"Time flies like an arrow. Fruit flies like a banana." - Groucho Marx

And that my friends and loved ones is the kind of joke Kevin tells. You'll agree if he has ever tried to tell the Ford truck joke... Yikes!

Anyway, time is marching on, as it always does. I believe the little count down clock says 54 days. Less than two months. Does anyone else think that's just crazy? I mean, it was just yesterday that he asked me to marry him. I guess it was really just over a year ago, but it feels like yesterday. As my brother will tell you, I'm not the best at time. He mentioned the other day his ten year high school reunion is coming up. It didn't make sense to me because I had my ten year reunion last year. And my brother is four years younger than me. Then he ever so gently reminded me that my reunion was in 2008. And by "gently" I mean he smacked me in the forehead and basically called me old. Nice.

Back to wedding business. There have been some bumps in the road. But we're taking them in stride. All the vendors seem to be ready and have answered all our questions as they come up. Kevin and I are going to be working on our vows soon. We've been thinking about them but we'll start working with the Reverend on them. Time for little details now. Like the wedding favors and stuff.

One of the bumps is that we're still waiting for our invitations to arrive. Normally, I'm not a nail biter. I leave that to Kevin (who will be getting a manicure before the wedding if he likes it or not!). But these days I barely have any nails. I've been assured that she will mail them out this week with a rush delivery. The envelopes she said that were mailed to her were crushed and she had to reorder them. I politely but sternly explained my invitations were supposed to have been mailed to my guests 2 weeks ago. So, I'm a bit peeved.

Everything else is going well. I had my final gown fitting on Friday. I was really nervous and freaking out. All in all the day turned out well but started out really awful - which I will get into soon. My cousin and bridesmaid, Sara, joined me at the bridal shop for the fitting. She's finally back from Spain and I can't believe how tan she is. She looks great! She was helping me into these torture devices we call under garments when there was a knock at the "door" which is really a curtain. Karen, my soon-to-be sister-in-law poked her head in. I was so pleasantly surprised! I was thrilled! She helped me into those torture devices. She and Sara used great team work to figure out how to properly secure me in my gown. And then I stepped out of the curtain to that little pedestal to give them room and see how it looked. Suddenly, my mom showed up! I almost cried. I went from being unsure that anyone would be there with me to having all these important people there. I felt so loved and supported! My mom and Karen had never seen the gown in person. They were really happy. I was happy. But I was feeling self-conscious. I've been battling this red patchy rash all over my body. It's very prominent on my arms and legs. Well, luckily my legs are hidden away. But some of the rash on my arms shows. I wanted something to cover it up just in case. The staff there helped us figure out what we were looking for and had the perfect solution. I felt so much more at ease. Just before we left a woman poked her head out of a  dressing room. I thought she was looking for one of the seamstresses. She looked at me and told me how beautiful I looked and that she understands why I'm self-conscious but I shouldn't be because I looked beautiful. And I tried not to cry. My family told me I looked great which means a lot but to hear it from a stranger, it just makes it a little more true somehow. I mean, your family loves you no matter what and they see the person you are so you're beautiful to them anyway. So that ended on a positive note.

One of the other little bumps was the bridal shower invites. There was a typo for my mom's phone number. Kind of an issue. But we managed to take care of that. I collected as many phone numbers as I could and sent messages to the people I could about the error. I think almost everyone has been contacted now. Disaster averted.

The honeymoon plans have been set in motion. This is so much more less stress which is great for me! I'm pretty sure the stress of everything is what's kind set this rash on me. Kevin and I booked our trip to the West Coast. We leave for San Diego on September 6th. We return from Seattle on September 22nd. It's going to be great! I can't wait. We're not planning every moment of every day. We are spending some time in San Diego to see the sites. Then we have a few spots here and there we want to see but nothing else set in stone. I talked to a friend that's from California. She just took her family out there for a vacation and they had a few plans scheduled but nothing else strictly set. She said it was the best vacation they've had. That's what we want, too. I think we're going to make a stop at Disneyland. Kevin's never been to any of the Disney parks. I've never been to Disneyland so this will be great!

Jinx!

