December, lately.

Lately, we have been ...

... ordering kitchen cabinets. and kitchen appliances. and trying to finalize what seems like a million other design decisions. i am beginning to realize that i am WAY out of my league on this one - this whole kitchen renovation is big, and involves things like contractors and custom cabinets, and i do not know the first real thing about a renovation process that isn't completely do-it-yourself, fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants and make-a-million-trips-to-home-depot.  but i did update my idea board from August to try and get a better handle on what i might like the floors to look like. thoughts?

PS Mark is planning to start demo this week, so if you have an opinion, now is the time to voice it!

... squealing over every picture of Baby Levi. and over how very adorable and tiny the Christmas jammies are that we bought for him. its kind of hard to believe that he is really real and on the outside, even after spending all day Christmas just snuggling his perfect little self. so excited to see him again (along with the rest of the fam!) in just a couple weeks

... crafting Christmas presents. i have most of them done and wrapped, but believe it or not i still have three half-done at home, and i just thought up two more today to add to my list. that's the upside of celebrating Christmas late this year - a couple extra weeks to get everything done!

... wrapping Christmas presents. i spent an entire Sunday with wrapping paper and the Gilmore Girls. it was a good day, indeed.

... visiting Gram and Pap. we got our first tin of candy when we visited at Thanksgiving, and i left that one at Stasi's house. we got a second! tin of candy on this trip, but unfortunately forgot it on Gram's kitchen counter. major sadface. we are going back in a couple weeks, but i am not holding out hope that there will even be much candy left, let alone even the slimmest of chances that our tin will still be there waiting for us.

... wearing Christmas jammies.  i dont even care that they are mainstream and cliche and i am probably at least four years behind the trend, but i got myself and my husband (non-matching) holiday sleepwear this year and it was downright festive.

... celebrating Julie's wedding! everything was absolutely GORGEOUS - the bride, the venue, the weather (50 degrees and sunny in late December, what!) and i think the only real crises involved the bridesmaids earrings.  there were zero casualties and only minor bloodshed. Julie and Nate are currently on their honeymoon, and i honestly could not be more happy for them.  SO thankful that i got to be a part of their big day.

three.

three years is supposedly the leather anniversary. unless its the crystal/glass anniversary. depends on whether you are traditional or modern.

 

one bears testament to the strength of a marriage that lasts until year three, since leather is strong, long-lasting, and gets better with age.

 

the other is fragile and easily broken.

 

so i think i'll stick with leather. 

happy third anniversary to us!

astronauts, birdseed, and moose.

as the title might suggest, there is no real rhyme, reason, or cohesive thought that holds this post together. it is what it is. because remember that one time i mentioned that July was kind of crazy-awesome-busy? take that, extend it by a few weeks, pack just a little bit more into each weekend, and that's kind of what my August felt like too. and honestly-it kind of wrecked me.

action camp ran straight into a beach vacation dumped us back into craziness at work interrupted by weekends of bonfires and a wedding and then sisters weekend with a quick turnaround into more big work meetings all capped off with a western week of camping and family fun.

ugh. i'm exhausted just reading all that.

each and every day had its own something special, and i kind of just want to wrap myself up in the memories and never leave...so, here's some pictures of august? with maybe a little bit of commentary but maybe not a whole lot? here goes.

action camp was space-themed this year, because when we LOOK UP to the heavens, we should be AMAZED BY GOD. i tried my best to convey God's grace, glory, and might to my young charges as much as i could, but i think i spent most of my time saying "please sit down, i'm so glad you have a dog, put your shirt back on, don't climb on that, come back here, who needs a bathroom break, simon says put your hands in the air! now is not the time for turbo speed, where are your shoes?"

i was the group leader for the green team, which was obviously the best team. here are some of us pretending to be big gorillas while we waited between stations. the rest of the team is either a) confused, b) oblivious, or c) totally pretending not to know these weirdos.

 



mmm... beach.  

