Honeymoon...

This won't be a long post, but I haven't written in a while, so I'm going to give a quick update.

I found a woman to do my wedding memory/guest book. She is awesome and she is handmaking it. Here is a link to her site. She does them in the colors that you choose and she does a questionnaire in order for it to match the couples that she is doing them for:
http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=7047147



Also, we finalized our plans for the honeymoon. We will be flying out the morning after the wedding...out of the airport in Fort Walton. We'll fly to Denver, Colorado and then drive to Steamboat, Colorado from there. We will stay in Steamboat all week long and be at the Wyndham Vacation Resort. The next Friday morning will be check-out day. After checking out, we will drive to Salt Lake City, Utah and stay for 2 whole days and 3 nights. Then, we'll wake up early that Monday morning and drive back to Denver (it's cheaper to fly out of that same airport and do a round-trip instead of fly out of the SLC airport) to catch our flight back home. We should be home around 10:30 that Monday night.

I'm so excited! We're going to have a good time.





And, here is a picture from a wedding we went to this past weekend. It was the wedding of one of the groomsmen in our wedding. It was also the 5 month mark out from our wedding too. =)


P.S. I've never worn that "maxi" dresses before...or even tried them on, because I didn't think I was tall enough or skinny enough to pull them off. But, I finally tried one on the other day when I was trying to find something to wear to the wedding and I loved it! They are comfortable...and you don't have to "suck in" all day! LOL!!

Bridesmaid Dresses and Reception Dress

These are the three bridesmaid dresses that I chose. I took Tiffany and Lindsey, my cousins, to David's Bridal in Tallahassee...with these in mind. They tried them on and they looked just as great as I had thought they would. They are made out of jersey knit, so they are a real heavy, but flowy material. Instead of making you look like you are in a potato sack and have no figure, it drapes around your curves that you DO have, without clinging to you and making you feel like it shows EVERYTHING. Maybe this way, my girls will not all be fretting and worrying about if they are having a day where they are bloated or just feeling frumpy. Also, this way...they can choose whichever neckline they want and makes them feel comfortable. =D I am also going to be telling them that if any of them want a shrug, or something to wear in case it's chilly, to let me know and I'll start looking for something like that too. We went ahead and put in Tiffany and Linds' sizes and now we just need to get everybody else's (or if they want to go try the three and see which neckline they like the best for themselves) and get them ordered. They look so good. I'm very excited about it.


The other day, I decided that I wanted to get a dress to wear to the reception. I am going to wear my wedding gown to do the dances in, and the cake cutting, and all the major things, but then I wanted to change into something that I wouldn't be as worried about spilling or people stepping on. Also, one that I can dance in! Obviously, I wasn't going to post my actual wedding dress, but this one looks so different from the picture I'm posting, to where I don't think it gives a real good idea of what it looks like anyway. LOL. Plus, I don't care if it's seen ahead of time. I'll probably even let Chop see this one before-hand. You can't tell from the picture, but it's a soft ivory color. The empire waist and shoulder straps have beading on them. The dress is made in mesh material that looks like tiny pleats all over. I don't know how to really describe what I mean, but it's very pretty...and comfortable! It looks a bit Grecian, to me. Well, the bridesmaid dresses do too, actually. I'm going to be getting my granny to cut it to where it's tea-length and she will also be putting some more embellishments on it to make it stand out just a LITTLE bit more. I got it from David's Bridal. Apparently, it's one of the wedding dresses they have there! I could see it being a good wedding gown for a beach wedding or something. Anyway, I'm really excited about it too. =D

Chop's Wedding Band...

8mm Tungsten Carbide comfort fit wedding band with 18 karat white gold inlay

This is the ring that Chop picked out yesterday. I put the deposit down and now we're just waiting for it to come in. I really like it! It looks good on him. From what we can tell, anyway. It wouldn't go all the way on his finger because nobody just carries around a size 15 ring. LOL.

We went to Maharaja's first because that's where he got my engagement ring from. I needed to get my ring cleaned and certified for its 6 month check-up, so we looked there while we were at it. To make a long story short, let's just say that the price of men's bands...(with no diamonds, he doesn't want them) was ridiculous. We looked at the same designer as we were looking at there, while we were at Reed's and their prices were MUCH better.

