A Post of the Tired Mind

I was just sitting here, thinking about how tired I am. Two of my students transfered their lessons to Thursday so I have an hour to sit and relax. And I think I need it. My only wish is that Jesse were home from work. Soon, though. :-)

I am thankful I have something to be tired from. And of course,

If you must have motivation, think of your pay check on Friday. -- Noel Coward 

(My inspirational quote of the day.)

Here's another one:

We can only learn to love by loving. -- Iris Murdoch

Btw, if you hadn't noticed already, my sister Hannah is getting married on June 2nd. It's going to be a red letter day!

Odds and Ends... Wedding preparation! Day ... End! :D

2 Days... Wedding Prep

I am glad that you all enjoyed the last couple of posts. One of things I have always longed for was to be involved with wedding preparation.. and we always lived too far away for me to participate. But this time... YES! :-D So, assuming that there are other females who feel the same about this as I do: 

Wedding make-up trial. Lindsey, Lydia and I went to see a friend in Carlyle to get some tips for applying makeup. ...

....Connie was quite helpful and very knowledgeable. She is also generous with her talents so Lindsey and Lydia are counting on her help on the big day. 

Gretel, one of Todd and Connie's cats, who usually is pretty shy around visitors, is obviously a girly girl at heart. She came and watched, fascinated. 

For the oreo cupcake cheesecake.... these are going to be so good!

The batter...

Filling the pans... I am really looking forward to these!!! :-D

Lasagna for the rehearsal dinner... Mmmm!

Grandpa and Grandma Holter arrived yesterday evening.

Smiling. Happy. Excited. And just a little stressed. But just an eensy, weensy bit. ;-)

Thanks to Lydia for taking the cake pictures... 

3 More Days!

Lindsey's here so we're going to be keeping busy all day. :-) Today: get wedding stuff to the Hall, go over a to do list that Samantha made for me, contact Laurette about potted flowers, try on my dress so Lindsey can bustle it, start making favors, getting spaghetti recipe from Shelly S., talk to the photographer, clean up around our house, get the trailer set up, wash beddings, and the list goes on and on... it's going to be a busy day!

Wedding Odds... and Ends

Random: on my blog feedjit (sidebar) it says that I am logging in from North Battleford, SK. North Battleford is around 8 hours from Carlyle. I guess the feedjit people think that only a few places exist in Saskatchewan. The rest of the province is a cold, barren wasteland where the native people inhabit igloos and drive dogsleds while defrosting their noses all year around.  

Yesterday, I wrapped the rest of the gifts that I have for peoples and cleaned upstairs, preparing for my family to come and stay on Friday. It looks really nice up there now. :-) It's so comfy. I love our house. Can't wait to live in it! All of us older girls will be staying over at my inlaws. Right now, Lydia and I have Jesse's old room. Lydia gets the bottom bunk and I get the top bunk. I haven't fallen out yet!

Lindsey will be coming on Wednesday or Thursday and we'll be doing cheesecake and cheesecake cupcakes and a couple kinds of homemade candy. She has done so much and still has so much to do before she can come down. (Like make her dress.) (She's been busy shipping out chickens, making my wedding dress, making a wedding scrapbook, making place cards for the wedding reception, helping her neighbors clean their barns, helping a friend set up a restaurant...) I am always amazed and blessed by her.

My grandparents will be coming in a few days as well. I am really looking forward to seeing all four of them!

Today I am going to try to contact people about flowers and other things. It seems like everything is coming together. We have marriage license and a semi-plan of the schedule. ;-) Most of our bills paid off and Jesse is working really hard on his film project. Lydia and I walked from my inlaws place over to our place. We kept a good pace going but I was still pleasantly surprised that it only took us 45 minutes to get from point A to point B. I shall have to do it more often and get back into shape.

I am happy to be getting married. Especially getting married to Jesse. God has given me the desires of my heart and so much more.  Before it, I knew love was beyond my comprehension. After it, it's still way out there. Jesse, I love you.

Because It's Late and I'm Feeling Emotional

Hairstyle. 

Wedding dress fitting. 

Ribbon.

Candy Table. 

Fruit. 

Housing people. 

Dishes. 

Did I forget to invite someone? 

Cheese cake. 

When are the grandparents arriving? 

Slippers.

Orthodontist appointment. 

Am I going to get sick from the insulation I inhaled? 

and the list goes on....

The stress is beginning to show. And I have so many people helping to carry this! Please pray for me. I want this to be a joyful time for everyone. However, it won't be if the bride ain't happy. Haha! It's easy to get stressed. It's not easy to remain at peace and happy. I have so much to be happy for. I am marrying Jesse and we love each other so very much. I prayed for inlaws that would be like family and they are wonderful. I have beautiful loved ones. Thank you, one and all. Your contributions of time and skill are making this time so much easier.

Jesse. I love you. 

