Engaging Susie

Ayeayeaye

2008-10-29T18:35:00.006-04:00

Seriously? Could I be any worse at blogging? I am really good at reading blogs, well, okay, I am really good at reading my sister's and her IRLBFF Deb's blog. (okay fart, I totally tried to link to your site, but it was not working!!) But I am totally sucky at commenting, blogging, anything active essentially.

However, since I am here and engaged (get it?!), let me give you a wedding update. Okay, so does looking at that little 37 days left make you throw up in your mouth a little? No? Just me? Okay, well, it totally freaks me out. Maybe that is why I am not blogging. It forces me to watch the second drop off, ever closer to December 6. I think what I am most afraid of is not planning anymore. I LOVE IT! I want to plan wedding for the rest of my life. I will have binders, and itineraries, and invitation proofs, and everything! So if there are any potential brides out there-call me!! I need a wedding to plan. I wish I had a friend who was getting married soon. I think I could prove myself. But in the meantime, I will relish in my own wedding planning.

So last I left you, was with my new shoes. Let's see...

I booked ceremony musicians. I finally contacted my old violin (fiddle!) instructor who told me she was available, plus a harpist and a flutist (flautist?) So the three of them will play during the ceremony. Won't that be so awesome?

And I also got the ornaments that I ordered for my favors. I begged and pleaded with my cousin to hand decorate them all, and she agreed. But since they have been in my house, I have found my crafty side and have been doing them myself. Please see below...

AH! I love them! The back has the date of our wedding. And I also got the little individual boxes that we will decorate and put under the Christmas tree in the entry way at the reception, so people can put their fun little ornament favors in their fun little boxes.

What else is going on? I am getting RSVPs in. I love that. I normally hate getting mail, but now I have to sit on my hands so I don't tackle the post-man. So far there are 115 people coming, 7 of those will be our mystery guests because they didn't put their name on the card nor did they put a return address on it. I think I will sit them at the "Idiots who didn't put their name on the card" table. =) It will certainly make the seating chart more interesting.

I have also had one of my two showers. It was co-hosted by my sister (thanks again, Fart!). it was lovely, and I got lots of good loot! I have the second shower next weekend. This is the in-law side. I am a little nervous, I am not sure I will know everyone! Oh well, thanks for coming always sounds good. The introductions to my family may get a little interesting...

Anyway, I think that is all the good stuff. And Joe is almost in with the mail! (Whoohoo). I will try to update more regularly.

Finally!

2008-09-17T17:34:00.007-04:00

Wedding Update!

Whoohooo.

Well, my stunningly beautiful dress came in. And I made the 1567 hour drive to Cincinnati to pick it up. (it was not a pleasant drive.) But, it was the right dress and it fit! Even better.

Other wonderful wedding news? I got my wedding shoes. How awesome are they?!

They are just the right amount of sassy, pointy, high heeled, toe-cleavage-y wonderfulness I was looking for. How cute will it be to see those little red tips sticking out of my gown! In the meantime, this is how they look with my jammies.
I'm quite hot to trot in my sweats and red high heels. The look is even better when I am in my workout capris and red high heels.

Other wedding news, we had out tasting yesterday. So we drove the 345 hours down to B-town to pick out the linens and taste everything. I had asked my florist to put together a sample centerpiece so I could see how they look with the linens. And the flowers were so pretty!!

If you can't tell, it is red roses, light pink roses around the edge, bright pink roses, bright and light ranaculus in the middle. With a leaf wrap around the stems. Pretty, no? I think I will ask her for a little less light pink and a little more bright pink. But still, I love them.

So for the linens on the guest tables, we chose black table cloths, black chair covers, white chair ties, white napkins and white table runners. The white table runners look awesome- it really made the flowers pop. I can't believe I forgot to get a picture of it. Oh well- trust me, it was beautiful. For the head table we will have white tablecloth, white chair covers, white chair ties, white napkins. No table runner because we will have 24 feet of solid red roses down the center of the table. Whohoo!

As for the food that will be on these beautiful tables...

During the cocktail hour (hour one of the SEVEN hours open bar), we will have red pepper hummus on pita chips, mini crab cakes, grilled shrimp skewers, and cheese for the hor derves. The salad will be served and will be endive with dried cherries and a balsamic vinaigrette. Dinner will be buffet style, with tilapia with a scampi sauce, chicken stuffed with spinach and cheese topped with a sun dried tomato sauce, a penne pasta with tomatoes, artichoke hearts, and feta cheese, and a prime rib carving station. The sides will be cubed roasted red potatoes and green beans. The cake will have fondant icing, and will have a layer of red velvet, a layer of cherry, a layer of white, and a layer of white with key lime filling. We will also have petit fours, chocolate dipped strawberries and truffles. YUM! And don't forget the seven hours of open bar.

