One Year

I meant to post on Sunday, but I failed to.

Alex and I have been engaged for one year. I cannot believe that a year has gone by already. I am so thankful that we've had this time together. I do not regret waiting a year and a half. I've been able to enjoy being engaged without having to think about the wedding at all, and I have so much time to plan the wedding. We're learning about each other in a way that is different from when we were just dating. And we've had fun just being engaged!

Just a few more months. :)

Nosy People

Personal Wedding Predicament #1:

What do you do when people you weren't planning on inviting to the wedding ask you when and where it is?

Usually I reply with, "December." Today, however, after I said that the person who asked me said, "What day in December?" Which forced me to say the exact date. It made me feel uncomfortable because I didn't want to make them feel as if they were going to be invited. Hopefully the fact that it's still over 6 months away will work in my favor and people will forget.

The people I know that read this blog every now and then--no worries. You will be invited. But to all the people who may or may not read my blog that I don't know about, no offense if you're not invited. You just cannot invite everyone! I'm sorry if I don't want to invite every single person from my church, or every single person from my church that I say hey to on a weekly basis, or every single one of my mom's friends, or every single person that my dad works with. The people I want to share in our wedding day are family and close friends who know Alex and myself. I don't want to invite people who have never even met him just because they go to my church or happen to know me through my parents. Why would someone want to go to a wedding in which they barely know the people?

Personal Wedding Predicament #2:

Just because I participate in and celebrate other people's marriages does not mean I am just there to get ideas.

At almost every shower I've been to this year for my friends someone has said something like, "You taking notes? You getting ideas? Is that why you're here?" Umm... absolutely not! Why can't I just be enjoying someone else's shower? Do people really think people do that? Do people really think that I am that kind of person? Do people think that I am so involved in the small details of my wedding that I'm only concerned with that until the wedding day is over? I really hope not.

I understand that some people say that because they want to just be nice or maybe it's an easy conversation point if they want to ask me about my wedding. But I feel like I have worked so hard to not think about my wedding at other people's wedding stuff that it's very frustrating. I have not been perfect at that but I do try. You only have one day to celebrate the greatest day of your life. I like to give other people that. I'm selfish and hope that at my showers and at my wedding people aren't talking about other people's weddings. I really do want it to be a celebration of these two lives joining and starting together.

Personal Wedding Predicament #3:

I really could care less about what the cake looks like, what kind of flower is in the boutonniere's, and what food we're serving everyone.

Why, in our country, have weddings become the new "show and tell"? In this country, the wedding ceremony falls out of focus and the spotlight is on the reception. The major things are: do you have the best food? the best flowers? the most expensive everything? Yes, I want a fun reception because I think it's important to celebrate and be joyful. No, I do not want to spend $25,000. I was watching "Say Yes to the Dress" yesterday and one dress that a bride wanted was $11,000!!! Please tell my why someone could justify spending that much money on one dress that they will wear for about ten hours.

Of course, I want it to be nice because it is special and worth making a big deal about it. However, the little details are not what is important.

I might have gone a little overboard about all this but I'm just frustrated.

Wedding Planning Day

The day has finally come to where my mother and I will spend a day working on things for the wedding. I've said I was going to do this since I've been engaged. This summer, summer of 2010, the one before my wedding, is here. The day off is here. The appointments are here.

Hopefully we'll get a lot accomplished. My goal for the summer is to have everything planned and prepared for the wedding before school starts back August 23. I have...87 days, and three weddings to attend within that 87 days.

Here's to wedding planning! Cheers!

Life After Marriage

Every now and then, I wonder what it will be like after the wedding. First and foremost, I am thrilled to get married and live with Alex. I think we will make a wonderful team, just as we are now. Second, it will be nice to finally have a home together, no longer having to say goodbye at the end of dates or meet up before we go somewhere. Third, it just sounds like so much fun!

At the same time, I will be living with a boy. A b.o.y. I have two brothers. I've also seen Alex's sink when he doesn't clean it regularly. I know how guys live and in many ways, it is completely opposite of the way I live. I know we'll figure it out, but I know I'll probably be cleaning a lot more than he does, for my sake, and putting down the toilet seat often. :)

Then again, there are plus sides to living with a boy. He'll be there to kill bugs when I'm not and reach the top shelf of the cabinet because we still haven't bought a step stool. He'll fix things and put things together and set up stuff. I mean, I know how to do most everything you need to know because I've lived in an apartment before, but I like that I will have someone there to do it for me and help me.

