2008 In Review

I have to say, 2008 has been one of the most eventful years ever! So as this year comes to an end, I wanted to take some time and reflect on all that has happened this year!

January

• Josh turned 17!
• Josh had his first formal...he looked so handsome!

February

• I turned 23 and celebrated with a Mardi Gras party at the library!
• Josh was in a prom fashion show for a local formal shop

March:

• The football program threw us a party at Mugshots to celebrate our #1 recruiting season!
• My dear friend Lauren got married in Nashville so we enjoyed a fun filled (and freezing) weekend there to celebrate her beautiful wedding!
• We said goodbye to the Library! They closed their doors the end of the month, but not without a huge blowout to send them out with a bang!

April:

• I was a bridesmaid for my friend Crystal's wedding in Guntersville! We spent the entire weekend relaxing in Guntersville and had a wonderful time!

May:

• Creative Campus threw it's annual AL's awards gala and Jenny and I were in charge! I'm happy to say, it went really well and we had a wonderful time!
• The staff at Creative Campus gave the first ever CCI report to Dr. Bonner and many other "high-ups" on campus and in the community and it went very well!!
• I graduated with my Master's Degree in Elementary Education!

June:

• I finished up my job at Creative Campus :(
• Josh came down for his annual team camp for basketball and broke his nose :(
• I went for my first two unsuccessful job interviews

July:

• I was hired as a kindergarten teacher at Southview Elementary and spent the majority of the month working in my classroom!
• Josh got his "new nose" after his nose surgery :)

August:

• I started my new job as a kindergarten teacher and my life became consumed with teaching!
• I got accepted into the Instructional Leadership and Technology doctoral program at Alabama. I was so excited!! :)
• Josh started his senior year :'(

September - November:

• My life became consumed with teaching, school, Alabama football, and Josh's football so I did not have much free time other than that! Josh's football team had a very successful season ( 12-1) as did Alabama (13-1). I was sad to see both of those seasons come to a sad end :(
• Alex and I celebrated our 4 year anniversary in November! It's hard to believe we've been together that long!

December:

• I made it through my first semester of teaching!

Let's hope 2009 is wonderful! :)

Happy New Year!

Doctor's Appointment

As you may know, I have been shedding hair like crazy since I was in high school, but lately it has gotten worse. I originally chalked it all up to stress, but a few people mentioned that hair loss is also a sign of a thyroid problem, so mom wanted me to go to the doctor and have a physical and get my blood checked to hopefully rule out my thyroid. Well, I had my doctor's appointment today and it was horrible. They did check my blood for thyroid problems amongst other things, but the doctor spent most of the time coming up with fifteen pretty serious problems I might have...anything from heart problems to immune diseases to a disease that causes me to grow tumors all over my body! Needless to say, I was quite freaked out! Mom thinks that the doctor is just trying to be thorough, but it is still hard to hear that, especially when she's bringing up symptoms I didn't even know I had. I have to go tomorrow for an echocardiogram to have my heart checked so I'm not quite finished yet. Hopefully I'll hear the results in the next few days...say a prayer that everything turns out ok!

Merry Christmas Eve Eve! :)

I didn’t have a chance to update last night because Josh had a basketball game in Russellville and we didn’t get home until late. However, we did have some somewhat excited news last night! My cousin Tyler, who is 2 years younger than me, proposed to his girlfriend last night. We knew they were talking about it, but I don’t think anyone was expecting it this soon. My sweet little grandmother has been driving myself and my cousin Julie (she’s several years older than me) crazy about getting married. She of course has been working on Julie for a while, but in the past few years I’ve joined Julie on the hot seat. She even made the comment that if I wasn’t married by 25, I would be an old maid! Haha Anyway, I had to give Tyler a hard time because she’s going to put even more pressure on us to find husbands. Now, my grandmother got married at 14 so I understand why she expects us to be married, but as many times as I’ve given her my speech about I have so much left to accomplish in my life, it never gets through to her…oh well!

On a brighter note, I did get an e-mail from Alex today! I’m having fits with this internet and although I was online all day and caught myself checking my e-mail account constantly, somehow I missed him L Anyway, the e-mail was super sweet and although I was excited to hear from him, it made me miss him even more. Only 2 more days left though (well technically a day and a half J) so I hope I can hang in there a couple more days!

Mom and Dad just went to pick up Josh’s brand new big screen TV so I’m going to get off of this so I can live vicariously through Joshua and his new tech toys (this is the first Christmas I don’t know what I’m getting and it’s driving me crazy!)

I’ll write again soon….Happy Christmas Eve Eve :)

Maegan

4 Days and Counting

I don’t have much time to update because I am beyond exhausted and am having trouble holding my eyes open, but I thought I’d at least write a short post. Christmas at my grandmother’s went well yesterday. One huge part of the family was not able to attend due to other obligations (the part with all the young children) so it was very different and quiet. It did not take us long at all to open gifts as it was only 8 of us as opposed to the normal 16. Here’s a picture of Josh and I opening our presents

Every year, my aunt makes a “Year in Review” album for my grandmother. They started it the year before my grandfather passed away and it has been a tradition we look forward to every year. This year, I sent her my picasa web album address so she was able to pull a lot of pictures of Josh and I and Alex even made a few appearances.

I just got home from Huntsville with my mom and grandmother. Every year my grandmother takes me on a no-limit shopping spree to New York and Company as my Christmas present and when we got there, they had everything 50% off! With the 50% off and some other discounts from coupons and mailings (we get a ton because I practically own that entire store) we only spent 300 dollars and got a TON of tops, bottoms, jewelry, and even a few complete outfits. I was very excited and can’t wait to wear my new clothes! Afterwards, we went by Best Buy to finish up Josh’s Christmas presents. I can’t quite share what we got him yet, but it did have something to do with his new Xbox 360 he’s getting for Christmas (don’t worry…he already knows about it ) Still no word from Alex, but I’m trying to keep myself busy so as not to think about it. Anyway, off to bed!

Countdown: 4 days!

Much love,
Maegan

Bon Voyage Alex!

I know it has been forever since I have written (there is no telling how many times I have used this same phrase in this blog), but my excuse is still the same…NO TIME! I have tried to update some on my teaching blog, but that’s fallen behind as well. Now that I have the time, it being Christmas break and all, I won’t have the resources (i.e. an internet faster than dial-up ) to catch up. Anyway, here I am and instead of trying to cram everything that’s happened in this post…I’d rather attempt to do some back blogging and go forward from here.


