2/2

Earlier this month, I shared about my desire to {reclaim my weekends}.

Working all the time doesn't make me a better teacher. It drains me.  It doesn't make me a good wife, a good partner, a good (pet) mom, or a good friend.  

There needs to be balance and this is something I've struggled with for most of my career. 

I'm getting better at this balance.

I left work at 4:15 on Friday.  I stayed after to quickly grade their math quizzes, prep Monday's smart notebook, and run copies for language.  More importantly, I was having dinner with a friend and couldn't arrive too early, so I kept myself busy with some small tasks.

Friday night we went to the craft store to get stuff for her daughter's upcoming baby shower. I'm making a scrapbook and wanted her input on the album.  We stopped by Target for some very exciting items (batteries, carpet cleaner, and command hanging strips) before stopping by Panera.

She just completed her second week of teaching and needed to process the events.  She's subbed for me before, she completed her student teaching, but now she's in the classroom full time.  It's an adjustment and there are lots of growing pains when starting at a new school with a new team.

We had a nice long dinner and it was nice to catch up.  The rest of Friday night included going to bed early because teaching is hard.  I did come home to these:

Saturday brought about sleeping in and then attending a friend's bridal shower.  

We met up with friends for dinner and then played games at the house afterward.  I clearly made great choices at dinner:

My hubby did very well at picking out a birthday cake:

Sunday meant more sleeping in, lunch with family to celebrate birthdays (his mom and I are two days apart), a Target run, a nap, a bubble bath, decorating for fall, and talking with my momma on the phone.

I did manage to squeeze in a little school work this weekend.  I cut out photo booth props (shout out to Teach Create Motivate and her cute {freebies}), graded one of their beginning of the year math probes, and finished grading their diagnostic Words Their Way spelling inventory.  In total, this all took maybe an hour out of my weekend.  

I'm ending Sunday night with reading, touching up my pedicure, and heading to bed before 9 pm.  I'm walking into Monday with lesson plans done (for Monday), materials prepped, and no meetings.  I'll spend before school and prep getting ready for the rest of the week.  I have happy hour plans with friends after work (because it's my birthday) and plans lined up for next weekend.

 

A wonderful wedding!

Day 8 of April's photography challenge focused on hobbies.

I like event planning. I like hearing about other's plans for their weddings and acting as a sounding board.

My dear friend, Ms. S, got married yesterday.  I hosted her work bridal shower, went to her friends/family bridal shower, and of course went to her wedding.

Her work bridal shower:

Full disclosure: I do not make the cakes, I simply enjoy eating a slice.  

My tasks are decorating (which usually involves wandering around my home and bringing things in), buying supplies (cutlery, drinks, table cloths, etc), and running the event.  I'm fortunate enough to have awesome coworkers who take pictures, slice up the cake, and make lists for thank you cards (if I'm unable to).  

She had a wonderful time, felt loved, and even brought donuts the next day.  However, I somehow missed the memo and didn't get a donut (boo!).

Her wedding:

We arrived a little early and found seats on her side.  We were served champagne before the ceremony which was an awesome touch.  

(I was sad when the champagne was gone.)

They had a small, intimate wedding party.  Her brother was a bridesman and her sister served as a stunning MOH:

(That dress! I want to just wear it somewhere fancy.)

Her dad walked her down the aisle and I immediately began the first of many "pretty crying" moments.

The ceremony was playful and romantic.  They both teared up during their vows, which made me cry.

While they went off to take pictures, we enjoyed cocktail hour with signature cocktails and passed buffalo chicken won tons.

 (Gorgeous flowers)

(We found our table numbers based on our champagne glasses.  We were at table ten. We had a very good time.)

(They enlarged one of their engagement pictures to serve as the guest book.  We all signed in the white space around them.  Now they have a gorgeous piece of art to hang on their wall and remind them of their wedding day.)

(Not to worry, I enjoyed several of the signature cocktails throughout the night!)

(We found the bride and groom during cocktail hour!)

(Gorgeous table decor.  It's hard to tell from the picture, but the poker chips were personalized with their faces and their wedding date.  What a fun, whimsical touch!)

(Their delicious wedding cake that told the story of their relationship.)

(Their head table, right off the dance floor.)

They had a caricature artist on site, which was a super fun unique touch and made for some awesome favors.

There was an open bar, delicious food, and a photo booth.  The couple had a wonderful time and we definitely danced, a lot.

(We each got a piece, so we got to sample both flavors!)

(Table ten was full of shenangians.)

(Group selfie! Janel, the bride, and the MOH)

Back to our photography challenge...I stated that my hobbies include celebrating others, drinking, and taking selfies with others.  Needless to say, mission accomplished!

Field Trips & February

I didn't do so great with my whole finish a book a month goal...

