Half-A'd Update

I noticed today that I have not updated my blog for a really long time. And that I always say that. I am a blog slacker. But I have been working my regular job, and working a second job, and being married, and not cleaning my house, and there were all these pool parties I had to attend...

As you can see, my slack-y-ness is not my fault.

I will try to visit you more often...

Engaged-iversary

Awesome Things I Have Witnessed Recently

- A girl at the beach at Lake Michigan, talking to a bunch of her friends in a bikini, while nonchalantly scratching her crotch. I mean, really going to town on it. While they all just kept talking to her like she wasn't almost knuckle-deep.

- Two girls at the Tom Petty concert, dancing as if they were on ecstasy throughout the whole concert, NOT to the beat of the music. Except during one slower song, and I'm pretty sure they were to the beat that time purely by accident.

- Another crazy broad at Tom Petty who broke down in tears because the usher told her she was in the wrong seat and that her correct seat was actually in a better location. She didn't want to move. To a better location.......

- A customer at the bank who said, "The tax place was closed when I got there! Are they only open in the morning?" To which I responded, "I don't live around here, I'm not sure. Did they have hours posted on the door?" "Yeah, they did." !! Seriously?

- My DVD player tried to hold True Blood hostage, so we had a war, which I won...now if only the battle wound on my finger would heal...

- A 50-60 year old man, riding his bike down 223, wearing a bright, flourescent green shirt so your eye was really drawn to him...with his penis hanging out of his shorts. And either he was really happy about riding his bike...or good for you, buddy!

- My Brazilian brother, Eduardo, in town with his sister and girlfriend. Short visit, but a great one!

- Bobby giving the boys dolphin rides in Lake Michigan, while other confused swimmers watched, and Bobby's girlfriend Sarah and I laughed... (p.s. there is video...)

A Long Winded Post About a Gal's Wedding...

I have been totally MIA when it comes to this blog. I hope the three of you who read it haven't missed me too much, haha. Obviously I was very busy planning my wedding, then having my wedding, then being on my honeymoon. Then I was busy being home and getting back to normal, non-wedding life. Which has been super busy. I have a lot to share, but for today, I will stick with sharing some of the highlights of the wedding (well, highlights from my point of view, anyway)... :)

** While waiting for our turn to walk down the aisle during the Rehearsal, my dad pulling out a bottle of water, taking a drink, and telling me, "This will be gin tomorrow."

** While waiting for our turn to walk down the aisle during the wedding, my dad turned to me and said, "I hope I don't take too much attention from you. I look really good today. I hope some people will actually look at you." Then as we were walking down the aisle, "I hope everyone's not just staring at me..."

** The night before the wedding, my sister Lauren and our best friend Holly spent the night at my house. When we were growing up, the three of us did EVERYTHING together. Always. Since we were like 1. So the 3 of us spending the night before my wedding together was very appropriate. We had a ridiculously good time. We ran around my apartment, drinking beers and shooting each other with Nerf guns ("someone" shot me in the eye; I won't name names, but I do remember yelling, "NOT MY EYE! I'M GETTING MARRIED TOMORROW!"). We ran next door to Stuart's apartment and hung out with him for awhile, then came back for more beer and tons more laughs at my place. The perfect ending to my days as an unmarried lady.

** When I put my dress on before the wedding, I got a lot of "Ooohs!" and "Ahhs!" But when I put on my veil...that's when I think it all got very real and I got a lot of sniffles...

** My best friend Angel cried during the wedding rehearsal, which I thought was very touching, and then throughout the wedding, I could hear sniffles coming from the bridesmaid side behind me...I think she started a crying chain, haha....but I thought it was very sweet. Myself, I was OK until I got to the end of the aisle with my dad and Cory was standing there, and I knew it was the part where I'd be given away...I teared up, then I looked at Lauren and made her tear up...Pf's can never withstand another crying Pf...gets us everytime...haha...

** From my point of view, I couldn't see my flower girl, Nevaeh, go down the aisle. She was very shy about the whole thing during the rehearsal, so I was hoping she wouldn't freeze up during the wedding. When we came down the aisle, I could see that she hadn't quite frozen up all the way...she managed to drop big bunches of flowers in two places- at the beginnning of the aisle, and the end. I guess she threw the first bunch, got shy, then saw my friend Bethany's husband and daughter holding out candy, which is how they coaxed her down the rest of the way. So she got to the end. threw one more bunch, and jumped into the pew with them...and the candy.