It will be interesting figuring out schedules when we live together. We'll begin to know when the other comes home, what each of us likes to do before we get to something around the house and little nuances like that.

I'm just really looking forward to it. 7 months til December 17, 2010!

Deal, or No Deal?

Alex and I have had a crazy week. I have just started a new job at an allergy clinic, where I've been working a TON. I'm thankful that they are scheduling me so much but I'm not used to it and it's wearing me out. Alex, on the other hand, does not have much to do job-wise until he leaves for Centrifuge in a couple of weeks :-(. So the combination does not leave us with much time together at all. This week has been especially busy, with a mid-week gig for SMB (Seth Medley Band) in Atlanta and 4 softball games.

Within that mix, Alex and I all of a sudden had this living opportunity before us. He was completely on board, and I was not, at first. We had many heated discussions and arguments that were just stressful. But then we somehow came to a compromise. Yesterday, we spent the whole day looking at apartments and then going to Lowe's. I was so excited after leaving Lowe's because this opportunity was seeming more and more like the blessing Alex was trying to get me to see. But last night while discussing our budget and money things we got into another argument and just absolutely was scary. I hated talking about that subject in the way we were and none of the responsibilities we talked about we have YET.

So after all of that...we've decided to stick with the safer route and live in an apartment. We have learned, however, that while money is essential and important to spend wisely, the most important thing in our marriage is loving each other.

Celebration

The semester is officially over!! Here are some pictures from this year...oh how the time has flown by!

my birthday. with swollen cheeks still from wisdom teeth removal (top) &

the first UTC football game of the season. last marching season for alex! woohoo (bottom).

first tennessee vol football game of the season, first and last kiffin season for TN (top) & alex's 21st birthday at provino's (bottom).

fall break, camping with the family. here at dixie stampede (top) & halloween at the symphony...clue characters, from left, col. mustard, ms. peacock, prof. plum, mrs. white, mr. green and ms. scarlet (bottom).

beat hunger (top) & rock city (bottom).

christmas with the roomies (top) & disney with the fantastic four (bottom).

christmas with the family (top) & memories of alex's dad (bottom).

about to celebrate jon & lizzy's engagement at UPD (top) & signal point (bottom), photo credit: lizzy kiern.

one of my best friend's lingerie shower!

alex and drew's senior recital, the lighting is horrible.

I just want to say how proud I am of Alex. He has made it through four years of college and wants to graduate so badly. All he has left is student teaching in the fall. While he finished the last of marching band last semester, he will have to help with marching band in the fall at the high school he student teaches at...which will be time consuming (every friday night football game and saturday camp, plus competitions). He will still be a part of the Seth Medley Band, which has a CD out--Congrats! He does so much, I don't even know how he has time for it all. I'm sure throughout all of his recent accomplishments, his dad is so proud of him.

He has stuck with me throughout these four years--thank God! He has been supportive, even though he may have been having a tough day. He has been challenging me, pushing me to be a better person to others and spiritually. He has become a part of my family and allowed me into his family. I know I talk him up a lot, but he is so great. I cannot wait to marry him December 17, 2010.

This summer, my goals are to:

-work, work, work

-make money, money, money

-save the money, money, money

-get the wedding planned to the very last detail

-find an apartment for Alex and I to plan to live in after we're married (:D)

-spend time relaxing, reading books, and spending time with friends.

School, Please Hurry Up and Finish!

I'm so close to being done with school for this semester. I have one exam today and the last one tomorrow. SO CLOSE! Then I will finally be a senior!

It's about that time when all my friends are starting to get married. Check out my summer:

• I know someone getting married May 8, 2010.
• Alex's brother is getting married June 5, 2010.
• I'm in one of my best friend's weddings on July 17, 2010.
• Alex is acting as best man for his best friend on August 7, 2010.
• Alex and I are both in a wedding in September 2010.

That leaves two more months until our own!! So not only will I be getting prepared for my own wedding this December, but I will be attending 5 this summer! Yay for weddings! I need to save money. :P

Congratulations to all my friends: Marlene & Zach, Megan & Mark, Molly & Zach, Lizzy & Jon, and Corinne & Alex Cooze!

Time to go take my second to last exam.