The Countdown is On...

Over the last 16 months, I've been reminded time and time again of just how little I actually know about wedding planning. I now firmly believe that any engagement ring should come with a copy of the book "Wedding Planning for Dummies". Yes... that book exists. Ask me how I know.

Throughout this entire process, I've been asked about things I had never even thought about, picked out things I never knew I wanted, and spent money on things I didn't even know existed. The planning has been long. It's been (mostly) fun. And... it's almost DONE!

We're just under two months out now. Don't ask me how many days that is... I don't want to know. All I know is that the time is flying by! We're down to the nitty gritty now... the details, the RSVPs, the timeline, the confirmations, and the logistics. All of the things I am NO good at. Thankfully, Steve is the King of Detail and has enough patience for the both of us. He has been very good about picking up the pieces I just can't seem to keep a handle on. We make a pretty good team.

Scratch that... We make a GREAT team!!

I've also been trying my best to remember that this day is about so much more than the dress, the flowers, the invitations, and the cake. It is about us. It is about our family and friends coming together to celebrate with us. That is what I am looking forward to the most. That's what means the most to me... family and friends.

The next couple of months are going to be a bit of a blur. I'm working a TON, and we have a looooong list of things that still need to get done. But... we'll make it.

I can't wait!!

For Melissa Jo...

Ask, and you shall receive... a little late.

Kate Spade.... I WIN!!!

I've spent the past month or so on a mad search for these shoes.

They're ridiculously expensive (for me), a tad outrageous, and I just HAD to have them!

It figures... The one time I'm willing to splurge on a great pair of shoes... I can't find the darn things! Grrrrrrrrr

I searched high and low. I called stores all across the country. I even recruited a small army of friends to help search with me.

Finally.... On Friday.... They were found (Thanks, Kristi)!!

Kate Spade.... You thought you were sneaky, didn't you??

Well... YOU'RE NOT!

I WIN!!!!!

My Conditional Love for Snow

I LOVE snow! I really do! I love snow when I can sit inside my toasty warm house with my sweet little kids, bake up a batch of pumpkins spice muffins, and enjoy it's beauty from the inside.

I do NOT particularly care for snow when it's 6:00am and I'm trying to convince my little 4-cylinder Corolla that yes, SHE CAN maneuver her way out of our driveway, into the 10+inches of snow piled up in our cul-de-sac (Thanks for nothing snow plow dude!), and happily continue on her way down our unplowed street to my work.

Nope. Not much fun at that point.

This morning... I almost gave up.

As usual, I backed out of our recently shoveled driveway into the white abyss that is our cul-de-sac. As soon as I hit the bottom of our driveway, I knew that this may not be as easy as I had hoped. I tried to continue backwards, but the tires, which are brand new by the way, just spun. So, I threw it into "drive" and attempted to go forward. I think I achieved a full 12 inches. So again... we try reverse.... and then drive... and then reverse... and then drive again. All the while I'm chanting, "C'MON DIMPLES!!!", hoping and pleading for her to pull through. (My car is named "Dimples" due to some nasty hail damage she suffered about 6 months after I bought her. She's fixed, but the name stuck.)

Finally, after stomping on the gas in every possible direction, and seeing my neighbor peer out his front door at me like I'm some crazed lunatic... Dimples and I were on our way!

As I continued on my drive (and I use the term "drive" loosely because I really don't think I had any form of control over my vehicle until I reached the main street a few miles away), I heard on the radio that Central Ohio is on track to have the snowiest February ever. EV-ER!!!

YA THINK?!?!

It's kind of hard to see just how high the snow is piled up in front of our house because all you see is WHITE!!

Steve finally had to break down and buy a $12 snow shovel at Meijer when this all started. It gets the job done (and will give even the fittest of fit a great workout... trust me), but he's been drooling over our next-door neighbor's snow blower like it was a swimsuit model.

Maybe next year babe!

Poor guy.

There is hope!

Bringing a new "kid" into our family was a challenge.

Cookie growled at everyone and everything, and I bawled because I swore Cookie hated me and that I'd ruined her happy little life.

I'm surprised Steve didn't throw all three of us out and lock the door!

But...

... Every now and then I catch the girls like this, and I'm reminded of how far they've come and how much better they do together.

There is hope that they'll grow to love each other yet (probably about the time Petunia learns to keep her sharp little teeth to herself)!!

R.I.P. Tootse...

My sweet little turtle, Tootse, passed away yesterday.

I know, I know... She was just a turtle. But she was MY turtle, and it made me sad.

My mom found Tootse on a dirt road that runs along the family farm in Kansas, and smuggled her back to Arizona for me in an earring box... She was that tiny! That little turtle has been with me ever since... from Arizona, to Indiana, to Ohio. She was even a part of the family before Cookie was.

She was a fun little creature and I'm really going to miss having her around.