The most amazing, beautiful and cool engagement pics ever

Hey,

So, after a bit of scheduling trouble, Jon and I were able to finally do our engagement shoot with Bryan Mitchell. It was AMAZING. First of all, we knew we didn't want to do the traditional engagement pics of the couple standing in a field or anything like that. We wanted to do something cool, something a bit punk rock and something very much us. I got a lot of ideas from the website Rock and Roll Bride (awesome, even if you aren't getting married, check it out) and Bryan was very willing to make our ideas work. We met outside the Blind Pig, an Ann Arbor rock and roll institution of sorts. Not only does it have a rich musical history (artists such as John Lennon, Jimi Hendrix, Joan Baez, REM, Sonic Youth, Soundgarden, Smashing Pumpkins and Nirvana have played there, to name just a few) but it was also one of the first places Jon and I went on a date. We shot a bunch of photos in front of the Blind Pig, a bunch down by The Millennium Club, some in the alley beside the Blind Pig and even some inside the 8 Ball (the bar under the Blind Pig).

We had a blast and Bryan was inventive, creative and generally awesome. We are SO thrilled with how the pics came out and the hardest part will be trying to decide which ones to print since there are so many cool ones to choose from. These are just a few:

Must Vent.

I absolutely HATE the way my mom deals with her dog. He is spoiled little shit and she is so inconsistent about dealing with him that it's no WONDER he behaves the way he does (but she still wonders why!) Aargh.

1. She thinks that just because she's giving him dog treats while we're sitting down to eat (instead of people food like she did with previous dogs) that it's somehow better. Yet, then she yells at the dog for jumping up on her for more after she tells him "no more." Er, you're dealing with a DOG. You just gave him treats 2 minutes before and now you're yelling at him because he wants more? Am I the only one that thinks this is idiotic?

2. Almost every night the dog gets people food mixed into his dog pellets as a treat. Er, it isn't a treat if it happens all the time. "He won't eat it otherwise." Yeah, because he KNOWS you'll give him something better if he plays hunger strike for a night. If you only give him pellets then he'll figure out he has to EAT pellets if he wants to eat. I maintain, he'll get hungry enough and eat them.

3. He is allowed up on my mom's lap at the dinner table after she has finished eating. Obnoxious and uncalled for.

4. He bites and they (my parents) don't do a damn thing about reprimanding him for it. If he gets hold of something he shouldn't have (say, a tissue, magazine, sock, scarf, dishcloth etc., etc.) and you try to take it away from him, he will bite. I've been bitten by him a few times and, yes, he's broken the skin. Does he get punished? Is anything done to try to change this behavior in any long-term way? No. Let me say that if/when I have kids, I will NOT feel comfortable letting them anywhere near that dog.

5. And just because I find it obnoxious, he's a fucking little, white shih tzu. Obnoxious, obnoxious, obnoxious.

I am not a dog person, but I have also been spoiled by how WELL behaved Jon's dog is. Fina is not allowed in whatever room a person is eating in. She has to sit at the outside door until whoever is walking her says "ok" and lets her go. She has to sit at intersections when on a walk. She is a 90lb white German shepherd and is INFINITELY better behaved than Dante (the shih tzu). I have the hardest time not completely blowing up anytime my mom lets Dante do something bad/obnoxious/dangerous etc but I know she won't listen anyways. It's like beating my head against a wall.

I hate to say it, but I can not STAND that dog. Ugh.

Meh

It's probably too early in the school year to be ready for a break, although I suppose we are already at the mid-point of the quarter. I've still not really found any redeeming qualities for my 5th hour, the class as a whole has the personality of wet lint. No one talks in class discussions, I feel like I'm spoon feeding the material and it's torture. I dread that class. On the other hand, I looooooove my AP classes so far. They're very fun, have personality and even if they occasionally make me crazy, there's just something entertaining about them.

Anyways, I'm thinking this may be the year I actually use a few of my sick days as mental health days. Plenty of my co-workers do, but I always felt a bit guilty about doing that. We'll see.

