Bachelorette & Dancing Filled Weekend

This past weekend I joined a dozen other ladies to celebrate in a bachelorette weekend for my great friend Jenna. It seems so long ago that her and I first met when we had just started dating our husbands (or husbands-to-be) and now her wedding weekend is upon us!

We spent the weekend sipping adult beverages, hanging out by the pool, making new friends and enjoying two fantastic suites in a hotel downtown. We stuffed ourselves at dinner, danced the night away at a country bar and were thankful Jenna didn't make us wear tu-tus like the other bridal party we saw! It was such a fun weekend even if we were all feeling it the next morning. All these ladies are so awesome and now I cannot wait for the festivities to continue.

Happy bachelorette Jenna, thank you for letting me be a part of your celebration and big day!

Tying the Knot: Our First Dance

After all the pictures were taken care of, J and I had eaten a few appetizers and had some sips of champagne, I finally felt like we could take a breath and relax. The morning and pre-ceremony parts of the day had gone so smoothly but I was starting to feel stressed and rushed and just plain sick so it was nice to know that we'd have a chance to enjoy the evening in a more calm way now.

We decided to have a formal entrance of our wedding party before we were announced for the first time as "Mr & Mrs" which was a lot of fun. I picked "Down" by Jay Sean because even though it's not super romantic per-say the lyrics are about "being my one and only" which I thought was fitting and the song is just fun.

We also decided to immediately do our first dance as husband and wife following our introduction. This way it got a somewhat boring typical part of the evening out of the way for our guests and it was one less thing to have to do after dinner. Our dance was pretty normal, just a slow dance between husband and wife, no dips, no twirls, no secret dance plan. But I wouldn't have had it any other way. Dancing with my husband, wrapped up in his arms, surrounded by the people who loved us most was absolutely perfect.

We danced to "My Best Friend" by Tim McGraw. It's been "our song" for so many years we didn't even have to think about what we'd use.

All photos courtesy of Ignite Images.

Next up: The Toasts

Need to catch up?

First we got ready

Then it was time for The Dress

Lovely bridesmaid photos

Our sweet Ollie pup

Handsome groomsmen photos

The Bride & Groom portraits

Our First Touch before the ceremony

Small wedding details

The start of our Ceremony (Readings & Ring Warming)

We're finally Husband & Wife

Formal family & wedding party photos

How we remembered missing family

Our pictures as Mr & Mrs

Our Anniversary

This past Friday was J and my four year dating anniversary and it was so amazing to be able to celebrate yet another year with my love. In case you missed it, I did a quick look back on the past anniversaries we've shared as well as a "getting to know you" post about us as a couple.

I unfortunately had to open at work on Friday which meant I was up at 4:30am! (That is a ridiculous time, I agree.) But thankfully, I was done by 1 and we were able to start our fabulous day together. We started with lunch and games at Dave & Busters. Nothing says fun to a competitive couple like us than trying to be the one with the most tickets.

I got J addicted to these games where you try to knock coins off different levels, we battled in basketball shooting and ski ball and eventually walked away with two plastic cups and two laffy taffies from our winnings.
We came home to shower and get ready for the rest of our evening which ended up turning into a quick power nap for me. I'm actually really surprised that I didn't fall asleep at the dinner table that night with the little sleep I got the night before and the busy day we had. (I'm definitely an 8+ hour sleeper.)

Then it was off to dinner, Mongolian BBQ to be exact! One of our first dates together was to a similar place in downtown Denver so it made for the perfect choice. And boy was it delicious. You help yourself to meats, veggies, etc etc and build a huge bowl of whatever you please. For me it was chicken and beef, carrots, peppers, water chestnuts, bean sprouts, tomatoes, and peas. Top it off with a heaping portion of noodles and create your own sauce combination depending on your spice preference. Then you hand your bowl to someone standing around a huge round grill top and they cook it right there in front of you. Once it's perfect you take it to your table which has already been served with rice and bread and you eat!
Tell me how that doesn't look amazing to you!? It's an all-you-can-eat place so you aren't limited to one bowl but my eyes were bigger than my stomach with the first one that I couldn't even clean my plate. If we go back I'll start small and have the option to try something completely different for bowl number two. It was great trying something newish with J while talking about our fun memories together and enjoying spending a night out.
We finished the night at a country line dancing bar sorta near our apartment. We've been meaning to go there for a while now but hadn't because we didn't know what to expect. Like I mentioned in a previous post, our first date was to a similar place but it's interesting how different things are in different states.

It took us a few Bud Light Limes little while to get confident enough to attempt the crazy California dances but eventually we were out there kickin up our heals and as J calls it "cutin the rug." J thinks that every person who owns a cowboy hat in San Diego was at the bar that night (CA is very different than CO in that sense) and we spotted many tight pairs of jeans, big belt buckles and even a handle bar mustache.
We laughed and smiled and truly had an amazing night! Being out on that floor together showed us a fun side of our relationship that it's sometimes easy to forget about with the regular stresses of life. We connected, fell in love a little bit more, and I couldn't have asked for a better night of celebration.