Because Life is Good

It's amazing how busy a girl's life can get. I am trying to wrestle enough time out of my day to keep in slight contact with my online and non-online friends, plan wedding, go to camp, clean house and get ready for moving in, work at Pharmasave, play music, figure out my music schedule, etc. I love how I love all the things I do in my life. :-)

But as much as it is great to not be bored, it is also important to spend quiet time, just relaxing. Yesterday Jesse and I drove three of the camp instructors to the airport and and spent the rest of the day in the city, shopping, watching movies and eating. I am trying to conserve money but watching movies for Jesse and me is special. We don't get into the city often so it's a real treat. We watched Captain America and thought it was absolutely brilliant. I love every little thing about it. :-)

I went shoe shopping at Dancer's Den. No such luck. They had really nice shoes but nothing seemed quite right for me... or the occasion. I am really hoping to find something sooner than later. Of course, if all else fails, I can always borrow a pair that I'm trying to base my idea on of perfect wedding shoes. I borrowed them during the "We'll Meet Again" production we did last Fall. They are dancing shoes from the 50's and a nice natural leather. But I would love to find a pair like those for myself!

Anyways. We have a function to attend this evening so I should close this up and get ready to go. :-) I will try to write again and keep you guys updated.

P.S. God has been answering so many prayers. Thank you for all who are praying for us!

On Infinite Truth, Babies and Their Wisdom, Wedding Planning and Beautiful People in My Life

GROW old along with me!

The best is yet to be,

The last of life, for which the first was made:

Our times are in his hand

Who saith, ``A whole I planned,

Youth shows but half; trust God: see all, nor be afraid!'' 

 

When I was searching for quotes to include in our wedding invitation, I immediately googled Robert Browning. I love his poetry and his attitude towards life. It is always poignant and full of double meanings. My search revealed the first two lines of this poem... Jesse and I both liked it, so we used it. But I never read the rest of the poem. It is a selection from his: Rabbi Ben Ezra. I just skimmed the rest of the poem and found it very thought provoking. He asks such hard questions about life and death, the meaning of it. Should he have faith in The Infinite Truth (God)? 

The days are passing so quickly. Yesterday we had our garage sale for the last time. Now it's time to just get rid of all of the stuff that is left. We made well over $200, if my calculations are correct. And, what's even better, we got rid of a lot of things we didn't need. We found out something: Jesse drives a harder bargain than I do. That's pretty scary considering that Jesse doesn't drive a hard bargain at all. Lol!

My sister-in-law-to-be Samantha and I sat down yesterday and discussed wedding all afternoon. We hammered one million different things out. I threw ideas at her and she considered them then proceeded to tell me why they would or would not work. Haha! It's so good to have her in my life. Between her, Lindsey, my sister Lydia, Michele and Jesse, the wedding should be a success. 

We thought of several different ideas that really thrill the socks off of me. One is to have my dad and brother make an square garden arch, like the one we had in Melville. The other is to have an old weathered garden table and chairs sitting on stage with all of the flowers and candles... I'm not sure how much I should divulge right now so I'm going to stop.. but you get the idea of what the wedding is going to be like. :-) 

This month I am going to be working 16 days, going to music camp for five, going to Saskatoon, Regina and Swan River... all the while, planning like crazy. To top this all off, I need to get my teaching schedule figured out for October. But that will have to wait for a little bit.

Anyways, that's all I have for now. I hope you are having a beautiful weekend and a worshipful Sunday. I have been learning so much about God lately. It's so true that He never ends. We cannot ever learn enough about Him. People ask me questions that I can't answer... why would God create people who will always be dependant upon others for care? I don't know. But sometimes I glimpsed truths in their difficult to understand words that astounded me. Perhaps these are the babes who know more about God than we 'normal' folks could ever comprehend. Food for thought.

Happy Summer

June was not over

Though past the fall,

And the best of her roses

Had yet to blow... 

--Robert Browning 

(Another Way Of Love)

I love old poetry... listening to the Nasby brothers sing and play... watching fireworks whirl and spin through the night sky... feeling raw emotion.... dancing in the bright sunlight... laughing with children...

These things I have been doing; thinking about; feeling. I am really tired. :-) Thus, my thoughts are scattered right now. Today we had our garage sale again and sold a lot of things. Hurrah! I guess the right people needed the things we had yesterday. I have also been addressing wedding invitations for two days and still have quite a few to go. I wanted to be done before I leave for camp tomorrow but I don't think that's going to happen. However, I can work on them at camp in the evenings...

I probably won't be online much this coming month and maybe not in August either. But there is no telling what the months will bring! I am really looking forward to working with the kids at camp. I intend on having a good time. :-D  However, perhaps this is good. I am resting in the grace of God.

Some exciting news: my sister Hannah is dating a very nice young man she met in Bible College. Love you guys. :-) 

May you all have a beautiful, full Summer. Enjoy the sun and the rain...

Wedding Plans

[This morning, a FB friend sent me an invitation to the "Cow Appreciation Day" Event. A few minutes later, she sent me an invitation to the "An Old Fashioned Singing" Event. Then she sent me an invitation to the "I'm addicted to Facebook" Event.]