 

 

 

 

we were only at the beach with Mark's family for a long weekend, but we did dinner out one night at a restaurant called Sedona. it was a bit more fancy than we were anticipating, but oh my word that food was one of the most delicious, delightful, dareisay thrilling things i've ever eaten.

 

(ps have i mentioned how delightful this fish tasted? let me just tell you one more time. DELIGHTFUL)



 

mark and i have not always agreed on what constitutes proper dress code for certain events: church, cookouts, funerals, weddings, etc. so i was mentally preparing myself for the inevitable "will you please just wear a tie this time?" fight, when Mark surprised me by saying "i think i'll wear a suit."

 

 

 

most tame, un-messy cake cutting ever. these guys are adorable. also: fantastic dancers.

 

 

 the newlyweds stopped by our house to change before they left for their honeymoon, since we live approximately 0.2 miles from the reception venue. mark took it upon himself to clean the extraneous birdseed off their car so that "massive bird attack" was not any part of their wedding story.

 

out of the three days we spent at my sister's house, i only have pictures of one part of one day. i documented the part where we hiked 3 miles to see the fire tower in Cook Forest. i did not document the float down the Clarion River, or the bonfire dinner, or the midnight toilet paper Walmart run, or church in the morning, or the tour of what may or may not be stasi's new house. so many exciting things!

 

 

i took this picture one day at work. on this particular day, i started my day in the Maryland office, attended a meeting in Delaware, hiked several miles of overgrown trail, and then drove to the York office for my fantasy football draft. 1 company, 3 offices, 3 states, 1 day. that was a good day.

 

two days later, i was on a plane. i took 23 pictures out of the plane window as we made our descent into Salt Lake City. the landscape just kept changing so drastically, and i was amazed by it.

 

we saw a moose while we were out west. this was the first picture i took of it, when i thought that this was the best shot i was going to be able to get.

i thought it was just going to quickly retreat back into the woodline, but instead she wandered down closer to the lake.

MUCH closer, in fact. and then, she just wandered her way along the path around the lake. after mom and dad brought the tandem kayak back in, mark and i took a spin and caught up with the moose at the far end of the lake, where we sat and watched that awesomely giant animal just chill by the lake until she wandered back up into the woods. so cool.

i'm thinking about just running away to the mountains. living off the grid. cooking all my food over a fire and sleeping in a tent. as long as said mountains are within walking distance of a bathroom and i have occasional access to a grocery store, i could totally do it. want to come with me?

 

my mom would come with me. she loves me, and she loves the mountain, and she feels the same way about the necessity of bathrooms and a grocery store. we would be unstoppable.

 

i'm not allowed to say much about this photo, or post any of the other ones i took of my mom's super secret project. but keep an eye on her blog for the next few days/weeks/months for the reveal, because you're not going to want to miss this one.

this was the worst part. getting back on the plane to head home. i briefly contemplated initiating a one-woman sit-in in the backseat of my mom's car so i wouldnt have to leave. although getting to board the plane from the tarmac did have kind of a rockstar-esque feeling to it, which was pretty fun i guess.

like i said, i am really wishing i could keep August around a little longer, but its probably better that i actually try to move on a little bit because september? (no WAY can it already be september!!) is starting to look like its just going to be more of the same: crazy. awesome. i can't wait!

letters from the wedding.

i'm having a hard time with my words today. i want to tell you all about my sister-in-law's wedding, because it was a great day and i love a good wedding and because these two are one of the sweetest couples i know, but all my words seem inadequate. i can't quite find that sweet spot between a dull detail-oriented play-by-play of the days events and a lazy photo dump with simple captions. the sweet, flowing prose just isn't there today. but short, sweet letters? i think maybe i can handle that.

Dear Victoria - you were an absolutely stunning bride: you were glowing, bubbly, graceful, gracious, and absolutely beautiful. and even though you're still very new at this, i know you will make a wonderful wife. you and Russ have such a great head start, having known each other for so very long. i have only known you for the past few years, but i have always loved watching you two interact: you are both so sweet and laid back and understanding. so i'm sure you first fight will be a real doozy! but seriously, i really look forward to seeing the great things that God has planned for the two of you. Congrats again, Mrs, F!

PS - i just love this picture of you. again - absolutely stunning.

Dear Groomsmen - you are proof that Russ has good taste in friends. you are all upstanding gentlemen, with good senses of humor and selfless attitudes. it was a joy spending a sunny afternoon celebrating with you. and i just have to say, you all look quite dashing in pink bowties.

Dear Bridesmaids - i am so glad that through Vic i was able to meet all of you and get to know you so much better. you are all stunningly beautiful ladies and a ton of fun to hang out with!

Dear Weather - thankyouthankyouthankyou for cooperating and giving Vic and Russ such a gorgeous day! you gave us a nice little scare on friday night, what with your giant thunderstorms and ACTUAL TORNADOES and all, but you really turned it around for saturday. a gorgeous day for a gorgeous couple.

Dear Trinity Church - you are a lovely venue for a wedding and needed very little extra decoration. but i have to say that these pew decorations were pretty kick-butt.

Dear Mens Wearhouse - you might want to look into providing shoes with rental tuxes that are slightly higher quality, so they will not fall to pieces if one groomsman accidentally gives another a flat tire while walking up the aisle. while fixing a flapping sole or two does make a strong argument for the versatile uses of duct tape and sharpies, no bride ever wants to actually have to USE those items from their wedding day emergency kit.

Dear Delaney - you are an awesome flower girl, and a very careful lollipop eater. it takes some serious skillz to eat a blue raspberry dum dum and keep it confined to just your tongue and not your teeth or lips or hair or dress. if this were munchkinland, you would probably be voted president of the lollipop guild.

Dear Vince - just curious, how many people have you ever had to squeeze into a limo? was this 16 person bridal party anywhere near maximum?  i mean, we were still quite comfortable, but i'm not sure where we would have put a 17th person... thank you for being such a courteous and helpful driver, and for making sure we did not have to use any of the emergency exits.

Dear Russ - i know you already know this, but you are an extremely lucky guy. your new wife thinks the world of you, and i know you think twice as highly of her. your mutual respect and love for each other is inspiring, and was evidenced by the fact that you both kept your promise to forego the cake-face-smashing and keep it clean. also, props to you for keeping your honeymoon plans a secret. i still don't know where you guys are this week. i wish you all the best in your married life, and am proud to call you my brother-in-law-in-law.

Dear Self - you should maybe think about overcoming your fear of screwing up your settings and actually play around with your new camera a little bit and figure out how to take action shots that arent a complete blur.

Dear Everybody Else - with all the traditional wedding formalities out of the way, you took full advantage of your opportunity to party hardy. thank you for this. it was much more fun dancing with all of you than it would have been if i was the only one making a fool of myself on the dance floor...

...we threw our hands up in the air sometimes, jumped on it, chicken danced, cupid shuffled, and just generally danced the night away. and it was a blast. i am amazed that i kept up with you guys, especially since i forgot to ever change out of my heels and into flip flops... but my throbbing feet at the end of the night were worth it, because i got to dance and laugh and sing at the top of my lungs with you.

Dear Mark - you are a great brother. i have always loved watching you and your siblings when you are all together. you all share a ridiculous sense of humor and a close relationship that you can really only have with people you have grown up with. i can tell that your brothers and sister all look up to you, and you are a wonderful role model for them. watching you dance with Victoria was one of my favorite moments of the day, and one of many that made happy-tears well up in my eyes. i love you.

Dear Mark and Cynthia - you done good. i know weddings are a little bit stressful, and i know it is hard to give away your only daughter, but you handled it superbly. you have raised your kids into responsible, respectable young adults, and as one of the two people that have married into your family so far, i thank you for that. your love and support for your kids is evident in every decision you make, and i feel blessed to have such wonderful in-laws.

Love Always, Mando.

meal plan monday: june 4.

June? really?! already??? wow.

moving on to some completely unrelated things...
...things that are making me smile today: my earrings.

...things i am glad to no longer be wearing today: my bridesmaid shoes.

more wedding photos to come. promise. 

...things i am mailing today: a box. 

...things i am ready for today: a nap.

...things i have to do today: groceries. laundry. dishes. cleaning.

...things that i am totaly unprepared for today: this week's meals.

Monday: pasta in vodka sauce. (jar sauce, of course.)
Tuesday: i'm feeling taco night.
Wednesday: the crockpot is finally clean. let's dirty it again.
Thursday: is it in bad taste to have two mexican nights in one week?
Friday: we should grill something. and eat s'mores.
Saturday: lunchmeat sandwiches?
Sunday: breakfast for lunch.

anyone care to help me fill in the specifics?

meal plan tuesday: may 29.

this week's meals are all subject to change with little to no notice, because it is wedding week here in MD. Mark's one and only sister is marrying her high-school middle-school sweetheart this weekend, which means that this week has the potential to be a bit crazy, especially since both Mark and I are part of the wedding party.

part of my wedding party duties involved the burdensome task of spending the majority of this past weekend at the beach with the bride-to-be and the other bridesmaids. we did important things like work on our tans, eat and drink some fabulously unhealthy things, and try to convince the bride-to-be that she really needed to get her picture taken with the guy who brought an inflatable swan to the ocean.

she refused, so i took this stealth shot instead.

Mark's wedding party responsibilities this weekend had him go-karting in full racecar gear, eating crabs for dinner, and having a celebratory cigar with the groom and groomsmen. let me tell you guys, being a bridesmaid or a groomsman is really rough stuff sometimes.

but this week is when the fun starts. we're basically on-call every evening and need to be ready at a moments notice to help with anything from favors to flowers and programs to escort cards. but since its always best to at least start with a plan even if you might end up changing it, heres what we've got:

Monday: lunch with friends, memorial day picnic with family.
Tuesday: pasta in jar sauce, a veggie.
Wednesday: citrus herb chicken with rice and a veggie.
Thursday: most likely dinner out after softball for Mark,
     dinner out before my nail appointment for me.
Friday: rehearsal brunch.
Saturday: wedding deliciousness!
Sunday: can't think this far ahead.

another surprise.

show of hands: how many of you read my recap of my sister-in-law's surprise bridal shower and how it took us 3 months to plan and about 3 million lies to keep it a secret and you said to yourself, "self, i am NEVER throwing anyone a bridal shower EVER cuz thats a LOT of effort!" don't be shy, and don't worry about the strange looks you're now getting from your co-workers or your dog as you sit in front of the computer with your hand in the air. this post is for you.

this is my Jazzercise friend Ashley. she's getting married in 16 days. and since the group of ladies that we work out with twice a week is so sweet and wonderful, they put together a little surprise mini-shower for her.  

there were no fancy invitations or complicated debate about what date would work best for everyone. there was one email that was sent out about a week in advance to all the ladies, (except Ashley of course) and then a reminder email a week later to make sure we all remembered to bring a little gift.

the decorations and food were nothing extra-special, and it wasnt anything like some of the craziness that's on Pinterest, but a pink table cloth and some cupcakes with iced tea were all we needed to suffficiently jazz up the place. (no pun intended)

the deception was kept to a minimum. we didn't have to come up with a reason for her to be at the school at a certain time, because she always comes to Jazzercise. i dont think anyone had to lie at all. and she was still beyond surprised when she turned around after the cool-down song and realized that there was a party waiting for her.

i promised Ashley that i wouldnt post any pictures that i took that made her look bad, so i hope i did ok with that (because even though i have a new camera i still have my same old knack for taking pictures at just the wrong moment) but i wanted to make sure that i shared this little bit of my life with you for two reasons:1) to prove that throwing a surprise shower doesn't have to consume your life for months in order to be awesome, and 2) to just tell you how very much i love all the women i Jazzercise with, without having to post any sweaty pictures of myself...

so there you have it. a fantastic bridal shower with all the surprises and love and laughter and fun, but without the gargantuan amount of effort. i expect to see this repinned like a million times by tomorrow, so just go ahead and get on that.