Right after my last post, I finished up the school year. I have three weeks left this summer with all the kids that I worked most closely with, so I didn't get too torn up. I did, however, get misty-eyed when talking with Kaitlyn's parents about the future and leaving. That little girl certainly has my heart, and I am going to miss her so much when I leave. My emotions have really started to hit hard, so I know that leaving school this summer is going to be tough. On Friday, June 19, 2009, Kasey and I did a lot of work to empty the apartment. It is amazing to me that two years is up! Kasey and I had some really fantastic times in that place. It is funny because people say that you shouldn't live with your friends, but I haven't seen the problem. I lived with Melissa for two years and we were practically inseparable and still are! Kasey and I just did a two year stretch as well, and I think that we are closer than we were before. And in less than a year and four months they will both be helping me to walk down the aisle!! For now, Kasey and I will stick together and have one big adventure from New York to California!
Saturday, June 20, 2009
My flight home was leaving from Niagara Falls, NY around 2, so I spent the morning killing time and packing up the end of all my stuff. Kasey was kind enough to take care of the last of my things while I was gone and clear out the apartment completely. She even did the final cleaning and handed the keys over. I can't believe that we are done with the apartment. I got a little misty when I got the text that the deed was done! My trip to the airport was a little chaotic. I totally messed up on my estimate of my arrival time and when I was about halfway to the cemetery, where I was going to drop off some flowers, I suddenly realized the mistake that I made and had to book it out of there. I stopped at a McDonalds and left the flowers there. Ha! I got less than ten minutes from the airport and my phone started ringing. It was the airport people telling me that everyone else on my flight checked in and I needed to get there in case the plane got in early or I might be left behind!! Mind you, this was almost an hour before the scheduled departure time! I was walking into the airport when my phone rang again and it was the same lady! I made it though and I even had time to use the restroom before the plane took off. I found out why I was the last person to check in, too, there were only about 45 people flying! I had my own row and I watched The Pirates of the Carribean on my smooth direct flight to Myrtle Beach, woohoo! The first thing that I did, after peeling off a few layers of clothes (oh I missed the sun!!!), was to eat at Chick-Fil-A in the mall!! It was so yummy. My Mom knew that is what we would be doing, lol. We browsed around the mall a little bit and headed home to see my Dad. I thought I was going to surprise him, but it turned out that he knew I was coming. I think that the decorations and fresh flowers that my Mom left in my room gave it away! You have to love her :-).
Sunday, June 21, 2009
Sunday was pretty relaxing as Father's Day should be. We went and got Nannie to go to church in the morning and then got some bagels for breakfast. It reminded me of being at home again. I know that is one tradition I am going to bring to my new family. I always loved going to church and then getting breakfast at the little bagel shop down the street. It is funny how much I have been thinking about all the different traditions that I want to bring to my new family. I think that getting engaged opened the gates for me to really start getting excited about having a family of my own! I am so ready for it! During a very nice day of relaxing, my Mom snuck away and got James and me the greatest home-warming gift. It is pretty much a container with kitchen tools (like spoons and spatulas and stuff), but it is on this lazy-susan-type thing and it is SO cool and it was a great price! I saw it on Saturday and thought I might order it online, but then they didn't sell it online, so I was bummed. She is a sneaky one!! Thanks, Mom, you are the best!! We took Nannie home and headed to sleep because I new that they rest of my vacation was going to lack in a relaxation, hehe. Happy Father's Day, Dad!!
