Our new favorite pasttime...

We survived!!

Aaron and I crammed more in 2 days than I think I ever have before.

1.) We started off on Christmas Eve with Aaron's extended family. It was a lot of fun to be with everyone and participate in the gift exchange (although Aaron's family needs to learn how to steal presents!!). We got to play with kids, one of my favorite things to do, and sample everyone's Christmas cookies.

2.) Then we headed up to my mom's house. We made it there right after Santa, so we ate goodies and discovered what was in our stockings. Then we opened all of our great presents and had the annual "present hunt." We have a Santa ornament that opens up and my mom always hides a clue in it. The clue leads us to several other clues around the house until we arrive at our big present of the year. Aaron and I got a Kitchen Aid mixer this year!!

3.) We got home just after midnight on Christmas Eve and were up early the next morning to have our own Christmas. Aaron created a chocolate relaxation themed stocking for me. He made a chocolate milk bath and a chocolage facial and gave me chocolate lotion, soap, pedicure soaks and a bath soak. I had said I wanted to go to Hershey, Pennyslvania sometime so I could bathe in chocolate, but we didn't see that trip in our near future, so he brought it to me!!

4.) We went over to Aaron's parents mid-morning and ate more Christmas goodies before we even had breakfast!! This is the first year that Emma has been excited about Christmas, so it was fun to watch her open her presents. Our big present from Aaron's parents was a video camera!! We've had a ton of fun playing with it already!!

5.) On Christmas afternoon we headed over to Cedar Rapids to have celebrate with my dad and Roarke. My dad had lots of good munchy food and we had more cookies (can you tell that I love Christmas cookies?!?) Roarke opened his presents in record time. If there are any career opportunities in present-un-wrapping I think Roarke's perfect for the job!! I had the pleasure of playing Old Maid and Hungry, Hungry Hippos when the un-wrapping was over.

It was a long couple of days.... We got up at 5:30 am on Sunday and worked for 9 hours before starting the 5 Christmas celebrations, but we were lucky enough not to have to be up early this morning, so we slept super late!! (at least in our world...until 9!!) and are well on our way to being "fully recuperated".... but it was a great couple of days, not only because of the presents :-D, but because we were able to spend so much time with our families!!

Out of the mouth of an Independent Energy Auditor

We got a free home energy audit through Alliant Energy yesterday. If you have an audit, then they'll give you a rebate on additional insulation, replacement windows and doors...whatever they deem necessary. Paul seemed like a nice guy and he brought us some free stuff, but I was not expecting to hear...

• "You seriously don't have a wood-burning stove?!?"
• "You need to turn your heat up."
• "Do you ever run your air conditioner??"
• "You spent as much to heat your house and you with your water heater last year."
• "I looked at your bills from the last year. I really didn't think anyone was living here."

Christmas Cookies!!

Aaron and I have the "dilemna" of not being able to choose just a couple things to make for our family Christmases, so we end up making a ton of things and then doing our best to distribute them among everyone we know. I think we have 10-12 things on our list for this year. We'll be baking like crazy next week and I'm so excited about it!! Aaron loves Christmas music, so we'll have that blasting the whole time and we'll use practically every dish we own and then some. It's a fun tradition we started our first year together, when we both had a bunch of things we wanted the other to try. Every year so far we've made a few different things so that we can keep sharing and trying new things. I love it!!

What is your favorite Christmas cookie??

We have a dog down...

Ok, well, it's not stopping him that much, but he's definitely milking his 'injury' for everything it's worth. He sits around with his paw hanging in the air:

...because he has a toenail that's cracked. He still runs around most of the time, but when he's not running around, he just sits there with his paw hanging in the air, shooting you a look like "Oh, jeez. I'm hurt so bad! You better pet me!! LOTS!!" Crazy dog!!

Driving in a Hail Storm

It's amazing how the weather can change in a 15 mile range!! I left a friend's house in Ames last night, where it was dry. By the time I got home I had encountered, drizzle, big fat rain drops, heavy, blinding rain and hail. Lots and lots of hail!! I can't remember ever seeing hail before and I know I've never driven through it. That was a scary and unexpected experience (especially since it was December 11th!!)

Extravaganza Days 3 & 4

Day 3 (Friday)

We had to work on Friday. Part-way through the afternoon, a special delivery arrived for Aaron. I had ice cream shipped overnight from Ohio for him. We went to a really great ice cream place when we were out there for Thanksgiving, so I thought I'd surprise him with a few pints.

The ice cream was packed in dry ice. Aaron definitely had some fun playing with that!!

We left work a little early and headed to Iowa City for the basketball game. Despite the fact that we almost got crushed on the way there, it wasn't a bad trip and we made it through all the traffic and into the game with a few minutes to spare. It was fun even though the Cyclones lost. After seeing how the Hawkeye fans acted, we're proud to be Cyclone fans!!

"Lets try to smile even though the Cyclones are losing and we're surrounded by Hawkeye fans..."

Day 4 (Saturday)

We spent Friday night in Cedar Rapids at my dad's place where we were greatly entertained by his kitten, Garfield. On our way home, we stopped in Iowa City and met Ambre at HuHot for lunch (yes, the same place we went for his birthday dinner on Wednesday!!) We took a quick nap when we got home (yay for naps!!) and then headed into work for a bit to help out with some holiday parties.

Garfield had no problem finding trouble to get in to.

Birthday Extravaganza - Day 2!!

Aaron's birthday extravaganza continued yesterday. Yesterday was the day. It was his birthday. It was, however, probably the most low key day of the whole extravaganza.

We got to sleep in together (past 7 a.m.!!) and hang out for a while in the morning, but I did have to go to class. Aaron went up to Ames to get a haircut, which is quite a treat, because he goes to Sport Clips and gets to have a head massage and watch sports during his hair cut. Then, in my break between classes, we had lunch together and Aaron went shopping with his birthday money. While I was in class for the afternoon, Aaron went home and watched a movie (the first Pirates of the Caribbean). Then we spent the night making dinner together and lounging around. We also drank some Bacardi, because it was his birthday (imagine us singing our own versions of that song all night...)

That was it for yesterday, but the fun continues today. There's a surprise for Aaron and we'll be heading to Iowa City for the Iowa vs. Iowa State basketball game (which was supposed to be a surprise, but he accidentally guessed it).

Day 1 of Aaron's 4 Day Birthday Extravaganza!!

The extravaganza started today. I took brownies to work so he could share a birthday treat and we went to dinner at HuHot with the family tonight. Aaron has been looking forward to going to HuHut for close to a month now, so he's a happy, and full, guy now!!

More to come tomorrow!! And tomorrow's the day!!

10 things that make Blakely smile

(in no particular order...)

