My Big Fat Messy Life

Welcome to the world, little girl!!

2011-01-01T20:15:00.003-05:00

On Tuesday October 26, I got up and went to work just like usual. Kevin texted me that he was having a tough day that day and so I went home on my lunch break and made some soup for us and when I came home from work for the evening, I made us dinner, even though I was supposed to be resting due to slightly elevated blood pressure (and ridiculously swollen tree trunk-like legs and feet).

After dinner we just hung out together and ended up watching Saturday Night Live that I had DVRed. Emma Stone was hosting and there were some really funny skits - during Weekend Update I ended up laughing so hard I had tears streaming down my face. While we were watching, I was bouncing on my exercise ball, which had been a blessing.

We went up to bed by 9:30 and settled in for the night. Around 11:45, I got up for my first trip to the bathroom. As I tried to climb back into bed, I felt another gush of fluid. I thought I might have peed my pants, but then decided that was how most women say it starts so I went to the bathroom to assess the situation and decided to grab a towel and head downstairs to see if it continued.

Downstairs, I started watching another show I had DVRed - Glee. When I stood up again, I felt another gush and decided this was the real deal. It was now around 12:30 am. I figured I wouldn't be going into work the next day, so it would be ok for me to stay up late. And because the nurses at birthing class said you should eat something because once you go to the hospital you get nothing, I made myself a bowl of oatmeal.

I went upstairs to let Kevin know that my water broke but nothing was happening yet so he could stay up there and sleep. I figured that he would come downstairs and keep my company (I thought he would be excited and nervous, much like the reaction of dads on tv shows - think Ricky Ricardo) but he rolled over and went back to sleep.

I just hung out on the ball and relaxed, but I couldn't sleep - I was too riled up! I didn't want to call anyone yet, Kevin was sleeping and finally around 2am I was so bored I went back and woke Kevin up. I said "Get up! I am bored and nothing in happening - let's go for a walk." So he got dressed and we walked around the block a few times in the night, just chatting about how things would be and names and things.

We came back in because I had to go to the bathroom and Kevin went back to bed. I took a shower and shaved my legs (I don't know why this is something women care about, but it just seemed like something I've heard women say that they do, so I did it - it is NOT an easy task with a giant belly!). Around 3 am, I got into bed and fell asleep for a bit. A little after 4 am, I woke up because I was uncomfortable and I realized I was beginning to have contractions. I slipped back downstairs and spent some time hunched over my exercise ball. Kevin came down shortly after and offered to make me something to eat, so he made me some scrambled eggs and toast, but I was only able to eat about half of it (and it is not like me to turn away breakfast).

After I had been having contractions for a while, I decided it was time to call my family and let them know. They live about an hour away from us, so I wanted to make sure they would be able to get there, as my mom was planning on coming to the hospital and being with us in the delivery room. I called my mom at 5:30am and said "Good morning, I think we are having a baby today" and explained that my water had broke. So she woke up my dad and little sister and they set off for our house. Kevin called his parents to let them know the situation also - he wasn't supposed to call them until we were already at the hospital but he wanted to make sure they knew and they are difficult to contact once they are at work.

Once my family arrived, we watched my favorite movie - "Meet Me in St. Louis" and just visited. My mom started to write down when I was having contractions so we could keep track of how often they were coming. We played Rummy 500 and my mom kicked both Kevin's and my butt (Kevin insisted we were cheating, but we just have different rules than he normally plays with and it was 2 against 1).

At 11, my mother in law showed up at our house because she decided to call into work and was pacing around the house and decided to come up. Every once in a while, someone (my mother or mother in law) would announce "I think you should call the doctor." I had been putting it off for as long as I could because I didn't want to have to sit all day in the hospital I was going to the bathroom with every contraction and beginning to feel like I would throw up, so I finally caved.

We waited until a little after 1 pm (the office closes for lunch from 12-1) and Kevin called the doctor and described how things were going. He told them my water broke a little before midnight, I was having contractions but they were not coming at regular times - sometimes it was 4 minutes, then 12, then 7 between contractions. I spoke with the nurse and she told us to come in to the office so I went and changed and off we went.

We arrived at the office around 1:45. As soon as we got into the car, something changed. My contractions got more frequent and I made a comment about this but Kevin replied "Well, YOU said if the ride to the hospital isn't torture then we didn't wait long enough" so I just kept quiet. We checked in at the doctors and I was having contractions every 1 or 2 minutes it seemed like. Finally a nurse came to get me - she had to wait until I was through my contraction until I could get up and follow her. Kevin came back with me. The nurse asked if I could "leave a sample" but I wasn't able to and then I had to wait until a break to get out of the bathroom.

Once I was put in a room, I took my bottoms off and waited for a doctor to come in. She had to wait for my contraction to break so I could get on the table, and then again for me to relax my legs so she could check me. She made an offhanded comment about how I was definitely in active labor, she could tell without inserting the speculum. Once she did, however, she looked at me and said "You are 10 cm and I can see hair - we need an ambulance!" and then ran out of the room.

Normally this is where I would panic, but I was so busy concentrating on the contractions that I couldn't worry about anything else. The doctor came back and apologized about running out of the room and explained that an ambulance would be coming right away to take me to the hospital. She brought back a nurse named Amy who was so amazing. She helped me breathe through the contractions and held my hands to help me focus.

All modesty flies out the window when you are having a baby - I was lying on the doctor's table with no bottoms on with 2 doctors and at least 3 nurses in the room and then came the 4 male EMTs who helped me get onto the gurney (while flashing them my giant ass) and wheeled me out of the office. Kevin rode in the front seat while a EMT, a doctor and the nurse Amy rode in the back with me. Amy held my hands and coached me with my breathing. The doctor asked the EMT "Have you ever delivered a baby en route to the hospital?" and when he answered that he had, the doctor replied, "Great, if she needs to push you come back here." Thanks a lot for instilling the confidence, dude.

We drove to the hospital with the lights and sirens on, while my mom came behind us and took my car. The driver asked "Are we taking her to L&D?" and the other EMT replied "No - right to the trauma bay, the team is waiting for us."

We made it right into the first room of the hospital ER and the L&D team was there. I moved off the gurney and onto the hospital bed I was sad that Amy the nurse left me because she had helped me SO much but the staff there was great - the room was PACKED with people but I didn't much care at the time. One nurse offered me some water and gave me an ice pack on my neck to cool me down - had I been able to, I would have hugged her. She held one leg and Kevin held the other and told me to push when I felt I needed to. Another nurse said my mom was there and was I intended for her to be in the room when I delivered and when I said yes, they brought her in. Someone else asked if I was planning on giving the baby the Hep B vaccine right away or if I wanted to wait until the dr visit (um, hello? I'm a little busy right now).

I pushed and pushed while the doctor, nurses, Kevin and my mom cheered me on - I didn't yell or swear or say "Get this thing out of me!" but I was feeling like I couldn't do that for much longer and I wasn't sure I was capable. I was having big doubts but I didn't want to say anything because I didn't want anyone to yell at me so I just kept up the pushing. Finally out came the head - this was so hard because the doctor then tells you to stop pushing or to give little pushes and it is hard to control at that point but I did my best and gave another push when I was told and finally the biggest relief - IT WAS OUT and the doctor said "It's a girl!!"

I was so surprised because I really was so sure she would be a boy. One of the first things I said was how I could get her the cute little pink penguin outfits I saw at Old Navy now. She was so beautiful and pink and amazing. We didn't have a name right away because Kevin and I hadn't agreed, but in the end I let Kevin have his name (if it had been a boy, I would have insisted on mine) - Charlotte. Charlotte Evelyn, which is for my grandmother. She was born at 3:18 pm after less than 40 minutes of pushing. 7 lbs 14 oz and 20.5 inches long.

All in all, the birth was the best possible outcome for me because it didn't give me any time to worry or get anxious about how things would play out - it was a "do or die" situation of sorts. Nothing felt like I expected it to feel. I found the repair work the doctor was doing to be worse than the delivery, perhaps due to the adrenaline rush. In a few hours I was on the phone with my best friend telling her I would do it again.

Charlotte is so amazing and I can't imagine how we lived without her - I am so thankful for having her in our life and I love her so much I don't know that I will ever be able to explain it. My darling girl <3

Sweet Hayden

2010-08-03T07:47:00.004-04:00

This Sunday I was able to go to my home town to visit with some family who flew in from out of town - my cousin Lesley and her two kids, Harrison (4) and Hayden (2). They haven't been up to visit since Christmas, so it has been a while since we've had the opportunity to catch up and see how big the kids have grown.

Hayden is my goddaughter, and I often send her things - usually just a book and a little treat for whatever holiday is coming up - but she is at the age where she can start to associate those things with me, so Lesley has been showing her pictures of me and whenever I send something she tells her "Those are from Meagan" and Hayden walks around saying "From my Meagan" for a couple days, so I was definitely excited to see her.

She, on the other hand, was not so excited to see me. She is just not used to having such a large group around her so she was pretty leery at my grandmother's, even though she had done fine a few days earlier with just my grandmother there. Oh well. I brought presents to win her love - hey! Don't make that face at me. She is two and I only see her twice a year, I've got to do something...

I brought her a pretty dress and a Cinderella crown and wand and best of all, some bright pink nail polish for her toes. So after dinner she let me paint her toes and then she, Lesley and I went for a walk to the park around the corner. When we were there, we were telling her about the baby growing in my tummy and how next time she visited, the baby would be out and she could help me take care of it. She really liked that because she likes to help with the real babies at day care and lines up all her babies at home to feed them and rock them.

Best of all, she touched my tummy and sang the baby a song - "You are my sunshine." SO sweet! All in all, it was such a nice visit and I am looking forward to their visit at Christmastime with little no-name in my belly.

Enjoy it!

Oh no... not that!

2010-07-09T11:10:00.002-04:00

The time has come... I have been dreading it and putting it off and making excuses, but despite my valiant efforts, this weekend I finally have to give in and just do it. I have to clean the closet in our spare bedroom.

Hopefully all goes well with the house situation and we will be able to move, but in the event that we stay here another year, we will need a place to store baby things. And if we move, we will need to have things packed. So this weekend, despite the blazing heat and stifling lack of air in our apartment, I am going to give it my best shot, the old college try, and start to get rid of my junk.

Kevin moved into this apartment a few months before I did, so most of my things were packed into storage bins and tucked away in closets, almost never to be revisited. A lot of it is my craft things, which I am reluctant to throw away because I have a tendancy to revisit projects and phases, but there is also things I have been hanging onto since high school (or longer) and it is just time. Time to get rid of the excess and start clean.

Wish me luck!!

Yay for ultrasounds!

2010-06-30T21:10:00.003-04:00

Some of these pictures are a bit creepy, but gosh I love the little foot <3

Looking right at the face

Profile of the little wiggle worm - all it did the whole time was move and move.

Here it is, arching its neck back

Zombie baby!

This one is tougher to see - that little white triangle is

the nose (see the nostrils?) and upper lip

Wee little legs

Hurry Up and Wait

2010-06-29T10:34:00.002-04:00

It seems like that is all I am doing these days - hurry up and wait. We had to hustle to find a house so we would be able to close by the time our lease is up. Well, we found the house and now we just have to wait until all the pieces are in place. I'm trying to get all my ducks in a row for the baby, but so much of it is up in the air depending on this thing or that.

So here I am, waiting to pack, to paint and nest, to prepare for the baby by getting a crib or picking out a daycare.

Lord, give me patience...

Half-way there

2010-06-23T11:40:00.001-04:00

Today marks the day that we are half-way to the finish line – 20 weeks pregnant, 20 weeks to go! We’ve still got a LOT of preparing to do – pick out furniture, find a day care, move to a new place… But we also have a lot of things to look forward to – I am starting to feel the baby move more, soon Kevin will be able to feel it, we have an ultrasound next Wednesday and this time the baby will look like a baby rather than a kidney bean (at 6w1d). I am hoping that I will soon look pregnant, rather than like I’ve been hitting the donuts. The few maternity clothes I’ve got help the appearance of the bump for sure. I’m debating whether I should buy another BellyBand or finally cave and get a pair of maternity pants.

Here’s to another 20 weeks of a growing belly and new experiences!

Enjoy it!

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cupcakes

2010-06-21T21:51:00.007-04:00

Since I've been pregnant, I really have been slacking on the baking front, especially because the heat in our second floor apartment is stifling. I used to bake a lot - if I got a taste for something, I would make it for myself, save one or two pieces and then send the rest with Kevin to work. So this baking break I've been taking has been affecting more than just me, myself and I.

Kevin's been working the guys on his crew really hard to keep up the past couple weeks - demand is up and his shift is short people, so it's been a struggle, not to mention all the equipment that keeps breaking down and slowing things up. So today I offered to make something for him to bring as a 'thank you' to the people he works with, for working so hard and being supportive, since he is a newly appointed manager. I browsed through my starred recipes and found something perfect - chocolate-y, peanut butter-y, and individually portioned (since there is a guy on the crew with questionable personal hygiene aka "Hands in the Pants Guy"). I haven't been hanging on to this for very long, but boy I'm glad I didn't wait to make it any more!

Peanut Butter Cake

(recipe from Cooking With Joey)

**Made just under 3 doz cupcakes**

1 1/4 cups smooth peanut butter
3/4 cup butter, softened
2 cups brown sugar, packed
4 large eggs
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups buttermilk

Heat oven to 325°.
Original recipe calls for a bundt pan, but I wanted to make cupcakes for the aforementioned reason.

In a large mixing bowl, cream peanut butter, butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time and beat well after each addition. Add vanilla.

In a smaller bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. I sifted them, but I don't think you need to. I also forgot the baking powder (did you know forgetfulness is a symptom of pregnancy?), and if I were to make it again, I would include it, but they don't seem any worse for the wear (excuse me while I like ganache off my fingers...).

Add 1/3 of the dry ingredients along with about 1/2 the buttermilk and slowly beat until well blended. Add another 1/3 and the rest of the buttermilk and repeat. Add the final installation of dry ingredients and beat until smooth.

Pour into the prepared baking pan and bake. Since I did cupcakes, I started at about 15 minutes and checked them, then put them in for a little longer. I ended up at about 22 mins but make sure you are watching them.
Cool in pan for 10 minutes then carefully remove from the pan and invert on a baking rack.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Ganache.

3/4 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup corn syrup
12 oz semisweet chocolate chips
pinch of salt
1/4 cup (or more) creamy peanut butter

In a saucepan, combine the cream and corn syrup. Bring to a simmer, add chocolate and salt, and remove from heat. Whisk until the chocolate is melted and mixture is smooth. Whisk in the peanut butter until well blended.

I made mine in my smallest saucepan and it was plenty big enough. It also meant that the ganache was a little deeper, so I just dipped the cupcakes right in - it made the frosting quick and painless. I packed up the extra ganache in a little Tupperware and sent it to work with Kevin, so they could warm it up and have a little extra if they wanted. The original recipe says to save it and use it as a topping for ice cream or pound cake, if you are looking for more uses.

Please ignore the wonky photography.

I never claimed to have any skills in that department.

Having a GREAT Day!

2010-06-18T07:43:00.003-04:00

You know, sometimes things just line up so nice and all these little things make an ordinary day...just excellent.

As I mentioned in a previous post, we are house hunting. On Tuesday we put an offer in on a house and on Wednesday we found out it was accepted, which means we are officially on the road to becoming homeowners. Barring any major complications or problems with the home inspection, we should be in by August 20 or SOONER! Yahoo!

Yesterday, my husband met his mother near our home so they could go shopping. She was looking for some help to pick out a computer for her husband for Fathers Day and also something for me because today is my birthday. I have asked for about a million things for my birthday, including but not limited to, a puppy, a magically machine that inhales all cat hair, and a camcorder. But the one thing I really wanted is what my mother in law got me - a waffle iron!

I am not even kidding. That is what I have wanted for months and months but I just never got it for myself. So this morning, I made myself waffles for breakfast. Yum! And tonight, we are going out for hibachi for dinner. It is not Kevin's favorite, so this is the one time a year I get to pick a hibachi restaurant and it is ok. My parents just called my work phone and sang "Happy Birthday," I am going home this weekend and my mom is going to help me register at BRU and some of my friends will be home too so we can hopefully get together.

I puffy pink heart today <3

Enjoy it!

Worry Wart

2010-06-16T08:31:00.002-04:00

Way back a couple months ago, before I was pregnant, I used to worry that we would never have kids or that I would never be able to get pregnant, because of problems I was having with regulating my period. Drama queen, much?

I guess I have always been a worrier, but I am just starting to get a taste of worrying about a child. We've visited Babies R Us on several occasions, mostly because I just like to get some ideas and it sort of makes it seem more real. But, inevitably I end up leaving feeling overwhelmed and vastly unprepared. There are so many choices of everything, from carseats and cribs to breast pumps, bottles and pacifiers.

On top of that, we plan to wait until the baby is born to find out if it is a boy or a girl, which is getting me really frustrated with my decorating choices. I've already decided that I don't want to get a whole bedding set because a lot of the stuff in there (bumper, comforter) is considered a SIDS risk and shouldn't be used until they are older anyway. But I am desperately seeking solid colors and every time I find something I like, it has a little design on it. You can't choose anything girly, because it is SO girly, and everything that could be neutral has frogs or giraffes all over it because those are animals that come in green and yellow.

So here I am, up in the air about where we will be living, unable to decide about ANYTHING we need to register for, and worrying about how on earth I will be able to take care of this tiny little person when I can't even pick out a pacifier...

And I know - this is just the beginning!

For real, this time.

2010-06-14T08:48:00.002-04:00

Ok, so I know that every post lately has been a catch-up post, but for serious, I am getting back into the darn blogging, I swear.

1. Remember last post, where I mentioned the possibility of a new job within my company, full time, regular hours, no weekends? Well, wonder of wonders, miracles of miracles, one of the jobs came through. And I am loving it. I was able to get right back into the habit of early to bed and early to rise, no problem. I love wearing real clothes instead of my uniform shirt, and working at a "big kid" job. I really missed this!

2. Kevin got a promotion at work! I am seriously SO proud of him. He is a great worker and I am glad that he was recognized for his abilities and all the potential he has to grow.

3. We are moving!! I don't know where yet, and I don't know when, but we will NOT be staying in this apartment for much longer. Currently we are house hunting (we've already put an offer in but unfortunately it was not accepted), but we are also looking for apartments, since we have to be out by August 31 (unless we try to extend it for 3 months, potentially...). We are in need of a little more room because...

4. We are having a baby!! We are so very excited about this new addition to our family. Currently, the arrival date is on or around Nov 10, which makes me 18w5d today, in my second trimester and also the beginning of my 5th month. No significant news so far, everything sounds good from what the doctors can here and we have our ultrasound set for June 30. Don't get too excited, we are not finding out the sex - it is going to be a surprise! I am really excited to see the baby, as it will actually look like a baby and not a kidney bean (we had an ultrasound at 6w1d to date the pregnancy... not much to see there, but there was a strong heartbeat).

Well, I guess that means we are all caught up and from now on, hopefully I can keep on this blogging train. I have missed it!

Enjoy it! :)

Let's catch up!

2010-03-16T14:39:00.002-04:00

There really just hasn't been a whole lot of exciting stuff going on with me lately, at least nothing I am ready to blog about, but I thought I could play a little catch up here:

-I have applied for two new jobs, and had interviews for both. Both are within my current company, but moving from a store to a corporate level, which would be nice and mean more regular hours and the possibility of having my weekends back (please sweet tiny baby Jesus, please). So if you have some to spare, send the good vibes my way, as I would love love love to get one of these jobs.

-I have been working like a madman to finish my best friend Kara's wedding invitations and was FINALLY able to drop them off to her last Wednesday. They wouldn't have taken so long, but the company I ordered supplies from (someone I've used before and been very happy with) was having a little issue. Thankfully we got the problem corrected and they overnighted them to me (no charge). I am really happy with the way they turned out and I hope she is too!

-We had a birthday party for Kevin a couple weekends ago - he turned the big 2-5! A quarter century! I keep razzing him about it, but when my turn comes around in June, I don't think I will be so happy. We had a lovely time and I was able to try out a bunch of new recipes on his friends. So glad everyone could come!

Enjoy it!

