Whit, you are so domestic...

So mom and I went to get things started at Macy’s on Saturday morning. I didn’t realize how right people were about the scanning gun! I went crazy with it… especially in the Martha Stewart section. She’s not the wisest of women, or even close to being the most ethical or honest; but she is the master of design and known as the domestic goddess. I’m not really sure but over the past year, my thoughts of being a woman have changed dramatically. Before last year, I went through a two-year phase where all I wanted to do was graduate, be a businesswoman and get married around 28-years-old. I know this isn’t considered the era of “women’s rights” but let’s be honest – women are still fighting for their independence. They are fighting for equality in the workplace and in America all around. I didn’t fight for a membership in the Augusta National Golf Club nor have I stood on the streets with signs claiming my right to vote. I wasn’t exactly striving to be a domestic goddess either. Things have changed over the past year though.

When at Macy’s, I ran into one of my best friends from childhood (Emmy) and her mom. Emmy is going to be one of my bridesmaids [I mean, we made a promise when we were 6-years-old]. I showed her the pot I was getting so I could try it out and she said, “Wow, Whit! You’re so domestic!!” To be honest, I started backtracking. I tried to justify why I was getting this beautiful red pot. I felt like I lost that ambition, that independence that I had claimed during my season of singleness. What happened to me over the past year??

I am a woman. I embarked womanhood. There’s no fighting it. Not that I’ve ever wanted to, but sometimes as a woman, I feel helpless. We aren’t built to be stronger than men physically, and I kind of hated that for a while. So I tried to be stronger than men emotionally. I built a concrete wall around my heart because that’s the only way I felt I could be stronger.

During a conversation between my roommate, one of my best friends at Auburn (a girl that I always thought was more independent than me), and myself, we started talking about marriage. The best friend said, “You know, I could be a nutritionist but in reality, I just want to be a mom.” But isn't that truly how every woman feels? If we break down our walls and dig to even the deepest trenches in our soul, we will find that it is what we are molded to be. The nurturer and domestic people we are will one day break through our core. Our independence won’t necessarily be taken from us, but we will see that all we really want to be is a mother, a wife. We want to care for people, because that drive was instilled in us at birth. Some just choose to deny that.

So world of bloggers, specifically women, how do you feel about being domestic? Are you in that season of life or do you believe that being domestic is just for a housewife or stay-at-home mom? Do you feel that becoming “domestic” shears you of your independence? Or are you proud to be domestic – a strong woman who can sew, cook, clean, and still have a life outside of the walls of her home?

List to do

Hello Lovely World of Bloggers!

I hope your Christmas season has been as great as my family’s! This was the last year that Chase (my bro) and I were at home with mom and dad without our significant others. Next Christmas, we will both be figuring out which family to visit at what time seeing as we will both be getting married in the year 2010. It’s been quite an exciting year for the Adams family! But it’s been a beautiful one.

JD and I only have a few more big steps to go in preparing for our wedding. My mom and my matron of honor / cousin have been such a big help! I think wedding planning has been a breeze because of them! I’d be lost without their suggestions and guidance – that’s for sure! Next thing on the list for this week: Registry, cake testing (mmm!!), and flower arrangements.

--> Tip for future brides: MACY’S has a wonderful rewards program so definitely try to get hooked up with them! We’re also registering at Bed, Bath & Beyond because we’ve heard they were extremely professional and helpful in the area of customer service for bridal registries.

During the break, I've been pretty busy learning how to cook!! The movie Julia & Julie truly inspired me! Did it inspire anyone else? Mom has taught me how to make 2 types of roast, crepes, dessert, and stuffed french toast. Dad taught me how to make cornbread! :) Cornbread and buttermilk is a special treat for us around here! With all of this cooking and preparing for what marriage will probably look like, I've been doing a lot of thinking about what it is to be "domestic". Is it a positive or negative phrase when people call you that? You'll find out my thoughts about it on the next blog! :)

video of the proverbial proposal

So here's the video we've been working on!! Sorry it's taken so long! Hope you'll enjoy!

The Proverbial Proposal from Whitney Adams on Vimeo.

His Story First... :)

I know. I know. It's been a few weeks since I said I would post our stories... but they took a little longer to collaborate than expected. :) I'm going to let yall see his side of the story first!

