Update

Wow how time flies by! A lot has happened since my last post. School is almost done. I can finally see the end of the tunnel, and I think I've gotten a really bad case of senioritis!! But I only have two more weeks until graduation! I'm really looking forward to not having anything to do. 

Zack and Jesse found out that they are having a girl! We went today to a 3D ultrasound, but the little pain wouldn't cooperate! She must take after her dad, cause she seems to have to make things difficult already! LOL Jesse is going back on Tuesday night to try one more time to get some good pictures before she has to go back to North Carolina. I can't believe that she's been home for a whole month already! I guess that time flies when you are having so much fun! 

Adam has had a lot of interesting news. His first request for reenlistment got denied, but thankfully his second request got approved, and we should find out in May where we are going to live. Adam got to put in for 5 different orders, and I think that he gets one of them. One is in Washington State, and the other 4 are in south California. I don't know what Mom and Dad are going to do with Zack and I on different ends of the country! I guess they'll rack up a lot of frequent flier miles. 

Wedding plans are going fine. Nothing new has happened in a while. School has been a little to busy for my stress levels, and I couldn't handle anything else in my life! LOL We still need a florist. Somehow that keeps slipping our minds until someone asks how things are going, and then I remember that we still need to do that. Times running short cause as of today, we only have 125 days until the wedding. I'm getting more and more excited for it every day, and now that school is about done with, I can focus on the Wedding and trying to figure everything out. I've been registering a little bit here and there. It's a lot harder than I thought that it was going to be. I think I'll be a lot more excited once I know where we're going to live and I can figure out all the different places that we can see in the area. 

Happy St. Patrick's Day

Happy St. Patrick's Day Everyone!!! I think my favorite part of the holiday (besides celebrating the fact that I'm Irish) is all the corned beef and cabbage that I get to eat. This year I am definitely getting my fill of it. Two sundays ago mom made a big crock pot full of it. Last Thursday dad and I went to the VFW for it. Saturday my Aunt Bev made corned venison (deer) and it was surprising excellent. It tasted just like beef, and the only difference was the texture (it wasn't as fatty). Tonight mom made corned beef and cabbage again. I just love this time of year! Although I'll be happy when it's over, cause I need to lose a couple pounds to fit better into my wedding dress and all that cabbage and potatoes aren't good for the "girlish figure"! LOL

Spring Break

So I just finished up my last spring break... for a while anyway... and boy was it an exciting one!! (Not Really!) I had jury duty, which kinda screwed the whole thing up, but what can you do?? It's not like I could have just not gone! Actually I got to learn a lot about the judicial system. I guess I didn't realize how much sitting and waiting I would be doing. I got to sit on 2 juries with a different Judge for each one. I must say that the personalities of each Judge really did shine in the court rooms. It's nothing like what you see on TV though! Those screen writers really do use their imagination to liven things up.

My week started on a rough note. Actually I was really lucky, but after I got the bill, I didn't feel so lucky. I got in my car Monday morning to come to the court house for jury duty, and I backed up maybe 4 inches and I got a flat tire. So I called Dad to come to the rescue, and he came and gave me his truck for the day while he called the Route to come and fix it. I had a long day sitting in a court room, and when I got out, I called dad to see if my car had gotten fixed. He said no. I just kinda paused (all confused), and he said that they came and got my car, but it wasn't fixed yet. I kinda said OK in an even more confused way, cause the Route is always really good about getting things done the same day. I thought that maybe Joe was really busy cause it is kinda getting to be farming season, and they all kinda come in at the same time. Well, Dad had mentioned at that point, while I'm thinking of all kinds of reasons for the delay, that "You have major problems!" I cringed and asked him what the problem was, and he just said that he'd talk to me when I got home. So I get home, and Dad tells me that... here's where I forget exactly what he told me but basically some coil had broke and poked my tired and caused it to blow up. Dad said that Keith was going to work on it the next day. So the next day I drive dad's truck again, and I got really used to it. I get home that night expecting to find my car in the drive way, and it's not there. I ask Dad what's up, and he tells me that he told Keith to basically put a whole new front end on my car. (How nice of him cause I'm the one that's paying the bill! LOL) So I didn't get my car back until Wednesday night (with a $700 bill in the front seat!).

However, my week ended on a very happy note! Friday I received an email from David's Bridal saying that my dress had come in. I was in total shock because it wasn't supposed to be here until the middle of April. I called that night on my way home and they said that it had indeed arrived. Mom and I went up on Saturday to pick it up, and it is just so pretty! We stopped at Grandma's on our way back into town to show her before we got it home, and I think she really appreciated that. She said that she really liked it, and that made me happy to hear an other's opinion that it was really pretty. I just can't wait for August to get here and I can wear it and show everyone!

