Help?

Okay, so I don't consider myself technology-illiterate. In fact, on a daily basis, I use more technology in my classroom that most of the teachers in my department use in their rooms over the span of the whole academic year. I'm okay with HTML, can edit video footage like "nobody's business," and can fix minor computer problems in a jiffy. However, for the life of me, I cannot get my header image to go in my header.

I've followed the directions:

Go to page elements, click the header, upload my image, choose if I want it behind the title and description or instead of (I chose instead, in case it matters). The image shows up there, so I know it's uploaded. I click save, go out to view my blog, and no image.

Can anyone help? My image is way cute. And since I worked on getting my picture in there last night and wanted the world to see, I finally just uploaded it as a picture on the side of my page.

And here it is. Seriously, ladies in Bloggerville, help?

Show Us Your Life: Weddings

One thing I was set on while planning my wedding was making it unique. I am not an entirely traditional person and neither is my husband, so I wanted our wedding to really reflect us. My wedding colors were red, white, and black, and lots of unexpected things were polka-dotted (more on that in a minute). For the seating of the mothers, we went traditional, with my soloist singing "A Mother's Prayer" by Celine Dion. My wedding party entered to "100 Years" by Five for Fighting, an instrumental version by my pianist, and I walked down the aisle to "Falling in Love," a beautiful instrumental song by The O'Neill Brothers. It deserves a listen if you've never heard it. On the YouTube clip, I walked through the doors at about 20 seconds.

This picture is the first one taken immediately after our ceremony.

Like Kelly's sweet daddy, my father is my minister, so he performed my ceremony. However, my mother is my dearest friend, and she walked me down the aisle and gave me away. This is the only picture we have of that, and it's not a very flattering one, but it was one of my favorite parts of my ceremony, and it was very special to us.

Instead of flowers for my bridesmaids, we used candles. I had a night wedding, and the candles put off a romantic glow...and they were cheap! The bouquet was mine, and it was way big!

My wedding party grew as the wedding was planned, but I knew I wanted polka-dotted dresses and tuxedos without tails. Also, my best friend is a guy, so I had a man of honor. He wasn't my husband's best friend, so I didn't feel right about chunking him over with the groomsmen, and I didn't feel right about making a random friend my "maid of honor" just because it's traditionally a girl role. So, Patrick was my "man of honor," and he proudly wore his polka-dotted tie to match my girls. Here he is...

Here is our entire wedding party...excluding us:

This is my favorite picture of some of my bridesmaids, shaking their behinds at the reception. After spending roughly over $1000 on bridesmaid garb for weddings I had been in that year, I decided to pick a cheap dress ($49) that my girls could hopefully wear again. I know everyone always says that, but I loved the way they looked.

This is my flower girl (my wonderful niece) and my ring bearer (my cousin).

As far as the rest of the music went, after we lit the unity candle, we played a slide show of photos of us from children to now while we played "My Best Friend" by Queen. Because I have always been very involved in directing/facilitating Children's Church through the years, after my father prayed the final prayer, my Children's Church kids, past and present, came to the front of the church (decked out in red, white, and black) and sang "Shine On Us" by Phillips, Craig, and Dean. They had practiced for weeks, and it was really beautiful. After we were pronouced husband and wife, we walked back down the aisle to "I Got You, Babe" by Sonny and Cher, to the surprise of my husband.

To date, my wedding has been one of the greatest nights of my life.

My Nanny and Unkie

I have not done as well as I hoped I would with updating this blog. It's been a busy week of trying to get my classroom back in working order before school starts...which is coming all too quickly.

Tonight was my night to cook dinner for my Nanny and Unkie. And this could probably use an explanation. My Nanny is in her late 80s, and for lack of any better description, she is a pistol...and a fiery one at that. She has an evil eye like no other, and she can hold a grudge for at least 80 years, I'm sure. Definitely not someone you want on your bad side. Earlier this year, she fell in her kitchen. She was standing on the top step of a step-stool, putting her cake plates on top of her fridge. (Did I mention she was independent?) In her words, she "got them up there just fine," but on the way down, she got caught up on a step and fell. My Unkie (fill you in on that in a moment) came home about two hours later to find her in the floor. An ambulence was called, to the hospital she went, and she had broken her leg/hip and her wrist. While she has recovered quite well, she is still not up to standing at the stove long enough to cook, so different members of the family have taken nights to cook dinner. Thursday is our night, and we love it.

