Wednesday, March 31, 2010

Not that one!


So, my ultra cool brother was over here last night, helping us with an installation issue (new disposal). We were talking about getting my man a new car! We're in research mode. He wanted to see the cars we were looking at, so I pulled them up on my laptop. When I got to one of them (who shall remain nameless to protect the innocent), he yelped "oh come on now, don't make him drive THAT!" Doh? Apparently, I had selected a very uncool car. Suddenly, I am freaking out about this decision! I realize it's the first big purchase we'll make as a married couple, and I DO NOT want anyone to think that I just took over the decision and picked something blah or that screamed "he's taken now". I don't want that! This is his first brand spanking new car! I want it to be awesome for him. I want him to be as excited about this as I was when I drove off the lot in MY first new car, my Ruby (that's her above the day I bought her). Two of the cars got my brother's stamp of approval. So, now my focus has shifted to those. We're supposed to go test drive them on Saturday. I really hope he gets excited at that point. I'm ecstatic about it!

Tuesday, March 30, 2010

Alarms and thinking back


So, I am running EXTREMELY late today. No time for a full post. So, I'll give an update and a memory instead. :)

The update is on the front yard. We discovered the hole underneath the cones to be about 8 feet deep and large enough to be a grave site. That was a bit disconcerting. The good news, the city was able to correct the issue and fill the hole while we were at work Monday. Now that's pretty quick for a city. I'll give them props on that. Hopefully, no other rivers will spring up in our lawn.

The memory is of us in Vegas. It was an amazing trip. It was in celebration of my graduation and our six month anniversary. I was so in love that I think I floated the entire trip. The photo above was one snapped during the fountain show at the Bellagio. Heaven. There are actually better photos from this trip, but this one is special to me. It was the day of our anniversary, and I knew that day that I would have married him there in Vegas if he'd asked. It was one of the best days yet!

Photo by him.

Monday, March 29, 2010

Sundays are my favorites

Sunday is tops in my book. Almost every Sunday, I get to spend all day with just my husband. There are exception, of course, but they are rare. Most Sundays, we literally lounge together, doing anything we please. The one stipulation....it can't require real clothing. It's just so laid back, and we get to be so close to each other. I cook; he reads. We watch TV or craft together. It's slow and quiet time together. And I revel in it. Yeah, Sundays really are the best.

But now, it's Monday. Ugh. Wish me luck.

Sunday, March 28, 2010

Oh Saturday....


So, this is how I spent my Saturday night. Fun right?! There was literally a river in my front yard. A RIVER! You might not be able to see it too well in that photo, but there is literally a stream of water gushing out of the ground into the street. The city had to come out with a "suction truck" and suck water out of our front yard after dark. It was pretty obnoxious, and of course, since they were IN our yard, we felt we had to be home. They were still working in the yard when we went to bed.


And this is what they left us to wake up to. Pretty huh? Sheesh! I don't know what else they'll have to do, since it was a water main break and not something that actually belongs/is connected to our house. At least they had the courtesy to turn the water back on.

Saturday, March 27, 2010

My very own dungeon

Every Saturday morning (or the occasional Sunday, if need be), my front living room turns into a lair. It's quite the funny little lair, lined with hardback books, web cams, laptops, and boys (because the only girl is on the other side of the web cam). And what is this strange ritual? It's Dungeons & Dragons time! Yeah, almost every Saturday, a D&D game is played from 10:30am to about 4pm in my front room. It's the nerdiest, cutest thing I've ever witnessed. Two people, a couple that ROCKED our wedding, video conference in via Oovoo from Colorado just to keep the games going. My husband and two of his friends take turns being the Dungeon Master, which means they run games of their own design. Running a game takes a creative mind, a heap of knowledge about the game, and patience. They love this game. And I love that it's social and keeps them close friends.

