Showered with Love: Part 3 - The Party!

Part 1
Part 2

After a day of laying on the beach and recovery from the night before.. it was time for the party! If you remember from the invite, they wanted it to be a fun party and not a stuffy shower. So they skirted the word shower and made it on a Saturday night, but still included a list of our registries. We were a bit nervous, but excited. These were a lot of people I've known for most of my life and while they are incredibly fun and kind, I always feel like a little kid around them so I wasn't sure how this would go....

We started out by the door to greet everyone as they came in. At first it was really awkward waiting to pounce on guests. But as a few came in and started talking, it was better.

The boys are talking about flying, while only Momma Duck and Kat's mom seem to realize there is a camera aimed at them.

The men were smart and scooted outside since the weather was PERFECT! ... and right behind them is the bar.... ;-)

Victory is ours! We finally made it out to the bar too!

I'd kill for my living to look like this one day.. and this is their backyard!! And for anyone who is wondering, Yes, I thought about asking them for their backyard for the wedding. This is only 2 houses down from where I grew up.

Drinks in hand, everyone seemed to be having a damn good time.

Classic Jane shot. I think I had just told her that I MIGHT be mentioned in Modern Bride.

Everyone seemed to have a good time. Lord only knows what story our priest is telling! (Yup, this is your intro to Fr Steve who will be presiding over the ceremony.)

BAD PICTURE DAD! But the point of the picture is that there were cakes....3 VERY yummy cakes!!!!

All photos courtesy, (or to the blame of) my Dad.

Next, we all move it inside to open presents... Adam and I end up with mixing bowls on our heads... Stay tuned!

Blog Bliss: MasterPiece Weddings

This is an Adam free post!!!

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Scroll no further babe....
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*Go read about SkyDiving over Mount Everest instead.
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*Seriously.... I kill you!!
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Ok. Should be Adam-free now.
Remember how I said I'm Blogging Bride!? Well, today was my first guest post on Adventures in Wedding Planning! Why the Adam free zone? Because he doesn't know I succeed in my Antarctic Quest! And I am going to try and keep it a surprise!! We'll see how well that goes, but for now... go forth and read!!


Yes, that's Adam, with penguins, in Antarctica.

Showered with Love: Part 2- Finishing Friday Night

So back to the Friday night party.... And Erka's fabulous hair! (I don't exactly remember why this style was modeled right then, but it was very entertaining and I was very glad I had my camera out!)
We brought our new Wii and decided that Saturday night, after the party, we would all go out to some bars and really party it up. But for Friday, we wanted to stay in and just hangout and be the lazy bums we all really are. So, first, we made Mii's for everyone! Kat, modeling herself above.

A bug eyed Josh and his new Mii.

Erka with her Mii.. while Adam digitally picks her nose...

Let the games begin!

Boxing was probably the most entertaining since Adam has actually played this and knows what to do, and the rest of us are going at it Mortal Kombat style - swing constantly and push every button as often as possible!

Yes, we are a bit of geeks to have purposely done this for our Friday night.. but d*mnit, we had a great time!

So about the time the clock was near midnight, we were mostly turning into pumpkins. I say mostly because Kat was falling asleep and Adam and I were finding it difficult to keep our eyes open. Erka and Josh, however were still wired... and tipsy. So while the rest of us headed off to bed, they headed out to the pool. And a few hours later I got a text message from Erka letting me know they were going to sing karaoke at a local dive bar. A few hours later I woke up to a beer bottle crashing to a million pieces on the kitchen floor as they were loading up supplies to continue the party at a friend's house. Notice we are adding hours on hours here and I started around midnight? Oh yeah. They came back to the condo around 9am and passed out while those of us rested got going for the day and went shopping and to play at the beach.

We came back in to find them waking up and piecing together their night... apparently Erka lost a fight with a fence....



And I think some details are forever lost to the night. The funny thing was, a few years ago, I would have been with them. Erka and I could party beyond the break of dawn like none other. Call me old, but I was having a damn good time playing the Wii with a Mojito in hand and calling it a night around 1 or 2 am. It did make me think about what I might want out of a bachlorette party. I guess I'd really want it to be something in between. I don't feel the need to pretend like I'm 21 still living in Orlando, but I wouldn't mind dancing and drinking for a while, whilst spending time with my best girl friends.

Did anyone else have a party that gave a reality check on how they have changed over the years or gave insight to the things you did or did not want to come to pass at your bachlorette party?