Something people don't really know about me is that I have an irrational fear. Well, a few of those. But the one I'm referring to now is in regards to planning. I've this thought that if I make a plan and I share it too soon, then the plans will fall apart and I'll basically jinx myself. Well, that seems to have happened.

The honeymoon plans have changed. Europe just wasn't meant to be right now. We're not saying never. Just not right now. Slovenia will have to wait. Sigh. Kevin and I canceled our Europe plans and were devising a new plan. He thought on his own for a bit while I put my thinking cap on, too. We both came up with the same kind of idea. Seattle. The plan is still in the works. The idea is we'll fly to San Diego and rent a car, hopefully a convertible. We'll drive up the Pacific Coast Highway 101 to Seattle. We'll take two weeks and just enjoy ourselves. We'll take in all that we can of the Pacific Coast. We're planning on a little trip out of the country to Victoria, British Columbia.

Dates aren't set yet but it will be in September since we already had the time off approved with our jobs. We're excited. There's a lot to do and see and we're hoping we'll have time for some side trips to see our friends and family along the way.

At the end of the trip, my mom and my brother will most likely be joining us in Seattle. My mom and dad were engaged on Mt. Rainier. Paradise Lookout, if I remember correctly. One of Dad's final wishes was to have some of his remains left at that spot. So we'll have a nice family moment together.

If any one has suggestions of places to see or things to do along the way, please let us know. We're really open to suggestions.

Otherwise, the planning is coming along well. Time is flying by for us. It's already summer. It seems like we just got engaged a few months ago. Crazy!

Stressed? Me?

I'm awake. It's 9:30 AM as I sit to write this. Seriously? 9:30 AM? This is prime sleeping time! I did fall asleep somewhere around 3 AM. So really it's not that big of a deal. But I'd still be asleep if I hadn't been having crazy nightmares. 

In my dream it was the wedding day. We weren't at the right location. It was some dumpy looking hotel and yard in the middle of nowhere. No one's there to help me get in my gown. My Uncle Dave isn't there because some estranged family member's kids are acting up so he has to go babysit them. Now I'm freaking out because I don't know who will walk me down the aisle. My jewelry isn't there so I don't have anything to wear. Nothing is on time and no one will tell me what is going on. There was some other chaos going on and it freaked me out and I woke up. Good times. 

In reality, I am really stressed out for a number of reasons. Obviously more so than I thought since now I'm having nightmares. I think what I need today is a good day with Mom to just vent and get some grounding. She has a good way of getting me back to normal. I need the proverbial slap in the face to stop my freak-out. 

We've been having some difficulty with our printer for our wedding invitations and other stationary. I tried to be really organized and get all the information together in a spreadsheet for her. I labeled everything and added comments and sent her an email with an explanation. She sent me images of the samples through the website. There were a bunch of mistakes. First of all, the names were printed as Mandy & Kevin Withem. Now, what baffles me is that she made the invitations already and had our separate names spelled correctly. I'm sure there are men somewhere that take the woman's last name. But that's pretty unusual I think. So how on earth did she screw that up? Whatever. Easy to fix. There were some other errors. And she didn't understand the addresses I sent her. Or how the names should look. Now, I've written quite a few things. I've taken technical writing courses. I worked with this really great guy at Harper that told me, "Write so a gorilla can do it." Really good advice. I made a training manual for the AV student workers at Harper. I have a pretty good idea of how to be clear and concise. I used Excel for the spreadsheet. Columns and rows were labeled. Tabs were labeled. I don't really understand what the issue was. But somehow she had an issue. Back and forth the emails went. She never gave me her number so I couldn't talk to her over the phone. She works out of Texas so that wasn't going to work either. Finally, yesterday she messaged me and I think all the bugs are worked out. But we'll see. The problem is, I needed to mail these things out the last week of June so people have ample time to plan and what-not since it is technically a holiday weekend. She needs 6-8 weeks to get them done. PROBLEM! Even if I go with another company now there won't be time. So we'll see how these turn out. If they suck I'm sorry. But let's be honest, most people don't keep the invitations anyway. Most people throw them away. Though, I hope you'll recycle them at least. I know some of my family will keep them in scrapbooks, which is really sweet. 

