My Bridal Shower

Saturday, May 7th was my bridal shower...such a special day. Laurie, Ben's mom, flew all the way out from Missouri to spend the day with me and to meet my family before the week of the big day! My mom threw me a bridal tea with tea sandwiches, fruit/fondue, scones, cupcakes, and other goodies. Bree made the cupcakes for me and beautifully decorated them...she's so talented! We played a game, the ladies gave me marriage advice, and we made scrapbook pages for the day. And, of course, we closed out the day with present opening :-)

Still plenty left to do to get ready for the wedding, which is now, only 21 days away!! It's hard to believe I'll only be Megan McMahon for 21 more day and then I'll start signing my name Megan Medley! I used to always imagine what that new signature would look like one day, and to be honest, I've barely practiced at all, I've been so busy!

I guess I better get on it! I wish the school year was over because work has been really stressing me out lately. I cannot wait for it to be over, especially the grading part of work. I really need a vacation and I'm so looking forward to our honeymoon to Costa Rica (as well as our trip to Missouri)!

So many fun things ahead...this weekend Ben took me out to celebrate my 27th birthday. On Friday, we went to Addagio's Italian Restaurant on Ventura Blvd...yummy food but my favorite part was the Mango Creme Brule for dessert! Today we went to the Huntington Library and then saw Bridesmaids in the theaters. He has to work all this week (including my actual bday), so we celebrated ahead of time. This coming Saturday some of my girls will be taking me to Happy Hour at Flemming's to celebrate the upcoming wedding/my bday...defintly a lot of exciting moments ahead!!

Laurie, Ben's mom, and my mom, Jan

Engagement Shoot

On April 2nd, Ben and I had our engagement shoot. Michelle Chiu, our photographer, did a wonderful job!! Here are some of the best shots...

Flowers from Ben

I came home today to flowers and dinner! Ben is so sweet :-) I luv him! I'll post a pic of the flowers later!

Teaching, formal evals and such

Well today was the first day back to school, and of course it was also my formal evaluation day. In public school speak it's called a STULL but in private school, where administrators are normal, we just call it what it is--an evaluation. ;-)

Of course, coming back to work and having my formal eval (we have informal ones all the time) is a little nerve-wracking, because I have to think to myself--do I have all the copies I need for everything, am I organized, will I have my flow even though I've been off for a week? Luckily, I have amazing students and I suppose I'm an alright teacher, so it worked out great!

My kids analyzed one of Juliet's monologues...first I taught them my 5 steps for analyzing any Shakespeare passage; then I had a student perform the role of Juliet. The kids then had 7 minutes of quiet reflection and time for annotation, followed up by a discussion I like to call, "What the heck does that mean?" They then had to identify diction, imagery, and allusions used by Juliet which helped her convey her meaning. I was astonished at how "on point" my kids were today. Maybe the break healed their brains a little too!

I actually had an 8th grade student realize that Juliet's use of iambic pentameter could convey her emotions depending on how fast or slow she spoke the lines. One student even realized how Shakespeare's use of the comma revealed a slower pattern, suggesting a more thoughtful, delayed response by Juliet! And of course a teacher can't help but smile when a student makes a text to text connection. The "mask of night" covering Juliet's face is like the mask that Romeo wears to the party hours earlier...LOVE IT! I am so blessed to work with such bright, enthusiastic young minds.

We ended the lesson with a little review game for their test coming up on Thursday. Kids were a tad rusty on their Shakespeare trivia but I'd rather that than rusty on their critical thinking skills.

All in all, 'twas a good day!

Birthday wish list...a little early ;)

This year I have an unusual birthday wish list...all related to preparing for the wedding! Here are things I still need for the wedding:

1. Ring bearer pillows: they have one style I like at Party City

2. Photographs: I want to print some photographs for the wedding as well as for our personal use at Walmart.

3. Nail Gift Certificate: Of course I have to get my nails done before the wedding :-)

4. Michael's Gift Card: I seem to always need something from Michaels!! I've bought candles, tea lights, and a bunch of stuff for the bridal shower there...

A much needed break...

This week was a much needed vacation for me. It was really the first break I've had all year where I could just relax. Christmas break was a fun, whirlwind of an adventure but it was not exactly relaxing! We spent our first week of Christmas break in the Bahamas where Ben proposed to me! :)

We came home for two days, Christmas Eve and Christmas day...we went to church and parties both days and then took off for round two of our vacation, visiting my parents cabin in Oakhurst for the first time and later going to Shasta so my grandma could meet Ben for the first time.

The day after we got home, I went back to work. It was a magical, fun break but I went back to work exhausted! Months passed and we had our Easter vacation very late this year. The first few days of our vacation, Ben and I joined my parents at their cabin where I got to take walks, paint, and read an entire novel for four days. When we came home, I worked on wedding plans, but instead of it feeling stressful, I finally felt relaxed and enjoyed getting stuff done for our big day! I also made Ben a pie...it had been a little while since I had been tired and stressed from work and wedding planning. I go back to work on Tuesday and we have about 1.5 months left...both till the end of the school year and our wedding. Hopefully it will be as stress-free as possible. I have so enjoyed relaxing the past few days but I do know that there is so much to look forward to--my bridal shower, engagement encounter, my birthday, the rehearsal dinner, our wedding, and the honeymoon to Costa Rica!

PS. 55 DAYS TILL OUR WEDDING!! WOO-HOO!

135 days till I'm Mrs. Medley

Wedding planning is crazy! I keep making progress but then I realize just how much more there is to do. Some of it is fun and some of it is stress. I've never been the girl who had a dream wedding planned out in her mind, which, I must say, is good because everything costs a ridiculous amount of $$.

Fortunately, I have been very blessed to have some great connections. One piece of advice I'd give to everyone is to find great deals by asking your friends for help! I've been so incredibly impressed by the talent, generosity, and willingness to help. Whether it's helping me find a seamstress to fit my dress, offering to help set up on the day of the wedding, or doing the big stuff like help me with all the planning, DJing, or officiating, I'm so blessed to know good people.

This past year has been filled with so many blessings. I have great students this year who make it very pleasant for me to teach. I enjoy working with them, and they treat me with respect. My co-workers are some of the kindest, most dedicated people I've ever met. They all work so hard to provide an excellent educational experience to our students. And then there's my personal life. My parents are in good health, and just this past year, they bought a beautiful log home in Oakhurst.

And most importantly is my relationship with Ben. Over the past year, we've shared so many wonderful memories together. In just 135 days I will be walking down an aisle and marrying Benjamin Franklin Medley! I can't wait for all our hard work on this weeding to come together on that (hopefully beautiful) June day.

Since my last post, I have:

1. Finished the "Save the Dates"
2. Found a DJ
3. Figured out my flower/center pieces
4. Gone to the tasting and booked the caterer!