We're on the hunt...

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!

In a rut!

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!

Sniffles and watery eyes

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!!

Our Tree Topper

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

Lazy weekends

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!!

An interesting Thanksgiving night...

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!!

Sweet Sweet Victory

Apparently the "saving up my Wegmans checks" was all Kevin needed to know I was serious about the king bed situation. And that means...

Victory is MINE!

And it is sooo lovely to think about my glorious new mattress. I mean, it will probably be about another month+ before I can afford it with just Wegmans checks, but there seriously is no rush for the new bed so that is ok.

More backstory on the bed situation:
Up until Sept 1 when we (and by we, I mean Kevin) moved into the new apartment, if we were sharing a bed, it was a twin. And that is no small feat. Kevin is 6', 300+lbs, former offensive line football player. He is a BIG man. And I am not petite by any stretch of the imagination. Short and squat - yes, petite - no.
Now, we don't mind sleeping snuggled up. In fact, we love it. But quite frankly, that might not always be the case. Sometimes it is too hot, sometimes someone is sick, sometimes you are just not in the mood. And therefore - big bed.

So all that is left now is to actually go out shopping for mattresses. Upon the advice of my very wise Aunt Colleen, I have been instructed to wear comfy clothes, shoes that slide off easily, and a stack of post it notes. Her fool-proof system is to simply go around the store, lay down and try them all out. If you like it, stick a post it note. If not, skip it. Then you can go back and eliminate from the good ones. So we have a plan!



Also, last night I went out to dinner with my dear cousin Tyler and had some yummy yummy salmon and a tasty glass of wine. And taught her to knit. She did very well, and I was proud of her. Hopefully she will be able to continue it - she works as a caretaker for a small group home with 3 physically disabled people and would like to make them blankets for Christmas. Personally, it took me from August to December to finish one blanket for my future mother-in-law, but perhaps she will be able to stick with it better than I could. Good luck dear!


Tomorrow is my first bridal shower, given by my FMIL, and I am very excited about it. But also very nervous. Firstly, Kevin's family doesn't have get-togethers very often so I have only met these women approx twice. Secondly, I am awful with names, esp when 3/4 of them start with J. Thirdly, I don't really like all the attention to be on me, so I am glad to have my mother and friends there to help me out. It should be a lot of fun!

Enjoy it!!

Someone else's bed

This week, I have taken to sleeping in my sister's bed. She is spending this semester studying abroad in England (let's not even get into how jealous I am) and therefore, doens't need it. It's not really that it is more comfy - we both have new-ish pillowtops. Truthfully, its because her room is cleaner (as no one has been living there for the past few weeks). And also, I had to surrender my nice big tv to FI for the apartment, and I really miss watching my crappy movies when I go to bed (my personal favorite is Meet Me in St. Louis, with Judy Garland). Emily's computer has a DVD player, so I just pop something in there and fall right asleep. Lovely.

Speaking of beds, I am trying to convince Kevin that we should get a king size bed. Currently, every piece of furniture we have is a hand-me-down, including our mattress. It's not comfy and it hurts my back, so we have been thinking about updating that anyhow. We do not have a bed frame yet (we are so WT) and so I say - Go big or go home! Normally an attitude that Kevin appreciates. But he is a bit worried about the $$ factor. A queen to a king mattress is quite a jump, and clearly (as we have all hand-me-down furniture and a craptastic apt) we are not rolling in it. My thinking here is, if we have to get a new mattress and think we may want a king down the line, we should just get it now. Once we already have a frame and appropriate bedding and all those things, it will be more expensive to switch, should we decide to. So before we have any bed things whatsoever (save the pair of sheets his mom sent him with, and a fuzzy blanket), things we would have to replace, I say - lets get it! So today I decided I am saving my Wegman's checks to go towards that. I pulled up my WebBanking and retroactively saved the last 3 weeks into a different account, plus the one I just got today. As of next week, we will be half way there! Fingers crossed!!

Enjoy it!

Good book

For once, a weekend that wasn't completely packed full...*sigh* it was loverly.

Friday night, I was mysteriously off from Wegmans (which NEVER happens on a Friday) so I wanted to go up to the apartment and hang out with Kevin. Of course, my parents were having massive issues with this as we are not married. And kept saying, "It's KEVIN's apartment" to which I reply "MY name is on the lease. And I paid the rent this month. And the cable! It's my apartment too." But whatever. My dad said there was a good possibility that my stuff would be at the curb when I came home on Sunday (which I knew wasn't true but I was a little concerned about the cut off from wedding funding). But I wanted to go this weekend, because now I won't be able to see Kevin until the weekend of Sept 27 - almost 3 weeks!!

Anyhow, I went to the apartment and it was fine. Kevin made me dinner (one of those pouches that you dump in a pot - chicken parm) and we just relaxed.

