So the week is drawing to a close...that's nice. Mom is coming down tomorrow to get her hair done. And since it seems that everyone is finally putting their spring/summer stuff out, I'm sure we'll try to get some dresses this weekend for the upcoming weddings. Bobby's is so soon! It's only a little over 50 days away. I've been talking with Kim a bit over email...she is very nice. I like her. It's a shame they don't live closer so we could see them more often. Her daughter is just beautiful....they put up pics on their wedding website...what a cutie!

Ummm...what else? Did my final presentation the other day and that went well...they chose to buy my stock. Thanks to Ben for helping me pick it.

I found a recipe for a pan seared crushed black pepper tuna the other day that I want to try this weekend.

I'm in heaven with Pottery Barn's new spring/summer stuff! Got my catalogs the other day and they've gone paisley! Hooray! I've had a passion for paisleys ever since I picked out my invites. ..and that was well before I was even engaged.

I'm not as fond of fashion right now...whoever thought shrugs were a good idea is wrong. Only - and I really do mean only here - very tall, skinny girls look good in them. I am short so that leaves me out. However, that's all you see these days! Also, I love my tiered skirt that I bought a year and a half ago, but it seems like once the major dept stores caught onto to the whole "tiered is cool" thing, that's all they displayed. And every store is packed full of black and white...I'm a color girl! Give me greens and yellows and oranges, people! And then I read the other day that neutrals are the new thing. Neutrals? How boring is it to wear a variation of brown everyday? Yes, fashion is in a sad, sad state right now.

:-)

I haven't done this in a few days, have I?

I've been busy, and well I guess there's not much to report anyway. I have my last presentation for that one class tonight, and then for the rest of the semester I can just focus on the other class. That's a good feeling.

I found out yesterday that I have high cholesterol. Very high. It doesn't seem fair bec of all of the exercise I do and bec I actually eat pretty well for the most part. Pure genetics...gotta love heredity, don't ya? Apparently, though, my "good" cholesterol is really high - so it helps to counter the "bad" cholesterol - I'm learning here, guys...I didn't know these things until yesterday...so if this sounds rudimentary, please forgive me. The guy said if I didn't run as much as I do, my cholesterol would probably be over 300! Crazy. Must never stop running.

Things like this make me realize how old I really am. I feel so girly and young, but at the same time I know that I have to start thinking about cholesterol levels and high blood pressure and other medical undesirables.

It has me wondering...does all of this exercising and eating pretty healthy really do me any good? Or am I just doomed to a life filled with heart disease bec it trickles down through both branches of my family regardless of what I do or eat? (And, if I keep running, am I doomed to a life of heart attacks AND knee troubles?) And lastly, is it irresponsible to have children knowing that you're passing on horrible genes fraught with disease?

Someone I know is going through chemo right now, and I feel so terribly about it all. I found myself thinking this morning that I'm happier knowing cancer doesn't generally run in my family...the only thing we have to worry about is heart disease. Cancer is a whole lot scarier, isn't it? It could just show up...any random day...any random moment...in any random location. At least with heart disease you have indicators - not to mention the medicines that can help prevent further heart troubles. Yes, I do think that cancer is much scarier and even if my cholesterol is high, it could be worse...at least it's not an indicator of cancer.

On a brighter note, I think I'm going to buy that Ann Taylor dress this week...the colors are a little more mellow than I usually like, but it hasn't gone out of my head, so I must be meant to buy it. :-) I know it sounds superficial to switch gears like that, but I just can't end on such a sobering note....

So, like I said, when you're looking for a dress, you just can't find one, and well, I need at least three dresses, so yesterday's trip was obviously a failure. I went everywhere...every department store and every specialty store in this town....and nothing. Then, I randomly walk into Wet Seal...yes, Wet Seal... land of inappropriate clothing....a not so quiet little oasis in the mall packed solid with stretchy fabric, trendy colors, and barely there *insert any type of clothing here*. I actually found my favorite summer skirt there a couple of years ago - a cute light grassy green tulip shaped skirt and I wear it all of the time. Anyway, even though I found my favorite skirt there, I have never ever - EVER - found anything else there. But I go in there yesterday after a long day of shopping and find the two cutest dresses. Crazy.

I did find a fairly cute dress at Ann Taylor (yes, also surprising), but the colors just weren't me...they were too muted.

It's been a good day. I ran this morning, but not too far...and my knee is still ok. I'll try 3 or 4 miles again tomorrow..so glad things are getting back into order.

For once, I got all of the laundry done this weekend. Hooray.

