So this is love?

Well, two months later and I have finally come to the point where I can reallllly talk about the wedding.

We got home and just crashed at my parents for some much needed sleep. I woke up early Wednesday morning and headed to the court house to apply for our marriage license. I was so happy to get it done, but when I left the courthouse my check book mysteriously disappeared… I still have no idea where it is.

When I pulled into the drive way, our beautiful get away car had just arrived. I am still waiting to get photos back but I know they will be amazing.

We spent the evening starting to decorate the church, and headed back early Thursday morning. Luckily our families were there to help, and a few bridal party members… they saved my butt. Literally could not have pulled it off without their hard work and creativity. I know everyone was tired and ready for the day to arrive, but they kept pushing!

Friday Jake and I picked up our license then parted ways. Courtney and I took Lily all over town – we had lunch, did a little shopping and we got our nails done. It was so nice to spend some time with both of them… and I loved seeing Lily at the nail salon.

She got her fingers and toes painted and she was adorable… we sang The Wheels on the Bus as we waited for our nails to dry and just had a wonderful time. She’s adorable.

When we were done, we hurried home and my long lost wifey met me at the house. I was so excited to see her that I could barely stand it. We got dressed and headed over to the rehearsal at the church. Everyone was there, everything was set up and we were ready to get it done. I was just happy to be accomplishing something, but a few of the bridesmaids really got choked up from the beginning. I thought to myself two things : “this is only the rehearsal, what’s going to happen when you all lose it tomorrow?!” and “I am so loved.” Dinner at the Beach Bar was yummy, we finished pretty fast and then everyone parted ways.


My sister arranged for me to stay at a cabin with some of my bridesmaids, and when I got to the house they had planned a lingerie party for me. We laughed and ate and drank and I had such a good time. I wanted to press pause because I knew the weekend was going too fast, I miss all of my friends so much and just cherished the time I had with them right then and there.

Not to mention the fact that they were showering me with some pretty fly gifts! We got to bed at a decent hour and Jake snuck a late night phone call in to me… I told him I’d be the one wearing the gorgeous dress tomorrow and that I would meet him at the altar. LOVE!

The morning of the wedding flew by. WE went to Tecumseh and got our hurr did, at some breakfast and tried to relax. I loved how my hair turned out wish it could be that sexy/fierce/glam every day.


At the church Jake and I exchanged gifts – and it’s well documented that we are huge cry babies, as each of us turned into a bucket of blubber opening our gifts.

I started getting nervous… we were taking photos and trying to be organized, but I got to a point where I didn’t want to speak to anyone. I just wanted to be by myself, still – with some time to think about what was actually going on around me. It still doesn’t seem like it actually happened.

The ceremony was 10000% more than what I thought it would be – I was so pleased with the music, the vows, and with the overwhelming sense of love I had for Jake and my family. Afterwards, we tried to hustle and get formal photos done… so rushed. Then we hopped out into the get away car to ride over to Somerset – and it wouldn’t start! I was so confused with what was going on that when they started pushing the car down the hill all I could do was laugh. What a memory.

Our photos at the orchard and the park were so much fun, filled with character and sass and the colors were so vivid.



We got back to the church as soon as we could, but of course we were over an hour late. I felt bad for making people wait, but at the same time I thought to myself “I’m never going to be in this dress, in this moment again… so let me have my pictures!”

We tried to eat and then get out to socialize as much as possible but we were far too ambitious. It was so frantic and I felt that no matter how hard I tried I couldn’t get to everyone. Without alcohol, people started leaving at an early hour – and for a while I was really disappointed because I thought that meant no dancing. After calming down, I got out on the dance floor and cut a mean rug with THE WORLDS BEST BRIDESMAIDS and the crew… a little bit of Mr. Jones, Shout and Journey was enough to suffice for this bride :)

Lily hurt herself and Colton was coming down with something, so my sister and mom had to leave early. This set everyone into confusion with clean up and organization but everyone pulled through to the max. I could not believe how willing people were to stay and rip things apart – so fast and so unselfishly. It meant so much to us. We finally got out of the church and to the hotel, had a few drinks and laughs with our friends and then celebrated the day together. We cuddled up in the wee hours of the morning, heated up our picnic basket of food from the reception and opened some cards… then fell asleep as husband and wife, which felt different but very natural and so certain.

