Engagement Photographs

Only 24 1/2 hours to go until 2008....the year I get married....AHHHH! I'm so excited!

We got our engagement photos on a CD today from our friend who shot them. They are awesome! Remember, we chose NOT to do the traditional pics for our engagement photos. They are just pictures of us outside in the snow. No one could even tell they are engagement photos unless I tell them. Anyway, I LOVE them and here they are! There are 16 of them....sorry for the mass quantity but I loved them all and just had to share!

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16.

Just out of curiosity, which one do you like the most? Do me a favor....post a comment and tell me which three you like the most. I'm curious!!

Our Christmases

That was all three of our Christmases summed up in pictures. Best way to do it!

Boy did I spend the gift cards today! Can you say CHA-CHING!!!!! I received a bunch of dollars for Old Navy (the best dress pants) and spent all but $12.57. How I left the store without going back in to spend that last little but I'll never know....wait, I do know, there was a V E R Y long line. More dollars for next time! I was in the store about 2 hours, so after that I called it quits on shopping. I had to get to the gym before the rush hour hit and especially in these weeks after Christmas, the gym is packed with all the newcomers who have the New Years resolutions to lose weight. I've been pretty faithful to the gym for the last year and a half or so and I can tell who is going to stick with their gym membership and who isn't just by looking at people. The ones who have all the fancy clothing and who have their cell phones out and ARE TALKING ON THEM WHILE PRETENDING TO WORK OUT are the ones who won't make it a month. I'm sorry if you use your phone while exercising, but it just irritates the daylight out of me. I'm no skinny minny so when I'm huffing and puffing out my very LONG 2 miles on the treadmill, it's pretty disgusting to hear the person next to me yacking and not even breaking a sweat (usually, they aren't going very fast) WHILE TALKING ON THE PHONE. I go to work out for a variety of reasons......to get (and stay) in shape, to improve health and discourage diseases and sicknesses from nestling in, to feel better about my appearance, and the newest reason is to look great when I put on a white dress in April. All valid reasons, right? And one more important thing....when I'm on that treadmill running to shed pounds, I zone out mentally. I look at the TVs and read the hearing captions at the bottom of them or I watch the MTV channels and I just zone out. There's no kids begging for attention like at work, there's no Kenny asking me where his wallet, car keys (there's a huge story there that I'll save for tomorrow), phone, ect. is, there's NO PHONE (or shouldn't be), there's just me, the sweat dripping in my eyes, and the TVs if I choose to look at them. I LOVE IT. That zoning out is completely spoiled when someone is talking on their cell phone on the next treadmill. Point made. I didn't even mean to go crazy about that, but I guess I did!!!

I'm off for an evening of watching taped (or DVRed) episodes of A Wedding Story, 90210, and Melrose Place. One of Kenny's gifts to me was to add the DVR function to our cable service and I am loving it! I'll also be doing some wedding stuff, but it will be RELAXING!!

More Christmas

Wow it was a fun Christmas! And it really didn't end until today....lucky us!

On Christmas Eve we went to church and the bonus there was the Hallaluah Choir and we got front row seats. We had to get there almost an hour ahead of time to make sure of the front row, but I'm telling ya it was WELL WORTH IT. This is a huge church we go to, and to sit in the front is amazing because when there is singing, all the peoples' voices from behind your head is AMAZING! Plus, the choir (also HUGE) in front of us....talk about an awesome feeling. And the service itself was the first one I can remember where I paid attention the whole time and get the meaning of the message, the true meaning. Not that I don't pay attention to the sermons when we're there other times, but usually I have a hard time keeping on track after about 15 minutes. Not this time. I was "there" the whole time. Loved it.

Kenny and I opened presents Christmas Eve, which apparently is our new tradition. It's happened now for 3 years in row. We try to open just one gift which turns into 2 and that's it. Then on Christmas Day we went to his parents' house and then my dad's house. We relaxed on the 26th and then today we are having Christmas at OUR OWN HOUSE (yeah!!) with my mom and brother and his girlfriend. This will be the first time we have a holiday party here...I'm so excited! It's not a blig party, but it's so nice to have people come here for a change! Pictures to come tomorrow. Merry Christmas!

C O O K I E S

I finally got to make cookies last night. I've been waiting and waiting for TIME to make them, and I finally got some!!

Ingredients:

One Hungry Puppy:

Ready for baking:

Frosting:

More frosting:

And even more frosting:

Still, a hungry and extremely jealous puppy:

The finished products!!

