Where's Waldo...err i mean Brittany?

For the longest time coming I knew 2009 was going to be a CRAZY, hectic, eventful, joyous, jam pack, family packed year but so far this year has been all that and much much and I mean MUCH more.

You see I always knew I would see so much extended family in July but our family reunion came about 6 months earlier than expected. This wasn’t the joyous happy event of my wedding but the death of my lovely, loving, caring grandma. January 24 I got a phone call that sticks a knife right in your heart and twists. It HURT and well you know what it STILL hurts today. Knowing that I will be honoring her at my wedding as opposed to having her sitting there celebrating along side of us HURTs. I guess I should give a little background at how excited my grandma was by the fact that I was marrying Barry. She adored Barry. She loved his smile, his warm and caring nature but more than anything she loved how happy he made me. It wasn’t uncommon for my grandma to call me up and ask how Barry was doing before she asked how I was. She was so excited for him to be joining our family in fact she was already packing for the few days she was going to spend down at the beach for our wedding. A few days before my grandma died the dress she was going to wear to the wedding came in the mail and it is bitter sweet to know that although not for my wedding my grandma did get to wear her party dress.

10 short days after my grandma died my sudo grandma also died. This grandma isn’t my grandma via my mom or dad but via my uncle. We are a very close knit family and always celebrate holidays and birthdays among many families. This death was sad but wasn’t nearly as hurtful as my other grandma. It wasn’t the fact that she was a sudo grandma it was the fact that she was 94 years old and had lived a long, healthy and fabulous life. It was her time but none the less having two lovely women taken from a family in such a short period of time is never easy.

I did turn 25 in March which was OK. Barry was so great but I was just sad. My brother said I was having a quarter life crises but I think I was just not in celebration mood.

A couple weeks after my lovely 25th birthday my brother was laid off (we worked at the same company) and I was moved to part time and took a LARGE pay cut. And about 2 weeks after that I gave my two weeks notice and got another part time job. My new part time job is not glamorous but I am HAPPY. Most people know I am a very ethical and just person and when I feel things aren’t “kosher” I am usually the first to speak up and let my feelings be known. I am also in a great place where I have a loving fiancée, family and friends who support & love me. I know my new part time job isn’t something for the future but it is survival. I needed to leave where I was for my heath and sanity and am pleased to admit that today (TAX DAY) is my freedom day.

So enough with the doom and gloom lets talk about some happy stuff. Well we had Jen’s Bachelorette party, I promise to post pictures soon but I am confident to say that a good time was had by all. This weekend Jen is traveling home to SD for a bridal shower, our lovely BM dresses came in and look way AWESOME, and in 45 day Jen and Matt will be tying the knot and will officially be Mr. and Mrs. Matthew Elias.

Barry and I are just 88 days away until we are hitched which is kinda crazy. I have put off some of the important things like invites until the last minute but you know what as we near the 2 year mark of our engagement I just want to be married. Everything will come together and everyone who is invited knows about it so worse comes to worse we just call/email/text everyone a “formal invitation.” Just kidding but you get my point. I am excited to have all our family and friends in one place to share in our love together. It is going to be a BLAST.

I think that’s all. You are officially caught up on my life. Hopefully there wont be such a long intermission until I post again.

Xoxo
britt

Double Digits...

99 days...until Matt and Jen say I do!!! WE all can't wait.

xoxo
britt

Hope over Fear

This is #100 post for us and I could not think of a better way to celebrate #100.

Today is a magnificent day.

Today we have President Obama. He has told us to be hopeful, rather than fearful. This is what we have been craving; we are tired of living life in fear.

President Obama highlighted many important issues in his speech today: it is not about big government vs. small government, it is about what works and then improving what works, to help one's neighbor, to have confidence in the American dream.

President Obama has given us a lot to be proud of - I am incredibly proud that he had a dinner last night honoring Senator John McCain. What a truly magnificent gesture.

