I will I will I will I will....
So I haven't necessarily been following up with my blog, and I could make 100 excuses as to why I haven't but I'm just going to be honest. I haven't had the extra positive umph in me to find any motivation to blog, and then it hit me, that's when I should be blogging. That's the thing about negativity, sometimes it gets so thick that it ways down your every part of life! I was having a conversation with a coworker & he said, "Sometimes you just have to snap out of it, you don't have the time to be all down & bla." Reminded me of this: 
:)
:) So with that, let me say a few things.
I will get it together. I will get back to being happy & enjoying each day. I will regain my focus. I will get all the things I've been procrastinating done. I will be the positive influence the world needs. I will blog regularly again. In general I will go back to being awesome. ;)
Completely unrelated but want to share Our wedding video by the amazing Taylor Graves & Jeff Kaplan! I am soo happy with it, and have watched it AT least once a day :) It's a great reminder of the special day! yay <3
Thanksvember :)
Growing up with my momma, she always drilled into my head the importance of being thankful. I've always loved Thanksgiving, not just for the food & being around family; but because it reminds people the importance of thankfulness. In undergrad I had an AMAZING professor (Dr. Slattery) that suggested in class one thanksgiving for us to take the month & think of something each day to be thankful for. I've done something similar with my family, but usually it's just the week of thanksgiving, so each November I try to stretch it for the whole month.
So this November I'd like to challenge everyone to remember how many things there are to be thankful for, and spread the good and find something you are thankful for each day; whether you post it on a blog, facebook, twitter, email, a journal, or you just say it out loud to yourself. Take a minute each day to remember to be thankful.
If you concentrate on finding whatever is good in every situation, you will discover that your life will suddenly be filled with gratitude, a feeling that nurtures the soul.
So this November I'd like to challenge everyone to remember how many things there are to be thankful for, and spread the good and find something you are thankful for each day; whether you post it on a blog, facebook, twitter, email, a journal, or you just say it out loud to yourself. Take a minute each day to remember to be thankful.
If you concentrate on finding whatever is good in every situation, you will discover that your life will suddenly be filled with gratitude, a feeling that nurtures the soul.
Best October EVER :)
So I had an obviously BUSY October, seeing that I didn't blog once---I know shame on me. So here is a quick update on the events of October <3
So October has always been my favorite month, but this October obviously takes the cake. :D
October 1, I experienced my first college football game as Steve & I (& Rachelle & Rob) went to a UGA game. (Thanks Sean Canavan) SO much fun! It was great to experience a piece of Steve's past with him, see where he went out during college & hearing all the stories...Feeling the excitement of the GA fans, I got totally sucked in. :)
October 2, my amazing girls threw us an amazing couples shower! It was perfect time for us to celebrate with some of our closest friends & a good chance for some of Steve's & my friends to meet.
Weekend of October 8-9, I had my bachelorette party weekend at Helen. It was so much fun & definitely a weekend I will never forget. We made our version of the 'hangover', without a doubt. So many laughs & crazy/amazing stories!! <3
My family came in Friday October 14, & it was so good to have them there to help me through the craziness. (My mom, brother, sister-in-law, nephew, aunt, cousin, & sister.) Without them I wouldn't have been able to get all my last minute things taken care of & I would have had a HUGE melt down with the way things started to go a little sour the day before the wedding. Also that day my amazing in-laws threw our rehearsal dinner, which was amazing! Stay tuned for the montage Rachelle put together of Steve & I, I will post it soon.
FINALLY it's October 15, 2011 & everything went AMAZING!!! The unbelievable amount of support that we received that day to help it all go off without a hitch is amazing!! It was a day that I will never forget, and thanks to our great team of photographers/videographers (Raymond, Taylor, Jeff, & Say Yes to the Dress) I will be able to relive it over & over. I wrote a previous blog about this, but everyone from stranger to friend truly came together to help us have such a special day, and we couldn't thank everyone enough.
So that very next week, October 17, Steve starts his trial medication & I go back to the real world. We are so grateful for Steve to have the opportunity to be on this trial, but it was a rough week for him. The way it will happen is Steve will go into Emory for 5 days in a row & have 22 off. Those 5 days he receives an IV of the medication, which is a painful & long process. This continues for up to 6 months, and then we find out the next step then. Steve has a great attitude that despite the pain & inconvenience of this process that he knows it is an opportunity for a cure for ALS, and is willing to sacrifice any of his time to help with this process.