BAH!

Anyway, I had my first bridal gown fitting yesterday. It went really well. The length of the dress is pretty good. Val thinks it's a bit short but I have to be honest,  I don't care. It's just less likely I'll trip on it. And I'll be wearing some slippers at the reception anyway, so the dress will be a good length then. One of the ushers, Jay, came with me. We had been hanging out at the mall. Let me tell you a little about Jay. He's my brother's best friend. He's basically my other brother. He's a bit of an ass. Definitely interesting. His hair changes more frequently than most women's. If you've met him, you'll recognize him by the barcode tattoo on his neck. And, no, it doesn't actually scan. We've tried. He's a no nonsense kind of guy. He doesn't sugarcoat anything. So I was a little nervous about him being there but also glad. I knew I'd get an honest answer. He was really great. We had a good time and we decided he's my back up if for some reason my bridesmaids can't get me in my dress. He's very knowledgeable about this stuff. Which makes me wonder a little. He's just very well rounded. He is single, ladies, and looking. So the fitting was quick and mostly painless. And more excitingly, inexpensive. YAY!

Things are moving along. Today while my mom is out, I'm going to work on some decoration stuff. Then I'll head over to her house for some much needed down time and venting. 

Less than three months. I think we're doing well. 

Elizabeth A.K.A. Eli, the Hoochie

Elizabeth or Eli (the Mexican version of Ellie) as we usually call her (or The Hoochie as she is sometimes known), is one of my best friends. She and I met in the summer of 2006. We were one of the 99's. The 99's was a group of nursing students that took a course (NUR199) over the summer before starting the second year of nursing school. For many of us, it was because we hadn't quite made it through and were rejoining nursing school.

We became good friends. She was a bit quiet and shy at first. But once she warmed up she was hilarious. She's still like that. We tease each other all the time. Usually she gets me pretty good. Well, we were study buddies. Often we'd be at the Starbucks at the Streets of Woodfield studying/watching people. Or we'd hang out at my house and my dad would try to help us study. And then there were the naps. Oh the nice cozy naps. Anyway, we were together a lot. We cried together; we celebrated together. She was #1 and I was #2, a story she can tell you if she really wants. It's a different kind of bond people have when they're in nursing school. You do things together that just aren't really normal. For example, wiping butts, wound care, bed baths, etc. She was a regular at my house. I'm pretty sure that Dad thought of her as his other daughter. He could always make her laugh. When I called to tell her the awful news of his death she was at a party. I felt terrible for ruining her party. I could hear the laughter and fun in the background. She came to the hospital anyway. She was there, holding our hands and remembering his life with us.

So when Kevin asked me to marry him (exactly one year ago today), I of course had to call her and tell her the news. When I got back from our vacation to Memphis, I made a date to hang out with her. We stopped at the Starbucks near her house and we got coffee. She was so excited about the recent engagement. And I thought she was going to have a heart attack when I asked her to be a bridesmaid. She accepted after a moment of shock.

I can think of no better person to have with me when I marry Kevin. She's been through so much with me. She was the girl I ran to after my dates with Kevin to talk about what happened. She was with me the night I finally decided to stop dodging Kevin and invited him out to my brother's birthday party. Let's suffice it to say she was a very good and caring friend that night. I still remember her telling me she thought he was weird. And she's right, he is. But I like it. Over time, they got to know each other better. Now I can say with confidence that they are friends as well. 

About a week ago, Eli called me to break some news. There's a family emergency in Mexico. There are some matters that need to be handled and she will be unable to be in the wedding. She is very upset by this. She's tried everything within her power to change the time around when she needs to be in Mexico but there's nothing she can do. Kevin and I are not angry or upset with her. We firmly believe that family comes first. Though we would love for her to be in the wedding, we understand these matters take precedence. After talking it over, we have decided that we will not be asking another person to join the wedding party. Eli is our bridesmaid even if she can't be there they day of the wedding. She's helped us so much with planning and ideas. We could never replace her. And I don't want to. Though she won't be with us, we know she'll be thinking of us. We've asked her to still be a part of everything, all the things bridesmaids do. Without her, I don't know if Kevin and I would even have gotten this far together. She's a great friend. We love her dearly!

