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!

Introducing...

Giving you guys a break from the incessant OMIGOD MY WEDDING IS NEXT MONTH posts with this lovely photo:



This is Bubba! He is a six year old tabby whose parents were being forced to move and could not take their pets with them. I got an email at work last Wednesday about the animals. (There was also an 11 year old border collie/german shephard mix that needed a home). Being the sucker that I am, I texted John and fibbed a little teensy-tiny bit that if he didn't find a home he would be euthanized and asked if we could meet him. Of course he said yes! Who can say no to an almost-dying kitty!?

Don't worry, I came clean to John that night after I'd already scheduled the meeting. (Muahahaha).

So anyway. Last Saturday around 2pm Bubba arrived at our house. He came right out of his carrier and started making himself at home. He tore into the buckets we keep the cat toys in (seriously, he hopped right in, like in the picture above, and started throwing out every toy he could find). Milo and Marley made a mad dash for the upstairs once they realized what was playing with their toys, and little Nala parked herself right under the rocking chair to keep an eye on the intruder.

We decided on the spot to take him. Not that there was any choice! How could either of us say no after meeting him? I was a little hesitant because he was not up to date on his shots and had not been to the vet in 3 years, but he was strictly an indoor kitty so the chances of him having anything were slim. And our cats are very laid back, so the chances of a cat-fight occurring were also slim.

After Bubba's parent's left, he got a little more uneasy with us. Before they left they had mentioned that they thought he was about 9 years old, which was older than we were expecting. He sure seemed it that first day - he was very cranky! He claimed the toy area as HIS spot and none of the other cats were allowed within a 2 ft radius of him. [Side Note: My next task is to actually post pictures of our new house because then you would understand what the "toy area" is. People walk into our house and are like "What is this, a cat farm?!" There are so many toys, ha]. He also hissed at our cats - which I totally expected. And our cats hissed right back. Even Milo! I have never seen Milo hiss. He is seriously the most laid back and easy going cat in the world. Anyway. Bubba did not really like me or John that day either. Which I completely understand - it's got to be awfully stressful to go on a 45 minute car ride and be dropped off in a strange house with three strange cats.

We gave Bubba his space for the next day or two. By the end of day two, the three male cats were able to walk by each other without freaking out. Nala was a different story. Maybe it was because she is the only female, or maybe because she is the youngest, or maybe just because she is SO SPOILED, I'm not sure. But she was NOT happy to have a new kitty in the house. She was seriously being a huge brat. If Bubba went somewhere that she was not happy with, she'd run right after him and pounce right in front of him, which terrified him. Nala has always been allowed on the counters in the kitchen for two reasons. 1.) I seriously can't yell at her. She's too cute. She's my baby. 2.) She doesn't listen. Mommy-fail. Milo and Marley really don't go on them much. So the counters are Nala's. When Bubba jumped up, oh man, cue the start of Kitty World War I. I am sure she felt threatened, like we were replacing her or something, so I tried to not get too mad at her. But I would say by Wednesday, she and Bubba could walk by each other with no growling, hissing, or swatting. They touched noses a couple times, and generally were getting along. They are still not BFFs, but that will come with time.

Yesterday Bubs had his first vet appointment and he did really well! The vet changed his age to 6 and said he was very healthy. He tested negative for FIV and handled his vaccinations beautifully. I cannot believe we now have four cats, or that I just wrote an entire post about my cats, but it makes me feel good to have rescued our third cat. And really, Marley was a rescue in my opinion because who wants to live in a pet store? Yes, we paid for him, but I just could not bear to leave him in that smelly, overcrowded store. And ohhhh, the cuteness! So, I tell myself I've rescued all four of them. And here are pictures of the other three, just so they don't feel left out:

Nala, Queen of the Counters:


Marley, always my little man:


And our gentle giant, Milo:

it's flying by

When we got engaged nearly 2 years ago, I had grand plans to really savor each moment of our wedding planning process. My mom bought me a journal for all my wedding plans and ideas. I've used it, that's for sure, but have I used it to write really descriptive entries about what I'm thinking, feeling, wishing and hoping for? No. I've jotted down music ideas, floral ideas, little thoughts here and there. I have a huge excel spreadsheet on my computer at work full of my plans: guest list, budgets, seating charts, group events, vendors, and more. It's my wedding-planning bible.

Planning a destination wedding has been a really neat experience - one that I would not trade for anything. I know our wedding will be incredibly fun and unique. I feel a little sad that I haven't chronicled it the way I'd imagined. Now that we are 33 days away from our I Do's (!!!) I want to somehow capture it all so that I will remember it in 5, 10, 15, 20 years. I know that is not an attainable goal right now - with so many other items that need to be crossed off my to-do list. Not to mention my last-ditch effort to lose a few pounds before the big day! I definitely have a full plate for the next four and a half weeks.

