4 Years!

Around this time 4 years ago... I was standing outside her on-campus apartment telling her goodbye before I headed back to Atlanta. We had been "talking" for about 3 months and I was impatiently waiting for her to make it official. I mean we practically spent every waking moment together aside from the 2 hour distance, school, and basketball... plus she had already made sure my exes stayed out of the picture... she might as well make it legit. So I got ready to leave to took my hand and said "Will you be my girlfriend?" Just like in the movies. (Remember The Princess Diaries? .... well my foot totally popped when she kissed me that day!!!) It was magical.

*July 2008*

*2008*

(look at that blonde hair!! that was the one & only time she has dyed her hair!)

*September 2008*

This picture was from the night she told me she loved me

<3

One year from today, I will be marry my best friend. With a beautiful dress & all our friends and family watching. All the details are decided on.... now we just need to put it in motion. As much as I want a wedding, I also love the idea of just eloping to NY and its being much smaller...

March 3, 2012 ~ Birthday Surprise!

Picture it.

Cold, rainy Saturday. I'm sick with allergies and feeling horrible. I had been sick with sinus issues for days. I'm attempting to study for my second test in nursing school, which was only 2 days away. And lets just say I didnt do well on the first. Oh yea... & its my 26th birthday.

We planned a simple dinner with a couple friends. No big deal. I was leaning toward canceling the whole thing because I was miserable & I was stressed about my test. Only problem was Jess said I couldnt have my present if we didnt go to dinner. *pouty pants* Well I love me some gifts, big or small, expensive or homemade. I dont care I just want my damn presents. How dare she not give me my present when I was clearly in need of a mood lifter and pampering?!

Meanwhile, my friend was blowing up my phone asking me when I would be ready. She was nearly crushed when I said I was sick & wanted to stay home. I figured since she has 3 kids (one of which was 3 months old!) she prob needed to Mommy Night Out time. So I dragged my pathetic ass to the shower and tried to wash away the misery of sinus pressure, swollen face, and puffy eyes.

I guess the hot shower did some good because I felt almost 100% better. I looked pretty cute too, considering how I was feeling an hour before. Soooo.... since I agreed to go to dinner, I got my present! She made me the sweet scrapbook with song lyrics to one of our songs. Metallica's Nothing Else Matters is one of my favorite songs and the lyrics are just so perfect. Life is ours, we live it our way. And nothing else matters. Love it. Anyways... on the last page she wrote me a letter saying how much she loved every minute we have been together and that she looks forward to the rest of our lives together. I looked up and she was on one knee!!! SHE PROPOSED!! She was saying how she wanted to spend the rest of her life with me & I barely let her get the words out before I pulled her up and kissed her. Of course I said YES!

I love it!! This is exactly what I wanted. Which is awesome that she knew that because I had been changing my mind from what I thought I had always wanted. I used to want a solitaire princess cut diamond.. but a friend of ours had something similar to this ring and I just thought it was so beautiful. Antique-like. <3 

This is what I similar to what I wore... somehow I forgot to get pictures of us on my birthday & engagement. Boo. I guess it was all the allergy meds I was on ;)

I called all my friends... who all knew already! They were eagerly waiting and hoping it would happen soon. Apparently, she had the ring for almost 3 months. She had giving my mom money to hide, so I wouldnt notice money coming from our checking account. Sigh. Love her... I asked if she asked my moms permission.... of course she did. She knew that was important to me. She told everyone we know to get opinions and so worth. She even sent pics to our friend asking if this ring was similar to hers because she knows how much I loved her ring. She thought of many, many ideas on how to do it, including taking me to the beach. Which she asked if I wanted to go for my birthday weekend and I said no because I had to study. Dammit. Ruined that surprise. But really, it doesnt matter how she did it.... all that matters is that were together... and I got a ring that we love each other more than words could ever describe. ;) I love love love my ring! I couldnt have picked out a better one!!

Yay! We're engaged!! <3

A few of my favorite things! ~Christmas~

I can't believe Christmas is just around the corner. And shortly after that I will be starting nursing school (WARNING: You may get sick of hearing about nursing school.. BUT I don't care, I worked very, very, VERY hard to get it in ;) )... wow... time flies.

After weeks of studying and working... we finally have a break. At least from school.

