It’s almost time…

The calendar says December 24th, Christmas Eve, but it STILL doesn’t feel like it! It has been a busy week but still not feeling IT.

Monday night I went over to Kristi’s house to wrap presents for our adopted families. It took us a few hours to get them done since there was only 3 of us and 4 families to wrap for, but we had a good time! We also got all of the food we had collected over the past month together and separated it out for the families.

Tuesday I was suppose to go back to Kristi’s to deliver the food and presents - but the weather ruined my plans AGAIN! Again, lucky for me I have wonderful friends who stepped up and got everything delivered!! I ended up just coming home, making dinner, and making a list of all the things I needed to do on Wednesday.

I took today off initially so we could head home this afternoon. But things changed. Dave was supposed to have half a day off, but learned last week that he didn’t have enough vacation time to do it. So he will be home as soon as he can and hopes to have a light day. Dave and I are supposed to go to his parents for Christmas dinner tonight. Then we will head up to my parents.

I went this morning to the SS office to start the name change process. I got SO lucky! I walked in and there was NO one else there. So I was able to get in and out in under 10 minutes! I then went to get my new DL, but they closed at Noon and I walked in at 12:01. Dang rain that slowed me down on my way there. I will have to go back next week.

Now I am just sitting here waiting on Dave to get home. I have my clothes all packed and all of the gifts in the car ready to go.

Semi Productive

I just am NOT in the holiday mood this year. I am not sure why not really. But I just don’t FEEL it.

To say the least this week was SEMI productive. I had a crappy week at work last week so Saturday I was taking the day to recover. And did NOTHING, but be crabby…I’ll admit it. But I couldn’t help it. I didn’t WANT to be crabby.

We went to go to the zoo at 830, but it started snow/ice/sleet on the way so we turned around. BUMMER.

Today I went to Kristi’s for the Gahanna Jaycees baking session for Cookies for Rookies. We bake cookies and other holiday treats and member deliver them to 6 fire stations on Christmas morning. We had a good time an made 4 different kinds of cookies.

After that we ventured out into the cold to head to Meijer to buy gifts and food for out Christmas Adopt A Families. Wow is it had to pick out toys for kids with no list of their likes. But we did it…and only went a little over budget.

When we came out it was COLD and WINDY. It was BAD!! I drove home and at point it was almost a white out on 270 and traffic was going 35 mph. NOT fun. Then I got on 71 and it was just windy.

Now I am just trying to warm up…and not think about the fact that it’s back to work tomorrow…but the co-worker is suppose to be bringing me cookies…that is a plus!!

Why make plans?

When they never go the way you plan them!

I left work early today to go to Marion to pick up my camera from UPS. They close at 6. From work is should be about an hour drive, but with traffic I wasn’t sure if I would be able to. So I called it quits at 4:30. I got to the UPS place around 5:30..then I waiting in line while everyone mailed out their Christmas packages. I gave the very nice UPS woman my address and she brought out a box…from Duluth Trading Company. Um, Ms. UPS lady this is my husbands’ package, not the called and asked to be held. Oh..they probably held the wrong one then. GREAT. Oh my driver is expected to be back between 7:30 and 8 PM. WONDERFUL!

So I called Dave…yelled for a few. Decided to drive home and get Dave and go back later. We decided to just be lazy and go out to dinner in Marion and then pick up the camera.

Got to Marion…and every restaurant we looked at had a long out the door! We ended up at Ralphie’s Sports Bar. The waitress dropped my glass of water, at least only a little of the FREEZING water got on me. The food wasn’t too bad.

Head back to the UPS building…it’s 8:05. Go back in to where the drivers check in…get to speak to another nice UPS woman. Oh, my package is STILL not here? He is 10-15 minutes away…wonderful. I will go sit in my cold car and wait.

8:15 I FINALLY got my camera….but was still in a crabby mood….not a good way to start the weekend!

Tick Tock Tick Tock

A watched tracking number NEVER changes!

I ordered a new camera on Friday. A Canon XSi with 2 lenses. It was a HUGE splurge, but planned. My camera I have now I don’t get along with very wall.

So it is suppose to deliver today. It has to be signed for. I am hoping my neighbor sees Mister UPS and he lets her sign for my package. I WANT my camera!!

Off to continue stalking the UPS website……

Dang Ice!

Bad weather always seems to come when I have places to be and things to do! Tonight I was supposed to go to a friends house to wrap present for our adopted family. Of course the weather peeps have been saying we are supposed to get bad weather yesterday and today, it did come yesterday, didn’t really look like we would get much today. But we did get was ICE. I HATE driving in icky weather but especially ice. So I called my friend who was on her way home…I didn’t even had to really say it and she said Carrie just go home. I can wrap the presents by myself, there is no reason for you to be out in this weather driving all around. Another reason I LOVE my friends and I am sooo lucky to have them.

So I came home and I am glad I did. Everyone I talked to said the roads weren’t the best and had some pretty bad accidents on them.

So instead I worked on Thank You cards and Christmas cards. I never found the darn return address stamp, so I ended up writing our name on ALL of the Thank You cards….and will probably write it on all the Christmas cards too. I have 7 Thank You cards left I think. I will mail the done ones in the AM and then finish up the Thank You’s and Christmas cards tomorrow night when I get home.

I will be soooo glad to get both of those DONE. We are already talking about next years Christmas cards and how we will have them done early…..we’ll see!

Busy Day

Sunday was just as lazy if not more so than Saturday. But for some reason at 9 PM I thought I should be productive! So I worked on Thank You cards from the wedding. Yes I know we are behind in getting them done - my goal now is to get them done but the 18th…which is in less than 3 days.

Today was back to work, had to get caught up from being off on Friday. It wasn’t too bad really since this is out slower time of year. So that made me happy! After work I went shopping with Stacy and Jackie for our adopted family with the Hilliard Jaycees. We had a fun time shopping for things we thought the mom and little boy would like and need. After shopping we headed to Uno’s for Happy Hour - which I am hooked on because it is mini appetizers!! I don’t have to make up my mind, I can just order 2 J

On the way home I was on the phone with the Hilliard President Elect to try and get things started for next year….making work for myself!

I got home and Dave was signing the Thank You’s. I addressed the envelopes, now I need to get another book for stamps, put the card with its envelope and return address stamp the envelopes and we will be done…I think I can get them out on time YEAH!!!...and on to Christmas Cards…..UGH!!!!

And on a side note - I pulled out a piece of the stitch that had got lost in my leg…ICK!!!!!

Lazy Saturday

Today was a true lazy Saturday. Between sleeping in, catching up on DVR shows, and napping we didn’t get up and ready to go until after 3 PM!!!

Then we headed up to my parents house to have dinner, make cookies, and go to Stella’s program tomorrow morning. Well that was the PLAN.

We went up and helped get dinner ready, had dinner, baked the cookies, and went to get stuff for lunch tomorrow. Then decided we needed to come home because Dave was having an asthma attack and he forgot this inhaler here.

Sooo we left my parents around 9:45 to head home….and here we are.

I am catching up on movies that taped tonight and getting ready to go to bed….it’s past my bedtime! Somehow doing nothing takes it all out of me!!

A Nice Day Off

I took today off work to get some things done - change my name, do some Christmas shopping, and a HUGE list of other things. Well of course my day didn’t go as planned but I had a good day - so it was worth it!

I slept in til 8-ish, Dave was home on a conference call so it hard to sleep. I caught up on some e-mails, payed bills, caught up on some DVR, then left around 11:20 to go pick up my friend Ida.

Ida and I went to lunch at Applebee’s, it turned into a 3 hour lunch. It was nice to catch up with her since we don’t get to talk very often.

Then I TRIED to go to the Social Security office. Since lunch went a little long I knew I had a chance of not making it. I got to the area in time, but I couldn’t find the right building so…no name change today L I’ll try again next week.

I figured while I was waiting on Dave to get off work I could go and do some of my shopping. I went to CVS to get some items for Heith and Sarah’s basket, Bed Bath and Beyond to get some sheets for mom, and while I was there found some playing cards that my dad had asked me to buy for him to give to his friends.

When Dave got there we went to Dick’s to look for a coat for him, which we didn’t find but he did find some boots that he had been looking for. We ended up going to Red Robin for dinner and then to Best Buy to get a memory card for my new camera so I could use it when it gets here. And we still got home by 8:30-ish!!

So it was rather productive and fun day! Christmas shopping is almost done, except for my dad who is normally easy to buy for but this year it is NOT coming to me.

