And On We Go...

The Elusive Glow

2009-08-18T14:16:00.000-07:00

The moment you start telling people you are pregnant your life changes. It’s a little like getting engaged except the advice centers around diapers, diet and lack of sleep instead of flowers, menu decisions and drunk relatives. All sense of privacy is immediately thrown out the window.

People feel an incredible freedom to start asking all sorts of questions they would NEVER have asked before you said you were expecting. Crazily enough, you really don’t care about most of these questions. Close family and friends asking you about pregnancy symptoms, tales of conception, and the ever-growing state of your breasts (oh, and your plan for them too) are all part of the process. It does get a little odd when co-workers or strangers (none of you are strangers, you are all my blog friends) start asking you about bodily functions or wanting to touch your belly, whether your gut is really baby or just that pasta you ate for lunch.

At 14 weeks, I’m at that point where no one dares to ask if when I’m due unless they actually know that I am pregnant. I get lots of “looks” and staring at my tummy, with inquisitive glances wondering if I ate pasta for lunch too often or if I’ve joined the maternity club. If they only knew that my new jeans don’t have a zipper and that cute t-shirt they just complimented is from the maternity store at the mall.

So, now that I am safely out of the first trimester (sweet pea is the size of a lemon this week) and starting into my second, let me recap how the last couple months have been. Whether it be informative, persuasive or just entertaining, remember that every woman’s experience is different and from what I’ve heard, every pregnancy is different.

Unless you have brutally honest friends, (and I have a few, I love you gals) before you get pregnant the overwhelming majority of information you get will be about how wonderful pregnancy is. How fun feeling the baby kick is. How amazing the bursts of energy and nesting are. How great pregnancy yoga pants are. How awesome the bond you develop with your unborn child is. Basically, all stuff that gives you that “pregnancy glow.”

Well, ladies (and maybe one gent if DH pops on here) I’m here to tell you that during my first trimester the closest I got to a “pregnancy glow” was the layer of grease on my face from all the new zits I developed. Maybe there was a glaze in my eyes from feeling pukey all the time. Yes, I wrote, all the time. Until this week I can honestly say, without exaggerating, that I was nauseous for around 16 hours a day. I only actually vomited a couple handfuls of times, but the all day car-sick feeling was miserable. As a child I was a motion sickness magnet. We never went on a long trip without a puke bag near me. Well, that’s pretty much what it feels like, but no beach or Tahoe vacation at the end of the ride.

Let me tell you a little about pre-natal vitamins. They are a necessity for your health and the health of your unborn child. You need to pump yourself full of all those good minerals and help that baby develop into the strong little genius that it will become. With all of that being said find one that doesn’t make you gag. The first bottle I bought the pills were huge and they smelled really nasty and they immediately dissolved in your mouth before you could swallow them. Coupled with the ever-present nausea, that was miserable. I’m happy to say that I have found another brand of pre-natals that are much more “user friendly.” (Another side note on the vitamins…risking tmi…watch out for the iron…eat lots of fruit to help counteract this lovely side effect or you’ll be spending even more time hanging around the bathroom.)

Speaking of hanging around the bathroom, I honestly thought that the constant peeing didn’t start until the kid was big enough to kick you in the bladder and take up most of the room previously reserved for internal organs. Yeah, I was wrong. Apparently, the overactive urination starts right from the get go. The books all say it’s the hormones, but I think it might be attributed to the mass quantities of aqua I’m consuming these days. The doctor wants you to drink 2 liters of water a day and for the first time in my life that is not a problem. I am constantly thirsty and since diet coke, coffee and vino are off the menu, water it is!

Let’s see, what else is off the menu. Yes, that’s right, sushi!!! I miss my friend spicy tuna so much it’s terrible. I thought that my alcohol would be the most difficult menu alteration once I got pregnant. Now I realize, the bond of motherhood is really really strong for me to “just say no” to diet coke and raw fish for nine months. I’ve already informed DH that my first real meal after delivery will definitely be a few of my favorite rolls and a large ice-cold diet coke. Besides that the food restrictions really haven’t been that difficult. I drink herbal tea instead of coffee. 99% of cheese is pasteurized, so that’s been easy. I wasn’t a huge lunch meat eater anyway so I’m not missing out on that.

The bigger issue with food has been enjoying eating at all. I have been pretty much grossed out by everything. Chicken was once my staple…now, I can’t even manage to look at it without getting queasy. I thought it was getting slightly better, but no sooner did I stop wanting to vomit that my appetite diminished in portion size and the heartburn kicked in. I can’t seem to finish anything on my plate, even my favorite foods and I never leave home without some tums in my purse.

Ok, now that I’ve totally whined about what I like to call “the first trimester blues” let me put a few things in perspective. I would not trade all of this misery for the world because it all means that I’m growing a healthy, strong baby inside of me. Yes, inside of me. That’s crazy!!! DH and I spend hours just chatting about what the baby is going to look like, be like, baby names, whether we think it’s a boy or a girl (I’m cheering for team pink, lol) and if my baby bump is getting bigger or if it’s just the grilled cheese for dinner that sounded good and stayed down. Oh, and let me gush about how insanely cool ultrasounds are. I will NEVER get tired of hearing that magical heart beat. It is music to my ears. Every little turn and flutter with that adorable blob on the screen has me riveted to no end.

I know, I’ve heard it all…the second trimester is tons better. Let’s hope so. However, even if it isn’t, I’ll manage. DH may need a pillow to cry into to manage my mood swings, but I’ll manage…because as soon as I feel this little one kick me, I will have another wonderful reminder of the most fantastic thing DH and I have ever done together.

Sorry if I scared you, but it’s all the truth. Yet, it must definitely be worth it because people keep having kids and a lot of them are planned, lol. The good news is I’ll probably forget all the not-so-fun stuff because otherwise, we’d all be only children.

Please feel free to ask any questions you have or to share your experiences. I would love to hear from you….just ask before you reach out and touch my cyber belly, ok?

Big News

2009-08-03T11:05:00.000-07:00

Yeah yeah, I’ve said it before…I’m sorry, I’m a slacker and I’ll try to do better. Basically, when people say things like, “Oh, when life slows down after the wedding” or “As soon as the wedding is over you’ll have time on your hands” they are lying. Yep, big fat liars. Life does not slow down, ever. It just keeps getting busier, more hectic and flies by more and more quickly. What has had me so busy that I’ve let all of you down you ask? Well, that’s a trickier question. A little of this and a little of that, I guess. We’ve gone on some trips (I stink at taking pictures anymore and when I do they sit on my camera for months.) We’ve spent time with family and friends (both for happy occasions and sad). Oh, and I/we had something a little bigger (or smaller, as the case may be) on our minds.

Yes, that is what you think it is….We’re Expecting!!!!!

Right now I’m 12 weeks along and due February 13th. DH and I are beyond excited, as are our families. This will be the first grandchild on my side so we’re starting a whole new generation. =)

My thoughts for this blog are for it to travel along with me on all of our adventures, including preparing for parenthood and all that goes along with that. Expect complete and total uncensored honesty and unfortunately some sporadic posting. I will give a valiant effort, but between work, a busy 2009 and the all day nausea I don’t know what I can promise.
So, for those of you who already knew, thank you for all of the wonderful wishes and supports already. And for those of you that this is a surprise…well, SURPRISE!!!!

# 74 Get our wedding album in my hands

2009-05-27T14:02:00.000-07:00

Last week I got a wonderful message from the lovely Sarah that not only was our album ready for me to come pick up, but that the latest issue of Real Weddings magazine was hot off the presses.

Let me first tell you about the album….It is gorgeous!!! Brown leather cover filled with pages upon pages of lovely images from a truly memorable day. I said that when the album got here, that was officially the end of the wedding. Well, folks….seven months after DH and I said “I Do” it is all officially over. Although I’ve been told we have a few more gifts coming…they are taking advantage of their full year…I still feel like the wedding is really over and done with. It is a great feeling. The last seven months have been so much fun. Now, with the album, and some new pictures for the wall I am finishing up the last little bits.

Ironically, the album was ready on the very same day that the latest issue of Real Weddings was released. Why, you may ask, is she this interested in a wedding magazine when she just finished telling us how she is done with her wedding?

Well….that is because we are featured in the latest issue!!!!! It is so fun and exciting to be published in a magazine. I vividly remember pouring through this particular publication while planning, for everything from ideas on locations, vendors, styles to just more wedding porn in general. Now, a whole new season of brides will get to see our wedding and maybe pick up on something they love. It is just plain cool. =)

So, not only is #74 (Get our wedding album in my hands) all wrapped up and done, but so is the wedding and we are published!!!!

Here is a link to the online article and some pictures…the magazine featured some different pictures so be sure to pick up a copy.

http://realweddingsmag.com/weddingDetail.cfm?id=52

(SMP)

My new cult

2009-04-08T10:53:00.000-07:00

Let me explain why I haven’t found the time to download the pictures off of my camera and blog about our Vegas trip (or any of the other fun stuff going on)….I signed up for Netflix.

Now, for those of you that partake in this addictive habit, no further explanation needed. For those of you who were like me…let me elaborate. I had every excuse in the book of why I didn’t want to join Netflix. The most prevalent were always things like, I don’t want to spend the money, I don’t watch that many dvd’s, I want the movies immediately, I have dvr and have plenty of things to watch, I don’t have the time to watch a bunch of dvd’s…etc, etc, etc.

(source)

I have a few friends, family and co-workers that are all part of the Netflix cult (I love this cult)…They ALL swear by Netflix. So, after the millionth person asking me if I saw such-and-such movie or what movies had I seen lately, I realized that I hadn’t seen really anything lately that wasn’t being shown on TBS or one of my other million basic satellite channels. I was really missing out on some great movies. The clincher though about Netflix is that it isn’t just movies…it’s television shows too! I am a rabid lover of many quality (in my opinion) shows that are on the premier stations (which I just can’t cough up the money to have at my fingertips).

Now that I have Netflix…I can watch entire seasons of Big Love, Dexter, The Tudors and many many more…along with shows that I completely missed out on and can get into now. All in the comfort of my living room…without ever having to leave for work early so I can return the stupid dvd. Now, I just toss it into the mailbox and wait for the next one to arrive. They even send you emails of when your next one is shipping. It is wonderful. (People love it so much there is even a Netflix Fan blog!)

(source)

So, now that I officially sound like a commercial for Netflix, you can start to understand why I’m not on the computer downloading pictures or writing a bunch of blog posts. Heck, just this week I finally watched The Dark Knight, Slumdog Millionaire and Milk.

(source)

The only downside is that DH is sleeping his evenings away trying to watch movies with me. Ask him if he liked any of these films…just don’t give away the ending…like clockwork he sleeps through the last 30 minutes. I think it is time to que up for some of those shows I was talking about…or maybe a few chick flicks I can watch on my own.

Happy April

2009-04-01T15:55:00.001-07:00

It is April 1st today….yes, that means it is April Fools Day. I thought about writing a funny prank post about how I decided to take up residence in Vegas at Caesar’s permanently (I wish) or how DH and I were having a baby (not even believable) or some other shenanigans, but then I figured all the folks posting prank statuses on facebook are enough to fill the prank quota for the day.

Instead, I would rather check in with you all and say a quick hello. Oh, and let you know that I am working on updating the blog with a few new posts and letting you all know how I’m doing on the 5 year plan. Things are moving along, but there is still a lot to accomplish.

In the meantime I thought I would share a cute article that a friend shared with me from the Best of Craigslist…it makes me giggle and at the same time smile. Do you love where you live?

http://www.craigslist.org/about/best/sac/159042029.html

If you're happy and you know it...#70

2009-03-17T08:50:00.000-07:00

I am officially counting #70 off my list - Be 100% happy in the moment and take note of it. We are now at five months since the wedding (tomorrow!!!)…and life could not be better. Yes, the economy sucks and I want a bigger house so we can start our family whenever we are ready. Yes, I want to hit the lotto so DH and I can travel and enjoy more leisure time with friends and family. However….we are both healthy, happy and in love. I honestly don’t think I imagined that married life would be this wonderfully amazing. I know, I know…gag, gag….but seriously…it is the best! I am loving being a newlywed. Ok, say it with me…awwwwwww. =D

Yarn it up

2009-03-16T08:00:00.000-07:00

I have lots of hobbies…I love to read, watch movies, play video games, all things crafty, hang out with family and friends, decorate my house, sleep (yes, sleeping is a hobby), I watch tons of television (dvr is my best inanimate friend) and many many more! In addition to my love of Rock Band 2, drooling over Tory Burch shoes and photographs...

Crocheting is one of my beloved pastimes and is at the forefront of the list. I only learned how to crochet a couple years ago. It started with a love of giving hand-made meaningful gifts and a lot of my friends starting to have babies. I decided that I wanted to give them blankets and such and so a passion was born. There is still so much to learn and I hope to take more lessons soon.

I feel like I have made so many items in the last couple years…my baby blanket obsession even made it into my Dad’s toast at the wedding. There are patterns that are definitely my favorites, but I do try to branch out a little.

Usually, I forget to take pictures of my projects, but I do have a few…some are from my camera and one is from the book I got the pattern out of (already gave the blanket away, lol)…but it looks just like it.

DH is even getting his own blanket…he picked out the pattern and the colors he wanted. Now, if I can only find time to make myself something. =)

#49 & #44

2009-03-13T08:40:00.000-07:00

#49 – Eat at 25 new restaurants – Is always a work in progress. The latest was The Counter in Roseville. It is a chain that started down South, but has recently opened a location up here in the new Fountains shopping center. DH and I went with some great friends and we had a wonderful time…I could not stop munching on the crispy onion strings and the sweet potato fries. What I really liked about this place were the endless options…as a non-beef eater, I loved that they not only had a veggie burger option, but turkey burger and chicken sandwich! Love it!!! I will definitely go back soon (after Easter).

(source)

Why after Easter, you ask? (Such a smooth transition, lol.) This Lenten season I am pushing myself in a way I have not previously done. I am sacrificing my TWO favorite “go-to” foods….yes, French Fries AND Chips & Salsa. Ah, it has been a two and a half weeks and I’m already dying. =( Yet, I persevere through and will be a better person for it come mid-April. If I succeed, and let’s face it, I’m too stubborn not to…I will be able to check off #44.

Oh, and I am wearing pink today...are you? Support California teachers!!!!

Oh, happy days

2009-03-12T10:00:00.000-07:00

I enjoy cooking. I enjoy baking. I enjoy entertaining. My kitchen, specifically my oven, was making that miserable. (Ok, now I totally feel like I am on HSN trying to get you to buy something for 3 easy payments of whatever and 99 cents.)

Back to the post at hand…our place (house, townhouse, condo, whatever I feel like calling it today) was built in 1987 and still has the original appliances. Or, I should say “had”…since we got new appliances on Monday!!!!

The oven and stove would set off the smoke detector no matter what you were doing. That was in part due to the insufficient fan capabilities of the microhood. The microwave actually had a dial!!!! Yep, a dial. Oh, and the dishwasher…forget trying to watch television downstairs while it was running…I’m surprised we didn’t get a noise complaint from that thing chugging and groaning.

(No picture of the old range...DH forgot and I guess I didn't remind him.)

Finally, after two wonderful parties and cooking for large groups I threw the towel in…literally, I tossed it on the floor and screamed in despair. For the past two years I’ve been managing with these sub-par pieces of crap. DH and I decided that since we aren’t going to be able to move anytime soon (and we would have to do it then anyways) it is time to replace the lot of them and enjoy our new stuff for a while ourselves.

So, I researched it all out and picked the brand and models we wanted and were within our budget….my number one item on the wish list was a convection oven…and I got it!!! I am so excited to be able to cook multiple dishes and have less cook time…it is going to make me a happy lady…and as DH says, A happy wife is a happy life. =)

As some of my blog friends can attest…anything new in the kitchen (or a whole new kitchen) is a wonderful thing. Thanks for letting me share.

Are you ready for some football? #96

2009-03-11T13:45:00.000-07:00

The weekend before the birthday party we had a Super Bowl party (I know I’m seriously playing catch up here, just hang in there with me…you are going to get lots of posts this week)…yep, I just keep entertaining away…I think it is all part of loving being a newlywed and having this need to nest and have people over. (Maybe it is all of the nice weddings present we received and wanting to use them.) It was a smaller group of about 10 or so…we had a great time and everyone ate, drank and enjoyed the game. Only 5 more months until pre-season!!!! That party also helped me complete one more item on my five-year plan…so number 96 is successfully accomplished.

I did take a ton of pictures of the food for the party…there was seriously enough food for a medium sized army…we ate baked potatoes for days and not only did we send home doggie bags, but even had friends over the next night for leftovers.

Before everyone got to the house...

The fridge is stocked and the oven is full... (Stef, recognize the bread bowls?)

Dinner was ready to go...(Wings not pictured...I think they were still in the oven)

Chatting, eating...and DH helping to clean up some of the dishes. =)

Birthday Shindig

2009-03-11T09:58:00.000-07:00

So, you ask, what have I been up to? Hmmm…my DH is now the big 3-0. =) We held a bash in his honor at our place and had 16 of our closest friends (including sibs) there and had a great time. Everyone gave me a bad time about making too much food….then proceeded to eat almost all of it, lol. Actually, there were plenty of leftovers, but when 16 people eat 40 enchiladas (I made 64), mass quantities of chips, salsa, guacamole, rice, beans, salad and almost half a sheet cake….Well, I don’t feel like I made too much food after that. I think the punch bowl of margaritas and the fully stocked bar had something to do with everyone eating a bit over their normal intake. Who am I kidding? I love over preparing and having everyone wasted and enjoying themselves, especially if the entertainment includes Rock Band 2 and DH being happy.

Unfortunately I was playing hostess a little too much to take pictures…my brother took a bunch, but we all know how that goes…I still haven’t seen them. I guess since he is out of the country on a skiing trip I’ll give him a pass right now. I only have a few that ended up on DH’s camera…most of them were blurry, I guess those margaritas were REALLY good, lol.

Calling Myself Out

2009-03-10T14:33:00.000-07:00

Ok, so it has been a million years since I updated and I’ve totally been called out on it. Well, that is how exciting my life is, lol. Seriously, I am sooooo boring now. Well, at least I think my life is boring. However boring is very nice. My boring life is full of love, working on projects around the house and hobby-wise and working at a job I am very thankful for.

It isn’t so much that I haven’t had anything to blog about, it is that I don’t have any pictures to go along with those posts and I am not a big fan of posts without pictures. Even my Mom gets bored with me unless there are pictures…wave hello Mom, I know you are there lurking.

There are lots of things in the works right now. I am diligently working hard at my five-year plan and maintaining an optimistic outlook during these hard economic times and rainy/drought season. Check back soon for lots of posts (I already have some written)....what do you want to hear about?

What have you all been up to?

Same Old, Same Old

2009-01-30T11:35:00.000-08:00

Forgive me readers it has been 10 days since my last post. Really, there hasn’t been that much going on.

Last weekend we visited with lots of friends at dinners, parties and the like. Of course, I didn’t bring my camera and don’t have any pictures to show you. I know, boring.

Honestly, I am busy planning away. This weekend is the Super Bowl and we are having a group of friends over for the game, the food, the drink and the commercials, along with a huge helping of fun. =) (That was so completely cheesy, my apologies.) It takes a lot of prep to get it all in gear. I enjoy it and love having people over, but nevertheless I wouldn’t be being completely honest with you if I said it was a snap. Yes Mom, I know…I do tend to go overboard and make way too much food and stress way too much over nothing. Well, I’ll get two weekends in a row to do that, lol.

The following weekend is DH’s 30th birthday!!! In honor of this special milestone in his life, we are (I am) throwing a shin-dig at our casa. I will tell you all more about it when we get a little closer or as soon as it occurs….reason being that I would love to surprise our guests and a few of them read this here blog. All I can say is that…it is going to be a great time and you’d best come with your Rock Band skills ready.

Actually, DH has already opened his birthday gift from me. =) I bought him the aforementioned Rock Band 2 for the Wii. The two of us love our Wii. Any given night you might walk in to find us either jammin’ on tour with our band or racing around a variety of tracks with Mario Kart. I’ll have to snap a few pictures one night so you’ll believe me.

Other than that, it’s been the same old, same old. I keep working on projects around the house and trying to figure out how we can afford our dream home during this lifetime. I’ve been working away at my list, interrupted slightly by Lost coming back on air. I won’t post spoilers (you are welcome, Stef) but let me say….holy cow, what a season so far. If you haven’t yet….jump on the Lost bandwagon…rent them from Netfix, borrow them from a friend (Mom, we have seasons 1 and 2). Seriously, don’t miss out!!! I’ll be back soon.

Massive Undertaking...#5 - Clean My Closet

2009-01-20T12:50:00.000-08:00

Bright and early Saturday morning I woke up and started in on one of the largest projects on my five-year plan…not as big as a new house or a baby, but definitely tougher than sending out holiday cards.

That’s right yall (as Brit-Brit would say)…I cleaned out my closet. I will pause for a brief moment for you all to visualize your own closet. Now, think of it at its messiest…whether that be right now or during a previous time when you were so disgusted by how bad it had gotten that you didn’t even want to go in there. Well, my closet was worse than that, I guarantee.

You see, I am a very organized person. I love everything in nice, neat stacks…and on spreadsheets. I love when I walk in somewhere and it’s all lined up and pretty. However, I am also an extremist. It’s all or nothing with me. I get on a project and there is no stopping me, but if I want to avoid something….I can be just as extreme in that. My closet has been no exception and it had turned into a ridiculous cabinet that things disappeared into and were never heard from again.

So, bright and early Saturday morning I tackled my closet head on. I didn’t even take before pictures because it is that embarrassing. I was ruthless with clothes, shoes and “stuff.” I went through every item in the entire closet. It took all day and a nice break for lunch at my favorite Sacramento franchise, Dos Coyotes. (Thank you for lunch and the moral support DH!)

In the process of reorganizing the entire closet I found a few fun, inventive ways to reuse items and incorporate wedding ideas into the space. I had purchased 3 foldable baskets from Cost Plus to use as the bathroom baskets…I ended up using 2 to store all of my scarves (I love scarves) and one for my very own flip-flop basket. I have 8 pairs of flip-flops and they look great all pretty in the basket…so fun! I even went a step further and cleaned out my dresser and started working on other rooms in the house.

