Pre-Wedding Diet... Or Something

With the wedding day approaching at what appears to be the speed of light, I've decided to take DRASTIC measures... I'm going on a diet. (Gasp.)

Anyone who knows me knows I don't *do* the whole diet thing. (Thank goodness I love vegetables... because if I had to eat them solely because some *diet* said I had to, they would NEVER get eaten. Sometimes I'm kind of a rebel.)

Anyway, to ensure success, I'm implementing some special diet tools. You know, like telling my friends about it so they can cheer me on, and posting my goal weight on the fridge, oh and having four teeth pulled so I can't eat anything. You know, the usual stuff. I'm gonna be SO SKINNY. Woo-hoo!!

...

Ok, so maybe I'm NOT having my teeth pulled in order to lose weight. Maybe there is no diet. Maybe I'm just finally having my wisdom teeth taken out (tomorrow!!!) and I'm TERRIFIED about it and I'm trying to convince myself that it'll be awesome instead of horrifying because I'll no doubt be all svelte and stuff after living on soup for a week and who cares! about the blood and the pain and the swelling and the gauze and the GIANT HOLES IN MY MOUTH! You know, kinda how you convince yourself that having the flu rocks because at least you fit into your skinny jeans for a few days afterwards?

Getting teeth pulled rocks too, right?

My dentist gave me a Valium to take right before the surgery... I think I might just take it now.

The Countdown Begins

I went to the gym today... in a full blown panic. I'm getting married in six months. SIX.FREAKIN.MONTHS.

Gahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.

And can I also add ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhgggggggggggggggg.

When did it go from being FOREVER away (a.k.a. 13.5 months) to being like tomorrow (a.k.a. 6 months). Do you have any idea how fast 6 months can go by? Whoosh! (About that fast.)

Things I can cross off the Giganto-list-of-stuff-I've-decided-I-HAVE-to-do-in-order-to-not-die-on-my-wedding-day (overly dramatic Courtney is being overly dramatic):

• Save the data cards - check (I made them myself... I LOVE the way they turned out: Front / Back. They doubled as our Christmas cards.)
• Ceremony/Reception Location - check
• Select and Order Dress - check
• Book Photographer - check
• Find Hairstylist - check (just using my regular gal, I heart her, and this gives her incentive to not cut my hair too short prior to the wedding)
• Select Bridesmaid's dresses - check (Aren't they pretty!? They'll be cranberry colored)
• Select wedding colors - Cranberry, light pink, and bronze/taupe - check (unless I change my mind... again)

Things still looming:

• FINALIZE GUEST LIST!!! (p.s. this is the hardest thing on the planet to do! We ended up only sending save the date cards to like half our guest list b/c the darn thing is in such a state of constant flux and our venue has strict capacity limits which we're currently well above.)
• Order Bridesmaid dresses
• Select and book Caterer - this is eating at my soul
• Select and order veil
• Take engagement photos
• Find shoes
• Find "something borrowed"
• Figure out Honeymoon - we've tentatively dedided on Malaysia (it's got beaches, cool outdoorsy stuff, relatively affordable place tickets, it's not on the uber-strong Euro, it takes less than 30 hours to get there, and it won't be winter or monsoon or hurricane season, which is more than I can say for pretty much the rest of the planet)
• BOOK HONEYMOON BEFORE PLANE TICKETS GET ANY MORE EXPENSIVE!
• Figure out hotel accommodations for guests - EVERYONE keeps asking me about this!!!
• Figure out transportation to and from the wedding
• Find and book a florist
• Find and book a make-up person
• Figure out what I'm gonna do for Bridesmaids' hair and make-up
• Design and order/make Invitations
• Design and order/make Programs and Menus and any other paper stuff I might need
• Figure out chairs for ceremony
• Figure out decor for reception (This one item alone could take me all 6 months!)
• Buy wedding bands
• Find wedding present for Kyle
• Get marriage licence
• Get Kyle's dad certified to marry us (this will probably happen day of)
• Create/buy guest book
• Put together welcome baskets for out of town guests
• Firm and tone my flabby butt so I can wear a bikini on the honeymoon
• Find way to erase wrinkles from my forehead
• Find way to stop creating new wrinkles!
• Grow out my hair (think if I concentrate REALLY hard I can get it to grown an inch an month?)

Note that it took me 7.5 months to complete the stuff on the first list... how on earth am I going to finish all the stuff on my "still looming" list in just 6 months???

PLUS I have 8 other weddings to go to this summer. Yep. Including my own wedding I've got 9 weddings in 4.5 months. You do the math.