We had fun. And made a mess that took me over an hour to clean up. Which is EXACTLY why I don't bake/cook too often. When you go out to eat someone takes care of that for you! But it was a festive thing to do and Kenny enjoyed himself too, especially the making-a-mess-and-not-cleaning-it-up part. He's REAL good at that!! But I love him anyway.

It's Christmas Eve and I have just a few things to do, mostly help Kenny finish his wrapping. He ALWAYS waits till the last minute. I don't really care what I have to do today because it's Christmas Eve and I just have this smile pasted on my face. I'm so happy! I feel like a kid again. Not because there are presents tomorrow morning, but because I am so blessed to have what I have, and health too.

Merry Christmas to all my blogging friends and all my friend-friends who read and sometimes comment (Melissa) and those who never comment but I know you read (Momma B). And Happy Hannakuh to Marissa!!

Here's one big blogger hug!

((((((((((HHHHHHHHHUUUUUUUUUUUUUUGGGGGGGGGGG)))))))))

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Here's a quick meme I found on Tee's site and since I have time right now I'm playing along too, in honor of wrapping up 2007 in a week. I noticed though that there are several missing numbers....I promise I DID NOT delete them. When I copied and pasted the meme from Tee, they were missing. Ooops. Not sure what happened! Oh well.

[1.] Where was the first time you ever kissed the last person you kissed? In the living room of my first post-college apartment (probably less than 500 square feet, an upper flat, the bathroom ceiling was so slanted that you had to duck in the shower, but I loved it because it was the first apartment that was ALL MINE).

[2.] What's the greatest thing that happened to you today? I woke up listening to Kenny's gentle snores.

3.] How many TRUE best friends do you have?About 5...I think I'm pretty darn lucky!

[4.] Would you rather get up early or sleep in? I LOVE sleeping in, but I truly feel better getting up early (not for work though) because I feel like I'm getting bonus hours in the day!

[5.] Tell me about the shirt you're wearing? Kenny's maroon Hard Rock Cafe sweatshirt that I sleep in as often as it gets washed.

[7.] What would you change about your life right now? Not one thing:)

[8.] Would you rather smile over a lie or cry over the truth? Cry over the truth.

[9.] What's on your bedroom floor right now? A couple of rugs and my wedding planner.

[10.] Who's the last person you got into a argument with? Probably Kenny.

[11.] Do you trust people? The ones that are trustworthy.

[12.] If you could move away, no questions asked, where would you move? Take Kenny and go to my parents' homes.

[13.] My favorite number? 6 (Al Kaline's number)

[14.] Could you go a day without eating? Could I? Yes. Will I? No.

[15.] How much do looks matter to you in a guy/girl? Not much.

[16.] Do you like anybody right now? Of course!

[17.] When was the last time you had your hair cut? October.....every 3 months.

[18.] Would you rather be mad or sad? Mad because there's a definitive reason and it feels better than sad when it's over.

[19.] Does it take a lot to make you cry? I am a female...NO!

[20.] Whats the best feeling in the world? There's a tie...laying my head on Kenny's chest AND being with my parents in my home town.

[21.] Are you close with your mom? Absolutley.

[22.] Are your parents strict? They weren't when I was a kid.

[23.] Do you tell your parents everything? Sometimes.

[26.] If you need to go to the store a block away, do you walk or drive? If I have to get groceries, drive, if I'm dropping off something, I walk WITH the puppy.

[27.] Does the thought of marriage scare you? No....I'll be married in 4 months and 2 days!!

[28.] How many kids do you want? 2 or 3, but once I have 1 I'm sure I'll change my mind.

[30.] Who was the last person in your bedroom? The dog. Kenny sleeps on HIS couch almost every night.

[31.] What are you doing today? Wrapping presents for my procrastinating fiance and then going to church service tonight. It's my favorite service of the year.

[32.] Would you rather be rich & sad or poor & happy? I am poor and happy (kidding) but seriously, I'd rather be poor and happy. I wouldn't trade happiness for anything. Although, money does bring about a rather happy mood.....

[35.] Do you get bored easily? NEVER. There's too many crafty things around my house to do.

[36.] What's something that someone can do that really bothers you? Takes WAY TOO LONG at the counter buying something knowing full well that there is someone behind them WAITING, and still not caring and going on and on about something that's complete BS and OOOHHHHH that makes me mad!!

[37.] Did you ever want to change your name when you were younger? Yes. I think everyone does.

[38.] Do you wish you were famous? Only because I would have more money, but I still wouldn't trade my life for more money. NEVER.

