Necessary Update and some BIG news!

I promise you...I'm alive. I feel like I've been in another world these past few months - so I apologize for being completely MIA.

So, before I fell off the face of the earth, I was planning for my September wedding. It came (and went) so quickly. But it was the best day of my life. One of these days I will put together a 'wedding story', but for now, I will tell you that it was perfect! Everything went so smoothly. Not one thing happened where I felt out of control. I was surprisingly relaxed and calm - very unlike me. I just couldn't wait to walk down the aisle towards my future husband. If I could, I would do it all over again in a heartbeat!

Our honeymoon was absolutely amazing. The day after the wedding we went to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico for seven days. We stayed at a ocean front all-inclusive resort. My first time in Mexico and at an all-inclusive. So much fun! It was definitely hard coming home and back to reality. I'm pretty sure my first week back at work I did absolutely nothing. My mind was still at the beach.

Since the wedding, we've been enjoying married life and everything that comes along with it. We spent the holidays divided up between our family's. Thanksgiving in San Diego with my family and Christmas in Idaho with his. It was nice to finally be home once the New Year began.

And...I have some news that I can FINALLY share with you all - I'M PREGNANT!! EDD July 31st.

We found out back in November and haven't really said anything until a few weeks ago. I'm 14wks along and in my second trimester. This is our first child and we are over the moon in love with our baby already!

One week.

That's it. That's all that's left.

Last September the most wonderful man got down on one knee and asked me to marry him. Last septemebr I was drowning in a pool of excitement. Last September I was starting my journey of wedding planning bliss.

And now it's here -- and I'm still just as excited; if not more. The thought of walking down the aisle towards Jon gives me instant butterflies. The kind that flutter around in your stomach until it hurts. I love that before my Dad gives me away, I get to spend those precious few minutes with him. Every single piece of the wedding day has played over and over in my mind, trying to paint an image. But I know that nothing I imagine will come close to what I'll experience.

It's still so surreal to me that I'm getting married. I'm going to call Jon my husband...and I'll be his wife. I almost feel like I'm saying goodbye to my childhood. It's a strange, yet exciting feeling.

I look back on this last year remembering how every time I would turn the calendar page, it seemed like a lifetime until the September page could be turned. I remember talking about the wedding day like it was years away. I remember when I first fell in love with my dress. It's been sitting in my closet, patiently waiting to be worn.

It's been an unforgettable year and I have loved every minute of it. Sunday is my birthday, but I can promise you that I'll be spending it finishing last minute wedding stuff. I got an early birthday gift from Jon; a new iPad. It's awesome, and has been keeping me very entertained. This last week will be a busy one and I'm hoping to remain sane during it all.

Happy Friday night!

One helluva month.

Literally.

I know for the mid-west and east coast, the heat has been unbearable. The west coast on the other hand, practically just started smelling the sweet scent of summer. It's been comfortably warm for the past few weeks and looks to remain pretty hot for the remainder of the week. Summer is here. And I beg to ask the question, "where has the time gone?"

I survived my first wedding festivity; my bridal shower. I'll admit, it was a tad bit overwhelming. But, I haven't had that much fun with my family and friends in a long time. Everyone showed up to support me and "showered" me with wonderful gifts...most of which made me blush. The food was amazing and the drinks were flowing. My best friend, Stephanie, planned an unforgettable shower for me and I will be forever grateful.

After the shower was over, Jon came over my parents house to help pack all the gifts up. I had so much stuff that we made his roomy BMW look like a tiny Smartcar. And you know that damn quest bedroom that I'm always trying to clean? Yea, well...that's where all the gifts found a home. There's actually still a few gifts and boxes in our living room. I keep hoping that they'll eventually grow legs of their own and make their way in the room; however, that has yet to happen.

I have been so incredibly overwhelmed (and apparently stressed) that I came down with shingles. No joke. It started out as a small red bump, then gradually spread into a cluster of bumps. It was not fun. I was home for a week, in bed, drugged up. Luckily I caught it early enough to start the antibiotics; which stopped the shingles from spreading to my stomach, or causing severe pain. I'm thankful it was only mild pain. They've since faded and might leave a little scaring, but I'm glad that's over with. I do not have time to be sick. There is way too much going on....

I leave tomorrow bright and early for Las Vegas. Me and six of my girlfriends are heading there for a fun-filled weekend of bachelorette festivities. The entire weekend is a "surprise" to me and I don't even know where we're staying or what we're doing. I do know it will be fun. Don't expect me to come back and dish out all the details...because you know how it works: what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas...