My role in this? I cook breakfast. I try to change it up every Saturday, but at this point, there's been a ton of repeats. Hey, we've been doing it at our place since we moved in here in November 2008. Anyone have any good breakfast ideas that for these gamer guys?

Oh, and if you want to see what my man and one of his friends are doing, please visit their gaming blog: Philosophia Polyhedra.

I'm off to make muffins!

Thursday, March 25, 2010

Test herbs

Look at my little sprouts! I've really wanted to start growing herbs and vegetables for quite some time. I've never been good with plants though, so I thought I'd start with a small scale test set. I don't want to invest in tools, seeds, and soil if I'm not going to be able to grow actual edibles. I asked my hubby for an herb garden two weeks ago....and I actually have sprouts!!! Three of the five little terra cotta pots have lovely little green babies popping up. I'm so tickled! I can't wait til they get a little bigger. I've got big plans for them. Pesto is at the top of the list.


Wednesday, March 24, 2010

Death and taxes

Ah, the certainties in life! I finally did our taxes yesterday. I'm WAY LATE! Folks, I'm an accountant. It's just unacceptable to me to file this late. I had a little bit on my plate in February this year though (like, for instance, a fantastic wedding complete with family flying from Italy and a week-long honeymoon in Baltimore), so I'll give myself some leeway.

It's so odd to do your taxes for just a few months ago and have to fill the marital status out as a different status as you are currently. But, we opted not to have a December wedding, so we were still single on December 31st. This means I had to file two separate returns. One complicated (mine) and one almost too simple (his). On mine, I have to put in info from my cosmetics business, and I get to deduct my student loan interest. For his, I literally just filled out the info on his W-2. Huh? I haven't had so little to fill in on a tax form since I was 17! I had to chuckle at the difference in approaches here. Thankfully, neither of us owed any money! We're not getting back any sort of huge windfall, but what we are getting will go toward making an even prettier down payment on a new car for my husband. I think it's a good use for the refund. If we didn't have the car to buy, I think I'd opt for a Roth IRA. Maybe next year when we're closer to one of our financial goals. I told you, all I seem to want to do these days is plan!

Are your taxes done?

Tuesday, March 23, 2010

30 days

So, have you seen the reality series 30 Days? I streamed it on Netflix. It's hosted by, and on certain issues features, the guy that did Super Size Me, Morgan Spurlock. The premise is that a person has to go live a life that they aren't accustomed to for 30 days to gain new insight and perspective.

Well, we've just done our first 30 days of marriage. It has actually been quite insightful. It makes me want to be a better person....for us. Mostly though, it's been utterly comfortable. I find myself doing a lot of one key thing: planning. All sorts and variations of plans are inspiring me! It's like a whole new world opened up, and I want to embrace that new place with everything I've got. We are definitely better together, and being married just makes me feel secure in a way that simply living with him couldn't. It's wonderful.

I'll fill you all in on some of the plans soon!

Monday, March 22, 2010

Mondays wear me out


Okay. I ran late on the first part of getting ready this morning, and therefore, missed out on the couple minutes of snuggle I get after I put my makeup on. Then, my hot breakfast cereal decided to cascade out of the bowl and into the bottom of the microwave in a most stellar fashion of hot mush. So now, I am standing at the kitchen counter eating cold cereal instead, determined that this is no indication of how my Monday is going to be.

Yesterday, I made the entire week's worth of healthy meals for my husband and I. I pre-cooked two healthy dinners as well. I have my gym bag packed and in the car. I believe my foot has healed enough to allow me to put on a tennis shoe, and so no excuses. I will be working out today. I want this to be the week I make other week aspire to be! Yes, I believe it (and I) can be just that darned good!

Wish me luck.

Image from www.thepositivelife.com.

Sunday, March 21, 2010

An evening in introspection

Last night was my company's annual banquet. My husband looked SO good! Seriously handsome. I was just happy because I was able to wear my shoes and self-made jewelry from my wedding. It was nice to have on....nice to know it will be usable well after the wedding.

