#41. I won!

let's start by saying I never win anything. door prizes, bingo games, bets, scratch-off lotto tickets . . . nothing. you know those carnival games where you pick up the floating duck & win a prize if the bottom is red or whatever? yeah, no. my duck is not a winner.

but, I DID win a little "contest" the Repeat Bride was having the other day for some engagement books. (she was mostly giving them away, but hush. I will claim my small victories where I can) I "won" a copy of Emotionally Engaged: A Bride's Guide to Surviving the "Happiest" Time of Her Life (by Allison Moir-Smith).

I'm kind of excited.

also, check out her blog. it's great. she's very honest about the ups & downs of preparing not just for a wedding but for a life together. actually, she's really very honest about everything. pretty great.

(ps: does it make me a nerd to be really excited about winning a book? probably. do I care? nope.)

#40. the birdcage

once wed just posted "how-tos" for this great birdcage veil! I love it! now, where around here would I find a store to sell me these supplies? joanns just won't cut it for this project . . .

#39. t-minus one year. and counting!

over the weekend, Rock & I celebrated our negativersary . . . is that a word? can I make it one? . . . anyway, this past friday marked one year from our impending wedding. so, to celebrate, we went on a "date" like the kiddies do.

we got dressed up and went to the mall.

yeah, it was awesome.

oh, but not just any mall, the Dallas Galleria Shopping Centre Extravaganza. it was still pretty awesome, actually. we told the girl at Lush that it was our -1 year anniversary and she gave me a mini soft hand treatment. (she probably does for all the girls, but I like to think it's because I'm special.) then we went to Antonio in Addison for Italian food, which was awesome.
we, being excellent planners, didn't take any pictures or anything so I will have to substitute with a photo from easter this year.

so, here's what I wore (minus the "model face" look. and minus the 1980's decor at Rock's grandmother's house):

(my legs look furry in this shot. it's the camera, I promise)

aaand, front shot (minus "modesty tank top" required for grandmother/church visit.):

(the girl at Betsey Johnson loved my dress. yeah, that's right)

the craziest part of all of it was thinking about how long and how short the coming year seems. we've been together for 3 years, lived in the same place for less than 2, and will be married in less than 1.

I can't wait

#38. lemons & limes, part III

will continuously using this title get old? probably. too bad.

so back forever a few weeks ago I promised you some pictures from the latest lemon/lime extravaganza when I was home to visit momma. after the tests we did with real fruit (and the resulting mess!), momma thought it would be a good idea to test, well, fake fruit. foam fruit to be exact. somewhere (t.j.maxx), somehow (clearance rack) she found large amounts of foam faux lemons and limes. momma already has more vases than a second-rate flower shop so we hauled out tons of hers and got to work.

here's what we put together:

here's what I learned:

• I really like the look of all the same fruit in the tall lined vases (see the right side of pic 2)
• the deep green vase with the bright yellow lemons is great (see pic 1, just right of middle)
• I don't like the fishbowl vases (pic 2, left)
• the low bowl with flowers & fruit is super pretty (pic 2, lower left) but real fruit won't float, right? will that be good or bad?
• we will in no way need to buy vases! seriously. there are, what, 10 vases on the table here? not even a dent in the displayed collection. not even a dent. I swear the woman has 15 tall lined ones & 8 or 10 of those low floater bowls
• wine is a necessity in these endeavors
• my step daddy is such a good sport

and, for those of you who have made it this far, here's a bonus shot of my memorial day weekend. we got a grill!

(yeah, that's me. in a box. I may or may not have tried to trap the dog in it later that evening. unsuccessfully.)

#35. you can read me anything

did you watch the scrubs finale the other night? (I know, I'm a little behind. look, that's what tivo is for, right?) anyway, did you watch it? I cried. for real. sobbed. (surprise, right? or not . . .) I love scrubs. I like zach braff even though I don't always understand him (garden state? I guess I just didn't get it)

my favorite part of the episode was at the very end, when he's leaving the hospital & sees his future played on the scrim in front of him. It was beautiful and funny and Elliot has a gorgeous dress on in their future wedding.





I also really like the song they played for that final montage. it's been in my head for days! I was pretty sure I recognized it from somewhere, but I could not put it together. so last night I finally looked it up. it was the peter gabriel version of Book of Love. (honestly, I was a little embarrassed that it was peter gabriel. and that it's cheesy. but I like it) I really like the music. I have now listened to the original (magnetic fields), the peter gabriel and a few other covers but I like the scrubs one best . . . I'm thinking about it for wedding music . . . in the ceremony somewhere? first dance? (we don't have a song. I'm sure I'll talk more about that later)

and I'm actually still not sure where I first heard it song (not from shall we dance. it was before that . . .) but I guess it doesn't matter too much.

#34. I prefer the term "empathetic"

I've been getting weepy a lot lately. we're still over a year out from W-Day but it's starting to be a very real thing. and EVERY TIME there is something wedding-y on tv, I am sniffling. really. we moved the kleenex from the bathroom into the living room because Rock got tired of me wiping my face on his t shirt. I mean, I was tearing up at Whose Wedding is it Anyway last night . . . who does that? (side note: it was the "chicken fried wedding" one. it was in dallas. I turn to Rock and say "I've been there!" I though it was funny. him, not so much)

I've been mentally projecting myself a year into the future and thinking about what we might be doing a year from today (or yesterday or tomorrow) . . . with a wedding 2 weeks away, I'll probably freaking the heck out, but it's fun to imagine that I'll be all calm and cool about everything. I'm reading blogs from ladies who are there, on the brink, and I am so very impressed! (Maggie, talking to you here!) I'm pretty sure I'll be a hot mess. (see how I'm pickin up on the texas slang? I'm hip with the kids, yo) I think I'm weepy now? man . . . I can only imagine . . .

I have always been kind of, um, emotional (my fam would say "dramatic") . . . and I hope to heck I can manage to not become a total weepy mess, but I really doubt it. maybe it'll be endearing, right?

#33. first of all, it's a big responsibility

it's been another busy day at work today . . . or not so much . . . so, in order to do something productive, I made this (at wordle.com):

it's from a poem by Taylor Mali (check out the hair!) called Falling in Love is Like Owning a Dog. Mr Mali is a teacher, or was a teacher, and a poet. he has an impressive resume & has written some great poems about education & his experiences as a teacher (one of my favorites is Like Lilly Like Wilson).

Falling in Love . . . makes me think of Rock (and of his our sissy dog, Conan (yes, like The Barbarian)) and I'd love to use it as a reading in our ceremony. I know this poem was a "wedding fad" at one time, but I've never heard it read at a wedding, so I can still use it.

from Falling in Love is Like Owning a Dog, by Taylor Mali

On cold winter nights, love is warm.
It lies between you and lives and breathes and makes funny noises.
Love wakes you up all hours of the night with its needs.
It needs to be fed so it will grow and stay healthy.

Love doesn't like being left alone for long.
But come home and love is always happy to see you.
It may break a few things accidentally in its passion for life,
but you can never be mad at love for long.

Throw things away and love will bring them back,
again, and again, and again.
But most of all, love needs love, lots of it.
And in return, love loves you and never stops.

(read the full text of the poem at his website. here.)