Tuesday Topics: Five Songs

As I am starting late in the game, my first round of Tuesday Topics begins with five songs that bring back memories.

1.)  Wannabe-Spice Girls.  Truthfully, I could have picked any song from this era- Nsync, backstreet boys, etc but this song really encompasses my childhood! This song reminds me of a carefree time when all that mattered was which spice girl you were (I was Sporty, which if you know me, makes no sense at all!)

2.) Good Things- The Bodeans.  This song feels like home.  This reminds me of driving in the car with my family, and fast forwarding my dad's Bodean's cassette tape to Good Things because it was the only song I knew.    

3.)  My One True Friend- Bette Midler.  Like #1, I could have picked any Bette Midler song.  This song reminds me of my sister.  My older sister and I were a bit odd in that we spent our time listening to the Lite FM and watching Harrison Ford movies- not typical stuff for 9 and 12 year olds... but this song reminds me of my relationship with my sister before we grew up and had jobs, boyfriends/husbands, and adult responsibilities.  This song reminds me of the carefree, fun, loving relationship between us.  When I hear Bette Midler, I see barbies, dolls, and our shared room!

4.) For You I Will- Teddy Geiger. Ah, this song reminds me of Sean.  This song came out right around the time Sean and I started dating.  It was so full of excitement and joy and completely encompassed everything I was feeling at that time.  When I hear this song it feels like I am 16 all over again! 

  

5.)  Die Young- Ke$ha.  Now, I am not a huge Kesha fan, and this is not even a song that I know all the words too.  But, for some reason this song sticks out for me from my wedding.  When I hear this song, I am right back on the dance floor, surrounded by family and friends, and having the time of my life celebrating my marriage!!

Welp, that's all for this week! Join me next week  for four things I have learned outside of school!

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Wedding Memories Part 1

I am getting ready to start scrap booking our wedding and was feeling rather nostalgic even though it was only 3 months ago =)  My wedding was everything I dreamed of and more and it still feels so surreal that I am married to my absolute best friend in the entire world.  Since I was 16, I have looked forward to this life I have.  I have looked forward to being married to Sean, living on our own, and starting our lives together and it feels like a dream now that I am actually living it out!  I love every part of it!

I have so many wonderful memories, pictures, and thoughts about our entire wedding experience and instead of writing 1 HUGE blog post about our wedding,  I decided to break it apart and share it gradually; I may even be able to rope in the hubs for a special guest post from the groom's point of view!  But for now,  I am going to start with a recap on our rehearsal.

Our rehearsal was great! We went to the hall early to set everything up and it was such an amazing feeling to walk in and realize that time the very next day, I'd be getting married! Throughout our entire engagement, it never truly felt like I was actually getting marred.  It didn't really sink in until a week or so after our wedding. Everything was amazing, and exciting, and fun but it didn't feel like it was actually for me!  This feeling was still there but it lessened a bit when I saw everything I planned coming together.

I loved having all of our family and friends their, helping us prepare for one of the most amazing days of our life!

My emotions were all over the place.  I was nervous, excited, terrified, exhilarated, etc! I knew what we were doing, I knew why we were there, but it was not sinking in.  I couldn't possibly be getting married.  It felt like I was dreaming.  But an amazingly wonderful dream!

Afterwards, we went to a restaurant where Sean's parents had planned a wonderful rehearsal dinner!  It was perfect!  We had a private balcony with delicious food where we were able to spend time with our closest friends and family before we were married.  

It is an amazing feeling to look around a room and see everyone you love the most there celebrating with you and for you.  It is an even better feeling to look next to you and see the love of your life and know that the next day you get to start forever.

Me and my bridesmaids and flower girl

 Mac Girls and Future Mac Girls

family =)

Us with our ring bearer

Matron of Honor and Best Man

Part 2: Coming soon! 

P.S.

 Sean and I checked another item off our bucket list- Make a HUGE fleece blanket! 

we love it! we can lay on opposite ends of the couch and still be completely covered!  

Come see me on Tuesday when I will be linking up with Life. Love. & Lauren and The Austin Family Diary for Tuesday Topics! 

Becoming a Warrior!

