I blame the wedding anxiety. The fact that my mind has been going a million miles a minute.
Or perhaps it was the champagne.
Last night, in an unconscious (subconscious?) state of mind, I left the comfort and quiet of our bed and crept out of our room. Why, you ask?
Well, to systematically remove the shower curtain liner from all of the shower hooks, of course. DUH.
The funny thing is that I wasn't aware of what I had done until I got into the shower this morning and saw that half of the curtain was hanging down. My first thought was "what the hell?" and then it just hit me. I sorta remembered doing it. And really, what other explanation could there be?
The only thing I really remember is struggling with some of the shower hooks. They aren't just hooks, they're actually those plastic rings that snap together. So sometimes, it takes a little effort to pull them apart. Not only that, but apparently I was concentrating enough to only remove the LINER from the rings, not the actual curtain.
Even now, I'm shaking my head at this situation. Why would I do this in the middle of the night? Why did I stop halfway through? Did I even have the light on in the bathroom when I was working on this? It makes no sense. But I guess it's like a dream... the things we think up in that state of sleep rarely do make sense.
Weird.
I'm going to start leaving notes for my subconscious self. If I'm going to get up and do something in the middle of the night, I might as well do something useful. You know, like print and assemble programs or placecards. Or exercise (oooh!). I'd be the ultimate multi-tasker. Sleeping AND wedding planning... at the same time!
Just another exciting night in the life of a soon-to-be Mrs.
17 days!
Showing posts with label random. Show all posts
Showing posts with label random. Show all posts
Wednesday, June 4, 2008
Sunday, June 1, 2008
It's June
It's officially the month of our wedding.
And today, I am speechless.
(But don't expect this to last long.)
And today, I am speechless.
(But don't expect this to last long.)
Friday, May 30, 2008
Experimentation
I had a spray tan done today. Not the kind where you go into a booth (I always think of Ross on Friends), but the kind where you get "airbrushed" by someone who manually sprays you.
It all started two weeks ago when I was at my hair trial. While I was getting my hair done, a girl came in to get her makeup done for her prom. Everyone got to talking, and the makeup artist lectured her about going tanning. The girl said she hadn't gone tanning--she had gotten a spray tan. Everyone was in disbelief that a spray tan could look so good. She said she got it done at a nearby spa, and that it was only $20. This piqued my interest.
I hate tanning beds, and will absolutely never go to one ever again. Not only are they bad for your skin, but I can't imagine spending that much time in one of those hot boxes. I was never the kind of person who thought tanning was "relaxing." I was always counting down the seconds until I could get the hell out of there.
I thought for the wedding... hey, it's in late June. I'll be outside, get some natural color. And even if I don't, oh well, I'll just be pale. Well, the weather has been unseasonably cool here this May, and add to that my extremely busy schedule... I haven't had time to be outside at ALL.
So enter the spray tan. I definitely wanted to try it out before the wedding. I wanted to see how long it lasts on my skin, how it looks on me (hopefully not orange), etc. I called yesterday, scheduled an appointment for today, and I went.
(Side note: Prior to the spray tan, I went with my mom to see the Sex and the City movie. If you're a SATC fan, run! Go see it, now! I was pleasantly surprised by it. I went in with mediocre expectations since I was scared they might "ruin" SATC by making the movie. But it was good. Really good!)
OK, back to the tan. It was... interesting, to say the least. I think my favorite part was when the woman said (in an accent, she was from someplace exotic sounding), "You might want to spread apart your butt cheeks." I actually bust out laughing! She said, "No, I'm serious! One time I had it done and didn't do that, and I went home and the crack of my ass was all white!" I'm not kidding. That is a direct quote. I love it.
Anyway, aside from the butt crack comment, it was uneventful and so far, I like the results. I feel disgustingly sticky and it's killing me that I can't shower until tomorrow morning. But she said it will look really good tomorrow after I shower and get the residual stickiness and some of the coloring stuff off. We'll see what happens. I'm hoping all goes well.
Only thing is that I posted about the spray tan on The Knot, and someone told me that they used to work at a Hollywood Tans, and she said that this stuff WILL come off on my dress. She says it doesn't matter how many days ahead of time I get it done, some of the stuff always stays on your skin. So now I'm seriously reconsidering having this done for the wedding. I'd rather have my pale, pasty self than have orange marks on my dress (obviously).
But I'm kind of confused because I talked to them at the spa specifically about doing it for my wedding, and they made it sound like that was a pretty common thing. I expressed concern about the color on my white dress, and they said that if I came in on Thursday night to get it done for my Saturday wedding, it would be perfect. But how can I chance that? My bachelorette party is tomorrow and I planned on wearing white capris... I'm even afraid to do that in fear of ruining them. Sunday, I can throw on an old undershirt and really test out the spray tan/white clothes combo, but until then, I'm going to be really nervous. My friend gets spray tans regularly and told me she has never had it come off on her clothes, but... I don't know.
Anyone out there have any spray tan expertise to share?
It all started two weeks ago when I was at my hair trial. While I was getting my hair done, a girl came in to get her makeup done for her prom. Everyone got to talking, and the makeup artist lectured her about going tanning. The girl said she hadn't gone tanning--she had gotten a spray tan. Everyone was in disbelief that a spray tan could look so good. She said she got it done at a nearby spa, and that it was only $20. This piqued my interest.
I hate tanning beds, and will absolutely never go to one ever again. Not only are they bad for your skin, but I can't imagine spending that much time in one of those hot boxes. I was never the kind of person who thought tanning was "relaxing." I was always counting down the seconds until I could get the hell out of there.
I thought for the wedding... hey, it's in late June. I'll be outside, get some natural color. And even if I don't, oh well, I'll just be pale. Well, the weather has been unseasonably cool here this May, and add to that my extremely busy schedule... I haven't had time to be outside at ALL.
So enter the spray tan. I definitely wanted to try it out before the wedding. I wanted to see how long it lasts on my skin, how it looks on me (hopefully not orange), etc. I called yesterday, scheduled an appointment for today, and I went.
(Side note: Prior to the spray tan, I went with my mom to see the Sex and the City movie. If you're a SATC fan, run! Go see it, now! I was pleasantly surprised by it. I went in with mediocre expectations since I was scared they might "ruin" SATC by making the movie. But it was good. Really good!)
OK, back to the tan. It was... interesting, to say the least. I think my favorite part was when the woman said (in an accent, she was from someplace exotic sounding), "You might want to spread apart your butt cheeks." I actually bust out laughing! She said, "No, I'm serious! One time I had it done and didn't do that, and I went home and the crack of my ass was all white!" I'm not kidding. That is a direct quote. I love it.
Anyway, aside from the butt crack comment, it was uneventful and so far, I like the results. I feel disgustingly sticky and it's killing me that I can't shower until tomorrow morning. But she said it will look really good tomorrow after I shower and get the residual stickiness and some of the coloring stuff off. We'll see what happens. I'm hoping all goes well.
Only thing is that I posted about the spray tan on The Knot, and someone told me that they used to work at a Hollywood Tans, and she said that this stuff WILL come off on my dress. She says it doesn't matter how many days ahead of time I get it done, some of the stuff always stays on your skin. So now I'm seriously reconsidering having this done for the wedding. I'd rather have my pale, pasty self than have orange marks on my dress (obviously).
But I'm kind of confused because I talked to them at the spa specifically about doing it for my wedding, and they made it sound like that was a pretty common thing. I expressed concern about the color on my white dress, and they said that if I came in on Thursday night to get it done for my Saturday wedding, it would be perfect. But how can I chance that? My bachelorette party is tomorrow and I planned on wearing white capris... I'm even afraid to do that in fear of ruining them. Sunday, I can throw on an old undershirt and really test out the spray tan/white clothes combo, but until then, I'm going to be really nervous. My friend gets spray tans regularly and told me she has never had it come off on her clothes, but... I don't know.
Anyone out there have any spray tan expertise to share?
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
One month to go
As my Dilbert desk calendar reminded me this morning, we are truly in the homestretch now.
Wow, it's weird to think that this is my last "XX month(s) to go" post. I didn't do them every month, but it's especially strange to look back at November posts and see "7 months to go." Yikes. I don't even know how I made it! With the anticipation and excitement I feel now, it's hard to fathom even going through one more month of this... I can't imagine being back at seven months.
