Friday, March 20, 2009

Shower worries by Kelly

For as much as I want attention, I sure hate to be the center of attention. Just the thought of people sitting around looking at me sends me in to panic mode. One of the worst things in the world is watching people open presents. Ok, one of the worst things in the world is when people watch me open presents. I feel so awkward. Because even if I genuinely love the present, my smile and thank you comes out so phoney. I am just an awkward person.

I went to my cousin Ashley,s bridal shower last Sunday. It was great. I haven't been to a shower in quite some time so I wasn't sure what to expect. I thought it would be a good trial so I could know how to act when it is my turn. Well all it did was make me even more worried! I don't think she could have been more gracious while opening gifts. Her thank yous sounded so sincere and the smile seemed real.

My shower is Saturday. I am so excited/terrified for it. I hope people don't get offended by the ridiculously awkward faces I know I'm going to be making. I will also use the phrase "Oh yay!!!" way too many times.

How did she do it?? I wonder if inside she was terrified. Or maybe she practiced. I spent years in front of a mirror perfecting my smile. I probably should have practiced gift opening etiquette. Kelly

Friday, March 13, 2009

Too simple? by Andrea

Is there such a thing as being "too simple" when it comes to a wedding?

I'm really pleased with the way things are going with our planning...but I almost feel like I'm oversimplifying everything. I've always had a fear of becoming a Bridezilla, so I think I tried to combat that by making things super simple. I apply that same logic to my personality too. I never wanted to be perceived as a high-maintenance chick, so I end up wearing little to no makeup, ponytails with a super quick 15 minute morning routine. I do clean up nicely when I do decide to put the effot in, but that's only for special occasions or if I happen to feel motivated in the morning after my 5 minute shower!

I like that there's very little stress involved in this wedding, but I sometimes wonder if it wouldn't hurt to have just a few more details added in for fun. But then again, I've never heard of a bride looking back on her wedding and think "Gee, if I could do it all over again, I would have been a high-maintenance Bridezilla." Usually I hear about the psycho brides going back and apologizing to the bridal party for the insanity, just trying to salvage their friendships. So now I'm actually a little bit bored. Everything is so low key, and we started planning so far in advance, that now we're way ahead of the game and I've got nothing to do. Everyone keeps telling me to enjoy the down time, but I'd rather be busy than bored....it helps the time pass faster. And like I mentioned in a previous blog post, I'm ready for cake NOW. Andrea

Thursday, March 12, 2009

STDs by Andrea

I've had these STDs for almost a month(That stands for Save The Date....geez, get your mind outta the gutter!) but needed to figure out how we would mail them out. So last weekend my friends and I decided to do a little arts & crafts project...we bought blank notecards and envelopes, rubber stamps and ink, and fancy pens.

I'm sure we could have found some pre-decorated cards, and even pre-printed the inside wording to save tons of time and effort. But hand stamping and writing out each card by hand really gave us all a sense of pride with the project...and it was some much needed bonding time for me and my girls. The guys kept themselves occupied with Street Fighter IV and pizza while us girls developed carpal tunnel syndrome. But the pain was well worth the final result.

Some ended up in the "jankie" pile...those will go out to the people who won't care about questionable handwriting, or will find the mistakes "artsy and charming." So if you happen to be one of the people who gets a jankie STD from us, please know that it was given to you with love. :)Andrea

One month and one week by Kelly


I'm getting very excited. We are down to about a month and a week before the wedding. Everyone says during that last month you loose a ton of weight because you are so stressed. So maybe I can spend the next month loading up on carbs because I will lose it all anyway. Yeah, I'm not going to risk that.

My bridal shower is next week. I'm pretty excited for that too. Not even because I get presents. I'm excited because my aunts are nice enough to throw a party just for me (and Jake but he won't be there because no boys allowed!) It's like the start of the wedding month. I can't really describe why I'm excited. It's just something to look forward to. Then when it's done, I can go back to non-stop stressing.

I'm not even sure what I'm stressing about.

While I was on Target.com yesterday I searched for the word pink. Then I registered for most things that popped up. Jake is going to be so excited to have an entirely pink house. Kelly

Thursday, March 5, 2009

Mail and throwing up (in a good way) by Kelly


I love getting mail. It's so much fun. I don't even mind getting bills. Not saying I like having to pay the bills, but opening the envelope is fun. I am easily amused. I just like opening mail.

We just sent out our invitations so all of the response cards have been pouring in. Or trickling in rather. But it's super exciting to be getting all of this mail.

Aaaaand now we are getting presents in the mail!! That is super fun. Jake told me to wait to open them. I told Jake no. My shower is in about two and a half weeks so I think some of the gifts are shower gifts, not wedding gifts. So those are safe to open, right?

Now I am in Seattle for a week (we came here to surprise Jake's brother) and I can't get mail for an entire week. I might go crazy.

Sometimes I think "Oh my gosh, I am getting married next month!!" Then I get so nervous I almost throw up. In a good way. Kelly

Monday, March 2, 2009

Too blessed to be stressed! By Andrea

Dre is always relaxed. Always. I've been worried about credit card bills, student loans, and car notes and a tanking economy while trying to plan a wedding...it just seemed like an overwhelming amount of stuff to have to pay for and it was stressing me out. Dre kept telling me to chill and trust that everything would work itself out. But even though I tried to be calm I just couldn't get past the feeling of uncertainty. So when tax season rolled around, I started gathering everything I could think of that could get me some extra deductions. Dre filed my taxes, and I was very pleasantly surprised to hear that new homebuyers get an extra refund! Who knew?? (Ok, I'm sure plenty of people knew about it, but I didn't.) So I used the extra money to pay off the stuff I've been stressing about and Dre is just sitting here all cool and relaxed saying, "See? I told you not to worry about it." My great uncle, Archbishop James P. Lyke, once told my dad that you can't worry and pray at the same time. So I guess while I was busy trying to balance the prayer and stress, Dre was "too blessed to be stressed." Andrea