175 Day and Counting

Wow! Days are really moving quickly! There are still a couple big things that we have to get done, and I'm starting to realize how quickly time is moving! Adam called me this morning with our flight schedule. He's so good... we are sitting next to each other on the same plane on our way to Hawaii. I must say that he's got a little learning left to do though. We fly out of Midway at 6 a.m. (in the MORNING!), and I'm quite far from a morning person. Plus, I don't know who is going to take us to the airport! But, we do get into Honolulu about an hour and a half before we get to check into our hotel room, so I guess there is a plus side to leaving so early in the morning! 

My dad really makes me laugh with his golf schedule! I get into Midway about 5 p.m. which I thought would be fine for mom and dad to come and get me. I didn't realize that there is a big golf outing that weekend that dad golfs in every year. He's made it clear that he's going to golf, and he'll ride up with mom to get me if he has to. I'm sure it's just a joke though. He wouldn't really leave me to find another ride!

Best Experience Ever!

Today I went wedding dress shopping with my mom. After last weekend, we decided that David's Bridal would be the best next step in this process. So Sunday afternoon I called the Orland Park location to set up an appointment for today. We got up early this morning and made the hour - hour and a half drive up to Orland Park (into the city) and realized that we were about an hour early. (You never can tell when you're driving up north how long it's really going to take you to get up there!) We stopped at Kohl's to waste a little time, and I have to get "presentation" clothes for one of my classes this semester. I didn't find anything, and we decided (about 30 minutes before our appointment) that we should get over to the store (since we didn't know exactly how long it was going to take to get over there). 

We got there, got all registered, and met with our consultant. I must say that out of the 3 consultants that I've had in this process, today was the best BY FAR! She was so nice and helpful and honest! I tried on the first dress, and I liked it. Then I tried on the next dress and I LOVED it! The next one was a bust, and the last one was also a close contender. Mom really liked the last dress that I tried on, but I really loved the second dress that I tried on. So I walked around the store (in my dress) and found a veil that matched, and shoes that are so comfortable that I can't wait to wear them, and accessories for my hair. I could have came home with the dress, cause it was my size, but mom and I decided that we want a brand new dress to wear for the big day. They said that it would be hear about the middle of April, and I must say that I absolutely can't wait to try it on again! I understand now how brides feel when they find that one special dress that is right for them. It's just so perfect!

Another Long Weekend

Well, another weekend has gone, and I feel like I got nothing accomplished! Friday I got home from school, after stopping at Wal-Mart, and did some laundry and homework. Saturday I had to bar-tend, and I don't think it could have been a slower night. It felt like the longest day EVER! I did get a little homework done in the morning, but after work I went to the neighbor's for the annual beer and wine tasting party. Dad makes the homemade wine, and Mark makes the homemade beer. I must say, that both are mighty tasty!! It was a fun night, lots of fun people there. I was drinking the blackberry wheat beer, and it was REALLY good! Mark always makes excellent beer though. Mom was hilarious that night!  

Sunday, Mom, Jennifer, and I went to Morris and Ottawa shopping for wedding dresses. I must say that it was... not as productive as I was anticipating. I did find a dress that I LOVED in Morris, but it was about twice the amount that I wanted to spend. Had it ben half (or more) cheaper, I would have ordered it right then and there! Ottawa was even more disappointing. The prices were a little more in range, but the dresses were so... not what I was looking for. I made an appointment with David's Bridal for this weekend, and I hope that things go a little better. I'm kinda running out of time to get this done. 

Jeff Dunham

So this weekend was pretty busy. Saturday (Valentine's Day) I went to see Jeff Dunham. He was performing in Bloomington, and my neighbor was able to score some tickets. I must say, that he is just as awesome live as he is on Comedy Central. I think a big highlight was that Guitar Guy (Brian Haner) opened the show, and, you don't get to see this on TV, but he's actually very funny. He did a couple of songs, and they were hilarious. It was definitely a fun night. Before the show, we all planned on eating at Logan's, but like us small town people, it slipped our minds that Saturday was Valentine's Day and we were in Bloomington with A LOT of people, and the wait by the time we got there was 1 hour and 30 minutes. Then we went to the microbrewery and the wait was 2 hours. Then we went to (can you see a pattern?) Alexander's and the wait was 2 hours and 30 minutes. By this time we were running out of time and growing more and more hungry, so we settled on Pizza Hut. Our waitress was hilarious and a true sport. Especially since most of us were buzzed when we got there. Going into the place, we were assuming that they once served Bud products (and you know we are all Miller people). We saw the Corona sign on the wall and decided to settle for that, but when the waitress mentioned Miller Lite, we all got really excited. (It was that kind of night!) We got to the show, and got our drinks and got settled. Then we all laughed our butts off! Well most of us laughed all night. Mark ended up falling asleep before Jeff was done performing. I think he works to hard! It was a fun night though, and I would most definitely go see him again.