And now I am going to drop off the planet earth again.

Ack!

2008-09-02T18:55:00.004-04:00

Has it really been over a week since I blogged last? There goes my commitment to blogging. Stupid work. It really has been keeping me way too busy.

So what's new with you all?

My weekly update was a little long, how about I try a weekend update?

Friday evening, Joe and I loaded up and drove the 3+ hours to B-town to see his fam. His sister's family was coming in town, complete with twin 8 year olds and one sassy three year old. We got into town before them- they were stuck in traffic. So we said a quick hello to the parents and headed off to pick up me newly re-minted Hoosier friend and her boyfriend. Colleen just moved back to Indiana to go back to school at IU. Unfortunately, since I have moved as well, Colleen is still a few hours away. It was very nice to see her.

We grabbed a late dinner and a few drinks. I had coddle. Do you know what coddle is? It is soooo delicious. I don't think I new what it was until I went to this Irish restaurant. It is like a good super duper thick stew/soup, with lots of bacon. MMmmm bacon soup. Maybe I should try to make coddle. Hmm, maybe so.

Anyway, the rest of the family showed up shortly after we got home. It's amazing how loud a house gets when you add 5 more people. =)

Saturday morning we got up early (9:00!!) and had some Mimi breakfast. Essentially whenever anyone comes over, all Mimi does is cook, and all the rest of us do is eat. And if you start eating, it just encourages her. Her thinking goes like this, I'm pretty sure. Oh, if you are eating club crackers, you probably want wheat thins. And if you are eating crackers and wheat thins, you probably want Cheetos. And if you are eating all those things, you probably want chips. And if you want chips, you probably want dip. And if you want dip, you probably want cottage cheese. And if you want cottage cheese, you might want Colby cheese. And if you want Colby cheese you might want a lunch meat sandwich. And on and on it goes. No wonder Joe was fat when he lived there. I can't get out of there without gaining 5 pounds over a weekend.

Anyway, so after a breakfast of pancakes, strawberries, bacon, cottage cheese, Cheetos, etc, Joe and I escaped the house for the bar. Yes, for the bar. Yes, it was 10:30. But we had a football game to go to, so we needed to get drinking. Joe had a Hairy Bear (of the Hairy Bear fame- see number 10). I downgraded so I wouldn't puke on my shirt and got a Skip and Go Naked instead. (Really that's what it is called.)

We didn't dilly dally there so we drank those, had some toast, and were off to the tailgate. Now if Joe and I were living in Bloomington, rather than this god-forsaken place, we would be inheriting the family tailgate. We would be arriving early in the morning with a trunk full of booze to entertain the masses. Instead, we still just get to show up, drink for free, and get loved on by family that didn't expect us to make it down for the game. Going to the game is not an important part of IU football, so Joe and I wondered through the various tailgates during the first half and then went back to hang out with family over half-time. It was nice. Everyone is so excited about the wedding. We headed back home after tailgating and spent the rest of the day hanging around, watching movies, and playing with the kids.

Sunday morning we slept in and pretty much went right to the lunch table when we got up. It was the twins birthday lunch, although they pretty much just pouted the whole way through lunch because they wanted to open their gamillion presents. So, right after lunch, the kids got down to business. There were tons of presents to open, and the three year old was taking it all pretty well. She was opening all their presents, but not taking any for herself. Pretty good for a three year old.

We escaped their house before we could eat anything else and headed over to my parents house. So much driving!! When we got there, Mom, Dad, Ang and the kiddos and my aunts and uncle were there, and my cousins got there shortly after we did. it was nice to see everyone. The kids were so funny. They are pretty much terrified of Uncle Joe most of the time. We didn't stay long since we had a ridiculous drive home ahead of us. We got in the car around 6:00 I think. We decided to stop for dinner. At White Castle. Seriously.

I haven't had a White Castle in about 6 years. But we chose well. Apparently this is the best White Castle in the land, considering we waited 45 minutes for our sliders. Seriously. Nearly an hour. We should have stopped at Morton's or something. There were tons of rednecks either heading to or from the lakes up north and they were ALL at White Castle. I swear each person waiting ahead of us ordered 30 burgers. It was ridiculous. But they were sooooooo good. Yum. All 6 of them. Plus fries. And onion chips. Ugh. How soon is it that I need to fit into my wedding dress?

