Do not blindly follow my mother

     Last Friday I went out to dinner and to the movies with my mom and brother. We went to see "The Kings Speech" and I blindly followed my mother into the theater. We got there about half an hour early so we talked for awhile. Soon we started to see 14, 15, 16 year old girls walking in. Like gobs of them. So we rolled our eyes and thought "oh great, they better not talk" and "why are they even watching this? they aren't going to like it." But the hordes didn't quit coming. So a part of me wondered if we were in the wrong theater but I was too lazy to check, and I figured that was unlikely. The credits started and the first one was for "Sucker Punch" (which Matthew is super excited for by the way. He says its like Alice in Wonderland only more awesome and with hot chicks) so that was a little weird, normally they think of their audience when they play credits. The next credit was for some animated bunny movie. This is what followed:

 Me: "thats it, we are surrounded by 12-year-olds and a bunny preview is on the screen. We HAVE to be in the wrong theater!"
Mom: "no we are in theater 15 right? The ticket guy said theater 15"
Me: "no the ticket says theater 14"

     So Eric went to check, and sure enough we were in the room for "Beastly" which I do want to see, but not in the theater because there's no getting away from the giggling, talking girls. Even if you go super late, whats up with that? Seriously. But I digress. We sheepishly made our way to the correct room, which was much smaller with only two other people in it. We only missed a couple minutes, nobody talked and it was a really good movie. So lesson learned: "do not blindly follow my mother"

     Today we had the taste testing for the wedding food, which was fun and delicious. I'm so excited for our menu, I think people will love it. We also found some fun glass containers and ribbons for the candy bar. Even though everything didn't start out the way I wanted and I didn't get my vintage modern wedding, I'm still finding ways to incorporate the eclectic feel that I love so much. Everything is coming together!

     OH! Early this morning I woke up and heard my mom, dad and sister outside my door exclaiming "Oh my God" so I crawled out of bed to see what was wrong. My parents went into their room and slammed the door and I proceeded down the stairs. But I only made it a couple steps before I saw that our whole family room carpet was covered in maple syrup and dog food. Like some weird giant art project. Of course it was my three year old niece Caroline, who seemed pretty pleased with herself. And my dogs food smells like fish/rotting potatoes so its completely disgusting. So I turned around and went back to bed because it wasn't even 8 O'clock. Helpful, right?

Matt Needs a Wife

     We've gotten a lot of wedding things done just in the past few weeks. I finally have flowers, I've met with my wedding coordinator, we got our rings, and our invitations came in! I have to admit I'm a little bit of a failure with the save-the-dates though. I didn't send all of them out at the same time and its almost getting to the point where it's...pointless. The invitations will go out in a month or so. It's only 3 months away! 95 days! I keep thinking about wearing my dress, walking down the aisle to Matt and saying "I do". Matt has decided to start working out so he can look buff in his tux. He is doing this workout called the Spartacus workout. A fitting name, considering he is acting like he is DYING. He is so sore he is having trouble walking. Poor Matt, all in the name of being healthy.

     Speaking of healthy, yesterday he ate 5 breadsticks for dinner. I told him this is proof that he needs a wifey. Today Jill and I thought about how awesome it was to be 18. If we were in Peru we would be watching One Tree Hill, going on walks, eating dinner together, going to the Bob, and doing all kinds of idiotic things because we weren't cool or interested enough to go to parties. But man did we have fun. It's easy to romanticize it now that its over though. I certainly don't miss saying goodbye to Matt. There was also tons of drama, lots of walking in the cold and boring homework. At least we still keep in touch and hang out!

     Matt and I almost started looking for a house but decided an apartment was the best decision. I want to see how our finances go first, so we have a better idea of what we can afford. Plus maybe we will have a pool! Honestly all I want is a washer and dryer in the unit. I don't want any "communal laundry" shit. I would never do my laundry if I had to deal with that.

     Matt's uncle is getting married in November near Washington D.C. So that will be fun! I've always wanted to go but I doubt we'll have any time to sight see. We don't get a honeymoon because Matt will be in school, so maybe one day we can make up for it and go somewhere really awesome!

Paranoia? Maybe.

     We registered at another place and found salt and pepper shakers that were pleasing to Matthew. Then we proceeded to argue about a rolling pin and the bathroom supplies (toothbrush holder, soap dispenser etc.) Not serious arguing, just the usual.

     We FINALLY picked a honeymoon place. We are going to Hawaii! Yeah! But I told Matt we can't go scuba diving because I heard of two people who went scuba diving on their honeymoon and died. Paranoia? Maybe. It took forever to figure out where we wanted to go. I felt kind of apathetic about it so I told him to pick a few places and I would help choose one. It was a pretty easy choice since the Bahama's broke a rule (stay in the country) and Washington D.C. would be too stressful for a honeymoon but I really want to go one day. I'd love to see the colonies and go to a living history museum. I just love history!

      I think we are going to go ahead and buy a condo/townhouse. The likelihood that we would have to move is slim. Either his parents would buy it from us or I would say NO we are NOT moving. But if it was somewhere that people don't get excited when it gets to the double digits, I would have to consider it. I hate the cold with a fiery passion. I was not made to live in cold climates.

