Memory Lane

I feel the need to post this somewhere other than our wedding website since someday I'm sure it will be obsolete. My husband is a rather witty guy who wrote the "how we met" section of our wedding website. A males perspective is always so entertaining. 

As told by Grant:
On a brisk fall evening in September, two of the most prestigious social organizations at Shepherd Univeristy organized a sophisticated soiree to celebrate the begining of the start to another school year.  The event was to take place at the home of a Lambda Chi Alpha member where the sisters of Sigma Sigma Sigma were to also attend.  Lisa Martin, a member of Sigma Sigma Sigma, planned to attend this lavish affair and coaxed her friend Meghan Jenkins to join.  Upon arriving the two friends, along with many others, took part in the festivities by enjoying several complementary spirits and partaking in conversation with the men of Lambda Chi Alpha.  Miss Jenkins, while getting another cocktail noticed a certain suave, collegiate man from accross the room.  Standing there was a man with flowing brown locks and the social prowess of english royalty by the name of Grant Shaddix, who was partaking in games popular to the scholarly youth of the era.  As Meghan stared toward the young gentlemen, her cup began to overflow with drink just as her heart began to overflow with infatuation.  At this moment, Mr. Shaddix glanced over to see the trouble that Miss Jenkins was having with her cocktail and began to laugh slightly at her expense. At this point, the two locked eyes and for the brief moment a feeling of aprehension and attractiveness came over the both of them.  As seemingly awkward as the moment was, Miss Jenkins, blushed and abash, abruptly turned away, cleaned up, and returned to the circle of women and to conversation from which she had excused herself.  Mr. Shaddix turned to his fellow compadres Eric Celli, Robert Krzywicki, and Patrick Noland and began inquiring about the presence of the young women to his far left. The men, unfamiliar with her whereabouts, were intrugued and noticed the immediate interest that Mr. Shaddix has taken with the young lass.  The men quickly began to satirize Mr. Shaddix and insisted he initiate conversation with the beutiful woman about future familiarity.  Vexed and embarrassed at his friends ridicule, Mr. Shaddix began to raise his esteem and with brazen confidence made his way towards his future companion.  Mr. Shaddix was nervous to say the least, and on his short journey, his confidence began to dwindle, but ultimately pushed through.  Immediately, the conversation was entertaining between the two.  Mr. Shaddix and Miss Jenkins enjoyed one anothers company so much in fact, that very soon after they began to date on regular occasions, and to none-the-wiser, this was just the beginning.
-Grant

Going Paperless

Well, paper towel free. It's been in my head for a while thanks to Pinterest. I never brought it up in conversation before with Grant because I was sure he would laugh but surprisingly at dinner he willingly agreed and his only real comment was to be prepared for extra laundry. Really, in my head at least, I already do laundry every other day (yes, every other day for the two of us, crazy I know) so how can a few napkins really add that much. Overall it will save money and the environment. Once I started thinking about using cloth it just seemed silly to buy paper towels. You're literally buying something just to throw it away.

I've already given a few things some thought since I use paper towels for EVERYTHING.

Household Cleaning: right now I use paper towels for every aspect of cleaning. Some people do sponges but that majorly grosses me out. Seriously, rinsing them out does not kill bacteria. My plan is to either 1, buy some cheap-o dish rags from tjmaxx or the dollar store or 2 just cut up some of Grants yucky old white shirts. Either way I want something to be designated just for cleaning.

Kitchen: I've already made the switch to wash cloths over sponges. To me there is just something gross about using the same sponge for everything everyday. Plus let's face it, they stink... literally. Washcloths could turn into the same deal except I came up with a 1 day system. A washcloth only gets used for a day then you get a new one. The old one gets hung outside, or if it's rainy in the laundry, to dry then they get thrown in the wash with the regular towels. I've yet to have a stinky washcloth. If so a bit of vinegar added to the wash should clear it right up. My only concern is what happens when you need to drain something like bacon. I suppose that's where old newspapers become handy. I need to think a little more about that.

In my head I think that this switch, while minor, will help with the prep of cloth diapering someday. Call me crazy but that's my ultimate goal when it's time for kiddos.

Now it's time to get back to pinning... I mean research.

Chicken Pasta Bake with Artichokes and Roma Tomatoes

Chicken Pasta Bake with Artichokes and Roma Tomatoes

Ingredients:

1 pound chicken breasts

5-6 Roma tomatoes cored and quartered

3 cloves of minced garlic

2 small jars of artichoke hearts (only reserve 2 tbsp liquid, drain and discard remaining liquid) 

Salt

Pepper

1 tsp sugar

2 tbsp flour

Pasta of your choice

8oz shredded mozzarella cheese

1-2 tbsp fresh chopped basil

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 

Grease a 8x13 baking dish and lay out chicken breasts. Salt and pepper chicken. 

