Toto!

I was annoyed with my rat-looking Toto in a basket, but I just learned it is a purse!!! It has made Toto that much cooler. I am officially excited for Halloween now.

How cool is he?!

I'm off to see the Wizard...

The wonderful Wizard of Oz...

I've never been thrilled about Halloween. I would prefer to take the kiddies (my nieces) trick-or-treating or hand out candy. Matt and I made a decision to go out this Halloween. We went to the costume shop to see if anything was reasonable. I've never done hoochy Halloween before, but there is a first for everything.

I've always wanted to be Rainbow Bright, but she was MIA at the costume store. But I found something that I am pretty happy about - Dorothy! I am taking a chance this year. How many years left in me that I can do this? When the kiddies come (my own kiddies) I can't be hoochy Dorothy anymore.

And Matt got an Uncle Sam costume that is pretty fun. He swears he is going to be Homer next year. I think it would be funny to be Marge (even though I am NOT a Simpsons fan).

Additionally, my niece Bailey is going to be Dorothy this Halloween. I wish we could get a picture taken together, but I do not want to expose sweet Bailey to my version of Dorothy.

Funny side-note. Her twin sister Britney (fellow blogger is Brittany and my niece is Britney - I always have to stop and think) is going to be the Wicked Witch of the West. Too funny. Who wants to be my Wicked Witch or Tin Man or Lion or Scarecrow? Anyone?

And here are the costumes:

Bailey will look sweet and innocent.

And her aunt will wear this costume... It actually doesn't look that hoochy on. I love my Toto in a basket, but he kind of looks like a rat. Only if Lilly was here this weekend. I am just kidding. But I do think she would make a great Toto. :-)

With that - I wish everyone a Happy (safe) Halloween!

(Yay for our wedding colors!)

- Jen

Smooth Sailing, Kinda

This wedding process has been pretty smooth thus far, but for one minor bump (the stupid limo). But even that has worked out.

We have most of the wedding planned: the church, the priest, wedding website, the reception/cocktail, DJ, cake, flowers, wedding dress, limo, STDS sent, and now I am working on hair/makeup appointment. It is a Catholic ceremony so most of it is planned – we even have family friends who are going to play the organ and sing.

Left to do: bridesmaid dresses, minor details like hair, candy/desert bar, picture slideshow, and DIY (do-it-yourself) projects…

Oh goodness DIY… I like being creative. I like scrapbooking, but I do not think I am a DIY bride.

That is the reason for this post. I tried working on my wreaths yesterday. The plan is to have two pink wreaths on the church doors; one with a blue J and the other with a blue M.

I can say I REALLY love my blue letters that I painted yesterday – that part of the project went well. They are the correct blue and right size. Perfect for the pink wreaths.

I started hot gluing the tissue paper flowers on to the wreath and disaster happened. I burned my finger, flowers fell off, and it looks terrible thus far. And the hours worth of tissue flowers I made, only covers ¼ of the wreath. And the little guys (little tissue flowers) do not look correct on it, so those were ditched. Disaster. I wanted to throw it across the room. It is a good thing I have 7 months until the wedding… I just need a break from them.

When the suckers are done, how am I going to get them home? Probably ship it and tissue flowers will fall off again. In the end, probably cost the same to pay the florist to make something. Oh well. At least a lot of TLC will go into them. I am more excited to make the floating balls with flowers for the fountain. I will have to wait until my finger stops hurting.

I am just hoping for a job. Funny story.

I applied for a serving job yesterday. I was rejected, even though I had four years of experience serving, and I must say that I was a pretty darn good server. I was rejected because the manager said I was “too qualified” and that I should lie next time about graduating from law school because they want a 6 to 12 month commitment out of their employees, which I totally get, but the serving industry is notorious for people coming and going. She then told me that it takes about 4 months to make money off of a new server. Totally does not make sense. And I am not going to lie to people about my background. I did not go to school 7 years to lie about it. And I just passed the Character and Fitness portion of the bar.

