8.28.09

I haven't killed him, and he hasn't run away: it must be love! Happy one year anniversary to us!

Seriously, a whole year? Where did the time go? You blink and boom! the newlywed period is done with.

It's honestly a kind of sad day for me too. As happy a day as my wedding day was, think of it makes me sad, since those memories are some of the last I have of my mom. I know I've touched on missing my mom, but I don't think I've talked a whole lot about it in blog-world. Long story short(er): My sister and I decided to do our weddings back-to-back, mine on the 28th and hers on the 29th. They were both very tiny--not much more than a ceremony and dinner--but it was just what we wanted. All our family would already be in town, so we figured it would be a perfect and low key way to do things (neither of us have ever had big fancy wedding dreams). We honestly never expected our mom to be able to attend. She'd been very sick with emphysema for many years and leaving the house was not easy. She was a very strong/stubborn woman though, and she made it to both. It was the best day of my life. It was too much on her body though, and she went into distress toward the end of my sister's dinner and was taken to the hospital. She spent nearly a month in the ICU and passed away on September 25. She was on a ventilator the whole time, as well as heavily sedated with propfol/diprovan (the "Michael Jackson drug"), so even though she didn't pass away til September, my sister and I really count this weekend as the time we truly "lost" her.

It's been a rough and rocky year, I'll be very honest. My mom was my best friend. We talked every day. And I don't care what people say, making the adjustment to married life is tough (especially when, like me, you haven't lived with someone else since your college dorm mate). So much had changed, and my usual rock wasn't there for me. I wanted to be happy and experience the "newlywed bliss" everyone talks about, but it was so hard. Sometimes Hubby just didn't understand. And I guess I can't blame him, he's (thank God) never lost a parent. I'd hold all my feelings inside, then he'd say/do something trivial and I would explode. I'm a very independent person who hates "dumping" on others, but I've learned that the only way to get through this is to lean on him. I know he genuinely cares. We certainly tested the "for better or for worse" aspect of our vows immediately. If we can get through this, I think we can get through just about anything. I'm a lucky gal.

I know my mom, and my mom would want her baby girl to celebrate today. So how 'bout some wedding pictures? Everone likes looking at random peoples' wedding pictures...right? Sure.


I loved my bouquet so much (Yup, that's the one I use as my profile photo. Gerber daisies and cerise roses, with the stems wrapped in polka dot ribbon).


One my fave photos of my dad and me.


One "traditional" wedding element we did, despite my lack of love for dancing, was a first dance. I We picked "She's Everything" by Brad Paisley.


I wanted a pretty sunset picture, and I certainly got it.


I loved our sweet little cake! 2 tiers, one my fave flavor (red velvet) and one of Hubby's (carrot cake). I promise I only used that ribbon on the cake and the bouquets. I swear I was not "that girl with the polka dot wedding". I love polka dots, but I know my limits.

I really did love our wedding. We rented an old Southern estate home in a beautiful lakefront park in Orlando and had dinner catered in. Florida's typical summer thunderstorms ended just in time, and we held our ceremony under a gazebo as a rainbow formed overhead. It was simple, sweet, and totally unstuffy, yet still felt formal and important. We had a great dinner, drank lots of wine, and visited with our dear friends and family. My mom said it was the best wedding she'd ever attended, so that's one of the sweetest memories of the day. Plus I snagged myself a pretty darn amazing husband. It really was a perfect day.

Thanks for sharing my celebration! T.G.I.F.!

Me at my finest!

So I come strolling on into the office today, just carrying on and minding my own business. I stop outside our office manager's door to ask her how her daughter's first day of high school had gone the day before. I take my keys out of my pocket and put them in my tote bag.

Unbeknownst to me, something fell out of my pocket when I took out the keys.

That something, of course, rolls off down the hall. I continue blabbing about first days of school.

As my luck would have it, one of the attorneys leaves his office and comes down the hall at that point. He stops, looks at the object on the ground, picks it up and hands it to me.

"I think you dropped this...?"

Ya, you guessed it. A darling, super mega absorbency O.B. tampon. (I am still not 100% sure he knew what it was, which is what adds to the humor for me)

(Come to think of it, I am pretty sure I remember putting 3 in my pocket before I left the house this morning, now there are only 2. Good Lord, where's the other one? LOL---ya just gotta laugh sometimes!)