Anyway, I’m sitting here in Tuscaloosa attempting to pack to go home in a little bit and crying because of a phone call I just received from Alex. No, we’re not breaking up…but he and his family are about to get on a boat for 5 days and not only can I not see him, but I cannot even talk to him because of the high rates they charge for internet and phone calls. I’m not sure why I took this so hard, but I did. I barely choked through telling him bye before I burst into tears…how sad am I? Even though we don’t see each other often and sometimes go an entire week, we rarely, if ever, have gone a whole day without talking to each other, even if it’s just to see how each other’s day went. I’m not sure how I am going to handle this whole situation, but I’m going to have to. He did say if by some chance he found some internet, he’d e-mail me so here’s hoping :)

Well, I need to finish packing so I can get out of here and make it to my grandmother’s in time for lunch. I’ll try and update more when I am at home (if the internet will cooperate).

Countdown: 5 days!



Much love,

Maegan

I'm still here....barely! :)

I know it has been forever since I have posted and I promise to do some back blogging when I get some free time (the doctoral program, kindergarten, and football have taken over my life! :))  Anyway, I'm still alive and kicking, but I just wanted to drop in and write a quick note just to check in.  I'll update soon!!

Classroom Set-up Day 1

Ever since I can remember, I've always dreamed of having my own classroom to decorate. When I was little I spent hours arranging and labeling my "school room" back home until it was just right. Thankfully that desire has not changed one bit! One thing I've been looking forward to is getting my classroom and getting to do things the way I want them done. When I found out I got the job on Friday, I spent the entire weekend thinking of ways to decorate my room and anxiously awaiting the day I could get in and begin working. Well, today was that day!



I stayed up late last night putting all of the books I had been given into a spreadsheet on my computer (so that I have a record of my library) and my family and I decided it would be better for me to wait until this morning to drive home. I woke up this morning at 5:30 and my family and I loaded up my car to head to Tuscaloosa (When I say loaded, I mean it was PACKED - See pictures below)

I got back in town around 8:00 and I unloaded the non-classroom stuff out of my car, got ready and headed to the school. When I got there, I ran into my principal in the hallway and she gave me a huge hug and welcomed me to the school and told me how excited she was to see me :) She then gave me a small tour of the school and showed me to my room. Since it was a middle school, I wasn't sure what to expect, but it certainly was in decent shape when I arrived so I was thankful that I wouldn't have to deal with a lot of repairs and the such. This is what I saw when I walked in my door:

Obviously there was a lot of work in store for me! My principal was wonderful and told me she'd be happy to help me with whatever I needed and that she would check in her storage for stuff for me :) Anyway, I spent most of the day just cleaning and unloading stuff and putting as much away as I could. Alex stopped by to take me to lunch and to bring me a fan and his fridge (we have no AC so both were wonderful). Anyway, he made me do a classroom tour for him. It's so stupid and I totally wasn't expecting it, but at least you can see my room!!

Anyway, I worked until about 6:30 and then headed out when it got a little stormy. There's so much that I have left to do, but it is nice to step away and reflect. I'm excited about having a productive day (hopefully) tomorrow!!

Good news!

I GOT THE JOB!!!! 

I talked to my principal earlier today and I've officially been hired :)  I'm so excited!! Today has been such a wonderful day!  I woke up fairly early this morning because I knew my fate (ok maybe I'm being a little dramatic, but that's what it feels like) had already been determined and I was just waiting on the phone call.  My dad delivers to my kindergarten teacher and he told her yesterday that I was being recommended for a kindergarten position.  For the first time in over 20 years, she is moving up to second grade and she had lots of her old stuff to give me so she told my dad to have me stop by when I got in town.  Since I got in later yesterday, I decided to stop by this morning to visit and boy was I thankful I did.  She LOADED my car up with books, buckets, craft supplies, bulletin board materials, and other fun stuff for my classroom.  This was from the room she was moving into and she said she'd go through all her kindergarten stuff and I could pick that up next week :)  Anyway, after I went to visit her, I went to the teacher store in Decatur to look around.  I found some really cute stuff but decided to wait until I got the final word before I bought anything.  Minutes after I left the teacher store, I got to talk to my principal and she let me know I'd been hired and that I could come by Monday to start on my room :)  Anyway, I obviously called everyone to tell them and people started bringing stuff over to my house for me to use in my classroom!  My aunt Tiffany had been saving her kids books and she brought over 500 books to me!  I'm so thankful to have such helpful and thoughtful people in my life!  Anyway, my family and I just got back from my celebratory dinner at Sedona's Steakhouse in Hartselle and I've got Alex's car show tomorrow so I'm going to get some sleep.  I'll update more later!!

Much love,
Maegan

P.S.  Thanks for all your prayers!

Wow! What a Day!

As I write this, I'm lying in bed because I have no energy to even move after a day like today. The day started out fine: I woke up and went about my day as I normally do. Around 1ish, my phone rings. I have one of those answering machines that reads the caller ID out to you (I know, it makes me lazy, but it is amazing :)) and when I heard a local number being read, I grabbed the phone, thinking it might be the new school. I've been a little paranoid the past couple of weeks that this new job is "too good to be true" and that something is going to fall through. I have not heard back from the principal since I gave her my recommendations and even though everyone has told me that she really has no reason to call me, I just wanted some assurance. Anyway, when I answered, the caller identified herself as the assistant principal of the school I had interviewed with the end of June (right before I had my most recent interview) Now, let me remind you that this is the school that said they'd call me back the next day and I NEVER heard from them. They were calling to inform me that they wanted to recommend me for the position in which I interviewed. I apologized and told her that I was possibly being recommended for another position and I could let her know after I heard back from it next week. She told me that the board was meeting TONIGHT and she had to know by 3:00 pm (note: this is around 1 pm when this conversation was taking place) She told me to contact the principal to be for sure because they really wanted to recommend me and told me that this decision was "up to me". I really didn't want this position because I just didn't feel like it was the school for me, but I also don't want to miss out on a job. So then my brain starts reeling thinking "Okay, if I turn down this job, and the new school has decided not to recommend me, then I'm going to be in bad shape, but if I tell them to recommend me, and they recommend me for the other position, then I'm in a bad shape all the way around". I had been planning on calling my principal all week just to check in with her and make sure she had everything she needed before I went home this weekend so I decided this was a great time to call. She's in between schools right now so I called her old school first - no answer, new school - the phone isn't working right, and finally I called her cell phone and just left a message asking her to give me a call back (I didn't mention the other job offer because I really want to teach at this school). I tried until about 2 and could never get a hold of her so I decided to go up to the new school to see if she was there. Unfortunately, she had left 2 hours prior to me getting there so I wasn't able to talk to her so I knew I'd have to make a decision without her guidance. After talking with my parents, Alex, and my friend Tara, I decided that even if I didn't get recommended for this new position, it would be in my best interest not to take the other position because:

1. They wait 3 weeks to call and then give me the shortest amount of time to make a decision (obviously I wasn't their first choice)
2. I didn't feel good about the interview. The school may be wonderful, but I just didn't click with them like I did at the new school.
3. I obviously was not their first choice and I don't want to be put in a position that I'm not the best person for.

