I'm Still Here

Wow. It's been almost 2 months since I last posted. Eesh! Ya probably not the best idea to have a big giveaway, gets lots of new followers and then never blog. It was SO not my plan. Every weekend I kept trying to get to blogging but it seemed like another things to do (or 5) kept popping up. We squeezed all the last bits of fun we could from summer and then reality hit and I had a new classroom to get going. THAT has taken way more work than I anticipated. Teaching two classes is a lot of work. Two sets of lesson plans for every subject, two (or four) different teacher manuals for every subject, two different tests and activity pages to copy, two different spelling lists to keep straight, and on and on. 

  I'm not complaining, I'm just finally coming up for air and realizing why I have not been on here.

So what have I been up to? Well for one, taking a lot more pictures on my phone than with a regular camera. At least I'm still taking pictures though!

 We had a handful of weddings this summer! All very fun times. I was bridesmaid for my dear friend. She played the flag game like I did at my wedding...I got to pick all the questions for her. 

Love my Cannon Beach girls. Guess I missed the memo that we had our shoes on, oh well, I'm tall enough without ;). My mom made my bridesmaid dress! So nice having a mom with that talent because the stores were just not coming through for me.

 My college roommate came to visit for a weekend! Never enough time with her. We talked so much, baked, watched Friends and movies, coffee, shopping, farmer's market, scrapbooking and more talking! I wish she lived down the street!

 Celebrating my mom's birthday. Check back soon to see what I got her and hopefully the idea can provide some inspiration for your next birthday gift.

 I love my mom! We text everyday and the days that we don't just don't feel right. She spent two whole days helping me set up my classroom and is even painting a new desk for me! Plus all the other amazing things she does like talk, laugh, listen, hug, give advice, and pray for me. She's the best!

Another wedding--family friend that I have known his whole life. I got to help set-up the decorations and reception, which was so much fun! I was also the photographer's assistant, aka the bossy person telling people where to stand/look, etc. I got the job done and we stayed on schedule!

Time flies. I can remember when all these kiddos were born, how can the youngest be driving and two of us married now?

My family did the Color Run! My first 5k and a lot of fun! It was my mom's birthday present. I now want to do another 5k...wait who said that?

 We put our new guest room (and YES I am still going to show you pictures of our new house) to good use this summer! Our newlywed (from the wedding pictures at the top) and newly-engaged (wedding next summer and I'm a bridesmaid again) friends came to visit for a weekend. So much laughter and smiling--they are good medicine!

Final wedding of the summer--a previous co-worker of Nate's.

We borrowed my parent's boat for a week and went out almost every night for picnic dinner, swimming, and hanging with friends and family. Can't beat summer time at the lake.

Played and won (for the 2nd year in a row) the volleyball tournament that Nate and I met at.

Been riding my gorgeous new coral Townie bike all over. It takes only 8 minutes to get to work!

First Pumpkin Spice Latte of the season...while riding in the convertible haha.

Living in denial that summer was really ending and fall was on its way. I hate putting my Rainbows away for 9 months.

Flowers from a student.

Weekend trip to SoCal for my Grandma' memorial service.

It's always summer in Cali. (yes, I know Californians will disagree with me and say it gets cold)

Family breakfast at Denny's to celebrate my Grandpa's accomplishments. 

Check it out! It's in all the new menus now :)

My first Coug game at WSU!

 

A weekend getaway thanks to our wonderful friends. They couldn't use their timeshare and didn't want it to go to waste so offered it to us! We found a really cool hot springs nearby.

And Crystal Fields with quarts everywhere.

AND...you know fall is here when the TV shows come back! Wednesday is my night for the TV. I've been waiting all summer to find out what happens in Nashville.

AND....as if my life wasn't jam-packed enough with fun stuff and school and just normal life, I became the assistant coach for the girls varsity volleyball team at my school. I love it! We played against my team from high school and both my coaches were there...we beat them by the way which felt good :). Only bummer thing is it makes me really miss playing. Hubby and I might start hitting the Friday night open gyms to play now.

So now you are all caught up. Those are all good excuses for not blogging right? Just maybe? Okay, well I'm going to try to be better! I'm working on a whole bunch of posts today to get them ready for the week!

