Ah Yes, The Wedding

Venue - check.  Wedding dress - check.  Menu - narrowed down but we need to do the tasting.  Yes, less than a month after getting engaged we had a venue, date, my dress, and most of the guest list complete.  And then we hit a speed bump.  First, it was figuring out the exact number and cutting the guest list.  Then it was bridesmaids' dresses (not that the wedding party is finalized or anything), and then it all came to a screeching halt.  The entire time I was in Europe I put it out of my head almost completely.  Now I'm back to reality and need to get focused again.  Classes start back in a little over a month and I need to get some additional portions of that to do list checked off before I'm too busy studying, driving, and sitting in class while working full-time and taking care of the puppy to even think about wedding things.  So this week, my mission is to get back on track, finalize all the things I've been putting off because I just don't want to think about them, and put together a plan of action for the next 8 months.  Oh dear goodness, I'm getting married in 249 days!!!  Yes, it's definitely time to get myself in gear and get a move on.

Has it been that long?

I'm back from three glorious weeks of gallivanting across Europe and can't decide if I'm really happy to be back in my bed, I'd rather be in Switzerland with Ryan, or if I really want to have my apartment and puppy both in Europe.  A girl can dream, right?  I'll post pictures and stories of our adventures later, but I need to finish going through the thousands, yes thousands, of pictures before I post any.  To say we had an amazing time is an understatement.  The worst part is the first few days seemed to last forever because we were able to fit so much in and I was certain it would feel like the longest vacation ever.  Then, I blinked and it was time for me to pack for the trip back home. 

Ryan will be gone for another two weeks and I'm sad I'll be missing more adventures but I was ready to come back.  I missed our puppy, my nice big bed with my uber comfy mattress and fabulous sheets, and my garden tub.  Believe it or not, a shower head in the corner of the bathroom (no shower curtain, no tub, no anything other than the fixtures to turn the water on and the shower head) gets real old, real fast.  And so it's back to reality for me, starting with work bright and early this morning after a 4:30 wake-up lick from Isabella.

Lists

I have a list for just about everything, even a to do list that includes things like "complete wedding to do list."  Yes, making to do lists is on my to do list.  Neurotic?  Perhaps, but if I don't have something on a list or in my planner, it's not happening.  Take for example, the doctor's appointment I told my surgeon on Tuesday that I would make.  Did I call her office right back?  Of course not.  Did I call them on Wednesday?  Don't be silly.  It took my co-worker asking me how everything was going for me to remember that I was supposed to put calling the doctor's office on my to do list on Tuesday, and again on Wednesday, for me to finally add it to the list and before the ink in my planner had dried, I was placing the phone call.

When I was younger, I used to get so excited when the school supplies list came out.  I would rush to the mailbox every afternoon beginning about a month before school started until I had the list in hand.  Visions of sugar plum fairies never danced in my head, I had dreams filled with Lisa Frank folders, pens of every color, and precisely sharpened pencils instead.

Then there were my packing lists.  The entire week before we would go on vacation, I would pack and re-pack my suitcase, carefully selecting my favorite outfits then stealing them out of the suitcase so I could wear them before we left.  Sometimes before I began this packing ritual, but usually after, I would sit down and write a detailed list of everything I needed then double-check what was in my suitcase against the list I had.  I was 8 and my mom would usually go through everything anyway but I wanted to be prepared.

As you can see, I've never met a list I didn't like.  Or at least I never thought I would, until I met The Guest List.  Those who have planned a wedding know what I'm talking about.  You hem and haw over a number, the type of wedding you want, the possible venues, the cost of it all, and you start making decisions.  We have a venue we like that works nicely with the "b" word (it's one of the worst words in the English language and although I occasionally use it, I try not to even think it too often) and affords us the atmosphere we want, a view of the water, and delicious food.  We have a number of invites we'd like to send out and my portion of the list has been neatly trimmed and I'm comfortable with it.  Then, there are the other portions of the list.  Portions of the list that might be longer than the allotted number of invites for that section, which include people that have similar relationships to those that have been cut from other portions of the list, which leads to other people wanting to add those people back onto their list.  And the snowball continues.  Suddenly I find myself preparing to calmly, rationally explain that the lists will be cut or we will be eloping and no one will be on anyone's list.  Finally my dreams of a Vegas wedding and all my closest friends receiving the "Vegas, black dress, 12 hours" phone call and rushing to catch a flight to meet us could come true!  If only Daisy wouldn't then hunt me down and make good on all her threats should I ever actually go through with it.

This is not the end of the world.  We are celebrating a happy occasion and no one needs to lose their mind over it.  In situations like these, I find it best to make a list,  and so for tonight's list of things to do, we're adding "cut The List."

Engaged!!!