Passport PSA

Just a little reminder out there for those who are planning to travel out of the country: take a minute to go find your passport right now and check its expiration date.

My poor dad. He's had this golf trip to Costa Rica planned for months, and he was so excited. As he was packing last night, he flipped open his passport and about had a heart attack when he saw that it had expired in June.

He's totally beating himself over this (the other members of his foursome decided to stay home, so he feels like he ruined it for everyone). They're good for ten long years, you just assume it's still valid. Mom used to keep track of all these little details for him. After 35 years of that, it's hard to even know what there is to keep track of, ya know?

This was going to be his first trip since mom died. One "silly" little detail, and it's a no go. I just about cried when he told me. I know it's not the end of the world, but still. At the very least, it's $$$ down the drain.

So go, check your passports---yes, now! I don't care if you just got yours a year ago. Go take a good look at that expiration year and engrave it in your memory.

Dear Sephora....

Dear Sephora:

Pretty, pretty, pretty please get these items back in stock A.S.A.P.:




Candy corn, pumpkin spice muffin and candy apple 3-in-1's. I need them. Yes, I now the difference between "need" and "want", and this is certainly a need. This philosophy addict needs them. (I am using copious amounts of bold and italic to illustrate this, I hope my point is being made).

I will love you forever and never go near beauty.com again if you fulfill my wish.

Love n' hugs,

It's never too early to plan fun!

Today is Hubby's first day back at work for the new school year. Teacher pre-planning, wahooo! Ehhh, notsomuch. But what does everyone, students and teachers alike, look forward to? Spring Break! It is but a dot on the horizon now *sob*

Hubby's grandmother has been itching to go on a cruise, so we've decided to plan one for the end of March 2010. We just booked a 7 day Southern Caribbean cruise out of San Juan, PR. We've gotten Hubby's best friend, Traynor, to come along as well. Hopefully we can get a few more friends to book too!

Now, you might think, "cruising with your grandmother?" But Hubby's grandma is one hot ticket. She tells it like it is. She dances. She drinks scotch on the rocks. She wants to do a zip line excursion. She is one of those people that attracts a crowd: people want to be around her, whether they're 90 or 19. She's a hoot. (She will be 84 this December)

Our first anniversary/honeymoon-makeup cruise is 19 days away, and we already have another one to look forward to! This is like being a kid on Christmas, when you know you still have visits to various relatives coming (and therefore, more presents to look forward to).

A few little happies

Good Monday Morning!

The good news is that I survived camping with the in-laws. The Ichetucknee River was beatiful (cold, but beautiful). I got to see some egrets, herons, storks and a grand total of 22 turtles. No otters. That was a bummer. I did not get hounded about having babies, but I did get plenty of crazy advice on how to raise them once they arrive. For instance, did you know (according to my MIL) that it's terrible to have an only child, because only children "grow up weird"? Hmm. I did not know that. I'm sure all my friends without siblings would like to know that too. I knew they were too normal for their own good. I had to laugh.

The other good news is that I have lost 6 pounds! I know that doesn't sound like a ton, but on a 4'10" body it's pretty substantial. I admit I haven't been as on track with working out as I should be, but it is amazing how little dietary adjustments can make such a difference. (I hate using a scale, I've never cared about the number on it and I don't want to tempt myself into weighing daily and obsessing. I could tell my pants were fiting better, so curiousity got to me about "how many pounds does it take" to feel that difference).

Now I feel a little bit better about all the glorious eating we'll be doing on our cruise (in 19 days!!!!). I know people say you gain a ton of weight on cruises, but I never have. There's so much walking! And I always take the stairs instead of waiting (forever) for an elevator. I think I'm much more active on a cruise than I am in "real life". *hangs head*

I get to have all the fun

Soooooo. Last night, I was sitting on the couch, minding my own business by watching some Deadliest Catch and various Food Network re-runs, when the phone rings. Hubby answers it, and after a bit this is what I hear from his end of the conversation:

"...oh yeah! Sure, that sounds great. Definitely, a fun time. Yeah, it's a great weekend for that. Nah, we don't have anything going on. I bet Grandma will watch the dog for us..."

Hearing that, I am on high alert. And then after all that comes his useless attempt at including me in the decision making process, "I'd better ask Kate though."

After I found out what that conversation was all about, an alternate title to this post could be, "How Kate got roped into camping...with her in-laws".