I know, I know - it's FINALLY time to tell yall about the actual shower!! :)

Showered with Love: Part 1 - The "Kids"

So now that you know the background behind this shower weekend... its on to the craziness that is my friends and family, and the pictures to prove it!

My parents moved from the house that I grew up in to a condo about 2 years ago, so the reality of having a bunch of "kids" in town for the party meant that we all needed somewhere to stay, and there just isn't even enough floor space at the 'rents. So my mother decided that she would rent us a condo on Panama City Beach so we could party and hang out and not keep them up! We showed up on Friday and all I have to say is, THIS is not what I expected....

All photos in this post courtesy of me, Momma Duck, or Erka.

Room #1

Room #2

Dining room (non-pictured kitchen to the left)

MASTER bedroom

Master Bathroom. Forget the party adn everyone else, can I just stay in here!??!

Living room

And oh yeah, we had our own balcony and the view was of the beach and the pool. Oh, and see the umbrellas over beach chairs way out there, yeah 2 of them were reserved for us!

Holy Sh*t!! This place was awesome! The only drawback was that we were only here for 2 nights! We all wanted to spend a week hanging out here. Oh, and across the street is a new shopping / entertainment development that hosts the likes of Margeritaville and Ron Jon's Surf Shop etc. It was awesome.

So the weekend "kid" crew arrived (FINALLY! Seriously, I don't know why some people can't even CALL to ask directions, let alone stop.) and we all went out to dinner at Schooners, The Last Local Beach Club.

Erka (MOH) and Kat

Josh (who can never seem to just smile for a picture damnit!) and Adam

I have no idea what he said to deserve this reaction... or why I look like I am a bizarre bird about to spit on him.. but nonetheless, for better or worse - that's us!

heheh - and since we are both known for having our sunglasses on our heads even at night, the obligatory sunglasses pic.

Ok. That's a lot of pics for one post. So, stay tuned for Wii/Mii fun and a shower that was really a great party!

Tag: I'm It!!

This is my first blog tag and it was from The Pissed Off Bride!

(In finding a fun tag image I found this crafty blog: Kaleidoscope Impressions!)

4 things I did today:

• Read my bridal blogs...at work...ooops.
  
• Booked my airline tickets to go to LA to meet with UCLA and the new city I'll be moving to!
  
• Drove to work with the sunroof open and the windows down singing along to my Disney cd at the top of my lungs.... oh yeah - I am THAT driver that everyone raises an eyebrow at.
  
• Kissed Adam and told him I love him. Best part of my day. :-)
  

4 things on my to do list:

• Practice the moves we've been learning in dance lessons.
  
• Sand down and re-stain a dresser that has been in my family for more than 100 years. (I really don't like it, but I don't want it to be given away, so I'm refinishing it instead.)
  
• Start making my bridesmaids barefoot sandals.
  
• Go to the Pensacola Seafood Festival this weekend. YUM!!!! I am drooling just thinking about it....
  

4 of my guiltiest pleasures:

• Disney. Movies, music, and World. =) I am a 5 year old a heart. Thank God Adam loves me including that.
  
• Wedding Blog Stalking. My google reader stays up all day long, and I check it... alot.
  
• Gilmore Girls!
  
• Mimosas! Forget a sunday brunch.. I could drink those all day! Damn this thing they call work! oh - and the calories too!
  

4 random facts about me:

• I have 11 fake teeth. I fell out of a tree face first as a 9 year old, so that accounts for a few. Some have actually eroded from the inside out! (The x-rays and remains of those teeth are in various dental research schools now.) And some were for aesthetics because there was 1 surviving tooth between 2 fake ones.
  
• 2 majors, 3 schools, 4 years. That was my college life. I started out at Rollins College as environmental politics. I didn't fit in AT ALL because I do not find Coach or Louis Vitton sane things to spend money on. I spent a semester at the Biosphere 2 in Arizona studying astrophysics. (Pauly Shore was not there. We were not locked in. We did not order pizza through a window.) Deciding that I liked astrophysics, I moved out to Hilo Hawaii to UH to actually get my degree. Phew!
  
• I have been a dancer since I was 3 years old and still love it. But recognized in high school that it was not going to be my career even though I refuse to give it up.
  
• I kissed Adam first. When he was in Hawaii visiting me, he wasn't sure what I was thinking and whether or not he should kiss me. Our first kiss in Indy made me giggle like s school girl and trip over a COUCH! But al he remembered was that I left. (Men!) So he wasn't sure. We hadstood at the top of a waterfall and watched a beautiful sunset with his arms around me. It was perfect... but no kiss! So when we were carrying groceries into my house later I just walked up and kissed him and then started to walk away. Cartoon style he grabbed my hand, spun me back around into him and really kissed me. It was perfect... again.
  

