Devastating

Alex and I returned from Rock the Universe last night, and I will unfortunately post about it later. My mom told me today that my cousin's nephew had passed away after a devastating, unexpected, cancer diagnosis ten days ago. My cousin is Cody, who is married to Sara, who have a little boy of their own, just a few months older than Marco. Sara's sister and brother-in-law, Emily and Chris, are baby Marco's parents. Marco was just nine months old. Although they are just barely family by marriage, my heart is broken for them. Today is also the day my uncle Ed passed away, my cousin Cody's father, two years ago which I'm sure is making this day even harder for them. I'm praying that they turn to God during this difficult time because there is no one else that can provide answers, healing, or peace. To read Marco's story you can visit: http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/marcogiovinazzo

Job Search

Hello strangers...it's been a busy summer. I am so happy to have Alex back at home but this by far was the best Fuge experience we've had. Things really do change when you get married, maybe not as far as convenience goes since I wasn't there all summer; but within the staff, they treat you so differently than what we experienced when we were engaged. I really felt like I was apart of the staff, especially when I visited, because everyone knew so much about me and really cared how we were doing. Not to say that didn't happen the last two summers, but there's definitely a "we take you seriously" tone towards married staffers. I met some wonderful, supportive, amazing friends and am a little sad that I won't be escaping to PCB any time soon.

Here's the deal with my job search. I passed the NCLEX (scary nurse licensing board test) in July and have been actively looking for jobs since FEBRUARY. Yes, February. Now I didn't expect to hear anything back until I had passed the NCLEX but I just thought I should put it out there that I have been on the search for 6 months. After I took the NCLEX and passed (woo hoo!), I started getting very, very hopeful. I had applied for several jobs at Erlanger by then. Weeks went by and I still heard nothing. I began applying for any job with RN in the description including Memorial Hospital as well. More weeks have gone by and still nothing. I've started including Parkridge Hospital now. I have now applied for 27 jobs at 3 hospitals and still heard nothing.

It is beyond frustrating, especially knowing that pretty much everyone else in my graduating class (nursing class) has a job. I don't know if I'm doing something wrong, or if it's just because I'm not going about this the right way. I don't know a lot of people so I don't have a whole lot of connections, which is also frustrating because that seems to be the only way people get jobs.

I'm praying for something to happen.

Wedding Pictures

Bethany and Kyle's Wedding in Memphis:

Collierville United Methodist Church; Mary, Molly and I with the bride and groom

As the professional wedding attender, I had to take pictures of the tables. :)

Wedding cake! Yum!

Katie and JT's Wedding in Ooltewah, TN

Best friends and our wedding rings!

The bridesmaids' bouquets

Glendra and Chris's wedding in Rising Fawn, GA

Behind the huge mansion!

General Woods Inn

Oh Boy!

This weekend was CRAZY. That is the only word to describe everything that happened the entire weekend. Crazy fun, crazy scary-at times, crazy weird, crazy happy-friend time!

I drove to Memphis along with Mary and Molly which accounts for about 40 % of the craziness right there. :) Most of our friends probably kept up with Molly's Twitter and knew all of this as it was happening, but for blog-sake I want to tell the whole story. Within an hour of driving, right as we passed the Alabama line, I get pulled over...He asks, "Were you wearing your seatbelt before I pulled you over?" Now in my head I just answered the question. But Mary and Molly both heard, in a fairly offended tone of voice, me say, "Yeah, I always wear my seatbelt! It's the first thing I do when I get in the car!" Turns out his car said, "Seat Belt Enforcement." What other state has that by itself?! I get that he couldn't see that I had it on, but I did and I was annoyed. Strike #1 on the trip. We decided early on that we would try going Highway 72 through Alabama instead of up to Nashville and across to Memphis because it's supposed to be shorter. However, we missed the turn to stay on 72 and started heading towards Birmingham before we realized what had happened then got misguiding directions which got us lost for a good hour or so--Strike 2! In the midst of being lost, it stormed really hard with really scary lightning and thunder and crazy loud rain--Strike 3. It definitely put me on edge because I hate driving in the rain (who doesn't?) and I hate lightning. It makes my throat spasm every time it strikes. Molly hates being lost so she was on edge and on the phone with her parents (who live in Virginia) trying to get us back on track. Mary, I'm sure, on the inside was laughing her head off because that's just the kind of person she is. Later, once we were back on track and through the storm, we laughed and sang really loud with the windows down and were a big happy family again.

We FINALLY made it to Memphis, and believe it or not we had not pulled our hair out or killed each other! Listening to Whitney Houston made all the strikes a lot better and the last couple of hours tolerable. We stayed with Mary's awesome friend Carrie, in her sweet apartment, and had a fun night on the town. Fun fact about Friday night: A stranger sang "Part of Your World" to Molly--hilarious and awkward!

Saturday, we met up with Molly's friend Rob who chauffeured us to Graceland!!! I was pumped, and I was very impressed. It took me a little longer to get through the exhibits than everyone else because I was so enthralled. It was so cool to see everything and to think that Elvis lived there. I don't idolize him by any means but the history of Elvis is very interesting.

Bethany's wedding was gorgeous, as expected. The church was huge with big, stained-glass windows. She looked like a wedding edition Barbie doll! Her dress was so pretty and she and Kyle are so sweet together. The reception was awesome at the Pink Palace. I was so excited when we pulled into the drive of a HUMONGOUS mansion. We picked a table that was in the room with the shrunken head. Food was good, cake was good, band was good. We stayed as long as we could and were very happy that we were there when they were announced and to see them cut the cake.

