spring has sprung

I finally feel like I can say Winter 2011 is OVER.

We took the babies outside on Easter because it was so beautiful out. I don't let them out of my hands, though. I'm a nervous kitty momma. Bubba didn't get to go out because he is NOT a fan of being held, unless it's by John. So he watched from the sunroom.











I am thoroughly enjoying the sunshine and warmer temperatures. It's exciting to see the various plants that are coming up in the yard. I especially love the tree with pink flowers, they are so pretty right now. I know next to nothing about gardening, but it seems like there are quite a few flowers that are coming up on their own so far. I have a lilac bush and a hydrangea plant in the front yard, and a dogwood tree in the back. There are lots of hosta plants coming up along the sides of the house and I know that they fill in really well. Maybe I won't have to do a ton of work to get some curb appeal!

busy, busy, busy

We've been living in our new place for a little over a week now and I think it's safe to say WE LOVE IT. I haven't gotten around to taking photos of it yet but I'm going to try to do that this week. We've been really busy since the move because John's best friend is home from Afghanistan on his two week leave so of course we have been spending all of our free time entertaining him and a couple other friends. Oh, and watching Milo and Marley learn how to navigate those big, scary things called stairs.

We had a great 4th of July filled with bonfires, pool volleyball games, s'mores, jello shots, and of course, fireworks. The weather was perfect - in the 80's and sunny all weekend long. Today is another story - it's going to be 102 degrees with humidity. In Connecticut. We haven't had temps this high in four years. So of course, I am all worried about John being out working in this heat - mostly because he got SO sunburned during our volleyball game yesterday.

I have also been assigned my wedding planner - yay! I'm excited to finally start planning out some details of our day, but it will probably have to wait at least a couple weeks so we can get settled here. Oh, and we scored AWESOME prices on our flights to Florida and back - we got both of our round trip, non stop tickets for a total of $378.00! How amazing is that?! We were shocked and so excited to get that out of the way.

365 days

My little man, Marley, turns one year old today!

We actually know Marley's real birthday since we bought him from a pet store, unlike Milo who was rescued at 4 weeks old from mean people who were going to throw him out on the street - we just picked a random day during the week he was born to call his 'birthday.'

I cannot believe he is a year old already. It seems like it was yesterday that we stopped by the pet store on our way to Radioshack to buy John a new cell phone charger. It was impossible to resist his adorable face looking at us through the window. It took a little convincing to get John to let me take him into one of those cubicles to play with him - and even MORE convincing to let me take him home. (Actually, it was more like begging and pleading, but hey, whatever works!)



Here we are, ten months later, and Marley has become one of the family. He and Milo love each other to pieces - we find them snuggled up together on our bed or on the couch, and Milo loves to give his brother kisses. Marley is definitely a bit friskier than Milo was and he LOVES to scratch up anything he can get his little paws on. I cannot imagine life without him and even though I get made fun of A LOT for being a cat lady, I think he is one of the best decisions we have ever made. DEFINITELY worth the $200.00 that he cost us :-) Happy 1st Birthday my little man, your Momma loves you SO much!

something new

Today was my appointment at The Wedding Dress. I was not looking forward to it - I have not lost a significant amount of weight yet and I had no idea what I was looking for! Thank goodness for fat-suckers...they make you look so skinny! Plus, I think many wedding dresses are very forgiving.

Things I learned:
-I do not like shiny material.
-I do not like a ton of lace or a ton of beading.
-I DO like some sparkle - see Dress #2 if you look through the dress pictures.
-There are a lot of styles I love - which makes it even harder to narrow down the list!
-A big, poofy, princess dress does look good on me!
-Having hips does not mean wedding dresses won't look good on me - even I was surprised at how nice I looked in some of them!
-I wanted to cry when I put on dress #3 - which my gut tells me is "the" dress.
-I am so lucky to have family and friends that can go with me on these appointments.

I put pictures of the dresses on photobucket - can't post them on Facebook or on here in case John peeks. If you want the link to see the pictures let me know and I'll send it to you - I definitely want feedback because I am having such a hard time deciding between all of them. We have an appointment to go back on April 10th and I think I'll try to hit up a couple more stores between now and then to see if I find anything else I like. I don't want to look back and regret not trying on more dresses, even though I really think dress #3 is the one for me.

dreams do come true

Disney's Wedding Pavilion

Remember the time I said I was getting married in Disney World?

