We Are Married!!!

I am behind on blogging so this post will be about the day that Mike and I got married!  We got married at the courthouse on July 21st.  I know that a lot of people can't imagine getting married there, but I could not have asked for a more perfect day!  

Mike and I had been talking about going ahead and getting married for a while.  We were living together and to us, we were already married.  The only thing that was missing was the certificate of marriage and changing my last name.  On July 19th, I decided to go ahead and schedule a day for us to go to the courthouse and get married.  We wanted to get married on a Friday and I was able to schedule for July 29th.  I called my mom after I scheduled to invite her.  In the past she had told me that she wouldn't get her feelings hurt if she couldn't be there.  I told her what date I had scheduled and she told me that she wouldn't be able to come because of her school in-service.  I could tell by the sound of her voice that she really wanted to see me get married.  I told her that I was going to call the courthouse back and see if I could reschedule it and get married within the next few days.  It put a lot of stress on me because I was hoping to have a little over a week to find something to wear and get everything planned out, but I wanted my mom to be able to see us get married.  She didn't get to see my brother get married(they went to Vegas) so I knew it would mean a lot to her to see me get married.  

I called the courthouse back, knowing that it was highly unlikely that we could get married by the end of the week.  I was wrong!  I was able to schedule for that Thursday which was the 21st.  I called my mom back and told her.  Of course, she was extremely happy!  

I wanted to find something new to wear on the day that I got married but because of the length of time that I had(none at all) to find something, I ended up not getting anything!  I looked and looked and looked and couldn't find a single thing.  It was frustrating but I tried not to let it get to me because the most important thing was that Mike and I were finally getting married.  I really wanted to find a white sundress but the ones that I found just didn't work for me.  So, I settled for black pants and a black printed top that I've owned for a while but just hadn't worn much.  I did get a much-needed hair cut and a new style.  It's curly and has layers to it.  

Mike and I woke up on July 21st and went to the courthouse.  We were supposed to be there by 10:00am at the latest.  Mike's parents, his daughter, my mom, and Ms. Marilyn(my mom's friend) were going to meet us there.  His parents and daughter were already there when we got there, but my mom and Ms. Marilyn weren't.  I called my mom and at 9:45am they were in Hermitage.  I got upset because I didn't think that they would be there and it wouldn't have been the same without my mom there.  Right at 10:00am they showed up and I was so happy that they had made it!  My mom is usually late to everything and Ms. Marilyn even said that mom had been late getting to her house!  That's just how she is!  Thank goodness that the judge was running behind!  

We were married by Judge Dianne Turner!  I was a little apprehensive about a woman performing the ceremony because I always imagined a man doing that.  After I met her, I realized that I couldn't have had someone better to marry Mike and I.  She was very nice and welcoming and didn't rush through the ceremony at all!  

Judge Dianne Turner

She asked us to join hands and started the ceremony.  It was so sweet.  Mike said his vows to me first and then it was my turn.  I told myself that I wasn't going to cry, but of course, I did.  I made it to the middle of it and then started crying my eyes out.  The judge kept saying, "This is so sweet".  Finally I made it through the vows and we were pronounced husband and wife!  

Mike putting the wedding band on my finger!

Putting his wedding band on his finger!

I now pronounce you husband and wife!

You may kiss the bride!

Mr. and Mrs. Wood!

After the ceremony, we all drove to hermitage to my in-law's house for a small reception.  In the past few years I have gotten to know a lot of their neighbors, so they came over to celebrate with us!  We took some pictures out on their beautiful back porch area and then ate finger foods and cake!  My mother-in-law put it all together without us knowing and that meant so much to me.  

Newlyweds!

Showing off our rings!

Mike, My Mom, and Me

She always comes up with the silliest hand holding poses!  

Mike, Ms. Marilyn, and Me

Mom and Me!

One of my favorite pictures of the day!  I love my mom!

Mike, Alayna(my step-daughter), and Me!

My in-laws, Mike, and Me!

Our Wedding Cake!  It was really good and so pretty!  

From left: Me, Connie(Mike's aunt), Ms. Marilyn, and my Mom!

Getting a picture with the cake!

Another picture with the cake!  

Cutting the cake!  Since the wedding wasn't too  "traditional" we tried to include some tradition in it!  

After Mike put some icing on my nose!  

Another one of us and the cake!

I got him too.  LOL

Me and the cake

From far left: J.B.(Mike's cousin), Ben(Mike's cousin), Mike,  Alayna, and Peyton(Mike's cousin)

From left: Paula(Mike's boss), Connie, Ms. Marilyn, and my Mom!

From left: Ed(my in-laws neighbor), Charles(my father-in-law), and Lois(another neighbor)!