All in all…Goodwill received 7 large handled bags of clothes, shoes and accessories. The washer and dryer also got a good workout doing about a million loads of laundry and our garbage can is halfway full of crap that was deemed not worthy for donation to anything but the dump.

It was a large project…DH got so worn out watching, he couldn’t manage the whole day without a snoozer.

By late afternoon, I felt an overwhelming sense of accomplishment and was really proud of myself. =) I even took pictures to share with you all.

#13 - Do Something Different With My Hair

2009-01-20T12:45:00.002-08:00

As I eluded to on Facebook, and to a few of you via conversations and emails…I was ready for a hair change and I took the plunge last Thursday night.

There is a phenomenon known as the “post-wedding chop” and I have seen many the newlywed style their grown out “wedding hair” into a fun, low-maintenance short new hair-do. Well, I am totally and completely unable to chop off all my long hair. Don’t get me wrong, I love short hair…I’ve had short hair before, really short hair. The number one problem is that my hair grows so stinking fast that it is expensive to get haircuts all the time to keep it looking fresh and stylish. The other reason that I can’t chop it anytime soon is that DH might lock me out.

When I told him that I wanted to change up my hair, he said, “do whatever you want as long as you keep it long…please don’t cut it all off.” How could I argue his one request? So, I started to think about things I could do to change it up without wacking it all off.

First, I though about color…I’ve been a brunette, a redhead…I really can’t pull off being a blonde and I work in corporate America so blue, pink and green weren’t really options…that left something I’ve always thought about doing but never (at least since my Cure/Depeche Mode days in jr high/high school) really went for…Black!

So, I had decided on black, but since I can’t resist a fun highlight I went for an auburn thrill. That still left what to do for an actual style. I know, black might have been enough of a change, but I really wanted something new and fun. Well, what’s more fun than bangs? I actually brought in a picture of Alyssa Milano and her fun bangs and said…give me that.

Ok, ok, I know you are bored and just want to see a picture. Well, DH is the worst photographer in the world so this is all I have from the weekend. (I got to meet up with a good friend, albeit briefly, that was in town for the weekend from NY.) This isn't the best picture, but you can get the idea....

Are you planning to try out a new look for 2009?

Weekend Recap

2009-01-20T12:45:00.001-08:00

Three-day weekends are such lovely things. I am so sad that this one is over. =( Not only was it relaxing, productive and fun…I didn’t have to get dressed up or travel anywhere! DH and I accomplished quite a bit around the house and in town.

Today is going to be full of new blog posts…normally I try to space them out, but I’m giving up. It’s feast or famin here people, all or nothing…and when it rains, it pours. So, hopefully you are having a slow day easing into the short week, or if you didn’t have the holiday, you are full swing into the week, bitter that you didn’t get the holiday. (It’s ok, I’ll be working in February on President’s Day and I’ll be completely bitter.) Either way, enjoy the catch up…my sad excuse for what pictures I do have and I can’t wait to hear all your wonderful, insightful, comical and fantastic comments.

I heart Facebook. (#47 – Reach out to a long lost friend.)

2009-01-16T14:10:00.000-08:00

Yes, I really, really, really heart Facebook. Not just because I can keep tabs on exactly what folks from high school are doing at every moment of the day. Not just because I am saving the earth by sending virtual items to everyone I know. Not just because it satisfies my need to “tag” things. Not just because I can let everyone know whom and what I’m a fan of. Not just because I needed to know how many friends I actually have.

I heart Facebook because it unknowingly helped me accomplish one of my goals in my five-year plan. I’ve actually reconnected with a few old friends. I started just like the other 150 million users and posted some random stuff…looked for people I know…and started requesting friends and responding to requests. Then I started to think about people in my life whom I lost touch with, but still think about often. I did a few searches to try and find some of these folks and a few I found, but many I did not.

Then one day (alright, more than one because I’ve reconnected with a few long lost friends)…there was a request from a friend that I had been looking for, for ages. Well, why didn’t she pop up when I did a search for her? Hmm….well, maybe because during the time when we were long lost she went and got married, changed her name and didn’t retain her maiden name on facebook for folks like me trying to find them.

I’ve actually found a handful of old friends and really started emailing back and forth, catching up on the phone and arranging to meet up when we are in the same locale. There are two specifically that I am sooooo happy to have them actively back in my life. These gals were such close friends that I don’t understand how time and distance ever kept us apart. Now, I’m getting a chance to catch up with them on family, career, weddings, babies and all sorts of other fun happenings. It has been wonderful. I don’t think they are reading my blog, but I just wanted to share with you a simple thing that led to a big thing, that makes me really happy. =)

Have a good weekend…and for those of you who have asked…I will try to post pictures of my new hair-do soon. Yep, I did some new-fangled shiz with my hair and I LOVE it, lol.

#1. Move into a bigger house

2009-01-15T14:26:00.000-08:00

Before I get you all excited…we didn’t buy a house and we aren’t moving, lol. As much as I wish I could be writing you that we purchased the 5 bedroom/3 bath/3 car garage house of our dreams, I am not. I am writing to tell you that I am currently obsessed with looking at the online listings for 5 bedroom/3 bath/3 car garage houses of my dreams (and some nightmares too).

Alas, right now it is just not in the cards for DH and I. Currently, we own two homes (one is rented) and a third mortgage in these economic times doesn’t sound like an exciting opportunity to me. Neither does trying to sell either or both of our current investments.

So, until the real estate market changes (either one way or the other) or we hit the lotto (I’m trying)…we’ll make do with our 2 bedroom/2 ½ bath/barely 2 car garage place.

However, if we did have a bigger house…and when we do…I am definitely going to re-create this room as my craft studio. Isn’t is ah-maz-ing?!?!?!

(source)

What dream room would you have in your new home?

2009

2009-01-06T11:37:00.000-08:00

Ok, ok...I'm a total slacker. I'm also still tired from the holidays and our trip to BIL's Florida wedding.

I think after the gluttony that was the last couple months I need to concentrate on becoming a healthier me and dropping a few pounds. Anyone care to join me and we can push each other?

Soon enough I'll be back on the wagon, blogging away for all three of you. =) In the meantime I'm chugging away at my 5 year plan. Some progress has been made and although I should do separate entries for each one of these (and I may go back and do just that)...before I forget, here we go.

#12 - Own a laptop - DH and I received a brand spanking new laptop from Mom and Dad for Christmas. I have a feeling it is already more DH's than mine, but Santa gave it to both of us, so that counts.

#17 - Visit 10 states I've never been to - Florida!!!!! I got to enjoy the beautiful Dec/Jan weather in South Florida and do some major shopping, drinking and eating....the only thing that was missing was the sleep, lol.

#49 - Eat at 25 new restaurants - For New Year's Eve a group of us headed to Delray Beach and had a lovely dinner. The food was good, but it being a busy holiday and as part of a party of 16 or so...the experience left a little to be desired. Would have been much better with a group of 4 or 6 and not such a busy night. If it was less than 3000 miles away from home I would try it again sooner. 24 more new eats to go.

#91 - Inspire someone to start his or her own list - The lovely Erin has started her own list and I love it!!!! She's currently at 81 items and has it posted on her blog...and I'm excited to see her achieve all of her goals in the next five years. (Especially that red dress and another baby, lol.)

Thank you to you all for not totally abandoning me...I'm excited to hear from you all soon.

#42 - Send Holiday cards to friends and family

2008-12-17T10:07:00.001-08:00

They are finally in the mail. I ordered them ages ago, and by ages I mean weeks, but I didn’t get them out in the mail until yesterday afternoon. I think that my lack of urgency has to do with a few key factors…one, I’m not entirely thrilled with them…two, I’m not entirely thrilled with the holidays…and three, did I mention I’m not entirely thrilled with them?

Next year I am going to plan ahead and design fantabulous holiday cards. Honestly, I think all my creative energy went into making the thank you notes for the wedding and the holiday cards got the short end of the stick. I wanted to do a set of amazing cards, but with the lack of dinero available and the lack of time until they had to be sent out…ah well, people look at them, maybe put them on a piano or mantle for a few weeks and then they go into the trash.

At least we are sending out cards…and I’ve accomplished one more item on my 5-year plan…#42, done.

Here is the picture we used for the card…it is from our rehearsal dinner. =) (Which was two months ago today.)

Updates Galore…#87, 40 & 15

2008-12-15T11:58:00.000-08:00

I have been a little busy lately, but part of that being busy has been diligently working away at my 5-year plan. I have some great updates for you…specifically numbers 87, 40 and 15.

#87 – Pay off my library fines and start checking out books again.
The past few weeks I’ve been requesting books online via our local library catalog. They so wonderfully send you an email when they are ready for pick-up. So, this weekend, as I was out running errands, I swung by the library in my neighborhood and picked up my friends waiting on the shelf with my name on them. I also paid off all my fines and am completely current with the Sacramento library system. It’s not that I rack up major fines, or purposely return books late…what usually happens is that I am really into a book, someone else has a hold on it (so I can’t re-new it), and I am willing to pay the few cents a day to be able to finish up the story. The real problem is that I tend to do this quite often and those few cents add up. At least it is all going to a good cause…and I rationalize it by saying that it is still cheaper than buying the book. Well, now I’m squared away and hopefully I can be a better library patron and return my books on time.

#40 – Buy a Menorah every Hanukkah (1/5)
DH and I picked out our newest holiday decoration for our home…a very pretty Menorah. Sunday was the Hanukkah fair at DH’s Synagogue, so we headed over there and picked out our favorite. Although I’m not really feeling the Holiday season this year, it is nice to have pretty, twinkling lights, some much loved sentimental Christmas decorations and our menorahs in the house. It’s beginning to look a lot like Chrismukkah!

#15 – Not wear a ponytail for two weeks straight (7/14)
Today is day seven of not wearing a ponytail and it has actually been even more difficult than I thought it would. Yes, I am completely aware that it sounds superficial and quite transparent. However, I have promised that I will always be honest with you…and not throwing my hair back with a few hair ties to get it out of the way, is really out of my comfort zone.

I have a technicality that I need your help with though…what do I do with my hair at the gym? Am I allowed a reprieve? Is a bun allowed or does that violate the idea of the goal? Please help me out with this one.

Holidays

2008-12-11T08:48:00.000-08:00

Since I’m feeling really lackluster these days and not much of anything interesting is happening….I’ll just blog about what is roaming around in my mind of late.

I feel guilty saying this, but I’m honestly not excited about the holidays. Some of you may say…no biggie, I’m never excited for the holidays and other may say, how can you NOT be excited? Well, I guess this has been a busy year and I’m just over it.

(source)

Don’t get me wrong…I am definitely looking forward to spending time with my family and having a few days off work, but I’m not thrilled about Christmas, Hanukah or New Year’s. I decorated the house, hoping that would help, not so much. I ordered our holiday cards, hmph…they don’t thrill me. It just feels lackluster. I know, I know…I’m totally whining and should focus on the things I am so lucky to have and be thankful.

The thing is, I am very thankful. After a year of spending money like a crazy woman, getting more beautiful items for our home than I ever thought possible and the economy causing my stress level to increase by the day…I guess I’m over the spending spirit. DH and I have decided not to exchange gifts…and when Mom asked me what I wanted over Thanksgiving, I actually told her socks. She looked at me a little silly and I proceeded to take my shoes off and show her my one navy blue sock and my one grey sock…and it wasn’t because I needed to do laundry. DH then took off his shoes and showed her his holey socks…we looked pretty pathetic. I’d say it’s a safe bet that we’ll both be really happy to have matching, non-holey socks come December 25th. Sure, I would love a new flashy purse or another pair of my favorite jeans, but I just don’t want anyone spending any more money on me this season…the economy scares me like Sarah Palin scares moose, you betcha.

(source)

So, although I’m definitely not a scrooge, I just don’t feel like decking the halls with lots of packages. Sorry if I’m a Debbie Downer, but I’m pretty sure that I’m not the only one out there who is feeling a little blue this winter. How are you all feeling about this holiday season?

(source)

I forgot to say thank you...

2008-12-08T08:18:00.001-08:00

Did I forget to tell you that I finished all of our thank you notes? I guess it totally slipped my mind. =) We got them mailed out the day before Thanksgiving…so, I missed my goal of our one-month anniversary by a week. However, considering that my original plan of attack included working on them on the plan ride to and from Hawaii…and that got shot down really quick by DH…I think I did pretty well. Trying to keep them from sounding redundant was definitely the most difficult part. We got so many wonderful presents and I’m one of those freaks that actually enjoys writing notes of gratitude.

I know I’ve shown you the note cards I made before, but here’s a couple last pictures of a large grouping, all ready to go. The liners turned out great and I’ve gotten lots of wonderful compliments and comments on them. I think I may start making all of my own note cards! They are really easy to do and definitely bring the plain old note card up a notch. Paper is soooo expensive and cards can be ridiculous…these really aren’t expensive and all they take is just a little time and some creativity. (Great gift idea too!)

Tagged

2008-12-05T09:37:00.000-08:00

I love being tagged and sweet Ashley from Polka Dot and Paisley tagged little ole me! =)

So, here are the rules and then me fulfilling them…

The rules:

1. Link to the person that tagged you

2. Post the rules on your blog

3. Share six non-important things/habits/quirks about yourself

4. Tag six random people at the end of your post by linking to their blogs

5. Let each random person know they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their website.

6. Let your tagger know when your entry is up.

The non-important randomness and quirks of me…

1. I am left-handed and I really like it. When I was a kid I hated it because scissors and binders were a pain in my arse (and my hand)…but as an adult it makes me feel like a member of the cool club. DH says he wishes he was a lefty and hopes that our kids are lefties…I guess the baseball pitcher in him will never die, lol. Are there any other southpaws out there?

2. I hate the sound of my own voice. In all capacities…this is the number one reason I didn’t want a videographer at the wedding or could never be a news anchor.

3. I hum. When I am sitting at my desk or just walking around thinking too hard, trying to figure out a problem, I hum. The quirk…and this is the first time I am telling anyone this…is that I usually hum one of five tunes. First, Tom’s Diner by Suzanne Vega (totally weird, I know). Next, A Few of My Favorite Things from the Sound of Music (oh, come on …you know you do too). Third, I Feel Pretty from West Side Story (ok, I love certain musicals, what can I say). I also hum that generic circus tune quite frequently, who knows why? Finally, and possibly the weirdest…Pomp and Circumstance (maybe it’s because I loved school, but even during our wedding rehearsal I was humming this commencement tune and got my Dad in on it as we were headed down the practice aisle).

4. I can’t get out of bed on the first, or even the second, snooze to save my life. Honestly, I need more like 4 or 5 snoozes to get me moving…if I hit the lotto, the first thing I would do is throw away my alarm clock.

5. I am deathly afraid of spiders. They scare the bejesus out of me and I honestly can’t sleep in a room where there is a spider. DH is very familiar with my “spider freak outs” and usually comes to my rescue…even if it is after a laugh or two at my expense.

6. I love getting my makeup done…even more than getting my nails or hair done, or having new things to wear or even getting a massage. I’m terrible at doing my own makeup and always have been. I can’t blend to save my life and usually end up only wearing powder and lip gloss. If I could have my make up done whenever I wanted I would love, love, love that.

So, now I get to tag six of you lovlies….don’t forget to let me know when you’re all posted. =)

Kate from Pretty Damn Fabulous
Julia from Just Jewls
Aron from Runner’s Rambles
Erin from The Evans Family
Stefanie from Stefanie’s Stories
Erica from In Case You Care

Hello Again

2008-12-04T08:07:00.000-08:00

Not that anyone noticed, but I’ve been m.i.a. for the last week. I think a lot of us have been busy this past week, with the Thanksgiving holiday and the Christmas/Hanukah influx in full effect. Well, my reasons include those, but are a little selfish too.

I pretty much put everything on hold this past week to read the twilight series. Wow, I really need to go grocery shopping and clean our house (and catch up on blogging). =) Sometimes books do this to me and I become engrossed. I promise not to give anything away, but I am so sad there are only four books. Maybe, Stephenie Meyer will decide at some point to open up her heart and mind and give us a peak into the future of these characters. (I want more, lol.)

(source)

Unfortunately, the movie version is not only disappointing, but a completely failed attempt at capturing the magic and romance of the story. The acting is terrible, the casting horrific (with a couple exceptions) and the screenplay couldn’t have been more pathetically written….argh, so sad!

Now that I’m doing with this wonderful group of novels I need your help….what should I read next? I would love to hear your recommendations. Come on bookworms, show me your favorites…old and new alike.

Happy Thanksgiving!

2008-11-27T13:00:00.000-08:00

Here I am coming to you live from M&D’s house in my hometown in the heart of the silicon valley. Today is a day of thanks…so I’d like to share some of the things I am thankful for.

I am thankful for my hometown… All you computer geeks can eat your heart out that growing up here meant…I learned to drive in the parking lot of HP…I had the same high school English teach as Jobs and the Woz (she used to tell the greatest stories about what their classes would do to torture subs)…you were the odd kid out if at least one of your parents didn’t work in “the industry” (and no that isn’t a euphemism for something dirty or L.A. based). My hometown is 40 minutes to the beach, 50 minutes to SF, but is still complete suburbia. I love exploring the ever changing and ever growing life of my hometown. However, the thing I love most of all about my hometown is that it is where M&D are and the house I grew up in.

I am thankful for my family…they are one wild and crazy bunch and I wouldn’t trade them in for anything. I am so excited to spend this holiday with them and get to eat my way through the day…enjoying all our family traditions.

I am thankful that I get to share it all with DH…this is the first Thanksgiving DH and I have ever spent together. Seriously, ever. In our 5 plus years we always spent the fourth Thursday of November with our own parents and families…and now we are always going to spend it together, just trading off whether the G’s or the K’s let us eat pounds of mashed potatoes and pumpkin pie.
I am thankful to have a blogging family made up of all of you…I enjoy reading about your lives and being inspired by all of the things you do. Thank you for letting me share my life with you, I hope that it at least puts a smile on your face or somehow makes your day better in some little way.

So, Happy Thanksgiving to you all…I wish you all health and happiness and a great turkey day!

Oh, Huey...

2008-11-26T08:24:00.001-08:00

Ok, so I’m supposed to be working on my 100 things to accomplish in 5 years (and I swear I am), but in the hopes of Huey Lewis…I found a new drug. It’s called the twilight series. Now, join with me because I know I’m not alone in this addiction. DH is completely making fun of me for disappearing behind a book this week…and for flying through the first novel in the series….but oh….they are sooooo addictive.

(source)

If you haven’t read these yet or if you are just looking for a new guilty pleasure that doesn’t involve calories over the long upcoming weekend…use that coupon in your email box and run to your nearest book store. Or, ask around…chances are you have a handful of friends that have already read these books and are willing to let you borrow them. Trust me…you’ll fly through them so quickly you won’t be borrowing them for long. =)
I finished the first one last night and already started the second, title new moon. So, horseback riding and biographies will have to wait until I can get through my high on this new drug, lol.

First order of business

2008-11-24T09:11:00.000-08:00

When you were younger did you ever write “life plans” for yourself? Things you wanted to get accomplished, where you wanted to be at a certain age, or even a letter to an older wiser you to remember the youth and energy of yore? Sixteen year old me had a very different vision of what 25 year old me would be than what actually turned out, lol. I attribute most of the dissimilarities to an idea that anyone over 21 was beyond mature, that earning a million was a snap and that I read way too many chick-lit books where the girl graduates from college, moves to NY and works for a magazine or pr agency or in advertising. Ok, well maybe I still read too many chick-lit books, but my life turned out to be way less The Devil Wears Prada and a whole lot more Bridget Jones. Well, now the first book is closed…I got the great guy, got the townhouse in the burbs and am well on my way to happily ever after….except, I know that all great chick-lit stories have a sequel or two in them…and I’m thinking my story is no different. So, why not write out a new plan for my life…amended from sixteen year old me to thirty year old me. Kate has inspired me with her grand list of things to accomplish and I’m going to help her get at least one thing crossed off her list and start my own.

So, ladies and DH (I don’t think there are any other gents out there reading this)…here is list of the 100 things I want to accomplish in the five-year plan. They are by no means in any particular order…they are actually jumbled all around. I hope I can inspire you to make your own list. =)

100 Things to get done in my 5 year plan.

Move into a bigger house.
Sell at least one house.
Become a Mom.
Make a trust or will.
Clean my closet.
Get a cell phone with Internet service.
Attend a Pez convention.
Catalog my Pez collection.
Go skydiving.
Get a passport.
Go somewhere with my passport.
Own a laptop.
Do something different with my hair.
Buy another pair of my favorite jeans.
Not wear a ponytail for two weeks straight. (0/14)
Drink a bottle of Silver Oak with loved ones.
Visit 10 states I’ve never been too (0/10).
Put together a birthday calendar.
Bowl a perfect game on Wii.
Put an entire paycheck straight into savings.
Go on a girl’s weekend with only Mom and I.
See Wicked.
Go horseback riding.
Pay the bridge toll for the person behind me.
Plant a tree.
Grow vegetables.
Grow lavender.
Throw/Attend a Birthday party in my honor.
Go to a professional football game with DH.
Give blood without fainting.
Attend a taping of Oprah.
Re-try 3 foods I don’t like to see if my tastes have changed. (0/3)
Write a thank you note to the Rapides Parish Sheriff’s Dept.
Sew a quilt.
Crochet something for myself.
Take a crochet class to further my skills.
Use ALL the yarn in the closet.
Finish cross-stitching two more Christmas stockings. (0/2)
Have a Christmas tree.
Buy a Menorah every Hanukah. (0/5)
Send Valentine’s Day cards to friends and family.
Send Holiday cards to friends and family.
Send 12 cards via snail mail for no particular reason. (0/12)
Not eat French Fries for an entire month.
Not drink soda for an entire month.
Lose 10 pounds. (0/10)
Reach out to an old friend.
If and when I do something wrong, apologize.
Eat at 25 new restaurants. (0/25)
Volunteer at least 5 times. (0/5)
Donate something at least 25 times. (0/25)
Visit Miss R. everywhere she lives in the next 5 years, at least once.
Start wearing a watch.
Give myself an “out” for one item on this list.
Find a candidate I feel strongly enough about to campaign for, not against.
Memorize all of the state capitals.
Read 5 biographies of people I admire. (0/5)
Pay 10 strangers compliments. (0/10)
Send flowers to someone for no particular reason.
Go to the gym 5 days a week for 4 weeks straight. (0/20)
Go on a picnic.
Write down 50 quotes/lyrics I love. (0/50)
Experience Yosemite as an adult.
Write out a family tree for my future children.
Make a list of another 100 things for the next five years.
Back up all my digital pictures on my computer.
Get back to Vegas, soon!
Convince DH to shave his goatee.
Participate in a book club.
Be 100% happy in the moment and take note of it.
Write a letter from 30 year old me to 40 year old me.
Go on a girl’s trip (that means no boys allowed).
Get prescription sunglasses.
Get our wedding album in my hands.
Refresh and re-do the “photo wall.”
Put together a scrapbook.
Get new drapes for down stairs.
Send a care package.
Buy a piece of art.
Throw a dinner party.
Bake cookies or treats for neighbors.
Not leave the house for an entire weekend and not be sick.
Re-read the entire Harry Potter series in order. (0/7)
Read ten books I’ve never read that are considered “classics.” (0/10)
Keep blogging post-wedding.
Use a skin care regimen for 60 days straight. (0/60)
Pay off my library fines and start checking out books again.
Buy myself a bicycle.
Write down 25 things that make me happy. (0/25)
Change my name.
Inspire someone to start his or her own list.
Bake a carrot cake from scratch.
Get DH a dog.
Buy new furniture for the house.
Put my feet in the Atlantic Ocean.
Throw a Super Bowl party.
Go swimming in our pool.
Get a raise.
Take 5 day-trips completely for fun. (0/5)
One open spot to add an item I’m sure I forgot.

