My Wedding Dress as inspiration

So....I finally got out of my wedding denial phase and started planning my wedding! My first step was to buy a wedding dress this past weekend in Cincy with my mom and sister. And I really, really love it. I must because it actually inspired me to do some other wedding planning, something that I have been putting off since last June. Now, I'm not just engaged, but I'm getting married:)

Information so far
1. Destination Wedding that is a reflection of Chad and I--probably Jackson Hole/Yellowstone/Grand Tetons (I've contacted at least one travel agent and one wedding planner thus far--are you proud, Kristin?)
2. Late July or early August 2009--I'll be out of school and it won't be too close to my bday
3. Simple and inexpensive--possibly a cabin or small lodge wedding
4. A big party in Columbus after the wedding where everyone can celebrate...I was thinking somewhere in German Village??

P.S. I can't post a pic of the dress because I don't want Chad to see it before the wedding!

Turkey Trot Take 4

Tomorrow, I'm going to partake in my 4th annual 10K Turkey Trot. Chad and I have been running a bit more than usual to prepare for it. However, nothing will prepare us for the bitter cold tomorrow at 9 am. As long as there's no snow/rain/sleet. We have about a 50/50 shot at the lack of precipation because it's snowed/sleeted/rained 2 out of the last 4 times. Wish us luck!

The best thing about running this race on Thanksgiving morning is that I don't feel any guilt during the day long feast!

Happy almost Turkey Day everyone!

O-H-I-O

GOOOOO BUCKEYES!! Although we aren't having our best season, the Buckeyes still took down the lowly Wolverines yesterday. As it was the last game of the season, Chad, Dusty (Chad's brother), and I decided to go tailgating. Our day of partying started at 10 AM and ended at about 8 PM. All you need to know is that Chad, Dusty, and I all ended up coming home in separate cabs due to too much tailgating and lack of cell phone reception. It was a crazy night but at least Ohio State dominated. It's sad that the college football season is over...

At least I still have the rest of the Bengals season to look forward to....yeah right!

No power=a very perturbed Jenny

After a very zealous windstorm in Central Ohio last evening, Chad and I (and MANY others) are without power. It's been 24 hours and it could possibly be up to 2 more days. There's a shortage of ice everywhere and electrical outlets. Although I got today off school, it has NOT been worth it. I never realized how much I appreciated my stove, hair dryer, and lights. This sucks.

Where in the world is Jenny now?

So...my summer of vacations is almost over. However, it ended on a high note in Mexico with my mom a few weeks ago. Our impromptu vacation included lots of beach time, Mayan ruins, zip lining, rappelling, snorkeling, and tons of other fun activities.

School starts in just about a week, so my traveling is going to lessen quite a bit. :(

28th Bday-Now I'm offically closer to 30 than 25

Last weekend, Chad and I went to Chicago to visit Kristin and Andy and celebrate my 28th birthday! It was a great weekend! We had lots of yummy food, including Hot Doug's sausages , yummy and plentiful tapas from Baba Reeba's, and fushi (sushi but made with fruit) from Orange. We also went on a boat cruise and got to see all of the unique architecture that Chicago has to offer. All in all, it was a great weekend trip. Thanks for being great hosts, Kristin and Andy (and Milo).

High School Flashback

Soooooo...........I'm off to my TEN YEAR High School Reunion this weekend. It's very weird to think that I've been out of high school for ten whole years. Well, I'm technically in a high school every day for my profession but that doesn't count because now I am the one in charge!

I have absolutely no idea how this will turn out. No set expectations. All of my best friends from high school (Lauren, Sarah, Holly, Jessica, and Melissa) are going though so we'll make it fun no matter what!

1998 Princeton High School class rules!

I heart Colorado

This past week, Kristin, Andy, Chad, and I had an AWESOME vacation in Colorado! We have tons of pictures (500+ compliments of Chad, the photographer) so I'll only include some of the best here.

Highlights of our vacation:
We spent the first night in Boulder sampling all of their food and tasty brews. We were celebrating Chad and I's engagement and just being on vacation! Here's a beautiful view of the mountains. Seeing these mountains in the background every day is definitely something that I could get used to!

After experiencing everything that Boulder had to offer, (except the scones at the tea house-I'm still bitter about that) we all headed off to our cabin in Peaceful Valley for the next six days and nights. It was an idyllic cabin, complete with our very own boulder in the raging river in our backyard. Here are some pictures.

Once we got settled in, our wildlife extravaganza began. We saw tons of wildlife in the RMNP (about an hour from Peaceful Valley). Here are some of my favorites.

We also did TONS of hiking. The extreme elevation made this hiking some of the hardest that I have ever done. It's amazing what two miles elevation makes in your ability (or inability to breathe). Chad and I even climbed a "mountain" the last day we were there. That was the hardest hike that I have ever done. I'm not sure that I'm going to the miss all of the uphill hiking of Colorado, but the scenery was totally worth it!

Yes, that is waist deep snow on our hike.

Also, we took some photos at the Continental Divide!

In addition to the hiking, we also decided to risk our lives on a White Water Rafting expedition on the Cache le Poudre river. Click on the below links for a video and pictures of our excursion. It was a lot of fun, until the last Class IV+ rapids where I thought that I was going to become a widow before I even got a chance to marry Chad.

Video here:http://www.vimeo.com/1214246

Photos here: http://picasaweb.google.com/kristin.sutter/RaftingCacheLaPoudre

All in all, our vacation was one of the best that I've ever had. Kristin and Andy are fun vacation partners! Also, if you want a more detailed description of our vacation day-by-day, go to Kristin's blog: www.kristinsutter.blogspot.com

The skyline in Columbus is very drab compared to Colorado...

