12

Not this Saturday but next, I will be getting married. I can't believe how close we are!!! 12 MORE DAYS!!!

This weekend was the bachelor party weekend in Vegas, so I packed up my stuff (and the dog)and headed to mom's house since I didn't want to spend the weekend alone. Saturday morning at 9am, the work began. My sister is a photographer, and she set up a mini studio in the living room to do a photo shoot of the "Super Secret Wedding Project" favors. She was going to take pictures of each one so I could put them into a little coffee table book. I spent way too much time on this project to just give it all away and forget about it.

Around 10am, my bridesmaids and soon to be mother in law came over, and that's when the REAL work began. We set up stations all over the house. One to work on final touches for the project, one for centerpieces, and one for making more favors. The house was filled with laughter and love, and together we got everything done! YAY!!! My sister set up the "Super Secret Wedding Project" in the back yard, and I got my picture taken with all the favors. I can't wait to post pictures of it!!!

That evening, we all went out for pizza and beer to celebrate. The boys were out celebrating... why couldn't we? It was kind of a mini bachelorette party.

Sunday morning I went home to a very tired fiance, and we met with our photographers for a final rundown and walk through of the wedding day. It was fun to do that, because we got to see exactly what the venue will look like at the time of our wedding. It's so lush and green, and the flowers are in bloom, and there were bunnies EVERYWHERE!! It's going to be so beautiful, and I can't wait!

After that, I met up with one of my lovely bridesmaids (Womby), and we went out for a super nerd dinner. We are both fans of the Bravo channel, and the show Flipping Out with Jeff Lewis. On this season, he is re-modeling a restaurant, and in every episode he is eating food there and talking about how amazing it is. I have never craved Mexican food so bad in my life! So Womby and I geeked out and drove an hour to get there. Oh my gosh... it was TOTALLY worth it! the food was incredible and it's all I've been able to think about since then. Thanks for dinner Womby! We MUST go again!!

Now all I have left to do is pack, and put the names on placecards, and MAYBE make a couple extra favors just in case. These next few days are going to fly by so fast...

Shower!!!

Today was incredible. When I showed up at my mom's house, there were the most adorable decorations all over the table that my niece, sister, mom, friend, and her little sister set up. It was SO cute. White table clothes, banners, cupcake signs, bride and groom cake toppers, rose petals, and flowers were all over, and it seriously almost made me cry.

The guests arrived almost immediately, and let me tell you, I have never felt more love. I had old high school friends, work friends, family friends, neighbors, and family of course who all arrived, and there were probably close to thirty people there. Everyone took a seat at the table, and my friend (and bridesmaid) dressed me in a "Bride to Be" sash, white gloves, pearls, and a flower clip with an adorable veil attached, then the buffet began. There was biscuits and gravy, meatballs, fruits, veggies, yogurt, hummus, pasta, chicken enchiladas, and all kinds of other stuff to eat, and it was pure food bliss.

After eating, everyone had to draw a number, and as their number was called, they got to select a gift (a la White Elephant style), and all the gifts were hilarious, ugly, or stupidly fun items that you would find on the clearance rack of your local Ross or Tj Maxx. It was a blast to see what people were getting, and the octopus martini glass was for sure the most desired item.

After the gifts were handed out and laughed over, there was a wedding word search game, followed by a game to see who knew me and my fiancee the best. My sister had asked my fiancee and I a list of fun questions, and now she was going to ask the shower attendees to see who knew us best. Apparently I'm more complicated than I realized... because not even my mother knew many of the answers to the questions about me. But then again, "What kind of animal would you want to be" doesn't come up in conversations much. And for those of you wondering... I would want to be a Speckled Bear.

After the game, it was time for the craft. My sister bought out squares of white fabric, and fabric pens, along with little felt owls, sugar cookies, and fortune cookies. The owl represented words of wisdom, the sugar cookie was a sweet thought, and the fortune cookie was a wish. I'm a VERY sentimental person, and the craft was to pick one of the felt objects, and write a message on it, and design the fabric square that will be sewn into a quilt and presented on our wedding day. My sister gave me a little wrapped box, and said that inside was an example. Of course, it was a fabric square designed by my fiancee. I broke down crying as I read the words, "You're as beautiful as every Hawaiian sunrise we shared." (Side story, we went with his family to Hawaii on vacation and we made it a point every morning to be the first ones out on the beach to watch the sunrise. Just me and him.) He's so darn cute. I left to help my mom clean as people worked on them because I don't want to see them until the quilt is done. I had had enough crying for one shower.

We took a little break for dessert, which were delicious cupcakes of course, then it was time to open gifts.

Oh... my... gosh... I was spoiled today. People were told to bring a household item that starts with the first letter of their first OR last name, but everyone went above and beyond. I still can't believe how generous people are, and it gets me choked up right now just thinking about it. My registry has been wiped clean, and I wont need pajamas for a very long time.

