Our beautiful present centerpieces have completely taken over the living room furniture. (And that's not all of them!) I think I can now say that I am an official, bonafide bow maker. :) They've taken me forever and a day to do, but they're exactly what I had in mind. I am in love with our centerpieces!
I just checked the 10-Day forecast for my area, and they are calling for a 60% chance of snow showers on the day before the wedding!!!
Now, I understand that most brides may not be excited about possible snow, but I am thrilled! I would love to have maybe a little dusting of snow on the ground for the wedding. Showers are pretty, yet not dangerous for family and friends to make it to the church. I wouldn't want a blizzard, but a little snow would be nice! It reminds me of driving down to Bluefield, WV for my cousin Jessica's wedding. My Dad and I drove down, and were greeted with snow showers on the way there. It was beautiful! There's something about snow, cold weather, Christmas time, going to a wedding...it's just so special. And this wedding is mine!
11 Days to go now...if you know what significance that number has, you'll know that once we make it past today, everything is grand. Love you all.
A long time ago, I mentioned that we needed to have engagement pictures taken. At first, they were incredibly important to me. Then it got to the point where I didn't care much, but I just wanted them done. After that, I really didn't care about them at all. However, since we're having a guest signature mat rather than a guestbook, we needed an 8"x10" of us for the middle. Em offered to take them for us over in Upperville, outside of the most beautiful church I've ever seen. (With a cobblestone courtyard, and a stone-fenced orchard overlooking rolling hills) Then, the weekend we had wanted to have them done, I wound up slicing my thumb on that Friday night. As lovely as my huge bandage would've looked in the pictures, we decided not to take the pics after all.
Then! Since we had put it off for so long, I had the bright idea of having the pics taken in front of our Christmas tree. My Dad agreed to take the pictures for us. So, I set up the tree, and decorated it on Saturday morning. I must say...Ryan must love me an awful lot, because he completely put up with me when I asked if he'd get dressed up at 5 o clock in the evening to take these pics. :)
The picture we decided on for the frame. It doesn't look as nice since I made the pic smaller.
Looking at each other
In front of the tree
I think this is really cute. :)
Another in front of the tree
Ryan has had enough! :) This is too cute.
Aside from taking pictures, we got a lot of wedding stuff done. I don't feel as stressed now, because it's all getting done. I will feel much better after this week, because I plan to have pretty much everything done and ready to go. I also started packing up my room yesterday. It was kind of strange to lay in bed last night and look around at my bare room. Bare walls, empty spaces where furniture had been--but I'm excited, too. This is the beginning of the rest of my life, and I'm so amazed by it all. As fun as the wedding planning has been, I can actually say that I'm just ready for the wedding to finally get here, so there's nothing else to "plan." I just want to marry Ryan, take a week-long vacation, and get started with our life together. It's such an exciting thought to me. :)
Hope you all had a great weekend, and I hope that it's a great day for all of you! :)
My Mom made blueberry muffins this morning..I brought some into work. She'll also be making her to-die-for homemade crescent rolls today for Thanksgiving. The Christmas decorations have been put up through the main streets of Herndon. That made me really happy this morning. :)
It's kind of like a Friday, but not. I mean, I work Friday, but hardly anyone will even be here, (like today) so that's always nice. I love when the office is quiet, and you can get more things done without distraction. I'm looking forward to snow days for that reason. Even though the kid in me would rather be out in the snow, the grown-up in me appreciates the fact that I can get more work done. The inner battle. :)
We had our second-to-last premarital counseling session last night. We were scheduled for an hour and a half; we were there for 3 hours. I can't tell you how much I appreciate our pastor, and how thankful I am for the sessions we've had with him. We've grown, we've learned, we've both been incredibly blessed by it. And I know that our marriage will benefit from it.
I'm really looking forward to the little break from life and work and wedding planning. I'm looking forward to spending time with family. :) And I hope it's a wonderful Thanksgiving for all of you! :)
Especially now, with less than 3 weeks left till the wedding, I've been at the gym constantly. So, I went over to the gym this past Friday night (yeah, a Friday night. Hey, it was pretty empty.) I hop on the treadmill, and suddenly notice how hot it is in there. I notice the fans are off, so I walk over and turn them on. I get back on the treadmill and go about my business. As I'm running, I notice it's not only not getting cooler, it's indeed getting hotter. It's practically a sauna! I figure that because it was so hot in there, and heat rises, the fan was probably pushing down the hot air; surely it will cool down soon. Ten minutes go by, I'm still running, and I'm starting to feel really dizzy. It's crazy hot in there. I finally decide to get off the treadmill and open a window. This heat is ridiculous. So, I unlock the window, push it up, and let go.