We've been watching My Best Friend's Wedding tonight...I sure hope our wedding day isn't so fraught with melodrama.

I guess I need to give my dress off to a seamstress soon. It's silly, but I don't want to! I love my dress...I want it here, and I know that when I give it off, I won't get it back for months. :-(

I think my knee has healed....Hooray! I ran the 5k at my usual pace today and it didn't hurt one bit....this makes for a very happy Stacey. I think I'll lay off it tomorrow just in case, but try to run again Monday.

Ummmm....what else? I have my last assignment due in one of my classes on Wednesday...this has been a pretty nice semester. One easy class and one kinda difficult class. Over halfway through the semester...that also gets a Hooray! Only four months to go and I'll have my masters.

It's been cold here...we had that one nice weekend (it worked out perfectly - it was the weekend K had her shower and bachelorette party), but it's been cold since then. I think it's supposed to warm back up this week.

Going dress shopping today...have a few weddings to go to this summer. May is a busy month. Need to find cheap tix to Dallas for Bobby's wedding.

I really like that show Conviction. There's a girl on there that was on "I'm with Lucy" - this movie that made Friday night pedicure nights when I was single bearable.

Ummm...as far as wedding stuff goes, I had a mani/pedi last night and I had forgotten how talented my manicurist is. She's always organizing parties and doing flower arranging and what night, so I might use her to do my bouquet. We talked centerpieces, too...I've had so many ideas when it comes to centerpieces, so I have to narrow it down to what I really want to do. There are so many decisions to make - what kind of cloth to use for linens...what color of table cloths...what color of napkins...what color of chair covers...do we want ribbons on the chairs...if so what color....do we want ribbons on the ceremony chairs...if so what color...so many decisions...it's crazy! But I love making these decisions, so it's cool.

Still in a quandary over the china. Jess got a new china cabinet this week and I can't wait to see it...it's really got me thinking that I want something with more character than what I have picked out. Her china - handed down from her grandma - is pretty colorful and she says it's just gorgeous in the cabinet.

All right...I guess I'm off to shop for cute dresses...how come it always seems like when you need one you can't ever find it but when you don't, there are tons around?

Nothin' new with the wedding...

Nothin' much new in general. I have my release date, so I will start my new position in a little over 3 weeks...that is very exciting!

Expensive week: hair and mani/pedi appts.

I ran the 5k last night...I was a bit slower and my knee hurt slightly, but I think it was pretty ok. I'm not going to run tonight, and try again this weekend. Hopefully it's getting better. It does hurt just a bit today, though, but only a slight pain...nothing like last week.

It was rough..we got out of class at about 7:15 and I went ahead to Livewell...I think I was dressed and on the treadmill at 8PM exactly. It makes for a rough night being at livewell that late...by the time I get home and shower it's ten...and I haven't even eaten dinner yet. This is why I just can't go over there on class nights...since we usually get out right at 8. I wouldn't get into bed until 11 if I went on normal nights....and I like to workout, but I'm not that psychotic about it....hehe...

We don't have any plans for the weekend which is nice. Must do a bit of schoolwork, but other than that we're free to do whatever. Good feeling.

Pondering my registry picks...

Wouldn't it be cool if bridal registries were like amazon wish lists and you could rate how much you wanted each item? You are told time and time again that you should put entirely too much on the registry so that 1) there's a variety of price items on the list for people who want to spend different amounts, and 2) there are enough items on the list that everyone who wants to get you something has options. I have to say that I like every item on my registries, but at the same time there are definitely some things I'd rather have than others. This is why I think bridal registries should be like Amazon.

Also, I registered for Lenox china, but I'm not necessarily sure that I want it but am told that I should get it. But in all honesty, I'd much rather showcase in a china cabinet my Italian dishes that I brought back from Positano rather than the Opal Innocence Lenox dishes. They are beautiful and tons more meaningful than anything I could get at Dillards. Also, I picked a pattern that is not colorful bec I felt like my tastes significantly change frequently and that it would be a waste of money to get something colorful that I would tire of...but what if it's not me? It seems a bit stuffy. Oh, well...it's registered for. Maybe I'll take another look at the options...just in case. Oh, yeah...and the colorful dishes always look prettier than the plain ones when the lights are shining on it...another reason to reconsider. It's such a big decision! I'll have these dishes for the rest of my life! What if I make a mistake and detest the dishes in 3 years???

I also am having a bad time with registering...hehehe...I feel bad doing it. I put something on the list and remove it bec I think "nobody should buy me this...I feel bad for having it on here...I can buy it myself." And I've actually had to remove some items from my registries bec I bought them for myself.