We opted for going the interstate on the way home after Friday's fiasco, so it was a straight shot to Nashville and then to Chattanooga. Mary and Molly were awesome car riders and kept the driving fun and kept me awake! Our jams included as I said before Whitney Houston, Justin Timberlake, Britney Spears, Boys II Men, Nsync, Backstreet Boys, Ben Folds, and many more. Overall, a crazy, fast road trip to Memphis that was a lot of fun!

Some of my favorite quotes from this weekend include: (credit to The Hangover for some of our quotes)

"Put your pants on Alan."
"Rebecca, quit being a diva." (after I complained about my hair after we had the windows rolled down.)
"You struck back at the lightning."
"CULLMAN, MOM. C-U-L-L-M-A-N! I feel like I'm talking to an Alzheimer's patient!"

I can't remember all the good ones. :) Lots of fun. Pictures coming soon.

Yesterday was one of my first days off during the week that I've had since Alex left for camp. It was so nice and relaxing. I went to the pool with my mom and brother, then went shopping thanks to my mom :), and had plans to go biking at the River Walk downtown but the rain but those plans away and my family just came over and chilled at my apartment. We watched TV and played games and ate cookies. For lunch, I cooked spaghetti, which I know isn't hard, but I cooked! I'm very proud of myself actually taking yesterday off and not cramming a bunch of crazy plans into yesterday so that I could actually rest and recooperate from the last few weeks.

Alex is doing well. The next two weeks of camp will be a little hectic with not a day off until I get there July 1! :( But they'll be ok. The band is doing well and loving having Johann, their electric guitar player, actually there instead of via computer tracks! It allows them to have a lot more freedom during worship and a lot more fun. I hear that he is doing an awesome job at leading Bible study and having conversations with students--pretty impressive for his first FUGE summer. I think they're all loving being at the beach because it allows for some awesome free time activities. They go sea kayaking almost every day off. I've heard about some awesome "sno-balls" that are made with a little bit of ice cream, and some good Korean food. I'm really looking forward to going down there in a week and a half to experience Panama City Beach and spend some vacation time with Alex.

Until then, I am working, going to another wedding as my last post explained, and taking the NCLEX and passing (positive reinforcement!)! Prayers would be appreciated. :)

Weddings Galore!

After this coming weekend, Bethany and Kyle's wedding will make my fourth wedding in three weeks! It really is the season of weddings for all the people my age, as Alex was a groomsman in the first one of the four, and I was a bridesmaid in the second one. I will post pictures after this weekend of all four weddings. :)

Wedding #1: Chris and Glendra Craig

Chris and Glendra and really good friends of Alex and myself. Alex met Chris in middle school and I met Glendra in high school. The four of us went to prom together, we did lots of double dates and triple dates with other couples and had a lot of fun together. Their wedding was at the General Woods Inn in Rising Fawn, Georgia. Since it was so close to my friend Mary's house, two of my friends and I went to her house to hang out before the wedding after dropping off our groomsmen. Once we got back up to the Inn we were ready for the wedding. It was pretty warm outside still at 5 pm. It had rained that afternoon too so the humidity was terrible. The wedding was absolutely beautiful. When I post pictures you will be able to see the backdrop of mountains they had behind them when they said their vows. Their Zelda theme was very tastefully done. :) Food and cake were delicious. I happened to win VIP passes to Riverbend from work for Saturday night and since Alex came in for the weekend we decided to head out after dinner to spend some time by ourselves. The bride and groom were totally ok with it--thanks Chris and Glendra for being awesome about that. I heard the rest of the reception was a rockin' party with lots of dancing!

The Beach Boys played at Riverbend Saturday night with special guest John Stamos!!! It was such a blast. Alex and I sang along and danced the whole time. Of course I was stoked that John Stamos was there playing and singing with the Beach Boys but they put on an awesome show. So glad Alex and I went.

Wedding #2: JT and Katie Nelson

Katie and I met in high school and have been best friends since then! Through us going to separate colleges and her starting her teaching career, each time we see each other we just pick up where we left off. Our time together is usually also with our other best friend Molly White. The three of us were a mess in high school--so silly but great friends and it remains that way! It was so much fun to be a part of Katie's wedding and to be around those friends. All the bridesmaids spent Friday night at a hotel (thanks to Katie's mom!). We watched silly Youtube videos and did our nails and ate cupcakes and played Mad Gab and finally crashed around 1:30 am. It was also great to get to know a couple of JT's sisters who were bridesmaids. That family is so funny and awesome! Glad we're friends now. :) Saturday, we woke up and at breakfast together and started doing our hair. We had a lot of chill time at her house after we left the hotel because there were so many people to help set the wedding up, which was in her parent's backyard. The sun stayed around until about 4 pm as we were finishing up pictures, and then dark clouds rolled in bringing thunder and then of course...rain. I thought everyone was going to make a run for the tent so I did, but the rest of the family and bridal party just huddled in the barn. I was in the tent for about 20 to 30 min with some of Katie's family when we saw everyone running from the barn! Thankfully water dries so no one's clothes were messed up and Katie looked beautiful despite the rain. Thank goodness she was an awesome bride and took the rain with grace! She was so carefree and laidback that it made that crazy situation of everyone under the tent surrounded by pouring rain fun and not stressful. A lot of people still showed up and we were only delayed about an hour. The ceremony was still able to happen outside and it was beautiful. When the music started playing I just started crying because I was so happy it was actually happening. Lots of waiting but so worth it. The sun started to come out about 8 pm, just in time to wish the off! Definitely unforgettable!

