Proof!

(Click on the image for clearer quality)

I kinda wanna e-mail this to everyone I know... lol

Now that I'm done with the Masters, it's going to feel REALLY weird in 40-some days when I'm done with the wedding planning, too! I don't know what I'm going to do with all of that extra brain-time! lol

Thank God for Winco

What's a beach wedding without 20 pounds of taffy? =)

Sunshine

Got some wedding related stuff done yesterday (shopped for a few odds and ends), but the highlight of my day was the sunshine and the beauty of the Columbia Gorge:

With my soon-to-be niece, Sophie

Jacob and nephew, Aiden


Being the goofy guy I love. =)

TGIF!

I am SOO excited that it is Friday... and for more than the normal reasons.

1) I went in to work early every morning this week so that I could skip out at lunch time today.

2) It has been sunny for THREE DAYS STRAIGHT! And in the 70s! We've been living in a rain cloud for the last 9 months! I want to take advantage of the nice weather while we have it!

3) I don't have anything I HAVE to do this weekend! I have not had a free weekend in... SIX WEEKS! I am sooo looking forward to sleeping in tomorrow... in my own bed! We plan to spend some time with family and friends, but there are no hard-fast plans or appointments... woo hoo!

and, doesn't really have anything to do with it being Friday, BUT:

4) I bought a new dress today... it was a size TEN! I haven't worn in a ten in a VERY long time! (I'm pretty sure the size runs a bit big, but I am still loving every minute of it! lol).

Have a fantastic weekend, y'all!

Awkward!

Oh. My. God. Do I have a story for you! lol

So, you all remember how I posted that I found out (via craigslist) that our event coordinator at our reception site moved on to a different job, right? WELL, I've been trying for the last couple of weeks to contact her replacement, however the e-mail address I had kept bouncing back e-mails, and my calls weren't getting returned (I was told she was on vacation). I was getting a little annoyed, but I understood that summer equals vacations. Plus, I've been SUPER busy at work these last few days, so I haven't had the chance to call during normal business hours. Today I asked Jacob if he could call on his lunch break and try to check in with this woman and see if we could schedule a time on July 5th to meet her and check in about some details (we're going to be at the coast that weekend... probably the last time before the wedding).

So, he did... and I got this note in an e-mail from him at work today:

Apparently she went to high school with you.

What?!?! We are having a DESTINATION wedding.... the destination town is small (only about 2,000 people) and is about two hours from the my home town, which was also quite tiny. My high school only had about 600 students total. The fact that my new event coordinator at my reception site went to high school with me is just bizarre in itself... but it gets worse... read on.

I only knew this woman's first name. I asked Jacob if he'd gotten her last name... he hadn't, but told me that she'd been a year behind me. Bingo. Lights flashed, sirens went off. I knew EXACTLY who she was... and I wasn't particularly over joyed.

Don't get me wrong, she was VERY nice! We had classes together and got along really well. However, her senior year of high school (my freshman year of college) she was dating this guy we had gone to school with... who I started dating very shortly after they broke up.

I dated this guy for YEARS... and, in the end, found out some not-quite-so-nice stuff about him (pretty much, discovered he was a lying, cheating, scum-bag who lived one of those crime-drama-tv-show-double-lives). After discovering this, I worried that, perhaps, he had broken up with this girl in order to date me... or, and worse yet, dated us both at the same time.

I know it's been years since she dated him, but I never knew how they ended exactly... and I don't know if she holds grudges (if I was, in fact, the cause of their separation).

So... this could be a very bad, uncomfortable situation for me, or, it may be a good one (since we did have a good relationship back in high school and were friendly).

::sigh:: I guess only time will tell...

But still... how f'ing weird, huh??

Done and Done!

So, really felt like I got shit accomplished this weekend! Or, at least, closer to accomplished.

Last Monday I drove down to Salem and picked up my wedding dress from the boutique that was holding it for me. On Saturday I had my first fitting/alteration appointment with my seamstress, Lois. I was not able/willing to have the bridal boutique do the alterations, so I went to an independent woman who was recommended to me. I was a little nervous when my mom and I walked in and were playfully attacked by a couple of little dogs (last thing I want is dog hair on my dress), but then I saw that her hall closet was covered in wedding dresses and I felt a little bit better! (Plus the house was REALLY clean... yay! lol)

My mom helped me into the dress... which took about 15 minutes. I think you should be required to take a class on how to lace up a wedding dress before you're allowed to leave the shop with it! Finally, Lois came in, put two pins in my dress, and that was that. I got redressed and we were off! VERY quick! But it was a confident quick; I did not leave questioning anything...

