Christmas-time (was) here.

Christmas has come and gone. my first married Christmas. it was bittersweet. it was good. it was a busy, full day of family and presents and good food and fun. there are pictures. (not many, cuz i found that i was enjoying myself too much to actually stop and take pictures of the day itself) (in later years, i might regret having so few pictures of our first married Christmas) but i will share with you the pictures that i did manage to snap in order to document the milestone.

 we figured that getting married and buying a house and moving to Maryland was plenty of excitement for one year, so instead of having a real live Christmas tree we opted to just pull out the itty bitty skinny Charlie Brown tree that was given to me by a friend from work to grace my apartment last year. the branches only go down about three quarters of the way, leaving the rest of the tree's trunk exposed. this makes it wonderful for fitting presents under, but then the big pile of presents under it makes it look even smaller and more ridiculous. we love it. we also learned this year that the fake snow on it that so wonderfully and festively sheds all over is called flocking. Mark now insists that our tree is indeed flocked up.

  to decorate our flocking tree, i pulled out all the ornaments that i have gotten every year (except that one) since i was born. and then we added some fun new ones this year...

the trifecta of cow ornaments from my mom was (finally!) completed to remind Mark of that one ice skating date we went on, and the adorable bride and groom couple is my reminder that 2010 was the year we got married!

 Mark's aunt got him a snowman ornament for his birthday for 'Our 1st Christmas Together' and the adorable birdhouse came from his mom for our 'New Home'

 as is customary christmas eve tradition we each opened one gift early and got two more ornaments :) our little amphibian bride and groom are keeping the ornament tradition alive and well, since mom already told me she's not buying me any more. and we even started our own tradition of spending Christmas Eve snuggled up in a blanket on the couch, sipping some hot chocolate in front of the fire.

on Christmas morning we woke up cuz "you gotta get up, You Gotta Get Up, YOU GOTTA GET UP!!! ITS CHRISTMAS MOOOORRRNING!!!" of course. Santa was apparently not very hungry by the time he got to our house, but we left him cookies on our kick-butt Santa tray anyway.

we opened our stockings first, and by then breakfast was ready: Cinnamon rolls for me, and eggs and cereal for the husband.

and that is where my documentation stops. for serious. you will note a severe lack of photos of presents and people, not that there werent any, (there were actually a lot) but just for the fact that i did not take my camera out of my purse for the rest of the day. oops. but Christmas isnt really over yet - maybe i'll make up for it tonight and snap a few pics when we go for make-up Christmas with Mark's dad's family, (because we missed the real one for the Lane family Christmas) and i'll try and remember to take pics when the sisters come this weekend for Christmas/New Years, or maybe i'll just keep the streak alive and just put my camera back into my purse and forget that its there until next year.

survived.

one of the things that i was most dreading about being married to my husband is our severe football rivalry. honestly it is what brought us together, but because of open hours in college, and games being scheduled over holidays, and things like our wedding we never seemed to be able to watch our teams play each other.  so since our year has been so very full of important milestones, we figured it couldnt hurt to throw one more in there: the first Steelers v. Ravens game that we have EVER watched together.

and to just make it a little more exciting, why dont we watch our first game together live in Baltimore?

i would have to say that it went pretty well overall (especially considering the outcome of the game!) we only had to put up with some minor taunting, were still able to move our fingers and toes, and we were still speaking to each other at the end of the game, so i would have to call this a major success!

now we just have to wait and see how well we behave ourselves when we're watching together in our own home...

Spoiler Alert!

i was really planning on keeping the final design of my Christmas cards a secret until i got them sent out, but they turned out so well and i'm so excited about them that i just had to share!!!

the rains came down...

...and the floods came up. yesterday afternoon. in my office building. about twenty feet from where i was sitting.

there was a long, loud sound that was like a lot of rushing air, kind of like someone pulled the plug on an air compressor.
then the fire alarm started going off in all of its piercing, annoying, screeching glory.

and then the waterfall started.

we spent the next half an hour or so standing outside, freezing cold, just waiting to hear what happened while five fire trucks, an ambulance, and several police cars filled our parking lot. we could see water was pouring down into the office below ours, and even coming out the tops of the downstairs windows.

apparently a pipe burst in the ceiling, which proceeded to leave one half of our office (the half i work on) under up to 2 inches of water in some places.

