Two Years Ago

About Our Weekend...

This weekend we took off for Lake Sam Rayburn in East Texas. We were looooooong overdue for a mini-vacay.

^^The trees as seen from the porch.

^^He's so adorable.

^^The little lake inlet near our cabin.

^^I'm gonna miss him. :(

^^Tiny spent most of his time running wildly through the trees in front of the cabin.

^^We decimated a 1000 piece puzzle in 48 hours. Too bad 2 pieces were missing.

^^In honor of our 1 year church wedding anniversary (Aug. 1st) and our 3 year courthouse wedding anniversary (Sept. 21st) we dug into our cake topper from our big wedding last year. It still tasted good and neither of us got sick from it. Score!

^^Then I got to come home to this beauty. I promise to ration my watching this time around. :)

Photographer Woes

For anyone who decides to start their own photography business:


Keep in good contact with your clients and don't take forever to complete products.


We got an expensive wedding photography package for our church wedding seven months ago and I have yet to receive anything. Now, I have my images, but the package included a wedding album, parent albums and print credit.


She has been terrible about returning emails and answering questions.


I love her images and photography style, but will never use her again. She promises things and then doesn't deliver. She has told me so many times that "I'll get these to you in 2 days." or "I'm working on your album this week!" and it has never happened the way she promises it will.


So, for all those aspiring photographers out there, please be a good business owner. Answer emails. Answer questions. Be timely.


Hopefully I'll have everything by our anniversary. Ha.

Decorating

We've been living in this house for over a year. I am still unhappy with almost every single thing hung on the walls. I've been having this urge to fix that. We now (most likely) have less time left in this house than we've been living in it and I want to be happy with all the decor before we pack it all up again.


My number one trouble spot is the area over our couch. Right now I have a big collage of picture frames (without anything in them - oops!) there right now, but I'm not loving it anymore.


I've been thinking about getting a few of my wedding pictures printed on canvas to hang over the couch. I've narrowed it down to these images:

I think I like them. Now I just need to come to terms with spending the money.

Let The Marathon Weekend Begin!

Today:
1. Pack.
2. Wait for Brian to get off work.
3. Hit the road by 6 (hopefully).
4. Drive. A lot.


Tomorrow:
1. Arrive in the wee hours in Hometown, TX.
2. Sleep.
3. Exercise maybe?
4. Run an errand or two. (I melted my fav. spatula this week. Oops. Need to buy a replacement.)
5. Shower & get ready.
6. SIL wedding at 5:15. Still not sure if I need to be there early or not.
7. Reception.
8. Crash.


Sunday:
1. Wake up early.
2. Drive another 8 hours back to LA.
3. Wonder where our weekend went.


Wish me (and my sanity) luck.

Brrrr!

I really should dig my camera out of one of my bags and start taking pictures again. For awhile there I was taking pictures all the time, but I've slacked majorly since I've been back home.

I will have been home for a week tomorrow and I haven't heard anything from my in-laws (yet). Guess we'll see what the next week or so has in store. I know Brian was supposed to call them yesterday to tell them the latest on when he'll be home, but I haven't talked to him since then so I'm not sure what actually went down. Maybe I'll hear from him today.

I'm on the verge of completely rethinking my wedding reception so today at lunch Mom and I are heading downtown. The Abilene Preservation League puts out these snow-village-like buildings each year to raise money and Mom has every one. This year's has arrived and she got a phone call to go pick it up at this really pretty old building downtown that also happens to have a big ball room upstairs. We're going to inquire about the room and maybe get a quote or something. If I do change to something downtown then I'll have to start over with catering too. Sometimes I really would like to just say "forget it!" about this whole wedding thing. I mean I'm already married legally. The whole point of this wedding is to get married in the church (which I haven't gone to in quite some time) and to have my family from around the country be involved and in attendance. I know I'll be glad I did it. I also know that if I didn't, I'd regret it later. I just need to get some more big things taken care of (think flowers, cake, and dj) so I don't feel behind or overwhelmed.