Monday, June 22, 2009
The first day of wedding business! I was so excited to start doing wedding stuff that I actually got up early on Monday to get showered and hit the road. Mom had the day off, so that we could get some things started for the wedding next year. The first thing that we did was head to the seamstress. We asked everyone who the best person was and everyone said Debbie's Alterations, so that is where we went. For a little back story, I was talking with my Mom a couple weeks ago when she mentioned all the prom dresses that were in the closet of my old bedroom. I told her that she could get rid of them and she reminded me that Andrea's prom dress was still in there. (For those of you who do not know who Andrea is, she was one of my very best friends in high school. She died suddenly without any explaination when I was a senior and she was a freshmen in college. She is still as important to me today as she has always been and that is why this dress is such a big deal to me). When I remembered that her Mom had given me her senior prom dress, I also remember that it was white and that I could use it for the wedding. So, we took the dress over to the seamstress to see if she could work something out for us. I decided that I wanted to use some of the skirt of the dress to make white ribbons to put on all of the bouquets and then use the rest of the skirt to make a ring bearer's pillow. It took a lot of trust, leaving the dress with her, but I put my faith in it (more to come on that story in the next week section). After that we headed over to Merle Norman to look at head pieces for me. While we were there we decided to look at the Mother of the Bride dresses, too. Now, the night before, I showed my Dad the dress that I liked for my Mom and he took one look at it and said "I don't like it". Man! We looked through the website and Dad asked me to bring up one particular dress and he then said, "Now that is sharp, I like that!" So, back to Monday, we were at Merle Norman looking at the dresses and there in the separates section was the two-piece dress that my Dad picked out. It was the only dress in the section that had both pieces and it was the only one of that dress and it was my Mom's size! She put it on and it was absolutely perfect!!! It fit her to a T and it was stunning! The best part is it was also seventy percent OFF!! It was ridiculous! We couldn't believe it and had to get it. Dad was even excited because he kind of picked it out! I have a picture, but I decided not to post it, I want to save the surprise for the big day. We had some lunch and Kyoto's Express to prepare for the upcoming visits to the restaurant upon Kasey's arrival (it's her favorite in Myrtle Beach) and then started out quest for a wedding site. There was one place that I liked call the Marina.
Funky decor.
An Italian-Mafia type guy, Eddie, showed us around and answered the questions that we had. It was a really cool place, but discouraging when I saw the prices for alcohol. An open bar was pretty much like running a basic tab and then us paying it off! It was really expensive! After a long day of wedding bliss, we headed out to celebrate my birthday at Carabba's. I didn't get to celebrate with them, so we did it a week late. Heather got to join us for dinner, which was perfect because I had been waiting to ask her to be a bridesmaid in the wedding.
She said yes! Hooray.
I am very excited to have all six of my bridesmaids on board now! It has been so hard to keep it a secret. It was pretty tough figuring out what I was going to do in terms of bridesmaids. I have had such a wonderfully blessed life and I have so many important people in my life! I would not be anywhere close to where I am today without all the love and support that I have had over the years! What I decided to do was to look at all the different parts of my life and pick one person that could represent that portion of my life. The ladies that I chose impacted me in a lifechanging way and have shown me what it means to be a true friend. For the many other people who have a significant and permanent place in my heart, you can make sure that the girls that are in the wedding represent you with all their hearts :-) The wedding is going to be a celebration of love and friendship and dedication and enthusiasm and passion and excitement like you have never seen before. When we do send out the invitations we are hoping that they are more of an imformative letter letting you know that you have impacted our lives and we want you to join us to make this step into our new future. After dinner we headed home. Tuesday, Heather took the day off so that we could have another day of wedding fun.
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
I was so excited when Heather got to our house on Tuesday morning. I got to show her all the wedding stuff that I already had including sashes for the bridesmaid dresses, Mom's dress, pictures of the shoes and the bridesmaid dress, and the center piece decorations. While we were waiting for Mom, I realized with excitement that the date also represented James and I having been together for exactly three and a half years! That was pretty cool! I am so blessed to have him in my life. So, the big part of the day was visiting the wedding site that I have been drooling over via a few pictures and everything that my Mom had to say. She visited in March and fell in love hoping that I would love it, too. The woman that is in charge of catering and events is incredible. She even held our date from March until June (for free) until I could get there to check it out!! Most people charge for something like that. I did, in fact, fall in love with the site! I am not going to give away the whole deal, but I did was to put in these two shots to get your imagination going.
This is pretty much the wedding site from 20 stories up in the hotel. The circular part to the left is where the ceremony will be. The coctail hour will continue after the ceremony around the pool. And the reception will be in the big retangular building to the right. What is great about the reception is that the walls come up on that building, so it is a, sort of, inside and outside event. It is so perfect! I was SO excited leaving there and planning how I was going to convince my Dad that it was THE place!
This is the waterpark that is a part of the hotel. Isn't it cool?!
After we sat down and asked lots of questions and got lots of information to give to my Dad, we headed to the bakery to talk cake. We found the perfect place to get the cake from and even had a couple delicious samples.