Ice Wine Festival 2010

2010-02-23T08:58:00.004-05:00

Ok, we actually went and participated in this waaaaay back in the last weekend of January but since I have been an awful blogger, I will finally fill you in now. If you are not familiar with the wonder that is ice wine, you are missing out. I've linked to how it is made, but basically it's grapes left on the vine until they are very very sweet and harvested (usually in the middle of the night at the end of january) while still frozen. The resulting wine is super sweet, very concentrated and almost a little syrup-y. And my husband will tell you - like nectar from the gods. I love wine in all manifestations, but this stuff is truly heavenly. And a little goes a long way, which is good, because a half-bottle can cost up to $100, if not more.

The festival itself is a great day trip. Wineries were open from 11-5pm and most participated in a Discovery Pass - you purchase a pass and get 6 tickets to participate in events and tastings. The pass was $30, most events were $10/each so we saved half by doing the passes. We got to go to 6 different wineries, try their wines and also their interesting pairings. Many places had biscotti, fondue, and fruit. One even had a pork slider (complete with a whole pig, roasted on a spit - see pic below!) and icewine infused applesauce. This is the official website, in case you are interested in checking it out.

We also ended up staying overnight at a B&B in Niagara Falls. I love B&Bs so much! This was our early anniversary celebration. It was so lovely. Let me give you the tour:

This was our bed. It was the loudest bed known to man. If you looked at it funny, it creaked. The other people staying there probably thought we were animals, but what can you do?

Here is the cozy fireplace, which believe you me, we needed. Although it looks all warm and cozy, this place was no different from any old house - drafty! Add in that it was about 9 degrees Fahrenheit and that makes for one chilly room.

There's Kevin, enjoying the sitting area.... aka waiting for me to be done taking pictures of the place!

Ahh, there it is! The most glorious tub is all of creation. I love to soak in a tub! It almost didn't happen - when we got home from dinner, I went to turn on the water and it was ice cold and wouldn't warm up. Fortunately, I tried it a little later and all was well. I don't think you can tell, but in that little shelf in the middle, there are some floating flowers and a rubber ducky, which was super cute.

This is the view from the tub, beautiful bay windows. Of course, there really wasn't much to see outside, but it was still lovely.

And this was the high ceiling in the bathroom, which I completely loved. Kevin pointed out that I like things to be big because it makes me feel small, and I think he is right.

These were the windows in the middle of the sitting area, they opened into a 3 seasons room. In general, I think the whole stay would have been more enjoyable if it was a warmer season. But we thought it was beautiful just the same, even if a bit cold.

Here's Kevin, enjoying a cupcake at the Festival

He is tres sophisicated, with his pinky up

And below is the pig on a spit. I thought it wasn't real, and then the guy started cutting some off. Yipes!

Fun Things You Learn

2010-01-25T22:35:00.002-05:00

by being a cat mom...

When you notice the cat chewing on some string early in the morning and yell at him to get away, you may spend your evening chasing the cat around in oven mitts, yelling and then pulling said string out of him so he doesn't drag poop around your house. Thank you, Oscar, for that very exciting lesson.

Letter

2010-01-12T09:25:00.003-05:00

Dear Uterus,

No one is amused with your antics. Quite frankly, I've had all I can take with this nonsense. Get your head in the game, play like a champion and all that jazz. Periods come once a month, that is how it is, and you are slacking on your end of the deal here. Let's get it together here.

Forever yours,

Someone who wants a baby and is growing increasingly jealous that she can't even get a period with all the baby announcements going on around her

Karma

2009-12-18T08:55:00.002-05:00

Apparently someone is making up for either the really shitty day I had on Tuesday (finding out I didn't get that job I was talking about the other day...let's not discuss, shall we?) or the really shitty 2009 I've been having (save for the really awesome wedding in February!!), because yesterday things just fell in line and I had an awesome day.

Work was pretty normal, nothing too exciting there. About half-way through my shift, I thought I recognized someone standing by the scratch-off lotto machines, so I took a loop around to get a better view and lo and behold - it was my college roommate Jessica, who I lived with for three years!!! We somehow lost touch after we moved in with different people. Lately I had been thinking about her, because she is native to my new city. We chatted for a second, and I found out she is a teacher, lives in the town right next to me and is getting married in June. We exchanged #s and hopefully can get together after Christmas!

When I was leaving work, I had a voicemail from a number I didn't recognize. I listened and it was my photographer calling to say they had finished up my order, so we could pick up our album and pictures before Christmas! YAYAYYAYAY! I can't wait to see the finished product. Hopefully I will (finally) be able to put up some pictures from our wedding. Fingers crossed, my mom will pick it up for us on Monday.

Enjoy it!!

Lovely Little Date Night

2009-12-16T23:46:00.003-05:00

The past two weeks Kevin has been on A shift at work, meaning he works 6am - 2:30pm and he HATES it. And now, so do I. We have hardly seen each other at all, because I have been working mostly late shifts and I ended up visiting my parents for a day because he was working through the weekend.

So today, I texted him about going out to Walmart, a place I do not normally shop at, to pick up a couple things I needed. I don't like to go by myself, so I wanted some company. He picked me up after work and we headed out to the south side of town to do a little shopping.

I ended up getting a couple of things I needed for some Christmas gifts I am making, we found a birthday gift for Kevin's dad and some odds and ends. We also stopped by JoAnn's to pick up a couple items for decorating Christmas cookies.

While we were out, we ended up going out to dinner and just getting to sit and relax with each other. At least three times tonight, we said "Oh, I thought I told you that..." because we just haven't been seeing as much of each other with our opposing work schedules. It was so nice to just catch up. And on the way home, we stopped (in the snow) to grab an ice cream cone - the perfect end to a lovely evening.

Anyone had a good date night recently?

Catching Up

2009-12-07T09:29:00.004-05:00

Well, I don't really have any huge exciting stories to share here, but I do have a couple little things... something is better than nothing right?

*************************************************************************

I went out with my mom for my very first Black Friday shopping experience. I think it went pretty well, we didn't have any big ticket items we were looking for, not 97" plasma tvs for $2.99 or anything like that, and we completely avoided Walmart (thank you sweet tiny baby Jesus for that early Christmas miracle), so all in all we had a pretty easy time. I ended up with a huge king size blanket from Kohls for $19.99, House dvds seasons 1-4 for Kevin for $12.99/each, boots for myself from JcPenneys, regular price $90, on sale for $29.99, a bunch of Christmas/holiday shirts from Old Navy $5. I also know what all my Christmas presents are (from my mom), and lets just say I am very excited for Christmas morning!

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I put in my application and resume for a new job the Tuesday before Thanksgiving and I am still waiting to hear back from the recruiter. Apparently it was a very popular posting, but I think if I get an interview I could do pretty well. Please send some good vibes this way! I really could use the job...

*************************************************************************

I have a friend in my new(ish) city! It is Kevin's friend's wife, Kristin. We had a movie date last week and I really like her. It is so nice to have a girlfriend around. I hope we can get together soon!

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Kevin has had a sudden change of heart about babies and agreed that we can start trying! To have a baby! Seriously! Apparently he was talking to a guy at work who is only a few years older than us with 2 little ones, and he said they really aren't as expensive as you think... its just little bits at a time. I want to send this person the best Christmas present ever! Seriously.

Enjoy it!

Slow it down

2009-11-18T22:40:00.002-05:00

Well, I've hit a lull...yet again. 2009 has really been a difficult year for my family, as far as losses go and it's sort of thrown us all for a loop. Of course, people can't live forever, no matter how much you wish they would or could. So on my end, I'm just keeping quiet.

Also, I've been traipsing all over the place for the past week or so. I trekked down to Leesburg, VA to help my company open their new location. We had an awesome time and I was so glad to meet some lovely ladies there. After a very LONG drive home, I spent the night with my husband only to pack up and take off yet AGAIN, this time to Erie, PA. You may recall last year when we went down and had an absolute blast for my friend Colleen's birthday. This year was no different. Friday we stayed in and had a nice little game night. Saturday started out slow with lunch at Panera, a trip to Presque Isle beach to collect sea glass, and a visit to some of the local shops near the waterfront. Then we went out for dinner to celebrate and hit the town. At one bar it was Supersize Saturday, and there were 64 oz beers and pitchers of Long Island iced teas for $3.75 and shots for $1.... basically it was the epicenter of all bad decision making. Then we went to a reggae night at another bar, grabbed shots at the next, and ended up at the gay bar, where it was Leather Daddies night. It was very interesting, to say the least. Oh, and we got told we "dance like straight girls".... um, thank you? All in all, an awesome weekend and just the pick-me-up I needed.

Hope you're staying healthy and keeping in good spirits. If I don't get back in time, Happy Thanksgiving!!

Enjoy it!

I guess he'll keep me

2009-10-26T10:30:00.002-04:00

Late last week, I finally decided it was time to go grocery shopping, compiled a list and spent an extra 15 minutes after work FLYING around the grocery store, grabbing what I needed. I even thought to get a marinade for the pork roast I was defrosting for dinner in a couple days.

I got home and made dinner, but realized I had forgotten the sour cream to go along with the yummy quesadillas I prepared. I called Kevin and left him a message that if he wanted sour cream, he was going to have to stop on the way home from work.

A while later he walked in carrying a couple bags of things, including the sour cream for dinner. I said, "I told you I got groceries, what did you get?" and he said it was a couple things he didn't think I would have gotten (he bought bologna....so yes, he was right haha).

I turned around and he was holding a bottle of marinade in his hand, the one I had picked out and I asked him if he thought that sounded good. And then it dawned on me, I had already put mine in the fridge... he had gotten the exact same kind (one we have never used, or even looked at before). I said, "So I guess I did good then?"

Great minds think alike!

Last Wedding of the Season....

2009-10-19T09:31:00.006-04:00

Kevin's brother Nate got married on Saturday! Everything turned out beautifully, even though the day was gloomy and unseasonably cold. The wedding was quick and dirty - it took about 5 minutes from the introductions to the procession out - and was performed by a friend. Seriously, I couldn't get over it. Nate was SO nervous all morning, and was blubbering like a baby when Jennie walked down the aisle, and hadn't even had time to regain his composure and they were walking out. But we are so happy for them.

Lots of interesting things happened at the wedding, also. Firstly, one of Kevin's cousins just had a baby not that long ago, so she was there (Zaniah, altho I don't know if that is how it is spelled) with her grandparents, Jeff and Tina. Who are apparently still feuding with with Kevin's other aunt, June, which I found out when I let June hold the baby after me and then I got swatted and yelled at by Tina...thanks for the warning Kevin. Also there was Aunt Kay, who was not invited to our wedding because she and Kevin's mother haven't spoken in years and years. Are you noticing a trend here? There are a lot of fights going on, and quite frankly its hard enough for me to keep the names straight because most of them begin with J, so I can't keep the fights straight too. Seriously. This makes me glad we don't see Kevin's extended family very often.

Onto the good news at the wedding. We got our wedding video!! Kevin's cousin Jennie and I worked together in Buffalo and her husband offered to do some video for us on our wedding day and we've been patiently waiting for them to put it together (especially since they did it for us for nothing) and we finally got to watch it! I am so glad they offered, because I loved it! Its nothing fancy, very home-movie like, but it is so nice to look back and see everyone there and remember all these funny little things.

Second piece of good news: Kevin's friend *might be* expecting! I say might be because Sara is in denial about the little pink plus that appeared on her test. We are very excited for them, and are now facing intense pressure for her and her husband Derek, and also our friends Justin and Heather, who have these grand visions of all of our kids being the same age and having play dates and so on.... I told them, I'm not the one you need to convince.

Well here's the pictures:

This is from the rehearsal dinner - Nate got the groomsmen glasses with logos of their favorite sports team on them, so that is why there is bubble wrap everywhere. This is Nate's friend Kurt, his (and Kevin's) little brother Randy, and their dad Les

Here's Kevin, playing with the bubble wrap

Its reeeeeally dark, because I was sitting back a bit, but this is Nate (on the right) and their friend Adam, who performed the ceremony

Dan and Megan

Randy, and one of the bride's sisters

Kevin and the other sister of the bride...but I don't remember their names

Best Man, Adam and Matron of Honor, Michelle

Jennie and her dad

The first dance!

Kevin and I, after I changed out of my dress and into my dancing shoes!

Kevin's best friend Justin and his wife Heather

The boys dedicated a song to their parents - it was Randy Travis "Forever and Ever, Amen"...so sweet!

The end!

Meagan and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day

2009-10-14T08:19:00.002-04:00

Well the last two days have just been packed with no good, very bad news.

1. Firstly, my sister is sick. Really sick. 103 fever, possible swine flu kind of sick. And she is also in New Jersey, while we are all in Western New York, which makes it tough because you know she is miserable but can't take care of her. Poor Beany.

2. I did not get the job I just applied and had an interview for. On one hand, it still turned out ok, because the recruiter, who recruits for a lot of HR positions which is where I want to be, really liked me and said she was sorry she wouldn't be giving me a second interview because she thought I was great but that this job wouldn't be a good fit for me. I suppose she knows the job better than I do, but I thought it sounded pretty cool. But on the other hand, I'm still working part time at a grocery store, fighting for hours, working until midnight or later, and completely getting shafted. It's just really not conducive to the kind of life I want right now, you know, one where I can have friends and go out for a drink together after work, and have babies and be able to get day care for them since we don't live by any family who could help us out. Oh well....just keep plugging away. At least she knows my name and liked me, right?

3. My Uncle Mike has been very very sick with esophageal cancer, and it has been very aggressive. It has spread and there is a tumor growing on one of his vertebrae, which has turned the bone to soft tissue. The doctors have given him six months to live. We all just keep praying. He was diagnosed with this cancer in May and since then it has just been a whirlwind of bad news after bad news. I know it is especially hard for them because they are not near family; both my aunt and uncle are from Buffalo but now live in PA about 7 hours away. My mom, and two of my aunts went to visit them this weekend. So if you have some spare thoughts and prayers, please send them over.

Sorry for the downer post, but I had to get it all out.

Smashed Potato Soup

2009-10-07T14:01:00.003-04:00

So for my triumphant return to blogging, I bring you a RECIPE! This is a simple soup recipe that is super easy to throw together Sunday night and take for lunch the rest of the week. I just made it, had a bowl for myself and ladled the rest into 3 storage containers, currently residing in my fridge so they are ready to go when I am.

Smashed Potato Soup

½ cup coarsely chopped carrot*

½ cup coarsely chopped celery*

1 pkg. (1 lb. 4 oz.) refrigerated mashed potatoes

1 can (14 1/2 ozs.) 99% fat free chicken broth (I used the lower sodium kind)

½ cup fat free milk

1 garlic clove, pressed

¼ tsp. salt

1/8 tsp. ground black pepper

½ cup reduced fat sour cream (I used the whole 8 oz container. I don't use sour cream enough that I want it to be hanging around.)

2 tbsp. snipped fresh parsley (I usually skip this, I am lazy and don't use parsley for anything, so I don't buy it special for this)

*As mentioned above, I am lazy. I also don't eat celery, unless it is in soup, so I don't go out of my way to buy it for this recipe. Instead, I grab the bag of diced mirepoix, which is already all set for me at the grocery store. It adds in some onion, which personally I like, and takes away some of the carrots and celery, which I could live without. Sometimes I even take it for a spin in my chopper, but be warned: this will give your soup an orange-y tint from the carrot juices.

The original instructions for this recipe ask you to coarsely chop the carrots and celery, place the mashed potatoes in a medium saucepan, gradually add in milk and broth, whisk until smooth and then add in the carrot, celery, garlic, salt and pepper. And while I think these are fine instructions, I am being lazy and using the already chopped up (and onion added) mirepoix, and so I saute this first, just to soften up the veggies and get a little additional flavor. This is supposed to be a healthy recipe, so use fats sparingly. Once the veggies look good, I stir in the garlic and let it sit another minute. THEN I add the potatoes and liquids, salt and black pepper. I think it adds a little flavor that way. But it is up to you.

Once you have all the aforementioned ingredients combined, bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce the heat and let it simmer, uncovered, for 10 minutes.

Remove the pot from the heat, then stir in the sour cream and parsley. Voila!

This soup reheats wonderfully, and of course you can add a little flavor (and calories) with some shredded cheese or bacon crumbles on top, or even sliced green onions. But it is delicious as it.

Another suggestion might be to make a baked potato, then cube that and add it in to the soup, if you would like it a little chunkier. Don't boil the potatoes, though. I made that mistake only once. Ye-uck!

Enjoy it!!

A Lovely Afternoon

2009-08-07T10:04:00.007-04:00

This Wednesday, I had the day off and drove up to Buffalo to visit my lovely goddaughter who is here visiting from Florida. I haven't seen her since my wedding in February, so I was very glad for the opportunity to see her.

Obviously I had to bring some presents with me.

Dress

Shirt and leggings

Bunny from Build-a-Bear

Here she is, all dressed up in her pretties. She loooves those sunglasses and bows!

My mother

Here's my grandma (and Hayden's great-grandma)

Playing

She's a sun baby

"Banging things is fun!"

Steppin' on the doggy

Hmm, this is not a pony

Snuggling

Big smiles

Peek-a-boo!

Aww there's my big girl!

All in all, I had a great time with my family and especially seeing how big Hayden has got since February. She is 14 months now, so she is a big girl!

Enjoy it!!

In Memory

2009-07-25T09:48:00.007-04:00

K - Theodore W. July 9, 2009, beloved husband

of Evelyn (nee P); dear father of Marsha (David) L,

Elizabeth (Michael) S, Anthony (Sandra) K,

Barbara (Michael) K and Mary (Craig) K;

grandfather of 14 grand and two great-grandchildren;

son of the late Frank and Sophia; brother of

Walter and the late Peter (late Bernice)

and Florence (late Edward) W; also survived by nieces

and nephews. Funeral from the JOS. FUNERAL HOME,

Saturday 11:15 and Queen of Angels Church 11:30.

Visitation Friday 2-4 and 7-9 PM. Theodore was a WW II

veteran, recipient of the Purple Heart and Silver Star,

member of the Matthew Glab Post #1477, a St. Joseph's

Workers, and former Trustee of St. Michael's

Church and Holy Name.

I've been wanting to post about this for a while, but I just couldn't figure out how to get into it. All I keep thinking is how selfish I am, because I want more time with him. He would have been 90 in September. And I got to spend the last 24 years with him. 24 years with a man who thought he'd never live to see 50. "Don't get old," he would say. "I used to say, 'I'll never make it to 50. Then 60. Then 70. And look at me, almost 90 years old!'"

He loved a lot of things, but one of his last conversations with the doctors was about us, how every Sunday we all come over to their house for dinner, even the grandkids, all 14, and we all get along. And we do. We don't have a ton of stuff in common, but we have a good time when we are together.

This is my grandparents on their 50th Anniversary with all the grandkids

(minus my cousin Matt who had a little too much fun the night before when

we all went out together). There are a couple of spouses missing, but we all had a great time!

I'll miss all the old stories he would tell about work and the war and the Health Department. He wasn't always a big talker, but once he got going, he was on a roll. He recently started a conversation with my little sister about confession and sins and somehow ended up telling her about the loose women at the taverns with the low cut shirts and short skirts who would disappear with men out to their cars!

But I was so glad to hear about all the wonderful things he did with his time here. Hearing about him from others who knew him way back when was almost magical. As I've gotten older, he had become a lot more dependent - he had arthritis that slowed him down and made him less steady on his feet, and lost his sight to macular degeneration. But back in his prime, he was very active in his community, even receiving an award from the Diocese of Buffalo for all the service his did for his church.

May the Lord bless and keep you, and may you be happy with the Lord.

I love you, Grandpa!

My grandparents and their 5 children

(L-R: Elizabeth, Barbara, Anthony, Marsha and Mary)

Pictured L-R: (back row) Mike, Barb, Dave, Marsha, Ryan, Mike, Liz,

Mike, Tim, Andy, Meagan, Joe, Janelle, Nick, Mark, Sandy, Craig, Tony

(middle row) Amanda, Evelyn, Paul, Theodore, Cole, Mary

(bottom row) Leslie, Emily

Fourth of July weekend, oh my!

2009-07-06T09:56:00.006-04:00

Well, all in all it has been a pretty packed weekend! I am almost glad its Monday, I get a breather from all the hustle and bustle of the weekend... it helps that I have the day off today.