** Instead of saying, "I do," Cory said, "Definitely!" <3

** We were so blown away by the love, affection and generosity of everyone who came to the wedding. It was amazing the amount of people who came to town, and from how far away they all came. We had family from all parts of Pennsylvania, DC, and Kansas; friends from all over California, Kentucky, Michigan; my friend Darren came all the way from Georgia and my best friend Angel came all the way from Tokyo!! She was one of my bridesmaids and she flew in the day before the rehearsal! I know she had to be exhausted, but she didn't show it and was the perfect bridesmaid. ;)














** My dress was ridiculously huge in the skirt.



It was exhausting to wear because it weighed so much, but I wouldn't have changed a thing about it, I seriously LOVE that dress (I miss it already!). But, to go anywhere before I had it bustled after the ceremony, it took most of 7 of my bridesmaids to carry it. And my poor gals had to put my shoes on, take them off, put them back on when it was time for the garter, and take them back off after. Sara also put my garters on for me before the wedding, cause I forgot to put them on before my dress. Obviously, all of my bridesmaids are very good sports. They are lucky that I got so swept up in the wedding business that I didn't ever use the restroom while I had the dress on. Cause that woulda been tricky. Believe me.

** Cory and I danced our first dance at the reception to Neil Young's "Harvest Moon". That was a really great moment for me. So romantic, and so wonderful. I had that song in my head for days afterward. Another great dancing moment was when "Weak", by Belinda Carlisle- a song I specifically requested the DJ play- came on. I couldn't find Cory anywhere and really wanted to dance to it, so I grabbed my friend Stephanie and we slow danced to it. Also had a great 3-gal dance circle during "Don't Stop Believin'" by Journey.















** The kids at the reception were so much fun!! I had a lot of dance requests from the little girls, who all kept telling me I was beautiful and that I looked like a princess (did I mention I love kids? haha). Our friends' son Timmy is very shy, but at one point, he told his dad, Tim, and our friend Bobby that he really wanted to dance with me. So I tried, and he got very shy and refused to dance and ran away. So I waited until he was dancing with Bobby, holding hands, and I ran up, broke in and held hands with both of them and joined their dance. That worked, and he was thrilled. My friend Candaise's daughter Audrey was out there busting a move the entire time- she was tireless!- and SO adorable.















** Instead of smashing each other's faces with cake, the DJ suggested we smash it on our best man & maid of honor's faces. So we lured them up there, and tried to do just that- but Cory moved faster than me, so he got the side of Dustin's face but when I tried to get Lauren, she saw it coming and darted away, so I only got her arm...but still, better them than me, haha...















** Cory and I banned synchronized dancing from our wedding. We just don't like it. The DJ pointed out that lots of people do like it and would probably request the synchronized songs, so I told him to blame it on me and tell them that I said no, and come see me for details, if necessary. So my neighbor's daughter came up to me, very disappointed, "The DJ won't play 'Cha-Cha Stomp'!" I said, "I know, sweetie, I don't like those songs so I told him not to play them. Why don't you request a different song?" "I tried, but he wouldn't play that, either- he said it had too many cuss words!" She is around 8. And couldn't think of a non-dirty song to request. Yikes!

** Our friend Bethany was our photographer. During the reception, the three of us went outside to take pictures. My cousin Claire's son Dakota came with us, and "helped" us out by blowing bubbles at us while we were getting pictures taken. He's very artsy. ;)

** After the wedding, we had an after-party at my parent's house for the bridal party, their partners, out of town friends, and of course the fam. On the way there, my mom stopped at Circle K with me and Cory for beer. And we walked in and found Angel, Dustin, Lauren, Bethany, Sara, Aaron, and Dawn. All at the same store. At the same time. With no planning.















** At one point, during the after-party, I was standing outside under the overhang (what we call the cement area with an overhanging awning off my parent's garage). I was drinking a beer, chatting, laughing, having a great time- and I heard the tornado siren. And I remember noting it, and shrugging, like, "Eh, I'm sure it's fine." Luckily, for us, it was- but apparently tornadoes hit all around us and devastated a lot of areas. And we all just kept partying, totally oblivious. Oops.

