Weekend in Pictures

Wednesday night:

Finally saw New Moon. Loved it. Since I haven't read the books I only have the first two movies to go off of and I have to admit I'm batting for Team Jacob right now. Not only are his abs TDF but I think he's really sweet with Bella. Edward is a bit too skinny and pale for my taste however the last line of the movie OMG!! I'm tempted to go read Eclipse just to see what happens next.

Thursday:

Amazing dinner at Kristian's parents house. All of his aunts/uncles and cousins on his dad's side were there along with 6 dogs running around. It really was a full house. His mom decorated beautifully, everyone brought a dish or two and it was just the type of Thanksgiving I've always imagined having. We spent the rest of the night in a food coma.

Friday:

Kristian spent most of the day hunting and I spent most of the day laying on the couch except for a quick trip to Target. I left needing cat litter and came home with a new scarf, 4 necklaces and a few picture frames. Gotta love Black Friday deals. That night we played Christmas music and started decorating the house then finished by watching Love Actually which is one of my favorite Christmas movies.

Saturday:
Met up with my friend Lauren for lunch and had a chance to catch up and have some needed girl talk. Afterwards I stopped by Old Navy and took advantage of their sale and bought Kristian two new sweaters and two new pairs of jeans which unfortunately didn't fit. Then I met up with Kristian to hang out with his buddies including his best man Kevin who was in town from Texas. We all hung out and watched the VA Tech football game. His buddy Bryan ended up crashing at our place and the three of us had a great time talking and laughing. I'm so happy that I get along with all of his friends.

Sunday:

We had my mom and brother Michael over for a belated Thanksgiving lunch of blue cheese stuffed chicken wrapped in bacon, green beans, mashed potatoes, cherry pie and cupcakes from Georgetown Cupcakes which are in a word Delish! Oh and the last picture of us with the cats is going on our Christmas Cards this year. The cats hate us now and will probably pee on the carpet in retaliation but I couldn't resist.

Hope everyone had a wonderful holiday weekend!

Giving Thanks

This has been one whirlwind year for me, probably the most exciting and stressful year of my life to date and seeing how Thanksgiving is tomorrow I want to write about all that I’m thankful for this year.

Kristian—My best friend, my heart and my future husband. He has brought so much more joy into my life than I ever thought was possible. I never thought I would find someone to love me so unconditionally but he truly does and for that I’ll be forever thankful

Family—Both mine and Kristian’s…they have offered us so much support both emotional and financial when it comes to planning this little thing I like to call a wedding. We really couldn’t do any of this without them

Halpert and Wendal—AKA our furbabies. I don’t know how I lived so long without having a pet in my life. Even when they drive us crazy by waking us up at the ass crack of dawn, they make us laugh on a daily basis and bring us so much happiness.

Real Life Friends—Most of my close friends have been in my life for 10 years or longer, they’ve seen all my ups and downs and many of my crazy, stalker, why-the-hell-are-you-dating-him moments and for better or worse have continued to put up with me. I just hope they all know how truly thankful I am to have each and every one of them in my life.

Blog Friends- It’s amazing to me how connected I feel to people I’ve never met in real life (though I hope one day to). All of your support, advice and enthusiasm has really made the stresses of wedding planning so much easier. I’m so happy I’ve found you all and I look forward to continuing to share our lives. To sympathize with each other during sad times and rejoice together during happy times. A special shoutout to Ela who wrote easily one of the sweetest things ever about me today. You my darling are amazing!

J-O-B- As much as I hate waking up before the sun rises and dragging my ass to work M-F for 8 hours a day I am very thankful to not only have A job but one where I like my co-workers and clients, get paid well and even get Xmas bonuses. In these shitty economic times I realize how incredibly lucky I am!

Health- As of yet no pig inspired illness has invaded my body and I’m very thankful for that!

DVR- If it weren’t for you I would never be able to leave my house or keep up with my trashy reality shows like Real Housewives or Bridezillas

Internet- If it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t have ever found my job, been able to plan my wedding, met my bloggie friends or found the love of my life.

I hope everyone has a very Happy Thanksgiving!

BB&B

We decided that in addition to registering at Crate and Barrel we also wanted to register at Bed, Bath and Beyond so that our guests would have plenty of options. Also, because I LOVE BB&B.

