Shower Weekend Day 4

Monday I traveled for 16.5 hours and slept for almost all of it! I thought I was finally starting to feel better and was over my sickness. Wrong! My flu turned into a wicked cold which hung around for almost another week! Not cool.

The shower weekend was so fun though and I am so grateful for all the work we got done, memories that were made, and gifts that were given. Speaking of gifts, hauling them 2,000 miles across the country was kind of a chore. Imagine that!

Luckily, my mom and 2nd mom, Diana, spent 3 hours packing our gifts and fitting them into 2 huge suitcases. I brought 100 lbs worth of gifts back and only two were broken. I was quite happy with that! There were only a couple things we wanted to bring back and were unable to, so those will probably be shipped to us.

The cats were in heaven when I got home and unpacked gifts, bubble wrap and tissue paper!

Typing that leads me to think about wedding gifts, which will also have to be shipped to us. Logistically, planning this wedding can sometimes seem like a headache. When the bride and groom are not anywhere near the wedding site or wedding party, it can make things very difficult. I am quite proud to say I don't feel stressed at all these days, even though we've got less than two months to go. There have probably been 2 or 3 days where I had minor freak-outs, but overall, I have just had a lot of fun planning this wedding!

We had our Oregon church shower this Sunday, and it was an afternoon tea at the preacher's wife's tea shop/restaurant, so it was awesome! We'll get our engagement pictures taken in Portland this weekend, so the fun just keeps coming. After that, we need to take a trip to Medford so I can get one of the little diamonds in my ring replaced.

We're also in the process of getting Kory moved out of his apt and into mine, which has to be complete when we leave for the wedding. Otherwise, we'd have to pay another month's rent for his apartment. It will be really nice to come home to a clean, moved-in apartment though and be "settled".

Shower Weekend Day 3

Sunday I was feeling slightly better than the night before...it's amazing what Nyquil and a good night's sleep will do for you! We went to church that morning and then all at lunch at the World Famous La Fonda afterwards.

We went to my parents house for a little bit between lunch and the next shower so we could sort gifts from the night before. We were able to decide which items needed to be returned because they couldn't fit in my suitcase or were too heavy.

Next we headed to my shower from people at my parent's church. Once again, I got a LOT of cool things! However, I spent most of the shower wondering how in the world I would get all of those things back to Oregon, especially the large gifts like a lamp!

The rest of the day was kind of a long blur for me, so I'll skip the details. I did my wedding dress fitting, went to church, ate dinner and watched/tried to help pack my gifts to come back to Oregon. I was feeling really rotten and had a high fever during all of this, so I don't remember a lot of it.

The only thing I planned to do that weekend and didn't get done was a hair trial, but I felt so sick Sunday night I knew I just needed to get in bed. My hair stylist here in Oregon actually did a hair trial for me last week and I watched carefully and took pictures, so I am sure we can recreate it come wedding time.

Shower Weekend Day 2

Saturday was our work day as we spent most of the day working on wedding projects and crafts. When I say "we" worked, I mean my mom and bridesmaids worked while I talked to them, played with Beckham and avoided work in general.

All of the bridesmaids but Julie (who had a baby 1.5 weeks before) got fitted for their b-maid dresses and they looked great! The lady who made them is incredible. We sent her a picture we printed off from David's Bridal's website and she made dresses that are exact replicas...without a pattern...and for 60% less! She's amazing! We'll get Julie fitted a little closer to time for the wedding, but since this lady made 4 dresses in a week, we're not worried at all.

Speaking of Julie and her baby, Grayden, I got to see both of them on Saturday! It was SO wonderful to meet the little guy and get to hold him. I do mean LITTLE...he was only 6 lbs and was precious!

Especially after holding Beckham earlier that day (17 lbs!), Grayden felt light as a feather! I loved getting to see Julie and her brand new baby, brand new house and brand new car. Lots of excitement! What really took me by surprise was the fact that as I went to hug her goodbye, I lost it. I started crying and couldn't get it together.

It just hit me all of a sudden that I live so far away and I won't get to see her baby grow up and just felt sad to be across the country from her! This emotion continued to sneak up on me all night...including during my recipe shower that night. I was also very tired and getting sick by this point, so I think I was just completely wiped out.

My throat was KILLING me during that recipe shower and I knew I was getting the flu. Ugh! Really?? The timing was terrible...but I pressed on! The cool thing about the recipe shower is that people give you a recipe, an ingredient for that recipe, a kitchen utensil and a piece of advice for marriage and for cooking. Unfortunately, you're supposed to read the name of the recipe and the two pieces of advice out loud to everyone at the shower.

