Whew! What a weekend!

Friday: I drove from Chicago to Valparaiso, IN to pick up Kelly H. Then we drove down to Indianapolis to see John Mayer (aka my boyfriend). Driving from Indianapolis to the venue took us TWO hours. EEEEK. After the fabulous concert, it took us 2 hours to get home (minor glitches, really) and so we didn’t fall into bed until 2 a.m.

Saturday: We woke up early in the morning and played with Kelly’s nieces (we stayed at her sister’s house). After that, we left at 10 a.m. and stopped for lunch at Cracker Barrel. And THEN the fun began. I called the traffic expert, Frank, to find out which route we should take back into Chicago. The debate was between 80/94 or the skyway. Frank said to take the skyway because it is always open. Apparently that might be true during the weekdays, but during the weekend–HOLY COW!!! The road was soooo incredibly backed up and it took us 1 hour to go 2 miles. We were NOT happy campers to say the least. We decided to forego going back to my house and decided to stop at a gas station to change before going out for the night. We got to see a band we loved in college and experience Pork Fest at McGee’s. Good times!

Sunday: It was another early day because Frank’s family was having a shower for us. We arrived at the lake at 11 a.m., just in time to meet and greet the first guests. We didn’t leave Frank’s house until 7 p.m. Boy were we tired!!

Monday: I spent the late morning, afternoon and evening working on things around the apartment. It was so much fun!! I got a lot accomplished and was pretty pleased with myself. Yay!

Today I am back in the office. I am QUITE tired. It may be the food that I ate… not sure…

Only 38 days to go!!

Feeling a Little Better

Okay, so after lunch I calmed down a little bit. But I can feel myself still teetering on the edge of being angry–and for what!? My tummy is all in knots and I keep clamping down my jaw so that’s a little tight too. I cannot be a bundle of nerves now–I’m not even close to the wedding! Well, okay, I’m in denile. We are VERY close to the wedding and I wouldn’t have it any other way, but geesh–it sure is a lot to handle on so many fronts.

The only thing that keeps me from totally losing it is Frank. He is awesome. He is my rock and he makes me laugh and helps me through this crazy time. We are a good team together and I know that as long as we keep a team focused attitude, we will thrive. Well, that’s not the deciding factor in our impending marriage, but it’s one of our strong points as a couple. I just think the world of him.

So anyway… yes, feeling better. We will make it and I will be semi-sane! Thank God there is a honeymoon after the wedding!!!

MidWeek Updates

So in the last 24 hours I have walked into just about everything I can. I was standing by the fridge in the apartment and slammed my funny bone into the wall. I slammed my upper arm against FK’s elbow. I smashed my hip bone into the car door’s sharp edge. I walked into the door frame by the beverage station. And the list goes on! What is the deal!? Do I need glasses or did I spontaneously gain massive amounts of weight, thus causing me to underestimate the amount of room I need?? I sure hope not!

On another note, I am less grouchy today than I was Monday or Tuesday. This is good news for Frank, although he now doesn’t have to see me until Sunday so he has a nice long Emily-Free vacation. ::Sniff:: (I’m sure he’ll get over it!).

Which brings me to my next topic of conversation, my other boyfriend–

JOHN MAYER!!

Kelly H is taking me to see him in Indianapolis on Friday and I am totally excited!!!! YAY! My body IS a wonderland, darn it! And if he is calling it love soon, then heck, so am I! But why, Georgia, why doesn’t John return my phone calls??? Is he playing hard to get?? Am I going to have to settle for being the woman on the side? I don’t know if I can do that with my heart buzzing like neon. John! Come back to me!!!

I have recovered. Anyway. And then Saturday I am going to see my other musical boyfriends, Lewis and Scharpf! YEEHAW! It’s Emily and Kelly Music Fest!!!!

As far as the wedding goes, things seem to be moving along with it. Only 44 more days to go!!

Weekend Updates.

Well, it wouldn’t be Monday without me being Grouchy and the weekend being updated. Or something.

Why I am Grouchy.

