Why wait til next year...

I know many people make New Year resolutions to lose weight, and I not any different from those other people. But I figured why wait till next year- why not start today. So I went to the gym for the first time in months and I got on the scale to see what type of damage I done over the holidays.

I know I weighed less than this before and just after the wedding, but I'm not getting too down on myself because I'm the same weight as my last weight loss post. I'm basically starting off where I left off , so it could be worse.

So what I did at the gym:

• 32 minutes on the elliptical -which is the length of the "Weight Loss" workout setting.
• 100 crunches

I figured I would start off easy on myself, that way I don't get burned out my first week back to the gym.

Also with the new year here a few more things I hope to do:

• Workout on a regular basis
• Eat more healthy
• Keep up with my blogging
• Treat myself more often- if you know me, you'll understand this one

I hope everyone has a great New Year! See you in 2012!

Tis the Season...

Hi Everyone! I hope everyone is ready and enjoying this holiday season. This is the time of year my life gets a little crazy (hence why I haven't been a good blogger). So let me get you caught up with everything Stacy since my last post...

Tis the season... of my birthday!
I turned 26 last week... and with my birthday the husband always reminds me on how "old" I am. Words of wisdom: Never marry a younger man; he'll never let you live it down.

My birthday was nice and lazy. I slept in, worked on "Thank you" cards (yes- the one from the wedding. I've been busy- don't judge me), and then Sam took me out for dinner and movie. Dinner was nice, the movie (The Babysitter) sucked! Don't waste your money, even the dollar from Redbox when it goes to DVD.

Tis the season... of house hunting/ buying!
Last week Wednesday, Sam and I put an offer in on a house. I was completely freaking out, so much so that Sam took me out for a drink after we signed the paperwork. Now, I'm excited and we are just waiting to hear from the sellers.

I love the high ceilings and the cut out in the wall. This would be a great first home for us; however, I'm trying to not get my hopes up too high just in case the deal falls through. We'll see what happens. 

Tis the season… of the semester ending/ gradation!
Working at a college you often catch yourself measuring time in semesters, and my first semester at my new job has came and went. It’s crazy how time has a way of passing you by, and I heard it only goes by faster as you get older.

This last weekend I went to my brother-in-law’s college graduation. It was weird being back on my old campus. I can’t believe it’s been over a year since Sam and I moved home. So much has changed around campus in just that year we have been gone.

And of course- Tis the season…. of Christmas!
This year I had a hard time getting in the holiday spirit. I think it’s partly because these last few months have been crazy busy with wedding stuff that the holidays have just snuck up me. Also, I think it's because I’m still living out of a suit case. It’s hard to feel a connection to the holidays when you feel no connection to any place you’re living. The holidays are about being at home with your family. I have the family, just not the home (not yet anyway).  So when I got to Sam’s tonight he had a surprise for me…

He wanted to get me in the holiday spirit so he cleaned, hung Christmas lights, and had hot chocolate (with caramel Baileys) waiting for me.

 
Also, he bought me mix nuts. It has been a family tradition to have nuts around the holidays, so he bought a big bowl for us to have. He also bought some chocolate. Man who knows his way to a girl’s heart.

He also bought us our first Christmas pineapple which was decorated with our wedding cake topper and first family Christmas ornaments.

Sam got the idea of a Christmas pineapple from one of my friends at our Michigan wedding reception. She told us a story about a Christmas she had in college where she didn’t have a Christmas tree, so she decorated a pineapple instead. Well, Sam thought it was the coolest ideas he ever heard, so he made it happen. I can see our Christmas pineapple becoming our first family tradition together. (Thanks Amy for the idea!)

This surprise really has helped put me the holiday mood, and it makes me love my husband even more because he knows how to lift up spirits and make me smile.

How do you get in the holiday spirit?

Weekend Recap- Wedding, House Hunting, Party

I can't believe the weekend is almost over. It went by so quick. Here's a recap of highlights of my busy weekend.

Friday- Wedding!

Friday night I went with one of my bridesmaids, Jen, to her cousin's wedding. I have to say I think I like being a guest at the a wedding more then being the bride. You get to let your hair down, and just enjoy your night with friends and family.

I have to say this was the most beautiful wedding I had ever attended. It was in an old mansion and I love that it was a one party venue.

I used to work at places that were more like wedding factories. We could easily have 5 wedding going on at once. To me your wedding day is one of the most special days in your life, so I've always felt like it would seem less special if you knew you were sharing it with 4 other brides.

However, having your own personal venue often comes with a higher price tag. But can you can really put a price on a brides happiness? Sometimes it's ok to splurge for special occasions and this wedding defiantly did.  The best example- the 12 person band that played during their reception.

