3 small steps for mankind...

3 small victories of the week:

1. I had an interview for a very good job yesterday, and although I'm not available as much as they'd like, I may be able to petition my way out of the 2 summer school classes I need to graduate.
2. I just received $1323 in financial aid to cover the cost of tuition although they originally said I couldn't use it if I wasn't full-time.
3. I just found my deodorant that went missing yesterday... yesssssssss.

NUMA NUMA.

Gabby, James, and I have spent the last 15 minutes running around the house and dancing like this guy.

Ohhhhh man, I see this making an appearance at the wedding reception...

Exams, exams

Ok, so I'm definitely supposed to be studying right now. I've been home alone since 4:30 this afternoon, and what have I done? I took a nap from 5-6, ate dinner at 7, played on the computer every spare moment I thought about something I just "had to look up," and then started "studying" again. It's so hard to get motivated! Tomorrow is my 2nd exam, and I am just not feeling microbiology right now. I made notecards about 2 weeks ago over maybe half of the material and still haven't even read through them all once yet because I've been going so slow. No need to even mention the amount I've not committed to memory yet... I did the math and found that I only need a 76% to keep an A and that seems to be prohibiting me from focusing on what I need to do. I'm only going to have 1 more exam to study for after micro and then I'll be free (for 3 weeks that is). Summer school in June will be my last 2 courses of my college career, so I'm way too pumped about never having to study again. Haha. Anyways, I have to go back to learning what staphylococcus aureus is all about... Good night!

All about Dorkface... I mean, Holly

Yes, to combat the evil done by my roommate, I shall retaliate. Muahaha.

Too much information about Holly Louise Ritchhart:

• Holly was born on September 20th, 1985 in Memphis, TN at St. Joseph's Hospital. She, unlike a guy we met freshman year named Cooter, was not the 2nd largest baby born there and did not come out holding a sandwich or having a deal to be the next linebacker for the 49ers.
• Holly is an only child... which should explain the rest of the weird things below.
• Holly had a gap the size of the Grand Canyon between her front teeth until she got braces in 10th grade.
• Holly is just like her mother. 'Nuff said.
• Holly likes to watch my FEMALE dog hump her leg until my mom proceeds to yell at her for doing so.
• Holly enjoys potty humor so much that she recently received the "Potty Training Award" at the last Bible study get together.
• Holly once made a video of her being an evil camera-woman crushing the invading ants on her kitchen counter.
• Holly once made a Wheel of Fortune video, and she gave herself a black unibrow and facial hair with black eyeliner. It looked nothing like Pat Sajak. I don't believe there was any form of a wheel either.
• Holly was obsessed with Britney Spears for several years (I'd say from 10th grade until last year) and commonly referred to her as "Britney" and "Brit." (They were so close they were on a first name basis...)
• Holly often found various people who had screennames and blogs calling themselves famous people and became their "friends." "Britney" often e-mailed her.
• Holly has (unless it's been removed) a larger-than-life head of Justin Timberlake taped near a mirror in her room that has a homemade quote bubble stating: "Oh, Holly-- you're so fine. Will you go out with me?"
• Holly laughs at inappropriate things, like the word "duty" during Care Group.
• Holly is attempting to become less crude.
• Holly does not use soap in the shower. She thinks shampoo and conditioner do enough cleansing.
• Holly apparently has a very keen sense of smell since she can detect even the smallest amount of sulfur dispensed in the air.
• Holly is afraid of children. Not deathly, just of holding them or having to be around them for more than 10 minutes without their parents there.
• Holly once freaked out that a spider the size of a piece of sand was repelling down into an open window and proceeded to jump into my side of the car while I was driving. I had to remove the spider from the vehicle as she crawled into the back seat.
• Holly is going to be a super senior, but hopefully not a super-duper senior.
• Holly plans out elaborate stories to repeat and begins retelling them immediately after they happen to make sure to include every word spoken and every weird detail. Sometimes they're rather hilarious.
• Holly cannot do laundry until her 55 gallon-sized laundry basket is completely full and the clothes are overflowing onto the floor.
• Holly has more shoes than normal people have hairs on their head.
• Holly is only person that really gets my sense of humor.
• Holly laughs at everything except planned jokes.
• Holly can only play Dance Dance Revolution by bouncing on her toes or snapping her fingers like it's show choir.
• Holly likes coffee... a little too much.
• Holly cannot impersonate Kermit the Frog. Ask her to try to say something besides "Kermit the Frog here."
• Holly likes to brush her teeth 4-5 times a day.
• Holly hates to drink water.
• Holly recently began eating fruit and vegetables. Maybe water will be next.
• Holly spends 2+ hours a day on her phone.
• Holly spends 2+ hours a day looking at profiles on facebook and all of their pictures, their friends pictures, and your mom's pictures.
• Holly likes really ugly or weird furniture.
• Holly's room is decked in leopard spots. (See above)
• Holly can handle my extremely mean humor.

