MARYBETH

NEW BLOG

2009-06-11T17:24:00.000-07:00

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

2009-06-09T12:41:00.001-07:00

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

2009-05-21T15:44:00.000-07:00

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

2009-05-18T15:03:00.000-07:00

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

2009-05-15T14:25:00.000-07:00

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

2009-05-08T12:36:00.000-07:00

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

2009-04-24T09:55:00.000-07:00

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

2009-04-22T21:54:00.000-07:00

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

2009-04-20T20:45:00.001-07:00

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

2009-04-19T21:51:00.000-07:00

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

2009-04-17T14:50:00.000-07:00

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

2009-04-13T16:04:00.001-07:00

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

2009-04-10T10:24:00.000-07:00

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

2009-04-10T10:14:00.000-07:00

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

2009-04-02T19:39:00.000-07:00

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

2009-04-02T19:31:00.000-07:00

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

2009-04-01T21:26:00.000-07:00

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

2009-03-31T22:20:00.000-07:00

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...

2009-03-27T12:56:00.000-07:00

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!

2009-03-25T12:41:00.001-07:00

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

2009-03-24T22:25:00.000-07:00

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

2009-03-22T18:06:00.001-07:00

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

2009-03-20T22:26:00.000-07:00

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

2009-03-16T12:55:00.000-07:00

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

2009-03-09T22:24:00.000-07:00

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

2009-03-04T13:31:00.001-08:00

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

2009-03-01T19:46:00.000-08:00

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

2009-02-27T20:08:00.001-08:00

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

2009-02-20T22:08:00.000-08:00

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

2009-02-16T09:34:00.000-08:00

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

2009-02-13T20:14:00.000-08:00

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

2009-02-12T12:05:00.000-08:00

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

2009-02-01T20:54:00.000-08:00

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

2009-01-31T13:54:00.000-08:00

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

2009-01-26T13:31:00.000-08:00

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!

2009-01-03T12:38:00.000-08:00

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

2009-01-02T13:25:00.000-08:00

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

2009-01-02T13:12:00.000-08:00

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 ;(

Christmas 2008

2008-12-31T19:35:00.000-08:00

The Arctic Blast 2008 caused some major plan changes which left me and Marcel alone to spend Christmas together. This was the first time we had spend December 25th together and we had a great first Christmas. I am also looking forward for our first married Christmas next year!!

We woke up to a white Christmas and even received some new flurries! After opening our presents, we made monkey bread, which was breakfast and lunch :) Then we went to the theaters to see Valkyrie. The adventure in that was that we got stuck on my road trying to get there. On our way home we decided to shovel out my road even more so I'd be able to get to work the next morning. As soon as we had finished we lost power. We continued inside to light all our candles and make emergency food in case it didn't come back on soon. After that was completed, the power came on and we started our Christmas dinner: ham, homemade french fries, corn and chocolate pie! It wasn't as extravagant as others, I'm sure, but for our first holiday meal, it was a huge success!

Some of the best pictures!

"Always Kiss Me Goodnight"

Marcel and his coveted new beanie

On our way out to the theater

Proud of our wonderful meal

I'm So Over Snow

2008-12-22T20:07:00.000-08:00

I think I jinxed Portland's weather. A week before this awful storm started I said I'd do anything for some snow here and even hoped for a White Christmas. In Portland, I thought it was just wishful thinking that there would be no possible way. Well we ventured out again today--and now Kelly and I hate the snow!

Our story in pictures!

This was where we left off last night, at least with my car. Kelly's did look better but not much.

So after we walked 10 minutes down the road to the store we decided that if we were already dressed warm we might as well try our luck at getting chains on our vehicles, since they are required in our entire county on all vehicles.

Step 1: Measure the snow--this used to be fun, but it's losing the coolness factor each day!

Yeah that's right your eyes are not deceiving you. 15 inches!

Step 2: Begin using some of our awesome winter weather supplies

Again you are seeing correctly, one of our favorite piece of equipment the last 2 days has been our dust pan. Other items used include our indoor broom (why would we possibly have a big outdoor one?), a rake (as much as our parents laughed at us it came in very handy), and lastly a gardening shovel that Kelly had so luckily never returned to her parent's house.

Result of Step 2:

Look its our driveway!

Step 3: Put on chains

This part actually went pretty easily, no complaining here except Kelly did it without gloves on...Brrr!

Step 4: Drive 1/4 mile in order to get chains tightened...

This is where we stopped taking pictures, but the rest of the story goes like this:

We were so proud of ourselves for being 2 girls and shoveling all day and finally get chains on a car and we excited to finally leave our house (even if only for .25 mile!). We made it about 5 feet before we couldn't go any further. Kelly's car got a bit high centered on our snow piled driveway. Then began more shoveling with our infamous supplies. An hour later we left like we had finally made a dent in how our driveway looks so she tried to move her car. Lucky for us, our work had paid off and she was able to drive again. We were yelling at the snow for the entire 3 hours we were outside trying to unbury our cars and finally decided that for now we don't want to see anymore snow. It even decided to snow some more while we were struggling so much. I hope knowing we were out there for 3 hours makes this blog seem like what we went through. I thought the step 1, step 2, thing made it seem really easy when it was far from that way! Our goal for the day was to get chains on both of our cars and to drive around the block in each car so we're able to resume life tomorrow, but in the end we got chains on 1 car and didn't make it out of our driveway. I still feel really accomplished! In the end, I'm never again going to wish for something weather-wise again.