Weekly Update

2008-08-22T21:45:00.007-04:00

Hello patiently waiting readers! I mean, hi mom and Deb. =)

I have felt extremely busy, but I am not quite sure what I have been up to. Let's try to do a recap.

Since my last post, Joe and I ate all the pie. You may have thought I would have to be in the hospital since this time with the sugar diabetes, but we managed to stay out of a coma.

Last Friday, I went down to babysit for my favorite rug rats. I got to meet the famous Jesus Fandango Rodrigo Luiz Ortega, who is just a little bit funnier and cuter than the pictures. I also got to see my folks, and we got a cute picture from the top of a hay wagon.

Please note my crown. Little Miss put that on me when I first got there. And she TOTALLY forced me to where it all night. Seriously, I hate being a princess.

Saturday, Joe's parents came up to the Fort. They were our first overnight visitors. They even slept on an air mattress!! We are that awesome. Mimi brought us a present! In a Crate and Barrel box! My favorite kind! (Well, expect for presents that come in pretty little velvet lined boxes.) So she got us the green charges we registered for. They are so pretty!

It's hard to get a good picture, but the very pretty dessert plate on top is what my mom got me! I can't wait for my shower! Keep the Crate and Barrel boxes a'comin!

Back to the update... I had unexpectedly been given the chance to go to a conference in Chicago so Sunday night I packed up and drove to Chicago. I pretty much ditched all the conference sponsored socializing events and went about my way in Chicago. I ate at my favorite pizza place and got to poke around the Magnificent Mile.

I have since been working entirely too much. I thought this whole work from home thing was going to be a piece of cake, but goodness sakes- it is easy to get sucked into work till 10pm when it is in your living room.

This last weekend Joe and I went to a state park about 20 minutes from our house. It has 11 small lakes formed by a glacier, and 8 are connected by little channels. Joe and I hiked for 3 hours on Sunday!! Ugh! My butt is still sore. But it was nice. It is so shaded that it wasn't even too bad to walk that long in 80 degree weather. We are going to try to kayak through all 8 lakes at some point, but I think we will wait till it is cooler. I don't think there is too much shade in the middle of a lake.

Welp, I must be off (to work). I must start blogging more regularly. It is harder to even write one when you haven't for so long. So I make this promise to you, I will stop working so much and start blogging!

Happy Happy Birthday

2008-08-11T21:22:00.006-04:00

Today is Doctor Joe's 31st birthday. Dude, he's so old. Like as old as my sister.
Last year for Joe's 30th birthday, I surprised him with a trip to New York. I packed his bags for him, made him get in the car, and he didn't know where we were going until we got to the airport. I am still paying off that birthday present. (Thank goodness for 0% APR credit cards). Since I am still paying on that one, this one was a bit more low key.
We went out for a very fancy dinner in the smallest town up here over the weekend. It is such an odd place, the town is maybe a few hundred, and there is this phenomenal four star restaurant. We had fois gras (which is freaky but really good); Joe had lamb and I had fish. And then we had four desserts.
Today for his real birthday, Joe had to work, but he requested a few pies for his present. So I spent all afternoon baking up a storm. He wanted a key lime pie, a cheesecake, and a blueberry pie. So he got...

The key lime pie was the most time intensive. I used actual Key Limes, not regular limes. I felt like I was in some reality show competition while I was squeezing all those tiny little limes. Do you know how many of these

it takes to get 2/3 cup?! Well, I don't either, but it felt like a lot.

Should Joe and I consume all the desserts I made tonight, we would eat 3.3 pounds of sugar, 1.33 pounds of graham cracker, 1 pound of cream cheese, 1 pound of butter, 5 eggs, and 3 egg yolks.
Now I am going to go lay on the couch and watch the Olympics, I mean, go burn off some calories.

Ratatouille

2008-08-06T20:51:00.006-04:00

I'm excited to share my first recipe! Although I am very bummed it is not "Ellen's super awesome black bean salsa." Joe's camera is holding those pictures hostage until we find the battery charger. It will come though, I promise.

Anyway, on to Ratatouille. Now, if you are like me, you had no idea what Ratatouille was until you saw the very adorable Pixar/Disney movie. I love it. However, since Remy didn't post a recipe at the end of the movie, I had to ask Mimi. (Remy is the little rat in the movie, Mimi is the soon to be mother-in-law)

So, this is what you need, more or less.

