Bride to Wife

Last night marked the end of my single-dom.

Last night, I got married.

Last night, not only did I ring in the New Year with my brand spanking new husband, but I also became a wife!

Now, that I'm a wife, you can join me on my new adventures at my new blog.

Click the kiss to join me!!!!

Oh My Dears...

Would you believe me if I said that life got away from me?

I surely hope so!

I am a Kindergarten teacher this year, and two times a week, I watch PreKindergarteners after school.

I have little to no spare time between teaching 11 Kindergarten students, caring for 5 PreKindergarten students, and planning the wedding. Slowly, but surely, I am getting back onto my feet and now I can devote time to my blog once again! With less than 4 months until my wedding, I'm sure I'll need to vent about it!

In the next few weeks, I'll update you all on what has happened in the past two months!

{oh my, i can't believe it's been that long!}

...please forgive me...

source: stock illustration source

Pretty Little Angel

{If you follow me on twitter or facebook, you may all ready know this.}

I have a niece.

Her name is Olivia Laine, but she is also known as Lainey and Lula-Belle.

She is just the sweetest thing...ever!!!!!

I loves her.

:)

all photos are courtesy of my mom and sister.

Sharing is Caring

Today was a weird day at school.

But, I've learned a lot from it, and in the process, stumbled upon two wonderful websites that I feel I need to share with you!

1. FLYlady.net

FLY is an acronym for Finally Love Yourself.

"FlyLady uses the Sidetracked Home Executive (SHE) system as a basis for organizing her home and her life. She adds humor, spunk, and a dose of common sense to her advice, but be prepared - FlyLady does not allow whining. You have to get off your 'Franny'!"

Please join me in FLYing. The first step is to Shine Your Sink!

I can't wait to start.

2. Operation Beautiful

 This is kind of like PostSecret but much more self-esteem boosting!

"The goal of the Operation Beautiful website is to end negative self-talk or “Fat Talk.”  If this little blog only does one productive thing, I hope it helps readers realize how truly toxic negative self-talk is  — it hurts you emotionally, spiritually, and physically."

I encourage you all to try to take part in this randomly. Maybe post a note in the bathroom at work. Or, put it on a random car window. You never know whose day you'll brighten with your kind words!

Life in the Past Two Weeks - Pt. 2

WE'VE HAD A LOT OF RAIN!

If you haven't been following the weather in the Southern states, then you've missed some serious craziness!

The weekend before (April 24th), we had some torrential down pours in the Nashville area. It was so bad that at some points you couldn't see two feet in front of you.

However, I had to go out into the rain, and I'm so disappointed that I did. I had to head to my school for our Spring Festival. On the way, I hydroplaned. It was, what I thought at the time, the worst experience I'd ever had. I wasn't the only one in the car either; my nine year old brother was with me. Without going into too much detail, I crossed all four lanes of I-40E and hit the retaining wall. I completely totaled my car.

Here's what it looked like after it happen. Please don't worry though. Both my brother and I are okay; just a few bumps and bruises!

So, now I'm looking for a new car. I've found one that I really like. Now, I just need to find it in my price range. Or, at the very least, something that I can reasonably finance.

And, now, we are currently battling floods in Middle TN. There is a creek near my house, and I'm supremely nervous that we'll obtain some water. Right now, we're okay, but anything could happen. Our town square is under three or four feet of water. All I can say is that it's just simply unbelievable. We need prayers, desperately!

A Request

On this beautiful Friday, I have a quick request to make of all you lovely ladies {and gentlemen?}.

Times are tough, and the school that I teach at is feeling that burden.

We are not a public school; we are private and rely heavily on tuition and registration.

So, during this Easter season, if you could take just a moment to pray {or think, if you're not inclined to pray} about our little school.

If we don't get many more students, I may be out of a job and the school I once attended as a child might slowly drift away.

Mr. GrapeJuice and I are worried because we are closing on our house one week from today, and now, we don't know if I'll be employed in 3 months.

I'd really appreciate just a little thought up to God about keeping the school in good graces so that we can continue to teach children.

Every little bit helps!

photos : we your people, ours the journey & big government

Best Monday Ever

Yesterday was perhaps the best Monday I've had in a long time. :) Two wonderful things happened! Around 10 o'clock in the morning, I got an email from our realtor. The sellers accepted our offer! We will be closing on the house in April. I'm so excited. :D Below are some pictures of the inside of our house and the backyard.