The heat took us over as the shower came to an end, and it was time to say goodbye. I must say that this has been a truly unforgettable day, and my sister is to thank. She and my mom really pulled out all the stops, and after the troubles we've been having this past year, it made it that much more special. So thank you to my sister, for making me feel beautiful, special, and so incredibly loved, and thank you to my mom who spent hours over the oven making delicious food, and letting us use her patio. Also, to my friend and her little sister who got up waaay too early to drive over and set up.

20 more days.

24!

Twenty four more days until our Apocolypse Wedding! We had our final meeting with the venue and everything is in order, the DJ has our song list and timeline, honeymoon excursions are being booked, seating chart has been made, and I am managing to stay calm through it all! HOORAY!!!

My bridal shower is this weekend and I am totally excited. I asked what I could do to help, and I was told that all I need to do is show up. I haven't had anyone throw me a party since I was a kid, and even then I had to help set up. I know absoultely nothing about what is planned, and if you know me, you know that I absolutely LOVE surprises. It's my favorite thing in the world other than cake... and my fiance.

The Super Secret Wedding Project is just about done, THANK GOODNESS, because I had set a deadline and I actually met it! Now I just gotta finish all those centerpieces. I'll probably do that after the shower.

The closer we get to the big day, the calmer I get, and my husband to be has really stepped up to help me get things done and relieve the incredible amount of stress that I'm under. He's a keeper.

I'll keep you posted as things progress!

ONE!!

Oh my gosh... we are officially ONE month away from the big day! At this time next month I will be stuffing myself with banana wedding cake with chocolate ganache. I can't NOT wait! Oh yeah... I'll be a Mrs. too. I guess that's pretty exciting as well.

We have been busy bees lately! I've been emailing our DJ almost everyday to straighten out our timeline, figure out music, and make the "Do NOT play list." Sorry wedding goers... there will be no Villiage People or Chicken Dance at this wedding.

We have all our response cards in and we've starting to make a seating chart to figure out where to heck to put all these people. I'm making a floor plan, writing names on place cards, and getting the Secret Project DONE. Only 32 to go!

It's sinking on that my life will be changing completely in one month, and it's still so bizzare! I'll be a wife. The next thing to look forward to is kids, and that wont be happening for a while.

Another thing that's sinking in is Italy. It's fun to think about the short trip I took to Italy when I was 18, and even though I always said I would go back, I never thought it would actually happen. It'll be just me and my husband, alone, in a different country. Scary... Although I'm nervous, I know that everything is going to be ok. Yeah I only spent a couple days there about 8 years ago, but that's more than most people can say, so at least I know what to expect. Phone booths that smell like pee, and homeless people with dogs singing at you as you walk by. Actually... that's more like London. Rome was the most incredible place I have ever been to and I can't wait to go back.

Let the real countdown begin!!

Pets

Last night when I got home from work (about 12:38am), I saw a dog sitting in the driveway staring at me. I hesitated to for a moment deciding on whether or not to get out of the car when I realized... OH MY GOD THAT'S OUR DOG!! Our gate had seen it's last day, and the dog can no longer be contained. Ugh. As if this dog wasn't a nightmare aready.

I have mixed emotions about our pets. We have two cats and a dog, and they're all pretty darn cute... but they are a pain in the ass.

Peeve. She was my first so naturally she's my favorite. I rescued her from an animal shelter which was very hard to do, but I really wanted a cat, and when I saw her for the first time crammed in a cage with other black kittens all begging for attention, I had to have her. She's mean and hisses at people and doesn't like to be held, but she's mine. She sleeps under my arm every night, and follows me around the house always resting wherever I am. What is her problem? She pees EVERYWHERE. UGH!

Nibbler. She found us. I wasn't crazy about getting another cat at ALL, but when we took her to vet and discovered that she had no chip in her and was obviously abandoned, we had no other choice but to keep her. What is her problem? She is NOT social, and like Peeve, she pees EVERYWHERE. She also likes to drag things around the house (mostly articles of clothing left on the ground) and she vomits alot.

Maple. I did NOT want a dog. When we brought her home she kinda grew on me, but that was before she ate my favorite shoes, peed all over the bed, and tore up my plants in the backyard. Everyone said she would grow out of it, and she did stop peeing everywhere, but she STILL eats my roses, patio chairs, exercise bike, headphones, socks, and any wedding project item that I leave anywhere. To my horror she is still sleeping on the bed, so I wake up covered in dog hair every morning, AND she barks non stop if she is outside. I can't swim with her because she gets agressive and scratches the hell out of me, and I can't trust her to be alone anywhere. Not even outside. She digs through our trashcans, and she has learned to open the lids on our new trashcans as well. Do I wish we never had a dog? All the time. But last night when I came home and saw her sitting the the driveway I lost it. I would be devastated if anything happened to her. I guess that means I love her, even though she is the worst dog I have ever known.

