94 Days And Counting...

Hello, my wonderful readers! (I love all four of you... ;) )

Lots of things are happening. Brian and I have 94 days Holy crap! until the wedding. Crazy! I'm surprised at how fast it's going. Although I shouldn't be since this is exactly what my friends told me would happen...

Brian and I are going to be Godparents! That's so awesome. My cousin, Sara, (who is my maid of honor) had a beautiful bouncing (not literally...) baby girl in January. Her name is Natilee Rose Shay. Sara asked me about two weeks ago if Brian and I would be Natilee's Godparents. And I must say I am so honored that Sara would even consider Brian and I. Brian and I are truly happy with this decision. Natilee's baptism is on April 14th. So, I'll hopefully get a few great pictures to post on here.

I may have a pastor for the wedding. So, that's awesome. He's actually the same pastor who spoke at my Grandmother's funeral a couple years ago. He's amazing. He's from The First Baptist Church of Hastings. He's a great guy. So, hopefully I'll be able to have him perform our marriage ceremony. The problem with a July 4th wedding is the fact that it's a holiday. So, it makes quite a few wedding plans a bit more complicated.

Also, Brian and I are about 98.9% sure that we'll be taking an Alaskan Cruise for our honeymoon. It departs from Canada on July 8th. So, I need to get crackin' on my passport photos and get that sent out. I hear it takes about two months... fingers are crossed... We'll be traveling aboard the ms Volendam.

So, YAY!

Also, here is a random video that I like: Guaranteed Laughs!



This is Cognac. Brian's kitty. This is my favorite shot of him.

END.

I Kinda Love Paolo Nutini

Ok, so if you haven't heard Paolo Nutini's music, you should check it out. My lovely friend, Lindy, introduced me to his music earlier this week.

Also, this week...



... I met with the bridesmaids!! Talk about fun. We had some great laughs together. My lovely wedding photographer, Laura, came along too. And took a few candid shots while we dined at Subway. (Where they made ME pay for ranch dressing because THEY were out... How ridiculous is that?)

Brian is absolutely amazing. On Friday at work he had a package. It it turned out that it was a "just because" gift for me. He got me the entire series of I Love Lucy on DVD. It's such a great show!

On Saturday Brian's friend, Nate, and his wife, Laura, drove all the way up from Coldwater to go shooting with us in Grand Rapids. I had only met Nate briefly a couple times. It was my first time meeting Laura. We had a blast. We went to Bob Evans for lunch afterward. Then we talked and laughed at Brian's house until they had to leave.

On Sunday Brian, Roberto, and I went to Grandville and explored the Rivertown Crossing Mall. I had actually never been to the mall before. I really had no idea where it was. I bought a few items here and there from Victoria's Secret, Bath & Body Works, and Old Navy. There's also a celebration cinema in the mall. And we saw I Love You Man. Despite hearing the "F" word a ton of times, it was hilarious.

Now I'm off... Probably to bed...



Here is a recent picture of Brian and I. Laura took this picture after dinner at Applebee's one night.

Yay!

So, Friday night dinner started at 7:00 p.m. with Laura and Brian. It lasted up until about 11:00 p.m. We dined at Applebee's... The major downside was that they put us in the smoking section. I'm telling you, by the end of the night my throat burned and I reeked of cigarette smoke. It was ghastly. I did have a lot of fun talking with Laura. And I told her a lot about the "perks" to working in an office.

Saturday Brian and I had to load up his truck with a 125 pound server, a power supply, four desktop computer towers, as well as their monitors and keyboards. I filled the back of Brian's truck. We drove the hour to Battle Creek and unloaded everything into the back of Brian's Dad's dental office. (I was hot...) We then went to Premier Diamond to get my engagement ring checked out. We have to have them inspect it and clean it every 6 months. If we don't, the warranty is void. While we were there, Brian and I went ahead and bought our wedding bands. That was a pretty exciting moment for the both of us. The owner was a very nice man. He gave us a discount on the rings, since Brian had purchased the engagement ring there... And he was even nice enough to give us $20.00 for either gas or lunch since we had driven an hour to get there.

