oh hey....

ive decided its wayyy too hard to make a blog about 21 days in Europe.  I'm sorry.  I suck at life.

during the few months i was procrastinating making the europe blog, some other exciting things happened! like my bachelorette party on October 15-16.  Jenna put in on for me, and hannah, nimi, stina and danielle all came out too.  they even pitched in to get us a limo to take us around for the entire night! i'd never been in a limo, and it.was.awesome.

i can't really remember the names of the places we went to, but we had a really nice dinner (italian), and proceeded into the night with lots of shots, beer and an embarassing 5 minutes on stage at a piano bar. i love you girls! thanks for making my bachelorette everything i hoped (and hoped not)!

and thennnn just last weekend was my bridal shower.  I gotta say, not looking at my registry to see what had been bought was a really hard thing to do.  I don't have any pictures of it yet, but i'll add to this post once i do.  we did the typical shower thing i suppose. i dont really know, i've never been to a bridal shower.  there was a mad-lib reading about taylor's proposal, and a left-right game that was pretty fun.  and a toilet paper wedding dress contest that my cousin won!  all in all, it was so sweet and humbling to see how many people love and care about me.  and hannah got to come!!! all the way from houston, love that girl.

we also got lots of decorating done.  we spray painted lots of wine bottles white, and then sprayed adhesive and sprinkled epsom salt all over it.  the final product was frosty looking bottles that we're using as vases for lots of silver-y willow branches.  fun! they'll be the centerpieces at the reception.  won't post pics, sorry. you'll just have to come to the wedding :] jenna and her mom helped out and it turned out to be one crafty night at the lindley house.

i am so blessed.

so now all that's left to do is wait till the wedding! it's in a month and a day!

did i say 31 days? yes, yes i did.  *panics on the inside*

oh wait, ha, bridals are this weekend. kinda forgot about that.  this really isn't a part of the wedding i've been looking forward to.  i feel so stupid posing in front of cameras.  ah well.

till then, my last name has a life span of 31 days, 39 minutes and 51 seconds.  50..49..48.........

t-minus 2 days

I've been reading up on as much geography, history and culture on europe as i can.  i absolutely refuse to be "the tourist" while i'm over there.  and its all down to the wire now...i'm leaving in 2 days!!

i can't believe its already here..we've been planning this trip since last october i think.  and for everything that i'm excited about, there's probably two more things that i'm nervous or stressed about.  to anyone who reads this, would you please say a prayer for me and jenna? that we'll get to europe safely, that we'll stay safe for our entire trip, and that we'll be aware of our surroundings so we don't find ourselves in bad situations.  thanks guys.

i can't wait for this adventure! i won't have internet very often, so i won't be able to post on here till i get back.  but i'm keeping a journal while i'm over there so i can post on here, as if i was...there...at the time of...me being there :) i'll try to update facebook every once in a while, so check there for pictures! see you august 23rd! till then.....eek!

goodbye aggieland

i'm packed, i've changed my address, i have my desk at work cleaned out, and i've turned in/forwarded/cancelled/started everything that i needed to in order to say goodbye to aggieland for good.

5 years here.  so strange to be leaving, and yet so exciting too.  SO many things are happening in my life right now, and i'm about to take the plunge.  #1 on my list, move to victoria.  check.  well...at 5:00, check.

today is like moving into college station was, but in reverse i guess.  i remember being scared to death, driving to college station to start college when i was barely 18.  18!? my sister is about to be 18!  so crazy to think....

i was sooo nervous because all i'd known was graham, america, and i thought college station was a huuuuge city. HA.  it gets smaller by the day.  i remember thinking that about graham. 5 years, 1 bachelor's degree, 4 best friends, and one engagement ring later, here i am again with my entire life packed into a trailer.  bittersweet? yes.

my boss made me dinner at his house last night, and everyone else i work with came too.  they bought me a keurig coffee maker! woot!  and they wrote a very sweet card, and the student worker wrote another one from just herself.  there's still so much more to say, but i still have to delete the history off of my work computer.  and they've actually given me a lot to do on my last day.  but i don't mind.  if i didn't have anything to do, then time would drag on, and this post would be a lot more sappy.  i'll leave it here. 

i'm moving to victoria!!!

till then... i'll miss you aggieland :)

HP7

please look at this.  you are welcome.

can't believe it's all coming to an end.  here's a few thing i've learned from harry potter:

keep calm, and cast a patronus.
eat chocolate, it really does help.
happiness can be found in the darkest of places, if one remembers to turn on a light.
the scariest of things are just riddikulus, and you should laugh at them.
the fear of a name only increases the fear of the thing itself, so call it like it is.
If you're confused, it's probably wrackspurts.
When in doubt, retrace your steps.
just because something only happens in your head, doesn't mean that it didn't happen.

so many others.  all i can say is that jk rowling is a genius.
also, to any HP fans out there..did anyone realize the connection between the hallows and voldemort, snape and harry? voldy died from his greed for power, snape died for his lost love, and harry welcomed death like an old friend! hmm? yea, i thought of that all by myself :)

oh and here's a quote from jk rowling herself, when she spoke at the premiere:
"no story lives until someone wants to listen. The stories we love best do live in us forever. So whether you come back by page or by the big screen, Hogwarts will always be there to welcome you home."
i'm probably gonna cry at the movie.  go ahead and make fun, HP is the greatest children's book of all time.

less than 1 month

As I printed out all my hostel booking confirmations, and googled the directions from train stations to airports, i realized.....

