Last Fling Pictures

I've finally posted pics of my bachelorette party. To save time and energy, you can go here to see them. I had such an amazing night. I can't thank my girls enough for the party that they planned and put together for me. I think that Saturday night was the most fun that I've had in my entire life.

The pictures that are posted are only the ones that I have. I plan on getting together with some of the other girls who have pictures and getting copies from them. I'll post those on that site when I get them also.

25 days!!!

Last Fling Before the Ring

Tonight is my bachelorette party. And Drew's bachelor party too. The guys are heading to the Dells and have plans to go to Ho-Chunk. Drew is on a strict limit as to how much he can spend and if he knows what's good for him, he'll listen.

Us girls, we've rented a limo and we're going to Excalibur in Chicago. I am just so excited to go out and go dancing. Stay turned for pictures. And I'm sure I'll have some stories!!

30 Days!

I had my 2nd dress fitting tonight! It was so exciting to have my dress zipped up and actually have it fit me, perfectly. I jumped up and down and few times, and it's not budging. My seamstress, Beth, decided that she wants to take another inch off the bottom. I'm totally fine with that; I was sort of tripping over it when I tried to walk. The bustle is amazing. Nicole came along and she was able to tie it all up.

It is hard to believe that we are only 30 days away. In 30 days, I will be a wife. I'll have a husband. The transition from calling Drew boyfriend to fiance was quite easy. Will fiance to husband be just as easy? I know that this time is going to fly by. I want it to hurry up and slow down all at the same time. It's crunch time now!!!

One Drink, Two Drink, Three Drink, Floor!

Last night, I went to a private liquor tasting at Brewsky's. Yes, lil ol' me, who hardly ever drinks. Yes, I left there quite tipsy. We had a total of ten drinks. I believe that only a true drinker could drink all of them. They were:

1. Kicked Up Julius - a drink which consisted of orange juice, vanilla something, curacao, and some other stuff. From what everybody said, it did taste like an Orange Julius (I've never had one). I wasn't too crazy about how vanilla it tasted, but it wasn't that strong.

2. UV Grape Bomb - a shot that was quite delicious! This drink was UV Grape and Sobe. Yum!!!

3. Fat Tire - an amber ale. In other words, a beer. I have never been a beer girl, nor will I ever be one unless my taste buds seriously change. I didn't like it for that reason.

4. Georgia Peach - a drink which is made with Southern Comfort, Peach schnapps, orange juice, and a dash of grenadine. Another delicious choice!! I would have liked a little more peachy flavor.

5. Apple pie - a shot with apple juice, vodka, and cinnamon. It smelled very cinnamony. After taking the shot, it did taste exactly like an apple pie. Mmm, delish!!

6. Blue Moon Pumpkin Ale - another beer. Gross!!! That was actually the consensus at the table.

7. Hong Kong Fuey - probably my new favorite drink. This one is made with apricot brandy, pineapple juice, sprite, and (stella(r)?) gin. Here's a picture of it.
Sorry, it's kinda bad. But it was delicious!!!!

8. Asian Pear - a shot that was also pretty darn good.

9. Sam Adams October Fest - beer, nasty.

10. Patron Citronage - a shot to end things. This one was quite strong. I only took half. It burned!

I said "peace out" after that. I really had a lot of fun, even though I don't usually drink. It was fun to try new and different drinks.

Take a Deep Breath Now

I'm really starting to feel that from now until the wedding is going to be non-stop with things to do. I've felt pretty at ease and calm until recently. We're zeroing on the ONE MONTH mark!!! My days and weeks feel so pack. This week, for instance:

Monday - Work 10:00-6:15, run to mall to pick up engraved gifts during lunch, meeting 6:30-8:00 PM
Tuesday - Work 10:00-6:15, finish laundry
Wednesday - Clean entire apartment, run to eye doctor to update my glasses presciption before the honeymoon before 1 PM, private liquor tasting at 7 PM
Thursday - Work 10:00-6:15, final dress fitting
Friday - Work 10:00-7:15, go to mall to pick up ring (Oh ya, I had three loose stones when I went to get it cleaned yesterday.), meet up with aunt sometime to get our third and last trial for cakes
Saturday - Work 8:15-1, see guys off Drew's bachelor party, my bachelorette party

Whew!!! Are you tired? Cuz I sure am! And that's not even mentioning all the other little things that I need to get accomplished in there as we get closer to the wedding.

