oh, hello

I'm here!

I've just been neglecting this blog lately....

I've been busy planning my wedding, planning another event, and trying to keep my crazy dog out of trouble.

Just so you don't feel like you're completely out of the loop, here's what's been going on:

1. My sister is having a baby in a month; he will be my first nephew!
2. My dog turned two last week and I swear to God she's going through the terrible two's.  I think she's had more accidents and has been crazier than ever this past weekend.
3. I pretty much planned our entire wedding in just over 1 week.
4. I ran into a rolling rack of clothes at work over a week ago and came away with a nasty bruise (that's still here) and a knot on my ankle the size of a ping-pong ball.
5. My dad has twitter and this weekend he figured out how to tweet from his iphone.  It's been interesting....and he doesn't quite have all of the kinks worked out.
6. In addition to planning my wedding, I'm planning a big fundraiser exactly one month before my wedding.  I have a feeling I'll be drinking a lot during those two months.
7. I really suck at words with friends, but I keep playing even though I always lose. :( (hint, hint, friends, you could let me win every once in awhile)
8. I am so excited for football season and cooler weather (and to be done mowing my yard for the year even though Lincoln has done it the last two times...)
9. I have gone to sooo many concerts this summer, one was outside on a very hot day and I'm fairly certain that I could've rung sweat out of my dress.
10. That's it.  I'll hopefully post more soon! :)

the rest of the story...

So Kristin has given you the story of how the proposal went down. But, as with most chronicles, there’s a little more to it. Here’s the rest of the story…

The ring search began with a trip to KC during the work week. I wanted to start looking at different options; plus, it gave me a good excuse to go down and see my boo; but I couldn’t let her know my intentions...so like any good boyfriend would do, I had to lie.

I told Kristin my dad bought a gift in Overland Park for my mom’s birthday and it needed to be picked up. She bought my story because my mom’s birthday was actually coming up the next week, so it worked out pretty well. But as Kristin continued to question me about where I was going and what I was picking up, the fibs grew larger and larger.

The “gift” was some nice kind of coffee maker. Kristin thought it sounded pretty cool so she almost asked to check it out. Luckily I was able to change the subject and let the topic die. The first bullet was dodged.

After visiting another store a week later, I was pretty sure I had found the “one.” The following Friday I was heading to KC, so I took off from work an hour earlier than I had told her so I could get the deal done. I got everything completed and now it was just a matter of picking up the ring.

In the meantime, I almost screwed up my entire plan.

That Sunday, we went to church and decided to grab some Salty Iguana afterwards (their menus smell terrible, btw). On the drive, we started talking about something that reminded me of a conversation I had had at the jewelry store. But, at the time, I didn’t remember the location of my story.

So as I started to tell Kristin, I was like “oh, I remember now.” And then my trusty light bulb came on and I quickly realized I should shut up.  

Oops!

I had gone too far with my story and basically had to tell her not to worry about what I had just said.

I could tell she was completely confused by what was occurring so later on I told her that all I could say was that she’d find out soon enough and it was a good thing. Another crisis averted.

Before Kristin and I took off for Omaha for the weekend, I had one small thing left to do: ask her dad for permission. 

 

I called her dad and asked him out to lunch, and luckily he was free.  We talked for awhile, ate and we were about to head out when I mentioned that I had one more thing I needed to talk to him about...

Her dad responded with "well, just blurt it out already", so I did and thankfully he gave me permission to ask Kristin to marry me.

 

The day that Kristin and I were heading to Omaha for our little getaway, I asked my dad to run down to Joslin’s Jewelry (this is Kristin-best store ever, for real) to pick it up.  He got the ring to me later in the day; just in time for our trek north.

Kristin’s already taken care of all the girly details so I won’t bore you with those J  All I know is she said yes and the wedding planning is in full force!

the proposal

Well...and the rest of our weekend too...

Last weekend Lincoln and I took a trip to Omaha to see one of my FAVORITE singers right now, Jason Aldean.  I have a weird crush on him, but I think it's more because of his voice than his looks...but who knows, really.