The recipe calls for:

1 eggplant, cubed

1 large zucchini, cubed (I used two small ones)

2 medium yellow squash, cubed (the grocery didn't have any, so I had to use one, slightly old, leprosy ridden squash)

1/4 cup olive oil

1 small green pepper, coarsely chopped (mine was not so small)

1 small sweet yellow pepper, coarsely chopped (again, not so small)

1 small red pepper, coarsely chopped (kind of small)

1 medium onion, chopped

2 cloves of garlic, minced

2 (14.5 oz) cans of fancy tomato wedges, undrained (I don't have a clue what these are, so I used two cans of peeled, diced tomatoes)

1/2 cup of dry white wine (I don't drink white wine, so I don't know what kind is dry- I used Riesling)

1/3 cup small pitted olives

1 teaspoon of salt

2 teaspoons of dried Italian seasoning

1 bay leaf

3/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese (I used the stuff out of the green can)

If you have these totally awesome bowls from William-Sonoma, you can do this with all your chopped, cubed, and minced veggies.

Saute the eggplant zucchini and yellow squash in hot oil in a large Dutch oven (giggle) over medium-high heat for 6-8 minutes (We don't have a Dutch oven yet- it's on the registry!- so I just used the biggest pan we have, which wasn't big enough)

Add the peppers, onions, and garlic and saute for 8 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Look at the pretty colors!

Add the tomatoes, wine, olives, salt, Italian seasoning, and the bay leaf. Stir, cover, reduce heat to medium, and simmer for 15 minutes or until tender. (I don't have a picture of this step because my pan was overflowing and I had to divide it between two pans.)

After the 15 minutes, discard the bay leaf and transfer the ratatouille to a large serving dish. (Or keep it in the pan)

Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese if desired.

It may look a little bit like throw up, but it is so good!! I sauteed some ground turkey and added it before I served it. I hadn't done that before, but it was very good and I will do it again.

I feel so healthy eating it- I was getting about 98 servings of veggies!

I heart Fort Wayne

2008-08-05T20:32:00.010-04:00

I have been delinquent in my blogging, but I think this story is worth a week's worth! This is an excerpt from the Fort Wayne news.

FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WANE) - A Fort Wayne man was arrested Monday for felony Public Indecency after police saw him standing naked in the window of his home.
Around 10:30 p.m. Monday evening, a Fort Wayne officer was driving in the 4500 block of S. Hanna St. when he noticed a naked man standing in front of a large picture window of his home with his genital region clearly visible to those on the street.
According to the officer, the blinds were not pulled shut and the front door was wide open, giving a clear view inside the home.
Together, with another responding officer, the two walked up to the home and found the naked man, then on the couch, conducting a lewd act with a claw hammer, plastic bag and motor oil.
The man, Ronald Miller, did not acknowledge the officer's presence until they addressed him and still did not say anything.
Officers arrested Miller for felony Public Indecency, at which time Miller asked the officer for another chance. Officers declined and took Miller in double-locked handcuffs to the Allen County Lock-up instead.
Mr. Miller had a previous conviction for an unrelated public nudity incident.
A neighbor watching the scene, who wished to remain confidential, told police she had seen Miller walk around naked in his home with the front window and door open on several occasions. She said, "He does it 24/24. He's not right."
The neighbor also told police she doesn't appreciate that he walks around naked for all to see in her neighborhood.

Okay, so the hilarity about the claw hammer, plastic bag and motor oil is almost too much.

Until you read the comment by the neighbor who says he does it "24/24", you know, like 24 hours a day, 24 days a week.

How is it possible I live here?

Sister knows best

2008-07-30T19:47:00.014-04:00

Yep. That's right. John Deere Mom was closest with her $650 guess.
Are you ready for this?
I spent $738 on GASOLINE! In ONE MONTH! And I don't drive an 18 wheeler!! Do you know how much fun stuff I could buy for that!! That's like 7 really great Target trips. Or at least a couple really nice purses. Ugh!!
Here is another fun car story that happened during this month of constant driving. I got my oil changed in mid-June. Then one day, driving here in the Fort, my car started beeping at me. My screen said "Oil change recommended." What? I just had my oil changed. So I dug through all the crap in my console and found the note from the dealership- Oil changed 6/13/2008 4, 176 miles. Next oil change 9/13/2008 or 7, 176 miles. Sure enough, in under a month, I put on over 3,000 miles. Sheesh. I guess that explains the $738.

So speaking of all my driving, let me give you a little run down of the cars of my life.

The first one, you all probably saw on my sisters site, the super sweet Oldsmobile Cutless Calais.