Very cool, but I'm glad I'm not paying that bill. All and all it was a great time, and I'm glad I got to spend it with some really great people.


Saturday- House Hunting!

Sam and I met up with our realtor, and we went and looked at five different house.

House #1-
3 bedroom, 2 bath, split level house, corner lot, tiny backyard.

House #2-
A big NO.  It had a lot of work still be done, and we aren't going to do it.

House #3-
Same as house #1, it had the best location, but a lot more updating that would need to be done

House  #4-
3 bedroom, 2 bath- just remodeled, just remodeled kitchen (so pretty!), but not a good location for Sam to go to work. (We are still keeping it on the "Maybe" list because I really liked it)

House #5-
3 bedroom, 1.5 bath, 2 story house, needed some updating, odd lay out.

Sorry no pictures to share from this trip, but our hunting adventures just begun. Sam will be going out again on Thursday (without me) to see a few more place. If he sees something he really likes, then I'll make a trip out to see it later. If that isn't trust- I don't know what is.


Sunday- Party!

December seems to be a big month for birthdays for my family. So today we had a combined birthday party for my brother (in-law) Jimmy and his cousin Josh.

It was nice to see some of the family again. I know I didn't even really get to talk to anyone at the wedding so it was nice to catch up with everyone.

Plus, the food was AWESOME! Did I mention I married into an Italian family. I had 3 helpings of pasta with pesto, shrimp, crab meat, and mushrooms. Also that cake was pretty tasty too.

I hope everyone had a nice weekend and has a good week ahead!

What I found... in the kitchen sink

Before I tell you about what I found in the kitchen sink, first you need to understand the importance of the penny.

Call me crazy, but I completely believe that our loves ones who have past away always are looking out for us. And for me the proof is in the penny.

My grandpa was that guy who would stop in the middle of the road to pick up a penny. I will always remember my grandpa as "the guy who picked up pennies". And every since he past away, each time I see a penny on the ground I have to pick it up, and it always make me think of him.

We have this little joke that any time you see a penny on the ground that grandpa put it there for you to find. I know it may sound crazy, but a part of me really believes that my grandpa does have something to do with every penny I find.

I know it sounds crazy but the very first day I moved away to college I found 27 pennies that day. All of them were laying by themselves and I found them throughout the whole day. Seriously, what is the likelihood that you would find 27 pennies in one day?  I'm going to believe that my grandpa put those there so I knew he was looking out for me. 

So tonight I went shopping and I saw a penny on the ground, but it was so cold and I was walking so fast that I didn't stop to pick it up. Then I thought of my grandpa, and felt guilty so I went back to try and find the penny. But I had no luck finding that penny, so as I walked to my car I thought of how I should have picked it up when I saw it, but oh well.  As I was having that thought, I got to my car and right next to my driver side door was... you guess it, a penny!

So I thanked my grandpa for the penny, got in my car and went to my mom's. At my mom's I wanted something to drink, so I went to the sink to get some water and this is what I found...

 What the heck is in the bag?  That's a good question- lets take a closer look.

If you guessed ketchup covered pennies- you would be correct!

When I was little my mom talked about how ketchup is really good at cleaning old nasty pennies. We had this random bag of pennies that has been around of house. No one wanted to cash them in because they were so gross, but I guess my mom felt it was time to clean the pennies.

Question: Do you or anyone you know have a strange way to clean something? Do you know any better way to clean pennies (because I have to say the ketchup way is pretty gross and messy)?

License to Wed- It's Official

Just saying the words "I do" doesn't make you married. Well, maybe in the eyes of God, but not to the state of Illinois (or any other state for that matter).

There is paperwork that has to be filed and requests that need to be made to get a copy of your license. But it is really official - our license is here and we are a married couple!

 
Now with this license we can start house hunting, we can put each other on our insurances, and if I wanted to I could start the name changing process (but that won't be happening for another few months). 

I have to say seeing our marriage certificate kind of made this whole thing feel real. I've seen many pictures from the wedding, and I'm currently working on sending the thank you notes, but this little piece of paper really makes it "official".  We're married and officially our own little family. Crazy! :)

Happy Thanksgiving!

I don't think I could ask for a better Thanksgiving- great weather, great husband, and a over all lazy day!

For the past 5 Thanksgivings, I worked as a banquet server at a hotel where I served Thanksgiving dinner to happy families while working kept me away from my own family. The closest thing I came to a family dinner for the last 5 Thanksgivings was when all the servers would sit down and eat off the buffet at the end of our shift. I really did miss spending time with my real family, but when you are in college you do what you got to do to pay your bills, which in my case included working almost every major holiday.