Because the concert was on Friday, we decided to make a long weekend of it and went up Thursday night and came home on Sunday.

On our way to the concert on Friday, we stopped off at a bar to grab a few drinks before finishing our walk down to the stadium (which was outside, and if you haven't heard it feels like a balmy 110* on average in the Midwest on most days). 

Once we finished up at the bar we walked outside to a cowboy on a pedi-cab blaring Jason Aldean tunes, so of course I had to hitch a ride with this guy.  He was an interesting fella...

See that chain around his neck?  That was the brake.  And he also had a whip that he insisted we use.

To say we got a few stares on the ride down is an understatement!

Once inside the stadium, we found our seats and I got my camera ready to take a few close-ups of Mr. Aldean.



My feet were about to fall off after standing for the entire concert and walking all the way home so we grabbed a drink at a bar that had a fun band playing after the concert.  I really wanted to find Jason Aldean's tour bus but someone wouldn't let me.

Saturday morning we decided to venture out to the Henry Doorly Zoo, mainly to see an I-max screening of Tornado alley, but since it didn't feel that hot out when we entered the zoo, I figured that we better see all of the animals since we were there, duh.

The penguins were my favorite, but these guys were pretty funny and cute too.

After hitting the zoo and becoming drenched in sweat, we got ready for a nice dinner at 801 Chop House.

If you're a meat eater, this is the place to go!  The steaks were cooked to perfection and we were stuffed.

After dinner we walked downtown through a park and found a bench to sit on (that wasn't covered in bird poop).

The bench was a little uncomfortable and Lincoln was acting a little different...not in a bad way, I think his mind was just a little pre-occupied with other things at that moment. :)

I kept hearing things drop behind me, which of course I assumed was bird poop and I was convinced we were about to get pooped on.  So after awhile, we got up to leave and find a new place to grab a drink at.

When we were almost out of the park, Lincoln stopped and gave me a huge hug and then started saying some nice things and I think all I could say at that point was "oh my God"...repeatedly...because I knew what was happening!! I'm pretty sure I was also shaking at that point too!

Once he asked, he pulled the beauty of a ring out of his pocket and put it on my finger. 

Here we are right after!

I couldn't get over that he kept the ring in his pocket all night and I wasn't aware!  I was surprised to say the least!

While we had been talking about getting engaged for awhile now, I wasn't sure exactly when he would ask.

Hearing all of the stories about him ring shopping without me knowing it and him asking my dad made me laugh a lot (maybe I can convince him to share those later with you guys...hint, hint Lincoln).

The wedding planning has officially begun and we're planning March wedding!  Eek!

he put a ring on it!

Check out my new bling!!!

(good thing my nails were painted this weekend, huh?!)

More details later, but I'm engaged!! 

i am not catholic

It's true.  I'm not.  I never will be either, I'm afraid. 

I grew up Methodist and while I appreciate all religions, I secretly am kind of glad that I'm not Catholic...I get so confused attending Catholic weddings--especially the ones with full mass...I never know when to sit, stand, kneel, sing, let alone pray!

My friend Colleen got married this weekend and I pulled double duty: coordinating the wedding and lighting the candles at the front of the church prior to the ceremony.

My other friend Jess (who also happens to be Methodist) and I were candle-lighters and we were told before walking down the aisle during the rehearsal to bow before we went up to light the candles.  We did that and we rocked it.

We, however, weren't told that we needed to bow after lighting the candles too, so as we were walking down the stairs and getting ready to head back down the aisle, all of our Catholic friends scolded us for not bowing. 

So, what do we do?  We bow. 

To the crowd.  FAIL. 

We should have bowed towards the alter again as we did before lighting the candles. 

This little mishap was of course, the joke of the weekend and everyone warned us before lighting the candles at the wedding to bow towards the alter...oopsie!

While this wasn't my first Catholic wedding and I'm sure it won't be my last, I realized a lot during this ceremony for some reason:

• In addition to the bowing rule, there were so many times that I wasn't sure if I should be sitting, standing, or kneeling.
• They like to sing prayers
• If I had to kneel in a wedding dress for an hour, I would cry
• Kids probably don't enjoy Catholic weddings

Speaking of kids not enjoying Catholic weddings, my good friend, Monica encountered this first-hand at last weekends wedding.

