The biggest event (non-school or work related) was definitely the Marine Corps Ball. :) That's always my favorite. It's a legitimate reason to get all dolled up and go out and have all of Ian's buddies compliment on how beautiful his wife is. ;) #egoboost BIG shout out to my friend Azlynn who did my hair and makeup and my sister in law Allie for taking pics. Here, enjoy a few. ;)
This one is def my fav of us together.:)
Yum.
It was held at a really fancy resort in Phoenix, like it was UNREAL how fancy it is. I'm pretty sure the stair case we walked down was marble. No joke. I wish I had taken pics of the venue.
This year's souvenir--a flask!
And the ballroom wasn't as cramped this time and the food was better. I basically got a whole chicken to myself. haha it was scrumptious. After dinner, we decided to get our own dessert and go home. We're total party animals, I know. It was fun. :) The Marine Corps Ball is a tradition I will NEVER get tired of. For obvious reasons.
Anywho, my final semester at CGCC wrapped up in a hurry. The entire time it was like slow-motion; I had several times where I would just sit and reflect on everything I've learned and that my time there was drawing to a close. It was kind of a surreal feeling leaving my final voice lessons and juries. It felt very real that I was moving on, but it didn't set in 100% until this last Sunday night.
I cannot express enough how grateful I've been to get to know such beautiful people by attending such a great school. There are so many wonderful memories and friendships that I will continue to treasure. A special thanks goes to my voice teachers, Kaarin and Alexis, for pushing me to work harder and do my best, and to also encourage me to be confident in my ability. I really wouldn't be where I am without them. Another special thanks goes to Marc Denton, who is the man behind the wonderful vocal/choral music department and for helping me get to where I needed to be. All the rest of the people who have been such good friends to me, you know who you are and just know, you are very dear to me. CGCC will always feel like home. :)
The holidays were a nice change of pace, that is for sure. I did work 3 days of holiday camp, so I was a little worn out the few days before Christmas, but overall it was soooo relaxing not to worry about work, school, or anything for about 2.5 weeks. I loved it so much, it made me question my decision to go back to school and work. ;) I got to see my dad for a good portion of his short stay in AZ. It was nice to hang out and chat at my house while Ian was at work, and then we went to dinner and exchanged gifts once Ian got home. Ian and I then went to my mom's house, hung out with my siblings and their little families until late into the evening, and then stayed the night.
Look at us in our matching robes!
It was odd the next morning not to have littles running everywhere and be lots of activity all day. All of my older siblings decided to start having Christmas Morning at their houses with their kids (which makes sense). Instead of lots of hub-bub, we ended up watching Parks & Rec for a while and a Bourne movie marathon until Christmas dinner. haha After that, things kind of went back to normal, except I got to stay home all day and do super productive things! For instance, I painted a bunch of decor for our bedroom (which I'll post once our bedroom is back to normal after all the painting stuff is out of the way). Speaking of which, with the help of my sister Ashley, I painted our bedroom and bathroom! Again, I'll post a pic once everything is decent again. :) I would have had it done by now, if it weren't for A) a leak above our bath ruining the paint above the window sill that I still need to redo and B) school and work taking up all my free time the last week and a half. Be patient, you'll see how amazing it has come together.
We did throw a New Years Eve party again, and like usual, it was a success. Lots of good food, and even better company. People didn't leave till 2 AM, so I think we did an excellent job hosting!
As for work, I did end up switching schools because of my class schedule. I like it so far, and I already know my coworkers there so it hasn't been a big deal to switch. It's been refreshing actually, not being in charge of so much. ;) It also helps that the kids are on a good routine, and they are more mellow than my kids at the other school. Like I said, so far so good.
My first week at ASU is now halfway done...I have embarrassed myself during class only once so far so I'm considering that much a success. Even so, I am feeling homesick for CGCC. It's uncomfortable to adjust to a new school, adapt to their way of running things, and getting to know new people. It took me basically the entire first semester at CGCC to open up at all. Fortunately, there are a small handful of people that I already know, so that eases the anxiety a bit. At this exact moment, I think I am gong to enjoy my German 101 class the most. I am already starting to understand concepts and recognize patterns! Our professor speaks hardly any English during class time, so we are totally immersed and have to pay attention to pick up what she's saying. She also keeps us up and moving around during class and has some cool assignments for us further along in the semester. I really enjoy it. My second favorite so far is, surprisingly, diction. I like our instructor and I think it's interesting. I don't know why *diction* of all things is cool, but hey, I'll take that over hating it. I've only gone to one choir rehearsal, and I am surprised at how small the concert choir is. Or maybe it's the same size but we're in a big room and we only sit in 2 rows? I'm not sure. Anyway, the music choice isn't anything too foreign. I will say it's definitely an adjustment singing in a soprano section where every single one is a soloist! hahaha BUT the men's section has a really nice sound. Overall, we sounded pretty good when we were sight reading. Psst, and don't tell anybody, but CGCC Concert Choir does sound better overall. ;) (I'm not kidding!)
I'm not gonna lie, it's been quite an adjustment and it's only been 3 days. But I know that I will come to love it here, that I'm sure of. I feel very at peace about that fact.
WELP, that is pretty much it. Thanks for reading the novel guys, you da best.
Goodnight my lovelies.
