Here I Am :-)

I was kindly reminded a couple of weeks ago that I am a slacker with my blog. I'd have to agree. Things are moving and shaking, so here is an update in no particular order!

Ceremony at Turner Road Church of Christ: check

Dinner party at Spaghetti Warehouse: check.

We have secured a party room, where I can decorate. Table in U-shape, so everyone sits next to everyone (family style I call it). I have purchased everything to make these for table decor (along with 3 small fresh flower arrangements courtesy of Nancy):

Dress: check

To arrive early September. I also have a champagne'ish colored sash that wraps twice around my waist and ties at the side. Ivory dress

No veil: check

Handmade headband

Shoes: check

It is soooo difficult to find very low heels that are pretty. But I finally found them:

Guest book: check

I plan on keeping a journal of our honeymoon in this also

Honeymoon: check

Disney, here we come! Animal Kingdom Lodge for 5 days. Yes, this is our room view

It's all coming together! And I am super excited :-)

Reuniting

This is me and my bff from highschool....and up until I was about 26. I have not seen her since then. Through the glory of FB, we have reconnected. She has since moved to Indian Lake to be near her family. I am driving to see her tomorrow and reunite with the entire family. I am super stoked and look forward to filling that void that's been so prevelant for too many years.

Appointments & Hair Jewelry

I have decided against a veil. Instead, I have opted for a hair piece a.k.a. hair jewelry. I love this piece and am seriously considering buying it. And since the web site would not allow me to copy it, I snapped a photo w/my trusty camera phone:

I'm pretty sure I've found my shoes too:

I have made my appointment with The Flower Man. Consultation to discuss me doing my own flowers there. I'm shooting for something w/mango calla lillies and berries.

I have made my appointment with Ele (fka Taste of Elegance) for cake consultation too! This, I have no idea what I want. I think I'll leave the cake & icing flavor to Don.

Next weekend we are meeting with AAA vacation planner for honeymoon planning.

I'm having a ball! :-)

Spitting Out Mail Pouch Tobacco & Other News

We realized half way to our Mail Pouch destination that the house sat in a bad school district. So, that was a quick decision of "NO".

In other news...

I bought my dress yesterday! And no, I'm not posting it. Bad luck. I'll just say this: I LOVE IT! And it's perfect for my evening, not-so-formal event. It is ivory with a matte gold sash that ties at the waist and is mid-calf in the front, and ankle length in the back. A-Line. Strapless. I'm glad I went now, and purchased it now, because it won't be here until September. If I would have waited until this summer, as originally thought, I would be out of luck w/my perfect dress.

We have also decided to have a dinner party afterwards, at the Spaghetti Warehouse downtown. They have a party room in the back that is perfect and secluded from the rest of the restaurant's general population. The price is right, the atmosphere is cozy & fun, and the food is good.

We have struggled w/finding a church that would marry us (1.) w/o being a member, and (2.) because of me having been divorced. It is important to both of us to be married in a church. I believe I might have struck gold today with a little church down the road. I am going to stop by during lunch tomorrow to scope the place out while they hold their annual rummage sale. They have the date open and are willing to marry us w/o any hassle.

Next weekend we are meeting with a vacation planner from AAA to help us figure out a honeymoon destination. You'd think I could figure this out on my own, seeing as I plan corporate travel, but vacation travel is entirely different and I am caving to the need of help.

That about covers it! I've been a busy little bee

Chew Mail Pouch Tobacco

We are house hunting again (?)

We have 4 months to decide what to do w/our current housing:

1. Does Don keep his current job and we stay local?
2. Does Don find a new job and we move some place not local?
3. Do we keep our current lease for another year?
4. Do we buy a house?

Lord only knows what the right decision is.

We have, however, started driving by houses on the off chance that something wows us. So far, not so good.

BUT...we are going to drive by a house in Germantown tonight that looks like a renovated old farm house that sits on a few acres that has an original Mail Pouch tobacco barn sitting on the property. It's kinda groovy!

Trying to find a house that can be affordable on Don's income alone is no small task. The long list of wants vs. needs in a house under a certain amount is near impossible let me tell ya. But it's what we are trying to do, and important to both of us, so that when we have babies, I can stay home the first few years with them. That is something that is incredibly important to me.

