Today is the Day

It's after midnight, which means that we get to move today.
It seems like such a minor thing, but for us - it's a pretty monumental occasion.  For us, it's not just moving...it's moving into a house.  We may not be buying it, or even thinking of buying it, but it's certainly a step up from our 700 sq. ft. duplex.  It also means a great deal to our children (the pups).  They've had it kind of rough here.  We were hard pressed to find time to be able to put them in the "yard" we have because it was so poorly built, they seemed to have no trouble getting out of it.  For me, it will be the first time I've had a garage since I was in the 6th grade; and the garage is for our cars.  None of my cars have ever seen the inside of a garage.  It seems small, but to us it isn't.  Sure, it's been stressful trying to get everything lined up in the short amount of time we were given, but it also forced us (well, me) to make a decision to make the move.  I've been really uncertain about moving to Oklahoma City, and it's something that I'm doing for US, rather than for ME.  And that is a pretty big deal.
I finally have all the laundry done, and 98% of our things are in boxes or tubs.  It's a weird feeling to look around the place we've called home for the last 13 months and it be relatively empty.  I only hope that tomorrow goes as smoothly as possible and there are no major hitches.

I feel exhausted from all the packing and scrubbing; and I know that I've worked so hard that my body is exhausted and I desperately need a shower.  Though I wish I didn't need to take one since I worked so hard cleaning the tub.

I wish I had more time to do wedding stuff, there just never seems to be time anymore with the move and trying to find a job.  Any extra time I have on the internet I spend looking for an opening to send in my resume.  I've had 4 interviews so far and have another one on Monday, but thats it really.  The one I was hoping to get doesn't seem to look so good at the moment, though I thought I hit it off really well with the man who interviewed me.  ...  Oh well, there will be other jobs, and eventually someone will offer me a job.  Until then, maybe I can finagle a few days off between finishing my current job and starting a new one.  I know that I could use a few days to rest - with no school, no work, and nothing to do but be lazy.  Probably something we all could use a little more of.

Once we get settled, I'll get back to the interesting wedding stuff.  I promise.
But for now it's time to get in the shower.  So for now, goodbye - until later today.

Quick Update

I don't have a ton of time, cuz I have to run off to an interview here in just a minute;
BUT WE'RE MOVING TOMORROW.

I'm sure I won't be able to sleep tonight from excitement.  We will probably finish up our packing tonight and then just blankets and toiletries in the morning.  The U-Haul is booked, my one Friday class is canceled :), and everything seems to be falling into place. As long as Chris doesn't show up at 7am, I think we'll be on the right track. :)

Hopefully everyone can come stay with us sometime soon (not all at once of course!). ;)

Have a great weekend!!

Figuring Things Out

We finally have a place live.  As good as not being homeless feels, everything has become a bit more real - and time doesn't seem to be on our side.

Living Room

Full bath

Half bath

Master Bedroom

Soon to be Spare Bedroom

Soon to be Office

Kitchen/Eat-in Dining Area

We're moving this Friday, even though we would much rather move Thursday.  The largest issue is that I have class in the middle of the day Friday.  Kind of a bummer.  

It seems like we have so much to get done - We've already bought a few more things to hang on the walls since we will have a lot more space and we already bought a mattress/box springs and rails for the spare bedroom and a writing desk for the office.  We got a really good deal on the desk from Walmart, it was $50 and had originally been $200.

Oh well - things will work work out in the end.  Thats the only thought that gets me through the day.  

Once we get moved half the stress will be gone - but then we still have to find jobs.

Lots to do.

