Im done with COLLEGE

Last night I took my LAST final of undergraduate school. Derek drove with me to my final and when I got back in the car after the test this was waiting for me on my seat. Starbucks, flowers & a sweet card. What a keeper!!!

After my test we met my parents and Brett and Christine for dinner. It was the perfect end to a great last 3 1/2 years of college.

Monday was Shannon's last final also. I am so proud of her. She too graduated in just 3 1/2 years! Here's a picture of us Monday night celebrating her graduation!!!!

5 months 29 days!

I cannot believe its less than 6 months away til the wedding. So much has been happening lately and wedding planning has falling to the side. I will be done with college 1 week from today! Can you believe it?? Once the holidays are over & I am done with school, wedding planning is ALL i will be doing. Although I have a lot done already there is so many little things I cannot wait to start. Bridesmaids gifts, favors, table numbers, invitation, guest book/ "wish bowl", ect. By next month hopefully I will have started some of those projects! I found a fun survey on another blog I follow so I thought I would share my answers on my blog!

What are your middle names?
Mine is Kathleen Dereks is Timothy

How long have you been together?
OMG on Jan 10, 2010 it will be 7 years since Derek asked me to be his gilfriend hehe..

How long did you know each other before you started dating?
At least a few years

How old are each of you?
I'm 21, and he's 23.

Did you go to the same school?
The same high school

Are you from the same home town?
Yes

Who is the smartest?
umm.. Im sure if Derek was answering this question it would be a different answer. Although I have my blond moments I am smarter (or at least try harder) at school material. Derek is smarter at everything else hehe.. Derek is really smart at math

Who went to school for what?
I majored in Psychology & hopefully one day will be a High School Counselor
Derek attended the JC and is now a Police Officer.

Who is the most sensitive?
That would be me for sure.

Where do you eat out most as a couple?
If its Derek choice its Round table Pizza which I don't mind cause I love their salad bar. If its my choice I choose either Applebees or a new place we've never been too

Where is the furthest you two have traveled together as a couple?
Columbia, Missouri.. for Dereks bro football game!

Who has the worst temper?
I am more likely to get angry but when Derek does get ticked off there is no stopping him

How many children do you want?
2 or 3

Who does the cooking?
I do when Derek has work that night but when he is off we cook together. Derek is a really great cook!

Who is more social?
We are both pretty social but Derek social butterfly who never stops taking at parties.

Who is the neat-freak?
ME.. I have to have things clean and Derek is learning how to do the same lol

Who is the most stubborn?
We both can be stubborn depending on the day

Who wakes up earlier?
Depends. Plus Derek works nights so its hard to say but I sure do love sleeping in when I can

Where was your first date?
We didnt really have a first date per say. We went to the movies and lunch one day.. umm.. ya I was 14 I wasn't even allowed to date I don't think lol. Derek would drive me home from school alot and we would go to his house. Those were are dates (which I loved)

Who has the bigger family?
We both have large families. I think my extended family may be larger.

Do you get flowers often?
No.. I love flowers but their a waste of money. Although I do like when I'm surprise with them.. hint hint

How do you spend the holidays?
Right now we spend them separate me with my family he with his but we will see in the next year what we end up doing.. Maybe we'll start to have a holiday at our house..

Who eats more?
D for sure

What do you do for a living?
Me-student & server @ tea room
D- PoPo officer

Who drives when you are together?
Id rather him drive. Hes a better driver & I like to look out the window but if were going to a party I will be the one who drives home from it

What is "your" song?
What isn't "our" song. Every love song I hear I'm like oh Derek this is our song lol. When we were in high school Crusin was for sure our song and Shameless by Garth Brooks.

Hope you enjoyed the survey.. geeezzz that was a lot of questions! :)

Said YES to a DRESS!!!

Today was one of the most important days when becoming a bride.. today I said YES to a beautiful wedding dress. I would love to share all the details of how amazing the dress is but I want all you blog readers to be surprised on the day of... I'm mean... i know... hehe... Believe me tho its perfect & worth the wait! Plus even if I showed you a picture it wouldn't do the dress justice! You just have to see it in person.

I tried on several dresses, including one I thought I was going to love and none of them really impressed me or my mom. So the consultant brought out a new dress they had just got in. As soon as I saw myself in the mirror I loved it. My moms eyes filled with tears and I knew it was the one! I'm so glad I had my mom there. She did a great job helping pick the veil and headpiece too.

Awww.. what a day! I also had an in-person evaluation tonight at Sac State for the Masters in Counseling program there. I think it went well so keep your fingers crossed.. 4-6 weeks I will know if I will be spending the next 2 to 3 years in school... or not.. hehe...

All in all.. I had an amazing day and am so glad I was able to share such an experience with my mama! Were always gonna remember today!

Thanks for reading!
Jamie

Wordless Wednesday

Not too much to say however since it is October 7 the countdown to June 5 is less than 8 months! WooHoo..

Within the next few weeks I have two goals:
1. Try on some dresses! I still have not looked (besides online) and that is a must!!
2. Decide on what cake design we like & pick a bakery!