The next morning Courtney and the babies came over, along with my Mom and Dad and Toby and we opened all the gifts.

It took all of our effort together to load the car back up on account of all the loot – but we drove back to Onsted and just basked in the glory of the wedding experience. I love my brother and sister, they were each so thoughtful with their gifts... not to mention we have so many beautiful things to frame and put up in our house that we shouldn't have to worry about decorating for a while :)

We spent the rest of our time at home trying to get everything together and organized. We said goodbye to the babies, to our parents and families, and what friends we could... then hit the road headed south. The trip back to NC went incredibly fast and we made good time.

There are some minor disappointments in regards to the reception, but over all I am so pleased with how the day turned out… and sooooo thankful that I never have to plan something like that again! My agenda is filled with living life as Mrs. Howland, and that’s that.

You must not know bout me

So it's been about two months since Jake and I made the big move to Goldsboro. As you might have been able to tell in the past post, it's not 100% butterflies and happy faces... but we're making it just fine. Together :)

Being as busy as it is, we haven't had the opportunity to explore NC that much, but we've done a few fun things.


Labor day weekend we went to Carolina Beach with our NC-bffs Mary and Derek for a lazy day at the beach... surprise, surprise -- Derek proposed! Since we met the two love birds, we've all been teasing Derek about when we was going to pop the question. Then out of no where he decides that he was going to DO IT.

He planned out a beautiful beach proposal. Jake helped put the the messages in bottles across the beach while I distracted Mary. After everyone was in place, she and I started walking down the shore... I didn't know how in the world I was supposed to get her to see the bottles - so I just blurted out "MARY, WHAT'S THAT?!" She knew what was coming next... a few clues later Derek was waiting for her by the water, got down on one knee and put a ring on it! It was very romantic and Jake and I felt so special to be a part of their day... they really have proven to be our biggest support down here. God took everything into consideration when steering us to the south :)

After we changed, we went out for a tasty dinner at Carrabas. NOM! The next day we all headed the opposite direction to go shopping in Raleigh. Mary and I took care of some wedding business while the boys wondered off by themselves and decided it would be a good idea to buy $25 worth of Lindt Truffles. I can't say it was the best idea, but I HAVE to credit them for the purchase. Now I know where to point the finger when my wedding dress doesn't fit. Or maybe I should blame the Cheesecake Factory... where we went for lunch that afternoon. WHOOPS :)

Jake stays busy during the week, but he likes to surprise me on the weekends. He drove me all the way to Raleigh again last weekend at 10:00 so I could see Eat, Pray, Love before it went out of theaters. Then last night he took me to the Wayne County Fair... it has been several years for both of us since going to a fair, so we were really excited. As soon as we got out of the car the smell of fair food pelted us in the face... and we decided the first thing we should do once we actually got into the fair was to find an ATM... to buy food. And more food. And then some more... to take home. We split a corn dog and a BBQ sandwich with coleslaw... then the SEXIEST grilled corn on the cob you could imagine.

Yes, we were crazy and put garlic and parmesan cheese on it... all over it... it was dirty and messy and greasy and amazing.

Then we went to go see about rides, and decided that it would be a better use of our money if we bought more food instead of riding rides. We were just being practical, you see.

Jake got hooked on the quarter machine. He made a friend with one of the carnies who ended up showing him the trick... at one point we were up like $9, but then we blew it. Those machines will get you every time! Today when I asked Jake what he wanted to do he said "well, we could go back to the fair, eat some corn and play the quarter machine...?" LORD.

We munched on an elephant ear, another corn on the cob, a glass of lemonade and THEN bought a huge bag of kettle korn to take home. Had to make up for lost time, right? I had such a good time :)

It's 2:55 right now. By this time in exactly 14 days, I should be signing a paper to change my name. You can start calling me Mrs. Howland, if you feel you need to practice. I'll be ready!

I don't drink soda, I drink POP...