So these are a few of my favorite *Christmas* things!

We finally found time to put up our Christmas tree the other night. As we were dragging out all of our Christmas decorations, I started thinking about how long we have been together. I mean we had 4-5 boxes of Christmas stuff, plus our tree. I also realized how many traditions of our own we have. We always watch one (if not, all) of The Santa Clause Trilogy. I bought them for Jess last year.

 The best part about getting out all our decorations is 1. reminiscing about our childhood since we have most of our childhood ornaments. :) 2. Remembering what I bought last year at craft stores at 75% off!! Love after holiday sales! Plus I found the personalized ornaments I bought last year but didn't get to put up!



 

[caption id="attachment_684" align="aligncenter" width="224" caption="Our family 2010"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_682" align="aligncenter" width="224" caption="The ornament we bought our first Christmas 2008"][/caption]

A couple of years ago, we found the cutest chihuahua ornaments and they fit Kiwi & Mango perfectly!!
 Moving on down the list...

My Christmas playlist!

1. Christmas in Dixie -Alabama (it's a family thing!)

2. All I want for Christmas is you -Mariah Carey (an obvious choice)

3. Christmas (Baby please come home) -Mariah Carey

4. All I want for Christmas is a real good tan -Kenny Chesney (because its fun!)

5. This Christmas -Chris Brown (because he though I hate Chris Brown and wish he would never release another album again.... I love that movie!!)

6. My only wish -Britney Spears (reminds me of being 15 :) )

7. Christmas in Dixie -Kenny Chesney & Alabama (love it so much it has to be mentioned twice! plus its with Kenny!!)

8. Hard Candy Christmas -Dolly Parton (I just like it!)

9. Hanson's entire Christmas album (dont judge.. makes me 10 years old again!)

10. NSYNC's entire Chrismas album (again dont judge... 1. its good. 2. makes me feel 12.)

I will spare you the others, but I assure you there are more. Yes, I listen to this playlist EVERY year!! Almost everyday ;)

Continuing with the list...

Hallmark Movies. I love the holidays when they air new movies almost every week, with almost the same story line... sad girl meets handsome man in some small town :)

Last thing.. I love going home for the holidays. Every year, (except when I wasnt working) I have closed on Christmas Eve. I usually offer too because I dont have kids. After work, I drive home to help mom cook... (usually I just taste test! :) ) It doesnt matter what time I get home, she wakes up and we talk for hours! Even if she has to work early on Christmas day. We try not to wake her up but we use her bathroom (its bigger) so it just sort of happens. This year, when we got there for Thanksgiving we sat on her bed talking till almost 5am! AND she had to get up at 630 haha. Good times!



 

 

Tugging at my heart...

Lately, one of my favorite bloggers, has been having a very hard time. The seemingly perfect marriage she thought she had just crumbled into pieces. I have been following along with her for quite some time, and watching it unravel, has broken my heart everyday. The other day, I checked in to see how she was, and it was gone. Just like that, her whole blog disappeared. She had stated that she wouldnt take it down because it was also her journal. I was completely crushed. Not only for her, but I didnt want to miss out on seeing her survive this. Its funny, how we get attached to blogs we read daily. Like books or tv, you get attached to the characters, and you want to see what happens next. I dont like to see people hurt, so when they do, I want to see them overcome. I cant tell you how excited I was when I checked in with another blog tonight, and found the new link to blog I had been looking for. Super excited. Although, her life is still in shams now, she is taking control and moving on. Yay for her! :)

On another note, reading her blog, makes me think of Jess. We have a damn-near perfect relationship, we never argue about anything bigger than her lack of cleaning ;) thats nothing compares to the lying and cheating thats others deal with. I consider myself truly lucky and everytime I read that blog, I make it a point to make sure I tell Jess how much I love her and that I am appreciative of what she does. I always tell her that I am in love with her and only her, and that should she ever start to question our life, I want her to tell me so we can fix it. She assures me that we wont ever have this problem and she will never leave.... even if we break-up ;) (She has this plan that if we divorce after we have kids, we will remain in the same house and be civil because she doesnt want our kids to suffer and be raised in two different houses. Good plan. She says we will suck it up for the kids.. and then eventually she will work her way back into my room ;) man, I love her.) Lately, she has been helping me a lot with homework... I work full-time and travel further to school than her.. I am overwhelmed. She stays up with me and reads to me when I am too tired to read for myself. So I dont say anything about her not cleaning.. I just do it when I have the time. I figure its the least I can do for all the other things she does for me. And guess what.... no arguing. Win-Win! Plus, she always does little things, like puts gas in both cars, brings me lunch/breakfast to work without me asking usually, and she ALWAYS rubs my back when we go to bed. Needless to say, I am spoiled. :) Plus, I just got a new Vera Bradley purse and wallet on her birthday.. how awesome is she!!

