Dear Single Celled Organism (AKA the old woman)

I understand that life is hard for you, SCO. As the oldest person in this office, you must feel the buzz of youth around you like a ghostly whisper from the past as you attempt to navigate the treacherous shores of computers, new software, telephones and the like. That being said however, I believe that a few things should be clarified about the land of the office space.
1. Yelling is not necessary. We can hear you just fine, and so can the caller on the other end of the phone line. You are not using a tin can and string anymore SCO, you have technology on your side now! It is not necessary to use other ancient communication devices either such as, vigorous hand gestures (not those kinds of gestures, dippy!), Morse code desk knocking, or smoke signals. Please attempt to keep your conversation below fog horn level and the rest of us will be much happier with what is left of our hearing.
2. Your computer does not hate you. It does not choose a day to “get back at you” and quits working just to make you suffer. You simply have not remembered all the crucial steps that it requires as a non emotional piece of equipment. Remember, the screen will be black if you have forgotten to turn it on, not because it doesn’t like you that day. Additionally, knocking on the screen will not magically fix it, so please avoid doing that again.
3. It would help us all out SCO if you would please refrain from telling all of us that we are going to be condemned to hell if we don’t “accept Jesus as your personal savior” and go to church. We would also be quite obliged if you would stop telling us that you are old enough to be our mother.
4. Please, SCO please please please do us the grand and generous favor of not attempting to be involved in our youthful conversations that will only confuse you. When we are talking about Chris Brown and Rhianna, please don’t ask if she is a friend of ours, it only serves to magnify the age gap between you and the rest of the office. We feel bad for laughing at you, but really? What else could we do?

Finally, SCO, thank you for plugging away at your job every day without complaining about the “drama of youth” and “those kids” that you are forced to work with. I know that we drive you crazy, and I am so glad that you choose to keep your thoughts to yourself when it comes to your passel of coworkers who are all at least 20 years younger than you (including the boss) instead of whining about how every person in the office dislikes you. Thank you for not pointing out the things that bother you, much like I always do about you.

Sincerely,
Your supervisor
Randy

Kissing

Sitting on the grass, just outside the lunchroom doors, Nod and I were talking as we sipped our soda. People milled around us like ants scurrying everywhere and buzzing incessantly about the latest drama over so-and-so. Lunch was half way over and we were lazily enjoying the spring sunshine when a shadow came over us.
Looking up, I was surprised to see the adorable boy standing over me, and the skinny one beside him. Nod jumped up and threw her arms around the skinny one and they kissed vociferously like two people that hadn’t seen each other since, I don’t know, the week before. I coyly embraced the adorable boy and the group chattered excitedly for a few minutes. Then, the two surprising shadows announced that although they had only been there for five minutes, they had to go if they were going to make it all the way across town to be back in time for fifth hour at the dread POKY HIGH. So, like any gracious high school girlfriends, we offered to walk them to their car and see them off into the midday sun. As we trudged off past the parking lot, to the old abandoned lot across the street from the school, my brain raced furiously to think of something cool, casual and enticing to say. Unable to procure a witty comment from my fifteen year old brain, I resorted to alternately batting my eyes and the tantalizing slow blink that I was sure I had perfected in the mirror that morning (which really made me look like I had not slept in 48 hours. Very appealing, I know…) and smiling my demure, sweet smile.
When we reached the battered 1980’s brown car with the spider cracks in the windshield, the adorable boy put his arm around my waist and pulled me in close and stared at me with those clear blue eyes. His face got very serious and his tugged me closer to him and went in for the kiss as my stomach did back-flips. Our teenage lips mashed together for the longest five seconds of my life. When he finally pulled away, the skinny one and Nod were giggling from the other side of the car, and I blushed furiously. The adorable boy’s face broke into his crinkly smile and they bid farewell and then drove out of the lot in a cloud of dry brown dust.
As Nod and I walked back to the school grounds, she was grinning from ear to ear, waiting for me to tell her of the wonder of my first kiss. I was a bit torn as I explained things to her. I was expecting the romantic, movie kiss where I am swept off my feet and he dips me in a debonair fashion, not the smashing lips without any tenderness or romance in an abandoned dirt lot with a white trash car. (That’s right Mr. PC, I said white trash!) Nod giggled and explained that it would get better and if I ever decided to *gulp* French kiss a boy, I would love it, Nod being the more experienced of the two of us. Unsure of how I would feel with a boy’s tongue in my mouth, I weakly nodded. Then the bell rang and my surreal life came crashing back into my reality again.