Anyhow, this year is different for two reasons. One, I'm not stag anymore! I've gone to those alone for quite a few years. My husband came as my year-long boyfriend last year, but it's much nicer to introduce him to my coworkers as my husband. Two, it was my ten year anniversary. In my company that means you get called up to the stage with a brief description of who you are. They hand you a very heavy glass award and take a photo with you. Really, no one pays attention, and being somewhere for ten years can be both good and bad, so I didn't expect it to matter at all to me. Just an excuse to buy a nicer than normal dress (since I had to go onto the stage) and something to put on my desk.

Turns out it matters more to me than I expected. That lady that shares and office with me told me how happy she is that she's worked with me for ten years. People congratulated me. I know for a fact that my boss appreciates me. I found myself sitting at our table, with a couple tears streaming down my cheeks. It was both happy and perhaps a little disappointed. I wish I'd been more adventurous in my career. When I told my husband how I felt, he told me not to regret the choices I've made because they have brought me to this moment. Had I chosen differently somewhere along the way, then I might not be in the car with him holding a trophy. I might not even know him at all. Well, he's just not worth giving up for anything, even a more adventurous career.

To a ten-year anniversary and our new marriage! It's been a fun and crazy month.

Friday, March 19, 2010

What now?


So....what do you do with a gorgeous wedding gown once you have donned it, made memories in it, and tossed it aside after the party?

Thursday, March 18, 2010

Momentum ceased!

Well, the whole getting fit and healthy thing is has been derailed this week. The sunburn on my foot has made it impossible to go to the gym, as I'm certain I'd cry in agony if I attempted to tie a shoe onto it. Add that to the fact that it's just a darn busy week (St. Patty's yesterday, a friend in town for dinner tonight, hairdresser bridesmaid's birthday party Friday, and my company banquet on Saturday). I feel like I have to start all over on the working out bit next week. I'm still eating (mostly) healthy, low cal meals. It's frustrating to feel like I'm starting over repeatedly. I just hope I don't decide NOT to start over again one of these days.

Here's to a new chance to do it right.....every single week.

Wednesday, March 17, 2010

Luck of the Irish

Happy St. Patrick's Day to you all! I hope you've donned your green proudly and declared yourself Irish for the day. If not, what the heck are you waiting for?! Grab a black and tan and meet me at the pub.

As I said yesterday, I have always loved St. Patty's Day. Always. How can you not?! You get to wear a "costume" and celebrate a heritage while drinking beer and eating shepherd's pie. Two years ago, I celebrated my first St. Pat's with my then boyfriend. We'd met exactly 30 days earlier. He left early to go to a local pub and save a table for me and two of my friends, just so that we would actually GET a table. We had a fun evening complete with green devil horns), then trekked back to his place. We both settled in on his recliner, me in his lap. His roommate left to get some DVD rental, since nothing was on. I closed my eyes and nestled on in, all comfy and cozy and utterly happy. He said my name, and I didn't open my eyes, just gave him a little "hmm?" He said it again, this time I looked at him because I'd obviously missed something. Then he said it. He told me he loved me for the very first time....both of us in his recliner.....on St. Patty's Day. I believe my reaction was of disbelief at what I'd just heard and what he calls "eyes as big as saucers". So he said it again. I got so giddy I thought my heart would leap right out of my chest! We kissed and snuggled some more. Then we got teased mercilessly for being mushy by said roommate because we hadn't even bothered to turn the television on because we were "too busy making eyes at each other".

I thought I'd always loved this holiday just because it was silly fun. Now, I love it because it reminds me of the first time my husband told me he loved me, ever. Priceless.

Love you baby!

Tuesday, March 16, 2010

Going green....

Tomorrow is St. Patrick's Day! And so I'm green with envy.....and thought I'd share some inspiration so that you can get your green on tomorrow!

How about this sweet little glass tile pendent from naturellechic on Etsy.

