Lights, camera, action, FRUSTRATION....

As I sit downstairs, (waiting for Wall-e to calm down and hoping my husband can catch up on sleep before he has to be up at 3:00am). I decided to write a blog about my job. I was so very frustrated because tonight I directed the fox (which I hardly ever do) and surprise surprise there were mistakes. So, to calm myself down, here are my.....

10 things you may not know about my job:

1) I work Saturday thru Tuesdays. Saturday and Sunday I work split shifts. (5:30-8:30am and then I go back in at 2:45-11:45pm)
2) Monday and Tuesday, I am a production assistant (I run cameras mostly, but fill in on graphics and audio when needed) On weekend mornings, I direct the 7:00am morning show and in the evening I run graphics.
3) My least favorite part about working weekends (besides the fact that I'm working on the weekend) is capturing,tagging, and then filing CW promos. (I hate final cut)
4) My husband just recently got moved to weekend morning producer, I enjoy working with him, even if he challenges my directing skills.
5) I directed my first week day show, the day after coming back from our honeymoon. I was super nervous and yelled the whole time I was directing. (not because I was angry, but because when I get nervous my voice gets louder.
6) My favorite part about directing is the technical side of it. (I love when friends or family come in and I get to show them the switcher, "Wow, that's a lot of buttons!")
7) When I first started my job, I thought I wanted to be a reporter. (I found out a couple weeks later that writing news stories are harder than it seems and I do not like being in front of a camera)
8) The most frequently asked question I get about working at a t.v. station is, "When are we going to see you on t.v." (The answer is never.)
9) I hate messing up a show, even if its not my fault. (it usually is) I'm getting better at just moving forward and not holding on to the feeling of failure.
10) Even though my job stresses me out, there's never a dull moment.



Love Always,
Callie Marie-McCarty Presley

The beautiful gifts HE gives

Everyone has a different talent, a different gift that God places in our lives.

When I was little I took piano lessons, unfortunately I do not have the gift of patients, so these lessons only lasted a short time. I only remember the first part of a song I learned while taking these lessons and a couple of scales.

I decided to play the drums instead.

My sister on the other hand has always been the patient type and God has blessed her with the ability to play both the piano and guitar (and I'm sure any other musical instrument she picks up to play) She also has an amazing singing voice. (I'm just a little bit jealous, if you couldn't tell)

Tonight, I was invited to her first ever Christmas recital.

She teaches piano and guitar lessons to a handful of children. Tonight, some of them came out to perform their favorite songs for us. They all did amazingly well, and I mean this whole heartily.

Reasons Why?
1) they had the ability to learn these songs, it was probably rough at times, but they stuck with it.
2) There were a lot of people at the recital tonight, I'm sure they were all pretty nervous, but they performed anyway.
3) I couldn't have done it and I admire people who do what they are passionate about, no matter what.

I was so proud of my sister. She's a great teacher.

(Here's a brief summary about my sister for those that don't know her, or know how I see her)

My sister is 3 years older than me, she's married and has two beautiful boys. (which I love more than anything in this world. I try and spoil them as much as possible.)

She loves Jesus. (and I know everyone reading this is probably like, "duh, we knew that.") But the way she loves Jesus kinda wraps all of her other personality traits into a beautiful bundle. She is patient and kind, a great teacher (not the kind that jumps down your throat when you've done something bad/wrong, but says, "that's not exactly right, but that's okay, let me show you again and then you try."), she bites her tongue when she's angry, most of the time she shoves hurtful feelings right out the door and she loves unconditionally. She's a great mother and wife, and an awesome sister. She's beautiful inside and out.
She's the perfect example of what a christian should be. She lets Jesus shine through her and he gives her these beautiful attributes.

So tonight, as I sat and watched these young people play their instruments, I was proud of them but also proud of my sister. She has taken a gift that God has placed in her life and is sharing it with others. I know that when she sat down and played "A White Christmas" that her students were in awe and thinking, "one day I wanna be able to play just like her."

Sometimes when I go home to visit, she sits down at the piano and starts to play and I think the very same thing. Unfortunately, I got all the opposite attributes (I'm not patient, I'm a horrible teacher, and I do not bite my tongue when I'm angry) (And I don't want any comments with, "Oh Callie, these things aren't true." because I know me, and they are, don't feel sorry for me, its true) So as soon as the thought passes through my head of how I should have, maybe stuck with those piano lessons, it has been pushed aside with the thought of, "Who am I kidding, there's no way, I'll just stick to playing the drums!")

I love you sis, you did a great job tonight!!

Love Always,
Callie Marie-McCarty Presley

(My beautiful, talented sister playing at her recital)

10 things you may not know....

As I sit and listen to music that is most definitely listened to by teenagers who have the appearance of being emo/scene, *shrugs*, I try to decide if I should try and find music for my age group....Nah!

But I will play along with Facebook's 10 things. (I try and write these lists on my blog because I don't want to annoy those who don't care about my life on Facebook) :)

10 Things you probably don't know about my marriage/relationship:
1) I waited a whole year to get married. (I don't advise this to anyone, unless you've only been dating for a couple month and you still need to get to know the other person better.)
2) My husband and I do not have a "normal" relationship. (we always give each other a hard time, we're hardly ever serious)
3) He is actually the neat freak in this house hold, I love to leave clothes on the floor.
4) We have always worked together. We worked at Buc Sports in college and now we both work at WCYB. (We don't always agree on things especially when he puts a key shot and a side panel in the same story while I'm directing, but we do get the same supper break so I'm happy for that)
5) Corey spoils me by giving me a back massage almost every night, and if he doesn't do that, he usually rubs my feet or plays with my hair. *bonus points*
6) Surprisingly, my husband is the more social one in the relationship. He never meets a stranger and can find common ground with just about anyone. I like to stand back and "people watch."
7) I love the fact that we both want to travel. Hopefully in 2014 we will head to Boston to watch the Red Sox play.
8) For the Unity part of our wedding we made a peanut butter and Jelly sandwich. (For no reason at all, other than 1)It was clever and 2)I'm not into corny unity traditions)The bread was Corey and I, the peanut butter was God who placed us together and the jelly was the sweet love he places in our hearts.
9) Right after we got married, one of my best friends, Cara and I were going to see 'Mayday Parade' (one of my favorite emo bands), Corey went with me to get their new CD and he even memorized some of the songs. (We still listen to it in the car and we both sing along.)
10) I couldn't have found anyone better to be by my side for the rest of my life. He makes me laugh even when I'm angry. He has always accepted me. He loves me unconditionally. He is patient. He spoils me. He dances with me at random moments. He's super funny. He hardly ever complains. He unloads the dishwasher. I'm super lucky and blessed to have a guy like him for a husband.

