Merry Christmas Eve!

Big day today: Lots of cooking, cleaning and some shoveling to prepare for the arrival of the in laws. Should be a fun time. I figure I'll have about 15 people in my house. Nuts, but nothing I can't handle.
Eli did all the prep work for me this morning so the cooking should go well. He chopped onions and finely cut a carrot (What does that mean??) and cut up a couple of other skills. My knife skills are nonexistent.
My true skills will be put on display as I clean the house and prepare it for the guests. No one can vacuum like this little lady!!
Last night I bought $50 worth of booze, so that should get us through. Jaci is bringing wine so that will also help.
I promise to take pictures tonight and let you know how it all goes.
Merry Christmas!

Christmas Eve

Last night I volunteered to host Christmas Eve with Eli's family. I think it's a for-sure thing. Hard to tell with that family.
I'm kind of excited about it, though. I grew up in a house where we were always hosting and it was a lot of fun. My mom is a great hostess, so I learned from the best :) (No, I'm not sucking up, I'm serious).
The best part is that my father in law is making the food. So I'll just have to throw a few salads together. Buy some beer. No problem.
My only concern is that my house is rather small. But it's about the same size as the house I grew up in was, and we were able to stuff people into that place. This was before my parents bought their party-ready pad.
Wow. I'm really falling into this St. Joe housewife stuff with such ease and grace ;)

Home improvements

Yesterday we got our first real home improvement in: a kitchen island. It really made no sense for us not to have an island. We have the perfect space for it and have little storage and counter space in our kitchen. My guess is that our house's previous owner was trying to save money when building.

Anyway, Eli and I decided that we would use our remaining wedding money to put the island in. On Friday I was so excited about it- Christmas was coming early!

It was installed yesterday and it looks great. Looks like it should have always been there.

Also yesterday afternoon I made Christmas cookies and was loving the extra counter space. I also put my pots and pans on roll outs, so I no longer have to dig for what I need.

Here are some before and after photos:

Layoffs

What a week. We had major layoffs at work this week. I kept my job, thankfully. The burrito fortune hasn't kicked in yet so we must remain a two-income household, thank you.
But 10 percent of staff was let go, including a good friend. So it's very sad. Now they're reorganizing, so I'm hoping that will improve things a little. And hopefully some of the stress will go away.
I do have to say though that I of course managed to open my mouth and speak my peace and piss off a bunch of editors. People take things out of context or assume one thing when I meant another. Either way I think I have smoothed things out. Oh well. Everyone has been on edge.
I had today off cause I have to work tomorrow (Saturday). Got some Christmas shopping done and managed to buy myself some new tunes- Cat Power and Eric Hutchinson.
And yes, Cory, this lady still buys CDs. I'm like those people who are in love with vinyl, except I love having a CD instead of downloading songs off the Internet. Somehow it seems more personal to buy the CD.
Oh and in response to a post my sister had on her blog: Please know that when I refer to myself as a St. Joe housewife, my tongue is placed firmly in my cheek.

New format

You'll notice that we now have a new look to more accurately reflect the content of this blog. It will be more of a general, I'm a newly wed kind of thing. Random stories and thoughts. Those sorts of things.
Anyway.
We made some home improvements this weekend. Really the first we've done since buying the house last year. And by "we" I mean Eli and his stepdad.
A new ceiling fan in our bedroom, that Eli bought me two birthdays ago and finally just put up. And an electrical line was put in for our new kitchen island. We decided to use the last of our wedding money to put one in. Our kitchen is huge and we need the storage space. I'll put up before and after pictures after it's all installed. But today Eli and his stepdad put in a line so we can have power on the island.
I was in awe that it was actually getting done. But we are making small improvements where we can...

Go health insurance!

I just applied for health insurance and put Eli on my plan. For the first time in close to 10 years Eli is officially covered. Universal health care anyone??
Anyway, enrolling for health insurance is never a fun task. Going through the coverage and making sense of it all. Fortunately we are both really healthy and have no plans to get pregnant any time soon (so stop asking stupid cops!!).
I was bummed, though, because I thought I had to pay a $175 monthly spousal surcharge for Eli to be covered. That is a lot of money. We looked at getting Eli his own insurance and the coverage wasn't awesome, but it was cheaper.
Well I looked into this spousal surcharge and found out you only have to pay it if your spouse gets insurance through their own employer. Score. Since Eli is self employed and can't have his own coverage, we don't have to pay the surcharge. This saves us about $144 a month by not getting him his own coverage.
BTW Thanks to the HR lady at work for making this clear. That's a joke cause she didn't make it clear at all...
I also made Eli the beneficiary to my life insurance. Sorry Mom and Dad, you don't get all $31,000 anymore!
So Eli is free to get sick now :) Just kidding. He still can't cause there's no one to cover for him at work...
Ah, the joys of being a newly wed and figuring this stuff out.
And, yes, I know I haven't posted pictures from the wedding yet....

Bad blogger!

I've been a bad blogger. I know it, you know it. I haven't finished writing about the wedding and posting pictures. I apologize.
There are still stacks of Thank You cards on my dining room table that I have to fill out. My house is a total, complete mess.
I've been spending my time changing my name on my driver's license, bank accounts and the like. That is a full time job in itself.
The election certainly didn't free up my time.
So I'll get to it, I promise. Sometime. This weekend looks like another busy one, but we'll see how much so. Eli and I have some serious shopping to do (both with wedding money and a much-needed trip to Sam's Club for essentials). There's also the birthday party for a very special little boy.
But so far married life is good. It's actually pretty much the same as before but it's fun to see Eli with his ring on and it's fun to get my new bank card with my new name on it.
I will leave with this one tidbit: Eli and I went and saw the Beastie Boys last weekend. I've always liked the Beastie Boys but have never really paid much attention. I thought they were fun and pretty entertaining. Eli is a huge fan and loves them in the same way I love Pearl Jam.
But we went to the show and I now love the Beastie Boys too. It was one of the best shows I've ever seen and I've seen hundreds of shows. Seriously. (Pearl Jam is still at the top though. Right along with Springsteen and the E Street Band).
The show was great though. The more I think of it, the more I like it. Mike D and Adrock had a ton of energy (while MCA looked like he just wanted to take a nap) and they were switching it up and you could tell they were having a lot of fun. They weren't just going through the motions, you know? And that says a lot for a group (band?) that has been around for, what, 20 years?

Rehearsal dinner

It's been a week since the wedding and I haven't really blogged about the whole event yet. So here it goes.

The day of the rehearsal. Jaci and I drove to Cottage Grove to meet my mom, sister and Britt to get our pedi/manis. It was nice to sit back and relax. The fact I was about to get married the next day didn't seem possible.

When we were done we headed to the hotel to check in and get ready for the rehearsal. I put on my cute little blue dress and was really excited. This is all happening?

Downstairs the wedding party and parents had a drink in the bar and settled in. The rehearsal went great and everyone knew their places.

We had dinner at Buca di Beppo and I think I ate my weight in food. It was sooo good. We also handed out the presents to the wedding party and our parents. I was pretty excited for that. I got the maids cute necklaces to wear for the big day (and I knew they would wear them later) and pashminas from India. They loved them.

Anyway, the whole thing was very relaxing and fun. It was great to see everyone interacting for the first time. Here are some photos:

Here comes the bride...

The maids.

Jaci, Britt and me.

The happy couple.

I was really hungry...

Mrs. Stenman

I'm officially married! I got the marriage certificate in the mail and now can go about getting my name officially changed. How weird. Every time I look at Eli and see that ring on his finger I think "Wow, he's my husband."

It's going to take me awhile to break down everything for you. The night before with the rehearsal and groom's dinner, getting ready the morning of, taking photos, the ceremony and reception.

Everything felt like a whirlwind.

I don't have the energy to go through everything so instead I will give you the cutest story that I heard from the day.

My cousin's 4-year-old daughter Aoife was at the wedding and completely excited to dance and see the bride. At the ceremony when Eli and I were standing up front, my cousin pointed the bride out in her wedding gown. Once Aoife saw me she asked "Where's her prince?"

My cousin then, of course, pointed out Eli as my prince. How adorable is that? Here is a picture of Aoife and I. She looks so excited :)

One day and counting...