I tag these fellow bloggers.... who might have already been tagged...sorry!:

Meg of A Practical Wedding

Zoliepup of Pirate is Marrying a Pear

Melissa of Adventures In Wedding Planning

and 2 State Bride

And just because every post should have one... a pretty picture courtesy of Rae Leytham!!

Don't Turn on the Water if You Ain't Gonna Shower!!

So I've mentioned a few times about our planned showers/parties. Let me elaborate for a moment.

WARNING!
This is a vent before I get to all the fun stuff (like mixing bowls on heads etc).

Shortly after we got engaged, people started saying they wanted to throw parties for us. Sure! They were mostly being nice and it was more the thought. Well once we knew where we would be moving, and when and where we planned on having the wedding, people started pulling out the calendars to claim dates for their parties. Cool! One set claimed Sept 20 as a Fiesta themed kitchen shower/party. Another claimed October 18th as a Chinese themed cocktail party. The third was trying to figure between the 1st and 2nd week of November for a small dinner shower among our church friends. 3 parties!? HOLY COW!Well the couple that hadn't set an actual date realized that between the limited weekends we could be sure we would be in Panama City, and their busy 2 kid schedule, it wasn't really going to work. So instead, she is throwing a Bridal Luncheon just for my bridesmaids and I sometime the week of the wedding. The AMAZING Kathleen Kane of "K2 Bakes For You" is going to do the food and it'll be a relaxing lunch just visiting with my girls. I think this couldn't be more perfect. As I've mentioned before, these showers were having an interesting MULTIPLICATION effect on the guest list!! So now its set up perfectly, 2 party/showers and a bridal luncheon.

Well, Mrs Oct 18th Part Planner is an incredibly sweet lady.... and incredibly FLAKY! My mother called me a little upset and asked me what I was doing. Well, since it was to be a Chinese themed party, I planned on buying a Quipao to wear! (When else am I going to get this excuse!?) Since I'm in small-town-South, my only Quipao option was Craigslist. I was actually meeting with the girl who was selling one to try it on when Momma Duck called. I told her what I was doing and she started crying telling me that Mrs Oct 18th had canceled because they were going to Europe instead that weekend. oof!

At this point, the invitations for the Sept party have already gone out and the guest list done. Sh*t. We divvied up the guest list between those two parties so people didn't have to come to a bunch of parties and bring gifts, and because some would fit better with one crew of people versus the other. Needless to say, things got really crazy real quick trying to figure out if anyone was going to throw the second party, or if my parents would through an "engagement" party since its tacky to throw your own kids a shower.

All I have to say, is that its perfectly nice to offer to throw a party, but if you are going to set a date and a theme and ask for and have already received a guest list from the wedding family - YOU DAMN WELL BETTER MEAN IT!

Else, I sick annoyed apple cat on you!!
(Really, it was just a good photo representation of how I felt.)

AND the Sept party was a little short notice for many of our friends who would have to take off work and fly in. Some were planning on coming to the October party since tickets could be bought far enough out....grrrr again. So there weren't as many "kids" as we would have liked, but it sure was a great time and now that I have all that venting angry kitty off my keyboard, on to the fun stuff!!

Blog Bliss: I'm a Blogging Bride!

I realize from the title you are probably thinking "No sh*t sherlock, I'm reading your bizarre blog right now." Give me a little credit here, I am actually telling you something new...

PRESENTS THE NEW SEGMENT

That's me!!! I am now a guest blogging bride for MasterPiece Wedding's Adventures in Wedding Planning Blog!!!! I am a regular stalker, and for anyone who remembers (or clicks this link for a quick refresher) am also personally connected to their St. Jude fundraising efforts, in the form of Let's Eat Cake! I am honored to be a part of Melissa's blog. Its full of insight and inspiration, and I hope to be able to add my crazy stories for some smiles too.

Go here and read my intro!! Oh yeah, this is the pic for my intro! Well, it definitely stands out from most bridal blog photos!! :-)



And then, go HERE and figure out what you can do to help. The wish list is long, you might have something you can offer.


I'll get back to telling you about my crazy fun wedding shower weekend in just a bit....

Wonderful Weekend!

Both productive and fun. It'll take me a short bit to tell yall all about it, but here's the basics.

It started with this...

And ended with this....

