12.17.2009

Still here

Ugh, how is it that I feel like there is no time in the day to do stuff?!?!!??! The wedding is over, my condo is sold, I should have TONS of time! I'll be off work for a week and a half over xmas, so I'm looking forward to that and hopefully will feel more settled once the new year starts. Also need to make sure we can that cleaning lady or service hired and that will be nice!

So tonight missy came over and we attempted to make these truffle candies....only semi-disaster. We made three truffle flavors- peanut butter, chocolate, and chocolate mint. The mint was like a cake batter consistency, so was a little nervous...but we froze it and it formed into a ball somewhat nicely. Then dipped in 3 different kinds of chocolate we had. This is where it looks like a 3 year old did this, so we were getting really discouraged on how to get them more round and smooth looking. Oh well, decided just need to practice and next time will go better!

Last week we went to U of I for the Vandy/IL basketball game and IL won huge! It was raining and so cold up there, so quite miserable trying to show dustin and maurit a good time. Since it was a tues night though there were great bar specials! Apparently Kam's has country night on Tues so everyone there had on flannels and boots-- quite different from the days when we were there! Can't beat $1.25 16 oz drafts though! We ate dinner at PapaDels and then also hit up FireHaus, Clybourne, and Brothers. Dustin described the night as an "out of body college experience." Dustin didn't think he ever went out on a weeknight and maurit could remember a couple times....so they were questioning if anyone would be out at the bars. We get there and dustin is like- these people are acting like it's a Friday night....doesn't anyone go to classes or study at this school?!?! I just think everyone needs to go experience a big school....so different and so much fun!

So Christmas will be here next week and we hardly have any present bought....so that will be tomorrow's task! I guess cause I feel like I've had no free time that I just don't feel that excited for it this year. I'm sure it will be fun, but usually i'm all excited for it and enjoy the anticipation! Probably cause I don't have great gifts for people, I just feel bleh about it all.

We had a xmas party last weekend and it was so great using so much of my new wedding gifts! We used the punch bowl, the beverage dispenser, party trays, food processor, ice bucket, etc! You know you are old and boring when you mention a party and talk about the kitchen items you got to use!

Ok, well it's late and I'm exhausted and need to get to bed.

11.27.2009

Happy late thanksgiving

Hope all you blockheads had a great thanksgiving! I'm still sad cause forgot to set the tivo to record the charlie brown thanksgiving special.....guess I'll have to make sure we get the xmas one! Plan to a little holiday decorating this weekend if I stay motivated, so I'll post some pics once I get that done! This is the first year I've worked on the day after thanksgiving and haven't gone shopping....keep telling myself that is good cause this will end up being a profitable day this way!

11.24.2009

Photoshop 101 continued

So I haven't had much time to continue practicing with photoshop, but plan to do so this weekend. This again probably isn't that great, but just goes to show what you can do with some color enhancement here to make the colors a little more vivid- notice his shoes, shirt, and the water. I also then deleted out some of those smokestacks and people in the background. I also then tried to straighten it out some since the skyline was a little crooked originally. Since these are really slow to upload, this is all I have the patience to share right now!


















11.17.2009

Photoshop 101

So we had a lazy day on Saturday and I spent it learning how to try to use Photoshop. I'd been doing some research on the internet and spent Saturday doing a lot of tutorials and practice. I downloaded a trial of Photoshop Elements which is a cheaper, stripped down version of Photoshop....so it's been fun, but am thinking I'll also evaluate the full Photoshop cause am thinking there are some things in there that would be worth the money. I'm going to try to share some of my photoshop adventures and creations...no laughing cause I've spent ONE DAY trying to learn this!

Here's example where I feel like I drastically improved the color of the picture to make it much brighter and more colorful.

















Here is me using my skills to delete our that pipe on the left and just make the picture look a little more artistic:

























More to come, but these are taking FOREVER to load and it's time for bed!

11.16.2009

Yum-O!

So I've been to the gym like 3 times since back from the honeymoon and just been eating like crap...and I know it's only going to get worse with the holidays. So I've decided to make an effort to make some better food choices and try to start exercising again. I've been trying to cook some dinners with healthy, fresh ingredients and then bring my lunch. I feel like just avoiding eating my lunch and lots of dinners out we'll be healthier. I just love greek food lately, so created this recipe tonight that was fabulous! Basically I took all the ingredients I love in a chicken gyro and threw them together to make a pizza with a salad mixture on top.