by some sort of miracle (or maybe just a bunch of IT people staying at the office til 2am) the servers were brought back online, an emergency plan was put into effect, and we were all able to come into work this morning - almost just like normal. it looks like a warzone on our side of the building. there are big fans and dehumidifiers everywhere, piles of wet plans, a big dumpster outside, ladders, down ceiling tiles, an awful stench, and oh yeah a big hole in the ceiling in the Structures Department.

we all put our personal effects in a box (it felt oddly like getting fired) and moved to our new homes for the next few weeks and/or months. they have us all set up at temporary work stations, mostly on the other side of the office which was untouched and still dry. i'm currently set up in the lunch room, and i actually kind of like it. can you say floor-to-ceiling window seat? oh yeah. i might actually be a little sad when they get everything gutted and rebuilt to the point where we can go back to normal for real and i'm back in my lonely no-view cubicle... but for now the big question around the office is "what about the Christmas party?"

domestic goddess.

please - try and hold your applause until all accomplishments have been listed. (but if one or two YAY!'s slip out prematurely, i wont be upset)

this being my first holiday season as a wife and a homeowner, i've been feeling an odd sort of pressure to really do everything "right" as far as the holidays go - cause after all, its the FIRST TIME we're doing all this as a couple. and like in any good marriage, it hasnt been exactly a cakewalk, but i'm pretty proud of the things we've accomplished.

1. i made a pot roast. in my crock pot. while wearing an apron.

2. i also made the sweet potato casserole for Thanksgiving with Mark's family this year. you know, Gramma Rita's recipe. the good kind with the crunchies, not the weird kind with the marshmallows. it turned out fantastically and was complimented by all. i made a lot. we still have leftovers. (the pic is of the egg that did NOT break on my floor when it tried to run away as soon as i turned my back)


3. we put up our skinny little Christmas tree and decorated it! i felt a little bad since most of the ornaments on it are mine, but Mark added the two we've gotten so far already, and (top ten things i never thought i'd say) even Wolverine has his very own place on our tree. our fireplace room has never looked so festive.

4. we put lights on our porch!!! YAY for those last-minute wedding lights that i just HAD to have! i probably have enough left over to decorate all the porches in the neighborhood, because our porch isnt all that big, but maybe we'll just save those for when we get really ambitious in years to come and decide to line our entire roofline!!!



5. Mark painted our bathroom and hung up our new accessories (towel bar, toilet paper holder, hand towel ring, hook on the door) its just about ready to become useable, as soon as we get the blinds and clean all the construction related mess out of the shower.

6. we cleaned and organized our entire house to the point that it was ready to invite our small group over for a pre-late-night-bowling party last weekend. its still not quite ready for the family to descend en mass, but have no fear - painting and re-hanging all the doors is next on the to-do list.

i'm a little bit nervous that we're overdoing it - that we're setting the bar too high too soon, and we are only going to be disappointed with everything from here on out... but hey if thats the case and the awesomeness of these few months is just setting the stage for a major letdown, then at least we will have the satisfaction of knowing that we came close to getting it right at least once!

time flies.

its a little bit shocking to me that it is December already. i mean sure i put up my Christmas tree last Saturday and its already decorated and there are lights in my window and my brain has been exploding with Christmas music and gift ideas and wondering when its finally going to start snowing since about noon on Thanksgiving Day (i tried really hard to make it to the day after but the music was just in me!) but i was expecting November to be a little longer and im not quite sure i'm ready for December. and just guessing from the weather this morning, (60 degrees and rainy) i'm not even sure Mother Nature is ready for it to be December yet either!

Thanksgiving-eve.

91. hot chocolate.
92. memories.
93. hope.
94. the power of prayer.
95. sprinkles.
96. holiday cheer.
97. indoor plumbing.
98. kisses in the morning before work.
99. long weekends.
100. my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, who has blessed me with all of these things and countless more!

the great thing about spending 25 days or so making these thankful lists  every year is that the grateful attitude tends to carry on well past Thanksgiving and Christmas and even into the new year! being extra aware of all the blessings in our lives, and then immediately giving thanks for them to the One who pours them out so freely on us, is something that i wish i could remember to do year-round, rather than just in November.

"But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus
Christ."                                                I Corinthians 15:57

for the Lord is good.

