Rodents

I was debating posting this or not, mainly because it's disgusting, but I promised myself I would post about the trials and tribulations of our marriage. Now, this may be neither of those, but nonetheless, an interesting story.

The building we live in has been having rat problems. I wasn't concerned until the apartment above us had 2! In their actual apartment, not just hearing it. So I asked Derrick about it, and of course, he had known, and conveniently left it out in our conversations. So, for the next 2 weeks, any small sound I heard, I would go looking around the corner for any sign of these nasty creatures. Right before Thanksgiving, Derrick started becoming more paranoid, which I found odd. He usually didn't care. Well, he had heard them in the walls. But the paranoia continued when we got back from Thanksgiving. I knew something was up, so I asked him why he cared so much. His words were, "Are you sure you want to know?" My response, "No, but tell me anyways." Come to find out, the door that holds our heating/cooling unit had a half-circle chewed out of the carpet at the bottom. By rats! ugh! So, for the next week, if I was in the living room, my eyes were on that hole. There were no signs, so I began to calm down. That is until......

Wednesday morning! I was sitting in the living room, watching the news and doing my make-up. It was 6:15ish. I heard something fall into that door from the ceiling, and at first, thought I was just imagining it. Well, then 2 more clinks and clanks till it could fall no more. By this time, I had jumped up and was eying that hole. The next thing I see is two little eyes staring at me. I freaked, yet did not move a muscle. It saw me and ran back in. I mean come on, I'm not that bad without make-up! Anyways, I was between a rock and a hard place at this point. Derrick was still sound asleep in the bedroom, but there was no way I was taking my eye off that hole, only for it to run out and be impossible to find. So, I began to softly call out Derrick's name. I did this for about a minute, then realized that I was ridiculous for whispering, concerned that the rat might hear me! It was early, don't judge. So then I began yelling his name! Well, still no response, surprise, surprise. I quickly ran into the bedroom, shook his feet and told him there was a rat, come out! I ran back, only hoping it hadn't escaped! Derrick came out, rubbing his eyes, not nearly as concerned as I was. His response: "Stomp your feet, it'll go away." Not funny! So we (or I should say Derrick) put a leather box we have in front of it. I was quite upset that the rat may chew through my box, but I was more concerned about having a living rat in our apartment! All day, it was all I could think about!

I got home, and the box hadn't been chewed on! We plugged the hole and have had no signs since! Let's just say, I am very glad to leave for work every morning and not have to eye that hole for 24 hours a day! It's disgusting! But have no fear, they are dying, so visitors are still welcome, just excuse the stench of dying rat as you walk into our Winter Wonderland I so thoroughly enjoyed decorating!

Thanksgiving Fun

Well, who doesn't have fun at Thanksgiving?! Well, I'm sure plenty of people don't, but, luckily, we could! I went to my parent's house on Tuesday morning, to go wedding dress shopping with Leslie and my mom and William's mom. We had a blast, and she found the dress! Yay! So I stayed the night, and Derrick joined on Wednesday night. Family was in town, and we had fun doing all the cooking! We saw Blindside on Thursday afternoon, and it was wonderful!

On Friday, we had plans to leave the house at 3:30, to get to Wal-Mart for the deals we were after! Well, we overslept, and didn't wake up till a little after 4! We rushed and made it out by 4:30. We got to Wal-Mart, split up, and were on the mad dash for our items! We were both going after different things first, but were on the lookout for all the things we wanted. Well turns out, all the things we wanted were on my side of the store! So here I am, no cart in hand, with a Kitchen Aid mixer, a Blu Ray player, a mini chopper, and still on the lookout for the item I wanted. That's right.... I wish I had a picture to share with you all. Lucky for me, people clearly saw my hands were full, and let me in and out of their cart contraption they had going on. I made it to the opposite side of the store, just in time to get the item I wanted. This item is someone's present, which is why I can't name it! After that, we went to the Buford area, and then ventured to the mall. Bath and Body Works got lots of our business too! But we had a good time! We met Derrick's mom, and shopped till about 5! Count it.... 13 hours of shopping! That may be a record for me. I slept till almost 1 today! And I am so sore! Derrick did better than me! Here are some Thanksgiving pics to enjoy!

And how could I forget?! We finally purchased the flat screen TV we said would be our wedding gift to one another instead f big gifts that day! We went into Best Buy last Sunday to let Derrick look at some video game he wanted and we came out with a 46' TV! Now, because my car is too small for that size TV, my left side passenger door is broken, because we crammed it in. The awesome deal we got on it will be made up for in the Honda bill :) But at least we have a TV!

This year, I am thankful for:
-being able to celebrate our first married Thanksgiving
-Weight Watchers for helping me not gain 10 pounds after Thanksgiving
- My wonderful, expanding family
- The life I have been given and the places it is taking me
- My sister's journey of wedding planning and being a part of it
- My sweet brother's baptism
- The opportunity to celebrate with 2 families
- There are many more!

Here are some Thanksgiving pics to enjoy:

Wedding Dress Shopping!

Having fun!

Tis' the Season....

TO GO BROKE! Goodness! No one ever tells you that you have to buy EVERYTHING you need to decorate with your first year being married. But, alas, I did. Hobby Lobby now owns my soul. I spent hours in there trying to find the perfect decorations! It's a hard choice picking out what your tree will look like! My mom always had the ornaments we made. Luckily, we're kid-free, and I want a pretty tree! I'm already slightly stressing out that, when we do have kids, I'm gonna have to hang their "adorable" ornaments. I love kids and I love crafts, but I love a pretty tree! I'm already contemplating having 2 trees, so one can be pretty and one can have their crafts. Derrick and I have also decided to have a tradition of getting an ornament wherever we travel to together. Our first one was an ornament from Jamaica. It was a bride and groom one too, which was perfect! But I can sneak that one on the tree this year!

I have yet to put up the decorations, as I am getting the tree from my parents house today. Tomorrow they will ALL be up! I want it to look like a winter wonderland. I tried to justify all my spending by choosing snowmen, which I love more than any other, telling Derrick, because they are snowmen, they can stay up longer than the month of December. I don't think he's entirely convinced :) He didn't go along on the journey with me. He would have found some garland and hung himself, probably :) I also picked out our stockings, but accidentally told Derrick, in hopes he would deny, that if he didn't like he could pick one out. Well, I should have known he would want to do that! I'm torn, though. I bought the plane, red/white, matching ones, so we can embroider our names. 20 bucks says he is going to want one from Bass Pro Shops. I just know it! I may have to give in on that one... it is Christmas, after all!