Oh well. Still unemployed. Lame. And I am not going home for Halloween. Sad.

- Jen

We interrupt our regular scheduled blogging...

...but Jen & Britt will be heading to t-town for homecoming. It is sure to be a blast as we make up for missed homecomings of years past. Hopefully we will have good new to report Sunday morning but if anything will we have tons of great memories to share (if we can remember them after a day & night of drinking.)

Go Cats!!!

xoxo
britt

I'm Voting for who?

I will not be voting for Mrs. Palin. There I said it. But you see I have many reasons for not voting for her but i think the biggest one is that one of her speech writers is an ASU grad. You have to be kidding me. So to me a vote for Palin is like voting for ASU and in my books that is a no go. I also would love to add another ASU grad to the list of unemployed. Read the article here if you must.

xoxo
britt

Oh and get a grip people this blog entry was a joke (well at least the reason why I will not be voting for the McCain/Palin ticket aspect).

Shhhhh listen...

That noise you hear is our backyard being transformed. We are so excited and within 10 days (October 28) we will have a backyard oasis. Oh and we are keeping the final design a secret from everyone…including all you out in blog land. I did want to share pictures of the ugly area that is getting an extreme backyard make over.

xoxo
britt

Who doesn't love a good tailgate?

So I know I haven’t blogged to much about the wedding and the fun events we have planned around the wedding but I have started many projects that will be used throughout the weekend. So I am gonna let you all in on one of my favorite projects so far.

The Saturday night before the wedding we are having a welcome tailgate theme party. This party will let us showcase our love of the place we met and fell in love, University of Arizona. And it will also be a way for us to welcome our family and friends who are coming from all over the country to see us enter into a life long commitment to each other. So once we were set on the tailgate theme I started thinking about fun decorations that are easy to set up, easier to take down, and will liven up the backyard area where the party will take place.

I love team pennants and knew that I would be able to make mini team pennants that I could hang on ribbon and string all over the place. So with that idea in my head I headed out to my all time favorite scrapbook store and went in search for the best cardinal, navy, and white I could find. Within 10 minutes I had what I needed and headed home to start my project. Many cutting hours later (I actually did it over a couple weeks) I had cut 75 12x12 sheets of cardstock into 500+ mini pennants

.

All my supplies (cardstock already cut) & close up of the pennants.

Than it was time to start stringing all them. So I turned to my trusty permanent sticky tape and lined the top of each pennant with it. Pealing and sticking I finished 2 rolls of ribbon when I realized I would need tons more sticky tape and a few more rolls of ribbon. So for now I am at a stand still until I get to the store for more supplies but I wanted to share this fun project because I cannot wait to see them in action – in less than 9 months!!!

Finished pennants -- still a few more pennants to hang!

xoxo
britt

LOVE NKOTB

I am not a music snob. I do not really like music. Never bought lots of CDs. I pretty much like everything. I like popular stuff, old stuff, 80’s music, and Michael Buble (do not care if he is cheesy). As I said, do not really care for music too much. I would rather listen to NPR in the morning or some news channel.

That being said – I reverted back to being an 8 year old screaming girl on Monday night. The New Kids on the Block concert was the best most fantastic music experience. Brittany, Barbie, and I went to the concert.

Our initial seats were pretty good – on the floor, 40 rows back. But there were a lot of screaming girls keeping me from Donnie. About halfway through the concert, a mini-stage popped up right next to our row. I shoved Barbie out towards it and YES! They ran out and performed on this stage right next to us!!!

That moment I knew that I officially luved NKOTB. Seeing them up close and personal was amazing. Barbie made eye contact with Joey, for real! And I touched Jon! I almost got close enough to clobber Donnie (a dream come true). It was amazing.

They played like 3 songs on the mini-stage and sang to us. I luv them. I do not care if we are big dorks. It was glorious.

Luv Donnie!

Joey totally made eye contact with Barbie!

Jordan has aged well!

Touched Jon!

Jon for Obama!!