In a Little While

I know, it seems like it's been forever since I posted.  Things have just been really stressful around the house lately.  As you all know, we are having to move out of our house on the 29th, and as of yet, we have nowhere to live.  We had a great lead on a house and it just sort of....fell through. Murphy's law, right?
So we've been working pretty tirelessly to find a place.  I can't even tell you how much money we have spent on gas driving from Stillwater to Norman in the last week.  And I've never been more sick of using my phone.
Truthfully, I'm sort of hoping something will just sort of appear out of thin air.
We've been packing - half our stuff is already in the boxes strewn about our living room.  Books and movies are mostly whats packed, though we have packed up our hall closet.
I suppose I'll spend most of today doing laundry and hopefully trying to pack up some of the kitchen.  We may have two weeks, but when the day comes I want to just throw it all in a U-Haul and get out of here.  I know for a fact that I'm ready to be out of here, regardless of where we end up.
Please keep us in your prayers until all this blows over.

Exploration

Oklahoma seems to have just skipped right past spring and gone straight to early summer.  Which means...garage sales!

Ponca City is having a ton on them this weekend, so Matthew and I intend to get up early and head up there for some spectacular garage sale-ing.  He wants a desk, and has wanted a desk ever since we moved into our two bedroom place - I'm not so sure that we have room to put one anywhere, but we'll see.  What I'll be looking for are vases.  All clear glass, but different shapes and sizes.  I'm sure you're asking yourselves "What does this have to do with wedding planning?"  

Centerpieces.  

Matthew thinks that they all ought to match, but I'm not so sure about that.  Nothing else seems to match really.  And I'm not a "matchy" person.  I'm pretty lucky if the clothes I put on in the morning don't completely clash.  

There are always things to pick up at garage sales, no matter how off the wall it happens to be.  Last time we went I think I bought a Little House on the Prairie book for my mother, and a wall hanging.

Something fun to do for the weekend anyways.  

Obviously we haven't decided on colors yet, but Matthew also likes the gray and orange and yellow combination - and the fact that I was able to find that dress online, that was the perfect color, seems promising.  I guess we'll see.  I'm just hoping Melissa Sweet doesn't get rid of this collection just because Spring has sprung.

Feedback

I'm desperately in need of some feedback here.  I was really hoping that this blog would get people involved and talking about the wedding, which so far, has been unsuccessful.


Still...I trudge on.


I found this wonderful bridesmaids dress by Melissa Sweet

In their color "Dove," it's just the sort of silvery grey I was hoping to find.  (Many thanks to Emily for matching up the random dress I found on another blog!)

It doesn't look great on the model, but I saw some photography from another wedding and the dress looks great on a regular sized person :)

Right now it seems like invitations are going to be the hard thing to settle on.  They seem so expensive (at least all the ones that I like).  And I'm all for DIY-ing things for the wedding, but DIY-ing 150 invitations may be a bit excessive.  

I'm trying to hash out things that just can't be sacrificed.  Floral arrangements are the first thing to cut back on definitely, especially if the wedding is outdoors.  I hope that the venue itself will have plenty of blooms already intact.  

I'm also thinking about learning calligraphy.  I already have pretty decent handwriting, but I'd like it to be better when addressing invitations.  Hand-written addresses and notes have a much more personal feel than printed labels, definitely the kind of touch I'd like to put on the invitations.

I guess thats it for tonight, I'm awfully tired and have work early in the morning.

Thanks again.

*EDIT*
Here's the above dress on an actual person, in "Dove"

It's the one on the far left!

Color Me ... ????

Wedding colors have been an issue of hot debate around the house for awhile now.  A snippet of a few conversations we've had...


"What about brown? Like a nice, satiny, chocolatey brown."
"I don't want a brown cake, it'd be chocolate - and I don't like chocolate."
"Well, the cake doesn't have to be brown silly."


"I like yellow. What do you think about yellow?"
"I guess that depends on the shade of yellow, what do you think?"
"I don't know what shade!"


...As I said, hot debate.


So after some (okay, a lot) of perusing the world wide web - I've come up with some color combinations that I'm pretty fond of; so check it out!

Kind of a golden, sunny yellow with a bit of rustic, almost bronze brown.  And even though this one is silk, I thought it was really pretty.

A really soft peach color displayed over a more pastel yellow.  A beautiful combination, though I'm not sure how well the scheme fits mine and Matthew's personalities.