To be fair, a lot of events {occurred in January}, so I can't be too upset.

I'm currently dealing with a sinus infection.  They've lessened with frequency post {surgery}, but are still quite unbearable.  I get another new student today (that makes 37 in case anyone was keeping track) and we have an outdoor field trip...with a wind advisory.  Clogged nasal passages meant I woke up at four having trouble breathing (despite medication and a humidifier), so it's been an incredibly productive day before seven am.  I scheduled our tax appointment, took out the trash, tweeted my senators about blocking DeVos's nomination for Secretary of Education, graded, and read two chapters of my novel (ya know, the one I was supposed to finish in January).

We also got our Donor's Choose project funded! We've got another one collecting funds on another one entitled {I am Not the Enemy}.  This one requests books on the Holocaust, Jewish and Muslim faith, non-violent resistance, and Native American Indians. Subtle, right?  I'm not ashamed of providing my students with information about the world. They shouldn't be scared of their neighbors. They shouldn't be ashamed of their backgrounds.

I've been asked if I fear a censorship letter from the government.  Quite frankly, it'd be an honor to receive such a letter.  To be viewed as a threat for spreading truth.  I'd be right up there with the scientists, the media, and the National Parks Service.  #goals

Looking ahead to February...

We've already celebrated a 30th birthday party, hosted a Super Bowl gathering, and enjoyed a Netflix marathon. I also attended a friend's bridal shower and went #blackout for a stand against DeVos.

Also up on the docket for this month:

1) We have three field trips.  Today's is the Springs Preserve, we're going to the middle school for a tour, and my class won a bonus trip to the Smith Center at the end of the month for a play.

2) We're celebrating our four year anniversary with buying a mattress and getting our taxes done. Hooray for romance and adulting.

3) Our bathroom cabinet remodel will be almost done. I'm staining our new built ins myself to save on cost (and because I want them to perfectly match the other cabinets).

4) Finalizing the details of a baby shower.  Unfortunately, the bridal shower I was planning is no longer happening because the couple split.  I don't know the details but I wish them both the best.  I don't have the receipts for the items purchased, but luckily another friend is hosting a baby girl baby shower in the upcoming months and is willing to buy some of the items off of me at cost.

5) Hosting a bridal shower for a co-worker (and his soon to be wife) on Friday.  I've got help for this one and hopefully enough supplies. I'll find out Thursday night when I set up!

6) Finishing The Hammer of Thor, creating the TpT products, and starting the next novel for Battle of the Books.

In the mean time, feel free to visit {my store} and enjoy some discounts with the flash sale!

Muggle to Mrs

Every time I begin this post, I falter.  I am humbled and in awe of the outpouring of love I received from my friends and family.

In short, I had the perfect bridal shower.

Let's take a peek:

The Heart Wreath

 
I made this for a fellow bride's shower and kept it for my own.  This beauty was on the front door to alert guests that they'd arrived.  

The heart frame and burlap are from Joann's.  The veil is from Hobby Lobby and attached with safety pins.  Coupons were used for all parts of the craft project. 

Decor

Marlene knows my love for Harry Potter and made me this sign for the shower.  I'm 99% sure my bachelorette party will include the Wizarding World of Harry Potter (in California), so this is perfect.
 

Leah, one of my bridesmaids, had a graphic designer friend make these labels (more shown later).  She had guests write their replies on cute tags, which she's then using in my bridal shower scrapbook. I'm super excited to see what she creates!

This is one of the S signs that I painted for our gallery wall.  We also incorporated it into round 2 of our engagement pictures (read about that store {here}). I should be getting those pictures back any day now!

I originally made this soon to be sign for our engagement shower (which was nearly a year ago) and this was the perfect opportunity to reuse it!  The banner is from Target and I added the letters myself (printed them, cut them out, and glued them on).  The font is swagger and available at dafont.com.

Of all the wedding related things, B is very, very adamant about there being absolutely no mason jars at our November wedding.

Is this a strange thing to be so passionate about?

Yes, of course it is.  But it's also his day and I respect his wishes, however strange they may be.

However, that meant I could use them at my shower and he didn't get a say.  My bridesmaids and I used some mason jars that I had laying around the house (because that's what happens when you're a crafty teacher) and used chevron burlap and lace to tie on bows (not pictured).  

My maids picked up flowers and decorated the tables with flowers (and chocolate candies).

A & B Sign

Much like the mason jars, he's very against an abundant amount of polka dots and glitter at the wedding.  Granted, there will be some (because it's my day too!), but this was the perfect opportunity to get to decorate how I wanted.

The letters were from the craft store and already painted white.  Using tacky glue, glitter, and the end of an eraser,

I created perfect polka dots. 
 