Wedding weekend is finally here! I feel like a little kid waiting for Christmas morning. I have butterflies in my stomach and am anxious, but in a good way :)
I do have one last-minute stressor. Eli's grandma, who we didn't think was going to come to the wedding, is now coming. It's wonderful that she's coming- we both want her to be there. She had a stroke a few weeks ago and was supposed to have surgery today (Friday), meaning that she wouldn't be able to come to the wedding. But now her surgery was postponed so she could come.
And I just found out last night. And my final numbers were due Wednesday. So late last night I sent an e-mail to the wedding coordinator, hoping that we could get something worked out. It shouldn't be a big deal, but it still adds stress.
It's no one's fault, but I hate that I'm worrying about this the day before the wedding. So I'm guessing that the wedding coordinator gets in in about an hour. So hopefully I'll hear from her then.
Other than that... today I'm doing final packing and loading up the car. Eli gets home from work around 11 and he's going to shower and get ready. We're heading to Jaci and Cory's where I'll drop off Eli and pick up Jaci to head to the cities for mani/pedis with the maids and my mom. 6 p.m. rehearsal and 7 p.m. groom's dinner.
I can't believe it's already here!
This will probably be the last post until the wedding. I'll be sure to fill in the details then.
OH- the wedding coordinator just called and it's no issue about adding grandma :) I think I'm just at that point where when someone springs something new on me I kind of get worked up... Imagine that.

Two days and counting...

Today is my first day off before the wedding! I have a full day planned. I have to clean my house, because I don't want to come home from the honeymoon to a messy place. Then I have some errands to run, thank-you cards to write and will probably start packing. I also have some more presents to wrap.
The weather for Saturday now says 64 degrees and partly sunny. I'm keeping my fingers crossed!
I actually have been sleeping well the last couple of nights. We'll see how long that lasts.
I'm so excited :) Almost as excited as Jessie was in that episode of Saved By The Bell where she took all those caffeine pills and passed out while singing "I'm so excited and I just can't hide it..."

Tuxes

First, the National Weather Service says it will be 61 degrees and mostly sunny on Saturday. I'm keeping my fingers crossed...
Eli picked up his and Cory's tux last night. He brought it home and took it out of the bag and it was black. Black. Not charcoal like I thought. Eli went to confirm the order last week and saw that it said black but didn't think anything of it. He says he remembers that we could get the suit we wanted in charcoal. I don't remember this, but it's entirely possible that it's true.
I'm not complaining too loudly. Eli feels bad. It's really not that big of a deal, just a little bit of a bummer. Oh well.
He tried his on and it looked pretty sharp. He wasn't happy with the fit. It fits in the arms and shoulders, but was made for a guy his height but 20 pounds heavier. I told him it's a rented tux and won't be perfect. He looks good in it though :) And the shoes are pretty awesome. They're box toe. Very sharp. His tie was wrinkled though so he was going to go and see if he can get it steamed or something. Otherwise I could iron it, but I think the tux place should fix it.

It's quickly approaching...

The weather for Saturday was just posted as being 58 degrees and sunny. Let's all hope it stays true!
The date is quickly approaching. Last night I slept like crap because all I could think of was the wedding and what all to do. This will probably be typical for the rest of the week. I can't believe it's going to be this Saturday! Woohoo :)
My concern of the day: hair appointment. The woman doing our hair is going to come an hour earlier than plan, just to make sure she has enough time. This is fine, but I no longer want to go first. I am having my hair curled and I do not want to have it done at 8 a.m. and then wait four or five hours before pictures. Somehow I don't see that lasting. So I will probably make Kris go before me, and maybe Jaci depending on time, and then have mine done. The stylist better have serious hairspray!!
I am filled with random thoughts. Last night I had drinks with Jaci and I think I kept just saying completely random things the entire time about the wedding. But this she understands.
Concentrating at work is difficult, but today is my Wednesday. Fortunately I have a ton of stuff to do before the end of tomorrow, so I should stay busy. But still, the mind wanders :) But everyone at work understands. I covered a council meeting last night and everyone was asking me why I was at work when I should be getting ready for the wedding. That was nice, I thought.
Yesterday I got pretty much everything confirmed. We are good to go!
I can't believe it's all happening this week!!! Longest week EVER!

What a week!

My crazy week. It's soon coming to a close and by the end of today I will be made of Jello, I believe.
I spent about 10 hours this week making place cards. I didn't think it would be that big of a deal to make them myself and it wasn't hard to do. It just took forever. But they are done. They aren't anything special, but they serve their purpose. So whatever.
I almost had a meltdown when I look at the hotel paper work and saw that I could only have 16 tables and I had created 17. Luckily I called the wedding coordinator and found out she could add another.
I also had a stressful conversation with a guest about how she couldn't bring uninvited people to the wedding. She didn't seem to grasp this notion and we'll see who actually shows up the day of. I was really upset about the whole situation but have decided that I simply can't get stressed out about it. It's not worth it. It's me and Eli's day and that's all that matters. I'm going to make it clear to my mom, my maids and the wedding coordinator that I don't want to hear about any drama on the day of the wedding. Cause I will stress out about it and it will blemish the day. So if you are reading this and are attending the wedding, if you hear of drama- don't tell me until at least a year after the fact! Bring it to my mom or my sister and they will deal with it :)
Luckily my mom and my sister are awesome at handling these things. So they can do it... now I just have to tell them that ;)
Today we have our big final meeting at the St. Paul Hotel. I have to drop off a bunch of stuff for them cause they do all the decorating and put out centerpieces (thank goodness).
I also am the keynote speaker at an AP Job Fair today. I saw the fliers for the event and they highlight my speech as a selling point. How funny is that? But wish me luck and hopefully it goes well :)

Just shoot me

Less than two weeks away and I have soooo much to do! Work is crazy this week too so I'm trying to fit everything in. But right now I'm listening to She and Him's album "Volume I" and it is fantastic! Eli surprised me the other day by coming home with the album and with Jenny Lewis' new album. He also bought MGMT, but I think that was for himself... But it was nice of him to get a little gift for his stressed-out bride-to-be.
We have our final meeting with the hotel on Saturday so I'm trying to get everything ready for that. I still have to print up the placecards after I had issues with the premade cards we bought. Our printer was pushing them too fast so it was all messed up. I just bought some card stock, though, and will just cut them out myself (I have one of those huge paper cutters that you had in elementary school so I'll be accurate).
I also have to e-mail the interpreter but I of course lost her e-mail. Eli found it again for me, though, so yeah him! I have so many wedding papers laying around that I easily lose things. Dumb.
I also should just take a moment to give a shout-out to Eli for being so helpful. He works 70 hours a week but still finds time to help me in little ways and it's totally needed right now! He even cleaned up the house Monday night!!! What a guy.
I've been dealing with phone calls this week from people looking for money for the services they are providing for the wedding. Of course my parents are out of town pretty much now until the wedding so I'm trying to take care of everything. But that's totally a mom job. Don't worry, I'll give her crap later.
So I'm just pushing through trying to get everything done. We're approaching the home stretch...

So much to do in so little time to do it

First, can I just say it's 62 degrees in my house right now? Ridiculous. I could turn on the heat, but I just can't bring myself to do it. I'd rather bundle up.
As the days get closer to the wedding, I realize how much stuff there is to do. And because my husband-to-be works so much, I'm kind of on my own. I already did all the invitations to the groom's dinner. It was a job he should have done, but didn't have the time to, so I filled them out and mailed them.
I'll probably also have to do all the thank-you notes for our shower. That reminds me I also have to get stamps.
We're not done buying presents for everyone either. So I have to get on that. I also have to wrap all of those and write out thank-you cards.
I'm down to two missing RSVPs so I'm making calls this morning.
I have to get myself organized, too, for my meeting with the hotel. There are seating charts to make and place cards to fill out.
There are hair appointments to have and new shoes to wear in. The week before the wedding I have to do all the calls to the vendors to make sure we're all on track for the big day.
I think I should start making lists. I also need to make lists for what to bring to the final meeting with the hotel and what to bring down to the cities for the wedding weekend.
I hate sitting at work and thinking of all the wedding stuff there is to do. I'm not exactly overwhelmed or stressed right now, but I'm just feeling "Okay... I have to get to this."
We're in the home stretch... right?

Less than three weeks...