• When Aaron does a "jig" for me.
• When it's time for bed, we let the dogs out one last time. When they come inside Nick the dog runs around the house until he finds me, then turns around and runs downstairs. It's like he just has to say "good-night mom!!"
• Cookies. And chocolate. Especially chocolate chip cookies!!
• Referring to Aaron as my husband! An old friend from high school found me on facebook recently and asked if I had gotten married. I was practically giddy to be able to reply and say, "Yes! And my husband is wonderful!!"
• Kids. They're simply wonderful.
• Our wedding pictures. Our photographer did a great job of capturing the day and I love looking back on the day that Aaron and I became husband and wife.
• Getting personal mail. Both email or 'snail-mail', as long as it's not junk or a bill!!
• Thinking about the future. It's a little daunting at times, but I'm so looking forward to growing and changing with Aaron and creating a family.
• Thursday nights. Maybe this makes me a TV-junkie, but I love sitting down and watching 3 hours of TV that I love. We snuggle, we eat popcorn and I don't have to think about school or work or bills or anything in the 'real world.'
• Doing something nice and/or unexpected for Aaron that makes him smile.

The Top Ten Things I Love about Slater

10) There's a llama farm here. How many small towns can boast that?!?
9) The ladies at the post office know who I am and our PO Box # without me having to say a word.
8) The first letter of each street name in the trailer park spells "Slater." Sycamore, Locust, Ash, Teek, Elm and Redwood. The other street names are numbered (going east and west) and the counties of Iowa, in order (going north and south), so you won't get lost ;-)
7) We have the "Log Cabin." It's a great little community club that can be rented out for only $25. We used it for our rehearsal dinner.
6) We have a grocery store. They sell Ben & Jerry's and they have a great meat counter!
5) We know our neighbors. They know us. Our neighbor to the south bought his house from Aaron's grandpa 40 years ago. Aaron's dad grew up there!!
4) There's a group of old guys who gather at Casey's every morning when it opens at 6am. Rain or shine, they stand outside and drink their coffee and eat their donuts.
3) Slater's Christmas on Main. Burgers, Brats, fire pits to make s'mores in, a turkey raffle, and a giant Christmas tree on Main Street.

2) Slater hosts the Fourth of July every other year, alternating with Sheldahl. There's a carnival, beer tent, a parade and better fireworks than Ames!!

1) My husband and I can feel comfortable raising our kids here someday! (And for now, it's a pretty good place to raise our dogs!!)

Did I really see that?!?

Aaron and I got tickets to the Guns 'N Roses concert through work on Friday. It was an interesting night with some definite "firsts."

• It was the first time I'd seen a burlesque show. They had a group called "The Suicide Girls" as one of their opening acts.
• We witnessed a young couple having intimate relations a few rows behind us. I expect to see a lot of different things in Hilton Coliseum, but that was not one of those things!!
• It was the first time I've witnessed a celebrities 'pre-madonna' attitude first-hand. Axel Rose decided that he "just wasn't feeling it" and Guns 'N Roses didn't take the stage until after 12:30 a.m., four-and-a-half hours after the concert started.

We got to hang out with a lot of friends from work while were were there, so it was a fun night, but I definitely don't need a repeat of the "firsts" any time soon.

It was raining...INSIDE!!

Since it has been wet and rainy outside, the boys have been tracking in mud all over the house. So I decided tonight that I was going to vacuum the living room and sweep and mop the kitchen. It was going flawlessly. The living room had been vacuumed, I swept up the mud and hair from the kitchen and I had our brand new mop all ready to go. I filled up the kitchen sink with water and Pine Sol, started mopping, and then heard a dripping in the basement. I ran downstairs and saw water practically raining out of a pipe in the ceiling. I threw a bucket under it and came back upstairs to find water pouring out of the cabinet under our kitchen sink. Luckily, I already had the mop out, so it was easy to clean up. I'm not really sure what's wrong with the sink/drain and Aaron won't be home until late tonight, so it will remain a mystery. Unfortunately, that means I couldn't do dishes tonight. Oh well!! :-D

Our wedding pictures are up!! Our wedding pictures are up!!

My husband and my brother both love the movie "The Jerk" and often quote it. Most commonly quoted is: Navin R. Johnson: The new phone book's here! The new phone book's here! Harry Hartounian: Boy, I wish I could get that excited about nothing. Navin R. Johnson: Nothing? Are you kidding? Page 73 - Johnson, Navin R.! I'm somebody now! Millions of people look at this book everyday! This is the kind of spontaneous publicity - your name in print - that makes people. I'm in print! Things are going to start happening to me now. I've heard this so often that this is the "tune" to which I say "Our wedding pictures are up!! We're somebody's now!! Millions of people will look at these pictures..." Ok, so that's a bit of an exageration, but that's what I was thinking in all of my giddi-ness.

You can view all ~800 of them here, by searching for our event. Your best bet is to type in "Rule" and then we are one of only two events to show up. The pictures are split into categories for easier viewing. You don't really have to look at all 800, but they're pretty wonderful, so you'll probably want to!!

A Lesson on Pronunciation

My wonderful husband has taught me a great trick on explaining to people how to pronounce our last name. The spelling is still tricky (refer to prior blog entry), but I feel like I have a chance when trying to explain the pronunciation. So here goes. Pay attention!!

Mortvedt: "More" not less and "Tweet" like a bird, "More-Tweet"

I think it's funny how few people even want to attempt to pronounce it, especially if they've never heard it. When I was at the bank changing things around today, the banker asked me what the origin of "it" was and just pointed at the name instead of trying to say it.

I love being Mrs. "More-Tweet"!!

Post-Wedding To-Do's

Wow. It's hard to believe that Aaron and I got married last month already!! (Haha, I know, it's only been 4 days, but it was last month. And we're huge dorks!!) But now that "it's all over" everyone keeps asking what we'll do to keep busy. I haven't rambled off the list for everyone, but as I think about it, I realize that we almost have more to do Post-Wedding than we did in the year-long preparation. I think we were so concerned about not getting things done and overloading ourselves that we sort of "under-loaded" ourselves. So, things to do following the wedding...

1) Our marriage license arrived today, so the name change process must begin. Driver's license, SS card, the university, work, bank accounts...

2) We need to re-do our bedroom. Our furniture is falling apart, so that needs to be replaced, and our new linens introduce a new color scheme, so the walls need to be painted.

3) We've also been putting off painting the living room until things "calm down" after the wedding.

4) Go through all the cabinets in the kitchen and decide what stays and what goes. Aaron just told me last night that we have a deep fat fryer, which I had no idea about after 2 years together!! If that's the extent of the surprises though, I think we're doing okay!!

5) Look through all of Aaron's "stuff" that his parents found in their basement.

6) Organize everything for our garage sale that we WILL have next Spring.

7) Figure out what to do with all of our wedding decorations and try to reclaim our house!!

8) Write thank-you notes to everyone who helped us celebrate our day!!

9) 3 weeks from today we'll be going out to Ohio for 5 days to visit some of my family for Thanksgiving. Aaron's birthday and finals week follow shortly after that. Then it's Christmas time with 5 or 6 family Christmas' this year.

