Blah.

Sorry for not updating this site the past couple of weeks. Holidays and all, you know. I'm afraid this update isn't going to be much of one, but I promise to be back next week.

For now, I have one question. Does anyone else feel like this?

OMG! I'm going to die. I am just about up to 'here' with the holidays. I've stuffed a ridiculous amount of holiday, party and tail-gating food in my pie-hole. And I'm pickled from the amount of beer I have poured in on top of it. It feels like I have to roll off the couch. Right now, I don't think a simple salad and a big glass of cold water ever sounded so darn good.

As for my New Years Eve plans, I'll be watching the USF Bulls beat the poo out of the Oregon Ducks (Seriously, the Ducks? They couldn't think of a better mascot? Maybe something more fierce. I mean, are you scared of a duck?) and lay on the couch until the ball drops. Then, I'm going back on the diet I put on the shelf for the holidays and since I'm unemployed, I will be going to the gym twice a day. Hopefully, I'll be back on the right track shortly!

Anyway, Have a safe and happy New Year.

Happy-Happy, Joy-Joy

While I'm thinking about it. I want to wish everyone out there a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. Be safe....

Pre-wedding Funnies #2

Funny #3

Matt and I were in the library looking at a book of wedding vows which he was reading quietly to me as I was perusing other books. He came upon a Celtic wedding vow that began, "I vow to give you the first cut of my meat." He chuckled, looked at me and said, "And twoooooooooo Poh-Ta-Toes".

Hee hee. Hee hee hee ha ha. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA.

We didn't get past that line. In fact, we had to leave the library. We were laughing so hard, it was hard to keep quiet. It still makes us laugh.

Funny #4

Matt and I were searching the internet tonight for wedding vows when we stumbled upon these gems.
"I take thee to be my (wife/husband) and pledge thee my troth..."
Matt looked at me and said (in his best southern drawl) "You ain't gettin' none of my troth, that sounds goooooood."

We also found, "...getting to know the (man/woman) you will become...".
Um, I'm not sure I signed up for a "man/woman". In fact, I just checked the contract and it clearly states that I am to receive 1 man and he 1 woman. None of this mixture business. Otherwise, I will demand a full refund. And therapy.

I could go on, but I think you already see what we're up against here. Would someone please come help us!? We are clearly losing our minds and my cheeks hurt from laughing too much tonight.

So.

Whaaaaaat ya doin'?
Sorry about the last two "cranky-puss" posts.
You guys have had those days, right?
Good. I was hoping I wasn't the only one.


Anyway, we're working on wedding stuff - mainly the rehearsal dinner right now.
We are also working on finding me a job. My contract is up December 31st. with Baxter so I'm hitting the pavement again. Wish me luck!

Ow.

If anyone out there has a direct line to the headache gods, please tell them to leave me the "beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep" alone.

I've had migraines for as long as I can remember. I was officially diagnosed when I was 13 and though they have changed a bit over the years, they have been an ever present force in my life. I remember the night my Mother decided I needed to see a doctor. I woke my parents up screaming as loud as I could in the middle of the night because I couldn't handle the pain any longer and didn't know what else to do. Of course, my parents came flying into my room. After explaining why I was screaming - My Mom looked at my Dad and said, "Enough! We've got to get her to the doctor for these headaches." The next day, my Mother was on the phone scheduling appointments for me.

They were much more intense back then, and longer lasting but less frequent. There was none of this coming and going, no variation in intesity, just full-on nausea, light sensitivity, and the pain. The pain was/is indescribable - just breathing hurt. The only way I can think to explain the pain is to imagine the absolute worse throbbing pain you've ever experienced and multiply it by 100. Then, on top of that, imagine a wave of pain 1000 times worse than the throbbing pain crashing inside your skull on regular intervals just like a huge wave crashing to shore. Got it? Yeh, it's loads of fun.
Anyway, now they are different. The pain, although horrible, isn't as bad as it used to be. Neither is the nausea and light-sensitivity. Not that they are better, just different. In my younger years, I knew exactly what to expect. Not so much now. I never know how bad it's going to be or how long one of these things are going to last. Many times it's a coming/going thing, of various intensities, that lasts anywhere from a few hours to a couple of weeks. Yeh, that's right, I said weeks. There have been plenty of times I was feeling fine until I stood up then WHAM! ON MY KNEES with a searing burning hot poker in my head twisting, turning and throbbing with every heartbeat.

