Life

Thanks for all the love you have shown me these past few days, blog people!! I have never felt more incredibly blessed and supported in my life, and I have definitely felt the love whether it be through facebook posts, emails, texts and calls or personal visits from friends and family. It literally is crazy to wake up in the morning and remind myself... "I am getting married!" I'll admit that I love to immediately glance toward my left hand and stare at the gorgeous ring that is now occupying my ring finger. Of course, in all this, I feel like the greatest gift I've received is Dustin. I still can't believe he pulled all this off, and I can't believe that I can officially tell people now that I get to spend the rest of my life with him. I really can't believe it. I am so incredibly blessed.

I have been thinking a lot lately just about how much God has played into the last few days of my life, and really, it's quite overwhelming. I wanted to share a little story with you to explain just how crazy this all worked out, and how much God really proved to be faithful in making everything possible. Recently, Minnesota changed the process for obtaining a teaching license by adopting a new licensure exam called the MTLE (Minnesota Teacher License Exam). Previously, MN had been using an exam called the Praxis to test for licensure, but for whatever reason, they have switched over to this new test. Quite great for me as I was entering into my senior year of college (can you sense the sarcasm?) Anyway, these new tests have a passing rate of about 15% right now... much bleaker than the Praxis rate of about 60%. I was pretty discouraged when I failed the Social Studies content exam not once, but twice. In fact, I found out I didn't pass for the second time on Thursday evening at about 7 pm when I was driving in a rush to get to choir practice at my church from work. I was so bummed out and really frustrated, naturally, and almost thought about not walking in to practice, but I had driven all the way out and knew that I had to go. I rushed upstairs to our rehearsal room to sit next to my mom (we joined the gospel choir together!) and whispered to her that I hadn't passed. She looked as bummed as I did, rubbed my back, and told me we were on to the next song, called "Anything". I hadn't practiced this song yet and when we went through the lyrics, I was kind of shocked.

"God can do anything, anything and everything, there ain't nothing he can not do. God can do anything, anything and everything. He can do anything but FAIL." 

We sang through the song and I was almost annoyed... Really, God?! I just fail my exam and we're singing praise about how you can't fail anything? Do you ever have those moments where you kind of feel like God is being a little more than obvious about something? I had that moment at choir practice, as we sung the song "Anything."

So after choir, my mom could tell that I was pretty bummed out and she asked me to go sit with her in the car to chat. I basically burst into tears the second I shut her car door. I didn't understand the way things were going. I felt lost and unsure about my future in anything... and all my mom could do was try to comfort me the best she could. I do remember her saying to me, "Case, even though it doesn't seem like it tonight, God has something BIG in store for you-- something beyond your wildest dreams. You just have to trust and have faith that he will work everything out for good!" You know how it goes sometimes when moms give advice, I gave her a little hug, mumbled a "Thanks, mom...." and got into my own car for the drive home. I appreciated what she had to say, but really just felt like being sad for a minute.

I got home and really just wanted to crash and so I headed straight to my bedroom. That's when I noticed this note on my pillow...

Little did I know that the very next day, not only would I be offered the substitute job, but I would also be getting engaged. And God, in his funny way, proved his faithfulness in everything once again.

After the engagement night was over, I went to bed around 3 a.m. after a full night of celebration. I was exhausted, and yet there was another note on my pillow that just about moved me to tears from my mom...

I love my mom :) Mostly I am just grateful that she was encouraging and really speaking the truth into me the night before when I was really struggling to make sense of ANYTHING... If you're wondering, I sang that song with a smile on my face Sunday morning, because I knew that the words were true. God really can do anything, and will do anything for those who love him. I learn that more and more each day that I'm alive! I still feel so blessed, and I am so excited for what's to come in the near future.

