Engaged!

SO, last Friday night I was taken by complete surprise...Cameron proposed!! I, nor anyone else in the room, had any idea that it was coming! This is how it all went down...

A little back story: 

Cameron and I have twitter accounts, and I get his tweets along with some other people that I follow as text messages to my phone. Well, while getting off work one night I saw these weird tweets coming from Cameron's account that didn't make sense. They were pretty much describing something that he hadn't seen yet, and that if "it's" done in time, when/where he'd give it. I knew that he was talking to someone about something and probably didn't realize that he was posting it as a regular tweet. So, I asked him about it and he just kind of brushed it off. I assumed it must've been about a Christmas gift or something, and since he acted so nonchalant about it I didn't think much into it. Apparently this actually had him freaking out because it was about the ring! So he said he tried to think of a way to correct that accident. He knew there was a local artist that I favored, and told me on Christmas Eve that he had gotten an email about a gift of mine that wouldn't be ready until the end of the year. He told me it was supposed to be a painting done by this artist, but that they were taking a while and they weren't really communicating with him well, and that it was what the tweets were about. I found this hilarious because I had actually gotten a custom painting done for HIM as a Christmas gift, and I thought it was so awesome that we both thought of the same thing!! 

*CUT TO CAM* Okay, this is her fantastic fiance! :o) Just to kind of fill you in  - the elaborate plan was to convince Stayce that her painting was delayed, all the while; she had no painting coming. So, when I opened my Christmas painting, and realized it was from the SAME ARTIST I had used for my made-up story, I freaked! The whole time I was telling her about how there was a communication break down, and the painter was so swamped because of the holidays that she had to bump my painting back until after the first of the year. I feel horrible now because Meg Deb is a fantastic artist, very creative, and very prompt. Stayce learned all of these things working with her directly. Sorry Meg:o( The painting she commissioned for me is beautiful and if you are not familiar with the local artist Meg Deb you should totally check her out. I carried on the rigamarole anyway. I needed the time for the ring to be completed by the jeweler and now my proposal needed to take a turn. I shot an idea to my little sister Coty as follows; Well, I have "painted" myself into a corner, I think I may have to "paint' myself out! I had two days before the weekend of the proposal to make something happen. I plugged up my phone, YouTube'd the heck out of how-to paint using acrylics, and ran down to my local craft store to pick up supplies. It was time to put my art skills to the test! I worked on two separate canvases and I will let Stayce take it back from here.....

So we're at his mom's house playing dirty santa (no one knows that Cameron is going to propose other than his brother Colton) and Cameron had previously asked Colton to bring in the wrapped canvases. I get handed the first canvas: 

 

 Still thinking we're playing dirty santa and this is a gift his brother brought, we're all admiring it and I barely pay attention to the words on the back. And then Colton says that the other box (which was much larger than this one) goes with this gift so I think that it must be some type of easel or something to hold up the canvas I had just unwrapped. I hand it off to Cam to unwrap it for me, and he is giving me some serious attitude about it. Ha! It was obvious that he did not want to unwrap it so I said "Fine! Give it to me and I'll do it." Well, I start to open the box and there was a ripped up Crest Supermarket sack at the top. I think to myself, "Wait a minute, there aren't any Crest stores near Colton??" I then removed the tissue beneath it to find the second canvas: 

And theeeen it all started to come together when I saw this one. I looked at Cam, saw him pull a little red box out of his pocket and began to stand. And I started to cry happy, shocked tears. :') He pulled me up and once I was standing he got down on one knee and asked that wonderful question, "Stayce, will you marry me?" I personally don't quite remember even being able to spit out "Yes!" but I'm pretty sure I resembled a bobblehead and he slipped the ring on.

(Thank you, Candice, for the right-after pics!!)

And there you have it! :) We are so, so excited to be engaged (finally, might I add ;) ) and are looking forward to spending the rest of our lives together. Thank you to everyone who has congratulated us and shared such sweet words with us!

Food for thought.....