I have the whole next week off for Thanksgiving and boy am I excited. I also have a packed week! Tomorrow, I am taking my first sewing class, PJ pants! It ended up being more expensive than I thought. I should have known! But it's paid for, so I'm going. And then to decorate. On Tuesday, we are going wedding dress shopping for my sister! I am way excited. And on Wednesday, I am going to help my mom begin getting desserts ready, and Thursday, wake up early to help cook, and then eat! Due to some unfortunate circumstances, we get to celebrate with families. That's not unfortunate, but we had planned to celebrate in Alabama with Derrick's family. But, at least we get to see both families now!


Now it is time to go wake up sleeping beauty. And no, not me. Not in this house :) It is off to church with my family. My sweet baby brother, who is not such a baby now, is getting baptized today, and I could not be any more proud!

Engagements

Well, it's been the usual for Derrick and I, except for one small detail.... MY SISTER IS ENGAGED! I obviously love weddings, and everything that goes along with them, so I'm ecstatic. She, however, isn't as into it all. But regardless, she's engaged and we're all very happy and excited! More details as it progresses!

That's really the only exciting thing going on right now for us. Besides the fact that Thanksgiving is very soon and I have the whole week off! I just love this time of the year!

Dr. Holmes

No, neither Derrick nor I have our Doctorate degree but one of us in the family thinks we might.... keep reading to figure out who :)

On Wednesday afternoon, I started feeling a little under the weather. My throat was hurting and I just felt like the commercial where the head is a balloon and is floating away from the body. Anyways, I felt bad. Well, apparently Derrick was a doctor in another life, because his favorite thing to do seems to be to get the brightest flashlight he can find and inspect whatever it is that is hurting me. This did not go over so well with me. First of all, I hate bright lights. They give me headaches, literally. Second of all, I don't like to be bothered when I don't feel good. It may sound bratty, but I can't help it. And third of all, all I can think about is how he has not a clue what he is looking for. So here I stand, mouth open wide, bright lights in my eyes, a concerned look on my husband's face, all for him to say, "ohh... I can't tell." WELL DUH! Needless to say, I was hoping my sore throat would go away quickly or I was scheming on slipping some Benadryl into either my food or his, so I could quickly fall asleep or have him sleep through the night, without bothering me :) Luckily, I didn't have to do either. Good thing we're still newlyweds and I like him being awake, otherwise that might now have been the case :) However, I hate to say this did happen a couple other times. But I don't know why he was so tired later on that night ;)

Then, I stayed home on Thursday, with plans to schedule a doctor's appt for the next day, cause I hate going when they might not find anything, and say come back. So my persistent husband came in, not to check on me, but to see if I had called the doctor yet. I kept putting it off and finally, I started to have daytime nightmares about the flashlights in my eyes, and quickly dialed. Luckily I did, cause they could only fit me in on that day. Otherwise, I would have had to wait till Monday, or later! Let's just say it's much better when a doctor shines lights all over your face and gives you prescription drugs when he's done. Much unlike the "doctor" in our house!

Today we went to the Pumpkin Patch with my sister and her bf. We got our pumpkin! yay! Although, I must admit, with such a huge selection, I find it very difficult to pick the "right" one. It's a lot like picking the right man. But we won't get into details :) But now the Auburn game is on so no telling when we will carve it. We had plans to today but grocery shopping had to be done first!

Speaking of football season, I find myself being much more productive while College Game Day and a different assortment of games on. There is a lot more time to clean and get organized, and more importantly, BLOG! Although, I am finding myself more and more interested in these Auburn games.

More updates coming, keep reading :)

Fairy Tale vs. Reality

So lately, I have really been contemplating "marriage". What it means, what I thought it would be like, and what it actually is.

I knew that I always wanted to be married young. I also knew I wanted to be a younger mom (not yet!), so in order for that to happen, I wanted a few quality years in with my husband before kids came into the picture, so in turn, I wanted to be married young. Now, I didn't always think my plan would be God's plan, but luckily, it was :) So with that being my case, marriage for me is a bit different. I find it very interesting how we just take on things and make decisions. I know it doesn't sound interesting, it's normal!, but to me, it's odd sometimes! I think a lot of that is because I never had to make those kinds of decisions, because I was still in school and was being financially supported by my parents. So I'm not sure if this is a marriage thing or real world thing. Anyways, it's still very fun! I even find myself sometimes with a smirk on my face after a "real" decision has been made. It's quite empowering if I do say so myself!

The other thing is what I expected marriage to be like. I think I really thought the world stopped revolving for a little while! After all the planning, and finally the day, and then the honeymoon, I guess I thought the rest of the world was in on it too! I mean, it's all I did! Well, me and my mom :) But after the honeymoon, reality set back in for Derrick as he returned to work, but not for me! Being unemployed, I was able to go and spend all the money we got and re-decorate! It was awesome! I think Bed, Bath, and Beyond and Belk know me by name. That could be good or bad! So once I was finally employed (praise Jesus!) I realized that the world was still revolving! However, I feel very lucky to have been able to get our place organized. For those of you who know me, I'm pretty OCD when it comes to cleanliness and organization. So it was really great. Even more so once I realized how little time I would have when I started working.

And the last part.... we haven't been married for years. I guess I expected marriage to be like my parents'. Or other people who have been married for x-amount of years. I guess it never occurred to me that once we got married, it would take some time for the normalcy to come! It sounds ridiculous, but it's so true! I assumed we would automatically know exactly what to do in every situation. Either my parents put on a really good show, or they really do know exactly what to do! Maybe it's both. I just find it interesting that my parents, your parents, whomever parents, all started off as newlyweds too. I knew this, but a different light has been shed on it, being a newlywed.

Needless to say, marriage has been a lot different than I expected. Not necessarily in a bad way. It's very refreshing. For me, it was the next, normal step. It never felt out of the ordinary really. I was ready for it. But that doesn't mean it's not different than what I thought! For a long time Derrick and I would talk about how it didn't feel very different! We were waiting for one of those euphoric moments when we look at the other and think, " WHAT?! We're married?!" That didn't happen..... I was waiting for it too! But now, I realize it's more than that. It's 2 people, still living life, still in a revolving world, enjoying each other along the way. And I like that :)

Weekend Celebrations

Goodness, it has been a while! Needless to say, we have been busy!

Derrick has been extremely busy with work and I've just been busy with work! He has been having to work a lot of nights lately, so usually we hang out for a while until he has to go back and then I get caught up on the things that are driving me insane! Like organizing and cleaning, mostly :) I can't imagine what it will be like when we have a bigger place!

