Problem

So today I started thinking about my amazing wedding co-ordinator Amanda, and I thought I would shoot her an email so we could catch up and go over a few things for the big day. Let me tell you, this is the nicest woman EVER. She's always on top of things and willing to do whatever it takes to make our day special, and she is one of the reasons we picked our location. I baked her cupcakes once, and she called to say hello one day and told me she had a present for me. Seriously, this woman is amazing.

I sent the email.

A couple hours later I got the following reply: "Unfortunately Amanda no longer works here. Call me when you have a minute. -Stephanie"

NOOOOOOOOO!!!!!

So I called this "Stephanie" person, and after looking up my file and calling me Linda (which is NOT my name), she said things looked good and we can meet up this weekend to discuss the wedding.

Here is my problem, Amanda made some big promises to us about a few things and I trusted her so much. She went above and beyond and even came in on her days off to meet with us about things. She swore up and down that she would be there on our wedding day, and we had a big speech prepared that we were going to make about her. "Stephanie" couldn't remember my name two minutes into a conversation.

They say something is bound to go wrong at every wedding... I pray to god that this is it so I can fix it now, and move on to a perfect day.

BTW... I burned my thumb REALLY bad on a hot glue gun today while working on Super Secret Wedding Project, and that is the only hint you will get about it.

Fish

People often ask me why I'm afraid of fish, so I thought now is a good time as any to explain.

First of all, I blame my brother. When I was little he told me jaws was going to come get me, and when I was swimming, he would swim under me and grab my feet and pull me under water then say it was a fish that did it. When we'd go on vacation, he would be swimming then scream that the fish were eating his feet. At one restaurant we went to, there was a fish with big giant teeth on the wall, and he told me that's what the fish biting him looked like. No who WOULDN'T be terrified after that?!?!

Now let's explore some creatures of the sea.

The Narwhal.


How scary is this thing? It's a giant fish, with a giant sword attatched to it's head. Yeah I know, you can only find them in super cold waters, but really... would you WANT to find one? What if it stabs you while you're swimming around helplessly? Forget sharks, Narhwals are the new shark.


Manatee:

Sea cow my ass. It's slimy, fat, and absolutely disgusting. I just imagine it holding onto me and sucking out my brain. I would never want to share a pool with that.


Angler fish:

OMG WHAT THE HELL IS THAT?!?! Imagine swimming around on a hot summer day and knowing that deep down, that THING is swimming below you.. lurking... waiting to kill. I never seen a kitten that looks like that... so I'll stick to kittens.

Sperm Whale:



This nightmare is all of the creatures above rolled into one. It's huge, it's ugly, it has TEETH, and it's lurking...

Why do people swim in the ocean when there are creatures out there like this? The ocean is filled with horrible untamed creatures the size of houses and cars, that have TEETH! And SWORDS on their heads!!

It was hard for me to even google these pictures because seeing them up close will give me nightmares. So there you have it. I'm afraid of fish, and hopefully you are too now.

Happiness

This weekend was truly wonderful, and even though we didn't get around to everything on our to do list, we really had a great couple days off.

I like movies, ALOT, and when I came home friday night, we popped in a movie and cuddled up with the cats and the dog, and started off the weekend right.

I just never thought I could be this happy, and when sunday rolled around, we fired up the BBQ and while he cooked a tri tip, I prepared some artichokes and we had an AMAZING dinner. He's really becoming quite a cook, and I can't help but smile when I think about how our children are going to have a childhood similar to the childhood we both had. Good food, the smell of BBQ, and hopefully, a pool. We were quite the happy family, and the evening ended with chocolate dipped strawberries and cherries, and more movies.

I'm really looking forward to getting married. Although the big day itself is scary, I have no doubts that I have found the perfect guy for me. I miss him like crazy when we're apart, and I wish time would stop when we're together. Sigh. I'm starting to sound like a cheesey romance novel. I should really be saving this stuff for our vows.

