After staying up at night thinking about how annoying those blocks that said "Photo not available" were on my blog, I tried something and it deleted them. SO flippin' excited. I tend to over think things and it took all of 10 seconds to get rid of them. Why I did not think of the solution sooner is beyond me. But they are gone now and I am thrilled.

Onto another topic. About two months ago something came in the mail. Something most people dread, but oh no, not me. What was it? Something blue and pink and thrilling....a jury summons. Many people would roll their eyes seeing this, but to me, it was if angels were singing. Kind of like when I walk into Hobby Lobby and Target. I had been hoping this day would come. I have been a registered voter since I was 18-it is about time. I take that back, I did get one back in the day but when I called the night before, the defendant did a plea bargain and we were not needed. Darn it. I had to postpose the first date because it was Bryan's first day back after our wedding trip. I picked March 8th and looked forward to that day.

March 8th arrived and I was hoping I would be put on a trial. Perhaps it is my love of all things crime related (disturbing? Perhaps, but it fascinates me to no end). I wanted to be on the trial and hear the Law and Order Dun Dun sound effect even though I know that would not happen. I know the trial would be something like people suing over a fence or something lame, but I wanted to get picked. I was supposed to call the night before to find out my reporting time, and I was so happy I was not dismissed before even getting a chance to go down there.

When I entered the courthouse, I was surprised at the amount of signs that stated no guns, knives, weapons and martial arts equipment were allowed. Uh, why would you bring those items to a court house? Seriously?  What kind of martial arts equipment? Nun chucks? Karate uniform? Colorful belts showing your accomplishments? I do not understand. I also wondered how much of our tax dollars it cost to make all these signs.

I went to the window and they told me they were not calling the 9:00 people yet. So I waited. Finally they called us into the room. We were given an additional questionnaire to fill out. It asked about what we do, what we read, how we learn about what is going on in the world, and what TV shows we watch. I am very honest so I sat there wondering, should I tell them I watch CSI? Are they going to disqualify me? But I wrote it down anyway.

I sat in the room for awhile. I was surprised at how people would answer their cell phones and talk loudly in a room of silent people. One lady forgot her daughter had soccer practice, she needed someone to go get her bag, etc. etc. We heard the whole conversation. One thing that drives me nuts is loud talkers. What drives me even more nuts is loud talkers in a room filled with silence. I looked around some more and I was in awe of how many men were asleep. It always amazes me that most men I see and those I know can fall asleep anywhere, at any given moment. I envy those people.

I did not mind sitting there. Bryan gave me the wireless card so I was able to connect to the internet. I had the time to sit there with no children, no disruptions, no nagging feeling of "I should be cleaning right now." The time was mine.  As the morning went by, they called people in groups of 25. They announced there were 5 trials, but then as time went on, they said 2 of the defendants reached a plea deal. I still had hope, but then more names got called, and my hopes diminished more and more. Finally, after about 100 people were called they said the remaining people were dismissed and relieved of the duty for 2011. I was so sad. I felt rejected. People told me I did not want to get picked, but oh, I did. Oh, and the cafeteria was having a special on pizzas yesterday. I keep telling myself it probably would not have been any good.

Being in that room and watching the video on jury selection and types of trials got me thinking that I should have studied criminal justice or maybe have been a court reporter. I can type like no other, and I am nosey so I would love hearing all the cases. I started thinking wow, that would be cool but then they said most of the time, it is electronically recorded which makes sense. I still think I will google how to become a court reporter. I might be bad at it because I would get so into the case that I would zone out listening to the evidence. I would probably say NO WAY! Or SERIOUSLY? Definitely not appropriate for a court reporter.

So there you have it. My disappointing day at the courthouse, where I was not allowed to bring in my drugs, knives, guns, weapons or nun chucks.

I am annoyed that there are pictures that say "this is no longer available." I wish I could just delete them!

Anyway, I am having a I hate Danielle week. I got braces on, I have sun spots all over my face now, my hair has so many split ends all the time, etc. I have only been able to eat bread since these braces hurt so bad. People said I would lose weight. With how I am eating, I think I will gain weight from all these carbs. I did not realize how I took for granted the ability to eat anything. I think I would be sore if I had normal braces, but I have what they call buttons on the inside of my back teeth. They are super sharp, and they are there so I can put a rubber band from my top jaw to my bottom jaw. I might have said this before. It cuts my tongue and when I wake up in the morning it is not good. Bryan got me a Dental Pik water flosser which is nice since I can't floss without threading the floss through which takes forever. I just hope it is as good as flossing.

Torrin just woke up from his nap so more later.

Braces

First of all, I suck at writing on this blog. I have to keep up. I need to keep up. With the brain fog, it will help me remember. There is so much to write about but can I find the time to really sit down and write without feeling bad about all the things that need to be done? The only reason I have a few minutes now is because Bryan is out going over the taxes and there is no one here.

With all the issues I have been having, and all the doctors I have seen saying my issues are all related to the jaw, I went ahead and got braces. Something I thought I would never have to do. I was proud I never had them. But if they help all this pain, it will be worth it in the end. Fingers crossed.

I went to the ortho today and began the process. It took 3 hours and it was interesting. Dental impressions which make me want to gag, and the sharp metal stuff on the inside of my mouth. I clench my jaw so I got two shelf like things behind the two front teeth, so now my teeth do not touch. Um, I learned that this is making it SO hard to eat. I am starving but even soft foods are hard to do. I keep hitting the shelves which are called Turbos. Cool name, not a cool feeling. The back of my teeth have "buttons." I wrap the rubber bands around the back and front of the teeth. You don't realize how you take for granted the ability to eat.- and flossing. This is going to be a challenge, but I pray every night that it will bring some relief.

It is funny how I thought my teeth were not that bad. Then I see the braces and the wires and it looks like a crazy railroad track. Who knew they were that messed up? In two years they will reevaluate the teeth to see if it helped the jaw. If it did not, I will need surgery but I am hoping for the best.

I go back in 10 weeks to have the wires adjusted. While we working on the teeth, I had a lot of sensitivity where I had my root canal. This has been constant for a long time but I thought it would go away. I have to go see the endodontist next week. Again.

I feel ridiculous, I am talking with a lisp, and I am feeling so unattractive. I think I might lose weigh though. We will see. More about something other than braces to come soon.

Honeymoon

Well, the honeymoon finally arrived and here we are in Jamaica. Time sure flew by as it always does!  The temperatures in Colorado were cold yesterday and then the snow suddenly came out of nowhere. Here is what it looked like at 4:30 p.m.:

The snow continued until the time we headed to the airport. Chad and Carly met us at the house, and then we went to Chiis for dinner. We hung out there until 9:30 and then off we went to the airport. The snow continued to blow and I was worried our flight would not take off.

We got the airport and nothing was open. Thankfully a security lady showed us where vending machines were. We wanted a Sprite-and the more that we realized nothing was open, the more we wanted one. We were on a mission, and the mission was accomplished.

