Friday night thoughts

Tonight we went to El Barracho (not sure of spelling), but it went in where Nectar used to be. The drink specials were crazy and the food was really good-- more authentic-type mexican food, so I hope it goes over well downtown here. After that we went to the moolah and scored one of the last couches to watch Slumdog Millionaire. I thought it was really good and just as I expected, but dustin just thought it was so-so. It's about a boy in India who goes on Who Wants to be a Millionaire and they suspect him of cheating. Dustin was trying to read and think too much into it I think. Anyways, everyone who wants a good drama should go see this!

Now onto a sadder note, my photog search is not going any better...but pretty soon I'll be able to make a decision just by process of elimination! I'm meeting with Brandi in the next couple weeks and I really love her photos, so hopefully her prices and personality will work with me....everyone cross all their fingers, toes, arms, legs, anything you can think of! I know it will all work out in the end, but I'm just wanting super awesome pictures and am afraid I'm digging myself into a hole by not making a decision or really being gung-ho on meeting with lots of people.

Could this be my photog?!?!?!

Hmmmmm....so maybe dustin needs to play rock band and keep me up late at night more often. Now just found another photog who seems like a nice girl and really awesome! I can't wait and now REALLY hope she ends up being available!!!!
http://www.sixeightythreephoto.com/gallery/

UPDATE: Of course, why wouldn't she booked!?!?!

So I've been getting sick of myself cause I don't know if I'm being too picky on finding the perfect photog which doesn't exist or if I just haven't came across the right person yet. Everything I look into, I feel like there is some reservation I have. Anyways, tonight I came across this guy who seems to completely rock-

http://www.jeremylawsonphoto.blogspot.com/

Now I just have to wait for the fact he is already booked, charges $10k, or something else.

Photographer help!!!!

Ok, my very top pics for photogs ended up being booked for our wedding date, so I've been trying to find others....but no one is jumping out at me that I have to pick that one over the others! Here is what I currently have it narrowed down to. If you are super bored and reading this, please nose around and leave a comment for which one you pick or would not pick!

1. Brandi Brown (http://www.brandibrownphoto.com/)

2. Studio7 (http://studio7photos.com/); The main photog would be this girl- (http://bethberrypictures.blogspot.com/)

3. Stephen Seward (http://www.stephenseward.net)

4. Catchlight Park (http://www.catchlightpark.com/)

Engagement Celebration!!!

Last night we had an Engagment Party and it was a great time...Dustin and I are paying for it today though- haha! We really appreciated everyone who was able to come and especially those who travelled from out of town...and unfortunately we missed some close friends and family who couldn't be there. We used an empty loft here in dustin's building and just tried to spruce it up some and I thought it turned out really cool looking. Missy worked hard on cd mixes of a lot of our fave songs...unfortunately it was so loud with the talking that we couldn't hear a lot of the music until later in the night when we turned it up much louder. But I still loved what I did hear and think I heard most of the good ones! My parents did sooooooooo much for the party on top of trying to move next week, but I think it all paid off cause the food was great and we had so much fun. It was just a blast!!!!!! Cleaning up today-- not so much of a blast though-- we really should have used more disposable cups and such! Now I know a tad how people feel about weddings-- I was bummed as people were leaving because I felt like I didn't get to talk to them enough and spend time with them. I needed to have done a better job at making the rounds. And I felt like I hardly spent time with Dustin at all and this was to celebrate our engagment! Once only the latenight partiers were left, we went down to dustin's to play rockband...I decided to just be the groupie though and observe cause was too tired by that point! It was so much fun though....let's do it again next weekend! I still need to get the bulk of the pics from mom's camera, so I'll probably do a later posting with those. Oh, and best part of the night is as my dad is giving a speech and says that dustin's parents must be proud of him and Mandi accidentally lets this snicker out loud....it was absolutely hilarious!!!! I'm still laughing about that one days later

Illini RULE!!!!!!