Saturday morning we went out to breakfast. Breakfast is my favorite meal and there is a fab diner by Kevin's house in the sticks that we love to go to, so now we have to find a place near the new apartment. Let me tell you, the place we went was NOT it. Not that it was horrible, it just wasn't our normal diner experience. BUT in the same plaza I also got to go look at the puppies. I need a puppy... everytime we go to a pet store, I pick out the one I like and give it a name. But we just can't have one right now. Sad face. Also on Saturday, we went looking for recliners. Kevin's been pining after one for a while now but grossly underestimated how much one would cost. We went one place and found one he liked and it was $1100 + $119 delivery fee. Holy crow! Also, we tried out a Mexican restaurant nearby - it was ok, I got chicken quesadilla (which is my fave) but it needed a little more flavor, perhaps some Franks hot sauce lol. And watched a movie. And grocery shopped so we could make breakfast the next day lol.

Sunday I made pancakes and we hung out for a while, enjoying the cool tv with the lovely digital cable and the extra lovely (and my favorite) DVR. Then I had to go home - I went straight to my grandmother's and helped her get ready for dinner and then everyone was over and we had some yummy-scrumbos pork chops and applesauce and potatoes. Delish! And my aunt was helping me knit. I like to knit but I am slow. I'm telling you, she could have finished my whole scarf in an hour. I'll finish it in 2 months.

BEST PART of this weekend - I read a book, a whole book in like 3 days. It was so so good. Called "Until the Real Thing Comes Along" by Elizabeth Berg. She is a wonderful writer if you like something sweet, with just a little bit of sad added in. I've read another one of her books called "Dream When You're Feeling Blue" set around WWII. Excellent! Seriously, if you're looking for an easy read, try these out. They are excellent.

Ahh, vacation...

I had a glorious time off! Let's recap, shall we?

Friday - WORK! Seriously, I worked 7:30am-4pm, and then 6pm-2:30am...I am a glutton for punishment.

Saturday - Family picnic. I got a lot of "So when is the big day?" and "Where IS he?" Kevin was coming back from his week of working in Canada, and was not able to come and visit my lovely family. Also, got one of these "You're getting married?! You're younger than me!"...not really sure how to respond to that.
Poor Kevin got stuck at the border for over an hour - apparently they were having some sort of a malfunction with their radiation sensor because about 5 cars in a row got detained and then let go at the same time. Glad everything worked out ok.

Sunday - Spraypainted my ugly lamps. First with a textured paint to cover up the ugly, etched in butterflies. Then with a metallic silver. They turned out very nice, if I do say so myself. I didn't take any pictures, but maybe I will remember this weekend. The only before picture I have is on my cell, but I need to show the difference. I will try and figure it out.
Post spray-painting, I went to my grandmother's house and had a labor day picnic with the other side of the family. Then on to a birthday party for my friend and finally home to bed.

Monday - Woke up super early (5am) and couldn't sleep - my tummy hurt :( so I put on a movie for a while and finally fell back asleep. Woke up for real around 8 and right away showered and got dressed because it was MOVING DAY!! My dad went and talked to the U-Haul people and instead of picking up a 10' truck at 12:15, we got a slightly bigger 14' truck at no extra charge at 10am. So we picked that up, went to my one aunt's house and collected our kitchen table and chairs, and couch. Then back to my house to get the 3 wingback chairs, lamps, side tables, BIG tv, kitchen supplies, and vacuum. My dad went to Kevin's parents house where they added on a mattress and box spring, Kevin's computer, a desk and a night stand. (Kevin had already moved all the stuff from his old apartment to the new place so that was all there). Then we all met up at the new apartment and started lugging things up the stairs. Luckily they were very WIDE so it wasn't too difficult (it was especially not too difficult for me as my dad and Kevin did most of the moving lol). My parents dropped off the truck on their way home and left Kevin and I to set things up. Kevin filled the one bedroom with all his things from the old apartment/room, so that would be his project for another time. Our bedroom wasn't very hard to set up as the only things we have are a mattress and a boxspring lol. Actually, we don't have a TON of stuff, so it didn't really take that long to empty anything or set things up. But its definitely a work in progress. We went out to dinner to celebrate and then to Target to stock up on some things.

Tuesday - Kevin had to work, but I had off so I got a good-bye kiss and got to sleep for a while longer. It was a slow day because I was hanging around the apartment for the gas and electricity to be set up. The guy was supposed to call 20 mins before he was coming, so I was just hanging out all day, with no cable and nothing to do. Actually, we got this shelf thing to put in the bathroom but I got stuck and I didn't want to ruin it, so I just left it for Kevin lol. I met up with Kevin for lunch (still no phone call). I watched approx a million movies. When Kevin came home we finished setting up the shelf. We made dinner and started talking about our "Hard Questions." Then ice cream and yet another trip to Target to get some other things we thought about. Lovely evening with my hunny bunny.