But, on a good note, Drew and I got a lot accomplished this weekend. We went shopping on Sunday and got seven of the nine gifts purchased for Drew's groomsmen and ushers. Only two more left... woo hoo!!!! We also went over to Drew's parent's house where I picked up the rocks that we're using for the centerpieces. I also got some of the candles that we'll be using for the centerpieces. And, my aunt stopped over to drop off two cakes that she had baked for another trial. We made some definite decisions on what we would like, and now she's going to bake two more that will hopefully be what the end product will be.

Of course, you can't have a completely flawless weekend. I called Cliffbreakers, where we are having the rehearsal dinner and where a block of rooms are for guests, to see how many rooms were left. Wouldn't you know, they couldn't find a reservation for us! Awesome!!! Drew's dad, who is on pretty good terms with the manager, will be calling there today to get that figured out. Hopefully, we can now book a suite for Friday night for Drew and for Saturday night for Drew and I to stay in. ::Crosses fingers really tight::

My Camera Found It's Home

Guess what day it is?? Guess what that means??

Yep, you guessed it. Another Wednesday. And another productive wedding day. I also got my camera back so I can finally post some pictures. As you may remember, I had my first shower on the 7th. This shower was co-hosted by my sister (MOH) and my aunt (the one who is doing our cake). This is the only picture that I have from the day. Hopefully I can track someone down who has more. Anyways, here's me and my sister.
My aunt also made our card box and surprised me with it at the shower. How freakin' adorable is this??
She told me to pass it on to whomever is getting married after me, and that person should then pass it on to the next person. I said that we should put our names and wedding dates on the bottom as a way to track who and when. Then we can really see what a small world this is, right?

I took our red cover paper to the printer today to get our monogram printed on the front. I am quite pleased with how they turned out. (It's got that shiny spot because the flash was on.)
After getting the monogram printed, I came home and worked on the insides of the program. I have to add a bunch of things and now I've got to fix all the spacing. Gah, and I thought I was done with them! Haha!!

Paradise, Here We Come!!

Or at least I think so.

It's my understanding that the honeymoon has been booked and airline tickets have been bought. We leave on Monday, October 27 and return on Monday, November 3.

Ahhh, 7 nights and 8 days in paradise. I hope it's paradise anyways. You see, the honeymoon has been kept a secret from me. I did voice some requests though. I wanted a warm climate where I could put my bikini on and lay out by the pool or the ocean and sip on a fruity drink. And I really, really, really want to swim with the dolphins. That has been such a dream of mine for a long time. I will be a happy camper as long as these criteria are filled.

I hope to get it out of Drew where we're going though. I need to pack all the proper clothes. How can a girl do that if she doesn't know where she's going? I'll keep you all posted.

39 days!!!

FYI

6 weeks!!!




Just saying.....

Centerpieces: Resolved!

Wednesday again. That means that it was my day off. I, of course, spent the day doing wedding stuff and cleaning. I won a gift certificate from Rockford Rentals at a bridal expo so I decided that I wanted to try and rent some of the glassware for the centerpieces. I mean, what am I going to do with it after the wedding besides have it sit around and bother me. I'm sure I'd eventually sell it, but getting to that point would probably take some time. I was a little disappointed in what they had to offer. For being a rental place, they sure didn't have as much as I thought that they would for centerpiece type glassware. And when I made a mention about probably having to buy some stuff, I asked the guy if he bought stuff from people and he said no. Are you kidding me? I betcha that he'd probably be able to rent a lot of that kind of stuff. If you were a bride and getting married, would you rather rent or buy that stuff?