Perks of life in the South:

1. Sweet tea

2. Barbecue

3. Mary and Derek ;)

4. Being able to wear winter clothes year round (chronic AC...such a waste of the budget)

5. LOTS of churches to choose from

6. a paycheck

7. The beach? Well... I really don't care, but for some it's nice

Flipside:

1. Southerners

2. Southern accents

3. lack of the mythical southern hospitality

4. Being away from our families

5. People who think they don't need to do their jobs or seem to not know anything of value

6. I'm missing fall :(

7. Bugs

8. The heat/humidity - my body suddenly feels 50 years older :(

9. The mail takes like 3 days longer to get here

10. Sales tax

11. There's no Meijer

12. ... This isn't Michigan.

18 days until the wedding... can't believe it. I still can't seem to make sense of how I got to this point, but it's ok. I feel faithful and loved and so excited for the change (isn't menopause called "the change?"). Hoping that the rest of this adulthood stuff falls into place once the wedding is wrapped up.

Note to self: They say you're only supposed to get married once in life because planning more than one wedding would probably kill you in about 3 days.

More news/pics soon <3

Just like crack, only better

Thoughts of the day:

1. Why even buy Oreos if they're not Double Stuf?
2. I wish Celine Dion wasn't such a guilty pleasure... LIZ, I thought of you today when I decided to rock out to my Celine playlist on the drive back up to school. So good. SO. GOOD.
3. I would really like to eat some ribs right now.
4. I think that the bottle return machine should accept your cans and bottles for recycling purposes even if the store doesn't accept that brand - because then I just have to throw the generics away and that's plain wasteful.
5. I figured out that if you say you work at Eastwood, almost all the restaurants will give you a discount. Perk of the day, yes... but I wish I had known that the past two years.
6. Is there anything better than sleeping on clean sheets, in a clean room while it's raining outside? Answer: not really.
7. There is a woman on Drew and Mike this morning who is aiming to be the world's heaviest female; she currently weighs 600 pounds and is aiming for 1000. Knowing what kind of vulgarity Drew and Mike usually operate under, why would you call in to talk to them and then get offended when people asked you condescendingly about your quality of life? And WHY would you ever want to weigh 1000 pounds?!
8. Did I mention I am craving ribs?
9. Pancheros corn salsa is just like crack, only better.
10. It would suck having to move over and over again in a European city; seeing as how they build up and not out, and how many of the older buildings don't have elevators equipped for more than three people at a time... yea, I just don't even want to think about it. I suppose I should be thankful that all I have to deal with are eight stairs to the parking lot.
11. I'm GORgeous ;)

Don't bother me anymore, and don't call me sugar...

In the past three weeks I have had a number of INSANE dreams about weddings... one could say it's all I ever think about any more. The most disturbing went a little something like this:

I woke up the day of my wedding and everybody had left the house for the church without me. WTF? I ended up driving myself to the church, pulling up to the back entrance and tried to park next to the door. There was a parking attendant there who ran up to my car and started shaking his head, saying very firmly that I was not allowed to park there. I pleaded with him and explained that I was the bride, the lot was full because of MY guests for MY wedding... but he just wasn't having it. He insisted that I park in the alternate lot. Finally, as a last minute thought, I flashed him my handicap pass and raised my eyebrows - to which he immediately ushered me to a handicapped spot right by the door. Being a cripple even has its perks in dream land.

So I got into the church, and it seemed more like a concert hall. It was PACKED, and everyone was dressed to the nines. I found my room and set all my stuff down -- my mom and sister and all my bridesmaids were buzzing around the room but didn't seem to notice that I had arrived. I sat down in front of the mirror and started brushing my hair, only to hear the pastor banging on the door, yelling that IT WAS TIME, IF YOU DON'T COME NOW WE CAN'T DO THIS. He literally came in and pulled me out by the arm. I kept screaming "but I don't have any make up on!" He didn't care at all. In a pew near the aisle I saw my friend Marissa, who was coloring a Sunday School coloring sheet with colored pencils. I grabbed the pencils out of her hand and ran up to the window, where I proceeded to color in my eyebrows and attempted to line my eyes.

