Last Weekend in College Station

This past weekend was our last weekend living in College Station:

Friday was Matias' last day working at Aggie Pet Zone and my last day, officially, in the office at Virtualbookworm. I think it has been bitter sweet for both of us. We are ready to move on with our lives and see what God has in store for us but we both absolutely love College Station and are going to miss it a lot.

Friday night, our Sunday School class had a movie night and it was the last event we were going to be able to attend. It was a lot of fun being able to see everyone and catch up. Christine made us a really cute cookie cake with a beagle on it (guess they know how much we love beagles.) We up having a lot of fun and the movie that we watched was really good too. If you haven't seen the movie Red, then you really should because it was extremely funny and was still a good action flick.

Saturday we woke up early and headed to Dallas for the day with Lilly. This past week she turned 1 year old so we took her to visit her momma and sister. Her momma actually just had 3 week old puppies and we are getting another pup from this litter. We kept trying to put Lilly in the box with the puppies but she really didn't want to be in there and was actually kinda scared of them. We enjoyed getting to see and play with the puppies and can't wait 5 more weeks until we can go and get her (hoping for another girl.)

After Lilly met the puppies, we took her outside to see her momma and older sister. Her mom sniffed her and ran right past her to go check on the puppies, but her sister, Aurora, played outside with her. Then, two of her brothers from her litter showed up to play and we took them all to the dog park. It was great and Lilly was really tired on our way back.

When we got back to College Station we spend the rest of the night cleaning and packing for the move this week. I keep thinking we are done packing and then it is like more stuff appears that needs to be packed. I can't wait to finally move and get everything put away because I hate living out of and around boxes.

Sunday morning we went to our Sunday School class for the last time. It was extremely sad to realize this would be the last time that we would get to attend and that next Sunday we would be looking for another church. I am so thankful for our Newly Weds and Young Married Couples class and hope that we can find something just as great in Sugar Land. I am incredibly thankful that God put this class, and all of the friends that we have made, into our lives.

After church we went back home and picked up our cars to get them cleaned in order to be able to pack some of our stuff into it. Once we got back, we did some more cleaning and packing. Fun fun! Then later that night we went over to Mandy and Michael's for one last dinner together in College Station. It was great talking to them and I am so glad that we have become friends this past year. I am also extremely thankful that they also will be moving to the Houston area in the next couple of weeks. 

After we went back home we of course did more cleaning and packing. Can't wait till Tuesday when we finally get the keys to our new place and then Wednesday the movers come. This is going to be an extremely busy couple of days but I can't wait to finally get settled.

Junior Year (2010-2011)

Getting back in to my previous blog series this is Part 3 of my college experience.

Summer 2010 in Argentina

The summer leading up to junior year of college I found out that with me taking summer school not only could I get my Aggie Ring in November but I could also graduate in May of that school year. Which would mean I was graduating a whole year early (always knew I was graduating at least a semester early). I wasn't quite sure how I felt about the idea because I wanted the full college experience, wasn't sure what I was going to do about a job, and with getting married the following year I still wanted to stay close to Matias. After some careful consideration I decided I would go ahead and take the classes I needed to graduate early that way I could save the money I would be using for school.

A&M vs Nebraska (Won 9-6)

So I still classify this as junior year even though I guess it could technically be classified as my senior year in college, whatever it was still my third year at Texas A&M. This was probably one of my favorite years because I lived in a really nice place, had my own room, and had some really good roommates. This was the first time I really remember having space and getting a room to myself again.

Olivia, Courtney and I before the first game of the season

This was overall a very stressful school year because all of the classes I was taking were my core classes and were all group projects. Matias had it a lot easier it seemed because he wasn't taking as many hours as I was. Also we were trying to do as much wedding planning as possible so that we won't be stressing over everything else later. In November of Junior year I got to get my Aggie Ring! This was one of the best experiences and made me so proud of everything I accomplished.

Got that Aggie Bling

Junior year is when I feel I got more of the real college experience (not so much the partying) but the hanging with friends and just enjoying all of our time together. My roommates and Matias' guy friends from BCA were all mutual friends so we did a lot of different activities together. They ranged from craving pumpkins, making gingerbread houses, and participating in scavenger hunts and game nights.

Designing our gingerbread house

We didn't get to go to Adpi formal this year because BCA had their formal the same weekend in Galveston and we decided that would be more fun. That weekend we went to Kemah Boardwalk with some friends, played miniature golf, and went to the beach. That was probably one of my favorite and most memorable weekends from college.

