7 Thoughts About My New Job.

Here are some random thoughts about my first two days of full-time work. :)

1. The very first thing I did at the new job was wrong. I parked in a doctor's parking spot. Oops. There was no way I could have known, but still. Not cool.
2. The people there are super nice and understanding when I ask dumb questions. (You'll probably think - oh I bet they're not dumb questions! But they ARE. Because I ask questions about everything because I want to know how things are specifically done and sometimes those things do not matter in the least.)
3. I have loved talking to the elderly people checking in. Especially when the couples come in together even if only one of them has an appointment. :)
4. I love it when people I know call the office. Or come in. 
5. My mom took me out to lunch today to get some scrumptious Mexican food and it was AWESOME. She's the best. 
6. I scheduled some appointments by myself today. Ballinnnnn!
7. I'm tired. Really tired.

Thank you so much for your prayers and well wishes about the job! Y'all are way too kind. 

Weekly Picture Recap.

The past week in pictures. Since I missed InstaFriday again, sadly.

My parents had the varsity girls over for a team meal. :) They are such a fun group! And beautiful, too.

We had this delicious cookie cake for dessert.

Our theme for the end of the season was "All In". We focused on how as Christians we need to be "all in" for Jesus - holding nothing back, living 100% for Him. And the girls needed to be "all in" on the court. (They were!)

I went to a Saturday night church service and had sushi with one of my best friends Courtney. It was seriously amazing. 

Here are my February Photo a Day Challenge pics!

My husband likes to drink orange juice with dessert. Especially in his fancy monogrammed mug. Oh, Jordan.

This is the one move that Jillian makes me do that I strongly dislike. (Jordan gave me the 30 Day Shred for Valentines Day. Yeah. It's all his fault.)

But honestly, I really like the videos. I've definitely noticed changes in my body. And my clothes are fitting differently. :) Yay! I'm not trying to lose weight, though. I just want to tone up and be more FIT!

I love The Excellent Wife Bible study (by Martha Peace) that the married women are doing at church. It's been such a big help to study more about my role as a wife and to hear more experienced, godly women talk about it. I'm so blessed to be a part of it!

This picture was taken at my last Canes game. It was an awesome game - we won and Chad LaRose got a hat trick on hat night. So there were thousands of hats being thrown everywhere! Oh and I was crushing HARD on my future husband. I got him tickets. :) He would soon be mine. Haha.

This picture makes me sad now because basketball is over. But I'm so thankful for my first opportunity to be a head coach. I'll never forget this past season.

I've had these shoes for at least three years and they've always been some of my favorites. Gotta love good TJ Maxx finds!

My hotel bathroom cabinet while we were at the state tournament. I'll have to show you my real bathroom cabinet sometime because we have a big collection of those little hotel soaps and such. :)

Green. Actually there was a little blue in there too on that particular day. Sometimes they're so light green they verge on yellow (not cool). But not that day.

We celebrated my new job by popping the bubbly the day I found out. And in our world bubbly = sparkling grape juice. :)

One thing they didn't tell me in premarital counseling:

Don't be in shock when you find out how many pairs of socks your husband goes through in one week. 

My dad and his team at their last practice. Such g's. 

During my spare time at the state tournament I spend some quality time with Katniss. And finished the series for the second time. It was seriously better this time. 

Me and a few of my girls after our semi-final game. I sure am gonna miss them.

What a week. Tomorrow I start my full-time job! Ahhh! Prayers are appreciated. :)

Hope y'all had a great week! 

Bloglovin' - Get on it!

I just jumped on the Bloglovin train.

I love having the app on my phone - it makes it so much easier to read my favorite blogs! 
*YOU DO NOT HAVE TO BE A BLOGGER TO USE THIS!*Anyone can have it to have easy access to your favorite blogs!
You can even sort your blogs into groups which is quite helpful to me. 
I suggest you check it out - especially since Google Friend Connect is going away for non-Blogger blogs. Bloglovin will do the trick.
So please do

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

and I will be adding a little button thing on the side so people can follow from there!
Do you use Bloglovin? Are there any other ways to follow blogs that I'm missing? I'm not quick on these things, y'all. Haha. You gotta help a girl out here. :)

PS - If you're wondering how my basketball team did, we beat the 2nd place team on Thursday in the quarter-final - this was awesome because we were the underdog. Then we lost a close one last night in the semi-final, and won the 3rd place game today in overtime. It was awesome to go out on a win! What a great season!

Guest posting about my hometown - Raleigh!

I seriously just typed, "Happy Friday, y'all" and then realized it is in fact NOT Friday. My brain is just not working right today. Well, Happy Thursday, anyway! 

Today I'm guest posting at henning love about my hometown! So if you'd like to hear about where I'd take her for the day in Raleigh, NC, then hop on over there and check it out. You really should check out her blog anyway because Meg is quite the inspiration. You'll love it. :)

Meanwhile I'm on my way to Greensboro for the NCCSA 3A State Tournament! Have a great day my dears!

Can't sleep. Hyped up.