Bought a Boboli pizza crust and spread some garlic hummus over it (like you would do with pizza sauce). I then topped it with some artichokes, sun-dried tomatoes, and roasted sweet peppers. I then added some pre-cooked italian chicken pieces and topped it with feta cheese. (I threw on a little provel also just to make it cheesier). I then baked in the oven for 10 minutes at 450 degrees. While that was cooking I made a tzatziki sauce. I combined 1 container of plain yogurt with a couple shakes of lemon juice, 3 garlic cloves grated in, 1/6 of a cucumber grated in, and then a sprinkle of dill. Stir together and set aside. I then chopped some red onion, cucumber (sprinkled dill over it), and kalamata olives. Take the pizza out of the onion and cut into 8 pieces. Top with half a bag of shredded lettuce. Sprinkle your red onion, cucumber, and olives on top. then take your sauce and put in a ziploc bag and cut the corner to make a small opening. you can then squeeze the sauce out of the bag and drizzle over your pizza salad. ENJOY! Only downside was it probably cost me $20 in ingredients :(

11.15.2009

5-Bagger in da house!!!!!!!!!!!!

I wasn't planning on bowling last Thurs, but had to fill-in at the last minute. Bowled 101 first game and 91 second game....so not too shabby, but not great. In my last game, I bowl 3 strikes in a row and got my first Turkey!!!!! I was SO excited and everyone is high-fiving me and such. So I toss the ball on my next turn....and another strike!!!!!! That is called a Ham-Bone, so I set history again by getting my first ham-bone! Then next turn comes, and what do you know....another strike! Now there are no more fun terms left, so is just called a 5-bagger, 6-bagger, etc. So everyone is just freaking out that I did this....I don't even know that anyone on our team has got a turkey, let alone this! So it is my 10th frame, so i get 2 more balls to throw....first one- gutter.....second one- gutter. Bleh. I think I was too nervous with everyone watching me and pressure just got to me. So I only bowled a 166, which was 6 better than my previous best....but is killing me cause my score could have been so much better had I just hit somethings on those last turns! Here is pic of our scoreboard just so I have proof...I'm on the top row and the X's are all those strikes!

11.12.2009

Sick of feeling sick

So I can't re-iterate enough....wash your hands constantly! SO many people have been getting sick, but I thought for sure I'd avoid it....wrong! I'm blaming keanan cause we baby-sit him Saturday night and he was coughing and just germy like most kids are and then I wake up the next morning with a sore throat and it all begins! He was so cute and so much fun though, so it was worth it! My sore throat is now gone, but now just have a cough and stuffy/runny nose. I feel bad cause i'm sniffling constantly and sneezing and coughing, so I know my hands are disgusting and then I have to do things like touch the elevator button and door handles and such and figure I'm just spreading my germs to everyone else! Oh well, here's a pic of the cutie (one on the left) and bum baby-sitter:By the way, he is just talking up a storm now so it made it VERY entertaining! I'm really not so sure he really likes Dustin cause all Dustin does is just pester him or sat on the couch watching sports....not a fun baby-sitter in my terms! We worked puzzles, read a book, and then played lotsa cars and trains. Brought me back to days of my cousin Jeremy cause he is all about thomas the tank engine! The funniest thing he said was when I had told Dustin I wanted a soda, but there wasn't any in the fridge...so I ran downstairs to check for soda. I come back upstairs and said to dustin, no soda downstairs. So Keanan looks at me and says- "we have beers...you want beers?" I laughed and was like no, i don't like that. He then says, "my dad likes beers." Then he says, "me find you soda" and sure enough he did! I told dustin some high school kid will love baby-sitting there if he's offering up "beers!"

Despite being sick I've managed to make some good food this week cause I think some good homecooked food will help! On Sunday night I made a big pot of chicken noodle soup and man, was it yummy and have tons leftover! Another night we had steak (well, dustin had it), corn on the cob, and then made some awesome horsey smashed potatoes. I cooked 2-3 pounds of red potatoes in boiling water, then drained. Added a small container of sour cream and 2 spoonfuls of prepared horseradish and then a lot of chopped fresh chives...and of course s&p. I forgot I was going to add some bacon in there too, so maybe next time! And then last night I made some semi-risotto stuff I made up with red wine and parsley and then made a chicken casserole my mom used to make that I loved growing up...probably cause it has crushed potato chips on top! Dustin loved it and it tasted okay to me, but not as good as I remember.

In other news, dustin hurt his thumb playing softball this summer. It's been really bothering him but he refused to go to the Dr. before the wedding. So he finally went and they confirmed what he thought- he needs surgery and will be in a cast. So that all happens next week. So I'm sure we'll be doing even more movie watching than normal if that is possible!