      Tomorrow my sister and cousins are getting their bridesmaid dresses and so is Jill! Only one more bridesmaid to go! Also our save the dates will be getting in soon. Then for the next few months we have the lighting guy coming, a tasting for the dinner menu, florist appointments, tuxes, and Matt's Aunt in Minnesota is throwing a bridal shower for me in April. It feels good to get things checked off the list.

We will get it all done, it will be OK

     We have finally gotten the ball rolling on wedding planning. I took a break in December for Christmas. My FMIL was freaking out because she thought we wouldn't get anything done. So in turn, she freaked Matthew out and he came to me in a state of sheer panic. I (the BRIDE) had to calm my groom down and tell him "It's just one day of our lives, it will go by so fast, no one will notice the tiny details. We will get it all done, it will be OK."

     I was talking about our cake and I kept finding things I liked and saying "but we will have to see how much it costs and we can always get something really simple instead". Matt said "I don't want you saying that, I want you to have whatever makes you happy and not worry about money." I love you dear, but that's easy for you to say when I'm the one paying for the cake.

     He did get a lot done just in the past week. We have hotel rooms blocked, tuxes picked out, the lighting guy has been called, we have a tasting with the caterer for next month and today we picked out a cake and registered! Our cake will be blue with white details. The inside is strawberry with champagne mousse and butter cream frosting. We also got some vanilla cake with raspberry filling. We are looking for a "P" cake topper. It might take some time to agree on something, he has a lot of opinions...lol. This is very similar to what our cake will look like:

     Registering was fun but stressful. Like I said, Matt has a lot of opinions. One example is salt and pepper shakers. There were at least 6 to choose from and none of them pleased him enough. Salt and pepper shakers were not good enough for him. He wants wooden utensils, I want dishwasher safe. He liked this old looking, dark huge-ass clock and I preferred one that didn't look like it was salvaged from a ship wreck. It's a wonder it only took us two hours. Granted, we hardly got anything we needed. Its okay though, we only went to one place so far. Only 5 more months! It feels like it will never come but I know time will start going faster and faster. It's fun to be engaged but I can't wait to be married to my best friend.

Concrete proof that I am a total nerd

     So Buffy the Vampire Slayer was my favorite show back in the day. Okay it still is one of my favorite shows because it is AWESOME. So when my brother told me they were doing a Buffy movie, I was a little hesitant. Last time a movie was mentioned it was canceled so I didn't want to get my hopes up. Well I made the right move because they are making a movie, but it's without the original cast and Joss Whedon (the creator). SHAME. I suppose the new audience might be twi-hards who have not experienced the joys of Buffy and prefer their vampires to sparkle like pixies and their heroines to have the emotional range of Martha Stewart. They are totally alienating the original Buffy fans and I cannot see it working out. At least the movie wont have anything to do with the series though, its a "darker" re-imagining of the movie. Wow. I have never proven what I nerd I am before, but there you have it. And it's going to get worse. Despite what my angry rant might lead you to believe, I do think Martha Stewart is a genius and I am on team Jacob. Don't judge me.

Grandma's House

I think I've spent the better part of my day looking at invitations while Matt played video games. Even though I talk about it so much I'm getting pretty bored of wedding planning. I would rather think of dishes and Christmas decorations! Thanksgiving was fun, we went to my grandma's house. She passed a newspaper article around about a woman who did meth, went into septic shock and lost two of her legs. Then she turned her life around. Grandma thought that was an awesome Thanksgiving story. I made three pies: apple, pecan and pumpkin. It gave me a lot of practice, I always have issues with the dough. It tastes fine but I handle it too much and then my crust won't hold it's shape. My niece is almost three and she has discovered the art of story telling. The other day she was riding in the car with my mom. They passed some random building and she said "my friend goes to school there and I play with her. No I don't, it's too far away."

Homicidal Turkeys

     7 months til I get married! I am so excited! Last Monday I tried on my wedding dress and loved it even more than I did the first time. Its so me! Ever since I was little and saw the “North and South” mini series, Little Women and Gone with the Wind I have always wanted to wear a big dress. I thought I would have a hoop skirt but I guess it’s not necessary for my dress. (Technically its an A-line, not too big for my frame.)Anyway, I told Jill it’s a good thing they keep it at the store because otherwise I would live in it. Jill said it wouldn’t be very pretty with spaghetti and coke stains all over it. I guess she is right.

     Everything was going smoothly and then last week our band canceled on us. With 7 months to go. Because somebody got pregnant. Nobody wants to watch a live birth onstage, so the new search began and we found the PERFECT band. Thank goodness they were free! They have a great song list and it sounds like they interact with the crowd well and keep them entertained. In the end, I think it will work out better than the first band.

     Last weekend we watched a movie about a turkey that murdered people. It really put me in the holiday spirit. Then Shad decided to turn on a clown movie and that night I had a nightmare about a bunch of people with clown masks on trying to kill people. Coincidence?