This weekend we celebrated my birthday and Gold Rush! On Friday night, Derrick and I went out, a little shopping, a little Kani house, and that's about it! It was very enjoyable to just spend some quality time together. On Saturday, we walked around at Gold Rush, and Derrick's parents and sister visited. It was freezing this year! But we warmed up with some homemade beef stew. Yum! And today we met my family for lunch! I got lots of great gifts, thanks everyone!

It's been entirely too long since I last posted but I will work on it. I can't even begin to try and catch you up. I'll do better :)

Catching Up

Whew... what a whirlwind it has been these past couple weeks! I am glad, in one way, cause it means I am doing something besides sitting around and blogging, but sad in another, because I don't get to sit around and blog :) I'd much rather be busy! School is still going great. Finally into my schedule and am loving it. Work is going well for Derrick, so we have been good!

Last weekend, we went to my parents house to celebrate my brothers birthday! Played a little rockband, Derrick took a little nap, and then we came home! That was on Sunday. On Saturday, I took the MAT, which I could barely decipher, ugh, and Derrick had to work an event. So to relieve my frustration with the MAT, I went shopping :) I quickly forgot about it!

Last night, Derrick and I went out to dinner, which was nice! Today, we tried to sleep it, but our bodies don't realize it's Saturday, so we woke up about 8:30. Not happy! Derrick cooked us breakfast, which was also wonderful, and then we took a nap. ha! Which was better than sleeping in. Anyways, we got up, I started cleaning, since it's practically impossible now that I have a job, and Derrick joined a while after. We got everything cleaned very well, and then took our cars to wash and vacuum! I have never used one of the Do-It-Yourself ones, until today! It was quite interesting. I enjoyed it, but I felt like I had to go so fast! I wanted to have a water fight, but it wasn't worth $5! So now our apartment and our cars are clean! I love that! If only I could make Derrick love that :)

I think that's about it. Nothing very interesting going on here recently! Maybe soon :)

One Year Ago

One year ago today, Derrick and I got engaged. Let me preface this by saying that it was the start of something I could and still can't comprehend! But before we get to that, let's talk about how we met...

My freshman year of college, my roommate was very into outdoors stuff, etc, and she took a ropes course that rec sports offered. She knew I liked that kind of thing too and encouraged me to take it. Well, I signed up and if you can't attend one year, they keep you on the list for first invites for the next year. Well, it always worked that I couldn't go, until my junior year. I took the offer and was prepared for it! By this time, my roommate was already helping set it up, as a side job. So she was also working it. Well, this came to my advantage when I realized how terribly afraid I would be. She was an instructor, I guess you could say, and was helping everyone through each challenge. Heights were involved, which has never been a fear of mine, until I'm all alone, thousand of feet up, and I had to climb a tree to get there. I hated it! I enjoyed it overall, but was so scared. Well, Derrick was also an instructor. He was working the rope wall. I had no problem with this until I had to repel down. I climbed it, slipped some, but with Derrick's encouragement (even though I wanted to tell him to shut up at time), I made it. But, I refused to repel down. I said I would try, and I did, but as soon as they gave me one inch to prop my foot on and then hang in mid-air, I decided very quickly it was not for me. However, the only other way down was to jump, or climb down a teeny tiny, unsturdy pole. None of my options suited me. I think I prayed for God to just go ahead and come back. I was ready to go! Well, I had no choice but to repel. I was so worked up over this, and got a little teary. I did not trust myself to hang in mid-air. Well, I did it, and at the bottom was Derrick, waiting. He said something really sweet, but I was so upset about repelling, I can't remember now what it was. Well, after that, I was ready to be done! I knew the rest of the weekend would be challenging, but I completed all of the challenges, successfully, except one, but I didn't have the upper body strength for it, so I don't count it :) Well, I was finally onto the challenges that involved being 10 inches off the ground. Much more my cup of tea, apparently. Well, I was standing in the back of the crowd and Derrick was in the process of taking down one of the challenges. Well, I happened to look his way, and he motioned for me to come over. He wanted me to hold his ladder while he climbed up the tree to take the hooks down. Derrick won't admit it now, but it was the turning point in our relationship :)Maybe he won't admit it cause he doesn't know, but it was, ok?! I had already noticed him throughout the weekend and was telling my roommate to give me some info about him! She told me what she knew, but it wasn't enough! ANyways, Derrick became a big joke in my apartment for a little while. The roommate that was working the course loved to talk about how I thought he was cute and etc. yadda yadda yadda. Well, in the meantime I decided to ref intramurals. I had already been to a couple workshops, and Derrick had been there, since he is a ref, however I hadn't noticed. So at the next workshop, I noticed! Well, flag football was starting, and we both began to ref. Before it started, we had found eachother on facebook, and chatted a little there. We saw eachother almost everyday and he always made a point to come talk to me. I loved it! He finally asked me on a date, and after that date, we saw eachother everyday, except for holiday breaks. And one year later, got engaged. See, I told you holding his ladder was the turning point for us. Ha!

It was a Saturday morning, our one year of dating anniversary, and I was very excited. Some of my friends were getting engaged and I knew I wanted to marry Derrick and could not be much more patient, however, I also knew that this day would be bring me no new shiny ring, as he had told me he would never do it on a day I was expecting it. I would later learn, he's a liar :) jk. It was reverse-psychology. Anyways, with the help of my 3 roommates, he planted a note on my car. Somehow, I don't remember how, I retrieved it off my car. It read for me to get ready, and go to Amicalola Falls, a place we would go and watch the sunset. However, I somehow missed a small strip of paper that was also in the envelope, telling me what time to be there. Well, once I got there, I read the note again to make sure I was going to the right place, and out comes the strip of paper. Luckily, I was right on target, but about 15 minutes early. In my letter, I was also told not to contact anyone unless it was an emergency. Well, the problem with that is, once you tell me I CAN'T do something, I really want to. Immature, yes. Can I help it? No. So, of course, I texted him to make sure it was ok I was there early. He said it was ok, but not to do it again. ha! I didn't know it's cause he had just left! Anyways, I get my note from the receptionist and am sent to the next location. This goes on for a few locations, and finally, I arrive at the driving range, where we went on our first date. He was there, sitting on a bench. My (knowing) roommates had dressed me, so I was in a dress, and was a little concerned about being at the driving range. It was rather short and not an ok dress to hit golf balls in. It was to my advantage that Derrick had no intentions of golfing! So after pressuring him to go eat, cause I was hungry, he finally gave in. We stood up, and he handed me my last clue. It read "Turn Around". He was down on one knee and pulled out a ring. He gave a whole speech but I had tunnel vision for that sparkly ring! I don't remember a thing he said! Well, after some tears and such, he blindfolded me. Note to guys: DO NOT BLINDFOLD A NEWLY ENGAGED WOMAN! All I wanted to do was check out my new bling! But I complied, hesitantly. Well, he told me were going to dinner, but he had planned a surprise engagement party with family and friends! It was such a bittersweet day! Couldn't ask for a better enagagement, ring, or guy! I'm one blessed girl!