Can you believe the wedding is less than three weeks away? I can't! On Saturday we had our second and final shower thrown by Kris and Jaci. It was really fun! I brought our camera but of course didn't take any pictures... but I think my mom did. I'll have her send me some and I'll post them.
I'm getting to the point where it's really hard to focus on work. All I want to do is seating charts, follow up on RSVPs, write thank-you notes, that sort of thing. I can imagine that it will only get worse as time goes by.
This weekend we're putting together our welcome baskets for people staying at the hotel and we're going to finalize the seating chart.
Time to just do all of those little things that can't be done until the last minute.

Bridezilla

I have found the one thing that will make me go all bridezilla on someone: not returning RSVPs in time. They were due yesterday and we're still missing a good number of them. The only good reason I heard was from my friend Lisa who had to wait to see if her husband had National Guard drill that weekend. Totally legit reason. Everyone else? Lazy/forgetful.
Today we have our second wedding shower and some people who are coming are those who did not RSVP. So I will be finding out today if they plan on attending. Hopefully my parents will get a few stragglers in the mail today.
But hello annoying.

20 pounds??

I was talking to Britt this morning and I realized that I have lost 20 pounds since the beginning of the year. Holy crap. I'm officially at the weight I was at when Eli and I first started dating. I guess those 20 pounds are what they call "nesting weight" considering I put them on as Eli and I moved in together and started getting serious.
Eli, a wise man, won me over with his culinary talents. He used to make me cakes, cookies, homemade pizza and other delicious dishes. I've wised up to the fact that there's no way I can keep up with my high-metabolism, food-loving husband to be. My slimmer figure proves that.
But this morning I tried on my wedding dress and had a sinking feeling that I may have lost too much weight. It seemed a little big at the waist and my boobs seemed deflated.
I didn't completely freak out, it was more of a "crap, I don't want to have to deal with this now too" kind of feeling. I called my girls: mom, Kris, Jaci and Britt, for help.
Everyone seemed to agree that a little room is okay. Sure, standing up I may feel like I need it right up next to my body, but sit down and I want some room. I also decided that I just needed a bra with some padding. So I bought a new bra and Britt came over to take a look. The final verdict is that there is just enough room to keep it comfortable but I can't lose anymore weight. The new bra also worked but there is still some room in the boob area. Britt said it looks fine, though.
By the way, my wedding dress is the most comfortable thing ever. Seriously. It's made of lace but isn't too heavy and I can actually breath in it, even with the Spanx on. Very nice.

Bachelorette party!

Eli and I are recovering today from our bachelorette/bachelor parties that happened yesterday. I just woke up from my nap and Eli is sound asleep on the couch right now.

I'm happy to report that we both had a great time at our respective parties. Eli went out with the fellas to the Twins game, go-carting and then to Jaci and Cory's house for some St. Michael debauchery. All I have to say is Eli had seven shots of tequila in a hour and threw up all over Jaci and Cory's patio. Nice. He said he feels fine today, just a little icky tummy. He thinks he's going to go mow the lawn later, but I will believe it when I see it!

I had an absolutely wonderful time at my party! Snaps for Kris for planning such an excellent one! We went to a vineyard in Stillwater for a wine stomping event and had a blast! I was so drunk, but happy "I'm having the best time" drunk. I always say that when I'm that kind of drunk. It's really funny.

My grandma was called up to do the grape stomping and she rocked it! They played polka music during it and she sang and danced the whole time :) She even won some wine!

Here are some pictures:

Here's the whole crew:

Here's me and my maids. That would be Kris, Jaci, me and Britt. I look pretty cute in this one, no?

Me and my mom

Britt, Lisa and me Grandma stomping grapes:

It's all happening

So the days are getting closer and details are being set. Hard to believe the wedding is only 46 days away! I put together the programs for the ceremony and now only have to print them all up. That won't be too hard.
My mom, sister and I are working out the details for the welcome baskets for people staying at the hotel. Those are really going to be fun to do! Every time Eli and I go to Sam's we look at what to put in them. It's just a nice way to say thanks and welcome to people who are staying at the hotel.
I pick up my dress next week. The fittings are done. Then I can try it on with the jewelry, shoes, and under things to see how it all looks. BTW If I don't say so myself, my body is starting to look damn good for the wedding :) The tanning is fading my awful tan lines and my workout regime is paying off. I'll look darn good walking down the aisle!
This weekend is my bachelorette party! I'm so excited :) We're going to a vineyard to drink some wine and stomp some grapes (seriously). Should be so much fun! I bought the cutest dress too, though I think I may be a little overdressed. But, hey, I'm the bride. I'm supposed to look good! Besides, I like the idea of dressing up a bit and getting together with my ladies!
I'll definitely post pictures from that :)
Eli has his bachelor party the same weekend. They're going to the Twins game and go-cart riding.
The festivities are beginning!

Almost done...

I'm almost all done with everything I need to do for the wedding. Seriously. How awesome is that? I can just sit back and relax!
This weekend I finished getting my bridesmaids gifts and figured out what to get my parents. Eli has figured out what to get his parents, so we just have to go and buy the stuff.
Now it's just odds and ends. This weekend I'll put together the program. I have to find the version of "You Are My Sunshine" for the pianist. Things like that. No biggie.
I have given up one project. I was going to do a slide show but decided that it was just way too stressful. Picking out the pictures, scanning them, making them the right size and then putting them in a PowerPoint was way too much. Eli was a little sad when I told him this but, hey, I'm the one doing all the work so I can say when, right? I do have to let Cory know since he was going to get me the projector... but he reads this, right? :)
We're also getting the RSVP cards back. Only one person has forgotten to write their name on it. We'll figure out who it is eventually... Some bounced back too because we had the wrong addresses. Oops. We'll get those out again as soon as possible!
On the tanning front things are going great. I'm getting so brown and I think my back is starting to tan... hopefully that tan line will fade soon. I actually am starting to like going tanning, how scary is that? I like that it's the one time in my day where I just have to sit still and I like feeling the warmth. But I keep referring to it as the cancer box to remind myself I can't do this forever!

Whoops...

Well I figured out a little mistake I made with invitations, it's no big deal but could lead to some confusion. On the RSVP cards we gave people three meal options and put a line next to it for them to check which one they want.
We've started getting some of the cards back and I realized that I didn't ask them to write the name next to the meal. So Jim and Joan Smith will reply with one check next to beef and one check next to chicken. Who wants what? I have no idea. So I think we'll just kind of guess when we create the name cards cause we have to put what meal they want on the name card so the server knows what they will get.
So if you are coming to our wedding and haven't RSVP'd yet, please put your name by the food option. And if you already sent it in and didn't put your name by it, well you may get the wrong meal. But look at the meal the person you're with got and you just have to switch!
Oh well, not a big deal...

Tanning

I went tanning for the first time last night. It was crazy and really should have been an episode of Seinfeld or something.
First, there are like three different types of tan you can get in three different beds. Who knew? I had a coupon and I think I ended up getting enough tans to last me through 2009. I had no idea what I was doing but the girl who worked there was very helpful. She would ask me questions and I would just smile and give an apologetic shrug. Do I want the bronze tan or the turbo tan? How the heck am I supposed to know? I just need to get rid of these tan lines.
Then she asked me if I was going to use any lotion. I said oh yes, of course I am. I brought SPF50 for my face. I don't want wrinkles. She smiled politely and said she recommends a lotion that will treat my skin and help me tan easier. Oh. I didn't even know.
She suggested this one kind that helps with anti-aging. She had me sniff it and asked if I liked how it smelled. Sure. Smells like diesel fuel and flowers. Whatever. At least it comes with a free turquoise bracelet!
She takes me to the room. We agree six minutes is the best for me to start and I'll start with the bronzing tan to build a base. She tells me to put the tanning lotion all over and get into the bed. Hit the red button to start or stop. Hit the yellow for facial cause our faces tan last! (and wrinkle first, I think to myself).
She leaves, I put on a ton of SPF50 on my face and then the tanning lotion over everything else. I get into the bed, put on the goggles and turn it on. (not to mention pulling down the cover over me that reminds me too much of a coffin) A woosh of air starts flowing and the lights are on full blast. Here is my train of thought:
What's with the air flow? Is that so I don't sweat? Gross. I'm laying in other people's sweat.
This is kind of bright. I should keep my eyes shut, even with the goggles. (clench eyes shut) Wonder what would happen if the glasses fell off? Would my eyes burn out of the socket?
Crap. I put the towel under my head but it's blocking my shoulders. (I rearrange, which is difficult with the goggles on and the confined space).
Crap, my hands. What if they burn. How am I supposed to write with burned hands? (I clench my hands into a fist)
How long is 6 minutes? This is really long. What if she put it on too long? I would burn up and they wouldn't find me until they started smelling that smell. The cops would come in and take my body. (envision what a burned body looks like... and yes I know what one looks like) Someone would write in the paper about how I had such a bright future ahead of me and was supposed to get married in two months.
(I then start panicking and try to take deep breaths but then the lights go out, 6 minutes done)
But it worked out pretty well. Today I see a little color, but not much. Oh and I kind of burned my boobs. Not a lot, but they're kind of pink. They hurt a little this morning...

