Wedding Photo

This is my favorite pic from the wedding so far. We don't have the professional ones yet. This was taken by Rob's dad.

Gangs shooting others for colors, things that we wear for fashion...

Friday - Headed down to the Arms with friends for yummy lamb burger and beer. Headed to the City Museum next because two of our friends had never been there. Discovered that they've taken away our yummy cider and hot chocolate (with alcohol added, of course) and replaced it with a juice bar (not that kind..) and ice cream. Oh, and you can't smoke outside anymore either. (But you can smoke inside at Beatnik Bob's... makes TONS of sense.) Headed home entirely too late and crashed.

Saturday - Woke up wanting a substancial breakfast so we headed to Burkemper's for a fairly good breakfast. It's a tiny diner that is always packed. Food was better than Denny's but not as good as the Village Garden (otherwise known to locals as "The Diner" in Fisher.) Ran errands and went back to the condo because I felt craptastic. Cleaned. Rob headed out with the boys and I headed to the Mills with Kim. We were on a quest for awesomeness. Finding it in the form of a cornrow'd young man with an airbrush in his hand and tolerence in his heart - our quest for cheesy shirts had found a destination. Photos of the airbrushed awesomeness to come at a later time. Headed home to clean and hang out with Kim and Rob.

Sunday - Woke up and made cinn. rolls for Rob and I. Kim came over and we headed to the Mills for our airbrushed fun and studying. After spending entirely too much time at the mall, and only one shirt completed, I'm picking up the remaining shirts this evening when I head to class. We headed down to the Arms with the one completed shirt to drop off with Mike. Then we made the drive back to St. Peters where Rob was slaving over a hot stove making yummy lasagna. We ate yummy lasagna, studied, watched TV, and did laundry for the rest of the night.

My week looks like this:
Today - work (suckage), study, class, pick up dad from airport, then sleep.
Tomorrow - work (suckage), get nails done, study, pack, sleep.
Wednesday - work (suckage), get mystic tan, class, home to load car, drive to Fisher, sleep.
Thursday - drive to chicago, check in, CB2, nice dinner, drinks, newlywed things.
Friday - Museums!
Saturday - burbs! cousins! Ikea! MAC!
Sunday - C&B! Joliet! Chris & Cari! Married!
Monday - drive home! (Suck!)

Yah Toast!

Today, I work without a lunch break so I may leave at 3 and start my weekend. Woo!

On a slightly related note - Starbucks Doubleshot + Excited about weekend = Jittery as HELL Andrea. I can't concentrate on any one thing for very long and I'm having trouble...Oooh... a quarter...



And, I'm back. Sorry, I just took a trip to the bahamas there for a minute. (bonus points if you can name that comedian and skit) I'm hoping the weather cooperates tonight so that the boat may be taken out on the lake for some drinking-on-water action. Tomorrow it will be outlet-mall shopping and then going out for dinner and drinking. Sunday will be waking up, having lunch and then driving home. That's my weekend in a nutshell. (No, this is me in a nutshell... what am I doing in this giant nutshell? What sort of nut should require this large shell?)

I'm in a special mood right now. I blame this on the aforementioned starbucks and the fact that today is the debut of my boots for the winter. I'm still pretty happy with my brown pair, but I think that a new pair of black boots (or other fun color.... green maybe?) is due. Rob refers to my black boots as my frankenstien boots, and I can't really argue with him. They're knee high black boots with a stacked heel and a slight platform on the toe. These boots were made for ass-kicking, my friend. Some say they look like hitler boots. They stand on their own, seriously. They're hardcore.

It's supposed to rain this afternoon, and this is one of those times where I really hope the weather channel is wrong. Right now it's absolutely beautiful outside, and it's making me very happy. (Or maybe that's the caffiene talking...)

Next weekend is Rob's Batch party, and a dress fitting for me. The following weekend it sounds like we'll be going home to finalize, and then it's wedding day! 22 days to go!

22 days, and I STILL haven't ordered my linens. Bloody hell. I'm going to get that done TODAY.

Okay, that's all I've got. Oh! One question for you MAC users (makeup not computer), what type of foundation do you use?

Here comes the fuckin' bride...

**Warning: The following post contains moments of Bridezilla (Did I really just type that?) fury, which may or may not result in embarassment of the poster.**


Days to wedding: 24

I could be happier. I'm trying to nail down the final arrangements for the wedding weekend. Come to find out, one of my bridesmaids won't be rolling in until right before the rehearsal (which I know, and understand), but what has irked me is the fact that neither one of my parents will be arriving until just hours before the rehearsal either.

Why the hell am I going up there 2.5 days before the wedding? Am I the only one who wants to get there, get settled, and not feel like I'm doing nothing but running around for 2 days? My plan is to head up there Wednesday night after I get off work, stay at Lammle-ville for Wednesday night, and then (hopefully) stay at the hotel from Thursday night on. This will put me in the area to take care of any last minute arrangements, make sure everything is in order for Saturday, so the biggest decision I have to make on Friday night is whether or not to have a second mango margarita.

