What I Learned Planning My Wedding

*Wedding planning is stressful. Men don't understand. When we first started, Aaron thought it would be pretty easy. Near the end, I wondered if he would make it, haha.

*Make a website. Let it keep track of who RSVPs for you. I used theknot.com and it worked great. 

*Beware of family. Your mom will try to take over and make all decisions which only leads to more stress on your part.. at least that's what mine did.
 

*Weddings aren't cheap. Be prepared. 
 

*I believe it is entirely possible to plan a wedding entirely online. I really do.
 

*Pinterest is frustrating. There's just way too many cute ideas. You can't do everything. I tried. 
 

*Download apps from both Hobby Lobby and Michaels. Coupons are your best friend. Sign up for 

emails too. Most of my coupons came from the emails. They can scan coupons on your phone, so 

don't worry about printing. Also remember that Hobby Lobby's website ALWAYS has a weekly "40% off one regular priced item" coupon available. Aaron and I would split up and go in separate lines, using the same coupon.
 

*You will change your mind. A lot. I thought I was going crazy I went back and forth so many times but it's stressful and I told myself that it was normal to flip flop on some things.
 

*I think a theme wedding would be easier to plan for. Maybe. We didn't have a theme and so every cute thing we saw we wanted to use. Having a theme gives you limits.  
 

*Having a few specific wedding colors was hard to plan for. Using a gradient was easier. We started with a light purple, bright blue, light pink, and white. We ordered purple cake napkins with blue letters. Yay. But the more we planned, we realized it was hard to incorporate all the colors (especially when I'm skewed toward purple so much) and it was really hard to find the right shade of purple. So we kinda dropped the other colors and eventually we were just using every shade of purple. The only thing that wasn't purple were the cake napkins we ordered at the beginning.  
 

*Don't procrastinate. 
 

*Create a master schedule. 

*Long engagements are bad. Don't have one. Trust me. Keep it at six to nine months.
 

*Match the flowers to the season. We ended up looking for sping and summer flowers right as they were putting out Christmas decorations and autumn colors. You cannot find purple flowers when places only have red, orange, and yellow.. or poinsettias.
 

*Try holding your bouquet with your dress before the day of your wedding because you may decide it doesn't look good with your dress.. like I did. We made my bouquet and it looked great until I held it in front of my dress.
 

*Fake flowers are easier to deal with. They don't wilt, you can make all the bouquets and everything way before the wedding instead of the morning of, and you can keep them! They last forever. They're also cheaper and can be reused. 
 

*Bridal showers are fun!
 

*Address thank you envelopes for the showers before the actual shower takes place. You'll be ahead of the game. If you can't do this, get them done as fast as possible.
 

*Start planning early. 
 

*Be mindful of your guest list limit. If your venue allows 100 people, invite 90. Plan for 10 extra people coming whether you know it or not. It will happen. People misunderstand your invitation and bring their kids even though they weren't invited. People invite themselves. It's ridiculous. Don't forget to account for the newlyweds, the pastor, people serving food, etc.

*Don't break any bows at showers and save them all! Apparently, you save all the bows off presents and make them into a bouquet that you carry at the rehearsal. If you break one, that's one kid in your future.
 

*There will be family drama.. It's not likely that every single person in your family will be invited so you will more than likely make someone mad or someone will invite themselves. 
 

*You will need a lot of stamps. And thank you cards. Be a thank you note machine.
 

*Once you get to about a month until the wedding you're like "screw this lets just go to the courthouse." We almost went at least five times. Seriously. We also considered eloping.
 

*Three weeks out you start to question if you can go without any sleep and food just to make sure everything gets done. I hardly slept the two months before the wedding.
 

*Fiber is your friend!
 

*Sleep becomes even more obsolete the closer you get to the wedding.
 

*This is the one time where you really need to be careful what you eat because of the dress and then you have all these showers with dessert and cake and dangerous dips! It's kind of ironic. And we celebrated two birthdays!
 

*Expect to forget something. We forgot napkins for the reception and remembered two day before the wedding. I also made a last minute mad dash to hobby lobby on Friday candles. 

*Find a wedding director.
 

*Make a spreadsheet for address and keep it updated and with you at all times (or accessible like on a phone or in an email)

And the one thing I wish I had done? HIRE A FREAKING WEDDING PLANNER. 

Whew!

I graduated May 11. 
I found my wedding dress on May 15 at David's Bridal. ON SALE! Yes!

