3 Weeks

So it looks like I won't be seeing Phillip until the 16th of October. That's nearly 3 weeks away. I'm really not happy with it, but it just won't work any other weekend.

This coming weekend I'm headed up to Arlington for the football game. Grace has the whole weekend mapped out and printed into a schedule. Get this, there's no spot for Ashley to go visit Phillip. Hmph.

But next weekend, I could quite possibly head to Arlington to spend the weekend with Phillip, but that won't really be smart. I have two (possibly three) major exams the following week that make up half of my total grade for those courses. So they're huge exams that I will need the whole weekend to study for. Plus, I have a review that Friday night until 6pm, so I wouldn't be able to get to Arlington until at least 9:00. It would just be entirely too complicated to go up there that weekend.

Therefore, October 16th it is, much to my dismay. We have been pretty good about not going more than 2 weeks without seeing each other since first semester of this past school year. It'll be difficult, but I know it'll make that weekend we get to see each other more special.

But don't you worry, you'll get an earful over the next 3 weeks about how much I miss him. I figured you'd like that.

Lonely

I drove back to my apartment today from Austin. When I walked in the door and put my stuff in my room, I realized that Phillip wasn't with me. It was a very empty feeling, to say the least. I miss him already.

This weekend with him was a blast. I felt like we were a REAL couple. For the first time, I actually felt engaged to him. This weekend really made my marrying him no longer something I couldn't believe.

It's finally starting to sink in that I will be marrying him in a little over a year and a half. I like that feeling. :)

So what's in store for me this week? Well, I have two quizes on Tuesday, and not much after that until Friday. This weekend I'm going with some girlfriends up to Arlington for the A&M game at the new Cowboys stadium. I'm kind of bummed that it looks like they won't give me time to go see Phillip. He'll be so close. I'm not exactly thrilled about the trip since it will be the fourth out of the last five weekends that I'll be out of town. Can't I just sleep in and enjoy doing nothing? I suppose that's for the following weekend though.

Tomorrow: Austin Bound

Tonight is a bittersweet night.

On one hand, it's the last night with Phillip in my apartment for a while. I'm really going to miss him, and come Sunday, it'll be awfully lonely here.

On the other hand, I get to spend two more nights with him in Austin after tonight, so there's no goodybyes yet. It'll be fun to do our first vacation as an engaged couple. Plus, I get to see Heather for the first time in a very long time, my grandparents, my cousin, my family, and Phillip's cousins. It's the first time that I feel like we're making our rounds as a permanent couple. Exciting!!!

That's Better :)

I missed him so much. As soon as I saw him, I almost teared up with happiness. He is my other half and I just haven't felt complete without him here. Man I love him.

I get to see him tomorrow!!!
I feel like it's been entirely too long, even though it's only been about 8 days since I've seen him last. This time has just felt like years.

Disbelief - STILL

I wake up every morning in disbelief that I get to marry the man of my dreams. I still can't believe that he is all mine and can't believe that I love him this much. How did I get to be so lucky?

I get to see him on my birthday, which is Tuesday. He's beyond nice for doing that. He's taking just about a whole week of school so he can spend time with me and then my family this coming weekend. How perfect is that?

Turning 21 with my fiance is the best way I could think of spending my evening. We'll go somewhere to eat and then come back to my apartment to hang out. That's what I'm looking forward to - just hanging out with him.

Last weekend was such a whirlwind that - with the exception of Friday evening - we didn't get to just be with each other. So that'll be nice this coming week.

Now I must go study and clean so i can devote the most time possible to him.

I love you Phillip!

Wedding Planning Thus Far

So this week, I've done what any newly engaged girl does - sat down to do some preliminary planning.

Now, Phillip and I are still planning on saying 'I do' sometime in the summer of 2011, but it's never too early to assemble a game plan.

I took my personal list of things that need to get done, and combined that list with 3 others I found from various wedding sources to compile a Master To Do List for the next year and 9 months. It is so full, but at least I know what to do and when to start doing it.