81. i do NOT actually have a stray cat living in my fridge.
82. giveaways.
83. pictures.
84. my adorable new apron.
85. a wonderful friend who made me my adorable new apron.
86. crock pots. (this may or may not remain on the list depending on how dinner tonight turns out)
87. that my weekly excercise is so much fun i look forward to it.
88. deadlines.
89. a mom who is cool enough to text.
90. sweaters, and warm enough days in November to not really need them.

"Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks
to him and praise his name."                               Psalm 100:4

to the tune of 'The Death of the Son'.

71. finding a mechanic close to home.
72. my bad memory, which made watching the new Harry Potter movie way more exciting.
73. JK Rowling, who wrote a story that has captivated and entertained people of all ages for over a decade.
74. online shopping.
75. matinees.
76. nice people who do not get upset when you hit them in the back of the head with your straw wrapper because you missed your target.
77. Andes candies.
78. that i finally get to work on something other than the job from Hades.
79. 8 hour days.
80. leaving work while its still kind of light outside.


"I will give thanks to you, Lord, with all my heart; i will tell of all your
wonderful deeds."                                           Psalm 9:1

ten more.

61. Sophie
62. wednesday weeks.
63. sweatpants.
64. Sunday afternoon naps.
65. my best friend in the world.
66. successful grocery trips.
67. radio stations that are not playing Christmas music yet.
68. a new drivers license. (although i think i'm partial to my old pic)
69. recipes from Grandma.
70. phones.

"I will give you thanks in the great assembly; among the throngs i will
praise you"                                           Psalm 35:18

sending myself home for the holidays.

for the past few weeks, i have not exactly been on top of things. i oversleep my alarm in the mornings, at dinnertime i throw together an assortment of (hopefully) edible things to eat because i havent planned a meal in weeks and i let my husband do the grocery shopping this week, i still don't have all my thank you's written from my wedding (that was a month and a half ago), and Thanksgiving has snuck up on me this year. (i could have sworn i had another week!) but in an effort to regain my position of power over my own life, i have decided to put all of this behind me and i am moving on to make sure i am prepared for the next big thing: Christmas!

i have decided that i am going to use Shutterfly.com for our Christmas cards this year. after all, this will be the first year that i have EVER sent out my own cards, and since i just got married this past October and moved to a new state, i do not get to see enough of the people i love most, (and they definately do not get to see enough of me!) so i figure what better way to send a Christmas greeting than with my smiling face plastered all over it? AND if i use a wedding picture (which by the way is yet another un-done thing on my ever-growing to do list) then it might almost make up for the fact that i didnt get to make Shutterfly thank-you cards like i had originally been planning on.

i started looking through the many options of new holiday cards, and quickly found several that i liked. the colors are fun and bright, and they are full of messages of love and joy, which is exactly how i am feeling going into this holiday season - full of love for all the wonderful people in my life, and joyful that they are in my life.

i picked a couple designs that i like really well, and i have a few pictures in mind that i like a lot. so if this goes well, i might eventually get around to making a photo book of my favorite wedding memories (or maybe just as many as i can get to fit since all my memories are great!)

singing my thanks.

51. vacation hours automatically on my timesheet.
52. pillows.
53. alarm clocks.
54. hair dryers.
55. deodorant.
56. mornings that arent so cold yet that your hair freezes when its wet.
57. complete strangers who comment on how beautiful my ring is.
58. complete strangers who comment on how young i look.
59. pop tarts.
60. shoes.

"I will praise God's name in song and glorify him with thanksgiving."
                                                              Psalm 69:30

thanks in no particular order.

41. Hamburger Helper.
42. sunrises.
43. that it is still light out when i leave for work.
44. Broadway.
45. baseball.
46. warm, sunny November afternoons.
47. cousins.
48. real mail in our mailbox.
49. someone in my life who will do the grocery shopping for me.
50. bandaids.

"Now, our God, we give you thanks, and praise your glorious name."
                                                                    I Chronicles 29:13

still thankful.

34. the Social Security Office. (YAY for officially changing my name!)
35. bible study. and i'm not just saying that cause my pastor found out about my blog and told me that he's going to start reading it. for serious. i love those guys.
36. coffee on chilly, tired mornings.
37. wear-your-jeans-and-go-out-to-lunch Fridays!
38. laughter.
39. reminders.
40. the fact that God does not see us as a conglomeration of all of our sins, He just sees the blood of Christ.

"Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, for our 'God is a consuming fire.'"          Hebrews 12: 28-29

barely thankful.

the grocery store and i do not get along. there is something about the grocery store that just knows how to get under my skin and make any good mood completely dissolve into frustration, anger, and hate, with a little bit of self-loathing thrown in there just for fun. i dont know how it does it. but it does. every time.

last night i was close to getting out intact - i picked up everything on my little list, with a couple extra things thrown in cause i was shopping hungry, (although YAY for me i managed to make it out without any ice cream or impulse buy candy cuz i knew we already had some at home!) and i only had to go the whole way back across the store once because i had forgotten something. i was feeling pretty good about the whole thing.

and then i got to the check-out.

i picked the line with only one person in it. sure, she had a lot of groceries, but she appeared to be over halfway done. it wasnt until after i had unloaded my cart onto the belt that she pulled out the coupons. i swear she had every. single. coupon. that was in that week's paper. and every. single. coupon. had to be verified by the cashier, and a few of them even needed managers approval. she used so many coupons, i think she got money back. honestly. i think i stood in that checkout line for a half an hour!

it was all downhill from there. the checkout lady overcharged me for my apples. an old lady in the parking lot yelled at me for sitting too long at a stop sign. i had to swerve into oncoming traffic to avoid rear ending a truck that just didnt understand the full value of a turning lane.

but despite all of that...

31. grocery stores. because i think if i want to have food, my only other option is to own a farm, and i'm thinking that there is a very good chance that i would be much worse at farming than i am at shopping.
32. good brakes and tires so i did NOT hit the idiot trucks on the road or die while swerving out of their way.
33. my sister who convinced me that chucking my groceries down the driveway would not be a productive means of making me feel better.

"give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus"                                        I Thessalonians 5:18

overflowing.

21. God's grace.
22. anticipation.
23. birthday parties.
24. unlike my sister, i am thankful for daylight savings time and the much needed extra hour of sleep that it gave me this weekend.
25. Family.
26. God's sovereignty.
27. dogs. i am thankful that they exist, and that there are people who love them. i am thankful that i do not own one, but i am also thankful that i get to interact with other peoples dogs.
28. productive, yet still relaxing weekends.
29. frozen pizza, and the husband who makes it into a culinary masterpiece.
30. hot apple cider with a blanket, and how it sets you up perfectly to fall asleep during Sunday night football.

"So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness."   
                                                                           Colossians 2:6-7

for He is good.

11. my Mom, who taught me to be thankful.

12. tables with four legs. (and a Mom who understands)

13.  leaves to rake in our yard. (and my Mom who saved my poem about cornflake leaves from Kindergarten)

14. yard sales. (and my Mom who taught me to love them)

15. NOT falling off the roof.

16.washing machines. (just imagine how much further behind your laundry would be if you had to do it by hand!) (and did i mention my Mom who taught me how to use them?)

17. the jazzercise ladies.

18. landscape architects.

19. iTunes.

20. friends at work who make even the worst jobs bearable.

"Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever!"                                                            Psalm 107:1

thankful - the 2010 edition.

I have a lot of things to be thankful for this year. I have been blessed with an abundance of excitement, and i have never been quite as aware of how very loved i am. God is great! Life is good! Be Thankful!

1. my husband!!!

2. our house, no matter how un-organized and messy it is.

3. jack o lanterns. 

   (and a husband and a free evening to

    carve them with)

4. girl scout cookies.

5. unpacking childhood memories packed in boxes.

   (and a husband to reminisce with)

6. trick or treaters.

7. free breakfast at Cracker Barrel.

8. halloween costumes.

9. battery chargers.
    (for when you go to take pictures of you, your husband, and your friends in 
     costume and realize your camera wont turn on!)
10. chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream.
    (and a husband who will run to the store to buy it for you!)

"Giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ"                                             Ephesians 5:20

randoms.

Three blog-worthy things about yesterday:

1) i wore white shoes. yes, after labor day. and it made me smile because there is still that little part of me that gets a kick out of breaking stupid rules.

2) i went to my first jazzercise class. and i had a pretty good time. i did feel a little under dressed though. turns out they were having a Halloween party, so as the only person not in costume, i was pretty obviously the newb. it was a lot of fun though - the instructor was a sailor, and i got to work out in the midst of a couple demons, a black widow, a fairy princess, and even Charlie Brown. it felt good to do something active again, something that made me laugh and sweat and made me want to die a little at times too. my legs are a little sore today and i am loving it!