Wednesday - Kevin got up and went to work again, and I slept a while longer. I got up and ready around 8, on the road by 8:30 for home. I had lunch plans with my grandmother, but she had gone out to breakfast so instead we met up with my aunt and her two boys (8 & 6) for ice cream after the first day of school. After that, I went out to dinner with my friend Kara. We had Olive Garden - yummy! and then stopped and got some cardstock so I could start my "wish" cards for the reception. I got a dark green and a light green and used my embosser to put our initial in the corner. It turned out very cute, simple but elegant.
Oh oh oh, last night I watched America's Next Top Model and this is shaping up to be a good season. Very bold personalities. Seriously, Tyra is a complete trainwreck and I can't help myself. I am so glad tv is coming back - there is nothing on in the summer. Also, now that we have DVR at the apartment, I can have Kevin tape my shows and I can watch them when I get a chance later on. Yahoo!

And now, back to work.....blah

Enjoy it!!

Overwhelmed

Rough week.

I'm getting very frustrated with the move this weekend. I had to call Kevin's friend to ask him if he would help us move (he has a big pick-up) but he NEVER answers his phone, and I don't know if he checks his voicemail, and I doubt he will actually get back to me. That makes me mad, I don't understand why you have a cell phone if you ignore it all the time - rude. Kevin can't help me because he isnt even IN THE COUNTRY this week. All of the things that we need to move are coming from an hour and a half away. Kevin says, "I don't really need all the stuff right away babe, don't worry about it." But I am not going to be moving him into this apartment for the next month and a half. That is stupid. And we are busy. Too busy to be moving for a month and a half.

I need to get my save-the-dates out before they become pointless and I don't have any time. I'm an being tacky and tasteless and whatever else the P&E board on the knot would call me and using *gasp* labels to address them. I am busy and I don't have time to hand-write 150 envelopes. I'm working 2 jobs, planning a move and a wedding and trying to get 6 hours of sleep. Days are not long enough to accomodate everything I need to accomplish.

::sigh:: I'm just worn out this weekend, and jealous that Kevin gets to hang in the apartment, while I still have to live with my parents and work my craptastic jobs and be bored. And guess what, I probably won't be allowed to go and stay at the apartment. That's right, I'm 23 and engaged to be married to the guy, but I won't be able to stay the night in OUR apartment (my name is on the lease too!). GRRRR

Makeup Night

Last night I went to the *new* Bobbi Brown counter at the mall (which I am sooo excited is finally here!) and had a friend of mine do my makeup. I loved the whole experience. I don't usually do the "pampering" kinds of things, but this was a blast! I was going for the whole dramatic eye-muted lip kind of a thing and I think she did a fantastic job:

Eyes open

Eyes closed

My mom thinks that it was a little dark, more for evening rather than wedding. I guess my only concern is if we get pictures where my eyes are closed, it might be a little too dark for that. I wish someone would do my makeup everyday!! I am not very good at it, and I wish I could do things like this.

I couldn't get anything last night, but perhaps in a couple of weeks I can afford to go back and get some things - she used a great brightener under my eyes (yay for never getting 8 hours) and a nice concealor also.

After that, we grabbed something to eat and shopped a little bit. Kelly took me over to Joann's so I could grab a hot glue gun for my home decorating project.

Oh, I forgot, before we went to the mall, I ran home and spraypainted the ugly lamps silver (I forgot to take a before pic, but trust me when I say U-G-L-Y!). The spraypainting went very quick and dried in minutes. Then I used the blue cording that I bought at Joann's on Monday to wrap around the ceramic center part. I got 14 yards, thinking it would be plenty, but it didn't even cover one full lamp. So I guess this will be the third day in a row I am visiting Joanns.

I was working on my lamp over at my friend Tracy's house, she also had some crafty things to do - homework for one of her classes! And we watched Superstar. If you have not seen this movie - do it! It is a must for when you need a little pick-me-up.

Enjoy it!!

Oh, Canada!

Kevin is out of the COUNTRY this week for work....ok he only went to Canada, so he is actually the same distance from me that he usually is. Since I don't see him during the week, I know I shouldn't be as upset as I am. It is just that we usually talk several times a day and text, but now he is 'roaming' and I can't just call him. Bummer. I just can't wait until we are married and in the same place all the time haha. My mom says I will get sick of him being around all the time, but truly - he works shifts so no matter when I am working, 2 out of 3 weeks, we won't be home at the same time. So I just enjoy when we are around each other at all.

Last night I went to Joann's and got some stuff to fix my ugly butterfly lamps. First, some silver spray paint so they won't have the gold on them anymore. Then some dark blue cording to wrap around them and hid the etched-in butterflies (ugh). Hopefully I can start the transformation today.

