Asia & Chocolate

Two glorious months ...

Today marks the two month anniversary since I've been married ... and it's been great! Let me recap.

Josh and I had a wonderful wedding (many thanks to our generous parents) and it was truly all I ever hoped it would be. We had a simple ceremony and a fun reception with lots of food, fun and dancing. We seriously had a blast. Our only regret is that it didn't last longer and that we weren't able to spend more time with the people we love. It is SUCH a blur - everyone told me that going into the day, and they were absolutely 100% right.

(photo by evinphotography.com )

Our honeymoon to Zihuatanejo, Mexico was amazing. We couldn't have asked for a more relaxing and luxurious vacation. We stayed at The Tides resort and would highly recommend this place to everyone. The rooms are clean and beautiful. We had a beach view room on the second floor, which overlooked the beach (duh!). We had a private plunge pool on our balcony, so in the evenings after a long day on the beach (such a hard life!) we would retire to our room and watch the sunset from our plunge pool. It was sooo relaxing. The food was a.maz.ing, incredible (yet pricey, bring the debit card with lots o' money). All, in all, so relaxing and fun. We went snorkeling, parasailing and went to a Mexican fiesta for some adventures, but I think our favorite part was just relaxing on the beach on the large king-size suspended beds under the cabanas. Heavenly!

Since returning from the honeymoon, I moved to Huntsville, Alabama. More to follow on apartment living, renovating our home and the vendors we used for the wedding and reception!

Christmas in Memphis (part 4)

My parents both come from large(ish) families. My dad has four siblings and my mom has three. Sunday we spent in Memphis with my dad and his entire family (his mom, all his siblings and nieces, nephews and their spouses/significant others). All in all there were 30 of us under the same roof and can we all say CROWDED but quite a bit of fun. I don't know how long it's been since we were all together at once, especially not with the new spouses/fiances/boyfriends/girlfriends.

The whole gang ... I have 7 cousins, almost as many as I have siblings. :)
 

This is my dad's youngest sister and her family.

A little football in the cul de sac ...

Josh is showing off his moves ...

Emily, Belle and I observing the football passing.

Cousin Andrew hanging with the big boys ...

Christmas with the Couples (part 3)

Jonathan & Emily, Michael & Katie and Josh all joined the family on Saturday morning for the second round of Christmas morning. It was so much fun to have everyone together.

Josh and me in our pj's.

Michael and Katie ... the newlyweds.

Jonathan and Emily join Philip and Daniel on the couch.

Mario Kart for the Wii was a big hit!

Later that evening all three kid-couples got a chance to hang out at McCreary's Pub in downtown Franklin. We have the best time together and have tons of laughs together. I am so thankful that Josh and I have fun with my siblings. There's really nothing better than family that are your friends as well.

Christmas morning! (my favorite - part 2)

I'm still a little kid at heart. I LOVE Christmas morning ... and while I know it's not just about getting presents, but I love getting and giving presents on Christmas morning. There's something magical about giving something that you picked out especially for them and there's something special about getting something that someone else picked out for you. Love it!

Daniel got loads of kitchen goodies this year ... he's out on his own and doesn't have anything in his kitchen. Not anymore!

Notecards... and my just-got-out-of-bed look

The anticipation is killing me!

Reading is so much fun for Stephen!

Dad's ears will never be cold again.

Where's Daniel?

We were missing my brothers Jonathan and Michael and their wives Emily and Katie on Christmas morning. We were all together on Saturday morning though ... more to come!

Christmas with the In Laws (part 1)

(I've taken a Christmas break from blogging for a few weeks, but I'm back with lots of Christmas updates ...)

This was the first Christmas for me to experience the in-law tug. The questions of how many days, and which days, do we spend with my family and how many days do we spend with Josh's family?

His extended family made this easy by celebrating Christmas the Sunday before Christmas. I found it somewhat strange to be a part of a family's Christmas where I hadn't known anyone more than six months. They are my family now, but it was just all new to me. I love them and I'm glad to be in the family (officially in five months from tomorrow!!).

The cutest part (of course) was the kids opening their gifts. Josh has a niece and nephew and then he has five second cousins. They are all so cute!

