Tuesday, December 14, 2010
Our First Married Christmas Tree
Thanksgiving weekend Matt and I decorated our first married Christmas tree. I tried to class it up a wee since we are married now and that is what adults do. I picked our ornaments in shades of red and plum (fancy purple) and bought a pretty tree skirt. I put on our "Our First Christmas" wedding bells ornament, personalized with our names on the bottom. I think it looks nice in the corner, the perfect size for the space. It made a beautiful background for our First Christmas Card!
Sunday, November 21, 2010
It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year!
It's Christmas time!
Although I am incredibly excited for Thanksgiving, and by no means am I overlooking it, I've already got myself in quite the holiday mood. It started with Kristen putting up her holiday decorations, and lights, a couple of weeks ago. Yes, you heard that right. I believe it was Halloween weekend that Kristen decided to put all of her holiday decorations up. When I asked her why she said why not. Why only celebrate the season for that short little month between Thanksgiving and Christmas. Hard to argue with that.
Then Friday I bought the Glee Christmas c.d. (yes I still buy c.d.s occasionally) and have been rocking out to it in my car ever since. Finally yesterday, Matt, Kristen and I ventured south to the Christmas Warehouse Sale. It sounded like my own personal Heaven, and for the most part it was. We had never gone before but had heard about it so we decided why not. If you want to check out some pictures (because I still don't have a working camera) check out http://www.christmaswarehousesale.com/.
At first it was breathtaking, all of the trees, ornaments, and general merriment glittering in the glorious warehouse lighting. It was slightly overwhelming, a little like my other holiday staple Holiday Mart, but we quickly picked a route and were off.
I won't go into detail about everything that we saw, but let's just say there was a lot of junk. A LOT. There were tables and tables and tables of ornaments for 50 cents, 99 cents, 1.49 and 1.99. You can probably imagine the quality of items that they are selling for 50 cents. Half of it looked like random knick knacks and kid toys that someone poked a hole in, tied a string through, and called it an ornament.
Their trees were expensive. I even had a 20% off coupon and they were still double the price of Target or Wal-Mart which was kind of disheartening because that is what Matt and I already we wanted to get. We ended up with a little stuff (a really cute snowman K-State ornament and other random stuff) but in general was not impressed. The only things that they had that weren't junk were not cheap, they were actually a little expensive.
Overall an interesting experience (the area the warehouse was in was interesting to say the least) and a fun holiday afternoon. That being said, I probably won't be going back. Although, when we checked out the lady said that the last weekend they are open they have all of their stuff at least 50% off, so I might be able to be talked into it.....
We stopped at Target on the way home and bought a tree, so don't worry. There will be plenty of holiday cheer going on at the Sharkany household this year even though Matt wouldn't let me set it up on Saturday. Scrooge.
Although I am incredibly excited for Thanksgiving, and by no means am I overlooking it, I've already got myself in quite the holiday mood. It started with Kristen putting up her holiday decorations, and lights, a couple of weeks ago. Yes, you heard that right. I believe it was Halloween weekend that Kristen decided to put all of her holiday decorations up. When I asked her why she said why not. Why only celebrate the season for that short little month between Thanksgiving and Christmas. Hard to argue with that.
Then Friday I bought the Glee Christmas c.d. (yes I still buy c.d.s occasionally) and have been rocking out to it in my car ever since. Finally yesterday, Matt, Kristen and I ventured south to the Christmas Warehouse Sale. It sounded like my own personal Heaven, and for the most part it was. We had never gone before but had heard about it so we decided why not. If you want to check out some pictures (because I still don't have a working camera) check out http://www.christmaswarehousesale.com/.
At first it was breathtaking, all of the trees, ornaments, and general merriment glittering in the glorious warehouse lighting. It was slightly overwhelming, a little like my other holiday staple Holiday Mart, but we quickly picked a route and were off.
I won't go into detail about everything that we saw, but let's just say there was a lot of junk. A LOT. There were tables and tables and tables of ornaments for 50 cents, 99 cents, 1.49 and 1.99. You can probably imagine the quality of items that they are selling for 50 cents. Half of it looked like random knick knacks and kid toys that someone poked a hole in, tied a string through, and called it an ornament.
Their trees were expensive. I even had a 20% off coupon and they were still double the price of Target or Wal-Mart which was kind of disheartening because that is what Matt and I already we wanted to get. We ended up with a little stuff (a really cute snowman K-State ornament and other random stuff) but in general was not impressed. The only things that they had that weren't junk were not cheap, they were actually a little expensive.
Overall an interesting experience (the area the warehouse was in was interesting to say the least) and a fun holiday afternoon. That being said, I probably won't be going back. Although, when we checked out the lady said that the last weekend they are open they have all of their stuff at least 50% off, so I might be able to be talked into it.....
We stopped at Target on the way home and bought a tree, so don't worry. There will be plenty of holiday cheer going on at the Sharkany household this year even though Matt wouldn't let me set it up on Saturday. Scrooge.
Monday, November 15, 2010
Really?!? What's Pissing Me Off Today
These are just a few of the things that are pissing me off today:
(Keep in mind that I am sick, exhausted, and the only one at work. This means no sick day, no lunch break, and lots of dealing with people. Yuck.)
1. Did turn signals become optional at some point? I swear the more I drive around here the more instances of this I see. Last time I checked they were still required, but maybe I missed that memo. Seriously, is it really that hard to slightly move your hand up or down to signal where you are going?
2. Is it that hard to walk into your kitchen and open/close a cabinet without stomping/slamming? (You know who you are upstairs neighbor.)
3. Where did the West Wing go on Bravo in the mornings?? Totally throws my whole day off.
4. I HATE BEING SICK!
(Keep in mind that I am sick, exhausted, and the only one at work. This means no sick day, no lunch break, and lots of dealing with people. Yuck.)
1. Did turn signals become optional at some point? I swear the more I drive around here the more instances of this I see. Last time I checked they were still required, but maybe I missed that memo. Seriously, is it really that hard to slightly move your hand up or down to signal where you are going?
2. Is it that hard to walk into your kitchen and open/close a cabinet without stomping/slamming? (You know who you are upstairs neighbor.)
3. Where did the West Wing go on Bravo in the mornings?? Totally throws my whole day off.
4. I HATE BEING SICK!
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
Lost Identity
I foolishly thought that after the wedding, all of my stress, work, errands, etc. would be done. I was indeed foolish. After the honeymoon comes the fun part: changing your name.
I didn't think it would be that bad, I mean seriously how hard could it be to change one tiny, little thing like your last name? Turns out it is awful and time consuming. This is a list of what I've done so far (and yes I say so far because even though we've been married for a month, I'm still not done.)
1. DMV - went by one day after work at 5:15 expecting it to be packed and not be able to get in before they close at 5:45 (seriously who closes at 5:45). I walked in and almost died of shock. There was not one person in there besides myself and the employees. Zero. NEVER HAPPENS TO ME. I almost peed my pants with excitement when this awful woman comes over and poos all over my dreams. I don't have proof of my new address on me. Sidenote - I ALWAYS have some bill or something floating around in my purse. I chose the day before DMV visit to clean the purse out. Lesson learned, do not clean out purse. Anyway, she told me I would have to come back the next day. I did and waited in line for over an hour. I hate the DMV.
2. Social Security Office - after finding this hidden gem, I figured I wouldn't have to wait that long. How many people visit the Social Security office, right? Wrong. I waited again for over an hour. One positive note, they at least have a better waiting system and after pulling a number I waited in my comfy office chair instead of the awful DMV line. I hate the DMV.
3. Passport- this one actually seemed to be the easiest and is turning out to not be so much. I found a form on their website that stated that all I had to do was fill out the form, send it with a copy of my marriage license and they would send me a new one. Wrong. I got a letter in the mail from the state department stating that this is only the case if I've had my passport for less than a year. I've had mine for six. So I have another form, money, and who knows what else I have to send to the government to get a new one.
4. Credit Cards - these seem to be the easiest. I have contacted two of the four cards I have to get a new one. (Yes, I have four credit cards.) I've gotten one in the mail, one I'm waiting on, and I still haven't contacted the other two.
5. Bank cards - I love my bank but they are making me so irritated right now. I went in last week to get a new debit and ATM card. Thought it would be easy (paperwork was) and then she tells me okay they should come in the mail in the next 7-10 business days. And oh yeah, your current cards won't work until you get new ones. Come again?? You don't realize how much you use your debit card until you can't.....
6. Work - this is where my lost identity comes into place. My work couldn't change my name with human resources until I sent them a copy of my new ss card, which I had to wait a week for. So yesterday I get an e-mail from Chicago telling me that they got my new card and were changing my info. Then I got an e-mail from IT telling me that they were setting up my new log-in/e-mail and it should be up and running today. So today I come in and can log in but only my personal e-mail works, and it only works if you e-mail my old address (it gets forwarded) but if you e-mail my new one it gets sent back. And I can't get into the community's e-mail. And I can't get into our company database (where we do EVERYTHING). So I'm sitting here, waiting for my weekend to start (4 days baby!) and can't really do anything.
Is it 5:30 yet??
I didn't think it would be that bad, I mean seriously how hard could it be to change one tiny, little thing like your last name? Turns out it is awful and time consuming. This is a list of what I've done so far (and yes I say so far because even though we've been married for a month, I'm still not done.)
