Wedding Dress Shopping

For the last three weekends I have been looking at wedding dresses! I finally found THE DRESS! Here are some pictures of the dresses that I did NOT pick! Unless you are a lucky few, you will have to wait until the wedding day to see which one I picked!

Swamped with Schoolwork

Boy! It has been such a long time since I last updated this thing. I do have a GREAT excuse for it: I've been hella busy. I got a new position at work where I have been developing curriculum for a new 7th and 8th grade afterschool intervention program. It has been a lot of work, but inevitably I am working towards a life in administration so I really need to start giving my self extra responsibilities. I am very proud of the amount of work I have done however! I've have been working late every night and it was pretty nice getting home before it got dark today.

The new house is as wonderful as ever. I'm hating our cable company and looking into getting DISH network, but it happens. I've been too busy to keep the house clean. I'm a little obsessive about everything being put in its place, and let's just say that is not happening. Wedding plans are progressing. I don't have anything new to tell you since we're still paying off the reception hall and the wedding venue before we take another step. I'm going to start looking for dresses in January and I think once I find "the dress", our plans will speed up tremendously! Josh did tag along to go check out a couple of florists....so I'm glad he got involved in that aspect. My coworker Frankie is also going to be making my cake. She has an extraordinary talent at making decorative cakes and when I showed her a design of what I wanted she was really excited to work on it. It will be pretty simply but it will have a drape of fondante that goes from the top of the cake to the bottom diagonally. On top of the drape there will be yellow flowers. I promise the design of the cake is much prettier than I'm describing. I had a lot of fun sketching out the cake. We'll see how it ends up in June! Well that is all for now. I'll try to update within November but I guess we'll see with how school goes. I made sure to include picture of my sister Natalie, my mom, and Lun at the Obama rally that I went to on my Fall Break!

Wow!

I can't believe a whole month has past since a last blogged. Well I'm sad to say I don't have a lot of updates. Lindsey came over a couple of weekends ago and we celebrated her birthday. It was great seeing her. Since her move to Brazil, we seldom see each other. It is a little hard since we used to live only 7 minutes away from each other but we have talked on the phone a lot more recently. However, luckily since I moved to Avon I have been closer to her that I would be if I had stayed in my apartment. I'm going to be journeying up to Brazil this upcoming weekend for their popcorn festival.
I haven't done too much more planning for the wedding yet. I went to a bridal show at the Scottish Rite this past weekend, but there wasn't anything special. I may have found a DJ but I still need to look around. By December, I would like to have my DJ, my dress and maybe my florist picked. I'm also going to be starting my portfolio soon to renew my teaching liscense. My goal is to submit it by December, that way I can study for my graduate school testing next semester and take the test!
School has been coming along swimmingly. The kids are starting to get more respectful and I just completed my second observation with my principal where all good things were said and it was the first time I ever saw him write "No discipline problems" on the evaluation form. I must be doing something write. I'll leave you with some engagement picture....Ta Ta!

First Break....I called it!

On the first day of school, I was sitting with my team and I said "I bet by the time our first break comes from school, I'll be sick". Well, it looks like a jinxed myself. Last night, my mom came over and had dinner with Josh and I and hung out at the house for a little. As the night progressed, so did my symptoms. It started with a sore throat, which spiraled into my ears hurting, and finally turned into a runny nose. Damn those germ infested rugrats I like to call my students. You think by eighth grade they would learn how to wash their hands and blow their noses. Instead, I got to enjoy the day teaching as snot almost started running down my nose. I'm so congested...I just hate the first cold of the year, it's always the worst. Josh was kind enough to go out and get my some OJ on his way home from work, and I know he will nurse me back to help. Let's just hope that I don't get him sick. We tend to transfer our sicknesses to each other.



Josh and I started planning out our vacations for the year. I think we are going to try to go back to West Baden Springs over fall break or The Grand Hotel. I would like to take another mini-trip to somewhere I haven't been yet. We'll either have a low key Spring Break and head to New York or Boston, or we'll hit Florida again. The biggest trip of the following year, of course, will be our Honeymoon. That should be fun to plan, but I have been looking around to get ideas. My only requirements are: Has to be outside the United States (unless it is Hawaii) and it has to be tropical and romantic. I would like to avoid a cruise, but it seems like that will be the most affordable. Oh well, everything will fall into place....I just need to get my passport renewed soon!! Okay...Ace of Cakes is on.....so I'm out like O.J.!

