Saturday, October 25, 2008

Utterly Random Survey

I was debating whether to take lunch or have Jordan bring it to me at work.

The door between the office and the tech bay.
Um. Ever heard of liver cancer?
18
Butters
Whenever I am not feeling lazy
Are you kidding?
um, no...
Ghost hunting? Seriously?
Find my husband. He would be the source of the salsa.
I would never choose it for myself, but I don't like to get in other women's business.
I'm a die hard carnivore.
We'll put it this way, I don't want murderers getting out and coming after me. Plus I don't want to pay good money to feed and house them.
I had clear skin the whole week before my wedding. Then I had a major break out on my wedding day. What a crock.
I'd be devestated. Really. I love this place (for reasons that make no sense to even me haha).
Aren't those choices the same?
Probably the weekend we went camping at Huntington?
No but Glen got my dog addicted to War Heads in the 8th Grade
More like it's in severe danger of being eaten.
Don't remember but it probably had something to do with Sweeney Todd
the tenderest loin of the most prime Kobe Beef ever bred
No I think they are stupidly ugly
Fall Red
Feet.
Oooo tough call between drummers or bassists
i can haz cheezburger?
I see a red door and I want to paint it black.
I actually don't really see a red door.
The planet goes through temperature cycles. Species go extinct. It's sad, but it's just the way nature works.
Do you know my finance grade?
Chocolate. It's good for you.
Paint a red door black. (can you tell I'm listening to the Stones?)
filling out facebook surveys
I accidently kicked Jordan when we were on the couch yesterday.
My mom never took me to the doctor, so it wasn't really an option.
I wore Jordan's uniform.
I've been married a week. Use your brain.
Friday. Pumpkin Blizzard from Dairy Queen. mmmmmm
Weddings are too stressful and I didn't have time to cook.
I have too many favorite songs to answer that question.

Thursday, October 23, 2008

We Did It!!!

Well kids, after 11 months of stress, stress, and more stress, we finally tied the knot Saturday. The day was such a whirlwind, I hardly know where to begin!  I know there were many people who wanted to be there but couldn't, so I'll give you the recap of the day. This is sort of my way of thanking those who made our day so special (Thank You cards will be sent out, but there are about 300 to write, so they'll be pretty generic unfortunately).

First off, the night before...man what chaos! Thankfully, my parents, Jordan and I had met with our pastor the week beforehand, to go over all the major details. I would recommend to anyone getting married, do this. We laid out what we wanted, so that when we got to rehearsal, most of the decision making was out of the way. I actually made a major change to the ceremony setup that day that would not have been possible to accomplish during rehearsal. I decided that I wanted to stand on the left! Crazy I know. Here's the explination, for those of you who weren't at rehearsal to hear it:  when my cousin got married last year, I had never met the groom. But, because of the traditional bride's side and groom's side, I could only stare at K's back the entire ceremony. While she has a very pretty back, I would have much rather watched her face. I decided then that when it was my turn to say my vows, I would be facing my family. Not only that, but I knew my sisters had something special planned, and if I stood on the traditional bride's side, I would not be able to watch them in the choir box (which would have been behind me). It was quite comical the night of rehearsal because Jordan's grandmother came clomping down the aisle to tell the pastor that he didn't know what he was doing!

Then it was morning, and all of us girls got up at the crack of dawn. After a quick cup of coffee, we loaded up and went to our hair appointment. My "second mommy" fixed us up all pretty (I don't think I've ever had that much hairspray!). This is about when it really kicked in for the first time that I was really getting married! 

After our hair appointment we all went to the church to get ready. Another one of mom's friends brought us lunch and then it was time to get into my dress! I felt like a Barbie doll with everyone pulling and primping and fixing and all that.

Finally, after what seemed like forever, I was allowed to see Jordan. We hadn't seen each other since the rehearsal dinner the night before! Again, not very traditional, but I'm so glad we decided to see each other before the ceremony. The photographer was in the room with us but neither one of us had any idea. I'm anxious to see these pictures. There were lots of tears of joy!