*****

For those that are wondering, we have not yet set a date (that's the most common question I've gotten in the last few days). Right now, we are thinking this upcoming summer. Today we had our first official planning day by 1... heading to the jeweler to figure out a few things (my ring needs to get resized) 2... planning out a first round guest list and 3... discussing photography. After about 3 hours, we have our guest list down to a somewhat reasonable number. Also, we realized my side of the family alone, just EXTENDED family, is 59 people. You think that's big... The Wahl clan comes to a whopping 90 people. Put that together and you already get 149 with just our families... so yea. We love our families, and there is a lot of family, so we are probably going to have a decent sized wedding. Unfortunately, it sounds like it is going to take at least a week to resize my ring, and since our dear friends Molly and CJ are tying the knot this weekend, I want to have my engagement ring to be able to show people. Can you blame me? :) So that is where we are at. Planning is a lot of work, I am learning that just four days in. But it's completely fun as I expected it to be. What a crazy ride we're on together!

9/23/11

About a month ago, Dusty and I went on a little trip to Stillwater, MN for some ice cream and decided to drive around. If you've never been to Stillwater, you are seriously missing out. It's been one of my favorite MN destinations since I was a little kid... I love the river walk and the cute little shops and just the quaint-ness of it all! Well, if you know Stillwater, then you surely know it's Wisconsin counterpart, Hudson, just across the river by way of the Stillwater Lift bridge. Hudson was a popular Sunday afternoon family trip that we Millers would take growing up.. mainly because it's one of my dad's favorite places to fly fish and my mom and sister and I loved the shops downtown. The whole area of MN-WI small towns right on the border= amazing!!

Well back to our trip, I tried to convince Dusty that we should just spontaneously head over to Wisconsin (it was at about 9 p.m.) just for a random adventure. Dust wasn't really having it and just wanted to go home. I was kind of bummed but I told him that eventually, someday, we had to do a Wisconsin trip... just random and out of the blue! He reluctantly agreed.

Fast forward to last weekend- Dusty had his cousins, Kevin and Lindsey in town from Iowa to celebrate the first birthday of their beautiful little daughter, Ayehush. There was a big huge party at the Wahl house with tons of family from Dusty's side and at the end of the night, Dust and I, Callie and Andy, and Kevin and Lindsey hung out in the living room for a couple hours just chatting when Dusty started to crack jokes about getting engaged. Now, keep in mind, I am kind of an emotional basket case when it comes to talking marriage because I will admit that I'd been wanting it for awhile. I was trying very hard to be patient but sometimes (okay, majority of the time) I would get really sick of waiting and put a little a lot of pressure on Dust to just finally ask. Dusty, being the unique and equally stubborn as I am person that he is, told me that I simply would have to wait and that everything, when it happened, would be a complete surprise. Not what I wanted to hear, but whatever. Anyway, that night, Dust was started to hysterically laugh talking about how I better not hold my breath thinking anything's coming soon... he actually once said that he could use the money in his engagement ring fund to buy "two McDoubles" (direct quote) to which the entire room CRACKED up... except for me. My blood was BOILING!! I was so upset and angry with him that I wanted to slap him across the face!! I couldn't believe he'd be so inconsiderate that he'd joke like that in front of his family... and on the other hand, I couldn't believe that his family thought this was so funny!

Little did I know that earlier that day, Dusty had actually PURCHASED my engagement ring, told all four family members, and was throwing in jokes (still not sold on whether I think this is actually funny or just plain cruel!) to throw me off. Literally, after that conversation, I was convinced that I was dating the guy with forever cold feet.. and I was pretty mad at him. Later in the night he apologized to me for being a good sport, and I scolded him for a long time (overnight, in fact) for being inconsiderate and mean about something that I take very seriously. Looking back on it now, I actually feel bad- considering that he had let in his family on what was going to take place, and the ring was purchased.... wow!!!

