lifesavers

Figure it's time for an update from me. From making my first delicious, volcanic Cupcake Nightmares to discovering that premarital counseling doesn't involve crying accusations, my life has been unpredictable, fast-paced and absolutely WONDERFUL!

JT has improved significantly. He slept through the night for the first time since his surgery this past Sunday night. His color has returned, he’s a regular speed demon on his crutches and he’s his ornery self again – oh wait, no surgery or severe pain could ever take that away from him :)

Wedding planning is going well. No turning back now. I bought my veil yesterday from this woman who is the perfect picture of what an African-American matriarch should be. She runs this shop called The Clothes Horse (very Sweet Valley, I know, right?) but I had never heard of it as a bridal shop. She has all kinds of dresses and accessories and MAKES veils. Plus she can alter my dress, which is a huge lifesaver! She pretty much can do anything and lets you know, too.

I have had the strangest dreams lately. The other night, in a half-sleep phase, I obsessed for hours about registering for a slow-cooker cookbook. We don’t even have a slow cooker yet! But if we’re both going to be working, I have heard those things are lifesavers! (That’s the second time I’ve used that word in this post; voila – a title!) In another dream, my wedding day came and I had to get married just as I am. For some reason, I focused on how much I needed a tan and we didn’t have any plates or silverware to offer our guests either. Also, I was sick as a dog and my wedding came and went and I couldn’t remember it for the life of me. In fact, the next morning, I woke up in my bed at my parents’ house, where bees were stinging me (?), and JT had left for Costa Rica without me.

We both feel that God has huge things for us as a couple, in our relationship, our future, our careers, and especially our ministry. We are praying and exploring right now, and we both have a feeling that something’s coming soon. Please keep us in your prayers! Oh, and our website is up, so if you want the address and are ready to propel us out of anonymity, check my Facebook or leave me a comment!

At work, we routinely call bookstores to schedule signing and discussion events for our authors. Naturally, I spend a lot of time on the Borders website, checking to make sure our books are listed properly and finding all of the stores within a 50-mile radius of an author’s hometown. I’m going to add a new feature to my blog: Hump Day Shortlists. They are based on the bottom left corner of the Borders website, where they feature celebrities’ top five book, music and movie choices. Now I’m no Radiohead or Stephen King, but this is a short and interesting way to keep me accountable to blogging, and I’m going to take it, starting this week in a new post.

JT's poor ankle.

four months and two days

Just in case anyone missed it, Oklahoma was hit by an ice storm. This one wasn't as bad as last year's because it didn't stick to the ground for weeks, but it did cause 100s of 1000s of electrical outages, including the house of yours truly.

I just checked and it did, in fact, make national media! It took 4 pages of searching google to find that article, mind you. It also brought up every Oklahoma ice storm in the past! Living without electricity was weird. I didn't realize how much I took the constant hum and glow of electricity for granted. Basically, my family built a fire in our fireplace and huddled around it in the dark for warmth. It was between 30-40 degrees in my house by the second day. JT is still out of power. He is camping out on my parents' couch because his electrical box was ripped off the wall by a fallen tree. Our poor future house! It took my dad, brother, and him 5 hours yesterday to clean up the mess of tree branches in his yard!
So I am kind of embarrassed to admit this, but I want to see PS: I Love You in the worst possible way. As in, I don't know if I can wait until opening night to see it. I'm so embarrassed that I have taken to calling it The Ultimate Chick Flick, because I can't lie; that's what it is. The thought of dragging JT to it makes me feel guilty, yet I couldn't imagine watching it without his bicep to squeeze and his sweater to sob into. That would be the ultimate act of sacrifice for the person you love. Okay, maybe not the ULTIMATE sacrifice, but short of giving something up or risking bodily harm...

I've been looking through some of my friends' pictures, particularly the newlyweds. One common theme I see: everyone has taste. They post pictures of their newly decorated houses, and I'm wondering where they found those cute prints? How did they know what drapes to pick out? More importantly, where did they get the money to finance all of those big spends? That got me thinking, I'm going to become domestic! We're going to have to save for bedroom furniture, and bathroom light fixtures, and countertop pottery for the kitchen. We're going to have to make his house into our first home.

I am going to be someone's wife and I couldn't be any more excited!

chocolate and stress

This is for Robyn...

As if we weren't expecting multiple high calorie days last week, we somehow fit in our cake tasting on Tuesday. It's going to look something like this, alternating white and chocolate cake with buttercream frosting and filling and NO FONDANT except for the cherry blossoms. That morning before work, I decided I should probably check some different cakes to get ideas. When I saw that picture in my Google Image search, it was love at first sight. I am confident it will be love at first bite, too!

Here's a little pearl of wisdom for anyone who faces stress in their life:

.dance.

