I finally got to open it....

Once Clint got home....we opened the package. I'm so sporting the bunny ears....never too old for a sweet package from the parentals.

Busy Week

We've gotten off to a great start this week. Yesterday, I met with the lady that's going to do alterations to my dress. She's super sweet and is super reasonable with pricing. I was somewhat shocked when she said it will be $15 considering how much she's going to have to do. I'm excited about it...which means I'm excited that it's so very close to May and I will get to be part of such a special day. Plus, bonus points it's a dress I will wear again and who doesn't like a new dress?
My school is doing testing....for the next four weeks. This makes our normal routines needing some flexibility but it's working out great.
I found a nail place for the first time today....special...yes, it was special. It's weird, sometimes I feel like Nebraska is so similar to South Carolina and other days it seems so....not similar. Today was the latter. There's actually a few nail places here, which surprises me. I tried the most legitimate looking one. It was different but clean and good....and well, clean is always good. My toenails now have white polka dots......the man said that was what's cool....I just went with it.  Add that to the experience.
My parents sent us a package today. I was told not to open it until Clint got home. Apparently, they were concerned that I would open it before him.....I have no clue what would make them think that. Needless to say, it's driving me crazy not to open it but a promise is a promise and let's face it, Clint would so call and tell on me if I didn't wait on him.
We do have some exciting things going on (not baby, for those who might automatically jump to that conclusion...ha) Again, we would sincerely like to thank you all for the kind words. It's always overwhelming when you take a moment to really think how beyond blessed you are to have such supportive and amazing friends and family. Looking back this crazy past year has undoubtedly been the most unexpected, difficult year yet it has given us priceless experiences, all of which we could not of done without all the love and support.
Ending on that somewhat sappy note...Lots of love to our friends & family!
-Stacy

Wonderful Weekend

We've had such a great weekend. Very rarely does a weekend seem to not fly by but this weekend we have gotten so much accomplished. Yesterday we went to Omaha to get a few things for my dress for the wedding in May. We also had lunch at P.F. Changs....which was fabulous. I found a lady that's going to be able to do alterations on my dress. I meet with her tomorrow after work. I'm excited and relieved I found someone. One of the hard things about being somewhere new is to find where to go for things like that.
We got our wedding video Friday in the mail. I think I blogged about it last time. It's amazing.....end of story. I'm SOOOOO glad we got it from Hart to Heart Media. They were so awesome and the final product is everything plus, I could ever imagine. We watched it Friday and were able to Skype with Clint's dad & stepmom, the video.
Today we just stayed around the house, cleaning and getting ready for the new week. We have a lot of exciting things going on and appreciate all the thoughts and kind words of encouragement through this journey. I've signed up to teach summer school and finishing up last few things for my teaching certificate to get switched. Hopefully I will get a classroom teaching position next year. I'm so ready to get back into the classroom.
We also got a few movies in this weekend. Blind Side was on tv last night (one of my all time favs) and today we watched Yes Man. The funny thing is the couple in the movie go to the airport and get a ticket for the next flight, just for a random date. It turns out, it's to Lincoln, Nebraska. Funny how a year ago I would never of dreamed that I would be living in Nebraska....craziness.
Tonight we are just finishing up the never ending laundry pile and watching Desperate Housewives.....still sad about the last two episodes. Perhaps they will give us some happy news but that's not looking like it's likely. 
Hope everyone has a fabulous weekend!
Lots of Love!

Trivia Night

When living in Myrtle Beach, Clint and I went to trivia on Thursday nights at Gordon Bierch, most weeks. It was fun and we while we weren't the best, it tested out our useless knowledge. Not to mention the sound of a goat cheese & hummus salad with grilled chicken is enough for me to want to get in the car and drive to our closest one...only 5 hours away. Where we live now, is much different. Our town is smaller. We have two "good" restaurants and Wal Mart is where everyone is talking about when they say they are going shopping. Many good things have came from our transition from a large town to a small town. I would now consider myself....a decent cook. We eat out less which gives us more time to cook together and have healthier options. I don't just stop by Target to pick up a few things and get to the register with $100 worth and we appreciate our trips to Omaha or Lincoln to go to a mall. So back to the story....we saw that Appleby's has trivia on Tuesday nights. We decided to try it out last night. It's much different than what we are used to but we had a great time.