After dad and I pulverized a deer in that car, and did about as much damage to the car as the deer, I got a "new" car, a 1986 Honda Accord.

Kinda like this...

I loooooved this car. It took me through high school, college, and into the real world. It persevered through one deer mishap, one rear-ending, and 200,000 miles. I put butterfly stickers in the corners of the windshield, a pink fuzzy steering wheel cover, and a lei on the rear view mirror. However, it did have the minor problem of a leaky sunroof, which would result in a bucket of water gushing on top of my head in the early mornings. Yeah, my baby had to go.

So after lots of soul and dealership searching, I found the car of my dreams. And since I had a real job at this point, I could afford a real car. So I got a 2002 Explorer Sport Trac.

As much as I loved my Honda, I loved this one more. It was cute and tough. It was great for tailgating. I could haul stuff, and still have my backseat full of junk (although I think the purpose is to have a backseat full of people.) My headlights came on automatically, I had a sunroof, and a fun little back window. The steering wheel was perfectly positioned for total knee driving, leaving my hands free for important things like talking on my cell phone, and jotting down notes. Everything a girl needs. This little beauty packed on the miles like a champ. It took me back and forth from South Carolina. It moved me from my apartment to Joe's house. Perfect.

Until one fateful December day. I was going to babysit for these monkeys.

Then the weather folks said there was going to be a winter storm, so I cancelled.

Then it was 5:00 and not doing squat. And it was like 40 degrees.

So I called up the sis and again offered my services.

I got down there no problem and got to babysit for the hooligans. Then Ang and Farm Guy came home, and it was still like 38 degrees and not doing anything. So I decided I could make it home. And I got to about 10 miles from Indy, and it started raining. Then kind of sleeting. And the temperature was dropping, 38, 37, 36, 35, 34, 33.

I was driving very cautiously on the interstate and someone came up behind me in the fast lane. I got over, but on my way, hit a patch of ice on an overpass, careened over to the right, then spun all the way back across the 4 lanes of traffic, then hit the median wall head on, then stopped facing the wrong way on the interstate. Holy crapola. And this is what remained of my baby.

This was the view from the police car after they came to save me. Woah. Super scary. The airbags went off, it was all smoky (and very stinky), but I was okay.

Here's another shot, from the car graveyard.

My poor baby. So I was in the market for a new car. And as much as I loved the sport trac, I thought it would be silly to get a car the exact same as my old one. So I looked an looked and decided I really liked the Honda CR-V.

It was zippy and more sensible than a big truck. So I got one. Brand new. It was very nice. And I liked it a lot, for about a day. Then I pretty much hated the site of it. I felt really awful in it- it felt very wrong. And get this- it's headlights didn't turn on automatically. Seriously. That's really what split us up.

So, I wound up whining and moaning so much about my stupid CR-V that Joe was finally like, why don't you look at a new Sport Trac. OKAY!

Barely three months after I purchased my brand new CR-V, I was in the Ford Dealer getting a brand new Sport Trac. With headlights that come on automatically. And I love it.

Here she is.

Holy Petrol Batman

2008-07-29T20:35:00.003-04:00

I am going to post a little challenge to you all. I have been driving A LOT. And I got my credit card bill yesterday.
Guess how much I spent on gas in the last month?
I was on vacation for one week, moved one week, and have had to go to Indy from Fort Wayne a number of times. Throw out some numbers. I'll let you know how close you are tomorrow.

OMG

2008-07-28T13:48:00.004-04:00

OMG! I know I set up some pretty strict rules about blogging while I am "working" but I had to share this!!

I have been watching the Hobby Lobby ads to see when their Christmas ornaments would go on sale. (Yes, it's July. Yes, they already have Christmas ornaments out.) (A little background information as to why I am so freakin stoked about Christmas ornaments in July: I am planning on using Christmas ornaments as favors for my wedding. We are going to have a 15 foot monstrosity of a Christmas tree in the entry way to our reception site and it will be decorated with my beautiful ornament favors.)

So, I saw today that they had some on sale. So I rushed there over lunch to check it out.

Well, the ones on sale were the clear craft kind- not what I wanted. BUT! They did have a gamillion other ornaments there, just not on sale yet. And I think I may have found the PERFECT ones!

To put you in my wedding frame of mind... I am going to be in white (What?! You may ask, given my previous description of "firsts." Ahem, yes, I am innocent and full of wonderment, just ask my dad). Joe will be in some sort of dark tux. My 'maids will be in black. The head table (where all 26 of us will be sitting) will be in all white- white tablecloth, white chair covers, white chair ties, white napkins. The guest tables will have black tablecloths and black chair covers, with either white or bright pink chair ties. So lots of black and white.

