Pictures... as promised

Okay, here are some pics from the weekend... some of the Little Italy Festival, from the rehearsal dinner, and from the wedding/reception... i have lots more, and can email them to those who want to see...

my holiday weekend...

went to Indy this weekend for my former roomie's wedding (the one i made the bridesmaid skirts for)... it was a good time... travel time was much less than i had expected - 8.5 hours as opposed to 10 like last year... so i was able to pick chris up from the airport, since we got into town at the same time...

friday afternoon, we napped - both had long days... and that evening we hit the town... had dinner at a japanese restaurant (not the kind where they cook at your table and crack jokes, though)... and then hit up some bars... that was fun... and the 2am "dinner" at steak-n-shake was quite yummy... in fact, that night i proclaimed they have "the best chicken tenders i've ever had!!!" and i stick by my statement... SnS is the best post-drinking food there is... mmmm...

saturday, we slept in - no surprise there... and then we walked back to the downtown area (we were only a few blocks away)... on the way, we saw a parade... well, sort of... we saw some people walking around in the street carrying signs, throwing candy, and some riding in beds of trucks... and they were really spaced far apart... one group would be out of sight before the next group came into view... it was kind of sad... after the "parade" we had lunch at quizno's... mmmm toasty... and then did some shopping at circle center mall... after that was the rehearsal and dinner... the rehearsal was very unorganized to begin with... we were all just like "what's going on here??? someone give us direction..." but by the time we ran through it a second time, things were coming together smoothly... and then it was dinner at Buca di Beppo... lots of food... and i mean LOTS of food... but it was waaay yummy... i ate too much, and got super tired, so i fell asleep when we got back to the hotel... chris told me he was going out to get a few things... and before i knew it, he was back with a surprise for me... a 2-CD set of Alison Krauss & Union Station!!! I'd listened to her "New Favorite" CD so much that I wore it out... so that was really sweet of chris... he's a good hero... (*side note to my hero* - Happy "Anniversary," babe!!! Thanks for a really great 4 years!)

sunday, we went to terre haute and met chris's mom before going to the little italy festival in Clinton, IN... we had kept his being in town a secret so she was surprised to see him... a good surprise... the festival wasn't what i expected... not really as much italian stuff as i had imagined... but i did get to see a pizza eating contest, some italian cooking, and an italian costume contest... after that, chris and i decided to drive around the rose campus (he hadn't been back since we graduated) and then went out to his fraternity house to look around... it was a good day, but i was way tired by the end...

monday was the wedding... it was really beautiful... everything worked like it was supposed to... and the reception was nice too... very relaxed... they had it catered by Fazoli's, Jimmy John's, KFC, and some chinese place... and the cake wasn't the traditional wedding cake... they had 3 sheet cakes - one decorated for her b'day, one for his b'day, and one for the wedding... a very neat idea... i also got to see a few ppl from rose i hadn't seen in a while... so it was good catching up with them... chris had to leave that afternoon... leaving him at the airport was hard... it always is, though... and then i went to spend the night at chris's cousin's...

tuesday morning, i had brunch with my DDD big sis before heading out of town... i hadn't seen her since i graduated, so it was a good time... we talk every month or so, so there really wasn't a lot of catching up to do... but it was still good to see her... and then i made my long trek home...

and that was my weekend... hopefully tomorrow i'll have some pictures up of the weekend festivities...

BUTT COOKIES!!!

so, my trip home a couple of weekends ago was a nice one... it was fairly relaxing and uneventful, which was much needed... i really didn't get to spend much time with my siblings... they all have busy lives now... it's odd... but i did spend a lot of time with my mom... and she's doing really good... i think she's finally becoming happy and less stressed about things... so that makes me happy...

last week, work was pretty busy... we've been working on some projects that were thrown at us on short notice... but i did my part, and kicked ass... and today is kind of a slow day... just waiting on things to get back to me for review... so i've had a lot of time this morning to dork around... which is nice for a monday morning...

and this past weekend, i made cookies... lots and lots of cookies... for my AWBC kick-off fundraiser... it was fun... and i raised quite a bit of money... so i'm happy with the way it turned out... the cookies; however, were not so good... not that they taste bad... but they didn't keep the ribbon shape when baked... so they look like a butt with two porky legs sticking out... LOL... butt cookies... oh well, i get a kick out of it, even if no one else does...

so there's what 30 dozen "butt" cookies looks like... if i never see another sugar cookie again it will be too soon... hehe...

this coming weekend, i'm going to indiana for a friend's wedding (the one i made the skirts for)... i'm pretty excited about it... i'll get to see lots of school friends, and chris's family... so i think it will be a good trip... i'll let ya know how it goes...

my life is an amusement park...

okay... so after having two weeks to let the news settle in, i'm feeling, well, actually about the same... sometimes i'm super excited about it, and all gung ho about wanting to find a job there and be able to move as soon as possible... and other times, the reality hits that it's gonna be super hard to find a job there unless i'm already living there, and how i'm barely able to save enough money as it is for small vacations and there's little chance i'm gonna be able to save enough to move there and support myself while job searching... and then, i'll think about all the cool stuff there is to do in england, and get excited again... so as you can see, it's been a roller coaster of emotions for me...

i just wish there was one clear choice... only one perfect path... i should be so lucky... heck, it would be easier if what i really wanted deep down in my heart was what is best for chris and i... not that i don't want what is best for us, i do... but what i want deep down is a somewhat selfish dream... and there's no place for selfishness if we're going to make this work for us...

anyway, on to something else...

my first fundraiser for my Avon Walk is going GREAT!!! after the first week, i had raised enough $$ that i have to make 33 dozen cookies!!! that's awesome!!! the cookie making is going to go on Saturday, August 27th... and anyone who is in the area is welcome to stop by and keep me company... i promise i won't make you help (unless you want to)... and i'm sure it will be quite funny with flour and dough and icing all over the place... and Thanks to everyone who has donated!!! you guys are great! And for those of you who haven't visited my AWBC website lately, i got my spiffy shoes last week!!! and they are waaay comfy...i may even order another pair... just in case these get worn out during training... hehe...

work has been work... and things are getting better with ruth... and i'm going to visit my family this weekend... so i think that just about covers everything...

news

okay, so now that Chris has told most everyone he intends to, i figure i can safely put his/our news up here so everyone else can know... last week, he got is next assignment... so, it looks like he'll be reporting 15 Jan to Lakenheath AFB in merry old England!!! quite a shock to us all, yes... but exciting!!! and now that i'm over the surprise of it all, i'm beginning to look forward to visiting him there, and the possibilities of maybe living there myself someday...

there's still so much for us to talk about, and lots of options to consider... so we have a rough plan, but nothing set yet, and things could easily change... right now we're in the information gathering stage, and once we have lots of info, we'll start looking more closely at devising a plan...

chris's mom was here visiting this past week (and we made a weekend trip to NC to see chris and his place)... it was a good time... we went one day to see an IMAX movie at the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum... it was called Fighter Pilot (i think) and it was about an F-15 pilot, and the training mission called Red Flag... the movie was super neat... and i got to see a lot about the job of a flyer... and to top off the weekend, chris showed us a real F-15, up close and personal... that was way awesome too!!!

there was lots more to the weekend, but i'm pretty busy here at work, and don't have the time right now to put it all down... so maybe i'll get to it in a few days, or maybe jerri will put it in her blog (gives her a reason to post again... she's "Been in Indiana for 4 days" for quite some time now)...

back to work... yippee!! (lol)