In a bowl combine the rest of the ingredients except for the pasta, basil, and cheese. Add a pinch of salt and pepper. Mix until all ingredients in bowl are combined. Pour mixture around chicken. Cook uncovered for 30-45 minutes or until chicken is done. when chicken has 10-15 minutes remaining cook pasta according to package directions. Remove from oven and cover chicken with mozzarella cheese. Turn oven to broil and bake for another 2-3 minutes or until the cheese is melted and golden brown. Once finished top with chopped basil and allow basil to wilt from heat of the dish. Serve over pasta.

We used mini bow tie pasta because I had it on hand. While it was cute I will say they were hard to stab. Next time I plan to try thin spaghetti for some twirling action. 

We Did It!

We did it! We were finally married June 22^nd, 2013 at Stronghold Mansion in Dickerson, Maryland.

I cannot even begin to describe how wonderful our wedding was. Anyone having an outdoor wedding knows that you begin checking the weather the moment the forecast comes out. 14 days prior it called for clouds and rain. I tried hard not to panic and remembered that there was plenty of time for the weather to change. We were oh so lucky and instead of rain we had sweltering 90+ degree sunshine. Here are a few memories from our wedding day and advice that I would give to my friends or anyone else getting married.

1. Rehearsal, make it fun and relaxing. Our rehearsal and rehearsal dinner was lovely and exactly as we wanted it to be. We wanted it to be relaxed and free flowing. Everyone is entitled to their own thing but I have been to too many stuffy uncomfortable wedding rehearsals that were drama filled and we practiced 500 times because the bride needed it to be just right. It’s a wedding people! You walk down an aisle and stand in one spot until you turn around and walk back the other way. The bride and groom are the only ones who really need to worry about what to say/do and really, they don’t even need to worry because someone else tells them what to do. To me having an idea of perfection is a surefire way of ensuring that something along the way will go wrong. I didn’t care that the site coordinator suggested that my Matron’s of Honor lead the processional. In fact that made more sense to me. I have been in too many weddings were the last person of the wedding party walked first and didn’t stand in the exact right spot so everyone ended up scrunched then the awkward shuffle happens to make everyone fit. Having the Matron’s of Honor go first ensured that the line started in the right spot to start with, but perhaps that’s the teacher in me liking the line leader to go first, hehe. Perhaps some will argue that it defies tradition or takes away from their glory but I don’t see how. But then again, that’s just my two cents.

2. Wee Ones-Another thing I didn’t stress about was whether or not my little ring bearer made it down the aisle. The more pressure you put on a 4 year old the more likely a meltdown will occur. No, he didn’t want to practice at rehearsal, no, he didn’t want to walk down with the guys like everyone else wanted him to and he didn’t want to join us for pictures the day of the wedding, but do you know what, the day of the wedding he walked did his job perfectly fine and walked beside his sister who was a flower girl all on his own. Also, by the end of the day when he saw Grant and me taking pictures he came up on his own and wanted his picture taken with us so we got our picture after all. From the get go some wanted to force him to “do his job” but I was clear that if he didn’t do anything it was fine. Kids are kids, not puppets. All turned out well at the end of the day!

3. Do not let people deter you from what you want- This is more of a pre-wedding tip. Do not let anyone tell you that an idea is silly if you feel strongly about it. After all it is YOUR wedding. Now by your I do mean you and your future husbands wedding. It did take Grant a while to get really excited about wedding planning but we were engaged for 2 ½ years so let’s face it, guys can only focus for so long. He got REALLY excited the last 9 months or so and got involved at that point. He always supported the things that I came up with for the wedding. My mom on the other hand took a lot of convincing and in the end I just started doing things. It gets hard when someone says, “That sounds dumb, or I don’t think that will look right”. Keep chugging on my friend, do not give up! If you have a clear vision of what you want do not give in. I had visions of different antiques on each table, vintage china for dessert plates, wildflowers for table arrangements, a lace wedding gown, and so many crafts. Some of them were easy to convince people that they would go over well. I also just had to stop sharing details about the wedding, the “you’re crazy” look in people’s eyes started to get to me. I don’t think that I did anything crazy, but I suppose some thought that I couldn’t pull it off. Never let other people doubt turn into your doubt. Stick to your guns! At the wedding I LOVED looking out and seeing all of my little details like the hankies that I collected for “tears of joy” being used during our first dance, the peach preserves adorn the tables adding pops of color, the family wedding pictures on the piano that went back several generations, and now I am enjoying sewing my signed quilting squares together. There are so many little details that I just loved, I hope you love the little details of your wedding too.