Champagne Tower

I randomly found pink plastic champagne flutes in my party supply tub so it was the perfect opportunity to spoil my bridesmaids (the ones who could be there).

Yes, we had too many champagne flutes but now I have some for the next party we host!

Best Wishes

Leah surprised me with these low key activities.  Guests wrote us well wishes and they'll be in our scrapbook.

Food

There was a lot of it and apparently we were too busy eating to snap pictures.  But the set up was cute! (Plates and tins from Target, burlap polka dot runner from Hobby Lobby.)
 
Gifts

While she couldn't be there in person, my bestie found the most perfect gift.  It's a ring bearer box that is a stack of letters from Hogwarts.  I'm choking back tears (above).

She also sent a necklace for me to use as my something borrowed and something blue.

I was incredibly spoiled by my friends and family.  Thank you all!

({Card box} was made for our wedding, but this seemed like a great opportunity to use it again!)


Games

In addition to the don't say ring game (below), I found these bridal themed scratchers at Target.  They came in packs of 20 with 4 cards being the winners.  I don't love gambling, but B and his family do so it was a cute nod to them.  Plus, it's Vegas!

Prizes

One of my bridesmaids, Kyla, put together these adorable gift bags as prizes.  Inside were homemade sugar scrubs, scented with her favorite DoTerra essential oils.  I even snagged one and love it!

Kiss the Miss Goodbye

I did this for a (former) friend and it went over quite well, so it was a must have at my own shower.  While not every guest "signed" it, we did use lip sample wands and cheap lipstick to avoid cooties.  We got an 8x10 picture frame with a large mat and tada! I'll frame a picture from the bridal shower to complete the project.

What wasn't shown?  Elsa, one of our flower girls, was helping everyone put on their lipstick.  It was precious.

Love is Sweet

What would a party be without favors?  Mini Twix bars were stuffed inside these burlap bags.  Fortunately (or unfortunately), not everyone took one, so I have left overs!  I printed the "love is sweet please take a treat" sign and framed it, but then found this premade one for a few dollars at TJ Maxx.  It totally fit our rustic/lace/vintage theme!

Surprises...

Olivia married her lovely hubby a few months ago.  It was a beautiful ceremony and I caught part of the bouquet (it came apart during the toss).  So, I sneakily crafted it into a shatter-proof ornament and gave it to her at the shower (because I hadn't seen her since her own wedding).

Tears were shed.  It was a happy moment.  Nothing but love between gal pals. 

(I used a shatter proof Christmas ornament for the leaves.  I also added a decorative metal wire that said "love" in cursive as well as scrabble tiles with their initials and wedding date.  While the cost of the materials was low, the gift was treasured and that's what matters.)

Of course, none of this would be possible without my loving friends and family.

Marlene, our officiant and one of my closest friends.  She's been insanely patient with me as I avoid writing my vows and procrastinating on the music selection.  She is also the mastermind behind my magical Muggle to Mrs sign.

Leah, bridesmaid and brother's girlfriend.  Not only did she come up from Arizona, but she took hundreds of pictures and is turning them into a scrapbook. 

Katie (left) and Kendall are two more of my bridesmaids.  Their impeccable taste and attention to detail brought all of my shower dreams into life.  More importantly, they nerd out with me about Harry Potter on a fairly regular basis.  I adore them both.  Elsa is also pictured and she's one of our two flower girls.

Elsa was sure to let everyone know that she's the flower girl and I'm a princess.  She did express her disappointment at not being able to meet (and practice with) Ravyn, the other flower girl.  I think she's more excited than I am! 

My mom came up for the shower and has been instrumental every step of the way.  I love you mom!

My future mom opened her home to host the shower.  She's a generous, loving, and kind woman. I'm blessed to be marrying into her family.

My second mom (my bestie's mom) drove up from Arizona for the shower.  This family has been my second home for years (decades?).  I appreciate them all!


Up next in terms of wedding planning?

1) Getting our marriage license sometime towards the end of September.  I'm fairly certain they're good for sixty days, but I need to double check.  I've heard filling out all the registration information online severely cuts down on wait time at the city offices.  I did have to clarify with B that he had to be there too.

2) Cake tasting!  This is on September's checklist as well.

3) Invites.  We're waiting for pictures back (any day now!) and have already designed the invitations, so it's simply a matter of ordering them (and stamps), then assembling and mailing.  I'm not stressed yet because we sent out save the dates and are asking for replies by October 1st, so there's still time.  

4) My next dress fitting is in the middle of September.  I also have to find a tailor who can alter the hem on my MOH's dress in 24 hours since her dress is here and she is on the East Coast.

5) Attend my work bridal shower (October?).

6) Bachelorette party! (October?!)

7) Finalize hotel rooms, flowers, and food.

84 days!