So earlier this week, Dust asked me if I was busy Friday night and I had no plans. He wanted to take me on a date because we hadn't been out together for a nice date in a long time. I was all for it considering I had worked four days in a row from 6 am til 2. Friday came and I got off work and asked Dust what I should wear, for any inkling of what might be taking place that night. I literally had NO idea what was in store for the evening.

Then that afternoon about 3 p.m., I got a call from the high school I student taught at... offering me a job teaching history classes for a teacher who will soon be gone on maternity leave!! Literally a shock-- and so amazing!! I accepted their offer and KNEW that since Dust was surprising me with our date plans, I had to surprise him with this awesome news. I also called everyone I knew close to me, parents, siblings, Dusty's mom, his sister... To tell them the great news- I got a job! However, their reactions were weird... When they answered the phone, they acted like they knew I had something BIG to tell them. I didn't think much of it, and headed over to Dusty's house for the first part of our date- Lion King in 3D!!

I forgot how much I loved this movie from my childhood as I looked to my right and saw a little girl snuggled in her dad's lap (my dad took me to this movie when it first came out almost 18 years ago) and listening to the music made me feel like a little kid again. Dusty was silent and kind of on edge the entire movie.  We have terrible luck in that every time we go out to the movies, those sitting close to us feel the need to verbally express every emotion and thought with every passing minute- didn't change with Lion King. The girl behind us was pretty distracting (not to mention about 20 years old) and Dust was getting pretty annoyed. I actually thought it was kind of funny and was curious as to why he was so upset about it, but I shook it off and the movie ended. We got in the car and I asked what the next phase of the date was, even though I knew that we were headed to Wisconsin :)

Sure enough, that was the plan. Dusty explained that we could go to dinner, or go do something he had planned that would only take "20 minutes or so." I didn't really care but at this point I was pretty hungry, but Dust decided that our little "activity" would be best to do first. So.. off we drove across the Stillwater bridge into Hudson, Wisconsin. I KNEW IT! I was pretty pumped up, but really curious as to what we'd be doing. I'd assumed we'd just kinda drive around and then head back into MN. Dust explained that we would be doing something illegal and dangerous, and also mentioned that we could get into huge trouble. Okay-- by this point I was really confused. I had no clue what those descriptions meant, but knew that if Dust had planned it out, it had to be interesting.

So by this point, we pulled up to a house for sale along the St. Croix river... a vacant home with nobody living in it. It was a pretty cool house with an awesome view, and I was pretty intrigued when we first got there. I still thought nothing of it as I was on my phone, tweeting, and looking across the street as Dusty told me to stay put while he set some things up. Again, no clue in my mind as to what was about to happen. He came and got me from the car and brought me to the roof of the abandoned home- you can actually climb on top of it!! When we got on top of the roof, I saw a set up blanket and a lantern, nicely planted by Dust minutes before. I asked if we should sit down, and he said no. We started to talk -- First, he explained that he was excited to be there with me because he knew how much I wanted to visit Wisconsin and he was happy to be able to do something like that for me on our date. Dust then apologized for the previous weekend, making fun of getting engaged/married and said that he had been a huge jerk (Ya think!!!) He went on that he took engagement very seriously and didn't want to joke about it any longer- he also explained that he WANTED to marry me, and knew that he loved me (I was still unaware at this point- I am somewhat oblivious don't ya think?!) I nodded and just kind of went along with what he was saying- until he started to mumble and kind of mix up his words... That was when I started to think that something was up. He then got down on one knee, pulled the ring box out from under the blanket, and said those four words....

"Will you marry me??"

Me: ...... ARE YOU SERIOUS?!