I'm a little better

I got through my stressful weekend in one piece. My mom is still trying to work something out with the hotel and hopefully she succeeds.
We met with the pianist on Saturday. She is so awesome, I liked her immediately! She is going to play "Sea of Love" while we walk down the aisle. She played a little of it for us and I got teary eyed. She also is going to play "What a Wonderful World" after the ceremony while we walk out. But I'm starting to get nervous about that cause it's kind of a slow song. Thoughts? I wanted something upbeat. Honestly, I wanted "You Are My Sunshine," but my friend Dan did that at his wedding so I don't want to copy. But I may have to play it anyway, cause I really, really want it :) It's such a fun song!
Also on Saturday I went with my mom, sister and grandma shopping at Mall of America. I got a purse to go with my outfit, it's dark blue and is the exact same color as my shoes and the bridesmaids dress. And I got it for $10- score!
My mom got her dress and it is absolutely gorgeous! My sister and I walked into Macy's and saw it at the same time and went "Mom! That's it!" We fell in love. She wasn't so sure cause it's a long dress, but either way it would have to get hemmed so she's going to have it be made it knee length. It's perfect for her, though. It's a dark maroon color (perfect for her skin tone) and has all this gathering on the top. Very cute!
So things are moving along smoothly. My dad supposedly sent out invitations yesterday so we should start getting back RSVPs soon!

Deep breaths...

I'm stressed. Really stressed. We have had an issue with check in times at the hotel. Apparently check in isn't until 4 p.m. and the wedding starts at 4 p.m. So what are our guests to do who need to change before the ceremony? Try the bathroom. Or maybe find a friend. Maybe, if they're lucky, they can check in early. But they can't guarantee that.
I sent in my super mom to figure it out. She's tough and reasonable. Hopefully she can work out something with the hotel.
But seriously, I don't want guests inconvenienced. That's the whole idea behind having the ceremony and reception in one place. No one has to drive somewhere else or wait between events.
We'll see what happens.
Today I ended my marathon day of wedding planning. This morning Britt came with me to my dress fitting. Everything looks great and I tried on my necklace with the dress- it looks awesome! Britt told me that the look is totally me, which is a big complement. I want to look like me, not some carbon copy bride.
I drove to the cities and went to my hair run-through with my mom. It turned out super cute and very curls. Think Christina Applegate in Samantha Who? I love it. It's very bouncy. We cut an inch and a half off and it feels so much lighter!
This evening we met with the DJ. I'm really excited for that. We found out that we get to have videos with our music- how cool is that? The videos will be playing with most of the songs. Very cool.
Tomorrow is another day of planning. We're meeting with the pianist in the morning and then going shopping. Looking for a dress for my mom and sister and some accessories. Good times.
After this weekend, though, most everything should be lined up!

Shower, invitations and more

This weekend Eli and I had our first wedding shower. It was so much fun! Family and friends attended and we lucked out with a beautiful day outside.
We got a lot of great gifts, like dishes, an immersion blender and a pan. It was kind of fun when we came home and went through everything. I used a new bowl yesterday, how sad is it that I was so excited about a bowl? Eli was jealous that I used one so he made some chocolate milk in a new coffee mug. We're dorks, we know. But I'm in love with our new dishes. Eli picked them out and he did a great job. They're really heavy duty and are a chocolate brown. Very nice.
I also got my necklace at the shower. This is a two-necklace set made by my friend Mary. I cried when I opened it because it's so beautiful! I can't imagine the time she put into it. It's fantastic and I can't wait to wear it! I'm going to my dress fitting on Friday and will try it on with the dress then. It is everything I hoped for :)
We also finished invitations this weekend. Luckily my Auntie Nancy was in town and volunteered to help. She has the most beautiful handwriting ever, so she addressed half of them and my sister did the other half. Kris has perfect handwriting as well. She should teach first grade (so she can teach kids how to write...). Anyway those should be going out this week.
I have Friday off and plan to do a lot more wedding stuff this weekend. Friday I have my dress fitting and am meeting with the hairstylist to do a practice run. I'm wearing my hair down and have been growing it out. I'm hoping she wants to cut some, though, cause it's starting to drive me nuts :) We're also meeting with the DJ and pianist to get the music in order.
Saturday we're going to the mall and picking out dresses for my mom and sister.
There's so much going on and I'm starting to feel the stress! There's a ton with the wedding and I'm also in a crunch at work because I'm working on a huge project. I knew August was going to be the busiest month and I'm feeling it already :(
Deep breaths....

Getting the guys ready

This weekend we went and picked out tuxes. They're more suits then tuxedos, but they're really nice. A dark charcoal with silver tie to go with the dark blue dresses. Should be sharp.
I think the guy at the rental place was laughing at us cause we didn't really have strong opinions on much. Who knew you had to pick out so much for a tux? Shoes, kind of shirt, colors, vests... Oh wait, no vest. Eli was strongly oppose to vests. He thinks they're dumb. So we didn't order any.
We also got Eli's wedding band. It was funny to see a ring on his hand. We went with a simple, white gold band. Very nice.
Next weekend is going to be pretty wedding-tastic though. My mom, sister and I are putting together invitations on Saturday morning and then that night my aunt is throwing me and Eli a wedding shower! I can't wait :) My two aunts are coming in from out of town for it, too. Should be a lot of fun! I'll take pictures and post them here.

Primping

It's amazing the amount of stuff you have to do to make sure you look beautiful for the day of your wedding. Sure, I've lost all the weight I set out to lose, but that's only the beginning.
Tanning. I have the weirdest tan lines ever, which comes from being a fair-skinned girl who burns easily and isn't great about sunscreen. So I have to start going to the tanning salon. I'm scared to do this cause of the whole cancer thing. But anything is better than walking down the aisle with a u-shape on my back from a sun burn last summer (yes, a year ago. Yes, I keep my tans that long). So I'm going to start that next week.
Saturday I'm going to go to Macy's to look at make up for the day of. I'm not sure what I'm looking for, but I need something that will stay on my face all day and will look great in pictures. Hopefully the ladies at the Clinique counter will be helpful...
My hair is another issue. I'm basically just growing it out like mad so as much as possible is available for the hair stylist's use. I'm meeting with her in a couple of weeks and she can cut what she wants, but at least it will be up to her. I also have to plan my next two hair colors to make sure I have them planned out right so my hair color looks great the day of the wedding. Not as easy as it sounds.
Who knew there was so much to think about?

Wedding excitement...

There's something about going to someone else's wedding that makes me really excited about my own. On Saturday we went to Eli's cousin's wedding and had a good time.
But it made me start thinking about our wedding and how fun it's going to be!
There was one part of Eli's cousin's wedding, though, that was great and I'm not sure we're going to be able to match...
Sitting at our table were these two ladies. I think the technical term for them is "broads." These broads are everything you would imagine: drunk, big hair, eyebrown piercing, inappropriate clothing meant for women half their age and big boobies. Did I mention how a groomsman would randomly come over to them and totally make out, tongue down the throat, and then walk away? And their conversations about divorce and their "damn kids" was hysterical.
Classic.
It made me think who will act inappropriate at my wedding. There is always someone who does something completely crazy. It's expected. But which one of my or Eli's crazy relatives will do that? Time will tell.
Maybe I should just find out who those ladies were and invite them.

Woohoo!

I have officially lost all 10 pounds that I set out to lose some two months ago :) I'm so excited! I am wearing a skirt right now that used to be like a death trap for my hips but not fits perfectly. I love this skirt, it's a denim pencil skirt from Gap that I got two years ago. It's even lose, especially in the waist where I can fit four fingers between me and the skirt. Very nice. I should put on a belt, but I hate belts and don't even own one...
I'm surprised I even lost any weight this week considering my weekend. I spent Saturday by the pool snacking and then went to a baby shower on Sunday where there were a ton of treats. But I must say I was pretty smart about my choices and had lunch before the shower so I didn't eat like a pig.
Anyway, I'm now going to try to lose five more pounds before the wedding. But if I stay at this weight, I would be a happy camper!

