This New Years Michael and I are laying low. Poor guy has been really sick the past couple days and has to be at work at 6 am tomorrow morning anyway. I actually spent today shopping and reading. Finished the first Hunger Games book and I am in love! Picking up the next two tomorrow.
2011 was a decent year for me. Heres to hoping that 2012 is an even better year. Here is a recap of my year!
January:
Spent New Years at home relaxing with my then fiance. We traveled to Pa as we do every Jan for the Orthodox Christmas. We got stuck in the Philly airport while Atlanta got hit with a horrible ice storm that trapped people in their homes for a week. I also turned 24. Michael also began his MBA program.
February:
Nothing stands out too important. Michael did send me flowers at work for Valentines day :)
March:
Softball started. Michael and I both play in multiple softball leagues. We continued to plan for the wedding. Nothing really stands out, we both just worked a lot.
April:
More wedding planning!
May:
Hot Atlanta weather kicked in! This summer was brutal. I felt like we did something for Memorial Day, but I dont remember.
June:
Michael turned 30! We traveled to Pa for a bridal shower the weekend of his birthday. I planned a surprise party for him while we were up there. With the help of his sister, parents and good friends. My parents traveled up there with us. They stayed at a bed and breakfast in a nearby cute town that resembles Savannah. They really enjoyed it.
July:
Our busy summer continued. My mom and I traveled to Chicago for another bridal shower. My wonderful cousin (well kinda - our moms are cousins) threw the party for me :) We went 4th of July weekend, which is also my moms birthday. Michael and I continued to wrap up plans for the wedding.
August:
This was a really busy month! I was super busy at work and wedding planning. We back to Pa for Michael's cousins wedding. We had a blast. We took a long weekend trip. At the end of the month my parents threw us a couples shower.
September:
The beginning of the month was very busy! I got to travel for work for the first time :) I went to Houston for work then flew from Houston to Indy for my cousins wedding. Had a good time seeing my side of the family. I love traveling to Indy. There is something about my aunts house that is so welcoming. Its my dream house. At the end of the month Mike and Jess (our best man and matron of honor) came in town to help us prepare for the wedding. We had a great time showing them Atlanta. Plus it was great to be able to talk to Jess who has been married for a couple years.
October:
We got married! It was a crazy beginning of the month. We went on our honeymoon in the middle of the month. We did a cruise out of Puerto Rico. We liked out ports of call, but the cruise was only ok. I wouldnt recommend Puerto Rico, but one of our stops, Barbados was absolutely beautiful! I would 100% go back. We got to snorkle (my first time) and swim with turtles. Poor Michael had a slight cold and was all stuffy and couldnt snorkle well.
November:
Had our first married Thanksgiving. Which is exactly the same as our past thanksgivings :) We have just been working and relaxing trying to recoop from the wedding madness.
December:
I got our house ready for Christmas and have been working like crazy! Michael has been referring a lot of basketball games. He referrers high school basketball.
In 2012 we have lots of plans and I cannot wait to see what the year holds. Lets hope the Mayan calendar is wrong, because I am really excited for the next year. My overall goal is to be a better person overall. Stop being lazy and really take care of myself and my family.
Saturday, December 31, 2011
Wednesday, December 28, 2011
What I learned as a bride
There is a LOT you learn as a bride. No one tells you or shall I say warn you before you begin. I think other brides are sitting back laughing at you while you figure the nightmare out. Here is what I learned while being a bride:
1. You will have sympathy for the ladies on Brideszillas. You will begin to understand why they are freaking out. Plus a camera in your face the WEEK of your wedding. Now some are downright awful, but some...well I get it ladies...its ok!
2. Vendors will expect you to know everything and act like you've done this before. That was the most frustrating part. I have NEVER planned a wedding before...I was not a bride in a past life.
3. You MUST have a coordinator day of. There is WAY to many moving parts even in the simplest wedding to do it yourself. All the planning before hand...sure do it all yourself. But day of...hire someone! Or like me have a great boss who loves to do weddings as a hobby.
4. You will have a meltdown at some point. Something will push you over the edge because you are being pulled in a thousand directions.
5. Do EVERYTHING early. This is where my groom came in. I always do things last minute (who doesnt love working under pressure). He made me sit down and do stuff early and man am I glad he did!
