One Year

Today is our one-year wedding anniversary. I cannot believe we've been married for a year. It's gone SO QUICKLY! Between moving, transferring positions at work, finding out the house we're renting is in foreclosure, my car getting flooded, and Ricky's illness, we haven't had a dull moment in our first year of marriage. I can't believe we have survived, but here we are. And, hopefully, things will only get better from here. I'm not terribly mushy, even with Ricky, so I'll just say that I'm happy with him and leave it there.

Friday Fill-Ins, Back from the Honeymoon

1. It's cold and if you believe that, I have some lovely land to sell you.

2. I love ripe, juicy, RAW tomatoes, but not cooked ones.

3. My favorite health and beauty product is the tampon...woman's best friend.

4. I just enjoyed a nice long ride on a big, big boat.

5. Well, first of all I need to get caught up on my feed reader.

6. A professor and student; those were the cast of characters in a recent dream and it was no one I knew.

7. And as for the weekend, Friday I was looking forward to the last night of our honeymoon cruise, Saturday my plans included arriving home and going to a friend's bridal shower and today, I want to catch up on blog reading and maybe visit some friends!

Reader, I Married Him

Ricky and Lexi

May 23, 2009

One Week More

and I will be a married lady. My last week of singlehood is upon me.

Things have come together very well, so far, for the wedding. I'm trying not to look at the forecast for next weekend, in case it says rain. But it wouldn't rain on my wedding day, would it?

The Fiance' and I just have a few last-minute details to pin down. We have some things to get tomorrow at Target (coolers for drinks at the reception; extra tablecloths, in case the ones we have aren't enough; a garment bag for our formal-wear for the cruise; extra trash cans). We need to drop off our formal-wear at the dry cleaners. I need to get a new bathing suit for the honeymoon. We have to pick up the flowers on Friday, table decorations on Thursday, pick up the cake, etc. etc. Now that I list it all out, it sounds like a lot. But I am taking Thursday and Friday off of work. I have a massage scheduled for Thursday, and I intend to get a mani and pedi on Friday, when my sisters are in town. People start arriving as early as Thursday, and the madness begins: Friday night dinner between the families (not really a rehearsal dinner, but our parents have never met!); Saturday, the wedding and reception; Sunday brunch with the New Jersey contingent, and dinner with the Ohio contingent; Monday, we leave on the HONEYMOOOOOOOON!

I can't wait. I can't wait to be married to the love of my life. I can't wait for all the excitement to be over, for the reception to have gone off without a hitch (I hope). I can't wait to be out of the limelight...I don't really like to be the center of attention. I can't wait to be on that ship, sailing away from the craziness of the last few months.

Soon.

All Apologies

I've been a terrible blogger and blog-hopper lately. All I can say as an excuse is...I'm getting married in two weeks. And I have a lot on my plate right now. I've missed visiting my blog buddies, but I'm going to try to do a little relaxing and catching up this weekend.

Brief Update

Less than three weeks till the wedding. I am freaking out a little, mostly over the few last things that need to be done. But I'm taking Friday off of work to get some things accomplished, since most places I need to deal with aren't open on the weekend.

I finished Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood last night and began The Fire, which is the sequel to The Game, which I read over Christmas. I'll post a review of the Ya-Yas soon.

Also...look what I made! Paula Deen's Caramel Apple Cake with Caramel Topping:

The caramel topping is homemade...mmm! Can't wait to cut myself a piece!

Oh, also! I have the best friends in the entire world. Saturday, my shower and bachelorette party, was WONDERFUL. My friends were more than generous in their gift-giving. Love them!

SOOOO Busy!

Between wedding stuff, work, and birthdays, this week has flown by. Monday night, I went out with friends from work for a co-worker's birthday. Wednesday was MY birthday (another YEAR older and deeper in debt) and trivia night (we WON!). Thursday night I had dinner with our friends, including our "reverend," to discuss wedding plans. I've tried to reserve the tables and chairs this week, but needed a deposit, which I didn't have. They're not really open on the weekends, so hopefully I can get that done Monday. I DID, however, secure borrowed table coverings from a co-worker who had a family reunion or something recently. Today is both my bridal shower (brunch) and bachelorette party (80's-themed), AND my dress is in, so I need to go down south to pick it up. AARRGGHH! If I don't make it today, I have to go tomorrow, but I also need to get my hair cut and prepare for trials next week.

There is still much to do before the wedding. I really should have taken some time off between now and then, other than the two days right before. I'm starting to stress...

Wedding Update

Got my wedding dress today. Being an untraditional bride, I bought an apple-red bridesmaid's dress from David's Bridal. I really wanted an even more informal sundress-type gown, but I couldn't find exactly what I wanted in the color I wanted ANYWHERE. So I decided to just try on every short dress they had and picked the most flattering. It ended up being the first dress I found on their website that I really liked. Now I just need shoes and earrings. I have this coming Friday off for Good Friday, so I think Ricky and I will take a little trip down to the courthouse to sign the papers...May 23 is coming up faster than I can believe!