Wedding #3: John and Becky Partin

John is one of my many cousins and he and Becky got married around the same time Katie did, so as soon as I left Katie's wedding I headed downtown to catch the end of their reception and to see some of my family. The band was really good and so much fun to listen to. If I had had a dance partner I would have been dancing the whole time I was there. When they started playing "Jesse's Girl" I had to get up and dance, so I pulled my 8 yr old cousin up and he danced with me some. It was so good to see my family and catch a glimpse of the bride and groom and give them a hug of congrats at the end of their celebration! A very exhausting day, but it wasn't over yet. My friend Sarah met me at the reception downtown and after I changed we headed down towards the river to catch the fireworks at Riverbend. Most of the way, we ran because they started while we were still walking, which I'm paying for now with some painful shin splints but the fireworks were good and we still got to see a good bit of them. I slept really well after two weddings and a late night with the fireworks!

This weekend Mary, Molly and I are heading to Memphis to see Bethany's wedding. I met Bethany through Molly and we were in a Bible study together. I'm so pumped to spend some quality time with Mary and Molly because this summer has been crazy and I'm pumped to be in Memphis for Bethany's wedding. We may even make a stop at Graceland. :) Pictures to follow soon.

Alex is at camp and I am doing really well, if I don't say so myself. No tears have been shed, compared to the last summer when I cried atleast two to three times a week if not more. Alex is doing really well. I am so thankful for the peace God has given me though. I know without a doubt that we are doing the right thing, otherwise Alex and I wouldn't have the peace that we have in this decision we have made to be apart for a few weeks. Last year I really struggled being away while planning the wedding and working, and I felt like I was missing something. This summer I have a lot of determination to be strong for Alex and myself because crying all the time is exhausting and I'm not fun to talk to. I am also keeping myself very busy working almost 40 hours a week, helping with VBS, planning time with friends, and studying for the NCLEX. I am staying strong for Alex so that he knows I support him, but I know that it's not from within my own self that the strength is coming. Praise Jesus! Marriage still works even if you're not together every night!

Speaking of the NCLEX, I am scheduled to take it June 28 and am studying for it every day via an online review course. For now I am staying at my current job because I absolutely love it. I'm struggling with what I should do as far as looking for another job. I'm not sure if I should wait for my dream job and until then work where I am, or bite the bullet and get a floor nurse job and hate it until I get my dream job, OR stay where I am for a while and LOVE it and wait it out. I'm praying about it but it's hard to discern what God wants me to do from what I really want to do and be comfortable with.

Busy, busy, busy as always! Loving life though. I'm going to four weddings the next three weekends and I get to see Alex on Friday so I'm super pumped. :)

Graduation Reflection

This year has already had it's historical moments: the devastating tsunami in Japan; the too-close-to-home destruction of the South by tornadoes; the royal wedding of Prince William and Catherine, Duke and Duchess of Cambridge; and most recently, the death of Osama bin Laden. On Saturday I will walk across a stage, signifying my graduation from the Universityof Tennessee at Chattanooga and the completion of nursing school--quite the historic moment in my life! My youngest brother is graduating from high school a week from Saturday, and returning to my high school for all his closing senior events has made me reflect on my high school graduation and thus my four years of high school and four years of college.

Since 2011 has already been pretty historic and it's only May, what kind of historic eventshappened in 2007, when I graduated high school?

-the announcement of the iPhone
-Nancy Pelosi was elected the first female Speaker of the House
-Virginia Tech shootings
-Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows is released (eery! Part II of the 7th Harry Potter movies comes out this summer!)
What's weird is that deadly tornadoes hit Alabama (killing 20 people) and an earthquake in Japan occurred in 2007...history really does repeat itself.

Through all these tragedies, this year especially, has reminded me of a passage in Roman 8:18-22.
" For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. For the creation waits with eagerlonging for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to decay and obtain the freedom of the glory of thechildren of God."

How great is that even our suffering cannot be compared to the glory of God!

Switching subjects to top songs!
2007: Crank That by Soulja Boy was #1 for the longest (according to the website I found)
2011: Firework by Katy Perry (so far...?)
However (!), the songs that I identify with most from those years are in 2007--any Justin Timberlake song or Kelly Clarkson song, and this year has to be Teenage Dream by Katy Perry or Need You Know by Lady Antebellum, which I know neither came out this year but they're still popular!

Movies!

2007: Juno, Sweeney Todd, I Am Legend, Harry Potter and the Order of the Pheonix

2011: Justin Bieber Never Say Never, Rango, Soul Surfer, Water for Elephant (Haven't seen any of these...yet! haha)

Here are some of my favorite pictures from over the last several years.

2007-2008: High school graduation with my BFF Abbie; Macy's Day Parade-I got to hold the banner for OHS Band; My Bed in my first dorm room-yes, I still sleep with stuffed animals; me in Costa Rica on a mission trip that was very eye-opening!

2008-2009: My stethoscope-right before I started Nursing School; Engagement!!; and surviving the first FUGE summer without Alex with my roomies, Sarah and Kate (this picture is at Kate's costume birthday party-Kate is Ginger Spice, Sarah and I are Monica and Rachel from Friends)

2009-2010: Disney World with Jon and Lizzy; engagment pictures at the Choo Choo; surviving the second FUGE summer-got to see Alex at his brother's wedding; and us at Jon and Lizzy's wedding

December 17, 2010: Best Day EVER!

I'm so looking forward to graduation!

I have a weakness for puppies.