This milestone was "celebrated" with yet another wedding dream last night. And of course, it can't ever be a beautiful wedding dream. No, no. It's always gotta be a total catastrophe, everything-you-can-think-of-goes-wrong dream. Except this time, the focus of the dream was on things not being done in advance like they should have been.
Favors? Not done.
Table assignments? Nope, we hadn't even discussed it.
Placecards? Non-existent.
Table number luminaries? Well, we had table #3, but that was it.
Programs? Nada.
Bridesmaid jewelry? Sorry.
So you can easily see where my mind is at. I don't need some fancy dream interpreter to tell me what this stuff means. Clearly, like any good bride-to-be, I'm anxious about the things I have left to do.
The good news is that when I woke up this morning, I had a renewed sense of urgency to get it all done. A fire under my ass, if you will. And waking up also brought a tremendous sense of relief because I realized that no, it is not the wedding day, and yes, it is the one-month-to-go mark, but don't slack, because there's really only 4.5 weeks left to do all this. So get it done, Heather. Or as Michael and our brother-in-law like to say (jokingly, people):
Git 'er done.
Monday, May 12, 2008
The state of things
Less than six weeks to go, and I find myself starting to get just a teensy bit stressed. I guess you can say that I'm just starting to feel the crunch. So much to do, so little time.
It's weird when we lay our weekends out in front of us:
Next weekend--Hair and makeup trial on Saturday.
Memorial Day weekend--Meeting with DJ on Friday night. Visiting Michael's sister on Saturday. Parties on Saturday night.
May 31--Bachelor/bachelorette parties.
June 7/8--So far, nothing. But I'm sure we'll be busy.
June 14--Final haircut/highlights before the wedding.
And then the wedding is here. Umm, hello! Five more weekends?? That's IT? Do you know how fast weeks and weekends go by??? And there's only five left?? WHAT??
Breathe. Just breathe.
I know it'll all work out, but it's just amazing to think about.
Currently, we have nine days left until our RSVP date and we're still waiting on 73 responses. I hope they start rolling in, because I really don't want to have to make those calls. Speaking of RSVPs, we got our first unexpected no responses today. It was from a friend of mine from college. His girlfriend apparently has grad school that weekend, but I was disappointed that he's not coming. His parents live right here in the area and it just seems like he could have easily come out by himself and at least dropped by the wedding for a few hours--and spend time with his parents, too. But you know... you can't control what people choose to do. And I can see not wanting to come solo. I understand it, and I respect it--but it's disappointing, nonetheless.
On Saturday, we went over to my mom's house and spent a few hours there picking out old photos to use for the photo slideshow we're going to put together for the rehearsal dinner. Yesterday, we had lunch with my mom and brothers for Mother's Day, and then we went over to Michael's parents' to have dinner with them. While over there, we spent some time going through old albums to get photos of Michael, too. I was able to scan them all today. Now we have to start editing them together. Only problem is that we're having trouble with the Nero software that we have. I did a test burn today, and we couldn't get it to play in either one of our DVD players. And it's supposedly "compatible with all DVD players." Yeah right. Why can't anything be easy?
I'm also freaking out a little bit about the bridesmaids dresses. We ordered back in January. Supposedly, they were going to be shipped out to me today... but I didn't receive a UPS tracking number like I was supposed to. So now I'm not even sure if they shipped. I have plans to meet up with one of my out-of-town bridesmaids on Friday afternoon to give her the dress... but obviously that can't happen if I don't have the damn dress! We're cutting it close now, all these girls still need to get alterations! I'll feel a lot better once everyone has their dresses and I know that they fit. Until then, I'm a little on edge.
Summer hours started at work this morning. Normally, I work Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. From now until the end of August, I have to go in earlier--8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.--but only Monday through Thursday. Friday? I only have to work from 8:00 a.m. to noon. I love my half-day Fridays! It helps take a little bit of the stress away to know that I'll have those extra hours to help me get things done leading up to the wedding.
Oh! While we were at Michael's parents' yesterday, we were also able to pick up Michael's birth certificate. So now we're all set to go get our marriage license. Just need to figure out a good day to do it. We're going to meet up over the lunch hour one of these days. In New York, the licenses are good for 60 days... so we've been eligible to get it for quite some time now. It'll be nice to have the certificate that makes it all official!
OK, enough rambling for tonight. I'm making my own head spin, I can't imagine how you all feel. :)
It's weird when we lay our weekends out in front of us:
Next weekend--Hair and makeup trial on Saturday.
Memorial Day weekend--Meeting with DJ on Friday night. Visiting Michael's sister on Saturday. Parties on Saturday night.
May 31--Bachelor/bachelorette parties.
June 7/8--So far, nothing. But I'm sure we'll be busy.
June 14--Final haircut/highlights before the wedding.
And then the wedding is here. Umm, hello! Five more weekends?? That's IT? Do you know how fast weeks and weekends go by??? And there's only five left?? WHAT??
Breathe. Just breathe.
I know it'll all work out, but it's just amazing to think about.
Currently, we have nine days left until our RSVP date and we're still waiting on 73 responses. I hope they start rolling in, because I really don't want to have to make those calls. Speaking of RSVPs, we got our first unexpected no responses today. It was from a friend of mine from college. His girlfriend apparently has grad school that weekend, but I was disappointed that he's not coming. His parents live right here in the area and it just seems like he could have easily come out by himself and at least dropped by the wedding for a few hours--and spend time with his parents, too. But you know... you can't control what people choose to do. And I can see not wanting to come solo. I understand it, and I respect it--but it's disappointing, nonetheless.
On Saturday, we went over to my mom's house and spent a few hours there picking out old photos to use for the photo slideshow we're going to put together for the rehearsal dinner. Yesterday, we had lunch with my mom and brothers for Mother's Day, and then we went over to Michael's parents' to have dinner with them. While over there, we spent some time going through old albums to get photos of Michael, too. I was able to scan them all today. Now we have to start editing them together. Only problem is that we're having trouble with the Nero software that we have. I did a test burn today, and we couldn't get it to play in either one of our DVD players. And it's supposedly "compatible with all DVD players." Yeah right. Why can't anything be easy?
I'm also freaking out a little bit about the bridesmaids dresses. We ordered back in January. Supposedly, they were going to be shipped out to me today... but I didn't receive a UPS tracking number like I was supposed to. So now I'm not even sure if they shipped. I have plans to meet up with one of my out-of-town bridesmaids on Friday afternoon to give her the dress... but obviously that can't happen if I don't have the damn dress! We're cutting it close now, all these girls still need to get alterations! I'll feel a lot better once everyone has their dresses and I know that they fit. Until then, I'm a little on edge.
Summer hours started at work this morning. Normally, I work Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. From now until the end of August, I have to go in earlier--8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.--but only Monday through Thursday. Friday? I only have to work from 8:00 a.m. to noon. I love my half-day Fridays! It helps take a little bit of the stress away to know that I'll have those extra hours to help me get things done leading up to the wedding.
Oh! While we were at Michael's parents' yesterday, we were also able to pick up Michael's birth certificate. So now we're all set to go get our marriage license. Just need to figure out a good day to do it. We're going to meet up over the lunch hour one of these days. In New York, the licenses are good for 60 days... so we've been eligible to get it for quite some time now. It'll be nice to have the certificate that makes it all official!
OK, enough rambling for tonight. I'm making my own head spin, I can't imagine how you all feel. :)
Wednesday, May 7, 2008
Booked solid.
At least it feels like we are.I've started to realize that all of the things I've procrastinated on? All those things I said could wait until closer to the wedding? Well, I can't use that excuse anymore. We are close to the wedding.
We have so many upcoming appointments. Our schedules are already busy as it is. Monday and Thursday nights, I have aerobics classes. Tuesday nights, Michael has karate. So usually, during the week, the only nights we have available to run errands or meet with wedding vendors are Wednesdays and Fridays. I can do some things on my own on Tuesdays, but other than that...
Tonight, we went and met with another organist. The first one we met with was not affiliated with the church we're getting married at. He's in Michael's karate class and we thought he would cut us a deal since they know each other. Not so much. It turned out he was more expensive than the guy recommended to us by the coordinator at the church. So I called him and booked him instead. I talked to him today and we were looking at schedules and trying to figure out when we could meet to hear some of the music on the organ in the church and finalize our selections. Things weren't looking good for having it done by the end of May--so he said, "What about tonight?" And there went our relaxing, "nothing-going-on" night.