Heather and I in front of the bakery.
It was really funny because I knew exactly which cake flavor we wanted when I walked in the door, I even told the manager who would be making the cake, but when she asked if we wanted to try anything, I said Yes!! Of course. It was free, too, which is always nice. I do love to be catered to, lol. That was another successful visit, so we then moved on to flowers! I was especially excited about the flower part because my Mom has been a florist my entire life, I have been waiting since the day I understood what a florist did, to have my Mom and I pick out flowers for my wedding. I have decided that I am going to keep the pictures on the low for now. I can't give away everything, you better be at the wedding and you can see it all!!
I love my Mom more than the sun and the moon! She is the best woman I have ever met in my life. She means the world to me.
Heather had fun, too!
Heather had to head home and we headed over to my Aunt's house because my cousin's little boy was turning three and they were having a birthday party. All that I have to say is that I am glad that I got him those gold teeth and brass knuckles for his birthday because they went perfectly with the present that his Mom got him...
Oh yeah! A fully loaded Cadillac Escalade! Is that not the best thing you have ever seen?!
It even has a cupholder and a system with an actual radio in it! And are those rims that I see? And, Yes, of course...
It's a Hybrid!! HA!
Peyton had a great birthday! He is so adorable!
Tuesday was quite the successful day in the world of wedding planning. I headed to bed Tuesday night with tons of excitement.
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Wednesday was a really exciting day as well because I had a little surprise up my sleeve. I have a wonderful friend, Kasey, who is getting married in September. She was having a wedding shower on Saturday afternoon that I was not going to be able to attend. I was really sad because I hadn't even met Robbie, the future husband, at this point. So, with my free day, I decided that I was going to plan a little surprise visit and started plotting with Robbie right away. I used the internet to "meet" with him and he helped me to pull one over on sweet Kasey. The look on her face when she walked into her apartment to see me sitting on the couch was worth the trip! She was so surprised and happy!! Robbie is fantastic. They are such a great couple and so very much in love! They have it written all over their faces when they are near each other. I am so excited to be a part of their day! We had a delicious dinner and ate some Ben and Jerry's. Wednesday night we hung out at their apartment and watched So You Think You Can Dance. Neither of them watch the show, so I got to share my joy :-). I had a great night sleep in the bed that they made up for me in their extra room of boxes. They are getting ready to move into their very own house! Amazing! I can't wait for the wedding in September!
Thursday, June 25, 2009
I got up bright and early with them on Thursday morning and headed back to Myrtle Beach. It truly was an in and out trip! Once I got home, I headed to my first day at the beach. Having lived in the north for two years, I am not used to the warm sunshine anymore! It was oh so nice, but way hot! I only was able to stay for about an hour or a little more. It was nice though, I will take it! Thursday night was the night to pitch the wedding site to Dad. I was so nervous about it that I completely forgot about So You Think You Can Dance. Kasey had to tell me who got kicked off later. I showed Dad all the pictures and then talked about the food and drink and everything else. He asked where the other options were and I told him that I had a second choice, but I really loved this choice and he said he was in!! I was overflowing with excitement. I knew that I wanted to wait to put my whole heart in until he went to the site and met the coordinator, but I was already getting giddy. What was really fun was that she emailed that night and said that she was looking forward to meeting Dad and she wanted to pay for us to eat at the restaurant on Saturday night. Even when we told her that I had friends coming, she just added them to the list! It was perfect!
Friday, June 26. 2009
Kasey was coming in to the beach on Friday. I knew that we would have to hit up Kyoto Express right off the bat, so I made sure not to eat anything for breakfast, lol. I had time to hit the beach before I went to the airport, so I did that to build my tan a little more before Melissa's arrival on Monday. I headed to the airport to get Kasey and knew that she was going to be sweating when she realized how hot it was down there! It is the desert compared to Syracuse right now! As expected, I grabbed her up and after a quick stop for a bathing suit cover, we headed to fulfill Kasey's destiny with a chicken bowl.
Mmmmm.
Her excitement was overflowing, so was her fork which landed in a cup of white sauce that flew all over! HA!
Is it all that you hoped it would be??
And More!!
