I suppose it's about time for another post. I've been waiting until I have something to report, but I don't want to fall too behind on my blogging "duties".
School updates:
So, pretty soon I'm going to have to change the name of this blog to "The Road to Matrimony" because my thesis is done! I've received the final approval from both the docs on my committee, so the only thing that's left is submitting it to the online service the school uses to prevent plagiarism. I'm going to obsessively read through it a few more times to make sure that all grammatical errors are eradicated. I still have about 2 weeks before the final due date. Jason and his parents took me out to dinner last night to celebrate my small victory, which was lovely. Work is going well but slow now that the thesis is done. I'm trying to stay on top of everything. Only 5ish more weeks to go until graduation!
Wedding updates:
Well, I went to pick up my dress shortly after my last post. For those of you that do not know, my dress is discontinued (which is insane!). They only had 2 left in the entire store.. one was a size too small for me and the other was several sizes too large. However, I was so in love with this dress that I didn't care about the fact that it was a little tight on me. In order to fit into it, I need to keep the belly flab down. I'm not complaining; it's totally worth it and gives me an excuse to stay in shape. So anyway, I when the dress was purchased, there was some loose beading and strings since it was the gown that was on the floor (meaning that people tried on). The alterations department offered to fix the beads and strings and after some difficulty in the scheduling (the woman in alternations was a little brash and clearly very busy) we worked out a date to come and review her work. We were also supposed to have my first fitting that day. We even called ahead of time to make sure everything was ready and got a hurried and somewhat rude response that it was. Well, when we went to get the dress, it seemed as if very little work had been done on it at all. Some of the beads were fixed, but there were still loose strings everywhere. My mom was upset (naturally, they'd had nearly a month to work on it) and the shop was very busy so no one was around to help us with anything. We decided it would be best to take the dress elsewhere to be altered. I'd rather have someone who isn't always backlogged working on a dress that I cannot take back or replace.
So, long story short, I chose a tailor shop and have my first fitting on April 6. I can only hope this place turns out better and that my dress continues to be gorgeous!
The day after my first fitting we're going cake testing! I'm very excited about this, and so is Jason. It's the only part of the wedding process that he really wanted to be involved in :-). Typical man for you.
We've received good feedback on the save-the-dates. I'm so glad! They were fun to make and it was nice to hear that people liked them! I did as well! :-)
Now we mostly have little things left to handle. The next "big" endeavor will be the invitations.
Life updates:
Things have been a bit tense for me since I still have not found a job. If the school doesn't hire me on for the summer, I will no longer have a job after April 30th. This prospect scares me. Not only are we trying to pay for a wedding and living expenses, but I also have loans to pay off! I did a count today and realized that since I started looking in December, I've applied for about 60 jobs. And heard back from none of them. Health departments, hospitals, Monster, Craigslist, even some at UT Austin. Nothing. I mean, I've always heard stories about people struggling to find work and everything, but I kind of thought that with a master's it would be a little easier. Not the case. It may be the case that I have to take some kind of waitressing/receptionist job for the time being. I guess some money is better than no money. Obviously this isn't what I want to do, but I need to contribute something. I know Jason could take care of us both if it really came down to it, but what kind of strong, independent woman would I be if I let THAT happen? :-)
We still have no idea what our living situation will be post-July. As much as we'd love a house, it may be a little hard to swing if we've only got one income. As much as I hate it, it seems we're taking the "wait and see" approach on a lot of things these days.
If you're still reading you're amazing.
Now, go do something else!
over and out,
Whitney
Tuesday, March 27, 2012
Thursday, March 15, 2012
Save the date because my thesis is cruisin'
Today I've been motivated to write another post. Turns out some people actually do read my blog! You brave, brave souls. Give yourselves a pat on the back and read on!
Wedding updates:
We finally got the save the dates sent out! It was only a month later than I wanted to, but hey, at least they're done. I was amazed how much we spent on postage! And to think we get to do it all again when we send out the official invitations. Thanks to David's Bridal (so much nice swag came with the dress!) we're also getting a free photo book (which I will be using as our guestbook), so I need to complete that this weekend. I have had lots of wedding chats with my mom this week, mostly pertaining to showers and flowers. Ha! I rhymed. She is coming into town tomorrow (yay!) for my dress bead check and first fitting. Plus Haley will get to pick up her totally adorable bridesmaid's dress! We're also going to look at some florists and head up to Round Rock so that she can "visualize" (as she puts it) the ballroom where we're getting married.
136 days!