And On We Go...

2008-11-24T08:03:00.000-08:00

With new beginnings come new things….

You will start seeing some changes here on the blog…starting with a new name. I have loved writing about all things wedding planning and wedding. However, now that the wedding is over, the thank you notes are almost done and the honeymoon tan is fading…it is time to look ahead. I figure that now is as good a time as any to start fresh. Don’t worry, I will still finish our wedding re-cap and promised to post about any wedding items you request I am excited to share with you what happens after the wedding is over and married life begins….as I see what life, love, career and time have in store for me.

So….and on we go!

Food

2008-11-21T11:30:00.000-08:00

I grew up in a family of people who love food. We aren’t food snobs…we just love food. I’m sure this isn’t a surprise to you if you read the post about my bridal showers because there were equal parts written about the food and everything else. We also like taking pictures of the food. DH also grew up in a family of people who love food. They have a family tradition, albeit totally sub-conscience, of always talking about the next meal during the current one. So, imagine my non-shock when I scanned through all of the pictures, both professional and non-professional, and there were pictures of almost all the different dishes available, lol.

I already spilled the beans on the alcohol because I couldn’t help but post about that angle and also those great pictures. However, I don’t believe I’ve mentioned much on the food previously.

Our menu started out during the cocktail hour on the patio with passed appetizers. I thought ahead and asked the venue to have platter of these tasty treats available on the head table because I knew DH and I, and most of the bridal party, would not be able to slow down long enough to grab a bite. The three different morsels we offered our guests were bruschetta, spanakopita and chicken satay with peanut sauce…they were all very tasty. DH’s favorite was the bruschetta and mine was the spanakopita, but they were all so good!

Next up was a mixed green salad…it was yummy, but I have to admit that I only got a bite or two before DH had it cleared not realizing I was just up talking, not up and finished.

Finally dinner arrived. We had an issue with the venue on the dinner service and they just couldn’t seem to get their act together. I wasn’t fully aware of the situation until after the fact…so my advice to brides out these…as much as everyone says don’t worry about it, worry about it…I wish I had known so I could have spoken up in the moment.

Once everyone got their food, they enjoyed either a chicken, fish or veggie entrée. The fish was definitely the best of the three in my opinion…how do I know you ask? Well, I had the fish…a few bites until I was full and ran off to enjoy the party. I ate some tortellini at about 3:30 in the morning…along with a few bites of the chicken. Oh, and I also took an informal, un-scientific poll. Nonetheless, they all looked pretty.

A little later in the evening, it was onto cake. We had two different flavors…carrot cake (our mutual favorite) and white cake with vanilla custard (classic wedding selection). They were both delicious, I honestly didn’t get to eat a full piece until after the wedding, but I did have a few bites as seen below. The cake was delicious!!!!!

All this talk about food is making me hungry…how about you?

Change is in the air

2008-11-21T08:05:00.000-08:00

I'm getting a little excited....there is a change coming...something I've been getting ready for...check in on Monday for a little announcement.

In the meantime...I am drawing a blank as to what else about the wedding you all want to hear about. I love, love, love the comments I got and I hope I fulfilled your request for all things photo booth and details. How about the rest of you? Or those of you that got your first request...anything else? I really don't want to bore you, but I also don't want to leave you hanging. Please let me know. So, some of you lurkers out there...Mom, M, J, V, DH and a few others...do it anonymously if you are identity phobic. =)

Guest Book/Wish Book

2008-11-20T15:00:00.000-08:00

Let me be upfront and say that our “wish book” ended up being one of my biggest disappointments. I’m not being a complainer…I’m just being honest and forthright. I won’t sit here and tell you that our day was without flaws or that I wouldn’t have changed anything. That’s like telling you Vogue doesn’t airbrush or fat-free cheese melts perfectly fine. I won’t lie to myself and I won’t lie to you. Did we have a wonderful day? Yes. Am I still married to the man of my dreams? Yes. Was everything on October 18th perfect? Nope.

I love the concept of a wish book. I’m always apprehensive of the photo mat…worried that some drunk friend will think they are funny, when they are just being crude. Or a traditional guest book…that just goes in a box and no one ever looks at. I wanted those cute little notes to put in a scrapbook, along with cards and pictures, to get a full vision of our special day/time.

The cards were printed at home with the words, Wishes, Advice and Stories, on them. With my handy-dandy little corner rounder, I clipped all those puppies. An explanation was printed, placed in a frame and displayed for everyone. Add one gorgeous vase and voila…a wish book is made.

Now, if only people had filled out the cards. I had 300 cards and only about 20 were filled out. I even took some of them to a gathering of girlfriends after the fact to try to get them to write up a little something…nada. =(

My vision of a scrapbook filled with wise words, lovely wishes and memorable anecdotes did not come to fruition.

However, we did get a couple funny ones that reinforced our decision to not do a photo mat. My personal favorite “funny” one is of particular interest for the 49er fans out there…it said… “If you are ever in doubt while having an argument, throw the review flag. –Mike Nolan”

Snippitts, details and other little known things

2008-11-20T08:00:00.000-08:00

This is just a random post of random things and random thoughts

I love that the bridesmaids all picked totally different shoes…different styles, different heights, all totally cool. This is one of my favorite pictures…my friends are all so unique and although they might have all been wearing the same dress, they rocked out their own personal styles and one way you can see that is in their shoes.

See that yellow bag in the background? I adore that that yellow bag is in the pictures of me getting dressed. DH bought me that bag for my 30th birthday…it is the limited edition Kate Spade Sacramento store bag. There are only 50 in the world and I have number 33. =) I think it is perfect that whenever I look at these pictures I will see that thoughtful gift too.

I don’t know about you, but when I look through someone else’s wedding pictures and I see a picture full of emotion I really, really want to know what exactly was going through that person’s mind at that very moment. Being that I wear my emotions on my sleeve and am sooooo easy to read I have tons of these...I thought I would share at least one with you…this was taken during the BM’s toast to DH (his older brother) and I. He is a great public speaker and had the perfect balance of sentimentality and humor to get the crowd totally into it. At this very moment he had just told 180 of our closest family and friends that the first time DH and I really met was when I arrived at his house, after a St. Patty’s Day pub crawl, after 18 bars…yep, while that is definitely how I roll, I’m not sure that’s how I wanted M&D to find out the circumstances about how we really met, thanks new little brother!

When I was little my Mom convinced my brother and I that her car wouldn’t start unless the seat belts were buckled in…this is just another untruth she convinced us of in our youth (I have many other examples, but I’ll save them for another time). Well, as I was piling my dress into the passenger seat of my Dad’s car to head to the venue Mom wouldn’t let my Dad go until I had my seatbelt buckled. Normally, I am steadfast and diligent when it comes to obvious things like seatbelts and looking both ways….but, let me tell you…we were running late and that dress was slightly awkward to sit in, much less squeeze into a car and be belted in. That did not matter to Mom in the slightest…so, here she is making sure I’m all buckled in…or else the car wouldn’t start.

I absolutely love this picture…I honestly do not remember DH carrying my train for me, but I love that Miss V caught it on her camera. He was so cute all night…I distinctly remember as Miss V was bustling me, he said…”Babe, don’t look at the bottom of your dress. It’s so dirty, I don’t want you to get upset.” Isn’t that the cutest?

I’ve already told you that I didn’t get to drink very much at the wedding…well, at least I got to enjoy my two favorite beverages in the whole world…champagne and diet coke. Of course there is a picture of my two favorite liquid treats at the head table…am I the only bride out there who was feigning for some caffeine and bubbles?

Our photographer is a total and complete genius for many, many reasons…one of which is hiding my hideous cry face. Once my Dad and I started walking down the aisle I was so completely overwhelmed by emotion I morphed into a really ugly, pained version of my made up self. I do not remember music being played (I did notice a lot else of what was going on, but that’s another post)…I only know that I couldn’t stop smiling and yet was trying not to cry at the same time. That combination makes for a not-so-pretty face. The fact that Sarah was able to get gorgeous pictures in between me looking like a beast during a full moon is amazing to me.

The phrase I heard the most at the wedding bar none was, “You look just like your Mom.” Now, I think a big part of this was that I had the collage frame of our parent’s and grandparent’s wedding portraits, but still…I have never heard from so many different people in such a short time frame that I look “just like” my Mom. It was funny…I know I look like my Mom, she’s my Mom, lol. I would have loved it if everyone went up to her and said, “You look just like your daughter.” Hahaha…maybe I’m totally odd, but that would really have cracked me up.

Here is a picture of the Dad’s checking out the collage frame of their own respective wedding day’s. I have no idea what they are talking about, but I’m guessing is has something to do with either the fashion trends of the mid-seventies or reminiscing of hair lines of yore.

Right before we headed out of the bridal room, the girl’s had a champagne toast and I took a deep breath. We kicked everybody out…so the only folks in the room were my bm’s, me and Dad. We got on the subject of tan lines and I had to have my Dad show his off to the girls. It is famous within our family and my brother and I have long rolled our eyes at Dad’s sock tan. It honestly looks like he is wearing socks….it is his badge of how much he golf’s honor. He’s going to kill me, but I have to show you all because we got a picture.

I want to caption this one…tux rental $149…bottle of champagne before you walk your daughter down the aisle $25…showing off your sock tan line to make her best friends giggle, priceless.

That Poem Thing...

2008-11-19T14:45:00.000-08:00

Yes, the something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue and a sixpence in your shoe. Yes, “that poem thing.”

Since the honeymoon is over, the recap that is, lol. You’ve heard all about the rehearsal. You’ve even gotten the sneak peak and the slide show from the photographer. What’s left? Ha, ha…of course, the wedding.

First up is my something old…no, not me…although that might count. =) My something old is a family heirloom that I inherited when my Grandma passed away. It is an engagement ring from 1890 that has been passed through my family. I had it sized to fit the middle finger of my right hand so that I can enjoy wearing it on special occasions. My wedding day definitely counts as a special occasion.

(source)

Something new…there was quite a bit that was new…my shoes, my dress, my hair comb, my earrings, etc. Let’s go with the earrings because they are so incredibly pretty and I love them so…swoon.

(source)

Something borrowed…the veil…it is my cousin’s and she was gracious enough to let me borrow it. Turns out I wasn’t the only one who borrowed something from this particular cousin that night…I think that altogether there were 4 or 5 of us with items of clothing borrowed from her.

(source)

Something blue…this was the hardest one for me…I just couldn’t decide. Finally I went with the dress patch. You may remember that I was none too pleased with the first dress patch I ordered and after lamenting to family and friends, Mom said that I should order another one so I was happy. Once again, Mom was right. I love the second dress patch.

(source)

My sixpence is another piece of family tradition…I asked my parents if either of them had one, since they stopped being made in 1967. Mom immediately leaves the room and comes back with a couple mason jars of coins. In which were over 20 sixpence (does that make 120 pence, lol). All of these coins were my Grandpa’s that he collected while in the Navy during World War 2. Isn’t that a great story! I picked a couple out, Dad cleaned them up for me and ta-da…that poem thing was complete.

Source...my camera...probably Miss V taking it. =)

The Dress

2008-11-19T08:00:00.000-08:00

I’ve never blogged about my dress before. The main reason for that is DH will occasionally peruse this blog looking to see what I’ve divulged to the cyber world and I wasn’t going to chance that he might happen upon it. Also, as much as they never comment, there are a few lurkers out there that did attend my wedding and I wanted to have some surprises. I also have a theory that, much like baby names, if you tell/show people before the actual event, you might not like the response others have to give you. After the fact no one says negative things and you glow 100% untainted. (Oh, and some children have names like Wilbur and Fifi.)

I tried on over 60 different dresses…I think that’s pretty much every non-strapless dress under $1200 between Trudy’s, Bella Donna and House of Fashion combined. In that mix of v-neck, off the shoulder, cap sleeve and halter designs, I found quite a few I liked. I also found quite a few that the dislike was mutual.

To be honest, I never had that experience of “the one.” Not that I don’t love my dress and wouldn’t go back and pick it again, but there were no choirs singing, birds chirping, spotlight beaming or gasps from surrounding strangers when I put it on for the first time. My analytical, researched based mind just kept going back to the same one. Trust me, I analyzed…I even took a non-scientific poll of bridesmaids, parents and a few trusted friends. Then, what I realized, was that whatever dress I picked would be “my one” and that would be that. When the whole group was 50/50 over two different dresses the decision really came down to me. That makes sense…it being my wedding dress and all. Well, the one I picked just kept coming into my head whenever I would close my eyes and see myself going through our special day. I guess I just couldn’t imagine not wearing that dress and that was the one I should have. (I do have to say though, that when I put it on for my Mom and Aunt J at the salon the week of the wedding, I did hear magical gasps. They were Mom and Aunt J, not strangers, but it was even better that way.)

You’ve already seen the dress in the professional pictures, but let me show you a few of the runners up just for s&g’s.

These two had Mom and I rolling for days…sometimes the dress just takes over…I stared at my Mom when I tried on the first one and said…if you don’t stop laughing, I’m going to make you try it on…she just laughed more.

Then I found my dress…I actually tried it on at three different bridal salons. In case you are wondering…when I tried it on for my Mom for the first time, she told me that was the dress. I asked her how she knew…said that I couldn’t stop smiling and that with most of the other dresses I had a sourpuss on my face. (And the train is what sold me, lol.)

How could I not love a dress that has him looking at me this way…swoon!

It is a Casablanca, style 1860 for those of you who are curious. The pictures on the website of the model look a little odd…she has no curves and no breasts either, but the dress is made for an hourglass for sure!

Side note for trivia reasons…I had never seen another bride in this dress (one more reason to love it) and then, one day, I’m reading wedding bee for the latest Mrs. Pom post and there is gorgeous Mrs. Cupcake in our gorgeous dress. Of course Mrs. Pom and I both gushed over how pretty it photographs and how excited I was to wear it. =) It didn’t matter that another bride was wearing our dress, I realized that it made me love the dress even more.

My tip for those of you still shopping for dresses, find your shoes before you order your dress. Most dress-makers will do a custom hollow-to-hem for no additional charge and it will save you cash on not needing a hem.

One Month

2008-11-18T11:30:00.000-08:00

It is hard to believe that a month has already passed since we've been married. I keep thinking about what we were doing at this time one month ago today.

Honestly, not much has changed...not even my name yet, legally. I guess that is a sign of a good relationship...we seamlessly moved from dating to marriage.

We joke about what celebrity marriages we've outlasted already in only a month..so far we've passed up:

Britney and Jason Alexander
Cher and Gregg Allman
Dennis Hopper and Michelle Phillips
Drew Barrymore and Jeremy Thomas

Only 2 1/2 more months and we'll be married longer than Nicolas Cage and Lisa Marie were. Honestly, I'm shooting more for the likes of the Cosby's, Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson, Michael J. Fox and Tracy Pollan orJulie Andrews and Blake Edwards....all 20 years plus, and then some in certain cases.

Is it healthy to compare our longevity to celebrities? Probably not...but it's funny when the waiter comes over, asks how long you've been married...and your husband responds..."Longer than Britney's first, but haven't made it past the second yet."

Happy One Month DH, I love you more than anything!

The Devil is in the details...Part 2

2008-11-18T09:00:00.000-08:00

There are so many more details I can share with you…if I am boring you or if there is something specific you’d like to see or hear more about, please let me know! =)

Here we go…

Table Names…I shared a while ago that our table names were the names of our favorite restaurants, with short descriptions and our favorite dishes. Now you get to see them in action! They turned out great…even better than I had anticipated. M&D also custom made the stands…they cut, painted and drilled a small hole in each of the cubes and also painted and curled each of the metal wires. We actually got a lot of compliments on these and a few people were walking around checking out what other restaurants we used. I actually had one guest come up to me and while we were talking say that we all needed to go to one of the restaurants together because they love it too, lol. It was a fun idea and a definite conversation starter among tablemates.

Handkerchief …this isn’t something anyone I know made, but to carry it with me on our wedding day was very special to me. This handkerchief was made at a lace school in Italy and was a gift from my Aunt and Uncle to me from one of their trips. I have had it for almost 10 years and have never used it…I guess I was waiting for a special occasion. =)

Snow globe…you’ve all seen it before, but isn’t it lovely…I wanted to show it off again. Those personal details are really what make each wedding unique.

Cake table items…along with the engraved cake servers were also wooden letters from one of my favorite stores in Chico, Magna Carta. We purchased the K & D…and now they are on our mantel at home. (See Mom, I’m reusing stuff!)

Alcohol…This really isn't a crafy detail, but I don't know where else to talk about it in the recap...we actually got a lots of comments and compliments on the alcohol selection. It the very beginning of planning we decided not to have hard alcohol available…there were a variety of reasons for this choice, but it was something both DH and I firmly agreed upon. However, we wanted as much variety in the beer and wine offered as possible. One of the reasons I loved our venue was the broad selection they were able to offer. We had four different Bogle wines, around ten different beers and sparkling wine available the entire evening. I wish I had gotten to enjoy more, but I know our guests had enough to compensate for me. =)

There are lots more to come! (I think I'll even post another later today.)

The Devil Is In The Details...Part 1

2008-11-17T08:00:00.000-08:00

However, so are all my blood, sweat and tears, lol.

I somehow knew that I would get a request for lots of detail shots and all the diy projects. I’m probably going to have to split this up into a multi-post session because there is so much I want to share with you all.

How about if we start out with the do-it-yourself projects that have my parents thanking their lucky stars they only have one daughter and me glad I am pretty handy with a glue stick and a crop-a-dile.

Escort Cards and Trays…I’ve shown you before the inspiration and execution of these labors of love, but now I get to show you them in action.

Not only did Dad hand craft these gorgeous trays, but the envelopes are water marked by me, written on by Mom and Aunt J, cards are hand embossed by Mom and all together a labor of love. Not pictured, but this is also where we put the photo share cards for the guest to post their pictures on Shutterfly.

I’ve shown you the favors before also, but not with the gorgeous tags that were a lot easier than I thought. I used some handy dandy scrap booking tools, invited a friend over to help tie them on, and voila, olive oil bottles done. Notice that the tags match the seal on the invitation…I loved pulling certain elements throughout the entire event. (For the record: we did get asked what was in the bottles…olive oil or massage oil. My response was, well…it is olive oil, but what you use it for once you get home is none of my business.)

You haven’t seen the programs until now so here they are…I cut all of the paper, printed the insert at home, cut out the tags, glued them on, then sewed the whole thing together. (If anyone needs orange thread, I have a ton left over.) I created a template for these too and would be more than happy to share if you’re interested.

A last minute addition, and one I completely love are our wedding signs. I scoured bios and blogs for the perfect example to show M&D. Thank goodness for the knotties because they found me exactly what I was looking for. I emailed the pictures to Mom and ta-da M&D come through again with another DIY miracle. They made two signs…one pointed each way and they were placed to help guide the guests to the pavilion, rather than through the reception hall.

(source...Aunt J took this picture)

The bag for our glass…was made by my Mom. (It also matches the beautiful table runners she sewed, look under the trays.) We picked out the material together…then my Mom had me pick out a button as a closure. Side note…my Mom collects buttons and this one happened to be from my Grandma…it’s those touches that I love. Seriously, everything throughout the day has a story like that.

There are lots more details to come...(Anybody have anything specific in mind I haven't touched on yet?)...To be continued...

Photo Booth

2008-11-14T08:02:00.001-08:00

Some of you spoke and I am listening…I’m also trying to listen for the rest of you out there, but it’s awfully quiet…chirp, chirp.

However, the lovely and talented Stefanie K. of Stefanie’s Stories did request that I recap about the photo booth…so that’s up first.

The illustrious photo booth was a last minute addition. I had blogged about how much I really, really wanted a photo booth, but couldn’t add it to the budget and make it work. Well, a very talented birdie offered to do one for us and set it up with a tripod and a light and then have the pictures afterwards. Well, I did as any good analyst does and I made all sorts of pro/con lists and got really, really serious about my research. I also had DH talk to some friends that had a photo booth at their wedding back in April.

(source)

So, the two of us did a lot of thinking and it all boiled down to DH’s question to me…are you going to regret not having it or spending the money? Well, since we got the photo booth I think you know my answer. (Note to all brides still planning: it has been my experience that in the last few weeks of planning the budget tends to get a lot more gray than it was, say 6 months prior.)

DH only put one restriction on me booking the photo booth…I had to keep it a secret from our guests! The only folks on the guest list that knew about it were the friends we consulted with…other than that, nobody knew. (Yep, even Mom was kept in the dark until just before and I was bursting with excitement.)

