Goin' to the chapel

Do you hear that? That's the sound of my own wedding bells ringing. It has been one busy summer let me tell you. Between completing my second internship and planning the wedding, it has FLOWN by!

 
 

My summer in a nutshell...ITS BEEN A GREAT ONE!


In the midst of it all I failed to keep my blog updated, but today as I sat next to my almost husband, and probably most faithful reader aside from my parents, I looked over his shoulder to see him checking my blog "just in case you had written anything new". So Casey, here you go you cutie!

Weddings are a beautiful thing. A wedding can make you really step aside from everyday tasks and examine some things. Throughout this process one thing I can with 100% confidence say is I have never felt so loved.

My family and my soon-to-be family are some of the most incredible people and I am blessed to get to call them that, family. My friends have amazed me as well with their generosity and willingness to do whatever they can to help.

Also, it could be because I am a hopeless romantic, but I am a huge fan of marriage. Marriage is a beautiful thing when done as the Lord intends. It is to mirror the love Christ has for us and symbolizes unity, selflessness, caring, and so much more but above all, love.

I cannot wait to start my own marriage with the most perfect man. When it comes to even dreaming up a husband, Casey far exceeds those expectations. He is patient, kind, hard working, level-headed, the most handsome guy there is, and before anything else he loves the Lord. To find a man like him is once in a lifetime, and one in a million.  I don't deserve him, but I am so glad I can call him mine.

It's a surreal feeling when something you've counted down the days until, for 10 months, is on the horizon. In 4 days I will be able to call myself Casey's wife, and that will be my favorite title. My parents have been rock stars throughout the whole process and without a doubt in my mind, my wedding will be everything I've ever dreamed because of them.

I told a close friend of mine the other day, it being my wedding week is a little like getting into an ice bath. At first you just put your toes in and try to mentally prepare for what is about to happen, but eventually you've gotta just jump in (or slide, but let's say jump).

So here I am jumping in! I can't wait until the numbness goes away (still going with the ice bath theme) and I am Mrs. Emily Howsden!

Summer Vocation; watcha gonna do?

Summertime is my favorite time of year. The reasons I love this season are endless! However over the years, those reasons have changed.

I do not love Summer because there is a complete lack of responsibility, I think responsibility is a good thing to have year-round. It's the change in the types of responsibilities that I love! One of those responsibilities being a summer job.

One of those responsibilities being...a summer job. 

Over the years I have been many things. Lifeguard, Sales Associate, Daycare worker, to name a few. All of these jobs taught me different things that I think were/are valuable to a young adult. 

1. Lifeguard 

Yes, I spent two summers at Big Splash in Tulsa/// Do the wave.

As a Lifeguard I was responsible for the lives of people who maybe I would have been doing the world a huge favor if I would have turned my head as they struggled in the water.

I say this completely joking of course, but if you had seen someone attempting to swim in the wave pool with two broken arms, it might have crossed your mind as well.

2. Sale Associate

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You might recognize this popular commercial, I worked at the place where things "speak to you"

Here I learned all about the world of retail. Being my first retail job, there were days when I was astonished at how much people will spend on over priced couch pillows, or other miscellaneous home decor items.

I learned about daily sales goals, if you treat a customer like you would your mother, 9 times out of 10 they will buy from you, and that if you prove to be a hard worker, you will be punished by being put on truck at ungodly hours of the morning. 

3. Daycare worker

These are my nephews, not at a daycare, but taking care of them helps me see first hand how nurturing, love and affection influence a child

This is my other nephew, Roman, enjoying an ice cream cone. 

As a daycare worker I learned a lot of things. I learned a lot about infant/baby care and how much of a time commitment having a child can be.

Infants cannot be left alone, neither can toddlers, or 7 year olds. Some days I found myself counting down the hours to when I could leave some days and then I realized, if I were to be mother, there's never a "qutting time".

This job taught me the most out of all of them. 

So there you have it, A glimpse into my past few summers. Whatever it is that you do over the summer, don't be dead weight, do you job to your best ability, and for goodness sake take pride in your work!

