He put a ring on it :)

Of course I only make my re-entry into the blogging world when I have big news. AND this news is BIG!

I ... am.... ENGAGED!

Tim proposed on Lake Michigan at sunset up in South Haven, MI. He took me to a bed and breakfast up there on Thursday. We enjoyed a nice (but anxious for us both) drive up on Thursday afternoon, relaxed on the patio and in the room and took a walk down the pier before our lovely Italian dinner at Tello downtown South Haven.

 

(Us on the pier before dinner)

 

We had a wonderful time over calamari, wine and delicious pasta. The whole day I was anxious and hopefully expecting (ok, freaking out I mean) that he would propose that night. Put a little wine in me and the anxiety only worsened. haha Not calmed me down like I had hoped. He had told me that he wanted to go down to the beach at sunset. That only made my hopes of proposal even more real. After walking on the beach for awhile, barely talking and him behind me (he was trying to hide the ring box haha) we finally made it to an empty area right in front of the beautiful sunset. As we were hugging, saying "I love you's" and small talk he eventually got down on one knee, told me how much he loved me and asked me to marry him. i don't remember much of what he said honestly. i could barely look at him i was in such shock! Especially when he opened the ring box, i was flipping out! It was such a beautiful moment and all ours. No one was around, just us on the beach. I couldnt have asked for a more perfect moment. He is my best friend and now FIANCE and I get to spend the rest of my life with him. I am one happy and lucky girl.

Let the wedding planning begin :) 

 

has it been 2 months?

i hadn't realized that it has been over 2 months since I had blogged until my friend Natalie tweeted that I should get back to blogging. her words  -- "bring back becoming jami".

Well, here i am. i'm back.

it has been tough to fit blogging into my daily list of activities. the last few months have been the busiest of my life. 

let me recap the last few months.

end of december&january

 

i visited nyc/connecticut again to visit tim for christmas and then keep him company on his drive to bloomington. he moved there to pursue his masters in education and to just be closer to me. such a sweetheart.  we had a fun road trip full of oldies music, looking for silly city names and me playing angry birds on his iphone.

we moved him into his apartment and then the next day we moved me into my new place in carmel. it snowed all day! it was not a fun move. i had a 4 car caravan following me to my apartment! through the snow i moved in and couldnt be happier living on my own.

my

 my students and i celebrated 100 days of schools. it was quite a feat (for us all)! we celebrated by making 100 day crowns, stringing 100 fruit loops to make necklaces, making 100 day art and completing a writing prompt about "When I am 100..." I made the bulletin board above and displayed it in the hallway.

february

 

the super bowl came to indianapolis and it took over the entire downtown area! i was able to go down for the festivities 2 times with tim and some friends. the first time we went was so much fun! we were able to walk around, have some drinks and see all there was to see. the second time we went the band LMFAO was there and it was total. chaos. it was PACKED with NO room to walk around. it was literally wall to wall people. in the pictures above it looks crowded but that was NOTHING compared to the second night we went.

having tim around has also brought an abundance of fresh flowers into my apartment. i can't complain about that :)

 

february also brought me ... an iPhone! finally!!! i feel like i am part of this century now. haha and i am addicted to angry birds, scramble with friends and words with friends. 

lovin my case from society6. and loving instagram.

 

march

 tim and i enjoyed the beautiful spring weather by going to olive winery in bloomington. we were able to do a wine tasting and try some of their new hard cider. we sat outside and enjoyed the weather together, laughed and drank our ciders. those things are waaayyyy stronger than they look.

 

so... here's to blogging more often! i like having this way to keep track of fun times in my life. (and obviously a LOT more has happened in the last few months) even though work is insanely busy, i can't forget to blog, because my life is too much fun to be forgotten :)

this ones for you natty pants.

hey there december.

i can not believe that today is the 20th! this has surely been the quickest month yet! i really thought november went fast but goodness, it's already (nearly) christmas! i accomplished quite the christmas miracle and started and finished all my christmas shopping in two hours the other night!

well, and plus 20 minutes today for last minute gifts.

everything is close to being wrapped. i am still waiting on Tim's gift. i am about to kill the company i ordered it from. you don't mess with me and my impatience at christmas time... seriously.

this month has been great in the classroom! my kids are really coming along with their writing, letters, numbers, behavior, everything! they are growing up! :)

 

ornaments :)

 

gift bags we made!

 

shaving cream "snow" names, words, numbers, etc.