I don't think we need to worry about getting bored!! I'm guessing that there will always be something to keep us busy.

Wedding Pictures

Did anyone take any pictures at our wedding that they can send our way?? We had an amazing photographer and I think my cousin took almost as many pictures as he did, but we don't have any of those yet. I don't know if I can survive a whole week without any pictures to show off!! If you have any, you can send them to mortvedtwedding@hotmail.com

Thank you a million times to everyone who came and to everyone who helped in the planning process. Everything was amazing and the evening was practically flawless!!

Mrs. Mortvedt

It's almost here!!

I'm almost Mrs. Mortvedt!!

Wow...exciting stuff!! Just 4 days until our wedding!!

This post isn't wedding related!!

Although I will mention that it's only a week away!!

Instead of talking about the wedding, I thought I'd share the wonderful organizational tip we learned the other day. We had the TV on and were sort of watching a show on HGTV (Home & Garden) while we folded laundry. And then they came on with this handy tip about folding and storing your linens. "Put a folded set of linens into a matching pillow case." Brilliant!! Here's our linen closet before and after using this great method.

What a mess!!

The finished product. Beautiful!!

It still needs a little tweaking, but Aaron was making fun of me enough as it was!!

And in case you missed it the first time, 7 days until our wedding!!

Congratulations Mrs. Filipiak!!

The weather cooperated and Trishia and Brad were able to have a beautiful ceremony out at Ledges. It was followed by a very fun ceremony at Gates Hall in Nevada.



Trishia looked gorgeous and was able to give me some "real-world bride" tips so that I can be prepared for my wedding in just 2 weeks.

Wow...hard to believe that we're she's married. And I'll be married in just two weeks...

Did it happen to you??

For all of you married folk out there...

Did you have a day sometime before your wedding where it really hit you?? Like all of a sudden *BAM* "You're getting married in just 19 days!! You will officially be a wife soon!!" Today was that day for me.

• Amanda and Missy (2 bridesmaids) came over last night and helped me put together some wedding 'stuff'.
• Today I got to work and our wedding was on the "3-week" (a report they give out forecasting the events for the next three weeks). I mean, I saw the "Rule Mortvedt Wedding" in print on an official work document.
• Aaron spent his morning working on our ceremony programs, so I came home to see even more wedding 'stuff' accomplished.
• We got another wedding gift in the mail today and we used some of our shower gifts today.
• We filled out our application for Marriage License today. Although my mom objected at being deemed the 'uninterested party', because she's not disinterested, we filled it out and I wrote "Blakely JaDeane Mortvedt" as my name for after the marriage.

19 days and it really will be that day!!

3 weeks!!

In just 3 weeks I will be married to the love of my life. I will officially be Blakely JaDeane Mortvedt. What a name!! I've already had the pleasure of trying to spell Mortvedt for someone over the phone, which is not an easy task. "M-O-R-T as in Tom-V as in Victor-E-D as in Dog- T as in Tom," which is still followed by some confusion at times. I've tried signing the name "Blakely Mortvedt" as well, which is definitely more complicated than "Blakely Rule." But so many great benefits will come with the name, that I don't mind.

Just 21 more days of practice...

The Beautiful Bride

Don't I look cute in my toilet paper veil and my duct tape tiara??

Thanks to my cousin and maid-of-honor, Bethany, for planning a great party!! And thanks to all the other girls for going out with me and having a great time!!

Only 27 more days until I wear the real veil!!

Happy Birthday Roarke!!

Oh jeez!! My little brother turns 5 today!!


I know everyone says this when they have kids, or a niece or nephew, or a little brother in my case...but he was seriously just a baby the other day!!

Upcoming Roarke attractions...he'll be an amazing ring bearer in just 32 days!!

Test #2

I just got done with my second test of the week. It was quite a reminder of my test-taking style. After I read a question, I either know the answer or I don't. There's no re-reading it and then understanding or thinking about it for a while and then coming up with the answer. I either know if or have to make a wild guess, which doesn't always work out so great.

What kind of a test-taker are you??

37 days until our wedding. Oh jeez!!

Is it just me??

I am currently in a computer lab on campus. I came in here with the intention of studying for a test I have tomorrow, because it's an online class with an online textbook, so I really need a computer to study for it. But instead, I'm too distracted to study. There is a group of 3 people in here watching a program from a website called "Democracy Now." I know that this is the program they're watching, because they've been talking about it for the last 5 minutes. They also discussed that they should bring headphones if they're going to watch this again, because the sound might be distracting to other people in the lab...you think?!? Then stop watching it NOW!! I don't understand people...

The good news is, there's only 39 days until our wedding!!

It's never a good sign when...

Our dogs spend their time in their kennels when we're sleeping or gone. So it's never a good sign when one of the dogs meets you at the door when you come home. The first time this happened it was very confusing, but it didn't take long for us to figure out that Steve had gotten sick. Being that he doesn't want to spend time in his disgusting 'sickness' he somehow manages to collapse his cage and get out, therefore spreading the 'joy' throughout the house.

Well, last night we came home to Steve greeting us at the door.This was the third time this has happened and we immediately knew what the problem was, before the stench even hit us. Although it's horrible to clean up, we can't be mad at Steve, because he just looks so miserable and we know it's not his fault. Last night was no exception.

Even Nick knew that the big dog was sick. He didn't hump him, bite his neck until he bit back or taunt him with any toys. He just layed calmly nearby and didn't even fight for the attention too much when Aaron was cuddling with Steve. Luckily he seems to be feeling better this morning. Time will tell...

A Dress Fitting or Football??

While everyone else is busy watching the Iowa vs. Iowa State football game this Saturday, I'll be cruising along in my mom's Mustang to Webster City. Then I get to put on my wedding dress, with hoop skirt, veil, necklace...all of it!! Then, everyone will ooh and ahh, my mom will get 'pheclemphed' (I have no idea how to spell what I'm thinking...she'll get all choked up) and they'll make my dress even prettier than it already is!!

I'm so excited!! And only 44 more days until I'll be dancing the night away in the dress!!

Is it possible to become addicted after one use??

I think we all know what I'm talking about here. BreatheRight strips of course!!

I spent the weekend feeling horrible, first thinking it was allergies and then realizing that my allergy medicine wasn't helping, so I must be sick!! The cold ran its course, the runny nose, sneezing, sore throat, etc...and by Monday I was in the congestion phase. I had trouble eating a cookie Monday afternoon because I had to stop chewing, breathe a little, then chew more and swallow, then breathe for a while before I could take another bite. For anyone who knows me, it's big news when I can't just inhale a cookie!! The same problem occured at dinner. Aaron made me tasty chicken and noodles served with mashed potatoes...yummy!! but I could hardly eat it. So he suggested that I put on a BreatheRight strip. I resisted at first, thinking how silly I would look, but gave in, because I just wanted to breathe and I was willing to try anything. The moment I put it on, I could breathe easily. It was amazing!!