1. DMV - went by one day after work at 5:15 expecting it to be packed and not be able to get in before they close at 5:45 (seriously who closes at 5:45). I walked in and almost died of shock. There was not one person in there besides myself and the employees. Zero. NEVER HAPPENS TO ME. I almost peed my pants with excitement when this awful woman comes over and poos all over my dreams. I don't have proof of my new address on me. Sidenote - I ALWAYS have some bill or something floating around in my purse. I chose the day before DMV visit to clean the purse out. Lesson learned, do not clean out purse. Anyway, she told me I would have to come back the next day. I did and waited in line for over an hour. I hate the DMV.
2. Social Security Office - after finding this hidden gem, I figured I wouldn't have to wait that long. How many people visit the Social Security office, right? Wrong. I waited again for over an hour. One positive note, they at least have a better waiting system and after pulling a number I waited in my comfy office chair instead of the awful DMV line. I hate the DMV.
3. Passport- this one actually seemed to be the easiest and is turning out to not be so much. I found a form on their website that stated that all I had to do was fill out the form, send it with a copy of my marriage license and they would send me a new one. Wrong. I got a letter in the mail from the state department stating that this is only the case if I've had my passport for less than a year. I've had mine for six. So I have another form, money, and who knows what else I have to send to the government to get a new one.
4. Credit Cards - these seem to be the easiest. I have contacted two of the four cards I have to get a new one. (Yes, I have four credit cards.) I've gotten one in the mail, one I'm waiting on, and I still haven't contacted the other two.
5. Bank cards - I love my bank but they are making me so irritated right now. I went in last week to get a new debit and ATM card. Thought it would be easy (paperwork was) and then she tells me okay they should come in the mail in the next 7-10 business days. And oh yeah, your current cards won't work until you get new ones. Come again?? You don't realize how much you use your debit card until you can't.....
6. Work - this is where my lost identity comes into place. My work couldn't change my name with human resources until I sent them a copy of my new ss card, which I had to wait a week for. So yesterday I get an e-mail from Chicago telling me that they got my new card and were changing my info. Then I got an e-mail from IT telling me that they were setting up my new log-in/e-mail and it should be up and running today. So today I come in and can log in but only my personal e-mail works, and it only works if you e-mail my old address (it gets forwarded) but if you e-mail my new one it gets sent back. And I can't get into the community's e-mail. And I can't get into our company database (where we do EVERYTHING). So I'm sitting here, waiting for my weekend to start (4 days baby!) and can't really do anything.
Is it 5:30 yet??
Sunday, November 7, 2010
Today I'm Thankful for St. Anthony
I had a horrible moment yesterday morning. One of those moments where everything stops around you, and for one second all you can think in your head is, "oh god, what do I do now?" What happened to me in that moment?
I lost an earring.
This might seem a little dramatic for a lost earring, but you don't understand. These are diamond earrings, expensive diamond earrings, that were a gift from my husband (although he wasn't that when I got them), did I mention they were diamonds?
I got up yesterday morning the same as always: groggy, eyes a little crusty, left-over make-up a little smeared, and cursing the end of my lovely sleep (well, actually my sleep sucked thanks to my obnoxious new neighbors, more on them later, probably why I was grumpier than usual.) I took the dog for a walk, still cursing but this time about the cold, came home and took a shower. After breakfast and a little awful Saturday morning television, I started drying my hair. That's when I noticed it: one of my ears was naked.
It was a horrible sight. I just kept staring at my ear like all of a sudden I would blink and it was just a trick of my imagination, or my sleepy eyes, and I really still had two expensive earrings in. But it never happened. I only had one. So the next step of craziness set in: hands and knees searching. I spent the next half an hour on my hands and knees with my head sideways looking all over the carpet to see if I could find it. I got my coat, hat and scarf out and very carefully inspected them.
At this point I would have kept going but I was already late for week so I left. When I got home from work, back at it. I cleaned out my coat closet looking for it, painstakingly pulling every shoe, coat and towel from in there going through them piece by piece. Next up was my bed, peeling away the sheets and comforters one by one. Nada mucho. More hands and knees crawling ensued, with of course nothing to show for it, and then I left for Kristens. After a few glasses of wine (maybe a whole bottle), Matt stopped by to hang out and bring me home. On the way home I just blurted it out, and he said okay. I was like, "umm excuse me? That's all you're going to say?" He responds, "I can tell you're upset. We'll look when we get home, but if you lost it you lost it."
Hmm... Not exactly the reaction I was expecting, but definitely better.
After we get home, back to the drawing board. I told Matt that for some reason I had this feeling it was in the bathroom, could be good or bad (drains=evil) so we started there. While I was on my knees, face twisted around the toilet trying to look behind it, I start telling Matt that I was so upset earlier that I started reciting the prayer to St. Anthony that you say when you can't find something.
Before I can finish "do you want to hear it?" He blurts out, "is this the back?" I immediately ran over (well, slid over really because he was about a foot from me in our tiny bathroom) and saw that it was indeed the back to the missing diamond (kind of sounds like a mystery novel...).
My brain started going a hundred miles an hour. It could still be anywhere, but this was a really good clue. What seemed like hours later (approximately five seconds in actuality), I spotted it nestled in the crack between the cabinet and the floor.
The mystery was solved! I found my missing earing as well as a newfound appreciation for St. Anthony!!
I lost an earring.
This might seem a little dramatic for a lost earring, but you don't understand. These are diamond earrings, expensive diamond earrings, that were a gift from my husband (although he wasn't that when I got them), did I mention they were diamonds?
I got up yesterday morning the same as always: groggy, eyes a little crusty, left-over make-up a little smeared, and cursing the end of my lovely sleep (well, actually my sleep sucked thanks to my obnoxious new neighbors, more on them later, probably why I was grumpier than usual.) I took the dog for a walk, still cursing but this time about the cold, came home and took a shower. After breakfast and a little awful Saturday morning television, I started drying my hair. That's when I noticed it: one of my ears was naked.
It was a horrible sight. I just kept staring at my ear like all of a sudden I would blink and it was just a trick of my imagination, or my sleepy eyes, and I really still had two expensive earrings in. But it never happened. I only had one. So the next step of craziness set in: hands and knees searching. I spent the next half an hour on my hands and knees with my head sideways looking all over the carpet to see if I could find it. I got my coat, hat and scarf out and very carefully inspected them.
At this point I would have kept going but I was already late for week so I left. When I got home from work, back at it. I cleaned out my coat closet looking for it, painstakingly pulling every shoe, coat and towel from in there going through them piece by piece. Next up was my bed, peeling away the sheets and comforters one by one. Nada mucho. More hands and knees crawling ensued, with of course nothing to show for it, and then I left for Kristens. After a few glasses of wine (maybe a whole bottle), Matt stopped by to hang out and bring me home. On the way home I just blurted it out, and he said okay. I was like, "umm excuse me? That's all you're going to say?" He responds, "I can tell you're upset. We'll look when we get home, but if you lost it you lost it."
Hmm... Not exactly the reaction I was expecting, but definitely better.
After we get home, back to the drawing board. I told Matt that for some reason I had this feeling it was in the bathroom, could be good or bad (drains=evil) so we started there. While I was on my knees, face twisted around the toilet trying to look behind it, I start telling Matt that I was so upset earlier that I started reciting the prayer to St. Anthony that you say when you can't find something.
Before I can finish "do you want to hear it?" He blurts out, "is this the back?" I immediately ran over (well, slid over really because he was about a foot from me in our tiny bathroom) and saw that it was indeed the back to the missing diamond (kind of sounds like a mystery novel...).
My brain started going a hundred miles an hour. It could still be anywhere, but this was a really good clue. What seemed like hours later (approximately five seconds in actuality), I spotted it nestled in the crack between the cabinet and the floor.
The mystery was solved! I found my missing earing as well as a newfound appreciation for St. Anthony!!
Friday, November 5, 2010
I am not thanking god it is friday....
Because I am only half way through my work week! I have to work all weekend, then Monday-Wednesday. Yuck! It doesn't happen very often (I'm pretty sure July was the last time I worked a Saturday) but when it does it sucks.
Don't get me wrong, I am very excited for my four day weekend next weekend, but the getting there is awful. Today has been the longest day EVER and then tomorrow is eight hours, in the office, alone. BORING. I better get some good sleep tonight so I don't get cranky.
Don't get me wrong, I am very excited for my four day weekend next weekend, but the getting there is awful. Today has been the longest day EVER and then tomorrow is eight hours, in the office, alone. BORING. I better get some good sleep tonight so I don't get cranky.
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
Let Them Eat Cake
I wish I had some of our wedding cake for an afternoon snack....
I need some sugar baaaad to make it through the end of the day.
Plus, it was so good. At least the little bite I had when we cut it was good. That was all I had time for, and then I forgot at our brunch the next day to eat some leftovers. There is always our anniversary next year...
I need some sugar baaaad to make it through the end of the day.
Plus, it was so good. At least the little bite I had when we cut it was good. That was all I had time for, and then I forgot at our brunch the next day to eat some leftovers. There is always our anniversary next year...
Nearly Burned The Place Down
Okay, so slight exaggeration. But seriously, burned the hell out of our dinner last night. In my defense, we got some new pans for our wedding and while they are expensive (and good quality) they are an adjustment to cook in. I was making chicken pesto florentine, which seemed easy enough until I went to cook the chicken. Kristen is my witness, it wasn't my fault. They cooked less than half the time they were supposed to and they were black. And smoky (they weren't, but the room sure was.)