*Here's to many more days, months and years*


Love Always,
Callie Marie-McCarty Presley

(Andrew and Erin Photography)

All I want for Christmas...

"All I want for christmas..." my husband says to me...."Is an xbox 360."

And so the search began for the right xbox at the right price. And boy did I find one and I was so proud of myself.

Long story short, I tried to be super sneaky about my findings. I was going to go black friday shopping to get this xbox 360, but I found something better online. So, when I met my husband at work that night, he looked somewhat unhappy that I hadn't gone. However, Corey Presley decided to ruin my sneaky secret by "guessing" why I didn't go black friday shopping and it made me super angry.

Why?

Because I never can sneak anything past him, and I thought I had for our very first Christmas. Needless to say, I cried like a baby.

So, this friday he comes into the room and says, "Hey, I wanted to make up for guessing my christmas present, I'm going to let you have a christmas present early." I was super pumped, I sat on the couch and closed my eyes. He placed a Dvd in my hand and when I opened my eyes there sat one of my favorite girly movies, "How to lose a guy in 10 days" (Unfortunately for my husband, I already have this movie, my roommate in college gave it to me as a birthday gift) I wish you guys could have seen the look on his face. I had a good laugh about it. (it's the thought that counts, right?)

Can I just say that I am so excited for this first Christmas with my husband. Marriage life is the best. We've been tackling the UPS man, trying to hide our christmas gifts to each other(the ones we haven't given away), and trying to make our own christmas traditions.

So far we have 2:
Fixing bacon pancakes for breakfast on Christmas morning.
Decorating the tree the day before Thanksgiving.

We'll gather more, I'm sure of it.

Hopefully, none of my other gifts for him will be ruined and we'll have a very Merry Christmas.

Love always,
Callie Marie-McCarty Presley

Missing memories.

In my past I always pushed passed the things that were important in life and always rushed towards the things that weren't so important. (if that makes sense)

I recently found a box filled with old letters from high school and summer jobs. Letters from friends that were back at home waiting for the summer to end, letters from classmates who spilled their drama filled lives on paper, and then there were letters from my mamaw.

One summer I decided to work at a camp. It isn't a very fond memory for me.

The other day though, as I was going through that box of letters, I found almost one for every week I was there, from my mamaw. I didn't even realize that she wrote me at all. I was so focused on the negative that I didn't have time to sit and read my mamaw's sweet words of encouragement. She wrote to tell me about what she was getting into that week and how much she missed me. She wrote about how much she was praying for me and how she knew I was going to be a light in someone's life. And the sad part is I probably didn't even write her back. (I was always so selfish as a teenager) As I sat and read these letters, I cried.

I miss her so much.

I always tell myself she would have loved Corey. (Even though his name didn't start with a J: She would always say something like this, "All the important guys in my life, all of their names start with J." She would then began to name all of her sons, and then her son-in-laws and finally she would say, "but the most important man in my life, his name starts with a J too, his name is Jesus.")

I think She would have made a special exception, since his last name's Presley.

She loved people and angels.
She never met a stranger.
She always gave hugs.
She loved to dance.
My favorite toy at her house was a Mr. T doll.
She loved peppermint patties.
She made amazing biscuits and gravy.
She used to tell me "Man cannot live on Bread alone." because as a child, homemade bread was my favorite.
She was a huge talker.
I always claimed I took a hammer and nail to her head of curls and that's how I got my curly hair. (don't judge me)
One of the very last memories I have of just me and her: I drove her to get her hair fixed in my black mustang with spongebob seat covers. We rocked out to, Little Big Town's - Boondocks. (I'm not kidding)
She loved chicken gizzards from Kentucky Fried Chicken.
When she couldn't think of the name of something she would say, "Whatchamacallit"

I'm not really sure there's a point to this blog. She's just been on my mind a lot lately. I wish that time had slowed down just for a little bit, so that I could have savored those moments a little bit more.

I hope one day, when I see her again, she'll tell me how proud she is of me. That she got to watch me walk down the isle. That she danced with us in the barn. She'll give me a great big hug and we'll talk for hours. And that'll be okay with me.



I love you Mamaw.
 (I found this picture the other day, it makes me giggle.)





Love Always,
Callie Marie-McCarty Presley

Rant Rant Rant....it's good for the soul.

You know those days that you become completely frustrated with everything in life because of one tiny situations. That's me today.

I was shown a couple weeks ago, a new program I could use to record our "Calendars" (1:00 or 30 second video of whats happening in the tri-cities) in HD, instead of using tape. Last weekend I had problems with it, and this week I was shown HOW (I'm putting that in caps, because he didn't actually show me that it worked) and again this weekend I have problems with it. Honestly, I didn't sign up to work with computer codes and although I do other jobs outside of just being a PA, this is seriously getting under my skin.
(end of rant)

Oh just kidding, when I get off work tonight, my husband will be at work to produce the 4am show. And I'll be home with Wall-e who doesn't like to sleep without daddy. The last time this happen, wall-e woke up at 2am, and 4am, and 6am searching for Corey and I have trouble sleeping without him too. :(

I also have zits all over my face and one below my chin that hurts really bad.

(Now I'm just trying to find things to complain about)

On a positive note:

Yesterday, my husband and I had family pictures taken by our favorite photographers (Andrew and Erin Photography). My mom and dad, sister and bro-in-law, Kade and Luke were there too. We did a tacky Christmas session. I cannot wait to see the pictures. The best sweater goes to my dad (which I picked out in the Goodwill women's section) it was rather small and my mom hated it. He was a good sport though!! Wall-e was there too and even though husband forgot his santa outfit, I'm super happy because this will be our first family picture with him in them!! We love our dog, we just don't trust him outside, I'm pretty sure he'd run away because he's so adventurous (he's related to his mom)!