Now I'm walking around campus, wishing that they had invisible BreatheRight strips, because I can't breathe as well as I could with the BreatheRight strip on. All I can think about is how wonderful it will be at 6pm when I get home and I can put one on again and breathe!!

46 days from now, I'll be Mrs. Mortvedt!!

Gas Prices

Five years ago, would anyone have been excited about gas at this price??


More specifically, would anyone have been excited enough to take a picture on their way to work?!?

47 days until our wedding!!

Awesweet & Meanja

Today, Aaron made a smart ass comment (imagine that) and I told him he was mean. Then it somehow came up in conversation that he's a ninja, which isn't uncommon because he's such an amazing ninja that it gets talked about all the time. It was at that point that we decided that he was actually a "Meanja." If you want to know if you're a Meanja, there are a couple requirements. You have to be mean and a ninja (obviously) but you also have to love Blakely and SNAKES ON A PLANE, but especially Blakely. (And Blakely loves her Meanja!!)

There's nothing better than making up words. It's so wonderful, that even Emma, our adorable niece who's about to turn 2, made up the word "Awesweet" (awesome & sweet) this weekend. It may have been unintentional, but it was darn cute!! Yay words!!

How many days until the wedding you ask?? 53!!

Ahh, Crikey!!

How crazy is this?!?
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060904/ap_on_en_tv/obit_irwin
Talk about unlucky!!

54 days until the wedding!!

It's my Senior Year

I have recently started my fourth year here at ISU. (And I hope it goes by quickly so I can be done, but that's not the point here...) And I lived in Ames for 7 years before attending ISU. On Thursday night, I attended my first ISU Football game. About time, I know. I had helped organize a staff tailgate at work and then a bunch of people went to the game together. I understand the basics of football, but it's harder to figure out what's going on when actually at the game, so I basically just did what all of the guys did around me. If they yelled, I yelled. If they jangled their keys, I jangled mine. I attemted a belly bump with Aaron after an ISU touchdown, but he was too busy laughing at me to participate. It was a good time!!

And for anyone interested...56 days until the wedding!!

The countdown has officially begun

I'm a big dork. There's no point in pretending that I'm not. So when Aaron and I first got engaged, I would occasionally spout off the number of days until we were married. It was right around a year at the time, so it was easy to figure out. But after a week or two into November, it wasn't so easy anymore. I would still occasionally see the number on theknot.com, which keeps a count for me, but it was very sporadic that I would know the number of days.

Today, there are 65 days left. I can tell you that without even really thinking about it. I have been able to do this for about a week or so, therefore I feel confident saying that the countdown has officially begun!!

That's both exciting and scary for me. It means we're getting really close and only 65 days from now I will be married to the man I love. (YAY!!) It also means that only 65 days from now I have to have everything done!! Luckily, the last week or so has been very productive and Aaron has been amazing with all of the help he's given. I have realized that I can't do everything myself and have started asking for help, from my parents, Aaron's parents and friends.

I think at this time I should make it publicly known that Amanda is the bridesmaid of the month. She is making the trip down to Des Moines that I don't have time for to get more of my wonderful paper. Thanks Amanda!! I'm still working on an official ribbon... Missy is helping me figure out how to do my hair, because my hair and I have a hate-hate sort of relationship. And she told me last night that she got me a present. Bethany is still trying to give me the shower and bachelorette party that I want, even though she just started her first job as a college grad and moved to a suburb of Chicago. And I know that my new sister-in-law is just a phone call away when I need her help, which I'm sure is coming very soon. I'm so glad that I'm not like the brides from "Bridezilla" who complain constantly about their bridesmaids or who have bridesmaids that alter the dress, because they don't think it's pretty enough, etc...

Hooray for only 65 more days!!

My first day of classes

I have arranged to have a Tuesday/Thursday class schedule this semester so that I can work 3 days a week and so that I can have a 4-day weekend for our wedding (Yay!! Only 67 days to go...) so today was my first day of class. Because the classes only meet 2 days a week, they meet for 1.5-2 hours instead of just 1 hour. Not today though. I haven't had a class last more than a half hour. So I've been left wandering around campus for an hour or more in between each class.

I spent some of that time yelling at the Parking Division. They lost my application for a parking permit, which I needed because I don't live in Ames. Yesterday I was told that some permits were put aside for work appeals, so I could turn in one of those and get a permit. So I go in today to do that, and I'm told that I'll have to be put on a waiting list and it could be anywhere between 2 and 6 weeks until I get a permit. 6 weeks?!? What's the point in that?? The semester's more than a third over at that point. I was most frustrated by the fact that I talked to 3 different people and got three different stories.

I also am ready to drop one of my classes already. The professor has the attitude that she's better than an introductory level course and we should all just be glad she's willing to teach it. I'm looking for a non-stress semester and she just doesn't seem to fit into the plan. If I drop this course, then I only have to be om campus from 11-5 on T/R. I might take an Economics course online instead. Then next semester I could take a Marketing class, which I think would be really interesting. We'll see how everything pans out...

Netflix

So we downgraded our cable tonight and got Netflix instead. We had a couple hundred channels, but hardly watched anything beyond the normal cable channels. We're trying to create our "Queue" on Netflix. Anyone have any "must-see" movies we should add??

Fungi on the lawn

We have had the weirdest mushroom like things growing in our front yard. They appear out of nowhere, grow at superspeeds and then fall apart and die just as quickly as they come.

This is day 1. They were not there the night before.

This is day 2. By day 3 they had broken into pieces.

We've probably had about 20 of these grow in our yard in the last month or so. I am fascinated by them and freaked out at the same time.

Snakes on a Plane!!

So the other night, we got a message from my brother's phone number. It was Samuel L. Jackson, promoting his new movie. See, you can go to the website (www.snakesonaplane.com) and send a personalized voice message to someone. (Ours said that we should stop spending all of our free time obsessing over our pets...) So ever since then, Aaron has been obsessed with it and the way that Samuel says it. "I'm talking about SNAKES ON A PLANE!!" I highly recommend that everyone go to the website. You can hear the messages without actually sending them to someone and it's hilarious!! I still have no desire to see the movie though...

I want a cleaning lady (person)

I'm not talking about someone who comes in a couple times a week, once a week, or even every other week. At most, I want someone to come in once a month and dust, mop the floors, clean the bathroom....all the things we never have/make time for because we're too busy.

I'm allergic to our 2 wonderful cats (they came with the fiance) and often when I clean, I end up getting sick because of all the extra cat hair/dander in the hair. So as a result, I never want to clean anymore because who wants to get sick??

However, I realize it may be impractical to think that we would get a cleaning lady, so I came up with an alternative. If we could get a professional organizer in here (much cheaper I'm sure :-D) and give all of our junk a home, either the trash or some shelf space, then our house would be so pretty that we'd be more motivated to keep it clean.

So...does anyone know an affordable cleaning person or professional organizer??

