Dreams do come true

I was so afraid of being let down. I had been looking forward to this day for a very long time and I didn't want the big expectations to lead to a big disappointment. And just before the lights dimmed, somewhere between the popcorn, the laughter and the smiles, there was silence.

It was a bittersweet moment that Breanne, Monica and I shared where we realized - this was it. I'm not talking about the movie. I'm talking about life. I'm finally getting married and moving away. Breanne is just weeks (days) away from being a new mom. And Monica has been contemplating her next big adventure.

Things are changing. Life for the three of us will probably never be quite the same. How appropriate and how fitting that our last hurrah, the last time where we would probably all be together so footloose and fancy-free the way were in this moment, would be at this movie.

I can only say that I laughed and I cried for two and a half hours straight. And with a movie based around love, heartbreak, weddings, babies and friendship, I couldn't help but read between the lines. I couldn't help but see the similarities. And I wasn't disappointed; it was perfect. When my gut stopped hurting from laughing and my heart stopped hurting from crying, I wanted more. C'est la vie.

On my way home, I called my own Mr. Big. He waited up for me. He wanted to know how the story ended. If I liked it. If it was everything I hoped for. It was and more. Dreams do come true.

Finally...

The big day - the movie event of the year - is finally here! The Sex and the City movie opens today and I'll be reunited, once again, with my friends, Carrie, Samantha, Miranda and Charlotte. Monica's friend, Carrie (not to be confused with Carrie Bradshaw but still fabulous nonetheless!) got tickets a few days ago for us (and Breanne) and we are meeting up tonight for the big event; I can't wait!

The weekend will be exciting and busy for other reasons as well. My friend, Sara is coming to visit for the weekend and we'll be going to both Meera's and Breanne's baby shower. Also tomorrow night we have tickets to see Death Cab for Cutie (with Rogue Wave). Hurray for us!

Wedding checklist

With just a couple months left until the big day (two months from Wednesday!) I'm starting to get lots of things settled.

• Shoes. Today I finally bought wedding shoes. I had been looking for cute ivory sandals to wear and today I found the perfect pair. Even though we're getting married on the beach, and I'll likely be barefoot, I still wanted cute ivory sandals that match my dress to wear around the resort, to dinner that evening and in any off-beach photos we take.
• Cute ivory purse. I found said purse while buying the shoes. And, yes, I needed a coordinating purse for my beachfront wedding. Why not?
• Swimsuit. About three weeks ago I bought my swimsuit. Why swimsuits are so expensive for so little fabric I'll never know. I went ahead and splurged for this one...it actually fit and made me feel (and look) thin. I am embarrassed to admit that it cost six and a half times what my shoes cost. But it is my honeymoon, right?
• Swimsuit coverup. Cute, simple, cheap. (Not the coordinating one they tried to sell me with my suit for an extra $75. No thank you.)
• Music. This is one of those things that I do NOT get to cross off my list. We have the option of having traditional wedding music played during the ceremony or we can bring our own. I told Joe today that I wanted to play the Alison Krauss song, "When You Say Nothing at All." My clueless fiance looked up the song on iTunes while we were on the phone together. Next thing I know, he was mumbling something about purple blue jeans, gun racks and the NRA. Then I told him to look up, "Feels Like Home" by Chantal Kreviazuk. After this one, he started laughing. Sigh. Any ideas? (This means you, Nichole.) I think he'd probably give into me but at this point we'd probably both start laughing during the ceremony...I also think they'll use the songs we choose for our wedding dvd.

Grandma

I went to see my grandma today. She was misdiagnosed earlier in the week and she does not have congestive heart failure; she has pneumonia. She's still on a heavy amount of oxygen and having a hard time breathing. Thank you for all the continued prayers and concern.

Bits and pieces

Unless you read my blog by an RSS feed, you've probably already noticed I'm using some of the engagement photos Joe and I had taken a couple weeks ago in my layout. I still can't decide what pose we're actually going to use to frame or send out...decisions, decisions.

Work is impossibly busy these days. I was standing outside Panera this morning before they even opened and here with my coffee and at my desk at 6:15 a.m. Every day this week and most of last has been one huge hurdle after another...

Most importantly, my grandma is in the hospital. I'm not sure when she'll be going home but she's on oxygen right now and I'm told she has congestive heart failure. Please keep her in your prayers.

Sign of the times

A new installment of trash tv started tonight. One of the dudes on the show went on a few dates with my friend, Robin before promptly telling her that he had received a call back for the show in LA and thus he didn't want to see her again. Go figure. Should be an interesting season.

Hip Hip Hooray

I was bummed to learn the New Kids would be in Chicago the same day I would be in Kansas City for Kim's wedding. What a coincidence, right? Well they've added another Chicago date! I might just be able to make a show after all!

