Ugliness...in a little package

These ugly sweater Christmas parties are becoming so popular lately. So, my friends Sarah, Kelly and I decided to make our own this year and wear them to school. Unfortunately, working in a school, there are many teachers that wear these for real. Like...for real. Here are some pictures of our night!




























Check back later this week for pictures of us sporting these awesome things!!

Weekend Update: Jackson Style

My weekend was just great. It's the kind of weekend that brings tears to your eyes, because it was that good and you don't want it to end. On Friday, I tore out of school and hit the road heading south-west to Jackson, TN. **Insert some great tunes here by Johnny Cash** "I'm goin' to Jackson..."

When I got there, there was a ton of talking, hugs, and gift exchanges! Sammi is so thoughtful. She had bought me a gift certificate to get mah nails did. She said, "Since you're engaged, you can't go around with your nails a hot mess." I finally got to give her a birthday present (it was on Nov. 2nd) and give her another gift...a bottle of wine with a note attached asking her to be my Maid of Honor. She excitedly accepted! More on that Wednesday, so check back!

We showered and headed out on the town for the night with some of Sammi's friends. It was so fun! I met some new people and got to see some friends that I have made through the years while visiting Sammi in Jackson. There was a whole lotta dancing and a whole lotta cold drinks.

Saturday we woke up and headed out on a mission. The mission was simple. Operation find Ashley a hot NYE dress. At first, I was a little bummed, because I didn't think that I was going to be able to find anything. Everything that I tried on was too short, not sparkly enough, was too expensive, or was cute from the boobs up, but boobs down...a train wreck! I ended up having some success. I didn't take a pic of the one that I found, but managed to take some of the others. The first one, I LOVED. But it was too much for my pocketbook to take. Sad. The second. Yowza! 'Scuze the socks. It was cold!

The dress that I chose was a black, one shoulder dress. It's simple, but I love it! Check out the shoes that I got to go with it. I love! Now the next part of my mission, is to figure out a cute updo and find some sparkly gold earrings and bracelets.

After shopping, we went and watched the movie New Years Eve. I have heard some bad things about people not liking it. I loved it! I cried the entire last part of the dang movie. There were so many sad things that happened right after the other...it was sad! I had a full out ugly cry. So. Ugly.

We watched the UK game. Ouch. That last second shot by Indiana was pretty awesome. I'm a UK fan to the death. I really love my CATS. I also just appreciate good college basketball games and this was definitely one. UK definitely deserved to lose! Afterwards, we got ready and went to dinner and get some drinks with some of Sammi's friends. Check out what we saw!

Nice mullet, lady. Nice.

Sunday when I left, I stopped in Nashville to see my friends Laura and Rebecca. We sat in O'Charleys and laughed until we cried for about an hour. It was such a MUCH needed weekend. Tons of fun and relaxing all at the same time.

Do you have NYE plans and where did you find your hot dress?

Trick Out the Tree

Seriously. Yo yo yo kids Christmas album is the best thing to ever happen to Sarah and I. Who wouldn't love to listen to a rap song about "tricking out a tree"??

I sure did trick out the tree on my Christmas bulletin board! Check it out, y'all! It's my favorite board I do all year.


























Have you tricked out your tree?

Scenes of a Procrastinating Graduate Student

So. It is nearly 1 am...I am only a little over halfway finished with this research paper that you are all sick of hearing me complain about. Well, I'll add to the annoyingness and show you what my night has been like.

Don't worry...the due date is tomorrow and then you will hear no more about it!
















Getting there...

Wedding Wednesday: The Date and Venue

Matt and I are doing things a little differently than most. We decided to go away for our wedding. We are not going to have a Church wedding with family and friends followed by a reception. NOT to knock that...I love those weddings. They are just not for us. We started looking at places on the East Coast...Charleston and Savannah mainly. Most of the bed and breakfasts were out of this world with costs or they didn't make it possible for us to invite our immediate families. We did a lot of searching and decided on a beach wedding! It will be laid back and we can invite as many or as few people as we would like. It is important to us that our parents and siblings to get to come, as well as several of our very close friends.

On a beach on Tybee Island, GA, is where we will say I Do!

We set the date for June 24th. That was his Mom's birthday. By not having a "normal" wedding, there isn't really the chance to honor her with a candle or a memory table or anything like that, so this is our way of honoring her at our wedding. She will be part of our day and our marriage year after year.

Next on my "to do list" is: Dress, Engagement Pictures, Invitations, and asking my Maid of Honor. Stay tuned! That's the next post.

Procrastination...

My 15 page paper is due on Thursday by 9pm...what am I doing instead?? Making this:

and this for my dear, sweet, procrastinating friend, Sarah:

Wish me luck! 

He liked it, so he put a ring on it

If you are still reading and following, bless you. Bless you for being so loyal to someone who talks a big talk about blogging more and then you don't hear from them for another 2 months. I have good intentions, possibly, just no follow through. I could give you a million excuses, but I'll save you the time.