The other thing that's causing a bit of angst is that I'm still not getting accustomed to seeing Jon only once a week. With our opposite schedules (I work from 7am to 3:3opm and he works from 3pm to midnight) we see each other once a week, twice if we're lucky (he works Tuesday to Saturday, me: Monday to Friday). It's very tough. I feel like we never see each other and that's pretty crummy. I know it isn't permanent, but I still don't like it. I try to just focus on the fact that we both have jobs, and in this economy (especially in Michigan-hello 15% unemployment) that's what matters.

Some days are just tough though. :(

The Dress Post

Ok, so, first off this is going to require a bit of bravery on my part. Some of these pictures are quite unflattering...

Back a month or two ago, I didn't see a whole lot of reason to wait to go wedding dress shopping. Of course I'd already started looking and stocked up on wedding magazines and catalogs. I had the time and my local bridesmaids (though they didn't know they were bridesmaids at the time) were free since the lot of us are teachers, so off we went to go dress shopping. I had some ideas as to what I wanted in a dress and some things I wanted to try (mostly because my mom thought I shouldn't wear such things) and little else in the way of real wedding dress knowledge other than what I thought was waaaaay too much to spend on a dress I'll be wearing for one day. I wanted it to be pretty and flattering and make me feel like a million bucks but not COST a million bucks. Beyond that, I also knew I'd be dealing with sample sizes in some cases.

Ugh.

Sample sizes.

For those of you that don't know (probably limited to any guys that might read my blog), in many places wedding dresses are only availible to try on in sample sizes. That means sizes 4, 6 and maybe if you're REALLY lucky, a size 8. Please remember, the average woman in the US is a size 14 and weighs 162.9 lbs (according to the LA Times at least). Now, I'm not a size 6. I'll readily admit that. However, I'm also not a size 14 (Ok, full disclosure, I wear an 8 or a 10, depending on the brand and what article of clothing is in question), so I'm definitely under the average. But that still doesn't mean I'll fit into a sample size. I was dreading this part of the process. In some ways it didn't help that I was going dress shopping with two girls I love, but both who are definitely thinner than me. I already felt like a bit of a heifer.

Anyways, off we go to Vintage to Vogue. V2V is a small boutique in Kerrytown and I'd often seen them displaying wedding dresses in their shop window. I figured it was a good enough place to start as I'd been in there before and thought they had interesting clothes. Yes, they only had sample sizes so, in the odd way that it is, one has to imagine what one might look like in said dress without being able to zip it up all the way. Or get it over your hips. Not an easy feat. My compatriates also felt that I should just try EVERYTHING on, whether I liked it on the hanger or not. So, I let them take charge as they'd both been through this process before. KJ and Wife just started handing me dresses and told me to put them on. Some were ok, some were hideous and many looked totally HORRIBLE on me. Looking at the pictures, you can usually tell what I thought based on my facial expressions. Ok. Be brave. Here we go...

This wasn't one of the worst of the lot, but maybe my mom is right, maybe strapless dresses aren't the right way to go for me...ever.

Definitely not skinny enough to wear THIS dress. Let's just pull a little MORE attention to my not-so-skinny middle, why don't we? At least I could zip it up...

Again, at least it could be zipped up, but (to me) it looks like it was kept wadded up in a bag until someone pulled it out. And I hated the neckline even though others tried to convince me it looked ok. Ugh.

Same one.

Ah yes, try to imagine what this would look like if I could actually zip it up...It might have been one of the better ones, but I couldn't imagine myself in it without having to hold the back closed. Stupid sample sizes.

Again, just not me. And all of these dresses were definitely in the league of "why on EARTH pay so much for something I'll wear once!?" I couldn't justify it no matter what. Just as well that I

didn't love any of them

Ok, so with a bunch of them under my proverbial belt, we went off to see what David's Bridal had in store. I knew for certain there was one dress I very much wanted to try on, but I was increasingly nervous that it would only look good on the mannequin and not me. I gave the woman a list of the dresses I wanted to try and the "fun" began. At least here they came in all the sizes...

