Yay! We finally have our wedding reception venue straightened out. Y'all, I searched FOREVER to find a venue that could accommodate our ginormous families and all of our friends and that wouldn't make us pay an arm and a leg and our firstborn for catering. Once we realized what was available and what things were going to cost (first- and secondborn.. is that even a word?), that search morphed into finding somewhere that was both large enough and wouldn't make us use their caterer. Maybe I'll post about all our venue fails and why they wouldn't work for us?
At any rate, Bear's mom went and signed the contract last night, so it is officially ours! Our wedding is going to be in Fenton, MI, and provided that I get my arse in gear and finalize things with the church, the church and the reception hall are basically right around the corner from each other. The reception space is an activity center owned by a Catholic church.. I think its official name is St. John the Evangelist Parish Activity Center. We are definitely not Catholic (much to my father's chagrin), and we're getting married at a Methodist church. Personally I think this is kind of funny. Now, the Methodist church where we're having the ceremony is also quite large and has a space which could accommodate a group of our size. However, those damned (ha, church joke) Protestants are such teetotalers. The church had a lot more rules about how their activity center could be used; for example, no alcohol on the property. Now, Bear and I aren't really the type to get our underpants in a twist over no liquor. He doesn't drink at all and since I became a card-carrying member of Real Life, I drink rarely/socially and regardless, definitely wouldn't be aiming to spend my reception intoxicated. I'd kind of like to remember it. However, we have many friends and family members who would be less than thrilled about a wedding reception sans booze, maybe even a few who would bring in contraband or perhaps spend the night drinking in the parking lot. Classy class. So, long story short, we decided that our particular reception would not be dry because we want everyone to have a good time. Plus, I think dry receptions could potentially get a bit awkward. At any rate, the Methodists were out, save for the whole marriage thing. We'll let 'em do that part.
So, after searching high and low and yonder, I finally found a phone number for the guy I needed to contact at St. John's. I knew about the existence of this place through word of mouth (my lovely photographer's mouth, to be precise), and luckily indeed. They do rent the space out for a quite reasonable figure with limited rules, but they don't advertise it because they don't want to necessarily be overrun with weddings. Makes sense, I suppose. As for the booze, the man told me that he wouldn't come if we didn't have alcohol. So, not only do they allow it, but they suggest it.. for the party's sake, of course. Good old Catholics. I felt very at ease talking to him. I seriously almost cried happy tears when I got off the phone with him since the venue search had been so grueling. Now that we have a contract, I feel so relieved! I am going to go over the details with my future mother-in-law when we get back to MI. Incidentally, that won't be until Saturday evening or sometime on Sunday, since we decided not to leave tonight for the sake of my sanity. Last night Lush bath > packing, so we have all night to pack/prepare and then tomorrow also for as long as we need. Gonna get back to this teaching thing for a bit now.. I never understood for a moment how much more teachers look forward to school holidays/breaks than students do. I am so happy today =)
Friday, March 11, 2011
Thursday, March 10, 2011
A Lush kind of day
Today is one of those days in which my impending wedding is bringing me more stress than joyful anticipation. All the details, all the minutiae that we need to accomplish, seem insurmountable today. I've had a crappy day at school. I really don't want to get into specifics, because frankly they're exhausting, but suffice it to say that I am extremely stressed out. It's not just my job; I need to do laundry, clean up the apartment, come up with a plan for tomorrow's lessons, and pack without forgetting anythiing important, so that we can leave to head back to MI tomorrow. Don't get me wrong, I'm ecstatic that spring break is here. That's the thing, though-- it's not here yet. Not quite. That's the hard part. I have what seems like mountains of things to accomplish between now and the actual beginning of spring break, and I only have this evening to do them. I don't deal with stress that well. I need time by myself to chill myself out. That's just about impossible during the school day, so I never have a chance to bring my stress levels down to an acceptable range. What I would really like to do right now is take a long, hot bath using some of my Lush stockpile. I have a feeling I'm going to be spending a small fortune on Lush as we get close to the wedding. I might have to kick everyone out of my fancy room the night before the wedding and spend an hour or three in my gigantic, heart-shaped jacuzzi (*snicker* It really has one. No joke. I booked the honeymoon suite over the regular jacuzzi suite, not because I found the idea romantic, but because I found it amusing.).
