Wednesday, December 30, 2009

Wedding Planning FAIL

Most little girls have their wedding planned out from the time they realize what a “wedding” is…ummm, well, I was never really that girl.

Of course I have always dreamed a beautiful wedding, but my engineering brain needed to dream in sequence. It was impossible for me to dream about a wedding without first dreaming of the groom.

I can vividly remember lying in bed in elementary school dreaming about who my husband would be one day. Of course, at that age, he looked a lot like Jesse from Full House, and said things to me like “have mercy”….thankfully, we all grow up…and thankfully, through a series of events I can ONLY give credit to God for, I met and began dating Daniel.

Even after we had dated a few months, and I knew, I wouldn't allow myself to dream of a wedding. I daydreamed of life, being a mother, being a wife, but focusing on wedding details seemed silly and I was afraid thinking about it too much would change my focus from a marriage to a wedding before I was even engaged.

Regardless, here I am engaged with NO vision for a wedding besides what I have dreamed of all along- who the groom is.

I flipped through an old journal where I had a page dedicated to “Things for My Wedding” in which I had listed scriptures I want read, and songs I want sung…and while this helped, I still have no idea what color goes with what, or what color I even like. Its like I am all the sudden void of any opinion.

Its so sad, and embarrassing.

“So Katelyn, what are your wedding colors going to be? Whats the reception going to be like? Who will come?”

“Well, actually, see, I kind of, FAIL, at being a girl and have thought of NONE of this until now and I really, honestly, have NO idea."

Here is what I know; I KNOW I want the wedding to be Christ centered because oh how I can think of no other word than blessed to describe the past 2 years of my life with Daniel and what it has meant to have a Christ-centered relationship. I KNOW I want people who come to leave feeling blessed from being part of a beautiful celebration. I KNOW I want our campus minister to marry us and my sister to be my maid of honor. I KNOW the colors will not include pink or purple.

Thankfully, Daniel is a very hands-on groom and has spent several evenings flipping through websites and magazines to help me build a vision of a meaningful, elegant, and fun wedding.

It will be a celebration, I KNOW that, even if I don’t know the colors, place, time, or number of guests. ;)

Am I the only one who fails at wedding planning?

Monday, December 21, 2009

Adventures in….Life

Today we had a mother/daughter lunch with a heard (probably not the best word) of some of my closest friends from high school. We met at the Applebees in our hometown.

I feel like I’ve grown up in this Applebees. Dinners after dance practice in elementary school. First dates. Group dates. Shopping dates. I’ve spent a lot of time there, so I was kind of surprised when at high noon in the midst of shopping madness the parking lot was practically empty.

Buttt since we had a large party, I was kind of relieved to get in and quickly be seated…..

Right before we sat down, one of the girls happened to notice the food rating sign on the wall with a grade of 69….No I’m not dyslexic. Let me spell it: sixty-nine.

Um so the 9 of us, in 8 different cars stood there a second, and decided to just go with it….surely they would have brought that up??….haha….So it sounds a whole lot crazier while I type it….but no one has gotten sick yet…..yet. (and the food was actually really good so IDK)…Do you pay attention to the ratings? I know some people are pretty avid about checking those.

In other news, tonight I decided to start making a little excel sheet of possible guests. I must have been naive to say “Oh surely I will have no more than 100 people on mine”….WRONG….

Just my list of family/friends soley from MY life (and people I really cant cut) came to 160….We also still have to add  mutual friends and Daniels family/friends…

Oh goodness, how do you make cuts and not hurt feelings? 

Tuesday, December 15, 2009

so thankful for….

the semester being over…

girls night out with some great conversation…

atlanta bread company chicken salad….

my fiancĂ©e…..(thanks blogger for the nice little hyphen too)

grace.

Monday, December 14, 2009

I’m ENGAGED!!!!

Friday after an exam I was going to head straight home but my mom diverted me and convinced me to come meet her for lunch.

While I was at lunch, Daniel and my sister Zadie were planting clues all over my house.