PS- This is now officially the worst storm Portland has had in December since 1968, and the 4th most in a season in the last 30 years. We are very grateful that we could be here to be a part of history!!

Snow Storm in Forest Grove

2008-12-20T20:55:00.000-08:00

It has been snowing since I got up this morning and since my work shift got cancelled I have thoroughly enjoyed doing nothing but staying dressed warm and scrapbooking my day away all while enjoying the snow storm. Every few hours me and Kelly go and very officially check the snowfall with our ruler. This last time we decided to take pictures to document the adventure it was!

Our "official" measuring shows 10 inches in our front yard, well more like sidewalk since I wasn't going to put my feet into the pile while being in my warm pajamas

Kelly's car (with mine and Amy's in the background) covered with snow. We are finding it very funny and ironic that Amy is in warm weather while her car is getting covered with snow.

My attempt to keep up with Kelly for artistic pictures! I like how my flash captured the snowflakes so well...

We've never remembered to do anything with our borrowed lawn chairs, like maybe put them in our garage, because we NEVER go in the backyard, but that is the very reason we went back there tonight.

These are Kelly's footprints in the snow when she was trying to measure the pyramid on our table, kinda seen in the picture above! It doesn't show very well either that with about another inch of snow we will officially be snowed it, at least through our back door.

Maybe for the first Christmas I'm not in Idaho I'll actually get a White Christmas!

Christmas Decorations!

2008-12-20T12:49:00.001-08:00

So in keeping with the holiday spirit I decided I'd take a picture of how I'm decorating my house for Christmas this year. I am finally in the Christmas spirit after Zoo Lights and am listening to nothing but Christmas music, which is huge for me, and am loving all our snow!

As some of you may know, I won't be returning home to Idaho for Christmas until the 27th (I got an extra day off, it was supposed to be the 28th!) so I'll be having my first Christmas away from my parents and sisters. Marcel, his mom and little brother are headed back here in the next few days to spend Christmas with me so I'm not completely alone. They will then drive to Idaho on the 26th and we'll all drive back on the 30th--hoping the roads aren't closed between here and there. One of my roommates is already at home and the other will be going home Monday so it is up to me to supply the Christmas decorations. I did buy some stockings for me and Marcel but after I got them home and realized they weren't going to be Christmas presents from Santa I decided I don't really like them. Marcel and I are going to hit some big after Christmas sales so we have stuff to decorate next year even if I have to do it twice (we'll hopefully be moving back to Idaho mid-December 2009)

The big decorations:

I colored a Christmas tree with the little kids at work, even had so few kids because of our snow storm that we got to glitter so it even has Christmas lights and a gold star at the top! I think before Christmas I'll do some rearranging of the furniture so that our presents look pretty but for now my house has the presents for Marcel and what the 2 of us got Snoh & Coco.

P.S. If you click on the picture it makes it really big and you can look at the tree up close :)

My first coffee

2008-12-15T19:33:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I redeemed my gift card at Starbucks for a Peppermint White Chocolate Mocoa, after having a small sip of someone's a few weeks ago at work. I've tried sips of people's coffee drinks for years and have never found one I thought I'd buy for myself knowing that I'd never drink the whole thing. This one is absolutely delicious and I'm particularly grateful to have found a caffeinated beverage that I enjoy. I will be working an over night shift at Banana Republic tomorrow from 9pm-6am, after working 24 Hour Fitness from 4-830pm. It will be a long night tomorrow but one that should be lots of fun with the help of what will be more than 1 cup of coffee!

Snow!!

2008-12-14T19:27:00.000-08:00

WE HAVE SNOW IN FOREST GROVE!!!

Now I'm just hoping to have a white christmas which is always my hope for Christmas. My work shift was cancelled because they closed early and chances are that it will probably be cancelled in the morning as well as tomorrow was supposed to be the day of snow so it will only be continuing.

Maybe tomorrow I'll have to get dressed up warm again and go throw snow balls at Marcel. I'll make sure to take some pictures as well, because a post without a picture just isn't the same :)

Zoo Lights

2008-12-14T17:11:00.000-08:00

Saturday night Marcel and I braved the "Arctic Chill" as the news has been calling it and went to experience Zoo Lights for the first time. We had had it planned for that night before the snow and freezing temperatures and we decided to go through with it anyway. It was a nice 35 degrees but no precipation.

This was me after dressing warm, including 5 layers on top (that includes a 2 layer jacket) and leggings (a pair of my 24 HR Fitness work pants) and jeans on bottom. My one regret was that I forgot to switch to my soft fluffy warm socks.

We spent a long time in line in order to ride a:

to see the entire zoo in lights. We weren't very good photographers while on the train but it was still beautiful and definitely worth the wait in the cold, without hot chocolate because I had just deposited all my cash--it's too dangerous to carry around!