Turns out, though, that none of these concerns really matters...I picked my groom and I know he's perfect...and that's what really counts.

I'm tired of having allergy related problems.

I'm also tired of seeing a Century 21 commercial in which a shrew of a wife convinces her husband that they should buy a new house...when people in this country keep going into debt beyond what they can handle. If it's irresponsible for tobacco companies to do what they do, then it's irresponsible for Century 21 to urge poor people into overburdening themselves with debt.

No updates on the wedding today, I don't guess.

My laptop made it home safely! Hooray!

Hehehe...ok..really Ben made it home safely. He got home really late last night...poor thing...a very long day of travelling for him. I had a good night, though. I went out for a bit with K&B and several others that I don't know very well. Everyone was really cool. It's been awhile since I've been out like that, so I'm glad I got a chance to. In other news, my knee is still feeling ok, but I'm gonna give it one more day of rest before attempting a run again. We'll see how that goes tomorrow. Got the RSVP cards, programs, placecards, etc yesterday in the mail. I realized yesterday afternoon that I ordered the wrong size RSVP cards...I wanted the really small cutesy ones, but accidentally ordered the next size up. Well, it was too late to change the order bec UPS tracking said they were out for delivery. I compared them to K's and Bobby's RSVPs when I got in last night and they're the same size as Bobby's and K's are only a little smaller so I think we're ok. If I had gotten the smaller ones, I probably would have thought they looked too small in comparison to theirs. Yea! It's March Madness!!!! It sounds like there is a heavy equipment race going on in my backyard. It's hard to be nice about the development when we wake up to the sound of heavy equipment in the mornings. Sushi tonight! YEA!!!! And lastly, I'm sooooooo glad B is home safely. I've missed him.

I get Ben back tonight! I'm so happy! About 10PM last night it really hit me how much I missed him and wanted him to come home.

Also, I did go work out..didn't run...just did elliptical...and my knee is in not too bad of shape...so that's good. It's a little worn out, but I think I might be able to do the elliptical for a few days and maybe it can heal at the same time. I think I'll try running again on Sunday.

I'm so tired of being lazy...

I do not understand how people can just go home after work...it is beyond me. Night no. 2 of going home was horrid. Absolutely horrid. I thought about renting some movies, but we owe quite a bit in late fees and it's Ben's turn to pay them so that idea was out. Then I thought about reading my book, but I always read when I'm working out, so it made me sad that I couldn't work out and that sort of ruined that whole idea. Obviously, I was without laptop, so playing online/wedding planning was out. So, I ate a bowl of cereal and sat down in front of the TV. All I can say is that there is nothing but crap on TV. TV is horrible, especially the 6-7PM range. Now, I must admit that after meeting Ben I started watching TV to a certain degree, but it's still not much and I'm quite picky. I could feel myself becoming less intelligent and my thighs getting larger last night. I do not know why anyone would subject their body to this physical and mental torture.

Do people really do this? Just go home and watch TV at night? I can't imagine...life has been so busy for so long, I just couldn't do that to myself.

What is this kid going to do tonight? Go work out. Yes, even though I am injured I'm still going to go. I can't take it any longer. My knee/leg is doing a bit better - I'm not limping when I walk anymore, but it feels like it could easily go back to being in pain. So, I've decided that I'm going to just get on the elliptical bec at least it's movement...it's much better than sitting on the couch.

While I had the TV on last night, that Biggest Loser show came on. I've always sort of liked that show. It usually comes on while I'm working out, so I'll take a peak at it now and again. I think it's really good for people that are probably just sitting at home doing nothing to watch those people. Last night while eating Reece's Pieces and sitting in the LaZBoy, I turned it on. How terrible is that???! I can see how easy it would be to gain tons of weight...I was so bored, eating the RP's sorta kept me entertained...this is frightening! I guess people just come home and eat while they stay sedentary after a full day of being sedentary at the office. Yikes! No wonder we have an obesity problem in this country!

So, after boredom and fright hit me, I decided that this lack of exercise cannot continue. I almost went to Livewell right at the moment. Here's hoping that I don't make my knee worse tonight. Anyone who reads this please have happy thoughts for the recuperation of my knee.

Ben comes home tomorrow...yea! I'm very excited for that, although I'm going to have a hard time giving up the parking place in the garage. It's supposed to be very pretty again tomorrow, I think, which is cool.

Slightly before Edward, the Scottish guy was lying across our table...