Next weekend Jon's brother, Clark, is getting married in Monterey, CA. I can't believe how fast that came up! Right after we come home, August sixteenth will be here...and that means our wedding is exactly one. month. away. [begin freakout] OH MY GOSH! [end freakout]

I've been continuing my craft binge and took my wedding shoes from plain to uh-mazing. Thanks to Michaels! There's nothing that a few bows and a hot glue gun can't do...

More fun to come! And you might get lucky and I'll share a few sin city stories. Or...maybe not. Happy Weekend to you all.

I fail.

.......at blogging.

I swear, I try really hard to keep up with this; but it's almost like a job. It's not easy. I'm embarrassed of the fact that I haven't written anything since Easter. I wish I could promise you that this won't happen again...but I can't. So I apologize in advance. There's a lot going on right now that derails my desire to blog.

Planning my wedding has literally taken over my life. But I'm okay with it. This is probably my biggest excuse for not blogging. We are now almost two months out until the big day. My excitement for it is overwhelming. We've been getting a lot done over the past few months and things are falling very nicely into place. I've collected all my vases for the centerpieces and I am well on my way.

Invitations were sent out Monday afternoon, and people are starting to receive them. We were so incredibly fortunate that my cousin owns a print shop and made our invitations for FREE! It's an amazing wedding gift and we will be forever thankful.

My bridal shower is next weekend and I am so excited. It will be my first wedding event; sort of like my "kickoff" to the wedding festivities. I also found the perfect bridesmaids gifts and I can't wait to give them to the girls.

Today the girls and I started to book our plane tickets to Las Vegas for my bachelorette party. We are going the first weekend of August and it can't come fast enough. The majority of the girls I invited are all going; so it will be a full house. Nine girls (including me) are ready to help celebrate my last Vegas trip as a single lady. I'm looking forward to all the memories we will be creating, and all the stories we'll be reminiscing about over years.

Since the wedding is only two months away, we're getting down to the wire with all the small details. Favors need to made and programs need to be printed. Everything is starting to be finalized with the vendors; food, music, photos and decorations. I've been channeling my inner craft-self, and I made my card box for the wedding. All the ones I've seen in stores or online are fairly expensive...and I knew that it was something easy to make. A simple trip to Michael's for a three dollar mini glue gun, some ribbon, wrapping paper and old shoe boxes did the trick. And viola!

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Today is July 1st, and I'm not quite sure where the time has gone. From this point on, every weekend until the wedding is completely booked. Our annual family camping is coming up in a few weeks and I'm beyond excited to go. I didn't think I was going to make it this year, but I managed to squeeze in a four day weekend of some relaxation and fun in the sun. Now that is something to look forward to.

It's going to be a busy weekend, full of friends, family, birthday parties, barbeque's and fireworks. Have a safe weekend!

Happy fourth of July!

easter sunday funday

Even though Easter isn't as big of a deal as Christmas or Thanksgiving, I still treat it like any other holiday. And that means, getting up early in the morning, baking cookies (pre-made packaged ones, obviously; Jenn doesn't bake), and making my homemade artichoke/jalapeno dip. Preparing and "baking" gets me excited and puts me in the holiday spirit.

My Aunt held Easter dinner at her house this year, so the whole family came together to celebrate. Lot's of food; lot's of laughs; lot's of love.

Decorating Calla Lilies is a traditional favorite in our family. My parents have tons of Calla Lilies in their yard, and we'd always use water paints and markers to decorate them. You should try it...it makes for a great art session!

The food was uh-mazing, and I couldn't get enough of it. Ham, mashed potatoes, yams, green beans...it felt like Thanksgiving in April. And I'm perfectly okay with that.

The kids played outside and couldn't wait to hunt for Easter eggs. So much so, that no one even knew they had done it already! They came inside with eggs in their baskets and smiles on their faces. Whatever makes them happy! Speaking of eggs...we found a crushed hard boiled egg and it's shell pieces in the Barbie's kitchen sink....and of course, it was "Barbie's fault".

I mentioned in my last post, that this years' Easter Day feature was bringing back the Egg Decorating Contest. I must say, everyone did a fantastic job. And as promised, here are the contestants:

"Eggpunzel" - let down your golden yolk

"Egguana"

"Pool Rack"

"Eggcident"; "Egg Plant"; and "MEGGerita"

And the winner.......

"Eggy Gaga" (and the 2011 Egg Decorating Contest trophy)

The "Eggy Gaga" still has me laughing. Next year I'm definitely getting in on the fun and entering the contest. I wish we could resurrect the original egg trophy. But it is almost twenty years old and it's housed in Arizona with my Grandma.