I honestly could NOT believe it. I was totally shocked. When Dusty finally made it clear that this was in fact for real, I screamed YES! Jumped into his arms and hugged him for about 2 full minutes, laughing, crying, giggling, tearing up again, jumping up and down, and repeating WE'RE ENGAGED about a million times. It was literally completely perfect. I was wearing a gorgeous diamond ring on my finger, completely alone with the most amazing guy on the planet, just reveling in the fact that he asked me to marry him, and so thankful. We looked out on the river at the most beautiful sunset, and it was then that I realized how amazing God's timing and plan is. I had a job and a fiance within a matter of hours, after weeks of uncertainty toward what life held in store for me. Pretty sweet how this all panned out :)

Not only that- but I now realized how everything had been working out the week before- Dusty's attempt to throw me off by joking with his family the previous weekend, my family's reactions to me telling them about the job... it was crazy. I still can not believe it. I am totally shocked and excited and just unbelievably happy to be marrying the man of my dreams, my best friend, and my absolute favorite person. I know how cheesy that probably sounds but I can't think of any other way to describe the man that I've found in Dusty. He is perfect for me and I feel so lucky to be the one he wants to marry. Not only that, but I'm getting a pretty sweet deal in his family as well. I am absolutely thrilled to officially be a part of the Wahl clan. My family (as you can imagine) is so incredibly excited as well. Dusty asked for my dad's permission earlier last week and since then, my mom described that she feels like her and dad won the lottery. That makes me so happy to know my parents love Dusty so much. What a blessing!!

So that, in a nutshell, is the story of how the love of my life asked me to marry him. I wanted to write it out so that friends and family who aren't here to hear all the details can get the story... and let's be serious, I wanted to brag about how great this was :) I was totally shocked. It literally could not have been more of a surprise. I am so blessed. THANK YOU GOD!!!

Oh and I will add details as they come- for now we are just enjoying this time together and so excited about what has happened this weekend. It's been quite the celebration and I have felt so much love from so many- friends, family, and even a few strangers! Life is pretty great and I will never forget this day. It was perfect in so many ways. I love you Dust! You made me the happiest person alive for pulling off that surprise-- even if you had to do a few things to throw me off. Good job! I wouldn't have changed a thing!!

Right after he asked-- Happy couple!

The most perfect engagement ring- I had no say in any of it, he did it all himself! Not bad, don't you think??

Against the rooftop of the abandoned house- WE ARE ENGAGED!!

Mr and Mrs- soon to be anyway :)

Skol.

The following post strictly contains my angry rant opinion on what the future holds for Minnesota football. Read on if I have sparked your interest.

This is my first year belonging to a Fantasy Football League. To be quite honest, I have NO idea what I'm doing. I know I drafted a somewhat decent team, despite the fact that they haven't allowed me to win against the "teams" I've played in the last two weeks.... But! I have a team stocked full of Packers. Aaron Rodgers. Dennis Driver. Greg Jennings. The Packers Defense. I've been told those choices are pretty solid.

The question you are probably asking yourself, like I have been for the past few weeks- "WHAT IS SHE THINKING?" A Minnesotan, tried and true, pledging Fantasy Football allegiance to members of the Green Bay Packers???!

Here's the thing.

I've lost all hope in the Vikings.

I thought we had it two years ago when Favre spent his first season in the purple and gold. But like all good things... that came to an end. The multiple embarrassments of last season (Childress can't decipher a good challenge flag, Favre gets caught sexting, Childress gets fired, Favre beats interception record by 5000, Randy Moss: the Rise and fall) really have got me to thinking if I very seriously should consider pledging my loyalty to another team. It didn't help matters much this past Sunday, when apparently the Vikes didn't realize that you do in fact have to attempt to keep winning into the second half of a football game. Sadly... we did fall victim to the smarmy group of pirate Buccaneers.

Happier Times in 2009... my sister in her T-Jack jersey (useless now)

Where can the Vikings bring happiness now? I dream of a year when the Vikings were the beam of hope this great state needed to carry us through another harsh winter. A year when the Metrodome was sold out to the thousands of fans boldly waving their PURPLE PRIDE towels while hoisting beer into the air, clashing with horned braided drunkards.... Shouting SKOOOOOOLLLLLL VIKINGS with no shame. I dream of the year: 1998.

