Much Ado...

Hey everybody!

As you can tell by my last post (and by the history of my Twitter updates), I'm a Packer fan. They're my team. While I might not be crazy enough to go and paint my face green and gold and wear a wedge of cheese on my head, I still cheer for them and watch every game. And as you probably know, the Packers won the Super Bowl! We are the champions!

What? I didn't hear you!

WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS!!!!

(suck it, bears and viqueens!)

Ok, in addition to watching the Super Bowl with some pretty cool people (my future sis and bro in law who were in town from MN), I also got to meet my nephew! Here is me holding baby Andrew!



So what else has been going on? Concerning the wedding, so much has been going on! Just under eleven months to go! This week, Matthew and I booked our reception site! I feel so relieved that we've locked down the place we wanted. We had gone to see it over the summer, and nothing else compared with what we wanted look-wise and budget-wise. Also, Wendy, the lady who we will be working with, is super nice. She was the only person who actually asked questions about me and Matthew when we were looking! I am very excited to have one less major thing to worry about on the wedding checklist!

Like I said before, I found my dress, but still haven't gone back to purchase it yet. Maybe soon! I'll keep you updated.

Elsewhere in my life, school started up again for the semester. (Yes, I know this is old news, because it was, like, three weeks ago, but it still feels like the semester just started.) In addition to some very interesting and informative English/Education classes, I've also journeyed into the world of online classes. I'm taking two this semester. So far, it's going just swimmingly. It's hard to remember to do the postings and tests/quizzes, but I think it can only get better... right?

Finally, I registered for the Praxis II today... I'm taking it in March, so I have a little over a month to cram! I need to take and pass this exam to be able to student teach in the fall/spring semesters of next year, so then I can graduate (finally!) and be done! Wish me luck!

I guess that's about it! Thanks for reading and at least pretending you're remotely interested in all of this!

P.S. Shoutout to Juan Carlos who always awaits my new blog posts and asks me about when the next one is arriving. Thanks dude! :-)
xoxo

Go Pack Go!

Hello from Wisconsin! If you've been following my blog at all, you may have noticed my Twitter feed to the right of the page... and if you've noticed that, no doubt you've been reading them... and if you've been reading those updates, you've probably realized that I am (like any good girl raised in Wisconsin), a Packer fan!

AND WE'RE GOING TO THE SUPERBOWL!

It's a very exciting day for me. Ever since that whole Brett Favre ordeal, I think that the Packers making it to the big show further strengthens my belief in karma... you know, "what goes around comes around..."

Brett is filing retirement papers (for the 38th time?) and we didn't need his sorry you-know-what to make it to the biggest game of the decade!

End of rant. I'm just excited. I'm sure my next blog will be nothing except wedding stuff.

P.S.- I found my wedding gown when I went shopping! I have yet to order it, but it's definitely the one!

Happy New Year! I can't believe that it's 2011 already... time flies faster and faster every day! As of midnight, it will be 370 days till the big day! There is so much going on, so I'll start right away!

A few days ago, Matthew and I went to the craft store, and I bought our favor-holders for our reception. They were on clearance (even better!) so I bought out their entire stock! They are now sitting in my room, taking up lots and lots of space! (When you see them, you'll understand why; for now, let it just be a mystery!)

Matthew and I have finally finished asking everyone who is going to be a part of our bridal party (bridesmaids, groomsmen, ushers). It's so nice to know that everyone who is in it knows, so the rest of the planning can keep going!

Finally, on Thursday, I am finally going dress shopping! I can't wait! I've been thinking about this day ever since I was a little girl, and I am so excited to finally go! I want to get the dress that day (and not drag the whole process out for a long time) so I have two appointments at two different bridal stores. The first appointment is at the store that I'd really like to get my dress from (and it also happens to stock my favorite brand of dresses...Maggie Sottero), and the second appointment is 'just in case' the first one doesn't work out. It's going to be so much fun trying on so many pretty dresses! Once I pick it out, I'm not going to show the whole world until the wedding (to make sure that Matthew doesn't see it by accident), but I might provide a clue or two as to what it looks like.

I think that's about it! As much as I have already done, and as much as I still have so much left to do, I am very much enjoying the whole process.

Wedding Website!

Hey all!

So I've been working (on and off) for a while on a wedding website for Matthew and me to use to promote the big day (as well as help our guests out with directions and give them some fabulous reading material). I've been working on it on iWeb on Matthew's macbook named Sheila. While I have been unable to finish it as of now (I get frustrated because I'm still mainly a pc girl and all those commands and weird 'you can't double-click anything' vibe screw me up), I feel like I should have something up to make it feel official. In order to do that, I've updated my knot.com wedding website. While it's not complete and not permanent, it was still kind of fun to do.

Here's the url if you'd like to peek at it:
http://www.theknot.com/ourwedding/SarahMarks&MatthewHill

Hint: You won't find it if you search in the Knot's website search engine... I disabled that feature to keep creepers away ;-)

ALSO- if you go there, SIGN THE GUESTBOOK! It would make me feel pretty darn special!

It's been too long!

Wow! I can't believe that it's been about 2 months since I last posted! Life just gets too crazy, I guess! Anyway, I feel like y'all need an update ;-)

Classes started for the semester, and I finally submitted my school of education application! I won't hear anything until mid-November, though, but once I get in, I'm one step closer to graduation... (and maybe a teaching job? that'd be great!)