I'll be taking a mini blog break since we leave for Canada on Thursday. I haven't even begun to pack. Typical of me to wait until the last minute. I had every intention of going home yesterday and at least starting to pack; but instead, I had a beer, watched F.R.I.E.N.D.S, played games on my phone, cooked dinner, played more games on my phone and then went to bed.

I'll attempt to pack tonight...but I already know how that will turn out.

Happy Tuesday!


quickie post.

Another day...another picture-less post. I need to get back into the groove of snapping away at life's little treasures. I do however, promise that there will be plenty of pictures to come over the next few posts.

Easter Sunday calls for perfectly bloomed flowers; colors of the rainbow painted on eggs; and a feast that I am already salivating over. This Sunday, our family is bringing back a tradition that I haven't thought about for years....

The Egg Decorating Contest.

This defined our Easter when we were little. It became such a hit, year after year, that a trophy was created for the winner. And yes, it was made out of an egg. So, I was thrilled when I received the email stating that the contest was once again apart of our Easter. And I won't dissapoint...you will see first hand all the creativity that comes from just an egg.

Jon and I are headed to Canada next week for a friends wedding. It's our first time and we're very excited. Hopefully I'll be able to control my love for souveneers. I tend to buy things that I don't need, just because. It's usually things that I'll swear up and down that I will use in the future, but then either gets thrown away or collects dust on a shelf. Happens to the best of us, right?

I actually gave myself a pat on the back this afternoon for not using the fifty dollar off coupon I had for New York & Co. I walked in, grabbed a few things I liked, thought about it and put it all back. Jon would have been so proud...because I even can't believe I did that. Who am I?

Happy Friday...and Happy Easter!

five months.

Before I start, I had good intentions of posting this yesterday...but the weather was beautiful and I couldn't waste the day by sitting inside. So...this is a day late. Better late then never, right? I must admit, there's nothing better than sitting here on my laptop, with a nice cup of coffee in hand, with Say Yes To The Dress on in the background. Thank you TLC for fulfilling my wedding show obsession.

And...this is a picture free post (sorry...I didn't get around to taking any this past week).

Yesterday marked our five month countdown to the wedding. I'm warning you now, there will probably be a countdown for the remaining four months as well. It's gets me excited...so just go with it. Sometimes I think back to when we got engaged last September and picked our wedding date; how a year from then felt like a lifetime. Even though five months, is still five months, at least I have a few things to keep me preoccupied until then. I have to put myself to work next month picking out wedding invitations, because in June they're being sent out. In July, my best friend Stephanie is throwing my bridal shower, and in August me and the girls are jetting off to Las Vegas for my bachelorette weekend. There's a lot of things to be excited for leading up to my big day.

The "wedding corner" in our guest bedroom continues to grow as my Michael's trips become more and more frequent. I know I've mentioned this before, but their coupons are saving me. Not only do they have weekly forty to fifty percent off coupons, but they accept competitors coupons as well. Although our wedding is going to be a bigger wedding (about two hundred), I'm having a blast planning and preparing on my own. I am in my element and loving every minute of it.

I have to take a minute to congratulate two girlfriends of mine. My best friend, Analiese, just had a beautiful, healthy baby boy. Jon and I went to visit them the other night in the hospital and I just couldn't wait to hold him. Analiese got to the hospital just in time...literally. She didn't have any time for drugs...and with that being said, she is my hero. Another friend of mine, Jen, has been struggling with conceiving for many years. She has been told by doctors that she and her husband wouldn't be able to have children. They've accepted the fact that surrogacy and adoption are their only options. As a true believe in miracles, the most amazing miracle has happened to them. Jen found out that she's pregnant. Eight weeks pregnant, to be exact, with a healthy baby. Just writing about this brings me chills. Congratulations to my two amazing friends!

And of course (yet again) I've caught that damn baby fever; it's a problem, I know. I guess I just can't wait to start a family of my own. I long for that feeling of being pregnant; of looking into my baby's eyes as we lay staring at each other; for that tiny hand in mine; and the image of Jon being a father...because there is no doubt that he'll be amazing. But good things come to those who wait. And waiting is what I'll do. I do however, have a confession: I went online and looked at tons of baby stuff, looked at baby furniture, and stood in the doorway of our guest bedroom visually placing where everything would go. It fulfilled my baby fix and brought a smile to my face, and now I'm over it.

I am not however, over my craving for a new camera. A nice camera. The one I've been wanting for, oh about a year now; a Canon EOS T3i DSLR. I even had a dream about it the other night; no joke. But again, good things come to those who wait....

Well friends, that's it for today. I've got a hungry belly to feed, a full basket of laundry to wash, and a messy room to clean; all which need to be today.

Happy Sunday!