Babies

Babies.  We're coming up against our 2 year anniversary in July and babies are on my mind.

I've gone back and forth about writing about this, but then I thought, "Hey, I can't be the ONLY one out there who has this on her mind", so why not.  I'll keep it somewhat general so it's not all "gross TMI".

I've known since I was 18 that I have fertility issues.  I had my yearly in April, and shared with my nurse practitioner Glenda that I had had a little "scare", and she said "what exactly are you waiting for?  Because it's going to be harder for you to get pregnant, and then staying pregnant might not be easy for you.  I don't want you to wait too long."

Ryan and I's initial game plan was kids by the time he's 30.  I just turned 26 in January, and Ryan turned 28 in April.  I know that fertility starts to go down for me at 30.  Glenda also reminded me that you have to take some time off of trying to get pregnant in between miscarriages, and I've been on the pill for years, so it might take a bit for things to get back in business.  So timeline wise, it's kind of scary looking.

I'm torn between wanting to wait until Ryan and I are ready and moving fast to beat out this potential fertility issue.  I know you're never ready, financially or otherwise, but I do want a honeymoon pre-baby (still haven't taken that) and I want the last bit of our student loans paid off (we are SO CLOSE!).  We're 2 years out from both.

Ryan wants to wait until he's settled career wise and until childcare and healthcare co-pays won't break our bank.  I respect that, and I pretty much agree completely.  At the same time, I feel like I'm fighting off this low level of panic, of what if we wait too long, what if you can't be a dad and I can't be a mom?  I know how much adoption costs, I know how much IVF costs, and I know there is no. way.  Baby shower invitations are starting to come in from friends, and every time I get one I wonder if in a few years getting a baby shower invitation will be really painful for me.  I wonder if seeing a pregnant belly will physically hurt me.

I know, worrying is the opposite of constructive.  And I might get knocked up no problem 24 hours after I cut off the BC.  But my biological clock is ticking and I'm scared.

I try to focus on eating well and exercising.  Since I quit smoking and started honoring my body, I've felt 10000x better.  I know that I'm doing everything I can now to facilitate a healthy pregnancy in the future.  I try to keep my eyes on that.

I am so thrilled for all of my preggo-friends out there (the last thing I want is for this to sound like I'm not!), and I can't wait to meet your little bundles of joy!  It's kind of crazy seeing friends transition into mothers, isn't it?

Anyone else have pre-baby thoughts on their mind?

Harry Potter World

HARRY POTTER WORLD!

My mom just booked my sisters and I a trip to Harry Potter World December 27-30. The hotel we're staying in includes early admission to the park, so we'll get to get in before everyone else. This is beyond exciting!

Me, Alli and Mary Harry Potter-ed out for the last movie premier.

So why is my mom booking the trip? My MeeMaw passed away last March. She had Alzheimer's, and it went on and on. And on. That disease is the most brutal thing I have ever witnessed. She slipped away one night while she was sleeping, which was a blessing. MeeMaw owned a large farm about an hour's south of where we live, and the estate has recently been divided up. So in a way, MeeMaw is sending us on this trip. Mom thinks it would make her really happy to know that she was doing this for us.

We'll be staying at the Loew's Royal Pacific Resort at Universal Orlando, flying in Thursday, having all day Friday and Saturday at the park, then coming home Sunday. 3 days with some of my favorite people in Harry Potter World! I just wish my mom could come, but it's tough for her to get off work around the holidays like that.

Anyone been, advice, what should I wear, things we should do/avoid?

I've felt odd about blogging lately (HA try the past year). Without a clear focus, like the wedding was, I've struggled with what to write. I realized though that I enjoy everyday updates from my wedding planning blog buddies, so as boring as I think my life is, maybe just "hey, this is what we're up to, look at the skirt I'm trying to sew, etc" might be of interest. So I guess we'll see!

Family Pictures

For Christmas, my sisters, Ryan and I got my parents professional family photos. We wanted them to be really casual, laid back and include all 4 dogs (my parents dog Mia, my sister Alli's dog Henry, and Ryan and I's dogs Ninja and Oscar). We definitely got the fun, relaxed pictures we were aiming for!