The only animal we saw in person was a

and we even saw one that was just 4 months old. See

Here are some of my favorites of our artwork.

Overall it was great night and a great date before Marcel heads back to Washington for Christmas break...just in time to return to Forest Grove with his mom and brother for Christmas here with me before our quick trip to Idaho (in which we'll do Christmas and also leave him on his own so I can go wedding dress shopping!)

Photos by Snoh

2008-12-01T13:22:00.000-08:00

The two weekends before Thanksgiving Coco and Snoh had been in Portland to watch Marcel's concerts. This is really when we noticed Snoh's new interest in photography...Here's some of my favorites! Part of Amy's movie collection!

He couldn't figure out how to hold the camera with one hand to take a picture of his own hand so I lent mine!

I had to take this one but I'm in love with it!

Back to Snoh's art! Kelly was getting her camera ready for our engagement picture session and he thought that was photo worthy...so did I!

Thanksgiving

2008-11-30T16:16:00.000-08:00

I had a great, but very busy, Thanksgiving this year. Because of my crazy schedule from working 2 jobs we had a limited amount of time to head to Olympia. We left Wednesday at 9pm and left about 7pm Thursday so I could be functioning enough to work BLACK FRIDAY at 6:30am!

Coco (Marcel's mom) hosted Thanksgiving at her house, which never happens. They always party hop from house to house. They had tons of food, most of which I don't eat (just like at Thanksgiving's at home) and company, including Marcel's cousins who adore me!

Next we headed over to Marcel's dad's house for Thanksgiving #2--thankfully we didn't eat again, just had a small dessert on our way out. Also we were coming in as most people were going out. This was the first time we had seen him since getting engaged and he and his new wife (as of August 30th) were helpful in handing out wedding tips!

We spent the drive back to Oregon wedding planning. We know a lot more now than I would have thought we'd already know but it has been a long week or so of getting to that point. We even looked at our location again yesterday to remind our brains that everything will be great! Only 3 more weeks until I go wedding dress shopping :)

Snoh has taken a great interest in photography and this was one of his pieces of art work! It's better than any of the ones we took of ourselves. Good thing he's the 3 year old :)

Me and my soon-to-be little brother!
This trip he even said I could be his sister...How thoughtful!

Engagement Pictures

2008-11-23T16:54:00.000-08:00

Last Sunday, we took advantage of a sunny day in Oregon (in November they don't come around too often here) and had one of my friends and roommate and even bridesmaid to take some engagement pictures at the same park where Marcel proposed. Thanks Kelly, you're the best and we'll cherish these always! We even wore clothes in our wedding colors (pink & orange) that we picked based on our flower choice (daisy).

There are tons of good ones, even of us being very much ourselves by being silly kids at heart! Here are some of MY favorites in no particular order, even a little disorganized based on how I uploaded them. I'm too tired to fix them :)

This is where he actually popped the question!

Kisses forever

I told you a better one of my ring would come one day!

Somedays this is all of his hand he'll let me have!

The classic engagement picture!

Us being our fun, silly, kid selves

Love :)

Probably my absolute favorite...
the swing I was in when he proposed!

Hooray for the swings

PRIVATE UPDATED!!!

2008-11-12T10:37:00.000-08:00

I'm going private!!

My facebook got hacked into and now I'm trying to be a little more cautious about this whole internet thing. I'm going to make the big change Friday (November 14) night. I know some people don't want to post their email address in a comment because of hackers, so I have cleared out one of my old email addresses to give out so you can email them to me.

Email mbshoemacca2004@yahoo.com your email address. I believe that you'll have to make an account when you go to my blog, but it does not create a blog for you. Make sure if you do have to make one to use the email address you sent me!

I know that this causes an extra step in the process of keeping up-to-date with everything going on in my life out in Oregon, but I feel like its time for the change!

Wedding Update

2008-11-08T13:23:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I turned in an application for reserving a location for our wedding. After what feels like forever of trying to pick a place, we made a very logical decision to get married at:

PACIFIC UNIVERSITY

It has been our home for the last 4 years and without it we wouldn't have ever met. We are both so proud of our university (my alma mater now!) and couldn't think of a better place to take the next step in our relationship. The plus side to being on campus instead of somewhere else is that we are also able to reserve something inside just in case Oregon weather acts up that weekend!

FYI: The date is still Saturday, May 30, 2009! Save the Date cards will be sent out shortly :)

I'm a Working Woman

2008-11-08T12:59:00.000-08:00

I have made it through my first full week of work at both jobs. As of now, I'm enjoying both of them very much and can't wait too see how they'll both turn out.

