We're gonna get hitched!

Yay we're engaged!!!! Just had to throw that out there for those of y'all who didn't know that already :) Ok so here goes the story.. I'll start from the semi-beginning. Lee and I started looking at rings at the first of the year. We fell in love with this ring The original ring. However, it was pretty pricey and wasn't exactly what I wanted. So Lee decided to have it custom made at Montelongo's in College Station. Well let me tell  you it took FOREVER (or so it seemed). I have been counting down the days for months now! I thought originally it was going to happen soon after he graduated the academy (in April). But Lee had other plans :) Ok back to the present. Lee had been acting kinda funny the past week. By funny I mean he was trying to make plans and asking me all these questions (he hardly ever plans things so i was getting suspicious). I was trying really hard not to get my hopes up but they were definitely up! He told me last Friday that he didn't have the ring and didn't know when it was going to be ready... and of course i cried. Well we leave Huntsville on Sunday to come to CS (because Lee wanted to "relax & chill in CS"). Monday rolls around and he has an appointment at 10-10:30 to go "play games with his buddy" (which was code for I'm going to pick up the ring from the jewelers... which he did with his cousin Jessica). He came back and we went to Plato's Closet cause I wanted a new dress for our "date night". We just hung out watching tv and stuff till around 4ish (all this time Lee is incessantly checking the weather and scared that its going to rain and all... suspicious yes?). Then we got ready and drove over to Research Park on the A&M campus. P.s. I saw like 15 Volkswagens on the way over there which means it really was my lucky day (we play the hit each other when you see a VW game.. ya know like the tv commercials) So we pull into the park and Lee starts looking for this specific stream that we'd been to before (at this point I pretty much KNEW it was coming and was starting to freak out!!) So we found the stream and He took a picture of me (that was his cover story... that we were going there to "take pictures") and I saw a flash in the bushes and thought to myself "Did I just see a flash in the bushes!?" Then he got down on one knee. Told me he loved me. Said "Lauren Elizabeth Berry will you marry me?!?" I said yes! He took my promise ring off of my left hand and put it on my right (poor guy he was shaking so badly!) and put my beautiful engagement ring on my left ring finger :)) Then we kissed (yay!!). Chris & Tammy Myers and Jessica Lyons were hiding in the bushes videoing and taking pictures (Thank you guys so much!!). So we have awesome pictures & video of the pre & post proposal! We're planning on getting married sometime in May of 2011 after I graduate nursing school. We'll keep you updated and I'll get to working on a wedding website super soon!!!!! YAYYYYY!!!! 

Cooking!

I recently had a wonderful cooking experience with my lovely sister Jessica at their home in Gatesville. It was SUCH a fun time! I love spending time with my sis & baby Abigail! Learning to cook well is my new passion! Jessica is educating me on the ways of a thrifty wife (since I hope to be one of those very soon!) Lee and I visited the Farm Patch in Bryan today and it was AMAZING!!! We got two big bags of fruits & veggies for 16$! I will definitely be visiting that place more often! I have never been a huge veggie fan but I am trying to branch out and explore! I ended up just sautéing the veggies (which included red & green bell pepper, onion, garlic, mushroom, squash, & zucchini) in grapeseed oil with a little salt & Mrs. Dash's seasoning. Grapeseed oil is my sisters influence. It has a higher heat tolerance than olive oil which does something that's suppose to be healthier for you or something... i'm not exactly sure the reasoning but its tastes good!

I LOVE reading the pioneer woman's blog! O those recipes... mmm they look so scrumdiddliumcious!! But then again I feel myself gain 5 lbs because they is so much butter!! That's another area Jess is edumacating me on... the fine world of cooking light! Cooking with applesauce and whole wheat flower may not sounds o so yummy but it's really not that bad (and your arteries will thank you later by not forming plaque and hardening so as to not allow blood flow to semi-essential parts like your brain and heart ;) So for a healthier version of the Pioneer Woman's recipes I turn to http://www.cookinglight.com/. It has great quick & healthy-er-ish alternatives!

Ok enough of cooking... I started summer school again. Less than a year till I am finished with nursing school whoop! I am excited/not so excited about this semester. Excited because we'll be learning about more acute disorders & get to work in the ER & ICU a couple times and because we only have school 2 days a week. Whew that makes me tired just thinking about it! Not so excited because we have class for 5 hours on Wed & then clinicals for 12 hours which makes for a long 2 days. Yep you read that right TWELVE HOUR clinicals. That means i'm at St. Joseph's Hospital from 6:30AM to 7:00PM on Thursdays. If you ever at the hospital on Thursday's at that time hit me up! I'll be one of the 10 people wearing identical maroon scrubs running around like a chicken with its head cut off (or being totally bored... there's hardly ever a happy medium of business & slowness in the hospital)!

Lee has been enjoying work. He's keeping busy doing such things as pulling his girlfriend over on the highway just because he can... O Texas Justice. He's 1/4 of the way through his FTO period! Man it seems like I just watched him graduate. Time is going by faster & faster every year!

Well thats about it for now. Y'all stay safe & don't speed in Conroe :)