Enough wedding talk. It has been frigid here the last 2 days. A few days ago I wore a sweater and was too hot walking around stores. Yesterday I wore a sweater and cursed myself for not also wearing my jacket. I enjoy it feeling like winter here because so often it's more like a harsh fall than a true winter, but at the same time the cold is just uncomfortable. It's like when it's 110 outside in the summer and it makes the pool infinitely better, but you curse the temperature cause it makes being outside so darn uncomfortable. I'm already trying to figure out what I can wear today that will keep me warm. I didn't exactly pack a ton of winter clothes.

Ok, guess I should do something besides sit in bed and blog.

S.

Shoes.

Nothing too exciting happened today. My parents are now both off for the same weekend next month to move me to LA. We just have to now figure out what kind of uhaul we need and how we are going to get me and all my stuff down there and still have a way for them to get back here. I booked a hotel for Mom and I for when we go to get the house. See, I'm going to get the house about 2.5 weeks before I am actually going to move. This is the first time I will be moving away from my hometown and it just made me feel more comfortable to know that I will know what my house looks like before I start putting my stuff in it. I know there may come a day in the future when I have to arrive somewhere with truckloads of stuff and no guaranteed house, but I'll save that for the future!

I finally got my wedding shoes. I ordered my dress the beginning of July and have been meaning to find shoes since then. I have a hard time with heels in general because my feel are slightly on the wider side. Strappy doesn't look good on me. I didn't want backless for that day. I didn't want close-toe for an August wedding. I also preferred slingbacks because they don't irritate my heel. I found these on David's Bridal's website and thought they were strong contenders. Plus, they can be dyed in store for only $3 to get them to be a color closer to my dress. The color they are in the picture is "pearl" which I think might work with my dress that is definitely not white. I finally hit up DB today and tried them on and the strap on the back will not stay up on either foot, but I figure that's an easy enough fix. They felt as comfortable as 3ish inch heels can be and they made my foot look really pretty. (If feet can look pretty.) So, another major (well, it's not all that major) wedding purchase is checked off my list.


Now, I am going to watch some TV.


S.

100!

This is my 100th post in 2008. Let's all take a moment of silence to commemorate this event.
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Ok, that's enough.

Today has been an exceedingly lazy day. I never got out of my pajamas and have been sitting right here in my bed with my computer all day. Why, you ask? Well, Brian of course. He's still recovering from getting a tooth pulled so he has ample computer time. We've been talking on AIM for almost 12 hours. I'm not really sure how we haven't run out of things to say. These days of long computer conversations can be a blessing and a curse. Sometimes we simply run out of things to talk about. He doesn't like talking about what's going on with him over there and I simply don't have much going on. Then there are days when we have so much to talk about that we get into sticky conversations about touchy subjects. I never like those conversations much no matter how important I may think they are when I start them. We both always end up unhappy. What are you supposed to do, though? When you disagree on something and you're both stubborn, how do you nicely and without hurt feelings talk through it? We struggle with that sometimes. I keep reminding myself that everything we are going through personally and in our relationship is magnified by our separation. It is harder to have a meaningful conversation on the computer than in person. We can't read each other's body language; we can only rely on our interpretation of the other's written word. We have gotten so much better at communicating since this all began. I can tell that we have both learned to be more patient and understanding. We still may disagree and even argue, but I am grateful that when he comes home and we learn to live with each other that we have this good base of communication that we can fall back on.

That was more than I intended to write about that.

Yesterday Mom and I went and checked out the Hilton Garden Inn in town. It's brand-spankin' new so we hadn't even checked out the inside yet. I knew they had a banquet room and with all the family from out of town I thought it would be a good place to have our reception next summer. The Sales people in charge of making our reservation were quite disorganized which worries me a bit, but they were super friendly. The hotel is really pretty inside, but not too upscale that I feel out of place. They do all the catering and provide the tables, chairs, and basic linens which means less for me to deal with! We went ahead and put down the deposit because it was only $200 and totally refundable if I back out. I am still struggling a little bit with the commitment to a place. The room wasn't as gorgeous as I would have hoped and it wasn't set up for a wedding so it's hard to picture. I think the room is a good size, though. It's not too big, but not too small. I am also brainstorming ideas for cute decorating ideas. They don't really want me doing anything to the walls so I'm trying to think of inexpensive ways to maybe lean things on the walls or do something to make it more wedding-y and less meeting room-y. I am also going to look into renting some linens to accent their linens. We also have not tried any of their food. They have dinner and breakfast there every day so we are going to have to eat there soon to check it out. The menus all sounded like they would be really good, but you never really know until you try it.