I think that's a good note to end on although there's a lot more I could elaborate on. Enjoy!

All about Gabby, Part One

Well kiddies, after reading Squatty's post about his unique traits (which was totally spurred on by a conversation he and I had the night before regarding his taste in music), I decided to dedicate this post to my BFFFLBNOEWHM (best friend for flippin' life because no one else will have me).


Gabby, this one's for you.




Interesting Things About Gabrielle Marrissa Wells

• Gabby was born in Moberly, MO on September 24, 1985.
• Gabby severely dislikes most pictures I take of her.
• Gabby worked as a vet clinic tech for a summer and had to clean up animal poop all the time.
• Gabby really enjoys toilet humor.
• When I would get grounded in high school, Gabby was the only person I was still allowed to play with.
• Gabby does not like being poked in the armpit.
• Gabby is really ticklish.
• Gabby and I have only hugged once in our 7+ years of friendship. We pretty much don't ever touch, unless it's to punch one another.
• Gabby and her fiancé James are ridiculously cute together.
• Gabby takes amazing pictures of flowers.
• When Gabby gets woken up or is extremely tired, she tends to talk like Napoleon Dynamite. For instance, a few months ago I knocked on her door and woke her up. When she opened the door I said, "Oh, were you asleep?" and she replied (a-la Nappy Dyno) "YES, what did you THINK?"
• Most of the time, Gabby laughs silently. You can only tell she's laughing by her body's convulsions.
• Gabby did not play an April Fool's Day prank on me this year, much to my suprise.
• Gabby has lived within walking distance of me ever since I have known her.
• Gabby has grown INSANE amounts in her Christian walk over the past few years (praise God!).
• Sometimes Gabby drinks coffee, but she mostly hates the stuff with a burning passion.
• Once, Gabby accidently washed her face with nail polish remover.
• Gabby can play Dance Dance Revolution like it's going out of style.
• Gabby forgets to put on deodorant... often.
• Gabby is going to graduate college with honors.
• Gabby's brain shuts off in mid-sentence sometimes.
• Gabby has started to gain a shoe fetish... I think she's got about 30 pairs now.
• One time Gabby sang a complete song in her sleep. The scary part was it was actually really good...
• Gabby really enjoys buying rip-off brands instead of name-brand items... like Dr. Thunder instead of Dr. Pepper, and Kroger Zips instead of Ritz. She's even bought generic Kool-Aid packets. I mean, really, how much money does that save you, like 3 cents?
• Gabby is one of the worst drivers I know.
• Gabby is ÜBER artistic. She can paint, draw, and photoshop things like none other. I bet when she was littler, she was the only kid in her class to color inside the lines.
• Gabby is pretty clumsy. She trips and falls off things quite a bit. Last week she completely ate it while getting off the couch.

I hope you all enjoyed this tribute to my homegirl. I know that after reading this she is going to make a post to get revenge, so check back soon.

Calling all tp rolls!

I'm working on a project and need to collect about 200 empty toilet paper or empty paper towel rolls (paper towel rolls= 2 t.p. rolls, so it'll save energy if they come in that form). I currently have 25, so I'm quite lacking. I've got 2 months, though. Anyone with lots of roomies or a toilet paper fetish willing to help collect some for me?

I think this is a better picture...

Countdown!

I just realized today that we only have 9 days until the end of classes and only 102 days till the wedding! Hooray! The last two weeks of class are a breeze for me (for once!) since all of my teachers are on schedules with 2 exams during the semester and 1 final. It's awesome. Plus one of my classes is art-- so I just have to do 3 paintings for our final project-- and one class is conditioning. It's a blessing to finally have an easy semester (now that it's my last full one!). I've got 2 economics classes in June and then I'll be done with college on July 7th! I guess the thought of "you have to go into the real world" isn't so daunting since I'll be married 22 days later and will busy out of my mind for those few weeks, but I think it'll be much better than classes. I'm going to hunt for jobs some more and study for the upcoming exams now. Wish me luck...

This is whom I live with...

That's right.... the crazy one in the back.

P.S. CCK's new website is SWEEEEEEEET.

YAY FOR SCHOOL.

I have a lot coming up in the next three weeks... papers, exams, art projects, and finals. So, if you would be ever so kind to keep me in your prayers, it would be greatly appreciated.

New game plan, folks...