Ok, this one wasn't too bad. It really wasn't. I'm trying to remember but I think this got ruled out because it was too low in the back. I had two issues with that. 1. I really would be more comfortable wearing a bra (probably too much info, but too late) and 2. I didn't want my back tattoo showing. My mother is still unaware that I have one, much less five and I'm trying to keep it that way because I will NEVER hear the end of it otherwise. She has very specific ideas about such things. She'll learn someday, I'm trying to postpone it as long as I can because it WILL be world war 3.

Ugh. It looked way better on the model in the catalog. It was also terrifically itchy. I figured if I was that annoyed by the itchiness within five minutes, it wouldn't stand a chance at the wedding. No dice.

Another that looked waaay cuter in the pictures in the catalog. I wasn't too seriously considering a short dress but figured if I was there trying stuff on, why not. Definitely not the winner.

This one I actually liked quite a bit, at least the way it looked in the back. The collar part was a little weird and neither KJ or Wife particularly liked it. I still think the back (next photo) is quite striking although the way it's gathered draws a little too much attention to my butt. It definitely was one of the ones I liked more though.

I am rather obviously underwhelmed by this one. I think the pointy bits on the bodice are weird, though they had that on quite a few strapless dresses. It isn't bad, it just doesn't look particularly great on me.

However, lest you think this was a fruitless trip, I did try one one dress (the one I went in really wanting to try) and fell in love with it. It looks great. It fits perfectly (other than being way too long, or maybe I'm too short) and it is very much me. I will feel totally comfortable in it. I won't be pulling things up, worrying my butt looks big or if I'm itchy. It even has pockets. It's kind of vintage-y looking, very plain (no lace, sequins or appliques of any sort) and classic. Wife and my mom describe it as being quite Audrey Hepburn. I love it and haven't the slightest worry that I'll find anything I'd like more. Even better? It was totally in the range of acceptable prices for something I will wear once. I will not post pictures because Jon reads this and, being somewhat superstitious and a bit old fashioned, I want to knock his socks off when I walk down the aisle. If you really want to know what it looks like, email me and I'll tell you. Otherwise, you get to wait 10 months till we have wedding photos.

So, that's the dress saga. I'm a bit embarrassed by some of the pictures, far from flattering but so be it. If you laugh, you're just not invited ;)

Can we please just get on with this?

So, it seems like EVERYONE I know is getting married (Sarah, Martin & Kelly) or has just gotten married (Hilary & George, Jess & Dan, Aaron & Jackie, Charlie & Jenna). It makes me just want to get ON with this whole thing. I don't WANT to wait 10 months. I want to see Jon more than once a week (our schedules are almost opposite, so we're lucky if we see each other once a week, really lucky if it's twice). So, weddings are definitely on the brain. I find myself obsessively checking websites like www.bryanmitchell.com (our photographer) and www.rockandrollbride.com for super cool photo ideas. Shannon (my best friend and maid of honor) is flying in from Boston in a few weeks and I can't wait to see her. Of course part of the plan for that weekend is to go bridesmaid dress shopping and for her to meet all the other girls, but I'm super thrilled just to see her. I haven't seen her since last summer when we met up in DC!

So, because I'm obsessing over things like the limited edition Williams Sonoma only Kitchen Aid 90th anniversary stand mixer in candy apple red (see here) and Le Creuset dutch ovens in red enamel (here) and so forth, I figured I'd just get some of this out of my system and do a wedding-related post.

This summer was a flurry of activity in terms of finding a place for our reception, looking for a dress and giving people money. First order of business was finding a reception hall...

We first went to Dominick's. A true Ann Arbor favorite, we liked the fact that we could get the entire back patio for ourselves and, of course, their divine sangria.

Ultimately, we decided that it was a bit too casual and wanted something fancier in the way of food (we'd pretty much be limited to pizza and sandwiches) so, the plan is to do the rehearsal dinner at Dominick's, which has the added advantage of being just across the diag from the church where we're getting married.

Stop two was at The Gandy Dancer. Another Ann Arbor institution, the Gandy Dancer was always the place my family went for VERY special occasions. I didn't really think that it would be in our price range, but we decided to take a look anyways since some bridal magazine I had indicated that their prices weren't as awful as one might expect.