It's a load off my shoulders to know that even if I get nothing else done, I can still have my big wedding. I have a dress, a church, a photographer, and a reception place. I realize to make it perfect there are still other things to book, reserve, and order, but I've got the biggies out of the way.

I just got sidetracked looking up DJs and florists and thinking about decorating ideas...maybe I should end here.

S.

Sleep Problems

I am watching old school (think episode 4) Star Wars on TV right now. Could it get any better?

So, I've been having problems sleeping. This is out of the ordinary for me. Since I was born I was a good sleeper. Sleep has been my escape from school, responsibilities, life. Over the last few months something has been off. I can't tell if I'm getting too much sleep or not sleeping well or what. I feel sort of lethargic all day and start yawning around dinner time even if I slept a good 8 hours the night before. Last night I got 10 hours and here I am at 10pm with a dull headache and random uncontrollable yawns. Wtf? I've thought maybe I don't have enough going on during the day, but I generally keep myself pretty busy. Today I went to the gym, talked to Brian, and went for a walk after dinner. I think that's adequate activity for a Sunday. I've also thought that maybe I'm not sleeping well. Maybe I'm getting enough sleep (quantity) but it's not good sleep (quality). I've tried to think through everything that might be making me nervous and anxious and I always come up with the obvious - wedding and Brian. Worries have bothered my sleep in the past, but never to this extent. Then I wonder if I'm sleeping too much. Maybe 8 hours is too much for whatever reason. Maybe I should stay up later or get up earlier. I don't know, but it's all a bit depressing. I love sleeping. I love the way my bed feels. I love waking up feeling refreshed. I miss loving those things. I don't want this to turn into something bigger. I wish I knew what to do about it.

My plan tomorrow is to get up and moving early, eat a good breakfast, shower and get ready and then run errands around town. I generally feel more accomplished when I get errands done during the day and I've noticed I sleep a bit better on those nights. I'm going to test my theory tomorrow. I really should go to the gym, though. I don't know. I guess we'll see how I feel in the morning. Either way I'm getting out of the house and I'm going to get something accomplished. I'm tired of feeling like this.

I talked to Brian alot this weekend. He should find out something about his mouth tomorrow and I hope it's good news. I want him to start feeling better.

I've been feeling overwhelmed by wedding stuff lately, but I continue to procrastinate. Apparently I am not made to be a party planner.

I have a couple Blockbuster movies to watch so maybe I'll pop one in and waste the rest of the night. I hope I feel better tomorrow.

S.

A Glimpse Inside My Head

As my moving date inches closer - we're down to 2.5 months - I keep going through everything in my head. There are so many things we need to live and function in a house that I am completely in charge of finding and buying. I know I have more than if I was moving straight from my parents house without having lived anywhere on my own. We have a dining table, coffee table, sofa table, a saute pan, some bakeware, a microwave and microwave cart, a mattress and box spring, a tv armoire, and various lamps, electronics, and knick knacks. We still need a washer and dryer, a bedroom set, a couch and recliner, a futon, and a bunch of kitchen stuff. (And a vacuum. I almost forgot the vacuum!) Alot of that can wait, I know, but some of it can't. I need a washer/dryer ASAP after I get there. I also want the bedroom set taken care of by the time Brian gets home. It's the dang bedroom set that's been giving me the most grief. I had found one online through Haverty's, but I noticed a part of it that I don't like so it's off the list. Today I found a set through Target that I'd have to put together myself and it's not the best stuff by any means, but it would cost less than $1,500 for a headboard, tall chest, dresser w/ mirror, and two nightstands. What more do we really need? We're young and not rich. We could afford to buy something nice, but do we really need to spend so much money on furniture right now? We just need some drawers to put our clothes in. Maybe after the next deployment we can buy a nice all wood bedroom set, but for now I'm seriously leaning toward the DIY Target set. I still have a couple months to totally change my mind which I'm apt to do.