For the past few months I have had the feeling of fullness in my ear, the feeling of spaciness, feeling completely out of it-the here but not here feeling. NO ONE understands this and it is causing me a lot of trouble. I feel like I am underwater, I can't really hear fabulously, and I am forgetting everything. Yesterday when we left, it had reached an all time bad. I know people say I am dramatic, and I know I can be, but I just wish someone knew what I was talking about. I am in a dense, deep, dark fog, and I can't seem to come out of it. Last night was one of the worst times ever, but I kept on trucking after Bryan made it clear there was nothing I could do about it and I need to stop talking about it :)

While we waited, Bryan was impressed with how many snow plows were working the runways. They cleared it straight from our flight to the runway, and at 1 a.m. we were off to Charlotte. The plane was not 100% full so we took an exit row seat. I did not really sleep so I was looking forward to knowing that we would be in first class from Charlotte to Montego Bay.

We got off the plane and it was 5:55 am. We were hungry, and since I have never been to Charlotte I was hoping there would be a Dunkin Donuts. There wasn't, but I thought I would go for another craving of french toast sticks from Burger King. No french toast sticks on the menu, and when Bryan ordered an English Muffin sandwich, they said they were all out of muffins. Poor Bryan :( I said, "Do you guys have french toast sticks?" Surprisingly, he said yes! They were yummy (or I was just really hungry). We ate, and then it was time to board for Montego Bay..... More to come later.

I found this article interesting. I will write more about it later :)

Huffington Post recently put up a story called You're Out: 20 Things That Became Obsolete This Decade. It's a great retrospective on the technology leaps we've made since the new century began, and it got me thinking about the difference today's technology will make in the lives of tomorrow's kids.
I've used some of their ideas and added some of my own to make the list below: Do you think kids born in 2011 will recognize any of the following?

Video tape: Starting this year, the news stories we produce here at Money Talks have all been shot, edited, and distributed to TV stations without ever being on any kind of tape. Not only that, the tape-less broadcast camera we use today offers much higher quality than anything that could have been imagined 10 years ago -- and cost less than the lens on the camera we were using previously.

Travel agents: While not dead today, this profession is one of many that's been decimated by the Internet. When it's time for their honeymoon, will those born in 2011 be able to find one?

The separation of work and home: When you're carrying an email-equipped computer in your pocket, it's not just your friends who can find you -- so can your boss. For kids born this year, the wall between office and home will be blurry indeed.

Books, magazines, and newspapers: Like video tape, words written on dead trees are on their way out. Sure, there may be books -- but for those born today, stores that exist solely to sell them will be as numerous as record stores are now.

Movie rental stores: You actually got in your car and drove someplace just to rent a movie?

Watches: Maybe as quaint jewelry, but the correct time is on your smartphone, which is pretty much always in your hand.

©Will D/flickr

Paper maps: At one time these were available free at every gas station. They're practically obsolete today, and the next generation will probably have to visit a museum to find one.

Wired phones: Why would you pay $35 every month to have a phone that plugs into a wall? For those born today, this will be a silly concept.

Long distance: Thanks to the Internet, the days of paying more to talk to somebody in the next city, state, or even country are limited.

Newspaper classifieds: The days are gone when you have to buy a bunch of newsprint just to see what's for sale.

Dial-up Internet: While not everyone is on broadband, it won't be long before dial-up Internet goes the way of the plug-in phone.

Encyclopedias: Imagine a time when you had to buy expensive books that were outdated before the ink was dry. This will be a nonsense term for babies born today.

Forgotten friends: Remember when an old friend would bring up someone you went to high school with, and you'd say, "Oh yeah, I forgot about them!" The next generation will automatically be in touch with everyone they've ever known even slightly via Facebook.

Forgotten anything else: Kids born this year will never know what it was like to stand in a bar and incessantly argue the unknowable. Today the world's collective knowledge is on the computer in your pocket or purse. And since you have it with you at all times, why bother remembering anything?

The evening news: The news is on 24/7. And if you're not home to watch it, that's OK -- it's on the smartphone in your pocket.

CDs: First records, then 8-track, then cassette, then CDs -- replacing your music collection used to be an expensive pastime. Now it's cheap(er) and as close as the nearest Internet connection.

Film cameras: For the purist, perhaps, but for kids born today, the word "film" will mean nothing. In fact, even digital cameras -- both video and still -- are in danger of extinction as our pocket computers take over that function too.

Yellow and White Pages: Why in the world would you need a 10-pound book just to find someone?

Catalogs: There's no need to send me a book in the mail when I can see everything you have for sale anywhere, anytime. If you want to remind me to look at it, send me an email.

Fax machines: Can you say "scan," ".pdf" and "email?"

One picture to a frame: Such a waste of wall/counter/desk space to have a separate frame around each picture. Eight gigabytes of pictures and/or video in a digital frame encompassing every person you've ever met and everything you've ever done -- now, that's efficient. Especially compared to what we used to do: put our friends and relatives together in a room and force them to watch what we called a "slide show" or "home movies."

Wires: Wires connecting phones to walls? Wires connecting computers, TVs, stereos, and other electronics to each other? Wires connecting computers to the Internet? To kids born in 2011, that will make as much sense as an electric car trailing an extension cord.

Hand-written letters: For that matter, hand-written anything. When was the last time you wrote cursive? In fact, do you even know what the word "cursive" means? Kids born in 2011 won't -- but they'll put you to shame on a tiny keyboard.

Talking to one person at a time: Remember when it was rude to be with one person while talking to another on the phone? Kids born today will just assume that you're supposed to use texting to maintain contact with five or six other people while pretending to pay attention to the person you happen to be physically next to.

Retirement plans: Yes, Johnny, there was a time when all you had to do was work at the same place for 20 years and they'd send you a check every month for as long as you lived. In fact, some companies would even pay your medical bills, too!

Mail: What's left when you take the mail you receive today, then subtract the bills you could be paying online, the checks you could be having direct-deposited, and the junk mail you could be receiving as junk email? Answer: A bloated bureaucracy that loses billions of taxpayer dollars annually.

Commercials on TV: They're terrifically expensive, easily avoided with DVRs, and inefficiently target mass audiences. Unless somebody comes up with a way to force you to watch them -- as with video on the Internet -- who's going to pay for them?

Commercial music radio: Smartphones with music-streaming programs like Pandora are a better solution that doesn't include ads screaming between every song.

Hiding: Not long ago, if you didn't answer your home phone, that was that -- nobody knew if you were alive or dead, much less where you might be. Now your phone is not only in your pocket, it can potentially tell everyone -- including advertisers -- exactly where you are.

I can't believe I am actually writing this much this week. I just want to remember things and since I don't have time to write them down on paper I am going to jot them down on here.

I also can't believe it has been a month since we got married, and a month until we go on our honeymoon!

The other night, somehow Bryan and I were talking about marriage, and Bryan asked me if I planned on going anywhere. I responded without thinking, "No, but you never know what is going to happen." I meant it in terms of no one knows what is going to happen. I have no intentions of going anywhere, or not being married to him. I tried to explain to him that no one goes into a marriage thinking it will end in divorce. Sure, some people do, but the majority go into it thinking the person they are marrying is going to be the one they will be with for the rest of their lives. So my comment was not meant to be mean, but it was truthful. I want to be with him forever, but I am not a psychic. One can only hope for the best, and work hard at the marriage!

The strange thing was, this morning I dropped Mikaya and Torrin off at their class and then Camden and I went to the playground. He asked me, "Are you and Daddy going to stay married forever?" I said Yes. He asked if I was sure because "some people marry one, two, even three people." I said I was not going anywhere and he said, "Yes you are." I told him I am not and he said, "Yes you are. Sometimes you have to go to the store and that is going somewhere." Excellent point. I told Bryan about what he said and he asked me if I responded to him with "You never know what is going to happen." Oops. I feel bad I ever said that as it did not come out the way I wanted :( I will never live that one down.