Jess, Stace & Trace on Saturday night...apparently I didn't get the memo that we were supposed to wear an aqua shirt and black sweater for the bach. party. :-)

It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood...

...would you be mine? Could you be mine?

Are those the proper lyrics? For some reason, that's what's in my head.

Ummm....what? Oh, yeah...I've been so busy this winter that I haven't had a chance to watch one basketball game. Not one. And now it's March and I'm screwed. So, I'm looking at the bracket during lunch and I'm a little nervous. I always get nervous, though...this is why I don't gamble, people...I mean it's 2 bucks - maybe 3 due to inflation in recent years - but still, 2 bucks...and I bite my nails over this stuff. It's not the money actually, it's just that I usually do pretty well (even won it a couple of years ago) so I always have this fear that I'm going to just bomb one year. Hopefully it's not this year. Or next. Or ever, actually. Hehe. Anyway....GOOOOOOOO UCONN!

Let's see...what else? Oh, yeah, B is still gone. :-( I'm really starting to miss him now. At first it was really nice with the house being quiet and all, but especially since I'm injured and couldn't work out last night and can't tonight and since I really can't think of anything else to do, I think I'll just go home to the quiet of the house tonight....which is a little sad without B. (whew...big breath...that was one long sentence.) Although Mika makes things lively. I think he misses B, too, bec he's been sitting in my lap these last few days, and he never does that. His play buddy hasn't attacked him in oh, I guess 4 or 5 days now. He snuck into our bedroom last night, which was pretty entertaining. I didn't make it to bed until late, and knew he was probably in there (he's never ever allowed in), but after an unsuccessful search for him I decided to just go to bed. Stealth and quiet, he walked around the room, but I could hear his little paws sink into the carpet. I sleep by the window and I opened my eyes to see him trying to quietly jump up on the ledge. Hehehe...it was pretty funny...he panicked! Oh, no, he was caught! Big huge frightened Mika eyes stared back at me as he darted under the bed. Goofy cat.

Updates on wedding stuff: I sent the deposit to the photographer today. Yea! We have a photographer for real, now.

I guess there aren't any other updates besides that. Big things left are 1) get dress altered, 2) pick someone for music, 3) pick food from caterer, 4) figure out who's gonna sit where, 5) figure out flowers/florist, 6) figure out cake/baker. Is that it? I dunno. Probably not.

It's really tough to pick out music to walk down the aisle to, isn't it? Obviously, I do not want to use a piece as trite as Canon in D (bleh!) or some such equivalent. But, even as much as I listen to classical music, it's really hard to find the *perfect* piece. It seems I like the darker pieces (Dance of the Knights from Romeo and Juliet is one of my faves) which just aren't appropriate for such a light hearted event. There is a regal piece from The Royal Fireworks that I told B we might use for us walking out, but it's regal ...I just don't think it's appropriate for a balcony. I heard an oboe concerto (LeBrun) the other day that I also liked for us walking out...that seems to be an easier pick than me walking in, though. I need to start researching marches, I guess.

And, I'm rambling...

A sad, sad day...

I have hurt my leg. It sucks bec I've been running great lately. But I did something to the underside of my knee (are there tendons back there or just muscle?), and it hurts every time I take a step. I noticed the pain on Friday, so I didn't run again until last night, thinking that would be enough time for it to heal. Apparently, I was wrong bec about 5 mins into my run last night, it started hurting again. I finished my run (probably not the brightest idea in the world), and even did the stairclimber afterwards, but almost had to limp home. I hope this gets better soon...this is spring break...it's one of the only opportunities I have until after graduation where there's a full week available for working out. :-( I have been looking forward to this week so much.

In other news, since it's official, I guess I can announce to the world: I've been offered another job which I intend to accept. Still at same company, but leaving engineering to go to the CFO. I'm extremely excited!

I'm having serious laptop withdrawals...

...and the desktop just doesn't cut it. I cannot believe I've become so dependent on it! Me! Miss "I never bought a computer until I was 27 years old" is suddenly dependent on it. Serious withdrawals...serious withdrawals...