There's ice skating on at work and although if I happened upon this at home, I would skip right past it, its sort of entertaining. Honestly because whenever a skater does a flip on ice, I'm thinking what if he doesn't make it, how would that broadcast go. I also wonder what goes through their mind when they do a flip in front of a dozen people. Mine would be "holy crap, I hope I can finish this flip, so everyone will clap and make me feel like a champion (or something like that).

Anyway, like always on the weekend afternoon shift, I wish I was home hanging out with my two boys.
Catch ya on the flip side bro (I'm losing it)

Love always,
Callie Marie-McCarty Presley

(Nashville 2012)

HIJACKED

Hey everyone,

So i know why most of you read this. You thought "That silly Corey, he has hacked Callie again... wow he is really good at this."

But, I did this for a separate reason. Just want to write a quick blog about my beautiful wife (who only pees the bed every once in awhile.)

I, truly, love this woman. I mean yes, we have our hard times. Like when she insists on eating dog food, or when she just *has* to steal a toilet seat from Wal-Mart, or if she laughs so hard she toots a little... regardless of the minor frustration.. i find her incredibly cute. I mean, maybe I am glutton for punishment to love a girl who sleeps in unicorn pajamas... but who cares? She's my world.

Perfect example of why I love her... She is trying everything in her power to make sure I have a great Christmas. From decorations, to pictures, to super secretive gifts... she is going all out. I love her for it, but she is terrible at secrets.

Hey quick story for those still reading my comedy laced blog on my wife's website... No matter what time I set the alarm for... she always wakes up and grunts and slams the snooze button. Basically, I am married to she-hulk when it comes to waking up in the morning. Also, our poor dog is forced to snuggle with her every night. He could be sleeping downstairs behind lock doors... and callie will pull him up beside her before the end of the night.

She then poops on him.

I was kidding about one of the last two paragraphs. You can pick which one you believe.

I love you Callie Marie! I hope you find this humorous!

10 Things you may not know....

I wanted to do the 10 things you may not know about me, but I didn't want to annoy everyone on Facebook. So here are 10 things, you may not know about me...

1) When I was in middle school, I bought a pair of camouflage pants at a flee market, I wore them to play manhunt in with the neighborhood boys. I thought I was the coolest thing since sliced bread.

2) I wanted to minor in photography when I was in college, but unfortunately they didn't have that option. I took a black and white photography class (it was tough at times), but I really enjoyed it. I still love photography. I love taking pictures and looking at pictures. If I could plaster my walls with pictures, I so would.

3) I met my husband in college. The first time he ask me out on a date, I told him I was too good for him. I'm glad he kept trying because I couldn't imagine being with anyone else. I love him so much.

4) My wedding band is silver with white and blue diamonds. The blue stands for my husbands eyes. It's corny, but those blues eyes are one of my favorite parts about my husband.

5) I had a black lab when I was younger, his name was Aaron. When he passed away, I didn't think I'd ever find another pet to fill his spot. And then we found Wall-e!! I love him so much, I couldn't imagine life without him!

6) I played the quints when I was in the marching band, I still miss it and wish I could have a pair in my possession. I'm pretty sure my husband and neighbors would kick me out!

7) Since marrying my husband, I have become a huge Boston Red Sox fan. Big Papi is my favorite player and I hope my husband and I can go to a game next year.

8) I started a journal when I was younger, and I still love writing in my blog. It's a way to express myself when I can't speak the words out loud.

9) I decided I wanted to be a director in college, I've worked really hard to fulfill this dream and now I direct my own show on WCYB on weekend mornings. I love the rush of live television and couldn't imagine doing anything else.

10) My favorite season is the fall, I love the color of the leaves, all the neat little festivals, the smells, and cool weather. I got married this fall and it was the most beautiful day of my life.

And there they are!

Love Always,
Callie Marie McCarty Presley

Ya know those times....

Sometimes I get done writing a blog and then erase all of it, because I know people won't enjoy reading it or it feels unimportant, it happens a lot to me when I write. I did this tonight, I wrote a blog that I thought was meaningful, that might have made a difference in someones life and then I erased it. Why? Because I don't want to hurt anyone's feelings and because writing a random blog just seems like more fun! So here are my....

Ya know those times:

(Real Events that have taken place in my life)

Ya know those times, you'd think you'd be really great friends with someone, you even tried becoming that persons friend, but you know something about that person, that would be awkward down the road if they ever found out. (I'm the only one....great!)

Ya know those times you're getting ready for a hair appointment, but you don't have any Q-tips left and you think, "My hair dresser is going to think I'm the grossest person!" So you try your best to clean your ears out with toilet paper? (no?) (I usually wrap mine around a bobby pin)

Ya know those times, when you're in a hurry so you grab a pair of jeans out of the floor, slip them on and head out into public. Only to realize later that there's a huge bulge in the leg of your jeans and when you go to dig it out, it's a pair of underwear?

Ya know those times, when you're bored at home, so you start watching youtube videos of your favorite tv couple and then 3 hours later, you can't believe it's been 3 hours later?

Ya know those times when you nickname your dog "mooms" because he's dotted like a cow and it makes sense to you, but when you say it out in public, it just sounds really dumb?

Ya know those times, you really wish you could get sprayed by a skunk, because taking a tomato bath just seems super cool and it would be Mmmmm mmmm good! (Cambells tomato soup, possibilities)

Ya know that time you bought a really cool standing lamp because the shade on it looked super vintage, but it has no use at all (the shelves are too little and it barely gives any light) What a waste of money!!

Ya know those times you can't decide if you want to annoy everyone on Facebook and put all 4 of your names instead of just 3 because you like all 4 but you can hear everyone whining about how long it is. (that's what she said) (sorry I had to!)

Ya know those times, you want to be super creative and crafty. But everything you make is really cheap and it always falls apart in a week and a half because 1)you're too lazy to wait for the glue to dry or 2) you're too cheap to buy the good materials to make this awesome project.

