Sorry it's been so long!!!

So I have been incredibly busy since the last time I logged in. My classes started again and they are going to keep me busy. Also, my last day at ORCC was last Friday. I'm glad I'm not working there anymore but I really miss all my friends from there. I almost cried on my way out. It was really sad. I started my new job on Monday. It is going to be very interesting to say the least. I'm a paraprofessional in a self-contained classroom for children with special needs. I can't write too much about my kids for confidentiality reasons, which is fine because I haven't met them yet, but it will be an interesting first day. I love the people I'm working with and right now we are going to be working one-on-one with these kids which is AWESOME! My school is nice and we have 2 awesome classrooms. Also, I have to be at work from 7:15 to like 2:45...No more getting home from work at 6! Also it is right off of 66 and it only takes me 15 minutes to get to work now instead of 45. I am so excited. The other great thing is the school is right behind where I go to grad school so I can keep my car in my school parking lot and just walk over to class on Tuesday and Wednesday. No more paying for metro parking...wohoo!!! Rod and I haven't ordered invitations yet, but we are going to order them on Friday if I can get my act together and get everything typed up the way we want it. Well, I better go. I have to go to work today and I'm going to run by and pick up Starbucks on my way to work :) I'll update soon when I get a little more time.

Invitations!

I found invitations!!! My mom, sister, and I went shopping last Friday at Hallmark and I found invitations for our wedding. Yes, I know it's 11 months away, but I think we are going to order them soon. It seems like my life is just flying by. Our wedding is going to be here before I know it. I have been to 4 weddings this summer and we have one more in October to go to. Each one has given me ideas for my wedding. I am getting more and more excited as the time goes by. I even made my own wedding planner instead of buying one. I think it is going to help me keep organized.

I start my job in less than 2 weeks. I am so excited. It is going to be less stress and more time I get to spend at home. I'll have more time to do last minute wedding stuff. Also, Rod and I will be able to go away for the weekends in the fall. These last 2 weeks at my job now are killing me though. I have no desire to do anything. I just feel like sleeping. I have at least one thing I need to get done before I leave next Friday. I really should be working on it. I don't think it will take me very long. Then when I get done with it, I can just hang around next week packing up my desk and such. I really like the guy that is replacing me. We started on the same day in October and we had the same trainer. He is a good guy and I think he will do a better job than I am doing because he is not lazy.

School starts next week. I'm not ready to go back but I got an A in both the classes I have taken so far so lets hope this streak continues. At least my next two classes are on Tuesday and Wednesday from 4 -6:50 so they shouldn't be too bad. I am sure there is going to be a lot of work and a lot of reading but I think I should be ok, especially with a less demanding job. Well, I better get some work done! I'll post again soon.

