Two days till Halloween. What will YOU be?

Hello all!

Well, I'm back. I've returned from my dark 6 day trip of depression...where I retreated to a cave and wallowed in my sadness (if you are confused read the next post). Ok, so maybe not. I actually forgot about blogging though and just remembered. It's a lot more fun to read other people's blogs sometimes...easier too, then to write on your own.

So, yes, the bike is still gone. I was talking to Jason and Mike W. tonight at Growth Group and he was saying how the Lord had really been gracious to him in not allowing him to really miss a lot of the activities that he loved before his accident. It was funny because I was thinking about that yesterday. I mean, the day of and the next day...I was really sad. On the other hand though, I haven't missed it like I thought I would. I think that the Lord has just really helped me to release it and move on. Soooo...there you have it. You can ask me more about that though when I have to deny or be left behind on my first mountain bike ride. That hasn't really come up yet so we'll see how I handle it. :-)

Well, I did purchase a new bike. It's a commuter/hybrid bike. Basically it looks like a mountain bike, has no suspension, and has thinner road tires. I like it a lot. It's a Trek. Some guy on a motorcycle today (at the stop light) pulled up next to me and complimented me on it even! haha. Anyways, it's nothing fancy. It was pretty much the cheapest bike we could find. It will serve me well I believe. We also got a MUCH thicker metal lock that weighs about 10lbs for it. Hopefully that will deter the next person.

On another note...the Harvest Festival. So, Jason and I have the coolest Halloween costume idea. Oh yes. First I suggested we be milk and a cookie. I was going to make a milk carton out of a refrigerator box and Jason could wear it. Then I would cut two round circles out of cardboard with shoulder straps and paint a cookie on it. He didn't like the idea of being in a box all night. Bummer. I thought it was very cool!!! :-) Last year he was a scuba diver and I was a fish. Good times. This year...if all goes as planned...we will be another very cool combo costume. I'm SO excited. As long as we can get my dad's help we'll be fine. SO....come to the Harvest Festival to see what we will be. If you can't come I'm sure I'll post a pic on this thing the next day.

Ok! Well, have a great rest of the week and I'll chat with you all in a few days!!!

Oh the Sadness...

Well, today was a very emotionally draining day. You may be asking, "why"? I will premise this with the fact that you all may think that this is kind of silly. BUT before you do...just think back on all the posts that have involved mountain bike rides...how much I love doing it...all the good times...all the time and money spent in putting my bike together. Then maybe it won't seem so foolish.

So, here's the story...
First I'm riding my nice mountain bike around town right now because my other cheaper one got stolen. Remember the dumb story about me leaving it outside overnight at the bike shop? Yeah, that was really stupid of me. So, I've been riding around on my nice mountain bike when I don't have Jason's car.

So, this morning I thought, "Oooh, I'll go to Starbucks in the Marigold Center and have a little quiet time/do some marriage counseling homework." I got to the Starbucks at about 10:15am. I locked my bike up to the bike rack that is RIGHT THERE. The one between CVS and the Starbucks. It is in complete and plain sight. I went inside, got my coffee, and sat down. Jason called me at 10:30am. I walked outside to talk to him (I don't like talking inside where everyone can hear you). While I was talking to him I glanced at the bike rack and saw my lock hanging from the rack...and NO BIKE! I started freaking out on the phone..."Oh my gosh, Oh my gosh." I thought at first that I didn't actually shut the lock...or that it was my error and that someone had just grabbed the bike. When I walked over to the lock though...it had been cut. They CUT the lock! WHAT!??!!! Here's the thing too. There were people sitting outside right next to it. I had asked them if they saw anything. They said "No, not at all." I don't remember but I don't think that those people were sitting there when I walked into the Starbucks...

So, some how this person timed it just right. I had only been in there for 15 minutes and they managed to do it...in plain sight...sometime when I was inside but when there were no people sitting outside where they could see him (I'm assuming it's a guy...could be wrong though.)

When I told Jason on the phone he jumped into his car and rushed over to try to find the person. I guess he drove all around the area. No luck. I ended up calling the police and they came out and did a full report. I really took the whole thing hard. I was weepy when it happened and had to hold back the tears and stay composed. I was fine with the police officer but the second I saw Jason...the walls came down. I cried so hard...the kind where you don't breath and drool. Quite lovely. :-) It was just so so so sad. It's one of Jason and I's favorite things to do together, we invested a lot of money in the bike...ugh. On top of all that...you just feel so stupid, so duped, and so violated when someone steals from you. I mean the bike wasn't worth a TON of money...maybe $700-$800...which is low in the mountain bike world. It was MY bike though...I loved to ride it...and now it's gone. It's sad that Jason and I probably won't go on a mountain bike ride together again...at least not in a long, long time.

