So I was going to quit blogging....

...and then a few of the people who actually read my blog said I couldn't.

So I guess I'll keep going.

Even though my life isn't too exciting...

& I'm not sure that anyone (other than those mentioned above) actually read it.

But oh well. It's not like I've got anything better to do these days...

I GRADUATED.

Woah. It's done. All over.

I kind of am in shock even still.

It was a blast to have some of my family up here to celebrate it all though!

My mom came into town a few days before graduation

to help me get ready for Megan's Baby Shower

(post coming soon...)

She took Chase and I out to Cheesecake Factory one night

{sidenote: the Red Velvet Cheesecake is to die for... seriously my

favorite thing ever. You must try it sometime.}

And surprised me with a pretty pearl necklace as a graduation gift!

Right before we left for dinner I had just told Chase something

about how watches and pearls necklaces are traditional graduation gifts.

My mom overheard and thought Chase had ruined the surprise!

But all was well... I was just totally a few steps ahead of her.

And was very excited when I opened a box with the

"traditional graduation gift" that I had just been talking about.

Thanks to all for showing so much love!

And a special thanks to my momma for playing with me all week,

helping so much with the shower, and for the set of pearls that

will make me think of you whenever I wear them!

{Oh... and Ricky too ;) }

Best Friend.

Meet best friend Megan.

Once upon a time Megan and I were roomates.

Then, she was leaving for a study abroad in beautiful Paris.

I even threw her a surprise "Bon Voyage" Party

Well... little Miss Megan Barnes flew across the deep blue for Winter Semester 2009

only to be visited by Mr. Matthew Morgan on her birthday March 1st

Magic happened during the visit and voila!

They were engaged in June and married by the end of August.

Well... now the cute Morgans are

EXPECTING....

and I couldn't be more excited!

Megan, thank you for letting me be an obsessive friend and already start planning your baby shower the minute you told me and listen to me go on about how we are just going to have to fly out to Hawaii to visit the cute little thing next fall (where the Morgans will be living) so I can spoil and love the heck out of the first baby out of us girlfriends.

Baby Morgan, the McCormicks already love you, and couldn't be more thrilled for your momma and daddy... our best friends.

See you sometime after September 10th baby!

Middle East Chaos.

I promise that I am not going to go on a political rant.

Promise.

That being said, if you haven't tuned in to what's going on in the Middle East....

I think you should.

This is a big deal people.

Back in December, a man in Tunisia became so frustrated with the government

and the fact that he couldn't find any work (despite his college degree)

that he poured gas all over his body and lit himself on fire in the middle of the market.

The people in Tunisia rallied around this man and basically drove their president out of the country about two weeks ago.

Now in Egypt, people are following Tunisia's lead.

President Hosni Mubarak has been the authoritarian leader for about 30 years.

The Egyptians also are frustrated with their government's lack of action during the troubling state of the global economy.

History literally is happening in Egypt as these citizens are forming massive protests against their leader and the government. There is not a political party or interest group organizing these protests. The people are just THAT upset.

Now, as a disclaimer, I am not pretending to be an expert on the Middle East.

However, I have taken a few classes and find the region absolutely fascinating enough to recognize that if the Egyptian government is overthrown, ANYTHING could happen in the Middle East.

The Camp David Peace Accords are what has kept relations stable between Egypt and Israel for the last 30 years. If Egypt undergoes a drastic regime change, Israel is going to be nervous.

Like REALLY nervous.

From everything that I have learned about this region, the best way to describe it is like a a house made out of playing cards. Even if one small piece of the bigger picture changes just a little bit, a complete breakdown or remodel can happen.

Ben Wedeman is a CNN correspondent on the ground in Cairo.

His twitter feed paints a great picture of what things are like right now.

This is one of the sources that I've been tuning into the last few days.

Take a look. And say a prayer for the people in the midst of this chaos.

And be grateful for the freedoms that we enjoy in the United States,

regardless of race, religion, political party, and so on.

Okay. I'm sorry if I did end up ranting.

Back to the fluffy stuff in life now.

To read... or not to read...

I have probably 150-200 pages of reading for my capstone class Monday that I really should be focusing on right now.
But alas, I cannot.
I just have too many other fun things in my head at the moment.
Like decorating for Valentine's Day.
I think I will just do that instead.
Much more exciting than reading.

Funds for us poor newlyweds are limited for "frivolous" things such as decorating.
So I gotta use a lot of what I already have.
Practicality Mrs. McCormick... practicality.

Here is my inspiration/limitation:

We already have these fabulous plates that the Kelly family gave us as a wedding gift.
Annnnd... I have a red wall.
So red certainly will be part of my color scheme.
Excited for how this is gonna turn out!

Dear husband,

Today I went to my first of a four day series of Photoshop Classes.
They are on campus at BYU through the IT department and are FREE.
Since it was so so cool and I already learned a lot...
I would pretty please love a new awesome camera.
Nikon DSLR, to be specific.




Oh and while you're at it, the fancy lens would be great too.




Um, I also would probably need Photoshop...




Thanks Chasen!
Love ya!

Decided.

There are only 97 days, 2 hours, 15 minutes, 34 seconds until I graduate college.
As the countdown begins for my undergraduate career,
I finally can say with confidence what I want to do in life.
After this incredible forum by Condoleezza Rice at BYU,
I know for sure that I want to
TEACH.
I'm not quite sure which path I will take to get there
(Masters in Education, Post-Bacc Teaching License, etc. etc.)
Or where I want to end up
(High School Government or History Classes...
Intro to Political Science at the Community College)
However, I know that teaching is what I want to do.
And I am happy.
The end.

Mac's Photo Booth

Hee hee... I am on Chase's computer cause mine is near expiration
(the battery is dunzo; it ceases to exist; it has given up the ghost)
And I came across these...
They made me laugh.
Happy Weekend!!

{Yes... we are so classy.}