Does anything more really need to be said about this trip than the score shown in th epic to the left?!?!?! I'm a little behind on posts because last week was super busy, but last weekend Dustin, Missy, and I went to Nashville to watch the Vandy-Illiniois basketball game. It was a great game because the lead would change back and forth and was close most of the game....but the illini came out on top!!! We also were able to sit in the vandy student section, so that was fun being amidst the rivals and we were probably only 10 rows from the court...something you don't get to experience at assembly hall! The rest of the weekend was a little boring-- we went to the same bar every night and it was dead and had horrible odor (see pic below of me holding my nose with the 2 other lone patrons). Dustin's friend we were staying with had a friend who owned the place which is why we continuously had to go there. We did go to dinner to a place called Sambuca for dinner that was super awesome-- good food and atmosphere. They are a chain, so if you ever run across this place- go there!!!

Execution Day - 9.26.09

As Dustin's friends were joking last night, Dustin's execution will be 9/26/09 because that is when we are getting married!!!!!!!!!! Now I just need to keep hoping for good weather so it can all go as I want. Our ceremony will be at the botanical gardens in the rose garden at 3:30. I'm thinking we'll then take a ton of pictures all over the gardens since they are really beautiful and have lots of cool scenery. We booked the reception at Windows On Washington which I'm also really excited for. We wanted the reception to be downtown so it would be convenient for most guests staying down here and they can walk to bars before or after the reception easily.

I can't get a photo of the rose garden site, but here is a link where you can click on the box on the left of the page where it says Experience more of this location/see more photos: http://www.cateringstlouis.com/weddings/loc_ceremony_lehmannRoseGarden.php

Not sure yet what colors will pick and that our room will look anything like this, but these were the pics I could find for Windows On Washington (aka WOW). We like it because I think it has a little more urban/lofty feel to them:

Hangin Tough

Monday night Missy and I went to the New Kids on the Block concert and it was a blast!!!! We bought these tickets back in June and paid waaaaaaaaay too much for them...but it was worth every last penny. Dustin was making fun of us that we'd be the only 2 fans in the building....so please take notice of the thousands of other crazies that were there. I used to have the big crush on Donnie, but I think now it may be on Joey. They closed with Hangin Tough which was just so great....man, I think I need to go to another city and see them!!!!!

Halloween

Well this will be a short post, but I've had blog-guilt lately of neglecting it so I know I gotta get something out here! We went to some halloween parties last weekend and had a good time. Friday night we went to another party downtown here at a loft and was lots of fun and a beautiful night out. My cat costume is from that night-- ya, don't ask- it was easy to do...and lame!

Then you'll see I decided last minute on Saturday to make better costumes...so we went as olympic champs Michael Phelps and Nastia Liukin. I made dustin take pictures of me in my gymnast pose and trying to do cartwheels-- the cartwheel pics did not look so great, so i'm just going to forget I ever tried those! Dustin's costume I thought was great-- he wore some tight leggings of mine and we cut out felt that said USA and decorated it with red/blue stars. We then got some alphabet stickers that had flags on them and spelled out PHELPS on his swimcap. I just modified an old dance costume leotard to look more american-like and then wore the ponytail with a lot of barrettes and put on glittery eyeshadow. I had fun making them, so I guess that is all that matters! One of our friends below was chris farley/matt foley motivational speaker and was hilarious-- he ended up winning the costume contest at the party saturday night.

I have not forgot about my blog!

So I've been sick for a while and just been real busy....and when I'm not either of those, I'm just lazy! I gotta get back to the blogging though. So I've been trying to learn how to use my new mac mini in my spare time...but it's been rough. I now know how older people feel trying to pick up using a pc-- even the simplest task on the mac I struggle with! So I've been going to youtube and watching tutorials that like 12 year old kids have put together. Man, it sucks getting older! Anyways, I'm slowly getting better and have almost completed a movie of our pics from hawaii!

Not much wedding planning has gone on, but need to get my butt in gear. I went to a bridal show last weekend with my mom and Missy....and it was really just more annoying than anything else and not too helpful. I think my biggest task right now is to get the reception and cermemony locations nailed down...and the show was more about the details like your registry, dress, flowers, djs, etc.

Oh and congratulations to Carly who just got engaged!!! Now I'll have someone going through the same planning with me!

