Our Year...A Future in Review......

The other night, Dave and I wrote down the different events and trips that we have during the course of our year...WOW! Here's what we have so far - email me if we have forgotten an important event and rememeber - this doesn't include holidays. So, here it is:

• April 4-6 Kelly's Wedding in Albany, Georgia


• June - dates TBD - Dave's mom comes to Fla.


• Aug 25- going somewhere fun for Dave's birthday


• October 12- Wedding!! This doesn't include the week prior of craziness including final appointments, etc.


• Sept - dates TBD - Bridal Shower in OKC thrown by my "soul sister" and cousin - Cristy


• December 5-8 - New York City! Dave and I are taking my mom for a surprise ...anyone who wants to join along is welcome! The more people the better!

Not included as well becuase we have no dates whatsoever -- Dave's sister is coming to visit us (hopefully!) and we have a three day Rich Dad seminar that Dave's signed us up for, and my bridal shower here in Clermont!

Like I said above, this also doesn't include all of our holidays...we are strapped!!

Okay, picture of the day comes from the Clearwater Hilton - where we are gathering details, contract, etc. for our ceremony and reception. We visited there on Sunday and it is amazing and perfect! They have completely renovated the hotel and it is just so nice!

We're Off and Running!

So, We survived our trip to the arctic tundra - Minnesota. It was way too cold the entire time and I was sick the entire time. NOT a great way to start the new year. It was so nice to get back home and really dig my feet in the sand to get started on wedding planning.
I have been calling some places for our reception and ceremony sites and it is looking more and more like the Clearwater Beach Hilton is going to be a winner. They can offer us a ceremony on the beach complete with chairs, etc, and alternative indoor location in case the weather isn't so, uh, "favorable", and then also a beautiful location for the reception. One caveat - the reception is almost 20 percent cheaper if we hold it on a Sunday or a Friday. I honestly am leaning towards the Sunday. 20 percent off of $10k is a good amount of money that can be used somewhere else. My only fear was that our out of town guests (almost 80 percent of our guests) would have to take too many days off of work - Then, my mom reminded me that we are only asking them to do this once - to come to Florida for our wedding once. And that it is one of the most important days in a couples life. So, I guess that sold me - if someone doesn't want to come to our wedding becuase of their days off of work, then I guess they shouldn't come. I figured planning a wedding was clouds and puppy dogs the entire time - but I am surprised at how much drama goes into it. Las Vegas looks better every day...Just kidding!!
So, I think Sunday it is -- especially after looking at the menu and our choices.
On a NON-wedding note, I registered for my next semester of school. I am going to take 3 online classes - Personal Health (easy A and a much needed elective), Developmental Psych (still don't know what direction I want to take with my sign language- maybe counseling?) and then Web Publishing (another elective). I've also been researching the different options that I have for taking the Sign Language classes and getting certified. There is a school here called ASL and basically they are an interpretor service. So, doctors offices, law2yers, etc. call the service to get an interpretor. This company also offers the various classes needed to obtain certification. The company offers the classes at $100 each...Valencia offers what I am assuming as the same classes for 200 a class. I am honestly leaning towards going through the interpretation company becuase of the many different services that they offer -one being they will help find a job for those that are certified through their company. I want to go over and look at the school and see if it looks - okay, I guess before I make my final decision.
This has been such a long post, but I haven't written in a while...So, that's where we stand right now with life.
And just for kicks, here is Dave and his cat:

An End to A Year

I can't believe how fast this year has flown by. It seemed just like yesterday when Dave and I were grilling food at the house and celebrating the new year. But, now it is getting ready to be 2008 - the year we will become husband and wife! I have been slacking in the wedding planning department..I think that I am just trying to get my Christmas under control. I am finally going to go shopping this weekend. IT's been crazy juggling school, wedding and work.
I got an A in my Human Sexuality Class and a B in my government class. This next semester, I think I am going to venture out and take 3 classes, I think that I can handle it this semester.
We are going to Minnesota for the New Year's and we still need to get to Oklahoma - but that's a delicate balance of when they will be in town and when Dave can take the next days off. He got screwed at Thanksgiving, when we were originally supposed to go to Okla. and he had to do inventory on that Sunday, so he only had Thursday off, then he worked Friday and Saturday and Sunday, then had Monday off. That really put a dent in our plans!
I guess that's all for now, tons more to write but I need to get back to work!

Countdown!

Location. Location.

Well, the first step to planning our wedding is FINDING a LOCATION! We have a date selected - October 11th. 2008. So this past Sunday, we took the car over to Clearwater Beach to try and find a cool location. We ended up finding this very cool State Park called Honeymoon Island. They were actually breaking down from an event on Saturday so we were able to see what a tent on the beach looks like. There was a small cafe on the beach and inside this cafe, they had a table set up specifically for weddings. We really like this area so hopefully, the contact will get back to me soon with information! After we nail down our location, we just need to secure our guest list and go ahead and send out our Save-The-Date bottles.

On another note, I truly am a lucky woman. I have what most women dream of having. Dave and I have achieved such a cool level of mutual respect and integrity in our relationship. It's so crazy, once you have this - you look at friends and family that may not be in a relationship like this and you hope that they soon find it. It truly is magical.

Let the planning begin!!

First, let me say that I have had such a whirl-wind week. Between getting engaged and having a birthday yesterday, it's been amazing and I am so appreciative of everyone who has played a part in that!

Well, we are starting to kick around tons of ideas. Most of them are not conventional wedding ideas. It seems that Dave and I both have the same thoughts about what we want our wedding to be and that is so cool. To vibe with someone in such an honest way is so, so perfect. We are going to head to St. Augusting maybe next weekend so that we will have some time to look around and enjoy ourselves. Looking for a location is going to be like mini-vacations on their own -- something that we need after long weeks.

My mom is in Houston for the International Quilt Market. I hope she has so much fun! I was supposed to go - but I am inundated with school work this week. My government professor (who had to take the class over approximatley week 4) has been doing a bang up job of trying to get the class organized, but often we have assignments thrown at us from left field. So, tomorrow will be my class catch up day. It's supposed to be pretty rainy here tomorrow - so I won't be able to do my usual Saturday ritual - mowing the lawn. I always go to the grocery store on Saturday - but other than that....school work. And..here's just a random photo of my not-so-little brother. For no reason other than ..I love him!

It's A Beach Thing...

So, we are officially in wedding planning mode, and I have to say -- it's pretty cool! I have never been the girl that has planned her wedding since she was little...maybe my cousin and I forced Barbie to marry Ken - but beyond that - nothing. So, I am completely shocked at the number of websites, books and magazines available for us to plan!
We have pretty much decided on an October/November wedding over near Clearwater!
My goal is to have a fun. relaxing wedding where everyone who attends enjoy themselves. I would also like for each element to be something meaningful to Dave and I. Clearwater is such a special place for us. It's a place where we go to de-stress, take our families, and just to sit and talk and watch the sunset. It's an amazing and magical place.
Hopefully, we will have a date by this weekend so we can at least give a small heads up to our out of town families. Once we have the date, I will collect the wish guest list from the 3 (yes! 3 families) and then start whittling them down and making the main list including addresses. Then. fun save the date cards can go out sometime soon after that! There's alot of work, but coming from event planning as my past career -- I think I am up for the task!