At least, not with the dress. I was able to quickly try my veil and necklace on with the dress... and I think I'm having second thoughts. I think my necklace is a little too shiny. I haven't decided yet... it will probably be one of those last minute decisions, but I'm starting to question whether I want to wear it, or wear a faux-pearl necklace that I already have. I have beading on my dress and I'm starting to think maybe the "pearls" will look better with the beading than the shiny-ness of the jeweled necklace... hmm... I'll guess we'll have to see. =)

After my fitting I met my bridesmaid, Jessica, at Joann's to take a look at some patterns for the ring bearer outfits. I was having a really hard time finding a little boys vest to match the groomsmen (and didn't come in some obnoxious slack and tie set). Thankfully, Jessica graciously offered to sew up a couple of vests! I found this pattern (check out the vest... gotta love the 1970's pattern art, eh? lol) and bought the fabric, buttons, etc. I can't wait to see how they turn out! Our boys are gonna be stylin'! =) Plus, with all the fantastic sales and coupons I had, the vests will come out to less than $10 each! Woot!


Finally, on Sunday, while my father lounged around watching golf and enjoying "his day", my mom and I spent some time in the kitchen working on our wedding favors. They are ALMOST done now! Would have finished them had I not forgotten one box of supplies at home... bah =P

Oh well, it's just a matter of hot gluing now... I can't mess that up, right? =)

Our Wedding "Map"

So, I JUST wrote a post a mentioned at the end that I should map out where all of our wedding stuff is coming from... so... I did! lol

In order to find the best deals for our budget, we had to widen our "net" a bit and search around. Pieces of the wedding are coming from numerous places throughout the western side of Oregon. When Jacob and I, our wedding party, and our parents make the trek out to the coast for the wedding, we will be picking up bits and pieces along the way.

Click on the picture to see it bigger!

Portland: Our Home.

Hillsboro: Our photographer's home base.

Estacada: Family friend doing our flowers.

The Dalles: Ceremony music (my brother... forgot to put it on the map... it's a little easy of Estacada on the river).

Wilsonville: The bakery that is making our cake.

Salem: Where I purchased my dress.

Lebanon: Where I'm getting my alterations.

Corvallis: Rental supplies (chairs, couple tables, etc.).

Newport: Hair salon.

Eugene: Our DJ (friend of mine), Officiant (my brother) and videographer (my other brother).

Roseburg: Make Up (Jacob's Mary Kay rep aunt).

Waldport: Our ceremony and reception.

So, as you can see, we really are having a DESTINATION wedding! lol

Weekend Fun

I have my first dress fitting/alterations appointment this weekend and I'm kinda excited... not only to try my dress on again, but also to play dress up with all the accessories that I've purchased to go with it. I haven't had the opportunity to try ANYTHING on with the dress yet... so I'm just hoping that they all look alright! lol

I had a little bit of a problem scheduling my fitting. The bridal boutique where I purchased my dress does not do alteration appointments on Saturdays... only Monday-Friday. Problem. I WORK Monday-Friday... an hour+ away from the boutique. I was told that I would need to adjust my schedule. I haven't been at my job long enough to "adjust my schedule" for these type of things (I just celebrated my 6 month mark a week or so back and am desperately trying to save up vacation/personal time for the wedding/honeymoon), so I was faced with the dilemma of finding somewhere else to go for my alterations.

I looked around a little here in Portland... but I had a really hard time because I worried about taking it somewhere without a recommendation... and I wasn't finding any in my area. So, in the end I took a recommendation from a former high school classmate (who happens to be getting married the same day as I am) and am taking my dress to a woman who is currently independent after working in a bridal salon for years. Plus? She is VERY reasonable priced and, like I said, comes recommended. Negative? She's even farther away than my original bridal boutique*. Plus #2, however, is that she will see me on Saturdays. So, this Saturday my mom and I are headed her way... and I get to play dress up. =)


*One of these days I'm going to have to map out where my wedding is coming from... lol. Not only is the venue a "destination", but in order to find the best deals I am picking up pieces of my wedding from all over the western side of the state. lol

TWO MONTHS!

Holy Smokes! lol Today marks the two month countdown! It's getting close now! Woo hoo! =)

Got one more thing checked off the to-do list this weekend.... flower girl dresses! Jacob and I are having two flower girls and two "ring bearers" (they won't actually be carrying any rings, may not be "bearing" anything actually, but they will still be there looking pretty darn cute!). The flower girls are Jacob's niece and his cousin's daughter. The ring bearers will be my nephew and his nephew.