I got up to the altar and Jake had dyed his hair black. He was in a very Adam Lambert-esque suit, kind of metallic silver and purple. He still looked good though :) I looked down at myself and saw that my dress had changed to a slutty black cocktail dress. I was so confused. When the ceremony was done, Jake and I left the sanctuary to a choreographed number and my mom yelled at me because she thought my dress "showed too much for being in church." I woke up and just laughed... nervously. Why am I obsessing? I still have five months!

I've finally broken down and started watching Say Yes to the Dress. Love it. LOVE IT. I find myself extra critical of other brides, and extra confident in my choice of dress. I can't wait until it gets here in June and I can try it on again. I just know I will love it.

Yesterday Jen and I went to David's Bridal to find her Bridesmaid dress, and there was this slightly older woman who was trying on bridal gowns in the room next to us. She had brought her own shoes - which were platform hot pink heels with huge gemstone flowers over the toe. All the David's Bridal girls were just oggling over the shoes : "Ohhhhh wooooooow. What great shoes! I just love them! Where ever did you find those?!" I just sat there and caught myself snarling... they were hideous stripper shoes. I listened to the description that the woman was giving of her wedding plans... she said that her fiance had found a real cheap zoot suit online and the morning of the wedding she was going to get her hair "Marylin-ed," obviously aiming for an on Hollywood theme. I think themes are ok - as long as you use them as a guideline. When you take it to that level - and you look like you're in a Halloween costume instead of a wedding dress - well that's just stupid. Anyone agree?

I felt sorry for her because all of the attendants were obviously lying to her... and I just knew that she would be the conversation topic in the lunch room. Not to be ridiculous, but I hope no one is secretly thinking of my plans like that. If you are, I'm sure if I want you to tell me or not. I'll get back to you on that.

I'm now officially done with my work at CAMP and Cosi. While I'm kind of sad to be leaving CAMP and all of the wonderful people there, I couldn't celebrate the end of the Cosi era. I don't know what happened in my mind, but ever since January my attitude has been in a steady decline. It just got to a point where every waking moment I was thinking about how bitter working there made me, and how taken advantage of I felt... and it was just a toxic experience. I think everyone sensed it too... so although I might have been a good worker, I'm sure they are glad to be rid of me and my smart ass comments. Oh well, two and a half years were enough.

So this past week I've been spending my time relaxing and unwinding. Jake and Kylee came up and we went out to eat, watched Avatar (awesome!) and worked on Jake's job search -- which is becoming more and more promising by the day! I still don't know what will happen, but I feel like each day that passes is just bringing us one day closer to the big move to NC. And I went to a career advising appointment this week, where I got a lot of good advice. Hopefully with those tips, I'll be able to find something temporary that will get me some experience or at least buy time to figure out what I want to do next. Adulthood is so overrated so far.

Next week I'll be going to NY to spend a few days with my sister and her kids. My nephew Colton will be one next weekend... I can't believe that a year ago I was hurrying home from the UK to see him as a new born. He is so loving and cuddly - I just adore him and know that he will be a beautiful person one day.

Tonight I'll be packing... which is one of the most stressful things ever. This time around I invested in about 10 large rubbermaid crates to pack in... instead of unstable banana boxes and jankity cardboard boxes. I think it will make moving easier and more organized. I've been trying to declutter lately - been giving alot of stuff to friends and even donating boxes full of junk to Goodwill. I look around and think, "oh yea... this will take no time." But I know it will be hard... it always is. Always. Moving just sucks a dick.

I finally broke down and started watching Glee the other day... LOVE IT! It's so corny and terrible that it just makes me feel happy. I always used to make fun of people who were obsessed with musicals, but I'm slowly finding out that I'm one of them. And I think that's ok.

RACHAEL- Have fun in Paris! Eat some brie and a macaroon for me!

JEN - pack your sunscreen and your mosquito net, and give Kofi lots of kisses!

DARREN- knock 'em dead in that interview!

Well, that's about all I have for now. I'm sure I'll be back in a week or two to bore you all with pointless comments from my daily experiences.

I would like to be like Rome when I'm an old lady...

Life has been so boring lately that I haven’t written. Don’t get too excited to read this either, because very little of interest follows.