A lady just comes around and gives you a butterfly stamp if you get the question right. We got 8 out of 10 right but didn't win. It was still a fun time and always interesting to see how things are different in different places.

Also, I got an email this morning telling me my Hart to Heart video from the wedding is done. My mom went by there today to pick it up but my copy is being mailed. It takes awhile for anything to get all the way here so I'm expecting it Saturday or Monday at the earliest. I have a feeling I will be trying to talk my mom into pointing the skype webcam toward the tv as they are watching it. I'm just way too impatient. Hopefully I will figure out a way to post it to my blog. We will see if I get that technology savvy.

Catching Up

I've had a wonderful week and just got back to Nebraska on Saturday. I flew into Charlotte last Saturday and spent the week with friends and family at the beach. The week flew by far too quickly but I'm excited to be back home with my fabulous husband. I was able to see many friends and visit a few of my favorite places. I was able to meet Emily Grace and between her and my friend Jill's baby Sophia.....I got my beyond cute baby dose for the week. I would love to say I took a million pictures but I didn't. I did bring my camera but was spending so much time catching up with everyone, I didn't take pictures. Goodbyes were hard....as always. I'm so horrible about goodbyes but like I said above, it was nice to see Clint and get back into our routines. I just reminded myself it will be less than two months and I will be back for one of my best friend's wedding. Speaking of that wedding....I just got my bridesmaid dress in today. I'm way excited! While all the other girls got their dress last week....it takes mail to get to Nebraska a longer time. I'm going to ask around school tomorrow and see if someone knows of a place for alterations. I can't wait to see everyone again and share that day with Bevin.
In other news, I signed up to teach summer school. My teaching certificate should all be finalized by then and I signed up for 3rd grade or younger. It will be nice to keep a routine in the summer and I'm always the type that's happier when I'm busy.
I think that sums up what's going on with us. I did download an app on my iphone called BigOven. I highly recommend it! It has recipes and ideas that are great. You can just put in the ingredients you have and it will find a recipe using those. My favorite part is you can find a recipe and add it to your grocery store list and bring your phone as your list, checking off things as you get them. Ahhh it makes me feel all technology savvy, ha. We cooked Chicken Marsala last night....delish.
Hope everyone is doing fabulous!
Love!

Spring Break....Nebraska Style

OK....lame title, I know. Today officially starts my Spring Break from school. We get Thursday, Friday and all next week off. The Thursday and Friday are because we did not use any snow days this year. This winter has been very mild for Nebraska and I can honestly say I am beyond thankful for that. It's made the transition much easier for me. Clint on the other hand, would take snow everyday. It's pretty but then after a day of being stuck inside, I'm over it.
About a month ago I started looking for plane tickets for spring break. I found a round trip (not to Myrtle Beach but right outside of it) for a reasonable price. Tickets from Omaha to Myrtle are way more and after talking to my parents, it just made more sense to fly in through another airport for this trip. I will be flying out Saturday and I'm so excited. It's a bit bittersweet because I wish Clint was going with me. It's weird to think I will be eating at his favorite restaurant without him. I guess not weird enough to not go...hummmm. I'm way excited and hope I can squeeze as much in that small amount of time as possible. I can't wait to see my mom, dad and fabulous friends......AND.....Emily Grace :)
One of my best friends just had a baby this morning, Emily Grace. She's beyond adorable and has a head full of hair, which is perfect for the bows....perhaps those huge bows that take up half her head but just take cute to the fullest extreme. God help us if Clint and I have a girl one day. :)
In other news, the weather is WONDERFUL! OK, so maybe not Myrtle Beach wonderful but still wonderful. We are in the mid 50's and the wind isn't that bad. I can't wait for Myrtle Beach weather in a few days!
Today I've just been hanging around the house. Charley and I took a walk and now he's exhausted. I'm washing clothes and will start packing tomorrow. I'm also making Clint a cherry tart (his new favorite thing in the entire world) before I leave. I figured I would save those two things to do tomorrow.
Hope everyone is doing great and Happy Birthday Emily Grace :)