BCA Formal

BCA Formal

Towards the end of the year with graduation right around the corner I remember having a lot of panic attacks not knowing what I would be doing the following year. I already had found a duplex to live in College Station with Amy (for the first semester then Matias would move in December after we got married) but I still didn't have a job or really know what else I would be doing. This was very scary but Matias and I put our faith in God and knew he would have a plan for us. I found out a couple of weeks before school ended that I got a job with a local publishing company doing marketing. I was extremely thankful that I had a job and that God continued to provide for us doing that time.

I graduated May 14, 2011 and then started working a week after that.

Hullabaloo Diner

I am taking a little break from my college life post because we went to Hullabaloo Diner for the first time today and I felt I needed to share the experience with everyone! This Diner was actually featured on Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives on the Food Network. (You can check the video below for the footage from the episode.)

I think since sophomore year of college Matias has been talking about how we needed to go to this diner and experience the food and for some reason or another I never really wanted to go (no idea why). So we finally decided to go today with another couple (Michael and Mandy), that is in our bible study at church. All I can say is the food is amazing and worth the wait!

Roman Sausage: Spicy Italian Sausage with Grilled Onions, Bell Peppers, Provolone Cheese and Fries. 

Grilled Hamburger Steak w/ Grilled Onions, Vegetables, Mashed Potatoes, and a Dinner Roll

Sophomore Year (2009-2010)

This is the second part of my four part post about my experiences in college:

Sophomore year seemed to be a lot better for me. I was more use to the college experience, wasn't quite as homesick and Matias and I were more in love than ever before.

During this year I lived in the sorority house with three other girls in my room the Fall semester and then only two other girls the Spring semester. Matias lived in a house off campus with his best friend, Brent, and two other guys from BCA. For me, there were things I loved about living in the sorority house and other things I could have done without. The good parts about living there were all of our meals were made and provided for us, I got really close to several girls in my pledge class (Paige, Amy, and Sara), and it was nice already being at the house when events were going on (Recruitment, meetings, etc.). The bad parts about living in the house were you pretty much had no privacy whatsoever and I didn't always enjoy being surrounded by people 24/7. Plus the only way I could really hang out with Matias was if we went over to his house and hung out or went out somewhere (and let's face it we were poor college students, we couldn't go out a lot).

That fall semester I also was our Co-New Member Coordinator and got to help plan Bid Day for after Recruitment and help lead weekly meetings with the New Pledges to help them adjust on being in the sorority and being in college. It was a lot of fun and of course that semester I also got my little, Jessica! Jessica and I are a lot alike so of course it was a perfect match and we became super close.

In the fall semester I started taking more hours to get ahead so I could start upper level (my major classes) in the Spring and that way if I did summer school I could get my Aggie Ring early. (I mean lets face it, it is all about the Aggie Bling!!!) Things went pretty good that semester and I was accepted into my marketing upper level program that I started in the spring. Of course once I started getting into some of my other upper level classes, I realized I really liked Supply Chain Management and decided to switch my major.

During that year Matias and I were very involved in our organizations and went to a lot of different social events together. We had Halloween date parties, formals, and crush parties. Everything was a lot of fun but the best weekend, was his birthday weekend that spring. That weekend while celebrating his birthday Matias proposed. You can read the proposal story at How He Proposed! Then after that I got to have a ring past during one of our sorority meetings. This was a really cool experience to get to share with all of my sisters.

Freshman Year (2008-2009)

Last week I wrote about Matias and I going through our old stuff and basically taking a trip down memory lane. I thought with our time in Aggieland quickly wrapping up I would do a four-part post talking about our experiences from each year and what, I feel, I learned.

First Football game!

We both moved to Aggieland in 2008 as freshmen at Texas A&M and we both lived in the Commons (a complex that unites four dorms in a middle, "common" area), but separate dorms. It was both of our first time really out on our own and being responsible for ourselves. If you know Matias, you know that he is very sociable and can easily make new friends. I, on the other hand, do not like going out of my way to make friends and am for sure not as outgoing as him (of course over the years he has started to rub-off on me). I joined the sorority Alpha Delta Pi (ADPi) and Matias joined a men's organization called the Brotherhood of Christian Aggies (BCA). Matias' roommate also happened to be in the same organization and they quickly made friends. Matias started hanging out with the guys from his organization and it left little time for us to be together.