So feast your eyes on these little beauties!!!

Can they be more perfect? I think not. And, I have already practiced with a paint pen and you can write on them! Because we (by we I mean my mom) will personalize all 200 of them with something like "Happy Holidays, Joe and Sue December 6, 2008"

I AM SO EXCITED!

My New Gig

2008-07-26T09:14:00.004-04:00

Since Joe's residency was only (only?!) 4 years, we knew we would have to make a decision about where to live when he was done.
We looked in California. Which sounds exotic, until you arrive in the tiny little crap town where he interviewed. He looked in the south, but every job supervised nurse anesthetists, rather than him doing the job.
Somehow, we decided on the Fort. Which I'm coming to realize is like a really really big small town, with better shopping options.
So, what I'm getting at is I was going to have to quit my job. I had taken a new job in May 2007. It was still in the same hospital system that I had worked for the last 6 years, but I was doing administrative/office kind of stuff. No direct patient care. (Read: no cleaning up poop) After Joe signed his contract in the Fort, and we started looking for places to live, I figured my boss would find out soon so I wanted to tell her as early as possible.
When I went in to tell her, she wasn't surprised as she knew Joe was going to be done soon, but then she dropped the bomb. "Would you want to work from home?" Huh? Come again? Seriously? Work in my jammies from the Fort? This is an option? My response to her was pretty much just that. She told me there weren't any policies for or against us, but she would run it by the VP, HR, and legal to figure something out.
So today, I type this blog from my "home office." I have been at it for three weeks now and it is going pretty great. My first week felt weird, but part of that was coming off a two week vacation during which time we moved in to this new place. So that took a little adjusting. My second week started a little rough, as there were grumblings from some people as they were finding out I was working from home. What was so annoying about this was that if the people that were complaining hadn't been told I was working from home, they never would have known. My office number is forwarded directly to my Blackberry. I still have my pager. I still see all the VIPs when I come down for meetings. So week two was rough.
By this past week though, I have pretty much found a routine. I am much more effective than I thought I would be; probably more effective than I was from the office. I am definitely getting an extra hour of sleep which is lovely. I am eating better, far away from office chocolate and baked goods. I have had to put very strict guidelines on my blog access during the work day. I will allow myself to check my comments, but not actually write a new post. I'm so strict.
This is all fitting into my master plan of not working at all. I am trying to impress Joe with my cleaning and culinary skills so he sees how important it is to have me at home. So when I get tired of driving 2 hours down and back for a meeting once a week, and after we are hitched so I have insurance, I can transition into a stay at home mom. After that I will work on having the kids.

Wedding Update

2008-07-25T16:39:00.005-04:00

We have a band!! Whohoo! Well, actually, I am not that terribly excited, but it's still good news.
Before I get into the good news, however, I need to take a moment to talk about my giant wedding countdown clock here on the right. I thought I was totally going to dig it. I had essentially been waiting to blog until I could figure out how to get it up there. And now... It TERRIFIES me!! Do you know how much I have to get done in 133 days, 20 hours, 15 minutes, and 6 seconds!!!! AHH!
But onto the band.
Joe and I had planned on having a DJ, then he got some hair up his derriere (is it hair or hare- like a bunny?) Whatever it was that went up there, he was suddenly longing for a band.
So we scoured the Internet and any live music venue in town for an acceptable band. The first band we wanted was good- young, peppy, played current music and had a horn section. They were booked. Ugh.
The next band we knew was booked, but we went to see them anyway. And they were AWESOME! They totally ruined us. We could never find anyone like them. Ugh.
Then Joe found an '80s band who were so fun, but so '80s! If it were my reunion, perfect. For my pretty formal wedding? I don't think so. Ugh.
So then Joe moved on to another band, that was apparently too inappropriate for a wedding. And if Joe thought so, then they had to be pretty bad. Ugh.
Then we found a band that sounded okay. We got to crash a wedding reception to hear them and they were just okay. Until the 50 year old lead singer tried to sing Hey Ya by Outkast and then it turns out they were pretty awful. Ugh.
So we went ahead and booked a DJ. Fine. Like we originally planned.
Although Joe never lost hope. Today we received our contract for a band called Endless Summer. They play all over, mostly in Indiana, but all around. They even played in the tiny little town in South Carolina we lived in for a year. They sound really good online, although we have yet to hear them in person. We are hoping to crash another wedding reception, but apparently this MOB hasn't given the all clear to let two hooligans like Joe and I in for 20 minutes to hear the freakin band... But I digress.
We can have the 6 members of the band, plus three extra horn players and a DJ! The DJ will play for up to 3 hours (although I think we will just need two), and then the band for up to 4 hours. So, the plan is for the DJ to start at 4:30 for the cocktail hour, where there will be Christmas music played softly. At 5:30, the DJ will do the announcement of the bridal party and the HUSBAND AND WIFE, then we will do our first dance with the DJ followed by dinner, where some light jazzy stuff, with maybe some Norah Jones, will be played softly. Then the party starts around 6:30 or 7:00. Then the band can play until 11:00.
I think my favorite part of the band is they include JTs Sexy Back on their playlist. How awesome is that?