Missing him

We all know that I've felt a little sadness and anxiety about leaving this town that I love so much. It's comfortable here. I have friends. And a routine. I have felt sad about leaving my job and scared about going somewhere new. Starting over. Tonight after work I was driving home still stressed from a very long week - and a hard day - with lots of new projects thrown into the mix and needing to unwind. I started running through my list of friends who could just go hang out on the fly and realized that virtually everyone I knew had other commitments. Other priorities. I felt sad. Lonely. More than anything, I just wanted to be with my best friend; I wanted to be with Joe in a bustling and fabulous city, sitting somewhere great, eating appetizers and drinking Pinot Grigio talking about my day. I miss him and I am so lucky to have found my soulmate. I really can't wait to be with him and it makes the moving and all of the change worthwhile. I settled for spending the evening with a true and amazing friend nonetheless. I hung out on Cristin's deck with her basking in the warm weather and enjoying the night. Tomorrow I get an hour and a half massage compliments of my darling fiance at my favorite spa - what a treat!

Extra dough

My friend, Tiffany blogged that she used her portion of her economic stimulus payment to buy an iPod. I used my stimulus payment to buy Joe's wedding band. Out of curiosity, what are you doing with your payment? Paying bills, saving, splurging or setting out on an adventure?

Donnie's girl

By now, I'm sure you all realize, if you didn't already know before, I was a huge NKOTB fan growing up. Loved them. Had a bedroom practically wallpapered with pages from Tiger Beat and any other teeny bopper magazine I could get my hands on. When my friend, Amber and I finally went to a concert it was a dream come true. (Three cheers for my cool parents for driving us and dropping us off!) So now that the reunion is happening, their new single is out this week and they are performing live for the first time in fifteen years on The Today Show this Friday, I am super psyched. I have found myself with some school-girl giddiness that I haven't seen for quite some time. (Maybe since Nichole and I had a run-in with Jordan a few years back.)

This brings me to my poll...Who was your favorite New Kid? Donnie was my favorite. I even had a button on my jean jacket that said, "I'm Donnie's girl." I also wrote him a very serious poem about how much I loved him and handed it to one of his security people after the concert I attended. I'd like to believe it's still floating around somewhere out there...

Who was/is your favorite New Kid?
	Jordan
	Jon
	Donnie
	Danny
	Joe
	Huh?
Free polls from Pollhost.com

Check

All wedding paperwork has been officially sent off and is currently en route to Florida and then once approved on to Jamaica. Sigh.

How exciting!

Out and about

Joe and I had a fun weekend together. On Saturday we were able to walk around campus for awhile. Below are a few of the photographs that we took. (Unfortunately construction was obstructing some of the best views.)

Joe and Thomas Jefferson. Hanging with Jefferson. On Francis Quadrangle looking at Jesse Hall.

Side view of the columns.

Feeling better

Already, Joe and I have finished registering, picked out wedding bands (one with lots of little, sparkly diamonds for me!) and we've had notarized copies of our birth certificates made so we can file our paperwork for our marriage license in Jamaica. We even took in a movie this afternoon and saw Redbelt. I can't remember the last time I went to a movie knowing nothing about it beforehand. I wasn't very excited to go but I ended up really, really liking it. Our photographer also called us this morning to see if we can reschedule our pictures at an earlier time tomorrow in order to try and beat the thunderstorms...I still have lots to do but I'm definitely feeling better.

Stressed

I'm feeling really stressed. Joe is supposed to be here this weekend and I'm really looking forward to that but my list of things to do is so long! Fortunately, he said he'd help me take care of things one by one. I honestly can't remember another time in my life where I've had so much going on...so many BIG things going on. We are supposed to have pictures taken on Saturday and scattered thunderstorms are in the forecast. And my apartment looks like a tornado has gone through it. And I have a late meeting tonight so no time to clean. And did I mention my list of things to do? Sigh.

A second chance

Just when I was lamenting about Bachelor-night with Taina and Rachel being over for good after next week’s final rose episode, I saw a commercial for the new Bachelorette series starting in two weeks. A reprieve! Long live Monday night trash tv!! Until I move…

Happy Saturday!

Monica and I decided to go out for a really bad dinner and bad service tonight. (I'm positive our server was running late for an NA meeting.) We made up for it by going to my favorite place in the entire world to see, Run Fat Boy Run. Okay movie but great atmosphere. Happy Saturday!

Friday

As my days and weeks here dwindle, I want to make the most of my time. Usually I am so ready to come home on Friday night after a long week at work and just veg in front of the tv. Tonight I just wanted to be with people; I wanted to be with friends. Luckily for me, Taina and Bryndyn had me over for dinner and then I went to listen to live music with Josh and Meagan. I'd have to say, it was the perfect night - thanks friends!

The happy couple

Some of my friends and I were talking about the budding romance between John Mayer and Jennifer Aniston (no, apparently we don't have better things to do) when my friend, Monica piped up and confirmed John's hotness. Well being the resident artist and Photoshop extraordinaire that she is, Nichole came up with a photo of the happy couple. I thought it was too funny not to share. Why the dog? This comes just on the heels of Monica telling us about a dream she had recently where she gave birth to a chihuahua. I thought it was hilarious but maybe you just had to be there...