Wednesday, August 01, 2012

I promise!!

 I promise that I will blog about the wedding as soon as we get our pictures. I've been waiting very patently for them. I have only seen the pictures of us girls getting ready that my dear friend and wonderful Brides Maid Gabrielle W. took ( along with her sister Samantha), but I'm soooooo excited to see the final product. I don't want to spoil anything, or give away the end of this chapter of our love story but I will say this.... Nothing Went to Plan, I didn't stress about anything, But NOTHING went to plan.... and we got wet... ;)



Friday, May 18, 2012

Apartment for 2 please & The Final Count Down

 Yes... I'm back! After so long I finally have a second to sit and blog.
Well last time I blogged I told you that I had moved out of my apartment and might be moving to Indiana with my Darling, well not sure if I mentioned the second but that doesn't matter because, We Are Not Moving after all!! Darling decided not to take the job that was offered to him, so we are staying in Ohio! Happy Happy Day!
Well more good news, my darling and I got an apartment together. It's in the same town we were both living in as before just now we are settled into a nice spacey one room apartment right above the bakery. It's so cozy here. We are getting every little decoration we have between us up to make this feel more like home. But like I told darling, Where ever we love eachother, We are Home! Here are some photos of our new place!!!

The Kitchen is small, but that's fine. As long as we can cook we are ok with a small kitchen.
There is enough room between the stove (which is gas b.t.w.) and the window to put a small apartment
sized Washing Machine that my parents just happened to stumble upon. :)

Our 'China' Wall. These are things that my Darling brought back from China in 2010.
He made the scroll himself, it says Perseverance on the (looking at) right side, and His name on the left.
The sward above he brought home too.
The sais on either side are from when he was in Ti Kwan Do as a kid.

Dinner To Night board on the fridge. :)

we have some photos of us up now, still some more to go. :)

Good Luck, & Friendship.
Two Things we both find in eachother.

Prayer Flags adorn the North Facing windows of the living room.
I want to decorate the whole place as bright and as colorful as I can to take advantage of all
the natural sun light we get! :)
Now as for the Final Count Down.....
 ONLY 28 MORE DAYS TIL THE WEDDING!!!!
I'm so excited. I got my dress taken in and it fits so well. I'm going dress shopping with my older sister (who just had her little boy only a few weeks ago. Praise the Lord for their health) tomorrow to see what we can find. Then I just need to get the flowers and make the decorations and help Momma with the food.
 My grandma is coming up form Arkansas with my Uncle and Step Grandpa, to stay with us and help for the wedding. I can't wait to see them it's been so long. Sunday my Mother-in-Law to be is throwing me a wedding shower. Can't wait for that. And then in June maybe the weekend before the wedding My Momma will be throwing me a wedding shower as well so my family can come and enjoy. Everything is coming together so nice.
 I just can't wait til the wedding. Sometimes I still can't believe I'm getting married. It's just so odd to think that in 4 1/2 weeks I'll be walked down the aisle by my father, and married to the man of my dreams. SIGH!
 I really can't believe it. God Is Just So Good.
Also My BFF from 4-H camp (age 11) is getting married this October! And then I have a friend getting married in August then on e getting married in December (I think...) We also went to the wedding of my darlings best friend (sense they were like 3) a few weeks ago! It's just so wonderful that God has brought all these people together!!!
 It makes my Heart So HAPPY!!


I have to go make dinner now. Many Blessings to You whom ever You may be!!

 Much Love,
~*Caitlynn*~

Monday, February 20, 2012

117 Days Til the Big Day!!!!!!!!

 Oh yes, that's right! 117 Days Til my Darling and I say "I Do"!
So much has been done and still needs to be done.

 A couple weeks ago I called the camp ground and asked if We could have June 16, 2012 booked for our wedding. The lady said Yes! So for $300. we get 10 hours (pretty much the whole day) and the whole camp to ourselves! I'm so excited! The night before the wedding party, our parents, my darling and I are going to go up, have a quick rehearsal, bring the decorating stuff and get the lodge cleaned up, so the next morning all we have to do is wake up, get there bright and early, set up, have a quick lunch, the girls and I will head out to get our hair done, the guys will do what ever they need to do, come back, get dressed, and get hitched by sun down!