6. Sometimes you just need to say Fuck It! You can't hand make everything and not everything will get done. Some things will be forgotten or need to be purchased last minute. Just hand over the credit card and say fuck it.
7. You can set a budget, but you will go over. We did, but not too bad.
8. Pay for it yourself if you can. No one can give their two cents (they will want to though) when you are paying for it. Plus its a good excuse to say no.
9. Watch the guest list. We did ours in 2 rounds. Round 1 - family. Both of our families and extended families live out of town so we did the invites of people you have to invite. 2nd round was local friends who would understand if you couldnt invite them bc of family.
10. You can't do everything yourself. Let people help. That was the hardest for me.
11. Don't go overboard. Its ONE day! At the beginning think of what you will not scrimp on (food, flowers?) and think of other things that are not that important to you (chair covers, center pieces, etc). Think of what you remember from other peoples weddings...you wont remember the little things.
12. Your groom is your partner! And after the wedding you still have to face him and your family. Treat them with respect, they are also stressing.
13. You love him, but you will freak out and get nervous the week or day of. It WILL hit you. Michaels was caught on tape! haha You will feel much better afterwards.
14. Get use to being the center of attention. UUH! hardest for me. I had 3 showers - again they are all there for YOU as a bride....no one cares about the groom at showers.
I enjoyed my wedding, but good lord I wont go through that again! And we didnt even have a big wedding. Remember as a bride to breath and relax!
1. You will have sympathy for the ladies on Brideszillas. You will begin to understand why they are freaking out. Plus a camera in your face the WEEK of your wedding. Now some are downright awful, but some...well I get it ladies...its ok!
2. Vendors will expect you to know everything and act like you've done this before. That was the most frustrating part. I have NEVER planned a wedding before...I was not a bride in a past life.
3. You MUST have a coordinator day of. There is WAY to many moving parts even in the simplest wedding to do it yourself. All the planning before hand...sure do it all yourself. But day of...hire someone! Or like me have a great boss who loves to do weddings as a hobby.
4. You will have a meltdown at some point. Something will push you over the edge because you are being pulled in a thousand directions.
5. Do EVERYTHING early. This is where my groom came in. I always do things last minute (who doesnt love working under pressure). He made me sit down and do stuff early and man am I glad he did!
6. Sometimes you just need to say Fuck It! You can't hand make everything and not everything will get done. Some things will be forgotten or need to be purchased last minute. Just hand over the credit card and say fuck it.
7. You can set a budget, but you will go over. We did, but not too bad.
8. Pay for it yourself if you can. No one can give their two cents (they will want to though) when you are paying for it. Plus its a good excuse to say no.
9. Watch the guest list. We did ours in 2 rounds. Round 1 - family. Both of our families and extended families live out of town so we did the invites of people you have to invite. 2nd round was local friends who would understand if you couldnt invite them bc of family.
10. You can't do everything yourself. Let people help. That was the hardest for me.
11. Don't go overboard. Its ONE day! At the beginning think of what you will not scrimp on (food, flowers?) and think of other things that are not that important to you (chair covers, center pieces, etc). Think of what you remember from other peoples weddings...you wont remember the little things.
12. Your groom is your partner! And after the wedding you still have to face him and your family. Treat them with respect, they are also stressing.
13. You love him, but you will freak out and get nervous the week or day of. It WILL hit you. Michaels was caught on tape! haha You will feel much better afterwards.
14. Get use to being the center of attention. UUH! hardest for me. I had 3 showers - again they are all there for YOU as a bride....no one cares about the groom at showers.
I enjoyed my wedding, but good lord I wont go through that again! And we didnt even have a big wedding. Remember as a bride to breath and relax!
Tuesday, December 27, 2011
Christmas Recap
I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas. Mine was nice and relaxing. Michael and I held it at our house. Nothing too crazy, just us, my parents and little brother. I cooked most of the food, which I am really proud of. We had a couple of snafoos though. We had bought a ham and a roast for Christmas dinner, but when we pulled the roast out to cook it had gone bad :( My mom also forgot to bring the stuffing she made and we made rolls, but left them in the oven. Oh well!
We had a pretty successful Christmas present wise as well. I got Michael a handful of things, kinda went a little overboard. He bought new golf clubs and I paid for half. Then I bought him tickets to a Predators vs. Flyers game in a couple weeks. Michael is a HUGE hockey fan and now that Atlanta does not have a hockey team, Nashville is the closest place to go for hockey. We are making a weekend our of it. I also got him 2 passes for golf at a local golf club through Groupon. I also got him Flyers cuff links.