In other news, Super Secret Wedding Project is moving along quite well, and I've been making 2 to 3 "favors" each day. They're turning out so much better than I had hoped, and I can't wait til it's all done. It's just going to be hard to give them away. I still need to work on centerpieces, and invites go out next week. YIKES!

Wish me luck!

Weekend

I looooove weekends! Who doesn't though? It's different for me though, because it's the only time I really have to spend with my wonderful fiance. He works days, and I work nights. Even though I unfortunately have to work Saturday night, I am super excited for a whole bunch of stuff that is going on these next couple of days.

1.) Take the dog and cat to the vet. This may not sound exciting for you, but it's VERY exciting for me. I'm not a morning person, but our 10am appointment will get me out of bed and ready to start the day at a reasonable hour so I don't waste my day sleeping. I would much rather be out with my love, even if it's just a trip to the vet. We really like our vet too. :)

2.) Getting our rings engraved. It'll be another thing off the list!!

3.) Costco. He HATES going, and I HATE going alone, but I've convinced him to go with me tomorrow. MWA HA HA!

4.) Wedding Invites. He's going to assemble, and I'm going to address them. They have to go out in a couple of weeks! YIKES! Can't wait to cross it off the list though!

5.) Tri tip. He's going to BBQ it, and we're going to enjoy a nice bottle of 2005 Riesling to go with it. I know it's not a red wine, but we like it, and we deserve it.

6.) Getting some good friends to help me with Top Secret Wedding Project, placecards, and centerpieces. This will be VERY exciting too. The more we get done, the less I have to stress about.

7.) Toy Story 3! Three words: movie, theather, popcorn.

Looking back at this list, I'm feeling kinda dumb for being excited about trivial things, but my days of hard partying are over, and I couldn't be more thrilled to be average.

Diet

I hate dieting, and to be honest, I don't really believe in it. You shouldn't have to suffer when you're losing weight, which is why I'm eating a giant piece of pizza right now as I type. I'm not kidding either. It's DAMN good.

I've lost about 12 or 13 pounds so far on this little workout routine I have, and I'm feeling pretty darn good. How am I losing weight AND eating this amazing BBQ Chicken Pizza? I run. I run everyday, and quite a few miles. I eat lots of protein, and LOTS of fruits and veggies. I also drink TONS of water. I'm about 5 to 7 pounds away from where I like to be, and I've got two months to do it. No problem! I've already given up my social life to work on Top Secret Wedding Project, so it's less tempting to go out to eat.

I get fitted for my dress next month, so I'm very excited to see how well I've done with dropping the pounds. (Heating up another slice of pizza.) Wish me luck!

Meltdown

It's been a long time coming, and it has finally arrived. I thought wedding planning was supposed to be fun and happy and exciting... but it seems more like stressful, guilt ridden, and frustrating.

When I hit high school, my self esteem that I had lost in Jr High came back full force, but now that I'm getting married in less than three months, it has dropped significantly. Suddenly people are telling me to lose weight, fix my hair, lose the glasses, and now I can add, "Oh no, you're not wearing THAT are you?" to the list. I always liked the way I look, and I LOVE my glasses. They help me stand out. I used to have a 40's hairstyle that really made a statement about who I was, but everyone told me to get rid of it, and foolishly I did. I regret it every day.

I went to the eye doctor recently to get an anti-glare coating in my glasses to help out with the photography for our engagement and wedding pictures, and the eye doctor went on and on about how I shouldn't wear my glasses on my wedding day. Ummm... then how am I supposed to see? He suggested contacts, I said no. He suggested surgery, I said HELL NO. My glasses are me. If I suddenly ditch them before the wedding, then I'm going to look like a stranger walking down the isle. "But you're going to be embarrassed years later when you look back on your pictures!" No I wont, because I'll STILL be wearing my glasses. AAARRRGGGG!!!! Thanks for calling my glasses ugly.