It was the best of times.... It was the worst of times (Ventura was elected governor that year, after all). But Minnesota had a winning NFL team. Who could forget those days when the Cunningham jerseys weren't faded into a nearly violet purple? When Randy Moss was the rookie WR we had been waiting for? When Denny Green was a household name? When Will Smith provided the tune for a hit KDWB morning show song??

Man... those really were the good old days. Now I'm stuck in a time period of utter despair... where we acquire yet another washed up old quarterback who's glory days are long behind him. Where we have to get rid of a starting defense men because he's too fat. Where each week I shudder to think of whether it could get any worse... Is there hope for the Vikings? Is there hope for Minnesota sports? Do I dare say that I'm going to have to start cheering for the Lynx because I've lost my faith in all other professional sports teams here? Do I dare say that I have to search elsewhere in the Midwest for another team to cheer on??

I could be a Lions fan? Clearly they do exist....

What's a girl to do... when I've already turned my back on my team to try and make something of myself in the world of Fantasy Football. When I can't help but revert to the glory days of 4th grade when the Vikings seemed to be truly the Kings of the world... When life was just plain better for everybody. Come on Vikes. Turn it around.

At least give me reason to believe in the Packers, only for the sole purpose of boosting my fantasy team. 

History Part 3... well, sort of.

Tonight Dusty and I were planning on going to see the movie "Contagion" at AMC. We are a bit tight on money these days so I thought I had him persuaded when I told him it would be my treat (Secret: I was planning to use 20 dollars in cash that my grandma gave me on the day I was baptized). Well, in a not so uncommon change of plans, we bailed and instead took my brother out for soup at Eddingtons (my favorite local Har Mar restaurant). It would have been the makings of a great night out... until we made a poor choice sitting next to a teenaged boy who was clearly unaware of not only the great projection his voice had with NO effort, but also of how obnoxious his voice sounded period. Think Fran Drescher a la "The Nanny." Literally ruined my entire meal.

That's him in the blue... Curses!!

The night was not a complete waste, however, because Dusty had brought over a different movie from Netflix called "The Hurricane"- a 1999 drama starring Denzel Washington as Rubin "Hurricane" Carter, a popular African American boxer from the 1960's who (note, during the heart of the Civil Rights Movement) was wrongly convicted of a triple homicide at a New Jersey bar. For being two and a half hours long, I really enjoyed this one.

It's no surprise for those who know me that I love the Civil Rights Movement. It's been my favorite time period of study in U.S. History... It was my favorite subject to teach. I am absolutely fascinated by every aspect of this era. Civil Rights movies have lately become an obsession of mine. Over the summer I've watched a lot... The Hurricane being the latest. Some of the best I've seen this summer include The Help, Ghosts of Mississippi, Remember the Titans (obviously not new, but also starring Denzel)... I seriously love this type of film. I think for me, it's very hard to imagine or grasp the feel of the time period without having visuals... Movies help to bring the injustice to life for me. I struggle to understand both sides of the issues that faced our country at the heart of the 1960's... but when I see it on film, although often "glamorized" by Hollywood, I get emotionally charged, and it makes me want to know more. The Hurricane did all this and more for me. It flashed back and forth between pivotal moment's in the life of the famed boxer and also tied in some surprising details that ultimately led to his release from prison. The back story behind how he gets there is pretty cool. Very fascinating.

