Over the Last Year...

yes, I've been slacking, but I promise to get better (and I'm still hoping to get some friends who are pro's at this blogging to help out my poor blog...it needs some sprucing!!)

To go forward, I feel I must go back, especially for all my stalkers out there in blog land. ( I know wishful thinking..) Joe and I were married just a mere 2 1/2 months ago! Wow has time truly flown by. I remember thinking the morning after Joe and I got engaged, that, the next year ahead of me was about to fly by. Was I ever right. After the initial shock of being engaged, and I announced to the entire world that I was getting married, I went right into planning this spectacular day that Joe and I would never forget. To be honest though, planning at the time wasn't all that I just had hoped for. There were problems, just like any bride out there...there's always something. The date didn't work out because COGIC (Church of God in Christ) Convention was in town on my original date, (Which I had precisely picked out with an even number day..yes I'm very weird about numbers..not to mention, I already had the year of 2007 (7 I hate 7's..I have no idea why...LOOVE 8's though) anyway, so I didn't want to move it back a week b/c it would put me at 11/17/07 -- two 7's....ugh!) Since COGIC was the weekend before, MY weekend, it had to be moved...Memphis is a crazy place when COGIC is in town. Then with switching the dates, it meant switching reception places, could have meant losing my already booked photographer..I mean it was all falling apart before it began. I was a nervous wreck until it came back together. I gave into my hate for the number 7 and chose to move the wedding back a week. It worked for the photographer, and the place Joe and I wanted from the beginning, The Tower Room, won our business for the reception. (After several talks with my mom, begging for the place...it's 33 floors high looking all over the city of Memphis) It was truly perfect.......then 4 wedding coordinators with the Tower Room later, my mom and I are freaking out that everything will come together in the end. The one thing they couldn't mess up was the view. That was for sure. So 2 months out, we meet with this 4th "wedding coordinator" and all the things the previous "wedding coordinator" had told us was wrong, thus being the reason she was "let go" aka Fired! Great. So we proceed on, knowing full well, there's not a thing we can do at this point, but pray it turns out. The only thing I will say about this wedding planner (for fear of anyone reading this who might have considered using the Tower Room...and/or is friends with this wretched woman) she was fake, rude and not someone who I would ever (purposely) work with again. Enough said about her. I didn't let her ruin my wedding....My photographer (Steven Russell with Wedding Traditions) was Awesome, went above and beyond for me, My Videographer (Don Lawler, now with Etage Experience) was Awesome as well...truly a movie maker for weddings. The flowers were PERFECT (Terry Hannah: Home and Garden). I couldn't have been more pleased with them. My cake, was such a sight (Mary Jone's Cake Lady). It was delicious too! Joe's cake turned out just like I had pictured it...(my design of course!) The band was SO FUN!!!!! (Bullet Town -- from Milan and Jackson, TN) We danced all night long. I will say, with having such great other vendors, marrying the man of my dreams, and having such great friends to celebrate with, that mean woman didn't even touch my night...(In fact we made sure if it...she stood in the corner and was told not to do a thing, we were simply using her exquisite space she so happened to manage, and we didn't need her to ruin any part of my night...and she didn't.) My wedding was beyond my dreams..it truly turned out perfect.
(Picture by Steven Russel)
With everything we went through in the last year, I can now say...where did the time go??? I want to do it all over again!! The wedding night went by so quickly I don't even know how it happened. There are so many things I don't remember because it was like a dream. I can't wait for the video so I can recap!!! I can say, the one thing I remember most about the wedding day, was walking down the aisle as the doors open to my church. I saw all these faces of people I care so much about and I love in this room, smiling back at me, truly excited for what's to come. Then seeing my childhood preacher at the end of the aisle standing next to Joe. I get chills thinking about that very moment right now. I swear, my dad and I just floated down that aisle..I don't remember my feet on the ground.
(our wonderful wedding party!)
The next stop was the honeymoon. El Dorado Seaside. Joe and I literally, slept, ate (EVERY SINGLE MEAL!), drank fruity drinks and laid on the beach to nap some more, the entire time. We did no sight seeing, no adventurous things, like snorkeling, or kayaking. We simply relaxed and enjoyed our perfect room, beach front view, private pool and pretty much our personal bartender (Joe made Best Friends with him the first day, so he treated us all week. (ok maybe they do that with all the guests, but we felt special)). It was incredible. The service there was awesome. I've told everyone I know already, (but again for my stalkers...), but my favorite part of the honeymoon was when the Concierge at the front desk called our room after the first day:
Front Desk: " Hello Mrs. Shearin, How is everything, is there anything we can do for you?"
Me: (excitement from being called Mrs. Shearin) "YES?!?!?! (that's me!) Oh yes, everything is wonderful!"
Front Desk: "We were calling to see where you and YOUR HUSBAND are having dinner tonight, so that we can make sure everything is perfect"
Me: "Hold on, let me check with MY HUSBAND to see where he wants to have dinner tonight!!"
(yelling at Joe...)"Husband, where to you want to have dinner?!"
We had Italian that night....by far, one of the very best meals ever!!!!

We woke up every morning...ok, me -- I woke up every morning, "Good morning, HUSBAND!!!!!" Joe would grumble something that I like to think sounded like, "Good Morning WIFE!!!! I'm Obsessed with you still..." something like that...
(above, before we figured out the timer, we got smart and figured out how to pose ourselves with both of us in the picture...then we figured out the timer...funny though)
Now to present time, here we are, still married, yes. Happily of course, and counting down the days until our 1st, One Year Anniversary! Dating all 4 years of college, I thought I knew Joe pretty well...but now having lived with him, I feel like there are so many more things to learn about him...In future posts, I'll list my findings about being a newlywed and about Joe....b/c well he's just so interesting... (actually this picture is from our rehearsal dinner where my sweet friends got us these cute aprons, but you can imagine us now, using them EVERY NIGHT!!) Joe's reads: JOEYBEAR! how fitting, and Mine...Tracy (adj. Too Cute to Cook) -- again, completely fitting!! (Joe cooks all of our meals..I'd starve without him!)

till next time...