I hit up a Halloween store and devoured quite a few hats, noses, glasses, boas and leis…seriously, a whole laundry basket full of items. =) Then I had to get a pretty basket that would fit all of these items. I would say that all together I spent about $80 on the props and basket, definitely worth it!

The photo booth that we rented was from Party Booths and was recommended by previous customers. We decided on the larger booth, which they say fits 6/7 comfortably…well, that depends on how cozy you want to be. I have pictures with anything from one to ten people. I would say that their estimate of 6-7 is appropriate, but you can see the individuals the best with around four. We also decided to go for the six hour rental so that we could really enjoy it the entire time. With over 100 pictures, I would say that is was very well enjoyed. =)

Who enjoyed it the most? My cousins seemed to frequent the booth quite often, but my Mom really got in on the fun. Next time she says that the night went by so quickly and she didn’t get to spend enough time with everyone I’m going to email her ALL of the booth photos she is in. I digress…people got pretty creative with the props and their poses. I completely adore looking at these photos. Oh, and as the night went on…the inhibitions went too, lol.

The only thing I’m disappointed about with the booth is that DH and I didn’t do more pictures…I went in a few times, but DH only went in once and that was with me. We were so busy that we didn’t get in the booth repeatedly. Also, I think the popularity of the photo booth indirectly lead to the demise of my guest book (more on that later). Also, although we do have over 100 pictures, not everyone got in…you can’t make people take advantage, but I absolutely love the pictures we do have. If I were to do it all again I would definitely book the photo booth…worth every penny.

So, without further ado…here is a sampling of my favorites. =)

Stef…is that what you were looking for? Thank you soooo much for always commenting and being such a great “blog friend.” =)

Next up..lots and lots of details!

Let Your Voice Be Heard!!!!!

2008-11-13T13:20:00.000-08:00

Well, I want to give you all what you want…so my question of the day is…

What part or “stuff” from the wedding do you want to hear about?

I love getting comments on the blog and I don’t want to bore you. Thus, I will skip around however you desire…stick to topics of interest…and pull together pictures of what you want to see. Please let me know!!!

This means ALL of you who have so wonderfully let me know that you read my random rambling here and there, even you lurkers who can comment without a blogger account …I’ll wait a few days and then if I don’t hear from any of you, I might start calling you out, lol. (I’m cruel like that sometimes.)

So, for now I’ll give you some of what I know you are so hungry for…DETAILS.

The Oddities

2008-11-13T08:00:00.000-08:00

Okay, for the last few days you have patiently read about our dream honeymoon in Hawaii. Well, although everything looked utterly amazing and dreamy….it doesn’t mean there weren’t odd points along the way.

I now share with you the, let us say, outtakes or oddities of our Hawaiian vacation.

Spam. Need I say more? This form of processed canned who-knows-what is EVERYWHERE in Hawaii. Totally weirded me out.

Chickens and roosters…again, they are everywhere. Why do they eat Spam?

Sand sweepers. I understand that it is nice to keep the walkway pristine. However, is it necessary to hire a fleet of people to sweep the walkway? The walkway is attached to the beach. Just struck me as interesting. (It’s like a zamboni for the sidewalk.)

We only saw one license plate, on a car, that wasn’t a Hawaiian license plate. What state was it from you ask? Louisiana. If you know me, you know the irony. We really need to go on more vacations.

I am my Father’s daughter…so maybe I’m the oddity in this case. As we are driving through Oahu, DH and I spot this shop…and I have to take a picture. I then call my parents and tell them about it. Mom starts laughing hysterically…why, you ask…well, apparently they have the EXACT same picture from their last trip here. Yep, I’m definitely the oddity here.

Stop signs…I thought they were always red? DH made me take a picture.

I had a friend ask why we didn’t have too many pictures of DH and I together. I replied that whenever I ask strangers to take pictures of us they turn out crappy. She says that in her trips those are some of her favorite pictures…well, I want those strangers on my vacations because this is what we usually end up with.

Mahalo!!!!!

Hey You...Come Back!

2008-11-12T14:23:00.000-08:00

We've been blogged! The genius that is Sarah Maren has posted our pictures on her blog. While I'm busy writing up recaps to entertain myself with (and hopefully you like them too), please enjoy the slideshow.

Oh, and don't mind that noise you hear coming from the greater Sacramento area...that's just me swooning.

http://blog.sarahmarenphotography.com/

Honeymoon...Part Three...This is a Long One

2008-11-12T08:00:00.000-08:00

Don't say I didn't warn you...this is a long one!

Saturday morning we bid farewell to Oahu and jumped on a small plane to Maui. I know since I’m the last person in the free world to visit Maui this is no surprise to all of you, but seriously, Maui is what I hope heaven looks like. It is the closest to an ultimate paradise that I’ve ever experienced. Not only is it beyond beautiful, but just this peaceful calm comes over you. It is physically impossible to be miserable in Maui.

We stayed at the Grand Wailea and now I am ruined for not only all other resorts, but for any other area in Maui, lol. I have a smile on my face just thinking about it. Let me rewind a bit and then I’ll gush more about the resort.

So, goodbye Oahu – hello Maui. We headed to the car rental location and for the second time on so many islands we were offered a free upgrade on our vehicle. I think that the car rental places just book your reservation without regard as to how many cars they have. In Honolulu we were upgraded to a full size vehicle, aka the Chevy Impala. In Maui, we were upgraded to a Jeep Wrangler…let me state that I expressed my concern up front. These were fabulously fun cars in high school…now, they seem really loud, bumpy and not exactly theft proof. I know I am getting old, but since we knew we weren’t doing the road to Hana…did we need a Jeep? (side note: no road to Hana for me…when I was little I told my parents I wanted to be an astronaut…their response, honey…you might want to get over being car sick first. Lesson: I’m still not able to pursue my former dream of being an astronaut.) Unfortunately there aren’t any pictures of this particular upgrade. I think in part to me being too busy whining to pull out my camera. In all actuality, we didn’t really need a rental car and next time we go to Maui we probably won’t spend the money. (More cash for spa treatments and Mai Tai’s.)

Honestly, the days all ran together in Maui…I will try to give the run through like I did for Oahu, but it seriously was like being in a dream world.

The first thing that happened when we arrived at the resort was that we got lei’d, lol…oh, and we had to check out the gorgeous sunset ocean view from our room.

I’m a sucker for little soaps and lotions, and I definitely wasn’t disappointed…DH thinks I’m crazy for taking this picture. (He’s probably at least partially right.) =)

After we checked out the room, we walked around a little and tried to let it all sink in, then we were off to dinner. Just down the way from all the resorts in Wailea are the Shops at Wailea (creative naming, huh?). That was seriously the nicest ABC store we saw. Oh, and they have a Betsy Johnson boutique so I was putty. We grabbed a bite and drank our way through dinner…chatting up our server and some other local diners on the “things not to miss” while we were in Maui. We got tons of ideas and will have to make many visits to get to accomplish it all.

Sunday was our lazy day…we couldn’t help but wake up early every morning. I don’t know if it was the time difference or the fact that we were on vacation, but bright and early we’d be wide awake. Well, Sunday morning football starts at 7 over there, so relaxing in the room watching a game is a great way to start any day.

After that, we decided to make it an entire lazy day and enjoy what the Grand Wailea had to offer. We started out with breakfast…I love being able to eat both an omelet and miso soup at the same meal, lol.

Then it was off to a little walk around the grounds and checking out the pools and wedding chapel.

There was actually a wedding brunch going on outside the chapel while we were walking by. Such an intimate affair…only a handful of people at one table. (A little different than our 180 person party.)

DH is a fish lover, as if you didn’t know that already, so I was instructed to take lots of pictures of the gorgeous koi everywhere.

The view on our walk was seriously heaven.

So many interesting flora that you don’t see at home.

More fish for DH.

And us with the fish, lol.

After that I went upstairs and put the camera away. We headed to the pools and had a brilliant day lounging, sliding and drinking…did I mention they have a swim up bar? Oh, and leave it to us to meet northern California folks everywhere we go. It went something like this…are you the guy that was wearing a Cal Poly shirt?…yeah, did you go to SLO?…no, I grew up in Morro Bay…cool. Um, what are the odds?

Later that night we ate at Kincha, a traditional Japanese restaurant, and pigged out on sashimi, sushi and all the other yummy treats they had to offer. I totally recommend this place, I should actually go yelp it. =)

Early the next morning I headed off to my favorite part of the Grand Wailea resort…the spa. I had an amazing volcanic ash and volcanic stone massage. Oh, and the terme baths there are unbelievable. I seriously can not say enough good things about this place. After my massage, DH wanted to make use of the rental car and see another part of Maui….we headed off to Lahaina to check out what it had to offer. My navigation skills and DH’s direction taking ability had drastically improved by this point so we enjoyed a relaxing drive and another gorgeous day in Maui.

When we got to Lahaina we checked out some of the history…some of the shops and galleries…and of course ate.

Our view from lunch at BJ’s (yep, the pizza place, although we didn’t have pizza).

Some more walking around…

Then back to Wailea for us…and some relaxation (and planning for the next day’s adventure) before our nice dinner out.

Yep, I said nice dinner out. Now, let me clarify for those two of you on the mainland that haven’t been to Maui before me. =) Everything in Maui is nice if you account by price alone. Everywhere you go and eat is pricey. So, DH and I worked up a theory that if you are going to spend the money…why not eat good food? So, breakfast was usually either nothing or a bagel and cream cheese. Lunch was usually a salad, a sandwich or a burger (turkey for me). Then, for dinner, we would go big.

That night was Ruth’s Chris. I know what you are saying…why would you go there in Maui…you could have it here…you don’t eat steak…there are so many other great restaurants. Well, true….but Ruth’s Chris did not disappoint and it was new for DH and I since we had never been there. (Neither of us going to a place is often a rarity, so we take full advantage of experiencing something for the first time together.) Oh, and for the record…DH had the filet, I had a lobster tail, we split the mashed potatoes and our amazing server treated us to a delicious apple dessert.

Are you wondering what that “planning the next day’s adventure” comment back there meant? =) Being the savvy planner and great wife, lol, that I am…I booked us two tickets on a snorkeling tour of Molokini and turtle town. Savvy may not be the right word….unless you get upgraded to an awesome boat, save your new husband a fortune with that upgrade and decide to try snorkeling again even though you weren’t too thrilled with the first time because he loves it soooo much.

Even too early for us, we drove over to the port to catch our catamaran and head out for the day’s adventure. Shocker of all shockers happened…I loved snorkeling. I even stayed out there longer than DH did. =) The fish were EVERYWHERE!!! The schools just swam all around you and the water was clear all the way to the bottom (approx. 35 ft.) and I barely drank any water leaving plenty for the fish this time.

After Molokini we headed to turtle town and yep, you guessed it, swam with the turtles. My only regret is not getting the underwater camera so I could have pictures. It was unlike anything I had ever done before…so much fun! (Side story…as much as I wanted to be an astronaut…my 4-year-old DH was torn on his future career choices. It was a tough dilemma between a turtle and a doughnut maker, why doughnut maker you ask, well so he could eat all the doughnut holes of course!)

As soon as our 5-hour tour ended we headed back to the resort for a little more pampering. This time I got a deep cleansing facial and DH got his first facial ever…just for the record, I didn’t not force him to do anything!…it was totally his idea. We separated into the men and women’s bath areas and met up again on the lanai, such a relaxing afternoon. =) What a perfect final day in Hawaii.

That evening we took some locals’ advice and ate at a sushi place in Kihei called Sensei Sushi…delicious…and totally packed. Oh, and really reasonably priced…but DH and I agreed that we are spoiled with Arigato and vowed to go home and continue our sushi overload.

Wednesday morning it was time to head back to the mainland and back to reality. I honestly cried as we were heading out of the hotel…I really didn’t want to leave. Maui is just that perfect.

Who wants to leave when even the airport is this beautiful?

Aloha Hawaii!!!!!

Honeymoon...Part Two

2008-11-11T09:26:00.000-08:00

When DH and I started talking about the things that we really wanted to do in Hawaii, snorkeling was at the top of DH’s list. I had actually never been snorkeling. (I don’t get out much, lol.) Well, bright and early Wednesday morning we headed to Hanauma Bay, which if you are anywhere on Oahu, you will hear about as the easiest access to snorkeling on the island. Seriously, you wade out into the water…stick your head in the water…and see fish. Oh, did I mention you are able stand up because the water is shallow and fish are still all around you? Personally, I think that is what makes this place so special. However, it being my first time snorkeling I drank more saltwater than I ever thought humanly possible. Also, it gets pretty crowded…which then means cloudy water…which makes it harder to see fish…which makes me wonder if I’m cut out to snorkel. DH and I snorkeled for a while, then I headed to the beach to work on my tan and he continued to swim with all the fishies. I don’t know who had the more interesting stories by the end of the afternoon…him with the great fish experience or me with the people watching.

That evening we decided to venture out and go to the most often recommended restaurant among our family and friends, Roy’s. Let me tell you, it did not disappoint. We started off in the bar area with a cocktail and then headed upstairs to our table. They are pretty clever at Roy’s…our table had a piece of ribbon around the candle signifying a celebration of a special event. Yet, their ribbon system must be a little limited…because instead of EVERY staff member wishing us a happy honeymoon as they approached our table, they wished us a happy anniversary. DH and I would say thank you and giggle…I guess it was our five-day anniversary. =) Apparently, that’s the really yummy seafood dinner anniversary and Roy’s did not disappoint. They even treated us to a little dessert…mmm.

One of the other things that both DH and I really wanted to do on our honeymoon was to go horseback riding. I have never been and I’m a sucker for the brochures of people riding horses in Hawaii. We decided that we would spend Thursday going on a drive up to the north shore and then ride horses at the Turtle Bay resort. Well…we called before we left (no answer)…forgot to call again on the way up (forgetful honeymooners)…and by the time we got there, they were booked for the rest of the day. =( Alas, no horseback riding for us and my maiden voyage will have to wait.

In spite of our original intention being derailed, we had a fabulous day driving around the island and checking out the scenery. We drove up the East side of the island, got lost…and drove through a tunnel in the middle of the mountain range. Then we turned around and started our drive over, lol. The scenery is amazing and pictures seriously can’t do it justice.

We make it up to Turtle Bay, had lunch and walked around the hotel. They have these gorgeous birds in the lobby and the view is, once again, amazing.
I didn’t get any pictures of the surfing on the North shore, but let me tell you…not a place to learn how to surf. Do not attempt this at home. They were pretty awesome to watch.

On the way back to the condo we decided to circle the island and see the West side. The Dole plantation is there and although we didn’t stop for the tour, there are plenty of pineapple fields to view as you are driving on the highway.

We also saw a lot of military bases and barracks.

Friday, our last day in Oahu, was the perfect day. (At least in my book.) We seriously did nothing! The pool was home base all day long. A few beers, a good book and some rays…that’s what a Hawaiian vacation is supposed to be like. The pool had a slide and DH loved it. I loved just relaxing and enjoying our day.

We ended the trip with one of our favorite things in the world…Mexican food. Was it the best food we’ve ever had? Not even close…but they had live music, waterside dining and an excellent fried banana dessert and by that point we were a little ahi-ed (my new word) out.

The next morning…it was off to Maui. Or, as my mom would say…Here today, Gone to-Maui.

Honeymoon...Part One

2008-11-10T10:57:00.000-08:00

While Sarah is editing away all of the amazing pictures I can’t wait to pour through…let’s fast forward to the honeymoon. I apologize that although there are some pictures there is not a plethora. Also, there are very few pictures of DH and I together. Somehow as soon as I go on vacation I forget about the camera. I guess I just love looking at the view through my eyes and not the view screen of a camera. Also, DH and I aren’t too into asking strangers to take pictures of us. Maybe we should more often in the future, but we have a few pictures and lots of fun memories.

We left for the lovely island of Oahu on Monday morning, bright and early, after the wedding. This was a great decision. It allowed us to enjoy Sunday (Dad’s birthday) with the family and friends that were still in town, allowed us to do a much needed load or two of laundry and allowed us time to pack after the wedding rather than before. Everyone warned me not to over pack…and I listened. However, looking back, I shouldn’t have, lol. I ran out of clothes halfway through…so, if I’m wearing the same thing multiple times I promise it is a different day, just same outfit, lol.

Back to the trip…Monday morning we flew to Oahu, direct from Sacramento to Honolulu. Hard to believe, but this was the first flight I’ve ever been on that served a meal. Laugh if you will, but SWA doesn’t give you more than snacks and a soft drink and I’ve never been off the mainland (Mexico is still technically the mainland). So, I took a picture. DH thought it was the funniest thing ever and couldn’t believe that I was excited for airplane food. =)

As soon as we got there we headed to get our rental car and then off to the condo. We were both pretty much exhausted and just wanted to relax. However, you must remember that it is Monday and that means football to us. So, we got to watch what DH now refers to as Monday Afternoon Football. It is definitely an adjustment with the time difference and sporting events. Sooooo, after a late lunch/early dinner, a football game and a beer it was time to check out the condo.

We stayed in the Hawaii Kai area of Oahu, which was very nice. A lot quieter than Waikiki and populated with a lot of high rise condos and homes on the water. The majority of people around there either live in Oahu full time or split their time between there and the mainland. We ran into a ton of Nor Cal transplants throughout the islands.

The view from the condo was beautiful. (L: Sunset in Oahu from our window. R: Looking down on the pool.)

Did I mention we were exhausted? We intended to take a nap around 4:30 and then get up and go out to dinner and do a little more exploring. Well, we took a nap alright…a 14 hour nap. DH and I didn’t wake up until around 6:30 the next morning. I know we both needed it after all the wedding fun, but I think that’s the longest nap I’ve ever taken.

Tuesday morning, all refreshed and ready to go, we headed out to explore and see what Oahu had to offer. I was dying to go straight to the busiest place of all…Waikiki. We were told that it was crowded, busy, touristy and to maintain distance. Phooey…I loved Waikiki!!! My comparison to shopping on Waikiki is that it is like Rodeo Drive, but there is a beach, everyone is nice and no one bats an eye if you are in flip flops. =) Oh, and the hotels are amazing. If we ever go back to Oahu, I want to stay at the Westin Moana Surfrider, what a gorgeous hotel.

We also got to peruse the vendors that fill the alleys and open areas of Waikiki…more trinkets and do-dads than you’ve ever seen...and delicious Hawaiian Ice.

Oh, and of course we had to visit Duke and sit on Waikiki beach for a little while. What a fun day!

Hey You....Come Here

2008-11-07T16:29:00.000-08:00

and look at the sneak peak Sarah just posted on her blog.

I'm sooooooo excited and floating right now. She's going to have to tie me down to her couch when we start working on albums if they all look this amazing.

http://blog.sarahmarenphotography.com/2008/11/sneeky-peeky-because-i-aim-to-please.html

I bought myself a present

2008-11-07T13:20:00.000-08:00

I bought myself a present. I used our gift certificates. No, I’m not completing our registry yet, but I did go buy a few things that we really, really wanted and didn’t receive as gifts. A few were biggies…like lamps and bedding. One thing was something I have wanted ever since the day we registered. I don’t care that it probably seems odd. I love it…

…our OXO large Salad Spinner.

I’m so happy! =)

Wedding Eve Eve

2008-11-07T08:00:00.000-08:00

I feel the need to tell you upfront that I have, in my possession, over 100 pictures of the rehearsal dinner and I’m still awaiting quite a few more. I love my snap happy family and friends, especially Hostess BM, aka Miss V. Thanks to Miss V alone I have over 400 non-professional pictures of the wedding to pour over and share with you all, but for now let’s look at the rehearsal dinner.

DH and I decided quite some time ago that we wanted our rehearsal dinner to be intimate and include only our closest family and friends. I am so happy we made that choice….having 30 of the people we love most in the world there with us that night was perfect. FIL and MIL hosted the dinner and DH helped a lot with the logistics. (I helped some too, lol.)

This was the first opportunity for quite a few of those 30 folks to meet each other. Aunts, Uncles, cousins, my friends and DH’s friends…a few had hung out before, but for the most part there were lots of first introductions.

We had our rehearsal dinner at Piatti’s in Roseville…sooo yummy! I’m skipping ahead, but if you find yourself at a Piatti’s, be sure to save room for the Tiramisu…or just order dessert first. You won’t be disappointed.

Ok, back to the evening…it started with a lot of wine (vino) and a lot of conversation among loved ones.

More conversation….more vino…

Then we sat down to dinner and I think the pictures stopped for a little while. The food was very good, especially the chicken parmigiana, my favorite. =)

There were a couple little details not to be missed…first up, the escort cards. Mom hand embossed the escort cards and they actually matched the shower thank you notes I made. Also, the pretty centerpieces MIL had made up.

There was also a pleasant surprise for us all in the form of a champagne toast…we hadn’t planned to have one, but a very thoughtful person (who I won’t name in the blog) had called ahead and had a toast arranged for us as a gift. So cool! I was really surprised!

DH said a few nice words welcoming everyone, as did MIL…

Next up we decided to pass out presents. I love giving people presents. However, my girls had a present for me first…I think DH liked it as much as I do!

Then DH and I got to pass out our gifts to our BP and parents. I should have thought ahead and taken pictures of them before, but I totally slacked, my sincerest apologies. The guys got custom poker chip sets with their initials hot stamped into the chips. The ladies got Kate Spade makeup bags, a monogrammed compact and a whole bunch of goodies inside the bag. I think they all loved it. The parents each got a digital picture frame. That definitely turned out to be a hit, especially with the IL’s. I also got my folks a little something extra and a little sentimental…I also had a surprise for them back in the room after the wedding…nothing weird, just a pretty picture frame and another card. (I’m big on cards….I made Miss V cry again, lol.)

After the gifts some people started to head back to the hotel and some just hung around chit-chatting…of course DH and I were the last to leave with our car loads of friends and we headed back in the direction of the hotel.

It would have been back to the hotel, but we weren’t ready to just call it a night…so we headed to Tahoe Joe’s for a few drinks with the BP until they closed down around us too. My family was starting to arrive and a few of them headed over to join us for a welcome cocktail. It was a fun night and I just remember repeatedly saying…I can’t believe it’s finally here! Such a great, surreal feeling.