For instance, today we went to see my beloved Buccaneers beat the snot out of the Atlanta Falcons and witnessed history when Michael Spurlock ran back a 90 yard kickoff return - a first in Bucs history. (WOOT!) We had a great time tail-gating and during the game. We stopped for pizza on the way home and plopped into our favorite chairs when we got home. And then, I stood up. WHAM! Sigh.

This particular one has been lingering since Thursday, on again/off again. Not tragically painful but extremely disrupting nontheless. My arsenal of medication has helped keep it somewhat at bay, but it has never been completely gone. I'm grateful that it decided to let me enjoy various parts of my weekend, but not knowing when it is going to rear it's ugly head is getting old. I've realized how much of my life is dictated by these things and I'm over it. I can't leave home without several medications on hand. None of which work all that well and some with side effects that are almost as unpleasant as the migraine itself.

You know what? How messed up is it that I'm ok with a headache being kept "somewhat at bay"? That just shows how long I've been dealing with these things. I'm accustomed to walking around with a headache! That's just wrong.

Anyway, I've made myself a doctor's appointment for next Friday and I plan on begging for ANYTHING that will help. I'm sure this is going to be quite an expensive, drawn out process as we try to find something that actually works with as few side effects as possible, but I can't live like this anymore. Poor Matt has seen me too many times curled up on the couch crying and feeling bad because there was nothing he could do. I don't want one of these things to pop up during our wedding or honeymoon and I would prefer they just go away forever. I'm tired of living my life around these headaches. Not to mention, they aren't helping the pre-wedding diet/workouts when I spend so much time having to lie on the couch. And I spend at least a good week, on average, every month dealing with these things.

I guess it's time to end this rant. Thanks for listening, um, reading. I'll let you know if this doctor actually finds something that works. Now, hopefully, we'll get back to our regularly scheduled programming. (Guess you guys thought I was going to whine about the wedding again, huh? Nope! I would much rather plan the wedding than deal with these things!)

Soooo Over It

My sister called me a couple of days ago and started asking questions about the wedding. If I'd given any thought to my dress, if I'd talked to my Mother about getting started on it, if the boys knew where to get their tuxes. Blah, blah, blah, blah....

I admit, we still have plenty to do. I just can't. I'm so over it. I don't want to talk about it, I don't want to think about it. You can't make me. I always knew that planning a wedding, or having a wedding, would never be my thing and this has just proved it.

If it wasn't for Matt being a very involved Groom, I wouldn't have made it this far. I've tried and I will continue to try, but I'm taking applications from anyone who wants to take over. Anyone? Please.

Huff.

Introducing...

Sarah
aka: Goon Squad Sarah

Every one has one of these friends right? You know, “that” friend. The one you’ve known forever. The brutally honest - will tell you your new haircut is awful, the outfit you just tried on should stay on the hanger and your boyfriend is a jerk - person. The one you call to help you understand you. This is my “that” friend.

Sarah and I have been friends since our Sophomore year of high school. (For those of you counting at home, that was approximately 20 years ago). We met in Spanish class when I told her (keep in mind that we didn’t know each other at this point) the new friend she was hanging around would betray her. Her new friend had once been my friend and liked to spread rumors about me. (RUDE!) Sarah gave me that “get away from me you freak and stop talking trash about my friends” look.

A short time later, a horrified Sarah approached me and told me exactly what I already knew. We’ve been friends ever since. Our friendship was sealed when she accidentally told me a deep dark secret that she had told no one else. She swore me to secrecy and to this day, I’ve never breathed a word of it. (I doubt it matters now but still, a secret is a secret).

I learned very quickly that she was a real person. That sounds weird, right? Think back to high school – no one was comfortable in who they were much less knew who they were. Everyone was trying to be someone or something else. Sarah wasn’t that way and I appreciated it. That and her brutal honesty made me instantly adore her and being her friend.

We've had more fun and laughter together through the years than should be allowed. We’ve grown up together. We've probably influenced each others lives more than either of us realize. She is the one person I call when I’m laughing at something completely inappropriate because she will immediately know what I see so amusing in it – and laugh with me. She is the one person I call for any reason. We don’t have to talk every day or see each other all the time to know that we can just call out of the blue and say “Hi” and it will always be welcomed. I love knowing that there is someone out there that is nothing more and nothing less than a simple yet extraordinary friend. My favorite things about her? She is honest, trustworthy, smart, funny, true and one of the most beautiful people I know. She is who she is, says what she means and makes no bones about it. Period. She doesn't beat around the bush. If she considers you a friend, that means you get the full benefit of her friendship - whatever it may be.

When I asked Sarah to be a Bridesmaid, she said "I would be honored to. I would wear an orange butt bow for you." Which says A LOT to me and just so you know, I'm still considering the orange butt bow thing - she offered and it would make me laugh hysterically. Either way, I am honored to know her, be called her friend and have her standing with me.

And she can’t deny that she knows me or has known me for a ridiculously long time, I have proof. Yes, that's us. Circa 1990. Approximate age, 17. I have more where this came from.

OH! She is also the one in charge of pinching my sister if she starts to cry during the wedding. Just so you know.

*Edit: We drink much better beer now. There aren't too many beers worse than Bud in a can. And lets face it, at 17, you either don't know what good beer is or can't get the good stuff so you take what you get.

Jealous?

(respectively: Naples, Italy - Colosseum, Rome, Italy - Santorini, Greece )
Guess where we’re going on the Honeymoon. C’mon, guess!

At first, Matt and I considered a Hawaiian Honeymoon or a week away someplace close to home like St. Augustine, FL or even somewhere in North Carolina, etc. After careful thought, I decided since this is our honeymoon, the world should be ours. I was NOT going to stay in the US and he wasn’t hard to convince. So we searched and came upon this.

I know! Doesn’t it look fabulous?! I can’t wait! I can’t, I can’t, I can’t!

Those of you who know me are probably wondering what I am thinking. A Cruise? Yeh, I know. Matt was concerned too. It’s true I’ve gotten restless and cabin feverish on any cruise I’ve been on in the past. (On the last cruise, I told Matt I was going to swim home. Matt threatened to help me with that if I didn’t sit down and relax) But, those were 4 day cruises that spent 2.5 days at sea. I got horribly bored. There is only so much to do on a cruise ship and I can promise you that I will NOT be meeting “Jenny on the Lido deck" to do some line dancing. Not my thing.

This cruise looks like we can use it as a floating hotel/restaurant. I’m really curious to see how I will handle it. I’m thinking that we will be so exhausted from exploring the port of call that day that we will want nothing more than to come back to the ship, shower, eat dinner, maybe have a few drinks and then pass out excitedly looking forward to the next day and a different port. I’m hoping too, the one day ‘at sea’ will also be a welcomed rest. Either way, I am resigned to fully enjoy this vacation.

We plan on flying out a few days before the cruise embarkation date to have time to explore Rome. We are staying at a quaint little hotel in the center of Rome, just a few miles away from everything neat and cool. We also plan on staying a few days in Venice after the cruise ends.

I’m sure we’ll be pooped when we come back, but after we recover, we will post our own pictures and hopefully some exciting tales of our curious adventures. I'm hoping we see and capture half the beauty that you see in these pictures here. (Matt wants to capture all of the beauty. He's so greedy!)

Hotel Information

I have placed a link named "Hotel Info/Map" in the left side bar. Clicking on this link will get you to a list/map of the hotels closet to the wedding site. I will be adding hotels as I come across them, but this should get you started.

Since Marriott hotels seem to be plentiful and closest to the wedding site. I am looking into getting everyone a group rate. I'll keep you posted.