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!!