I got home and began my hunt around the house for clues, starting with the first one at the door…

IMG_0034

…and then leading me to a final one saying that I needed to be at the lake, but I couldn't leave my house until 4 pm….It was 2 pm. I was freaking out. Annnnd it is an hour drive to the lake. By myself. With just my thoughts. (supposedly they had planned 2 free hours so I would have time to get ready since they figured I would be coming from an exam in sweats and a ponytail, BUT because I knew I was meeting my mom for lunch, I had already gotten ready.)

I was so anxious…Even though I didn't know, I think I knew what was coming….

Finally I arrived at the lake. There were no cars in the driveway, but a final clue on the front door told me to come inside for my surprise. I also had to pee really really bad because I had been in the car for an hour drinking a large glass of water…(just keeping it real).

I walked in and….IMG_0299 (oh I didn't take this, Zadie did while he was practicing…)

There were candles and rose petals and he told me he had a song for me.

…a song HE HAD WRITTEN about our first date (to Bible study) how God has always been with us and had a plan for us, and when he knew he loved me etc. etc….and of course I was hysterical.

Then he made me stand up and he said a lot of nice things I was sniffling and snarling through, and got on one knee and asked me to marry him….

After, Zadie (who had called me earlier to tell me she was hanging out in Athens with all her friends and probably wouldn't be home till Saturday- LIAR)  popped out (she had been videoing) and asked if I was ready to eat.

My grandparents live on the other side of the lake so we were going to head to their house for dinner. They said it was just going to be my parents, grandparents, Zadie, Daniel, and me….

But when we got there- his entire family was there too…Along with my other set of grandparents and aunt/uncle/cousin. Omgosh it was SO special. Everyone was laughing and crying.

My grandmother had planned a beautiful meal for everyone with candles and her Christmas china…

IMG_0318 IMG_0319

IMG_0312

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My mom and me, and then the stereotypical engaged picture. I promise my mom and I did not plan the yellow- it was just a sunshiney kind of day I guess….

IMG_0346 (The table Daniel and I sat at, the grandparents were all at the other table discussing grandparent-y things I’m sure….)

After dinner, I had ANOTHER surprise. My mom with the help of Daniels mom had planned a “Newly Engaged Game”….

IMG_0357 (yes that is a scoreboard…..it was intense….)

IMG_0376 It was kind of like a “Newlywed” game where we had to answer questions about eachother; “Biggest PetPeeves”, “He/She Never Travels Without…”, “Mother Maiden Name”, “Favorite Food”….but there were also little lessons and scriptures in there about family and marriage and the examples our parents have set…(both of our sets of parents have been married for 25 years.) There were a lot of laughs, but also a lot of tears. I’ll save you from the pictures of me boo-hoo-ing when we each had to explain what we loved most about the other.

After the game we had several gifts and cards to open; a picture frame, a 'proposal’ ornament, and of course WEDDING MAGAZINES!!!!

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I am so excited. I feel so blessed and humbled to have met such an amazing man. The proposal itself was special but then followed by an evening with our families was just the icing on the cake!

Now I’m just going to try and keep my cool while planning….

IMG_0187 (he did good, he picked it out on his own- we never looked at rings together---although after 2 years, he definitely knew exactly what I wanted…)

:)

Thursday, December 10, 2009

step by step guide to procrastination

Step 1: Check your programming guide for ABC Family 25 Days of Christmas. See that a cute Christmas movie is coming on (with mario lopez, mr.AC slater himself no less!!!) and decide it is more important than studying.

Step 2: While studying (before the movie starts) check twitter every 5 minutes.

Step 3: Tap nails on desk and create a rhythm to dance to in computer chair for at least 3 minutes.

Step 4: Stare at clock.

Step 5: Yawn.

Step 6: Check time.

Step 7: Eat something.

Step 8: Have you still been checking twitter every 5 minutes?

Step 9: Text mom to see if anything new is going on.

Step 10: Catch up on reading forwards from grandparents. The political anecdotes and pictures of puppies and kittens become exponentially more entertaining depending on how bored you are.

Step 11: OOH YAY! Time for the movie. (and a blog post)

…..heres to hoping Step 12 isn’t failing the test tomorrow…but really I think it will be ok. I have actually gotten a lot of studying done but I am reaching burnout point!….

Hope everyone has a great weekend!!!