As some of you may know, James and I had been making plans to live out in Oak Ridge at his uncle's place for probably minimal rent, so house shopping had been put on hold for an indefinite length of time. Wellll, James called this morning and said that the 84 Lumber in Oak Ridge is being shut down (stuff is being pulled off the shelves as I write this) along with the one on Clinton Hwy and 60 other stores around the nation. They said it was to consolidate based on last year's earnings, which were very poor with the old management in Oak Ridge but getting better this year with all new employees. Anyways, the only options for outside sales (which is what he'll finally be doing at a new store, I think) are in Sevierville and Madisonville. So it looks like North Knoxville is a better option for house hunting since it's 35 minutes to Sevierville from here and probably an hour and a half from Oliver Springs where we could stay for nearly free. God has a funny way of changing our plans. I was kind of excited to hear the news, and so was James. I guess I'll be looking for jobs more in downtown and North Knoxville rather than far west now, although I haven't really had any good leads yet. We shall see....

Everytime I go to WalMart, something weird happens.

I'm in WallyWorld today at around 11:30am. At this time of day, only really old people are there. I mean, really, it's basically a scientific fact. So, I'm walking down the main aisle, just minding my own business, when out of nowhere this older man comes zooming around the corner and almost runs into me. I smile and move out of his way and keep walking, but then I notice that he has stopped next to me and is talking. I am like, what the crap. So after he gets done mumbling, I look at him and say, "I'm sorry, but what did you just say?".... and he replies with the best sentence a 75-year-old man could have ever said:

"Well, I've been trying to hit someone all day, but I just haven't had any luck."

I laughed really hard, and then he looked at me once my laughter had died down and said, "You're a pretty girl. Have a good day," and walked off.

Only at WalMart, folks. Only at WalMart.

A tale of two rebates...

I decided I finally needed to buy CD-Rs today due to my new responsibility to photography team (and all of the cds I've been rampantly stealing from Holly), so I hunted around Office Depot where nothing looked cheap enough until suddenly--

Gleaming from behind a wall of thin glass-- kept pure from the world by a cheap copper lock-- stood a glorious sale! Yes, twas a 512 MB memory card for only $19.99! Who can resist such grace, such allure, such... cheapness?! Not I, I spake to myself. Alas, I was taken with its charm and decided I must purchase it and deliver it from imprisonment behind locked doors! I bartered my piece of ye olde plastic(e) for the beautiful card and flittered away with my two rebates in hand. Twas a merry time for me! Then, after driving my trusty steed and arriving at my castle, I discovered a quandry-- how doth one send one original UPC to two places? The problem vexed me, and after a near fortnight on the phone with the lords of Office Depot, I was promised to receive $10 cash upon returning to the shoppe. Huzzah!

She takes a bite... chews it once... twice...

Today's verse is the following:

21 And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, 22 he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him, 23 if indeed you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed in all creation [1] under heaven, and of which I, Paul, became a minister.

I think this is a good one to use to preach the Gospel to yourself. VQ has made me so aware of my inadequacy as a witness. I wanted to share the gospel with my conditioning instructor this morning, but I kinda made small talk about Florida instead after mentioning what VFC was. Plus he started going too fast for me to keep up with him and converse! Anyways, I have to go to repro.... pray for my animal ethics project that needs to be 15 minutes long and given tomorrow afternoon! I feel so unprepared even after looking up everything I possibly could on my topic! (It's bullfighting by the way) Peace.

VQ was awesome.

Something isn't displaying right with the blog.... but dawg, VQ was awesome. More to come later...

Decisions, decisions

I'm sure you're expecting glorious news that all my decisions have been made, and I'll stop talking about wedding planning-- BUT the reception site is still a mystery. I visited Rothchild, and it was nice, but I'm trying to find another place that is available to compare it to. Currently, every hotel (well, about the 15 that I've contacted) is either booked or not big enough to hold a large gathering. Boooo. The idea of an outside carnival is looking good right about now. I don't think people would enjoy July weather with formal wear on, so I'm trying to avoid outside sites as much as possible.