After talking with my friends and family, I felt loads better about my decision. Unfortunately, I didn't have a chance to call the other school back, but I did send them an e-mail apologizing and explaining to them that since I didn't hear anything after my interview, I accepted this other offer and I felt that it would be unprofessional of me to go back on that offer (even though I really want the position, but I didn't tell them that). I was a little frustrated that I was put in that situation, but I felt that I made the right decision so I felt a little better. I still was anxious to see if the new principal would call back and thankfully around 4:00 she did :) She assured me that everything was fine and that the board is actually meeting on Thursday evening instead of next Monday. She also told me that I shouldn't worry about getting approved because it is VERY RARE for them not to approve someone so it made me feel LOADS better!

On another note, Josh got his formal senior portraits and Mom said they looked great! They gave him a CD with the proofs so I'm anxious to see them! :)

I'm heading home early Thursday morning. Unless something exciting happens, I'm signing off until at least sometime Thursday when I'm at home. Hopefully the next post I can tell you I'm officially employed :)

Much love,

Maegan

Football, Sorbets, and a Luau

This past weekend, Alex and I went home to spend some time with our families. I had originally planned on driving home Thursday evening, but with all of the stress lately, I’ve pretty much made myself sick, so when Alex volunteered to drive, I jumped at the chance to just ride with him. We ended up leaving Friday after he got out of class and surprisingly, I was packed several hours before he was (it did help that I never unpacked from last weekend, but those are minor details ;) ) We got home Friday evening and I got a little rest before we headed to “town” (what we’ve always called Decatur). I really wanted to just relax, but I did get some clothes, shoes, and even some stuff for my new classroom out of it (I’ll do a classroom post later) so it was worth losing the relaxation time :)



Saturday was a big day for everyone. My brother had been chosen for Hartselle’s 7-on-7 football team so he had a tournament ALL DAY at UNA. I would have gone, but Alex’s family had a big birthday brunch for his mom’s 50th birthday. From what I heard, Josh did wonderfully at the tournament. He played both offense and defense and even though he was worn out, I think he enjoyed getting back in the game after missing out because of his injury last year. As I mentioned above, I missed his tournament to go to the birthday brunch because I had already promised them I’d be there long before I knew about the tournament. His mom’s best friend Laura from Seattle came in and threw this HUGE luau themed birthday bash. I always love going over there to eat because I always get to try something “new” and this case was no different. We had sausage, bacon, eggs benedict, fruit salad, cinnamon rolls, crab dip, olives, and macadamia nut pancakes with coconut syrup. For dessert we had Lemon Torte, Macadamia & Chocolate cookie bars, and various fruit sorbets (I have a story about this that I will get to in a minute). I was so stuffed by the time we got to dessert that Alex and I just shared :) Everything was absolutely delicious and we got to take our time eating and enjoy each other’s company. I’ll try to get pictures from his family so I can post them on here to show you our delicious spread.



Okay, now to the story of the fruit sorbets: When Alex and I were dating in high school, we spent the majority of our time at a place called Studio One (where we met) which was a Children’s Theatre Playhouse, a bookstore, a music school, and a deli/café all rolled into 1. Since they were open all of the time for something, we spent a lot of time outside of play practice just hanging out there. Anyway, one day we were up there and they got in a shipment of these fruit sorbets to sell that came in natural fruit shells. The owner was telling us how yummy they were and convinced us to try them. Although Alex and I were not technically dating at this point, we each got one (pina colada for him and coconut for me) and we shared. As silly as it sounds, this was such a sweet moment in our relationship and I fondly remember that day. I remember that day, but I did not remember what on earth we were eating until last week when I got some coconut ice cream and I suddenly remembered those adorable little sorbets. I asked Alex if he remembered on our way home on Friday and of course he didn’t remember either. Well I decided I was determined to do a web search and find them when I got back to Tuscaloosa. On Saturday, when we got to the dessert portion of our meal, Laura brought out this box:

It was EXACTLY what I had been thinking of earlier that week! I was so very excited when they told me I could get them at Costco. Of course, staying true to tradition, Alex and I shared a coconut sorbet and he remembered it after his first bite



Anyway, we had a great weekend, but I am glad to be back in Tuscaloosa.  Although I’m extremely anxious to get in the classroom, I’m trying to relax and enjoy my last few days of freedom!

In the world of Maegan...

As usual, my life is fairly calm so there's not a whole lot to write about. After my excitement on Thursday, I had a fairly calm rest of the weekend. I did a lot of relaxing (and of course obsessively searching through all my teacher magazines ;)) and spending time with family. My dad grilled hotdogs for lunch on the 4th, but it was so rainy and nasty, we didn't get to spend any time outside. Alex and I had originally planned to go see the fireworks, but since it was so rainy and he didn't feel real well so we both ended up staying at home.

Saturday, my family and I spent most of the day in the pool. It was nice just relaxing and reading my book and getting a tan (not a very good one I might add, I quickly put on lotion - the same lotion I always use, and apparently it worked a lot better this time because I'm all splotchy :( ) Saturday night Alex and I, along with his friends Amanda and Alan went to see "The Love Guru" in Huntsville which was pretty funny.

On Sunday, Alex and I got to spend some time with his "second parents". Alex's parents were in the air force so these two actually raised him. I have met them several times before, but we stopped by their house on the way back to Tuscaloosa. His "Nanny Joyce & Papa" cooked us steak, chicken, baked potatos, corn, and homemade ice cream....it was so delicious!! :) I had a great time catching up with them and I of course got to hear lots of baby Alex stories :)

Anyway, this week has been pretty uneventful. I talked to my principal on Monday and gave her my references, but I haven't heard back from her and don't expect to until closer to the board meeting. Pray that everything continues to work out!! :)

As I mentioned in a previous post, Josh's bandage came off and my mom wasn't really happy with the results.  Josh went for his follow up appointment on Monday and the doctor was too happy with it either.  So, poor Josh is going to undergo another surgery probably next summer.  He said he had to wait quite a few months and Josh didn't want to have to miss any sports.