Dont take the one you love for granted. Cherish each day like it was your last, even if it means, dishes arent washed and clothes arent folded. Yesterday, we had a date day and may have gotten behind on homework .... oh well ;)

[caption id="attachment_606" align="aligncenter" width="225" caption="Shell & Bake"][/caption]

>Day 30 of 30.

>A Picture

We have successfully completed our first blog challenge!! While this was fun and interesting, I am glad it is over!

Pride '08

Back when it all started :)

>Day 25 of 30.

>Favorite Memory

I dont think I can list just one memory :)

1. Surprising Jess in SC for her tournament game is probably my most favorite memory. The look on her face when she saw me across the court is a memory I will cherish FOREVER!! I would do it all again if I had too. It was one of the best days of my life. <3

2, When she told me she loved me. We went to the fair and she wanted to tell me at the top of the Ferris Wheel.. but the atendant sat a man and his son with us. WTF! Plus she didnt have a voice... so she just gave up. After the fair date, she took me home and headed back to school... she sent me a very long text saying that she had never felt this way about anyone and that she was in love with me. Que the awws. I wrote her back and said "really?" I didnt realize that it sounded so bad because I was jumping up and down like a kid in a candy store. I was super excited and deeply in love with her. She of course was thinking that I didnt feel the same and that this wouldnt last now. But I texted her back and said "Good, cuz in totally in love with you too."

3. The first time she kissed me. No details here for this one! But I will say that Jess is very "old school" about relationships and didnt even try to kiss me for almost 2 months. And can I just mention that she slept in my bed every weekend she came home to see me, but never tried to kiss me because she believes in getting to know someone and not just jumping right in. She says there is no reason lesbians should rush their relationships and shouldn't be any different than straight people. This is one of my favorite things about her. Her opinions on relatioships are so solid and reasonable.

>Day 23 of 30.

>Favorite Vacation

 Last summer we went to Panama City Beach, FL.

For the first time together, read about it here. 

Being on the beach with her was amazing even if it was cloudy the WHOLE time..

except the morning we left!

>Day 20 of 30.

>Nicknames

Well our most obvious nicknames are Shell (from Shirrell) and Bake (from Baker).. we talked about this here. We have tons of cutesy nicknames for each other such as

• 
  
  Baby


• 
  
  Pookie


• 
  
  Pookie Bear


• 
  
  Pookietins ( thats what I call her :) )


• 
  
  Love


• 
  
  Lovey


• 
  
  Sexy Girl

My nicknames:

• 
  
  Shell


• 
  
  Squirrel


• 
  
  Squi-rell


• 
  
  Brain (from my BFF Pinky :) )

Jess' nicknames:

• 
  
  Jess


• 
  
  Bake


• 
  
  "Big Shot Bake!" Which is from her freshmen year in college when she made the game winning shot at the last second. :)

>Day 3 of 30

>Your First Love (posted by Bake)

This post is about my first love. My first love is Shirrell. Even though I had previous relationships before we met, they were nothing compared to what we have together. From day one I knew she was the one! And I know that sounds cliche, but it is true. Before we even met we had too many uncanny aspects that fit together. It was just meant to be from the beginning. When I am with her nothing else in the world matters, it is just the two of us! We can have a whole conversation without even speaking a word to each other. I have never known a more compasionate caring person in my whole life. She will do anything for the people she loves, and I am so grateful that I am one of those people. Shirrell brings out the best in me and I think that is what love is all about. She loves me because of all my flaws and not despite them. She treats me like a princess, even though I am the "boy"! I love everything about her. Even on the tough days, I couldn't imigine being with anyone else. She is the sun in my sky and I would do anything for her. I wouldn't be the person I am today without her. I love you my Butterfly! Forever and Always.