This morning I got on the idea of worship music for the ceremony because Casey was kind enough to provide an outline of how much music to include, and I heard a good song ("Beautiful" by Shawn McDonald) on Squatty's blog. This is a very difficult process for someone who loves modernized hymns to no end! I'm currently trying to find a copy of "O Love That Will Not Let Me Go" because I heard a Derek Webb & Sandra McCracken (I'm assuming it was her voice) version that's updated, but it's not anywhere for purchase online! I read the history of the hymn on the RUF music site and it seemed wayyy too pertinent to a wedding. Check it out:

History of Hymn

“O Love That Will Not Let Me Go” written on the evening of Matheson’s sister’s marriage. His whole family had went to the wedding and had left him alone. And he writes of something which had happened to him that caused immense mental anguish. There is a story of how years before, he had been engaged until his fiancé learned that he was going blind, and there was nothing the doctors could do, and she told him that she could not go through life with a blind man. He went blind while studying for the ministry, and his sister had been the one who had taken care of him all these years, but now she is gone. He had been a brilliant student, some say that if he hadn’t went blind he could have been the leader of the church of Scotland in his day. He had written a learned work on German theology and then wrote “The Growth of The Spirit of Christianity.” Louis Benson says this was a brilliant book but with some major mistakes in it. When some critics pointed out the mistakes and charged him with being an inaccurate student he was heartbroken. One of his friends wrote, “When he saw that for the purposes of scholarship his blindness was a fatal hindrance, he withdrew from the field – not without pangs, but finally.” So he turned to the pastoral ministry, and the Lord has richly blessed him, finally bringing him to a church where he regularly preached to over 1500 people each week. But he was only able to do this because of the care of his sister and now she was married and gone. Who will care for him, a blind man? Not only that, but his sister’s marriage brought fresh reminder of his own heartbreak, over his fiancé’s refusal to “go through life with a blind man.” It is the midst of this circumstance and intense sadness that the Lord gives him this hymn – written he says in 5 minutes! Looking back over his life, he once wrote that his was “an obstructed life, a circumscribed life… but a life of quenchless hopefulness, a life which has beaten persistently against the cage of circumstance, and which even at the time of abandoned work has said not “Good night” but “Good morning.” How could he maintain quenchless hopefulness in the midst of such circumstances and trials? His hymn gives us a clue. “I trace the rainbow in the rain, and feel the promise is not vain” The rainbow image is not for him “If the Lord gives you lemons make lemonade” but a picture of the Lord’s commitment! It is a picture of the battle bow that appears when the skies are darkening and threaten to open up and flood the world again in judgment. But then we see that the battle bow is turned not towards us – but toward the Lord Himself!

Any favorite hymns out there? "O Worship the King" is ranking up there, but I don't think a small band can rock out like Sunday morning worship can. Haha. I finally understand Chris Tomlin's version of the chorus after seeing the real words to the hymn:

O Worship the King

1. O worship the King,
all glorious above,
And gratefully sing
His power and His love;
Our Shield and Defender,
the Ancient of Days,
Pavilioned in splendor,
and girded with praise.

2. O tell of His might,
O sing of His grace,
Whose robe is the light,
Whose canopy space,
Whose chariots of wrath
the deep thunderclouds form,
And dark is His path
on the wings of the storm.

3. Thy bountiful care,
what tongue can recite?
It breathes in the air,
it shines in the light;
It streams from the hills,
it descends to the plain,
And sweetly distills
in the dew and the rain.

4. Frail children of dust,
and feeble as frail,
In Thee do we trust,
nor find Thee to fail;
Thy mercies how tender,
how firm to the end,
Our Maker, Defender,
Redeemer, and Friend.

Different, isn't it? Well, I'm going to get back to my animal ethics project (I'm doing it on the ethics of bull-fighting. Woot). ONE DAY UNTIL VISION QUEST! WOOOOOOO! Maybe I should be packing...?

The Internet is full of amazing little treats...

April Fools day is fast approaching. I say this because Gabby and I have been in a war over our college years, each one trying to out-do the other when the holiday rolls around. Our freshman year, I began the competition with a flawless prank. I told our suitemate that I would be putting Icy Hot on the toilet seat, so to make sure she didn't forget. When I got back from class that afternoon, I was informed that Gabby's posterior had been tingling for nearly 30 minutes. A simple prank indeed, and it was glorious.

Sophomore year was Gabby's year to take the cake. I came back from a day spent at the Car Show to find my ENTIRE desk covered in Saran Wrap. Not just the big things, but every pencil, every envelope, every piece of paper... everything. Then I noticed the larger-than-life-size picture of me looking portly and making a hideous face (darn those blackmail pictures) hanging in our dorm window which faced the main parking lot. Above that was hanging my underwear, followed by a sign that read "THIS IS MY ROOMMATE'S UNDERWEAR." And, last but not least, when I opened the freezer, all of my other (aka icy) undergarments were found.

So, now it's our junior year. It's the last April Fool's I will have with Gabby as my roommate. What to do, what to do...

Any suggestions? Email them to me.

Who needs a reception anyways?....

I suppose you're all used to seeing every post from me now infiltrated with wedding planning. It's not consuming all my spare time... maybe closer to the day it will eat away at sleep.

