dealing with insurance companies, my mom was working hard to remind me that something good was going to come of it, somehow someway. After our hectic day of car shopping and me being very stressed all Monday morning almost buying a car, I feel so much relief after finally deciding what we'll be getting. Like I said before, it's only a few years earlier than Marcel and I ever imagined buying a new car, we are grateful we found a car we LOVE and can afford, even very early in our marriage that has yet to start!

Always remember the lesson we learned in this unpredictable situation:
God won't give you something you can't handle and there's a silver lining to EVERY situation!

And The Damage Is...

I got a call today from the guilty guy's insurance. They saw my car this morning and with the advice of the auto body shop, the damage exceeds the value of my car so it will be getting totaled out. They are going to let me know by Monday night what sort of check I'll be receiving.

His insurance still hasn't taken liability officially since I have not given my recorded statement, but my insurance agent said by them totaling out the car they are already proceeding like they have accepted liability, which is a good thing!

I'm very sad to think that my cherished Malibu is going to be transferred to a salvage yard in just a few days. It still seems too nice a car to be there. I have a rental car for now until we hear how much the car is worth and decide what to do with the money. Not sure what's happening next. I do know that I hope for myself and every person I know that there are no more accidents in our lives. It's a big stressful mess and no one was even hurt in this crazy accident.

Being A Grown Up Sucks!

As of right now, I have decided that being a grown up is nothing it is cut out to be!

I've been on the phone all morning calling my car insurance, the "guilty" (is it mean that I keep referencing him that way?) guy's insurance, which is giving me the runaround about dealing with my car, getting it towed, getting a rental car. Turns out, they want me to pay out of my pocket to have my car towed to an auto body shop, as well as a rental car, because they don't pay for things until they have completed their investigation because it was one of their drivers at fault. The good news, I can get their discount at Enterprise, if that even counts as good news ;)

Then, after my doctors appointment today, I took my prescription to the pharmacy to get it filled and turns out my insurance was terminated on January 1st. I had gotten a letter that it would be but I called was assured that indeed my coverage was still active. I am even still paying for it every paycheck (I'm only part-time but am eligible to pay for insurance, which I do gratefully!). I called 24 Hour Fitness Benefits to basically be hung up on saying I needed to call Blue Cross. I call Blue Cross and hear that they can't do anything until I talk to 24. Yet another runaround. I think it will be fine and they'll retro-date my insurance so that today's visit is covered but it's just been something else for me to deal with today...

Yep, it's official, I don't wanna be a grown up anymore!

My Car Got Crashed

Today on my way to work at the gym, I got in a car accident. I was less than 2 minutes from work (driving time, of course!) and in the busiest part of my 30 minute drive from Forest Grove. I slowed down at a red light, like most people do, and next thing I know, I'm being hit from the back and pushed into the car in front of me. There was the "guilty" driver and 3 other cars involved, and I was #2 from the front. There were a few causes of the accident, from the mouth of him: 1) He wasn't in an area of town he knows well, 2) he thought there was more distance between the 2 lights where the incident occurred, 3) he got distracted by a parked semi truck that serves as an advertisement for a truck driving school. He told us he didn't even have time to hit the brakes before he hit the car behind me.

I didn't feel hurt there and told the firemen I was fine, and it really was the case, besides my shaky limbs I felt fine, but as I sat at work every minute that went by I could feel my neck getting more and more sore. I have ice on it as we speak and am going to the doctor in the morning to get checked up.

The damage is obviously more than $1500, so I not only have to deal with insurance companies and arrange a rental car (my car got towed from the scene--the person who was behind me got picked up by my co-worker so he gave me a ride to work), I have to complete a 7 page form from the Police Department. YUCK.

Here's the damage, just from the front!

It's from my phone, so I'm not sure what the quality of the picture is, but I think it shows pretty well what my car looks like now. The back isn't quite as bad but it gives the front a run for its money! I'll keep my blog updated with my condition, and the condition of my car, which in all likelihood will be totaled out.