I got pretty spoiled as well. I got my Amish cookbook early :) I also got all these goodies:
We had a pretty successful Christmas present wise as well. I got Michael a handful of things, kinda went a little overboard. He bought new golf clubs and I paid for half. Then I bought him tickets to a Predators vs. Flyers game in a couple weeks. Michael is a HUGE hockey fan and now that Atlanta does not have a hockey team, Nashville is the closest place to go for hockey. We are making a weekend our of it. I also got him 2 passes for golf at a local golf club through Groupon. I also got him Flyers cuff links.
I got pretty spoiled as well. I got my Amish cookbook early :) I also got all these goodies:
Michael framed our wedding photo for us.
I needed a new hair straighter pretty bad. Michael got me a good one :)
My parents got me the Sugarland and Miranda Lambert CD.
I also got The Help. Watched it yesterday and loved it. I should of read the book first.
My mom got us some Rachel Ray cookware. We have wanted it for a while.
The awesomess present from Michael :)
Bachelor/Bachelorette Parties
The Friday before we got married we held our bachelor and bachelorette parties. Thanks to a WONDERFUL lady I work w/ (she gave us a whole bunch of gift cards to a fun Atlanta restaurant). We all got together for some drinks and yummy food then went our separate ways. Us girls went to an improve theater for a show. It was soo much fun and hysterical. That was it...nothing too crazy, just some good laughs and drinks. Here are some photos:
Now...the boys...thats a different story. You will see no photos of that night...im sure there are none. Here is the story and yes it will slightly resemble the movie The Hangover...
After dinner the boys went to a local bar to see a band and drink. Nothing crazy...(I am very comfortable w. us and wouldnt of cared if they went to a strip club - but they didnt). After lots of beers and shots the guys headed home around 3 am (I was staying at a local hotel and thankfully missed this)...after pulling over on the side of the highway to let a groomsmen puke...they make it to the same hotel I was staying to drop off a groomsmen. This is when groomsmen D decided he wanted to make a run for it...reasons still unknown. He was completely blastered. The bestman had to tackle him in the parking lot and force him into the car. When they all got back to our house groomsmen D decided to make a break for it...again! This time he tried to get into his car to drive home. Best man slams him against the car to stop him and groomsmen D decides to throw his keys into a neighbors yard...After chasing him around outside they finally get him into the house. Everyone goes to find a spot to change and pass out they realize groomsmen D is gone again. So out they go to try and track him down. Michael and his best man are sober so all is good there. They drive around the area w/ no luck of finding him so they go back to the house. About an hour later they hear a car alarm going off. Groomsmen D tried to sleep under one of the cars at the house and set off the alarm and took off again. He reappears around 6 am at our back porch scaring the crap out of my sister-in-law who was sleeping in the living room. He ended up getting poison ivy on his face (which appeared the day after the wedding thank god) and loosing his phone. Not to mention a HORRIBLE hang over that the best mans one-year-old daughter made worse by playing w/ loud toys first thing in the morning.
I didnt even believe this when I woke up and heard the stories. It is funny to laugh at now, but boy Michael was not laughing that night.
Boys.....
After dinner the boys went to a local bar to see a band and drink. Nothing crazy...(I am very comfortable w. us and wouldnt of cared if they went to a strip club - but they didnt). After lots of beers and shots the guys headed home around 3 am (I was staying at a local hotel and thankfully missed this)...after pulling over on the side of the highway to let a groomsmen puke...they make it to the same hotel I was staying to drop off a groomsmen. This is when groomsmen D decided he wanted to make a run for it...reasons still unknown. He was completely blastered. The bestman had to tackle him in the parking lot and force him into the car. When they all got back to our house groomsmen D decided to make a break for it...again! This time he tried to get into his car to drive home. Best man slams him against the car to stop him and groomsmen D decides to throw his keys into a neighbors yard...After chasing him around outside they finally get him into the house. Everyone goes to find a spot to change and pass out they realize groomsmen D is gone again. So out they go to try and track him down. Michael and his best man are sober so all is good there. They drive around the area w/ no luck of finding him so they go back to the house. About an hour later they hear a car alarm going off. Groomsmen D tried to sleep under one of the cars at the house and set off the alarm and took off again. He reappears around 6 am at our back porch scaring the crap out of my sister-in-law who was sleeping in the living room. He ended up getting poison ivy on his face (which appeared the day after the wedding thank god) and loosing his phone. Not to mention a HORRIBLE hang over that the best mans one-year-old daughter made worse by playing w/ loud toys first thing in the morning.