Yesterday, in a procrasting fashion, I hunted for reception sites instead of studying for my test today. God was faithful, though, and I think I did well despite having to throw a few answers to the wind because my mind was a pile of mush after waking up at 4 a.m., napping from 4:30-5:10, and studying through one class, playing kickball in conditioning class, and the test at 10:00. Yay for cramming! Anyways, I think I looked up every hotel/convention center/community center (I looked at a community center for the deaf and decided Holly would get too much of a kick out of that...) in Knoxville and still have not found anything suitable for what I'm looking for. I'm trying to find somewhere close to the church, but the only areas with big banquet halls are Downtown near UT (*duh*) so it's proving to be a struggle to find adequate space and price for 100+ guests. Anywho, I'm hearing back speedily from some hotels and taking down pricing for each. Rothchild Conference Center and Catering e-mailed me back with meals around $17-$30/person with no room rental fee, more $ for the dance floor, and most of the decorating already included. I'm guessing about 125 guests will attend, so the cheapest meal choice + service charge + tax would be about $3,000. I don't know if that's reasonable or not, so some of you who've been through this will have to inform me! All we would need to add would be some centerpieces and embellishments to the stuff they'll provide as well as a cake (since theirs is $3/slice!). I'm aiming to not make my parents broke, and this seems like a good choice right now. I'll probably do most of the work myself (or with assistant posse in tow) instead of hiring for every service needed... unless I need a moonbounce. How cool would that be?!

Thanks to those of you who have offered referrals for wedding services already! I'm looking for crafty ideas for gifts and décor as well. 2 hours in AC Moore reading all of their $20 wedding books (no one told me 'This isn't a library!' so I took advantage of it :) ) didn't produce enough ideas that I liked.

Mmkay, back to house cleaning and sorting through my messy room!

I look like I have one squinty eye in my picture...

Some especially applicable scripture for my week:


James 1:2-4, 14 "Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. . . Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him."


1 John 3:18-24 "Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth. By this we shall know that we are of the truth and reassure our heart before him; for whenever our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and he knows everything. Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence before God; and whatever we ask we receive from him, because we keep his commandments and do what pleases him. And this is his commandment, that we believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ and love one another, just as he has commanded us. Whoever keeps his commandments abides in him, and he in them. And by this we know that he abides in us, by the Spirit whom he has given us." (emphasis mine)

Oh how I long to get back into the swing of things...

The wedding update!

So Holly and I went dress shopping today and found some mad deals. We went to Wedding Wonderland and hung out with this sweet little lady named Margaret who probably thought we were insane. She was really fun and didn't act like we were poor or anything, showing me the $3,300 dresses. Haha. In the end, I went back to my first love-- the one and only one that I tried on at Budget Bridal by Connie. The first time I went with my mom, so I wanted to have Holly's opinion on it. Connie also gave me the world's tiniest slip/girdle last time-- she called it the 'sucker upper.' It was so tight I could hardly pull it off! Anyways, today's trip was less traumatic b/c I got wear a normal slip and try on the dress one more time. I decided I was sold, and I got to take it home with me today (it's great being such an average size because I fit into most of the sample dresses... this only stinks when I go normal clothes shopping because all the mediums are gone)! Woot. I'd leave a link, but I think I'll keep it a secret in case the fiancé decides to take a gander at this blog. Holly picked out a bridesmaid dress that looks pretty sweet. I was aiming for a two-tone green scheme, and this one is more the same green but different material for the bow on the waist and the sash. I like it a lot *Forrest Gump voice*. It's fun taking Holly dress shopping because everything she tries on looks like a muumuu.

Anywho, the current thought is July 29th, 2006 at 5 p.m. at Cornerstone (when I turn in the form to the almighty Event Coordinator, Leslie :-D). We're still debating on reception ideas. My mom doesn't like the idea of a hotel, and the church only allows a first dance... James and I aren't the biggest freak out dancers, but I think other people will enjoy it. The reception will be at night, so I'm sure renting somewhere will be expensive or already booked if we don't jump on it right away. I'm currently working on a guest list, so I don't know what size facility we'll need. I'm open to suggestions.. no, I'm begging for suggestions! I think we'll be staying at a bed & breakfast in Gatlinburg called Berry Springs (check out the incredible views!!) for a couple of nights or even staying in G'burg the whole week hiking, biking, and throwing little kids off rides at Dollyworld. Haha. Again, suggestions for locations? The east coast was a thought, but nothing was really there catering to honeymooners that wasn't off the charts expensive.

So the moral of this story-- leave some comments if you've got some ideas cookin!