A New Month

Wow, it’s December 1st, 2008. I have been in denial about this for more than a week, it couldn’t really be almost December and I really feel like November was the fastest month all year. It has really been SIX weeks since we got married? No way!

November was a rough month for me overall. I had a minor surgery on the 12th. Not sure how we got to the 12th so quickly, but I have a feeling it had to do with Drs. Appts, and again me being in denial that I was going to cut on! Things with the surgery went OK. It’s not cancer, which I never really thought it was, but it couldn’t be fixed. Sooo I have go see more Drs. next year to see what my options are and make a decision. I went to my parents’ house for 5 days to recover before coming back to the apartment with steps! That was kinda nice, small down life, nothing to do really, and no internet but good.

The recovery has been less painful than I thought it would be but more annoying. A week of not driving and having to have peeps bring me to and from work. I was so tired when I got home at night I just wanted to nap and catch up DVR. Sooo I was kinda anti-social.

We now have 3 cats again. Dave brought in one of the outside strays that had been sleeping under our porch; anyone who knows him….Project Kitten can now be called a success! She is in the house, playing with Guinness but still looking at us like HUMAN…why are YOU in OUR house?! She will come around eventually!!

Then there was Thanksgiving week - 2 nights of projects with the Gahanna Jaycees, but we provided meals to 4 families in need who where very thankful so it was nice.

Thanksgiving took us back to Ada again. We had our big meal at my Aunt Debbie’s house, which used to be my grandparents house. It will never be like it was, but it was easier than the first Christmas meal there without them. Dave and I ended up staying in Ada until Sunday morning. Our time off was filled with some shopping, too much food, shooting for Dave, too much food, and some napping. Again overall nice and calm….I needed that!!

So that is the quick month in review. We are now in December…let the fun begin!!!

I wanna.....

...go on vacation. Yes I know I was just off work for 7 days for the wedding and Hocking Hills. Yes I had a good time - but it was too short! Dave and I haven’t been on “vacation” together in like 5 years. We had a sucha great time I am ready to go again! But we aren’t sure where we want to go! I have ideas, different places for different reasons, which only makes it harder to decide what we want to do so we can start planning!

The Florida Keys - I have wanted to go since I was 12. We went on a family vacation to Florida with my Aunt, Uncle and cousins. Somehow they got to go the Key’s and I didn’t. I think maybe I went to Disney and they didn’t? I don’t know. I just know I have wanted to go since then! Plus I would think it would very pretty sunrise/sunset. So that is another draw for me.
Outer Banks - I would like to go back again in the off season. I went in HS for my cousins wedding in October and thought it was pretty. Again I am thinking sunrise/sunset. We also have family in the area so we could see them too. I also went down once in the summer when I was in college with the fam, but overall it wasn’t much fun, it rained the whole time!!!
Yellowstone - Not sure where this one came from. I am blaming my mom! After we went thought a few of the National Parks last year on our Vegas adventures we started talking about going. Dave would like to go. Mom somehow things Dad might go?? Yea I am not seeing that really!
Disney - I wanna go back at Christmas decoration times! We also want to take Stella sometime. I am going to starting working on my mom on this trip now that the wedding is over.
Vegas - I know it, I like, there is a variety of things to do.
Cruise - I wanna go on one. Dave does not. So I am trying to talk some of the girls into going. We talked about next year. But I really don’t think it is going to be happening. But I thought I would add it to my list.

Many more….I am sure there are many more, but those are the ones that have been on my mind the last few days.

Time On My Hands

I now think I have too much time on my hands. With the wedding over and most of my Jaycee responsibilities over, and Relay not in full swing yet I find myself doing nothing but watching TV. Don’t get me wrong, I have PLENTY of things I could so around the apartment, but no motivation to get it done. I find that I get a lot more done when I am busy than when I have time on my hands.

Tonight I am waiting to go back to the airport to pick up Dave, at 11:45 AM…ECK! I have things I keep thinking I could do but no, I just sit here and watch DVR shows. While trying to avoid the election mumbo jumbo!

So I am starting a to do list for myself for tomorrow, to see if maybe that will get me motivated to get a few things done. It’s a bunch of little things that I keep putting off….they are starting to add up!!!

BLAHday

Today was a Monday, or BLAHday as I like to refer to it sometimes. It was a pretty boring day. I went to the dentist after work - which stressed me out all afternoon because I HATE the dentist! Just going makes me sick to my stomach, and once I got there I got the even “better” news - it was x-ray day. But lucky for me they are great to me and treat me like a little kid and pull someone else in to help do the x-rays. Overall it was an okay visit, no cavities so that is all good!

After that we had a Relay For Life committee meeting that went very well in my opinion. We had 3 new committee members at our meeting!!! So that is very good and will bring new blood to this event in 2009, I can’t wait! Now I just need to get BUSY with my to do and idea list!!!

What a boring day!!!

90210 is back…again!

At work this week one of my co-workers mentioned that Time Warner got the CW channel back. Which means we got 90210 again! So this morning I am catching up on the episodes that I missed and set the DVR to start recording again this week. I know I am a dork - I know it - it’s okay!

So far that is the highlight of my day. I was looking forward to the extra hour of sleep from the time change. But my dear cat Guinness had other ideas…he decided to be a hunter last night and caught a bat…in the bedroom. So we woke up to this odd high pitch sound. Dave had to rescue the bat from Guinness and take it outside to free it. All of this meant all the lights in the apartment got turned on, and I was WIDE awake….for hours!!! I fell asleep and 30 minutes later Dave’s alarm went off, a little after that I fell back asleep and got another hour of sleep.

We had to leave by 7:45 so we could take Dave to the airport for his work trip to Florida. Yep the brat is off to Florida, but I don’t think there is going to be much time for fun. He has training during the day, a dinner, and then comes back on Tuesday evening.

So now I am trying to stay awake until I leave at 1 PM to go a baby shower for my old boss. And trying to figure out what I am going to get her for the shower. I never know what to get for baby showers, I always wanna go practical like lotion, shampoo, wipes, etc. BORING!!!!

A "relaxing" Saturday

Wow, it’s November. I am really in denial!! I have decided to try the one month of blogging this month. I haven’t signed up at the site yet. But it is on my to do list - the ever growing one!!

Today we went and voted. They say we got lucky as our line was a little under 2 hours - for a 2nd time voter, how is THAT lucky?? But the weather was very nice to be standing outside so I know it could have been worse. The main reason we went today was because Dave will be out of town on Tuesday, so he needed to go before he leaves tomorrow…and we didn’t realize this til Thursday afternoon….opps!!!

We went to lunch at a local restaurant Bun’s which wasn’t the best experience there. I now remember why I had not been picking to go there. Dave’s food was cold in the middle, the rolls had been way over cooked, and service was kinda slow.

We then headed to Wal-Mart to buy some shelving units for the basement so we could start project “Get this place in order” - between all of our stuff, never really going through stuff when we moved here two years ago, all the new wedding stuff, and my free time – we have got to get on it!!

We came home and chilled for a little while and then started on the basement. Wow oh wow do we have a lot of “stuff”!! We have already taken 2 bags of trash out, which makes me happy!

We decided we needed to go get some cleaning supplies….so out we went…and I forgot the one thing I wanted - the paper towels!!! So now I will have to pick them up in the AM.

Overall not really an exciting day – but it is a start on my new project J

Honeymoon Day 2

Tuesday we got up and got to Old Man’s Cave by 9:30 in the morning, taking the “scenic” route. Yes it was “scenic” but it was also kinda scary! Roads that seems to me to one lane roads, but weren’t! We were very happy to see very few cars in the parking lot. Normally we got on the weekend and the place is PACKED! We started down the trail and quickly realized there was NO water in the place!! A few placed had some sitting water but none in the normal places, no waterfalls, it was rather sad to say the least. But we kept going and went a few places we hadn’t been in years. It started out VERY cold and got a little better as the morning went on. I decided that maybe a T-Shirt and fleece shirt weren’t my best option in clothing! As we went down the trails it became more and more busy, and we saw a small bus from the Westerville Senior Center – decided against going down into the main area where all the people had gone and we headed to Cedar Falls.

As we started out at Cedar Falls a couple with 2 cute downs told us to not follow the signs to the parking lot on the way back that it was a hard train and much worse than the trip down – we decided to keep that in mind!! We had never really got to explore Cedar Falls before, the only time we had been before was at the end of a trail we had hiked down the first time we went to Hocking Hills years ago, and we were so tired we just wanted to be done! It was a lot of fun, and since there was no water anywhere we went off trail a few times and at times even on the old trail – I know bad us! It was very pretty down there and they had some nice photo ops!