Am I a little sentimental today? apparently! But I have every reason to be!

MIA

So apparently having a real job does affect my ability to blog. But nevertheless, I will continue to update when I can keep my eyes open! I can't even remember what we did last weekend! I'm sure it was way fun and exciting though, and by way fun and exciting I mean we probably stayed home and enjoyed each other's company. I have still been pretty tired after school, but a friend and I have been going to a new workout class... ZUMBA. I love it! For anyone who does not know what that is, it's like a dance class, but the moves are workout moves. It's awesome.

We did finish painting the cornhole sets last weekend, I guess that's what we did :) They look awesome! I should post a pic but I don't feel like it!

I know something good happened that I was going to blog about it, but my mind is drawing a blank! Oh well!

We had our first small group on Monday night, and it went great. Can't wait to dig in with this group and really learn each other's hearts! It's going to be exciting!

My car has recently been acting funny, which is unusual, so I was getting nervous. Well, I was driving on Wednesday and it just died. In the middle.of.the.road. Luckily no one was directly behind me, but it took me 4 times to get it going again. So we took it to the shop on Wednesday night, where they told me that is a really hard problem to diagnose becuase they typically need it to fail for them. Well, come Thursday they can't get it die. They call me mid-afternoon and tell me and ask to keep it again. We agree and are hoping they can figure it out. So, in the meantime, I am driving Derrick's truck. Now, first of all, I was not happy about this. I was very fortunate I was able to, don't get me wrong, but I hate that truck. I'm just not used to driving it I guess I should say. But thank God I didn't have to walk, which actually isn't an option, but anyways, you get the idea. So on Thursday night, I drive to the gym cause it's raining and the truck is making the most awful sound you have ever heard. It was literally squealing at me. I assumed it was just making the noise inside the car, but that thought quickly vanished as I was driving around the Drill Field and people were turning to see what robot was coming towards them. Talk about putting a bag over your head! I always feel so sorry for those people, but sometimes find myself aggravated cause it's always very loud and annoying, and now, I am one of them. Great :) So, of course, after my workout, there's no getting around driving it back, since it is the only car we currently have. So, here I am, driving back, the looks more annoyed this time, and I finally make it there. Well, I let Derrick know there is a dying animal trapped somewhere in his truck, and make him go look at it. Well, he already figured it was his power-steering cause the hose has a leak. Well, I think that power-steering is a luxury and I'm just going to have to deal with the noise. In my head, I was already scheming my way out of having to drive it the next morning. Well, lucky for me, it is a luxury, but if you have it, it must be maintained. So, Derrick has a friend get said fluid and he fixes it! Yay! So on Friday, the shop calls me and they got my car to die, have the part in stock, and after playing phone tag for a couple hours, my car is fixed. $230 later, but fixed! Praise the Lord! Just so happy they were able to locate the problem. So, now I am driving my wonderful vehicle again, no squealing ones :)

I am also eating meat again. I know, I know. And I must say I am more tired because of it, but I am still doing it. But I do try to keep my mind open to other things.

Lately, I have really begun to see Derrick and my lives meshing together. It so neat to see us really becoming one. I can't really explain it, I guess, but it makes for interesting moments! Maybe it's cause I actually have a life now that I am employed. woo! Which is still going great. I really enjoy it. The 6th graders are definitely interesting, but I feel sorry for them because I HATED middle school. They keep me on my toes, that's for sure.

Quick story to tell: I was talking to one of my 4th graders Friday morning, and he wasn't being cooperative so I said, "tell me a story." He wouldn't comply, and I kept jokingly begging him, and it quickly became a game. Well, I guess he had had enough because after one time of begging he replied, "once upon a time, there was this teacher who wouldn't leave me alone. The end." Gotta love kids! It was pretty funny... I won't lie.

This weekend has been quite eventful so far. I decided I wanted highlights, but wanted to save money and could do them myself. I have done this numerous times in the past, with highlight and coloring, so no big deal. After the many years and only one bad outcome, the odds are against me. or with me. I don't know the right one to say. Anyways, let's just say the only thing that ended up odd was my hair. I was literally.a.blonde! It was bad. So after my sweet husband and helped me pull my hair through the cap, and when I say helped, he did, however, this was his first experience so it took FOREVER! I was getting very impatient but tried to stay quiet. So after the hours it took, I had to let him know there was no way around doing it all again with dark color. So at 1am, we head to Wal-Mart for my hair dye. And of course ended up with some other things, because who doesn't pick up what they need when they are there? regardless of the time. So with my bad dye job on head, I'm prancing around Wal-Mart at 1am. Well, we get home and get started on dye job #2. Thank goodness it came out ok! I had already planned to make a trip to the hair salon. So Derrick was welcomed into the married life officially at 3am this morning when it all ended and we were finally able to go to sleep!

Today we went to Fall Festival at my new school and looked around, came home, ate lunch. Now, Derrick has some friends over, whom have all currently gone to eat wings and watch some football, I took a little nap while they were here for about an hour or so, and I'm sure they will all be back soon for some more football! I don't mind, though. He needs someone to be as interested in the game as he is. We all know that wouldn't be me. Unless you call interested falling asleep, then I definitely enjoy it :)

That's all for now! I'll try to update more through the week! Oh, and I'm taking the MAT on Saturday, the 26th, pray for me! I'll post about grad school stuff later, but it may be in the works!

No Longer Unemployed

Well, I almost have my first week under my belt! It hasn't been bad. Everyone is so friendly and I am really enjoying myself. It is a lot like student teaching again, except I don't have the work to do when I get home, but I already know I will learn so much, so it's really a blessing! I'll just be extra prepared for, hopefully, next year, when I have my own room! However, it has worn me out! It's just the hours! I leave around 6:45, and by the time I get home, I stay awake as long as I can, eat, and hit the bed before 9:00. But I'm glad to be with the kids again! And no worries, I treated myself to a nice mani and pedi after my first day. Thank you Gold Nails and Spa.