Every year, Kevin and his friends go to an outdoor country concert weekend called Jam in the Valley. Thursday is guys night, so Kevin headed down to set up camp and hang out with his friends. Although its not so much "camping" as it is a bunch of northern rednecks setting up tents in a giant muddy field and spending the weekend getting hammered drunk, setting off fireworks, and generally being rowdy. For example, while we were walking to our site on Friday, people were playing redneck games. They were throwing a tire. To see who could throw it the farthest. I would not lie to you about this. The girl who was up as we were walking by didn't even set down her beer. Beer in one hand, tire in the other. God's honest truth.

So Friday before I left to go join the fun, I was a baking machine. I made some chocolate chip cookie bars (with M&Ms, yummers!), brownies and also s'mores bars. Delish! I left my car at Kevin's friends' house because it was supposed to rain and Kevin has gotten his car stuck there before, so I knew my car would not make it out alive. We loaded everything into his dad's truck and took off.

When we arrived, we grabbed a spot in overnight parking, loaded up with all the crap that I insist on bringing anytime we go places and walked over to the campsite. On the way, we passed people throwing tires in an apparent "redneck game" aka Exhibit A of "Why I don't belong here."

At the campsite, we split up, girls near the camper while the guys visited old buddies from high school. It was sort of annoying because Kevin's ex-girlfriend Jenna was there. Then somehow we got on the subject of chest hair and Nair and Jenna said she had done that to Kevin before and did I ever? To which I replied, "No, because you Naired his nipples and hurt him." To which she replied, "Oh yea, I still have pictures of that." SMOKE was pouring out of my ears. Why do you still have pictures of him?! So mad!

Anyhow, she wasn't staying for the concert so she left, and we went in. It started raining so I had all my belongings in ziploc bags. The Friday night concert was Big and Rich and Gretchen Wilson. Well, I don't really care for Gretchen but B&R was AMAZING! It started pouring as they played "Holy Water" and it was magical!

Of course, our blankets in our little tent also got wet, so sleeping that night was not so awesome, and we were up by 5:15am. No worries, we went to my fave diner for a little food!

See, Derek's excited! Are you?

Sara got the frisbee!

All the wives

Me and Kevin (adorable!)

Kevin, on the grill

After a nap at Kevin's parents, I had every intention of driving back to Rochester and resting until I had to work 8-12am at Wegmans (on 4th of July, thanks a lot). But right as I was about to leave, my grandma called and invited me down. I originally said no, but changed my mind, called her back and headed home. We had a lovely picnic with hot dogs, barbeque hamburgers, salads, fruit and blackberry pie!

I had an uneventful ride back to Rochester and the night at work was not as bad as I had anticipated. Also, I got to duck outside for a while and watch the fireworks - there is a park right across the street and they put on an excellent show. All in all, it was a lovely weekend.

Enjoy it!!

Getting there...

2009-06-17T00:07:00.003-04:00

Tonight my friend Carolyn captured me and we had a good old-fashioned girls night...mall in the afternoon, dinner at Taco Bell and movie in the evening. It was a lot of fun to hang out with my girl friends, but I was glad to get home too.

Thursday is my birthday. I will be 24 years old. I am feeling about 106. I dunno. The desire to have a baby is only making me feel older, like time is RUNNING by me and I can barely keep up. I just keep thinking, "Holy crow, I'm almost 50!" ((think that scene in "When Harry Met Sally" where he comes over to comfort her and she says "I'm going to be 40!" and he says "In 8 YEARS!"...."but its still out there."))

I know I am being silly but I want more from my life than to be working part-time for measly wages at a grocery store with a crap schedule. Being with my husband makes me so so happy but I have been unusually weepy lately and its kind of unnerving. It just seems like I should be farther already. I guess I have always been in a hurry. Call it the curse of the first child. I was 3 weeks early because I couldn't wait to get out, and I've been in a rush to grow up ever since.

Fingers crossed, I can slow down and appreciate all that I have. Enjoy it!

Confession

2009-06-09T13:55:00.003-04:00

Lately, I have been consumed with the desire to procreate. It seems like everywhere I look there is a little baby or a pregnant belly. I admit it - I've got babies on the brain.

Perhaps it is because we have a friend with a baby right now. Or because we haven't had any babies around in a long while - my cousin has two little ones (Harrison and Hayden (my goddaughter!)) but since she lives in Florida and we are in NY, we see them about twice a year, max.

Kevin's concerns are purely financial, and I agree. At the very least, I think I should get a full-time job before we have a kid. Or something with more regular hours. Since we don't live close enough that we could rely on our families as babysitters, we'd need to figure something out with a daycare and its hard to do with I work hours all over the place, and Kevin worked a different shift every week. But on the other hand, if we keep waiting, we might be waiting forever.

I am really hearing my biological clock ticking. Which is sort of puzzling to me, because I'm not even 24 (well, I will be next week, but that will be another quarter life crisis). I think because of all my internet exposure, I've come to realize that pregnancy is a hope, not a promise. If you are lucky enough to get pregnant on your own, even this doesn't guarantee you'll have an easy pregnancy, or end up with a healthy baby. I want a baby, but what I want more is to know that I can get pregnant, that we can get pregnant together. I know it seems like a silly worry but its the one I have right now. I don't want to find out five years down the road that its not going to happen for us and then be scrambling to figure something out before we get too old.

So if you need me, I'll be right here, listening to the *tick tock* of my biological clock. And keeping my fingers crossed that things fall into place...

Putting on the miles

2009-06-08T10:40:00.005-04:00

So lately I have been pretty busy traveling all over the globe for a variety of things:

-I was up in my hometown for a bridal shower. My cousin and his fiance who live in St. Louis are getting married in Connecticut in July and so we had a shower for them close to us so we could celebrate too. It was very nice to see everyone - the last couple times I had seen them, I was all busy with wedding plans and getting married, so I hardly got to spend any time with them.

-Also while I was home that weekend, I stopped over at my best friend Kara's parents house, her mom was throwing a Pampered Chef party. I ordered a couple things, lusted after a LOT more and generally had a good time visiting with Kara.

-That Thursday I was back up to hang out with my sister on her 21st birthday! WoohoO! My parents, Emily and I went out to dinner for hibachi (where I am also going for my birthday next week lol!) then out to a local bar for a more relaxed evening. The night before one of her friend's had thrown a surprise party and she had a few too many, so she was taking it easy.

-Saturday was another bridal shower, this time for my future sister-in-law, Jennie. It was in a park about half-way between here and my home town, so only about 45 minute drive. It was nice to visit, this is one of the few times Kevin's family gets together. So, while there, a bug tried to eat my hand and now its all swollen and itchy, but on the mend.

-Ooh, also Kevin and I had a date night and we went to the movies and saw "The Hangover" which was HYSTERICAL! Seriously loved it. Tears were streaming we were laughing so hard. It was the goofy-funny we needed exactly. Then we came home and watched "Royal Pains", which we had DVRed. I'm really excited because we both like it and now we have a summer show. YahoO!

Enjoy it!

20 days

2009-05-27T10:54:00.003-04:00

since my last blog, gosh I am not doing good at this. But things have just been really boring here, I guess. Well, I did start a new position (again - for those counting, this makes 3 times in 3 months) at work. I am a coordinator (still part time, and still making a pittance) which is a management position. SO I guess I am on the right track.

That being said, I don't know how much longer I want to stick with the grocery store. I know that if I can work my way up, I can get to something good. And I am a good employee, so I know I can do it. Its just that.... gosh, I got spoiled working my M-F 9-5 type jobs. I loved having a consistent schedule. Its really cramping my style that I am waiting until Friday to know whether I am working the next weekend or not. For instance, I have a bridal shower this weekend, and one next weekend. I can see the schedule early (now that I am management!) but its not finalized. And since I just started this (and since these showers mean I have weddings this summer, one of which is in Connecticut and means I need more than just the Saturday off), I don't want to be begging for weekends now when I will really need the days later. So I cannot RSVP until the Friday before. So I have to call, making apologies, and say, "Sorry, I'm not sure yet, I will let you know 6 days ahead of time so you can scramble to make arrangements for me."

Other than that, its business as usual. Cats are crazy, friends are crazy, work is busy.

Alright, since its a day off, I'm going back to chores!

Enjoy it!!!

I kid you not...

2009-05-07T06:58:00.002-04:00

This is the phone call I got at work today (Service Desk at Wegmans, for those of you who don't know my sad employment situation)...

Me: Thank you for calling Wegmans. This is Meagan speaking. How may I help you?

Woman: Yes, Meagan. I am sitting here eating my breakfast of Wegmans bran flakes and I could help but notice that Wegmans uses high fructose corn syrup in their cereal and I would just like to ask Wegmans to stop using high fructose corn syrup. It's really not good for people. That affects all you cereal and ketchup and other products too. Can you pass that on to the managers?

Me: Oh yes, absolutely I will pass that on and I would also like to encourage you to visit our website, wegmans.com, and leave a comment there. Thank you for your call.

The things wrong with this call:

1 - Wegmans does not have manufacturing plants, you fruitcake! Our generics are other products with our packaging. SO no, I don't think I can ask them to halt production because you think high fructose corn syrup is bad for people.

2 - And do you think I have some sort of bat phone that rings directly to Wegmans Headquarters where I speak with Danny and Colleen Wegman? That is not what that red phone behind the counter is for, sorry to burst your bubble.

3 - Furthermore, did you not see the commercials - its got the same calories as sugar and is fine in moderation! Cripe!

Oh, the life of a grocery store employee....

We're on the hunt...

2009-04-30T14:20:00.002-04:00

FOR A HOUSE!

Seriously. We've been talking about it for months, but yesterday morning (after both got home from our night shifts) we went to the bank and looked into mortgages. We got pre-approved for a good amount, enough to buy a home in an area we want to live in. And today I called a realtor who was recommended to us and we set up an appointment for Saturday morning at 11am.

YAY!!!!!! I am so excited about this! Cross your fingers that things will work out!

Enjoy it!

After all these years, I still don't know....

2009-04-28T09:56:00.003-04:00

What a weekend I had, I am telling you what. Seriously. My Saturday was a shambley mess and I loved it all. We did a Pub Crawl to benefit MS research, which my friend Meg suffers from. This is the fourth year we've done it, and it's guaranteed to be a riot.

**SIDE NOTE #1 My college friends have not called me Meagan since the 2nd week of freshman year. We already have a friend Meghan, so I got the nickname Bud. Long story.**

Here's how the day went:

At home, I showered and tried on 3 different outfits, 2 of which I just bought the night before on a ridiculous shopping outing. I ate a muffin the size of a planet and also a bowl of oatmeal, because I knew we would not be eating for a looooong time and there was a lot of beers headed my way.

Kevin dropped me off at my friends' house at 11am. There were about 1000 girls wandering about, but only one of them actually lived there. Kyle and Rick, more commonly known as "the boys", were sitting on the couch, playing a drinking game. Seriously, who pregames a 14-hr day-o-drinking?!

11:07 - I cracked my first beer. Woof. Beer is NOT meant for 11am.

Around 11:20, the other 2 occupants of the house return, with an 18 pack of beers. I showed off my 3 outfits and then combinations of them. I ran up and down the stairs about 8 times and then more girls showed up. The boys left for Rick's apartment because they had to poop and couldn't get into the girls' bathroom with all the extra females looming about.

1 pm, we finally left and headed down to a bar called O'Cals. Rick, Kyle, Cair and I drove together. and minus the 1 bouncer and 1 bartender, we were the first four people there. We hung out and played darts. It got crowded pretty quickly. Before we left, we played a ridiculous game of Flip Cup, which turned into elimination Flip Cup, which turned into a huge mess. Also, only one stall in the ladies' bathroom was working. Awesome.

Next stop - The Angry Duck. Yes, that is seriously the name. I swear to you on all that is holy. More beers. I managed to take 4 pictures before my battery died. Some of us split up (there was a taco place across the street), but me, Cair and Meg headed on to Avenue Pub, the gay bar next door. Where we got hotdogs. I hope you all see the humor in that. Also, we waited in line for the ONE bathroom. What is with bars putting in minimal amounts of ladies rooms?

Next, on to Acme, a bar so dirty that no one uses to the bathroom there, because its cleaner to pop a squat outside, but not so dirty that we couldn't order a couple slices of pizza. Since the boys didn't want to go to the gay bar with us, they were there. Stayed for a drink or two (it's easy to lose count...)

Onto our favorite - OXFORD'S! Many phone calls were made to Kevin, who was with his family celebrating his little brother's 21st birthday. At one point, I was up by the window, trying to get some reception, and some man came up behind me, wound up and hit my ass. Hard. Then, looked at me and said "Oh, I thought you were someone else" and walked away. This was around 7:30-8pm. You know, after we'd been drinking for 9 hours. So after I went back to Cair and the boys, I got really upset. Cair went and talked to him and told him that I was married and that was not cool (like it would have been if I was single, apparently). And I started crying. Which apparently the boys cannot deal with. I had been bugging them all day to do a shot of tequila with me, so to cheer me up, we went and did tequila (which, btw, was a very good idea to cheer me up <3).>

**SIDE NOTE #2 - Variety Packs, as far as I know, are one of Rick's inventions. It is 3 shots, you order them all at once, and do them one after another. I guess it could be anything, but we usually go for 2 of the bomb variety and then something else to finish with.**

Ok, so back to Variety Packs - we did JaegerBombs, Grape Bombs and then Soco&lime - WHEW! And then left and walked back to the girls' house to take a nap. We somehow picked up Christine, the ex of one of the other boys we hung out with in college who turned into a super-lame friend after graduation. She was one of the girls staying at the house, along with 5 of her friends. On the walk home it was revealed to her that Greg had some monkey-business going on at school with another girl while they were talking (not dating, just talking) and it spiraled out of control into this huge ball-o-drama when her friends got wind of it.

Kevin came to pick me up and walked right through the crossfire of drama in the living room, and found me upstairs crying about the boy in my friend Meg's room. Despite the fact that I could not hold myself up straight while standing, I insisted I go back out. But Kevin said no and took me home (after we got a garbage plate of course, you need something to soak all that booze up!). I got ketchup EVERYWHERE, but hey, I was happy, right?

The best part of the whole day, though, happened very early on when Kyle turned to me and said, "Bud, after all these years that we've been friends, I still don't even know your name."

LMAO!

Enjoy it!!

The story of us

2009-04-23T11:47:00.000-04:00

Well, when I started this blog, I had originally intended to tell all about Kevin and I, how we met and everything. But I never really got around to it....so now is as good a time as any for a little bit of backstory, right?

Kevin and I went to the same college and we were in the same learning community (a group of related classes that you take with the same group of kids, so you get to know them and make friends). We sat together on our first day of English, and right away I knew I liked him. Of course, we started talking because we had the same pencil - green with flowers and a girls name on it. Mine, of course, said Meagan (which was exciting because I can never find anything personalized with my name spelled correctly) and his said his girlfriend's name. Nonetheless, we talked a bit and I eventually invited him to hang out with my friends. Which he did (and got into a fight with his gf about)....but when he came down to my room, we weren't there!

We were also in a Freshman Seminar together, a 1 credit class about dealing with college (yahoo!). One day in class we had to choose our theme song and bring it to play for the class. It had to be something that you thought "If I was in a movie, this would be the song playing when I walked into the room." Kevin's was most surprising. He got up there, this big 300+lb, 6 ft tall football player and on comes this tiny little voice singing, "Am I not pretty enough? Is my heart too broken?" (seriously, YouTube it folks - "Am I not pretty enough?" by Kasey Chambers)...and he wasn't even joking about it. I was hooked haha.

Well, time went on and when we came back to school sophomore year, Kevin was single. A friend of ours was dating a guy on the football team, who took it upon himself to try and set Kevin up....with my best friend Carolyn! I didn't say anything because I thought that he was really interested in Carolyn, and I didn't want to be second choice. Turns out, he was going along with it because he thought Cair liked him, and she was going along with it because she thought Kevin liked her. And neither of them actually liked each other in that way. One night a group of us went down by the lake and Kevin and I had a really good conversation, it felt like we just clicked. But I just let it go.

((Kevin points to this night and says, 'If you'd only said something, we could have been together." But I think I needed the experiences I had later to appreciate what a catch he really is.))

Summer came and went, and shortly after we got back to school, I re-met and started dating my first serious boyfriend, also (conveniently enough) named Kevin. It was a wild start and a crazy ride. We were NOT good for each other. Kevin was very jealous and possessive and I withdrew from my friends. At the same time, Kevin (the husband, not the ex) started dating his ex-girlfriend from freshman year....we lived in the same building, and often said hi to one another but we were not really friends.

By the time senior year had rolled around, I had broken up with my bf but Kevin was still dating his ex. Actually, I was after another football player (having given up on Kevin) named Moose (actually, now that I think about this, Kevin does not know this). It was a lot of stolen glances and nothing of substance. Made for a lot of fun for us girls though - being silly.

I graduated early in Dec '06 and moved back home. One day before the new semester was starting, Kevin's relationship status on Facebook changed to single (and we all know that its not official until its on Facebook). My friend called to give me an update, I checked what she was saying, and I ran downstairs and told my mom "Kevin is single and I love him and we're getting married." Later in the week, I made plans to come up and visit my friends still at school and we found out Kevin and his friends would be out celebrating his roommate's birthday at the bar we went to every Sat night.

That night, I said "I'm going to buy him a beer." That was the plan. We ran into him and his roommate standing up against a wall - they weren't really into the club scene. We all said hi, and told Sven "Happy Birthday" and went out to dance. I went to the bathroom by myself, and on the way back I stopped to talk to Kevin, saying I couldn't see my friends and I lost them. Him being almost a foot taller than me, said he could see them out on the dance floor. So I said, 'Thanks. Do you want to come and dance with me?" and (completely out of character for him) he said yes. We danced all night and had a good time, and when the lights came on at the end of the night, I asked him back to have a beer with us. He drove home with us and we had a couple beers, my friends went to bed and we stayed up until 7am, just talking about anything and everything. That was it for me - I was sold.

Two months later, we made it official. Two months after that, he was telling me that he could see himself spending the rest of his life with me. And five months later, we were engaged. Ah, l'amore.

..."the night"...

2009-04-21T09:08:00.002-04:00

O.h.m.a.n.

As you may know, we have two lovely little kittens (who are not so little, or always so lovely anymore haha), Oscar and Vivienne. They are 6(ish) months old and we've been dodging a bullet with them so far.

They have not been fixed. But so far, that has not been a problem, at least one that we've observed. The thing is - its EXPENSIVE to get your animals fixed. So we applied to see if we could get some $$ to use towards it. We didn't get the kittens from a ASPCA or anything, my boss's mom's cat had kittens and she was giving them away. So the opportunity presented itself, and we went for it.

The vet we went to gave us a lecture on how important it was to spay/neuter your pet and how we should pass that along to the person we got them from. And I agree - there are a lot of animals out there without people to love them, so why keep creating more? But at the same time...if its so so important (ms. vet tech), why don't you make it a little easier on the budget?

Anyhoo....bullet dodging...oh ok, here's the point.

Last night, the cats decided it was The Night. There was horrible noises coming from the kitchen and I went to see what was going on, and there was Oscar, mounting Viv. Which, would not only leave us with kittens we 1 - aren't allowed to have and 2 - wouldn't know what to do with, but they are also from the same litter, so we'd have kittens with 3 eyes or 19 toes. GAH!

SO I scared them apart and they've been separated ever since. Which also means, sleep is tough. The first night, Oscar was in a room by himself. He cried the WHOLE damn night. The whole thing. You would think he'd tired himself out and give it up. But no. He woke me up at 2am, 3am, 4am, 5am, 5:30am.....

Lesson learned - we can't wait for him anymore. So he has an appt for the ol' snip snip on Friday. We bring him in Thursday night and pick him up Friday afternoon. She is the more expensive, so we are waiting to find out if we can get any credits. At least they are indoor cats so they aren't picking it up someplace else haha.

Now let's see how the next couple of nights go.....

Enjoy it!

Return of the Crazy Dream

2009-04-14T10:30:00.002-04:00

Ok, this one is a doozy. Seriously.

