bridal portraits

so saturday was the big day.  well not THE big day.  but the big day before THE big day.

i had my bridal portraits planned sometime in october.  then it poured rain.  and it was way too much work to to just reschedule them right away.  so i waited til yesterday to do them.  

it's kind of a fun day.  because you get to get all dressed up and not have ANY of the nerves - i kept saying, man i wish i could feel this way in 7 weeks - yes 7 weeks ill be in primland with my husband.  bow chicka wow wow.

anyways.  we met the photographer - after we got lost first.  he was so on top of his game and i loved it.  he had 4 different places picked out for the pictures, and he was SO spot on what i was looking for.  he took risks.  we ended up in a few places that said no trespassing.  i stepped over deer poop.  i stood in briers.  and i have poison ivy on my foot.

but i am STOKED about the pictures.  he was so carefree and so relaxed and so fun to be with.  all in all it was a great day of portraits.  and gorgeous weather.  and jeffery minnish is his name if you want to use him!

i'm ready for the big day.  minus all of the details that still have to be done before then.

date night

friday night was date night.  my bff4l was in town for the weekend for my bridal portraits (i'll post more later!), and so we decided to double date friday night.

generally gloria and spencer would probably not eat until 8 or so and then they'd go to an 11 o clock movie.  they're still young (aka a year younger than us).  jonathan and i are like old folks who eat at 5 o clock and then go to a 7 o clock movie, then back home to go to sleep (separately) by 9:30.  we're living large here.

so we compromised.  i say that lightly.  we decided to eat supper at 6:30 and then grab a movie from blockbuster.

we went to olive garden, and it was AWESOME.  so good.  

they were still unhappy that we had to eat so dadgum early.  jk.  they were just being silly.

here's my lovaaa.  he decided to go get a hair cut for our date.  i usually cut his hair, but he knew he wouldn't have time.  unfortunately to the barber "shorter on the sides a little longer on top" means shaved military cut.  hence the hat.  just kiddin boo it looks so good.

anyways, after olive garden we rode to target to get a few things.  then to get the movie - but blockbuster was closed.  so we just hung out after supper at spencer's place.

it was such a fun night though.  i laughed harder than i have in a while.  where i couldn't control it.  and then i'd re start thinking about something and loose it again.  ah i love those.

good night with good friends.

lunch with the sweet one.

this week i have just been flat exhausted.  it's the first time in the whole wedding process that i've just felt completely overwhelmed - like i don't know how this is all going to get done, and if i don't do it it won't get done.  that is a bad feeling.  i had a little melt down.  then i had to put my big girl panties on.

luckily my mom, friends, family and super hot fiance have stepped up to the plate to just chip in everywhere and do things for me.  

all that to say its just been a long week.  i'm tired.  like sitting at work my chinese eyes almost were shut completely - not that they have far to go on a normal day - but basically just pupils showing today.

so i decided i need to switch gears so that i could get some energy.  what to do.  go for a walk?  naw - its a little cold, i have a cold, and it was too early to be sweaty for the rest of the day.

eat something.  tried that. a graham cracker with peanut butter.  very tasty but still tired.  and i have a wedding dress to fit into, so i had to put a limit to that method.

drink some tea.  woops, eyes shutting a little more.

ah ha.  then i had it.  my oprah ah-ha moment.  if i needed fresh air and an awakening i needed to go see someone.  not just anyone.  my niece - caroline.

it was such a perfect idea.  jonathan and i surprised her for lunch.  she always gets giddy and shy around jonathan - and i love that.  he gets giddy and shy around her too.  i saw him blush today. ok made that up.  but i make him blush.  woops sorry. back to caroline.

we showed up, and she showed us how she picks the butterfly out of picture three.  then she got her lunch that she packed herself - a cheese stick, a piece of broken up american cheese, and a pb & j.  she is partial to cheese.

then we watched her play her preschool circle time games.  something like ra ra watch caroline jump jump - okay it wasn't that wording, but she jumped, and i watched.  the first kid got in the middle and just did a little foot movement.  caroline was next.  she doesn't just do foot movement.  she did rock star jumps for her straight 15 seconds of star time.  i was proud.

then if that's not enough when all the other kids go, most of the other kids gaze off into the distance or something. not caroline.  she bobs her pig tails (or whips her hair back and forF) and claps along for EVERYONE.  she loves it.  and i love watching her.

so after lunch i went on back to work - with my fresh breath of air - and i even pulled some creativity out.  i was so much more productive.  because of that sweet girl.

hope you all have a great Friday.  i can taste my butter biscuit, hash browns and simply orange.  $4.12 will be coming out of my checking account tomorrow.  and it's oh so worth it.

night.

a rhyming thing

this is a random post, but i laughed today and thought i'd share it on here - even though im so confident it'll be one of those things that's only funny to me. and gloria.

gloria and i have this thing.  well we have a lot of "things" that other people just don't really get.  but that's okay.

but we have this thing when someone says something - occasionally the other person will say something that rhymes with it.  then it continues on, and we'll laugh until we can't breathe while we secretly think of something else to top the previous rhyme.

no we're not 4.  

but yes it's funny.

and we did this today.  on my way home from work.  i started one.  then gloria rhymed it.  then i rhymed back.  and i almost rearrended someone because i was leaning forward on my steering wheel laughing out loud/hyperventilating.