This year I have soo much to be thankful for. First, my family (well both my families). After the big scare with my dad, it makes me really thankful that my dad was able to walk me down the aisle. I know that was something that he had been looking forward to do for many years. 

 (Look how big that smile is on his face- what a happy day!)

Second, I very thankful to even have a job. I'm even more blessed because I have a job that I been working towards since my sophomore year of college. 

 (My office- I'm working on adding my touches to it but I only been 3 months)

I know that so many people are struggling with unemployment or underemployment. I feel so lucky to be in a place in my life where I can start the house hunting process. (Which just seems crazy to me.)

Finally, my husband. After 10+ years together, we still have a love as sweet as when we were in high school.

(Picture for our first high school dance together- Feb. 2002)

I love that I married my high school sweetheart, my best friend, and the person who can always make me smile. I'm so excited to get to spend our first official "family" Thanksgiving together.

Hope you have a great Thanksgiving! And don't eat too much (or do- it is Thanksgiving!).

Recap: The Night Before the Wedding = Stress

I can't believe I've been married for almost a month. Time has that funny way of just slipping right by you.

So Sam and I have come to the conclusion: We had a pretty awesome wedding. However, that awesome wedding came with its share of stress leading up to the big day.

The night before the wedding was pretty crazy; and I have to say I was feeling completely stressed out until the very last detail was taken care of.  I was so stress I didn’t even eat or barely talked to anyone at the rehearsal dinner. I apologize to anyone at the rehearsal dinner because I was being completely anti-social, but I just couldn’t get my mind off everything that was still left to do. But I have a great set of friends who stuck it out with me until almost 1:00am making sure everything was taken care of.

So what had to be done that was making me so stress- 

1.            All of my “fish bowl” centerpieces still had to be made. This included spray painting the base that holds the feathers and the silver ball-thingy (Yes- that the technical name for it). I completely end up with black fingers from this fun project.

2.       I had to make the whole candy buffet.

First, we had to find enough bowls and baskets to hold all the different candy, chips, and cookies.  This included my mom going to the store that night at 9:30pm and buying 7 more bowls for the candy.  (For the record- this is only the chocolate candy pictured.)

Second, we need to make all the bags of chips and cookies look pretty in the baskets, and fill the bowls with the different types of candy. 

Finally, we had to find a way to pack all the bowls and baskets, so they could be brought to hall the next morning.

3.       On top of packing up the candy buffet, all the centerpieces needed to be packed and ready to be brought to the hall.

4.       Finally, I had to make sure I had everything I needed. This included my dress, shoes, veil, bra, underwear, and the under-slip (the thing that make the dress puffy). Because I was getting ready at Sam’s house I needed to make sure everything was moved that night.

I wish I could say the wedding stress stopped there at my mom house but it continued on when I reached Sam’s. 

The list to do when I do to Sam’s was smaller, but it included:

1.       Making the sign for our gift book “thumb print” tree. It said "Please leaf your thumb print"

2.       Making the sign for our cake table.

3.       Making a sign for our “Memorial Table”. This was a sign that just list the names of our guests who couldn’t we with us because they had passed away. It included some of our grandparents and some of the parents of our bridal party.  

However, once all of that was finally done- I just felt a huge weight come off my shoulders. And believe it or not, I had no problems going to sleep that night. (But if you know me- I never have a problem going to sleep. I’m a sleeping champ!) Plus, I know it’s against tradition, but it was nice getting to sleep in the same bed as Sam.



Long Time- No Post

I understand I'm a "bad blogger" because my post are so hit and miss... and I am sorry. Well, kind of sorry. I been enjoying the lazy life after all the wedding craziness; so I'm not too sorry but I'll try to do better.

Also, with the wedding behind me what will I be posting about... I guess that is yet to be seen, but I still have a few wedding things I can still post about.

I know I haven't really shared any wedding pictures or stories, so there's that. I also just had my second reception last Sunday, so there's that. And of course there is still the honeymoon to come. Like I said it's the wedding that never ends.

However, I think this blog is going to refocus on why I stated it in the first place, it will be a place just to share stories and keep memories. Now, I may lose a few readers when this blog loses it's wedding focus, but I asking you to hang in there with me.

There will be big things that will be happening in this blogger's life, starting with the house hunting process. Let me tell you the idea of buying our own house does scare me, but it's exciting at the same time. Scary because of the cost, but exciting because this be part of the next chapter of our lives.

Like my title says, I'm just going to continue "living, laughing, and loving my life", and I hope you'll be there to join me.