Oahu Day 6 (Thurs)

First things first—I saw 4 rainbows today!!!!!! Unfortunately dustin was only able to capture 2 because they all took place as I was driving and we wasn’t fast enough….but he caught the best one on film and was making fun of me cause I just pulled the car to the side of the road and yelled at him to get out and get that picture for me!!! How perfect is this??

Today we rented a car (the Yaris) so we could go explore some further areas of the island. Our sweet Yaris first took us to the Dole Plantation. We first did the world’s largest maze—the fastest time recorded is 5 minutes. I have no clue how long we were in there, but my guess was close to an hour! In the middle of the maze it started raining…at first it felt good and gave relief from the hot sun…but then it just kept up and was starting to rain harder. Not much you can do when you are in the middle of a maze, so we just kept going! After that we looked at some different varieties of pineapple plants and then just got some pineapple ice cream and perused the gift shop.

We then continued to the North Shore area and ate lunch at Pizza Bob’s and strolled around this little town. We then continued on and checked out Sunset Beach and Waimea Bay. We didn’t get in the water at either place because the waves were pretty big and they had No Swimming signs posted everywhere…but I guess the locals or brave people just ignore those and swim anyways. After baking in the sun for a bit, we drove back to town and got some shaved ice that is well-known in the area. It was awesome and they put it on top of either ice cream or these Japanese beans…we elected for the ice cream. You can also get sweetened condensed milk over the top, but we did not choose that either. We concluded the day by watching the sunset at where else than Sunset Beach. We then got lost 50 million times on the way home, so we did not get the rental car back in time.

Oahu Day 5 (Wed)

Who is that hottie? Today we went to Hanauma Bay and went…..drumroll please….SNORKELING!!! We were waiting at the bus stop for a pretty long time after the supposed pickup time. We see this van taxi on the other side of the street with this driver yelling out the window he will drive to the bay for $5. We didn’t have enough time to flag him down, but the more we kept standing out there we were hoping he would come back. Well about 5-10 minutes later he comes back around, so we take him up on the offer. Little did we know that this guy is just plain crazy, but was hilarious and a wealth of information. He pointed out a rich subdivision where Jamie Lee Curtis and Keanu Reeves both live. It is gated community, but if someone in your car has a Hawaii drivers licence, then you can tell the guard that you are there to go hiking. He will assign you a parking spot and you are to drive directly to the spot and not stop or do anything. We also learned the avg. house on oahu costs $620k. You can no longer build a house on a mountain—he tells us it is now a preserve, but used to be a jelly. I said I did not know what a jelly was. He said it used to be a jelly, before that it was a jam. Get it now—preserve, jelly, jam…haha. He also showed us some Japanese money and taught us Japanese expressions. To say excuse me is something like Su Mee Yien. On the way home, we also took him and he did Hawaii trivia. Wendy answered out of order one time and he said- “I am the taxi nazi- you do that again and you get out and walk home. I am serious. I am taxi nazi. Sometime people turn me down for ride. I see them later and they want ride and I tell them no- I remember you and you turned me down so no ride for you. Then they just look at me.” He also said one time he picked up lady having asthma attack and she said to take her to the hospital. He was so worried she was going to die in his taxi so he ran every red light just honking his horn. He said lady- you want to hang your head out the window or run the A/c…what gives you the best air. He didn’t even make her pay- he gave her free ride for not dying. He also was making the poor guy in the front passenger seat roll down his window to talk to people next to us. He was nuts, but I was dying laughing the whole time. We met a nice couple- Wendy and Jason in the taxi and hung out with them all day and met them back ou that night, so at least something good came of the crazy driver. So back to snorkeling- it was weird and hard, but I can say I did it. My biggest issue was that in some places the coral was really close to the surface and I would scratch my knees going over it-- even has bleeding on both my knees and hands from scraping and cutting them up! Of course when I was sitting on the beach Dustin found the good areas to go then that didn't have all the coral. Anyways, I didn't even freak out when I saw the fish and most of them were really pretty! That's about all for today's news!