October 22, is the walk for ALS. The walk was a huge success & we had a great group of people there to support Steve. I was so proud of him the walk was 2.5 miles through Atlanta, up & down hills, & he made it the whole way only needing 2 breaks! This was such a success for Steve (especially for the sudden drop in temperature) & was a huge encouragement. :)
The rest of that weekend with lots of help, we began the process of trying to organize our house. This one stay tuned for because when it actually is done, I will post pictures :) May take me a while ;)
October 26 = Happy Birthday Steve! I nominated myself for wife of the year for the whole birthday I threw him, but main reason was me cooking his steak! ;) (ew.)
Surprisingly we find out we have tickets for the Georgia/Florida game October 29. For those of you who don't live in the south let me fill you in. This game people go CRAZY for; they are huge rivals & Florida has won the past 18 games they've played against each other. The game was in Jacksonville, so after receiving the tickets (Thank you again Tori) Steve & I jump on to finding a hotel, and we left for Jacksonville Friday after work. It was another amazing experience & not just because Georgia won! It was a blast & it's always great to see things that are spur of the moment come together & turn out well. I'm also starting to think maybe Steve & I being at GA games brings good luck (so keep the tickets coming ;))
Of course in between all these events there has been work & lots of other social things going on, and I must say Steve & I are surrounded by the most amazing people ever & without them this month wouldn't have been so special or fun. We never take a minute of friendship/family relationship for granted, but that's a whole other blog.....
So October has always been my favorite month, but this October obviously takes the cake. :D
October 1, I experienced my first college football game as Steve & I (& Rachelle & Rob) went to a UGA game. (Thanks Sean Canavan) SO much fun! It was great to experience a piece of Steve's past with him, see where he went out during college & hearing all the stories...Feeling the excitement of the GA fans, I got totally sucked in. :)
October 2, my amazing girls threw us an amazing couples shower! It was perfect time for us to celebrate with some of our closest friends & a good chance for some of Steve's & my friends to meet.
Weekend of October 8-9, I had my bachelorette party weekend at Helen. It was so much fun & definitely a weekend I will never forget. We made our version of the 'hangover', without a doubt. So many laughs & crazy/amazing stories!! <3
My family came in Friday October 14, & it was so good to have them there to help me through the craziness. (My mom, brother, sister-in-law, nephew, aunt, cousin, & sister.) Without them I wouldn't have been able to get all my last minute things taken care of & I would have had a HUGE melt down with the way things started to go a little sour the day before the wedding. Also that day my amazing in-laws threw our rehearsal dinner, which was amazing! Stay tuned for the montage Rachelle put together of Steve & I, I will post it soon.
FINALLY it's October 15, 2011 & everything went AMAZING!!! The unbelievable amount of support that we received that day to help it all go off without a hitch is amazing!! It was a day that I will never forget, and thanks to our great team of photographers/videographers (Raymond, Taylor, Jeff, & Say Yes to the Dress) I will be able to relive it over & over. I wrote a previous blog about this, but everyone from stranger to friend truly came together to help us have such a special day, and we couldn't thank everyone enough.
So that very next week, October 17, Steve starts his trial medication & I go back to the real world. We are so grateful for Steve to have the opportunity to be on this trial, but it was a rough week for him. The way it will happen is Steve will go into Emory for 5 days in a row & have 22 off. Those 5 days he receives an IV of the medication, which is a painful & long process. This continues for up to 6 months, and then we find out the next step then. Steve has a great attitude that despite the pain & inconvenience of this process that he knows it is an opportunity for a cure for ALS, and is willing to sacrifice any of his time to help with this process.
October 22, is the walk for ALS. The walk was a huge success & we had a great group of people there to support Steve. I was so proud of him the walk was 2.5 miles through Atlanta, up & down hills, & he made it the whole way only needing 2 breaks! This was such a success for Steve (especially for the sudden drop in temperature) & was a huge encouragement. :)
The rest of that weekend with lots of help, we began the process of trying to organize our house. This one stay tuned for because when it actually is done, I will post pictures :) May take me a while ;)
October 26 = Happy Birthday Steve! I nominated myself for wife of the year for the whole birthday I threw him, but main reason was me cooking his steak! ;) (ew.)
