Tag!

Renn tagged me in a survey! And I have nothing else to blog about because my day has not been that interesting. 

1. What is your favorite way to spend a Saturday.

Sleeping in, not thinking about school, cleaning (ideally), and going out to eat like a normal adult with energy. 

2. Which food do you wish could be calorie-free for all time?

All pasta, and Nutella. There is nothing like eating Nutella after a rough day at school, but when I am eating by the spoonful and its 200 calories a tablespoon, I tend to feel really guilty about eating it ha. 

3. What is your favorite Christmas gift from childhood?

The nutcracker that I got in second grade. I had just watched the ballet, and I was sooo obsessed with it. That was also the Christmas that I discovered that nutcrackers actually crack nuts (I am not sure how I had missed this connection before).

4. If you could be a parent of as many children as you wanted, how many would you have?

19 kids and counting....hahahaha. I think Matt and I will discuss this topic 2 years past our wedding date!

5. Who is your favorite Disney princess?

Sleeping Beauty (Aurora). 

6. What's one of your favorite stories in the Bible and why?

I will never forget learning the story of the house that had been founded upon a rock in Vacation Bible School way back in 1998. My mom and uncle taught my class, and we made houses on rocks out of milk cartons and clay, then tested them. Later on, when I joined Gamma Phi Beta, I learned that it was the official bible verse/story for our sorority! It has a lot of meaning for me. 

7. What is one item you feel you couldn't live without.

I will agree with Renn....my hair straightener! I was such hot mess in high school before I started straightening it. I just feel gross when I cannot straighten it and fix it, and end up putting in a ponytail, which puts me in a gross/miserable mood the rest of the day. I am super pumped that I now own a Chi! It was a Christmas present to me from me this year, and it was BOGO at Ulta so I got a curling iron with it for free!

8. What did you want to be when you grew up and do you think you will ever be that.

On my first day of Kindergarten, I told my mom I wanted to go to Harvard (how did  I know what that was???) to be a Kindergarten teacher just like my teacher, Mrs. Climmer. I am now a first year kindergarten teacher and I love it!

9. What is the worst/most embarrassing CD/Albums you've ever owned and do you still have it?

Aaron Carter, featuring "That's How I Beat Shaq."

10. What would you call yourself if you could choose your own name?

The original name my parents planned for me was Laura, and I always told my mom I liked that name better because I went to school with 6 Holly's ha.

11. What is your favorite item of clothing and why?

My awesome blue Nike shorts. They look awesome with my new Nike Airs, and they are SO comfy after being in  my classroom all day!

First Day Back

Today was my first day back at school. Best quote of the day:

Me: "Think of some words that have the /ks/ sound for x at the end, like fox. Who knows any words that end in x?"

Answers that I head: box, six, fix. Totally expected. Then I got this:

Little Boy: "That bad girl from  Harry Potter Bellatrix Lestrange."



Totally not an answer I was expecting, ha. Apparently his mom reads him the books!

Miss Nelson is Missing

Unfortunately, I have Pneumonia and have been out of school allll week and will not be back until Monday. I am thinking this book needs to be part of my lesson plans so my kids won't be too excited about having a sub, ha. 

In the mean time, I figured since I cannot go to work, I might as well plan my wedding while I sit on the couch and watch TLC and Food Network....or have a Grey's Anatomy marathon on Matthew's Netflix Instant Watch....decisions, decisions!

Here is what I have gotten done so far (This is probably not interesting, but I just need a contained list for my own reasons):

Dress: Picked it out, paid for it, waiting for it to be created. 

Bridesmaid Dresses: Picked out two, need to go try on. 

Bridal Party: Check

Groomsmen: Matthew really needs to figure that one out

Venue for Ceremony and Reception: Check

Flowers: Check

DJ: Still searching

Caterer: Check

Cake: Going for my tasting next week!

Photographer for engagement, bridals, and wedding: Check

Send deposits to photographers: Need to do!