** I know I'm missing tons of highlights, such as my sister's Maid of Honor speech, which was amazing...















...but I also know that wedding highlights from someone else's wedding aren't as interesting as I'd like to think, haha, so I'll stop now. Except for this....

** This picture may be the best picture ever taken of all time:

Best Day Of My Life....

Happy

Happy Easter! Happy Spring!

Spring and Summer are our reward for getting through the winter...

Rain, Rain, Go Away...

I feel like I should have some really interesting things to write about because I have been mega-busy lately, but I can't think of much. My boss was out all last week so that left me and my one remaining co-worker to run the whole branch. Hectic, but Misty and I make the best of these situations. By which I mean, we ruthlessly make perverted jokes and pick on each other the whole time while also being super productive. I have also been collecting RSVP's for my bridal shower and collecting the invites that come back undeliverable, which is good to know now before the actual wedding invites go out. And I have been harassing the boys to go get fitted for their damn tuxes already, but to no avail...(insert giant sigh here)...everytime I mention it to my dad, he gets as sarcastic as he can, "Oh, yeah, keep me posted on THAT!" He's super excited to dress up. I have not had to bargain with and bribe him at all.

Oh, and I have been working out a lot!! Except for today... Mondays are usually my day to go to the gym and put in some serious treadmill time while watching close-captioned NCIS marathons, but today I opted to instead sit on the couch at Cory's mom's house, eating a steak sub and playing Farmville. Because that's way more beneficial to my physique.

Um, other than that, I got nothin'... ;)

Except that Lost is featuring a Richard Alpert backstory tomorrow. Seriously. Can't wait.

Do Frogs Spoon After?

I have nothing too new to report- just wedding planning, wedding planning, and more wedding planning- so today's blog will be pictures (from my cell phone) that made me smile...

This is in front of the mall by my house. My mom and I were driving by and I had to take a picture cause...seriously...how does a person do such a thing??















This is my parent's dog, who wouldn't let Kyle into the driveway on a snowy day...good boy...




















This is Drunk Cory with his eyes closed, while telling me, "My eyes are OPEN!" Even though they were clearly closed. Which caused my pout. Which Steph took a picture of. Then Mike jazzed it up on his iPhone.














This is my friend Stuart, wearing a leopard-print snuggy.















This is two frogs having sex on Mike's pool cover. No commentary required.

How Does Your Garden Grow?

Went out with a bunch of my ladies last night. Went out to a new Mediterranean restaurant called Ambrosia, tried a bunch of delicious foods, and then out to the Ottawa Tavern, where we met up with more ladies and some of the boys (including my boy).

Tons of fun, we MUST do this more often. :)

Also got all but one bridesmaid dress ordered! And flowers bought and other wedding accessories. Making progress...

Now a Grizzly Bear?! I'm Outta Here...

Today I have the day off because I work at a bank and it is President's Day. I really enjoy bank holidays. Today I slept in, ate some cereal, finished a book, started a new one, and am now drinking some coffee and watching a wolf (druid?) carry off the spinal cord of a dead animal on PBS. Aw, now a bald eagle stole another wolf's carcass share. Sad. When Cory and I were on the plane back from Hawaii, we watched a documentary on meerkats and a bald eagle killed a really cute meerkat (after the narrator made us love him, of course) and fed him to her eagle babies. And don't even get me started on the one who stares at me at the zoo. I am not very fond of bald eagles. They are bullies. Sorry, America.



Next weekend Cory and I are going to Chicago with some friends, so I get next Monday off as well. And I don't mind Tuesdays cause Lost is back! Back and awesome. I spent this weekend walking in the snow at the park with my mom, helping her try on Mother-of-the-Bride dresses, hanging out at Mike and Stephanie's, shopping at the new Savers with our friend who is in town because of a foot injury, Nevaeh's 4th birthday party (yes- fourth! so crazy!!) and going out to dinner with Sara and Aaron. Today I might go out and do wedding-related errands...as soon as I feel like leaving my cozy cave...



Animal documentaries are traumatizing. I was sitting here thinking, "Aw, that wolf reminds me of my dog," and then a bunch of bigger, meaner wolves attacked him all at once and ripped him to shreds. Literally. While his mate had to flee cause she's having his babies. This is what happens when the Olympics preempt my soap opera.