By popular demand...

Since it's Friday, here are some outtakes:

New photos

On Sunday Eli and I took new engagement photos with the photographers who will shoot our wedding. It was a humid, but beautiful day so we took them outside in Hester Park in St. Cloud. They turned out pretty well, but I need to work a little more with Eli on his picture taking skills.

Eli is notorious for closing his eyes or making weird faces whenever a camera is pointed in his general direction. Well, here are some good photos. Maybe later I'll put up the outtakes...

Meeting with the pastor

Yesterday Eli and I met with our officiant for two hours. We went over our test results and I'm happy to say that we got 80 or 90 percent in nearly all the categories! We got 100 percent in whether our family and friends think our relationship is a good thing, and the pastor said that's the most important one. We also scored highly in communication.
Our lowest, however, was 50 percent for spirituality. Then I got a bit of a lecture on how I shouldn't be so judgemental of the church based on things that happened when I was 13 (that's when our pastor told me that woman feel pain in childbirth because of original sin and God is punishing them. I was like "See ya!"). Eli didn't get a lecture, what's up with that. But Eli did say how we have no problems with spirituality but we don't have high opinions of organized religion. Oh well.
But it was a good session. We talked about potential conflicts that may arise in our relationship (Eli's work schedule) and how to work through it.
The pastor also talked about this book called Five Love Languages, which explains the five ways to love someone and everyone falls into one of the categories. I can't remember them all but there's quality time, physical touch, words of encouragement and doing nice things for each other. I don't remember the fifth.
Anyway, I'm totally quality time girl. It doesn't matter what Eli and I are doing together, as long as we're together. That shows me that he loves me. We could sit next to each other and read and not say anything, but that's all I need.
Eli says he has to read the book to figure out his language. It's kind of Oprah, but makes sense.
In other news I went for my second dress fitting this morning. The dress is coming along. The shoulders fit securely and now they are going to hem it.
It's pretty cool to see how they do it cause my dress is all lace. Basically she cuts off the bottom strip, hems the dress, and then puts the bottom strip back on. Very cool.
But things are moving along as we approach the date. I bought more invitations cause I didn't have enough and bought paper to make the programs. Lots to do...

Readings, invitations

Right now I'm printing up our invitations. They look so good! They are simple and clean and exactly right. I'm so excited :) I'm really happy with my font choice, too. All my peeps in newspapers will know what I mean!
Unfortunately they take forever the print. My printer is really fast, but I am supposed to just put one sheet of paper in at a time. The instructions say you should feed the paper in yourself to prevent jamming. Well I can't manually feed paper into my machine because of how it's set up. So I'm doing five at a time. Works great, but is taking forever. Dumb.
I'm hoping to get the reception cards done today, too. But will likely take a little break in between.
Last night Britt presented the readings to me and Eli. She did not disappoint! I gave her the job cause she's so super smart and reads poetry for fun (nerd). She picked out some really great stuff and I really like three of them.
One is written by an unknown author but talks about old love and the real beauty of marriage comes at the end of a person's life. It's really beautiful.
The second is "Wedding Song" by Bob Dylan. How perfect.
The third is "The Irrational Season" by Madeleine L'Engle. It's much more philosophical about marriage and how big of a step it is.
I told Britt this is how I wished all the wedding planning went. Someone presents me with several options and I pick my favorite! It was great. I read a couple of the readings and said "That's great, but no."
So, snaps for Britt!
Tomorrow we're meeting with the officiant. Should be interesting since we aren't having readings from the Bible and took out most, if not all, references to God. We'll see how that goes...

Crazy days of summer

I'm stressed. There's so much going on right now. I put together our summer calendar and nearly every weekend is book. August, don't even try to talk to me. I'm much too busy.
I have meetings set up with different vendors, parties are planned and events are taking place. The weekend of Aug. 8 is going to be crucial. I'm doing my hair run through, meeting with the DJ and meeting with the pianist.
I'm also stressed because I think my sister switched the dates of the shower and bachlorette parties on me. I've been telling people that the shower will be on one weekend (which I had confirmed with her numerous times) but now I've learned that weekend will be for the bachlorette party. And the shower will be the weekend that I thought was the bachlorette party... three weeks before the wedding. It doesn't seem cool to have a shower that close to the wedding. Not to mention the added stress on me and Eli that close to the big day.
I'm sure it's not that big of a deal, but it's adding to the stress and making me crabby. I have had one hell of a week at work covering a pretty heavy story so that is likely adding to this. And I haven't been sleeping as well as I should.
So basically I'm a stressed out, tired, crabby bride to be. I'm this close to going bridezilla on someone. And that's not very nice cause a lot of people are putting a lot of effort into this wedding and I shouldn't be a jerk about it.
I freaked out on my mom a little bit last weekend over the photographer and then she reminded me how much money she is spending on something that "I don't really care about." So then I just felt really guilty.
We also have an ongoing debate on whether to include hotel information and a map into the invitations. She says to just include our official wedding Web site URL, but I think we should include the other information so people don't have to work to find it.
I need a nap (if I could sleep). And perhaps a vodka gimlet.

Flowers

It was another wedding-tastic weekend as more planning was done. My mom, sister and I were very productive as we searched for flowers and bought invitations.
First, the flowers. We had three appointments Saturday and of course I found exactly what I wanted at the first place. They were also within budget. The flowers will be beautiful. They're a mix of different kinds but are all bright golds, oranges and yellows to go with the fall season. They will also have some dark blue berries to match the bridesmaids dresses. The color will really pop and look gorgeous with the dark blue dresses. I can't wait!
The boutonnieres are also great. We didn't want any flowers, cause I think they look dumb on guys and they're usually too big. So instead we went with leaves and the blue berries. Very clean and sharp.
We went to two other shops. The second one, I knew within five minutes it wouldn't work. There were two cats in the shop, and I hate cats. In fact, I would say I loathe them. They seem to always know this and get in my face right away. I was looking through some books and the cats walked up and jumped right onto the book I was looking at. Not cool. May seem weird to make a decision based on that, but it says something of professionalism that I won't go into here.
The third place I really did like. The woman there was great and really smart and creative. The only downside was that she didn't have any stock and I couldn't picture what she was talking about. I don't want to be surprised on the wedding day, you know? The first place had a photo of exactly what I wanted.
So I'm happy that we got that done!
After we went to Michael's and bought invitations. I'm going to print them up myself and likely have an invitation making party to put them all together. Shouldn't be too tough though. They are very simple and white with a white textured pattern around the edge. We bought blue ribbon to tie them together, to keep with the theme.
Other random wedding notes:
Eli has decided that the morning of the wedding he and the groomsmen will go and get professional shaves. He's very excited for this. So are the groomsmen. It'll be their spa treatment before the big day.
I got my sister to tell me what we're doing for the bachlorette party! We're going to a vineyard, which I'm really excited about! She's picking out which one and getting the details finalized, but I'm stoked. I did NOT want to go bar hopping. Gross. I'd rather stay at home if that's the option. I'd rather get drunk at a classy vineyard instead...
I am also three pounds from my goal weight! I'm so happy :)

Weird dreams

Last night I had a dream about the wedding. Everything was going wrong. The photographer didn't show up until after the ceremony. Then when he did show up, he had his kid with him and wasn't really ready to take pictures. The hair stylist put my hair in these Shirley Temple curls and then covered it with flowers. Every time I would pull out the flowers, more would appear. My dress was too short, it hit at my ankles. And I couldn't find the bridesmaids so we could take pictures. (except for my sister who was helping me pull out the flowers)
The funny part about the dream was my reaction to all of this. I was laughing and having a good time. I was just very "oh well" about everything else. Eli was at my side the whole time and we were just having a blast.
Isn't that funny?

Something blue

So I've decided to go with the blue shoes. Britt and I talked about it yesterday and I said I wanted my shoes to be a wink. She said the red ones are more of an exclamation point, and I have to agree.
Red, patent leather shoes are too much for the look I'm going for. My friend Mary is making me a beautiful necklace that will be the centerpiece of my wedding day look, so I don't want the shoes to detract from that.
The blue ones will be that wink and go with my wedding colors and are my something blue. So there.

