Say Goodbye

Last night was so much fun. I want to thank everyone who took the time out of their very busy schedules to bid us farewell. It was great to hang out with everyone and share that time together. And I'm glad that everyone participated in our Photobooth project. We successfully got silly pictures of everyone and hopefully we'll make a little album with it...even if it's only an "on-line album." 

Thanks again for hanging with us! We'll see most of you soon...so it really ISN'T goodbye. 

We love you. 

Angelina

Last week I finally got back behind the lens. 

I've known Angelina for a while now. We've been going to the same church for about eight years. And this past year we both worked at the preschool together. She's trying to launch a modeling career so I agreed to take some photos for her. I was grateful for the opportunity to be taking pictures again. We had fun at various locations and outfit changes. 

Here is one of my favorites and a few more will be up on the myspace. 

Enjoy!

notcot.org

Check us out on notcot.org

Thanks to Angel for the head's up.

open house

In just ten days Alex and I will be packing up all our stuff and making the long drive up to North Carolina. Ten days!

It feels unreal and we've been trying to see as many people as possible. We've had lunch dates and dinner dates with various friends. We've started saying our good-byes. We've come to the realization that the day we move is coming...and it's coming quickly!

We also realize that it would be impossible to have dinner dates with EVERYONE. First of all, we'll go broke. And we need money at a time like this [moving is expensive!]. Secondly, there's too many of you. So we decided to hold an open house night at our house on Monday the 28th. Just come by any time between 6 and whenever. We'd love to see you...hang out for a bit...talk...say "see ya later." It's not going to be a BIG party or anything. Just a time to talk. You can stay for as long or as little as you want. If you only have five minutes to chat, by all means, give us those five minutes! 

We hope to see as many of you as possible. Spread the word, since I know not everyone reads this blog. Tell anyone who knows us to come by. We love you all and will surely miss you.

Yeondoo Jung

I thought this art project by Korean artist, Yeondoo Jung, was pretty cool.

Children's drawings come to life.

Check it out.

I Love Miami - Part Four

Dolphin Mall.

That's right, I said it. I love Dolphin Mall. 

I know many Miamians dislike this mall for various reasons...but I love it. 

It has all my favorite stores: Forever 21, Aldo, Charlotte Russe, Guess, W Shoes, Banana Republic, Express, Journey's, PacSun, Tilly's, BCBG...and many other great stores. My favorite part is that most of these stores are outlets. Yay! I love clothes and I love a good bargain. Therefore, this is the perfect mall for me. 

Another great addition to this mall is the Cinebistro. I was able to experience this posh new theater last week along with my husband and friends. I have to say that I was impressed. It's definitely the best way to watch a movie. Large comfy seats, yummy food, and no one under the age of 21! 

Yes, I will sing praises to the wonders of Dolphin Mall forever more...we'll see what kind of shopping North Carolina has to offer...

[Part One]

[Part Two]

[Part Three]

wordle

I discovered this website through a friend's blog...

I thought it was kinda neat. Basically it takes a bunch of text and makes some kind of huge word collage with it. You can either manually enter a bunch of text or submit a URL from a blog and it'll generate it for you. 

So THIS is what it made when I entered the URL for my blog...hoorah. 

wordle.net

our first home

I finally received an e-mail today from Southeastern Seminary regarding our housing assignment! 

I was beyond ecstatic to receive all the information and relieved that we officially have a place to live. *whew*

Now I've been reading all these great blogs on decorating and whatnot. Even though Alex and I have restrictions we have to work with [since, after all, we are renting from the seminary], we are trying to come up with some creative ways to make our apartment a reflection of our style. Some great resources are decor8 and apartment therapy. I love all the different designs featured on these sites and I appreciate that they are trying to be eco-friendly. Not that I know much about "being green" but I'm learning. 

And of course, ETSY, has a bunch of great finds. 

Just 23 more days until Alex and I begin our first great adventure as a married couple.

Polka Dot Bride

I was checking my "google analytics," which lets me know how many people are visiting my blog as well as some other interesting little facts.

Well, under the "Referring Sites" section, the number one site was polkadotbride.com

I found this to be odd since I have never even heard of this website. Apparently it is a blog run by a woman in Australia who loves weddings. So I was checking around the website but couldn't see a link for my blog anywhere. I decided to search my name and lo and behold, there I was!

Apparently she made a small blurb about my polka dot wedding dress! It's cool to know that someone on the other side of the world saw my dress and even posted about it. 

