Just another friendly reminder to check out our new blog at:

http://www.crosbyville.blogspot.com/

Thanks!

Allye & Andrew

A New Place

I'm happy to say that we have a new little patch of the interweb to call home. I will no longer be blogging here, but you can follow us at:

http://www.crosbyville.blogspot.com/

Let me know what you think about it!

We're MARRIED

(photo credit: Monica Burkett Photography)

Sorry I've been MIA from the blog

Life has been crazy.

busy.

exciting.

different.

and oh so fun.

Stay tuned because I'll be back with exciting things.

Like a tour of our New Orleans abode, and maybe even tell you about the happiest day of my life (pictured above).

Until then, you survived without me for this long, just hang on a little longer.

Love,

Mrs. Crosby

5 days

Andrew,

By this time next week we will be married and exploring Hawaii together. My intentions of telling you 20 something reasons why I love you failed. Not because I couldn't find 20 something reasons, but because I was busy enjoying all the reasons while we were together the past week and a half in our new little house without internet.

Here I am though, 5 days away from becoming yours forever, trying to find the words to articulate all of the feelings I am having right now. To tell you the truth, it is just not possible. That could be because I just spent 8 solid hours studying for the biggest test of my life, or more likely because I am deeply in love with you and my brain cannot do what my heart feels justice.

The searching part of my life is over. I have found everything that I want in a companion in you. There are no other guys I need to meet because I have found the only one I will ever need. I have everything that I could ever want in a husband, partner for life, father to my babies, grandfather to my grandbabies, and most of all best friend. We will be with each other through everything and anything life can throw at us, and be together even at the end of life.

This is why I am marrying you in 5 days.

I will spend the rest of my life trying to fill all of the roles and supply all of the needs that you have for a wife, and I pray that I will do it with the grace, beauty, and love that you have shown me.

I love you. To the moon and stars and galaxies and back a trillion times.

Allye

Let me not to the marriage of true minds

Admit impediments. Love is not love

Which alters when it alteration finds,

Or bends with the remover to remove:

O no! it is an ever-fixed mark

That looks on tempests and is never shaken;

It is the star to every wandering bark,

Whose worth's unknown, although his height be taken.

Love's not Time's fool, though rosy lips and cheeks

Within his bending sickle's compass come:

Love alters not with his brief hours and weeks,

But bears it our even to the edge of doom.

If this be error and upon me proved,

I never writ, nor no man ever loved.

Shakespeare, Sonnet 116

Long picture post

Hi!

I'm alive.

But have failed my blogging commitment exceedingly.

Since I have last written lots has happened.

Monica and I went to canton where we nearly sweated to death and met this little lump of love.

He was seriously one of the most heart melting creatures I have ever set eyes upon. He tripped over his own ears and when he drank water out of a bowl his ears just bobbed along side in the water. It took some serious strength to not bring him home with us.

I haven't stopped begging Andrew since. He's growing a great distain for all things puppy.

I don't blame him.

On every grocery list and to-do list we would make I would write:

-Get puppy.

Even though we didn't come home with a new puppy, Monica and I happily obliged to love on these two. Monica and Bret's furbabies (my nephpups) (riduculous, i know), are the sweetest.

After spending some time with the Burketts, I got to hang out with my pal Allie for a day. She took me to the airport and I was off for a 10 day visit with my honey.

We began the unpacking journey in our amazing little house.

It's such a great little place. We already love it.

I spent a great deal of my time in New Orleans cleaning feverishly. Anytime I got tired of cleaning I just thought about how much less I'm going to feel like cleaning after spending 10 days in Hawaii.

Here's a glimpse of our little neighborhood:

And our amazing (work in progress) backyard.

Being there setting up our house made me so much more excited about moving. Not that I wasn't excited before, there was just a good deal of apprehension, which is partially still there, but not nearly as much.

I'm so excited to start our new life together.

It was great for me to get plugged into some of the ministry Andrew does in NOLA while I was there too. I helped our with the baseball team Andrew coaches.

They are a rowdy, crazy, untrained group of little boys that can make any calm and rational person decide to pull their hair out and jump in front of a moving vehicle, but I already love them.

I already want to adopt 4 of them.

These always help ease apprehensions, too:

Just one week until we get married.

Garsh, I cannot wait.