11.07.2009

Hideous Etsy Seller

So there's a website called http://www.etsy.com/ where people sell handmade items. You can find some really cool things out there and is great when you need unique gifts! Many brides use the site and I got a couple things from here that I was really pleased with. There's a poor girl on a brides forum that I go to where she paid this seller almost $200 to make a custom clutch. The result is SO amusing so I had to share.
So here is the pic she provided to the seller except she wanted it to be in brown and pink. The seller assured her she could duplicate and create something very similar.

This is what the seller sent her! I would have thought this was some joke and her 3 year old daughter made it!

So needless to say she sent it back and wanted her money back. It's been a long battle but the seller won't give the money back and wants to keep trying to get it right. So this is her other attempt. And there are 2 other attempts just as horrific!

11.06.2009

Pro Wedding Pics

No, I don't have all my wedding pics back yet, but hopefully soon! I realized I got so far behind with writing about the wedding that I had never posted the link to some of our professional photos! This is what he put up on his blog....I just keep looking at these over and over and over and over....and I am SUPER anxious for the rest! Just hope I have them before xmas!!

http://jeremylawsonphoto.blogspot.com/2009/10/blog-post.html

Oh, and so I had all these crazy dreams before the wedding about all sorts of just random stuff...well, it's still continuing after the wedding! Last week I woke up in a complete tizzy and panic and was surprised I wasn't crying out loud in my sleep! I had a dream we got the pro pics back from our wedding and there were only like 50 photos from the entire day, so first I was upset there wasn't more....but before I complained I told myself to just look through them. So I look through the whole stack and there were 3 pictures of me in it-- and one of them was super blurry! Another was a pic of me in shorts and a tank top not even from my wedding day! The rest were a bunch of random people I didn't know and some scenery! So I try to be polite and just ask the photographer who these people are and he tells me those were the guests at the wedding. So now i'm just completely puzzled cause I don't know any of these people and know they were not at our wedding. So then he tells me that he lost the disc with all the wedding photos and he had no backup or anything, so they are all gone. So I just start crying uncontrollably and freaking out and was so mad!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Then I woke up and had a sigh of relief that it was all fake! Stupid dreams.

11.05.2009

Read my blog, you BLOCKHEAD

So we were just flipping through the channels last week and stumbled upon some Charlie Brown Halloween special, so we just left it on for a few minutes and both realized that it was actually entertaining! So we watched the whole thing. We were laughing at a lot of the comments and now I'm thinking I want to read more Peanuts comics and watch more of the shows. One of the funniest things was how they call each other "blockheads" as an insult. So, according to the internet you can term someone a blockhead when they do something dumb or a clumsy act. Some examples of how to use the term would be:

  • Dustin is such a blockhead, he tripped over his shoes laying in the middle of the hallway.
  • You wore a brown belt with black shoes today, you blockhead!
  • That blockhead dustin bought stale bread at the grocery store.

The other term that was really funny was that they say "tricks or treats." I found this comic clip then that had both my fave expressions. now just can't wait for hopefully a thanksgiving special that will be on....you blockhead

11.04.2009

Organization Progress!

So we've been busy after the wedding trying to just get all situated in the loft....and we are close to being finished! I worked ALL DAY on Sunday to get things organized. Basically I emptied out all the kitchen cabinets, cleaned them, re-did the shelving heights, and put things back in where they best fit. Once I was done, it looked great and I actually have some spare room on some shelves! I unpacked a lot of our fun kitchen items from the boxes and am itching to try so many of them out...think we'll definitely have to have a xmas party soon! I then re-organized our closet that contains our laundry area and that looks great too! Then I started on our bedroom closet, but didn't get too far, so that is in progress. Basically instead of just having the one pole to hang clothes from, we created a lower second one underneath it to double our size. I sold all my candy buffet jars from the wedding last night so that also emptied out some crap...now just gotta sell my candles and will have most wedding decorations outta here!

Since my other past time is tv, I was bummed to find out that Ashlee Simpson-Wentz is leaving Melrose Place...and even more sad that the rumor was that she acted like such a diva on set. We started watching a new show called Modern Family on Wed nights and LOVE it! This last week they even watched the Illini football game on the show and the fat gay dude was dressed up in orange and blue!

11.02.2009

SYTYCD???

So Saturday night we didn't really have any halloween plans, so missy and I decided to go see the So You Think You Can Dance (SYTYCD) show here at Chaifetz Arena. We were just going to buy our tickets at the box office when we got there, but Missy decided to check that afternoon and see if new good seats became available and they were.......8th row floor seats, dead center on the aisle! And acutally the first 3 rows were only on the sides, so essentially were 5th row. IT WAS FABULOUS!!!!!! Well worth paying the extra money for these then sitting up high. At the end of the show they came back and did a halloween medley and finished it off with thriller...great way to end the show! Here's some pics, but I took over 100 so it was hard to decide what to post...considering most people don't watch the show and won't appreciate them:

This was Kupono in a ridiculous outfit, but sad part was this is typically the kind of stuff he wears so I didn't even know if it was a joke at first....the next saddest part was that missy had requested the library to order the SYTYCD workout videos and knew the dance moves he was mocking!