 Momma and I were brainstorming some food ideas the other day, and we came up with, A Pick Nick Dinner Reception! Some guests can bring a blanket or table cloth if they like, also a nice big pick nick style side dish. We will put the food in the lodge, and prop the doors open so guests can either eat inside at a table, out side at a table or on a nice blanket with candles and lights and flowers all around! It's going to be great! For drinks we will have homemade sun tea, sweetened, non sweetened, and sweetened with honey, coffee, champagne, sparkling cider, soda-pop, lemonade, and water. For dessert.... CAKE!(see further down to see why I'm so excited about the cake) Cup Cakes, (provided by my little sister/M.O.H.#1) A chocolate fountain with fruit and maybe some mini cakes to dip, (chocolate fountain provided by my older sister/M.O.H.#2) And maybe some sugar cookies cut out and decorated to look like a bride and groom, (maybe all of my brides maids/M.O.H'S. can help make them! along with some friends!) Momma said she would cover the main dish and catering if we choose to cater. She has been calling around and asking for some prices. :)

And Now...

 For the Cake!
For the cake, my darling works in a cafeteria at the college he graduated from, and is friends with the ladies who work in the bakery. He said they did his boss' daughters wedding cake and it was beautiful and didn't cost much at all. So the night before last I drew up a sketch of my ideal wedding cake (very simple with little detail but still so pretty!) and yesterday at lunch I took it in and showed one of the ladies. She said it could be done, that she will talk to another lady about price and get back with my darling either today or tomorrow! I'm so very happy.

 The decoration will be very DIY, home made, cozy, and just right! Here are some pictures I got off of Pinterest......My wedding Pinterest Board...... 











This one is my Fav! Sense it's going to be a pick nick wedding! :)

I'm going to make TONS of these old Road signs to go up to tell everyone where to go


























I'm getting so very excited again. When my Darling first asked me to Marrie him I was SUPER excited, then I kind of mellowed out for a bit got my head straight, started writing down ideas, Then got SUPER excited again! Then kind of just chilled during the holidays and took things easy just kept my head on the holidays, and fiances and everything. Now I'm SUPER EXCITED AGAIN! It's all coming together so nicely and it's really becoming Real! I mean... I got the dress (still need to get it re-sized and cleaned) the Time (June 16, 2012 @ 6:45pm) the Place (Camp Ground) We got the Photographer and DJ (wife and husband team!Deal!!), the invitations, My darling and the grooms men already have their own suits, (we are providing the shirt and tie) The Cake is TBA, The Wedding Bands, All we need are, The Brides Maids dresses,(simple sun/Easter dresses will be great!) the decorations, the Marriage License, the Food, Send the Invitations, set the RSVP's, wedding showers, the bachelor & the bachelorette parties, thank you notes, and song list!

 So much done! Not much left to do! Now is the time I should start calling my BM's and ask them to help out any way they can. :) I can't wait to tell you more about the wedding plans, and then the actual Wedding it's self! There will be so many photos and things to show you and tell you. :) SIGH!!!!!! This is really happening. I'm getting married and I'm so excited about it. I'm going to wear a 1950's vintage wedding dress. My Darling will get to see me walk down the aisle (row of chairs) then WE will take our Vows Before our closest friends and family and God and become Husband and Wife. We will start our lives together. Start a family. :) It's just so wonderful.... I truly am Blessed to have such a great hard working man in my life. So Blessed to have wonderful Family and Friends who have stuck and are sticking by our sides through every little detail of our lives this far. And now to share the Biggest event of our lives other than being born for eachother....... It's really happening! To Me, To Him, To Us, To You (already, soon, someday).

 Many Happy and Joyous Blessings to You on this Wonderful, Beautiful, Sunny, Warm Day.
With Love,
 ~*Caitlynn






(references  to Momma, Brides Maid Gabrielle W. one of my bestest friends.)

Sunday, January 15, 2012

Baking.....

 Yesterday I made some Muffins.
I used the recipe my Momma printed up for me for my hope chest. I have it taped to my kitchen cabinet so I can use it over and over again with out having to flip through so many pages of my cook book.
 The recipe called for 1/4 C. Oil, but I had heard that you can substitute apple sauce for oil. So I gave it a try....


I used a can of Home Made Apple Sauce that I got from Momma's kitchen.....


Put it in a measuring cup and gave it a little mush and plopped it in the batter.... Mixed it all up and put about a Table Spoon of batter in to each Mini Pan Cup......  


They Baked so nice!! Only 10 minutes and they were done to perfection. 


I loved how they rose out of the cups. So neat...


The batter made about 42 Muffins... (the ones with the brown spots...That's cinnamon!!)


I like making mini muffins because they are just the right size for snacking,


And they are soooooo Yummy!!!!


Well that was my baking adventure for the day. I'll be taking the muffins to work with me to snack on and maybe have a few for breakfast with my coffee.