From now until December, Phillip and I just have to narrow down our vision, hash out a rough budget, and enjoyn being engaged. :)

In December, we're getting my ring resized and engraved - haven't decided what to engrave yet, though (add that to the list!!!). We're also touring the Ballpark (our hopeful reception site). If we love it, we'll put a deposit down for a specific date!! Then, if we have time, we'll try to reserve the date at a church in Arlington. It'll be a big month, but not as busy as the coming months.

Pretty much the big planning starts next summer and takes off from there. For the next nine months, I need to just prepare myself for the fastest and busiest months of my life. Oh yeah, and I'll still be in school and keeping up with a long-distance relationship.

I'm ready to marry Phillip, though. More ready than I ever have been. These next several months will fly by and then I'll get to begin my life with the man of my dreams. I'm anxious, nervous, but excited at the same time. It's easy to be excited when you know you're doing the right thing. :D

mishoo

I know this is starting to sound old and overdone, but I really miss Phillip. I get to see him in just 4 days, but the past 5 have seemed like a lifetime. This time I miss him more than I ever have, easily. I was not ready to say goodbye on Sunday. I wasn't ready to leave. I wasn't ready to drive away from my new fiance. Now I sit here missing him and painfully counting down the days until he gets here to give me a huge hug.

Update :)

I have been so busy basking in the light of this engagement this week. While I don't particularly like the attention of strangers who sneak into my conversations with my friends, I LOVE the positive attention from my wonderful friends and family.

Phillip and I have so much great support, and that feeling is pretty incredible. We haven't had one single person say anything remotely negative, or even neutral.

I also can't stop looking at my ring! It sparkles so much! I wake up every morning and the first thing I do is hold up my hand. I feel like I need to pinch myself to make sure I'm not dreaming. This ring reminds me of the best weekend of my life, and all the feelings I have for Phillip surface. Who knew that such a material possession could have the power to bring up so many non-material emotions?

I miss him a lot too. Probably more than I ever have. I do get to see him this Tuesday (for my birthday) and he's staying through Sunday. But it can't come soon enough. I have never felt this much love for him or from him. This is such an incredible high and I don't want it to ever go away.

When he proposed to me, I didn't cry - though I wanted to. But since then, my emotions have been building and now I tear up every time I think about that night, the future, and our love. This state I'm in is love euphoria and I don't want it to end. Ever.

I am truly the happiest girl in the entire world.

I Said YES

So if you haevn't heard by now, PHILLIP ASKED ME TO MARRY HIM!!!

That was my big surprise I was talking about, apparently. So the story? The pictures? The future? My thoughts on everything? Here it is....

Friday
I drove into Arlington and arrived at Phillip's apartment at 5. It was just early enough so that I could spend time with him before getting ready. I then showered at about 5:30. Then I shut the door in Phillip's room so I could get ready and truly stun him when I walked out. It worked. At 7:10, I walked out to see the love of my life with the best look on his face - love. He really liked the way I looked that night. :)

We left the apartment at 7:15. It was pouring down rain, but luckily I love rain and we had an umbrella. All of the night's events were still a surprise to me. I was expecting us to maybe go to a nice restaurant or steakhouse either in the Arlington Hilghlands area or back near home. So imagine my surprise when we veered off to 183 east. By this time I was lost and stopped guessing. As we entered downtown Dallas, the wonder was taking over and I just wanted to be wherever we were going.

There it was. The Hilton Anatole. I had heard many wonderful things about this hotel, but had never been inside. We pulled up to the valet (yes - valet!!), and got out. The hotel was beautiful and very impressive. Even the elevator was a piece of art. Everyone was dressed up, and as we rode the elevator to the 27th floor (the top), my stomach was filled with butterflies from intrigue and excitement.