So my wonderful, chef extraordinaire husband came home from work at just the right time and saved the day. Unfortunately I had frozen chicken only at this point, so for round two we had an hour of defrosting then more cooking. Instead of a wonderful dinner at 7:30, we had a pretty decent one at nine. Learning things every day.....
In honor of Thanksgiving I am going to give thanks every day (well, every time I post something.)
Today, I am thankful for the little fan above our stove. Sounds silly until you don't have one and you're fanning the air around the smoke detector in your kitchen every single time you cook anything. Not fun.
So my wonderful, chef extraordinaire husband came home from work at just the right time and saved the day. Unfortunately I had frozen chicken only at this point, so for round two we had an hour of defrosting then more cooking. Instead of a wonderful dinner at 7:30, we had a pretty decent one at nine. Learning things every day.....
In honor of Thanksgiving I am going to give thanks every day (well, every time I post something.)
Today, I am thankful for the little fan above our stove. Sounds silly until you don't have one and you're fanning the air around the smoke detector in your kitchen every single time you cook anything. Not fun.
Monday, November 1, 2010
Dancing Through Monday
Kristen and I had a lot of routines while living together. We would take turns making dinner. We would take turns buying toilet paper. We had baby pool Wednesday (which turned in to baby pool thursday) and we had certain shows that we would watch each night. For someone who loves routine (such as myself) I loved this aspect of our relationship.
Sidenote: At a Halloween party this weekend, I was telling a story to some random about something funny Kristen did on our wedding night (peed in a stairwell.) I realized halfway through the story that it sounded like by saying "our" wedding night I meant myself and Kristen, not Matt. My next thought was, how many other people think that I drove to Iowa to legally be married to another woman? Oh well.
And yes, gay marriage is legal in Iowa. Shocking, I know. My relatives might be country in certain aspects of their lives, but apparently when it comes to equal rights for the gay community they are way ahead of the rest of the country (at least they were the last time that I checked.)
Long sidenote... anyway, one of the routines that we have continued now that we don't live together is watching Dancing with the Stars on Monday nights. She comes over to our apartment on Mondays after work, we make or order dinner and then we watch the show. It is a routine lover's dream. We have a contest where we try to guess the scores before they're given (yeah, we're cool) and the winner of the night has a whole week to brag. I realized last week that it's not the show that I love each week, it's knowing that unless something big comes up, we have at least one night a week where we hang out and catch up.
I've never been the biggest fan of the show but this season I have a reason to watch: Jennifer Grey. That first week when she danced to "These Arms of Mine" and lost it during rehearsal, missing Patrick Swayze.... I was hooked. I love her. Even last week when she did not do good, I swore that if she got kicked off I would stop watching the show. The people listened: Audrina went home (and her mom provided an amazing drunken rampage on TMZ about how much better she is than everyone else.) So let's keep our fingers crossed that Bristol Palin goes back to being an abomination so that she will get kicked off and that Jennifer gets her groove back.
Saturday, October 30, 2010
Fill In the Blank Friday (Saturday really, close enough)
1. My Halloween plans this year will include Two parties Saturday (probably won't stay long, I think I'm getting sick) and then no plans for the actual day. I know it sounds lame, but if Halloween is not a weekend night and you don't have kids there really isn't much else to do.
2. My most memorable Halloween costume was I don't remember exactly how old I was, I would guess 10 or 11, but for whatever reason I decided I wanted to be a troll doll for Halloween. My mom made me this huge outfit, which made my arms and legs tan like a Troll doll and I think I was wearing a blue felt dress. Then we bought a Troll mask with the big hair and everything. This is my most memorable because I learned a big lesson that day. Never buy a mask with no mouth holes. My entire face was covered in sweat and condensation from my own breath all night. While I might have been a lot warmer than other kids, I thought I was going to die from heat exhaustion half the night.
3. For Halloween this year I'm going to be I can't share that yet, it's a surprise. But don't get too excited, I think it's funny but it's nothing spectacular. Still trying to stick with a budget to get all of the wedding stuff paid off.
4. I've always wanted to dress up as I don't know if I have any costume aspirations. As long as I find something each year (good, bad, or ugly) I consider it an achievement.
5. Halloween free association! candy, pumpkins, candy, pumpkin seeds and candy!!
6. The worst thing about Halloween is the cold. I feel really bad for the little kids. Oh, and the girls that choose really slutty outfits and then "make up" something they're supposed to be. Just be honest, you're dressed up like a whore.
7. The best thing about Halloween is dressing up. I love seeing all of the creative people out there (mostly because I am not very creative.)
Friday, October 29, 2010
Mrs. Sharkany
It's official (well it was 3 weeks ago) I'm married!
Everything went really well, almost perfect, and I kept telling Matt that we must have done something right because I definitely felt like someone was watching over us that day. The weather was beautiful (sunny, clear, warm but not too hot) which for around here seems very rare. The ceremony was perfect with no one fainting (thats a long time to kneel), no one spilling anything on their clothes, and my beautiful niece evenwalked ran down the aisle darn near flawlessly.
The reception was awesome. I was stressed for weeks about how much food and alcohol to order and I think we did almost perfect on that as well. We drank almost all of the alcohol (some people might have had TOO much fun but I'm not naming names) and we saved most of the wine we had left over (for anniversaries, special occasions, etc.) The food got rave reviews and the tiny bite that I had to eat was really good. I would have loved to have eaten more, but by the time we ate I had been wearing my dress for almost seven hours and that is not an easy piece of clothing to eat in. Or drink in. Or dance in. But it looked great!!
It feels so incredibly weird (in a good way) and at the same point feels like nothing has changed. The entire time we were in Mexico (which was also awesome) I kept having to remind myself we were really married. Every time I saw Matt's ring on his hand it was like wow, we really did it. The day after we got back, Kristen came over to watch Dancing (with the Stars, and yes I am embarassed that I watch it) and said something to Matt about his wife. I think it was the first time I heard someone else say it. And with that sentence it was real. I am someone's wife.
And I feel totally like Monica, but there is a tiny part of me that is sad that I will never get to do it again!
Everything went really well, almost perfect, and I kept telling Matt that we must have done something right because I definitely felt like someone was watching over us that day. The weather was beautiful (sunny, clear, warm but not too hot) which for around here seems very rare. The ceremony was perfect with no one fainting (thats a long time to kneel), no one spilling anything on their clothes, and my beautiful niece even
The reception was awesome. I was stressed for weeks about how much food and alcohol to order and I think we did almost perfect on that as well. We drank almost all of the alcohol (some people might have had TOO much fun but I'm not naming names) and we saved most of the wine we had left over (for anniversaries, special occasions, etc.) The food got rave reviews and the tiny bite that I had to eat was really good. I would have loved to have eaten more, but by the time we ate I had been wearing my dress for almost seven hours and that is not an easy piece of clothing to eat in. Or drink in. Or dance in. But it looked great!!
It feels so incredibly weird (in a good way) and at the same point feels like nothing has changed. The entire time we were in Mexico (which was also awesome) I kept having to remind myself we were really married. Every time I saw Matt's ring on his hand it was like wow, we really did it. The day after we got back, Kristen came over to watch Dancing (with the Stars, and yes I am embarassed that I watch it) and said something to Matt about his wife. I think it was the first time I heard someone else say it. And with that sentence it was real. I am someone's wife.
And I feel totally like Monica, but there is a tiny part of me that is sad that I will never get to do it again!
Monday, October 4, 2010
Today
Today has been both good and bad.
It is the first time in six years that I've gone to work today: bad.
I finally talked to the limo company and I think I have things worked out : good.
Have to get more alcohol/ice/cups for the limo (trolley): bad.
Programs are ready: good.
Have to fold programs: bad.
Only 1.5 days of work left: good.
1.5 days of work left: bad.
Got to watch most of Gossip Girl on my lunch break: good.
Had to come back from lunch: bad.
Let the dog out over my lunch break: good.
Still have over an hour left of work: bad.
Might go see Social Network this week: good.
I am officially poor: bad.
I am getting married in five days!!!! GOOD!!!
It is the first time in six years that I've gone to work today: bad.
I finally talked to the limo company and I think I have things worked out : good.
Have to get more alcohol/ice/cups for the limo (trolley): bad.
Programs are ready: good.
Have to fold programs: bad.
Only 1.5 days of work left: good.
1.5 days of work left: bad.
Got to watch most of Gossip Girl on my lunch break: good.
Had to come back from lunch: bad.
Let the dog out over my lunch break: good.
Still have over an hour left of work: bad.
Might go see Social Network this week: good.
I am officially poor: bad.
I am getting married in five days!!!! GOOD!!!
Friday, September 24, 2010
Bad Child
I've talked before how lucky we are to have been blessed with such a good dog. She really is wonderful and I really can't imagine life without her anymore, but lately she has been acting out.
We went to my dad's last sunday for dinner and I brought her with us. I took her out in his backyard and played fetch with her for awhile and she went to the bathroom while we were out there, so when we went inside I didn't really watch her (because I never do) and let her wander as she always does. After we left I got a text from my dad letting me know that we forgot a couple of things there. One was my sunglasses. The other was the pile of dog doodie that Scout left in his computer room. Oopsies.