This was one of my favorites of the season-- a dance to Battlefield by Jordin Sparks.


So Jeannine and Phillip kept coming out in their russian dance outfits, which was one of the most horrible performances of the season, and so eventually everyone came out and did a russian dance.

THRILLER!




10.28.2009

Bowling League

So for something to fill my time after the wedding I decided to try and get some friends together for a bowling league....so that is our current Thursday night activity! It's great cause it's at Flamingo Bowl which is a block from our loft and fun since I've never done it before! We signed up through these flyers at work, but out of all the thousands of AT&T employees, they only had enough for 3 teams so it's us and then some other random teams of people. I found out later there was a punk rock music league on Tuesday nights...so may have to try that one out next time! I missed the first couple weeks while on the honeymoon, so I show up finally and am telling everyone that I am super awful. I ended up bowling a 160 for one of my games!!!!!!!! I had the 2nd highest score of the women in the whole league that night with that game! My other games didn't go quite as well, but not awful. Then the following week it was so comical that I did so HORRIBLE-- got like 71 in one game and 80 in another and then just broke a hundred in the other one. So tomorrow night I gotta redeem myself!!

Just a tip to share with people too, but apparently there is bowling etiquette or protocol. Luckily the team that shares our space is fairly cool about things, but they seem to have some serious bowlers (who aren't even good) but they use towels to dry off the ball each time before they bowl and just quirky things. I started off by bowling at the same time they did-- wasn't aware that you wait until the bowler in the lane next to you finishes before you go. Now I'm just that much wiser though...learning so much!! Best part of the league are the $3 nachos I can pig out on each week!

10.27.2009

Doesn't get any better than this!

So we've been talking forever that we NEED another bon jovi concert BIG TIME! We went to one up in Chicago and had one of the best nights ever a few years ago with me, missy, dustin, devin, carly, and katherine. Almost 2 years ago I went with Crystal and Missy to KC to see him and we had a fun time there too. Now I feel due for another show! So he announced his new tour and no St. Louis on the list. And every city close to us was during the week, so wasn't working out too well. Soooooooooo I see that he is playing in Vegas on a Saturday night and Dustin has been BEGGING me to go to vegas with him and that we'd have fun. So it looks like I get to see Jon Bon and Dustin gets our trip to vegas! Now I just gotta find some good deals...and also looks like we have quite a few friends so far that are up for going too....so just gotta hope this all follows through!!

10.26.2009

Halloween begins!

So this last weekend we went to our usual halloween party. This year we didn't seem to know as many people, but we had a lot of fun with our friends that were there...probably one of the best I can remember! Dustin and I REALLY struggled with costumes-- I can partly blame it on we were busy with the wedding, then gone on the honeymoon, then once we were back were busy with writing the thank yous and just trying to get the place organized and put away. Then we just couldn't agree on anything-- everything I liked, he didn't...everything he wanted to do I thought was lame. So it was Saturday afternoon (party is Sat. night) and we still didn't have anything....so I caved in and went with dustin's idea. let's see if you can figure it out by the picture.....
If you guessed honeymooners, then you were right! I know, super corny! We just made some sweatshirts that had a jar of honey on the front and then bought fake butts to moon people. Next year we are going with one of my ideas and not waiting until the last minute! One of our friends brought a cooler with a fabulous drink-- I'll share the recipe and I can't wait to make this for any upcoming fall/winter parties we have! It tastes EXACTLY like some applie pie!

Bring 1 gallon apple juice and 1 gallon apple cider to a boil on the stove (optional to add cinnamon sticks too). After it's boiling, add one cup sugar and 1 liter bottle of Absolute vodka. Remove from heat (and remove cinnamon sticks). Put back into 1 gallon jugs and place in fridge to cool. After it cools, serve it as is.
Ok, my plan really is to get better about blogging and catch up on all the wedding stuff at some point. Things are FINALLY starting to slow down a little...I think after this weekend I'll have most everything off my "to do" list. This week is finishing up some name change things and have to get inspections on my car to renew my plates. Can't wait til that is all done!

10.21.2009

The Luckiest

So I've determined that although dustin has the worst luck of anyone, I think I usually get pretty lucky with things. For the second time this month I'm the grand prize winner of something!!! (Too bad it can't be for the lottery!) My grandma had entered my name in some raffle and I won the big prize-- a quilt! Don't really have a use for it now, but I like being a winner....and just one more thing to store up til we get the big house!

