We made a HoneyFund!!!

Hey Everybody! I'm just writing this to let everyone following know that Andrew and I have set up a HoneyFund for our wedding registry. We will be accepting gifts all year! lol. Instead of having a large traditional registry for gifts, we decided to have a fund just for gifts to go toward our Jamaican adventure! :) You can check it out at http://www.honeyfund.com/wedding/wilsonwedding!

There will still be a small registry closer to the wedding at either Target or WalMart for those who just simply cannot stand to give money, haha.

We love you guys!

Wedding Plans Begin!

So I thought I would create a blog every now and then to update everyone on my wedding plans. (And also to help me organize them so I know what I have done and what I haven't done, lol.) So far....they are few and far between. We haven't quite been engaged a month yet so plans are sort of ridiculous at this point. But I am excited so I guess I can't help but planning at least a few things, right? Here is the game plan so far ...

http://www.sandals.com/weddingmoons/weddings/collections/beautiful-beginnings.cfm

This is a close up look at the wedding we chose for July 4th of next year. It is called "Beautiful Beginnings", and it is very simple and perfect for us. It is designed by Martha Stewart, and the purple orchids are optional but I believe I will keep them because I like them. The ceremony is set for 4 people but is being customized for just 2. We will still, however, be taking advantage of the cake and the finger foods reception after the ceremony. :)

After our ceremony on the beach and our quick reception for the two of us, we will have a reserved dinner for two at one of the resorts restaurants, and we will also get breakfast in bed the next morning. It took us quite a while to decide which resort to go to because they are all so fabulous, but we finally decided on Jamaica's Royal Carribean Resort.

http://www.sandals.com/main/royal/rj-home.cfm?WT.srch=1&utm_source=Google&utm_medium=ppc&utm_term=sandals_royal_carribean&utm_campaign=US_Sandals_Destination

We chose the Royal Carribean because of its private island. This resort was close to the airport, less of a "spring break" atmosphere and much more laid back, which is the way we like to vacation. We booked a concierge suite so that our wedding would be a part of the package.

I guess these are the only for sure plans that I have so far. I have tried on 3 dresses so far, and I haven't chosen the one yet and probably won't for a while. But I DO know that I love vintage lace and am leaning in that direction.

I'm very excited to be getting married and I'm excited to share my plans with everyone! Check out our wedding site at http://www.theknot.com/ourwedding/JackieMosley&AndrewWilson to keep up with our plans! :)

Life Happens

So I have been doing a LOT of thinking about this grad school thing. I think this just made me take a step back and look at my plans. I chose Western Kentucky because the classes were not "live", meaning I could work on them whenever I wanted. Live classes are not an option for me right now with working a full time job. So I did some checking on the University of Southern Mississippi, University of Tennessee Knoxville and the University of Alabama. All of these have online programs, but 2 of the 3 have live classes only, and possibly all 3 do. (Haven't heard from UT yet.) This is not the kind of grad school I can do right now. We depend on my income too much for that.

So. I have 2 choices. I can stick with Western and try to transfer the credits later or not at all and be satisfied with a non-accredited program OR I can take some time off until I can do the live classes. But here's my issue with that. Andrew and I are getting married next summer. That won't matter so much but...I do not forsee us being stable enough to lean on only one income for a LONG time. Plus, I want to have kids eventually. Live classes won't be an option for sure then. So. My final decision is still being made, but it looks like I will be a Western Kentucky girl after all. And it's going to start in August.

I feel like if I take 'time off' of school right now...even if it's only for a semester, I won't go back. It's stressful, it takes up time, and my life is moving a hundred miles an hour now. I can only imagine what it will be like a few years from now. I also don't want to take any time off because I want my degree soon! I want to get in a library. Even if that means it's going to be in a school or a public library. I am ok with that. Yes, my ultimate goal was to be in a university. BUT. I still may have a shot at that if I have several years of experience somehwhere else. Like a school. :)

I don't feel so bad about this now. I worried and worried for a couple of days. But now I feel like this is just another minor obstacle that I am going to get past. I'm going to get this degree and I am going to end up in a library somewhere. I know it. <3

When it rains....It rains some more.

Tonight I discovered that the program I am enrolled in at WKU is not ALA accredited. I am shocked that for some reason I thought it was. I am usually much more informed than this. So. This puts my plans a little...up in the air. I can still go to WKU. I can still get a masters in Library Science and I can still be a K-12 librarian or possibly a public librarian somewhere. However, I eventually wanted to be a librarian at a 4 year university. I am pretty sure this happened for a reason. Now the question is, what is the reason? Maybe I'm not supposed to be a University librarian. Maybe K-12 is where I am supposed to stop. Maybe I am being told about this now so I can get out before I have to pay for these classes I signed up for. Maybe God is trying to keep me out of school this semester for some reason that I cannot see yet. I really am not sure. But this is going to require a lot of thinking and praying. I thought I had everything planned out. I thought I was right on track. I guess it's true that when it rains, it pours. But I have to remember right now not to do what I always do and freak out and try to control the situation. Andrew says I need to do some research, weigh my options and make an educated decision. My mother says I need to skip the classes for this semester and go from there. I say...I have a lot of thinking to do. :/

But one thing is for sure. This happened for a reason. I can feel it.

Hard Times.

They say that your first year is your hardest. I believe that. Bills bills bills. I knew that was coming. But I didn't expect it to be this bad. I am thrilled that I found a job. I am thrilled that Andrew has money coming in from a few different places. I am not thrilled that I only make 7.50 an hour plus commission and we may or may not have money when our bills are due. Life is a beautiful rose and bills are the primary thorns. :/
Yes, we are barely scraping by. Yes, we are as poor as we will probably ever be. But I just keep thinking that this is an obstacle that every couple has to cross before they are comfortable stable. Andrew is an ambitious and intelligent, and is going to be a great business man. But you have to start somewhere. And eventually I will be making more than this and have decent benefits. But for now we must do what we are doing and shop from the discounts, eat off the dollar menu and wear the clothes we have had since highschool. :/
I wouldn't change it, though. We are learning right now just how tough life really is. This is bound to be preparing us for greater storms. And this is preparing us for what to tell our children when they seem to think the world owes them a living and there are never going to be hard times. There will be. We have seen them.
Andrew and I have one thing though that a lot of people in our situation do not have, and that is faith. We lean on faith every month that we will make our bills on time and we can still eat. And so far, we are. God has seen to it thus far that we will make it through, and He will continue to do so as long as we have faith in him. Our electricity hasn't been cut off yet, lol. We have each other and we have our personal faith and that is going to get us through this year. Better times are to come and I know that. So to everyone who is having trouble out there with a wolf at their door...it's going to get better. You just have to believe. :)

I'm Getting Married

You heard it here. Andrew and I are getting married! :) Before you say something like, "What?! You haven't been dating that long.", let me just say that we knew we were getting married after we had only been dating for a month or two. He is my soulmate. He is my best friend. We had an instant connection and we see very few flaws in each other. And even the ones we do see, we love anyway. I am marrying Andrew because it really is true what Megan Smith said to me one time. "You have to go through a few frogs before you find your prince." And he is mine. :)

We got engaged on July 4th, 2010 at the Melting Pot in Nashville. It was a HUGE surprise, and I never would have thought he could pull that off, haha. But he did, and I will tell my children one day how romantic and wonderful it was. When that dessert plate came out that said "Will you marry me?", I started to cry and was so happy that I forgot to say yes, lol. But he reminded me that I had to do that in order to be engaged, so I did. :)

We are getting married on July 4th of 2011 in Montego Bay, Jamaica at the Royal Carribean Resort. It has a private island, and we got a concierge room so that our wedding will be free! The ceremony will be called "Beautiful Beginnings", and I have already talked to my wedding consultant, Amy. :) I don't know very many details yet, but I DO know that we get a choice of wedding venues, and we will pick the beach. Also, I will be carrying orchids, and we will get a Carribean Style Wedding Cake all to ourselves after the ceremony. :) Andrew and I talked about writing our own vows, but I think we are going to do the Sand Ceremony instead, where we exchange traditional vows and we pour 2 different sands into a vase to symbolize our unity. I want that vase for my living room. :)

I know there are a few people who are preterbed because we are getting marred all alone, (aka all our friends and mothers, lol.). But we are having a great reception in Waverly when we return for everyone! My sisters and Mallory are in charge of this, along with anyone else who wants to pitch in. I have done zero planning so far, mainly because it seems like it is forever away. But I hear time is going to go by fast. :)

I guess the next thing I will do wedding-wise is take my engagement pictures. Our great friend Heather Kennedy is going to take them for us because she is awesome. :) We are taking them next month before school starts back up. Of course I am in the constant process of looking for a dress, and I kind of know what I want, but I still can't wait to try some on! I will try for this blog not to turn into a wedding blog only, but it's going to be a challenge. :)

On another note, I really like my new job. The people I work with are great and I am catching on quick to the job. I have commission plus a paycheck so that's really helping out. We still love our house, and I actually have things we need now, like a kitchen table and a desk. We have a happy life and DESPITE some of the bs that goes on near campus in Clarksville, we like where we are for now.

:D

I FINALLY GOT A JOB!

That's right, I actually got hired! lol. I have been to so many interviews I lost count, but I finally got hired today with Sprint on Ft. Campbell Blvd. I feel such relief. Now I can pay my part of the bills without having to worry or feel guilty because I don't have it to give. I am not quite sure what I will be doing yet, but I know I will be selling phones, taking payments, working for extra commission and general customer service. So if you are interested in a Sprint phone...come see me!!!! :D