At least since that experience, kissing has gotten better…Oscar movie, debonair, most romantic kiss ever, better. Not every time, but close…

whoa

Dear Andrew the plasma tech

I will miss you very much my dearest Andrew. You have made my time at the plasma center as *ouch* painless as possible. You are my very favorite senior technician, and I think you have the best stick technique in the whole place. You are so very talented at your job. I loved waiting to see if I would be lucky enough to be put in the section you were working. I prayed that if I had to have my bad vein poked, you would be the one to do it. When Frankie brutalized that vein and I ended up with that huge bruise, you were the only other person I would let do my veinipuncture on that delicate arm. You would joke around as you set up my 880 milliliter plasma collection bottle and carefully tap my inner elbow to get my vein to show up; all the while I swelled with delight at your borderline flirtations and goofy comments. You would swiftly and deftly jab that huge needle into place, never missing the vein or causing a purple bruise. You would stride away when you were finished; shoulders back, never missing a beat.
You are my plasma crush, Andrew. I am very fond of you, and if I ever need a life saving IV, I will be sure to call upon you to persuade my finicky right arm vein to stop jumping around as the needle punctures my skin.
I will also miss my dear Colton from the plasma center, as I am strangely attracted to the blond Brigham Young style beard that he carries off with his cocky twenty year old football player self. Colton, I have never known a young man with such an old style to be so sure of himself. You are my number two plasma crush, dear Colty.
Alas my time at the plasma center is finished for now. Finito mis chicos. Mucho gusto.

Dear Brother

I know you are graduating high school tomorrow. I am very happy for you. A few words of wisdom as you embark into the great unknown world we call "adulthood" before you go on your merry way.

1. Graduation parties are memorable. Keep your clothing on, lest you forever be known as the kid that ran streaking down the street and got arrested on graduation night.

2. Proclaiming "I am an adult" is not the best way to get people to treat you as such, rather they will assume that if you have to say it, it is probably not true. Less is more my dear brother, except in the case of clothing, in which case, more is more.

3. Friends seem like they are the only important people in your life right now. Sometimes that may be the reason that you put your family second. Just remember that when your friends abandon you because you creep them out with your constant nakedness, your family will still love you.

4. Now is the time for you to step up and be a man. You will have many responsibilities that you previously avoided. You must obey the laws of God as you prepare for a mission and you must also obey the laws of the land. This includes the law against indecent exposure. Keep your clothing on little brother, and you will be less likely to get arrested.

5. As you move out of your parents home and in with roommates and mission companions, you will need to remember to respect the people that you live with. This includes cleaning up after yourself, keeping your music at a reasonable level and not walking through the living room stark naked while their guests are there.

Well little brother, I have given you all the wise and wonderful thoughts in my head today. I hope that you will listen to the words of your slightly older and very beautiful sister as you embark upon your adult life. I know you have the potential to be a great man and live a good life. Respect women, honor your parents and follow the commandments. Be good, Mo. I love you.

Invites preview!

Ok, are you ready!?!?!? Super excited!!!! Here they are!!!!! The first one is the front side of the card, the second one is the back side of the card!

Bedframes and Broomsticks

Even though both Scotland and I got off work after eight last night, we still had a very productive evening. As soon as I got home, I took out the broom and swept off the patio. You see, it was covered in a great pile of leaves that I had vigorously pulled on Monday, so I gathered them up and swept away the dirt. Then when Scotland arrived, we ate the crock pot roast that had been cooking all day with the accompanying baby carrots and red potatoes. We finalized the order for the invitations, ran over to his storage shed and organized the mattresses, picked up a new bed frame for me, went to the car wash and scrubbed down the Honda, and then came back home and set up the bed. After that, he wrote an enormous email to his mom explaining the itinerary for the wedding while I fell asleep. For only having four hours of time, we certainly put ourselves into overdrive! Whew!