Heading to our first events in our organizations

It was difficult for us to adjust as being a couple on campus when most of the new friends did not have a boyfriend/girlfriend. For me it was more difficult to get closer to people even the girls in the sorority. I am thankful that I sat next to Amy on the first day of film class my freshman year. Shortly after, I learned that she was in the same sorority, lived right down the hall from me, and we even had our mailboxes next to each other. I just say this was God's way of showing we were destined to be friends. A couple of weeks later Matias saw Paige standing in front of him with an ADPi bag and asked if she knew me (she didn't) but later that same day we both ran into her on the bus to West Campus. I started hanging out with her more and found out that her hometown was only 45 minutes from us (we got to know each other even better when I gave her a ride home for Thanksgiving.) 

With Amy at our first social!

With Paige during Initiation week!

Brent is another really good friend Matias and I met that year. Matias met him through a mutual friend but Brent quickly started hanging out with us all the time. Brent lived in the same dorm as me so we would always meet up and then go meet up with Matias. Matias and Brent quickly became best friends (also his Best Man in our wedding) and made plans to live with each other sophomore year. He is also an only child and Brent and I would always fight like brother and sister, so we decided that we would just call each other brother and sister. 

Matias, me, and Brent

Freshman year continued to be a bigger adjustment for me than Matias. I was homesick a lot (guess that came from being an only child) and was also actually sick a lot (I got the flu twice that year). I had a tougher time dealing with classes because I wasn't used to really having to study and other issues continued to come at me. Looking back I realized majority of my main issues came from not being active in church or a bible study and drawing away from God while Matias was continuing to strengthen his relationship. I will not lie and basically say this is where majority of mine and Matias' hardships came from that year. We weren't connecting anymore on the same level and while he was continuing to draw closer to the Lord, I was taking steps in the opposite direction. During that time I really didn't know who to turn to or even begin to explain what my emotions were, so we decided it would be best for us to take a small break (even thought we talked and saw each other everyday and basically still spent every second together) while we tried to figure everything out. This was the first time that year I really remember turning back to God to try and help me figure everything out. 

During ADPi Formal!

His answer for us to be together only came about a month later and after that we quickly started to talk about marriage. We knew after everything that we went through that year, someday in the future we would get married (of course it had to be after I finished college).

Before YUK Crush!

After YUK Crush!

If it wasn't for everything that we both went through that year, the lessons we learned and the friends we made along the way, I would say we wouldn't be in the place we currently are. We are both incredible thankful for this year and everything that God taught us.

Trip Down Memory Lane...

Matias and I were cleaning out a bunch of our stuff tonight and we came across our memory boxes from when we started dating. It was full of old notes that we wrote to each other during classes, had ticket stubs to movies, baseball and football games that we went to together, and other random stuff that were significant to our relationship. It was great taking a trip down memory lane and seeing how after only dating for a couple of months (and also only being 15) we were already talking about getting married one day. Guess God had a plan all along!

As we were going through this stuff I came across a letter that I wrote to myself during my senior year of high school for an English class. Some of the stuff I said was kinda funny but it was also nice to see that I had accomplished some of my goals. I wanted to share parts of the letter with some of my own commentary.

Dear Future Amber (wow that sounds stupid),

First I want to start off by saying this is weird writing to my future self but still cool at the same time (I sound so weird). It is the last week of high school and you are greatly looking forward to summer vacation and you will be spending most of it working at Barn White. Barn White is an incredible place to work and you love it there. Plus you receive a 20% discount (always about the discount).

This high school year has gone by fast and you have made a ton of new friends at Sharyland, and you don't regret transferring from McHi. You are dating the most incredible guy, Matias Brizuela, for almost the past 3 years! You love him dearly and can't wait to spend the rest of your lives together. 

Well I just want to remind you to keep up on the path you are on, because you are destined for great things in the future. I should know of all people! (You think I was full of myself? Haha!) You are looking forward to attending Texas A&M (Whoop!) in the fall and you can't wait to get there because you know how much fun college is going to be. It still hasn't fully sunken in yet that you will be leaving home and missing you parents dearly. When you were signing up for Fish Camp last week you began to realize that you were leaving and that you will have to say good-bye to the house, Kasey, and Honey Bun (wow I didn't even mention my parents, I can't believe that). That made you sad, but you know that is the only way you can accomplish your goals. At A&M you plan to major in marketing and management (I didn't), and specialize in advertising (also didn't). Right now you want to someday own or work in an advertising company (wow high hopes and unrealistic), where you can be the person to come up with all of the cool advertisements (vague enough). Also, you are planning on joining a sorority next year, and right now you are getting all of your information together for that (so glad I did, just not the one I went in thinking I would, but still wouldn't trade the experience). 

