Taking Everything One Step at a Time

Well, the months are narrowing down till our wedding, and we're slowly chipping away at everything that we need to do to plan for it. I'm INSANELY busy with student teaching and my intense teacher work sample I have to write, along with trying to get the last minute details of the wedding planned out. I'm very tired, and have a feeling I will be running on empty for the next two months. I really haven't been able to enjoy to excitement and craziness of my wedding coming up, as well as teaching in a classroom because I'm so engulfed with this intense teacher work sample. :(
Right now, until that thing is completed and turned in, my life is revolving around it.
That makes me sad.

Tyson has been a WONDERFUL groom and has been very involved. He's been helping out a bunch! Thank goodness! I've been lucky to have a team of people helping me out during this exciting, yet, exhausting time right now.

If you haven't looked at the updates on our wedding website already, we have taken care of the tuxes, the flowers, and have officially sent the invitations out! As everything gets finalized, it slowly becomes more real. I'm sure that sounds so cliche, but it's the truth!

Tyson is doing well. Just working and helping me with the wedding. Nothing too exciting is happenening with him. Actually! Rosco (our Malinois Tyson's trying to train to be a K9 dog) certified in narcotics. If Tyson was a K9 officer out on the streets, he could officially work Rosco to find narcotics. Tyson is REALLY proud of this being that Rosco certified at only 11 months old. We are both proud of our baby boy!

Anyways, I will try to keep everyone posted on the countdown till our wedding as frequently as I can. Remember to look on our wedding website for a condensed version of current updates of the wedding planning. The website link is at the top of this page.

Let the Craziness Start!

Hello everyone! The busy beginning of the new year has started! Wedding! My last semester and graduation! All in all, this doesn't just affect me. It also affects Tyson.

Today was my second day in student teaching. I have Kindergarteners for my first 6 weeks, then I have second grade for the last 6 weeks. My Kinders are SO BRIGHT!!! I'm very tired, but mostly because I have to get used to the schedule again. The holidays spoiled me. My job doesn't stop there. I still have to come home and begin to write this ridiculously difficult work sample. I'm going to be trying to juggle this along with the wedding planning. Poor Tyson will probably be dealing with my crankiness, grumpiness, and my crying. (I tend to do that when I get too overwhelmed, which is probably going to happen for me every other day until the beginning of March.)

Speaking of wedding planning, a lot has been finished so far! Tyson finally made a decision on a wedding band, and it's been bought. I've finally made a decision on a florist. I'm SO excited about my lady who will possibly be doing my flowers. She has been helping me dream up our flowers for Tyson and my wedding and it's GREAT! She has allllllllll of these ideas, and she's not going to charge me out the wha-zoo! She's got me all excited. She seems to be VERY accomodating, which is excellent!

Tyson and I went and met our cake lady who is also amazing, creative, accomodating, and the SWEETEST lady in the world! She was the one who reinforced my decision to possibly go with this specific florist I was just talking about. I haven't met the florist face-to-face yet (we've only been emailing back and forth) but if she's anything like our cake lady........IT'S A DEAL! Anyways, our cake lady was taking ideas that I liked and going ABOVE AND BEYOND what I had ever imagined as far as cake design, flavors, etc. She wasn't trying to only give me options where it was a bare minimum of a cake where she wouldn't have to do much. She wanted to create something more detailed for me. I LOVED that! Tyson's cake is going to be AWESOME! We are SO EXCITED about his cake. It's better than what we came up with! I can't wait to see both of our wedding cakes on our wedding day!!!

Other than that, Tyson's mom and sister have taken on the task of putting together my wedding favors, so that's one less thing I have to do on top of everything I have going on. I've bought my flower hairpiece, Tyson's mom is helping me with figuring out my veil situation (because I don't want to pay $100 for the veil I want), and all I need to do now for my bridal attire is get my dress altered and buy some shoes!

But..................... That doesn't end the wedding planning. I still have a bit to go.

Other than that! Tyson and I are doing great! I'll try to update this as much as possible being as busy as I will be.

Happy New Year!

Welcome to 2009!!!

This is going to be an exciting, yet, busy year for both Tyson and me. We will be getting married in less than 3 months, I will graduate from college, and I will hopefully be landing myself my first real world teaching job.