I'll report on the mail pouch house after we see it

staring at a blank wall

For the first few days after we decided on our official wedding date, I was in my own little world, thinking my own little thoughts, shutting the rest of the moving world off. My head was buzzing with ideas, questions, and the like. At one point, Don said "you haven't been the same since we set a date. Alot of times you are staring at a blank wall." LMAO! I told him it was because I had alot going through my head and was trying to sort it all out. I have since taken note of my weirdness and am trying not to be so focused on staring at that blemish in the paint that takes me far far away into wedding neverland.

So far, this is what we've got:

1. Date: November 12.
2. Time: 7pm
3. we have decided on a church wedding. still haven't found one yet. apparently most churches want you to be a member before they'll marry you. The nerve! (just kidding)
4. Dinner party afterwards at a restaurant. I'm thinking about the top floor of Bullwinkles in downtown Miamisburg. It's a quaint little area and will comfortably seat our small guest list and already have ambiance w/o having to pay for it. Buffet style. Free space. Good food. I like it. I meet w/the manager next Tuesday to go over their catering menu and possibly put the date in pen on their books.
5. My matron of honor, my best friend for my whole life, will wear a simple black dress of her choice.
6. I am doing my own flowers. Only need 2 bouquets and 2 boutaneirsdfkjadfl (or however you spell that), and a couple of nice arrangements for the dinner party. The Flower Man in Centerville will order the flowers you want and allow you to put them together at their shop to save cost! I'm all over that one. I think I can handle it, it's in my DNA to do so.
7. I am going dress shopping next Tuesday. Have an appt at 11:00. Cincinnati Bridal & Formal. I refuse to fight the bitchy pushy women who go there on Saturdays. I'm too old for all that hoo-ha. I'll take a personalized appointment please.

Sooo, in a nutshell that is about it for now!

Houston, We Have A Date

November 14, 2009. SIX MONTHS! Ugh, my head is spinning!

Hair Be Gone!

I seriously contemplated taking another 4 inches off to give my hair to locks of love, but I almost vomited at the thought of it.

The Other Woman

Now that Don is finally done working on his car, I don't feel like I am competing for his time anymore! If you've been wondering what this time sucker has looked like, here she is in all her glory:

Finally Home

Backing Her In:

Proud Fella's

WHEW!!!!!!!!!!

P.T. For Me

Sooo...about 7-8 weeks ago I tried pulling a heavy futon mattress up a flight of steps. By myself. Because we all know that sometimes you can't wait for a man to help you with things. I pulled and pulled. Until I heard 3 distinct pops come from my wrist. I stopped what I was doing. Saw the doctor the next day, as it was really bothering me. She x-ray'd it. No breaks. Good news. Two weeks later, not any better. Saw her again. She assures me it's a sprain and to stop wearing my brace. That I need physical therapy. I blow it off, considering I work out 3 days a week and that should be PT enough. Right? Now 5 weeks later, nothing has gotten any better. In fact, it's worse. I start wearing my brace again. I make an appt w/an ortho guy who sends me off for an MRI. Today, results are in. Nothing is showing up on the MRI. So, we're back to sprain. However, he's not encouraged by the fact that we are approaching the end of 2 months and it's still an issue. 4 weeks of physical therapy 3 times a week. If by the end of that 4 weeks we're not all better, i have to see a hand specialist. YIPPEE SKIPPY

Take II

Gatlinburg plans have been 86'd. To tell you the truth, I wasn't terribly thrilled about that idea anyway, even though it did have it's definite cons. Instead, we are tossing around the idea of staying local. Keeping with the original 26 people, we would have them come to a church ceremony, followed by a small, simple shin-dig at mom & dad's house. The following day, adios amigos...fly the friendly skies to some place new and exciting for a week's worth of honeymooning. THIS idea, has many more cons than the original plan. Me likes.

For those who wanted to see what the "cat's ass" looked like, here's a link:

http://www.majesticmountainvacations.com/cabin.asp?property_id=1749

Let the planning begin!

FINALLY I am jumping on the wedding plan bandwagon. After weighing the best options for us, we are choosing to go the Gatlinburg route. Not too far away so people can drive, can house everyone in the same chalet because it won't be a huge blow out wedding, provides a nice atmosphere, loads of extra's around to do, on and on and on.