I am so excited about it. We won't officially know the date until September because Disney has difficult policies. We can't book our ceremony until 12 months out and we can't book the reception until 8 months out. Since we know where we want to have the ceremony and the reception, and we are (I am) very adamant that both of them get booked, we are going to be flexible with our date. So, I'll still book our ceremony at 12 months and cross my fingers that the reception venue will still be available at 8 months. We're hoping to get May 24, 2011 as our date. At the very earliest, I could officially have my date on September 25 of this year and THEN all the real planning can begin.

We want to have the ceremony at the Wedding Pavilion, which is right in between the Grand Floridian Resort & Spa and the Polynesian Resort. We're hoping for a 12:00 or 2:00 ceremony. The reception would follow at the Whitehall Room at the Grand Floridian. It's an adorable octagon room that opens into a gorgeous outdoor patio. The patio would be exclusively ours for the day, which will be perfect for John's nephews to run around in. The reception would start at either 2:00 or 4:00, depending on our ceremony time, but a pre-reception would go on directly after the ceremony while we are having pictures taken.

Following the reception we are going to have a private dessert party on Sago Cay, an area of the resort that is right on the lagoon, to watch the Wishes fireworks show at the Magic Kingdom. (The Grand Floridian Resort is right on the lagoon that overlooks the Magic Kingdom). They will rope off the area so that only our wedding guests attend, and they'll have dessert tables set up for guests to choose from. The soundtrack to Wishes will also be piped in to Sago Cay.

Aside from that, there's really not much to report. I will get my wedding planning kit once we book the date and send in our deposit. Next weekend we are going to try on wedding dresses...so that will be fun! I'm not sure what I'm even looking for. We are doing a fairly casual beach theme, and John and the guys will wear Khacki's with nice (read: non flashy) Hawaiian shirts and sandals. I am almost positive the girls will be wearing tea-length pale yellow dresses, just not sure of the style yet. So, I can't go too crazy with my dress - which is fine because I do not like super elaborate dresses anyway.

Oh, and I think I want calla lilies for my bouquet. Other than that, I'm still looking at things. I have a while before the big day, and it's hard to plan anything without having a date! Send me suggestions! (Especially for dresses!)

well hello there 2010

Have I really not posted since November 12th of last year??

I suppose there's a bit to update on.

I had surgery on November 19th that put me seriously out of commission for a month. I'd had a cyst on my tailbone for ten years and since September '09 it was constantly getting infected. I had one ER visit and 3 different antibiotic prescriptions in three months, so my doctor recommended having it surgically removed. He said it would be really painful but I honestly was not expecting it to be as bad as it was. The first week was hell on earth - I have never been in so much pain in my entire life. The intensity of the pain kept me awake for over 48 hours and made me feel so incredibly nauseous. I think I cried myself through those first 48 hours, it was really that bad. Luckily my surgeon was able to prescribe me a much stronger narcotic that took the edge off and I was able to get some sleep. Still, it was very uncomfortable for the first week...I needed help walking and going from laying down to standing up and vice versa. I couldn't sit down for well over a week and couldn't lay on my back for three weeks. Now that is has been two months I am glad I had the surgery, but I would not wish that pain on anyone.

About a week after surgery - that donut pillow came in handy.

December brought my very last weeks of college. I graduated with a 3.52 GPA and got a 3.8 for that semester. Considering I missed so much school due to surgery and ER visits, I am really proud of that GPA. 3.8! I also got an A on my senior Thesis on the Holocaust. Yes, an A. I never in a million years thought I could get an A on a 35 page thesis, but I did. I don't know what to do with myself now that school is over. I admit that I'm a little afraid that my brain is going to become dumb. Ohh, but I won't miss homework or papers or exams. Is it terribly selfish of me that I am a little bummed that no one is throwing me a graduation party? My university eliminated December graduation ceremonies so I don't really feel that I graduated or got an recognition for graduating, as childish as that sounds. I am proud of myself though!