My awesome parents with Mia:

Everyone:

Sisters make the best friends. Isn't it nuts how much SHORTER I am than they are?:

Our first official family picture!:

The puppies were handed over to their grandma:

Ryan and Mary were involved, so the following was inevitable:

Alli's friend Karen took the pictures (she was home visiting family for Thanksgiving and was kind enough to take these the Saturday after Thanksgiving). She actually specializes in pet photography-how beautiful are these pictures of my dogs! I mean, I'm biased and all.

Needless to say, she did a phenomenal job. We linked my dad's laptop up to their big screen TV, so Christmas Eve morning we were able to show them the pictures for the first time. Mom and Dad really liked them, thereby cementing Alli's status as best gift giver of all time. Well done!

Check out more of Karen's work here.

The Stockings were hung....

...on the buffet. No chimney in this house!

The buffet is new, Ryan found it on Craig's list. LOVE IT and it holds a ton, so it's really freed up some cabinet space. Ryan's stocking is on the left, mine is on the right. I made them from a Butternick pattern, I think? Had to get mom to help, couldn't figure out the cuff part. Then I forgot all over again when I made the second one. Genius, right here. I'm really happy with these. Next year, tree skirt! My snail like pace will eventually result in decorations. Eventually.

Ok, you should make these and then eat them. Because they are SO GOOD and then you feel all virtuous that you just ate a ton of veggies for dinner.

Zucchini Cakes:

This is about to get realllll scientific up in here.

Shred a zucchini, then squeeze out the water. Mix squeezed, shredded zucchini with 1 egg, a generous handful of fresh, grated parmesan, some fresh garlic, a couple sprinkles of bread crumbs (I've used panko and Italian seasoned, both with success), and a dash of seasoned salt or paprika. Now heat up a skillet with some olive oil, and drop in some of the zucchini mixture. Press it down all flat and wait until it's all brown and crispy on the bottom to flip. Flip. Cook other side. Then stand by the stove and devour the ones you just made while you wait on the second batch. Maybe give your husband one or two.

Definitely a new go to recipe. Have you made any Christmas decorations this year? And new go-to recipes for nights when you don't feel like thinking?

Bad Blogger

Bad Blogger indeed. I haven't felt like anything I do is of interest, but then I find everyone ELSE'S blogs interesting. So yeah. Doesn't make a ton of sense.

I'm addicted to Pinterest, are you? Come find me, it'll be fun.

We had Thanksgiving with my family at my aunt's house in St. Louis Thursday morning then dinner at Ryan's Dad's side that evening. We shopped the next morning like it was our job! And I ordered my bridesmaid's dress for my SIL Erin's wedding in July. I'll post when it comes in, sweet sweet J Crew!

I just finished reading this book about women in the ministry (can't find the title, go figure) but it really got me thinking. It's making me think about giving the Disciples of Christ church here in my town another shot, especially since I checked out their website and they welcome everyone, including those of different sexual orientations. I love the Unitarian Universalist church where Ryan and I got married, but its 2 hours away, and the UU fellowship here in town does not feel at all right to me. I'm feeling more and more of a pull to be invested spiritually somewhere that doesn't compromise my beliefs....I'm hoping our DOC church here will work the second go around.

I made Ryan a Christmas stocking:

The pattern threw me for quite the loop. Yay for moms who come over and help you puzzle it out! I'm working on my stocking tonight. And debating on if I should scale the pattern down and make the puppies stockings.

How hilarious is this picture of Ninja? We are throw pillow free by this point.

We got my parents family pictures for Christmas and took them last Saturday. I can't WAIT to see how they turn out! It was my whole family and 4 dogs. Whew.

How was your holiday?

I'm Dumb

So I went to put in a load of laundry and was out of soap. Weird, I thought, I could've sworn I just made it! So I get everything out and start to make a double batch since I ran out so fast. 5 minutes into making the double batch and I see a handful of jugs of laundry soap on the very top shelf in the laundry room. There all along.

So...anyone need laundry detergent? I guess I won't have to make it for a while!

Here's the recipe I use, it has saved me a ton of money-we do stupid amounts of laundry for 2 people!

Homemade Laundry Soap
Grate one third a bar of bar soap (I use Ivory). Dissolve in 6 cups hot water on stove. When dissolved add half cup each Borax and Washing Soda (they had both at WalMart, $2.50 each for big boxes). Add soap mixture to 26 cups hot water (that's 1 gallon plus 10 cups) in 5 gallon bucket. Let cool and store in clean milk jugs or laundry detergent container.