THE PROVERB-IAL PROPOSAL

HIS STORY:

August 13^th - The Start of Something Beautiful

I’ve entertained the thought of proposing to Whitney at her sorority candlelight ever since my dinner date with Mama E on August one-three (13) spent at the OG (Olive Garden). The more I thought about it, the more I liked the idea and started gaining more information from Whitney about her Zeta friends and what the candlelight ceremony is all about. She had little-to-no knowledge of how interested I was in proposing to her at a candlelight.

With each passing ceremony (there were 2 this semester prior to when I asked), she told me more and more of what she wanted hers to look like. Then one day she enlightened me of her friend Felicity in whom she would confide the secret of her special ceremony. Little did Felicity know how big of a role she would really play!

September 23^rd - The Plans are Set in Motion

Although my plans and prayers were set in motion on August 13, the situation grew in its intensity on September 23. I messaged around 25 of my closest friends via FB (Facebook) alerting them to the vision that I had of how that night would go down.

The FB message went a little something like this:

Men and Women of God...

As many of you know, God has blessed me beyond belief with an incredible Proverbs 31 woman...and it is time as Beyonce would say..."to put a ring it"

So here's whats happenin...

I plan to ask her at one of her Sorority Candlelight services (pretty big deal, if someone in the sorority gets engaged, the rest of the sorority finds out about it at this service, so if so facto, nobody will know except the pres and her friend Felicity (of whom I am in negotiations with and setting all this up, you can refer to her as the "insider" if you will))

Ideally next Wednesday, September 30th

This is what I envision...

They will all be in a big circle. They pass around this bouquet and then the girl who is engaged blows out her candle when the bouquet gets to her. When it comes time (me and Felicity are working on the timing right now and amongst other details) Felicity will signal...(They (Whit and Felicity) will be across from the door) and I walk in and she sees me coming, open door, enter circle, do the stand, stare and smile (for the pause effect of "yeah, this is about to go down" :P), then walk towards her, speech, knee (or vice versa), question....ennngaged :)

SOOO yeah I'm pretty stinkin stoked!

But I wanted to let yall know and for yall to be prayin about it. About getting everything set up with Felicity, that nobody squashes it, what I'm gonna wear, that night specifically..just yeah...a plethora of things to pray for :)

Thank you guys and I am so glad you can be a part of this time in my life! Love yall! :)

J.D. Todd
Phil 2:5
G3!

September 24^th - The Insider

The next day I messaged Felicity {AKA – the Insider}:

Hey Felicity,

This is J.D. Todd aka Whitney's boyfriend aka the hopeful husband:)

Whitney really seems to confide in you about the candlelight service and you seem to be the only one she is going to tell...

Now I don't know if this is possible but...

I was wanting to make her candlelight service special in the fact that I want to propose to her at it...

And was wondering if you could help me out with it? The way I envisioned it would be: Everyone stands in the circle, they pass around the candle, nobody blows it out, then there will be some confusion, then boom I walk through the door, grab the candle, hand it to you (you will be standing next to Whit), boom I hit the knee in front of Whitney, say my spiel, she says yes, you hand her the candle, she blows it out...and happy night :)

And oh yeah, I'm wanting to do it either next Wednesday (Sept 30th) or the next Oct 7th...Ideally, next Wed...the only reason I wouldn't is someone else got proposed to and I dont want to show them up, or make them feel any less special :p you know...

So yeah, I really hope this is feasible, and you could maybe give me some other ideas about the service that may be more impactful (not a word) or what not. But yeah, if any of this is confusing, or if it would be easier to call me and explain the sitch, please by all means :) My number is 205-499-3463 :)

Hope to hear from you soon. And hope you are having a wonderful week!

J.D. Todd
Phil 2:5
G3!

September 25^th – Receiving of the Ring

And that weekend I would receive the ring from Mama E. We arrived at the Adams’ house late Thursday night and Mama E begged Whitney to leave the room so as her and I could converse (Whitney had no clue it would be about the ring). We chatted some and she gave me the ring before we left for the week.