Another note: In 2011 I have a lot of resolutions. A lot. Not so much resolutions, but more of things I want to do/change about myself and my life. A huge one I need to focus on is to be grateful for the small things in my life. To focus on things that are going great because I do have a lot of great things. I am never satisfied-my parents always told me this and I hated it, but the more I think about it-it is very true. So for tonight, here are my things I am grateful for:

-Mickey only had one accident in the house
-I got some pictures of the wedding edited
-I went to Archivers and Container Store-managed to use three store credits on things I will hopefully use
-I had delicious spaghetti for lunch thanks to my mom brining her yummy sauce by yesterday
-I worked out
-I then went to Qdoba to have yummy Queso and some noodles from Noodles and Company
-We made it to one month of marriage (that was easy!)
-We have only one month until our honeymoon
-The puppy is super cute right now laying besides me as I type this
-I have all day tomorrow and nothing planned (except taking the puppy out-a lot)

That is all for tonight! More to come....

D

There is so much I want to write about today but I need to make some cards and get some things done around here before I go to bed. I also have a dog chasing his tail spinning around in circles next to me which makes typing a wee bit hard.

Tonight I made roast beef for dinner and as we were eating Camden said, "Dani, I love everything you make." He told me I take the best care of him and he really loves my corn (from a can but he does not need to know that) and my homemade pizza. Thanks Chef Boyardee! Needed to write that down while I had it in my mind.

Today I read a quote and it really made me think:

We must be willing to get rid of the life we have planned, so as to have the life that is waiting for us.


Oh how this applies to me in so many ways. More about that another day.

I am going to let our puppy Mickey take over now. He has a few things he would like to say:

Hi! Hi! Hi!

My name is Mickey and I was purchased by Bryan and a very naive lady named Dani. Dani has never had a puppy before so I made sure I gave her those puppy dog eyes to hook her in. Then I did the ole bait and switch with her. More about that in a minute. Let me take some time to tell you about myself:

I was born on 10-10-10 in Wyoming and made my way down to Thornton, Colorado. On 12-12-10, exactly one week after Dani and Bryan got married, Bryan got Dani to come into the place where I was living. Dani had no intention of taking me or any of my friends home but something made her come to my kennel. I was hanging with a brown and black Morkie and she almost picked him up first, but no, I got her attention. She picked me up, and then took me over to the play area. I played it cool and crawled right into her lap. I licked her hand and gazed up and her with my cute face. She kind of fell for me right then and there. If she was going to HAVE to get a dog at the urging of her new family, she thought I would be pretty cool. Originally she wanted to name me  George or Charlie. Bryan was not in love with these names, so they thought about it at lunch while I got a bath. At lunch they decided since they love Disney World and they got married there one week earlier, to name me Mickey after Mickey Mouse. I still don't really respond to this name, but I will pay attention to them one day.

On the car ride home, I sat in Dani's lap and cried the entire way to Parker. This made Dani and Bryan very nervous. When we got to the house, I went potty outside. The first night they put me in a kennel and I cried and cried. I peed in my kennel because I did not realize this would be the place I was supposed to hang out in during the day when no one is home and the place I need to sleep in at night. For the first few nights I cried. A lot. Dani and Bryan put me down in the basement and made sure the door to the storage room was closed, the main basement door was closed, and their bedroom door. Dani wore earplugs. Then a few days later, two little munchkins arrived named Camden and Torrin. Apparently they live here too. I am kind of confused because sometimes they are here, and sometimes they are not. When they are here, I am wild. I take things, I run around, I poop in the house, and I like to bite-especially Torrin.

After a few nights in the kennel, Bryan put me in their bedroom. I have 5 beds, and he put me in the red one. I was great all night. I peed on the floor once and pooped, but other than that, I did not cry. They let me do this for three nights then decided to put me back in the kennel. I was so mad. I barked, hit my kennel door and was not happy.

Last weekend we went to Ft. Collins to see Dani's sister Denise and her family. Dani put my blue bed in my kennel and Bryan said they should try and put me in the kennel in the car ride up there. I loved it! I was asleep most of the way up there. Then when we got there, I ran around with my cousin dog Sophie, made her really jealous and mad, pooped and peed in the house, and that is about it.  Since then, I have grown to love my kennel. I am still really mad when they put me in it and then leave the house, but I don't go potty in there, I sleep all night until 5:30 a.m. in there, and I have been going in there on my own every now and then. If I am in the kennel, I need to know someone is close by so I won't cry. I say I am doing pretty well with the kennel thing. Being on a leash? Not so much....Potty Training? Yeah, not so well either.

So as I said before, the first week I was a super mellow puppy. Everyone loved me, I went potty outside, I pretty much was a dream puppy. Dani was thrilled I was a puppy that did not make her want to scream. Well, after I got used to my new home, I discovered a love of shoes. I am 5 lbs but I can run like crazy with a ladies size 10 and a man's size 12 shoe in my teeth. I have mad skills. Lately I like chewing on the corners of area rugs, pillows, anything with a seam. I really, really love chasing Torrin and chewing on his clothes....while he is wearing them. Last night Bryan and Dani were getting ready for bed in their bathroom, I went into their shower and peed. At least I was in the shower!

Today Dani took me out every hour and I went potty most of the time. Then at 3 p.m. I decided to pee on the floor as soon as I came in from outside. Then I did it again-and I did not even have any water! While Bryan was picking up Camden from school, Dani turned her head to get a pot from the cabinet and what did I do? I pooped. I know I get told Good Boy when I am outside and I go potty, and I get my yummy peanut butter treats,  but I do not understand what is wrong about going potty in the house. Dani gets very upset, and she is tired of cleaning up pee. The Bissel steam cleaner is getting a LOT of use.

The thing that frustrates my family is I am so cute. I really am. You should see me when I sleep. I am ADORABLE. I like curling up on the couch. I really like sleeping on my back with my paws in the air. It looks painful but I enjoy it. I have slowly stopped eating my poop and I have moved on to things like twigs, branches and slippers. Here are some weird ways I sleep:

I know I am a handful, but did I mention I am ADORABLE?! I just hope Dani grows to love me. I mean she likes me, but with me going potty in the house, she is definitely not a fan of me right now.

That is all for now. I need to chase my tail some more, chew on some pillows, and then fall asleep in the crack of the sofa cushions. I hope I don't barf in my kennel tonight like I did last night.

Love,
Mickey

Letter

Since it has already been sent, I thought I would post our New Year's letter on the blog:

2010 was a wonderful year for us. On January 22^nd, Bryan proposed to me and of course I said yes! I was thrilled that my parents, our friends Chad and Carly and my Aunt Lorraine from Philadelphia were all there to witness it!

