Fortune Cookies

Like many of you (I am guessing) when I get a fortune cookie the first thing I think is, I really don't want to eat this "cookie". Eventually I fall to cookie pressure, mostly because you have to break the thing open to get to the fun part. Also like many of you, I find fortunes to be fun, and usually funny after adding "in bed" to the end of the sentence. I don't know what the numbers on the back are supposed to be, Asian people are so weird about numbers I should pay more attention though that may be the secret to high achievement. (Take that Tiger Mom I said numbers on the back of fortunes, not preventing your kids from having sleepovers!)

Then this happened...

Justin and I had Chinese food late last year, sorry I am not Sheldon Cooper and can't give you the date, lets call it early December. There is always the question, which cookie do I want? You never want the fortune that doesn't make sense when you add in bed, and moving forward I need to know about those numbers, must create high achieving kids. Anyway, on this day we both read our fortunes and were shocked about what they said. (Context: Justin's dad passed away in November and the daily little reminders really were taking a toll. I was not helping matters with my constant engagement hints and wedding planning before ring, I was just trying to give us something to look forward to.)
Needless to say these fortunes have given us things to think about many times since. We placed them in the window above the kitchen sink along with the champagne cork we shared upon our official engagement! (and a few other champagne corks, I happen to be a Mimosa fan)
If you can't read them the fortune Justin got said: You will overcome difficult times. No matter how many times, or how many way I tried to be supportive of him in his difficult time sometimes random words from a cookie have more impact. Upon reading these words it almost clicked. While it was OK to be sad and grieving, and that void will never go away; he was going to overcome it! He has to right? the fortune said so. (And it has the key to our future children's take over of the world on the back, come on lucky numbers)
My fortune reads: A bold and dashing adventure is in your future. How right can two cookies be? Seriously the fake wedding planning is fun, the real stuff I could mostly do without, but I could describe wedding planning as a bold and dashing adventure.
I guess I am not your average girl when it comes to wedding. I didn't dream of this day as a girl. I didn't have a vision of a big fluffy dress and doting ladies at my side. I am uncomfortable with asking people to do things for me. Now don't read that and say, hey she has asked me to do something before. Sure I can say hey something needs to be done, do you mind doing that? What I mean is asking someone, Hey I want to spend a weekend trying on dresses and I want you to watch, you are going to have to fly, spend the night in a hotel, and eat out; see you there? Just typing that makes me feel anxiety about having asked people to do it. The worst part though is actually spending an entire day trying on dresses. Talk about exhaustion. I did have a great time with my great friends who insists they wanted to do this with me, and that they had fun. Thank you, both for showing up and lying to my face about wanting to do it!
One more thing that I have a hard time with in relation to wedding planning, related to the previous but a little different. I get offended when people tell me this is my day. The looks I get when I tell people it is not my day, it is a day to celebrate a relationship I have with Justin and we want to include our friends and family in that celebration, could confuse Sheldon Cooper... hmm bad comparison. They could confuse a person not easily confused. This is not "my day", I have no desire to have an entire day centered around me, music that only I like, food that only I like, the list could go on. I am doing my very best to think of my guests with every decision I make, and then I ask Justin if he thinks that works. If not, it is a no go. Those decisions, and they are plentiful, have been an adventure for sure. I am so thankful for all the help I have had in gathering information and I can't imagine feeling, truly feeling like all of these things were what I want only. Talk about pressure, I just hope that everyone likes the booze we provide and has fun dancing. Justin and I will remember the ceremony for the truly gigantic step it is everyone else just needs to have fun celebrating that with us!

The moral of this story, I don't have any idea other than keep those fortunes and figure out what the numbers mean.

The Holiday Hangover is OVER!

Pfew! Worst holiday hangover of my life should be officially over. I have finally moved all of the boxed decorations to the basement and vacuumed under them. All of the boxes and trash has been sorted out and taken by the garbage truck. The new stuff has found a place and most importantly the wedding planning has started to get fun!
Thats right, if you missed the news, we are officially planning our wedding! Hooray. I have joked how does a guy surprise his girlfriend with a ring when she constantly suspects that he is up to something and going to ask at any moment? He asks while opening Christmas presents. The one time I should have actually been suspicious he managed to sneak it in on me and totally surprise me. I blame my dad. He came to visit the day after Christmas and I thought for sure that Justin would wait to talk to him before asking me, how dare me underestimate the usefulness of a phone.
With the official ring and excitement I set out to plan a wedding, and oh my how I underestimated the many moving parts that go into planning an event like this. If only I was just planning what I want and like it would be so much easier, but with all the expectations that come with a wedding I constantly find myself explaining why I am or am not doing any number of said traditions. In the end it is all going to be fun and filled with people we love and care about sharing a special day with us.
So why was this years holiday hangover any worse than a normal year? Well for starters this was the first time we celebrated Christmas alone together. Being so far away from our families really encouraged us to stay home and do things together this year. My work this year stayed open over the whole break, and I used that as an opportunity to get some extra hours. We cooked our dinner for 2 on Christmas and actually really enjoyed having that time together.

The magical foil gift. It contained the planner and address book that created the link to the ring. So thoughtful.

Our goofy dogs are so different
Zimmie literally terrified of her new toys sat on the stocking not moving for a good while.

Cricket tore into both of the stockings and choose which she liked better before Zimmie moved from her catatonic state.

The day after Christmas we had an Oklahoma caravan (well just one van) head our direction. My family minus mom and one brother all piled into a van and started the long trek east. We were so happy to have them here to see our place, the Biltmore, and just hang out. I know that we both enjoyed their trip and the effort that went into them coming this far with 3 kids.
And finally the last day they were here some friends of ours from Brimingham made the trip north to visit for NYE. We were also so excited to spend some time with them and listen to "the band". If only choosing a wedding band was as easy as sitting on the couch listening to friends play and have fun.

Maren really liked my cowboy boots. I had to take some pics of this cutie girl. I though I took pics of the boys, but clearly the evidence does not support that.

The Band, never mind that this is a terrible picture. We were being entertained.
Hooray for music participation time!

Another terrible picture, but I had to have some sparkles.
I should have taken a picture in my all sparkles outfit. If you know my mom you know I have an all sparkles outfit that goes head to toe with accessories included.

So between trying to find a venue for our reception, working every day, getting sick, and trying to catch up on sleep from the week of company I have just noticed that all of the boxes had not made an exit to the basement just yet. On my way back up I remembered that the sheets have not all been washed from the guests. I can happily say now that the last load with sheeps is in the dryer, soon to be folded and put in the closet ready for our next wave of company!
I also blame Cricket and Zimmie, getting new toys is so much fun that they have shredded everything in their path. The living room is thankfully back to "normal" and hopefully the new toys are all out of stuffing!