Yep, I know, the title is a little confusing. But trust me, I will explain!

It has been a busy week so far, and it's only Tuesday night! Monday was my last first day of college ever! It's kind of sad in a way, but Steve disagreed with me on that haha (he's not the school nerd; I am!). It's amazing how quickly my undergraduate career is coming to an end. It's also amazing how much I have accomplished in such a short amount of time! 
 
 
Bed time last night: 12:40 a.m.
Approx. time fell asleep: 1:15 a.m.
Time woke up: 9 a.m, but I fell asleep again until 10:30 because I had a day off
Currently feeling: Pretty good!

I would have gone to bed earlier but, as stated before, I had to work until midnight. Thus, the 11:30 p.m. bed time was just NOT happening. But what was nice about last night was I was so tired from working two jobs yesterday that I fell asleep faster! :) 

In my last post about the sleep experiment, I expressed that I was stressed and overwhelmed about the fall. Many of you suggested I hold off on applying for grad school, and I think for now it will be on the back burner. I have more calls to make and information to find out, but right now I need to just focus on wedding planning, getting through classes and work, and moving to be with Steve at the start of next year. I have enough going on that I don't need to add the app process and GRE to the mix!

Anyway, that's really all for now. I'm trying to be more upbeat about things despite feeling pretty much alone in the wedding planning (Steve is great, but it would be nice to have more help from people at home, like my mom or sister) and having family treat me like dirt. Such is life, I guess.
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Bed time last night: 12:00 a.m. (I know, I failed to get to bed early)
Approx. time fell asleep: 12:30-1a.m.
Time woke up: 9 a.m.
Currently feeling: Tired, overwhelmed

I tried really hard to fall asleep. REALLY HARD. I listened to Sigur Rós (one of my favorite bands) on my iPod and tried to meditate again. It didn't really work, so I turned off my iPod and just laid there. Once again, my thoughts kept me up.

Now that morning has come, I am overwhelmed with today's schedule and what it means for this experiment. Today, I work at one job from noon to 5, and the other from 7 to midnight. That means getting home close to 12:30 with the drive. Now, this isn't so bad tonight because I can sleep in tomorrow. But what about my regular schedule? Next week, I work 9-5 at one job Thursdays. Ugh!

I'm beginning to wonder if working so much is such a good idea, especially with school and wedding planning. My mom decided this week that she wants me to have more control over my wedding, so she's relinquished a lot of things to me. This wouldn't be so bad except this fall, I...

-am trying to apply for grad school
-am working 35 hours a week
-have 12 credits worth of classes to finish up
-wanted to try to squeeze in a social life into the mix

Am I doing too much? Probably. But I don't know what else I can do right now. I can't stop working because I need to pay for things for the wedding. I can't quit school; it's my last semester. I need to apply for this grad school program I want to do because applying while 1,000 miles from home would be very, very hard in the spring. Sigh. 

So yeah, I don't know if this experiment is really worth it. I want to still try to retool my sleep habits. It's just going to take longer than I thought initially.
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Bed time last night: 11:30 p.m.
Approx. time fell asleep: 12:15-12:20 a.m.
Time woke up: Once around 8 a.m., and later at 9 a.m. when my alarm went off
Currently feeling: Somewhat tired, but pretty good

In my last post I mentioned that I am going to try to change my sleeping habits so that when school starts next week, I will be prepared to be in class or work at 9 a.m., awake and energized. This might take some getting used to, but I think if I can get my body into the habit of going to bed earlier, I will be better for it. 

Last night was difficult. I tried to meditate, but my thoughts would NOT be quiet. I couldn't silence my brain! I think exhaustion finally helped me go to sleep. I just could not get comfortable; my pillows felt too flat, or I was unsure which way to lay so I would fall asleep.

I think tonight I will try for the same bed time of 11:30. I don't work until noon tomorrow, but it would still be good to form that habit of waking early. We will see how tonight goes!
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It's hard to believe that in just a week, I'll begin my final semester of undergrad. It's amazing how fast college went by! I feel as though I just arrived at my university yesterday, a timid freshman with a thousand different paths to take in life, and yet at the end of the year, I'll be leaving for good and taking off into an adventure of a whole other magnitude - married life, graduate school, and living 1,000 miles from home. Unbelievable! 

This semester will probably be the hardest yet. Three of my classes will be 400 level, and the last one just 100 level. The 100 level class will probably easy peasy stuff compared to the other classes, two of which are Spanish classes. Additionally, I am working two jobs. Yep, I am pretty much going to have no free time this semester. I'll be working over 30 hours a week on top of classes! Thankfully one job is a work study, so I can just do homework (in theory) while doing that job.

My biggest concern at the moment, however, involves insomnia.
 
 
Well, for now, this is goodbye! I promise I will be back soon with more updates! I am going on a trip with family! 

We will be driving to Canada to visit all of our family as well as go to my cousin's wedding! I haven't been back since Spring Break, and some people in my family haven't been back longer than that, but it should be really fun! I have a really close friend from all the way back in fourth grade I get to visit with, too, which will be great! We haven't had a chance to catch up in a VERY long time!

Right now I am mostly packed, and tomorrow I have more to do before I go to work and then drive up to be with everyone before we begin to drive later in the week. Yep, we are driving to Canada! Hah, it should be fun. 

I will have my laptop, but I'm 95% sure I won't be online much at all, especially for updates. We will be in a rural area anyway, so something like a "wi fi hotspot" would be truly foreign to the locals. If you want some idea of how very rural we are talking, let's just say only a few of my relatives even have email, much less Internet connections! But it should be fun and a nice retreat from the usual. I heard the temps will be cooler, too. Yay!

If you follow me on Twitter, you will notice I have gone private, and that's only to save myself the trouble later on of deleting a million spambots that invade my account. I'm sure you all understand. :) If you are wanting to follow me, sorry! I will have to approve you when I return.

So, this is goodbye for now. But I shall be back soon!

From your "world traveling" friend (hah!),
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Summer Nights! 07/07/2010
 
Hello! I have missed you all! Steve came in late Friday night to start about 2 weeks of leave, and up until today we have been pretty much inseparable! It's been very enjoyable, and I thought while I had a minute to myself I would update you all on what has been going on in our lives!
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Us being, well, us!
 
 
It's been A REALLY LONG TIME since I've posted on here! Goodness! So this will probably be kind of off-the-cuff and random, but I'm sure you're all anxious to know how the wedding planning is going!

I don't have very many updates, so that's perhaps why I've been delayed again in new posts. We've secured a church, which is GREAT! Now we are on the hunt for somewhere to have our reception.

Next month I'm going wedding dress shopping with my mom and sister (and bridesmaids if they are in town), and I can't wait to try on tons of dresses to find the perfect one! Maybe then it will really feel like I'm getting married instead of pretend planning, which is how it feels now. I don't know if that makes sense, but it doesn't always feel real, you know?
 
 
We might have a church for our ceremony! AND a place for the reception! Things are finally falling into place...well, I hope. 

Another issue we have been working through past wedding planning is our living arrangements after the wedding, and I have been looking for what jobs are available in his area. I'm trying to stay positive on the job hunt, but it's clear that the economy may or may not work in my favor.
 
 
First, a mini cheer: School is out for the summer! I am finally done all my crazy papers and had my last final this afternoon. Woo hoo!

It's been about two weeks since Steve popped the question, and while I think we (well, mostly I) have gotten a lot accomplished, there is still lots and lots to do! It's been an interesting process so far, but it's also really nerve-wracking. And of course who better to complicate things but the Army?