Okay, mark your calendars for May 30, 2009, High Noon, St. Francis Borgia Church, Washington, MO. Why?
I'm getting hitched!
That's right, Kenny and I are making it official. These are tentative plans so if anything changes, I'll post. We're still waiting on a letter from Rome, which should be here any day now, so we're just going ahead and planning like it's going to be here. We're planning on a Mass, but if the letter doesn't come through, we're getting married one way or the other. By the time we are able to get married, it will be 18 months since his paperwork has been in Rome.
I'm a little overwhelmed. I seriously considered the convent. He left the priesthood. Neither of us ever thought we'd get married. I'd resigned myself to ending up like the crazy cat lady from The Simpsons. He'd resigned himself to wearing the sin fighter suit forever, regardless of how miserable he was. Sometimes it takes God a while to smack you upside the head, get your attention, and say, "HEY! YOU! Look what I've put right in front of your face!" Of course, we can be a little slow on the uptake, too.
I have finally found a bridal shop, Chatfields, that specializes in rather unique bridal gowns. They cater to pregnant brides (which I'm not), Mormon brides, Orthodox Jewish Brides, and folks like me who are of the Weeble People variety and want sleeves. The lady is really nice and when I went to check out the shop and see what they had, she had me trying on tons of dresses before I knew what hit me. I've narrowed it down to 3. My Mom, Sebrina (Matron of Honor), Andrea (Bridesmaid), Carmel (Friend that Rocks), and Abby (my 13 year old Goddaughter who looks way too mature for 13!!!) are headed up here to help me narrow it down.
Without being too cheesy, because I hate mushy stuff, when I saw myself for the first time in a wedding gown, I burst into tears. I had been cracking up in the dressing room because it was more dress than I'd ever been in. All I could think of was the line from "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" - "I look like the abominable snow beast." Then she put me up on that stand thing, fluffed the dress, and told me to look and I completely lost it. Why? I'm not sure. I never really thought I'd get married, so I had kind of quit planning for anything or even visualizing anything. Even after we got engaged, I guess I kind of figured something would go wrong and we'd split up or it really wouldn't happen. Then it hit me what we were really doing and I guess it kind of freaked me out. That whole "till death" thing is a really long time! I love him, I'm sure I want to be married to him, but it hit me how serious this is. Weird, I know, but there you have it.
In any case, friends, mark your calendars for the 30th of May. I'm sure much hilarity and stress will ensue between now and then, so I'll be posting.
Monday, September 15, 2008
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
Game ON!!!!
Okay, for people not from Malden, and specifically that didn't run around with my friends from High School, this post probably won't mean much to you. However, for all of my friends from Malden and their parents, you'll get it. My mom just called me, cracking up and said, "Game on, I just found Jackie Nalley!" Let the games begin! Apparently he's out of prison and back in town.
Monday, September 08, 2008
Where has the summer gone?
Not too long ago, it seemed like I would have enough time to catch up on my blogging. Unfortunately, I went on vacation, came back and went to work, and school is kicking my butt. What else is new.
The new job is more than a challenge. It's only week three and I've already spent more hours than I care to count sitting at my desk, crying, and trying to figure out how to teach these kids the GLE's and lay the foundation that they're lacking. It's taken us 5 days to write numbers in word form. They have trouble recognizing numbers and they don't know the words for numbers. Tomorrow, I'm supposed to teach them exponents - but we don't even know basic multiplication facts. I'm trying really hard to stay positive, but tonight is the first night I've been home from school before 6:30 PM or later. I'm getting there at 7:00 AM. I'm tired and getting ready to go to bed. Yes, I have my own homework to do, but I can barely organize my thoughts to type this post.
Before I sign off for the evening, here are a couple of highlights from the end of my summer:
1. Nashville - We got to stay at the Opryland Hotel which is just insane! The beds in our room were amazing. I kept asking Kenny if we could figure out how to get four matresses down the elevator, strapped to the top of my car, and back to MO without getting caught or noticed. The hotel was neat to stay in, but very expensive. If it hadn't been for his having a conference there, we wouldn't have ever stayed there. We did a lot of the nerd stuff (plantations, historic tours), we did a bit of the tourist thing (we escaped to the Wild Horse saloon one night - I was hungry for "real food" instead of the "gourmet fair" being offered at all of the dinners at the conference - a barbeque sandwich and fried pickles did the trick - plus it was free admission with our room key) and of course, we did the country fan stuff. The Grand Ole Opry tour, a show, the Ryman, the Country Music Hall of Fame - I had a blast. Kenny was more diplomatic - his comment was it was nice to finally see pictures of all these people whose strange music I force him to listen to.
2. Dolly Parton - Yep, I finally got to see her at the Fox. It was by far one of the more bizarre concert experiences I've ever had - even stranger than CSNY with the clouds of pot smoke wafting through the night air. The Fox was packed and the crowd was mixed. There were people with oxygen tanks and walkers along with young families. Teenage girls and drag queens. Beside Kenny was a young teenage girl who spent most of the time crying and yelling "I love you, Dolly!" To my right was a drag queen who was of Latino origin, singing all the songs along with Dolly in accented English (think Hank Azaria's character in The Birdcage), and then there was Dolly. I love Dolly (not as much as my friend Kevin) and the first record I ever owned wasn't Alvin and the Chipmunks, it was 9 to 5 - and yes I love the movie too. She definitely still has it. Kenny was impressed with how many instruments she played and seemed to enjoy himself. This is great strides from someone who basically just listened to Classic 99 for the first few years I knew him. Then he moves in with me and it's Dolly Parton, Pink Floyd, Bill Monroe, Aretha Franklin..... Let's just say he's getting an education!