Reflection

Reflection:
Today I've decided to reflect over the past year. It might be lengthy and boring to some so perhaps a few of you might want to just bypass this one.
I thought about this year because yesterday, a year ago, Clint asked my father if he could ask me to marry him. Clint and my father are the two most amazing men in the world and for them to have that relationship is priceless and what I've always dreamed of. I thought about this time a year ago and suddenly felt like part of it was years instead of months ago and other parts seem like yesterday. So much has changed over this past year and more than anything, it has taught me not to take anything for granted.
I knew with Clint's career and to really pursue his dreams of his career, that it meant most likely not living in SC forever. I also knew, a year ago, that my second year teaching would be a million times easier than my first year. I knew that I could spend many weeks in the summer preparing my room for the year and really getting things organized, something I wasn't able to do last year. With the wedding and my second year teaching all working out as planned, I thought this would be the smoothest year, yet. Things change and life is beyond unpredictable. With things changing at work and Clint getting calls from major engineering companies, we knew the move was in our future, sooner rather than later. I remember taking Clint to the airport for his trip to Nebraska for the interview. It still feels me with the eager yet unsettling life changing feeling that I went to work with that morning. It's the uncertainties we have, in everyday life that we don't know what every single decision is going to bring to our future. He called once he landed, again when he got to the hotel, again before the interview and obviously right after. The job is everything he wanted, plus more. A day after he landed back in South Carolina, he got a call with the job offer. As I look back I remember wondering if I would be able to finish the school year out with him moving in October. I can't imagine getting married in December and being 1,700 miles away from him for the next six months. I feel like this change in our life, only two months before the wedding was crazy for lack of better words. I still am uncertain of how it all worked out, in the since of getting everything done. We were able to pack up my entire house in less than two weeks, load it on a Penske truck and I then moved back in with my parents for two months. Clint drove all the way out to Nebraska with the truck and his car towed behind. I visited over Thanksgiving and then got back on the plane, tears and all.
Looking back, I still am in amazement on how everything worked out. I know a huge part of the success was the help of my parents and Clint's parents. The move and adjustments would of been so FAR from smooth or even possible without them. I miss my friends and family more than words can ever say but I'm also so beyond blessed with experiences that are not replaceable. I've been able to see a different lifestyle, climate and learn more about myself than I believe I ever could. The experience of seeing different schools has been priceless. I LOVE to see different teaching styles and technology working in classrooms to its fullest potential. It's amazing how different schools are in different parts of our country. I feel like every school has so much to offer and ultimately I like to think these experiences just make me a stronger teacher. At this point, we have no clue what life will bring to us but we know that it's a great journey that we are forever grateful for.

Saturday, OH Saturday

A year ago today, my sweet husband called my parents after work and arranged to stop by their house. He arrived and asked my fabulous father if he could ask me to marry him. Obviously he said yes. I am so beyond blessed to have an amazing family and a husband I love more and more everyday. I think about everything that has happened over this past year and I can honestly say its been quite the year!
We went to Omaha today to pick up Clint's sunglasses. We bought them at Lenscrafters about two weeks ago and they came in this week. We then had lunch at Cheesecake Factory and went to see The Lorax. I heart Dr. Seuss. The movie theater was packed with kids and we both enjoyed the movie a lot.
In other news, the weather is warming up. We are going to have a few days next week that get in the 50's. I'm pretty ecstatic.
Also, I've found some amazing Pinterest recipes lately. Lucky for me, Clint's a great sport and tries all my random dinner ideas, with a smile. I'm kind of happy I didn't really get into Pinterest while I was wedding planning. There's just so many great ideas and I think a wedding is just like anything, you can always keep on doing more and more. There's always a point you have to just say, it is what it is, everything is going to turn out great. I had a fabulous wedding and honestly it was a beyond great time and tell Clint all the time I want to do it again.....same husband and all, just like the party and all the friends & family.
LOVE!
-Stacy