I still can't believe that 3 weeks from tomorrow I'll call Polk Picerne Housing to tell them I want to come get my house on December 1st. It seems like just yesterday that this move seemed so far away. I realize it's still weeks away, but I know it's going to fly by. I still have alot of wedding stuff to take care of and eventually I need to start boxing things up here. I am leaving the vast majority of all the furniture I am using right now here so I have to pack up all the contents. It's going to be chaos for awhile after I move. There's a reason I gave myself a month before Brian gets home to get everything together.

I feel like I'm rambling, but this is all bouncing around in my head. I also know that 6 months after Brian gets home we'll be having a wedding. We'll most likely get gifts at our wedding that could go toward things for our house. I could put off things like the futon for the extra room, curtains, lamps, recliner, and kitchen stuff, but I'm not sure I want to live without for 6 months. I know that before Brian's 4 years are up he'll get deployed again. I don't want to go without for half of the time Brian is home. I want our house to be as perfect as I can get it. I want a new bedroom set and a new futon. I have decided to let myself indulge a little more than usual when it comes to our house. I can pay our savings back after the wedding.

As much as I enjoy all the responsibility that marriage brings, sometimes it's super stressful! I really just worry about getting everything done on my own when I'm in LA. I know I'll figure it out and it will be a good experience, but it's also nerve-wracking. I also can't believe that Brian is 4 months away. Where did the last 11 months go? Suddenly it's the end and I don't even remember being in the middle.

In other news...

The parents and I went to the Cooper game on Friday. It was the district opening versus Hereford (near Amarillo). We won! 42-13. It was a perfect fall evening with a strong West Texas wind. Cooper made alot of stupid mistakes (2 interceptions leading to the 13 points), but outplayed the other team. After the game we looked up the size of the schools in Cooper's district and finally we are the largest in the competition. Hereford only has around 1,200 students (Cooper has a little over 2,000). Their band and football team was about 2/3 the size of Cooper's. I'm optimistic about the rest of district play. This Friday Cooper is at San Angelo Lakeview and we're making the trip down there for it. Keith is even going! He asked off for this weekend just so he could go. It should be a fun family trip.

I talked to Brian alot this week and yesterday. Something was going on yesterday cause Brian was not where he normally is, but couldn't tell me anything more specific. He could, however, get on the computer and call me. He wasted alot of time on both because he didn't have anywhere to sleep. Gotta love the Army. I'm sure he can't wait til he's home where there is always a real bed waiting for him at home.

I've been feeling good about things lately. Sometimes I feel like I'm a complete bum loser, but I've been trying to keep myself busy. I have various projects going and I keep the house in baked goods (tonight it was chocolate cake with cream cheese frosting). Tomorrow will either be a stay at home day to get some ornaments painted or I'll run some errands. We'll see how I'm feeling. Either way I think I'm taking the day off from the gym. Who knows tho.

Alright, this computer is making my legs (and me) super hot and I need to get the cake covered. I think Baby Mama is on my agenda for the rest of the evening. Goodnight!

S.

A Special Day.

Today is Brian and my anniversary. One year ago today we were married at the Taylor County Courthouse by Justice of the Peace Bryan Smith. I had a new dress and new shoes. I had a pretty bouquet. In front of our families we promised to love each other forever. Today, on our anniversary, I didn't even talk to my husband. That's the sort of crazy relationship we both signed up for when he joined the Army. It's been an interesting year. Thank you honey for making me the happiest girl alive from thousands of miles away. I look forward to spending this day with you next year. I love you!

Today is also the last home game in Yankee Stadium. I've been to a game in that stadium twice. I hope somewhere I actually took some pictures. I bought my $75 child size authentic Yankee jersey in the Yankee Stadium gift shop during the choir trip to NYC my senior year of high school. Of course the jersey has a big number 2 on the back. I love the Yankees. Most people can't understand this. I love the Yankees like I love Cooper High School...maybe even more. I haven't been as faithful of a follower in the last few years, but I still take in at least one game on tv every season. I can name every starting player from the '98 season. The Yankees were a good friend to me through middle school and early high school (the crappy puberty time of growing up). I love the history, I love the pinstripes, and I love the camaraderie. I hope one day I can witness a game in the new stadium.