I'm sure I saw this recipe somewhere but its been a bit.

I forgot to add that I use a half a cup per load, and to leave an inch or so of space in your containers because you need to shake it a bit before you use it.

Why You Shouldn't Let Your Dogs Wear Collars Unless You're Going Somewhere

It's taken me over a week to be able to sit down and write about this without getting upset all over again! We had quite the scare last week-our sweet puppy Oscar came way too close to dying on us. Spoiler: He's alive and very well!

Last Tuesday night I was sitting on the couch watching TV. Ryan was in the master bedroom (on the main floor) watching TV on his laptop, and both dogs were outside playing the yard, like normal. All of a sudden I hear this awful screaming from the back yard. I flew outside, and saw the dogs in a corner of the backyard. I knew that something was v

ery, very wrong, but I got upset so fast and couldn't figure out what was happening - it looked like a ball of panicked dogs thrashing around. I thought that maybe Ninja had seriously injured Oscar? I stupidly tried to break them up from what I thought was a totally-out-of-character-vicious fight, and Oscar bit the snot out of my left hand. Apparently I was screaming this entire time because I turned around and Ryan was vaulted off the deck and running towards me, asking me what was wrong.

I was sobbing and shaking and panicked and I had no idea what was happening. Ryan was crouched over the dogs at this point, and he yelled for me to go and get the scissors. I dashed in the house and grabbed them, then ran back outside and handed them to Ryan. At this point Ryan tells me that Ninja somehow got Oscar's coll

ar wrapped around her back teeth and Oscar was choking. He couldn't g

et any slack on the collar to cut it off of Oscar, after attempting this for 10-15 seconds. Then Oscar passed out and went totally slack, and Ryan cut the collar off.

I was across the yard losing my mind while Ryan was hunched over Oscar trying to get him to wake up. He was 100% unconscious and nonresponsive. Ryan picked him up and carried him inside and laid him down on the kitchen table. This was my worst moment..Oscar's head was flopped back and his eyes were wide open, with the pupils rolled back in his head. I thought he was dead. We laid him down on the kitchen table and Ryan is yelling at Oscar to wake up, to start breathing. Ryan rubbed Oscar's ribs and did some light chest compressions, and after 30-60 seconds of being out, Oscar raised his head up and wagged his little tail.

2 minutes later we were in the car with both dogs on the way to t

he emergency vet. Verdict: Fluid in lungs. After puking up blood and other gunk, and an overnight stay with pain killers, we picked Oscar up 7 hours later and brought him back home.

It was the absolute worst night of my life. I have never been so out of my mind scared. I didn't know what we'd do with poor Ninja if anything happened to her brother...we adopted them as a pair from an animal shelter, they've never been separated. They were kept in the same kennel at the shelter from day 1.

So yeah. If I get that worked up over my dog, how am I ever going to handle kids? These dogs are my babies, we were entrusted with their care

and well-being. If Oscar was a 12 year old dog who had had a good long life, that's one thing. But he's only 9 months old, I would be devastated if anything happened to him. And what would poor Ninja do?

What gets me the most about the whole thing is the fact that that is a scenario I never dreamed of. I've imagined them running into the street, or something, but strangled by his own collar in his sister's mouth? Now every time I come home and let them out of their crate I think "how could they have fatally injured themselves while I was gone, what if they aren't breathing, what did I not think of?" I check on them every 5 minutes, now I'm psycho mom. Also what hit me hard was how quickly I lost it, and how worthless I was. If Ryan hadn't been home, what would have happened? On the way to the emergency vet, Ryan told me he hadn't heard the dogs making all that noise at all, that he heard me yelling and that's why he ran outside. So maybe it really was a team effort. How sweet is he to be trying to comfort me on the way to the vet when all that had just happened and Oscar is laboring to breathe on my lap?

Anyway, moral of the story, please take your collar off your dog(s) unless you're en route or on a walk. Our dogs are micro-chipped, so if they somehow get lost, they are easily identified. I remember the vet saying how puppies will bite at each others necks, but I never dreamed something like this could happen. I wish I could say it was a fluke, but the vet said it's happened to her dogs before.

