I'm officially insane.

You might want to go ahead and have me committed now, before I commit myself. Totally kidding.  BUT, it was about 15 or so days ago the beau and I were talking about our upcoming nuptials in May 2015.  He throws out this crazy idea that we should just do it now.  Why wait?  He's "never been more sure of anything in his life."  And the wheels started turning.  And before I knew it, I was agreeing to this craziness.  It started off that we were going to do a surprise wedding.  I'd read about them, and it definitely seemed to fit our personalities.  However, once I actually started trying on dresses, I realized that I needed my Mom.  We had to at least let our parents in on the secret.  So we did.  Then we let the bridal party and groomsmen and siblings in on the secret.  And then it turned into us just designing invites to send out to family and friends.  We figured our out of town family might not come if they thought it was an engagement party but they'd probably come if they knew it was the wedding.  

So as of today we have 47 days until the big day.  We have done quite a few things but we still have soooo much more to do.  It's kind of making me twitch, thinking about it. Especially because I'm working full time, taking a full course load, and now planning a last minute wedding.

Any pointers, ideas, tips?  Thank you in advance.  :)

Much love,

Strep throat sucks...

Womp womp!  I don't know what asshole I picked up strep from, but it sucks so hard!  It's the worst it has ever been! The pain in my left leg and the nauseousness were killer.  I am finally starting to feel on the mend, though.  Although I still didn't make it a full day at work before I got incredible body aches and pains, again.  Oh well, such is life.  My diet has been pretty terrible too...consisting of ice cream and watermelon.  At least I haven't gained (see, there IS a silver lining.)  OH, I did watch a really really good movie while laying in bed spilling ice cream all over the sheets...Silver Linings Playbook.  What a good movie and it just made me love Bradley Cooper even more *swoon*

Okay, I'll admit.  This is a pretty lame blog post.

Week(end) recap

This was a good week.  I aced my science exam bringing my grade from a low C to a low B.  I have a few more tests to take so I'm hoping to get my grade up to an A.

Tried a new recipe this week:  http://www.skinnytaste.com/2009/01/spaghetti-squash-with-meat-sauce-46-pts.html .  It was absolutely amazing.  The beau cooked it while I wrote 2 papers which is always a nice change of pace (him cooking, not the paper writing.)  We did add in quite a few more veggies: mushrooms, peppers, zucchini.  He also used hamburger meat instead of the meat it called for.  I can't wait to have it again!

Wednesday I got a wild hair up my ass to go for a walk/jog aka fat girl bounce.  I completed 5.27 miles which felt AMAZING!!  Although my old 30 year old body was definitely feeling the hurt the next few days.  Something has kind of just clicked with me this time.  I want to be healthy, feel good about myself, and treat my body right.  I have learned quite a bit in physical science about the body, cancers, nutrition, etc. and it has really opened my eyes to the abuse I have put my body through.  I am trying very hard to do things differently, although I am still human and will make mistakes along the way.  

I went on my first sales visit and made a sale this week, so that was awesome!

Friday I took a half day to get ready for our out of town trip this weekend.  The mother of Frank's childhood friend passed away so we went to the mass & graveside service.  It was very depressing but also makes you realize that life doesn't go on forever.  And really makes you remember to cherish the ones you have while they're here.  Sometimes I am guilty of getting so caught up in work, school, everyday life that I don't take enough time to look around and be thankful for what I have.

After the service we had Chili's with Frank's parents & brother & nephew.  That was fun.  Also, his mom and I got to have some girl time and really talk about things.  It got a little emotional, but hey, it's usually like that when we're around each other.  That night we just hung around, had a few drinks, and watched a show called "Rake."  I may or may not have fallen asleep on the couch like an 80 year old.

Today we met my parents and sisters at the Brevard Zoo for my sisters 8th birthday.  It was so fun!  The kids had a blast, and even got to feed the lorikeets.  One of the birds flew into Olivia's head and she was absolutely scarred after that.  She wanted NOTHING to do with the birds.  It was pretty damn funny to see though.  I am the mean sister, apparently.  They fed the giraffes, we rode the train, the kids did the zip line.  Afterwards we went to Olive Garden.  Sissy opened up all of her gifts we got her;  I spoiled her, of course.  

All in all, it has been a very busy and successful week.  Not looking forward to a case of the Mondays tomorrow.  Hope your week(end) was a good one!

Lordy lordy, my old man turned 40.