Save the Dates: Planned out once I get our engagement shots done in two weeks!

Invitations: Found someone to do this for me, OR I found a printer if I want to to design my own and have them printed (I have small business software that I purchased on sale for like $20 to make my own invites ha)

Decorations: Need to order and pick out things...was way overwhelmed when I looked

Party Rentals: Found the place, just need to deposit and sign contract!

Minister: Check!

Is there anything on my list I missed? haha. Looks like I will be designing invites and calling places tomorrow and looking at decorations....wooohooo! And maybe I will add to my online registries.

I

Matthew's Birthday

Matthew turned 24 on Friday, so we decided to go out to eat with Mack and Avery. Matthew really wanted to go uptown to eat, but we had NO IDEA it was restaurant week in Charlotte. All of the places that were participating had $30 dinner specials, so of course, there were no openings at any of the places where he wanted to eat. After calling around, we decided to give Chima Brazilian Steakhouse a try. There are only 4 locations in the country, and surprisingly one location is in uptown Charlotte.

Matthew has always wanted to eat there, but I have not because I cannot handle spicy food, and Brazilian just sounds like it should be spicy. Secretly I think Matthew only wanted to eat there because Michael Jordan owns an apartment above it, ha (we did not see him sadly).



The way Chima works is that it is an all-you-can-eat restaurant, but it is nothing like the Golden Corral. There were two levels, and we sat upstairs. The special included some little meatballs and bread at our table, and we had access to the salad bar. I think that I would have been completely happy with just eating at the salad bar. There were  multiple types of lettuce, vegetables, soups,  shrimp, and calamari. I made a salad with mozzarella, tomatoes, asparagus, heats of palm, and artichoke hearts. It was AWESOME.



For the main entree part, there is not a buffet. Instead, you flip over a coin and then servers come around with huge skewers of meat and slice you off a piece. I had sirloin steak and filet mignon, and Matt had a ton of stuff. Everything was really good. I really regretted eating snacks before we went, ha. Now I am begging Matt  to take me back there again!



Funny story: we were kind of cracking up all night because every time you get up out of your seat, someone comes and refolds your napkin. There was also a lady who worked there who just had the job to constantly rearrange the items on the salad bar so it would stay nice. It was very fancy, ha.

While we were there, I ran into some coworkers. My Dean of Students was seated at the table next to me, then I was walking through the bar and recognized a teacher from my grade level. I guess only teachers can afford to eat in uptown during restaurant week, ha.

Speaking of being a poor teacher, here is a donation project I created through DonorsChoose.org to bring a Nook tablet into my classroom. I really want one because my kids can use it, and I can use it to track their academic data. Right now we have limited technology in my classroom/building, and having this would make a huge difference in my classroom. Here is the link:

http://www.donorschoose.org/donors/proposal.html?id=726837

I am not asking someone to buy me a Nook, but little donations of $5-$10 would help me be able to get one to use. The biggest reason that I would like access to one is for my kids that need extra support to learn their letters, sounds, counting, numbers, and begin inning to read. The apps on the Nook allow for kids to work independently while I am still teaching my class. The tablet would be able to correct the kids (the voices on the apps actually read to the kids and make the letter sounds) so that they would be able to get extra support while I am still free to teach. It would also double our classroom library without breaking my bank account, ha. The children's books read the story to the kids, and the books are usually under $5-10. If you can help me or spread the word, I would greatly appreciate it!

Inexpensive Venue Sources

Kellys Korner is hosting a link up about wedding planning, and I feel like this is a PERFECT topic for me to blog about since I am in the middle of planning mine and Matthew's wedding.

When I first started planning out wedding, I knew that I did not want to get married at my church because it has two aisles, and I did not want to pick which aisle to walk up and down and where to sit guests, etc. I also did not want to have our wedding at his church because I would be at home planning a wedding that would be happening about 2 hours from where I lived. I wanted to be closer to vendors so that I could go taste cakes and sample food without driving that far to do so.

