Check, check, check!

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Happy Friday everyone!

I don't know about all of you, but I feel like lately my life is one big whirlwind of stuff to do.  Not necessarily bad stuff, but there's a lot going on.  I blame the wedding. :-)

As much as I love the planning process of making an event happen, I feel like the most satisfactory part of planning this wedding is when I get to check off a box on my to do list. Dress shopping? Check! Venue? Check!  We finally figured out our save the dates and invitations last week and I got such a rush out of checking this off the list.  I know I have so much more to go to get this done, but knowing the end is in sight and at that end I get to see my fiance's smiling face is definitely worth it.

This weekend we go to pick out rental items (tents, place settings etc) and do a tasting with the caterer.  After we figure that out, we're celebrating with going to see the tulips up in Mt. Vernon, check out the street fair and lunch/wine tasting at Carpenter Creek.  Supposedly the weather's planning on cooperating so that makes it all that much sweeter. Although if M has his way we'll be checking out the new Cabelas opening, after all Troy from Swamp People will be there. ;-)

So...any good weekend plans?  And if you're planning a wedding do you feel like this as well?

Love & holidays

I'll admit, I've been behind on my blog for a while. Posting Ten on Tuesday is pretty much all I had time for, and by the time I've caught up with my Google Reader there's not a lot of time to actually post.  But I'd like to work on this a little, so let's start slowly with a little bit of a list.

+ Biggest & brightest reason I've been absent? I got engaged!  Back in October M & I headed out to Kansas for a KU football game (my first trip out there).  He wanted to show me the town where he spent his college years since in our home it's Jayhawks all the time.  Well, toward the end of the campus tour he started acting a little weird.  We made it to the campanile which overlooks the stadium and he pulled out the most beautiful ring.

We spent the rest of our trip celebrating it up and cheering on the football team even though they lost.

+ Because of the engagement it's been a bit of a whirlwind around here.  As per usual, everyone we come in contact with wants to know details.  Have you set a date? September-ish.  Where is it? Not sure yet. Etc. etc.  Add in the fact that almost every other friend I have is engaged or married right now that's all they want to talk about.  But we have appointments on Sunday to look at some venues...so stay tuned.

+ Thanksgiving came and went with a lot of drama.  My grandparents usually do dinner at their house, but my mom called me the Tuesday before saying my grandfather had a really bad cold.  Because of this my grandmother didn't want to get the rest of the family sick.  My mom offered to host the event, but I reminded her that her oven was out of commission and in turn Thanksgiving was at our place.  Almost 20 people over and a 25 lb turkey?  That would make most people's head spin...let alone two days before the event.  Add in I've never even roasted a chicken before, let's just say I was a little anxious.  But it went off w/o a hitch...no burnt turkey and everyone had a great time.

+ As for now?  I'm hopelessly trying to get my holiday shopping done in time.  I managed to get my cards out, but I have another 250 to do at work so I just keep remembering to breathe.  Anyone else running behind schedule???

Home is where...you eventually decide on furniture.

It's been far too long since my last post, I apologize for that. It doesn't seem like much, but the things that have been going on in the last month have kind of flipped my entire world upside down.

M and I moved into the house on September 11th and despite the ominous significance of that date it's gone very well. Not only were we moving into a new place, this was the first time we have lived together. Up until then we would stay together every night, alternating the location (his apt or mine) but this is a bit of an adjustment. Not necessarily a bad adjustment, but an adjustment no matter what.

Things are good between us.There are little things that drive me & him crazy, like where he insists all our boxes need to be unpacked within a month of our move-in date. Or how the counter is always sticky because I missed a spot. Or that I can't quite figure out when to watch the TV shows on the DVR that he has no interest in. But considering these are the main issues we have I think we're doing pretty well. Everything revolves around this house right now, which is why I can't find time to blog. I haven't really had my laptop up when I'm sitting on the couch.

There's all kinds of expenses as well, you don't think about these when you're planning. Or is that just me? We needed a lawn mower...then a new TV. A bedroom set and couch are on the list to purchase sometime soon. And down the line we'd like to redo the deck and eventually the kitchen cabinets. Whoever said that houses are money pits was definitely correct.

However I am looking forward to decorating. There's a little bit of friction between the two of us because we don't have the same styles, and trying to find a common theme is difficult. We need to figure out paint colors because despite the "move-in ready" status I cannot live in 32487 shades of brown. But the promise of ideas has me content until we take the plunge.