It was ICE CREAM FRIDAY!!

And it's about time. Since Monday, I've thought it should be Friday. I don't think I even remember Monday at this point, it was just such a long week!!

That's not to say that it wasn't a productive week. I made trips to both Hobby Lobby and Wal-Mart and got all kinds of wedding goodies. Our massive quantities of paper that we ordered for all kinds of projects arrived yesterday. Aaron and I got to have dinner together and hang out 2 nights this week and we managed to catch some sales at the mall last night and got new work clothes. My wonderful fiance also encouraged me to get a new dress for the wedding we're attending tomorrow and I feel absoutely beautiful in it.

And now to celebrate that it's Friday, in addition to the ice cream I ate at work, I'm going to have a girls night out.

One down!!

I officially have a wedding related project done. By done, I mean I don't have to touch it again until our wedding!! A special thanks goes out to my future mother-in-law for helping me get it finished.

And right now, I just want to bask in the glory of having something completely finished, so I'm not even going to think about how many projects we have left to do!!

Happy Wedding!!

It was a long crazy weekend. Congratulations to my big brother and my new sister-in-law!!

Their first dance.

The little man and I dancing. (It was late in the evening and he just couldn't take the dress clothes anymore!!)

I won at Boggle!!

I won at Boggle against Aaron!! His family has refused to ever play Boggle with him again, because he is so freakin' good. I won though!! Now, to be fair, I did lose the first 3 games, but I won the 4th!! Yay me!!

50 Questions

1. FIRST NAME? Blakely
2. (I don't know what question #2 was supposed to be, but here's a new one.) DO YOU HAVE ANY PETS? Heck yes!! 2 dogs and 2 cats. We formerly had a fish, but he was unable to survive the winter (when we kept our house at 62 degrees).
3. WHEN DID YOU LAST CRY? I teared up last night when we were watching TV.
4. DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING?sometimes
5. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE LUNCH? ChickenFriedRice!! or nachos
7. IF YOU WERE ANOTHER PERSON WOULD YOU BE FRIENDS WITH YOURSELF? of course, I am like the coolest ever!!
8. DO YOU HAVE A JOURNAL? if this blog counts, yes
9. DO YOU USE SARCASM A LOT? Never!!
10. DO YOU STILL HAVE YOUR TONSILS? yes
11. WOULD YOU EVER BUNGEE JUMP? no
12. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CEREAL? Special K Fruit & Yogurt or the Cheerios Yogurt Burst
13. DO YOU UNTIE YOUR SHOES WHEN YOU TAKE THEM OFF? I only have 1 pair of shoes that tie, but I don't usually untie them.
14. DO YOU THINK YOU ARE STRONG? yes
15. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ICE CREAM? cookies and cream
16. SHOE SIZE? 10
17. RED OR PINK? pink
18. WHAT IS THE LEAST FAVORITE THING ABOUT YOURSELF? I'm too much of a worrier.
19. WHO DO YOU MISS THE MOST? my grandma
20. DO YOU WANT EVERYONE TO SEND THIS BACK TO YOU? that would be nice
21. WHAT COLOR PANTS AND SHOES YOU ARE WEARING RIGHT NOW? gray pants and black shoes
22. LAST THING YOU ATE? chocolate covered peanuts
23. WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW? silence
24. IF YOU WERE A CRAYON, WHAT COLOR WOULD YOU BE? blue
25. FAVORITE SMELL? vanilla
26. WHO WAS THE LAST PERSON YOU TALKED TO ON THE PHONE? Aaron
27. THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT PEOPLE YOU ARE ATTRACTED TO? smile
28. DO YOU LIKE THE PERSON WHO SENT THIS TO YOU? yeah, she's cool
29. FAVORITE DRINK? water, especially strawberry flavored waters
30. FAVORITE SPORT? Bocce (you can tell I'm a sports buff!!)
31. HAIR COLOR? brown
32. EYE COLOR? blue
33. DO YOU WEAR CONTACTS? nope
34. FAVORITE KIND OF FOOD? Mexican
35. LAST MOVIE YOU WATCHED? The Ringer (in honor of volunteering tomorrow and Wednesday...plus I met Eddie on Saturday. He's the guy who plays Billy in the movie!!)
36. WHAT COLOR SHIRT ARE YOU WEARING? black
37. SUMMER OR WINTER? summer
38. HUGS OR KISSES? really big hugs
39. FAVORITE DESSERT? chocolate anything!!
40. WHO IS MOST LIKELY TO RESPOND? don't know
41. LEAST LIKELY TO RESPOND? don't know
42. WHAT BOOKS ARE YOU READING? I'm going to start the 6th Harry Potter book soon thanks to my wonderful cousin!!
43. WHAT'S ON YOUR MOUSE PAD? blackness
44. WHAT DID YOU WATCH LAST NIGHT ON TV? Extreme Makeover: Home Edition
45. FAVORITE SOUNDS? kids giggling (I know it sounds corny, but it's great!!)
46. ROLLING STONE OR BEATLES? Uhh...neither?
47. THE FURTHEST YOU'VE BEEN FROM HOME? Germany
48. DO YOU HAVE A SPECIAL TALENT? not really
49. WHEN AND WHERE WERE YOU BORN? Mason City, Iowa on June 26, 1985
50. IF YOU WON A ROUND TRIP TICKET TO ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD, WHERE WOULD YOU GO? to a luxurious beach somewhere, maybe the Bahamas

I'm so lost!!

I feel completely lost today!! I worked at the daycare this morning from 7-9. As I walked out to the car at 9 I was searching in my purse to find my phone so I could call Aaron. But it wasn't there!! Apparently in my still half asleep scramble to get out of the house at 6:30 this morning I forgot to grab it.

Now I'll have to survive all day long with no phone!! What if someone important tries to call me and I miss it?!? If anyone ever invents a time machine, I hope I don't get sent back to the time of no cell phones. I don't know how I'd make it!!

Bridezilla

Wow!! I am watching a show called "Bridezilla" right now and all I can say is WOW!! Here are a few quotes:

We were originally planning on a budget of about $75,000 but now we're closer to $100,000.
What?!? That's more than out house cost!!

Uhh, excuse me!! Don't you know you're not supposed to touch a woman's engagement ring?!? NEVER touch it again!!
Where did that rule come from?!?

I don't want my girls in front of me. Oh no, I DON'T want that!!....I'm just very nit-picky. I know about photography so I know what I'm looking for.
You have 5 days until your wedding, maybe you should just pick a photographer!!

For the next 132 days, I hope to be absolutely nothing like these ladies!!

It's done!!

The fence is done!! The boys love it. They wouldn't even come in the house earlier, they were just sitting there, enjoying it. "We've done inside. We're trying out the outside now. Thanks though mom!!"

Hooray!!

The boys for the last 3 nights

"Uhhh...excuse us, is our fence done yet?? No...well, what about now??...How 'bout now?? Still not done, wow, ok, we'll just wait here."