We got done there and I was HUNGRY – but we needed a few things from Wal-Mart again so we went there and then we headed off to Kroger to get animal “feed”. Dave got a mix of corn, peanuts, and I am not sure what else to put out to try and bring the animals up. We headed back to the cabin, had a roast beef sandwich for lunch, followed by a nap!! We went out to Millstone for dinner, we had been there last time we went down and it was good so we went back! Food was yummy, but the service wasn’t as great this time. We took another scenic route home, past Lake Logan. After our different trips down there I am finally starting to get the hang of where we are going and how to connect the 2!

Tuesday evening we just chilled out, watched the birds, squirrels, and chipmunks in the yard.

Honeymoon Day 1

Our day started out with unpacking the car from the wedding, repacking for our trip, and a costly trip to Costco. But we finally got out of Columbus a little before 3 PM, in our attempt to beat rush hour!

We arrived at our cabin at Pleasant Valley Cabins a little before 4 PM on Monday. When we got there we had been switched from Cabin 1 to Cabin 2, no biggie they are identical. As we checked in I was a little confused when the woman said we may want to back down the hill, silly me thought she meant when we were leaving, no she meant on our way UP the hill as we would need a “running” start. So Dave drove us up the hill, it was VERY bumpy and steep. The cabin was just as the pictures on the website, very cute and everything we could want. As we where unpacking Dave saw a wild turkey in the backyard, of course he didn’t have a camera with him and we never say one again. After unpacking we decided to chill out for a little while before we headed off to Wal-Mart to pick up food for the week. This lead to my first nap of the week!! I will say those couches are very comfy. After I got up we headed off to Wal-Mart to pick up some stuff and decided to just get a pre-bake pizza to make when we got back to the cabin. We got back to the cabin and decided to try out the hot tub before we had dinner. It was great!! It was rather chilly out but the warm water and beautiful stars where worth it!! I decided to start off the week with my domestic diva act and baked the pizza, but quickly learned the problem was there was no pizza cutter and the knives in the cabin weren’t the best! But it all worked out! We watched some more TV, I feel asleep, and Dave read his book.

T Minus 6 Days!

Where did the last week go?

Monday - I had my first Relay For Life committee meeting. Not very exciting. It was only me, Stacy, and Meghan our ACS staff person. No one else showed L Hopefully that is not a sign of how the year will go. We had a good meeting overall though and got some ideas of out plans.

Tuesday - Mystery Dinner night at Spaghetti Warehouse! I love those things. We always have a good time - it is so much fun. And of course the food is very yummy.

Wednesday - Dave and I got off work early to go and get our marriage license!! Yep I was very excited, we finally got everything we needed and got it done! We also went to Dave’s parents house to pick up a present and to Costco to look for a few things….which we didn’t find. Dangit! But it was nice evening!

Thursday - FINALLY a night at home!! Tried to get caught up a on a few things, including my neglected DVR.

Friday –Dave and I went to Sam’s Cub to price some things. Headed over to The Container Store for a photo box that I was wanting. Walked around window shopping. To TJ Maxx and Dick’s Sporting. Then to Stacy’s to pick up some more of the wedding stuff that I needed to take to my parents.

Saturday – Off to Ada again, dropped off stuff, went to Lima for some more last minute shopping, you know the drill!

Today – Came back from Ada, started going through and trying to organize our wedding/shower presents. Had to return a few things and get everything for the cats to be on their own for a week with a quick visit from us. Overall….a pretty nice day!!!

This coming week we don’t have a lot planned. I am just happy about only working for 3 days!!! Yippy!!!

Less than 2 weeks!

Wow - time sure does fly when you are getting married!! It looks like it has been a little over a week since I last updated this blog.

Last weekend I went to a Relay For Life Leadership Summit for $10,000 Team Captains and Chairs and Co-Chairs for next year’s events for all over Ohio. I love going to these things, they have some of the best trainings I have been to. They are fun, informative, and you get to hear ideas from all over the state. I also call it the one “perk” for chairing the event - because they pay for hotel rooms for a night since it’s a Friday night/Saturday thing! Stacy went also this year so it was cool to have someone else to share it with and room with. Let’s just say I order room service for the first time ever, and it was off the kids meal and in the end we didn’t pay for it. The service for the wasn’t the best!

Saturday afternoon and early evening I went to Stacy’s and we worked on wedding crafty projects. We made a photo frame card box for the reception. We then headed over to a party at our friends house and then back to Stacy’s I went. I stayed there so we could work on more wedding crafty projects along with making a to do list and trying to talk things through for what I wanted and needed. We did finish the monogrammed aisle runner and a nice long to do list!!

Last week I didn’t have a lot going on. I started tanning, Dave and I went out to dinner one night to get away from it all, I had a Relay meeting with a possible committee member, and get a good amount of wedding stuff done. I think we are very on schedule right now!

This weekend I went back to my parents place and got my hair done on Saturday morning and then we worked on more wedding stuff Saturday afternoon. Saturday night we watched the OSU game, which I feel asleep part way through!! But yea they won!!!

Today was cleaning the car, heading back home and then Dave and I went to Michael’s to buy a few more things for centerpieces and had to return a few things to Wal-Mart and pick up a few more things. But I got a lot off the to do list!!!

We are now at less than 2 weeks….almost to the point of I just want it to be here!!!

...stil trying to catch up...

So it’s not a Thursday but it is a week since my last post.

Dress Fitting - Wednesday night Stacy and I went to our second dress fitting. Stacy’s is done and ready to go and mine just needs some beading put back on! Yea – one more thing down!! Stacy will just be picking them up the Wednesday before the wedding. Whew!!

Friday Night at Dave’s Parents – Friday night after work we went to Dave’s parents house to see his parents, his aunt who was leaving on Saturday, to see vacation pictures, and to get some apples they had picked. We had a good time but it got late quick and we forgot to take our apples with us!! So we’ll have to see about going back to get some so we can make some apple yumminess!

Harvest and Herb Festival – The big yearly festival in Ada was this weekend so I went to see my niece in the parade, it was her first time in a parade – yep, I am THAT aunt! After the parade I walked through quickly with my mom, talked to a couple of the girls I went to High School with and caught up with them for a few before we went shopping. We didn’t go through the whole festival, we had other things to do, no money to buy anything, and no where to put anything if we would buy it!!!

Shoes - I went home this weekend to pick up some stuff from my parents and my mom and I went shopping for wedding shoes. We walked in to the first store and as soon as we walked in I picked up a pair of shoes….and those are the ones I bought! Yes I did try on a few other pairs, but they are pretty much as close to what I was looking for as I could get. My mom also needed to get her shoes for the new dress she picked out. She got a pair but now has to get approval from her friend so she can keep them!

Zoo - Sunday after I got home from my parents Dave and I went to the zoo. It was HOT and we didn’t dress properly for it!! We stayed for a few hours and then headed off to do some quick wedding shopping. To say the least the zoo was PACKED - I think the busiest we have ever seen it. Dora the Explorer was there - 3-5 year old INSANITY!!!

Dr. Visit – I was at the Drs. office today for over 2 hours. WHEW – I was tired when I left! I will have to go back after the wedding for another MRI and a possible biopsy after that. I really don’t want to do anything that involves cutting until after the wedding. I have too much going on for ANY down time!!

Other News – We got our engagement prints back today!! So now to work on the rest of the crafty projects we have planned. RSVP’s are still coming in a few a day. One week til they are due! I have been busy with working on the ceremony, DJ paperwork, a day of timeline. My main to do tasks right now are finish up Thank You’s from my second shower, get music in order for the ceremony, and figure out how much alcohol to buy!! People keep asking how things are going…and I think they are going pretty good for 3.5 weeks out. Yea that is the scary part…LESS than a month!!!!

Delaware County Fair Take 2

Dave and I went to the Delaware County Fair again tonight after work. We went over for the Rough Truck competition but made a few stops along the way. As we were on our way to get food we noticed a crowd at the small animal tent – so we went to check it out. A calf had JUST been born….like 10 minutes before we walked up!! It was very neat because we got to get within 2 feet of the calf while the mom was still cleaning him off. We stayed for around 15 minutes waiting on the calf to stand up but he never made it while we were there.

Then we headed off to get dinner - I am not really that into fair food…sad I know! We got Stromboli, as we end up doing every year - whoooo hoooo - go us!

