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.