Music for my soul

Last night Scotland and I spent some serious time working up a play list for our reception. This was quite a task considering we have such differing tastes in music. He wants the Beatles, I want Leann Rimes. He wants Purest of Pain, I want James Talor. He wants a traditional Samoan wedding dance, I want a traditional bride and groom first dance.

I did 86 the Samoan wedding dance though. Not because I have anything against Samoans or their dances, but I don't think it exemplifies who we are as a couple. I did allow him to add the Samoan wedding song to the play list. See? I can compromise... sort of.

Other songs we didn't include:
Whitney Houston - I will always love you
David Bowie - White wedding
AND
Anything by the backstreet boys or n'sync.

All in all, I think we have a pretty good start...Now if I can just convince him that Bryan Adams is not the spawn of Satan, we should be good...

100th BLOG!

Yay! One hundred blogs and counting! I think I should throw a party! We need CAKE!

Wedding Update

The engagement announcements should be out in the Post Register and the Journal this week! We are finalizing the details for the mailing announcements tonight and they look amazing! Hopefully once I get a digital copy of them I will be able to post them up (as long as they are not too big!) so you can get a sneak peek! Things are really coming together!

Snow Adventures

Yes. It is May and my post is about this weekend in the snow.

We went to Island Park for Memorial day weekend. We camped in the woods, lounged in the motor home and rode the four wheelers/dirt bikes in the snow.

"Rode" may be a bit of an exaggeration. We really got stuck. A lot. And had to pull and or winch ourselves out many times. It was a blast.

We saw a show at the Macks Inn Playhouse and had prime rib there (ah, I quite adore a nice prime rib every now and again) and a lot of laughs.

On Sunday we went and decorated the graves on my grandmother's side of the family with my parents. It was wonderful. We all went to our respective homes on Sunday night and Monday was just a nice chilled out kind of day. What a wonderful thing to be able to spend time with family.

Eggalagoldenrod

Last night after work, I was driving home thinking about what I could make for dinner. After considering chicken, beef, Chinese take out and a myriad of other options, I finally decided on an old classic. When I told Scott what the plan was for dinner, he said

you're making what?

Eggalagoldenrod

I promptly replied. He was a bit unsure of what to expect. I am not the greatest cook in the world and sometimes my little experiments are a bit questionable. But he swallowed his fear and (bravely) said

Sounds great

Off I went and started whipping up my little masterpiece. I fetched him from the living room when it was ready. I proudly handed him his plate when he came into the kitchen and we sat down and ate. After we were finished, he asked me again what it was called

Egg. A. La. Golden. Rod.

He repeated it.

Ok now smash it all together and slur it a little like you do when you say Louisville (Loo-a-vul).

He did and it came out

Eggalagoldenrod.

And they say we don't have accents in Idaho. I've never been so proud!

Something Shiny part 2

Last night, Scotland and I went ring shopping for his ring. I encouraged him toward the tungsten and black ceramic (which are both supposedly unscratchable) and directed him away from yellow gold (because it would clash horribly with mine). In the end, he surprised me and said that he wanted a shiny plain white gold band. He said he needed something shiny that would

"Catch peoples attention and tell them I am married."

Oooookkkkkaaaaayyyyy.

And I think it will be a good choice overall because you can't size tungsten or black ceramic and it would take a few weeks to get one ordered in.

While we were there, they offered to clean my ring and get it all shined up. When he handed it back to me, I was dazzled by it all over again. Just like when Scotland gave it to me, I just couldn't stop staring at it last night.

Note to self: Get ring shined up and cleaned day before wedding so it sparkles in the pictures.

sadly

I have decided that I am breaking up with cheese. I am unable to enjoy cheese in moderation, and so I am going to end it. At least temporarily. Cheese. I am done with you.