Mini-Vaca Recap

A couple of weekends ago Alex and I had our first weekend get-away since our honeymoon back to Charlotte, NC. As I mentioned in a previous post, we stopped in Atlanta on the way to Charlotte to go to the Coca-Cola museum--fun, as always. We were hoping there wouldn't be very many people since it was Friday afternoon, but boy, were we wrong. There were a lot of kids! It was still fun though.

We got to our hotel in Charlotte and realized that two NCAA tournament games were being played that weekend in Charlotte and one of the teams was staying at the Hilton as well. We didn't see anyone, or atleast I don't think we did. I don't think I would have known if I had seen anyone from the team, but cool nonetheless. For dinner, Ruth's Chris was on our list for Friday night. It was a little more awkward than the last time we ate there because I had made the reservation on the phone, so every time the waiter came to the table he addressed me, which was annoying after a while. Getting dressed up for dinner though is always fun! This trip to Charlotte was much warmer than in December so we spent more time walking around downtown.

The next day we had "Young Frankenstein" on the schedule for the afternoon, so we checked out of the hotel and headed out to walk around and eat lunch before the show. Little did we know, there was a St. Patrick's Day Festival and Parade going on. It was very crowded, but an awesome surprise. We caught a glimpse of the parade (Stormtroopers wearing kilts was our favorite) and walked amidst the booths of wood carvings, Guinness and fried foods gallore. The weather was gorgeous and this really was a fun surprise before the show. It was a good way to pass the time. "Young Frankenstein" was...amazing. I vowed not to listen to the music beforehand and was really entertained. We love Broadway shows and this one makes it into the top of the list, granted we have seen some really good shows. Personally, I've seen Wicked on Broadway in New York, Jersey Boys, Chicago, Rent and Cats (all traveling shows). It surprised me how much I liked "Young Frankenstein." There's a video posted of my favorite song. What I like most about this song though is the dancing. I love the dancing.

Saturday on our way home we decided to pit stop in Atlanta again and stay there Saturday night which was fun. We played putt putt and ate out some more. It was Alex's idea to spontaneously prolong our mini-vacation which turned out to be a good one. Our next opportunity to take a trip together won't be until after the summer so we took advantage of the time we had.

Alex and I had a lot of fun and it was a great time of relaxation and time to ourselves after the busy months we've been through.

Here's the video! This is our favorite song, but not the best part of the show--it gets so much better! This is from the Today show Halloween edition 2007.

Yes, I'm still awake.

I watched this movie tonight, and I loved it! I love Rachel McAdams and Harrison Ford (love that we share a last name now!), and they do a wonderful job in this movie. I love Rachel's character, and her success in this movie. I've started to dream about what kind of job I'd really like to have, and I liked watching her success happen. It made me feel like I can succeed in whatever I end up doing! I wish I could have her clothes.

I ended up staying up late enough to watch Jay Leno. Then I saw a commercial for Jimmy Fallon's show and guess who was on it?! Tiger Woods. I don't think he's done very much as far as talk shows since the whole affair thing and I was curious. He still acts pretty stuck up. He discussed his new house which has a huge amount of property, in which he has different kinds of sand-one for each different golf course he competes on....please, Tiger. Anyway, Amy Poehler was also on and she was pretty funny. Jimmy Fallon has gotten funnier! His stand-up bit before his guests was hilarious, and his banter with Tiger was pretty funny. Congrats, Jimmy for still being on the air and keeping your show alive! At the beginning, it was looking rough. I will gladly watch it now on nights like these where I'm up late enough to watch.

I'm super sleepy as you can tell by my rambling. Goodnight!

What's going on?

If my lack of blogging didn't clue you in, I have been pretty busy the last month and a half. It's starting to slow down I think...atleast right now it is. This week is spring break, plus Alex is gone, so I've had a lot of time to spend with friends. I'm sure many people thought Alex and I had fallen off the face of the earth or just didn't want to be their friend anymore. Our schedule's haven't changed a whole lot but I am done with my hospital rotation which takes a load off. The days I had to be in the hospital (for school) would go like this: wake up around 5:15 am, leave as Alex was waking up, be on my feet the whole day, get home around 7:30 pm when Alex was usually practicing with the band or CRU band, go to bed around 10:30 pm only about 30 minutes to an hour after Alex got home. The days I was not at the hospital I was either at my actual job, class, or spending time with Alex. Sometimes we had the weekends, but a couple of times I had to use those days to get my hospital days in (my schedule there depended on the nurse's schedule I was placed with), and one weekend the boys had a gig in Alabama. February was SMB's slow month as far as gigs go, but Alex and I had a lot less time together than I expected. And as you can assume, my husband got first dibs over my free time since our time was limited. I feel like I'm back in the real world though now. My clinical days usually only last from 8 am to 3 pm, which is so much better than 7 am to 7 pm. What stinks about Alex's schedule is that he is free in the middle of the day when everyone else is at work, but he works early in the morning and at night when people are free and want to hang out...

Anyway, this week has been pretty rough at times. The SMB left last Wednesday to go to Virginia, drove home all night Saturday to get back just in time to play Sunday morning, then head out for Kentucky where they'll be until Thursday right as I'm going to work. If I didn't have a midterm and a test last Thursday I could have gone with them to Virginia...and this week (Spring Break of all weeks!) I needed to stay here and work. It hasn't been terrible being by myself, especially at night; I thought it would be worse. I just hate that we're in two different states during my Spring Break! I can't complain though...this weekend we're getting away--just the two of us! We're driving through Atlanta, stopping at the Coco-Cola museum, and then up to Charlotte where we went for the first part of our honeymoon. We're staying in the same hotel and will probably revisit a favorite restaurant we found in December, Ruth's Chris Steak House. Saturday afternoon we're going to see "Young Frankenstein" and then we'll head home. I'm really looking forward to it. It's the first trip since our honeymoon that we've been on and I've been craving a get away ever since we left Cancun!