Then last night, I noticed that my little angel had been chewing on the wall. Yeah, you read that right. In our new apartment there is this molding on the wall at the bottom that is in squares (really hard to describe) in the dining room. At some point Scout had chewed off the corner of it. Considering it is white and she chewed through to the tan wood, it is really obvious what she did. Now not only are we going to have to pay for it, I have to walk by and look at it every day.
I know these might seem like minor things, but Scout has never taken a shadoobie in the house. Ever. Even when we first got her. She pretty much never chews on things either. I am worried this is only going to get worse. If I had to use my professional pet psychiatry skills, I would guess this is due to moving and her being away from her buddy Baxter. I hope she gets used to it soon. I don't like being mad at her and we're not sharing custody of the kids with Kristen so things are not exactly going to change any time soon.
We went to my dad's last sunday for dinner and I brought her with us. I took her out in his backyard and played fetch with her for awhile and she went to the bathroom while we were out there, so when we went inside I didn't really watch her (because I never do) and let her wander as she always does. After we left I got a text from my dad letting me know that we forgot a couple of things there. One was my sunglasses. The other was the pile of dog doodie that Scout left in his computer room. Oopsies.
Then last night, I noticed that my little angel had been chewing on the wall. Yeah, you read that right. In our new apartment there is this molding on the wall at the bottom that is in squares (really hard to describe) in the dining room. At some point Scout had chewed off the corner of it. Considering it is white and she chewed through to the tan wood, it is really obvious what she did. Now not only are we going to have to pay for it, I have to walk by and look at it every day.
I know these might seem like minor things, but Scout has never taken a shadoobie in the house. Ever. Even when we first got her. She pretty much never chews on things either. I am worried this is only going to get worse. If I had to use my professional pet psychiatry skills, I would guess this is due to moving and her being away from her buddy Baxter. I hope she gets used to it soon. I don't like being mad at her and we're not sharing custody of the kids with Kristen so things are not exactly going to change any time soon.
Sunday, September 19, 2010
Bacheloretting it Up
Last night was my second event to celebrate my impending loss of my single status. In order words, my second bachelorette party.
We had a blast in Vegas, but decided to go out once here for those who weren't able to make it. We started with dinner at the 75th St. Brewery followed by drinks, drinks at Lew's and finally more drinks at Tanner's. I had a lot of fun but learned one very important fact: I can't drink anymore. I don't enjoy it, especially the next morning. I have basically felt like crap all day today. I think that two should be my limit from now on, unless for special occasions. Three might be okay then.
I didn't take any pictures last night because my camera crapped out in Vegas and I never got a new one, so here are some pics from Vegas.
Getting ready to leave and the view coming in:
Hitting up the airport casinos.
Does the real Caesar live here?
Swim up Casino, we should bring those here.
The two best things to do in Vegas: gamble and eat!!
We had a blast in Vegas, but decided to go out once here for those who weren't able to make it. We started with dinner at the 75th St. Brewery followed by drinks, drinks at Lew's and finally more drinks at Tanner's. I had a lot of fun but learned one very important fact: I can't drink anymore. I don't enjoy it, especially the next morning. I have basically felt like crap all day today. I think that two should be my limit from now on, unless for special occasions. Three might be okay then.
I didn't take any pictures last night because my camera crapped out in Vegas and I never got a new one, so here are some pics from Vegas.
Getting ready to leave and the view coming in:
Does the real Caesar live here?
Friday, September 17, 2010
So much time, so little to do... wait....
This week was spent trying to squeeze in final meetings, finalize lists, finalize music, finalize programs, you know the drill. I think I am finally ready for this. We met with the reception hall, the caterer and the florist. I've set two hair appointments for the next two weeks (final cut/color, practice run), final dress fitting, meeting with the cake lady, another wedding to attend, AND another bachelorette party for me. Oh yeah, somewhere in all of this I'm pretty sure I still have a job to go to (god I hope I do).
One HUGE gripe from this week. I swear if I hear, "sure, but that will be extra" one more time I'm going to hurt someone. They don't tell you all of this a year ago when you book them. They say things like, "ok", and "I'm sure we can figure something out." FYI - if anyone ever says to you, I'm sure we can figure something out, that translates to "we can do it, but you're going to be paying for it, and we're not cheap."
If we can get through the next three weeks without killing each other and with at least a little scrilla to take on the honeymoon, I feel like I will be a much more relaxed person after this is all over. Speaking of that, I thought of something yesterday which had never hit me. What am I going to do when we're finally married? How will I spend my lunch breaks, evenings and weekends? What will people talk to me about?
One HUGE gripe from this week. I swear if I hear, "sure, but that will be extra" one more time I'm going to hurt someone. They don't tell you all of this a year ago when you book them. They say things like, "ok", and "I'm sure we can figure something out." FYI - if anyone ever says to you, I'm sure we can figure something out, that translates to "we can do it, but you're going to be paying for it, and we're not cheap."
If we can get through the next three weeks without killing each other and with at least a little scrilla to take on the honeymoon, I feel like I will be a much more relaxed person after this is all over. Speaking of that, I thought of something yesterday which had never hit me. What am I going to do when we're finally married? How will I spend my lunch breaks, evenings and weekends? What will people talk to me about?
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
Waiting
I feel like we're playing the waiting game. Waiting for people to RSVP (please reply, don't you like me? Don't you want to come to my wedding? Even if you don't want to come, at least tell me. I just want to know.)
Waiting to pay final bills. Actually, dreading paying everything off. Hoping to get everything paid for.
Waiting to move. That is right, we are moving in the small amount of time between now and when we get married. I can thank my lovely future husband for that. While it will be nice to come home from our honeymoon to our lovely apartment that is all ours, the thought of the hectic moving process being thrown into all of this is daunting to say the least. Terrifying comes to mind.
Waiting to get all of the players in our wedding nailed down. Again, that is right. We have had more than one person who is in the wedding cancel on us in the last week. Awesome, perfect timing. I thought a wedding, in part, is supposed to be a reminder of everyone in your life that loves you and all of them coming together to celebrate you and your union. So far, a large part of me is not feeling the love.
Waiting to be married. I'm ready.
Waiting to pay final bills. Actually, dreading paying everything off. Hoping to get everything paid for.
Waiting to move. That is right, we are moving in the small amount of time between now and when we get married. I can thank my lovely future husband for that. While it will be nice to come home from our honeymoon to our lovely apartment that is all ours, the thought of the hectic moving process being thrown into all of this is daunting to say the least. Terrifying comes to mind.
Waiting to get all of the players in our wedding nailed down. Again, that is right. We have had more than one person who is in the wedding cancel on us in the last week. Awesome, perfect timing. I thought a wedding, in part, is supposed to be a reminder of everyone in your life that loves you and all of them coming together to celebrate you and your union. So far, a large part of me is not feeling the love.
Waiting to be married. I'm ready.
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
RSVP
We finally got our invitations sent out last week, after much stress and hair pulling (me doing my own, not anyone else's), and I swear it felt like I gave birth. I know that sounds like a scary analogy, but for months these invitations have been like my children.
I spent weeks making decisions about them. While it didn't take long to pick them out, deciding on details like what color, what wording, which map, etc. was total agony. Then when I did finally pick them out, they showed up in about 8,000 pieces. Matt's first words when we got them were, we spent how much and we still have to put them together ourselves? (Stupid men.)
So after all of the decision making came all of the manual labor. Hours went into putting them all together (all 8,000 pieces) and making sure the response cards were stamped and ready to go. (Can't forget stamps, big no no.)
Then came the waiting. We had someone address the envelopes for us and the waiting game became almost unbearable. Days went by, then weeks with my beautiful invitations just taunting me from the table. I was terrified that someone would spill on them or one of the dogs would get to them, so then they went into the guest bedroom. This made me sad too because then I didn't get to see them (trust me, if you spent the time/money I did on these bad boys you would want them constantly around you as well. See, they are like kids.)
Finally last week the envelopes were in, we got them all stuffed and stamped and out they went. Besides a few forgotten boyfriends/guests I think they went out without a problem.
I got home from work yesterday and on the table with the mail were the two most beautiful envelopes I had ever seen.... two responses! They were both yes, so that made it even better! I have no idea why I got so excited, but it was awesome. I can't wait to get more!
Oh my god I get married in like 40 something days. Has it really gone by this fast? Am I really getting my dress fitted this week? Did I seriously buy my shoes last weekend? Are those my bridesmaids gifts in the mail? Where has the time gone. Hopefully I still have some hair left by wedding time, and I haven't pulled it all out because of stress!!
I spent weeks making decisions about them. While it didn't take long to pick them out, deciding on details like what color, what wording, which map, etc. was total agony. Then when I did finally pick them out, they showed up in about 8,000 pieces. Matt's first words when we got them were, we spent how much and we still have to put them together ourselves? (Stupid men.)
So after all of the decision making came all of the manual labor. Hours went into putting them all together (all 8,000 pieces) and making sure the response cards were stamped and ready to go. (Can't forget stamps, big no no.)
Then came the waiting. We had someone address the envelopes for us and the waiting game became almost unbearable. Days went by, then weeks with my beautiful invitations just taunting me from the table. I was terrified that someone would spill on them or one of the dogs would get to them, so then they went into the guest bedroom. This made me sad too because then I didn't get to see them (trust me, if you spent the time/money I did on these bad boys you would want them constantly around you as well. See, they are like kids.)