Things to pack/ do for the BIG MOVE on Monday:
--RENT UHAUL--
-couch (aunt colleens)
-2 chairs (aunt sandys)
-side tables & tabletop lamps (my house)
-dining room table and chairs (aunt colleens)
-mattress & box spring (Kevin's house in Warsaw)
-desk (Warsaw)
-computer (Warsaw)
-kitchen supplies: plates, silverware, pots and pans (my house)
-microwave (my house)
-cleaning supplies (my house)

Hope I'm not forgetting anything. Guess we will find out...

Enjoy it!!

Wedding Wishes and England Dreams

I feel like I am always saying the same thing here, but seriously...ANOTHER BUSY WEEKEND! Here's my wrap-up:

THURSDAY - bachelorette party! We got martinis at the Chocolate Bar, a free bottle of champagne at one club and in general enjoyed the drunken debauchery of the evening. There were many shots involved, as well as the penis straws we picked up at the adult store on the way. Fantastic!!!

FRIDAY - I played hookey from work (yahoo!) and got to sleep in an extra hour. I was heading to Rochester and *almost* got on the road at the time I planned. I left the house at 10:03 but had to make a quick pit stop at the bank. Made good time to Rochester tho - I got to the apartment by quarter to 12...I have to remember to get an EZ Pass! Denise, the annoying landlady was at the apartment, still finishing up some painting and whatnot. Once again we discussed the green paint, which she showed me. She kept going on and on about how it was neon lime green and horrible and would look ridiculous in the kitchen and it was a custom paint job and there were 97 doorways she would have to tape off blah blah blah. Then she opens the paint and puts a little bit on the wall - it was EXACTLY what we wanted. Which I told her. I really don't care that she didnt like it, as we agreed to prime the walls back before we left and she doesn't have to live with it. She seemed a little put off by that but once again, I don't care, it's not your kitchen. So anyway, I paid her the rest of the $$ we owed and picked up the keys so we will be all set next Monday. My parents think this lady may be getting in our apt or something and my dad fixes ATMs and therefore has offered one of the time lapse recorders to see if anyone is coming in our door lol. We shall see.

The I went over to Kevin's place and we went to his work picnic. Really I wasn't invited to go to this, but he brought me along anyway. The food was so yummy - catered by Famous Daves! Chicken and ribs, mashed potatoes and cornbread! mm mm good.

We left there to go shopping (after Kevin and his friend Ryan were winners of the water balloon toss and Kevin won a bottle of SoCo) so Kevin would have nice clothes to wear for the rehearsal dinner and a dress shirt that fit for the reception. In less than an hour, we got two shirts, a pair of pants and some black socks. Yahoo! Then we went back, freshened up and went to the rehearsal

Steph & Joe's wedding was the the Colgate Divinity School, and so I got to check out the chapel for the first time on Friday. Also, I brought the aisle runner to measure how long we needed it to be. The groomsmen actually ended up being about an hour late and by the time they got there, Reverend Kris had to leave. But all worked out ok, and we went to a delicious (but LONG) dinner at Phillips European. Then I took Steph, his sister Mary and her FSIL Sarah to Target and Kevin went to Best Buy while we shopped for a couple last minute things - nail polish and waterproof makeup!

SATURDAY - Was a busy day! Kevin and I went out for breakfast because I knew I wasn't going to eat again until dinner that night. Then I went over to the hotel to help out Steph around noon. She was amazingly calm. Apparently she had her freak-out the night before and was doing great. She was wearing the Bride-to-be sash I made for her bachelorette party, and jumping on the bed haha. The hair dresser came to the hotel and did her and her bridesmaids' hair, all of which turned out completely beautiful. Steph's family is very high strung, so I was particularly surprised by how calm she was. I helped her with her make up, packed her bag, changed and worked on getting the music off her computer and to Joe's for the reception (a friend was their dj and was just using the playlist they made). Then she decided to get dressed in the bride's room at the school, so I packed up her dress in my car *very carefully* and off we went. Her sister met us there and they both got dressed. Steph's mother was absent through all this (which I was kind of mad about - well I would have been if it was my mom, but it probably was better... as I mentioned, she is a complete spaz and probably wouldn't have been very helpful or calming). My parents showed up (and brought the right shoes with them - yahoo!) and so did my friends and Kevin. We all got situated and waited for the festivities to begin.

Everything was completely perfect (and the aisle runner looked great, if I do say so myself haha). She looked so beautiful, like right out of a magazine. This was the reading that I did:

Blessing for a Marriage

by James Dillet Freeman

May your marriage bring you all the exquisite excitements a marriage should bring … and may life also grant you patience, tolerance, and understanding.

May you always need one another …not so much to fill your emptiness as to help you to know your fullness.

May you want one another, yet not out of lack.

May you entice one another, yet not compel one another.

May you embrace one another, yet not encircle one another.

May you succeed in all important ways with one another … and may your never fail in the little graces.

May you look for things to praise … often say, "I love you!" … and take no notice of small faults.