3) Rocky Horror GLEE Show! need i say more? yes? well in that case, "darn those cool ranch doritos" and "now give me a candy bar or i will cut you"    LOVE IT!

a prayer.

in the days and weeks to come...

...may i not lose sight of the great adventure that is life.
...may the every day grind not beat me down with its repetetive drone of
   minutes and moments.
...may those moments not go unnoticed as i wait for the 'next big thing.'
...may i treasure every weeknight dinner at home with my husband,
   whether it be a frozen pizza or a culinary masterpiece.
...may dishes and laundry not be enough to overwhelm me.
...may i not become stressed just thinking about making a grocery trip.
...may every knowing look, smile, hug, kiss, and hand-in-hand walk make
   me smile uncontrollably like it did the first time.
...may my focus be on the joy of the moment rather than the multitude of
   undone to-do's around me.
...may every miniscule deviation from 'the plan' not make me dissolve.
...may i present myself as the strong, capable woman that i actually am
   rather than the whiny, needy girl i have been lately.
...may i be striving not to be perfection, but rather to be an enjoyable
   person to be around.
...may i always remember that every day that begins and ends with me
   being married is another exciting part of the adventure.

and may i please, Please, PLEASE just get out of this funk i've been in for the past few days?

what a farce.

yesterday afternoon at work, i was slapped upside the head by a very real epiphany:

the four years of college education that i have under my belt did very little to actually prepare me for the reality of working as a real life engineer in a world of real life complications.

it seems to me that the world of academia is as unrealistic as a televised cooking show. teachers and professors at every level of education are just as decieving as Rachel Ray or Martha Stewart. they flit about their kitchens with their hair perfectly coiffed, smiling and chatting away as they effortlessly assemble the most beautiful, and we are to believe also the tastiest (is that a word?) creations we have ever seen, all without ever breaking a sweat or even a nail!

but what they dont want you to know is that in reality, the first time they attempted to make that masterpiece of a kiesh, it took hours of yelling and cursing, a couple failed attempts, and a lot of wasted time. they probably even ended up in a heap on their kitchen floor, slumped against the cabinet lamenting their new status of an utter failure of a cook and a complete waste of space. ok so maybe that last part's a stretch, but it definately took more than the 20 minutes it takes them on the show to dump all the pre-measured ingredients into a bowl, mix it up and throw it in the oven.

academia tells you all the same lies, but they hide them under the pretense of 'preparing you for the real world.' they tell you that it doesnt really matter if you get the right answer, that the only important thing is that you learn something. that if you ask the right questions, there is an easy answer to every problem. that when all else fails you can check your answer in the back of the book. that just passing is acceptable. that if you just go through the motions of doing the work, there will be a great reward waiting for you.

but in reality there are no easy answers, no looking the answer up in the back of the book, and no one person who is secretly in possession of the 'right' answer. there are some times and some situations where you can ask all the right questions, go through all the right steps, spend three days working towards an answer, and in the end be no closer to a workable solution than when you started. there is no one who has already done the work and is just dying to tell you exactly how to most easily come up with the answer.

just like there is no such thing as magically pre-made perfect casseroles hiding out in your oven just waiting for you to open it and pull it out as though it were really that easy, some things in the real world are difficult and messy, and you have to be willing to get a little messy to deal with them.

jiminy crickets!

once upon a time, there was a cricket. (i will call him Chaz.) he moved into our house about the same time i did. however, i was not aware of his presence in the house until i moved my bed up from the basement into the guest bedroom.

Chaz lived either right outside, right inside, or right under our front door. he loved to sing. very loudly. and very early in the morning. but Chaz was a shy cricket, so he never let himself be seen. however, a few of his friends and cousins were slightly more bold, and met their maker right after they met the bottom of my sandal.

(there was one super quick cricket who evaded me one morning as i tried to catch it under a glass in the master bedroom. it might have been Chaz, but i cant say for sure.)

last Monday morning, the first work day after the wedding, Chaz was singing in full force as i got ready in the morning. Mark, in his groggy half-awake morning grumble asked 'is that cricket always so loud?' and i said 'yes, he is' which just evoked another groan from Mark.

when i got home that afternoon, talking to my BFITW on the phone and juggling an armload of stuff, i opened the door to see Chaz himself scurry right under the very flip flop that had been the unfortunate end of so many of his friends. so of course the only logical response was to STOMP REPEATEDLY on said flip flop while screaming "Die Cricket! Die!" unneccesarily loudly. i then scraped his icky remains off of my sandal and onto the front porch. and that is how Chaz died.

