And 6 months later...

That's how long its been since I last posted. Those of you that still read my blog are well aware of the fact that I am pregnant. I am now in my 7th month or 30 weeks. I am really feeling the weight. My back aches, my feet ache at the end of the day and I am just really tired. Today I am really grouchy! I just want to lay down and cry. But that's what I want to do many days...nothing out of the ordinary. The tears are unbelievable while being pregnant! I cry all the time...over everything...crazy emotions!

We still have our condo for sale and we may have an offer coming in next week. Someone came by today and loved it!!! Yippee! Her mom would be buying it for her and wants to take a look too and had many questions about the place. Keep those fingers crossed that this is the one! Then the stress is where will we live? An apartment? Buy a house? Live with my parents? Not really excited to be moving so close to my due date, but would love to sell the place!

I'll try not to let 6 months pass before updating again...but in 2 months I'll have a baby in my arms and may neglect the blog once again...

Summer is here...

And boy is it ever hot! Of course, my girl, Peanut loves sitting in the sun. So I try to take her out as much as I can bear.

I am doing homework for the next 3-4 weeks. Have I started on my research papers? NO! I know, I know, get a move on. I have big plans for next week...homework every day!!

I had a very productive end of the year and was able to pack up my entire room before 10 am the day after the kids were finished. Everyone was shocked. I wasn't. That was my goal. The movers came in and started taking all of my stuff out to the storage area. I am really excited to see my new classroom and how decked out in technology it will be.

I had some training last week for a technology program I will be in during the year. I learned how to make a podcast, movies, interactive power points. We are getting some really neat things. Can't wait to try it with my new class...ok, I can wait.

I wish there was more to report...soon...I hope. Stay tuned...

You had to be there...

Saturday morning, Phil and I headed down to Ringling Museum for my cousin's wedding. It was a very lovely garden wedding and with less than 50 people attending. Odd for my family. But it was very nice. Hot, but nice.

After the wedding Phil and I checked in at our hotel and headed to the reception at Ceviche. YUM!!!!! OMG!!!! YUM!!!!!

My aunt and uncle got a room too but, he and the kids came down with the flu so it was just my aunt at the wedding and reception. Well, somehow she talked my other aunts and mom into staying and partying that night with Phil and I. They had no extra clothes, no makeup, nothing.

With a stop at the local goodwill for some sleep clothes and going out clothes, they were finally all set. The stop at goodwill was story enough. Phil was the only male amongst all of us women and we have this ongoing joke that all of my aunts are his "bitches." From my "cougar" aunts to hoochie mama shorts...oh my!

We all changed and took the hotel bus to a local resturant to meet up with my uncle and aunt(whose son got married) for dinner and drinks. The place we went to was a little on the classy side, and our goodwill outfits...haha! Many laughs and stories.

This morning, we all got up and went to breakfast after they had a knock on their door from a neighboring hotel guest at 7am to ask them to quiet down. They were no where near as loud this morning as we were last night!

Just a lot of fun and laughs! Phil was a good sport!

I guess you had to be there!

Here I am!

I've been missing!! I was found under my computer and stack of research papers.

I was taking 2 classes this semester towards my Master's and they were kicking my butt! I barely had time to breathe this semester. But, I have finally finished...this semester that is. I have 4 classes left and will be taking 2 of them this summer.

So, you are probably wondering what else I have been up to. I am enjoying my husband and being married. He has been soo patient with me and my crazy schedule.

I had an intern this semester that was less than par, but from what I hear, he is graduating and has already applied to teach. Kind of disappointing, but it was out of my hands.

Stay with me on this one...My step-dad's mom's boyfriend, but was once married to her sister, so he is technically his uncle...you still with me?...his name is Pete. Well, Pete is/was a wonderful man. He put the floors down and the french doors in my place. He built an addition onto our house when I was a kid. He was a great handyman. He loved his mom like no other man had done before. He was patient, funny, and lived life to it's fullest.