January 2009--our first visit to the Coca-Cola museum together.

Hilton in Charlotte, NC.

As you can see, this is the steak house we really liked.

And the show we're seeing!

Sometime soon I am going to make a slideshow of some of our wedding pictures and some of our honeymoon pictures. Be looking for that!

NICU

I've mentioned before that my preceptorship for this semester ended up being in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, which was my dream come true! I have now worked with my nurse for 7 days and thought I should give an update!

It is absolutely wonderful being in the NICU. I love it and I think I'll really like it if I get a job there. It doesn't scare me and I actually look forward to going. I miss the babies when I'm home, or I wonder about them. That doesn't happen as much as it did when I first started but every now and then I'll just want to call and make sure they're ok. Don't worry--no attachment problems. After my first day, I did fall in love with one of the babies but it's been long enough to where I've gotten over that and I've realized I can't do that with all of them! This particular baby is still in the NICU and we've taken care of her/him (not supposed to say, HIPPA and all that jazz) every day I've been there. Hopefully this little one will be going home soon, and until then we get to love on it!

Everyone asks me what will I do if one of the babies dies. You would think with them being so small that would be a thought always going through your mind, but it's not. You're very much aware of the ones who will be ok and the ones who are really, really sick. We've just had intermediate babies so no worries unless something just came up which I pray does not. The more common thought is, "What will the baby's life be like?" Some of them will have developmental delays and developmental problems and their quality of life will be undeterminable, but the parents still want everything done. And can you blame them? Technology is so marvelous now-a-days that we can save a baby born at 22 weeks old. They may not be able to function on their own, but they are alive. Some of me wonders if what we do to them is beneficial or just making them suffer through life.

Ultimately, it is God's will. God is sovereign and His word shows it. My life shows that God is sovereign. I go in every day and pray that God will use my hands to show the baby and their family Jesus. I love on the babies hoping that one day Jesus will be their Lord. I hold them and swaddle them hoping that when they have a bad day when they're older or when their family goes through a hard time or even if they fail a test at school, that they will remember they are a child of God, and there is a better Kingdom coming than this earth we live on.

I have learned so much more than skills and knowledge about tiny babies than I ever thought. The hours may be long and it may exhaust me, but for right now I think the NICU is where I'm supposed to be. Thanks be to God!

Valentine's Day

I have to brag...I made a sweet dinner for Alex last Friday night when we celebrated Valentine's Day. I have yet to cook this big since we've been married and I'm still pumped about it.

I grilled steaks on our George Foreman, made honey balsamic green beans, garlic mashed potatoes, and chocolate covered strawberries. I had some cocktail shrimp out because we both love it so much. It turned out really well. We were both impressed!

The past two years (this year makes 3) we've gone to the Big Band Fever that the Chattanooga Symphony Orchestra does every year for Valentine's Day. They create a "big band" from members of the symphony orchestra and they play big band hits, while you dance on the stage. It is a blast and we love going! I'm really glad we got to go this year, and there weren't any conflicts with the SMB. If you live in Chattanooga, you should check it out next year.

We were treated by our newly engaged friends, Drew and Addie! Drew proposed prior to coming to Big Band Fever and since that was the night we were going (by coincidence) we got to see them. Lucky us! That time after you get proposed is so precious and we're special to have been able to see them while they were floating on Cloud 9! Too cute!

Procrastination through Disney!

So I found my ultimate procrastination tool on Disney's Weddings Blog!

"Wall-E" wedding cake!!!

Pirate-themed wedding.

Glad Alex and I jumped on this trend's band wagon. :)

"Under the Sea" Wedding Cake

This cake is modeled after a bridal store! It's gorgeous.

If you want even more cute-ness, check out this blog post! "Top 10 Proposal Ideas at Disney" --gah!! So adorable.

Coupon-ing!

I have started coupon-ing. Although it may sound self-explanatory, they have workshops about coupon-ing! My bff Katie Newsome and I went to one, after our other bff Molly White gushed about how much she loved it and how much money they had saved in just a few months. Katie found a workshop that we could both go to, so we went!

It was quite an adventure. If you really interested in one, check out their website. I learned a few things about coupons that I didn't know before, but more about how to use them in a polite way. For instance, instead of shouting at the cashier because your expired coupon won't scan, go through your coupons and send your expired ones to military families overseas. Instead of taking every single box of Kraft Mac and Cheese, call ahead and tell them you're going to buy a case of it...things like that. I've gotten into printable coupons, which you can print from the internet. They change every month and I can choose which ones I want to print, that way I don't waste paper and ink on ones we'll never use. Right now my coupons vary from "$1 off assorted Valentine's Candy" to "$1 off Pilot Precise V5/V7 capped and retractable pens." Internet printables can be used anywhere, and FYI Bilo doubles coupons every day! So if I can find those pens at Bilo, it'll be for $2 off! Woo hoo! Every nurse needs tons of clicky pens...

Our first grocery store trip with coupons, we saved $45.46 at Bilo and $19.43 at Publix. The coupons weren't the bulk of that though since we're just starting out. It was maily Bilo Bonus Card, Buy One Get One Free deals (Bilo and Publix), 10 for $10 deals (Bilo), and Meal Deals (Bilo). I'll keep updating as we get more into it. Coupon-ing takes a lot of planning.

