Oh, the weather outside is frightful!

Ok, as is customary, I will use the first line of my entry tonight to apologize for waiting so long to post! Life has been busy recently - of course, it took us a little while to recover from the wedding. But, we also had to decorate and get ready for Christmas, and....and...okay, so I don't really have any good excuses.

Anyway, the weather tonight really is frightful. Here in Nebraska were expecting a winter "grab bag" of crappy weather - i.e. sleet, freezing rain and snow. I know what you're thinking: "Oh my gosh - what could be better?" My thoughts exactly. David had to work tonight and of course the weather started getting really nasty about the time he had to leave. I told him to give me a call when he got to work and when he got ready to leave - hey, you can never be too careful.

Anyway, David and I are finally starting to get things all settled here in Nebraska. It took a while to find a place for all of those wedding gifts in this tiny little apartment, but we made it work. We also got all of our Christmas decorations put up (our thanks to mom and Chuck for sending the Christmas tree and Cheryl and Ted for sending the Santa Clauses). I've put up some updated pictures of our decorations and our apartment so those of you that haven't visited can see what things are shaping up to look like!

I just love having Christmas decorations up - I wish we could keep the Christmas tree up all year! But, I suppose that would take some of the 'excitement' of Christmas away.

Anyway, I suppose it's just more of the same old thing here in Nebraska. It's just as cold and wintery as it is at home - but, David and I are anxious to head home and see everyone for the holidays. I've taken a couple of days off, so our plan is to head home on Tuesday morning of next week. We'll have to head back to Nebraska the Sunday after Christmas.

Of course, when we come home, we can't wait to show everyone our WEDDING PICTURES! That's right - our photographer emailed me this week to let me know that the pictures were up and ready for everyone to look at.

The pictures look wonderful - I'm so excited that they turned out so well. Of course, I do wish that I didn't look like an Amazon woman, but there isn't too much I can do about that.

Anyway...in other news...David is still working for the Lincoln Journal Star and I think he enjoys it, but he's also really anxious to find a full time job. It's not that we can't make it work (it isn't easy - but, we can still make ends meet), I just think he feels like he isn't contributing enough.

I don't like it either - I don't think the situation is fair for him. I mean, he went to college, too. He has a degree just like I do, and I think he deserves the chance to have a full time job and put his degree to use, too. It doesn't help that the job market sucks right now, but he's been out here for almost five months and still hasn't found anything. So, he continues to look for jobs here in Nebraska, but he's also looking for jobs in other states. I told him that he should go ahead and look and if he finds something, then he should go for it. If he gets a job elsewhere, he can move out there and I'll stay here in Nebraska at least long enough to stay at my job for a full year. After that, I'll try to find a job in the same area and join him wherever he is. It isn't a great plan, but it's the only plan we have right now.

I suppose that's it from our end. Hope you all have a wonderful Christmas and a very happy New Year! Keep praying for David to find a job that he'll enjoy and will allow him to use his talents and intelligence....

Same old thing, different day.

I know it has been a couple of weeks since I've posted anything new on my blog - my apologies. I've just been busy with work, and...what else? I know there was something else in there....

Oh yeah....

GETTING MARRIED!

That's right, kids. We finally tied the knot! David and I got married in Clinton on November 15. Remarkably, everything went really well. We started on time and there were no major mishaps. The only thing that was a little off was our unity candle - and that actually turned out pretty funny. When David and I went up to light the candle, the wick was so short, I knew there was no way we were going to get it to light. After five of the longest minutes of my life (and actually, it may have been less than five minutes. But, when you're standing in front of nearly 200 people, 30 seconds seems like five minutes), we still couldn't get the candle to light, so we just left it. It did make everyone laugh, though.

Luckily for us, Chuck had a knife and hacked off the top of the candle for the reception. With a longer wick, we didn't have any trouble lighting the darn thing! The reception at the church turned out wonderfully - thanks to everyone who helped to prepare food and make everything run smoothly. And, of course, we had a good time "shakin' it" at the party at the end of the night.

I can't wait to see how our professional pictures turned out. Our photographer was AWESOME! She was with us from 10 a.m. until the last guest left at midnight and she took so many candid pictures of us and our guests. In fact, David and I got so many compliments from our guests saying they appreciated her friendliness and the fact that she wanted to interact with them and spend time with us at our wedding. Of course, we haven't seen our pictures yet, but if anyone living in central Illinois is looking for a photographer, David and I would highly recommend Julie Prochnow Photography - she was fabulous!