If you have quarrels that push you apart, may both of you hope to have good sense enough to take the first step back.

May you enter into the mystery which is the awareness of one another's presence – a presence that is no more physical than spiritual … that is warm and near when you are side by side … and warm and near when you are in separate rooms … or even distant cities.

May you have happiness … and may you find it making one another happy.

May you have love, and may you find it loving one another!

I thought it was a beautiful ceremony, short and sweet. The reverend did this hand-fasting thing, with each ribbon representing a different blessing and that was very nice. Then everyone processed out and went to the received line. I managed to make the bride's sister cry, the only time she broke down during the whole thing (meanwhile I had been blubbering through the whole thing, pretty much as soon as I finished my reading).

**Oh, I forgot to mention, this was the wedding where my ex was one of the groomsmen. We managed to basically ignore each other and only say cordial 'hellos' through the rehearsal and the reception lol**

Cocktail hour was out on the patio while the wedding party went to take pictures. I got carded at the bar lol. Then we got excorted into a beautiful hall, which we all decided reminded us of the Great Hall at Hogwarts (thats a Harry Potter reference, for all of you who have been living under a rock). Dinner was delicious. Mary's toast was completely perfect. I wish I could remember the exact words, but the basic jist of it was that as she was growing up, she always wanted to be just like her sister, wearing the same clothes and blindly doing whatever she said. Now that they've grown up, they've grown into their own weird and individual personalities but she still wants to be like her sister in one way - she hopes she finds someone as perfect for her as Joe is for Stephanie. It was the perfect mix of sweet and funny and at the end, my whole table was crying (well except Kevin, he was at a table with 7 girls - he's a champ). We all broke into the Sucipe (which was our alma mader's song) in honor of the bride and she laughed so hard I thought she would pee her pants lol. Instead of a traditional bouquet toss, she called all the guys onto the floor and threw to them. We were all chanting for Kevin (he had spent the last few hours sizing up the competition) and he caught the bouquet. Then he could present it to the lady of his choice - me! Very sweet!

OOH dessert was cake and also a make-your-own sundae bar - delish!!

Finally the dancing started and it was pretty much just our table on the floor. The guys from Joe's frat are very shy (I know I know, frat is not synonymous with shy, but they went to a tech school with a 5:1 guy/girl ratio...they didn't have much practice!). We finally coersed them out on the floor and had a great time. I even chatted with the ex. He starts his new job in Seattle at Microsoft today, making games for Xbox. The dancing kept going until 11:30, when we all decided it was time to go (ok they turned the lights on!). We went to the hotel, changed and went to some RIT apartments where another frat brother was throwing a party. Holy cow, I thought I missed college, but I couldn't do that anymore. We only stayed a little while but had a good time.

All in all, an excellent evening!

SUNDAY - After a lovely evening of Colleen, Tracy and I snuggling in our kig bed at the hotel, we got up around 9 and started getting ready. The bride and groom had invited us to join their brunch at the hotel, but when we showed up we were told by the bride's mother that we weren't invited (seriously. she told us she didn't have tickets for us, and that another family was coming and would be sitting at the empty table...nice manners) so we went to Denny's. Yum, i heart breakfast food. After that, Col, Tracy and I went home, Kevin went back to his place to nap, and Mary and Amanda went to explore Rochester.

After I dropped the girls off, I went home and joined my family - we were headed to my grandma's for dinner (at 2 pm haha). It was a good time. We celebrated my aunt's bday (it was actually at the end of July, but she spent the last 2 months in Florida, helping her daughter with her kids). Had some fab peach pie. Hung out for a little while. Emily had to say goodbye to everyone because she leaves today (to NJ until Thursday, when she takes off for England). Then we went over to my other grandmother's and my great aunt's house - more goodbyes.

We came home and watched a movie together (and played with Em's awesome new toys - a MacBook Pro and a tough iPod - double jealous) - one of our fave movies is "In Her Shoes". If you haven't seen it, rent it. And read the book (by Jennifer Weiner, officially my fave modern-day author). Then bed time.

Sorry so long, but there was soooo much going on!

Enjoy it!!

Family & Friends Weekend

My goddaughter Hayden arrived last night and I can't wait to see her today...stupid work! Also, my lovely cousin Amanda will be here today. I love when the out-of-town family come to visit, it is so nice to have everyone in the same place.

Wednesday I got my STD magnets in the mail and they came out great!! I love them. In fact, I was so excited I stuck all 200 of them all over the fridge.

They are blurry but they say "Kevin bought the ring and Meagan said yes. There's going to be a wedding and we hope you'll be our guest!"

My family got a big kick out of that, but seriously, they are so stinkin' cute! Now if I could just get them out....maybe next week? I am soooo busy with Steph's wedding and things I don't know if that will happen. The little cards I made to put the magnets on are uber-boring and I want to dress them up a little, but I'd rather just get them out sooner, so we shall see. Also, I got the new address cards I made up, and it says "Kevin and Meagan Newlastname" and I was just like...whoa, I'm getting married.

