Tuesday, May 25, 2010

The Wedding Hair Cut from Down Under

Last night I gave Kyle his final haircut before the wedding just long enough in advance for it to grow out a little before the big day. Before we began I took extra care cleaning up the kitchen after our first dinner with all of my new kitchen stuff--to gain my composure. On a side note, chicken fried steak, mashed taters and zuchini were on the menu. Note the glass. Yep, 8 of em. With grandma cc, re-gifts are never a negative.





Anywho, before we began, Kyle said. "You mess up on this...and..." I like to think he paused there because he couldn't think of a big enough threat. To which I replied, "No pressure, though. Right?" And despite the fact that half-way through the trim I managed to get more of his ear than hair in my scissors, he admitted that it was the best haircut I'd ever given. Then, as usual, he styled it. But this time he asked me to take a picture.





And I thought, awww he wants to save a photo of his wedding haircut for posterity. But then he turned to the left, right and even made me take a picture of the back of his head. Necessary? I think not.











Then he studied them. And still decided that it was the best haircut ever. And he WAS NOT just saying that because he yelled so loud when I nearly clipped his ear off that I started crying. Definately NOT. hahahahha

Wednesday, May 19, 2010

The way things are

The wedding is practically here. And while I am sure that I will pause to reflect once more before the wedding, I would like to do so now as I think about how things have changed for me and for Kyle and I as a couple over the past year. One year ago, I was in a transition of a different sort. I was dreading UCF but very excited to have finished the milestone of BCC by getting my AA. I was also dating and hanging out with all the wrong people. And though I had stopped being friends with all the people I knew were bringing me down, the quest for new and better friends was one mistake after another. Then my two wonderful sisters gave me a bit of advice each that I feel may have helped turn things around. Holly have me Psalm 37:4 when I told her I felt like I was doing everything wrong and getting no closer to what I felt I needed. Delight in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart. The difficult part of that verse is not just saying, "okay, that's how I get what I want," but truly remembering to DELIGHT in the lord, not just do enough to get your way. Then Leah reminded me that there is nothing I can imagine or dream up for myself that is better than what God has for me. And I am a dreamer and a planner by trade, so that was hard to swallow. Ever since I was ten and started watching A Wedding Story on TLC, I have dreamt up my perfect relationship and never managed to create it. But God did. But the real reason I am writing this is because of my dealings with the changes in a relationship.

When dating starts, it's all about eachother. Your thoughts are consumed by him, and his by you. You will do anything to please him, make him laugh, happy, full or whatever. Then when you're engaged, all of that is amplified. I think being engaged has been the happiest time in my life. But once the engagement turns into planning mode, for me anyway, I began to feel pushed out of my own relationship. Suddenly I wasn't the bride, but the planner. Not the love interest of my groom, but the food taster, music picker and whatever else needed done. And not all the time, of course. But enough to make me want this wedding to get planned quick fast and in a hurry. What I'm saying is, tonight my parents' small group prayed for Kyle and I. They made a circle around us and each one that felt close to us prayed for our marriage. And I felt this huge rush come over me as my excitement came back. For a month I've been wearing blinders. Now I just want to breathe and think about marriage, not just the getting married part. You know what I mean? I want to imagine again, and dream things up. Then I will be happy to do what Leah told me, and watch God do it in his own better way. And I will be happy to delight in that plan, like Holly told me, and watch God give me what he knows I desire. I am so excited for my wedding, and the honeymoon, and especially for my family to be here. And this whole planning part has been a lesson in patience and the ability to look past what seems close and to accept what seems too far. If you are reading this, you must really love me. Becuase you just finished a really long reflection by a really over-tired bride-to-be. And if you're reading this, I love you too!

Tuesday, May 18, 2010

Top Ten Tuesday

I love my little apartment. But I just realized...You know your apartment is tiny if...

10. You often sit down on the couch and remember that both remotes are in the kitchen, because that is where you watch most of your tv from.

9. Half way through any movie you watch (because if you could afford a bigger apartment you could probably afford cable and not watch movies all the time), your fiance gets up and brings his bed into the living room to lay on it. Then you do the same, because it is so much more comfy that way.