- Jen

The Best Weekend Ever

I have basically been hung-over from too much excitement and fun from last weekend.

To start off the weekend, last Friday Matt and I found out that we both passed the Arizona bar exam! Yes, both of us! The waiting process was very stressful and I could not be happier the way things are finally working out. All the hard work as well as thoughts and prayers from friends and family definitely paid off. And we even both passed with a pretty good margin.

Then Barbie and Troy fly in later that night, which we picked them up and came back to our house and had some celebratory drinks. I am so thankful for great friends: for driving us to the airport, sharing and buying some drinks at Merc, and even bringing over some champagne for us. It was a great night; thank you to all who helped celebrated!!

On Saturday night we ventured into the devil’s territory and went to the Big Bang, which is, as usually a great time. Barbie and Troy both enjoyed it so the night was definitely a success.

Saturday night was such a success, that it made Sunday morning very, very painful. We wanted to go hiking so we invited friends to come along. Neither Matt nor I had hiked Camelback Mountain so we had no clue what we were getting ourselves involved in.

Ryan, Chris, and Chris’ girlfriend Carrie met up with us. Oh my goodness. I wanted a nice walking trail full of glorious desert beauty. I got that, and then some. We did not go on the trail that Ryan had been on and liked, but a different one that Chris picked. I expected leisure walk in the mountains while taking fun pictures with friends. I did not get that. It started off bad, I fell behind from the beginning, and well, I finished last. I am not a cussing person, but I definitely uttered lots of cuss words. There was not much hiking Camelback Mountain, but rather we scaled it.

But we all made it to the top and the view is amazing. It was worth the hike (once I got over from Saturday night, which was still totally worth it). I just would do it again at a leisurely pace, taking more pictures, enjoying the views. I do not hike to time myself; I hike to enjoy the beauty. If I want a workout, I go to the gym.

Then Monday was the most glorious day of my life (besides getting engaged, our future wedding day, and perhaps the birth of my nephew and nieces).

- Jen

With this ring...CLINK

Oh yeah this is a fun story that came out of having to go to the bank and the safe deposit box. You might remember we already got our wedding bands way back in April. Well today was the first time I tried it on (since we were there and they were there I figured why not) and well it is HUGE. My ring falls right off my finger. I guess all the working out and watching what I am eating is paying off but I really didn’t need to lose any weight in my fingers, there are a few other trouble areas I would have picked well before my ring finger to loose some inches. But nonetheless it is nice to see that my hard work is really paying off even if I have to pay for an entirely new wedding band because my eternity band CANNOT be resized. All I can do is laugh and roll with the wedding punches.

xoxo
britt

To the DMV with Love!

I feel like I have so much to blog about (mainly wedding stuff) but all I really wanna write about it LAME stuff that is going on with everyday life. So once again I give you a look into my life.

Today I figured was a good day to go and get my Arizona registration figured out. I needed my mom (yeah she owns my car) to make me power of attorney so I could handle all the necessary paper work for her. Well when I first walk into the DMV they ask me if I have the power of attorney paper work and I hand it to the woman (mind you the DMV has 2 women sitting behind one desk giving out numbers – seems like they only needed one but I guess the job is keeping the other off welfare). So the first woman says I need it notarized and I said it is. She asks me to point to where it was notarized and I explained to her since the lovely DMV did not have a specific place for the notary to actually notarize the form she stapled her own notary form to the DMV’s form. So this woman hands it to the other woman sitting at the desk (I guess she is useful) and asks if this was ok and the second woman say “I don’t see why not.” So than they go have you gotten your car wellness check? My car’s what check? I say no and they point me in the direction of outside. Before leaving I ask do I need anything else and the woman asks if the car is paid off. Wondering what this has to do with anything I say “yes” and she says well than you will need the title as well. So add bank to the list of places to go so I can get the title out of the safe box. So I take my car to the “wellness check’ area pull up shut my car off like instructed and get out (it gets warm in a car when the AC isn’t going). So another lovely DMV employee comes outside and yells at me to get back in my car. Umm ok because I look so intimidating in my pink Ralph Lauren sweater and work pants. So she is writing down all info and gets to the VIN number area of my car and goes “there is something blocking it” so of course I shoot off a smart ass comment that goes to the effect that I don’t know what she is talking about because I can’t get out of my car to see it. Yeah I know not the nicest thing but come on had she not yelled at me I would have not given so much attitude. Anyways she goes “Ok your done” and I ask “Is that all, I don’t need a SMOG test or anything like that?” And with all her attitude in the world she proceeds to tell me yep I do need a SMOG check and would need to go to another place to get it. I ask for directions and ask her to clarify what street it was on for a second time and of course she gave me wrong directions – can you see why I am really loving the DMV at this point.