[39.] Do you make a wish at 11:11? No-never even heard of that.

[40.] When you go to the beach do you swim or lay out more? Lay out for that tan!

[41.] Who's the last text message you received from and what did it say? Leaving at 600? from my co-pilot/best friend N.

[42.] What are you freakishly obsessed with? Cleaning. But it's not working well with a dog and a man. After I typed that I had to laugh.

[43.] What's your favorite song at the moment? Anything Aerosmith, all the time.

[44.] Do you like going to the mall to shop or just shopping online? I used to love the mall, but now I LOVE online and just like the mall.

[45.] Can music affect your mood? YES!

[46.] What piercings do you want? I have my ears, I HAD my tongue pierced (a weak moment in college that lasted for about 3 years) and that's enough!

[48.] Have you ever been in a cave? NO!

[49.] Ever eaten a bug? I'm sure I have in my sleep. Ew.

[50.] When will you hang out with the person you last kissed next? Today, for most of the day when he finishes up shopping:)

3 Days Left

I can't believe Christmas is 3 days away. Time is flying! Today is my first day of vacation. I began the week with a snow day on Monday which was great because I finished up shopping. Tuesday I started feeling icky, and don't you know it's sinus season again for me?? I'm sick AGAIN. Not a sinus infection this time, but something just as close. I dragged myself to work every day and how I made it through with 18-excited-kids-who-couldn't-sit-still I have no idea. I managed. And last night I crashed big time. It's almost 11am and I'm just waking up. There's this awesome sinus medicine I found (Aleve Sinus & Headache) from a coworker. I took one yesterday and it really relieved most of the symptoms for a while. I asked Kenny to go and get it for me last night and the only place they sell it around here is Meijers AND their pharmacy closes at 9pm and it's not on the shelf. It's not a perscription, but they don't put it on the shelf because kids are using it for recreation. I NEEDED that medicine last night SO BADLY. I had to settle for Claritan which doesn't help too much but got me through the night. When Kenny wakes up he will be taking me to Meijers to get the Aleve so I can function.

Other than the sickness, I'm actually really excited about Christmas!! We are having a big Christmas with my mom's family Sunday, and on Christmas Day with Kenny's family and my dad's family. So we have lots to get ready for but I'm so excited. I still feel like a little kid at Christmas time.

My main goal today is to clean the house and feel better. I guess I should say FEEL BETTER first and then clean the house. Life goes on with a messy house, right?

Once my meds kick in I can't wait to finish wrapping presents and being sneaky with them so Kenny can't figure out what he's getting. He likes to do that you know....he's so bad! Just thinking about wrapping presents and about Christmas makes me feel better already!!

Snow Day At Last!

No School!!!!!!!!!!

Our principal canceled school last night for today. Yay!!! I didn't even ask why. It wasn't snowing anymore at that point, and I have no idea if it did snow more, I can't tell because there's so much snow on the ground already. Who cares why we don't have school, I'm just so happy to be home and not at work!!! This means I just might get my Christmas stuff finished today, both for my family and for the kids at school. That would be soooooo nice!

Yesterday Kenny and I called one of his good buddies and asked him if he was available to take our engagement pictures. A while back I asked his buddy if he would take our engagement pictures for us. I told him we wanted outside pictures, in the fall, at HIS house in the country. He said he would do it and then the fall slipped away before we knew it. On Saturday Kenny and I were talking about engagement pictures and how it would be fun to do them in the snow with the puppy, and just be natural, nothing too posed. Kenny said the next time the snow fell we should call his friend and go out there to get it done. It snowed, we called Sunday morning, and we were out there being photographed a few hours later. It was a blast!! We wore jeans and black coats (and boots of course) and had a ball in front of the camera. Here's a sneak peak he sent us last night. The rest will be done this week and of course I'll post them for you to see.

I can't believe how awesome they turned out. Kenny's buddy is not professional yet, but he's learning to be one, and I'm telling you he has got what it takes to be an awesome photographer! Some of the pictures he took of us...I can't wait to post them!!! It was the most fun (and freezing) photo session ever. Very non-traditional, but that fits us perfectly. I know there will be PLENTY of those traditional pictures at our wedding, so this was just relaxed. I can't wait to get the CD back so I can post them all!! NONE of the pictures were staged. In the picture above, I was truly running away from him. And then he creamed me with the snow. But don't worry, I got him back and it was on film, so there's proof. That was a legitimate snow ball fight. The snow wasn't actually good packing snow, so it was more of a snow throwing fight. It was the best!