So, at least we have his ring out of the way now. Now, we just need to find mine at some point. We still have 6 months, so there is plenty of time.

I'm just glad that he's happy with his. =)







On another note, we had to take Uga back to where Chop bought him from, this time last year. He is deaf and he is very hard to teach or get onto when he's bad. He just doesn't understand when you discipline him because he can't hear your tone or anything to let him know you aren't pleased with him. Well, he's had a chewing and dragging problem ever since we've had him. He tore up ours and Chop's parents grill covers. He's knocked both grills over in the middle of the night, numerous times. We tried to wait and see if he would outgrow it like Rocko did. We even fixed him to see if that would calm him down. He also killed Chop's mom's outside cat several months ago. So, on top of all that...everybody was worried one day he would be sleeping and one of the kids (one of his nieces or his nephew) would walk up to him and startle him, since he couldn't hear them coming, and that he'd bite one of them. We still decided to wait and see if he would outgrow it. He'd even go for a while and be very good and not chew things. Well, there was finally the last straw yesterday morning.

He broke out of their pin, which was already boarded up and "rigged" a bunch of times to where it looked like Alcatraz or something. Then, he messed up several things on Chop's dad's VERY expensive 0-turn (I guess that's what they are called?) lawn mower...including ripping up the seat and gear shifter. It's one of the mowers that they use for the family lawn business that they do in their spare time while they aren't at their real jobs. So, his dad was not pleased at all and Chop ended up having to take him somewhere. Thank God he didn't drop him off on the side of the road, or else I would have been EXTREMELY upset with him. But, the man that he bought him from took him back and is going to keep him there. He was willing to give Chop back the little bit of money that he gave him to buy him, but Chop didn't take it and told him to not worry about it and to just take care of him.

I was very very upset about it at first and it took me a while to get over being upset. Mainly because he didn't tell me until I got to his house, that he had to do that. And also because I didn't get to say bye to him. But, after explaining himself to me and explaining how aggravated everybody was, I see where he is coming from. Everybody loved him, but he was just becoming more problematic than it was worth and he needed to go somewhere where he will maybe get along better with a fenced in area or something. He was costing everybody their nice things that he was eating up too. I miss him, but I still have my baby Rocko. I'm just worried that Rocko will be lonely because they were buds. Rocko always watched out for him and always made sure he was right behind him. I feel like Rocko had the instincts enough to know that Uga couldn't hear. So, we're trying to give Rocko some extra attention right now. And he still has Chelsea and Jason's dogs that he can play with, so maybe he will be okay after some time.

So, anyway...
We've had some pretty bad luck with animals lately. =(

They Came In...

The Save-The-Dates came in! Whew! Now, we just have to finish getting the rest of the addresses...and then address EACH AND EVERY postcard. Yikes! It's going to suck, but they look really nice! They turned out so good. I took a picture with my cell phone. They are really good quality...and thick. I was very impressed. I got them from Magnet Street.

I also realized that I never posted a picture of our new cat. We adopted her from the Alaqua Animal Reserve. Now, I usually HATE going to animal shelters. They make me sad and make me want to take every single animal home with me. This place looks more like exactly what it's called. A reserve. There are cats, dogs, horses, rabbits, ducks, chickens, etc...that all needed to be rescued or were malnourished or dropped off/stray. They take really good care of the animals there. We named or cat, Bodie. She is SO sweet. I donated some extra money after we paid the adoption fee, just because that's how much I loved the place. When I get some extra free time, I may even start volunteering there. The animals there were BEAUTIFUL! Here is a picture of her snuggling up to Chop. She does this every night. She gets as close to your face as possible and then wraps herself around your neck into a little ball and falls asleep. :) She's so sweet. She's not Bella, but we love her just the same. Also, her birthday is actually the same date that Bella died (obviously 2 years before that though), so I kind of think that it was meant to be that we picked Bodie out of all the other cats.







This weekend, on Saturday, I'm taking my cousin Tiffany (and hopefully Lindsey) to Tallahassee to look at bridesmaids dresses. I have a pretty good idea of the dresses I want everybody to wear, but I wanted to make sure they looked good on everyone before committing to them. They are all the same fabric and style...they just have 3 different necklines that they will be able to choose from. So, we will see what that ends up looking like.

