preparation

Do you think it's actually possible for time to speed up? Ok, maybe not but it sure does feel like it. I'm partially thankful that it has because that means its Friday, but also not so thrilled because I don't like wishing my time away. It's definitely a double edge sword. I can't believe that it's the last weekend in April. This month just flew by. It was so jam packed full of events and goodness, which I am so thankful for, but sometimes those things can make you tired.

As much as I CANNOT wait to be married and to begin a completely new stage of life, I don't want to waste away this season. I know that as soon as its over I'm going to miss this season. I've learned to call it the season of preparation. Preparing to be married. Preparing to live with a boy. Preparing to possibly make some career shifts. Preparing to building our home. There are a lot of firsts and a lot of lasts in this season. There are also a lot of changes.

I have this desire to change everything when I change just one thing. So since I'm getting married, obviously that means we should move and I should get a new job to go along with my new last name. And maybe even get a new style. Ok, not really a new style because I don't have that kind of budget. Regardless, I can get wrapped up in needing to start or change things right now. Once I get my mind on something, I want to do it right away. So this season of preparing should also be considered a season of patience.

My career is an area that I often struggle with being patient. Typically, if there is something that I don't enjoy I am ready to start something different immediately because, obviously that's the easiest answer, to run away, but I'll save that topic for another day. If you were to ask my mom she would probably tell you that I have a new career idea just about every other week. Literally. I always have something that I am wanting to do and it typically has nothing to do with what I am currently doing. I just struggle with the fact that I don't believe my career and my passion are aligned just yet. I so strongly desired to love my work. Don't get me wrong, there are days that I love my work but I want to have passion. I want to have desire.

There is this constant tension in my soul that tells me to do what I am passionate about but the other, more realistic side, tells me that I need to have a better attitude about what I'm doing and there I will find more passion. It's such a difficult place for me. Just like all things, career cannot be your life or where your value lies. Yet, I desire so deeply to leave my mark on this world and to do it with passion.

Most days I sit in this tension of a desire to do what I'm passionate about but face the reality of life, responsibility and what seems reasonable. Although, I am getting closer to taking a leap of faith and discovering that passion, for now I remain in this season of preparation.

Oh, ps...this is just a sneak peak of our engagement session from last weekend. I'm cannot wait to see the rest!

O Christmas Tree, O Christmas Tree

It's time again to pull out the dusty boxes. Hang the garland and lights. And of course, put the ornaments on the tree. This is what we did last night. Although, I didn't have a Christmas tree, so we picked one up this weekend as we did Christmas shopping (which was wildly successful!). So, we found a 4 ft. pre-light artificial little tree to suffice for this year. (I'm a real tree kind of girl).

This year as I pulled Christmas ornaments out of the box and slowly unwrapped them, anticipating what memories laid inside the tissue paper, the feeling was a bit different. Even though, I love Christmas and everything that comes with it, something felt a bit different...not quite as Christmasy as I remember. Then I realized, this year is different. This year I am unwrapping ornaments at my house; not the home I grew up in. This year, I was surrounded by my fiance and puppy; not my mom, dad and brothers. This year, I wasn't listening to Alabama Christmas playing loudly. Although the ornaments were the same, it's just wasn't the same.

This season of life is one of transition. As I am preparing to marry the man of my dreams and create a new life with him (which I am so excited about), it is a time of transition. This is the last year I sign my long last name on Christmas cards, and exchange it for a shorter, more historical one to share with my future hubby. This is a year of starting/thinking of some new traditions for my future family and remembering the traditions that hold such deep joy in my heart.

I am truly excited for the new stage of life, I will be entering. But as someone very wise once told me, "To every Yes, there is a corresponding No." And even though I am not married yet, it is a time of preparation and transition into that stage of life. There is great joy in what is to come and deep sadness of what used to be. It's one of the unspoken challenges of making this life altering decisions.

Yet, it is a blessing to have such great joy and people in my life no matter what season I am in.

Top left - One of my first Christmas ornaments

Top right - The reason we celebrate

Bottom left - Winnie's first Christmas ornament

Bottom right - Another first Christmas ornaments

Middle - The Angle at the top of my tree

The finished product

 And to end...always a picture of this precious pup.

25 & Engaged

This may have been the most exciting, exhilarating, emotional, tiring, wonderful, exhausting week of my life.

Engaged and 25. I still can't believe it, either one actually.

Friday was my 25th birthday. I spent the day with my mom and best friend...wedding dress shopping! Yep, one week in and we're already shopping. You see, normally my mom and I go shopping for my birthday. This year we got to do something a little extra....wedding dresses. It was awesome and kind of hard. I never realized how many different options, variations, alterations, styles, prices, and stores there really were. I'm pretty particular as to what I want so we're going to keep on shopping!