Our Labor Day was wonderful. It was nice to have a long weekend before we would both be working! Derrick has been insisting on building a cornhole set. Well, I had no problems with it, didn't understand why he wanted one, but have at it. That was......until I realized we would be keeping them in our apartment! Ugh! It's not so bad, but he better be finding a good hiding spot for them. Anyways, the past week has been like having a newborn baby in our house. He is so particular and careful about these things. He built them at my parent's house and then came back and started sanding, in the apartment, so he quickly moved it outside, and then we painted the base coat. After our trip to Home Depot. Boy, was that a sight. There's so much learning to do when you get married. Somehow, I thought the paint magically appeared when you needed it. So anyways, now we are onto the details for the painting. Which, Derrick spent 5 LONG hours, creating a stencil for this project. I kid you not. I should have taken pictures of this whole ordeal. It would have been hilarious! He even asked me to paint after my first day of working. The picture of that face might have been terms for a motif, according to Lumpkin County Investigative Unit :) I don't even know if that exists, but it sounds good :) So now I am off to humor him and possibly start painting these masses of wood in my apartment. Oh.... the joys of marriage.

And now there is a large damp spot on our ceiling... this could get interesting.....

Apartment Pics!

So, after we got back from the Honeymoon, I was fortunate enough to be able to do decorate our apartment! I wish I would have done before/after pics, cause some of you have no idea what it was like before :) A true bachelor pad!

Our amazing embroidered sheets- wedding gift!

Bathroom

Entrance to Bedroom/Bathroom

Bathroom

Bathroom

Bedroom

Bedroom

Kitchen/Living Room

Office Room

Our wedding gift from Kelly- HOLMES

Living Room

Living Room

Kitchen Table

Kitchen

Living Room

A Day In The Life

I know, 2 posts in 2 days!! Be happy!

Let me just give you a little glimpse into my daily life. 5:45am workout, came back, cooked eggs and muffins, got ready, prepped for an interview, went to my interview, came home, started on my grocery list, got an offer on my interview, contemplated hard, discussed it with Derrick, mom, dad, previous professors, anyone who would listen :), accepted a job, finished my grocery list, went grocery shopping, bought enough groceries to last us a year, all while forgetting the one thing my husband asked for ;), came home, put it all away, went to Wal-Mart for that one thing, which turned into 10, came home, made a fruit bowl, chatted with Derrick at work, started to get concerned about the fruit/yogurt/cherrios concoction he wants to make when he gets home, and now here I am, blogging amidst my terribly busy day :)

Ok, so that's not the typical day in my life, but I want you to think it is :) Especially the early morning workout!

But yes, I accepted a job in White County today as a Special Education Parapro for 5/6th grade. It is definitely not what I have mentally prepared for over the past 4 years, but it's a job, and I'm still very excited about it and what it may bring! This also means I had to turn down the long-term sub position. It just seemed like the best thing to do right now. It's already so weird not constantly looking for jobs on TeachGeorgia or Craigs List, or all the other places I look for them! But I'm not complaining :) I start next Tuesday :)

So that's all I really wanted to say! Thanks for all your prayers!! I'll keep you posted!

Just Life

Before I start getting into the good stuff, let me make it clear that I talked to my sister numerous times this week. Wouldn't want her freaking again :)

Lately, life has been showing itself to Derrick and I. In the past week, I have had a job interview, been rejected, dealt with the bank for charges we are disputing, been offered a minimum wage daycare position for a few hours everyday (that I turned down), been told my long term sub position would start sooner than expected, paid a lot more for one of my prescriptions than before my insurance changed! (still trying to get around this one :)) and gotten another interview for a position I am not sure is the perfect fit... whew!

Let's see.... I had an interview for a part-time special education position. It went well, but I did not get the job. It's discouraging, but I know it must not be the right one. My SISTER's boyfriend's dad knows a lady who works at a daycare here and I spoke with her about the possibility of a position. Right now, nothing will come of it, but if she gets approved for another Pre-K classroom, we will see. Got a call today about a position that I am cautious of. The interview is tomorrow morning. I am going, but it is definitely something Derrick and I will have to consider. More details soon!

A company online got our debit card number and made a charge. Not a large amount, but had to take care of that!

We also have joined a small group through our church, Browns Bridge. We are really excited! It's great to be a part of a group that is the same stage of life as we are! We met and formed Saturday night and all had dinner last night. We can't wait to see where this leads us!

Got to have lunch with Stephanie, one of my bridesmaids! We had not seen each other since the wedding! Anyways, it was great to just talk "married life" with her! I'm so fortunate I have a few friends who just got married, because I like to be reassured we're normal :) And we are, in case you were wondering :)

Derrick is not holding up his end of the Game Night for working out. I didn't need him anyways! Ugh. So now I have to work out for myself. Gah! But I am, and am going to start doing 5:30 AM workouts with a friend. Now, that's a big deal for me. Those who know me well, know that I go to bed early and sleep as last as possible. I love my sleep and I don't like it to be interrupted! I've already realized that no matter how much I love my husband, and no matter how much I want him to go to work with a full stomach, and no matter how much I really do want to cook for him, getting up at 7:00 to cook him breakfast just isn't going to happen.

Still not eating meat.... it's beginning to cause some problems. I'm having to get very creative in my cooking, but so far, so good! Everything I have cooked, we both like! I still cook meat for Derrick, and I just eat more veggies. I think he's hating it though, cause then I make him eat all the leftover meat for lunch that week to get it out of my fridge! Oh, the joys of our lives :)

Still haven't made it to a sewing class, but I am still just as excited about them! They are getting into some holiday decorations soon and I am pumped! and PJ pants. I love some comfy PJ pants!

How could I forget?! My sweet friend, Carole, came to visit this past week. She was visiting her Papa on the lake and was then making her way to her lake house, and stopped by. It ended up being longer than expected cause the weather was rainy! So, we had lunch, shopped on the square, and just hung out. And of course treated ourselves to the Fudge Factory! I mean, it's where I take everyone. It keeps them coming back to visit me :)

I think that's about all that's going on in our lives right now. Keep reading :) Love you all!