I am now part of the engaged world...

If you don't already know the exciting news....Chad and I are engaged! HUGE SURPRISE!

First off, here are a few pictures of the ring above. I have had several requests for a picture. However, it's much more sparkly and perfect in person. I also received a dozen red roses from Chad. They are gorgeous, as you can see from the pic above! He had them delivered to me at school. Ah...how sweet! I also received another bouquet from Kristin and Andy--they were waiting for me at home after school. What a nice sister:) That's the colorful bouquet pictured above.

Anyway, here's the story. First off, I'll give you some background: I told Chad that I really wanted my proposal to be a complete surprise. He surpassed all expectations of a surprise. I had absolutely no idea when, where or how it was coming. I told a friend earlier in the week that I thought that we would get married in a year or so...haha! Obviously, I had NO idea this was coming.

Monday morning (6/9/08) I woke up for my last day of school--it was a teacher day with no students so it was a low stress day. I went to wake Chad up before I left and he was acting all stubborn about getting out of bed. Imagine that--Chad acting all stubborn:) So, I proceeded to tell him in my best teacher voice that he needed to get up NOW or he was going to be late. He called me in to the room one last time and I fully expected to see him laying back down in bed; instead, he was down on one knee with a ring. I thought that I was dreaming--there was at least 30 seconds of silence where my mind was trying to comprehend the situation in front of me. I was 100% shocked, but very excited and happy!

Chad did a wonderful job both with the proposal and the ring. I couldn't have wished for anything more. We're just enjoying our engagement now--no plans for a wedding yet!

Rain=Misery

This is me smiling. The only smiling that I did on this particular backpacking trip is on Saturday and when we got to our car on Sunday.

Things I've learned:

1. Carrying a backpack on your back makes hiking at least twice as hard.

2. Water is heavy.

3. Mud makes hiking at least twice as hard.

4. Sleeping on a hard ground sucks.

5. Rain makes everything very wet, very heavy, and very awful!

6. And for some positives--the trail that we went on was beautiful!

7. Freeze dried food really isn't all that bad.

8. Chad is an excellent planner--all of our food, water, equipment, maps, etc. worked perfectly.

9. Chad and I are tougher than I originally thought.

10. Chad is an eternal optimist, even in the rain when I'm yelling at him.

Quick Overview of the Trip:

Saturday: Arrived at 3 and hiked for 5 hours for a total of approximately 9-10 miles. Stopped to set up camp when we were deliriously tired. Sleeping on the ground without an air mattress is not fun, even when you're dead tired.

Sunday: It wasn't supposed to rain until 11 or 12 in the afternoon; however, we woke to raindrops on the tent at 6:30/7. Then, I spent the worst morning hiking that I have ever experienced. It was absolute misery. I actually cried...twice. I wanted to give up countless times but I had to keep sloshing through the deep mud, hills, tree branches, and never ending trail because I had to keep going or die. At 10:30, 5-6 miles later, our nightmare ended when we reached the car.

Even though I was intent upon selling my recently purchased backpack on ebay on Sunday, I think that I'll backpack again...when there is no rain.

Adventure?

In about a half hour and counting, Chad and I are about to leave for our first ever backpacking excursion. It's about two hours away from Columbus and we're going by ourselves. Here's the link to the trail: http://www.fs.fed.us/r9/wayne/recreation_sites/trails/wildcat_hollow.html

I wanted to make sure and post just in case we never make it back.

Hope everyone else enjoys their weekend of nice hot showers and flushing toilets.

Jenn

Beautiful scenery

Look, I posted a picture! So, enjoy this beautiful scenery and relax. I'm sure that you deserve it. I already can't wait for the weekend...

This is a picture of the Grand Teton Mountains, where Chad and I have gone for the past two summers. However, we're going to the Rocky Mountains this summer and I bet that I'll have better pics then!

Amish Rakefighters

Spring is here! With the good weather, also comes the softball season. Our softball season consists of some softball, then lots of pizza and beer afterward (sometimes before, too). Hopefully, our team is a bit better this year. This is my fourth season as a rakefighter so I'm excited.

Chad and I have almost completed our shopping for all of our backpacking essentials. We now have the packs, tent, sleeping bags, and other stuff Chad says we need. Soon, we'll have to try out our new stuff, since the weather is cooperating.

Also, knowing that spring is here, makes me think about summer right around the corner!

I'm still not used to this blog thing...

Party in Denver!

Update to previous post: Kristin and Andy are now coming with us on vacation this summer! I'm excited that they're coming. Hope the Rocky Mountains are ready for us...

Welcome to my blog

Aren't you proud of me? I have finally joined Kristin and Keith in the blogging world. No more forgotten middle child. :)

Anyway, I hope to include more posts with fun things like pictures soon! As an English teacher, who has taken an online course about blogs, I feel compelled to keep up with my blog.

Upcoming events for me:
Spring break is this coming week for me! Yeah! However, I am not going anywhere. No one else is off this next week so it was vacation alone or stay home and relax. I chose the latter.

Summer
June 14-22nd: Chad and I are going to Denver, Colorado/Rocky Mountain National Park! We're very excited about it--we plan on staying in a cabin for the majority of the time and then camping/backpacking a few days, depending upon the weather. More updates to come.

I'm glad to be a part of this blogging world. Feels good.