An excerpt from "Zorba the Greek" by Nikos Kazantzakis:

"I remembered one morning when I discovered a cocoon in the bark of a tree, just as a butterfly was making a hole in its case and preparing to come out. I waited a while, but it was too long appearing and I was impatient. I bent over it and breathed on it to warm it. I warmed it as quickly as I could and the miracle began to happen before my eyes, faster than life. The case opened, the butterfly started slowly crawling out and I shall never forget my horror when I saw how its wings were folded back and crumpled; the wretched butterfly tried with its whole trembling body to unfold them. Bending over it, I tried to help it with my breath. In vain. It needed to be hatched out patiently and the unfolding of the wings should be a gradual process in the sun. Now it was too late. My breath had forced the butterfly to appear, all crumpled, before its time. It struggled desperately and, a few seconds later, died in the palm of my hand. 
      The little body is, I do believe, the greatest weight I have on my conscience. For I realize today that it is a mortal sin to violate the great laws of nature. We should not hurry, we should not be impatient, but we should confidently obey the eternal rhythm."

     I came across this in one of my books I was reading for class tonight. In the book, this was one of the things a teacher gave her children's parents on a "Back-to-School Night." And why she used it makes sense- to display a comparison to a child's development. Their development is something that is completely unique to each child (one of the biggest challenges of a teacher is meeting the needs of all the children, who are developing at many different paces and ways) and how it is not something to be rushed. They all eventually find their way, and it is not about the end result but about the process and experiences getting there.
     But I found myself comparing this to other aspects in life as well. How often do we rush through things? Big or small? Whether it be rushing through a craft just to get it done (something I do because I so desperately want to see the end result), or rushing and impatiently waiting on something major and just taking matters into your own hands only to find out the end result would've been better or more successful had we just waited? Those words and the thought of that poor butterfly (something that would no doubt lay heavy on my conscience, as well) really struck me and have caused me to really think tonight. The cliché phrase "Stop and smell the roses" keeps coming to mind but maybe it is something I should really try to do more often.

Oh me, oh my..

Well. I officially only have one weekend left of summer. My last first day of school is next Monday. Craziness!!
Unfortunately, my summer was not spent executing those desired things from my bucket list. Hopefully this will not cause you to think I am one to not follow through with goals and things. I believe that I didn't have as much of an opportunity to cross them off my list solely because of work, summer classes, and trying to fit in everything else in between! I have only read one full book and started another. (Well, I read one for class but we won't allow that to count) I really am disappointed in myself that I couldn't at least do that one. Didn't make it to the Drive-In, didn't get to fish...didn't get to do a meal in my crockpot once a week (think that one might have been a little over zealous, no?).
But just because I didn't complete the things on my bucket list, doesn't mean I didn't enjoy my summer!! Went on an awesome vacation, got to watch my best friend marry her soulmate and had the honor of standing right next to her while she did it, enjoyed many dates with my man, celebrated another year of birth, hung out and caught up with friends, and had many days of relaxation. At times, there was boredom too and that never happens while in school!! It was actually pretty nice.
I also got to complete a few pinterest inspired crafts! I hope to complete a few more and make a whole post dedicated to them, though. :)

But I can't say that I'm sad to see the summer weather go. It was another hot Oklahoma one. And if you know me, you know that I am a fall and winter lover. The cooler temps, the colors, football, holidays...ahh. Bliss. And now that I am in my own house, I have been stalking the aisles of Hobby Lobby already, making a list of all my fall decor must-haves. Some roll their eyes at the fact that in June Hobby Lobby was starting to slowly put out fall and Christmas stuff...but I LOVE it! In fact, September 1st I am planning on putting up some of my fall decor. Gotta soak it all up and use every day to rock it that I can!! ;)

Stay tuned for that pinterest post and hopefully one regarding a little furry friend that we may be getting....!!

OBX 2012

Well, the long anticipated trip to Outer Banks, North Carolina has come and gone. And like I told myself I should do, I'm currently on the drive home with Cameron (he's driving of course) completing this blog.
(Just drove into Oklahoma...yay!)