Are you sad to say goodbye to summer too? What are some of your favorite things to do as a last summer hurrah or a fall welcoming? And if you are already chomping at the bit for Christmas, you are not allowed to comment your seasonal input for at least another month. ;)

1 Year Anniversary

Yesterday, my husband and I celebrated our one-year wedding anniversary! It's hard to believe a whole year has already gone by since our wonderful wedding day! It has been a jam-packed year--a year of growth, memories, love, laughter, big decisions, and good times. Some days I look at him and think, "am I really married to him? I really get to spend every day with him for the rest of my life?" As I said in my vows a year ago, "I am so thankful that sometimes too good really does come true."

We originally planned to go on a hot air balloon ride with the Living Social deal he gave me last year on our one-year-of-dating anniversary. We tried to go last year but had to keep canceling because of the weather. Then the season ended and the guy told us he would still honor the deal this spring. So we waited all winter and when May came we called, and called, and emailed. We finally found out online that the place was closed for business! BOO!!! Now what?

Well thankfully we had another option. Last fall, the Chamber of Commerce hosted a New Teacher's Reception and they gave away some cool packages. I won one of them! I think this was the first time I ever won a giveaway. We got 2 tickets for a day cruise on a river near us and included lunch. So I got online to book and when I saw this cruise only happened on Sundays, I knew it was meant to be!

Our pre-sunburn faces.

We did put sunscreen on, just not enough. Oops. I hope my rudolph-red-nose gets all better and doesn't peel by this next weekend--I'm in my friend's wedding.


At this point in the river, it really looks more like a lake. We found out that it used to be a lake on each side and a river in the middle. All three bodies of water were very separated until the river at the other end of the lake somehow caused the water level to rise (I can't remember what the Captain said as to how...a dam or something). The poles are to show the river's course and guide the boats through the deeper parts of the water.

Some parts of the river made me feel like I was on the Jungle Cruise as Disneyland! So then I told my husband a little bit about that ride (he's never been to Disneyland--we are hoping to change that this year!).

It was a gorgeous day for this cruise, perfect temperature and nice breeze. We had a fun time relaxing, taking in the sights, talking about our first year of marriage, getting burned without noticing, and discussing our next year of marriage. I am so blessed to be married to this Godly, wise, hardworking, handsome, funny, listening, caring, supportive, encouraging, awesome loving man!

 After the cruise, we enjoyed a delicious dinner at a floating restaurant. This is the same restaurant where we had dinner the night he proposed! (Sorry the picture is so bad. We just had my little point-and-shoot camera and the sun was bright outside.)

Our dinner: salad bar with boysenberry poppy seed dressing and 

then I had macadamia crusted mahi mahi, and he had prime rib.

We were so stuffed from the big lunch on the cruise, we both brought half our meals home for lunch tomorrow!

When we got back home, we took some pictures. I saw this idea on Pinterest awhile back where a couple held a picture of them on their wedding and took a picture. Each following year they hold the picture that they took the previous year. I thought this was fun and wanted to do it. So we grabbed our canvas picture and the tripod to take some pictures. Then I had a little editing fun. :)

 

 

After pictures, we said our vows to each other again. We both wrote our own vows. It was really special to hear and read them again!

And then, thankfully I remembered that we had our cake! 

I almost forgot and that would have been so sad! I took it out of the freezer a couple days ago and put it in the fridge to thaw. Ever since the small piece I ate on our wedding day, I have been waiting for our anniversary to have some more of that delicious cake!!! It was a vanilla cake with strawberry filling and white chocolate frosting! A friend of a friend made it for us. Here is what it looked like on our wedding day.

It tasted just as good as I remembered! Again, we were so stuffed so just ate a couple bites.

We had such a fun and food filled day! Hooray for our first year of marriage!

What did you do for your first anniversary?

Wedding Decor now used as Home Decor

My birthday was just about a month ago, and one of the gifts my parents gave me was the rustic windows I had used as decor at my wedding (see picture below).

I borrowed these wonderful old windows from some friends at church. One of my friends wrote on the panes with a glass marker the significant dates of our love story. After the wedding, these windows along with some other rustic items we borrowed were returned to these friends. I found out on my birthday that a short while after the wedding, he contacted my mom asking if I was interested in having the windows to keep. My mom answered saying that I would love to have them (she was SO right...have you SEEN all the great rustic window decor possibilities on Pinterest???). So my mom got them from him and they gave them to me for my birthday. It was such a great surprise and I am looking forward to all the crafting possibilities with them in the future.

