38 days down . . . . . .

. . . . infinity and beyond to go. I got married on 10/4/09 and it's been a wild and wonderful ride since we've been back. So upon our arrival back in town after a great honeymoon in Orlando, FL, we plunged into the world of DIY home improvement. We apparently couldn't settle for the simple, new furniture and some cute wall art . . . . We went all out. New floors. New wall color and all new furniture and decor. I'm in love with my . . . . . correction OUR bedroom. Upgrading from the carpet to laminate floors (no hardwoods with a 70 pound dog) was a LOT of work, but the end result is gorgeous. Upgrading from the full sized bed to the king sized bed was divine (although it was hilarious watching my 6'4" husband sleep with his feet hanging off the bed.) We still have so much work to do in here, but we're enjoying the transition.



Well, today was Veterans day and I had the day off work (hubby didn't). I went to work on making out master bath match the flyy of our bedroom. I bought a bathroom eterge/cabinet that has closed storage. Necessary because I finally . . . . *sigh* . . . . . . gave him room in the closet. LOL. I had a closet organizer (about 30" wide) in the closet that held my purfume, powders, lotions and other things. I took it out and put it in the the guest room so storage somewhere else in the room was a must. Hubby is enjoying his new found closet space and that's what matters (right?? LOL). We still need to paint the bathroom, put in some floating shelves and find some storage shelves that will fit in the 29" x 29" x 21" open space under our countertop, but it's looking great so far. I haven't forgotten about upgrading my style of dress, but upgrading my house has been so much fun.

Count down to show down

Why does it seem that only at weird times I find myself here. . . . It's 2:15 am. . . . I finally finished packing for Florida. I'll be married in four days and 10 hours. Married . . . . gosh. When I was 16, I swore I'd be married by 22 (shoot, I thought that when when I was 21, LOL). When I passed 25, it seemed that marriage would never come. I can blame myself if that though. I dated, but never considered anyone I dated as a potential husband. So here, I am, 29 years young (hee, hee) and marrying a wonderful man. We drive each other crazy (gosh, he can be irritating as a hemorrhoid), but just yesterday I was lying in the bed thinking, our great days are so wonderful, the hiccups are so forgettable. Sometimes while we are arguing, we burst into laughing cause sometimes the arguments are so ridiculous and they are more about playing the other side of the coin than any true issues/feelings. We do have our down moments, but I think we work hard to make sure they are just that, moments. So tomorrow (well, actually today in like four hours) we'll be getting his rental car and I'll be jumping on my flight. For clarity, the kid doesn't fly so he's decided to drive to Florida . . . I have to complete so many errands so I can't drive down, but I believe I'm going to drive back up. So let the whirwind begin . . . . I can't wait for it to get here.

I've got a new attitude . . . . . .

. . . . . about fashion!!!! I am enjoying polyvore soo much. Sitting there creating outfits out of items I already own or plan to buy has made my closet come alive!! I was two seconds from gutting the whole thing and starting afresh. . . . . Today I visited a blog, One Chic Momma, and she had an older post about transitioning your maxidress from summer to fall. So, of course, I head to polyvore and find a dress that is as similar to my maxidress as possible . . . . . the results . . . . .

Maxidress - summer to fall by FOOTSIE featuring Arden B

I love it . . . . . and will be looking for the items I don't have to pull off this look. Also . . . . . I also dabbled in another outfit based on the zebra shoulder bag and blue trench that I purchased from Wilson's Leather.

Untitled by FOOTSIE featuring Nine West

On the wedding front, tonight (since it is 1:17 am on Saturday morning) is our couples shower. My best friend and a friend of the family are throwing it for us. I hope it turns out the way they planned, but in any case, food and friends equals fun for me . . . . .

Part deux

Yes . . . . I'm still sick . . . home all day . . . . can't do anything . . . and it still sucks donkey balls.

