Over and done with

My day is over! I am so sad : ( Everything was wonderful and great and perfect and even though it was cold enough to freeze the end of my nose (and a few other places) I think everyone had a good time! My wedding was so beautiful - short and sweet, but I remember every bit of it and I loved it. The groom and his men looked so handsome, my bridesmaids so beautiful. The reception wasn't a blur, either - I think I talked to almost everyone, but didn't get to say goodbye to hardly anybody. The band and the wine were a hit, as were the soups and sandwiches...Anna fixed me a plate and rather loudly and somewhat forcibly ordered me to sit down and eat (thanks, Anna), so I got to taste the crab bisque...mmmm...and the philly cheesesteak sandwiches...mmmm. Oh, and the ham on sweet potato biscuits - right on. I froze to death in my halter dress, but it was pretty so who cares? Mom gave me a wrap to wear over my shoulders, so that helped some - if I went outside I made a beeline straight for the fire pits....ah, warmth. But finally we changed and I had to take the dress off : ( We got pelted - PELTED, I say! - with birdseed, and I think I know who smacked me in the face with a bucketful of it and they better be glad they're in Iowa : ) So, I'm still finding birdseed all in my car and several other places... We did manage to go out after leaving the reception. I thought I would be able to sneak in unnoticed - no such thing, we got an announcement and some very loud applause, and I know the people in there who didn't know us were like "Who the h*ll are these people?" But, most of my friends came out and we stayed at Sports Break for a while and then we all ended up going to Stokie's to see the Medallions, so it was a fun night. Matt and I got a room at the Fairfield Marriott - very, very nice, even if it was a bit pricey...well, I guess it was Thanksgiving weekend. We did manage to make it to brunch at his parents' house the next morning, so we were able to talk more with his family - most of them I had never met, so it was nice to finally meet all these people I hear about! And then of course we had to stay and watch the Clemson/Carolina game, so we went to Barry and Cecilia's for that - it was great hanging out with them, but that's all I'll say about that game. Then, it was to the mountains and an amazing four days! We bought an antique china cabinet, ate lots and lots of good food and drank lots and lots of good wine, built fires and watched The Office (which we bought on DVD, then had to go buy a DVD player when we realized the one at the cabin was broken), bought some jams and jellies and cheeses, went fishing in the rain (yes, he had me traipsing around that mountain, up and down slippery slopes and through brush and water...it was fun), drove to Asheville and Hendersonville, even got some Christmas shopping done. All in all, it was hard coming back to the real world and our disaster-relief-declared home...but we were ready, ready to get going on our life together - and getting organized.

Wish us luck!

Madness

I guess it will hit me eventually that I am getting married in 2 days? Hit me like a ton of bricks, right to the side of the face...a firm nudge would do : )

But...major excitement over the next couple of days! Tomorrow is Thanksgiving and I am always so thankful for the blessings God has bestowed upon me - family galore, too many friends to count, good food, more possessions than I need, a roof over my head - the list goes on and on! I love this time of year, and even with my chaotic life, I have still managed to enjoy it all. I am so looking forward to tomorrow, because Thanksgiving is one of my favorite Holidays, and not only will I be surrounded by familiar family and friends, but there will be new faces, as well! I am ready to meet all of my new family and for them to meet my family - it's just gonna be one big crazy mess and I love it!

Still a lot to do today and tomorrow. Tanning bed, Walmart (yuck!) for prescriptions (which I almost forgot about!) and groceries, nails perhaps, I need to pack, go home and try on the dress and whatnot, make deviled eggs and the corn, finish packing and cleaning my bathroom...and what I really need is SLEEP!

4 more days 'til Friday!

AAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!! JK. I am SUPER EXCITED about it all!!! Not counting today, I have 4 days to go until the BIG day! Yowza...that is just plain crazy! Frankly, I'm surprised I even remember what day it is, much less what I have done/have to do. This weekend was spent packing and moving. My honey is the BEST because he moved all my heavy stuff while I packed my life away into boxes. Of course, now his dining room looks like a tornado threw up in it... At least my clothes are unpacked, so I have something to wear this week. His closet is all neat and clean, now, his stuff on one side, mine on the other...and what a job that was! I still don't know where my jewelry is, nor many other things...kind of disconcerting. This week I have to: meet with my wedding planner; try on my dress again with all the fixins (perhaps I should say stuff myself into all the fixins); tan; get the rest of my stuff out of the apt.; clean the apt.; keep unpacking and putting away, cleaning, etc.; make deviled eggs and creamed corn for Thanksgiving; mail in my stuff for my teacher certification; pick up our wedding bands; keep going to work (blah); and I would say "school" but I gave up on that 2 weeks ago - who cares right now? I'll pick it back up next week, when the honeymoon's over : )

Soooo...is it Saturday, the day after the wedding, yet? ; )

Moving right along

According to my Belk registry, I have 30 days to go, I think? Wedding dress - check. Wedding shoes - check. Bridal portraits - check. Undergarments to stuff myself into - check, check, check. Gifts galore - too many checks to count. Guys' suits - check (well, except for the slight pleated and cuffs vs. flat and straight mishap - at least only 2 need to be exchanged!). Invitations sent - check. Cake - check. Groom's cake - in the works (it's a surprise!). Programs - in the works. Food - in the works. My stress level - in the works...

Anyway...much has been done, much yet to do. What else.......my laptop is ruined - oops. Good thing Meg is letting me use hers, even if it is the size of a portable DVD player. Matt's parents are back from Pittsburgh, very very happy about that : ) His sister had her baby last week, a little girl, Genevieve. Very French - and of course Matt says "She stole my first choice for a girl." What, what??!! I have never heard any mention of a Genevieve before now! Men. I'm about to pay my last month's rent in the apt - well, except for those stupid 4 days we have to pay for in December, since apparently our apartments take a 40 day instead of a 30 day notice? What is that? But still - last month's rent, whoop-whoop!

It's all coming together...and I must thank Mom for that - and all the aunts and hosts and whomever else has helped, b/c where would I be w/out them? Getting married at the court house, that's where.

Much ado about...

Everything... Wedding, school, work - you know, the usual! Had to get my car's heating/cooling unit fixed last week, and now something else seems to be wrong with it...of course there is...so, must get that taken care of before the old warranty runs out! The man I love left my laptop out in the rain on Sunday - ALL NIGHT LONG, I might add - you know, during all that torrential rain we had that day and night...my discovery of it Monday morning almost gave me a heart attack. Still letting it dry out, we can only hope it's not fried because what the heck am I supposed to do if it is? Buying a new one costs $$$ - and, yes, I realize computers have come down from $1000 to $600, but $600 is still too much for this poor gal! Trying to remember to keep up with my schoolwork, which has suddenly become much harder without a computer of my own...typing up a paper at 7 o'clock at night at the hospital just isn't high on my list of things I enjoy doing. Still wedding planning...leaving it up to Mom, mostly, but I have my duties : ) Right now I'm on the hunt for dark brown suits for my groomsmen and my hubby-to-be...preferrably cheap. Trying to gather the courage to vigorously clean out Matt's house...and begin packing and moving my own things. This past weekend in NC was a respite...I got to see my Ellie girl!!! And Larryn and Isaac and the rest of my fam, too, of course. Mary Ellis is just so beautiful and all she does is smile and laugh! She was completely man-handled the entire weekend and I never heard her cry once...such a good girl! All my nieces and nephews are brilliant...FYI.

Is it December, yet?? : )

What's going on, Microsoft?

So, to whom do I direct my complaints per Microsoft/Internet Explorer/Hotmail/etc. ? Rather, whom do I complain to and KNOW that what I am saying is getting through? Sigh. I'm afraid there is no one. Okay, here's the deal. Microsoft is a multi-billion dollar corporation - software, technology, internet, programs, whatever - this is what they do - so, why can't they do it RIGHT?!? Hello, Bill Gates, are you out there? Why is it that every time I try to connect to my Hotmail, I get a "cannot connect to Windows Live Hotmail" message? What is up with that? And how come I am always getting "Internet Explorer has encountered an error" messages that ultimately lead to my internet being shut down? What's going on? I mean, is Microsoft so overwhelmed that they cannot produce and/or run their products correctly? I am seriously considering switching to Mozilla Firefox b/c IE has become such a pain. I already have several email accounts so I will stick it out w/Hotmail for right now, but COME ON! What is the deal? It's not like you don't have thousands of people working for you - have you become such a big head that you don't care about your products anymore, you just mass produce and slap an outrageous price tag on it, knowing that people will buy? WTF?

Of course, the problem COULD be that at work, our IE is more than likely outdated b/c it's like a Nazi regime here when it comes to IT, so no dowloading updates, etc. w/out permission and they don't seem to think those sorts of things are important...that could be the issue here...

But still...Microsoft could do OH SO MUCH BETTER! Seriously...

Ellie

Continue to keep my sweet niece Ellie in your thoughts and prayers. My sister and b-i-l meet with the specialists again today and find our more info on Ellie's condition - I think they get the results from her blood test back, as well, so they will know more about this metabolic disorder. They are still feeling sucker-punched, I think, but Larryn and Isaac are very disciplined and they have great faith that God is in control - little Ellie will be just fine (and so will they)! She'll just be a vegeterian, more than likely... I lament the steak and cheese she will miss out on, but, hey, that stuff isn't all that good for you anyway!

Plus, she has red hair so that just makes her a-okay : )