So. I am making a commitment to capture as many details of our wedding week as possible. I want to recount it all on this blog - from the day we arrive in Disney until the day we leave. Here is a quick snapshot of what that week should go:

Friday: Arrive in Orlando around 10:00AM, head to our resort to check-in, pick up our tuxes from Bell Services and make sure they all fit, get together all of our wedding items and deliver them to Franck's (the wedding studio by the Wedding Pavilion), and maaaybe if we aren't too exhausted, hop on the monorail and head into the Magic Kingdom. That night we have our first group event - dinner reservations at my parent's resort with 14 of our guests.
Saturday: sleep in! We are heading to Epcot around noon to kick off our second group event: Celebrating Around the World. We are planning to hit as many of the countries in World Showcase as we can to sample food and drinks. Yum! That night John and I have reservations with his best man and one of my bridesmaids at an Italian restaurant.
Sunday: Our rehearsal is at 9:30 in the morning and from there we go straight to our rehearsal brunch with our wedding party. After that we are inviting everyone back to our resort for an afternoon of lounging around the pool. Hoping to keep it low-key and relaxed...I know I will be a bundle of nerves with the wedding the next day!
Monday: WEDDING DAY! Cosmetology will arrive around 6:30 in the morning, the photographer & videographer arrive around 9:00, and we head over to the Grand Floridian Resort around 10:30 for bridal party photos. Wedding is at 12:00, cocktail hour at 1:00, reception at 2:00, and our Epcot dessert party is at 8:00. It will be a long day but I think it's going to be incredibly amazing.
Tuesday: sleep in! We have breakfast reservations around 10am, and then we'll see where the day takes us. We have our farewell dinner at the Polynesian that night with 26 guests.
Wednesday-Sunday: Other than our dining reservations, we have no concrete plans. We'll probably go with the flow and try to hang out with as many of our guests as we can before everyone heads back home. After all, how many chances will we ever get to be in the happiest place in the world with the people we love the most? Nada!

So that's my goal: when we get back, I am going to bore you with all the little details of our wedding events! While I am sad that I have not chronicled my planning thus far, I really want to make sure I write it all down afterwards. Plus, I am sure it will help with the post-wedding blues - I won't know what to do with all my free time!

BTW - we have a new addition to our family. Coming up in my next post!

Fifty.

50 is not really that big of a number.

When I was little, I thought $50 made me rich. Ha! $50 barely gets me enough gasoline for the week... but I digress.

When we set our wedding date, we had 500-something days to wait. I looked forward to every "milestone" number as we counted down the days. 450 days, 400 days, 350 days, 300 days, and so on. I was really excited a few months ago when we hit 100 days, and then 99 the day after. Double digits!

Now we have 50 days left. FIFTY DAYS. And we have only 47 days until we leave.

This number is pretty much freaking me out right now. I really don't want it to be over. I remember my very first trip to Disney in 1997 - riding on the monorail past the Wedding Pavilion and thinking "That's where I want to get married someday." Someday is here - in a mere fifty days. How did that happen so quickly?!

give a little heart and soul

Bullets, because I have not updated in forever and this is easier than writing full paragraphs about everything that has been going on:

-We are moved into our house! We found out we were closing an hour and a half ahead of time, and then spent the following four days painting, cleaning, moving, painting, cleaning, moving...
-I posted some photos on facebook but I need to get outside today and get some photos of the actual house. I want to wait on inside photos a bit longer because as soon as we get one room unpacked, we start a new project and it gets messy again.
-My bridal shower was last weekend and I feel like the luckiest girl in the world to have so many incredible family and friends. My mom pulled off an incredible afternoon with lots of tea and cupcakes. People were VERY generous and I felt like we moved again last weekend with the amount of stuff I brought home!
-The wedding is in 57 days (FIFTY SEVEN!!). I have so much to do. You don't even want to see my to-do list, it will make you sick.
-I had intended to make one of the spare bedrooms into "wedding central" but that room has not even been unpacked yet. Not to mention I need a table to assemble all of my DIY crafts. I have no table.
-Milo is terrified of ceiling fans. We have three of them now, and at first he would not even go into those rooms because they freaked him out so much. Now he just gets freaked out about them when they are on. I hope he comes around because I fully intend on using them a lot this summer.
-My aunt asked me if Marley was pregnant yesterday. I replied that Marley is a boy. I guess I need to cut down on his food consumption? He really doesn't eat a ton but he is L-A-Z-Y. I keep telling him to exercise but he just rolls over and goes back to sleep.
-Nala has adjusted perfectly and was Queen of the house within minutes. So much so, that she feels it's within her rights to sprawl out on the kitchen counters. We've started spray-bottle training her this weekend and when she sees it, her eyes get all scrunched up and she slowly makes her way off the counters.
-John's family is no longer coming to our wedding. It's been a really long, stressful six weeks, but they have shown their true colors not only to us, but to my whole family, and I am relieved that we don't have to worry about them on the wedding day anymore. John is beyond hurt that his family could treat him this way, but he is also relieved that he doesn't have to worry about them anymore. It's a blessing in disguise, I think. I could write a whole book about the drama that's been going on but I'll save it for another time.
-I had my fitting for my dress two weeks ago and O-M-G I LOVE IT. I have my second fitting this Saturday and my hair trial right after - Squee!
-I am desperate for warmer weather. Even if it's just 60's! I am so sick of cold weather. It's almost April, weather gods! Give me some warmth!
-I cannot wait to go on vacation for 10 days. In the warm Florida sun! With my most favorite people in the world!
-I am going to miss my fur babies like crazy, though. I'll probably be a nervous wreck for the week leading up to the wedding.