I get so hyped up about stuff. Not during actual events as much as the ANTICIPATION of them.
I'm like this about everything. Even little things. Example: If I know we're going out somewhere for dinner (and by that I mean Moe's or Jason's or something...actually who am I kidding, even Wendy's or Taco Bell) I am excited ALL day. I think about what I'm going to order and what Jordan's going to order and if I'll possibly have leftovers for the next day and everything else.
Oh and let's talk about lunch. Every day I try to eat lunch later than normal, but every day when I see that clock strike 11:00am I go into full lunch mode. I look forward to it all morning and for some reason when I see that it's 11 that means that the morning is over in my mind. Therefore, food time. I am weird.
So, as you can imagine, when my high school varsity girls basketball team is going to the state tournament (tomorrow), I get pretty crazy antsy. I mean, this is a lot more than lunch - it's what MONTHS of work comes down to. Was I like this when I actually played sports? Not as much. Because back then I would go out on the court and give it my best. Now that I'm coaching, I can't do it for them. I have to be there yelling on the sideline, hoping that they know what they're supposed to do and that they do it right. Coaching is stressful, people. (But I love it. Oh do I love it.)
Oh and I start work on Monday. (HALLELUJAH PRAISE THE LORD) As in a full time job which I have never had before and that I am completely pumped about but also quite scared about. What if I'm terrible at it? What if they don't like me? What if they do like me, but then read this blog somehow, and figure out that I'm weird, and then decide to not like me? 
This is what happens. What starts out as excitement and anticipation turns into worry. 
And worrying means I'm not giving it to the Lord.
So I'm just going to give it all to the Lord tonight, rest in His peace, and go to sleep. Easier said than done, but I think a little story about a certain Katniss Everdeen can get my mind off of things... :)
And how could I worry with this team? We're ready.

wedding advice - photographer.

I think that photography is one of the main aspects of wedding planning that people obsess over, because of course they want their pictures to be perfect! They want to be able to look back on the memories that happened so fast - the look on the groom's face as he sees his bride, the kiss of all kisses, the beautiful dress as the bride is twirling, etc. This is understandably VERY important. 

Here are some things to consider when choosing a photographer:

• Taste/Desires: What is your taste when it comes to wedding photos? Do you like classically posed pictures, mostly candid shots, or does having an abstract/unique point of view take precedence? Take some time to visit wedding websites and look at different styles of photos. Figure out what you are drawn to and what is most important for you to have captured. Use Pinterest - I wish I had had that luxury when I was planning!
• Recommendations: Does the photographer come highly recommended from someone you trust? If you have a wedding planner, with whom has he/she enjoyed successful collaboration? Does the person making the recommendation understand your taste and what you want?
• Experience: The photographer MUST have wedding experience. Although it may be tempting to hire your friend's friend who likes to upload their "photography" on Facebook for cheap, it won't be worth the money saved. Think about everything that goes into it - getting into the right positions, knowing where to be to get the best shots, knowing what shots are the most crucial, being efficient and quick, blending into the surroundings, having a calm demeanor even when things get stressful, being able to shoot for the entire day, etc. Only an experienced photographer can know how to effectively do all of these things!
• Budget: Yes, photographers are pricey. If you do have a wedding planner, he/she can help you find some photographers in your price range. If not, you need to figure out a price range AFTER you see how much photographers actually cost. If you don't prepare yourself, you might be surprised. But remember that the pictures are what will last - what you will show your grandchildren! :)

Here are some things I personally considered when choosing our photographer:

• Comfort: Was I going to be comfortable around this person? Do our personalities clash or work well together? I knew I was going to be around the photographer a lot, so this was important! I wanted pictures of me and my girls getting ready, and knew I would be more comfortable if a fellow female was the one taking pictures of that. Which I'm now glad of, because I was basically naked as my dress was being put on, haha. She got to know me more than she wanted to, I'm sure!
• Team: I knew that I wanted more than one photographer at the wedding. And I didn't mean someone who barely knew what they were doing - another actual photographer. That way one could be shooting Jordan rubbing cake all over my face while the other could be shooting my little cousin with the garter on his head. 
• Experience with Location: This was huge for me - my location at the Grand Marquise Ballroom was a setting with all kinds of lighting - including lights that changed color every few seconds while we were dancing. It wasn't going to be constantly bright in there. But since my photographer had experience shooting weddings in that ballroom, she already knew how to handle the lighting or lack thereof. Someone who had only shot outside weddings would not have been a good fit for us. 
• Package: How long could we have the photographers? Were we going to get the edited photos on a disk? Were we allowed to put them online? Was an album included? Were prints included? These are all questions that were important when figuring out what package we went with. It all depends on what you want and how much you want to pay.
• Extra Sessions: In the package I knew I wanted an engagement photo shoot and a bridal portrait shoot. And the bridal portrait shoot needed to be in their studio since it was in February and there was no way I was going to look good in pictures if I was freezing in my dress!

Sooo what photographer did we use? Neil Boyd Photography from Raleigh, NC! 

Neil Boyd shot my bridal portrait session, while Bridget Daily (on their team of photographers) did the engagement shoot and the wedding. LOVED them!

And because of them, Jordan and I are going to be on the cover of The Bride's Book magazine - yay! :)

Here are some examples of the excellent job they did.

Engagement

This is the only bridal portrait I have on my computer for some reason - I'll try to find more later!

The Wedding

(warning - lots of pics!)

flowers by Expressions of Love

flowers by Expressions of Love

by Expressions of Love

by Expressions of Love

by Cinda's Creative Cakes

by Cinda's Creative Cakes

Please email me or comment if you have any specific questions, or anything else you want to know about choosing a wedding photographer - I'd love to help! :)