And then there's the cutest kid of all - my love ... :) (He has soap on his head, in case you were wondering :) )

My life in bullets

(I wrote this a week ago ... but didn't post because I wanted to add pictures. So it's a little old now ... but still kind of current .)

Evidently I'm no longer a consistent blogger. Life is just too much fun ... and too busy ... for me to blog.

Weekend recap:

• I drove to Huntsville on Friday afternoon and then Josh and I headed to Birmingham to spend the night with his friends Charles and Sarah. Charles will be in our wedding, so it was good to finally meet him.
• Saturday was the Auburn Alumni Rugby Match - where I got to meet many of Josh's college teammates ... some of which I liked and some of which ... :) I did get to meet another guy who is going to be in our wedding ... and he was great!

• We then drove to Josh's family lake house and spent the night there. It's just nice to get out there ... relax out in the middle of nowhere.The lake was crystal blue and the leaves were really pretty. We didn't get to stay long.
•  Sunday night we got back to Hunstville and had dinner with Josh's mom.
• Lots of driving. Looking forward to this weekend where we will stay in Huntsville for the weekend and attend one of his friend's wedding. I've GOT to figure out what I'm wearing.

Wedding update:

• The reception site has been confirmed! YAY! The Martin Center in Brentwood will be the place for fun! I think it's perfect and I can't wait to figure out all the details.
• ...which is what I've been trying to do. In the next few weeks I'm meeting with the florist, baker (cake) and caterer. Should have that all set up before Christmas, at least.
• In the next few weeks I'm going to head out and try on some wedding dresses. For some reason I'm dreading it, but hopefully it will turn out to be fun.
• We are registered ... and if you want to buy me anything for Christas, there's a TON of possibilities. :) Just kidding. We are registered at a lot of places, though ... Dillards; Bed, Bath & Beyond; Target; Pottery Barn; and Anthrolpologie (you have to look up my wish list there).

So that's what's going on. It's all very exciting ... although it looks pretty boring just in bullet points ... but this girl is busy!

Ever have one of those 'awkward pauses'?

Have you ever had an awkward pause in a conversation where you could have sworn you heard crickets chirping? Now you can ACTUALLY hear crickets chirping. Check this out. theCRICKETtoy™ is for any awkward pause.

Right now, some awkward situation is probably running through your mind. And if your family is anything like mine, the upcoming holidays should provide countless opportunities for this little green guy to interject a chirp or two. (great stocking stuffer!) I actually was visiting a new church in Hunstville and the pastor told a terrible joke ... what did I hear? Crickets chirping. It was too funny.

theCRICKETtoy™ was created by Jeff Anderson, a friend of mine who is a songwriter/producer in Nashville with a goofy sense of humor. He has several awkward videos posted here and you can buy your own cricket on his Web site. Matter of fact, it would make the ideal stocking stuffer for the teen in your life. Everyone knows they are full of awkward moments…

Like I said, check it out:

 

 

(yes, a PT Cruiser wrapped like a HUGE Green Cricket!)

Watch His 'Not the Greatest Singer' Video

P.S. I told him I would help him get the word out, so please copy and paste this entry in your blog and ask your readers to buy a toy and put this entry in their blog. I want to see just how many blogs we can get this fun, toy (Great Stocking Stuffer-only $5) on! I think we've got the next “pet rock” and it's fun to be a part of creating a cultural phenomenon!

orange disappointment & engagement pics

Josh and I spent a wonderful weekend in Knoxville - well, except for the terrible loss (at HOMECOMING) to Wyoming. But, we're following the Titans (9-0!!!!!) this season and not paying much attention to my beloved VOLS. Sadness.

For some reason I am not much of a picture-taker. I typically forget to break out the camera, even though I keep it in my purse at all times. So, I have no proof that we were there ... boring, I know. We spent Friday and Saturday nights with my friend and roommate from college, Lara and her husband Keith. It was fun to introduce Josh to my friends and get to show him around when I went to college. And he got to experience Neyland Stadium for the first time - although it wasn't the best game in which to experience UT pride. We got to hang out with my brother Stephen, also. He's a freshman at UT and doesn't have a car or a lot of money, so we treated him to a few good meals - they should last him until Thanksgiving. :)

The sadness of the game on Saturday was quickly overshadowed by an e-mail from Evin telling me that our engagement pics were online. I probably spent 30 minutes of the game looking at them on my iPhone. I LOVE them ... and am so excited that we got the opportunity to have them taken. We are using Evin Photography, but Evin's not taken them since she was already booked for our wedding day. Her partner Sara Mac did them and we really like her. You can see the pictures online. Just follow this link and sign in ... you have to set up a password. www.pictage.com/578930

Happy viewing!