The other fabulous thing that happened yesterday is that I won a contest. It wasn't just any contest either. I won a free photography shoot! Can anyone say engagement session?? Because, that sure was my first thought when I saw that I won.

The photographer is planning on hosting another contest of this nature. Definitely check them out - Framed by Fletcher!

A House to a Home

Since January, Mr. GrapeJuice and I have been looking for a house. We think that it is a perfect time to buy since the interest rate is low. Plus, the added incentive of  $8,000 doesn't hurt the process either. At some points, we were overwhelmed and didn't know what to do. But, we took our week long vacation to think about it and decided to pursue a house. It is a lovely, cozy 1940s cottage style home. {fingers crossed}

Wishful Wednesday

I wish...

 

my wedding dress was here.

I want to put it on and have it fitted to my body!

May can't come soon enough.

:)

photo : the sunday telegraph

Lenten Promises

You may or may not know that I am Catholic. I have mentioned a few times that we will be having a Catholic ceremony since Mr. GrapeJuice and I are both Catholic. Right now in the Catholic world, we are in the Lenten season. Some times people get confused by this so I'd like to explain. {Please, don't take this as preachy or me trying to convert you. I am just sharing information.}

Lent is...
about conversion, turning our lives more completely over to Christ and his way of life. That always involves giving up sin in some form. The goal is not just to abstain from sin for the duration of Lent but to root sin out of our lives forever. Conversion means leaving behind an old way of living and acting in order to embrace new life in Christ.
The three traditional pillars of Lenten observance are prayer, fasting and alms-giving. The key to renewed appropriation of these practices is to see their link to baptismal renewal.
Prayer: More time given to prayer during Lent should draw us closer to the Lord. We might pray especially for the grace to live out our baptismal promises more fully.
Fasting: Fasting is one of the most ancient practices linked to Lent. In fact, the paschal fast predates Lent as we know it. The early Church fasted intensely for two days before the celebration of the Easter Vigil. This fast was later extended and became a 40-day period of fasting leading up to Easter. Fasting is more than a means of developing self-control. It is often an aid to prayer, as the pangs of hunger remind us of our hunger for God.Fasting should be linked to our concern for those who are forced to fast by their poverty, those who suffer from the injustices of our economic and political structures, those who are in need for any reason. Fasting can help us realize the suffering that so many people in our world experience every day, and it should lead us to greater efforts to alleviate that suffering. Abstaining from meat traditionally also linked us to the poor, who could seldom afford meat for their meals.
Alms-giving: It is a sign of our care for those in need and an expression of our gratitude for all that God has given to us. Works of charity and the promotion of justice are integral elements of the Christian way of life we began when we were baptized. [information found at catholic.org]

For this Lenten season, I haven't really decided to "give up" anything but to try and work at some things. I'd like to work on...

1. Not getting angry over little things

2. Not arguing over trivial information and midunderstandings

3. Not yelling/getting upset after my directions are not followed

4. Being more peaceful and understanding towards everything in life

{I'll let you know how it's going at the halfway point and at the end.}

2 Years! (& a Giveaway)

I honestly cannot believe that Mr. GrapeJuice and I have hit the two year mark! It seems like we just met. I'll never forget that night.

It was January and nearly midnight, and it began to flurry outside {in NC}. My college BFF K-Bean {who is
from Savannah} and I got killer excited and started prancing around {and making fools of ourselves} in the snow! We were thoroughly enjoying it knowing full well that school would be closed the next day. However, Mr. GrapeJuice told us we were wrong and that we would have class the next day. K-Bean and I bust out in laughter. Everyone in the South knows that even a small dusting of snow means that school will be canceled.

 {K-Bean and I being silly. We were practicing our show choreography.}

{I'm the girl in the dark red jacket; he's the guy on the right side of the picture in the gray jacket.}

{This is when he's telling us that what's falling isn't enough to cancel school.}

For the next month, Mr. GrapeJuice and I started to hang out a lot. Apparently, during the fall semester, we had admired each other from afar without even realizing it. About two weeks after knowing each other, I told K-Bean that I thought I might have a crush on Mr. GrapeJuice. In February, Mr. GrapeJuice and I were jokingly lamenting our lack of Valentine's; so, we agreed to be each others. Easy fix! We didn't exactly get to Valentine's Day before he asked me to be his girlfriend. It was like 2 minutes until midnight though. =] He got me some adorable cute things though. A bear, which I still have to this day, a rose, and a sweet card for our first Valentine's Day.