Finally last week the envelopes were in, we got them all stuffed and stamped and out they went. Besides a few forgotten boyfriends/guests I think they went out without a problem.
I got home from work yesterday and on the table with the mail were the two most beautiful envelopes I had ever seen.... two responses! They were both yes, so that made it even better! I have no idea why I got so excited, but it was awesome. I can't wait to get more!
Oh my god I get married in like 40 something days. Has it really gone by this fast? Am I really getting my dress fitted this week? Did I seriously buy my shoes last weekend? Are those my bridesmaids gifts in the mail? Where has the time gone. Hopefully I still have some hair left by wedding time, and I haven't pulled it all out because of stress!!
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
I Had a Panic Attack, So I Watched Television
As of yesterday we are under the two months mark. This may still sound like a long time, but for someone who has already been engaged for fourteen months less than two is like a minute and a half. I am starting to freak out. Who are we kidding? I did that a long time ago....
More wedding updates:
1. Matt and I started our marriage prep classes on Sunday. Four weeks for two hours every Sunday. I was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed this class. We do two sections of the book a night. We start with a small video (which is the only part I don't like because the videos are from the early 90s and are super boring) then fill out questions in our book that pertain to the video. After we have answered all of the questions, we talk about our answers together.
Matt and I have been dating for over three years so I like to think that we know each other pretty well. After looking over these questions, it is almost scary how well we know each other. They were still super interesting though. They were for the most part things that we would never have discussed on our own. The second section last night was about baggage and how our personal baggage from the way we were raised can be brought into the marriage and can affect it. For one question, there were about 30 charactaristics listed out and we had to check off all of the ones that attracted us to our partner. Then of the check marks, we had to circle the ones that we might be worried about in the future. (Basically, things that we found cute in the beginning but might eventually cause problems.) Very insightful.
2. Number two wedding shower is this weekend in Iowa and I am super, super stoked! Getting more stuff is only one of the reasons why I can't wait! We are also going to the Iowa state fair and I cannot wait to see some cows made out of things! Also, I checked my registry again (see previous post as to why I am a crazy stalker) and our family must really like us because there are some really good things are on there. Makes me really excited to get a kitchen full of brand new stuff!
Now on to the television part...
Bachelor Pad started on Monday and good lord it was awesome. I made the mistake of venturing over to realitysteve.com so I read some spoilers (by some I mean I pretty much know everything that happens) and it was still totally awesome.
Crazy Michelle from Jake's season was back and she did not disappoint. When she locked Tenley in the bathroom saying things like, "you should have never started a rumor about me" I was nearly crying I was laughing so hard. I only wish she could have stayed longer. And when Jesse Kovacs was making fun of Elizabeth to Dave, "why didn't you ask me about my date yet?" "Because you were only gone for four hours", Kristen and I were both dying.
This show is like an updated version of the Real World/Road Rules challenges on MTV, only with people that are slightly less annoying but bring a whole lot more crazy to the table. The geniuses at ABC also realized what the slower individuals at MTV have yet to figure out: the challenges are secondary to what people really want to see, which is drinking and a whole lot of bootie. The "challenge" of this week's episode was a giant game of Twister. It took up all of three minutes, and the other one hour and fifty-seven minutes could be devoted to drinking and fake romance in the making.
Real Housewives of New Jersey was also on, but not much to say other than let's pick it up ladies. I was not very interested and frankly started getting bored towards the end. Who takes that many small kids on a cruise around Europe? Apparently we now know.
More wedding updates:
1. Matt and I started our marriage prep classes on Sunday. Four weeks for two hours every Sunday. I was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed this class. We do two sections of the book a night. We start with a small video (which is the only part I don't like because the videos are from the early 90s and are super boring) then fill out questions in our book that pertain to the video. After we have answered all of the questions, we talk about our answers together.
Matt and I have been dating for over three years so I like to think that we know each other pretty well. After looking over these questions, it is almost scary how well we know each other. They were still super interesting though. They were for the most part things that we would never have discussed on our own. The second section last night was about baggage and how our personal baggage from the way we were raised can be brought into the marriage and can affect it. For one question, there were about 30 charactaristics listed out and we had to check off all of the ones that attracted us to our partner. Then of the check marks, we had to circle the ones that we might be worried about in the future. (Basically, things that we found cute in the beginning but might eventually cause problems.) Very insightful.
2. Number two wedding shower is this weekend in Iowa and I am super, super stoked! Getting more stuff is only one of the reasons why I can't wait! We are also going to the Iowa state fair and I cannot wait to see some cows made out of things! Also, I checked my registry again (see previous post as to why I am a crazy stalker) and our family must really like us because there are some really good things are on there. Makes me really excited to get a kitchen full of brand new stuff!
Now on to the television part...
Bachelor Pad started on Monday and good lord it was awesome. I made the mistake of venturing over to realitysteve.com so I read some spoilers (by some I mean I pretty much know everything that happens) and it was still totally awesome.
Crazy Michelle from Jake's season was back and she did not disappoint. When she locked Tenley in the bathroom saying things like, "you should have never started a rumor about me" I was nearly crying I was laughing so hard. I only wish she could have stayed longer. And when Jesse Kovacs was making fun of Elizabeth to Dave, "why didn't you ask me about my date yet?" "Because you were only gone for four hours", Kristen and I were both dying.
This show is like an updated version of the Real World/Road Rules challenges on MTV, only with people that are slightly less annoying but bring a whole lot more crazy to the table. The geniuses at ABC also realized what the slower individuals at MTV have yet to figure out: the challenges are secondary to what people really want to see, which is drinking and a whole lot of bootie. The "challenge" of this week's episode was a giant game of Twister. It took up all of three minutes, and the other one hour and fifty-seven minutes could be devoted to drinking and fake romance in the making.
Real Housewives of New Jersey was also on, but not much to say other than let's pick it up ladies. I was not very interested and frankly started getting bored towards the end. Who takes that many small kids on a cruise around Europe? Apparently we now know.
Monday, August 2, 2010
Television Update
Unfortunately for me, and Matt and Kristen, I came down with a serious case of hives last night so I didn't really get much good television watching in. It was the weirdest thing.
I came home from work totally fine. Sat down on the couch to watch some tube with Kristen (typical evening activities) and my stomach started to itch. I figured I attained another mosquito bite and didn't think twice about it. And then my whole stomach started itching, along with my back, and my arms, and a little bit on my legs. Hives had taken over my entire mid-section and I was not having it. I tried taking an oatmeal bath with some Aveeno stuff I happened to have and it did not seem to do a whole lot.
So I swallowed a bunch of Benedryl and decided to sleep it off in an allergy coma. When I woke up this morning, nada. Nothing. Not even a tiny bit itchy. The whole thing was very strange....
The one show I did manage to watch last night before being knocked out was Big Brother. Dear lord I don't even know what to think about this show anymore. Rachel has become the newest addition to the punching list (someone that if any of us run into them in real life, we have to punch them.) She gets worse every week! And did anyone else scream out an exaggerated nooooo when Brendon told her that he loved her last week?? And finally, when they won the movie last night, Brendon talks about how excited he is to take his girl out to a movie. Am I crazy? Are these people obnoxious about their three week old romance??
My new pick to win: Enzo. Love that crazy bastard. I used to think that it was weird that he named himself Meow Meow, but I recently realized that I absolutely love that he did that. Him and Lane's reaction to the cat fight last night was priceless. Love them both. Final Two!!
I came home from work totally fine. Sat down on the couch to watch some tube with Kristen (typical evening activities) and my stomach started to itch. I figured I attained another mosquito bite and didn't think twice about it. And then my whole stomach started itching, along with my back, and my arms, and a little bit on my legs. Hives had taken over my entire mid-section and I was not having it. I tried taking an oatmeal bath with some Aveeno stuff I happened to have and it did not seem to do a whole lot.
So I swallowed a bunch of Benedryl and decided to sleep it off in an allergy coma. When I woke up this morning, nada. Nothing. Not even a tiny bit itchy. The whole thing was very strange....
The one show I did manage to watch last night before being knocked out was Big Brother. Dear lord I don't even know what to think about this show anymore. Rachel has become the newest addition to the punching list (someone that if any of us run into them in real life, we have to punch them.) She gets worse every week! And did anyone else scream out an exaggerated nooooo when Brendon told her that he loved her last week?? And finally, when they won the movie last night, Brendon talks about how excited he is to take his girl out to a movie. Am I crazy? Are these people obnoxious about their three week old romance??
My new pick to win: Enzo. Love that crazy bastard. I used to think that it was weird that he named himself Meow Meow, but I recently realized that I absolutely love that he did that. Him and Lane's reaction to the cat fight last night was priceless. Love them both. Final Two!!
Friday, July 30, 2010
I've Got Another Confession To Make...
My name is Stephanie, and I am a registry stalker.
It started out simple enough. Matt and I started our first registry about nine months ago last November. A little early, but I am incredibly picky and change my mind about every ten seconds. I wanted time to pick what I loved, then pick something else, then pick something else, and finally go back to what I originally loved. I needed time, space and options. I gave myself all three.