This morning I had a mild panic attack about how close the wedding is at hand. It seems like time moves irregularly. Some moments crawl by like a itsy-bitsy snail traveling up an icy covered hill -- one slime forward, two slimes back. Other moments I find myself on the back of a cheetah going down the same hill, 3 seconds to 1 and we are gathering speed ladies and gentlemen! Hang onto your hats!

I need to be more organized.

Planning for a wedding has been one of the most interesting things I have ever done. And it could easily turn into the most stressful. I don't want that to happen. One of my co-workers told me the other day, "You should enjoy this time in your life." I am trying to remember that. :-)

The best thing we have done was deciding that we did not want to spend a lot of money. That has really made me be creative in my planning. There are things that will require some spending but already people have been so very generous. The wedding dress and bridesmaids dresses were all purchased and paid for by others. (I will not say who but you know who you are!) The venue fee was waved. The food is potluck. The band is family and friends. The flowers are being grown by friends.  Many of the decorations I bought cheaply or am borrowing. Now I am trying to be creative in my spending on the rest of the wedding.

The photographer is something I am willing to spend money on. I think that preserving memories is something that is really important. He is scheduled and has a downpayment. This is something I need to save money for and make sure I am in contact with him.

The wedding bouquets. I decided to order them professionally. While I don't want anything terribly formal or classy, I do want flowers that aren't going to fade or fall off the bouquet during the big day. I need to visit the flower shop in Carlyle around August 10th and chat with the flower lady. :-) This is something that I need to save money for and make a mark on my calendar.

Since the strike is off and my wedding invitations have arrived (they are absolutely gorgeous!), I need to begin getting my addresses and lists and postage together. This is something I will spend money on now.

The candy table and the cheesecake -- money and time. August.

Accomodations for family and friends who are traveling in from out of town. Reservations. Phone calls.

Something else that we really need: a marriage commisioner. We still haven't found one yet. We have tried and nothing seems to work out. I am really praying that God will provide someone. There is a big list of Marriage Commisioners in Saskatchewan. I should read through that list more carefully and see what I find. Prayers for that and any thoughts are greatly appreciated. :-)

Camp begins on the 2nd. Michele and Will are moving to another town where they have built a lovely big house. I need to get all of my stuff out of there before I start to teaching. Ah! life. :-) And Jesse made gingerbead cookies yesterday. They are soooo good. And we bought a vacuum cleaner yesterday so I was able to vacuum!

I'm marrying a good guy. Life is great. A wedding is just a wedding. I would like it perfect but if it isn't, I'm not going to care. Because life continues on far past the "big day" and with Jesse in it... so beautiful. I'm just praying for wisdom.

I Love Flowers

Hello from a wet, chilly Saskatchewan. Did I ever mention that I wanted to live in Ireland? I won't have to now. I have already experienced it. Well, at least the weather part of it. (I don't think I have gotten the music and food part of it, though... so I guess I will still have to go visit.)

Yesterday, I washed all of the bottles for the wedding. I knew they were dirty but I didn't realize how dirty they were. Some of them had me almost gagging. I had to bite my lip and try to control my reflexes. I think some of the bottles had never been completely emptied. Yes, I mean 30 year old milk. I borrowed two big plastic tubs from my inlaws and soaked the bottles for a couple hours before I even attempted to wash them. Then, I took a rag and a wooden spoon to them... most of the bottles have narrow tops so I was not able to clean them without the handle of the wooden spoon. I think it took me over an hour to wash them all. When I was done, I rinsed half of them in hot water and soap. Then we made a dinner, sat in the living room and finished watching "Fullmetal Alchemist." It felt so good to get that job done. I had been dreading it.

Interesting thought: I love my job. I appreciate my co-workers. I have a really great boss! But on the days when I'm not working, I stay away from Pharmasave as much as I can. Not sure why since I really enjoy my job. Maybe because I go into work mode as soon as I step through the door. Lol.

My little sister Sara is growing up so big. She is talking quite proficiently now and likes to get people's attention. The other day when the family came down from Endeavour, she came running into the kitchen. She called, "Hannah!" while looking at me. I replied, "My name is Naomi." Her eyes went wide and very thoughtful. She pursed her lips for a moment, then said, "Never mind," and lit out for the livingroom. Lydia, Ellie and myself all laughed so hard. It was too cute. :-) 

 I want to wear flowers in my hair... these were just some ideas. I am still not sure if I'm going to wear a veil or not... 

This girl's hair is definitely my favorite flowers-in-hair look. Informal, natural but very beautiful.  I really like the style of photography as well!

This is nice but perhaps too much for me. The bangs..

["When we focus on changing circumstances rather than on the unchangable realities of God and His Truth, our emotions are prone to fluctuate wildly." --Nancy Leigh DeMoss] [Thanks for sharing this, Cheri. I really appreciated this!]

One of the reasons I haven't written a blog post sooner is because of the lack of inspiration. :P But I do love talking about wedding ideas. Aren't these bouquets beautiful? I like them all for different reasons. The one that has me inspired is the one to the far left in the collage. It has my colors in it and uses the flowers I had in mind. But I do love purple, even if I can't use it! So I am posting pictures of bouquets I like. 