It's starting to get stormy here so I'm going to get off the computer and get some stuff done. I'll update again soon!

Much love,
Maegan

Third Time's the Charm...hopefully

So I know I only updated a mere hour ago, but so much has happened in the last hour that I had to update!! :)  First of all, as soon as I finished posting, I called my answering machine back home and I had a message from the principal asking me to give her a call saying she would like a list of people she could call for recommendations.  I had never been asked that before so I thought this might be a good sign.  I got all excited and made my round of calls to Alex and my parents (Josh was here with me).  She said I could e-mail her the list but I decided to call her and get more details on what she needed.  She gave me her cell phone number so I was able to reach her on that (thankfully she had only called about 15 minutes before I did).  She explained to me that she was required to contact a few people that know me and then she said if everything checks out, she'd like to recommend me for the position if I still wanted it!!! :)  I was so unbelievably excited that I don't remember what all happened after that but I do remember her saying how impressed they were and how she knew she wanted to hire me the second she started asking me questions, which just made me so happy!!! She told me to call her on her cell if I needed her this weekend for any reason, but if not, I could just send her the information by Monday and she would be in contact with me all next week.  I'm not worried about my recommendations because thankfully I have some wonderful people to recommend me and from what I've heard, the board rarely turns down a recommendation.  I'm trying not to get too excited just in case, but it's hard to contain myself after all I've had to go through!!  It was funny because on the way home Alex said that I sounded much more confident after walking out of that interview and he was like "you know, you can go to tons of interviews, but it always seems to be one that you just click with" and the principal said something very similar in that many were qualified and I was not only overly qualified, but I clicked with her and her teachers and she said that meant the world to her :) 

Anyway, I called my parents, grandparents, and Alex to let them all know and they were extremely excited.  They've had a hard time with me being on the depressed side about this interviewing so they were all thrilled to hear me "happy" again.  Just keep me in your prayers that everything works out!!!

Also, all those "cons" I had about the school completely went out the window when I talked to her during the interview.  It ends up being the greatest situation a teacher can be in because we will get a brand new school, with brand new equipment and supplies, and being the first set of faculty, we'll get to help make the rules, mascot, school colors, etc which is very exciting and a wonderful opportunity for any teacher, much less one like me with no experience :)

Anyway, I know this post is rambling, but I'm still kind of shaky. :)  I promise to continue updating!

Much love,
Maegan

Interview update

As I mentioned in my previous post, I had my interview with the new school this morning.  I'm not sure how they felt about it, but out of the 3 interviews I've been to, I felt the best walking out of this one.  It was a little intimidating because all of the interviewees were put in the waiting room together so I got to see my competition, but the panel (principal and two kindergarten teachers) were very receptive so hopefully they thought it went well too!!  I have to say, after talking with them, working at this school would be AMAZING.  The principal is not who I thought she was, but she was the nicest and most geniune person I've ever met and I felt completely comfortable sitting there talking with her.  The two kindergarten teachers were great as well and I would really enjoy working with them!  Anyway, she said she hoped to make a decision this afternoon.  Alex and I just got home so I haven't called my answering machine to check but I think I might in a few minutes :)  I'm going to do that and relax some since I was up early this morning!  I promise to update as soon as I hear something!

Much love,
Maegan

Unemployment Day 6

I know it's been a few days since I've updated, but truthfully nothing that exciting has happened (except a special phone call that I will get to in a few minutes). I feel like Ross on the Friends' episode in which is unemployed and does all of his to do's in the first day and then goes stir crazy which is completely me at the moment!! Ok, update on my life!



First of all, as I mentioned before, I was supposed to hear about my job interview from last week that afternoon or the next day and as of right this moment, I have not heard a thing....as in NOTHING. This is beginning to stress me out beyond belief and I really want to call and just find out if and when I'm going to hear something. I'm not normally impatient (well I am, but who wouldn't be?) but it's just a matter of they told me they'd let me know "one way or another" by last week and I haven't heard anything. Because I didn't want to call the school and seem pushy and "diva"ish, I e-mailed my supervisor who is very close with the administration and actually recommended me for the job to ask her opinion on the matter. I haven't heard anything yet, but I'm hoping she might call and casually ask what's going on with it. Anyway, hopefully I'll hear something one way or another soon so I'll have some closure :)



On the other hand, I received a phone call yesterday evening from a principal of a new elementary school in which I have a applied for Kindergarten, First, and Third Grade positions asking me if I was interested in interviewing for the kindergarten position. I of course replied yes and we set up the interview for 11:00 on Thursday. As with any job (and anything), I have weighed the pros and cons (I know it's silly considering I haven't gotten the job yet but I have to have a game plan). Here's the situation: this school is a brand new school without the building yet. They have taken 100 students from 3 different schools and are combining it into 1 elementary school. Unfortunately the building of the new school has not been completed yet, but they are going to be housed in an old middle school (which they have split into 3 new middle schools) along with one of the new middle schools. So here's the pros and cons:



Pros:

1. It's a new school, although not a new building so we'll all be learning together


2. When she was still teaching, the principal actually came and spoke to us in one of my classes during my internship and she was really sweet and I think she'll be wonderful to work for.


3. The position is in a lower grade, which I want and I could possibly have a choice between the three positions.


4. It's a job for the fall! :)


5. The middle school that it will be housed in this year is a total of 5 minutes away from my apartment (I used to pass it everytime I drove to Alex's old apartment) so the location is great.


6. If I stay at this school, I'll get a brand new classroom in a brand new building in Fall 2009.

Cons:

1. Although the temporary location is close, the permanent location is quite a ways away and on the opposite side of town that I planned on moving.


2. It has different demographics than what I'm used to teaching in. It has a lot of students who are poverty level and many come from broken homes. I'll have to learn to keep my emotions in check and try not to get to emotionally involved that I go home and cry because I have to send some kids to not so wonderful homes.

Obviously, the pros outweigh the cons and if I get offered the job, I'll take it (if I don't get the first one) and I know I'll love it. To get me in the spirit, I've been looking at classroom decorations and supplies and it's getting me all excited. Of course, I'm not guaranteed the job but I'm trying to stay positive, but realistic. If I don't stay positive, I will drive myself insane :)

Oh and Josh's nose bandage came off and mom is a little disappointed with the results. They sent me a picture and it is a little crooked but I think it looks fine, but you know moms :)

Anyway, I'm going to get some stuff done around the house and get packed up to go home after my interview tomorrow (Alex and I will be riding together so I HAVE to be ready on time or I'll get left :)) so I'm going to get busy. I promise to update if I hear anything!