Then off to the Rough Truck competition, we thought we would be late but we got to see all the trucks/cars! I was surprised but I really enjoyed!! I was surprised by the speed of some of the trucks on the course!

Then we went to head out and stopped to get a lemonade and funnel cake. Yea my version of fair food – lemonade!

We went the wrong way out to stop and check out the calf again on our way out L Guess we will have to go back later this week!!! Gotta love living within walking distance to the fair.

What a weekend!

Why do I even make weekend plans on weekends I don’t have “plans”? This weekend was going to be fall cleaning weekend. Then I got this silly cold. Saturday I got not much of nothing done. Took a nap and then we headed over to the Delaware County Fair, and came home and went to bed!

The fair was good overall - very hot and sweaty - but fun! It’s nice to live in the town of the fair because you can go out for a few hours a few different days to see and do everything you want without having to be SOOOO tired and worn out! We went through most everything we wanted to see – animal barns, arts and crafts buildings, vendors trying to sell you stuff building. We like to look at all the items submitted for the photography competitions. And then we went to a few different places to try and get some pictures of animals and other fair fun! Too bad I can’t figure out why my pictures won’t add to posts L

I tried to watch part of the OSU game, but I was too tired and it was too depressing so I fell asleep. Dave was out talking to the neighbor and came in to see if I had took cold medicine or not - he could hear me coughing outside - opppps!

Today was another lazy day til the wind storm started. We decided we weren’t going to do anything outside. I went to go pick up some Mickey D’s while I was in line the computer system went down. So I got Subway and headed back home. Where Dave got ready and we headed off to the store, which we had to take the long way since there was a power line down over the railroad. Got way more than we went in for and headed home. Had to take another long way because the power line was still down. (we didn’t know it was a down power line time we got home, thought it was a car accident the first time) Got everything in and I check my phone. A missed call from Dave’s dad - kinda odd but I called him back. He wanted to talk to Dave so I went out and got him. His dad had been in an accident – a tree limb came down on this car. He was in the ER - it ended up only being some very deep bruises and some bleeding from the glass pieces hitting him - but no major cuts or injuries. He was still in the ER when he called so we went over to check on the house and let the dogs out. His dad got home after we had been there for a little while and seems to be doing well. Dave is going to go over tomorrow to help him clean up the limbs that are down in the yard. There aren’t a lot but he will need some help!!

It’s now 10:15 and Dave has broke out the NEW Kitchen Aid stand mixer to make something since all the fast food in town are without power. We are very lucky that we still have it!! I was ordered the whole way home that it went out while we were gone!

So nothing went as planned this weekend and I did get some much needed rest. Time to start another fun week. I have a meeting Monday night and a dress fitting on Wednesday - oh the joys!

Sneeze, Sneeze

That is what I have been doing the last few days. I have caught a cold and even with rest I don’t seem to be getting better very quickly! I can’t seem to get enough energy/motivation to get anything done.

Last night we had a date night at the Laundromat - go us! We needed to wash all of our bedding and blankets for the upcoming cooler/cold weather. So off we went. That place was pretty busy for 7:30 on a Friday night! We got half of it started and had to wait on another machine to come open so I ran across the street and got us Mexican for dinner.

After we washed one of the comforters we had to wash it again, it seems to big even for their washer, I don’t get it. We had ran out of detergent so we bought some there. Dave said to get two boxes one for each of the wash cycles. Wellllll we ended up with bubbles EVERYWHERE!!!! The nice lady there told us to buy some fabric softener and it would get the bubbles out of the wash and they would clean up the rest of the bubbles. Every time we go there we learn something new I guess!!!

This morning now afternoon I am just hanging out. I finally got a shower but that is far as I have got today. So much for my fall cleaning weekend!!!

Not so normal week

Well this week wasn’t a normal one for me! It started Monday morning - I had to be in Dublin by 7:15 AM to have ANOTHER MRI done. This time of my knee. It wasn’t nearly as bad as the first one - it as feet first and I only had to go halfway in. YEA! Tuesday I didn’t feel to good - stiff back, sore throat, headache = a sick day!! I slept in, took a nap, got a few little things done around the house. Wednesday I had to be back to the Drs. Office by 8 AM - to be told I need to go to yet ANOTHER dr. AHHHHHHH!!!!! I am not enjoying all of this!!!! Then that night I went to bed at 7:30 and slept til 6:30 this AM. Yea I should be all caught up on sleep!

Work has also been a changing….I have gotten more work so that means a little more stress and things to balance all day. Once I get more used to it I should be good it’s just the re-learning curve.

I’m glad it’s almost the weekend so I can relax and get caught up on some things around the apartment!!

Shower #2

On Sunday Stacy, Jackie, and Dave’s Mom held a Bridal Shower for me at Jackie’s house. It was VERY nice!! There ended up being about 17 friends and family friends who came out to share in the fun. Stacy had some fun not overly showery games for us to have and had prizes not only for the guests but also for me!! That was a surprise! They had a nice spread of snacky yet filling foods for everyone to enjoy along with a very yummy cake!! Everyone spoiled us - we got a LOT of wonderful presents that we can’t wait to use!!! THANK YOU to everyone who came out to make this SUCH a special day for me!!!

Again I am reminded how lucky I am to have such great friends and family in my life!!!

Girls Weekend/Bachelorette Party

Friday evening a group of my girl friends headed down to Hocking Hills for a weekend of relaxation and fun, and my bachelorette party on Saturday night at Bear Run Cabins. After many changes of plans Stacy and I left her house around 3:40 on Friday afternoon with her car PACKED!! We where the first 2 there and got familiar with our cabin, unloaded all of our stuff and had it put away before the next car got there with Kristy, then Michelle and Bethany arrived and last but not least Robin!

The cabin was VERY nice!!! It totally exceeded my expectations that’s for sure! The master bedroom that Stacy and I shared was the only room upstairs and had its own bathroom, a garden tub, and a nice king size bed. Plus had a LOT of room to hold all of our stuff. There was a hot tub on the back porch what we enjoyed on Friday night.

The only not so good things was storage for ALL the food we brought, we FILLED the fridge and had to bring a dresser out of a bedroom to put our non-perishables in. To say the least we had MORE than enough for the weekend and didn’t even end up cooking what we brought for dinner Saturday night.

Saturday we went for “hike” around the property we stayed at and then Robin and I continued down the road. It was nice because it was not a very busy area and was very relaxing. We went back to the cabin, watched the Buckeyes (two of the girls are OU alumni - ICK!!!), made some yummy lunch, took a nap and then went on a hayride that the owners of the cabin do nightly!!! When we got back it was Bachelorette party time – I did have a good time and my friends are true friends and kept things very tame!!!

Sunday we got up and had to pack up to leave by 11 – as it was check out time and we had to get back to Hilliard for my shower!

I think everyone had a very good time and we are looking forward to going back next year!!!

Thursdays??

What is it about Thursday and me updating my blog? My goal is to update at least every other day for the next week!

The last week has been VERY busy!! Wedding invites out, girls weekend, bachelorette party, wedding shower, MRI, sick day, wedding stuff, doctors visit, and work craziness!!!

Wedding stuff of the week -
Last Thursday night after many things not going as I wanted them to the invites FINALLY got done (except about 6 that need to go out tonight) and mailed out on Friday after work!! YEA!!! I didn’t realize how happy I would be when they went postal. We have started to get our RSVP’s back already and so I need to start updating the spreadsheet to track the RSVP’s.

I ordered the flower girl dress today - again not as simple as I thought it would be! We had picked a dress…I kept forgetting to order it. So Wednesday I went to order the dress, and the site wouldn’t take the order…the e-mail to them wouldn’t work…and their phone number just kept ringing and ringing….NO answer. So I took that as a bad sign and started looking for another dress. I found one - went to order it and nothing would add to my cart. I e-mailed them and got a response this morning that the site had an issue yesterday and it was back up and running. So this morning I ordered the dress - and it SAYS that is was shipping today, so fingers crossed that it comes in the next could of weeks!!!! I ended up ordering - http://flowergirlprincess.com/product_info.php?products_id=464

RSVP’s have started to come in, yea! Makes it fun to check the mail every day, I’m sure there will be a decrease soon after the first responders are all in - but for now I will take it!!!

I have a start on the ceremony so I need to have Dave look over it this weekend to get one more thing confirmed!! I also need to work on making a to do, to buy, to confirm, etc.

Only a little over 5 weeks to go!!!!