Jesse and I watched "Nanny McPhee" the other evening. I found it to be an enjoyable experience. :) The story is a mixture of stories... kind of like a tough Mary Poppins and Julie Andrews. But I did love that as the children felt Nanny McPhee, so she looked. The more beautiful they thought of her, the more beautiful she became. There is something to be said about that lesson! 

Anyways. Work and everything calls. Busy life. Good life. :)

Eternal Labyrinth of Randomness

It has been a very busy couple of weeks for me. If you couldn't tell. :-) I'm actually typing this during my lunch break, inbetween bites of sandwich. It's a ham sandwich. Surprise, surprise. But it's actually on whole wheat bread, so it's not completely unhealthy. Besides, I like ham! ;-)

This morning, I got up, ate homemade ice-cream for breakfast (Yum!), came to work and spent the morning discovering and doing. Firstly, photo lab. I learned how to make a copy of pictures on a cd. I have burned cds before but not with this exact program. I was glad that Heather is still here to teach me... She's going to be leaving for maternity leave in three days since she's due in September. The rest of the morning was spent on the till and working on end bunks.

I can barely remember what all has happened since I last wrote. Lol. It seems like so much has happened. This past Sunday, my family came down for a visit and saw our house for the first time. It was good to see them again. Especially the kids. :-) Jesse discovered how awesome they are. He also discovered that wherever Sara is, there he should be also. She unloaded some of his books from the bookshelf several times. Hehe.

My folks brought all of my things down. Well. Most of my things. My sister Ellie kept all of my Agatha Christie books. I adore Agatha Christie. Unfortunately that adoration seems to run in the family. I have around 20 of her paperbacks and I would really like to see them on my shelf. Eventually. I can't fight Ellie for them until she's all healed up. Anyways. :-P All of my things are officially in our house... my dresser, desk, book shelf, hopechest, quilts, books, dishes, keepsakes, etc. Things that girls usually keep even though they have moved half a dozen times in the last five years. :-) [Sidenote: I just realized that five years ago, I was 20. I'm getting old!] I unpacked some of my dishes... finally using my Grandma's present to me on my 18^th birthday. They're so beautiful. Corelle really outdid themselves in designs that year. [Sidenote: which happened to be 7 years ago. Oh my.]

Whenever we moved long distances, I would calculate how many books I had and give away half my clothing so I could take them. I love my books. I am so excited that they're in our house. :-D :-D One of these days, Jesse says he will build more bookshelves so we can fill them with all of our volumes. I have a lot of classics and old books. And I have a lot of my favorites. Lord of the Rings, Alicia, Alone...

Back to Ellie: she's doing well though some days she is in pain. Your continued prayers for her are appreciated. It would be so wonderful if she had a full recovery and regained the use of her arm/shoulder. No more being afraid it's going to come out... She is still being crazy girl, though. That means that she is out doing fencing with Lydia and chasing calves. :-P Yes, there is a bit of begrudging respect in my voice. Lol.

Wedding plans are coming along. Jesse's sister and I hit upon a Dollar Store in Regina a weekend or two ago and found some really nice glass jars, etc. So, we bought a large amount of them for decorations and candy. I need a couple more big jars for the candy table and I think we'll be good there. What I'm mainly looking for now are old crocheted table cloths and wooden boxes. I am really excited about the antique looks we're going to have. This is going to be so much fun. :-)

Jesse and I have always done a lot of talking. I remember when he began coming around to Michele's to talk to me. I knew that he was interested in me but I didn't think there was a chance that he would agree with me or even have similar thoughts regarding a lot of matters spiritually. So, I would purposely bring up things that I believed and didn't think anyone else did. The interesting thing was that each matter I brought up, he had not only already thought out the issue but had arrived at the same conclusion as I had. It was both a blessing and a curse at the time (lol!) but over the months it has steadily evolved into a blessing only. I can bring up any subject I'm struggling with or am thinking about and he will give his opinion, encourage me to think about it and back off. I have never met anyone like him in my entire life.

The other day, I was really having issues with judging others. I still hold some hard things close to my heart and it is so difficult to let go. But as we were talking about this, my beloved said, “Negativity breeds negativity.” He went on to encourage me to act in love. Even if I could not reconcile myself to certain things (at this point, I have decided that when I am ready and God wants me to, I will be able to let go) then at least I can act in love towards these individuals.

His answer was so simple and so filled with wisdom that I haven't been able to forget what he said. I am really happy that I'm marrying this guy. :-)

So, my life is filled right now with work, house renovations, reorganizing our house, making pudding this evening, loving God and my man, learning about the joys and trials of co-workers, trying to write a blog post, eating skittles, ordering wedding invitations, getting a marriage commissioner lined up and generally enjoying life as much as I can (which is a lot). :-)

Forgive the random bold-ened words. I was feeling randomly bold today. :-)

Dreams & Wedding Plans

Once upon a time, there was a young lady who took me under her wing for an afternoon and let me see her room. In it was old books, old quilts, old sewing kits... I looked around in awe. Then, I saw it. Hanging there, against the wall was an old wedding dress. The ancient satin caught the light and glowed. As a typical girl, I almost stopped breathing in the presence of it's beauty. :-) It really was a priceless treasure; it had belonged to the girl's great-grandmother.

