expensive...

Ok seriously, I have a year and 5 months until I get married. I just want to be dreaming, and thinking about what I want. But no. Apparently you have to start booking people like photographers.

Daddy stopped and talked to a photographer in Sparta yesterday. I've seen their work, and I love their bridal portraits. Which are expensive, but not too bad. For the wedding, it would be around $1900 or $2000. Ok, that's all well and good for people with money like that, but we're not rich. Sure, I will have been working for 6 months or so, but that's still not a lot. Of course, I may just use them for the bridal portraits. They really are amazing.

Anyway, this place has already booked an April and a June wedding for 2009. Tell me if that isn't crazy. How can you book the pictures so early? I'm still not even sure exactly what I want to have. All I can come up with is the color scheme I like this week. Actually, I'm sold on it. And the location and preacher. That has to count for something. But to book stuff this far in advance? I want to figure out what we need, and what will work well for us.

We really just need to sit down with our parents and talk about all this. The question is, when? He'll be in London for Spring Break. Easter is crazy. I guess it'll be in May, worked around graduation schedule stuff for John. Because it needs to be sooner rather than later. Good grief.

Just do it.

As I sit in my room watching some tv because I have free time, I realize that I'm a bored eater. I'm having to fight the urge to get candy or cupcakes or something, even though I'm not hungry in the slightest. It just seems like the thing to do. And I do it all the time. If I'm just sitting around, I want to eat something. I'm currently trying to satiate myself with water, because it's better for me.

My goal is to lose some weight before the wedding. Obviously, I've got plenty of time, and I have police academy, which will also help. But really, the best thing I can do is just stop grazing all day long. And just eat when I'm hungry. That's my goal.

Along those same lines, I really need to work on working out. It's so hard when I don't have anyone specifically holding me accountable. I need to be working on doing pushups, since I can't do even one. I need to be building up endurance for situps. I really need to get back into running. But it's so hard. Especially now, while it's cold. But I have to do it. No more buts. I have an mp3 player. I have clothes. I really just need to buckle down and do it. I need to stop making excuses. I need to quit telling myself I'm going, and then don't. I just need to do it. That's it. Just do it.

A paper I had to write...

As a Criminal Justice and Sociology double major, graduate school is a must for me. I have a love of learning that I could not imagine stifling by stopping my education after college. That being said, I do plan to take a few years off in order to get some job experience. Also, I will be getting married in a little over a year, and thus will be concentrating on living life as a recent college graduate, new police officer, and wife.

Because of my impending marriage, choices for graduate programs will be limited. I will be in less of a position to pack up my life and move to a different city or state for a period of time. More than likely, I will be living in Asheville, so schools located in Western North Carolina are my top choices. I do not mind commuting to somewhere a few times per week, but prefer to be able to live at home throughout the time it takes me to complete the degree.

Economically, price is less a consideration than location is. Because my fiancé is a nursing student, he is essentially guaranteed a job. His plan is to work at Memorial Mission in Asheville for two years, at which point they will pay for him to get his masters and become a nurse anesthetist. When he finishes, he will have to return to Asheville, but will be earning a salary that breaks the six figure mark. At this point, I plan to quit work and go back to school. Because of his salary and our frugal spending habits, we should be able to comfortably handle my going back to school.

As for selecting a school, I am willing to do the work. Even as an under-grad student, I have consistently challenged myself, and will be completing two majors and a minor in three and a half years. Work loads do not scare me. My hardest problem is selecting a program to enter. I have been debating between Criminal Justice, Sociology, and Public Administration with a concentration in Criminal Justice.

Because of all these considerations, I feel that Western Carolina’s M.P.A degree is my best option. This spring, a criminal justice concentration was added, and many of the classes are taught at night in Asheville. I believe that have a masters in Public Affairs will enable me to do much more in my career. While I am still trying to decide between teaching at a community college or working longer in law enforcement after I complete my masters, this will allow me to have more options.

Having classes offered in Asheville will allow me to live at home and still maintain a healthy marital relationship, which was my biggest fear. I do not want to have too much added stress on our relationship while I am working to complete this degree, and being able to take classes that are close to home would really help remedy that. And because gas prices are consistently rising, it would be much more cost-effective for me to live so close to my classes.

Also, because I will already have experience in public service, I will not be required to complete the six credit hour internship. Instead, I will only have to take an additional elective course. The fact that the program only requires 36 hours is also nice. It can easily be completed in three or four semesters, which would be right around two years. This would keep me on track for the life planning my fiancé and I have been doing.

All in all, I believe that Western’s program is the best fit for me, because of the small classes sizes, and especially the location. Until I was proposed to, I never thought about the effect that marriage would have on my life plans. Despite that, I could not imagine doing things in any different order. But just in case something happens, I would be interested in the Criminal Justice masters at Appalachian State University, as well as the Criminal Justice program at East Tennessee State. Both would be very beneficial to me in terms of going on to teach at a community college, but would not be as helpful as Public Affairs should I ever decide that criminal justice is not right for me. At least with Public Affairs, I would have other options to fall back on.

We set a date!

So, I still find it hard to believe that I'm getting married in a year and 5 months or so. It's pretty fantastic. And I'm already trying to make plans!! We decided on July 25th as our date, and we'll have it in Elkin and Johnny will do the ceremony. I can't think of anything cooler than having my "second dad" marry me. The Blevins family is amazing!

Where does one even start planning? I have no idea. I look at dresses online, but I know that I don't need to get one until way closer to time. I can at least wait until this fall, so that more will hopefully be on sale. We're trying to keep this a fairly simple process. But I'm far from being a simple person, so who knows how that is going to go.

Pretty much, I'm just excited about forever with my best friend, and the ceremony isn't the most important part. Life is. Life with him. I'm one lucky girl.