Pete passed away last night, Thursday, April 30. He had a stroke in February and never recovered. They tried everything they could, but he was gone long ago. They tried one last thing and he wasn't responding, so they knew the time had come. The papers were signed and many, many tears were shed as we stood by and watched him pass away. I have never seen death the way I saw it last night, and hope I never have to witness it again. It was all very surreal. We watched the lines on the monitors flatline and the numbers drop. We wept as this man we all cared for slipped away. Prayers were said for a fast journey to heaven, there would be no other place for him that's for sure.

I was more emotional than I thought I would be. But, I think my pain was for Marion, my step-dad's mom. I watched her as she uncontrollably wept holding tightly to his hand. I don't know what I would do if Phil were to suddenly die and I had to stand by and watch him leave me. This is the closest to having a family member pass away I have ever had. I know more will come as it is inevitable. I'm not sure what is worse, watching someone die or not getting to say goodbye to them. Maybe they are equally painful.

Pete and Marion danced the night away at our wedding. I know he is dancing in heaven and is looking forward to dancing with Marion again!

I'm married!

Here I am! What a wonderful day we had for our wedding! The weather was perfect and all of our friends and family were there to help share in our day. Here's a few pitcures from our day.

Here we are listening to Lorrie talk about the meaning marriage. She did a wonderful job marrying us. We were her first ceremony and you would have never guessed! Phil did have tears in his eyes when I came down the aisle. It was so sweet. I smiled the entire time and teared up when Caroline sang beautifully.

Here are my brothers. They read a poem about hands. I loved it when I saw it and wanted them to be a part of the wedding so I knew this would be perfect for them. They did a great job!

Announcing...Mr. and Mrs. Matthews!

This shot I love. I was playing with Phil's toes since he was so nervous and was trying to get him to look at me some. He was listening intently to Lorrie.

We partied into the night. Then we woke to smoke in our room. There was a 4 alarm fire 2 buildings over from ours. We had to evacuate the hotel and ended up going home to sleep for a few hours since we live close. Then we got up and went back to the hotel to get our things and head to Miami to get on our Honeymoon Cruise.

I'll post some reception pictures soon! I need to get them off the photographer's website.

Here's some pictures from our Cruise. We went to Puerto Rico, St. Thomas and St. Martin/St. Marteen. Wonderful!! The water was so clear and so blue. In St. Thomas, we had a few Bushwakers-our cruise director told us to only have one because at 2 we may not make it back on the boat. Well, we had 4 and we made it back on the ship. Our room was amazing. We had a balcony room-I will never go back! The cruise was long, so when we got bored we would grab some drinks or a bottle of wine and sit on the balcony and relax.

St. Thomas pics:

Here we are in the water in St. Thomas. It was amazing and so refreshing!

This is a view of the beach we are at in the above picture.

Awwww!!! Same spot overlooking the beach in the above picture.

This was the first Bushwaker of the day before hitting the beach in the above picture.

Stay tuned for Puerto Rico, St. Martin and reception pictures.

Amazing!!

So much has happened since the last post!
The RAYS in the World Series!
Only 15 days until the wedding!

It's all so amazing! The rays spirit is definately alive in our house. Phil and I have been diligently watching the games and even ventured out to Ferg's to watch one of the games. Just to be here in the heart of it all is awesome! This city has come alive and of course everything is RAYS and BLUE! Each week, during the post-season, we have had Crazy Rays day at school. The kids have been allowed to paint their hair blue, wear a "Rayshawk" and wear temporary tatoos. The kids have loved it. There have been many cowbells at school on those days and of course those horns.

On the wedding front...I had an awesome shower at Robin's! The girls went all out and it was just what I was hoping for! We got lots of great gifts and I'm dying to open them and use them but we are waiting.

There are only 15 days left! I had my hair trial yesterday and it was interesting! She really curled my hair and it was a little much for me. Haven't seen my hair curly in a LONG time! We will work on the hair and I'm not worried. It will be perfect!

Also picked up some paper to start cutting for the guest book. Kip's going to take pictures of the guests as they arrive and each guest can write us a message or sign their name. Then I'll take the pics and put them in an album with the messages from our guests.

We met with Lorrie-our officiant and my good friend. I wrote out the ceremony and it was so nice to check that one off my list. Remaining on the list: buy cake servers, pay the vendors, get the card box ready, wrap my girls' gifts, deciding on our girls' day before, figure out where everyone is sitting (I dread that task!) and a few other little things...