4. Relax- Try to ignore the 500 well meaning people that say, “It’s almost time!”, “Are you nervous?”, “Are you ready”, “Are you sure you want to do this”… The last one is always said in that stupid joking voice that I can’t stand. I literally would have strangled the next poor bastard that would have said it to me.

5. Take pictures before the ceremony- Take as many pictures beforehand as you can. We managed to take all of our pictures from first look, wedding party and family in an about an hour and a half. We did not have to take ANY pictures afterwards except for some sunset pictures of the two of us. It was amazing to be able to enjoy cocktail hour with our guests and several thanked us for not making them wait several hours for the fun to begin. As a very emotional person it was wonderful to know that I could cry all that I wanted when I first saw Grant and that especially if it turned into ugly bubble snot cry it wouldn’t be in front of all of our guests. It gave us a chance to be together and calm our nerves. It was simply wonderful. To those that say it takes away from your entrance as a bride, that your husband-to-be will not be as awe struck when you walk down the aisle… you are wrong. That moment is still just as magical, trust me.

6. Cool Down/Take time to yourself- Oh my goodness. I cannot even describe how unbearably hot I was after taking our first look photos. I almost passed out climbing back up the hill from the gardens. The best bit of advice I have for summer brides is to allow time to lock yourself in a bathroom and strip off. I know it sounds weird but it was by far the best thing I did for myself all day. I did it twice. Haha. I had my friend unzip me before I walked into the bathroom then once I was in I peeled myself out and plastered my sweaty body against a cool wall. Perhaps that sounds disgusting but I truly do not know how I would have ever cooled down enough in time to make it through the ceremony. Also, it was so nice to have a moment alone. All day you are surrounded by people and it is so refreshing to hear yourself think and reflect upon the day alone. It was also great not to have someone say, “It’s almost time” for the millionth time. Don’t get me wrong. I love my friends and family dearly and cherish every moment that I had with them the day of but after a while I just needed to be alone and have a few minutes to myself. You will too. So, strip off, cool down, gather your thoughts then worm your way back in your dress and get zipped up again. You’ll thank me later.

7. Time Together- After the wedding arrange to be whisked away for alone time together. This was one of our very favorite parts of the day and will always be a moment I treasure. We were put in the Civil War Room and once the door closed Grant gave me the biggest hug and didn’t let go. I looked into his eyes that were full of tears and it truly took me by surprise. “It just feels so much different than I expected, it’s just so wonderful. I love you.” I will treasure that moment forever. We relaxed together and talked through our emotions. Our thoughtful cater had put hors d’oeuvre’s in the room and water/drinks so we were able to snack. There was a lady who kept everyone out and found us everyone and everything we needed. It was absolutely wonderful to have a few minutes to regroup. After 15-20 minutes we joined cocktail hour and mingled with our guests which leads to me to my next suggestion…

8. Mingle at Cocktail Hour- This is an excellent opportunity to say hello to people and greet everyone. We were able to say hello to over half of our guests. It was also great because most people were up and moving about so the awkward bend over to hug people while they are seated and eating at the reception dinner was eliminated for the most part.

9. Dance with your guests- If you want people to dance you have to dance. It’s a fact. I’m not a dancer but I tried hard to make an effort to dance and I actually ended up having a lot of fun. This is where, and I probably shouldn’t admit this, but I did get a bit peeved at my new husband. He isn’t a dancer either so he mingled with his friends which was fine but that left me alone trying to hold up the dance floor. Internally I was mad for about 3 minutes then decided I didn’t care what I looked like or if he wasn’t going to put forth the effort. I was going to make memories dancing with the people I love. And do you know what… I ended up having fun and I think our guests did too.

Those are my suggestions, at least the ones I can think of for now. Let’s move on to some more personal things…

Here are things that Grant has told me that I never want to forget:

Times he was emotional: First look pictures, when I came down the aisle, our moment alone together after we were married, walking into our reception (like me it was feeling that everyone was here for us, feeling the love), his brother’s best man speech, dancing with his mom. Perhaps he will be upset this is on the blog since it’s not very “manly” but any man who doesn’t have any emotions isn’t a man at all no matter what he tries to tell you. Also, these are moments that I want to remember forever and I’m sure he will too.