i hope you all have a best friend to laugh at dumb things like this with.  k, have a good day. what do you say.  my head hurts i'm going to go lay.  i'll be married by this may.  kay.  hey bay bay.

meet people where they are.

i saw a pretty eye-opening awesome video on someone's facebook the other day, and that coupled with my bible study lately has convicted me strongly to love people differently.

obviously God calls us to love people who don't love us.  He says it's easy to love someone who loves us.  but that's not what Christians are called to do.  we're called to love the people who even hate us, would cause us harm, or plot negative things on our lives.  that's a completely different ball game.

then i saw this video...watch it.  the whole thing.  it will open your eyes too.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LfeXxkbgCVE

on one of my facebook friend's pages this is a quote she has:  "Be kinder than necessary for everyone you meet is fighting some kind of battle"

i've always been completely struck by that.

so here's my conviction and thought.  let's start looking at people realistically - meaning that we KNOW each person we ever come into contact with is struggling with something - maybe cancer, maybe a death, maybe a bad boss, maybe just a cold, maybe getting over the flu, maybe a bad relationship, maybe bad news for the day, maybe depression - something.  everyone is carrying something with them.  of course people we meet are carrying great things too - newly engaged, a new job, pregnant, good weather outside, whatever it may be.

what id like to start doing is using the Holy Spirit to guide me in meeting people where they are - even if i don't get the chance to find out "where" they are - and loving them.  rejoicing for those that have good news, and mourning with those who are mourning.  this means not getting frustrated with someone who cuts us off on the road or speaks rudely to us when we haven't done a thing to them - loving those who are rude to us.  

there ya go - smoke on that - it changed my mindset a bit. 

girl bye.

i went to goldsboro last night to visit my best.  it's always so good to just hang out.  we know each other like the back of our hands, and that just makes hanging out fun and easy.  lots of laughing.  

i went to visit, but i also went because i needed gloria to help me pick out my make up wedding for my bridal portraits.  there's  a dependence there that i am perfectly comfortable with admitting.  yes, i did text her this weekend when she had the flu and i was getting ready for my shower and asked her what to wear.  then i sent her a pic of myself in the outfit to double check.  it's the norm.

so we hung out when i got there.  then we went to a moe's like restaurant called bonfire where we got burritos.  they were so good.  so so good.  i did miss the cute little men that yell "welcome to moeees,"  sof o crispy, black beans o pinto, steak chicken o groun bee?  yes i have them memorized.

then we were ready to go tackle the impossible and not fun activity of picking out my make up.  my face is usually red and my neck is white, making it nearly impossible to get a correct color.  i hate make up ps.

so we rolled up to gboro mall on a mission.  walked into belk to the clinique counter.  there sat a girl slouched on the counter that looked up and said "help you?"  

let me just veer on a sidenote.  i HATE rude customer service, and i do not always deal with folks such as these in a Christian manner.  i hate it.  i can't stand when i call somewhere and people are rude - seriously your job is to be nice to people.  i can't stand rude waitresses.  i can't stand rude people.  sorry, i'm praying for myself about this tonight.

so i knew it would be a long experience with homegirl.  so i told her what i needed, and she painfully stood up to go find the redness reducer solution.  gloria and i eyed each other like greeeaaatttt.

so then homegirl started puttin the make up on my face.  then she stops and looks at us.  and she says.  "so.  what'd y'all have for supper?"  hmm.  weird question.  socially awkward  much?  gloria and i look at each other and gloria says "bonfire."  the girl looks back at me and says "OH.  that does the same thing to me."  

OH NO she didn't.  she went there.  she said we smelled of burritos.  i even had gum.  yes i did eat onions, and yes my clothes may smell like a tortilla bar.  and they may even give me gas.  get over yourself.  so after we got over that, my lip was raw from biting it to prevent laughing out loud in homegirl's face.  

she lightened up.  and she did a bangin job pickin out the make up color.  so we were cool by the time i left.  dang.  honest much?

k.  that's all for now.

2 months

so i'm getting married in 2 months.  as of today.  i'm just trying to think what i'll be feeling like in 2 months from today.  hmm..i think i need to go to the bathroom.  just kidding.  kind of.  i just really want to pray for the nerves and anxiety to be far from me.

with the 2 month marker has come about 3000 things to do.  it's quite overwhelming.  i'm slightly a do it myself person.  unless someone offers and is totally on top of their game.  

for anyone that's engaged let me just give you an idea of what happens when you have 2 months to get married.

centerpieces - you better have your idea by now and you should start working on them - all 30 of them.

decorations - gag.  i absolutely hate this part.  creativity does not abide in me.  this is stressful.

invitations - these are going out today.  yipeee.  we were blessed because one of jonathan's previous teachers printed them for us.  and we love them!  but i don't love the lingering taste of envelope paste on my tongue or the obscene price of stamps.

programs - gag again.  we're creating our own.  creating - you heard that right, and what did i just say about my creativity.  yes.

bridal portraits - these won't be soo bad.  if the weather is friendly to us.  and if the weather could warm up i could possibly prevent my skin from shredding off my face.

okay i'll stop there.  i think this is the point that bride's start just being ready for the day to get here - and i'm ready - minus everything listed above!

have a great day y'all!