I hope everyone has a great weekend!

One Week of Married Life

Can you really feel like you’re married if nothing has changed other than a second ring on my finger?

Life has pretty much gone back to normal since the wedding.

I’m still spending 3 nights at my mom’s and 4 nights at Sam’s.  I’m still living out of duffel bag and have two sets of my bathroom needs (hair brush, toothbrush, tooth paste, shampoo & conditioner) in two different places.  I’m really thinking this whole marriage thing will hit me when I start changing my name (which won’t happen until February), start looking for a house, and finally sleep in the same bed every night.  

However, my wedding is the wedding that never ends because we are having our second reception this upcoming Sunday in Michigan. I hope this one will goes just a smoothly as the first one did.

Yesterday my mom and I went to the store and bought more candy for a candy buffet (got to love after Halloween that there 70% off candy sales) and rounded up the last of the Chinese food boxes for my Michigan guests.  Hopefully there will be enough to go around this time. 

Additionally, I bought 150 “Thank You” cards that will need to be sent out to all my wedding guests. I see a lot of writing (maybe typing) in my future.

Question: To write or to type- my thank you notes? I know writing is more personal but I can get them out a whole lot faster if I type them… decisions, decisions.

I'm a married girl!

The title of "wife" is still really weird and I wonder how long it's going to take to get use to it. But it's a official I'm a wife and I have a husband.

The day went pretty much as planned, and everyone seemed to have a good time.

I love the first dance song Sam picked. I told Sam and the DJ I didn't want to know what our first dance song was going to be, and Sam picked a great sound. I love that it wasn't a common first dance song and that it was a song that has been made special over the years between Sam and I. (FYI- the song was "I'll Catch You" by The Get up Kids)

Also, you got to love the fight over the garter. Most weddings I've seen, the guys try to avoid catching the garter all together; but not at mine. There was a full blown wrestling match between my cousin and one of our groomsmen. It was a sight to see. 

Check out the review & video the DJ was nice enough to post of our wedding! You'll see to these highlights and many details you read about in this blog over the last few months.

I'll be sure to add many more pictures as they start becoming available. (I know I wasn't taking any pictures that day, so I'll have to wait for people to start sending them to me so I can post them.)

Question: What is the craziest thing you've ever seen at a wedding?

It's Wedding Day!

I know I haven't posted in a long time, but being that it's the big day I thought would do give everyone a small peak what all that has happen in the last few weeks and what will be seen today!

Candy Buffet- bought and separated and put into many bowls and baskets.

Wedding favor boxes- I so happy a brought 300 boxes for my wedding because when you spill gravy on 20 of them- you become really happy that you bought extra. Also, thank you to all my girls who spent hours tying thank you cards to the boxes. I love you.

 
Bridal Party & Parent gifts- Spa treatment for the girls and a flask for the guys. Picture frames (not pictured) for the parents.

My wedding jewelry- new earrings and a blue stone bracelet (which was Sam's grandma's- so maybe my something old and something blue?)

Got our wedding rings. We originally weren't going to buy any, but we found money in the budget and got them last minute. We brought Sunday and got them two days ago.

I can't believe the day is here... but I'm feel calm (now... lets not talk about my stress level for the last few days) and ready to enjoy today!

Bachelorette Party!

 
This last weekend was the my bachelorette party. It really did not go as plan.

To sum it up...
Potluck & gifts.
Saw HOT boys.
Went home early.

Because I know many of my family members read this blog (including my grandma (Hi Gram!), I'll keep the details to a minimum. However, here a just a few highlight photos for you to enjoy.

(Me and my sister/ maid of honor)

(College roomie Jen)

(Some of the bridesmaids- Anna, Alison, & Jen)

(My cousin Anna- who came all the way from Michigan)

(Group Pic 1 in the limo)

(Group Pic 2 in the limo)

I hope everyone had good time... if nothing else we will have stories from that night that will last a life time. I love all these girls and I'm so lucky to have some great friends!

Family First

With the wedding being only two weeks away, you would think that would be the only thing on my mind, and until Sunday night that was pretty much true. The phone call from my mom I got that night would end up all my wedding worries, and it made me revaluate what’s really important in life.

On Sunday afternoon my mom and dad went on a walk, and only about 1/4 mile into their walk my dad started feeling sick. His chest was tight, he was having a hard time breathing, and he even vomited. He thought he could just walk off the pain, but it became a little too much. With that my mom told him to she would go and get the car, and pick him up from that part of the trail they were walking. While my mom was getting the car, a cop stopped and was checking if everything was ok with my dad. My dad said he would be fine, but the cop was nice enough to wait with my dad till my mom came around with the car.