In February, Bryan and I went to Seattle and Vancouver. I had never been there before and was very excited to visit the cities, as well as see Bryan’s Aunt and Grandmother. The first night we were there, Bryan and I went to the Space Needle and had dinner. We had thought about not going that night, and coming back later in the weekend. Thankfully we stuck with our plan……The next day we drove to Grandma Mildred’s house where I met her and Aunt Lynn for the first time. They are both so wonderful and I was thrilled to meet them both. From there we went to the hotel where Bryan and I would be staying and checked in before we saw some sites in Washington. As we were getting in the car, I stepped off the curb wrong and broke my foot.  I spent all day at the hospital and then the rest of the trip in a boot. This did not stop us, as we decided to head to Vancouver the next day.  Aunt Lynn graciously offered to get me a wheelchair and her and Bryan took turns pushing me around in the rain.  The Olympics were going on, and we were able to see a tiny bit of the torch and some of Vancouver. I would love to go back when I do not have a boot on my foot. Aunt Lynn and Grandmother took great care of me. I just wish I would have made a better first impression! After 6 weeks of being in the boot, the day after I no longer had to wear it, I fell down the stairs and broke my other foot.

The year went by, we kept busy with the boys, and in June we flew to New Jersey to spend a week on the farm with Grandma and Grandpa Fithian. It was my first time meeting them, as well as seeing the farm. What a cool place! We had a wonderful week spending time with each other, visiting the lake, going to the shore and squeezing in time to go to Philadelphia to see my friend Suzy and my Aunt Lorraine and family. Thankfully the humidity was not too bad and we all had a great time!

In July Bryan and I went to Disney World for our wedding planning session. We had our engagement pictures taken, had our menu tasting, and spent some time in the parks. It was ridiculously hot and humid, and the lines were long so we fast passed most rides and then ventured to air conditioned locations. It was a short trip but we managed to do a lot in a short amount of time.

In August, Camden and Torrin both started school. Camden is in Kindergarten and Torrin is in half day preschool. My niece Mikaya and Torrin are in the same class, and their cubbies happen to be next to each other. On the first day of school, the teacher told me he kept kissing a little girl named Mikaya. I informed them that they would soon be related and she is used to his affection. Camden is 6 now, and Torrin is 3. They keep us busy and entertained, especially Torrin. We are not sure where he gets his vocabulary but he makes everyone laugh with the majority of things he says.

In September I celebrated my 34^th birthday on a Thursday and on Saturday my sister threw me an amazing bridal shower with help from my wonderful sister in law.  My friend and bridesmaid Carolyn did a fantastic job with my bachelorette party. My great friends Nicole, Jan and Suzy flew out and it was a fun weekend. After the shower, we all headed up to Breckenridge where we went to dinner, played games, had a lot of laughs and stayed the night at a condo. Just my kind of bachelorette party!

Halloween and Thanksgiving came and went in the blink of an eye, much like 2010. We had a great Turkey Day in Ft. Collins hosted by my sister and her family. It was delicious and a great time. A week later we headed to Disney World for our wedding. Torrin repeatedly told people he was marrying me and would like to tell me this as well. He would always follow it up with, “Aren’t you just so happy?” About 65 people made the trip down there and we could not have been more thankful. Although the weather was much colder than expected the week we were there, we managed to pull off what we considered a great wedding! A huge thank you to Ken and Susan for hosting the welcome dinner and to my parents for making our dream wedding possible. The night of our wedding, Bryan and I went to Hollywood Studios and rode the roller coaster. We figured it was a great way to start off our marriage! The next day we celebrated Bryan’s 32^nd birthday with his family at Magic Kingdom and then at dinner in Downtown Disney. Three days after our wedding, Bryan and I braved the bitter cold temperatures, put on our wedding attire, and had professional pictures taken at the Magic Kingdom and Epcot. Disney liked one of our pictures so much, they used our image on their Blog as well as their wedding Facebook page! We are hoping we get royalties for the use of our awesome faces, but we will not hold our breath. J

Sadly, both of our dogs Sadie and Corona went to doggie heaven this year so one week after we got married, Bryan and I got a 4 pound furball. He was born on 10-10-10 and is a Bichon-Poo named Mickey. I have never had a puppy so this has been an interesting experience. He is ridiculously adorable and the boys are madly in love with him. Overall, he is a pretty mellow puppy but now he has started to enjoy chewing things and running away from us. As I write this, he is having a fight with one of my socks. Today he experienced his first snowfall and loved it!

New Year’s Eve consisted of Bryan and me crashing my sister’s family’s tradition of going out to dinner at Old Chicago’s  and then to see The Fighter. I was surprised there was fighting in the movie (kidding). I believe it was the first time in my life I saw a movie with my sister in a theater.  We know how to party. On February 5^th, we will head to Sandals resort in Negril, Jamaica for our honeymoon. We will be staying in the “Millionaire Suite” and will be waited on hand and foot by two butlers. I know I will have a hard time letting go of control and having someone else do everything, but I think I will get over that quickly. It will be difficult to come home, but we are looking forward to this once in a lifetime vacation.

If you would like to keep up with us, please read my blog: http://thatswhatdsaid.blogspot.com. We hope 2010 was good to all of you, and that 2011 will be filled with much love, laughter, good health and happiness.

Goodbye 2010

It is hard to believe 2010 is coming to a close in 63 minutes. Where did the time go? It seems like time goes faster and faster every year. This time last year I was not even engaged. Now, I am married and a step mom. This year was filled with changes, vacations, broken feet (yes, two of them), moving in with 3 men and two dogs, getting my first puppy, etc. So many changes in only 12 months. Now I sit here in Ft.Collins, on the computer. My sister is next to me on her computer. Jeff and Bryan are in the other room watching Jersey Shore. I have never seen the show, nor do I intend to. I find it odd they are watching this. Quinn and Ethan are downstairs playing Play Station. Such family bonding we have. Sophie (my sister's dog) is staring down our dog Mickey as if to say, "Why are YOU in MY house?" They have a love/hate relationship but this is to be expected as Mickey is a puppy and Sophie is used to being the queen. I hope they grow to love each other during the week they spend together when we are in Jamaica.

Today Bryan and I drove up here, spent an hour trying to print our New Years newsletter at his Dad's house (we were unsuccessful so people might get an email instead), came to the Holders household, hung out, then went to Old Chicago's for dinner. There was a balloon guy there and he had a button on that said Happy New Year-scrolling electronically. Pretty awesome. Dinner was fun, then we headed next door to the movie theater. The same movie theater where my now husband first told me he loved me. That was October 9th, 2009 at 9:09 p.m. Yes, I remember the day and the time. I am weird like that. I can't believe it has been almost 1 year and 3 months since we were last at that movie theater and how much has changed since then.

We saw The Fighter. I honestly believe this was the first movie I have seen in a movie theater with my sister in my 34 years of life. Perhaps we saw a movie together when we were kids, but I have no recollection of it. Bryan asked if we went together when we were teenagers. Um, she is 9 years older than me. She did not want to hang out with me back in the day. We were not a family who went to movies together. I remember road trips, but not family outings. It was cool to go to a movie with my sister, brother in law, husband (still so weird to say and write) and my two oldest nephews. Quinn and I sat next to each other-we had some laughs at things that were not supposed to be funny (the movie was a "Close to the Hole Production"-we are terrible)-Christian Bale and his movie mom sang together and we wondered if they were in the glee club like my mom was (she has always told people she was in the Glee Club. It is one of our favorite Nana-isms). We joke that Quinn is my biological son as we are so much alike. As the movie went on for what seemed like a long time, we both said how it seemed really long with nothing going on. I love that kid.

All of this is rambling, as always. I will post pictures when I get a chance to upload them. They are not fabulous but they are something.

Here's hoping 2011 will be amazing!