I worked at a mall, in a store like Macy's or something. And Tyra Banks was my boss. And we all had to go home early from work because she was in a fashion show later that day, and they were going to start setting up the vestibule of the mall. I told her that I was meeting my husband and his friends there, so I wasn't leaving and she warned me that under no circumstances was I to interrupt her walk, specifically by exiting through the door near the end of the runway.

Oh, also, I was very large and in charge - pregnant!

So Kevin and his friends showed up: Justin, his wife Heather (also pregs) and Derek. They come into the mall and I tell them what Tyra said and then all of the sudden there is a huge candy store on the inside of the department store that we are in. And Heather said we HAD to go there. So we went and started looking around.

Heather and I were grabbing candy off the shelf and the guys were like, 'come on! Lets go!" and then I start to freak out about how we can't go out of Macy's because the doors are locked and we can't leave out the door by the runway because Tyra will fire me. Then Heather hands me a carton of ice cream (vanilla with pretzels in it?!) and we both start eating. So then we have to pee, because that is what pregnant ladies do, and there is no bathroom in the store.

We peek out the windows and see that the lights are flashing and there is loud music playing, so the show has starting. We grab our ice cream and walk outside. The door by the end of the runway is the only one that we can get to, but I keep yelling at them and telling them no. Then some poor, unsuspecting schmuck tries to leave out that same door and Tyra comes flying down the runway and tackles him. So we sneak out while she is distracted.

We drive around the mall to the nearest restaurant. It is VERY fancy and we stand out like a sore thumb. I go to the bathroom first, then Heather and then all the boys decide that they need to go to, so I am left standing alone.

For some reason I am barefoot, so I start putting on my shoes and socks, only they are not the same things that I left the mall in. I have tall soccer socks that are shamrock green, and very high heeled, t-strap shamrock green shoes (ps, they were super cute!!). So as I am putting on my sock, some woman at a table asks what sort of activity I could possibly be doing that would require socks like that. And as if it was an explanation, a woman at another table licks my toe.

So I finish getting my shoes and socks on (so the woman won't lick me anymore) and when everyone comes back, I tell them what happened. And they tell her that we were going dancing. And then Heather breaks out in an Irish jig. And music starts playing. And then the guys join in. And they really know what they are doing! Kevin is doing a jig, and a darn good one at that!

And then I wake up laughing. Oh my heavens, I wish I could show you what I saw when they were dancing. It was too too funny!

And so the moral of the story is: Don't eat popcorn chicken before you go to bed!!

Enjoy it!

Happy 100 Posts!

2009-04-13T20:14:00.002-04:00

Well, I made it to 100...finally. Since I started this blog, I've worked 100 million hours, planned and successfully completed a wedding, moved to a new city, in with a boy, adopted 2 kittens, gotten a new job, and branched out in my cooking expeditions.

So whats next?

I guess we are weighing our options for right now. We are planning to start looking into mortgages, what we could get approved for and whatnot, and pending what happens with that, looking for homes.

No babies on the horizon anytime soon, so don't hold your breath for that one.

My best friend Kara just got engaged yesterday, so I guess that means helping plan another wedding. Which should help keep me busy! Its very exciting!

Stay tuned for more....

Enjoy it!

In a rut!

2009-04-09T15:50:00.002-04:00

Wow, I am so so sorry for deserting you. I have missed blogging ever so much, but it seems like I have hardly had anything to blog about theses days. And then there is the fact that I no longer have a job that requires me to sit at a computer for hours on end. Now that I don't have to be here, I don't really spend a whole lot of time on the computer.

Lets catch up, shall we?

Last you heard, I was married, right? Well, the honeymoon was amazing. We were completely pampered and LOVED it. Seriously. It was exactly what we both needed. On the way home, we got stuck overnight in NYC, which was pretty craptastic, but other than that everything was great.

And actually, the delay worked out in our advantage, because we stayed in Buffalo for a while and I called the photog, who said I could pick up my proofs that day, after 4. YES!!!

I've spent the past month cleaning, doing dishes, laundry and cooking. And watching obscene amounts of America's Next Top Model (Oxygen, I shall be eternally grateful that you show marathons every weekend. I could watch every season over and over and over again. The ego, the drama. Le sigh). I've tried my hand at cooking. I managed a few ok dishes and some really good ones, and still we're in a rut already.

I carried my proofs everywhere we went, it seemed, for about month. I'm STILL trying to figure out which pics we want in the albums, which we want big prints of, which ones to share, etc.

We finally got a bed frame for our amazing mattress. And Kevin splurged and got a new couch, which we both love love love. Our old couch was a hand-me-down from a friend of the family, and very formal. The new one is huge and deep and practically begs you to snuggle in. In fact, if I sit all the way back, my feet dangle above the floor (about a foot or so!). Of course, I'm pretty short at *almost* 5'4", so that is not saying a whole lot.

A few of my girlfriends from college moved up here this past weekend and I am so glad to have friends in the area. I've realized that one of the things I miss the most about being home is the familiar people. Now at work, no one I know comes in. No one knows who I am, asks how my family is doing, or that I just got married, or anything. The people I work with are very friendly, but the ones I work with on a regular basis are either 1 - still in college or 2 - have kids my age, so it isn't really conducive to making new friends. I do like the managers/coordinators/STLs a lot tho, and I am hoping that I can make friends with them more.

We are hoping to go to a couple of banks soon and find out if we can get approved for a mortgage, and for how much. It seems a little silly to keep paying rent and getting nothing out of it, when for less $$ a month, we could end up owning a home.

Geez, I guess I did have some things to blog about. I promise I will try to be more regular about it. I'm still figuring out how to hook my camera up to this computer, so hopefully I will have a few pictures to share soon.

Missed you all (and hope you missed me!!)!!

Enjoy it!

Ok, I'm back

2009-03-12T08:21:00.002-04:00

So I've been a huge slacker lately, but cut me a break - I got married, went on a honeymoon, moved to a new city, and started a new job (that does not require me to sit in front of a computer for 8 hours a day). Lame, I know, but its the truth.

So, as a quick update of all wedding related happenings.

Thursday night my girlfriends and I went out and had a blasty-mcblasterson. We hit up the Chocolate Bar for some delish (if a little 'spensive) martinis and desserts. Of course, someone ordered the obligatory phallic one (you know, banana in the middle, two shot glasses on the sides, topped with whipped cream....oh man). Then we went across the street to another club (where we snuck in my underage sister by merely saying "She forgot her id"...they don't stop bachelorette parties!). Last stop of the evening was Marcella's for the drag show - ah!mazing!!!

Friday night we had rehearsal, which went smoothly and then the dinner which went not so smoothly, when I had to miss out on the first hour of it when my friend's lame bf didn't get gas so they ran out on the 3 mile drive over there. And instead of calling AAA, called me and basically put it on me to handle it. All in all, I was a bit sleep-deprived and nerved up, and a whole lot crankier than I should have been. We both handled it a little wrong and it was fixed later that night. Rawr - bridezilla rears her ugly head!!

My friends came over and we hung out and did nails and primped, and we went to bed pretty early - you know, big day the next morning!

I got up around 7:30 and jumped in the shower, put on my Mrs. Newlastname hoodie and just hung out. Friends got there an hour later (with food!!) and the first group went off to the salon to get their hairs did at 9. Next, final two bridesmaids and I headed out there, and the others came home to have their make up done by my very talented friend Meg. My mom was basically running around like a chicken with her head cut off, dropping off flowers to the church and picking up my dress from where we had been storing it. She also decided that my veil had gotten a little crinkled and tried to re-iron it, but forgot she had turned up the temp and ironed a hole in it. And started to cry. Which I felt horrible about, because it really was no big deal - it was NOT an expensive veil, we got it from JoAnn Fabrics for about $14, it was two layers and the hole was on the bottom and you couldn't even see it. If it was really *that* bad, we could have gotten a new one. But no one saw, no one said anything and it was just fine. Mini-crisis averted.

By noon, I was all dolled up and my mom and friends were helping me to get dressed for the photog who was coming at 12:30. He was a bit early and all the girls ran up to get dressed too (I was stuck in the living room and was completely forbidden from moving or sitting). They girls came down (and looked beautiful!! its unfair how amazing they looked!) and the photog started snapping away. The limo came and picked us up, and my mom rode over with us - her first ride in a limo.

Then came the tough part - waiting! I was very calm all morning. Quite frankly, I was impressed with myself - I am a HUGE micromanager and I kept it cool and relaxed the whole day. But when we showed up and people were walking in, I just wanted to get out there and visit instead of waiting to be seen. My two little cousins stopped on the limo to say hi, and check it out. Oh and my friend Kara (the smallest girl in the party turned out to be the enforcer!) snagged my two cousins, Ryan and Brendan, and roped them into being my "door-openers" for my grand entrance. The conversation went a little something like this:

Kara: Ryan! RYAN! Can you and Brendan open the doors for Meagan when she walks down the aisle?
Ryan: Do I want to do this?
Kara: No no no, let me repeat myself, because perhaps I wasn't clear. You HAVE to open the doors for Meagan when she walks down the aisle.

When I finally walked into the back vestibule, I was a bundle of nerves. My friend's mother was standing back there, just waiting to watch me and I teared up a little bit. But I kept myself composed because 1 - if I started crying, I didn't know if I would stop 2 - I loved my make up and I didn't want to ruin it and 3 - I am NOT a pretty cry-er and I didn't want to mess up pictures.

When the music changed (to Elvis Presley's "Can't Help Falling in Love" which was PERFECT), my cousins opened the doors and we walked down. At first, I couldn't see Kevin, he was sort of hiding behind people, but then there he was. And he was a crying mess. So see? One of us had to hold it together! Then the music stopped, and we were on the altar.

The ceremony went so quickly. A couple of "I do"s and suddenly we are married. It was a little anticlimatic for me, because we didn't actually say our vows. But everything was so beautiful. Then we walked out, did a little victory dance and lined up for the receiving line. I couldn't believe how packed the church was - there were SO many people! It was great to see everyone, and I was so happy, I was hugging and kissing everyone! Then we lined up for pictures inside the church.

After that, we headed out to a local art gallery - they have this huge set of stairs and columns, and no matter what time of year, it is always pretty there. We got some great shots and then it started to snow, just very softly. Kevin and I got some together with the snow and we were off. The limo driver was apparently unfamiliar with the area and took us the most long, convoluted way back but it was fine. We got to our inside photo destination - a funeral home. I know, it sounds weird. But they have this great spiral staircase and the pictures turned out awesome.

At this point, I'm fed up with the limo driver - I gave them addresses, and he was NOT using them, just plugging in general ideas in his GPS. We were only about 1 mile from our banquet hall. He actually would have only needed to make 2 turns, less than 5 minutes. Instead of listening to what we were saying, he took us 10 minutes out of the way and got all turned around. So I was pretty angry about that. But I guess if the driver was my only problem (and I knew that getting into it, because as soon as I booked them I started hearing bad things about that company) then I guess I am pretty well off.

The reception was gorgeous - I had to pee when I got there which was a HUGE production. But then I got out there and was able to visit and get some munchies. We got introduced - which was a HUGE rush - and then cut the cake. Dinner was served, my dad said a quick blessing and the toasts were given. The Best Man did a nice job, but my sister totally showed him up. She did hers completely off the cuff, talked for about 1 minute and had the whole room in tears. I was so proud of her. Dinner was amazing and then we got out there to visit tables. I only made it to about 8 (we had 24) before the dj told us it was time for the first dance. I found Kevin and we headed out on the floor. It was so sweet - he sang the words to our song and I was melting. I danced with my dad, also a master of surpressing emotions (just like me!) so he just kept saying "Nice song!" haha. Kevin and his mother danced, and she cried of course. She was blubbering the whole day.

After that, I danced and danced and danced. They played my Elvis song and Kevin came right out and found me to dance. He also did the hokey pokey. Then he pretty much retired from dancing. But I was like a machine. I had my flats on and I was ready to go. Then, all of the sudden it was time to go and we were dancing the last dance. I had such an awesome time!! But man was I pooped!

We went back to my house and dropped off my dress and Kevin's tux. Grabbed our bags and headed out to the hotel. We had to leave super early the next morning, our flight was scheduled for a 5:50am departure, so by the time we got to bed at 1:30am, we basically took a nap. Out legs were SO tired, it was hard to get up and go, but we made it into JFK with time to spare and got right on to Antigua.....

Tying up loose ends...

2009-02-11T14:27:00.003-05:00

Today is the last day at my big kid job. After this I have a week off to prep and finish all my little projects, get primped and pampered and beautified, and then that is it - the wedding day and off to a lovely week in Antigua.

The girl I have been training has been out sick for the last three days, so today I am trying to get everything together for her and make sure I leave her some good notes.

It is SO nice knowing that I don't have to drive downtown anymore. I love to think about how I don't have to plan my weekends out months in advance according to what is going on with the wedding, when I am working and when I can see Kevin - I can see him everyday!

But I am really going to miss my friends here. The ladies at the office have basically planned the whole wedding with me, and I have loved their insights and advice. I just hope I am lucky enough to meet new friends at the new place.

I still can't even wrap my head around the fact that the wedding is in 8 days. EIGHT. A week plus one.

ENJOY IT!

Sniffles and watery eyes

2009-02-09T10:38:00.002-05:00

So I called in to work on Friday. I slept in for an extra 3 hours. I laid in bed for two more. I made myself some breakfast, went to AAA and picked up our honeymoon tickets, stopped at Borders to pick up some things and grabbed dinner with my grandparents. I worked at the grocery store and passed out in bed.

Saturday, I carried a box of tissues around with me like a safety blanket. My mom and I went out to the dress shop to pick out her dress, finally. We have a WINNER! I love love love it - it is a beautiful navy blue color and she looks great - what a relief! Now it just needs to be altered. Then I took off to Rochester, and when I got to the apartment, I took a nap for more than an hour. Kevin and I went out for some lunch - Red Robin, yummmmm! Then ran a few errands and by the time we were done, I was EXHAUSTED! It was only 6:30 pm, but I put on my pjs and snuggled up in bed. Which is also where I spent the majority of Sunday. By dinner time on Sunday, I had finished a whole box of tissues, and a whole pint of lowfat Half-Baked B&Js fro-yo (its not really low fat anymore when you eat the whole container, is it?). And I was wiped. So I stayed the night again and just got up early with Kevin this morning to head back to B-lo. Kevin had to be at work at 6am today, so he woke me up before he went in. It was a rough ride in and I was having a hard time staying awake, but I think I will make it through the day. I am feeling a little bit better, and I haven't fallen asleep at my desk yet, so I am rejoicing in the small victories.

My friend Ann is taking me out to lunch today and I am excited to get the heck out of here for a little while. It will be nice to take a break. Also, pretty much everyone in my office is sick, and even my big boss called in today, so I don't really feel so bad about being a wimp on Friday and not just toughing it out. Normally I would just try and work through it, but with the wedding so close, I need to get better and that won't happen if I never get to rest.

Enjoy it!!

Nightmare

2009-02-06T08:43:00.004-05:00

OMG i just woke up from the worst dream ever and I am just typing it out right now before I forget all the horrible things that went wrong. First of all, we have this really lovely banquet hall, and when I walk in, it just has 4 long tables that stretch the entire length of the room. My dress has patches on it like it is some girl scout sash. My bridesmaids never went to get their dresses altered and are being held together by straight pins, and my friend Kara's skirt keeps falling down. They are not even in the right color, but someone is also randomly wearing a brown top. We are about to do introductions, but only the girls are in the back and people are leaving already. Kevin is still sitting at a table with his buddies, drinking, so I peek out to see what is going on and there are only about 50 people left (we invited 250). Someone handed me a bottle of dark rum, and it spilled all over the front of my dress. So I go to the bathroom to try and clean it up - which looks remarkably like the bathrooms in a grammar school - and the more I try to clean it up, I get up that little spot, but make a bigger mess of it. Then suddenly I realize - THIS IS NOT EVEN MY DRESS!!! It has this ugly burnt orange/brown/poop colored trim on it. And just as I sit down on the bathroom floor and started to cry, I woke up.

Anxiety.

2009-02-04T08:33:00.003-05:00

And for once, it isn't my own - it is Kevin's.

Last night I got a text message at 2:29am about how he was feeling funny and couldn't sleep. This has happened before. He starts to feel...not right. His chest gets tight and he feels short of breath. He feels sort of numb, or like he is just floating through his day. This is the same thing that happened on Thanksgiving, which resulted in a trip to the ER.

Kevin is someone who is always healthy (knock on wood). He rarely gets a cold, whereas I am sick left and right with colds, strep throat, the flu, you name it. SO when something feels off, it freaks him out. Kevin is also a worrier - when something like this freaks him out, it carries over for days. Its ok when his mind is busy, at work, playing a video game...but when he tries to sleep, he lays there and thinks about things instead. Which results in more anxiety, tight chest, etc. It is a vicious cycle.

Kevin is now particularly worried since my cousin, 27, had a stroke this summer. When he first went to the ER, he was sent home with a diagnosis of the flu. Luckily, he went back and is doing very very well now. But Kevin, the worrier, thinks "I live alone. What if something were to happen to me and no one would know until the smell of my decomposing body leaked into the hall and the kittens started eating my eyeballs?"

Which stresses me out because 1 - Kevin is a large man, and not a very healthy eater. What if I think he is crying wolf and something is really the matter? 2 - I don't know why he thinks that if he didn't answer my phone calls for a day (let alone long enough that the kittens would eat his eyeballs) wouldn't send up a warning signal and 3 - I don't want him to have to be anxious about things and I think the things weighing on his mind right now are the wedding and how we'll be making ends meet after I relocate.

I don't know what to do to help him. I don't want him to be feeling crappy and anxious for the next 17 days, but I also don't think he is the kind of person who will want to talk to someone/seek options for treating or controlling anxiety. I feel like we are going around in circles. The funny thing is, it seems to be that he gets upset when I am telling him about all the things that I've gotten done for the wedding.

I guess I'll have to wait and see how he is feeling this morning...

Why, hello there Vivienne!

2009-02-03T15:35:00.002-05:00

Here is Vivienne's new favorite place to lounge:

Kevin has been trying to sneak up and get a picture of her in the bathroom sink for a week, but she keeps running away before he gets there. Finally, he emailed me these yesterday. Haha, silly kitty!

You win some, you lose some

2009-02-03T00:24:00.003-05:00

So this weekend was interesting - I cleaned and cleaned and cleaned some more, filled a couple of boxes to send with Kevin to the apartment and filled up garbage bags and a recycling bin full of junk. My mom, her friend Mrs. Q and I worked on favors. I went to the baby shower for Heather, the Best Man Justin's wife. I didn't know anyone there and Kevin's ex ended up sitting next to me, but she was fine, friendly even, so I guess that worked out ok.

I had a FANTASTIC Monday morning - I was in an amazing mood because Kevin came to pick me up at work and we went to get our marriage license. Any excuse to see Kevin is a good one. But this was SO exciting. Of course Kevin was all, "*grumble grumble* don't know why there aren't lines on the roads *grumble mumble* signs to mark the one-way streets *grumble*"...he doesn't enjoy driving downtown haha.

Here we are, marriage license in hand...

After work, I headed out to the dress shop to pick up my dress - so exciting. And then my day his a low point. I slipped on some ice in the parking lot and fell. I skinned my knee and bruised up my hands. Big old dummy. After I washed my hands and bandaged my knee (thankfully I didn't rip my new pants!), I headed in to try on the dress for the last time before the wedding. My dress has a chiffon overlay on it, and its longer than the actual dress. And to me, it looked like the hem on one side was higher than the other, and there was what looked like two little snags on the front of the chiffon and I didn't love the whole bustle, but its just a litle too late now. Plus, right now we were really scrutinizing it, which no one will be doing the day of, and they weren't things you would see in pictures.

The dress is living at my great aunt's right now, so that it won't get ruined here... I just realized that I paid for a crinoline but I don't know if I took it home (wrapped with the dress) or not....I will have to check with my mom, since she had the dress in her car.

I worked till midnight tonight. Work at 7:30 tomorrow morning, then a meeting with the music director at church tomorrow at 4:30. Then hopefully finishing cleaning and maybe doing some nothing, because I'm hitting a rough patch.

Enjoy it!!