Next Wednesday, we have to meet with the priest at the church to go over the results of our FOCCUS evaluation that we took a few weeks ago. That will be the last hurdle we have to jump over before we can officially be declared OK to get married in the Catholic church. On May 17, I have my hair trial. On May 20, I have a dress fitting. On May 21, we're meeting with our priest--the one who will perform the ceremony--to go over the details of the wedding and finalize everything with him. I'm also trying to see if I can squeeze in a makeup trial on the same day as my hair trial, but we'll see how that works out.
And there are other meetings to schedule for the beginning of June--DJ, photographers, reception venue walk-through, baker, etc. It's seemingly never-ending. But you know what? Being this busy will certainly make the time fly between now and the wedding. I just hope I don't go crazy.
It's a good thing we have wine. Lots and LOTS of wine, in fact.
You see, my boss gave us our wedding gift early. She came into my office last week and asked if it was OK to bring it into the office some day to give to us. She's the kind of person that gets everything done early (she finishes her Christmas shopping in September/October), so it didn't surprise me that she had purchased a gift already. And I guess she just wanted to get it out of her house. We don't mind; we get to reap the benefits of it early.
And what is it? Our wine fridge.
Hell yeah! So now, including our eight bottle wine rack, we could have as many as 14 bottles of wine on hand at all times. Love it.
I brought the wine fridge home last night. Today, during my lunch break, I took a ride to the liquor store and bought six bottles of wine to stock it up. I mean, come on... if you're going to get a wine fridge, you have to fill it! (And of course, Tess is helping... like always.)
Completely unrelated to the rest of this post, but--seriously--how cute is my dog?? This pic is from Saturday night. She was exhausted and I guess she thought the remote control made an excellent pillow. Honestly, I think she was delirious.
No matter how stressed I get, she never fails to make me smile.
Monday, May 5, 2008
You guys are awesome!
You guys are so great! Thanks to everyone who left comments below, "introducing" yourselves. If you haven't yet left a comment on the post below... please do! I see that I have had 375 "unique visitors" today... and although I am completely grateful for the 42 comments that have been left thus far, those numbers don't really add up, do they? :) So keep the introductions coming!
I am so happy to "meet" many of you. You are all so sweet. Thanks for all of the compliments about anything and everything. And obviously, best of luck to anyone getting married... I definitely reciprocate with all of those good wishes!
Moving forward, I challenge all of you to comment more often. ;) It's great to see that there really are people behind those page hits, and I'd love to hear from you all more frequently.
And as for my blogging... I will not be going anywhere anytime soon! I have plans to keep blogging through the wedding and honeymoon, and at least for a while afterward. And as I complete projects for other brides, I want to continue to post them here. I just might move all my other antics to another (new) blog. I'll be sure to let you all know if and when that happens.
Again, I just have to say how much I appreciate all of you reading. Throughout my experience as a blogger, I've always kind of followed a rule I made for myself--I don't really want to post a blog entry if I really don't have anything interesting to say. As the wedding approaches, I know you've all noticed I've been posting more frequently--and I was so happy to see some of you say you enjoy that.
It's not always easy coming up with things to blog about, but hearing from you guys makes it worth it.
Now back to my regularly scheduled blogging...
I am so happy to "meet" many of you. You are all so sweet. Thanks for all of the compliments about anything and everything. And obviously, best of luck to anyone getting married... I definitely reciprocate with all of those good wishes!
Moving forward, I challenge all of you to comment more often. ;) It's great to see that there really are people behind those page hits, and I'd love to hear from you all more frequently.
And as for my blogging... I will not be going anywhere anytime soon! I have plans to keep blogging through the wedding and honeymoon, and at least for a while afterward. And as I complete projects for other brides, I want to continue to post them here. I just might move all my other antics to another (new) blog. I'll be sure to let you all know if and when that happens.
Again, I just have to say how much I appreciate all of you reading. Throughout my experience as a blogger, I've always kind of followed a rule I made for myself--I don't really want to post a blog entry if I really don't have anything interesting to say. As the wedding approaches, I know you've all noticed I've been posting more frequently--and I was so happy to see some of you say you enjoy that.
It's not always easy coming up with things to blog about, but hearing from you guys makes it worth it.
Now back to my regularly scheduled blogging...
Sunday, May 4, 2008
Come out, come out...
...WHOever you are!
I can't sleep tonight. I hope this isn't the beginning of a trend leading up to the wedding. But my brain is entirely too active to sleep right now.
Anyway, I started this blog as a way to chronicle my whole wedding planning experience for myself.
Over the past 10 months, however, it has become much more than that. According to the stat tracker on my page, I get many, many, many hits every day. People from all over the world--all 50 states, England, France, New Zealand, the Bahamas, Canada, etc. Honestly, every once in a while, I actually get hits from countries I have never even heard of. Those visits from obscure countries may or may not be legitimate readers of the blog, but still.
Sure, the DIY pages and instructions are popular. But the majority of the hits are still for the front page. In theory, these are people just "checking in" on Road to the Aisle.
I've shared, and will continue to share, details about our wedding, our lives, our future, and more. So now I'd like to turn the tables tonight. Please take a minute to leave a comment, and tell me who YOU are.
Where are you from? Are you getting married? If so, when is your wedding? What do you like about Road to the Aisle? Anything in particular you'd like to see more of (or *gasp,* less of?)?
Does anyone have any questions for me? Related to projects? Related to our wedding? Related to life?
I'd really appreciate learning just a little bit about the people behind all of these hits to the blog day after day. You don't even have to register with Blogger to leave a comment. You can just click "anonymous" and type away. Please? Pretty please?
And as always, thanks for reading! :)
I can't sleep tonight. I hope this isn't the beginning of a trend leading up to the wedding. But my brain is entirely too active to sleep right now.
Anyway, I started this blog as a way to chronicle my whole wedding planning experience for myself.
Over the past 10 months, however, it has become much more than that. According to the stat tracker on my page, I get many, many, many hits every day. People from all over the world--all 50 states, England, France, New Zealand, the Bahamas, Canada, etc. Honestly, every once in a while, I actually get hits from countries I have never even heard of. Those visits from obscure countries may or may not be legitimate readers of the blog, but still.
Sure, the DIY pages and instructions are popular. But the majority of the hits are still for the front page. In theory, these are people just "checking in" on Road to the Aisle.
I've shared, and will continue to share, details about our wedding, our lives, our future, and more. So now I'd like to turn the tables tonight. Please take a minute to leave a comment, and tell me who YOU are.
Where are you from? Are you getting married? If so, when is your wedding? What do you like about Road to the Aisle? Anything in particular you'd like to see more of (or *gasp,* less of?)?
Does anyone have any questions for me? Related to projects? Related to our wedding? Related to life?
I'd really appreciate learning just a little bit about the people behind all of these hits to the blog day after day. You don't even have to register with Blogger to leave a comment. You can just click "anonymous" and type away. Please? Pretty please?
And as always, thanks for reading! :)
Saturday, May 3, 2008
We ate like kings
Today, we went to Bed Bath and Beyond to use our gifts cards we received at the shower. We also received two waffle makers, so we had to return one of them. They gave us store credit, so we found something else to buy with that money, too.
We ended up walking out with a rice cooker, a 5-piece Calphalon gadget set (that we needed very badly--mainly for the can opener since ours sucked), a new sink strainer (it's amazing how good the sink looks now), and... a BLENDER!
Last weekend, since we had such nice weather, we really wanted to make strawberry daquiris. Unfortunately, last summer, the motor in our smoothie maker totally died, and we never replaced it. Instead of getting another smoothie maker, we decided to go with a high-powered, good quality blender. We'll see how it works. I'm hoping to test it out tonight. We even stopped by the new liquor store for some rum. ;)
Once home, we fired up the new rice cooker to help us with dinner. Then we ate dinner using our brand new dinnerware!
We decided to go with an old favorite from Rachael Ray. Delicious! And it certainly looked great on our new dishes.
We ended up walking out with a rice cooker, a 5-piece Calphalon gadget set (that we needed very badly--mainly for the can opener since ours sucked), a new sink strainer (it's amazing how good the sink looks now), and... a BLENDER!
Last weekend, since we had such nice weather, we really wanted to make strawberry daquiris. Unfortunately, last summer, the motor in our smoothie maker totally died, and we never replaced it. Instead of getting another smoothie maker, we decided to go with a high-powered, good quality blender. We'll see how it works. I'm hoping to test it out tonight. We even stopped by the new liquor store for some rum. ;)
Once home, we fired up the new rice cooker to help us with dinner. Then we ate dinner using our brand new dinnerware!