10.15.2009

Grand Prize Winner!!!!!!

So, we had a longtime friend get married a couple weekends ago and she had Studio B at her wedding also. For those that don't know, it's kind of like an updated photobooth concept. Anyways, a bunch of the pics we had tried to do just didn't turn out to well...so at the end of the night we just thought of completely stupid stuff to do and this one turned out awesome! The picture in the top right the photographer blogged that we are the grand prize winner (of nothing) for photo of the month! The groomsmen had some Boone's Farm wine earlier in the night for some pics and so mom saw the bottle laying around and suggested we use that for a picture. Well, Idiot Gus thought the bottle was empty, so i just close my eyes, knock my head back and turn the bottle upside down to fake pouring it into our mouths....only the bottle was still like a quarter FULL!!!!!! So you can see in the picture mom freaking out that i'm actually pouring this and by the time I realize it, it is all over our dresses!!!!!!!!!!!! It was so funny! Here's the closeup:
All right, more posts to come soon but been busy trying to get the thank you cards done and all our gifts organized and put away! Soon I'll have some free time though and go back and blog about all the wedding stuff!



10.12.2009

Anyone own this?

Hi, we are thinking about buying an All-clad red cast aluminum 5.5 Qt oven and just wondering if anyone out there owns one of these and how they like it? Any feedback would be helpful before we invest in purchasing this. Thanks- and feedback asap would be greatly appreciated.

9.27.2009

I'm a MRS!

Still hasn't really set in, but this is my first day as a married lady! I feel like I will have SO many pics and things to blog about....but will give quick synopsis now. We leave for HM tomorrow and am VERY excited for a vacation! The weather turned out absolutely PERFECT...so maybe dustin luck is not so bad after all! Woke up Saturday morning and looked beautiful, but laid in bed watching the weather forecasts and they all kept saying rain was moving in and we'd have thunderstorms in the afternoon. I check the hourly forecast and still calling for rain at 3pm. So it POURS after lunch-- people from out of town were saying they almost had to pull off the road it was raining so hard. Dustin said the phone was ringing off the hook with people calling...cause I'm sure they are thinking there is no way they are supposed to go to our outdoor ceremony. So Dustin had been trying to call the botanical gardens, but couldn't get through. So Yara, our awesome coordinator, gets through to the gardens and they say they have a meterology team there and that the rain will end around 2 and we'll be good-- they'll get the seats dried off and everything good to go. So we keep the ceremony on! Stops raining at some point-- maybe like 2:30 and holds off throughout the ceremony-- the sun even peeked out some too! It was just amazing how it worked out. So we stay around the gardens for some pictures afterwards and the sky starts getting super dark and gloomy. I know it made for great pictures, but we were just waiting for it to start pouring on us! We were able to take pics for about an hour and then started feeling raindrops, so got to the bus pronto. Starts raining then as we are driving downtown to the arch for more pictures. Arrive at the arch and it is sprinkling, but not too bad so we get out of the bus. Looks like the storm is moving away and sun will be coming back out. Then the sun comes out and a RAINBOW appears!!!!!! It was just so awesome and thinking it was so fitting that we got engaged in Hawaii where we saw so many awesome rainbows....and then we happen to get one in St. Louis on our wedding day!!!!! I just can't even describe how perfect that weather worked out...and I will be forever grateful that we were able to have the beautiful outdoor ceremony. Then it was on to the reception which was a lot of fun....but just flew by! Ok, more details and pics later, but here are a few people have sent:







9.25.2009

911!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


I have labeled the caption of this picture on my computer as "heart attack." Our ceremony is at 3:30-- this is what you call "Dustin luck"


OMG.

Can't believe today is rehearsal day!!!!!!!!!!!!! Seriously woke up this morning and feel like I'm going to throw up-- just doesn't seem like it should be here already! This year flew by and even this last week completely flew by! Probably forgetting some major things, but hopefully I won't. This morning we will drop off our last stuff at WOW, need to make some reserved seating signs, need to put together gifts for the wedding party, and then need to finalize all timelines and get them printed out to have with me. Then I'll pack up my bags and move into my hotel suite! Oh man, freaking out! But excited!

9.24.2009

Down to the wire!