24 Hour Fitness is very low-key. Basically I baby-sit kids for up to 2 hours while their parents are working out, something I need to start doing again, now that I have a free membership there! I will be working the evening shift there (the gym never closes but Kid's Club does at 8:30pm) so I'll be getting a whole new bunch of kids than who I've met this week in the mornings. Also, even though it's only part-time I am eligible for health insurance benefits. It is very nice to have a job with a uniform of a provided top and any black athletic pants I choose and tennis shoes. Talk about comfy :)

Banana Republic is right up my alley. I am what they call a "Non-sell" or "Stock Associate" which means my main responsibility is working shipment days (Thursdays 7am!) to unload the boxes and individually wrapped items. Also, I work behind the scenes organizing the back stock into neat piles of matching items in size order. Everything I do there is about organization which probably one of my strongest personality trait. The uniform is far from the one at 24HF, but I've always (well since about high school) enjoyed dressing up but rarely have an excuse to do so, so it has been nice so far to get that chance. I'm excited to be starting there just a few weeks before Thanksgiving to give me a chance to get my head wrapped around the place before we get super-duper busy.

Halloween

2008-11-02T22:56:00.000-08:00

This year is the first time in the three Halloweens that me and Marcel have been together that we have actually decided to celebrate/acknowledge the holiday. We didn't go look for costumes until the 29th and it was STRESSFUL! I didn't find anything I liked and the thought of going out scared me, because it isn't quite my scene. After another trip to the costume shop and two stops to Jo-anne's we had all the materials we needed for some unique homemade costumes (explained below). We didn't end up going out. Instead we took Snoh (Marcel's little brother) trick or treating, went to a party hosted by the pastor who will be marrying us in less than 7 months!, and went back home and watched movies. It might not be the most Halloween thing we could have done but we were together and that was the most important thing to us!

Dorothy and the Jalapeno

Brothers trick or treating--Snoh was Buzz Lightyear

A more complete look at Dorothy--even with red shoes

Saturday we babysat Snoh and some of his cousins
It was like playing mom and dad for the weekend :)

The apartment squirrel that attacked me--
he climbed up to my hip before I could shake him off!

MaryBeth & Coco--mother-in-law to-be!

Brotherly love during game night!

Vacation Recap

2008-10-28T20:10:00.000-07:00

I have been back for about a day now after 5 days in Chanute, Kansas where my littlest sister Hannah has been living since summer. The town is very small, without much to do, but we kept plenty busy!

A small recap:
6 trips to Wal-Mart
5 new people I met--the family Hannah lived with before moving to Chanute
4 trips to Sonic for happy hour
3 nights watching movies
2 hour drive between the airport and Chanute
1 great visit

Also, not included:
*staying in Topeka for a day in the big city
*Neosho County Community College baseball World Series Game 1
*visiting a nursing home (it makes sense, trust me!)
*shopping at Maurices, my favorite store ever, which is too far away from me now
*late nights and late mornings without setting alarms

Mom, thanks for a great birthday trip! It was a blast. Hannah, thank you so much for letting us invade your apartment and even giving up your bed for us! Also, you are a pretty good gift idea giver--I never would have thought to ask for a trip to Kansas, but I had an absolute blast!

Vacation to Kansas!

2008-10-22T08:48:00.000-07:00

It has been years and years since I've been there, but now with my littlest sister living there, my mom and I are headed on a cross country venture for a long overdue visit. It was Hannah's idea for me to receive plane tickets for my birthday and I thought it was a great idea so here we come! She's been in Kansas for more than a year and this is my first visit. Being in school last year made it very difficult to join in on any of the visits other family members took.

I'll be back late Monday night (after a trip to IKEA with Marcel when he picks me up at the airport so we can get an idea of stuff we might want to register for!!) and will have pictures up the next day!

Job Search Over

2008-10-13T19:09:00.000-07:00

I got a call just a few hours ago with a second job offer. I'll be working part-time at:

as a Kid Club Attendant. I'm excited to be working again after a little over a month of being unemployed. How nice it will be to finally be getting a paycheck again!

I'm Employed (again!)

2008-10-07T15:31:00.000-07:00

After almost a month of not working regularly, just a few babysitting gigs here and there, I have a job! I'm going to be working at :

It's only part-time so the job search isn't over yet, but at least I'll have a regular income again, just in time to prepare myself financially (and mentally) to start paying back my student loans in December. I don't start for about a week, but I thought I'd let everyone know that I'm no longer an unemployed college graduate :)

Weekend of Celebration

2008-10-05T20:11:00.001-07:00

My mom and step-dad are in Oregon to visit the freezing beach, which just so happened to be a rainy beach this weekend too! We were able to go out for dinner with them Friday night on their way to the coast. Last night, just Marcel and I went out to dinner (healthy, I know!) but we had yet to celebrate our engagement just the two of us. Today, we drove out to McMinnville to meet mom & Don. We decided to go to the Evergreen Space & Air Museum on a whim and ended up having a great time. Marcel held up his end of the deal and took 401 pictures--you think I'm kidding, but I'm not. It helps to have some really good pictures but there are oh so many to go through to find them :) Overall, it has been a great weekend of celebration!

The coolest rocket I've ever seen!

Kisses in "Space"

The smallest inside of a plane we've ever seen

The luggage drop from the small plane above

Marcel wanted to make sure people could see my ring since I have one now--don't mind us, we're still basking in the excitement of our engagement!

On our way out...I love how old we look both looking over our glasses. My favorite picture we've taken in quite some time!