Note to self:

When letting the dogs inside for the last time at night, make sure you shut the inside door as well as the screen door. When putting the dogs in their cages at night, make sure the cages are locked. Most importantly, if you think you hear some noises in the living room while you're trying to go to sleep, check it out instead of just laying there lazily.

I got out of bed and opened the door this morning, expecting to fight off the cats as usual. Instead I had a puppy (a puppy for three more days!!) come bounding at me. Aren't you supposed to be in your cage?!? I thought. Then I saw the door wide open, and even though he was right there in front of me, I almost had a heart attack thinking about how easily he could have escaped last night.

Amazingly, there were no messes. He didn't get into the trash or tear anything up. I think we'll still be locking the boys up when we're not around though...

What would you do?!?

Aaron and I went over to Huxley the other night to support the Dairy Queen (it was closed last summer and just reopened, so we want to help it stay open!!) We were sitting outside eating our ice cream when this station wagon drove by and we both were shocked to see a kid driving it. They pulled into the DQ parking lot and went through the drive-thru. As he pulled back out, it was VERY obvious that this kid was about 12 years old and had two other kids with him in the car, no adults. We were just stunned and we sat there and did absolutely nothing about it. I really wanted to do something, but what?? What would you have done??

**If you're a Crocs-lover, stop reading now!!**

When Crocs first came out I thought, "Well those look kind of comfortable. Maybe I'll buy a pair." I know people that wear them to work in the kitchen. Makes sense to me. I know people that wear them to work at a daycare. That also makes sense. I know people who wear them gardening, while on errands, or just around the house. All of those options seem reasonable. But now, Crocs are just out of control!!

I went to the Lion King in Des Moines with my mom a couple months ago and most people were very nicely dressed. Then there was a lady wearing a skirt, a sweater, and Crocs!! When did they become a dressy shoe?!? And just a couple days ago I saw a business woman checking into the hotel wearing a nice business outfit and Crocs!! When did Crocs become business approved shoes?!?

A picture, for those of you that don't get out much :-D

We got a scary dragon!!

Ok...so maybe it's not really scary. And it's not a real dragon, it's a kite, but man it's fun!! We got it on our way home from work yesterday and then went out to "Southern Slater" to fly it. It was pretty windy though, so Mr. Dragon took a lot of dives, but it was still fun. And Aaron is really good at flying kites!! He can do all kinds of tricks. He's full of all kinds of talents I know nothing about!!

The slobbery ball

We/Aaron made dinner for my family on Sunday night. Since we had been at work all day and we wanted to take the dogs to a nice field to 'phrow the ball' we took the dogs with us. It was quite a change to have 150 extra pounds of dog in their house, but we adjusted. All night long though, anytime anyone 'phrew' the ball for Steve the dog, my mom would frantically search for a napkin and hand it to the 'phrower' because "It's just gross with all that slobber!!" It's either just strange or possibly disgusting that I don't even notice the slobber anymore.

Mississippi Mud Pie

Coffee and chocolate ice cream mixed with Kahlua and Brandy in a homemade oreo crust. Mmmmm....so good!!

Good ideas and bad ideas...

A good idea... watering your garden.
A good idea... playing fetch with your dogs in the backyard.
A good idea...giving your dogs a bath.

A BAD IDEA... trying to combine those activities into one!! Just imagine Aaron and I chasing a sopping wet Nick around the backyard, trying to get the soap washed off, while also entertaining Steve so that he doesn't run into the neighbors yard.

He's the "Medium Dog" not the "Little Dog"

I'm not ashamed to admit, Aaron and I quite often verbalize for our dogs. As they're playing or fighting or when they're laying around exhausted, we might say something like "Oh geez guy!! Did you see that?!? Phrow the ball again!! Phrow it again!!" (For some reason our dogs can't say throw, they always say phrow!!)

Well, the other day, Steve said something like "Hey! Hey! Little dog!! You should not bite my face anymore!!" At that point, we had a conversation with Steve about how maybe it would be nicer if he would refer to his brother as "Medium dog" because he's not very litle anymore and we don't want him to get a size complex. Well, Steve, being the teenager that he is, thought this was absolutely ridiculous, so as Aaron was putting the dogs outside last night, he tried explaining it to Steve again.

"Come here medium dog...don't pee on the floor!!" *medium dog goes outside* Then, to Steve, "Now Steve, it's like McDonald's. They don't have a small. Medium is small, large is medium, and super-size is large. So by calling him 'medium' it's just the Americanized egocentric way of calling him 'small.' You can be 'Super-Size dog' if you want to."

To which Steve replied, "No guy, I'm just big dog."

How can it be "LIVE" when they show previews??

So we saw previews for "Celebrity Cooking Showdown" a few weeks ago and thought it might be fun to watch. Then as we watched, they were saying that it was all live. But we were seeing the same things they had on the previews...

Then again this afternoon, I saw a commercial for David Blane. He's going to attempt to hold his breath for 9 minutes on live television. But they were showing scenes of him almost dying during his attempt. Now I can't say for sure if these are the exact scenes from the show since it hasn't aired yet, but it just doesn't make sense!!

I love 'em!!

I had so much fun this afternoon playing with our dogs!! We took them out to "grandma and grandpa's" to play. We used our tennis ball slingshot and sent the dogs running. Within ten minutes, the little one was tuckered out and just layed on the grass drinking water. The big dog kept playing fetch, but definitely lost some of his 'gusto.' After about 30 minutes, he was done too. We ended up with a mudball (created by dog slobber and dirt from the corn field) and two tired boys.

(Notice the tongues hanging out?? They've been out ALL night now!!)

In the life of a preschooler

I was covering someone's shift in the 3 year-old room at the daycare this morning. We were trying to get all the kids to the carpet so we could spell a word before they went outside to play. I looked over and saw a little girl pulling her pants down. I told her she needed to keep her pants on and she replied with, "But I want to show (insert name) my itchy" She contined to pull her pants, so finally I had to pick her up and carry her to the bathroom, where we waited until she decided to get dressed again.

The real shocker happened on Monday though. I was checking child A out and talking to the child A's parent. Child B decided to interrupt me to tell me that his mom said she wanted to break his dad's...(in a loud whisper)...penis. I was dumbfounded about what to say to child B. And to top it off, another parent was just watching and waiting to see how I'd respond. (Maybe she wasn't really, but I sure felt like she was!!)

Such a wonderful job!!

It's officially nice when...

Our cats appear out of nowhere to sit in the windowsill when they hear the plastic coming off...


Our dogs tongues spend more time out of their mouths than in, because they get to run around the backyard like crazy playing fetch...

(Isn't the little one cute with his ears flipped over??)

And last, but not least, the temperature in our house is above 62 degrees!!