Thankfully, he had not erased the writing off the windows and there were no smudges. We decided for the time being (aka while we are still in our rental) that we will keep the writing on the panes and hang the windows as decor. Later, when we have our own house, I will erase and use the windows in various ways.

So then my husband and I set about to hand them, which included a trip to Home Depot (I love that store!)

We got some rope (rustic look for hanging) and eye-hooks.

Nate measured and screwed 2 holes on the top of each window and then we put the eye hooks in.

He searched for a good while for studs in the wall (this house is crazy...our landlord built it and it has many, umm...special, qualities) and then screwed holes.

Then came the fidgeting and finagling to get the frames the same height and level on the wall.

I love looking up there and remembering those great memories.

I think they fill that huge white space on the wall very nicely!

Have you used any decor from another event (such as a wedding) as decor for your home?

Blessings Come Through Raindrops

This morning I woke up to a strange sound...raindrops! 3 months ago I would have hated waking up to this sound, but this morning it was so nice. I knew today would be cooler and a relief from the heat both inside and outside of my house. Not only is it raining though, but there was also some good thunder and lightning. I actually enjoy thunder and lightning storms. There is just something beautiful in the flashes and booms that makes me feel vulnerable and small yet safe and protected because the One who controls the storm also holds me in His hands. (sidenote: I do not however like when the house gets hit by lighting...the beauty is lost VERY quickly in that instance).

As I sat this morning reading emails and looking out the window at the rain, I thought back to the last time it rained...the morning of my wedding! And the last time there was thunder and lightning...after my rehearsal dinner.

The two weeks leading up to my wedding, the forecast showed sunny and HOT. My mom was not happy about the hot as she has told me since Day 1 to not have an outdoor summer wedding because everyone will pit out. This is probably the only instance I completely disregarded what my mom said and planned my outdoor summer wedding anyways :). So when the forecast showed her words becoming true, I quit looking at the weather websites. I knew I was not in control, that yes we might be hot, but as long as it didn't rain (especially since the month before had been SO rainy) I would be happy.

Fast forward to Thursday night before my wedding. After my bachelorette party and all my bridesmaids went to sleep, my parents and brother pulled me aside to "talk".  They announced the worst news that a bride could hear for her outdoor summer wedding: there was an 80% chance of rain for Saturday. NOOOOOOO!!! I will be the first to admit, I cried. Okay, I bawled. No, no, no. How could this happen? The middle of July! I had dreamed of, planned, and imagined this outdoor, sunny, summer wedding practically my whole life. All the decor I had spend months on would be soggy and gross. Guests would be miserable and leave early or not even come. My hair would be a frizz-bomb disaster. This was not good. I cried some more.

My parents told me we needed a Plan B. For the time being, we would stick with Plan A and pray, but if we thought of a second option now, we would be able to execute it sooner and make it as great as possible rather than waiting until the last minute.

We created several Plan B's:
~have the wedding inside our church and the reception either outside or inside there as well
~have the wedding outside at the farm and then the reception inside at the church
~rent as many tents as we could to cover ceremony, dance floor, and tables plus umbrellas for pictures

Oh it was so hard to choose one because any totally destroyed the image in my head. I did NOT want it inside, but I did NOT want guests and decor to be soggy and lead to a short wedding/reception. I was leaning towards the church however because at least then people would be dry and stay for a fun time. Thankfully my parents told me I could sleep on it, and we could decide later the next day or even Saturday morning. When my mom said "goodnight" to me, she said, "remember, only 2 thing are important on Saturday: you and N get married, and God is glorified." Those two things were very much our motto the last week leading up to the wedding and even more so now with my dreams potentially being washed away.

As I crawled into bed, I called my fiance and we talked about it while I cried a little bit more. He, as always, went the optimistic route and said he wanted to stick with Plan A unless it was a torrential downpour. Rain where I live is either a 5 minute downpour or a several hour light drizzle. Either would be manageable.

Friday morning was sunny, but the forecast was still not looking better. My parents were both on the phone figuring out logistics and options. My dad was able to rent several large tents and so we decided to stick with the wedding and reception at the farm. The tents would be used in the best way possible to keep people, decor, and food dry. To create the best set-up based on the weather, we changed the delivery of tables, chairs, and tents until Saturday morning.

