Times are a changin'

One month from today I'll be married. It almost doesn't seem possible. I also packed my first box today and am finding things to take to Goodwill. So much to do. The next three weeks will go by quickly.

The first of many

I was at a stoplight this morning with nothing more on my mind than the latte I was getting ready to stop for when I saw the driver of the van in front of me stick his head out the window and start waving along with the passenger. It was Taylor and Heather. I waved back and was happy to see them. Presumably they were headed out of town for good on their way to their new home in Texas. Strangely enough, I had called on Wednesday afternoon on my way into town from Chicago to see if I could stop by and tell them goodbye. Nobody answered so instead I went to Walmart before heading home. Guess who was at Walmart? I told Heather goodbye inside and went outside to to tell Taylor goodbye. I thought I was tough; I wasn't going to cry. I couldn't get sad about them leaving town since I was leaving, too. But before I knew it, I was crying in the parking lot at Walmart. I felt a little ridiculous so I quickly made my way back to my car. I've never been very good at saying goodbye. In fact, I'm downright bad at it. This is just the first of many goodbyes that will be said over the next few weeks; I'm hoping it gets easier.

The good, the bad and the ugly

I got back from Chicago this afternoon. He's the run down. (I'm sure I could bore you with more but I'll be brief.)

Positives

• I think my interview went very well. It seems that they'll be interviewing another candidate and will have a final decision in a few weeks. If I get the job, I am pleased with the commute as it doesn't seem too bad (at least for Chicago!).
• We went to see Get Smart; I loved it!
• It was good to see Joe and to start thinking about what I'm going to do with all my stuff in a few weeks. I started thinking about what should go in each room of the house. And I feel confident we'll manage and make room...now I just need to start packing!

Negatives

• Joe's car was in the shop so he had a rental for four days. And with wedding and moving expenses, money is just getting even tighter these days.
• I somehow managed to lose my favorite sweater. Not an expensive sweater but a beige sweater I often wear; it's comfy and it goes with everything. I realized today that I didn't have it and Joe called a couple of the restaurants we went to over the past couple days and it's nowhere to be found. I'm sad.
• We sat down to watch Margot at the Wedding and halfway through the movie the Netflix dvd refused to play. I have no idea what becomes of Margot or the wedding.
• My train ride today was an extra hour longer than it was supposed to be...turns out some train signals were out due to storms yesterday so we were crawling at 30 mph in several spots.

Meet Grayson

Isn't he absolutely adorable? And I hear he's doing so well he may be coming home tomorrow!

Sweet T

I had dinner last night with Taina and Tia at one of their favorite spots. It was a great way to cap off "Taina Week." (I was dubbing it "Taina Week" because we got to hang several times.) Tia is so smart. She never ceases to amaze me. She was talking politics, the fact that she wanted to be a doctor, driving, etc. She's three! I'm not even kidding. Anyway, here is the super cute picture of her from last night.

Amber's sense of humor

Future endeavors

I am making a last-minute trip to Chicago this weekend for a job interview that I have early next week. I might be jinxing myself by talking about it but I've never been one for secrecy...anyway, it sounds totally "me" so I really hope it works out! I figure I might as well talk about it; I can use all the prayers and good vibes that I can get.

Grayson

He's here! Breanne and Dan welcomed Grayson Isaac today at 5:40 a.m. He is 7 lbs 5 oz and 20 1/2 inches long with light colored hair. Grayson will be at Cardinal Glennon for heart surgeries to come in the next few days. Please keep him and his parents in your prayers. Updates can be found at his blog.

Bachelorette Party

I had such a good time with the girls last night. We went to my favorite pizza spot (one of my favorite spots in general) and then out for some more fun. (Dorian has some great video that I need to get!)

It all went down hill from here.
Pretty in pink.
Sara, Amber and Diane (also known as the life of the party).
Monica and Kimmy.
Cristin and Robin.

Meagan, me and Meggan.
Me, Meera, Dorian and Ellen.

Taina and Micah.

Beach party!