On another sad note, Carl the fish has died. May he rest in peace. Poor Carl. Mo said he died of old age. He was eight.

Decisions

I hate making decisions right now. I will work myself up over it, and ask someone what they think, and then say

Yeah ok I will go with that one

Only to be convinced that I made the wrong decision when I talk to someone else to tell them what I decided. How frustrating. I am so easily swayed by anyone with an opinion. It would be easier to stand my ground if they didn't have such good points to support their argument. I was never in debate. I think this is why.

Super glue oops

I glued my fingers together last night. Yes, it was an accident. I was attempting to fix my shower curtain hook and got a little aggressive with the glue.

Yeah. Nice. Since I didn't have any unbond or whatever that super glue undoer is called, I asked Scott what I should do. He instructed me to soak my hand in hot water while he texted about a million people and asked all of them what I should do.

Answers ranged from acetone/nail polish remover to paint thinner. Which would have been nice if I had either of those. I ended up wiggling it loose after about 45 minutes. Then I spent 15 minutes peeling all the glue off my skin and the skin off the shower curtain hook. Lovely.

Mornings

6:30 a.m. Alarm goes off. Violently hit the snooze button.

6:35 a.m. Alarm sounds again, snooze is hit again.

6:40 a.m. Alarm rings, open one eye, hit snooze.

6:45 a.m. Alarm. Grumpy. Turn off alarm. Sigh. Sit up in bed.

6:47 a.m. Realize I am sleeping while sitting on the edge of bed. Get up.

6:48 a.m. Trudge wearily to bathroom. Turn on shower.

6:50 a.m. Wait for shower to warm up. Wonder who woman with crazy hair in mirror is. Oh. Me.

6:51 a.m. Get in shower. Immediately get soap in eyes. Scrub face like crazy to wake up.

7:00 a.m. Crawl back into bed, wrapped in towel. Think about going back to sleep. Think about calling in to work. Think about quitting job so I can sleep in. Sigh. Sleep.

7:20 a.m. Realize I really did fall asleep. Scramble out of bed and dash to closet. Choose something to wear that won't make me look like homeless person. Struggle into it while on way to bathroom again.

7:25 a.m. Hastily apply eye makeup. Oopps. Too hasty. Wash face and start again.

7:30 a.m. Blow dry hair while standing on my head. Hope that this time it will actually add some body to my ever flat hair.

7:35 a.m. Stand up and turn off blow dryer. Hair is standing out all over. Run brush through. Sadly discover that hair is as flat as ever. Turn on quick heating straightening iron. Brush teeth.

7:40 a.m. Run straightener through hair. Attempt to iron out kinks in bangs.

7:45 a.m. Dash into bedroom and kneel in front of closet. Toss shoe after shoe behind me as I scramble for my favorite black strappy kitten heels. Can't find them.

7:48 a.m. Grab black flats instead, cell phone, bracelet and ring. Run downstairs to find purse.

7:49 a.m. Realize favorite black heels are in kitchen. Kick off flats and slip into sandals. Grab purse, keys and sunglasses. Dash out back door and run to car.

7:50 a.m. Start car and drive recklessly out of parking lot. Look at clock and panic. Ten minutes to make a fifteen minute drive. Crap.

7:55 a.m. Run two mostly yellow lights. Cut off one car. Hit the gas like it is the Indy 5000 at every light.

7:59 a.m. Pull into parking lot at work, fly out of car and into office.

8:00 a.m. Punch in. Toss purse and other crap on my desk. Sit down at computer and log in. Daze off into distance. Wonder why I am always running late...