I wanted to find a simple white sundress for the girls to wear that I could wrap a blue sash around to match our colors. So yesterday I met the two girls, and their grandmothers, to do a little mall shopping. Thankfully I got there about an hour before and did some preliminary shopping to pick a few things out... and it TOTALLY paid off!

I found two different dresses at JCPenney's. The girls got there at 11, tried on two dresses, we bought the first one and a couple pairs of shoes and were off to lunch! VERY easy! The dresses were a little big and will need a little alteration (specifically shortening the straps) but for only $20 (!!) I'm very happy with them!

Here's a shot of our happy (and not so happy! lol) flower girls in their pretty dresses!

My Guy

He was lookin' kinda cute today.... I just felt the need to share. lol

P.S. YAY for sun and 80 degree, dry weather! It's about damn time, June!

Meant To Be?

I've often wondered if Jacob and I ever met before we actually met (anyone ever seen the first episode of Dharma and Greg? lol). We lived in the same city for awhile, and the same state for longer... it's a small world... who knows. Maybe we were, at one time, in the same restaurant at the same time. It would be really cool if we could somehow rewind time and figure out if our meeting was just eventually meant to happen. This couple actually had that opportunity! Kind of a cool story... also kinda creepy! lol

Here's the Dharma and Greg clip... I loved that show! lol

940 Days... In Review

Two years and seven months ago I was sick and tired of the life I was leading. I loved my job, but I felt like that was the only thing going anywhere for me and I needed a change. I made a leap and decided, on a whim to apply for a graduate school program in Canada. I had never heard of the school before, but discovered that it was the only one on the west coast that offered a Masters in Criminology... so I went for it.

Two years and FIVE months ago I met Jacob. Just prior to Christmas my going-nowhere relationship with my former partner ended with a screeching halt (did not make for an enjoyable Christmas season). But I was (and still am) a huge fan of the idea of "getting back on the horse", so, I made a risky move and posted a person ad online... to which Jacob responded and a week or so after Christmas we met in person for our first date.

Two years and TWO months I got my grad school acceptance letter and had to make a decision: put grad school on hold and test out this very new relationship, or pick up everything and move to Canada and try something to enhance myself. My mom and I decided to take a drive up to look at the school. I liked it. I called Jacob that night and told him that I was planning on going to school. I said that I didn't know what this meant for our relationship, but that I needed to do this for myself.

Two days later, Jacob had told his parents he was moving to Canada... scared the sh*t out of me! lol This was moving FAST and I still wasn't sure I was ready for it. But Jacob didn't seem worried, and him being so sure put me at ease (that's kind of been how our relationship has gone since the very beginning! lol).

One year and nine months ago we moved to Surrey, BC so that I could attend grad school at SFU in Burnaby. Jacob managed to telecommute to his job in Oregon and we lived together in BC for a year while I completed my coursework... then we moved back home to Oregon where I would complete my independent work.

Yesterday I completed my Masters degree with the presentation and submission of my final paper.

Jacob was not able to make the trip with me, but I still felt him there. He provided so much support for me over the last couple of years. He was so sure about our relationship and our future together that he took a fantastic risk to alter his life to be with me... and didn't once try to convince me to stay in Oregon, or, as just as easily could have been the case, said goodbye and part ways upon my move. He saw me through the entire thing, and I am so thankful, and grateful, for him. And, in 66 days this fantastic man, who was so sure about our future together after only 3 months, will become my husband.

My documents all ready for submission! Two years of work, finally coming to a close.

TWO DAYS!!!

Nope... not running to the court house, but rather standing in front of my "Examining Committee", presenting my final paper, and hopefully completing the requirements of my Masters degree!

I'll be driving up to Vancouver, BC tomorrow and present on Monday afternoon. I am SOO ready to be done with this! I have pretty much been working on this paper for the last year and, quite honestly, I am really tired of it! lol I submitted my paper back in February and since that time have been going through edits and playing the waiting game... but now the time has (almost) come... and boy am I ready!

If any of you Vancouverites read this and want to meet up for dinner or a drink to calm my nerves tomorrow night, shoot me an e-mail! =)

Father/Daughter Dance

I don't want to bawl on the dance floor during this one... what do you all recommend for a father/daughter dance song that isn't too sappy?? My dad wants something "easily recognizable" and, in addition to something less-sappy, I'd love something a little more fun and upbeat. There are TONS of lists out there in cyberland, but I'm curious about your suggestions.