My wonderful friends from church threw me a shower today. It was an island paradise and so much fun! The beautiful hostesses (Michelle, Taina, Linda and Sharita).
My sea shell cake. Check out all this delicious food!
Me and Taina
My niece, Adyson came for the festivities, too. (Check out those jellie shoes.)
Taina and Adyson

For fun

Cristin gave me this hilarious card last weekend. I thought it was too cute to not share.

She had been in New York City the day before and picked up a new driver's license for me which was tacked to the inside of the card. How fun is that?

P is for picnic

The gals at work had a get-together in my honor tonight. Check out this awesome picnic basket.
Looks like just the thing for movies in the park or other fun Chicago adventures.
Back row, left to right: Christy, Karen, Cristin. Front row, left to right: Debby, Debbie and me.

Showered with love

My friends and family had a shower for me today in my hometown. It was such a great day and I am so blessed with such true and amazing friends. Below are just a few of the highlights.
Me, my sister Cathy (co-hostess), Baby Adyson and my mom
Me and Jo Ann (Joe's mom)
Monica, me and Breanne
Me and Meagan

Amber (co-hostess) and me

Nat and me

Joe came to eat cake and pack up the car.

Random happiness

I spent the weekend with Joe and his mom (Jo Ann) in my hometown as they were visiting my family and Jo Ann was attending my bridal shower. We spent much of Saturday touring the local sites.
Cool Adyson

Too cute for words

How precious is Joseph? I love this photo of him...all that hair and that puppy on his shirt. Ahh. So cute!

And just to be totally fair, I'm posting a picture of five-year-old moi in kindergarten. (I'm wearing my beloved Annie locket.)

My first party

My friends (who also just happen to be former coworkers) decided to host a bridal shower/gathering for me tonight. How nice was that? I had an absolutely wonderful time catching up. Thank you!

Side note: It's amazing how you can spend so much time with coworkers. You will probably end up spending more time with these people than you do your other friends, family members or significant other. I have been so blessed in my life, so far, to count my coworkers (current and former) amongst my list of friends and am so pleased that we still keep in touch. I couldn't imagine it any other way!

Back row, left to right: Tiffany, Becky and Bonni. Front Row, left to right: Linda, Jennifer, Barb and me.

"Love makes a house a home" plaque from Becky. (You will have to excuse the not-so-amazing hair but it was windy!)

"Never forget to kiss each other goodnight" platter from Barb.

Sizes

I've spent the last couple of hours going through clothes in my closet and trying things on. I'm embarrassed to admit I have over forty pairs of jeans and pants spanning four different sizes. The smallest I wore three years ago. The same goes for skirts and dresses. Maybe this is why I like shoes so much because my feet never change. At any rate, I feel somewhat good because I'm able to wear a few pairs of pants that I know I couldn't have just a couple months ago and the largest sizes are now baggy and too big. It's progress however slow it might seem. But looking at all those pretty and small clothes just hanging around makes me feel kinda sad, too. My biggest dilemna will be what to do with a large walk-in closet full of clothes when I have to downsize to a very small closet at Joe's house. I'm not sure I trust myself to get rid of all my sizes nor do I want to part with what remains of my former self.

Good times

Sara and I had such a fun Saturday together. It was action-packed. Lunch, Meera's baby shower, shopping, Breanne's baby shower and dinner, the Death Cab concert and then talking at home until 1:30 in the morning.

It's been a long time since we've had some one-on-one girl time together and I had forgotten how much mischief we used to get into. No mischief over the weekend unless you count Sara, Monica and I forgetting to pay for our dinner and leaving the very pregnant Breanne to pick up the tab (Sorry Breanne!) but just getting together reminded me of all the shenanigans of years' past. And, trust me, there were a lot of shenanigans!

We first met in study hall during our freshman year of high school. She was the new kid and she thought I was the loud girl who talked too much. It wasn't until our sophmore year that we really clicked and became inseparable. Sixteen years later, we're still great friends. Like a lot of friendships, we get busy and weeks can pass without us talking but we both know that we're always there for the other and that's a comforting and beautiful feeling. Thanks for the great weekend, Sara.