Kristian's mom mentioned that some family members may decide to buy us xmas presents off our registry and that we should probably finish registering sooner rather than later. Since a lot of people do the whole Black Friday shopping thing we decidedto go last night while the store wasn't too crowded.

All the sales people were very friendly and helpful and overall we had a pleasant experience. Below are some of the items we registered for:

(Bedding for the guest room)

(New cookware)

(Large suitcase to take on the honeymoon!)

(Dual showerhead...yes please!)

(Keurig single cup coffee maker, we have one at my work and I LOVE this thing)

Thoughts? Suggestions?

Hits and Misses

Friday night-
Hit- Coming home to a newly cleaned condo courtesy of my loving fiancé who knew I was stressed out
Miss- Taking over an hour to get home because of traffic…hence the stress

Saturday-
Hit- Meeting with a florist that I think I will book to do our bouquets for the wedding
Miss- Getting a phone call on the way home from one of my vendors saying there is an issue with one of my jobs that is suppose to complete today. Spent the remainder of the weekend stressed out about this.

Hit- Getting to talk to my girl Kristen
Miss- Dialing her by mistake when I meant to call Kristian who is in my phone after her and thinking she was some skanky Ho answering my man’s phone
Hit- We got a great laugh out of it.

Hit- Going to a party at K’s friends house and meeting some cool people and eating some great cake
Miss- Driving K home while he puked both on the window (couldn’t get it down in time) and in TWO different bags. Guess that last shot of Bourbon was a bad idea!

Sunday-
Hit- Spending a lazy day on the couch, watching movies, eating pizza and interneting and also getting a great email from Liz who K now refers to as my “pen pal” haha
Miss- Not going to see New Moon b/c my date was too hungover to leave the house.

Monday-
Hit- Getting a very substantial X-mas bonus check!! Holla! The wedding fund will be getting a nice deposit this week!

6 Months!

Exactly six months from today I will be getting married! Holy SH*T! Where has the time gone?! I know from here on out time will fly by and May 22 will be here before I know it. Here's what has been taken care of so far:

DONE
-Venue
-Caterer
-Photographer
-Save the Dates sent
-Dress--ordered
-Shoes
-Pastor lined up
-Flowers--MIL will be doing reception flowers
-Mother of the Bride dress--ordered
-Bridesmaid dresses-picked out
-Jr. Bridesmaid dresses-I bought two potential dresses this weekend that I found for a great price. I will have the girls try on over Thanksgiving.
-Rehersal Dinner location picked
-Hotel room block reserved
-Honeymoon booked
-Registry--done at one of the two stores
-Invitations- picked out this weekend! We bought a kit with everything we need to print and assemble them ourselves.

To be done by end of 2009
-Book DJ-- getting a few quotes now
-Book Cake person--Kristian's sister has a friend, who use to be a pastry chef at the Ritz Carlton, that we'll probably use
-Book Florist for the bouquets--met with a lady yesterday, just waiting on her price quote
-Finish Registering
-Wedding Rings--plan to start shopping for these in the next month

Once 2010 hits we'll have to buckle down and finish up all the smaller details and DIY projects but at least the big ticket items will (hopefully) be taken care of.

I need a Xanax STAT

My whole life I’ve dealt with anxiety issues. When I was younger I use to get severe panic attacks which I’ve thankfully learned to manage however I go through periods where my anxiety level will be through the roof for an extended period of time. I’ve taken medication for it in the past which has worked but I wasn’t always a fan of the side effects or of having to take another pill every. single. day. I got off the medication about a year ago and for the most part things were fine however over the past few months I’ve noticed my anxiety level increasing again.

It wasn’t bad at first but now I’m feeling anxious ALL THE TIME. Even when I’m lying in bed watching t.v. I’ll have a knot in the pit of my stomach and my mind will be racing. I know that trying to plan and pay for a wedding on top of work, family, friend and general life stress doesn’t help. I hope that once the wedding is over things will calm down however I don’t think I can go another six months feeling this way without having a nervous breakdown. I’m a ball of nerves all day long, I’m constantly getting pissed off over little things and have to fight to not constantly bite people’s heads off.