Surprisingly we find out we have tickets for the Georgia/Florida game October 29. For those of you who don't live in the south let me fill you in. This game people go CRAZY for; they are huge rivals & Florida has won the past 18 games they've played against each other. The game was in Jacksonville, so after receiving the tickets (Thank you again Tori) Steve & I jump on to finding a hotel, and we left for Jacksonville Friday after work. It was another amazing experience & not just because Georgia won! It was a blast & it's always great to see things that are spur of the moment come together & turn out well. I'm also starting to think maybe Steve & I being at GA games brings good luck (so keep the tickets coming ;))
Of course in between all these events there has been work & lots of other social things going on, and I must say Steve & I are surrounded by the most amazing people ever & without them this month wouldn't have been so special or fun. We never take a minute of friendship/family relationship for granted, but that's a whole other blog.....
Special Thanks :)
Ok this is going to be short &&&&& this isn't NEARLY everyone that needs a "thank you"...However I wanted to write a special thanks to those that have gone above & beyond for Steve & me.
My beautiful & amazing bridal party! You all mean the world to me & couldn't be doing all of this without you:::::: Cori Adcok, Kylie Roger, Erica Adams, Candice Moran, Rachelle Moran, & Brittany Ledford. You are all amazing & I am grateful for each of you! From focusing me, staying on me to get things done, helping with decorations, listening to me.... You girls haven't complained once about any expenses or the "rush" y'all have been working in. I'm so excited for the amazing bachelorette party & couples shower you all have planned.
My amazing mom---between making the favors, the programs, & just listening to me vent---I love you & all your support is forever appreciated! :)
My family that is traveling down here for my wedding...it's a long drive & with such short notice y'all have done everything you can to make coming down for my wedding as amazing as possible! I'm especially grateful for my brother---he will be walking me down the ailse & is part of the wedding party. I can't wait to see everyone (which includes my niece & nephew!!!!!!! yay)
My amazing soon to be in-laws---All the help (which is LOTS), support, suggestions, & love is amazing & I am so lucky to have you all in my life!
Raymond Adams ---One of my best friends & biggest supporters. Raymond is giving me the hook up with my hair (ALWAYS) & photos for the wedding. I wouldn't be able to afford the amazing images he always provides me with & I am so grateful/blessed to have him in my life. Plus he makes my hair look AWESOME. :)
Jeff Kaplan ---One of the many photographers I've gotten to work with, get to know, & I am a HUGE fan of his work! JKAP has been gracious enough to affordably help Raymond out with photos for the wedding!! Raymond & Jeff work great together & I'm so excited to see what they work up for me! :)
Rod Michael ---I have been great friends & a fan of Rod Michael for about 4 years. I am so excited that he agreed to play for our ceremony. He has an amazing talent and Steve & I both enjoy listening to him play. His voice is AMAZING & it's going to make the ceremony that much more special. Little old--but love this performance of Rod Michael!
The Say yes to the dress Atlanta was an amazing experience as mentioned before, but I really want it to be known that Lori & the staff at Bridals by Lori are some of the most amazing people I have met in a long time!
Joel Thomas is an amazing pastor who is part of North Point church. Steve & I attend North Point & it really meant a lot to us to have someone from there to marry us. The church is HUGE so we are very grateful/fortunate to have Joel to be who is marrying us. He is an amazing person & I know he is going to do excellent on our ceremony.
Complete Music DJ company is helping us out with our DJing for the wedding. They are amazing (and luckily) family. I'm so excited that they have allowed us to personalize everything for the wedding & even more excited the music (dancing;)) surpirses to come!
All the guys in Steve's wedding party (and just all of his friends really)--all the support you all give him, means so much to me. You are all a really great group of guys! :)
So many others have been offering support, love, offering to help, & just have been there to listen to me vent if I need to...and truly I'm overwhelmed! So grateful!
I REALLY wanted to make sure all these people listed & EVERYONE truly realizes how grateful Steve & I truly are for all of your help making our wedding as special as possible! You all mean so much to me! Thank you, thank you!
My beautiful & amazing bridal party! You all mean the world to me & couldn't be doing all of this without you:::::: Cori Adcok, Kylie Roger, Erica Adams, Candice Moran, Rachelle Moran, & Brittany Ledford. You are all amazing & I am grateful for each of you! From focusing me, staying on me to get things done, helping with decorations, listening to me.... You girls haven't complained once about any expenses or the "rush" y'all have been working in. I'm so excited for the amazing bachelorette party & couples shower you all have planned.