Once we have the link for the pictures, I'll post it here so you can all take a look.

Sunday, after the wedding, David and I left for our honeymoon. We went to Edisto Island, South Carolina. It was cold while we were there, but we still had a good time. We stayed in a condo just off the shore of St. Helen's Sound and watched the dolphins from our balcony every day we were there. We also spent one day in Charleston visiting Fort Sumter, the South Carolina Aquarium and taking a walking tour of the city.

After a week off work, I have to confess, I wasn't exactly ready to come back and spend my days in front of a computer. But, it was a short week this week with Thanksgiving. Plus, we had Janell staying with us after our honeymoon. Since we were planning to come back for Thanksgiving, Janell decided to ride back to Nebraska with us and spend a few days "out West." We headed back home Wednesday night after I got of work.

Today, David and I spent the day at Grandpa and Grandma DeMent's house for Thanksgiving and then headed back to David's house to spend the evening with his parents. As usual, my family was very entertaining: no story was off limits and Ted put cheese whiz in Grandpa Don's hair.

David and I both have tomorrow off and I think we're going to try to do a little bit of internet shopping to pick up some of the things we registered for but didn't get and use a few of the gift cards we received (thanks everyone!). Then, Saturday, we're headed up to northern Illinois for the wedding of a friend of mine.

I think that's it for now - hope you all had a wonderful Turkey Day and you are staying at home tomorrow instead of battling the outrageous holiday shopping crowds!

Sometimes it's just hard.

I could spend my time tonight dazzling you all with my political commentary (and I have plenty to say about yesterday's election), but instead, I'm going to go in a different direction.

Those of you that follow my blog or know me personally know that the past few months of this year have been a little challenging. A close friend of mine lost his father this year; another friend was in a serious car accident and nearly lost her life. Sometimes, it's just hard.

Five years ago, I lost my father for no reason at all. Actually, I'm sure God had a reason. Maybe he was just being selfish. I mean, my dad was pretty cool, who wouldn't want to spend time with him? But still, it doesn't seem fair.

He's been gone five years and still, sometimes it's just hard. This past weekend, while David and I were driving home from Nebraska, I looked out the window and noticed how clear the night sky was. I looked up and saw the beautiful stars and all of the contellations and remembered my dad.

On summer nights when I was little, if the sky was clear, Dad and I would sit outside and he would say, "Do you see it? There's the big dipper and there's the little dipper. Can you point them out? Where are they, Rach?"

As I was sitting in that car, looking out the window at the stars, I couldn't stop myself from crying. I cried the rest of the way home - I just couldn't stop. Sometimes it's just hard.

But, I think that's the way it's supposed to be. We don't like it. In fact, most of the time, we resent the tough times. Instead, we should embrace them and try to learn from them. I'm guilty of it too; we look at the small picture but forget that it's only part of the big picture.

Next weekend, I'll stand before God, family and friends and say my wedding vows to a man I love very much. And, while that makes me happy when I think about it (and happier than I have been in five years), there will be one seat noticeably empty in the church. Of course, I know he'll be there, but I still don't think it's fair.

Sometimes it's just hard. Sometimes it's not fair. All of the time, that's life. And life is what you make of it.

The countdown continues...

22 days until the wedding! I can't wait! Thursday evening mom and I were able to get some of the decorations and reception logistics taken care of, so that's one more thing I can knock of my "to do" list. There are still several things I need to do, but the list does keep getting smaller and smaller.

Tonight marks the end of a week of testimonial traveling. I spent the first part of the week in Michigan and then headed home on Wednesday night to spend the rest of the week at home. I ran to Champaign with mom on Thursday morning to have a horse scoped for ulcers and worked from home the rest of the day. Then, today, I ran up to Galesburg and Iowa City to interview a couple of veterinarians for testimonials.

I'm headed home to Nebraska tomorrow so I can have Sunday to rest before I have to head back to work Monday. I have to say, I really have missed home and David. He has spent the week at home by himself because he had to work this week, so I'm anxious to get home spend the rest of my weekend with him.

David and I are headed back to Clinton again next weekend to finish up a few final things that need to be done before the wedding (i.e. marriage license)....and then.....one final weekend...and it's time.

WOOHOO!

Ann Arbor is a Whore.

Ahhhhhh, it's great to be back in Big Ten country, even if I am in the stomping grounds of two schools I completely dislike.

