The best example

I've had an absolutely wonderful Christmas trip home.  I wish I could stay longer than this weekend, but I bet one day longer and they'd be begging me to leave :)  My dad mentioned today that he'd forgotten how cranky I get when I'm tired...Me? Cranky?  Never.... :)

Mom, Claire, and I hit up a bridal store here in Wichita this afternoon.  Just to look and touch and ooh and ahh.  I didn't try anything on, but fell even more in love with a dress I've been oogling over online since before Chris proposed. Yes, I am that girl who had her dress picked out before being engaged.  So, I made the executive decision that mom must spend her MLK holiday weekend driving to St. Louis so I can try on, and hopefully buy, THE dress.  Of course, I'll try on a variety, just to be sure.  Though really, I'm convinced I've found my dress.  Fingers crossed it actually looks good on me!

Okay, to the point of my title...

How pretty is my mom?!

 

Look at how happy my parents are :)  I can honestly say that they've been like this for as long as I've been around, and I bet its safe to say they were like this the 4 years before I joined this world too.  I am so unbelievable lucky to have had two great role models of what love, family, and a marriage should be and can be.  I think it's easy to forget how blessed we are to have the people in our lives to guide us and support us and teach us how to love.  

I think my parents' priest summed it up best in today's homily: "We pick our friends because they are like us.  God gives us our family to learn to love people who are different." 

Our first Keepsake :)

Chris and I exchanged gifts last night since he's driving back to Ohio today and I'm leaving for Kansas on Friday.  He got me a Kindle, which is awesome!  I'm obsessed with it and wish I had more time to just read and read all day.

Then there was this:

A 2010 Hallmark keepsake ornament, "for our first Christmas being engaged." Needless to say I got pretty teary eyed and could only muster a sob of "It's just so sweet."  That's my Chris, not a man of many words about how much he loves me (thats my style), but a man of sweet and thoughtful gestures that fill my heart with even more love for my future husband.

Okay, I've worked myself up to happy tears again...so thats it for this post.


p.s. Think happy and safe thoughts for me as I make a snow filled trek to Kansas on Friday.  Fingers crossed I get there in time for 8 pm mass!

Eat your heart out Charlie Brown!

      I came over to Chris' after work today to wrap some presents and help him get stuff together for his work Christmas party tomorrow, and there was this adorable little tree sitting in his living room just crying out for some decorations.  Apparently Chris' buddy Nathan left the tree outside his apartment as a Christmas gift for us.  I couldn't be more excited, and I can't even begin to describe how good this little fir tree smells!
     I haven't been at my parent's house for the decorating of the tree in years, and even though this guy was a little smaller than the big trees I'm used to, it got me right into the Christmas spirit.  I think Chris got a kick out of how excited I was and patiently accompanied me to the nearest store to get lights, candy canes, and ornaments.  I kept reminding him in the car that this is our 2nd to last Christmas together before we're married, "Only two more Christmases to go, by the third one we'll be married!"  When I think about it like that, April 21, 2012 seems so close!
     For now, I'm going to make myself a cup of tea and enjoy our tree!  Happy Holidays!

Flat tire, Christmas shopping, and basketball...and all by Wednesday!

Another week almost in the books...complete with a new set of tires for me and almost all the Christmas shopping done for Chris and my families.  Discovering a flat tire Monday morning when its -15 with the wind chill is definitely not a good start to the week, but at least it gave me a good excuse to take a comp day to do some shopping and spend the day with Chris, along with replacing all my tires and getting my alignment done.  Woohoo!

Chris and I went to the SLU basketball game tonight with our friends Theo and Steph.  They got married last year, and are one of my favorite couples to go out with. They're fun and a good example for Chris to see that its cool to be married :)

Slowly but surely, I'm working on Chris to get some more wedding stuff nailed down.  He has promised me he'll ask his guys to be groomsmen etc over the Christmas break.  Luckily Jenny will be home in Ohio with him to make sure it gets done. It's always nice to have an enforcer to be there when I'm not.  I've also nagged my mom to death about getting my hands on a credit card when I go home for the holiday.  So hopefully, assuming I get the credit card, some deposits will be made shortly after the new year for a reception venue and photography.  I really want to get the engagement photos done early this spring so we can get save the dates out. 

Some days it still doesn't all feel real.  I'm a lucky, lucky girl. And very loved. :)

 And by the way....Merry Christmas!

Long time no blog...

Ugh, where have I been?  Life took over as usual.

I had a fantastic time in Chicago, and got to see some old friends from college.  Chris was hunting again while I was seeing the city, and he got a deer!