The internet certainly makes the world a very small place. 

pain

I'm not much of a wuss when it comes to medical procedures.

When nurses bring out the needles to take my blood or vaccinate me, I barely bat an eye. 

When I've had to endure anesthesia shots for various dental procedures, I did it without complaint and without wriggling in my chair. When I had lasik surgery, I was overjoyed, not scared. And when I fractured my wrist in tenth grade, I honestly don't remember crying. 

Again, I am not much of a wuss when it comes to medical procedures. Mostly because I like being called a "good patient." And because I know that the pain is fleeting. 

But THIS is different. I don't think I've ever had to endure anything quite like this. 

As you know, I scraped my right foot and knee pretty bad when I was in Greece. I didn't think it was a big deal. I've had my fair share of scrapes. One only needs to take a look at my left knee to see the nice-sized scar I have there. And I survived.

But apparently the abrasion is very deep and it's more like a "second-degree burn," according to the doctor. This means I am NOT allowed to grow a scab there...especially if it is white or yellow in color. I was not aware of this tidbit of information. And when I saw that I was finally beginning to form a scab, I was overjoyed! Until I went to my doctor's appointment yesterday and she said that we couldn't have that. She had to scrub away all the scab and leave my wounds red and bleeding. It's literally the worst pain I've ever had to endure. And I am really thankful Alex was there to hold me and let me cry like a baby on his shoulder. 

The worst part is now she expects ME to do this to myself everyday...twice a day. Scrub away at my open wound until it is bloody and raw. Something about how it has to heal from the outside, in...yadda yadda yadda. This morning was my first attempt and I ended up not being about to take away all the white junk away from my knee because it was just stuck real good in there and I couldn't bring myself to pull at it anymore. Correct me if I'm wrong, but it's just not natural for human beings to hurt themselves on purpose. Not natural. 

So I don't know what I'm going to do. I really can't do this to myself. Just thinking about it makes a knot form in my throat and tears well up in my eyes.

Now I have to make a follow up appointment at the Wound Care Center in South Miami Hospital...but I believe they're in the habit of NOT picking up their phone...it's quite irritating. 

Again, prayers would be really really appreciated. Even if you think I'm just being a wuss, pray that I won't be. 

I Love Miami - Part Three

It's been a while since I continued my series on all the different reasons I love Miami...but now that the craziness of the wedding and honeymoon is over, I can now focus on my blogging once again. Hoorah!

Probably the biggest reason I love Miami is because this is where my grandma is.

My abuelita [as I affectionately call her] has lived with my family since I was in elementary school. And for the past five years it's been just me and her in this big house. She's been spoiling me for years! Cooking all my favorite foods, sweeping up my room when I would forget, cooking all my favorite foods, helping me run errands, cooking all my favorite foods!

She truly has a servant's heart. I don't know anyone who will do so much for so little in return. She never complains either. She just goes through her day, making everyone around her comfortable, always keeping busy. She amazes me. I wish I were even half the woman she is.

Needless to say, I am going to miss her when we move to North Carolina. 

[Part One]

[Part Two]

The Honeymooners

We're back!

And it was fantastic. I honestly didn't want it to end. Going on a 12 day cruise in Europe is definitely the best way to become spoiled. There is delicious food 24/7, friendly and hilarious staff, beautiful cities to visit, tons of activities to participate in... I've been bitten by the cruise bug. I already told Alex that for our first anniversary I want to go on a cruise! 

We took over 2000 photos and will post the best ones on our website soon enough. We're still trying to get organized since we didn't receive our luggage until yesterday! [reasons why I hate checking luggage]

And since many of you are wondering why I'm in crutches I will now tell you.

The short story is: we had a minor motorscooter accident in Greece. I went flying off and got scraped up real good. It wasn't so bad at first...but then it got infected and swollen. So as soon as we landed in Miami I went straight to urgent care where they cleaned me up and wrapped up my leg...with instructions not to walk on it. They gave me a couple shots and put me on some meds. Unfortunately it seems I had a not so great reaction to the antibiotics and I now have a nasty rash on my face...believe me, it's gross. I pretty much hate it and want to crawl in a dark cave and never come out.

Not that I'm being overdramatic or anything. 

So forgive me if I don't feel much like hanging out in the next couple days. Hopefully this will all clear up soon and everything will be back to normal. Until then, prayer would be much appreciated!

And keep checking alexandkristel.com for any updates. :-)