Shoes

I have a very important decision to make. What color shoes will I wear for the wedding? Red or blue? I bought a pair of each. And as a back up I have my eye on a pair of white ballet flats from J. Crew. But help me decide. My mom loves the red (but hasn't seen the blue). Eli also loves the red. I'm not sure on either. The red ones I wore around the house to wear them in and got a scratch on them (patent leather), but I'm not sure if anyone will notice. Thoughts?

I'm also a little overwhelmed right now. I'm trying to make appointments to meet with florists next week. Who knew it was so hard to get an appointment? Oh well. I will make three appointments and choose from those three. I had no idea it was such a big deal. This is one thing I don't have a strong opinion on. So I'm bringing in the reinforcements: my mom and sister.

More planning...

We had our details meeting on Saturday at the St. Paul Hotel. We nailed down the food, timeline and other things.
The wedding planner we're working with is really fantastic. She's been planning weddings for years and knows her stuff. We were talking about the head table and I want a traditional one, cause I think people enjoy that. I asked if we could have the wedding party's significant others sit with us. She was super cute and was carefully choosing her words to say, in short, don't do it. I can't even imagine the type of women she comes across, so she was being very smart in how she said it. Basically she said that it was very nice that I wanted to honor my wedding party in such a way, but she's seen this turn into a disaster. Too many times someone breaks up a week before the wedding, or they bring a date who you don't really know or they don't have a date. Then it makes pictures look weird and is just not worth the hassle.
So I decided to follow her advice.
We also talked about the timeline for the day and how everything will flow. She said we shouldn't do a receiving line, because apparently people don't do those anymore. And with a group the size of ours, we'll easily talk to everyone without having a line.
Next Eli and I have to pick out the appetizers that will be passed around during the reception hour. We'll probably get that done today. We also have to pick out a cake design, but we have time to do that.
In a few weeks my mom, sister and I are going to pick out the flowers and invitations. I need them cause I only have a general idea for invitations and am at a loss for flowers.
One of these weekends we'll go and pick out tuxes. We found what we want. We're going to go with charcoal suits since the dresses are such a dark blue. Black would look weird. Eli really wants charcoal pinstripes, so we'll look at that. I'm not sold yet, but I will likely be swayed. He is the one you has to wear it!
Also, I got my shoes. I will blog about them later and post a photo. And, yes, they deserve their own post!
Oh and I have officially lost five pounds!!!!!! I am half way to my goal. It's very exciting :) Shout out to Kris for her progress, too :)

The fitting

I went for my fitting this morning. It took about 10 minutes and I think the women who work there think I'm crazy for having a fitting so far in advance. My next appointment isn't for another month because the woman said she doesn't want to do too much too soon, which I totally understand. The more they have to play with the dress (if I lose more weight or something), the harder it is on the fabric.
Anyway, at this point they think all I need are the shoulders taken in and it hemmed, which is fine by me. The woman who helped me was hysterical. She was in all her Benton County glory. Deep voice from smoking a pack of Marlboro's a day, cat hair on her sweat shirt and a white mullet to complete the look. Love it. She said maybe two words to me as she pinned the dress.
Yet another character to add to my book about life in Central Minnesota...

Ready for my fitting

I have my first dress fitting Monday. I'm feeling pretty good about it. To get ready I had to go buy a bra and what they call "shapers." You know what I'm talking about, that great little invention that sucks everything in and gives you that sexy shape without spending hours in the gym and starving yourself.
So I went and got these important items and put them on and then tried on my dress. Then I looked in the mirror for awhile, went and sat down in it, looked in the mirror again, turned to check out the back... this went on for longer than it should have.
What can I say? I love my dress. The more I try it on, the more I love it. I love how I look in it, I love how comfortable it is. It's fantastic :)
Also, for those of you wondering, I lost 3.5 pounds this week! Awesome, huh? I probably have lost some inches too, I can tell that I look slimmer. Sehr gut!
Even Eli came up to me the other day, put his hands on my waste and said I was getting smaller. Gotta love that!

Bridesmaids dresses

Saturday we went and ordered bridesmaids dresses. It was the first time all the maids had gotten together and things went really well!

Of course I came in with the photo of the dress I wanted and was ready to go. The lady at the store told me I was the "easiest bride ever." I told her I wanted that dress and wanted to make sure they had the colors I wanted: dark blue and silver. She brought the swatches, I picked the colors out and we were good to go! Jaci tried on their sample to see how it looked and we all loved it :)

It's A-line and is duchess satin, so it has structure. It flows away from the hips and thighs and is flattering on everyone! I love the dress so much that I wish I could wear it :)

I'm letting the maids pick out their own shoes and jewelry so they can show their own style. They seem to all agree that silver shoes are the way to go.

I couldn't imagine doing things any differently. I found the dress online and had sent links to all the girls, asking what they thought. They all liked it, obviously. I saw several groups where girls were trying on dozens of dresses. Sure some chicks like this, but I knew my ladies wouldn't.

I could see bringing one maid in to try on some styles, but bring eight in and have them all try different ones on? No thanks.

We went to lunch after and had a great afternoon! Britt and Jaci said they have never been so involved in the planning before and have had so little stress. That's the whole point! I don't want them to be stressed out at all. I just want them to be there on the big day and have a great time!

Anyway, here's a picture of Jaci vamping it up for the camera in the sample dress.

Tanning?

I've been debating for awhile about how I should tan before the wedding. I'm usually really against tanning beds for the obvious reasons. But I have this crazy tan line on my back from sitting at Eli's baseball game last summer. I was burned really bad and the tan line is still there (plus a whole batch of freckles).
So I'd like to go to a tanning bed to even it out. I considered just doing the spray on tan, but I did that before going to Mexico and wasn't really impressed. I got some color, but it didn't last and got streaky when I shaved my legs.
I'm wondering how soon I should start this tanning process. I have super pale skin so I will likely burn. Is there a way I can gradually build it up so I won't burn? I thought about waiting until summer and do it naturally, but that never works out. I always get weird tan lines and can't control how much sun I get.
Any thoughts or advice out there?

The weight of it

I recently read a New York Times article about how most brides think the most important thing to do before their wedding is to lose weight. There's even a show on Oxygen (or is it WE?) where trainers and nutritionists come and scare women into losing weight before their big day. The brides squeeze themselves into their dresses and the trainers poke at them and show them their back fat.
I hate these shows.
But I am in the same boat. I would like to lose 10 or 15 pounds before the wedding. I've been trying to lose the same 10 pounds since January with little success, but it's time to get on the ball! I'm obviously not trying to dramatically change my body, mostly I just want to feel great.
So Monday I'm starting strong. I'm trying to get on a regular schedule where I work out in the morning and take a walk after work, now that the days are longer. A lot of problems come from work. It's nearly impossible to live a healthy lifestyle while a reporter. I look around the newsroom and I don't see anyone with a healthy work/life balance.
Breaking news will happen at 4 p.m. and I'll be there until 10 p.m. No time for a dinner break, so editors order cheap, crappy pizza. And at my work they always reward you with food. Nice work, have a treat! Like you're some kind of puppy. And it's always ice cream or some cake with a frosting you can use to fill holes in the wall (that is actually easy to say no to).
Anyway... my math shows I need to lose two pounds a month to get down 10 pounds by Oct. 18. I know I can do that. I lost a good deal of weight in college while working full time at the student newspaper and having an internship. So I can totally do it.
I'm actually hoping that by writing about it here that I will be able to stick to my goal. It makes me feel like I'm held accountable. So we'll see what happens!

Delegating

I've decided that I need to delegate a couple of things. I'm just sick of making phone calls and having no one call back. I wish I had a wedding planner, it would make my life so much easier! Bring me three choices and I will pick one. That would be so great.
Anyway, I'm having my mom and sister figure out ceremony music. I'm not even sure if my sister knows this, but she'll figure it out when she reads this! I'm just sick of making inquiries and people will respond once but get back to me when I try to set up an appointment to meet. And Eli and I aren't too picky about music for the ceremony, so it'll be fine.
I also have officially put Eli in charge of the groom's dinner. I was making some of the plans but it got too stressful so I told him to deal with it. If I need to make calls for him (because he works all the time), that's fine. But he just needs to decide who I need to call and what I need to say to them.
Hopefully this will relieve some of the stress! Now if I could just get the officiant to call me back...