Now I realize this doesn't look like much from the photos, but the outdoor courtyard at the Gandy Dancer is quite nice. Unfortunately, the woman in charge of catering and groups wasn't in that day so we were only able to get a packet with info on menus and so forth. We liked the space, the fact it was "outside" (but not so outside disaster would ensue if it rains), and it was elegant. A strong contender, but we still had other places to see and a lot of questions for the catering woman. Another visit would be necessary.

Next stop was the U of M Botanical Gardens. It quickly eliminated itself since we didn't need a place for the ceremony, the reception could only be indoors and the room where they hold receptions looked like a school lunchroom. The photos are lousy because we couldn't actually go in and I was taking them through the window. Still, not so great.

Our journey continued onward with a stop for a beer and a chance to sit down at Corner Brewery. While there, we figured we'd inquire if they do receptions. They do, but it just wasn't the right feel for us and we moved onwards.

Wellers in Saline was the next stop and posed numerous problems. This was a true "wedding factory" and they charge extra for EVERYTHING. You want glass wine glasses? That will be extra per glass (you get plastic otherwise). It costs extra for a Saturday night. You can't just have the gazebo (which would seat about 150 people) you have to ALSO get the carriage house. They only do a buffet dinner. You can only order alcohol from one place in Ann Arbor. There is a cake cutting fee. It quickly seemed ridiculous, so despite the fact that the grounds are pretty, it was out almost from the get-go.

Our last stop was Cobblestone Farm. Immediately, there was a problem. They were booked for almost ALL of next summer already (if you wanted a Saturday). The only available weekends were either before school let out for the summer (I'd be a madwoman) or the weekend of art fair. We already ruled that out, so the fact that I didn't really like it and it looks like a barn (ok, ok, it IS a barn) didn't matter.

So, after all that, where did we end up? We're going with The Gandy Dancer. Awesome food, in our budget and no crazy extras. No cake cutting fee. No fee for glass glasses. No problem bringing in an outside cake. We dont' even have to tell them how many chicken dishes and how many beef before the reception. Because they're a restaurant, people get to pick off our little set menu that night. Not to mention that when we did get to meet with the catering lady, I liked her A LOT. She seems very with it, friendly but knows what she's doing. I'm very excited for this! We can even have a little dancefloor :)

Next post? The wedding dresses...the good, the bad and the ugly (no, I'm not posting a photo of the one I picked, not till the wedding!)

So far, I am surviving

Well, a bit closer to a full week at school and I'm still alive. Four days this time (we get a lovely, wonderful 4 day Labor Day weekend) and I'm slowly getting back into the swing of things. I'm still very much liking my AP kids (though they were weirdly quiet today, odd for a bunch of 16 year olds) and my American Lit kids are still the more difficult of the lot. Entertaining/forehead-slapping aspects from this week:

• Trying to convince a 16 year old boy that, yes, you do need to write this down because no, you probably won't remember it tomorrow (he didn't write it down and didn't remember it today).
• Having two students walk into my 5th hour American Lit class BLATANTLY reading the Spark Notes for The Scarlet Letter and standing three feet from me. Do you REALLY think I don't notice? I gave the entire class a stern talking to, proceeded to give a quiz where many of them (including the Spark Noters) did phenomenally bad. Let this be warning that Spark Notes will not save your ass in my class. You need to read. And read closely.
• Another student in my 5th hour class comes in wearing an out of dress code hoodie. I should have immediately written him up. Since we're just at the start of school, I told him to lose the hoodie or I'd write him up. Five minutes later I look over and he's still wearing the hoodie. So, I write him up, send him to the office and he has a detention. Should have just taken it off when I first asked. Moron.
• I think my contract might finally be sorted. Crossed fingers. I don't want to say much more till I sign it and see the next paycheck. I'm afraid I'll jinx it (yeah, yeah, superstition and Catholicism aren't supposed to go hand in hand. Weirdly, they do).

So, that's been this week so far. One more day...

OMG, I have to do this again tomorrow?

