and then there was one…

whoa! one week, seven days i would have the hours figured out, but i think that may be a bit too extreme! and kevin and i will be married. i have butterflies in my stomach every time i think about it, which turns out, seems to be all the time. and the butterflies seem to be getting bigger, maybe they are pterodactyls instead.  yesterday we went and got the marriage license, which was really unceremonious and i think i need to publicly thank the town clerk of newington for doing us a favor-at least that is how she acted. SOOOOOOO sorry that your hours are not posted on the website and we showed up ten minutes before you close. here’s a tip, try having a sense of humor! oh and you can thank me for that bald spot on the top of your head. not my fault you don’t understand that mystic is actually two towns and i swear i know what i am talking about when i say the boat is in stonington. we were describing what we were planning on doing and it got to the point where she said, and i quote, “i don’t even want to know…that is all too confusing…”  which makes me wonder, how valid is this piece of paper? we shall see!! she signed it and notarized it! and now it is filed with the REALLY important papers…in the glove compartment of my car…

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what a wonderful day for a shower…

yes it rained too! in fact it poured on my way home and let me tell you…the merritt parkway? does not drain! and huge puddles at anything over 25 mph was not happening. overall my wedding shower put on my by sister who is henceforth going to be called martha, was just perfect! Mary a.k.a Martha put together a little party at grandmas house with the aunts (dad comes from a family of 8) we had brunch and mimosas:

seriously look at that cute dress martha is wearing!!! then there were presents and games…

i never expected that!!!

waterford crystal from mom and dad-the cards were priceless…

my aunt colleen told me that i was not allowed to cut any of the ribbons, i think it had something to do with luck and how many babies there would be. since i am not one to tempt fate, i did not cut any ribbons and instead wore them on my head (the baby thing is not a possibility but still…)

there was cake!

me, martha and aunt pattie…

me and rita…

my aunt colleen (who is really only a few years older than me and effortlessly bridged the age gap!)

that’s aunt jeanie, who had the COOLEST room with a Pegasus on the wall in the mansion when i was growing up…

this is Anne, who is married to johnny who refers to kevin as his ‘good friend kevin’ and when kevin first met the family the similarities between johnny and kevin were uncanny and my uncle tom turned to me and said that i would have to get permission from johnny if i ever thought kevin and i were to break up!

and that is grandma fritzen, and i know i am biased, but she is the best grandmother anyone could EVER ask for…EVER! i couldn’t have asked for a more perfect day. Thanks Mary!!!!!!

oh and here is mary in her dress for the big day!

as i drove home i thought about how fortunate i am to have such caring, loving people in my life…

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a little inspiration…

two weeks from today, kevin and i will be married! and with all the excitement and anticipation i am feeling i was also reminded about the commitment we both are making. today in the mail i got an announcement about my cousin and her husband who are celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary. they are the most loving couple and the most fun couple anyone can ever wish to meet and i have the honor of calling them family! i can only aspire to have a relationship as strong and loving as these two…

Congrats Janet and Lyle!!

(their sons put together this little website!)

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this morning…

i woke up with carly simons song ‘anticipation’ in my head…coincidence??? i think knot!!

p.s thank you for the deodorant advice, i am getting off work early and heading straight to target!

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thursday thoughts…

• last night was the first of i think many times when my stomach will be in my throat and flashbacks of emergency room visits will come roaring back. at football, nick had a bad tackle and was down for the count. he walked off the field, which is when i started breathing again, and stayed on the sidelines, upright. good sign. we took him home early and decided not to rush him off to the emergency room. i think he strained some back muscles. i will now have to remember that if he walks off that is a good sign, if he eats like a horse when we get home, an even better sign. i have a feeling this is going to be a long season…
• today is the great garden project at work, i pray it doesn’t rain pretty much only because i want this done and not dragged out till next week…
• final dress fitting! went well, dress still fits, in fact they took it in a bit more, now i just pick it up the day before the wedding, mom and i had a fantastic dinner and everything is falling into place…
• classes start the tuesday after the wedding, i am already getting my books in the mail and i am having a hard time thinking that i only have four more classes, then the thesis. (cue ominous music in the background…)
• i am in need of a really strong deodorant, one that doesn’t leave marks but kicks the stink away for a looooonnnnggg time…gross i know, but any and all suggestions are greatly appreciated!
• as for my garden, i think i may just have to pull up everything and call it good, i haven’t had time to visit since we got back from vacation and i feel horrible for neglecting it, but it was the first year, i know what to do now and i am really looking forward to next year…
• i CANNOT wait until sunday, my sister is throwing a shower for me with the aunts in jersey, i am really looking forward to spending some time with them all and my grandma, mary says no boys allowed, maybe i can glean some strong deodorant advice from one of them!
• this is the last hurry up and wait day for the week…is it time for bed yet?

