shampoo is bettah!

I was watching Billy Madison earlier (only the greatest movie ever...cough...). The shampoo/conditioner/bathtub/swan interaction scene is pure genius.

Anywho, you'll all be happy to know that the to-do list is sort-of dwindling. The favor boxes have been filled (and I'm designing the label in another window in Photoshop). The labels are awaiting printing on the desk.

We've gotten a few more RSVPs, so I was going to go all crazy on those votives...but then I realized I'd probably need table assignments. Dang. So I'll review what we've got tomorrow and see if I can knock any of them out. We also got a cool rustic wicker box thing for our unity ceremony.

Andplusalso, my dress is currently sitting at the seamstress' shop, all lonely (*tear*). It is getting a bustle and taken in 4 inches total (holla!). I was so excited to put it on for 30 minutes while the lady measured me, and I made Chad wait in the car. Spousal abuse. I also made Chad walk around Hobby Lobby picking up odds and ends with me for an hour, so he had a hard day. or something. So I think altogether, that was a lot of checks taken care of in one day.

The main point of this post was that I thieved (is this a word? I seriously doubt it, yet love saying it...hmm) another "post random facts about yourself nobody cares about" thing, this time from Sirena.

Here's A to Z, all about me!

a. area code: reppin' the three oh three.

b. bed size: queen...although my parents have offered us an almost brand new king size bed that they've had in storage. it'd be nice, but...huge.

c. chore(s) you hate: cleaning the bathroom, hanging up laundry (i like doing laundry...just not hanging it up...)

d. dog's name: jazzmine, charlie, terra and molly. AKA grey ghost, little bean, red dog, and mowwywog.

e. essential "start of the day" item: toothpaste. then coffee. i would say OJ but we rarely have it for some reason.

f. favorite color: pink

g. gold or silver: GOOOOOLLLLDD. since I, y'know, do the whole gold mine thing.

h. height: 5'10"...I'm what you might call an "Amazon"

i. instruments you play: flute, piccolo, clarinet, sax (some), oboe, some guitar, and some piano.

j. job: I teach little undergraduate business majors who have to take a science credit.

k. kids: none yet.

l. living arrangements: working on a new apartment or condo ASAP

m. mom's name: donna jo! like DJ on full house.

n. nickname: jen/jenny/jen jen/mejenny/most awesome person ever

o. overnight hospital stay: about 400 surgeries when I was born...and that time I stuck a rock up my nose to get out of daycare. ahem.

p. pet peeve: bad drivers, SRSLY. I have horrible road rage. also, liars. cannot compute.

q. quote from movie: my life is pretty much anchorman and adam sandler movie quotes.

r. righty or lefty: both! I started out all lefty though, and my mom thought it would be a pain for me later on, so she made me do a lot with my right hand instead. so now I do both/switch a lot.

s. siblings: not a single one.

t. time you wake up: depends on the day. tuesdays/thursdays, 6AM. any other time, me + 9 AM = BFFs.

u. underwear: I have heard of it...99% of my underwear collection is free ones from VS. They send me those damn cards like 4 times a week.

v. vegetables you dislike: mushrooms. and cabbage. that's about it...love me some veggies!

w. ways or reasons you are late: because I live 65 miles from where I work? and parking sucks?

x. x-rays: teeth, chest, ankles, knees, wrists, fingers, arms, shoulders, hip, toes...I break things a lot.

y. yummy food you make: I am pretty much a pimp at baking. other than that, I make a mean spaghetti, homemade pizza, breakfast tacos/breakfast in general, etc.

z. zoo animals you like: I must say...I love elephants.

i am a thief.

I enjoy stealing bloggy-type surveys and other ways to avoid doing anything I'm supposed to be doing pass the time.

So I stole this preppy mafia thing from Vicki.

1. Who is your style icon?

I would like to have a witty and awesome answer to this, but honestly, I just drool over Anthropologie and J.Crew and pretend I don't shop at Old Navy/Gap/Kohl's and the clearance rack everywhere else. I like to call it "hobo chic."

don't be too jealous of my Spring 2008 Kohl's shirt and Fall 2009 Gap Jeans.

2. What is your favorite socialite book?

Is this even a question?


3. Favorite party theme?

Parties...with themes...? My favorite theme is "it is my birthday." You can dress however you want, but bring gifts and/or booze. OR ELSE.

But really, I don't throw parties with themes other than "AWESOME"...just show up, there will be good food and good drinks, and if you stay late enough, good breakfast/mimosas.