Tonight I wasn't feeling well. We got out to look at the Rhema Christmas Lights (I know, isn't that ridiculous?) and there was music playing over the loud speaker. So I danced. I embarrassed the love of my life in front of a crowd. My arms were flailing, my feet were off rhythm, but I was dancing. And it fixed everything; no lie!

Also, if you're stressed, this movie quote might help:

"I used to live my life worrying about tomorrow and then I did some research and discovered something important...10 out of 10 people...die." - Bella

The Tank of Sharks

I go into Bed Bath & Beyond the other night, mom in tow, determined to pick out what pots and pans we'll be registering for and get the things I don't need JT for like muffin pans and crock pots and whatnot. To me, all I see is a frenzy: shelves and shelves that stretch higher and wider than I can see with three different versions of the same product taunting me with popular brands and differing prices. I didn't know the first place to begin.

Half an hour later, I have handled every pan in the store with no decision about cookware. My mom says I should register for heavy, cast-iron pots at Savory Chef because nonstick pans won't last two years and they make her want to vomit because of the screeching sound they make with fingernails during dishwashing. Do I really want to register for pans that are hundreds of dollars more expensive? I'm not convinced.

So I came out of Bed Bath & Beyond with increasing frustration for all that is nonstick, stainless steel and cast iron.

My only purchase? This trinket, the only thing I knew I absolutely had to have, no matter what JT had to say about it.


update - 01/26/09: my boss and his wife ended up buying this for us. I have taken to fondly calling him Skark because I accidentally wrote it on all of our thank you lists, thank you notes, etc. Nine months into our marriage, he appears in all of my finished recipe photos as the signature trademark, and rightfully so: he is my sous chef!

1110

Planning a wedding has been crazy, to say the least.

But it's been a little over three weeks and we have a church, a reception place, pastors, a caterer, a photographer, a dress, bridesmaids dresses, a florist, a band, musicians for the ceremony, candelabras, a place to make our cake, centerpieces almost figured out, and probably more.

And we have each other.

I am incredibly blessed every day to have JT in my life. He's kind and spontaneous and considerate and strong and passionate and bold and smart. He's a student of life, an artist, an athlete, a wonderful friend, and he's mine. He's not the man I have always dreamed of; he's proof that God knows our hearts and has better for us than ever could have imagined.

I can't wait to be his wife.

Until then, it will be busy busy busy as we try to merge our family traditions and tastes and opinions on everything. Our alone time has become more precious. Moments seem stolen and that much more sweet.

My mother, on the other hand, is full speed and million miles a minute as far as wedding talk goes. I don't think I've had a conversation with her that doesn't revolve around the wedding. That can be exhausting. We did find the most amazing candelabras today at a little florist shop. They are wrought iron, very reminiscent of the medieval/gothic period, and have intentional flaws that give them character.

Alone time and girl time has been lacking. I am kicking Project LGN into full force again. I am going to be one hott, buff bride if I have anything to say about it. My abs are certainly saying something about it today. Ughh!

So I am hanging on. Things at work have been crazy, but we're hiring two new people on Monday, so my job will get a lot easier. I'll have a more appropriate workload, anyway. You have no idea how relieved I am.

My goal, sometime in the near future, is to make it a habit to get up at least an hour early. That way I can exercise and pray and write and spend time by myself to gather my wits and strength to face another day. One thing I have learned is that sometimes being awake in a leisurely, relaxed frame of mind can be loads better than sleep for the sake of energy and sanity and peace.

How I Found My Dress

I had tried on about six dresses at places in Tulsa and had picked one that I loved everywhere I went. We went to OKC to search on Saturday and went to four boutiques and two bridal "warehouse" places. In both of those, I tried on several I liked, but the people who helped me kept bringing dresses even after I said I didn't like something about a dress. I ended up leaving with dresses still left to try on in the room because it frustrated me! (I hate hate hate that Davids Bridal doesn't have mirrors inside the rooms, too!!)

It was kind of a God thing how I found THE DRESS. I knew it would have to be because I couldn't imagine loving a dress so much and knowing without a doubt that a dress was going to be THE DRESS I marry JT in. I had made an itinerary of places in Oklahoma City based on geography. (You would have been so proud of me!) Well one of the girls I was with (I went with two of my bridesmaids.) had to be home around five, so I decided to skip JJ Kelly and go to the furthest one on the street. Well, that shop ended up only having prom dresses, so we went back to JJ Kelly. Second God thing: this is an appointment-only store, but the lady had a cancellation RIGHT when I walked in, and said since we were from Tulsa and didn't know, we could have the spot.

