accomplishments and excitement

I finally feel like I checked a lot of things off the wedding list this weekend!  We met with the priest on Saturday morning and went over all the readings, which version of the traditional vows we were going to use (and we're memorizing them so we don't have to repeat after him), bought and ordered Andrews wedding band, got all of the invitations done and ready to mail, too bad we were one book of stamps short to get it all done!

I also spent most of Sunday cleaning the house because my cousin and her husband are coming from Pennsylvania this coming weekend to stay with us.  We've had people stay the night here before but not for an entire weekend so I'm super excited.  We have lots of fun things planned to do with them while they're here, going out on the boat, taking them to one of our favorite small town fairs and hopefully a truck and tractor pull as well.

Though I have been really stressed out about all of the planning and DIY projects, this has been a really fun time in my life.  I still have A LOT of projects to get done: making the signs to direct people to the reception, making cookies, figuring out how to make this tissue paper pom-poms I saw in my Martha Stewart magazine, meeting with vendors one last time, making sure my seamstress is cranking along with the bridesmaid dresses and in a month I am having my bachelorette party!  I need to keep reminding myself not to get so stressed out but sometimes that is really hard!

If you knew me.....

I'm stealing this from about 10 blogs that I've read this week and I've been a little obsessive about blogging so I thought this post would be perfect!

You would know that I legit make this face A LOT.  This was at my bridal shower when my brothers fiance couldn't get my camera to work.  Way to go capturing the real me!

You would know that I worry a lot, all day everyday about things I cannot control.

You'd know that deep down, I am such a hillbilly - I love going to tractor pulls, love being on the boat all day, think diesel trucks are so awesome and a boy in some tight wranglers is sexier than one wearing girl jeans.

You'd know that I have been in love with Jon Bon Jovi since I was in middle school and I've seen Bon Jovi in concert 5 times.

You would know that my favorite color is pink and that I was/am obsessed with Barbies.  I am a girly girl to the core.

You'd know that I really want a Volvo station wagon and no I don't have any kids.  I just love those cars!

You'd know that my mom and I are so much alike that it's hard for us to get along.

You'd know that I love scary movies but I still cover my eyes when the creepy music starts.  I like to get scared but I also like to control when I'm going to get scared.

You'd know that I know the following movies by heart: Princess Bride, all Austin Powers movies, Mean Girls, Runaway Bride, Father of the Bride and Caddyshack.  Pretty random variety.

You'd know that I love listening to my dad play the guitar and that he's the one who made me fall in love with the sounds of Eric Clapton, Stevie Ray Vaughn and any other amazing guitar player.

You'd know that my brother is one of my best friends now after years of us not getting along.

You'd know that my favorite way to calm down is one of the following: cleaning, ironing, baking, cooking or listening to music really loud while no one else is home.

You'd know that I have known my best friend since Kindergarten, she's going to be my maid of honor and we are basically the same person.  I don't know where I would be without her in my life.

I know there may be a few of you who knew these things about me :)

So What Wednesday!

I'm linking up with Shannon over at Life After I Dew for another edition of So What Wednesday.

This week I'm saying So What that.....

*I have been obsessively eating tomatoes non-stop thanks to my cherry tomato plants over producing this year.  Andrew hates tomatoes so I have to eat them all....

*I am sad that this season of Deadliest Catch is over.  I love that show!

* I have guests coming next weekend and my house is kinda trashed from my purging after the bridal shower this weekend.  I've got some time to clean things up!

*I have been obsessively painting my nails and toenails, I can't handle the same color for long.

*My flowerbeds are so full of weeds you can't see the flowers, I've been much too busy doing other things to weed!

*I got a little Bridezilla with my mom on the phone last night because she wants to take over EVERYTHING for this wedding!

So what are you saying "So What" to this week?

Free books and a book review!

I started using Bzz Agent a few months ago and didn't get invited to a campaign until recently.  I received two free books for my Kindle (score, I love read) and they were murder mysteries which happens to be my favorite genre!

I read reviews on Amazon about the books before accepting my campaign invite and they sounded good so I went ahead and requested the download.  I'm not going to lie here, it took me a while to get into the first book (The Hangman's Daughter).  I don't normally read historical thrillers, but after getting so into The Woman in Black I figured this had to be just as good.  The suspenseful moments in both books were so well written that I could picture everything that was going on in my head (my own personal thing I love about a good book) and I often found myself so entranced that I didn't know what was going on around me.  Like the dog barking at the door to come back inside....whoops!

I liked learning the history of the family of an executioner and how no one in the town wanted to really be known to associate with them.  I guess that would make sense in those times.

Once I got past trying to get into the story, it flowed really well.  There was a bit of jumping around between characters but once you realized they were still in the same scene it came back to making sense again.  There was a little romance thrown in as well which made the books a little more light hearted as opposed to all dark and dramatic.