This was all decided last night. We decided a month (September), where (Gatlinburg), guest list (under 30 people), housing (huge chalet), and a trial run to scope it all out (June). So today, I have done nothing short of scour the internet for chapels, chalet's, etc. I have booked some travel, but nothing was pressing for me today, so I've been surfing to the extreme. I have been looking for 10-12 bedroom chalets and ran across a place that is the CAT'S ASS. We can get married there, house everyone, swim, enjoy a bar, jacuzzi's, it sits on 6 acres, etc, etc. I pray that I can talk Don into us spending this much cashola for a few nights. It is seriously cheaper than if we were going to have a wedding and reception locally. Once I get this in check, I'll post a link for your viewing pleasure.

I am leaning AGAINST a chapel. I seriously can't stomach the plastic, fake flower, brass candle holder decore they all adorn. Get married by a waterfall: cool, however, the older people in my family would never make it through the terrain to get there. Gazebo: doesn't interest me. Overlooking the mountains: kinda cool, but most likely a hike through some grassy area. Local church: possibily.

So, that's my update after 2 months of being dormant. I believe I'll be a little more active now.

Road Kill?

Noooo, that's just my little Luca! While laying on the couch last night, Luca crawled up with me and fell fast asleep. She wiggled her way around to her back and up the little feet went. She looks so funny when she does this and I never have a camera around. My trusty camera phone was within reach last night so I caught the Kodak moment.

3D Dork

I went to see My Bloody Valentine in 3D last night with a girlfriend from work. We laughed and laughed and laughed about how goofy those stupid 3D glasses were on each other. I knew mine felt crooked, now I see why. They really ARE crooked! Good to know my ears aren't lopsided.

United States of Tara

If you are not a subscriber to Showtime, you probably haven't even heard of this show, which made it's debut this week. The preview for it looked interesting, so I set my DVR to record it. Last night I watched it and I think I have a new favorite weekly show to watch! United States of Tara is a comedy about a wife/mother with multiple personalities. Produced and written by Diablo Cody, whom is a former stripper who just happened to write this random unrelated screen play and was figured out by someone, now she's made it to prime time (as well as the big screen with Juno) as a producer/writer. Unbelievable. United States of Tara is a two thumbs up from me. Watch it if you get the chance.

I love my work out routine!

Tonight, after wreaking havoc on my body for the past two days with pilates and body sculpting, we are going to Mama Disalvo's for a big pile of carbs. Bring on the pasta!

I will admit, I really do love my workout routines that I started this week! I am actually having fun...which is a first for me. Even though it hurts to sneeze today because my abs are so tight, it's going to be well worth it. Yay me!

Bandwagon

I'm jumping on the first of the year resolution to exercise bandwagon. Tomorrow, I start pilates. Thursday I do body sculping. MAYBE, just MAYBE, I'll unpack the P90X program I spent a whole car payment on last year. Wish me luck in my effort to touch my toes for the first time in a bazillion years.

Back To Reality

For the first time in my 9 year career with my employer, I was fortunate in 2008 that I had enough vacation time left to take a substantial amount of time off around Christmas and New Years. It was thoroughly enjoyable and getting up to an alarm clock this morning really bit a big one. Also having a very hard time focusing my ADD brain on work. Hence, I am posting to my blog on the clock.

Christmas this year was very nice despite the running around, which I truly hate. Yes, call me a grinch, but I would love to spend Christmas at my house and have people travel to me. Selfish, I know. I got loads of wonderful loot this year. Including, but not limited to: a new Relic watch, ring holder for my new fangled bling, g.c. for mani/pedi, g.c. for cooksware so I can take some cooking classes, tix to Transiberian Orchestra (to be discussed further in this post), a snuggie, some angel paraphanalia to add to my collection, a beeee-a-utiful snow globe which shall remain displayed year round that has our engagement date and names engraved on it, and a new crockpot.

Sunday (yesterday) was a "Mandy Day" as Don would call it. All girls deserve that don't they? :) So...yesterday we went to an indoor gun range and shot guns for a while, which I always enjoy. Every time we go I am more interested in getting a carry/conceal permit, however I HATE shooting pistols and that is what you have to qualify with. I'm more a rifle girl. Who knew? After shooting we can a couple of errands and THENNNNNNN.....went to see the Transiberian Orchestra! That was one of the most incredible, intense, interesting concerts I have ever had the priviledge of being at. TRULY amazing and words do it no justice. If you ever have an opportunity to be a part of it, make the time. You will not regret it.

So back to the dulldrums of normalcy. Bah hum bug. Happy New Year.