Ring Info

Okay, I have been lazy about finishing up posting about my days in Hawaii...but I will get to it. Anyways, I just super looooooooove my ring...I didn't know I could be so fascinated with jewelry, so Dustin better look out now! I've attached the best pic I could get of my ring so far. Also, it is super sparkly and is Hearts and Arrows, which is this perfect cut diamond that looks like hearts and arrows when you use that microscope thing at the jewelers. Anyways, here is a link with more info if interested and what it looks like: http://www.whiteflash.com/diamonds_info/t/articles.aspx?articleid=23&zoneid=15

Oahu Day 4 (Tuesday)

Today we took the bus and went hiking at Moana Falls. We took some pictures but were disappointed because it doesn’t even begin to capture being there! You see the critter on the pic to the right that I actually spotted?! You hike through this rainforest which was absolutely beautiful—there was bamboo everywhere along with palm trees and all sorts of greenery. Along the hike you could frequently see this stream of water next to you rippling over the rocks and sometimes little mini waterfalls. The path was really muddy and slippery and I was glad that I had grabbed a walking stick to use on the way in! When you get to the top, there is about a 100 ft waterfall that you can view. Some people were getting in the pool of water, but they don’t recommend that because there is some parasite in the water—needless to say, I did not want any of that water touching me! We both agreed that besides the engagement, this was by far the best thing we have done on the trip so far. It was just awesome!

They also had an arboretum there, so dustin wanted to walk around there for a while. It was okay, but just is kind of boring for me to look at a bunch of plants after a while. We then rode the bus back to Ala Moana beach and just checked that out—beach was a little bigger than Waikiki and we think this is more where the locals hang out. We then walked into the Hilton Hawaiian Village to check that out because I had looked into staying there. It was pretty nice and if you want a nice resort with a pool and right on the beach, this is the place to be! We then walked along the beach about halfway back until I tuckered out and insisted we catch the bus to bring us the rest of the way! We went to Cheeseburger in Paradise for dinner and it was yummy and they had the strongest drinks ever—after 2 of those I felt done for the night! We went to a place called Tiki’s then to have drinks and listen to live music—it was outdoors and across the street from the beach. It was a guy playing acoustic guitar and he was real good—even played some John Denver and Michael Jackson for Dustin. We stayed out until almost 11, which is the latest I’ve made it so far!

Oahu Day 3 (Mon)

My first day being engaged!

Today we got up early again and ate the free breakfast at the hotel down by the pool area. It was very relaxing and nice.

After that, we boarded a bus to take us to Diamond Head Crater to go hiking. This was almost the most tiring thing I have ever done and was magnified because of the heat and straight sunshine we were in. But the views were really awesome, so it was worth it. I seriously say like people who looked like they were 70 and had canes that were trying to do this….and I would see 3 year old kids….or the Japanese in high heels or fashionable shoes….SO if all of them are doing this, then I should be able to with no problem!!! I’m still curious if the old people really made it to the top or just quit halfway. At the very top you have to climb 271 stairs- some a spiral staircase—and I just get more dizzy than tired on the stupid stairs. The views up top were worth it though--

We come back from that and bring our leftovers from dinner to the beach for a lunch picnic. We eat and swim for a few hours. We made dinner reservations at a nicer place- Hau Tree Lanai which overlooks the beach and is perfect for watching the sunset. Our food was great and the portions were big for such a nice place. We came back and put in a movie and I zonked out by 9pm. Here is pic from dinner--

Oahu- Day 2 (Sunday)

Baby One is getting a dad!!!

Okay, this is the best day ever. I was up at 5am bright and early due to the jetlag. We lounged around for a while and then went out to the beach all morning. The water was absolutely awesome and I did not spot a single fish the whole time! You could go out at least a half mile and the water stayed shallow and never went over your head. There were people surfing so much further out that you could only make out little dots and hardly see them. After the beach we were starving so decided to just hit up this Mexican restaurant- La Cucaracha (doesn't that mean "the cockroach")? It lightly rained for 10 minutes and then the sun was back out! After this we just walked around to all the shops and went to this international marketplace, which we quickly left because it felt like you were in mexico with the sales people all on top of you if your eyes stayed on an object for longer than 2 seconds and they start haggling on the price and everything. We stopped at the Yardhouse which has the largest tap beer selection and had a drink and watched some football.

