Dear Future Self: WE did it!

Dear Future Self,

I want you to remember today. This moment. This last night. You have been working so hard to get this degree finished, and you are here. You have made it. You just have one presentation left, and you have your Master's degree...GO YOU!

Future Self, I want you to remember what this feels like. The excitement, the anticipation, the I-CAN'T-BELIEVE-I-MADE-IT feeling. It has been a hard couple years. There has been less sleep, more stress, lots of reading and writing, too much snacking (which in turn lead to gaining the grad school 15...yeah don't be fooled...it is not limited to college freshmen...UNFORTUNATELY!), and not enough exercising. But, it is worth it! You made it. You got through working full time, starting to date your now-husband, got married, had a mini-moon (our short honeymoon because of being in the middle of the semester), and many fun events having to be turned down because I had homework to do. No more turning down working out, or going out with friends, or watching a moving with the hubs. I get to be a normal adult! Well, let's be honest. Normal will never be a word that accurately describes me, but I can at least attempt to be normal:)

I can't believe I made it and I now need to do a round of thanks...picture it like at the grammy's or another award show, except I am sitting at home, in PJ's and the audience I currently have is my dog watching to see if I drop a morsel of a snack to him. But I really am grateful for all the support my friends and family have given me during this time. SO here it goes:

First.....KGK...well, you rock! You met me just a couple weeks before I started this graduate school journey and you have been with me through it all. You have only known me to be a grad student. I am excited to show you who I am without homework and other school stuff to do. I can't wait to have more time for us.  I am glad I can now pull my own weight when it comes to normal life stuff like cleaning and errands.  During this whole process, you would walk the dog, do errands or chores, or just sit there and tell me I could do it when I needed to hear it most. You are the most supportive person I have ever met, and I am so grateful for you. :)

And to my friends...thank you for not giving up on me with all my "I can't hang out" or cutting fun short because I had to do more homework. Thanks for still being my friend even though I was so busy and I didn't give you a lot of my time. Well now, I have more time! Let's celebrate! :) Beer? wings? let's make it happen.

And to my family, y'all have been awesome. Listening to my rants and raves, and ups and downs about my various classes, scheduling issues, and whatever else it was at the time. You listened. I talked. and talked. But you still listened. You had no idea what I was talking about, but you still listened. So thank you for that! :)

So future self, as life gets busy with other things, because we know it will, just remember this moment just before the finish. Remember how it feels to have 2+ years of late evenings, lots of papers and group projects, and all that hard work paying off. And remember that you didn't do it without the support of your family and friends. They made it happen as much as you did sitting doing those assignments....

So basically....

CONGRATS Y'ALL. We made it!

:)

I'm off to do my last presentation of grad school...here goes nothing EVERYTHING! :)

~AMK

Dear Future Self: Time & Valentine

Dear Future Self,

For the past several days, I have been basking in a lesser homework load. However, that lighter workload couldn't have come at a better time as work got kinda crazy all at once. So having a little less to work in the evenings after some very busy days has been great.

Valentine's Day was a nice, simple day for us. We ordered food and brought it home and watched a movie. I don't watch many movies while in school, so sitting a being able to watch one was fantastic. Nothing too extravagant, but it was just perfect. I had my husband-valentine and my pup-valentine...I am one blessed and happy lady:)

Other than that, things are just plugging along. Amazing how life's days are so filled yet there seems to be little going on, all at the same time. But I am trying to treasure these days of just normal busyness because as we all know, crazy happens so quickly. So I am trying to enjoy the feeling of "what do I do" because I am so used to having a to-do list that is so long I don't know where to start.

Well, I guess cleaning should be happening, since that is an ever-present need that always is on the list. Maybe I'll start on that...maybe :)

Happy Weekend!

~AMK

Pinterest Find: 18 Ways to Deep Clean Your Home

This list sounds like it is just what I need to get our home ready for all the family and friends coming into town in just a few weeks...

You can find the entire post here.

But, I have copied and pasted the list for me to use here:

18 Ways to Deep Clean Your Home

1. Wipe down the legs of all your chairs. Dust tends to accumulate on these.

2. Wipe down all your baseboards with a wet cloth. Follow up my rubbing a dryer sheet on them to prevent dust from sticking. While you are doing this you will find so many tiny weird little corners like these that are so hard to clean! Have mercy on whoever had to install these.

3. Clean behind and underneath all furniture. Move beds, scoot dressers away from the wall and get all the dust that builds up.

4. Dust all fan blades.

5. Wipe down all cabinets in the kitchen and bathroom. Lots of grease and fingerprints build up on these.

6. Wipe down or dust all light fixtures (chandliers, lampshades, etc.)

7. Touch up any spots on the wall with paint that need it. Stir the paint really well first.

8. Recaulk any areas that need it (especially around the kitchen sink, bathroom sink, or bathtub.)

9. Wipe down all blinds. The easiest way is to vacuum them or remove them and spray them down with a hose outside.

10. Clean out the fridge.

11. Clean out your freezer. Discard any old food and organize all that stuff you've thrown in there over the past months.

12. Clean your couch. Vacuum off any pet hair and remove cushions to vacuum.

13. Wipe down door handles and light switches.

14. Clean your microwave, stove top, and oven.

15. Wipe out kitchen drawers. Crumbs tend to collect there.

16. Dust and wipe down the top of your cabinets and fridge.

17. Clean floor vents. Remove metal vents and air registers. Spray them down with hose outside. Vacuum or wipe down the floor around the vents as dust gets trapped under the edges of the vents. If you have wooden vents just vacuum them really well.

18. Wipe down the front and back of all the doors in your house. You will have more doors than you think!

So there you have it! Another list! You know I am a happy girl:)

I am off to tackle some of these...

Until next time...

~AMK

(All credit for the list goes to the D and T Tabb blog)