Growing up & moving on

Every year when May comes around there are graduation parties to be had, moving, job searching, etc. These things are always huge reality checks. I will not be graduating this May, instead i'll be graduating in December, and with my brother, fiance, twin, and brother-in-law all graduating this may, I have had to come to terms with it. 

Another thing seniors everywhere are coming to terms with? Our nasty little friend called change.

Last week my roommate of 4 years and I closed the door (literally) on being roommates forever as we moved out of our apartment. A flood of emotions came over me as we walked out of the door and closed a chapter of our lives. 

Here we are forcing some smiles before leaving our crappy apartment forever. 

Something I realized that day was that we weren't the only ones experiencing what I like to call the "Peter Pan syndrome" 

If you look this definition on the internet, you'll find something about a man not wanting to grow up. But being a child of the 90's and being raised on all good Disney movies including Peter Pan, to me it means a group of people who don't want things to change because change isn't fun, a lot of times it hurts, and most times it means saying goodbye. 

Everywhere 20 somethings are looking for the "second star to the right and straight on till morning" (neverland that is...) but we are faced with reality of being grown ups, apartment hunting, moving out, and for some of us officially being on our own for the first time.  

I'm getting married this summer so along with my school changes, my whole life is about to change, for the better!

There are a couple verses that I cling to in times like these: 

"Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous, do not be afraid or discouraged, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go" Joshua 1:9

Furthermore...

"Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever." 

Hebrews 13:8

How comforting is that? No matter where I am, in 10 years or 20 years the Lord is steadfast and will not be moved. So as we go on with our lives, say goodbye to some people, and even meet new ones, the Lord will go before us and we can take comfort in that, ALWAYS. 

Finals week (dun dun duuunn)

The drama surrounding finals week is too much for me anymore. Try and find a more dramatic group of people than college students and you will have accomplished something huge.

While it has been a stressful time for me in the past, there are some things that don't make any sense at all to me about finals week anymore. Maybe it's because i'm a senior and older and wiser? (that's a joke...ha ha)

1. If we would care as much about our grades all semester than we do during finals week, it would just be another test to take, not one determining our grade forever and ever.

This has come back to bite me a couple of times. The realization that the end is near also helps us realize that the end of our futures as we know it might be looming if we don't pull something out of our hats at the last second.

2. How does getting no sleep all of dead week and pulling consecutive all-nighters prepare you to take a test in which you need to be at your best mental capacity?

I am also guilty of this one. Only a couple times has it actually proved valuable and worth my time. I got a 98% on the final in that class, and while I was a middle of the road B student, because I got a 98% on a comprehensive final he gave me an A in the class. Cheers.

3. Procrastination is the root of all evil. I still haven't kicked this nasty habit. 

Also something I still really struggle with. There is only one anecdote to this disease and that is when professors demand progress reports on large projects, they are the real MVP's.

4. Please don't be that classmate that does NOTHING all semester, skips class continuously, and then asks me for my notes during finals week. 

Don't be that girl. Come on. The amount of anger I have inside of me because of free loaders is constantly testing my patience. Please do your own work. PLEASE. 

5. When all tests are taken and scantrons are turned in, the important thing is we are done. It is finished, and now we can move on to a summertime full of memories, sun burns, and if you are entering your last semester, most likely a summer-time internship. 

You wanna talk about equality?

Do you know what today is? It's a big day in my book, and it should be in yours no matter if you are a man, woman, black, white, short, fat, gay, straight, etc.

Today is equal pay day.

Some of you may scoff at this idea. Those of you who do, might be making 78% more than I ever will, not because you are more qualified, better at your job, have more experience, but because you got the Y chromosome while I got the X.

Had you even heard of this day before I told you though? Every major paper or website has posted about it including The Washington Post, CNN Money, TIME Magazine, to name just a few. Buzzfeed posted a video in response to this day:

Google, who celebrates and pays tribute to the smallest things by changing their homepage to whatever they are celebrating, today is celebrating the 155th anniversary of the Pony Express....not that 51% of the population is not receiving proper payment for their work.