 Many Warm Thoughts and Blessings.
~*Caitlynn

Wednesday, January 04, 2012

When Things Go Bad, Do Something Good!

 Well sense it's the new year, I've decided to do a little self challenge.
Last month I was hit pretty hard when I looked at my bank statement and saw that I had an over draft! I was so upset with myself. All that money and not much to show for it!! An outrage!!!!!
 So as soon as I could I set up an Excel sheet to keep track of my spending, a page for my Checking (to see when, where, and how much is coming from checking) a page for Savings, and a page for Spending in general.
 So far so good. I really needed some food this month so I went shopping for only stuff I could make then freeze or keep eating on all week. Something momma taught me to help save money! I've not had a chance to make anything yet, but as soon as I do I'll keep a record of that too.
 So my challenge is.....
Only Spend Money On:

  1. Food
  2. Gas
  3. Rent/Bills
  4. Personal Stuff. (Bathroom things, cleaning supplies and the like)
for the next 3-4 months. 

 I want to see if I can make a habit for myself. See if, after the deadline, I can walk in to a store and only buy what I need. 
  I have a budget for myself as well. Only $70.-$80 a month for the 1, 2 & 4 items listed. I will try to not go over that. Once I can master my spending a bit more then I'll take my budget down to $60-$70 a month. I'm leaving the Rent/Bills out of my budget for now until I see how much my bills average. Then I'll take the highest amount I've paid and then make a budget for that as well! That's something else my momma told/taught me!!
 This will also help so much with the Wedding planing. I'll make another page in my budget excel for the Wedding!
 Oh.... Life can be so hard sometimes, but you know...... If not for the hard times, we wouldn't know how the Thank God for the good times. We can't have good with out the bad.  I know sometimes my family and I feel like we have more bad times than good, but I think if we look at it this way, if we didn't have the bad times we wouldn't know what works and what doesn't around the house and farm, then we would just be one big ol' mess!!!
 So I'll keep you posted on how I'm doing. :) Happy New Year and Many Blessings.
~*Caitlynn
 

Monday, January 02, 2012

2012...

 Happy New Year!!!
I pray God Blesses you in all that you do this New Year!


Not much has been going on here with me. I came home Christmas Eve to be with my family. Christmas Eve dinner at my Older sisters was nice. We opened some presents and ate yummy food. Then just hung out. Christmas Day was simple, sweet, and very wonderful. Though we did not have much under the tree this year, we did get what we needed and then some. Dad, my little sister and I split the cost of a new Kitchen Aid Mixer for Momma, she has been wanting one for so long. So we got it. Dad got me a nice little Tablet e Reader. It's pretty cool. Sis got a nice digital Camera. And daddy got some stuff he needed to help him fix the cars and a new wallet. :)
 It was a pretty sweet and simple Christmas. I hope for more of those to come.
My darling came over Christmas day around noon. Momma and daddy got him some tools he needed, and I got him a new wallet as well as a hand made (still in the making) Christmas Tree ordainment. He got me two very pretty Christmas Tree ordainment's, a glass swan and a crystal snow flake.
 After supper with my grandparents, my darling and I went to his families house for Christmas Dinner. There we all, his five siblings, mom, step dad, his step dad's niece and nephew with their husband and girlfriend, my darling and I, sat in the living room and opened more gifts. I made all the girls in his family some rice neck warmers out of fuzzy socks and hand knitted all the boys a new hat. 
 Then we had a big dinner and played games and talked and had a nice dessert. Around 11:30pm my darling drove me home.
 It was a nice Christmas.


 Now we are in the New Year. Time to make some list's and check them off!
My New Years Restitution's are to just live healthy and stay happy and follow God where ever He may lead me.

 I do have a job now!! I work in a nice little town about 10-15 mins away from my apartment. We sell little nick-nacks in one store, and in the other some very pretty and dressy clothes. I love working there. The people I work with are so nice and welcoming, and helpful. I go back to work Wednesday.


 Tomorrow evening, my darling is coming over to install the internet in my apartment. I can't wait. Then I can blog more and keep better track of my finances. What a relief it would be. Sense I've been home with my family I've not done much cooking, momma takes care of that. But as soon as I get back to the apartment I'll start my Fix it and Forget it cooking so I will always have meals on the fly!!
 I'm thinking of planing a friends get together at my place in the next few weeks. Just a small one. Everyone bring their favorite side dish and I'll provide the main and just hanging out and talking. It will be fun.


 Well not much more to say other than it's snowing now.


Many Warm Blessings, Thoughts and Prayers.
 ~*Caitlynn