Random Act of Kindness

Yesterday, after a long morning of working with the kids at the gym, I got to Marcel's dorm starving and ready for lunch. As soon as he got to the door to let me in (he was nice enough to have lunch ready and waiting!), a girl came up to me asking me how to get to Pacific University, which she was already at since we were at the dorm. She then told us that she had just taken the bus from Hillsboro to see her aunt who lived in an apartment near campus--she had no address or phone number! Marcel and I both thought of the same one, and directed her in the right way to go. She seemed confused so Marcel offered me to walk her to where she thought her aunt lived. When we got to the most known Forest Grove apartments, it turns out that she lived in a small house near an apartment complex, so we headed back to campus to drive her around town. In my 15 minutes of walking with A (neither of us can remember her name but know it started with an A) she revealed to me that she was actually trying to find her foster mother's house who she had stayed with just 1 night earlier in the week before getting placed into a more permanent home. She opened up to me about her dad being physically abusive to her and her 10 brothers and sisters, but that she was the only 1 who stood up to him. She was only in foster care because she had confided in a high school teacher who was willing to help A get out of the horrible situation.

Once we got back to campus, we called Marcel for my car keys and he offered to come with. We drove all over Forest Grove and it seemed like everytime we found something that could possibly be the house something in her description changed (just like we were looking for apartments, then suddenly a small house). Turns out the foster mom was supposed to pick her up at Safeway (there's a bus stop there) but she wasn't there when A got off so she decided to find the house herself because she had no phone number to call.

After driving 45 minutes through what always feels like an extremely small town, we did miracously find the correct house: a little red house, very close to where we started, just on a block we somehow skipped!

As Marcel and I headed back to his room, all I could think about was that we did a great thing. Marcel and I pray nightly that God will use us to be a light to other people and today allowed us to see for ourselves that we can in fact be a light. The more interesting thing to me is that I was starving and ready for lunch way before I left work and with the walk time, drive time, then reheat lunch it had been almost 2 hours and I hadn't felt hungry. God took care of my needs so that I could help one of his children in a much worse situation than I've ever been in. The few hours we spent with A opened our eyes to what we're capable of with God's help.

My Fiance Is The Best

I spent tonight in the Pacific Library 24 Hour Study Room getting the last of our invitation materials printed (they are going to be mailed by next Friday! One more thing to cross of the huge list.) When Marcel came to get his key back from me--it's the only way into the library afterhours, and also happens to be how he gets into his dorm, which is the only real reason he needed it--I was surprised by seeing him at the door holding a handpicked flower for me.

I absolutely love this flower. In Oregon, it's the first sign of life after many months of rain, and in the case of this year: snow. It's the reminder that we will one day see sun again, and spring is right around the corner!

Marcel is continuously surprising me in very small, but extremely meaningful ways. It had been a long day of again working 2 jobs just in time to get home and work on wedding plans, and he shows up with a gift for me. He never ceases to amaze me and I ask myself daily how I could have gotten so lucky to find such a perfect guy to spend the rest of my life with.

Only 71 more days until I'm Mrs. MaryBeth Bailey!

The Last Session

Yesterday Marcel and I had our very last pre-marital counseling session. I walked out of the meeting feeling very emotional, partly because of something we were talking about, but partly because it was the last one.

They gave us their parting advice and while the mentor husband's came with a warning that it was super cheesy, I felt particularly moved by it. He quoted a Bible verse (to which I can't remember the reference) about love covering all. He then reminded us to realize that we are each other's life partners. That nothing can ever come between us if we don't let it. God has called us to experience the roller coaster of life together and that as long as we keep loving each other, we can make it through anything. He then closed our last session with a heartfelt prayer about our last minute wedding planning, because even if it is only 1 day, it is a celebration of what God has planned for us, for our upcoming marriage, and for us to always have our hearts open for hearing the direction God wants to move each of us individually and as a married couple.

