9 Days (A recap of the last ninety days)

This is really happening.  In nine days Texas 4000 leaves to ride our bicycles to Anchorage, Alaska.  What?!?!  I've spent so long getting ready for this ride, and now it is really sneaking up on me.  I know that it has been a long time since my last post, so I'll update with everything that has happened these past ninety days.

Walking across the stage, giving credit to the love and support of my family

I've worked hard on my academics and it has paid off.  Last weekend I walked (danced, pumped my arms, cheered) my way across the stage at the University of Texas Psychology commencement ceremony.  I did it.  All those days that I didn't write a blog entry?  I was probably stressing out about a paper or a test or a project that was due soon but that I did not want to begin.  I procrastinated and cried my way through my two years at UT, never fully believing that I really would finish.  I didn't believe in myself, and yet here I am.  I have my undergraduate degree, and now I leave for Alaska in nine days.

I packed up my house, and moved it all out to Iraan, TX where I will live after James and I get married.  We are getting married in 103 days and, while it is a huge commitment and I get overwhelmed some times when I think about it, I know that it will be one of the best days of my life.  Every day with James makes me happy, and I do not think that I would move all the way out to a population 1,000 town that is two hours away from anything for just anyone.  I would only make that move for the love of my life, and I am so happy and blessed to have met him while we were both so young.  We are going to be such an awesome married couple, and we will be such great parent partners whenever we decide to start expanding our family.

Which reminds me, I planned a wedding!  Could you imagine finishing school, training for this bicycle ride, and planning a wedding all at the same time?  It wasn't easy and I wouldn't recommend it, but I'm just so happy marry my high school sweetheart that I wouldn't want to wait any additional time to be together.  Sure, it's a whole two weeks after we get back to Texas until the wedding, but it's not a month.

We have our final team training this week.  We call it "Camp Texas 4000," and the team rides 220 miles over the course of three days, learns how to drive a truck with a trailer attached, and we get told anything else that we need to know before we leave.  This is real, this is happening, and we leave in nine days!