I'm Still Alive

This week was a busy one. Wednesday was the cake tasting for the wedding...we're going with a six-inch cake and individual cupcakes for the guests: vanilla cake with strawberry mousse filling. YUM! I love the place we went for our cake. The cake will totally have palm trees on it.

Thursday was a busy day at work. I was zonked when I got home.

We got our wedding rings in yesterday. Mine is messed up...some weird dark spot on the metal, so I have to take it back. I think Ricky thinks it's a bad omen. Heh.

Last night was the grand opening for my friends' new law firm, so I spent an enjoyable evening eating their food and drinking their beer. Afterward, we went to a local restaurant to take in the reggae band. Good times.

So I've been largely absent from the blogosphere this week. (Which seems to be more of a trend for me.) I guess everyone has those periods of life when we aren't able to spend our time doing the things we WANT to do, because we're so busy doing the things we HAVE to do.

I hope next week is a little calmer. This weekend will be.

Brief Update

I haven't been blogging or blog-visiting much this week. I was in trial on Monday and Wednesday (I lost, if anyone is keeping score) and Ricky and I have been trying to finish up the DAMN INVITATIONS. The good news is, they went into the mail today, so I won't be blogging about them anymore! Now, to schedule the cake-tastings. Mmm.

I also spent both Wednesday night and Thursday night out on the town, with the fiance's brother and some friends from work. That meant I got nothing done: no bills paid, no laundry done, no wedding stuff worked on. So this morning, before work, I had a little breakdown, which freaked the poor fiance' out. It was just a culmination of stress and not getting enough sleep (I never sleep before a trial, and our mattress was getting lumpy, so we had to turn it). I was also juggling competing requests for my presence at events this weekend. I had planned quite awhile ago to go away tomorrow with some girlfriends. It wasn't really the event that drew me; it was the chance to hang out with the girls. Then people started backing out. Then I got invited to do something ELSE with people I am closer to, and I felt a lot of pressure to do THAT instead, but I had already committed to the first thing...so I started to get stressed about it and lose my mind. And I cancelled everything. Just decided that if it was making me that crazy, it wasn't worth it, and I would just stay home and relax this weekend, especially after running around last weekend and the trial this week. So tomorrow, I don't intend to go anywhere or do anything. I might not even get out of my pajamas. Catching up on blogs, reading, playing some Wii...those are my plans. Oh wait. Except that I will schedule the cake-tasting. I will do that.

SCORE!

Ricky and I bought our wedding invitations tonight. We're printing them ourselves, and we totally lucked out. I had found some that we loved on Office Depot's website last night, but had several problems ordering them. First of all, the price changed after I added them to my cart. Then, the "Next Day Guarantee" somehow only guaranteed me delivery by Feb. 11. So I called the 800 number. After being redirected to "Joel" in India, I got the correct price, but found out that, apparently, only ONE SET of the damn invitations existed ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD. And they were special order, so they came directly from the manufacturer. So I got pissed, yelled at "Joel" at little bit, and hung up. Bridezilla much?

Anyway, this evening, Ricky and I decided to go in to a local Office Depot to see what we could find as a substitute. And what we found was that everything I was told on the phone last night was a BUNCH OF BALONEY! Fate must have intervened, because I planned to go to the Office Depot on our side of town, but we ended up having dinner on the OTHER side of town, so we went to that Office Depot. They were going out of business and everything was discounted. We found the exact invitation sets that I loved online for 50% off. So, not only were they cheaper, but the idea that I had to wait till February 11th to get them, because there was only ONE SET available anywhere...that was complete crap.

Moral of the story? I don't know. Don't order online before you check the store? If you want something done, do it yourself? Wedding invitations are a complete racket? Choose your own adventure, I guess.

FRIDAY FILL-INS!!!

1. Oh, I am so COLD!

2. I hate changes, big and little.

3. During lunch, I ate a bunch of stuff that was bad for me (but oh so good!).

4. Thirty degree weather in Florida; are you kidding me???

5. Right now I'd like to be under the sea, in an octopus's garden with you.

6. Our new Wii is my favorite gadget.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to catching up on the old Google reader, tomorrow my plans include going out for drinks with a co-worker or two and Sunday, I want to play Wii and work on wedding stuff with Ricky!

Friday Fill-Ins

1. Enough with the economy already. It's depressing!

2. Sometimes my job causes me to be conflicted.

3. I've been craving McDonald's.

4. Ricky makes me laugh.

5. I wish I could go to Hawaii, Greece, or Italy next week.

6. Wedding planning has been on my mind lately.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to some peace and quiet, tomorrow my plans include hanging out around the house and Sunday, I want to write our wedding invitations!

We're BAAAACK!

