Great Weekend!

It is nice to be back home! I had my dress fitting last week and the dress fits PERFECTLY! I was so excited!!!

J and I spent Friday together at the office, went to the zoo, Fire&Ice, Dave&Buster's, cranberry bog nature trail, Bass Pro Shops, movies to see Grown Ups and Stoneforge (in honor of Paul and Meghan). It was a busy day!!!! Today we went shopping and got a tent for our camping trip next weekend. I'm really excited about going camping- we've been promising our friend that we would go to Maine and visit her and now we are!!!!

Tomorrow and the rest of this week are devoted to packing up the rest of the house. We have tons of clothes and I'm not sure what to do with all of them, but I either have to figure it out, or get rid of them!

On a side note- one of the girls that I work with got engaged this weekend. I am so excited for her, she has been with her now fiance for 10 years and they are the greatest couple! I'm really going to miss her when we move, and I am glad that I get to share just a little bit of time with her in this amazing stage!!!

Catching Up!

So when I last posted I was anxiously awaiting Graduation and the end of the regular school year at G.A. Now they have both come and gone and I am on to my mini-summer vacation.

Graduation: Was amazing! I only cried a couple of times, but it was awesome to see the large number of people that showed up at G.A. to support our students and let them know that they are doing a good job. The gym looked incredible- decorated with all the work the students have done over the past two quarters. I am really proud of everyone!

Last day of school: It went so smoothly, there were no BIG issues, and I actually got to do a puzzle with one of my students for a little bit, which was really nice. One of my students had gotten me a couple bottles of perfume as a going away gift and someone stole it...I was very displeased.

Ladderball Tournament: 2nd place! The other team just wanted it more. Murphy and I were trying to get it done, but it just didn't happen. I had some clutch shots though!! It was great to get together with the staff and just relax. : ) I really will miss all of them!

Ohio: I drove to Ohio with my brother and sister and we had a really great time. It was nice to see them and catch up on all the things that are going on in their lives. We didn't really get anything done with the house, except putting away all of the shower gifts that made it out there. I am slowly trying to organize things permanently so that we start off on the right foot.

Wedding: Dress fitting tomorrow, and I know that I have put on a couple pounds since my last fitting with all of this summer fun that we've been having so I am worried. Cross your fingers and hope that things go well! I met with the organist and when she played the entrance for my girls I cried...I could picture them all coming up the aisle...it was beautiful. Best part-she actually sounded like a REAL organist!!!! I also talked with the cantor and she is excited that the wedding is so soon.

I told our landlord that we are moving, he was very sad. He pointed out that he paved my part of the driveway just for me! I told him that he's great and I thanked him for a great two years.

I am struggling with the honeymoon. I want to do something, and I know that we don't have a budget to go anywhere right now, but I still want it to be a special time. I really just want to do something romantic, but I don't know how to get J on board! As fun as it would be to paint and clean the night of my wedding...I was looking for something a little more...together? We'll see- I'm sure everything will work out.

I'm in CT with the family now, and tomorrow after my fitting I will be heading back to MA. I can't wait to see J...we haven't spent this much time away from each other in over two years and I really miss being with him...just for the little moments.

Wedding is a month from tomorrow- HOLY CRAP!!!!! I'm really excited, it's going to be beautiful!!!!!

2 More Days...

Tomorrow is Wednesday, tomorrow is graduation, tomorrow is the last full day of the regular school year at Granite Academy. I'm very excited, I'm looking forward to my last awards assembly at G.A. and I know it will be bittersweet.

One of my students got a scholarship today. I am really proud of him. He has made terrible decisions in the past, but now he seems focused on school, and he was able to apply for this scholarship! I was really proud of him when he told me today.

Slowly I am packing up everything in my house. I was supposed to tell my landlord today that we are moving, but I couldn't because he is ALWAYS so excited about making the apartment better for me. I talked to his 6 year old daughter for almost an hour as they fixed my toilet. (I didn't know it was broken!) She is really cute, and her English has gotten better since we moved in! She loved my cats, but I had to keep them locked up while she was here so that Oliver and Zoey wouldn't escape.