Same thing with pets. We will get them when we're ready. I say I'm ready right now but M insists at least our boxes should be unpacked before we do so. Plus, we have some stand-in pets for now. Fred & Ginger are tree frogs that hang out on our front door/window.

Ginger

Fred

And this weekend I realized we have a woodpecker marking his territory. The damn thing pecks not more than 3 feet from my head outside on the gutters. Research shows unfortunately that I can't just buy a shotgun and shoot the thing because they are protected. But there's a few solutions that might work. Most of them sound crazy but hopefully we'll get it right on the first try.

Moving up...eventually

I have to say, house hunting is an exhausting process. In my last post I mentioned how we've been looking since October. We were prepared and did a lot of research, even pinpointing the city and neighborhoods we'd love to put down roots. But trying to make this happen is a whole different ballgame. We loved the first house we looked at, but of course didn't want to put an offer on it because it was THE FIRST HOUSE and isn't that a big no-no? But we figured at least we knew what we really wanted and kept looking. Then the "perfect" house came on the market, we fell in love with it and found ourselves dreaming about it...then someone else put down an offer and bam! it was off the market.

Just like a new relationship...you fall head over heels with someone, but then they break your heart and there you are picking up the pieces when it hurts so bad. It makes it hard to love again because your guard is up and it's going to take some serious effort to knock it back down.

There was another house, what we've dubbed the "kitchen house" because this kitchen makes you so giddy and in love and wanting to have it's little kitchen babies. In reality the downstairs is amazing and perfect for entertaining, there's a great backyard and you think that's it. But the upstairs needs serious work, the master bath & closet will need to be completely redone and the owner is asking way too much money for the thing.

So we sat. We did all kinds of research on this house, the owner and why he didn't want to bring his price down. The word divorce was thrown around and after reading Dooce's posts on the crazy lady they bought from it made me almost run away screaming. But the kitchen, the beautiful kitchen with the sub zero fridge, the separate freezer, the double oven, the island that seats six.

...

Then yesterday we saw a different house. I was wary, thought "eh, I see so many things I'd like to change". But it's priced to sell, and those around here go within a week. And after spending almost an hour and a half touring the house I tentatively started warming up to it. The layout is perfect, the high vaulted ceilings, the master bedroom, the laundry chute, even the backyard. I want to get excited, but I'm so timid, worried my heart is going to get ripped out again.

Dream kitchen vs. decent kitchen w/amazing pantry
Landscaped backyard vs. larger slightly noisy backyard
Mirrored closets vs. california closet walk-ins
Xmas tree bay window vs. cascading staircase

Is one better? What can you upgrade for cheap and what's going to cost an arm and a leg to change? My head hurts. People normally get a starter home for their 1st but we're looking for a house we can settle down in. Put down roots, raise children. We're going to discuss this to death. I know that if either one of these houses is not the right one it will present itself to us but I don't know how much more I can handle. Pro-con lists will be my friend tonight, I can feel it. And hopefully we can both land comfortably on one side or the other.

Homeowners, how did you know your place was "the one"? Was there a feeling or did it take you a little time to know it was right?

Girls Next Door

There are these two girls that recently moved into the apartment next door to my boyfriend. This would be all fine & dandy (we don't really socialize w/any of the neighbors) but these girls make me want to punch them in the face. They're probably about 20 years old and have so much to learn, so if I could - I would say the following to them...you know, if they wouldn't look at me like the crazy woman next door.

Dear girls next door,

I don't know what the situation was the other night, but I wish you and your friends would realize that the walls around here are kind of thin. When your boyfriends start arguing out on the stairs, we can hear everything. And when they migrate to on our doorstep? I can see everything from that little peep hole and will stare with intense scrutiny. I want you to take some life lessons to heart. Trust me on this stuff, I'm a lot older (even though I don't look it) and like to think I'm a little wiser over making it almost through my 20s w/o too much heartache & pain.

Those boys? Not even close to worth it. The fact that they almost got in a full on physical fight on the doorstep is not a manly show of affection, it's something that assholes do. I know it feels empowering on your end and almost warm & fuzzy to see two guys fighting over you, but you'll realize later that those are the guys you need to stay far away from. And coming out to say "we don't want any drama" is such a cop out. We both know that you thrive on the drama, it's part of your nature.