There is beer in the glass

2008-11-06T10:56:00.000-08:00

Maybe it’s because I went to Chico State, but whenever I visualize a glass half empty or half full there is always beer in the glass. I’m sure my mom loves hearing that, lol. So, this week and I guess life in general all of the time, has beer in the glass.

I don’t know if I would classify myself as an optimist or a pessimist…I like to think of myself as a determined, realistic, romantic. Is it possible? Maybe. Can it happen? Someday. Is it perfect? Nothing is ever perfect, it can always be improved. Is it a total loss? Never, we always learn from the good and bad and make it better next time.

These are probably all vague ramblings to you, but I’m just trying to say that we learn, we move forward and we regroup for tomorrow. This week has been historic, but there were things that deeply saddened me. Do I hate people for their beliefs, no…I’m disappointed yes, but I honestly feel sorry for them…I can’t imagine being so naïve and thinking it is ok to make discrimination and prejudice law. However, we learn, we regroup and we continue to peacefully work for love, respect and acceptance until they are all ingrained into our lives and society.

Nothing is ever perfect…we just keep working towards it. Maybe, Someday…It is NEVER a total loss.

Wedding Eve Day

2008-11-06T07:30:00.000-08:00

Our rehearsal was in the afternoon, the day before the wedding. There was another wedding that evening so the choice was between 3pm on Friday or Thursday evening…well, the vast majority of our bridal party was driving in from out of town so Friday afternoon was the better option of the two for our group.

Having our rehearsal in the middle of the afternoon had it’s own list of pros and cons. Pro: we had plenty of time to visit and not be late or rushed to the rehearsal dinner (post coming up soon). Con: did I mention that the guys went golfing that morning? Umm…they were a little late.

Every bride wonders what her demeanor will be when the events actually get here…or at least I did. Will I be a raging neurotic bride or a zen bride with nothing but love and happy thoughts. Well…it didn’t start out too zen. Due to road work and traffic it was taking about 30 minutes to get from the hotel to the country club and vice versa. My moh and I were running exactly according to schedule and arrived at the rehearsal at 3 on the button. The majority of our bridal party was already there, as were DH’s parents. So…who does that leave missing? Yep, the Groom, my parents, the BM and my brother…Golf had taken a little longer than scheduled and the guys didn’t finish up until around 2:30pm. Then they had to go to the hotel (30 min), 4 people had to shower and get dressed (30 min) and drive back to the country club (30 min). I was a little upset and not liking the way things were starting out. I honestly don’t know how they did it, but they defied my timing and were only about 20 minutes late. You can’t really start without the Groom, but it didn’t make me very zen.

Me not being very zen.

Here comes the Groom, better late to the rehearsal than the wedding.

Once all the needed parties were present we got going and ran through the processional, ceremony (key points) and recessional. It was as all rehearsals are…nothing too unique or special…except that this was our rehearsal and the next day was the wedding!!!

I think we are talking about golf in the last one here.

As soon as we all got started and in the swing of things I became much more relaxed and a lot less neurotic. My advice to brides is to bring everything!!! Bring your paperwork, your notes and your brain. Although I had a coordinator and a great officiant…no one knows your wedding and what you want better than you. Oh, and no matter how many times you go through it and how many people know what they are supposed to do…something will go wrong. That being said…no one will really pay attention or notice, except you (and your mom in my case).

We rehearsed, we were smiling and we were ready to go eat!

Is it Fore or Four?

2008-11-05T09:00:00.000-08:00

Ok, it is time to just jump right in. Our amazing photographer is editing away and getting our wedding pictures, picture perfect right now…so, in the meantime…he are some non-professional pictures to tide you over.

I think we’ll start at the beginning…because that makes the most sense.

Friday morning, bright and early, the boys went golfing at Morgan Creek and participated in a shotgun tournament. I asked them to take pictures and thankfully they obliged. “The boys” are my Dad, my brother, (as one friend says) the Hubs and his brother the BM.

This golfing excursion goes all the way back to booking Morgan Creek for our wedding. The first question my Dad asked…well, the second question because the first question was how much is this going to cost…was, can we play golf there? You see, Morgan Creek is a private club and my Dad is a golf-aholic. At points during the planning my Dad referred to our wedding as the most expensive round of golf of his life. I know he was kidding, but as his daughter I knew that this round at the links was a must in the pre-wedding plan.

So….bright and early Friday morning…four of my favorite guys in the world headed out to play 18 and hurry back for the rehearsal. Here are a few pictures of the guys…I know they aren’t the best pictures, but at least I have some photos.

(L) My bro(gm) in the cart...these carts became a theme of the weekend. (R) Bro in action...with a shot of the reception hall in the background. =)

Dad and BM (why do guys take pictures so far away with their heads down?)

DH is wearing his first wedding present from me…I figured the Groom needed to be in winning form. So, what else would he wear than a Tiger Woods Sunday red golf polo and a Tiger Woods tour hat. I think he sort of felt like the snow boarder on the bunny slope with thousands of dollars of gear, but it was his weekend too. I love him for sporting it so well and although he’s not an avid golfer he’s beginning to enjoy it more and try to golf more often…plus, he’s a sucker for a nice polo.

"The Boys"...four of my favorite guys starting off the wedding weekend right.

What's Different?

2008-11-04T07:47:00.001-08:00

People keep asking me what, if anything, has changed since the wedding and being married….Well, not too much has changed. However, there are a few things that I’m still getting used to.

#1. No more bridal magazines.

It was so hard to resist all the pretty magazines in the airport on the way to Oahu. I wanted a new one, but I restrained myself and didn’t buy any more wedding mags. =(

#2. My new name or just being called “Mrs” in general.

Soooooo weird! Mrs. G is DH’s Mom, not me, lol. It will definitely take some getting used to. I’ve only signed it a couple times so until I’m legally a “G” it’ll be weird. =)

#3. His Bling.

I LOVE seeing DH with a ring on. So COOL!!!! Calling him my husband is so new too…I love the giddy feeling I get when he is playing with his wedding ring and not even realizing it….oh, and when he is talking to someone and I overhear “my wife.” That’s the coolest!

2008-11-03T10:58:00.000-08:00

There is so much to catch you all up on…but today we are taking a moment to honor a man that is very special…DH’s Opa. Last Friday Opa lost a noble and gallant battle with cancer. Today is his funeral. It just doesn’t feel right to be blogging about the wedding today, so I hope you’ll forgive me.

Opa was a man after my own heart…a slight bit stubborn. He was so stubborn that against all odds he made cancer, renal failure and a few other problems wait so that he could attend his Grandson’s wedding. He looked very dapper in his suit and attended both the rehearsal dinner and all of the wedding day festivities.

I never had a Grandfather growing up, so Opa was truly like no one I have ever known, having him in my life for the last few years definitely had an impact on me…I will miss him greatly.

So, without further ado, here are a few pictures of Opa and his beloved family during our wedding celebrations.

We will miss you Opa.

We're Home

2008-10-29T22:33:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone! We are home safe and sound and the laundry is already being started. I have tons to recap and catch you all up on.

The honeymoon was great, I'm so sad we had to leave...Maui is Heaven on an island. When I hit the lotto I am going to live at the Grand Wailea for six months out of the year.

It's getting a little late and I'd better work on that laundry...I'll be back with all the juicy stories and pics you really want soon.

Mahalo!!!!!

Aloha, Aloha

2008-10-19T23:07:00.001-07:00

Just a quick hello and goodbye before I head off to my pillow and an early morning flight to Hawaii.

The wedding was awesome!!! It truly flew by as quickly as everyone says it does. I was a total cheeseball and was both tearing up and grinning like a crazy woman, at the same time...holy emotional roller coaster. =)

Since I'm such a tease...here's one little pic for you to all see while I'm off tanning, sleeping and eating lots of tuna....mmmmm, ahi.

Aloha!!!!!

Signing Off

2008-10-14T11:30:00.000-07:00

I would love to write up until I'm about to walk down the aisle...and then give you a 2am recap...but alas, I'm signing off for now. I will be back with tons of pictures, stories and anecdotes.

So, I sign off as a BTB and will return as a Mrs. =)

Thank you all for following up until now and I hope you are as excited to hear about the wedding as I am to tell you all about it.

See you on the other side!

Wedding Week Here We Come

2008-10-13T10:25:00.001-07:00

I have a bad case of the Monday’s right about now. =) I am both excited and nervous for the big day to be here. It honestly seems surreal…like it’s happening to someone else and I’m just along for the ride. I don’t know when it will snap into my head that this is all for us, for me…lol. I think the thing I am most excited about right now is to have all the aspects of my life together for one big celebration. Never have I had all of these people together…family, from near and far and both sides, childhood friends, college friends, friends since I’ve moved to Sacramento…not to mention all of FH’s family and friends too!!! I am so excited to have all these people together…and see all of their smiling happy faces…but it still doesn’t seem real that it is all for our wedding.

This past weekend was very productive, but there are still lots of items on the to-do list. Mostly cleaning, packing and boxing things up, but still lots to get done. The programs are finally done!! (Sorry, I need to take pictures asap.) All the gifts are wrapped, just need to write out cards and those are totally done. I can’t wait to share with all of you the bridal party gifts and parent gifts…I am so excited! (Mom, no guessing! xoxo)

I don’t know if I’ll be able to blog too much this week as I think things might get a little crazy, but I will try. If I don’t…I’ll be back Halloween weekend and will start the recap off with a complete catch up. I have so many things to share…I just need to get myself organized on the picture and writing front. There will also be a few little surprises for the guests and for you that I haven’t divulged yet!!!! (Aren’t you excited?)

TTFN,
BTB

8 Days A Week

2008-10-10T08:35:00.000-07:00

When we last met I was keeping my fingers crossed and saying my Hail Mary's that the weather holds up (as of this morning, accuweather says 69 degrees and weather.com says 78 degrees, we'll see) and I was feeling a wee bit out of sorts from my overactive rem cycles (Nyquil helps).

We are now 8 days out...and while for some of you that seems like a million miles away and for others it seems like a million miles ago...OMG...the wedding is in a week, lol! I consider myself rather organized, but let me tell you...there is still lots to do. This weekend is going to be chalked full of last minute odds and ends and cleaning too! One of my biggest pieces of advice (I wish I had thought of this earlier) is to hire a cleaning service the weekend before the wedding so that you have it all taken care of. With family and friends arriving throughout the week I need to get on the cleaning that I've procrastinated lately.

Programs need to be finished up (wait until you see them, so cute), presents need to be wrapped and a million other things need to get finished up. Mom and Aunt are arriving on Wednesday of next week and I'm putting them to work. =) I've got a few projects I need them to execute because A - they have nicer handwriting and B - it's time to delegate people! Hostess bridesmaid has volunteered to come over this weekend in the evenings and help me out...I may just have her pour wine and keep me focused so I can finally organize all the "stuff" into bags and boxes for transport.

Also, I'm falling behind on thank you cards...I was doing really well (72 hours or so from receiving), but now I think I've passed that wedding cut-off and the rest will get finished on the plane to Honolulu. =) Otherwise, I'll be thinking about it in Hawaii, lol.

I know that the next eight days are going to both drag and fly by at the same time. Now, if I could only get my house cleaned. Have a great weekend!

Doppler, Please Be Nice

2008-10-07T15:26:00.000-07:00

I grew up going to Church, but I wouldn’t say that I’m a very religious person. My issues as an adult are more with organized religion as a whole, than say the traditions and spirituality of any religion (not just my own).

That being said…I prayed for the first time in a long time last weekend. You ask why? Well, I think that Doctors are extremely smart and can perform miracles of science to help sick people, I think that most things will work out the way they are supposed to and I believe that there is usually something good in anything bad. However….not even Oprah can fix the weather. So, the only Being that could go to bat for all the lovely brides out there last weekend was the power higher than myself, and no, I don’t mean Richard Branson or Bill Gates. Well, I think my prayers were answered…at least in the greater Sacramento area. One particular bride I know had a beautiful outdoor evening ceremony and is enjoying her honeymoon right now, with memories of a perfect event.

So, once again, I turn to my prayers for a sunny perfect day…and according to http://www.accuweather.com/ my prayers are being heard. Let’s hope no major world catastrophes occur between now and the 18th so some of the focus can stay on the chance of precipitation in Roseville, California.

In the words of Aretha, Dionne and the entire cast of My Best Friend’s Wedding…Say A Little Prayer For Me! For ever and ever you’ll be in my heart and I will always…. =)

(84 and Sunny right now, yeah!!!!)

Mr. Sandman

2008-10-07T14:56:00.001-07:00

My dear FH says that I have an overactive imagination, the memory of an elephant and am the biggest worry-wart in the world. This combination of traits does not make me a laid back, easy-going person. However, it does make me an overly organized bride on high alert. One of the side effects of being 11 days out from the biggest, most expensive party I’m ever going to throw, and being borderline neurotic, is having crazy dreams.

All brides talk about the crazy dreams they have…where they aren’t dressed and are walking down the aisle…the reception is all wrong…their mom is doing something crazy. Well, my dreams include some of these themes, but they are in extreme detail.

Let me give you a few and you can decipher them for me…because FH is sick of me reading the dream book in the morning while I’m brushing my teeth trying to figure out what that one meant. =) (I already admitted that I’m borderline neurotic, don’t judge.)

Dream #1 – This one occurred around the two-month out mark…I’m in my dress, hair done, makeup flawless all ready to go…except I’m in a bar, can’t find a cab, don’t have my purse, phone or car. I’m crying…the bar looks a lot like a cross between Bar None in the city and Riley’s in Chico…oh, wait they are pretty much the same thing. Everyone keeps asking me when the wedding is and I’m crying, “Right now, but they all have their phones turned off so no one can come pick me up. I’m missing my own wedding.” Never mind that I have no idea who FH is marrying and oh, that some of the people in the bar are deceased relatives who tell me they wish they could be there….yeah, I’m totally neurotic. Then I wake up and remember all of this.

Dream #2 – This is a repeater, last week I had this one three nights in a row. It really isn’t wedding related, but it’s a bizarre dream nonetheless. So, I’m asleep in bed and I hear a really loud noise downstairs in the garage…it is my car being stolen out of the garage by a tow truck. All of a sudden my mom is there and I’m upset about my car being stolen and how am I going to get to work. She tells me to take a mental health day. I respond by saying I can’t that there is too much to do. She says, just quit, you need to finish planning the wedding anyways. So, I ask her if she will support me and she says, sorry honey wish I could. Did I mention that my Mom sounds like she is either a Stepford Wife or on Valium this entire conversation. At the end of the convo…my car is gone and I wake up. (Usually, I make an excuse to go down and make sure my car is still there…FH thinks I’m totally nuts, but he loves me anyways.)

Dream #3 – This one is the latest and greatest. (Since my amazing photographer reads this blog occasionally, she’ll get a kick out of this.) So...I have this crazy wacko dream that we (the bm’s and I) all get ready for the wedding, head to the venue to take pictures and the photographer is no where to be found. She has forgotten that it’s my wedding that day. So, I frantically try to track her down…next thing I know I’m at the gym, in my dress, looking for her. Someone says that she is in the aerobics class, so I’m wandering through the aerobics class at a large gym looking for my photographer. To make a long story short, I wake up…never having found the photog and now I feel guilty for not going to the gym in forever.
There it is…the latest case of neurotic behavior from BTB. I will try to blog more…everything is actually wrapping up, I just don’t have pictures.

All my fingers and only some of my toes.

2008-10-03T13:48:00.000-07:00

I know, I know....once again, I'm pathetic. It's busy, I apologize, but it's crazy busy.

With 15 days to go (2 weeks from tomorrow) I am seriously scrambling to pull it all together. All of the final meetings are either scheduled or have already taken place...I've turned in the final headcount (so, if people cancel now I'm screwed). Our number actually came in a little lower than we anticipated. I guess that's a good thing, but I'm really bummed that a few friends and family aren't going to be able to make it. I think the economy is taking it's toll and a few of our oot'er friends just can't make the trip...I'm sad they won't be there, but I understand. FH, I and 184 other awesome folks will have a fabulous time. Yep, 186 is the magic number. I guess 15 is also a magic number.

I still have lots of little errands to run, wrapping to do, cards to write, cleaning to get done, programs to finish and nwr fun to attend to. I took pictures of my adventure last weekend and I'll have to take some this weekend...to let you know what this crazy bride is doing the weekends before the wedding.

Oh, my new obsession is http://www.accuweather.com/ as of tomorrow the forecast will include the 18th and I can watch every change and shift of the temperature and sunshine...please keep your fingers crossed for me that the day is full of sunshine and perfect Sacramento/Roseville weather.

I am still 2 weeks out, but things just keep moving faster and faster...I can't make any promises for the frequency of posts before the wedding, but afterwards...I promise that I will update and recap every little fun detail.

My Vocabulary

2008-09-25T11:15:00.000-07:00

Hahaha…I have to laugh at myself. Wedding planning makes you say things that you never thought would be in your vocabulary…ever!

For instance, I actually growled at myself because I forgot to throw a glue stick in my purse. Yep, I don’t have a glue stick in my purse and it’s slowing me down. Without wedding planning I would have never had an opportunity to frustratedly (my new adverb) state, “Crap, I forgot my glue stick at home and my spare one isn’t in my purse. Shoots!”

(The only part of that quote that is untrue is the “shoots” part…Who says shoots? Not me…I say another word.)

D-Day

2008-09-24T09:56:00.001-07:00

As in deadline day...as in the magic date on our response cards, that divides the slackers from the rest of the pack. Today is that magical September 24th, that seemed soooo far away when it was decided upon many months ago in the stationary store as the "please respond by" date.

Source

Now it is here...and there are some slackers. Kate says they should walk the plank...FH is convinced there will be 28 response cards in our mail today...and I say, now I know who is on top of things and who I won't rely on to buy that winning lottery ticket before 8pm (or whenever the time cutoff is).

I am honestly surprised at who comprise the Lagging 28. This is my version of the Oceanic 6...but there is no mysterious island or a smathering of hot guys that girls find themselves divided between (go, team Sayid).

The largest groups that are left outstanding are FH’s family and my friends. Yes, that includes close family that for some reason have a block when it comes to picking chicken or fish and putting a pre-stamped post card in the mailbox. Oh, and my friends…yes, my friends! Why is this so ridiculous you ask? Well…first, I admit that the majority of my conversations and thought processes for the last 13 months have been wedding-centric…it’s not like it’s a surprise. I mean, my FB status has been about these dang rsvp’s for over a week. Secondly, after planning a wedding myself I swear to always send in my response in the first week. I have always been a little obsessive about deadlines…and the status of the post office. (In all the weddings I’ve been to, I’ve had one friend call to see if we were coming to her wedding because she didn’t get the response card, she probably thought I was a flake, but actually the post office ate it! How many of ours have they eaten?) Well, now that I am the one getting married…why are all these recently married ladies slacking? Seriously?!?!

Of FH’s friends there are only a handful left…we honestly thought there would be more, but the wives/s.o.’s did a great job of getting these guys in gear. Oh, and as for my family there is one lone holdout…and I think his mother is going to either yell at him, beat him or tell me to pick what I want him to eat and he’ll deal. I know he and his wife already have their plane tickets, hotel reservations and time off work…I mean, really?…they are flying in from out of state, can’t you just let me know you’re coming. Oh, and they already sent a wedding gift…maybe the mail ate it? Who knows!

So, if you are one of the lagging 28…please mail it in, but also please give me a call or shoot me an email and let me know whether you are coming and what you would like to eat. Muchas gracias. Otherwise, you’ll be hearing from FH and I either Friday or Saturday…we are giving the post office and extra day or two to get on it.

How many responses did you have to reach out and contact to find out if they were coming? We’re at about 20%…is that good, bad, normal?

I Wish...

2008-09-22T12:12:00.000-07:00

Ok, third post of the day…I may be slacking Tuesday and Wednesday because I showed you all my goods already. =)

I wish….I wish we could have a photo booth. I really, really want one. However, the well has run dry and time is ticking down…if I had an extra 2k and Red Cheese had an available booth with an attendant (I honestly haven’t checked because if they do, I’m really going to be bummed, lol) that is totally what I would spend it on. Of all the “in” things to do right now…the photo booth is the one I would want. Sure, a candy buffet and a gobo would be cool, but I can’t stop thinking about a photo booth.

Photo from http://www.redcheese.com/services.html

What do you wish you could add to your special day?

Practice Makes Perfect

2008-09-22T12:06:00.000-07:00

Practice does make perfect…so last week FH, myself and my FIL’s headed out to the location of our rehearsal dinner to eat, drink and talk to the banquet manager.

For those of you who are local to California or just the left coast in general, you might have heard of Piatti Ristorante & Bar. They have locations all throughout California, along with a sampling in Washington, Colorado and Texas (San Antonio, the other hip Texas city). Piatti is unique in that it is not a chain, but a collection of restaurants. So, although they all have the same delicious standard…each Piatti has it’s own spin on the menus, depending on the chef, season and location. There are staples that are carried throughout, but each location has it’s own personality.

FH and I wanted to sample a few of the dishes we were considering for the Rehearsal Dinner, along with his folks, to see what tasted amazing and that we couldn’t live without. Of course, I brought along my camera, but alas…as so many have done before me…the food came out and I forgot all about taking pictures. Yes, bridal party and immediate family…the food is that yummy. Planning the rehearsal dinner is a snap compared to the actual wedding. With about only 30 people attending and one vendor to work with, oh and FIL’s to help with decisions, I’m really appreciating the simplicity of it all.

I love when restaurants really cater to the seasonality of the area they are in…except when it means they won’t have something we really wanted. =( Bummer…but alas, there are so many delicious things to pick from we replaced one amazing choice with another. Also, trying out all of these dishes and wines really does help you decide what you want with no surprises. (And, I’m not a big fan of surprises, unless they include the words Harry Winston or Vegas.) We found that the vegetarian dish we wanted wasn’t FMIL’s favorite so FH is figuring out what else she would like to have, but that my first choice was so good I ate every last bite and am really looking forward to eating it again in less than 4 weeks. The banquet manager really helped us with not only our food and drink selections, but also visualizing the actual event. We’ve been so busy with visualizing the wedding it was fun to get to concentrate on the events of the day before.

So, what did we decide on for our menu? Well, you’ll just have to wait for the recap to find that out. Although, I will say that the tiramisu is to die for and I will definitely be eating every last bite of that at our rehearsal dinner.