I'm getting really excited and I'm especially looking forward to the honeymoon to be able to relax!

This weekend though, Robin, my mom and her friend are going to Mount Dora for our annual craft fair shopping day. We're meeting at 5:15am and will not return home until after dark. I am excited!!! I always look forward to going.

Not sure when I'll post again...maybe when I'm Mrs. Matthews?!

One month left!

Yikes! It's getting soo close!

Boston was a blast! We all had soo much fun and laughed quite a bit. It rained all weekend but that didn't dampen the fun. We had many tasty drinks and took in the sights of Boston and Providence. Cari showed us the town and was a great tour guide! As soon as I get everyone pics I'll post the ones I can...

My shower is this weekend and I'm getting excited! It'll be at Robin's house-THANK YOU ROBIN!!

Now if people would just send back their RSVP's for the wedding I'd be a happy camper! We still have several out and Phil thinks we will just tell them they can't come...I tried to explain that they may just show up and we won't have food or seats for them...so I'll be making a few (several) phone calls next week!

We have a cake tasting on Saturday and my dress fitting next weekend. We are getting our marriage license next week too. I picked up the favors today and am getting together with Faylene for my flowers this week or next. It's all coming together and though I'm a little worried, I am trying to stay positive and not let the little things get to me. I know I need to keep thinking that way.

ONE MONTH!!

45 days and Boston bound!

Today we have 45 days until the wedding! It's getting so close and still a lot to wrap up. But no time for doing wedding stuff...I'm going to BOSTON for my Bachellorette Party this weekend! I am packed, Peanut's packed and my sub plans are finished. Robin's meeting me here and then we will take Peanut to the vet for boarding and then off to the airport to meet the rest of the gang at Friday's for a pre-flight cocktail and a bite to eat. It's supposed to be chilly up there and I am sooo not ready for that! I live in Florida where we are only chilly for a few days and I try not to leave my house those days, except for going to work...

Anyway, I'm sure a lot of pictures will be taken. I'll try to post some of the better ones, but I understand I will be drinking a little bit this weekend, so no embarrassing pictures will be posted!

45 days...

2 months!!!

Today is 2 months until we get married. Kinda weird to think about it. You know when we first got engaged I knew the date would come, but it was soo far away. Now that we are 2 months away, I am freaking out. Is everything going to be ready? Will the DJ, photographer and drummer show up? Will it rain? Will I have a zit? Haha!!

I know-I need to stop stressing about things that I can't change or do anything about at this point.

There is still so much to do. Like write out the ceremony, write our vows, confirm the flowers and figure out what she's going to do, decide on and order the cakes, find a cake topper, buy the unity candle, finish buying the girls some things, OH and the 2 BIGGIES-figure out what Phil and the guys are going to wear and plan the honeymoon. We have been getting back the RSVP's and it's exciting that everyone is so excited about coming. Every once in a while, someone writes a little message on the card and it's so nice.

We got our first gift today! Phil's grandma sent us a check!! A big one too!!! So far she is the only one that won't be able to make it.

So with 2 months left, I better get off here and get to work! Oh and I need to make hotel reservations for the night before and night of, work on the guest book, the list goes on and on...

God was on our side!

This weekend was our Cuzzins' Campout. My mom's side of the family gets together every Labor Day for the past 12 years and camps. We stay in cabins with AC and have meals together and play games, etc. Well this year we went up the Swannee River. Our place was really cool. It was a huge campground. Lot's of activities and of course the river.

My grandma's brother in law, Chuck and his son John brought their boats with them. Saturday, John took some of the little kids and a few adults for a ride. He also had his wife and their dog with him. Chuck brought the kids' parents and some other adults. A few hours after they left, we got a call that there was an accident. John's steering stopped working and the kids were thrown from the boat. The boat them crashed into a tree on the bank. The kids were all wearing life jackets and the adults jumped out and helped the kids to safety. His mom was hurt really bad-a large gash in her head and injured her foot. Also my cousin, Bryn hit something-not sure what-and had a large gash in her head. They had a difficult time turning her over and getting her to the bank. All the others have minor scrapes and bruises.

