lovelettertypewriter.

For Christmas, Jon made me this website to host my blog, so from now on, I'll be posting most of my entries over there.  I might still post on here now and then, and I'll definitly keep reading and commenting on you guys' blogs, so fear not, friends.  Peace out.

This guy is going to be my husband (!!!!):


We got engaged in Florida on Saturday night at the beach:


We went for a walk and found this little private lookout deck and that's where he did it:


Here I am immediatly afterwards:







I wish you could put your ear up to my heart
and hear how much I love you.
I still dream of December,
dancing together with rings on our fingers
and two shall become one.

As I was walking back from a meeting last night, my favorite umbrella -- the yellow cat one, broke.  And so did my heart.  So I've been trying to find it online with no luck.  The closest thing to it is this pink cat one (which is not nearly as cute as my yellow one):



But I kind of like these:






but not this one (eek!):

December is ending nicely.

I had one of the best Christmases I can remember and it wasn't anything in particular but just getting to enjoy it with the people I wanted to. Not being in the state of missing anyone.

Four days from now is New Years.
A week from today, I start my second to last quarter at Otterbein.
In a week and two days, I will be in a Florida bound plane with my future-pilot boyfriend.
And in a week and three days, I will be at a wedding (and wearing a new dress).
And who knows after that.

For Christmas, my brother made me my very own website and I'll post the address to it in a few days after a couple of things get worked out.

... up here in the city
it feels like things are closing in
the sunset's just my light bulb burning out...

In one of my last writing classes of the quarter, Dr. Hermsen read us a lovely poem and I can't remember the title or the poet, but I do remember these two lines:

From now on I want to live only by grace,
in other words, not to deserve things.

It's simple, but it struck me so much and I wrote it down in my planner to look at now and then. I really believe I heard those lines for a reason because my biggest lesson over the last few weeks has been that very thing. That I'm not owed anything, but everything I have is just an incredible gift that I don't deserve.

Tommorow my parents and I are driving to Indianapolis to visit my brother, Jon and his girlfriend, Heather. I've never been to that city, but I've heard a lot about it. It should be a weekend of kittens and Le Peep and I'm not sure what else, but I'm counting on those two things.

Yes, and on the way back, on Sunday, I am getting dropped off in Columbus so I can spend a day and a part of another with my Funnel. And that has kept me smiling all week.

The Tigers lost to Xavier for the state championship... it was 23 to 17. After going to the game, I have to admit, I have a little warm spot in my heart for Massillon football and the people here. It might be ridiculous, but it's also slightly endearing. I even maybe got a little emotional at the end of the game when we lost but the fans were doing their little "We are Massillon!" chant. Maybe.

Winter break isn't turning out quite like I expected....
My senior writing project was going to be the focus of my break, but I definitly haven't even tried to write anything yet.  I need to get on that.  The last couple of weeks have been spent trying to beat Mario Kart Double Dash and playing guitar. 
(( I have so much Chirstmas shopping to do too!!))
My dad got me a pass to the Massillon rec center, so I can start working out and  I just found out that it has a pool house with a lazy river!!!  Those things are amazing... it was always my favorite thing when we went to Soak City at Cedar Point (I'm pretty sure it's called something else now.) I'm totally going to be over there... a lot. 
And Funnel got a really good but really busy job for break, so we won't really get to see each other. I think New Years weekend is the next definite time we will get to be together, but I'm pretty sure we'll work something else out... I think I'll probably drive down to Columbus before then, even if we can only hang out for a couple of hours. At least it's only for four weeks and it'll really make me appreciate the time we do get to spend together.   (When I sing that "all I want for Christmas is you" song, I really, really mean it.)

My mom is working on some sort of project with all of our old Christmas photos, so she's having me scan them into the computer for her.   I think these are kind of cute:




I wish I had those boots in the first one.

This is what I'd look like with black hair:

I went to the Unwed Sailor show last night at Kenyon College. 
Most of these photos taken by the lovely Funnel and Lauren .












Is it true that your brain makes a wrinkle when you learn something new or experience something for the first time?  Someone told me that when I was little.  Lately I've been learning so much.  The kinds of things I don't know how to explain to other people.  Feeling-type things.

This Saturday is the high school football championship and Massillon is in it, against Cincinnati Xavier.  The people here are crazy... have I mentioned that before?  (for example we have a live tiger that they wheel around in a cage during the games while people from PETA protest outside the stadium and there are other things of that nature.)  Anyway, people have been camping out since Sunday for tickets to the game.  Haha... and I have a ticket (not from camping out, but because of my sweet Massillon connections).  I'm kind of tempted to scalp it.  Hmmm.

:: EDIT :: Thanks to Ann, I found this website for "Go Tigers!" a documentary about Massillon Football. You should watch the trailer (which you can get to by clicking on "Previews" and then, "video" ) It is exactly what Massillon is like. Oh, and I realized my cousin's ex-fiance is in the movie.

It was so so cold today and it started snowing tonight as I was coming out of Chipotle. During the summer, I get so nostalgic for winter, wanting to wear sweaters and hoodies and go for walks in the snow, but when it actually comes around, it's not nearly as nice as I remember and then I wish I was in Georgia or somewhere. I think it's the same with summer. I spent most of this past summer inside, playing video games and reading, instead of biking and laying out and golfing with my dad like I thought I would. I don't know what my deal is.

A week from tommorow, I will be home for about six weeks and get to spend time with these wonderful people:





I think it's interesting how two people can be best friends, yet there's so much that they don't know about each other. And maybe it's easy for all of us to forget about the depth of another person, because we get comfortable in a routine,a rythym and maybe we forget about what sparked us in the first place. But deep down, we all want to be figured out, right? We want somebody to look at us and say, you’re amazing and I need to know your story. All of it.

I need to know your story, all of it.

"If there's any kind of magic in this world, it must be in the attempt of unerstanding someone, sharing something. I know it's almost impossible to succeed, but who cares really? The answer must be in the attempt." -- Before Sunrise.