Wow, time flies. It has been over two months and the thing I talked about last was our new car. So much has changed since then. Halloween came and went, Thanksgiving was here before you know it, and then it was time for our wedding. I got married. I am still in shock over this and have yet to absorb all that it entails. The wedding is a blur, and honestly all I keep thinking about are the bad things that happened during the trip. I will be forcing myself to write about all the positive things that happened so I can remember that a lot of things did go well. The thing I am struggling most with right now is the term "happiness." While at lunch with a friend today she told me she was worried I was not "happy." I have always pondered what being happy really means. I don't know if I have ever been happy. I have been content, which is where I think I am now, but happy is such a foreign word for me. My whole life I have thought when this happens, I will be happier. When that happens, I will be happy. Then the things I longed for happen and then I think, now what? I keep thinking, waiting, and hoping that the next thing in my life will make me happy but I am coming to realize I need to focus on what is great in my life right now. I have so much to be thankful for, so why do I not appreciate it? Why am I always trying to prepare for the worst to happen? To find something bad in anything and everything in my life?

After taking two months to read a book (which I can usually accomplish in a day or two) it got me thinking a lot. It is called the Happiness Project and it really made me analyze everything in my life. The basic premise was she spent a year working on things in her life to better herself and focus on the little things in life that we often take for granted. It was a book that had a lot of aha moments, which of course I say I will remember and then within a few days I forget. This seems to happen a lot lately and it worries me. I am in a fog. Have been in a fog for a long time. The doctor put me on Ritalin, then Concerta with the hopes of getting me focused. It made me even more foggy, but it did make me lose my appetite and lose weight. Wahoo! I decided being a few pounds lighter was not worth the fog so I took myself off the meds. My Dr. said this should not be an issue as there is usually no withdrawal from it. So far nothing, but I am still in a fog.  I have been to numerous doctors, ENT's, etc. trying to find out if my ears are blocked causing this fog. At first there was fluid, then there was a bulging eardrum, then that cleared up and nothing. I feel like there are cups over my ears. I hate this feeling. Man, I am cranky.

We have a new dog. He is pretty mellow and a little furball- His name is Mickey and I will tell the story of him in a future post.

Back to the book- after reading that book, one thing that really stuck with me is I need to be me. The writer says to do the things that make you happy, not always what other people want you to do. I know this may be selfish, but it is a valid point. If I want to take a nap, I should be able to. If I want to lay mindlessly on the couch and zone out while watching a show, I should be able to do that. I wish I were the adventurous type who enjoyed camping, hiking, etc. But I am not. I am a homebody and I need to embrace that.  I have been sleeping a large amount yet I never feel rested. I wonder if the magnitude of the wedding being over is hitting me. Knowing that I will always have 4 other things to take care of is hitting me as well. These are not bad things, I just wish I could appreciate the small things in my life.

This post is one that should have probably been reserved for my eyes only (but no one even reads this I don't think) and if certain people read it, it may be taken the wrong way. But I have noticed a huge part of my life-writing, documenting my life, etc has been lost. I need to get that back. I need to say no to things that I really do not want to do. I know people will see this as selfish but I need to get some sort of balance in my life. I am all over the place. I worry too much about what other people think. I apologize for EVERYTHING and I did not realize how much I did that until the wedding when even the photographer said "Stop apologizing." My hair and makeup lady told me a few days after the wedding that the wedding day should have been all about me. It was the one day it could and should have been about me, but I was so worried about everyone else around me. People did not want to take pictures where I wanted them because it was too windy, so I moved the pictures. There were pictures I wanted that were important to me, but I let my family members and other people sit around and not be ready for them as well as listened to their complaints of how many pics I wanted done. I should have stood my ground. This was a once in a lifetime event and I have regrets. I did not want that and now it is too late. I need to rid my life of the toxic people who do nothing but cause me to be upset. More about that later.

Although this post is somewhat depressing, I am thankful for what I have. Not as thankful as I should be because so many people have it FAR worse than me. I don't even have it bad-at all. Yet I focus on everything negative-and not any of the good in my life-and there really is a LOT of good. I need to find a way to appreciate it... to not worry so much about what the future holds because most of it I can't control. Friends of mine are going through cancer-I simply have a cold. Life has been good to me-despite 2008-but in the grand scheme of life that was merely a bump in the road.

As usual, I am all over the place so for now, I am going to end it here. Bryan just came home with flowers, told me not to tell my husband about them and in the card asked me to be his date tomorrow night. That was sweet.

Off to Target-yet another thing to be grateful for.

How am I so far behind?

Oh wait, I know how I am so far behind. I guess a month is not terrible but I thought I would write every other day. Guess not. So much going on. I know as I sit down to write this, Torrin will awake from his nap. That is always what happens.

Let me back track from the last time I wrote. We were having issues with the BMW so we thought we would look at cars. We will need more room eventually so we went to look at the Denalis, Yukons, Escalades, etc. We found a Denali we liked, but then when we went to lunch we started talking about the Tahoe. Bryan gets GM Supplier pricing, so I suggested we look at new ones, since it would only be a couple grand more than what we would pay for a used one somewhere else. He is usually not into new cars, but we went and looked.

They were having a deal on the 2010's: No interest for 5 years, so we found two we liked. Both were pretty much the exact same. One had chrome handles and the coating they added to the doors but forgot to charge for it, so Bryan picked that one. I wanted gray, not black but gray was only in the 2011's and it had tan interior. Not good when you are rolling with two kids.

While we were there, we had GREAT salespeople. Loved the guy who worked with us. His sales manager was funny. I said I wished the popcorn machine was working, so the sales manager got on the pager system and said, "Corey, your customer wants some popcorn." It was so funny, and he kept doing it to him. It worked-I got my popcorn, and we drove away with a new car. I thought I would have a hard time with a bigger car, but I love it. It has everything: DVD player, navigation, sunroof, heated seats, air conditioned seats, etc. The boys have captains chairs which means they can't smack each other so that is a bonus. Here are some pics from that day. Bryan was so ready to say goodbye to the BMW because he was angry at it. Hence the reason for the bad gesture!

We had been gone for awhile, and when we got home, we realized Corona was not too happy with us. She peed all over, and she knew she was busted.

More soon about my birthday, shower and bachelorette party!

Seriously behind...

With the start of school, construction on the craft room, buying a new car, cleaning after construction, an upcoming shower and bachelorette party, and every day events, time is flying by. I have neglected the blog and I need to be better about it. I always think I will remember what happens, what the kids say, what I do, but I forget all the time.  So for tonight, I am using my wedding blog post for part of this post. Sorry to those who read the other one, but it is for time's sake :)

Bryan is out of town and so far tonight, I have cleaned the 4 bathrooms, cleaned out the refrigerator, steam cleaned the floors, dusted the entire house, and so many other things. I really know how to party when he is out of town. Last night I laid in bed, so excited to be able to watch TV without him there (he likes quiet, I like TV) I decided to get caught up on 48hrs Mystery. Not such a good idea watching shows about murder when I am home alone. Anyway....wedding stuff.