when i told this story to my very pregnant friend from work, she proceeded to immediately google crickets to prove to me that they are good luck, and that it is considered bad luck to kill them. she told me that it was considered a blessing to have a cricket on your front porch and that google confirmed that in the Far East it was considered not just bad luck but very bad luck to kill crickets. i tried to explain to her that she had it backwards, and that being serenaded at 530 in the morning by a cricket was not what i would consider to be a blessing, and that i was much more blessed to have it gone.

also, i do not live in the Far East.

we can do stuff!

ok, so call us naieve newlyweds if you must, but Mark and I are pretty excited about the usually boring everyday kind of living stuff that we've been getting to do together since we got back from the honeymoon. we've made dinner together (so what if it was only Hamburger Helper?) gone grocery shopping, and done laundry and ironing, all of which made us each marvel at one time or another, "Hey! This is the first time that we're **insert normally mundane activity here** as a married couple!" who would have thought that putting on one more ring could make me excited to pack two lunches every morning when i used to dread having to even pack one?

So yesterday when i got home in a rather foul mood after a less than productive day working on the job from Hades, and finding out that my handsfree phone device doesnt like my new phone, and realizing after driving around for two days with the 'low tire pressure' warning light lit on the dashboard that i must really have low tire pressure and its not just confused (after all these are the same dashboard warning lights that tell me that a half-gallon of milk sitting on my passenger seat needs to buckle up) i was a little worried that all of the badness of the mundane would finally outweigh the awesomeness of getting to deal with it as a married couple. but have no fear! enter awesome husband in a good mood who will hug and kiss me, check all my tire pressures to figure out which one is low, help me to figure out how to take off the hubcap so i can retrieve the air valve lid that i dropped into the rim, not freak out when he finds out his little air compressor no longer works (not even to blow fruit flies off the dresser...) take a break to mow the grass and eat dinner, go with me to the gas station to put air in the tire to just the right pressure, help me search the driveway for the OTHER valve lid we dropped, and not laugh at me when, upon finding said lid, i proceeded to drop it back between the rim and the hub cap.

it felt pretty awesome to do all that stuff. its cool that we are capable of doing things like that without freaking out or needing to call anyone for help. its nice to have someone to do those things with.

thank you to  my husband who rescued the evening from a foul mood and turned it into a good one.

(bungee, bungee, bungie wungie fungie, here we go bungee - come on!)

with this ring.

a week ago today, i got married. i walked down the aisle on the arm of my Daddy to where the man i love waited for me at the other end. i somehow made it through my vows, even though i could hardly read them through the tears. i put one more ring on my left hand. i danced the night away with the people i love most. if i had a chance to do it all over again, i wouldnt, because it was perfect just the way it was.

i spent a beautiful, relaxing week in Chincoteague Virginia. i biked 20 miles in one day. i ate way more good food than one day of biking could make up for. i flew a kite on the beach on a VERY windy day. i saw the wild ponies run along the shoreline. i spent an entire afternoon just reading a halfway decent book. just because i could. i took pictures of the dolphins swimming right by the boat we spent an evening cruising on. i watched the sun set over the ocean. i killed my camera battery. twice. i filled my memory card and i still feel like so many moments slipped by undocumented.
i woke up every morning this week to "Hello, Wife." that one is still pretty weird. i have a husband. i'm going to change my name. its not all about me anymore. (just mostly) 
We decided that we are good at vacationing. we also decided that this whole living real life thing is gonna take some practice. There is a lot of stuff to do. a lot of life to live. and a lot of learning to be done. but we're in it for the long haul.
"Always and forever, no doubt whatsoever."

wedding-eve!

tomorrow is the day that i will tie the knot. jump the broom. take the plunge. become a married woman. become a wife.

Whoah.

practice makes perfect.

rehearsal in the morning. rehearsal "dinner" for lunch. hanging out and relaxing today.
its also the last time i'll see Mark before i'm walking down the aisle to marry him!

prime.

Took a half day yesterday to get stuff done for the wedding and i'm pretty well caught up now... feeling good.

Working like crazy this morning to get everything ready for the public meeting tonight.

Mom and Dad and Alex are flying in today! Uncle Skip and Aunt Peg are driving in today! I know other people are traveling but those are the ones i'm getting updates from!!! SO EXCITED!!!

the plan.