Please Mr. Postman

2009-01-28T22:14:00.003-05:00

I have been having the most excellent luck with my mail lately. RSVPs are slowly trickling in, including the ones that have been delivered to wrong addresses. But that is not what I am talking about. I have been ordering things online, wonderful wedding things, and they are finally starting to arrive.

Friday I got the handkerchiefs I ordered. And the brooch. Then got my personalized napkins (and yes, I know how ridiculous this is, and yes I know they will be thrown out, but they are flippin' adorable and I need need needed them). And my lovely VistaPrint business cards with my new contact info on them, including email, cell and mailing address (and my new last name - squee!). And the cutest little knit hat for the baby shower on Sunday.

Then yesterday, the best thing, the lovely unity candle holder that I ordered. I looooove ordering things online. When they show up, it is like Christmas. Best of all, I can go shopping any time, day or night, even at work (although this is not recommended). Thank heavens for internet shopping!

My adorable napkins

They say "Eat, Drink and be Married" with our names and the wedding date

The little hat I got on Etsy from seller pdxbeanie, who I highly recommend

I don't have a baby doll around the house,

so i put it over a snow globe to get the effect haha

Enjoy it!

In Memory - a reflection

2009-01-28T21:57:00.004-05:00

Tonight we went to my Uncle Jimmy's wake. He passed away on Sunday evening. He was my grandmother's baby brother, 17 years younger than she.

Uncle Jimmy was very sick - he always smoked a pipe and as a result he ended up with throat cancer. About 10 years ago, after he was first diagnosed, he lost part of his tongue and jaw to the disease. His wife became his translator to those who weren't around him enough to understand his garbled speech.

For the past six months or so, he has been in and out of the hospital having trouble breathing. Both he and my Aunt Judy were planning on attending my wedding, although he had a feeding tube and wouldn't be able to eat.

Watching his wife today was so unbelievably hard. Now that I have a person that I intend to spend the rest of my life with, it gives you so much more perspective. As a child, I tended to sympathize with the children of the deceased, because that was the connection that I understood and valued. But now that I have more insight into the other side of the relationship, it is much more poignant.

And as awful as it sounds, I enjoyed seeing everyone today. All of my cousins (really my mother's cousins) are older than I am and when I was younger, I was used to having everyone around. But now that everyone is getting older and having their own families and establishing their own traditions, we don't get together as much. Its especially hard because there are so many of us - my grandmother is one of eleven children! So although I wish it could have been under better circumstances, it was good to see these cousins who I only see at family reunions every other year.

So, rest in peace, Uncle Jimmy - may the angels welcome you home.

She works hard...

2009-01-27T08:49:00.002-05:00

for the wedding, so hard for it honey! Ok sorry with my spontaneous outbursts....

But seriously - why does "Its YOUR day" translate into "do an obscene amount of work for the next year or so and stress yourself out about everything from your vendors to the cake to making sure that your exact shade of green is used in all aspects of your ceremony and reception"?

I've really been getting a lot done lately and I'm pretty darn proud of myself. Tonight I have a meeting with the photographer at 4:30 and then Kevin and I are *finally* meeting with the priest at 6:30. Thursday I have a meeting with our venue at 4:45. I am so glad that I am doing these meetings. As I mentioned to my photographer, I feel like the biggest slacker bride - I worried about booking all the major vendors and then just basically said "we can worry about details later..." So I guess that later is....well, now!

Of course, I asked my mom about how she liked all the stuff I got done this weekend. Programs? "Eh, they're nice." How about the favors, mom? "I don't like how the ends stick out. And there's no way you could have done this on darker paper?" What do you think of the gift I got for Heather's shower? "You spent too much money."

So I guess there really is no pleasing everybody.

Oh well....

Enjoy it!

Baby you can have whatever you like

2009-01-25T20:52:00.009-05:00

SO I had a VERY successful weekend. I didn't get everything on my list done, but I am still really happy with what I did get done. First I went out and did a couple of errands.

The first stop was Joann Fabrics, where I got 4/6 of the votive candles I needed - they came in packages of 24 for $4.99 and I needed 6, but there were only 4 on the shelf and none in the back :(. I also got white and silver gel pens to use with our Wish Jar.

Next stop was right across the street - Babies R Us. Now, don't go getting any ideas - it's for our Best Man's wife. She is having a shower next Sunday and I figured I may as well stop while I am out. I made a baby blanket for them - its lavender, white and baby pink - and I also ordered an adorable little crocheted hat for them. Obviously it a girl! Heather is due 3 days after our wedding so I am hoping that she either goes early or holds out past the 21st because I would (selfishly) like our Best Man to be at the wedding...

Finally (because I was getting frustrated with humanity at this point) I stopped at Target. I picked up a whole ton of stuff, including 2 new pairs of sunglasses (because I lose them ALL THE TIME), a bunch of supplies for my wedding day bag, Crest whitestrips and whitening toothpaste, a new Biore face mask, and a cute little cupcake Valentines Day card to send to my goddaughter Hayden in Florida.

Then it was time to get down to work. I fiddled around on the computer trying to come up with a design for the cover of my program. Then I had to go out and get it copied at my fave place ever - Office Max. Unfortunately my favorite copy lady was not in (and therefore I did not get my lovely little discount). However, the guy that was there was able to help me with a couple things, so I was glad for that.

I had been texting all day with a local girl on The Knot from the message board we both belong to, so we decided to get together for dinner at a place at the mall. So I went home and got my face on and headed out. I met Maureen and her friend Kim outside the restaurant and we had a great time. Dinner was delicious (as were the martinis and the dessert) and I was so glad to have a break from my crafting marathon.

I got home around 10pm and started folding papers for my programs, while watching Father of the Bride (of course). I've always loved this movie, but it is so much more poignant and meaningful watching it from a soon-to-be (emotional) bride's perspective. And I must tell you, I am oh so envious of how Annie and Nina get along. My mother and I have really hit a rocky road where we are just NOT speaking the same language to each other and it has really been taking a toll on our relationship. Hopefully this is something we can get back on track once the frustration of the wedding is over with.

Because it was freezing and I have no idea how to work thenew thermostat, I went up to be after I finished folding. When I got up in the morning, I got right back into it. Almost.

First I made some mini-muffins, you know, for sustenance. And I also got to use my adorable silicone heart shaped pan, so that was a plus. I found a great recipe online that I was really happy with - normally, my muffins turn out very dry, but using the suggestions left by other reviewers, they came out moist and delicious. More on that at a later date.

Then it was on to tackle the programs - I had to cut the designs out first. Then I found the Top Model marathon on Oxygen, tuned in and zoned out while I attached all 125 of them. Which took less than an hour - super fast!

Shower - quick stop at Office Max again for copies of candy bar wrappers, that will also double as escort cards (my fave part about this was because I only needed them cut exactly in half, I could have the guy who worked there do it and it was only $1.09 and saved me at least 2 hours worth of work) - dinner with my grandma and family. My Aunt Sandy helped me (finally) finish off my blanket by showing me how to hide all my lose strings.

Back at home, I brought out the glue and crystals and started working on my bridesmaids gifts - personalized tote bags. I did their initial in crystals and I have to say, I'm really happy with how they turned out. This was definitely a budget project.

And now for the pictures:

This is the cover of the programs. I only did the outside

because I am a slacker and I don't know what readings or musci we are having yet.

This is a close-up. It says:

Once in a while, right in the middle of an ordinary life, love gives us a fairytale

My candy bar favor/escort card wrappers. They have our monogram and say:

Thank you for sweetening our day. Love and kisses from the Mr. and Mrs.

This is the gift for Heather's baby shower. I got a diaper changing caddy,

complete with diapers, wipes, Boudreaux's Butt Paste, baby powder,

q-tips and one of those things that sucks the boogies outta babies' noses.

Although it looks like a pillow, this is the blanket I made for Baby Autumn.

Its all folded up and lovely, so hopefully Heather will like it

Here's one of the bags I made - K for Kara

2 Ts - Tyler and Tracy

2 Cs for Carolyn and Colleen

And an E for Emily

All in all, I think I did really well this weekend and I hope I can just keep it moving!

**UPDATE - I forgot a few things...I also got in the handkerchiefs I ordered for me, my mom and Kevin's mom, and both my grandmothers. With this came a lovely brooch that I will put on my bouquet. I also ordered a stand for my unity candle and got two white tapers to finish it off. And I ordered little business cards with my contact info to give all my work buddies so we can keep in touch after I move.**

Enjoy it!

Anatomy of a Weekend

2009-01-23T11:14:00.000-05:00

Ah the weekend…a gift from the gods as a reward for the feeble toiling we do all week locked in an office and chained to a desk. So why is it that my weekends have not been restful since the time Kevin and I got engaged?? Ah me, at least there are only 29 days left of this madness!! Squeeeee!

So anyhow, here is the big to do list for this weekend:

Friday:
- Make up a mock program and mock favor wrapper so I can go have copies made
- Trace monogram onto aisle runner

Saturday
Purchases:
- Silver and black pens for the Wish Jar
- Flip flops for the bridesmaids (Sizes 6/8/8/9/10/10)
- 130 white unscented votive candles
- Hershey bars for favors/escort cards (approx 240)
- Supplies for Wedding Day Emergency kit ( Tylenol / pepto / clear nail polish / hair spray / bobby pins / safety pins / band aids / Nos / ????)
- CD holders to organize DVDs and reduce the clutter

Make:
- Paint aisle runner (carefully this time!)
- Make copies of monograms for programs and wrappers for favors
- Fold papers for programs
- Mount monograms on lt green paper, attach to outside of programs
- Make crystal monograms for bridesmaid gifts
- Iron on “bride” appliqué for my white tote.

Misc:
- Figure out what pictures to use for the cardbox
- Clean and pack my room (we’ll see how this goes)

I am also *hopefully* getting together with a local knottie, for what I don’t know yet. Wish me luck on getting through all this! Hopefully I will have a good report and plenty of pictures on Monday ; )

Enjoy it

Bachelorette Pictures

2009-01-21T21:28:00.007-05:00

Ok, so here are all the pictures from this past weekend....read the previous post for more details!

Here is my sorry behind, sleeping at the bar after a very long day on Friday...

All dolled up on Saturday night

Again

Showing off my ring...which was pretty much the best thing ever.

It was large, in charge and lit up. What more could a girl ask for?

Me and my hetero lifemate, Carolyn - one of my bridesmaids

I <3>

So does Carolyn

And Kelli....

And Meg

Cheers! One more month and Bud's a married woman!

See, we are lovely when we try real hard

Practicing our Cupid Shuffle, for all the music and dancing later...
you have to warm up, you know!

At the Pig - why hello there, drunk eyes.
So nice of you to make an appearance tonight.
I'm sure its not the last we'll see of you...
Eyes OPEN

Meghan has ridiculously long femurs and is always squatting in our pics....very flattering

My fave Fishies
(minus my friend and fave nurse, Kelly, who had to work this weekend)

Carolyn and Meghan

Kelli and Carolyn

Me, riding the bull
Clearly, this is not going well...

AHHHH!!! Get me off this thing!

Yay! Me and Cair again! Love this lady

Apparently my drunk eyes come out when these two are around

Obviously, Kelli lives in a tanning bed, and since my people shun the sun and my grandfather was Casper the friendly ghost, I'm making her look a lot tanner

Me, Carolyn, Meg, Kelli and Julia (who we ran into in the bathroom)

Weekends are my favorite <3

2009-01-21T15:41:00.000-05:00

Well then. I have finally returned to my bloggy domain. And boy do I have some stories…. I was trying to hold off on these until I could add in the pictures, but it will just have to wait – I’ve missed you too much!!

So then, this was a big huge super fun weekend for me. It almost makes up for all the torture of the wedding and invitations and nonsense haha.

But seriously…

I took off right after work on Friday and drove up to the apartment to start preparing for my friends. I knew they were meeting in Albany around 4, so I could expect them around 7:30. I wasn’t sure if they would have eaten dinner so I had a lot of munchies to make.

I started right away and boiled some chicken, both for quesadillas (yum!) and also for some chicken wing dip (which I knew I had to make very mild, since they don’t like spicy things…). I dumped grape jelly and chili sauce and turkey meatballs into my crockpot and put it on low. I melted butter and brown sugar to start out my Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Dip. Then I tackled the bathroom.

I scrubbed and scraped, shook out the rugs and put out clean towels. I lit the yummy candle so it didn’t smell like boy in there and rinsed everything off. Kevin has no concept of clean when it comes to the bathroom.

When the girls showed up, everything was ready and we got right down to it – beer and wine in the fridge, snacks on the table and a small country’s worth of belongings strewn about my living room. Kevin would be coming home to quite the sight.

We chatted and caught up and had a few drinks and ate our weight in bad-for-you-but-mmm-so-good snacks. When Kevin came home, he drove us out to the bars and dropped us off. We met up with a couple of friends. At this point, I have been going all day on about 5 hours of sleep, plus mixing a depressant (thanks booze) in resulted in my, snoozing at the bar. I have definitely had finer moments, but this is not so bad.

Kevin came to pick us up….which actually turned out to be unnecessary because Carolyn (one of my bridesmaids) had met up with Rick, the guy she is bringing to the wedding, so he offered to drive us home. So Kevin took me, Meg and Cair went with Rick and Kelli went with Old Man Rick, the gentleman friend she sees in Rochester. He’s a pretty good guy, so that was ok.

Cair and Rick took the air mattress in the living room (which thankfully the kittens took mercy on and decided to spare it from their claws), and Meg had the spare room all to herself.

The next morning, I was up early and then the girls started making noise. Kevin cursed and grumbled, “Don’t your friends ever sleep?” since apparently they had been up pretty late the night before. But we all reconvened in the second bedroom to discuss the night before and all the craziness that had happened (including but not limited to my unconventional napping spot) – I missed this since school. We ALWAYS used to de-brief after a night out.

We headed out for some breakfast and then to the mall. I tried on a smaller size of pants and miraculously – they fit! Of course this may not be the case anymore, after the weekend-o-empty calories, but still…..

We headed home and the girls went out to Party City to buy some supplies. While they were gone, I put my hair up in curlers and laid down to nap for a while – glorious! Napping is a wonderful thing <3

The girls came back and napped too and then the fun began. I made some quesadillas (way to be prepared, Meagan!) for dinner and downed my first energy drink – spare me the lecture, I couldn’t fall asleep at the bar two nights in a row! They brought some delicious margaritas with them, so we all had some of that, took turns getting in the shower and drying hair and putting on makeup. After we were all dolled up, the girls gave me my presents – a flashing sash, a light up bling ring, a “Bride to Be” pin, and a veil! Too funny!

Then we toasted in the evening with some yummy champagne, danced, drank and played a few games until it was late enough to head out. On the road, I drank my second energy drink (I know, I know, I’m rotting my insides). We went to a bar called The Pig and hung out there for a while. We ran into a couple people we knew from college, including one who knew Kevin and was wishing us the best and everything.

We left the Pig and headed over to Daisy Dukes – you know, the country bar. I love it there. And then….I RODE THE BULL! Seriously. After drinking, I dragged my fat ass up and rode the bull. It was so HIGH and SCARY and ridiculous. There is a trick to the bull. You have to be confident enough to do it fast. And I am not. So the guy would just jerk it around real slow, and it just made it even more difficult to hang on. I have been bucked off of these before, but this time I just gracefully…slid off. I had a blast!

After I got off, my legs were shaking and we went to the bathroom where we ran into Julia, a girl we went to college with. It was great to see her and we all went out and did a shot together. Then we headed upstairs from Daisy Dukes to a different bar, where they have music and dancing. Time to shake what our mamas gave us!

We danced for the rest of the night. It was a ton of fun. Old man Rick and his brother mysteriously showed up. Old Man Rick’s brother was hanging on Meg, and kept putting his arm around me and being a creep and I didn’t really enjoy that, but I was the only one who wasn’t dancing with a guy so I guess he didn’t want me to feel left out or something? Whatever, it helped when other guys came dancing up. I was like, um…dude – do you not see the sash and veil? I don’t need weird guys dancing up on me.

Closing time rolled around and Cair got picked up by Rick, Old Man Rick and his brother took Meg and Kelli out and Kevin came to get me. Funny how I always went home alone… Kevin took me out to stop for a garbage plate – which was on the house, due to all my wedding paraphernalia. Also, Kevin ran into the bathroom really quick and another man proposed to me, and the woman he was sitting with volunteered to be my maid of honor. So when Kevin came out of the bathroom, the man asked “Is this the guy?” and the whole place started cheering. It was so fun!

Sunday morning rolled around and we knew it was going to be a lazy day. Carolyn’s car, which she had left on the street, had mysteriously disappeared – it had been TOWED! So we had to go get it out….luckily 1 – it was there and they were open and 2 – it had only been towed and not stolen! She was pretty angry, but I did tell her not to park on the street….

We just hung around all afternoon, relaxing, eating some McDonalds and watching the Top Model marathon on Oxygen….glorious.

I <3 my friends – they are so awesome! I really enjoyed having them there…and guess what?! They are talking about moving back when their lease is up! I could have friends in my new city!!!! AWESOME!

Enjoy it!

Brrrrrr.....

2009-01-16T12:41:00.001-05:00

So it is freezing outside. But I forgot to bring a lunch and so I am trekking across the frozen tundra that is downtown, over to my fave little lunch spot for some chili and a sandwich. Yummers. At least the chili should warm me up a bit.

Wish me luck, you know, so I hopefully won't freeze halfway there and collapse into a shivering mess.

Hope you are all staying warm out there in blog-world. Layers are important!!

Enjoy it!

Aisle Runner

2009-01-13T23:02:00.005-05:00

So I finally got to work on my aisle runner yesterday. I traced and traced the outline of the HUGE monogram I designed and finished that in about 45 minutes.

Today I ran out and got some paints (which turned into a huge debate on the merits of the three different light greens). Then I started to work:

Quite honestly, I'm not 100% happy with it. I don't know if I didn't trace Kevin's name dark enough or if I was just getting sloppy but my name looks so nice and his looks so....thick. My mom keeps trying to tell me that is just how the letters in his name are. Oh well, it IS on the ground and people won't be analyzing it like I will.....we'll see if I can let it slide. I might need to try it again. It really only took about 2 hours total, so it wouldn't be too bad. Gosh, every time I look at it, I hate it more. I did not have this problem when I made Steph's. Grr....

Also, I finally managed to start cleaning my room out. I seperated my clothes into "Keep," "Honeymoon," "Take to apt.," and "Goodwill." Normally I have a really hard time getting rid of things, but I know there is no way I will be able to fit all this stuff into the apartment without it ending up a HUGE mess like my room is. The hardest things to get rid of are right on top: the pink pants and the red pants. I love those pants. I thought I was so cool. I haven't fit into those pants in about 3 years. Oh well. A lot of the clothes I am getting rid of are actually in really good condition, so hopefully some people will get good use out of them and be able to keep warm this winter.

Enjoy it!!

Sneaking up

2009-01-12T08:51:00.002-05:00

I can't believe how quickly the time is going, now that we are getting down to the end. I'm sorry that all my posts lately have been about the wedding, but I seriously don't have time for ANYTHING else.

Wedding checks:
--We booked a DJ! FINALLY! With a mere 41 days to go, we finally called and booked someone
--My friend sent me the enlarged pieces to my aisle runner, so I can start working on that tonight
--I decided I am going to put my monogram on the front of the programs, so I shrunk it to the right size and set that up. Once I get a new color ink cartridge I can print one out and take it to be copied. Oh, and I ordered the paper I need to work on this!
--I have delegated the making of the card box to my very handy father, so hopefully he will start working on that and then I can finish it
--I went in for a fitting so my dress is being hemmed and bustled (European style) and I also have a crinoline now.

And then there is my mother. She still needs a dress. And we do not agree. She likes this very simple dress, which is a very nice dress but looks like you are wearing a business suit but with a long skirt. And I like another dress she tried, that is a little more flashy and a little more of a "gown" rather than a "dress-suit". I just thought she would want something a little more dressed up than what she is liking right now. I know she wants that first dress but she wants me to like what she is wearing, so she doesn't want to get it. So I don't know. Because I am not going to like it any better. But if that is what she wants, then fine. She needs a dress and we are waiting too long as it is.

ALSO, speaking of my mother and sneaking up....it's her 50th birthday today! SO Happy birthday Mom! Love you, even if you like boring dresses.

