Lists... Dot firsts | Home Building | Prayers

I am an avid list-maker... and since time is running short, this issue I’ll simply make a few lists:

Dorothy Lou Firsts

1. She had her longest road trip to date, going with Mom and Nana to North Carolina to visit her Great-Aunt Anne and Lorms family members.
2. She attended her first Juice Plus+ training and was quite a hit as a happy, healthy Juice Plus+ Babe!
3. She experienced her first major power outage in February. We took refuge at Greystone for 3 1/2 days, keeping warm, reading books and playing by candle light.
4. She got the devil scarred out of her! She was baptized at Sacred Heart Church with Holly Jo and Michael becoming her Godparents.
5. She had her first play date with Sadie Jo & Maya together; however they were all only 3 months old and did not do much playing at that point. Actually... Dorothy screamed...
6. Enjoying springtime in The Valley. We are so glad for the warm, sunny days and getting outside. It’s amazing the effects the fresh air has on her.

 Home Building things that are exciting & scary
1. Pouring foundation. A real sign of construction! ...But we put in radiant floor heat. Hopefully it’s right because there is no going back!
2. Walls going up. It looks just the way I envisioned when drawing and redrawing sketches... But NOW is the last chance for any changes...what might we regret?!
4. Moving on from one stage to another. Progress is exciting, but this tight wad sees the dollar signs rolling...eek!
5. Picking out paint and stain colors. I’ve always been a creative person, so coming up with color schemes is definitely fun, but there are so many options! What if when everything comes together it just looks like a hodge podge of colors? Paint doesn’t come cheap so I’m not looking to redo anything anytime soon.
6. Staining our concrete. There are so many cool looks this can provide, but the colors are so dependent on your concrete and every slab provides a different look--not like paint. And once you’ve stained it, there is no going back!
7. Cabinets for our kitchen. I’m excited to fill out our kitchen (since the downstairs is very open concept and it’s still hard to envision the kitchen exactly), but this is such an important room for us (ME!) what with loving to host, making home-cooked meals daily and preserving garden food regularly. The kitchen is definitely THE room I don’t want to have regrets about.

Things currently on my prayer list
1. The continued guidance on decisions about our home construction and the guidance of the workers actively taking part in its construction.
2. Alyx and Mr. Special K... for a safe delivery (for Mom and Baybo) in the coming month. I’m so excited to meet him and for Dorothy to have a little boy cousin to join in on games of dress-up!
3. The upcoming marriages of Ian & Robin and Boo & Kristen. While I look forward to the fun of their wedding days, I mostly pray that it be the beginning of a wonderful union, one in which God is very present.
4. Guidance as a mother. All praying mothers ask God for help in this special responsibility as well as the health of their child, but more specifically I pray:

• That I do all I can to guide this soul into becoming who it is God has planned, so she can best be on the path to achieve the tasks God has set out for her. I pray that our souls connect in our nightly slumbers so that we can better understand one another in our waking hours.
• That I am loving you as much as any child deserves. I’ve always known I wanted to be a stay at home Mom, but I am still doing certain work from home and I pray that I am not taking too much away from the most important job: being a Mother.

5. For our financial stability. People often say, “I wish I could afford to stay home” in reference to being a single-income family. The truth is, I don’t know if Jon and I can afford it. It’s scary. We are not wealthy by any means, but we’re following what we truly believe is God’s voice. We simply pray that we hear his calling and are doing what he would ask of us--whether that be for me to be at home or otherwise.
6. My Aunt Anne, her battle with cancer and her entire family. Such a special person in my life and my Uncle Kelly was gone far too soon. She still has such an important role to play in the life of her children and grandchildren, at least from my perspective. Of course, God is all-knowing and we trust in him.

1 down, Oh-So-Many To Go!

Incredible how quickly a year passes these days. I can only imagine how quickly they will move in another 50 years.

And just like that I've been married to my wonderful Mingus for a year.

This was a snippet of the year-end video I made for my family last Christmas about the wedding (thus being primarily photos of my immediate family, but I still wanted to share). I'm unsure of whether or not YouTube let's the music play, so please tell me if is silent!