For not liking getting her picture taken, she did pretty good...Mom & son (to-be!)

Mom & oldest daughter

Engagement Pictures

2008-09-30T11:44:00.000-07:00

I told you they were coming so here they are! I still haven't quite wrapped my head around how real this is. We've been talking about it for what seems like forever but it finally happened and I couldn't be happier.

Marcel Drew + MaryBeth = FAEA

(Forever And Ever Always)

A not very good picture of how beautiful my ring is! (More attempts to come)

The first kiss as an engaged couple

Look at my pretty ring ;)

My happiness always comes with tears

Wow, I can't believe this is happening!

Happily in love (no flash!)

Happily in love (with flash!)

Happy kisses

I'm lucky to get to kisses from him for the rest of forever

2 of my 5 bridesmaids! Missing: Emily & Hannah Shoemaker, Allison Scofield

ENGAGED!

2008-09-29T20:12:00.000-07:00

I've been thinking about getting to post this on my blog for quite some time but the time has finally come! Marcel proposed to me tonight! I can't wrap my head around all of the emotions running through me right now. I feel so loved by him and all my family and friends.

How it happened:

I kinda saw it coming. One week ago we went together to the jewelry store to look for rings. I always said I never wanted to do that, but it was an experience of a lifetime. Sharing that with Marcel is something no one can ever take from me. The lady there even let him look at wedding bands so that we were playing fair: if I got to try on rings so did he. Yesterday, I had a Sunday School Open House after church so Marcel left me there to go to "shoe shopping". Last night, he asked for my car for today to run some errands. It kinda gave it away but with him not having a car there wasn't much he could do! He decided that we needed to go swinging tonight--that's what sort of clued me in...He knows I'm a big fan of swinging but I've never got the impression that he is. We walked from campus to a nearby park to swing. After he took 100 pictures of me swinging, he pulled out the box while I was still swinging to which I replied, "I think I need to stop swinging now." I am a "scaredy cat" so I can't jump off swings so I had to try to slow myself down enough to get out and go kiss my boyfriend (still was boyfriend at the time). Tears didn't come until I got out of the swing and got to Marcel. We moved away from the swings and he got down on one knee and said those 4 famous words. Of course I accepted and continued the crying! We stayed in the park and took tons of pictures of me, the ring, us as an engaged couple. What a night I ended up having!

There are 200 pictures of the night (if you don't believe that Marcel loves being behind the camera, read my blog about my birthday) but my camera battery is dead so I can't upload the rest of the pictures until tomorrow. Don't worry the better ones are coming!

Here's one for the night...

Marcel trying to entertain me by swinging with me. He looks pretty silly but I love him anyways and am very glad to call him "my dork".

Birthday Pictures #2

2008-09-27T21:59:00.000-07:00

Because I have 735 pictures to go through I couldn't pick just 5 or 6, hence my second post of pictures!

Me and Marcel's footprints. One of mine is by each of his.

My first sand drawing of the day. The one on the other post was the last drawing I did...

My favorite wave picture of many that Marcel took. I have always enjoyed Seaside or Cannon Beach (the 2 beaches we frequent most) but I think I found a new favorite!

Marcel again holding the camera at weird angles, but again the weird angle made a picture we love most. I guess his ideas are pretty darn good (most of the time!)

On our way home we stopped at the Tillamook Cheese Factory. Its really quite boring, but they have really good free cheese samples for Marcel (fyi: MaryBeth doesn't eat cheese and that's one food I'm putting my foot down on trying 3 times) and the best ice cream.

I wanted to get in on taking pictures while the other was eating but it didn't work and this is what I got: a decent picture of my handsome boyfriend.

Again, I just have to say I had a great time on a birthday I wasn't terribly excited for. Thank you to all of you for the birthday wishes you sent my way.

Birthday Pictures

2008-09-27T21:55:00.000-07:00

Before the pictures, I forgot to mention in the last post that Marcel is very proud of me after lunch today. I'm a very picky eater and somehow something came up about having to eat something 3 times before deciding if you like it or not. So, he decided that was our new rule, 3 bites of everything for MaryBeth. Today I had 3 bites of clam chowder, which I said I didn't like before the 3 bites, and still don't like. Also we ordered a sampler plate of the brewery's 7 beers because we are both afraid of ordering a normal size drink and then not liking it, and I tried each one. There were a few of them that I could tolerate but none that I really liked and I won't be trying beer again in the near future. But I still passed the 3 taste (or drink!) test and got many props from my absolutely loving boyfriend who spoiled me rotten this weekend!

Okay, now for the pictures!

After the sunrise, I practically ran back to the car because my feet were freezing. Marcel stayed behind to get a picture of me in the sun. It turned out beautifully if you ask me...

The sand dune. I don't think any of the pictures we took of it does it any justice for how hard it was. Oh well, we know what a stuggle we overcame together.

At the top of the dune, proud of each other for motivating the other to finish!

My "yucky" face. I wasn't happy with much of the beer, but tried anyway. Also, should let you know that Marcel took nearly 50 pictures of me eating lunch (and I didn't realize it for most of them) so this is the one I'm choosing to include. If he ever wanted to post, he could show you all those other pictures, but I'm not going to do that to myself.