Busy summer days

Saturday, I spent the morning in Pocatello with a few of my cousins and my sisters at a brunch. We laughed and talked and it was so good to reconnect with each of them and find out what they have been up to. For lunch I was in Blackfoot meeting Scott for a work picnic for his region at a park. Everyone said "Oh, you must be the fiance!" and they asked Scott how he could pay for "a ring like that" on his salary. After that, we went back to Idaho Falls and met up with friends Katie and Perry to do some videography of each other. We started at the temple and ended up going through Ririe and Rigby with several stops along the way. When we were through, they dropped us back off at home and we immediately left for the south end of town where we had a barbecue to attend at the Bates residence. We finally arrived home after about ten at night, exhausted and smelling of campfire smoke.

WHAT A DAY!

Seven days without blogging makes one week...

I am soooooo sorry for the delay in my blogging as of late. You see, I was enjoying my normal life on Wednesday last week when I said

"Hey, I miss my friend Dr Cutforth DDS. I think I will go see him."

So off I went to see the famous Dr C. He greeted me with a smile and a great big needle and plopped a tube of funny air on my nose and poked and prodded until I was numb with pleasure at my little visit. He wedged and pryed and with a suctiony *POP*POP*POP*POP* out came all four of my wisdom teeth. He stuffed me full of white cottony gauze and sent me on my drooling way with a bottle of pills for my trouble.

"ga by duc tur see!" I said as I left "fank you so mush!"

Off I was led by a chuckling boy who took me home and put me straight to bed.

"du I luc funny?"

I asked when he smiled.

"No, you look beautiful, chubby cheeks and all,"

he said with a grin.

"No i dawn't. Hey, no lafing. Dawn't luc at mey!"

I turned away with flushed and swollen cheeks.

A few hours later I had not had enough fun, so as the numbness wore off, my jaw started to throb. I sniffled and cried when the boy got home from work.

"This weally hurs"

I told him through soggy red gauze. He brought me some ice, applesauce and broth. I took some more pills and attempted to eat. I sucked up that broth and looked longingly at his spaghetti and meatballs.

For the next day or two I continued to eat soft and soggy foods, stuff that didn't require much chewing. I held ice packs to my cheeks and ate Popsicles and ice cream and slowly it got better.

It still hurts a little, even now I can feel it throbbing, but I remind myself daily that it could have been worse, and then I take some pain killers and try to smile as I eat my applesauce.

Photo preview

As promised, here are a few of my favorite engagement photos.

Where is the tooth fairy when you need her?

The tooth fairy was a pretty regular visitor when I was growing up. With five kids, somebody was loosing a tooth almost every week for a while there. She never gave very much, a quarter here, maybe a dollar there, but I remember with one very stubborn tooth, she decided to be a bit more generous. That night, I stayed up til what felt like all hours of the morning to try and yank out one very cantankerous tooth that hung by a thread, both my parents insisting that I let them give it a good pull. After my tear stained face had dried and I had finally been put to bed with my tooth safely tucked under my pillow, the tooth fairy came to visit. The next morning, I scrambled to check for my loot as soon as I had opened my eyes. To my surprise I found a five dollar bill for all my struggling and hard work. I was blissful. I promptly decided that the key to getting the most bang for your teeth was to endure as much painful torture as possible.

Tomorrow I get to have four very stubborn teeth pulled out of my head, and I am expecting a very large haul. I think that having the dentist pull teeth that aren't even loose must push the reward money up exponentially. I guess I will get close to 100 dollars for that much pain and anguish, which will really be nice since that is probably what I will end up paying the dentist for the pain and anguish on his part... Doesn't seem quite fair, does it?

Boutonnieres

Gerber boutonnieres anyone? What do you think? I have been having a hard time finding some sort of greenery to go with the flowers. Suggestions?