Wednesday: write checks, pack for weekend, pack for honeymoon, finish up centerpieces, work on pomanders, finalize weekend schedule, gather set up/clean up crew.
Thursday: public meeting all evening in Montrose, PA (north of Scranton!) assemble programs in the car.
Friday: rehearsal, rehearsal dinner, bachelorette party.
Saturday: finish pomanders and any other last minute stuff, bridge bust in Columbia.
Sunday: GET MARRIED!!!

^^ as of yesterday, this was the plan. i have already changed it at least four times, and it will probably change a few more times in the next four days. the encouraging thing is that the end result is the same, no matter how i get there or how many of the little details that are stressing me out right now are actually done when i get there. God is good, all the time.

up high, down low, too slow!

in my head i feel like i still have a lot of time... and then i say out loud that i'm getting married in five days and my first thought is just 'whoah.'

the final countdown.

this weekend, i changed the guest list and the seating chart about a million times. i finished ALL the flowers. i started crossing things off the last of the lists. i lost my fantasy football matchup. miserably. i went to a baby shower. i got my bangs trimmed. i only had one minor freak out when i checked the finally final seating chart against the final guest list - and they didnt match up. i fixed it. i accomplished a lot. i feel pretty good today. my to do list is still pretty long, but i promised that i would do my best to not be uber stressed this week and try to relax and enjoy the process a little. i am really looking forward to a vacation next week.

best news of the day:
ZERO PERCENT CHANCE OF RAIN NEXT WEEKEND!!!

one week?!!!

this is just unreal. is it ever going to hit me that i'm planning way more than just a great party?

musical musings.

Steven Curtis Chapman could be the soundtrack of my life:

"its time for letting go all of our if-onlys, cuz we dont have a time machine. and even if we did, would we really want to use it, would we really want to go change everything... there's a wonder in the here and now, its right there in front of you. I dont want you to miss the miracle of the moment"

"i'm just a well dressed wreck, i'm just a made up mess, working hard trying to keep everybody impressed, all the while i'm falling apart on the inside...we're all broken, and we all need a Savior"

"its crazy when love gets a hold of you, and its crazy things that love will make you do. its crazy but its true, you really dont know love at all until its making you do something crazy."

"so i will hold on to the hand of my Savior. I will hold on with all my might. I will hold loosely to things that are fleeting, and hold on to Jesus for life."

"there's a song being sung over you - you are being loved, right now at this very moment."

"...just one week away, and i need to practice my dancing. So i will dance with Cinderella, while she is here is my arms... all too soon the clock will strike midnight, and she'll be gone."

single digits!

part of me wants to whine today about lists and schedules and my general scatterbrained-ness and the crappy consequences of not having my life in any sort of order. part of me wants to express joy and thanks for all the people who are excited for me and with me and praying for me. part of me wants to crawl back in bed and just start this whole week over. all of me definately does not want to be at work today. if its 5:00 somewhere, does that mean i can go home now?

weekandahalf!

tonight, after dinner with our bible study group, i will be crafty beyond your wildest dreams. i have a scrapbook to update, a cake topper to make, and table numbers to cut and frame. Question for you: should i leave the frames black, or make the effort to spray paint them silver?

double ones.

Yesterday was my one year anniversary at work. To celebrate, i stayed 2 hrs late to use the copier and nice paper cutter to print and cut all of my programs. Today i plan on using my lunch hour to finish up the seating chart and table numbers. i love crossing things off my list.

thats it?

todays count is itty-bitty, cuz i'm just not sure i want to keep reminding myself of just how few days are left... dont get me wrong i'm still uber excited and getting lots of wedding related things accomplished, but i think i might be slightly slipping back into the denial stage...

apollo.

is the number of things i worked on, but did not cross off my to do lists.
is the number of things i added to my to do lists this weekend.
is the number of days i have to wait before i get to be married.

translation: thirteen is too much.

is how many days i have to accomplish all the things on my to do lists. 
is the combined number of hours of sleep i got on saturday and sunday.

translation: thirteen is not enough.

two weeks!

the sad thing about my organizational system for wedding planning is that as soon as i cross everything off of one to-do list, there is a fresh list waiting for me.

saturday already.

Flower day! the plan is to spend the day crafting boquets, corsages, and boutennieres. we will play with wire and ribbon and fabric and hot glue either until we have a masterpiece or until our fingers fall off!

sweet!