After that, lots and lots of pictures. Jordan and I both hate the camera being in our face, so we weren't looking forward to this part. However, our photographer did a fantastic job and made us feel very comfortable. She said it will be about 3 weeks for the pictures to be done, so I'll post those as soon as possible.

Is it really time to go? OMG!!!! I had a minor freak out at this point...Mom made me eat a little more to calm me down. Down the stairs to the fellowship hall, then up again into the foyer. Then one of my "brothers" started to sing. I could barely hear him but it really gave me a peace. The wedding party started their walk, Dad and I hid just out of sight. Will Maycee go down the aisle? I was told she did, but I wish I could have seen it. She probably stole the show! OMG it's my turn! Deep breath! Thankfully Lauren was there to make me breathe. She fixed my hair, my dress, and then it was time to go. The ushers opened the doors and there was Jordan. I don't think I looked at the audience the entire ceremony. Only Jordan.

A great deal of the ceremony is a blur to me. We said the vows at the right time, lit the unity candle, took communion (so glad we decided to do this!). We kissed, and then my sisters went to the choir box. I knew they had been planning something for a long time, but I had just assumed that they had picked some sweet song to sing. But then Kelsey said she wrote it. I thought I had heard wrong, but at that point I was already crying. I wish I had a recording of the song to post on here, it was incredible. It turns out Kelsey had written the lyrics way before we were engaged, and gave it to my uncle to write music for at Thanksgiving. I had no idea. It was such an amazing part of my day. After all that, we were pronounced man and wife (finally!) and then dismissed our guests. We rang the church bell and then it was time to party!

And boy what a party! The meal was great, more pictures were taken. And the dancing! Anyone who knows me knows that I do not like being the center of attention. I'll dance, but usually only if there is a huge crowd and I am in the back of it. But not this day! I had been so stressed out for so long that I hardly left the floor. Fast songs, slow songs, everyone had so much fun. We finished the night by singing "Hang on, Sloopy," an oldie that I fell in love with at Kristen's wedding. Most of the guests are not Ohio State fans, and honestly, neither am I, but the song was a hit anyway. 

I will make one comment about the wedding night. There is something that they don't show in movies and I feel all brides should be warned of. The wedding night is not full of romance like the movies would have you believe. Instead picture the bride sitting on the bed in tears while the groom tries desperately to get the headpiece and bobby pins out of her hair! Oh it was awful. It sure looked pretty during the day, but it was miserably difficult to get out!

My mom threw a morning after brunch the next day for the family that was still in town. Then we were off to our minimoon! We stopped at Oliver Winery and I'm so glad we did! I've converted my beer-drinking husband into a Wino!

Brown County was awesome, although we almost died (ok maybe that is a slight exaggeration)! The heat wouldn't turn on in our cabin so Jordan lit a fire in the fireplace. He had played with the flue and thought it was open, so we really stopped paying attention the fire. The next thing we knew, our eyes burned and I started wheezing. The cabin was filled with smoke! Jordan quickly doused the fire and got me outside and made me breathe the fresh air. I was slightly panicked, so my brave new husband had to save the day! We froze that night, thinking it very strange that the cabin didn't have any extra blankets stored for emergencies. The next day, we went horseback riding in the park and shopped in Nashville. We came home that evening to a warm cabin! Somehow, the heat that would not kick on for anything the night before, started in the middle of the day. Weird. Oh and when we were packing up to leave, we found the spare blankets. And a guest book that explained the flue and the heaters. All were hidden in very strange places. You'd think in a publicly rented cabin that those things should be placed in obvious spots for stupid people who don't work fire places on a normal basis.

