Sunday Funday

Actually, this hasn't been "Sunday Funday" because I worked this morning and spent some time cleaning up my room this afternoon.  However, I guess it could be "Sunday Fun-evening."  I'm currently snuggled up in bed, with candles lit around my room, a cup of chai tea next to me, and The Notebook going in the dvd player.  Ahhh, now this is the life!  Lets just hope my clients leave me alone tonight (I'm on call) so I can enjoy my relaxing evening.

We are 4 days away from the 1 year to go mark, which just so happens to fall on Holy Thursday this year.  I suppose Chris and I could celebrate by going to mass and having our feet washed (Its a Catholic thing). Though since it's not technically a Holy Day of Obligation, I doubt I can convince Chris to give up his Thursday night.  Not to mention he'll probably be cracking the whip and forcing me to help clean up his place since we've got some friends coming to town for the Cardinals/Reds series of Easter weekend.  Thats right, me and 4 reds fans spending the whole weekend together :)

Speaking of Reds fans, how cute is this?

 I really hope our kids are this cute, because you better believe Chris Thumann will put our kids in this very uniform.  Thanks to mama Thu for sending the picture :)

This week's plan is to find time for a date night to revel in the fact that a year from now, we'll be Mr. and Mrs., and enjoy a weekend with friends.

Happy Holy Week!  and p.s. Don't know if I mentioned this but I gave up meat for lent, and I'm 5 days away from successfully completing my 40 days as a vegetarian.  Woohoo! There's a hot dog at Busch Stadium calling my name for next Saturday :)

Spring sprung and all I got was this crappy humidity...