I AM GOING TO EUROPE FOR A MONTH IN LESS THAN A MONTH..

and me and jenna planned and paid for it all ourselves.  am.adult.
we're leaving the 3rd and i can't wait.  pretty soon it will be goodbye america, and

hello
ola
bonjour, and
hallo
Europe!

if anyone wants a souvenir, let me know!

p.s. here's a couple sentences i have been able to say in french so far:  Bonjour, je suis Nikki, et j'aime voyager en Europe.  Mon ami va aller avec moi, et nous allon avoir du plaisir.  :]

Update 7/8: Look what I got for my birthday!  Taylor bought me an awesome backpack that I'm taking to Europe..the ONLY bag I'm taking to Europe :| let's hope it everything fits!

wedding dress..check! and other updates

I found it! my mom and sisters and i met up with Jenna in houston last weekend and we found my wedding dress :) i'm really excited about it.  the lady had me ring a bell and say "this is my dress" and it was all very girly and cliche, but i had a lot of fun with my favorite women.  and whew! i'm glad the stress of finding something to wear is over.  just gotta find the tuxes, which shouldnt be hard, and the flower girl's dress.  i'm not too worried about it, Tera will look fabulous in anything.

also, its been a while since i've posted, but we've decided to move the wedding to graham, or at least around that area.  we found a great place for the reception, and i might be the first one to use it for a wedding because its being completely renovated from the ground up.  its gonna look western, but not cowboy-ish.  with lots of dark wood and wrought iron chandeliers.  very cool.  just have to find a church now! eek!

so taylor has moved to victoria, and it is the 7th day since he left.  i'm going down to visit this weekend for both his birthday and our 2nd anniversary :) i don't think this year is gonna be a big one, because of all the saving we're having to do.  just a nice dinner.  i'm just ready to see him again, tomorrow will be the longest period of time that we've ever been apart, and its showing.  i'm down, bored, and generally tired looking.  i miss my favorite :( BUT, taylor finally begged and pleaded enough with our landlord and she's letting us keep daisy! woohoo! daisy is fully trained now btw, i am one proud momma!

on an even brighter note, me and jenna booked our hostels for our europe trip! its really happening! i can't wait for Edinburgh, it was by complete accident but our hostel there is just down the hill from a really cool looking castle! august can't get here soon enough.

OH! also, i got accepted into the Victoria College's MLT program.  i dont think i've posted about this yet, but yes i applied about a month ago and i got accepted last friday!  i start classes the DAY after i get back from europe, so i'll be dragging but i am sooo happy to have a new goal in my life.  things are looking good!

till all that happens, i'll be here...in college station...alone....lol.

no really, come visit me.

                            the view from the E-burgh hostel..see the castle?

victoria, tx

population: about 62,000.

...soon to be 62,002. 

yep, we're moving to Victoria, TX: home of the victoria college pirates (yarrrr), and the town's slogan is "bring your boots!" hmm...

no really, i'm excited about this new chapter in my life.  aggieland has gotten smaller this past year, and it's just time for a change.  speaking of, i applied to the college's medical laboratory technology program, and i feel really good about it.  selections are made in the first week of june, so it wont be long until i find out if i made it.  class size is a whopping 14 people, but the program director made me feel pretty confident that i have a spot.  *knocks on wood*

but before all that happens, taylor has to graduate! he actually had his last final (ever!) today, and he graduates this friday at 2:00.  i'm so proud of him :) his family is flying down thursday night and staying the weekend.  my family is coming for the day on friday, and it'll be the first time both parents meet! eek! i'm trying to think of stuff to do with them this weekend; i really want to show them a good time, and have their trip all the way from virginia be a worthwhile one.  any ideas??

oh, and the apartment that taylor got in victoria is nice, but they don't allow pets.  so my parents have agreed to take daisy for the time being and taylor thinks he can wear down our apartment managers into letting us have her.  honestly, she doesn't make messes anymore.  it sucks that untrained dogs have to ruin things for the rest of us.  come on people, teach your dog to do their business outside!

i feel like everything is in fast-forward with everything that's happening.  ah well.. c'est la vie! (why yes, i AM still learning french!) i may be feeling a little overwhelmed right now, but i'll get used to it!

till then.....