Anyways, we decided that the guy probably does this "for a living". He probably will part the thing out and make even more money. It wasn't some homeless person who just needed a bike. It's a tiny frame, it has a pink headset...it was someone who was able to recognize that it was worth money. I assume that they do this often since most people don't carry lock cutters in their back pocket. So that's my sad story. :-(

I guess the Lord is seeing this as a refining time. I guess that's good in the long run but it sure hurts while you're in the midst of it. Anyways, I can already see the Lord's hand at work in providing another bike for me to get around town on...which is so great. I opened up my drawer with my cycling jerseys and shorts in it. So strange that this phase of my life could really be over. *Sigh*. But...we can still pray that is would be recovered!!!!!

Not much to say...

I can't believe that it is already Wednesday. Gosh, I feel like the last few weeks have just flown by. I think that it's because we have so many things going during the week. We have growth group on Wednesdays, and marriage counseling every other week. Every Wed. now comes with the same thought, "Wow, Wed. again?" The same thing with marriage counseling. Those two weeks just fly by. Crazy but...we only have 3 1/2 months left. At our next marriage counseling appt...it will be 3 months away. Then after the 3 month mark...we start saying 2 months and so and so weeks. 2 months sounds really close. I can't imagine what it will be like when we are saying "One month." Ok, I definitely just got ahead of myself there...


Not too much is happening on the marriage prep front. There's a lot of things we need to do...like order my veil, candles, figure out flowers, and call the wedding coordinator for Grace (yep, still haven't called her). We also need to confirm the whole tux thing. I need to call the cake lady about our cake and call Judi who is in charge of decorating the reception area. So much stuff...and yet...zero panic. I keep thinking, ahhhh, it'll get done! :-) And it will (hopefully! Although I had another dream a couple of nights ago that it was the day of and we had practically nothing done. I was running around like a chicken with my head cut off.) Oh did I tell you that Allie C. is going to be heading up our food at the wedding? That's right. Did you know that "heading up the food" means that she will grocery shop for us if we want. Um, that's amazing. So, I don't have to worry about food, I don't have to worry about reception decor. I don't have to worry about sanctuary decor. Wait! What will I do the day before the wedding? Oh yes, that's right...get coffee, a manicure, and sit back and relax. haha. (We'll see if that really happens...hopefully though!)


Also, a confession...I practiced applying my make-up last night. I felt like a bit of a dork. I figure though if I do it 5 times or so before the wedding then when the actual day comes I'll be good to go. I would get it done but it's like $60 (and I've already stated that they do it a tad to heavy for my liking!). I'd also rather spend $6o and get that in make-up...something I can actually use again. Things I need to work on are...applying eyeliner (Oh, I can apply it...but in a straight, EVEN, and nice line?...um, needs some work), applying mascara (this too I can apply...it's my staple make-up because my eyelashes are so bLoNdE, but I get it all over my eyes when I do it. Normally it's not a big deal because I use a Q-tip and fix it. But when you apply eyeshadow first...you don't really want to remove what you just did. Which brings me to the next one...), eyeshadow. To me, this is the hardest. I bought some colors that I'm happy with...just need to put them on in an appealing way! Things I'm good at doing: foundation application (I don't wear it really but I mastered this skill quickly...big accomplishment eh?), cover up application (this is another staple make-up for me), and lip gloss application. :-) I'd say on a scale of 1-10 I'd give my self a 6 today. It was weird to see the make-up on though...def. way more than I'm used to and yet they were neutral, nice tones. Nothing crazy. My favorite part...the blush and the color of lip stuff I picked out....LOVE it!


Ok, enough about that.

Well, I think I'm done typing now. I believe I shall grab some java and curl up in the WARM morning sun. I'm loving this hot weather. Is it too much to ask for it to stay like this until February? Maybe global warming will have an effect this year and it won't get cold. That would be nice. If that DID happen...I would officially LOVE global warming!!! Who needs glaciers? Definitely overrated!!! haha.

I think I like Saturdays...a lot! :-)

I oddly miss blogging ever day. It's nice that I have things to do other than sit at a computer and yet...it's so fun to blog. Oh well, what can you do???