Bad boys have such an appeal at your age (yes, I know I just said "your age" w/a straight face) and I know it's part of growing up, but if you can get out of that stage quickly you will feel way less heartbreak. The good guys are out there and although you find them boring right now you'll find one later that will light up your life and make you want to spend the rest of your life with them.

But for now, please remember that even though you don't have a job to go to (just school that starts around 10am) some of us do. We don't need to hear you running up and down the stairs at 2am because you've been hanging out with the older dudes upstairs. And I know you're not exclusive w/any of them (why should you be?) but that many guys coming through the revolving door to your apartment makes you seem like a slut. Just FYI. ;-)

Love,
Your neighbor's girlfriend

Happy New Year!

Hi everyone and welcome to 2010. Instead of burdening you with resolutions that I think I might keep (which won't really happen) or go on about how 2009 needed to end ASAP (because frankly it was pretty awesome - new kickass job!) I think I want to know how all of your New Year's Eve's went. Tell me in the comments, I love great stories, stories of how you stayed in this year or if you were off in a druken stupor. I love them all.

My NYE went surprisingly great. I'm one of those people who gets so excited about something that I work myself into a frenzy, get anxious and feel sick...usually resulting in not being able to do the one thing I'm so excited about. So the fact that NYE went off pretty much w/o a hitch was a freakin' miracle. I found a restaurant I wanted to go to in Seaside (Yummy Wine Bar & Bistro) and at first we got put on the waiting list for the 9pm 7 course dinner. I was so disappointed (and I think a little hormonal) because that was the one place in Seaside I wanted to go this trip. But luckily enough someone canceled and we were ready to go.

I got all dolled up in the new dress the BF bought me (seen here) and we went to an AMAZING dinner. Everything on the menu was fantastic.

First there was a crab cocktail...
Seasoned Dungeness Crab Cocktail
rosé marinated carrot strings, tarragon crème fraiche, wasabi caviar

Followed by a cheese plate
and a great soup...
Carrot, Honey and Ginger
topped with roasted pumpkin seed oil and barrel aged balsamic redux
(I got all excited and didn't take a pic, just believe me there was a smiley face in the balsamic)

And a salad...
Wild Mushrooms
organic spinach, slow roasted marinated tomatoes, fresh thyme, white truffle and black fig emulsion

Then we got to the seafood..

Halibut Cheeks
warm fingerling potatoes, sweet peas and pearl onion salad, pancetta vinaigrette, avocado beurre blanc sauce
Probably the best fish I've had in years, so buttery smooth.

And while you're stuffed already there's more.

Meatloaf, but not your mom's.
Buffalo Meatloaf
rosemary lentils, butternut squash ragout, vegetable thyme gravy, current balsamic reduction

Somehow I managed a small bite of each of these, I didn't actually eat them until the next day.
Shaved Cocoa Truffles
vanilla, cinnamon, chipotle

I nearly died by the end of it, especially since there was a bunch of wine and complimentary champagne & party favors at midnight. We tore up the makeshift dance floor along with a few other couples before heading home. Chef & owner Corey Albert did an awesome job, even came out to say hello to us (after our emailing/calling back & forth w/him) as well as his staff. If you ever get a chance to head to Seaside, OR make sure you look them up...you won't regret it.**

Other than that, the weather in Seaside was just short of monsoon season. At one point we attempted a walk and had to turn back 3 blocks into it because we were soaked. Yes, even though we were wearing hoods & had umbrellas. But the good news was that since it was the off season there were sales everywhere (I picked up a new North Face jacket & oodles of Xmas ornaments for cheap).

Here's to a just as fantastic (or even better) 2010!!

**FTC - all opinions here are my own, this dinner was not paid for by anyone other than my BF & I.

And people say *I'm* the weird one

The lovely LiLu has a little segment she calls "shiz my boyfriend says" and there are times I find this far more entertaining than TMI Thursdays. Mostly it's because it reminds me that my own boyfriend has some crazy things that come out of his mouth. Sometimes I giggle, sometimes I look at him like he grew three more eyeballs and sometimes I'm so frustrated with him. But last night I got all three.

Scene - watching the latest Mad Men on my laptop in bed

[Betty's in the hospital]

Boyfriend: mmfmdm [sticking his tongue out]
Me: ... what did you say?
Boyfriend: mmfmdm mmfmdm
Me: seriously, are you trying to show me something? does your tongue hurt? what?
Boyfriend: mmfmdm mmfmdm
Me: what?