Let it SNOW

Oh oh oooooooooooooooohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh the SNOW!!!

It's here and it's beautiful and I love it!

We played outside with the puppy last night and she loved it. She's been in the snow before because this isn't the first snow of the season, but it's the first dumping of snow we've gotten. This morning I woke up and looked out and there's a foot of it our there. I love it!! Thank goodness it's Sunday. Wait a minute, maybe it would be better if it was Monday so we could have a snow day. THAT would be great. Keep your fingers crossed for me.

I'm done Christmas shopping for everyone except Kenny. I have no clue what to get him. Not one idea. He keeps saying he doesn't need anything. But you know come Christmas morning when we're opening presents he'll be all pouty if he doesn't have much to open. So what should I do???? I have no idea what to get the man who has everything or who could go get anything he wants. That's why I'm having problems. And it's not like I can make him something....I've already made him quilts, fleeces, stockings, you name it, I've already made it for him! He's been pretty good this year (hello-engagement ring!!!!) so I will just have to keep thinking. Shoot me some ideas if you think of any!

I met my friend Shane (also a bridesmaid) at the mall on Friday evening to shop, and it was a blast. She's a power shopper like me, plus she likes to have things gift wrapped too! I normally love to wrap presents because of course it's a crafty thing to do. But after we hit the gift wrap place, I think I might like that idea better!! Talk about making it easy!

All this Christmas stuff to finish up, wedding stuff to work on (I love it I love it I love it!!!), plus just wanted to be home in this snow...PLEASE let there be no school tomorrow.

Birth Day

Today was an AWESOME day!!!

It was my birthday, and from the time I woke up it's been nothing but fun. Even yesterday I got some really sweet emails and a cute ecard from momma. Kenny woke me up with hugs and kisses before he went to sleep. I was showered with love and gifts at work, for starters. Not that I am all about getting presents, but I have to say my desk was covered in gift bags by 8am from coworkers and students/parents. Talk about feeling the love!! I just got home from dinner with Kenny and cake with his parents, and I'm all cozy in my new PJs from my future inlaws. I got several voice mail messages and phone calls wishing me happy birthday and I just feel so loved! There's nothing like a birthday to put a smile on your face. I even got Kenny to not work this evening and just chill out with me (in my new PJs). This is the definition of comfort!

Sleepy Sunday

Yesterday was such an awesome day. We didn't do a whole lot, which was heaven. Today I was going to get up and go right back to the gym but after yesterday's workout, I was VERY sore this morning. I upped the intensity of my jogging so it'll take me a little while to get used to it, so instead of going to the gym, I put the leash on the puppy, bundled up, and we went for a 40 minute brisk walk in our neighborhood. I bought a body harness for her so she doesn't yank my arm out of its socket when we're walking, and I used it today because she finally grew into it! I noticed a HUGE difference on the yanking. Instead of pulling my arm, she feels the pulling on her own chest so she doesn't pull much now. It works! We came home, Kenny was awake, and I said good morning to him and then promptly fell back asleep for about 2 hours. Ahhhh. THAT was nice. I never take naps on weekends, and it was so wonderful, I could have just kept sleeping! The puppy also conked out in her crate. I made her a bed finally, out of foam and fleece. Kenny wanted to buy her a bad a while back but we agreed she would just chew it up, and now, I think she's beyond that. So I bought this cute fleece and the thick foam stuff and here she is in her new bed!!

I also was busy making other stuff last night too. I made the puppy's stocking (and the hamter's too.....

.....and here are our stockings I made a couple years back. One side is candy canes and the other is that mossy oak hunting print, both fleece, with the fuzzy white hairy stuff on the top of the stocking.

I might as well show some Christmas decor pics too....here's our tree......

Some more decor....

Santa's hat.....

Fat Santa golfing.....

Candles in the window.....

A poinsettia that desperetly needs a diningroom table to sit on (I think it's coming soon).....

Christmas scene that Kenny set up.....

We did put up lights, actually, I put up the lights, the day after Thanksgiving. We were the first ones on our block to have lights strung up outside. Do you think they are working? No. Of course not. The lights are fine, it's the outlet. I didn't think to check the outlet first. And since we only have one, it's not like we can run an extension cord somewhere else. Kenny says it's an easy fix, he just has to have time to do it. So, we have lights out on our house, bu they are not working right now. That's all I'm going to say about that.

Now I have to fold laundry for the week so that I won't have to even go in the basement all week for anything! I want all my clothes hanging up ready to be worn. We'll see how far I get!

