THE SEMESTER IS O-V-E-R!

SCHOOL IS FINALLY OUT! THANK GOD I MADE IT THRU A GRUELING SEMESTER! I took my last final yesterday! I can officially began my 5-week marathon wedding planning. Two days ago we hit the 10 month mark. Time flies by! So we have to decide on a DJ and hire a baker!
I got some pics from our new house that I will share them later and we made an appt for a pre-marital counseling for the first of the year. I am sick right now so I am stuck in the house but it gives me some much needed rest and I can catch up on my blogs!

I feel so out of the loop with the wedding planning. I have been so busy with school now I don't know where to pick-up. Some of the girls and I are going dress shopping for them during the break so that should be fun! We are scheduled to take the 2nd set of ePics @ the top of the year and I plan to have the STD's out by Feb. So that's about it from the wedding standpoint.

Our mini house renovations are coming along. We just got our living room floors finished and it looks pretty good if I must say so myself. If I must offer one bit of advice to other brides or brides-to -be don't buy an house and plan a wedding at the same time. In my mind it seemed like a good idea but in reality the house stuff is more important to me than the wedding so I am so much more focused on creating this house into a home than I am planning the wedding. I know that's seems crazy but it's true! anyway I'm going to read other blogs now!

i'll admit...

that i have become a slack blogger. i have been so busy and i know i say that everytime but good gosh i am ready for things to slow down a bit. the summer was wonderful. with x-mas quickly approaching i can get some much needed rest and relaxation. my 30th b-day is right around the corner and i'm about to embrace another chapter of my life. i can't believe how fast time goes by. now i think about one day becoming a mother and in a few month becoming a wife. my fi always says that that commercial is true. LIFE COMES AT YOU FAST! at the close of every year i always reflect back on the things that i have accomplished and the things that are still a work in progress and i have come so far and i am so grateful for all things and people in my life. on a lighter note ..... we have a 2 cake tasting coming up during the break so hopefully we will be booking a baker soon. i am still in turmoil about the dj i just can't decide that yet. that is a very important decision for us. i did get a new camera on black friday so plenty of pics to come.
i am starting a slew of dyi projects on the break as well as getting the house in some type of order...other than that we are getting the accustomed to living together...teehee i am proctoring an exam so i gotta go.....

1 Month Anniversary!

HELLO EVERYONE OUT THERE! Today is our 1 month homeownership anniversary! Corny right. I know. We have been super busy with the house renovations I have neglected my blog. My camera is still broken so I have only been able to take pics via blackberry and I am not a techy so I don't know how to download them yet.

I painted our master bedroom and living room this over the past week and if I do say so myself I did a pretty good job. Its not Ty Pennington but it looks good to me. we are buying our flooring tomorrow hopefully FI and my dad can do it sometime this weekend. We have a break from school for Thxgiving starting tomorrow and I am EXCITED! I really need this. I have a ton of work to catch up on but I will take on day to myself and like most I am on the hunt for those Black Friday deals. I need a new camera and a flat screen for the house.

Wedding plans are on a standstill until X-mas break from school. When we will hire a DJ and baker hopefully. I need to schedule some tastings and consults ASAP! I am thinking it would be nice to have a housewarming New Year's Eve Party! But we got to see how much work iwe get completed.

Engagement Session #1: FAIR

These are the epics from the free photo session @ the fair. The session was a little WACK b/c it was a little chilly and very crowded making it difficult to get good pics. I really wanted this session at night but the photog suggested day shots so we obliged and I still think we should have done the night shots. Our next session is coming up. We are using our wedding photog for that so this should be fun. I can't wait!

Updates

i'm back! our house is a mess because we are doing a few renovations and school is taking a large chunk of time so we have to do things in intervals. i can't seem to pick out paint colors to save my life and deciding b/w carpet or hardwood has been a arduous task. i know... i know.. hardwood! but i hate hardwood in bedrooms..that's a whole other dilemma. there are only 4 weeks of school remaining and i am uber excited about that. i will have a month off of school and work to do some serious wedding planning and get the house done. i can't believe we finally live together. its different...we are learning each other's habits and i have never lived with anyone before...the first week was hard b/c i was super stressed....purchasing a house and making it a home is expensive..i haven't been doing much of anything wedding related. we did take our epics at the fair..it was a really short photo session b/c it was packed and fi wasn't really cooperative. i think b/c of the amount of people that were there. i am interested to see how they turn out. of course i will be posting a few once i receive them... gotta go get ready to take a test. later!

