I Can Do That!

I have a jam packed next few weeks before school starts, and I'm stoked about it!

Tomorrow

I'll be meeting with a DJ, going to see some chairs {and hopefully like them!}, and I hope to be signing the catering contract. And, somewhere in there, I'm supposed to be meeting up with my MOH for a coffee date!

Saturday

Mr. GrapeJuice and I will be attending a marriage workshop through the Catholic Diocese of Nashville. It is an Engaged Couples Retreat at Scarritt-Bennett. If you want to read about it, you can click here. We have to fill out a Myers Briggs personality questionnaire form. I hate filling them out because I always get nervous that people will judge me and that I'm answering the questions wrong! {so silly.}

Next Saturday

Mr. GrapeJuice and I will be heading over to Street Tuxedo to check out their suits and tuxedos. I'm hoping to convince him that a gray suit would be the way to go. They look so sleek and would fit into the style of our wedding so well! Hopefully, he'll go for it.

The Last Saturday in July

My ladies from NC are coming in, and we are hopefully going to find a bridesmaid dress! Sadly, my sister won't be joining us because she'll a little newborn to take care of. {I'm going to be an aunt soon!!}

Plus, during all this time, I'm supposed to be setting up my classroom and getting it ready for the next school year. I haven't been able to go in yet though since they're in the process of replacing all of the flooring due to the flood at the beginning of May.

photo :: lolcars

Wedding Fact Friday

I am posting this to spite Mr. GrapeJuice.

We are both Catholic, and we are planning to have a Catholic wedding.

However, I think it would be really beneficial {and efficient} to see each other before the ceremony. 

Of course, he does not agree. This is the one aspect where he wants to be traditional.

Does he care if I wear a veil? nope.

Does he want my dress to be white? yes, but he's come to terms with the fact that it's not.

So...why can't he give up on this notion as well?

He says that if I can prove a valid point then he'll seriously consider it.

Well, last night I showed him the fact below, and he said it wasn't credible because there was a "typo!"

{do you think a five paragraph essay would win him over?}

"The Groom Not Seeing The Bride Before The Wedding - (Superstition)

Many of our current wedding "customs" originate from century old superstitions that would avoid incurring bad luck. In ancient times, marriages were considered a business arrangement made between family members, rather than a celebration of love. Marriages cemented alliances between families and insured transfer of land and wealth between them.

Often the groom had not met or even seen his future wife before the ceremony. The bride was kept hidden to eliminate any disapproval of her from the groom. It was feared that once seeing her he may have refused to proceed with the ceremony. This of course would have bought bad luck, by putting the family's financial arrangements in jeopardy.

Today this custom has lost its relevance. Arranged marriages are not very common in our modern North American society nor will the Catholic Church condone a marriage between people who have never met. A Catholic wedding ceremony is a sacrament that couples administer to each other, so it must be a ceremony of mutual consent. Many couples are abandoning this custom of hiding from one another, choosing instead to have private time together for prayer and reflection before the ceremony. They then as a couple greet their guests upon their arrival."

source :: catholicbrides.com
photo :: chris + lynn photograhpy

p.s. if you notice the typo, please let me know because i don't see it!

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.}