Our Engagement pictures are happening tomorrow, and we are really excitied. We have some fun ideas planned, and my fiance suggested that I (the bride) wear a white shirt, and he (the groom) wears a black shirt, and we both wear jeans. Sounds good to me! I'm so glad he has an interest in this, so that makes it even better! Now it's 6pm in the evening, and the texts start rolling in. "You're wearing white tomorrow? White doesn't look good on you. It's not flattering" Oh thanks! Especially since I'll be wearing white ON MY WEDDING DAY. I'm not overweight at all, in fact, I just lost about 10 pounds, but thanks for calling me fat.

This weekend can't get here fast enough. By the way, our photographers are AMAZING, and I know our pictures will look good no matter what, especially since I'll be standing next to my husband to be.

Progress

There are two things on my wedding checklist that I have been worrying about slightly more than everything else, and that's hair and makeup.

Growing up, I always had the same woman cutting my hair, until I dyed it black on my own and she cussed me out when I went to her to fix it. Six hours and two hundred dollars later, I decided not to ever go to her again. I went to Supercuts where they didn't speak English, I went to another place where the stylist cried and ran off half way through the haircut, and then I just let my hair grow and grow until I could find someone else. So when it came time to find someone to do my hair, I was terrified, until my mom pointed out an old friend of mine from Elementary School who does hair. Let me tell you, she is GOOD. I attended a wedding and saw some of her work, and immediately asked her to do my hair. I've known her for most of my life, and it's truly and honor to have her. Success! Cross it off the list!

Makeup. I've never really been a girly girl, and I never really learned too much about makeup growing up, so there is NO way I was going to do my own makeup for our special day. My soon to be mother in law (who is AMAZING by the way) suggested a friend of hers who I have met a few times and really like. She works at Nordstrom so you already know she's wonderful and beautiful, and now she's doing my makeup!!! I am jumping up and down with excitement right now! Success! Cross it off the list!

I am putting my head into the hands of some beautiful and talented girls, and there is no doubt that I will look perfect on my wedding day.

Overload

It's quite possible that I have taken on a project far bigger than me, but it is just too funny to pass up. What is the project? It's super top secret so I'm afraid I can't tell you. Let's just say... it will be hilarious, and hopefully worth all the time and stress I'm about to put into it.

I have dedicated an entire corner of my kitchen to this project, and I fondly refer to this section of the house as "Wedding Central." Wedding Central has everything I could ever need. Pens, markers, various objects that cut, and a whole lot of crap. Also, I can see our TV from where I sit, and I don't have to walk too far to the fridge, or the phone. I like it, which is a good thing because I will be spending the next three months there.

I've enlisted a handful of people that I trust to help with this project, and I'm crossing my fingers and thinking good thoughts. As far as everyone else goes, don't ask me how I'm doing until September 12th.

Shilo

This is my dog Shilo. He's half black Lab, and half Chow, and he was born May 12th, 1995 which makes him 15 years old.



He was my sister's dog at first, but in 1996 (when I was 12) my sister was in the process of moving to a new place in Oregon that didn't allow dogs, so she gave him to me. I can't even begin to tell you how excited I was to have my very first dog. I was in charge of feeding him, bathing him, and he even slept in my room! I trained him to sit, stay, roll over, speak, and "go home" which meant he would run into his dog house and wait for me to give the "ok." He never barked, and he never chewed anything up, and he was so loving and protective of me. He was terrified of water (it must have been the Chow in him), so for exercise I took him on walks every day, and we were always wrestling in the backyard. I showed him at the Orange County Fair where he didn't do too well, because he had too much energy around all those people, and all he wanted to do was jump on them. I cried when I had to leave him and go on vacation, and when I came back home I would hug him for as long as I could. He absolutely LOVED to be brushed, and he loved to be scratched on the spot above his tail. He was my best friend.

I've grown older now, and so has he. He's almost completely blind, he's partially deaf, and he's got bad hips and joints. He's no longer my puppy, he's my old man. It breaks my heart to see him limping around and laying in the dirt for hours on end, but he still has an appetite, and he still manages to jump out of the car and land on all fours when we take him to the vet. It's unsual for labs to live so long, but he's in good shape, just old. I'm getting sentimental because I know he probably doesn't have another couple years in him, and with the recent loss of my fiance's 15 year old puppy, it makes things too real. I don't know what I'm going to do when he's gone, so I'm trying to focus on the time I have with him now, but no matter what, he'll always be my pup.