WE'RE HOMEOWNERS!

YES! THANK-YOU GOD! after all the stress, tears, and annoyance we have finally CLOSED on OUR 1st HOME! I am so excited we have been working on this for months as you know and to finally have a place to call our own is amazing! We are actually HOMEOWNERS we have never lived together before so this should be an adjust but I look forward to it. We are going to make some small renovations until after the wedding. As you know I have to move QUICK so we will be living in the house as we paint, install new carpet, etc. Tomorrow we are going to get some new appliances and starting moving stuff. Thanks for all the comments from you guys the other day when I was sad. I really appreciate you support and advice. I know with this comes great responsibility and work but I am so appreciative our blessing. Thanks again for listening well reading! Woo-whoo!!!!!!

10.23.09

I'M SAD!

This is how I feel right NOW! I am so overwhelmed. It's not even the wedding planning it's just life. Unfortuntately for me I am one of those people who plan everything and I can't help it. I know and totally understand that everything will not go as planned but I like to have what I call a blueprint. But this past week has been so STRESSFUL! School has been extremely difficult and we haven't closed on the house yet! It's so much red tape! Everytime I turn around its something new and it's wearing me thin. I really don't know how much more of this I can handle. I have to be moved by MONDAY of next week. I am exhausted! FI's cousin passed away and he has to go out of town for the funeral. From the looks of things I will not be going with and that sucks but there really is no way around it.

We didn't get to take our engagement pics last week because of a scheduling conflict and now we are scheduled to take them on Sun. I hope that works out if not there goes another problem. I really didn't want to come on here and sound so negative but I just need to vent. I am thankful for all things in my life and I don't take anything for granted but these little things are starting to add up and the pile is high and its really starting to get the best of me. I am going to keep pushing because it will eventually level out. But in the meantime wish me luck and send postive vibes my way. I hope all is well with you guys! I have to go study for an exam tomorrow. Later!

BIB NECKLACE:my new found love

so if you read my blog regularly you know i wanted a masai bridal necklace for our wedding and i wanted my BM's to big beaded necklaces to match the alternating shoe colors. well i was watching 'the city' this past week and saw something that caught my eye that was very similar to what i was looking for and i did a little research and ran across this beauties by roberta freymann and I LOVE THEM!!!

i absolutely love these. they are amazing now i got figure out how to make something similar. i have an ultra talented friend who i know make these or similar. i also checked etsy for some ideas and it is promising. here is an DIY i found online!

THREE YEAR ANNIVERSARY

Today 10.13 well actually yesterday (because it is 1:07am here) is our 3 yr anni. So Happy Annivesary BB! Next year this time we will be married! I can't believe it!

I can't wait to be your wife and help mate. We have come so far and I can't wait to see our babies. You make me a better person. I will take the 75 lbs for you. I thank God everyday for this LOVE and you. I do not take you or what we have for granted. This has been a beautiful experience and I am so blessed to have spent it with you! I LOVE YOU with all of me! Happy 3rd Anniversary!

Check: DOC

We met and booked our DOC today and I am so EXCITED! Her name is Robin and she's great! I am so glad to have one more thing checked off our list! Of course I have pics!

Wedding Recap

My brother's wedding was yesterday and I have pics for course! They didn't hire a pro photog so family and friends took the pics. The actually came out pretty good.

Mom and brother

Bride & Groom

The Gents

The Ladies

The Kids

The Bridal Party

The Unity Candle

FI and I

My Dad and his wife

Bride and me

My Fam

cupcake.

yesterday my man of honor and bm tip went to a new bakery called cupcake for a tasting! their prices are little steep in my opinion so i expected the cupcakes to me great and i was not pleased. they were not awful but not all that great for $3 per cupcake. so that's a no go! here are some pics from our outing.