For years, I had dreams of what I wanted to be like when I was older. When I was young, my dreams consisted of having the same room the girl had but with one exception: I had not just one wedding dress but millions. Plus I would have a room full of candy and books and movies. And china dolls. (Let us not forget about the china dolls.) But gradually over time, I began to realize what was important and what wasn't. Strangely, as I grew (not much) taller, the earth rose up to meet me in my old age and I became practical. I packed my china doll away. I moved from home. I got a job. There is denim in my closet. I'm trying to stay away from candy.

But I do have an old wedding dress hanging in my closet to remind myself about the sugar and spice side of me. It hangs in my closet, light melting into the satin and looking beautiful. :sigh: I have no idea if I will every be able to make use of it but that is okay. Everyone needs something impractical in their lives. :-)

Part of the plans for my wedding consist of old bottles for putting flowers into. I have been planning on looking for them at yard sales for several weekends now but hadn't gotten the chance. Finally on Saturday, Jesse and I needed to go to Redvers anyways. They were having their town wide garage sale day and I was really looking forward to it. Due to rehearsal for the recital, we ended up not getting into Redvers until 3 or so. Which is apparently when most of the sales happened to shut down. We hit two in town that were just packing up and were able to snag some things that we needed (salt and pepper shaker set that we both liked, etc) but I wasn't finding any old bottles.

We were leaving Redvers when suddenly, about 2 miles out, there was a sign for a yard sale. It said "moving sale". As we were walking towards the garage, suddenly all I was seeing were old bottles and jars. Lots of them. Jesse looked at me and said, "We came to the right place." Lol. These people were antique collectors and had so much old glass, it was unbelievable. I told the lady what we were looking for and she was completely thrilled. We picked out several different bottles and dishes and she gave us a deal. We bought some stuff for $85. It wasn't the 5 cents a bottle kind of sale I'd been looking for but, hey... paying more  now means I can sell later. These bottles aren't cleaned yet. :-)

Anyways. As we were leaving, her husband came running over to the car and asked if we were the ones who had bought his milk bottles. He then asked if we would come to the shed and take a look at what else he had to sell because he thought we might be interested. We decided we could and he set an entire crate of these milk bottles in front of us. "Make me an offer," he said. Jesse and I looked at each other. Judging by what the man's wife had charged us for the few we'd gotten before, we thought around $200 for this crate and I simply didn't want to pay that kind of money! "Go ahead! Make me an offer. Don't be afraid to insult me," he said again. Jesse and I kind of stuttered a little bit. Hehe. :-D "Ok! Do you have a $10 bill in your pocket? Just give me $10 for the whole thing." I think our jaws just about hit the ground. Lol. We definitely had $10 and we now have enough bottles for the entire wedding. Wow.

It was an interesting inner struggle to watch, actually. The man was a salesman, wanting to get the biggest dollar for his product but he was also a kind hearted man. He asked what we wanted the bottles for and when we told him we wanted them for our wedding, he was so pleased. He gave us a butter churn, a couple of plastic crates, a wooden crate and a piece of petrified wood. *G*

When we went back to the car, the lady met us there and asked how much he'd charged us for everything. When we told her how much (a little gingerly, I assure you!) she gasped and looked... surprised and... delighted? I'm not sure. She wasn't displeased, for sure.... just very happy about her husband's generosity. She then insisted on giving us another tea cup for free. He kept urging her on by saying, "Ruth, they're getting married." "They are looking for antiques for their wedding." "They're getting married, Ruth!"

As we were getting ready to leave, she came running back to the car and handed us back the $10. "We decided we couldn't take it," she said. Jesse and I were rather overcome by their generosity. We were not anticipating it. What an answer to prayer. Each step we have taken in preparing for our wedding and new life together has been so amazing. So many things have been due to people's generosity.

Thank you. You know who you are.

But I am working today and I really need to get prepared for leaving. :-) My hair still isn't done and I need to get laundry in the wash. Plus, I need to put socks on. :-) :-) Ya'll have a great day wherever you happen to be. 

The Sun is Shining!

Theatre was amazing. :-) Yes, it is always a lot of work and yes, by Sunday, we're all exhausted and "punch drunk" to quote Michele and Kristy! But it was amazing. The experience is always invaluable. Working with so many wonderful people and making new friends.... I can say sincerely that I do not regret a moment. :-) 

We did not have many flubs.. one that sticks out in my mind happened on Saturday in the first act. One line was forgotten and we had to figure out where we were at. :-) It took a couple minutes of floundering before everything was back on track. It was not terribly obvious to the crowd, though. We didn't come out of character and the story line stayed the same. 