School updates:
Only 8 weeks until graduation! My thesis has survived its first round of final edits. I had to make a few small changes and am now waiting for any further edits my committee provides. D-day is of course April 9, and I just found out yesterday that I will be defending on April 13 (Friday the 13th, that is!). I was accepted into the PhD program. While I was happy, I didn't feel the same way as I did when I got into the Master's program. This worried me some. After talking with Jason and some trusted faculty here, I think I'm leaning toward working for awhile. I have not completed ruled out doing my PhD, but it doesn't seem like the best option for me right now. I have shifted my efforts into finding a job. Not so easy, but my resume is out there. I'm worried I may end up unemployed and no longer a student. Yikes! What exactly is a master's degree worth?
Life updates:
Last week was our cruise and I can't possibly express how much we enjoyed it. It was so nice to be away from everything for a week (including our phones!). As much as I needed a break, Jason really did. Work has been a little bit rough for him lately. His department keeps shrinking and instead of hiring new people (in fact, they're downsizing) they just keep giving Jason more work to do. Anyway, here's a summary of what we did during our amazing vacation:
Prior to being in port, we spent 2 full days on the ocean and another full day after our ports. We spent a lot of time relaxing those days and exploring the beautiful Carnival Magic. It was still a bit chilly the first two days so we avoided swimming, but there were plenty of things to do on the ship. On the last day we did swim some at the pool and used the waterslides since it was still warm. I liked getting dressed up for dinner each evening and also seeing Jason all spiffy since he's usually a jeans and t-shirt kinda guy. Of the 5 cruises I've now gone on, this was the rockiest in terms of water quality. I'm talking looking-drunk-walking-down-the-hall kind of water. Thankfully neither of us got sick at all. Our dinner company was good too. We sat with three other couples, but only really got to know one, the Gerould's. They were an older couple from Katy. Awesome and hilarious. Each night we made sure we caught the shows they put on. Some were good and some not so much. We got our picture taken every 5 seconds. If you've ever been on a cruise you know what I mean.
Jamaica: When we got off the ship, it was cloudy and drizzling. We met up with our scheduled tour and got onto a small bus. The drive to the plantation took about 1.5 hours, but it was really cool to see the two sides of Jamaica. On one hand, we saw the "Americanized" Montego Bay area which had shopping malls, KFC and Wendy's, but we also got to see the rural mountain areas. Very different. Our bus driver made sure to point out all of the beautiful plants and explain things that we saw while driving. The road was extremely narrow and people in Jamaica drive crazy (and on the wrong side of the road!). We made it to the plantation in one piece and started our tour. Winston was our tour guide and he was fantastic and knowledgeable. We got to see all kinds of fruit and coffee plants, and also got samples of pineapple, coconut, grapefruit and new things like jakfruit. They also make this juice there from pineapple skin and honey that is AMAZING. I really wish they had sold it at the gift shop because I guarantee I would have bought some. Jason sampled "the best coffee on earth", called Blue Mountain. After the tour we were served a traditional Jamaican lunch of jerk chicken, "rice and peas" (which is actually what we call red beans and rice), sweet cucumbers and collard greens (which they have another name for that I can't recall). After another terrifying hour and a half ride back and witnessing a police raid of a school, we briefly stopped to do some shopping before heading back to the ship.
Grand Cayman: We were really excited about the snuba excursion that we had booked in Grand Cayman. Neither of us had ever snuba'd and the water in the Caymans is unlike anyplace else on earth. Sadly, when we got up that morning we were informed that the tour had been cancelled due to rocky waters. We we permitted to change to a snorkeling expedition that went to the Great Barrier Reef. It was a very fun and the weather was very cooperative. We ended up getting about an hour in the water and got some fantastic pictures (see Facebook). I wish we had seen more though; we only saw a few fish and a small portion of the reef. Still, overall the excursion was successful and awesome. After we got back near the port, we did a good deal of shopping. I looked at some really pretty wedding bands in their countless jewelry stores, but they were all a bit out of our price range. Thankfully I only got a little bit pink. When we got back on the ship we were able to nap (thankfully!) before dinner.
Cozumel- the weather was totally gorgeous. We got off the boat and met up with our tour guide. We were taken to a catamaran which took us out to Isla Pasion (Passion Island) off the north coast of Cozumel. We spent the afternoon on the beach swimming (in the freezing water!) and catching some rays. Lunch (chicken, rice, bread, chips and salsa) and drinks(mostly rum punch for me!) were included which was nice. The water was gorgeous but was a little churned up where we were swimming. I got a little more than pink that day. We did a small amount of shopping after we got back to Cozumel before we got back on the ship.
Overall, we had a wonderful time. It was hard coming back to reality this week. If you've never been cruising before, I highly recommend it. We're already talking about going on another one for our 1 year anniversary.
