Updates, updates, updates!

Turns out, when I get busy I have a hard time keeping people updated on my life. Thank god for Facebook status updates--most of the world wouldn't even know we're engaged if not for that :)

Working backwards...

A couple Sundays ago (April 19) I ran my second half marathon...through pouring rain. I was drenched, but improved my time by about 10 minutes from last year. I finished in 2:02, which was not quite my goal time of under 2 hours...but I blame the two-hour pace girl, who I finished in front of. And the torrential rain. Yeah, that too. But, Mom, Dad, and David all stood around in the rain for two hours to catch a glimpse of me run by (apparently, I was frowning a whole lot). That's love! I'll post pictures when I get them from Ma...

This Sunday, I ran The Fast and The Furriest 5K through the APA. Because Kyle and Cher were in town visiting, Kyle decided to run it too (it's his first 5k...but Cher didn't because her FULL Marathon was a week later). Being sponsored by the APA, "Well behaved dogs on leashes" were welcome.

Poor Maggie... I made her run. She hated every second of it. First of all, she was the ONLY dog that I saw poop the entire race...and it was a race trail without a lot of trashcans (why? COME ON!) so I had to carry her "business" for about half a mile. THEN, seconds after throwing it out, I managed to trip over Maggie and scrape up my knee and hand. Blood everywhere...but I kept going. At the 2-mile mark, Maggie stopped for water...ran a few yards and turned around to get more water. Poor baby.

Despite all this...Maggie and I were the 4th (yes, FOURTH!) owner-puppy combo to finish. Our time was 27 minutes, which includes a fall, a poop break, and two water breaks. Not bad for my chunky monkey Maggie, huh? Kyle did well too, especially for his first 5k, with a time well under 10 min/mile.

(Second week in a row he got up early to watch me run...awwwwwww)

BIG NEWS!

David and I put an offer on a house in Affton earlier this week. After much back-and-forthing with the price, our offer was ACCEPTED last night! We're still doing all the legal mumb0-jumbo, but we've agreed on a possession date of June 19-- plenty of time to move before the wedding.

Happy happy happy!

Second shot at crafting...not so pretty.

I'm not sure if I love them or hate them, but I'm thinking that they were way to much work to make tons of....

Why weren't they as cute as the ones I found on a blog??

Response Cards

We decided not to do response cards, in favor of just asking people to email or call with whether they will attend or not....however, I saw this idea for response cards.

__ Gladly attend
__ Regretfully decline
__ Regretfully attend
__ Enthusiastically decline
__ Will decline to respond but ultimately attend
__ Think you are just trying to wrest a gift out of me
__ Other__________________________


Hmmmm.... I like it. Maybe I can scrounge together the money for some RSVP cards :)

What's better? No RSVP cards or ones that read like this?

Getting Crafty

Inspired by the other wedding blogs to which I am addicted, I decided to get a little crafty last night. I made (yes, made) a cupcake stand for the wedding in our new colors...silver and sage. Why I have colors is still a little beyond me, but I'm pretty proud of what I've made.

Thank God for Hobby Lobby!

Pending approval of those with say (ummmm Martha ;) and Mom, most likely) I'll make about 4 and maybe something different for the "top tier."

Since I've created a stand for these elusive cupcakes, I should probably let you know that I have made it in another blog...the cupcake lady posted the tasting box she made for us.

http://www.classycups.com/blog/?p=575

A Royal Easter (witty, witty)

David and I traveled to the jewel of East-Central Kansas for Easter festivities...and it was seriously one of the best weekend I can remember.

We left St. Louis on Thursday evening...the drive was terrible, but we did meet Martha and Melanie in Columbia for dinner at David's all-time favorite burger place. I hadn't eaten at Booches before, but it was phenomenal.

When we got to Lyndon...well after midnight...David finally met Kyle. And then we went to bed about 15 minutes later. I get up far too early to be fun late at night.

Friday we went to Osage where Kyle paid off his car, I talked to Rick at the bank about loans, Kyle ate at Sonic (apparently, there are no Sonics in Rhode Island), I showed off my ring at the dentist office (yeah, it's weird, but I like them), David ate a sandwich in a parking lot, and we bought groceries. David got questioned on his Mizzou apparel no less than 8 times on that trip. We've got to buy him some purple.