Here is the only picture I took…after the coffee and wine were finished and we were rolling out of the restaurant, full and satisfied. =)

20x24 of collage happiness

2008-09-22T09:44:00.000-07:00

Thank you to you all for your kind comments, phone calls and offers of help. I need to snap out of the pity party and just focus…for a few more weeks. Focus on the details, the timelines and what FH and I want for our wedding and the events surrounding it…and not the drama or extraneous activities of others that we are unable to change or control. =)

One of these fun details that I am excited to share are the completed frames that I’ve blogged about previously. During the amazing “one cent” sale at Aaron Brothers early this year, I picked up two amazing 20x24 Steinbeck frames. Then, after we got our beautiful engagement pictures, I designed a custom mat to fit a handful or so of our favorite shots. I had the pictures ordered and printed up and voila!…One lovely large collage of our engagement pictures for the reception.

The second frame is a little nod to our parents and grandparents. FH and I are lucky that we both have great examples of marriage in our life. Our parents are happily married to each other for 32 years….yep, both sets were bi-centennial weddings in 1976. In addition to that we have 4 sets of stylish grandparents that have also been great examples of long happy marriages.
So, without further ado…here are the frames all put together. (Now, if I could only finish the programs.)

Paralyzed

2008-09-19T09:15:00.001-07:00

I am totally paralyzed by fear…and how do I deal with that? Welllll….I basically start freaking out by asking all of my friends and family, what else should I do to make the wedding perfect and personalized? Can I tell you that all this bulls**t about wedding planning being a happy, happy fantabulous time is a lie? Seriously, there have been some good moments, but now I know exactly why a lot of people told me to go to Tahoe and save the cash and heartache.

Is it all enough? The favors, the programs, the wish book, the frames, the table names, and all the other little details…are they enough to personalize and make our wedding as fantastic as I have in my head? Will all of the vendors be amazing? Will, as I’m so tired of hearing, the napkins match and the power stay on? Sorry, random inside joke…but really…I’m totally scared that A – it’s not enough and B – it’s not going to get pulled off.

I am totally frustrated by people who are somehow physically unable to rsvp….it’s a stupid postcard people, there isn’t even an envelope to seal. Oh, and then there are all of the dramatic happenings that I can’t even discuss on an open blog that has my name and picture all over it. Geez, people….I know the wedding is only one day, but do you have to freak me out and do stupid crap every day leading up to it?

When the day finally gets here I think that I am either going to just be so defeated that nothing will bother me or I will have no filter and my mouth will need to be duct taped closed to keep the peace.

Poor Cream Puff….this post of hers on wedding bee inspired me to just do this little vent, because it is exactly what I’m afraid of. No, I don’t have a doc that I have hired, but the idea of major things going wrong and feeling disappointed is paralyzing. I don’t know if it is the wedding planning or what, but I’m tearing up all the time and I just want to go to Tahoe right now. =(

Thanks for listening,
Overwhelmed BTB

(FYI: Not my dress...but this is what happens when you try on too many dresses in one day and they all start blending together and you realize that wedding dresses are heavy, heavy things.)

Dear Guest,

2008-09-18T10:15:00.000-07:00

Just a little quickie I thought all of you planning your own nuptials would appreciate. Here is a fantastic article about many of the faux pas some of us have committed in the past, prior to our eyes being opened by wedding planning. =)

I don't agree with the engagement present thing though...I don't feel that is necessary unless you are having an engagement party. I was thrilled with just the lovely cards, emails and phone calls we received with well wishes.

Wouldn't you love to be able to send this out? I'm ready to email it to the 27% of our guests that haven't rsvp'd yet, lol.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26758428/

Hair!

2008-09-18T08:00:00.000-07:00

Last weekend...I know, I’m catching up here people, but at least I have pictures. I digress, last weekend I had my final hair trial with Lou at Charmed salon in Roseville. Lou is so sweet and funny and hey, she watches Gossip Girl, so of course she’s a fabulous lady.

Well, we got together to do a second run-through on my hair and tweak a few little things from our first session. We also got to talk schedule. I keep warning my girls it is going to be an early morning and a long day, but I don’t think they know what they are in for. Anyway…short and sweet post, but here is my hair. I think I am going to set off a metal detector with all of the bobby pins…if I happen to go through any metal detectors in my wedding get-up.
Enjoy! (Oh, I also had my second fitting this past weekend, but no pictures of that so it doesn’t get a post…I can’t wait to show you all my dress.) (Double Oh, I have no makeup on....please don't judge, I'm a little shiny and that's a bright flash.)

Sorry, Excuse Me, Pardon Me...

2008-09-17T16:04:00.000-07:00

I am back and with a vengeance…once a week blogging is unacceptable. Geez, I guess I’ve either A – been busy or B – my life is so boring that there is nothing interesting to write about. Or, there is always C – I’ve become so desensitized to the rigors of wedding planning that I’ve been busy doing these that seem boring to me. =)

One thing that wasn’t bored that happened recently (last Thursday to be exact) is that FH and I got our marriage license. Yippee! We can legally be wed in the state of California in the next 90 days. With only 31 to go, I’d say we are in the clear.

It really was a quick and painless process. First, you have FH make the appointment for any given Thursday evening so you don’t have to take time off from work. Then you have him reschedule it to another Thursday because he picked bunco night (not acceptable). Then you fill out a form online…have FH do this so he actually learns things about you and your parents…like where you were all born and how to spell your Mom’s crazy long and Italian maiden name. Proceed to show up a little early for your appointment (first, banter about the quickest way to get there and bet in back rub trade)…write a check (our first joint check, how exciting)…swear that you are of sound mind and body and everything FH filled out online was truthful (are you sure you haven’t been married before? Yes, Vegas counts.)….and ta-da….they give you your marriage license.

Afterwards, we went outside and took some not so great pictures. (Only one is making it to the blog.) Oh, and got asked by strangers passing by if we just got married…nope, but those two totally in love guys did. =) So, fun! Seriously, if I ever work for the state…that’s the office I want to work in, everyone is in love and happy. Sure beats the Post Office or the DMV.

FH and I then went for a yummy dinner and our dance lesson…what a great evening. Just thought I’d share.

Lucky Number 18

2008-09-10T14:19:00.001-07:00

Better late than never…or, I planned it that way…my new mantra is my version of Nike’s infamous slogan…“just deal.” The leaf has been turned and although my motivation has not dramatically shifted from yesterday and my to-do list did not blow away in the wind, I have decided to just go with the flow. I seem to be giving that advice out a lot lately, so I figure I should take it to heart for myself. Sheryl Crow wants me to be happy with what I’ve got, so gosh darn it…I’m gonna try.

Wait a second…that’s not what this post is supposed to be about…I’ve got diarrhea of the brain (My high school biology teacher once said that I have diarrhea of the mouth, I was actually quite offended, but whenever anyone uses “diarrhea” in that same sense I can’t help but think of him…I believe I have a lack of focus, but not “diarrhea.”). Ok, let me start over.

Better late than never…over the Labor Day weekend holiday FH and I were guests at the wedding of a good friend of FH, here in Sacramento. (Cheers to staying in town for a weekend!) This was my first wedding I’ve attended that the ceremony was in a synagogue. FH thought this was funny, but actually he’s been to more weddings in churches too, so there! For those of you who are familiar with Jewish weddings, please don’t be offended by my ignorance or inquisitive mindset. (Oh, and to a particular January bride who sometimes reads this…I have a ton of questions for you!) I’ve read a lot about Jewish weddings, as I’m about to marry a Jewish man and am doing my best attempt to understand the customs and rituals as not to offend anyone by including or not including sections in our own wedding. I have attended actually a handful of interfaith ceremonies, much like ours will be, but a completely Jewish ceremony…this was my first. The things that stand out to a Catholic girls are that it is tradition NOT to stand when the bride walks in…I don’t know if I knew this or not, but that was different than what I’m used to. The parents of the Groom and the Bride both walk them down the aisle…I knew this, but thought I’d mention it. Also, I expected it to be a little more traditional, like what I’ve read…when the blessings were read they didn’t circle each other. No one wore kippahs, this is not a requirement in their synagogue and they also had a string quartet (I was under the impression music wasn’t a part of Jewish weddings). So, the point of this little story is that ceremonies in synagogues are a lot like ceremonies in churches…they vary from establishment to establishment. Although, I have to say that Catholic ceremonies don’t really vary, the only major difference is if you include a full mass or not.

Ok, back to the wedding…as I mentioned there was a string quartet. They couple infused a little of their personality into the processional music, it was great. For the most part it was pretty traditional, however one of the processional selections was composed by the Bride’s Grandfather. Also, as the Groom and his parents walked down the aisle, the quartet seamlessly broke into a rendition of Another One Bites The Dust and then transitioned back into the classical selection. Fantastic!

After the ceremony all of the guests drove to a nearby hotel where the reception took place. They had stationed appetizers (yummy seared tuna!) and two full bars. The cocktail hour lasted a lot longer than an hour. I don’t know if that was how it was planned or if things were just taking longer than expected. It was nice to get to visit with people, but towards the end we were sort of wandering around. Um, and a downside to an open bar is that people start ordering rounds of shots…and then other tables see that rounds of shots are being ordered and they continue the ordering…just something to think about. Most handled themselves quite well and I didn’t see any frat type antics, so that’s a definite positive.

Another creative thing the Bridal couple did to make the day unique were their bridal party introductions. Not only did they have a little Ray Charles playing in the background they also made it super fun with embarrassing stories and personalized anecdotes about everyone. (This was great and it took a lot of creativity on the Bride and Groom’s part.) There were about 160 guests in attendance and it felt like a great amount…not too small, but not overwhelming. Dinner was delicious, but took a little while to serve that many people…I probably drank more wine than I normally do because that’s what happens when you are waiting for food.

After dinner, the toasts started…there were a handful of toasts, but the Best Man’s speech was hands down the best toast I’ve ever heard. It was the perfect balance of funny, loving and teasing. I did notice though that the Bride and Groom did not say a few words thanking their guests and families…note to self: make sure to do that. The first dance and father/daughter dance followed the toasts…they picked very sweet personal songs and I love that! The timeline worked well, but dinner got start later in the evening that the open dancing time was shorter than I normally have seen. Oh, and the dance floor was packed!!! FH and I didn’t even get to practice our Foxtrot or Rumba. We were both really disappointed that we only got to do the booty shake, next time.

The cake topper was a custom made bobble head, designed in the likeness of the Bride and Groom…I think everyone with a camera took pictures of this and was definitely a topic of conversations, too cute. =) After the cake cutting, the Bride did the bouquet toss, but a little different than what you usually see...she invited ALL of the ladies out onto the dance floor. I was honestly a little bummed as this was my last wedding as a single girl and I’ve never gotten to actually catch a bouquet. =( Well, the lady that did catch the bouquet was slightly* intoxicated, so I really didn’t have a chance.

The Bride and the Bride’s mother did a lot of work on the small details…and as an upcoming bride I noticed! I also got a moment to talk to the Bride and she told me some of her trade secrets that I have to share with you. First, the details…the table names were all years, with bullet points of what occurred in their lives that year. They had custom cocktail napkins, the wine was a local vineyard (one of my favorites in fact), the favors had color-coordinating ribbon and raffia, the centerpieces were simple (the Bride isn’t a big flower girl), but they matched the theme of the invites…the larger floral pieces matched the girls’ bouquets and I’m sure there were a million more little details that I didn’t get to notice, As for the trade secrets…the invites and table names were printed on Target stationary (print at home)…fantastic money saving tip…Mom and Bride did all of the favors themselves…the dress was from David’s Bridal and the Bride added a beautiful ribbon and broach from Michael’s. I know that they had a Sunday wedding because of their faith, but it doesn’t hurt in the venue fees department.

Oh, and you know those little things that only the Bride notices…but none of the guests do. =) Check out our table card and see if you can pick up on the irony…we only noticed because the Bride and Groom pointed it out, otherwise…I would have totally skipped over it. Apparently, they didn’t notice until it was too late to print up another card and so it stayed, lol.

All in all it was a beautiful wedding and you could really see all of the hard work and love that went into planning it. This was actually the 18th wedding that FH and I have attended together…and as it is the last wedding as unmarried folks it will always hold a special place in our hearts.

*If you know me personally…email me or call me and I’ll tell you the full story. =)

40 acres and a mule

2008-09-09T11:14:00.000-07:00

So, as the cliché goes…I’m a day late and a dollar short. That is very apropos of the mood I have been in lately. Yesterday marked 40 days until the wedding. It is officially less than six weeks to go and my to-do list is officially 6 miles long. This is a really bad time to lose motivation, but alas…that is exactly what is happening.

FH and I finished up all those wonderful olive oil bottles over the weekend and my fellow Bride Blogger Kate is coming over this evening to help tie the labels onto the bottles. All of the programs are printed and cut…now I need to fold and sew. The bm gifts are done, I just need to wrap them up…and the gm gifts are somewhere in the country being routed here by UPS. Hottie MOH and Hostess BM are being great sources of support with cute little emails and phone calls checking in and seeing what they can do.

Beyond that, I’m majorly slacking. With sinus headaches, a sore throat and lots of a few prayers that a cure for cancer will happen soon, I don’t have the energy to re-energize myself. I know that we are all in different stages of our planning, but I’m telling you…you will hit a slump somewhere along the line. Mine is this 40-day mark. I’ve even a day late with a post about being in a slump! If that isn’t action correlating with emotion, I don’t know what is.

So, I’ve decided instead of fighting time and motivation…I’ll harness it into a motivational factor for the greater good. Forty is a very significant number in many ways. My own personal research team over at Wikipedia came up with the vast majority of the following…enjoy.

The Number Forty….

Is the atomic number of zirconium.
Negative forty is the temperature at which the Fahrenheit and Celsius scales correspond.
Has tons of religious significance in Jewish, Christian, Islamic and other Midle Eastern religions and traditions…including Noah, Lent and wandering the desert.
Interstate 40 apparently runs from California to North Carolina, although I’ve never been on I-40 NC is where a very good friend of mine wants to move out of and come home to CA.
40-Year-Old Virgin, great movie….ahhh, Kelly Clarkson!
$40 a Day is a fun show and I would love to eat for a living.
Vodka is 40% alcohol by volume, good to know.
I’d be remiss to not mention Form 1040…shout out to FH!
There are quite a few bands with songs named “40”
And…then there is a link to “40 acres and a mule” which I think should be an entirely other post. =)

Stopping By

2008-09-02T12:31:00.000-07:00

Oh, the three-day weekend is over…so sad, so sad. I feel like I did a lot this past weekend, but alas, there is always more to do. There were a ton of errands, my first fitting, a wedding and some major cleaning.

I will have an entire post about the wedding I went to on Sunday later this week (I’m slacking on the picture download thing, as usual). In the meantime, I feel like time is just flying by. There is still so much to do! FH was great this weekend and really helped with a bunch of things…one being letting me take over the computer to print all of our programs. I promise I will have a lot of new posts coming soon...I just wanted to stop by after the long weekend and check in.

In the meantime, can anyone help me with musical ideas? FH and I are having trouble deciding what song to announce our bridal party and ourselves to at the reception. We don't want anything sports related or cheesy...any ideas?

3 years ago today...

2008-08-29T09:48:00.001-07:00

I feel the need to acknowledge the date today…August 29th…This is a very memorable date and I don’t know if a year will go by that I forget where I was in 2005 on this day. I don't want to get too much into it, not really the topic of choice for a wedding blog...another blog, another day...I'll finally write it all down for my own memory.

Yesterday was my birthday…and that means today is the anniversary of the second major natural disaster I have survived in my lifetime. The first was the 7.1 earthquake, centered just south of the Bay Area, back on October 17th 1989. I was only in 6th grade…and although I definitely remember it, we were lucky that our home in Santa Clara was not grossly damaged and we, as a family, were safe from harm. A few broken glasses and toys are a small price to pay. (More was usually broken after a fun Tuesday night in Chico.)

The second natural disaster that I survived was hurricane Katrina, this one was a little more traumatic to put it lightly. Why, you ask, was a chick from Northern California in New Orleans when the hurricane hit? Well, FH and I were there for a romantic birthday weekend, of course. =)

So, exactly three years ago today…FH and I were holed up in our hotel in the French Quarter riding out the storm…a lot anxious, pretty scared and a little terrified of what was happening. I’ll tell you though, the hurricane was just the beginning, the flooding, the aftermath and getting out of New Orleans was the nightmare.

I honestly do not believe I will ever go back to New Orleans in my lifetime. FH says he wants to go, but the memories are still too fresh for me. I am not making a political statement about the area, it just still scares me and brings back too many emotions. I feel lucky to be alive and guilty that I didn’t experience the devastating loss that people around us had at the same time. The human experience all boils down to the same raw emotions and that time in New Orleans had all of them. I won’t get into details because this is supposed to be a happy wedding blog, but that time changed me forever and this date will always be burned in my heart, my mind and my being.

Happy, Happy Birthday To Me!

2008-08-28T10:48:00.000-07:00

A very merry birthday to me, to me?….you betcha…it’s my birthday today. The big THREE-OH. Oh, I thought I was strong, but that’s just depressing. Twenty-nine was a fantastic year full of change and life and I’m not quite ready to let go. Heck, I’m not ready to let go of my twenties, period. Usually for my birthday, FH and I head out of town for a weekend to just enjoy ourselves and relax. I haven’t had a birthday party since college so although I was really hoping to have a big blowout for 30, with the wedding coming up it just isn’t in the cards. I’m headed out to dinner tonight and I know FH gave me my present this morning. So, as I’m celebrating alongside my celebrity birthday twins (Jack Black, Jason Priestly, Shania Twain and Leo Tolstoy…random, I know) I’m going to take a minute to review the last year, and say one last goodbye as I enter my 30’s ready for a whole new decade and more ma’am references than I’m ready for.

Wedding Planning – the obvious, FH proposed 2 days prior to 29 and I accepted, thus 29 will be known as the wedding planning year…sort of like year of the horse, but not so deep.

Career Shift – I finally changed jobs and got out of construction!

Braces – They came off, can I get an Amen.

Blogging – I started blogging, have met some great folks and found a creative outlet for writing.

S&TC – Four of my closest friends came for a summer visit and made me realize how much I had missed them…hello, lovah.

10 things I miss about you – Heath Ledger died, so sad.

Wii – Is now a part of my life and it won’t ever be the same. So, is Facebook.

Mom Jeans – Yes, I bought my first pair of somewhat “Mom” jeans. Never mind that they were my first pair of pricey jeans too and I’m not a Mom.

Jet Setting – I visited the East Coast for the first time in my life. (I know, crazy that it’s taken me this long)

Wash your veggies – I survived e-coli, yeah…not fun.

Go Manning Bros – The NY Giants beat the NE Pats in the Super Bowl. As a fan of anything Manning and a Brady hater, this was a happy, happy day.

Giving Back – I started volunteering with the Make-A-Wish foundation. Such a great organization, it really does feel good to help in any little way.

Business As Usual – I didn’t move (I really hate moving), I still love my car, I didn’t hit the lotto and my New Year’s resolutions are still to be resolved.
Overall, this has been a year of planning. I have met a million new people, gotten to spend more time with friends and family and slept a lot less. It has flown by and I can’t believe how quickly it really did go. I’ve had a fun, busy year and I’m so glad you all have shared a little of it with me. Thirty is going to be great and I’m looking forward to all it has in store. So, I’ll close with a Happy Birthday to me and any other birthday date twins out there…today is our day, let’s celebrate!

Random Ramblings

2008-08-27T09:54:00.000-07:00

Good Morning all…I thought that I would throw my random thoughts and ramblings down here in my sleepy stupor for you all to read. =) There are updates galore and at 52 days out I’m having a really hard time focusing on anything but the wedding and all of the planning.

Craftiness – I got together with a great group of gals last night I met through The Knot, that all got married over the summer. Wow, what a help they were! We chitchatted, got to know each other and finished over half of my table names and cut almost all of the paper. Yeah, for post-partum wedding blues. Next will be a tag tying party at my place for the favors. I know FH will be happy to vacate for a night, if only because he won’t have to learn how to tie a square knot, lol. (Mom and Dad are bringing the holders tomorrow, I can’t wait to see them all put together.)

Responses – There is a war in our home...a war over the mailbox and it’s getting nasty. You know how it is a lot more fun to follow a sporting event when you bet on it, well there are plenty of wagers occurring regarding these responses…bride vs. grooms guest list, who will be the next decline, chicken vs. fish…how many responses will arrive today...and the ultimate knock down fight, who can get to the mail more quickly. FH and I have sunk to new lows. We both race home after work and stalk the mailbox for the postal worker to come bring us the day’s prey. Yesterday, I even got off a little early for an ortho appointment and when I got home the mail lady hadn’t been there yet. FH comes home from work and ever so slyly runs out there while I’m busy in the house. That’s not going to happen again…I’m going to hijack the mail key. All is fair in love and mailbox stalking. I really don’t know how we are going to handle no mail Sunday or Monday next week…it’s going to be rough in our house, and Tuesday is going to get bloody. =)

Most Likely To... – Well, most likely to, nothing actually. In the highschool yearbook world we called these superlatives and I never got any. I definitely wasn’t a great athlete (much less an athlete, period). I wasn’t the smartest or the prettiest or the funniest…but I had plenty of friends and college really was the best six years I could have asked for (Go Chico State Wildcats!). So, when a friend of mine, who is much, much more savvy in the web/blog world than I, emailed me to say I was number 51 on the Blogged Wedding Directory I had no idea what that even meant. Then I started looking through the list and I realized that Wedding Bee is number 2, Blue Orchid Designs is number 4 and The Brides Guide by Martha is number 9. How did I get on this list and how am I number 51? So, ladies and one gent…our little ole journal is out there and this is so much fun. Now that I read all these blogs and the wedding is almost here I do wish that I had started sooner and applied to be a Bee, but I am way too close to the big day to consider that any more.

Umm…did I mention 52 days to go? I’m in disbelief that it is going to be September next week. So many of the brides I have gotten to know through this process are having their weddings and going on their honeymoons. It is so exciting to get to see their hard work come to fruition. It’s almost my turn…and there is still a long list of items on the to do list. Hey, maybe it’s a good thing all I can think/eat/breathe is wedding…that’s the only way this is all going to get done. ttfn

Things I Noticed...