September 28^th – Felicity, Flowers, and Formal Wear

That Monday I met with Felicity (for the first time) to look for the candlelight bouquet and for what I was going to wear on that special night. We ordered the turquoise vest and tie for pick up on Wednesday. With our quick success, we were sure that we would find the ideal candlelight bouquet. After three shops of failure, we were bouquet-less and decided all the shops were about to close for the day. So we decided to meet the next day…

September 29^th – A Beautiful Bouquet and Final Preparations

Felicity and I met at Auburn Flowers, only to get the best service and find the most perfect bouquet :) We discussed what exactly would happen, time of arrival, my cue, other insiders, etc and parted ways until approximately 6:30 pm.

September 30^th aka Game Time

After lunch and class, I picked up my attire, went to Whit’s place, left at 3:30, showered, and wrote down exactly what I wanted to say, practiced it in front of the mirror, and prayed :) I asked one of my friends (Jeremy) to film the event. I had a camera on the inside and Jeremy would follow me in. So he did all the behind the scenes stuff :). I was told by Felicity to arrive at the sorority room at 6:00 pm. We met with Mama E and her sister Aunt Sonya and arrived at 5:50 (plenty of time). I did not know this, but it was a mandatory night for all the sisters, so yeah, close to 200 girls were in the house/room. So there we are standing and waiting for the singing (that was the cue), while dodging anybody that walked through the hallways (I didn’t want to be seen), it was quite and adventure really :) So finally the singing starts, I wait, and wait, dance a little to pass the time, and wait, heart pounding, nervous smiling, and boom, the door opens…and it was lights, camera action as I walked through the door. The room filled with gasps, omg’s, smiles, and screams as I entered the circle. We locked eyes as I crossed into the circle, keeping my eyes on the prize, I stood in the middle for my dramatic pause effect and little did I expect, she started walking my way and she met me in the middle (sweet analogies to be had with that one). We hugged – screams – parted -- more screams --hugged some more, parted, then a hush fell over the crowd, waiting as if I had something to say. It was now quiet. Nervously, yet confidently I said:

Whitney Taylor Adams

You are the Proverbs 31 woman that I have prayed for and desired

You have inspired and encouraged everyone around you, especially me

You have rocked my world and stolen my heart

I want to spend the next 50 years and the next 50 after that

Dancing, singing, cooking, traveling, laughing and loving with you

With that being said…

Whitney Taylor Adams…

Will you marry me? J

Then boom! I hit the knee and the rest is history, well not actually, we have the rest of our lives to live freely for the G-O-D. We kissed and told the story to the rest of her sorority sisters. We then texted our friends with the line “It’s official” and went to eat at Milano’s (an Italian eatery, it’s her favey). We then went to her place, took pics on her laptop to commemorate the night.

so now it's time to share the BIG NEWS!!

As you could probably tell, I'm engaged now! :) And by engaged, I mean I am officially ecstatic in the fact that the most wonderful man in my life (outside of my dad) has made a commitment with me to continue the next 8 months in full-throttle preparation for sharing our lives together forever. I'm not going to lie, we have everything prepared for the wedding... our venue, DJ, photographer - we've chosen what he and his groomsmen are going to wear and my bridesmaids' attire also... oh yea, and I bought my dress last Friday. We like being untraditional and well, him proposing to me AFTER we have made most of the plans only adds to that characteristic of us both.

---> You're probably thinking - this crazy girl! But when ya know, ya know. He asked my dad about 6 weeks ago if he could marry me (my dad thinks he's awesome!) and well, we've pretty much been planning since then. Most people have 1 to 2 years to plan their weddings... but we wanted to get married in May so that we could make it to my brother's wedding in June and then leave to go overseas on missions work in July. So we had to get the ball rolling... Anyways, with knowing that he was going to propose, you would think I would be expecting it - that it wouldn't be a surprise...

So far from it. He blew me away! ...and my 200 sorority sisters that were there to be a part of the experience.

*Disclaimer: Before I begin into this beautiful fairytale-type love story, I need to explain a few parts of the process of a sorority "candlelight" before I begin the story so.... A candlelight is a special ceremony for a sister that has been engaged. Normally only the president and the girl who is engaged know about the specifics of it - who it is, when the candlelight will be held, etc. We all stand in a circle and sing a ritual song. During the song, we pass around a bouquet with a lit candle in the middle of it that the engaged girl picked out from a florist before the ceremony. The bouquet is passed around the circle 3 times. On the third time, the girl who is engaged blows out the candle and then we all gather around and listen to the story of how her new fiancee proposed.