We went about our tasks on Friday, buying last minute food items, discussing decor set-up, and the rehearsal. The rehearsal, by the way, was SOO hot. My Maid of Honor got heat exhaustion from earlier that day and skipped the rehearsal to recover so that she wouldn't be sick for the wedding. Thankfully that did the trick and she was revived in time for the rehearsal dinner. The rehearsal went smoothly, dinner was fun and delicious, and it was gorgeous and sunny the whole time. But on the drive home, the dark clouds rolled in, and that night it rained, thundered, and lightninged.

I fell asleep that night telling myself "2 things, just 2 things are important." I was disappointed of course, but I was okay. I knew it would still be great.

Wedding day! I woke up, and it was raining. My heart was a little sad, but I was still okay. I knew my parents and dear family friends were already at the farm working to set everything up in the rain. I texted both my parents to say "sorry they were getting wet, thank you for doing it, and I could come help if they needed." My mom replied saying she was still in bed! I got up and went and crawled in with her as she made phone call after phone call to coordinate food prep, someone buying umbrellas for taking pictures, etc. etc. etc.

As my bridesmaids woke up and we started getting ready, it stopped raining, and the sun slowly, but surely began peeking through the clouds. Dozens of people were praying for good weather and God was answering!

By the time, the photographer arrived, it was completely sunny and we were able to take bridal party pictures outside. We headed over to the farm. It. Was. AMAZING! There was a tent over all my decor pieces that looked so great! Having it in the tent really pulled it all together. All the tables were covered by tents and twinkly lights had been strung up! My parents and so many dear friends worked very hard to make it look incredible! They got wet and spent extra money to pull it off and make the image of my wedding become a beautiful reality! Thank you thank you!

It ended up not raining at all! We were so blessed! It was sunny, blue skies, beautiful, and a nice warm temperature. The tents were still great to provide shade and I think it looked really nice how the tables were all together under the twinkly lights and tent tops.

I learned some good things through all this:
~always have a Plan B, even if it is the middle of July
~focus on what is truly important
~prayer is powerful
~different can be better--the decor tent turned out better than I think it would have without the tent and with the tents over the tables we were able to have twinkly lights!
~expect rain at some point in the day if you get married at that farm (mine was the 3rd wedding there with rain at some point in the schedule)
~friends and family who will do anything for you are the best things ever!

So I sit here today, thankful for the rain because it will be cooler and allow me to comfortably be productive in my home. And as I sit here, I think back to my wedding, the tears, the smiles, the rain, the sun, the people, and the memories! I am so thankful for all of that. I think I needed that rain those few days. I needed that reminder that even though I had planned, I had made decisions, I had worked, I had dreamed, still, I was not in control. I needed to re-learn those things I listed. I needed to be blessed by the rain.

I Love Laptops

Why? Because they allow me to lay in bed and be productive at the same time! That union makes me happy, just like Starbucks located inside Target (kudos to whoever thought of that genius idea!)

Anyways, it is almost 1:30 and I am still in bed. Yes I did sleep in until 10:30 (didn't fall asleep until almost 2am), but I have been productive for the last 3 hours thanks to the compact technology sitting on my lap. I have been sending emails, checking for new job postings, and starting different wedding documents.

We are under the 2 month mark and I definitely feel like it's Go time! I'm not stressed (yet), just staying busy and always having something to work on. There are times that it really hits me--I am getting married!!! It's not a panic feeling, but just so much excitement and joy and sometimes disbelief that this is reality and not just a dream. It hit me when I bought an airline ticket for August and wrote my name as Hannah Baughman. It hit me when I told my brother yesterday that his birthday was in 2 weeks, I would be officially graduated from college in 3 weeks and I would be a married woman in 8 weeks! It hit me today when I was working on the "script" for the ceremony and typed "Dave and Hannah walk down the aisle." Wow, I am so blessed that this is happening!

It also hit me when we finished the invitations and I took them to the Post Office. Invitations are a lot of work! But I am SO happy with how they turned out that it was definitely worth it.

After writing, finding the perfect font, designing, printing, punching flowers, gluing flowers, sewing flowers (my mom did that part), and then tying knots (Nate helped me!) so the thread wouldn't unravel--here is the finished product!

Close-up of the stitching and flowers.

As if sending out the invitations isn't exciting enough, getting RSVPs is even moreso! We send RSVP cards that people could mail or they had the option to respond on our website. We got 3 cards back at church yesterday and 2 responses online! So exciting!

Time to get back to my wedding tasks, but thanks to my laptop no need to get out of bed still :).