>Sunday March 6, 2011

>In the 2 & 1/2 years that Jess and I have been together, I have rarely missed a basketball game. Last year, I was lucky enough to have someone to go to almost every single game with. This year, with work, I was only able to go to the home games and a few away games. It was hard for me to miss games, especially since it was her senior year... her last year to play... ever. That being said, I forgot about going to the conference tournament. I guess in my mind I was just thinking about the season being over.. Nevermind the fact they were going to the tournament. I didnt ask off for work, so I miss the first 2 rounds of the tournament. Well needless to say... they won!! Of course they did... why wouldnt they?!? :)

So I'm driving to work on Saturday (the 5th) and she calls to tell me all about the game. Fortunately, I was able to watch both games online.. Thank God! So I did see them.. And she said ...

"I wish you could have been here for this"

And thats when it all clicked.. I wasnt there. I didnt see it in person. All the games I hadnt missed before came down to these last few games and I missed them. WHAT?!?! My mind started reeling uncontrolably. All I could think was I am going to South Carolina tomorrow. I wont miss THAT game. Unfortunately, I was scheduled to close the next day. Dammit. So now I'm carrying on a conversation with Jess about how great she did (only half listening to her haha... sorry baby.) and trying to figure out how I'm gonna pull this off and surprise her. I sent out a mass text message to all my friends, praying someone would go with me. And luckily, someone was available to go!! :)

Next problem.. was work. How the hell was I gonna get out of work?! Only certain people can do what I do.. so it wasnt like they could just call someone in to cover for me. eeeek! So I walked into work and the conversation went like this-

Me: Umm... so I cant work tomorrow... who's working for me?!? :)

In the sweetest voice I could possibly manage.

Of course they knew right then it was about basketball.

And my totally awesome mgr says:

I'll help anyway I can.

                                             Just get the shift covered and I'll approve it.

Now I just had to find someone to work for me... hmmm. At this point I was ready to pay someone to cover my shift. Fortunately, one to many office staff were scheduled, so my amazing team leader worked for me. :)

They love me.

So Jess has no idea... how much begging and pleading and worrying I was doing to make sure I could go. She had no idea I was even trying to come. So Sunday morning I woke up early to get ready and get on the road. I wanted to talk to her but I needed her not to suspect anything because I do NOT get up early ...ever. Our dogs even sleep till noon most days! :) So I told her my allergies were killing me and I couldnt sleep. Worked like a charm. I also knew she would call me before she had to be on the floor to warm-up and I knew that she would be able to tell I was driving.. so I decided to tell her I was going to get me something to eat...and when she called... that little lie also worked like a charm!!

So we get to the game, find her mom, and sit 2 rows behind her. I knew eventually Jess would look up in the crowds for her mom.. so I figured she would see me. NOPE! Not once did she look up.. apparently she only does that when I'm there. She never saw me. Not even during half time.. when she shooting to warm up.. she always makes sure I'm watching her. I assumed she would look for her mom then. NOPE! So I watched the rest of the game.. clapping and yelling.. and sitting on pins and needles when the score got to close. It was super close for a while.. but in the last minute or so they scored like 13 pts. Yay!

So they won the conference championship!! A first in the years Jess had been there... so it was a VERY big deal. And definitely something I was glad I didn't miss. The team gets their trophy & t shirts, and start taking a million pictures. And she still never looked for her mom which means she still didnt see me. lol. Her mom was making her way to the floor to take pics... I watched a few more minutes from my seat and enjoyed seeing her so happy. She was ECSTATIC!! As I was walking down to the floor... she finally saw me!! It was the best picture-perfect moment. She ran across the court to me and wrapped her arms around me and squeezed me so hard!! I was on cloud 9 that she was truly surprised and super happy I was there.

Jess:   Pookie, you came!! I'm so glad you're here... it makes it so much better!!

Me:  Baby I wouldnt have missed this for anything!!

I feel truly blessed that I was able to be there & that my job is so amazing that they always gave me Saturdays off for the games and never gave me a hard time. I mean I'm only part time.. and my schedule gets very limited because of school. But they were always so great about it! Although, now I feel that I owe them my whole spring break. haha. So I will be working A LOT over the next few weeks.