My amazing mom---between making the favors, the programs, & just listening to me vent---I love you & all your support is forever appreciated! :)
My family that is traveling down here for my wedding...it's a long drive & with such short notice y'all have done everything you can to make coming down for my wedding as amazing as possible! I'm especially grateful for my brother---he will be walking me down the ailse & is part of the wedding party. I can't wait to see everyone (which includes my niece & nephew!!!!!!! yay)
My amazing soon to be in-laws---All the help (which is LOTS), support, suggestions, & love is amazing & I am so lucky to have you all in my life!
Raymond Adams ---One of my best friends & biggest supporters. Raymond is giving me the hook up with my hair (ALWAYS) & photos for the wedding. I wouldn't be able to afford the amazing images he always provides me with & I am so grateful/blessed to have him in my life. Plus he makes my hair look AWESOME. :)
Jeff Kaplan ---One of the many photographers I've gotten to work with, get to know, & I am a HUGE fan of his work! JKAP has been gracious enough to affordably help Raymond out with photos for the wedding!! Raymond & Jeff work great together & I'm so excited to see what they work up for me! :)
Rod Michael ---I have been great friends & a fan of Rod Michael for about 4 years. I am so excited that he agreed to play for our ceremony. He has an amazing talent and Steve & I both enjoy listening to him play. His voice is AMAZING & it's going to make the ceremony that much more special. Little old--but love this performance of Rod Michael!
The Say yes to the dress Atlanta was an amazing experience as mentioned before, but I really want it to be known that Lori & the staff at Bridals by Lori are some of the most amazing people I have met in a long time!
Joel Thomas is an amazing pastor who is part of North Point church. Steve & I attend North Point & it really meant a lot to us to have someone from there to marry us. The church is HUGE so we are very grateful/fortunate to have Joel to be who is marrying us. He is an amazing person & I know he is going to do excellent on our ceremony.
Complete Music DJ company is helping us out with our DJing for the wedding. They are amazing (and luckily) family. I'm so excited that they have allowed us to personalize everything for the wedding & even more excited the music (dancing;)) surpirses to come!
All the guys in Steve's wedding party (and just all of his friends really)--all the support you all give him, means so much to me. You are all a really great group of guys! :)
So many others have been offering support, love, offering to help, & just have been there to listen to me vent if I need to...and truly I'm overwhelmed! So grateful!
I REALLY wanted to make sure all these people listed & EVERYONE truly realizes how grateful Steve & I truly are for all of your help making our wedding as special as possible! You all mean so much to me! Thank you, thank you!
Celebrate the small things
So I know everyone always says, "celebrate the small things." I always thought I did just that, but with my whole new outlook on life I realize that now I truly do. Today Steve & I both had mostly what was a great day. With everything going on Steve & my moods go through many different ups & downs throughout the day. Today I truly feel I finally understand the concept of celebrating the small things, that we decided to celebrate our good moods. Tonight Steve & I went out to celebrate us being in a good mood & having a good day. We have so many exciting things coming up, and have so many wonderful things to be grateful for. We never forget that at any moment & for our moods to be lined up with the excitement we have is something to truly be celebrated. :)
I want to remind everyone, that life is a gift & every single moment should be celebrated. Whether it's missing all the red lights, getting a new puppy;), getting out of work early, or simply just feeling happy for no specific reason (:)) at all, it should be celebrated. I thank God everyday for the strength he gives me & the amazing support group he provides me with. I thank him for Steve, without him I wouldn't truly realize how precious & amazing the gift of life is.
So throughout each day, remember---celebrate the small things :)
I want to remind everyone, that life is a gift & every single moment should be celebrated. Whether it's missing all the red lights, getting a new puppy;), getting out of work early, or simply just feeling happy for no specific reason (:)) at all, it should be celebrated. I thank God everyday for the strength he gives me & the amazing support group he provides me with. I thank him for Steve, without him I wouldn't truly realize how precious & amazing the gift of life is.
So throughout each day, remember---celebrate the small things :)
say yes--best experience
Ok so I wrote a blog about the experience with Say yes to the dress, but I actually realized that I shouldn't share the whole story with you, because why then would you watch the show ;) So with that, let me just say it was one of the BEST most touching experiences I have ever had. I am blown away with how gracious & sweet everyone was especially Lori from Bridals by Lori & my consultant Robin. After it airs I will repost my original blog with all the details. For now we will wait in excitement for the show to air which will be next season Winter/Spring. :)