John's dog wasn't so lucky. She was lodged into one of the compartments in the front of the boat and died. They tried pulling her out but her body was lifeless. The boat the adults were one were not close. Someone from John's boat called them and said the kids were ok. When they caught up to them it was chaos. Kids were crying, adults were crying, John's wife was very upset-the dog was their baby. John was in shock. Bryn and Karen were rushed to the Hospital. It was quite a scary day. Lots of hugs, crying, and praying. We are thankful that all walked away and the EMS couldn't believe that the injuries were as minor as they were. On the other hand, John and his wife are mourning the loss of their baby. I feel so terrible for them and couldn't wait to get home and hug Peanut. The weekend went on, but John and his wife couldn't bear the pain so they went home. I think it was probably good so the mourning can start and help them as they prepare for a life without their girl.

I'm sure we will never forget this camping trip and thank our lucky stars that no person was severly injured.

We had a low key Sunday. None of the kids wanted to go to the river after what had happened. Instead we went on a slide they had there. It was like a long slip and slide but had a hill it went down. It was soo much fun. Phil slipped on the way down his first time and hurt his lower back so he sat out after that. The rest of us couldn't get enough. Phil and I were supposed to go horse back riding later that day but due to his injury we decided against it.

All in all it was a good time. Stressful, scary, and sad, but we made the best of it.

Oh my!

Only 2 months and 2 weeks until we get married. I am starting to feel like everything won't get done in time. I'm short of breath right now, starting to hyperventilate and I'm sitting down. Overwhelmed is an understatement! The invites are done-for the most part. I have a few addresses I am waiting on, but the majority will be in the mail tomorrow or Wednesday! That is one major check on my ever growing list!

Now I need to help my mom find a dress, take my dress in for a fitting, find something that Phil and the guys are going to wear, nag Phil to plan the honeymoon, and the list goes on and on! I don't even think I really know what all needs to get done.

On a lighter note, this year's class is soooo sweet! I love them! They are so well behaved and actually are afraid if they have to put their head down in time out.

This weekend we are going on our Family camping trip. Peanut is going to the vet for boarding. I know she will hate it since we have been together for a long time. Not sure when it was that she was in boarding last.

Ok-time for bed. Tomorrow it will be 2 months and 13 days. AGH!!!!!!!!!!!!

Holy SH**!!

86 days left! I can't believe that we only have 86 days until the wedding.

I'm back to work and my room is ready. This year I feel a lot more prepared than last year. I know what is expected at the Fundamental school and am more comfortable. Also we only had 1 day of meetings. All the others were spent working in our rooms.

Phil and I joined the gym this week. It's only $10 a month. We started last night and tonight we are taking a break. hehe! Oh and I've eaten out every day for lunch too. Tomorrow we have an all day training to go over new Kindergarten things and of course will eat out again. But we are for sure going to the gym tomorrow!

Saturday we are going to our tasting for our reception. I'm excited to see what our choices will be! I also NEED to work on the invitations!!

Only 35 minutes until Big Brother! It's eviction night and I am bummed that either girl will be voted out! APRIL, JERRY and MICHELLE need to GO HOME!!!!

I'm back on...

My computer has been returned to me. It has been wiped clean so no more viruses and also no more documents and pictures. I do have a DVD of pictures and everything else that was on my computer when it crashed.

I am sitting here in the backroom of my place and actually scrappbooking! Well, sort of. My principal gave us 4 index cards to decorate and label with different things.
My Favorite hobby...
In the future my goal is to...
The person/people I look up to...
My favorite subject...

So being the scrapbooker that I am I decided I had to decorate the index cards with scrapbook paper and of course they all have to be scrappy. I want to use some pictures like for the goal one and people one, so I went to the dvd full of pics to get some and oh my...I didn't realize how much stuff/crap I had on there! That might have to be tomorrow afternoon or Sunday's project.

Yesterday was my birthday and it was very nice. Now I didn't get as nice of a present as last year, but really how can you top an engagement ring?! Phil made us dinner-Chicken Marsala, YUMMY, and he gave me an ipod. Yes, I am the last one to get one! It's soo cool. Love the ease of using it and the sound is amazing with these headphones!