 In June..
 I read two books that catapulted my life into a shift. I read Proof of Heaven by Eben Alexander, MD first. I discussed this book in the post "Reading for Fun."  Then I read Heaven is for Real by Todd Burpo. It's a similar plot but instead of a brilliant adult doctor that visits heaven, it's a small child. I enjoyed this book more, reading about Jesus and heaven from the eyes of a toddler. Great book. Then I read Outwitting the Devil by Napoleon Hill, another great book!

I also took the GRE in June. 
I turned 22, which called for a trip to IHOP, of course,
so I could have pancakes at midnight, 'cause I'm feeling 22. Aaron got a job!!
We took a Dave Ramsey "Financial Peace University" class and it was great!

Wedding planning was in full swing in July and my two classes started. 
In August, I got allergy testing.. I'm allergic to EVERYTHING!!!!

Then the allergy shots started.. my allergies were so bad, I had to "rush" the shots. The first week I got 12 shots in one day. The next two weeks, I got 20 each week, in one day. I would sit at the allergy doctor from 8:30am until 2pm. Fun stuff. Itchy. 

We got an apartment! Aaron moved in before he wedding and I moved in after.

Berry had their first EVER football game on September 7 and I was there!

 

We started our own Amway business and went to a huge business conference in Kentucky in September. I don't even have words.. We got a book signed by John Maxwell and met Terri Savelle Foy (she signed a book too but we actually met her). It was a great experience and we feel we are
 in the right place. So much, that I dropped my classes.

I don't want to be a PA anymore. 

I went to my first ever Mountain Day as a Berry alumni! Yahoo!

I got married :)

GRE

In early June, I registered to take the GRE on July 25 because I had to take it before August 1st to meet the November 15th deadline. At that point, I knew it covered vocab and math that I hadn't seen since high school. The only math I took at Berry was basic statistics. The first weekend after I signed up I took a diagnostic practice test that accompanied a Kaplan GRE book (along with four full practice full tests) I got from Amazon for like $30.   

The minimum score I need for PA school is 290. Each section can be scored 130 to 170 for a lowest possible of 260 and a highest possible of 340, with 300 being right in the middle. To make the cut, I needed at least 145 in both sections.  

When I took the diagnostic around June 15, I realized just how rusty I was on algebra, but I loved math in high school so I knew it would only take some easy review. The verbal section made my vocabulary feel very small. But it turned out good and I was very happy with the results. I got a 149 on the math and 146 in verbal for a total of 295. This was soooooooo much better than the feeling I had after that first practice MCAT  I took. MY FIRST GRE EVER AND I WAS ABOVE THE SCORE I NEEDED!!

After the diagnostic, I made a study plan to work through  my Kaplan GRE book. Along with my anatomy class and shadowing, my schedule was crazy.I had a practice test scheduled for every weekend and I barely had any free "me" time during the day. The study plan was the ideal scenario though. It didn't even last two days... 

The next practice test was on June 23. I skipped the writing section. My math score stayed the same but the verbal went up SIX points to a 152, for a total of 301! This was really the only practice test I took. I got busy/made excuses until pretty much the week before. At that point, I started reviewing the small deck of flashcards I made with math formulas and such and answering practice questions in my Kaplan book.

I took the real GRE on July 25 and was a bit nervous. The security was similar to the MCAT but it didn't feel as tense or scary. I started around 1:15pm (early - my scheduled time was 1:30pm) and finished at 5:15pm. The hardest part, by far, was the form I had to fill out before they let me go into the testing room - I had to copy a paragraph in CURSIVE! Once I sat down at my computer, I realized they had entered in my name wrong and they had to correct it. 
Anyways, I felt very confident in my two essays. 

The first verbal section had several words I didn't know but I did my 
best to make good guesses and pick up on context clues. 

The first math section was really hard!! I kept skipping questions to come back to at the end,  but when I got to the end, I only had maybe 10 minutes left and like 12 questions that I had skipped!!! I was panicking. I still didn't have time to work most of them out. They were legitimately hard  questions (harder than any practice questions I had worked on) and questions that would take long calculations. I seriously ended that section by guessing 
on about 7 questions at the last minute... yikes. 

I was three sections in and got to take a break next. Halfway done! I walked to the bathroom, prayed, and came back, only using about 4 of my allowed 10 minutes. I needed the break to clear my head and gain control of my nerves. I also remembered that there will be one section that won't count toward my score and I was so hoping that it was that math section I just finished (and felt awful about)! I cleared my head and wasn't going to let that one section affect the rest of the test. I also remembered that the GRE is an adaptive test, meaning if you do well on a section, the next one will be harder (or easier if you did not do well on the previous section). So I must have done very well on the first verbal section because the following math section was very hard.