I bought "the" bathing suit on Saturday. (It's awesome - it's Guess and it's cream with pretty Hawaiian looking flowers on it and tipped in chocolate - so super cute.) I say "the" bathing suit bec there always seems to be just one amazing one each year - but I'm gonna try to find another "the one" and keep this one just for the honeymoon (have I mentioned how much in need of a vacation I am and I can't wait for the honeymoon??? Oh, yeah, update - we're thinking about stopping in Vegas on the way to Hawaii..that'll be fun...but not decided yet). I'm such a bathing suit addict. I got rid of 5 or so last year, and I noticed when I added the new one this weekend that I have ten of them. I also got a Ralph Lauren cover up thingee that's pretty cool...most of those things are kinda tacky, but this one is really cute...it's a halter style...I've never seen one anything like it...Glad I happened upon it. I truly believe that you have to get your bathing suit and accessories during March at the latest. Otherwise, you're just out of luck - all of the cute stuff is gone by April.

K's tea and bach. party went well on Sat. K got all kinds of cool stuff! The English Rose is super cute, and I was excited to find that I can buy flakes for Ben here in Chattanooga. I can't believe I forgot about that place when I was searching for them in December.

I can't wait to have a shower! I'm not sure where we'll do the family one in Nashville...the family is so big it's hard to find a place. I'll have to start looking around soon, I guess. I hope I can find some place as cute as the English Rose, though. We're debating on a couples shower for friends...I think it would be a whole lot of fun and it would give us an opportunity to see some people we've not seen in awhile before the wedding. Anyway, that's still undecided as I wouldn't mind having the opportunity to just hang out with my girlfriends, too. We'll see.

This is why dreams can be such dangerous things...

...they smolder on like a fire does, and sometimes consume us completely.

I like that line...it's from Memoirs. There was another one...a funny one, but I can't seem to find it.

Ummm....I had some crazy dreams last night. First I dreamt that I was in a house and my mom was there, and some aunts, too, I think. And my dad and uncle were outside. And while everyone inside was talking, I was looking off outside out of a huge window that faced a large open field. It grew darker outside until I noticed a funnel shape forming from some dark clouds out in the distance. I screamed that there was a tornado coming but no one believed me. After a few secs everyone finally paid attention and we struggled to get my dad and uncle inside before it came...and we all tried to hide in closets...but the one I chose had a window in it and I didn't realize it until it was too late to try to find another (where do I get this stuff??? A window in a closet???) So, then the tornado comes through, and we all come out of our closets (I swear, I love my fiance, this is not some metaphor like Tom Cruise on South Park) and figure out that everything is ok. We look out the window to analyze the damage and realize another one is coming. We hide again, come out and everything is ok. And then we realize again that another is coming...this goes on five or six times until the house we're in starts falling apart. So dad says we should go somewhere else to seek beter shelter. We drive, screeching tires in our rush, and reach some friend of dad's house. It's nothing more than a broken down shack with used cars in the front yard (my parents don't even know people like this), and we go in expecting more tornadoes. I scope it out to check for closets, and notice there are none...just a big room with a high ceiling and a loft area. Suddenly someone screams and yes, it's another natural disaster...but no it's not another tornado. Instead, a humongous wave 15 feet or so high is quickly approaching. We all try to climb to the loft, but the steps are old and broken...some fall away under the weight of us all. I make it to the top...and there's only a 2 foot by 1 foot or so platform to stand on. Some others make it to the loft area, but some get carried off by the wave. When the wave recedes, another one comes. And then another and another and another and another. Slowly, the weathered boards pull away and I know it's only a matter of time before I will wash away with them. And then I wake up.

So, that was a really interesting start to the day. Things went rather well today. Work went well, and on the way home I stopped at the grocery store to get food for K's pre-bachelorette festivities tomorrow night...oh, my gosh, I'm so happy it's spring! The grapes and strawberries are just wonderful right now.

So, then I came home...and lo and behold my dress was on the front stoop! Hooray! I tried it on, and it's still quite big...so I'm definitely going to have to have it altered. I can't believe how large these wedding dresses are! I think they do it on purpose bec that way they think they get to charge you massive alterations charges. Otherwise, besides at Ann Taylor, I am not a size 0.

Anyway, so here's the story to my wedding dress, now that I've gotten it and I know it's ok. I actually bought my dress on Ebay. Yes, Ebay...land of the online yard sales. Jess found it for me on there; she got the idea bec she sold hers on there. Anyway, so I got it for less than half of what it was in the store. It was kind of cool...I couldn't believe how easy it was to find it...and in the right size. The girl wore it on her wedding day last November and decided to sell it one week after I had tried it on in that store in Atlanta. Well, that's not exactly how the story goes, actually. The first dress Jess found was the same dress...but it was a size 4. The auction had 9 days left on it. With about 3 or so days left, Jess checked again...and voila! There was another one...and it was in a size 2! So, after some deliberations, we decided to just go ahead and do the "Buy it now" thing (thankfully, that hadn't been an option on the size 4 or I probably would have bought that one, and it would have been a tent). The girl was sweet...she included a card that had a pic of her and her husband on it while they danced at the wedding and she wrote "Good Luck" on the back. So, my second experience with Ebay turned out quite well. The dress is beautiful, albeit a bit big, but I'm happy I got it for the price I did. Hooray!