Unfortunately, our 2009 didn't start off the best. Tyson did not get hired on with Georgetown PD. We are very shocked and disappointed. Right now, we are trying to not let it bother us because we know that there are more opportunities Tyson might end up having. Also, I'm a big believer that there is a plan for everything. Georgetown PD was obviously not in our plan right now. Although our new year didn't start off on the right foot, we're hoping that this was just a minor speed bump, and everything will be smooth from here on out. I'm optimistic!

We had a great Christmas this year. Tyson and I just got back from visiting his sister and her family, his parents, and my mom and younger sister. We were really busy bouncing about to San Antonio, Georgetown, and Austin. It was very nice to see everyone for Christmas. Tyson had a nice little 9 day vacation from work, so that was a total plus! He certainly deserved it, and I'm so happy he was able to take a REAL vacation. I, too, was so ecstatic to actually be able to spend quality time with him. Tyson has officially started on his new shift. He no longer will work nights (10p-6a), he will be on a normal schedule working 12p-10p for two days out of the week, and 3p-1a on the other 2 days of the week. He will have 3 days off since he will be working 10 hour shifts. We are very interested to see how this schedule will work with mine.

I start student teaching on Monday....BLAH!!!!!! I have to go in 2 weeks earlier than the college because I have to get prepared to teach at the school I'm assigned at. I'm very nervous, scared, excited, all of the above! I'm just praying for a very smooth student teaching semester and that May comes quicker than ever.

Overall, it is now January 2009 and Tyson and I are trying to finalize the rest of the big parts of our wedding. We can't believe that it is only less than 3 months away. It is all starting to become so real to us. Today, I spent 3 hours assembling our wedding invitations, realizing that it is coming so quickly. So, from here on out, I will be VERY VERY VERY busy finalizing the wedding plans while finishing up college. Tyson will probably be very busy working. This is going to be a VERY interesting 4 months ahead.

We hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas! Other than that.......we wish everyone a very Happy New Year!!!

Christmas Craziness!!!

It's a miracle!!! One day I was sniffling, sneezing, congested, coughing, you get the drill.......and I woke up the next day just peachy king! There's this little orange flavored pill you let dissolve in your mouth, and it is supposed to shorten the length of your cold. Zicam people!!! THE BEST STUFF!!! I'm definitely using that for future colds.

So, with that said, nothing really got done as far as Christmas shopping, errands, house cleaning, wedding stuff, etc. When I say nothing.....I mean NOTHING. Tyson has been working non stop (bless his heart) just so he can get Christmas Day off, and I have been bound to the couch with a cold. Plus, we've procrastinated. Guilty!

Today (the Saturday before Christams) I went out and took care of our days and days worth of Christmas shopping all in ONE DAY! YIKES! What was I thinking!?!

THIS WAS A LOT OF FUN TO CARRY INSIDE.....NOT!!!!

I told Tyson thank God I told him that I'll go out and do all of the shopping because if he'd gone out (especially with the lack of sleep he's had) his temper would have been FLARING! Christmas traffic (BAAAAAAAAAD traffic) and the Christmas crowds. Yay for spending 30 minutes just trying to find parking at the mall, and yay for sitting in 30 minutes of traffic to just go to another store 5 miles down the road. On a good note, I was quite shocked at how kind and generous a lot of people were being this year. Now THAT'S the Christmas spirit people!

In a couple of days, Tyson and I will be heading to San Antonio to spend Christmas with his whole family. Then, Tyson's family and I will be heading to Georgetown/Austin to hang out for the rest of the week. Also, while we're in Austin, we'll get to see my mom and younger sister. It's family galore, and I LOVE IT!!!! Tyson and I are always so very happy when we get the chance to spend time with the family. I know Tyson DEFINITELY loves every chance he can get. Due to his wacky schedule, it's very rare we get to see out-of-town family. C'mon Georgetown PD!!!!! Give Tyson a job. :)

Well, we wish all of our friends and family a MERRY CHRISTMAS! We hope Santa brings you everything you asked for!

Wedding Stresses

I finally finish up my semester last week, and I think I'm going to get a break and be able to take care of some wedding stuff..............

But........

NOPE!!!!