So yes, I believe the full blown panic was in order. Tomorrow I plan to do 900 sit-ups.

Kitchen Dream 2

I was lying on the couch in the den when I looked up and saw a man in a blue sweater standing in the kitchen. He was tall and handsome. I couldn't tell how old he was. Maybe 35? Maybe 50? He stood there quietly. I got up and walked into the kitchen, not sure what to make of the whole situation. Instinctively I knew he wasn't real. He couldn't be. And I understood that. But I stood staring at him, not wanting to disrupt anything, afraid that if I touched him he'd disappear. We both were silent. Finally, preparing myself for disappointment, I slowly reached out and touched his arm. He didn't vanish. I could feel the softness of his sleeve, I think it was cashmere, and I could feel his forearm beneath. He felt real. He reached his arms out, as if to ask for a hug. I threw my arms around his neck and he wrapped his outstretched arms around me. We hugged for a long time. It was one of those full body, never want to let go hugs. Happiness radiated through me and every inch of me felt content. It was wonderful.

And then I woke up.

I think it was my dad.

NINETY

Woooo-Hooooooooooooooo!!!

Final exam scores just came in... yours truly got 90/100.

!!!

Thanks for the memories, Stanfurd, it's been real. I am SO done! :D

Coolest Thing I've Seen In Quite Some Time

FINISHED!!!!

Brain dead, 3 beers deep, exhausted. Beautiful BEAUTIFUL day. Kyle and I spent the morning stressing, studying, tired... afternoon was spent in the warm sun, by a creek, shoes off, sunglasses.

I can't believe I'm done. FIVE LONG YEARS!!!! DONE! Wee!

On my way out again... green beer awaits.

Never want to forget this day. I'm DONE!

Me... doing the "I'm done!" dance...

Mmmmmm Pi

Yes, everyone's favorite holiday is here again... Pi Day! (3.14)

Happy Pi Day!!!!

I know I've been a terrible blogger as of late... I have stories to tell, I do, I swear!!! I've picked wedding colors, and bridesmaid dresses. I've got stories of skiing, and wigs, and surgery. (oh my!) And then there's Kitchen Dream 2 that I've been meaning to share. And there are pictures! So many fun pictures to post!!! But I seem to have lost the cord for my camera, so they're currently trapped in my camera... but I swear, they're coming! Ugh. Things are a bit hectic right now... but they'll calm down after Monday, which by the way, is the day I take my very last final exam EVER for my Master's Degree!!! Woo-hoo! So please bear with me just a bit longer.

And in the mean time... Enjoy Pi Day!!

p.s. In 2015, Pi Day is going to be OFF THE HOOK!

Kitchen Dream 1

Growing up I had a cat named Kitters (I was ten when I named her, don't judge.) Kitters was my everything. She was a grey, stripe-y, kitty with a short tail (when she was a tiny kitten, the end of her tail got infected and had to be amputated.) She was fat and sweet and I loved her with my whole heart.

For as long as I can remember, Kitters had a pretty delicate stomach, and, as a result, would regularly leave me little vomit presents all over the house. Being a good mommy, I cleaned them up and never complained. (Well... maybe I complained a bit.)

When Kitters was 10 (and I was away in my Sophomore or Junior year of college) she got sick. I drove home to be with her, but it was pretty clear that her time had come and that it would be the last time I saw her. She was scrawny, and her fur had turned dingy and almost had a yellow tint to it. She refused to eat or drink. It was awful to see her like that. When I left to go back to school I kissed her goodbye and told her I loved her. She died a few days later.

A few months went by and before I knew it I was back home for the summer. One night, I had a dream. I was sitting in the den and Kitters came in, as she always did, through kitchen window. I went into the kitchen to greet her and swelled with happiness when I saw her. Her coat was shiny, and she was big and fat again, and she looked as happy and healthy as I had ever seen her. Her short tail stuck straight up as stroked her head and scratched behind her ears. She purred and rubbed her face on me and all was right in the world.

I woke up the next morning and could not get over the vividness of my dream. It was SO REAL. I was sad that it had only been a figment of my imagination, but felt confident that wherever Kitters was, she was happy.

I got out of bed and stumbled through the house, still wiping the sleep from my eyes. I stopped short when I got to kitchen. There, in the middle of the floor, was a little pile of cat vomit.


***
Now, it should be noted that we DID have another cat at the time (Kitters' brother, Sparky) so the vomit probably came from him (even though I don't think he'd ever thrown up a day in his life). But, still...

Oh Hai!

!!!

I hearts Flickr.