For My Whiny Sister

After speaking with my wonderful sister today, I could tell her feelings were quite hurt. She seems to think that Derrick is the number one priority in my life. I mean, no way. He's not my husband or anything. She seems to hate the fact that Derrick and I are a family now, too. I think she almost cried when I said she wasn't my family anymore. haha. Her feelings are hurt that I never blog when I see her. So let's get this straight. I saw her about a week ago when she and her boyfriend came over when they were in Dahlonega. All we did was sit on the couch and talk, but apparently you all need to know this. And on Friday night, before Derrick's birthday dinner, I saw her and the rest of my family for approximately 5 minutes, to pick up Derrick's surprise Braves tickets, and apparently you all should know that too. Let's see.... I talked to her today. I talked to her 3 days ago, I talked to her 5 days ago. WHINY!

Leslie thinks this blog is all about me and Derrick. HELLO! I guess she didn't read the titles. Leslie isn't where the heart is.

This is me professing my never-ending love for my family, all of them :)

Happy, Leslie?!

Birthday Weekend

As I sit here writing this, Derrick has the day off and has decided to make a run to Home Depot, aka The Mall for him, to figure out the cost of making a cornhole game. Now, I love cornhole, however, I'm not sure where he plans on a.storing it and b. using it. For those of you who do not know, N. GA does not have a football team and you don't see too many people playing cornhole at the baseball or basketball games. Ohhh, Derrick.

I left the blog up last night as I was contemplating blogging, but didn't, and Derrick ventured into the office, and I noticed him reading it. He definitely does not keep up with it! It was pretty funny. I don't think he realized I blogged about him. ha. I came in and said "What are you doing?" and he said "Don't talk to me." Ha. He was kidding, of course.

Well, this weekend we celebrated Derrick's 25th birthday! ahh! He's so old :) When he woke up, I, with a sweet smile on my face, asked "can you still see and hear?" He didn't find it as funny :) Well anyways, on Friday we had his birthday dinner at Kani House. Derrick and I look for any reason to eat there! And on Saturday, I surprised him with tickets to the braves game for us and some friends! It was wonderful, and of course we finished it with a trip to the Varsity. Let's just say it was quite the different experience eating a BLT without the B instead of a hamburger! But I'm staying strong! His parents visited on Sunday, after church, and had lunch. Steaks for them, MorningStar nuggets for me :) Thank God for MorningStar!

I had a great phone call about a possible job/interview this morning, so I'm excited about that! I will blog about it more when it's more official! But as for now, subbing is still in the stars for me.

Keep Reading :)

No New News

Well, let's see.... today was my first day I got called in to sub! yay! It was for the teacher I will be long term subbing for come October. And it basically kicked my butt! I came in and took a great nap! Derrick came in from work, and I have to admit he was very sweet, but when 6 o'clock rolled around, the poor boy was hungry and asked me what the plans for dinner were, and of course I politely responded, Leave Me Alone, I'm sleeping :) He must really love me. But then I realized I had used one of the ingredients I needed for the dinner I had planned so Taco Bell for him it was. Not me, I won't eat that.

Derrick has been ridiculously busy with work recently. We have barely had time for each other.... scratch that... he has barely had time for me! But it will all be over tomorrow night!

So my non meat eating thoughts are still very present. .Honestly, I didn't have meat for like 3 days, which was a big change for me, and had some chicken last night and could only eat 1/2 I was so disgusted. I'm not sure what this phase is. I like it, but I don't. I kinda wanted to slowly get away from it so I could ease into changing my cooking habits, but I'm not sure it's going to work that way. I did eat a turkey sandwich for lunch today and wasn't disgusted but did try to eat it fast so I wouldn't think about it. I can eat seafood though. That doesn't bother me. Man... my life is rough :)

Oh yeah, it's Derrick's BIRTHDAY WEEK!!!! I'm so excited. He doesn't even care, which has to change. I love birthdays! I love for them to be a big deal. I don't know why. So I'm trying to convince him to be excited. It's on Saturday and his sisters is this Friday! So Happy Birthday Week to her too! yay!

Sewing updates... tomorrow is the first class. I think I might skip out on this one. It's not one I'm enormously interested in, but the next one is soon! Tomorrow is also apparently a free workshop day, so I might drop in to see about that and get some questions for future classes answered.

Carole is safely home from England! yay!! ANd all moved into Athens too!

Stay tuned :)

Yes, No, Maybe Sew

First of all, I've decided I really hate having to come up with a title for my posts. I think that's the hardest part.

But anyways, I discovered sewing classes in Dahlonega! I am so excited. For those of you who don't know, a few years ago, I decided that I really wanted to start sewing. So "Santa" brought me a sewing machine for Christmas and I have loved it! I can't follow a pattern to save my life, but I can do my own stuff. I made one of those t-shirt quilts, which I started like 4 years ago and still have not put the backing on. Oh well. I sewed it at least! And I do random things occasionally, so I decided, while I'm unemployed, that I wanted to start taking classes and really learn how to do cool stuff, so I found some. I can't wait! They do workshops ever so often and I'm pumped!

On Tuesday, I got a manicure and pedicure. Let's just say, I felt like I was cheating on my husband it was so good. It's kind of sad that it has only been 2 months since my last one and it feels like it had been 2 years. I'm pretty spoiled, thanks Mom and Dad :) Anyways, the place I went to is not my usual place but I didn't want to go to Dawsonville or Gainesville so I stayed here. I will continue to go back! They give the best leg/foot massage I have ever had. It was amazing. So anyways, lately I have been seriously contemplating giving up meat. Now, I love meat. The reason I am struggling with this decision is mainly because I don't really know what to eat if I don't eat meat. Anyways, I say all that to say this: The nail tech randomly told me that he had just given up meat! I was so intrigued. So we went on to discuss it and he had been sober, if you will, for like 8 days or something. His goal was one month or so, so I was really encouraged! I'm still debating. Derrick practically collapses when I tell him about this, but he'll be ok :) I mean, maybe it's not for me, I don't know, but I want to try it. I've realized, since I've been married, how gross I think it is. Maybe it's cause I handle it a lot more than I used to, I don't know, but I'm pretty disgusted by it all. So we shall see!

I also told Derrick I really want to go to Colorado. Now, that has nothing to do with any of this, but I thought I would share anyways. Maybe we can go someday! Anyone want to join? We're lots of fun, promise!

Oh, and we have been married for 2 months today! yay! We're making it :)

Updates...etc

Well, let's see! First of all, HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Derrick's mom. Her birthday was on Saturday and we went out to dinner at Chili's with them. I have to recommend the 2 for $20 there! Derrick and I can't get enough of it!