I guess after 4 months of constant go, go, go.......semester stress (my biggest problem)......lack of sleep (caused by semester stress).......getting lesson plans prepared, turned in, and taught.......etc. etc. etc., my body has finally shut down. The moment I actually sit down and don't have to do a single thing, my body decides to release all that has built up. I've been SOOOOO sick for the past WEEK!!! Yeah....on the couch, no sleep....the whole shebang! I was up for 23 hours straight one day. Not fun! Basically, I have no strength, and I can't seem to muster up any to go search for florists (which was my main mission once I've started my break). All I've wanted to do is sleep on the couch with a hot bowl of soup and cup of tea.

Tyson has been my saving grace! Thank goodness for him! I've been so highly medicated that I can't seem to function or remember stuff. He's been there for me to take care of any minor errands that need to be ran, pick up my graded assignments at the college from my professors, etc. He's doing all of this on top of him working RIDICULOUS hours this month. Needless to say, it's been a week, and I'm still sick. BLAH!

So that's wedding stress number 1! I still haven't been able to search for a florist.

Here's number 2. We received our invitations through the mail a couple of days ago, and already there was a problem on the invitation. Our names weren't in the font size like we wanted in the sample. They were printed real skimpy at the top of the invitation, and that was not what we wanted. I was disappointed because the way our names would be written was one of the reasons I thought this invitation was so unique (along with the design of it of course). It wasn't the invitation lady's fault. She wrote everything to the tee of how we wanted everything printed (font, size, and position wise). I even looked over the proof before she sent it off, and all of it was correct. I believe it was a vendor error. I went ahead and emailed the sweet invitation lady, and she's going to contact the vendor to see what we can do. It's just that what was presented to us in the sample turned out not to be the same when we got our invitation. I know some people think I'm crazy, but I'm a perfectionist. Even a silly little font size has to be perfect. It's all about the details for me. Everything else about the invitations are fine. In the R.S.V.P. cards, the vendor printed the word R.S.V.P in the correct font size that our names on the invitation were supposed to be printed. For some reason, the vendor didn't do our names that way. I don't get it. But, it's hopefully going to get taken cared of.

Well, that's about it. I'll update on any new wedding information that comes about. Hopefully the next post will be a better one.

*Just for fun* "You know you're a Cop/Teacher If....

I'd thought I'd share this to give everyone a little insight into both Tyson and my jobs. They are SO true and SO very funny for the both of us. We couldn't stop laughing it was so true. So sit back and enjoy........Here are lists of things that explain how you know you're a cop and teacher. The teacher is first, then the cop. I've decided to add in a little commentary.

HOW DO YOU KNOW YOU ARE A TEACHER?
1. You can hear 25 voices behind you and know exactly which one belongs to the child out of line. (YEP!)

2. You get a secret thrill out of laminating something. (HA HA! I DO. I EVEN HAVE MY OWN LAMINATOR!)

3. You walk into a store and hear the words "It's Ms/Mr._________" and know you have been spotted. (Yep! The mall and grocery store is where I get spotted.)

4. You have 25 people that accidentally call you mom/dad at one time or another. (Once this has happened)

5. You can eat a multi-course meal in under twenty-five minutes. (You're constantly go, go, go)

6. You've trained yourself to go to the bathroom at two distinct times ofthe day: lunch and conference period. (HA HA...YEP!)

7. You start saving other people's trash, because most likely, you usethat toilet paper tube or plastic butter tub for something in the classroom. (OH MY GOD! SO TRUE!!!)

8. You believe the teachers' lounge should be equipped with a margarita machine. (Amen!)

9. You want to slap the next person who says "Must be nice to work 7:15to 3:15 and have summers off." (YES! I DO!)

10. You believe chocolate is a food group.

11. You can tell if it's a full moon without ever looking outside. (YESSSS!!!!)

12. You believe that unspeakable evils will befall you if anyone says"Boy, the kids sure are mellow today." (Isn't that the truth!)

13. You feel the urge to talk to strange children and correct their behavior when you are out in public. (HA! HA! Alllllllll the time!)

14. You believe in aerial spraying of Ritalin. (Agreed!)

15. You think caffeine should be available in intravenous form. (Ugh! YES!)

16. You spend more money on school stuff than you do on yourown children. (I spend too much money on school stuff PERIOD!)

17. You can't pass the school supply aisle without getting at least one thing! (DUH!)

18. You ask your friends if the left hand turn he just made was a "good choice or a bad choice." (HA! HA! I've slipped a few times.)