We then went to Bob Evans "Down on the farm..." and had lunch with Cherie (Brian's Mom), Rand (Brian's Dad), Colleen (Brian's sister), and Johnny (Brian's brother-in-law). It was a pretty good lunch. We went back to Brian's parents house after lunch and hung out with Colleen and Johnny before they had to leave for a concert. Also, Cherie convinced me that I should buy this Pledge Animal Hair Remover to remove pet hair. That thing is seriously amazing.

Brian, Rand and I ended up going to the dental office. I helped get the server out of the box... But Cherie called. She wanted to come pick me up and do something with me. So, we drove back to their home and just talked for a while; about wedding things, and venting about things that happened throughout the week, and I told her the details of my promotion. Brian's Dad also bought me a study bible.

Brian and I decided to leave Battle Creek at about 6:45 p.m. We brought back the '68 Elky.

Where we ended the night by watching Blast From The Past.



This is a picture that I took of the 1968 El Camino's back Chevy bow tie logo.

I Has A Happy

Alright. Things are still happening. My friend Laura, who is completely awesome, is the photographer for the wedding. To view her photography blog click here. And here you can view her work!

I have actually known Laura for quite some time. She moved to this area when we were in 5th grade. Her and I were both the "new kid" that year. And I am incredibly excited that she's helping me on my big day. It makes me feel a little less nervous. And I know I can trust her.

She's also helping me find a pastor for the wedding since the pastor I wanted no longer performs wedding ceremonies. Sigh... Oh well, it'll work out... Right? Nah, I know it will.

AND, she's also going to help me with getting pictures situated for my passport since Brian and I might have to fly to Canada... If, in fact, we do go on an Alaskan cruise.

Also... We have a dinner date tomorr-y!!! I has a happy. :)



My friend, Sarah, took this picture during her travels with her family. (Sarah, was it in Saginaw?) It's a grocery store! ... That happens to have my last name...

This Weekend...

So, while I was helping Brian "set up" those computers for his Dad's dental office, I ended up falling asleep on the office floor using a sweater and a piece of Styrofoam as a pillow. It wasn't entirely comfortable. I woke up to the lovely sound of my cell phone ring. 'Twas my brother, Robert. While Brian was working I talked with Robert for over an hour. We kept laughing about this episode of The Simpsons where Bart worked in a Burlesque house. Here is the clip we can't help but laugh at. :)

Sunday, the three of us went to see the movie The Watchmen. I personally found the movie disturbing.

Guess what? There are 116 days until I get married! (Go ahead, start singing "The Final Countdown." You know you want to... ;) )

That is all.



One of my favorite websites, Stuff on my Cat, features an hourly contest. Basically what you do is take a picture of something on your cat and send it in. Then, you hope that it's good enough to be featured on the website. Well, last October I sent in a picture of Brian's cat, Georgia. And she made it!

Icky Thump

(Title Name; I'm listening to the White Stripes...)

Well, things are gettin' busy. I've got so many things coming up the next couple of weekends and to be honest and I'm a little overwhelmed. I know I'll get through this. I've been trying to relax and read when I get the chance, too. Work seems to be getting stressful at times, too.

Brian and I went and saw Inkheart last night. I have been wanting to read the book for several years, but I guess I just never got around to it. The movie was really good. Although in the first 5 minutes Brian had to bring up the fact that Brendan Fraser's daughter had an English accent... When, even though they lived in an English country, Brendan's character did NOT. Which, I must admit, did annoy me throughout the movie. But basically the plot line is about a man who is a "silver tongue." Which means that when he reads book out loud, the characters come to life. The only setback is the fact that when he reads and someone comes out of the book, someone goes into the book. So, he spent most of the movie with his daughter trying to get his wife back. It's a very interesting movie.

Coming up in the next couple of weeks I'll be getting together with the bridesmaids (date to be determined), meeting with the photographer, buying Brian's ring, helping Brian set up stuff in his Dad's dental office, getting together with the best man and his wife, and getting together with Sarahdonna and Yvette (and Ike?) and heading up to the Butterfly Garden in Grand Rapids. Which, I would love for Brian to go. We were actually just talking about going a couple weeks ago.