We decided to go with an old favorite from Rachael Ray. Delicious! And it certainly looked great on our new dishes.
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Everything goes wrong
I had a dream about the wedding last night. It was the first one in a long time.
In my dream, everything that could have gone wrong with our wedding--did go wrong with our wedding. Well, actually I shouldn't say that. The alarm went off (or rather, the dog jumped on my head) before we even made it to the church. You see, we were running wayyy behind, because everything was going so horribly.
I'd start a narrative of the dream, but it's so disjointed (like many dreams are), it'd just be a rambling mess. So I'll just list off things I remember:
In my dream, everything that could have gone wrong with our wedding--did go wrong with our wedding. Well, actually I shouldn't say that. The alarm went off (or rather, the dog jumped on my head) before we even made it to the church. You see, we were running wayyy behind, because everything was going so horribly.
I'd start a narrative of the dream, but it's so disjointed (like many dreams are), it'd just be a rambling mess. So I'll just list off things I remember:
- My hair? It was never done. I don't know why. I guess my stylist didn't show up.
- The flowers were all the wrong color.
- Our photographers were an hour late.
- The bridesmaids? Fighting.
- We didn't even start getting me into my dress until after 1:00. The limo? Supposed to pick the girls up at 1:30.
- As I pulled my hoop skirt out to put it on, I realized one of the hoops had come undone and I had to mess around with it for 10 minutes to get it figured out.
- Once the dress was finally on, I was walking out the door to go outside and my leg somehow got caught underneath the screen door. No clue how. But blood, dirt, and a torn dress were the results.
- Once outside, we were miraculously in the same place as all the guys. In my dream, I was making a big deal about Michael not seeing me before the wedding. I insisted someone put a blindfold on him.
- At this time, I realize that only two of the groomsmen have tuxes. Michael, the other four groomsmen, and the dads all have no tuxes. They're standing there in street clothes. Mind you, at this time in the dream (approx. 1:30 for a 2:00 wedding), the guys were not only supposed to be dressed, but they were already supposed to be at the church.
- Apparently, there was a problem with the tuxes. The guys are standing at the end of the driveway as if they expect the tuxes to magically appear.
- I start blaming Michael for not coordinating the pick-up of the tuxes on the Thursday before the wedding.
I don't really remember anything else. The limo never arrived. I woke up before the tux issue was resolved. I still had blood and dirt on my dress, and a tear in it.
I guess I can rest assured that in the dream, should I have dreamt the rest of it, we probably would have been married at some point during the day. As long as I didn't kill anybody before I finally got to the church.
What do these things even mean?? How does the subconscious come up with this stuff?
Monday, April 28, 2008
Anniversary
Today is our six year anniversary.
And with only 54 days left until the wedding, it occurs to me that this may be the last time we really celebrate this anniversary. I use the term "celebrate" pretty loosely, since neither one of us has ever really made a big deal about this anniversary. Tonight, I'm going to my aerobics class, just like I would on any normal Monday, and we probably won't even eat dinner together. But hey... we've been officially together for six years.
In 2009, I figure we'll be looking more toward celebrating our REAL anniversary... our first wedding anniversary.
And now for a stroll down memory lane...
Michael and I met on February 22, 2002 (as I like to say--2.22.02!) while we were both sophomores in college. It was a Friday night, and we were out at a bar with friends in our tiny college town. We both lived in a co-ed suite dorm. I lived in a suite on the second floor with seven of my girlfriends, and Michael lived in a suite downstairs, which he shared with three of his friends, and four random guys. We were actually right above/below each other. All we had to do was take the flight of stairs and it spit us out right in front of the door of each other's suites. Prior to us meeting, some of Michael's suitemates were friends with my suitemates. And as fate would have it, we would ultimately meet because of those mutual friends.
So, on this night, we all went out together. As we sat at Heenan's hanging out and enjoying several beers, our crowd got thinner and thinner. My friends got tired and wanted to go home. I was having fun, so I stayed out by myself with all of the guys. Eventually, Michael's friends decided to move on to another bar. This put me in a little bit of a predicament, because I was only 19 and had a bad fake ID. The bars I could get into were limited. At this point, Michael and I had been talking for a while and he offered to stay at Heenan's with me. Before the guys left for the other bar, we made plans to meet up with them again at the 18-and-over bar in an hour or so.
80's themed New Year's Eve party - December 31, 2007
New Year's Eve - December 31, 2007
And with only 54 days left until the wedding, it occurs to me that this may be the last time we really celebrate this anniversary. I use the term "celebrate" pretty loosely, since neither one of us has ever really made a big deal about this anniversary. Tonight, I'm going to my aerobics class, just like I would on any normal Monday, and we probably won't even eat dinner together. But hey... we've been officially together for six years.
In 2009, I figure we'll be looking more toward celebrating our REAL anniversary... our first wedding anniversary.
And now for a stroll down memory lane...
Michael and I met on February 22, 2002 (as I like to say--2.22.02!) while we were both sophomores in college. It was a Friday night, and we were out at a bar with friends in our tiny college town. We both lived in a co-ed suite dorm. I lived in a suite on the second floor with seven of my girlfriends, and Michael lived in a suite downstairs, which he shared with three of his friends, and four random guys. We were actually right above/below each other. All we had to do was take the flight of stairs and it spit us out right in front of the door of each other's suites. Prior to us meeting, some of Michael's suitemates were friends with my suitemates. And as fate would have it, we would ultimately meet because of those mutual friends.
So, on this night, we all went out together. As we sat at Heenan's hanging out and enjoying several beers, our crowd got thinner and thinner. My friends got tired and wanted to go home. I was having fun, so I stayed out by myself with all of the guys. Eventually, Michael's friends decided to move on to another bar. This put me in a little bit of a predicament, because I was only 19 and had a bad fake ID. The bars I could get into were limited. At this point, Michael and I had been talking for a while and he offered to stay at Heenan's with me. Before the guys left for the other bar, we made plans to meet up with them again at the 18-and-over bar in an hour or so.
Michael and I (in October 2006, alumni weekend), standing on the street corner outside of the bar where we met.
Michael and I stayed together and talked. Honestly, I don't really remember the conversation. Not only had we had several drinks, but it just seems so long ago. And also, I had no way of knowing at that time that this was the guy I was going to marry a little more than six years later. So those initial conversations? They didn't seem so important. Nothing I had to stash away in my memory forever.
Needless to say, however, we hit it off really well. We found out we had a lot of things in common. Not only were we living in the same dorm, but we had a public speaking class together. We found out we were from the same hometown--only he had gone to a neighboring school district, so we never knew each other. We talked about our plans for living off campus for the next school year, and as it turned out, we were going to be living on the same street.
We spent the rest of the night together. We ended up going to meet up with the rest of the guys, stayed at the bars until close, and then walked back to campus together. Once back, we hung out in his room with his roommate. We listened to music, watched movies, talked, laughed, drank into the wee hours of the morning. At some point during all of this, when he had the opportunity and we were alone, he kissed me for the first time.
And I suppose, as they say it... the rest is history.
At a fiesta only a few weeks before graduation in May 2004.
We casually dated for the next several weeks. We went home for spring break sometime in March. During that week at home, we made plans to hang out a few times. I met his mom and little sister, and I'm pretty sure he met my mom. And it was at some point during that week... I remember leaving his parents' house late one night and thinking to myself that I knew this one was different. I felt about him the way I hadn't felt about anyone before. I remember being in my car, driving down his street and thinking to myself, "Oh my God. I think I might love him."
From the way I remember it, we fought a lot those first few months. Neither one of us had ever really been in a serious relationship, so we didn't really know how to act. Not only that, but we weren't really classifying ourselves as "in a relationship" yet. I think that frustrated me, only because we really were already in a relationship. I didn't understand why we wouldn't just take the next step and call it like it was.
On Thursday, April 25, it must have been around 8:00 p.m.--I remember my roommate and I were watching Friends. My mom instant messaged me and told me that my great-grandmother, whom my whole family was really close with, was not doing well. She was 96 years old, and was a total spitfire. Obviously death for everyone is inevitable, but it always seemed like whenever she had a problem, she bounced back. It's almost like I thought she would never actually die. About a week before, she had been moved into a hospice home. At that time, I didn't really know what a hospice was, or I probably would have been more prepared for it. I thought she had just gone to live at a home with around-the-clock care. I didn't know it meant she would likely be dying very soon.