I saw Santa today!

Santa came to our house today!!!!!!!

I'm not kidding! You can see for yourself!!

The puppy told Santa what she wanted for Christmas.....new bones and table scraps. It'll depend on how good she is!

We put up some new vertical blinds today and within 2 hours, the puppy had pierced one of the blinds 8 times with her sharp teeth. I was so mad!!!

I thought we had a new table coming for the diningroom because the one we have is on the curb as of today, but it's not coming yet, so we'll have to wait a little longer. I just want a table!!! Badly!!! I'm tired of eating at the computer or in the livingroom, or standing at the sink!!!!

My birthday is on Monday and we went shopping for my gift, a new coat, but did they have it in red?? Of course not!!! So I'll be waiting on that too. Oh well. At least I didn't have to go to work today or tomorrow, and it was still fun shopping. I like to be out and about when all the Christmas stuff is out, not necessarily when I have to be shopping, but just when we can stroll around and casually shop. And Kenny even likes it too, especially when he gets to look at man stuff, like snowblowers and sports jerseys. Then he's happy too!

It smells like Pine

It's not really Saturday yet because I haven't gone to bed on Friday night yet. I know it's after midnight, but I don't care, it's still Friday. I'm awake and very much active even though I'm usually closer to getting up than falling asleep at this late hour. The title of this post is only there because I couldn't think of anything better to say and my candles smell like pine-yummy!! My day went something like this:

• woke up late on purpose, needed an extra 45 of sleep
• stopped for coffee on the way to work, putting us there just as our mandatory morning tutoring begins at 730am (waaaaay too early to be functioning with 8 kids)
• 2 parents decide that 730am is a great time to conference with me about their child's report cards because they didn't make it to conferences 2 days ago-great, I'm not even awake yet
• I'm observed from 9-930am, with a quick follow up conference....she loves me, can't say enough good things about me, is very impressed with my students' writing skills, makes me feel good, and bonus, she loves my flip charts and says that you can learn a lot about the personality of a teacher from their flip charts....good to know, will always keep that in mind forever
• headache takes over my neck and the side of my head so I pop some excedrin
• my para-pro asks me if I want to go renew my tags during our prep time because she has to do it too, and I really have to think about it because that means I have zero time to prepare stuff for next week, which is a big deal
• my para-pro says she'll take care of the prep work for me (have I mentioned how lucky I am to have this wonderful person working with me????) if I go with her, which ultimately saves me time at the secretary of state after work
• we go to renew our stuff, and HELLO!!! NO WAITING IN LINES ANYMORE!! They have those kiosks now where you insert your renewal slips and WHAM you are done! Tag gets spit out and you are on your way home, or in my case, back to work
• we had time to spare so actually got to eat a nice lunch
• the rest of the day was filled with spelling tests, language arts testing, grammar and handwriting, and then a math lesson and finally our "Fun Friday" movie...whew, that was a lot on a Friday afternoon!
• before the kids left my head was a pounding again so more excedrin!
• the ride home was so nice knowing it was the weekend
• as soon as I got home I was in the truck with Kenny running errands and the puppy was so cute!
• made it home and ate dinner, and I've been SLOWLY cleaning so that I don't have to the rest of the weekend
• even made it to the craft store (my favorite place in the world) to get some fuzzy stuff for the puppy's stocking and her new bed that I'm making her-which she BETTER sleep in, and of course I'll take pictures of it when I'm done
• looking forward to doing wedding stuff all weekend and relaxing!

Gloom and Doom

I'm still here....do you still remember me??



I've been buried under a ridiculous amount of work from my job. This week we had conferences and I had parents lined up for 3 hours. After school. After teaching all day. With NO BREAK on that particular day. And I dismissed the kids then went right into the first conference and didn't stop for more than 3 hours. I was SO tired when I got home. That's part of the reason I have been MIA. Anything that could have happened this past week did happen, and I'm so tired! One more day of teaching and then the weekend. My birthday weekend!

I am being observed tomorrow. Every year we are observed and evaluated twice a year. Since we have a new principal, I have no idea what to expect. I won't lie and say I'm not nervous, because in all all honesty, I am. Very nervous. Not about my capabilities as a teacher, but about the "other" hidden things on that observation checklist that aren't disclosed to teachers. Things that we are supposed to be doing or supposed to have in our room but aren't told we need them, and then all of a sudden we're being marked down on our evals because we weren't doing something we didn't know we had to do. That's why I'm nervous. Sound fun? I don't think so. Wish me luck.