You see, the place I found THE DRESS wasn't like other boutiques. They had dresses in the back and you told the worker what you wanted and they brought options. I was paired with the owner of the shop, I found out. She closes the door to my dressing room and waves her finger. "Strip down," she says matter-of-factly. I had no time to feel uncomfortable; this woman meant no nonsense! She made me put on one of those little strapless bra/corset things and strip to my underwear. I felt a little uncomfortable for a second, but then I didn't care that a total stranger was seeing me in my underwear if it meant she could help me find THE DRESS!

I tried on THE DRESS first and loved it, but wanted to see other dresses. Two more were iffy. I tried on a strapless dress that was gorgeous and it had a really pretty sash I liked. I was almost sold on that, but I felt an urge to try on THE DRESS again. When I tried it on a second time, I was sold. I knew it was THE DRESS for me. We tried different trains and headpieces with it and I couldn't get over how gorgeous it was and how it combined everything I wanted in THE DRESS with the things I had discovered I like from trial and error (like the neck on it). My eyes watered a little!

This purple hair lady came in and bought a pink wedding dress and veil to renew her vows for her 50th anniversary with her husband. She told us they got married because they were in love and "people didn't live in sin back in those days!" She went on to tell us that she has only been with one man and can't find girls nowadays who have saved themselves for their husbands. I was so proud to tell her differently, and to have both of my friends join in!

So now I have THE DRESS and it will be in on time and I just need to decide if I want a veil or a flower in my hair and all of that accessory mumbo jumbo!

(oh, and while I was in OKC, my handsome, wonderful JT washed Xi-Xi inside and outside and put a brand new bike rack on her! I love love love him!)

HOORAY!

I FOUND A WEDDING DRESS!!! Comment with your email address if you want to see!

Secrecy is vital. You understand :)

engaged!

Here is our story for those who don't know.

JT and I met in the summer of 2005 when I was on Living Word, SNU's traveling PR team. He was a counselor at my district's church camp. When I got back to school, one of his friends told me JT thought I was cute, but it wasn't the right time yet.

When I graduated in December, I moved back to Tulsa, where we met again at a cookout at the mutual friends' house during the ice storm. I knew he was going to be there and remember feeling kind of nervous/excited even though I didn't really know him. We talked a lot that night and I remember being really drawn to him and I felt like everyone noticed. I went home and told my family that I was going to start dating him, even though I had barely met him once or twice and had no indication that was the case. He hadn't seen the new James Bond movie, so we made plans to go with a group.

We went a couple of weeks later and had a lot of fun. A couple of days later, it was Valentine's Day and I got an email. He had done his research and sent me a Chewbacca he'd photoshopped to hold roses. If you know me at all, you know this is very effective research :)

He had planned to go to Norman that weekend after his indoor game and we'd go out for coffee after that. Well Friday night, he surprised me at a concert I went to with my family and he came over that night even though he was supposed to be on his way to Norman. I made him some CDs and fed him death by chocolate cake and when I walked him out, he grabbed my hands and said, "So does this mean we're dating?" (!!!!) I said yes and we went out when he got back on Sunday.

Fast forward to October 18, 2007. We're in South Padre Island with my parents and mom's side of the family. His mom had picked out a pretty white dress for me before we left, so he asked me to wear it so we could take pictures on the beach. Well...we got back kind of late from horseback riding and the sun went down, so by the time I was ready, my parents were sitting in the living room of our condo and said JT was waiting for me out there to take a picture.

By that time, I had a feeling something was up. He had assembled an iPod dock out there that was playing some of our favorite music. We read from a book that had some of our first memories in it and a list of things he loved about me. Then he told me that he loved me for the first time. When we started dating, he told me that those words were reserved for his wife, so I knew. I told him I loved him, too, and thanked him for telling me all along without saying those words through his touch and the way he looked at me and took care of me.

"So you know I love you, right?" he said. I agreed. "Then there's only one thing left to do."

And he got down on one knee and asked me to be his wife. I remember saying "wow" and "oh my gosh" and I think my vocabulary was limited to that. Well, that and "yes"! We hugged for a little while and he said, "Don't you want to see your ring?" He had slipped this perfect ring on my finger. Apparently, he had designed it behind my back with the secret help of one of my best friends, LJ. It's yellow gold with a solitaire and seven smaller diamonds on each side. You can't see this from the pictures, but he got a European shank on the back because my ring finger is broken and that way the ring will stay in place. He really put a lot of thought into it and it was a lot better than I could have ever designed!

Our relationship has been anything but ordinary. We have pretty much been inseparable but have somehow grown individually. He brings out the best in me, encourages me, and makes me laugh all the time. He's smart, considerate, funny, spontaneous, artistic and hard to describe, but if you met him, you'd know he was perfect for me!

We are getting married this spring, depending on when we find a place since my church meets in a high school gym! Thanks for your encouragement! I'll keep everyone updated on the planning!

:)