So today I celebrated one year of separated wedded bliss and I mourned the end of an American baseball fixture.
S.

Smoke is nasty.

Watching: Law & Order: SVU marathon on USA.

I went out last night. Crystal invited me to go bowling and Shannon came with. I came in 2nd out of 6 people with a score of 116 I believe. I only bowled 2 gutter balls. I met Crystal's boyfriend, Dusty. I think he's right for her and I can tell she really likes him. That being said, he's completely not my type in any way. I'm not even sure if I would be friends with him. He didn't try to be friendly with me. He wasn't mean, but he didn't try. Maybe he's shy. It was also weird how Crystal and her 3 friends would talk to each other around the pitcher of beer and didn't really include Shannon and I all that much. I'm really thankful that Shannon went with me, because I can imagine the bowling being much more awkward if I went solo.

After bowling, Shannon and I went to Chase's house because they were celebrating his birthday a couple days early. He had texted me earlier to tell me to come. I hadn't seen him in months so I figured I'd stop by. So, Chase basically lives in the GHETTO. I avoid the ghetto after dark (before dark too!), but we braved it. It was freezing in Chase's house and I was drinking ice water from Sonic. My teeth were basically chattering all night. Brian Evans was in town. I haven't seen him in years! He's all married now and still funny as ever. Kailea was there too. She's still fat as ever. She was wearing a skin tight sweatshirt...so horrifying.

We left there around 12 and headed to Cabaret, a bar on Butternut. Crystal and company were there. Apparently they don't believe in being law-abiding because minors were drinking and everyone was smoking. I had forgotten how nasty you feel when you go home smelling like cigarettes that you didn't smoke (not that I've ever smoked, but you know what I mean...). We sat with them til 1 when we bounced. I was sooo exhausted. I took Shan home, come home and passed out til 11 this morning.

Mom and I went to the Bridal Extravaganza today at the Civic Center. Total. Disappointment. It was packed with people - alot of them I knew - and I had already researched most of the vendors. The only good thing was that I got to meet the photographer I want to use. She was really nice and accomodating. I saw Aimee Tucker there - not that we spoke - and she looked like shit. Bad pink dress with heels and ratty hair. I guess some things don't change.

I've had to pee for about an hour, and I think it's almost to the point of being painful.

S.

Introducing Mrs. Ivy

I'm bad at blogging.

I got married. And my husband is getting deployed in 2 months.

Sometimes the fact that I won't see him for more than a year, that I won't know when or if I'll talk to him from day to day, that I'll have no idea how he is doing or where he is - it all hits me really hard. I'll be sitting in class or watching tv or driving and I'll get really sad. I have a feeling it's going to be much harder on me than I want it to be or I thought it would be. I just can't imagine that much time without him by my side. I won't be able to call him at the end of my first day of substitute teaching to tell him how it went. I won't be able to call him when something goes wrong and I need the sound of his voice to make me feel better. I really hope I'm strong enough.

This semester is really weird for me. I want it to be over so I won't have to deal with school anymore or Dr. Hell. At the same time, I need the next 2 months to crawl by so I can drag out the last moments of knowing my husband is safe. And through all of that, I'm wanting weeks to go by quickly so I can see said husband again. He's coming home next weekend and I just want this week to go by so quickly so I can see him again.

I wanted to write and now I'm not sure what I wanted to say.

I want a vacation. I think I'm going to try to talk my family into LBI next summer. That'd be something to look forward to.

I'm still adjusting to this whole being married thing. Calling Brian my husband is still extremely weird. Thinking everything is ours now is weird too. It's all just weird....but in a good way.

Ok, I should be productive now.

-S.

Engagements, Weddings, Marriage, Etc.

I just discussed everything wedding with my mom for the last hour at least. It was a tad bit odd.

I have things to take care of such as my roommate's dog that has been in its crate for about 6 hours without a bathroom break and other such frivolous things. Ha.

Goodnight Moon. :-)

S.