Now my goals this week are to book the florist, caterer and cake person. I have GOT to get those things booked this week.

my tummy hurts and a myriad of thoughts

Why I haven't blogged much lately:
1. blogging takes time, something of which I have very little these past few months
2. I am now a fiancee, which means I spend much time with a great man named Josh
3. Josh lives in Huntsville, Alabama, which means I spend almost every other weekend traveling
4. Traveling means the time that I have at home is crammed pack full of work, getting things done and spending time with people I love in Franklin
5. my younger brother Michael got married last weekend [Photos from Michael and Katie's wedding to follow ...]
6. I had surgery on Friday
7. all of these reasons leaves me very little time to process my thoughts enough to write them down

But having surgery has left me with some recovery time on my hands ...

I have contemplated whether or not to even write about this on my blog. I know I mentioned it a few posts below, but I didn't really go into detail. And I'm not sure I'll go into a lot of detail now. But this blog has become a journal for me and if I don't write something, then  may not write anything, and I feel compelled to write SOMETHING.

During a recent regular check up my doctor found something unusual in my abdomen. She asked me to humor her concerns, which she said were small, and have a test run. I obliged and her concerns were validated. There was something abnormal in my body. She said it didn't look like cancer, but surgery would be needed. She assured me that if it was indeed what she thought it was, then the surgery would be minor and recovery would be quick.

I had never had any type of surgery before and so I was somewhat scared, but tried to be level-headed about it all. This was definitely uncharted territory for me.

We scheduled the surgery for October 10 and Josh made plans to be here for the pre-op appointment as well as the surgery and the rest of the weekend. I am so thankful that he is in my life, and especially glad that he made the decision to be right by my side through the whole thing. He had to calm me on many occasions, but he's a trooper and such a servant. I love that man!

Going into surgery was fairly easy; God had given me such a peace about it all. Everything went exactly as I hoped. The IV didn't hardly hurt and when they gave me the anesthesia, I just remember a few words and I was out. I wasn't fearful or worried at all. (Thank you to all who prayed for me!)

Waking up was a whole different story. I have never been in so much pain in my life and the feeling of waking up from anesthesia was terrible. I remember going in and out of consciousness and just feeling miserable. They were supposed to keep me in the recovery room for 30 minutes only, but I stayed there for an hour and a half. And even when I got back to my room I wasn't totally awake yet.

The reason for longer wait times and more pain was that the surgery lasted twice as long as they had suspected because the damage inside me was much worse than the doctor had originally thought. A general surgeon had to be brought in to remove my appendix and one other organ before closing me up. They had to make more incisions than they originally planned to and so it's going to take more time to recover than they had said in the beginning.

It's now been three days since the surgery and I'm still in pain, but it's getting better each day. I'm able to move from a sitting to a standing position without much help and I'm able to move around a little more quickly. Thank GOD for pain medicine, time and healing ... those first two days were miserable!

To be thankful for ...
1. They were able to remove everything diseased in my body and there is less than a 20% chance that it will come back.
2. I do not have cancer.
3. According to the doctor, I shouldn't have any trouble having children.
4. I felt no pain before surgery, so really I am blessed that this problem was found and that they performed the surgery.
5. Josh has been such a blessing through this whole process. He has been completely understanding, patient and kind. I CANNOT imagine going through this without him. I love you, baby!
6. My friends and family have prayed for me and taken care of my needs. They have called, visited, brought candy and flowers. I know that I am loved.
7. My health. I have a clean bill of health now and sometimes it takes something like this to really appreciate what you do have.

What are you thankful for?

people i love

I had lunch with some of my favorite people today at lunch. 

Jamie and her girls: Autumn and Peyton. 

Jamie and her angels: Diane, Betty and me

And the new standard: Josh and me. :) I think it's our best picture yet! YAY!! :)