After we enjoyed the chicken bowls we headed to my Dad's for happy hour. Sadly, no one really showed up this week! What a bummer. We had a few crazy guys in there and then went to Fat Jacks, which is a chicken wing place that I love! Uncle Reed, Aunt Terry, Riley, and Bob joined us for some deliciousness and then we headed to WalMart to get some sunscreen for all the beach visits that would ensue.
Saturday, June 27, 2009
On Saturday morning, Shannon my sweet little sister from the sorority in college came down for the night! It was so wonderful to have her there! As you remember, my other little sister, Sianneth, got to be there when I found my wedding dress, so it was only perfect that Shannon be there when we found the site! I am so glad that she came out! We spent the day at the beach and then showered up for a nice (free) dinner out at the wedding site!!
Pretty ladies.
Mom is the best!
We walked around the site, so that everyone could see the plan. They all loved it. What is great about the place is that it is just fun and different. It is going to be the best! I could see Dad's head brewing with questions, so I was glad that Katie would be meeting with us to make sure that he was all in like I am!! The food was incredible! We got a collection of different things and ate at a table by a window right off the ocean! It was so nice.
Possible menu item for the reception: Pork chops, and, yes, they were as delicious as they look!!
A full and yummy meal (including dessert) later, Dad was sold and I was stoked!!! I am ready for the wedding to be here right now! We are going to have a complete blast!
Thanks Dad!!! You are the BEST!! I love you!
Back at home, I thought it was only right that I made Dad a special treat. So, I took my first stab at pan-made popcorn! I actually did very well. I think this is a skill that James could get used to, haha!
The top kept getting higher and higher.
Yum!
It was a great way to finish off Saturday.
Sunday, June 28, 2009
We had a little cookout on Sunday. First, Kasey, Shannon, and I spent a little more time at the beach and Mom went and got Nannie. Peyton and Kara came over, too, so we ate some food and hung around most of the day. Shannon had to head back to Charlotte, so we made sure she got fed first! Can I please mention again how wonderful it was to have her here. It was so funny when I asked if she could come, she said yes before I even told her the date! Thanks Shannon and I am so glad to have you as a part of my life! I love you bunches!
Yummy. Kasey made rice krispy treats for the cookout.
Monday, June 29, 2009
Kasey and I did a little bit of sleeping in today and ran around some, including the beach, before Melissa arrived with her friends (Elena and Katie) on Monday afternoon. As scheduled, Melissa came in late afternoon. We did a little bit of running around and then ate dinner at the Mellow Mushroom (yum). Melissa and I hadn't been there in forever no one else had ever been there, so it was quite a treat. We hung out in the evening and went to bed early, so the girls could get on the beach Tuesday.
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Tuesday is my Mom's day off of work, so Melissa, Elena, and Katie headed to the beach and Kasey and I headed out with my Mom for a bit. The overall plan was to end up at the beach with the girls, but due to some other people getting into a crazy accident, the part of the road where they were at the beach got completely closed, so we couldn't get in. We ended up meeting Kara and Peyton at Surfside Beach instead. It was so much fun playing with Peyton. I haven't seen him at the beach at all, so we had a blast jumping in the waves and "swimming" back and forth. He is really starting to get adventurous! Tuesday night is my Dad's night to meet his friends at the bar at the end of the street, so we all went home and showered and headed out there for a few drinks and many laughs. Don't worry, we all went to the same bar, lol!!
Super fun group!!
Dad was enjoying jumping in all the pictures...
...
:-)
I love my Roomie!
Where's Daddy-O?
When I suddenly realized that I had work due on Wednesday, I headed home and Melissa and my Dad raced home a little later. Dad won... he was in the Corvette and Melissa was on foot, so I don't think that it was a fair race! Hehe.
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
I can't believe that it is a new month. I can't believe that it is the month that I am moving to California!! And I can't believe that James called me this morning from Japan! I was not expecting this wonderful surprise, but it made a wonderful vacation even better! I miss him so much! We headed to the beach pretty much all day. It was great! We had the best time. We even walked to the pier for lunch. It was nice to go from meeting Melissa's friends to becoming friends ourselves! Wednesday night Melissa, Katie, and Elena wanted to treat Mom and Dad to a special homemade dinner to thank them for the hospitality and the fun of the vacation. I was excited to get the benefits of that, too! While they were cooking, I headed over to say hi to all my friends from the bowling alley. When I got home, there was lasagna fit for a king ready to eat!!