Moment’s I was emotional- Let’s face it, this was ALL DAY LONG. I cried all day. I tried so hard not to cry during our ceremony and I made it through. I am so proud of myself. At one point Mr. Kneebone was patting his forehead with his handkerchief and he said, “To clarify I’m not crying”, and I couldn’t help it but out popped a very excited “Me either!” It was fairly comical.

My bridesmaids and I all waited on the stairs until it was time so that we wouldn’t be seen. When it was their turn they all walked down to stand in line to walk and my dad and I stayed behind on the stairs. I started to get really nervous. My stomach dropped and I really thought I was going to be sick. Not because I was nervous about marrying Grant, it was just the nerves of the day. Not even 15 seconds later the girls come back around the corner and up the stairs again. I thought something was wrong. My dear cousin Rebecca had asked everyone to come back so that we could pray together. It was an amazing and moving moment to hear her prayer for Grant and I. Immediately I felt better. My nerves were calmed and I was ready to proceed. Somehow she knew exactly what I needed. God has certainly blessed me with some amazing people in my life.

Busy Bee's

February has been such a busy month. I know it even looks like I managed to post twice in one day, the truth is that I wrote that post last week and finally finished it today. Haha. So let's break down February thus far.

 The first weekend of the month was Grants pharmacy school formal. It was fun but every year I have the exact same thoughts: these people are going to be doctors?! I mean that lightheartedly, I really do. Everyone needs to have fun but this is a set of people that sure know how to do it.

So, right after my birthday is Grant's on the 9th. I know, I know... It's a bit weird being the older woman by 4 whole days. I was so excited after googling ideas for cakes and what our cake baker was able to come up with. The lady that made Grant's birthday cake is the same that is going to make our wedding cake. We wanted to try out potential wedding cake flavors and man oh man, it was yummy. I can't give everything away. After all you've seen several things but I can't tell you the cake flavor! Haha.

After the cake and other things we went out for the evening which was fun. We were excited because we were supposed to see one of our favorite bands play but it something happened that they couldn't make it. The band that replaced them was pretty terrible but the 2 for 1 drinks helped to make up for it. We ended up having a decent enough time that the night ended up in Grant putting Buddha in Cory's fish tank.

He was quite proud of this accomplishment. Buddha has quite a story of his own. I am happy to report that he will be living with Cory after Grant and I get married.

Earlier in the day we met up with Grant's grandfather, "pappy". Pappy is such a sweet man. He heard that I was looking for a Hoosier Cabinet and low and behold he is completely refinishing one for me as a birthday present. I am SO stinking excited. Here's a picture of the base.

It's being stripped of the old paint then it will be repainted it's original colors. White on the outside and a green color on the inside. I am all over vintage so I am SUPER excited. I love how this one has the two center drawers. I haven't seen one quite like it. I wish I had a picture of the top cabinet, it is lovely with glass doors. Every kitchen we have had has seriously lacked cabinet space so I am looking forward to extra storage space. I am thinking of keeping all of my baking stuff in the bottom. I haven't quite figured out how to best use the tops. My mother-in-law to be uses hers for spices and cookbooks. I suppose we shall see once it is finished and in place. I cannot believe how lucky I am to have found not only such a great husband to be but great in laws as well.

Last but not least- Valentines day:
I made my kiddo's these Pinterest inspired treats.

You know 5th graders... A good majority of them loved them and a few could care less.

Today I only worked a half day. It turns out that I have strep. My students love to share all of the wrong things. Haha.

Birthday Fun

So here I am... 10 days into being 25. A whole quarter of a century old. ~9,128 days I've been "living this life" as a co-teachers 7 year old daughter would put it. It's funny how in days it just doesn't seem so long. I must admit it's all a bit scary.

There's this fleeting feeling that I'm supposed to feel like an adult and do all of these things. I cant figure out what "things" that I feel like I'm not doing. Most of them I am doing. I have my "career", I'm getting married, we're looking for an apartment... now I just need to collect the $200 after we pass GO on the game board. That's how it works right?

Anywho, let's get back on track here. My students made my birthday very exciting. I have bible study with one of my students moms so he knew it was my birthday and brought me a balloon! So darn sweet, right?! Well that balloon was the trigger for the rest of the festivities that ensued. I received several renditions of the happy birthday song, hugs, a shout out from my students on the school wide morning announcements, and some of the best and most meaningful birthday cards ever.

After school I went over to Harrisonburg to go to Blue Ridge Hearing to talk about hearing aids. I know, I know, so exciting on a birthday. I got molded for my nano and everything only to find out that my insurance won't cover anything and my parents only covers $600.00. I was banking on paying $600.00 not the 1,900.00 that I need to come up with to cover the difference. If I wasn't paying for wedding things as well this wouldn't be such a big deal but at this moment it is. I'm pretty bummed but oh well, what are you going to do. Here's a picture of all of the fun the ear mold was. It pretty much felt like they pumped mashed potatoes in my ear. So strange.