We ate at Nana's restaurant. The food was delicious and expensive. My chair was pulled out for me, they placed my napkin in my lap, and everything had long and hard to pronounce names. I felt like a princess and a VIP at the same time. I must have had a smile on my face bigger than a kid in a candy store.

Drinks: We each had distilled water and iced tea - both in fancy glasses.
Appetizers: The chef gave us complimentary appetizers, I guess because he was trying a new creation. It was limeade with mint and cocanut. It was served cold and had a delicious froth on top.
Starter: Phillip didn't find anything he had wanted (probably nervous by this point), but I had a potato-like soup. A large spoonful of frothed sour cream was served in a fancy bowl, topped with flame-crisped chives. Tableside, they poured a creamed potato and milk mixture over the sour cream and chives. It was also served cold, which sounds weird, but it was still good. Beautiful presentation and I felt special having a "tableside presentation".
Main Course: Phillip had a NY Strip steak, marinated with a lemon sauce and served with parmesan and rosemary (i think??) french fries. Of course, they weren't called french fries in the menu, rather something like "crisp portioned potatoes" or something else fancy. My dinner was GREAT! I had grilled salmon on top of a sweet sauce that was drizzled on the plate. There were two mini lamb ribs, glazed in that same sweet sauce. All of that was served on top of carrots and sweet peppers sauteed with garbonzo beans. The salmon was so moist, but still cooked throughout, and the lamb meat literally fell off the bone.

I must also talk about the wonderful view from our table. We sat right near the window. It was a panoramic view of downtown Dallas. I could see all of the trademark buildings, along with reunion tower. To top it all off, the lightening cascading accross the sky added a great affect. I'd give that restaurant an A for atmosphere, and an A for food.

After dinner, we went back down to the valet and after getting in the car, Phillip started driving through Dallas. By this time, I figured we were headed to the place we'd be staying for the night. I was right. We drove up to the hotel. It was on the corner of Binchley and Hillcrest, right next to the SMU campus. GORGEOUS HOTEL.

We had valet parking again (yes, I was the princess that night!) and took my things up to the room. When I walked in the door, the room was the nicest I had ever seen. It was the most expensive Lux Suite with a kitchen, living room, huge bedroom, huge shower, and a balcony that wrapped around the entire corner suite. Phillip had also added a personal touch of 3 bouquets of flowers.

Phillip then decided that we needed to go on the balcony to take a picture of the two of us, since we hadn't earlier. So we werent out to the balcony. He set up his tripod and fancy camera. He tested the light, and then we started taking pictures. It took a couple of shots, but then we got a good one. Phillip then said we needed to take one more just in case. I agreed. He set the timer and walked over to where I was. Then, he dropped to one knee and said, "Will you marry me?" AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH! I couldn't believe this was actually happening!! The flash went off in the midst of this, documenting that moment. The first words out of my mouth: "Oh my gosh!" I didn't cry, though I felt like I was going to. I was in shock, to the point of speechlessness.

The rest of the evening was filled with a champagne toast, spending some time together, and calling/texting all of our friends and family.

Saturday
I couldn't sleep at all Friday night. I was way too excited. So when 9:00 came, I got up. Phillip and I watched the rain outside the windows, and ate a great breakfast in bed. We were lucky enough to get complementary room service due to a slight, and minor, mix-up earlier. I had a bowl of fruit and a bagel, while Phillip had a bacon fritatta (spelling?) with rosemary potatoes and toast.

For lunch, we drove down the street to Burger House. It was a greasy indoor burger stand, that proved to be quite tasty. By the way, it was still pouring down rain at this point, which it did for the rest of the weekend without stop. But you know, I love rain!!

After lunch, we went to my parents' house to hang out for a little while. My parents were so excited and happy, though they had known of this whole plan for a couple of months. My whole family knew. I can't believe they kept this a secret from me!

During this time, I went to Manda's to show her my ring and talk to her, then went to Plato's Close to see Christine for the same reasons. There, I also got a dress for Saturday night.