So to the SMOG place I went. Waited in line for a half hour and out the door I went $40 poorer but with my certificate that my car passed her test. I felt like a proud parent waiting in line to pay because some cars didn’t pass and I am sure the bill for those parents will be much higher.

Back to work for a few hours, waiting to met Barry at the bank so I can get into the safe box to get the title out. Lunch time arrived and the bank went flawlessly and back to the DMV to get my new Arizona title and my registration taken care of.

Get inline, get my number, get called, sit down, explain what I want to do, hand him all documents. He takes a look at them and goes I need to speak with my supervisor about this. Really? Come on. So he leaves for 10 minutes, comes back and all is well. Sign some papers as my mother’s power of attorney, pay my money, and I was out of there with a new shinny license plate and a new Arizona Car Title for my paid off car. Gotta love government agencies. Today I came to the conclusion they (the DMV) need checklists for customers and their employees for two reasons. The first being that their employees are really incompetent to fully explain the process that a customer needs to follow to perform a certain task for example register an out of state vehicle. And second they need a check list so it seems on the surface that their employees are not incompetent after all.

xoxo
britt

Oh baby, baby...

Yeah I know we need to get married first but with all the prego women in my office and than all the baby talk in blog land I couldn’t help myself. Many bloggers have stumbled upon makemebabies.com and well I couldn’t resist any longer. So after giving in to temptation I logged in and uploaded a couple photos of Barry and me and clicked submit. I let the computer pick the sex and the ethnicity (it claims to be 90% accurate which is good enough for me) and just named them Baby 1 through 4. I choose 4 for no specific reason but figured it was a good even number. So with that I give you our future children.

Baby 1 & Baby 2

Baby 3 & Baby 4

What scares me most is not that our first child looks nothing like the last three (don't worry no milk man for me). What I am a little scared about it the fact that the last three look almost identical like we might have some triplets in our future (I guess I could have labeled the last three A, B & C.) Now that scares me. Going from 1 to 4 in less than 9 months. WOW. It was fun to find out what our kids would look like if all we had to do was put a face photo into the computer and out popped some kids.

The site is fun. They even let you make babies with celebs. Now that is for a whole other day.

xoxo
britt

Wonderful Weekend

This weekend was so awesome. Having a four day weekend just because it is Columbus Day is one of the perks of my job. So Friday I took the free time to get to the gym early and get the work out done for the day. Speaking of working out it is getting easier and I don’t hate it as much as I did a month ago. Than I decided it was time to clean the house. It was so dirty that half way through I had to make a Target run to get more supplies (believe me I wanted to stop the cleaning right there but I push through). Than that afternoon we found out Jen and Matt passed the bar and the drinking started. We ended up at Merk Bar in Phoenix. The martini at Merk was beyond amazing and I can’t recommend it enough if you are looking for a yummy drink. Than off to the airport we all went. Topped the night off with some Los Betos (a better idea in my drunken state than it is now) and hanging out at Jen and Matt. Saturday we went to one of my favorite places – The Big Bang! I really love Michael and Julie. The other piano players just don’t compare. Sunday was a lazy day of BBQ time and dinner with family. Monday was truly and great ending to a wonderful weekend. We finally broke down and purchased a new digital camera. We are so excited to finally get back to documenting all the fun stuff we have been up too. Than Monday night was the NKOTB concert. It was beyond amazing. I was excited for the concert but compared to Jen and Barbie it was like I had no idea who they even were. I am sure Jen will be posting a full recap and photos but know it was an amazing concert and I would go again in a heart beat. With that my weekend was over but I couldn’t ask for more, I was surrounded all weekend by those who I love and who love me to.

xoxo
britt

Our New Camera -- Can't wait for it to come!