4. Go-to Halloween costume?

Once, I painted my face yellow with brown spots, and wore all green and a tutu from dance around my face. I was totally a homemade flower...and this adorable toddler came to the door and was all, "...you fl-ow-uh?" He was picking up what I was throwing down.

Another time, I was a pink monster, which pretty much involved wearing my awesome pink faux fur coat and big pink slippers and tights, along with some fake animal ears. My mom drew whiskers and a nose on my face. 1990 was a good year.

I think this number from my childhood dance classes should totally be my permanent 10/31 getup, though:



5. Extravagance you cannot live without?

Hmm. I thoroughly enjoy travelling. And I seriously enjoy going out to dinner. My iphone. My laptop.

6. Living person you admire?

I have to give mad props to Lance Armstrong. Plus, he seems like a pretty cool guy (via twitter, anyway). Also, it could just be that I'm in love/obsessed with Michael Phelps, but I'm pretty impressed with his Olympic dominance. I also would like to be friends with Tina Fey.

7. Greatest fear?

Dude. I am seriously terrified of spiders. And germs. And nuclear war. Losing someone I love is probably my second biggest fear, behind spiders.

8. Trait you dislike about yourself?

I am ridiculously impatient/irritable. RIDICULOUSLY. And stubborn, srsly. Sometimes I can stuff all or some of those characteristics deep down into my repression place, but, y'know, they come out sometimes. It is probably a miracle someone loves/wants to marry me.

Also, I instantly judge most people. I would feel really bad about that (and sometimes right after I do, I'm all, "that was probably premature." Then, usually pretty quickly, the person will do/say something, and I'm like..."nevermind."), but I think I've only been wrong about my initial reaction like, twice. But I still feel bad for doing it.

I worry incessantly.


9. Which talent would you most like to have?

I wish I had more of an eye for design...like interior decoration wise. I see lots of things I like in pictures, but I have deep love for so many different styles that don't go together in any imaginable way. A house should not be retro-modern-vintage-antiqued-indie-classic-country-chic. It just doesn't work.

10. Greatest achievement?

I'm kind of a big deal - where to start?

Fitting into a size 4 dress last weekend? (shut up, skinnys...this was a new low for me) I don't really know how to answer this question without sounding conceited, dumb, cheesy, or some combination. So I just won't! WIN!

wedding to-do's are sneaking up on me

I realized last night that I have a TON of crap to do in the next few weeks. I am on an 11 day weekend due to a geology conference my professors are gone to, so maybe I can make use?

1. favors

I have the boxes (for free! from a local knottie who didn't use them - sidenote for my Austin knotties: you guys are more awesome than the ones here. just saying.). I plan to buy the candy on Monday - after some debate, we are going to use Hershey kisses, with a personalized sticker on the bottom. The Easter-themed ones come in pale blue/green/pink, so we are going to buy them on clearance Monday and pick out the pink ones. ta-da. Kind of like this, without the crab, and with a cuter design:

{photo from weddingwindow/theknot}

2. placecard votives

I was thinking I could get this done next week, except for the part where we have only gotten 1 RSVP back so far. That makes it kind of hard. Granted, I could do a few of them since I know Chad and I will be there, our wedding party, parents, etc. So I have officially just re-inspired myself to work on these. I'm printing the names on vellum, and wrapping them around the votive holder. Then, they are going to have a sweet little rustic wreath thing around the bottom. Like so:

plus
{photos from my planning bio, but I think originally from the knot}

3. centerpieces

I finally got the tablecloths (sweet ebay deal, ~$6 each for 90 inch rounds!), and my mom is doing our centerpieces since she used to do interior decorating and is good at it. We need a couple more vases (using different, semi-matchy vintage ones we have found at antique stores), but we have the other supplies, so we just need to sit down and do it.

4. order the liquor

I think we can all agree this is the most important. It is not even complicated or all that time consuming, so I think I can get this done in the next 11 days. We are going to have to choose a cheap white wine though. And a champagne (for toasts). Suggestions?

5. get my dress altered

Luckily, all I need to do is get it taken in (it was 1 size too big when purchased, and I've lost weight.) and have some kind of puffy tulle nonsense sewn into the bottom so it flares out appropriately. I have an appointment for this next Friday, so I think I'm on my way to having this done. Wheeeeee!

6. make the cake stand(s).

I found where too order the wood slices from online for cheap, and my dad is going to get the wood for the base from coworkers/my grandparents' property. This should really be a pretty quick project, and honestly, my dad is the super handy woodworker, so he will be doing the hard work here.