I called my mom immediately and asked her if I should come home. She sounded emotional and said, "I don't know." I got off the phone and started crying. My suitemates all came to console me, and my roommate suggested that I should go home, and offered to come with me. It was a really nice thing for her to do. You see, the next day (Friday), FredFest was to begin. FredFest was the most fun weekend out of the entire year at our college. It was basically a drunk weekend, with concerts on campus--you started drinking on Friday morning and were pretty much drunk all through Sunday morning. Parties everywhere. Regular old college debauchery.
At the Candlelight Ball in July 2004.
Despite that, Lindsey offered to come home with me and so we packed up a few things and hit the highway. I think we ended up getting to my house after midnight. It was late. The next day, we woke up and we went to the hospice home to visit my great-grandmother. She was already in somewhat of a coma, and it was absolutely devastating to me. I said my goodbyes. My mom knew that the weekend at school was supposed to be fun for us, so she told us to go back to college. She said there wasn't anything left I could do at home, and that my grandmother would want me to have fun. Lindsey and I picked up and headed back to school. This whole time, I kept Michael posted by cell phone.
When we got back to school, it was clear everyone else had already had a number of hours of a headstart on us. Everyone was well into party mode. I went into Michael's suite right when we got back, and I remember he seemed really relieved and happy to see me. He knew I had had a really rough day. We were alone in his room and he sat me on his lap and we talked. And if I'm really remembering correctly, I think that was the first time the "love" word was used out loud.
Later that night, Lindsey and I had done a good job of catching up. Too good of a job, actually. We had a lot of fun in our suite, and then we caught a ride downtown to the bars. Once I got out, I took one look at everyone and all the bars around me and just started bawling crying. It had been such an emotional day, and now, with alcohol in me, it was even worse. I remember telling Lindsey that I just wanted to find Michael, and I wanted to go home. Somehow, we found him, and he didn't hesitate to leave all of the fun behind and take me back to the dorms.
The next morning, I received a voicemail message that my grandmother had died in the middle of the night.
We finished out the weekend trying to have a normal time and have fun. On Sunday night, the 28th, Michael and I discussed my plans to drive home the next day to attend the funeral services for my grandmother. He said he wanted to come with me. And then we confirmed what we both knew to be true--we were a couple, and we were now "official." That's how it came to be that April 28 is our anniversary.
Virginia Beach vacation in August 2004.
And here we are, six years later... and in 54 days, we will be married. :)
A few more pics to share from throughout the years. We didn't get a digital camera until 2004 (only a few months before we graduated), so I don't have any photos scanned to share from before that time.
Buffalo Bills game in October 2004.
My cousin's engagement party, April 2005.
Another Candlelight Ball. July 2005.
On a dolphin watch cruise in Virginia Beach, August 2005.
Parasailing (Virginia Beach), August 2005
Bills game, October 2006
New Year's Eve - December 31, 2006
Bar/restaurant in New York City, May 2007
Starting line, Five Boro Bike Tour (NYC), May 2007
Central Park (NYC), Five Boro Bike Tour, May 2007
About 20 miles down, 20 more to go (Five Boro Bike Tour), May 2007
A couple of days after becoming engaged, Outer Banks, North Carolina - June 2007
Ice cream shop in Outer Banks, North Carolina - June 2007
80's themed New Year's Eve party - December 31, 2007New Year's Eve - December 31, 2007Tuesday, April 1, 2008
Financial Freakout
I'm sure this is a common occurrence for brides and grooms planning a wedding. You're going along happily, creating budgets, booking vendors, accomplishing task after task. Suddenly, it happens. You hit the point of no return. It's...
...Time to actually start paying for stuff.
Now that we're into April, we're approaching the due dates for some wedding things. Don't get me wrong; we can afford this stuff. We budgeted, we went into it knowing what we were doing. But we're savers, not spenders. Having checks of large amounts flying out the door on a routine basis is hard for me. I keep picturing how good that money would look if it stays in our bank account.
I really need to get over it. I'm stressing over this stuff and it's not healthy. But it's just so. far. out. of my comfort zone.
I made the mistake of making a "payment schedule" last week. I thought it would make me feel better to see everything organized, know exactly when we have to pay for each item, etc.
As it turns out, I was totally wrong.
All it did was completely overwhelm me. We have to pay off the remaining balance on our honeymoon accommodations by the end of this month. In May, we'll pay for some other things. But June... well, June is the kicker. Many vendors require final payment within a couple weeks of the wedding, or even on the wedding day itself. Those will be the days when the cash is flowing freely out of the accounts. Yikes.
I understand that this is a once in a lifetime thing. I keep telling myself that. And inside, I know this will all be totally worth it. But we work really hard for our money, so it's just hard for me to see it go. Even for the best of expenses.
At least this is all temporary. After the wedding and honeymoon, we'll have had a blast... the time of our lives, really. And then we can go back to "normal" life. Normal, like the balance of our bank accounts will start going back up again, instead of down, down, down.
These are the days you wish Donald Trump was your father. If only he didn't have that hair. If only he weren't so... weird.
...Time to actually start paying for stuff.
Now that we're into April, we're approaching the due dates for some wedding things. Don't get me wrong; we can afford this stuff. We budgeted, we went into it knowing what we were doing. But we're savers, not spenders. Having checks of large amounts flying out the door on a routine basis is hard for me. I keep picturing how good that money would look if it stays in our bank account.
I really need to get over it. I'm stressing over this stuff and it's not healthy. But it's just so. far. out. of my comfort zone.
I made the mistake of making a "payment schedule" last week. I thought it would make me feel better to see everything organized, know exactly when we have to pay for each item, etc.
As it turns out, I was totally wrong.
All it did was completely overwhelm me. We have to pay off the remaining balance on our honeymoon accommodations by the end of this month. In May, we'll pay for some other things. But June... well, June is the kicker. Many vendors require final payment within a couple weeks of the wedding, or even on the wedding day itself. Those will be the days when the cash is flowing freely out of the accounts. Yikes.
I understand that this is a once in a lifetime thing. I keep telling myself that. And inside, I know this will all be totally worth it. But we work really hard for our money, so it's just hard for me to see it go. Even for the best of expenses.
At least this is all temporary. After the wedding and honeymoon, we'll have had a blast... the time of our lives, really. And then we can go back to "normal" life. Normal, like the balance of our bank accounts will start going back up again, instead of down, down, down.
These are the days you wish Donald Trump was your father. If only he didn't have that hair. If only he weren't so... weird.
Monday, March 24, 2008
89 days. Today, it's too long.
I'm at the point where on any given day, I have a pretty good idea of exactly how many days there are left until the wedding. It's all of a sudden easier to keep track now that we are under 100. I check the countdown every few days or so to see where we're at. Today, we're in the eighties already--89 days to go.
It's been a really long time since I've had an "it can't come soon enough" attitude about the wedding. Ever since January, I've been much more likely to subscribe to the "oh my god, there's no time--how am I going to get everything done?" frame of mind. Today, however, I'm feeling like it's still too far away. I am overly excited about it all and just want it to be here ASAP.
I think it's a combination of a few things that has made me feel this way. The first is probably the mailing of the shower invitations on Friday. For some reason, that made things feel really real. Then, on Saturday, in the car on the way to his sister's, Michael and I sketched out a calendar for our honeymoon, made a list of the activities/excursions we want to do there, and then scheduled them out. Now we just have to go ahead and book them. Doing that made the honeymoon seem even more real.
So now I'm ready to get married and go on the honeymoon. Like, now. Right now. Not 89 days from now. Now.
I actually prefer the stressed out, "there's not enough time" frame of mind. I hope it comes back soon.
It's been a really long time since I've had an "it can't come soon enough" attitude about the wedding. Ever since January, I've been much more likely to subscribe to the "oh my god, there's no time--how am I going to get everything done?" frame of mind. Today, however, I'm feeling like it's still too far away. I am overly excited about it all and just want it to be here ASAP.
I think it's a combination of a few things that has made me feel this way. The first is probably the mailing of the shower invitations on Friday. For some reason, that made things feel really real. Then, on Saturday, in the car on the way to his sister's, Michael and I sketched out a calendar for our honeymoon, made a list of the activities/excursions we want to do there, and then scheduled them out. Now we just have to go ahead and book them. Doing that made the honeymoon seem even more real.
So now I'm ready to get married and go on the honeymoon. Like, now. Right now. Not 89 days from now. Now.
I actually prefer the stressed out, "there's not enough time" frame of mind. I hope it comes back soon.