I'm a little freaked out that the poor deer has his tongue hanging out...surely the taxidermist will make him look a little happier when he's mounted.  Chris and I have a running joke about his future "man cave" in our first place together.  There is absolutely no way I'd let him put deer heads up in a place that any guest would see.  Maybe we'll theme a guest room with hunting/fishing decor, though I could see deer heads watching you as you sleep giving people nightmares.

I'm feeling a bit stagnant at the moment as far as wedding planning goes.  I've gotten wrapped up in the holidays and work, and I've only looked at wedding stuff twice in the last 2 weeks I'd guess.  <---that is crazy!  Is something wrong with me? 

I guess once we get through Christmas it'll be easier to focus on planning details, and I hope to have my hands on a credit card from my parents to start putting deposits down for a photographer and reception site.  I'd like to get our engagement session and save the dates out of the way by early next spring.  For now the only thing on the radar is a pre-cana Saturday that I registered us for in February. 

One of my long time friends and bridesmaid, Nisha, is coming up to St. Louis for the weekend tomorrow and I couldn't be more excited for some best friend time.  I know, I know, I've always got something going on. How am I ever going to find the time to plan a wedding or start my Christmas shopping? ;-) 

I hope everyone is enjoying the Holiday season, I know I sure am!

I'm turning into a monster....

I just emailed my mother 3 times in the last 10 minutes.  Once with a tentative guest list, again with a corrected guest list, because I somehow left off 10 relatives, including my grandpa.  Oops!  The third one was intended to make her laugh and just had this attached:

That would be Jenny, Steve, and Chris circa 1986 I'd guess.  The Thumanns have this framed in their living room.  It can't be hard to see why this is one of my favorite pictures (and why I love the Thumann clan so much). 

I've been a busy bridezilla the last few days.  I set the date, booked the church, and registered us for a Pre-cana Saturday course in February.  I've also gotten a few quotes from reception sites and am compiling a stack of catering menus to compare.  I still have my heart set on the Soulard Preservation Hall, but there are few other places that have caught my eye recently that I'll have to look into a bit more.  I'm having a hard time fighting the urge to just book everything now, but I know if I don't leave myself something to work on I'll get too anxious about having to wait til the wedding day.

The biggest news of the week I suppose is the date itself: April 21, 2012.  2 weekends after Easter and it also happens to fall on my cousin Ted's 15th birthday.  So I'll be thinking of all the ways to embarrass him at the reception too. :)

2 more days of work for me then it's off to Chicago for a girls weekend.  Chris is heading back to the deer woods tomorrow for a few days.  We should probably stop going out of town if we're ever going to get this wedding planned!

Some Progress!

Well it's officially after Thanksgiving now!  I spent the long Holiday weekend in Cincinnati with Chris and his family and it was so nice to have a long break to relax and enjoy their company.  I swear everytime I visit the Thumann family, we discover more things in common (especially me and Steve) and I feel like I've been a member of the family for years already.  Plus we got to celebrate with friends and I met some more members of Chris' extended family, like his sweet 90 year old Aunt Melba who was the life of the party post-Thanksgiving dinner.

So now that the "no wedding talk til after Thanksgiving" ban has been officially lifted, my short term to do list can finally take real shape:

1.  Set the date!  I will be calling the church tomorrow to reserve April 21, 2012 :)
2.  Compile a list of reception/catering options and set up tours for after Christmas.
3.  Continue to nag Chris to ask all his guys to be groomsmen.  He doesn't feel any rush and it's driving me crazy.
4.  Confirm a tentative guest list with our parents so I know just how many people we should plan on wining and dining :)
5.  Register for a Pre-Cana retreat with the Diocese this coming February.
6.  Find a photographer and set up an engagement shoot for early spring 2011.

Not to mention Christmas shopping...since its nearly December and I haven't done any.  I'm going to Chicago this coming weekend so hopefully I'll pick up some gifts while I'm there.

Needless to say, I'm exhausted.  Holidays and traveling take a lot out of me, and I dying to get to sleep.  More updates to come soon!

The joys of Catholicism

Something that has always been important to me is my faith.  I love being Catholic, all the ritual and history is fascinating.  I excitedly called my parents after mass this morning to tell them all about the anointing of the sick sacrament the Priest did after today's homily.  Yeah, I'm that nerdy Catholic all my Southern Baptist "friends" made fun of in high school.  But I digress...

As I was sitting in Church this morning and watched the sunlight come through the stained glass windows and recited the same prayers my parents and grandparents grew up with, I felt so connected.  Beyond that, I was overcome to the point that tears started to form (again, I know, I'm a big Catholic nerd) at the fact that this beautiful and God filled place is where I will commit my life and love to my best friend. 