Side note: I take my NCLEX (nursing licensing exam) on Friday at 8am. I am slightly overwhelmed/stressed/worried about it, which I believe are normal feelings. However, I could definitely use your thoughts and prayers! Also, my car kicked the bucket today. Thankfully, due to generous friends (allie and family), I am borrowing a car to get around until we figure out what to do.

Awesome times ahead, for shizzle.

I'm a bit sleep deprived (hence the for shizzle), sore from moving, and extremely ready to be in Hawaii.

I've been staying at my friend Amy's house for a short stint since Julie and I moved out of our apartment. I have been spending time chatting with her about marriage, life, babies, anything/everything in between, and playing with her sweet kiddos. I haven't touched my computer in a couple of days due to that and the madness of moving.

Tomorrow I'm going to get to see one of my longest bffs Monica and her hubby, and on Friday Monica and I are going to Canton (which I could not be more excited about). I'm not so excited about having to suppress my puppy fever in dog town though.

After hanging with Monica I get to see Allie and hopefully Robyn.

And on Saturday I'm going to NOLA to see my man!

It really couldn't get any better.

Well, it could if I DIDN'T suppress my puppy fever...but Andrew might die/not talk to me for the rest of our lives.

I choose happy husband over puppy.

I'll continue saying that for as long as we shall live.

I do.

Speaking of I do's, we will be I do-ing in approximately 20 days.

DANG GOOD news, because I am READY.

Here's me playing catch up on my way too lofty goal of blogging every day. Shoulda known bettah.

22. Andrew, you are so smart. This kind of relates to your creativity, but I really do love how smart you are. I may be just slightly dumb, so keeping me around is definitely going to make you look REALLY good. I am constantly asking you "what does that mean?" when you say a big word or are telling me about something you learned in seminary or "who is that?" when you're talking about history, musical legends, or famous artists. I love how you think, and ponder. I will always learn something new being your wife, and I love that.

21. I love how much you love music. Even though I sometimes give you a hard time about your massive record collection, deep down I like it a lot. It's such a neat hobby, even if it means I have to endure countless pawn shop trips and digging through bins at thrift stores and garage sales...it's actually kind of growing on me. I love dancing with you to the crackly sound of a record and I love dreaming of us teaching our babies how to dance to that same sound. Your mixed CDs are my comfort when I'm missing you and needing to feel some extra love, you put together the best mixes. Seriously, quit your day job and make mixes for a living. Actually, maybe wait until I find a job to do that.

20. I love how much you love your family. It's a natural, simple love that is inspiring to me and makes me excited for us to start a family together, even if it is just the two of us for a (long) while. Your love for them is evident in the way you tell stories, talk on the phone with them, and light up when we're all together. I feel such thankfulness to be joining a family that is filled with so much love.

Who let the dogs out

18. A photo of your pets

Technically (sadly, and unfortunately) I do not have any pets at the moment. I never did tell the blogging world that Annie died (again). The poor lil pup just couldn't beat the sickness. She was adorable though and I couldn't help posting a picture of her because I loved her so much.

Kensey is my roommate Julie's dog, but I love her like my own.

Nacho is Andrew's dog, and even though he has a brain the size of a pea I love him too. We're not going to be able to keep him because of his inability to learn to pee outside and the fact we are moving into a nice house. We also wont have a big back yard for him to get his energy out. We'll miss him, but it's for the best.

24 & 23

Yesterday was a hectic day of packing, moving, hanging out with Crosbys, more moving, and going to visit Allie at her sweet breast friends cookout to help her walk the Susan G. Koman Walk for the Cure. Hence, I didn't even touch my computer.

23 days! I'm usually a countdown person, I love thinking that 23 days seems so long and then experiencing how quickly it goes by. Usually I make time much shorter than it is. I'll say to Andrew "only a week until I get to see you" when in actuality it's 10 days. I'm not doing that with the wedding though, it would be to cruel to my excited self.

I am going to New Orleans in 5 days to spend time with the boy and help him set up OUR HOUSE! Crazy. And fun. I am so excited.

24th reason why I love you, Andrew:

I love your laugh. It makes me laugh to hear you laugh and that will never get old. I love that it's something that people notice about you because it really does bring joy to other people. It's also pretty nice of you to laugh at (most of ) my jokes. Thanks for amusing me. I'm grateful I get to hear your laugh for the rest of our lives.