What is it that you see when you look at this picture?

I see a group of my friends enjoying themselves, but the sad part about this is among us there are future educators, nurses, members of the media, and business professionals, and one thing that we all have in common is more than likely a man doing the same job we do will get paid more than we do someday. 

One quote in particular comes to mind on this subject, and it's from one of my favorite books growing up. The beautiful Daisy, says about her daughter growing up:

This quote was during the great depression when women had limited rights and didn't have much more of an option.

But it's 2015 so let's stand up, because we are every bit as good at what we are doing than anyone else in the office, down the hall, across the street, wherever!

What goes on behind the camera at your local news channel?

Since starting my internship at a news station here in Oklahoma City there are so many things I've learned. Simply watching the news as a viewer is something i'll never be able to do again!

My view from the prompter, news desk on the right!

I grew up watching the nightly news with my parents and it is something I've continued to do in my "adulthood". It was watching the nightly news that inspired me to pursue a degree in Professional Media.

The anchors and reporters you see on television are only the tip of the iceberg in what goes into a show running smoothly.

The anchors

Here at my station are some of the nicest people you will ever meet and always take time out of their busy schedules to stop and ask the intern (that's me) how my day is going and tell me what an excellent job I've done running prompter (a lot harder and more stressful than it sounds) or whatever other job I've done. They also always remember my name and one even has a nickname for me! (M&M reporting for duty).

The reporters 

Some of the hardest working people I've seen! They are constantly out on assignment, putting excellent packages together from the live trucks, and getting back to the studio on time to turn in their material, The job of a reporter is not for the faint of heart.

The producers

They've got the whole show riding on their shoulders. I call myself lucky to get to work with the 10 o' clock producer here at work who is AMAZING at what she does. She even lets me write for her show and coaches me on everything in this crazy business.

The directors

The voice in our head...errr I mean ears/headset. Without them cueing the different aspects of the show, making sure we aren't heavy or light on time, I don't know how a show would run properly! TAKE GRAPHICS, TAKE THE TWO SHOT, TAKE LIVE SHOT, WRAP, they are amazing people!

The assignment desk editor 

 The one who sees all, hears all, knows all in the news room. I don't know how he does it but ours here at the station listens to 10 different police scanners simultaneously and can filter what's news worthy and what isn't. He is also in constant communication with people from all over the state and country, when he is gone, it takes two people to do his job!

Only half of the police scanners he listens to!

This is only scratching the surface of the jobs that go into making a show run smoothly. Others include the station engineers who are the fix all know alls, the editors who put packages together, the writers who write what you hear nightly, camera operators who keep the world running round, not to be confused with photogs who go on scene with reporters, storm chasers, chopper pilots, sports guys....

I could go on forever. The inner workings of a news station are fascinating, but if I told you everything, i'd have to kill ya ;)

Oh...and if there is breaking news or severe weather...everything I just told you is out the window!

Being a Bride

I have been a lot of things in my life, but Being a Bride has been one of my favorite things to date.

Why you ask? There are so many reasons I love where I am at this point in my life but my favorite is the fact that in 108 days I will be saying I do to the love of my life. 

This past weekend I had my first shower of my wedding season and it was like somebody pinched me and all of the sudden this is real! My teammates, friends, and family gathered and threw me a lovely shower that I am so thankful for, and it was super fun girl time let me tell ya!

In between finding my dress, picking the girls to stand beside me that day, getting save the dates out, registering at different stores, and all that comes with planning weddings these days, sometimes its easy to lose focus and see the meaning behind all of the hullabaloo.

One of my favorite verses in the bible about Marriage is Ecclesiastes 4:12

"Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken."

Knowing i've found the one who will love me when i'm having horrible days and pick me up on those same days is the most surreal feeling. 

Together we get to spread the love of Jesus to the ends of the Earth, and our cord of three strands, him, me, and the Lord will not be broken.

I cannot wait for that day when I get to call myself Mrs. Howsden. Through all the wedding planning and chaos that is what I hold on to, and impatiently count down the days until July 19, 2015.