You can find me in da club

So I've been hearing my middle school students talk about going to "da club" on the weekends and what they are going to wear to "da club." Out of pure curiosity, I just had to ask. I pointed out to them that they are 12-13 years old and thus about 8 years away from legally entering "da club". Not to mention, where are we?... oh yea, Palestine, TX! No too many clubs in these here parts :) After further investigation, I have been informed that "da club" is actually simply a birthday party with dancing. Case Closed.

I found Jesus

Jesus is alive and well in Palestine, Texas. Let me tell you, I have experienced Jesus this past week in a way I never have before...in school. Now, as a Christian woman, I think these instances are amazing and think it's great that people here are not afraid to talk about their faith. However, the girl who grew up in San Diego is just having a little bit of culture shock getting adjusted to this new place. Let me share some of the instances that I have found awesome and awkward all at the same time. In order to understand the reasons behind the awkward laugh that I experienced each of these times, you must remember that I can't help but think how the situation would be completely different if it took place in San Diego (a place where I had a teacher who refused to say the pledge and instead would go outside during the pledge and say a poem to nature). Picture this...

1) You are at new teacher orientation at you new job and the Assistant Superintendent asks everyone in the room to bow their heads to bless the food before lunch (reasonable enough but still would never happen in SD)

2) Now picture new teacher convocation, with the entire staff of Palestine ISD present and the School Board President gets up and starts talking about how Satan is trying to come into the district and bring it down but we know that God will prevail! (Oh, you know I had an awkward giggle here and couldn't help but to look around to find the person that would be offended and sue)

3) The Superintendent goes over all of the awards and achievements of the district to which everyone says "Amen!" after each one is listed. (apparently the fact that we were having the convocation at the Evangelistic Temple was really reaching some people)

All in all, I really do think that it is awesome that I live in a town where the question isn't "Do you go to church?" Instead the questions is just "Where do you go to church?" because trust me, everyone goes to church here. Even the cable guy had to leave in the middle of installing our cable so he could go to church. There is just a little part of me (the California part) that can't get over the fact that we prayed three times today while I was at work. Maybe more places should be more like Palestine.

Beauty and the Beast

Last night I had a girls night out at the Theater with Kate and Reese (Kate is going to be a bridesmaid in the wedding and Reese is the flower girl). We went down to the new Winspear Opera House in Dallas (which is beautiful by the way) to see Beauty and the Beast the musical. Belle is Reese’s favorite princess right now so it was fun to see her get excited about seeing Belle and dancing to “Be Our Guest” in her chair. The musical was really fun to see. It’s very cartoon-like in their sets and everything though. The only real disappointment was Belle’s famous yellow dress. It looked like Belle had just walked off the set of Gone With the Wind. She had all of these flowers in her hair (what about the yellow bow with her hair in a low ponytail?) and there was NO sparkle in the dress. What Disney princess has a dress without sparkles?? Needless to say, I was let down a bit. Be Our Guest was easily the highlight of the night though. Here are some pictures of us at the theater.

Don't Mess With The Dress

Do I have a story for you all! I had my first experience being a feisty bride today. Let’s start from the beginning though. Yesterday afternoon I received a voice mail that started like this, “Hi Jenna, this is Caroline from the Bridal Boutique (where I bought my dress). This doesn’t happen very often but…” But what! Is my dress discontinued? Was it ruined in some fire? What’s going on?! These are all of the things that went through my mind. The message continued on to explain that some girl out there in the world wanted my dress because he wedding was coming up shortly and they wouldn’t have the standard 6 months to make hers. So, the designer wanted to know if I would be willing to give up my dress to the girl and then they would put a rush on my dress and I would receive mine about a month and a half later than I had expected. She said I didn’t have to give her my dress but the designer wanted to ask. My heart was filled with compassion in thinking that every girl deserved to get her dream wedding dress. That lasted for about a minute until I realized that I had followed all of the right rules: I went to try on wedding dresses well in advance, planned time in the schedule of events for my dress to be made, already had my bridal portraits planned based on when I would get my dress and when the alterations could be done. I had all of my ducks in a row, why should I get the added stress of some bridal store somewhere in the country re-ordering my dress and possible getting it wrong or not having enough time for alterations. Let’s just say sympathy quickly flew out the window. I think bridal sympathy gets checked at the door when another bride whom you do not know starts to infringe on your day.

So this morning, I called back once the store opened with the decision already made to unfortunately say no to giving my dress up. The lady seemed to have changed her tune when I spoke with her today. She went from “you don’t have to do this” to “we do this a lot and typically the brides so ‘of course you can give her the dress!’” Well I for one would like to speak to these brides. I expressed my concerns that if I didn’t get my dress until October, we would have time for alterations before my bridal portraits. To which she responded by asking if I could call my photographer and ask to reschedule. Well let me just rearrange my wedding for this girl I don’t know, who for all I know is a very poor planner, a spoiled girl who decided she no longer liked the dress she already bought, or is having a shotgun wedding and needs a dress last minute. The kicker was still to come though. I finally told the woman that unfortunately I didn’t want to give up my dress. She said “ok, well I’ll call this poor little girl and tell her she can’t have it.” REALLY?! I’m sorry! Shouldn’t you be looking out for the person who spent the money in YOUR store and who YOUR client is?! After she made that comment I knew I had made the right decision. That concludes my first experience being a little feisty in the bridal department.

San Diego

Today is my first day back since the trip to San Diego for the 4th of July. Casey and I took his good friend Justin out with us so he could experience California for the first time. It was a great trip! We spent the first night touring downtown and visited Coronado, the Gas Lamp District, and had ice cream at Ghirardelli’s. Saturday we ate breakfast at the Green Flash right on the ocean and followed it up by playing bocce ball and lying out at the beach. The Kuptz family came over for dinner that night. It was so much fun to get to see everyone and catch up. Sunday the boys played disc golf and my mom and I did what we do best…SHOP! We celebrated the 4th down at La Jolla overlooking the beach. The Marine band gave a great show and it was easily the best firework show I have ever seen. I usually feel cheated on the 4th because I think the show was too short, but this one was the perfect length! Monday was a time to relax by the pool and take naps. Dad cooked a great meal and my mom and I got to have girl time and watch The Bachelorette.

Wedding Website

I am finishing up the final touches on our wedding website but I wanted you all to be able to see check it out. Just know that it isn't completely finished yet. You will be able to go here and get information about the wedding, see where we are registered, and see pictures of us with our wedding party.

http://www.theknot.com/ourwedding/JennaHill&CaseyWilliams

The Warriors

Casey and I survived the Warrior Dash!! Casey was the true warrior though. He had been throwing up sick the night before the race and didn’t feel good at all the next day but was determined to finish the race. We went through all of the obstacles together which included: “Tornado Ally” (a fan boat blowing on you), several mud pits, swimming through a bog and under logs, climbing over giant spools and hay bales, with a finale of hurdling over fire and crawling through mud under barbed wire. It was quite the adventure and an accomplishment. The only downside of the event was that they promised fire trucks to hose people off after the race. Well, the fire trucks turned into one man holding a hose. We waited in line for over 45 minutes to get hosed off. Here are the before and after pictures of us at the race (Casey’s friend Justin is the other guy in the photos)

Food Revolution

Casey and I have been watching famous Chef, Jamie Oliver’s, Food Revolution TV series together. We’ve learned a lot about the food served in America’s schools. One thing that Jamie focused on was the sugary milks that are served to the kids. In schools, kids have a choice of either regular milk, strawberry milk, or chocolate milk. The schools just want the kids to get calcium and they figure that the kids are more likely to drink milk if it’s flavored. Well, apparently the chocolate and strawberry milks have just as much sugar in them as a soda does. Also, the strawberry milk has the most calories.

This week, Casey decided to educate the kids in his Technology class about the differences in the types of milks that they have a choice of at lunch. He told the lunch lady to watch to see if the kids start to drink more regular milk. She (just like the lunch lady on Jamie Oliver’s show) told Casey he wouldn’t be able to change what the kids drink. If it’s one thing I’ve learned, do not tell Casey that he can’t do something because he will take it as a challenge and WILL prove you wrong. Tuesday, Casey noticed only a handful of kids chose to switch to the regular milk. Tuesday, he continued to educate the kids and encouraged them to look at the nutrition facts on the milk bottles to verify that what he was saying was in fact true. He told some of the other teachers what he had been teaching the kids and they all supported him and though what he was doing was great. One teacher who has a daughter in Casey’s class told him that when her daughter came home that day, she preceded to inform her mom all about the nutritional facts of milk and her mom was really impressed. By Wednesday he was seeing bigger results so he started graphing the amount of kids who chose regular milk by grade. For example, the first day, only about 4 3rd graders took regular milk. The next time, there were 32 that took the regular milk. The kids really liked seeing the graph I his class. Yesterday, Casey called me and told me that he was causing some chaos at the school. The librarian had informed him that the lunch lady stormed into the principal’s office to complain about what Casey was doing. Turns out, that day at lunch, kids were holding up the line to look at nutrition facts on bottles and she ran out of regular milk! Kids were saying that they had to drink regular milk and she didn’t have any to give them. Casey told me that at lunch, the school has 1 crate of regular milk, 1 crate of strawberry, and 3-4 of chocolate daily. He ran into the principal several times that day and she never said anything.

I’m so proud of him for inspiring his kids and creating his own Food Revolution!!!! Keep it up Casey!

Blonde Moment

Ok, so yesterday at work some virus attacked all of our computers so IT had to come around and personally install patches on all of our computers. Well my “go-to” IT guy had finished installing the patch and he told me to log-in to my computer to make sure it worked. As my computer began to boot up, the picture on my desktop popped up (see pic above). When he saw the picture, he asked, “Where are you in that picture?” I thought this guy must be blind as I pointed to myself in the picture and said “This is me. I’m here.” He just looked at me and then said, “No, I know that’s YOU but WHERE are you?” Immediately, I realized my co-worker had just witnessed a great Jenna blonde moment. I laughed and I told him that we were in the Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge in Oklahoma. After that, he just laughed and said “Wow, you’re not THAT blonde.”

Perfect Timing

Grace totally freaked me out last night, her timing couldn’t have been more perfect. I was having a strange dream where I was in my apartment and then someone asked if I had locked the door (don’t know who this person was but it was a friend). At that moment, the apartment door (in my dream) flung open and a scary man came though it. No joke, at that exact moment in my dream, Grace jumps on the bed right on me. I almost peed my pants! I sat straight up in bed and my heart was beating out of my chest. I couldn’t help but laugh and I actually said out loud to Grace “perfect timing.”

Search for THE dress

My mom and I walked into our first appointment on Saturday at the Bridal Boutique in Louisville. Picture a small town bridal boutique in an old building and you’ve thought of this place. The store was filled to the brim with dresses and had that small town feel where everyone was warm, friendly, and super helpful. Our wedding dress angel was Donna and she was amazing! She’s been in the business for 27 years and knew everything that you need to know about wedding dresses. She pulled dresses for me based on some pictures that I showed her and she did a really good job. I had no idea what went into trying on dresses! I was clamped and squeezed into many of the dresses. I came out in one dress that was a size 6 and told Donna I wasn’t going to fit and she just looked at me and said “Oh yes you will” and by golly she squeezed me into it! She had said she was strong and she sure was. All of the dresses I tried on were beautiful but when I tried the second one on I got a feeling and I knew this one would be a tough dress to beat. I tried on about 10-12 dresses that day and after the 12th dress I asked to try on the second one again because I kept comparing all the dresses to that one. When I came out in it the second time Donna said I had that look in my eyes that a bride has when she finds “THE dress.” The fact that I was trying on wedding gowns truly hit when she put the veil on me and gave me a fake bouquet to hold. I didn’t want to take the dress off!

We didn’t buy it then because we still had an appointment Sunday at a place in Southlake (a high-end area) so we knew this place would be really nice. Let’s just say that it would be an understatement to say that we were “let down.” The store was clean but it was so cold and had no personality. The sales girls barely smiled and were helping multiple brides so I would be standing there for several minutes just waiting to be zipped, clamped, or laced up. During the time I was there, I just kept telling my mom that I wanted Donna there. After about 20 minutes in the store and 4 dresses later my mom looked at me and said, “You want to get out of here and go buy that dress don’t you?” I said “yes” and we were out of there before they knew what happened. I called Donna on the way there and I met her and my dress at the door. I got to wear it for about an hour and loved every minute of it.

5k

This past Saturday, Casey and I both did something that we have never done before...we ran a 5K. We got up bright and early Saturday morning to run in the Dash Down Greenville which is before the big St. Patty's Day Parade. I had been training on a treadmill so I knew it would be quite the change to run outside with wind and everything. Also, the farthest I had ever run was 2 miles. Casey and I agreed that we would run it individually so we could see what our best times were. As soon as we crossed that start line, Casey was off. It was kind of like in odl cartoons where the roadrunner takes off and the coyote is left in a cloud of smoke...that's how I felt. The first mile went by really fast. There was a station passing out beer at the mile marker which reminded me I was running in a St. Patty's day race and made me warry of grabbing any future cups along the race route. At 1.5 miles, I saw the biggest challenge yet, a very steep hill. Since when do they put hills in Texas? I set the goal for myself to not stop running up the hill. I can proudly say that I achieved that goal. However, achieving that goal was at the detriment to my pace and my legs. Once at the top, I felt like I was going to throw up and that my legs were made out of jello. I tired to run again but I was running so slow that people running with strollers were passing me. Talk about a blow to the ego! I'm pretty sure one group of guys had a mini keg in their stroller too. When I eventually made the final turn and could see the Krispy Kreme sign (which is where the race began) in sight, I began to pick up my pace to a slow sprint because Casey told me I should do a"runner's kick" like professional racers and I could shave 30 seconds off my time. Well apparently the Krispy Kreme was a lot further than it had appeared because my kick was dying before I saw the finish line. I did finish the race in 39 minutes and was proud of myself. I definitely need to kick-up the training for the warrior dash because running up mud hills, swimming in swamps, and running up bales of hay will definitely kick my butt if I don't.

Update on Life

Sorry for not blogging in a while. I have many things to update you on. First off, in the wedding world we are making a lot of progress. We have the church, the reception venue, photographer, DJ, and Honeymoon all set which I think is good considering the wedding is a little less than a year away. The reception will be at the Petroleum Club in downtown Dallas. It’s such a neat and unique space and the coordinator there, Masoud (Ma-sood), is amazing. The photographer is Stephanie Davis. As soon as I saw her blog I fell in love with her photos and knew she was who I wanted! I posted the link to her blog on the side of mine so feel free to go take a peek at her work. Casey and I have also already booked our honeymoon. We are going to be going on a 5-day cruise to Progresso and Cozumel, Mexico. Casey and I are really excited about going to see the Mayan ruins there.

In running news, Casey and I have continued to train for the Warrior Dash by signing up for some 5Ks. We have two coming up in March so I’m sure you will be hearing all about that and if we survive running the whole thing.

Let the Training Begin...

Casey and I have decided to put our relationship and our bodies to the test. We are competing in a crazy thing called the Warrior Dash in May. The Warrior Dash is a 3.5 mile race complete with 13 obstacles (tornado ally, climbing up bales of hay, running down stream, climbing up a muddy hill, jumping over fire, etc) and you get a "warrior helmet" which very much resembles a viking helmet (see photo). Casey has promised that we are running this race together as a couple which honestly, is the only way I would want to run it. I figure if we can make it through this race together, we can make it through anything! Training began last weekend. We ran outside on Saturday and Sunday. Saturday was a piece of cake. Sunday on the other hand, made me cry. My legs felt like they were each 100 pounds and the air was cold so it burned my throat. Casey was so supportive, encouraging, and such a sweetheart. Tuesday I trained in the gym and I had a lifetime first...I ran 2 miles without stopping! I was so proud of myself. My goal is to be able to run 4...then I need to work on building some muscles so I can hoist myself up the robe ladder. More updates to follow...

VISA + Morgan Freeman = Tears

This weekend I was reduced to tears by a TV commercial. In the past, I have been moved emotionally due to various insurance commercials. However, never have I ever actually shed tears. The commercial that made me do this was a VISA commercial. Who would have thought that a credit card company could be so moving? Perhaps the commercial moved me so much because I had never heard the story of speed skater, Dan Jansen before. The story about his sister dying a week before he raced in the Olympics and had promised her he’d win, and then he fell during the race. Only to triumphantly win the gold at the next Olympics and skate a victory lap holding his daughter Jane, who is named after his sister. Who wouldn’t cry at this tale?! The cherry on the sundae was the fact that it was none other than Morgan Freeman’s emotion provoking voice telling the story. I think Morgan Freeman could read Knock, Knock jokes and I would cry.

Fried Wedding Brain

My parents came into town this weekend for a family friend's wedding and to look at reception venues. After a weekend of wedding, wedding, wedding, I can honestly say that my brain is a little fried. That being said, it was still a great weekend. Friday night we had dinner with our good friends the Hailey's. It's always so nice when we all get together. Ann really went all out and had the tables decorated complete with linens and chair covers. Saturday was crazy. We started off the day with the four of us (Mom, Dad, Casey, and me) going to the church to meet Bill and go over some wedding details. It was a lot of fun to meet the man who married my parents and watch them go down memory lane togther. Then it was off to look at venues for the reception. We were able to eliminate some right off the bat. Others made the short list (Petroleum Club and Belo Mansion) which we are currently still going over. The boys were such troopers that my mom and I gave them gold stars. Not once did they complain. In fact, they really seemed into it! After reception venue searching, we had to run home and get all dolled up for Natalie Kinnebrew's wedding. And what a wedding it was! It was gorgeous and I got a lot of great ideas for my wedding. Sunday was all about football (it was a bad day for the Cowboys and Charges though which made for a sad Casey and Dad). For dinner, we went to Pappasitos so the in-law's could meet. I don't think it could have gone any better! Monday, my mom and I continued the search and now we are including the Tower Club on the list of considerations. By the afternoon though, our brains were fried so we went for gelatto and to a movie. I'm really excited to finalize a venue so we can move onto the next thing on the wedding checklist!

We've set the date!

As of Tuesday afternoon, we officially have a date for our wedding! Prior to this, the great question was where we were going to get married. One option would be at a church here in Grapevine with the recption nearby. The second option (and my dream option) was to get married at the church that my parents married in. This church also looks like it just walked out of a Hans Christian Anderson Fairy Tale. The only problem with option 2 was that as a non-member, I can only book 4 months out, which would be an insane risk to take. Well, my mom found out that the pastor who married them still works at the church so she decided to send him and email and call him to see if there was any loophole since they used to be members and I was baptized there. We hadn't heard back so I was getting discouraged. I mean, he must get questions like this all the time, right? Well, Tuesday afternoon, the phone call comes in! He completely remembered my parents and my aunt and uncle (he married them as well) and he said that he would love to marry her daughter (me!). When my mom told me, I was litereally screaming and jumping up and down in my cubicle at work. Not only do I get to be married in the beautiful church that my parents got married in, I also get to be married by the same pastor! How romantic is that?! So, we are now officially on the books at Highland Park Methodist Church for Saturday, January 29th, 2011!!! The funny thing is, this date is almost 30 years to the day that my parents married (January 24th, 1981). My parents fly in tomorrow and Casey and I are going with my parents on Saturday to meet the pastor and tour the church. Here is a pic of the church...

Painting With A Twist

Last night I did the coolest thing! My friend Candace invited me to go to this new little place in Grapevine called Painting With A Twist. It's a place where you can learn to paint specific paintings. For $35 they provide a 16in x 20in canvas, all the paints you need, an apron, an easel, and an instructor. All you have to bring is the wine! The painting that we painted is a tree by Van Gogh. The instructor was so cute and she was such a good teacher too! We are trying to get a big group to go sometime next month. I'm still trying to find the perfect place to hang it but here is a picture of what it looks like...

Results

Well, it looks like the preliminary experiment might have worked. I feel like I got more sleep than the night before. Surprisingly, Grace laid on my bed the entire night. I thought she might be getting on and off to go play or eat but she stayed right by my side. She woke me up a few times because she moved or wanted attention but I would just tell her "No" and push her away and she got the point. I would take a few wake-up's that I immediately fall back asleep from over staying awake to meowing all night anytime. I think I will try this again tomorrow night and hopefully will have the same, if not better, results. Here is a picture of the subject.

Experiment

So, after getting woken up at 4am every other night by a meowing cat, it's time for a change. I am tired of looking in the mirror each morning to find red, blod shot eyes and some under eye puffiness (not sure if this is do to lack of sleep or cat allergies, only time will tell). So beginning tonight, I am performing an experiement. Grace will be allowed access to my room tonight which hopefully will prevent night time meowing becasue I beleive she meows because she wants into my room. The cat just loves to be around humans. However, if I am awoken at any of the wee hours of the morning to a scratch of the face because she wants to be pet, she will be banished from my room for good. Stay tuned because I will provide a report on my findings tomorrow...and please pray for a night full of sleep and a quiet cat.

New Roommate

For those of you who don't know, I have only had one roommate in my life and her name is Jane. We were roommates through all 4 years of college and were a match made in heaven as far as roommates go. As of Sunday, I have a new roommate in my life. Unlike Jane, this roommate needs constant attention, cries when I go to bed without her, ruins my clothes, and is incapable or using indoor plumbing. To clear up any confusion, my new roommate is Grace...the kitty cat. Apparently when you upgrade your relationship to "fiance", it requires more sacrafice than just a dating relationship. Grace is Casey's cat and since his little Missy passed away and is now in Kitty Heaven, Grace has been moved to Grapevine so she doesn't get lonely. To be honest, Grace is actually a really good cat (aside from the fact that she was never declawed so whenever she reaches for you you have to fear for your clothing because there might be a claw hole in after she gets done with you). The biggest adjustment is just sharing my space with another living (non-human) being. Since I didn't grow up with pets besides fish, you can assume that it really is a large adjustment. I no longer have control of my couch since she has claimed half of it. About every 20 minutes she demands a good 10 minutes of petting and belly scratching, and she meows at my door every morning beginning around 5:30am. I guess the one upside so far is that I have had no need for an alarm clock for the last two days.

Side note: For any of you who watch informercials...in approximately 4-6 weeks, I will be the proud owner of the Emery Cat, a device which allows your cat to file their own nails (claws). Expect an update on that!