Fart, Fart, and Fart

2008-07-24T21:32:00.007-04:00

Since my sister and I are now both bloggers, and you all may see comments she and I write to each other, I think we need to get something out in the open. She and I, plus my best friend, all have the same nickname- Fart. As in, "Hey Fart, what did you do today?" Or, "Hey fart, awesome blog!" And, "Hey fart, did you talk to Fart?" Occasionally, my best friend Fart gets called Little Fart. But usually, there surprisingly little confusion.

This nickname started disturbingly late in life. I could understand if it was when we were seven and thought farting was really funny (wait, I still kind of do). But this started my freshman year of high school. Fart is actually the nickname of a nickname- Little Fart and I started calling each other Fartknocker. Soon that became Fart. And then somehow, my sister wound up as Fart.

I think there may have been a cat named Fartknocker. Or maybe that was Knucklehead. While we earned points in originality, I wouldn't say class was our strong point.

Thursday Thirteen

2008-07-24T15:41:00.008-04:00

As this is my first Thursday Thirteen, I thought I could do 13 firsts.
1. My first kiss: Hmm, this isn't starting out so well. My pre-Alzheimer's memory may make this list a little challenging... I think it was with Gary in 5th grade? Gary was my sister's best friend's brother. He was my on and off boyfriend in elementary, middle school and high school. I used to wear a leather bracelet with his name burned into it. So romantic.
2. My first car: Remember this list? I inherited that first little beauty from my sister when I turned 16. I think JD Momma had moved on to her super awesome Cougar and I was left with the Cutless.
3. My first flight: My family went to Hawaii on my dad's frequent flyer miles when I was ten. We flew the 20 minutes to Chicago, then the TEN HOURS to Hawaii. I think I read 15 books.
4. My first time drunk: I was a junior in high school with my best friend. We were drinking vodka and Sunny D (DON'T TRY THIS AT HOME) and swimming naked in her Grandpa's pool. I puked in a box that night.
5. My first job: I worked at the cashier's station at the pool.
6. My first apartment: I got an apartment with three other girls my junior year of college. It was actually pretty nice- a three story townhouse.
7. My first hospital visit: I was maybe 8 and I was roller skating in my basement when I fell pretty hard and knocked the wind out of me. I think I must have panicked, the folks panicked, and I would up in the ER in my jammie t-shirt and underpants.
8. My first appearance in a bridal party: I was maybe 7 or 8 and I was the flower girl in my cousin's wedding. It was in the '80s, and I totally had one of those dresses with a hoop in the bottom! I'm thinking of making my bridesmaids wear something similar. I have been in 5 weddings since.
9. My first house: Officially, I haven't had a house yet. The last house I lived in was actually my boyfriend/fiance's and I moved in there after he had been there over a year. I now live in a house, but it's a rental- so it's not really our house.
10. My first embarrassing moment with the future in-laws: I had to get creative with this first, but it's such a great story, I had to share. I had been dating the good Doctor for a couple of months at this point and we went to IU to tailgate. The Doc's extended family has always always tailgated, but his parents hardly ever go. In fact, I think it had been years since his mom, Mimi, had been to a game (I am not sure she has been to one since this event.) So the Doc and I go to one of the local bars to drink a little before. They have something here called the Hairy Bear, which is something like 8,965 shots of random boozes that somehow taste like Kool-aid. Thinking I was a rock star, I keep up with the Doc on this drink, then we head over to the tailgate. At the tail-gate, I keep drinking, drink for drink, with the Doc, and the rest of the story is pieced together by fuzzy memories and eye-witness accounts. I apparently go with the Doc and his folks into the stadium, where we go to a fancy meet and greet inside, then proceed to our seats. Our seats are up in the Alumni section (think wealthy and older.) I am devolving into a large amoeba, and before long I am sitting in between the bleachers with my head in my hands. The Doc looks over, asks if I am okay, and I proceed to vomit all over my shoulder, in between the bleachers, and probably a little on our unsuspecting alumni neighbors. The Doc kind of shields me me from his parents and shepherds me into a bathroom. In the bathroom, I start to freak out because I am so embarrassed (this freak out progresses over the span of about 5 hours and moves from the bathroom, to the parking lot, to the car, to the parent's house). The Doc sends his MOM in with a new shirt for me (since mine is covered in vomit). It’s no wonder that man wants to marry me.
11. My first "real" job: After I graduated college, I started working as a nurse in the Surgical ICU of a large teaching hospital.
12. My first pet: Growing up on 12 acres on the outskirts of town, I know we had various cats, dogs, goats, etc before we had Patches. But Patches is really my first pet. She showed up in our backyard when I was around ten, all scrawny and missing big chunks of hair. She was so sweet then. Once she recovered, she was pretty much all sass, but she was still my baby.
13. My first, ahem, time: I was seventeen and it was in a hotel in St. Louis. It always makes me laugh to think about calling their lost and found and asking if they still have my virginity...