So technically it is already Thursday cause is 1am...so I am 2 days away from getting married! We've been super busy, but feel like this is what it's all about and part of the experience! We got all moved out of my place-- it was very rushed, but got it all done Tuesday night and then salvation army picked up some things this morning that I couldn't sell. I close tomorrow and then hopefully I'll be mortgage free! Got my rehearsal dinner dress in the mail today and LOVE it...so I'm super excited to wear that. Still waiting for a few other things in the mail, so they better be here today...or that will not be good! Weather forecast still sucks-- scattered thunderstorms. Ok, well didn't finish everything I wanted, but am dead tired....so turning in to bed and will just hope that I can get a lot done tomorrow! I don't know if Dustin knows what he is in for tomorrow, but he took a half day from work to clean the loft....and it is a disaster zone, so that is going to suck to clean!

9.22.2009

Weather

Forgot to mention that naturally I am OBSESSED over checking the weather. I go to multiple sites, which basically all give different forecasts...so isn't too helpful. But they all have 1 thing in common- RAIN!!!!!!!! Have I not told you before that dustin has the WORST luck of anyone...ever. So all along we kept saying, it is probably going to rain....so at least we are prepared for it, but will just suck big time. Won't get all the outdoor pictures and the ceremony will just lose the ambiance. Ok, can't even think about it now cause just makes me mad. Ugh

can't sleep, can't sleep, can't sleep!

I don't know what is wrong, but lately I have like 2 nights out of the week where I just can't sleep at all! I think it's cause I can't get my brain shut off, so I've been forcing myself to at least get up and do things and be productive. 2am and still wide awake tonight though! I did get up and get an email out to the wedding party with some details, made some signs for the bar at the wedding, made some smoking and no smoking signs for the reception balconies, and revised my programs. Also watched the Beautiful life (which was not good) and gossip girl. Today I got all the placecards made-- now mom is just double-checking them and alphabetizing. Got all the candy jars cleaned and candy in them-- now just need to put labels on them and that is done. Also, got the out of town gift bags complete. And got all pics scanned into the pc for the slideshow-- told Dustin that is now all in his hands to do. Phew! tomorrow will just be some minor wedding stuff and hopefully get 100% moved out of my condo so can be done with that then. Ok, you think this infommercial would put me to sleep...maybe I have a better chance of sleeping if I shut this laptop....laters

9.20.2009

Honeymoon booked!

Nothing like waiting to the last minute! I had REALLY wanted St. Lucia and done TONS of research on it, but it was getting expensive to spend so much time there...so decided we should go back some other time when just doing a week vacation. Then we thought about Costa Rica...but then moved off of that. We went back to our original idea that we just wanted to go relax at an all-inclusive...and do a more sight-seeing type vacation another time. So we have never been to the Dominican Republic and I found a great, newer resort there....so that is what we decided on! It is the Iberostar Grand Bavaro and the reviews seem outstanding, so I can't wait!

9.14.2009

Forecast good so far!

Well, the forecast currently has estimated high of 75 for Friday 9/25 and high of 78 for Saturday 9/26-- sunny both days and no rain!!!!!  Cross your fingers this can be the ONE time that the weather people will get it right!

9.13.2009

Craigslist Overload!!!!!

So we moved some more stuff out of my condo (aka OGC - One Gus Center which was dorky nickname we came up with cause our work building was called OBC - One Bell Center). I spent hours today posting stuff on Craigslist...don't know how something so simple is such a pain! Anyways, since I'm dealing with so much stuff with my condo and the wedding I asked dustin if I could leave his name and email as the contact for this stuff and put him in charge of it. So there have been 2 phone calls already-- and he missed both calls cause he was too busy playing games on his phone! There have been like 8 emails on stuff-- all of which I have fielded. So not sure how this has saved me any time at all! Anyways, the good thing is at least there is interest in this stuff, but so far we don't have any appointments set up. Ugh- this week is not going to be fun I can tell!

9.11.2009

Marriage License- check!

Picked up the marriage license at lunch today. Of course nothing is easy-- checked the internet and found dustin needed his passport since not a citizen and you can only pay in cash. So I walked home at lunch to get his passport....can't find it in its usual spot, finally remembered it was probably still in our bag from the canada trip! Found it! So I leave and am walking back to work to meet dustin-- realize I forgot the cash...so have to walk back. Get back home and the elevators are being cleaned so can only take the steps. By now it was almost noon (when I was supposed to meet him), so am looking for my cell to tell him to meet me at city hall instead. Realize I left my phone in the car from last night...so with no elevator have to run to basement to get the phone. Then get all the way to city hall with passports, drivers license, birth certificates, like our whole lives....and she wants our SS cards!!!! Those cards seem to be so useless and it seems if I have a passport and such, then surely I have a valid SSN! Luckily she was nice and just told us to write our SSNs on a piece of paper and she'd take that. Interesting. I found the info they ask and put on the certificate very interesting. Like why did they need to know how many years of education I have? Are they not going to let us get married if I don't have enough smarts? I don't know-- had to put our right arms up and swear we told the truth and then walked away $48 poorer with a certificate in hand! Now just can't lose it and have to bring it back signed!