Still not really looking forward to the wedding this weekend. I just always feel like an outsider with Kevin's friends. I know they have all been friends for a long time and I'm the new girl but still... At first I thought we were ok, but now I feel like I'm not so sure.

Last night was seriously an awful night. I was just so down about everything - I have a lot of big expenses this month and it is really draining my bank account, which makes me worried. I just get in these moods where I feel like I am always going to be making just what I need to get by and never be able to do nice things and afford to take vacations and it bums me out. Kevin tries to make me feel better, saying he worked a lot of OT and he can pay for things, but I don't want to take his $$. I want to be able to support myself. I want to be able to save, so we can do things. Ugh, stress. And the headache is back and stronger than ever.

The landlady is driving me CRAZY already. She has been going back and forth, pretty much with herself, about the paint and the cupboards and ugh! We picked out a pretty green called Herbal Garden as she said we could choose a color for the kitchen. I told her the name and the number so she could check it out at Home Depot and also said I would send her the sample I got. She said she checked it out and it was very pretty blah blah. Then two days later she tells me it will really brighten up the kitchen. The VERY NEXT day I get an email that the paint will make the kitchen look small and its dark and if we want it that color we would have to prime it back before we leave and she thought it was the lighter one on such and such a chart. I sent you the name and number!! Where was the confusion??? Crazy lady!!! And the cupboards are UGLY and she mentioned something about painting them white instead of varnishing them and I wanted them to do that. She said it would be extra work because they would have to be stripped and sanded, so if that is what we wanted, Kevin could do it on his own. I have told her approx 10 times that he would do it and still she says every email "Does Kevin want to paint?" AHHH I am pulling my hair out!

Well, anyhow, I am going to have a good weekend. Babies, visiting with cousins and snuggling with my bunny after the wedding. *sigh* it will be nice.

Enjoy it!

Visit from my Bunny

Last night, Kevin came to visit because I haven't seen him since JULY!! Holy cow, that was a long time! But we have both just been so busy, I had my 'maids up one weekend and then he has been working like a fiend, that it just worked out that way. I was so glad to see him. I hate living in different cities. I can't wait to move into the new apartment (even tho that won't be until after the wedding) and just be able to see each other every day and not have to plan out our weekends months in advance about if we'll be in Buffalo, Rochester, or Warsaw...exhausting!

So, we went out to dinner to Red Lobster. I am not a fan of shellfish but you can always get salmon which I love. Altho, I got the salmon in the bag and it said seasonal veggies, so I assumed broccoli or green beans, but it was peppers and onions - yuck! The salmon was good once I saved it from the offending veggies. Then we set off on our errands.

First stop was Home Depot. I hate the carpet in the living room of our apartment, its awful and purple-y blue and I was hoping to find a remnant of a neutral to cover most if not all of the room. No luck here, but it was ok. Next, we cruised on over to one the area hotels - we are trying to find someplace for our wedding guests to stay that is affordable and not a sh*thole, pardon my language. This is proving much easier said than done. I cannot believe how much people charge here for a hotel room - the southtowns are NOT a big tourist attraction, so you wouldn't think it would be so outrageous. We didn't go and look at a room, the guy behind the desk was taking too long but then the way to get home is to go through this skeevy part of town where they are doing a lot of contruction and I don't really want that to be the first impression of our wedding day that people get. Call me crazy, I know. Next we went to Lowes, again on the search for carpet - no luck again. Guess I will actually have to go to a carpet store. Finally we headed over to my favorite place on earth - Target!!! We saw a duvet cover to add to our registry, as well as a shelving unit to put in the bathroom. BEST of all, I found a slip cover for the couch (black) and coordinating pillows (front - cream with a black swirly design, back - black). It looks really nice and I hope it fits the couch... fingers crossed.

Tonight I am hanging out with my friend Kara. She just got a new car so she's driving haha. We are grabbing some dinner at Red Robin and then stopping at Joanns so I can pick up an aisle runner and some paint and brushes to make the handpainted aisle runner for my friend Steph's upcoming wedding (a week and a half!! ahh I'm super excited!!)

My perma-headache is back in full force. Its not debilitating or anything, just more of a dull ache. Just kind of getting on my nerves that it won't go away.

Tomorrow brings a Loooong day of work, but also the first of the OOT family comes in. I am so excited to see the little bebe (my goddaughter! :D) and hang out with my cousin Amanda. Yay for hanging out avec ma famille!

Enjoy it!

Busy Bee

Whew, I need a vacation from the weekend I just had! Busy busy busy!

Friday night I had to work until 11:15, which was not too bad. I had to get up super early on Saturday so we could go check out some furniture. My aunt's friend is downsizing and selling her house, so she needed it out. I was a little surprised when I walked in...I'm not sure what I was expecting but it wasn't this. I ended up taking the furniture, because we have nothing to put in the apartment, and it really was something I couldn't pass up.