BUT my candlelight story was quite different. I thought it would be really cool to pull in both of our stories instead of just mine. I will write mine in the next post and then he'll have a post of his own - exclusively from JD - on the next post! It'll be fun! I hope you enjoy our story and our adventures as much as we do!

this was our trip to orlando...

As I said in the last post, we wanted to make sure we met each other's closest friends and family members before we completely decided - yes. this is it. So I drove down to Mobile to meet his sister and parents (who are phenomenal and I can't wait to be a part of their family), as well as his best friend Chris Colvin. For my closest friends who are reading this now - i.e. Katelyn Bridges - don't feel left out. I still consider you, Lauren Cook and Emmy as my best friends so don't be sad that none of yall got to meet him before we made this decision. haha! So then we drove from Mobile to Orlando to meet his other great friend Trey and his wife Kristen who work for Disney. We also went to my 1st cousin's, 1st cousin's (I know, confusing) house to have dinner one night. This girl - Nicole - is pretty much my soul sister. We didn't meet until this past December but were pretty much best friends instantly. :)

So we went to the Larson's home the second night we were in Orlando - and Nicole fixed us a divine, home-cooked dinner! She made red velvet chocolate cupcakes... so delicious!

----------------------------------------------------------------------

THE LARSON'S

----------------------------------------------------------------------

I think I failed to mention already that this was JD's FIRST trip to Disney World - can you believe it!? It was so magical! Plus he got a "1st Visit" pin... can it get any better?? We went to Universal Studios and rode the Tower of Terror, then Epcot (so Chris could see Canada - the place it rained for an hour and a half) and finally to the Magic Kingdom.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

TOWER OF TERROR

----------------------------------------------------------------------

EPCOT

----------------------------------------------------------------------

MAGIC KINGDOM!!

before last night...

Hello beautiful world of bloggers!

I am dreadfully sorry that I haven't written in the past few months... but I kind of wanted to wait until a special event happened. As you may remember in May, I had a special cooking night with my manager Sarah in preparation for a "date night" with a special guy in my life. The guy that I called five of my closest friends after seeing him for the first time and said, "OMG. I just saw the most attractive guy I've ever seen in my life...." So I hooked him, reeled him in, and four months later, we're engaged.

---> WAIT. STOP THERE! How did this happen so quickly, you ask?

Well, we decided that if we were to date, that would be it. So we prayed intensely about it (I mean, I've been praying nine years for this man) and decided - ok, we'll meet each other's closest friends and family members and if we love them, we're definitely getting married.

---> So what's the hurry? Is it just because you're graduating in May and want to have security?

Oh, my friends... far from it! JD actually wasn't even sure if he wanted to date me in the first place. You see, he had made this commitment to God that he would go to Mobile, Ala., for the summer (2 months) to do inner-city missions work and then dedicate two years after he graduated (also in May) to missions work. He was undecided if it would be overseas or in America. ...And then he met me. :) He told me he wasn't sure if he wanted to date me because he knew he wouldn't be able to dedicate a lot of his time to me (because he would be in Mobile the entire summer), that he desired to pursue my heart with a steadfast fervency, but knew he couldn't over the summer. So we decided, ok - we'll just see how it goes over the summer, we probably won't talk every night but we'll evaluate how things are going in August and take it from there. I wrote him letters of encouragement every week and his pursuit of my heart was still relentless, even if he was in Mobile. Needless to say, he called every night, drove to our 4th of July party to meet my family (about a 10 hr drive altogether so I met him half-way), and we fell in love real quick. It was that weekend that he told me, "Whitney, I'm going overseas for two years when I graduate but I want you to be by my side and go with me." The weekend before his last week in Mobile, he drove down to St. George Island just to spend ONE day with me (also a 5 hr drive on the way there, 5 hrs back... but this one he drove solo). That was the day of our first kiss. It was beautiful and romantic. We pretty much decided that weekend, ok... we're getting married. I wouldn't rather spend the rest of my life with any other person than this man who rocked my world from the moment I saw him, to each 5-hr conversation we had in the coffee house, to every time he makes me laugh and smile - just by thinking about him. I have never had a man in my life that has pursued my heart in such a pure and fervent way. It's more than I could've asked for...