I made my mother-in-law get in the picture because when I took the one above this one she  ran away from it!

As you can see, this was not the traditional wedding that most people have!  At first, that bothered me, but I wanted to do it this way because of my parents being divorced.  I wanted to avoid any possible drama that might happen.  Plus, weddings are expensive and my dad couldn't afford to help with one.  Mike and I are planning to renew our vows in the future and have a wedding and reception.  I am happy with what we decided to do and I couldn't have asked for a more special day!


We didn't go on a honeymoon because we recently went to Panama City Beach, Florida and spent a whole week there!  So on our wedding night we got a nice hotel room and just spent time together.  We went swimming, went out to eat, and went to a movie.  Again....not traditional but perfect for us!     

Since we planned to get married last minute, we still have wedding showers to go to!  My mom's church is throwing a shower for me and my mom's side of the family is too!  I'm excited to see everyone for the first time since I've been married!  It will be fun!  

Along with getting married, I also gained a step-daughter!  Alayna is 14 years old and goes to McClain Christian Academy in Lebanon, Tennessee.  She just started her freshman year of high school last Monday.  She is such a sweetheart and is very smart.  She plays basketball and is so great at it.  She just started playing volleyball last week and I think she is enjoying it so far!  I couldn't ask for a better step-daughter and am excited to see what all she accomplishes in the future!  

I have been married to Mike for two weeks and it is wonderful!  We were living together before we got married so of course, not much is different other than the fact that I am now Mrs. Mattie Miranda Wood and that I have a step-daughter!  

I am so happy to be his wife and I can't wait to see what our future holds together!  

Quick Post!

I'm getting married this Thursday!!!  I'm so excited!!!  :) 

Super Bass

Another one of my faves right now!  I think Nicki Minaj is just adorable!!!  :)

Cupid

I love this song!!!  For some reason it's really catchy and the lyrics are so sweet!!!  

 

Catch Up!

Wow!  It has been almost a month since I updated my blog.  Mike and I went on vacation the first part of this month.  It was one of those last minute trips and we ended up in Panama City Beach, Florida!  I hadn't seen the ocean since I was a little girl, so of course, I was extremely excited.  We spent our vacation swimming, snorkeling, and seeing the sights.  We went to Shell Island, which is one of the only untouched islands there.  We didn't have any shade there whatsoever and got very sunburned.  I'll just say that I could barely move and ended up with blisters and a whole lot of peeling on my ta-tas and my back.  Mike was the same way, but mainly on his back. 

The first night that we were there, we decided to take a walk on the beach.  Let me remind you, that I hadn't seen the ocean since I was little and couldn't remember that so I was scared to death.  Mike made the mistake of telling me not to step on anything black or jelly-like.  Once he said that, I wanted off of the beach....fast!  I don't know why I got so scared but I guess it was because I wasn't used to oceans and beaches.  It's sad, I know!  Thank goodness I was able to get over it and swim in the ocean the next day.  I definitely wasn't prepared for the waves though!  We had a yellow flag and the waves were coming up over our heads and taking us under the water!  It scared me at first, but then I realized how much fun it was.  LOL.  

Our snorkeling trip was interesting.  We did that on Shell Island.  I mainly stayed in the shallow, calm parts but I didn't get to see many interesting things.  Mike wanted me to swim out with him to the deep parts but I told him that if I did, I would end up making him drown along with myself.  I can swim, but I'm not used to those strong waves, and I knew I would end up panicking if I went out to the deep parts.  He went by himself and was trying to see the dolphins but he couldn't find any.  He did see some bigger fish though.  Right before we left Shell Island he caught me a hermit crab.  We didn't realize it at the time, but those crabs are not the same as the ones that you can buy at a pet store!  Those have to live in salt water.  Once we realized that, we went to a store and bought a large hermit crab.  Then, on our way home, we put the sea crab back into the ocean.  I love hermit crabs and they are really easy to take care of.  Right now, mine has his own 10 gallon aquarium with sand, toys, a food bowl, a water bowl, and a hut.  I just wish he would move around more!!!  :)  

It was so beautiful in Florida.  We had a oceanfront hotel room on the very top floor.  It would have been absolutely wonderful, but on the second day that we were there we got bombarded with teenagers.  About 150 teenagers were all together to celebrate graduating from high school and most of them were on the same floor that we were on.  They never went to sleep!  Mike and I heard them all night long, screaming from their balconies.  They stayed drunk and were so disrespectful to everyone.  We even heard that a lot of them were taking pills and doing drugs.  Mike talked to a few people that had complained and were demanding a refund from the hotel.  I don't blame them!  Thank goodness, we were able to just deal with it without going off at all of them.  You're only young once, and I remember when I was that age, although I wasn't quite that bad!  