You may notice that at this particular time I prefer to use a capital “G” for Grouchy. This is because I am just that Grouchy. It all started with a phone conversation with FK and here I am, pissy as all heck. I think part of it is because FK and I discussed a phone call I have to make to one of the vendors to express my concerns over what was offered for the reception. I happen to like this vendor, but they have left us with no other choice than for me to call and be the concerned, fretting bride. “I am soooo concerned, I thought you were on my side. I thought you could make this happen–that’s why we’re paying you all this money. This is incredibly important to us. I just don’t understand how this could have become so intolerable. I just don’t understand why you can’t make my day happen the way you promised.” The thought of getting on the phone and being “that” girl makes me nauseous. But in the interest of time and getting things straightened out, I must do it. I’d send FK in, but we reserve him for the big dogs–things I absolutely refuse to handle.  I’d send Mom in, but that is an absolute last resort. So here I am, Grouchy and Pissy and just in general Cranky.

The Weekend

The weekend was fantastic. Friday, Frank moved all of the stuff into the apartment with the help of my darling brother, Andy, my mother, Mary and my grandma, Rosemary. Grandma really just sat on her chair and directed traffic (which I’m sure was oh-so-helpful!). By the time I got home from work, everything was moved in and we all headed out to return the UHaul and get some dinner. We dined at the always high class Chevy’s. It was yummy! Then after we dropped the family off at home, FK and I got BACK into the car and went to Lombard to a little bit of tidying in his sister Karen’s townhouse. FK had finished cleaning his bedroom and the office prior to the move, but still needed to scrub down the bathroom. At 11 we were finished and back on the road, heading up to Palatine for the night.

The next morning I awakened Frank and we had some cereal and went down to the new apartment in Naperville (READ: A LOT OF DRIVING THIS WEEKEND!) and let the bed movers into the apartment to set up our new bed! The bed is super squishy, very nice quality and a KING. Thank God! I put the sheets on the bed with the new pillows Mom gave us for the shower and washed the duvet. I headed off to the store while FK took a shower. When I came home, we unloaded groceries and I started cleaning while Frank headed off to work. I spent all day scrubbing, doing dishes, doing laundry, organizing, assembling and then later, cooking! We had our first grown up dinner without Missy (my dog) panting at the table, Frank’s sister watching over us, my parents providing commentary or other typical distractions. Yes, we do love our families, but sometimes the peace is just so nice! We washed dishes together and then explored our new apartment complex, finally locating the fitness center and club house–yay!!

Sunday I woke up at my leisure (which is usually 8 or so) and had some breakfast, took a shower, finished some wedding stuff and then went down to the airport. I normally put together a BBQ, but the grill was out of propane so I finished “Thank You” notes instead. Frank’s student made it back just before the storms hit, thankfully, so we were able to get out of the airport in time to grab some dinner with Frank’s (and my) friend Miss Laura P and one of Frank’s coworkers, Dustin H. We had a delightful dinner at Olive Garden before returning to the airport. I dropped Frank off at his car and we chatted a bit longer with Laura and Dustin before Frank went to Naperville and I went to Palatine.

The only downside to this whole apartment thing is that Frank is now 1 hour away as opposed to the previous 30 minute drive we had to endure. This means that we will probably not see eachother as often as we like, but we only have 46 days to go–I think we’ll make it!!

TGIF!

We signed the lease yesterday and took a little tour of our new apartment (well, FK’s until we get married…). How fun! It’s a nice place, although it will be much better once we move our things in and it gets spruced up a bit. I’m so excited to go over there and get started, though. This is such an awesome part of the marriage thing–getting to live together forever… and ever… and ever… FK, are you nervous yet?

Our apartment has two bedrooms and one bathroom. Some of the things I like most about it is that it has a linen closet in the bathroom and a laundry room with washer and dryer. We also have a dishwasher–PRAISE JESUS! I know that once I tidy up, it will be very cute. Hopefully we’ll have nice neighbors. That would be fabulous. Our apartment is on a golf course so FK and I can work on our game.

Just 49 days to go to the BIG DAY! I’m getting chills just thinking about it… eeeeeeeeeeeek!

Happy Thursday!

Today Frank and I sign the lease on our apartment–how exciting! We were able to get an awesome deal on a 2 bedroom first floor apartment in Naperville. The building is close to the train for me and to the airport for FK. Friday FK and my brother, Andy R, are going to move all of our stuff into the apartment and then I will organize and clean after work. Then I will set FK up with an air mattress and go home. Then Saturday morning, bright and early, we will get our brand new king size super squishy bed–yippy! Both of us loved the bed and I am sure that FK will be happy to sleep on something better than a hide-a-bed. (sp?) Of course, he can’t get too comfy taking over the entire bed… In a month and a half he’s going to have to MOVE OVER!

This wedding thing is a little stressful. We have so much stuff left to do and so little time–but we will make it! I have a million to-do lists cruising through my poor brain–eek!

