Roll Herd!

Please don't think I've become a Bama fan (eww), or that I've lost my mind (which was probably your first guess). I got a job!! Starting August 4th, I will be the special education resource teacher for all grades at a K-12 school, and the mascot is a bison, and they are referred to as The Thundering Herd. Oh, and the battle cry is "Roll Herd," hence the title for today. I will post pictures of my classroom when I take some better ones. I painted it last week, and it looks much better than it did before.

I spent the weekend in Shmelma with my dad's extended family, and it was great. I hated that Brent couldn't be there, but had a fun time with my cousins. I think I am part of the only family that eats butternut cake as if it was the last piece of sustinence on the planet. Seriously, it was gone less than 24 hours after it was made, and it was a 3-layer cake. We also demonlished a marble cake, which is my dad's favorite. It was his birthday weekend, so we were there to celebrate that... and watch Christmas in July on QVC. I escaped to the Tally Ho with Rachel to get away from that part, for a few mintues at least. Always a fun time. :-)

Maggie and Gracie were baptized Sunday morning, and yes, I cried massive tears of joy. I am so happy for them.

This week is bittersweet for me, as I have to drive back to Auburn and pack up my half of the townhouse I share with my friend Lauren. I'm moving home, and most of my stuff is going to Brent's house. I am really going to hate leaving Auburn because it has been a great place for me with SO many great memories: love gained and lost (which was often a very good thing), laughter, football, various campus organizations, sorority and fraternity life, and craaaazy nights that somehow always started out with the phrase, "I can't, I have an eight o'clock class tomorrow," and ended at sunrise. I'm really gonna miss the I-don't-pay-for-drinks-or-cover-because-I'm-a-rockstar days, especially now that they are permanently traded in for nights at home with Brent (NOT COMPLAINING), cooking and cleaning (stop laughing), paying bills, and going to bed before eleven o'clock news comes on at ten.

Adulthood, I raise my coffee mug to you, because you took away my koozie.

learning curve

Brent and I have been engaged for about 6 months now, and planning a wedding has been an interesting experience for both of us. He is learning that I can be high-strung over certain things, and I am learning that he is a lot more calm about certain things than I am. 

I think its good that we continue to learn about each other. I can't think of a single day that I've been around Brent that I haven't learned something new about him. It keeps me on my toes. Bless his heart, he's learned so much about me since I began my internship that I am surprised he hasn't run away screaming. Between the stress I was under and the stress I continue to handle, I know I can get short-tempered (family trait), and be an all-around pain-in-the-butt. Thankfully, Brent sees past all of that and still loves me at the end of the day. I am very grateful for him and for his willingness to look past my flaws.

Recently, I realized that the wedding I wanted when I was a child is a far cry from what will be happening December 18th. There won't be a white unicorn waiting outside the church, a piñata filled with gummy bears at the reception, and my bridal party does not consist of the other Disney princesses (I, of course, was Cinderella). In actuality, there will be a car waiting outside the church, great food made by great friends at the reception, and some of my closest friends will comprise my bridal party. Prince Charming has been replaced by an attorney, but the attorney is much more fun to dance with, and I never lose my shoes with him around.

We are in the process of getting addresses together and compiled into a list, and I'm trying to figure out what to serve at the reception, what cake to get, music to play, programs, and invitations. It's a lot to consider, and I am starting to feel a little of the strain of this right now. My mom is great about helping me get things in order. I put her in charge of planning my shower dates, and she's been so wonderful about it. Brent's mom is wonderful too. She helps keep me grounded in reality about the wedding things, and is a great encourager when school stresses me out.

Speaking of school, the math class I'm in may just be the death of me. I am determined to make an A or B in the class, and I have to have it to graduate. No pressure... This is also a time where Brent is a calming influence on me.

I just love him.