Well back to Matias, I mean he is your whole life right now! (Wow he still is, wonder why??) You love him dearly (guess that is why) and you want to marry him someday after you graduate from college because you really don't have another choice on waiting. (Well at least that happened, just graduated sooner than I thought) I really hope when you are reading this next year that you and Matias are still together. (Guess what??? We were! Obviously!) 

I just want to always remind you to keep up with all of your goals, even if they change make sure you accomplish whatever you want to do.

I  can't wait to read this next year (or again in 4 years) and see how silly I look and how stupid I sound (some parts yes, others no) but it will be great to see how I have matured and realize what I have accomplished. I wish you the best next year and look forward to seeing you in the future. (Wow I was a dork)

Love,

Amber Davis (now Amber Brizuela) 

This letter made me reflect a lot on how high school was and everything that I did throughout college. I think I might write another letter to myself soon, that way I can open it again in a couple of years and see if I was able to accomplish my goals or how they have changed. I think this is a good idea for everyone because it can really show you how you have matured and help you want to reach your goals. 

Moving...but trusting in the Lord

Let me start by saying I absolutely hate moving/packing!!!! Maybe this has something to do with the fact that I never moved as a child. I lived in the same house until I was a sophomore in high school and even then we only moved across town. As soon as I went to college I started moving every year. I still tried to stay positive about the situation and used this as a time to de-clutter everything and get rid of stuff I wasn't using or had started to collect over the year. I managed to get rid of a lot of junk, yet I always still had a ton to move.

When Matias moved in with me in December we did another massive cleaning spree to make room for his stuff and all of our new wedding gifts. Somehow (even thought we lived in a 2 bedroom duplex) we still didn't have enough room for all of our stuff. 

Isn't it amazing the things that we collect and feel like we can't let go of? Why do we collect all of this JUNK? 

Through this whole process of moving to a new city and trying to find a job I really have had to trust God and know that he has a plan and everything will not happen in my own time. I always love to be in control and this has been one of the toughest things ever because I have realize I have no control over anything. 

First we were worried about neither of us being able to find a job, but God provided a wonderful job for Matias. After that we knew we were moving to Houston, and were going to have to find a place to live. For me it was so nerve racking because for rent homes you can't really start looking until under 30 days of your move date. I couldn't believe that! Once again God provided us a place to live on his own time but I think the house will suit us perfectly. Even thought I still don't have a job in Houston I keep praying and I know God will eventually find me the perfect job. I just have to continue to trust him, even when the stress starts to build up. 

Moving and Beagles! Oh my!

So it has been over a month since I have blogged and a lot has happened since then. I keep thinking that I will blog when I get home after work but something always comes in the way or I am just too tired to want to write.

We are now officially moving to the Houston area in May and got approval for our rent home today, and we also put down a deposit on our newest edition. Another Beagle!

Finding a house to meet our criteria and budget was very difficult. Every time I would finally find a place I would like it would be gone in two days and we would never even have a chance to look at it. This weekend we finally got to head to Houston to look for places. It only took three tries of us putting in an application before we finally found one that accepted us, for us. We weren't two young, and they were okay that we had a dog and most of all were okay with us getting another one.

Her new favorite place to lay

The new beagle we are getting is another one from The Beagle Corner. This is where we got Lilly last summer and I really loved them so I couldn't wait to get another. This beagle will actually have the same mom (Belle) and dad (Sonny) as Lilly and it is actually her mom's last litter. I was very excited that the dogs will be full sisters and hopefully it will help entertain Lilly and get some of her extra energy out after we move. Our new place has a huge backyard so they will have plenty of room to run around and play.

We haven't officially decided which one we are getting yet because we want to check out their personalities and see which one gets along with Lilly the best. Of course we do know which we are leaning to! Haha! I want another girl and Matias would probably prefer a boy but would still go with which ever I want. But since he started working at Aggie Pet Zone this semester he has fallen in love with lemon beagles and would really want one of them. Of course Belle had never had a lemon beagle before but wouldn't you know she has one female lemon beagle in this litter. Can you tell which one we want? All about compromise in the marriage! : )

Check out our newest edition at the link below. You can watch them live. There are 7 beagle puppies (4 boy and 3 girls) that were born on April 9th.

The Beagle Corner Cam