Christmas was low-key, we didn't really have the money for gifts this year. We had the usual Christmas Eve with the Swedes and John's family came this year, so that was nice. We saw my parents on Christmas morning and went to his sister's house for Christmas dinner which was delicious. The kids (and John) all got remote helicopters and they kept everyone busy that afternoon. We didn't do much on New Year's Eve, went to dinner and watched the ball drop on TV. Well, John watched. I was asleep before it dropped.

Cooper and his new bone on Christmas morning

Then, of course, we headed off to the land of sun, fun and magic...Disney World! This year was a lot different because it was SO COLD. We had record low temperatures and spent a couple hundred dollars on sweatshirts and jackets because we were not expecting 30 degree temperatures. It was still fun - it was our first trip using our Vacation Club so that was exciting. We also got to visit the Wedding Pavilion and the Grand Floridian where we will be HAVING OUR WEDDING! Yes, we have changed our plans. This will have to be another post because there is lots to talk about. The trip was fun, albeit cold, but the drive home was not so fun. John got the flu and was sick the whole way home, leaving me at the wheel. Remind me to never drive again!

Now we are home and settling into a routine. Life should calm down, with me being done with school and the holidays having passed. Tomorrow my pre-wedding diet begins with the goal of losing 20 lbs. I should be able to do that in one year...if John stops bringing me chocolate once a week!

and i think to myself, what a wonderful world

After this weekend, I may or may not have wedding fever.

Jenny & Stephen's wedding was absolutely beautiful. My mom and I kept saying to each other the entire night "I have never seen a couple look so happy!" "I have never seen a couple so in love!" Really, it makes a wedding that much more special when you can look into their eyes and just know that it's the stuff fairytales are made of. (Of course, this is even more of a reason why Disney was the perfect place for their honeymoon). I don't know if anything has ever made me happier than to be able to send them to Disney. I've been so excited for them to go ever since we booked it, and all day today I was thinking about them. I looked at the clock at 10:30 - they're landing now! 12:30 rolled around and I wondered if they'd made it to the resort. I wonder if they are in Epcot yet, I thought at 3:30. Maybe it's because I LOVE Disney...I've just been bursting with happiness all.freaking.day for them. I cannot wait to hear all about it and see their pictures.

The happy couple

Cousins xo

My very own future-husband xo

There is nothing happier than love. Or weddings. Or maybe even wedding planning...which is something that is making it VERY hard to concentrate on my last semester of school. A fifty page paper due in less than a month? A paper due Thursday? Two group projects due in two weeks? A quiz tomorrow? Pshhh... clearly they are all much less important on my to-do list than reading my wedding books!

P.S. I'm 5.4 lbs lighter than I was two weeks ago! Go me : )

and dance forever

Right before John and I got engaged, the infamous youtube video started circulating.

We got engaged two days after I saw the video for the first time. That week, he saw the video for the first time and promptly shut down any ideas I may or may not have had about dancing down the aisle at our wedding.

I still realllllly love that video though.

I'm really glad I am graduating in December because it is almost impossible to concentrate on schoolwork when I could be reading a bridal magazine or spending hours on theknot.com making my wedding website or looking at favors or centerpieces.

Not to mention that I have spent countless hours throughout my entire college education procrastinating by looking at wedding dresses online.

There are soooo many pretty dresses, how do you pick just one??

hello autumn

I dislike how quickly fall goes by. It smells wonderful outside, and the trees are the prettiest colors.

Tomorrow, John and I are taking his youngest nephew Ryan to Pumpkintown, USA. It's a cute little park for kids with pumpkin people and hay bales and yummy apples and other autumn goodies. Friday night we are taking him to the fair while the older boys are at the Trail of Terror. I love fall fairs...the smell, the midway, the crafts. I really want to go to Gilette Castle too, since this is the last weekend of the season. Hopefully we can squeeze it in on Saturday or Sunday.

Marley is growing too fast, but he gets cuter everyday. He is teething and my hands have the marks to prove it, but I don't mind. Milo had to go to the vet last week and we found out he had a viral infection via an ulcer in his mouth - his meow sounded awful, like he had a cat version of strep throat or something. He is on anti-histamines twice a day until Friday. He's not happy about taking them, but he sounds ten times better.