For $500 I got:
A couch - is currently cream with green and mauve stripes, needs a slipcover
Two formal chairs - am selling to my mother, they are comfy but a little stiff and my mom LOVES them. She is planning on having my aunt help her re-upholster them and in exchange, my aunt is giving us two wingback chairs
Two side tables - want to get new hardware for these because it is currently gold
Two lamps - Words cannot describe the horror of these lamps. They have engraevd butterflies all over them. *barf* Even if I paint them, it will still be visible - I have some ideas up my sleeve on how to fix them
One wingback chair - is brown...maybe need slip cover. This is going in the second bedroom.
One kitchen table - Nice, but doesn't appear to be extremely sturdy.... hopefully Kevin won't be diving onto it anytime soon haha (also, has two leaves and expands to fit 8)
4 (i think) chairs for the table - The table is a pretty wood color but for some reason, she painted the chairs a cream color. Need to be stripped and stained

I would like to look into getting a remnant carpet for the living room as the one in the apartment is currently a purple-y blue color. I'm thinking beige.

After this, my mom, sister and I went to the fair! Yahoo, I love it there! I bought bbq sauce for Kevin, a necklace and anklet for myself and had a Philly cheesesteak for lunch! Also, some lady cured my headache in approx 1 minute and another cleaned my gorgey engagement ring and it super sparkly and even more beautiful (if that is possible).

We had to leave by 3, but we got stuck in the parking lot when the key wouldn't turn in my mom's ignition. Boy was my dad happy that he had to come and rescue us (dripping with sarcasm)

My mom and I ran some errands after the fair - I got a dry erase calendar for the new apartment, frames and miscellaneous supplies from Joanns to make my Photo card box, and got some ideas for the aisle runner I volunteered to make for my friend's wedding in 2 weeks.

Kevin is coming to visit me on Tuesday after work because we haven't seen each other in 2 weeks and its been completely sucks. I'm super excited to see him!! Also, I am looking forward to seeing my cousin Amanda this weekend, meeting my goddaughter Hayden and going to Kevin's friend's wedding on Saturday! Looks like another busy bee weekend haha

Enjoy it!

Aww I'm a God-momma

I've been working like a fiend this week, FT 40 hours at the regular job and 20.5 hours at Wegmans. Cra-zay! Seriously, I am so wiped and counting the minutes until I can be done with this week. Last night was a complete mess at Wegmans - the regular overnight lady is on vacation in CA and the guy who was supposed to be working didn't show up - in fact, when we called him, he told us he was an hour and a half away. Yahoo! Thanks a lot, since I was the ONLY cashier after 10pm. I got slammed! And then they even asked me "Have you ever worked an overnight? Could you stay?" and I just barely held myself back from laughing in the girl's face. Yes, I've only been working since 7:30 am, but let me stay here all night long and then go to my other job at 7:30 am again. Yahoo!

...crazy people...

Today Kevin got some bad news - apparently he has to work next weekend, which is particularly bad as he is IN he friend's wedding. He finishes work at 2:30 pm, would have to drive about an hour and be in the wedding, party, and be back at work by 2pm on Sunday. Hopefully he can work something out with the managers because he is sort of important here... Plus, if he isn't going to the wedding, I don't know that I really want to go either. His friends are a little iffy on me and that is not super fun. Oh well...

Today I got some super-exciting news!! My cousin Lesley, who just had a baby over Memorial Day weekend (little girl - Hayden Carlisle...don't ask) called and asked me to be her godmother! I am very excited and completely flattered that Lesley thought of me. Of course, she lives in Florida, so I still haven't seen the baby, but they will be coming in next Thursday so we can all meet her and also for the baptism (Sunday, the day after the wedding with the conflict). So now I have to think of a gift to get her...I am thinking about doing a bond, and I want something baptism-keepsake (maybe a Precious Moments figurine?) and a cute outfit. I think that should be good.

In addition to the Florida relatives coming up next weekend, one of my very dear cousins Amanda will be in town for the christening as well, from Philadelphia. We have seen her a lot more this year than we usually do (Easter, her brother's wedding, and 4th of July - not the best circumstances as it was a funeral) but at all these things we hardly get to say two words to each other. So hopefully we can spend some time together Friday and Sunday. We have a lot to catch up on!

Yesterday I got the first part of my orders from VistaPrint - address labels to use on our weddig invitations and RSVPs. They came out super cute and I am very excited! Also, Joann's finally has "print your own" invitations that have pockets, which I am also very happy about. They are all white so I am going to incorporate some color by adding a hunter green belly band. This will also eliminate the need for inner envelopes, because I am going to put a little cardstock square on the front and put the "joe and guest" on there. Yay for creativity!