[after a good two mins of this]

Me: whatever, I don't care anymore. I'm hitting the play button again.

[pause]

Me: fine, tell me what was so damn important or exciting on your tongue.
Boyfriend: it's dry. my tongue is dry, this feels so weird.
Me: [stares]
Boyfriend: what?
Me: dude, YOU'RE the weird one.

I'm amazed that I put up with this guy, guess it's a good thing I love him.

A smell of wine and cheap perfume...

The beauty of the week before a long weekend is that no matter what office you are in, things slow down to a crawl. I know there's some idea of getting things done before vacation, but realistically this never happens. Today alone I have three people in my office on vacation, all of which sit by me so it's super quiet. I know three people doesn't seem like a lot but when the office has about 15 in it it's a pretty big chunk.

I'm looking forward to this Labor Day weekend for many reasons, but most off all because it's going to be some time to actually relax. Last weekend M & I had not one but two! weddings to attend (Friday & Saturday) and a BBQ and somehow we managed to do all that and have a picnic on the Kirkland waterfront in a secluded park. We danced to the like of Black Eyed Peas (Boom, Boom Pow anyone??) and other classics like Don't Stop Believing so much that my feet were killing me. We also reminised over long times past with old neighbors and got caught up in the lovely dovey nature of it all. M caught the garter at one wedding and at the same one I had the bouquet snatched out of my hands. Apparently the girl who did the snatching wanted it more than I did, and I wasn't going to fight.

Rattlesnake Hills

So we'll be headed over to Yakima to visit M's family a bit and visit the Rattlesnake Hills area for wine tastings. I'm excited to see his family since it's been since Memorial Day and I might even brave the drive to the farm with him to check up on things. I stress the might aspect of that part, it's not really my cup of tea.

But what's most important this week??? I got my hair cut! I know, not the most exciting news I guess but for a girl who's gone about a year and a half since her last cut I'm feeling proud of myself. I decided on some side swept bangs which was a little scary since the last time I had any kind of bangs was 8th grade. But I also decided against the Locks of Love cut this time, I'm keeping the length for a little while longer. I hope to have pics soon, once I figure how to style it properly. :-)

Now a question, do you watch the entire process when you get your hair cut? I try to at first but halfway through I get that anxious feeling in my chest and have to close my eyes until it's done. The inbetween stage freaks me out that my poor hair will be gone forever. Like this time, what if she doesn't do side swept but blunt bangs? My heart jumps into my throat at the idea of it. But sure enough, none of that happened and I felt like I was a crazy person for a minute (or a lifetime.)

I think I've found my best friend

This week was St. Patrick's Day. I'm not particularly Irish, I think there's a smidge hidden in my heritage, I'm mostly Norwegian and Native American but my great grandmother always insisted on reminding me that there was Irish in there too "and don't you forget it" so I haven't. There were plans to head out to an Irish pub in Seattle with a bunch of the boyfriend's pals but because it's an Irish pub and St. Patrick's Day you KNOW it's going to be packed. This is why I was given the task to show up insanely early (woohoo unemployment for once!). I got there about 1:30pm thinking at least I'd be able to read some of my book (Geek Love!) and that was the silliest idea I've come up with in a while.

Funny thing though, while waiting I ran into this girl who apparently had the same idea, book and all. We started chatting and in the end our friends ended up co-mingling the rest of the evening. New friends are always fun.

In much more exciting news, yesterday was the boyfriend and my one year anniversary! It's gone by SO fast and I hear that's a good sign. :-) The day was a little hectic for me as I had to go to 4 different stores in hopes to pick up the Eliza Dushku issue of Maxim (which BTW I never found because they JUST put out the new one) and instead felt like I was buying porn since the magazine was inside a plastic cover. But the boyfriend buys one every time he has to go out of town for work and he's going to San Francisco at the end of the month and I wanted him to be prepared.

But all that was worth it for what was to come that evening. He came home from work with the most beautiful bouquet of flowers I've pretty much ever seen. Afterward we headed to Morton's Steakhouse for dinner which was a first for the both of us. We arrived a little early so we started in the lounge for a drink while watching some of March Madness. I was not completed finished with my martini when our table was ready so the host insisted on carrying it to the table for me. :-) But what was so surprising was when we got to the table our menus were waiting...with the heading of "Happy Anniversary _____ and _____!" I think that just made my night.