We truly hope the family matters in Mexico go smoothly and for the best. We hope she returns safely and quickly. And when she gets back, we'll probably have a party so she can wear that oh-so-sexy dress she bought for the wedding!

Thank you, Eli! We love you!

EuroTrip?

What's more exciting than getting married? The honeymoon! Kevin and I have been planning the honeymoon for a while. At first we decided to stay within the United States. But then we talked it over and talked to other people. We decided to go abroad. When will we ever have this opportunity again? Maybe not for many years, if ever.
Kevin has never been out of the country. This is going to be exciting and really great for him. Well, both of us. But really interesting for him. Culture shock! Also, if you know Kevin, you know he's a picky eater. So we'll see how this goes! I promise, I'll take pictures!
Princess offers a Grand Mediterranean cruise for varying lengths. We chose the 12 day cruise. This is where we started our planning. We start in Barcelona, Spain. We thought it would be nice to stay a couple days in Spain before the cruise to see the area. We started looking a little more and somehow we decided we'd fly from Chicago to Toulouse, France. I think there was a book I read that took place in Toulouse. This was many years ago but I've always wanted to go. I'm sure it'll be nothing like the book I read but I don't care. I still want to see it. Anyway, Kevin wants to go because of his new interest in wine. It seems Toulouse is in between two major wine countries. What they are I couldn't tell you. I believe one is Bordeaux. I could be wrong. In any case, we've decided we'll take a train from Toulouse to Barcelona. This will be an adventure in and of itself.
We'll spend a couple days in Barcelona before the cruise.
From Barcelona, we port in Monte Carlo, Monaco. We're thinking of taking a land excursion there, the French Riviera Drive. It's a scenic look at Monaco. I think there's a stop in a nearby town. I don't have the print out of the exact details.
From Monaco, we go to Florence/Pisa. There we will see the famous Leaning Tower of Pisa and the cathedral next to it. After Florence/Pisa, we head to Rome. We're really excited about Rome. We've reserved our spot to tour St. Peter's, the Sistine Chapel and the Colosseum. As you know, Kevin and I are nerds and enjoy history. So this is pretty awesome. A person I work with at the hospital just went to Italy. She said luckily her travel agent got her and her travel partner in to a group tour of Rome. When they were outside the Vatican, it was a 4 hour wait. But since they were part of a tour, they were able to walk right in. Very good information to have.
From Rome, we head to Naples/Capri. I know, I know. So many people have told us Naples is awful and have called it the "armpit of the world." One of Kevin's friends even told us not to get off the boat there. But we are. I desperately want to see Pompeii. And we're also taking a day trip of the Amalfi Coastal drive. Sounded pretty and it was part of the Pompeii package.
The next day we're at sea. I think we'll get a nice massage and lounge and try really hard not to get sun burned.
Then we head to Greece. We're spending a few hours on the beach at Mykonos. The photos are really beautiful and I can't wait. Though, I'm worried I'm going to die in the sun.
The next stop is Istanbul (not Constantinople), Turkey. There's a tour of St. Sophia, Topkapi, the Blue Mosque, and the Boshporus area. Kevin is excited because they show how to make carpets. I had to break the news to him that they do not in fact fly. He doesn't believe me.
After that we head to Ephesus, Turkey. It's a short stay there. And we signed up to see the Virgin Mary Shrine. This is the place where the Virgin Mary lived at the end of her life. The Catholic Church recognizes it as the last home she had before her death. Daily masses are held there.
The next stop is Athens, Greece. Again, I'm super excited about this. Here we'll see the Acropolis, Plaka and the Temple of Poseidon.
After Athens we have a day at sea where I'm sure we'll rest and try to recover from all the activity. And I think I'll get my nails done.
Then we port in Venice. We'll visit San Giorgio, the Murano Glass Factory and take a Gondola ride.
We have one night left on the ship and then we leave our cruise.