Back to school on Monday! UGH! Actually, I am ok with it. I need to get off my rear and lose some of this weight I gained over the summer. I need to zip up that dress!! We are also joining a gym and I'm going back to WW.

Tomorrow I'm going to get a pedicure with my mom, her first, and then lunch. Later on, I'm heading out for a girls night with Diane. The boys are watching the Bucs and I'm sure will be having a few drinks themselves.

News

My laptop has been wiped clean. No more virus...

But the good news is that the man called to ask what I wanted off the computer and was able to save ALL of my documents and my pictures. He rocks!! So I will be backing everything up from now on. No more saving to the hard drive!

I just got back from the last pool party of the summer and am now going to relax for a little while until I go to a birthday dinner for a friend later.

I plan on spending tomorrow doing absolutely NOTHING since it's my last day off before school starts back. I have to help a new teacher to the county on Wednesday and babysit on Thursday and Friday.

Update

Where do I begin? Well, let's see...

my computer has a virus...
I started working on the invitations...on the computer with the virus...
I am PMSing...
Need I say more????!!!!!

So I somehow got a virus on my computer. I looked it up and it's a low risk virus...so that's good and it seemed simple enough to get rid of. So I do what it says to get rid of it. One step says to put the computer in safe mode...I do it...and can't log in to my computer. Said computer is not owned by me. It is school property so I call the help desk. The girl tries to get me out of safe mode but to no avail. She tells me I can bring it in and they can look at it. So I do...Not so sure that was a good thing as I was kind of shunned when I walked in (another post). Anyway I am computerless. I am feeling violated as they needed my password to get into the system and since this is a school computer I was to use it for school only. HA! I have pictures of naked men on there. Only kidding. But I do have some pictures of my personal life and of Peanut's accident on there and need those for the case when we go to trial...

I borrowed my laptop from school to help ease the pain of not having a computer, and it won't connect to the internet...AGH!!!!!! Phil and I have tried everything we can think of but to no avail.

Oh and the invitations too... I started working on them (on the borrowed laptop) and a monogram too. Well, I don't have that anymore. I now have to start all over from scratch. But the borrowed laptop won't connect to the wireless router and therefore can't connect to our wireless printer...so how am I to print the invites???

I'm PMSing...need I say any more?!

So there you go...Questions???

Yes, Phil has been very supportive by saying I can't wait for your period to be over! I keep reminding him that my period is not why I am having a breakdown!

Yes, Phil has been very supportive and even looked into purchasing Microsoft Office for his computer so I can keep working on the invitations. Way too expensive...

Yes, Phil has been very supportive by still telling me he loves me. I know I am driving him crazy but what am I to do???

Last Class!

Tonight is my last class for summer session! I can not wait for my life to be back. I have some wedding planning to do and am tired of reading, reading, reading!!! One good thing is that I am halfway through and will get a pay raise in the fall! I plan on emailing my secretary at school tomorrow to find out what I need to do to get that ball rolling. More money would be very nice about now!!

Waiting...

I'm sitting here waiting. Waiting for my AC to get turned off. We are getting a new roof and our AC will be off for 2 days. UGH!! We were supposed to have this done in the Spring-when it was cooler, but now we are having it done in the heat of summer! Fun!! Now I just saw the weather for today and storms are rolling in. Oh goodie!! So maybe they won't do it today, so they can do it when it's even hotter out later in the week or next week. Well, Peanut is as close to me as she can get. She is scared of the noises they are making.

I'm also waiting as long as I can to work on a paper that needs some tweaking. The draft is due tonight and I'm not too happy with it so I need to try to fix it. I just don't even want to work on it, as it took me forever to get it finished and now to go back and change things...

I've written a letter to the hotel owner for not upholding their end of the contract with our reception. I need to send it today. I am demanding they pay me the amount they are having me pay for a new place. OR I can file a civil suit against them...I got all this lingo from my friend Caroline since she knows people-lawyers. Gotta get that out TODAY!!!

We registered on Friday night! It was an experience, but LOTS of fun! And we picked out some really great things that we both love!! We are almost 4 months away and I still have soo much to do, get my dress altered, make the invitations, figure out what the guys are wearing, decide on the cake, choose favors, help my mom find a dress, book the honeymoon. What am I waiting for?!