Much love,

Maegan

My weekend

I have to say, I've only been unemployed for 1 entire day, and I'm already getting a little stir crazy.  Thankfully I had enough going on this weekend that it kept me entertained most of the time.  Friday was my best friend Casey's 22nd birthday so we went to El Ricon that evening to celebrate and ended up hitting Cheap Shots afterwards for a bit.  She had to work on Saturday morning so she wasn't keen on doing too much until Saturday night.  Saturday during the day I was pretty lazy and really had no desire to get ready and go out again (Alex and I have decided we have gotten too old to stay out like we used to ;)) but we did anyway.  We went and had dinner at Nick's and then headed to The Red Shed for a bit.  Alex and I both were so sleepy so we were party poopers and got out of there as soon as we could.  Alex's parents came down today so we had a great time hanging out with them.  They both had just gotten back from a couple of trips to different places Alex and I got a bag full of goodies from their travels! :)  They also took us to lunch at The Globe (I was so excited to get Chocolate Torte :)) and on a Target run which they bought me some stuff too...yeah and people wonder why I'm so spoiled ;).

They also brought some food that she made from home so Alex and I had yummy leftovers for dinner and we just finished the movie "Jumper" and are now watching "Vacancy".  The movie is really getting creepy so I'm going to sign-off before I jump and throw the laptop across the room :)  Have a super fabulous night and I'll update soon!

Much love,
Maegan

Josh's Surgery and Job Update (or lack thereof)

Josh had his surgery today after his lovely nose injury. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to make it home for the surgery but thanks to camera phones and picture messages, I got the play by play.

Josh the day after the accident and a pre-surgery picture (it already looked a ton better!)

The surgery didn't take more than a few minutes because I was getting typical funny "Josh" text messages and there was about a 10 minute pause before I started getting them again so it was a quickie. Here's what I got from him (and I know he sent them because Mom has no idea how!)

Some post-surgery shots. You can already tell it's much straighter!

The doctor said it looked really good and he probably wouldn't have to have anything else done to it. He said if he's careful, he can even play 7-on-7 next weekend, but it will take about 4-6 weeks to fully heal (which is good because he had senior portraits scheduled for today and obviously had to be rescheduled for the end of July). Continue to pray that he has a speedy recovery :)

As far as the job, I didn't hear anything today so it looks like I'll have to wait until tomorrow if it's by mail or Monday, which is fine I guess. I'll definitely update as soon as I know something!

I better get going, I've been super lazy today and I desperately need to get some stuff accomplished!

Much love,

Maegan

Interview and Last Day at CCI

Note: I apologize for the randomness of this post, but this is what happens when your life is all over the place :)

Okay, first thing....go see "Get Smart"! It was super cute and funny and made me totally forget about my interview today :)

Also, today's my parents 26th Wedding Anniversary!! Happy Anniversary Mom & Dad!

I had my interview today at 8 am. I felt like I did okay on the interview and the administration was super nice, but I don't really have a good feeling about getting the job. I'm not sure if it's because I got burned by not getting the job at my dream school, or I'm unconsciously preparing myself for a letdown, or if God is trying to tell me this isn't the job for me. Either way, they told me that I would find out either this afternoon (which I haven't) or tomorrow so we'll see. I had a slight breakdown tonight because although I know there's a reason behind me not getting the job (possibly jobs) it still hurts and puts a damper on my self-esteem. I don't like not having everything in order in my life and the uncertainty for the fall is unsettling to me. After a long talk with my parents and lots of tears, I've decided that if I don't hear anything by next Monday, I'm going to apply to be a sub. With all of the schools in Tuscaloosa, surely I'll get a decent amount of sub time and hopefully a decent amount of money. Plus, it will be a great way to get experience and get my foot in the door. I know several teachers at my dream school that are going on maternity leave and I've already told them to make sure they consider me if I'm not working anywhere. Maybe this is God's way of finding something better for me...I don't know, but I do feel better knowing that I can at least have something to do for the fall. Anyway, enough of that....

Today was my last day at CCI, so I spent most of the day cleaning out my desk. My boss did tell me that she would help me get a position on campus if I desperately needed one so there's another back up plan as well. I've got to go back sometime and finish cleaning my stuff off of the computer and get a few more of my things, but I'm officially finished working there. After I got home, Alex and I went to lunch at Zoe's (one of my favorite places to eat) so seeing him and getting to eat more yummy chicken salad made me feel worlds better. Right now I'm sitting here watching "Fool's Gold" and trying to get stuff organized on my computer. Hopefully I'll hear something tomorrow and I'll be sure to update.

Also, Josh's surgery is tomorrow at 1 so keep him in your prayers!

Much love,
Maegan

Chicken Salad and Doctor's Appt.

I have a wonderful boss named Kathy. Not many people love their bosses, but I do! She's like a second mom to me and she has ALWAYS taken good care of me. Since it's my last week at Creative Campus, she surprised me with lunch at the University Club here in Tuscaloosa. Just to give you an idea of this place, this is where the President takes guests to eat.

The food was incredible as always! I had Mrs. Pat's Famous Chicken Salad on Flatbread with Sweet Potato Fries and an Almond Ball for dessert (ice cream covered with slivered almonds and chocolate syrup) It was so yummy!! Even though there has been a lot of drama going on at Creative Campus, I am going to miss Kathy dearly. As I have mentioned before, I have been working for Kathy since my sophomore year of college so we go way back. :)

Anyway, Josh went to the doctor this afternoon and they are going to do surgery on Friday. Thankfully the doctor said he wouldn't have to do major surgery; just basically moving it back into place and he said it would take about 5 minutes so he wouldn't even have to stay overnight! :)

Alex is coming over to keep me company so I don't go insane stressing over my interview tomorrow and he's taking me to see "Get Smart" which I'm super pumped about! Think about me tomorrow around 8!

Lots of love,
Maegan

Good news and the bad news

Before I get to good news, Josh update:

Mom called the plastic surgeon/ENT and he's going to see Josh on Wednesday and he'll probably have the surgery sometime this week...I'll keep you updated!

My good news:

On Friday (as I do everyday) I kept a constant check on the job board on the state board of education's website. I was looking at it one minute and then flipped pages and then flipped back and there were 2 new positions listed and I went ahead and clicked reply. Because this is something I do constantly I didn't expect anything of it, however, this morning before I left for work I got a phone call from one of the schools wanting me to come for an interview for a first grade position Thursday morning at 8 am. This is not a school I know much about, but I do know that my old clinical supervisor is very well connected with the school (I think she used to teach there, but I can't remember) and that one of the girls I graduated with is a first grade teacher there. Anyway, everyone I told said it was a wonderful school so I decided to drive out tonight to familiarize myself with the area, which leads me to the bad news....

