Nowhere Near The Storm

Although the weather here has become slightly cooler, I am the in Dallas/Ft. Worth area and not getting any rain from the hurricane down south. So anyone wondering if I am washing away, I'm barely seeing clouds today. So thanks for your concern!

I have no news today. I am home taking a day for myself and getting some things done. I hope everyone has a wonderful day!

17 Days, But Whose Counting?

Tick-tock, right? Actually, I am doing pretty good. The stress is minimal, and things are on track. What's the scary thing now? Trying to make time to practice dancing for our reception. I have been trying to contact a dance teacher here in the area, but won't return my calls or emails, so I will take the hint and keep looking. If anyone is interested in hiring Gene Willman for dance instructions, I would say keep looking! He won't contact you back!

The weather has been unreal! It is gorgeous outside! David and I celebrated the weather with dinner on the patio at OTB, followed by enjoying our own patio last night. I am loving this weather and I hope it stays like this for a while!

And a big shout out to my friend Holly who got a new job within the company at one of our regional offices! Go girl! I know you are much happier! :)

So that's it for today. No real news, just mindless chatter. I wish I had something more substantial to share, but no such luck. So just enjoy the weather! David and I are having dinner with Grampa tonight. :)

Have a good Wednesday!

Slug-Like Behavior

I got home last night and just ran out of energy! We ran some errands and grabbed a quick dinner at Chili's and after that I was useless! (I was in bed before 9!!) But it was nice to get some good sleep.

I failed to mention yesterday...HAPPY BIRTHDAY, ANGELA!!! I know she prefers to hibernate for her birthday, but I love you, girl! Hope it was good! :)

It's been really busy up here at work, but the word is spreading that I got a promotion and I am having people email me lots of nice congratulatory things. September is quite a month with the promotion and wedding! As much as I am looking forward to the wedding, I am really looking forward to the honeymoon, and a week of more sloth-like behavior as I lay around on the beach and have a cabana boy bring me cocktails. Yes, it's going to be a good vacation! :)

Saturday night is my bachelorette party, and I don't know what to wear! We're going to dinner and then going dancing, and I am really looking forward to it! Sunday is Kevin's fiance's wedding shower, and I am helping to host. So it's a busy weekend! Oh, we also have our final floral appointment on Saturday morning. I am looking forward to that, too. :) Friday night I am going shopping for my super-fab outfit for Saturday night. (I am also picking up a few responsible looking outfits for my new job, too!)

I am no longer having wedding nightmares about things going horribly wrong. I am at peace with all of our arrangements and there is very little left to do. I need to get the wedding favors together (homemade bourbon pecans!), and print out a handful of programs...just to make sure we have enough. But I think most everything is ready, and I will be glad to have it all done.

One more important note for today...God bless all those who were affected by 9/11/01. It's been 6 years ago, and so many families are probably still dealing with grief.

An Open Letter To Britney Spears

Britney,

The whole world seemed to wait for you to have an awesome performance last night on the VMAs...people are cheering for you to succeed and show everyone that you're a born performer and not as crazy as the tabloids say you are.

Oh girl, your train totally derailed last night.

What the heck happened? First of all, you were lipsynching...you couldn't even get that right! Were you stoned or drunk? Your eyes were vacant, and you literally stumbled through your performance. And hair extensions...you make enough money to go get some good extensions. You looked awful! I hear you like to do your own makeup...did you do the extensions yourself, too? You looked like you had checked out way before you even got onstage.

The song itself isn't so bad. It has a good enough groove to dance to at a club, so I'm not blaming you for bad music. (I kinda like the song!) But seriously, I think what the world wants for you is first and foremost that you get sober. It's VERY evident that you have some sort of substance abuse issue. (c'mon...even Lindsey attempts rehab!) You have two kids that need parents. K-Fed is looking like a very responsible parent compared to you, girl. Quit acting a fool and get yourself together. If we never see another performance from you again, let it be because you decided that being a good mother is what your #1 priority should be. (You know, you can still be a great mom and pop star! It's possible!) Next, you need to wear clothes that work for your body. Let's face it...the sparkly bra and boy shorts don't go with the beer belly. (And I'm not judging about weight...I'm just suggesting more body-appropriate clothes!) There are plenty of looks that would have been much better for you. And if you can't stand up on your own, don't wear your best hooker-heels to dance in.

You had a lot of people cheering for you. You let everyone down. Girl, you should have cancelled your performance and stayed home with the kids. I just don't see a "comeback" happening for you. You need to get right with your family and get yourself together. You only get one shot at life...try to do it right.