Friday, March 21, 2008
Three months to go
Today is the three-month mark until the wedding. Wow, so much left to do. I can't even believe it's coming up so fast.
Conveniently, it's also Good Friday, so I have off of work. Yippee, it's so nice to have a day off.
I need to get motivated to get moving, because I have a lot on the agenda today:
1) Stuff and seal all of the shower invitations, then drop them in the mail.
2) Clean out and organize my bear of a closet. It is completely unruly. I don't have enough hangers for everything, so stuff has been strewn all over for months now. I've refused to buy more hangers because I know I have to get rid of a ton of stuff I don't wear anymore. And that with undoubtedly free up many, many hangers. So I have to get in there, rip everything out, and put it all back in. Well, everything except the two HUGE bags of stuff I predict I'm going to have to donate to Goodwill.
3) Finish up a few monogram banners I've been working on this week.
4) I suppose I should shower.
5) Perhaps start another project or two.
6) Grocery shopping.
The gym was also originally on my list, but I had a really good weigh-in this morning so I have a hard time being motivated after that, haha. We'll see. Maybe I'll get a shot of exercise adrenaline and will take off to the gym sometime in the middle of all this. But I have a feeling I'm going to be buried in my closet for hours. If I'm not back by dinner, someone come looking for me.
Time to get started. Now I just have to build up the heart to disturb the small pup that is currently sleeping in my lap. What I wouldn't give to just lie around and snuggle with her all day!
Conveniently, it's also Good Friday, so I have off of work. Yippee, it's so nice to have a day off.
I need to get motivated to get moving, because I have a lot on the agenda today:
1) Stuff and seal all of the shower invitations, then drop them in the mail.
2) Clean out and organize my bear of a closet. It is completely unruly. I don't have enough hangers for everything, so stuff has been strewn all over for months now. I've refused to buy more hangers because I know I have to get rid of a ton of stuff I don't wear anymore. And that with undoubtedly free up many, many hangers. So I have to get in there, rip everything out, and put it all back in. Well, everything except the two HUGE bags of stuff I predict I'm going to have to donate to Goodwill.
3) Finish up a few monogram banners I've been working on this week.
4) I suppose I should shower.
5) Perhaps start another project or two.
6) Grocery shopping.
The gym was also originally on my list, but I had a really good weigh-in this morning so I have a hard time being motivated after that, haha. We'll see. Maybe I'll get a shot of exercise adrenaline and will take off to the gym sometime in the middle of all this. But I have a feeling I'm going to be buried in my closet for hours. If I'm not back by dinner, someone come looking for me.
Time to get started. Now I just have to build up the heart to disturb the small pup that is currently sleeping in my lap. What I wouldn't give to just lie around and snuggle with her all day!
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
Patience, please
I realize I've never really explained how my "process" works for contacting me. I've given out my e-mail address numerous times on this blog, and I appreciate all of the wonderful comments and e-mails that I get on a daily basis. Obviously, I also get e-mails inquiring about the items that I make for other brides.
I also get many, many e-mails with additional questions about things people have seen on this blog.
Sometimes, it takes me several days to respond to these e-mails. I ask that you please be patient with me. Yes, I do sort of have a side "business," so I have an obligation to try to get back to potential customers as soon as possible. But I also get a lot of e-mails from people asking questions or for advice, and that is all stuff I do for free.
Because of the volume of e-mails, and because I also work a full-time job, live a full-time life, and am in the crunch-time period of planning my own wedding, I usually only have a chance to respond to them once a week. I respond to every single e-mail I receive. So if you're waiting to hear back from me, yes, you will hear back from me. I just need you to please be patient with me.
With that said, I'm also human and if more than a week has gone by and you haven't heard from me, feel free to drop me another line to check in.
I do appreciate hearing from all of you, and I try to help everyone I can.
I also get many, many e-mails with additional questions about things people have seen on this blog.
Sometimes, it takes me several days to respond to these e-mails. I ask that you please be patient with me. Yes, I do sort of have a side "business," so I have an obligation to try to get back to potential customers as soon as possible. But I also get a lot of e-mails from people asking questions or for advice, and that is all stuff I do for free.
Because of the volume of e-mails, and because I also work a full-time job, live a full-time life, and am in the crunch-time period of planning my own wedding, I usually only have a chance to respond to them once a week. I respond to every single e-mail I receive. So if you're waiting to hear back from me, yes, you will hear back from me. I just need you to please be patient with me.
With that said, I'm also human and if more than a week has gone by and you haven't heard from me, feel free to drop me another line to check in.
I do appreciate hearing from all of you, and I try to help everyone I can.
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
My baby bro
My younger brother came to have lunch with me today. One of them, anyway... they're twins.
Here are the three of us, probably around Christmas in 1984. Damn cute, aren't we?
Unfortunately, we're all grown up now, and although we still have the looks (haha), we certainly aren't that cute.
Anyway, it has me reflecting on some things this afternoon. This post is a result of that reflection.
Tyler and Trevor are 23 years old. Trevor just got back home at the end of February. Before that, he was in training for the Army National Guard Reserves for about seven months. In July, he left for BASIC training in South Carolina, and then in October, he transferred to San Antonio where he completed his advanced training.
I'm not going to lie. I was absolutely devastated when I found out Trevor had made the decision to join the National Guard. I was hysterical. I begged him not to do it. Used every ploy in the book to try to get him to see "the light"--logic, guilt, bribery, threats--you name it. But really, I was upset for three reasons:
1) I don't agree with the war. I told myself months ago that I was going to stay away from politics on this blog, even though I am pretty hardcore about them these days. So I won't get into details. But as much as I appreciate the fact that the men and women in our armed services volunteer to put their lives at risk for the well being of our country, I don't agree with the reasons they are currently in the middle east. There are people who try to skew statements like this and take it from "I don't agree with the war" to "I don't support our troops." There is a big difference, I assure you. So please, don't be that person.
2) I just knew Trevor would end up in that war. The armed services aren't what they used to be, and there are fewer and fewer people every day who enlist. As a result, soldiers are spending one, two, three tours in Iraq or Afghanistan. Now, eight+ months removed from the panic I initially felt, this is one of the reasons I'm proud of what Trevor is doing. On the other hand, it's also one of the reasons I knew from the beginning that these Army recruiters were going to tell Trevor every lie they possibly could to get him to sign his life away (both figuratively and let's face it, quite possibly literally) on that piece of paper.
At that time, Trevor had already made up his mind and he was 22 and naive enough to believe everything he was told. No matter how much the people in his life told him not to. Now, of course, he has learned. And he's currently living with many of the consequences of those initial (and subsequent) lies. It's funny--not haha funny, but interesting funny. Today at lunch, he was telling me the story about how he negotiated a price on his new car last week. He said the salesman was putting on an act about some things, and that he (Trevor) had said to himself, "Listen, dude, I've spent the last eight months with people lying to my face... I know you're full of shit."
I had to smile. It's just one of the many ways he has changed from the kid he was when he left eight months ago.
3) I was scared out of my mind. I've grown up equally close to both of my younger brothers. With a single mom, we did a lot of things together throughout our childhoods and teen years, and we are a close-knit little family because of it. However, Trevor and I always butted heads more than Tyler and I did. I guess Trevor and I have more conflicting personalities. The worst times were during the year after I had graduated from college and I was still living at home--whew, Trevor and I fought like cats and dogs. Over everything, from emptying the dishwasher to his skankass girlfriend who I hated so much (I can use the word "skankass" to describe her in "public" now because they have long since broken up, thank god).
Regardless of all that, I don't think you have to be a relationship genius to see that we obviously love each other. So yeah, I was scared of him getting shipped off to Iraq or Afghanistan and having something happen to him. I got a lot of "but it's an honorable thing he's doing" explanations. And of course I agree with that, but come on... that's supposed to make someone feel better about potentially losing a loved one? It's just who I am... my mind skipped all other possibilities and automatically went to worst case scenario.
And not only all of that, but I was upset over something extremely insignificant in the grand scheme of things: my wedding. It was the least of my concerns, but it was still a big one, and has continued to be. It's a big day in my life, and I think it's only natural to really want your brother, one of your closest family members, to be there with you. I knew that he would be finished with training in February and that there was a really big chance he would be deployed shortly after. Deployed for 12+ months. And completely miss June 2008 at home.