As it was last time, OBX was a good time and still beautiful. But I think that that our group is "unseasonable." (lol) The first trip Cameron's family went on, they got run off by a hurricane. The next trip 2 years ago, my first trip to go on, we got run out by a hurricane. This time we went during the peak season to ensure that wouldn't happen again...instead we had a day of off and on rain, and 2 days of high winds and the "No Swimming" red flags flying high. But did any of these unplanned occurrences keep us from having a blast?? Absolutely not!! We made the most of it and still had a nice time simply hanging out and spending time with each other. One of the main goals of a family vacation, no? And many big and great memories were made!! For example:
The guys chartered a deep sea fishing boat for half a day and they all LOVED it! Came back with loads of fish for us all to enjoy and many funny stories. Some of them also did some kayaking which they enjoyed as well! Cameron's nephew, Henry, took some of his first steps, niece Mattie turned 10, Cameron caught a small shark...his mom and him cooked us all some chicken and fresh seafood paella that was delish....and a lot of us gathered to cheer on and watch OKC Thunder play the first two games of the finals. (Thunder Up!) We also found an awesome boutique called Plum Crazy where they had some really cool and funky local art. There is a picture of a pink wood heart- we bought that one and a longer, deeper colored one, along with two prints of paintings! Oh, and on our night to cook for everyone we did Breakfast for dinner- "Brinner," if you would. We made egg and bacon toaster cups that I saw on pinterest along with gravy to go with biscuits and sausage. I think everyone enjoyed it! There are many more, but as home in Oklahoma City is getting closer, my brain is being distracted by thoughts of taking a nice hot shower (we've been driving for 20+ hrs!) and collapsing onto my bed! 😉

One thing I personally enjoyed was getting to know and spending more time with Cameron's nieces and nephews. Shopping trips with Scout, looking for shells with Leif, Sam and Gunner, playing pretend games with Lilly, Blake and Bailey, loving on baby Henry and making him smile, playing "Where's My Water?" on the iPad with Rhoane, hanging out with and doing Mattie's hair, and playing with sweet Adeline and putting some makeup on her. They are all such great kids. My own niece and nephew are my life. I love the close relationship I have with them, and I hope to have a similar relationship, or just a good relationship in general, with his nieces and nephews.

Alright, on to pictures!! :) (I've never posted from my phone before so I'm not sure what order the pictures are going to come out in!)

Summer Bucket List

Randomly thinking about bucket lists and the idea of them, and decided I wanted to create one specifically for this summer. One of the first ones I thought about was blogging at least twice over the summer, so why not make a blog post about my bucket list?? (But I'm going to try not to count this as one of my two ;))

Summer of 2012 Bucket List:

- Finish 3 books (any suggestions appreciated!)

- Write my old daycare teacher, Miss Susan, a letter. Need to keep in communication with that wonderful person more- she had a huge impact on my life!

- Go fishing.

- Cook a meal in my crock pot once a week.

- Visit the Drive-In theater a few times...Take Grace to see one!

- Go to the zoo and (finally) see the new elephant exhibit.

- Have a house warming party for mi new casa!

And that about sums it up! Might as well do a quick recap on life lately- finished another semester (only one year left of school!), been doing a lot of fun wedding stuff for my best friend, Addie's, upcoming wedding, moved to OKC in a super cute house that I love, and anxiously awaiting vacation with Cameron's family to OBX, North Carolina! Also, thanks to his sister Coty, I've recently discovered the blogger iPhone app! So, I know that will help ensure I make my goal of two blog posts this summer, and a blog post about vacation is something I could do on the drive back!

Little Reminders

Last week while at work, a woman came up to my register ready to check out. She mentions that she is splurging on herself to celebrate. I asked her what she was celebrating and on that day, just hours before, she had found out she was cancer free for the first time in 10 years. As we were talking, she also shared with me that her husband and her were celebrating their 10 year anniversary soon. She found out 2 weeks before her wedding that she had cancer. If that wasn't heart grabbing enough, she later shared with me that she was convinced for a while that she wouldn't make it to her 30th birthday, which is at the end of this year. So to celebrate, they are going on a cruise. She said, "I didn't think I would make it to 30, but I am going to be there healthy and strong!" with a big smile on her face. While the impact of just reading this text may not be the same as experiencing it in the moment, believe me when I say it was a moment I will not soon forget. I was so overcome by her story that I had to keep the tears building up in my eyes from spilling over.