Freaky-deaky blackout

After work on Thursday, I headed up to the mall to get an eye exam. When that was over, I walked out of their with two numb eyes...kind of a weird feeling. A friend of mine from Iowa City had come to Ames that day to visit friends and see Narnia in theatres. So the plan was, I'd wait for her when I got done with my eye appointment so we could go look at my beautiful wedding dress (yay!!). I did a little shopping, bought myself a new shirt and Aaron some new ties, and then decided to wait for her outside the theatres. I checked my cell phone a couple times to see how much longer until her movie was over and right about the time I thought she should be walking out, the lights flickered and went out.

I sat there, rather calmly (and if you know how much I dislike thunderstorms, calm is tough for me to accomplish) waiting for the emergency lighting to come on. And I waited...and waited a little longer...but no lights!! So I got up and walked over near the doors to see that there is a torrential downpour outside and I can't see more than 3 feet out. I start to get nervous. Then, I remember that I have a little LED flashlight on my keychain, so I get that baby out and set out to find my friend and her kids.

I find them doing much the same thing I was. Standing near a door for the small amount of light it produced and wondering what in the world was going on!! After a few minutes of conversation, I find out that her car is being fixed at Sears and is up on a lift, so she's stuck there for the count. So, instead of going to look at my beautiful dress (yay!!), I throw all the stuff in my car into the trunk, we all pile into my car, and I manuver through the dark, dangerous streets. (That's not just for dramatic effect...there were no streetlights or stoplights, so things were a little crazy!!) I was able to drop my friends off at a friend of theirs, so they could safely await the call that said their car was done. It may be a while before I go back to the mall though...

Budget Billing

Is anyone else on a budget plan for their energy bill?? We are, but I don't know why anymore. For the first 5 months, we paid "X" as our budget amount. I opened the statement today and they're charging us X+19 for this month's budget amount and I saw a note saying next month it will be X-6. Isn't the purpose of budget billing to pay the same amount every month for 12 months in a row?? And of course, I'm too impatient to wait the 9-13 minutes they're predicting on the customer service line, so I don't know why...

Milk-less cereal

I poured myself a bowl of cereal this morning and then went to get the milk, only to realize we didn't have any. So I thought, "Okay, I'll have some yogurt instead." But there were only 2 yogurts left, one was expired and the other was one of Aaron's flavors that I don't like. So what else could I have for breakfast...some toast maybe!! Wait, we'd have to have bread for that. In the end, I ate my bowl of cereal without any milk. I think maybe we should try to make it to the grocery store soon.

The good news is, our dogs should only have to spend a couple hours in their cages today. It seems like all week long we've had so much stuff going on that they've been in their cages for 10-12 hours a day. Currently, they're enjoying rawhide bones and not even fighting about who gets which one. Our puppies are growing up!!

Mufasa, Simba, Scar and the Gang

I must rave about how wonderful the Lion King was. (For those who don't know, the Broadway Musical is in Des Moines for 6 weeks.) My mom and I had a girls night out last night and it was great!! We started out by going to Splash, a seafood restaurant right across from the Civic Center, that also has amazing chocolate chip peanut butter cheesecake. Then we headed right over to the show, with just enough time to find our seats and make a quick trip to the bathroom. The costumes and sets were amazing. My favorites were the giraffes and the elephant. The only part of the night that I would have changed would be the couple sitting next to my mom that had to talk about everything. And I stress, talk, not whisper. "Oh look, there's a zebra!!" "Do you see the tears?? Wow!!" "Look at the birds!!" I must stress though, that it was an otherwise splendiferous night!!

Kookamunga

So I spend a lot of time talking about our dogs, but we also have two cats. For Christmas, we bought them a new toy and some Kookamunga CatNip treats. Amy, who is very skittish around people, including us, has become the most affectionate cat in the world. Whenever we're sitting on the couch, she comes up and nuzzles up to us and cuddles, in hopes of scoring some Kookamunga. It is hilarious. And how cute is she??

Can I have some Kookamunga please guy??

Piles and piles of stuff

Aaron had to work at 6:30 this morning and I don't have to work until 3:30 tonight, so I have the whole day at home with just me and the animals. I am doing my best to be productive (not that you can tell, since I'm online right now!!) but I just realized how much stuff we have EVERYWHERE in our house. I spent over an hour just sorting through the piles of stuff in our office.

My next task is to rearrange the furniture in our house, so that everything is back where it belongs. A bunch of stuff got moved around before the Super Bowl (yes, a month ago!!) and hasn't been moved back yet.

The worst part is, even if everything gets put away where it belongs, we will still have a basement and a garage full of stuff that we need to get rid of. I can't wait until this summer when we can have a garage sale and hopefully get our house back!!

Oh my Goodness!!

I still maintain that it was mean to call me weeks before I said I could pick up my dress to say it was done, I am happy to say that my mom and my Steven are going to accompany me up to Minneapolis this weekend so that we can pick up my dress!! I'm VERY VERY VERY excited.

Also, Aaron and I get to purchase our wedding bands soon!! And by soon, I mean sometime this weekend most likely!! We found some that we love in an eBay store, so we want to get them ordered while we still have the chance.

I also got to drop a class that I HATE earlier this week and I found out tonight that I have a pretty good chance of being able to see my little brother in a couple weeks!! I have to say, although I still have way more to do than I have time for and I'm a bit tired, this has been a pretty good week!!

How rude!!

So I bought my wedding dress of the rack last week, but didn't bring it home with me because they were going to clean and press it for me. They said it normally take a couple weeks, which I thought was perfect, because I can go pick it up during spring break. Then, they called me Tuesday (just 3 days after I bought the dress!!) and said it was ready to pick up. Now I'm trying to figure out if there's any way I can get my dress before spring break...if only they hadn't told me!!

I got a wedding dress!!

I found one that I love, that fits me perfectly, that they let me buy right off the rack. They're cleaning and pressing the dress for me and I can pick it up in just a few weeks!!

Lunch with My Love

It's the little things

In honor of Valentine's Day, I just want to say how much I appreciate all the little things Aaron does for me every day!!

He sticks Post-Its on the bathroom mirror or in my lunch to tell me that he loves me.
He throws my towel in the dryer so it's warm when I get out of the shower.
He makes me homemade bean and ham soup, because he knows it's my favorite.
He gets up first (almost always) in the mornings to let the dogs out and lets me lay on his pillow for a few minutes.
He helps me pick out clothes and shoes for work, so I'm always looking my best.
He makes me breakfast in the morning, sometimes a bowl of cereal and other times surprises me with French Toast (It was very tasty this morning, thanks!!)
He sacrifices sleep to spend time with me when he's really busy with work.
He gets me my books for school when I'm too lazy to get out from the blanket on the couch.
He supports me throughout any problems my family is having.
He gave me his very first business card!! And didn't laugh when I made my own and gave it to him!!
He picks out the sweetest cards that make me cry a little bit.

Basically, he's wonderful each and every day!!

Happy Valentine's Day everyone!!

I was looking through more pictures.

Aren't they adorable?!?

Oh geeze!!