I’m hesitant to get back on medication because like I said I’m not a fan of the side effects. When I was on it before it definitely relieved the anxiety but gave me a very nonchalant “I don’t give a F*ck” attitude about everything. Don’t get me wrong it’s great to not give a f*ck over every little thing but I found myself not getting worked up over ANYTHING. In fact my old boss use to question why I never seemed concerned when something would go wrong at work. She thought it meant I didn’t care about my job when in fact my medication didn’t really allow me to care. If a friend was mad at me I was like “oh well, they’ll get over it”. Not good. Now I’m on the complete opposite end of the spectrum. ANY little hiccup at work gives me an immediate stomach-ache. If I don’t hear from someone for a few days I’m convinced they hate me and if I don’t hear from Kristian right after work like normal I’m sure he’s been in a car accident. It’s not healthy.

So now I’m trying to figure out what I want to do. Do I go back on medication or try something else? Maybe yoga? Change of diet? Vitamins? All I know is I have to try something or I’m going to turn into a basket case.

Hunny-moon

So after looking at all our options we decided to book our honeymoon at a resort in:

ST. LUCIA!!!!!!!

We will be spending 7 glorious days at the Ti Kaye Resort! My brother gave us the option of going here or to another resort and after looking through both websites and reading reviews of both resorts on Trip Adviser we knew Ti Kaye was the way to go. It looks absolutely beautiful and incredibly romantic.

We will have an oceanfront cottage with our own private plunge pool, deck with hammock, king size canopy bed and private outdoor shower! My brother also allowed us to purchase the "Love" package which includes a massage for each of us, a romantic dinner for 2, a sunset cruise among other things. We decided not to go with the meal plan since it's more expensive than the a la carte option and doesn't include alcohol but he agreed to pay for our food and drinks.

Below are pictures I took off their website as well as a few I found posted on Trip Adviser:

(The Ti Kaye Resort)

(Canopy Bed)

(Private Outdoor Shower)
(Private Plunge Pool)
(Two person hammock)

(The Spa...I plan to spend a lot of time here)

May 24th can not come fast enough! I can't think of a better place to de-stress and relax after all the wedding festivities and celebrate my first week as a Missus.

MVB- Most Valuable Brother

I have two older brothers, Keith who is 4 years older than me and the father of my two adorable nieces. The other, Michael, is 7 years older than me and is currently the winner of the MVB (most valuable brother) award.

My parents divorced when I was 8 and we've never been close with my father, in fact he doesn't even know I'm engaged (that's a whole 'nother story). Seeing how I didn't grow up with much of a father, Michael stepped in and helped play the father role. He's always been there for me, whether it was teaching me how to drive stick shift, helping me apply to college AND co-signing my loan or helping me buy my car. He's the quintessential protective big brother and because of that he has NEVER liked any of the guys I dated. That is until I met Kristian.

Right from the first meeting Kristian and Michael really hit it off. They have no problem talking or hanging out when I'm not around and they've even talked about going on fishing and hunting trips together. Michael and our other brother aren't very close so I think it's really great that he now has Kristian to help fill that brother role I know he's been missing. Kristian has even taken over my role of helping Michael with dating advice.

When I got engaged Michael was thrilled and he offered to help out in anyway he could. I was hesitant to ask him for money for the wedding since he's not technically my father (though he acts like it at times). When he saw that we probably wouldn't be able to afford a honeymoon he stepped in offered to pay for our honeymoon! The entire honeymoon! As his wedding gift to us.
We were pretty much speechless but seeing how much he wanted to do this for us and knowing we could never afford it on our own we took him up on his offer.

The one thing about Michael is that he has really good and really expensive taste, even when it comes to his baby sister. He also really enjoys planning trips. He planned an entire two week trip to Europe for him and my mom this past spring. When we went over to his condo on Saturday he showed us a few options he found, all of which were awesome. And despite the fact that he is paying he was actually trying to convince us to go with the most expensive option. I have to admit it didn't take much arm twisting because the option he was hoping we would take was incredible.

On the drive home we were once again speechless, not believing that we actually had the chance to go on such an amazing trip. Michael will be paying for our accommodations, including the special "love" package, our airfare and our food and drinks. I really don't know how we could ever possibly repay him but I'm thinking our first born son might very likely end up with Michael as a middle name :)

Stay tuned for Part 2 where I reveal where we will be going....