A couple of months back, while at work again, a couple came in with their little 2 year old boy. What made them different than the rest, was that this little boy was in a tiny wheelchair. His mom told me that every day of his life up until that very day, he had been carried or pushed around in a stroller. They had just got his new chair that morning. Didn't press for details, but it was apparent that his legs were paralyzed. His wheelchair was all decked out- light up wheels, his name across the back of the chair and on each wheel, the works. But the thing that made him stand out the most was the pure joy on his face. He was zipping and zooming throughout the entire store- you could tell that this new freedom was exhilarating. And that little boy's joy became our joy...Every one in the store couldn't help but have a smile on their face when seeing him ride around.

I feel so honored to have been apart of these two people's extremely special days. To them I highly doubt they will remember the person who rang their purchase up while shopping that day, but they left quite an impression on me. These two occasions along with others have made me check myself and my attitude on my life, and really be thankful for my health. I am also reminded of how blessed I am to have the people in my life that I do. My family, my boyfriend, my boyfriend's family, my friends, classmates, coworkers...I am also extremely thankful to have a Father who loves me unconditionally though I fall short of His glory.

I challenge you, dear reader, to think of at least one thing and one person you are thankful for. And to challenge you even further, tell that one person you thought of that you are thankful for them and why...or just give them a simple "I really appreciate you." I am going to hold myself accountable to this and try to do this daily. Thank you for reading, I hope this woman's and little boy's story may impact you like they did me!

Texas Sucks, Cake Pops, Halloween Party...

'Ello folks! Well, here I am to blog about what was promised last post! OU-Texas was a blast. Had such a great time and most definitely hope to go back next ye-ar! And it helped quite a bit that the Sooners stomped those Longhorns ;) (I'm gonna reminisce on that rather than this last weekend's game......:'( ) Here are a couple of pics from that weekend! Had so much fun with these people Friday night!Game day attire! Lovin' my new boots ;) Big smiles after we won!

About those cake balls I tried making.....Well, the first batch I made for my coworkers tasted great, but was a very frustrating process. My first mistake was making the actual cake balls too big, therefore making them too heavy to stay on the lollipop sticks. And the coating on the outside was very thick as well and it was difficult making it look nice and smooth. To improvise for them not being on the sticks, I had to end up just putting them in cupcake holders:Solution for my problems the first time? Make smaller cake balls and use vegetable shortening (like crisco) to mix in with the candy melts. It thins it out therefore making it much easier to coat and they end up looking a lot better. My plan was to make cute jack-o-lantern pumpkin cake pops for Cameron's family's Halloween party last weekend. That unfortunately did not happen. Why? Well for one I couldn't find an edible black food coloring pen anywhere to draw on the faces. And finding small green tic-tacs for the stems? Forget about it. I searched everywhere for them. No luck. (Of course now that I don't need them anymore I will probably see them everywhere.) So my solution? Buy black sparkly decorating gel, and have a couple of Cam's nieces decorate them! It ended up working out really well and I think everyone like them. :)Scout and Mattie decoratingIf you're interested on where I got my tutorial on how to make them, click here (The cute jack-o-lanterns I wanted to make are on there :( ) and watch this!

The Halloween party was so much fun. I'll post a few pictures here but if you want to see more and better quality pictures, visit Cameron's sister Coty's page!Creepy Couple alert! I was a Dia De Los Muertos Senorita and Cameron was a super creep ring leader guy.Cameron and his mom, Shelli. Every year they keep their costumes a secret from everyone and compete to see who can look the creepiest/scariest. Who do you think won??Coty and I..her and her family were pilgrims and indians...they looked SO cute.Cameron's other sister, Candice and her half cowboy, half cowgirl costume that she put together herself. LOVED it. So good!

Next week I'm planning on making the (hopefully) yummy chicken tortilla soup. Fingers crossed it's just as delish as McAlister's! ;) I'll try to remember taking pics of the process and posting about the final result. Until then, blogworld...