We feel extremely lucky that we were able to work with the mentor couple we did and that it was God's timing that brought us together with them. It has deepened our relationship in a way I was never expecting from going through these 8-10 sessions. It has opened our eyes to the work that we have to consciously put into our marriage in order for it to be as loving as God has intended.

The people I have shared with about us being in a pre-marital counseling group have more or less laughed at it, but we both realize the experience it has been for us and we would never change it for the world!

A Small Gesture That Spoke Volumes

I am fascinated with the show Jon & Kate Plus 8. I stay at Marcel's every Monday night, mainly because I don't work and he doesn't have late class (band classes keep him busy until 10pm), but the fact that he has cable and gets TLC is an added bonus. Every week after we watch House, which we both love, he sits with me and lets me watch Jon & Kate. I find it very entertaining to watch such a crazy situation run so organized--something I desire when we finally have kids :) Plus, it's true what they say: kids do say the craziest things and with 8 of them the show always makes me laugh. Oh, and Marcel really does enjoy the show he's even decided we'll have 3 then 7 to out-do them! (I say 3 the first time and we're done; no chance for the extra 7!)


Today as I was getting off work at 10am, I found the sweetest thing! Marcel sent me a text message that said, "I love you and hope work didn't come too soon this morning. Jon & Kate are on Oprah at 4."


Seems so simple, but it told me something:

Even something as simple as watching a commercial made him think of me and my needs, well maybe this is just a desire, but nonetheless he was thinking about me and keeping me happy!

It's Official

After what feels like forever, I finally heard back from the apartment we applied for.

We are picking up keys and can start moving in April 3rd.

Things just keep falling into place! Only 87 more days until our wedding :)

Marcel Drew, my love

Today we had a pre-marital counseling session on a Sunday morning where I work, so our morning looked like this: Marcel drops me off at work, goes to church alone, finds stuff to kill almost an hour and a half (sometimes its 2 hours) before coming to pick me back up.

Today, he went to the Goodwill Outlet store near my work, and when he picked me up this is what our conversation mostly went like:

"I went to that Goodwill store today and met a really nice black lady from Forest Grove." (In this area you don't see many different races)

"Oh, really?"

"Yeah, and she had bought a lot of stuff and was taking the bus back to town (FYI: I give myself about 30 minutes to drive to work, so on the bus it would be even longer), so I offered to bring her stuff to her."

"Stories like that make me wanna cry!"

Well after counseling--on money, it was a fun one!-- Marcel took a weird turn, all because he was the one to remember we had a stranger's things in my trunk. We got to her house and she invited us in, and was very disappointed that we couldn't stay longer than just meeting her family. Marcel has her phone number and strict orders for us to come by soon!

I know it before this event today, but my fiance (and husband in 90 days!) is an amazing person. He takes simple actions and turns them into a way of showing God to others. It wasn't out of our way to stop by her house, but he would have done it anyway, because it was such an easy way to help someone in need. I just have to say that I love him more now because of my realization!

Cake Tasting

Yesterday Marcel went to Tacoma for Pacific's girls basketball playoff game. After the game, he was able to stop by his house and pick up some cake samples that our wedding cake baker sent with Marcel's mom (We know the baker through Coco--they work together).

Today we had a date to eat some cake! I was surprised to see that we had 3 decent sized cakes, not just small pieces of each kind. I can't explain why, but 2 of them were the same flavor, but it happened to be the kind we liked: Strawberry Swirl. It is very similar to what we had told him we wanted, just a little fancier than the out-of-a-box kind we're used to. We had our first experience with Red Velvet cake, which neither of us liked.

Enjoy the pictures; they can't be as good as the cake, but I hope they suffice!

Our 3 cakes!

Before the tasting!

Yummy Strawberry Swirl!

No longer private

Awhile ago my facebook was hacked into and I soon after made my blog private, but I am missing so many email addresses so no one could read it--isn't that counterproductive?

So today I made a decision--there isn't much on my blog that is too "private" so I may as well have an all access blog again. Maybe one day down the road I'll go private again but for now, feel free to enjoy staying caught up with everything new and exciting going on in my life.