O-N-E YEAR COUNTDOWN

Today marks our 1 year countdown and I'm scared and happy all at the same time. I excited to start our lives together. Tomorrow is my older brother's wedding. He and his FI got engaged after FI and me and I planned a wedding in like 4 months. There is no way I could have done it but they did. So needless to say I was busy all day preparing for their wedding. I am crystal clear about a few things. An exprienced DOC is a must. The one thing the worries me the most is having this wedding in the middle of the semester and until this semester I was never worried but after this semester I don't know what to expect. But all I can do is be prepared! Wish us luck!

Things 2 Do

Starting this week we are on Fall Break from school so we have a marathon of wedding planning to do while we have a few days off.

1. Taking 1st set of engagement pics
2. Meeting a potential DOC
3. Make decisions about DJ and Baker
4. Meeting with florist
5. Hopefully CLOSING on OUR 1st HOME!
6. Studying!

My brother's wedding is this weekend so I have to go prepare for it. Hope everyone has a great week!

Whirlwind

H-E-L-L-O

I know I have been an aweful blogger lately. Honestly, I haven't been doing any wedding planning lately. WHY? You may ask b/c of SCHOOL it is SOOOOO time consuming this semester. I have vowed to myself to at least blog once per week. Wedding planning makes me less stress I know that sounds weird but it does. So updating...My FI's 30th B-Day was last Friday so HAPPY B-DAY to HIM. We are getting old but it's a beautiful thing. As you know I was planning this big B-Day party for him well that didn't happen due to financial woes. We are buying a house that we hopefully will close on by the end of the month so that took precedence but he had a good time nonetheless. We all went to a local sports bar for drinks and out to a club afterwards and I got tickets to his favorite collegiate football game and that was how he spent his 30th. He really enjoyed himself. Here are some pics from the night.

My little decor at the hotel

My camera has the wrong date programed and I don't know how to change it:(

Checking In

I know I have MIA lately but as a stated before school is back and I'm so BUSY right now we are already on week 5! I don't have any marriage thoughts this week. I just wanted to give a update on our adventures to becoming homeowners. We are on a tight budget and when we first started this process it was fun and exhilarating but now I am just ready to move. We have looked at what seems like a million houses even though the market is good for buying but a lot of the homes are forecloseures and that's good and bad. So to say the least I have gained patience through this process. After submitting 6 bids we finally got an acceptance for our offer which I am estatic about. It's not really in a area that I love b/c of how far I have to drive to school and work but I have to get out of my comfort zone at sometime. Its a starter house and we both are students so we had to put all the variables in place. We were going to buy a condo but decided on a single-family instead. I am so excited to move and decorate. Hopefully all goes well with the appraisal and inspection and we can close sometime in October!

Here is our new home hopefully if all goes well!

Thursday Thoughts #8

I am on point this week! So my FI and I had a disagreement this week so my thoughts are about fighting fair in marriage and relationships. Here is what I found somewhat helpful.

1. Deal With The Issue Quickly – don’t let it linger indefinitely
2. Deal With Only One Issue At A Time – don’t “kitchen sink” your partner by bringing up everything you’ve been upset about
3. Avoid “Put Downs” and Generalizations – avoid words like “you always, you never, you are always right or wrong, good or bad,” etc.
4. Listen Without Interrupting – take turns listening and ask questions to clarify what’s being communicated.
5. Don’t Fight In Front Of Your Kids – arguing in front of your children is child abuse. They don’t want to hear it anyway.
6. Don’t Bring Up Past Mistakes, Hurts, or Issues From The Past – don’t dig up the past. Stay in the present with the topic at hand.
7. Avoid Name Calling and Personal Insults – name calling and personal insults might help you to win the argument but may also cause you to lose your marriage.
8. Make It A “Win-Win” Outcome For Both of You – you can only win if you both win.

Now that I have these little tips I will try to implement them! Off for now I have an exam tomorrow!

PARTY'S OVER!

so yesterday was my mom's 50th b-day and as you know i had planned a little party for her. she is not one for a lot of attention so we tried to keep it simple. here are some of my fav pics from the party. remember this is the photog doing our free ePics session next month.

My Mom

Tablescape

Mom and me

Guest sign-in mat

My bros, mom, and me