Since he signed on the dotted line, all any of us have been able to do is wait and see. Now we're really at the most crucial "wait and see" time, since he is now done with all of his training and is sitting idly at home. The most recent report we're hearing from his "higher ups" is that he (conveniently for us) missed the deployment date for the groups in this area--they were deployed earlier this year when he was still in training. Therefore, they are currently telling Trevor he will not be deployed any time in the near future. I want to believe them, but I will always be skeptical.
Lord knows I hope he doesn't go anywhere. Ever. But if he does, it's just another hurdle we'll be sure to hurl ourselves over. And we'll worry about him every minute he's gone. I'm still hoping it will never come to that. Not only for my brother, but for everyone over there--I really wish they could all come home.
But for right now, I'm staying positive (but cautiously so). I'm picturing my wedding day with both of my goofy twin brothers in attendance. Not only in attendance, but as groomsmen. Those are memories--some sober, some drunken--that we'll make and be able to relive together for the rest of our lives... and I so look forward to that. And Trevor has to be there for them. Not only for the wedding, but for everything after... summer, football, Thanksgiving, Christmas... everything.
I can honestly say he is a different person than he was when he left in July. He's still Trevor, but he seems kinder, has less of a temper, is more thankful for what he has and what he's been given, and he seems motivated to figure out what he's going to do with his life moving forward.
I'm grateful to have him home.
Here are the three of us, probably around Christmas in 1984. Damn cute, aren't we? Unfortunately, we're all grown up now, and although we still have the looks (haha), we certainly aren't that cute.
Anyway, it has me reflecting on some things this afternoon. This post is a result of that reflection.
Tyler and Trevor are 23 years old. Trevor just got back home at the end of February. Before that, he was in training for the Army National Guard Reserves for about seven months. In July, he left for BASIC training in South Carolina, and then in October, he transferred to San Antonio where he completed his advanced training.
I'm not going to lie. I was absolutely devastated when I found out Trevor had made the decision to join the National Guard. I was hysterical. I begged him not to do it. Used every ploy in the book to try to get him to see "the light"--logic, guilt, bribery, threats--you name it. But really, I was upset for three reasons:
1) I don't agree with the war. I told myself months ago that I was going to stay away from politics on this blog, even though I am pretty hardcore about them these days. So I won't get into details. But as much as I appreciate the fact that the men and women in our armed services volunteer to put their lives at risk for the well being of our country, I don't agree with the reasons they are currently in the middle east. There are people who try to skew statements like this and take it from "I don't agree with the war" to "I don't support our troops." There is a big difference, I assure you. So please, don't be that person.
2) I just knew Trevor would end up in that war. The armed services aren't what they used to be, and there are fewer and fewer people every day who enlist. As a result, soldiers are spending one, two, three tours in Iraq or Afghanistan. Now, eight+ months removed from the panic I initially felt, this is one of the reasons I'm proud of what Trevor is doing. On the other hand, it's also one of the reasons I knew from the beginning that these Army recruiters were going to tell Trevor every lie they possibly could to get him to sign his life away (both figuratively and let's face it, quite possibly literally) on that piece of paper.
At that time, Trevor had already made up his mind and he was 22 and naive enough to believe everything he was told. No matter how much the people in his life told him not to. Now, of course, he has learned. And he's currently living with many of the consequences of those initial (and subsequent) lies. It's funny--not haha funny, but interesting funny. Today at lunch, he was telling me the story about how he negotiated a price on his new car last week. He said the salesman was putting on an act about some things, and that he (Trevor) had said to himself, "Listen, dude, I've spent the last eight months with people lying to my face... I know you're full of shit."
I had to smile. It's just one of the many ways he has changed from the kid he was when he left eight months ago.
3) I was scared out of my mind. I've grown up equally close to both of my younger brothers. With a single mom, we did a lot of things together throughout our childhoods and teen years, and we are a close-knit little family because of it. However, Trevor and I always butted heads more than Tyler and I did. I guess Trevor and I have more conflicting personalities. The worst times were during the year after I had graduated from college and I was still living at home--whew, Trevor and I fought like cats and dogs. Over everything, from emptying the dishwasher to his skankass girlfriend who I hated so much (I can use the word "skankass" to describe her in "public" now because they have long since broken up, thank god).
Regardless of all that, I don't think you have to be a relationship genius to see that we obviously love each other. So yeah, I was scared of him getting shipped off to Iraq or Afghanistan and having something happen to him. I got a lot of "but it's an honorable thing he's doing" explanations. And of course I agree with that, but come on... that's supposed to make someone feel better about potentially losing a loved one? It's just who I am... my mind skipped all other possibilities and automatically went to worst case scenario.
And not only all of that, but I was upset over something extremely insignificant in the grand scheme of things: my wedding. It was the least of my concerns, but it was still a big one, and has continued to be. It's a big day in my life, and I think it's only natural to really want your brother, one of your closest family members, to be there with you. I knew that he would be finished with training in February and that there was a really big chance he would be deployed shortly after. Deployed for 12+ months. And completely miss June 2008 at home.
Since he signed on the dotted line, all any of us have been able to do is wait and see. Now we're really at the most crucial "wait and see" time, since he is now done with all of his training and is sitting idly at home. The most recent report we're hearing from his "higher ups" is that he (conveniently for us) missed the deployment date for the groups in this area--they were deployed earlier this year when he was still in training. Therefore, they are currently telling Trevor he will not be deployed any time in the near future. I want to believe them, but I will always be skeptical.
Lord knows I hope he doesn't go anywhere. Ever. But if he does, it's just another hurdle we'll be sure to hurl ourselves over. And we'll worry about him every minute he's gone. I'm still hoping it will never come to that. Not only for my brother, but for everyone over there--I really wish they could all come home.
But for right now, I'm staying positive (but cautiously so). I'm picturing my wedding day with both of my goofy twin brothers in attendance. Not only in attendance, but as groomsmen. Those are memories--some sober, some drunken--that we'll make and be able to relive together for the rest of our lives... and I so look forward to that. And Trevor has to be there for them. Not only for the wedding, but for everything after... summer, football, Thanksgiving, Christmas... everything.
I can honestly say he is a different person than he was when he left in July. He's still Trevor, but he seems kinder, has less of a temper, is more thankful for what he has and what he's been given, and he seems motivated to figure out what he's going to do with his life moving forward.
I'm grateful to have him home.
Oh, and rest assured... I'm sure this whole lovefest is only temporary and we'll go back to fighting like cats and dogs real soon. :)
Monday, March 17, 2008
Pause
Can we just pause for a moment and stand in awe at the number that appears next to "March" over there to the right? You know, the post numbers... over there. --->
Oh, and let me remind you. It's only March 17.
I've been one hell of a dedicated blogger lately! I wish I hadn't missed the first of the month... I'd be going for a perfect record. Ah well. Still doing really well for me.
Not too much going on today. My tax return was deposited into my bank account this morning. That certainly feels good. I love tax returns! I'm going to transfer it over to my high-interest savings account and let it gather some interest until we need it.
Yesterday, I stamped the flower onto all of the our invitation envelopes, which officially completes those. Now I just need to address them. I brought them to work with me this morning and figure I'll spend some time addressing them on my lunch breaks this week.
Other than that, I'm still cranking away at my projects--still have a few monogram banners and aisle runners to finish in the next couple of weeks. I'm anxious to finish them because I feel like it will be a huge relief. Then I can go on to... stress about other things. :)
Oh, and let me remind you. It's only March 17.
I've been one hell of a dedicated blogger lately! I wish I hadn't missed the first of the month... I'd be going for a perfect record. Ah well. Still doing really well for me.
Not too much going on today. My tax return was deposited into my bank account this morning. That certainly feels good. I love tax returns! I'm going to transfer it over to my high-interest savings account and let it gather some interest until we need it.
Yesterday, I stamped the flower onto all of the our invitation envelopes, which officially completes those. Now I just need to address them. I brought them to work with me this morning and figure I'll spend some time addressing them on my lunch breaks this week.
Other than that, I'm still cranking away at my projects--still have a few monogram banners and aisle runners to finish in the next couple of weeks. I'm anxious to finish them because I feel like it will be a huge relief. Then I can go on to... stress about other things. :)
Sunday, August 12, 2007
The Poconos
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We just got back from spending the weekend in the Poconos with family friends. My mom's childhood friend, Susan, and her husband own a lot of land there and we always used to spend time there in the summers when I was younger. I probably hadn't been in 10 years. This year, my mom and Susan decided that they needed to get everyone together there for a reunion--her kids and my brothers and me. Unfortunately, Trevor couldn't go since he's in BASIC training with the National Guard in South Carolina. But on Thursday night after work, Michael, Tyler, Marie (Ty's girlfriend), my mom and me headed down to Pennsylvania. We didn't get in until 11:30 p.m. and took a while to get settled. Susan, Doug (her son), and Brooke (his girlfriend) weren't going to get in until Friday afternoon, and Nina (her daughter) and Vinny (her husband) weren't coming in until Saturday afternoon.