End of Summer Fun

I started out the weekend with no plans for Sunday and Monday, so I had all these plans for things we could get done. THEN Dave decided to go to Cabela’s with his friend Tom and Tom’s dad on Sunday and reminded me that that some hunting season opened Monday and he planned to go. The thought of sitting home alone and getting anything done over the two days was not looking good. So Sunday AM after I got up and moving I decided to head to Indian Lake to see the clan. I figured I really hadn’t got to see people that much over the summer, it felt like all of our trips ended up rushed. It ended up being a very relaxing and fun Sunday. I got there and we went on a golf cart ride, kids played in sprinklers, watched them ride their bikes, played fossball (sp??) with the older ones, went on a boat ride, had some pizza from Froggy’s, and just sat around and talked. Overall a wonderful last of “summer” day at the lake! I ended up taking my mom home and spending the night their, we worked on the final invite list. (yes I know I am WAY behind)Monday I came home early afternoon and just did a few things around the house and TRIED to work on the wedding invites. But that didn’t go as easy as planned and I ended up giving up for the day after a couple hours of fighting!!!

Fun with Friends

Saturday night our friends had some people over for a cookout. I had a great time!! It was good to see friends that I haven’t seen in months, and their friends who I haven’t seen in a year! It was very relaxing we just sat round and talked and enjoyed the evening til the bugs came out!!

So for the record yes I DID ask my friend to have this gathering. Yes I have wonderful friends!! I always have a good time at her parties, she has a diverse group of friends and I love to hang out with them. Somehow things are always low key and fun - I hope for her too.

Since we don’t really have room to entertain in our too small apartment I frequently talk my friends into having people over. Normally I don’t even have to do much arm twisting to get them to do this. Yes I do feel kinda bad asking…but really I am doing it for the greater good…as all of our friends love getting together. Yes, that is what I keep telling myself J

I can’t wait til we get a bigger place where we can have people over!!! I am BIG on the house kick lately…but we have to get this whole wedding thing all wrapped up before we can start focusing on that. So 2009 is the year of house research….I can’t wait, even though I know it will be STRESSful.

Corn Festival

Friday night Dave and I went to the Millersport Sweet Corn Festival to meet up with our friends Stacy, Jimmy, Robin, and Michelle. Stacy goes every year and Dave and I went a few years ago and had a great time. It’s a small town festival and all of the money the food vendors make is going for some charity/community organization. So the prices are reasonable and you don’t feel bad about where your money is going!! We got there a little after 7 and finally met you with our friends a little after 8 – we where late because of rain and traffic dang it!!

We had some corn of course and the fresh made doughnuts - still warm - yummmm-o!!!

The ride home was the not so fun part. As soon as we got out of the field aka parking lot it started to rain. As soon as we got out of traffic it started to POUR!!!! I hate driving in the rain - but yet again for the 2nd time in a week I was driving in the pouring rain. L But after some slow driving me made it home safely!!!!

Ice Cream By A Fire

Yea I know it sounds weird, and I have to say I think it was a first for me! Tonight the Hilliard Jaycees had their monthly social but instead of going to a restaurant we had a cookout at Stacy and Jimmy’s place. I was soooo excited for this. We haven’t done something like this in awhile, and in years past we did this kind of thing all the time. It is a nice and relaxing time! So we started out with a cookout, and when everyone was done eating and it was getting dark out we decided to have our ice cream social part of the evening. While we were setting all that up someone started a fire in the fire pit since it was starting to get a little chilly for an August night. Wow did we have A LOT of ice cream toppings. Really it would have been ideal to have like different bowls to try a different item each time!! I had a great time just hanging out and eating yummy food!!! I can’t wait til we do it again!

Yea Me!!!

So Monday night was Gahanna’s Jaycee meeting. I’ll be honest I was tired and wanted to go home instead of going to the meeting, but I went. And it was a good thing I did! At the end of the meeting we went over awards given out at the All-State that I missed because of my family shower. And I was given an award….one I am very excited about - Community VP of the Quarter!!!! Yep I’ll admit it…I am somewhat competitive in a kinda quiet at times way. So yea…I was rather excited - I was kinda bummed when Jimmy from Hilliard got it the 1st quarter.

The award was kind of a kick in the butt. It’s over half way through the year, I am rather busy with life and wedding planning. I have started to slack in my duties…I need to STOP that! So I hope that this will set me back on track as much as I can be with everything else going on.

Another nice weekend

Wow I am not doing very good at this! No updates since Saturday, what a slacker!!! So I guess I’ll do a few catch up updates.

Friday -
Dave and I went to Cheesecake Factory; he is on a fish kick and likes the variety there. Then we went to Costco - where we went in for one thing, didn’t find it and still spent tooo much!!! But I did get a new geek stick to replace my injured one. Then to Bed Bath and Beyond because I wanted to register for some picture frames - I didn’t even THINK about it the first time.

Saturday -
We did next to nothing allll day! We finally left the house at 7 PM to go to dinner. Hoggy’s just opened up Delaware last week so Dave wanted to go there. I hadn’t eaten all day, there was a 45 minute wait, I said nope lets go somewhere else. We walked down to Ben’s and only had a 10 minute wait so that is where we ate. Things went well there and dinner was yummy so I was happy! Then off to the car wash for bath time for my car, it was very needed! It was 8:45 and we decided to go get ice cream. Now I know my favorite place quits serving food one hour before the close…no biggie, I would have thought they would be open til 10 since it was a Saturday night and it was 84 degrees out, nope - they close at 9…again no biggie it’s 11 til when we place our order - or ATTEMPTED to. They turn the shake machine off at quarter til. Okay - really, you are an ice cream place - I would THINK that would mean you serve ice cream and take orders for ice cream until you close. Soooo we had to go to the other ice cream place in town. Lucky for us they had later hours still!!! So I had a yummy shake with marshmallow fluff and choc syrup!!!!

Sunday -
We decided to go up to Mohican for the day. It was pretty relaxing day. Dave went walking in the water taking pictures, I wondered around land, we walked the trail for a little, drove around to different parts of the part, and I sat and watched kids play while Dave went fishing. It’s very fun to people watch at places like that. The variety of people, how they interact, how the kids interact. It was enjoyable til the rain came. We got in the car JUST as it started to POUR! Of course when we got out of the part I needed gas, so we go to the gas station and as soon as Dave starts to pump the gas the electricity went out. It wasn’t out for long and then we where good to go!

We got home and went to Hoggy’s for dinner, only a 15 minutes wait!! It was OK, the service wasn’t very good, I was over-charged, but they did try to make it better we got free cornbread and a $10 gift card to go back!

Addicted

I am addicted to TV. Yes I know, it’s not a good thing. Busy or not - my shows must be DVR-ed. This is a time of year I don’t care for. Summer series are over but it’s still a month until the fall shows come on. I keep seeing ads for The Amazing Race while I am watching Big Brother. But it doesn’t come on for a month, I don’t think that is fair!! I just end up taping odd shows like Clean House, Deal or No Deal, old Cold Cases, whatever it takes to have something to watch.

I have always been one to NEED a TV on. For background noise, to fall asleep, to waste time, you know the drill!

This all stems from me freaking out about the noise my TV in the bedroom is making. I KNOW it’s on it’s last leg, one of these times it just isn’t going to turn on. I am worrying myself about how I am going to fall asleep with no TV when it dies. We want to get a new TV for the bedroom, just not yet.

Long time no update

Wow! What a busy week we’ve had!!!

Friday -
I worked half a day.
Went to the “nerve” dr.
Came back home to pack and get Dave.
FINALLY got everything together and headed to Ada around 4.
Got to Ada a little after 5. Bun and Lucille weren’t in town yet.
Mom brought home 2 BBQ chicken dinners that she had already bought tickets for. YUMMO! I haven’t had one in years and was really wanting one!
Then we put in pre-bake pizza’s from Fat Jack’s. Another thing that I like and we haven’t had in a LONG time!!
Bun and Lucille got to town - YEA!!
Sat around for a few hours doing this and that.
Ended up making mint s for the shower – which involved up needing another trip to the store…opps! I had never done that before – was much easier than I thought it would be!! And we got the recipe (somewhere) for Dave.
We ended up going to bed around 12:30. Dave and I set up our tent in the back year since my mom was going to have a full house.
Julie, Ron and Allison ended up getting to town around 1:45 AM….I found out Saturday morning!