Now, do not get me wrong. I love nature. I love "the real Florida". I love a nice stroll (or even a hike) through the great outdoors. I love animals and plants and just generally getting away. But the catch is, I like to sleep in my own comfy bed. And to take showers without needing to wear flip flops. And a/c...oh how I love the a/c. I wouldn't go so far as to say my idea of camping is the Marriott, but it's close. Maybe HoJo? I can do a budget inn, no problema. I am just not so thrilled at the idea of being smushed up in Hubby's parent's little camper. Call me crazy.

(Usually when Hubby does that nonsense and I'm not up for whatever he's all but signed us up for, I tell him to make up an excuse why we're not going....otherwise, it just looks like Kate the Bitch doesn't want to hang out. But with his parents, it is a bit more difficult, you know how that goes. I pick my battles.)

(And also, it must be noted, they are not bad people. They're a different brand of crazy than me, so they take some getting used to, but--so far, knock on wood--I don't have any crazy Mother in Law stories. But we've only been married a year, I still say give her time.)

Seriously, though. I'm going to go into this with a good attitude. It will be beautiful and tranquil. I'll get to go tubing (in a tube with a bottom, so I don't freeze). I get to go back up to a park I haven't visited since I left Gainesville. I am bringing ingredients to make s'mores.

So long as Hubby's mom doesn't start in on me about when we're going to give her more grandchildren, we'll be just fine. Ichetucknee Springs, here I come! (Though I may bring a flask. Come on, judge. I dare ya.)

Weekend recap...

#1...I wrote a very long, very rambly entry last Thursday about how super insanely crazy excited I was to be going to Jacksonville on Friday for a Kenny Chesney concert. However, in my excitement I never hit "publish post", so consider yourselves spared. At any rate, the concert was as fantastic as I'd hoped it would be! Mr. Chesney did not disappoint. The best part of the concert? Definitely when he changed the words to "We Went Out Last Night". He sang it as, "...I was a doctor, a lawyer, a senator's son, Tim Tebow's brother or a man on the run, anything I thought could get the job done..." Oh yes, Mr. Volunteer-State Man, you know how it is. Hehe. Even if you did "only" go to East Tennessee State... The second best part was all the hoochie-women dancing in the isles like they were auditioning for a strip club. A guy from our section actually went up and tried to tuck a dollar bill into one "lady's" pocket, it was that bad (good?)!


#2...I finally finished the scrapbook for our June vacation. I don't do the fancy-schmancy scrapbooks with the frou-frou paper and die cut stuff, that is way too much for me. I'm happy just having photos/ticket stubs/receipts/pamphlets/etc. stuck into a regular album in some sort of chronological order. Savannah, Chattanooga/Ruby Falls, visits to wineries, the Orioles game, and visiting all my family in Annapolis---it is all there! This is a big deal for me. I am constantly talking about making albums, but this is probably the first one I've finished since 2005. So that's why I'm telling you!

#3...A little update regarding the mourning of my CHI. On Friday, my husband informed me that my hair dryer was no longer working. Now, my hair dryer is just as special to me as my flat iron. It's a T3 and one of those splurges my mom convinced me was ok ("Kate, treat yourself to something frivilous and fancy now while you're single and kid-free, when it's no one's business but your own what you're spending money on". Smart advise, mama!) Anyhow, long story short: the good news is that neither my Chi or the dryer are broken. The bad news is that none the outlets in the bathroom are working (we tried flipping the breaker, no beans). Hmmm....it seems like buying new hair appliances would have been cheaper than hiring the electrician we'll be needing.

R.I.P.

We gather together today to remember a faithful friend who apparently breathed her last breath (or drew her last volt) this morning. My Chi. My dear, pink Chi.

I've been wearing my hair wavy/curly a lot more often lately, I wonder if she got all dramatic on me and committed suicide because she wasn't getting attention anymore? That seems a little extreme. Whatever her reason, when I returned to her after her usual minute warm up period, her little red light was not glowing.

I touched the plate, thinking maybe it was just the light that was broken. I tried hitting the reset button, oh, 34 times. I moved the Chi to other outlets, hoping that was the problem. No luck.

I still have my old HAI stashed away somewhere, so I am not totally lost. But I got the Chi because the Hai wasn't heating up so well anymore. We'll see how long she lasts. My hairdresser has always talked about a place you can send your Chi for repair, so I'll call her up and get some more information on that.

(Yes, I refer to my hair appliances as "she". We've got a close relationship, ok?)