Like a Glove

It was a beautiful, perfect Saturday morning. The sun was warm, the skies were blue. My mom arrived the afternoon before just in time for a delicious dinner at our favorite Mexican food restaurant. We left in plenty of time, though parking was somewhat challenging.

My mom and the seamstress helped me change - it's definitely one thing a bride cannot do alone. I can't even do up the bra top in the back without help. It felt so wonderful to slip into my dress again, the crisp white fabric cool against my skin. I feel just like a princess every time I put it on. It fit like a glove when we bought it last May, all it needed was the bustle. The seamstress pinned the dress for the bustle markings...it's going to be beautiful.

The only difference on this day was that the dress didn't fit quite so well as it did before. It kept slipping down, being dragged by the weight of the fabric. I was sick with the flu only a week before and had lost 8 lbs. I later remembered that I had lost about 10 since we bought it. On the upside, at least it was too big rather than too small. They're doing the bustle now, and we'll wait to take it in until closer to the wedding.

The fiance joked that we could go out and splurge to gain weight...that won't be happening. I will never deliberately gain weight. It was gratifying to actually have lost. I've been working on toning and definition, I plan to keep it off. It's just rather entertaining since before it fit absolutely perfect. But I'm not worried, it will fit like a glove again soon. :)

Engaged Adventures

Whoops. There I go again, all MIA. Will you forgive me if I tell you I had a light virus for a couple days, was fine over the weekend and then had the flu? I spent Monday through Wednesday laying in bed feeling miserable last week. I was so stubborn and went to work Monday morning. May I recommend NEVER trying to go to work when you've been sick less than 6 hours before? Having to cut across two lanes of traffic, jump into your passenger seat and roll down the window is NOT an adventure I would recommend. Just saying.

The good news is that I was fine over that weekend before I got the flu and the fiance and I had a fabulous time with our photographers capturing our engagement session. I have never really done a photo shoot or anything like that, and let me tell you, it was a blast! We had such a great time and I know the pictures will be amazing! Not only did we get to take pictures in the restaurant where the fiance proposed, but we just happened to be able to take them at the table where he proposed. :) We brought one of the engagement wine bottles he made and used them in some of the shots.

If you have never had the opportunity to do an engagement shoot or a photo shoot, I would highly recommend it. We have such an amazing time hanging out and just playing around. It was fabulous getting to know our photographers better, we had such a great day. I cannot wait to see the pictures.

Playing Grown Ups

Like many little girls, when I was little, my cousin and I would play Barbies for hours. We'd spend hours setting up our Barbie furniture and accessories just right, everything in its perfect place. We'd imagine all sorts of stories and scenarios. There were of course always the two beautiful young girls, often princesses, usually 16 or just turning 16 (thank you Little Mermaid), they always had the perfect boyfriends. Perhaps a little bit of drama thrown in for excitement, because there has to be conflict before you get the happily ever after, right? We would play at being grown ups. To us of course that happened naturally at 16 because that's when you met prince charming, got married, had a mansion (or a castle or palace, anything huge and grandiose worked), horses, carriages, servants, etc. Thankfully we passed through that age a little bit wiser as to how things really worked and we didn't expect to live in a castle. Meet a prince charming perhaps, but not the other stuff. As the stories have it, things never go exactly as you might have imagined...they turn out better. Mine sure did. I am marrying the most wonderful prince charming I could ever have imagined.

I told him the other day that I feel like I'm going to feel like we're playing grown ups for a while and that eventually someone will come in and tell us to put our toys away, it's time to eat dinner or go to bed or something. As of New Year's Eve the fiance and I officially became home owners. It's still surreal, a total "wow". We own a house, we're getting married. It's exciting and crazy and thrilling and just completely mind blowing all at the same time. A wonderful and amazing way to start the new year. Playing grown ups. But for real this time.

Welcome 2011

I cannot believe it is 2011. It is shaping up to be a year of amazing changes and new adventures. It's been ages since I sat down to write anything, though there has been plenty to write about. I hope that 2010 treated you each well and holds many fond memories and starting points for an amazing 2011.

There are so many new and exciting as well as a few sad events to share. Rather than try to cram them all into one massively long (and possibly boring) catch up post, I'll put them into a few smaller posts over the upcoming days. A fond hello to all my friends and cheers to the new friends sure to come in the upcoming adventures of 2011.

Hi, it's me again

Hi, remember me? I'm that girl with a camera who never seems to post anymore. Life is crazy that way. Sometimes I want to just step back and watch it all happen instead of being wrapped up and swept away in the ever racing current of life. Of course those moments are rare and far apart.

What's new for me? Let's see, I got a promotion and a raise. I'm in the office with my boss now, which is fun because it's a little bit quieter and I have more of my own space. It's weird not being in the main office area anymore, but I'm getting used to it, and I have to say that I like it. And my third monitor. And my Mac. You know, fun toys.

We are slowly but surely getting everything done for the wedding. We found and booked our amazing photographer team and videographer team, I am SO excited. I know they are going to capture lasting, incredible memories for us. I am really looking forward to doing our engagement photo shoot with our photographers too :) We know where we are getting the cake, just have to go put in the order. It's DELICIOUS. As a cake baker, I can truly appreciate the deliciousness of the cake we're going to be getting. (one of the first things that happened in the planning is that my mother and my fiance forbid me to make the wedding cake....a demand I was more than happy to comply with) We will be putting the invitations together soon and choosing the bridesmaid dresses.

With the weather cooling off as we go into October, I find myself wanting to spend time in the kitchen baking up deliciousness with fall flavors and spices. Perhaps I will indulge this weekend.