Here's to 60+ more years together!

Love like crazy

There have been a handful of eventful (or at least eventful for me) things that have happened in the past few days so I thought I'd share. I'll probably bore most of you because, well, who cares about these things other than me? But I digress....

* I went to Starbucks this morning for my usual order of a grande, iced, non-fat, caramel macchiato. I paid and was sitting in my car wishing they would hurry up because I didn't feel like using my air conditioning to cool the world when the barista hands me a venti-said-drink. Feeling in an honest mood or thinking that I would have bad karma for the rest of the day, I said "umm I only paid for a grande." She smiled at me, said thank you, told me if it was her she would have taken it & run and then proceeded to make me the grande I was supposed to have. Then, handed me both drinks and said I was honest enough to deserve both. So I sit here drinking a venti latte and smile knowing there's a grande for tomorrow morning sitting in the fridge waiting for me. Honesty is the best policy I guess.

*School is starting in 5 days and I have to admit that this is the first fall semester I'm not even a little bit excited for. Usually I'm such a nerd that I'm ready to be back in the swing of classes and a routine but this semester.... not at all. Maybe that's because I was so busy and so stressed in the spring or maybe it's because we may or may not have NO AC in any building on campus! I sweat just thinking about that possibility. A water main on campus burst a few days ago and they are racing to get it fixed so they can restart the air conditioning. It's been close to 100 degrees every day for at least a week and isn't supposed to be cooling down anytime soon. Some classrooms are hot even with the ac blasting. Let's hope they get it fixed, ASAP, but at least before Monday.

*My car has been the target for many birds in the last few weeks so I decided it was time to give it a wash. The whole time I was there, while getting out of my car, paying, washing and leaving, I was being starred down by an older man in trashy/dirty clothes, holding a 40 oz of beer, just standing next to his car. Can you say creepy? It was not even 11 am and he was drinking which is creepy in itself not to mention the fact that he was obviously staring at a college age girl in the parking lot. I got in and out of that car wash as quick as I could.

*My puppy is no longer looking like a puppy but is starting to be more of a big boy dog now. He's lost his sweet smelling puppy breath which is the worst part for me. He's also grown these long and lean legs and stands taller every day. We've had to start brushing him every day because his fluffy "lamb fur" has started to shed and he has a big dog coat underneath. My little boy is not so little anymore either, I weighed him yesterday and he weighs 30 lbs now! Where did my sweet puppy go and who is this dog that's taken his place?

*I am currently in love with the song "Love like Crazy" by Lee Brice. If you're a country fan (or even if you aren't) and haven't heard this song, you must go listen to it now. Maybe it's because I've been with the BF for so long or maybe it's because we've started planning our life and future together but the lyrics of this song touch a special place in my heart and I can't stop listening to this song.

Be a best friend, tell the truth,

And overuse I love you

Go to work, do your best,

Don't outsmart your common sense

Never let your prayin' knees get lazy

And love like crazy

On growing up

So maybe I'm just a big baby or a sob or a freak or anything else you want to call it but..... this song literally makes me tear up every single time I listen to it. Which is odd because it's not even a sad song.

"Oh, you go so much going for you, going right..."

I know everyone has some times in their high school and teen years where things aren't perfect and you have your doubts and you have your low points. But there's just something about this song that really touches my heart. It's like the words are exactly what I would tell myself sophomore/junior/senior year of high school if I could right now. (Minus the part about taking girls out for dates.)

I feel like I can picture myself as the 17-year-old-Brad in this song. Not knowing where to go. Not knowing what to do. Being stuck thinking this is all it's going to be. Not feeling like you're supported or you're doing the right things. Just wishing someone would tell you the things he says in this song. And so maybe that's the reason I usually end up with streaming tears by the end of the song.... Because I was able to do those things on my own in those years and can say that I am successful now because of them. I truly love this song.

You got so much up ahead, you'll make new friends

You should see your kids and wife

And I'd end by saying have to fear

These are nowhere near the best years of your life...

*On a completely different note, I'm so happy I have 20 followers now! Happy, happy, happy dance! I love all my followers and I'm so glad you've all stuck around/joined in the first place. Thanks to Meg @ [Life of Meg] for mentioning on her blog so welcome anyone who's stopping by from there. Hope to keep growing :-)

on summertime

What best describes my mood right now? I'm pretty sure this video sums it up perfectly!

I am so extremely grateful that I can finally relax and enjoy summer. It's like tomorrow is the start of a completely different life style compared to the one I've been living since March. When they say to study a total of 300 hours, it really is true. But for now... no more studying, no more "there's something else I need to memorize", no more libraries, no more practice tests, no more MCAT. And even though it seems like there's always something that needs to get done (my 10 page autobiography I haven't started, my application, desperate job hunting, planning to move) I am taking great comfort in being able to spend my days choosing what I want to do. And simply, if that means nothing, then so be it.