Rubin "Hurricane" Carter in the 1960's

 

 

 

Denzel Washington as "THE HURRICANE"

That being said, I seriously can't rave enough about how amazing of an actor Denzel Washington is. He nails the portrayals of his character's perfectly in nearly every role! He pours a lot of passion and soul into the people he is portraying on screen and for me, he really brings to life the different personalities that were so prevalent through out the Civil Rights Movement. Denzel (we are gonna pretend that I'm on a first name basis here) nailed Hurricane... he nails Malcolm X in the biopic about the famous Black nationalist, and he is amazing as football coach Herman Boone in Remember the Titans. Throw out Civil Rights movies and he's STILL amazing in films like Glory, Training Day, Fallen, John Q, Philadelphia.... If you watch his movies, no matter what the back story, there is almost always an underlying issue facing the plot and I love that he pursues roles that tie in to these themes. I can't pretend that I am a movie expert (you might need to ask Dusty when it comes to that!) But when it comes to my history movies, I highly recommend any flick that stars Denzel, including "The Hurricane."

Check out the trailer if you are interested in seeing the movie for yourself.

Now on a sidenote, one thing that stuck out to me from this movie was the theme song used to portray the events that surrounded Hurricane through out his first court trial. After a couple seconds, I immediately recognized the artist singing the tune as Minnesota's own Bob Dylan. I actually am kind of a fan of Bob (again, first name basis here) because his songs were also quite popular through out the Civil Rights movement. Turns out- he wrote a song about Rubin Carter in the 60's and the music video I found on YouTube isn't too bad a depiction of the Movement itself. This tune is pretty catchy. I never heard it before watching the movie but you can't NOT enjoy that fiddle! Am I right? Gotta include that in the blog post as well... obviously.

Also, how about that bongo jam?! Do you like how I pretend to be an expert movie critic, music critic, and master historian all in one blog post? Oh and also a grouch after including that bit about the kid at Eddington's at the beginning. All jokes aside, I would recommend this movie and I also am very proud to write yet another historically based blog post, this time including my FAVORITE era in American history! Believe me, I'm having fun with this and there will be plenty more history related posts to come... if you don't mind :-)

Happy Wednesday!
*Just so you know, Dusty and I still plan on seeing "Contagion." I will possibly write up my thoughts on it afterward if I feel like it is worthy. Also, as I was reading through this blog post, it dawned on me that at my old college house, the neighbor boy was named Denzel. He was the cutest little kid but he couldn't have been more than 7 or 8. My guess is that his parents just might be fans of the actor. I don't really think Denzel is the most popular of names until THIS Denzel came along (the actor, not my neighbor). It's like naming your daughter Beyonce. Just my opinion. 

Who's that lady? History Part 2

9/11 is always kind of a weird day. There is so much history that I could delve into being that yesterday marked the 10th anniversary of the terrorist attacks in NY, DC, and PA. However, I want to lift the spirits today and do a little something different.

Just to lighten the mood.

Also, I had so much fun writing my blog in "history mode" in the last post! I have to give it a second go.

So, anyways. I was reading some 9/11 articles today to see what types of things were going on around the country to honor the 10th anniversary. I noticed some photographs of First Lady Michelle Obama with the President today and got to thinking about First Ladies. First off, you can't deny it... no matter how you feel about her, or her husband, the Michelle Obama has STYLE! She is a classy dresser and I would kill to nail the looks that she's nailed since her husband took office. From there, I started to let my mind wander to fashion and the First Ladies. I find it very interesting of the most influential First Ladies in our nation's history, majority of them have been quite fashionable. I did a little internet research on the subject. But more on that later. I found out also that it is officially "Fashion Week" in New York. How can I resist tying these two together??

First things first: Mary Todd Lincoln {Wife of Abe} rumored to be the true "fashion pioneer" of American First Ladies. Rumor has it she was a bit off her rocker and she actually suffered from some mental illness after her husband's assassination. Still... a fashionable woman being she was First Lady in the 1800's... No?

I remember being a little girl visiting my grandparents every summer for vacation. My grandma Bev is a HUGE history buff, especially when it comes to the Presidents. She had a coffee table book FULL of facts concerning the First Ladies of the U.S. and I read that book OVER and over and over again. I could not get enough. I think that instilled a love of historical things into me from a very young age. I loved learning about the women behind our countries most influential men. From then up until now, I've developed a love for a few First Ladies in particular, and managed to do some internet searching on the best First Lady looks of all time. I thought it would be fun to share with you. If you aren't a history person, just love this for the outfits. And if your not a fashion person, well... then just love it for the history I guess!