It hurt bad enough for me to just talk, but everyone was talking so loudly I was having to shout and my throat hurt so bad I wanted to die. I have never been in that much pain from my throat, but I put on a fake smile and tried to make the best of it. It really was fun to get all those gifts and see friends and family, but my body aches kicked in about this time and I was so emotional, I knew I needed to get to bed soon.

My wonderful b-maids packed all my gifts for me, thankfully. We left the shower to go clean up the room at church we worked in all day. I also got to open our gift cards from our Amarillo gift card shower that was held a few weeks before. We were INCREDIBLY blessed from that shower and got a ton of gift cards! The best part was that they travel easy and we get to pick what we want: win-win!

This is a good time to mention that we have 5 wedding showers, plus a lingerie shower for me! It's overwhelming how many people are loving on us and giving us awesome gifts. Getting married is SO fun! :)

Shower Weekend Day 1

I was so excited to blog about my shower weekend and post lots of pictures from our fun activities, but I got to NM and found I left my camera memory card in OR. I apparently left my brain right beside that memory card as was evidenced many times throughout the weekend.

So, I will still be posting updates about all the fun we had, and I will borrow pictures from other people who took photos for me all weekend. There was a LOT packed into a few days so I will probably take a few posts to write about it all.

Friday morning started with me waking up at 3:45 a.m. to get to the airport so I should have known my exhaustion was imminent. I got into El Paso about 2:00 p.m. and after a few stops in EP, we made our way to the wedding location so I could get a feel for how things would be set up and really just picture everything better. I am SO happy we did this! I feel great about the wedding site and the flow of the ceremony and reception and everything really!

When we finished up at the wedding location, we headed to Artesia to meet my dad and little brother and one of my bridesmaids, Rachel, for dinner. Sadly, we were running way behind schedule and Beckham (Rachel's baby) was already in bed at that time. I got to run in and look at him in his crib and he looked SO cute all swaddled up and sleeping.

While we were finishing up at dinner, 3 of my bridesmaids arrived in town and we got to meet up with them next. We all went to the wedding closet at my parents church which is pretty incredible! There are tablecloths, candles, flowers, vases, and tons of other stuff that you can use for your wedding, for free! :) It's great! It works on a pay it forward system, so you just donate some of your wedding items after your wedding for future brides to use. Here is a picture inside the closet:

Also, I got to try on my wedding dress, which came in THIS in the mail!!

This is what you get when you order your dress online from China. lol Though we didn't realize it was coming from China when we ordered it...  It looks perfect and just like the super expensive one in the store, though, so I'm happy.

I finally got to bed like 1 a.m. on Friday morning after almost 24 hours awake, but it was so great seeing all my friends and catching up with them, so as always...it was totally worth it!

Random things on my mind:

I have probably visited www.etsy.com and www.theknot.com 10,000 times in the past month. It's becoming a HUGE obsession..

This recipe for Oreo Balls is taunting me. Has anyone tried these before? They sound very yummy!

In the middle of my second winter in Oregon now...and I still love rain! I think my 23 1/2 years of living in the desert makes me REALLY appreciate how much moisture we get here.

I got a really warm, huge blue down mummy Marmot sleeping bag for Christmas (that was a lot of adjectives at once! probably not grammatically correct...oh well) so now I really want to go camping and try it out. Kory got a new backpack and we both got solar-powered flashlights, so we need to go try out our new gear soon.

Kory and I are attempting to make his grandmother's famous turkey soup tonight and I'm SO excited! It is delicious :)

We got Toy Story 3 and Inception for Christmas gifts...two VERY different movies, but easily my two favorites from 2010.

New Camera

I got a new camera! I like this one a lot better than my old one...which disappeared...possibly stolen? Anyhow, this one is much fancier and I like how it kind of looks like an old school 35mm film camera.

Now I can continue to document my life in photographs and my posts on here won't be so boring with all that text. Pictures from our Mission Trip to Seattle will be up after next week!

Football and Resolutions

National Championship tonight! Hook 'em Horns!! It starts at 5 on the West Coast, so I will have to rush out of work and get home so I don't miss too much of it.

It is now illegal to talk on your cell phone while driving in Oregon unless you use a wireless hands-free device. I still haven't got one...I probably need to get on that. I think it's a great law, but it's seriously annoying to me as someone who enjoys talking on the phone in the car. Yes I know it's dangerous and I would NEVER want to put my life or someone else's in danger...so I guess it's good they passed a law to make people like me be more careful.