I made hair appointments for me and the girls today! 8 a.m. on July 24th....get excited ladies!!!!!! I'm exicted, I can't wait- this is going to be the best day of OUR life!!!!

Getting Closer!

Well the regular school year is wrapping up this week. We've been saying, "It's so close..." for so long that I am definitely ready for it to be HERE! Bro, sis and I are traveling to Ohio on Thursday for a few days. It will be good to take a select load of stuff to the house, and spend some quality time with the siblings!

In the meantime J and I are cleaning the apartment and packing things up. I'm not sure how we have acquired so much stuff! The cats love it because they can constantly jump in boxes, hide in cabinets and crawl into drawers. In just over a month we will be packing the house and moving everything....I'm thrilled!!!! I can't WAIT to be a real homeowner.

Yesterday was the Praxis test....ugh. What a disaster that was. I don't ever remember struggling so much with standardized testing, but I think my brain is slowly deteriorating. I get the results the week before the wedding...cross your fingers that my score is high enough to pass!!!

Updating

I know that it's been over a week since my last post, but with less than 50 days to the wedding things are getting quite busy around here!

J graduated on Friday from UMass Boston with his M.B.A. I am so proud of him! His parents came in from Ohio for the occasion. Saturday we were able to spend some time down on the Connecticut shore and we hit up the casino!!!!!

Sunday was my shower. It was the most beautiful day!!! A million thank yous to my mom, my MOH (who is absolutely AMAZING) and my bridesmaids!!!!! So many people who mean so much to me showed up and spent a few hours talking about the past, present and future. I felt so loved, and so excited!!!! We got an amazing amount of presents, mostly things for my beautiful new kitchen!

My mom-in-law to be took the gifts back to Ohio, so when I get there everything will be there. It's perfect! I will be able to unpack all of my beautiful things and put them exactly where they belong in my house!

Yesterday we told my students that I am leaving. I got the reactions that I thought I would get. I am really pleased at how mature the were!!! I am looking forward to the last few weeks with them!!

More to come about the wedding...time to go pick up J!!!!

Happy Memorial Day!

To anyone who has served or is currently serving our country; THANK YOU!

There are a few girls who I have been sharing the wedding planning process with. We have been talking about details and stresses, following each other's wedding books and watching for wedding updates on Facebook. This weekend, two of them got married. I had the honor of being present at one of the weddings and it was so beautiful. I couldn't be happier for the couple that got married!! As I left the church I thought, "Oh my gosh, I'm doing this in less than two months!". It made it feel very real, very very real!

The wedding was a blast, great food, great dancing, great people! I hope that my wedding will be just the same. The countdown is on...who's excited????

Making Progress!

This weekend was really nice. Saturday J and I went to the common and walked around for a bit. We met up with a friend in from NYC and it was really nice to catch up with her and share our latest plans! Saturday evening we went to Kennedy's Midtown and got to witness two of our close friends get engaged. I am so happy for them, they truly love each other, and I know that they will be happy together forever.

Today we were supposed to clean our house, but I found out that Phantom Gourmet had their Hot Dog Safari at Suffolk Downs today, so we ended up there instead. I have never been to a horse race, and let me tell you, I had a BLAST! We got to have freshly grilled hot dogs, and I got to watch beautiful horses race around a fast track on a gorgeous day.

I also got myself some new sneaks today! I want to go walk at the beach, but even wearing my sneakers for a half hour kills my toes and arch (or lack of arch!) so I bought some new shoes with great arch support. Hopefully they will make my feet feel better about being outside.

Invitations did not get finished yesterday. We did finish putting them all together today, now we just need to address them and drop them in the mail! I'm hoping to have them done tomorrow night and mailed on Tuesday. Then I will get to open responses!!!! Yay!!! I'm so excited- everything is coming together!

That's all for now....Only three more Mondays left in the regular school year!