BAM! The window comes crashing down, and breaks. What on earth?! I look down, and I have two little cuts on one hand, and a teensy little cut over one knee where a tiny piece of glass must've hit. Not bad. A kid comes running into the gym, surveys the damage, and tells me he'll go get his dad, who happens to be the manager. Lovely.
I notice one of the small cuts on my hand is bleeding a bit, so I go to wash it off. It's not stopping on it's own, so I grab a paper towel and go back to the workout area. The manager comes in, looks at the window, looks at me, and asks, "So, what happened here?"
He was pretty nice, actually. He said that the windows will not stay open by themselves--they are extremely heavy, and won't "stick", (ie-stay open) to prevent burglary. He says it's not the first time it has happened, and in the future they plan on posting signs or sealing all the windows shut from now on. Also, the reason it was so hot is because someone messed with the heat, and it was close to 80. Yeah, kinda hot, no?
I felt bad about the window, honest I did. I still don't understand, though...why have windows that open if they can never be opened? Just didn't make any sense to me.
And now for something completely different! The wedding is 18 days away now! I am so, so excited. :) We have our second-to-last premarital counseling session tonight, and I've finished the ceremony outline for our pastor to look over. I've started a big "to-do" list to help me maintain my sanity, and help prevent me from laying awake every night thinking of all the little things I'll need to do, like I have for the past few nights. Really, sleep is more important to me right now. :)
They're forecasting a snow/rain mix on Thanksgiving! I'm really hoping it's cold enough for that, because I'd love to see a little bit of snow! Since Ryan and I both have to work on Friday, we're staying in town for Thanksgiving. We both really wanted to go up to see his grandparents, but it's a really long drive, and we both have to be up early on Friday. So, we'll just be spending Thanksgiving with my Aunt and Uncle, and my cousins Stephanie and Brad. Just a small group of us, but it'll be nice. :)
As one might imagine, I've had a lot going on recently, but I've finally posted the pictures from the bridal shower! To see them all, click here! :)
My weekend was really, really nice. Here I've been fretting about money like crazy, and you know what? God really provides. It gets to the point where you think, God, unless you throw me down money from the sky, I don't know how we're going to do this. And guess what? He provides. I just have to have faith that He will take care of us. When you reach that point of complete dependence on Him, that's when He shows you how VERY capable He is of meeting your needs.
On Sunday, Ryan and I moved all of the presents from the bridal shower over to *our* apartment. :) It really feels like it's not just his anymore, since so much of *our* stuff is filling it now. And to think, in 19 days, I'll be living there, too! Ryan brought everything up from the car as I opened packages, and hand washed all of our pots and pans, dishes, glasses, silverware etc. Then we determined where everything should go. So, so exciting. :)
This really has been the first day that I've been excited about Christmas.
Maybe it's the cold weather, maybe it's the Christmas music I was listening to as I was waiting on songs that I was downloading for our reception playlist. (Shhh!) I've been so focused on planning the wedding, anticipating my marriage to Ryan, and getting everything in order, that I just really didn't have time to look forward to Christmas. But now? I'm so excited.
Christmas is easily my favorite holiday, and the Christmas season is my favorite time of year. I love everything about it. Christmas, in our family, is the absolute best time. I have a huge family... my Dad is one of 8 kids, and my Mom is one of 3. My Dad's whole side is pretty much all in the area, so we were constantly together as I was growing up. My Dad's brothers and sisters were all born in Bluefield, West Virginia, and the majority have been spread out over northern Virginia, with a few in nearby southern states. We're "southern" by some people's standards in that we enjoy "southern," home-cooked food, we're Christians, and family, both immediate and extended, is of the utmost importance to us. At Christmas time, this is all especially true. I wouldn't trade my family for the world. They are the funniest, most wonderful people I know.
Now that I've got "Christmas!" on my mind, I guess I need to get a new layout up and running. This orange-y, pumpkin-y design is lovely, but last time I looked outside, there were no leaves. No pumpkins. No orange, anywhere. I was going to hold off till the day after Thanksgiving, but I see nothing wrong with doing things a little early. :)
Hope you all have a great Friday, and a wonderful weekend!