"Shilo when I was young, I used to call your name, when no one else would come, Shilo you always came... and we played." - Neil Diamond

College

I have a long drive to and from work each day, and that's when most of my good thinking time comes into play. Today's thought topic, college.

I was thinking back on all the classes I took for my Radio, Tv, Film major, and I really had a great time! A good handful of my classes involved watching movies. I went to class, watched a movie, then for homework, I had to watch another movie. I took speech classes, and acting classes, but some of my favorite classes involved production. I took a Television Production class that took place in an actual TV studio (built for the college of course), and I got to work with cameras, lighting, sound boards, recoding equipment, and I even got to dabble in directing. We had to learn how to use EVERYTHING, and we really got to know each other as a class. The assignments were super fun too.

We had to produce two televisions shows in the semester. One fifteen minute show, and one half hour show. The class was divided in half for the fifteen minute shows. My group did a cooking show, and the other group... well, they were SUPPOSED to have a live band, but the band didn't show up, so one of the guys did some terrible stand up comedy. It was really hard to watch. For the half hour show, we worked together as a class, and since everyone was freaking out about what talent to find who wouldn't be flaky, I offered to bring some friends in to be contestants. BIG mistake.

The morning of the filming, I got my friends (contestants) in my car and we all drove to my class together. When the show started, they were all giggles. The host was a very religious young man, and I warned my friends about that so they wounld't offend him. Big mistake. They answered some of the questions with "The baby Jesus," and said some not so appropriate things about me. I was the stage manager for the show and there were too many times when all my classmates would slowly turn their heads and look at me with their mouths hanging open. Humiliation aside, we got an A and in the end, that's really all that matters.

What a fun walk down memory lane.

Countdown

Progress

101 days to go! Insane! We have picked up our invitations, and they are sitting on my kitchen table at this very moment. The girls (my bridesmaids) and I have been working on things here and there, and the centerpieces have started to be assembled. We have our engagement photo scheduled, and we picked a WONDERFULLY beautiful place to have the shoot at. He has his bachelor party planned out, my little niece is throwing me a bridal shower, and the rehearsal dinner is set. We got our first wedding card in the mail, and it's sitting on our mantel, and the honeymoon is almost completely booked.

I'm still finding myself to be a little nervous, but we've got a great team of people willing to help out anytime, and any place. I am in LOVE with our wedding coordinator, and with her running the show on the big day, I can't see anything going wrong.

We still have a few things to do here and there like get our rings engraved and get my dress sized, but it will all be completed in time. Husband to be wants to start renting wedding movies on Netflix to help build our excitement and I'm all for it... Expect for My Best Friend's Wedding. I think I'll pass on that one. And Muriel's Wedding. That one was just too depressing. And I hated Mama Mia... and The Wedding Date... and Made of Honor...

Dentist

In April of 2009 I finally dragged myself into a dentist chair after too many years of "putting it off." The longest time I had spent away from a dentist was seven years, and when I finally DID go back, I had one tiny cavity, so naturally I was feeling pretty cocky. As the dentist reviewed my x-ray with me, I noticed that there were too many red markings on my chart than I thought there should be. Not only did I have to get all my wisdom teeth pulled, but I had ten cavities my friends. TEN. I had been trying a new diet craze called The Cookie Diet where you eat these special diet cookies and drop weight like crazy. (No joke... I lost over 20 pounds.) However, the cookies rotted away at my teeth. I must have cried the whole way home after finding out the news about my poor teeth.

However, this story does have a happy ending. Last week I returned to the dentist for my very last filling and to review my new x-rays, and I am pleased to say that I have a clean bill of health!I have been a flossing machine this past year, and I am determined to never get a cavity again. Those fillings ain't cheap! The moral of the story is FLOSS. Make it a habit. Oh yeah... and don't go on any Cookie Diets.