Speaking of crafts: Ya know those times, you see something on Pinterest and think, "Oh man that's so pretty, I could so do that." But you SO can't do it and it turns out looking like crap. (That's what happened with my glitter pumpkins)

Ya know those times, where your husband or significant other is watching a show that you think you'll never like and then one episode and you're hooked. This happens to me a lot except for The Walking Dead and Breaking Bad. (sorry not sorry) (I hate zombies and shows about people getting high)

Ya know those times, where you're confused of your age because all the shows that appeal to you, also appeal to the ages of 12-16 year olds. (Pretty Little Liars, Vampire Diaries, Beauty and the Beast)

Ya know those times you write a blog and hope that everyone and their mother will read it because you think its an awesome blog and then only like 2 people like it and you think, "What the heck is wrong with you people, that was a good blog!" and then you remember that blogging is so last year and that people don't have time to read just anything.

Ya know those times when you see something move out of the corner of your eye, and when you turn and look there's nothing there. CREEPY

Ya know those times, you watch music videos, not only to stare at the lead singer or your favorite hottie but also to see if in fact, the video makes any sense to what the song is talking about. (They usually don't, it makes me angry and sad)

Ya know those times you walk into a business on a Friday and the person says, "Thank God it's friday, have a good weekend." I always lie and say, "Thanks I will." But in reality I want to scream, "Ya know, not everyone is off on the weekends, some of us have to work!"

Ya know those times you write a run on sentence, but you don't care because the sentence makes perfect sense to those who aren't english majors.

Ya know those times you wished you played a musical instrument so you could pass the time by playing a couple of tunes. And then you remember the only fun time you had playing an instrument was in band and that if you had a pair of quads present, in your condo, you'd probably get kicked out because of the loud noises.

Ya know those times you felt really awesome owning something ( a new toy, a car) and you didn't want anyone else to touch it because you felt like you earned that item and that no one else was good enough. That's how the old people who live beside us feel about their parking spaces. Since they bought their condo and we're just renting ours, we're only allowed 2 parking space. But if they wanted to throw a huge elderly party, they would have a right to park in all of the parking spaces. (This issue bugs me, if you couldn't tell)

Ya know those times, when you're out in public and you can tell someone doesn't like you just by their rude glare, so you give them a compliment to try and lighten the mood. (It worked for me today, SCORE!)

Ya know those times, you try and talk to an employee at target about a certain "Christmas Gift" for your special someone and you hope they don't laugh at you for sounding like an idiot and then before you know it, the whole electronics department is chatting you up about your question and you realize, "Wow, they probably don't get out and talk to girls very often!"

Ya know those times you wish you had a tattoo (just one) but when you really think about it, you wish it was a permanent one week (sharpie tattoo) because you would change your mind too often to get a real one!

Ya know those times you take pictures with your friends of your tongue sticking out and after you look at the picture you think, "Thank you Miley Cyrus for ruining this pose!"

Ya know those times when you add photos to Facebook and that one Facebook friend likes every single one of those pictures and you think, "let's be serious, you didn't actually in real life, like every single one of those picture!"

Ya know those times when you hate confrontation, so you write about people in your blog and hope they don't notice, because at least they see it and read it and think, "Well, maybe that could be about me, but I'm sure it's not."

Ya know those times when your dog is asleep, so you move his lips and make him say things like, "I love mommy!" and then you giggle because its super cute and in real life you wish he talked just like that! (I love my dog way too much)

Well that was fun, I hope you all enjoyed this random blog as much as I enjoy writing it!


Yours Truly,
Callie Marie McCarty Presley

Thank you blog!

As I look through my wedding pictures for probably the millionth time, I realize that a lot of people took time out of their day to make mine and Corey's wedding the best DAY of our lives.  So this, is my thank you blog. Not only is this my thanks to all of the people who helped, but a chance to let those reading check out how amazing these people really are!

Andrew and Erin Photography.

http://andrewerinphoto.com/

https://www.facebook.com/andrewerinphoto

Before I even began planning for my wedding, I chose Andy and Kayla to take our engagement pictures. I had researched photographers and ask around to see who could make the best recommendation. My favorite part about their work was the fact that they thought outside the box. I'm not a photography pro by any means, but the way they capture the moment isn't awkward or boring. It isn't "you place your hand here" and it doesn't make you feel uncomfortable. (Let me explain it by telling a story.)

When we ask Kayla and Andy to take our engagement pictures, Corey and I knew exactly where we wanted them taken. (Buffalo Mountain and ETSU) These two places were and are very special to us. When we were in college we used to hike a lot together and our favorite place was Buffalo Mountain. Our favorite spot is a little difficult to get to, but when you get to the small clearing on top of the mountain you can see all of Johnson City. It's absolutely breathtaking. 

The day of our session it was a little foggy to say the least. We trudged up the mountain, with a blanket my mom had given me and Kayla and Andy followed. I felt so bad because I had never realized how long it took to get up the hill, but they didn't complain at all. When they began taking pictures, it was like we were on the mountain by ourself. (kissing, holding hands, laughing, talking, hugging) It was the same when we went to ETSU to take the other half of the picture. I mean come on, we hit each other in the face with leaves. I also made Corey wear nerdy glasses. Kayla and Andy were laughing with us, encouraging us to just be ourselves and we have the pictures to prove it. They captured our relationship perfectly! Here is their blog of our engagement session and a few of my favorite to go along with theirs.

http://andrewerinphoto.com/engagement/callie-corey-johnson-city-tn/

I still love looking through these pictures. It was an absolutely amazing day! So, since we both loved their work (I probably did more than Corey, because I love pictures), we chose them for our wedding day! We couldn't and wouldn't have chose anyone else. It was a perfect day and they both captured every little bit! I've probably looked at them every day since we got them in the mail.

Corey cried when he saw this picture. 

I love this picture, and I don't know why.

My mom loves this picture.

Probably my favorite "me" picture.

Definitely captured our relationship perfectly.

My favorite dance picture. It definitely makes me laugh.

I would recommend Kayla and Andy to anyone. I love their work and they are super nice people as well! So, if you're looking for someone to capture a special day in your life, an engagement session, a family session, a wedding day, I recommend Andrew and Erin Photography. 

Next:

Probably the most important part of wedding planning besides photographers would be where to have the ceremony and reception. And boy did we find the Perfect place.

Swinging Bridge Farms

http://www.swingingbridgefarms.com/Home.html

https://www.facebook.com/swingingbridgefarmsweddings

As we began planning the wedding, I knew that I wanted an outdoor wedding. We looked at several venues. Almost all of the ones we looked at were overly priced and the owners were all "business". (friendly enough, but over all they showed you what they had to offer and that was that.) 