Ordered S-T-D's and Logan Is Here...

I picked out the Save-The-Dates today, finally...and got them ordered. Here is what they look like! Obviously, this is the website version and not our actual S-T-D's...


We have been putting off getting some pictures done, so we could choose them for the S-T-D's, because I didn't want to bother Katie with doing them, since she was about to POP with Logan. So, finally, I just decided that I'd get my mom to take a few pictures with a digital camera and also a non-digital camera. I figured that if we took enough of them, we'd surely get a few out of the bunch that we could use. Sure, they aren't as good as they would have been if we had paid extra money to have them done professionally, but I think they are good enough for S-T-D's, anyway. We went to Chop's station and used the ambulance there to take the pictures in (and around). I think it's pretty obvious why we chose an ambulance, but not all of his extended family has met me...and not all of my extended family has met him. By putting our wedding website address on the S-T-D's will help explain it a little bit though, once they read the sections about ourselves, to see that we both work with different ambulance services.

Here are some of my favorite pictures from the ones Mom took:

The very next day, Katie was scheduled to be induced at 5am. She and Seamus went in and were going to call us when she was about 5-6 cm. Next thing I know, it's 11am and he text messages me saying she is at 8.5!!! We rush out the door and he says that he would have let us know sooner, but that she went from about 5-8.5 in the span of an hour!

She is the PERFECT pregnant woman, that's for sure. She only pushed a few times, once it was time, and he was out...and PERFECT. She was smiling the whole time and didn't even break a sweat! Not to mention the fact that she did NOT look 9 months pregnant!

His older brother, Gavin, who just turned 3...was not able to make it. He was on his way to the hospital with Katie's sister and he got sick on the way up. They think he has a stomach virus of some sort, so he's going to have to wait until his new brother comes home before he can see him.

Seamus is Chop's best friend. They might as well be brothers...everybody thinks they are, anyway. They also work together. So, Katie and Chop have always been very close too! When Chop and I started dating, Katie and Seamus were there from the very first date (it was a double date), so they have become some of my very best friends and I love them very much. I love both of their families too...they are all such good people! Anyway, we look at Gavin as a nephew and now we have a new nephew to add to the mix!

Here are a few pictures from his birthday (including one picture from the night before of Gavin and I)...and his measurements:
Logan Joseph O'Neill
Born on April 10, 2009 at 12:56pm
6lbs 4oz
20" long

Well, I think that's about all the updating I have for now... =D
I hope everyone has a wonderful Easter!!

Very long update...

Well, I haven't written anything on here in a while. I was planning on writing something earlier this past week, after the bridal faire that we went to, but we had a tragic accident happen Wednesday night that has just made me very sad and bitter for the past few days.

I don't feel like explaining what happened because I'm at work right now and don't want to start crying in front of the guys (The only person I feel "comfortable" crying around, is Chop. I don't even like crying in front of my family). But, to make a long story short, Chop and I lost our adopted baby, Bella, due to a VERY freak accident on Wednesday night. It was nothing we could have helped or that we would have thought to happen and be able to prevent. She was strictly an inside cat and we thought that nothing could happen to her with things being that way, as long as we took good care of her and loved her. Well, we were wrong and it was probably the only thing that could have possibly gone wrong to hurt her...and it did. Not only was that tragic enough, but we then had to watch her die while we couldn't do anything to make her better or hurt less.

We have both been very upset about it for the past few days and so I haven't felt like doing much of anything. We finally got out of the house last night, and I wasn't even able to manage getting through the whole night without tearing up several times. It may sound stupid to some people that we let something like a pet dying get to us so much, but she really was our baby. She was our first big responsibility that we had together (besides the dogs, but they are always outside and they walk around to his parent's house sometimes) and we were taking care of her so good and doing things that were best for her...and then she ended up dying. She wasn't like most cats where they like to be independent and be alone a lot of the time. She was always waiting at the door when we'd pull into the yard, she would stay right underneath us any time we walked to a different part of the house, and she'd lay around and be lazy with us on days that we were too. We could even put our head down next to her and she'd starting nudging her face up against our cheeks, as if she was giving us kisses. Chop didn't even want a cat to begin with. I had to beg him to let me get her...but, she was full grown, fixed, fat, and lazy and I was finally able to talk him into it. He ended up loving her and being just as attached as I was.