We had decided for dinner that we would just buy some food and wine and have a picnic on the beach to watch the sunset that night for dinner. I was surprised because dustin kept saying that we could just stop at Cheesecake Factory and get food—and normally we stay away from chain restaurants we can have at home. So we got a ton of food at the factory and came back home and packed up for the picnic. I was thinking in my mind that if he was going to propose on this trip that this could possibly be the time, but I wasn’t sure cause I knew he also kept saying over and over how he wanted to go to a more secluded beach that is not so populated. Obviously we get to the beach and there are a lot of people there watching the sunset, so we were both a little bummed that it wasn’t less crowded…but oh well.

The sun pretty quickly starts diminishing…so dustin tells me that he loves me so much and then reaches into his pocket and is fumbling around for a while and I know this has to be the ring I’ve been waiting for!!!!! Then, being the classy guy he is—he plops it down in front of me and says, “well, I know this may not be the most romantic setting, but here ya go. Open it.” I was scared to open it because dustin has NO fashion sense or anything, so just made me nervous what his brain may have created here. I took a quick peek at it and loved it!!!! He just keeps telling me to hurry up and open it and put it on before the sun goes down cause he was worried it would get too dark and I wouldn’t be able to see it. So we take some pictures and then enjoy our feast! I told him I wasn’t so sure he was going to propose because I was with him when he packed and knew everything in the suitcase, but at some point he just snuck it into his shorts pocket and had been in there the entire trip. Forgot to mention Dustin spilled his red wine on my brand new white oversized beach towel I had just bought! He said it will just be a good memory of the night he proposed now! Here are some pics...

Oahu- Day 1 (Sat)

The trip gets off to a rocky start and I blame it all on “dustin luck.” “Dustin luck” is a term a friend invented because of Dustin’s notoriously constant bad luck. (Doesn’t really explain how he dates me but oh well!) Anyways, flight leaves at 6am so we ask for a cab to come at 4:30am. We are 7 miles from airport and since there is no traffic we should be there around 4:40-4:45. It is 4:33 and standing in the kitchen waiting, so I tell Dustin to call. The person says he got lost and will be there in 5 minutes. Ok, not a huge deal….so we wait. Now it is like 4:42, so I tell Dustin to call again because it is almost 10 minutes later. Calls and they say he took another wrong turn, but he is 2 minutes away. Flash forward to 4:50 and now I am seriously freaking out if this guy is ever going to make it. At this point I’m trying to think of what plan B should be and when do we give up on this cab. So finally he shows up about 4:52 and has this ancient paper map book on his seat and mumbles something about how my street wasn’t on the map. I DON’T CARE!!!!! Get a GPS or print directions from the internet!!!! Technology has advanced since 1985 so maybe ditch the stupid map book!!!!! Anyways, I told dustin to let me handle paying the guy because I have no issue giving him NO TIP—you don’t deserve a tip picking up someone that late. Anyways, we get to the airport and the driver didn’t charge us at all—so that was sweet and there were no lines inside so we had plenty of time to spare! The flight was long, but not too bad. Dustin did a really good job and didn’t seem too sick or nervous. I told him since he had to overcome his flying fear that I will have to try snorkeling—haha, we’ll see if I can hold up on that deal! Here is a pic from my airplane seat—you can see the diamond head crater and then to the lower right corner, that is Waikiki beach—I LOVE the blue waters!!!


We checked into the hotel which was pretty nice and an awesome location and then just walked around. We stopped and ate at an outdoor restaurant (LuLu’s) that overlooked Waikiki Beach. I had my first real Hawaiian mai tai here which was awesome! Dustin tried the local brews by Kona Brewing Company and absolutely loved all of them. We had some good sandwiches and knew this would be the start to a great week (and gaining 10 pounds). I ordered garlic fries there—they were absolutely insane with seriously a whole BULB of garlic chopped down over them—way too strong even for me! They were even playing the IL/Penn St game there, so that was cool except that the illini lost. We walked at night after dinner and stumbled upon The House Without a Key which is a restaurant in this nice hotel that I wanted to check out. We sat out on the patio and had drinks and watched hula dancers and Hawaiian music. Oh, did I mention they also provide free potato chips on the table—HEAVEN! It was a great time and conclusion to our day!