It is REALLY far out there....as in over 30 minutes with traffic. It's not that big of a deal, but it just kinda made my heart sink a little knowing that I would be doing a lot of driving and spending a lot of money on gas if I got the position. However, since there's been such wonderful things said about the school, I'm hoping that outweighs the drive :)

I e-mailed both my old supervisor and my friend and had them put in a good word for me. My supervisor actually went up and saw the principal and called her after getting the okay from me (she's wonderful like that) so hopefully that'll help.

Anyway, I'll update you after the interview!! :)

The one with the family and the hospital trip

I'm sure you're wondering the reason for my title (I'm watching "Friends" so hence the cheesy "Friends" style :)) and boy is it an entertaining one :) To give you a little background, every year Josh comes down with his basketball team for a team camp hosted by the University of Alabama. They usually play all day Friday and Saturday and have a tournament style (if they lose they are out) on Sunday. Anyway, this weekend Josh and the family came down for camp. Even though they played all day on Friday, we didn't get to go to any of the games except the very last one. Although it wasn't that late, we were all exhausted (Mom & Dad from driving; me from cleaning) so we went home and Mom and I watched "27 Dresses" on Tivo.

 

Josh and I at in between games Friday!

 

  

Josh had a fairly early game on Saturday and had them spread out throughout the day so we did a lot of driving back and forth from here to Coleman Coliseum.

 

Josh and I before his “last” game (you’ll see what I mean below)

 

A week or so ago, Josh busted his eye open and just had it repaired a few days ago. Although he was not supposed to be playing, my parents let him play since it's his senior year. Anyway, we were all talking about it and one of the player's mom's mentioned that "that was his senior injury". Not two seconds later, we see Josh walking off the court with his face in his hands. We were sitting on the other side of the court but we saw him walk up to the coach and we saw blood on his hands so we immediately thought that he busted his eye open again. They handed him a towel and rushed him back to the trainer and when we caught up with him he pulled down the towel and this is what we saw (note it is a little gross so if you have a weak stomach, you might want to skip on down!):

 

Obviously, it wasn't his eye. As you can probably tell he took an elbow to the nose and obviously it broke it. When the trainer saw it she immediately called Northport DCH and we rushed him there. One of the moms is a nurse (the same one who helped Josh with his eye before) and she rode to the hospital with us. Thankfully when we arrived, nobody was in the waiting room so he was able to go right back. They would only allow Mom & Dad to go back with him so I was in the waiting room with the other mom. I was a complete mess and was trying to call Alex (he was on a kayaking trip in Tennessee and did not have any signal) because he's had nose surgery too so I wanted to know what to expect. They checked him out and did a CT scan. The scan revealed that he didn't have a blockage so they told him he'd have to wait a few days before they could do surgery (they had to wait for the swelling to go down) so my parents made the decision to wait and take him back to the plastic surgeon who did his eye the first time, who also happens to be a ENT as well. This made everyone feel better because he is AMAZING at what he does. Anyway, we got Josh back to my apartment and the meds kicked in and knocked him out so I babysat while Mom and Dad went to go get my car from Coleman, clean out Josh's hotel room, and go get his medicine filled. When they got back, they moved him to my room to sleep in my bed since he had to sleep sitting up. At this point it is around midnight and even though I had to sleep on the couch (Dad slept with him so that he could put ice on it every little bit) I passed out right away.

Josh after he woke up this morning.  Blood’s gone, but you can tell how crooked his nose is!

Josh had planned to go to the game(s) today, but it was at 8 am and no one could wake up and he didn't really feel like it anyway. All of his friends were really sweet and called a great deal to check on him (even the ones from back home...news travels fast in a small town :)) He rested most of the day, but I rented "Meet the Spartans" and "Semi-Pro" on Tivo so he could watch them. Late this afternoon Dad and I decided to get out of the house and go house shopping/looking in Northport since we had some free time. We spent several hours just driving around looking and then we came back and Mom and I did a grocery run because I had NOTHING in the fridge :) They just left and I have to work in the morning so I'm about to hit the sack. I'll update more after Mom makes an appointment sometime this week!

Keep him in your prayers that all works out!

Love,

Maegan

Job Update

So I realized I never posted about the outcome of my interview. Well, I obviously was a nervous wreck all week waiting for Friday. Alex even did his best to keep me out of the house on Friday so I would actually relax some (I did keep cheating and checking my answering machine though :)) When I hadn't heard anything by 3:00, I headed home and when I checked my mail, I found the letter I'd been dreading. As you can probably guess, I didn't get the job :( I was devastated. I obviously first called my parents and they were extremely supportive and told me that there God had some reason in not giving me that job and reminded me that there have been quite a few situations where it didn't immeadiately work out the way that I had wanted it to, but later it worked out even better. I then called Alex, and being the amazing guy that he is, a few minutes later, I opened to door to find him standing there with a cup of Cold Stone Creamery "Chocolate Devotion" and a hug so that made my day a million times better. He of course was extremely supportive as well, and really helped me make it through the day and see the light at the end of the tunnel. Anyway, I'm trying to keep my head up and keep looking, so continue keeping me in your prayers.

I'm trying to get some stuff done around the house, but I did want to give you an update :)

Much love,
Maegan

Job Interview UPDATE

So today was the big day!! I could not sleep hardly at all last night worrying about it (I'm a big worrier so no consoling from friends and family helped!) so I woke up fairly early this morning. I wanted to give myself plenty of time to get ready and leave around 11:15. However, for some reason I got ready in record time today so I had a lot of time to sit around and worry (free time for Maegan...never good) Alex was a sweetie and got up early just so he could come see me before my interview so it was helpful to have him here to keep my mind off of it. I ended up arriving there around 11:30 and boy was I glad I did. They gave me 2 written questions and I spent pretty much the entire 30 minutes writing. Then, I went in for my interview. I found out that I was interviewing for a kindergarten position so I was excited to hear it was a younger grade :)



As I mentioned in my first post, I did my internship at this school so I was fairly comfortable with the interview panel since I knew most of them :) They asked me a few questions and I felt like I answered them pretty well (and there are not many things I walk of feeling like that....the majority of the time I analyze and critique everything I said) I asked them when I would find out and they said I should know something by Friday...so more worrying and praying for me :)



Continue to keep me in your thoughts... I really want/need this job!!