So, let's see...when did I write last...the 13th. Well, this week has been a little crazy. We are just trying to figure out the whole job thing. Where to work, should we get another job on top of the one we have, should Jason keep the low hours job and get another part time one or should he quit it and try to get a full time one... So many questions and no real answers. Lots of applications and resumes have gone out and to no avail. We just need to keep trusting the Lord. I know He will provide what we need and show us His direction for us...the unknown is a bit tough though.


Well, I don't have much else to say. Gosh. I will say that I am loving all of these Michael's coupons I'm getting. I also have a new idea for center pieces for the food tables. I was thinking that we would put some dead branches (without leaves) that have been spray painted white into some cool vases. If we fill the vases with sand then we can place the branches where we want. Then I will make some homemade hanging lanterns made from card stock with tea lights inside and hang them from the branches. To top it off, I'll stick a couple of cute birds in the branches too. What do you think? I saw it in a book and thought, "That's cute...that's cheap...let's do it!" I bought 30yds of tulle for $17 because of my 50% off coupon and got some rad vase things (that I will totally use again) for $5.99 ea. Way cool.

Anyways, Jason and I went to Down the Isle again yesterday because they got the tux in for him to try on. He looked SO hAnDsOmE!!! I think he's going to go a size smaller on the jacket but yeah...everything looked great on him. The vest was HUGE though. It was supposedly a medium. Not so sure about that. So, I believe we may have our place for the tuxes...I think. :-) Also, would you like to know when my dress is scheduled to arrive??? The second week of January. Aaah! We're going to have to get it altered as soon as I get it. It's cutting it a little short but I think that it will be fine. Other than that, things are coming along. I think that we are going to be doing our engagement shots soon...in a couple of weeks. When those are done I will be sure to post some on here!

Well, have a great weekend everyone!!!!

Weekend events...

Hmmm. What to say, what to say? Let's talk about the weekend! :-)

So, Jason and I went to Target on Saturday morning to register. Well, let's rewind. First we went to Uptown for some coffee to take on the road. While we were there one of the guys that Jason's knows from Art's Cyclery walked up to him and told him about this amazing Specialized demo that was happening at Laguna Lake. Jason was excited...so was I. Jason wanted to not go to Target and go to the demo. I wanted to just get Target done and then go to the demo afterwards. I should have listened to Jason...

First, Target was a bit of a let down. The zapper thing didn't really work all that well and I really felt like Target didn't have much of a selection as far as home stuff. We did however register for a $650 TV. HAHAHA! Yeah, a bit of a stretch eh? Why not give it a try though...you never know! Maybe we have some long lost relative who has an exceptional amount of money. Maybe. I also wanted to register for a Wii. :-) We didn't though. So, Target took very little time compared to our Bed, Bath, and Beyond adventure. We got to the demo at about 1pm or so. We first road mountain bikes. Jason LoVeD his. I enjoyed mine. I was out of shape and so the uphill was a bit painful...and I voiced it. :-/ This will mean nothing to most of you but the handlebars were way closer to the seat than they were on my bike. While going downhill I felt like I was going to flip over the handlebars at any moment. Being that it's probably a $5000 bike...mmmm, not keen on falling and breaking anything. It was also my first ride after my last fall and I think it rattled me a bit. I felt a bit more cautious than normal. After that Jason rode another mountain bike and I rode a road bike...WEIRD! I've never rode one before. I also was out too long and they had packed up and were pretty much done when I got back. VERY embarrassing. So, it was great to get to demo and all but next time...I'll listen to Jason. :-) It would have been fun to be out there all day.

On another note...I joined Kennedy. Yeah, I'm a gym rat now. Well, not really. I will use it though. I used the Cal Poly gym the whole time I went to Poly. I used to hate gyms but have grown to like them. I love to exercise but hate going out in the cold/rain/wind. Winter is coming so it will be great to have a place to burn some energy at!!! Jason has been going to Kennedy for a while now. He loves there 50m long pool. He's a swimmer...I'm a runner. We're going to try to do some of those Core classes too together. Yay. Hello 6-pack. Well, realistically...a 4-pack. I can never get those bottom 2 muscles...oh well. Anyways, I think that's about it. Hope everyone has a great week and...adios!

200th Post...

In honor of my 200th post I am going to write 200 things about yours truly....haha. jk. That would be slightly ridiculous.

Well, thanks for the input on the veil. I think that I am going to go with Veil #1. I think it's mostly because yesterday I saw a picture of Jeremy and his wife's wedding in Ken's office. Elisabeth had her hair done the way I wanted it and she had a single layer veil placed on top of her bun. It was really pretty and sort of solidified the deal. I got really excited when I saw the picture!!! :-)

Anyways, Veil #1 is cheaper. haha. This veil place really is amazing. You give them some serious details and they make it just the way you want. So, I will get a 28" diamond white veil with a 1/4" satin edge. I'm going to get an angel cut veil with a slightly more rounded tip. There are so many details and options to figure out and they will pretty much do whatever you want for no extra charge. Not too shabby.