Moving Up

It finally happened. I got a permanent position! I now no longer have to worry about being renewed every summer, and as an added bonus, I got a raise! I was SO worried about this, I honestly didn't think they were going to choose me for the position. Not for lack of qualifications or anything, I already rocked this position (it's essentially the full time/permanent version of my original position)...but you know how company politics can go. I am absolutely thrilled to have been able to accept this new position.

I moved into the desk in my boss' office, it's nice having my own space that's a little bit quieter. I get along great with Lily, so it's fun to share an office. I'm just getting used to the new digs and getting myself organized. I'm still floating on a high from all of this last week. I seriously have had a goofy grin on my face most of the time. I cannot express how edifying it was to receive all the congratulatory emails and phone calls from my colleagues and coworkers...apparently a lot more people were rooting for me than I even realized!

HR kind of stole my boss' thunder though, they sent me an email right before she and her boss pulled me in to tell me about the unanimous decision to give me the position! It was still awesome though, I am so excited. I feel so renewed and re-energized. I had been waiting and going through interviews for quite some time, and was rather stressed about everything. It was like an instant weight was lifted from my shoulders. :)

I know I have been rather neglectful in posting, but I wanted to share this so much. As always, I will endeavor to post a bit more frequently, but no promises. Things are kind of in a whirlwind of work and wedding plans that are keeping me quite occupied. I hope the beginning of the school year is going well for everyone. I'm looking forward to the cooler fall weather and all the wonderful things that come with it.

Nostalgia

This time of year always brings with it a bout of nostalgia. I love working during freshmen move-in, the lead up and excitement are things I love. It wasn't all that long ago that I was moving in for the first time at college, now I'm getting married. Crazy world.

It's that time of year where I have to talk myself out of buying super fun and shiny school supplies that I don't need, but are ever so enticing. It's like a siren song. I don't know what it is about back to school shopping, but I love it. My kids are going to have awesome back to school gear. (you know, those theoretical kids far off in the future)

I hope every has a fabulous end of summer and a wonderful beginning to fall.

Magical Memories

A few months ago my mom and fmil and I went to look for my wedding dress. First store, four dresses later and we found the dress. I absolutely love it and feel like a princess when I wear it. I did not want to take it off. I nearly went back to the store the next week just to try it on again.

It wasn't supposed to come in so early, but I got an email about two weeks ago letting me know my special order had arrived. The downside is that they won't store it for me. I love my apartment, but it's a fairly small studio and I simply do not have anywhere to hang a wedding dress for 8 months. Timing is everything. My neck finally slipped out after first trying to make my head explode (I was very near asking the fiance for his drill to relieve the pressure). The symptoms had been bothering me long enough that I decided I needed to make a quick overnight run home to see my chiropractor. (he's one of my favorite people right now) It was instant relief when he made the necessary adjustment (same one as always, go figure, at least I'm consistent) Since I was going home anyways, I picked up my dress and took it to hang safely in the back bedroom at my grandparent's house.

I was on a tight schedule and didn't have time to try it on at the store. I am so grateful that I was in a hurry that afternoon. My Mom and Grama helped me try it on before my chiro appointment. It felt so good to get into the dress, even though I didn't have the undergarments that go with it. (added bonus: it fit perfectly) I cannot even begin to relate how special that moment was when my Grama and Papa first saw me in my wedding dress. It was such a wonderful, special moment that I will remember forever, trying on my wedding gown in the front bedroom at my grandparent's house. Magical. Precious. Unforgettable.

Summer Tales, Volume Two

There are so many summer stories that make me smile. This one makes my cousin Ariel and I blush and laugh.

My cousins and I always slept in the green room when we visited our grandparent's. It was formerly our aunts' room (including my mom). It has three beds in it, I always slept in the "big" bed. We called it the big bed because it was taller than the others, at the time I usually had to climb up from the other trundle-ish bed or take a running leap to get into it (much like my bed junior year of college that was lofted so high that it was occasionally comical to watch me try to get into it, especially if I was tired)

My cousin Ariel and I both woke up around the same time one night even thought we'd all been in bed, sound asleep, for some time. We weren't sure why we had woken up, but started whispering for a few minutes. We were talking when we heard a thud, followed by some other strange sounds. We thought there was a burglar in the house. We had a brief, whispered conversation about what we should do before hiding under the covers and pretending that we were asleep. That lasted all of maybe two minutes, during which I think we heard another strange noise. We decided we couldn't just lay there. We crept out of bed and cautiously opened the bedroom door. We peeked out into the long hallway towards the living room. Once we were sure we didn't see anyone, we flew down the hall to our grandparent's room. We woke up my grandpa and told him what we'd heard, then climbed into bed with our Grama while he went to check it out. He came back a few minutes later to confirm that everything was fine. We weren't convinced until he pointed out that their dog, Doogie Bowser, hadn't made a peep, and surely he would have barked if there were anything wrong. He then suggested that what we'd heard was merely the air conditioner. We accepted this explanation (though we probably secretly thought we'd heard something...this may have be the summer of "there's something fishy going on") and went back to bed. Naturally, it took us a while to fall back to sleep. Before we fell asleep we heard a similar noise...this time we realized that it was clearly the air conditioner, trying to rob the house of the summer heat.

Checking In

I can't believe it's been almost a month since I last posted. Well, I guess I can, but it really just seems like yesterday that the fiance was out of town and I found that splendid Jane Austen inspired movie.

I just really haven't had words lately. So many things to share, but a completely blank canvas which I have not been equal to filling as of late. No real rhyme or reason, who knows. I hope everyone has been having a fabulous summer. Mine is going in fits and starts. The weather can't seem to make up its mind whether it wants to be summer or fall, makes it slightly challenging when it comes to morning wardrobe selection. I hope you are taking it all in and enjoying every second of summer. I'll eventually be around to visit everyone. Time seems to be handing me the short end of the stick lately.