Ok seriously, Haley. Wrap this up. I got a little carried away. I'm married. Whoo hoo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Monday, October 13, 2008

Scattegories (stole from Leslie's email)

SCATTERGORIES...it's harder than it looks! Erase my answers, enter yours and send it on to 10 people including the one that sent this to you. Use the 1st letter of your name to answer each of the following. They have to be real places, names, things...nothing made up! Try to use different answers if the person in front of you had the same 1st Initial. You CAN'T use your name for the boy/girl name question.


WHAT IS YOUR NAME? Haley

4 LETTER WORD:  Hope

TV SHOW:  House, MD

GIRL NAME:  Holly

OCCUPATION:  Heart Surgeon

SOMETHING YOU WEAR:  Hat

FOOD: Hot Dog

SOMETHING FOUND IN A BATHROOM: Hot Water

REASON FOR BEING LATE: Heart Attack

SOMETHING YOU SHOUT: HOOAH!

Some last minute wedding thoughts


I know I said I probably wouldn't blog until after the wedding, but I lied. There's a few things on my mind and I figured it would be a nice little update. Here goes....

Wow. That's the word that just keeps going through my mind. We have 5 days left! This thing called a wedding is really going to happen! The feeling is a bit overwhelming. While Jordan and I only got engaged about 11 months ago, we've been thinking and talking about getting married for a much longer time than that. It's always been that thing we are going to do in the future. It's now not really so far in the future anymore. We met with Pastor Bell yesterday evening, he kind of walked us through what we were going to be doing (a great idea for you future brides out there, meet with your officiant before the rehearsal. It will take so much pressure off!). It just made the whole thing so real. We were both pretty choked up by the time we left the church.

What's really strange about the whole thing is that the closer I get, the less stressed out I seem to be. I've been all but losing it the past month or so, but in the past few days I've been pretty relaxed. Sure, there are a few last minute details to put together, but for the most part, everything is done. I go in for my final fitting tomorrow, and actually get to take my dress home! I have my rehearsal outfit, I've started packing for our minimoon

Basically, I had to force myself to snap out of the funk I've been in. I've been so worried about all of the details of the wedding, and school and work, and everything else going on right now, that I really haven't enjoyed any of the planning process. But last week, after a long conversation with Mom on our way to Indy (and back and all the time in between), I finally got it into my thick skull that it doesn't matter that work has been super stressful lately, or the economy has crashed, or there has been so much drama with the bridesmaid dresses. For one amazing day, it is all about Jordan and me. I know that as soon as the moment comes when we first see each other, everything else will melt away. It will be just like that first night we really knew each other, when we laid out for hours on top of Christman's SUV and watched the stars. There was such a peace that night, not really a "love at first sight" moment, but just a peace of mind that said "this is it, this is what it's supposed to feel like to really connect with someone."

We've grown so much since then, our relationship has gotten much more complicated, and there's been more drama than stars in that bright sky. Still, we've gotten through a deployment, a devastating loss, and so many other smaller troubles. He's still the one I want to come home to at night, the one I laugh with, cry with, yell with. The one who rubs my feet when we're watching Mythbusters and eating leftovers on a night when I've been pushed to my limit. The one who drives me nuts when he mixes the white laundry with the blue jeans or puts an empty ice pan back into the freezer. I can't wait for him to drive me crazy for the rest of my life :). We're going to face at least one more deployment, many more devastating losses. I'm going to have to fight him every morning when he chooses Doritos instead of granola for breakfast. But he is going to be the one I jump up and down with when I FINALLY get this damn diploma, the one I'm going to share my beignets with in NOLA, the one who's going to hold my hand when I'm having my babies and every happy moment after. For all his "Oh Jordan" moments, he is such a strong and sturdy rock in my life and I can't wait to go through life with him holding my hand.

Phew, that was a lot longer than I planned. 5 days left people. LET'S DO THIS THING!!!!