Or these really adorable reusable grocery sacks from Waste-less.

Or perhaps some adorable green pumps?! Yeah, you'll have to click the link for those. They refused to upload.

Inspired yet??

Monday, March 15, 2010

My favorite detail


I really wanted to find something different for vases at the wedding. I didn't want to shell out for vases, and really, they just didn't have enough personality. That is to say that the ones I could afford had no personality. After looking around, I settled on wine bottles. I love colored glass, and I certainly do not mind cooking with/enjoying a glass of wine. Perfect. Well, sort of. I didn't like that they'd all be different labels. Then I didn't like them all naked. After quite a bit of playing around and searching the internet for ideas, I came up with "custom" wine labels. I used two of our engagement photos, found a lovely Italian phrase for the "name of the wine" and used two different quotes under our photo. I wrote the back label, complete with a description of the wine and a warning label. I printed the labels on cardstock and used spray adhesive to make them stick to de-labeled wine bottles. The bottles were a combined effort. Some were mine. The rest came from friends that loved the idea.


The finished product was so completely wonderful! People literally snatched them up at the end of the night. I put two away for myself, and there was actually only one spare bottle when we got home....out of 24 bottles! To me, that's definitely a sign of how much people enjoyed them. These were definitely my DIY pride and joy. A set is on my mantle, and I don't see them coming down any time soon!

Top photo by A Love Story Photography. Bottom by me. I'll post the wording on the labels tomorrow! :)

Sunday, March 14, 2010

Busy bee Sunday

Sorry there wasn't a post yesterday. I ran out the door early to see if I could secure a little side work. The renaissance festival that I love starts soon. I really wanted to bartend. I love talking to people and playing the part. Most of my friends are bartenders too, so it seemed the thing to do. What was NOT the thing was for them to make us stand in a line outside in direct sunlight for over three hours just to take a "math test" that took me, oh, a full sixty seconds to do (and that's just because I actually wanted to do it correctly and not make a fool of myself). Then tell me to wait some more. I was there from 11-4:30. Plus a two hour drive. Never got so much as an interview, and oh.....by the way.....they don't have any pub jobs available anyway. WOW! One of the most ridiculous things I have ever done. If I didn't love being around my friends and in costume so much, I'd ban that damned place.

So, today, I have to fit in my entire weekend worth of chores because yesterday was a total and utter degrading waste of time. Better, happier, more sun-shiner post to start off the week tomorrow. I promise.

Friday, March 12, 2010

My Italian needs work


Week one of "I can do better" eating, gone to the gym twice, gone to belly dance class, I lost.....NADA! Sheesh. Oh well. And on to another topic.

We were honored to have four members of my husband's family fly in from Italy to attend our wedding. To me, that's huge! That tells you how important it was to them. Heck, I had friends and family from the area that ended up not attending. My dad couldn't make it from Oregon, so to have his grandmother, two aunts, and uncle come from Italy left me completely awestruck. I did try to make them feel at home, but I don't feel I did enough. I regret not having time to brush up on my Italian (yeah, I'm learning for my groom's family) in order to talk to them more. It was just so chaotic.....fun but chaotic. I never had a chance to listen to my Italian lessons, and probably wouldn't have been able to concentrate on it even if I had! My brain honestly felt like a storage unit. Thankfully, the storage unit worked fairly well and there were no major slip ups or forgotten items on my end. I just hope they felt welcomed and appreciated because they certainly were to me. If your significant other's family has different first language than yours, I highly recommend that you brush up on it well before the weeks leading to the wedding. There will not be time. I should have taken my mother-in-law's offer of a weekly call....in Italian. I hope to make amends when I visit Italy, and actually hold a conversation with them....even if it is just a basic one!

Part of my new family....taken by Nichole.

Thursday, March 11, 2010

What a workout!