And then my first shower arrived. All of my friends came, my family was there, there was food, there was booze, what more could you want? It started a new crazy in me that I had no idea was there. For months when I checked the registry it was to tweak it. Delete what was no longer in season, what I no longer liked, what I felt I no longer needed, and what I couldn't wait any longer for and had already bought myself.
But then June arrived and there were things on there that we no longer needed because someone else had bought them! I was getting presents! (Correction: we were getting presents. Hard to remember sometimes.) People were actually buying what I had asked them to. (Again, what we had asked them to.) I loved it.
You would think that it would make the shower boring knowing what I was getting ahead of time, but you would be wrong. The reasoning is two-fold:
1. I hide my stalking from my future husband. He has no idea that I check it regularly so in the hopes of hiding this from him, I did not tell him that I already knew everything that we were getting. This caused him to be very surprised and excited about each thing we opened. While excited, I was not exactly surprised. So Matt covered the surprise aspect I was missing.
2. Knowing everything ahead of time, but not who bought what, created a whole new element to gift opening. It was fun to figure out who picked out which gift for us.
Up until this month I thought this was normal and did not think twice about it. By my stalking has reached almost unreasonable levels. I check it everyday now. And I'm still making changes.
Every once in awhile, I get on there and that beautiful number under the already has column goes up one. And I rejoice. The fact that I won't get to use these gifts for another couple of months doesn't matter to me. The fact that someone has already bought us the beautiful stainless steel Cuisinart blender that we picked out has gotten me through the last hour at work. I can imagine what it will be like to be needing a little blender and to be able to pull that beautiful piece of art out of the cabinet. And I will rejoice then too. For now, the thought of my future kitchen is enough to get me through. I don't need the real thing. Yet.
One final reason I need to be a stalker (or, one more justification for doing it):
I was looking at our Crate and Barrel registry today and realized that almost ten different things we had picked out are no longer available. These include, but are not limited to the beautiful paisley placemats that I was so excited to convince Matt to put on the registry. In all seriousness, I teared up when I realized that they are no longer available on-line or in any store near anyone I know well enough to call up like a crazy person and ask them to go pick up for me. They're gone. I am devastated.
And had I not been stalking, the wedding might have come and gone with those placemats still on the registry, tricking anyone who dare attempt to buy them for us. You are welcome.
It started out simple enough. Matt and I started our first registry about nine months ago last November. A little early, but I am incredibly picky and change my mind about every ten seconds. I wanted time to pick what I loved, then pick something else, then pick something else, and finally go back to what I originally loved. I needed time, space and options. I gave myself all three.
And then my first shower arrived. All of my friends came, my family was there, there was food, there was booze, what more could you want? It started a new crazy in me that I had no idea was there. For months when I checked the registry it was to tweak it. Delete what was no longer in season, what I no longer liked, what I felt I no longer needed, and what I couldn't wait any longer for and had already bought myself.
But then June arrived and there were things on there that we no longer needed because someone else had bought them! I was getting presents! (Correction: we were getting presents. Hard to remember sometimes.) People were actually buying what I had asked them to. (Again, what we had asked them to.) I loved it.
You would think that it would make the shower boring knowing what I was getting ahead of time, but you would be wrong. The reasoning is two-fold:
1. I hide my stalking from my future husband. He has no idea that I check it regularly so in the hopes of hiding this from him, I did not tell him that I already knew everything that we were getting. This caused him to be very surprised and excited about each thing we opened. While excited, I was not exactly surprised. So Matt covered the surprise aspect I was missing.
2. Knowing everything ahead of time, but not who bought what, created a whole new element to gift opening. It was fun to figure out who picked out which gift for us.
Up until this month I thought this was normal and did not think twice about it. By my stalking has reached almost unreasonable levels. I check it everyday now. And I'm still making changes.
Every once in awhile, I get on there and that beautiful number under the already has column goes up one. And I rejoice. The fact that I won't get to use these gifts for another couple of months doesn't matter to me. The fact that someone has already bought us the beautiful stainless steel Cuisinart blender that we picked out has gotten me through the last hour at work. I can imagine what it will be like to be needing a little blender and to be able to pull that beautiful piece of art out of the cabinet. And I will rejoice then too. For now, the thought of my future kitchen is enough to get me through. I don't need the real thing. Yet.
One final reason I need to be a stalker (or, one more justification for doing it):
I was looking at our Crate and Barrel registry today and realized that almost ten different things we had picked out are no longer available. These include, but are not limited to the beautiful paisley placemats that I was so excited to convince Matt to put on the registry. In all seriousness, I teared up when I realized that they are no longer available on-line or in any store near anyone I know well enough to call up like a crazy person and ask them to go pick up for me. They're gone. I am devastated.
And had I not been stalking, the wedding might have come and gone with those placemats still on the registry, tricking anyone who dare attempt to buy them for us. You are welcome.
Thursday, July 29, 2010
Wedding Update - For Real Yo
This is what is happening this week in Wedding Land:
1. I Now Pronounce You...
Last week we went and applied for a marriage license and yesterday Matt went and picked it up so we are well on our way to being legal. I was a little surprised that it cost eighty big ones, but I guess I've never gotten any other license (besides driver's) so maybe they all cost that much.
My other, more likely, theory is that the state of Kansas has wisely figured out a way to take more money from it's residents by increasing the price of a marriage license. Some wise-guy probably figured out that weddings are increasing exponentially (at least among my friends, so I can only assume that this trend resonates everywhere) so why not jack up the price? Most people aren't going to do a whole lot about it because by the time you go apply for one, most likely you already have the venue picked out and if its in the state of Kansas you don't have a whole lot of options. Or, maybe it's just Johnson County that is doing this because we all know everything in Johnson County is more expensive.
Or I just need to shut up about it and be excited about the fact that we are one step closer to being married!
2. You're Invited
Invitations are glue dotted, folded, stuffed and ready to go once we get the addressed envelopes back. And get postage. And take them to the post office. Okay, so they're not quite ready, but if you have any idea how much time it takes to put together an invite with backgrounds and inserts and tabs (oh my!) you will know that the fact that they are almost ready to go is a huge accomplishment.
Really, they've been done for like two weeks but I've been bacheloretting it up in Vegas and working overtime for extra cash money (both in Vegas and at my job) so I haven't had a chance to share any of this glorious news. And I do have some sweet pics from Vegas but as Time Warner has so very nicely left us without internet for the past week, I have not been able to add any.
3. Hairspray
I finalized hair plans with Susan so I think we will all be getting our hair did up real nice. Cindy reccomended her because she did their hair, so I'm not worried at all about having a stranger do everyone's hair. Okay, really I am but I am seriously at the point of not caring anymore. I jumped off of the cliff of giving a damn about two months ago and three miles back. I'm now in the wonderful field of flowers and who cares? What kind of shoes should the bridesmaids wear? Who cares! Ask me another question, I can't wait to shout who cares at you!
* Disclaimer: Although I feel like who gives a damn right now, I will probably care next week or next month or at some point before the wedding. So take my who cares with a grain of salt, smile at me, and then give me some time to think about it.
I realized the other day I am getting so stressed (only ten weeks away!) that I am just a boiling pot of emotion, with happiness, sadness, and craziness all simmering at the surface waiting to erupt on an unsuspecting bystander. And to add insult to some serious injury, Matt decides that he really wants to move before the wedding! Perfect, one more thing to worry about. I had agreed a couple of months ago, but the closer I get to D Day the more I think he is insane and I must have been drinking the Kool-Aid that day.
1. I Now Pronounce You...
Last week we went and applied for a marriage license and yesterday Matt went and picked it up so we are well on our way to being legal. I was a little surprised that it cost eighty big ones, but I guess I've never gotten any other license (besides driver's) so maybe they all cost that much.
My other, more likely, theory is that the state of Kansas has wisely figured out a way to take more money from it's residents by increasing the price of a marriage license. Some wise-guy probably figured out that weddings are increasing exponentially (at least among my friends, so I can only assume that this trend resonates everywhere) so why not jack up the price? Most people aren't going to do a whole lot about it because by the time you go apply for one, most likely you already have the venue picked out and if its in the state of Kansas you don't have a whole lot of options. Or, maybe it's just Johnson County that is doing this because we all know everything in Johnson County is more expensive.
Or I just need to shut up about it and be excited about the fact that we are one step closer to being married!
2. You're Invited
Invitations are glue dotted, folded, stuffed and ready to go once we get the addressed envelopes back. And get postage. And take them to the post office. Okay, so they're not quite ready, but if you have any idea how much time it takes to put together an invite with backgrounds and inserts and tabs (oh my!) you will know that the fact that they are almost ready to go is a huge accomplishment.
Really, they've been done for like two weeks but I've been bacheloretting it up in Vegas and working overtime for extra cash money (both in Vegas and at my job) so I haven't had a chance to share any of this glorious news. And I do have some sweet pics from Vegas but as Time Warner has so very nicely left us without internet for the past week, I have not been able to add any.
3. Hairspray
I finalized hair plans with Susan so I think we will all be getting our hair did up real nice. Cindy reccomended her because she did their hair, so I'm not worried at all about having a stranger do everyone's hair. Okay, really I am but I am seriously at the point of not caring anymore. I jumped off of the cliff of giving a damn about two months ago and three miles back. I'm now in the wonderful field of flowers and who cares? What kind of shoes should the bridesmaids wear? Who cares! Ask me another question, I can't wait to shout who cares at you!
