The Madness Begins...

Robert (left) coaching his first high school game and
Katie (right) cheering at her last first high school game.

So the madness has officially begun! Friday night was Dallas County's opening game against West Blocton High School. DCHS lost 42-18. The score sounds awful... but it was not as bad as it sounds. I will keep most of my feelings to myself... but when four players get hurt during one game and they are all the same type injuries... then the other team must be doing something illegal... but I'm not naming any names!

It was Robert's first game to coach and Katie's last first game to cheer at. It was definitely bittersweet! Robert did such a good job... at least that's what me and Anna thought! Ha! :)) And well Katie... she did an okay job I guess! :)) She just has to work on her throwing candy skills.

Tomorrow will be my first day back to school... and my last day of my undergraduate classes in the college classroom. I am very excited... but also nervous at the same time! Hopefully it will all go well!

I am just ready to have my own classroom and my own students... and a husband to come home to at night. The waiting part seems to be the hardest right now for the both of us. It's like we know that we will soon be able to come home to each other and not have 50 miles between us each night... which majorly SUCKS! (Sorry Mom!) I know that I should be thankful that it's only 50 miles and we get to see each other on the weekends... and sometimes during the week, but I am just so ready for all that to change! It will soon enough though...

Classes start bright and early in the morning... so I must get some sleep! Good night y'all!

Beginning to get a little delusional...

So I was doing good for awhile... updating at least once a week. I even updated twice a week one week, I think. I promise I will be getting back to updating at least once a week starting now!

The picture to the left is not me, but it is how I feel. I am pretty sure that I am sleep deprived. I having been working non-stop at work for the past month and I have also been putting together DCHS's football program.

Robert is coaching football this year at DCHS (our alma mater). Last year, we sold ads for the football program and built most of the ads and then laid out all the pages. It didn't seem like that much work, so of course, I said we would do it again this year. I enjoyed doing it, so why not?

Well... we got together people to sell ads back in June, but I did not begin working on building ads until 2 weeks ago. I had to rebuild almost all the ads from last year because Robert's computer had died and then his jump drive got stolen, so we lost all our ads. I also added a couple new elements to the program this year - to make it different from last years and any other year before this.

Robert has been staying at football practice until at least 7 or 8 each night, so I have been working on a lot of the program by myself. He has helped tremendously when he could, but he has been super busy though. We just finished it last night/early morning. I have been functioning off of 4-5 hours of sleep each night trying to get it done. I just pray that everything looks good, and that there aren't too many spelling errors (I had 3 other people look at it... but it will be my luck that something is messed up!)

In wedding news, I called a man about a reception location 2 weeks ago and he is yet to call me back. I have been so busy with the football program and work that I have not had a chance to call him back yet. I will be doing that the first of next week though because that must be finalized ASAP!! Where has this month gone??

Robert is coaching his first high school football game tomorrow. I know that he will do a great job... now let's just hope that I remain calm in the stands! Ha! :)) And after that... classes start for me on Monday! My last semester of undergraduate classes in the classroom... and then my internship in the Spring! Yay!! :))

Good night y'all!! :))

10 Months Checklist

As promised... here is my 10 months checklist. I tried to make it all pretty and neat looking and then when I went to make it a PDF all the pictures turned fuzzy and the background looks funny!

Oh well... hopefully you will be able to see it. I think if you click on the picture, it will open in a new window and you can make it bigger... maybe! If it doesn't work, then I will work on fixing it.

Looks like I have a lot to get to this month... so I better get busy!!

Don't get stressed... 10 Months To Go!!

When Robert and I got engaged, I knew I would need help. Our budget doesn't allow for a wedding planner; therefore, I rely on my wedding planner to be The Knot --- and it has been a LIFESAVER for me!

About once a week, theknot.com sends out a newsletter with helpful tips in it. These tips include a variety of topics...

--- 10 Biggest Wedding Planning Mistakes (and How to Avoid Them)

--- 48 Wedding Songs You'll Love

--- 3 Hot (New!) Wedding Color Combos

--- 18 Wedding Beauty Bummers (and How to Fix Them)

Sometimes I just skim the article and don't really pay attention to it, and then other times I will bookmark the link and even print out the article and highlight important parts for me to remember! It has been amazing all the stuff that I did not even think would go into planning a wedding... 

--- You should not begin planning your wedding until you have an idea of how many guests you will be inviting. 

--- Colors play a MAJOR role in the wedding process.

--- Everything involved in the wedding process costs money and it all begins to add up very quickly!