8. At the end of each evening, you can spray one paper towel with fabuloso and wipe from the top left corner of your kitchen to the bottom right hand corner with that same paper towel, then throw it away and have a perfectly spotless kitchen floor in about 15 seconds.

7. While your fiance is in the shower, you can have perfectly normal converstaions about his day while making his dinner.

6. But if you try to run water in the kitchen while he showers, you will get in big trouble.

5. You laugh at yourself when you catch yourself calling the door, "the front door" as if there were a side door, or a back door or any other door other than the bathroom door.

4. You often get into tiffs with your fiance when he refuses to leave the kitchen because until he does that, you can't open the dishwasher or the oven.

3. You can say, "goodnight, I love you, sleep well" to your fiance from the hallway, and he'll say it back. Because he heard you loud and clear.

2. Once, the first and only time you had someone over for dinner, you let her have her own chair at the table, and you ate dinner in your fiance's lap.

1. All of the pictures from your old bedroom fill up all but 2 walls.

Monday, May 17, 2010

Not Me Monday


I love it when Kyle says I have sick breath. Sick breath makes me feel sexy.

I am not looking forward to my wedding shower next saturday, and I am not scared that no one will show up.

I did not just finish the second season of Army Wives before even leaving my bed this morning.

I did not give my shift away tomorrow because I do not have to try on my wedding dress for the last time. I definatley would have been too busy to go to work, really.


I am not at all excited to the point of no sleep that my family will be here in a week and 2 days. That does not sound too far away and close all at the same time.

I certainly do not need to get all the junk out of my room this week.


The tux shop did not decide to be closed the entire weekend of the wedding and is not making me feel guilty for them having to come in and give my out-of-towners their tuxes the Saturday before the wedding.

Kyle and I did not watch the first 45 minutes of Avatar in black and white this weekend before we guessed that there was something wrong with the tv, because isn't Avatar supposed to be the most visually stimulating movie of our time? Nah, black and white seemed totally normal.

Last night, I did not cry in the cat adoption center of PetCo. I do not think that our landlord can suck it if he thinks we're not gonna get a cat after he gave us an apartment that is a giant debt-hole.

Kyle did not promise to get me a kitty after the honeymoon. I do not think that is too far away.

Monday, May 3, 2010

We've got hobbies!

Friday night we stayed up until 12 doing homework, then until 2 watching Jungle Book. Will I ever do that again?--stay up late when I know Kyle's an early riser and is going to wake me up at 9 no matter how early we go to bed? Probably. So since we were up so early we went out for bagels and a little trip to the flea market. There we found a used robins-egg blue beach cruiser for $23 being sold by an Asian woman whose pink lace thong came up way higher than her khaki shorts would allow. Kyle talked about it for an hour. We somehow got the bike into Kyle's backseat and spent all day taking parts from a bike we found and replacing, painting, waiting, painting, oiling...and so on. I still need a basket for it, but it's pretty much honeymoon ready. We're gonna buy Kyle one that doesn't need quite so much love. But we're very proud of it. And may I just say, I have yet to hand Kyle a peice of machinery that he doesn't know how to disassemble and reassemble. Have you ever seen the inside of a bicycle? Cool!





Here it is being taken apart already. Very rusty and scratched up. And the spokes were corroded and needed replacing. (i think that's what you call the part that attaches to the pedal).





Being painted. We also painted all of the silver parts with a metallic glittery silver.





Ready to ride! You can see the mountain bike in the back that we used for harvesting parts. The spokes were black and we sanded them and painted them, and the pedals were also from the mountain bike. (which we found in the trash 2 weeks ago). Even since this picture was taken, Kyle has done some more painting and detailing. He even went riding with me yesterday. He rode mom's pink bike with the streamers. He said, "confidence is everything!"

We really do have hobbies now. Fishing and biking. It's great!






This is from a recent night-fishing trip at one in the morning. I caught 3 babies and Kyle caught the big daddy!






And here's kyle sleeping in "our bedroom" soon enough I'll have everything moved in.
Off to take my last final! Finally!