I printed my response cards and welcome dinner BBQ things on Bryan's Dad's computer. I had bought these postcard things at the paper store and I got 250 for $16 bucks. I was so excited but then they did not work. They jammed the printer and it made me so mad because they were the same thickness as the solid cardstock I printed the favor cards on a few weeks before. Bryan's Dad asked if they were Avery labels. I said no, he said that was the problem, so off he went to Office Depot. Between the Avery postcards and the printer ink, I could have had them printed! It was so nice of him. So now they are cut and ready to go. The response envelopes are addressed and ready to go. All I was waiting for was the main invite I designed. My graphic designer friend told me about a dirt cheap site so I printed them there. I was terrified as it said bleed line, cut line, etc. I kept tracking it and they were set to arrive today. They did and I love, love, love them. They turned out like I wanted and for $30 bucks you can't beat it! Slight problem: They sent me 1,000 of them, not 100. Um, what am I going to do? Invite 900 more people? I don't know 900 people so I think I am going to go to Vegas and stand on the strip and hand them out like they do those po*rn flyers.

My mom was here when they arrived so she offered to help me. As we worked I thought, I will go to the post office, see how much they would cost to mail, and get stamps so I can get the ball rolling on these. My mom said she would stay and stuff the envelopes. I told her to just put the main invite in the big envelope and that was that. I would be back in about 15 minutes....or so I thought.

There is a main post office in town that always makes me stressed. So busy all the time, and long waits. There is another "post office" down the road so I thought hey, save time and go there.

I get there, and there is a line out the door. I finally get in and it is a little bit of a gift shop. I wait, and wait and finally get to the front of the line to the person who looks like he is 13. I wonder why he is not in school, and then think he might be doing a work study program. I put a lot of thought into this. He was wearing one of the gift shop items: A shirt with a snake that says Don't Tread on me. Anyway, I get to talking to him, tell him I need about 200 stamps and would like the Love ones (thinking they still have them). He says there are none but he has two wedding ring ones. They look like they are from the 80's so I pass. I ask him to weigh the envelope to see how much it will cost, although I am convinced it is 44 cents. He tells me 67 cents. WTF? No way. I ask him why, tell him it is not even an ounce (I can see the screen) and he says, well, it is probably because the card won't go through the reader easily. Um, it is a normal size envelope. I am frustrated so I leave. I wanted to "tread" on HIM.

I head over to the main post office. The customer who is at the counter is walking in place. The postal worker is talking to her, helping her with her purchase, and all the while she is walking in place. I thought Richard Simmons was going to come out or something. Why was she walking in place?! I stand in line and pray I do not get Bob. I ALWAYS get Bob. Bob wears his pants SO high. He asks people about 20 times if they need stamps, boxes or "any of that other good stuff." Is he secretly a pot dealer? What does he mean by good stuff? Bubble wrap? I don't consider that good stuff. Any way, I am next in line and I listen to Bob ask the same guy if he wants the stamps. He already asked him at the beginning, middle and end of the transaction. I don't think the guy wanted stamps the first two times. I see the nice, calm postal worker finishes up. I go to walk up to him, and he goes on break. Bob calls me over. Ugh. He is his chipper self (maybe I will start wearing my pants higher. Perhaps it increases happiness.) I start off with "Bob, I am stressed." I tell him I went to the other post office and he stops me and tells me that they are NOT a post office, they are a postal center. They are not government employees and they are not postal workers. He says this as he points to his patch that says United States Post Office on his shirt. He tells me how they are mostly a gift shop and they have a contract, and blah blah blah. He says he doesn't want to say they don't know what they are doing, but then he tells me "They don't know what they are doing." I tell him my ordeal, and he tells me "I have stamps. Oh boy, do I have stamps." He then takes me to the next window which he refers to as "his office" and tells me to step into it, and gets out the binder. He says he has a lot to show me. This worries me, but he is super excited about his stamps. Maybe he just hopes and prays for people to buy stamps. Maybe that makes him happy and that is why he asks everyone. Then I come along and tell him I need 200. Jackpot for Bob!

He shows me ones that he says, and I quote, "Are ugly as sin." So why show them to me? He then shows me the King and Queen ones. One stamp is a queen, another is a king. I ask for Love ones and he shows me purple flower ones. Fine, done. I ask him when the rate is going up, and he tells me working at the post office is like his wife having an affair....everyone knows things before him. Um, ok. He says he does not know. I tell him I want the Forever ones but I don't want the bell. Those are the only forever ones they make apparently. So I stick with the flowers, and he tells me if I don't need them in sheets of 20 he can rip some off for me, because he "would do that for me." No thanks.

I then ask him to weigh it. He feels it and says "It feels like a 44 cent-er." I said I agree, then as he weighs it, I go on my rant about how the other "post office" said it was 64 cents or something like that. Bob tells me I need to switch to decaf. He then tells me it IS 44 cents. I knew I was right! Damn you other postal center. I wanted to give Bob knuckles, but I bought the stamps. He even gave me a nice bag. I was surprised he did not ask me if I wanted stamps, or the other "good stuff." So off I went to the house.

My mom was still at the table, working away. I told her why I was gone so long, and then she told me she stuffed all the envelopes. She put the welcome dinner card info, and the response card in the response card envelope. It was very sweet, but since people are telling me they are bringing their friends to the wedding (although they were not invited) I am writing how many seats I have reserved for them. Perhaps that is tacky, but it is our way of saying, Um, no. There is a limit. I am not doing an inner envelope with their names on it so this is how they will know how many people can be in their party. I felt bad but we had to unstuff all the envelopes. It only took 30 minutes and I felt awful but we did that, and put stamps on the main envelope and the response card envelopes. Yay!

I ordered a custom return address stamp from someone on Etsy. She will not respond to any of my emails and it is driving me nuts. I want to know when it will get here because I really do not want to have to write out the really long address we have. I might have to cave and do them.

So that was my frustrating day. Bryan found it quite funny, I did not. :)

Um, how does time go by so fast?

I thought I would have so much time all the time to update this. No go. Laundry, cleaning, cooking, school for the kids, etc. get in the way. Since the last time I wrote, the boys started school. Here are some pics from their first days:

Bryan was having a hard time knowing that Camden was going to "real school" this year. He was in private Kindergarten last year but we decided to have him repeat since he was going to a new school anyway, and we thought it was best for him. This picture cracks me up of Bryan. He was sad but it was so him:

Be hated school but I loved it so he is just concerned about Camden and wants him to do well. After seeing the amount of homework and what he was supposed to know BEFORE he got into Kindergarten I am SO glad he is back in Kindergarten. First grade would have been hard for him, so this was the best decision we could have made. I am in awe of how much homework he has. Isn't kindergarten supposed to be about play time, colors, meeting friends and snack time? Times have changed.

A week later Torrin started preschool. He is in there from 8:45-11:30 which gives me enough time to go to the gym. I so do not want to but I do, and I do feel better after it. Then I come home and eat a candy bar. Oops. I was SO excited for the first day of preschool. Mikaya and Torrin wound up in the same class AND the teachers had no idea they will be cousins yet their cubbies are next to each other. I could not wait to get pictures of them in the classroom, by their cubbies, etc. I had envisioned so many pictures. Well, things changed. This is how it started:

(Yes, Bryan is wearing the same outfit as the week before)

My niece and her backpack. So cute. I tried getting pics of her and I. No such luck:

So the doors opened and we went in. The teachers said we could come in for the first three days and that would be it. We waited in line, and my sister in law and Kaya were in front of us, camera in hand. She gets to the door, Mikaya goes in and Noelle leaves. What?! I say Hey! We need pics and she says she has to go. Bryan sees this tactic, is impressed and says we do the same, so we leave as Torrin enters the door. I was crushed. Seriously crushed. 1) I did not have pics with either of the boys on their first day of school AND 2) there were no pics of Kaya and Torrin. I walk away in my tantrum mode, Bryan says we can do it the next day. Um, we don't have Torrin on Thursday and he is not in school on Friday. He said we could get them another time. I said it is not the same.