Public Service Announcement: If you haven't tried Lush, DO IT. I refused to jump on the bandwagon, but my dear friend Ms. Hoffmeister (not her name, but close enough. Also, we teachers tend to use each other's teacher names.) dragged me in the Lush store at the mall one too many times and we all know I have limited reserves of self-control and I decided I would give it a shot. It's a slippery slope, my friends. I heart Lush. It smells amazing, it's super relaxing, it's all-natural, and it smells pretty. On the downside, it's expensive. I think, however, that my stressful job justifies buying large quantities. That would be my argument if Bear ever found out how much it cost. For now he's in the dark though!
My favorites:
-Melting Marshmallow Moment Bath Melt (for the record, I hate all these silly names. I call this one "the pink one"... also, this one smells exactly like circus peanuts), $7.95
Public Service Announcement: If you haven't tried Lush, DO IT. I refused to jump on the bandwagon, but my dear friend Ms. Hoffmeister (not her name, but close enough. Also, we teachers tend to use each other's teacher names.) dragged me in the Lush store at the mall one too many times and we all know I have limited reserves of self-control and I decided I would give it a shot. It's a slippery slope, my friends. I heart Lush. It smells amazing, it's super relaxing, it's all-natural, and it smells pretty. On the downside, it's expensive. I think, however, that my stressful job justifies buying large quantities. That would be my argument if Bear ever found out how much it cost. For now he's in the dark though!
My favorites:
-Melting Marshmallow Moment Bath Melt (for the record, I hate all these silly names. I call this one "the pink one"... also, this one smells exactly like circus peanuts), $7.95
I feel better just having written about Lush. Its effects are further reaching than previously thought. Must document.
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
T-4... months, that is
Today is the four-month mark. Damn. Everything seemed easy when this shindig was a year away-- "Oh, we're getting married next summer, we have plenty of time to figure out x, y, z, etc.. totally not worried." Umm, yeah. Maybe I'm not worried, but I'm a leetle bit freaked the hell out. Not because I'm getting married, of course, but because this is a huge event and it's pretty much all DIY.. er, DIO-- Do It Ourselves? Basically, we need to work our tushies off or we're going to have big problems; namely, 300 people who are annoyed they came to our bust of a wedding. I think we have everything under control, but I would feel better about the situation if I didn't have a more-than-full-time job to deal with during the week. Question: Why can't someone pay me to plan my own wedding? Answer: Because NOBODY cares as much as I do. Anyone care to venture a guess as to how many times Bear has said that to me? I don't have an answer for you, other than "a lot". He hasn't said that to me in a while, though, so maybe his training is working. We used to have these little tiffs about wedding planning where the details that mattered to him MATTERED, GODDAMNIT! (my inflection, not his), but the details that mattered to me were silly/petty/lame, etc. I think we've reached a mutual understanding. He finally realized that I was fully and completely aware that the details really don't matter to anyone else except me, but because they are important to me, they matter. That's some circular logic right there, folks, but it's the truth.
Our number one priority for our wedding is that it's going to be FUN. We both hate stuffy, fancy-schmancy events. We basically want a big party with all of our friends and family, and so far, we seem to be realizing that dream. Our ceremony is pretty traditional, nothing out of the ordinary, and that's okay. The thought of getting up in front of 300 people and getting married is terrifying enough as it is, without having to worry about whether the acrobats know their cues or the dancing bears are going to scare the kiddos in attendance. In all seriousness though, traditional is okay for us here. Our reception, on the other hand, is just going to be a combinations of a bunch of fun things we like. We like BBQ, so we're having BBQ. Most of our decisions were made that straightforwardly. Most of our friends are pretty excited about the details once we tell them, and I must say, I'm getting pretty excited.