Excuse me for being selfish, but at what point will our wedding become a big deal? I think 24 days beforehand might be a good place to start. This is somewhat beginning to feel like people are treating it like just another day. Excuse me for being somewhat offended!

I'm the first born in the family. I'm the only girl. I'm the first wedding. Am I really all that fucked up for wanting something resembling enthusiasm from my parents?! How about at least making me feel like a priority, because as of right now, I feel like I have to practically BEG anyone to do anything.

I'm frustrated. Has anyone else picked up on that?

So I suppose that instead of spending time with my family the Thursday before the wedding, I'll be toolin' around Champaign alone and relaxing. I'm not complaining about having to spend the day alone. Hell, it might be nice, but c'mon!

Oh, the things we can find on the interwebs.

I've discovered some great new (to me) sites this week. Several of these sites I found from my favorite-blog-of-the-moment, My Aim Is True. This blog is run by a funny designer chica named Amber. If you dig me, but wish I wrote better, was maybe more clever, and had already finished obtaining my degree and had a kick ass job... then you'll love her blog. She's cool girl v. 5.1, where as I'm still on the beta release.

From her site, I've found Finslippy, Poundy, and Tickytacky. Now I haven't been able to devote real time to exploring these sites, but I figured I'd share them anyhow.

Other fun discoveries include Kurt Hasley's webiste, Adam Rex - writer and illustrator of Frankenstein Makes a Sandwich, and this awesome pattern that was featured on Craftzine :blog.

Another couple of places of note would be this article on I Watch Stuff! and Radio.Blog.Club.

There. I've just sucked away the remaineder of your morning. Enjoy!

I'll take the plastic Spiderman tablecloth and the matching napkins.

Why do linens have to be so damn confusing? Why do I have to be so damn picky?

I'm looking at linens at BBJ Linens. This company was recommended to us by our caterer, because it is a nationwide company that ships your linen order to you. Lucky for me, there is an office here in St. Louis. Double-lucky for me, it's the very same office that takes care of the Champaign orders. (Even tho there is one in Chicago, but whatev.)

So, I'm looking at the site and know what type of linens I would like, but I have no idea what size. The tables at Refinery are 10 person rounds. The linens that the event coordinator usually orders are waaaay short. If you look at the banquet pictures, you can see the legs of the table, and it will bother me all freakin' night.

So I want linens that come down closer to the floor. Should I be looking for ones that puddle or or where the points drop? Well, why don't I just head on down to their showroom.

Because they're only freakin' open from 9-5 during the week. No weekend hours. So, if you work full time, fuck off. These are not the linens you're looking for.

On top of all of this, I'm feeling a little stressed because I don't know what the caterer will require since we're doing stations. If they need smaller tables, then I need to get my butt on the phone and rent 4 or 5 smaller rounds. Oh, and then I need some sort of linens for those!

This blows. BUT! If I get the look I'd like, and the cost isn't that bad, it's going to be awesome.

My kind of town, Chicago is.

This weekend was purely chaotic as we were lucky enough to be let out early on Friday for the holiday weekend. Rob and I proceeded to meet at home and get on the road for Fisher. We arrived in town at about 8pm after making a few stops in Champaign. We relaxed with his parents for about an hour, after they went to bed, we watched a little Arrested Development and then headed to bed.

The next morning we woke at 7am to get on the road for Chicago. I had an appointment with my cousin's girlfriend, Agata, for my makeup trial. She works for MAC, is awesome, and did a fantastic job. See:
Pretty awesome, eh? I felt extremely overdone for walking around the mall in a t-shirt and jeans, but after purchasing a new top, I felt better. Had some lunch, Rob bought a few cigars, and then we then headed over to Ikea for some unfinished swedish goodness. I was excited because this was the first time I was able to go to Ikea and actually spend money. We got many great things for very little money and left the store quite pleased.

We killed some time at Borders and then went back over to the mall to meet Agata and my cousin, Leigh for drinks at Stir Crazy. My dad joined us after he got off work and family stories were told and a good time was had by all. We left them at about 11:30 and headed back to Fisher. Arrived at the farm at about 2 am, where I promptly fell asleep.

Sunday we woke up and ran out to meet the florist to re-vamp the floral selections for the wedding. After this meeting we headed back to the farm and relaxed with Lesa, talking about the wedding until about 3. Lesa and I began cooking side-dishes for the fish fry that evening. Rob relaxed and I have no idea where his dad was through all of this.

Yummy fish were fried in an ENORMOUS skillet. A billion and a half side-dishes were present and we filled our tummies. Stories were told about people I don't know. We headed home to relax infront of the TV.

After his parents went to bed, we went outside to enjoy the weather and so Rob could enjoy a cigar. His stomach started to do flips so after 2 episodes of AD, one upchuck of fish, and a AD blooper reel, we went to bed.

