Location, location, location

If I could have my dream wedding location, it would be on a beach. I love being on the beach more than anywhere else and, thankfully, so does Carl. If I had my beach wedding, it would look a lot like Ellie and Awesome’s wedding on the show Chuck—warm summer breezes, waves crashing behind you, and a rose petal covered path.

Unfortunately, I don’t have a John Casey who can use his government connections to secure such a location. The reality is, an outdoor wedding is just too unpredictable—you’re at the mercy of the elements. And it’s so windy on the beach that most people won’t even be able to hear the ceremony. Also, outdoor weddings seem to be more expensive, not to mention the extra expense of having a back-up location.

The beach was out, but I still wanted to find someplace special for the wedding, someplace where people didn’t have to sit around bored in the time between the ceremony and the reception.Most importantly, I needed a place that fit my budget. I could not believe how expensive reception locations were and then they required the use of specific caterers, many of them more expensive than I could afford. On a whim, we looked at options in one of our favorite local places to visit and shop, Frankenmuth. To our surpise we found out that Zehnders is actually a very affordable place for a reception. They don’t charge to rent the room, tables, chairs, or dishes…all you pay for is the cost of the food. My guests can walk around the town, visit the shops, maybe Bronners, and even take a horse-drawn carriage ride if they’d like. For Carl and I, there are many great locations for picture-taking, a romantic setting, and a chance to celebrate at a location that holds special importance for us and our families.

His name is Carl, and here’s just one reason why I love him

It was suggested to me in class last night that I should probably mention the name of this mysterious fiancé and a little bit about him. This seemed like a very good suggestion—after all, this blog isn’t just about me, but about our journey together. His name is Carl Montrosse and I happen to think he is pretty amazing. Every time I see him and every time I talk to him, I find one more reason to love him (I know, gag me! It is so sappy, but also very true). Let me give you an example:

A few years ago, my family purchased a swing for our back patio. It’s one of those that you see all over the place… has a canopy on top and seats three people (Similar to this one from Target). My mom, brother, and I instantly fell in love with it. In fact, we use it daily all summer long. Last summer, Carl was introduced to the swing too and he grew to love it as much as we did. Then, one evening a couple of weeks ago, my brother was sitting on the swing when the bottom suddenly broke through and he fell on the cement below (poor Sean). While we felt sorry for my brother, we were probably more upset that the swing was gone. Where would we spend our summer afternoons? Where would I have my outdoor office? You see, I love being outside in the warm summer weather and after being cooped up in a freezing, windowless classroom all day, I can’t wait to get outside. I had resigned myself to setting up my beach chair in the back yard and working from there. Then, Carl announced that he was going to fix my family’s swing. He spent a few days brainstorming a plan…what could he replace the canvas bottom with? And last weekend he fixed it for me. The swing is not even his and it’s not his responsibility to fix the problem, but he did anyway because he loves me. So now, I can sit out here in my outdoor office (as I have been for the past 5 hours) and grade papers, work on my personal essay, and make a blog post (thank God for laptops). And while I sit here, more happy and at peace than I have been all day, I remember my Carl and the fact that it’s because of him that I am able to do so.

I think the ability and willingness to fix things is a very sexy trait.

The picture quality is terrible, but I think it adequately demonstrates the "clingyness" of these dresses.

My first debut in a bridal party 2yrs old (my mom is in the blue dress).

Dresses for the Bridal Party

Though I have always loved the romantic notion of being a bridesmaid and secretly hoped friends and family members would ask me to be part of their weddings, I have only been in the wedding party for two weddings. I was two years old when I was a flower girl in my aunt’s wedding. I don’t remember anything about that day, but my family tells me I loved my dress because of the hoop skirt and all the lacy layers. I was so excited about them, in fact, that I wanted to show everybody. However, temperatures reached 90 degrees that day and neither the wedding or reception site had air conditioning, so in a few hours I was whining that I was too hot and wanted to take it off. I also was not happy because I could not take a nap in my dress. I doubt my bridesmaids will need to take any naps, but because of this experience, and the fact that I hope to take my wedding pictures outdoors, I am choosing spaghetti strap, tea length dresses for my bridesmaids—something light and summery.

My second experience came at 19 as a bridesmaid in my cousin’s wedding. The groom’s family is very conservative and his mother refused to let the bridesmaids wear any dresses without sleeves. There was only one dress at David’s Bridal that met the criteria. You know how there are some dresses that look good on the hanger until you try them on? Well, this one didn’t even look good on the hanger. Still, I tried to be supportive as I walked into a fitting room. As soon as I slipped the dress on, I knew we were in trouble. The dress was made of clingy material that stuck to every bump and wrinkle. I looked terrible…and I was the thinnest one, so I knew the others would not be happy with their appearance either. Still, I loved my cousin, and though I was in support of telling her mother-in-law to be, “This is my wedding and I really don’t care what you think of the bridesmaid dresses!” I knew she would never do something like that. So I paid over $100 for a dress that I hated and I will most definitely never wear again.

This is why I am trying so hard to find a dress that I think will look good on all of my bridesmaids…and also hopefully cost them less than $100. I know a growing trend is to give bridesmaids a color swatch and let them pick out their own dress, but I personally like the uniform look better. I know my dress choice will never make all of the bridesmaids happy, but my hope is that when they look in the mirror, they at least won’t hate what they see.

Burn out alert

I am a high school teacher who is feeling very burnt out at the moment. I know, it’s very normal for teachers to feel burn out at this point in the year. The kids are getting more hyper and out of control each day. The countdowns to the end of the school year have begun. It takes twice the effort to keep their attention for five minutes. But still, I think I’m feeling it stronger than others, probably stronger than I should be.

I am so sick of hearing, “Come on, Miss Hall. Why do we have to take notes? Why won’t you just let me sleep? Can’t we just have an easy day?”

“No, because believe it or not, we still have two more chapters to cover before the end of the school year. And though you may feel like checking out, you still have to take a final exam, which it is my job to prepare you for. “

And another favorite from today, I had at least three students ask me, “Can I go to my locker to get my book and notebook?”

“Why did you come to class without them?”

“Because I didn’t think I would need them”

“That’s odd, you’ve used your textbook and notebook in class EVERY DAY ALL YEAR. So what made you think today was going to be different?!?!?”

Don’t get me wrong, I have moments each day when I just look at my kids, even when they are frustrating me, and I have some small moment that reminds me that I love them to death. But right now there are so many things I would rather be doing than teaching all day… like planning my wedding! The whole reason we are not getting married until next June is because between teaching all day and taking grad classes, there is no time to plan a wedding. And I really want to be able to enjoy planning my wedding. This is a once in a lifetime moment and I don’t want to miss any second of it.

So, just like the kids, I am counting down the days… less than a month until school is over. I cannot wait to sleep in! It makes your whole day better when you don’t wake up to see an alarm clock say 5:00AM in your face.

Wow, that picture is huge!

How do I make the picture at the top of my page smaller? I already cropped it down quite a bit in Picassa and then I selected "shrink to fit" when I uploaded it.