Along with getting a newsletter once a week, I also receive reminders of how many months it is before the big day. As you know from the title, we have 10 months to go (as of tomorrow)!! It is so very exciting and so very scary to me too! 

Knowing that I have 10 months to plan everything should not be stressful to me. Plenty of brides plan their weddings in a lot less time, and everything turns out beautifully. I guess I get so nervous because at the end of the month I will be starting my Senior year at the University of Montevallo and also my last semester in the university classroom. In the spring, I will begin my internship! (Praise the Lord!!) On top of all that, I will still be working part-time at the Shelby County Reporter through December.

Each month I will include (in a separate post) what I am supposed to be doing this month and what all I have gotten done! Look for that tomorrow!! :))

Meet Our Photographer!!

Photographer: Samantha Alday
Location: Leroy, Alabama
Website: http://www.samanthaaldayphotography.com

Robert and I met Samantha at Stephanie and Austin Bradford's wedding last June (2008). Robert was a groomsman in their wedding and thought she was very easy to work with. She had also brought her husband, Clark, along with her to help take pictures. They were both such sweet, nice and professional people at the wedding that I immediately fell in love with them.

Another thing I loved about them was that they were not right in everyone's face. When she posted their pictures online and we were looking through them, Robert and I both kept saying, "Wow! I don't remember seeing her take that picture." I can't stand to go to a wedding and the photographer walk around putting the camera in everyone's face and making you pose all night long. So rude!

When Robert and I got engaged in December, I immediately knew that I wanted Samantha to be our photographer for our wedding. Number one because we had "worked" with her before and I felt like she would do a great job and number two because photography is so important to me. After the wedding, the only thing you have beside your memories of the special day is the photos. We met with her in January and chose our photography package...

** OUR PACKAGE **

--- Up to 8 hours of photographic coverage
--- Online proofing
--- Print catalog
--- A complete set of first-edition, bordered 4x6 prints
--- 12x12 30 page Storybook album

She also has all sorts of add-ons for our package (Blog slideshow on DVD/iPod; Brag books - that are the perfect size for carrying around in your purse; Save the Dates, etc.) She also does engagement and bridal session photos.

Another element that she offers is The First Look. This just means that Robert and I will see each before the ceremony begins. Below is the excerpt from her website explaining it...

"It's great when my couples decide to see each other before the wedding because we know we're gonna get some great light before it gets too dark (especially for those late in the day ceremonies), it relieves extra stress and anxiety from the b/g, they have their pictures made first rather than last, and it's tons of fun and usually pretty emotional for them both! When my clients choose The First Look, we always set them up for an intimate and private meeting without an audience (except for Dad sometimes). ; )"

I am so excited about the pictures! They are going to be amazing! :)) Which reminds me that I have to make a payment sometime next month... I need to look that up!

Oh and the people in the top picture in this post are Stephanie and Austin. Photos courtesy of www.samanthaaldayphotography.com of course!

Who has this many friends???

Robert and I are getting married in 313 days! It sounds so far away, but to me each day that passes brings so much more to do!

I was telling a friend the other day that I never knew that being a bride was such hard work! :)) I LOVE every minute of it though!

One thing I have discovered is that people like to ask you questions. They range from... "Where are you getting married?" to "Have you picked your colors yet?"

I have found though that two questions/statements are VERY common and are the main questions/statements that are asked of me.
1. "What all have you gotten done so far?"... and ...
2. "Do you need my address?/Our names better be on the guest list!"

I am beginning to dread them though! How awful is that! One thing that question #1 gives me is accountability. I need it more than anything, whether it be in the wedding process, school, church, etc. When people ask you that question, I feel like they are seeing if I am being a busy, busy bride.

Question/statement #2 causes controversy though. There is a restaurant in Selma where I used to go eat every Friday. It was the highlight of my week because that's when my dad and I did our bonding time. Also, you see everyone in Selma! Well... this past Friday I went with my mom and sister and ended up seeing one of my bridesmaids' aunts. I have known her forever and of course she asked question #2. I replied, "Well of course!", with a big smile on my face. All the while, I am saying on the inside that "I did not even think about her when I was making the guest list."

But yes, I have been making our guest list and have started with both sides of our family (200 for Robert, 100 for myself), my parents friends (100 roughly), both of our church families (1oo roughly), and then our many friends (???). If you kept up with the math, then that is 500 people without any friends.

All I can say is WOW!! WHO HAS THIS MANY FRIENDS?!?!?!