3.11.2010

She's Alive......SHE'S ALIVE!!!!

::whispers:: Is anybody out there?

Hi. Guess who? ::blushing:: :) It's me, Eva. Over here at ...and what about grace?. Yeah - I kind of disappeared. Ok, I'll be honest. I totally disappeared.I sill read all 200-something of the blogs in by Google Reader on a daily basis. I've just.....completely neglected you.

You might be wondering where I went. In all honesty, I didn't go anywhere. I've been working, drinking wine, and putting the final touches on the wedding.

Live has been overwhelming, to say the least. Work is challenging me more than ever - but I am determined to power through it. Things are picking up significantly, and I am the type of person who thrives in an uber-stressfull, "too-much-work-to-do-in-eight-hours" work situation.

My fiance was laid off last week. That was a shocker. The week prior he had been talking to his boss about his annual review started negotiating a raise. Well - his boss and the owner must not have been fully communicating, because when Trevor went in for his annual review, he found out that he was one of six employees being laid off. (This is a small company - there are less than six people working there now, including the owner and receptionist.) To be jobless in this economy is pretty much terrifying and paralyzing. To top that? To be jobless in this economy in the Heating And Air Conditioning industry during one of Seattle's most mild winters on record is pretty much terrifying and paralyzing. No cold snaps = no broken furnaces = no work. And obviously it's not hot enough for Seattlites to want to use their air conditioning units (all six of those on Mercer Island who own A/C......I kid.), so there's none of that work either.

Talk about wedding stress. The economy coupled with crappy unemployment pay makes paying for this wedding extremely stressful. (But, no complaints about unemployment, we'll take it!)

Oh - yeah - and I was totally convinced for about ten days that I was going blind. Turns out that, from excessive crying, uncharactistically warm winter weather, and my fabulous change in diet (I am eating healthy and I love it, seriously!) has caused me to suffer from dry eyes. I might be farsighted too, but we're checking on that in four weeks. (I wouldn't mind rocking some cute glasses - not to sound vein or anything - but I think they look pretty sweet on me. There. I said it.)

Even though our work lives (or lack thereof) have been challening so far this year - we have been blessed in other ways:
  • My baby brother, who really isn't much of a baby, was accepted into the Masters of Education program at University of Puget Sound. A huge achievement! We are so proud.
  • My other brother, the middle child, has 99.9% decided to remain living in South Korea for another year. He's making excellent money teaching English over there - able to pay all his living expenses, massive student loan payments, and still save. I miss him like hell, but can you blame the guy?
  • Trevor had a job interview on Tuesday and things went great! We're praying and keeping our fingers crossed and putting out all of our trolls and horseshoes and rubbing buddah's belly....hoping that there's enough work at this company for him to be hired as a full-time team member.
  • I have changed my eating habits in a serious way....and just from making changes I've already lost 10 pounds!!! It feels incredible. I'm eating 5-6 small meals a day (that includes snacks)....focusing on measuring/weighing all my foods, eating tons of veggies, fruit, fish, lean beef, chicken, all whole-wheat carbs (no refined sugar, white flour, fast food, energy drinks, etc.). I feel incredible. My energy levels are increasing....and I am bound and determined to make it in to the gym or go for a jog at least once this week. I have been walking Grace with my Mom and her boyfriend (Grace's boyfriend) Buster on a pretty regular basis, too.
So. That's my life right now.

I'd really like to start blogging again, if you'll take me back.

I have so much to share with you.

Here's a list of the projects that I have worked on since December:
  • I made chalkboards. TONS of chalkboards. To be used throughout the wedding day as signage. I've decided I love chalkboards.
  • I re-finished frames. Some are being used to make chalkboards. Others are props for the faux-to booth.
  • I hit the jackpot at a local antique store and found 14 vintage Ball Perfect Mason Jars for $45 total. Naturally, I snagged them. I took all the other clear mason jars that I had and painted them to look like the vintage Ball Perfect Jars. They don't look identical, but they're pretty damn close. And I saved a TON of moolah.
  • I inherited a ton of vintage bone china from one of my bridesmaids - and came up with an adorable way to incorporate the mis-matched gorgeous china into the wedding decor.
  • I stocked up on store-bought cake stands for our desserts....and also purchased enough supplies from Value Village to make some.
  • I frequented all Seattle-area Vallue Villages, St. Vincent de Paul, and any other thrift stores for wedding supplies: plates for cake stands, mason jars, candy buffet jars, etc.
  • I finished designing the wedding invitations with my friend Sigrid. They're printed and cut to size....and I'm getting together with girlfriends to assemble.
  • With the help of others, I found three of the four missing addresses on our guest list.
  • I stamped 200 bags for the candy buffet with our monogram. They're adorable.
  • My Matron of Honor, Maid of Honor, and I made 16 awesome moustaches on sticks. I know, I know, it's such a trend. But they're effing awesome. And I love them. (We even made the "Charlie Chaplin"....which can be mistaken for the "Hitler".....so watch out!!!)
  • We started the music list.
  • I made my veil. It's beautiful.
  • I found an awesome headband to wear at a shower or some sort of wedding-related party.
  • My wonderful and gorgeous bridesmaids were all measured and selected dresses. They'll be here end of April.
  • I've started getting anxious about my dress arriving.
  • We selected suits for all of the men and was able to snag them at an AMAZING price during Macy's President's Day Sale in January. IZOD 2-Button Navy Suits for $97.00 each Incredible. They look smashing. Classic. Wonderful.
  • We've decided on a gift for the men. I am excited about it.
  • I made customized hangers for all of my girls. Started with regular wooden hangers, refinished them, antiqued them, and then added each girls' name. Darling!!!
  • The vintage hankies I ordered came in the mail!
  • I started tanning. It's 12 minutes of heaven a few times a week. Most enjoyable, especially during exceptionally stressful days. The perfect lunch "vacation." I'm actually developing nice color, which I have always struggled with.
  • We booked an amazing getaway car - at the request of my parents since we will be enjoying beverages of the adult variety on the big day.
  • We booked our bartenders!
  • We decided on our yummy desserts that will be proudly displayed on cake stands on each table! (See side bar for links.)
  • I took an inventory of all of the items that we have finished for the wedding and started packaging things up in labeled boxes. Trying to make things easy!
  • We've decided on a style for our programs - so I will start designing those.
  • I started a design for the rehearsal dinner invite - still need to do some planning for this with Trev's mama!
  • We finished registering! What a fun project!
  • I hand addressed every. single. invitation. I am happy with the end result.
  • I've started to remind myself on a hourly basis that I am the only person that will notice any imperfections on the big day. Nobody else will notice that their invitation was just a smidgen different then their neighbor's invitation. Seriously. I am my own worst critic. I've started to care less about everything being perfect, which has helped me with all of this wedding-stress!
  • We have successfully invested in everything we need for the wedding. There is a laundry list of invoices with balances due - but aside from those (and a few items that we have quotes for...like candy, alcohol, groomsmen gifts...) - we don't need to purchase anything for any craft projects anymore!
  • I scored some burlap off Craigslist for our table runners. It's awesome. I'm pretty pumped about that.
So yeah. I'm alive. I've actually been very productive.

So. Like I said, I'd really like to start blogging again, if you'll take me back....?