And if you made it this far in the super long and detailed post... then u you deserve some pictures! :)

 Cutting down the net

 Jess and Her Mom

>Valentine's Day 2011

>This morning when Jess woke up these were by her side of the bed...


And while she was in class, I did this to her car..









And when I got home from class, I found this...



I love Valentine's Day!!!
I love you Beautiful! I love our relationship and the life we are building!! I never stop being grateful to have you as my love and my best friend!!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

>Crutches.

>

Jess rolled her ankle last Wednesday during the game.

:(

I put my nursing skills to use while taking care of her.

I successfully managed to help her get in and out of the bathtub

and didnt even drop her.

Ha!

>No Strings Attached for date night.

>

Last night we had date night and celebrated 2 1/2 years together.

Jess got me roses took me out to dinner and a movie.

We saw this-

And we loved it!

It was a tad too raunchy for me, but it was very funny.

Natalie Portman shined in this movie.

The messy hair-carefree attitude is a good look for her.

I love date night with my love.

Whether we get all dressed up or just go bummy in our sweats.

Yes. I am the kinda of girl that can rock the bummy look.

I swear Jess prefers it.

She finds comfy pants and messy hair so damn cute.

She is ALWAYS in her basketball sweats & hoodie.

It has to be a special occassion or a request of mine

for her to wear anything else.

Ha ha.

>2 & 1/2 Years!!

>

We have been together 2 1/2 years today.

Seems like just yesterday we were texting and pretending

we didn't like each other at all.

Ha!

Even though deep down we were so hoping that the other

felt the exact same ;)

Every now & then I miss the old days of

flirting and butterflies.

I miss the "missing her" days

before we moved in together.

But most of days, I'm so thankful of where we are today.

Like being together so long that people actually believe

its real.

I know we all do it.

When someone says they're in a relationship

we all wait to see how long.

Because I guess the amount of time puts substance in that relationship.. lol.. idk.

So when they say "oh 3 months" you're probably secretly thinking

"pffft... lol... ok"

But when someone says

"we've been together for 2 years"

You will probably validate that relationship much, much stronger.

I love that we know where we stand in the relationship

and that this is forever.

"Legal" marriage or not.

We have started planning now for the hoops

we might have to jump through later on.

We know that at some point Jess will "try" to change her last name to mine.

We also know that the courts will want to see "validated" proof

that our commitment is real.

So we have our past leases and all of our bills in both names.

We have a joint checking account

(to which we pay all bills from)

so that the judge can see that we have already

assumed equal responsibilities for each other and each other's debts.

In any legal paperwork we fill out now,

we always list each other FIRST, as the emergency contact person,

& our parents are listed second.

We try to prepare ourselves for as many issues

that could be thrown at us later.

I realize that not everyone supports gay people or same-sex marriage

but we shouldn't have to "prove" our love & commitment

just because we are both women.

But that's another post for another day :)

Happy 2 1/2 years baby..

I love you always.

<3

>Thanksgiving 2010

>

I am thankful for a wonderful family and a loving girlfriend to share

the holidays and everyday with.

We had Thanksgiving with my mom this past Sunday

because she has to work today.

So today, we made our first Thanksgiving just us.

We made a turkey, homemade mashed potatoes,

homemade mac & cheese,

green bean casserole,

and dressing from Publix ;)

We didnt even wanna try to make our on dressing.

We got yummy pecan pie and pumpkin pie for dessert!!

Happy Thankgiving!

>Date Night at the Fair!

>

We went to the Fair tonight and had so much fun.

Although, the older I get, the more the rides have started making me sick!

I used to ride all the spinning rides over and over and over again.

But now, I have to ride them in moderation

and hope I dont feel sick!

After we rode the Tornado (my fav!) I was sooooo sick...

and had a headache.

Im already extremely nervous about the rides and only ride a select few,

it sucks that now Im even more limited!

Jess loves all the rides and ends up riding most of them alone.

Thank God she doesnt mind.

We did get to eat greasy fair food which is always fun ;)

Fried Pickles, Caramel Apples and Cotton Candy!!

Yummm!