Then my mom called to inform me that my dreams for a March 2012 wedding were impossible.  I'd recently realized that it could get tricky planning a wedding during Lent.  Meatless rehearsal dinner, no flowers on the altar, no music during the ceremony.  Needless to say, I was already considering the fact that we'd either move it up to February or move it back to April.  Mom had a chat with her priest in Wichita, and apparently the Church doesn't do weddings during Lent.  So it looks like April it is.  Now the fun part of picking a date! 

I'm eagerly anticipating the "no wedding talk til after Thanksgiving" ban being lifted on Thursday, so be expecting more details to unfold soon!

- - - - - -
Non wedding related:  My brother Tim came into town this weekend and it was beyond great to see him.  We met up with my FSIL, Jenny, and her friends for dinner, drinks, and dancing Friday and had a quiet night in on Saturday watching movies and eating Imos (YUM!).  He left this morning :( and I'm not sure when I'll see him again in the next year, since he's currently living in Qatar. There's a few family functions in the spring and summer, so fingers crossed that'll work out for him to come back to the states for either of those.

He was also very helpful during his drive back to our parent's in Wichita and walked me through getting rid of some virus that hacked into my computer and was making me so anxious I almost cried.  Gotta love having a tech savvy brother, especially when he's in the same time zone for once :)

Upstaged.

Gosh, leave it to Prince William and Kate Middleton to upstage me and Chris :)  I guess it was bound to happen.

It's been a whirlwind week to say the least, and it's still only Wednesday.  I met up with my FSIL, Jenny, last night for coffee and to laugh at the monstrosity that is the wedding planner my mom sent me.  Seriously, the thing terrifies me.  Its huge and full of lots of good info, but I'd be lying if I said it didn't make me very anxious with all the odds and ends I never would've thought of.  Yikes!

I've been nagging Chris to commit to asking his groomsmen to be in the wedding while we're back in Ohio next weekend, so hopefully that happens...or else I'll keep nagging and he'll keep being annoyed.  :)

My brother Tim gets in town Friday night and we're planning on spending some time with Jenny at her work's happy hour event.  Of course, Chris is going to be out of town. Hunting. Again.  But oh well, that'll give me, Jenny, and Tim lots of time to talk about him and the wedding :)

For tonight, off to Trivia with my roommate who also just chopped off her hair.  It must be in the water :)

Post-engagement Chop

Well I chopped all my hair off.  Unfortunately this is a web cam photo capture, so it's not the best photo quality.  The back is even shorter, no more pony tails for me.  I plan to just let it grow now, getting trims here and there so I'll have a good length by wedding time for hairstyle options.

Speaking of wedding, I somehow got Chris to chat with me a little about dates and I think we've got it narrowed down to March 24 or 31, 2012.  Of course, that could always change once I talk to the church about availability, but late March or maybe early April for sure.  Jenny has supplied me with more options for reception sites, so I'm feeling better about finding the perfect spot.  I'm sure she will be a willing participant to be dragged along to various sites until we find the best place.

Non wedding news: My older brother Tim is en route to the U.S. for a job interview and is extending the trip to visit my parents and come to St. Louis next weekend for a visit.  I haven't seen him since June and he'll be the first of my family to see my ring.  Very Exciting!

Someday my name is going to be Kathryn Thumann.  What a strange concept to grasp...

So about this Thumann family I get to be a part of:  Of course there's my Chris, who I could probably write super sweet blogs about, but I'll refrain for now.  He has an older sister Jenny.  I actually have more SLU friends and acquaintances in common with her than Chris, yet somehow we never met in college.  Jenny is super cool and crafty and funny and involved in the community and just awesome.  Can you tell I like her?  She got me my first wedding magazine and then boldly told me what bridesmaids dresses wouldn't fly, what's not to love about that?
Chris' parents, Steve and Cindy, are the nicest people I've ever met.  Steve has a sweet, quiet way about him that is just so comforting and relaxing to be around.  And he has a super funny sarcastic wit, that Chris seems to have inherited.  When Chris and I were home last weekend,  I had a blast following Steve through the woods to stir up some deer for Chris' hunting. He was so patient and pointed out all kinds of signs of deer I would've totally missed.  It's obvious where Chris gets his love for the outdoors.  And Cindy, oh man.  Anyone who knows Mama Thu knows that she is the sweetest lady on the planet.  Seriously, between our shared love for TJ Maxx and my love for her chocolate chip cookies and ice cream sandwiches, I can't imagine a better woman to have as a mother in law.  And I'm not just saying that because I know you're reading this Cindy :)

So here's to being a Thumann, getting a new sister, and all the chocolate chip cookies I could ever want :)  How did I get so lucky with my future in laws?

Finally feeling better

I used my down time while I was under the weather to do more and more perusing of all things wedding related.  I'm sure I drove my mom crazy with my multiple emails with links to Maggie Sottero wedding gowns that I fell in love with and reception halls I'm dying to tour like here and here.  St. Louis offers so many options for venues, I'm going to have a hard time choosing.