Saturday -
The fun begins!!
We got up rather early - it was COLD outside. Which worked out well since we started the shower rotation. 9 people are a lot of people to get through 1 shower!
After mom got up we started helping getting breakfast ready and as always shipping Dave off to the store. (Mom used the you are such a great SIL line)
Julie and I went uptown to drop balloons off to get blown up and picked out some flowers for the cemetery.
When we got back the house was in craziness!! Stella came down and her and Allison played. The boys where trying to figure out what they needed to go shooting. The rest was a blur to me!!
The girls headed down to Aunt Debbie’s to set up for the shower. Stacy joined up there.
After setting up Stacy and I decided to skip more craziness at mom’s house and went to Padrone’s for lunch. Yea!!!
Of course we ended up running late so I was running around the house like a crazy woman to get to the shower on time.
Went to the shower - it was a great time!! We had a good time visiting with people, had some nice low key games, and got a lot of very nice presents! Thought it was brought to everyone’s attention that Dave is the cook in our family!
Afterwards we went back to mom’s house – and the boys weren’t home yet!! So we put dinner together and sat out back to chill. Jenn came over and give me a shower gift - towels!!! Yea I am such a dork! Bath Sheets!!!
After dinner and more chilling and the boys coming home and Stacy and I worked on my Thank You’s. We got them all done!!!
Then we had a fire and some s’mores.
Whew!!! Went to bed around 11:30 - I was exhausted!!!!

Sunday -
Again up rather early cuz of the cold.
Everyone left for Iowa around 9 AM.
Stacy , Dave and I got the tent down and got ready to go.
We went to Indian Lake and my Uncle Mark took us on a nice fun, relaxing boat ride!!! It was great!!
We left there around 3 went to Dad’s for ice cream and headed home. I had a nice nap!
Went to Boston Pizza for dinner.
Came home and I was asleep by 7:15!!!

Monday -
Back to work - BLAH!!
Went to Stacy’s - Printed invites and RSVP’s for the wedding - Had a it’s reallllly happening moment!!!!
One step closer to having them done!!

Tuesday -
I was VERY productive.
Called and made an appt to get the car looked at
Called and scheduled another drs. Appt
Ordered a battery charger for my camera
Ordered labels for popcorn bags and address labels
Ordered an address stamp for RSVP’s and Thanks You’s
Ordered direction cards for invites
Went to Spaghetti Warehouse for mystery dinner with Jackie and Bethany

Wednesday -
Made a to do list and actually got a few things done!
Dave didn’t get home til after 10 L

Today -
Mailed the contract in to the new photographer!!!
Bought stamps for RSVP’s
Trying to get some things done again tonight….but not feeling to motivated now!!!
At least this entry gets one thing off my to do list!!

Doctors!!!

I am sooo frustrated tonight! I had an MRI last month, when the dr. sent me for it she said she would review it and then tell me what kind of specialist I would need to go to. So I get the results in the mail – everything on it was fine but to schedule an appt to come in. So I called in and scheduled the appt. I went in this afternoon for a 5:15 appt. and didn’t see the dr. til 5:45 and then it was for all of 5 minutes to give me a name and number to call and schedule an appt. So an hour of my time and $20 of my money for what she could have told me over the phone!! And she doesn’t even know if she is in my insurance plan. So tomorrow I call to see if she is in my plan and try to schedule an appt with the specialist.

When I got home Dave went through the freeze and we made a list of all the food we have so we can try to make a meal plan for the next few weeks. We have a lot more in there than I thought we did!! Which is a good thing. We have dinner defrosting for tomorrow and we will pick meals for the days we are going to be home and go shopping for the finishing touches. A step in the right directions – now for a little more follow through.

I tried to watch the DVR of Sunday nights Big Brother….and it was 60 minutes!!! How annoying…good thing you can watch whole episodes on-line!!

Overall a pretty good and a semi-productive evening. I hope tomorrow stays in the same direction.

Christmas and a cookout

Last night the Gahanna Jaycees held this project. Kristi had wanted to have a cookout on her new deck all year and last night was the night! We all gathered there for some oh so yummy good - hot dogs, hamburgers, mac & cheese, fresh green beans, shredded potato casserole, strawberry dessert, chocolate cake, and some froze cakes. Anyone who knows me or has heard me talk about food much knows how picky I am. I ate some of allll of this…yes way to much! And it was all yummy!! After dinner we made some Christmas bulbs for the chapter to sell next month in a flea market. We had clear balls that we put paint in and swirled around. It was a pretty fun time!!! Thanks Kristi for having us out!!!

I also picked up our tables runners last night too - another check!!!

Checks and Half Checks

What a busy weekend we had!

Friday -
After work Dave and I went shopping and out to dinner. We started at Kohl’s; we went in looking for shoes for Dave and ended up with clothes and toys for Stella and socks for me. Then to Bath and Body Works, a store I am not overly fond of and Dave likes to spend money at, to get gifts for shower hostesses. We got that all finished up so that is check number one! We went to dinner at Cheesecake Factory at Polaris. The one at Polaris just opened in the last month and I don’t think people realize it’s open yet! Normally when you go to the one at Easton on a weekend you have an hour wait. We went at 6:30 on a Friday night and waited less than 3 minutes!! The service was great, the food was yummy, and we had strawberry shortcake for dessert - VERY YUMMY!!! Then we went to Target - where we got more stuff for Stella for her b-day and wrapping paper, gift bags, and cards for Stella and the shower gifts! - A little side rant here - the cost of wrapping paper, cards, gift bags, and tissue paper is INSANE!!! Now I remember why I normally do very BLAH wrapping. But for a girls 3rd b-day you have add a little Dora fun!!! Then with less than an hour til closing we headed to Jo-Ann’s to pick up bubbles and candles for the wedding. We had enough coupons for Dave and me to each get 2 items for 40% off so I took advantage of having him out and about! Last stop was Petsmart for cat food - ECK! Dave has decided to start giving the “kids” a special cat food for urinary tract issues….OUCH - that stuff is NOT cheap!!!

Saturday -
Let the fun start!! We where up and out the door by 9 - man where did all this stuff come from to take to my parents?!?! We got to the Old Barn Out Back a little after 10:30 and waited til 11 to meet with Rev. Jerry and go in for lunch. He was very nice and seemed easy to work with. So we booked him - Check number two!! After lunch Dave and I went to Faurot Park so he could see where I wanted to have the ceremony - he approved. Yea!!! Then off to Kohl’s to get shoes for him, Walgreens to pick some stuff up and Wal-Mart to get a few more things we forgot. I think we finally got to my parents house around 2:30-ish. We unloaded the car and Dave started putting together Stella’s dollhouse from my parents. We have found it is much easier and less stressful if we just put the stuff together for them and before she sees it! We napped a little and then helped mom get dinner ready. Aunt Debbie and Rodney came down to have dinner and cake with us. Once Stella got there all she wanted was presents. To stall we took her out to the pond to feed the ducks and then came back and opened presents and had cake. She was more interested in the new toys than cake so she played and played….for hours!! Then she got in the bath and went to bed and Dave, Mom and I went and sat by the fire and had pizza pies and s’mores! Overall a productive, busy, and fun day!!!

Sunday -
We bummed around, played with Stella, and got ready to go. We left around 2 in the afternoon to head to Dundee Michigan to get round 2 of engagement pictures taken. On the way there Dave realized the town we where going to was the home a Cabela’s…he was sad we didn’t go up earlier!!! We met with Kelly and quickly started on the pictures since it was threatening to rain any minute!! We got about an hour of pictures in finished up and then it started to rain. Kelly is working on out pictures this will and will be sending us a CD of the images this week or next. I really liked her and the way she worked with us and took a millllion pictures!!! Here is the half check - we got pictures taken, now we have to make a decision! We got done in time we got to go to Cabela’s for about 45 minutes before they closed - that store is HUGE!!!! We stopped at Applebee’s on the way out of town and got home around 10:30 PM. We where both BEAT!!!!!

Grumpy!

I have been very grumpy the last few days! Dave has been working late the last 3 nights. This will be great when the OT comes in on his check!! We can really use that money at this point. But that means I have been hanging out at home by myself the last few nights. I have gotten some stuff done around the house. But really I don’t have much go to get anything done when I am home alone. I would rather watch TV and waste time! But then later I feel bad because I got nothing done.

At lunch today Io went out to waste some time…and a WASTE of time it was! I went to the Goodwill store - the selection and items where BAD, the worst I have ever seen really. I want to Payless - they only have 2 styles in stock of dyeable dress shoes - both with over 3 inch heels. That isn’t going to work! Then off to Bath and Body Works - I forgot my coupon (the ONLY reason I was going) and then I looked and they don’t even have any kids stuff available right now. ARGH!!! What a waste of time. So all of the and I still had over 30 minutes left…so I went to Arby’s and hung out there while eating lunch….GRUMPY Carrie

Tonight we are supposed to go do some shopping and run some errands. That will be nice to get out of the house and attempt to have some fun for a little bit.