The fiancé recently turned 40.  I am a big time party planner, celebrator of all things life.  Of course we had to have a party. Of course it had to be emotional.  That’s just how I roll.  I got to Pinteresting ideas of things I liked and wanted to recreate but there were actually not very many ideas that I liked, so I started googling ideas.  I found an idea that I just knew I had to do. There was a woman who did “Sixty years of memories” for her Father’s 60^th birthday and I knew I had to do something similar.  (Original idea here: http://nothingbutbonfires.com/2011/06/sixty-years-memories)

I got to sending out emails and facebook messages to everyone he knows.  Word spread and I started receiving letters back. It was a pain in the ass keeping on top of a few people that I knew were an integral part of making this plan successful BUT the majority came through and I can’t even put into words the emotions that this gift evoked. 

He did mention the night before the party if I was planning to do something emotional he’d prefer I do it earlier in the party.  My cousins at the party thought we should sing happy birthday and then give him the letters to read.  We all gathered around to sing, and then I presented him with the present.  He was totally confused and didn’t know what it was, but I did put a letter in with the envelopes that said “on your 40^th birthday, I thought it’d be fun to take a trip down memory lane.”  GAME ON! He sat down on the couch and the majority of the gang gathered around to hear these juicy stories.  I tried to space the sappy letters out so we were laughing more than crying, which I think was an important step.  That way we’d all go from crying, to laughing, it was an emotional rollercoaster!  There were times when he was reading letters that there was not a dry eye in the house.  I think this was the greatest present I’ve ever given, ever.  He is still so very thankful, and anytime he’s having a bad day he can always open up that box and see how much he means to everyone and all of the good times he’s had in life.   He also got lots of wine and restaurant gift cards as gifts, so I hope he’s prepared to take me out to eat. :)

All in all, he had an amazing birthday weekend but I’m sad it’s over!  It was so fun to see everyone and plan surprises for him. 

Until next time,

New and improved

Loving my new and improved blog design!  Thanks to my bff, Dal for all of the help.  Check her out:  http://dallinstokes.blogspot.com/

I'm a big baby.

The beau and I joke about who will cry more during our wedding.  He says he'll keep it together, I call bullshit.  Events in Amsterdam on the night of the engagement predict otherwise.  We were both weepy messes.  Sometimes I am super duper weepy and emotional, other days I'm like "cool, bring it on, I'll be the coolest wife ever."  Right now, I cry my little baby eyes out at Ron Pope's song "Drop in the Ocean."  Holy shit, it makes me so emotional.  Especially the lyrics "Drop in the ocean, a change in the weather.  I was praying that you and me might end up together.  I'm holding you closer than most, cause you are my Heaven."  Legit, this shit is true.  There were times we had a disagreement or something, and I would talk my ass off to God that night while I was laying in bed.  "God, do what is best."  "God show me the way."  "God, what should I do?"  I pray my ass off every night, but sometimes, I pray more than others.  And God has a way of showing you the way, whether you want to believe it or not.  And with this, I say:

You are my Heaven,

"Will you tuck me in?"

I've been around the LO since he was little.  From the time his Dad would give him a bath, have to dry him off, and wipe his tush.  Now he's self sufficient & can do all of that himself.  In those few years, I've not tucked him in.  Wednesday he actually asked me if I'd tuck him in.  My heart leapt through my throat!  Was this something he was actually asking?  It may seem insignificant to some, but this is normally his and his Dad's routine at night.  I got the usual goodnight hug & sweet dreams, but never got to do the tucking in.  His Dad and I tucked him in that night, said his prayers, and said I love you.  It was in that moment that nothing else mattered. This was a sweet little boy who wanted his Dad & Ms. Cole to tuck him in.  I felt special.  I remember as a kid when my StepMom would tuck me in.  She would say my prayers with me, and sometimes sing me a song.  Her voice always made me feel comforted and at ease right before a night of slumber.  I hope that night, the sound of my voice, and us saying his prayers comforted him.  I wonder if it's something he'll remember?  I wonder if my own StepMom remembers tucking me in at night and how much it meant to me?  Or how much it would mean to me as an adult?  Don't take the little things for granted.  Something as simple as tucking your child in at night, a quick hug, an "I love you" can really mean the difference between a good night or day.

And this concludes Friday's sappy post.

Wedding budgets

As the days of our engagement wear on, we are faced with the planning of the wedding. The beau doesn't seem to care about the specifics, he just wants me to be happy.  He keeps saying "team us."  So, I have all of these ideas and grand plans in my head, but do you know how much these things actually cost?  It is crazy.  We have decided to keep the wedding to mostly family and a few really, really, close friends but that's still about 60 people.  I think I have decided on colors, and a theme - nautical them with yellow & blue & white stripes...just not sure what to do next!  So, have you planned a wedding on a budget?  Give me all the details, please!  I feel like people in my "real life" are already getting tired of hearing about the wedding because I won't shut up about it. ;)

xoxo