So my Dad invited Jake and I to come along and visit one of his work friends who has a reputation for collecting vintage cars and restoring them. We pulled up to this random house in the middle of no where and walked up to meet the guy. First thing out of his mouth after introductions : “Well Ron, we’re off to a good start… he’s white.” MY MOUTH DROPPED. Jake and I looked at each other and then everyone just kind of awkwardly laughed. Dot. Dot. Dot.

He brought us into a small garage and there were several cars he was working on. After about 2 minutes he took us back to the real deal space – a huge pole barn with like 100 cars in it! Well, more like 15 or 20 but still. If you know anything about me, it’s obvious that I typically could care less about cars. But these were just amazing – like pieces of art. There was so much history and design and… presence in that space, I just started giggling and bouncing around and I just randomly asked “can I touch one?” Bill let me sit in a few and I felt like I was on the set of an old Hollywood movie… I wish I had brought some red lipstick with me for the full effect.

Bill finally got to the point and said that Jake and I could pick any of the cars we wanted to use for our get-away car at the wedding… and if Bill is around that weekend we could have 2. DEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE! I think we narrowed it down to the 1950 De Soto,

the 1942 Woody,



or some superfly brown hot rod that I just didn’t catch the model name of.



Everyone is really coming through for Jake and I so far and as stressed out as I get sometimes about this whole wedding thing, I really feel blessed. When October 16 rolls around, I know that I will be proud of everything we planned, and just ecstatic to officially be Mrs. Howland.

Speaking of becoming the Mrs., Jake and I started our Premarital Counseling class on Tuesday. It’s a 13-session program, which seems quite extensive, but I really think that it’s going to be amazing. I guess we’re to talk about all sorts of things – Family history, goals, money, sex, and intimacy – the works. It might be slightly awkward talking about sex with Pastor Bob and his wife Shelley. Not because it’s them in particular, but that’s a pretty touchy and personal subject… the video that corresponds with the book we have is composed of a bunch of group discussions with councilors. The whole course is Faith based, which I like a lot, but it just gives everything a certain tone. On the introduction, when the guy talked about how they were going to address sex in marriage, someone said “Men are like microwaves – they just turn on and heat right up. Women, however, are like Crock Pots. It takes a while to get them to simmer.” I had to do everything I could not to roll on the floor… maybe it was the timing or the way the guy said it, but I just think that’s a ridiculously hilarious analogy. And true.

What else has been going on? Nothing! Yes, absolutely nothing.

I bought wedding shoes.

And earrings.

Hoo-rah.

I watched the Princess and the Frog last night… I won’t say I was impressed but I will definitely say I wasn’t disappointed. I liked the old-school animation and the story line, it just didn’t have the magic that the old Disney classics had. Then again, they really are running out of fairytales, aren’t they?

I cleaned my room top to bottom yesterday… the unofficial spring cleaning you could call it. I’m glad the snow is gone, but the chill could pack its bags too! Thank God for sunshine though, and I love driving by and seeing the daffodils come out to play. They are the friendliest things you know.

Congrats to Mr. Colton for standing up by himself. My little nephew is growing up so fast, and growing out! He’s so chubby I’m surprised he had the lower body strength to get on his feet :)



The trailer for the movie Eat, Pray, Love came out last week. I am sooooooo excited! Julia Roberts is amazing – I don’t really care what anyone says. And I really believe that if they stay true to the memoir, then this could be an amazing film. BUH, the book is just so freaking good. I find myself just randomly flipping through the pages when I need a good quote or some quality thoughts to reflect on. Elizabeth Gilbert just always delivers.

I’m craving a spicy California roll from Omi right now like it’s my job. Someone call and tell me it’s a bad idea. Please?

BYYYYYYYE!

Ahoy, and other nautical expressions!

Today was good, and that's the truth.

A mini blog about food - one of my life's truisms that today sparks some excitement. Jake and I went to the caterer today and taste tested food for our wedding! We expected little samples of each item on the hypothetical menu, but the woman gave us a schmorgesborg of tastiness. I ate until I felt like I was going to die, and then I thought about licking my plate but due to the fact I already had a smudge of peanut butter on my pant leg from earlier I thought it wise to try and act like a lady... don't want Jake getting scared off, now do we?