The past month or so has been a happy one for me. There are several reasons. It has also been a difficult one for me. Coming into the Christmas Season, I am trying to keep my mind focused on what is important and on the good things happening in my life.

Let's start with the good awesome news that I have to share! Most of you have read about mine and Matt's story. If you haven't, you can check it out here. So, now that you know the first part of our story, let's talk about the next part. At the end of that post, I mentioned taking things slowly. We did just that. Unfortunately, there have been some very rough patches over the past year. There are several people out there that do not want us to be together and have tried to make my life a living hell. Well done, ladies. It was. But, I knew that Matt and I were meant to be together and I loved him enough to let things go. It has been a hard road to where we are now, but every obstacle has been way worth it. What goes around, comes around, as Justin Timberlake would say.

The past year, Matt and I have had some great times and some really hard times. I have been a very happy girl to be with him again. The really hard times have brought us so much closer. In July, we found out that Matt's Mom had cancer. Less than a week later, she had passed away. There are some conversations that she and I had during that time that I will cherish forever. They are some that I wish to keep to myself. I haven't told my closest friends and I haven't shared them with Matt. I will tell you that before she and I had these conversations, there were some doubts in my mind that I was well-liked and that she was glad that we were back together. After these conversations, I know that she loved me and that while Matt and I were apart, she hoped that we would get back together. I made promises to her that I intend to keep forever.

The past year might have had some really tough times, but we have also had a lot of fun together and have gotten to know each other all over again.

I tell you all of this...to tell you the awesome news. Matt made me the happiest I have ever been by getting down on one knee and asking me to be with him forever! November 5th will forever be one of the happiest days of my life. I keep staring at my PERFECT engagement ring and I get butterflies when I think about it all. We had talked about marriage, so I knew that it would happen eventually, but had no idea when, where or how he would do it.

So, the story, huh?
When we first started dating years ago, Matt took me to Nashville for my birthday. We stayed at the Opryland Hotel and rode a shuttle downtown. By the time we were on the shuttle, we had already had a few drinks and were being silly. The shuttle driver was a very large black southern man who talked the entire time on the intercom. He dropped us off downtown by Hard Rock and the river. There's a huge guitar out front and he kept calling it the "gitahhhh". We cracked up about it and still to this day laugh about the way that man said guitar. While we were broken up and one of us would be in Nashville, we would text each other about the big gitahhhhhhh.

Flashforward to real time. We had tickets to a Titans game on a Sunday and decided to go down on Saturday to go out to dinner and hang out on Broadway. We went downtown and tried to eat at The Melting Pot. It's pretty typical of us to not plan ahead very well, and we didn't realize that we would need reservations. We got there at about 5:30 (for the old timer's special, I guess) and they told us that the next available time they had was 9:30. No way could I wait that long. Fatty's gotta eat! So we decided to eat somewhere else instead. When we left The Melting Pot, Matt made the suggestion to go to the Beer Sellar to get a drink and decide where we wanted to eat. I reluctantly said yes...remember, I was hoooongry. We had a drink and when we left, he wanted to go walk towards the river to see about a concert that was going on down there. I was starting to get a little huffy at this point. I keep talking about food and when and where we were eating. He gave in and we went to eat at Wildhorse. After eating, I was happy again...and we went to walk to the bars downtown. Matt suggested we go down by the river towards that dang concert again, so we walked down there and stood by the big gitahhhhh and watched for a while. He started talking about that trip that we had taken all those years ago. I replied with, "I know. I can't look at that big stupid thing without thinking about you." He then got down on one knee and asked me to marry him. It's all a little blurry once I realized what he was doing. I know that he used my full name, I know that I said yes, and I know that instead of putting the ring on my ring finger, I tried to put it on my middle finger.

After he proposed, we spent some time just the two of us, giggling and smiling and kissing. Then the phone calls and texts began. And continued for days. We went down on Broadway and two of his friends came downtown to meet us out. What a fun, perfect weekend!

Don't worry. This time I do promise to keep you posted on the wedding planning. Starting THIS week!

What I'm Loving Wednesday

I'm linking up with Jamie for What I'm Loving Wednesday! I have missed linking up with you, lady.

Since I have said that I would tell about something I am thankful for each day until Thanksgiving, I will tell you what I am loving about my family. I am so thankful for my family for so many reasons.

1. I am thankful for my parents. They are so giving, understanding, forgiving, loving and not to mention just down. right. badass.

Dad and Mom on our family cruise a few years ago

Mom has become my best friend

2. I love my brothers. They are two of the more hilarious people you will ever meet. We can talk about anything and I like that. I can talk to them about what's bothering me, what I'm happy about, poop, boys, you name it. Whatever. Whenever. They are my two closest friends in the world and I love them for it.

3. I am thankful for the fun that my family and I can have together...and typically do have together!

Head on over and let us all know what you are loving this Wednesday!