11:1: I'm Back!!

Wow... how did I let 2 months go by without blogging? So much has happened that I do not even know where to begin! Sadly, this post will not have as many pics as normal because... my computer crashed! Bye bye grad school work and the wedding guest list (luckily my Mom has a copy or I might have pulled my hair out.. can you even imagine?!?) I will spare you all the little details and just hit the highlights:

-Bowers moved to Knoxville= No more long distance :) I am realllllly glad to be in the same city again. (Probably the main reason for my lack of blogging..)

- We traveled home for Thanksgiving and celebrated with his family. It was sad to celebrate the first holiday without my family but a really exciting new beginning. My family celebrated in Florida and it was way harder than I thought it would be to stay at my house alone. My sweet mom left me a care package that had this in it..... SO FUN!

- I had my first shower, a Christmas shower! Hopefully I will be able to add pictures later. My sweet Knoxville bridesmaids threw it for me and I was so overwhelmed with love and joy. Bowers and I are going to have such a special first Christmas with our sweet gifts.

- I had my first illness at a teacher (ear infection/sinus infection), finished the first half of my internship (Wahoo... I finally see the light at the end of the tunnel... and am hoping that it is not a train coming at me ;), and had my first snow day( days... we have already had 6 snow days in Knox County!)

- I traveled home for Christmas. This Christmas was a very special one because it was my last one as an O'Neill. It was wonderful to be home with family and begin new traditions. We spent Christmas Eve Eve with the Clement's for the annual lobster dinner.

-On Christmas day, we had 3 Christmases... the first was brunch with my family, the afternoon with the Clement's, and dinner/game night with the O'Neill's and Seessel's (Bowers' Mom and Step dad). We played the game Things and I highly recommend it (Thanks to the Drummey's for introducing it to us at supper club :))

- Santa was super good to me this year.. here are a few favs:

So I may not be able to shoot a duck, but at least I look hardcore.. maybe Bowers will take me hunting now :)

LOVE this cookbook and LOVE the pictures.. so far I have cooked the meatballs! They were delish (even with soy milk substituted for milk). I am trying to learn how to cook dairy free but it is reallllllly hard. Last night, Bowers convinced me that if I do not eat dairy for 30 days that he will buy me a piece of furniture that I have been wanting. I started today and so far I have craved: peppermint creamer in my coffee, cream cheese on my bagel, frozen yogurt, and cheese on my lunch. We will see how bad I really want that furniture....

- So much for Christmas "Break".. I was a busy girl. We nailed down many wedding details and I am getting SUPER excited. Less than 5 months!!! We ordered invites, picked the menu (I get hungry every time I think about it... food stations...get excited), tasted/ordered the cake, planned the ceremony, picked out programs, picked out lighting, etc. etc. etc. All I need now is for June 11 to hurry up.

- Last weekend, we traveled back to Memphis for our engagement party. We were overwhelmed with all the friends and family that came to support us and had a blast. Thanks to Mrs. Karen's quick fb uploads.. here are some pics from the weekend. Sadly I never managed to get a picture with the groom: