Update

So I was doing okay for a few weeks there... and then life got busy and we moved into a house that doesn't yet have internet, so I haven't been able to update. So this is what's up.I finished my student teaching on April 19th. During planning that day, the teachers in the 7th grade threw Jessica (the other student teacher in 7th grade) and I a surprise lunch party thingy. If you are a teacher, you know how these things go! Of course, I ate during lunch with the kids because I didn't pick up on my teacher's hint not to eat, but that didn't stop me from eating some delicious goodies that the teachers made and brought! My favorite, other than the cupcakes, was the veggie pizza! It was the Pilsbury Crescent rolls with cream cheese/ranch dressing sauce covered with ... you guessed it, veggies! Light and delectable! And then, we got gifties! A couple of moms and the teachers chipped in and got Jessica and I each our own huge tote bags filled with teacher supplies.

One of my favorite supplies was a 12 pack of Yoo-Hoo!! That's right. Yoo-Hoo. Why did my teacher include that? Because they sell bottles of Y-H in 4-packs in the marketplace on UNCG's campus and I kept that stuff stocked in my fridge. I don't get up early enough to eat breakfast, so I'd grab a Y-H and maybe a Pop-Tart and go into school, chugging my delicious chocolate drink (it's not milk... more like chocolate flavored water... and I'm okay with that!). Many of my students would ridicule me... some of them would ask me to bring them a Y-H. But I guess it became something that identified me as me. I'm not complaining!!The students also wrote me goodbye letters. Many of them were really good. Some of them made me laugh. Actually, a lot of them made me laugh. I had really good students this year. I'm just glad none of them said, "Thank you for leaving!" Hahaha

On April 29, my mama and daddy came to help me move out of my dorm. That was pretty cool. It went a LOT faster than when I moved myself in!! Then, I went to a cookout for the middle grades team to celebrate the completion of our student teaching and upcoming graduation. It was a good time! My best friend in the program, Matt Meckley, told everyone that it would also double as a wedding shower for me. He had a nice little speech to start it. He said that we were all about to graduate and make a big step in our lives, but "one of us will soon be taking another big leap in her life." He said, "she took part in the other celebrations, but was quiet about her own big news, so I thought we should take this time to celebrate with her and show her that we love her." It was sooo sweet! He and one of our instructors had schemed against me to make sure that my favorite kind of cake was there. He sent me a text one day, asking me what it was because he was making his girlfriend a cake. I'm so dumb to subtleties sometimes. It's so not Matt to just up and make a cake. But I didn't think anything of it until Cassi pointed out that there was a big yellow cake with chocolate frosting there! It had to have been one of the best cakes I have ever had the pleasure of eating. I don't have any pictures from that, but it was a really good time. It was the last time we all got to hang out before graduation. These were people I have been close to, up late with, writing papers and lesson plans with, and through hell with for the past two years. They understand what I'm talking about when I start my School-Talk. They understand standards and pacing and classroom management and license and school districts and "they're cutting [blank number of] teaching positions so there is no guarantee that you all will have jobs by August." Five years ago, schools were begging people to become teachers. Now, we almost have to PAY to be teachers. Hopefully, I'll have a job soon. (I will most likely update when I get some good news!!)

What's next? April 30. My mama and one of our close family friends threw me a bridal shower! I don't have any pictures on my laptop, which I'm on now. And there aren't any on Facebook that I can steal (I just got distracted on Fb for about twenty minutes not finding any to post here). When I go to my parents', I'll post some!! Anyway, it was a lot of fun. My parents and both Tony and Deanna helped put together a Wheel of Fortune game! It was probably my favorite part! If you didn't know, I'm a Wheel of Fortune dork and it pains me horribly that I've never been on that show. I just think it's fun! Sometimes, people are amazed when I can solve a puzzle with just a few letters up, and I say, "I'm an English person, I love words!!" I was Vanna White and my mama was Pat Sajak. It was sooooo much fun!

On May 1, some of my favorite girls from church threw me another shower!! The first week of April, I didn't know of any showers being planned for me. That weekend, I had THREE!!! It was beautiful! Brooke, Christy, Tera, Beverly and Fran did a wonderful job of decorating and organizing! Check out Brooke's blog for pictures. It was a great day, made even better when my best friend, Karla, walked in. She left Syracuse, New York the day before and made it in time for the shower.

She totally made my day a little brighter!!

Moving right along... May 6. On my grand-daddy's birthday, I graduated and finally closed the door on my six-year college career. A proud day in the Wilson family... First to graduate college!! I was all good and thinking, "Oh, it's just another graduation, nothing to get all in a tiff about." But when they finally called up Middle Grades (we were next to last, of course!), and we all stood (and finally concealing the fact that my teammates can't count and the team behind me started down the next row before we realized that I was left without a chair - so an usher brought me a chair and I was the oddball sticking out of the nicely organized rows of chairs!!)... Where was I?? Oh. When they called our team, we all stood up and began walking toward the stage. It hit me. I'm graduating college!!!! I was shaking as I walked across the stage, but not too much that I couldn't pump my fist by my side after shaking the Chancellor's hand and getting my diploma cover. Yes!!! It was a wonderful day! Here I am with my school best friend, Matt.

May 7, there was a bachelorette party!! We rented a hotel room in Apex, Karla brought a bunch of snacks, made my favorite cupcakes and brought manicure stuff. It was just me, Karla, Anna (my two MoHs), Brittany and Rachel (little sister/bridesmaid and her friend). We had SOOO much fun. We went to TGIFridays for dinner... hilarity ensued! Then, we stopped by Redbox and Dunkin Donuts for milkshakes. We got back to the hotel, painted nails, enjoyed ice cream and more cupcakes, and watched a couple of movies. It was a great night, just what I needed!

May 14, Blair and I went to a wedding for a couple of friends. It was an outdoor wedding with good food and good music. It rained and we saw a little bit of lightening, but that didn't hold back the party for too long. It was also really cool to tell people that we would be getting married in just a week!

The happy couple, Richard and Jennifer, dancing back down the aisle!

And now, the day you've all been waiting for... May 21 - the day I married my best friend!! Stay tuned for another blog dedicated 100% to our wonderful wedding! I have many pictures and a lot to say about it!! Thanks for reading my long-winded, late-night/early-morning rant of an update. I understand if I were better at keeping this up, I wouldn't have to write long updates. But you know how I am... and the lack of internet at our house doesn't help matters. We'll work on it!