John turned 26 yesterday. I had his family over for taco salad and birthday cake, all made by yours truly. I will post pictures when I get around to putting them on my computer. I'm so proud of who he is and al that he's done in his 26 years. I loved making his cake, too. I felt like a true (almost) wife.

home sweet home

We have been in our new place for almost two weeks now. It's starting to feel like home, walking in the door and seeing my two little guys (or in Milo's case, big guy) running to see who it is and knowing that I get to spend every night with my best friend.

Have you ever had a moment where you realize that everything in your life is just about perfect? I had one of those moments today. It was a crappy day at work, I was still feeling pretty sore from the unexpected trip the the ER Sunday night, and I wasn't looking forward to class tonight...but I had this feeling come over me that despite it all, my life was perfect. I can't tell you how much I love seeing John come through the door at the end of the work day, knowing that I get to cook him dinner and cuddle with him on the couch all night.

We have our newest addition, little Marley, a 10 week old orange kitten who is absolutely fabulous. He plays hard, runs hard, eats a lot, and sleeps like a rock. He is the most precious kitten ever, and I just love him to pieces. He's become fast friends with Milo, despite thinking that he can nurse off Milo sometimes. They run around our little apartment like crazies, and then collapse on the couch for a two hour nap. It's so cute to see Marley bounce after Milo wherever he goes...because he doesn't walk yet, he does that kitten-bounce. So cute.

I got accepted to graduate school last week and was offered an internship that would completely pay for my tuition. I was so excited; the school was my top choice and I've been so excited about the prospect of going there...but I think I'm going to have to turn both down. I cannot afford to do the internship and not work, and I cannot afford the tuition without the internship. Talk about a double edged sword. I hate this crappy economy. So, the new plan is to graduate in December and take some time off to save money and hopefully start graduate school at a less expensive school next fall. We'll see how it goes.

I am going to a bridal expo this Sunday with my mom and grandma. I am very excited, not that we are doing any real planning at this point. We've got our venue booked (the Barn at Wesleyan Hills - check it out here) for June 4, 2011. I'm hoping to talk to a photographer that I want soon, and maybe book the DJ also. I think I'm going to wait until school is finished to do anything further, just because I want to enjoy it all and clearly, I can't do that while trying to write my 50 page thesis paper for graduation.

Also when school is finished...I really want to try the 30 Day Shred again. I haven't gained or lost any weight since like July, but I really want to just do the 30 days. Has anyone actually done it??

I will post pictures of the apartment once I take some good ones!

it's been a while

Summer of 2009?

I have no idea where it went. I worked full time. But other than that...I really dont know what I did everyday. The last three months have really flown by.

Oh, I got engaged. (!!!!) John proposed on our 2 year anniversary. It was adorable and perfect and I almost started crying, but I held it together. I will write all about it later -- I need to ease my way back into writing. Ha, that is pathetic!

We are moving in together in fifteen days.

I start school in twelve days.

I have a lot to do in the next week and a half!

Here's a recap of my summer!

Went to see my godmother get married!

Went to the beach a few times with the nephews!

GOT ENGAGED!

lightyears

Reason #435094 why I have the cutest boyfriend ever:

Me: I love you to infinity and beyond!
John: I love you too, Buzz.

He totally feeds into my Disney obsession ; )

you got whatever it is that blows me away

 

 

I love love.

 

And that guy up there, too. ; )

i think i got it right this time

It's snowing. Again. It snowed last night, it's snowing now, and it's going to snow on and off for the next two days. Please remind me to move to Florida as soon as I'm done with school, ok?

I love weekends. I love laying in bed all day with John and Milo.

Speaking of Milo...he got a new toy. It's a pretty big one. It's a cat tree, and it goes from the floor to the ceiling, and has ledges every foot or so that he can sit on. As we all know, Milo is not the type of cat to just...sit. He tends to scramble to the top of the tree and look out over the entire room. He'll stay like that for a minute, or until he sees something he must investigate and then he jumps from the top down to the bed...a pretty big drop for a little guy. I'd been hearing about his newest antics all week and couldn't wait to see for myself when I got to John's on Friday night. It was funny at first, and as usual I took pictures of him flying through the room like super-kitty. Fast forward an hour or so, after we'd gone to bed, after we'd fallen asleep. Out of nowhere, I felt ten pounds of cat land on my back. After that happens a couple times, it gets to be not so cute anymore ; )

yes, he has devil eyes ; )