Ooh, also my aunt has a friend who is selling her house and downsizing so I asked her to ley me know if she would be interested in selling some of her furniture (as Kevin and I have none). SO I heard back from my aunt that she will be selling her furniture, so hopefully I will be able to go and check it out on Saturday. My aunt's like "Oh, it will definitely be in good condition, but I don't know what its like so I don't know if it will be your taste" to which I replied, "if the price is right, it's my taste." We can't really afford to be picky at this point and as they say, "Beggars can't be choosers."

Other plans for this weekend include: going to the fair, making a bachelorette party sash for Steph, getting her a cute gift, working on my STDs (getting the envelopes all together) and potentially getting rid of junk in my room.

Enjoy it!

I have the BEST FRIENDS EVER

Oh.mi.gosh!! This weekend was AMAZING! Here's a little recap:

Friday night my friend Carolyn got in from Queensbury and we went out to dinner to Red Robin with my mom and sister. It was completely delicious! Then we went to the Chocolate Bar downtown and met up with Carolyn's friend, Maryanna (who had the custest haircut) and had yummy martinis. On the way home, we stopped at Wegmans and picked up some breakfast for the next morning and also some frozen limeade for margaritas the next night. Then we made a mix cd for the car trip and went to bed.

Saturday - I got up early to get ready for the day. Ran to get some donut holes for the trip, cut up apples, packed some waters. Cair came down and Tracy and Col showed up a little early, so I called to wake Kara up so she would be ready when we picked her up and we took off. We got up to Rochester way earlier than I thought we would, 8 minutes before the Alfred Angelo store opened so we took some funny pictures to document the day and then in we went. Our personal bridal consultant, Renee, came and helped us pick out dresses. We had two dressing rooms reserved and everyone grabbed a stack of tops and bottoms to try on. Of course, we had a great fashion show and took lots of pictures and laughed a lot. It ended up going a lot quicker than I thought it would, and we were out of there in just a little over an hour.
We headed over to Marketview Liquor, picked up some tequila and triple sec (more margarita supplies) and also the best bottle of wine I have ever seen - it was called Bitch! and had an awesome pink label. Then we went out to lunch at Pittsford Pub and met up with Dave, a friend from college. Then I got a call from the apartment lady, Denise, about the apartment I was supposed to go and check out, so we all headed over there. She had two apartment available, and even though I was pretty much determined to NOT like them, they were really nice for what we can afford. So I called and talked with Kevin and I ended up signing the lease, which means we have our VERY FIRST APARTMENT!! This really helps me a lot, because now I feel like I can pick the things on our registry better because I see the space I want them for. Also, we get to choose a color to paint the kitchen, which I think will make it a little more homey. My friends were really helpful with the ideas and also we got to look at out neighbor's apartment, full of furniture, which was great. Of course, we have NO furniture to put in it, but we will get there. My grandma has a table that she said we could have, and we have a mattress and a boxspring... piece by piece, right?
After that, we were all set in Rochester so we took off and headed back home, goals for the day accomplished. We dropped Kara back off so she could pick up Joe's car and came back to my house, where we parted ways - Colleen and Tracy back to their respective homes, and Cair and I to mine. Cair took a nap and I loaded all the pics for an earlier photo shoot onto my computer, finished designing my Save the Dates!! Which means - CHECK - I got those ordered and off the list. They should be here in about 2 weeks. YAHOO! Then I took a nap also, and woke up a little before it was time to head down to Colleen's, where we 5 girls were planning to have margaritas and smores! Little did I know that they had something else planned...

When I walked in, I was greeted by all my girlfriends and a surprise bachelorette party!! It was so great! Everyone was wearing leis and drinking daiquiris and they dressed my up in a funny hat and a "Bride to Be" necklace. Even my mom was there! We visited, ate, played games (including pin the junk on the hunk - what a riot!!), danced and drank!

This is my sister Emily and my friend's little sister Jen - nice faces guys!

My mother and Aunt Sandy

My mom, relishing her perfect placement at "Pin the Junk on the Hunk"

I had such a wonderful time!! I truly am so lucky to be surrounded by such wonderful friends. I got some great presents including a little sign to hang in our new apartment that says "all because two people fell in love" and best of all, a photo album full of all the great pictures we took that day! It was an amazing surprise!!!

Sunday - Cair and I got up pretty early, ordered breakfast pizza and had an old college friend over for breakfast. Then Carolyn left - she had a long drive home. I had a family party for my uncle's 85th birthday and so I spent the afternoon there. On the way home I stopped at Joann's to pick up some things for another friend's bachelorette party and also at my fave store ever invented - Target! I made up some invitations for the party and also addressed the envelopes, so those can go out tomorrow.

All in all, this weekend was fantastic, everything went so much better than I could have anticipated and I was so glad for the time I got to spend with my friends! Thank you ladies!!

Enjoy it!