YESSS!!!

Oh my God... oh my God... we're almost ONE MONTH AWAY!!! Wedding gifts have started arriving, thank you notes are going out, and we are down to the wire here!

This weekend was monumental as far as our to do list goes. Friday I took the day off from work for a mini vacation that consisted of my fiance and I spending out last weekend together as boyfriend and girlfriend. Cute huh? We wont be alone for another weekend until our honeymoon. :)

Anyway.... Friday morning we got our marriage license!! It was so much easier to do than I anticipated! We went to a tiny little empty office, swore that we were who we said we were, and walked out with a very official looking envelope. Then from there we went to a very classy establishment (details later so no surprises will be ruined) to pick up my garter for the garter toss. When we came home, we saw that our guest book had arrived!! YAY!!! We LOVE it.

Also this weekend we picked up some disposable cameras and candies for the tables, a new camera for our honeymoon, AND we touched base with our DJ to work on itinerary.

We also squeezed in a movie and a couple dinner dates. :)

I didn't get to work on the Secret Wedding Project as much as I had hoped to... so I'm really going to have work hard this week to crank some out. I've got a deadline to meet!

Happy

Today has been an AMAZING day. In fact, I've been in a great mood all week! But let's just focus on today.

Got up early and headed to my parent's house to enjoy their pool with the dog while they're out of town. When I got there, I bumped into a friend of mine who also had her dog with her, so we took the pups in the backyard and watched them swim and play while we talked. It was a great start to the day!

When she left, I loaded up on sunscreen (don't want any pre-wedding tan lines), and jumped in the pool with the dog, and swam some laps. After about an hour, I lay out in the sun to relax and soak in some vitamin E. From there I headed in the house to get some centerpieces done before heading back home to drop off the dog before work.

On my way home, I made a pit stop at Chick-fil-A where it's always a wonderful day. Oh my gosh... that place is heaven! I got home earlier than anticipated and enjoyed my lunch, the finale of Kathy Griffin My life on The D-List, and then splurged on a hot fudge sundaie. TOTALLY WORTH IT.

THEN, I got a call and found out that Prop 8 was ruled UNCONSTITUTIONAL!!! BEST NEWS EVER!!! I was horrified when that stupid Prop 8 came around and took away human rights, and equality for everyone in the gay community. We took a major step back as Americans with that BS, but now we're on the way to equal rights for everyone, and what being an American is all about. Now we need get rid of that stupid Don't Ask Don't Tell policy....

Anyway, after hearing the exciting news, I took a quick shower and called my parents in Mexico to tell them how much I miss them and love them, then headed off to work. On my looong drive, the radio seemed to playing all of my favorite songs, and there was hardly any traffic.

What a wonderful day!!! Tomorrow I'm hanging out with one of my bridesmaids, and her mom and sister, and I'm putting them all to work on the Super Secret Wedding Project. (Hey... it's their fault for calling as asking what they can do to help.)

107 done, 43 to go!!!

Goals

Isn't that picture HILARIOUS?!?! Thought I'd start off this post with a good laugh.

We are almost one month from the wedding and I am melt-down free! I decided to set deadlines for projects that need to be done, and now that the Super Secret Wedding Project only has only 47 favors to go (out of 150), I am stress free because I am SURE to finish by the 20th!

My folks are out of town for the week so my fiance and I decided to take advantage of their pool this weekend. It has been so long since I last went swimming, and it felt amazing! I'm thinking about going over there again this week, but I'm sure I'll be distracted by centerpieces and work on those instead. Either way, it's a win-win.

My main goal is to have ALL the projects done in time for my bridal shower so I can really enjoy myself and relax. Just the thought of my upcoming relaxation calms me down. It's exciting!

So my bridesmaids want to take me out for a night on the town while my fiance is away in Vegas with the guys, and I'm having a really hard time deciding what to do. I'm leaning towards gay club in West Hollywood, although a party at home sounds nice too. Decisions decisions... Gay club would be fun because I don't have to worry about making a mess or entertaining, and dancing the night away would be a good workout, and I can wear my super flashy gold dress that one of the girls picked out for me. Hmmm... I guess it will all depend on whether or not I REALLY hit my deadlines.

The to do list has shrunk significantly. We got gifts for our bridal party, flower girl basket is purchased, guest book ordered, dress is ready, final meetings with vendors have been set up, and as of this friday... we will have our marriage license! I'm also going to try to work on our first dance with my groom, and we're going to touch base with our DJ for the last time.

We're really moving along and I can't believe how quickly time has gone by! These next four weeks will be over in a flash.