My Unkie (one of my most favorite men in the world) is my Nanny's 90-year-old brother. He is a former military man and a family man who moved here from Florida to live with my Nanny right before I was born, and nearly 25 years later, he's still here! He is the only grandfather I've ever known, and I have always thought of him that way. Because I was the first "grandkid" he was here to see as soon as they were born, I have always been "his," and I wouldn't have it any other way.

Cooking for them over the past few months has given me so many special opportunities, but it has made me deeply regret not spending more time with them over the years. Their age is really starting to show, and it makes me sad that they aren't physically able to do all the things they used to love to do. I am thankful for the time I spend with them each week.

My Christmas Fairy Tale Dress

As mentioned in the previous post, I have "blog stalked" shamelessly for a while now, and during this time, one of my favorite blogs to read has been Kelly's Korner. I have enjoyed watching Harper grow and loved touring bloggers' homes virtually through the "Show Us Where You Live Friday" tours. I was always a little sad on Friday because I didn't have a blog, and I didn't have a large, fully decorated home to share. This week, I got excited, because I do have a wedding dress!

I was married to my husband on December 29, 2007. Since I was a little girl, I have always dreamed of a "Christmas wedding" complete with lights and trees and the wonderful spirit that surrounds Christmas. My husband knew better than to mess with a childhood dream, so he obliged my every wish when it came to our wedding.

My wedding dress is not the first one I slipped over my head. It was actually probably number eleven or twelve at the third or fourth boutique, but as soon as it was all laced up, I felt like I was "smack dab" in the middle of a fairy tale. This picture is of my mother lacing up the back of my dress on my wedding day.

I can't seem to find my wedding CD with my portraits on it right now, and I just freaked out a little when I realized that...but, here is a photograph of my portrait we displayed at the reception hall. It now hangs on my husband's side of our bed.

Here is another of my portraits. I apologize for the poor quality. I ganked it from my husband's beside table and threw it in the scanner before he knew what happened.

I'm not sure who the designer was for the dress, and I'm not really the type of girl who cares. The dress was a light ivory, halter-top style gown with a pick-up skirt and a long train. The bodice had a beaded design with crystals and pearls, and it was beautiful. Somedays I want to put it on and just wear it around the house, but I'm afraid my husband might have me committed.

This picture is us walking into the reception. For some reason, it distorted horribly, but it shows the back of my dress.

And this. This is my most favorite picture from my wedding, and I absolutely adore it.

This is my first post with photos, and I now have a new appreciation for those of you who post photos frequently. It is time-consuming. Maybe I'm going about it the wrong way? Any suggestions?

Blog Stalker

As much as I am ashamed to admit it, for the past year or so, I have been a blog stalker of sorts. My husband has expressed just how creepy he thinks this activity is and has often encouraged me to start my own--which I have, but have not maintained. There are no promises that this attempt will be any different, however, I feel the need to write currently, and I haven't had that urge or desire with any previous blog ventures.

I am a high school English teacher in my early twenties, and I love what I do. I have been married for a year and a half to the man who made it obvious why none of my previous relationships ever worked. I am the daughter of two wonderful parents (my father is a minister), the sister of two great sisters, and the aunt of a nephew who will soon be a senior in high school, a middle school-aged niece, and the most adorable six year old little girl you've ever seen. I love Jesus with my whole heart and strive to serve Him in all that I do. However, growing up as a preacher's child has shown me some sides of church politics of which I am not very fond.

This summer, I had the opportunity to be a part of a National Writing Project summer institute. Before I gained the busy jobs of being a wife and a teacher, I wrote all the time, and I loved it. Since entering the classroom and walking down the aisle, however, I had entered a stage in my life which one of my colleagues adequately dubbed "never writing." At the beginning of each day during the course, we were required to write for about 45 minutes. The first day, I panicked. What could I possibly write about for 45 long minutes!?! It was excruciating. Day Two was easier, and by Day Three, I was actually enjoying myself.

You see, the truth is, I never really became a writer. I believe I've always been one. In fact, I believe my inner writer is as much a part of my DNA as my eye color. I am hoping that this blog becomes a writing outlet for me. I have always been hesitant about writing posts because I worry about what people will think and how I sound, but I understand now that this is only for me, and I have to use it how I can most benefit from it. True, I won't have the fanbase of Kelly's Korner, but I will be writing, and that makes me happy.