It had to be God, because one day at work, I was searching for outdoor wedding venues. (Preferably with a barn and pretty scenery) and BAM, seriously out of nowhere, I find Swinging Bridge Farms. I told my mom about it and we decided to check it out. 

It was perfect, for two reasons. The owners: Kernie and Connie Timmons were and are some of the sweetest people and the property is absolutely gorgeous!! 

The big black barn with the christmas lights was definitely one of my favorite parts. 

My family and I made several visits to the farm before the wedding. Kernie and Connie listened to my ideas and made my wedding day a reality. They even helped set up the day of the wedding and Connie even helped out in another process.

Next:

I'll combine these two: Flowers and Catering. (Mainly because of the picture I'm about to post)

Connie Timmons

(Floral Designer)

http://www.connietimmons.com/home.html

&

Gadabouts Catering

(Owned and Operated by Bill and Eileen Gaddy)

http://www.gadabouts.com/

(Eileen, Me, Connie)

These two ladies were outstanding.

Let me point out that I am not a "flower" pro (I like to look at flowers, I like receiving flowers, but I do not know the names of flowers, besides your basic rose or sunflower) So, when it came time to tell Connie what I wanted my bouquets to look like, I showed her pictures I found online. She used those pictures and her amazing talent and created some beautiful wedding bouquets. She made all the flower arrangements for my wedding too. Connie is one of the nicest people you'll ever meet. Every time we made a trip over to the farm, she would give me a hug. It was like she had known me my whole life. 

We met Eileen at a Pink Bridal show in Kingsport. Her sweet potato rolls had me hooked the first time I tried one. They were so good and so unique. She was also great to work with. I think we changed the menu several times before we knew what we wanted. Eileen worked with us every step of the way. I wish I had pictures of the food but here's the menu. The roast pork loin with the cranberry orange relish was DELICIOUS! The mashed potatoes were real (something I had to have, because I hate fake mashed potatoes), the rolls and the biscuits were great! I had several of the guest tell me how amazing the food really was!! 

Appetizers:

Vintage Cheese and Fruit Display—Antique Cheese Cutter with Wedges of Cheddar Cheese…Southern Style Pimento Cheese…Bleu Cheese and Cheddar Cheese Wafers with Pecans…Vintage Wooden Trays and Containers with Fresh Fruits and Berries, Crackers and Artisan Breads

Main Menu:

Roast Pork Loin, Carved to Order…Cranberry Orange Relish

Southern Fried Chicken

Mashed “Real” Potatoes with Gravy and Butter to side

Seasoned Green Beans—Southern Style with Country Ham

Sweet Potato Biscuits, Yeast Rolls, Butter, Apple Butter, Honey Butter

Iced Tea, Water 

So, after the wedding was over, the wedding party took off to take pictures. The sun was really bright (thank you God, I'm not complaining) but we had to head to the shade to take group pictures. My favorite part about Gadabouts, they had some of their workers bring the wedding party glasses of tea and water. I was super impressed!! They also congratulated me and told me how pretty I looked. (I knew I had picked the right group of people to feed us at our wedding). 

And here's the best part of the whole catering experience: we had a coffee bar!! (with syrup and creamer and coffee, the whole works) We actually toasted with it, because yes, that's how much my husband and I love coffee.

Next:

Someone who probably doesn't want me to introduce her to the world wide web, but I'm going to anyways because she is like a second mom to me and her creativity and baking skills deserve this.

Becky Vanhook

(The Cake Boss of Big Stone Gap)

I have known Becky Vanhook my whole life. She's my best friend's mom. We used to play at her house when I was little. We probably embarrassed her when Mandy and I were younger because we would put on her night gowns and run around outside in them! I have some great memories there. I also have great memories of eating her cakes. She has made them ever since I can remember. (baby shower cakes, wedding cakes, birthday cakes). They're always delicious. She knew it was destiny that one day, she'd make my wedding cake. I'm so glad she agreed because both cakes turned out just as I had imagined them. My cake had two flavors (the bottom and top were vanilla and the middle was lemon poppy seed) YUM!! The lemon poppy seed had a gooey layer of lemon in the middle (man, my mouth is watering just thinking about it). The outward appearance was fabulous. The blue ombre, and the messy icing was perfect!! For Corey's cake we changed our minds 3 times, but I'm pretty sure this was Boston's lucky ticket for winning the world series. 

One more:

Libby Mumpower

(Wedding Coordinator)

(Hopefully she doesn't kill me when she see this)

I have also known Libby my whole life. She used to live right down the street from us on Maple. She's more like family than anything. My mom and dad have always had a group of friends that are more like a group of aunts and uncles to my sister and I, and their daughters and sons are more like cousins. We've gone on vacations with them, had slumber parties at each others houses, gone to church with them, all of them play a huge role in my life. Libby is also the family "wedding coordinator". She takes it seriously, she puts people in their places, she's bossy and she can be mean, which I love about her. She even came with us to the farm to check things out and to help me decide where everything and everyone would stand. She was a great help!

Here's a small list of others I would like to thank:

Norman Clark (our pastor)

Our wedding party

My parents

Earl Mumpower

Gary Sexton

Sara Stacy

Tiffany Hammonds

Our guests
Ken and Joel Sprinkle
Matthew Brock
Those that helped park the guest

Those who helped set up and who stayed late to clean up.

&

Most importantly, Thank you God for the beautiful weather, and the opportunity to share a day with those I love so that I could marry the one you picked for me.

(All pictures used were by me or Andrew and Erin Photography)

(Grammatical errors and such, should be overlooked)

God is Good
Love never fails
Laughter is the best medicine

Love Always,

Callie McCarty Presley

Overgrown Children and something to do with marriage.

Marriage life: (in the words of Callie Presley, who is not an english teacher, and therefore apologized for grammatical errors and such)

I never expected marriage to change the way I feel about Corey. I loved him when we were dating, we had fun together, we had fights, we laughed, we cried, and I thought things were perfect. That nothing could be any better. That I  could never love another human being the way I loved him. 

And then we got married.....

Honestly, I don't think I've ever listened to someone explain marriage life. I've heard the mushy, gushy stories, thrown up a little, rolled my eyes, and basically never gave any of it any thought. The only thing I remember thinking was, "it'll be just like when we were dating, except we can have slumber parties every night." (How childish does that sound?) 