After all of this, it was 5:00, so we had to go back to Arlington to get ready for the Hall of Honor banquet for UTA athletics. Phillip had to take pictures and Josh had to record for a story, so Ashley Stewart and I both went as dates. It was our first official outing as fiances. One of Phillip's coworkers even said, "So this is your girlfriend?" to which Phillip responded, "well, my fiance." EEEEEEKKK! :D

After the banquet, we changed and went with Josh and Ashley to see Extract at the Parks Mall. It was an okay movie, but hard to concentrate on when all of this exciting stuff was happening.

Sunday
We woke up Sunday morning, and got ready rather quickly. We then headed to Phillip's parents' house to visit with them and watch the game. We had chilli dogs. Phillip's mom gave me a wedding magazine, a very thoughtful card welcoming me to the family, and money to go get a manicure.

At half time, we went to see Phillip's grandmother down the street and spend some time with her. Then it was back to my house to see my second and third sets of families (very close family friends) who were at my house for the game. After making our rounds, Phillip said goodbye.

I visited some more, then went with my big sister to get my nails done since I don't trust anyone here in College Station. We talked a lot and had a great time. Then it was back to my house for visiting before leaving to go back to school.

My heart was breaking the entire drive back. I have never missed him so much, never loved him this much. This weekend was such a growth experience, and I was not ready to leave him again. But luckily I get to see him in 9 days for 6 days straight!

The Future
We are still planning on getting married in the summer of 2011. For the next 6-9 months, all we have to do is enjoy being engaged, possibly book the prospective venues, and have an engagement party. The hardcore planning doesn't start until this next summer with dress shopping!! I'm excited, but realize it'll be a lot of work.

I'm beyond happy. I'd say I'm the happiest I've ever been in my entire life. He makes me so happy and I feel so much love from him. I can't wait to be Mrs. Ashley Nicole Long. It's still a while away, but I'm definitely a big step closer. I love my fiance!!!

Tomorrow, Tomorrow, I Love You Tomorrow

I get to see him tomorrow. I'm so excited to see what he has planned. I think I have some of it figured out, simply because I know him. But last night he said what he had in mind isn't anything I could guess.

We'll see. I'll let you know how close I was and also what his surprise ends up being.

I can't wait! Phillip's really into this surprise, and it's making me so curious!

Plus, I get to spend a whole weekend with him again. I'm pretty much the happiest girl in the world right now. :)

5 days!!

5 days! 5 days! 5 days! 5 days!

I get to see Phillip in 5 days!

We're celebrating our 5 year anniversary this weekend. I know it's not as big as a wedding anniversary, but it's still a significant milestone. He has some sort of fun surprise for me. I had to buy a dress and everything. I'm VERY excited. :)

My Superman

Today I woke up to find a roach in our kitchen. Now if you know anything about me at all, it's that I am terrified of them. So about that time this morning, I wished Phillip would come down to College Station and pick it up for me. That's what he does. He saves me from anything - no questions asked, and no making fun of me. He's just great like that.

This Last Weekend

So this past weekend, I drove up to Arlington to see the love of my life. It was definitely needed. I had a blast and fell in love all over again. We had a mini movie marathon, played a few games of Bananagrams, ate a lot, and just hung out.

I miss him every day. Of course, those of you reading this, know that I miss him every day. But tonight, I really miss him. Some nights are just worse than others I guess.

This summer, I got to see him play softball every week. Tonight, he's out playing, and I'm 3 hours away. I'm jealous of everyone that does get to see him tonight. I wish I could be there.

I get to see Phillip next weekend for our anniversary. That's right, we've been together for 5 years!!! And we're more in love than we ever have been. People had their doubts, but we never did. I'm pretty sure that getting through these college years will make our relationship stronger than just about any other obstacle.

But yeah, this last weekend was perfect. (Sorry to jump around, I guess that's kind of my mood right now). I couldn't have asked for a better time. Maybe that's why tonight is difficult and why these next few days are going to be harder than I'd like.