wedding on the brain

I have what is known as an obsessive personality. When I focus in on something, it becomes all consuming until either I conquer it, or it conquers me. If I were ever to start drinking, I am sure that I would become an alcoholic in about 2.5 seconds. I am just that way. Right now I am a wedding-holic. I am thinking about it for roughly 90% of my day. Not that I am neglecting my other work, (as I sit here typing a blog while I should be working. *smirk*) but I am just doing them with only half my brain as the other half thinks about flowers and decorations, bouquets and boutonnieres, shoes and slips. I wake up in the morning and start thinking about what I need to do and what I have forgotten to do (Dang it! I still need to get to Hancock Fabrics!) and what I need to have someone else do. I worry about the tiny little details and the huge events. I have wedding on the brain all the time. I wake up in the middle of the night when I have an epiphany about something I have been struggling with. I find myself staring off into space when I should be getting ready in the morning. All of this thought and worry and planning will come down to about two weeks of my life and then it will be over and I will go into post-planning depression. Scotland will not know what to do with the listless, lazy person that will replace the super motivated, highly scheduled person that I am now. I will rest for a while, and then something else will catch my attention and I will focus and obsess over a new project in a mania of productivity. Thus is the cycle of my life.

Engagement photo shoots

Last night Scotland and I went downtown with my very talented friend Jesslyn and her very cool camera. The wind was blowing like crazy, and it was freezing, so we figured it was a perfect time for a photo shoot. *smirk* Yeah, I know, great timing was never my forte. Anyhow despite the weather complications, I think we got some pretty cute shots. We have another session planned for Sunday afternoon down by the river and on some railroad tracks. Hopefully it is a bit warmer that day and minus the hurricane force winds! As soon as we get these lovely shots taken, we will be able to send them off and get the announcements going, which will greatly reduce my stress level.

Afterward, we went back to Scott's house to check out the photos on the computer. I loved watching those pictures because some of them are posed and others are candid, while we were talking and laughing. Every now and then there is a photo that overwhelms me with the expressions of love that we have on our faces. You look at these pictures and it is so obvious that these people are absolutely and completely in love with each other. It kinda blows my mind.

Anyhow when I find a bunch that I like I will post them up here so you can get a sneak preview. If you are lucky I might even post the funny ones. Scott does a mean pirate face you know... Maybe not as mean as my dad, but close... *giggle*

A wedding planning weekend

Ahhh. So this weekend is entirely devoted to wedding planning. Scotland and I will be heading down to the hometown on Friday at about 1:30 in the afternoon and will not return until late Saturday night or even Sunday (scandalous, I know!) which will give us lots of time to do some wedding work. IF ONLY I was getting paid for all the hours I am spending on this, rather than the other way around...

We plan on meeting with the cake decorator (my dear friend Jacqueline) and meeting with backdrop people, picking out the material for my veil, spending vast amounts of money at Costco and millions of hours talking about everything with my dearest mother. *sigh* I am tired already.

Scotland is going to participate until he is sick of it, and then my darling daddy has promised to take him out motorbiking/ATV-ing as a reward. Or maybe as a recovery. Whatever.

This is a marathon, people! Not a sprint! There's no crying in wedding planning! Break!

flowers!

Yay! My wedding flowers just got delivered to me! I ordered them online (which was way cheaper than finding them in any stores around here) and they look soooooo amazing. Pictures to come soon! Yay!!!!!

Pain killers...

So I was sitting here today, anticipating (dreading) next week and my upcoming extraction appointment, and I started to wonder what pain killers the dentist would be providing me with. I am utterly and completely abhorrent to the thought of a mouth packed full of bloody gauze, but at the same time, I absolutely cannot wait to get these stupid wisdom teeth out of my head. So I look forward to the sleep that I will enjoy and the time off work that will accompany my fuzzy, medicated mind and wonder what lovely prescriptions I will be rewarded with for my (ahem) hard work. Vicodin? Tylenol with Codine? Darvocet? Oxycontin? So many lovely choices...

Vicodin does very little for me. Except make me loopy and in pain. Tylenol with Codine creates a funny little effect known as "coma-kristi" where I go to sleep and wake up four days later. Darvocet is ok, but if you ask my dad he will tell you not to overdose on it because he swears when my mom accidentally double dosed him he was stapled to the wall hanging upside down. *smile* Pleasant, right? And I have my own little experience with Oxycontin...

I was elk hunting one Saturday last November when I slipped on some moss and fell, bashing my knee into a sharp rock on the wet ground. I was able to hobble up the mountain, but was definitely done walking for that day. When I arrived back home, Scott called and asked if I wanted to go to Lava that night. Not wanting to miss out on an opportunity to show off my battle wound, I (stupidly) agreed. Jess patched up my knee with some liquid bandage and off we went to soak my sore muscles and tired bones. After we got out and started to head home, Trent asked how I was feeling. I whined about how sore I was and he volunteered some unknown magic pill to ease my troubles, which naturally, I took without asking what it was. About half way home, the lights started to look blurry as cars passed us. I found myself unable to focus on one thing, my eyeballs were dancing around in my head like a pinball game. Scott tried asking me a few questions and quickly determined that I was as high as a kite. He hauled me into his house when we got back to town, amidst my vehement protests that I may not be able to walk, but I could certainly drive myself home, and made me stay there where he could keep an eye on me. He was not willing to leave me to my own devices, even at my house for fear that I would do who knows what. Since that has been my only experience with Oxycontin, I am a bit hesitant to try it again.

So when I go in to the dentist next Wednesday I am betting they will have some new fancy medication they will let me try, giggling to themselves what trouble I will encounter with it. But I guess dentists have got to have their fun somehow...

Avocados

Be prepared. This is random...

I love avocados. Creamy and nutty, with a dash of salt on top or plain. I had avocados on triscuits today. Yum. But whenever I walk by with an avocado in hand, Jen shudders. She hates them. Maybe she had a bad avocado experience. I don't know.

This looks like a bad avocado experience. Avocado pie anyone?

How about an avocado martini? I don't think I would indulge in that even if I was a drinker.


How about an avocado milkshake?

And even worse, a chocolate avocado milkshake! **shudder**

There are however, some avocado items I would not be opposed to. Starting with avocado body butter...mmmmmmm.

These are avocado turkey wraps. Don't they look good?

And for the grand finale, avocado egg rolls from the cheesecake factory... Pardon me while I wipe up all the saliva from my keyboard...

Jen! How can you not like them?!?!?!?

Cake!

Loaded with berries, right? I like that they used different colors of berries too. Not so crazy about the basket weave, but I love the contrast of the white frosting with the red and blue berries. Round is okay, I guess...

But I really love the square! I don't like that some of the berries are falling off/draping down the sides. I like the cleaner look of them all on the top of each level and I would not have any around the bottom of the cake. I think that I like the look with the layers being lifted up like in the top picture. This of course would require more berries, but I love how it looks. I think the fondant frosting was used on this one. I have personally never sampled fondant, but I love how smooth it looks compared to the cream stuff.

Comments? Thoughts? Are you hungry yet?

Hurricane Kristi

Wow. So the last two weeks have been insane crazy busy. After literally doing two or three wedding things everyday in addition to my full time/over time job, second job and donating plasma, I had a "bridal meltdown" on Saturday.

"I can't do this..." I cried to my mom over the phone. "Yes you can. It will be fine" she responded with the confidence of only a mother.

Anyone who knows me can appreciate the struggles that I am facing. As a self proclaimed perfectionist and organizing/list freak, I know a daunting task when I see one. And when the countdown is on (67 days) the pressure intensifies.

Yes. I know it is "only a wedding" but it is my only wedding, and I want it to go a certain way. Uh... my way... so it is important that I have every detail nailed down. Hence my bridal meltdown.

The things that are at the top of my stressor list are:

Getting engagement pictures and getting the invitations done as soon as possible. Hello! Nobody wants to get an invitation two days before the event!

Figuring out the catering and location for the luncheon. My "wants to get a deal" personality is conflicting with my "wants it to be perfect and beautiful" personality since I seem to be unable to have both.

Wondering if I will be able to pay for all of this with the funds I have. I hate math. I hate seeing the amount of money that is going out the door on a daily basis. I hate seeing a balance on my credit card. I guess somehow it will work out, but it is taking a lot of faith on my part to let it ride without super stressing over every single penny.

Anyway, that is the story of my life lately. Poor Scotland is doing his best to deal with my madness, and if he weren't the eternal optimist I have no idea where we would be.