I am in love with this dress. I have no idea who the designer or label is. But she looks fab.

No one can top Jackie Kennedy. I have to include multiple looks of hers that I absolutely love.

Just classy.

Love this.

 Just a sampling of the best of the best in First Lady Fashion. Nothing like style, class, and elegance to accompany being the important woman behind the leader of our nation!

History lessons with Casey Miller

Once upon a time in 1945, the United States came out of World War II victorious and celebratory.

Men and women serving overseas came home to eagerly waiting loved ones. Mothers, fathers, sons and daughters welcomed back the service men and women with open arms. Perhaps more importantly, husbands and wives were reunited after weeks, months, and years apart. It was a happy time for the good old U-S of A.

I'm so excited! And I just can't hide it!

Did ya catch that last part? Happy husbands were reunited with happy wives and together they celebrated and created all kinds of happiness!! SO much happiness, in fact, that our country experienced what is now referred to as the BABY BOOM. A surge in the growth of population due to the record setting number of babies born from about 1945 until the early 1960's. It was an interesting time in the U.S. The war was over, families were eager to grow and thus.... a population surge. In fact, through out this time period, 78.3 MILLION AMERICANS were born into our country.

Naturally, an unexpected hike in the population caused for a lot of changes. The baby boomers effected nearly every aspect of the average American lifestyle. Think, for example, of the diaper industry. What happens to the diaper company when there is just a few hundred thousand million extra babies born than normal? The demand for diapers dramatically increases!! The need for people to crank out diapers increases, creating an availability for jobs... And thus, industry is succeeding. What happens when an entire generation turns 5 and has to go to kindergarten? Teachers are needed to TEACH all those extra little youngsters. New schools are established. Which creates more jobs for teachers... (Can you tell where I am going with this...)

My favorite analogy, from a historical standpoint, is this: What happens when an entire generation born in say... 1947, turns twenty years of age in the midst of an extremely controversial war (Vietnam) while there is also an emergence of anti war movements and demonstrations, civil rights movements and demonstrations, women's rights movements and demonstrations, introduction of the birth control pill, rise in environmental awareness and protection, and let's not forget: rise in popularity of Rock N' Roll, increase in the availability of drugs both new and old??

You get hippies. Free love. Peace movements. Tye dye. Janis Joplin. The Rolling Stones. Kent State. I Have a Dream. Silent Spring. Woodstock. Nixon. All the makings of the best scenes in Forrest Gump.

Could it have happened without the baby boom????

This history-based rant is kind of all over the place. But I promise you I'm going somewhere with it. One, it feels good just to write about my passion. It was fun for me to introduce you to my favorite time period of study EVER! (The 60's, if you couldn't tell) and Three, I think it's important to understand and analyze that history is bound to repeat itself in many ways. I say that with a twist. And I use the baby boom example for this reason. When the babies were born, there was a need for certain things related to the age of the generation. As they have come of age, those needs change and evolve again, based on the age of the generation.

So now that the year is 2011, the earliest of the baby boomers are reaching the ripe old age of 65. The average age of retirement in America is currently 62, according to the United States Social Security Administration**. That means that in the next twelve to twenty years, hundreds of thousands of MILLIONS of jobs will have vacancies and will need to be filled. Baby boomers are going to retire. You can't work forever.  But I am starting to understand that in today's economy, people have a higher need to continue working. It makes perfect sense. It doesn't bother me. But it does kind of encourage me to take a look back on history to come to a calming realization today that SOMEDAY, I am going to get a real job. As the baby boomers reach retirement age, I am genuinely hoping our economy will be in recovery somewhat, as more jobs are opening to people ready, willing and able to occupy them. All it takes is a little historical research to come to the conclusion :) But at any rate, I wanted to write this little un-required essay to encourage you readers out there who, like me, are unemployed and frustrated with being unable to find full time work. It will happen.