>Happy Birthday Baby!! (9-8-10)

>Yesterday was Jess' 22nd birthday!! I had to work most the day yesterday but we did go out to eat last night. Random story while I was working though: This elderly lady came through my line with a cake for her husband that read "Bake Happy 85th Birthday!!" How awesome is that.. a man also called Bake was celebrating his 85th birthday the same day my Bake was celebrating her 22nd. :) Tooo Cute!!

I hope she had the best birthday ever even though we didnt do much as I was working and she was exhausted from basketball. :)

I love you more than anything else in this world!!

>After the Beach. New Place. New Job.

>We loved the beach. Although it was cloudy most the weekend, we loved being on the beach for the first time together. We played in the ocean a little bit but mostly swam in the pool because the waves were too rough. We had airbrushed tshirts made that say Shell & Bake! And we had the dogs shirts made too!! The night we got back home, my car was broke into :( my portable dvd player & mp3 player was stolen. They didnt take my gps though... thank God for that. And our front door lock was broke. The landlord said he wouold try to get to it in the next week. Plus, the floor boards in the bedroom has been coming straight up in the bedroom... so needless to say.. we moved out. We were terrified to stay in that house and Jess hating leaving me there alone. We decided that sleeping with a baseball bat next to our bed was not worth $600/month. So we moved. And I LOVE THE NEW PLACE AND FEEL SAFE NOW!!!

I started working this week. Feels almost just like it did 2 years ago when I quit. I hate being the new girl though.. people just stare at me. Uh yes im new. thanks for staring. :) Best thing is Im starting back in the customer service position I left in.... pays good too!! :) I hate being away from Jess though. Our schedules are clashing and were missing each other. Guess thats real life... weve been spoiled for 2 years almost always being together.

Its Tuesday.. And our Tuesdays suck.

Missing my love.

>BEACH - Here We Come!!

>Today, we are going on our first vacation to the beach together. I havent been to the beach in 3 years, and Jess hasnt been in 4. Were super excited, and cant wait to do the clique things like walk on the beach at night, get airbrushed tshirts, and write our names in the sand. <3 it! So so so so excited.

Unfortunately, our babies are at grandmas this weekend. I couldnt find a single hotel that would allow our tiny 5 lbs dogs. >=/ Not even with a deposit. So last night, we drove all the way home to my moms at almost 10pm. I miss them something crazy, but I know theyre in good hands. i hate the quiet of the house without little pitter-patter of 8 tiny feet on the floors.

Destination: Beach
ETA: 8 pm
=)

>Valentine's Day at Hilton Head Island, SC

>

Jessica surprised me and took me away to Hilton Head. She planned everything and we left shortly after her basketball game on Saturday. We arrived at the gorgeous Crowne Plaza Resort on Hilton Head Island and omg.. it was perfect. She booked the Ocean Sunrise view room, the view was amazing. She also planned breakfast at the hotel :) My favorite meal is always BREAKFAST. Although, on the ride down it was quite obvious that I was coming down with her cold/pneumonia from last week. (Hopefully I'll just have the cold part!)Anyways, I had a massive headache and was barely hungry. =/ I still hate that I didnt eat much! lol .... But I was determined to have a good day and we did!! We ventured around the town, shopping and taking tons of pictures. We went to the Harbor Town Lighthouse. I think there was 144 steps and my legs HURT nooow. But it was worth it. We decided to skip having a fancy dinner and just shop, so we ate a our favorite burger place "Five Gu.ys" YUMMO!! Nothing made me feel more married to her than being on a romantic night away and us missing our furbaby more than anything. lol Oh! and the looks on the peoples faces at the hotel when they seen us coming/leaving was priceless!

HAHA... While we were shopping the guy employee was offering to help us all through the shoe store. Asking if we found everything ok and making small talk with Jess about where we were from, when I wandered away to look at more shoes ;) To keep us from waiting in line, guy of course opens up his register for us. Poor guy started asking a million questions like what brought us to Hilton Head, where we stayed, what all we had seen in the town... and then.. as if he mustarded up all the courage he could, he said "Im not wrong to assume yall are a couple right?" Yes, Yes we are.
He especially loved when I gave a card to pay, as he asked for I.D, Jess had to show hers. Because Yes I have a card with her name on it... He said "well guess u can sign, I'm sure youre used to signing for her card =)" Yes Sparky I am. :D