All in all, I was pretty pleased with the characters, story line and plot and I was surprised that a free book was this wonderful!  I've even suggested these novels to my mother-in-law and sister-in-law as they love this genre as well.  Want to know more about the books or are you interested in purchasing them for yourself? 

The Dark Monk

The Hangman's Daughter

bridal shower

My amazing bridal party - I feel so blessed to have all of them in my life!  L-R: Laura, Megan, Me, Jessica (maid of honor) and Sarah)

Yesterday was my bridal shower and it was an amazing, fun and wonderful day.  My mom hosted at her house, we put card tables in the yard so everyone could eat and enjoy the amazing weather and I realized how blessed I am to have so many great women in my life.

The food was wonderful (five kinds of "salad" sandwiches), fruit, veggies, potato and bean salad and more pie than you could dream of - everything was so good!  My family from Pennsylvania came for the day along with my aunt from Toledo and my bridesmaid from Cleveland.  

My cousin Crystal and her team won, she's standing to my right in the back.  My mom would kill me if she knew this picture was on here and Facebook.  Shh don't tell!

We played the toilet paper bride game, which was a blast and I got to pick the winner. 

When it was time to open gifts I sat down and felt so overwhelmed.  I introduced my bridal party and really started to tear up.  I couldn't believe this day had finally come.  I've been to so many bridal showers and been in so many weddings that it feels surreal to be at my own!

My next task, to find a place for all of these amazing gifts and to get my thank you notes in the mail ASAP!

why didn't anyone tell me?

When I finally got engaged I was so excited.  I had been waiting my whole life to be a bride, like most girls, and I was so thrilled to plan my wedding.  Little did I know it would not be all fun and games, that I was really going to test my limits and many relationships in my life.

So why didn't anyone tell me:

• That my in-laws were going to tease me about my wedding dreams and plans.  Mind you, they are super cheap, hate weddings and think this is a royal affair.  It's mostly his mom and sister that like to tease me, and it really hurts my feelings.  They are not feminine at all and chastize me for being girly.  It's been really hard for me to deal with and there really isn't anyone who I can talk to about it either.
• That after my in-laws agreed to pay for the food for the wedding they would ask me if we could have a potluck for the reception.  Half my family is traveling for three hours to come.....so not happening.  Thankfully I put that fire out quickly.
• That my mom would be INSANE and freakout constantly, that my email, text and phone would be blowing up with her questions almost everyday.
• That I would have weekly emotional breakdowns, nightmares and a stomach aches.  Last night I cried myself to sleep with worry about how we would pull it all together.
• That it's really hard to save up the money needed, even if you're having a cheap wedding.
• That eloping would have been a better idea and/or leaving my mother out of this entirely.
• That everyone would have an opinion about every decision I make: the food, the dress colors, my dress, my hair, my weight.......

I never could have dreamed that this would be so frustrating and that I feel like the happiness of my impending marriage has been sucked out of me.  Maybe Andrew was right, what really is the point of doing all this?  Its pretty much just for your family, right?  Why else would people put themselves through all this and spend a decent chunk of money.......

I want more than anything to wake up and not be stressed, to feel a weight lifted off my shoulders and to be EXCITED and HAPPY about my wedding.  How do I get to that point?  Is this normal?

longing to be the success story

I bought this workout DVD series about two months ago because I was too scared to do p90x (I mean pull ups, no thanks!).  I would like to preface this by saying that I have done lots of workout DVD's in the past - 30 day shred, Carmen Electra and even those 90's kickboxing videos.  I have heard so much about Tony Horton, the trainer in this video, and all the hype was true!

This is probably one of the best workout DVD's that I have ever purchased.  I paid $75 for the above set and it was well worth it since I also cancelled my YMCA membership due to their hours not working with my new work schedule.  

Tonight I did the Fat Burner DVD for the first time and man, they are NOT messing around.  I sweat clear through my shirt and my hair is soaking wet too!  This DVD also featured some of the workout series success stories working out along with the trainer.  Seeing these people who did not look like fitness models really gave me hope that I can get back to a weight where I feel comfortable.

I'm giving myself until next summer (we are planning a beach trip) and although I'm disappointed that I won't be rail thin for my wedding, I'm really happy and I know that will outshine my dress being a few sizes bigger than I would have liked.  I think that if I stick with watching what I eat and alternating my workouts, I can be a success story come summer!

seventy eight

My grandpa turned 78 this weekend and has been battling cancer for almost two years.  We celebrated on Saturday with a cake and peach ice cream from UDF (at his request).  Many friends and family sent him sweet cards and it was nice to spend the afternoon with him.

This past year has been hard on our entire family, the chemo and radiation has taken him from a 210lb man to 157lbs.  They've stopped his treatment again due to more weight loss and plan to restart it again in a few weeks. 