During communion at a wedding, typically the Priest asks that only Catholics participate in the actual receiving of bread and wine...this little tidbit was left out and while most non-Catholics didn't participate, there just happened to be a few (one being a child) who decided that their first communion should take place at this wedding. 

Bad idea. 

Especially in a church full of devout Catholics, most of whom attended Catholic school.

My dear friend Monica could tell from the get-go that the family walking in front of her had no idea what they were doing. 

The little one (maybe about 2) even partook in communion. 

He, however, did not eat the host upon receiving it and instead dropped it on the ground a few times, waved it in the air, and did all things possible not to eat it.

Seeing this happening, Monica approached the mom and explained the importance of the bread and asked a few times that the boy eat it immediately.  Monica explained to the mother that if he didn't eat it that she would have to take it away from him.

He didn't eat it.

Monica is mean.

OK, ok, not really...she was just doing her duty as a faithful Catholic; the bread is viewed as Jesus' body and the wine as his blood.  The bread and wine should be consumed and treated as just that...not dropped all over the floor and waved in the air.

Prior to Monica stealing the kids bread, the mom told her that if she did take it away that he would cry.  Which he did (but most likely because the mom said he would...duh).

We all saw a little commotion going on as this was happening sitting at the back of the church but we weren't prepared for the onslaught that took place afterwards by like every. single. family member of this kid!

DURING THE CEREMONY(!) the grandma of the little boy came up to Monica and asked that she go out and apologize to the child and his mother.  Which she did.

After attempting to apologize, the mom told Mon that she would make a horrible mother, and that she ruined the wedding for their family.

The mother in law came back and later apologized for making her do that during the ceremony...but still: NOT COOL, GRANDMA, NOT COOL.

At the reception, the child's dad, who was also a groomsman, again attacked Monica and explained to her that they weren't aware that they weren't supposed to take communion and blah, blah, blah. 

Lesson: if you aren't sure...don't do it, duh.

After everyone was able to give their two-cents to Monica regarding her communion decision, we were all able to enjoy the reception. 

Colleen (the bride) ended up finding out what happened and called Monica to let her know that she would have reacted the same way--by removing the host from the little boy and apologized for the way the groomsman's family reacted (apparently the wife is a drama-queen anyway...so it wasn't surprising that all of this went on). 

Moral of the story: if in doubt, sit it out (at Catholic weddings, that is....)

happy birthday

...to me!  Can you believe it?! I'm finally legal. 

Ok, so maybe I was legal like 8 years ago...

Apparently my work friends think I'm 40:

For every birthday at work, we get tons of leftover decorations put up all over our desks.  It's very pretty.  Also, my desk is a mess, so please excuse that. 

My cute boyfriend got me a dozen of these lovelies:

And, I've been celebrating by eating all of my favorite foods this week, last night was sushi with the girls at the best sushi place in town, Jun's; lunch today was at my all-time favorite place, La Bodega, and tonight is Italian at Brio with Lincoln.  (someone is going to have to roll me from place to place...) 

Basically, I started celebrating last Friday and as luck would have it one of my besties is getting married this weekend so the partying isn't going to stop any time soon.  We have manis/pedis tomorrow, a luncheon, pool time, and rehearsal dinner tomorrow, and the big day on Saturday!

damn you, auto correct

I know you all have heard of the website, Damn You Auto Correct, if not you have to go there.  Like now.

Anyway, the other night, I had my very own damn you auto correct moment when I was telling Lincoln goodnight (don't you worry I submitted the below to the website).

You see, he was coming to see me the next day and I meant to tell him, "Can't wait to see you tomorrow" instead it came out like this:

GONADS?!  Where the hell did that come from!? I've never typed that in my life!

I seriously had no idea that I'd mistyped something in my text so when he said gonads back to me, I was so confused and could not stop laughing to save my life. 

You can imagine my surprise when I finally looked at my original text and realized that I  was the one who said gonads first...oy.  Stupid Auto Correct.