It fell on a Monday, since it was a leap year, which is less than ideal for any anniversary, let alone your very first one! But it was magnificent nonetheless.

After spending the entire week prior reminiscing of the flurry of last minute prep the week leading up to the wedding, we began our anniversary weekend with a trip to Indiana for another family member's wedding. They picked the BEST weekend...if I do say so myself!

Andrew & Jessica

We took our time driving home Sunday, taking in all of the beautiful fall colors on our drive. We stopped by Huber's Winery--always a festive, fun place this time of year--as well as a trip to Target to... wait for it.... Use wedding gift cards! Yes, we have some still unused! Being that we live so far out, we don't make regular trips to a lot of places--such as Target. While I could have used them on one of my work trips to Louisville, I didn't want to spend them without his input (or I may have come home with hots and onesies...). Lucky for us, their gift cards don't expire! We're now fully prepared to still eat hot cooked meals during winter power outages with our Coleman stove!

Last day as "newly weds" in our first year of marriage.

Monday began less than perfect with both of us feeling rather under the weather. (I'll spare you details...) He rested most of the day and I worked from home... then I had to cover volleyball district games (working from 9-9 on your anniversary isn't what anyone wants), but Mingus came with me just to have the extra time together.

We ended the night breaking into our wedding cake topper. We let it sit out all day to thaw from its year in the freezer and I have to say, after a year, it was still quite delicious! We ate it on plates of our fancy pants china we have yet to really use and also opened a bottle of Greystone Cellars wine from the wedding. We looked through our wedding album and laughed a lot.

I discovered the face-detect feature on my camera for the first time
which resulted in a mini-photo shoot during our cake part!

I love my Wonderful with all of my heart and have loved the simplicity we have shared in this past year. He always puts me first and I am continuously amazed at how life-giving he is to me yet still acts like he does so little. Life far and away in the middle of Kentucky's knobs with just the two of us playing outside, getting dirty and taking on life's daily adventures is my kind of heaven.

Lotsa Love in 2011

On top of having a wonderful first Christmas with my Hubster, love was booming for some of my nearest and dearest friends. I'm so excited for the news of a wedding in the future for three people who mean so much to me. Congratulations to them and their Christmas surprise engagements!

Emma & Andy

 A long-time running buddy from Bellarmine (although she was more of a pole vaulter I suppose...), I'm so excited for Emma! I've only met Andy a couple of times but he must be a stellar feller to keep up with the likes of Emma. She's the busiest person I know but never seems to miss out on anything from her work to organizing and managing Louisville's Girls on the Run program to simply hanging out with friends. She's an incredible person.

Russell & Krista

 A dear friend since the glory days of high school, Roose (as I like to call him) is one of the best guy friends I've ever had--always bringing a smile to my face. I think we once had a "Friends" promise to marry by age 35 (or something) if we were both single. Looks like we both "lucked" out of that one! :) I've not met Krista but no doubt she's found a guy to treat and love her like a princess.

Becky & Sam

Yes! Yes! And more YES! After nearly six years they're making it happen! Becky is one of my best friends from BU--my snuggle buddy for track meets and a roommate for 5 years. Through their undergrad to her PT doctorate and his med school, they've not wavered and now he's off to an unknown location to begin his residency and, just like the rest of his life, he doesn't want to go it alone so he asked Becky to be by his side for anything and everything!

While I'm at it... I might as well shout out to two other big engagements this year that made me oh-so-happy...

Joe & Annamarie

 #2 in The Man Clan to get hitched: Joe and Annamarie got engaged Thanksgiving weekend after over four years together...!!

Jo & MJ

And, of course, my cousin, roommate, childhood playmate and best friend Holly Jo got engaged this summer so we actually got to be engaged at the same time for a period. What special times in our lives we are getting to share!

Congratulations to all others who were blessed with wonderful love-filled events in 2011! Engagements, marriages and even just finding love! All you need is love......!

Behind the times, as usual

I'm always behind the times.

I didn't start school until I was 6.
I didn't have my first period until I was 14. (TMI...I know, sorry!)
I didn't have my first kiss until I was 15.
I didn't shave my legs until I was 17.
I didn't get my first haircut (something more than a "trim") until I was 19.
I didn't attempt dating until I was 20.
I didn't really learn how to put on makeup until I was 21.
I didn't pierce my ears until I was almost 25.

That's not to mention that I'm always behind the fashion trends by at least a year or two and I was in seven weddings (who's to say how many I attended) before I started planning my own. However, none of this ever bothers me. I have come to each of these things in my life just at the time I decided I was ready for them. (Well... I had no choice on the period thing but I'm pretty sure we'd all put that off if given the choice.) There was a time just after my Bellarmine graduation when it seemed it was wedding after wedding after wedding. Not me, though. I still couldn't find it in myself to even get into a serious relationship.

Over three years later I'm on the married bandwagon. (The right guy can turn things around quickly!) But of course that means all those "old married" folks are on to baby-makin'. Valerie, married in 2009, popped out little man #1 this past July: Samuel Jonathan and my closest high school friends (that are married) are ALL preggo right now. Beth is due for her first in only a matter of weeks. Meagan is brewing #2 and due in May. And, while she told me shortly after the wedding, Kelli has just gone public with the news of her first bun in the oven!

Brandon & Kelli with their pup Sophie in 2009.
I think Sophie will be playing second fiddle soon.

Me with Megs at my shower in Sept with her only little one,
Bella, for NOW. Bella will be a big sis soon!

Beth & Trey are due soon and very soon!
Tell me how CUTE is their little guy gonna be??

Jon & I with Brett, Valerie and Sam-Man for his Baptism!

I'm SO excited for them all, particular Kelli whom I know has had a baby on the brain for awhile. Does this make me feel behind the times? No.

Because no matter how, "behind the times" I am, I am happy and I know I'm never truly alone. Besides Jerusha (who celebrated her 10 year anniversary this year), none of my cousins have children. (Not that it couldn't happen at any moment!) And besides Valerie, none of my college-year friends have children or babes. What I think this really means is, just like the Wave of Weddings that began in 2008, the Baby Boom in my life is well underway. There are (hopefully) plenty of weddings to come and most definitely plenty of chitlins.

And if all goes as planned, the Mingus Man and I will have some solid time [years] to ourselves to figure out this marriage-in-the-middle-of-nowhere thing and save for a cozy cottage of our own design. What this Baby Boom does help with is that if our "plan" isn't on beat with the Big Man Upstairs' plan... it won't be all bad. How can babies ever be bad, right?

I really hope this post doesn't jinx me.

My Wedding on a Budget: 1 Day to Go!

And so it begins...

No, I didn't have to work today...but did that mean I slept in AT ALL? Heck no... I probably rolled out of bed quicker and earlier! It's the same way Christmas Eve is almost better than Christmas itself--or that they are one in the same. That's how today is!

I packed my bags for everything through to getting back to the Loft tomorrow once we're running on the WEDDING DAY MASTER PLAN (drawn up by yours truly). That means, massage, nails, rehearsal, salon...all packed for... I set out all of the homemade salsa that needs to be at the reception site for tables. I pulled together last minute items like the smaller bushel baskets for the can coozies and the champagne glasses. Pa took the day off work as well, so when I got to Greystone he was working on his many remaining duties including creating the Knob End sign he promised to help me with. We brought to the site most of the remaining items including the flicker lights, ribbons, flip flops, etc. And at about 11 a.m. Rachel and I loaded up Toad and headed for Danville. Even our drive was purpose-filled. We set out all of the HARRIS/DIXON WEDDING signs going towards Danville/HWY-127.
My massage was at Noon and while I was relaxing like never before Rachel took care of some bank business for me and picked up the final signage projects from Uncle John. We then headed to Nails Express where we met Jo and Kelli for some mani/pedi fun. We actually just missed Mom and Aunt Anne being there. KK actually met us there about the time we were wrapping up and Uncle Kelly stopped in with Aunt Anne about that time as well just to give me a squench and hello!

Check-in time at the hotel, where we also saw some familiar faces who came a day early for tomorrow's festivities. We got checked in to our 2 rooms--one of which was the King Size bed with a pullout--quite roomie! It pays, literally, in such instances, to be the Bride! We had some decent down time. Ate some food...Jo helped me write out the lyrics to "One For The Road' (Jolly Rogers) for the reception. Then it was time to get ready to head to Liberty for the rehearsal. We left a wee-tad early so I could swing by the Casey County Library and pick up the fancy-pants cameras that Kathy Goode left for me to borrow.
Rehearsal went just fine and dandy. Father Pat was more relaxed about most everything than I thought he might be. A few people weren't there like Gohmann and Uncle David and Jon's cousin Jessica but nobody has anything too tough to do. As long as Father knows his job and the people who have to speak have their lines at the podium, we're good! Oh and Anne-Tyler couldn't make it to practice her singing, but I trust her to be awesome. The best part of the night for me was Jon's little surprise. As most know, it's a tradition to use the bows from your showers to make a bow-quet to practice the handoffs during the ceremony between bride and maid of honor. Well, I guess Jon decided he too needed a prop or practice tonight. So when it got the ring practice...should have known... Jon says, "Wait, wait!" and pulls and RING POP out of his pocket! Everyone of course laughed. What most don't know, though is Jon buys me Ring Pops here and there and asks me to marry him quite often. :)

Frank's for dinner! I realize it's pretty casual and non-traditional for a rehearsal but it's Jon's absolute favorite and everyone loves it! Jenny and Mike picked it up on their way through Louisville today and everyone was able to just relax and hang out in the church basement. It's kind of crazy how all of these people get here tonight for the rehearsal--all of these people whom you've asked to play a particular role in the big day--and for them the festivities are just beginning. They have not had this crazy, wedding-filled week and have no idea everything that has ALREADY had to happen just to have us at this point! But now here they all are--in one place together. And once we split for the night...we won't be all together until it's truly SHOW TIME!

Father exposed the Blessed Sacrament a bit after dinner for anyone who wanted to return to the church and pray. Jon and I wanted this especially for ourselves but it was more meaningful than I even expected to see others join us. I was especially touched to have Gress and Sara come up--the only two non-family members who joined us. They were there with us on the engaged encounter so it felt like their prayers held that much more meaning. We are so very blessed to have them as our close, dear friends.
Rachel and Michelle were patient with me leaving the church--my last chance to see so many people and give final instruction on morning duties. I'd gone over itineraries with so many people making sure things were squared away. In the end, I know things will get done and what doesn't happen, won't ruin the day. I think I said goodnight to Jon at least four times. And then, at last, with one final, "Goodnight Miss Dixon" (for the last time!) we parted ways!

While I was exhausted arriving back at the hotel... I wasn't. All of my girls were there hanging out in our "big room": Jo, Rachel, Michelle, KK, Valerie, Dani, Becky, KelKel..and even Bethie drove down to join me on my last night as a single lady! Rachel had picked up a bottle of wine for us to sip but silly us forgot the need for a corkscrew! Ha..but what am I saying... the need? Not quite... a screw and a screwdriver and Michelle's muscles and we popped that cork right out!
I was the last to go to bed, as I stayed up a little later finishing a final note to Jon that I could have passed to him tomorrow. The day has truly arrived and while it feels magic it also feels as real as ever. Every piece of what will go on tomorrow has a piece of Jon or I in it. Every detail and moment--even those that no one will even notice. I hope every person who joins us enjoys the day and has a blessed memory and sees even a glimpse of what a special bond Jon and I hold and how real this love is.

I'm so excited...but I know it'll be gone in a flash. But just like the day itself cannot last forever, neither can Alamo. So time to snuggle to sleep one last time before life as Mrs. Harris will begin.

My Wedding on a Budget: 3 Days to Go!

Signs, Flowers and Setup--oh my!
Jerusha started on the flowers today and I haven't seen any of them myself, but from her pictures and what Rachel told me they are wonderful! She's doing great!! Who'd know she isn't a trained/learned florist! I love the wildflower look being created. So perfect! I LOVE my purple bouquet! It makes me happy just to look at the picture. She did so, so many in mason jars and more for the church, reception and anywhere we could possibly use flowers.
Went down to Greystone early this morning before work so I could meet with Mom, Rachel and Aunt Anne and here there to-do list for the day and weigh-in. (I'm still working...) Mom had the 30-whatever mums still (from Uncle Jerome & Aunt Janet) that still needed to be planted or placed. She also needed certain flower gardens cleaned up. They got all of that done and they started placing the walkway/path lights around the grounds.
The program is ready to go and being printed. I saw a sample tonight. I made one of the directional signs and started on the "Welcome to Knob End" sign that I was going to wood burn onto one of the log pieces that Jon cut, but then Pa kind of "volunteered" himself to take over for me--and I did not object!
Rachel and Aunt Anne also picked up some more stuff to use from Karen. Somehow Mom and I missed that the table toppers were not extra and had gone with just the white linens. We knew the colored linens were extra so I guess we assumed the toppers were as well, but, no! And guess what? She has some PERFECT purple ones that are just sheer enough to not be to overwhelmingly purple! She also has the perfect green colored cloth napkins to cover the chip bowls for snacking. It's all coming together and so soon will it all be over!

My Wedding on a Budget: 4 Days to Go!

It looks like there's gonna be a party in Knob End!
The tent crew came today and it is up! It's BIG but not too big for the field. Just about right actually. It's so exciting to see it there. It's really, real! I'm getting married. We'll have a big celebration with everyone we care about! They also left the chairs, dance floor and bar. I took my first peek at it at about 6:15 this evening and the sun going down at that time hits the field beautifully! Jon and I went back down in the evening to take a spin on the dance floor together. The moon is just over half full and it will be a more like three-quarters on Saturday. The stars are beautiful since it's so clear right now and with that moon out you can even see into the field in the moonlight. It's spectacular!

Programs are more or less laid out...Just a couple of things to finalize. I finalized the photography itinerary and reviewed with Jerusha. I also sent out the guys' itinerary. Rachel got down here tonight so I got to visit with her and Aunt Anne. Uncle John and Aunt Dana also made a visit so he could drop off one of the signs he is making for the reception. It looks fabulous!

My Wedding on a Budget: 5 Days to Go!

Only time for a bullet list:
- Spoke to Izetta and music is set (cleared by Father as well)
- Jenny has possession of Jon's Baptismal record and all else necessary (sigh of relief)
- Reviewed the itinerary with Mom
- Flowers arrived...a day early! Which was a mini-crisis because there were so many (much more than we anticipated) and they overloaded Karen's kitchen which she was busy with other things today. So Mom and Aunt Anne went it immediately to begin cutting them and getting them in water buckets. Jerusha came in to take a look as well.
- We just realized that the bouquets can't be tied until the morning of because they need to be in water, which means Jerusha (the photographer) cannot do it herself, as she'll be quite busy with that other very important job she volunteered for. I called in my Go-Pher girls: Sara & Michelle! They'll tie the bouquets!
- Mom was worried because she didn't get the yard mowed due to having to go in for flowers unexpectedly. Jon jumped on it and got it all done.

My Wedding on a Budget: 6 Days to Go!

Meetings & More
Up early enough considering the fun night we had. We girls had some good re-cap time of the night before, enjoyed breakfast and cleaned up the girl explosion that happened in Holly's room. (Seriously, I wish I'd taken a picture of that--shoes, shirts, boots, jewelry, bags, bras, presents-EVERYWHERE!)

I headed to Louisville with Michelle since Jon had stayed at their house last night. (He went up to get a nice, snazzy haircut.) Then we headed to meet with Ben one more time about music. And wasn't it a surprise that Virginia came with him! It ended up being more like a great afternoon of chat and catch up with two of our favorite people--oh yeah and by the way here are 2 cds of music. We actually kind of took a page out of their book for the whole wedding from the beginning. They just got married last October and had a fairly short engagement. The wedding was outdoors (her family winery) and reception in a barn. The fact Ben was the DJ for his own wedding is what made me even ask to do ours. They did a "cook out" style meal and the entire thing was fabulous. Hope they take it as a compliment that we are copy cats!

Aunt Anne flew in today and Mom brought her home. Touched base on a lot tonight: music, singing, rehearsal, things father brought up at church this morning. So I came home and sent the itinerary to Mom and Cassie to see what their thoughts are before finalizing.

Also, Uncle John has (so kindly) agreed to make a few signs for us. His artistic hand will have a much better result than anything we could have done. Looking forward to see what he comes up with!

This week is going to fly......

My Wedding on a Budget: 8 Days to Go!

Too much to do for pictures
You're lucky I'm even posting to the blog...
- Have my gifts and thank yous ready for my girls to give to them this weekend
- Have music on cds for Big Ben (hoping we see him this weekend)

Need to make several lists:
- Things I need Mom to talk to Father Pat about at church
- Signs we need to get made
- Thank you's I need to get taken care of

A few things I need to finish up soon and very soon:
- Laid out program
- Buy paper and print the programs
- send Anne-Tyler our responsorial psalm
- Lay out the music exactly as we want it for the ceremony
- Talk to Isetta about what we want her playing for the ceremony

Bachelorette fun tomorrow night!!!

My Wedding on a Budget: 9 Days to Go!

SINGLE DIGITS!!!
And I can finally check the 10 day forecast and what's it say....
Aaahhh...so far so good! Let's just hope, hope, hope it stays that way!

It's hard for me to believe we're really so close! There are so many little things to tie up that I feel like I could work non-stop weddingness these last 9 days! I finished my thanks yous tonight and put together my bridesmaids gifts so I can bring them on Saturday. We had dinner with Jerusha and Clay and she was practicing on lemon cupcakes. (baking, icing, seeing how long they'll stay fresh...) I still have quite a few things I want to get done prior to leaving for the bachelorette party on Saturday...!

...Seriously, though... I feel like that weather forecast is too good to be true... It's kind of scaring me!

My Wedding on a Budget: 10 Days to Go!

Wedding Dreams It was Driving Wednesday (therefore no major wedding work) so I thought I'd share with you the 3 wedding dreams I've had so far...

1. The Bridesmaids Dresses - I had this one back in May I believe so I'm fuzzy on the details, but I think it sprung from me telling the bridesmaids they could pick their own dresses and that I'd finally committed to a date. It was suddenly Wedding Day and the catering was crazy and fixing weird food (I knew what it was at the time but now I"m not sure but I do believe that none of it was stuff Jon could eat.) The part I do remember was that the bridesmaids were running around in these salmon pink dresses with poofy sleeves--straight up 80s! I mean, I do love the 80s, but not for my wedding party. I remember in the dream wishing I'd given myself more time to plan because it was suddenly going to be over before I'd had any fun with it! Good news is that hasn't been the case!
   
2. The Weather Nightmare - Actually, this wasn't a nightmare at all. It did rain on the wedding day for my dream, but I think this was God's way of calming me down. It rained and the day went on, nothing was ruined. Everyone had a great time. Everything was lovely. Rain won't ruin the day.
3. Hair Scare - I had this one just last night. I was having my hair done but was extremely distracted and caught up talking with Holly or Rachel or someone the entire time. When the lady finished (and I remembered this was for my wedding) I realized I hadn't given her any direction with what I wanted her to do so she'd completely done whatever she felt like...which resulted in it being pulled back into two french braids with these blue beads (marble sized!) stuck into the braids on my head. Whoa. I didn't have the heart to tell the lady who'd spent 45 minutes working on it that I didn't like it when I hadn't given her any direction. But that's what I had Holly there for!

Hopefully none of the dreams come true... we'll see if I have any more in these last TEN DAYS!

My Wedding on a Budget: 11 Days to Go!

The Odds and Ends
Trying to take advantage of my last "must be here" night in Louisville. (I will drive home tomorrow and possibly be back on Sunday but it's better to get as much done as possible, right?)

So what got done?
- Dropped off cake topper (flowers) and cupcake papers to Kara
- Picked up the Greystone Cellars Chardonnay and Cabernet cases
- Check things off the shopping list:

• Guest Book
• Sharpies to write on Koozies
• Boots to wear with my bachelorette dress plus jewelry
• Thank you cards
• SD card for my video camera (16 GB)
• Blush and lip stuff I still needed for make up
• Swim trunks for Jon
• GLOW STICKS...just in case we want to bust them out at the reception
• A few other fun items...

I could have gotten all of this shopping done a lot faster/earlier but it sucks you in!!! And let's face it, I don't shop too often, so when I do, it's okay to get a little caught up in it, right?

My Wedding on a Budget: 12 Days to Go!

Final Haircut and Bachelorette Dress
I finally went to see J-Pat for the first time since December! Crazy...I know. I was due for a haircut in the spring but then Jon proposed and I decided I would let it grow out some and, well, here we are now! He trimmed me up so the ends will look nice and curl nice for the wedding. He's so nice and so fun and so great with layers.
Holly met me there and then we hit up Forever 21 at Mall St. Matthews. It's good to have a fashion consultant in your wedding party! Forever 21 has taken over one of the larger corners of the mall and it still blows my mind at how much stuff they have. I could have gotten lost in there so easily but with Jo we just sped through on a mission and we found just what we were looking for: a little sexy white dress. (It's actually more off-white.) Now it's just a matter of me finding the right shoes and the right jewelry. I'll probably go with some cute boots if I can find them and gold jewelry.

My Wedding on a Budget: 13 Days to Go!

Mum Mania!

Astrea is Vanna Whiting the MANY, MANY mums that Uncle Jerome and Aunt Janet delivered to the house today! Most of them aren't blossoming just yet but should be any time, meaning they'll be lovely in 2 weeks. All colors...it will be beautiful! And that's not the end of their delivery! They have about 10 more they couldn't fit in this trip!

My Wedding on a Budget: 14 Days to Go!

Work Party
Mom and Pa are gone to Ohio for the weekend. They'd planned a weekend with a bunch of their high school friends long before Jon even proposed. That's part of the reason why we didn't go with an October 1 wedding. (Mom wanted to be home the weekend before the wedding.) So they left us a nice long task list. Luckily, Jon had talked to Seth and Nic during the week so they came down to help out as well. What's even better is we pretty much accomplished everything on it...

- Stone the front path
- Paint the garage trim
- Redo the wood on the Grammo Bridge
- Pick up branches under the big poplar tree (where parking will be)
- Clean up the Yates Flower Garden (all grown up with weeds!)
- Clean up the rotten tomatoes that were sitting out for canning
- Push Mow the back hill
- Weedeat, weedeat, weedeat!

My Wedding on a Budget: 15 Days to Go!

Meeting with Father
A trip to Liberty after work today so that Jon and I could meet with Father Pat one more time. It's a lot to go through so I'm glad that's one area where we have somebody else (Father Pat!) completely in charge who really knows the routine. We need to finalize what music is being played when and get that all to Isetta. There are some things that Father Pat is really hardline about that are kind of bothersome. For example, he wants us to kneel up front the entire time. He said it's easier that way and not room for us elsewhere and it's too hard with the bride's dress. Well, I have never been to a wedding where the couple kneeled the entire time. (Through the ENTIRE mass too!) But I think there will be something extra holy and neat about it. Jon and I usually hold hands through mass especially when we are kneeling. I think this will make it easier for us to pray together through the mass and keep our focus on what it should be. In the end there isn't anything that I'm worked up about. He's letting us get a ton of people in that church which is probably more than a fire code would allow.

There are actually a lot of things I like and appreciate about the traditional Catholic wedding ceremony that I did not know until he told us. For example, the congregation stands at the beginning of the procession, and remains standing for the entire entrance through the bride and not just for the bride. This "show" isn't just about me.

After our little meeting Jon and I took a little stroll through the Apple Festival. He took me on a "romantic ride" on the ferris wheel. I was disappointed when my camera died and I couldn't capture the moment.

My Wedding on a Budget: 16 Days to Go!

Basket Fun
Jon and I made a trip to Danville after work to go to the grocery and get a few other things and decided to drop in at the Peddler's Mall while there. (Wouldn't you know we'd run into Pa!) It's full of plenty of crap but lots of really cool stuff if you're patient going through it all. We decided to not get overly excited and buy things when we still have a wedding ahead of us. The only thing I did buy was a cute little half bushel basket because it is the perfect green color! What will I use it for? Not quite sure yet, but I will find something!
I'm finding out usable bushel baskets make for great decorating resources. Two of them that Mike and Jenny brought last week I've already filled with the 50 flip flops I bought earlier in the summer. Green and white in one; purple and black in the other. I simply tied one of the (many) Bed, Bath & Beyond ribbons around each of them and just that is enough to add a little festivity and character to the wedding decor.
We have a few other half bushels along with a longer, rectangular basket that I'm thinking I'll tie some ribbon around and find job for. Can koozies, flowers, snacks...something... Mom and Pa leave for the weekend tomorrow morning.
Jon and I touched based with them tonight though to get a weekend task list from them. Hopefully we can get a lot accomplished... we only have 2 weekends left!!!!

My Wedding on a Budget: 17 Days to Go!

Ready to Jam
We're set! The sound equipment is all safely to the Valley! I stopped at Doo Wop before heading home tonight and the guy helping me hooked me up with all I needed and even bettered it. He got me speakers and an amp that would use less power than those I was originally quoted. I also specifically watched how he hooked everything up and he definitely do anything special with outlets and what he plugged in where so I think our electric hook up should be fine. The total came to $118 and the quote last week was $178. Clay also picked up the electrical equipment we need and hopefully we can return some of that when all is said and done. After watching the hook up process the Doo Wop guys did I don't think we need to be too worried about the power. We're ready for a purple party!!

My Wedding on a Budget: 18 Days to Go!

Musical Meeting with a hint of Cider
Got together with DJ man Ben after work today. We met up at Heine Brothers on Frankfort after I got off work and I'd printed off the list I made (and Jon added a little to). We met for about an hour and a half but I'd say less than 45 minutes of it was essential planning for the wedding. I went through the things I really wanted/needed played, the general feel for before, during and after dinner and he provided some pretty nifty input as well. I've got to put a lot of my music on CD for him so he can add it to his collections so hopefully I can do that this weekend and get with him one more time before the big day (oh-so-close!)

I know I've said it before, but I'm so grateful to have a close friend heading up my music for the day. Beyond that, I'm so glad to have close friends and family being a part of so many aspects of the wedding. And in case I haven't given them all a special thank you in this blog:

• Caitlan "KK", my cousin, doing some of my church decorations and flowers for the bridesmaids.
• Jerusha, my cousin, helping with more than her fair share. She'll do pictures (with help from her sister, another cousin, Alyx), a batch of cupcakes and put together flowers.
• My Aunt Lea who made my veil
• Kara, my college friend, who is making my cake and a batch of cupcakes
• Michelle, my sister-in-law, who is make TWO batches of cupcakes (sorry I cannot link to a Michelle page! She actually did a test run of cupcakes for me before I started tracking my wedding progress in the blog. She made FIVE batches of cupcakes from scratch in ONE DAY! The house was loaded with cupcakes! Quite the taste-testing!)

Most of my time with Ben was simply catching up. As most of you probably know, the older we get, the less time we get to simply relax and enjoy a good cup of coffee with close friends. But it's worth stopping to do every so often. And in this case...for me at least, it was an exception to my normal coffee because HUBER'S CIDER is back at Heine Bros! YUM!