My goofy boyfriend, but I still consider myself very lucky to get to call him mine :)

Marcel Drew + MaryBeth = FAEA
Forever And Ever Always

23rd Birthday at Pacific City

2008-09-27T18:05:00.001-07:00

To celebrate my 23rd birthday--September 26 (yes, I'm the older one in the relationship!), me and Marcel headed down to Pacific City, the first beach I ever visited once at school in Oregon. We left Forest Grove late Friday night and made it there around 10pm--after a quick check to make sure we weren't lost. 8 hours later, yes I was up at 6am, we got up and drove to the beach to sit out and watch the sunrise. We sat facing the water so didn't see the sunrise but were still amazed by the changing scenery and God's creation with each minute we sat there.

The real "reason" for the trip was to climb the sand dune. I did it 4 years ago on my first trip to the beach, and remembered it being hard, but this time it was difficult. It was very good motivation to get my butt moving again :)

We had a great walk along the beach and writing in the sand and Marcel was a fantastic photographer. He always goes over board with pictures, but this time he even out did himself: 735 pictures and a handful of video clips. I'll update the post in the near future with photos, but because I have so many to go through it will take some time and we are headed out for one more birthday event--a movie date! I didn't have this blog on Marcel's birthday, but when he was growing up he had a birthday month (April) until his little brother was born (in the same month!) so he was demoted to half month, but since I was raised on only a birthDAY we compromised on 5 birthDAYs, so since Monday I have been able to use "but it's my birthday" whenever I feel like it.

I had a great time at the beach and overall had an amazing 23rd birthday. I wasn't very excited to turn 23 but for the almost 2 days that I have been 23 it has been perfect!

A teaser for the many more pictures to come!
Me and Marcel sitting on the beach during the sunrise, bundled up (I had 3 jackets on!) and enjoying each other's company...

SYTYCD Tour Stop in Portland, Oregon

2008-09-22T11:33:00.000-07:00

Last night, I was able to come clean on my latest bet with Marcel Drew: So You Think You Can Dance. As you all know (if not, see previous post "You Gotta Lose Every Once in Awhile"), I lost a bet with Marcel for the first time out of 6. Back in early August, I bought us tickets to their tour stop in Portland and the night finally came. We had never been before and didn't really know what to expect but it turned out to be just the best dances from the season, and very few new dances. We had great seats for me being poor and buying the cheapest tickets possible! We happened to be in the front row of the "bad" section so we were able to see everything perfectly(I did wear my glasses just to help that much more!).

Marcel again was the photographer so I had 130 pictures to go through but I think I found some of the best ones to show!

And during the very last dance I remembered to tell Marcel that my camera has a video camera on it so he got the end of one of the winner's dances, but then he recorded their new dance that was sort of like an encore. Don't mind the little bit of the video he took of me in the middle of the dance. Enjoy!

A College Student With Nothing To Do

2008-09-06T11:28:00.000-07:00

This weekend is the only weekend when Marcel doesn't have an event on-campus. And when there is an event, he HAS to go because he puts it on, being pretty much the lone sound guy at Pacific (he even has an event to do on MY birthday). So we took advantage of a free Friday night and went to McMenamins, got a tasty drink--I recommend everyone try an Electric Watermelon if you drink alcoholic drinks!--watched a movie (Wanted) and soaked in their Soaking Pool (a really big hot tub). I didn't like the movie, but I figured I wouldn't--it was Marcel's selection, but it was still good to be together. The hot tub is always nice so there's no room for complaining there!

It's nice to spend time together but as I sit here in his dorm with his roommates and all their friends, I am reminded that I am no longer a college student. Living off-campus is weird (it's the first time since I've lived in Forest Grove that I have) but even more weird is being on-campus and not being a student. Good thing Marcel only has 1 year left to be on-campus!

A picture of us headed home after a great soak!

Labor Day 2008

2008-09-04T10:47:00.000-07:00

Marcel and I took advantage of the long weekend and headed back up to Olympia. I left work early Friday to try to beat the Portland traffic, which we did! I don't think 3 days is enough to warrant a trip, even going only to Washington but Marcel's dad got married, so we had the perfect excuse for the traveling. The ceremony was beautiful and marked the 4th one I attended this summer (#3 with Marcel)--let's just say I'm learning lots about weddings :) It was also Harbor Day (or weekend, I'm not exactly sure) in Olympia and Snoh (Marcel's little brother) was very excited to go and see the pirate boats. We were even able to tour one of the boats from "Pirates of the Caribbean". It's fun to do activities with little kids; they make it so much fun! Now it's back to my last week of work in my summer job and I have yet to find something else. I'm working on it and have applications turned in like crazy but nothings happened yet. Only time will tell I guess :)

These are just a few of the best pictures. I have 250+ from the weekend because that's what happens when I let Marcel be the photographer :)

Me and Marcel at his dad's wedding.

Enjoying a Labor Day date at Priest Point park. What a beautiful place Olympia is!