Friday, October 10, 2008

Writerz Blox



I was really on a blogging kick there for awhile, but I seem to have hit a block. It's probably mostly pre-wedding stress and lack of free time, but hopefully once everything calms down I'll be able to get back into it. Back in approximately 2 weeks!

Wednesday, October 08, 2008

The Sweet 100

) Copy this list into your site, including the instructions!
2) Bold all of the sweets you’ve eaten!
3) Cross out any of them that you’d never ever eat.
4) Consider anything that is not bold or crossed out your “To Do” List.

1. Red Velvet Cake
2. Princess Torte
3. Whoopie Pie
4. Apple Pie either topped or baked with sharp cheddar
5. Beignet (oooooooooo New Orleans)
6. Baklava
7. Black and white cookie
8. Seven Layer Bar (also known as the Magic Bar or Hello Dolly bars)
9. Fried Fruit pie (sometimes called hand pies)
10. Kringle
11. Just-fried (still hot) doughnut
12. Scone with clotted cream
13. Betty, Grunt, Slump, Buckle or Pandowdy
14. Halvah
15. Macarons
16. Banana pudding with nilla wafers
17. Bubble tea (with tapioca “pearls”)
18. Dixie Cup (I'm not sure what this is, the person I got it from says its ice cream but I can't find it anywhere)
19. Rice Krispie treats
20. Alfajores
21. Blondies
22. Croquembouche
23. Girl Scout cookies
24. Moon cake
25. Candy Apple
26. Baked Alaska
27. Brooklyn Egg Cream
28. Nanaimo bar
29. Baba au rhum
30. King Cake (though maybe when we go back to NOLA)
31. Sachertorte
32. Pavlova
33. Tres Leches Cake
34. Trifle
35. Shoofly Pie
36. Key Lime Pie (made with real key lime)
37. Panna Cotta
38. New York Cheesecake
39. Napoleon / mille-fueille
40. Russian Tea Cake / Mexican Wedding Cake
41. Anzac biscuits
42. Pizzelle
43. Kolache
44. Buckeyes
45. Malasadas
46. Moon Pie
47. Dutch baby
48. Boston Cream Pie
49. Homemade chocolate chip cookies
50. Pralines 
51. Gooey butter cake
52. Rusks
53. Daifuku
54. Green tea cake or cookies
55. Cupcakes from a cupcake shop (Oh Concannon's how I love thee)
56. Crème brûlée (This is something I have ALWAYS wanted to try and never had the opportunity.)
57. Some sort of deep fried fair food (twinkie, candy bar, cupcake)
58. Yellow cake with chocolate frosting 
59. Jelly Roll
60. Pop Tarts
61. Charlotte Russe
62. An “upside down” dessert (Pineapple upside down cake or Tarte Tatin)
63. Hummingbird Cake
64. Jell-O from a mold
65. Black forest cake
66. Mock Apple Pie (Ritz Cracker Pie)
67. Kulfi
68. Linzer torte
69. Churro
70. Stollen/Fruitcake
71. Angel Food Cake
72. Mincemeat pie
73. Concha
74. Opera Cake
75. Sfogliatelle / Lobster tail
76. Pain au chocolat
77. A piece of Gingerbread House
78. Cassata
79. Cannoli
80. Rainbow cookies
81. Religieuse
82. Petits fours
83. Chocolate Souffle
84. Bienenstich (Bee Sting Cake)
85. Rugelach
86. Hamenstashen 
87. Homemade marshmallows
88. Rigo Janci
89. Pie or cake made with candy bar flavors (Snickers pie, Reeses pie, etc)
90. Divinity
91. Coke or Cola cake
92. Gateau Basque
93. S’mores
94. Figgy Pudding
95. Bananas foster or other flaming dessert
96. Joe Froggers
97. Sables
98. Millionaire’s Shortbread
99. Animal crackers
100. Basbousa


My Count:  53/100...more than half, but sounds like my KitchenAid Mixer is going to get a lot of work in the coming years :-)