I was looking through pictures today and all I could think was "Geeze Petes our puppy has gotten HUGE!!" Compare the first picture, from the day after we got him in August, to the second, taken a couple weeks ago.



I attempted to weigh Nick the other day (imagine me trying to wrangle him and hold him still long enough for the scale to register...not easy!!) and he weighed in around 60 pounds.

*Sniffle* Our baby is growing up!!

First the kitty, and now this :-(

At work this morning, a good friend of mine, we'll call her 'Candy' came in with puffy eyes. Aaron was walking into the office right behind her and told me that her dogs had been hit by a train and killed yesterday!! Candy's dogs were the same ages as Steve and Nick and her puppy was going to become Nick's girlfriend. Candy said this morning, "They were like our kids!!" and I know just how she feels. I never had the pleasure of meeting her dogs, but knowing that she loved her dogs as much as we love ours, I've had this big heavy feeling in my chest all day just thinking about it.

For those of you who have pets, make sure you give them a little extra loving tonight!!

A Kitten on the Highway

So as I was driving home from Ames today, I glanced over near the on-ramp (I was on Highway 30 at the Gateway exit) and saw a little kitten sitting in the weeds. It made me so sad that as I continued driving, I called Aaron at work to see if it would be okay if the kitten lived at our house, even for just a couple days, if I saved it. He said it would be, so when I got off at the South Dakota exit, I got right back on and headed back. I turned around again and then pulled over on the side of the on-ramp (There was a lot of turning around). I got out of my car and looked all around for the kitten (and got some strange looks from passer-byers!!). Sadly, I couldn't find the kitten, so I either have a very vivid imagination, or it's wandering around near Highway 30 somewhere!!

I'm IT!!

Tagged by Dana Cramer

Four Jobs I’ve Had in My Life:
Dietary aide at a nursing home
Hostess at Village Inn
Banquet Server at Gateway
Associate Teacher at a daycare

Four Movies I Could Watch Over and Over, (and Have or Have not):
Overboard
Finding Nemo
Ladder 49
Annie

Four Places I Have Lived:
Clear Lake, IA
Klemme, IA
Ames, IA
Slater, IA (do you see the trend??)

Four TV Shows I Love To Watch:
Grey's Anatomy
ER
Wheel of Fortune
Law and Order

Four Places I Have Been On Vacation:
Colorado
Los Angeles
Wulfrath, Germany
Isla Mujeres, Mexico

Four Websites I Visit Daily:
Dana's blog
Emma's website
theknot.com
The Weather Channel

Four Favorite Foods:
Chocolate
Popcorn
Fried Chicken
Chocolate (I Love It!!)

Four Places I Would Like to Visit:
New York
Hershey, PA
London
Hilton Head, SC (because Aaron used to live there and said he wishes I'd been there with him, so we could spend our nights laying on the beach watching planes land...he's so wonderful)

Four People I Am Tagging With This Meme: (Yer IT!)
Keeton
Dena
Trishia
Aaron
(Assuming you all still read this!!)

Thanks for tagging me Dana!! It was a great alternative to homework (refer to previous entry)

Homework vs. Anything

Isn't it amazing how when you have something to do that you really don't want to (i.e.--homework in my situation) that pretty much anything else sounds great by comparison?? I have all kinds of reading that I need to do for school today, but instead I've gone grocery shopping, done dishes, cleaned the living room, vaccuumed the house, and cleaned out the dog cages.

I guess I've still had a fairly productive day at least...

2+ Liters of Water

So I've been trying to drink more water lately. To aid me in this task, I took a 1 Liter bottle of water to class with me today. I drank one while at class and one while I was at work. I noticed having to use the restroom more often than normal, but didn't think too much of it. I went to the restroom right before I left work and thought everything would be fine.

That's up until I was so busy talking to the love of my life about his new promotion that I missed my exit and added an extra 10 minutes onto my drive home. When I was about 5 minutes from home, I honestly thought about pulling over to the side of the road to "pop a squat." Then I realized that it was only about 30 degrees out and I thought I could last another 5 minutes. The bumpy ride into the driveway almost got the best of me though.

The whole experience reminded me of something I heard on the radio this morning. Due to the Chinese New Year (we'll be in the Year of the Dog starting on Monday--I hope I can remember not to write 'Year of the Cock' on my checks anymore!!) millions of people are traveling on packed trains in China to see family. First, you must wait hours in line to get a ticket and then ride on a bathroom-less train. Supposedly, this has significantly increased the sale of adult diapers. Man, oh man did I wish I had one of those this afternoon!!

And the blog lives on

Wow. I just realized it's been almost 2 weeks since I wrote in here!!

So, first the wedding update. The Bridal Fair was fun. I got us a great deal on the tuxes and a few other ideas. We also made a stop at Jordan Creek Mall on the way home and I found a skirt on super, super clearance in chocolate brown. There was only one left, and it was in my size, so I figured it was meant to be and I bought it for the rehearsal dinner. (Yes, I AM already thinking about my outfit) The church we planned on getting married in called us and said they just realized (after 3 months) that there's a conflict and we can't use the church until late afternoon, causing us to come up with a plan B. We also found some really great vases that we're going to use on about half the tables at an amazing price and discovered someone in the area rents out chocolate fountains. All kinds of craziness, especially considering there's 9 months until our wedding.

With the start of the semester, I've realized how much more productive I can be when I'm busy, as opposed to when I have all the time in the world. With school and working 2 jobs, I'm usually gone for about 10 hours a day, but my time when I am home seems a lot more productive. I also appreciate the time I do have more. We slept until 8:30 this morning. It was crazy good.

Getting Closer

So I've been dress shopping a few more times in the recent weeks, and I'm definitely getting close to finding my dress. There are a few that I absolutely love, but am having too much fun trying them all on to make a decision yet!! I've changed my mind on my bridesmaid dresses once, but I'm totally sold on the ones I've picked out now.

Over break, we've spent lots of time brainstorming, and we have some great ideas for programs, centerpieces, flowers, and all kinds of things. I'm SOOOO excited. Next weekend, I get to go to a Bridal Show in Des Moines, which should be awesome, although I am a bit worried about coming up with way too many ideas!!

With classes starting tomorrow, I'm hoping that I can have an amazingly efficient semester and accomplish all the things I need to to keep our wedding, and life, on track.

The New Year

Everyone's talking about New Year's Resolutions right now. Working out more, nagging people less, eating healthier, the list goes on... I didn't make any resolutions, mainly because I knew I wouldn't keep them :-D So this is what the New Year means to me...

~15/24 Holiday Hours, with only 5.5 hours of sleep in between shifts
~less than a week until I have to go back to classes. Grrr...
~A full work day, 8 hours, sorting through a filing cabinet, because we only need to keep 3 years worth of files, but still only being 2/3 done.
~watching lots of bowl games, because man do I love football. Just ask Aaron ;-)
~LESS THAN TEN MONTHS UNTIL OUR WEDDING!! YAY!!