Ladies! If you haven't ever tried belly dancing, go find a class. Seriously, you will not be disappointed. It's a great workout. It's fun. And it's HOT. We just learned a dance that my instructor, the fabulous Cathy Barton, calls Slinky Dink. That's because you literally slink around the whole time. It's a duet. It's sensual. I feel 100% feminine doing it. Yeah, I love my dance classes. The other dance we're learning has a move called a "Ho Walk". Yeah, yeah, I know it sounds wretched, but it looks great. I highly endorse finding a class. They make me feel way better about myself and being a curvy, sassy woman. Huzzah!

Me at last summer's hafflah.

Wednesday, March 10, 2010

Details to die for



These were out wedding favors. We used lovely, plantable tags full of wildflower seeds. I actually wrote on each one of these tags in colors that blended with the wedding and the beautiful silk ribbon I'd been using. Each bag contained two freshly-made almond biscotti from Ravelin Bakery in Denton, TX. They're awesone! The biscotti were chock full of nuts and this lovely citrus zing. This tag and treat duo was meant to be a "now and later" favor. The sweet treat to remember us with your coffee the next morning. The little tag full of wildflowers that you can see well beyond our wedding as a reminder of being part of our day.

My betrothed (gotta come up with a new name for him!) and I formed an assembly line to put these little lovelies together. We were like a well-oiled machine! We knocked it all out in no time flat! I love that I have these wonderful memories of us coming together as a team to accomplish a common goal. We did it over and over during our wedding planning process. And you know what, we're a GREAT team! I thought we were, but over and over, that feeling was reinforced. This is why people get married. This and the love of friends and family.

This photo by the fabulous Nichole at A Love Story Photography. Go check her out. Now. Go on.

Tuesday, March 9, 2010

No brainer

Well, it's easy for me to see how people give up on eating right. It takes too much time! While dinner was cooking last night, I made lunch for the next two days. I made veggie and turkey sausage stuffed baked potatoes. This is in an effort to try to avoid eating frozen meals all week long at lunch. This morning, I made the oatmeal again, and it takes a good five minutes to make. Five minutes of constantly watching it to make sure it doesn't boil over. And failing! All the while, I'm trying to finish our lunches by making greek yogurt parfaits with banana and Kashi Go Lean Crisp. I'll round it out with granola bars and grapes. I'd say it takes at least double the time in the morning, not to mention pre-cooking lunches. At least I'm trying?

Okay, so more wedding goodies to come. I just had to refocus on food and inspiration first.

Monday, March 8, 2010

Renewed efforts


So, today starts the "I can do better than this" healthy eating plan. Last week, I looked at what I was putting in my hubby's and my lunchboxes and sort of felt ill. Everything was in an airtight, individual package. Sure, two days of the week I added a homemade main dish, but all of our snacks were bought in a box of multiples in individual packages. Of course, not all of those are back, and there are still some of them going on this week, but this time there is also something fresh. I have an apple with natural peanut butter today. I also opted out of the cheese-and-cracker type snack for fat free yogurt. I actually upgraded breakfast too. I'm having Bob's Red Mill 5 grain hot cereal. It's like oatmeal gone wild in a health food store. And tasty.

So, that's the change up today. Tomorrow is even better.

Photo from Bob's Red Mill site.

Saturday, March 6, 2010

Serving up a wonderful day!


Guys and dolls, I am SO excited about this day!!! It's starts with breakfast for the gamers, which I haven't been able to do in months. I've missed it. Then, onto lunch with my family for a surprise birthday gathering. My sweet grampa turned 83 on Thursday, and we're taking him to one of his favorite spots. This afternoon, Nichole and I are meeting because OUR PHOTOS ARE READY!!! I can hardly contain myself. It's silly. Then tonight, we're meeting a whole group of friends at the North Texas Irish Fest. Huzzah! I love all things Irish. I really hope we make it there some day. Till then, I'll just go to festivals and wear knotwork.