For the past two days, I've been in Michigan collecting testimonials for work. Tomorrow, I'll be in Michigan and Indiana, then headed back home to collect some testimonials in Illinois and Iowa. I really enjoy traveling and talking with customers, but I'm still ready to go home and spend a day relaxing.

Anyway, I'm going to keep this post short; I just wanted to throw up some pictures from today's travels.

Nothing special, but still a little bit of something for everyone to look at - that way at least I won't get yelled at for not posting!

T Minus 27 Days

That's right, folks. David and I are officially 27 days away from our wedding - I'M SO EXCITED! I can't wait to see how it all comes together. This weekend, David and I met with our wedding coordinator and went over a lot of the little details for the rehearsal and the ceremony; going over all of that made it so real. But, it also reminded me of all of the things I still need to get done. While there is still quite a bit that needs to be finished, I think we're doing okay and I'm sure everything will work out just fine.

This weekend, David and I headed back to Illinois for family pictures for my Dad's side of the family. It was nice to see everyone; it was also nice just to be able to spend some time at home and get some extra wedding stuff done. As I said earlier, David and I met with our wedding coordinator on Saturday. I was also able to get my hair cut and run to Lincoln to get mom's wedding gift (I think all that I have left to get is Scott and Ted). I was hoping to run in and talk with our florist, but he was closed.

After running to Lincoln, we headed to Bloomington for dinner with the fam. Sunday afternoon we headed to the dealership for family pictures, then I went home and took some pictures at the farm.

I actually have some more pictures from the farm this weekend, but I'm having trouble getting them to load; I'll try to remember to put them up this week. Additional pics from this weekend can be seen on my Facebook profile.

Tomorrow I'm headed to Michigan for work. I'm excited to meet with veterinarians and producers up there and of course, I'll make sure to post pictures of my travels when I get time this week.

I think that's it for now - can't wait to see you all in 27 DAYS!

This is your brain...

This is your brain TOTALLY STRESSED OUT! Remember the, "This is your brain...This is your brain on drugs," commercials? Well, I actually think my brain looks like it's on drugs right now - I'm totally freaking out.

This week (all two days of it) has been absolutely nuts. The office has been busy with clients visiting and new projects for me. And then, there's that little thing I like to call A WEDDING.

David and I are still trying to get the wedding favors and programs done. But, on top of that, I'm also trying to track down decorations, figure out how I want to set up the reception hall, finalize flowers and figure out what kind of gifts to get the bridal party. It will be a miracle if this thing ever comes together - I swear. The good thing is, David and I are headed home this weekend and we'll have most of Saturday to get some things done. The bad thing? That list just keeps getting longer and longer.

We have to meet with the wedding coordinator at 9 on Saturday. Hopefully, we can get the rest of the wedding ceremony details nailed down and take a look at the reception hall to figure out how we want to set it up. Then, it's off to get the oil changed in my car and pick up my rental car for my business trip next week. I also have an appointment to get my hair cut and colored and I'm hoping to have enough time to run to Lincoln to get some gifts for the wedding party. David and I already took care of the gifts for the ushers and David has taken care of the gifts for his groomsmen and his dad. I have emailed Aunt Cheryl about some gifts for the little girls in the wedding and David's mom. So, that just leaves my parents, bridesmaids and Ted (help me out here, Cheryl) and Scott. After all of that, if there's still time, I'd love to run out and say "hi" to Grandma Shirley. But, David and I will have to run up to Bloomington Saturday night for an anniversary dinner for Grandma Margie and Grandpa Dick.

Sunday should be really...interesting. I think David and I are going to go to church with Grandma and Grandpa, then to lunch at Aunt Steffi's. Finally, it will be time for the big, bad family picture! After that, I think David is going to head back to Lincoln and I'm going to head up to Michigan for my business trip. The good thing is, I'll be headed back through Illinois at the end of the week, so I can spend the following weekend at home finishing up anything else that will need to be done.

Now, here's the kicker: pictures are this weekend (Oct. 18), I get back to Illinois after my business trip the next weekend (Oct. 25). Then, it's back to Nebraska for a week of work and back home that weekend (Nov. 1) to do last minute things like experiment with hair and get last minute decorations, etc. The following weekend is Nov. 8 (David's birthday) and David and I will be staying home in Nebraska. THE NEXT WEEKEND IS THE WEDDING. THAT MEANS, AS OF TOMORROW, THE WEDDING IS ONE MONTH AWAY.

Now you know why my brain probably looks like it's on drugs. You know, maybe drugs would calm me down.....