And then, on September 28th, 2013, I married the love of my life. 

I've learned a couple of things and I'd like to share them with you now:

Marriage life rocks. I don't think anyone can describe the feeling of being married. It's almost like, I just began dating Corey all over again, but this time my love is more deep, and I'm more passionate. I honestly cannot put into words how it feels. It's like a brand new relationship, a brand new set of butterflies, its like slumber parties forever (eating popcorn and chocolate chips, together, in a big bowl), comfy pillows and watching movies late into the night. Marriage is like that exciting feeling you get, standing in line to ride your favorite roller coaster (well except Corey wouldn't feel that way, because he hates roller coasters). It's like the feeling you get on Christmas morning, when you know what your parents bought for you, but you're just waiting to open it and play with it. (uh wait, I wish I could erase that sentence, but I find it too funny) Marriage is like reading a really good book (the ones that take you right out of reality and place you right smack dab into the story line). 

And some of you might be throwing up right now or rolling your eyes, you might be single (in which case, when you get married let me know if these feelings change) or you might be married (and if this isn't how you feel about marriage, don't tell me, because honestly I don't want to hear any negativity towards this topic)

My husband is my soul mate. Why? Well, I think one of our old college friends summed it up pretty well today, he said, "You two are a couple of overgrown children. Never change".  
We've found a balance in each other.We know what makes the other one tick. (the good and the bad) I'm the emotional one (I'm always over the top, with any emotion that I feel at a certain moment) And Corey, well he's the one who is calm and patient and slow to anger and always has a solution even when I hate the idea. He never meets a stranger, and he makes me a better person. But the biggest reason he's my soul mate, is we have fun together. (hacking each others Facebook, throwing cold water on each other in the shower, taking pictures of each other in embarrassing situations), basically just giving each other a hard time and laughing with each other afterwards! I never want to just settle down with my husband. I want there always to be something to laugh at, some kind of adventure, never a dull moment. I want to be 80 years old and still be able to trip Corey (while he hobbles along with his walker, preferably the kind with the tennis balls), and both of us laugh because we know in that moment it was hilarious and Corey, laughing extra hard because he knows he broke his butt bone, and I'll have to wait on him hand and foot. (Until I put him in a nursing home) :) 

I'm not saying that I expect marriage to be perfect. I know that we'll have fights (we're both hard headed people), I know that life throws some fast curve balls (sickness, money issues, mid-life crisis, death, issues that make you want to strangle your spouse). But I'm willing to fight for our marriage. I don't want to be a couple that doesn't hold fast to one another, that forgets their vows, that pushes each other away because they're confused about life. 

And I know that it happens. That people fall apart, that things change. And before I met Corey, I honestly didn't think that marriage was something I wanted. That "love" just wasn't in my cards. I never thought someone could love me, because my past was far from perfect. But God in all of his glory, made this guy for me. A blue eyed, overgrown child, who loves broadcasting, the outdoors, dogs, big trucks, cuddling, traveling, and most importantly he loves me. God brought us together, he allowed us to get married, and I know that he will help us stay together. 

God is good, marriage is amazing, and life should always be filled with laughter. 

(And if laughter should ever leave you, just pour cold water on someone in the shower)

Love Always,



Callie Marie McCarty Presley

  

Honeymooning like pros....or so we thought.

My husband carried me through the threshold and then we booked it upstairs to pack...well okay we had a little fun and then we started packing. :) Procrastinators Unite!!

Our mind set for honeymooning:
Corey: "Yeah I'm probably only going to need a pair of jeans, a pair of khakis, and a pair of khaki shorts, 5 button ups, 5 white t-shirts, and 8 pair of swimming trunks, with some underwear thrown on the side, 2 pair of shoes and yeah that's about it. Ya know, cause I'll be hanging out by the beach or pool all day."

Callie: "Tons of dresses, all my gifts from my bachelorette party, 5 bathing suits, every pair of underwear, a couple pair of shorts, no t-shirts, and a couple of dressier shirts. 2 pairs of sandals, no flip flops, my makeup, come on, what else do I need....lets just stuff random clothing in the suitcase."

We pack and go to bed. We wake up at 4:30 in the morning, Joshua drives us to the airport and then we wait. I'm freaking out because this is my first time flying. About 30 minutes before the flight, a young man who I thought was the pilot set down in front of us in the airport. I pleaded with Corey several times, to let me go and talk to him. All I wanted to do was to say, hi, give him a hug, and make sure he was certified to fly our airplane. Husband wouldn't let me. *sad day* We found out later, he wasn't the pilot, he was the flight attendant.

(Back story) The morning after the wedding I got up around 4am, took a shower, shaved my legs and then put lotion on my legs (like any normal girl) On arriving at the airport, we had to check our bags in and head through security. (Let me remind everyone again, this was my first time at an airport) So we get to the TSA line, I start taking off my shoes, my jacket, placing every item i have in a square bin. I walk through the scanner and they pull me aside. I'm freaking out!! He swipes my hands, I must have looked confused, because he said, "Oh no its okay, we just have to swipe your hands, they have some kind of substance on them that alerts the computers." So, I ask, "Oh, like what kind of substance?" To which he casually replies, "Just bomb making material." (WHAT??) I swear right then and there, I could have passed out. He then looks at the man running the computer and says, "Oh no you're good, its probably just lotion, you're good to go!" (I wanted to scream, "Of course its lotion, how was I supposed to know, my lotion had a chemical in it that alerts airport security!") One of the scariest moments of my life, beside the time my roommates in college tried to convince me to steal a cafeteria tray so we could use it to go sleigh riding (that's another story, for another time!)

The first plane ride was a little scary, the take off being the scariest and then watching everything disappear until all I could see were clouds being the second scariest part. However, the view was gorgeous after I got used to the fact that maybe our pilot did know what he was doing. Our first flight was delayed for a few minutes, so by the time we arrived at the Charolette airport we had to "Home Alone" to the next plane. (Home Alone - if you haven't seen the movie, it won't make sense, but we literally had to sprint to the next terminal.) The second plane ride was 2 and a half hours, I tried sleeping but couldn't take my eyes off of the clouds. (By the way, every flight we had, I had a window seat) The coolest part was when we flew over the ocean, the sky and the water almost blended into one. The clouds looked like huge ice burgs over the water. The view was amazing!