23:

I love your creativity. You have a unique way of viewing the world that I admire. I love that you're creative enough to come up with the strangest, yet most adorable pet names for me. They make me smile, and I'm sure would make others either cringe or tilt their heads in confusion saying "did that guy just call his wife peanut butter puddin' surprise?". I'll always cherish the little creative gems you've given to me throughout our dating years, all of the mixed cds, the hand assembled jewelry, sweet cards, and neat modge podged pictures.

25

25 days until Andrew finally becomes my husband, and I his wife.

Husband and wife.

Those words together have a new meaning to me than they ever have had before.

I have seen marriages.

Beautifully happy ones, as well as violently sad ones.

I have been emerged deep in the loss that divorce causes, and experienced chills and from hearing a old, wise, beautiful woman try to explain to me the depth that the love for her late husband holds.

I remember saying to my friends in high school that I didn't want to ever get married because of the trust it entails, because your heart could be so easily crushed. Loving someone that much didn't make sense to me at that time, all that made sense to me in love was pain. I saw too much pain stem from putting your heart on the line and loving. Why do that to myself?

I've written here before about how my heart as been transformed by love. How it has been a slow, sometimes painful process of realizing that I am not in control. I've talked about how being loved by people throughout this journey of becoming someone who trusts love has brought me to a better, more tangible understanding of God's love.

Trusting love has been a battle for me because love has not always been trustworthy in my eyes.

It's amazing to dwell on that past perception of something that holds such beauty in my eyes now.

Because now, I trust love. I trust that it's beautiful, enriching, fulfilling, and something that we cannot live without.

I also trust that it's painful. It's painful because as humans we have expectations of how we should be loved and those expectations are not always met. It's painful because in life there is loss, heartache, and unexplained hurt. The beauty in the pain though is that it is painful because we trust. When love isn't trusted, there is a numbness to pain because you are expecting for your heart to be crushed. Having been here, as well as there I can say that I would much rather feel pain because of trusting love than be numb because of mistrust and expecting love to fail.

I love (not to wear out that word here) that I feel this way. I believe with all of my heart that God took me through life knowing that I would be laying in the living room of my empty apartment at such a vital transition in my life, dwelling on how I got here, and how everything that has happened in my life has one way or another taught me was true love means (even if it was an experience that taught me what true love isn't).

Trusting love has never come naturally to me, but now it feels as natural as taking my next breath.

In 25 days Andrew and I will dive deep into a life together that I pray is filled with years and years (and years) of the natural love that we already have. I know that our love will grow, but right now as a crazy, head over heels, soon to be bride I don't see how that is possible.

I didn't intend to get carried away with all of that, but I did.

My intention was to tell you that I want to remember this time of feeling so much genuine trust in love, and loving Andrew in a unique way before marriage by telling a reason each day leading up to our marriage of why I love him like I do.

25 days isn't going to be enough to tell all the reasons, but I think this will be a fun way for me to remember (and remind him) each day how truly privileged I feel to get to spend forever with him.

Andrew, 25 days until I'm your wife:

I love you because your kind, gentle, patient love towards me has taught me to trust like never before.

16. A photo of you at the last party you went to.

Hm. I'm not much of a party goer. I think the last party I went to was for my birthday/bachelorette party. It was an amazing weekend full of celebration. So many of my sweet, wonderful friends came into town which is a sure fire way to make it super special.

and cause I love 'em....

Love, sweet love.

15. A photo of you and someone you love.

Well, this one is a given.

27 days until we're together forever.

Cannot wait.

Faaaaamily

14. A photo of your favorite family members

Andrew, being my immediate family and my favorite human in the whole wide world is my "favorite family member". I have to say my cousins too though because they are my blood, and my best friends/worst enemies growing up...that's what family is about.

13. A photo of you and your best friend(s)

12. A photo of you

I don't particularly enjoying posting photos of myself on my blog. Any time this photo challenge calls for such a thing though, I turn to my photo booth where I have been trying to document my hair changes since the big chop last 2 Septembers ago. It's fun to see how your hair changes (for me).

This photo, however, was taken on the happiest day of my life thus far. When I got back to the dorm after Andrew asked me to be his wife, Maddie and Christi came up to my room and talked, giggled, squealed, stared at my ring, tried on my ring, and hugged me a lot. It was a special time. After they left I felt like I should shower because I was still feeling shameful for looking like crapola during one of the most important moments ever. After I got out of the shower I saw my ring laying on the counter and I cried some of the happiest tears I've ever cried and then took this picture.