Only 50 days to go!

Hellllo out there!

This weekend was quite busy!

Friday: Went to visit with the wedding coordinator at the church. She had some great ideas that I hope to use for our wedding. We went through the lay-out of the church and hung out in the bridal room. That made me very excited about the wedding! Then I drove to DeKalb to see my friend Katy S who I love very dearly. We had lunch at Ruby Tuesdays and talked about everything we could think of. Then I drove back to Naperville to see the apartment, get a copy of our lease and make sure everything was in order for move-in. The apartment is a good size–2 bedrooms and it has a laundry room too! I made Frank dinner and then we went out with The Grelck’s. Good times. They have a nice apartment and a lovely dog named Giles who is getting neutered today–poor doggy!!

Saturday: Mom and I went down to Naperville and saw my sample bouquet!!! I LOVE IT SOOOO MUCH! They are deep purple cala lillies and they are sooo dramatic! I love them! Frank loved them too–which is always good. After that I went home and helped around the house, ran some errands and went up to Antioch for Frank’s nephew’s birthday. Luke turned 1 on the 25th and we all celebrated together. He was adorable when he was eating his cake. First he tentatively scooped some up, watching his mom to see if she would tell him “no.” When he realized that it was a free-for-all, he went nuts, plastering cake in part of his hair and getting all sugared up! After dinner, I met up with Frank (he worked Sat) and we saw Pirates of the Caribean. That was okay–funny in some parts, but the violence was a touch much in others.

Sunday: SHOWER DAY! What fun!! We ate good food, played a few games and opened presents. Frank was such a good sport 🙂 Afterwards, we were both tuckered out. I was moving some boxes around and he went to lie down for a minute. When I went to check on him, he was out cold. The spot on the bed next to him looked comfy, so I hopped in. Next thing I knew–it was an hour later!!

Anyway, today, Monday, I am back at work. Sigh. Only 53 days to the wedding!!!!!

What I've been up to…

Monday: Worked until 4:30 when my boss said, “Let’s go home!”–so we did. Had dinner with Andrea G–very good times. Had Jimmy Johns and talked about all things wedding, apartment and family related.

Tuesday: Came home at 7:30 and realized a couple of things. First, I gave my Future Mother-in-Law the wrong date for the bridal shower. I am a bad, bad Future Daughter-in-Law. Frank surprised me with a quick visit, which was fabulous. Actually, Frank is such a stud. Our leasing agent was going to put us in a one bedroom with a den on the 3rd floor without an elevator in the dog building. After Frank was done with him, we were in a two bedroom on the ground floor NOT in the dog building. YIPPY! FRANK ROCKS!!!!

Wednesday: Today we are going to meet with our pastor and go over a premarital test we took. It will identify our strengths and weaknesses, etc. And then that will help us work through differences and understand eachother. We are also going to go over our ceremony. YAY!

Thursday: We are meeting with our wedding captains at the reception hall. I have a great idea for a surprise for Frank–shhhh! it’s a secret!!!

Friday: Lounging at the lake ALL day with Erin B and her fiance, John D. I can’t wait!

Only 65 days to the wedding!

Wedding Updates:

Officially received our first RSVP! Andrea and Dave G gave me theirs last night! Yippy! When I tally up my family and FK’s family and the wedding party and the people I know for sure are coming, we already have 58–yeehaw!

Only 66 days to go–I can’t wait!

Wedding Updates:

Busy weekend! Mom, Cait and I finished up all the wedding invitations and sent those out. Mom got the last of them stamped last night–yippy! So now we just get to wait for reply cards, YAY!!!!

FK and I found our wedding bands. Mine is white gold with a thin band of diamonds. My big diamond has little diamond friends!!! FK’s is also white gold, but it’s a larger, more manly ring, and it has a subtle braid going through the center with a bevelled edge (sorta). They are beautiful rings. EEEK!

I also found our bedspread at Linens ‘n Things. I love it–it is red with a gold/green embroidered pattern on it. We are going to go back and get the rest soon.

Only 67 days to go!!

Other Updates:

In sadder news, George was injured today when he tried to take on my brother’s suburban. He lost a tail light and bent his bumper. The suburban’s chrome lining around the wheel well was pulled off. Both cars are will hopefully recover from their injuries in the next couple of weeks. Although, I can’t lie to you… George’s ego is hurt and I think he’s ready for another show down…

Down boy, down…