Monday, we got up and came home to this.

Ding Dong the dingbat's gone!

Angela got kicked off Project Runway! Yay! And you know what? She was booted in the best way possible - flew her ass to Paris, was there all of about an hour, and then told she had to get back on a plane and fly her ass back home. Ta-Da! Gone, beyotch!

While Jeffery doesn't exactly rock my world, I liked him better than Angela. There was just something about her that I didin't trust. Jeffery did look like a rockstar in his jet-setting outfit, but I feel there was too much emphasis on his junk.

Also in Project Runway news, I just stumbled upon this site. Good bye, freetime!

I'm going to punch out street lights with a bat.

Music can transport you. Funny, I'm listening to "Shannon" by Henry Gross. This song (besides being incredibly lame) is featured on the Anchorman soundtrack. Will ferrell introduces the song by stating, "I'm not sure if I want to play this next song. It gets me very emotional. Oh the blazes with it! Just play it Ronnie, just play it."

We get 17 seconds into the song and Ron Burgundy begins to cry. He sobs throughout the song and tells us all the memories he has attached to it. ("I was born without a spleen! How's that make you feel?")

What's ironic about this song playing now is that this whole album brings back many memories for me. I can remember this song playing on the overhead in the eraly mornings at Borders when I was working on IPT. (Inventory Processing Team for those of you not down with the Borders lingo.)

This was after a considerably rough time in my life. I had ended an eight year relationship. Needless to say the transition was less than easy. (Contrary to popular belief...)

It took a strong man by my side, a few true friends and a little Lexipro to get me through it. But here I am. Marrying said strong man witha bullshit tolerance that has been severely lowered. I'm happy, and I'll be the first to admit that it's a concept I still struggle with. Is happiness really this easy?

What does this have to do with this strange news anchor sobbing in my ear? It's one of the first memories I have of being happy that doesn't directly involve Rob. It means I can be happy without relying on someone else's assistance.

And for me, that's HUGE.

"You gotta live life, eh? That sound good? Great."

Abs Diet for Women

I found an issue of Prevention Magazine that featured the Abs Diet, but for women. The difference? It was all women demonstrating the exercises.

Either way, The Abs Diet is a book that I've been reading for the past month or so. It's not telling me a whole lot new, but it's putting it in a way that I can understand.

Now I just need to do the abs excercises. This is a challenge for me, because I don't like to do these at the gym. I need to do them at home, but remembering once I get home is the other trick. If anyone has any suggestions or ideas on what has worked for them, throw them my way.

I'm trying to watch what I eat, and will hopefully begin working with weights again in the near future. I'm trying to be realistic in regards to the wedding, but it's difficult. I know I'm not going to miraculously drop 60 lbs, but I at least want to look glowing and firm.

That's not too much to ask for, is it?

New discoveries

Today I discovered a new blog I'll be frequenting - Elyse Sewell's LJ.

Remember her? She was runner up on the first season of America's Next Top Model. According to what I remember about the show, she basicly joined as a joke. She's wickedly intelligent and bitched about 90% of the other models the entire time she was on there. She made the show entertaining.

Check out her LJ. I'm entertanied already.

I wonder...

Why I'm feeling woozy and my head kinda hurts after drinking 4 ounces of smoothie.

Could my aches and pains be related to the smoothie?

Weekend of the sneaky drunk

On Friday, we hit a bar called "Hurricanes" in Collinsville. Cheap drinks and a kind bartender resulted in the ninja of inhebreation. I had one too many and didn't realize it until I was in the car on the way home, begging Rob to get a bag from the convience store so I didn't decorate the interior of his new truck with my drunken version of a Jackson Pollock. Luckily, I didn't need the sack.

The next morning I woke up feeling like poo. I grabbed a glass of water and headed downstairs to watch TV and be miserable. I ended up watching about 4 too many episodes of "Real High School Stories" on MTV. These were all about pranks. The pranks made me realize a.) MTV does craptastic reinactments and b.) some administrations are way uptight.

Rob saved the day with some McDonalds. A double cheeseburger will cure anything. Well, except for the clap. I think you have to eat a Big Mac to beat the clap.

We spend the rest of the weekend continuing with wedding plans, including buying Rob's wedding band. The wedding related nightmares are coming more frequently now. Adding to my paranoia about having everything done. Fun times.

Sucka fo' da' news!

Okay, I'll be the first to admit that I've been sucked into the JonBenet Ramsey/John Mark Karr news stories. Something still doesn't add up, so I find myself reading many articles on this.

The same question comes to mind each time: Does every article have to featurea photo of Creepy McCreeperson? Oh? Wanna read this article? Wanna sleep at night? Well, too bad!

I'm not so sure it's the content of the articles that makes him so creepy. He's just a creepy looking guy.

Here I am!

I've moved from Blogger to Blogger-Beta.

I have to say, Blogger-Beta kicks much ass.

And really, right now, that's all I have to say.