----------------------------------------------------------------------

*FOURTH OF JULY*

----------------------------------------------------------------------

COOKING TOGETHER

----------------------------------------------------------------------

----------------------------------------------------------------------

HIS BEACH TRIP TO SGI

----------------------------------------------------------------------

MORE UPDATES LATER TODAY!!

final project

So I took pictures for my final project Friday of my roommate/best friend's boyfriend, Paul. It's a photo essay of the process of creating a stencil... These are a few of my faves:

restricted.

As I mentioned in the last blog {so sorry I haven't caught up lately}, I'm taking a photojournalism class. I was so excited about it - the challenges especially. In a five-week minimester, it's difficult to have tons of events in which you can take pictures for the expected curriculum but I think I've succeeded in that challenge. Most of the photographs were pure luck - being at the right place at the right time. I haven't felt nearly as challenged as I wanted to, which has been a massive disappointment to me. I tried to experiment with creativity and lighting for some pictures but my teacher said if I wanted a good grade for the project I shouldn't turn it in. If I could show him simple, I could give the rest of my talent to the world. As most of you know, I grew up in Georgia Bulldog country... and this class has been the one and only regret I've ever had in choosing Auburn over UGA. My teacher said he looked at UGA's curriculum and how they had the challenge of taking 35 portraits of strangers - on one roll of FILM - and if they didn't turn out, they failed. He said he would never do that to us. Oh, how I wish he had challenged us with that! I miss not having to use film. Our generation has become so digitized and immersed with using only the best technology that we forget that sometimes, the classic way of doing things is truly the most beautiful. This class, has however, instilled a passion in me which I never knew existed - the passion to reach the world through documentation. We watched a video in class today about photographers who travel overseas to capture the trenches and the depth of war. Adrenaline was rushing through my veins. I know it would be immensely dangerous but I would love nothing more than to let my photographs cry out my heart and my passions. A man on the video said, "A struggle without documentation is not a struggle." There are so many things going on right now, in America and beyond. How incredible would it be to scream out those things, those struggles, the hearts of the people which have no voice to the world through photography? 

For our final project, we have to tell a story. From beginning to end. I'm actually in the midst of shooting photographs of my roommate's boyfriend making a stencil, but if I had more time, my utmost desire would be to document a day in the life of a homeless person or someone who feels as if they have no hope {and of course I would take someone with me... not go alone, mom}. Not to embarrass them or to call them out - but to show people that life is so far beyond our own selves.A photo essay that would move society to action. The title of this blog is "restricted". Sometimes I feel restricted in the sense that I can't take creative photographs in my class, but most of the time, I feel restricted in the sense that I'm not doing enough for people. I'm not reaching out to people enough. I'm not giving people who can't speak, the ability to speak through documenting their situation. If I were to do photojournalism for a living, it would look something like this...

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

These were all pictures I took throughout Auburn. I LOVE the one of the kid. A few of my friends go out to the government housing every week and play with the kids down there. Jump rope, play basketball, draw with sidewalk chalk - doing anything to show these kids that they are loved. That's the only message I desire to portray. 

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

These are some photographs I've taken thus far for class. The first ones are of my brother, Chase, in which I used different types of lighting for: butterfly, 45 degree, and split. The two below him are complete strangers. The one with the leaf in his mouth... well, he was just excited to be getting his picture made. John Doyle, a guy I work with, is below those two. 

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

And these pictures were taken on my way back from home last Sunday night. One of those pure luck moments. I was 5 cars behind this accident, so by the grace of God I not only lived but I got some rockin' pics {and made friends with a couple of Georgia State Patrolmen}. 

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"There are plenty of people who are miserable in their jobs, for they have not listened to God's call. And I would add there are many Christians who are not fulfilled in their spiritual lives because they have no sense of their gifts or purpose, and they just run to the mission field to save souls rather than transform lives and communities using their gifts and those people they live among. Both lead to emptiness and burnout... Often wealthy folks ask me what they can do for the Simple Way. I could ask them for a few thousand dollars, but that would be too easy for both of us. Instead, I ask them to come visit. Writing a check makes us feel good and can fool us into thinking that we have loved the poor. But seeing squat houses and tent cities and hungry children will transform our lives. Then we will be stirred to imagine the economics of rebirth and to hunger for the end of poverty."

Shane Claiborne - Irresistible Revolution