This is the face of pure joy and excitement (with puffy cry eyes):

11. A photo of your favorite film(s)

I have 4 favorite movies. I could watch any of these movies any day. The first three are my true favorites. The music in them is fantastic which is why I think I love them so much. They are all three quirky, sweet, and about love in some way.

The last one is random, but I will never get tired of this movie. It makes me laugh every single time. I quote this movie in my head at least once a week. When it first came out my brother Austin and I probably watched it a solid 30 times or so...

10. A photo of you as a baby

I had a difficult time choosing between these two because they are both equally funny.

The first one I am such a CHUNK and it's cute. Plus my Aunt Sheila's earrings are rockin'. Double chins and chubby fingers...

And this one because I am in spaghetti induced coma/confused as to why everyone is singing. I love the dish towel that my grandma turned into a bib, and the bright yellow highchair.

9. A photo of your family

A Christmas tradition in the Crosby household is to crowd surf the babies in front of the Christmas tree. I think it's awesome, and Andrew and I have debated how long we're going to surf Simon. I hope until he's at least 13.

This year we'll have 3 babies to surf. Not sure how we're going to manage.

Love them.

8. A photo of your favorite band/musician

My favorite band/musician changes at least once a week, if not daily. However, one that always remains up there on the list is Eisley. I think it helps that I've seen them live a couple of times too and it's always such a fun show.

This picture is from 2008, when my bffs Monica and Danielle bought tickets to celebrate my birthday. It was so much fun.

I do have to admit though that I didn't buy their most recent album because the album preview on itunes left me slightly depressed. It's just SO SAD. I can take sad music, but literally every single song is about lost love and failed relationships.

I just couldn't take it.

So I stick to Trolly Wood, because that song is just so cute.

Big day

I signed up to take the biggest test of my life yesterday.

That might be a dramatic choice of words, but the NCLEX is a very big deal.

You see, if I pass I am an RN (registered nurse).

If I don't pass I'm just BSN (bachelors of science in nursing).

BSN doesn't really have that much significance without the RN.

Sure, I could probably find something to do but I couldn't be a nurse with out those two letters.

So, the NCLEX is a big deal, and I'm taking it June 17th at 8am.

That's one reason why yesterday was memorable. Another is because I booked my final flight to visit the Mr. before I become the Mrs. It was so exciting to think about not having to plan out trips to see each other anymore.

No more distance.

That makes my heart leap just typing it.

Gracious, I can't wait.

It's getting to the point where the time we have left is just becoming frustrating. I miss him. He misses me (I think). We know we're going to be together SO SOON, but dangit, it's not coming soon enough.

I know I will probably write a blog 2 days before I leave to go to Hawaii something that goes a little like this "oh my gosh i cannot believe it's HERE!!"

But for now, it's dragging like a person's leg that has steppage gait because of a CVA. (sorry, too much NCLEX review in one day).

Monday begins my crazy babysitting schedule. I would say that by the end of this month I am going to be so tired of babies, but I really don't think that could ever happen. I'm hoping that once Monday hits this month will start flying by.

Photo Challenge...it's back!

I neglected the photo challenge when things got hectic, but it's back full force! (maybe)

7. A photo of someone you love.

My redneck abraham lincoln memorial:

love him.

Feelings

Laundry is in washer/dryer,

wedding dress is altered and back in my possession,

loan counseling completed,

random UMHB bookstore purchases made (coffee cup and blanket to remember my times in college).

It has been a productive day so far.

I started to work out again, and my determination to get fit for this summer quickly faded. With each jumping jack and push up all I could think about was the strawberry cream cheese cupcake recipe I read earlier this morning.

I finally called it quits after a grueling 5 minutes.

Sheesh, what a joke.

Let's talk about graduation.

The pinning ceremony was sweet and special. It was a great time to celebrate just as a nursing family. My wonderful family was there and that made it so much sweeter. I wish I had pictures, but I have not yet stolen them from the various people who took them that night.

Graduation day was also fun. I loved getting to cheer for the people who have stood by me the past 4 years. My nursing class made a point to cheer for every person in our class and it was the greatest thing to walk across that stage hearing the cheers for me.

I must admit, the whole day was a bit euphoric and I can't put my finger on the exact feelings I had.