Week 3

We have now entered the third week of school and things are going along pretty darn well (if I do say so myself). I really feel that even having one year of teaching under my belt has made this year that much better. In my professional development group at school we are really trying to adopt and apply the idea that "everyday is a new day". It seems so simple, but even I am guilty of letting bad situations carry over to the next day. I feel that being able to use this in my classroom has really made a world of different. Our kids don't come from the best home lives so I believe it really helps them understand that their teachers care about them and are only trying to help when they redirect them in class. My inclusion class still is an everyday struggle. Some days it is great and our classroom discussion goes in directions that I didn't even know it could, and other days they are so chatty and I have to constantly redirect everyone in the classroom. However even my bad days this year and not even on the same wave length as my bad days last year and I feel really blessed that I seem to be doing something right this year.

The house is coming along. Although it was totally ready before we moved in, I'm still trying to get some decorative items in the house. I figure we'll be living here for a while so we have plenty of time to get everything settled. What is important is that everything is unpacked and organized. Josh and I are going camping sometime this weekend, and then we'll be off to Brazil to visit Miss Lindsey Burnett (my bestest and maid of honor). Our first morgage payment is due next week, which will really make me feel like an adult. We finally got some phones so that we can utilize our phone line. We discovered that if someone calls, the caller ID pops up on the television. I think I have made a decision on a photographer for the wedding. I will not reveal it all until I pay off the deposit and make sure that she even has a date available. I also may have found a musician to play the piano at my wedding (he was the accompianist in my high school choir and I adore him). Josh and I sampled our first wedding cake from Longs Bakery. It was yellow cake with white icing. It was decent, but the icing was a little sweet. I took the remainder of the cake into school today so that my team members can reap some of the perks of planning a wedding. We'll it's close to my bedtime, and my brand new laptop is about to run out of juice. As I type, Josh has fallen asleep next to me with little Sebastian cuddled up in his arms. My two favorite men, how I love them both!

School has taken over my life

I started school on last week on Monday with the kids. So far it is going great. A vast improvement from last year and I must say I'm very optimistic of what this year has in store for me (haha we just discussed the meaning of optimistic and pessimistic in class yesterday). I have smaller classes this year which makes it perfect for getting to know the students as well as pulling out great conversation from them. I feel I have very strong goals for the year to make myself a better teacher, and most is just to stay on top of things this year. It keeps me at school until 5 or 6 sometimes but at least I'm getting everything done.

I'm including some pictures of The Garrison, where I'm getting married next summer. Now my goal is to find a photographer for the wedding before September 1st. I hope I can do it!

The front of the Garrison

The porch where we will be getting married...let's hope it doesn't rain.

The ballroom where we will be having the reception....I love the large windows.

Summer coming to a close

With only one more full day of summer left, I can honestly look back and feel as if I have had a relaxing summer vacation. I closed on the house on Monday July 28, Josh and I moved in that Tuesday and we were completely unpacked by Friday. I find that as quite an achievement and I'm even more excited to finally start decorating now that I have everything situated. We won't be painting because the house was in perfect condition when we moved in, and I'm not the best painter in the world. Josh wants to do a faux wall using curtains in our guest room, which I think will look really cool, and will be much easier to accomplish than painting.
I put the first deposit down for our wedding/reception site today. Our official wedding date will be Friday June 26, 2009. I'm really excited about getting one of the million things that I need to get done, but it will all come together in the end. I will add pictures on my next update!

It's about time....

So I got the call from my realtor yesterday that everything should be set to rock and roll a closing on the house on Monday. I'm so pumped, but at the same time I feel like I don't have enough things packed and I need to take a crap load of stuff to Goodwill. I can't believe that I will be in my new home in 3 more days, it's a crazy thought! Salem Courthouse has become such a home for me, mostly because I worked here and I knew a lot of the other residents. But there will be something nice about having a washer and dryer in my home instead of right outside my apartment, and it will be nice to have a guest bedroom and an extra bathroom.

Josh and I have been looking at locations for the wedding, and so far we looked at the Hilton, IRT, The Terrace at Market Tower, The Fountains, and The Garrison. I think the big winner will be The Garrison. They require a higher deposit than most of the other locations, but I guess it's good to have a big chuck of the money out of the way early and pay the smaller amount before the big day! The Garrison was also a prime location because that area of town means a lot to me. I always wanted to get married at the little white gazebo nearby, but I have decided that it would be a better idea of get married on the porch of The Garrison and have the reception following in the ballroom. At least I can still take some wedding pictures at the Gazebo and that is all that matters. I believe we are looking to have our wedding on June 19th which is a Friday and have a later ceremony.

The Garrison is also cute because they own all of these old general mansions that they use for lodging. I think I will rent out one of the master suites myself so that I have an area where I can get ready and the room decor will also be good for pictures.