9.10.2009

Mail Service Sucks!

So a lot of people received our invites really quickly-- I was impressed when people got them like a day or 2 after we mailed them. However, we are just NOW getting ones returned to us in the mail where the address was wrong. Don't they look at it, realize it's wrong, and just send it back? What have they been doing with these invites for the last month?!?!?! Now it's 2 weeks before the wedding and we are finding this out. GRRRRRRRRRRRRRR. I wish they'd just get rid of the mail and all post offices-- just seem more useless than anything. 99% of what they deliver is junk mail we don't need anyways. Ok, time to stop thinking about the annoying post office!

Seriously?!? Ellen?!?!

Well by now most people have seen this-- they've announced Paula Abdul's replacement on AI and probably made the worst choice ever-- Ellen DeGeneres. Yes, this is no joke, unfortunately it is not April 1, so this must be true. She was annoying as guest judge on So You Think You Can Dance, but apparently they loved her cause the same moron runs AI. Oh well, maybe just one less show I'll watch this year!

9.09.2009

Good friends and good times can't be beat!

This past weekend was absolutely great and some of my best friends came out for my bachelorette party! We went to Ste Genevieve to several wineries on Saturday and then spent the night in an awesome villa at one of the wineries. We woke up Saturday morning and was dismal and raining outside-- not ideal! So we contemplated just staying downtown and watching the IL-MO football game....but luckily decided against that since IL got destroyed. Once on the road, the rain cleared up and sun came out once we got out of St Louis! First stop was Cave Winery-- we did wine shots in chocolate glasses which were yummy and then took a shuttle down to a real cave. We had brought a picnic lunch, so sat in the cave, ate, drank, and listened to some acoustic music. Here's me and Carly and you can kinda see all the rock and cave in the background.
Then it was on to Chaumette where we were able to check into the villa and was amazed at how awesome it was! We all wanted to move in and never leave! Then we went up to Chaumette for free tastings. Then decided we better get to a place to cheer on the illini! So we went to Crown Valley Brewery-- did not really care for their beer, but others did so I'm glad we went there. Here's all of us at the brewery:
Gave up on the illini and then headed to Crown Valley Winery-- did a tasting there- probably the best wine of the places, hung out until they closed and headed back home!
So we get back to the villa and Missy had called earlier and requested a rollaway or cot if one was available so someone didn't have to use the couch. So we get back home and they had put this creepy white bed right when you walked in the front door and it was directly under this dining light. So Alana comes up with the idea that this is Michael Jackson's hospital bed...so I walk in the door and she forces me to down onto this, I have no idea what is going on, and she starts "reviving me." It provided hours of entertainment all night long! Later I did some George Castanza poses on it while the paparazzi took pictures of me. Then we decide to all get on it and set camera self-timers...which in the process we break the bed, but don't realize it until later. Then we just played a lot of games all night-- usually the point was the loser had to sleep in MJs bed...but Carly said she just couldn't sleep there cause was so creepy....which was bad news to her cause is not the best at the games we played! Lucky for everyone, crystal was a sweetie and slept on the creepy bed and said it slept real well!
My revival:

For some reason, Carly was INSISTING that we all had to do the sideways peace sign...probably is like some gang symbol that we are all giving and don't even know it! Here we are piled onto MJs bed:

In our comfy clothes before a walk and pool "break-in"....

Ah, such good friends and good times-- hopefully we all go back again soon! I miss everyone and thank you SO MUCH for coming and giving me a weekend to remember!

9.03.2009

Adios condo....hopefully!