3. Having been to Nashville several times, I have always been disappointed that I have never been able to catch Vince Gill in concert. Any time I've been to the Opry, he's either been there the week before or the week after. However, that's all about to change. He is going to be here in the St. Louis area on Sept. 19th and Kenny got me tickets. Okay, I love his voice and his musical talent, but I think he's cute too. As I told Kenny, if I could have one get out of marriage free card, I'd have to reserve it for Vince Gill. I'm sure Amy Grant wouldn't appreciate that, but oh well. I'll post about the concert. Reviews have been positive. From what I've read, it's mostly acoustic, with him telling the stories behind how some of the songs came to be. Since I'm a die hard fan, I'm hoping for quite a bit of his bluegrass offerings. Yeah, I'm a nerd, but what can you expect from someone who grew up listening to Bill Monroe with my Grandpa and the Opry on Saturday nights? Now, if I can just convince Kenny to let me go to Bluegrass at the Ryman next summer, maybe I'll get to see Allison Kraus and Union Station.....
The new job is more than a challenge. It's only week three and I've already spent more hours than I care to count sitting at my desk, crying, and trying to figure out how to teach these kids the GLE's and lay the foundation that they're lacking. It's taken us 5 days to write numbers in word form. They have trouble recognizing numbers and they don't know the words for numbers. Tomorrow, I'm supposed to teach them exponents - but we don't even know basic multiplication facts. I'm trying really hard to stay positive, but tonight is the first night I've been home from school before 6:30 PM or later. I'm getting there at 7:00 AM. I'm tired and getting ready to go to bed. Yes, I have my own homework to do, but I can barely organize my thoughts to type this post.
Before I sign off for the evening, here are a couple of highlights from the end of my summer:
1. Nashville - We got to stay at the Opryland Hotel which is just insane! The beds in our room were amazing. I kept asking Kenny if we could figure out how to get four matresses down the elevator, strapped to the top of my car, and back to MO without getting caught or noticed. The hotel was neat to stay in, but very expensive. If it hadn't been for his having a conference there, we wouldn't have ever stayed there. We did a lot of the nerd stuff (plantations, historic tours), we did a bit of the tourist thing (we escaped to the Wild Horse saloon one night - I was hungry for "real food" instead of the "gourmet fair" being offered at all of the dinners at the conference - a barbeque sandwich and fried pickles did the trick - plus it was free admission with our room key) and of course, we did the country fan stuff. The Grand Ole Opry tour, a show, the Ryman, the Country Music Hall of Fame - I had a blast. Kenny was more diplomatic - his comment was it was nice to finally see pictures of all these people whose strange music I force him to listen to.
2. Dolly Parton - Yep, I finally got to see her at the Fox. It was by far one of the more bizarre concert experiences I've ever had - even stranger than CSNY with the clouds of pot smoke wafting through the night air. The Fox was packed and the crowd was mixed. There were people with oxygen tanks and walkers along with young families. Teenage girls and drag queens. Beside Kenny was a young teenage girl who spent most of the time crying and yelling "I love you, Dolly!" To my right was a drag queen who was of Latino origin, singing all the songs along with Dolly in accented English (think Hank Azaria's character in The Birdcage), and then there was Dolly. I love Dolly (not as much as my friend Kevin) and the first record I ever owned wasn't Alvin and the Chipmunks, it was 9 to 5 - and yes I love the movie too. She definitely still has it. Kenny was impressed with how many instruments she played and seemed to enjoy himself. This is great strides from someone who basically just listened to Classic 99 for the first few years I knew him. Then he moves in with me and it's Dolly Parton, Pink Floyd, Bill Monroe, Aretha Franklin..... Let's just say he's getting an education!
3. Having been to Nashville several times, I have always been disappointed that I have never been able to catch Vince Gill in concert. Any time I've been to the Opry, he's either been there the week before or the week after. However, that's all about to change. He is going to be here in the St. Louis area on Sept. 19th and Kenny got me tickets. Okay, I love his voice and his musical talent, but I think he's cute too. As I told Kenny, if I could have one get out of marriage free card, I'd have to reserve it for Vince Gill. I'm sure Amy Grant wouldn't appreciate that, but oh well. I'll post about the concert. Reviews have been positive. From what I've read, it's mostly acoustic, with him telling the stories behind how some of the songs came to be. Since I'm a die hard fan, I'm hoping for quite a bit of his bluegrass offerings. Yeah, I'm a nerd, but what can you expect from someone who grew up listening to Bill Monroe with my Grandpa and the Opry on Saturday nights? Now, if I can just convince Kenny to let me go to Bluegrass at the Ryman next summer, maybe I'll get to see Allison Kraus and Union Station.....
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