All things good

So...my mom is now out of the hospital after getting a pacemaker put in. She is doing okay but is not allowed to drive for two weeks so I've been taking her grocery shopping and helping her out with things. I finished my last day working at Salem Courthouse Apartments and I'm just trying to focus on getting some exercise and eating healthy, as well as getting my things packed for the big move which should be happening on June 28th. I've been looking like crazy to find a place to get married. My first choice was the Ritz Charles outdoor pavillion for a cermony but I don't believe they let you just have a ceremony there. I set up an appointment to view the IRT cabaret room for my reception and I thing it looks pretty elegant from the pictures. I just wish I could find the perfect outdoor location for my wedding. Lindsey took me to get a manicure and a pedicure last night as a birthday present. The pedicure was very relaxing and I think I will def. get my bridesmaids in for manis and pedis before my wedding! Well that is pretty much it for my blog today....I'll keep you updated on the wedding planning and more!

Hoping mom is well

I spent most of my birthday at the hospital with my mom. She had been complaining about a pain in her side for a little while now and has been short of breath. I wish she would have gone to the doctor sooner, but at least she is being taken care of now. She was admitted to Saint Vincent hospital the other day and it looks like she will be having a pacemaker put in today. My sister Natalie and I will be visiting later on today and I hope that she has a very safe procedure. I think I'll feel a lot better and less stressed once my mom is out of the hospital and back at home. I'm sure her dog Tito will feel a lot better when she comes hope as well.

July 6, 2008

I think this has been the most eventful year of my life thus far! I have very exciting news! Josh and I are ENGAGED!!! Last night he asked me to go with him on a walk on the canal. We walked for what seemed like hours and then we decided to go on a Gondala ride down the canal. Our gondalier seranaded us with beautiful Italian songs with a fake Italian accent, but it was so much fun! We rode the gondala around 8:45 so the canal was quieting down and it the ride really made us relax and was our little escape for the day. After the gondala ride, Josh asked me to walk with him to the White River. Once we arrived there were crazy fire dancers and a crowd of people hula hooping and dancing. He lead me to a little area that overlooked the White River and proposed to me there around 9:15!

Busy Summer

From the moment school has been done. Josh and I are currently in the process of buying our first home. I'm really excited about it, but it is a lot of paperwork. Last week I went to my home inspection. Our inspector was GREAT and really gave me a lot of information and a lot of advice (if you need an inspector his name is Steve Surrette). I learned a lot about the house from the inspection. It was really interesting to see what I should do for the upkeep of the home. I also finally found out who is the builder of the home: Beezer. Overall, I'm really excited about the big move and we are set to close on July 15. I'm already starting to get ideas to decorate, but I still have plenty of time!
I felt like my summer activities have escalated. I am currently working at my apartment complex for the summer. I figured I will try to get as much money as I can before I move into the new casa. This week I went out to lunch and shopping to find part of Liz and Steven's wedding gift with Eston and Daniel earlier in the week. They weren't a really big help on the shopping end! Last night I went shopping with Natalie to find a dress for the wedding. I found a super cute one at Forever 21, but I just hope no one else is wearing it, because they sold out of them while I was there. Tonight I'm pretty excited because Lindsey and I are going to have girls night full of scrapbooking fun tonight. I feel like we haven't really hung out in forever, so I'm looking forward to it.
On a more sad note, this week at work has been really difficult. Rex, our maintenance supervisor, passed away on Friday of last week. The whole office closed early on Thursday so we could go to the funeral. I felt horrible because the pastor who spoke did a horrible job and didn't even talk about Rex's wife, and she is the one who has been struggling with this the most. I feel like they should have given people the opportunity to share stories about Rex. It's still hard to believe that he is gone, but I guess things will get easier as time goes on.

Schools Out For Summa!

I have finally reached the finish line. My first year of teaching has come and gone. I feel that as a tribute to my first year, I should look back on the highlights of my year. Teaching middle school is sometimes like an emotional rollercoaster. Sometimes I love the kids and I look to them as if they are grosser older versions of what my real children will be like one day. Other times, they make me want to rip my ears out of my head because they can't seem to stop talking. However, if I didn't really love this job I wouldn't be a teacher.
I have gotten to see these kids grow up a little bit throughout the year. I have to say one of my favorite memories of the school year was when our team read the book We Beat the Street and then went to Clowes Hall to hear the three doctors speak. I felt that the students that were able to go on that field trip where really inspired to hear these successful doctors discuss what they have been through, and it was great to see that they came from an even more difficult upbringing then they have come from.
I think I'll miss my little kiddos over the summer...but surprise, surprise. I learned in the last week that I will be teaching most of them again as their eighth grade language arts teacher next year. However, after that year is over, do not expect to see me following them over to the ninth grade center....that will not be happening!