Enjoy it!

Great Success

2009-01-09T00:35:00.002-05:00

SO I made it to the dress shop, this time with my shoes, and had a successful first fitting. So all I need as far as alterations go is to hem the dress and add a bustle. I did not like the first bustle that she added because it pulled the extra fabric on top of the dress and kind of added some extra weight to my butt, an area that certainly does NOT need any extra volume. So instead we decided on a European style bustle, where the extra fabric is gathered underneath the dress.

Also, I called Lillian, our AAA travel agent, and paid the balance on our honeymoon. So we are officially booked for Antigua. Be jealous. This will be our first vacation together and I cannot wait! For serious. A week of beaches, sun, relaxation, and swim up bars. Woohoo!

I'm just so so glad that we are getting some of these things off the check list. Hopefully tomorrow my parents are going out to listen to the dj and then we can (finally) book him and be done with it.

Enjoy it!!

Dress Fitting FAIL

2009-01-06T20:42:00.003-05:00

Well, I made it 20 of the 25 minute drive out to the dress shop and then realized I FORGOT MY SHOES! Which means...no dress fitting. As the lady so snippily told me. Yes, I know that, thank you. If I didn't live 25 minutes away and it wasn't rush hour, I could go back and get them and be fine. But that is not the case.

Oh well, I tried the dress on anyway and I still love it. I was a little worried because I thought I might change my mind on it (its been 6 months since I've seen it) and a lot worried about my shelf @ss fitting into the dress. It's still not where I would like it to be, but the girl laced it all the way up and it was better than the last time - so I guess its really crunch time now.

ALSO - I found jewelry. Its very simple and almost more casual, but I would definitely be able to wear them again. And on the way home, my mom and I stopped at David's Bridal and started looking at some dresses for her...and we're going back out again tomorrow!

So, this is it. Of course I'm not all tall and willowy

like the model on the Maggie website, but I like it just the same.

With a veil

Again

This is the one embellishment on the dress.

Its simple and sophisticated, and this just adds a

little whimsy/vintage. I sound like I am describing wine haha

47 days!!

2009-01-05T08:34:00.002-05:00

Oh my gosh, I can't believe it is getting so close. Really I feel like the time has been draaaaaagging by, because we've been planning this since Dec 2007. But since Thanksgiving, everything has been SO busy and So rushed that time has just been running by.

The dress is in and paid for. My first fitting is tomorrow, hopefully my butt will fit in the dress (not likely after the amount of nonsense I ate between Christmas and New Years, but a girl can dream, right?).

The honeymoon will officially be completely paid for as of Thursday Jan 8th. This may be my favorite part of the whole planning process so I am pretty excited about that! I have seriously considered starting to pack, since its summery clothes and bathing suits, both of which I am definitely NOT wearing in the snow haha.

Invitations finally made it out on Dec. 31 and I could not be more thankful. I have about 10 stragglers left where I was missing one thing or another, or they weren't on the original list and I hadn't properly tuned my ESP to read my mom's mind. BUT we should be getting RSVPs in today and I am SO excited about it. Like I've said before, I thought I would end up calling people to invite them to the wedding, so this is a huge relief.

Big checks still left:
** Get my mother a dress!! She hasn't even gone into a store to look yet. Thanks mom, guess you'll be wearing that same tired navy blue pants suit that you wear to everyone else's wedding**

**Talk to the priest about readings and music**

**Work on programs. I can't do the text w/o the priest, but I could definitely work on the outside covers**

**Get a veil and a crinoline for the dress. And figure out my old, new and borrowed items**

**Find jewelry and hairpins**

**Design and print favor labels - we are doing a Hershey's bar and on the wrapper will be a little monogram and a place to write the guest's name and table # - mutli purposing!**\

**Get the rest of the supplies for the centerpieces - about 26 bowls, 130 votive candles and 80 floating candles**

**Find a cake topper that had no lace or heart and doves and looks like US**

**Buy a wish jar**

**Make a card box**

**Paint my aisle runner**

**Get table #s**

**Get our marriage license**

**Finish up the bridesmaid gifts for my girls**

**HIRE A DJ**

Hopefully I'll be able to start checking a LOT of stuff off this list soon...

Enjoy it!!

Pictures from my long lost camera

2009-01-02T08:36:00.003-05:00

I accidentally left my camera at Kevin's parents house for Christmas, so here are a few pictures of the gathering that I've been meaning to put up:

This is Kevin's grandmother, dad and Aunt Shirley

Kevin's brother Nate and his fiance

(Nate is always that hairy, but not always so blah -

he was VERY sick for the past couple days and was

not really into the whole photo shoot I had going on)

This is Kevin's cousin Kim (in the red) and his fiance Julie.

They just recently got engaged and are planning a wedding for August '09.

Here's Kevin and his mom, Judy.

And here's Kevin's other brother Randy...sitting on top of Kevin

I curled mah hairs!

We're so cute

Kevin put this up in my living room.

"Babe, that wall is so bare, it needed something."

It will be coming down soon.

Kevin, being a goofball

And a goofball again...

he is really going to get tired of me and my camera.

(ps - see that green thing in his arm - its a pillow.

I MADE it! By myself! I stitched it BY HAND!

It may or may not be because the pillow I slept with all the time

was actually made by his ex, unbeknownst to me.

So I needed to make a replacement.

I actually still sleep with the other one, it's just at

my house haha. Thanks, Kevin's ex!!)

Enjoy it!!!

I miss my bebes

2009-01-02T08:15:00.004-05:00

Since I've been spending so much time up at the apartment, I've really been enjoying having the kittens around (although I anticipate I will enjoy it much more now that I took down the Christmas tree they were set on destroying). I haven't had a pet that didn't live in a cage or bowl since I was 5 years old (mom is NOT big on animals).

Way back when I was 4, my grandparents bought me a little black ball of fur, a poodle mix I named Jack. Jack was a little terror and he liked to chew things, like most puppies do. The problem with Jack's chewing habit was that I was 5 and my baby sister was 2. We were not very good at putting our toys out of Jack's reach, let alone away.

When I started going to kindergarten, I took the bus to and from school. When I got home, my job was to go get Jack from the backyard. One day I went to get Jack and he wasn't there. I went to the door and asked my mom, "Is Jack inside?" and she said, "No we sold him today while you were at school."

Since then, I've been pining for a puppy and swooning over every little fuzzy thing I see. And I finally got my kitties. I got to put my new camera to work over New Years, so here are some of their pictures...

See the cute pads on his feets? adorable!

They are so adorable, snuggling together

Soooooo tired

Oscar had too much on New Year's Eve

Thank you for making it through my crazy cat lady pictures...

they are still little babies so they're extra cute.

I promise to do my best to cut the paparazzi act once they are normal sized haha

Enjoy it!!

New Year's Eve

2008-12-31T10:18:00.003-05:00

This will be the first New Years Eve that Kevin and I will spend together. Last year, he was still working at Barilla and had to go to work, so I ended up in Erie with my fave PA residents, Colleen and Mike. Which was wonderful, but there was a very lonely spell when the clock struck twelve, and my someone was 200 miles away.

We're keeping it low key this year, which really suits us. Kevin doesn't do well in crowds, and I'd rather go out to a bar or dancing with girlfriends. Since we don't live close to any of our friends, no one really feels like making the trek up to our place for a party. Looks like it will be a party for 2.

We're making some yummy food (chicken w. Italian dressing, crockpot meatballs) and I bought some champagne. I can't wait to just relax and enjoy the evening with my favorite man in the world.

I guess I should probably try to include some New Years Resolutions. I really don't know that I want to make any, because its pretty much a guarentee they won't last (except that one year I decided I wasn't eating french fries for a whole year, just to see if I could do it. And I did. See, I used to have will power! Where did it go?!?!), but I have a couple of general things I would like to keep in mind as I start this new year:

** I will try and make sure that my loved ones know how much I love and appreciate them, and all the wonderful things they bring to my life. I have a tendency to be sarcastic (moreso since I've been getting less sleep this year, thanks 2 jobs) and it really doesn't lend itself to being kind and appreciative for all those around you.

** I will tell Kevin I love him, every single day. Even if we are mad, or cranky or just having an off day, it doesn't mean the love is gone.

** I will try to eat more vegetables. This is a huge weak point for both Kevin and I.

** I will try and stop complaining, especially about my job. I am lucky to have a job. I am very lucky to have 2 jobs, when some people are unemployed. Its just a little hard to remember when my brain is sleepy.

What are your resolutions this year?

Have a safe and happy New Year, everyone!!

Thank goodness that's over

2008-12-29T10:30:00.002-05:00

Well, Christmas was a complete whirlwind of family and travel and rain and food food and more food. I love Christmas, I love the music, the decorations, the time spent with family and friends. But seriously. I am so glad its over.

This year, with the wedding following so close on its's tails, Christmas kind of took a back seat. I've felt out of breath and out of sorts for the past few weeks trying to juggle 2 jobs, Christmas shopping and all my usual wedding stuff, PLUS trying to get invites in the mail.

I ended up giving Kevin a Wii, even though it was something he said he didn't want. Turns out, he was completely lying. He thought it was more expensive that it really was and wasn't willing to drop the $$ on it for himself. And then he spent all of Christmas bouncing around and saying "When can we go game shopping? When can we go GAME SHOPPING??" (love you babe!). So I did good there.

I made out like a fat rat in a cheese factory, as my father would say. Kevin gave me a new digital camera that is BEAUTIFUL (I would post some pics, but sadly, I left it at his parents and it won't be returned until Wed. I think). My parents gave me a necklace (that my sister picked up in Ireland), a pretty blue sweater, deliciously cozy fleece pjs, and some luggage for our upcoming trip. Kevin's mother gave me a jewelry set - pearl earrings, necklace and ring (way too much $$ right there), plus she got us a baker's rack for our kitchen and our 10 piece pot/pan set and some cookbooks. She always goes overboard.

Overall it was a wonderful Christmas for me. When I get my camera, I will post some pictures of the scarf I'm working on. I got some thick yarn and whacking huge needles, and I should be done today (which is only day 3 of its construction!)....

Glad I'm back!

Enjoy it!!

Christmastime is heeeeere...

2008-12-22T18:09:00.004-05:00

First things first: to eliminate the need for inner envelopes, I made these tags (instead of our monogram) to include everyone who the invitations is for. And I finished them all this weekend, and pasted them on all the invitations. Woohoo!

Here is the famed Christmas tree. My mother is a nut. She has spent at least 6 days cleaning for Christmas, taking everything off the attic, unpacking, putting things together, reconfiguring, trying to remember how she had them last year and at least a solid two hours staring and saying "Oh I just LOVE my village. It's such a nice village."

Tall way.

Remember the story about the pear and the apple? Here they are!

Here's the hill, on the side of the village. Note how the peoples on the pond have all fallen face first into the center, even the snowman bit it.

The country house, with a white picket fence and a bridge.

See the kissing couple? They're my faves.

The playground, for all the village children (this is a very well-planned village)

This is the town square, with the big tree and carolers.

The wharf on the side of the town

Enjoy it!!

SNOW DAY!

2008-12-22T12:35:00.002-05:00

Since it was completely miserable and the I-90 was closed from Rochester to Erie, PA, and also since my mother busted in my room at 6:14 to ask if I was still planning on going to work, and then telling me that I really should not go (this is the woman who on several occasions made me go to school with strep, or a serious cold, or some mono-type disease), I decided to call in to work. This weekend I went up to Rochester to visit Kevin and both the drive there and the drive home was completely treacherous and I spent most of my time following the car in front of me's taillights and tire tracks, I wasn't really to anxious to get back out there.

This is my house, all snowy and lovely.

This is the snow mound at the end of my driveway. It is at least as tall as me
(which would put it at over 5 feet).

The neighborhood

Again. Snow makes everything pretty again.

Too bad we don't have any pine trees, they always look so nice.

Me, looking very chubby. This is my new hat...

actually, its a cloche (as I've told everyone who will listen)

My hair has never been long enough to carry off a hat, so this is a first for me.

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!

I have the best friends in the whole world.

2008-12-18T09:14:00.002-05:00

Yesterday, in the midst of my breakdown (you know, the one about how nothing would be done for the wedding and all that jazz) I sent an email to my friend Kelly:

I am having a huge freakout. It just hit me yesterday exactly how little time I have left and I have SO much to do and how will I finish it all. I have no time. I have a huge ass and no time. My heart has been racing and my stomach has been hurting since last night. I am at work and all I can think about is how much more needs to be done and how I have NO time to do it.

Somehow I got so wrapped up in work that I completely missed the reply. I read it this morning and started crying again....but in a good way (damn hormones!):

My Dearest Meagan,
From my own experience I have had my share of breakdowns....this is how I have handled them
1. Alcohol
2. Counseling
3. More alcohol
4. Venting to friends
5. Still more alcohol
6. A 10 hour drive to virginia
7. Act like a psychopath
8.Pizza logs

everyone is different.....u have a good head on ur shoulders....no need for counseling, cross country traveling, or loss of sanity.....however alcohol, friends, and pizza logs are always nice....i can supply all 3, anytime, anywhere

your are preparing for one of the biggest transitions in your life....anyone would b nervous...anyone would want it to b perfect.....u knew u loved kevin before u knew him....it was always real, even i believe that and i kno u do and this means that regardless of who sits at what table, how good the music is, if the flowers are on time, what anyone looks like, what ANYONE ELSE THINKS, or how much money is spend.....the whole point of all if it is for you and kevin to show each other how much u love each other by making this commitement....and that is the one thing that cant b unfinished, or not turn out perfect....and that is the only thing that matters....so dont take away from all this by letting it stress u out and taking one shred or the WHOLE POINT of this away....just get threw xmas, u can only do what u can do.....and after xmas i am on break from school, so if u need help with getting anything done or any details, i am always available, just remember to keep a part of the fun in all of it

As if this was not enough, I also got many offers of help from all of my bridesmaids, including my friend Tracy coming over last night and helping to re-stick all the invitations because the original adhesive wasn't really standing up the challenge or being opened and closed and handled.

Also, Kevin is feeling a little guilt (24 hours of phone calls to me where I ultimately end up sniffling and in tears will do that to a person) about not helping much with plans (although, to be honest, I've not really asked for help from anyone, so he shouldn't feel so bad). So he helped me cross something off the list - booking a hotel room for the wedding night (it was a bit more expensive than I was planning on, but since I didn't have to do anything, and it made Kevin feel good to help and more importantly because he contributes way more to the wedding fund than I do and he's the one who is more controlled on the spending, then I don't care. Its done and I am very very happy about that).

I know I bitch a lot (on a variety of subjects) but I am really so so so lucky to be surrounded by these wonderful people. I hope you have people like this in your life, because it really helps you keep sane.

Enjoy it!

Our Tree Topper

2008-12-17T19:00:00.002-05:00

Look we got a new tree topper:

Oh, hello Oscar. What are you doing on top of my very sad and pathetic looking tree? I swear, when I was there on Monday, the tree did not look like this. There were way more ornaments and there was not a huge gaping hole....or perhaps its just that my eyes are way lower than Kevin's....

I love my Oscar, he is a great snuggler, but seriously? He's no angel, that's for sure...see how he's nudged our snowflake topper right out of the way?

...oh Oscar

I can't believe

2008-12-17T08:27:00.003-05:00

there are only 66 days until the wedding. It really hit me hard yesterday when I noticed that someone on the discussion board I frequent had a ticker that had dropped to 1 month, 29 days...And when I say it hit me hard, I mean I had a stomach ache and could have potentially thrown up at any moment for the rest of the night, was a nervous wreck and wound up like an 8 day clock. I feel like I don't have any time to do all the things I need to do.

66 days and I still have so much to do and NO time to do it. I have to get the invitations out by next Friday, and they are not even finished yet, let alone addressed. I need to call and make an appt for a dress fitting, I need to get a crinoline and a veil and all my jewelry. I need to design my favors and get those started. I need to meet with the priest (which I believe involves bringing Kevin with me) so I can pick out the music and readings, so I can do the programs. I still need large bowls for my centerpieces, and approx 130 votives and 80 floating candles. I need a cake topper, a cake design, a wish jar, a hotel room for the wedding night, a cardbox, an aisle runner, table numbers, and a marriage license. I need to pay the balance on our honeymoon and make sure that Kevin and I have enough appropriate clothes for a week in 80 degree weather, including restaurants with dress codes and a LOT of sunscreen. OH and I need to meet with the photographer to pick out a package and discuss details so I don't end up angry on our wedding day that someone is barking out orders to me.

My stomach ache is back :/

On the bright side, it should help with the whole ass-fitting-in-the-dress thing.

Enjoy it!

Fiance from Heaven

2008-12-15T13:27:00.002-05:00

Normally I would say I am the weaker link in the relationship. Kevin is so kind and caring and just generally good hearted that I am 1000000% positive I pale in comparison. But I got an oppurtunity to make up some ground this morning...

It all started with the other day. Apparently our landlords at the apartment have had to come out a LOT lately to let people in who have locked themselves out of their apartments. To remedy this, they are now charging $20 for a trip out (they live less than 5 minutes away and the man is there all the time anyhow since his tools and things are in the garage at this property)...which is pretty much highway robbery. We've never locked ourselves out, so it was kind of punishing us for a crime we hadn't yet committed.

But obviously, as soon as it cost money, it happened.

Kevin was on A shift this week, so he was supposed to be at work at 6 am. At 5:25, my cell phone starts going off. It's Kevin, and he's locked himself out. He doesn't want to call the landlady since 1 - she is a huge bitch, 2 - its going to cost $20, 3 - its 5am and 4 - we have two kittens and are only allowed to have one. And so, up I get, put on some work clothes and drive out to the apartment, an hour and a half away, at 5:30am.

The bonus part to this (other than getting to see Kevin) was that since I went to bed around 12:30am the night before, I decided to stay and sleep a couple hours in my glorious comfy new bed and come in for the afternoon at work. I love my bed. And I got to see my kitties. I love them too.

So here I am, at work for the afternoon. I *could* have just turned around when I got there and only been about an hour late to work, but since I have to work tonight until midnight, I knew I would never make it tomorrow that way. So I figured one morning was better than one whole day. And its only 2 more months here, right?

UPDATE - I finished cutting all my invitations stuff last night, stuffed them all in the pockets and almost all of them have an RSVP envelopes (I have about 30 left because I ran out of stamps)....I am inching ever closer to finishing the damn things. My mom's like "They look so beautiful" to which I very crankily responded "I hate them. They look alright, but they were so NOT worth the effort." Maybe I wouldn't hate them so much if I had just a little more time. Gah, the wedding is coming up so quickly and I am so busy!

Enjoy it!!

Steph & Joe's Wedding

2008-12-12T10:09:00.008-05:00

My dear, dear friend Steph got married in August and just sent me the link to her photos. Seriously, it is the most beautiful wedding and she is breathtaking in each and every picture...like they just walked out of a magazine. Steph and her family have a reputation to spaz out, but the whole day she was just calm, poised and gorgeous...even as I held up her dress so she could pee haha!

Obviously, I must must share these, if only to spread some of my jealousy to you all. Thanks to her amazing photographer, The RedHeaded Ninja, who did a great job...

Hanging out before it's time to get dressed

And reading Glamour, I think...

Hey, it's ok! ...to consider Spanx an excersize plan

The gorgeous bride

Me (all frumpy and with my hair wilted) with the gorgeous bride

Helping her with her earrings...

I made this!!!

One of the little flower girls, Emma

Don't they look like a magazine couple?

Seriously, if I didn't love them so much, I would hate them for how amazing these pictures are

This swing was on the school grounds where the wedding and reception were held

Me and Emma, deep in conversation about which Jonas Brother is cuter

More outside (I'm sorry, I'm too lazy to move these in order...

I tried to load them right but no such luck)

All smiles

Singing the song to our Alma Mater, the Suscipe.

That's right, we had a sing-along and broke into song at her wedding...

Me and Colleen (one of my bridesmaids) blowing bubbles, and

Kevin covering our drinks...he's always looking out for us

All the Mercy girls

Dancing

I <3>

Outside the venue

Steph and her sister Mika (Mary) the maid of honor

All the Mercy girls

Kevin caught the bouquet and gave it to me

See, we are good Catholic school girls...