:-)

Stay tuned for the insanity that is my friends and family! (Oh wait, that sounded like I'm not included in the insane list. Just for clarification, I tend to be at the head of the crazy pack!)

Noaki Knockout! Earrings vs Necklace

I've blogged before about trying to decide on my wedding day jewelry. Remember how I was trying to figure out what necklace to go with the neckline of the dress? (Adam - you click those links, you die.) Well, searching for jewelry and hair ornament ideas led me to Noaki Jewelry. Well, Noaki being the uber creative wonder that she is, has agreed to help me with the hairpiece! Woohoo!! Hooray for planning ahead because she has plenty of time to scour her resources for the right elements. In the mean time... she sent me a link that she knew I've love..... HER NEWEST LISTING!!

B-E-A-UTIFUL right? Wait - look closer... oh yeah those are stars and moons!!!!!

"These earrings feature vintage rhinestone pieces in the shape of a moon and star. I've attached swarovski crystals and small glass droplets. The chain and earwire are sterling. The earrings measure 3 3/4 inches long and the moon measures 1 1/4 inches across at its widest. Just lovely.

"If you're interested in a vintage one-of-a-kind piece, please visit my etsy shop and convo me with the details. My website is www.noakijewelry.com and blog is www.noakijewelry.blogspot.com"

LOVE LOVE LOVING THEM!!

Its great to ahve someone on the "inside." It might actually be quite mean of me to post this... because I might be snagging these! :-)

So here's the question... can I pull these off with a necklace? Should I skip the necklace? Should I keep the earrings for the big day simple and sang these for fun? :-)

Oh, and if stars and moons aren't your thing, do yourself a VERY BIG favor, and go check out her Etsy shop to find whatever floats your boat. Don't see it? Guess what - SHE DOES CUSTOMS!!! Did I mention Noaki rocks?

Real Life Love... and Lessons Learned in Life or Death Moments

So you've seen pics before showing our love for Scuba Diving. Well a few weekends ago, we decided to get our Advanced Certifications and Nitrox rating.

All was going well. On our "search and recovery" specialty dive, we found the hidden object together and quickly! Hooray for team work. Then its on to using the lift bag. We clipped it to our big ass concrete block and as taught, brought it to the surface - Success! We had plenty of air left in our tanks so it was play time. I made the big ass concrete block neutrally buoyant and then swam around with it chasing fish. Why? Because I could. Because without a lift bag I couldn't get this thing off the bottom, and now I could swim with it fast enough to chase fish!



I laughed when a fish looked particularly freaked out and then, every diver's nightmare - I breathed in and all I got was water. Damnit. I must have laughed too hard and let water into the regulator. Try again. Just water. FREAK OUT. This is the part I (and everyone else later) was proud of me for. I reached around and grabbed my spare and breathed from it. Simple right? HA. Tell me that when its you. At this point I am ok. I've got air, I'm breathing again, and I didn't bolt to the surface and risk getting bent. But I am NOT HAPPY. It was one of those moments when I thank God for training sticking in my brain and managing to win out over panic. But now that the immediate threat is gone, the after affect hits.

Our instructor, who's been trained for these kinds of things, was nearby. I didn't care. All I wanted was Adam. I swam to him and as soon as he looked at me he knew I was not okay. He took control of our slow ascent, and I cried the whole way to the surface. Our instructor has realized that I am on my spare regulator which means something has gone wrong. As soon as we hit the surface he tells me to lay back and he swims me to the nearest platform. They ask what happened and I held out the mouthpiece to the normal regulator. It had become disconnected from the regulator. Both he and the other instructor nearby knew what had happened and were incredibly impressed that I had the presence of mind to reach for my spare reg. There was a moment when the instructor wanted to ask why I didn't come to him since he was closer, but he refrained. Had I not been able to recover air, maybe, but I wanted Adam. In theory, its safer to go to your instructor because he/she will make the smart decision, whereas your significant other might panic with you.


So really, in those short, yet seemingly unending moments, I learned a lot about myself, about Adam, and about us as a couple. I could face a life or death situation and make a smart decision before panic could set in. In a bad situation when something goes wrong, all I want in the world is Adam. And even when he knows something is wrong but doesn't know what, his focus is not only on fixing what has cause me anguish, but also on what is safe and smart. In a threatening situation, we cling to each other, and slowly rise to the surface, where the threat is no longer. I hope to remember that throughout our marriage.

All photos courtesy of me from our manatee dive trip - not our Advance Cert dives (we forgot to take pics).