* Disclaimer: Although I feel like who gives a damn right now, I will probably care next week or next month or at some point before the wedding. So take my who cares with a grain of salt, smile at me, and then give me some time to think about it.
I realized the other day I am getting so stressed (only ten weeks away!) that I am just a boiling pot of emotion, with happiness, sadness, and craziness all simmering at the surface waiting to erupt on an unsuspecting bystander. And to add insult to some serious injury, Matt decides that he really wants to move before the wedding! Perfect, one more thing to worry about. I had agreed a couple of months ago, but the closer I get to D Day the more I think he is insane and I must have been drinking the Kool-Aid that day.
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Wedding Update
My sister makes fun of me that I started this to track wedding plans and have something to look back on when we are married and the stress of a wedding is gone, and laugh at how silly and frantic I was, and then I don't write about our wedding. At all.
I tend to assume that most people don't want to hear about other people's wedding plans. When my old roommate got married, she used to tell me over and over again that she didn't want to overwhelm me with her wedding plans so she never talked about it. I used to literally pry information out of her to help.
I guess I should take a step back and let out what I consider to be a dirty little secret. Not much of a secret because most people know this, but still fairly dirty because I am not exactly proud of this piece of information. I love weddings. I love everything about them. I love monogrammed matchbooks, wedding dresses, guest books, ring bearer tuxes, shoes, hairstyles, gift registries, flower girl dresses, favor boxes, and millions of other things associated with weddings.
Television shows about weddings are always in style. My new favorite is Say Yes to the Dress on TLC. Love it. They had a clip show on a couple of weeks ago that was the ten most memorable brides. I can't even begin to describe how hilarious and at points heartbreaking that episode was.
Even though most of the time my mind can be clouded with a hazy cloud of wedding paraphernalia, I am not so eager to talk about it that I will just start throwing out all of my plans and ideas to any passerby. And then I realized that by not just throwing it out there I am missing out on an opportunity to document what it is like the days leading up to our wedding.
So here it is. Stop reading if you don't want to hear about my plans, all three people that are reading this. Go watch Big Brother. It's decent this season, but I'm definitely missing Jeff and Jordan.
I tend to assume that most people don't want to hear about other people's wedding plans. When my old roommate got married, she used to tell me over and over again that she didn't want to overwhelm me with her wedding plans so she never talked about it. I used to literally pry information out of her to help.
I guess I should take a step back and let out what I consider to be a dirty little secret. Not much of a secret because most people know this, but still fairly dirty because I am not exactly proud of this piece of information. I love weddings. I love everything about them. I love monogrammed matchbooks, wedding dresses, guest books, ring bearer tuxes, shoes, hairstyles, gift registries, flower girl dresses, favor boxes, and millions of other things associated with weddings.
Television shows about weddings are always in style. My new favorite is Say Yes to the Dress on TLC. Love it. They had a clip show on a couple of weeks ago that was the ten most memorable brides. I can't even begin to describe how hilarious and at points heartbreaking that episode was.
Even though most of the time my mind can be clouded with a hazy cloud of wedding paraphernalia, I am not so eager to talk about it that I will just start throwing out all of my plans and ideas to any passerby. And then I realized that by not just throwing it out there I am missing out on an opportunity to document what it is like the days leading up to our wedding.
So here it is. Stop reading if you don't want to hear about my plans, all three people that are reading this. Go watch Big Brother. It's decent this season, but I'm definitely missing Jeff and Jordan.
Friday, July 9, 2010
Where to start, where to start
So I haven't written much lately. Partly because I'm boring, and partly because most of the time I think if I can get through the day without screaming at someone or losing my mind I am coming out on top. Wedding planning is stressful! In order to take my mind off of that for five seconds, here are some of the things that have been going on in the last month (in no particular order):
Father's Day was fun this year. There was croquet, there was ice cream cake, and most importantly there was Toy Story 3!
Father's Day was fun this year. There was croquet, there was ice cream cake, and most importantly there was Toy Story 3!
This was when I found out we were going to see Toy Story 3! (Not really, but I was very excited. And in 3D!)
Then came Bo's birthday extravaganza weekend! Well, she likes to think of it as an extravaganza. First there was dinner at Applebee's with plenty of singing involved.
Aren't they cute??
Then came her trip to see the man, the myth, the Michael Buble. I happened to be downtown for Suzanne's bachelorette party, so the Thibaults graced us with their presence for some after concert drinks and general merriment.
Bo felt the need to keep flashing to everyone how old she was turning.
Her finger is cut off, she's actually 25 now (although you would never guess it....)
We had tons of fun that night with good friends, and hope to do it again sometime! (Maybe not too soon, I definitely paid for it the next day). Exhibit A:
Nativity Reunion!!
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
Recent Events
June has turned out to be super busy! Wedding season has arrived, and unfortunately I still have four months until mine so until then I have many other special events to celebrate.
The season officially kicked off with Nicole's bachelorette party. I think Gammy and I were the hit of the evening with our candy man pouch, candy boobie tassles, and always entertaining board game: Who's the Biggest Pervert?
For a little down time, and plenty of relaxation, last week was opening day for Baby Pool Thursday.
Look at those crystal clear waters.
Sarah even brought her dog Boomer, although he spent most of the day trying to get out of the backyard. Apparently the lure of the pool did not call out to him as it did to the others. At least he has a pretty sweet collar.
Last Saturday was Nicole's wedding. We had a lot of fun and it was nice for all of us to have the night off together and get a chance to hang out.
All in all a pretty busy couple of weeks and things are not slowing down. This weekend is my wedding shower!! I'm really excited, but also a little stressed out. Next weekend I have another shower and bachelorette party so June will wrap up just as busy as it started!
The season officially kicked off with Nicole's bachelorette party. I think Gammy and I were the hit of the evening with our candy man pouch, candy boobie tassles, and always entertaining board game: Who's the Biggest Pervert?
For a little down time, and plenty of relaxation, last week was opening day for Baby Pool Thursday.
Look at those crystal clear waters.
Sarah even brought her dog Boomer, although he spent most of the day trying to get out of the backyard. Apparently the lure of the pool did not call out to him as it did to the others. At least he has a pretty sweet collar.
Last Saturday was Nicole's wedding. We had a lot of fun and it was nice for all of us to have the night off together and get a chance to hang out.
All in all a pretty busy couple of weeks and things are not slowing down. This weekend is my wedding shower!! I'm really excited, but also a little stressed out. Next weekend I have another shower and bachelorette party so June will wrap up just as busy as it started!
Monday, June 7, 2010
Nothing New
This weekend was loooong. I had to work both Saturday and Sunday which is definitely no good. The flip side is that I have another four day weekend this weekend, but Wednesday night cannot come soon enough!
Saturday night went out for Rachel's birthday and actually had so much fun! I played DD so I only had one drink all night, but I am proof positive that you don't need alcohol to have fun! (If someone would have told 21 year old me that I would ever say that and kinda mean it I would have called them a damn liar!) Went to Lew's for the first time and really enjoyed myself.
Sunday morning wasn't feeling so hot going to work. I wasn't hungover (obviously after only one drink, I'm not that much of a lightweight) but my body definitely does not like a 4:00 a.m. bed time on a work night.
Today felt like it lasted foooorever. Super busy at work because its always busy on Mondays, but all I could think about is how close I am to a day off! Gammy and I stopped at Costco and Whole Foods on the way home, so now we're in with the Bachelorette for the evening.
I just re-read that and realized how truly sad I've become.....
Saturday night went out for Rachel's birthday and actually had so much fun! I played DD so I only had one drink all night, but I am proof positive that you don't need alcohol to have fun! (If someone would have told 21 year old me that I would ever say that and kinda mean it I would have called them a damn liar!) Went to Lew's for the first time and really enjoyed myself.
Sunday morning wasn't feeling so hot going to work. I wasn't hungover (obviously after only one drink, I'm not that much of a lightweight) but my body definitely does not like a 4:00 a.m. bed time on a work night.
Today felt like it lasted foooorever. Super busy at work because its always busy on Mondays, but all I could think about is how close I am to a day off! Gammy and I stopped at Costco and Whole Foods on the way home, so now we're in with the Bachelorette for the evening.
I just re-read that and realized how truly sad I've become.....
Friday, May 28, 2010
A Picture Says...
I love these pictures for several reasons.
1. In the top one I am very clearly more interested in my phone and whatever I am texting than the child that I am holding.
2. I'm so interested in texting I don't even notice her sticking her fingers up my nose.
3. As soon as I start paying attention to Hadley, Gracen shows up to try to swipe my phone.
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Please Hurry Midnight
Why would I be so excited for midnight on a Wednesday you might ask? Well, 12:01 to be exact. Because this is not like any other Wednesday. This is SATC2 premiere night!! I bought tickets weeks ago and Gammy and I are just wasting some time before it is time to head up to the theatre. There are very few movies I get this excited about and this is one. I remember watching the early seasons on VHS in the dorms (thats right, VHS tapes) too many years ago. I remember watching the series finale crammed in someone's dorm room because they were the only person we knew who had HBO. I remember crying many times and loving it. I remember waiting in line to see the first movie two years ago. And hopefully I will remember going tonight and loving it!
Monday, May 24, 2010
Say Ugly!