Wedding talk

This weekend we discussed all things wedding with my parents. I lasted a good 20 minutes before I handed the planning book to Eli and told him to do it all!!
But we're entering another busy time. We have to finish registering, meet with florists, meet with a pianist for the ceremony, get together with the pastor, get tuxes and bridesmaids dresses and have a meeting at the St. Paul Hotel.
Right now I'm trying to coordinate a Saturday in May when my mom and I can get some of this done. We'll see how that goes.
I also think I need to go to option B for invitations. The ones that I like aren't suitable for inserts (for directions and sites to see while in St. Paul) so I may have to change my game plan.
Then I may have to find a new hairstylist. The woman my mom was going to have do our hair may not be able to do up dos- something at least two bridesmaids want. So that may be a no go.
My mom also told me she added some people to the guest list and she has to send me an updated list. So we'll see what that looks like.
I also need to find readings for the ceremony. I don't want to do the typical Bible readings, I want something more personal. I enlisted Bridesmaid Britt to help me do this, it's right up her alley. I just have to make sure she does so in a timely fashion ;)
Then we also talked about the ceremony and whether we're doing a unity candle. Eli and I think they're kind of cliche, but my mom is worried that the ceremony is going to be super short. And Eli says "Well, we can do it to add some filler space." Totally the right reason to do a unity candle, right?
Oh and now my whole plan for the rehearsal dinner is up in the air. My mom is questioning whether we need to have a whole big thing and thinks we should just have a dinner party at her house with the wedding party. I'm starting to lean that way... but I hate changing plans. I just want to figure out what we're doing and do it. I hate going back and forth, you know?
Man. Lots to do...

Don't forget the placemats!

Eli and I registered today at Bed, Bath and Beyond. It was a little overwhelming and took two hours to do, but I think we did well.
We registered for almost all the day-to-day staples there because they have a great selection. Eli is worried, though, that people are just going to go to Target instead because that's where everyone registers. He thinks they will for get about BBB.
So if you are reading this and know you'll be invited to our wedding, go to BBB and not Target. We are going to register at Target but not for as many items
At BBB we registered for our every day dishes and silverware. Eli picked out his knives and cookware. It was pretty fun to watch him pick out what he wanted- these are big decisions! Have you ever seen anyone who actually knows how to cook pick out knives? He carefully touched each blade and held the handle to see how it fit. Pretty funny.
We did alright, though. I didn't even get crabby! That's a big deal for me :)
I'm excited to register at Macy's. We'll go to the downtown Minneapolis store for that. There we'll register for our nice stuff: China, crystal stemware, and silver flatware. Very nice!

Baby, oh, baby!

Three of my cousins are pregnant and due this summer/fall. One's due in June, another a month before the wedding and the third is due two days before the wedding.
Don't these people know there's a wedding in October!!!! Kidding :)

Also, has anyone been to a bridal show? I went with my sister when she got married and was slightly overwhelmed. I really don't see a point in going, I have all my vendors lined up already. And I would just get annoyed by all the brides anyway, just like I did while shopping for dresses!

Thirdly, I'm debating where to register at. We're definitely going to Target and Macy's. But then I can't decide between Crate and Barrel and Bed, Bath, and Beyond. You get nice stuff at Crate and Barrel, but there isn't a store in the St. Cloud area. But at Bed, Bath and Beyond you get a lot of practical stuff. Thoughts?

New furniture

Alright, so this doesn't have anything to do with the wedding, but... you know.

We got new bedroom furniture this week with our tax money. For the first time we are now sleeping on a queen-sized bed instead of a full bed. I didn't think it would be that big of a deal, but it makes a huge difference. I can move around without waking up Eli, it's great!

Also, there's something grown up about having a bedroom set. For so many years I've had a mish-mash of furniture of cheap stuff that you put together yourself. Now I have the real deal and my bedroom is full instead of looking half done. I just have to put up curtains and the room is finished!

Anyway here are some pictures:

And yet another dream...

Last night I dreamt that only two people showed up to our wedding: My friend from work and this girl I went to high school with and really hated.
I may be slowly driving myself crazy.

Invitations Part 2

Eli and I stumbled upon some invitations today. First we found some packs at Office Max that would include just about everything but you have to print them up. But then we found some at Party America that you can order that are not that expensive. Then I don't have to worry about printing up everything.
There was one style that we both liked called Seal and Send. The whole invitation is one long piece of paper that folds up. It includes the invitation and response card. Pretty nice, especially since most invitations waste so much paper. I don't want anything fancy. Just clean and simple.
We also want to get thank you cards, menu cards, name cards and programs. So we'll meet with the parents and discuss.
But I'm happy that it's not as hard as I thought. Just order them up and I don't have to spend a million dollars! Another thing down...

My hair

I kind of have an idea for my look for the wedding. I have the dress, I know what shoes I want and a very good friend is making a necklace for me! It's going to be awesome.
But I don't know what I'm going to do with my hair. I think I'm going to start growing it out a bit so I have some options.
I'm not going to wear it up cause I'm going to wear my glasses. I will probably get some crap, but I want to look like a polished version of myself. Almost everyone in my life knows me for my cute glasses. They're my fashion signature! Right Britt??
So I can't wear my hair up, cause that would look weird. But if it's long enough maybe I can do a messy chignon (spelling?). Or maybe I'll just wear it down. Who knows.
Big problems, right? ;)

The Kari Freakout

The Kari Freakout is legendary. Just ask my mom and sister. It usually comes during times of being overwhelmed and feeling like I have no control. It includes crying and questioning and is followed by copious amounts of sleep.
My whole freshman year of college was a Kari Freakout.
I had said freakout last night. I'm overwhelmed with wedding plans, my job is super stressful, I'm stressed about Eli's business and I'm worried about finances. Which is dumb because our finances are fine, even great if you consider we're a young couple who are just embarking on our careers and have a new house.
But every day all I read and hear about is how awful the housing market is, how the economy is in the toilet, gas prices are up and the dollar is weak.
And I walk around my house and see things that I want to fix or do, but not sure where the money will come from to do it.
And I make wedding plans and see the bills pile up and even though my parents are being incredibly generous and paying, I can't help but feel some guilt.
And then Eli is reading all these books about finances and how to save money and he keeps talking about money and it's not helping. Again, Eli, it's not helping!!!
And all I want to do is just take a really long nap.
Of course this could just all be PMS.

Two years and counting!

Today is Eli and my two-year anniversary. Can you believe it? I can't. Two years ago today Eli took me to Old Chicago for a couple of beers and then we went to Bravos. Our first date was eight hours long because we sat and talked the whole time. A good start, I think.
I wasn't so sure about him at the end of the night. What angle was this guy trying to pull? He was so nice and I wasn't used to that. But he dropped me off and didn't even try to kiss me, which surprised me. I mean, seriously, who wouldn't want to kiss me??
He called the next day and was very sweet. He told me he had a great time and wanted to see me again. I said yes and sealed my fate!
Today also marks the six-month anniversary of our engagement. I really can't believe that! I still remember how nervous he was when he asked me to marry him. That's a good sign, too, because it shows that he took it seriously!
Two down and 64 more to go!

Invitations

Next on my planning list for the wedding is picking out invitations. How do you even do that? Where do you find invitations? How do you make them? How do you choose? There are all these places in the wedding magazines, but they charge way too much. $900 for 100 invites? No thanks.
I know you can make your own and buy stuff at Michael's but they're a little generic.
I've seen some really cool invitations but I don't know where people got them. And we all make choices on what to spend money on and I really don't want to spend a lot of money on invitations.
Can't I just use reporter notebook paper and write down the details? That would be kind of charming, right?
Maybe not. For you readers, if you know of Web sites with invitations that are cheap and nice, post them on the comments!!!! I beg you :)

Terrible dreams

For the past five nights I've had the most horrible dreams. The situation is always different but they end the sames way with Eli and I breaking up.
It's terrible. In one dream I actually gave him back the engagement ring and he didn't even care, which upset me (in the dream) a lot cause I was just trying to get his attention. Not really break up with him.
In the dreams he always ignores me and is rude and usually finds a new girlfriend. In one dream I did talk him into breaking up with the new gf, but he wouldn't get back together with me.
I think last night was the first night I didn't have this dream (or at least remember it). What's the deal? With all the wedding planning am I freaking out about what the worst thing good be in the midst of everything- that Eli just ups and leaves?
Anyone else out there have these dreams before they got married? They sound stupid, but the freak me out when I wake up in the morning, you know?

mmm mmm good!