Still at the park; isn't he so handsome? I had to include a picture of just Marcel :)

Little brother, big brother with "Say Cheese" Faces

Me and my other family with some pirates on the pirate ship! Snoh was a little distracted with the little boy it looks like. He had a great time.

Snoh with all the pirate accessories

Marcel set Snoh on the trunk to open the door and without missing a beat he decided the roof of my car looked more fun.

Weekend in Idaho

2008-08-19T21:47:00.000-07:00

This last weekend, me and Marcel were able to spend some time in Idaho. We left early Friday morning (up at 3:30am to drive an hour to the airport and then catch our flight) and had to leave early afternoon on Monday. We were able to go to Roaring Springs, take Marcel to his first ever rodeo, enjoy some shopping, attend Jenny's wedding, and even spend some time simply hanging out. It was very short but still very worth our time to go and lots of fun. It's always nice to get to go home, even though it doesn't happen often enough.
Here are some of my favorite pictures of the weekend...Enjoy!

Me and Marcel at his first ever rodeo!

Mom, sisters, and 2 boyfriends

Enjoying a nice wedding and slow dancing only :)

Me and the beautiful bride, Jenny Brown

Our first return-trip flight together...This trip was the only one we've taken that included airplanes and we forgot a picture on the way to Idaho; I blame it on the fact that our flight was at 6:30am.

And the SYTYCD Winner is...

2008-08-07T22:13:00.000-07:00

JOSHUA!

I let Marcel have Joshua as his pick for our competition but I still chose him so I'm on a 2-0 winning streak for picking the dancer who ultimately wins the show! This season has been great and I'm glad that of any of the seasons I've seen that it is this season I'll be seeing on tour with my absolutely amazing boyfriend! What a great date it will be so close to my birthday... Because this show has pretty much been my life the last few months, I think I should post one more video of Josh's dancing (plus now that I've figured out how to do it, it's pretty easy!)

Joshua & Katee (Hip-hop)--a loved one being sent to war

Dance Favorites #2

2008-08-07T17:25:00.000-07:00

More favorites :)

Katee & Joshua (Lyrical Jazz)--Love takes a lot of work but it is always worth all the work.

Twitch & Kherington (Viennese Waltz)--for the choreographer's special needs daughter.
The girl I chose in my bet with Marcel!

Courtney & Will (Slow Hip-Hop)--enduring the loss of a loved one and wishing for just one last moment together.
The guy I chose in my bet with Marcel!

Dance Favorites

2008-08-07T17:22:00.000-07:00

In honor of the finale of "So You Think You Can Dance" tonight, I thought I'd share the clips from some of my favorites! Enjoy...

Chelsie & Mark (Hip Hop)--a workaholic husband

Twitch & Katee (Contemporary)--a crazy ex-girlfriend

You Gotta Lose Every Once in a While, Right?

2008-07-25T11:20:00.000-07:00

It seems like me and Marcel always have a bet of some sort going on. Most of the time it is on normal stuff, March Madness and the Super Bowl, and we've adapted things to our own way of determining a winner, but in addition we also place bets on "So You Think You Can Dance?". For this show, after the Top 20 is announced, we each pick our favorite girl and favorite guy dancer and whoever has the last dancer standing wins (regardless of that dancer actually winning the competition). I decided just a few weeks ago that I owe our relationship to this show. For those of you who may not know, me and Marcel started dating after just a few weeks of REALLY knowing each other and for only a week before we were forced into a long-distance relationship; school was out and he returned home to Washington. We had yet to realize all the things we have in common (trust me, it took some time for that to happen between 2 pretty different people) but we did know that we both loved the show SYTYCD. It seems that no matter how often we talked, we only talked about what happened on the show, what was going to happen, who we liked, who we didn't, etc, so it helped form the foundation of our relationship from the very beginning. Before this season of SYTYCD, I was 5-0 (2 dance seasons, 2 basketball tournaments, and the latest Super Bowl) in our bets, but as of last night both of my dancers, Will and Kherrington, have been eliminated and Marcel has one (Josh) left, making him the winner. Its funny, though, because I originally picked his remaining dancer and after him complaining I picked someone else, so I should have won again, but life will go on and its something pretty easy for me to sacrifice for the benefit of our amazing relationship. So for losing, I'm buying 2 tickets to their tour stop in Portland, OR. Normally the prize is just a date of any kind that you decide, but we decided the tour tickets were fitting, since it was what we bet on, so we will be attending their Sept. 21 show at the Rose Garden, my treat!The dancers we'll be seeing

Enjoying My Backyard

2008-07-22T12:34:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, I came home from an extremely normal but boring day at work, with a bad headache. I came home and noticed that no one had checked the mail so out I went on a walk to recover whatever we may have gotten. When I returned to the house, I found that I had locked myself out of the house with nothing but the mailbox key and yet another store catalog for the previous tenant. I was then standing on our garbage bin to open our fence so I could sit in one of our lawn chairs in the back yard. After 5-10 minutes I could hear that I hadn't gotten the fence closed completely and when I went to fix it I noticed a roommate had made it home. Well, I spent another 5 minutes on the front step, because she had locked herself IN (much better than out!) and had gotten in the shower. Let's just say it wasn't the greatest evening ever, until me and Kelly had a TV watching marathon and I finished a season of Gilmore Girls. And I'll just let you know that it is the most time I've spent in our yard :) The joys of a real house and no longer living in a dorm! I'm finding it much more humorous today than yesterday so I hope you can all enjoy a laugh or two at my expense...