I promise to keep you updated!

Job Interview!

Hi all!! I know it has been a while since I've updated and I promise to catch up on my posts soon (most of them are in draft format, I just have to add pictures and I'll post :)) Anyway, because the fall is coming so quickly, I broke down and officially submitted by job application. Here's the thing: most applications are specific to where you want to work. However, the state board of education has now created an online application which covers you for ANY job in the state. Making this application public was a huge step because if I screw up on it...this could compromise me teaching pretty much anywhere!!

Anyway, I finally made my application public last week and I've been checking throughout the week to see if there are any job postings that jump out at me. Lo and behold, on the 27th, I happened to notice my DREAM school posted their position (the school where I did my student teaching). I immeadiately applied and I talked to a friend that teaches at that school and she told me not to get discouraged as it normally takes them a while to go through them. Well when I arrived home from work a little while ago, I had a message on my answering machine and it was from my dream school!!!! :) They were wanting me to come for an interview on Tuesday, June 3rd. I immeadiately called them back and accepted the interview! I'm hoping they make a decision just as quick :) Anyway, say a little prayer for me around noon on Tuesday! I really want this job!

I promise to update more later! I have to study up on my interview answers ;)

Dinner Cruise

We are very blessed to have some wonderful historic sites in Tuscaloosa, one of which being the Bama Belle. The Bama Belle is an old paddleboat that docks here in Tuscaloosa. Being involved at the University, I've been on quite a few boat rides for different events, but I had never been on one of their dinner cruises. Alex has always talked about wanting to go on it, but we've just never had the opportunity or never planned ahead. Anyway, my graduation day, May 10th, was our 3 1/2 year anniversary. We are NOT one of those couples that celebrates anniversaries all the time, but since all of our holidays/special days are from November to February we thought it might be nice to celebrate some in the warmer months :) Alex had mentioned doing something for our 3 1/2 year and I told him we'd switch and I would plan the date. So, when trying to come up with something fun to do, I got so excited when I found out about the dinner cruise and booked it immeadiately. We were supposed to go last weekend, but we had to go home earlier than expected. Thankfully the crew was amazing and just let me move our reservations back :)

Some pictures from the cruise. The first being the usual self-portrait (with Alex's usual expression) and then one of the other passengers felt sorry for us and offered to take our picture :)

We had such an amazing time!! The food was unbelievable! :) After the ride was over, we went to see the new Indiana Jones. Brace Yourselves: Before this week, I had never seen any of the previous 3 (I know GASP) so Alex and I had an Indiana Jones marathon so that I would be caught up for the movie :)

I don't want to reveal any of the movie, but I will say it is pretty good. It was very different from the others, but I think it was an appropriate continuation of the trilogy.

Anyway, I'm exhausted so I'm going to bed...I promise to write more later :)

Have a fabulous weekend!

P.S. Sex and the City next weekend...can I tell you how excited I am? ;)

Alex's Scholarship Luncheon

As I mentioned earlier, the whole reason we came home this weekend was to attend Alex's scholarship luncheon at church. His parents are out of town so I volunteered to go be supportive and take pictures :) Anyway, we went to the church service and then went to the lunch afterwards. The food was absolutely amazing (sometimes I forget that it's hard to beat southern cooking :)) Anyway, here are some pictures:

Alex receiving his scholarship from the preacher's son

Alex and his brother Andy after receiving their scholarships (I didn't get a picture of Andy getting his :( )

Alex and I at the luncheon. I love it how he looks like he does not even want to be in the picture with me. I think it was just because he was too lazy to meet me half way ;)

I had been to church with Alex before so I had met a lot of the people, but it was nice being welcomed again (his parents do a wonderful job talking me up :)) Anyway, I need to get some stuff done before I head back to Tuscaloosa tomorrow afternoon after I take my car to the shop. I'll try and update soon!

Much Love,
Maegan

What Happens in Vegas...

No, we didn't go to Vegas, but we did go see the movie with Cameron Diaz and Ashton Kutcher. It was super cute so if you haven't seen it...go check it out.

Anyway, Alex and I both went home this weekend for his scholarship luncheon on Sunday (I promise to share pictures :)) We are rarely home together and we had vowed that if we were ever home at the same time, we would go to Monaco pictures in Huntsville together (Alex has already been with some friends so I told him he had to take me ;)) If you don't know anything about Monaco, check out their website http://www.monacopictures.com/. It is unbelievable!! :) Alex got us VIP tickets so we went a few hours early to enjoy the perks :)

The one random self portrait from the evening. Please excuse the hair: I had gotten it cut that day and the stylist decided to flat iron it :(

After the movie, we met up with one of his friends at Ketchup. We had planned to go for dessert, but they weren't serving when we got there :( Anyway, if you're around the Huntsville area, definitely check out Monaco at Bridge Street...it is well worth it :)

I graduated!! (again)

Yep, I officially have my second degree from the University of Alabama. Although this was extremely exciting, I have to say the first one was a much bigger deal. I remember getting teary eyed at the first graduation singing the Alma Mater and wanting my picture taken EVERYWHERE with my gown. This year, I just wanted pictures with my family and Alex and then I was ready to peace out...hence the lack of pictures for this blog. My mom took most of them on her camera and I have yet to scan them in so these will have to suffice for now (I promise to upload them later! :)).

A perfect representation of our personalities ;)


Although I had a wonderful time seeing my family, the weekend was very exhausting. I'm looking forward to date night with Alex tonight! I'll upload those pictures soon :)

Much love,
Maegan

Getting ready for Graduation...

This graduation is much less stressful in many ways than the first one because:

• I was finished with classes 2 weeks ago, so I have had plenty of time to work on my apartment and get ready (although I did neither until this week!)
• Since I've already done it once, I know what to expect.
• I don't have to stress over paperwork for certification and the such.

However, there are other things that make it much more stressful than the last

• I'm unfortunately not registered for the fall so this means no more student perks (including a on-campus summer job :( )
• Because of the above, I have to find a summer job (and so far, all I've found is minimum wage jobs...YUCK!)
• I have to stress over applications for the doctoral program in hopes I can start in the fall (unfortunately, I have to completely start all over again with the application process
• I have to find a real job...as in a teaching position for the fall!
  

