what in the heck i have been up to

Hello fellow blog followers, long time no read!  Unfortunately for me, I have been doing plenty of reading, writing, and thank goodness, much more exciting things.  I apologize for the lack in my blogging skills over the last month, but I have to be honest, I have been one busy woman!! I decided to add pictures of my accomplishments to this post so you too can see just how busy of a bee I have been.

One of the most important things I have been doing  over the past few weeks is finishing up writing my thesis.  I am currently at 144 PAGES of diagrams, materials and methods, literature review, and statistical analysis...yuck!!  These last few days have really been crunch time for me as I defend my research on the 21st.  On top of writing and preparing for my masters defense, I have also been practicing for the Reciprocal Meats Conference masters student poster competition as well as writing reports for the annual Nebraska Beef Report.  Now I know as exciting as all of these things sound, I thought I would spare myself as well as you the sight of all this jargon. 

Now on to more exciting things!  Chasen and I have planted a fairly successful garden; despite the lack of rain this summer.  We have planted green and red onions, peas, peppers, green beans (4 rows!!!), tomatoes, squash, sweet potatoes, romain lettuce, and of course watermelon!! I am so excited to have fresh produce this summer.  I love to eat out of the garden!  At one of my bridal showers I was given the gift of a pressure cooker, which I am extremely excited to use!  I also hope to make lots of homemade salsa, and pies/jam from our apple and pear trees! Yum!!

(Guess I should have taken a picture from the east side.  This photo doesn't exactly exemplify my hoe-ing abilities.) 

On the north side of the garden we also have a patch of sweet corn that has taken off. We strategically planted the corn so we have some ready right after the wedding and then again after state fair/wedding season has come to an end. Did I mention we have 7 weddings this summer.  It truly is a year of mass nuptials! 

In a few weeks, it looks like we are going to have to get our coon fence up. Roxie isn't the best guard dog.

I have utilized my green thumb further yet by planting lots and lots of hosta, mums, sedum, gladiolus and much more "farm flowers" as I like to call them.  I love love love the big pine trees we have around the house.  But I hate hate hate mowing underneath them/getting decapitated weekly.  Flowers are prettier anyway :)

Aside from school work, gardening, and other uses of my green thumb, I have found time to use my "wedding thumb".  In the last few weeks I had my hair and makeup trial, first dress fitting, met with the photographer and florist, and most importantly finished my brooch bouquet.  I would have liked to include a picture of my hair/dress but I want everyone to be surprised :)  The picture below of my bouquet does not do it justice!!  It is so beautiful! And heavy!!  I should have Holly start lifting weights ASAP.

On the wedding note, I also had my final two bridal showers in May.  I cannot begin to explain how fun each shower was and how much I enjoyed getting all the ladies together for brunch, especially the mimosas!  We are so blessed to have such caring women in our lives!

Moving to the farm side of things, in the last month we have finished planting crops, baled hay, vaccinated calves, and bred cows (didn't think you wanted to see a picture of this either).  The weather sure has been cooperative for a majority of the work done, but like the majority of the Midwest we keep praying for rain!  Needless to say we have been busy, busy, busy.  During this time Roxie has had many a four wheeler/ranger rides!  It cracks me up how cute she looks in this photo.

Most importantly over the past few weeks I have been living this wonderful life God has blessed me with.  I have spent lots of time with family and friends and will cherish the many memories that are here and yet to come for the summer of 2012.

Until next time....hopefully its less than a month :)

what i've been up to

It's hard to believe that in 189 DAYS I will be marrying my best friend!  I was reading our wedding website today, because I am a weirdo like that :) , and got butterflies in my stomach as I read our proposal story. I love that story!

I also love wedding planning!  Since I am a DIY kind of girl, I have been making a majority of our centerpieces and items for the wedding.  I have included some pictures of the tasks I have completed because I think they are all so awesome!!  I also wanted to share being creative and crafty can save one in the long run!

Here is a picture of the "redneck" wine glasses the wedding party will be drinking out of.  They are mason jars glued to candle stick holders.   If I wanted to buy these glasses from a store or online, they would cost over $15 a glass.  My costs for 15 glasses, was $20!!!

This was a Christmas present I received from my brother; I actually think it was my favorite Christmas present this year (don't tell Chasen that!).  But this lovely chandelier will hang over the cake table-which will be in the middle of the Berndes Center.  It's going to look soooo neat! Chris was able to put this chandelier together for $80, yet it was free to me :)  On Etsy.com it sells for over $200.  It definitely pays to have a skilled electrician for a brother!

One annoying thing I have noticed while planning is the wrath of wedding trends.  After looking at some pictures from Miranda Lambert's wedding (an idol of mine) I made a decision to make a brooch bouquet.  Since that time last May, I have seen a multitude of pictures of brooch bouquets and brides with them!  Not to mention a scarcity of brooches at stores!!  Anyway (sorry for that rant) my aunts and close friends have gave brooches to me, because of this I have only spent $60. These babies can be bought online from $300 to $500!!!  Not only do I love the cost of mine, but I appreciate how special each and every brooch is to me!  It's like a part of my family and friends will be walking down the isle with me :)

For those of you that know me, you understand my desire to be unique in everything I do.  During planning for the wedding, I have tried to make every aspect of our wedding different, through the same vintage/country theme.  My goal is to make my wedding not only exciting for me, but for my guests.  I want guests to notice a new element to the wedding every time they turn their head!  They have no idea what they are in for :)  Our unity candle is an example of a simple concept I have "justine-ified".

Those are just a few of the projects I have completed for the wedding since May....I don't want to give all of them away!!  From all this I have learned wedding planning is not for the weak.  When I look at my wedding planner it is mind-blowing to see all the tasks I have accomplished this year while doing research, taking classes, and helping out on the farm.  It is also a little unnerving when I look at all the things I have yet to do!  Thanks to my family and friends for all of your help and support thus far!  Love you all!