On the list for tomorrow: getting a much needed hair cut trim. I desperately miss my long hair; I can't believe it's been over a year already since the big chop! My pup also needs a bath so we're taking him to the laundro-mut :-) As for the rest of the day... whatever happens happens. But for goodness sake, it's summer and I deserve a break!

PS: I'm sorry that my consistency in blogging has been, well, inconsistent. Given that my life was previously consumed, I doubt anyone would be interested in the "adventures" I was having. Does anyone care that there was a screaming child for 30 minutes in the library on Tuesday? Does anyone care that I tried to go to bed at 9:30 all week because I was so exhausted? Yeah, I didn't think so. BUT, since I will now have more free time than I'll probably know what to do with, I promise to be better.

PSS: Thank you to anyone who actually still reads my poor attempts lately. My blog may be pathetic but I appreciate you none the less.

on being thankful

I am thankful...

+ for the motivation I've had lately. Because without it, yeah, I'd be seriously stressed. I'm already starting to get those stress symptoms, stomach aches, head aches, groggy feelings, etc, even with all of the things I've been able to accomplish. My studying is going great, I'm right on track with my course and I'm feeling much more confident for this time around.

Current countdown= 15 days

+ that all my hard work is seeming to be paying off. My practice test scores have seriously increased from what they were 7 weeks ago when I just happened to have a break down and thought about giving up to work at Walmart my whole life. And even better than that is that my practice scores are now higher than my first actual score. Hopefully this keeps it's upward trend. 35 here I come.

+ for the motivation I've had in other areas besides my test because lord knows that's most of my time right now. I've made myself stop studying to go to the gym occasionally to try to work out those other muscles I have. Not just my brain and my "writing muscles." And I have to say it feels good to get out and release like that. Plus, Jeff and I even got up at 6 am and went for a run this morning. I know, I'm shocked too, but we really did it! For us non-runners, that was a big step.

+ for times when the laundry is clean. It seems like a never ending battle and I'm sure it's much easier to do laundry for two than for a whole family and I shouldn't really complain. But most of the time I dread doing it since we don't have our own washer and dryer. That means trucking to the garage multiple times and paying for each load. Not to mention having to run down as soon as it's done so some big jerk doesn't take your clothes out. (I seriously don't understand why people do that and it drives me batty! You really can't wait 5 min until I'm there and have move everything on top of the washer? Ughh) But as much as laundry annoys me, I love when it's done, you can wear whatever clothes you want!

+ we are getting to go out on Friday night and see Tim McGraw, Lady Antebellum, and Love & Theft! I seriously LOVE all three groups and can't wait to enjoy the night, maybe even with a beer or two. I really hope the evening turns out as great as I'm hoping it will but as long as there's good country music and I have my boy at my side, I'll be a happy girl.

+ for my upcoming Antigua vacation! I don't think it's really set in yet that I'm really going because of all the other things I've had on my mind lately but after browsing some resort pictures, yeah, I'm stoked! The traveling part is not going to be very much fun (flight Saturday to Denver 10:30 am, flight to Newark 5 pm, flight to Antigua 9 am, arrive 1 pm) but it's going to be so worth it once we're there. I found out yesterday they offer free water sports equipment so I may or may not try to wind surf while we're there. Along with the diving, tanning, shopping, relaxing, possibly drinking (they make their own specialty rum on the island) and don't forget the studying. (yes I know I'm a nut for studying, but my test is in 15 days remember) I'll definitely need someone to pinch me when we get there.

And to think that I get to eat this for breakfast every day.... Heaven.

+ most importantly for my BF, my main squeeze. He has been beyond supportive with all of my "non-fun" habits lately and I can't thank him enough. I am almost, just almost, more excited to be back in SD in a few weeks simply to be able to have fun with him more often. It's summer for crying out loud, let's make the best of it. But really, I love you babe. ♥

on longing for the past

The thing I miss most from summer at home with no studying to do and no responsibilities, basically life a few years ago, is definitely.... line dancing at The Grizzly Rose. Seriously, I miss those days. Like a lot. I miss not having a care in the world, calling up close friends and saying "hey, let's go to the rose" like it was no big deal. We would all be off work at nights, would car-pool there and never ever get tired of having a good time.

And now as I'm sitting in the library on a Friday at 4:00pm, having gotten here at 10:00am, knowing I have at least 2 more hours left, absolutely hating the o-chem I'm trying to finish.... this song happens to come through my head phones... all I want to do is go dancing with my friends, and it makes me so sad that I don't have that life anymore.

It's an awesome song, don't get me wrong. But there's something about a good country song that makes it feel like summer and makes me long for those days....