After delays in Atlanta, the Fiance' and I arrived back in our area LATE last night. I called off of work today, since I was only going to get a few hours of sleep, so now I'm using the rest of the day to get organized and ready to go back to work full-steam tomorrow. I have a review to post, of a book I finished over my vacation, in between all the wedding prep and visiting friends and family. I'll be back to post that soon. The wedding was really nice, and it was good to see everyone. There were people there that I haven't seen in years! I enjoyed my time at home, but, as always, I wish that it lasted longer.

Back Again

Friday I made a new recipe, one I got off of the Weight Watchers website. I had needed something new to do with chicken breast, and what I found was what turned out to be a pretty good recipe for Chinese Pineapple Chicken with Black Bean Sauce. The one slight problem was that I bought the ingredients last week, thinking I would make it then; I froze the chicken and pretty much everything else kept well...except the ginger. I had forgotten to take it out of the plastic produce bag and it was moldy. So we had to go without it, but the dish was good anyway. The sauce wasn't as thick as I expected. Maybe I'll try either a little more black bean sauce to up the ratio with the pineapple juice, or I'll add in a little flour or cornstarch to thicken it up next time. The ginger, which I do plan to add on the next go round, should punch up the Asian flavor a little too...this version was more Hawaiian than Asian.

"One Hundred Years of Solitude" is slower going than I thought. The book is good, if a little too ADD for my taste. There just doesn't seem to be much direction, but I will assume that the NOBEL PRIZE WINNER knew what he was doing and that it is a conscious style choice, rather than a lack of ability. This is really my first foray into magical realism. I've done fantasy, I've done whatever you would call Diana Gabaldon's books (I don't know, maybe they are also magical realism), but this is new to me altogether. Upon researching the term, I found that Don DeLillo is listed as an English-language example of magical realism. Interesting...

The Fiance' and I are off to check out a potential wedding location today. More on that later, if it pans out.

A Question of Venue

Well, we are now also considering Heathcote Botanical Gardens as a possible venue for the wedding. Maybe I should take a poll... The Botanical Gardens is slightly cheaper, and just as nice, if not nicer, than the Fish Camp. But there is nothing there that we need, like tables, chairs, linens, etc. I just don't know.

Woe Is Me

Maybe we should just elope.

We've been looking for alternative wedding sites, now that the Jupiter Lighthouse is out of the question. We like both Indian Riverside Park and the River Palms Cottages and Fish Camp (whatever you've heard, fish camps ARE romantic), but this whole thing is turning into something I never wanted in the first place.

I wanted easy. I wanted simple. I wanted SMALL. I wanted CHEAP. None of the above appear to be happening.

Well, this week, we will be taking a couple of trips to see the potential sites, and maybe then we can decide...if we don't just decide to throw our hands up and go to Vegas first.

Wedding Planning

Well, it doesn't look like we will be able to get married at the lighthouse, after all. Apparently, the "changes" they were making to their policies and procedures were primarily of the financial sort. They want almost double the money for less time, and weddings are now done only one weekend per month. We simply cannot afford what they are asking for three hours at the lighthouse. So, I guess it's back to the drawing board. I HATE this. We should just elope.

Saturday

Went to the lighthouse to reserve it for our wedding next year, and they are not currently accepting applications! Rest assured, however, they will be back online in a couple of weeks and we will see, then, if they have our date available. I'd like to get this show on the road. We need an officiant next. We are thinking of asking Mr. Hugh, if he is a notary. I don't know. We are not church-goers, so we have no priest, minister or pastor. And it's hard to pick just one of the many friends who would be qualified to be the one who presides over our wedding. I think, by picking Mr. Hugh, we are striking the right balance between a good friend and someone removed enough from us to not make others upset. I hope.

I finished A Tree Grows in Brooklyn today and started The Hobbit. I started reading this as a kid, but couldn't get into it. I don't think I ever finished it. Maybe I did, but didn't finish The Fellowship of the Ring...can't remember. I just remember my teenage self thinking my mom was awfully weird for loving that book so much.

Emaline is consistently eating all of the other cats' food. I don't know what to do. I can't watch her 24/7. What a pig.

I'm down 3 pounds this week; 33.5 pounds, total.

Pushing Away the Inevitable

I'm spending the rest of Saturday morning trying to put off what I don't want to do...WORK. I have a major trial coming up this week and I need to be working on things, but I am quite disgruntled that I have to spend my weekend, my THREE-DAY weekend, my EASTER weekend, that way. But it can't be helped. Sigh.

I've lost 30 pounds as of today. None of my clothes fit anymore. This should be a good thing, and I am glad, but I'm also broke right now. I can't afford to buy several new suits, new jeans, new EVERYTHING. I WILL get myself a new pair of jeans, however. That was my reward for reaching the 30-pound mark.

Things with Ricky are good. We should be planning our wedding, but I think we're really, honestly just going to call up our parents one day and go, "Hey, can you make it to City Hall next week? We wanna get hitched." Oh, that's another thing about losing weight...I need to get my rings re-sized before they fall off my fingers.