As Ryan and I were leaving our premarital counseling session last night, we ran into a couple we know in the lobby. They were in our membership classes, and they are getting married the weekend after us. "Only 3 weeks left for you guys, huh?" David asked.
3 Weeks.
Okay, so technically it's 3 weeks and 2 days, but this was absolutely shocking to me. It seems like just yesterday we had 4 months left. Now we have less than 1. And to think I was worried that time would crawl! Haha! Silly me.
I immediately went into panic mode, because I thought, surely, we have way too much left to do! But then I thought about it, trying to figure out exactly what we really have left, and you know what? There really isn't very much left to do at all.
I'm incredibly excited when I think of how fast it's all happening. I can't wait to be married to Ryan, and I can't wait to begin a new life with him. Our pastor last night was discussing Principle #8, which was about the importance of establishing family worship. He proceeded to tell us that being a family starts the day we say "I do;" we do not need to have children first before we are a family. The two of us will be a family as of 1:30 PM, EST, on December 10th. This was an incredibly exciting thought to me.
If you would, I'd appreciate prayer that the little things will all be cleared out of the way soon, and that everything will go smoothly leading up to/on the day of the wedding. I know that not everything will go exactly according to plan, but if you would pray that nothing big goes awry, I'd really appreciate it.
I am quite possibly the luckiest girl in the entire world. I have the best fiance, family, and friends I could ever imagine.
The last few days have been wonderful! On Sunday, Ryan took me to Fairfax, where we met up with my cousin (and bridesmaid!) Stephanie, and we waited for Jessica's train to get in. The train wound up being over an hour late, so Steph announces that we can't wait any longer, and must leave, because they made reservations. Surprise #1!
So, she blindfolds me, and we drive for about 40 minutes. They discuss how they left the Mapquest directions at home, and they are worried they might get lost. It feels like they turn around. Finally, they stop at a gas station for directions. Or, so I thought. They help me out of the car, and help me walk up a couple steps, and let me take my blindfold off. Surprise #2! THEY THREW ME A SURPRISE BRIDAL SHOWER!! Tons of family and friends are there, and I am absolutely stunned! I was completely speechless!
They had amazing food--honey ham, green beans with almonds, baked macaroni and cheese, homemade crescent rolls--not to mention the 5 or so desserts, including a delicious cake. I got to open presents, and was just overwhelmed by the generousity... Ryan and I got a lot of great stuff! And I start on my thank you notes today. :) My Mom took all the pics for the shower, so I'll probably post some of those tomorrow. I was completely, 110 percent surprised!
So, by the time we got to Steph's house and got to sleep, it was about 11:30. We had to get up at 2:30 AM to drive up to NYC and beat most of the traffic. We hit some traffic at the Lincoln tunnel, but still made it into the city and were parked by about 8:30. We all got a bagel at a little hole-in-the-wall bakery, and took it to Bryant Park to eat. The weather was gorgeous, and perfect, and most of the city had Christmas decorations up already. Love it! From there, we went shopping. We quite literally shopped till we dropped. Our poor feet.
We were able to check into the hotel, Amsterdam Court Hotel, at 3:00. Our room was so cute-- very modern, with THE most plush, amazingly comfortable beds ever. They had down comforters, fluffy pillows. Mmm. Given we were barely coherent at that point, we took an hour nap before dinner. They pulled out a pink jeweled tiara and veil, and a "Bachelorette" sash for me to wear to dinner and the show. So cute!
We went out to Ollie's for Chinese food--so yummy. I got a lot of congratulations from random people as we walked to the show. Oh, and one, "don't do it! It's not too late!", but that doesn't count. :) We went to see an off-Broadway show called Altar Boyz, which was about a Catholic boy band. It was hilarious! Steph had seen it before, so she knew it'd be a good one for us to see.
Us at dinner! Me, Jess, & Steph
Best part? Here I am in my tiara, veil, and sash. A total target. At one point in the show, the "lead singer" came into the audience, took my hand, and pulled me onto the stage, where he serenaded me! All the while I was thinking, this stuff never happens to me. It was surreal! After he finished singing, he asked my name, and I took my seat. It was way too fun! The show was awesome, and so incredibly memorable. After the show, we stayed and had them sign our programs. They wanted to know when the wedding is, where it's taking place, all that fun stuff. It was very cool. :) Then we had our picture taken with the whole group. I hope it turned out well!
From there, we headed back to the hotel, and played a game Jess found, "How Well Do You Know the Bachelorette?" Way. too. funny. Oh my goodness! I definitely am keeping their "score cards" with all of their answers. Around 1 in the morning, Steph and Jess decided they were hungry, and we walked to the nearest McDonalds, which is always open. Finally got to bed around.. oh, 2:30 or so. Jess had me open yet another present, which was....
That's the back! A lace thong with a veil on the back! HAHA!
Needless to say, the past few days have been so awesome, and I've had so, so much fun. It was so great being able to spend all that time with Steph and Jess. To think that my family, my friends, the people I care about, put that much effort into all of this... wow, it just blows me away. I am so, so blessed.
Steph took most of our pictures during the trip, and she's going to send them to me. I'll be sure to post them once I get them! Hope you all have a fantastic Wednesday!
I absolutely love this time of year. I love how it got down to 29 degrees last night. I love the crunch, crunch, crunch as I walked to my car this morning through the white frosted grass. I love chilly mornings, and I love the smells of fireplaces at night. I look forward to every season, but we're getting into my favorite time of the year.
So! It's Friday at last. :) I have a very busy, yet very fun weekend ahead of me! Tomorrow, my Mom and I are driving up to Maryland for a baby shower. My (second) cousin Mark's wife, Trish, is due the week after I get married. They're having a boy. Remember Casey, (CJ) my newest 3rd cousin? Jen is bringing him to the shower. Awwww, babies!
After church on Sunday, we're meeting with our ceremony hostess to go over all the details of our ceremony. Ellen, my C. hostess, said it will take about an hour and a half. Whoa. But it will be so nice to have all of the details hammered out. It'll be great having not one, but TWO people who have all the information about our wedding, and can make sure things are going the way they should be on the day-of. Then! Ryan will be driving me straight from the church to my cousin Stephanie's house. We're taking a "bachelorette trip" to NYC! It will just be Steph, Jess and I, and I am sovery excited! We'll stay at Steph's house Sunday night, get up crazy early Monday morning, and drive up. We'll shop, (of course) then we're going to see a Broadway show. I don't really know many other details than that. I'm not sure if we even really have a set agenda. :) I'm just so excited to get away for a couple days, from work and wedding plans, and spend some girl time with them. And of course, I adore NYC, so I'm very excited! It will be nice and chilly, and I know we'll have so much fun together. I will definitely bring back pics, too. :)
Hope you all have a great weekend, and I'll be back with a recap on Wednesday! :)
First off, I accidentally changed the settings on my Comments, and it suddenly was saying that I had to "approve" each and every comment before they'd show up. Huh? That's not what I wanted at all. So I published them all, and now there are a bazillion comments in the post below. And here I was thinking no one really cared about my political post! :) Anyway, it is fixed now, and all of your comments will show up from now on. I promise.
So, I was getting to the part about why I am not crazy. See, I started to notice it on Monday. I got out of my car when I got home, and there was this funny smell. The best way I could describe it was that it was like a burning electrical smell. I may know fairly little about cars, but it smelled like something just wasn't right. So, Ryan took a flashlight and looked at it briefly when he came over, but couldn't find anything out of the ordinary.
The next day? Just as bad. I popped my hood when I got to work, and laughed, because what the heck would I even look for?
Finally, last night after our premarital counseling, both Ryan and my Dad did a thorough investigation of "the smell." They were having a difficult time discerning between normal hot car smells, and this peculiar smell I was talking about. I said it kinda reminds me of the smell of burning wax. (If you've ever made candles, it's like that smell when you're melting it in a pot) So they sniffed, and they looked, and they concluded that I must have an amazing sense of smell, because neither of them smell anything at all! It's a rather helpless feeling when you really think something is wrong, but the key factor is something only you notice. It'd pretty much be pointless to take it to the shop, because they'd have to charge an arm and a leg to comb through the entire car to find this mystery smell, which they or may not actually find. I do feel better knowing both my Dad and Ryan have looked it over, but I'm still paranoid.
I guess this would be a good time to do that "10 Random Things About Me" survey thing that Joanne tagged me to do forever ago.
1) I noticed this just this morning. I don't consider myself to be claustrophobic in the least, but I absolutely, positively have to have the cover to my sunroof open at all times, or I feel boxed in.
2) I do my best thinking at night, as I'm trying to fall asleep. I should keep a notepad next to my bed, because I always get these great ideas, or think of solutions, as I'm trying to fall asleep. Which brings me to #3...
3) I take at least a half hour to fall asleep every night, because I can't get my mind to "turn off." It's a mixture between the darkness and the quiet which sets my mind into overdrive. Especially since I got engaged, since there's always something to think about when it comes to wedding planning.
4) My family has been over in America for so long, no one really knows for certain where we originally came from. I know I'm English, but I really don't know what else. I really want to talk to one of my relatives who is working on our family tree, because I'd be very interested to know.
5) It takes me nearly an hour to get ready every morning. It's not that I'm high maintenance, it's just that I move very. very. slowly. in the mornings, and I don't like to rush.
6) I've always known, since I was very little, that I wanted to get married young, and have a family. God willing, I'd like to have 3 or 4 kids. Which leads me to #7...
7) One of my biggest fears is that I'll be unable to have children. I think it's something that most people take for granted, that they'll be able to get pregnant someday. I guess it's such a huge fear because having children is something I want so badly.
8) I'm very concerned with spelling things correctly, and can find typos almost anywhere. However, in the one and only spelling bee I ever participated in, in 2nd grade, I didn't make it past the first round. Spelling on paper, or on the computer, is way different than spelling out loud.
9) I'm 5'9" (same as my birthday, May 9th = 5/9) and have been this tall since I was 13. I was taller than most of the boys, and wasn't too thrilled about my height until I got older. I have joked with my Mom (who is about 5'2") that she had a tall daughter so I could reach things in the top cabinets for her.
10) I've owned two horses in my short lifetime. The first was a chestnut quarter horse named Scatch, which I owned when I was 15. I sold him before I went to college. The second was a dark bay thoroughbred named Slew, whose granddaddy was the famous racehorse, Seattle Slew. I got him in 2001. The first one I basically worked to own. The second, I nearly went broke trying to keep. Someday, if Ryan and I ever have land, I really want to have horses again.
I went. I voted. Yet Democrat Tim Kaine won by 20,000 votes.
Explain to me how during a PRESIDENTIAL election, we're a Republican state, yet for local, state elections, we vote Democrat. Even more mind boggling is how we vote in a Democrat Governor, yet a Republican Lt. Governor and Attorney General! Not that I'm complaining, I'm just trying to show how ridiculous this is.
And why Kaine? His record is appalling! He's manipulative, deceitful, and lied through his teeth to get as many votes as possible. He reminds me of John Kerry, because he has voted one way, yet turned around and said he won't do that as Governor.
Right. For one, he's a Democrat, which means? Generally speaking, that means more spending. In a debate with Kilgore, he all but guaranteed that he will raise taxes if elected as Governor. He voted in favor of a "gas tax", he's all for removing the death penalty, he's all for abortion, (which I am strongly, strongly against) he supports the benefits of illegal aliens, and quite frankly, I just can't stand to look at the guy.
For Kaine, as with most Democrats, the solution is to throw money at the problem. After all, that's what's wrong with the public school system, right? All they need is more money, right? The public school system is so corrupt, the only thing that can possibly change it for the better is reform. If most Americans knew what we pay, per student, they would be downright furious.
I'll tell you why we voted in a Democrat. There are really several reasons. One? During the 2004 Presidential election, 61% of registered voters went out and voted. Not great a number if you ask me. But do you know how many voted in yesterday's state election? 44%. Somehow, in those 17% of voters, we lost plenty of Republican voters.
What's more, I really don't think Kilgore had the best ads. I know it's dumb to base your vote on a commercial, but the fact of the matter is, Kaine was more persuasive. Sure, he was lying through his teeth, but you saw so much of him that you couldn't help but be familiarized with his face and his name.
I found Kilgore to be endearing, and I agreed with his values. Those who say you don't mix values with politics, I quite frankly will never understand. And I felt he was a better fit for Virginia. We are supposedly a Republican state. I mean, we've just had Mark Warner, a Democrat, as Governor, and what did he try to do? He projected we'd have a deficit of 257 million dollars, his justification for wanting to raise taxes, and we wound up having a surplus! We haven't benefited from our past Democrat Governor, why would Kaine be any different? I felt it was definitely time to move on.
I should stop, I guess. Yes, I'm angry. More than anything, I'm angry that less than half of registered voters actually went out and voted. Voting is a privilege, and it seems like a lot of people can just take it or leave it. They don't realize how hard this country fought for that privilege, and they really must not care about how our state is governed. Very, very sad indeed. It also comes down to pride--for our state, and being proud of our country and those who have made it what it is today.
Today alone I've been told a) I have really nice hair, (by the lady in the toll booth--she was so nice!) and b) I should've gotten into politics. Who knew?
Oh, and if you're not in VA, I hope I didn't bore you to death. :) Back to my normal, happy, peppy self tomorrow!
It was such a busy, but fun weekend! On Saturday, we drove down to see Ryan's family. The trip down was so nice, because the leaves are in-peak, and were absolutely gorgeous.
Us before we left :)
Once we got there, I was completely shocked to walk in and there on the dining room table is a mock-up of the first tier of the wedding cake that I want! It even had the pretty white chocolate bow on top! My wonderful soon-to-be mother-in-law made this for us...how talented is she? I am so, so, so happy with it.
Needless to say, I was stunned! It is absolutely beautiful! :) And yes, it tastes as good as it looks! Yum. Ryan helped his Dad put up Christmas lights, while his Mom and I decided on the different flavors for each tier, and all of that fun stuff. They pulled out some baby/kid pics of Ryan so I can get to work on our photo montage. :) He was such a cutie! I've told Ryan that we absolutely have to have a little Ryan someday...
On Sunday morning we had our one-on-one interviews with an elder from the church. Ryan and I were able to interview together with an elder and his wife. I hadn't been feeling well all morning, but this was the final step in the process of becoming a member. We just had to give our testimonies of how/when we became believers, and how we want to serve in the church. Okay, so it was a little more than that..I think we talked with them for over an hour! Some friends we've made over the course of this 7-week process met up with us afterward, and we laughed about how we can relax because we "passed." :) Next Sunday we'll be introduced during the service as new members!
Eagles vs. Redskins Game -
The game was so much fun! FedEx Field is enormous...but we got a good parking space, and killed some time before the gates opened by hanging out around the "Staff Parking" lot and watching Redskins players come in. :) We saw Chris Cooley and Ryan Clark--those are the only two we could actually name. Both players ended up being influential in the game..
So, we waited in line for the gates to open, and found our seats. WOW, we were SO close to the field!
Here are our quarterbacks during practice! Mark Brunell and Patrick Ramsey. On a side note..Patrick Ramsey attends my old church!
Ryan and I before the game! See the red band? They gave out "Support Our Troops" bands.
Go Redskins!!
We won!! We won!!
Honestly, towards the end of the game, I was feeling pretty bad. No one in their right mind would've figured the Redskins would win. I was kind of hopeful that the Eagles would win, just because this was RYAN'S wedding gift from me, and I wanted it to be GREAT. As we were walking back to the parking lot, I told him that I was sorry that they didn't win. "It really was a pretty bad wedding gift, huh?" I asked. He shook his head, squeezed me and said, "Nah, I already have my wedding gift." Awwwww.
We didn't get back till 1:30 this morning, which is why I asked to have a half-day at work today. (I asked weeks ago, since I knew it'd be a late night) I took about 60 pictures in all, since my camera wound up dying, so I'll post a link to those tomorrow! Have a great Monday! :)
If you happen to be watching the Eagles vs. Redskins game on Sunday night, be sure to keep an eye out for us! We'll be in the 20th row, between the 10 and 15 yard lines. I'm not sure how cold it's supposed to be, since it's a night game and all, but we should be pretty easy to spot in our leather jackets and matching, ear to ear smiles. We're both so excited!
Tomorrow, we're driving down to see Ryan's family, which will be really nice. They're saying that the leaves are peak on Skyline Drive right now, so we might hit a little bit of traffic on the way there...besides, the weather is supposed to be gorgeous all weekend!
Mom did a lot more shopping yesterday, and bought basically every last thing we needed, right down to the big sparkly sleigh that will hold any cards we get. What's left??
I'm getting a little stressed when I think about all the things that I personally still need to buy before the wedding. Not sure how that's all going to work out. Running out of time, and paychecks. But it'll be fine--always is.
Hope you all have a quick and easy final work day, and a great weekend!
I was absolutely terrified of getting into my car this morning. It might have had a little something to do with the very unwelcomed spider that has taken up residence in my cute little car. On my way home last night, I noticed him on my windshield right in front of me, and he freaked me out. Of course, it wasn't so bad, because I could see him, and knew where he was. Then, however, he disappeared into my defrost vents. Shoot. So, imagine my surprise when I get home, and open my car door, which prompts my inside lights to come on. What do you know, the freaking huge spider scatters across my steering wheel while I'm still sitting there!
Yes, I freaked out. Completely.
Ryan doesn't understand my fear of spiders. He thinks it's irrational. Um, yeah, just wait until I add "I promise to kill your spiders for you" to his wedding vows. Kidding, of course, but still. He asked, "well, what if I tell you I won't kill them, and I make you stand up to your fears?" To which I replied, "that wouldn't be very loving!" (a premarital counseling thing..) He laughed.
My Mom and I got so much done last night! We met up at Michaels after I got off work, and went to town getting things we still needed. Got a gorgeous silver scroll basket for our wedding bubbles, and made a bow for it. We bought the 4-foot Christmas trees/topiaries that will flank the entrance to the banquet hall. And! We got the wrapping paper and ribbon for the centerpieces. Once we got home, I went to work on one centerpiece, then did a mock-up of how I want the tables to look.
I did this one by myself. I've never really done a bow before, so this was kinda my first try. I know it was hard to envision before, but hopefully the whole idea of "boxes as centerpieces" will make more sense now.
I am absolutely in love with it! It's exactly what I had envisioned!
And this, of course, is one of the trees that will stand at the entrance to the banquet hall! It's hard to tell, but they sparkle like a tree would after freezing rain. They're beautiful!
Also found additional bags of Christmas M&Ms! All but 20 favors are completely done now. (they look great!) Progress!
So, it was a very eventful evening! My Mom and I felt like we got so much done. Things are really coming along well.
Just 37 days to go! I can't wait.
My cousin Shelley was on the phone with my Mom last night, and remarked about how she's so excited about our wedding because it's going to be so unique. She said how it's going to be so unlike anyone else's because we're not copying anyone else's ideas, or following a typical pattern of how things should be. That made me feel really, really good. Half the fun of it is making it something that is special, and that family and friends will enjoy and remember.
I know a winter wedding will be incredibly gorgeous and all, but I swear, this is, like, the worst time of the year to get married. Why? Because it's right after what? Halloween and Thanksgiving, which are synonymous with what? Food. Operation Willpower, set.
Yes, I'm being facetious. (about it being a bad time to get married, that is.)
Anyway, we've made lots of progress with wedding stuff. There really isn't all that much left to do, honestly. First off, our boxes.
These will be our centerpieces. They don't look like much yet but they will very soon. They will be "elegant" presents.
Our favors! The Christmas M&Ms are in stores at last but they take roughly two big bags per container of 30 tins!
I mentioned that our guest signature frame came in. That would be it! It is enormous!
Now we're working on our music for the ceremony and reception. We pretty much have most of it picked out, but just need to burn them onto CD. Then I need to get to work on our photo montage. Yep, getting to the fun stuff!
We have 70 people who have sent back an RSVP "yes" so far! Lots of my relatives have been talking about how much they're looking forward to our wedding...which makes me so, so happy! I couldn't be more thrilled. The "please respond by" date is just 8 days away, and then we'll need to call those who haven't responded by then. We're hoping for 125 or so in all.
Alright, back to work. Love you guys! Hope you have a great Wednesday!
I'd love to introduce you all to my newest little third cousin! (Yes, third cousin--I have an enormous family!)
CJ and his mommy, Jen.
Casey James! (CJ)
How adorable is he? He was born just shy of midnight, so he was not born on Halloween. His daddy is my second cousin, Aaron, who is the son of my Mom's Aunt Rita. (though my brother and I always called her "aunt," too) Anyway, my Aunt Rita had two sons--Mark and Aaron, and both of their wives became pregnant around the same time! Mark's wife, Trish, is also having a little boy, and she's due the week after I get married. My Mom and I are going to her baby shower next Saturday! :)
It seems a little out of place now that the holiday is over, but here is the pumpkin that I carved last night.
That's pretty much it. :) I'm crazy busy today, so I hope you all have a good one!
Looking at each other
I think this is really cute. :)
Another in front of the tree
Us at dinner! Me, Jess, & Steph
CJ and his mommy, Jen.