The Chef trio
Dessert!
Everyone loves it!
The dinner crew (Kasey and I just got the bonus deal).
It was so the best lasagna that I have had in a while. We ate it up. My Dad had a ton and then more for dessert. We watched some So You Think You Can Dance with my Dad protesting, but secretly loving it! My favorite couple was safe! Hooray!
Thursday, July 2, 2009
Thursday I needed a break from the beach, so Melissa, Elena, Katie, and I went out to the wedding site and they all loved it! It is so much fun showing it off. We went out to lunch and they headed back to the beach and I did a few errands. I headed to the seamstress to pick up the stuff that I had made. It was perfect! I teared up and almost start crying when I looked at the pillow. It is absolutely perfect! I am so excited. I can't wait to show James. The ribbons are beautiful and ready to make the wedding. I am so happy. I headed to pick up Kasey to do some errands and then get my Mom from work. We went to get my perscription sunglasses made for the trek across the country. We all met at home to go out to dinner (well Melissa and crew got there first without keys, oops!). We got some dinner with the whole crew to wind down the week of fun!
The wall of homemade beers.
Mother and daughter... ish. :-)
Cheers!
Before heading home we stopped to look at my Dad's new signs... AWESOME! Look at those babies! You can see them for miles.
Friday, July 3, 2009
Melissa and the ladies had to head home, so we hung around a bit in the morning and then they set off. I have been talking to James at crazy times of the morning/night, so I have been totally pooped at this point, but vacation must go on :-) Kasey and I headed to the beach to meet up with Heather, Nikki, and Wyatt. He is so grown up and adorable. He looks a lot like his Dad these days! We had perfect beach weather and played a little while before we had to head out. We went to pick up my glasses and then my Mom from work. She let me use her car throughout the vacation. It was tremendous! Thank you so much, Mom! I love you! We headed to a really nice wedding Friday night as our last event before heading home.
Bride and Groom.
Wedding party.
Their florist was fantastic! I wonder who it was? (It was my Mom :-)
Very cool location!
Woohoo! Married!
That is a look of anticipation for my wedding next year :-)
The wedding was great, but of course I spent much time thinking about James and wishing that he wasn't missing all this. At least I know that he is having fun at this moment. He climbed to the very top of Mt. Fugi today! It took ten hours to get there and back! When I talked to him later he said that it was a truly amazing once in a lifetime experience! Now I am missing something, too. :-( I wish that we were together. I love that boy to pieces, this six months has been torture to me. I am so glad that we are getting closer to the end!
Saturday, July 4, 2009
After hearing all about the Mount Fugi trip, I got up (completely exhausted) and got ready to head back to Syracuse. I have been, in the last week, struck with intense and crazy emotions. It is really hitting me the things that are going to be changing in the next couple of weeks. I am really excited, but I am also nervous and sad and a whole bundle of other things. These emotion jumbles are not making my life easy! I can't believe I am going to be so far from my family and friends! I know that they will come visit though! That is what makes it seem okay. I will visit, too! I will have James which springs many emotions as well! I can't wait to live with him! Kasey and I jumped on the airplane and headed home for three weeks.
James' car enjoying our temporary home at Aunt Christa's.
Happy Fourth of July! I have a tan.
Phew.
We had to do July 4th the old fashioned way, cooking some hot dogs over and open fire! Does it get any better than this? ...other than the smoke situation...
I couldn't breathe for a minute.
Neither could Kasey.
Or Uncle Jim.
We cooked our food anyway. It was worth it! Mmmm Mmm.
Look at my old school spider dog! Good ol' girl scout camp :-)
I was proud.
And.. this is the money you could be saving with Geico... hahahahaha!
Yummy toasted marshmallow!
You enjoy that, Kasey.
"Okay I will"
And what's the fourth of July without the fireworks show that we watched...
...on TV. Happy Fourth of July!!
Sunday, July 5, 2009
Because this is the longest blog ever, I will just sum up by saying that life is good. I am terribly blessed. I love my family and my friends. Thank you everyone for everything that makes me life special. I miss you, James, with all of my heart... and you are calling me right now, so I have to go!
Be safe sailor and hurry home.
always,
Jamie
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