Anyway, that's enough about that...I just wanted to talk about how much I loved her for a minute. Then, I'll try to get onto actual wedding stuff. Here are a few pictures of our "Bella Button."

She loved on him every night when we'd go to bed. This was actually only a couple of weeks before she died on March 4, 2009. :'(

The day we brought her home, after getting her settled in...I was sooooo happy.

She was such a priss pot. Even if no one had told us she was a girl...we would have known that she was.

After giving him hugs and kisses, she would conk out on top of him...and then move over to me a few minutes later and sleep under my arm or on top of my legs.

Anyway, about the bridal faire...
It was freezing outside. I've been to two others and they were inside and it was so hot because of all the people running around like chickens with their heads cut off, trying to get their papers signed before the prize drawings. I wore a short sleeved shirt and brought a jacket because it was cold outside, but figured that SURELY it would be inside, since it was one of the coldest days all winter (it was the day that it snowed as close to us as Dothan and Troy). Well, we pull up to Pier Park...and it's outside. The wind is CRAZY and it's freezing! Chop and his mom were going to meet us there, so they brought a couple of blankets and Chop's extra jackets so we could bundle up once we saw that it was outside. We went around to all of the vendors as fast as we could and signed everything in record speed. The idiots that were supposed to put up the siding on the tent were about 3 hours late...and then once they got there, they acted like they'd never done it before.

The whole thing was very unorganized. While most bridal faires seem to last about 3-4 hours...this one was over the span of 6 hours. They had the drawings split up where they did a few of them every hour or so...but, it was never exactly a specific amount of time between each drawing. So, basically, it made it where you felt like you had to sit there the whole time to see if your name was called because you had to be present to win. Well, we pulled up the Excursion as close as we could, where we could still hear the announcer and just decided we would get out and run up if we won something. Well, my name was called during the first drawing and it was finally something better than a picture frame! I won a free Groom's cake, as long as I use her for my Bride's cake. I went to her website and her cakes are awesome. She had the best tasting cake there, that's for sure. The best part was that it wasn't dry like a lot of cake ends up being. (cakesbytanis.com if you want to check out her cakes)

We also went to Dillard's and registered for our flatware and our casual dinnerware.
A few days later, Mom and I went to Bed, Bath, & Beyond and registered some more, picked out formal dinnerware (china) and Chop and I have to go back and finish when we both have time and have a day off together.

Then, today...I got a phone call from one of the vendors and it was to tell me that I won her drawing for a free engagement photography session. I went to her site and she is just starting in the wedding photography, but she's been traveling, taking pictures of objects and people from a distance. She doesn't have her wedding photography site up yet, but she sent me to her traveling photography site and she's pretty good. She's not GREAT, but she's good...and a lot better than somebody that had no clue what they were doing. She also seems to have a good eye. Her camera just doesn't seem to be of GREAT quality...plus she uses transparencies and not digital. So, I think that could be why. I don't know much about photography, but I am pretty sure that digital pictures turn out better usually. But, free is free is free, so I'm not complaining. I'm still very happy about it. She also wants us to come to Panama City instead of her coming to DeFuniak or Chipley. So that's going to keep us from being able to do pictures in the ambulance that Chop works on, for our save-the-dates. I think we still may try to get that to happen though if our friend Katie is still willing to take them for us before she pops (she is pregnant and due next month). She was going to do them for free because she just takes pictures for fun. She's not a professional, but she takes pictures of her son and niece and she's pretty dang good...and she has a good camera.

Anyway, I think that's about it.
I'm going to leave you with a picture of Chop and I while we were in Dillard's. He's smiling SUPER HUGE in the picture because I had just told him that he could "shoot" things since I got to "shoot" when we registered at Target. He ended up going nuts with it when I wasn't looking and registered for all sorts of RIDICULOUS things, that I ended up having to delete online once I got home. What a dork.