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because i am a putz…

or a klutz, i haven’t quite figured it out yet. let me explain. on monday i found out a co-worker of mine was playing in a mud volleyball tournament on saturday. i thought, mud? volleyball? how cool would that be! so i told her i was interested. even after she informed me to bring at least an entire roll of duct tape to tape your shoes on to your feet. i still felt that was something i would be good at, and have fun. all week i had been looking forward to getting insanely dirty and perhaps partaking in a few adult sophisticated beverages at totally inappropriate times.

then it dawned on me, i am getting married in three weeks. an activity that requires the use of both arms and more importantly both legs. and after thirty years, i think i know myself pretty well. i KNOW i would have either, broken a finger, a wrist, or a shoulder. sprained an ankle, torn a ligament or all around just gotten plain beaten up. in which case i would have been really upset with myself. it is a little known fact that i am in fact a klutz. exhibit a: seventh grade playing basketball i was running backwards and tripped over my own two feet and broke my wrist. exhibit b: senior year of high school i was riding my horse, it spooked and while my horse went one way, i went the other resulting in a terrible fall, injured back and major concussion, a concussion that led me to believe that while i was semi-conscience on the couch i thought the dog had exploded. exhibit c: junior year of college, walking off a curb, stepped wrong and tore ligaments in my ankle. these are just some of the many instances where my general presence can cause me harm. i had a frequent visitor card to the local emergency room.

overall, i decided to error on the side of caution. i am only getting married once, and that one day i would like to not have a splint, a sling, or crutches to be in any of the pictures. am i sorry i backed out on my friend? of course! but as i sit here typing this, both my hands are working fine, i can walk, and i am not concerned that dog is exploding in the background…

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the hurry up and wait syndrome…

we have all been there, a day full of stuff to do but not enough time to do it all. for example, yesterday:

• hurry up and get ready to go to work, only to wait until the proper time to drop nick off for camp
• at work, hurry up and get the checks ready, only to wait for the mail man (note to vendors-i have no control over when the mail goes out!)
• hurry up and get the deposits ready, only to wait to take them to the bank
• hurry home to start a load of laundry (we were past the bottom of the drawer underwear) only to wait to put it in the dryer
• hurry to pick up nick for his appointment, only to wait half an hour to actually have said appointment
• hurry home to pick up something to eat, while nick got ready for practice, hurry to get laundry out of the dryer-i don’t trust most of the people who use the community dryer and i thought for sure whoever had their pile of still wet, now getting moldy clothes on top of the dryer was going to do something awful to our laundry, only to wait while nick put his cleats on
• hurry over to football practice only to wait until the end. of course this was the longest waiting of the day which allowed me to calm my racing thoughts, eat a sandwich and read a bit of my book (which by the way is just fascinating, it is about Kaiser Willehelm II mother, a daughter of queen victoria)
• after practice there wasnt as much hurrying to get home, made lunches and coffee for the next morning, brushed my teeth, took the dog out and finally got to sit down with nothing looming ahead of me…

it feels like that has been my entire week and school has not even started yet. bring on the weekend!

p.s three weeks from today will be the biggest hurry up and wait day and on that day it will not bother me! because we are getting married!! YaY!!

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we are all home now!

when we go on vacation, our dog, hobbes, gets his own type of vacation. my parents are gracious enough to take care of him. he LOVES it. dad takes him for walks to go see the cows, he can go out on the deck through the sliding door whenever it pleases him, mom feeds him pretty much everything, and there is a smorgasbord of poop of all varieties in vast backyard. last night we went to pick him up. i think he is happy to be home, not sure if he thinks his vacation was too short. but i had noticed a little void, a missing presence, when he was gone and i am just glad to have him home!

i am also grateful that everyone else who was traveling, made it home safe especially my future father in law. who stayed with us for a few days, was able to go to a yankees games with his sons and blessed us with bagels every morning.

(alright, so this picture isnt exactly from vacation, just imagine him minus the jacket and with yankees hat on!)

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back to the real world…

why is it that vacations are always way too short? this past week i spent on the beach, with my sister, with my future in-laws, eating good food and just being. and saturday morning? came way too fast! i could have sworn that i had just unpacked my suitcase! the house was great, steps from the beach and had everything we could ask for, it wasn’t until the last night, when we had five people showering that the ceiling in the kitchen decided to leak…ALOT! but i spent time (lots of it!) on the beach!

and did not get burned!! Nick got to go kayaking

he is just cool!

and as much as i am not supposed to talk about ‘break dancing’…i think it runs in the sanford genes!

this is my nephew…Ha i just said nephew!! he really had an itch in his ear but had sand on his hands, but the way i caught it, really just made me laugh. it is just so much fun to be with this family of mine and to think the next time we see them, kevin and i will be married. not that anything will be much different, but it will and i cannot wait to be a part of such a loving, generous family. and really how could you not want to be a part of a family that passes break dancing down to its progeny?!?

oh and p.s-we are within a month! and here is a pic of my shoes!

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