Yellow and orange.  Both super bright and vibrant.  A bit of an unusual color combination...maybe I'm just drawn to the delicious desserts on the table!

An even more unusual combination - and one of my favorites so far!  Kind of a silvery grey complimented by splashes of orange and yellow (so it doesn't have to feel so gloomy!)

White, green and brown.  This color scheme is really earthy and I think could be GREAT for an outdoor wedding/reception. Plus those invitations are really cute.

This light green and orange floral arrangement really caught my eye.  I think Better Homes and Gardens really had it right with this one.  The splashes of purple in the green flowers really caught my eye.  I only worry about the green, because right around the time of year we are thinking about having the wedding, EVERYTHING will be blossoming, and there may already be an overload of green.

     These are just the ones that I've loved since I began looking - if you happen to find something you think is just fantastic, post a link - we'll get it up here so everyone can take a look!

I'd like to get a poll on here, so that people could actually vote and we could really see what people were thinking, but for now I haven't had the opportunity to find such a gadget.

     Please leave comments to let me know what you think of the pics above and about all the other things I've mentioned, they are very appreciated.  I've fixed it to where even if you don't have a gmail account you can post comments.  They will be listed as "Anonymous" so be sure to sign your name to it!  Also, don't hesitate to send this out to anyone you think ought to be in the loop about the wedding - this site is for EVERYBODY!

     Love you guys! Hope your weeks are going great, despite the stormy weather outside!

P.S.  To comment, just click on "COMMENTS" below the post and it should provide with a type box to enter your comment into.  I just noticed, but you can also subscribe by email - I'm assuming if you do, it will send you a memo anytime I post something new.  

Another Day

     Although neither of us remember going to sleep; we just woke up from a 3.5hr nap.  Since I've effectively been sleeping since I got off of work, I haven't had a lot of time to think about anything new to add since last night.
     I was wondering what everyone would think about an engagement party?  Since the wedding is so far away, I thought it might be a nice idea just to get everyone together - and give the two families a chance to get to know each other.  It'd be something small and casual, something where the kids wouldn't be too bored.  Maybe at a park...and get Rib Crib or something as carry out, then just some desserts (like ice cream).


     As most of you already know, Matthew has chosen, and asked Ryan (his cousin, for those of you who didn't know), to be his best man and Ryan accepted.

     They've been friends for an awfully long time :)  so, Ryan was an obvious choice.
I have chosen someone very dear to my heart, to serve as my matron of honor, introducing Emily Glaser

     She's certainly my oldest friend who I am still in touch with regularly, and I'm very happy to ask her to stand by my side on the most special day of my life.


     On another note, since the wedding will most likely be around the middle of May, Matthew and I have been throwing around color ideas and have come to the conclusion that yellow would be a wonderful color to use.  The problem is, the shade of yellow to use.  So throw out some suggestions for me!  It would be most appreciated.


Thanks for stopping by again!

EDIT**
    I will also be having a maid of honor to accompany Emily in the wedding.  Kelly Higgins has been my best friend since moving to Stillwater in sixth grade.  We've been through a lot together and I can't imagine the big day without her.

Getting Started

   Just to get things started...
       I'll try to update this page as much as possible, but seeing as how the wedding is approximately 750 days away, I suppose it leaves a bit of breathing room.  
       As we brainstorm, plot, and plan the wedding - we want all of you to be involved!  So I thought this would be the best way to keep people in the loop on their own time.  Feel free to post anything - at any time - anything goes!
     
Here's a few things to browse around while things get rolling on the planning...
Tres Suenos  - one idea for a venue.  It would be a good location, not too far for anyone to drive to, especially people who may be coming from Stillwater and beyond.
The Knot   - a really great website to look at anything wedding related.  Post links of things you see that you like!! Then feel free to discuss!
My Email Address  -  just e-mail me! I have my phone on me at all times and have all the time in the world to respond to any questions, comments, concerns, or suggestions anyone may have!



Thanks for checking out the page, and I hope you come back SOON! :)