Weekend Update- Bulletpoint style

-Friday night we went for dinner at On The Border and stuffed ourselves silly with chips, queso, guac and fajitas. So good but we were so full we didn’t even want to touch each other for the rest of the night.

-Saturday my brother Michael hooked us up with tickets to the University of Maryland vs Virginia Tech game at UMD. My brother is an alum and works in the press box recording the stats of every home game, hence how we were able to get the tixs. Tech crushed MD and Kristian was thrilled. It was actually really fun since not only did Tech win but there were more Tech fans there than MD fans, so we felt very at home in our Tech gear and cheering with other fans.

-After the game my brother treated us to dinner and then we came back to his condo to discuss honeymoon plans, hopefully that will be booked today and once it is I’ll write more about that. I’m still scared of jinxing things.

-Sunday we went to his parents house to eat pizza and watch the Redskins game (they shockingly won!). While K and his dad watched the game his mom and I bonded over tabloid magazines and I gave her a tutorial on how to use Facebook. We were secretly looking up her old boyfriends while his dad was watching the game. Every now and then he would ask what we were doing and she would yell back “don’t worry about it”. Haha. I think I’ve gotten her addicted and she’s seriously considering creating a profile!

It was a great weekend and I’m hoping that this week goes by fast because next week is Thanksgiving!! I’m already drooling thinking about all the yummy food I plan on consuming.

Office Space

Since graduating college I’ve had three different jobs, all in the same field. At each job I held essentially the same title and had basically the same duties and responsibilities. Another similarity all the jobs have shared is that I’ve been stuck in a windowless cubicle at each. At the first two jobs I worked in fairly enclosed cubicles with 3 walls and a decent level of privacy. At my current job I work between two of my colleagues in an open U-shaped desk with a hutch on one side, creating a pseudo wall and a half partition on the other side giving me very limited privacy. I’m one of those people that hates when others are looking over my shoulder or listening on my phone calls so this setup is not ideal.

Fortunately come the New Year this will all change and I will be getting an actual office! An office that has four walls, a door and even a floor to ceiling window!! No, I’m not getting a raise or promotion however my company IS moving to another office building. We are upgrading from working in a tiny industrial park to an actual multi level building with a lobby, elevators, two delis and even a gym! We are also attached to a Hilton so if we ever get snowed in we can just go next door and get a room.

Because of the way the space we are leasing is configured everyone (all 6 of us) will have our own office. I’m so excited, finally a decent amount of space to spread out in, decorate, have privacy and more importantly a window to look out of. Currently I never know what the hell the weather is doing or if it’s even light or dark outside without getting up from my desk. It’s a tad depressing. I’m also super excited to have a gym right in our building, I’ve already cancelled my current gym membership which I was barely using anyway.

The only downside is that this will add on an additional 10-15 minutes to my already 45-60 minute commute. But I think the pros definitely outweigh the cons in this case. So right now we are in the process of picking out carpeting and paint and figuring out how we want to lay everything out which is exciting. Now that I’m getting ready to turn 30 I think it’s time I had a real office!

Half

Today, November 12th, is my half birthday! Exactly 6 months from today my 20's Farewell Tour will come to an end and I will be entering the next decade of my life!!

I have to admit I'm not quite as freaked out about turning 30 as I thought I would be. Granted when I was growing up I figured that by the age of 30 I would be married and have my 2.5 children and white picket fence. But even though none of that has happened yet I'm okay with where I am right now in my life.

--I have an amazing man that I will be marrying exactly 10 days after my 30th birthday
--I have a group of wonderful girlfriends that I've known for years
--My family has started to move past some of the drama that has been hanging over our heads
--I have a pretty good job that pays fairly well and even though it's not my dream job and I'm still trying to figure out what I want to be when I grow up, I can't really complain too much.
--I have two adorable fur children that make me smile daily
--And of course I have my health

I'm looking forward to the next decade of my life. A lot of my friends are older and from what I can tell they are loving their 30's. To be honest most of my 20's was a hot mess for me. I was constantly chasing after inappropriate guys that didn't treat me well, going on dates like it was my job and basically just having a quarter life crisis. But over the past 2 years things have calmed down a lot and I have grown much more comfortable in my own skin. I think there are only amazing things left to come and I can't wait to see them.

Happy 1/2 Birthday to Me!!

Music To My Ears

When it comes to music for a wedding there are pretty much only three options to choose from: Band, DJ or the DIY IPOD route. Now I can tell you that I have never wanted or considered having a band for my wedding. I feel that in most cases bands are much more limited in the type of music you can have, not all bands can switch effectively between singing Sinatra to singing AC/DC. Not to mention that bands are typically pretty expensive. I do recall one wedding I attended, actually I went as someone’s date and didn’t even know the couple, that had a band that was REALLY good. However, this wedding was easily over $100K and I somehow doubt I could afford the band they had.

Anywho that pretty much leaves me with two options….DJ or IPOD. Since Kristian and I are paying for most of this shindig I thought one of the easiest ways to trim the budget was to do the DIY approach of renting some sound equipment and using our IPOD/computer. This would allow us pretty much complete control over the type of music that was played and it wouldn’t be too hard coming up with various playlists for the evening. The main issue would be that we would need to delegate someone to keep an eye on the equipment, change over the playlists at the appropriate times and announce the bridal party when we entered and the cake cutting etc. I figured this wasn’t a big deal and pretty doable.

Well I guess my mom didn’t like this option because yesterday she graciously offered to pay for a DJ for the wedding! On the one hand I’m very grateful for her offer to pay and having a good DJ will definitely help keep the crowd dancing during the reception not to mention taking the stress off of us. On the other hand I’ve read a lot of horror stories online about bad DJ’s and a bad DJ can pretty much be the kiss of death at a reception. I’m a little bit of a control freak and I’m definitely NOT a Macarena/Chicken Dance kinda girl. I also hate DJ’s that in my opinion talk too damn much. Make the announcements we tell you, play the music and keep your mouth shut.

So now I’m on the hunt for a good DJ who knows how to follow instructions. Who won’t play the songs I specifically tell him not too and will play the songs that I specifically tell him to play. I also need someone who will be able to read the crowd and know when to switch up the music to keep things lively, oh and did I mention that I don’t want my mom to have to shell out a fortune?? I'm not asking too much, really I'm not, right?

What are your thoughts on Bands vs. DJ’s vs IPOD’s.

Better Moods and Bridesmaid Dresses

It’s amazing how just one weekend can help lift your moods. After being a moody little sourpuss last week I immediately started to feel better Friday evening. I think leaving work and getting away from that stress was a big help. Friday night, we stayed in, grabbed a bunch of blankets and comforters and made a little snuggle nest in the living room in front of the fire, ate some Chinese food and watched the last two episodes of Flash Forward. It’s just what I needed!

Saturday I went bridesmaid dress shopping again with Colleen and we finally decided on a dress (ours will be in black). Colleen put down her deposit and hopefully everyone else can have their deposits in by Dec. 1 since it takes about 3 months for them to arrive.

WToo

You may recall this was one of the dresses the girls tried on last time that we really liked. Well I called around and found this same dress at another store for $40 cheaper! Holla! So we went to the dress shop and she tried on a few other dresses just for comparison sake and we both agreed that this one was the best. I think they are super cute and the pricing wasn’t too bad, especially since these could be easily worn again to a holiday party or even nice dinner out.

After shopping was over I went out to dinner later with my other bridesmaid Kelli (she wasn’t able to make it for shopping). It was great having a chance for some girl time. I wish she lived closer so that we could do it more often.

Sunday I cleaned, went to the grocery store and worked on one of my Christmas gifts for Kristian which I may post about this week.

All in all I was in much better spirits this weekend after spending time with some of my favorite people.

Last night my poor ECU Pirates fell to the VA Tech Hokies 16-3. I must say they put up a great fight and it was a fun game to watch. However due to their loss and my subsequently losing the bet we had I now have to make and clean up dinner every night next week. This wouldn’t be such a big deal except that Kristian is usually the one that makes dinner  Oh well I’ll just serve up PB&J sammiches every night!

I have to admit I’ve been in the worst mood all week. I get like this sometimes, nothing specific will happen to set me off but I just suddenly find myself irritated at everything around me. When I get like this I just want to go home and be myself, not talk to anyone or do anything. This wouldn’t be a problem except that I live with a guy who doesn’t handle my silence well. He likes to talk (crazy right?) and he likes to know about my feelings (insane I know!) and that’s just not how I’m wired. For me I like to retreat inside myself and wait for the mood to pass, I don’t always want to discuss my feelings and the things that are stressing me out. More than likely it’s the same issues that always stress me out i.e. work, money, wedding planning etc. It’s nothing new really just things getting to me more than they normally do. It always passes and usually without too much bloodshed.

I do feel bad because Kristian feels like I’m shutting him out which is not my intention at all, I just don’t want to put the added worry or stress I’m feeling onto him. But he pointed out that we are a partnership and if I’m upset he needs to know about it. I guess he has a point but again I’m just not wired that way. I’ve spent most of my adult life thus far either single or dating guys that didn’t really give a shit about how I was feeling. I’m not use to sharing and opening up while I’m down in the dumps but I guess it’s something I need to work on.

Anyway I told him we could talk tonight and I will word vomit all over him with everything that is stressing me out or upsetting me if that will make him feel better and stop worrying him that I’m really trying to plan my escape from this relationship. I know that I’m very lucky to have a guy that cares so much for me and my feelings but it’s just a change in how I operate internally and after close to 30 years it’s a hard change to make.

Let's Go Pirates....ARRRRGH!

Tonight is the night we've been waiting for all season long, the night when MY ECU Pirates will be taking on Kristian's VA TECH Hokies! It will be a tense night in our little home and one of us could end up sleeping on the couch. Last year ECU beat Tech but I wasn't able to fully bask in our glory since we hadn't been dating that long and I didn't want him to dump me. But this year
IT. IS. ON.

Tech has lost their last two games and while I hate to see Kristian so bummed after each loss it does give me some confidence going into the game tonight, especially since it's a home game for ECU. Even though my allegiance tonight MUST go towards my alma mater I do try to be the supportive fiance and cheer on the Hokies during all other games. In fact my super awesome big brother was able to score us tickets to next week's VA Tech vs. University of Maryland game (he works in the press box during the game). Kristian is super psyched to see his team play in person and hopefully it will help make him feel better after their asses are handed to them tonight!

GO PIRATES !!!!!

Weekend Update

Friday night- Had a date night, grabbed some drinks and food at a nearby restaurant/bar and spent much of our time people watching. Woodbridge is great for people watching/shit talking, especially when you have a restaurant full of waitresses that are too large for the skimpy outfits they squeeze themselves into.

Saturday- K was up and out the door at 5:30am to go bow hunting and he actually got his first deer of the season (Sorry Bambi). I’m so proud of my little redneck! I spent the day cleaning and made homemade potato soup (with cheese and bacon) for dinner. Not sure when I became so damn domestic but he really enjoys it! That night we went to my friend Colleen’s house for a small get together. I got to see another one of my sorority sisters whom I haven’t seen in YEARS. It was great catching up with her, however the night turned a bit awkward after my older brother showed up and she drunkenly went back and forth between flirting with him to calling him a manwhore when he didn’t return her flirtations to asking him to accompany her into the bathroom! He politely declined. Overall it was a pretty entertaining evening.

Sunday- Spent the day being lazy and that evening went for our first cake tasting! We went to meet with a very nice woman who works out of her home with her husband. She had a great display and some really nice pictures. We were able to taste 3 flavors including red velvet, yellow cake and chocolate cake. We had the chance to try the buttercream icing vs. the fondant as well. I’m not a huge fan of icing in general and I’ve never enjoyed the taste of fondant (that’s the icing that is super smooth and used for the really fancy designs) however her fondant actually tasted pretty good.

After looking through her books, Kristian was actually the one who picked out the design we’ll probably go with. We picked 3 different flavors, one for each tier, which will be French Vanilla with Strawberry filling, Chocolate with Raspberry filling and Carrot with Cream Cheese filling. The pricing was a bit higher than I expected mainly because we ended up going with the fondant which is more than buttercream but she’s still cheaper than pretty much all of the other bakeries in the area. I also like the idea of helping a small business owner rather than a large bakery that already does a ton of business. We haven’t signed the contract yet but I suspect we’ll go with her.

Pictures!!!

Below are just a handful of my favorite photos from our engagement session courtesy of Classic Creations Photography. We think they did an amazing job!!