I want to go to JoAnn’s and use Dave so we can use more coupons to get a few small things. I would rather us both go and get 40% off two times than 20% of the total order. We have time and there isn’t anything we really need RIGHT now so it’ll work.

It’s going to be busy weekend - Meet with possible Reverend, Stella’s pre-birthday party, family fun time, more engagement pictures. But that will be a good number of checks off our list.

WHY?!?!

Are things so difficult! I am having major photographer issues. We had our engagement photos taken the end of June. We got them back the first week of July. I didn’t like them. And it was JUST because of them being of Dave and me. They had bad lighting, one was blurry, there were only 10 to pick from, and they all looked the same! So I went back and forth for almost a month. Everyone I talked to said they didn’t turn out very good. I e-mailed the photographer last Friday with our concerns. I got a response on Saturday, but I didn’t think it was overly professional and she was a tad rude in it.

I have been looking for a different photographer for a few weeks. I think I might have found one. Dave and I need to go over things tonight and might be meeting her on Sunday! I am concerned about my wedding pictures if we stay with the current photographer. I looked at a new wedding on her website and again see blur and light issues. So we will see what we come up with. With our budget we can’t afford a lot but I do think this 2nd photographer has some good potential from what I have seen so far!

Last night Stacy and I went to our first fitting for our dresses. I think it went very well and I am looking forward to seeing my dress again in a little over a month!! I do need to buy some under the dress garments before we go back and see if I can find a bra that I like to wear and that doesn’t show when wearing the dress!!

I also got an e-mail from my aunt yesterday that she has started getting RSVP’s for my shower that my aunts are having for me in Ada on the 16th. I am getting excited to see everyone!! But I am kind of nervous. I don’t like to be the center of attention and having people look at me!!! I need to figure out what I am going to wear!!

I am currently working on the wording and stuff for the invites so Stacy and I can start printing them soon….time is going by TOO quick!!!

I Survived!!

The camping trip that is! It was overall a good weekend.

Friday Night - Dave didn’t get home till about 6 PM so we finished packing up the last of our things - things I forgot or where to heavy for me to lift! And we headed off to Delaware State Park - which is only a few minutes from home. The longest part of the drive is from the main road BACK to the campsites - on average 10 minutes! As we started unpacking it started to rain - not sprinkles, not pouring - just a nice steady rain. Of course I forgot me pop up canopy so back on the road I went to get that from home. On my way back out of the park I did get to see 2 deer on the side of the road - which helped to calm me down SOME! I get the tent and sides and head back out. Unfortunately it was 7 PM by this time and I was HUNGRY, all I had to eat all day was sweets so I was shaky and not happy. So I ran through Mickey D’s for a light dinner. I get back to camp and I was in charge of dinner - pizza pies. This turned into a disaster (i.e. - Carrie’s breakdown of the weekend) and I was about to leave but my co-worker was camping next to us so I went and talked to her for most the night. I calmed down, had a s’more and headed back to our site to clean up the mess from dinner as the raccoons started to come out! And off to our tent I went. I slept OK - it was rather chilly/damp and we didn’t have a very big blanket.

Saturday -
We’ll Dave and I got up at 6:30, so we headed on home to shower and get this stuff to go to the range in the afternoon. We ended up being gone longer than expected going to Wal-Mart and Mickey D’s! We got back to camp around 9:30 and sat around and talked and cleaned up and then Stacy, Jimmy, Dave, Michelle and I headed off to the range. I hate guns!! But I did it - after Dave trying to get me to go for YEARS! We overall had a good time though. We enjoyed some yummy food - including some very yummy corn on the cob!!! And finished the night off with some Jell-O Shots, s’mores and drinks. Again - chilly and damp - but I survived!!!

Sunday -
We slept in til almost 9!!! Time to pack up - YUCK! I hate to pack up, it’s always HOT and who likes to pack up when you just get to look forward to going home! I had some bacon and sausage for b-fast. Dave and I packed up the car and where on our way hoe by 10:30-ish. We went home and napped for a loooong while and then when it started to cool off unpacked the car and took everything thing in the apartment.

Overall - a pretty successful and fun trip!!

Second Guessing

AHHHHHHH...I am second guessing our choice in photographers. Okay I have been for a month. Since the day we got out proofs from our engagement session. After a month I have calmed down and sent an e-mail to her about my concerns.

Everyone who sees out engagement pictures sees something wrong with them. Many mention concern that she is the one doing our wedding photography. I keep hearing you can retake engagement pictures but you can’t re-do wedding pictures.

So now we will what her response is. I have been looking into other photographers and seeing about availability and pricing. Dang decisions!!!!

The Tent is Up!

Yea!!!

We went to the campgrounds last night and set up our tent!! And we didn’t even argue, who know that could happen!

We also ran to Wal-Mart to pick up a few last minute things that I didn’t think of - batteries, bug spray, small flashlight for me, etc.

I picked up all the food we are supposed to take yesterday at lunch. All we need to do is load up the car when I get home and we are off! Yea!!! Hopefully this will make it a little more relaxing - until time to take it all down and bring it home.

DPL (Debt Proof Living) Summer Olympics

I have been trying to get my (our) money under control for a few months. Okay more than 6. With trying to plan a wedding, Dave’s change in jobs, and a few other things I have let this get pushed to the side. It’s the little things that are killing me. I like to eat out - it’s VERY bad I know. But it’s so easy for me - stop on the way to work, run out at lunch to get a break from the office, get home late - order some pizza. This HAS to stop. I have to be accountable for my spending.

So today I went back to the Debt Proof Living website which I haven’t even looked at in MONTHS. The first post I see if about the DPL Summer Olympics. You have to start a personal financial project and complete it during the time of the Olympics. It’s a 17 day challenge - starting Friday August 8th - Sunday August 24th.

My project will be to eat out less.
Only spend $20 in 2 weeks on eating out/soda out. (I am addicted to Mickey D’s Diet Coke so I had to put a $$ amount on it. $1.07 a day adds up!)
Only eat out once for a dinner Dave or I pay for. (We are going to be going home to see the family 2 different times - if they are taking us out I am game!)
Plan out meals ahead for this time - make a list of items needed to prepare those meals and only buy what is needed at the store.

We have a good amount of things in the cabinets and freezer but have nothing in the fridge to use to make them! Milk, cheese, etc. We will get some free eggs from my parents so that will save us a little!!

Wish me luck!!

We’re going camping!

We are going to go camping with our Hilliard Jaycees friends this weekend at Delaware State Park and I am pretty darn excited! I am looking forward to pizza pies, s’mores, and the wonderful smell of campfires!! And to make things even BETTER - it’s only 5 minutes from home so I am going to go home and shower J That makes things so much more tolerable!!

We went a few years ago and I had an OK time - but had the stress of making Saturday nights dinner - Grilled Chicken Breast, Corn on the Cob, and something else that I have blocked out of my mind! Anyone who knows me knows I think all this outdoors stuff sounds fun - but when I go to do it I can’t deal! I don’t like to sweat - ICK! This time I took the easy way out. I am in charge of Friday night dinner….pizza pies! This I can handle, and will be done before the weekend even really gets started!! So I can kickback and enjoy the rest of my time….as long as it doesn’t get toooo hot!

I am sure I will have some stories to tell on Monday!!

What a weekend...

My weekend was supposed to be very simple and boring. Take the day off work on Friday and work the Jazz and Rib Festival and then just chill out the rest of the weekend around the apartment. I was going to clean some, work on wedding invitations. All of this got changed on Thursday night. I went home and our middle cat (who was the first one we got 5 years ago) was sick. He wasn’t really moving and just looked BAD. So off to the Vet we went. He had a urinary blockage. Let’s just say things didn’t go very well and we ended up having to put him to sleep on Saturday. It wasn’t good. He was Dave’s baby - but I still seem to be taking it very hard! Harder than I thought I would. So we pretty much bummed around the rest of the weekend.

Sunday we did go to one of the Delaware Preservation Park’s. It was a nice walk…Dave got some pretty good pictures.

Stop the World...

I want to get off!

I go through this sometimes - just got overwhelmed for really no good reason!

Right now the main things I have going on are scheduling people to work and working the Jazz and Rib Festival this weekend. And of course wedding stuff - mainly invitations right now.