Someday I'm going to teach in a classroom full of eager-to-learn young students, and give them this exact lesson on history*. And I will love my job and be thankful and happy and excited about the retired teacher who went before me. Or maybe those won't be the circumstances at all. But I'm hopeful!! Jobs are going to open up, people. For more reasons than just the ones I gave here. I'm trying to stay optimistic. And I am so pumped that I finally got to incorporate a little historical info into a blog post. WOOHOO.

I also thoroughly enjoyed the Rolling Stones video during the making of this blog post.

*When I was student teaching, I kind of got scolded for the way I told my students the story of the beginnings of the baby boom. I tried to explain as innocently as possible to a room full of 10th graders that the end of the war happiness contributed to a lot of happy reproduction in our country. My coop-teacher kind of gave me a look like I was being inappropriate. Oops. What was I supposed to do, sugar coat it? I remember what it was like to be in 10th grade. Whatevs. 


**One more thing... On the subject of Social Security. As the baby boom generation grows old enough to receive Social Security benefits.. what do you think will happen to this already depleting government fund? When there becomes a need for some 80 million people to receive SS benefits.. it will run out. I guarantee you this will happen. So when you take a look at your paycheck and see that small amount taken out every time for Social Security benefits, act like it doesn't even exist to you. You will never receive that money in your future, ever. I hate to break it to ya. I think that will take my political rant count on this blog to 2. Sorry. See ya!

D~I~Y: Rise to the challenge!

A couple of months ago, I started to develop a love for wine. I am not an alcoholic by ANY means, nor do I splurge on fancy bottles or pretend to be a snob about it... I just enjoy a glass of wine here and there. After a few weeks, I started to collect the corks from wine bottles I'd purchased and just set them aside. I then stumbled upon a fabulous DIY project blog called Design*Sponge. This is one of those websites you happen upon... peruse for three hours before you know what hit you, thus forming an instant obsession. I found the following idea from the website that I feel will be PERFECT for my collected wine corks:

Wait... how am I going to acquire THAT many corks...?

What I love about projects that are "Do It Yourself" is that you can create amazingly cute stuff from things that honestly could just be lying around in your house. After I got the idea for the corkboard I decided to keep looking. I am not very experienced when it comes to DIY projects... But I did take a step in the right direction last December when I decided that for my mother's Christmas gift, I wanted to do something special and different. I heard of the idea for a "felt wreath" from a friend of mine. She explained how to make it, and I went away at creating the following:

Note: this is not a photograph of MY wreath, but I kid you not, mine turned out very similar. I wouldn't lie, I promise.

My mom loved the wreath and it was the little boost of confidence I needed to assure myself that I could in fact complete a successful do it yourself without the result of a complete disaster.

I'm dying to try more projects on my own. Partly because I think it's fun to be in pursuit of the supplies needed to create something adorable and creative, and also because I love all things homemade. To put time and effort into something that is cute, decorative, maybe even fashionable makes it all the more enjoyable. I've done some browsing online, and here are just a few other DIY projects that I feel would be worth trying. What do you think?

Mason Jar Soap Dispenser: I have seen mason jars everywhere lately, especially at weddings used as decorations. How cute is this idea? I would love to try it.

Paint sample coasters. This is something definitely worth trying to me. The paint samples are free at your local hardware store, I imagine the coaster part would require porcelain and "hodge podge" glue of some kind to create the stick... I so so so want to try this. I think it's an adorable idea.

Last but not least: This is an upside down table used as a toddler bed! I don't have a toddler, but I absolutely love this idea. What I DO have, is an enormously huge yellow lab that would just LOVE a fancy little bed like that... in fact, it's just his size... What are YOUR thoughts on these ideas??