Sunday was Father's Day and my family participated in the Warrior Dash.  If you haven't heard of the Warrior Dash, check it out here.  It is a 5k mud run obstacle course.  Now, I am not what most would call athletic.  I lack good hand-eye coordination, fast reflexes, am extremely clumsy, and usually end up injured.  I was determined to do this though.  My dad, brothers, husband, and our friend signed up back in December and I was very excited! I wanted to challenge myself but was also afraid of getting left behind by the group of all boys I was with.

Well, the Dash arrived and I was a bundle of nerves!  But it ended up being amazing! I already want to do it again!  I completed every obstacle and while I ended up walking most of the way, that was okay because most people walked too =)  I was not left behind, either Sean or my dad stayed back with me the whole time.  I had a blast! I was muddy, tired, had mud in my mouth, and was pumped!! I was so excited that I completed every obstacle and loved the experience with my friends and family!

I highly recommend this to anyone who wants an adventure!!  I am definitely signing up next year!

Before and after =)

The hubs and me

I survived!

warriors!

You could donate your muddy shoes! They fix them up and give them to people in need!

Finished Father's Day at BD's Mongolian Grill! Yum!!! Happy Father's Day dad! =)

What is something you have done that you never thought you would be able to?

Meet Me In St. Louis

I have had a really incredible past few days! Sean and I are both teachers and have the summers off.  We are fortunate enough right now to not need to work this summer and are truly loving the time off/together. Sean and I have never really done many "exciting things."  We have always been in school, either high school or college, and have never really had the money or time to do much.  Now that we are married and both have careers we are really trying to make up for lost time and do new things as a couple before babies come into the mix!

Sean and I created a "Summer Bucket List." This past week we checked 2 things off of our list!

Bucket List Item #1: St. Louis

We live relatively close to St. Louis, about 4 hours, and went to school about 1.5 hours away.  We have wanted to visit but never had the resources to do so.  Last Monday, we  decided to plan the trip for that Thursday-Friday.  I booked the hotel, which ended up being difficult since most were full, and started researching.  We knew in advance what we wanted to do since we were only there for 2 days and 1 night.  We arrived Thursday around noon and since check in wasn't until 3:00 we decided to head to the St. Louis Zoo.  It was about 2 miles away so we decided to stretch our legs and walk it.  Sounded like a great idea.. until halfway there when I could barely walk because I had blisters on the bottom of me feet... note to self: when walking for a long period of time, wear good shoes!  Let's just say lesson learned.  Now you may not know but I love animals! Love them!  The zoo is somewhere I love to go!  So as I slowly made my way around I fell in love with St. Louis Zoo. The animals were so close and personal and the zoo was the perfect size to walk around and see everything!  I have to say my favorite part was seeing the baby elephants.  Elephants are by far my favorite animal.. baby elephant= heaven!

That night, we decided to go to this great restaurant/bar called 360 which was located on the top floor of the Hilton and overlooked the city.  Great food, great view, but very disappointing sangria..

Looks yummy.. it wasn't!

The view from the restaurant

Friday we checked out of our hotel and went on a tour of the Anheuser Busch Brewery!  It was a blast and really interesting and the free samples were great too ;)

We finished our trip with the City Museum.  If you have not heard of it, look it up! It is amazing! It is basically a bunch of climbing but it was a great adventure!!  

climbing, climbing, climbing

few from above

more climbing!

outdoor area

It was a short trip but so fun! This was only our 2nd get-a-way as a couple, the first being our long weekend in Galena for our honeymoon!  We loved it and had a blast!

Bucket List Item #2 in next post =)

Where have you gone for some of your favorite get-a-ways?

Hello, From Me!

Hello blogging world!  My name is Alyssa and this is all very new to me.  Truth is, I love blogs! I love the idea of being open and honest with a world beyond my own.  I am very new to this, as you may be able to tell from my page, but I am so beyond eager to get started! My blog design is not even finished and yet here I am posting because I am excited!  This is all very new to me and while I learn fast, I am at a loss with this whole blog designing thing... any help would be greatly appreciated!

I want this blog to show pieces of me and my life.  My life includes that of a newlywed, a teacher, a friend/family member, a reader, a scrapbooker, a crafter(at least trying to be),  a baker and new cook, a runner (again, trying to be), and a healthy eater!  I want this blog to show the world the parts of me that I have trouble expressing.  I hope you are open to it and I hope I can get this right!

Any suggestions and advice would be greatly appreciated! =)