remember the time I said I was buying a house?

We have been so busy lately. I've had wedding questions from my planner to answer, decisions to make, INVITATIONS TO MAIL OUT [this took FOREVER], and the list goes on. It's been an especially stressful couple of weeks on the house front, though. It seems like the seller is the slowest person on Earth. There have been lots of bits and pieces that need to be sorted out - papers to be signed & permits to be shown, and of course we've been dealing with the ever-difficult VA.

We are getting a VA home loan that John is eligible for after serving in the Army for 8 years. They are pretty picky about some things, but they are also SO SLOW at getting anything done. But there was one thing that ticked me off - John had to sign a piece of paper stating that he was not going to be deploying in the next 12 months, because if he was, the VA considered it "bad faith." REALLY!? If he were to deploy [which he won't; his time was up almost 2 years ago] the bank would say we reneged on the loan. I just couldn't believe that. How can you tell service men and women that they cannot buy a house if they are to deploy within 12 months? How awful is that?!

Anyway. Rant aside, things are moving along, albeit a bit slowly and stressfully. [Stressfully is not a word but I just made it up. Don't judge]. We should be closing next week! Hopefully the move will go smoothly because by the end of March, we will be in full-force Wedding Mode. Please bear with me through the sporadic posts until June - I cannot even believe it's March already. I don't know where the last 2 months have gone.

PS - our 4583745 feet of snow is finally melting. Please, weather gods, please melt it all away before we move next weekend!? Please?!

PPS - my first wedding dress fitting is next weekend also. -freaking out about fitting into it-

one big announcement coming up...

Bullets because it's been forever...

-- Winter 2011... I will never forget you. One of the major reasons why I have not posted in forever is because of the weather. We have not been on Mother Nature's good side since Christmas. We broke the record for amount of snowfall in January with storm after storm. We got one storm that dropped 30 inches, another that dropped 18, a few that dropped 5-6, oh and let's not forget the ice storms that came by too. We lost power completely a few times, and we lost our cable service (phone, TV, internet) for over a week. Not to mention, the snowbanks at intersections are SO HIGH because there is nowhere to put the snow. It was pretty bad for a while, but luckily we have had over a week with no snow so it has started to melt a little.

-- Wedding is in 99 days! I'm almost finished with the invitations and then it's on to the favors. Then the table names, escort cards, programs...am I forgetting anything?? My dress finally arrived so I have my first fitting on March 12th. I'm so excited for that. I need to purchase my shoes by then (aka flip flops) and any undergarments I plan on wearing. My shower is on March 19th and I finally finished our registries at Bed Bath & Beyond and Target. Those were painful! I feel so awkward picking out all these gifts for people to buy me.

-- **BIG ANNOUNCEMENT** We bought a house! This is another reason why I have avoided the interwebs lately. I have been so excited about this, but we wanted to keep quiet until we were sure that it was a done deal. It's an old farm house that was built in 1869. It's a flip, so it's all renovated and move-in-ready. We are tentatively set to close in about a month, so it's going to be a really hectic and stressful couple of months coming up. Not only are we finishing up a million little things for the wedding, we are also picking out paint colors and new furniture and Oh Em Gee! The excitement!

So, there we have it. My life over the last several weeks summed up in a couple bullets. With everything we've got going on, I still want to make it a priority to fit in exercise and healthy eating so I feel beautiful on the big day. I'm looking into buying some Zumba dvd's - does anyone have any suggestions?