Mixed emotions about it all are still ensuing but the general feeling is excitement and happiness.

Thoughts on "growing up".

I honestly don't feel too different at this point. I'm babysitting this entire month which is usually the job of a highschooler, which could be why I don't feel like a college graduate.

In my eyes I've been a grown up for a long time, paying bills, owning a car, taking care of myself. Even though I have had all of these grown up responsibilities for a long while I still have a good amount of transitioning to do.

I'm grateful that I've already made a few of the big transitions that most people are making at this point in their lives because I think it will make my other changes much easier to deal with.

I will be a wife in 41 days, which seems like a long time because I am impatient and antsy about it all, but it really isn't.

A week after that I will move out of Texas for the first time in my 22 years of life.

I'll set up my first home, and be partially responsible for making sure another human eats beside myself. Which means no more left over ramen and broccoli.

I'll hopefully have a full time job sometime after that.

A job in which people's lives will be in my hands.

I also have an awful lot of loans to pay off. I've only had one nightmare about it so far.

I'm ready for all of these changes, but that doesn't go without saying that it's a little bit daunting.

I said yesterday in our marriage counseling that the excited feelings definitely outnumber the scared ones, but they are still there.

I'm so thankful to have a supportive, loving man by my side doing his best to make all of these changes easier. He encourages me daily and loves me so well.

How did I get so lucky?

Out of all of these feelings and emotions these changing days have brought, the biggest one I'm feeling is love.

It's the best thing ever.

Life

Wow.

What a whirlwind past couple of weeks it has been!

Tonight will be my 2nd night to sleep in my own bed in almost 3 weeks I think.

Here's a brief, random, perhaps confusing update on my life:

Lots of good things going on over here.

I graduated, for one.

Which is just crazy, wonderful, and has definitely not sunken in fully quite yet.

I already cried from thinking about not coming back to my nursing family next year.

I had a great time celebrating with family and friends for pinning and graduation.

Andrew came in town and I cried like a big baby when I dropped him off at the airport. After two and a half years of doing this I have never cried so hard as I did tonight.

We had our first pre-marital counseling session today, it was interesting and encouraging.

It's amazing to see how God created us specifically for each other.

I'm so in love with that fella.

Still looking for a job, still haven't heard anything back.

41 days until I go to Hawaii to get married.

I started crying out of excitement and anticipation when I thought about tonight on my drive home.

I'm reading Matt Logelin's book Two Kisses for Maddy. Which has surprisingly only made my cry 3 times.

It probably would have been about 6, but I sucked it up on the plane because I was sitting in between two very large men who most likely would have been very uncomfortable with a crying girl between them.

Conclusions you can draw?

I cry a lot.

Seriously, hormones are crazy.

I'll be back with more substance at some point.

After I do about a months worth of laundry.

6. A photo that makes you laugh.

This makes me laugh for a couple of reasons.

1. my sweet, darling fiance had set up the back seat for Nacho (the dog, in case you aren't aware) perfectly. Soft blankets, pillows, toys, everything a dog could possibly want on a road trip, and this is where Nach chose to lay... sandwiched between all of our stuff and the car roof.

2. because it looks like he is screaming/hitting the high note in a song.

3. he's just a funny looking dog.

She lives!

Yesterday morning I received a call from the vet that I had been taking Annie to.

The conversation went a little something like this:

Vet: Allye? Uh, yes, this is Dr. K. Umm, about Annie...

Me: Yes?

Vet: Well, I didn't put her to sleep on Friday...

Me: Okay....

Vet: I've been giving her medication and she seems to be bouncing back. She's not acting sick anymore.

Me: Oh my gosh, okay.

Vet: I can take her to the shelter if you want me to.

Me: No! I'll come pick her up. I'm out of town, can I come get her tomorrow?

Vet: Yes, of course.

So, right now I'm typing this on my couch with Annie sleeping snuggled up next to me.

Talk about crazy.

Julie no longer calls Annie by her real name, she calls her Jesus.

I'm not going to rename her that, because that would be weird.

But it is a little ironic that I thought she died on good friday and then was back alive the day after Easter.

Sad day

This post is going to be a long drawn out, depressing post. It's purpose is purely therapeutic.

Today was a really hard, sad day.

As you all know Annie was sick a couple of weeks ago, and after being put on antibiotics she got better. Well, the day after her antibiotics were out her symptoms came back, except this time they were worse. I tried to stay positive, took her to the vet again, and got her back on meds.