I have to admit - I was never a girl to have the dreams of a big wedding, or a wedding at all. And if we would have gotten married 5 years ago - we would have probably just done a destination wedding. But for some crazy reason in the last year I decided I wanted a wedding. This is very strange to many people who know me.

And really I didn't think it would be that bad. I love to plan events. But this whole things has taken on a life of it's own. I said I wanted a Simple Wedding. I have since learned (and been told numerous times) that the words Simple and Wedding really don't go together.

Since I never really had the thought of what I wanted my wedding to look like I am a little worried it is going to be very mis-match. But I have a few people trying to help me on that front to pull it all together.

My issue now is invitations. The FIRST thing I bought for the wedding. From Michael's - gotta love 50% off!!! Well when I did that I didn't think of think of things like accommodations and directions needing to be put in the invite. So now I am trying to figure out how to do all of this and pull it together so they all look right and match!!

So this has been my focus the last few days. And I am really not getting anywhere! I think today is the day....I am going to have to go beg a friend to see if she can help me!!

I love Panera!

Since I got my laptop this year I think Panera is my new favorite place! (Until the Mickey D's in Ada opens) WiFi!!! I can get things done while I would normally be wasting time and shopping while waiting to go places.

What a busy weekend!
Friday - Went to work. At lunch I went and got the tags for my car renewed - I hate doing that. Next year I will do it early!! After work I went down to Indian Lake. We went on a boat ride, it was a perfect night! Not to hot not to cold to be on the lake. When we got back in we went to Froggy's for dinner. The place was PACKED! Tooo much for me. I don't are for large groups of people or loud noises. It was both.

Saturday - Mom and I went to meet meet the Day of Coordinator for the wedding and look at the reception site. Allison had some WONDERFUL ideas!! We also went to the park and found a few locations to have the ceremony. Then to lunch to go over flowers, set up, etc. It went very well - but I left with my head spinning!!!

Then mom and I went looking for a dress for her. We found one we both liked but she is afraid it isn't MOB enough..so we'll see if her friends approve! I hope so.

Then to Wal-Mart for a few items and back home. We met my dad and uncle at the Mexican restaurant in Ada. It was pretty good!! Nice to have some variety in town!

Then it was home to watch some TV....or in my case NAP! I napped for a little then up and talked to mom and uncle for awhile then finished the movie we had started.

Sunday - Bummed around then Jen came down to cut my hair the day went crazy from there. So I got my hair trimmed and headed home.

Yep after all of that I had to nap when I got back home again!!!

Overall a good and productive weekend. But now I have even more things I need to do. Well maybe not MORE but more brought to my attention!

MRI

So yesterday I FINALLY went and had my MRI.

I was scheduled for it the end of May/start of June but I called and cancelled. I was looking into some insurance things which didn't really pan out. But I knew that a month ago and just kept putting it off. Last week the co-worker told me I needed to call and re-schedule. So I did. My nice dr. have me a small script for Valium since I freak out in small spaces pretty easy.

So I left work early yesterday and Dave and I headed down to the hospital. We went to the new hospital in Dublin that has only been open a few months. It was great! Everyone was VERY nice and helpful. (Even though we got there late)

I survived the MRI and should have results back in a few days. Then we will see where the dr. sends me next!

One more thing off my stress list for the week!

Now I Understand..

What it is like to Blog. I have been a blog stalker for more years than I care to admit. I normally check a few everyday. When I go and check a blog and there is no new post - I'll admit I am kinda sad.

This week I have found myself multiple times saying I need to update my blog or oh yea - I could update my blog. But I never seem to get logged in and do it!

Saturday - Was a tiring, but fun and productive day!
*I got to Stacy's around 10 AM. We looked at some stuff on-line for the wedding.
*Picked out jewelry to order. (I am not going to order right now but I just wanted what I was going to order decided!)
*Went over the shower invite list.
*Went Culver's with Jimmy for lunch.
*Then the shopping marathon started!
*The Party Store - looking for invites for the wedding shower, didn't see any we liked but did find some plate's to buy for Stella's b-day party.
*The Popcorn Store was next. We tired a bunch of popcorn, figured out how much we are going to need to buy for the wedding...over 52 gallons!!! It was yummmy!
*Target - Added a few more things to the registry. Found invites for the shower that we liked. Just looked at bunch of stuff while enjoying our Watermelon Jolly Rancher Slurpee-thingy.
*Back to Stacy's to get JoAnn's coupons
*To JoAnn's - Got our frame and mat for the photo mat to sign. (and got an extra discount!!!) Ribbon for out bouquets. Paint for an aisle runner, and a few other random wedding things.
*To Wal-Mart - Not even sure why we went in there! But I did end up wondering the school supply aisle. I LOVE school supplies!! I got a new binder to try and get all the wedding stuff in one area...we'll see how that goes!!!
*To Jackie's to pick up pasta salad..picked up pizza...and FINALLY back to Stacy's at 10:55 PM!!!

So we got alot of wedding stuff done...but best of all. I got to spend a day having fun and spending time with Stacy!!!!

A few checks down - many more to go!

Yahoo! BB 10

Yea! It is finally Big Brother time again :) Yes I know there was an extra season this winter/spring. But what would summer be without Big Brother? I am watching the 2nd episode on DVR right now. As of now just for her annoying factor I am ready for Remmy to go! I am not sure who I like the best yet. I normally takes me a few episodes to decide.

No I would never want to be on the show - not that social, and well they do ICKY and gross things!

ACK!

So today has been wedding wedding wedding. I woke up to a dream about the wedding and NOTHING was done. Only 25 people showed up, it was in a SMALL room, we started an hour late and I had no aisle runner or programs. Sooo that made me start to make a list of what still needs done and what I need to buy.

*E-mail day of coordinator to set an appt to meet her. (Yes much to Dave's dismay I WANT one!! I would like to have a little less stress that day)

*I need a florist!! That is my main thing that is still not finalized. So I e-mailed a place today to see if he would give me a quote. I also sent pictures of what I want so hopefully it will go well. We meet with one florist 2 weeks ago but I am not sold on him yet. He was a little more than I wanted to pay. Yep I am cheap - but really I don't need that much so I don't think I am being THAT hard to deal with.

*I need to figure out invitations this weekend. See if I need to order anything.

*I need to buy a large frame/mat for guests to sign. And a few pens.

*I need to buy the aisle runner. And the items to paint on it. ( I NEED the monograms I ordered to come in!!!)

* The card box. Stuff is bought but needs put together.

*Engagement Pictures - They are taken. I e-mailed today to see if I can get them mailed to me (prints and CD). I am going to have to learn some photo editing to see if I can fix a few. I think we are also going to try and go take some more ourselves as I wasn't thrilled with the ones we got.

* Popcorn Buffet - I need to check bag size and see how much I am going to need to buy. Thanks Stacy for finding one of the bags I am looking out so I can see if it is too big or a good size!! Still need to do figure out the stickers to put on the bags.

*Programs - Need to see if I can do what I want with what we have....sometimes a small bridal party isn't a good thing!!

*Table Runners - I am buying some from a knottie. I should have all I need!!!

I love lists!!! I am trying to become more organized in my old age :)

Whew!

I keep saying this but I think this time it might be true...things are starting to slow down for me. After 3 years of being VERY involved with the Jaycees and the local and state level this year I don't have alot of responsibilities. Relay for this year is over. Yea I have a few things here and there - but I have time!! And I can pick what I want to do and not to do.

Monday night I came home and Dave and I cleaned up a little, made some chicken and pasta salad for dinner, enjoyed some time outside - and had a NICE evening!

Tonight I came home - have been chatting with an old friend who I haven't talked to in YEARS. And now I am working on making pizza for dinner - it is currently in the oven. So my part is done...is this what adult life is suppose to be like? I might be able to get used to this.

I would like to start only being gone one or two nights a week.

Well I better get going, the pizza will be ready in a few and I need to get some things picked up!

Hello! Thanks for stopping by! After many years of thinking of starting a blog - and stalking other blogs I have decided to give it a whirl.

My name is Carrie and I live in an apartment central Ohio with my fiancé Dave and our 3 cats. We are currently in the middle of planning our October 18, 2008 wedding....after at that time almost 8 years of dating!! I just turned 30 last week and I am not taking it so well!!

I'm really not a very exciting person. Most of my time is spent volunteering, when not planning the upcoming wedding - which is taking more of my time and thought than I ever expected!

I am a member of the Hilliard and Gahanna Jaycees and the Chair for the Relay For Life of Hilliard. I am sure you will hear more about these things on a daily basis.