I am not going to Lubbock for Master Follies this year...and I'm very sad about that. Two years in a row now! :( I can't believe I haven't been back since I have been out of college. Oh well--I suppose this is the price I pay for living in cool, far-away places. I care way less about seeing the shows than I do about seeing people.

We're taking the youth group inner tubing in a couple weeks and I am SO excited about it! I am not sure why, but I am beyond pumped. I know it will be fun, but I might be getting my hopes up a little too much. I do love playing in the snow and we haven't got ANY here, so maybe that is part of it. I never would have thought that Southeast NM and West Texas would get more snow than somewhere this far north. It's probably because we're so close to the coast I guess. I will get to wear some of my new super warm clothes to play in the snow too, so that is exciting.

The holidays continue for Kory and I! We have Christmas, New Years, 2 year anniversary, my birthday and Valentine's Day all within 8 weeks of each other.

Ty got me My Spanish Coach for the DS for Christmas and it's awesome! I feel like I'm learning a lot and it's pretty fun. My favorite is this game where you get to whack gophers on the head if they say the Spanish word you're looking for.

I think we're all aware that most of the time when we tell someone we are praying for them or we will pray for them, we actually don't. Ok, well I'll just speak for myself...I don't actually spend much time in prayer after saying that. I am really trying to work on that. I have good intentions when I say it--it's not that I want to lie and make them think I care when I really don't. I just forget about it and never remember it again to follow through with the prayers. So, two people have asked for my prayers this week, and I have prayed for both of them several times. So far, so good!

I'm also trying to read the Bible through this year and I have read every day so far (you only read 6 days a week). I realize we're barely a week into January, but I'm celebrating the small victories. I rarely make New Years Resolutions, but this year I decided this was a great time to start making some spiritual improvements in my life. If you feel bold enough, I would appreciate you asking me about these resolutions from time to time to keep me accountable. I will do the same for you if you'll tell me what improvements you're trying to make this year!

Kory's Xmas Present

Favorites

I was wrong--apparently people DID want to hear about Amanda Bynes, avocados and egg nog! haha I don't want to cheapen my true passions by including things that are a bit more trivial, so instead I'll say these are a few of my favorite things (and I know you've all got the song in your head now):

1. Egg Nog
I LOVE Christmas time, and the appearance of egg nog is certainly one of the main reasons for my excitement. I had never tried it until Christmas 3 years ago. My mom bought some while I was home from college on Christmas Break. She sprinkles nutmeg on top and it is heaven in a cup! Now, my mom and I both love it and drink it as much as possible for the month or two when it can be found in stores. My mom would like me to let you all know that the kind we enjoy does not include rum. In Lubbock, I would go to Starbucks in holiday season and ask for a cup of egg nog. This was always confusing because they would try to give me an egg nog latte or they'd heat it or something. I just wanted a cold cup of egg nog, but I love it from Starbucks because they add whipped cream and nutmeg and it's just perfect. An employee there even told me once I should just go buy some from Wal-mart because it would be way cheaper, but I wanted the experience, dang it! I hate coffee but love coffee shops so I stick to egg nog and caramel apple cider. I used to think it was a deal breaker if the guy didn't also like egg nog, but after breaking 3 guys' hearts in less than a year, I decided maybe I could let it slide. Ok...truth be told, I got dumped 3 times. Same difference.

2. Amanda Bynes
My love for Amanda Bynes goes WAY back to the tv show All That!! If you didn't watch it, I am sad for you...you missed out on some great television!! She did a bit called Dear Amanda and kids wrote in letters telling her about their problems and she would fix them for you. She ended up just screaming and yelling and going crazy every time and I thought it was hilarious! I continue to watch her TV shows and movies through the years, but the moment I knew I was truly in love with her was when I saw She's the Man. I was on a plane back from Japan and everyone else was sleeping. I am quite sure Sara, Deonna and I woke half the plane up as we burst out laughing every 3 seconds. That flight passed pretty quickly as I watched She's the Man, V for Vendetta, She's the Man, V for Vendetta and then most of She's the Man again. It was the best flight of my life!!!! Those continue to be two of my favorite all-time movies. A few people have told me that Amanda Bynes reminds them of me (Evan and Jacinda were the most recent!) and there is almost NO greater compliment you can give me!! I just think she is one of the funniest people I have ever seen and I love the way that she is such an individual person and seems to march to her own beat. Have I mentioned that Brad is the BEST friend ever?!?! Because he is!! He GAVE me an autographed picture of Amanda Bynes. Brad is also a loyal fan of Amanda and loves her as much as I do! His sister and mom got the autograph for him and when I expressed my jealousy, he gave it to me!!! He's great. Amanda has been living in Artesia for a while now because I was afraid she wouldn't hold up to travel very well. I am SO excited to get back to her!