That night we ate with my paternal grandparents at the best rib place in the whole world. Seriously, I love it so much that I make Mom and Dad order an extra slab so that I can take it home. Yuuuuuuuuuuuuummmmmmmmm.

Saturday we drove to LaCygne so that David could meet my maternal grandfather (Mom informed me that when you decide to get married quickly you have to back track on the relative meeting circuit). David got to look at a hog barn and take a shot of my uncle Kenny's homemade schnapps. He also met Uncle Larry and Uncle Kenny that day.

Then we went to the Royal's game! It was a blast... My friend Erin happened to be at the game...which was a good surprise, especially when we were required to shotgun beers in celebration of our engagement. I've been informed that I actually knew that Erin would be at the game weeks ago...but I forgot. Ooops.

The stadium is awesome...completely renovated. They have a carousel, putt-putt golf, bar, and mini stadium. Sure, the Royals lost...but I had fun anyway. How could I not? I got to meet Slugger and see a the Statue of Liberty!

The drive home was fun, especially since Cher and David devoured some dip I made (what? Cher? No!) and managed to get it all over my jeans and my shoes. Cute.

Sunday, Mom made 11 different food items for our Easter lunch. And I am still full... Cher's parents came down and My Uncle John, Uncle Larry, Aunt Sue, and cousins Marc and Adam also joined us for lunch. Despite a few Mizzou comments, David seemed to do pretty well in a sea of relatives and new names. He initially failed the mandatory name quiz, but I think he'll study up in time for the reception.

Honeymoon plans...or lack of

Where we're going on our honeymoon has been something that David and I haven't even begun to seriously discuss, mostly because I'm deep in the throws of "what color should the tablecloths be" panic and he's getting closer to finals...and finals apparently take precedence even over tablecloths. CRAZY!

In our limited discussions, we tend to be polar opposites. I want to go camping or rent an RV and road trip, siting our limited funds and his lack of employment. He wants to go fancy, siting a need for air conditioning in August. :) I'm thinking we could spring for an RV with AC...

However, in some silly fitness magazine I was reading last night, there was an article on "glamping." Apparently, this is the glamorous way to go camping...in wildlife refuges or with BBQ kits. I think it's the perfect compromise...but haven't mentioned it to David yet.

Here are the three websites listed.... thoughts?

http://turpentinecreek.org/
http://www.rockwatersecretcoveresort.com/
http://elcapitancanyon.com/

And yes, I did cut out the article.

A whole evening with no wedding/house talk!

We did it! I didn't think I had it in me, but David and I managed to sit through an entire baseball game and dinner without discussing the wedding or buying a house.

It's a miracle.

The game was fun...even though it managed to snow on us and the Cardinals choked in the end. However, because it was opening day, we got to see the Clydesdales AND a bald eagle named Lewis.

On another note, I signed the contract for the 8/1 reception hall. South Broadway Athletic Club, here I come. During the signing, I managed to score *free* tickets to see the Memories of Elvis show...it was a blast. Elvis, Buddy Holly, some horrid Barbershop Quartet (called the Rivertown Sound...but our table buddy informed us they were the Rivertown Clowns) and a kid in 8th grade that everyone kept calling "The NEXT American Idol...in 2012." Al, the crotchety old manager, informed us that, for the bargain price of $1600, we could have the WHOLE SHOW at our wedding. Then, some couple renewed their vows with Elvis.

I'm tempted, but I'd rather spend the money on booze. :)

David's new stance on wedding planning

Wedding planning is in full swing, and I'm getting a little stressed out. The to-do list keeps getting longer and longer and very few things are getting crossed off. For some reason, I keep asking David's opinion and he keeps giving it to me...which, in turn creates more work because his opinion is quite rarely the easiest option.

So we (I) came up with a plan and a script.

Me: What do you think about [insert random stupid item here, like time for ceremony]?
David: I don't know honey, what do you think?
Me: Answer with whatever I do think...
David: That is exactly what I thought! I totally agree

See? Isn't that better? Because David really doesn't care about much...especially about tablecloth colors and whether I have flowers, this is perfect. I don't feel like he doesn't care and he doesn't get yelled at for having too many opinions. Perfect.

This whole wedding thing is a lot more work/hassle than I had anticipated...or it's exactly as much as I anticipated and I knew it wouldn't be my thing. Today, though, we've got tickets to Cardinal OPENING DAY (in the snow...) and we decided that for the whole game we won't discuss anything about the wedding or house hunting...think we can do it?