They didn't help this time.

She kept getting worse and worse.

Last night I knew. I knew that I was going to have to say bye to her.

I let her sleep with me. I cuddled her close, pet the super soft spot right between her eyes, down to her little nose, and back up to her speckled ears.

The first thing I told her when I picked her up off the street was "It's okay, I'll protect you puppy."

I found myself telling her the same thing last night.

It's funny, because having her turned me into this softy that thinks animals can understand what I'm saying to them.

Today when we got to the vet I sat in the parking lot and cried while she slept in my lap.

I kept saying "it's going to be okay."

I'm not sure if I was talking to her or myself. Probably both.

I took this picture,

gave her a huge hug, took some deep breaths and went into the vet.

He told me I was doing the right thing, that she was just going to get worse and suffer.

It helped in the moment but when I had to take off her little denim collar with that cute pink name tag on it, the lump in my throat became way to big to deal with.

I started crying and he said he would give me a minute.

I quickly composed myself because crying in front of people (especially people I don't know) is something that I cannot handle.

He came back in to take her because I didn't want to be present when they gave her the shot.

I couldn't say my final goodbye because I was too close to completely loosing it. I pat her head and told the vet thanks as a rushed out the door.

I walked to my car as quick as I could and as soon as the door closed, I sobbed.

After I realized that an old lady in the car next to me was watching me cry, I sucked it up and started to drive home with Annie's collar in my lap.

The rest of the day was pretty much full of me thinking about how much it sucks that I poured myself into this sweet little thing for 3 weeks and now she's just gone. I've never gotten that attached to an animal, and now I know why.

I don't regret it at all. Not one single bit.

Love just hurts sometimes.

She was so precious, sweet, fun, and brought me so much joy in a time that without her would have been much more lonely than it was with her. Having her meant that I had to always think about something else beside myself, and it was good for me.

She was good for me.

I miss her a lot. I'm probably going to wake up around 3 am to take her outside, because that's what she would wake up every morning.

Andrew told me today that he would get me a puppy again some day.

I'm going to hold him to that because having her reminded me how much I love being devoted to something that needs me and loves me.

I'll always remember how awesome she was, as corny as it may sound, I will. She was the best puppy ever.

The cutest, too...

I'm feeling under the weather. I'm crossing my fingers it's just allergies, because I have to work a 12 hour shift tomorrow.

Annie has been sick again, too. She is on round 2 of antibiotics and they seem to be working. We will see...

I don't have much else to say, so here's the photo for today. (poetic)

5. A photo of you.

Short hair, in the Raindance house. If I weren't getting married in a couple months I would be really tempted to chop my hair again. I think I'll keep it growing for a while though.

Happy hump day!

Friday is 2 days away.

Gah, I'm in such a blah mood.

What can I do to make myself feel better?

Besides eat, because good gracious, who knew that birth control could make a person SO STINKING HUNGRY ALL THE TIME?! It's driving me crazy. Too much information?

Sorry.

I'll post a daily photo.

4. A photo of the last place you went on holiday:

Allie took this picture one morning while we were in New Orleans over spring break. I was drinking coffee and Andrew was making phone calls for work. While this is not the most flattering picture of me by any means, I love it.

I can't wait for every day life with that guy.

Hope you have had a lovely weekend.

Saturday Snapshot & Daily Photo

I'm combining forces today because I think two pictures in one day could become redundant.

3. A photo that makes you happy

A couple of summers ago Andrew and I went to Biloxi Mississippi for a beach day. This photo makes me happy for many reasons. 1. because I love him. 2. because it was a fun little adventure. 3. he's just so cute, his little smirk brightens my day. And 4. because it's what's to come. (Hawaii is going to be SO MUCH BETTER than Biloxi)

Stream of consciousness

Today was our capstone symposium and senior nursing luncheon.

It was the last time my class will be together until graduation practice.

It's not quite feeling real yet.

I have been dreaming of this moment, the end of my college career, for a really long time.

But now that it's here I can't grasp it. Not even a tiny bit.

I cried a little bit tonight. It might have been the sad indie movie about a guy with cancer, or the fact that Annie woke up 3 times last night and I couldn't fall back asleep and I'm slightly exhausted.

It also could be because I'm kinda sad to leave this place.

I'm attached, I'll admit it.