But that's not really the end. We thought we'd spend a couple days in Italy to finish things up. But then Kevin had a brilliant idea. He thought maybe we could travel a little more outside of Italy since we had already spent some time there. So we started looking at the map. On one of the longer cruises we looked at there was a stop in Slovenia. Some of our friends told us that Slovenia (formerly part of Yugoslavia) was really lovely. So we started looking at Slovenia. We found Bled. Bled is a touristy area. Though, I'd venture to say not many people I know have ever been there. I think maybe it's more touristy for Europeans. We looked at pictures and read up on the area. It's a town on Lake Bled. The pictures are amazing! Just breathtaking. There's a small island with a church on it. There's a boat that takes a trip out there and people can tour the church and the little island. From Bled we'll drive to the bigger town, which I have forgotten the name of, where the international airport is and we'll fly home.

Are you tired yet? I'm exhausted just from trying to keep track of it all! We are very lucky that both our jobs have been very accommodating in the needed time off. Our coworkers have been a great help as well.
So basically the whole month of September is jam packed full of fun. We start off getting married and then traveling Europe. I can't wait!

Things are going well with the planning. I'm trying to get all the invitation stuff done soon. The person that's making them is driving me a little insane but that's okay. As long as I can mail them out two months before the wedding I'll be happy.
The florist was great. We're really happy with the ideas she had. And she's super affordable. Bonus!

So far so good. Kevin hasn't killed me during my bridal meltdowns. And I haven't killed him during his less than brilliant moments. I think we'll actually make it!

Check. Check. Almost Done!

It's decided. I'm totally awful at updating this thing. Sorry! Well, let's see. Where are we? It's the end of April. Can you believe it? I'm so shocked! Actually, today is my little brother's birthday. He's 27. Of course, in my head he's perpetually 6 years old. My lil' Kissyfur! He hates that but he loved it when he was 6. My how he's grown...

Anyway, so Kevin has been productive. He and his dad just bought another Corvair. It's a 1964. It's this beautiful shade of red. It's just gorgeous. So that makes the fourth Corvair. Granted, the '61 is a parts car. The '63 is a work in progress. And the '65 is pretty much complete. I think the '64 has a few issues that they're working on but nothing major. I'm looking forward to a ride!
Besides that, Kevin has picked out the tuxedos for the groomsmen. He's got a special idea for his own tux. We just have to do a little research to find what we need to go with it. He ordered some stuff for the wedding. I'm so happy. That's one more thing checked off our super long list.

We had our tasting. My mom and brother came along. It was super yummy. We really had fun trying the different foods. And wine, of course. Which, Kevin has since started drinking reds. It's very cool. I'm really looking forward to our trip to Italy now. You have to drink red wine in Italy! Anyway, so more decisions have been made and stuff is planned for the reception. We have to meet with the florist still. That's on May 9th. I'm excited. I think that's the last big thing we have to do.

The reverend has been booked. The bridal party stylists have been reserved. I think a bunch of people have reserved rooms. Thanks to Mom for getting people organized with that. If you haven't reserved your room, you might want to hurry. Pheasant Run has some rooms available. Country Inn and Suites is still open, too.

Next on our list is getting our passports. I thought I knew where my old expired passport was. Yeah, no. I have no idea. But I was certain that my mom still had my birth certificate. Yeah, no. No clue where that is either. So I requested a copy from El Paso County where I was born. They were super fast. It did cost more than I had expected, $50, but I put the order in late on a Friday night well after closing time. By 7AM Colorado time I received an email confirming my order and giving me a UPS tracking number! So the passport paperwork is filled out. Pictures obtained. Birth certificates in hand. We're going to the post office today to apply. It's exciting! Kevin's never left the country before. And the last time he flew anywhere was in '95 or '96 I think. Yay! We're really looking forward to the wedding and the honeymoon!

And, I think we've changed our minds about the first dance song. We picked another song that's not as slow and low as the previous song. We still love that song but just not what we want for a first dance song. Now we've picked a song from RENT. It's going to be amazing! I just know it. I can actually see us dancing to this song. It might be rough since neither of us dance well but at least it will be entertaining!