For those of you that come here for the tympanoplasty information, since that seems to have the most hits, here's another update for you. Do not let this discourage you! I just have not had a chance to blog about this recently because quite frankly, I am not sure how to process it. My tympanoplasty surgery was a complete success. I no longer have a gaping hole where an eardrum should be and my hearing did improve some afterward. Here is where my problem lies. My hearing did not improve, or steadily improve as much as we thought it might. From that point my doctor wanted to determine what was causing a decrease in hearing. We agreed that it might be fluid as my ear often felt full so I tried nasal sprays and allergy pills out the wazoo to try to get my Eustachian tube to open but no such luck. Our next thing to try was a CAT scan. That my dears revealed it all. Turns out I have dehiscence of the semi circular canal. My friends, that in itself deserves its own blog post explanation.

Mom and dad took me to dinner at Texas Roadhouse. I absolutely LOVE their loaded sweet potatoes and any cut of steak they serve. To end my day I celebrated by giving myself my first ever lice treatment. Yet another teacher perk! Never found a one but I could only be paranoid about it for so long so I just gave in and it was well worth the 20 dollars for the peace of mind.

Let me leave you with a lighthearted perfect example of how Grant and I must really be becoming real adults:

Yup, we have conversations about vegetables people... conversations. about. vegetables.

Insert quarter life crisis here

A REAL Snow Day

2 in fact! These qualify as the first real snow days I have ever had as a teacher.

What do teachers do on their day off?

Well, what a splendid question. We lounge around in bed all day and eat bonbons of course! FALSE! Perhaps some get to, in fact I hope they do. I woke up at the normal 5:30 and was about to get in the shower when I just had this little tickle of an idea to look out the window before I hopped in the shower. No, no, no, I told myself... I would have gotten a phone call and it would just be a waste of time and a let down. Luckily the child in me just had to peek anyway and low and behold BAM *insert glittery white beautiful snow seen through the eyes of a babe*. It's sad when you check social media for school closures before you check news stations. WAY FASTER. I must admit it was a bit of a roller coaster ride. First udder jubilation at the thought of climbing back in my warm bed then all of the fun fizzled out when I realized our next make up day would use up our ONLY teacher work day in February. Call me crazy but work days like that save my sanity and give me a day to clean my classroom. Oh well, extra ZZZzzzZZZ's sounded okay however, there were none to be found. Emma was determined that I was supposed to be up. I even went as far as to shut her out but then she proceeded to meow persistently until I let her back in. Once back in she and D.C. decided that it was playtime and romped and played for the half an hour I attempted to sleep. Finally I gave up and decided to take a shower and get on with the day. When I came back in this is what I found...

Go figure...Oh well. Anywho. I did managed to get several school things done and Pinterest some school and wedding ideas. While on Pinterest I found a wonderful recipe for Skinny Chocolate Chip Buttermilk Scones. I must say they were pretty amazing and super easy to make. They were barely out of the oven 5 minutes before they were devoured. I must admit I had two myself.

Ingredients:
3/4 c cold buttermilk (if you don't have buttermilk search online, I have read that you can add vinegar to milk to make buttermilk)
1/4 c sugar
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 egg
1 c all purpose flour
1 c white whole wheat flour
1 tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
3 tbsp chilled butter cut into small pieces
3/4 c chocolate chips
1 egg white lightly beaten
sugar for dusting

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Mix together the first 4 ingredients and set to the side. Combine flour, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl. Using a pastry blender cut in chilled butter until the mixture is coarsely mixed together. Fold in chocolate chips. Slowly add in milk mixture stirring just until moist. Knead lightly four times with floured hands.

On greased or parchment lined cookie sheet form dough into a nine inch circle, about 3/4 inch thick. Using a knife or pizza cutter cut dough into twelve wedges all the way through. Brush with egg white and sprinkle evenly with sugar. Bake 18-20 minutes until golden brown. Best served right out of the oven with a cup of coffee or tea

If you're looking for the link click the following: Skinny Chocolate Chip Buttermilk Scones

Also made some homemade granola. That's a recipe still being tweaked.  Anyone have a recipe for granola that you love?

I managed to be a big girl an get my car inspected on my very own today. Go me! Tomorrow I plan to head to Maryland to shop for the last two bridesmaid dresses and for Grant to look at tuxes. I am so happy to be getting things done!