See, there it is! Good thing the competition was pretty scrawny

Me and my man

Also, as you might recall, this was the wedding that my ex was at. And here he is, in all his scruffy glory. Geez, it IS a wedding, a hair cut wouldn't have been out of line...

The funny thing is, both the ex and the fiance are named Kevin. And they are polar opposites, tiny little guy and BIG man. I got upgraded!

Enjoy it

Once again...

2008-12-11T09:56:00.002-05:00

I am working on my flipping invitations. I seriously hate hate hate with the fire of one thousand suns hate invitations. The ones I liked that I could get already made were too expensive, and the ones I could afford were too plain or didn't come in my color or I just didn't like.

So I was being a brat and decided I would make my own. I don't have time to do laundry...you know, the clean clothes i need to wear every day to work so I am not the creepy smelly coworker...I don't have time for that. So I don't know when I thought I was going to have the time to make these invitations.

But I bought the pocketfolds, I designed the inserts, I figured everything out, I called in to work one day and went to have everything copied. I spent a whole weekend cutting them up into the appropriate sizes. I spent another weekend pasting the invitation part into the pocket fold.

And then it hit me....

RSVPs need to go in an envelope. Envelopes come in 3 5/8 x 5 1/8....my RSVPs were 3 3/4 x 5 1/2....half an inch too tall and quarter inch too wide. And all the other inserts were sized to fall in line with these.

Back to the drawing board.

So last night, I tried to salvage what I had, but since it just wasn't happening, I resized everything, finalized the directions inserts and headed back out to Office Max to have everything re-copied.

Regularly the copies are $.99/1 color copy on cardstock. However, the last time I did them, this VERY nice woman was there and only charged me $.59/piece. This time, the SAME woman was there! Thank you thank you thank you! She only charged me $.59/piece and I needed 242 copies and she only charged for 162. She just left 80 off. For no reason.

And so:

Dear very kind hearted woman at Office Max:

Thank you so so so much for helping me out with the copies. I really appreciate you giving me a discount on the copying, because I really couldn't afford to spend the almost $240 in re-printing everything. I really hope you have a wonderful holiday and get lots of happy things from Santa. You are officially my invitation angel. Thanks again!

-A very desperate bride-to-be

Last night, I began recutting everything. It's very tedious, but I hope to have it done by this weekend. I also apparently need to order 10 more pocketfolds, 10 more envelopes, and 10 more RSVP envelopes, and print 10 more invitations out. Because my mother keeps adding to the list.

I cannot wait for Feb 22, so I can begin my glorious week in Antigua. Le sigh.

On a side note, I am up to 7lbs lost. Hopefully my butt will fit in my dress and lay flat. Finger crossed that I make it by the wedding!

Enjoy it!!

Prayers for Max

2008-12-08T18:24:00.003-05:00

**I don't know these people. This is just a blog I happened to see one time or another and I was just captivated by their story. Their faith through their pain is remarkable.**

I just want to remind everyone to pray for Baby Max and his family. Max was born Friday December 5 at 7:32am. He spent his precious time surrounded by his family, completely loved and cherished. He died around 10:20am.

Please pray for Max and his family during this time of loss. Although Max was diagnosed with T18 and deemed "incompatable with life" by doctors, his parents chose to continue with the pregnancy and were able to surround him with the love and comfort they thought he deserved.

Lazy weekends

2008-12-08T08:57:00.004-05:00

I had a lovely, relaxing weekend with Kevin at the apartment. I picked up our Christmas tree (fake) from my grandma's house. She graciously gave us her old tree, because she has downsized to a table top tree. So, I loaded it in my mom's Saturn Vue and drove up to the apartment. Kevin helped me carry it in, and since I took it there mostly assembled and with the lights already on it, it was a pretty quick set up.

We ran out to Target to get some ornaments and a topper for our little tree. We ended up with red and silver ornaments. I've never been one for making a coordinating tree like that, but until I get all my ornaments from my house, this is it. ALSO we chose the shatterproof ones, because we correctly guessed that the kitties would like to play there. We also stopped at Wegmans and grabbed some groceries. I made a delicious chicken sandwich (a la The Pioneer Woman) and also some homemade tomato sauce.

By 7:30, I was done for the night. I went and snoozed in bed, and Kevin watched the hockey game with me. The kitties came in and snuggled up with us, and slept all over me. I stayed in bed until 9:30 the next morning. I love lazy weekends. They are SO wonderful. I got up and made some pancakes for breakfast and also assembled the lasagne that Kevin asked me to make.

Then we just relaxed all morning. The kittens have apparently adopted me as their new pillow because they pinned me down for hours, sleeping and playing on my lap.

All in all, it was just a nice weekend.

Oh, also I gave Kevin the tungsten band I got him. He didn't remember that it was one year since he proposed (although he did remember that is was Pearl Harbor Day....). But he really loved the ring, and was very surprised that I had gotten him 2 rings. I am sneaky ;) .

Here are a few pictures of our little babies from the weekend:

See, they are as big as the remote!

Kevin was very amused by how we were sleeping

Vivienne, hanging out in the tree

Snuggly in a blanket

See, they're buddies!

Aww

Yay for Vivienne and Oscar!

Here's to lazy weekends, snuggly kitties and yummy food!

Enjoy it!!

There are babies in the water...

2008-12-05T10:07:00.002-05:00

I started a new job within my company back in May. Since I have started here, 7 people have had babies. 7 months, 7 babies. I'm totally, 100% serious.

On Wednesday, one of the new moms stopped by with her little guy, 10 week old Sean. He was such a snuggle bug. I was holding him and there was not one peep. And the "Grandma Brigade" (as the grandmas in our office named themselves) kept coming over and commenting on "what a natural" I was with a baby.

I mentioned this to Kevin and he said "I hope you aren't drinking the water at that place. Don't be getting any ideas."

Later that night, I had a dream we had a baby. And it always surprises me how real it seems, and how somehow I miss this someone in my dreams who was never real at all.

I know I shouldn't have held the baby. We don't have any babies that are close in my family (we're in NY and my goddaughter, Hayden, is in Florida) so I don't get to hold and snuggle and love on babies often anymore. I think if we did, then I wouldn't want one so badly when I actually do get to hold one.

I know I don't want a baby right now. If I could, I would just borrow someone else's and get my fill. I have always loved having little ones around, and now that everyone is getting so big, I really miss it. But it's tough getting back into that mindset after the little love session I had the other day.

I can't wait to get up to the apartment tomorrow and get to enjoy my kitties...they're my babies for now. Someday, a real baby, but not yet.

*SIDE NOTE* Please keep Baby Max and his family in your prayers. Max is a T18 baby and his family will be meeting him today.

Big news. Big. HUGE

2008-12-02T09:06:00.003-05:00

So, the dress is in. The shop called last night (and stupid me, I ignored the phone call because I no longer answer numbers I don't recognize...I have been getting calls for a pizzeria for a while and its quite annoying). I owe the balance in the next 30 days and it would be awesome if I could call them to schedule my first fitting.

This is her...Maggie Sottero "Nadine"...isn't she beautiful? Of course I am not so willowy, but its still lovely

Which on one hand, YAY! THE DRESS IS IN! I am so happy about that. Honestly, I ordered right down to the wire to be able to get it in time. SO I was really worrying about it getting here.

But on the other hand, the dress is here :/ and that means fittings and I know my shelf ass is not going to fit. And I need to figure out what undergarments I am getting. I have some Real Women dollars to use at Lane Bryant, so I am thinking new bra and panties and a pair of Spanx, and I know I still have almost 3 months, but I am so worried about fitting into the dress and every other wedding thing, which is not good, because I am stress eater.

Time to try and kick it in gear. I need to drop about 20 lbs. I know I can do it, I just don't really feel like putting forth the effort. The wedding planning stuff has ended up to be a lot more work and stress than I anticipated and it really makes me feel apathetic towards the whole thing.

But now its crunch time, time to start caring!! Let's go me!

Enjoy it!!

My new babies!

2008-12-01T11:53:00.002-05:00

Well, since my camera has refused to turn on for a while (and more because I was too busy watching and laughing and playing with the kittens to actually take pictures of them), Kevin has sent me a few fuzzy pics of them curled up on one of our many ugly furniture items.

See, Viv (the grey one) has a little peach to her...she even has a little peach spot on her forehead...like a bindi haha. They are too cute really. I have melted into a cat person basically overnight. They are all tiny and adorable and I cannot wait until I get to see them every day (well, Kevin too, but the kittens!!).

I spent a LOT of time with them, trying to get them to warm up this weekend. It was really important because one of my fears with getting them before Kevin and I are living together is that they will only like him. Although, this could work to my advantage, because he will also be the one taking them to the vet's and they will definitely hate him for that move.

Hopefully I will be able to put some better pictures up soon, but being kittens means they are WAY too busy to pose for me.

Enjoy it!!

Oldies, but goodies

2008-12-01T08:38:00.007-05:00

So, since I was pushing my classic Christmas movie on you yesterday, I think today I am going to do my top fave classic movies. You know, from back when movies were movies, with plots and stories and great characters and costumes and glamour (this was a conversation that was actually held at my grandmother's house yesterday).

It has been fairly easy for my to gain exposure to these movies...my grandfather's favorite piece of technology was a VCR. He taped and taped and taped the movies off TCM and made himself a virtual library. He even typed labels for each tape, numbered them and made 2 binders, movies in alphabetical order, so you can find the tape at a whim.

And so....the list:

*NOTE*

You must understand the appeal of a musical before you can appreciate this list. My best example and illustration of this is Yentl. Kind of a lame movie, if you ask me. It's not Bab's best. She plays a young Jewish girl who wants to study Torah, so when her father dies, she runs away, disguised as a boy and joins a school. She finds a study partner who she falls in love with, but who is engaged to another woman. When the woman's family forbids the study partner to marry him (his brother committed suicide, and that is no bueno for marriage), the study partner convinces Yentl to marry the woman. She manages to get around the whole "consummating the marriage" and she and the study partner go on a trip to another city. Here she reveals her secret - she is a WOMAN and she LOVES him. He runs around the room, shouting about how she is an abomination, a sin against God, against people and esp against his wife! WHY did he do this? WHY?! And Yentl's reply is, "Because I wanted to be near you. Because I love you." and they fall into each other's arms.

Um seriously, where else besides a musical could a confession of love change something around so quickly? Where else will you find someone break into song and have the crowd join in in harmony? Or know all the steps? I wish my life was a musical.... *sigh*

"Meet Me in St. Louis" - My absolute favorite. I watch this movie almost every night as I am falling asleep. I am confident I could watch this movie every day until I die and still love love love it. If you stick with the musicals, you can gloss over the addict years of Judy and you will always have a lovely picture of her. The Andy Hardy movies, Wizard of Oz, In the Good Old Summertime (a "You've Got Mail"-esque movie, also based on "The Shop Around the Corner")... she performs. But this is the best. She met her husband and was her happiest making this movie, and it shows - her performance in glowing.

"Gone with the Wind" - Vivian Leigh is to die for. Seriously, you will think Margaret Mitchell wrote the book just to honor her. Its a long one, over 3.5 hours, but totally worth it. Even if you only watch it once, even if you have to watch it in two sittings, DO IT. Better yet, read the book. It is a complete masterpiece. The woman spent 10 YEARS of her life writing this, her sole work.

"Singin' in the Rain" - Gene Kelly. Rain. Dancing. 'Nuff said. But seriously, this movie it a riot! And a musical. Which only adds to the enjoyment. The sidekick friend provides some great comic relief and it's just a very light-hearted movie. (For more Gene Kelly, try "Summer Stock", which also has the always wonderful Judy Garland)

"My Fair Lady" - While watching this movie, you also get to speak in a Cockney accent. We had to watch this in an World History class - clearly my teacher was trying to waste time, but she ended up hooking 120 girls on Audrey Hepburn and a large portion of us would SHOUT the songs from ski lifts that winter. You will never enjoy skiing as much again, knowing that you *could* be being serenaded with "I Could Have Danced All Night" by 16 yr old girls. (I also love Ms. Hepburn in "Sabrina" and "Breakfast at Tiffany's")

"Seven Brides for Seven Brothers" - Ah yes, those seven "slummocky" backwoodsmen trying to court seven of the girls in town... Honestly, who isn't going to choose the big, rugged man?

"Hit the Deck" - Featuring Jane Powell (see movie above). A movie about sailors, singing, dancing and as always with musicals, falling in love fast!

"Good News" - Set in the 1920s, when men were "sheiks" and wore their pants up to their pecs. I love June Allyson. The men in old movies are great, but the women steal the show. This is no exception. You will love June too. I promise. June Allyson and Peter Lawford are also paired up in "Little Women" playing Jo and Laurie, in case you love their chemistry.

"Random Harvest" - One of the non-musicals on my list, this is an old black and white. I know some people don't enjoy those, but this one is worth it. It starts out with a man, injured in World War I escaping the hospital. He suffers from amnesia and people come looking for him, but a young woman takes him in and helps him out. They fall in love and... well, they come across some problems, but I don't want to give it away.

"Imitation of Life" - There are two versions of this one, but I like the Lana Turner/Sandra Dee version personally. It begins with two single mothers, one white and one black, both struggling to make ends meet. When Laura (Lana Turner) realizes the other family is homeless, she offers their small flat up for the night. Annie ends up staying on as the housekeeper while Laura pursues her career as an actor. You will cry your eyes out by the end of this. For a while, the Annie-Sarah Jane (her daughter) story line takes a back seat to Laura's glamorous lifestyle and assorted lovers, but the end is heartbreaking. We just watching this at my grandmother's recently, and we had three generations bawling at the kitchen table.

So, now that you know exactly how lame I am....go rent a movie!

Enjoy it!!

An interesting Thanksgiving night...

2008-11-30T11:36:00.002-05:00

Well, it has been a looooong weekend and I have been neglecting my blog like it was my job. So I will try to recap, without boring everyone to tears...

WEDNESDAY - It was KITTEN DAY! The kittens arrived at the house around 4:30. And they pretty much hated us. The woman who dropped them off graciously let us keep the carrier they were in for the weekend, which was good because she would have been there for about 4 hours waiting for them to come out. We got them all set up in the kitchen and that was that. Oscar came out first, began exploring and then promptly hid under the table and slept for the next couple hours. Viv wouldn't even come out of the crate. It took her until about 10pm to come out of her own free will. They warmed up enough to come out, run around and play, but not to let us pet them. They also weren't very happy when I had to put them back in the carrier for the night (don't ask, they were at my mom's house and she hates animals so these are the concessions I had to make).

THURSDAY - Got up and let the kittens out of the crate. Oscar ran up to me and let me pet him adn played around. Viv was comfortable enough to come near but if I tried to pet her, or pretty much just looked her in the eyes, she ran away. Also, they don't really want to be bothered with sitting with you (they are kittens after all, they have a lot of playing to do!) but they also don't like it if you aren't in the room with them. There were no accidents during the night, they are doing VERY well with their litter box and Viv FINALLY decided to come out and eat, which was good.

We first went to my mom's sister's for dinner. My great aunt that was there is like rubbing a cheese grater on your nerves, but other than that, we made it through. Came home, checked on the babies and then off to my dad's brother's for dessert. By the time we show up there, everyone else is winding down, so we only stayed for about an hour and a half. Which was ok because we were all just watching a movie anyway.

We ran back to my house, grabbed the babies, loaded everything up and headed back to Rochester. About half way, Kevin complained that his arms was kind of numb/tingly. I joked that he was having a heart attack and did he want me to stop. But he said he was fine and we kept going. Before we even made it to the next exit, he started feeling short of breath and he changed his mind. We pulled over near a trooper, and Kevin walked around for some fresh air. He felt better when he was standing, but still wanted to stop. We got off at the next exit, made a pit stop to a gas station for some Bayer and headed to the hospital. By the time we got there, he was feeling better but we'd rather be safe than sorry. He got all checked in, they took some blood and did an EKG. Mind you, the kittens are still (for the past hour) in the back seat of my car. So I had to leave Kevin, drive to the apartment, drop them off, and come back for him. We ended up being there from 10pm until 2:30am for what thankfully turned out to be nothing. I've decided (and the nurse agreed with me) that he was feeling funny, and when he thought about it more, he psyched himself out and had an anxiety attack. So it turned out to be nothing serious. Nothing like a late night trip to the ER to remind you what you are thankful for.

FRIDAY - Kevin slept until almost noon. I sorted coupons and went grocery shopping and spent an obscene amount of $$ on basically nothing. In the same plaza, I stopped at Bed Bath and Beyond and FINALLY got our bedding - this has been a HUGE pain, trying to find something we both agree on. Also, I ran into Michael's to grab some adhesive for my invitations. I went back home and CLEANED like there was no tomorrow. The kitchen, the bathroom, the living room. I emptied out all the closets and took empty boxes down to the storage in the basement. I vacuumed and scrubbed and sprayed and dusted. Whew! I'm tired just thinking about it. Then we went back out, picked up some wine for Thanksgiving w. Kevin's family the next day and also to Target. Target was a HUGE shopping spree. We had a TON of gift cards left from the shower that we hadn't used. We also had a George Foreman grill to return because we got two. SO we bought: 2 king size pillows (I didnt even realize king size beds had bigger pillows, until I opened up my lovely bed in a bad and held up the pillow shams...), a food processor, a Christmas decoration to put on the kitchen table, and lots of other little things. Then we stayed in for the night. I made quesadillas for dinner (one of Kevin's fave of my dishes) and we watched some things on the DVR. My buddy Oscar decided he was a scarf and laid in bed with me, across my neck. Seriously, they are too stinking cute. I just wish Viv liked us more....*sigh*

SATURDAY - Now it was my turn to sleep forever. I got up around 9, went back to bed at 10 for another almost 2 hours. Then I had to hurry up and get ready because we had Kevin's family Thanksgiving at his cousin's house at 1pm. It was pretty cramped there, about 15 people all hanging out in a tiny house. Dinner was delish, but I was able to control myself. But there was cobbler. Oh how i love the peach cobbler. But I was a good girl and only took one scoop. We played the longest game of Cranium on the face of the planet and didn't get home until about 6:30. Nothing much else, watched some hockey and my fave Christmas movie - White Christmas.

Seriously, if you have never seen this, I URGE you - watch it this year. It's adorable. It has great songs. And Bing Crosby and Rosemary Clooney, and its totally hysterical. One of my fave parts is when, Danny Kaye's character is trying to set Bing's character up with a woman, who is your typical dumb blonde. They walk away and Danny says: "Alright. She didn't go to Harvard. She didn't go to Smith." and Bing replies, "Go to Smith? She couldn't even spell it!" haha

AND now, I am back home. Kevin was going to a Bills game with his buddies (well, he was going to the 49ers, but it was in Buffalo, so its a Bills game) and I had to drop him off at 10:30....his friends had been there for at least an hour already. This is something I will never understand.

Well, I guess that is all for now. Kevin took some pictures of the kitties, but he didn't send them to me yet, so I guess we'll have to wait for that.

Enjoy it!!

The thing about...

2008-11-24T14:25:00.004-05:00

taking a newly created position is that you walk into other people's BIG messes. Clearly, if things were going fine, they wouldn't have needed to create this position in the first place. Which is just fine and dandy - it means you get a job.

However for me it means I have inherited headache after headache and today is NO exception. Someone emailed me - "Can you please fix this one account, it has the wrong rep name on it?" which I could do very easily.

Until I noticed what the real issue was. And this issue led me to run a report which turned up another 2500 accounts with wrong info, that I will have to change...individually.

So for the next forever, I will be looking up accounts on one system, noting the social security # so I am able to look it up in system #2, correct in both systems and repeat...times 2500. Rock on.

Enjoy it! (cuz I'll be too busy)

**UPDATE - I am now being asked to come in on weekends. Come on people! I have 2 jobs and I'm planning a wedding, don't I sound busy enough? As if the damn invitations weren't enough to drive me to drink...**

Ps - it's ok to love Erie

2008-11-17T07:50:00.001-05:00

Ah-mazing weekend! Seriously. I was being super cranky about it to begin with, because Kevin was supposed to come and see me and come to Erie for the birthday extravaganza, and then found out he had to work. Then I had a veeeeery long night at Wegmans. So, needless to say, I was tired and not in best form when I got up and headed to my early hair appointment, to try a wedding hairstyle *again*.