Noelle later called me and said that she did not want Mikaya to see her crying. Aha! I was so excited for Torrin since he is SO social and school is great for him. Other parents were a mess. I get it, but I wanted those cute pictures.

Mikaya does not really speak so she is in speech and language sessions. She cracks me up because lately she says Hello! Hi! DahDah (for Tanta), Buh Bye, etc. The other day I saw her on the playground, she waved and said, "Hello!" I melted. Torrin is a major talked and has the vocabulary of someone MUCH older. He is always kissing Mikaya at school. Funny. The teachers are finally catching on that they will be cousins soon.

I pick up Mikaya on Mondays with Torrin and I love how they both run to me and hug me. So sweet. On Wednesday Noelle needed me to get Kaya at school. It is not my day to pick up Torrin so I was worried Torrin would be confused not going home with me. He did ask me if I was going to Mommy's house with me but I said I was getting Mikaya. Thankfully no tantrum happened. The teachers were confused too!

The think that drives me crazy is no one pronounces Mikaya's name correctly. Her speech teacher was calling her Muh-kiya. Um, you are her speech teacher. Get it right. Then they spell it Makaya (which is how I would have loved it spelled but apparently when it is spelled that way, it is a form of devil worship-and she isn't my child so I had no say :) One day the teacher called her McKenna. Ugh. I know she is not my child, but come on. Get it right.

Not much else has happened. My craft room is being built and we are on day 4. Shelves go in on Monday so I am thrilled about that! I will post pictures soon. Not sure if anyone even reads this anymore.

More to come!
D

Friday Fun

Although I received my dating anniversary present last weekend, Bryan still planned on taking me to Mike Shanahan's restaurant for dinner. We had been wanting to go, but it cost a lot of money, so we saved it for a special occasion. We got fancied up and headed over there.

When we checked in they said, "Oh, celebrating an anniversary? Congrats!" The hostess took us to our seats, said congratulations, told me I had on a pretty dress, and then gave us an anniversary card. Apparently they like when people celebrate things at their restaurant:

Our waiter was Shane and he said Happy Anniversary to us too. It was funny. We learned a lot about him. He has an internship with the Nuggets and he works at the restaurant 40 hours a week as well. He just moved here from California, he is 24, etc. He must make good money! He was great!

I splurged and got a daquiri which was huge but delicious (that sounds bad). I do not understand why some places put cherries into the strawberry daquiris.

I was planning on having the filet, but then Shane did some sales pitch about some amazing steak they have that is not on the menu. I guess beef is rated on a 1-12 scale, and most really high end steaks like Kobe beef are an 8. This one was apparently a 10. He said it was the best steak he has ever had and he has worked in NYC, Las Vegas, etc. I am a sucker so I ordered it.

Here are some pics of Bryan and I. Note that we do not usually sit on the same side of a booth when eating but the glare was horrible coming in from the window so we sat next to each other. Normally I make fun of couples who do this.

After dinner, Shane said he had one more thing for us. He brought out the biggest piece of cake I had ever seen. It was chocolate cake so Bryan was in heaven.

After we got out of dinner we saw just how much rain had fallen in a short time. The streets were flooded and it was still pouring!

Beth wanted us to come over for some games at her friends place so we went over in our fancy clothes. We played Scattegories which Bryan and Beth had never played. That gave us a lot of laughs! Bryan brought up bowling and so we went bowling. In our fancy clothes. I felt a little out of place. I did pretty well for having on a dress and really long nails. No nails were broken. Phew!

I love the people in the back of Tim and Beth. They are happy:

What a fun night! I hope every anniversary is this fun :)

Wedding Update

For those of you who read both the blog and the wedding planning journal on the Disney Boards, I am sorry for the double post. I took some things from the journal and am posting them here to save some time.
Except there are a few things I am going to post on here that I would not want people on that board to read :)

As you know, we went to Florida from July 14th-18th for our planning session.Here is what I wrote on our first day of the trip:

We are here! Planning session time in the stickiest place on earth, I mean, Happiest Place on Earth. I was on the plane yesterday talking to the lady next to me, as I usually do (I talk to everyone) and she asked me why we were going to Florida. I told her for our planning session. She got me all excited and I was officially in wedding mode again. I even bought two bridal magazines....which turned out to be a waste because it was mostly about finding the right dress, forming the guest list, reception locations, etc all of which I have already. Oh well, $12.42 down the drain but it killed some time.

We were on Frontier Airlines and I had planned on sleeping but we were in front of the exit row where the seats don't recline, but of course the people in front of us reclined. It was so tight. I bought the TV service and wound up getting sucked into Cold Case which was fabulous but then I started watching 16 and Pregnant. Um, I wound up sobbing on the plane as the teen gal gave up her baby. I have issues. We got to the airport, and headed to the Magical Express, "an air conditioned motor coach" as they put it. The person guiding us to the AC Motor Coach was from Kiowa-a small town right near where we live. We had to get a picture!

We were thankful for the AC. It was pouring, but soon it was over. We checked in to Saratoga and thought we would just hang out but I said heck, we are here, lets redeem our annual passes (although I really wanted to wait until December) but it would have killed me not to go to the parks. Here are our passes. We thought we would get some hardcore plastic passes with our picture on them. Nope, just paper lame ass tickets. Bryan does not like Pluto so he was not happy. I am ok with Minnie.

At the counter I asked if they had buttons for us, because I am an attention whore and love the buttons. He said, "Did you just get engaged?" Um, 6 months ago but close enough, so he gave us those. So many people congratulated us. I told Bryan I would be rockin' the button the whole trip and he said he knows I would. We already have the Just Married pins in prep of the wedding. The day after the wedding I told Bryan he should wear a birthday button (since it is his birthday) and a Just Married pin. I said I would wear my Just Married pin and a "I'm Celebrating" pin. I am all about the flair.

My good friend still works at the Studios so we went to meet him which was so great. I adore him and I was so happy Bryan got to meet him. It was his first time seeing my ring, and he said Geez! You can't even see where the Titanic hit it. It was sweet. So many people have commented on my ring down here which is weird to me, but it is very sweet. Bryan has even got a few high fives and "Good Job Man!" Here is Jason and me:

After seeing my friend, we went to check out the rides. Um, 80 minute waits, I don't think so. I know this is vacation time for people since school is out, but WHY do people come to the parks when it is SO crowded and SO hot? No thanks. I would rather take the kids out of school, walk right up to the rides and be done. I am not a crowd person and I am not willing to wait 80 minutes for a short ride.

After walking around we went to Sci Fi dinner theater. Bryan did not think he would dig it, I told him the atmosphere was so cool and he is obsessed with cars, so he would like it. I did not think we could get in by walking up but sure enough, it was a 20 minute wait. I think the buttons helped :) Bryan thought it was amazing and I just love it there. We weren't scared although we look it here.