Yesterday, I was so tired. I made it through the day (it was a good day!) but by the time I got home, I was almost falling over. I went to bed at 10 or so and slept like the proverbial log. I woke up feeling really good. :-) Energy level is up, etc. The only thing is my allergies are kicking in with spring. Or shall we say, with the dust. However, I will just carry around tissue with me and be fine. :-D 

I worked almost all day in the photolab yesterday. It was closed on Saturday because there were only three of us on the floor that day (well, Marcia left mid-afternoon because of a funeral... which left just Anna and myself..) and we had stock to put on the shelves. So yesterday, we had a lot of photo orders that needed to be filled. Plus, a lot of older people came in to get pictures. It's really interesting watching/helping them trying to figure out the computers and all this digital photography. I find it fascinating to think how many ways they have seen pictures get developed over the years. Sometimes I wish I would have been born earlier to have been able to learn the older processes. I do like the digital process though. :-) And I love my job. :-D 

Jesse and I have our own address now! We received a phone call from the post office that they had a box for us. We're both so excited. :-) We spent time discussing how we were going to remember the Box #. Neither of us are good with numbers. Our methods are quite different but it helps that we both have siblings born in 1987. Lol. 

I haven't been able to work anymore on wedding details since last week but I'm hoping in the upcoming days to be able to work on guest list. My mom, sisters and Lindsey are throwing a bridal shower for me up in Endeavour on May 6th. Mom said I could invite anyone I wanted to. So, if you're in the area around that time, drop in. :-) I am really looking forward to it. It will be lots of fun to see everyone again... especially the kids. I received a letter from Ruth yesterday and I am a little homesick for them. 

So... today I work and teach and enjoy my evening. I am able to teach one of my students an hour lesson today to make up for the one I had to cancel when I was sick. I am glad for that. After this week, I will only have around five students to make up lessons with. It's simply a matter of organization. (Which isn't a strong point of mine!) Lol. 

What have you all been doing lately? Have you been learning anything lately? Discovered something exciting? Does anyone like 1920's era music? 

I'm not previewing this because I need to run to work right away... I have high hopes of it's readableness. :-) Ya'll have a great day!

Random Thoughts of the Day

The sun is out and the sky is blue. The snow is melting and leaving huge puddles everywhere. I am feeling quite happy about it. :-) The winter was strange this year; extremes on both sides of the thermometer. I couldn't get used to it! So, I will be glad when it's finally warm. :-) Then, I won't have to be bundled up while walking to work, I'll be able to ditch my poor, holey black leggings and run about freeeeee!! :-D

It has been interesting to hear the responses to my wedding planning. Such positivity, so many opinions, everyone being as helpful and sweet as can be. We are so blessed! Today, Jesse and I and his dad are going to look at some places to buy. Jesse, Lindsey and I had looked at them before but, obviously, only from the outside. It will be interesting if the places we thought most promises remain that way upon further inspection. I am actually very excited about this. Having a place to get ready to live in is something Jesse and I have both been wanting for awhile. One thing I hadn't counted on when I was thinking about my (future) wedding was the feeling of longing just to be married. :-) Planning the wedding is fun but sometimes it seems to be all so unnecessary and in the way of preparing for married life. Lol. However, the sensible part of my brain always knows how much I want my grandparents, family members and good friends to see Jesse and I exchange our vows. And goodness knows that as hermit-ish as the two of us are, we both love a gathering of people we love (i.e. party ;-)).

When we were getting the fabric for the wedding, the lady measuring it for us asked if this was for my wedding. She then said she could see a nice yellow or orange going with the green we had gotten. She is totally right, those colors would go really nicely. But as you all know, I have delphiniums in mind. "Actually, I thought blue," I said. Her jaw dropped and her eyes were astonished. "Blue??!" she queried. She was such a lovely, inhibited person. I love people like her. ;-) Lindsey and I kept chuckling to each other and saying, "Blue??!" ;-)

Wedding Plans

So it would seem that my evening wasn't quite as open as I thought. :-) That's fine. It means that I'll be writing more later instead of now. :-)

Certain details about the wedding party:
Lindsey is my maid of honor.

My entire family is walking me down the aisle, therefore, semi-wedding-party.

We're getting married at the Carlyle Theatre, with the reception being in the Hall, downstairs.

The theme is Saskatchewan Garden, Rustic and Vintage, plus a hodge podge of all sorts of ideas. :-)

The gift registry has been begun but is no where complete: find it here

I have done more planning for the reception than for the wedding.... but some flowers I would love to have for my bouquet are blue delphiniums and cream (slightly pink?) english roses.

Here is the photographer we have asked to do the wedding:
http://www.kevindyck.com/

This summer I will, hopefully, be garage sale-ing for old glass bottles and basically anything that will add to the theme...

And I really should get ready to go before my ride gets here. :-) 

Good Morning!

It would seem that females do enjoy talking about weddings! :-) I have been greatly enjoying reading all of your comments!! Unfortunately, I have been reading and running. My life has been insanely busy the past few days... However, tonight I'm hoping to write a longer post discussing the whys and wherefores of the wedding party, the creator of the outfits/wedding dress and other details like wedding photographer and looking for housing. So, if there is anything you would really like to know, ask and I shall do my best to answer. :-) Or, if there is anything you would like to advise me in, feel free!

Btw, I just wanted to say, all of your advice, opinions and friendly admonitions have been listened to, considered and generally appreciated.