I don't even feel like 78 is that old at all, considering his dad lived to be 96 and was not ill at all till the last two years of his life.  My grandma is quite the woman for taking care of him day in and day out.  She has really shown me what love and devotion means and I know that if Andrew or I were ever that sick, we would care for each other just as well as she is doing for him.

On the marriage note - my wedding shower is next weekend.  I'm so excited to see all of my family and friends and to celebrate our marriage that is just two months away!  Though sometimes its hard to be excited because of everything that is going on, I know that deep down my grandpa just wants us to be happy and wants us to be around as much as possible.

So What Wednesday

I'm linking up again on So What Wednesday this week, and you should too!!!

This week I'm saying "So What":

- if I don't sleep because I'm having wedding nightmares, my favorite one being my parents cats getting sick on my dress.

- that I am excited beyond belief about my bridal shower next weekend and mostly because of the food/pies.

- that my fridge is so full of food because I couldn't say no to amazing sales on veggies and fruit this week.

- I spend all my free time on Pinterest, Etsy and Facebook to distract me from wedding planning.

- I keep wishing we would have eloped.

- I cannot get motivated to clean my house, I have been keeping the kitchen clean but everything else has gone downhill quickly.

So what are you saying "So What" to this week?  Link up here: http://www.lifeafteridew.com/

Wedding Stress

I had a headache for the entire weekend....I couldn't figure out why this was happening or why it would not go away.  It started on Friday night when I got home from work.  I figured it could be from Aunt Flo coming to town but as the weekend wore on I figured it all out.

I honestly can't even remember what I did on Friday night (how sad is that?!) but I know it was nothing exciting.  It was hot and Andrew was tired from work.  Saturday morning we had our second pre-marital counseling session at church.  We went through a questionnaire, talked about what makes a marriage successful and our plans for the actual wedding day.  Prior to leaving for the church, my mom called me and a fight ensued about my bridal shower and how no one had gotten invitations yet.  Let me preface this by saying that my maid of honor works third shift at a hospital and had mailed them on the holiday last week, plus tons of people in Ohio were without power for days, including her, and there was a lot going on.  We got in a huge fight and I got hysterical, the stress really started to get to me.  The headache then got even worse. 

That evening, we had dinner with our families at Andrews parents house.  It went really well, we discussed wedding plans and left early since my dad had to work on Sunday.  When we got home, my head was throbbing.  I went to bed early and took an Advil PM for good measure.

Sunday, I woke up and could hardly hold up my head at all.  No sooner did my mom call, asking to meet me at Joann's later that afternoon to get the final fabric for my junior bridesmaid, flowers and ribbon for my grandma to make the crowns for the flower girls and to look at some other things we would need soon.  I agreed to meet her and thank God Andrew came along too.  We did argue a little and I kept telling her how I did not need more stress.  This should be a HAPPY TIME not a time for me to have a constant headache, heartburn at night and waking up from wedding nightmares constantly.

Hopefully this week I can get a lot accomplished for the wedding and show her how hard I've been working to get things done.  The shower is in just two weeks and I am PRAYING that things will calm down after that just a tiny bit!

My motto for this week: worrying will NOT change the outcome!

the barn

There is a barn that sits on the property next to Andrew's sisters house.  Its been in disarray for as long as I've been dating Andrew and its a great barn to photograph.  We keep expecting that the next storm will blow it right over, but its still standing, a little worse for wear each time.

 

Spring 2010

 

Fall 2011 - Probably the best photo I've personally taken in a long time

 

A stormy summer day in 2012

The last two I took just this past weekend, when it was hazy and hot late in the afternoon and a rain storm was rolling in.

I've found that I'm much better at taking photos of barns, animals, flowers and scenery then people but I imagine with time I'll improve.

Its Okay Thursday

Since I missed So What Wednesday/forgot that it was Wednesday because a midweek holiday totally threw me off - I'm participating in Its Okay Thursday instead!

So here is what I'm saying "Its Okay" to this week:

Its Okay.....

that I still had Halloween and Christmas decorations in a hot mess in my basement till yesterday.

that I haven't worked out in a hot minute because I've been so busy/tired.

that I must keep reminding myself that this wedding shouldn't be the cause of all my stress.

that I am so excited for my bridal shower in just three weeks. Mostly because I get to see my family and eat a ton of super yummy food!

that I've been pretty moody lately and super indecisive, I know I'm driving Andrew crazy but I hope he understands that I don't mean anything by it at all!

that my mother is driving me CRAZY because I know in the end she means well and wants what is best for me.

that I sometimes wonder why Andrew and I didn't elope, right?!

So what are you saying "Its Okay" to this week? Link up over here - http://www.brunchwithamber.com/