I didnt even believe this when I woke up and heard the stories. It is funny to laugh at now, but boy Michael was not laughing that night.
Boys.....
Monday, December 26, 2011
Project 365
Stay tuned!
Sunday, December 25, 2011
reading goal almost accomplished
The next book series I will tackle is (before the movie comes out of course....
Merry Christmas
For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.
Luke 2:11
Luke 2:11
I hope your Christmas is everything you hope for and that you feel loved. Christmas is bitter sweet for me. I miss my dad and my childhood at Christmas. I hate Christmas in Ga...no snow :( Today its just raining. I wish I could of gone up to Indy to be with family, but Michael had to work today. I am hosting Christmas today for Michael, myself, my parents and little brother. It will be quiet and relaxing.
Time for me to get back to cooking and cleaning!
Saturday, December 24, 2011
Home Fries
Michael is determined to make home fries like they do in diners. He misses food from up north. This morning we got close with these homemade home fries. We took 4 potatos (way to much! 3 was plently) rinsed them and kept the skins on. Used our very cheap $6 mandalin to slice them up thin. On our large skillet thing (the name is escaping me now) we cooked some onions and minced garlic until translucent. Added the potatos and seasoned with salt, pepper and some italian seasonings.
They were tasty!
They were tasty!
Wedding Part 2
I hope you enjoyed seeing the photos from wedding part 1. We had a WONDERFUL wedding. We belong to a Greek Orthodox church so our ceremony was very traditional in the Orthodox sense. Our wedding was on a Sunday so the ceremony was only 45 mins to an hour and not an hour and a 1/2 like they normally are. It was beautiful and I am really glad we did that.
Our wedding party was awesome! Most was from out of state so we were very lucky they agreed to travel and be part of our day. We had no drama with the wedding party..whew! Only some funny hiccups before hand, which I will get into in another post. Our wedding day was a drama free day :)
One of my big things was I wanted everyone to have fun at the reception and I think it was pretty fun! Our DJ was AMAZING!!! Everyone was up and dancing, including our grandmas!
I would recommend ALL of our vendors we used. If you are in the Atlanta area look these guys up (no one has asked me to do this, We just had a GREAT experience w/ all) :
Flowers: Perfect Petals
DJ: T & C Show
Photography/Videography: Chris Brock
Reception (they did all food, drink, cake, set up and break down!) : Olde Towne Athletic Club
Now more photos!
Our wedding party was awesome! Most was from out of state so we were very lucky they agreed to travel and be part of our day. We had no drama with the wedding party..whew! Only some funny hiccups before hand, which I will get into in another post. Our wedding day was a drama free day :)
One of my big things was I wanted everyone to have fun at the reception and I think it was pretty fun! Our DJ was AMAZING!!! Everyone was up and dancing, including our grandmas!
I would recommend ALL of our vendors we used. If you are in the Atlanta area look these guys up (no one has asked me to do this, We just had a GREAT experience w/ all) :
Flowers: Perfect Petals
DJ: T & C Show
Photography/Videography: Chris Brock
Reception (they did all food, drink, cake, set up and break down!) : Olde Towne Athletic Club
Now more photos!
Friday, December 23, 2011
early Christmas present
Merry Christmas Eve Eve!
I have been trying to get into the Christmas spirit, but its been tough this year. Part of it I think is the weather! Its been in the 70s here in Atlanta lately. Yesterday we had tornado warnings...say what! I miss snow. People thing Michael and I are crazy for LOVING snow, but we grew up where it snowed in the winter. To us Christmas is just not Christmas without snow. Come on Atlanta it snowed last year on Christmas day!
Anywho...today Michael and went from store to store to get last minute gifts...it wore me out! Being the super sweet person he is, Michael gave me one of my Christmas gifts early (I think bc he got a gift early too...he bought new golf clubs and I paid for half as part of his present). Anyway....my Christmas present was an Amish cookbook!