Our number one priority for our wedding is that it's going to be FUN. We both hate stuffy, fancy-schmancy events. We basically want a big party with all of our friends and family, and so far, we seem to be realizing that dream. Our ceremony is pretty traditional, nothing out of the ordinary, and that's okay. The thought of getting up in front of 300 people and getting married is terrifying enough as it is, without having to worry about whether the acrobats know their cues or the dancing bears are going to scare the kiddos in attendance. In all seriousness though, traditional is okay for us here. Our reception, on the other hand, is just going to be a combinations of a bunch of fun things we like. We like BBQ, so we're having BBQ. Most of our decisions were made that straightforwardly. Most of our friends are pretty excited about the details once we tell them, and I must say, I'm getting pretty excited.
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
I'm back. Again.
The bad blogger returns. I really don't want to go back and read my last few entries, which were written something like 84 years ago, but I know the gist of what I'd written said something along the lines of "I'm so sorry for my lengthy hiatus! I'll never ever ever do it again! Promise! Cross my heart and hope to die!" I think I also said that I had no intention of disappearing again. Well, that much is true. I didn't have any intention of disappearing again. However, I think we all know that life gets in the way. When I last blogged, my college graduation was rapidly approaching and I was gushing about that and my recent acceptance into Teach for America. I wanted to continue, and blog about the whole experience. At this point, I am seven months-ish into a nine months-ish school year, and it has been hellish. Because the internet is a permanent, public forum, I don't want to say anything that I might regret later, nor do I want to say anything that could be taken out of context.
Here is what I will tell you: I moved to Kansas City. It's ok. I miss Michigan. I work for the public school district. They are plagued by a multitude of problems. Most school districts (especially urban school districts in which Teach for America places corps members) are plagued by a multitude of problems. KCMSD closed half of their schools between this year and last. My school saw growth from about 500 students as a successful early college program to some 1800 students on our first day in August, as an early college program plus comprehensive high school plus a we-don't-know-where-to-put-you-so-we're-sending-you-here school. Since then, numbers are down and things here have gotten somewhat better. However, we had a catastrophic fire that destroyed one of our teacher workrooms and led to an early dismissal a few weeks back, and our third principal so far this academic year has just announced that he, too, will be quitting. He has been gracious enough to agree to stay until the end of the year, for which I am simultaneously grateful and disgusted.
Teaching is hard. I think the first year is hard anywhere, but it has been more difficult than I ever dreamt possible. The reality of the situation is this: Most of my kids are awesome. Really, honestly, truthfully. Some are not. That's hard. Most of the adults that are teachers, staff members, district staff members, and even parents are awesome and care more than anything about student achievement. Some do not. I think that this is probably the case in every school and school district in the country. Long story short, it's exhausting. In some ways, I understand that this is what I signed up for when I joined TFA, but at the same time I can't help but feel like this is NOT what I signed up for. It's probably some of both. I haven't blogged, haven't talked about what my life is like right now because I'm exhausted. Doing this all day is exhausting. Trying to remember the successes and awesome things that happen is hard when so many shitty things happen. Most of what I feel the need to vent about are the shitty things, but my blog has not been the appropriate forum for that. I don't want the world (or all two of you, who am I kidding?) to read my blog and draw terrible conclusions about Kansas City, the school district, my school, and my kids. That's not fair. There is still much good mixed in with the bad. I just don't feel right now that I can do justice to the good because some of the bad is so sensational, nor do I feel like I can sugarcoat everything and leave out the bad. So, for now, I am going to mostly refrain from talking about teaching.