Quite the reminder that everything can change in an instant. Now every time I let the dogs out, they get petted and told how much I love them.

Puppies in March, when we first got them

Family Pic, May 2011

Whew! I was reeling all last week from this, it took me this long to chill out enough to write it down.

Any freak accidents ever happen to your pets?

It All Ends Here

Or, my un-asked for opinion on the last Harry Potter movie.

I rocked the premier with the sisters and Alli's sweet boyfriend Chris. We all wore Harry Potter shirts Alli made for past movie releases. Mary and I are way too lazy to just make our own. We got to the theatre last Thursday at 7:20 to get in line for Part 1 at 9 p.m. We watched part 1, then had an hour wait until they started part 2 around 12:25. (REALLY WEHRENBERG)

Friday at work sucked, but it was worth it! We were in line behind Hagrid-and the guy was huge. He even had an umbrella!

We decided that me and Alli are Ravenclaws while Mary is a Gryffindor. Can you tell me and Mary apart? Having a sister who grows up and suddenly looks just like you is like getting a twin in your 20s. Kinda freaky!

I loved the movie, but I do have a major issue with the director changing sh*t just for giggles. Little, minor things....like, do you honestly think you can improve upon the book? Because you can't. I really hated that Harry didn't go into the headmaster's study after killing Voldemort to see Dumbledore crying tears of joy as all the other headmaster's applauded. And he didn't fix HIS wand with the Elderwand before he destroyed it! AHHHH. I did appreciate the focus on the trio of Ron, Harry and Hermione. I thought that was very sweet. And I cried and cried when his parents, Sirius and Lupin showed up. No surprise there, I bawl my eyes out at that part in the book. I guess the movie was just like every other HP movie-some parts honored the books while some didn't.

I do think they could've made it longer. And had more battle scenes. And extended the epilogue a bit, especially to include Teddy.

I'm so sad it's over. Harry forever!

Did you catch the final installment yet?

To Do List

There are so many projects I want to and a very limited amount of time, with all the summer traveling we've been doing! Courtesy of the blogs and Pinterest, I end up with a year's worth of projects in a week's time.

This is just outrageously pretty. I'm going to start shopping for embroidered pillowcases ASAP. My friend Jodie just had a girl, and I'm starting to think maybe I just need to have a little stock of homemade bibs/receiving blankets/baby paraphernalia since lots of our friends are getting knocked up.

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A bed for the dogs needs to be next on my list. We're hoping to transition them from their crate to a bed in our room at night, and we need a bed for them first. All the cushions I've found have been so expensive-like $30/$40! I want something decently sizable so both 17ish lb dogs can cuddle up, so I'd have to up the size of this bed big time.

Seriously, what cat is going to sit on a bed designated by someone other than themselves?

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I want this skirt SO BAD. I LOVE the chevron. I have all pencil skirts, and I'm trying for some slightly more full silhouettes, this being an ideal transition. And the chevron pattern? I could wear this to work once a week. My grandma says this would be a good beginning apparel sewing project....I have a tendency to dive into less than simple apparel projects that end badly. No more. I need to start at the bottom. I've conquered an apron, so I feel ready for this skirt.

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It's the new Ginger pattern from Colette patterns.

This is a no-brainer project that requires me to only remember to buy magnets, because I already have the dish. Sticking pins into the pin cushion is clearly exhausting, and it would be so much less taxing to hurl the pin into the dish.

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So my husband is a classic piler. He has little piles all over the house with vitally important stuff. Maybe if I could have enough storage bins then the piling would be more contained? I just like storage bins. I want one for the dogs stuff, I want a handful for the laundry room, and I want a few for my nightstand. Also for my sewing room. I want lots of these. And one for the guest baths.

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This is just super cute.

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This is potentially the cleverest bit of embroidery I have ever seen. I want to make throw pillows for our bed then embroider this on them.

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Originally stitched by Buitenlander25 via Flickr

Um yeah. Also I'd like to make a quilt for my sister sometime. Then I have a finished quilt top that needs to have a completed backing and then finished up completely.

Someday, I will get to some of this. I'm smack in the middle of a present for my sister, and I'm working on a t-shirt quilt for one of Ryan's cousins. After those 2 things, I am closed for business for a good while so I can catch up on some stuff for myself....I'm really bad at sewing away for other's, but I tend to backburner my own stuff.