I finished the day with my gorgeous fiance at a wonderful restaurant and some time for us to just celebrate life!

Then Saturday morning, we headed off on our next journey to try to find the perfect reception site. I have one in mind (not sharing that detail yet). We're hoping to get a date set soon! We had some other side trips, such as the apple orchard. See our weekend in pictures...

 PS- My side of the engagement story coming soon...

The Engagement Story - His

Fellow readers of the K.I.S.S blog:

My name is Jacob Paul Revere and I will be your celebrity writer for this lovely blog posting. I have never had any interest in “doing” a blog, but since my lovely wife-to-be has encouraged me; I am sitting here writing to you all.

The wonderful engagement story is something that every single woman in America dreams, wishes, and fantasies about upon birth.  Think I am exaggerating, just talk to Shana!  The goal behind me writing to the extensive amount of followers is to simply provide a different perspective on the wonderful and amazing day that Shana said YES! It all began one day back in January of 2011 when I realized that Shana was the one that was meant for me.  At that time, she had given me so much and been an integral part of my life.  I realized that I didn’t want to spend another day without her.  She was the other half of me that I didn’t know I needed (yes Sha I said need!!  Haha inside joke). I began on January 17, 2011 to write in a journal where I could funnel all of my thoughts and aspirations into a place that Shana would not be able to see or hear.  And so began the proposal journey.

I had spent many days thinking about the how and when and where and why, but I didn’t have any true direction until the wonderful Groupon email was sent to me.  The Hot Air Balloon Corp. got my business and that is where I started the foundation of the proposal plans. I knew that I needed to schedule the hot air balloon ride at a time that would allow other activities afterward, because I was defiantly not going to have the day be like a re-run of the Bachelorette where Jason gets in a hot air balloon, gets on a knee and asks some random chick named Moniqua to marry him, even though he has been cheated on the whole 32 days he has known her. Anyway, I began planning for after the balloon ride which is when I involved the lovely friend, Lauren, into the plan. She was brought in to tie-up loose ends, as well as help out with some other thoughts. So, here is what I came up with…

THE PLAN:

• Hot Air Balloon Ride: 8 am – 11:30 am
• Alternative: ???
• Indy Zoo: 12 pm – 3:30 pm
• Alternative: Children’s Museum
• Picnic at Park: 4 pm – 8 pm
• Alternative: Any park in the greater Indy area

THE ACTUAL EVENTS:

• Hot Air Balloon ride was cancelled
• Parked car to watch sun rise
• Car battery died
• Called Uncle Bud and Aunt Sheri for a jump and went with them to breakfast
• Went to Indy Zoo (no problems…great weather)
• Lauren successfully dropped off the warmed food and placed it in the trunk of my car
• Went to park and found the entire Indy Mexican population having a fiesta (250 people total)
• Went to other park (thank you Lauren) ate dinner, dessert, shared the journal, and asked the women of my dreams to marry me.
• Tears of joy, the word “Yes, of course” over and over again, jumping, screaming, kissing, more jumping, laughing, and more crying!

To summarize, I hope you all have enjoyed this celebrity blog posting and that I have enlightened you on the engagement story of J and (future) Sha Revere!

A beautiful whirlwind

The last week has been nothing but a whirlwind. The most awesome, blessed whirlwind. I still don't think the "engagement reality" has truly sunk in. Jake and I keep saying "we're getting married...to each other." It's so different in my mind now as a reality as opposed to something I've been dreaming about since I could dream. I find myself staring at my ring, or messing with it because I'm not used to it yet, or thinking that I need to take it off because I forget that I am in fact getting married!

If you don't know me, let me tell you that I LOVE weddings. I love all things wedding. Really. My dream job is to be a self employed wedding planner. So now that I get to plan my own wedding, it's so surreal. So there is the engagement daze, the wedding planning but most importantly...the marriage.

I can't wait to marry Jake. I cannot wait to come home to him every day. I can't wait to share an address with him, a name with him and a life with him. Even seeing how much time, energy, thought and love he put into the engagement just blew me away. He continually shows me how incredible he is. I still can't believe I get to marry him. It's just so cool.

He's going to be an awesome husband. I cannot wait to share in the wedding planning stage with him and to see our families, friends and love come together to celebrate something that is right in the world.

But for now, back to laundry, trying to find a date, and getting excited for my 25th birthday! Woah! Engagement and birthday in one week. It's going to be a good 25th year of life.

PS - Engagement story coming soon.