Books are so much safer than TV.

And then...and then....and then....

So, besides the blog I just blogged about 20 minutes ago, I have been absent from the blog world for awhile. So I'm going to do a catch-up blog the way I always do...with lots and lots of pictures...

In November, me, Cory, his sister Dawn, and her boyfriend Scott went to Chattanooga for Cory & Dawn's cousin Richae's wedding. Richae is a super big sweetheart and her wedding was gorgeous. This is us with Richae...and I didn't notice till I uploaded the pic that Scott's eyes are closed...and now I'm too lazy to switch the picture, so- sorry, Scott.

After the wedding, we went out with a bunch of Cory's other cousins and got nice and drunk, and wandered the streets of Chattanooga a bit. Super good times!!

The weekend after the wedding, Cory, his mom and I all took our annual trip to Chalfont, PA (outside of Philadelphia). We shopped and went to a Jim Henson exhibit, which was awesome!! We also went into Philadelphia and I got to see the Liberty Bell for the first time. It was...underwhelming. I mean, there's this small building and it's super crowded and hot (even though it's cold outside) and people crowd around the bell and you can't see it, then when you try to take pictures, it takes like 7 times before you can get one without some asshole's head in it. But, 7th time's a charm...

We also ate a lot of delicious food, courtesy of Cory's aunt, and rode a train and ate the best Philly cheesesteak sandwiches ever at a place called Delsandro's.

Lauren also had an art show during Christmastime. Here is her super adorable tree topper on her studio Christmas tree....

...and here are Kyle & my mom in front of the giant monster Lauren painted on her studio wall...

Somehow I don't have any pictures from Christmas, but it was a really great one!! Well, except for the part where Cory had to go to the ER. But he is OK and we got out in time for church, so it was a minor snag. I went to church with my mom, Lauren & Kyle, as usual, and Lauren's wife Erica joined us this year. Then me & the sisters went out and met everyone at the bar, which is our Christmas Eve tradition. Spent the night at my parent's house, opened lots of presents, and ate delicious food.
Cory made me go on a scavenger hunt for my present and hid it under and behind his mom's bird cage. Which was mean, but it was an awesome present, so it was worth it. And the bird didn't kill me, which was a plus.

We spent New Year's Eve at Mickey's first, then went to our friend Tim's house. Our friend Jewel spent NYE with us...she is super cute...

Here are Cory, Dustin, and Jewel...

Oh, and also during the holidays, Angel was in town!! We ate out at a bunch of different places, went to the mall a bunch, and accidentally got drunk at a bowling alley and had to have her 18 year old brother pick us up....

We also hung out at her parent's house and karaoke'd, played pool, and generally had lots and lots of fun!

Angel, Karaoke Superstar...

CORY KARAOKE'D!! No one would believe it without a picture...including me...

Anyhoo, since the holidays, I have been wedding planning, working, and trying to catch up with everyone I haven't seen in awhile. Today I had the day off cause of MLK Day and man, do I love a day off...

Hope you all had great Novembers and holidays and are having great 2010's so far!!

One Step Closer...

So we went out again and tried once more to find bridesmaid dresses. And we were successful!! Hooray!! I feel like I've made some good progress with the wedding planning in the last couple of weeks, which is a relief cause I let it kind of fall to the side over the holidays and then realized...oh, crap, I better get back to it cause it's coming up really soon!!

Here's Kyle, me, and Sara, picking out what the girls were gonna try on...they think I like that I get to tell them what to do, like, "Try on this one. Now this one. Swirl around. Let me take a picture. You will not wear watermelon, you will wear purple. No tiaras!"

And they are right, it is fun to get to be the boss for a little bit. Cause none of these broads will put up with it any other time. :)
















Lauren did not like this dress. So she pouted in my picture as her form of silent protest. And it worked cause we didn't pick that one.
















We didn't pick this one, either. But isn't Lauren such a pretty princess with her bra straps, tiara, and argyle socks?























My sisters are very sad that I'm not letting them wear tiaras during the wedding. But I am not wearing a tiara. I told them we can all wear tiaras at the bachelorette party, but they said they are going to sneak tiaras into the wedding. I told them that I will probably notice them doing something like that, seeing as how I will be looking at them at some point during the wedding.

Anyhoo, stay tuned for an update on everything non-wedding related!