Tagged again...

I was tagged by Melissa Manzione. She added herself as "following" this blog, I'm assuming after seeing a comment I left on Leslie's page. Leslie is a friend I went to school with and she's also going to be the photographer at my wedding in November. But, little does Melissa know...that I looked at hers all the time, after seeing the pretty pictures that Leslie took of HER wedding. =D

So, anyway...that's how I got tagged, if that explanation isn't too confusing sounding.

So, here it is:

Step 1: respond and rework—answer the questions on your own blog, replace one question that you dislike with a question of your own invention, add one more question of your own.

Step 2: tag—eight other un-tagged people.

Make a list of things you can see without getting up:
American flag, Chris (my partner...I'm at work, obviously working hard), TV, filing cabinets, bulletin board, copy machine, computer, door open so some "pretty day" can come through. That's all I feel like listing, right now. =)

Favorite football team:
I love college football. University of Georgia football comsumes my life during the fall and winter seasons.

What are you wearing now?
Work boots, Nomex work pants, long-sleeved Walton Co Fire/Rescue t-shirt, underwear and socks (obviously).

What color is your bedroom?
Jamaican Dream (teal) and Mocha Brown.

What’s the last thing you read/are currently reading?
Something my cousin wrote me.

What was the last movie you saw?
Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist.

Who was the last person you hugged?
Chop.

What’s your current obsession/addiction?
Twilight, is and has been, for a while now. All this news about Chris Brown beating the crap out of Rihanna. I'd like to beat the crap out of HIM. Wedding planning =)

What was the last thing you said aloud?
"I'm never drinking that much diet coke in the morning, ever again!"

What websites do you always visit when you go online?
Gmail, Myspace, Facebook, Perezhilton, Blogger, Weighins, Theknot, my school stuff, my work stuff, and news sites.

What was the last thing you bought?
Supper, last night.

If you could have any super power, what would it be?
I would love to be able to snap my fingers and be somewhere. There is a lot of driving in my job. It would be nice to not have to do it while I'm not at work.

What is your favorite weather, and why?
Weather like today...sunny, with some clouds (so the sky isn't boring), and about 65-70 degrees. =D

What time do you usually get up?
If I'm going to work, 6:00.

Say something to the person who tagged you:
Your pictures are so pretty...and BRIGHT. =)

If you could have a house–totally paid for, fully furnished–anywhere in the world, where would you want it to be?
Chipley, Florida. It's where I'm going to end up, once I get married, so I'd like to stay there. Plus, it's not far from home.

Favorite vacation spot?
Any vacation spot is my favorite.

What is your favorite children’s book?
Bernstein Bears.

Name one thing you just can’t resist no matter how bad it is for you:
Reese's.

Favorite hair product?
I don't really have a favorite. Every time I run out of something, I switch it up. I'm not all that high maintenance. Usually, unless I'm going somewhere nice, I just wash my hair and let it dry on its own without even brushing it. LOL...I run my fingers through it so it isn't knotted up, but that's about it. It dries curly.

What was the first tape or cd you ever bought yourself?
Jock Jams. Wow.

Stupidest thing You've Done Today?
Well, it was technically today. It was earrrrrrrly this morning...probably about 3am. I wasn't thinking and felt something on my foot. My natural instinct is to get it off of me. So, I pushed really hard with my foot and heard a thud. The thud fully woke me up and I sat up and realized I had knocked my, DEAD ASLEEP/lard butt cat - Bella, off the bed. Poor thing. Since she was asleep she didn't land on her feet. She landed in the exact position as she was in when she was ON the bed. Only, she was looking up at me like she had her feelings hurt. =( I felt so bad, but it was funny at the same time. Don't worry...I picked her up out of the floor and hugged on her for a while, until she fell back asleep. =)

What is your favorite store and why?
American Eagle. Comfy, cute, affordable, and fits my body shape the best.

**Adding this one** What is your biggest pet peeve?
When people are hypocrites. I have others, but that's my biggest one.

My Wedding Party...

Well, I have finally talked to everyone and they've all said yes... =D

I had been really stressed out and struggling for the past several weeks, because there was just no way that I could have TEN bridesmaids like I wanted to have. Chop had a hard enough time thinking of all of his guys, there's no way that he could have thought of 3 other guys to have on his side to even numbers out. I know that they sides don't have to even out, but it always looks better when things are. Not to mention, we are going to have a hard time, as it is, fitting the people we DO have...up in the choir loft. There are built in theater seats in the loft, so that's what makes it hard to stand everybody up there.

Anyway, I finally figured out a way to solve my dilemma!

On my side...it is going to be:
My cousin, Tiffany, as the MOH
My cousin, Lindsey
My future sister-in-law, Chelsea
My "might as well be" future sister-in-law, Katie
Three of my best friends: Rachel, Amanda, and Amber
Erilyn (my baby cousin...Lindsey's daughter) and Jaycee (my future niece...Chelsea's daughter)

THEN, I'm going to have three honorary bridesmaids:
Three of my other best friends: Dusti, Emily, and Carolyn
They will basically be involved in everything, except being in the actual ceremony. They are going to wear something nice in one of the colors and wear flowers. They are also going to sit up front with my family. So, they are still going to be able to be a huge part of everything...which makes me feel so much better about our "numbers" problem we had before.

On Chop's side...it's going to be:
His brother, Jason, as his BM
His "night as well be" brother, Seamus
His future brother-in-law, Matt J
His nephew, Blaine
His cousin, Heath
Two of his best friends, Matt O and Justin Ross
Gavin (Seamus and Katie's son...and his "might as well be" nephew) and Gunnar (Lindsey's son...and my baby cousin)

He said he didn't want any honorary groomsmen or ushers.







So, we have it all figured out and everybody has said yes to our request to have them as a big part of our big day!

It's such a relief to have it all figured out!

THE dress...

I cannot believe it, but...
I found "THE DRESS!"




Well, we went to Dothan yesterday, just try some on to see what styles I liked. I didn't have any intention of finding something today and I didn't think that I would.

I've always heard that when you know, you know.
It's true.

It was the second dress I tried on. Granny had found it and I didn't think I'd like it on because I thought that it was SUPER poofy. Plus, I already had another dress picked out to try on, that had a lot of the same features to it...and it WAS too poofy and way too much dress and it was HEAVY. So, I took that one off and tried on the one that granny saw, to make her happy. I thought it was a pretty dress, hanging up, but I just didn't think I'd like it on ME.

Well, I tried it on and it was GORGEOUS. It fit perfectly with no alterations and granny says that's a good omen. Plus, it made everybody cry when they saw it. I didn't see anybody tearing up or crying, though, because I told them all that I didn't want to see ANY crying because if they started, I would start. So, if they were going to cry, they needed to turn their heads or something. I tried it on with a veil and everything and it was still perfect. It looks like a dress straight out of a fairy tail.

I tried on a few more dresses after that to try on the other necklines and styles...and fits (like straight, mermaid, etc...) and none of them looked as good as this one. They all said when I had it on, that it just looked like my face lit up and you could tell I loved it and that I was comfortable in it. =) So, we put the first payment on it (you only have to pay for half of it before it comes in) and ordered a brand new one and she said it would be here in about 4 months. AHHHH!

I kept saying that I just didn't feel right finding something the very first day I went to try things on, but I got to thinking about it and I just cannot even imagine finding one that would look better. Plus, they said once you know, you know...and once you have that in your mind, nothing else is going to look as good to you as the one you KNOW is it. My cousin, Lindsey (who is also in the wedding), got her wedding dress from the same exact place and that it was the very first day she looked. She said that she also felt like I did and didn't think she would find something the very first day, but that when she tried it on, she knew it was it. She tried on a few more afterward, but said that nothing else compared to it. So, I don't feel like I'm missing out on seeing anything else. It's just that now that I have the dress, I feel like November 14th is going to get here even SLOWER than it already is. Plus, keeping a secret from Chop for that long is going to KILL ME. He is my best friend and I tell him everything, so not being able to tell him about what my dress looks like...is literally torture.

So, anyway...it's gorgeous.
I would describe it or put up a picture, but I'd just rather it be a surprise to everyone. (Leslie, if you read this...you can be the exception if you need to see it for any kind of picture-taking purposes, so that you know what you're working with. I don't know how that works, or if you need to see it beforehand, so if you do, let me know and I'll e-mail it to you. Otherwise, it'll be a surprise for you too).

=D

Some random things, since I haven't posted in a while...

It's been a little bit since I posted anything, so I figured I'd play a little catch-up for anybody that actually reads this. =)

I just realized that I never posted a picture of the ring on here for you family that I haven't been able to see yet...so, here it is!



I never did figure out how to get the camera to take a picture that looked like it does in person, so I settled on two pictures that showed the shape and stuff and then below, I was able to get 2 of how sparkly it is. I couldn't get both at the same time.








The other night, Chop and I grilled steaks on his new grill, at his house (Thanks, Mom!). We invited our very close friends, Katie, Seamus, and their son Gavin, over for supper. All three of them are going to be in the wedding. Chop and Seamus are best friends and get mistaken for brothers on a regular basis. We both consider the three of them as family and they have been there with us from our very first date! So, anyway...Gavin is hilarious. He's 2 1/2, so you can only imagine the funny things that he says. Well, while the guys were playing football on the PS3 (typical), I pulled out my computer to let Gav play with the web cam on it. I would put pictures of everyone up, but Katie threatened me with my life if I put any up that had her in them (She's pregnant and I guess she feels fat or something, but she's FAR from it. She's ALL belly)...and most of them are of her because Gavin sure loves his mommy. So, here are a few of them.

He has chocolate in his mouth in this one...and that's what is all over his face in the next two. =)

Right now, I'm working on a slideshow type thing for the rehearsal and the reception. It will be the same one, I just want my very close family and friends to be able to see it first, before anybody else at the reception. My brother, Matt, is going to be the one to put it together, once I pick out the pictures and the music and everything...so, I know it's going to be really good. =) He's also going to be playing a piano piece sometime during the ceremony. I'm just trying to find a good time for everything and also trying to figure out what all I want to be incorporated into the actual wedding.

I also found a website that has save-the-date postcards for a CRAZY good price! I just need to pick out which one I want to use, exactly. Chop said we can just use the same picture that we used for the engagement announcement, but I kind of want one that's more relaxed and more "us" for the save-the-date. One that's not posed in a studio like that one was; taken when we had his family's pictures done. Since my mom is insisting on paying for everything, I don't want her to pay extra just for engagement pictures, in addition to what we are getting done for the actual wedding, so we will probably just get Katie to take some pictures with her really good camera. She is pretty good, actually...she takes pictures of Gavin and her nieces and they have all turned out to look really nice. She doesn't do it professionally, or anything...she just does it for fun.

Ummm...let's see...what else?
Oh! I'm almost done getting the final head count so that we know how many invitations to order and everything. That will be a relief once I get that all typed out. But then, the harder part is going to be getting all of those addresses. Geez, it makes my head hurt just thinking about it.




Oh my gosh, how could I almost forget about this next thing...?!
Tomorrow - me, my mom, my granny, Chop's mom, Tiffany (My cousin and MOH), Lindsey (My "first" bridesmaid), and Erilyn (Lindsey's daughter and one of my beautiful flower girls) are all going to Dothan so that I can start trying on wedding dresses for the first time! Mom and I went and looked at Simply Elegant in Fort Walton, when she had a dentist appointment last week. I didn't try anything on because I wanted other close family to be involved too. I'm going to be trying dresses on, just to get an idea on what I really like (I SERIOUSLY doubt I'd find "the one" this early on...even though they say it needs to be ordered AT LEAST 6 months before the wedding), I'm also going to get Erilyn to try on several little flower girl dresses, and then get Lindsey and Tiffany to try on bridesmaid dresses and different fabrics and necklines. I'm pretty positive that I'm going to be letting all of the girls wear whatever neckline looks best on them, though, since everybody is shaped differently...so, we will see what we can find that offers that option.

Okay, I think that's about it, for now. Sorry this whole post is so choppy. I can usually write better than this because I enjoy that kind of thing (I've kept "journals" most of my life), but when I'm at work there seems to always be so much going on around me that I can't think straight to write things that flow well.