{image from etsy's thestorque blog}

7. finish wedding party gift stuff

I have bought most of what I want to get for my peeps, Chad needs to decide and purchase his, and then it all needs to be packaged up. I'm in the process of thinking up some cute wrapping ideas, but that shouldn't take too long.

8. get stuff for unity ceremony

we are planning to do with wine/letters & box ceremony (google it, I hadn't heard of it before but came across it randomly and thought it was cool!), so we need to basically get a cool box from somewhere for that, and pick a wine to throw in there. and of course write the letters. so here is where I say again, suggestions? For wine and/or a cool box?

9. finish other stationery/table numbers/etc.

I don't see this taking long. Just need to come up with a design and figure out the display options. We aren't doing programs since my mom FREAKED OUT about them our wedding is pretty small. I also need to make menu cards for the buffet, etc.


there is a lot more stuff on my list...but this is a good starting point to bug you guys to recommend stuff to me. GO! haha :)

the long awaited (...right?) invitation post

Our invitations were going to go out tomorrow, but since the USPS is a giant FAIL (grrrr) that may or may not be the case. But since only like...one person who will be receiving an invite reads my blog (well, occasionally two...but I still don't care), I am still posting pics and I don't care who knows it. Except you guys. Since you now know it.

Anywho, these are iphone pics, so my apologies for poor quality/lighting. Our "theme" is what I'd call vintage-rustic-chic. The color is off in these pics - the pocketfolds and ink are dark brown, the green is chartreuse, and the blue is a pale but not quite baby blue. It is the color of my favorite Coach purse actually, but that means nothing to you unless you've seen it.

This is what the invite page looks like. It is attached to the inside of the pocketfold.

This is what the RSVP card looks like. The menu icons are for macadamia nut and pesto crusted chicken, pineapple teriyaki pulled pork, and the star is for special dietary needs or vegetarian request.

This is the pocketfold closed. I used the twine as a rustic bellyband...the flower is made of different layers with a bronze brad in the middle. The detail is gone in this pic but they are really cute. Got them from an etsy seller.

The whole thing open again...you can see the paper is a pearlescent ivory.

I used pearlescent vellum envelopes, and used 4x2 inch labels for the address. I used a corner punch that had 3 different shapes (fiskars "baroque") and I used a combo of the 3. This looks pretty awkward in the pic, but it is really cool in person.

And that's it! I'm sure you've all been on the edge of your seats, so I hope you were able to contain your excitement for the entirety of this post. :P

What do you think?

my surgery adventure

so, I had my surgery on Thursday, March 11. It went pretty smoothly overall, and now I am just trying to recover. A breakdown of my adventure since then:

Wednesday night, before surgery:

• 6:30 PM: eat a "light" dinner of stir fry, and drink as much water as I can since I will be cut off in one hour.
• 7:00 PM: eat some ice cream as a treat.
• 7:15 PM: start panicking because I am already really thirsty, and I'm still drinking water.
• 7:30 PM: ughhhh, mouth feels like the desert already. need to distract myself.
• 7:45-10:00 PM: work on cutting/stamping and assembling invitations; periodically complain about lack of hydration.
• 10:30 PM: finally give in and go to bed - after all, I do have to get up at 6 AM for the surgery.
• 11:00-6 AM: toss and turn, consider running away to avoid surgery, sleep little if at all.

Thursday morning:

• 6 AM: wake up. brush teeth, whine that I cannot actually swallow any liquid even though it can hang out in my mouth for a couple minutes. Wipe off any lotion/etc. as instructed, shuffle into "comfy" sweat pants ensemble for post-surgery. Tell loved ones it was a good life.
• 6:20 AM: arrive at hospital, which is approximately next door to my house. Check-in, pay ridiculous co-pay (although...$100 for a $40k surgery is probably not too shabby, eh?), get escorted to surgery wing. Answer approximately 4000 questions, which I just answered at check-in, and also with the check-in phone nurse the day before.
  
• 6:45 AM: change into sweet gown, cool blue hair net thing, and slipper socks. Plus some kind of leg squeezing contraption so I don't get a blood clot while they cut me up. Nurse hooks up my IV on the first try (miracle with my veins); several comments about how cold my hands are and how the finger scanner won't register my vitals because of it (not the first time this has happened).
  