Now, don't get me wrong...I'm still gonna look for that other poofy dress and try to wear them both. We'll just see how that works out. Jess actually found that dress on Ebay, too...it sold for less than 400 (it was 1250 at the store) and the girl that sold it lived in Hixson. Ok, if you're not from this area, you don't understand, so I'll explain. Hixson is on my drive home to Soddy. I thought that was kind of weird. Unfortunately she sold it on the Monday after I went shopping in Atlanta, and we hadn't even looked at Ebay as an option yet. So, here's hoping another one will pop up...somehow I doubt it will be 8 or so miles from my house, though.

Sooo....I got my dress! I got my dress! I got my dress! I got my dress! I got my dress! I got my dress! I got my dress! I got my dress! I got my dress!

:-)

So, things are moving along.

Ben leaves for CO tomorrow, so I probably won't be blogging as much for the next week or so as he is taking my laptop with him. How am I going to live without my laptop for a full week? I've grown so dependent on it...it's my security blanket! How can I live without the ability to shop at only cosmopolitan stores, unavailable in Chattanooga? How can I live without the ability to find out neat facts on the "interesting-net"? (Thanks to my future sister in law for that one!) How will I live without easy access to weather, news, blogs and other daily requirements???

Anyway, I guess I'll run now...Ben is wanting to go to dinner...

Just thought I'd add the pic of the balcony that we're hoping to get married on. As long as the wedding stays small, we should be able to do it...

We'll be standing where I was when I took the pic, and the guests will be seated in twos along each side behind us. For fifty people, we're thinking it will go about halfway down the balcony. It will be a long walk for me...there's a door that opens out onto it at the other end of the balcony...I hope I don't trip!

Today is a good day!

It has been such a wonderful week....oh, my gosh...I can't even explain right now.

All I'll say is the really big stuff that has been going on has finally ended, and it ended well. I'm ecstatic!

I am so giddy, I just don't know what to do with myself...I can't stop smiling. This is how I felt when I found out Brenda was pregnant. What joy! A much different kind of joy, but what joy.

My dress shipped today!

YYEEEEEAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!

Ok...so they're clover mites...

...but I don't care because....We got our invites! We got our invites! We got our invites! We got our invites! We got our invites! We got our invites! We got our invites!

And they are beautiful.

Ben said that I have impeccable taste the other night...that was a very nice compliment. I'm glad he likes the invites as much as me...I guess it goes beyond the invites, though...he tends to like my taste no matter what we're discussing.

Now, if I can just get my dress!

Ok...it has been a long, long day and I am exhausted....I'm gonna hit the hay.

So, these last few days have been busy. After the post on Sunday, I discovered little red bugs on the windowsill...so we've been working on getting rid of those. Hopefully some guy from the county agriculture dept will call me back today to tell me what these bugs are and how to get rid of them - and whether they are what is bothering Mika (instead of him being crazy, like we thought :-) ).

The invites are on a truck to be delivered today. Yea! Hopefully, we won't have to sign for them, and they'll just leave them on the front stoop, but who knows? It seems to be at the discretion of the driver, doesn't it? Some leave it, some make you go to the warehouse to pick it up.

I have not heard any information on the shipping of my dress, though. This is bothersome. I hope to hear something soon. I'm still not sure about it...I still want that other one as well. I feel like it could be a huge waste of money (especially for someone on a budget) to have two dresses (also especially for such a small wedding), but really that's what I want. Big fun girly dress for wedding, sexy comfortable dress for reception.

K's shower & bach party are this weekend...should be a good time. Also, Ben is leaving to go to CO. Next week is spring break, and boy does he ever need it.

Anyway...not much to say...busy, busy...must get back to work...

The Cat is Crazy....seriously.