Friday, Kell came up to see our apartment and see us! We had a girls night, even though Derrick was there. We watched We Are Marshall, but apparently Ellen DeGeneres tweets ruined all the sad moments :)

Other than that, not much has happened. I know, eventful! Shark Week is over and Bachelorette doesn't come on anymore so my life is more boring than it was before!

Derrick and I have not been good about working out/eating right recently so we decided to implement Game Night. Well, I decided and Derrick concurred :) Anyways, Derrick hates the board games I want to play, and I don't understand his, so the person who goes to the gym the most that week gets to choose the game we play. I'm really excited! I don't think he is as excited as I am, but that's ok, I like winning :)

My brother started middle school today. Poor thing. No one tells you how horrible middle school is till it's all over. Maybe he won't catch on!

I really don't have much else to comment on, so that's all for now!

New Purchases

WE GOT A FAN! It feels like I just won the lottery. Ok, I don't know how that feels, but I'm sure it's close. First of all, I never knew how much fun it could be to pick out a fan. I must be really be old and married now. But seriously, there are so many options! I met my parents at Home Depot yesterday morning, and I was there for quite a while before they got there so I had plenty of time to pick out the perfect fan. Now, you may ask why Derrick didn't go?! Well, he was working, but the other reason is because he would have wanted the fan with the most wildlife on it. And believe me, Home Depot does carry that. So, I politely left him out of the choosing :) Anyways, my dad knows about all that stuff so I wanted to make sure we got a decent one. After that, they came to our apartment and installed it! Yay! I slept so awesome last night!

While I was waiting in Home Depot, I had ample time so I ventured over to the paints. Oh yes.... I definitely picked out the colors for our non existent home. But I'm really excited about them. I've realized I love decorating. Mainly I love spending money on things, but I really do enjoy decorating. So I've already got our non existent house decorated. Now, I'm in no hurry to get a house. I love living where we do and I love not being "home alone". I have a very scared personality, if you will, so I wouldn't want to be at home alone for long. And you wouldn't want to walk into my home if I was home alone. You would be knocked out with the closest sharp/heavy thing to me. So anyways, get excited. Our house will be presh!

I also ventured to Milledgeville with Kelly on Friday to see Sarah's new place and her little Pre-K class. So cute! Both of them! And I finally got Kell's wedding gift to us!! YAY! I got a sneak peek before the wedding, but it wouldn't come in till afterwards and we haven't seen eachother since then! Anyways, it was one of those frames that spell your last name from different things outside. For example, the O is a bike tire, the E is tree branches, etc. It's perfect! And the pictures were all taken in Athens, which is where we got married, so sentimental too!

I met Derrick at the mall after getting back from Milledgeville.It was Tax Free Weekend, so basically we are idiots for going to the mall, but it wasn't too bad! Lots of people, but no lines. Anyways, I only say that to note that I am currently washing some of the shirts he got, and I had no idea how many things they put on an Oxford shirt for males. It literally took me 5 minutes to get everything off. And they hide things, too. Ugh. Maybe I should go into the packaging industry. I'd save someone a lot of time!

Derrick has been very busy lately! It is what they call the turn for the apartments, so summer people are moving out and Fall people are moving in. In the midst of all that, it is also RA/CA training, so they are training all of their new staff. So, we haven't spent much time together lately, and for the next couple weeks, it will be that way. But at least I have a FAN! I can't get over it.

Last night we went to Derrick's boss' house for dinner to kick off the new year with the staff. I guess I get to celebrate now too! yay! It was a lot of fun though. After being entertained by their small children for quite some time, we played Brain Academy on the Wii. Let's just say, that game is fun! And let's also say, Derrick and I compliment each other very well. Ha. There's this test you can take to determine what you are good at, i.e. Compute, Identify, Visualize, Analyze, etc. and it gives you a score and predicts your future career. Well, after Derrick's difficulty in the game, I was terrified he was going to be predicted to be a Custodian. But whew! He wasn't. It was consultant. Ha, that's pretty good too. Well, mine was Museum Curator. I don't even know what that means but it sounds dreadful. So I'm not going to look it up.

My efforts in a teaching job are still not looking positive. Fortunately, I have been speaking with a principal in my area and have a long term sub job starting sometime around October for Maternity Leave, so I am very excited! It is for a 3rd grade class. I also hope to be doing lots more subbing through the year, so those are my plans for now!

I'm going to try and start posting pictures of things going on, so stay tuned! Also, I'm a grammar Nazi, but I don't proofread these things, so don't judge me. But if you want me to keep posting, I'm not going to read it 10 times to be perfect! Well, that's all that's going in the Holmes' household!

Cucumber Cooking

Saturday was a very lazy day in the Holmes' Household. Friday, we had ventured to Stone Mountain with some friends, climbed the mountain, which I must admit was not the easy climb it was when I was a kid, and watched the Laser Show. It was Derrick's first time, and probably last, climbing the mountain at least. ha. Let's just say he didn't love it.

Anyways, come Saturday morning, we were exhausted. We decided not to do anything. This was probably our first unbooked Saturday since the wedding. Anyways, so over the past couple of weeks we have been given numerous cucumbers. I decided that I needed to find a recipe that called for quite a few so that they would not go bad! Well, I found the perfect one! It was in my Cook Yourself Thin cookbook and it was a chicken parmesan with a cucumber salad. I was excited! We would be able to use them all! Well, this recipe was quite the feat. It was all from scratch, and I love to cook, but I don't love a lot of ingredients. But I bought them anyways and was on my way to making this wonderful dinner. Well, it came time to cook the cucumbers. They weren't cooking how the recipe was describing, which was fine, I figured as much. I continued anyways and after a while, I convinced myself it was exactly how it was supposed to be. If only.....

Now, Derrick and I were sitting at the table, eating and chatting, and began a conversation about some homemade pickles we had also been given. The cucumbers I had just cooked almost tasted like a pickle to me. Normally, this would make sense, but let me let you in on a little secret.... my recipe called for ZUCHINNI! not pickles! So I asked him if pickles were made from zuchinni, since I am thinking that is what I am eating. He politely responds that they are made from cucumbers he believes, and that's when I put two and two together. Needless to say, we had quite the laugh. I don't know what I was thinking. I mean, they're both green and have very similiar characteristics. Well, in case you were wondering, it was still good, and we probably liked it better! Derrick did at least. Anyways, maybe one day I will try the recipe with what it actually calls for and see the difference! You live, you learn!!

Yesterday we joined Derrick's parents at their church for the annual Homecoming. We enjoyed it! It was like a small Thanksgiving dinner! Yum! Then came home and I took quite the nap!