I eventually decided to go with a 60 oz brandy glass, like this one:

Except that the one that I rented has a taller stem, probably somewhere around 4 or 5 inches. The good news is that I have finally decided what I am going to do for the centerpieces. (See, I told you I would do it.) I'm going to get silver fabric, cut in maybe two foot (?) squares, and lay those on the table. Then, I will place a square mirror on top of that. The brandy glasses will then go on top of the mirror. In the brandy glass, I plan on putting clear stones at the bottom with a light, then filling half to three-quarters of the way with water. I will then float a rose. The rose will be a red rose with white petals mixed in, like the picture below.
My sister (MOH) will also be having some of these two-toned roses in her bouquet to set her aside from the rest of the bridal party. I will then be placing three or four votive candles around the brandy glass. Red rose petals will also be scattered on the table. Whew, centerpieces complete!! HUUUUUUGE check!!!

After Rockford Rentals, I went to our florist, Deb, at Event Floral. When I showed her the two-toned rose idea, she loved it. I couldn't believe how excited she was about it. That is where we decided to do the red rose with white petal bloom floating in the brandy glass. I paid our remaining balance, and she is going to start putting together my bouquets. We went with silk, especially since we're doing that two-toned idea. She said she would probably have them ready in three weeks or so. I'm excited!!

Then, I came home and wrote thank you notes for my first shower. It wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be and it probably only took me about 45 minutes.

Drew and I had a meeting tonight at the Cathedral with the woman who is going to canter for our ceremony. I'm pretty pleased with the choices that we decided to go with. My concerns, and there are two, are that she will not be at the rehearsal, and that we won't meet with her until the day of the ceremony. We also won't be meeting with the guy who will be playing the organ/piano for us. Ya, that frightens me a little bit.

Upcoming projects:

~ Programs

~ Bathroom baskets

~ Groomsmen and parent gifts

45 days!!

Things You Need to Know About the Bank

I work at a Bank and I've been there for a little over a year. I hate my job. Well, maybe not the job so much as some other aspects of it. Anyways, I've decided to compile a list of things you need to know about the bank. So, without further ado:

Things You Need to Know About the Bank

1. It is only necessary to push the "call teller" button once. Just because we don't answer immediately does not mean that we didn't hear you. Believe it or not, but there may be somebody else who needed our help that was there before you. Pushing the button three or four times in a row will not help your case either. In fact you will most definitely piss me off. If the bank was a fast food place, this is the point where your food would get spit into.

2. After I introduce myself, it is not necessary to explain to me that you are making a deposit, withdrawing, making a payment, or cashing a check. Most of the time, the transaction speaks for itself. If I have a question about it, I will ask you. I don't want to screw up your stuff as much as you don't want me to. That would require me to go back, reverse what I just did, and redo it. Generally then requiring me to fill out new slips for you.

3. Please don't make origami shapes from your slips, checks, and money. I am not amused by the number of times that you can fold paper. I am not amused at how small you folded that paper to fit inside that big tube. I am not amused that you managed to fold your transaction to fit perfectly around your ID.

4. Do NOT roll your eyes when I ask for your ID!! You should be grateful that I'm asking and not just giving YOUR money to random people. You also can't have the balance on an account that doesn't have your name on it. I can't tell you how overdrawn they are. Would you like me giving that information to other people who aren't on your account?

5. It's not my fault that you are overdrawn. Learn how to add and subtract. And keeping a check register is a great starting point too. Some guy told me that he only wrote one or two checks a month and he didn't understand how he was overdrawn. When I asked him if he kept a register, he told me no because he only writes one or two checks a month. I wanted to find the closest wall to bang my head into. Strike that - his head!!