So, I'm not totally sure of the plans for the weekend. I think we're going to try to register tomorrow at Target. That will be fun. I also am really craving a little exercise. I haven't exercised since I fell mountain biking. That was the day I tried on the dresses at Down the Isle. Uh yeah, kind of pathetic. Not sure why. I think Jason's been out of town, we've been wedding planning, I've been hanging out with friends...between it all, I haven't exercised. Kennedy on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday is having a $27 sign up day. That means the sign-up fee will only be $27 instead of whatever it is normally. I can handle the $29 a month...I just couldn't imagine putting the money down for the sign-up fee. I can do $27 though. It's nice to have the gym as an option in the winter. I get pretty stir crazy when it rains. Not only is it not fun to ride in the rain, you also shouldn't ride until the trails dry out. It creates grooves and really damages the trails when you ride on them wet. So, the gym will be nice to have. Anyways, enough babbling on. I hope everyone has a great weekend!!!

Let's get some votes here!!!

First, I am one post away from my 200th post. Wow, that's a lot of blogging.

So, Jason and I went to Men's Warehouse to look at tux's. It was ok. There was no way for him to try one on and make sure that he liked the fit until a week before the wedding. Then if he wanted to send it in and change it he would be charged a fee. Jason is not a "last minute" kind of guy. Because of Jason's height and slender-ness he can look really boxy and short in a tux if it's not trim and fitted enough. Men's warehouse didn't have any colors that matched the sash samples that we picked out either. So, we decided to try Down the Isle...where I bought my dress. They have something where during the off season they send in for the tux and the groom gets a free "fitting". So, Jason will get the tux that he ordered in a couple of weeks and will be able to try it on and make sure that it is in fact the one that he wants. No guessing or thinking, "wow, I hope it works". We will know well before the wedding. So, that's great. As for colors...I think black, white, and claret red :-) i.e. burgundy-ish color. That's tentative though! :-)

Now, for the voting part of this blog. As most of you know if you buy a veil in the bridal store it will cost you at least $120. I was recommended this site...occansey designs. They make custom veils (and we're talking VERY custom). The price with shipping...$45-$55 depending on what I get. Now there are two veils that I like (I found them in the testimonial pages). One is a double layer and one is a single layer. I won't wear the blusher veil thing so there isn't a real need for a second layer but I like the way it looks none the less. I don't know if it matters but I'm planning on having a lowish up-do...where my fancy bun thing will be not quite at my neck but on the low side. I was thinking that I would place the veil above the bun rather than below it (at least this is what I'm thinking). So, I thought the thinner one would be better for that. Ok, all that aside...here they are. Which do you like best?......

Veil #1?

Or Veil #2?

Yesterday was Saturday and I...

...did a great many things! :-)

Well, I think to say "a great many things" is a bit of an over-statement. I did soooome things though. Autumn picked me up and we hit the Sat. morning Farmer's in the Madonna Center. That's always fun. I bought strawberries, figs for Jason, radishes (I LOVE them), and yummy carrots. As we were walking around I noticed the guy who sells roses. I walked by his roses and scanned them over...beautiful. Then it occurred to me, "Hey, we need to find a place to get some roses for the wedding." (because we are going to make our own bridesmaid bouquets.) So, I walked on over and asked him what his selection was like in February. He said that it was good and he sells all year long. I told him that we needed flowers for our wedding. He said that if we come a couple of weeks before I can put my order in of everything that I would like and he will have them ready for me. Ummm...wow! So, each bouquet is like $8 I think...maybe $6. If we put two bouquets to each bridesmaid bouquet...we would be able to make all their bouquets for...like $50. Ha! Um, I think that may be just a tad cheaper than a florist!!! woohoo!!! I think that it would be a better idea to buy the roses on the Thur. Farmer's, put them in water, make the bouquets on Fri. night and...tada! Perfect! Yay, saving money is so fun! :-) It will even be easy to buy some test roses and make sure that a bouquet is actually possible!!! :-)

So, after the Farmer's Market Autumn and I went to the Nauty Bean and hung out there forEVER! She had to register for wedding presents online. I don't even remember what I did. I think I helped her or something. After a long stay there we went downtown and grabbed some Giuseppe's pizza...my fav. I love how thin and crispy the pizza is (although you can't beat Costco's price!) :-)

At 2:45pm I had an appt. at Sephora to get my make-up done. They were supposed to show me how to do my eye makeup. They gave me some pretty good ideas for foundation and cover-up. They put the eye makeup on me and...I just couldn't come around to it. Autumn said that it looked good, the make-up lady said that it looked good and I...thought that it looked like I had tripped and fell onto a plethora of eyeshadow colors. Way too heavy. It was very dark (for me). Apparently this is necessary for photos. Um, I'm not so sure that necessary is the word for it. I think that it's necessary that I feel comfortable and not like BoBo the Clown (I'm being very dramatic!). The true test was seeing Jason after all of it and asking him what he thinks. No go. I think his exact words were, "That's not Anna, where's Anna?" When I got to his house I took a kleenex and wiped a bunch of the eyeshadow off. That looked better. It was then that I realized that the colors weren't so bad...it was the quantity. So...we'll see. I know for a fact that I will be doing my own make-up so...just have to find the right colors. Anyways, all that to say...it was a fun day...and today we are going tux hunting!!! I'll fill you in on the colors when we get back.

HeLLo tO yOu!!!

Hello! In honor of my daily writing that I used to do I thought that I would do two posts in a row...although I don't know what this will say...

So, the "bridesmaid" dress that I ordered came in today and I will say...not bad. It's a bit poofy. My friend Autumn happened to stop by while it came so she had the JoY of trying the thing on!!! hahaha. So, like I said it's totally poofy. It has this double layer of thick, stiff tulle in it though and it's barely attached. Autumn thought that if we cut it out and had it taken in a little on each side at the skirt then it would be great. The tulle is seriously ridiculous. It's so stiff and it's double thick. You can make shapes out of it in the skirt and they'll stay! When you sit down it holds that shape when you stand up and makes your rear look 4 feet wide. Very impressive! haha! Jason and I are going to take it with us to the tux place and try to match it to the black of the tux's (the dress is black). We are going to make complimenting sashes in either burgundy, blue, or white, that will go around the girl's waists and the sash will match the ties on the grooms men. YeS! I think that we have something here folks!!! VeRy ExCiTiNg!!!! We decided that when we go I'll wear the dress and he can be the grooms men and we can match the outfits that way. Oh so clever... :-)

Jason and I also met with our photographer lady and gave her a chuck of moo-lah! So, it's official, we have a photographer!!!! YAY! We need to schedule a time for engagement shots now. That could be fun...!

On another note...I need to go to bed earlier. Ugh. I have been going to bed at 12am pretty much every night. No bueno. My sleep isn't nearly as good when I do that. I love it when I can get to bed by 10:30pm and wake up at 7:30am. It seems like the perfect amount of sleep (yes, I like to get at least 9 hours of sleep...I love sleep) and the perfect time frame to sleep in. :-) Maybe tomorrow night....

Weird...

...how when you don't LIVE in front of the computer you don't THRIVE off people posting on their blogs. Hmmm. So, let's see, what to update on these last few days?...


On Monday I went with my friend Autumn to give her a second opinion on a wedding dress that she picked out in Paso. It was very pretty. It had lots of lace which is what I was drawn to when looking through pictures for my dress. I ended up with zero lace though. Oh well. Her dress is a bit unique too because it has really pretty lace straps. It's hard finding a strapped wedding dress right now. Strapless is very "in". So, that was fun.


I also ordered a Target dress to see if it will work as a bridesmaid dress. On the site it was really cute. We'll just add a sash in the color we want to spice it up. My only fear is that the dress may be too poofy. There's a tulle underlining that we may be able to take out to fix that. The best part is...it will only be about $48. Hey now, am I a kind bride or WHAT? And...you could definitely wear the dress again. LOL. Well, maybe they won't but at least it will be a $50 dress rather than a $150 dress!!! :-)

Tonight Jason and I started growth group which was just great. I lead a college girl's growth group for a year and a half. This isn't college students though. It's all different ages which is really nice. We thoroughly enjoyed our time and are looking forward to the rest of the quarter.

Hmmm, well, I guess that's it. Life is a bit strange right now. Looking for jobs and all that good stuff is very wearing on the ole' spirit. Especially when there are TWO of us doing it. Blah. Job hunting is never very fun I guess. So...pray for us that we find something that works with our schedules. I never realize how attached I am to my routines until I am stripped of them. You get in a rhythm it seems and then *wham,* it's gone. These are the times that I seem to lean on the Lord the most though...so I guess that's a good thing. :-) Well, that's all for now!!!Good night!!!