Since my next day off is next Friday (yeah.. like 10 days away bummer i know) not to much is gonna be happening til then

I cannot believe how quickly fall has came. Soon Halloween will be here, then thanksgiving & Christmas. Before I know it I will be graduated & the Wedding will be here! I am so excited!

Fun Pics Kate took of us!!

Just wanted to share!!

Engagement Party!

The Engagement party was super fun! However it did make me realize how fast the wedding day is going to fly by. My mom & dad did such a great job with the party! They are the best! Here are some pics!!!

i love him

Some of the Girls

Shannon & I

Kate & lauren & me

Shannon, Me, and Christine (thanks for my hair & makeup!)

Things are moving along!

According to my Planning Guide on my knot account.. I'm right on track! hehe... In the last 2 weeks or so.. we've
1. Found a venue & booked it (it's a surprise for anyone curious.. its in Napa but thats all I'm telling hehe)
2. Picked a date (June 5, 2010)
3. Bought invitations
4. Bought programs
5. Bought place cards
6. Ordered Bridesmaid dresses (which we got a great deal on)
7. Made tons of "To Do" lists

I'm really looking forward to this upcoming weekend. Friday is Derek and I's engagement party which I'm super excited about! I love the dress I'm going to wear & can't wait to see all my friends and family. On Sunday the 13th there is a WEDDING EXPO in Santa Rosa.. a huge warehouse devoted to all things wedding.. check out their website here ! Hopefully come Sunday I'll have a hundred more great ideas! I must say wedding planning has become a part time job! However it sure is the best job I've EVER had! :-)

Picture time!

Our Engagement Party Invitation

" Will you be my... Bridesmaid" Cards

This is Shannon's special Maid of Honor card!

Another card for my junior Bridesmaid Lauren!

A few more of the cards all together!

I had so much fun making the engagement party invitations. I loved that picture Kate had taken of me and derek a few days after he proposed! I can't wait til our next photo session with her! Making the "will you be my Bridesmaid" cards was super fun too. I love being creative & with the help of my cricut machine.. anything is possible! I'm so glad all the bridesmaids loved their cards!

P.S... We found a place... more details later!!!

Update!

So I've spent the last few days on my favorite 3 websites: theknot , herecomestheguide & google.. I must say they are a bride to be's best friend. I've found 2 more places that we will be looking at on Wednesday! Also, the "will you be my bridesmaid" cards have all be sent and received by my bridesmaids! They all loved the cute handmade cards that asked them to be a bridesmaid! All of them said "YES" which made me excited even more than I already was! Also the engagement party invites have been sent! We invited just the bridal party and close family, which is still almost 45 people! I took pics of the handmade cards and invitations & will be posting those tomorrow if ya wanna check them out! So far things are moving right along & I'm enjoying every second of it!

Check another one off the list

Today was fun looking at places but not much of a success! We went to a place in Benicia called The Arsenal. The bar area was awesome but besides that there was nothing special about the place. It was very historical since it was built in the 1800's but to me it was just old and not my style. Since we were in Benicia we figured we drive by a few other places on our list even though we didn't have appointments. We went to the Benicia Yatch Club which is too small. We went to the Camel Barn which also was super neat but again to small. We also stopped by the Jefferson St. Mansion in Benicia which I really liked. There was a large lawn area for a ceremony and another large space for the reception. Were gonna look at a few more places but the Jefferson St. mansion is a possibility.

I have a feeling that Im going to show up at a place and just know that it is the one. So far I have not got that feeling whatsoever ( and neither has Derek or my parents ). With each place Im realizing what I want and dont want and going from there. For now Im staying optimistic knowing that the perfect place is out there with the perfect price tag!!!

3 weeks today!

It's already been 3 weeks since Derek proposed & the wedding planning is coming along. I think we've done a lot in 3 weeks actually. We know our wedding party, decided on a month (no date yet), and began looking at venues. The first venue was beautiful but not for us. On Wednesday we're checking out another venue in Benicia that looks awesome.... maybe come Wednesday we'll know where the wedding will be (keep your fingers crossed). I'm excited about finding a place to have the wedding and reception. I think once that is figured out all the other plans will fall into place.

Being engaged is a great feeling. To know that someone else wants to spend the rest of their life with you makes you feel like a million bucks!! I can't believe that a year from now Derek and I will be husband and wife! Oh I can't wait!!!!! :)

Check back on Wednesday and I'll let ya know how the place was!

Bling! Bling!

isn't it pretty? I am so in love with it! A few minutes after Derek proposed to me he asked if it was the ring I wanted? Smiling from ear to ear I said "It's perfect". Honestly, I never knew what my perfect engagement ring looked like until it was given to me!!! Derek did an awesome job (with the help of his sister, mom and grandma)... he sure is a keeper!

& the wedding planning begins!!!

Two weeks ago my life changed forever! The man I loved asked me to marry him and of course I said yes. Suddenly I went from being a girlfriend to a fiancee, from being boyfriend and girlfriend to an engaged couple. I suddenly began to be living in the future I had always dreamed for myself. I went from being just a college senior ready to graduate in december to a soon to be bride and wife. So much is happening and I must say I'm enjoying the ride!!! I wanted to start this blog to record my thoughts and share my plans for the wedding and our life together! Hope you enjoy!