New Life, New Blog! (Well... technically, first blog)

Well here it is. My very first blog and my very first blog post! I have to admit I'm pretty excited. I spent all day deciding on names and colors for my blog to make it perfect. It reminds me of back in high school when I spent hours looking for the cutest MySpace layout and the best profile picture of myself. How silly. But here I find myself feeling that same rush of excitement when I find the cutest template for my blog! Oh well, I guess things never really change.

Back to the reason for posting. I decided that since I've begun this exciting journey of marriage, job searching, and hopefully soon-to-be parenting, that I'd write about all of my experiences. I'm so excited to start this chapter of my life, and hope that with this blog, I can inspire, give tips, or at least entertain you readers! I've only been married for a little over two months, and I'm about to start my teaching internship where I'll actually be teaching music to K-2nd graders three days a week and middle and high schoolers two days a week. So, I'm sure there are many crazy, weird, fun, and exciting things to come my way!

I was hoping to use this first post as a kind of "get to know you" thing. But, really what more should you know besides the fact that I'm madly in love with my husband Chad, I'm a very devoted Christian and attend church regualarly where Chad serves as the youth minister, and I"m super excited to start blogging! At the moment, I'm anxiously awaiting the arrival of my husband from a three and a half day long Christian retreat called the Emmaus Walk. It's actually pretty intense. There are no cell phones allowed, and Chad isn't allowed to talk to anyone outside the retreat at all. It sounds crazy, but everyone I know that's gone says it's an amazing experience and that it's all worth it. So, though I feel like I'm going crazy not being able to talk to him for 72 hours (but really, who's counting?), I'm glad that he was able to go. He should be home in about 3 hours and I can't wait to see him!!

Just a few more things. You will more than likely here more about this, but I have been on and off again dieting for years now, but about a year and a half ago I lost a good bit of weight after sticking with it. (About 50 lbs) So my life now consists of dieting here, normal eating there, and the occasional PIG OUT! (Hey, we all have them) So sometimes I may post healthy recipes and other times down right sinful sweets. Just be prepared for a rollercoster of food, weight, diet, and excersise talk!

(And if you're wondering, today was one of those pig out days! haha)

I'll end my first post with a few pictures to give you a glimps into our new lives together! Thanks for reading and God bless!

Chad and I with out wedding party!

My family:

Parents to my right, grandfather (also known as Gaggy) directly behind me, twin brothers beside Gaggy, and aunts, uncles, and cousins all around.

Chad and I on our stop in the Bahamas while on our honeymoon cruise

The rest of our family:

White w/ black spots is Lucy. She is a Beagle/Feist mix. She was my first pup and was given to me by Chad on my 18th birthday during our first year of dating. My family grew to love her though, so she still lives with them.

All black is Sasha. She is an AKC registered Chinese Shar Pei that Chad got about 3 or 4 years ago and she now lives with us.

Black w/ brown head and white legs is Buck. He is an AKC registered Beagle and belongs to my brother Rick. He got him this past Christmas for hunting. But, Buck has become part of our family too. We love them all!