6. The window lane is for business customers. Do you really think it's fair to make the people who should be there wait for your slow ass? You also should not come to the window if you aren't ready. I can send a slip through the tube the same way I can send it out the window.

7. Contrary to what you might think, I am a bright girl and a nice girl. Please recognize that.

All of your lives will be much better if you keep these simple tips in mind the next time you decide to take a trip to the bank.

Let the Melt Downs Begin!!

Yesterday was 50 days.

Today is 49 days.

For some reason, I woke up this morning and I am starting to melt down. I don't know why 49 seems like such a smaller number than 50. It's really not. It's only a few hours difference. But I really have begun to go into panic mode.

We really don't have too much left to do. RSVPs are slowly trickling in. There's still 19 days left for those. Hopefully, the next 19 days have a huge influx of RSVPs, otherwise there will be a lot of people that I will be calling. I really don't want to do that. Please, please, send in your RSVP. It already has a stamp; I took care of the hard part.

Once those come in, we can finally decide on centerpieces. Meaning, we can finally decide on the number of centerpieces. I still have no idea what to do. Don't ask, it's a sore subject. Haha!! I really just need to decide on something. Ok, within the next two weeks, I will have the centerpieces resolved. I promise!

I have my bridal shower for my side of the family and my friends tomorrow. I am so excited. I'm excited for everyone to get together and have fun. And I'm excited for good food. My uncle is making lasagna!!! I'm so glad I don't have to diet for the wedding.

Babe, Can We Have One Too??

Since we live in an apartment, we have upstairs neighbors. Well, side neighbors too, but we spend a good amount of time with our upstairs neighbors. They are Josh and Angie and they are lots of fun. Josh works at the animal shelter here. He told us over the weekend that he might be bringing a kitten home. I found out that he did indeed bring a kitten home and this is the cute little thing that I walked into. Josh said she's about 2 or 3 weeks old.

Drew's hand is only slightly smaller than she is. How adorable!!!

I am so-o in love with her. I couldn't believe how playful she was. She's got super sharp claws though. They have another older cat and she was very unhappy about the new kitten. She would hiss and puff herself up and the kitten would pay no attention to her. I thought it was quite cute.

The Legal Piece of Paper

It's official!!! Drew and I can legally get married!!!

We went and got our marriage license today. It wasn't too bad. The biggest hold up was Drew not knowing how his dad put his name on his birth certificate. Apparently, everything has to match up, and if it doesn't, we'd have to get an affidavit every time we travel. I think the lady was exaggerating a bit. But Drew didn't know how his dad's name was on the birth certificate. So we had to call and try to find out. But, we did it! We got the piece of paper and now we can get married.

I told Drew on our way back home that I think that getting our marriage license was the last thing that we had to do to get married. All of the rest of the stuff is just details because we want to.

I also received an email last night letting me know that our guestbook was shipped. According to the tracking info, it should arrive on Monday. I'm crossing my fingers for a speedier delivery.

Summer's Official Goodbye

Since Drew has been working the crazy hours that he has been, and the weather was absolutely beautiful this past weekend, I could not resist the chance to spend some time outside with the girls. Angela, Rachel, and I went to Pearl Lake. It was perfect outside, maybe just a tad warm, but I'll take it! Here's some pictures from the day:
Seriously, could I be any more freckled??

Yes, I have a drink in my hand. For those of you that know me, that is a pretty big deal. The fact that I had that drink in my hand before noon is even more of a big deal. I couldn't resist though. I was at the beach and I wanted something fruity to sip on. And I really am tanner in real life. As long as I'm not next to anybody who has any color. Surprisingly, I didn't burn. The sun hates my skin. Boo!!

I had my first fitting tonight for my wedding dress. I have had doubts about my dress. Especially when I see other dresses that are gorgeous. But then I put my dress on and know that I made the right choice. I love it so much!! I can't wait to actually wear it!!

And just because he's so cute, he's a picture of Simon. Have I mentioned how much I love him?