The official menu is (drum roll please)

Appetizers of fresh fruit skewers with pina colada dip
BBQ meatballs (of the non-skanky variety)
Hot spinach artichoke dip

The real deal meal:

Rosemary pork tenderloin
Chicken breast stuffed with mushrooms, roasted red peppers and fontina cheese
Red skin mashed potatoes
Mac and cheese (thigh quiver)
Corn bread stuffing
Buttered corn
Green bean almandine
Italian pasta salad
Spring Mix salad (with fresh strawberries, mandarin oranges, asian noodles and amazing citrus vin)

Are you drooling yet? I AM! Ladies, don't get those dresses taken in too much, and fellas - make sure that belt has an extra hole on the end, because we mean business!

I love it when a plan comes together :)

DRINK ME

“Our battered suitcases were piled on the sidewalk again; we had longer ways to go. But no matter, the road is life.”

We left for New York Wednesday at 3:00 in the morning. It was exciting to ride the train – I had only ever ridden when I was little with my family. We packed WAY too much food… apparently the thought of being on the train for only eight hours, in the middle of the night, didn’t really register to me as a situation that only merited a snack. 30 dollars later, we finally got to Syracuse.

Courtney and Lily picked us up and we went straight into the city for lunch and wedding dress shopping. Jake stayed low key in a nearby café while we went to a boutique called Spybaby. It was pretty small, but they had a lot of beautiful dresses to choose from. The woman who was helping me was really nice at first, but about 15 minutes into the search Lily got out her Doritos and apparently the girl did not like that. Yea, Lou is pretty wild, but it’s not like she was going to trash the dresses with cheesy fingers. Courtney and I shot each other looks and just kept looking.

I tried on about 6 or 7 dresses… only really liked two. It is so funny how I could tell almost instantaneously if I was going to like a dress – as soon as I put it on. The dress we kept coming back to was made by Pronovias. It was definitely different – I don’t even know why I grabbed it off the rack. The halter neckline had a row of ruffles that added a lot of flare; the bodice was tighter and when you got below the hip line the dress became full with larger ruffles that matched the top.


I just kept staring at it expecting Courtney Lauren to say something like “that is God awful – absolutely not.” It’s not that uncommon for her to think that about half of the stuff I wear hahaha. But she LOVED it – I mean she just thought it was the mst amazing thing. It was a pretty edgy dress, and I thought about it all day and night for the following two days, but I just didn’t FEEL that feeling… and it was freaking expensive.

The next day we went to this bridal shop in Massena called Lasting Images. Courtney had NO idea what it would be like, she just knew it existed. When we walked into the store, I immediately looked back at her and thought to myself “Oh Lord…” It looked exactly like the dress Cameron Diaz and Christina Applegate go into in The Sweetest Thing to find dresses for the wedding. I was waiting for the montage. We walked up to the woman at the counter… she was in a self-bedazzled pink crushed velvet jump suit. Her pants were too short so they showed her mismatched socks and magnified the ugliness of her clunky black shoes. She told us that no one could look at the bridal section without her… ok, fine. She then proceeded to say all of the following BS–

“There’s one price for every wedding dress in the world. One price, it just changes depending on where you buy it. That’s why I’m in business here, not in Syracuse or some big city… That’s why I am in business. I am a shipper. Half of my business is done by shipping. I’ve shipped to Russia, Saudi Arabia, Europe. I have four weddings in Alaska this year already… I am in magazines. See? Look – here’s my ad.” Courtney just stared and looked like she could vomit at any time. After this woman decided to shut her mouth for three seconds, she asked me what I was looking for… then we followed her down to the basement. She got out a couple of catalogs and started flipping through, telling me that (based on what I told her,) THIS dress would be perfect. “THAT dress I sold, so you can’t have it. Once I sell it, it’s gone… sorry.” I didn’t like any of the dresses she was showing me, and Courtney knew that I just wanted to look myself at her collection… so she brought the camera over and showed the woman the dress from Syracuse, saying I liked it and asked if she had something similar in this store. The woman looked at it and immediately said “Oh no. I would not sell that dress.” Courtney asks why, her voice loaded with sarcasm. “That’s awful. No one wears wedding dresses like that. No, no, I don’t have anything like that. No, I think you’d like this dress here…” Courtney storms over to where we set our purses down and grabs our stuff, then storms back over to where the woman is still running her mouth, proceeding to shove the pamphlets she gave us when we walked in her face. We stormed up the stairs and the woman is yelling at us saying “I HAVE 79 BRIDES WHO ARE MORE THAN PLEASED WITH MY BUSINESS!” Courtney looks back and laughs and says “Oh I’m sure! I’ll be sure to spread the word about how great your business is… you need to learn how to not offend people.” Some other grunts and laughs were exchanged, but we made it out of there just before the claws came out. Needless to say, no dress that day.