• 7:00 AM: am apparently looking panicked, as surgeon comes to talk me down from a ledge and tells nurse to give me the sedative, which she calls "like a few shots of tequila."
• 7:00:35 AM: already "drunk" from shot. No longer care what happens.
  
• 7:15 AM: tell Chad bye, wheeled into surgery room. The last thing I remember is them telling me I was too tall for the table and having to adjust it before I could be moved onto it. Then I was out.

The surgery was supposed to be over by 9:30. It didn't end until about 10 because when they started cutting into me, they were having trouble cutting my abs (gross) because apparently they are muscular. Who knew? Also, when they finally got to my gall bladder itself, it was longer than usual, and surrounded by scar tissue from all the attacks/pain I'd been having (of course). So it took some time. When they woke me up from anesthesia around 10:15, I was hyperventilating and outright sobbing. I have no idea why, but the nurse was shaking me and holding my head still and yelling at me to BREATHE.

I finally took a few deep breaths, and immediately passed out. I woke up again at about 10:45 in a recovery room, where they finally gave me some juice, and when I was like "um...pain" they told me I had to eat before they could de-pain me. I choked down 2 crackers (throat was sore from the oxygen tube thing), and they gave me vicodin - I'm sure those 2 saltines made a difference...

Anyway, they let me go around noon, with a bottle of vicodin, which ended up doing NOTHING but make me completely nauseous and dizzy. I got no sleep the first night, and spent that day coming in and out of consciousness and drinking water. I didn't eat anything for a couple of days. I also had a sweet oompa-loompa orange tan from the disinfectant stuff they used in surgery. The next morning, my dad called the surgeon to get a different pain pill (the pain was worse than when I woke up at this point). It worked for awhile, and I got some food down, and got to take a quick shower...but then I immediately threw it all up. Just some friendly advice: vomiting with open surgical wounds on your abdomen is miserable...don't. I spent that night coming in and out, so I at least got a couple hours of sleep, but the nausea...lord.

The next morning, I completely gave up on the pain pills and just took some ibuprofen. Believe it or not, this worked WAY better than either of the hardcore pills I had. I have been doing that ever since, and now that everything is out of my system today (still had nausea yesterday from the remnant meds), I actually managed to eat some toast and part of a Subway sandwich. I also managed to walk around the kitchen some today and take another shower. I am feeling a lot better now, and just need help sitting up/down since I can maneuver with my arms pretty well. I have a post-op appointment next week, but my wounds look good and I haven't had a fever at all, so that is good. I am not allowed to lift anything over 8 pounds for 6 weeks, and I don't have *too* much pain at the incisions, just a lot of swelling. Since I'm otherwise healthy, the surgeon was able to do everything through an umbilical incision, so my belly button area is the worst. I still have the other 3 minor incisions around my abdomen for the laproscopic procedure, but they didn't actually have to open those small incisions so they are healing quickly.

Thanks for the happy thoughts before, and I'm hoping for a speedy recovery! Should have an invite post this week, since I got delayed finishing the RSVPs due to my nausea.

stolen!

this seemed like a fun thing to do, so I stole it from Christy. I am waiting for my printer ink to get refilled at Walgreen's as we speak, so I will post some invite pics today or tomorrow once I've had a chance to actually print one! Also, we did our last catering tasting today and it was SO GOOD. I'm so pumped for our food now, and I cannot believe the price we are getting. They could charge wayyy more but I'm not complaining. Anyway, here's what I stole!:

Copy the list, bold the ones you've done (with explanations if needed), share with friends.

I have:

1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii (in June!)
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland (Disney World, but not Disneyland)
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a thunder and lightning storm
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train (Europe)
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run (I was a baseball master as a child)
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors (I'm German/Russian/Native American. Been to Germany and America! ha.)
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied (today is not that day)
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David in person
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant (this is one of my mom/my favorite things to do.)
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie (during my field camp we were in the background of a scene from the most recent Terminator movie. They digitally deleted us though, of course.)
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma (and it went terribly wrong, ask my friends.)
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp (truly disturbing, but something I think everyone should do.)
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter (HELL. NO.)
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job (does laid off count? because that happened to me when the economy first started tanking.)
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone (fingers, wrist, ankle, knee, toes, etc)
78. Been a passenger on a motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person (so cool!)
80. Published a book (does my thesis manuscript count? because that was published)
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Kissed a stranger at midnight on New Year’s Eve
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life (or at least from serious injury)
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Got a tattoo
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake (I stood around on the shore, it was way too gross)
97. Been involved in a law suit (class action)
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee

ask me anything?

this is going to be another quick post to encourage you all to formspring me and ask me questions.