I think we're doing well. We need to get some things engraved. We're working on ordering our stationary. It's all coming together. It's a great feeling. I have no idea what I'm going to do with myself when all this planning is done. I'll have tons of free time again. Weird!

We had a great Easter. Kevin's sister and her family came over. We had brunch at a country club somewhere... yeah, I'm bad with directions and stuff. Anyway, it was great. Lots of great food, the Easter Bunny, and mimosas! Then we went back to the house and the kids hunted for Easter eggs. Boy were there a lot! Aidan found lots and Megan was distracted by the candy inside. They both got a few great gifts from the Easter Bunny. Karen and Tom got a really nice cast iron dish. And the Easter Bunny even remembered me and Kevin. I think the Easter Bunny went a little crazy with his gift giving but we're very grateful! We got a Kindle! For those of you that don't know, it's an electronic library. It's a digital tablet that connects to the Internet. You can download books on to the device. Books vary in price. Some are as low as 99 cents! The Kindle holds up to 3,500 books! It's amazing. We're really excited about it. It's going to be great for the plane ride! Kevin got an extra fun gift. It's some sort of marshmallow or potato gun. It's a science project in a box from the guys that do Myth Busters.

We hope you all had a happy Easter, too!

Well that's it for now. I'll post again soon-ish. You know me.

Less Than 5 Months Away!

We've been planning our wedding for a while now. It's just a part of my life. I don't really think about it in regards to time. But the other day I checked my email and there was a new message. The subject line read, "Five Months To Go!" My heart skipped a beat and my stomach churned.

I feel so far behind in everything but at the same time I'm so excited to marry Kevin. I'm very emotional. Those of you that have seen me lately can attest to that. I've got my wedding planning books and my magazines. I've been watching wedding shows on television. I'm in wedding mode. But when I look at my list of things to do and the timeline, I see so many unchecked boxes. I started to panic. I was a bit much for Kevin to handle. So I went to the person I knew could handle my panicked, crying, speed talking, irrational, overly emotional, generally crazy self. My mom. I sat down with her and we talked and went through every detail I had planned and things I had yet to do. She put everything into perspective and helped me calm down and see the light at the end of tunnel. We're doing fine. Sure not every thing from the 12-9 months checklist boxes is checked off but we're in the process of getting it done. We'll be fine.

Some of you have given me great ideas. You've been inspirational. Kevin and I are really happy. Thanks for that! We're working on ideas for the centerpieces. We have an appointment today at 10am with the wedding coordinator for Pheasant Run to do our tasting. After that we're meeting with the florist. It's going to be a busy day. I think we'll have fun, though.

Last Saturday we met with the reverend. His name is Allen Eaton. He actually lives in Schaumburg. He was recommended to us by another reverend. The meeting was about an hour long. It was great. He put us at ease and started to get to know us. He has a great sense of humor which we really love. He's our guy. We're so happy to have found him. What we really like is that he only likes taking one wedding a day. Some people have several weddings to officate in a day. He prefers to focus on one couple at a time. He's given us some great ideas for the ceremony and kind of filled us in on exactly what we need to do. I've checked that box off.

Tuesday we have an appointment with the videographer. If we can do what we have planned, you better bring some tissues. It'll be a tear jerker for sure. I will, of course, have my waterproof mascara. We'll see what he says.

I saw my dad's sisters and some of my cousins this past Sunday. Kevin, my cousin fighting cancer, has hair! It looks great. He's doing pretty well. He gets a femur and a knee this week. We're really excited. He'll finally be able to bend his knee! Woohoo! The family seems really excited for our wedding. I'm just happy to celebrate with everyone.

Oh, before I forget. The Country Inn and Suites said their check-in time is 3pm. I don't know how willing they are to check you in before then. I thought I should tell everyone in case they don't tell you when you book your room. To book your room, you just need to give them a credit card number. It won't be charged until the date of your stay. The credit card just holds your reservation. There's been some confusion with that one.

So that's about it. I'll let you all know how things go later today. Also, we really like reading your comments. Hint hint nudge nudge.

I keep telling Kevin people would like to read his thoughts too but he disagrees. So you know, if you'd like to hear from him, let us know!