I have also started up my running again! I have two-ish goals: The first is to lose 20lbs over the next year so I'm nice and skinny for the wedding. The second is to possibly run a 5K in the spring. Where did that inspiration come from? Well, my darling Matthew, of course! He just completed his first triathlon at the end of September, and he did really awesome! I figured that if he can do all that, I could work towards running a 5K. My weigh ins are about every 3 weeks, with the first one coming up next week. Hopefully all this exercise, calorie-watching, sodium-cutting and Nalgene water bottle drinking I've been doing starts to pay off (and show)!

With all this going on, you're probably wondering to yourself, What about the wedding? Are there any plans she's working on? Of course I have!

This past week, my mom showed me the cutest idea for guest favors (I won't tell you everything yet, but it's super yummy and gluten-free!), so I've got those spinning around in my head. Also, I found the cutest new candle holders online... lovelovelove!



I just love the three different heights. It would add tons of visual interest to the tables, as well as mix it up from boring old tea lights. Anyway, what do you think? I'd love to hear your thoughts on these :-)

I think that's all I've got going on right now... life is busybusybusy! I promise that the next time I write, it won't be two months from now!

Yum, Cake!

As promised, here is a pic from our party :-) Our cake was super yummy! (Even if it wasn't made at my store...)

Progress...

Things are starting to come together! Over the past few weeks, Matthew and I have been taking a look at possible reception venues, and we think we've found "the one!" We think it's absolutely gorgeous with an extensive menu, plenty of room for tables and dancing (or dancing on the tables, ha ha... just kidding), and most importantly, fits into our budget! More details will follow about that some other time. Anyway, we haven't signed a contract for it yet, but hopefully we will soon!

Also, I totally found my reception shoes online and bought them immediately. They are now sitting in the box in my room. Maybe I will post a picture, but maybe I won't... I really don't want to ruin the surprise!

Finally, an update on my family's get-together. Matthew and I had a small gathering in the beginning of August with our parents, siblings, and grandparents. Basically, both sides got together and met each other (since they are going to be related, and all...). Overall, it was a lot of fun with lots of food and lots of good conversation! I was nervous over nothing!


The countdown is still going! It's now less than 500 days away! How time flies!
Next time I post, I will definitely include some pictures for your viewing pleasure :-)

An Invitation...

The days are flying by so quickly! Only 537 days to go!





Ok, well maybe it is still a year and a half away, but there is still so much to do!



So what do you do before you throw a wedding? Throw another party... for our families!

Matthew and I have decided that it was about time that our parents, grandparents, and siblings all meet and have the chance to get to know each other (since they are going to be related by marriage and all) before the wedding. So in a few weeks, we are going to have everyone over to Matthew's house for a good old fashioned meet-and-greet. Obviously, this means that I have a chance to stretch my creative wings and make pretty invitations! While they are not a reflection of any type of theme or colors that I'm going to have for the wedding itself, I thought they were cute and very summer-y.

So here's the basic invitation I created! I basically stole some clip-art and then uploaded it into Picnik (I love that site!) where I tweaked all the colors and added the text. Easy as pie :-)

In conclusion, I finished Official Wedding Project #2.... I'll keep you posted on how the party goes!

Spreadsheets!

One of the things that I'm starting to realize about planning a wedding is that you have to be very, very organized with everything... if not, it could become chaotic! If papers are in different places, figures and numbers are in different folders, and things aren't generally in an orderly fashion, I could lose my mind and possibly important information.

The first major foray that I've taken into organizing my wedding stuff has been to create a giant spreadsheet! And I love it! I am so proud of myself for doing it too!

I decided that there wasn't really an easy way for me to compare the reception venue information that I had based on initial cost, so I gathered up all the info that I had and imported it into an easy-to-read format in Excel. While it isn't the most scientific spreadsheet, and it definitely isn't the most amazing spreadsheet, it got the job done. I was able to categorize everything from deposits to rental fees to average cost per plate (and what it includes!) to beverages, to any other fees that might arise. I also figured out the ballpark final price including taxes and gratuity.

Basically, I am very proud of my spreadsheet. And now I have a wonderful tool that I can use to compare all my venues.

Yay for spreadsheets! That's all for now!

About A Tux

So it's been a little while since I've written about anything. To be completely honest, nothing super-duper "wedding-related" has been going on in my life! Things have been a little crazy at my job, and the last few weeks I've been working a lot more hours than I'm used to.

But enough about that. Today I have something to write about that's wedding-related! Yay!

Ok, ok... it's not about my wedding though. This weekend my fiance's sister is getting married, and so it's about that wedding (sort of). Today I went with my Matthew to pick up his tux for the wedding. (He is one of the groomsmen.) I was so excited when I saw him. He is dang cute in a tux! I wish I had a picture of it, but on Saturday I'm sure there will be plenty of pictures of him.

Anyway, it got me to thinking. If I'm that excited to see him in a tux for someone else's wedding, how much more excited will I be when I see him in his tux for our wedding? I'm pretty sure that I'm going to geek out, because he's dang cute in a tux (like I previously said). But the question then arises: When exactly will that happen? I'm not talking about setting a date for the wedding itself (we've already done that), but rather, when should a bride see a groom in his ensemble? We all know that it's bad luck for the groom to see the bride's gown before she walks down the aisle, but is the same true for the other way around? Personally, I think that I would like to be involved in the choosing of the menswear for my wedding, just to make sure that it all coordinates with what my bridesmaids are wearing, but I'm still unsure if I want to see the future hubby in his entire ensemble before the walk down the aisle. Perhaps a good solution would be to choose the clothes (or help choose them) and then leave it at that. I should trust the people who are tailoring the outfit to do their job and resist the urge to see everything all put together before I see him :-)