Catching up!

Here I am! Class has been kicking my butt but I have a moment to catch you all up.

Phil and I went to the Cubs/Rays game on Thursday when the Rays had a Grand Slam. It was an awesome game and even though the Cubs' lost, Phil still had a great time. It was the first time the Rays and Cubs played and since Phil is a big Cubs fan we had to go. That was his birthday present from me. We had outfield seats but a great view!!

Been busy babysitting my cousins on Thursdays and Fridays. They are sweet girls and keep me busy!

Our parents met on Saturday night for dinner. We were going out for Phil's birthday and figured we'd invite our parents so they can finally meet each other. It went fine. I was a nervous wreck but everyone seemed to get along ok.

My neighbor is being a ROYAL BIATCH!!! You all know I got this new car. Well, now I can't pull into my parking spot so I've been parking in another ladies since she has no car and have requested that the board change my spot. It's the boards' decision and they assign spots and recently moved around some spots to help other residents out. She hasn't had a car for 3 years, and isn't getting one in the near future. Well, I wrote her a note-she wasn't home for me to talk to her-requesting that we switch spots-mine is only 2 over from hers. I never heard anything from her but sure heard about it from my neighbors. She was very adamant that that was her spot and she wasn't going to part with it. Our president basically says she doens't have a leg to stand on. He's on my side. Well last night as we were getting ready to leave for dinner she knocks on the door. So I go out and talk to her and she basically tells me that she's been here longer than I have and that she doesn't want me to park there. She tells me that the spot is hers and it's written in her condo documents (our documents clearly state that the board reserves the right to assign spots). She also tells me that she needs it for when she has guests over. Umm-she hasn't had guests over in a looonnngg time. And our guests are supposed to park on the street. Why she won't just trade with me is insane! She's being uncooperative and unreasonable! It's not like I'm asking that she no longer have a parking spot!! Anyway, Phil and I are Pi$$ed off!! We have a condo meeting on Wednesday and I'm hoping that the board can help. By the way there are no other available spots for me to even park in. UGH!!!! I soo want to sell this place and move!!! I can't wait to get away from these people! Between the rude people upstairs to the Biatch-enough already!

We found another venue for our reception and have it booked. I like it better than the other one!!

I sent out the Save the Dates yesterday. I set up a wep page for our guests and the info is on the postcard. We meant to bring our mom's theirs last night, but forgot them at home. I wanted them to get them first. Oh well. We will drop them off today.

This week is another busy week. Phil's birthday is tomorrow and I have class tomorrow and Tuesday nights. I have some projects due next week and are meeting with my group this week to get it all worked out. Then the condo meeting on Wednesday. Then babysit Thursday and Friday.

Hope you all have a great week!!

RUT RO!!!

I called our reception site yesterday to set up a tasting. We chat for a while and then she tells me that they are now under new owners and will be doing some construction to the hotel which should be done a week before the wedding. (Sure-we all know how construction works!! I'm sure there will be a delay!) Then she tells me that the new owners and possibly reducing the banquet room which would then not be able to accomodate our guests!! Are you kidding me?! Now what am I supposed to do?? Sit and wait for the owners to decide? Hope that the construction will be complete? Stand there and make them work faster? AGH!!!! I have been on the phone this morning to see who is available for a reception site and now I'll have to find a caterer and figure out th ebar situation. UGH!!! And I was hoping to catch up on classwork today as I have some major stuff due next week.

I can't change the date since I already have a DJ and photographer so that's out.
Keep me in your thoughts that it will all work out and we will still have a very nice reception.

On the road again...

Just can't wait to get on the road again...

That's right-we got a new car!! Here's a picture.

It's a 2007 Chrysler Pacifica with less than 4000 miles. We got it for a GREAT price from Carmax. If you haven't had experience with Carmax, the next car you buy should be from them. There is no haggling and we weren't pressured to buy. Plus they even bought my car!! Yes, the broken one with a transmission that doesn't work. They gave us $1000 for it! I couldn't believe it! It's much more than what we would have gotten for it if we had an ad in the paper.

It drives so smooth and has sooo much room. Perfect for a family (which we will hopefully have in the very near future).