Ryan whisked me off for a surprise trip to NYC two weeks ago today and although the shock of the destination took about a year off my life, it was fabulous.  I knew the trip was coming up but I had no idea we were even getting on a plane.  My fabulous mother might have let it slip that Ryan was going to my parents' house one night in late March without me.  Oops.  Apparently the fact Ryan had called my parents to set up a time to go over and talk to my parents alone on a night I'm in class didn't cause her to think I might not know about the meeting and she should therefore not call me to find out if she should offer him dinner.  Naturally I immediately emailed several friends as visions of diamonds danced in my head.  One of those friends was in on the surprise, notified Ryan, and they began attempts at damage control.  Ryan finally told me we were going on a surprise trip and he went to talk to my parents because my little brother would be home from the Air Force Academy that weekend and he didn't want them to be upset he was taking me away from family activities.

I spent weeks trying to let it go, not think about it, and decided we were going to St. Augustine for the weekend.  You can imagine what I might have packed not knowing exactly what we were doing but thinking we were going to St. Augustine and I could bring as much as I wanted since we would just be in the car.  5:45 Friday afternoon I walk into my apartment and R is standing there with a carry-on that I was instructed to fit my stuff into.  Oh, and those toiletries that required a separate bag would need to be put into TSA compliant travel containers that fit into a quart size ziploc bag.  What was he talking about?  His mother's surprise party was in Lakeland and there's no reason to fly to St. Augustine, it's not that long of a drive.  Then he handed me a piece of paper with the weather for the weekend on it with all of the location information removed.  And that's when I learned that the high was going to be in the 60s, not the low.

Let me tell you, it is not easy to surprise me.  Most of that is because I will investigate a "surprise" until I pull the truth out of someone, find where my presents are hidden, or someone doesn't properly hide all evidence of what they've been planning.  This time, however, I decided to respect Ryan's desire to surprise me and I didn't check his email, even though I have the password.  I didn't go through his dresser drawers, closet, nightstand, or anything else in his house for a ring, receipt, or any evidence he was proposing or that might give me a clue about where we were going, even though I have a key to his place.  I didn't harass people or try and trick them into giving me clues.  I really let it go as much as I possibly could and tried really hard not to think about.  Still, it's pretty impressive he managed to shock me as much as he did.

Once the shock wore off, the color returned to my face, and the panic about not having the right outfits packed subsided, I settled into my seat on the plane and just let myself enjoy the ride.  We walked through the City and Grand Central on our way to Times Square, hopped a red double decker bus past the Empire State Building to the Statue of Liberty and took the ferry to see Lady Liberty herself.  Ryan had purchased tickets for the pedestal and we took the elevator up to the base of the statue (it's a few too many stairs for my left knee).  The view was incredible and I loved every minute of it.  Then we headed back down the stairs and outside but we weren't quite all the way down to ground level.  It was so peaceful with no one standing around, Ryan and I enjoyed a moment to ourselves.  Suddenly, he was pulling his keys out of his pocket and twisting something off his key ring.  Could it be?  No.  He isn't.  Is he?  Really?  The whole moment was so surreal.  As he got down on one knee and asked me to marry him, I didn't even let him finish the question before I said, "Oh my goodness, YES!!!" and thrust my left hand out for him to slip the ring on my finger.  Classic me.

We spent the rest of the weekend enjoying being alone, with no school or work to think about, and touring the city.  I'm so excited to spend the rest of our lives together.  I cannot wait until we finally move-in together, buy our first home, have our first children, and experience so many other firsts.  March 24th is the Big Day and while I want to enjoy our engagement and planning our wedding, I kind of wish it was tomorrow.

Flip Flops Make Me Happy

Flip flops make me happy, mostly because they're easy to take off and leave by the front door.  So, when one of my friends sent me a link to the Flip Flop Swap, I had to join in the fun.  What a delightful way to start the summer!

Isabella Helps Me Study

Where, oh where, would I be without Isabella?  Probably a little further along in my studying.  I should be finished with my exams already but due to a series of unforeseen events, my Sports Law exam, which I should have taken Thursday night, has been postponed.  And so, with Isabella's help, I sit and study

And if you don't believe she knows EXACTLY what she's doing by laying on top of the book I'm trying to read, I want you to look at this face

Paris, Here We Come!

Ryan and I just bought our tickets to Paris.  We're studying abroad this semester and while I'm only going to two of the program's four weeks, we're taking a week to go to Paris, Versailles, and Normandy before heading to the Hague for school.  During our weekend break from school, we're also going to Belgium.  I've been to Europe a few times and once spent 24 hours in Paris, but this is going to be my first time really visiting France, I've never been the Belgium or the Netherlands, and Ryan's never been to Europe.  Plus, the thought of three glorious weeks off work is enough to make a girl break into a happy dance unlike one you've ever seen.  And dance I shall.

Parisians, don't be alarmed at the crazy woman dancing off a plane, around the Eiffel Tower, and on her way to Versailles, she's an American.