Wedding planning?

This weekend was fairly eventful with my parents coming down from Wisconsin, my brother and his girlfriend from Maryland, my aunt from the beach, graduation, Mother's Day, and a wedding.

I got to my grandmother's house Saturday morning at about 10:00. My brother, dad, and grandfather were leaving at about noon to head to the Nascar race in SC. All that I had planned was to sit down and rip all of the bluegrass cds my dad brought to my laptop. Little did I know that my other aunt was soon to show up and this was to become a wedding planning party. I had no idea and was actually quite taken aback since I figured nothing wedding related would be thought about let alone planned because of the tight schedule everyone had. I didn't even bring my wedding binder so when my aunt asked for the florist contract, I didn't have it to show her. :oP Some brides carry it with them everywhere they go.

At any rate, everything worked out, we got a bridal shower list finalized and the invitations made and filled out. They are so cute; I was really impressed!

At about 1:15 we left to go to the wedding venue to show to those who hadn't seen it and there was to be a wedding around 5:00 that day. I felt bad for not calling the owner first (he looked kind of upset), but we looked around anyway. It was actually really beneficial because I got to see what it would look like if we had to bring it inside because of rain (it was raining while we were there) and also what the barn looks like all decorated for a reception.

I'm glad we got going on the invitation stuff...I honestly think that's going to be the hardest part. Figuring out whom to invite to what and what everyone's addresses are. My brother's girlfriend was so sweet and helpful. She helped put the invitations together and had some really great additions and ideas for different things. If she lived here I'd hire her in a heartbeat to be my wedding planner.

A big theme on Saturday was delegating. My uncle's job now is to help figure out the hotel situation for the out of town wedding guests. I've done some research, but apparently it wasn't on par with my family's ideas on hotels, so he's going to look around and see if he can find a relatively inexpensive hotel closer to Weaverville. Which is fine with me because I'm done looking into any more hotels. It was driving me to insanity. Gotta get something cheap, but not too cheap, and nice not crappy, blah blah blah.

I wasn't stressed until Saturday. My family's stress rubbed off on me. Chris had to tell me several times the next day to chill out. I think I'm recovered now.

P.S. Our 2 year anniversary is on Wednesday. I think we'll go out (to Taco Bell probably--haha!) and then watch the season finale of Lost together. We're so romantic. It's actually quite a big deal considering Wednesday is a day he usually plays WoW. Haha ;oD

Random pictures

This is a worm snake I dug up while planting my boxwoods.

A picture of Callie asleep in between the coffee table and couch.

It's getting to the end

I love the Biggest Loser, but it's around this time when I start to wonder. My fiance and I actually argued about this and had to break out the iphone to access a BMI calculator.

The argument was regarding Tara. I don't know if it's because they show them standing next to their old heavier self or what, but she started to look too skinny to me. And I just don't know how she could lose any more weight and still be healthy!

But apparently, based on her height (5'9"), she could get down to 140 (she's currently 159) and still be considered healthy.

So I lose that argument. But I always wonder about the contestants when they get to the finale stage. Yikes.

Day One

Behold the power of definitive statements! From now on I'm going to say, "I'm going to work out today." Rather than, "I might work out today."

After work today I popped in Jillian's 30 Day Shred and proceeded to the Level 1 workout.

Oh. My. Gosh.

Her workouts amaze me because there's nothing fancy about them...no complicated moves or steps...but yet, I'm drenched in sweat after them. Who would have thought some jumping jacks and pretend jump rope could bust my butt so bad??

Don't underestimate those jumping jacks! Have you done any recently? Give it a whirl! I dare ya!

Also, I only have 5 pound weights, so for some of the exercises I had to put them down because my upper body strength is non-existent apparently. That's a bummer.

I've pretty much decided I'm stretching this to a 2 month shred. ;o) I'm just not sure 10 days per level is enough for me...I'd rather be really proficient at one level than move on and stumble through the next.

Those are my thoughts after day 1. I'll check in after 10 and let you know what I really think!

Just passing the time

Had to work breakfast this morning. :-P The temperature gauge for the food got broken so I bought my own to use. Is it weird to think this thing is frickin' awesome??

We got tons of rain this weekend. Good for my freshly planted veggies and fruits, but bad for mowing the lawn. Found a ladybug on my strawberry plant. Good news! They eat the bad bugs.

Speaking of mowing, I bought a new mower. Hopefully this one lasts longer than the last. It probably will considering I now know you're supposed to put oil in them.

My grandfather's still in the hospital. He's 88, has Alzheimer's, and has had a rough time of it lately. He had a stroke a week and a day ago. His speech is still off, has difficulty moving around, and he's still battling some congestion, but hopefully he'll get through that and be discharged soon.

I bought the 30 day shred DVD. I was feeling left out! I'm hoping to start it today. I mean, I AM going to start it today.

My fiancé graciously shuttled me to a whole bunch of stores yesterday to find a dress for my friend's wedding on Sunday. No dice. I can't believe I couldn't find anything. Maybe I was in a mood and nothing was going to satisfy me.

I walk in the commencement this Friday. My parents are driving down on Wednesday (yay!) and my older bro and his gf (whom I haven't met yet) are flying down Thursday I think. My mom bought me a comforter set a while ago, so she's bringing that down-I'm super excited about it. I'm tired of my crappy faux quilt comforter.

That's the current news in Nicoleland. Have a good week everyone!

Settling in

As many of you know, my dad was in the Air Force for about F-O-R-E-V-E-R. So it's like I've lived in a perpetual state of get ready to move. Even now that I've moved out and he's retired, I still get this feeling of been here too long, need to move on. And I don't get too comfortable where I live, because in my head, heck, in three years, I'll be moving!

Except today...I bought 4 boxwoods to plant alongside my house. That's pretty permanent in my book. Why spend money to beautify my yard if I'm just going to move in a year??

My fiance and I have talked about it, and we're okay with staying here. No, we don't live in a big city (sometimes a bummer), but we're just 45 minutes from Asheville, there's hardly any crime to speak of, the people are nice, the schools are good...what more could you ask for?? (Besides nice restaurants and places to shop.)

It's good that we're okay with staying here because it might be a necessity. Consequences of the recession.

So yeah, it's just a weird feeling to "settle down". Here's to hoping I like it!!