It's been a crummy high 80 degree day in St. Louis today, and projected 80 something day tomorrow.  Ugh.  I'm not necessarily a cold weather person, but I'd at least enjoy a few weeks of "Spring" if that's possible.  I love sleeping with the windows open and putting off turning on the AC til late May or June. Apparently not in St. Louis....

~~~~~~~

It's been quite the weekend so far for me. 2 date nights!

Honestly, it's been kind of a weird few weeks with me and Chris.  I don't know exactly what it was.  We didn't argue or fight, just felt more like a funk.  I suppose it's probably normal to have a post engagement lull, once the luster of being engaged wears off, and there's been a lot of emotions flying around this last month.  Needles to say, I couldn't stand it.

Slowly but surely, we're working back into our routine and obnoxious lovey-doveyness.  We've been on 2 dates this weekend.  Last night we had sushi with some friends and  ::Gasp:: Chris actually ate it.  Not just one or two bites, entire rolls.  He even fought me over the last piece of my favorite roll.  Who would've known, raw fish and veggies and he still ate it willingly. Tonight it was just the two of us, at one of our favorite haunts, The Wine Tap.  I had a salmon pizza that was delicious.  I gave up meat for Lent this year, and it has surprisingly been quite easy. Now we're snuggled up on the couch watching baseball (him) and blogging (me).  We desperately needed some down time to just be with each other and relax.

Life is good.  Busy, sometimes chaotic, funny, and so full of love.  I really do adore Chris.  He's my best friend and never ending source of entertainment (He's currently yelling at the tv/Reds game).

I'll leave this post with a few pictures of some ideas for centerpieces I have.  Simple, elegant, sweet. 

MamaThu also found what sound like some pretty cool looking lanterns that could be centerpieces, with or without flowers, to match the rustic feel of the reception venue.  Looks like a trip to Cincy is in order soon :)

Oh and p.s. I booked our engagement photo session for the second week of May, so I am super excited to a. shop for outfits, and b. put Chris through a photoshoot :)

378 days to go!

Where has the time gone?

I feel like it's been forever since I've looked at the blog, let alone had the time to sit and type something.  Life keeps on going. Whether I want it to slow down or speed by, it certainly keeps its own pace. 

I think I last left off before I went to California for my grandpa's birthday.  We (my parents and youngest brother Douglas) had a great time seeing family and catching up, and I definitely enjoyed the sunshine.  I like getting a better grasp on where I come from.

 This month has been especially hard because Chris' uncle passed away unexpectedly.  Needless to say, there have been a lot of emotions and tears, and we made a quick trip out to Ohio for the funeral weekend.  I can't even describe how close I feel to Chris and his family now.  My family now. 

Then just as I'm starting to settle back into life here in St. Louis, my dad calls to tell me my mom broke her leg in a skiing accident in Colorado.

Not just broken, annihilated.  I just felt sick to my stomach thinking about how close she was to hitting her head or having a more serious injury. (Though looking at the xray, I'd say she had its quite serious).  I think the emotions of everything from the beginning of the month hit me all at once after her accident, because Chris was pretty sure I'd gone crazy.  I mean, really, who sobs over their mom breaking her leg? Well, I guess I do.

Needless to say, I'm ready for April.  We're closing in on one year to go and I hope to get some more wedding things accomplished in the coming months.  I bought a groupon the other day for a one hour session with a really nice photographer, so hopefully we can get some engagement pics done later this spring.  I also want to drag Chris to a few different florists to get an idea of what flowers are in season this time of year...and I've been told we need to start shopping for a dj even though we're not getting married for another 12 months.  So, my to do list keeps growing and the wedding keeps getting closer. 

Like I said before, life just keeps on going.

What a Weekend

This weekend, Chris and I completed the required Pre-Cana to be married in the Catholic Church, and oh boy, was it interesting.  We were there from 8:30a.m. to 5 p.m., so it was quite a long day to say the least.  The content focused around commitment, communication, conflict resolution, budgeting and financial planning, and family planning. I'm not quite sure how Chris really felt about the whole thing, except that he apparently thinks we're the perfect couple and a lot of the talks didn't apply to us, because, why work on something that doesn't need improvement?  I found it very interesting, and while I agree with Chris that we're on the same page with pretty much everything, a lot of the content was helpful to just spark thoughts of what married life is really going to be like for us.

Chris and I still operate in the "Oh we're young and in love" mindset.  We laugh and play, and we rarely argue.  We have had similar upbringings and are blessed to have parents who have set excellent examples of what love and marriage is supposed to be.  We have a good little life that we've settled in to.  This weekend definitely reiterated all that, and I've never been more sure or excited to marry Chris.  My excited little brain has calmed down a bit though, because the reality is setting in that although Chris and I possess all the right tools and supports to have the most amazing and happy marriage (which OF COURSE we will), we're going to have to work on it sometimes.  It can't always be puppies and rainbows, but with the things we've discussed this weekend, I know we'll work through anything that we come up against.  I just love him so much and still can't believe he picked me to share his life with.

On a side note, this week I start a weekly yoga class with my lovely FSIL, Jenny.  I've gone to a few classes using a Groupon I bought, and I'm obsessed.  Jenny suggested I join her class that's offered through the local community college network as a continuing education course, so I did. :)  I'm excited to have weekly dates with her to catch up and have some bonding time that doesn't involve wedding planning.

Plus, at the end of the week, I'm flying to California for a family reunion/grandpa's 85th birthday.  I don't see this side of the family that often, so I'm really looking forward to it. Not to mention it's supposed to be almost 80 while I'm there, which will be a nice break from the dreary weather we've had here the last few days. 

Now, I'm off to help my sister out with an assignment.  She's using me as a professional consult for a psychology paper, so I have to make sure she gets an A :)

14 Months!

Exactly 14 months from today, we're getting married!  Chris teases me that its still far off, but I know how quickly time goes by and I can't even begin to describe how excited I am to be getting closer to the one year to go mark.

Unfortunately, its late for me and I really need to be going to bed.  But before I go, I wanted to share that Chris and I have officially booked our reception site, The Schlafly Tap Room. We are going to have the Club room for a cocktail style reception.  I.CANNOT.WAIT!  Seriously, I can picture it all in my mind and it is going to be fabulous :)

Now, time for some sweet dreams of dancing around the tap room with my love :)

Goodnight!

Happy Valentines!

Can I just take this time to say how much I love Chris?

We had such a great time on our date.  Really, we always have a great time, but theres just something special about being out on a date all dressed up.  Plus, our meal included complimentary champagne (yum!) which always helps bring out a good mood :) He makes me laugh and got me a super corny card (with a sweet note inside) and beautiful flowers.  I got him the season 5 dvd of one of his favorite shows, Its Always Sunny in Philadelphia.  I just cannot wait to marry this man.  He's my best friend and I can't imagine my life without him.

Happy Valentines Day!

Ugh.

So, I got off work early today, which is a good thing.  And I got in a good workout at the gym, another good thing.  Then as I'm pumping gas, I had a major slip on the ice and now have scrapes all up my left leg, a sore twisted ankle, AND got my new nikes dirty.  Hence the "Ugh!" Oh, and I'm also doing laundry with Chris tonight...and I HATE doing laundry at laundromats.  I have fantasies about owning my own washer and dryer some day soon so I can wash clothes regularly instead of every few weeks when the hampers full to the brim.  Ugh.


Okay, I'll try to make this a positive blog from here out.

Chris and I went to Nashville this past weekend with our friends Nathan and Sarah, and we had a blast.  The live music there is just too much fun, and we recognized a lot of the bands from when we were there last year.  I fell in love with one of the bands who were playing a wide array of covers and asked about the possibility of them playing at the wedding....and then the singer told me the approximate fee and I about died.  He gave me a free cd though, so I didn't come up totally empty handed.  We also bought a Christmas ornament while we were there, thus starting our new tradition of collecting ornaments on all our trips to make sure our first tree has some sentimental ornaments on it :)

Isn't he cute?

This weekend, Jenny and I are gonna meet with a potential photographer. Wish us luck!  I've looked through their online portfolio and know a friend who used them for her wedding and she loved them.  I have high hopes, and it feels so good to be getting stuff done!

Next Saturday, Chris and I are looking at The Tap Room again, this time with an actual reception going on.  I feel bad crashing a wedding, but Chris needs a peek at it with people in the room before he'll let me put down a deposit.  I think once we get that settled, It'll all be smooth sailing.  At least until I start stressing about how to decorate the place.

Honeymoon wise, we found the coolest place, Hotel on the Cay in St. Croix, US Virgin Islands, through my parent's time share company.  Right now we're on a waiting list, so hopefully people will trade a week out so that we can go.  A 5 acre island in the middle of the harbor, no roads, no cars, snorkeling on site.  Seriously, what could be better?  Our second choice is also in St. Croix at  Chenay Bay.  Stunning pictures, I can't get over how clear the water is.  Thank goodness Chris has a water proof camera, because wherever we end up, we both want to spend a lot of time snorkeling.

436 days to figure it all out :)  I definitely won't need that much time, but at least I'll have time to relax in between all the upcoming big decisions!