This newlywed stuff is pretty darn cool.

Photo from Photobucket.

Friday, March 5, 2010

Good habits

So, since I put on, oh, roughly five pounds during our good-food-and-good-beer filled honeymoon, I'm trying to get back into my good habits. I'd slipped into the world of pre-packed dinners every night and getting to the gym three times a week.

Well, I can't guarantee more than three times a week even now, but I did add my bellydance class to it again this week. So, that gives me four good workouts each week instead of three. That's part one of the hot wife plan. I just don't want to be that person that lets herself go just because she's married and no important photos are on the rise!

Part two, healthier eating. I have cooked every evening since I returned. I honestly feel that helps when it comes to weight. Now, I need to work on our snacks. I've become too dependent on granola bars and grab bags of sun chips. I've been making a list this week of healthy, fun, tasty snack alternatives to help me shed this five pounds (well two pounds, I lost three this week), plus five more. On my list: fat free yogurt parfaits, edamame, cheese sticks, apples and peanut butter, cous cous or quinoa salads, bean salad, and fruit.

Does anyone have any other fun ideas for snacks? I need inspiration!

Thursday, March 4, 2010

What's in a name?

Frustration, that's what. I chose to take my husband's name. I'm not a huge feminist, and I there wasn't a compelling enough reason not to take it. So, I took it. I wanted my first name, my middle name, and his last name. Simple, right? Nope.

The DMV would not allow me to get my middle name back because five years ago when I was divorced, the divorce decree that stated I wanted to change my name back to my maiden name but failed to include my middle name in the type. So, I couldn't have my middle name back at that point. Fine. I thought, good, now I can have it back. Nope. They were required to use my maiden name as my middle name in the absence of a legal middle name because my original middle name could not be recognized because of the divorce decree! Ugh. Fine. Whatever, I will use what I want to use for everyday, but my legal name, again, is not quite what I'd hoped.

Then I tried to get my place of business to change my name. They won't change so much as my email address - which by the by was never fully changed from my old married name because it posed "too much of a hassle to change everything" - until my new social security card comes in. REALLY?! Lame.

Ladies, did any of you run into this crap?

Wednesday, March 3, 2010

Bask in the glow

After the rehearsal, it was time to get to work. I was elated at the news that people.....lots of people.....had decided, without so much as me mentioning any need of help, that they were coming to my house to do whatever it is that needed doing. Four women - four fabulous friends - showed up at my house without me asking them to. All the men went to an arcade to play laser tag. Something about that cracked me up. The girls head to work; the boys head to avoid us working. Let me note that I fully supported this decision.

The ladies and I started with spiked cappuccinos and hot cocoa then we dove into the flowers. My mom and I trekked to the flower market in Ft. Worth that morning. We came away with with 110 roses for under $200. It would have been MUCH under $200 had I been brave enough to just pick what was in stock instead of preordering anything, but I am not that brave. So, I preordered 50 roses of a specific color and the rest were from the Texas Dozen bundles that they offer. Ladies in the DFW area.....that's 15 roses for $14!!! I grabbed four of those in similar but different color combos. All of them were an orange, red, yellow mix but in different variations.

The thing about bulk flowers.....no prep work has been done whatsoever. We had to dethorn them and remove all of the outer petals that were not so pretty. With five people helping, that task was so quick! We had 110 roses done in under and hour. I did one bouquet completely, then my hairdresser bridesmaids did all the rest, mimicking me. She let me tie them all. Then I added the little charms that I'd made for each lady. That was icing on the cake. It finished the bouquets beautifully. We moved on to corsages and table decor after the bouquets.

We were completely done and had the car loaded in four hours. I was so pleased and so relieved. It was a fabulous time with the ladies.....with my reception playlist playing the whole time and coos of "oh I am so glad you included this song" or "oh.........I love this one......." in the background. One of the best memories of our wedding was the prep with the ladies. Who knew?!

