And one more, less stressed, note...

...to say that I am SO excited for next Wednesday.  Robert and I are going to have our engagement portraits taken next Wednesday evening, which will be the first time we really work with our photographer (aside from a consultation in April).

We're going to have them outdoors, and I hope she'll take them in a sort of posed candid situation...as though she happened to find us out on a date and decided to snap some secret photos.  I want them to be intimate looking.  No, not us making out or anything, but just some little moments like Robert whispering something in my ear...me giving him a peck on the cheek...things like that.

So now Amanda has to get herself ready for a photo shoot.  I'm going to go shopping this week to find a nice-ish little dress to wear (something flattering, modest, and sweet).  This Friday I'll have my hair trimmed, eyebrows waxed, and nails done.  I haven't decided yet how I'll wear my hair on Wednesday, but it'll come to me.  I'm a little concerned about the amount of time I'll have to get ready for the photo shoot--I teach until 4 p.m., and we're supposed to meet her at 5:30.  So I'll probably be getting myself mostly ready before I teach, and then dash home to change and touch-up my hair and make-up, and then head out with Robert.

I really am excited.  I'm a little obsessed with getting pictures of me and Robert these days.  I bought this frame several months ago, with nine windows on it, and I still have three empty windows to fill.  I would like this frame to be a sort of tribute to our relationship before marriage.  The featured photos are as follows: us reading Harry Potter 7 the day after it was released (July '07), Dad's birthday party (August '07), Christmas Eve ('07), two photos from his proposal (that his mom took while he was proposing; '07), and finally one from Robert's birthday weekend when we were on the pontoon boat on the lake (June '08).

I doubt these engagement portraits will be included in this photo frame--I want this to be the photos we take ourselves.  But I can't wait to get the portraits themselves taken because I have a few frames to fill with pretty pictures...including one for my office.  I figure, if Robert and I are going to have a challenging schedule this semester, then at least I can see him on a regular basis in my office.