Unlike public schools in Michigan, my school (a private, Catholic high school) begins before Labor Day. And not just a little before Labor Day. We teachers went back LAST Wednesday. The students had their first day of school ( a full day, no half-days here) yesterday. We are back and running and I'm totally and utterly exhausted. I kind of hate my class schedule and it will take a lot of getting used to. We have seven classes a day. Teachers usually teach five classes and have two prep periods at some point during the day to do copying, grade, write lesson plans etc. My two preps are first and second periods. Then I teach straight through the rest of the day. No break. On the one hand, it seems to make the day go pretty fast (so far) on the other, it's utterly exhausting not having any breaks. Not even to run to the bathroom. I'll have to limit my liquids I guess.

Ok, so, for as much as I gripe, I do like teaching. I love teaching high schoolers (which tends to amaze people, why I'm not really sure). I particularly like teaching juniors. Freshmen aren't bad (they're usually scared stiff the first few months and after that are still easy to boss around), seniors are at least usually fairly mature, although you have to put up with senioritis, and juniors are typically beginning to realize that high school won't last forever and unless they want to stay working at the Coney Island/McDonalds/golf course/fun park forever, they might want to try and get into college. Juniors also begin to realize that they'll need letters of recommendation from you and so it is a good idea to stay on your good side (at least most of the time). Sophomores suck. They aren't scared freshmen anymore and they're cocky, obnoxious and difficult. I hate teaching sophomores and don't envy my office-mate for having ALL sophomores this year.

I am pretty lucky with the classes I teach. I have all juniors, teach two classes of AP Language and Composition (so, pretty driven kids) and two sections of American Lit (I hate American Lit, but that's neither here nor there) and a section of journalism (mixed, but not bad). As much as I like the juniors, I do notice some pretty big differences in attitude and behavior between the "regular" kids and the AP kids. Today is a perfect example.

All of my classes had to take their summer reading in-class essay. If they did the reading, they will be fine (for the most part). My AP kids moaned a bit about it, but got down to work quickly and I didn't have to bug them to get quiet or stay that way. Even some of the more boisterous kids were good about just doing the essay and keeping focused.

In walked my 5th hour American Lit class. There is one kid, I'll call him O to protect his identity, that I had a feeling would be difficult. Yes, teachers talk about students (sadly, far too much, we need new topics I guess) and I'd heard from my office-mate and Jon that this kid can be tough. I try to withhold judgment on kids until I get to know them, but this time I think they were right. I get everyone sitting in chairs (you'd think this would be obvious, I had one kid that I had to tell more than once to actually get off the desk and sit in the chair). I am giving basic instructions and reminders. O says (under his breath, but I still heard him) "lets get on with this Miss M. I need to check my Farmville." I rolled my eyes and told him to stop talking. I pass out the topics. He keeps talking to the kid sitting next to him. I ask him a second time to be quiet. He keeps talking. Third time, I tell him that if he does it once more, I'm taking points off his essay.

He did.

So, I told him (and the rest of class) that he just lost 5 points on his essay and so would anyone else who talked during the rest of the hour. That shut him up. He thought I was bluffing. Ha. I don't bluff.

I'm sure he thinks I'm a bitch. I'm fine with that. I don't care if he read the books (honestly though, the weren't even novels, they had to read two plays. "Death of a Salesman" and "The Glass Menagerie" Not too difficult). I don't care if he wrote a crappy essay. I don't want him bothering the other kids though. Aargh. Good start to the year, eh?

I also had another student in my 6th hour American Lit class come up to me and point blank told me "I didn't bother to read the two books this summer, I probably didn't do so well on the essay." I guess, thanks for being honest, but I told her that that is a bad start to the year (and her grade) and she needs to get with it and quickly. I think I need to talk to her parents before this gets out of control.

Wait. Did I say I like teaching? Remind me why? :) I'm glad we have a short week, I don't think I'd make it through a full week right now. One of my own teachers likened going back to teaching in the fall as being similar to getting back into a sport you haven't trained for in a long time. I think that's a pretty apt description.

How long until Thanksgiving?