We went a few cities over the next day to this small boutique. Right from the get go the women working there were really nice. They told us where everything was and let us loose. I got to grab whatever I wanted and just put it on… they weren’t nosey or obnoxious and let us have our time together, which I loved! I tried about 6 dresses on but ended up only really liking one. The first one. THE one. I put it back on and had the woman lace me up. I just stood looking in the mirror for about a half hour. The proverbial feeling came and I knew, it was my dress. I could see myself walking down the aisle in it. I felt that Jake would see it and think “how beautiful.” I Courtney sent my parents and Darren a picture and then we called. They all gasped and loved it. I walked around for a while longer and then finally took it off to get measured and PAY! It ended up being way under budget and more than what I wanted. What a blessing to have that off my list of things to worry about.

The rest of the trip was so much fun! Courtney made wonderful food, I think Jake and I both gained 5 pound in 5 days! I hate the fact that both of the babies were sick… because Courtney was just so exhausted. Colton wouldn’t eat, he was throwing up or pooping himself sideways every night, and then refused to go back to sleep. I know having visitors messes up the kids’ routine, but this was just terrible. Even with being sick though, Lily and Colton were adorable. Lily is a SPITFIRE.

I mean, the things this girl comes up with just amaze me. She is so full of life and energy… she’s so silly and knows how to make people laugh. Very intuitive, that little girl. And Colton… oh my little cuddle bug. He loves to be held and loved on.


He just smiles and laughs and looks at you like he could spend his whole day just sitting there being your best friend. They are beautiful babies and I am proud to call them mine!

Courtney took some wonderful photos of Jake and I our last afternoon there.


It was sooooo sunny that some of them are just all squints, but she came up with such fun poses. It was very natural having her take photos, and we were comfortable enough having her around that we could just be ourselves and goof off. The pictures she took really capture our silly nature as a couple. Her photography is really taking off, can’t wait until she comes home in the summer and she can take more. We’ll be using one of the photos to put in the paper with our engagement announcement.


This was one of the first trips Jake and I have taken together and it was great… it’s going to be a good life :)

My brother got his thesis approved first try! I want to send BIG congrats his way, I never ceased to be amazed at his intelligence.

I start babysitting tomorrow. 630-5 pm. I hope the kids are good and I can focus on how much money this job will bring me, instead of any negative aspects. The kids are cute, well, most of them anyways… but they family is eral Catholic and strict. No TV, no sugar, very family oriented… we’ll see if I can hang.

Catering taste test this weekend – so excited! I’ll keep you guys posted on what we decide….

This was a real boring post, I know, but I’m tired now and just wanted to post a little something this week.

Juan – te mando mis condolencias. Por favor, no te desanimes y recuerda que hay cosas en esta vida que no podemos controlar, pero son parte del plan de Dios. Lo siento mi amigo, yo pensaré en ti <3>

Dancing at discos, eating cheese on toast...

So… we’re going to try this whole blog thing again.

I loved keeping a record of all my adventures while abroad, and I still look back at the pictures and get the little butterflies, however cliché they are. Even though I’m just living life in little ol’ East Lansing, life is good. Life is happy. And happiness deserves to be shared.

As I’m typing this I’m watching the new season of American Idol. I FREAKING LOVE AMERICAN IDOL – I squirm, I squeal, I shake for American Idol! It’s been my job to watch the show since season one – still look forward to it every year. Ellen is insane and I love her. I want to be her friend. I want to go have a cup of coffee with her and I don’t even drink coffee. Maybe an iced tea? DEFINITELY an iced tea… I bet she’d get us the tea for free too, because she’s so fly.