 

Polar Express Day! the kids wore their pajamas to school and we watched Polar Express and then "Santa" came and brought them all a bell off the reindeer harness :)

i also had a terrific 25th birthday! i went with katie and jennifer to wine and canvas. it is a place where they teach you how to paint a picture and you drink wine. perfect combination! we then went to the cheesecake factory after for more drinks, appetizers and cheesecake.

 

the original one the artist painted.

 

my version :)

 

girls and our finished paintings!

1 day left of teaching until vacation!

4 days until christmas!

6 days until connecticut & tim!

11 days until I move into my apartment in carmel!

loooovvin those countdowns.

now you're in newww yorrrkkkk!

For the thanksgiving holiday, Tim invited me to spend it with him and his family in Connecticut, and also to spend my birthday in New York City. I was beyond excited and literally had a countdown going as soon as the tickets were bought!

I got to the airport in New York City and was just elated to see Tim again! My suitcase came very quick (surprisingly) , after a few delays in Philly. It felt like I was never going to get there! After he picked me up we drove into Connecticut and I met his brother and Dad. After relaxing for a few, his mom came home from work, we enjoyed some fun conversation and wine (of course). Later that evening we joined his aunt and uncle with their family for dinner. We all sat at the table wearing tissue paper crowns and playing with trinkets from these "poppers" his aunt had gotten. I wish I had taken a picture, but here is something I found on the internet.

You pull each side and inside the middle piece are prizes! It was fun to see what everyone got. Again, I really wish I would have taken pictures. I am sure we all looked silly in our crowns and playing with our "toys" (whistles, ring toss, notebooks, gold watches, dominoes... :)

Thanksgiving was the next day. It was such a wonderful day full of relaxing, eating, drinking and OF COURSE football! Now, I am not a football fan (we all know this) but, I didn't mind :) Tim and I went to the beach and took some pictures. At dinner that night we all sat at one big table and enjoyed each others company. It was a picture perfect moment. I could not help but smile.

 

the beach behind Tim's house

 

The next day I met more family and friends. Tim and his brother Ben had a party on Friday night at their house where I pretty much met everyone they grew up with and went to high school with. It was so nice to put names with faces. Everyone was extremely welcoming and nice! I felt like I fit right in :) I am excited to see them all again.

Saturday was the big "birthday" day for me :) We left for NYC that morning and met up with Natalie and Jake downtown. Mini China reunion!!  We ate at a place called Hummus Kitchen. Natalie is an expert at finding awesome places. In China, she was always finding great spots. Nat and Jake walked us to the theater for Wicked. On the way someone was moving out of their apartment and they had stuff for free in the street. Jake picked up a dart board set named "The Bandit". Just like China times, Jake making everyone laugh.

 

Next, and it only takes one word: WICKED! The main reason we came to the city! It. Was. Amazing!! I was totally amazed at everything. I couldn't take pictures inside, but the set, the actors, the costumes, EVERYTHING. I seriously had goose bumps a few times. 

I have a great boyfriend. He gets the best gifts :)

After Wicked we visited Times Square, saw the Empire State building and then had dinner at a Spanish tapas place called Mercat. The food, atmosphere and drinks were so amazing!

(Ok, NYC itself is just amazing! I feel like I need new words other than "great", "awesome", "amazing"...)

We then went walked down Bleeker St. and found a cool little bar where we drank, laughed and just enjoyed being together. 

It was the best birthday I ever had.

Thank you, Tim :)

My last day we went to brunch with his brother Ben and his girlfriend, saw Serendipity, the cafe from one of my favorite movies (we wanted to go in but we knew the line would be so long), and walked around Central Park. We sat on a bench and talked for a long time. I loved that part. It was sweet and romantic.

 

ummm, hello? It's the Hotel Empire. Gossip Girl? Chuck Bass?

I won't lie. I pretended I was on Gossip Girl all weekend.

xoxo :)

Coming home was extremely hard. NYC was just unbelievable and being with Tim was wonderful! Good thing I will see him right after Christmas and then he is officially moving to Bloomington to go to IU. Being less than 2 hours away is much better than 15! 

Oh and p.s our hotel had an awesome view of the 9/11 Memorial. I had really wanted to see it but there were no reservations open!

T

There are 2 memorials actually but the picture I took had tons of construction in the way. This picture is much clearer. I stared out the window for awhile at it. It was very moving.

Truly, I <3 NY.