That's probably enough for now! Until next time,
-Whitney
Wedding updates:
We finally got the save the dates sent out! It was only a month later than I wanted to, but hey, at least they're done. I was amazed how much we spent on postage! And to think we get to do it all again when we send out the official invitations. Thanks to David's Bridal (so much nice swag came with the dress!) we're also getting a free photo book (which I will be using as our guestbook), so I need to complete that this weekend. I have had lots of wedding chats with my mom this week, mostly pertaining to showers and flowers. Ha! I rhymed. She is coming into town tomorrow (yay!) for my dress bead check and first fitting. Plus Haley will get to pick up her totally adorable bridesmaid's dress! We're also going to look at some florists and head up to Round Rock so that she can "visualize" (as she puts it) the ballroom where we're getting married.
136 days!
School updates:
Only 8 weeks until graduation! My thesis has survived its first round of final edits. I had to make a few small changes and am now waiting for any further edits my committee provides. D-day is of course April 9, and I just found out yesterday that I will be defending on April 13 (Friday the 13th, that is!). I was accepted into the PhD program. While I was happy, I didn't feel the same way as I did when I got into the Master's program. This worried me some. After talking with Jason and some trusted faculty here, I think I'm leaning toward working for awhile. I have not completed ruled out doing my PhD, but it doesn't seem like the best option for me right now. I have shifted my efforts into finding a job. Not so easy, but my resume is out there. I'm worried I may end up unemployed and no longer a student. Yikes! What exactly is a master's degree worth?
Life updates:
Last week was our cruise and I can't possibly express how much we enjoyed it. It was so nice to be away from everything for a week (including our phones!). As much as I needed a break, Jason really did. Work has been a little bit rough for him lately. His department keeps shrinking and instead of hiring new people (in fact, they're downsizing) they just keep giving Jason more work to do. Anyway, here's a summary of what we did during our amazing vacation:
Prior to being in port, we spent 2 full days on the ocean and another full day after our ports. We spent a lot of time relaxing those days and exploring the beautiful Carnival Magic. It was still a bit chilly the first two days so we avoided swimming, but there were plenty of things to do on the ship. On the last day we did swim some at the pool and used the waterslides since it was still warm. I liked getting dressed up for dinner each evening and also seeing Jason all spiffy since he's usually a jeans and t-shirt kinda guy. Of the 5 cruises I've now gone on, this was the rockiest in terms of water quality. I'm talking looking-drunk-walking-down-the-hall kind of water. Thankfully neither of us got sick at all. Our dinner company was good too. We sat with three other couples, but only really got to know one, the Gerould's. They were an older couple from Katy. Awesome and hilarious. Each night we made sure we caught the shows they put on. Some were good and some not so much. We got our picture taken every 5 seconds. If you've ever been on a cruise you know what I mean.
Jamaica: When we got off the ship, it was cloudy and drizzling. We met up with our scheduled tour and got onto a small bus. The drive to the plantation took about 1.5 hours, but it was really cool to see the two sides of Jamaica. On one hand, we saw the "Americanized" Montego Bay area which had shopping malls, KFC and Wendy's, but we also got to see the rural mountain areas. Very different. Our bus driver made sure to point out all of the beautiful plants and explain things that we saw while driving. The road was extremely narrow and people in Jamaica drive crazy (and on the wrong side of the road!). We made it to the plantation in one piece and started our tour. Winston was our tour guide and he was fantastic and knowledgeable. We got to see all kinds of fruit and coffee plants, and also got samples of pineapple, coconut, grapefruit and new things like jakfruit. They also make this juice there from pineapple skin and honey that is AMAZING. I really wish they had sold it at the gift shop because I guarantee I would have bought some. Jason sampled "the best coffee on earth", called Blue Mountain. After the tour we were served a traditional Jamaican lunch of jerk chicken, "rice and peas" (which is actually what we call red beans and rice), sweet cucumbers and collard greens (which they have another name for that I can't recall). After another terrifying hour and a half ride back and witnessing a police raid of a school, we briefly stopped to do some shopping before heading back to the ship.
Grand Cayman: We were really excited about the snuba excursion that we had booked in Grand Cayman. Neither of us had ever snuba'd and the water in the Caymans is unlike anyplace else on earth. Sadly, when we got up that morning we were informed that the tour had been cancelled due to rocky waters. We we permitted to change to a snorkeling expedition that went to the Great Barrier Reef. It was a very fun and the weather was very cooperative. We ended up getting about an hour in the water and got some fantastic pictures (see Facebook). I wish we had seen more though; we only saw a few fish and a small portion of the reef. Still, overall the excursion was successful and awesome. After we got back near the port, we did a good deal of shopping. I looked at some really pretty wedding bands in their countless jewelry stores, but they were all a bit out of our price range. Thankfully I only got a little bit pink. When we got back on the ship we were able to nap (thankfully!) before dinner.