Valentine's Day 2009

Marcel and I realized that this was the first time in 3 years that we've actually spent Valentine's Day together. Last year I got to play with dead people (I was in the cadaver lab as part of my anatomy class) and I can't remember our first one. We had a marathon day planned out, as I was getting my Super Bowl bet as well as a Valentine's date, but Marcel ended up leading worship that morning and I also ended up taking an open shift at the gym. By the time we were date-ready, it was much later than we had planned.

Our day ended up looking like this:

*Lunch at Olive Garden--a place we love but rarely go to because it's too far from Forest Grove

*Trying to find the ice skating rink--we ended up finding it just as public skate time ended

*Movie--we just showed up at the theater hoping to see He's Just Not That Into You, and luckily enough, we were just a few minutes early!

*My vow writing while Marcel was at a school basketball game

*Marcel opened my small gift for him (the whole day was my present)

*We postponed McMenamin's Soaking Pool until tonight, so our Valentine's Day still isn't over!

Me at the computer working on draft #2 of my vows

We're not very good at taking pictures at places anymore, but this is after a great day of being together

Marcel enjoying "Slate" cologne from Banana Republic

a favorite of both of ours

Kissy faces, I'm trying to make mine a perfect circle like Marcel's

House Search

The last few weeks it seemed everyone I talked to had one question for me...

"Where will you and Marcel live?"

All I could tell them was that we want/need to stay in Forest Grove so Marcel can get back and forth to school on his mo-ped or bike when I'm working. Plus, I'm just not quite ready to live somewhere else! Everytime I thought about it, it stressed me out. I called on an apartment Tuesday and went driving around Wednesday looking for places for rent. I did find quite a few places, but Thursday morning I got a call back from the only place I called with a message of having an empty apartment starting the first week in April, just the timeline we were hoping for!

My lease is up in May before the wedding and graduation so students won't have vacated their apartments, thus the April timeframe. Plus, my mom already had tentative plans of bringing out my wedding dress in April so now she can come help move. We're so lucky!

We have now turned in our applications and should know Monday or Tuesday if they were approved. I was told the only reason they ever get denied is outstanding rent (we have none!), a felony charge (we have none!), or a violent misdemeanor that would threaten the safety of other residents (we have none!).

Seems our house search is over just as quick as it started!

107 and Counting

About 3 or so weeks ago, I got really excited about making a chain countdown to May 30, 2009, just like little kids do for Christmas. I cut some paper we bought for our invitations into the infamous strips. I started with 110 strips, but messed up 2 of them by writing the wrong number on them, so I had a 108 link chain hanging around my room. I felt silly leaving it up this whole time without being able to rip any down, but the day finally came! I was finally able to rip one down last night, officially starting my countdown (it has been going in my head since about 125 days!) I guess now I need to get my butt in gear on planning the rest of our big day!

Enjoy some pictures I managed to get of the pretty pink and orange chain...

All 108 links

The first one I tore down

6-1

Today, Marcel and I were lucky enough to watch the Super Bowl with some of his closest friends (who have a very nice new house that I'd love to have when I have a family with lots of kids and its my own house). We had a great time and it was nice for him to be able to catch up with old friends.

The main reason for this post though is not for rekindling friendships, but to let it be known that my winning streak is back on! 6-1 and counting! I got a phone call early one morning (maybe afternoon, but it was early for me) and on the other end was Marcel claiming the Arizona Cardinals as his pick for Super Bowl XLIII, leaving me with the Pittsburgh Steelers. I at first didn't want to take the bet, but decided that wasn't in the spirit of our betting history. Normally the prize is something related to the bet (SYTYCD tour tickets for the winner of our SYTYCD bet) or planning a surprise date but this time we each picked a date we wanted to go on. Marcel picked to go to OMSI (Oregon Museum of Science & Industry) to see the Da Vinci exhibit. I picked ice cream, ice skating and a night at the soaking pool.