I got my pictures in from Snapfish to start the Bridal Showers scrapbook! I am so excited!

Anyways, have a great week!

And the Winner Is....

Derrick! Ah! So he suggested that we close the blinds and pull the curtains through the day and it may get cooler. He was right! Last night was much better! Then again, he fell asleep on the couch, so maybe he really IS the problem :)

On another note, I got a Blackberry Storm! yay! So I have been trying to figure it out all day. We went with Verizon, so it's all new to me. I have a new number too, so if you need it, let me know.

When Derrick's mom was up, she also taught me how to use my pressure cooker, a wedding gift we got. Let's just say, that was the most heart-wrenching 30 minutes of my life. It shakes, rattles, spews, spits. I'm surprised it didn't start doing tricks. Anyways, it was successful, but I could have sworn the top was going to fly off at any second. Any time I touched, I jumped 5 feet. It was quite the scene :) Let's just hope I have that luck next time. My heart is beating fast just thinking about it!

Today was a successful cursive writing day. Ha. Leslie might be right.... it might only take me like one more Monday to fully grasp! I should have done this a long time ago!

And I love that a lot of you are reading this! I've already gotten so many verbal comments. I looove it! Keep 'em comin!

Prayer request though! One of Derrick's co-workers is having a double bypass tomorrow... please pray for him and his family! Thanks!

The Next Steps...

Well, not much to update about really! Derrick went and saw Harry Potter with some friends on Friday. I'm just a. not a movie person and b. not a HP person so while he did that, I enjoyed a night in. Saturday, we went to the Braun-Earnest wedding and celebrated with them! Sunday was church and that's about it!

I've become pretty lame on Mondays. I literally sit around and wait for the Bachelorette to come on. It's ridiculous. And next week is the Season Finale! Ahh! I don't know what I'm gonnd do now!

Lately, through the week I have been taking lots of naps. At first, I felt very lazy, then I realized it was because my lack of sleep at night! Let me preface what I am about to say with this: I love my husband dearly and I love the apartment we have and thank God every day for it, because had we not had this apartment, Derrick and I would have had to postponed the wedding. So I'm not complaining, just stating the facts. Nonetheless, I can not wait until we can have a KING bed. Ugh. We have a full right now and it is just not cutting it! And it doesn't help that out room is 28486204187 degrees at night. For as long as I can remember, I've had a full bed. The only difference is back then, it was ONLY ME! Luckily, I love naps and if I could just take really good naps for the rest of my life and skip a full night's sleep, I'd do it. The more I think about it, kids and I might really agree one day! So other than that, I have no complaints about the married life :)

Derrick and I have also been looking for the TV we want to buy. For those of you who don't know, we decided to forgo the traditional wedding gifts to one another, and opted to purchase a large flat screen TV. We still gave small wedding gifts, but wanted to make our first big purchase together instead. So, we have been shopping around for those. Hopefully we will find our deal soon!

We have also been looking into getting new cell phones. We're both still on our parents family plans and need to get our own! So we are in the process of that. Trying to decide between ATT and Verizon, and it seems like Verizon is a. the most recommended and b. the cheapest, surprisingly!

My plan for the next couple of weeks is to start scrapbooking! I have always wanted to do this, but just never got my ducks in a row. So, I am finally going to do it! Starting with engagement and leading up the wedding. I'm really excited!

For those of you who know me, know that I do not know how to write in cursive. After fourth grade, I was never required or asked to write in cursive, so I lost all ability. Literally. I can do my first name, but my former last name, not so much. So it's obvious that me trying to write Holmes is really sad. It really bothers me, so I've decided I'm going to teach myself! I'm really excited about this too! I have a plan of how I am going to do this... I don't want the traditional 2nd grade cursive so I picked a font on the computer that I like and I'm going to attempt to teach myself. I mean, it can't be that hard. I taught Kindergartners how to write the alphabet in print, so it's the same, except I'm 22 and it's cursive. So, yay!

Derrick tries to convince me every day that he needs a shotgun. ha. He's funny. The day of the wedding, he and the guys went to a Sporting Clay place. Let me just say, this was his FIRST time. Ok, so they all loved it and became obsessed and ever since then Derrick thinks he needs his own shotgun. Ummmm. no! I told him once he goes 10 times, we will talk about it. He's on 2. I'm winning :)

One Month and Counting...

Well, I have decided to start a blog, entertaining you with our stories of life as newlyweds! This should be fun. You can thank my dear friend, Carole, for the title of our blog. Home Sweet Holmes was taken! Anyways, here are a few reasons of why I want to start this:

a. It was suggested to me by one of my cousins that Derrick and I get a calendar and mark certain days that interesting things happen or when we make big purchases, etc. He said that he and his wife, who have been married for a quite some time, did this and they love to look back over it and are flooded with memories. The way things have been lately, I knew this would give us quite a few laughs in the coming years! So this is my version of that!

b. I'm unemployed currently and have nothing better to do than keep up with my typing skills :)

c. How neat would it be for our children (and no children comments, please! At least 3-5 years. Our plan: yes; God's Plan: I hope so!) to be able to go back and look through this when they are grown. Their parents love story, right here! chessy, I know. Deal with it.

d. I thoroughly enjoying reading other people's blogs. Even if I don't know them! Creepy, maybe, but I like it!

So, those are the current reasons behind this blog!

I, Lauren, will probably be the only one ever updating. I highly doubt Derrick will be involved with this, but have no fear, his stories will definitely be posted!

We have been married for just over a month now. Had the best wedding day anyone could ask for. It was truly the best day of my life. Everything went perfectly! We ventured to Jamaica for our honeymoon and had such a wonderful week! We were sad for it to come to an end but excited to start our lives in the real world together. And when I say real world, I mean Derrick work and me re-decorate! So, since then, I have done a 360 on this apartment and it finally feels like a little home!

Derrick's parents visited on Tuesday and it was nice to hang with them and have them see the apartment! His mom taught me how to cook okra, which let's just say, was not as easy for me as it must be for her! Let's just say, the windows had to be opened! Luckily, we still have a place to live :)

My parents and brother came up on Wednesday to see the new apartment and loved it! It was great to see them, too. Currently, I see them about every week. Thank God we didn't move states away, cause I'd definitely be having a hard time!

Leslie ended up stopping by Thursday morning, as she was in the area, for about an hour or so. We had a good little chat! Not sure if I can post about it yet, so you'll have to wait :)

Well, that catches us up on about the last month, give or take some things, but all in all, we love being married!!!

Here are some wedding pics to enjoy: