christmas, christmas time is here

christmas is going to be here way too quickly. first of all, wasn't it october like yesterday? and second, we are leaving to go to the islands with Robbie's family on thursday.  we get back the 22nd. which means that is just about christmas day! ahhhhh. i haven't finished all my shopping either...my brother and my parents are both left to think up something in just a few days!! any suggestions are welcome....

a little christmas funny: i was in the post office a week or so ago for work. i was waiting in line and there was an older lady at the desk getting whatever she needed mailed. as she left she told the post master "happy holidays". this little old man 2 people behind me in line looks at her and goes in a gruff voice "its merry christmas!!!" the lady looked pretty confused as if she didn't understand what he was going for, and just repeaed "ok..happy holidays to you too" and walked out.  then the little man looked at me and another lady in line and said "i hate all these politically correct people. its merry christmas!!!!!!" i guess when you're old you can say whatever you want and get away with it! it was funny though.

i am excited about this christmas. my brother turns 21 on christmas eve, which is usually a good time anyway! also, Robbie is going to be in raleigh and in albemarle with us. when we get back from st. kitt's he will be just saying in raleigh with me. i have never had a boyfriend with me on christmas so this will be a first. although i guess we better get used to it since next christmas we will be married and having to figure out holidays between families for the rest of our lives! this year since we are doing christmas with my family, we are going to be coming back home to do christmas with his family on the 26th. i dont mind a two day christmas at all :)


hope everyone has been good this year! merry christmas!

halloween to christmas time!

i was really excited about having halloween at our new house :) i usually don't really care about halloween past the dressing up and parties.....but i havent ever had my own house where kids will come to trick or treat! i only got about 10 kids total, and my neighbor (ha) so i am left with all this candy and i am supposed to fit in my wedding dress in may!? ahhhh but it was fun- here are some pictures from the day getting ready for the kids to come! oh yeah, apparently lady gaga made an appearance in the neighborhood- but she missed my house.

And now I am so ready for Christmas! Every store has santas and reindeer everywhere. Come on Thanksgiving!! I am ready to get a tree, decorate red and green (hey axo) everywhere, and watch Christmas Vacation with Robbie...like every night! Merry..uhh Happy November 1!!

cookin up something good

i dont like cooking. but lately i have been trying to collect recipes that are easy, quick, and don't require random ingredients that i'm never going to use again.  i have searched allrecipes.com for hours! i have found a couple fun ideas and thought i would share them...
i haven't actually gotten around to cooking yet but i hope to soon! next week robbie is out of town though- and cooking for one is never very much fun...

dijon chicken: all thats in this is dijon mustard, milk, bread crumbs, parmesan cheese, and chicken of course. mix the dijon and milk in one bowl (or you can marinate it for a while) then dip it in the bread crumbs and cheese mix. then bake in the oven at 350* for 30 minutes and its done! easy easy easy and sounds really yummy! i can't wait to try this one!

chicken divan: broccoli, cubed or shredded chicken, condensed broccoli soup, milk, shredded cheddar cheese, butter, bread crumbs. boil the broccoli, then place it in a pie plate. then put chicken in with the broccoli, and pour over the pie plate the soup, milk, and bread crumb mixture. then sprinkle cheddar cheese on top.  bake at 450* for about 15 minutes, or until light brown.

and something fun to take for a tailgate or a holiday party:

pork sliders: pork tenderloin and dinner rolls is all this takes! marinate a pork tenderloin however you like it, bbq sauce or another marinade. then cook it (bake or grill) and slice. place pork onto warmed rolls and wrap in aluminum foil. share with everyone!

wedding planning weekend!

i went to raleigh this weekend to take care of some wedding planning stuff with my mom.  i ordered my dress! which is a secret, so you'll have to wait to see it still unless you happen to be a bridesmaid or a lucky family member :) i also went and looked at china with my mom.  i haven't found one pattern that i really liked...until saturday afternoon! i actually have put 3 different patterns together so that they coordinate and its unique just for me! i am really excited about them...especially since fish are on certain pieces...the main place setting just has the fish pattern on the soup/salad bowl.  here are some pictures of that, because they aren't a secret!