For more Thursday Thirteens, go here.

Operation: Wedding Arms

2008-07-21T21:55:00.009-04:00

Today is day 2 of operation: wedding arms. I can't call it a full scale war- I'm not ready to invest the time, money and various other resources to call it a war. How about a minor conflict? The reason for the "conflict?" I have a wedding coming up in under 150 days and the arms are a bit too flabby. Now, you may be wondering, wow, that's not so bad if she only has to worry about her arms. However, let me introduce you to my logic.

Here's THE DRESS.

Now, as you can see, like with many wedding dresses, there is actually very little skin visable. So rather than working on my flabby thighs, ever widenening rear-end, my expanding pooch, or anywhere in between- I have focused my efforts on those ever visable arms. My plan is to get these...

to turn into these...

I am really confused why my "fit arms" woman is sideways. Please forgive me. Day two in the blog world is still a little early to be able to figure this stuff out.

So, wish me luck. If I can figure out how to get my fiance's camera to upload it pics onto my computer, I may even shock you with real life pics of my own flabby arms.

I have to leave you with this, when I did a Google image search for "fit arms," this is what I got. Don't ask me how.

Introducing the Mrs.

2008-07-16T21:35:00.005-04:00

Well hello! I don't really know how to blog, but I guess I'll just start.
I'm banking on my sister's popularity to get me a few readers!
So there are 143 days until my wedding. And as much as I am trying not to let this whole wedding thing define me right now, it is pretty much consuming me. Here's what I know so far...
My fiance had already booked the church and the reception hall before he asked me to marry him, so that's taken care of.
We will have a full Catholic ceremony that starts at 2:00. It should last about an hour to an hour and a half. I like that about Catholic ceremonies, I don't want my year of planning to be over in 7 minutes. (Seriously, one of my friend's wedding lasted 7 minutes.) I haven't picked any readings or songs yet. I need to get on that.
The reception site includes the booze, food, linens, and cake. So while I still have to decide on the details of all that, at least it's all in one place. For booze, let's just say no one will be thirsty. Or sober. We will have not one, not three, not five, but six hours of open bar. Yeeowza! Not to mention the served wine during dinner. I assume there will be non-alcoholic drinks but I haven't really asked about that. For the food, first there will be passed hor derves (how the heck do you spell that!) and then a served salad. Then we are going to do serving stations, which I am pretty sure it's a buffet line with a fancy name. We will have some some sort of chicken, some sort of carved beef, some type of fish, and a pasta station for my two vegetarian friends- and my carb loving sister.
My florist is wonderful and I am not quite believing what all we are doing with the "flowers." And by flowers I mean a 15 foot Christmas tree in the entry way (did I mention I am getting married in December?), two ten foot Chrsitams trees by the stage, three different types of centerpieces, big drapey things for over the wall sconces, and who knows what else. Oh yea, there is a "complimentary" bathroom arrangement. That's pretty big of them, considering the gamillions I am going to be forking over for everything else!
The photographer is taken care of. He is a lovely guy who takes nice looking pictures. That's about all I know at this point.
My dress is stunning (of course) and not here yet. I ordered it in March or April and they told me up to 5 months.
Okay, I must have more done than I thought, because this is getting a little long and I still have lots to tell you! I'll save it for later, since I am not sure what else to blog about.