I cant hardly believe that its Friday already. This week flew by, but i managed to cross pretty much everything off of my to-do list for this week! just a few more things to wrap up, and then i get a brand new list next week...

...tells me that you're in love.

i had completely forgotten about Seventeen Magazine until i typed 'seventeen' into Google and that's all that came up.

This week has been an exciting week for mail. I got a letter from my niece, some magazines to help me with my fantasy football team from my sister, OUR WEDDING JARS!, a new NetFlix movie, and a curtain for the guest room that matches the ones i got from Target last year that have since been discontinued. i love getting real mail.

twice nine.

today i am going on a road trip to a jobsite to set up some automatic traffic counters. i am hoping that i will be able to use at least a couple of the eight hours i will be spending in the car to maybe make some more tissue paper flowers... think it'll fly?

into the teens!

fun fact about me: i rode the bus up through my senior year of high school.

score.

Mark spent the majority of yesterday afternoon sitting at the dining room table with me and his mom making tissue paper flowers and listening to violin music. but to his credit, we were also watching every football game that we possibly could.  

three weeks!

the thought of this makes my stomach feel kinda funny... and i cant tell if its excitement or nerves or a happy little mix of both...

patriots day and Colleens birthday.

the plan for today is to make a lot of final lists, (to do, music, pictures, etc) figure out a game plan, possibly make some tissue paper flowers, and have the trial run for my hair! i'm excited!!!!

license to wed.

checking off the list today: getting our marriage license!!!

tick, tock. tick, tock.

(I should have known that this is what would come up when i googled '24.')

I have decided that i definately do not need a twitter account. While yes, i do have moments in my life when i would like an instant blogger to immediately record the thought or experience that i am having at that very second, but most of the time the desire to share the mundane details or minor epiphanies of my day-to-day life is satisfied with an email or text message to one or two people who i know will appreciate it most. I have no real need to make public knowledge the play-by-play details of my day. cuz really, are there that many people in the world who would be interested enough to follow me? would i even update it enough to make it worthwhile? or would it become like just another facebook status which gets changed about once a week (if i'm really keeping up with it that is)
i think i'll stick with my current method. i hope that works for you.

five squared.

i dropped my waterbottle this morning as i was getting into the car, simultaneously scratching the bottle and denting part of the car. the post office was not open when it said it would be. i got stuck behind the garbage truck. my ipod is dead. and i am letting a sidewalk stress me out. my bank won't let me access my online account cuz they made me change my password last week and now i cant remember it. i keep remembering how much i have to do and how much time i dont have to do it.
i get my flu shot today. i have my consultation with the people at the Farm about the details of the wedding. i have time this afternoon to order the cake and do some other wedding planning stuffs. i might even get to go to the library and use their internets for a little bit. i might buy paint for our bathroom. i might finish the cupboards in the kitchen so i can finally really start unpackign stuff. i am no longer sleeping in the basement.
life isnt all that bad today.
**edit**
the wind banged my car door into a beater car in the walmart parking lot, incurring a minor scratch and denting it again. crickets have found a way into my house. my tissue paper project has the potential to take up the rest of my wedding planning time. BUT i found all the glassware for my centerpieces for less than $1 per piece, i killed two crickets and chased one back outside, and the tissue paper project is turning out amazingly well. still, life isnt all that bad.

my favorite.

i did a very grown-up thing this weekend. i got my own phone plan. i was kind of forced into it by the fact that my old phone stopped making noise. as in it would no longer ring, and i could not hear anyone who i called or who tried to call me. this would have made my last four weeks of wedding planning very difficult. i was not able to ask my parents about this, because they were incommunicado this weekend. i hope they're ok with this plan. i might call them this afternoon to give them my new number and make sure they made it back safely out of the wilderness.

the day for laboring.

one year ago today, i climbed a mountain with my mom. i will miss her (and the rest of the church from Dodge City) this year at the campout 'up on the mountain'. maybe next year i'll make it back... those breakfasts were totally worth it. not to mention the great fun and fellowship around the fire and the chance to play JUNGLE BOCCE (read in your best booming announcer-voice). only in Wyoming...

four weeks!!!!

i have been a single woman for 1,219 Sundays. counting today, there are only four more. if we would have pushed the wedding back to December 19, my grand total could have been 1,234 weeks of being single. thats a much easier number to remember... if only i had been thinking about all the implications of my decision back in April... i would still have plenty of time to plan this shindig.