Less Than Three Weeks!

We are officially under the three week mark until the wedding, and I can't believe it! I keep feeling that there are things I need to be doing, but everything is really under control. I just have a handful of things to do, but they are small details. So I guess I am almost ready! I have a meeting with the florist once more this week, and then she'll be ordering the flowers. :) This is also my last full week in my current position. I am beginning my transition to my new position beginning next week, and I am very excited about that! I am ready for a new challenge.

We had dinner with my cousin and his wife last night to celebrate his birthday. it was nice to just get to hang out with them last night. We haven't done that in a really long time, and it was fun. We made dinner, hung out, and played Guitar Hero on the PlayStation...and had a blast!

Today is the day David has been waiting for...the "real" start of the football season! He is on the couch right now flipping between two games. I like football, but I am too restless to invest myself in a game right now. I do plan to watch the Cowboys tonight, though.

I think I am going to finish the wedding programs today and get that done. I need to figure out what to wear for my bachelorette party next weekend. That's going to be a good time, and I can't wait! We're going to do dinner and dancing. (No, we're not going to a strip bar...it's not my bag, baby!) I need to start planning the outfit now!

Everyone have a relaxing Sunday!

I Do! Oh, not yet?

Yeah, I am a dork. We went to get our marriage license yesterday, and when the JP asked us to raise our right hand a swear that the information we provided was correct, as David said "yes", I'm over there being Goober-Bride saying "I do!" Needless to say, both David and the JP laughed at me. :) Hey, I was practicing!

It's been busy here at work. My manager and his boss are both a little panicky that I am moving to a new position on another team. Sorry, but I guess they should have managed their teams better! I am so excited about my new position! I feel so grown up now! (And I got a good raise, too! Yay!)

So all is good right now. I am much less stressed now that the reception is paid for, and there isn't much left to do. :) I am a happy bride these days, although I feel like we are passing each other coming and going. We've been so busy! Every time we turn around we have something we need to do. I am glad that we get to slow down this weekend. We are having Craig and Jen over to celebrate Craig's birthday Saturday night. David is doing a brisket, and it should be pretty amazing! I'm going to make cupcakes, too. :)

I think that's about it for now. Have a good Thursday!

The Marriage License

Holy cow...we're going to get our marriage license today! This definitely feels surreal to me. After that, we're going to Grampa's for dinner tonight. I haven't gotten to see him in a few weeks, so I am looking forward to it!

Tomorrow David heads out again, but will be home on Friday, so it's not a long trip. Saturday night we are planing to have my cousins over for dinner to celebrate Craig's birthday....we didn't have time last weekend, so we will this weekend! :)

It's been crazy busy here at work. I am ready to call it a day. But I have my mid-year review this afternoon. After that, I am out of here!

28 Days and Counting

Well, my dress is altered and finished and at the bridal shop to be stored and steamed! Very exciting! I have done the trial run on my hair and makeup, and I had a facial this morning. There are just the little details left now, and I am getting very excited!! Less than a month...holy cow! Tuesday we got get our marriage license, and I think that will feel very surreal.

In other news, I got a promotion and a raise yesterday! It's been long-overdue and I couldn't be any happier! I am going to dinner tonight with the family to celebrate. :) David managed to get an earlier flight home, so he gets to go celebrate, too! :)

I don't have much other news...I'll be on my honeymoon one month from today! Woo-hoo! :)

Everyone have a wonderful holiday weekend!

Have A Seat? No Thanks!

So my wedding dress is done except for adding the straps and one very special little detail. But I tried it on and loved it! It's not built for comfort, that's a fact. And sitting down? I don't know if that's going to happen. We all know I am not a supermodel-sized girl, so there are some mechanics going on under the dress to smooth things out and make me look nice. That, and the dress has a fair amount of boning in it to make the bodice lay just right. It's beautiful! But not good for sitting! Thankfully I have very comfy shoes (thanks to Born footwear!) and will also have some flip flops in case I need to change...but I doubt I will. So while I may look lovely, I will probably be wishing that I could sit gracefully. :)

I met with our reception coordinator. She replaced the one we had that I loved so much, and I had a lot of reservations about a new person this far into the game. Turns out that I ADORE her!! And sadly, the other girl that I loved wasn't on top of things like our new girl, whose name is Heather. Heather and I have the very same organizational style, so I feel like she gets me. And she has been in this business for a long time and knows what's what. So I am feeling so much better about things!! I wrote the check for the reception, and we talked for two hours about all the reception details. I am really excited about everything! :) So now I can focus on other details because I know things are on track. :)

Today I am having a bridal shower here at the office, and I am excited about it. Although it does start to feel funny when you think about people pretty much just gathering to watch you open stuff. It's a little awkward, but very flattering! :)

So that's it for now. I hope everyone has a great Thursday!

