Financial Aid and Fashion Shows

Gracie's birthday went well. We all went to CiCi's and I decorated the table. I eagerly watched the window for her to come. I met Chip - one of mom's friends that night as well. We all ate and had a good time talking.

(27th) The next day I had my big interview. I'll have to admit- I was a little nervous. This time it was with three employers - Rob Ritz, Angel Randolph, and Angie Travis. They all seemed to want different answers to the same questions. I stumbled through it for forty five minutes and dismissed everyone with a handshake. I thought I did terribly. To my surprise, ten minutes later I got a knock on my door from a blonde lady. "Are you Carrie? Rob would like to see you in his office in half an hour." My heart raced. This could be it. I waited and waited behind my little round table in Jay's office. This would be amazing - free tuition - insurance - money. We'd be set.

Thirty minutes later, I was back in the hot seat.

"Carrie, you've been offered two positions. You interviewed very well, and..."

Whatever he said next is a mystery to me. All I heard was, "You did it! No more Dominos! Everything is going to be fine! YOU HAVE A JOB!" I tried hard to keep from crying.

Rob then took me on a tour around FinAid, asking workers to show me what they were doing. All of them stuttered and blushed their way through a brief explanation. I kept wondering where I would sit.

"So, think it over this weekend and let me know."

I was on cloud nine.

I walked into dad's office after that and said, "Well, your daughter has insurance." He was happy.
When I got back to Jay's office, I texted a few people to tell them the news - but not to tell Casey. Connie cried. Paige was excited. Kurt said Casey was going to be a stay-at-home dad. =)

That night was Gracie's party. Bob dropped me off at the nail place (after parking on the curb) and I greeted Beth, Katie, and Grace. Mom and I talked about the job and she ordered me to get my nails and eyebrows taken care of in celebration. =) It was a hectic night for sure! Casey helped by putting up with all the stresses and getting Dominos. Mom did her best to help them all have fun. We let them play for a while when we returned home. They ransacked my room. Mom ordered a special "HSM 3" cake from Madison Heights, so Casey and I got to make a trip to get it . I didn't mind- I was ready to tell him the news! Dad nugged me before we left and said, "Did you tell him?" It was cute. He was excited for us.We got in the car and he brought up the interview on the way down Candler's Mountain. He said, "Financial Aid gets to hire you now." And I replied, "You mean, they hired." =) He was all smiles for the rest of the ride. We joked about how rich we were going to be. What a happy time! We flirted and joked in the WalMart. Nothing could bring us down at this point. We were on cloud nine.

The rest of the night was full of cheesy songs, Troy Bolton, popcorn, a scavenger hunt for a sleeping bag, and a fashion show conducted by Casey. That part was actually pretty cute. Casey got the boom box on the table and they would walk into the den where we were. "Now, entering the arena...Beth!" =)

(28)The next day was equally fun. We decided to eat a celebratory meal at Olive Garden. We had to wait for a while, so we sat an leaned on each other for a while. Our waitress told us we were "very cute." We ate until we were stuffed and got a desert afterwards. We decided to try a new chocolate cake. Good, but rich. Then Casey and I made a trip to the mall to get me a new wardrobe! Talk about exciting! It was - adorable. I told a lady I was starting a new job - so she helped me a lot. I told her I was either a six or a four -but she came back with size 2's! Automatic self-esteem boost. =) When I came out wearing the first outfit (size 2 pants and a purple shirt w/purple carnagan), Casey's eyes popped and he said, "Get it. Get it. We're getting it." <3 He loved almost everything I tried on. He even picked out a few shirts! I overheard him talking to the lady, "She likes red. And blues. She'll need an undershirt with that one..." He's so adorable. He couldn't keep his hands off me! We finally made it to checkout after he had patiently waited for me to get changed back in my clothes. We eventually had to look at price tags - but that didn't sway us much. We spent 250 dollars! LOL. Casey had even thrown in a set of purple earrings. Wonderful day!

The last few days have been full of gratitude, excitement, and happiness. (And a very awkward visit from Newman).

(April 1) Today was great. I got up - went to the gym - had tea with Alicia (MY NEW FAVORITE!), came back to the house, picked up a little bit, showered, came to work, and here I am. I feel great. I've been in a postive mood all day - probably because of a mixture of tea and exercising. Today, while walking over to North Cafe to get more tea, Rob stopped me. He said he was wrong- I was getting 26,000 instead of 24,000. GOD IS SO GOOD. I did a very poor job of wording this entire post - but hopefully my excitement and happiness and shown through. God just keeps blessing us. Now, we can go on a real honeymoon! We've decided that if we don't win the Groomzilla contest, we will go to Sandals anyway. Afterall, it's our stinkin' honeymoon! We only get one =)

Another cute thing I will want to remember is Casey throwing the softball with Gracie in the yard. Can't wait until that's our kid. =) He's going to be a great dad.

Got to visit mom at LCA. She showed me off. The Middle School principal had pics of me in my wedding dress...aww...