2008-08-27T08:45:00.000-07:00

Some of you read this blog because you found me on the Knot. So, for you 1 or 2, this might be déjà vu, but hey, there are pictures this time! Ok, last weekend, I went to probably one of the most special weddings I've ever been to in my life.

The couple, FMIL's cousin and her partner, have been together for 24 years and they have a 21-year-old daughter together. This was my first legally recognized same sex marriage. Let me tell you, it was emotionally overwhelming. You didn't need to know the couple (although I do) or many of the guests (100+ in their backyard, of which I only knew a handful) to feel the intense emotion of the day. It was exhilarating.

Things I noticed...

The wedding took place between 2 and 5 in the afternoon, in their backyard in Berkley.

They sent out their invitations via Evite...it set the mood and allowed them to be more flexible with what they wanted for their day.

When we walked into the backyard, there was a table with a guest book, a card basket and info for voting No on 8. What was really cool was that the Brides took turns greeting their guests and mingling with everyone. So fun to get to congratulate them right from the start.

Right from the start, they had different stations throughout the back yard and house with sparkling water, champagne and munchies (cheese and crackers, pita and hummus, fruit, etc.). Although we were all a little hungry afterwards, the time and mood was perfect for the amount of food they served. It's all about matching up everything and it worked.

The ceremony had a lot of traditional Jewish portions, adapted to what they wanted to include in their ceremony. It was very personalized and thus, so much more special. Their daughter had a large part in the ceremony and they included her in everything...I started to tear up watching her, watch her Mom's get married.

Afterward, they continued the stations, but also included a champagne toast and had a cake that a friend made (I loved the cake topper, two beautiful brides).

It was a wonderful afternoon that was equal parts journey and wedding. We were surrounded by many loving couples, which are able to have the same rights of marriage, no matter their sexual preference. FI and I were loving just being at a wedding together, knowing that our's is around the corner.

I am so consumed by chairs and time lines and pictures and the "right" music to play...seeing these two get married put everything back into perspective. We were all so happy to watch them get married after 24 years and share in a little part of their journey. Your wedding is exactly that, your wedding...as long as it is everything you want, nothing else matters. =)

The "Flourishy" Thank You Notes

2008-08-26T10:59:00.000-07:00

Everything is switching into super high gear right now regarding the wedding. All of the projects are coming down to the wire and I could use an extra set of hands or two. My stomach has decided that this is the time it wants to create drama and make me feel like crap. I am doing my best to stay focused, healthy and keep working away on that to-do list, as best I can.

One of the side effects of all this action is that I have lots to blog about. I am feeling really inspired seeing things come together and FH is really getting excited. I’m just waiting for that second wind. I figure I should spread out some of this great blogging material so that I don’t bombard you three with a ton of posts on one day and then nothing for a week.

However, I do want to share a small diy project I have done for the showers and wedding…the thank you notes. I have had a heat embossing tool since I was in high school. I used to make all of Mom’s and my Christmas gift tags with stamps and heat embossing. So, when we were in Paper Source on one of my trips to SC, there was an embossing demonstration going on. The demonstrator did a personalized suite of things we could do, with the stamps we were looking at. Mom came up with the idea of embossing all of the escort cards…which she spend 10 hours straight doing…I’m not a sweat shop manager, I just have a dedicated Mom.

I decided that I wanted to do some embossing of my own…so the thank you notes were born. When we first started looking at the designs PS carries, we both liked the Colonial…then we changed our minds and switched to the Flourish. So…all of the thank you notes for the showers and the escort cards for the rehearsal dinner are embossed with the Colonial. The shower thank you note envelopes were then lined with a variety of scrapbooking paper I got at JoAnn’s (one of my happy places).

The Flourish pattern is carried throughout almost as many items as the ampersand in our design of paper products. I already mentioned the gorgeous escort cards…the envelopes they go in will be watermarked with the Flourish, the table names have a Flourish background from the sheet wrapping paper and the thank you notes are not only embossed with the Flourish and a copper embossing powder, but the liners are the Flourish wrapping paper. I know, no one but other brides will notice…but I notice and I love it.

So, here is a picture of the shower thank you’s and the wedding thank you’s…the Colonial and the Flourish. Did you do anything special for your thank you notes?

The Proposal Story

2008-08-26T08:00:00.000-07:00

So, I was reading through all of the topics I’ve written about on this blog and was trying to figure out if there is anything I’ve neglected to share or what type of things I want to cover in the next month and a half or so and I started working on a list. (Me and my lists, I know, I know.) Well, as I was reading through, I realized that I never told the story about how we got engaged and our (my) e-ring.

It is very apropos that I am posting this on today, the 26th of August, exactly one year since we have been engaged.

The story begins three years ago June, yes two whole years before we were engaged, on the day one of my good friends from college got married. It was a later wedding (7pm) so I had all day to get ready. Another good friend of mine came up from San Jose to get ready together and stay at my place for the weekend (no point in spending money on a hotel room when I live sooo close to the venue). Well, we decided that since we had time we would head to the mall and get our makeup done for the wedding. I love having my makeup done and who doesn’t like shopping in the mall with one of their closest friends. So, the two of us are trolling around and I drag her into a jewelry store. We start perusing and before I know it, there is a tractor beam drawing me in to this one particular piece of jewelry. Of course it was an engagement ring. I knew I wanted to marry FH way back then, he just needed some time to realize that he was ready to get married. (Boys take longer with everything…walking, talking, the future.)

The sales girl was very nice and I tried on this exquisite compellation of diamonds and white gold. (Those jewelry store lights don’t hurt it any either.) While my friend and I were both oohing and awing over the ring, she very professionally writes down all of the info about the ring and gives it to me, saying…bring him in or just give him this card and he can “surprise” you. Haha, me surprised? Yeah right! That night at the wedding I gave FH the card and said, “I found the ring I love…when you are ready, this is the one I want.” It probably had some snide remark about how “if that will ever happen” mixed in, but I digress.

Fast-forward two years and FH is finally ready to take the plunge and we start looking at rings together. We went to almost every jewelry store in the greater Sacramento area and tried on every different style, kind, size of ring. I kept coming back to that original ring…it surpassed every other ring I tried on. (Even a colored diamond that cost more than my house, wish I had a picture of that one.) Everything was beautiful, but the first ring was still pulling me into its tractor beam. The most romantic part of looking around at rings was that FH still had the card with the ring info in his wallet. Yes, he kept it there for two whole years. It lasted longer than the wallet. =)

So, all last summer I was hoping, praying and wishing that he would propose. I second-guessed every vacation, dinner, and special occasion. (It ruined quite a few dinners with let down afterward.) Well, I knew my birthday was approaching and we had a weekend get-a-way planned just after that…it seemed like a natural time, I was wrong.

Mr. FH was really trying to surprise me and so, like every good relationship, he lied to me. Yep, fibbed. You see, the company FH works for has occasional conferences in various cities, including Sacramento. Well, sometimes they have him stay in the hotel with all of the attendees because he works early in the morning. He told me that there was a conference on the week of my birthday and that he would need to stay in the hotel Sunday and Monday nights for work. I usually don’t ever pass up a chance to stay somewhere that I don’t have to make the bed and always have fresh towels, so I’m in. That Sunday morning we headed out to the State Fair and had a saturated day of fried food, people watching and walking. When we had our fill of all three we headed home. I started to complain that my stomach hurt, probably the fair food, and that I didn’t want to go out to dinner or stay at the hotel that night. (I’m ruining his plan here, you see.) He totally didn’t know what to do. Apparently, when I was complaining about my tummy and how tired I was, he was on the phone with one of his groomsman asking for advice on what to do! He came upstairs and calmly told me that I should take a nap and we’d do dinner later, no rush. (He must have been sweating that one.)

Fast-forward a nap and some persistent nudging on his part, and we are at dinner at Rio City Café, the place of our first date. I honestly didn’t think anything of it for a variety of reasons. A – It was a Sunday and it would stink to have to go to work the next day. B – My birthday was only two days away, he’d waited this long. C – We both were sun-sleepy and looked less than stellar. D – I had been waiting how long? It was never going to happen.

Dinner is over, yep no ring yet, and we head to the Hyatt downtown to check in for the “conference.” Wow, this is a really long post…Stephanie, are you loving it? So, we get to the Hyatt and FH checks in, while I sit in the lobby with our bags. The girls at the desk were looking over and I thought it was odd, but I didn’t want to get my hopes up. Plus, reasons A-D were still in my head. As we get in the elevator and FH presses the button for our floor, the elevator doesn’t go anywhere…he has to put our room key into the special slot for the elevator to go to our floor. Yep, I’m trying to hide my smile at this point and know the jig is up. He hands me the room key and says…find our room. I open the door into a HUGE suite (umm, bigger than my old apartment) with champagne (yes, my favorite) and chocolate dipped strawberries (he really likes them) on the table. I start giggling and saying, (out loud) “oh my God, it’s actually happening!” FH drops to one knee and says some of the most romantic things ever said (to me, at least) and asks me to marry him. I said, YES!! We then made-out for a bit, followed by getting on our cell phones to all the family and close friends to tell them the fantastic news. A call at 10:30pm on a Sunday night is ok if there is news this big to tell.

(L: The first pic of FH and I engaged, not a great pic) (R: FH enjoying our huge suite and goodies)

My parents didn’t know when it would happen, but since FH was so romantically old-fashioned, they knew it was coming when he called to ask them both for their blessing. (I’ve got a keeper, for sure!) I have to say that my brother’s response was the most memorable, “Hey, that’s cool. So, how did FH’s Fantasy Football draft go? Oh, and when am I going to be an uncle?” (Geez, brothers.) At some point I realized it was a Sunday and said that it stunk that we had to go to work the next day and couldn’t just enjoy our new engagement. FH responded by saying that we weren’t going to work the next day…my boss at the time was already clued in and a vacation day had already been approved. =) And no, there was never a conference.

We went downstairs to have someone take a picture of us as an engaged couple. Check out how big my smile is...almost as shiny as the ring. =)

The view from our suite of Capitol Park and the pool below.

So, the ring…it was THE ONE. After two-plus years and a special order for a teeny tiny size finger, I had not only the ring I had been mesmerized by, but also the guy that was definitely THE ONE and continues to mesmerize me every day.

(L: The obilgitory hand shot, but it came out super blurry) (R: A clearer pic of the ring from the maker's web site)

He’s going to tell me I’m a dork and he can’t believe I wrote this out for you all. Well, the whole point to this blog is to remember every step of this memorable time in our lives and getting engaged was definitely memorable. He managed to surprise me, get a vacation day and make me the happiest girl in the whole wide world…all in a Sunday night one year ago.

Made lovingly by Dad

2008-08-25T07:54:00.000-07:00

Wikipedia defines the word tray as, “a shallow platform designed for carrying things.” They offer examples of types of trays, such as, a butler’s tray, a cafeteria tray, a surgical tray and even a seed tray. I think I may need to submit an edit to Widipedia to include escort card or place card trays. Of which definitely need a footnote that says, “Made lovingly by Dad.”

A while ago I posted a gush on how great my Mom is…well, Dad definitely deserves a post of his own, so here it is. I love and admire my Dad for so many reasons. He’s organized, thorough, passionate about his interests, quick with a hug, a smile and an “I’m proud of you.” (What more could you ever want?) Dad has shown me through the years how an education, a budget and a sock tan are all evidence of hard work and perseverance. Just a few of the things my Dad loves most of all are his family, golf, working on projects, golf, taking a mid-afternoon nap, golf, a good steak, golf, a fun road trip, golf, oh…and golf. (That’s where the sock tan comes in.) Two things my Dad isn’t too fond of are public speaking and dancing…but he loves me and my Mom so much that’s he’s sucking it up for the wedding and is going to do both with fantastic enthusiasm.

One of my Dad’s many talents is his “handiness.” My entire life, Dad is one who fixes and builds things for me…my bike broke, Dad fixed it…I wanted a desk, Dad built it (Mom called it a monument, I was happy because it had hot pink drawers, I was little)…I wanted a dollhouse, or a shelf, or just about anything…Dad made it. One of the fantastic things about my parent’s relationship is that they are the perfect team. Mom is the creative dreamer and Dad is the practical, let’s get this built! kind of guy. So, with Mom handling the crafty end of wedding planning, Dad is managing the tasks that involve power tools.

Whenever my parents come to visit me and FH, Dad always calls ahead and asks if I have anything on the “Daddy Do” list. You see, this is the equivalent to the “Honey Do” list, but for my awesome Dad. Usually, it contains tasks, such as, hang heavy object here, fix shutter there, install ceiling fan, caulk something or other, make that stop squeaking, etc. I think it’s his second favorite part of coming to visit…the first is definitely Hagen Oaks golf complex. FH is leaning a lot by doing all these little things around the house and I definitely appreciate both of their hard work in keeping the house from falling apart. =)

So, when I dreamed up my vision for showcasing the escort cards at the reception, I knew that my Dad was the man for the job. Ok, let me back up a bit. You see, I have this tray that I love from Pottery Barn. It was a housewarming gift from a friend and it is one of my most favorite things in our living room (doesn’t hurt that it’s from my favorite store). The detailing is amazing and I love the deep brown color/stain. So…when we were at a friend’s wedding (who actually reads this blog, but doesn’t leave comments…yes you, Mrs. F) I saw that she had put her beautiful escort cards in envelopes and had the envelopes standing (supported by small river rocks) in two amazing trays. I knew right then and there that I was totally ripping off her idea. (So much for dreaming up visions.) I looked and looked for another tray like the one I love, so that there would be two. Alas, no such luck. I called our friend and asked her where she got hers…the groom’s Dad made them. Aha! *Ring, ring…Hi, Dad…Hi, Ryn…So, you know that tray I have under our coffee table…Um, I guess so, Why?...Can you make two?...I don’t know, bring them down and we’ll see.

“We’ll see,” turned into hours, days and weeks of hard work on these two pieces of artwork. The pictures do not do any justice to the amazing detailing of the edges of the trays…the perfection of the angled sides…or, the beautiful deep brown of the stain that has more coats than I can’t even began to tell you. (There was a joke at one time between Mom and I that he would need as many coats as there were days left until the wedding…87 coats no, but pretty close, lol.)

(L: PB tray in front, Dad's tray's in back) (R: The two trays...with all my fingerprints on them.)

These trays are not only gorgeous, they are perfect. I can’t wait to use them in the wedding and have them in our home afterwards. They mean so much to me, especially since Dad made them.

Compliments and Responses

2008-08-22T11:17:00.000-07:00

Oh, happy Friday! I am so excited that this week is over and it’s almost the weekend. I know I have a million things to do and that it will fly by, but I am excited nonetheless.

I also wanted to send a quick blog shout out and thank you to a few of you who leave awesome comments or have recently said very nice things about this blog. FH thinks I’m a dork, and I guess I am, but that’s the gal he fell in love with. =)

Quick update: Since you all know that the invites went out Monday, I thought I would give you the rundown. (Mom, you already know all this.) We have been getting a handful of loving messages that our invites are beautiful…if you are a bride you know how much this means, so yeah to compliments! I also love when people put little notes on the response, so fun! Yesterday we received our first response cards, six of them…all yeses. I’m nervous, but FH is right when he said that only people who know for sure they are coming are going to respond right away…folks who aren’t will trickle in. I think I’m going to try to start a tab on the blog with how many are coming and how many aren’t, but I have to say that with a 9 chicken, 2 fish landslide…the salmon are safe for a little longer, poor chickies. FH definitely wants the fish and I’m debating between fish and veggie (cheese tortellini with pesto). What dish are you picking at your wedding?

What's in a number

2008-08-21T15:13:00.000-07:00

Since I’ve been on a blogging roll, I figured I couldn’t let today go by without a post at all. (Maybe I should save up the good ones and just do one every day or two, instead of two or three in a day? You tell me.)

So, we are currently at 58 days away from “the big day.” It’s totally surreal. FH and I went on our first date approximately 5 years and 5 months ago, or just over 2000 days…we got engaged almost a year ago, or just about 361 days (including leap day) and now it’s down to 58 days until we are husband and wife. (When I read the word “wife” a certain line from My Big Fat Greek Wedding goes through my head. Mom, care to comment…it’s your favorite. Ok, your favorite that isn’t about Windex or Harry!)

My Big Fat Greek Wedding

Well, that has made me think about numbers and a few random things flying through my mind right now.

70 – Shower thank you notes written (and they are all done!).
242 – Guests invited
120 – Invitations out to guests
3 – Dinner entrée selections (Veggie isn’t listed on the response, but is available, lol)
2 – Times a day I usually talk to Mom
3 – Amount of phone calls between FH and I before we see each other after work (what
can we say, we’re in love).
82 – Number of published posts on this blog (I think I counted right).
1217 – Square Feet in our townhouse
2.5 – Bathrooms in our townhouse
21 – Quantity of Table Names I have to put together
18 – Minutes our ceremony is long (yes we had her time it, lol)
6 – Hours of sleep I’m getting a night
2 – Number of crazy dreams I have a night

300 - A perfect game in bowling, the Wii self-imposed challenge
84 – How many olive oil bottles are filled and sealed.
140 – About how many more I have to do, hahaha.
7 – Days until my birthday
30 – How old I’ll be in 7 days
2 – Beautiful custom trays for escort cards that I still need to blog about
Infinity – Two things…the number of reasons I love FH and the amount of tasks on my
to-do list.

1 – FH I love and can’t wait to marry in 58 days!

Shower #3 - Ta Da!

2008-08-20T13:54:00.000-07:00

Here it is folks…the last of the three. I’m still waiting on some pictures, but at least I have a few so you can have some visual stimulation.

This past weekend, my lovely bridesmaids threw me a shower for all my girlfriends. You see, with such big families on both sides and a gaggle of amazing women to call my friends, I lucked out with three showers! This one was in Elk Grove (a suburb of Sacramento for those of you unfamiliar with the area) at one of my dear friend’s home.

Well, she and the bm’s did it up right. We had a champagne brunch with some yummy food and delicious mimosas. We played a handful of great games, including one that made me both frustrated with and even more in love with FH (at the same time). The details of the shower were a lot of fun too. Everyone brought a skein of yarn (since I crochet, a lot). Oh, and the favors were these super cute personalized bricks of coffee.

I got a whole pile of gifts for our home from all my generous friends and even a slinky little number to be pulled out in Hawaii. =) I am so appreciative and thankful to have all these wonderful people in my life.

A couple areas of note, not to be forgotten…a couple of the things that made this day so special were the lengths that people went to, to be able to be there. One of my friends flew in from Southern California and I haven’t seen her in over a year since she moved out of the area. One of my friends brought her 8 week-old little girl and I’m honored that my shower was her first bridal shower (she was the hit of the party, everyone wanted to hold her)! There were quite a few ladies who drove a couple hours to just come up for the day. Also, one of these friends, who I haven’t seen in a few years, made the trip and brought homemade jam! I know that’s random, but who doesn’t love homemade jam? (FH has already busted out the apricot and we enjoyed it on our bagels Sunday morning.)

Now, I just have to finish up the thank you notes and figure out how to put everything away in the townhouse and the showers are all wrapped up. With less than 60 days to go…there is a lot to get done. Thanks for reading and traveling along this crazy road with me.

Shower #2 - Sacramento Shower

2008-08-20T08:00:00.000-07:00

Yeah for me finally downloading all of the pictures off of my camera and actually looking at them. And double yeah for me posting them here and sharing with all three of you. =) (Actually four, but since FH has to ask me for the link to “my blog” every time he wants to read it, I’m not counting him as a reader, lol.”

August has been the month of bridal showers...three to be exact. I am lucky enough to not only have a large, fantastic family of my own, but also to be marrying into a family that is large in both blood related family members and lifelong friends that are a surrogate family of their own.

Well, two or so weeks ago two members of this surrogate family (FMIL’s friends) hosted a shower in my honor. Let me tell you, honored I was (am). My Mom and I arrived early to see if there were any little things we could assist with and make sure we were there before the guests arrived. Everything was beautiful, the yard looked picture perfect. (Get it, there are pictures…it looked perfect. I know, I’m a dork.)

Everyone got to visit, drink mojitos and iced tea and then we had a beautiful lunch. (Sorry, no shots of the food…I was too busy eating.) I got to sit with and visit with some of FH’s cousins, aunt’s and family friends. I even got to meet a few people for the first time! At least I’ll remember them for the wedding. =)

After lunch was cleared up, we ate cupcakes (mmm, carrot) and then opened presents. Wow, there were a ton of presents. I’ve got about 45 or so pictures of me opening gifts on my camera. I honestly don’t know who had my camera, but they did a pretty good job. If I figure out who it was, I might hire them to follow me around and document my life. It would make for more exciting posts I’m sure.

FH and I got some amazing things both off and on the registry…including a gorgeous platter from the hostesses and our Kitchen Aid stand mixer (yep, we got it!) from FH’s cousin. I seriously can’t wait to bust into all the baking stuff we got, but it’s going to have to wait a little while or my dress will not fit anymore, lol.

With all these amazing gifts it is difficult to pick a favorite…however, you all know what a sucker I am for a gift from the heart and we got one that had me tearing up in front of everyone. The card read: To Ryn and FH…Love: Your Families. Hmmm…what could it be?

First, a cute little sign about Love for our home…then, a recipe book. This wasn’t just any old recipe book. FH’s Aunt has been working on this recipe book for MONTHS. She managed to gather up recipes from both families of all FH’s and my favorite dishes. From Mom’s cardoni to my Aunt’s canolis, to FIL’s hopple popple and even FBIL’s left over special. What makes it even more special is that many of the recipes are in the giver’s handwriting. This includes family members that have passed away and we have the cards in their pen. It is so special I am getting misty eyed just writing this. I am so honored to be bestowed a gift such as this. It will be a part of our kitchen for our entire lives, and we can add to it throughout the years. I honestly don’t know how FH’s Aunt pulled it off, getting that many people to do anything is like herding cats.

Favors - Part 1

2008-08-19T11:47:00.000-07:00

Let’s just keep the blog love coming…we’ll rewind to Sunday (see, I’m working my way backwards here). Sunday was the first day in quite some time that I didn’t need to set my alarm for anything…not work, not an event (wedding or non-wedding), not to move our cars for construction, nothing. The only thing that was planned was a bbq at 4:30 in the afternoon, fantastic! I actually slept in…yep, slept all the way until 8:30am, lol. That would have been considered early only a couple short years ago.

There is just too much going on, and the weather is too dang warm to sleep in at all around here. So, I pop out of bed and start working around the house. First, I decided that the box jungle that used to be our dining area has become out of control. I would like to totally gut our kitchen…you know, wipe down shelves, put in fresh liners and unpack all the new stuff. Problem is…if I do that now (with all the spare time I have lately), what am I going to do when the wedding presents arrive? Advice from all you married ladies out there would be much appreciated…how did you manage to get the old stuff out, the new stuff in, your sanity intact and maintain in a 1200+ townhouse. (I’m not asking for much, am I? Hahaha) Well, instead of gutting the kitchen I straightened and reorganized the menagerie of boxes and gifts. Yes, this is it straightened up.

Next, I decided long ago that the favors would need to be done in an assembly line maneuver and executed early so that it wouldn’t be too warm on our patio in the back. Why outside you ask? Well, because olive oil and our carpet probably won’t like each other too much. So, what a perfect morning to get started on this big to-do on my list…

I started by setting up the bottles, the large bottles of olive oil, the funnels, a few older dishtowels, a couple measuring cups and ESPN news so FH could decide what sporting events he wanted to follow for the day. (And yes, I asked FH to help and he did so willingly.)

The step by step is pretty obvious….place funnel in small bottle, pour olive oil into funnel until bottle is at desired capacity, remove funnel, put on cap (tightly, but not enough to break the cap). Now, the little trick to try and get them all the same is to use one completed bottle as a measuring stick. Also, in using the measuring cups as an “in between” the large olive oil bottles and favor bottles you are able to measure more accurately the amount going in (it also saves your arm from holding that large olive oil bottle up all morning).

(That middle one looks a little "off"...hey, quality control get over here!)

The next step is to seal the bottle. This is done with these nifty little “bands” and a hair dryer. Yes, I wrote hair dryer. I busted out the small travel hair dryer and heated up those bad boys in the place I wanted them and blew, lol. It creates a shrink-wrap around the bottle to look more professional and to also save the linens at the wedding from all of the olive oil.

In about 3.5 hours we (read: mostly me, while FH cooked a yummy breakfast) got through 7 dozen bottles. Yep, I need a lot more. Guess what I’ll be doing Saturday morning. =) I will blog later about the labels that are going to be tied around these super cute bottles soon.

Catching Up and Invitations

2008-08-19T10:46:00.000-07:00

Wow, there is a lot to catch up on here in BTB blog-land. I guess I’ll just pick a topic at run with it (hopefully, catching up soon). Let me know if I’m boring you and if there is something else you’d like to hear about. I’m more than happy to oblige.

Let’s start with the most current and work our way backwards. If you are planning a wedding along with me you’ll agree that time and all rationale is lost at this point and “winging it” is your new modus operandi.

Yesterday marked two months until the big day. Yes, only two months to go. FH and I decided (read: compromised) that this would be a great day to mail out our invitations. I, of course, wanted to send them out earlier, but FH convinced me that this was still plenty of time to receive responses. Our respond by date is September 24th, giving our guests ample time to respond, but still enough that if they don’t send in those fun little cards, we’ll be on the ringer finding out if they want chicken, fish, veggie or if we’ll see them in November instead.

Nervous Ryn with no make-up, straight from work, still with the driving glasses on.

Back to the invites and my favorite topic, the post office…needless to say I was scared. Anxious is too mild of a word for the nerves I was feeling standing in line with FH (yes, he came with) and a box of 100+ invites with no stamps on the outside of the envelopes. Not nervous to marry FH, but the post office has become a sore spot on my entire nervous system. If you remember from our last adventure we visited three different post offices and received three different postage amounts needed for our beautiful invitations. FH and I then decided to get all of the invites ready (sucked up the higher amount for the response cards, just in case) and get an on the spot amount, stand at an available counter and stick those puppies on, right then and there.

FH working the assembly line.

So, that’s what we did…it was a quick assembly line between the two of us. Oh wait, I didn’t tell you how much it ended up being and about our postal worker du jour. Well, out of the three post offices we originally visited, I decided we would go back to the one nearest our home, which also happened to be the one that gave us the lowest amount needed. We waited in line (5pm on a Monday is worse than the DMV) and I had my fingers crossed to get the same worker I had that first time there. Alas, she was trying to explain something completely obvious to an oblivious citizen (the kind that make those folks go “postal”). We were beckoned to the next counter over to a postal worker that I had never seen before, my anxiety went into overdrive…thank goodness the postal Gods were smiling on us and we received the same quote we had before (the low one). I was so happy I couldn’t help but feel a huge weight lift off my shoulders. Imagine, the same info from two different postal workers! I immediately liked her for that and also because she kept saying how beautiful the calligraphy was on the envelopes…oh, and she was so sweet she wanted to make sure the international invitations also had pretty stamps.

Our pretty calligraphy from Mary Ann Goodhue.

Now, I’m feeling good, FH doesn’t think it’s any big deal, but is saying all sorts of cute stuff about “two months from today” this and “you can’t back out now” that…we hand all of our beautifully stamped invitations to the same worker and walk out the door…yes, past all of the people waiting in line at 5:30pm on a Monday at the post office.

The invites are out….let the mailbox stalking begin!!!!

p.s. Please don’t judge these pictures…they were taken with FH’s phone and then emailed. I had the camera all ready to go, but left it on the counter as we were walking out the door. Also, I really wanted to get the shot of me or FH putting the invites into the actual mailbox, but alas…it was more important to get them into that particular postal worker’s hands for us. And, one last note, with all of the issues we had with postage amounts, I wasn’t going to press our luck and ask for them to be hand cancelled...I let that battle go.

Happy Friday

2008-08-15T08:53:00.000-07:00

I know...another boring post, but I don't like to leave too much time in between posts...even if it's just the day to day stuff going on.

This week has been rather busy, but I 've been really bad about bringing my camera along for the ride. We are still taking our dance lessons (although I think we need A LOT more, lol), I got to hang out with Miss Kate and we declared it "no-wedding-Wednesday," then last night I volunteered for Make-A-Wish and ran into creative friend who designed my STD's! Tonight I'm headed to "Hostess" Bridesmaid's house for a late dinner and some wine and to observe her doing stuff for the shower tomorrow. (I say observe because not only will she not let me bring anything, she won't let me do anything...except watch 90210, of course.)

Saturday is the final bridal shower on the circuit and it's for all of my girlfriends...Yeah!!! I have friends coming from in the area and out of the area...one even flying in from Irvine! I am really excited to have all these beautiful, amazing and smart ladies in one place. Oh, and there will be champagne.

I promise I will get Mom's pics from the shower last weekend soon, so I can post that gorgeous afternoon. Also, there are lots of little things going on and the to do list is getting scary.

We are 64 days out and I'm starting to feel behind. I might be having a favor party soon...so, if you're interested in learning how to tie a square knot and will work for dinner and wine...drop me a note.

Source

Love and Support

2008-08-12T10:10:00.001-07:00

Thank you all for your love and support. It's been an interesting couple days. Although, once words are out there they can not be taken back...sincere apologies are much appreciated and are a great step on a road to healing.

They say if it doesn't kill you, it makes you stronger and that there is a reason everything happens. Well, I'm too stubborn to die and maybe all this drama happened now to allow FH and I to voice our thoughts and feelings a few months before the wedding and the start of our married life together.

Thank you again to all of you who called, sent emails and were just there to listen and share a kind word. FH and I appreciate each and every one of you.

-Ryn

Dear Readers,

2008-08-11T11:48:00.000-07:00

This mini-vent/rant session will make sense to some of you and will be totally abstract to others. I just need to get it out there.

Before I start...this weekend was fantastic until late last night. I had so much fun doing mother/daughter bonding with Mom...got some fantastic clothes for my b-day present...had a beautiful shower thrown for me by FMIL's friends. FH had a fantastic weekend too (from what he'll divulge). The boys were off in Tahoe for the bachelor party. I get a kick out of the pranks these guys pull on each other...one included a husband of a lurker out there. It included the group telling this one guy that the address of house they were at was actually the one across the street...which happened to be a bachelorette party. =) Oh, and the group watched from the upstairs window to see their friend cruise right on into the wrong house.

Anyways, I digress...I'll post more on the shower when I download pictures and such.

I know that the vast majority of you reading this are either friends/family of mine or you are BTB's yourself and looking to see what other gal's are doing/planning. Well, if you aren't too far along in your planning please take my advice. DO EXACTLY WHAT YOU WANT FOR YOUR WEDDING. Do not try to please everyone else. Go to Vegas, skip the big party. Please stand up for yourself, I don't seem to be able to do that lately. I can't go into it out of respect for people I love, but remember that this wedding is about you and your significant other. I thank my lucky stars everyday for FH...I just wish we had hightailed it to the Venetian when we got engaged.

Thank you to those of you who know what I'm talking about and have offered kind words of support. I really appreciate all of the helpful advice and available ears. Planning a wedding is like herding cats...meow!

Should I buy it?

2008-08-07T08:23:00.000-07:00

So, part of this whole wedding planning means a lot of shopping and a lot of spending. Between registering for the items we like, to bridal party gifts, to outfits for all of the events prior to the wedding, I don't know if I've ever spend more time at the mall or online looking at items to purchase.

The problem is that during this process it is inevitable that I find a few things I want for myself or loved ones. =) Sure, some of them are totally unrealistic...a Balenciaga bag or two (ha ha, that's funny just typing it), those Tori Burch wedges I still dream about and a Kate Spade Sacramento tote that there are only 50 of in the world...oh, it sooooo "Golden" and dreamy. The reality is that I just won't spend that much money on any of these luxury items. (You read about my jeans...do you think I would buy a bag that is more than my mortgage?)

However, during all of this surfing and shopping I did find a t-shirt, and then a tote bag, that I can get behind. My first instinct was to load one into my virtual shopping cart for everyone I know that would appreciate it...but then I stopped and regained my composure. Money is a limited resource during wedding season and I can't just buy whatever, whenever. Oh, but I really want this tote bag...and I think Mom needs one too. Wouldn't all my "stuff" look great in this little bag. I could use it for my yarn bag, or wedding project catch all or so many other purposes.

Tell me what you think...should I get it? http://bags.cafepress.com/item/you-bet-your-bocce-balls-tote-bag/54019747

Tip of the Day

2008-08-06T14:34:00.000-07:00

Start writing thank you notes as soon as you can...it will inevitably take longer than you think. I just finished the notes for the shower last weekend. I figure I'd better stay on top of it or I'd feel like Sarah Cynthia Sylvia Stout.

TTFN

picture from www.goodreads.com

Part 2 - Hometown Shower

2008-08-05T14:05:00.000-07:00

Alright...here's part two...be prepared for lots of pictures. =)

You already know where the shower was, so now here is the run-down of one of the most fun afternoon's of my adult life and quite a few pics. There were over 100 pics between my camera and "Hostess" bm's camera, lots to pick from.

The two wonderful women who hosted the shower for me are my great-aunt and my cousin. They worked extremely hard pulling everything together and making it look absolutely amazing. They really pulled in all sorts of little details that are going to be carried through into the wedding. There was rosemary in all of the flower arrangements (which are loving my house right now), a beautiful rosemary topiary, the plates and napkins were all brown and ivory, and all of the roses and lilies were shades of orange.

If you know my family, or feel like you know them from this blog, you know about our "issue" with food. That issue being that we tend to over-prepare or over-order. Most people have some rule of thumb in how much food to have per person for a party or large gathering. Well, my family pretty much doubles that and then adds a bit for good measure. Seriously, I'm not exaggerating on this one. Food for armies! My great-aunt knows me so well and ordered enough Mexican food to feed Kobayashi and Joey Chestnut on a record breaking day (10 points to whoever gets that reference). There were platters of enchiladas (3 kinds), flautas (2 kinds), burritos (2 kinds), rice, beans, 2 kinds of salsa and a vat (yes, I said a vat) of guac. The only picture I got of the lunch was the guac....I kind of dove into the food and totally forgot about the camera. Hey, you would too if you could have eaten these enchiladas. =)

Then dessert came out. Ok, the games and presents were in between, but I don't want to stop writing about food yet, lol. The lovely hostesses had fruit, berries and two (yes, I said two) large cheesecakes from Cheesecake Factory. Sooooo yummmy. I was actually so full from lunch I had to wait until dinner to have a piece. Yes, you read that right...I had a piece of cheesecake for dinner...and it was amazing!

We played a couple different games, one of which was bridal bingo. We played on the beautiful deck my Uncle "just" had installed. (I say "just" because the contractor's finished it at 11pm the night before the shower, but they finished it.) The ladies all had fun with this one and I had fun walking around visiting with everyone. The markers were pieces of candy...it was funny seeing who actually used the markers and who were eating their favorite markers, lol. Oh, and I think Mom might need a little more practice before she starts her career as a bingo caller.

After a few people excitedly won (fyi, the prizes were beautiful orchids, money trees and candles) we ventured inside to open gifts...or, they all got to watch me open gifts and refill their glasses with sangria or a mojito. Umm...for those of you who have done this...were you comfortable or was it weird? I've sat through enough bridal and baby showers in my life to know the important points...get a helper (usually, a young one) to hand you boxes and bags, have a bm or friend write down what and from whom you are opening, smile, make eye contact with the gift giver, say thank you, keep your legs crossed and whip through those gifts.

I did my absolute best (actually got a couple compliments on keeping it moving). What I didn't count on were my Spanx being on display, lol. I wore a very cute sundress, that is quite low cut on top and goes to a decent sundress length. However, when you are bending over and sitting down trying to open gifts and be gracious and lady like all at the same time, something gets lost in translation sometime. Mom kept telling me to readjust and I was trying to do my best...but next time I will forgo the Spanx or get a pair that doesn't go down so far. Normally, I wouldn't put this kind of thing on the blog, but we all learn from each other...so there's my lesson.

Next weekend is the second shower, from FH's side. I'll be wearing a different sundress, but no Spanx this time. =)

Part 1 - Hometown Shower

2008-08-05T10:34:00.000-07:00

I grew up in Santa Clara with a very tight knit family. The vast majority of my extended family still lives in the bay area. With the exception of me and a few cousins, everyone has remained in the bay. When my Aunt and cousin offered to throw me a shower in my home town, I was beyond excited and appreciative. The sentimental clincher for me was where they were going to throw this awesome party.

A lot of my posts tend to have a family history lesson embedded within, this one is no different. My Grandma and Grandpa (Mom's parents) with my Uncle and Mom, moved to Santa Clara in 1955 and bought a house. This was the home that my Mom and Uncle grew up in. In the years after my Grandpa passed away, my Grandma remained in the house, living with my Great Aunt (her younger sister). They both stayed there until their health would not permit them living on their own anymore. My Great Aunt passed away and about 3.5 years ago my Grandma passed away also.

My Mom and Grandma were best friends. My Grandma was such a part of my life that I have a hard time relating when friends talk about how they only saw their grandparents on holiday's and birthday's. Grandma lived 1.5 miles from the home I grew up in. The one time I ran away from home (in 2nd grade, mind you) I ran to Grandma's house. My brother and I saw and spent time with Grandma multiple times a week and pretty much every day in the summer.

Well, when my Grandma passed away my Uncle bought the home and made it his own. He redesigned the floor plan, changed the footprint of the kitchen, knocked out walls and updated everything. The house is picture perfect and reflects his exquisite taste and all of his hobbies and interests. It is a state of the art home, with a huge kitchen and tv's everywhere. =) Having my bridal shower at this very special home was extremely sentimental. It was like having a little part of my Grandma there with me.

This post became all about the family history lesson, hah! I guess it better be a part one...part two will be all about the actual shower...and I have pictures too!

Mom, Grandma and Me

Anticipation...Over. Result...Totally Worth It!!!

2008-08-04T13:39:00.000-07:00

Ok, I know I've gushed over my photographer before and even wrote a post about anticipating the result of our engagement pics....well...the wait it over!

Friday afternoon I headed out of my office at about four o'clock...I ran a couple errands, drove home, finished packing for this weekend (more on that to come) and started loading up the car. At about half past five I checked my email, before we were to jump on the road, and voila, there were a variety of emails...I just started down the list wondering how I got so many emails in an hour and a half that most people are running for the hills (or happy hour). The first email of interest I got (not that the new home depot ad isn't interesting, but seriously) was from Miss Kate...she was gushing over our e-pics. Umm, hello? Does that mean they are up? Well, the email directly after Miss Kate's was from the supremely talented Sarah Maren Whitehead confirming my hopes and wishes....the pics were up and ready for the world (ok, me and my little world) to view!

I didn't waste a second and quickly navigated to Sarah's blog, read the post and dived into the slide show. The absolute coolest thing about the timing of the post is that FH and were actually together watching it for the first time (I think I've watched it 100 times since then, but the first time was together). It was really special to get to share that with each other.

Another cool coincidence of the timing is that we were headed out the door to my parent's house and we got to share it with them in person, not just, "hey Mom, check out Sarah's blog, our pics are up."

So, now I want to share it with all of you! FH and I are so happy with how they turned out and we are going to have a bear of a time deciding which ones we want to order for our collage and for frames around the house. Please help me/us decide and comment, tell me your favorites. (Sarah so brilliantly numbers the pics at the end of the slide show...so let me know what number(s) you like the best for a LARGE print).

http://blog.sarahmarenphotography.com/2008/08/ryn-and-dan-esession.html

And, of course, all photos in this post are credited to Sarah Maren Photography.

Dear Me,

2008-07-31T14:38:00.000-07:00

Dear Me,

Currently, you are 79 days away from your wedding to the most amazing man you've ever met. I just want to let you know the roller coaster of emotions that are going through your heart, head, and vocal cords at this moment in time. I wish you could have read this letter 300 days ago, you could have learned a few things. Maybe you will read this in 300 days and shake your head, think...what was I so stressed out about. Or, maybe you'll read it and it will put you right back in this very moment.

First off...you were wrong, they were right. Yep, they were. When family and friends told you that there would be a time when you wished you could run off with FI and get married with no one else there and you didn't believe YOU would evvvveeerrrrr feel that way...you were sooo wrong. Right now, if FH said, "Babe, I got two tickets to Vegas...your dress is in the closet and I bought a fantastic new tie...let's go." I would respond, "Let me get my toothbrush."

I hope that everyone is right about the second thing they all told us...it will all be worth it, when the time comes. Right now you are slightly overwhelmed, definitely more than "whelmed" with all of the vendor meetings, decisions, time lines and mini-crisis that pop up on a daily basis. Although you are having a ton of fun with the girl's weekend and all of the showers coming up...and all of the wonderful wishes and generous gifts, it's still a lot of work. No one tells you how much time the tiniest of details takes.

Just last night, Mom asked you if there is anything she can help with and you asked her if she could hire you a personal assistant. (She laughed by the way.)

Right now you have a list a mile long of all the reading you want to catch up on...your sewing and crochet piles lay there looking lonely...and Wii is your favorite escape (besides Ranch Rush when stuff is printing). You and FH eat dinner wherever there is an open surface because your kitchen table and coffee tables have turned into staging areas for diy projects.

Your to-do list is growing much faster than the garden (which thank goodness for FH watering or it would all be dead). The timeline you are working on slightly scares you. Oh, and you've actually googled some facts on cloning so you can truly be everywhere at once. (btw...the technology isn't there yet, we aren't risking the side effects)

We have definitely been overwhelmed by the generosity and love from friends and family, but we've also been surprised in a not so great way by others. I really hope that doesn't affect us down the road...I am told that it will fade, but it is in times like these you really know who you can lean on.

People keep telling us how organized we are, but at this point we don't really feel that way. We'll see when the day comes whether it's all pulled together or if it's just a good show. People also keep telling us to enjoy everyday and not to stress. Hmmm...I'm doing my best...let me know how I did.

What I really want you to hold on to and remember is how excited you are to marry and spend the rest of your life with FH. All of this is going to be a fun party (oh, it will if I have to bleed out of my eyes to make everything right), but it doesn't really matter because at the end of the day, not only will all of the family and friends you love be there to celebrate with you, but you will be Mrs. FH. Oh, and heading to Hawaii isn't a bad part of the deal. =)

We have many, many more good moments than bad...you've acquired lots of new craft toys and skills through this. Your wardrobe now includes a gorgeous gown, some fantastic shoes and a lot of fun party dresses for all of the events prior. You got to design a custom invite and have over 70 lbs of glass bottles delivered to your doorstep. You are really, really excited about professional photos and beautiful flowers...yummy (gorgeous) cake and great music to dance to...a good meal and lots of champagne. Part of you is ready for it just to be here and part of you needs another 6 months to plan, but every part of you is over the moon to marry our best friend (and I don't mean our dvr).

Relax and breathe,
You

Two Local Eats

2008-07-28T11:59:00.000-07:00

Although last weekend was amazing and a great time was had by all, I think we are all happy to be home with our own beds and pillows. I'll take this opportunity to share two more of our table names that are one-of-a-kind Sacramento neighborhood originals. The first is in Carmichael and the second in the River Park area of East Sac. Can you tell yet that we love Mexican and Italian food? My question is...who doesn't!

El Palmar

Located in the heart of Carmichael, this neighborhood Mexican restaurant is a staple in our restaurant rotation. The food and service are equally amazing…and while [FH] is adventurous and tries lots of wonderful dishes on the menu, Ryn is positive that nothing is better than the chicken tacos. El Palmar is so good we happily venture into [FH’s} old neighborhood to fill up on chips and salsa.

Our Favorite Dishes:
Arroz con Pollo

Crispy Chicken Tacos

They don't have a website, but check out the Yelp reviews.

http://www.yelp.com/biz/el-palmar-carmichael

Mama Susanna's

Located on Carlson near Sacramento State, Mama Susana’s is our not-so-secret neighborhood secret. Of all the wonderful dinners and company we’ve enjoyed over a great meal, Ryn especially enjoys going with her Bunco Girls. She says that the pasta and wine just taste better with lots of laughter and funny stories.

Our Favorite Dishes:
Spaghetti Vongole

Penne Rustica