I promise another big update should be coming next week, with pictures of our finished invitations. They are getting sent in the next couple weeks, but I want to try to get them done (or at least half) in the next week. Our final catering tasting is Monday, and then we will know what our menu choices are and can print the RSVPs.

Today I was scheduled for jury duty, but got dismissed early (my juror number was really high...1800 something. so not shocking).

Next Thursday, I am scheduled for surgery - finally getting my evil, stone filled gallbladder removed. Turns out not only does this problem run in my family, but a prescription I took for about 3 years causes gallstones. So, thanks doctors for never warning me about that! I will be spending my spring break week recovering from the surgery and enjoying pain pills. Unless there are complications. So, you know, happy thoughts and all.

Hope everyone is having a fabulous week!

quick update/fainting spell

so, I logged onto the knot today, saw this, and promptly fainted:

umm, SHUT THE FRONT DOOR.

I know most of you former bride types were all psyched about the count down, but this is really wigging me out. I expect to fully flip shit tomorrow, when it says 99.

in stuff you actually care about other news, have you been watching the olympics? I always forget how much I enjoy them (although, I have to give a shout out to the summer games, which I am ALWAYS pumped for) until they come back around, and I find myself glued to coverage of random sports I never watch otherwise. The US is doing great, and the men's figure skating finals last night were pretty awesome. Too bad the Russian silver medalist, Plushenko, is being a giant whine-bag about it. He spent the medal ceremony pouting/eye-rolling, and has spent today whining to any media outlet that will listen about how he was robbed. (I found this article, which briefly explains his loss, interesting.)

this update is pretty damn brief, but I gots stuff to do. So I leave you with this:

Someone's got a case of the Mondays...

Not me, because my Mondays are awesome. No obligations. I could do without the allergy/possible sickness issues I've got going on, but whatevs. Could be worse, right?

Anyway, my random topic of today's post is (drumroll): spring clothing I'm too broke to afford but am still dying to own.

Let's start with Anthropologie, my one and true store love. If I could live there, I totally would.

Adorable.

This also comes in red, but I'm digging the navy. Plus, I look good in blue.

I love this cardi. Yellow is horrendous on almost everyone, but I'd suffer through it for this.

This dress doesn't really scream "spring" to me, but I think it is cute.

I'm not sure why I like this top, but I do.

They call this a jacket, but I say it is an adorable cardi. That I NEED.

On to J.Crew, my other clothing love, which is wayyyy out of my price range 99% of the time. Except at the outlet, where I always seem to score deals.

Don't ask me to explain myself here. I just like it.

I want to casually shop and then eat lunch on a lanai in this.
I want this whole outfit. Not that I could pull it off.
I need this (in peacock or bright pink) to lounge on the beach in. Once I, you know, finish the 30 day shred.

Lastly, we'll head over to Ann Taylor Loft - you know, the poorer woman's J.Crew.

Fairly confident adorable outfits look ridiculous on me, but I like the top.

Need to add this shirt to my collection.

I need this whole outfit.

LOVE these shoes.

I need this dress for something...not sure what yet, but something.

So there you have it: my spring needs. Commence judging my fashion sense and/or taste!

random Wednesday thoughts...

My last couple of posts have been picture heavy. I'm not feeling very inspired today to hunt down pictures of whatever thing I feel like talking about today, so you're getting a random bulleted list:

• We are down to 116 days until the wedding. When.the.eff.did.that.happen?! Freaking my mind out.
• I've lost 8 pounds since December. Not really a lot, but considering that involved Christmas/New Year's food pig-outs, and involves me eating healthy, but still enjoying a cupcake once a month or whatever, I feel pretty good. So there.
• New anthro catalog in the mail yesterday = way too much money I want to spend. However, my bff gets a 25% discount...
• Yesterday while teaching, a couple students kept calling me "ma'am" - this thoroughly weirded me out for some reason. I'm only like...4 or 5 years older than most of them, and I do have some students that look older than my parents. Plus, I look about 12.* Stop it!
• I want a new swimsuit for the honeymoon...any recs? I found some cute ones on victoriassecret.com, but eh. I don't really want to spend $100, but some quality should be involved.
  

Hope everyone has a fabulous Wednesday! and the rest of the week.


*funny story: everyone thinks I'm 12, but when I bought my car in December 08, the guy at my bank asked if I was 16 yet. WTF.