What are you working on this summer?

The Beach

We just got back from a week on the beach in Fort Morgan, Alabama. It was the most amount of time I've had off work since.....2008. I only took 2 days off work for my wedding, so having a whole week to relax has been heaven. AND Monday is a holiday so I'm off work for that too!

This is where we lazed out big time.

My sister's dog would have nothing to do with any ocean.

Mary and Ryan constructed several epic sandcastles.

We also outlet shopped, boogie boarded and got TAN. How did I fill the rest of my time?

And lots of it.

It was to die for!

I am so fortunate.

(Aren't I the runt of the litter?)

We were ready to get home and see these guys though:

Next travel goal: Honeymoon!

Pinterest

I'm on Pinterest and it's like shopping but for free. If you want to follow me e-mail me!

Busted

You guys, this blog has been broken for like a month or more! I couldn't figure out how to fix it (it looked like Google had removed it for some reason?), and then I checked today and it's BACK!

Not that you've missed much. I'm boring.

But! Our puppies are getting so big, we had a huge group of friends down for a weekend, we're going to the beach on Saturday, and I have quilts to show you. Also I figured out how to make delicious frozen yogurt with Greek yogurt and fruit so in my mind-100% guilt free. Oh and I went to a wedding last week that had Chiavari chairs! And they were everything I thought they'd be. And I've been lifting weights so I'm working on a set of guns.

I've missed you guys!

New Addition(s)

We have been BUSY lately!

A couple weeks ago, Ryan and I doubled our family size--we adopted 2 puppies from a no kill shelter!

The blonde is a girl, and Ryan named her Ninja. She does these flying Ninja lea

ps that suit her name perfectly. That handsome thing you see on the right is Oscar, our little man.

They are beagle/schnauzer mixes, and they are 4 months old. We love them to pieces!

As you can see, they have it very rough.

They have plenty of toys, but of course the most attractive toy is the one the other dog has. Watching them trot around neck in neck with the same toy in their mouths is unbelievably cute.

They put on the most pitiful act with baths. They shiver and carry on, and we feel sorry for them of course.

We are so lucky to have them! They're so sweet and friendly.

As far as potty training goes, I think we're on track. They go out every 4 hours or so (even in the middle of the night, ugh), and we still have a couple accidents that happen when we deviate from that schedule. They know how to sit, and they mostly listen. They have these crazy spurts of energy for a couple hours then they absolutely collapse. They are happy little puppies, and we adore them.

We have officially joined the ranks of the Newlyweds with dogs! It's good practice for parenthood, right?

Cold weather running

One of the best parts of running in the winter is running with the dogs! My parents' dog Mia and my sister's dog Henry love to run when it's cold and they don't get too overheated. Last week both of my sisters, my mom, me and the dogs went for a run on a bike trail and I did my best to document.

Mia is a little gray blur at the left of Mary's feet (Mary is in orange) and you can see Henry rarin' to go!

Story about this hat: Ryan was in St Louis for a weekend while I was shopping with my family in Lake of the Ozarks. We both bought my mom running hats for Christmas. I got the one we didn't give to her!

The little reflective bits on the back of Mary's hat look like Ninja eyes!

I couldn't get any pictures of the dogs while we were running...they're too fast, and they were too excited! But here's Henry coming in from the snow earlier this week:

And Mia in the snow!

Winter sucks, and I am SO READY for spring, but what is one of your favorite parts about the cold weather?

Side note: I am successfully back on the work-out wagon, thanks to a gym pass to the same gym my sister goes to! I shoot for 5 workouts a week, regardless of what they are--anything that takes 30 minutes counts, even if its a very leisurely elliptical session. Holding myself up to unreasonable expectations--6-7 workouts of set intensity--just set me up for failure.

New Job

I don't think I ever told you guys about my new job! I started at the very end of October right when all the house craziness really hit.

I'm a marketing rep (ahem, "community liaison") for a wound care center in town. I travel in a 45 mile radius trying to talk physicians into sending patients to our practice, and I volunteer at area senior centers to have a friendly presence among our biggest demographic.