Currently I am on my laptop at the office with Brian "helping" him with his Dad's computers for his Dad's dental office. I think I'm mainly just keeping him company. I brought my book to read. I'm still reading Breaking Dawn by Stephanie Meyer. It's the fourth installment of the Twilight series.

I guess that's about it for now. I will leave you with....

This is my newest family member, Natilee. She is now 12 pounds. Her mother and her stopped into the office earlier this week to see me. I got wonderful news that the controlling and egotistical father of Natilee is mostly out of the picture.

"The Final Countdown"

Well, there are 123 days until I get married. Every time I look at the days left I always get "The Final Countdown" by Europe in my head. I can't help it. It seriously never fails. (Check it out, though... :) )

Brian and I will be working on our wedding invites tonight. We ventured to Staples yesterday to buy the envelopes for our RSVP's.

If you'd like, please check out our wedding site.

Here we are on our way to Target...

Saturdays Full of Glee

Yesterday I got new tires put on my car. It took darned near forever, but well worth the long wait. They had a few minor complications, which involved me not being able to leave until it was absolutely fixed. I believe Brian was bored out of his mind, though. Which, I felt really bad about. He suggested that we take two vehicles so that him and I could go do something while my car was being worked on. Buuuuut, I didn't want him to waste all of that gas.

After that, we met my brother, Robert, for lunch at the ever so enchanting Wendy's. I got the same thing I always do. Nothing special, just routine. But, Robert makes almost every "regular" situation seem exciting. We laugh nonstop in Robert's presence. He really should become a comedian. I've told him time and time again.

I managed to straighten my hair. It's well over two feet long now. It's gorgeous. But it's a royal pain. And I get overheated while it's down. As we were discarding our garbage at the nearest trash can, I glanced over for a brief moment at two men obviously ogling at me. (Brian had noticed it,too.) I would like to think that they were just admiring my hair or my beauty, or whatever... But it was the look on their faces that reminded me once again that at times I do attract "the creepies." Sigh...

Robert, Brian, and I decided that maybe we would try heading to the mall that day. My stomach has been getting better week after week. And I've been tweaking the dosages of my prescriptions to where I'm so close to being comfortable again.

We went to Hot Topic, where I bought some surgical stainless steel horse shoe earrings for my cartilage piercing, a Twilight pin that says "Team Edward," on it, and a pin that says "Bacon Makes Everything Better." (I mainly bought that one for Robert - thought he won't take it - because of his profound love for bacon.)

We headed to Spencer's. I am almost always offended in some way while I am in that store, however, I still can't resist going in there. I bought a few Nightmare Before Christmas items on sale there. As I was being run up, the cashier was talking to another worker. It seemed that almost every word was inappropriate for anyone. I will not go into much detail, though. Sigh, again...

We then headed to Bath and Body Works. Brian and I absolutely love their antibacterial hand soap. And to our satisfactory, it was on sale! We bought several bottles.

We went around to several more places before we decided to just head out.

We didn't get very far. The Celebration Cinema right next to the mall plays older moves for just $3.50 a ticket. So, we decided to see Yes Man starring Jim Carrey. That movie was hilarious. I enjoyed it.

After the movie we were quite hungry. Brian had been hankering for some Arby's. So, that's where we headed. It was over a hour of the three of us laughing. Dinner consisted of me laughing at the tops of my lungs, getting weird looks from the other meal goers, shooting straw wrappers at each other, Brian force feeding me peanut M&M's from the movie, Robert laughing until he cried, Brian lying to a worker telling her that everything was good when not more the 15 seconds before she asked us how things were that he stated his Roast "Burger" was not good, me almost falling under the table, and many more hilarious moments.

We then decided to go to Best Buy. I bought the Theory of a Deadman cd and the Golden Compass for $6.99.

And then we decided to head back. Robert had been up since 4:00 a.m. and it was after 9:00 p.m. And despite the fact that he was tired, Robert had us laughing all the way back to Barry County.

I like to joke and say that I'm standing with my brother, Robert, in this picture. When he styles his hair, he does in fact look like Big Boy.