All the food was amazing, there were bacon wrapped scallops for an appetizer, beefcake tomato salad (for me) and lobster bisque (for him), filet oskar (mini filet mignon with lump crab & bearnaise sauce w/asparagus for me) and filet mignon & lobster tail w/asparagus (for him) followed by a Grand Marnier souffle (for me) and hot upside-down apple pie (for him). All this was paired with an Argyle pinot noir and we were in heaven. It was all amazing and the great kind of full where you don't feel like you will explode. :-) During dessert they even came by to take a complimentary photo of us that got put in a paper frame and came home with us.

I can't imagine a better evening. All I can think of is the time we'll spend together in the future and he makes me so happy. This morning (super early) I was greeted with a "happy 366 days together" from him. Oh my, if you're reading this you probably just threw up but you know what? It put the biggest grin on my face. I think I've found my best friend.

Happy New Year! (and all that jazz)

It's 2009 already, where did the year go? I remember just the other day I was...having my first date with the boyfriend. That happened in March and who knew that would be the start of a serious whirlwind.

Confession time - I met my boyfriend on match.com*. Yes everyone, I did the online dating thing and it was, get this...successful.

How on Earth did something like this happen? I've heard horror stories, I've read about countless stories on blogs I follow and it makes me want to jump out from delurker status (because I'm still really bad at commenting) and shout from the rooftops that IT CAN WORK!!! I'm the exception it seems in the online community, and I'll share my story in the slight hope that it might help you out too.

Back on March 19, 2008 I had a date with the boyfriend and I almost fell head over heels for this guy. It all started out because I got this email. It said something to the effect that one of my friends decided to set me up with a match.com profile and I needed to complete it. Said friend was one I used to work with and become fast BFFs with, but I never thought she'd be into that sort of thing (she's gorgeous, has no probs with guys) and let alone her thinking I needed that kind of help. I mean, what kind of quazimoto did I need to be to need help in the dating world? I'm not horrendous looking, I'm spunky, love some random guy-type stuff and have guy friends. I shouldn't need help like this?

So basically I was a little offended. I called her up and gave the big WTF?!?!? about it and she told me point blank that I was an awesome girl and she wanted to see me happy. I rolled my eyes a few times and she told me to shut my mouth, I was amazing and although I was super busy and not focused on guys that she wanted me to possibly date a few people and get me back into the dating mindset.

Seriously, everyone needs a girlfriend like this. I think there's a few lists out there that tell you the people you should have in your life and she is one of them. Note to self: call her ASAP, it's been too long.

But I finished my profile and started looking around. I didn't see all that many people I liked but there were a few. Even though I was signed up I was in free status so I couldn't do all the cool stuff, like IM people or even email them so I thought that was lame. I bookmarked a few profiles for later and didn't think about it. But then I found out about a 7 day free trial.

I was wary, I'll give you that. But worse things have happened to me and I checked out the emails I had waiting. Some were douchebags, some I wasn't interested in and some were trying all too hard. But there he was. A guy who made me giggle in front of my laptop and score! He lived in the same city.

After a few emails back and forth (and me soon canceling my trial) we decided to try out dinner. We started at this Mexican place that had almost an hour wait, but headed to an all American restaurant down the street I've been to a few times. He was quiet and let me talk, which made me happy since I can't ever shut up. I think I babbled about my hair a lot, it was down my back in my photos but I had recently cut it and donated to Locks of Love. Boys like long hair so I was freaked out.

A hug was had at the end of the date but we planned to get together two days from there. His birthday & Easter were that weekend so we wouldn't be seeing each other for about a week...It didn't matter.

It's nine months later and we're still going strong. I see him almost daily, and talk at least once a day. I'm never sick of seeing him and even most of his quirks I still find endearing. We've been through a few family deaths, family pregnancies, meeting the parents (and actually LIKING them!) and countless other outstanding events.

What I'm really trying to say is...IT CAN HAPPEN. Don't sell yourself short, don't pretend to be someone you're not. It's cliche but that's for a reason, because all that stuff is true. Be you, don't be discouraged. Someone is there for you, and they're amazing. They might be online, they might be in your city or across the country. Remember though, it takes time. Some of us find that special person in their high school sweetheart and some find them two marriages down the line at the age of 60.

Live like you mean it - seriously.

*I promise, I am no way affiliated with match.com or made anything off this post. I just have a success story.