I decided that I wanted to find somewhere around Charlotte where I could get married by a lake or outside, and then find a reception hall for our reception. The problem that I ran into is that I am a poor school teacher, and wedding venues cost WAY MORE then I thought they would, especially for a summer wedding when everyone else gets married. I looked at a place that was perfect, then I realized that I had to pay $2000 to rent it for one night, then pay built-in fees for electricity, etc. PLUS I had to rent tables for $9 a table and chairs for $2 each...that is just way too much money for my budget.

Well, I started looking at parks around Charlotte. One of my friends got married at a park in Charlotte through their parks and recreation. I ended up booking a park that has a lake with an arch to get married, then you walk over to the reception hall next to the lake. Tables and chairs are included, and there aren't any additional fees to pay. Once I booked it, it ended up being less than $500 for the ceremony site, tables, chairs, and reception hall. Now I get to have the wedding I always pictured without spending all of my hard-earned money, ha.

Wedding Site

While I was wedding planning, I cam across several other counties near me with similar parks and venues for less. So if you are trying to save money on a venue, check out your local/nearby parks and recreation department!

Wedding Planning Fun

Matthew and I booked our wedding venue...so wedding planning has shifted into high gear.

The day after Christmas, I went with my mom and best friend from elementary school to look at dresses. The place where I really wanted to get my dress from was having a "Day After Christmas" sale. I ended up with the same consultant that my friend Emily had when we had come there in May to get her wedding dress. Emily picked out dress #3, and I also happened to pick out dress #3 with the same consultant.

It was SO packed in the bridal salon with girls who had gotten engaged during the holidays. Every time I came out, I felt like all of these people were staring at me. I was one of three girls trying on a dress, but there were probably 13 people in the little dressing room areas. The other two girls in there had brought a ton of people with them. The bridal consultant told me the girl that she had before me tried on 22 dresses, narrowed it down to 3, then went to eat lunch because she could not pick. While I was checking out after picking out my dress, that girl came back to begin trying on dresses again.....then 2 hours later I came back to try on my dress again to get pictures with a camera....THE SAME GIRL WAS STILL THERE. I felt really bad for my bridal consultant, ha.

When Matt came back from Hendersonville, I forced him to go register for our wedding. I was so excited to go and thought it would be so much fun....WRONG. Trying to look at every item in the store and pick what I would potentially like was kind of difficult. I tried to work the scanner and could not manage it, so Matthew ended up scanning, which made it a lot easier. Matthew scanned $1.69 bamboo skewers as a joke...I really hope someone gets those for him.

Our Wedding Website

Bed, Bath, and Beyond Registry

First Christmas Tree

I made Matthew let me put up a tree and deck his apartment out for Christmas this year since we are engaged, ha. Here are the pictures of our tree:

(PS-I did all of the work while Matthew watched football)

I wanted this pink ornament SO BAD last year. Matthew and I saw it in a store in Hendersonville. I have literally thought about it all year and regretted not buying it. I visited the same store this year, and they had ONE of these left from last year. It was meant to be my ornament haha. 

Yes, that is a peacock ornament. 

That M is not for Matthew...it's for MCMURRAY haha

Matthew and I picked out this ornament together last year...it's my favorite on the whole tree. 

The full tree. There are probably too many ornaments. It is maybe a tad bit gaudy and tacky. Am I going to add wide ribbons and beads tomorrow anyways? Probably. 

Matthew is going to hate me when it's time to take it down. 

Matthew picked out the star on top. We will have to get a new one next year because it already broke. He looped the cord around at the top to make it stay haha.

While we were visiting his parent's house this weekend, I found out a neat story about their tree topper. On their first Christmas as a married couple, they did not have a tree topper. So Mr. McMurray drew a star on paper, and Mrs. McMurray traced it on cardboard, cut it out, and covered it with gold glitter. She then glued a clothespin to the back and used that to pin it to the top of their tree. It has been their tree topper ever since!