I have my bachelor's in Public Relations, so I'm actually doing what I went to school for! Which is weird, doing the stuff I read about in my textbooks. I'm the first marketing person my wound care center has ever had, so I have to be really creative and fill up my time. Which is sometimes easeir said than done. Since I'm the only marketing person, I work by myself pretty much all the time. Which is nice, because I don't have to collaborate, but it kind of sucks, because I can't collaborate.

It's kind of my first "grown up" job. I'm meeting tons of people and I think this is going to be a great thing to add to my resume.

Are you working in the field you went to school for/intended to work in? Have you ever started a new job in the midst of a major house renovation?

Another WTH moment

Last night, while I was happily enjoying a fantastic episode of Glee at my parent's house, my husband was finishing up painting the trim in the office, so that I could rip up the carpet and take out staples, etc. We knew there was hardwood under the gross and dog-urine stained carpet, and Ryan was trying to get the painting done so I would have something to do.

I come back from watching Glee, and Ryan informs me that there is good news, and there is bad news.

Good news: lovely, honey colored hardwood floors underfoot for a good half of the room. Darker stained hardwood floors for the back half-no biggie. Character, right?

Bad news: Gaping hole in the honey colored hardwood floors, plugged with a random piece of wood. Also gaping hole by the closet, also patched with random piece of wood.

So like I said last week about the poisin ivy....WHO CUTS A GAPING HOLE IN INDESCRIBABLY GORGEOUS HARDWOOD FLOORS?!

Anyway. I have plans, plans that include salvaging the original hardwoods from the closet to patch the holes. Plans that might not work, but I have back-up plans that include rugs. Area rugs.

Honestly I'm not that bothered by it. When my sister and I were ripping down wood paneling in our house we live in now, we found a window that had been bricked over and stuffed with insulation behind a chunk of wood paneling.

Truly though, it's a small room, and we can definitely make it work. With houses as old as ours, you have to go into it expecting crap like that to happen. But it does concern me for the upstairs, which is 100% carpeted. We can hide stuff in a small room, but the upstairs has much bigger rooms, meaning any fixes we have to do will be more expensive.

Other happy house news: the entire main floor is 100% popcorn ceiling free, and our living room and office are both painted a cheerful, sunny yellow. Also we did yardwork almost all day Sunday, and the house already looks much more loved.

Have you ever had any home improvement or decorating surprises? And how good was Glee last night?!

Holy Hell

Holy Hell is exactly right. Ryan and I are both covered in poison ivy that we got from our own house. WHO LETS POISON IVY GROW IN THEIR FRONT YARD?!

Ryan did some yardwork Monday, trimming bushes in the front yard. I did his laundry late Monday night, and I've got poisin ivy and so does he. Not cool. And I'm in a wedding this weekend, so I've been having mild anxiety attacks that the bright red welts will show, but it looks like they are all going to be covered. Whew.

My friend Melissa is getting married tomorrow! I get off work at noon, then I have some stuff to finish up and a few errands to run and I am on the road. According to the intinerary, the b-maids are decorating the church from 3-6, so I will hopefully get there right at 3. I am failing miserably at the bridesmaid bit this week...I told Melissa's mom I'd bring some baked goods for the wedding breakfast tomorrow, but this house is sucking up 100% of my free time. I was up until 11:30 last night baking bread and muffins, and I just didn't have it in me to knock out cinnamon rolls too. So I'm cheating and stopping off at a bakery on the way to get something delicious. I'm heading home from the wedding after the reception tomorrow night, so it's going to be a marathon however many hours! I'm so excited for her...she's had such a time of it, and I know she's going to have a beautiful day.

Also, my little sister Mary is running at her state cross country meet tomorrow at 9 a.m. She's a senior, so this is her last rodeo. My sister Alli is video taping it for me :)

We're scraping popcorn ceilings. It's a much bigger project than I thought it would be, but hell, we'll NEVER do it while we live there since it's such a freaking mess, so we might as well do it right now, right? Right. Thankfully it's coming off like a dream, and revealing nicely textured walls that we don't have to patch or sand. Woohoo!

I am so worthless on Fridays....what about you?

Not Cool

You guys.

A dear, dear friend of mine, Melissa, is getting married a week from tomorrow. I'm a bridesmaid in her wedding.

Last night, her matron of honor called her and dropped out of the wedding.