PS. once we get the camera I can start showcasing all the fun projects I have been working on.

I hope to NEVER need your services!!!

An open later to the best two lawyers in Arizona:

CONGRATULATIONS!!! I know I have said this before but I wanted to put it in writing. (Note for those who don't know yet: Yesterday Jen and Matt officially became full fledge lawyers in the state of Arizona.) There was never any doubt in my mind and I could not be happier for two people who will actually go out and do some good in this world with their status. The law profession should be honored to have you two among their ranks. Now the fun beings and I am glad to be here to enjoy the ride with you. Love you both. Oh yeah and I call dibs on the office manager position when you open up Elias & Elias, PLC.

xoxo
britt

One More Thing...

Not to undermine the other post, but if things do not work out, I have many reasons to be happy. To name a couple...

Barbie and Troy fly in tonight and I am really excited they came out to Phoenix.

Also, we are going to the New Kids on the Block concert on Monday night!! I seriously can not wait.

And Barbie is bring that famous NKOTB VHS tape we used to dance to (and eat mac and cheese). Thank goodness Matt and I still have a VCR player. :-)

Still LUV them. :-)

- Jen

Black Friday

Today is the day. It is not an ordinary day; today both of our lives will change. We will either become unemployed lawyers or we will be unemployed adults.

I have never been so nervous about anything in my life.

Point being, we will no longer be students. We have both been students since kindergarten. In the last couple of months, we have been trying to string out being a student as much as possible, but that life has ended.

Passing the bar is a huge accomplishment and I do not want the accomplishment played down. Getting into law school and graduating does not really bring a huge feeling of pride, but passing the bar would be the biggest accomplishment.

Matt and I will both feel blessed to pass the bar and I approach today with much humility. And it is stressful praying that we both will pass. Matt and I worked hard to get through law school - having a relationship of over 200 miles apart and engaging with new people and activities which we had never done before. Tonight it could all pay off. A long distance relationship, in law school in winter, was not fun at all, but it made our relationship stronger.

I have dreamed about being a lawyer my entire life, even my mom will vouch for that. I used to layout in the pool and talk to my mom about becoming a lawyer. I have memories as young as in the fourth grade, even though I was not exactly sure what a lawyer did, I knew they had power to do great things and that is what I wanted – to help people. Even though my actions did not always reflect that I wanted to be in the path of wanting to become a lawyer, I worked hard to overcome those set backs and went to law school. If I became a lawyer today, my lifelong dream will come true today and that is a really big deal to me.

In the end, I know we are blessed with each other and great family and friends, but if we fail, we take it in November and have to wait until May to get results (May being our wedding month). That is a full year after law school graduation. I had hoped to have a legal job before our wedding.

And with the title, I do not mean to make light of the real “Black Tuesday” as well as the days leading up to that terrible day when the stock market crashed in 1929. The economic downturn in this country is incredible and not to be joked about. It is historic. It is affecting every single American.

Time and time we learn, deregulation of the economy is not the way to go. Complete regulation is not the way to go. Nothing in the extremes is advantageous; we need to balance regulations with deregulating certain parts of the economy, although I am, as Democrats are, for more overall regulations.

The individual business person becomes selfish and starts making individualistic decisions with the business, which is why it is so important to have the federal government oversee the economy, often with regulations. The federal government is the most competent organ to regulate the economy, not the individualistic business person. Selfishness prevails and business people get caught up with the "leaky jar syndrome." Once they give in to needs and wants, one just wants more and more; can never "fill" the jar with a leak.