Do you ever wonder why working out sucks so bad? I mean it is so good for you. It takes like… an hour… 30 minutes for a little bit of cardio… but it’s just miserable to goooo to the gym and geeeeeet on the elliptical and waaaaaaatch the seconds tick by on the little digital clock. Really? Really. With the wedding coming up in 7 months or so, I want to bust my balls and work out like crazy, but nothing is stirring inside of me. Maybe it’s winter weather. Yes, assey winter weather must have something to do with it. Here’s hoping I stop my slothiness when the sun comes out. Otherwise… potato sack dress with sleeves it is. Que Sexy.

Ha. The new Old Spice commercials crack me up. So bad. So… good?

There are so many movies I want to see right now that it’s ridiculous. Does any one else get stressed out when you go to the movies and allllll these previews come up on the screen. At first you’re like “wow! That looks good.” Then another comes up and you’re like “oh MAN!” Third in a row… “GAH!” Then you start sweating and looking for a piece of paper to write all the titles down, but you get them wrong… and then you realize it would be completely STUPID to go see all of them because it costs 7.50 per movie? Phew. Anyways – here’s my current list:

• Away We Go (JIM!)
• The Invention of Lying (Brit humor – Ricky Gervais - can you really go wrong?)
• The Young Victoria (ahhhh)
• Couples Retreat (will probably be a waste of time but I feel like I need to see it)
• New York, I Love You (think it will be like its Parisian counterpart?)
• Everybody’s Fine (no comment?)
• Alice in Wonderland (although I’m guessing it will ruin the classic joy brought on by the original)

Speaking of the latter- WHAT is Tim Burton thinking? I’m really crossing my fingers for the new flick coming out, but why does every single film he makes have to look like an acid trip that happened in the bat cave? The story line better be freaking good or I might have to write a letter. I mean it, you!

Who likes Laughing Cow cheese? Num num nummmmm.

Another note on food – GIRL SCOUT COOKIES CAME IN TODAY!!! I already ate a whole box of Samoas. WHOOPS BONG! I promised Darren and Courtney one box of tagalongs each… that leaves 2 more boxes of Samoas and 2 boxes of shortbread. I have decided to keep them in the trunk of my car so I’m more likely to ration instead of binge. Oh, to binge on chocolately, coconuty, caramely goodness… crunch. BEST BITE!

I have to work tomorrow at 830, which makes me want to kill myself. Not that it’s an insane hour to start the day… but I just really hate my job. For some reason, as soon as I graduated, it just became NOT ok to work at Cosi. There’s no particular reason, I’m just ready to move on. Plus I’m just sick of retarded people. Example: there’s some hootie woman that comes in maybe once a week. She comes up to the register, plops all her junk down all over the counter and decides to ask every question ever. This is what her whimsical mind had to say today:

“Hmmm. I’m thiiiiiiiiinking abouuuuuut the Signature sAAAAALad. BUT, I want the redUUUUUced fat shallot. NOT the light version, just a light amount of the reduced fat dressing. AND a side of the dressing too please.”

Me: “Is that all for you today?”

FIVE FREAKING YEAR PAUSE.

Stupid face mcgee: “Well. I was thinking of adding chicken.” She just stares at me. “How much would that cost me?”

Me: “1.50”

Crack whore: “OH my GOSH! Soooo expensive. No, no, I’ll just go with that.”

I ring her in then she says “did you not charge me for the chicken?”

I say: “I’m sorry I must have misunderstood, I thought you said you just wanted the salad.”

Twat: “Oh, no, no, no. I wanted the chicken. For a second there I thought you gave me a freebie!” DEATH STARE….

I swear this woman is just ridiculous. Why would you come in every freaking week if all you had to say was how expensive the food is, or how salty the soup is, or how unhealthy that spread is. SHUT YOUR FACE OR SUCK IT. Or maybe just leave? Yea, that sounds good.

Alright STOP, shower time. Yes, I is a stinky lady.

To my wifey: good luck with your meeting, you will figure this whole thing out

To my future wifey: My pillow still smells like you even though I washed the case. Call me creepy, but I really love that.

You I love.

Have a blessed night!