seeing more clearly now

i went to the eye doctor and got glasses while in college because i found i couldn't read the board or the projector screen in classes.  i also noticed i couldn't really see as well at night when i was driving. i didn't realize how poor my vision had gotten until recently.  i couldn't see road signs during the day, and oh, i didn't know you were supposed to see blades of grass so clearly!

so last wednesday i went back to my new eye doctor and got "fitted" for contacts.  welllllllll sort of. i am apparently the only person in the world who couldn't get them in at the doctor's office. three, yes THREE, different techs tried to get them in and no success.  they told me i have good reflexes and strong eyelid muscles...ummmmm ok?

the dreaded contact!

well i was sent home with my trial pair of contacts and was to get them in myself...and the lady told me she hoped i could get them out once, if i ever did, get them in! (gee thanks) well it took 48 hours, but yes i did manage to get them both in! i am determined to not be stuck with eye glasses for the rest of my life.  my mom suggested lasik..which i do hope to get eventually- but its too early because my eyes haven't stayed the same prescription long enough yet...oh one day...

so now i have finally gotten the hang of these things..somewhat.  it still takes a little longer for my left eye, and my left contact doesn't even fit quite right when it is in. so at my one week appointment next monday, i guess i'll be ordering a different size or brand to try to see if it will ease my uncomfortable eye! my right one seems to be perfect. and it is so cool to see again without having something on my face all the time!

hopefully by my appointment i will be a pro at getting them in and out! tonight it only took 2 tries to get each of them out so that was some MAJOR progress. saturday night i couldn't get the left one out for my life and everyone who was over at my house tried to explain to me how to do it! i guess its just one of those things you have to learn on your own! 

The DRESS!!

So I found the dress..but besides select family members and bridesmaids..nobody can see it until the weekend of the wedding!!! I am so excited about it, but we haven't offiically ordered it yet.  August 28 I will return to the bridal shop to place the order..better get in shape fast I guess! Ahhh! Checking off more and more as we go on...and I am soo excited!

Oh, the dress was the very first one I tried on at my very first appointment on Saturday.  Of course, that's how things tend to work for me! We still had fun at the other appointments and everything was gorgeous! This one just gave me the best feeling and I really felt like it was real when they put a veil on with it! I am going to try to use my mom's veil though, so keep your fingers crossed it will work out with us redoing it a little and maybe adding some sparkle to it!

Now to wait for the call back from the florist..........

wedding update

the countdown is down to 285 days! amazing since we started out at over 500! i can't believe how quickly time has gone by, yet i feel like we still have a while to go.  i have started a wedding scrapbook, which i update every so often when something is finalized or happens! the latest update has been for the engagement party our bridal party and friends threw for us in beaufort. it was so much fun and we missed those who couldn't be there! the rest of the book so far just documents our engagement night, the places where everything is going to take place, and the bridesmaids dresses i picked out.  i am so excited that we will have those ordered september 3 so they will be here in december! i refuse to run into fitting problems too close to the wedding, so that is why we are getting them in early enough so we don't have to worry and we will have plenty of time to reorder should anyone's dress come in completely wrong (But we hope they are all perfect!!)

i am, by far, most excited for this coming weekend because i'm going wedding dress shopping! unfortunately, this part will have to have a blank page in the book for a while so robbie won't be able to snoop...not that he would ever admit to wanting to do that! :) i guess i could hide the scrapbook..but i may just have to put it off for a while til i can add the wedding dress page! we have 3 appointments between saturday and sunday, so hopefully ill be able to find something!! 9 months to go doesn't leave a lot of time for waiting around for a dress to come to me! i have found one online that i love, but we will have to wait to see what it looks like on!! more to come later...