Teaching is a huge time suck, obviously, so my free time is limited. In my limited free time, I am trying to plan my wedding (What's that? Oh, yep. I'm getting married. Go me.). Wedding planning is my saving grace right now. I love it. Truthfully, I am scheming about getting into the wedding-industry post-TFA. Getting paid to plan and style other people's weddings? Yes, please! We'll see. At any rate, I lurve wedding DIY. We're still a ways off, as we're doin' the damn thing in July and it's just now March, but I'm trying to plod along and not leave everything until June. We (and when I say "we" I mostly mean me but Charlie-Bear* did help whenever I asked, bless his heart) just finished our save the dates last night and sent them out into the world today, and I capital-L-O-V-E the way they turned out. If I don't get at least a few phone calls/texts/facebook messages about how much my recipients capital-L-O-V-E them, I might be pissed. But only a little, since I love them and that's all that matters, right? Right.
Anyway, folks, hope you're ready for a lot of wedding talk, because I like wedding talk, and it's my blog :)
*Charles would probably not be very happy if he knew what I was calling him on the internet.
Here is what I will tell you: I moved to Kansas City. It's ok. I miss Michigan. I work for the public school district. They are plagued by a multitude of problems. Most school districts (especially urban school districts in which Teach for America places corps members) are plagued by a multitude of problems. KCMSD closed half of their schools between this year and last. My school saw growth from about 500 students as a successful early college program to some 1800 students on our first day in August, as an early college program plus comprehensive high school plus a we-don't-know-where-to-put-you-so-we're-sending-you-here school. Since then, numbers are down and things here have gotten somewhat better. However, we had a catastrophic fire that destroyed one of our teacher workrooms and led to an early dismissal a few weeks back, and our third principal so far this academic year has just announced that he, too, will be quitting. He has been gracious enough to agree to stay until the end of the year, for which I am simultaneously grateful and disgusted.
Teaching is hard. I think the first year is hard anywhere, but it has been more difficult than I ever dreamt possible. The reality of the situation is this: Most of my kids are awesome. Really, honestly, truthfully. Some are not. That's hard. Most of the adults that are teachers, staff members, district staff members, and even parents are awesome and care more than anything about student achievement. Some do not. I think that this is probably the case in every school and school district in the country. Long story short, it's exhausting. In some ways, I understand that this is what I signed up for when I joined TFA, but at the same time I can't help but feel like this is NOT what I signed up for. It's probably some of both. I haven't blogged, haven't talked about what my life is like right now because I'm exhausted. Doing this all day is exhausting. Trying to remember the successes and awesome things that happen is hard when so many shitty things happen. Most of what I feel the need to vent about are the shitty things, but my blog has not been the appropriate forum for that. I don't want the world (or all two of you, who am I kidding?) to read my blog and draw terrible conclusions about Kansas City, the school district, my school, and my kids. That's not fair. There is still much good mixed in with the bad. I just don't feel right now that I can do justice to the good because some of the bad is so sensational, nor do I feel like I can sugarcoat everything and leave out the bad. So, for now, I am going to mostly refrain from talking about teaching.
Teaching is a huge time suck, obviously, so my free time is limited. In my limited free time, I am trying to plan my wedding (What's that? Oh, yep. I'm getting married. Go me.). Wedding planning is my saving grace right now. I love it. Truthfully, I am scheming about getting into the wedding-industry post-TFA. Getting paid to plan and style other people's weddings? Yes, please! We'll see. At any rate, I lurve wedding DIY. We're still a ways off, as we're doin' the damn thing in July and it's just now March, but I'm trying to plod along and not leave everything until June. We (and when I say "we" I mostly mean me but Charlie-Bear* did help whenever I asked, bless his heart) just finished our save the dates last night and sent them out into the world today, and I capital-L-O-V-E the way they turned out. If I don't get at least a few phone calls/texts/facebook messages about how much my recipients capital-L-O-V-E them, I might be pissed. But only a little, since I love them and that's all that matters, right? Right.
Anyway, folks, hope you're ready for a lot of wedding talk, because I like wedding talk, and it's my blog :)
*Charles would probably not be very happy if he knew what I was calling him on the internet.
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