The next section was a verbal and I felt about the same for that one as well - several words I did  not know but I made my best guesses. It was during this section that I got distracted and noticed that there was a window beside me, to my right, because several airplanes flew over and I heard several sirens. I really had to work to stay focused. 

A math section followed and again was quite hard. The last section.... I knew that one section would not count towards my score. If the last section was math, then one of the (awful) math sections wouldn't count. If it was a verbal, then the awful math section would count towards my score...I clicked "next" and my heart sank. The last section was verbal and both of my math sections would count. I tried not to let it bother me but I was distracted. I didn't finish that section, either. At the end, I had several blank and had to guess. 

I felt nauseous as I waited for my score to pop up. This was one great thing about the GRE, though, instant scores. I waited a month for my MCAT scores. I needed at least 145 in both sections to meet the minimum required score. But I have never had a testing experience like this before. 


So here's my score.. 

math: 151
(UP FIVE POINTS!!!!!)

verbal: 155
(UP THREE POINTS!!!!!)


total: 306 
(FIVE points higher than the practice test and
ELEVEN points higher than the minimum score I needed!!!!!!!)

I knew immediately that I did not take that test by myself.
I had been praying about it and my prayers had been answered!

A few weeks later, I found out that my writing score was a 4 out of 6
(a bit surprising since I felt so confident about them, but that's still good).
This made my overall total 310.

I was on cloud nine on that car ride home.
Mushy brain, tired, but really happy.
And really proud of myself for keeping my nerves under control.
I very easily could have full on panicked. But I did not.

The Lord replied, "My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest."
Exodus 33: 14

Alumni

I'm officially a Berry College alumni now. It feels weird. It still doesn't hasn't sunk in.. 

I thought it would when I ordered my cap and gown or when it was finally delivered.

 But no. 

I thought it would when my classes ended and I was done undergraduate. Nope. 

I thought it would when I picked up my cap and gown and tassel. Nope. 

I thought it would when I took my last final at Berry. Nope. 

I thought it would when I was handed my Alumni Association ID card. Nope. 

I thought it would when I got dressed for the ceremony. Not really. 

I thought it would when I walked across the stage and took my degree. No. 

I thought it would when I moved out of my dorm room. Close. 

I think it finally hit me when I turned in my mailbox amd dorm keys, when I walked out the dorm that I had lived in for three years, and when I drove off campus. 

Sometimes I catch myself saying "Oh yeah! I do have a Bachelor's. I forgot about that." 

 

Class of 2013

Things I Wish I Knew Sooner

Take AP classes in high school.

 I took AP Calculus and AP Biology in high school. I only took the exam for AP Calc at the end of the year and made a 3, which was enough to get me college credit for it. I started college with four little credits, as opposed to zero. I met my friend Mandi the first day of class. It was her first year too but she was technically a sophomore because she took sooooo many AP classes and started college with 15 credits!! I wish I would have known about that. I could have gotten out of English 101 and 102 with a higher grade if I had taken them in high school. I hated calc when I was taking it, but I am so glad I took it. Those four credits have saved my butt almost every semester from various deadlines and requirements, etc. 

College is not scary. 

I love college. I was definitely nervous, especially moving out and living on my own. But, eventually I adjusted and discovered I loved the independent feeling. I was on my own to meet new people and experience the world on my own a little bit. Sure, I was homesick at first and it was convenient that I only lived an hour away, but eventually the homesickness goes away. I started meeting people and loving my classes and it made things easier.  

 Every college class counts. 

 GPA-wise, that is. I am not the type to ..'slack off' in a class, but when I take a class that's not in my major or a core class, I definitely don't try as hard as I could. But it's important to remember that every class counts toward your GPA and any 'slacking off' can hit your GPA hard and haunt you later on.   

Start shadowing early. And do it reguarly.

I should have started shadowing in high school. I should have shadowed every summer during college. I didn't realize how much weight the PA schools (and med school) put on shadowing. For PA school, they look for quantity. For med school, they look for quality over quantity and shadowing on a regular basis. 

Take as many classes as you can handle every single semester.

My first semester I only took 12 hours (the minimum) and then 13 the next. 
I had so much free time but I paid the price later. 

Start studying for the MCAT as soon as you 

decide you want to go to med school.
Avoid cramming the few months before your test date like the black plague. 
You won't do well if you wait and cram. I promise. 

Start drafting your personal statement at least a year 

before you need to submit it. Resumes too.
The first draft will be crappy and will need to be revised. It's that simple. I have had several people read over my personal statement, revising each time and it's still not finished! I'm on the fifth draft of my resume and working on the next one!

Submit your application as early as possible. 
This one is simple: rolling admissions!