Cozumel- the weather was totally gorgeous. We got off the boat and met up with our tour guide. We were taken to a catamaran which took us out to Isla Pasion (Passion Island) off the north coast of Cozumel. We spent the afternoon on the beach swimming (in the freezing water!) and catching some rays. Lunch (chicken, rice, bread, chips and salsa) and drinks(mostly rum punch for me!) were included which was nice. The water was gorgeous but was a little churned up where we were swimming. I got a little more than pink that day. We did a small amount of shopping after we got back to Cozumel before we got back on the ship.
Overall, we had a wonderful time. It was hard coming back to reality this week. If you've never been cruising before, I highly recommend it. We're already talking about going on another one for our 1 year anniversary.
That's probably enough for now! Until next time,
-Whitney
Thursday, March 1, 2012
Pictures, completions and cruises
I am a terrible blogger! In my defense, I've been crazy busy with my thesis. Oh well, I'm back! Here's my life since last time!
Wedding Updates:
My dress fantastic! I'm totally in love with it. If only I could post pictures. We ordered the save the dates last night and should be sending them out by mid-March. Be on the lookout! We got a sneak peak of our engagement pictures! They are incredibly fantastic. Thanks so much to Amanda at Whitney Lee Photography for taking these beautiful photos. To view them, check out this link: http://www.whitneyleephotography.com/photoblog/
School updates:
The day after I wrote my last blog I FINALLY received approval on my thesis proposal. Determined to stay ahead of the curve, I spent the last two weeks finishing up everything. I am happy to say that aside from final edits that my committee recommends, I AM DONE with it! The road is paved but not yet ready to be driven on. This is such a relief off my shoulders. Poor Jason has been so worried about me lately because of all the stress. I'm glad I can finally relax a little and enjoy my spring break. Still no word on if I got into the PhD program. I've also started talking to professors around here for potential job connections. We'll see how it all plays out. For now, I'm set to graduate May 3! Eyes on the prize!
Life updates:
Happy birthday to my wonderful fiance! I'm so glad you came into this world 26 years ago, and I love you very much! We leave on our cruise on Sunday! I'm so excited to have a whole week of not having to worry about anything. We will also be completely cut off from the outside world. Still experimenting with new recipes a la Pinterest. I made one on Tuesday that turned out to be a fiasco. I felt so terrible. Jason and I had to go to Sonic. I will be attempting a chocolate cake tonight for Jason's birthday. Hope for the best! We looked at some houses online. While I'm thrilled to open this chapter in our lives, I feel like I need to survive thesis edits and wedding planning first.
Alright, that's it for now. Until next time (whenever that may be),
Whitney
Wedding Updates:
My dress fantastic! I'm totally in love with it. If only I could post pictures. We ordered the save the dates last night and should be sending them out by mid-March. Be on the lookout! We got a sneak peak of our engagement pictures! They are incredibly fantastic. Thanks so much to Amanda at Whitney Lee Photography for taking these beautiful photos. To view them, check out this link: http://www.whitneyleephotography.com/photoblog/
School updates:
The day after I wrote my last blog I FINALLY received approval on my thesis proposal. Determined to stay ahead of the curve, I spent the last two weeks finishing up everything. I am happy to say that aside from final edits that my committee recommends, I AM DONE with it! The road is paved but not yet ready to be driven on. This is such a relief off my shoulders. Poor Jason has been so worried about me lately because of all the stress. I'm glad I can finally relax a little and enjoy my spring break. Still no word on if I got into the PhD program. I've also started talking to professors around here for potential job connections. We'll see how it all plays out. For now, I'm set to graduate May 3! Eyes on the prize!
Life updates:
Happy birthday to my wonderful fiance! I'm so glad you came into this world 26 years ago, and I love you very much! We leave on our cruise on Sunday! I'm so excited to have a whole week of not having to worry about anything. We will also be completely cut off from the outside world. Still experimenting with new recipes a la Pinterest. I made one on Tuesday that turned out to be a fiasco. I felt so terrible. Jason and I had to go to Sonic. I will be attempting a chocolate cake tonight for Jason's birthday. Hope for the best! We looked at some houses online. While I'm thrilled to open this chapter in our lives, I feel like I need to survive thesis edits and wedding planning first.
Alright, that's it for now. Until next time (whenever that may be),
Whitney
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