Matt and I are getting our engagement photos taken tomorrow and I am absolutely terrified. I'm not exactly the most photogenic person in the world. My faces in photos are so bad that my sister has threatened for a couple of years now to make a coffee table book with all of my beatiful head shots. Last year for Christmas I actually made her one on Shutterfly and trust me, there was no shortage of awfully awesome pictures of my face.
To make me feel better, I googled bad engagement photos and these are a few winners.
No matter how bad I look, there is no way that it can be this bad. Good night of sleep, here I come.
To make me feel better, I googled bad engagement photos and these are a few winners.
No matter how bad I look, there is no way that it can be this bad. Good night of sleep, here I come.
Sunday, May 23, 2010
Finales, Part Deux
Please don't read if you haven't watched these yet, it will ruin them as my sister ruined GG for me by telling me that someone gets shot, I literally spent the last fifteen minutes going does Georgina shoot Dan for impregnating her? Do Blair and Serena get shot in Paris? Maybe Eric goes psycho and shoots Jenny (this is what I wished). Also, I accidentally read about some of it on-line, but I guess thats what you get for waiting a week to watch the finale.
* Gossip Girl - not a huge fan. Stupid Jenny and her nasty rat hair had to ruin it for everybody. And when she sits there crying about how she is alone, no one loves her, etc. I just wanted Eric to go listen up crackhead, stop attempting to/sleeping with other people's boyfriends and maybe everybody won't hate you. Maybe. Also, GG writers can you please get Chuck and Blair back together? They were so close, and I like them so much better when they're together. I'm guessing that is why you made those mean foreign men shoot Chuck, so Blair will feel awful, will listen to what happened, and they will live happily ever after. At least that is what happens in my GG.
Kristen has been baffled/disgusted with my love for Chuck from the beginning, but for whatever reason I like the guy. I can't even tell you why. I think it might be the whole transformation from douche bag to stellar boyfriend. Everyone loves a good transformation story.
* Grey's Anatomy - I don't even know where to begin to put into words what this episode was like to watch. Unless you watched it, words can't do justice to the emotional rollercoaster that unfolded over two hours of pretty darn good television. I had to spend a couple of days beforehand catching up on a couple of months worth of GA episodes because it had started to bore me a little and I had fallen behind. God am I thankful I took that time. I have several points to make about this episode, so here goes.
3. I was surprised by the slow, painful process of the SWAT team clearing out the hospital. The whole time we're watching it, Kristen and I are yelling why aren't they sending in like 200 swarming men and take that bastard down? Well, according to the above mentioned blog, she brought in a SWAT guy to walk her through it and that is how they would actually do it. I guess he would know better than me.
4. If Lexie chooses Alex I'm going to throw up a little out of anger/disgust. He was saying Izzie's name on his death bed. He doesn't want you. Go back to Sloan (who aside from being way hotter is also actually turning into a really sweet guy.)
5. I'm really upset about the actor they choose for Mr. Clarke (the shooter). For anyone who watched/watches The West Wing on Bravo (like I do religiously every morning) you will recognize him as Ron, the head of the secret service. I loved him. He was strong, silent, and always there in a crisis. I take my television very seriously and do not like when a good guy plays bad.
6. There were no cliffhangers. I'm laughing as I'm writing this because like many other people, I scream at the television when something huge happens and you have to wait those awful four months to see what happens next. I didn't realize how much I would miss it until its gone. Remember the stellar finale with Denny and in the end Finn and Derek are both saying Meredith and you don't know who she goes with and its so intense...
*LOST - okay so this isn't so much about the LOST finale, mostly because I'm not watching it so I have no comment about what happens. This is more in sadness that Gammy and I did not watch LOST fast enough to catch up to the finale. She just finished season four and is starting season five so she is close. I'm in the middle of season four. It is so good! I told Kristen the other day that as much as I'm loving it, I'm kind of glad we waited until the end of the show to start watching it. Think about it, all of the suckers that watched it from the beginning would get to those stellar season finales and have to wait months to see what happens next. We just pop in the next disc! Genius I tell you.
* Gossip Girl - not a huge fan. Stupid Jenny and her nasty rat hair had to ruin it for everybody. And when she sits there crying about how she is alone, no one loves her, etc. I just wanted Eric to go listen up crackhead, stop attempting to/sleeping with other people's boyfriends and maybe everybody won't hate you. Maybe. Also, GG writers can you please get Chuck and Blair back together? They were so close, and I like them so much better when they're together. I'm guessing that is why you made those mean foreign men shoot Chuck, so Blair will feel awful, will listen to what happened, and they will live happily ever after. At least that is what happens in my GG.
Kristen has been baffled/disgusted with my love for Chuck from the beginning, but for whatever reason I like the guy. I can't even tell you why. I think it might be the whole transformation from douche bag to stellar boyfriend. Everyone loves a good transformation story.
* Grey's Anatomy - I don't even know where to begin to put into words what this episode was like to watch. Unless you watched it, words can't do justice to the emotional rollercoaster that unfolded over two hours of pretty darn good television. I had to spend a couple of days beforehand catching up on a couple of months worth of GA episodes because it had started to bore me a little and I had fallen behind. God am I thankful I took that time. I have several points to make about this episode, so here goes.
1. Who's idea was it to put Mandy Moore in this episode? Granted I am slightly biased. Every since I wasted two hours of my life that I will never get back and am subsequently stupider for wasting my time watching A Walk to Remember I have not fondly thought of her. Not to mention that she is a really, really, super bad actress. She has some money right? Use a little bit to pay for some acting classes, if not for yourself do it for all of us.
2. I was shocked by the magnitude of violence portayed in this episode. Seems like a pretty stupid statement about a show centered around a gunman in a hospital, but I was definitely not expecting him to shoot Reed straight in the forehead. Kristen and I both screamed out loud. I was reading the writers' blog from GA (yes, I have no life) and the creator was saying that she wrote it to be so graphic and shocking (the execution of Reed) because she didn't want anyone to feel sorry for the shooter, didn't want to glamourize the senseless, awful violence he was about to unleash. Job very well done ma'am.
3. I was surprised by the slow, painful process of the SWAT team clearing out the hospital. The whole time we're watching it, Kristen and I are yelling why aren't they sending in like 200 swarming men and take that bastard down? Well, according to the above mentioned blog, she brought in a SWAT guy to walk her through it and that is how they would actually do it. I guess he would know better than me.
4. If Lexie chooses Alex I'm going to throw up a little out of anger/disgust. He was saying Izzie's name on his death bed. He doesn't want you. Go back to Sloan (who aside from being way hotter is also actually turning into a really sweet guy.)
5. I'm really upset about the actor they choose for Mr. Clarke (the shooter). For anyone who watched/watches The West Wing on Bravo (like I do religiously every morning) you will recognize him as Ron, the head of the secret service. I loved him. He was strong, silent, and always there in a crisis. I take my television very seriously and do not like when a good guy plays bad.6. There were no cliffhangers. I'm laughing as I'm writing this because like many other people, I scream at the television when something huge happens and you have to wait those awful four months to see what happens next. I didn't realize how much I would miss it until its gone. Remember the stellar finale with Denny and in the end Finn and Derek are both saying Meredith and you don't know who she goes with and its so intense...
*LOST - okay so this isn't so much about the LOST finale, mostly because I'm not watching it so I have no comment about what happens. This is more in sadness that Gammy and I did not watch LOST fast enough to catch up to the finale. She just finished season four and is starting season five so she is close. I'm in the middle of season four. It is so good! I told Kristen the other day that as much as I'm loving it, I'm kind of glad we waited until the end of the show to start watching it. Think about it, all of the suckers that watched it from the beginning would get to those stellar season finales and have to wait months to see what happens next. We just pop in the next disc! Genius I tell you.
Will someone please buy me these?
Thursday, May 20, 2010
Dog Park
Since Mother Nature decided to bless us with one nice day this month, Gammy and I decided to take advantage of it and take the dogs to the dog park. I was a little nervous seeing as how Scout can be a little shy but it actually turned out okay.
I think this was the first car ride that Scout actually enjoyed. Normally she's terrified of them, but on the way to the park Baxter showed her how to put her head out the window. She loved it. When we left the park, she actually jumped in the car without me having to shove her in. My little girl is growing up so fast.
This is Scout very excited for her day at the park.
Scout taking it all in.
Neither of them wanted to go in the water. They would get close, but not in.
Scout ready to go home.
Baxter wishes he could have stayed.
I think this was the first car ride that Scout actually enjoyed. Normally she's terrified of them, but on the way to the park Baxter showed her how to put her head out the window. She loved it. When we left the park, she actually jumped in the car without me having to shove her in. My little girl is growing up so fast.
Finale Round Up, Part One
Finales I have watched so far and thoughts (spoiler alert):
* One Tree Hill - quite possibly one of the most boring * Gossip Girl - haven't watched yet, it is patiently waiting on my dvr. I have a feeling that Jenny and her nasty, hot mess of hair will not leave me happy.
* 90210 - Not good. I would leave it at that, but that is not enough said. Similar to OTH's issue, kind of boring. Silver and Teddy get back together (not shocking), Naomi's teacher Tonight is Grey's Anatomy (two hours, woah) which I have not watched in over a month but spent yesterday watching old episodes on-line to catch up, the Mentalist (he finally sees Red John!!), Community, Parks and Rec, the Office, so little time so much to do!!
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