We had a great time. Tessa went crazy running around playing with Susan's dogs and was completely wiped by Sunday. We went hiking through the trails in the woods, the guys fished in the pond, we went in the hot tub, and really we all just hung around. It was great to catch up with everyone and hear what everyone has been up to. It's weird to think that we're all grown up now.
Overall, it was a relaxing weekend. On Friday, before everyone got into town, my mom, Marie and me took a drive an hour east into New Jersey to visit the bridal shop I planned to order my dress from... and I did end up getting my dress. But more on that later.
Saturday, August 4, 2007
Summer colds really suck
To the person who gave me this cold... I want to hunt you down and kick your ass.
I finally peeled myself off of the couch and got in the shower at 3:30 p.m. today. After sleeping for 11 hours last night and taking another 1.5 hour nap this afternoon. And I still feel tired.
I can't breathe. I can't hear. I can't taste food. My head feels like it weighs 50 lbs.
It's a beautiful 80-degree Saturday and the only time I've been outside today is to take the dog out to the bathroom and get the mail. This really, really sucks.
The cold came out of nowhere. I was my normal, happy, chipper (am I ever chipper?) self on Thursday, even attended a work event that evening and stayed late--I was having fun. I had been sneezing a lot on Thursday, but no big deal. Then as I was going to bed that night, I realized I was congested all of a sudden. Which made it difficult to sleep since I couldn't breathe through normally and had to get up every hour to go blow my nose. Lovely. Yesterday, I didn't really have any choice but to be functional. Aside from the breathing, I was actually feeling alright. I took Nyquil and went to bed early last night thinking that I'd get good rest and nip this thing in the bud. No such luck. I definitely feel worse today. I'm doped up on Sudafed and Advil, but nothing really seems to help.
I'm still planning on going to Lindsay's to hang out tonight, though. I just can't sit in this house any longer. We'll be outside, so I won't have to worry too much about being in close quarters and breathing on people and infecting them.
Alright, whine session over. I apologize, but at the moment, I really can't help but feel sorry for myself. I hate being stuck at home!
I finally peeled myself off of the couch and got in the shower at 3:30 p.m. today. After sleeping for 11 hours last night and taking another 1.5 hour nap this afternoon. And I still feel tired.
I can't breathe. I can't hear. I can't taste food. My head feels like it weighs 50 lbs.
It's a beautiful 80-degree Saturday and the only time I've been outside today is to take the dog out to the bathroom and get the mail. This really, really sucks.
The cold came out of nowhere. I was my normal, happy, chipper (am I ever chipper?) self on Thursday, even attended a work event that evening and stayed late--I was having fun. I had been sneezing a lot on Thursday, but no big deal. Then as I was going to bed that night, I realized I was congested all of a sudden. Which made it difficult to sleep since I couldn't breathe through normally and had to get up every hour to go blow my nose. Lovely. Yesterday, I didn't really have any choice but to be functional. Aside from the breathing, I was actually feeling alright. I took Nyquil and went to bed early last night thinking that I'd get good rest and nip this thing in the bud. No such luck. I definitely feel worse today. I'm doped up on Sudafed and Advil, but nothing really seems to help.
I'm still planning on going to Lindsay's to hang out tonight, though. I just can't sit in this house any longer. We'll be outside, so I won't have to worry too much about being in close quarters and breathing on people and infecting them.
Alright, whine session over. I apologize, but at the moment, I really can't help but feel sorry for myself. I hate being stuck at home!
Monday, July 9, 2007
We're booked for June 21, 2008!
Alright, it's official now... we're getting married on June 21, 2008.
I went today to sign the contract and drop off the deposit at Blue Heron Hills, our reception venue. I feel so much better now that it's done. I was nervous all weekend that something was going to happen and we were going to lose our date. At this point, it was just signing a contract for the date... we have to work out all of the details (food, drinks, etc.) at a later date.
I also mailed the deposit and the signed contract to our photographers this morning, so that should be all set, too.
During my lunch break, I called the church to see how we move forward to officially book our date (they have already penciled us in). Turns out we have to meet with the priest there (even though he won't be the one to marry us), but he is out the rest of the week. I have to e-mail him to see when he can meet with us and probably put some kind of deposit down to make sure the date will be ours. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it all works out... I don't like hurdles!
We are also ready to book our DJ, but I just have to wait until we actually catch each other to talk (we've played a little bit of phone tag).
I'll feel 100x better once these four things are all taken care of. These are the things that I think are most important. Then I can move on to less important things, like flowers, cake, and limos.
Michael and I bought a new HP laptop computer last week. We ordered it on Thursday night, and it's due to arrive at our house tomorrow... I can't wait! We have a desktop at home now, but it's hard because Michael and I both kind of wrestle over it each night. And our dog, Tess, hates to hang out in the den for some reason, so it's hard with her running all over the house causing lord knows what havoc while I'm on the computer. Now, with so much wedding planning research and do-it-yourself projects, I've been spending a lot more time on the computer, and will probably continue to. So the laptop will be convenient to have. We've been wanting one for a while and decided to just take the plunge and buy one.
Yesterday, we took a trip to Circuit City to purchase a laptop bag and a wireless mouse for the new computer. We figured we want/need these particular accessories right away. We thought we would be using gift cards we received, plus a little extra money, but... four rebates later, the two items will end up being completely free! Gotta love that! It made the selection during shopping that much easier. You can't argue with a price tag on the shelf that says "$-0.01"!! The bag was regularly $59.99, but there are two rebates, each for $30. So we'll get $60 back. The mouse was regularly $29.99, but there are two rebates for that, too, each for $15. So $30 back for that. Of course we have to wait for the rebates to process and the money to arrive (rebates really are so annoying), but hey. It'll work out for us in the long run.
I'm off to figure out what the hell to make for dinner.
I went today to sign the contract and drop off the deposit at Blue Heron Hills, our reception venue. I feel so much better now that it's done. I was nervous all weekend that something was going to happen and we were going to lose our date. At this point, it was just signing a contract for the date... we have to work out all of the details (food, drinks, etc.) at a later date.
I also mailed the deposit and the signed contract to our photographers this morning, so that should be all set, too.
During my lunch break, I called the church to see how we move forward to officially book our date (they have already penciled us in). Turns out we have to meet with the priest there (even though he won't be the one to marry us), but he is out the rest of the week. I have to e-mail him to see when he can meet with us and probably put some kind of deposit down to make sure the date will be ours. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it all works out... I don't like hurdles!
We are also ready to book our DJ, but I just have to wait until we actually catch each other to talk (we've played a little bit of phone tag).
I'll feel 100x better once these four things are all taken care of. These are the things that I think are most important. Then I can move on to less important things, like flowers, cake, and limos.
Michael and I bought a new HP laptop computer last week. We ordered it on Thursday night, and it's due to arrive at our house tomorrow... I can't wait! We have a desktop at home now, but it's hard because Michael and I both kind of wrestle over it each night. And our dog, Tess, hates to hang out in the den for some reason, so it's hard with her running all over the house causing lord knows what havoc while I'm on the computer. Now, with so much wedding planning research and do-it-yourself projects, I've been spending a lot more time on the computer, and will probably continue to. So the laptop will be convenient to have. We've been wanting one for a while and decided to just take the plunge and buy one.
Yesterday, we took a trip to Circuit City to purchase a laptop bag and a wireless mouse for the new computer. We figured we want/need these particular accessories right away. We thought we would be using gift cards we received, plus a little extra money, but... four rebates later, the two items will end up being completely free! Gotta love that! It made the selection during shopping that much easier. You can't argue with a price tag on the shelf that says "$-0.01"!! The bag was regularly $59.99, but there are two rebates, each for $30. So we'll get $60 back. The mouse was regularly $29.99, but there are two rebates for that, too, each for $15. So $30 back for that. Of course we have to wait for the rebates to process and the money to arrive (rebates really are so annoying), but hey. It'll work out for us in the long run.
I'm off to figure out what the hell to make for dinner.
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