Start saving money your freshman year. Even if it's just a little bit.  
This one is a gimme. Any money saved, no matter what your after-graduation plans are, will help. 

Once in a Lifetime

Friday, February 15, 2013, a meteor streaked across the sky above a the remote Ural mountains in Russia. It appeared at about 9:15am and exploded with a flash and loud boom, leaving a trail of smoke in  the sky. Approximately 3,000 buildings were damaged (mainly shattered windows) from the massive shock wave. Over 1,000 people were injured (mainly from flying glass) including over 200 children. The meteor is small and therefore 

hard to track like large asteroids. 

Click here for a video of the meteor.

This is incredibly exciting to me. This kind of thing is truly a once-in-a-lifetime chance.

What's remarkable about this event is that it occurred on the same day as the asteroid 2012 DA14 made a very close flyby, within the orbit of many satellites. 

The Last Straw

You've GOT to be kidding me. 

Not ONLY are we adding football against our founder's wishes, 

but along with it comes several unwanted and disgusting changes.

1. Disrupting Berry's campus to build a stadium.

2. Remodeling Richard's gym to be locker rooms.

3. Renaming Valhalla in Krannert.

4. Ruining the reputation of Berry as a respectable liberal arts college.

5. Changing the attitudes, atmosphere, and community of campus.

6. Bringing in more boys who, without the promise of football, didn't want to be here.

7. Creating a conflict between the dry campus rule and football weekends.

8. Increasing the number of incoming freshmen without enough housing and parking.

And worst of all.. making Morton-Lemley CO-ED.

That is just too much. The last straw. The straw that broke the camel's back.

Berry College is C-R-A-Z-Y if they think they will get ANY donations from me after graduation.

Stood in Awe

Friday, I had parked my car at the Cage and went to class. After class, I was walking to my car and noticed several cars parked near the tree with the eagle nest. This, however, is nothing new. Since it was announced that Berry College is now home to our national, endangered bird, we have A LOT of spectators creeping around campus, hoping to get a glimpse of them. What WAS strange was that there were people standing around outside. With binoculars. And cameras. All the other times, I've seen people watching the nest, they have stayed in their cars. I suppose people came and expected to see the babies, which hatched this past Tuesday (January 29). So, anyways, I was walking to my car and noticed all these people standing around. I looked toward the nest and just stopped. Completely stopped walking and stood in the middle of the parking lot. In complete awe. One of the eagles flew out of the nest, circled around, and then flew away back toward campus. For the first time, I physically saw one of our bald eagles. I FELT SO SPECIAL. The bird was huge. Watching its giant wings move and glide was hypnotic. I think I stood there for at least a whole minute and a half, watching this incredible bird.

Seriously, how many people, can honestly say they have physically seen a BALD EAGLE, our national symbol, an endangered species, that close, in person????? I HAVE.

Never Again

Green tea..

You have probably heard of all the many possible wonderful benefits of drinking green tea. Green tea increases the metabolism. The polyphenol found in green tea works to intensify levels of fat oxidation and the rate at which your body turns food into calories. Green tea apparently helps regulate glucose levels slowing the rise of blood sugar after eating. This can prevent high insulin spikes and resulting fat storage. Scientists think, green tea works on the lining of blood vessels, helping keep them stay relaxed and better able to withstand changes in blood pressure. It may also protect against the formation of clots, which are the primary cause of heart disease. It's also widely thought to kill cancer cells in general without damaging the healthy tissue around them. Green tea reduces bad cholesterol in the blood and improves the ratio of good cholesterol to bad cholesterol. It is said to delay the deterioration caused by Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s. Studies carried out on mice showed that green tea protected brain cells from dying and restored damaged brain cells. Studies suggests that the chemical antioxidant “catechin” in tea can destroy bacteria and viruses that cause throat infections, dental caries and other dental conditions. Regular consumption of green tea is thought to reduce the risk of high blood pressure. Theanine is an amino acid naturally found in tea leaves. It is this substance that is thought to provide a relaxing and tranquilizing effect and be a great benefit to tea drinkers. Tea catechins are strong antibacterial and antiviral agents which make them effective for treating everything from influenza to cancer. In some studies green tea has been shown to inhibit the spread of many diseases. Green tea can apparently also help with wrinkles and the signs of aging, This is because of their antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities. Both animal and human studies have demonstrated that green tea applied topically can reduce sun damage.