Sorry there are no photos of this. We were all completely consumed in getting it done.

Thank you girls. You're the best!

Tuesday, March 2, 2010

A happy jingle

I wanted to encourage our guests to make noise when we were pronounced husband and wife and kissed. To me, that should inspire whooping, hollering, clapping, cheers, and just an all around joyous sound. That's the moment you do all of this for, right?? So, I made noise makers.


I used a portion of a poem by Edgar Allan Poe printed on cardstock then glued pretty scraps of paper. A little hole punched in the corner allowed me to tread ribbon and bells onto the card. Getting the bells on the ribbon was a pain! It took hours. I used this amazing ribbon all over the wedding - included in the bouquets, corsages, bouts, favors, invites - that was 100% silk and custom dyed. Go check out Cam Creations. The ribbon is truly awesome. It's also a tad on the fragile side. So the bells tried to shred the ribbon. I taped the ribbon to a toothpick, threaded all the bells on, then just moved them down the spool in order to section it out so that there were a pair of bells per poem card. They were a lot of work, but it was so cook to hear all the bells at the end of our ceremony......along with some whooping and hollering.

Photos by me.

In case you forgot


About a month before the wedding, I was on the phone with my best friend and maid of honor at work because, well, she's a very busy gal and I'll take whatever time she can give me! As background, I let the gals pick any dresses they liked, so she called me to let me know she'd finally found a dress. She loved her dress so much, which was really important to me. I didn't want my friends to waste any funds on something they hated and intended to get rid of immediately after the wedding. As she was professing her love for the dress, she mentioned that she needed new shoes.....and new jewelry......and something sparkly for her hair! To which I giggle because at the time I didn't even have something sparkly for my hair. And then she said it. One of the best, most grounding things said during my wedding planning. It was awesome. It was epic. With a little giggle and a heap of sarcasm, she said "Oh....how adorable. You still think this is about you, don't you?!"

I laughed so hard I nearly wet myself. Then we proceeded to use the comment over and over the day before and the day of the wedding. I was a nice, snide little mantra. Because, for those couples out there that think this day is all about them, I have news for you.....it's not. It's about you, but it isn't ALL about you. If you want it to be ALL about you, perhaps you should elope. If you didn't elope, then you probably have reasons along the lines of "it would kill his mother if she couldn't see him wed". Therefore, it's about that person too, and it's about any other person whose presence at your wedding matters to you. My best friend loving her dress mattered to me. My mother-in-law getting a great view of her son's face during the ceremony mattered to me. Walking on my brother's arm mattered to me. Having my uncle pronounce me a wife to this wonderful man mattered to me. You know what else, I guarantee you that it mattered to THEM too.

Photos like this don't happen because it's all about you!

...by A Love Story Photography.

Monday, March 1, 2010

Hello again!


Did you miss me?

Well, I'm a Mrs. now! We're back from Baltimore, much more relaxed and refreshed. I think I'll start off by sharing some of my absolute favorite little memories from the wedding. Hope that works for you. :)
  • My uncle's speech 7 minutes before our ceremony that nearly made me bawl....until he ended it with "and now you have 5 minutes to curtain", very matter-of-fact-ly which made me burst out laughing instead of crying.
  • Champagne shooters with the girls before we walked.
  • My groom mouthing that I looked pretty at the end of my walk.
  • The mic kicking in on the word "madness" at our ceremony.
  • The speeches. Wow. I truly love my best friend and my groom's best friend.
  • Picking up the first dance right where the audio died on the first try.
  • Line dancing and a country swing.
  • Kicking back with our bridal party after everyone else had fled the wedding early (definitely a hazard of a Sunday wedding).
To have everyone there and involved was worth all the stress and hassle. Not for something between him and I, but between us and all of them. There was joy. Overwhelming and unselfishly given. More joy than I could ever imagine.

Photo snagged from a friend's facebook of one of our tables in the reception area.