things i've learned this week

 trust your gut, and your intuition

 be honest, or be quiet

teaching others is almost always the best learning experience

be open

play good music often

don't let others dull your shine

pray for & support others

DO those things that you think of, and then say, "nah.. it wouldn't work because...." JUST DO.

laugh

let things happen

that person you wanna be? be her.

Now, I am off to go dye coffee filters for pompoms & to eat a balanced dinner of stuffed zucchini & strawberry nutella milkshakes.

Bridal Shower, part 2

A wonderful day filled with tea sandwiches, bellinis, good friends, family, gracious gifts & girly excitement. It was a perfect, lovely day. I can't say thank you enough to everyone. I will never forget how I felt that day - I felt like people were really proud & excited for me, and were just so hopeful & full of well wishes for tyler & my future together. It was amazing. 

Charlotte, Meg, Jackie, Me, Jess, Jenn & Dana

Patty, Aunty, Mrs. Haroian, Joanne

Walking in the door & seeing my future mother-in-law coming all the way from Nebraska!

Greeting Grandma Jean, Aunty Marilyn & Nannie

Me, Jenn, Jess & Jess

My table. Isn't the room the sweetest? It looks just like the Dragonfly Inn!

Opening gifts

Meg made this bouquet from ribbons, to be used at the rehearsal dinner!

Me & Mom

My Bridal Shower, Part One

opening gifts

Tyler came!

Meghan & Dana (& a 6ft tall teddy bear named Parker) slept over the night before the "surprise" shower. The girls & I got manis, I got a pedi, and we went home and ordered food and watched movies, chatted & relaxed. (We first tried to watch She's All That, which DANA HAD NEVER HEARD OF, but she thought it was too CHEESY. So we switched to "Where the Heart Is, which Dana had also NEVER HEARD OF, and that went over a bit better.)
I awkwardly got up at 10:30pm and declared it time to go to bed, so i got the girls blankets & pillows & went to bed. Cue Hayley 10 minutes later lying in bed wondering if she's fun enough. Ran back in the living room to confirm that it was indeed bedtime, we were all tired, and I wasn't "making them" go to bed. Guess I am just rusty when it comes to slumber parties.

I'm not quite sure what time we woke up - maybe 9am? I jumped out of bed and started running & jumping around  a la Monica from friends. Also discussed what a great poop I was going to take - ugh. Classy, Hayl. (Well, for a girl with IBS, a good poop is important!! Sorry, TMI?) It was such a fun, exciting morning! I kept saying that I hope I will be just as excited & calm on my wedding day morning. Here's hoping...

So, we showered & got ready (see fab pic below) all together, and headed out the door to get Charlotte. We ran into some traffic and ahem, some detours, but kept it cool by singing Nsync songs as Candy & Shelley frantically texted Dana & Meg, "WTF WHERE ARE YOU :)". Hahaha!!


I wore a black scarf over my eyes for the last 10 minutes of the ride, and kept my eyes closed as I walked in the room...

I immediately gasped, as my future mother-in-law, Kim, had surprised me and flew in from Nebraska!!! It was such an amazing surprise, I ran right to her and hugged her. I then turned to my left, and one of my bridesmaids, Jackie, had flown in from Florida! I truly have the BEST family & friends.

to be continued.....
 

the word of the week is...

gratitude

 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

to-do

paint wall in dining room w/chalkboard paint. by myself.

order shelves.

finalize wedding to-do list. include due-dates & who's helping with what.

Things I will make time for in the next few weeks.

1. to make jewelery, a quiet activity that will quiet my mind. i need to quiet my mind.
2. hot yoga
3. surround our bedroom with flameless candles
4. clean bedroom
5. read
6. pool lounging (multi-tasking with anything on this list allowed)
7. write. specifically, a letter to my one-day granddaughter on the kind of mother i want to raise for her.

Moments

I don't have much to say, besides the fact that I have found myself in a quiet, still, content moment. I've been re-reading my blog entries, and they all sound so rushed. It's mostly because, well, they are. I write them on my quick lunch breaks at work. But right now, I'm on the back patio - there's a cool breeze, but it's perfect jeans & sweatshirt weather. I have a hot cup of chocolate chai tea in my "h" mug, ebony is laying on the other chair, and I'm listening to old school country tunes. Tyler will be off work in 45 minutes. Life is good.

I'll try & take more moments to sit quietly to write out some feelings. I don't really know what this blog is for; it started as a way to document wedding planning, but thats really not what consumes me on a day to day basis. I wish I could just download into this little blog my daily thoughts & feelings, but truthfuly I never feel like I can slow down enough to do that. But I'm going to try.

I'm a bit nervous about Saturday. I fear that I will be nervous, distracted, and anxious. I want to be elegant, effortless, glowing, happy. I want to savor every moment, it truly means so much to me. I think I will be able to keep a calm mind...

I'm marrying my best friend in 90 days. I can't imagine life getting any better.

xo

happiness.

a hot vanilla latte

seeing him happy & smiling ear to ear as he re-tells how he caught the foul ball

"laid back beach music" station on pandora

the weather forecast for the weekend - 78 & sunny

plans with great friends

days off with him

a decreasing calendar countdown to 9/9/12

watching others on the brink of exciting changes

honeymoon planning