Awesome deal I'll pass on! Restaurant.com is having a deal--$25 restaurant certificates for $3! **Type in "MEAL" as a promotion code and click 'Apply.'** You can only use them on select restaurants in Chattanooga. My favorites are: The Station House, The Melting Pot, Blue Orleans, and Foodworks. Those are pretty pricy places (alliteration! woo!), BUT if you get four (like we did) $25 certificates, that's a $100 meal for only $12!! And they don't expire!

Lexington, TN

School has started off with a bang. The snow pushed school back a week, and some people (not me, thankfully) have exams on Saturday. Yuck! The good news is that May graduation did not change. Thank you, UTC! We had some intense make-up class time last week. This semester I'm only at school one day a week, but last week I had to go three days, from 9 to 4! After not having been in class, those long days wore me out. I found out great news though! I will be completing my preceptorship in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit!! There were slim chances of finding a preceptor, but I have one. God must have heard my many pleas during all the previous semesters' clinicals. Before I was even in nursing school, I shadowed a nurse in both the well-baby nursery and in the NICU. I fell in love with the atmosphere, patients and the nurses. We spent one day in the NICU during third semester and that was my shot to see if I thought it was still for me since I had gotten into the thick of nursing school. I still loved it! So since the beginning, I've known I want to be in the NICU and I'm so excited. I know that some days will be really bad. But God has a purpose for this intense passion of mine for the NICU, and no matter what happens He is with me and guiding me through it all. I will hopefully start my preceptorship next week with three 12 hour days in a row! Certainly starting off with a bang as well!

After three long days of classes, I got to drive to Lexington, TN with Molly. **Thank you for waiting on me to get out of class so I wouldn't be all by myself!** It was a fabulous drive, believe it or not, until we got off at the Natchez Trace exit. It eventually got us there but we found out later we could have gotten off the interstate and not been so creeped out. We drove through the curvy roads of the Natchez Trace State Park at night, in the dark, and could not help but start talking about scary movies. We were pretty freaked out! But we still made great time, and got there just in time for worship.

It was the first church this year that the band helped teach Bible studies and my first time being a Bible study leader, so the guys each had a Bible study and stayed in their respective host home. I did not know it was going to be this much fun! Molly and I co-lead the 8th grade girls. I love middle schoolers, especially girls, and this group was incredible! They knew a lot of deep concepts in Scripture and I was blown away. I kept thinking, "I didn't know this stuff 'til last year!" Molly helped me out a lot since I had never taught at a Disciple Now, which is different than the way I lead my Bible study with the middle school girls. It was an awesome experience.

I learned a lot this weekend:

-When Seth, Steve, Drew and Alex are really, really, really tired, they are goofy and so much more fun than the usual tired, where they're just grumpy. They're always fun, but when they're past the point of no return on fatigue, you'll know!
-GPS's don't always tell you the best way to go.
-Someone playing with the sanctuary lights is extremely distracting during worship.
-When I'm asleep, I apparently like to snuggle with whoever may be sharing the bed. *Not on purpose*
-Your body may be exhausted but praising God restores energy!

Kaylyn, this is for you!

I found The Sound of Music trailer.

Found out Mary Poppins came out before The Sound of Music. We were wondering that when we watched it. Also, this won the 38th Oscar for Best Picture (this is from the title of the video)!

South Carolina, Snow and The Sound of Music

I finally got to travel with the Seth Medley Band last weekend to Lancaster, South Carolina, pronounce "Lank-aster" not "Lan-caster." Since I'm know a wife of a member, I get to travel if there's a place for me to stay that's not an inconvenience to the band (like in a host home, or if we pay for the hotel ourselves). Molly and I stayed with an awesome chic named Catherine (sp?) which was great. Surprisingly, it was nice to have a bed away from the noisy boys! We got plenty of time with them during the day and on the trip! **We had a return to the war conversation prompted by me mentioning how much I liked Irresistible Revolution, that included raised voices and lots of repetition...it was not fruitful, except that we learned to maybe never discuss politics in a car.** It was great to watch Alex, my hubby, praise God and lead worship as a part of the SMB outside of our church. It was great to be with the guys in fellowship and on the road. I was very much looking forward to it and had so much fun!

Sunday night is started snowing......I've never NOT wanted snow so much! It never snowed this much in Chattanooga during my childhood when I didn't have to drive in it. Monday was fun, waking up to everything white and getting a text saying that work was closed. However, after many episodes of 30 Rock and finding things to do around the apartment, I was restless. It would have been much better had one of our friends (cough cough) let us get snowed in at their house, but no, that did not happen so we were all bored. Tuesday I did more chores then we headed to my parent's house to sled!

After 2 times down the hill we were done. Playing games and watching movies with my family was a lot of fun. Thursday we finally ventured out because of work. Now I just hope that UTC won't have to push graduation back since we missed the first week of spring semester. :-/ This has been the longest week! I'm looking forward to more of a routine this coming week.

The Seth Medley Band headed out again yesterday for Nashville to play at First Baptist. I had prior commitments today so I stayed home which wasn't terrible. First night at the apartment by myself and I survived! Pretty proud of that, especially since we don't have any animals yet. :) I spent some much needed time with Jon and Lizzy last night and after some delicious taco fun and a few crazy rounds of Bananagrams we watched "The Sound of Music" which is such a great movie. I'm pretty sure I said, "I love this movie," about 2500 times during the movie! It's been stuck in my head since then too.

In other news, Alex (my husband--I love saying that!) is starting a blog! It will be way better than mine because he's an excellent writer and it'll pertain to more than just the thoughts floating around in his head, like my blog is! Check it out.