Well, I've been super busy lately and haven't even had a minute to post, but I'm also a little hesitant to post too much wedding stuff now cause I want there to be some elements of surprise at the wedding! We have got a TON of wedding stuff done recently, but there is still quite a bit to go! In the midst of all this, I got another offer on my condo and we've signed a contract- woohoo! All this happened within the first month of listing it with a realtor, so at least it moved quickly. They did the inspection and appraisal this week and all has gone fairly well. I'm not giving in to all items on the inspection, so we'll see how that goes...but I've already caved enough on the price that I honestly am just ready to walk away from this buyer if she won't take. Basically she's asking for $750 because the hot water heater and furnace are old...HELLO, you are buying a 27 year old condo and be happy that at least in the last 2 years I've replaced ALL kitchen appliances to stainless steel/black and bought a new A/C unit AND I bought her a home warranty for the first year. So assuming this all goes through, we close on the Thursday right before the wedding....so now I gotta work on selling all my furniture and sorting through the rest of my belongings there. Speaking of which, if anybody needs anything, just let me know and I may have it and willing to give you! One thing less for me to put on craigslist or take to goodwill. I'll be somewhat sad to leave my condo, which dustin doesn't understand at all how I get attached to places....but it's just that it was my first place I bought and had lots of good memories there, but I am ready to get rid of it and LOVE the teeny tiny loft we're in! Oh and I kept trying to sell the buyer all or some of my belongings and the only thing she wanted was these 3 paintings I made! So if I ever lose my job at AT&T, guess people are willing to buy my artwork! I had a previous interested buyer who also said too that she didn't want any furniture, but wanted to be my 3 art pieces! Too funny- what's the saying- one person's junk is another's treasure or something like that. Dustin was bummed cause he really liked them and wanted them for the loft, but they just belong with the condo and am happy to pass them on to the next owner!

A few pics to remember it by:

The great gus artwork!









8.27.2009

I heart carly's photog!!!!

As if carly's wedding wasn't great enough, her photographer posted a few sneak preview pics on her blog...and THEY....ARE....AWESOME! Dustin and I hope ours turn out this good after all our hunting cause this is the exact style we love! I guess my beauty captivated the photog cause I even made it into a picture!

This first one of carly I just LOVE....I'm usually not a fan of this antique-type look, but it works so well with this picture that I am just obsessed over how great this looks!
Remember the cute cake toppers I had posted, well look at these great shots she got with their rings incorporated in...genius!And then here is my reaction when I discovered Clarence the cat cake topper was covered in icing and someone had knocked him over and messed up the cake! I'm curious who this cake bandit was, but I'm guessing some crazy kid.All photos are courtesy of Theresa Scarbrough....obviously awesome photog in chicago area if you need one!

8.25.2009

I can post pics again!

Ok, well our AT&T internet appears to be working! So I can finally add some pictures to my posts now! I put up some pics from Carly's wedding in my previous post and here are just a few of our engagement pics too!

These first pics were taken around Washington Ave and in the alley behind our building:


Here were a few pics we took at City Garden which is a new park that opened up out front of work.





8.23.2009

Carly got hitched!



We just made it back in town from Chicago and Carly's wedding! It was super nice and a great time....so we just hope ours turns out as well now! I think I gained 7lbs cause the food was so great-- passed apps of huge bbq meatballs, sausage stuffed mushrooms, some spinach thing, and quiche. Then we had dinner which was salad, sorbet, filet and chicken, twice-baked potato, green beans, and dinner roll. Then we had carrot cake with ice cream. Then, because that really wasn't enough food, they put out this sweets bar that had cheesecake, chocolate covered strawberries, mini pies, you name it! She really lucked out in my opinion with the weather-- it was overcast, so should have been great for her pictures and it was super cool for August...although it was so chilly I had goosebumps like crazy all during the ceremony and luckily had grabbed a 3/4 sleeve dress to wear at the last minute! Well, she did a great job with all the details and pulling it all together! Woo-hoo-- I finally got some pics uploaded!

Cute Cake topper of them!
Me, Missy, Carly, Katherine, and Lisa (all friends from college)

8.17.2009

Engagement Photos...or not

I did want to do a blog update tonight with our ENGAGMENT PICS! But our internet connection is too slow and after 20 minutes I'm now giving up. Tomorrow AT&T comes to hopefully hook up some faster service....so maybe tomorrow I can get the pics up :( On a good note, invites went in the mail today (except a handful)! Woo-hoo!

8.16.2009

Shower time!

One of the reasons I started this blog was to capture the whole wedding planning process and so I'd have something to look back at....but I've been too busy to even update this!!! I'm gonna have to post like 2x/day now to get caught up! Well the best thing that we've done lately is I had my shower last Sunday. It turned out awesome-- It was at Villa Marie Winery and of course we had one of the hottest days of the year, so it was too hot to sit outside. So the inside wasn't at scenic, but it worked. I got a lot of cool things that I'm excited to try out and start using now! I had been to a shower a few weeks ago that was mexican themed and they had these cute hand-painted margarita glasses for everyone....so I stole that idea and thought we could have hand-painted wine glasses for everyone! So crystal and I spent many hours the days before the wedding making all these glasses....and now I realize we never took any pictures of our hard work! Grrrrrrr! Here's a few pics though from the shower....wish I could rewind and do that all again instead of spending this Sunday trying to finish up the invitations!

Me, Missy (MOH & Sister), and Mom

Cute decorated wine bottles:
Me and BMs: