Happy Birthday Gabby!

Today is my hunny's 23rd birthday!

I'm so very blessed to have him in my life. He's so generous and kind, but most of all, he puts up with me on a daily basis (I think he deserves an award for that alone!). He's my #1 supporter and encourager, and has this innate ability to be positive when I'm down or negative. I don't know how he does it, but he does! 

He's also so intelligent. I mean, seriously. He knows all the U.S. Presidents and basically everything about American Colonial History. The man is a walking encyclopedia. Nuff said. 

More than anything, Gabby is my best friend. Over the past six years, he has been my rock in some of the most difficult times of my life. He has hugged me, laughed with me, cried with me, and most importantly, prayed with me. God has done such an extraordinary work in his life, and I am so proud of the Godly man he has become. 

After six years of hopes and dreams, our prayers are finally being answered one by one, and we're starting to grow up little by little. It's so exciting to see your dreams become a reality right before your eyes, and it's so much better to have someone to experience them all with. I can't imagine a better partner to spend my life with. And I can't wait to see what God has in store for us! 

Happy Birthday baby! I love you!

Jackie.

Anyone who know me knows that I've been Jackie Nespral's number one fan since I was like 10. I know. I'm a huge dork.

I grew up watching NBC6, and I was always drawn to the making of a newscast, and I just always loved her because she seemed so down to earth. She was the first person that I wanted to mold my career after, and she's been one of my role models for such a long time.

Since I started my internship there, I've been slightly starstruck from seeing all these personalities I grew up with face-to-face. But I've always wanted to meet Jackie.

Today I got that chance!

She usually comes in after I leave, so I'd never seen her in person before. But today she had a story to edit, so she came a little early. For the record, the woman is flawless. She doesn't look a day over 30. I want to look like that when I'm older. Before I left, I mustered up all my courage and stopped by her office. The conversation went a little something like this (with my thoughts for extra kicks):

(knock on door)
Jackie: Come in...
Me: Hiii. I'm Alexandra, I'm one of the interns this summer. It's great to meet you. (shakes hand. heart stops.)
Jackie: Hi Alexandra! Welcome aboard, it's great to have you.
Me: Thanks! I just wanted to let you know....(how do I tell her I love her and admire her without sounding like a creeper?)...you're awesome. (What did I just say??? I look like a fool. Good job. She thinks you're an idiot now.)
Jackie: (laughs) Aw, thank you so much.
Me: Well I really wanted to ask you... I wanted to know if you would be willing to look over my tape sometime and give me some pointers?
Jackie: Sure! Of course. Just drop by anytime and I'll be more than happy to look it over for you.
Me: Great! Thank you so much! It was great meeting you.
Jackie: Same here! Bye!
(leave office. legs shake.)

I'm so happy right now!

That's all I wanted to share. :)

Great News!

I want to thank everyone for all of your prayers!

Gabby got the job! :D

I'm so excited/proud/happy for him to start not just a new job, but a career that he is passionate about. God has been so good to us, and we have been patient in waiting on His will.

In our small group we've been studying the book of Genesis, and something we discussed (a few weeks ago in fact) was praying specifically for things. I argued that I wouldn't be able to tell God specifically what I wanted, just because I'd feel like I'm telling Him what to do for me, when He's the one who knows the plans He has for me. But some of my friends mentioned that they had prayed specifically for certain things, and in doing so were able to more clearly see God's answer to those prayers. That is definitely true in this situation. Gabby wants to teach at the university level one day, and I mentioned to him that teaching an AP course would probably be something he would enjoy.

Well, the position he is being considered for is to teach AP American History for 11th and 12th graders.

Seriously. How perfect is that?

Only God can make things work out so beautifully. Thanks again to everyone for all your prayers! :)

Naples Vacation

For Memorial Day Weekend, my family and I took a much-needed getaway to beautiful Naples. It was just what we needed after a crazy Spring semester! We stayed in my uncle's apartment on Vanderbilt Beach, and did absolutely nothing but lay out by the beach and pool. It was glorious.

Here are some pictures:

my cousin & uncle love gourmet cooking, so for dinner one night they grilled some salmon fillets on cedar planks! So good. :)

As you can see, Naples has some pretty awesome sunsets. On our last night (Sunday), we walked over to the beach to take some photos. It's actually pretty crazy, but you can see the sun moving over the horizon! The coolest part about it, besides the sheer beauty of it, is that after the sun faded over the horizon, everyone on the beach started cheering. It was almost like they were giving a round of applause to God for the marvelous creation He made. The only thing I thought about was this verse from the book of Psalms:

The heavens declare the glory of God;

the skies proclaim the work of his hands.

 Day after day they pour forth speech;

night after night they display knowledge.

--Psalm 19:1-6

 

Retail Therapy!

So, yesterday I was having a pretty "blah" day. I was super emo and angry at the world for no apparent reason... I still can't put my finger on what it was! Anyway, I decided to do some studying for my Consumer Economics exam at school. After a couple of hours of that, Gabby surprised me in the library and asked if I wanted to do anything later. I said yes, so I headed on home while he went to church for mass. On the way home, I passed by the Goodwill Superstore. I remembered a friend of mine telling me that she had bought a super cute and chic jacket there for just $3! And since: 1) I was in the area, and 2) I'm a broke college student with barely enough to pay the bills, I thought, what the heck. Goodwill it is!

Let me just say, it's my new favorite store.

I walked (skipped?) away with:

• Abercrombie & Fitch jeans ($4)
• Michael Kors pants ($3!! I still can't believe it!!)
• Vintage boyfriend blazer ($7)
• Mossimo for Target T-shirt ($3)

All that for a total of $18.73!! That definitely made my college-student's heart oh so happy. Considering that I haven't gone shopping in ages just because I never have any money and clothes seem to be getting more and more expensive, I am SO excited to have discovered the beauty of thrifting! 

That literally made my day. Retail therapy really exists, and its name is Goodwill.

I still can't stop raving about it! {Well, that, and we ended up watching The Book of Eli. AMAZING. If you haven't seen it, GO. Right now.}