Now. Off to make my lunch and eat my breakfast. Work calls. :-)

Of Weddings, Details and Stuff That Tends to Gag Guys

When I was younger, and there was no marriage in present sight, I used to spend hours planning all of the details for my wedding. I would think about it when I was weeding the garden. Washing the dishes. Folding laundry. Changing the baby's dirty diaper! Milking the cows.

Even though I knew from the first that marriage was down the road at some point, when I got involved with Jesse, I didn't even really think about the wedding. All I could concentrate on was my man and our relationship. But suddenly, one fine day, it hit me: we were going to have a wedding. That involved what? The more I thought about it, the more I felt overwhelmed with the prospect. So many details to think about! After I was sick, I hardly wanted a wedding at all. In fact, Jesse (among others) could quote me saying, "Let's just elope." Lol!

Thank God for good friends. Lindsey arrived on Thursday afternoon and the fun began immediately. First off, we made pasta and cream sauce for supper and Jesse came over to share it with us. We filled ourselves to contentment while watching "The Young Victoria" (which was mentioned previously in the post below) and an episode of "Due South" (which was not mentioned previously in the post below....), then had good conversation. These days, it seems that good conversation always turns to wedding plans. Lol! In this case, we decided that the fabric from the old wedding dress I wanted to use for my wedding dress was not conducive to the pattern I wanted. The pattern was not an option, so the dress went. I was sad but I had been coming to the realization slowly over the past few weeks (part of the reason I wanted to elope... haha!) (yes, I really, really wanted to use that dress...)...

Friday, we went into Regina and shopped until we dropped. Or almost. My favorite parts of the day happened after Michaels. I know, I know. Heresy. Especially from someone like me who usually can't be dragged out of the store for hours. The problem was that so many things were undecided and I didn't know what I needed or didn't need. Thankfully, Lindsey helped make a few decisions. Among my favorite purchases there were some small glassware which included a heart shaped and triangular shaped containers with corks. They weren't terribly expensive and we are planning on using them for... well, that will have to wait until I explain the after Michaels remark. ;-)

After Michaels.... :-) we went to The Bulk Barn. I had never even heard of one and I didn't even know what they carried. Lindsey and her mom and sister had shopped at one in Alberta, so she knew. We walked into the store and it was like heaven. I was feeling rather depressed when I first walked in. When we walked out, I was on top of the world. Hehe! Bins and bins and bins every bulk item you can think of. What we were interested in was the candy. Why would I, who isn't a typical candy person (hey! chocolate is *not* candy!) (well, some chocolate could be classified as candy but it should be banned from North America) like that detail? Because while searching through the internet for wedding ideas, I came across this lovely idea for the reception and fell in love with it:

There will be chocolate on my table as well as all of these wonderful colors and delightful vintageness. My husband-to-be loves the idea. I love the idea. I think there is a very good chance of it happening. ;-)

And now I can tell you what the small containers from Michaels will be used for: decorations on the tables. They will be filled with jelly beans. Believe me, they're absolutely adorable. :-)

Anyways, we walked out of the Bulk Barn with lots of candy. We only took a little of each. A little of 20+ varieties adds up. Haha! But I loved it. I mean, finally! I was able to get out of the cautious mode and throw myself into planning. Walmart was next. That was 2nd in line of things that happened beautifully. Candles. I left Walmart with some really nice candles. They're vanilla and cream colored and they smell really, really good. They also look like what I want them to.

Saturday, we traveled back into Regina and went to Fabricland. We had intended going the day before but they close earlier than we anticipated. Lindsey said they would feel her wrath someday. ;-) Actually, the next day after three+ hours of shopping, we both agreed as we were leaving the store that it was perhaps a good thing we had not been able to shop there the day before. It was pretty intense. And yet, I had not had that much fun in years. How can I explain the beauty of the greens we found? Yes, we got a lot of greens. It's my favorite color. :-) Lindsey's dress fabric is a lovely, lovely dark sage green. We found the fabric as soon as we walked through the door. It just leaped out at both of us and not only did I fall in love with it, so did Lindsey. Which is important because she has to wear it and I want her to feel beautiful and comfortable in it. :-) I mean, this fabric is my all time favorite shades of green. It's absolutely gorgeous. And Lindsey will look stunning in it. :-)

We also bought fabric for all of my sisters to have dresses... for the four oldest, a different shade of sage for skirts (cream blouses to be purchased for tops) (we also found a really nice pattern for the skirts... they're classy, yet cute... modern, yet vintage). For Cilla, Ruth and Sara, we couldn't find anything in the silks, satins and etc, etc, that leaped out at us. So, we went over into the cottons and found this really pretty print that is so pretty and cute. They will be little princesses. :-) My mom's outfit is still to be decided as well as my mil and sil, but we have time. :-)

I remember the exact moments the fabrics and patterns decided they were attending my wedding. Most became clarified when I saw them for the first time. But the fabric for my dress was a little different. I liked the shade of the satin when I saw it. But I have a hard time with satins. Usually, they're too heavy and stiff. I had never seen or felt a satin I really liked until I found that old wedding dress and fell in love with it. Then, I touched this really beautiful Cuddle Satin. That's what it's called! As soon as I felt it, I knew. It was so soft... not too shiny... it fell just right... in fact, it was perfect. It was what I had been looking for since I had first begun planning my wedding (about 20 years ago ;-)). And because I had no faith, I decided that there was not going to be a lace overlay there that would fit that perfect, perfect satin. Hehe. As it turns out, there was. It's just right. It's unique. It's beautiful. It's also perfect.