 

I didn't have class for awhile that day so I relaxed in K-Bean's room and watched Love, Actually, which apparently a poor decision as Mr. GrapeJuice had planned to watch it with me later that night. However, that night he took me to Chili's for our first date. He kept it a complete secret from me the whole day; so sweet. I had to rush out of my class and all the way back to my dorm to get ready in time. We had to rush to eat because I had to be at rehearsal at 6:30 for the show I was choreographing. We still had a wonderful time eating dinner and getting to know each other!

Without a doubt, these past two years have flown by. I had no idea I would be here or doing this. I mean, getting married? Teaching at a school I used to attend? Buying a house? Planning a wedding? Phew! Best two years together. I can't wait for the rest of our lives. =]

In honor of being together for two years, I have decided to host my first giveaway. [I also happen to have 50+ followers now too.] I will be giving away a set of personalized note cards from Just Wright Designs, a personalized hanger from Lila Frances, and a gift card for MyWeddingFavors.com.

To enter my giveaway:

1. You must be a follower {and tell me that you are in a comment}

2. Tell me about how you and your honey met or tell me how you would like to meet your future honey {in a separate comment from the one above}

3. Follow me on Twitter and tweet about the giveaway {in a separate comment}

4. Post about it on your blog {leave another comment with the url}

That's FOUR ways to enter!!

:)

I will announce the winner on February 22, 2010!

AHHHHHHH!

Ladies {and gentlemen?},
      I am so,so,so,so,so,so,so,soooooooooooo sorry that I have abandoned you, but you would not believe the past two weeks I've had. It's been one thing after another after another. This past week was Catholic Schools Week. If you're not familiar with it, basically I don't get to teacher at all. =] There's always something going on in the classroom, like Parent's Day when the parents come in and do different activities {not academic work}, Celebrity Reader where the Mayor came and read to my class, having the high school band come and perform at your school, etc. See, how there's no room to teach in there at all? That's why I was at my wit's end and unable to think of anything. So much stress. Blech. I only have one more week until my cruise, and then everything should calm down. So, please, just bear with me. =]
     In other news, Mr. GrapeJuice and I may have found a place to call home after searching for a little over a month. It's going to be a huge step in the right direction for us. I'm hoping that all the nitpicking will get ironed out too; we've been a little less than kind to each other with all the stress between us. =[ But, also, I've made it to 50+ followers, which means that I'll be having a give away in the very near future so look for it!!! Please don't leave me yet. I promise things are looking up! Wedding plans are being made. =]

G-L-A-M-O-R-O-U-S

A little over two weeks ago, the lovely Natosha of big spoon + little spoon passed along an award to me. I can't believe it has taken me this long to thank her for it. {Sorry, Natosha!!}It seriously made my Monday morning easier to deal with though!

I'd like to pass this award on to some other glamorous ladies...

Kristin @ Miss Kriss

Amanda @ Expecting the Unexpected

Amber @ 100 Days to Plan a Wedding

Christin @ A Classy, Catholic, Southern Bride

Opportunity #2 and #3

About a month or so ago, I mentioned that I had been given a plentiful amount of opportunities. Well, I'm  so excited to be able to she with you some more of the opportunities that I have been given!

Opportunity #2

[from Get Married]

I'm in print!!

photo : get married

Check out their latest magazine.

Not only am I in it, but it's filled with a multitude of information!

Opportunity #3

[from Ashley's Bride Guide]

I'm a bridal blogger!

My first post was put on the site today.

Be sure and check it out!

New Year; New Me; New Job

So...

here I am...

sitting at my computer after my first day at my new job.

For the life of me, I can't think of a wedding-related thing.

The first day was great.

Everything went smoothly, and I'm excited to go back today.

I'm just tired from no sleep...

{I sweat I woke up 5 times because I was worried I wouldn't hear my alarm}

and Jillian Michaels kicked my butt when I did get up.

Plus, I was so nervous about making it all perfect that I didn't exactly...

you know...

eat.

I'll post something tomorrow.

Promise.

Thanks for sticking with me!

p.s. Only 2 more followers!

We're so close.

:)

Early Christmas Present

If you follow me on twitter, then you know I got some pretty exciting news yesterday.

What I thought was just going to be a meeting about possibilities turned out to be a job offer.

Starting in January and going through May [for now], I will be teaching second grade at a really cool school.

I went to the school up until it was time to go to high school; my sister did the same; and, currently, my brother attends the school.

This is going to make for another whirlwind adventure!

Are you ready?!