I guess the sad part about moving away hit me today.

The happy most definitely outweighs the sad, let me preface with that please; because I cannot wait to live in New Orleans with my darling, sweet, most wonderful soon-to-be husband. Life with him there is going to be beyond my wildest dreams in the most delightful way possible.

It's just change.

It's moving away, saying goodbye to the people and things that I have spent the last 4 years of my life pouring into and investing in.

Change isn't easy, even when it's the happiest of changes.

I'm frustrated with my job situation. Still finding it hard to let go and let God as they say. Whoever they is.

My friends are getting offered positions left and right. I am feeling a little bit like a straggler, like I'm doing something wrong.

I talked to the Louisiana Board of Nursing today about getting my license endorsement and they were the opposite of encouraging. Saying that even if I found a job, I wouldn't be able to get my LA license until late July AT BEST.

It's looking like I'm going to be a house wife for the first few months of Andrew and I's journey together.

Maybe I'll become a great cook.

Or learn to fold laundry right after washing/drying it and not leave it in the dryer for days.

I might even try to pick up sewing again, who knows.

It's probably going to be the best time of my life. Who wants to work anyway?

Ha.

Life is a funny thing.

Funny, mysterious, and pretty much out of our control.

Which is freeing and scary at the same time.

I'm going to conclude this semi-bipolar blog post by saying I'm excited about my life, and I hope this didn't make anyone think that I'm not.

Change is just change.

If that doesn't make sense to you then that probably means you're good with change, and if that's the case then I'm proud of you.

I've gone through countless major life changes and it still beats me why I can't figure out how to embrace it like I want to.

Bipolar post ending now.

Love,

allye

Daily Photo Challenge

Well, I've already fallen behind on the daily photo challenge. Any-who, here's day 2:

2. Your facebook profile picture:

Me and my sweet, adorable cousins over spring break at Ry's birthday party. I have loved them my whole life, and will never stop. They are like my siblings, and such a sweet part of my life. Plus, look at them...they are gorgeous!

Shower

Let me tell you a little bit about my sweet, wonderful, absolutely perfect shower this weekend.

Maybe I should be a bit more specific. I'm about to tell you about my BRIDAL shower.

It was SO fun. I was nervous about it the morning of. Like, butterflies in my stomach, couldn't finish my whole sandwich at lunch kind of nervous. Ridiculous, I know. I just DO NOT like attention being on me, and a bridal shower (with me as the bride) naturally means the attention is going to be on me. I thought I was going to be super awkward opening gifts. I get into this cycle when opening gifts in front of people where I think I'm not being enthusiastic enough, so I overcompensate with WAY too much enthusiasm. I told my friends to scratch their nose if they caught me doing it. They only scratched their nose once and it was when I opened my KITCHEN AID MIXER. Yeah, there is no such thing as too much enthusiasm over that.

Anyway, it was great. The hostesses did such a wonderful job of making it super perfect. It was themes love birds. You can't go wrong with a bird theme, they are just precious.

The food was bird themed, there were little paper birds for people to write well wishes on and then hang them on the tree, bird salt and pepper shakers, ah! it was perfect.

Do you want to see pictures?

Too bad if you answered no to that question, because I'm about to post a lot of them.

These pictures come from the cameras of my talented soul friend Robyn, and my sweet future mom in law Diane. Thank you both for capturing the special day!

I am so thankful for friends and family who planned, came, and gave Andrew and I some great gifts to start our life together! I can't wait for June.

Speaking of getting married, yesterday I went to petsmart to get Annie a name tag. I figured it was about time, now that she is learning that she can explore and not staying by my side for every step I take. I was typing "GUTHRIE" on the back with my number on it when I realized that I'm only going to have that name for oh, 60 something more days and these name tags are expensive (8 bucks, by the way...CRAZY)! So, this is what I did:

I had to let Annie gnaw on my hand to get a decent photo of it and it's still blurry. If you can't tell, it says Crosby and has both Andrew and I's numbers on it. Every time I look at it I feel happy and excited.

Annie is excited about being a Crosby, too. Even though she is constantly trying to attack that darn dangly thing that makes noise around her neck. She caught it yesterday and walked around with it in her mouth so proudly for about 5 minutes (which is a very long time for her to stay focused on one thing...the pup has bad ADD).

I apologize for not being able to write one blog post without talking about the dog. One day, soon and very soon, I will do it.