Will you marry....... us?

Now that we have the location and photographer down, I'm working on checking other things off my list. Next up, officiant.



Neither Mike or I a very "churchy" people, so we neither have a priest that we know nor really want one. Our wedding will be meaningful and symbolic, but secular.

That leaves a professional wedding officiant or a justice of the peace.

A wedding officiant could be nice because we'd have some time to get to know them ahead of time and because they have had experience with designing meaningful, secular ceremony. Biggest downfall? Its not the cheapest option.

A justice of the peace is a much cheaper option, but that means a much simpler, less flexible ceremony. (I think? I admit, I haven't contacted any of them yet.) But, it still might not be the best option.

The last possibility is to have a friend or family member get an online certificate to be a wedding officiant. After several times reading the law about who is able to officiate, calling local officials and checking my wedding blog resources, its still unclear to me whether or not this is legal. I asked my mom to check around with the friendly neighborhood family lawyers and see what they say. In the mean time, the person who I originally had in mind is unable to do this for us, so its back to the drawing board on this idea too.

So, if anyone has had any experience with J.O.Ps in Livingston County, or is familiar with any of the professionals in the Rochester area, I'd more than welcome some recommendations!

Beautiful Bridal Brigade!

Its official! All of my lovely ladies have said yes! I will be having four wonderful women standing next to me on such an important day of my life! I feel really lucky that I have a group of girls that all know each other well, as well as Mike and I as a couple very well. They all get along great too, so I know we'll have a blast! I've decided not to have a Maid of Honor because of each of these women have been very important to me at different stages of my life. Here's a quick run down of the Bridal Brigade!

Holly- a slightly older cousin who has known and loved me since before I was born. Its pretty easy to tell from the picture that we're related. We're known for being the "giggly girls" in the family. She's also planning a wedding for the same year as me and I'm her maid of honor! She's a graphic designer so I'm hoping she'll bring her design talent to the team!

Jenny- my best friend since late elementary school. She and I actually both started out liking Mike and I'm the lucky one that ended up with him! She's been there to support me for a long time and somehow hasn't run away yet! No matter how long its been since we have last talked, we always pick up just the same as we did in high school between periods. She has a lot of talents, one of which is lots of experience in a bakery. We may get brave and try to make a cake for the wedding together!
Corey- we were randomly assigned roommates freshman year of college and ended up living together for all four years! Corey was the one who supported me through the few months where Mike and I decided we should try not being together and saw how crazy that made me. She also was a big source of fashion advice, so I'm hoping she help make sure I look good in those pictures I will some day show my children! Corey's the one who lives the farthest away and is deep in the trenches of medical school, so I'm happy that she said yes to help me out!
Jamie- another beloved college roommate! I was actually friends with Jamie's now ex-boyfriend before I was friends with her. When we needed another person for our apartment Junior year, we thought Jamie would be a "safe" choice. If we only knew what we were in for! Jamie's another one with an eye for fashion and style and has such a sweet heart! I can't believe that I have known Jamie the shortest amount of time out of all four ladies- it feels like we're old high school friends! So that's my beautiful crew. I know we'll have lots of fun and they won't complain too much when I recruit them for all the crafty projects I'm planning! Most importantly, I know I can trust all four of these women with anything and I know that they all can get me through anything. They all have proven this time and time again. Not to mention the fact that each one of them can have me rolling on the floor in laughter in no time! So, Thanks girls! You make me so happy!

Pups and Popular culture

Well I made it back from NC, not thawed, but happy to have visited a lovely little blossoming family that I'm happy to be related to. Now that my computer and camera have gotten over whatever tiff they are having and start talking to each other again I can post some pictures of the cute couple and their dogs (one of which almost came home in my suitcase!).


Here's the cute couple on a not very warm beach. Wanna know something adorable? They always seem to be holding hands, especially in the car. Awwww, my little brother is in love :)

Here's the little guy I wanted to steal. His name is Deisel. He's part boxer. He's part pit bull. His feet are over sized. He's going to be enormous some day.


And here's the not so little guy, Torque, who is also lovable, but would probably eat me if I tried to take his Deisel away. As usual, he's making his "stupid face", lip over bottom teeth, tongue hanging out just a little bit.


They are really cute when they play together!


And now for something completely different....

Pop Culture Give-in #1
On the way back home from NC I gave in and bought a book (which I haven't done in a while, thanks to my obsession with Bookmooch.) That book was Twlight, by Stephanie Meyer.

I've heard a lot of women, young and old have fallen for this book and I just wasn't sure if I was going to be one of those people. Still, it was one of the cheaper books on the airport bookstore shelf and one of the only ones I had heard of, so I gave in. After the first chapter, I wasn't convinced. By the time I got halfway though, I had to finish it THAT DAY. It was good. A little romance doesn't hurt in a novel, but the way that the author captures the feeling of new romance was dead on. I remembered how I felt when Mike and I first started dating, when I felt like my nerve endings were on fire with the smallest brush of his hand. Sigh. When he picked me up at the airport, I gave him a great big kiss and it felt wonderful. I can't wait to read the next three!!

Pop Culture Give-in # 2


On Saturday, Mike and I decided to go see the movie Coraline in theaters. One of the major reasons I wanted to see it was because of all the hype that I had been hearing about its 3D that was supposed to be really good. When we went up to the counter to buy the tickets, but after Mike had forked over the money (thanks sugar daddy!), the cashier said "It's not in 3D, just so you know." Doh! Oh well, we went in and settled down just in time for the start of the movie. (Arriving 10 minutes late apparently means you're not subjected to advertisement-for future reference).

The movie itself was cute and creepy and similar in style to the Nightmare Before Christmas. There were some parts where Mike and I looked at eachother, laughing, thinking... did that just happen? I'd recommend it... but if you get a chance to watch in 3D, please let me know what you think. I might be a little jealous.

Hello, Goodbye!

A quick note before I head out of town. I'm flying down to North Carolina to visit my brother and his wife and "the boys" (their two enormous Boxer puppies). (Isn't that a cute picture of them from their wedding last year!?) I'm hoping thaw out a little bit down there! Whoo upper 50s!

You may have noticed my blog has been spruced up a bit with a lovely little background, thanks to Simply Chic Blogs. Thanks to them for helping me make this place a little less boring, all for the wonderful price of..... free!

I'll be back Thursday night, pending good weather. It will be just in time to dive into my study materials for my certification test! Take care everyone!

Giving Thanks

I hope everyone had a nice Thanksgiving and was able to take some time away from the craziness of work or school to relax and enjoy life.
As is tradition in my family we spent thanksgiving in Syracuse with my Dad's side of the family. This is one of the few times a year when most of that family can be all together. It also was bitter sweet, the first holiday season without my grandpa. I also got to see my new baby cousin Molly. What a little cutie!

Then it was back home to have dinner with my brother, my sister in law, my family and Mike. That was really nice too. My brother and sister in law live down in NC, at least for now while he finishes training for the Marines. I definitely wish they were closer because I'd like to see their little family developing (Them, Toque the big goofy boxer, and two Chamelions, Chomper and Ducky... I can wait a few more years for nieces and/or nephews!).

Thanksgiving is about being thankful, so I wanted to briefly post a few things that I'm thankful for right now (not an all inclusive list or in any particular order)

1. It being almost the end of the last semester of college classes ever- Whee!
2. Having a family in which there is never a dull moment.
3. Getting the creative juices flowing- especially on designing stuff for Holly's wedding!
4. Having an amazing boyfriend out there in Syracuse who is working in a great real person job, taking care of a rented house that was damaged by years of old lady trying to fix things and working on his thesis at the same time! (if you're reading this- Get back to work!)
5. Having an amazing boyfriend who doesn't get too mad at me about bugging him to work on his thesis....
6. Google reader- informative and wonderful procrastination tool all at the same time! Plus great for helping me out with #3! (did i mention that I'm a teensy bit of a hypocrite when it comes to procrastination?)
7. One of the little kiddos I'm working with remembering the order of the alphabet all the way to N for two days in a row! Woo! Simple pleasures of being a teacher!
8. The count down to my Utah trip is down to less than a month! (more about this later!)

What are you thankful for?