33 Days - Holy Cow!

I can't believe it! 33 days! We had a very busy weekend, but we got some wedding stuff accomplished so I feel good. We got David measured for his tux, we had the final cake tasting (that was sheer torture...eating cake is a tough job, but someone has to do it!), celebrated the 2nd birthday of my very soon to be twin nephews...and that was all on Saturday! Sunday was much less busy with regards to running around like madpeople, but we still got lots done. We relaxed, did some housekeeping, and vegged for a bit. But during the evening, we watched about three hours of the Discovery channel's Blue Planet series. All three episodes were about sea life and let me tell you, there are some scary looking things living deep in the ocean! I thought some of those things were made up, but they're real! I am never going into water I can't see the bottom of...those creeped me out!

However, while watching all this, we finished up the confetti packets for the reception, as well as discussing other details. Tonight we are working on wedding day logistics and how to get everyone and everything where it needs to go on the big day. We're also going to work on the seating chart. (Don't worry...we're doing it so that we can match up people who might not know anyone else with other people who they might enjoy getting to know! It's not like a second grade classroom seating chart!) Mom has gotten the decor for the rehearsal dinner taken care of, and it's going to look great! We found someone who actually has enough chairs and tables for us to borrow, so we won't even need to rent them! (We're catering our dinner at Angela's beautiful house!) Everything is really falling into place and I am getting excited again. For a while I just wanted to hide from everything wedding related. It gets to be a lot of stress! (I had no idea!) I used to make fun of the Bridezilla shows. Although most of those women are over the top rude and tacky, I do understand how they get stressed and a little snippy with people. (That does NOT excuse just flat out bad behavior!) You just want everything to be beautiful and to look like you envision. I am learning to just trust that it will all be OK. I am also not good at delegating, so I need to remember that I am surrounded by wonderful people who are here to help. (I have people ask me all the time what they can do to help me!) All will be well...I need to relax and breathe.

So that's it for today. Plenty of rambling. It's only going to get worse in the next 33 days!

For Rachel in North London

A fellow blogger has lost her mother this week after a stroke followed by many complications. If you haven't stopped to read Rachel in North London, she is a survivor of many things, most notably for me of the London tube bombings. She's turned her experience into a fight for justice and for those who did not survive. (A link to her blog is listed on the right of this page) My most sincerest of prayers goes out to her family. I thought I would share the lyrics to one of the most beautiful songs I've ever known:

O Earth, lie heavily upon her eyes; Seal her sweet eyes weary of watching.
Earth, lie close around her; leave no room for mirth
With its harsh laughter, nor for sounds of sighs.

She hath no questions, she hath no replies,
Hushed in and curtained with a blessed dearth Of all that irked her from the hour of birth;
With stillness that is almost Paradise.
Darkness more clear than noonday holdeth her,
Silence more musical than any song;
Even her very heart has ceased to stir;

Until the morning of Eternity
Her rest shall not begin nor end, but be;
And when she wakes she will not think it long.

-Christina Rossetti

Just Stuff

Nothing of importance today...just random stuff. Mom and I went to look for goodie bags for the kids at the wedding reception. Found lots of fun stuff to put in there. We really want the kiddos to be entertained, so we're also hiring a clown for them so that their parents can enjoy the reception, too.

I think I am starting to feel ready to get stuff done again. I am meeting with the coordinator for the reception next Wednesday. Oh, and I am writing her a very large check. Ugh! But I am looking forward to meeting her. I'll feel much better about things when I do. David is getting his tux measured on Saturday morning, so we'll get that out of the way. Then we get to eat wedding cake! Yay! We're doing our final cake tasting on Saturday afternoon and I am looking forward to that. I have to remember to go next door to the paper shop to get more paper for the table cards at the reception. There is still much to do!

Tonight I am going to Toys R Us to buy birthday gifts for the nephews. They are twins and turn 2 this weekend. They are getting a very good art easel and a couple of Ugly Dolls. (If you haven't seen them, Google them - very funny and cute!)

Somewhere in all this I am trying to squeeze in a trial for my hair for wedding day. I have 37 days to get this mess together!! Ugh!

Time Off For Mental Health

I had to day a day off work yesterday. It's just been so busy, and I am feeling overwhelmed sometimes. It's nice to just take a day to do nothing. We were going to go to the museum, but it was closed on Mondays, so we saw the Bourne Supremacy. Good flick!