Also, wedding pictures are done!!! They are so beautiful. Check them out here.

The typical routine on a Sunday night after church is to hang out with the band guys, Molly and anyone else that happens to join us that night. We usually hit up the same places, either Plaze del Sol, Logan's, Steak n Shake, or Cracker Barrel. The conversation usually goes the same way, either we talk about band stuff, church stuff, friend stuff, or have a theological/big religious issue discussion. As you can tell, we're pretty wild...

This past week we went to Steak n Shake. Somehow Seth and Molly's conversation ended up involving the whole table, in which Steve just shook his head because he is not a fan of theological/big religious issue discussions. The conversation involved politics and the War on Terrorism or whatever it's being called these days. We talked about presidents, their decisions--some good, some bad, what should have been done and what we should be doing now. I'm not a huge politics person and I don't keep up with any of that stuff, nor do I remember anything historical, but I like hearing what other people have to say, especially when it's something I don't know. Long story short, one opinion was that Bush did what he thought was best for the protection of the American people after September 11th and people don't give him enough credit. One was that America doesn't need to be pushing democracy in every country's face when something goes wrong.

Interestingly, I started reading a book a few weeks ago called The Irresistible Revolution by Shane Claiborne. The chapter I got into yesterday was about the war, September 11th and a response that would be much more Biblical for Christians than supporting the war. For example, Shane (the author) went to Iraq with a group of Christian peacemakers and he spent time with children, families and homeless of Iraq, showing them love, discussing the gospel. Many of the Iraqi people he met were Christains and were confused. Why is America bombing their country when they proclaim Christianity? Many of them didn't see a difference in the Muslim extremist terrorists blowing up buildings in the name of Allah, or America bombing Iraq in the name of the safety of their country. I'm really glad that's where I was at in the book after the conversation Sunday night.

Sunday night I was pretty confused about how I should feel about the war. I also before this chapter wasn't too excited about finishing the book because it seemed like it was just huge advertisements for all the ministries and communities Shane is involved in and a way of showing off how great of a person he was because he really talks a lot about what he's done in his life. Perhaps within that feeling was really conviction to take the Gospel more seriously.

All of that to say, I'm praying that the church becomes alive. Shane points out how stagnant Christians are, just attending church, going through the motions, saying the right things, pretending as if they have their life together. I've heard that for years, "Don't let God and church just be motions you go through, or something you check of your to-do list." But it's so much more than that. Instead of being a church that points out only the parts of the Bible that make us feel good (blessings and love and forgiveness--which are important, don't get me wrong), let's challenge ourselves, our country, our world, to think beyond ourselves! What about "Take up your cross and follow me" or "You must hate your mother, your father, your brothers and sisters to follow me" or "Sell everything you have and give it to the poor, then follow me" and really break down what they say. I pray that the church is challenged and persecuted, so that real disciples will be made! So that we will finally be in a place where we desperately need God. Shane works with the homeless and points out how little they have and how strong their faith is because they literally depend on God for the next meal. I don't know anyone like that.

Shane points out the verse where Jesus says, "The poor will always be among you" and kinda slaps the church on the back of the hand for misinterpreting that. A lot of people say that as an excuse not to do anything with the poor and destitute other than throw money to charities and again check off something on their to-do list, but Shane points out that if the poor are always among you it means you must be among the poor, or be around the poor. It seems so obvious but his points in the book are really difficult things when you've been fed nothing but morals at church.

Alex and I are going to be challenged with being married, and adjusting to that. But I pray that we are challenged with the Gospel, and that we can challenge the middle school at our church, and our friends and together put it into action.

I love being married.

The wedding and honeymoon are over...holidays (Thank the LORD) are over! Alex and I are slowly getting into a routine that unfortunately will have to include school next week. I still haven't completely moved all my things into the apartment due to hectic holiday get togethers but that will hopefully happen this week. Good thing is my family lives in Chattanooga so it's not a huge deal about me moving my stuff immediately.

Here are some recaps of what's happened. It's long and drawn out but I just want to document it while it's still fresh on my mind.

Wedding:

Everything went perfectly, although the days leading up to it did not lead me to believe it was going to go very smoothly. The Sunday, Monday and Tuesday before the wedding I was sick with what a Nurse Practitioner thought was a milder version of the flu (thanks so much flu shot!) because my brother's flu test was positive. Not only was the bride sick, so was a groomsmen. Did that stress me out? I'll let you guess...my blood pressure was 135/76...it's normally 115/70. I didn't feel stressed but my body for sure was. So I missed work, did horrible on the last test I had to take for school, and laid around the house because I was too weak to work on last minute wedding stuff. What last minute wedding stuff did I have left? Oh, only DIY stuff that I spent money on and was too stubborn not to do. I made wreaths by tying bows around a wreath form that hung on the doors to the reception and the door to the church. I also made paper illuminaries by cutting paper doillies and glueing them inside white paper bags. We had to fold the programs, finish the slideshow, finish the playlist, and catch up on thank you notes before the motherload of presents came in. With the help of my wonderful groom and parents, we got everything done Tuesday night and Wednesday.
Well, lucky me when Wednesday rolled around (the bachelorette party was scheduled for Wed night btw) the weatherman started predicting some nasty, icy weather to roll in around evening time and leave some ice on the roads until morning. So while I was supposed to be relaxing while I got a manicure and pedicure Wednesday afternoon, everyone in the world starts texting me about this nasty weather. Not something the bride wants to hear let alone could do anything about. I also couldn't text back because my hands were all gooey and wrapped up. My phone was buzzing the whole time and there were threats of not having a flower girl! She had had pneumonia and her baby sister was fighting ear infections and her dad (also a groomsmen) was sick. I tried my best to just let everything roll of my back and not get in a tizzy before the party. The bachelorette party was a blast, and even while rain was falling and freezing on the roads my friends and bridesmaids toughed it to Apison to celebrate! The rest of the details of the night are not to be mentioned... ;). Don't worry...we didn't go wild, believe me. It's hard to do anything crazy when cars are sliding off the road and the interstate is shut down. It was the perfect bachelorette party for me...good, fun times with my best girlfriends.
Thursday came and went quickly! I woke up and drove home since the roads were fine the next morning (Thank the Lord!). I still had to pack some things for the honeymoon and straighten up my room and get all the wedding stuff in the car and take a shower and get ready for that night because I was not coming back home! Whew! Somehow I got it all done and we were only 20 minutes later than we had planned getting to the church. With the help of his mom, my mom, Jon, Lizzy and Abbie, we got the room ready for the rehearsal dinner and as many decorations up as we could for the reception. There was a surprise when we went into the sanctuary and the stage wasn't cleared off and we couldn't find the altar table therefore couldn't decorate it for the next day. But the wedding coordinator, Kelly Stack and the rest of my bridesmaids and friends and groom told me over and over that it would get done and not to worry about it. I then went to the mall with Kaylyn to exchange some things and then rushed back to the church for the rehearsal. She was amazing and went to pick up the cake for the rehearsal dinner which was a Coca-Cola cake from Cracker Barrel...one of Alex's favorites.
The rehearsal was surreal and it really hit me then that "Oh my goodness, this is really happening...tomorrow." It was fun and weird and nerve-wracking! The rehearsal dinner was a blast. We borrowed something from our friends', Jon and Lizzy, rehearsal dinner where friends and family attending were invited to say something about the bride and groom. Several of our friends and our parents got up to speak and it was really, really amazing to hear how much each person had to say. Once the rehearsal was over we got the room ready for the reception and headed home! I said my final goodbye to my studly fiance as he headed out for his bachelor party and I went home, took a bubble bath and watched Friends until I knew I was going to fall asleep and stay asleep.
The next day I woke up nervous. The second I opened my eyes I felt butterflies in my stomach. My mom and I again loaded up the car with my luggage and things for the wedding I needed that day. We headed to Walgreen's for more last minute things and then headed to the Bridesmaids Luncheon at a tea room in Collegedale. My grandmothers, aunts, cousin, both mother-in-laws, sister-in-law, neice and bridesmaids were there and we had such a fun time! It was both relaxing and made me more nervous as it got later and later in the day. After that it was time for me to get my hair done! Unfortunately, she was behind schedule and took me 30 minutes after my scheduled appointment. That threw off my schedule a little bit but I was not worried. The photographer was there which made me more nervous and excited than ever! Before I knew it, my hair was done and we were heading to the church. All the girls were ready by the time I got there so we all headed to the bathroom, I mean we all went, and they watched my attempt to do my own make up. I say attempt because before I did anything I would say, "Like this?" or "Does this look ok?" or "What do I do?" With the help of 6 of my favorite girls in the whole world, I got my face put on. Then it was time to put my dress on and start taking pictures. Gah! You cannot imagine until you are in that place how nervous a person can be. I have never and don't think I ever will be that nervous again. Pictures went by and then it was chill time before the ceremony. Right before the ceremony I asked if Alex and I could do an around the door picture. Alex and I weren't planning on seeing each other until I walked down the aisle but this way we could get a picture of us holding hands, with me on one side of the door and him on the other. As soon as I heard him say hi, I broke down. My eyes watered up and I could not believe I was getting married in less than an hour! I'm so glad we did that. :)
The ceremony was perfect. Unlike some people that say they don't remember anything from their wedding, I obviously remember everything. I remember how I felt when we said our vows and put the rings on each other's fingers. I remember his face when I was walking down the aisle and his face when we had our first dance. It was the most fun I've ever had. Everything went perfectly. Just as I wanted it to. All of a sudden it was about 11:15 pm and we were ready to leave. We left to sparklers and a few inside jokes yelled to us as Alex helped me into the car! Drew chaffeured us to the Sheraton downtown. :)

Honeymoon:

We woke up and went to Alex's college graduation. Ha! Everyone said we were crazy and while we did not want to wake up and do that on the morning after our wedding I'm so glad we did. After lunch with his family we finally were on the road to Charlotte, NC for the first leg of the honeymoon! Why Charlotte? That was the only place he could find a direct flight to Cancun, Mexico without a layover! We saw "It's a Wonderful Life" as a radio show (way cooler than anything we'd ever seen before) and "The Nutcracker" ballet in Charlotte, ate at some amazing restaurants, got room service like nobody's business, and relaxed, relaxed, relaxed. The weather was perfect and we got bonus hotel upgrades, so our room in Cancun had an ocean view and balcony along with 24 room service at no extra cost! Except for our car not starting as we were ready to leave for the airport to fly to Cancun, and the taxi lady in Cancun forgetting to give our credit card back, everything was perfect. The Hilton sent someone out to jump our car off, and we still got to the airport with an hour and a half to spare before the flight. The taxi person drove us back to the airport so we could get our credit card back, then drove us to the hotel. :) No problemo! Perfect after a stressful wedding week! Alex did a AMAZING job planning and surprising me with that!

So after everything has come and gone, I am more happy than ever. I love being able to go home to my husband after a long day at work. I love having a home that we get to put together. I am looking forward to what this new year holds and thanks be to God that Alex and I have each other through the good and bad of it all!