Back from Phoenix/Vegas

Rod and I got back from Phoenix and Vegas yesterday. We left Friday afternoon for Phoenix. We got to see his mommy's house. I love it! It is so cute and it has a swimming pool. Char, Jackie and I went swimming in the pool on Friday night. Then Saturday we drove to Vegas. It's a 5 hour drive from Phoenix. It wasn't too bad until we got on the strip and it took us 45 min to get to our hotel. We stayed at The Venetian. Our rooms were AMAZING!!! They were huge. We had a sitting room that fit lots of people, our own personal fax machine that had our own personal fax number that was disconnected after we left, a king size bed, and a HUGE bathroom with this wonderful, amazing tub!!! I could have stayed in the hotel the whole 4 days! Saturday night we went to see Zumanity. Rod's aunt got sick before the show and had to leave, but the show was amazing. It was hilarious. There was tons of audience participation and one guy even told everyone he had to use Viagra. There was a lot of nudity, but it was so funny. Sunday we went to get the tuxes. Unfortunately they didn't have Jackie's dad's tux. We were at Afterhours for 2 1/2 hours. It was crazy. Luckily we got everything worked out so we had tuxes for the wedding. Sunday afternoon we walked around inside MGM Grand, then we went back to our hotel. After dinner, Rod's mom, Rod and I completed the favors. They were candy bars with personalized wrappers. They were a little more difficult than I thought they would be but it only took us about 45 to an hour to complete. Then Rod and I walked across the street and saw the volcano at the Mirage at 10. Then we walked down to see the outside of Treasure Island. Then we went back and I took a bubble bath in the luxurious bathtub. On Monday Rod's mom and I went downstairs to reserve time on the gondola rides for Jackie and Char and for Rod and I. Then we found out Char wanted us to be at the MGM Grand at 10:30 to take Jackie's wedding dress down to the chapel so we threw clothes on and headed out. Rod's mom, aunt, and I delivered the wedding dress to the chapel and then helped Jackie get into her dress. The wedding was at 12:00 pm and it was great. It was small but perfect. It was funny though because the officiant was nervous and when he took the rings off the pillow I thought they were going to fall on the floor. Rod looked great in his tux! The maid of honor had this cute red halter dress and she looked good. Her hair was so cute! Jackie's dress was gorgeous (I think I'm going to go to the same store)! The dress was made for her. They measured her and then the dress was made for her how she wanted! She was so beautiful. She got her hair and makeup done at the MGM Grand and they did a fantastic job. Char looked nice too. After the wedding we took some photos. Then we got in a limo bus and toured the strip for an hour. The reception was at the Venetian. It was very very nice and the food was delicious. After the reception we took our gondola rides. It was fun and we were told it was good luck to kiss under every bridge and surprisingly Rod kissed me under every bridge. After that we spent some time with Rod's mom and aunt. Then we went back to our room and rested for a bit. Later that evening Rod and I walked up to the M&M world. They had every color M&M you could imagine. We went back to our hotel after that and I passed out. On Tuesday morning we checked out of our hotel. Then we went to the MGM Grand to get the tux bags. We went and returned the tux and stopped for lunch on our way back to the MGM Grand. We stopped at this Taco Bell where there was this guy working there named Sean. His hat said customer maniac and boy was he. He was helping a little girl get soda because her arm was bandaged. Then he was going back behind the counter when our number was called and Rod was getting up to get it and he said he would get it. Then he got us forks and napkins. Then he took some orders, then came out and cleaned some tables, then stopped by our table to ask if he could get us more to drink, then when we were finished he took our trash from our table. He was so amazing. You rarely get customer service like that at a pricy restaurant let alone a fast food place. He was famous though because there was a poster in the Taco Bell about him and a radio station had even interviewed him. After lunch we returned to Jackie and Char's room and we took some of their luggage with us. Then we went to the Excalibur and bought tickets for The tournament of Kings. We went to that and then we drove back to Phoenix. It only took us 4 and a half hours to get home, but we didn't get in till 12:30 a.m. We unpacked the car and found out the stuff in the cooler got wet including the M&M's I had bought. I was so sad. After that I tried to go to bed. I finally fell asleep and our alarm was supposed to go off at 6 so we could get up and showered and dressed before our flight, but unfortunately our alarm didn't go off. His mom woke us up at 6:30 and we had to rush to get ready. We made it to the airport and hour and 20 min before our flight, but the Phoenix airport is great because it took us 10 minutes to get to our gate. It is nothing like Dulles. By the way did I mention I HATE Dulles. We got in 30 minutes early and called my sister to pick us up. They had to circle forever because it took an hour to get our bags off the flight. My dad took all of us out to dinner (Desiree, Scott, Rod and I). Then Rod and I went to pick up my car from Stef's house and we came home so our kitty could get his medicine. Our one kitty is sick. He got sick right before we left. Luckily our vet was able to get him in on Friday, so Rod dropped him off and Stef picked him up. The vet was so accommodating because they charged our credit card even though we didn't pick our cat up. Anyway today I gave the cat medicine then I went back to Ashburn because I realized I had forgotten my work laptop at my parents' house so I went to get it. I planned on doing work, but I haven't done any tonight and I don't think I will. I'll probably work tomorrow morning. Then my mom and I and maybe my sister and her husband are going invitation shopping. I ordered some sample invitations online, but I didn't like any. I know I have time, but I'm trying to get things done before life gets crazy again with work and school. I have one more week off from school and then I go back. When I'm busy with school, I don't have much time to think about other things. I bought at 3 ring binder today to start organizing my wedding stuff. I'm going to print out a calendar so I can start writing on it all of my appointments and things I need to get done. I'm also going to start keeping all of my contracts and other things that have been completed so I have everything in one place. Anyway, I'm going to go work on my guest list. I'll update soon. Hope everyone is doing well.