We finally landed in Jamaica, getting through the airport was a little frustrating and confusing. Here's where we made our first mistake. A woman was standing off to the side when we got off the plane motioning everyone to change their money into Jamaican currency. We decided it might be a good idea, it was actually a dumb idea, but funny none the less. After getting our luggage together, we follow a man out to a small bus. They loaded our luggage in and then let the girls get in the bus first, while the guys stood outside and the bus driver and the man who loaded the luggage, ask for tips. (RUDE)

After everyone boarded the bus we began our hour and a half bus ride to the resort. I had read a lot of reviews online about this particular bus ride. A lot of people complained about how bad the roads were.  Honestly, it wasn't that bad of a bus ride, of course, I'm sure my husband would beg to differ.
(Okay, so there were a lot of pot holes, and they drive on the left hand side of the road, so that was confusing, the speed limit didn't seem to matter, and the roads were actually the size of OUR one lane road but they used theirs for two! ((It reminded me of Country Boy hill) There were hardly any guardrails, they passed cars IN on coming traffic and the roads were a little curvy) Nothing a country girl like me can't handle. The other girls on the bus were sitting in the back whispering, "I think I'm going to be sick" and I'm thinking this is super exciting!! Oh, I also forgot to mention one minor detail. It also started raining on our way to the resort and (surprise, surprise) the roads didn't have any drainage system. So, as you're probably guessing the roads began to flood. (I'm not talking an inch of rain, I'm talking it was so bad in some places, cars were just standing still because they either got stuck or they were too scared to move) Our bus driver on the other hand, kept on driving. It was quiet amazing that he never fish tailed or got stuck. I was kind of impressed!

So we make it to the resort, they unload our bags and once again ask for another tip. Then we're herded into the lobby, where we fill out some forms and then we are escorted to our rooms. Our room was gorgeous. A huge king size bed, a flat screen tv, a small love seat with a coffee table, and then the bathroom (no need explaining what that contained), Oh and our amazing balcony with a view of the ocean!! The 'bell hop' was a few seconds behind us with our bags, he came into the room dropped our luggage off and then went over a few key items in the room. As he's leaving, my wonderful, thoughtful husband, for the first and the last time on our honeymoon, slips the 'bell hop' a 50 in Jamaican currency. ((It was like watching a movie, where one mob member slips another member a couple hundreds, real smooth, through a secret hand shake. Don't judge me, it was exactly like that!!)) After he leaves, I ask Corey how much he gave the man, to which he replied, "Oh a 50, I think it's like 5 bucks in U.S currency." I shrugged it off, but later that day I looked up how much 50 Jamaica dollars really is.....49 cents in the U.S. We laughed for about 20 minutes, mostly out of embarrassment! The next day we took the rest of the Jamaican currency and just put it as a credit on our account. That left us with a 50 dollar bill in U.S. currency. Which of course I didn't think we'd need cash because everything was inclusive. (but I was so, so wrong)

The Sandals Whitehouse resort was amazing! It was everything I thought it would be.
Pros:
The food was amazing (I was never disappointed. Some restaurants were definitely better than others, but no complaints on the food. My two favorites were Neptunes (baby back ribs, mussels, baby octopus, real mashed potatoes) and Cafe de Paris (crepes and pastries ((A fat kids paradise)).
The entertainment. The first or second night there they had a fire/limbo show. Before the show started they pulled some of the girls (including me) to come dance in front of everyone. We danced with the entertainers for a couple songs and then it was time to crown the queen. This consisted of each girl having 10 seconds to show their stuff (and by that I mean dancing). Oh don't worry, I definitely did the shopping cart, the lawn mower and the baptist preacher. (All of my classic moves.) Unfortunately, I didn't win. A lady who was about 65 years old had her 10 seconds of fame grinding on the guy announcing, the crowd loved it and of course she was crowned queen.
The service. We were waited on hand and foot. And everyone was super nice. Our waitress at Neptunes, Norma, was the sweetest woman ever. She gave us advice on what foods to try and she stood around and talked to us which was really nice.
The water. Both the pool and the ocean were both gorgeous! On either side, there were many options of seating. Single chairs, (some you could place in the water, others on the side with umbrellas), my favorite were the beds, with huge pillows (so comfy), and there were hammocks too!!  Everything was absolutely beautiful. The ocean was crystal clear and there were several different pools at the resort.

Cons:
Wheel and Deal day. A couple times out of the week, they allowed some of the locals to come into the resort to sell their crafts. (I hate to say this, but it was super annoying) They set up shop right next to the main pool which was near most of the restaurants. So, heading to dinner or lunch or breakfast was a challenge. (Because once they stopped you, you were trapped for about 5 to 10 minutes, trying to tell that certain someone, in the nicest way possible that you didn't have any cash and that you were just trying to go and have something to eat)
The sketchy maintenance worker who hid in the shadows. Two nights out of the week, we ran into a maintenance worker who was always out at night just walking around. The first night we met him, we tried to avoid him by walking out to one of the piers and he followed us, just making small talk. When we finally made it clear we were leaving, he offered us to smoke weed with him. (Not so shocking, but completely scary) The second night we ran into him, he ask us again, we turned him down! (luckily we never saw him a third time. The only reason I believed he was working for sandals was because he was wearing a sandals shirt, but now that I think about it, he could have gotten the shirt from a friend or bought it off the street ((makes me cringe thinking about it))