We need to elect Senator Obama (a lawyer). :-)

Lady Justice holding the scales of justice.

So here is to hoping for a better economy and good results tonight. I will be praying for both.

- Jen

Favorite Aspects

I came across a new blog which asked brides (or any groom or happened to stumble upon their site) what is the most unique or favorite aspect of your wedding. This got me thinking and I could not just give one but I did narrow it down to my top two. I know I just posted about Barry planning the honeymoon but it made my top two so this is was my two cents to this blog’s question enjoy…

I think I have a few great wedding ideas up my sleeve but the two that have saved my sanity in this whole wedding planning process are to A. Have a Monday wedding and B. Let the future hubby plan the honeymoon.

Having a Monday wedding is accomplishing a few things. First it is allowing us to SAVE tons of money. I feel like it is a Geico commercial ("I saved tons of money by switching to a MONDAY"). And since the economy is so bad we need to save as much as possible. Second it has allowed me to really think about each vendor. Since I have my pick I can take my time and really look around and most importantly negotiate for what I need and want (goes back to saving money). This has also helped us weed out some bad ones who have told me they have a few people already who want my date. Third it has allowed us to plan a weekend celebration with our family and friends. Yes having a Monday wedding might alienate some potential guest and every couple needs to look at their guest list to see if Monday is feasible but we are now having a welcome tailgate themed BBQ on Saturday night, a everyone is invited to the Rehearsal dinner Sunday night, a wedding on Monday, and a Adios brunch on Tuesday morning. So I am all for a Monday wedding if you think your guest list wouldn't be put off by the untraditional date.

Finally allowing my future hubs to plan the honeymoon is not only a huge stress reliever for me (as I don't need to worry about when payments are due or even need to research where we will be going or what we will do once we get there) but it has brought so much anticipation and excitement to this whole planning process. We have spent many of nights laying in bed me asking him where we are going, how are we getting there, do I need a visa, do I need some shots, what will I pack. And the whole time he just giggles and says you will love it. It also has allowed me to give up something and know that like the wedding it might not be perfect but it will be perfect for us because he planned it.

It was kind of fun to reflect at this point in the planning process and I am sure once the day has come and gone I will reevaluate what my favorite part of the day was – well besides being married!

xoxo

britt

Leaving on a Jet Plane...

Guess what? Nope not that. No not that either. Ok give up? The BIG secret is that Barry booked our hotel room for the honeymoon. I could not be more excited. I have never been more excited for a week long vacation before in my life and I don’t even know where I am headed to. That’s right our honeymoon will be a SURPRISE for me until the time we take off -- at least that is the plan. Many of you might know or heck you might not know but Barry is planning the entire honeymoon and keeping it one BIG Ol’ secret. So for the next nine months or so I can only dream of our first destination together as a married couple (also our second vacation alone without friends or family around – we know lame on our part but we love traveling with or to see everyone we love).

I thought I would share some of the things Barry has let slipped. I know we are leaving the Wednesday after the wedding and getting back the following Wednesday. This is so nice because it will give us sometime to unpack before we have to jump back into work. I also know that we are leaving from LAX and more than likely will be flying back into LAX, but he hasn’t made those arrangements yet so who knows maybe we will fly back into PHX. Other than that I know nothing. Don’t know what to pack. Don’t know if I will need my passport, a visa or some shots to ward off foreign disease. Since I don’t know anything I guess I will have to plan for everything (I sense some shopping in my future J) But I thought I would leave you with a couple of places I wouldn’t mind being swept off to.

Can you catch the common beach theme I am hoping for? I can see it now me, my husband lounging on a a beach doing nothing but relaxing and enjoying some quality time together.

xoxo

britt

Scary

It does not matter how well Governor Palin did in the Vice Presidential debate. She can not erase the harm that she created in her Katie Couric interview.

I am distraught because she could not name another Supreme Court case other than Roe v. Wade. What about Griswold v. Connecticut? That case sets the foundation for Roe. What about flag burning? What about prayer in schools? What about gay sodomy? There were so many cases the conservatives despise. Just name a case. I think every American knows about Bush v. Gore.