It is also amazing that the night we went to dinner there was extra magic hours for resort gifts. We thought it would help with the lines but nope, they went down to 60 minutes. Tonight we will be at Epcot and sure enough, the extra magic hours are tonight. Saturday we will have dinner at the castle, and guess what? Extra magical hours. Wahoo! Perfect timing! Now if only someone can turn down the humidity. Seriously. I suck in this weather. I can't wait to wear my undergarment that sucks me in in this weather. Eek! I hope our pics are fabu! I have no idea what I am going to do with my hair and makeup so we shall see. I hope it does not melt off. I feel for those that had to get married in the summer. I could not have done it.

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I can't believe it came and went already. The wedding is fast approaching. I am trying not to think about it because I know I will be sad when it is over, but time sure is flying!

Thursday: E-pics day. Ana came over at 3 and did my hair and makeup. Loved her and how I looked although my sister said I have "hooker eyes." I think it is far too dark for the wedding, but it was fine for engagement pictures:

It downpoured the entire time we were getting ready. I was hoping it would cool it off since it was so hot. It rained and rained, and our photographer Jenn called and asked if we should do it another time. We said we would have lots of umbrella pics if needed. I was not going to try and reschedule this. We met her at 6 and it was drizzling at Epcot. I had no idea what to expect with her. She was very sweet but she was far more artistic than what we are used to. So many pictures will be of us kissing and staring off the distance. We tried so hard not to laugh. We kept thinking WHAT are we looking at? I had to ask her for pictures of us with the Epcot ball in the background and she said most clients do not want that. Well, we do. I also had to ask if we could do some smiling ones. On our way to the Boardwalk, it downpoured again. She was a little upset that we had an outfit change and that the clothes we were going to change into were with the bellhop in a suitcase. We raced to get changed, and we took some pics in the candy shop, and a ton of us standing on a bench which I do not understand at all. We can't wait to see what the pics look like! We went with one photographer for the e-pics and the Roots for the wedding. I wanted to spice it up a bit! After that we went to House of Blues at Downtown Disney. Of all the days, it was the coolest so I am SO grateful. I would have died otherwise.

Friday: Planning session. We get to the Boardwalk since Francks was closed. Sadness. I do love the Boardwalk though. It reminds me of the shore.

In the midst of eating my bagel, our planner Maxine tells me not to eat too much because of the food tasting. I said the food tasting was not until 2:30. I pull out my binder, which she tells me is the biggest binder ever and that I killed so many trees because of it . I am a visual person so I had to have it all together. Looking back, I did not need it at all. I show her the planning session tab and the email I got (since she said "Don't you ever read anything I send you?") which said, tasting at 2:30. She said it was incorrect-it would have been that way if we had to travel from Franck's to the Boardwalk but since we were at the Boardwalk it would be earlier.  So since so much was already done over the phone, we just went through some things. I did not realize the Grand Floridian has table covers and centerpieces they include if you just ask, so I nixed the gel candles and saved $500 bucks. We got rid of chicken from the BBQ and saved $4 a person, and then we added in the Wishes soundtrack which I think we are going to nix, even though I was CERTAIN I was going to have it. After watching it without it from the GF area one night, we thought, do we really need to spend $500? Bryan’s call as his dad is paying for it. We got rid of the memorial candles, memorial floral arrangement, etc. Bryan wanted it originally in honor of his mom but then we realized we would be sad. We added more things on the tables so they aren’t so blah, I added the confetti cannons which I am sure I will have to get rid of. I was sure I wanted flowers down the aisle but then I decided against it after I saw the price. Carpet will be fine. We got rid of the limos and town cars so everyone can ride together in a Hummer. Not my style but Bryan liked it. Trying to think of what else… We had our food tasting, really cut back on the cocktail hour and just went with fruit. We tried so much food it was insane, then the cake, etc...Here we are with our chefs William and Wayne, and our server Shelly. All amazing, fabulous people:

After the tasting, Rose came in to work with us since my floral guy Warren was sick. I was SO bummed and I really wanted to meet him. Rose was awesome, we went over everything, she was just fabu. Her binder was as big as mine.



It went by so quick and nothing monumental happened. I was just sad that it was in a random room. I thought about switching to another hotel but I loved Wayne, the chef we had, and love the feel of the Boardwalk. I spent many times at the shore in New Jersey so it reminds me of being a kid.

Since our planning session ended way earlier than we thought, we went to a DVC meeting since we were sure we were going to do it. There was just a price increase and since so many people we know have it, we did not need a big presentation. Our lady was dumb and annoying -it takes a lot for me to say that. We priced it out and decided not to do it right now. We will see. We did get 3 Fastpasses each for going which was good since the ride waits were 100 minutes plus. Friday night we went to dinner with my friend, then went over to the Magic Kingdom since they had extra hours. Why on earth were parents bringing their kids in to the park at 1:45 am? Oh, and they were wondering why they were crying and cranky.

Saturday morning we went to AK with our fast passes to ride Everest and the Safari which had a huge wait when we got there but when we went to FP it, there was no wait which was weird. It was SO hot that day. After that, we went back to the hotel, showered and headed to see the Wedding Pavilion. Well, our monorail driver got shocked, so they shut down all the monorails and took ours off the track. Bryan said hey, that guys sweat stain is a hidden mickey....it kind of did look like one....

There was no time to see the WP since we had reservations at the castle. I was so bummed. We went to the castle and everyone told me it had changed so much. It was more princess like, and more for kids as you know. I was worried but oh my, I had the best time ever. We had a table by the window. We wore just engaged pins (although it had been a few months) and our waitress was from my old stompin grounds in Jersey. Loved her! She saw our pins, sprinkled our table with confetti, gave Bryan a sword, and I got a wand. It was fabulous! I love that stuff. Bryan asked Cinderella if she got tired of her job and in all seriousness she said, “Oh no, I just love making new friends!”

Snow White asked if we lived in a castle with clouds and if so, were we neighbors? Aurora asked if I met my Prince Charming, I said I guess which did not go over too well with B. Belle was the best. She saw my ring, said to Bryan, “Oh my. You must talk to Beast about ring shopping. You have good taste.” Very cute. I thought B would not dig the castle but we both love it. I loved the wand, and Bryan got a sword:

We tried making reservations for the wedding but it is totally sold out. I am thinking it might be busy during the wedding now. Ugh. Normally it is not but with the Mickeys Christmas Party I am thinking it might. We called for reservations ALL over-nothing available all week. I am so stressed.

After dinner, we decided to head back to the hotel after some shopping at the Emporium. I had to get pics with ears of course:

I wanted to stay for fireworks but the park closed right after them and that is just insane. As we were leaving, the lights of the WP were on. We thought lets go try it. We get there at 8:56 and they shut the lights off and were locking the doors. We run and B talks to the people and they unlock everything and let us in! They turned on all the lights too. SO sweet. We should have tipped them. Here they are waving at the back of the room along with some other bad pics of where we are getting married:

I had seen it before in 1999 when I worked there but it was different to me now knowing I was getting married there. Bryan loved it so that was great! We headed back to the GF and watched the fireworks from there.

Sunday we went to Downtown Disney and bought way too much stuff. Bryan got me the Disney Dooney and Burke purse I have wanted. I love it! Its is different than this, but close! I made sure Minnie was not cut off on mine!

We got a lot of pins, more display boxes for them, etc.  My suitcase weighed 49lbs. We had a reservation at the TRex place so we went to Fultons for lunch instead. After that, it was off to the Magical Express and to the airport. I was so sad to see it end but it was nice to get back to no humidity!