President Obama has also given millions of us something else to be proud of, he has shown us what a loving, respectful marriage can look like.

I am excited that we have a first-couple who deeply love and respect each other, they are truly equals.

I admire Laura Bush for her grace and compassion, but she was never a strong force, not that there was anything wrong with that. Hillary Clinton is President's Clinton intellectual equal, but they (obviously) displayed contrasting messages about their love. Barbara Bush was not an intellectual force, perhaps behind the scenes, but not openly. And Nancy Reagan... We have had strong first ladies, but this is the first time we have had an openly strong and successful, as well as loving first lady.

I sincerely admire Abigail Adams and Eleanor Roosevelt; they accomplished great things, but only as much as society would let them. They were not considered their husband's equals, even though they were probably just as intellectual.

First Lady Michelle and President Obama convey their deep love and respect for each other. The way they smile at each other, hold hands, and even talk to each other, we can see their admiration for each other. Whenever I see Michelle grab Barack's hand, I find myself wanting to seek out Matt.

First Lady Michelle is a great role model - she is smart, attended Harvard Law, had a successful career and yet has balanced family life. It is hard for women to balance careers as well as having a family and Mrs. Obama has shown us that it can be accomplished.

Marriage is often disrespected as divorce is easily obtainable. Republican or Democrat, we can all agree, the Obama's have shown us a marriage we can all hope for.

And their daughters are the cutest things. I enjoy how spunky they are.

As my wedding day approaches, I hope that my marriage will resemble theirs after 16 years. "All you need is love," which is perhaps true, but to maintain a strong, successful marriage, I believe you also need more qualities like respect, admiration, humility, and many more.

I look forward to learning from the Obamas as I have with my own parents about marriage.

- Jen

My Two Least Favorite Words

Hiring Freeze.

I hate that phrase. I do not like to use the word hate, but I genuinely do not like to hear “hiring freeze.”

There are good days and bad days. Most bad days are when we hear “hiring freeze” from a law firm or county. We should not be surprised anymore, but when we have hope that someone is hiring, and then hear those words, it is frustrating.

We were hoping for something to work out in Pima County, but no dice. Pima County is also in a “hiring freeze.” Thus, we have resorted to applying to places like Yuma, Parker, Globe, etc. These are not places we want to live; we just want a job.

When we do have a job, I can not wait to move on with wedding plans. We have put on hold many things we did not expect: wedding bands, honeymoon, dance lessons, personal trainer, etc. Some are easier to give up on than others, the obvious ones. I have hope though; hope that things will turn around soon.

We are optimistic about our situation. My mom teases me that Matt and I are "practicing" for retired life. If we can make it through studying for the bar together, taking the bar together, waiting for results together, facing unemployment together - and not to mention all the other stuff like 3 years living 200 miles apart, going to two different law schools, so forth - I think we are ready for marriage and have no doubts.

Another thing I despise, the neighbor’s barking dogs. I swear the two houses behind us, their dogs have barking competitions to see who can be the most annoying. I love dogs with the best of them, and I understand their barking is “talking,” but enough already! I can not stand barking, yelping dogs. Three words I do like: barking dog ordinances.

Sorry for the doom and gloom post. I had to vent. I promise the next post will be fun and light-hearted.

Tomorrow I plan to start working on wreath number two so I can have it finished before my dad gets here. I think I have had enough of a break from the first one. :-)

- Jen

P.S. This is post number 99 for us. I feel pressure that we have to make #100 a good one!

Hello Again.

I have not blogged for awhile. I guess I have not felt inspired to blog about anything. I feel like I do not have anything exciting to say about my wedding or current job search. And I feel worthless if all I do is wedding stuff. Don’t get me wrong, I am very excited about all the upcoming weddings, but as the quote goes, “everything in moderation.” And it does not help that I have poisoned my computer by uninstalling something integral. Ops.

Why I am blogging… I have never liked the idea of New Year’s Resolutions. The excitement of a new year always dissipates quickly, as it already has for this new year. I am not making resolutions, but rather I feel inspired to be a better person, especially since 2009 is the year of big changes and big weddings!