3. Avocados

Oh how I do love me some avocados! Yes, I also love guacamole, but it's just not the same. That is a separate obsession. I love when my mom will cut the avocado in half and pull the seed out for me and I can sprinkle salt and pepper on it, grab a spoon and dig in! My mom always tells a story about me and avocados from when I was pretty little. We lived on a ranch and my Nana and Pa had moved into town and lived in Artesia at the time. When they would come visit us, they would bring candy for my brothers and "appepecados" for me at my request. If you didn't already know me enough to tell, this list can show you that healthy eating isn't really my thing. I eat for taste! I have been blessed with a pretty great metabolism (and fairly active lifestyle up until now) and thankfully, I haven't gained the 200 lbs I deserve. They have avocados both in Ireland and England, but like the Dr. Pepper, it just doesn't taste the same. It is a good thing I am coming home soon...all this talk about avocados is making me want one REALLY badly right now. Ok, I must move onto something not about food...

4. Nintendo DS

This past Christmas, Kory gave me a Nintendo DS for Christmas and it is seriously the BEST present I have ever received! I love it!! He also gave me the game Kirby because I played it on our Game Boy when I was little and always loved that game. Santa gave me Brain Age in my stocking and I have really enjoyed it too. Mostly, I just play sudoku on there now, because I am never really up for doing math problems for fun. BUT...my gaming life was turned upside down when Kory gave me Final Fantasy IV for my 23rd birthday!! This is a for reals game, you guys. The kind you picture nerdy, acne-ridden, socially awkward teenage boys playing in the basement for days on end...AND I absolutely love this game. It is so fun!! After he gave me the game, he read a review that was talking about how this was the hardest FF game they'd made and they revised it to make all the battles more difficult, blah blah blah. SO he and Brad, who is also a serious gamer, both told me this would be too difficult for me since I was a beginner. Kory kept apologizing for giving me a terrible gift and Brad was encouraging me to exhange it for a different game. Now, if you know me, you know how I reacted to them telling me I couldn't beat it. So far I have put in over 50 hours on this game and I promised Kory and Brad I WILL beat this game before I return to America! There is nothing in this world that can motivate me more than someone telling me I can't do something.

5. Scrubs

My obsession with Scrubs began about two and a half years ago. The guy I was dating at the time loved it and let me borrow one of his seasons on DVD. I was hooked from the first episode! My room-mate at the time, Deonna, and I would watch it in between classes or late at night or during lunch or anytime we had a free minute. We borrowed every season from him and watched every episode. Since then, I have collected all but one of the seasons on DVD, but I haven't ever bought one for myself. Since that first episode I ever watched, I have desperately wanted JD and Elliot together. I have held my ground all these years and it's finally starting to look like they might end up together. The 8th (current) season has been written really well! No matter how it ends, I am going to be VERY sad when it is over. I don't want to meet the actors in real life or watch them in other roles because I always want to think of them as their Scrubs characters. Kory was with me when we watched the end of season 7 and thought it was the series finale. I was a wreck!! No other show can make me laugh, cry or think so much. I can also watch every episode over and over without getting tired of it.

6. Pictures

I am not really a talented photographer and I don't have a fancy camera, but I really do LOVE pictures! I have a ton of picture albums from pictures I took growing up, before we had digital cameras. I am completely fascinated by the idea of capturing a certain moment in time FOREVER. I think it is so cool that you can be transported to a place in your mind just by looking at the picture. Emotions come flooding back and you get to re-live the moment all over again! I just looked on Facebook and I have 40 albums on there right now. If you look at my most recent album about Rynn's engagement, you will see that one of my favorite things about pictures is the way they can tell a story so much better than words alone. Ok, enough about Facebook...this post is about pictures. However, I DO love me some Facebook. That post will come another day. I have lost many people in my life and I know the comfort that a picture can bring. While I do enjoy really gorgeous scenic pictures, I take many more pictures of people. I am fascinated by pictures of me because it is the most realistic glimpse I get of how other people see me. I don't know how my life will play out, but I can guarantee you that I will have MANY pictures to document the journey.

Ok, I just read back through this and saw how many capital letters and exclamation marks I used. I guess that is why these are my favorite things because I get VERY excited about them!!!! :)