But being at home has given me the opportunity to browse the net , participate more in my message board and just relax (which is probably what my body needed after being away for a week for work). So, I was speaking with a girl on my message board about fashion and my lack thereof. Don't get me wrong . . . I got a boatload of hott shoes, great purses, and accessories out the whazoo . . . it's just that pesky issue about having to have clothes to go with them that plagues me. So, based on the tips she gave me, I created a new wardrobe on polyvore.com (which is the bizzness). I was even able to pull in some of the items in my closet (that previously looked so blah), into the outfits with the staples she suggested and they can have new life. I can't wait to leave the college intern behind (clearly I'm a late bloomer seeing that I got my Master's SEVEN years ago) and walk out the sexy, sophisticated executive.

View 'New Look' on Polyvore
As you can see, several items are repeated, which shows the versatility of the outfits. I also tried to give both winter and summer options within the same outfit. So, I'm bout to be a wife, might as well get my grown and sexy on now.

Having the cold sucks donkey balls

Yes, that's exactly how I feel about the matter. I'm sick. What good is staying home from work if you don't feel well enough to do anything??? And let me tell you something, Nyquil is a narcotic . . . . seriously. I don't know if I got a bad batch that had, I don't know . . . . . cocaine in it, but it had me doing some weird stuff. Night before last, I literally lay down on the floor and went to sleep, but the kicker is, I told myself as I got down on the floor, "this is really weird, don't do this." I'm not sure how much time passed, but I eventually woke up and got into the bed. Needless to say, I didn't take anymore Nyquil. So I'm taking Dayquil . . . . less weird stuff, but weird stuff none the less.

Anywho, well, we're getting married in 41 days. *blink blink* Serious reality check. I need to get stuff done STAT!!! I still have to do the aisle runner, parasols, favor tags, programs and menu cards. I think that's it . . . . . oh wait, I have to buy the fiance' his wedding present. He wants me to tell him exactly what to buy for me . . . . :-( I like surprises. I plan on giving him a three fold gift. So far I bought the cutest little Duke baby booties (we're a house divided as I'm a UNC fan) as my promise to extend his lineage. The second will be my promise to keep it sexy (looking for the right lingerie) and the third is my promise to listen (I'll demonstrate this by purchasing the gift that he has mentioned wanting). For right now, we're just waiting for the RSVPs to roll in, but we both keep saying the same thing. We can't wait for it to get here already!!! We're ready to move into marriage.

The other item for which I had an October deadline is my law school application. I've made serious strides, but I want it to be just "so." It's taking quite a bit of time.

So it's almost 3 am and I'm awake

I haven't been on this blog in about two months. I've been hustling and bustling . . . . Got my invitations out *doing my praise dance* and the RSVPs and rolling in. I am getting MARRIED in 7 weeks . . . the thought crossed my mind in the car this afternoon and I literally said Oh My Gosh, out loud. I'm excited and overwhelmed and excited. So why am I up at almost 3 am?? Am I finishing up some nifty cool wedding day item?? Maybe reworking my ceremony program? Browsing wedding articles for new ideas?? Nope . . . . I'm doing laundry . . . right . . . . not fun whatsoever . . . . My job is taking me out of town for a week and this is finally the time I've found to do my laundry . . . several loads so I am waiting for the end of the dryer cycle. . . . Usually the few times I've blogged, I've had something in particular to say, but not today . . . . I'm simply awake . . . . . at almost 3 am.

How do you know?

How do you know that you've met the person that compliments you?

I was speaking with my co-worker last week about that famous line in the Jerry McGuire movie, "You Complete Me." That line first made it's way into the movie when a couple in the movie signed it to each other. Later on, we see Jerry use that line to win his love interest, Dorothy. As sweet as it sounded in the movie and it tugged on the hearts of the movie watcher, I was a little taken aback by that phrase. I told my co-worker, I hope that I never felt the need to be completed. I love the fact that although I came to my mate as a complete person, he compliments me. I am a sassy, rude, smart-mouthed, emotional, tender, angry, cocky crybaby. I am eclectic and eccentric. I am an overflowing handful of unpredictability. I am complete. My love is the ying to my yang, the up to my down, the right to my left. He balances me and I balance him. We challenge each other and have major blow ups, which help us to grow. I love him and that feels great. I dated many fellas, but he's different. He makes me happy. He makes me mature. He makes me smile. He has made such a difference in my life . . . . LOL, maybe he does complete me . . . . . . . . Well, maybe like Dorothy, he had be at hello . . . . and that's how I knew, he was the one for me.