When I googled benefits of green tea, this laundry list is what I found. Pretty impressive right? Recently I discovered a recipe from Dr. Oz for a metabolism boosting green tea drink and decided to try it. It called for 8 cups of green tea, 1 sliced tangerine, and some mint leaves. The tea was steeped for five minutes and then the orange slices (couldn't find a tangerine) and mint leaves and stirred. I let it sit overnight in the fridge. When I poured a glass the next morning (Friday) I added one pack of Splenda and some ice. It smelled like orange juice. Without the Splenda, it tastes like odd bland water with a hint of mint at the end. With just one pack of Splenda, the flavor was dramatically changed. The bland water flavor went away, a stronger orange flavor emerged, and obviously, it was sweeter. For maximum result, you're supposed to drink the whole pitcher (8 cups) a day. I could only get down 4 cups on Friday and finished the remaining 4 cups on Saturday. Saturday night, I made more but I decided to make it 4 cups at a time, still using a whole orange. Sunday morning, it had an orange smell that could knock your socks off and now a more orange bland water flavor without Splenda. I still added Splenda. Sunday morning, I had a really bad stomachache but I drank all 4 cups Sunday and made 4 more that night. I drank 4 more cups Monday and 4 cups Tuesday as well. Tuesday night, I had another really bad stomachache, but worse than the one on Sunday. Laying down made it worse so I didn't sleep much or well, for that matter. I haven't had any more and I WILL NOT have any more. On Wednesday, I woke feeling bad. I was achy all over and had a headache. When I tried to eat, the weird pain came back and I just fell awful. I got up at 10 but ended up going BACK to bed at noon because I felt so bad and slept til noon. That helped some but I just did not feel good all day. Tired. Achy. That weird pain. Yuck. I'm assuming the green tea isn't completely out of my system yet and I'm hoping the pain will stop when it's all out. I also had trouble falling asleep because of the caffeine. Thursday I didn't notice any pain but I had a headache.

I wondered if it was possible I had drank TOO much green tea? So what did do? Yep. I googled it. WebMD says drinking more than two cups a day can be harmful. If you are pregnant or breast-feeding, consuming more than this amount has been linked to an increased risk of miscarriage and caffeine can pass through breast milk. Green tea can worsen anxiety, cause sleeping problems, and may contribute to heart problems. Drinking tea can cause kidney stones and can interact with certain medications. Tea reduces the absorption of non-heme iron (contributing to anemia) and vitamin B. It can weaken gums and irritate the lining of the stomach, causing indigestion and diarrhea. Drinking green tea increases pressure inside the eye. Drinking green tea can increase the amount of calcium that is flushed out in the urine. Increased blood calcium can cause osteoporosis.

So yes, drinking green tea in moderation can have some health benefits. But drinking too much can cause serious health problems. Some recommend one cups a day, some five cups, and other say 10 cups are okay in one day. So the verdict is still up in the air on exactly how much green tea is too much green tea. It can also vary from person to person. A person with irritable bowel syndrome shouldn't drink much, if any. A person with diabetes should limit their consumption.

Maybe someone should inform Dr. Oz. He's telling people to drink 8 cups every day! I have never liked Dr. Oz. He seems like a quack to me. This ordeal only confirmed that.

For me, 4 cups a day was way too much. I had consumed two and a half pitchers in five days. That's 160 ounces! That's almost five of the big one liter bottles of soda! No wonder I felt so crappy! I will probably never drink green tea again!

New Beginnings

Happy 2013!
This year has gone by so fast and now 2013 stands at our feet. I want this year to be full of new beginnings, mainly because I'm graduating college and it kinda has to be...

So Aaron and I have been discussing things. We have decided to get married when we originally wanted. We haven't told my parents yet but his parents were supportive when we mentioned it to them. I have decided to only apply to one PA school, MCG. After comparing it with Mercer and looking into it more, it truly is the best choice for us. MCG has their own online application so I won't have to worry about CASPA.

So now the official plan is to graduate in May. Aaron is going to get a job while I take four classes I'm missing and volunteer at the hospital. I need to tweak my personal statement. (Update: I don't think that they require a personal statement!) Then I'll take the GRE and get certified in CPR. I will apply to the MCG PA program in July. Interviews will take place between August and October and hopefully I will get one. Aaron and I will get married in November. Hooefully by then I will know if i was accepted or not. If I am, we will move in with family until PA school starts in May 2014. MCG has on campus housing for married students. If for some reason, I don't get accepted, then we will find somewhere to live on our own together and I will reapply.

This is going to be a very busy summer!

Continuing with new beginnings, let's talk resolutions. This year, I'm calling mine goals instead of New Year's Resolutions. I want to graduate Berry, take the GRE, and get accepted to PA school. I hope to walk closer with God and get married this year. I'm continuing to eat healthy. I started last summer and now I really have some motivation to keep going if we really do get married this year. Now I hope to reach my goal weight of 145lbs (before the wedding).