This time, things were a MILLION times better - the girl, Cari, was awesome! She really listened when I was trying to explain, asked how I liked what she was doing, and was willing to work with me to create a style. Here is what we ended up with:

I totally LOVE it! She did a great job, especially considering my hair is not super long, and therefore not that easy to work with. Hopefully, if I keep growing it for the next 3 months, those little curlies on the sides will actually be able to reach back to the little bun. I don't have a veil yet (my mom is supposed to be making it, actually) so we couldn't try it out. But, I am going to put in underneath the curls in the back, which means I don't need to get a fancy barrette or anything, because you won't see it. I am thinking of maybe getting a could hairpins, just for a little extra something, but we'll see. Also, I think I will just leave the veil in all night - it makes me feel all bridal, and you only get to do it that one day, right?

I came home and went to the mall with my mother, which worked out to be a lot of fun. She has been wanting to go to the new Bobbi Brown counter, where my friend works, but she wants to go when Meg is working and there is no way she would remember who Meg is haha. So we went together, I got to show Meg my hair, and she did my mom's makeup. It was gorgeous! My mom does NOT wear a lot of makeup, so Meg was really trying to take it easy. She used a tinted moisturizer, which evened out her skin and covered up a lot of the red. I could tell my mom was not so comfy with having someone all up in her face, but it turned out beautiful!

I came home and relaxed, while waiting for my friend Tracy to finish errands so we could head down to Erie for Colleen & Mike's BIRTHDAY EXTRAVAGANZA! Once we got there, we grabbed a couple Hot'n'Ready's (which are just pizzas, I think from Little Caesar's) and hung out and got ready to go out. Colleen loooooved her birthday/Christmas present - I got her this adorable apron with cherries on it, a cupcake tin shaped like hearts and a couple towels for the kitchen with her fave, penguins, on them. It's for her inner domestic goddess. Although she does have plans to "sex up" the apron, ya know, high heels, sexy underpants haha.

We were supposed to begin the evening at Matthew's Trattoria for martinis, but when we tried to go, we were told that the people involved in "The Nutcracker" were having a private party...so much for starting the evening out classy, haha!

We went to the Plymouth and enjoyed some of their drink specials, including a shot called the Four Divas - delish! I have no idea what was in it, but it was yummers. After that, we went to this other bar where Colleen and Mike's friends, Mandy and Andrew work. It was classy. Or not. The thing about bars in PA (unlike NY) is that you can smoke there. So we walked into a thick cloud of carcinogens and countryfolk lol. It was a great time though. Also, apparently I became the papazzi. So, here is my photo essay from the evening at the Red Fox...

These are our gracious hosts, Colleen and Mike. I love them. Seriously.

Colleen, Mike, Tracy (who affectionately became "The Blonde" all night) and me. My clothes are STINKY from all the smoke.

Here is Steve-O and Colleen. There were a lot of funny candids,

thanks to my sniper attack camera skillz.

The lovebirds. Seriously, this is not alcohol induced for them.

They really are just this ridiculous.

Colleen and Tracy - they have been friends since they wer 3 years old and in the same grammar school. One phrase used often (stemming from their experiences in pre-k) is "Tracy's my friend and not yours, so you can't play with her." Both of these lovely ladies are in my wedding and I am so glad to have them in my life!

Ahh, beer my dear friend. Wow, am I pasty or what?! Stupid pale people ancestry! I am Irish Polish and German.... I'm practically allergic to the sun (and also, have the hottest temper around).

Colleen, hanging out at the bar

There was a lot of licking going on. Yummy!

Hot mess. That is all. But at least we're hot, right?

Say "Ah!"

A lady never reveals her secrets.

Seriously. Love them.

Josh doesn't mind the licking. We're all fine here.

Aww, so cute. I <3>

Colleen was all giggles at the bar

Tracy and Steve-O. Apparently when we were going from bar 1 to bar 2, they snuck out and headed over to an "adult store." They wanted to get Colleen something for her birthday, and Tracy picked out candy necklace nip tassles...to which Steve-O replied, "Well we don't want to get her something she probably already has." HAHAHAHA

She is a sassy minx. Be jealous.

Me, making sure my hair still looked hot. Yup, it did.

Yeah baby yeah

There was a lot of hard liquor involved with Tracy. It's ok, they are good friends.

Ok now children, settle, settle.
Lovahs!

Stranded at the bar, waiting for the slowest cab in Erie to retrieve our sorry behinds.
(l-r: John, Tracy, Colleen, Mike, Josh)

Enjoy it!!

Double digits

2008-11-14T10:02:00.000-05:00
Wow. 99 days. Double digits.

Guess we're in the home stretch.

If I could just finish those invitations by Thanksgiving, then I will feel better.

Also, I think we've finally decided on a DJ. My mom's choice. Which I am fine with. Its a guy, Sax Man Slim - during dinner he plays sax along with instrumental tracks. Then he doubles as a dj. My mom is in love with the sax, so she is really loving this man.

Yesterday I have my annual appointment with Laura, the best nurse practitioner a girl with a severe phobia to the medical profession could ever ask for. I made it through the whole appointment, but then for no apparent reason started to cry. I would blame the bc pills, but I know its just being there that sets me off. But Laura is great - she never lets it bother her, just continues doing her job, which helps me to calm down faster.

Although, she did veto the whole IUD scenario. I'm sure if I looked around, I could find someone willing to do it for me, but I don't really have the time or energy right now, so it will have to wait until post-wedding. I am switching pills though, so hopefully that will help - fingers crossed, I won't be all emotional like a 13 yr old anymore!

I'm headed out to Erie PA tomorrow afternoon for a lovely evening (aka birthday extravaganza!!) with the Trifecta, Mike and some other lovely Erie inhabitants.

Enjoy it!

Stupid fake major

2008-11-13T09:35:00.000-05:00
So one thing I am not really looking forward to about my post-wedding life is the fact that I will be leaving my job (not a huge travesty - it's certainly not my favorite thing) and going to... hmm, what will I be going to?

It makes it a lot more nerve-wracking to go from working two jobs, 60 hours a week, and being able to pay my own way, to probably working part time while job searching and depending very heavily on Kevin. I have been looking for jobs in the new city, using their helpwanted.com site and everything, checking out full time opportunities at my current part time gig....but nothing is catching my eye.

And perhaps this is because of the current state of the economy? I can't really afford to be picky. But also, I am so afraid to get stuck in some job that I hate (like I have been for the past 2-3 years) for a paycheck. I just haven't found It yet. I can tell you for sure that banking is not It.

I was getting very upset about this all last night, and Kevin, being the nice guy he is, was being sweet and saying "I just want to take care of you, I'll help you any way I can..." which just makes it worse. I don't want to be with you because I can't afford be on my own. Which is not really how I feel, but I feel like eventually he will be resentful that I'm such an economic leech. I dunno.

Keep me in your thoughts, that I can figure out what the heck it is I want to do with my life and stop wandering around these horrible corporate jobs I've been stuck in.

Enjoy it!

Glitter + vacuum = No good

2008-11-09T21:47:00.000-05:00

So this was officially the most successful wedding weekend we have had in a looooooong time. And I am feeling really good about it. Let's do a little recap, shall we?

Friday night, Kevin and I went downtown because some people from work were having a happy hour. It was a nice time, and although I have been working there for more than 6 months, this is the first time I am really getting to know the people in my group. I recently was moved under a different supervisor and since I sit way on the other side of the building, I haven't had much chance to get to know my co-workers.

Saturday, we had a meeting with Mike, the owner of the banquet hall. We talked about the menu options, the rundown of the ceremony. He also shot down my idea for using InstaSnow in my centerpieces. I'm not happy about it, but I understand.

After that, we went to a craft store where I stumbled upon a bargain - all votive holders up to $1.19 were on sale - 5 for $1!!! So I got enough for about 26 tables, for only $26...excellent! I also picked up some more paper for make little note cards for my wish jar.

After that, we went to JC Penney's to exchange sizes on a couple shirts I bought for Kevin and I stumbled upon these:

I think they are cute, maybe a little higher than I had wanted but I can always bring a different pair for after dinner. Best of all, they were on sale for $29.99...I loves me some bargains.

Next, we left that mall and headed towards another one. We stopped at Jareds and finally got Kevin's wedding band (Kevin bought mine last February). Kevin had originally wanted a darker metal, to match the watch I got him last Christmas, so that would have been tungsten. However, this is just how it is - it is very durable, almost impossible to scratch, but it cannot be engraved or sized. Kevin didn't want to have to get another ring in case his fingers got bigger or smaller, so we ended up with a plaing white gold band.

We grabbed lunch next door at a place called Smoky Bones. I don't even want to think about how much fat and calories were in the meal, but as a small indication - Kevin ordered an appetizer: cornbread with honey pecan butter....to. die. for. mmmmm! Good thing it was the only meal we ate all day.

Whew! Aren't you tired, hearing about all this? And we aren't even done yet!

We went to Target and mosied around for a while, picked up some things Kevin needed for the apartment and also some TV tables that Kevin's mom wanted for her birthday. Next door was Michael's craft store, and I went there too, looking at ribbons, candles, paper, etc. I ended up with 18" of hunter green ribbon, a white pillar candle, a piece of vellum and an idea. When we got home, I made this:

I think it turned out great! The monogram is a bit big, but I <3>
Finally we stopped at Blockbuster, where I was unable to restrain myself from participating in the 3 for $20 movies....and I ended up with 9 new movies. So we watched Forgetting Sarah Marshall and Baby Mama and called it a night.

Sunday, we had Pre Cana. I really enjoyed listening to the other couples share their stories about communication and fidelity, I just think it was a bit long. All in all, I am glad we went, I think it will be useful to have those tools that we talked about there, and just be aware of each other's feelings.
Coldstone was the reward for the 7 hours spent at a church function, then Kevin had to leave and go back home - narrowly missing the snow. They predicted 6-12 inches, so we will see how it goes when I head outside....not excited about boots.
Enjoy it!!

I'm an apple!

2008-11-07T16:27:00.000-05:00
Well, its been a slow news day in my world so I want to tell you a little story.

My cousin Tyler and I have always been close. We are the same age and since there aren't so many girls in the family (even though you have 13 cousins on that one side alone!), I guess we were destined.

Once when we were younger (around 8), Tyler and her sister Brie, and me and my sister Emily were spending the day with our grandmother. She lived near a park/golf course area and we liked to take walks around. This paticular day, Tyler and I were doing our normal thing - talking with each other and walking 10 feet in front of the rest of the troops.

My grandmother turned to Brie and said, "Look at them, aren't they a pair?"

To which Emily (who was around 5 at the time), responded very cheerfully, "And I'm an APPLE, Grandma!"

To Emily's chagrin, this story is retold many, many times - especially when it comes Christmas time. Why, you ask? Because that year, my grandma gave us two very special ornaments - a pear and an apple!

Enjoy it!!

Takin' care of business

2008-11-06T08:40:00.000-05:00
So I finally decided to step up and do something wedding related things. I've been procrastinating long enough that it is just getting ridiculous. Here is what is going on and in the works:

Last weekend: bought a ridiculous amount of lingerie for the honeymoon

Yesterday: bought all the bridesmaids personalized stationary as part of their gift

Things for this weekend:
- Appointment with reception hall to discuss menu and get my questions answered
- Buy candy bars for favors (wholesale club)
- Look for Kevin's wedding band
- Find more paper for Wish Jar
- Buy a Wish Jar!
- Order vases and candles for centerpieces
- Order InstaSnow?
- Work on picture frame card box
- PRE CANA on Sunday 2-9pm

On the horizon:
- Hair appt on Tuesday 11-11 to try out some styles
- Keep working on invitations and inserts
- Candy bar labels
- Programs
- Meeting with Father G. to do questions, and go over readings and music

For the most part, these are little details, but I feel like my To Do list is montrous and I haven't been able to cross hardly anything off. Oh, and I still need a DJ.... we should just do an iPod, I have approx 7000 songs on mine (I know, its hard to believe you can even KNOW that many songs, but I do!). But I don't know how to set that up either. Argh, stupid music.

The goal is to have the invitations DONE by Thanksgiving. We'll see how it goes.

Enjoy it!

At least I tried....

2008-11-05T08:24:00.000-05:00
Well, I made a conscious decision to avoid lusting after something yesterday (not going to see the bebe) but I ended up finding something else to want.

My dear friend Colleen was in town last night, not only to see the new bebe but also to get a hair cut. Since I don't get to see her as often as I would like, I went along for a chance to visit with her.

(I've been growing my hair out for a whole year - I've had short hair almost my whole life and right now it's the longest it has been in a decade, at least)

And while I watched the scissors work and the hair hit the floor, it took all my strength and will power not to ask the woman, "Can you PLEASE do me next?"

Of course, I'm pretty sure if I DID cut my hair, my parents would be dancing around with glee. And Kevin would probably be pretty sad.

(He's really enjoying that I have hair for him to play with, rather than the short 'do where he could hardly run his fingers through it)

Of course, he will have to deal with it soon enough because I have already threatened that post-wedding, I'm buzzing it off...and dying it blonde. Think Victoria Beckhams new pixie. I need a change. I am desperate for a change. BUT I have been growing it out for so long that I can't cut it until I find out how I am doing it for the wedding. You can always cut some off, but you can't make it longer on a whim.

Gosh, I want a hair cut :(

Enjoy it!!

Not yet!

2008-11-04T14:09:00.000-05:00
Tonight I am resisting temptation. My friend Colleen is coming home to visit her brand new baby cousin and I am NOT going with her. Even though I desperately want to. Even though I would love to see him, and snuggle and hold him.

I am not going because if I do, it will be a serious kick in the ovaries. And it is just easier to avoid it, rather than go enjoy myself.

On one hand, I am thinking I am so ready to have a baby, to have this little life that relies totally and completely on you. It's unnerving how much I enjoy being around the little bebes in my life.

But on the other hand, I know that I will have a lot of transitioning to do once the wedding is done, with the relocating, starting a new job and just living with a boy in general. And on top of that, Kevin and I have spent our entire relationship apart. I really just want to enjoy our time together and be free to take off and do things at the drop of a hat.

And still, that little nagging is there.

So to that little voice, I say, "Be patient, we'll get there! Just enjoy what you have now."

....and maybe get a fur baby soon, instead.

Enjoy it!!

Well, I was feeling positive

2008-11-03T11:22:00.001-05:00
Seriously, awesome weekend.

But now the nerves are back again.

I think the reason I am having such a tough time choosing a DJ is because of the other vendors I've chosen, namely our photographer and limo company.

On my local board on the Knot, I never saw negative things about the ones I had chosen...until after I put down a deposit. Then suddenly, everyone had gripes to share. The limo is not a huge concern, persay. I need it to get us to the church, to our locations for pictures and to the reception. Pretty much, as long as it runs and can get through the snow, I will be ok.

The complaints I have seen about them is that brides were shown nice, new limos at the shows and then that isn't what ended up in their driveways on the wedding day. Which, of course its nice to have something awesome, especially after shelling out the $$, but like I said, as long as it runs then we are ok. Other complaints have been about the radio or A/C working...definitely NOT huge concerns.

But the photographer....that is a big deal. I've seen their work, and they seem to do lots of fun types of things, creative poses and things. The prices were great and included the rights to all the photos, free of watermarks, etc. Which was very important to me.

Then a woman at work complained about this photog and I'm getting anxious. They employ about 8 different photogs there, and the one she had trouble with was the owner. She said he pretty much barked out instructions, didn't listen to her, and took generic pictures so there was nothing that made her pics stand out from someone else's.

Personally, I want the traditional posed pictures. I want to make sure I get our families in there, and the ones with the wedding party all lined up. But I still want some candid and fun pictures and I definitely do not want someone bossing me around on my wedding day...but how can I ask to NOT have the guy who owns the company be our photographer? I don't want to offend them, but this is something we will have forever and I want it to be surrounded by good memories. Ack! Stuck between a rock and a hard place, that's me....

And therefore I am now completely stuck on the DJ....have been for months. I mean, this is the person who will set the tone for the wedding. Either get people up dancing or leave them seated and want to leave early. What to do, what to do....

And its finally happened...

2008-11-03T10:03:00.000-05:00
I found something that was FUN and WEDDING-RELATED....both at the same time! Seriously, I didn't know such a thing existed. Pretty much everything I have been doing for the wedding has been something that stresses me out or that I really don't care about, or worse, that I DO care about even tho I know its silly (stupid matching invitations!)

BUT this weekend, the fun was back!

Firstly, I spent the night at the apartment with Kevin and finally got to sleep on the new mattress. Let me tell you, don't believe anyone who says your mattress doesn't matter. This thing is ahhhh-mazing. I want to live there. It is the happiest place on earth.

After my glorious night's sleep, I got dressed and ready and drove out to visit my friend Kelly from college. My other college friend (and bridesmaid) Cair met me there also. We went out for some lunch and then headed out shopping. We went to Lane Bryant and I spent an obscene amount of money. But the best part of it was that I got to check something off my wedding To Do list, because I bought...

sexy underpants!! honeymoon lingerie!!

And let me tell you (I don't often feel confident about myself so this is saying a LOT) - I looked hot! I got five different outfits: a black corset and matching panties, a red bra and skirt with a thong underneath, an emerald green satin bra and the cutest thong I've ever seen (a ruffle around the waist and then a bow on the butt...seriously adorable), a black sheer nightie, and a black sheer cami and matching panties. Add in the red silkie nightie and robe I got at my bridal shower and I am *almost* all set.

The only thing I want to get is something white for the wedding night....or the first night on the honeymoon, we'll see how things go.

My moral quandry here is that I am absolutely desperate to show Kevin, because I know he will love them. But at the same time I want to to be a surprise. I guess I will just have to hold out. For now at least.....

Enjoy it!!

I love lamp.

2008-10-31T09:18:00.001-04:00
Right now I am sitting at my desk at work, with a lamp shade on my head. Seriously. Take it in.

I am a tube of toothpaste for our Halloween celebration! And the shade is my cap! Loooove it.

I just cannot wait until it is four o'clock and I can leave and head out to see my hunny bunny. He is making me dinner tonight (a little Shake-n-Bake action going on) and I'm so excited to snuggle in the new bed (that I haven't had a chance to try out yet) and just relax.

Then, bright and early tomorrow morning, I am heading out the rest of the way to my college friend's house for a fun Girls Night. Thuper duper exthited!

Since we were having a fun day at work, I stayed up late to bake some treats last night. I didn't end up getting to bed until 2am, which mean 6:30 came around pretty early this morning. But it should be a pretty relaxed day here at the bank, so hopefully it will be easy and go by quick (and without my over-tired eyeballs falling out of my head).

HAPPY HALLOWEEN EVERYONE! ::muah-ha-ha-ha-ha::

Enjoy it!!

Gah, frustration

2008-10-29T10:50:00.001-04:00
My mother and I are in a fight. It is really silly. And stupid and pointless. We used to get along really well.

Since I moved back home after college and especially since we started planning a wedding, we've been butting heads. Mostly because it seems like she is only ever asking me stupid questions. And I'm sure she doesn't mean them to be stupid, but that is how they end up.

And of course, I am not helping the situation, by answering these stupid questions with honest answers. And honestly, sometimes to other people's ears, comes out as bitchy. She also doesn't like the reply "I don't know."

So this morning we are fighting because she got a card for me to send to my goddaughter for Halloween. Sounds harmless, right?

Well, she asked last week if I was sending something to Hayden for Halloween and I said no. Which should have been enough.

**Before you go thinking I am a horrible godmother, Hayden is 5 months old. It seems a little silly to send a Halloween card to her...next year, when she might get excited to have mail, or like to have her own pack of M&Ms, it's another story**

So when she pulled out the card (after I've gotten 5.5 hours of sleep and my immune system is slowing losing a battle to a cold), I was a bit surprised. And told her that it was stupid to send a 5 month old a card. And that I didn't even know what to write. So instead I started packing my lunch.

She snatched the card up and told me "Just go away"....awesome start to the morning.

She has told me several times that 1 - I should have just eloped, 2 - she doesn't even want to come to the wedding anymore and 3 - she hates how I am growing my hair and it looks horrible (which seems silly but is a big deal).

I think we just need to start again.... gosh my eyes are so tired