So what now????

I am bored. I have lots to do. After all, I'm getting married in four months. I have invitations to design, wedding programs to type, place card to print, seating to arrange. . . the list goes on and on. So how can I find the time to be bored. l guess I'm bored because I'm wishing there was something else to focus on. Don't get me wrong. I am excited to be getting married, starting a new life, (getting to do the nasty, LOL) and just getting my grown lady on. I kinda wish I could just fast forward past this part. Folks say "enjoy ur planning." Before I was engaged, I was sooo into planning and different ideas and this and that, but now, it just seems like the "thing" that's between my present and my future. Life is funny that way I guess. Oh well, back to planning. . .

Who am I . . . .

Good question.

I'm a woman, a fiance', a Delta, a probation officer, an Aries, a Seventh-Day Adventist, a sister, a daughter, a friend, a tutor, a singer, a dancer . . . . but is that who I am? Or is that what I do?

Like anyone, I've been fashioned by the hand life has dealt to me. I've had trials, I've had triumphs. Many choices made, if given the chance to do over would definitely result in a change . . . places I've gone . . . . people I've "seen." Thinking back to some of the choices I've made makes me question myself, "Who was that girl?" Does she even know what she's doing? So as I've matured and grown, I reflect and ask myself, "Who am I?"

I am head-strong and I have an ATTITUDE. At the same time, I cry for commercials and my heart sinks when I see the missing pet signs. I'm mean . . . I'm sweet . . . I'm guarded . . . I'm open . . . I'm curious . . . . I'm disinterested . . . I love hard . . . I hardly love . . . I'm interesting . . . I'm boring. I'm organized confusion and ambiguously straightforward. I'm a work in progress . .
I. Am. Ms. Understood

What does Mother's Day mean . . . .

I'm a big fan of wikipedia. Yes, sometimes the information is inaccurate because it is user created and can be user manipulated, but it is a great place to start your research. Mother's Day was this past Sunday. To be honest, I haven't celebrated Mother's Day in the past nine years and I actually forgot that it was approaching until I saw all the ads selling from flowers to chocolates to 50" televisions. Commercially, Mother's Day is big business. Some sources say that twice as many flowers are sold on Mother's Day than its close rival Valentine's Day. But what does any of it mean? The history of Mother's Day in the US is very different from its status today. It was an initiative pushed by Anna Jarvis. Anna's mother passed away in 1905 when Anna was about the age of 40. Two years later, in memory of her mother, she campaigned to have the holiday recognized as a day to honor mothers. She soon realized that once something becomes recognized, it becomes boxed and sold. She is quoted to have said, "A printed card means nothing except that you are too lazy to write to the woman who has done more for you than anyone in the world. And candy! You take a box to Mother—and then eat most of it yourself. A petty sentiment!"

Unlike Anna, I do enjoy cards. Sometimes someone else can put together what you feel into a beautiful card for a mere $5.99. But I do see her point. A five minute phone call to your momma and hearing the words "I love you" come from your lips beats a $5.99 card a hundred times over. Say it everyday that you can.

The last time I spoke to my mother was September 17, 1999. My father called me from her hospital room. She was on pain meds as the cancer was just too much for her to bear. The last thing I said to my mother was "I love you." She said something back. Under the influence of the pain meds, her speech was unclear, but I know what she said (sometimes all you need is a groan). The next day my aunt came to my school and told me my mom left. I was a 19-year-old college senior, already shaken by losing someone else very dear to me a mere few weeks earlier. We were celebrating my friend's birthday, now every year her day of birth means something very sad for me. So like I said, I haven't celebrated Mother's Day in nine years. Instead, I celebrate her everyday. That's what Mother's Day means . . . . .

What a way to start a blog . . .

Ms. Understood