Now that we're back home, we are both wishing that we were still there.  It was nice to just get away from everything for a while.  Mike is working for a lawyer now.  He just started back today and it was supposed to be a fill-in for someone that had gone on vacation, but he called earlier and said that he got his job back.  He worked there before he started his own business last year.  I'm happy for him.  I just wonder when I will have some good news to share!  I still don't have a job and have been turned down for a lot of jobs that I've applied for.  It's disappointing because I feel like this will never end and that I will never get a job.  I don't like being rejected but I know that is just how it goes these days.  I just need to go back to school!  

I'm off to do some things around the house but before I go, here are some pictures from our Florida trip!  :)

Our view from the hotel room!  

  

Mike and I on Shell Island

                                                 

Last picture on our balcony before we left Florida!  

I love palm trees!  

                                                 

Another view from our hotel room!  

                           

                                                               

                                                  

Thankful

I am so thankful right now to be somewhat healthy and alive.  The storms that hit the south on Wednesday devastated several areas, and killed a lot of people.  Tuscaloosa, Alabama was one of the worst areas that was hit.  I saw a video of the tornado that went through that area, and it was huge.  The national weather service said that it was an F4 tornado, and by the looks of it, that sounds about right.  In my area, we had storms but it wasn't anything compared to what other parts of the south had to deal with.  On the news, they said that if it had been humid or sunny in the places that weren't hit hard, we would have had some serious tornadoes as well.  

Watching the coverage of the damage across Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, and Tennessee, made me cry.  It is so sad to see houses completely leveled and people who have lost everything, including loved ones.  I can't even begin to imagine what those people are going through right now.  I just pray for peace for them.  I know that those people will have a long road ahead of them and I wish that I could help them.  

It really makes me realize how blessed that I am.  I may not have a lot of money, a million dollar house, or an expensive car and my life might not be going the way that I would like for it to go....but I'm alive and my family is alive.  It could have easily been us that got hit by a huge tornado, and right now I am just thankful for life and every thing that I have been blessed with in this life. 

What A Weekend

I got off work about an hour ago and now I'm off until Thursday night.  I worked 12 hour shifts on Saturday and Sunday.  Monday was only a 6 hour shift and I got off at 1:35am this morning.  I'm completely exhausted.  

I wouldn't say that I hate this job, but I also wouldn't say that I love this job.  It's hard.  Certified Nurse Technicians basically do all of the dirty work so that nurses can get away with just passing meds.  As a tech at a nursing home, I'm constantly lifting, pushing, and pulling patients and some of them are not skinny.  A lot of them are very overweight which makes my job so much harder.  On top of the physical stress of the job, there is the mental stress.  When I'm at work, I take care of elderly people and a lot of them do not have their minds.  I see them as a shell of a person because the person that they used to be, isn't there anymore.  Day in and day out they sit or lay around not knowing where they are or who they are.  Some of them holler or scream because they are in pain or because they are scared.  Most of the time, I can't help but wonder who they used to be and what they were like when they had their minds.  It's really sad.  

Nursing homes are so understaffed.  These places worry so much over their budgets when they should really be thinking about the residents.  Without a lot of staff, the residents suffer.  I am only one person and I can't be in 20 rooms at the same time.  Where I work, there is one tech per hallway.  There should be 2 techs per hallway.  I don't get much help when it comes to lifting my patients.  I strain my back and legs each time I'm at work and I come home in pain.  I have to lift my patients into bed or onto the toilet or into their wheelchair and after doing that to 20 or more patients, I hurt pretty bad to the point of barely being able to walk.  

So, why do I do it?  I do it because I love helping elderly people.  I always have.  Plus, I make more money working as a tech, than I would working in retail, customer service, or the food industry.  I haven't reached the point where I know what I want to do in life as far as a career goes.  I thought that I wanted to be a nurse, but the more nurses that I come across, the more I realize that I don't want to be associated with that.  9 times out of 10 a nurse won't help a tech lift or turn a patient and they won't answer call lights or clean a patient.  Yes, that is my job, but sometimes I'm busy and can't make it to a patient's room for a while.  A lot of nurses act like they are too good to do the dirty work when it comes to patients.  It's ridiculous.  So, that is why I honestly don't want to be a nurse anymore.  I'm not saying that every nurse is like that, but most of them are unfortunately!  

I've met a lot of people at work and the majority of them have been nice.  They are also overworked and underpaid....and they don't get help either.  

I just hope I figure out soon what I want to do as far as a career goes, because as much as I love helping elderly people.....the whole lifting patients thing is going to end up hurting my back for good and I don't want that to happen!