FINALLY! Summertime

Well, it is officially official. School is over and summer has begun. It feels like I have been in classes FOREVER! I took 7 classes last Spring, 3 more than were recommended for the block, and 2 classes this summer. I did, however, despite all of the time and hard work invested, make straight As: a 4.0 gpa which put me on the Dean's List. I only had a tiny little 6 day break after Spring semester and before Summer semester. I just right now, this very moment finished typing my last answer to the take-home final exam; all there is left to do is hand it in tonight at our LAST class meeting. "I cannot tell you how excited I am." That reminds me of a funny story: one Christmas years and years ago, when my cousin Ben was 7 years old, he wanted his own gun. Now, living in the back country as we all do, there was nothing wrong with a 7 year old asking for a gun for Christmas, aside from the safety factor, of course. On Christmas morning, as he opened his present (which was his very own gun), he looked around the room to find his daddy and said in THE.MOST.MONOTONE. voice "I can't tell you how excited I am." I mean, he sounded straight out of Winnie and the Pooh like Eyeore. It was the cutest thing, and we still sometimes give him grief over it, but everytime I tell someone that I can't tell them how excited I am over something, I think of little cousin Ben. :)

Back to being excited...

School will be out until August and I am stoked. I have a list of things to get accomplished, like finishing my sewing projects, making blueberry pie, blueberry muffins, blueberry pancakes...I have a LOT of blueberries to use, people. I also want to finish making up our guest room and moving the office from our dining room and into the office! A few visits to the beach to work on my tan, and finally being able to enjoy a good date night out. Even though we have had our share of date nights, it is hard to shut off my brain, I was always thinking about school, keeping track of assignments and projects, books and chapters to read, and all those blueberries! (Just kidding about the blueberries)

I am going to soak up my freedom in the next few weeks!

Oh! Did I forget to mention the FAB.U.LOUS. vacations planned for the summer? I will be going up north, to the East Coast with Bill and his family for a grand ole family get together. Most all of his family lives in Massachusetts and Rhode Island, and since I haven't been any farther north than Charlotte, N.C., it will be great to see that side of our beautiful country. Hopefully we will visit Fenway Park, Newport mansions, and have some fun golfing as well.

On our way home from New England, we are going to take a mini stop over in North Carolina to visit the ZMaxx Dragstrip for the NMRA (National Mustang Racing Association, or something) Speed weekend. I know it doesn't sound absolutely thrilling, but let me tell you, that dragstrip has four lanes! So instead of only 2 cars racing at a time, 4 cars race at a time. It is quite exciting to see how fast some of those cars can go! And I LOVE watching wheelies.

The other vacation planned this summer is a little jump across the ocean to visit

HAWAII!!! Mom and Dad decided that it was time for one last family vacation before us girls get married and have babies, and brother Jesse decides he wants to stay and live in Colorado. SO, they asked us where we'd like to go, made arrangements, and on July 2nd, we are on our way to Kauai for a week. Now THAT is something I am excited about. What's even better is the other mini-vaca planned for Colorado Springs just before Hawaii. We are going to be rendezvousing with Andrea and Jesse, and the rest of the Wheeles/Schmidt clan in the Springs before our trip. We will be there for Cousin Thad and Baby Cousin Jada's shared birthday, and some fun Fourth of July festivities. It will be great to see my friends who are also my cousins for a little while.

I will be sure a post great pictures and stories from our trips!

"I can't tell you how excited I am." HA!

Blueberry Bounty!

I mini-posted the other day about my adventures in the blueberry fields. It was a great success. I had a great time! Some of the trees were tall and some were just starting out. Some of the berries were tiny and sweet, but then I discovered the trees along the property line and they were loaded with big, plump berries...and 'friends' with many birds, spiders, dragonflies and grasshoppers.

I picked for just about an hour and brought home over 6 pounds of berries! I have a list of goodies to make from my little blue treasures, and as the treats are made, I will post pictures and recipes. Until then, our berries are hanging out in the freezer, waiting for their special time!

Just finished blueberry picking. It was so fun! Lots of berries, not quite as many pictures, but a full update is on the way!

The other day was super fun... I could hardly wait to tell you all about it, but I did. Now that the pictures are downloaded, here's the scoop:
I am taking summer classes to accelerate my degree program, and to alleviate the stress that is inevitable as the program progresses. It is kind of a bummer to 'give up' two nights a week during the summer, but it is so worth it in the long run. I have a best good friend, April, that carpools with me, so that makes our drive and class time more enjoyable than drab.
(That was the background story)
Well, Thursday was her 20th birthday. Being the Betty Crocker wannabe that I am, I wanted to make cupcakes for her to celebrate. She loves chocolate, so I made brownie-cake cupcakes and frosted them with homemade Italian buttercream frosting flavored with coffee and Nutella. Oh.My.Wowzers. As if that wasn't good enough, I topped them with Heath brickles and little chocolate jimmies.
SO DELISH, and not to mention cute!

I decided to use these super cute Mary Engelbright cupcake boxes for traveling, but I only had two, and I needed three. Again, the crafty genius that I am, I traced and drew a template on a piece of poster board from the boxes I already had. I laminated and cut it out to use as my master pattern.



I then used another piece of poster board on which I traced and cut to construct my own third box! This one was kind of plain, since I am on a college budget, and I wanted to test it out before I got too fancy, but think of the possibilities! Different colored poster boards, elaborately decorated poster boards, even using cutouts and transparency film for the tops, just like the M.E. ones. I am totally excited! And proud!
When I delivered the cupcakes in their cute little boxes to the birthday girl, she was thrilled! So excited that she almost didn't want to share the cupcakes with the others in our college class. (I don't blame her!) She did break down and bring them in at the halfway point in the night, and everyone raved about the fantastic cupcakes. She even had enough to take and share with her favorites at home.
It was a fun day, from start to finish!


If anyone wants a template and instructions for making your own cupcake box, Let me know! I am willing to share...

Another Day...

It seems like so long ago when I first set up my blog! Well, here I go again, this time I will have success! Let me catch you all up on what has been happening in the last two years...

I am in love with the most amazing man. He is funny, handsome, charming, and has a heart of gold. We have been dating for over 3 years now, and our life together gets better every day.

I have been transforming our house into a home, and it has been so much fun. Room by room, I have added a little touch of comfort, and it is truly a pleasure to come home at night to rest and relax.

I re-enrolled in college at Saint Leo University, a small private Catholic college in a little tiny town called San Antonio, Florida. It is a beautiful campus and a quaint town. I especially love the drive-through back country winding roads, surrounded by fields of hay, wildflowers, and orange groves, and often covered by a canopy of old mossy oak trees. It is truly a pleasure to be there, even when the course work demand so much.

It has been a full and busy few years! I have made many memories and learned many things...most of which are easy to recall fondly with a smile.
Here's to the next few years of adventure and excitement!

In the beginning...

...God created the heavene and the earth. And it was Good!
And I get started with this new medium to stay in touch with my friends and family, I hope it too, will be good. Maybe I will use this more than myspace-what a headache! I love to tell and be told what is new and good in life and love that people love me enough to share with me. I feel like relationships are the core of life and the foundation of how love is expressed to us and through us. Please enjoy as I get started... We'll keep it all just between you and me.
Much love-b