19. You find true beauty in a can full of perfectly sharpened pencils. (Or any pencils at all!)

20. You are secretly addicted to hand sanitizer. (Geting there)

21. You understand instantaneously why a child behaves a certain way after meeting his or her parents. (HA HA HA HA HA!!!!!!!! I always say in my head, "NO WONDER!" after I meet the parent(s) of a particular child.)

YOU KNOW YOU'RE A COP IF:
1. You have the bladder capacity of five people

2. You have ever restrained someone and it was not a sexual experience (So true!)

3. You believe that 50% of people are a waste of good air (He says it all the time)

4. Your idea of a good time is a "man with a gun" call (YEP! After my ride along and seeing a few videos, Tyson and his cop buddies go crazy any time they get a call like this.)

5. You conduct a criminal record check on anyone who seems friendly towards you (YEP!)

6. You believe in the aerial spraying of Prozac and birth control pills (Again, he says this all of the time)

7. You disbelieve 90% of what you hear and 75% of what you see (HA HA!! Tysons' always skeptical!)

8. You have your weekends off planned for a year (To an extent)

9. You believe the government should require a permit to reproduce

10. You refer to your favorite restaurant by the intersection at which it's located (He talks to me about where things are located by intersection)

11. You have ever wanted to hold a seminar entitled: "Suicide... getting it right the first time (ha ha! RIGHT!)

12. You ever had to put the phone on hold before you begin laughing uncontrollably (HECK! I laugh uncontrollably after hearing the crazy stories from work the night before)

13. You think caffeine should be available in IV form (He's always working and working so late!)

14. You believe anyone who says, "I only had two beers" is going to blow more than a .O8 on the Breathalyzer (Yes people!!! Don't just say you had 2 beers because you and that cop both know that's a lie!)

15. You find out a lot about paranoia just by following people around (YES!!!!!! Again, Tysons' always skeptical.)

16. Anyone has ever said to you: "There are people killing other people out there and you are here messing with me." (He HATES comments like this)

17. People flag you down on the street and ask you directions to strange places... and you know where they're located (He knows where EVERYTHING practically is.)

18. You can discuss where you are going to eat with your partner while standing over a dead body (Gross, but it's true)

19. You are the only person introduced at social gatherings by profession (UGH! Tyson hates this)

20. You walk into places and people think it's high comedy to grab their buddy and shout, "They've come to get you, Bill." (Again....Tyson hates this)

21. You do not see daylight from November until May (To a certain extent..... true!)

22. People shout, "I didn't do it!" when you walk into a room and think they're being hugely funny and original (Another one of those things Tyson hates)

23. A week's worth of laundry consists of 5 T-shirts, 5 pairs of socks,and 5 pairs of underwear (Yes! I'm always washing darks which usually consists of his work socks, shirts, etc. I'm starting to think he lives in those clothes.)
24. You've ever referred to Tuesday as "my weekend", or "this is my Friday." (YEP! It always throws me off)

25. You've ever written off guns and ammunition as a business deduction (HA! HA! Every year!)

26. You believe that unspeakable evils will befall you if anyone says, "Boy, it sure is quiet tonight." (Just like me!)

27. Discussing dismemberment over a meal seems perfectly normal to you (Yeah. You should hear some of the conversations)
28. You find humor in other people's stupidity (YES!!!! And I love hearing stories!)

29. You have left more meals on the restaurant table than you've eaten (Sad, but true)

30. You feel good when you hear "these handcuffs are too tight." (YEP! Serves them right!)

Snow In Texas!

Tonight................IT SNOWED! And yes! In TEXAS!!!! I don't know about anywhere else, but we were sure getting some snow here in Houston. It was so neat! The snow actually stuck. Usually, it just melts. Tyson and I at a little sushi for dinner, and then we played out in the snow. I was so giddy and excited. It was like I was a kid again! Just ask Tyson! Ha Ha! I was the crazy person running around the street screaming, "Snow! Snow!" with the other kids. I'm not joking. For those that know me and my personality, then I bet you can just picture me running around with excitement. Tyson was excited, but he kept it pretty contained. Ha! Ha!

Anyways, we had so much fun. I took pictures for everyone to see. I did record a video of the snow and us messing around in it, but my fingers slipped on the camera, and it got deleted on accident. I'm very sad. :( It was a great video too. :(

The link for the pictures of us and the snow are below. Enjoy!

http://picasaweb.google.com/reannins/SnowInTexas#