A week in pictures

Burr Oak Tree estimated to be over 300 years old.
Coworkers/friends (Jodi, Lori, Jessica, Keri, me and Sue).
The girls (Rach, Tia, Taina, Meera, Monica and Breanne).

One week to go

Well this is it. One week from now I'll be unemployed in Chicago and unpacking. Yikes! These past five months have flown by.

Today was my last day at my church here. I've been pretty good at keeping myself together. In fact, my tears have been at a minimum this past week and already I've told several people goodbye. (Go me!) Anyone who knows me well knows that I'm a "crier" and that it's something I do rather well so I'm hoping this trend continues during my last week here...hopefully I don't jinx myself. I know I will come back and visit so even though I hate goodbyes I keep trying to keep things in perspective.

I'm still obsessing over my move and whether or not I'll fit everything in my truck. The bigger truck is twice as much money so I'm taking my chances...I won't breathe easy until we are done loading it. I still have a little packing to do. Mostly clothes and linens. I'm starting to feel a little guilty about how many shoes I have. In my defense, I did take two pairs along with a car load of stuff to Goodwill which was a huge deal for me. I hate getting rid of things. I've definitely inherited that gene because it runs in my family. I notice that each time I move I'm getting less and less sentimental. But, yes, I found letters from my girlfriends dating back to college and even my leftover name cards from my high school graduation and copies of cover letters I'd written eight years ago. Sad. I did pitch a lot of things but I am still a Sentimental Sally.

Joe deserves big props for getting his house in order for me. He's been cleaning out the garage, cleaning out closets, removing an eyesore of a desk, etc. He also knows how much I love to take baths and his bath tub drain and spout doesn't really work (it works for showers) so he's getting that fixed this week. I know he's trying to make things nice for me and he's even cleaning out his entire bedroom closet to make way for me. I guess it's fair to say we both have a lot of work to do this week.

A week in pictures

Moving bites

Meagan started moving today into a new place. She took time away from her own packing and unpacking to help me pack. That makes her an absolute rock star and a gem of a friend. Thanks, Meagan. With the help of the packing expert I feel like I've actually made a dent and have accomplished something. It's a good feeling.

This is where I need your help. I am renting a Budget truck because it ended up being way cheaper than U-Haul. I have the choice between a 16-foot truck and a 24-foot truck. Nothing in between. I live in a 2-bedroom apartment and the 16-foot truck says it's for 3 to 4 rooms. The 24-foot truck is for 8 rooms. I opted for the 16-foot but I'm starting to second guess myself. I have two beds, couch, large coffee table, small table and four small chairs, very small (tiny) patio table with two chairs, chair and ottoman, rocking chair, dresser, misc. table, antique cabinent, treadmill (which I could take or leave - obviously) and desk. Oh and about 100 boxes of "stuff" and 800 pairs of shoes. Am I okay with the 16-foot truck or should I get something bigger? I don't want to spend the extra money on the truck and more fuel if it's not necessary. Thoughts? Opinions? Advice?

Quality Control

I had lunch with my friend Barb today. I knew ahead of time what salad I was going to order because it always comes with a particularly yummy and buttery roll that I love. Today the roll was absent. When the salad came and the waiter asked if everything looked okay or if we needed anything else I said, "Um, yeah, doesn't the salad usually come with a roll?" He told me that they discontinued the rolls about a month ago due to a quality issue. Huh?

Read all about it

My crazy (and extremely creative) coworkers made quite the card for me - I love it! Don't they know me well? What's even funnier is that at least one of them thought Joe actually had a neck tattoo when they saw it for the first time (fortunately that was just Photoshopped). Enjoy!

Adyson is nine months old

Happy Fourth

Last year during the fourth of July, I'd only been in my apartment for two weeks. After being on vacation and working, I was still getting settled and unpacking. This year, I'm spending the day packing. Blah. I have also been under the weather this week and went to the doctor to find out I have some sort of bacterial infection which has been pretty annoying and I haven' t felt like doing much of anything. The most exciting part of my day, thus far, consisted of watching the annual Nathan's hot dog eating competition on ESPN. And because Kobayashi and Chestnut had to go into a tie-breaking round it was a real nail-biter. Back to packing.

Sacrifices

I'm missing my first John Mayer concert tonight. Well the first one that I've purposely missed in MO in the past seven years or so that I've liked him. With my concert buddy still settling in as a new mommy and with all my upcoming moving/wedding expenses, I just couldn't justify it. So I feel a little sad about it but maybe that's just another sacrifice of adulthood. Honestly, it kinda sucks.

Sound-off

Lots of stuff to take care of these days. It's always such a pain to move and change your address 500 times. I'm sure after I get the address changed, I'll be changing my name 500 times on every thing. The stickers on my car are due in July so that is my first order of business once I move - new license plates! Joe says this (license plates, changing my address and name) will give me something to do when I get to Chicago and it will force me to drive around and keep busy. Not to sound pessimistic but I think I'll have enough to keep me busy...like unpacking!

And speaking of my car, I took it in today because it's been making this weird noise for the past month and a half. (And other people have heard the noise so, contrary to popular belief, it's not just me.) Anyway, I take it in and of course they can't hear it. So I'm fully expecting to pick up my car and make the guys drive around with me so I can say, "See! That noise! I told you. Ha." but they are gone to lunch. So I leave in my car for lunch, too. And guess what? No noise. Nada. I went back to work. I don't know whether to be happy or frustrated. Joe thinks maybe my car is in remission but I think it's just playing tricks on me.

I received my cable bill last night for my internet and it was more than twice the cost it usually is with no explanation. It even shows where I paid my bill last month and it was at a different cost. So I called last night and was on hold for over 35 minutes (and once I was even randomly disconnected). Finally I got so frustrated that I hung up for good and called it a night. I called today and got someone right away who was fairly helpful but I was still a little annoyed from last night. She told me that when she hung up to stay on the line and I could take an automated survey about my experience. Satisfaction! Next thing you know I hear the dial tone and she's hung up on me and the survey is not to be. Is it just me or are cable and cell phone companies almost always known for bad customer service?

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.

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...