While waiting for my mom, a nurse happen to also be walking on the trail and looked at my dad and knew that something was wrong. She suggested that my dad really should go to the hospital, and with that they called an ambulance. 

Once at the hospital, he was rushed in to surgery. We later found out that he had a heart attack and that 2 of the arteries in his heart were 100% blocked and another was 80-90% blocked. During the surgery the doctors opened one of the 100% blocked arteries while leaving the other as is.

My dad was in the UIC Sunday night, all of Monday and Tuesday. Seeing my dad Monday morning with all those tubes coming out him was very scary. They had him huge oxygen mask over his face, so he really couldn’t talk. Just see him lying there brought tears to my eyes because I knew that he was really sick and in pain.

My dad has been so excited about me getting married, and I know he really wants to walk me down that aisle. Thought of him not making it to the wedding was something I tried not to let myself think about, but I couldn’t help it.

Wednesday afternoon he was taken out of ICU and put into a regular room. When I saw him on Wednesday night he was pretty much back to his normal self.

This morning, he went in for another surgery to open up the other two arteries. I’m happy to report the surgery went well. The hospital is going to keep him in ICU just for tonight, and he maybe released as early as tomorrow.

You don’t realize how important people are in your life until they are almost (or actually are) taken away from you.  I would tell everyone out there; make sure you make the time for the people that you love. We all get busy, but in the end it’s the relationships you form while on this earth that really matter. Having a nice wedding will be great, but having your family and friends there to share in your special day is what is really important.

(Picture from 1990- I'm in the red tshirt)

Please keep my dad in your prays, and I’ll be sure to post another update soon.

Wedding Centerpieces Part IV

I'm happy to report I finally figured out what my last centerpiece is going to look like for the wedding. For some reason I was having a lot of trouble figuring out what to do with the "fish bowl" vase. 

So last night my mom and I went to Hobby Lobby on a mission to make this last centerpiece. With only 3 weeks till the wedding (that's a scary thought), we really needed to get this done this weekend. So after about a hour at the store and some serious brainstorming, we final figure out something that we thought would go well with the other 3 centerpieces- this is what we came up with.

So here it the final line up of the wedding centerpieces....

Fun with feathers

Tall and earthy 

(with purple beads to be added the day of the wedding)

Crazy with Glitter & Simple and Whimsical

I'm glad I can check this off the wedding to do list. Now I just have to about 5 more of each of these before the wedding. Luckily all of these don't take to long to make, so that's a good thing.

Other big things that needs to get done this week: 

• Make the final deposit on our minimum guest count
• Call the hotel to set up final arrangements for my guests
• Call people who we haven't received their RSVP from
• Order wedding favors 
• Pick out a reading for the wedding ceremony

There are probably other things I'm forgetting about but, I'm not too worry about it. I'm just trying to go with the flow these last few weeks. 

Well, I'm going to try to enjoy this freak 80 degree in Chicago. Have a great weekend!

Wedding Centerpieces Part III

Welcome October.... I can't believe I'm get married this month. Crazy...

Of all my centerpieces I'm making for my wedding, this would have to be the one that will take the most work to put together. However one my mom bought me these vases, I knew what I wanted it to look like.

I have seen many people use this "Eiffel tower" vase, but you can really only do a few things with them. Either a big floral displays or what I like to call "feather palm trees". Considering I'm not using floral in my centerpieces, feathers it is.

What I used to make my centerpieces...

• Eiffel tower vase
• Black ostrich feathers (16)
• 4-6 inch black craft feathers
• 4-6 inch purple craft feathers
• Bouquet holder with a straight handle
• Black paint
• Glue
• Purple ribbon

I started with the plain white bouquet holders.

Because the feathers I was using are mostly black, I didn't want the white foam showing through. So I painted the foam and everything but expect for the handle black.

Then I glued the purple ribbon to the handles on the bouquets.

 
I also, left long pieces of ribbon at the bottom of the handles so they can hang down into the vases.

 
Next, I added the ostrich feathers to my bouquet holder. I order enough to have 16 ostrich feather in each bouquet.

Once the ostrich feathers are in place, I filled the rest of the open spaces with the 4-6 inch black and purple feather.

To add a touch of silver, I added the curly silver glass found in my tall centerpiece. And this is the final product-

I'm a big fan of these centerpieces, but I'm not look forward to making the last 5. However, I see a night of crafty bridesmaids hanging out and getting these made (and whatever other centerpieces and favors that need to be finished at that point).

Happy October... I hope this month doesn't go by too fast!