She didn't drop out of the wedding because of a death in the family, or a sick husband or child, but because of selfish reasons. She was in charge of the bachelorette party, and she refused to let anyone help her plan it. The planning was very poor, prices for the party doubled overnight on Wednesday for all of the participants, and she called the bride, wanting the bride to front the extra money. She "tearfully" called another bridesmaid and turned over the planning of the party to her the day before yesterday.

In conclusion, this girl is embaressed. Her solution is to drop out of the wedding. Scratch that. She had her husband call Melissa's fiance and drop out FOR HER.

This post isn't to crucify the ex-matron of honor, but I wanted you all to have enough background to know that her reasons for dropping out are selfish. I feel that she needs to suck it up and stand up with Melissa regardless of how embaressed she is. Because that's what friends do.

I am heartbroken for Melissa. Her wedding planning road has been rocky at best, and I hurt for her, because she has had to work so hard to isolate the joy in this process. She has had to cling so hard to her love for her almost-husband in the face of some really ugly family nonsense and now, some really ugly friend nonsense. I wish I could do something for her, to ease this a bit. But all I can do right now is listen and do whatever I can to make sure she has a blast tomorrow at her bachelorette. Which doesn't feel like it's nearly enough.

It's just another reminder that wedding planning truly does bring out the best, and the worst in people. And sometimes it's a reminder of the warm and lovely people you have around you, and sometimes it's a reminder that a close friendship wasn't at all what you thought it would be.

I hate hate HATE this for her. She's so close to wedded bliss, then this happens.

Did bad behavior surface during your wedding/wedding planning? Do you have anything warm and fuzzy to pass on to Melissa? I know how much kind comments can help when bad things happen!

Long Lost Friends

So last night, Ryan and I went to my little sister's conference cross country meet. Ryan had to stay and do recruiting stuff, so we didn't leave until 6:30. We were both starving, so we went and ate at Panera. Ryan had brought some bank papers in to show me over dinner, but we both got so excited over the prospect of broccoli cheddar soup in a bread bowl that we lost track of them. So we're driving to Schnuck's to get some produce to tide us over until our next big grocery run, and Ryan realizes that he left said bank papers at Panera. I pull up at Panera, park haphazardly so Ryan could run in, and wait until he comes back. As I'm waiting, I spot my long lost friend Suz sitting inside! Of course I dash in and bear hug her.

I worked at an Italian restaurant in town for 5 years, all 5 of those years with Suz as the manager. We were buddies. She's one of my absolute favorite people. Her dad passed away a few years ago, and she quit her job and moved in with her mom, changed phone numbers several times and stopped going out. I've been looking everywhere for her ever since, and last night I finally found her!

Me and Suz on a Bella Italia lake trip:

Me and Suz at Halloween:

I wish I could've tracked her down so I could get her an invitation to the wedding, but she has been through so much and I am so glad that I found her again!

Hurray for long lost friends!

Have you lost track of anyone important to you?

Recent Happenings/Brain Dump

So....Ryan and I put an offer in on a house! And after lots of back and forthing, we have an inspection set up for tomorrow. We'll see what it turns up...I'm cautiously excited. The house was built in 1924, so there could be dozens of things majorly wrong with it. The house was really nicely renovated 6-7 years ago (wiring updated, plaster pulled out, new insulation, drywall put in, new windows, etc), so we should be in good shape. But we'll see, I'm not going to get all "we can put this there, and we should paint this room this color!" until we see how this inspection turns out. I have lots of ideas of course...but I'm not going to superimpose those ideas onto said house until this inspection is done.

Also, last week, I was driving home from an interview (more on that next week!) and I got in a wreck. Lame. But it turns out that a guy I went to grade school with works at my insurance agent's office! Weird, right?

Ryan and I have a double date tonight with my sister Alli and her super adorable BF Chris. He only eats cheese on pizza and he makes phenomenal popcorn.

Ryan and I are camping this weekend too! The weather looks like it's going to be gorgeous.

Oh and we turned in our first draft of edits on our wedding album. The list was...lengthy. And we need to pick out which pictures we actually want to print. Because we haven't done that yet. Oops!

I don't understand how people who have kids get anything done. I've been trying to get over to my Grandma's all week to finish up the binding on my quilt (I'm DYING to show it to you but I want to wait until it's finished) but it just hasn't happened. ARGH. Next week Grandma, I promise!

So what's rocking your world?