Countdown to Vacation!!!!

I'm so excited- we leave for Oahu tomorrow!!!!!!!! I'm all packed up and set to go-- just gotta watch last night's episode of the office and then leave at 4:30AM for Hawaii! End of post- dustin is all about correcting my grammar and driving me nutso!

Shampoo-Banana

We returned tonight from our weekend at U of I where we attended the Alumni basketball game at Assembly Hall. Basically was the final four team sans Augustine vs. previous illini "legends." It was pretty cool cause a lot of old players were there along with people from when we were in school- lucas johnson, sergio, marcus griffin, frank williams, cory bradford, etc. After hiking around all day from the hampton inn on the NORTH side of campus to the game on the SOUTH side, stopping at some bars along the way, we make it to the hall. Seemed warm when we went in, but kept thinking I must be hot from all the walking. After about 5 minutes, I'm hotter inside the building than i was while walking. We realize they DO NOT HAVE ON THE A/C. This immediately brings flashbacks to my excruciating megabus trip to chicago where the a/c was broken. No announcement or apology over the loud speakers. We just sweated and watched some basketball....not even really enjoying it because all i can think about is if the sweat is starting to wet through my clothes. I think they will be getting complaint letters from both Tracy and I. We bought ice cream to try and cool off....it just start melting at a crazy rate and dripping out the bottom of the cone. Next thing I know, the guy in front of my had his white illini jersey draped over the back of his seat and it is covered with like 5 chocolate ice cream drip marks! Oopsie-- that was really dustin's fault so he was banned from holding the cone.

My hero

"I'm Lovin It!" Today is a milestone in my life. I have finally found my hero...someone I respect and have great honor for. I only wish I could someday follow in his steps. These are the best sandwiches ever created and tomorrow I begin my mission to live as my hero has done....good thing there is McD's 2 blocks from Dustin's!! Read about him here....

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080909/ap_on_fe_st/odd23000_big_macs

Dream come true

So, every year Dustin and I hope that IL and Vandy will meet up in the final four tourney so I can prove how much more awesome the Illini are! So they have signed a 2 year agreement to play during the season now-- so we were psyched. I was just waiting for the game to fall on like the 1 day that won't work out for us to go....but seems like Thurs. 11/20 will be a perfect night to go to Nashville and see the Illini dominate!! I can't wait :)

And we are heading to "shampoo-banana" next weeked to watch an alumni illini basketball game. Dee and Deron will be back long with a ton others....so that should be fun times.

Couch Potato Time Begins NOW

Ok, so all the fall shows will be starting up and I'll try not to become too obsessed over many this year. Gossip Girl started this week and for some reason I just think that is one of the BEST shows ever! I do have one compaint thought-- who the hell is in charge of wardrobe for Chuck and Nate on that show. Those guys look completely ridiculous...but that's okay, it adds humor. 90210 premiered last night, but have not watched it yet. I'm trying not to get too excited for that, because let's get real-- there is no way that compares to the original. Also announced is the second love of my life- Jason- got picked to be the new bachelor. If I don't get a ring soon, I think I'll be sending in my application and try to win him.

That's all for now- xoxo
Gossip Girl (haha)

I'm doing a blog!!!!

I'm thinking a blog will be fun and a great idea...but I know how excited I get for these web fads and then never follow through...aka facebook and myspace! I am committed to this though!! Basically just like my online diary, but for everyone to read--hmmmmmm, scary thought. I'm taking bets now on how long this will last:

a) Amy will make about 2 more posts and quit because too much of a hassle
b) Amy will not long on for a month and forget her password
c) Amy will still be blogging away in a retirement home some day

Blogs I'm Reading

Bower Power