I've had two fittings on my wedding dress, and it's fitting nicely! It doesn't gap on top anymore, so I look much better. I would post pics from the first time I tried it on, but I just can't since David drops in. I'll post pics after the wedding. Really, more like after the honeymoon. Hopefully our resort in Jamaica is still standing! The honeymoon is what I am really looking forward to! :)

I've taken a break from wedding stuff. I have 39 days...I really can't do that, but I needed to so I did. Oh, and in the midst of all this, I am planning another wedding shower for someone else. I think I am crazy. I am also a "groomsperson" in Kevin's wedding, and I am excited about that. It's always nice to be part of someone's wedding! :)

I think that's about it. We have a busy weekend with cake tasting (the final!) and family birthday stuff. Whew! I am also hoping to squeeze in a trial run on my hair. So much to do!

Oh, and a very happy (belated!) birthday to Blonde!! :)

Everyone have a good evening!

Sick :(

I have really had a time with my allergies this week. I went home early from work to rest, and I think it was a smart move, as I am feeling better today.

David and I have a date tonight...we've designated some time to spend together with little to no wedding talk, and I am good with that. We're trying to make sure we don't get lost in all the wedding stuff!

Tomorrow night we're going to see Mia's husband's band play, and that should be great! I haven't seen them in a while and they have a bunch of new stuff to play. (If you're in Dallas, be sure to make your way out to the What Bar by 9pm to see them!)

It should be a nice weekend. Not much going on during the day, and just a few things planned at night. :) And I get to sleep in! Yay!

Have a good weekend everyone!

Long Week

It feels like this week is going to drag. I am feeling kind of crummy...congestion and sneezing. I refuse to get sick. I'm the bride, dammit! I can't be sick!

I don't have much news...it's just a boring Tuesday. I'd rather be home in bed.

Shout out to my homegirl...you know who you are!

Showered With Love!

I had another bridal shower this weekend, and it was wonderful! This one was put on by my awesome bridesmaids, and they did such a fantastic job! The food was good, the punch was awesome (hello...rum punch!!), and the guests were very generous. David and I have so many wonderful things for our home as we get set to begin the next phase of our lives together. :)

And we got a toaster!!! (Ours died back in May, so this was a wonderful gift!!!)

We went to David's brother's house yesterday, and my FSIL (future sister-in-law) and I took her daughter to a salon for the younger ladies to get her hair done and a mani/pedi. She was adorable! We had lunch, and then she bought David and I our wedding gifts, so again, we are surrounded with very generous people! :)

The weekend went much too quickly, and it's a busy week for everyone. I hope you have a good Monday!

We're Officially Having A Wedding

Invitations went out on Tuesday, and people were already getting them yesterday! It's so exciting! Now it's getting to be crunch time...so much to do! I have been a little bit of an anti-bride lately...sort of avoiding stuff that needs to be done, but now is the time to get moving on this stuff. I have a lot to do. I was supposed to hear from the new wedding coordinator at the reception site yesterday but she didn't call. This doesn't instill a lot of confidence for me. I'll keep trying to set up a meeting with her, though. I just need to meet with her and go over everything...I'll feel better when I do.

I have a bridal shower on Saturday, and my five wonderful bridesmaids have put much time, effort, and money into making it special. I know it's going to be wonderful! :)

Tonight we are cleaning. Something we have needed to do for a while!

Have a good Thursday!

Back from Sin City

Yeah, I had a great trip! It was very low-budget, so not much gambling or shopping. Lots of walking around and just having a good time people watching. I wasn't feeling very lucky, so I wasn't tempted to gamble, which was good. We have a bunch of people to feed on September 29th! We hung out at the pool at the Venetian for a couple days, so I got some sun. :) We didn't stay at the Venetian, but we snuck into the pool area and had a blast!

Now that I am back home, I am diving back into wedding stuff. I actually tried to take a break from it last week. My head was going to blow up. There's a lot to do and barely over seven weeks to get it all done. Ugh!

Not much news to report. Hope everyone has a good Monday!

Vegas, Baby!

Yep! I'm heading out to Las Vegas tonight. I'm in need of a break, and this ought to be a fun one!

If I win any money, I'll be shocked! :)

Have a good weekend everyone!

Happy Anniversary Mom and Dad!

My parents have been married for 38 years now! I am lucky enough to have the best parents ever, and I think that 38 years together is so wonderful and special. Not everyone gets to have that in their lives, and they are truly blessed. I love you guys so much! :)

That's the news for today! Just a short entry to celebrate my parents! Love you guys!