I'm sure Marcel will be very grateful for his warm hat and gloves from Christmas on an upcoming day at the ice rink.

98.7 or 105.1

The one big difference between Marcel and I is our musical selection. Over the last 32 months (the math is easy with wedding being at the 3 year mark!) we have always disagreed over what station to listen to while driving. Marcel is into the more Top-40 stuff and I'm a huge fan of country. We have generally listened to Christian to keep us both happy.

Well over the last week that has changed dramatically. It was only ever on country music. After a few days I called Marcel on his new musical appreciation to which he replied, "well listening to it can't kill me and if you really like it and it makes you happy, it makes me happy."

I'm treated like a princess and in less than 4 months I'll finally be his queen!

Month Overdue

I feel like I've always done pretty well about keeping my blog up-to-date, but somehow this month has just gotten away from me. I blame it on the fact that the month has been just pretty average.

I'm still working 2 part-time jobs just barely enough to cover expenses. It's definitely teaching me to watch my money more carefully, a skill I already claimed to have, but am learning so much better! The one thing I'm not enjoying about my work situation is the common 4 hour windows in between my shifts. Do I go back to Forest Grove or stay out near my jobs; is it enough time to justify the drive or not?

Wedding planning is fitting in my life here and there. We've met with catering and still don't have a menu, talked with the florist and it opened up question after question about the big day. Marcel has written his vows already, and I haven't started. Invitations have been designed, now onto printing and hand-making them, something I'm really looking forward to! We have plane tickets for our honeymoon. That list makes me feel very accomplished, so I don't want to think about everything else we have left to do. Marcel and I are both trying to find a happy balance on what we want and don't want (we don't want frilly, floofy, fluffy, the 3 F-words). We've decided that we really just care about writing our own vows and attire and although we do realize other things are important we don't want the stress of it.

On a more positive note, I'm finding great joy in scrapbooking our journey. I want to have our 3 years (well it is officially 3 years 8 days before our wedding) scrapbooked to have at our wedding--that's my goal and so far I'm doing really well. The amount of pictures Marcel has been taking of each event has drastically decreased since my birthday and the proposal so it should be getting quicker and quicker to complete.

My Perfect Guy!

Since returning from Idaho, Marcel has gone over and beyond the call of duty in my house and he's slightly embarrased about me telling people, but like I said before he doesn't read this!

Each day when I've returned from work I discovered something domestic he had done. The first day he had cleaned the whole kitchen: stove, microwave, fridge and counters and even managed to mop the floors! The second day he had vacuumed the living room, did the dishes and even made lunch in time to have it ready for when I got home. Because he is worried about his domestic skills ruining his reputation, he told me to tell my roommmates that I did everything, but I'm not taking credit, because he did everything on his own without my asking!! A few weeks ago at pre-marital counseling, I re-remembered that he'd love to stay at home later in life when kids are in the picture, and after this week I think he'd do great :)

Tradition for Shoemaker Girls

I said in my last post that going home allowed our tradition to continue and the truth is that it is a fairly new tradition but we've enjoyed doing it each year.

We always try to coordinate our outfits, which is harder than it seems because we have to plan it far in advance since me and Hannah both fly home for Christmas and don't have our entire wardrobe to select from...

2008

2007

2006

Christmas in Idaho

Marcel and I were able to go to Idaho the 27th early early to spend Christmas with my family. I did have to leave Marcel behind 2 days so that I could go wedding dress shopping. Needless to say it was productive because I found "the perfect one" (as my sister wants me to say) and it is now at my mom's house waiting to be delivered to me in the spring in time for the big day in May! Going home also allowed the tradition of sister pictures to continue--see the newer post!

Some of the best!

Mom's Christmas tree

Marcel Drew & MaryBeth--again in Idaho!

Sisters having fun shopping

Wedding dress shopping!

It's okay to be on the web because:

1) Marcel doesn't read my blog and now that it is "private" he hasn't been invited yet. Oops :)

2) It is a very ugly dress from the first place we went that had about 5 choices ;(