We had several funny/interesting moments on the honeymoon:
The Anniversary cake. Corey and I were laying in bed, just relaxing, when someone knocked on our door. It was a lady from the front desk. She had a plate with a cake on it, in chocolate writing the plate said "Happy Anniversary". There was also a card that read, "Happy Anniversary Mr. and Mrs. McCarthy (with a TH)!" Corey tried several times to convince the woman it wasn't our anniversary, it was our honeymoon, but she wouldn't take no for an answer! FREE CAKE!!
Tea...not sprite. One evening while eating supper, a young man came to the table. I thought he was coming around to refill our drinks, he was actually there to take our empty plates. He mumbled something (which Corey heard as, "Can I take your plate?"), I pointed at my glass and said, "I'll have some more tea please?". The young man looked somewhat confused and I repeated, "tea". He shook his head yes, grabbed my plate and walked away. About 5 minutes later, he returns, with a glass of sprite! (Corey started laughing, shrugged and said, "Well Sprite does have a T in it.")
Corey's wardrobe malfunction. So one of the things on our bucket list was to go and get a professional massage. On our way there, we had some of the worst rain we've ever seen (minus the bus ride). We walk in and it was like we had just gotten out of the shower, and water was pouring into the building. We go up to the front desk, tell them what massage we would like and then they separated us into two different changing rooms. This was Corey's first experience doing this, so when he was ask to unclothe and put on a robe, he wasn't very comfortable. He pulled the robe out of the locker and the ties on the robe were a certain way. So, he didn't bother it, he just put the robe on and walked into the sauna. The lady came back in later, and sees Corey and goes, "Uh sir, your robe isn't on correctly." Corey looked down to see half of his leg exposed. The lady gets the laugh and then brings corey into the room to join me. When Corey walked in, my masseuse sees him and then calls him a virgin (since it was his first time getting a massage and wearing a robe) We both then laid down and got a really awesome massage by two strangers, we didn't know if it was appropriate to talk to them while doing this, so we just laid there. (AWKWARD). Corey says it was a great experience, but he couldn't help but feel dirty afterwards.
The sun burnt love birds. (not much explanation here) A day at the pool, plus the first real day of sun, equals no cuddling or touching for the Presley's that night.
Wet and wild photography. As everyone knows, I love pictures and new adventures, but we had no idea what we were getting ourselves into when we signed up for a complimentary photo session at the resort. Our photographers started off slow, a couple of pictures beside flowers and scenic shots on the beach, but then things got crazy. First, it was stand in the tide, then it turned to just put one knee in the water, next thing ya know we're completely submerged in the sea. This wouldn't have been a big deal, if we weren't planning on going to dinner afterwards at our favorite restaurant. Also, all the other couples, never set foot in the water. They all kept looking at us like we were crazy, and instead of the other photographers taking pictures of their couples, they stopped and started taking pictures of us. You could have called it our first Presley paparazzi moment (and probably our last). The pictures turned out great, but Corey still insist he has sand in unspeakable places.

One of the many gifts that my husband surprised me with over the course of the wedding was a dolphin tour. I was so excited about this part of the trip 1) because I had always wanted to do something like this 2) husband got a really good deal on the trip. Unfortunately, we had to reschedule do to rain and this is where my dolphin dream tour took a turn for the worse. Since we rescheduled the company made us pay extra for transportation and to rescheduling. I almost backed out because I just didn't want to pay anymore money. We decided this was a one in a lifetime experience, so we went ahead and paid. The day of the tour, our bus driver was about 30 minutes late and when he finally showed up the whole bus smelled like marijuana! (BIG SURPRISE) There was a lot of construction on the ride to the Dolphin Cove and the bus ride was over an hour, but we finally made it. The bus drivers would always talk for a couple minutes and then turn up their cd players. (which consisted of songs singing about Jesus one minute and smoking weed the next) We finally make it to the Dolphin Cove. We were a little early so we decided to ride the camels first (remember that 50 dollar bill I told you about, well it was eleven dollars to ride the camel, that left us with about 40 left) Once we got in the water with the dolphins, the trip was definitely worth it. We got to touch them and they sang for us, they were super playful. We rode on their fins, they pushed us through the water and we got a kiss. (and let me tell you, they kiss super hard) It was seriously amazing to be that close to these creatures. After the swim with the dolphins we headed into the gift shop to hopefully buy a photo of us swimming with the dolphins. The packages were super expensive, which pissed me off because we had already given the company so much money, and we also didn't bring enough cash and they didn't take cards! (My husband has advised me not to go into detail about what happen next, lets just say we spent the last of our 40 dollars and got some great pictures of us swimming with the dolphins with some sketchy, unexpected memories to hold onto for forever) On the way back to the resort our bus driver turned on these portable DVD players and we watched early 90's music videos all the way back!

The rest of the honeymoon we spent on the resort, which I was so thankful for. By the last night I was so ready to be back in the states. It was a great experience, but maybe next years vacation can be in the U.S. (I want to go to California, husband wants to go to Boston and Kade and my sister want us to go to Disney)

So now let me explain why I don't want to fly for a long time. We had a small delay on our flight from Jamaica to Charolette. (Like I said, by this time I was just so ready to get back home) This flight was about 2 and a half hours. The whole way back we had a screaming baby on board. And it wasn't that bad at first. Corey and I were sitting in the last seats, the child and its mother were somewhere in the middle of the plane, but not even half way back to the states, the mom decides she's annoying everyone where she's sitting and comes and sits in the back with us. Let's just say there was no sleeping for the Presley's on that flight. We get to Charolette and we have an even longer delay. The first thing I do is eat and then we wait. About the time our flight was supposed to be boarded, a blonde lady with a fake voice (airplane Barbie) gets on the intercom and announces that the flight from Charolette to the tri-cities is going to be delayed because for some reason the flight crew was running late. They delay the flight about 5 times, I'm getting really annoyed by this point! (I had to work the next morning, I was tired and I just wanted to get back home to our puppy) 45 minutes later we're boarding the small plane, I swear we drive all over creation before we take off. I also promise a little boy, about the age of 7 or 8 was sitting right behind me making the most annoying sounds ever. (at one point when the plane took off he laid his head against the plane, letting the vibration extort his speech and began saying, "I sound like a robot!) But before we took off he kept yelling, "Dad look at all those red and green lights, it looks like Santa would land here." "Hey dad, can you cut off your light, I want to see the stars." "Hey dad, when are we going to take off?" (When Corey and I talked about it later, he said he just wanted to turn around and yell, "SANTA ISN'T REAL!") We were both just so tired. The plane ride was also a little bumpy because a storm was coming through, so by the time we stepped off the plane, my nerves were shot.

So overall I'd give our honeymoon an A. It was all I could have ever imagined and then some. We had a few bad moments, but memories that we'll never forget!

And marriage life, well I'd give it an A+++! I love my husband so much (I love saying that word, husband), we make a great team!! He completes me! I cannot wait for all the adventures we go on (hopefully for the next few, we can stay in the states) :)

With Love,
Callie Marie McCarty Presley
(my life as a wife)