Yay, my first blog. Bear with me as my writing skills are not as polished as Kari's.

As all of you know I went to culinary arts school and have worked with food ever since. Naturally I was very excited for the food tasting for our wedding.

Over the past year and a half or so Kari and I have attended about 6 or 7 weddings. To me one of the things I look forward to the most is dinner. The dinners have ranged from a very basic chicken, potatoes and veggies dressed up with almonds to a nice buffet with a chef station for carving roast beef and ham. So we have seen a wide variety of dinners and I am happy to say our dinner will be top notch!

We began the dinner by taking a seat at one of the many tables they had set up. Each table was set up differently so we could get an idea of the different plates, flatware, linens, napkins folds that the hotel had to offer.

There was also 4 different stations set up: One table had some dry snacks and a gift bag that they can make for guests at the hotel. Another had the hors d'oeuvre and wine, the next one had cake and a dessert tray. Last but not least they had dinner set up buffet style.

when we sat down they passed the hors d'oeuvre and poured champagne and sparkling apple cider. The hors d'oeuvre were very elegant and delicious. I loved them! I also really like the sparkling apple cider, it was surprisingly good. While the champagne was champagne.

After our coordinator gave a short talk we were free to go try everything. Of course who was first in line at the buffet? This guy! I grabbed some of every single item they had set out, and the only thing i didn't relly like was the salmon. Other than that everything was fantastic. There was no overcooked dry chicken or anything like that so i was quite pleased.

After I ate my weight in dinner I stopped over at the dessert table and grabbed one of everything there and a slice of cake, which was a chocolate cake with bailey's cream in side and espresso or mocha frosting. Everything looked beautiful and tasted as good as it looked.

As we were leaving the hotel I cam across a nice surprise. Kari and I were waiting out in the cold for the valet to bring up our car, and this guy walks past and I thought to myself gee that guy looks like Dominik Hasek. Then i noticed he was carrying a Detroit Red Wings duffle bag and got into the bus. I was like thats right they are playing the wild tonight. The Red Wings were loading the bus as we were leaving. As many of you could imagine i got pretty excited. I saw Pavel Datsuk, Nick Lidstrom, Henrick Zetterberg, and Chris Chelios. I hope that is a good omen of things to come for our wedding. I hope this blog wasn't too long and I look forward to blogging again!

Eli has entered the building!

Eli can now blog here. Now you can get a different perspective on this whole wedding planning scenario. Maybe even a manifesto on the food!

I hate the phone!

At work a majority of my day is spent on the phone, making calls. I try to get a hold of people in hopes they will talk to me on the record and possibly give me a story idea.
This excessive phone use means that when I'm at home, I want to spend as little time as possible on the phone. I'd rather text, e-mail or send message by pigeon. Each weekend I make a point to call my parents and maybe my sister (if she's lucky!). Sometimes I may call the grandparents.
But when planning a wedding I soon realized that making phone calls is part of the deal. A few weeks ago I was making numerous calls after a miscommunicaton over hotel rooms.
Now I have so many calls to make that I've made a list. I have to call the DJ to bug him to send me a copy of the contract, call the dress shop about bridesmaids dresses, and call to confirm honeymoon reservations (that one I realized as I typed this).
Not to mention that I have to make three doctors appointments (general, eye and dental), refill a perscription (over the phone because I lost my password for online), and change Eli's name on our mortgage (they have him as Eli Petrie... this change should have been made long ago, but it didn't happen).
Of course, I could farm some of this out to Eli. But any of you who know him know he's a bit worthless over the phone (sorry Muffin but it's true!). He tends to talk in circles and confuses even himself about why he's calling.
Being that I'm on the phone all day at work, I'm direct and make the call as quick as possible.
But man I hate it! A two-minute phone call always ends up taking 10 minutes.
So I've made a list of all the calls I need to make. It has 11 items and I will do one a day. I will start that list tomorrow.

Oh and the food!

Last night we went to the tasting for the wedding. It is one of the things I'm really looking forward to when it comes to the wedding.
There were about 40 people there, brides and their grooms. Some parents and even a few bridesmaids. It was funny to see the different people who were all planning their weddings. You had the career-oriented 30-somethings who are just remembering to get married and the people Eli calls the yuppie d-bags. Looking around I could just picture what dress each bride would wear. It would be a strapless poofy princess dress for the woman with dozens of streaks in her straight hair. The tall, thin woman next to me would be wearing something trendy that would cling to her body, perhaps with a mermaid bottom.
Oh and the woman and her daughter who kept asking questions? Nothing will be spared for the princess!
At first I thought Eli and I looked like the youngest couple, but we were sitting next to a pair who looked like they were in high school.
But let's get to the food...
They had six entrees and two vegetarian options. Piles of deserts and cake. Plenty of hor deuvs (I can't spell that word).
Eli did his duty and piled his plate high with everything. He made his way around like a clock, carefully putting each bite in his mouth. He would taste and then explain to me what was good or bad. Oh the mushrooms! They are so hard to find and so delicious! But this potato, yuck. You can barely dig into it.
He cleared his plate one portion at a time, while the mother across from him stared in wonder. How can a man that size put so much food in him?
I ask myself the same question every day as I poke at my own thighs.
And then he went back for a little more. He forgot to get some of the potatoes that went with the beef!
In the end our choices were pretty unanimous. We got to pick two entrees and a vegetarian option.
We picked vegetarian squash ravioli (which was probably the best thing they had out there), bacon wrapped beef filet in a black rasberry sauce and fingerling potatoes, chicken breast picatta with pasta and field greens for the salad.
Yes, our guests will eat well!

Bridal magazines

I have a bit of a magazine obsession. I subscribe for four, keep myself from subscribing to two more and always find something at the newsstand.
But now that I'm getting married a whole new world of magazines has opened up to me: the world of bridal magazines.
I've gotten a lot of them. I have a stack of maybe a dozen in my house.
Lord knows I can't throw any of them away, I may need to refer back to one later! Honestly, I have done this. I've looked at invitations and marked pages for wedding dresses that I liked.
I even got my color themed from Martha Stewart Weddings. Oh and Real Simple just came out with a wedding magazine- I can't wait to pick up that one!
But the thing is that as I come along further in my wedding plans, the less I get out of the magazines. I picked up the new issue of the Knot this weekend. They had 800 wedding dresses inside. Well I got about 10 pages in and realized I had my dress and didn't need to keep looking. So that took out about two-thirds of the magazine. And the rest is just advertisements for crappy bridesmaids gifts.
Really the thing I now like the most about those magazines is the part where they feature real weddings. Like the Knot had a wedding that was in Maryland, so everything was nautical themed. Too cute!
But at $5 a pop is it really worth it? Likely not. I'll just be like everyone else and read them at the bookstore and never buy!

Ooh la la!

We've made our honeymoon plans and I'm so excited about it! We're going to the Bluefin Bay on Lake Superior for three days and two nights. Not exactly as long as I would like, but neither one of us can take much time off from work.
Check it out at: http://www.bluefinbay.com/
We got a super nice room with a fireplace and jacuzzi that is overlooking the lake. We also got the romantic package, which includes free dinner and breakfast and champagne in your room.
This place is so great, it's been named the best resort in Minnesota by a bunch of publications. You can hike, bike, snowshoe, play tennis. Do whatever.
We also are going one day after peak season ends, so we get a great deal on the room. And we all know how I like a deal!

Destination wedding

Sorry I haven't written in forever. We kind of hit a slump with wedding planning over the holiday season. But they are picking up again so I will have plenty to write!

We got back from Mexico last weekend. It was great. Nothing better than sitting on the beach drinking cranberry vodkas!

Every day there was a wedding held at our resort. It crossed our mind a couple of times how easy and fun it would have been to have a destination wedding. But then, of course few of our loved ones would be able to make it. We did take a picture at one of the set ups, joking that we would send it to my parents to make them think we eloped! That joke didn't pan out, but here are some photos:

This is the one we were going to send.

This is a view from our room! Nice, huh?

That's all I'm putting up for now... takes way too long to upload.