Yesterday, I had to take Mika to the vet. That part of the day sucked, as Mika is not a good car traveler. However, he did pretty well this trip...there was no puking or other uncontrollable bodily functions that messed up his carrier. I had to take Mika to the vet not for his yearly visit, but rather bec we're having a problem. It seems the cat has of late been excessively cleaning his paws...to the point that he's losing his fur on them. Now, anyone who knows me well knows the whole "how I got Mika" story, and knows that he had a severe case of ringworm (from ears to tip of tail, not joking). So, I was a little concerned that somehow the ringworm had healed but laid dormant for all of these years, returning only about a month ago. Well, the vet checked him out and the black light showed no signs of ringworm. So, she said that it can be one of two things: 1) the cat has developed some allergy (I use the word "developed" bec as far as I can remember, there have been no changes in his diet or surroundings, or 2) the cat is obsessive compulsive, and it has only just started to show. First we have to try to treat the cat for allergies, and if it doesn't stop we know that the cat is actually crazy. I've been suspecting this all along...hehe. Anyway, she gave him a steroid shot and said to give him a week...noticing if he is going psycho on his paws still. Got him home, and apparently steroid shots make tiny cats really sick, bec he puked not once, but three times. Yes, three. Poor guy. Poor mommy for having to clean it up. Yuck. Anyway, here's hoping that he gets better and that he doesn't have to take prozac, like she said he might.

We had discussed before I left making a trip down to atl, and even though I felt really, really crappy when I came home, Ben still managed to convince me to go. So, off we went to Atlanta. I slept for most of the trip, after taking a couple of Benadryl before we left. We got there and I found cute silver sandals for the spring/summer, Ben bought some shoes/slacks, we registered at Crate and Barrel, and picked up a present for Kara and Brye at C&B. Had dinner at this place called Twist that Kara's friends had introduced me to while on my dress shopping trip to the atl a few weeks ago. Yummy. They do a pretty mean philadelphia roll there.

Speaking of wedding dresses....I had a horrible dream last night that I got my dress and it looked horrible on me. Now, I've tried the dress on, so you would think that this was a silly dream, but I awoke thinking, "well, they didn't exactly have my size when I tried it on, so what if I get the proper size and it doesn't look as good as I thought it would?" Anyway...we'll see.

Hooray! This is the beg of the week that I should receive my invites and my dress!!!!!

So, Ben had that horrible week last week with 2 tests, a take home test, and a 10 page paper all due, on top of having tons of work to do at work, right? Well, poor thing, the week actually got worse for him bec he had a terrible cold on top of it all. He hardly went to work last week. I felt so bad for him.

But, and hopefully I'm not sounding too selfish here, I knew that if he was sick, I was sure to get it. Yesterday, I felt horrendous. Today, I actually feel ok, but with that weird allergy related "feels like someone punched me in the face" symptom. It's annoying, but I can function as a normal being with it...the bad part of it is that I am pretty much certain of developing a sinus infection when I experience one of these. So, I hit the livewell this morning so that I could get in at least one good workout during the calm before the storm. I actually had a really great 5k, but limited myself to just 4.5 miles in total....just in case I was making myself worse by exerting too much energy. I did get on the stairclimber afterwards (ya know...to reach 700 cals), and read a bit of my book. I'm about a fifth of the way through it...and while I'm really interested in the story, I have a hard reading about undeserved punishments/slavery/being held captive/etc., and I am most definitely not fond of rape. Not that rape has been detailed thus far, but it's obviously going on and it makes me feel bad. Ben gets mad at me bec during most movies and most books, I say "I don't like this." He says I'm being negative. In actuality, if a book or movie can move me in such a way that I feel terribly, it probably means it's pretty good. Anyway, having said all of that, I don't know if this book is moving, but I do feel for the main character. Ben would say "It's just a book", but really these things did happen...so while it is fiction, it is fiction that represents what really went on...and that makes me sad...therefore I say that I don't like it.

When I don't have really big things going on during the week, I really like Sundays. Today is one of those likeable Sundays. I usually run out and do a little shopping, go to the grocery store, and then Ben and I usually cook dinner together. I'm not sure if we'll do that tonight or not, as the dishwasher pump seems to be inoperable at this time. Did I mention this in an earlier blog? The fact that I learned about dishwashers last week with a hands-on lesson? Good times, good times, let me tell ya. Anyway, typical Sunday here...lots of laundry to do...a little house cleaning...etc.

It was amazingly warm on Wednesday and Thursday of this week, which was awesome. I hope the weather turns back this week. It was so much fun to wear cute sandals and flip flops for a few days even if my feet weren't pedicured or blister proofed for it.

Anyway, I guess I'm rambling...I should probably go fold some clothes and clean a bit before heading out to run a few errands.....

Look at me....I'm blogging!