Now that I've started feeling better from whatever mystery illness I had over the weekend, I'm starting to feel my newly engaged "glow" fade a little.  (Mostly because my job is high stress and time consuming, but this is not going to become a blog about the depressing fact that adult working life sucks.)  Chris is also out of town for the week to do some deer hunting back in Ohio, so I'm fiance-less and still a little run down from my stomach bug.  One of my coworkers gave me a pep-talk today to hold onto "the glow" as long as I can, but to remember that the first glow will be replaced by more glows and happy feelings as the planning progresses and we finally get to the big day.

So stomach bug or no stomach bug, crappy work day or not, my post engagement glow will stay strong as long as Chris will put up with it :)

It' 3 a.m....

and I want to go to bed.


I have food poisoning.  At least thats what I think it is.  I got my flu shot this year, so I know its not that.  Ugh.  I can't remember the last time I was sick like this :(

Its only been 5 days...

...but I'm already anxious.

I just spent the last 2 hours looking at catering options, reception sites, florists, and photographers.  So much for no planning until after Thanksgiving.  There's a big part of me that is just dying to have something done by now.  Like setting a date or booking a church or confirming our bridal party with Chris. Although...I may or may not have already asked all my bridesmaids to be in the wedding....lets hope he doesn't read this because I'm sure I'll catch some grief for breaking the "no wedding talk til after Thanksgiving" rule. 

I am feeling kind of silly now. I'm the one who imposed the rule because I thought "Gee, lets take some time to just enjoy this!" To be honest, I've been looking at wedding stuff for the last 6 months; and now that I can actually 'legally' plan, I self imposed this stupid Thanksgiving rule.  Ugh!

I guess I'll have to settle for planning in secret and when we do start post Thanksgiving planning, I'll magically have already found all the best deals :)

I daydream too much...

I drive a lot for my job, and today I caught myself daydreaming (while stopped at lights of course!) a lot.  Couple that with the e-mails I've gotten from Jenny, my future sister in law, and Cindy, my future mother in law, and my head is just swimming with ideas for my perfect wedding.

Here's what I've thought of most, in no great detail and by no means permanent:

1. Blue, grey, and yellow color scheme. Still thinking about this one though.

2. There will be more Jelly Belly Jelly Beans "Sours" than I've ever dreamt of.

3. I want to use light as a decor theme and, surprisingly, I don't think I want a lot of flowers used for centerpieces.

4. I want to have DIY flare, but I'm not sure how capable I am of doing all the fun things I've seen here

 and here.  Lucky for me I've got Jenny, who is not only responsible for turning me on to these links, but also very crafty.  I doubt I'll have problems talking her into helping me.

5. There will be lots of dancing and drinking.  We are Catholic after all.

6. Mostly, I just want the wedding and reception to be simple, clean, and chic.

I'm sure at some point down the road I'm going to have to come to terms with the fact that the wedding/reception I see in my head is not only unattainably expensive, but something that my other half wouldn't be a fan of. But hey, he's not the one blogging, so I will dream away :)

So, I make no promises to update this daily, but for now I think the excitement of all of this will keep me posting regularly for a while. 

Today was a good day.  Second day back at work since the long weekend and I still feel like I'm in a dream.  I look at my ring finger and think "Is this real life?"  I wonder when this is all going to sink in...One of my married co-workers told me that she didn't feel any different until the day after her wedding.  Sounds like I may have a while to go until I feel like a wife and not just a girlfriend. 

I wish I had details or something more interesting to post, but all I've got is my excitement to share.  Chris and I agreed to hold off on talking details until after Thanksgiving, which is probably going to slowly kill me.  Thank goodness for his sister, Jenny, who is in cahoots to help me break that agreement when he's not around :) All I know is I'm so thankful for all my wonderful friends and family for all their happy congratulations and well wishes.  Chris and I are both so lucky to have such wonderful supports in our lives.

Lets Go!

Those of you who know my fiance (woo! that's fun to type!) will get the humor in this first post's title.  Chris is a die hard Xavier University Basketball fan and he can be heard yelling this at various times during the college basketball season. Watch the whole thing or fast forward to the 1:00 mark to hear the trademark "Lets Go!" I've come to know and love...and get a taste of his ferocious zeal supporting his beloved Musketeers.

What can I say, I'm a lucky girl :) This video reminds me of a lot of the things I love about Chris: his loyalty, his passion, his smile, and his contagious laughter.  As we start moving forward in planning our wedding, I hope to get even half this excitement out of him.

So here's to the start of my foray into the blog world and more importantly, here's to the beginning of what's bound to be the most stressful, joyous, frustrating, and love filled time of my life!  As Chris would say, Lets go!