As CNN reports, this “election could decide the future of the federal courts.” CNN states that the next president could nominate two to four justices. On the Supreme Court, John Paul Stevens is 88, Ruth Bader Ginsburg is 75 and has had health problems, and David Souter recently turned 69. I am not sure about four justices, but definitely has a chance to nominate a couple.

There is a lot at stake in the federal court system: fair pay for women, employment discrimination, the role of religion in government, and so forth.

And Palin could not come up with a single intelligent statement about the Supreme Court? Absolutely astonishing.

Then she said she believes there is a Constitutional right to privacy. The conservatives do not believe this! Justices Scalia and Thomas absolutely do not believe in a Constitutional right to privacy because it is not written in the Constitution.

They are originalists and textualists; anything the (old, white, rich, MEN) Framers did not intend over 200 years ago or not written explicitly is not included in the Constitution in their minds. I, for one, like a living Constitution that Justice Breyer believes, not a dead one like Justices Scalia and Thomas subscribe to.

Privacy is the argument supporting Roe v. Wade. Palin has no idea what she is talking about. Absurd.

Originalism is the most obnoxious thoery, but this is a blog for another day, at least a couple of blogs how terrible the theory is.

As a graduate of law school waiting bar results, this offends me deeply and it should offend every American. She is trying to make “Joe Six-pack” look cool. Being ignorant is not a quality I want in a Vice President, especially one who wants to expand the role of the Vice President.

Absolutely scary.

http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/10/03/supreme.court.politics/index.html

- Jen

What I Love, Really Love

There are good days and bad days.

Waiting for the bar results is more miserable than studying for the stupid test. Being asked if I am employed yet is frustrating. I do not like being “retired.” I cannot wait to use my doctorate diploma and join the workforce. We are just waiting for the stupid results.

Apparently the results will either come out this Friday (today) or the next. Either way, we bought two bottles: champagne for good results and vodka for despair and grief.

To keep my spirits high, I think of things I love:

1. Macaroni and Cheese – It does not take much to make me happy and this childhood, comfort food makes me really happy. I ate it frequently as a child and as I joke with my great friend Barbie, we would be 20 pounds lighter if we did not eat it as much as we did. I still love it. It is embarrassing confession, but whenever I see the dish at a restaurant, I just have to try it. It doesn't matter that I have ordered my wedding dress; I will just work out longer at the gym. :-) I could live off of mac and cheese, grilled cheese, and go figure, quesadillas.

2. Friends Coming to Visit – Barbie and her husband Troy are coming to visit. They are flying in on Friday, October 10 and I can’t wait to show them around Phoenix. Friends coming to visit is a blessing and I am thrilled for their visit. Who knows, maybe they will want to relocate to the valley of the sun? :-) We will just have to show them a great time.

3. NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK !!! – Yes, I will be one of those old screaming women at the concert on October 13 in Phoenix. There is no holding back for this concert. Barbie and I spent many childhood days eating macaroni and cheese and then dancing to the VHS of New Kids on the Block. We know all the dances, we are that good. No matter what the bar results are, I can look forward to the concert!!!

Can't wait!!

4. Easy Wedding Planning – The wedding planning thus far has been incredibly smooth and easy, that is also because we have only been told no once. Lame. I can see how this business can get incredibly stressful when you are told that the date is booked, especially planning a wedding in a small city (Sioux City) where options are limited.

5. Planning Weddings with Friends – It is great to share this journey with Britney. It is great because we can share details and help each other, while having two unique weddings that fit the couples. I am absolutely thrilled for next summer. And it was great that Barbie was on the same journey this summer.

6. The Sun – It is October and fall has yet to rear it’s ugly head here. I am looking forward to it cooling down a bit, but no South Dakota fall here!

7. Matt - Of course. As we approach being engaged for one year on Sunday, I couldn't be happier or more in love.

-Jen