Remember the time I said I was going to make a book of all the sweet things John does, so that when I'm having a bad day I can look at it and be instantly cheered up? Well, this entire week I was going through John withdrawal...after spending 11 days straight with him, it was weird to not see him for five days and I missed him like crazy. And apparently I made sure I told him that 47 times this weekend, not to mention I barely let go of him for five hours ; ) So tonight, he sent me an IM telling me he was going to bed. It went like this (minus the screen names because there are lots of internets stalkers out there):

John: it's time for bed
Me: ok babe
John: sweet dreams, i miss you already!
Me: Awwwwwww!

You have to understand, he never says he misses me. I'd rather him not say these things because it's way cuter when he does : )

always

I love when I have a horrible day, when everything goes wrong and all I want to do is curl up in a ball and not wake up for days, he always makes me feel better.

holiday recap

Thanksgiving was nice. I woke up to watch the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, ate chocolate chip birthday pancakes that my mom made, and took my time getting dressed since Thanksgiving is supposed to be a lazy holiday. I opened some gifts with my family (necklace and Swedish alcohol) while my mom took 45345 pictures of us. We (my family + John) went to my cousin Tommy's house for a little bit to visit with my family, where John and I played foosball and pool, and where he beat me at both. It was quieter than most holidays with my family, and we only stayed for a couple hours. Then we went to John's sister's for dinner, and we had fun playing with the kids, even if Ryan was a ball of endless energy all day long. We had yummy turkey and stuffing and mashed potatoes, and his sister's homemade apple pie. I opened some birthday gifts (a fabulous "I <3 Lifehouse" hoodie from John, Enchanted from Jen and the kids, and Wall-E from John's parents) and by that time it was almost 8pm so we left. That night we watched Wall-E but I barely stayed awake for it all.

Friday, I went to work with John. It was actually a lot of fun. He let me wear his FedEx jacket and even made me deliver some packages by myself to residential areas. We delivered 186 packages and made (I think) about 45 stops. I only got in the way once, which was good since his truck is kind of cramped. We went to a big building full of different offices in Meriden where there were two really sketchy old elevators, where you had to open the wooden doors & gates, and crank the elevator to where you wanted it to go and match up lines on the walls before getting out...it was quite terrifying to me, but I survived. We got done around 3pm, since a lot of his stops were closed for the holiday. That night we went out to Dakota's with two of his friends, had really slowwww service, expensive and not-worth-it food, but good drinks. It took an hour to get our food, twenty minutes just to get our drinks! We were all so annoyed that we ate and left as quickly as possible, but it was still fun.

Saturday we came to my house for a birthday dinner and ate really yummy taco salad that my mom made. We decorated the Christmas tree, spent fifteen minutes taking a Christmas card picture, and watched Wall-E with Dad and Aunt Sonia. I opened more gifts (a Wall-E snowglobe from John, liquor from Art & Sonia, Bath & Body Works stuff I've been wanting from Erin, a shotglass from Andrew, and a car payment from my grandparents) and ate birthday cake.

That night, we went to the Casino with my grandparents. It was an hour drive- we left at 9:30pm and got there around 10:30. John and I went to the bar and he ordered me a Sex on the Beach which was really yummy. We gambled a little, I was ahead at one point but ended up losing all my money (which was only 40 dollars). John did well and went home only losing $10. We were out til about 2:30 and didn't get back to his house until 4am, so needless to say we slept really late today. (Til 3pm). We went to Denny's for a late (really late) breakfast, and to Walmart to get some stuff. We watched some corny Lifetime Christmas movies and were lazy, since it was disgusting outside (rainy, cold, and wet all day long).

Definitely a good weekend and I am sad to have to go back to work and school.

lucky

Last night, not even an hour after I wrote about how the gym thing didn't work out, guess what happened?

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

That's right, John was on my porch holding two gym passes, one for my sister and one for me. He went to the gym and convinced the owner to not only let us join without paying the $100 down payment, but for a cheaper price than the original advertisement. My sister and I are now on a plan for $15.90 a month - for both of us.  Not only that, but we got gold passes, which means half off drinks and stuff, and so many tanning sessions. What really made me melt, was that he said he did it because he doesn't want me to worry about calories and starving myself (yeah, I was heading down that road for a little bit, but all is well now). He said that if he couldn't get the gym to give us the deal, he still would have paid all that extra money, just so I could work out and not worry about what I eat so much. That I love that boy to pieces, I really do. I am so lucky to have someone like him in my life.