It was definitely a good day for fabric shopping. :-) Every little aspect I was concerned about with the sewing, the cost, the time has all been taken care of. Many thanks to good friends and a loving God who works in mysterious ways!

I hope this post hasn't been boring. This is all very fascinating to me and Jesse assures me that girls like talking about weddings, period. To the guys who are trying to get through this, my apologies. For I am now going to talk about chocolate.

After eating my supper tonight, I had Green and Black Caramel chocolate bar. I usually only eat a little at a time of those because they're so sweet and the chocolate sooo rich. But this evening, before I knew it, I had finished the entire bar! Lol! I was feeling quite pleased with myself beforehand, too. :-P Now I have a smashing headache... I never eat that much chocolate at once. Boy, did it ever taste good. Felt good too. Still feels good. Just headache. Caffeine and I are not the best of friends. Ahem.

Other points of interest from my weeks of silence:

 I am quite recovered from my illness though I am still taking vitamins and supplements. I feel so good. Every time someone asks me how I'm doing, I always feel like shouting, "WONDERFUL!!!" Hehe...

I am greatly enjoying my work at PharmaSave. Today, I worked most of the morning in the photo lab (which was very fun, once I got the hang of it), then spent the rest of the day dusting the Advil, Tylenol, etc. All those little boxes and bottles taken off the shelves... dusting/washing shelves... making sure I have all of the proper tags... checking expiration dates... all those boxes and bottles put back onto shelves. It's slow and tedious work but it's something I rather enjoy. I like cleaning. Rather, I like stepping back and seeing the results of my labors. I love that shining glow that emerges after you have cleaned.

Theatre is coming along well. I have been memorizing my lines and getting into character. Once again, I love, love, love working with the other people involved. Watching different aspects of people emerge as they become their character is amazing and often hilarious. One of the women in the cast took on a persona last Sunday that had us all in stitches. It was brilliant and very funny.

The orthodontist told me that April 7th would be the day my braces were coming off. I don't know if my bottom braces will be since my teeth are still not in place (they did some major adjusting... in fact, it was only a couple days ago they actually stopped hurting. They've never hurt for almost an entire month before... agh! I will be so glad to get them off!). As soon as my braces are off, Jesse's dad will take pictures of us and we'll be able to get to work on our wedding invitations. I'm really looking forward to those!

Today, on the way to work, I slipped on the ice and fell. I landed on my bad knee (of course), left hip, elbow and twisted my ankle. Then, at work, I accidentally smashed my thumb while working at the photolab. Yes, it was on accident. I hate smashing my thumbs. So painful. But I have survived with little swelling and no Advil. So far. I believe sleep may call for it. Add a headache to all of my aches and pains (incidentally, my big toe on my right foot hurts the worst right now and I don't recall doing anything to it) and it kind of makes sleep not an option.

Speaking of sleep, I really should shower and get to bed. Another day of work and teaching tomorrow. You know, in spite of all my complaining, I am so happy. I feel so incredibly blessed. Thank you, God. :-) I had a really good day.

Good night, everyone! Sweet dreams.

Another Short Update

This evening, my friend Lindsey arrived for a visit. I think she's here until Sunday. I am rather excited about that. :-) It seems like forever since we've gotten a good talk in ... and definitely going to enjoy our trip to the city tomorrow. Wedding shopping is going to be fun. I've never done it before but I just know how fun it's going to be. ;-) It's so good to be able to share ideas with people, get feedback and be able to keep or discard.

Jesse also came over for dinner and we watched "The Young Victoria", which I really enjoyed. It was very good... reminded me a lot of "Miss Potter". Anyways, you can probably guess how much fun the evening was. We made pasta for dinner and ate sherbet and frozen cheesecake cupcakes for dessert. The food was good. The company was better!

I've worked and taught this week and I have been fine! Each day feels like an amazing gift. The energy is unbelievable. I love being able accomplish so much.

Anyways, we're planning on leaving quite early in the morning for Regina so I should close this up and get in bed. :-) May your weekend be glorious and full of joy. 

A few of my favorite things...

I really like the colors and variations of texture of this bouquet. I would change a few things, however.

I would use delphiniums. I love the partially tamed wildflower look.

My favorites are these deep blue ones. Aren't they lovely?

But I also want to add English roses or a rose that looks similar to an English rose. These ones are the perfect shade... just a tad pink but very ivory. 

(I'm sharing this just because the kid is so cute. ;-))

All shapes, sizes and colors... English roses are absolutely amazing in every way. I really wish they could grow in Saskatchewan!