I am so excited!! I have really gotten into cooking and baking lately (especially baking) I really wanted an Amish cookbook. Michael grew up in Pa near the Amish and he misses being able to get their fresh food and meats. One reason I cannot wait to move to Pa.
I look forward to trying recipes and I will post them!
I have been trying to get into the Christmas spirit, but its been tough this year. Part of it I think is the weather! Its been in the 70s here in Atlanta lately. Yesterday we had tornado warnings...say what! I miss snow. People thing Michael and I are crazy for LOVING snow, but we grew up where it snowed in the winter. To us Christmas is just not Christmas without snow. Come on Atlanta it snowed last year on Christmas day!
Anywho...today Michael and went from store to store to get last minute gifts...it wore me out! Being the super sweet person he is, Michael gave me one of my Christmas gifts early (I think bc he got a gift early too...he bought new golf clubs and I paid for half as part of his present). Anyway....my Christmas present was an Amish cookbook!
I am so excited!! I have really gotten into cooking and baking lately (especially baking) I really wanted an Amish cookbook. Michael grew up in Pa near the Amish and he misses being able to get their fresh food and meats. One reason I cannot wait to move to Pa.
I look forward to trying recipes and I will post them!
I AM MARRIED! Part 1
We got hitched! October 9, 2011 was a wonderful day! Here is a recap of the day and some photos! I have some stories that will make good blog posts for the days leading up to it. The day of was perfect though.
I got up around 8 am to start getting ready...thankfully my mom had reserved a hotel room for me because I needed some quiet and alone time. I went down to the hotel room where 2 bridesmaids were staying, that is where we all got ready. I had 5 bridesmaids, myself, my mom, the makeup artiest and hair stylist and the random visitor all in one room. I did as a co-worker said I found a compfy chair in the corner and SAT all day watching everything happen around me. We were all very calm and just watched Keeping up with the Kardhasians and Kendra all morning.
2:00 pm - after all 5 bridesmaids were ready to go they left to ride the trolley w/ Michael and the guys. My mom stayed back with me when I finished getting ready (and of course we were running a little late). My stepdad and I drove to the church together - he rented a town car for us to drive in :) a last minute decision...ill get into that in another post.
4:00 pm - wedding started! It was a long ceremony (about an hour) because we are Orthodox Christians and had a traditional wedding ceremony, but I wouldnt change it for the world. During the ceremony I had to face the groomsmen and they kept making me laugh and at one point I almost caught on fire! HAHA....one of the guys assisting the priest had to stand behind us holding something and stepped on my veil and jerked my head back, which made me laugh so hard! My maid of honor fixed my veil, but forgot she was holding a candle....I could of went up in flames! haha
6:00 pm - RECEPTION! It was beautiful and more perfect then we thought. We were soo glad how everything turned out. We really had fun and didnt worry about anything.
Now - some photos!
I got up around 8 am to start getting ready...thankfully my mom had reserved a hotel room for me because I needed some quiet and alone time. I went down to the hotel room where 2 bridesmaids were staying, that is where we all got ready. I had 5 bridesmaids, myself, my mom, the makeup artiest and hair stylist and the random visitor all in one room. I did as a co-worker said I found a compfy chair in the corner and SAT all day watching everything happen around me. We were all very calm and just watched Keeping up with the Kardhasians and Kendra all morning.
2:00 pm - after all 5 bridesmaids were ready to go they left to ride the trolley w/ Michael and the guys. My mom stayed back with me when I finished getting ready (and of course we were running a little late). My stepdad and I drove to the church together - he rented a town car for us to drive in :) a last minute decision...ill get into that in another post.
4:00 pm - wedding started! It was a long ceremony (about an hour) because we are Orthodox Christians and had a traditional wedding ceremony, but I wouldnt change it for the world. During the ceremony I had to face the groomsmen and they kept making me laugh and at one point I almost caught on fire! HAHA....one of the guys assisting the priest had to stand behind us holding something and stepped on my veil and jerked my head back, which made me laugh so hard! My maid of honor fixed my veil, but forgot she was holding a candle....I could of went up in flames! haha
6:00 pm - RECEPTION! It was beautiful and more perfect then we thought. We were soo glad how everything turned out. We really had fun and didnt worry about anything.
Now - some photos!
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