So, here I am again...this is almost a daily thing these days. I finally took a peek at the Eproof of our invites and I must say that they are unbelievable! Even Ben seemed rather pleased with them. At the first bakery I went to yesterday, the guy asked me what my colors were, so I took out my invite to show him and he said "these are just groovy". That made me happy. He seemed sincere, so I hope he was. I'm a little nervous about reactions to my very non traditional (although rather beautiful) invitations.

I used Martha Stewart's guide on how to word the invites, but I put in our middle names. It said not to, but I did it anyway. It sounded so abrupt otherwise.

I can't wait to get my dress! I can't wait to get my invites!

My tough thing today went pretty well.

Is it bad that I'm really excited for Las Vegas tonight? Only a few more mins!

Ok, I'm boring, so I'm gonna run...

I bought a dress today...

Yep, things are moving along. I bought one. I still like another, so I might buy it too and wear them both.

Did I mention the fact that I bought a dress today?

It has a story with it, and I don't think I'll tell it now, bec I'm tired and want to go to bed - need to go to bed to prepare for another big day tomorrow, actually.

But, I bought a dress!

Ummm...what else? Oh, yeah, so I went to two bakers and well that didn't go so well. The first guy said he could do it but recommended someone else and she said she could do my tiny cake for 80 people tops for $1200....ummm...yeah, no. What happened to those prices they quoted me on the phone?

I had a test earlier in the week...I didn't study enough...I probably made a B, but I don't care bec 1) I'm getting married, and 2) I got a dress today! Usually not getting an A really upsets me, but not this time.

Also, I've been holding back on putting something about this in here, but I feel I must today. Who is looking at my wedding website 3 times a day? It kinda creeps me out a bit, but really the site gets 3 hits a day during the week. This is beyond random, bec it is 99% of the time exactly 3 hits, and ONLY on weekdays. On weekends, there are no hits. Also, I've noticed others' websites don't consistently get hits like mine does (ones that make their counters public). So, it makes me wonder...is it one person that is checking it out 3 times a day, or is it 3 people that are checking it daily? It just seems like a waste of time to me...does anyone really think that I update the website daily? Anyway, I hope I'm not hurting anyone's feelings here, but I think this seems a bit excessive...I have more thoughts on that, but yeah, I'm afraid I'm going to hurt someone's feelings. It just freaks me out a bit that someone wants updates daily on the website.

And the people closest to me don't need to check it, that's what freaks me out the most, I think. If I knew it were someone that was totally involved with the wedding (like if I had bridesmaids or something), then it would make sense for them to check it often. But 1) I don't have anyone like that and 2) the people that would be those people talk to me on pretty much a daily basis anyway, therefore creating no need to check the site daily...and I know that neither Ben's nor my family is psychotic enough to check it this often...they would just call or email us if they wanted to know something. So it makes me feel like someone is spying on me. I have my suspicions about who this person or people could be, and it just freaks me out.

I have lots to say about that. Someone a long time ago - someone that meant a lot to me - had a blog that that person sent me to read. So, I read. That person forgot that they sent it to me and proceeded to say some horrible things about me - it was a total betrayal by someone that was supposed to be my closest friend. What a bad experience. Someone that you think is truly a very close and intimate friend of yours and they say horrible things about you behind your back. In contrast, I pride myself on loving my friends...I hope to never write anything bad about someone on here, bec that's just not me. Having said all of that, I really hope that I'm not hurting anyone's feelings. If you are checking the website daily and you are not psycho, then please let me know so that I can stop being anxious about it and bec I'll know that I didn't hurt anyone's feelings.

Anyway....I bought a dress today!

I can't wait to get it. I hope it fits. They measured me and said I was between a size zero and a size two (what do the really skinny girls do?), so I got the size two. The store only had a size eight to try on, so I'm a little worried. It's pretty slinky....yea! I got my sexy dress.

Ok. On that note, I'm going to go to sleep now...I'm exhausted.

We have invites!

Yes, I made decisions! 5:30 p.m. it is. The font is decided upon. The wording is set. I get my E-proof tomorrow. Hooray, we'll have invitations soon! I wholeheartedly support local businesses, but unfortunately, our local stationer couldn't do thermography on the brand of invites that I want... so yes, I had to go to the internet. Sorry, local stationer. (It's a great store by the way if you want something more traditional - Cynthia Howell's, if anyone ever reads this that's in the area).

Otherwise, I guess there's not much going on. Oh yeah, there was another development today in the dress. The slinky dress, that is, not the full one. Still working on the full one. Anyway, happy dress thoughts, people....happy dress thoughts.

Ok...on that note, I think I'm going to run...I'm very sleepy.