Wednesday, December 9, 2009

study love notes

this is the last week of classes for me. i dont really have tests, but i have a bunch of projects and presentations (which are kind of worse…) i cant wait for Christmas break when i can get back on my old lady schedule and go to bed before 12 (probably even before 11…haha)

anyway i feel like i havent seen daniel for 3 days. he has been busy with his projects and tests so he goes to his apartment and i go to mine…but we send little emails back and forth as study breaks which makes the work a little easier! haha.

today was a beautiful day! i actually walked outside and wasnt immediately chilled to the bone. its like a heat wave in GA….

however; it has been really windy! when my dad and i went to lunch i thought i was going to blow away! (my dad and i have “daddy/daughter” lunch dates every wednesday because he works close to my school.)

time to get back to work! <3

Tuesday, December 8, 2009

an open letter to diet coke…

dear diet coke,

thanks for helping me to wake up on cloudy, sleepy days especially like the one we are experiencing today.

thanks for giving me the caffeine high to be able to smile and nod at people that i don't really like (you know, like those diet pepsi drinkers and what not. seriously what are they thinking?)

thanks for not judging me when i drink two of you in one day- even though you and i both know i should really probably only drink one.

all in all, just thanks. you rock.

i’m a big fan.

yeah i bet you’re a big fan of me too. haha.

love,

katelyn

Monday, December 7, 2009

No Tree Left Behind

this year the earth shook and the ground quaked and a family tradition changed.

typically every year my mom, dad, sister, and I go together to pick out our Christmas tree…

until this year. since both zadie and I are in college our schedules just didn't work to be at home the same time and so my parents were forced to go get a tree on their own.

so without my sister and I there to protest, my parents picked a meager size tree for our living room corner.

tree

(thats my little dog at the bottom!!)

my dad calls it the “No Tree Left Behind” act…in which every tree, even the small ones, deserve a home for Christmas! haha

I am sure with the economy many families will be participating but in the end a tree is a tree and I cant wait to go home to see ours in real life!

Merry Christmas!

Wednesday, December 2, 2009

things i love about christmas-time

in no particular order, and in list format….because who doesnt love a good list…..

(1) ABC Familys 25 Days of Christmas: Who doesnt love a good movie about santas daughter falling in love, a dog saving christmas, and reindeers with feelings.?? (did you raise your hand?)

(2) N’Sync Home For Christmas Album: Seriously. This. Is. Like. My. Favorite. Christmas. Album. EVER. (SheDaisy’s is a close second). I popped it in my CD player this afternoon and sang at the top of my lungs. Its that time of year, Christmastime is here, and with blessings from above- God sends you his love- and everythings OK- Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays!

(3) Real Trees: I know a lot of people are pretty thrilled about their fake trees and thats cool, but if I wanted a fake tree, I’d buy a ficus. For one month of the year, I need a real-live-green-foresty-prickly tree in my living room.

(4) Calling people Scrooge: For one month a year, instead of calling jerks a jerk- you can call them Scrooge lightheartedly and get away with it!

(5) Traditions: I love my familys christmas traditions. From the obvious ones (my sister and I place the wise men on the opposite side of the house of the nativity scene because historically they were traveling afar and not at the actual birth). To the yummy ones (varsity for dinner every Christmas eve). To the crazy ones (how we clean up christmas if not Christmas day then the day after…haha- my mom says when its over, its over)….

Tuesday, December 1, 2009

do you neti?

if not, then you should….

the neti pot looks like this:

netipot

and it is used like this:

netiuse

in which the water (saline solution) flows through one nostril, all through your sinus cavity and out the other nostril….

yummy right?…no, not really.

effective, right?….YES, extremely.

i come from a long line of bad sinus’ (i cant really prove that past my parents but you get the point) and i have suffered with sinus headaches and infections all through my life UNTIL the neti pot.

i am not really sure how it works “medically speaking” besides that it rinses out all the gunk and makes you blow your nose a lot and *poof* headaches are gone and infections dont happen.

the point is, with the weather getting colder and yuckiness *read flu/cold* in the air, i have pulled out my neti pot to prepare.

at the sign of any headache/pressure i have used it and instantly felt better.

my other cold/flu combatants equal a multi vitamin every morning, a cup of V8 juice, and zicam on hand.

zicam is a whole other post. that stuff is awesome too.

stay healthy!!!! and happy december!