The three of us went tonight and it was SO good to finally work out again.

Also, today is Veteran's Day, and if you haven't done it yet, thank the veteran's you know. (hint, hint: - John is a veteran!) So thank you babe, for giving up two and a half years of your life to serve this country, plus countless drill weekends, trainings, and everything else you've done. I love you!

when i feel you i forget to breathe

I decided tonight that I'm going to write down all the little things John does that make me fall for him all over again.

Someday, I'd love to be able to tell my children about the man who stole my heart over and over again - the little things he did that meant so much to me.

For example...it's October. My favorite month. Why is it my favorite month? The leaves are pretty, the air is crisp, everything smells good, I get to wear sweaters, and it's Halloween. You knew that was coming, right? Of course you did. I love Halloween, mostly because I love to dress up. For one night, my inner five year old is allowed to come out, and no one will make fun of me. So, since October 1st, I've been bugging John to do all sorts of October-y things with me - hike under the leaves, carve pumpkins...and dress up with me on Halloween. I don't even really ask him to dress up, I just ask him what we're dressing up as - as if he has no choice. He always replies that he's not dressing up. I pout, and ten minutes later we go through it all over a gain. Quite frustrating when you love Halloween, no? Anyway, I wasn't expecting him to dress up with me - he didn't last year and it was fine. I just like busting him about it ; )

Today, when he came home from work, he says to me, guess what! My guess? What!! (Original, I know). I got a Halloween costume, he said. YOU DID!? Yes - I really was that excited. He stopped during his route and got a Joker mask - so I am going to be Cat Woman (because we have to match, of course). Tomorrow night we are off in search of cat ears.

Tonight, before he went to bed, I thanked him for getting a costume and told him that it made my day. His reply? I knew it would.

THAT is why I want to write all of these moments down.

weekend recap

John carving our pumpkin, who I have yet to name.

Us with our pumpkin. It only took about half an hour to carve him. Yes, it's a him.

Christy and I at the party. We never get to see each other anymore.

Milo, standing guard. No one is allowed to enter his house.

Our pumpkin, lit up. Boo!

We lost cable, phone, and TV last Saturday from a bad storm. A tree limb fell into the wires outside, and ended up just chillin in the wires for a day. Luckily, that wire prevented the limb from falling into my dad's windshield. Everything happens for a reason! The tree people came and cut the limb out so that we could at least leave the driveway, and the cable company came today to restore our phone/TV/internet.

Tonight I asked John a question. It went something like this:

Me: What do you want for Christmas?
John: I have you, I don't need anything else.
Me: -melt-

=)

i'm a girl with the best intentions

If you can, you should download a song by Grace Potter & Bethany Joy Galeotti - "I Want Something That I Want." I got mine on iTunes for $0.99 and it's a glorious two minutes and three seconds.

Today I got my Immigration midterm back. I don't remember if I wrote about this, but I took this midterm last Tuesday. It was six short answers and two essays, and it had to be done in one hour and fifteen minutes. No problem, right? No. I took the entire 75 minutes and I had to write the last essay in the last five minutes of the exam - it should have been a five paragraph, cohesive essay proving a point. I pieced together what I could in five minutes, hoping I fit all the main ideas into the argument in a way that made sense to someone besides just me. I was sure I'd lose a lot of points on that essay - it wasn't that logical, or legible, or lengthy. I even told John how upset I was when I got home that night - that I studied so hard for it and KNEW the answer, but simply ran out of time. When she handed them back today, I opened mine up and much to my surprise, I got a 100. It made my entire headache filled day worthwhile.

John and I are going to a pumpkin carving party on Saturday, which I am ridiculously excited for. I love this time of year, and carving pumpkins, and apple cider, and being in good company. Totally looking forward to this.

Oh, and this is what I woke up to on Sunday morning. Be Jealous.

Yes, he cooked me pancakes. They were oh so yummy. He's the best. =)