My challenge to myself is to be healthier: mind, body and spirit.

1. Mind

I am going to challenge myself to read more, to fall in love with reading again. Law school and the bar effectively ruined my drive to read, but I did enjoy the Twilight series this Christmas break! I am also going to be more professional - I am going to respond to all e-mails, text messages, and phone calls promptly. Ignoring messages until later or procrastinating phone calls is a bad habit I am going to break.

2. Body

For me, this means trying new things and eating better. I am going to try new things at the gym, new classes and machines. But I am also going to bike more (I love my new bike I got for Christmas), play tennis with Matt, hike the other side of Camelback Mountain, and golf more. As for eating, I will eat more fruits and veggies. I am also setting a goal of not eating after 7:00 P.M., the recommended time by nutritionists. Of course there will be exceptions for special occasions.

Also with the weddings coming up, time to buff up. I want to be healthy just to be healthy, but with all the weddings in 2009, it gives me extra motivation. Matt and I started the 100 pushup challenge last week so we are on week 2. It is interesting thus far. I have been able to do all the pushups and it is getting easier, kind of. I will let you know if I can do a 100 at the end of week 6…

3. Spirit

I am going to keep a healthy spirit by continuing to go to church every weekend. Going to church can be difficult at times and mass is often the most rewarding when it is the hardest to get to. If we are going to go out on Saturday night, we will just prioritize and go to Saturday Mass at 4:00.

I am also going to be nicer; being nice is never overrated and I find myself quickly to criticize or get down on people. I am going to aim to see the bright side of things and to be more compassionate. I just feel better when I am happier.

Happy 2009! I know I am excited for this year!

- Jen

Playing Dress Up

OMG!!!!! Guess what came in today? Yes that’s right my DRESS. I got all kind of panicky; what if I didn’t like it? What if it didn’t fit? What if? What if? What if? Telling myself to breathe was easier said than done. This was my largest wedding purchase to date and the most expensive piece of clothing I have ever purchased and owned so it had to be perfect. Within seconds of seeing her in the bag I knew she was still the one, and that I loved her more today than I did the first day we met. Come to think about it these are the emotions I hope Barry has when he sees me wearing her for the first time in 185 days – not that I am counting. Now a recap on the attire front: Dress: Check, Shoes (yes TWO pairs): Check, Veil: Check. That means I still need undergarments, jewelry, and maybe another hair accessory for when the veil comes off. Overall I am super excited, getting the dress in makes it all more real (as if it wasn’t real before) and it has renewed my sense of wanting to get more things done and finalized.

xoxo
britt

Dress Registry? Who knew.

I came across THIS site earlier today and thought it was so funny. I spent a few minutes checking out some of the events and criticizing (oh wait I mean looking at) some of the dresses that have been “registered” for these events. Some dresses are beautiful like this one and appropriate for the event. Other dresses made me LAUGH. I couldn’t believe someone will be wearing some of the dresses. I also began to look at the level of formality each woman would be wearing (this is something I stress out about – being under or over dressed). Take these for example:

(Classic and Elegant)

(Short and Sassy)

both are lovely and beautiful but should they really be at the same event? For me if I registered my dress I would be constantly comparing it to everyone else’s dress before I even got to the party and had no other option but to rock it.

Maybe I could start a “party” for my wedding guests and we can all sit at home gawking at what each other would be wearing long before the big day. We could also get reacquainted with each other ‘cuz lord knows we all have a Dear Aunt whom we haven’t seen in years, at least than we could spot her based on the lovely retired Floridian beach wear she will be sporting, which she so kindly took the time to register, and be sure to thank her for the lovely Mickey keep sake she sent.

Hopefully the registering your dress site wont become an over night hit, giving us ladies one more reason to stress about what to wear to an important event, because we all know guys could care less if some other dude has on the same black tux.

xoxo
britt