4th of July in Olympia

2008-07-06T22:52:00.000-07:00

With an extra long weekend I headed up to Olympia to see Marcel. It had been a long time since I'd been up to see him and his family so this visit was long overdue. I'm not a particularly big fan of the 4th of July but it was a great excuse to make the trip! My trip included a long walk around Capitol Lake in Olympia that ended with us at the Capitol Building in a downpour, which was surprisingly beautiful. The weather was still warm so it was nice to get a little wet :) Throughout our walk we were amazed by God's beautiful creation and that we didn't have to travel anywhere exotic to see such beauty. We also headed up north to the local water park, Wild Waves. We weren't there long but we got there when it opened so we did each ride a few times before enjoying a great lunch date at Applebee's. I also enjoyed 2 church services at the church Marcel is completing a summer internship at. I've been there before but whenever I get the chance to see Marcel involved in worship, I realize how lucky I am to have found such a servant of God to love and to be loved by!

Out on a dock we found while on our beautiful walk. Obviously this was before the downpour when the weather was nice and sunny!

Another picture from our walk. I made us stop here to have a pretty background.

After a day at Wild Waves, looking just gorgeous! We didn't care because we had a blast and were finally together again ;)

Marcel insisted on making the ducks fly away

A beautiful group of lily pads out on a beautiful lake

The view of the Capitol Building at the beginning of our walk

Relay for Life

2008-06-22T11:35:00.000-07:00

Last night me and my roommate once again participated in Hillsboro, Oregon's Relay for Life with our church. We decided that we were pretty much the youngest participants so we signed up for 11:30pm-2am (luckily with a little break in between). We were very excited to be walking for such a great cause! However, once we started walking we realized that we were still the youngest people there (mostly) but we were dragging our feet the most, figuratively. We hustled our butt around the track and we walked almost 8 miles, but there were people 3x our age and over who were still full of energy when we were finally done and getting ready to head home. We're both a summer away from being 23 and this event made us feel not as young as people keep reminding us we are :)

Even though the event is over, it is not too late to support me in my walking for cancer. You can follow the link below to find "my" page from Relay for Life to donate. Remember, everything goes to a great cause and your help "supports the American Cancer Society in its lifesaving mission to eliminate cancer as a major health issue" (taken from RFL website).
http://main.acsevents.org/site/TRC/RelayForLife/RelayForLifeGreatWestDivision?pg=peditor&fr_id=5757&px=3728696

Finally, it seems like Summer

2008-06-15T21:54:00.000-07:00

Forest Grove has finally had a few days of nice weather and we're all hoping it will last for awhile. I was able to enjoy the weather on an amazing picnic with Marcel at the city park with the best swings, my only reason for going to parks in the first place!

Me and Marcel enjoying each other's company after a great lunch of sandwiches and chips.

We're still kids at heart enjoying swings :)

Now that it's nice, poor college students/graduates will do just about anything for some extra cash! By the way, this is not me :)

Let the Season Begin

2008-06-08T12:45:00.000-07:00

Saturday I attended the first wedding ceremony of my summer, which was also the first one I had been to in ages. While I didn't know the bride or groom all that well, (I was Marcel's guest) the ceremony was touching. It was beautiful to see two people so in love and to be able to start a new chapter of their lives together like God has planned for them. I'm excited to be able to witness this come true for 2 more couples before the summer comes to a close.

Another Great Day

2008-05-26T14:36:00.000-07:00

Me and Marcel spent a day at the beach (instead of rainy Forest Grove) to celebrate our 2nd anniversary! It turned out to be a longer day than expected because I tried to get there on a wrong highway. That's what Marcel gets for making me drive! It was a great last day together before he returned home for the summer. I'm extremely grateful for the relationship we've built over the past 24 months. We both started with some pretty pessimistic views of where it would go, which illustrates to us that God had a better plan for us than we could have ever planned ourselves. We are reminded daily that He is still ultimately in control of our relationship and know that when we allow Him to write the next chapter of our story, we are blessed and couldn't have done it better if we tried!

I love you, Marcel Drew!

Someone asked to take our picture and we gladly accepted.
Beautiful Cannon Beach, Oregon.

One of many self-portraits we've collected over the last 2 years!

It's Official!

2008-05-22T20:28:00.000-07:00

I have a college degree! I made it through 4 years of college and ended on the best semester of them all. I just have to say thank you to my family and friends for their love and support during all the challenges I've faced and the fun I've had! Now for some pictures...

Me and my college roommates proud of our diplomas!

Striped of the ugly gowns to show our pretty dresses!

Next year it will be his turn, but for now my boyfriend couldn't be more proud :)

Me and my sister, Emily...Hannah couldn't be there in person but she was in spirit, as I was in Kansas for her high school graduation the week before.