As most of you know, I can't stand being out of control...especially when it comes to my life. One of the reasons why I chose to continue my education is because that is one area of my life to control (unlike the marriage issue) so I am going INSANE waiting for things (recommendations for doctoral program, admittance into doctoral program, jobs to post, etc). Once I have my life back in order, I feel that I will be much happier :)

On the other hand, mine and Alex's relationship has gotten MUCH stronger. I've had several breakdowns over the past few days and he's been wonderful about reassuring me that everything will be fine. I am usually the cheerleader so it's wonderful that he can step in when I'm in need of a boost :) We're in a great place and I'm extremely happy considering the situation we've had recently :)

Okay....way too much heavy stuff. Now for the lighter side....

I just got back from the President's Reception for the graduates. Alex was supposed to go with me, but his friend is in town and staying with him so it was hard for him to get away. Last time, my family came with me, but for some reason they scheduled it from 3:30-4:30 which unfortunately was not a time my parents could make it to. Anyway, I went with my friend Lauren and she snapped a few pictures (although we didn't get one together!). I was shocked that President Witt seemed to remember me from all of my involvement with the University :) Anyway, here are the pictures. I've gotta get the house finished before my family arrives!

President Witt and I at the Mansion

Me on the balcony of the mansion looking at Denny Chimes

Happy Cinco de Mayo!!!

Happy Cinco de Mayo everyone!! I know around here, a lot of people are upset that it falls on a Monday, during exam week no less, but there were definitely a great deal of intoxicated people around Tuscaloosa tonight! ;) When I had talked to Alex earlier today, I told him that we should go out and eat Mexican food tonight, and even offered to bring Qdoba over to celebrate. However, he still has tons of food from our weekend Target excursion with his family, so he said he'd pass. Well I cozied up in my Pj's to watch my usual Monday night line-up on my Tivo: "Dancing with the Stars", "Samantha Who", "Jon & Kate Plus 8", and "CSI: Miami". I get a phone call at about 8:00 from Alex saying he wanted to attempt to go something to eat. So I threw on my clothes and met him over at his apartment. We were worried we wouldn't be able to get into El Rincon, the Mexican restaraunt on the strip, but thankfully they were able to take us right to a table (it probably helped that it was only a table for 2 instead of the usual 12 :)). After we ate our yummy fajitas for two, we headed to go get Alex some Corona (hey, at least he was being festive ;)) to take back to his apartment. We're about to start watching Cloverfield (Alex watched the special features and said it looked pretty creepy) so I'll write more later!! :)

Much love,
Maegan

The Al's

Every year, Creative Campus does this big event called The Al's. Basically, it like the Tony or Oscar awards show, but for students on this campus (you can read more about it here) This year, my coworker Jenny and I were put in charge. We've been working our tails off trying to get ready for it and the yesterday was the big day! It went very well (I took pictures but I've been too lazy to get them off my camera so I'll add them in later!) By the way, our emcee's were hilarious. Check out their intro video here (a spoof of the Office). Alex unfortunately didn't get to go, but we did have our date night :) Anyway, I've got to do some last minute cleaning before my parents come...I'll add more to this later!

UPDATE: Pictures!!!

My friend Jenny and I who were co-coordinators for the event.

Jenny and I with Big Al

As I mentioned above, Matt was my date for the night :)


The Creative Campus staff that attended the event


This picture is a better representative of us...we're so goofy!

Being co-coordinators gives you the right to be in as many pictures as you want (included the ones with obnoxious poses ;))


Everyone chowing down at the reception (I decorated the table...I was so proud!)


A picture of the reception aftermath (I like the first picture much better)

For more pictures, check out the Al's page on our website http://www.creativecampus.ua.edu/als.htm

ENJOY!

I'm officially finished with my Master's Degree!!!

Yep, that's right!! I'm finished!!! YAY!!! I had my last class last night and turned in my last assignment. It's such a relief to be finished again :) Now, I just have to get everything ready for graduation!!! :)

My teacher is amazing and she actually held our last class at El Rincon, a Mexican restaurant on the strip and she bought nachos for everyone! (how fun is that? ;)) My two technology classes have been wonderful, and after talking with her, I've decided that I want to get my PhD in Educational Technology (the actual degree is PhD in Instructional Leadership with an emphasis in Educational Technology). After talking with her last night, I'm 100% sure this is what I want to do, so I'm going to start getting my application ready so that I can get started as soon as possible!

After class, I went and grabbed some Olive Garden for mine and Alex's date night. As I mentioned before, we've added a Thursday night date night to have dinner and watch Scrubs :). Anyway, he came over and we had a great time hanging out and watching TV. Unfortunately, he didn't get to stay long because he had to go home to study and work on homework :( . I just spent the rest of the evening resting and working on my apartment because my parents are coming in town next weekend to help me finish cleaning my apartment for my graduation guests :)

Well since I'm off work today, I'm going to work my tail off to get my apartment ready. I'll write more when I have some free time! :)

Crystal's Wedding Weekend (Day 2 & 3)

Obviously, yesterday was a super busy day so I did not have a chance to blog, so sorry!! Anyway, I did not take a lot of pictures so I'm "borrowing" pictures from my friends and my mommy so I'll constantly be updating this :) Anyway, Saturday morning, I woke up and headed to the Bridesmaids' Brunch at the Rock House. It was super yummy!! Here are some pictures of us at the Rock House.


(Please excuse my horribly flat hair, I was about to go get it fixed) Which leads me to my next event of the day, the hair appointment. Because it would be a long day, I really wanted to get my hair fixed. I'm so glad I did!! I could have never made it look like that :) Anyway, after the hair apppointment, I went back to the hotel to get ready to head to the church for pictures.

I got to the church a little early, but it ended up being earlier than everyone else so we didn't get to start taking pictures until about 4:30!! Anyway, the pictures went well, and I can't wait to see how they turned out! :) Here are some of us getting ready!
*Note: I'll add more here later!!

The wedding and reception went well, and we decided to all go out and have a good time afterwards! The entire bridal party headed to this place called the Blue Parrot. We had the best time (poor place didn't know what hit it until we came in!) They had this blues, jazzy band and we danced for hours! After the bar closed, we went out to the boat dock, where one of the groomsmen's family had a boat. We hung out for a while on it just talking and hanging out. We had such a good time!! It was great hanging out with the girls again! :)




We did not get back to the hotel until about 4 in the morning so we crashed so we could wake up this morning to get packed, and head home! We left about 11, grabbed some lunch, and shopped at the outlet stores in Boaz. Alex got a pretty (I mean handsome) green polo from the Polo Outlet. I got some cute elephant coffee service pieces and some Coca-Cola bottle salt and pepper shakers from Kitchen Collections! Then we headed back home. We got here a little while ago so I'm going to quickly unpack and start on homework for my last class this week! :)

I'll write more later! :)