Just Wanted To Say...

I'm not all about making a big deal of St. Patrick's Day. After all, I am not Catholic or whatever. But my family is very Irish, so I had to break out the green shirt, frog socks & Gaelic Storm CD today. Nothing like having a little something to celebrate at the end of a long winter. If someone offered me a cloverleaf cupcake, I would not refuse it!

Also, I just really wanted to draw your attention to the fact that it is:

3 months

3 weeks

3 days

until I'm a Mrs.! That = 116 days. Yoowza, there's still lots to do!

Poll Question

The other day the newest pharmacist at my job mentioned that he had noticed I always drink a soda in the afternoon, usually in the last hour of my shift. I got to thinking about it & realized that I am kind of very habitual about my beverages. I drink lots of water throughout the day. I drink coffee in the morning. I drink my diet soda in the afternoon & if I am working my second job I usually have a diet soda there, too (oddly enough, usually in the last hour of my shift). I always seem to be thirsty & I have the very bad habit of guzzling rather than sipping. I even drink my soda from a can with a straw to slow myself down, but it doesn't really work.

So...my question for you is this: what do you like to drink? Are you a water drinker or a tea guzzler? A coffee lover or a soda fan? Anybody else out there as weird as me with a drinking schedule? ;-)

I was right!

The Ladies' Retreat that I was able to attend was wonderfully good & refreshing. I got very little rest, but I did get lots of fun fellowship time (including running in to a couple of other Northland girls that I haven't seen in AGES). There was a group of sixteen ladies from our church. They are all such great fun & it was great bonding time, giggling over our ice cream & making late night calls from room to room at the hotel (ok, so that was just me...).

The theme of the retreat was 'Welcome Home' & the speaker focused on how we are supposed to make Christ the foundation of our lives. Her speaking style was very unique & I got a lot out of her teaching but I was totally unable to organize it into points 1, 2, 3. She actually apologized to all Type A listeners b/c she knew her style would drive them crazy. We laughed a lot as she related illustrations & confessed her shortcomings. I really appreciate teachers who can be transparent like that. Her teaching was a blessing & the thought that has stuck most strongly in my mind was a question she asked about how I choose to live: will I continue to entertain myself with the very things that Jesus suffered for on the cross? Will I continue to choose sin when I know that sin is what caused Him to suffer on the cross?

I was able to attend a workshop on 'Making My Quiet Time Quite A Time'. Another blessing b/c this is an area that I struggle with greatly. The teacher suggested falling in love with Psalm 119 b/c it focuses so much on God's Word & how we are to respect & love it.

I also attended a workshop on 'Keeping It Sweet'! It was a marriage workshop & I felt kind of goofy going to it, but I figured maybe it would offer some tricks of prevention for my life post July 11th ;-) The teacher was hilarious, using different kinds of candy to symbolize different attitudes & aspects of marriage. It was refreshing to listen to a lady who has been married for nearly 25 years & seems to be overjoyed about it. So many people have negative attitudes about their marriage or their partner (maybe I see this a lot b/c I worked with unsaved people) that it causes me to think what's the point? We are just going to make ourselves miserable! And then I get the opportunity to be around some happily married folks & it reminds me why we're taking the plunge. I was encouraged even more to pray that I will be an effective help to Michael, that we will be what the Lord wants us to be.

All in all, a fabulous weekend! I was encouraged, convicted, refreshed, & invigorated. The Lord is so good to give us these times to really focus on Him & His Word. I don't know about you, but I definitely need it!

I'm Feeling Spoiled!

I only have about 30 minutes left in my work week, the sun is shining (although it is still a little chilly), & in just a few hours I get to leave town for a Ladies' Retreat! Combined with yesterday's trip to the salon, I'm feeling more than a little spoiled.
I'm looking forward to the time away with the girls, spending time singing & studying God's Word. I think it will be refreshing & I will have to consciously NOT think about the massive To Do List I'll be leaving behind. I will also not have to think about missing Mike...I know, I know - super sappy & totally not like me, but that's how it is these days.
Wedding News Flash - we ordered our invitations last night. I think we got a deal - only $89 for 125 invitations. And we also selected the napkins for the reception. Those were a bit of a rip off. Our colors are Victorian Lilac & Honeydew. There is no such thing as a Honeydew hued napkin. So we are going for all Vicky Lilac. But those crazy things are about $30/100 napkins! So we decided to order 200 printed napkins & 200 plain napkins to mix together. Even with not printing them all the napkins are about the same price as the invites. Total silliness if you ask me.
My latest obstacle - an alternative to the typical guest book. I've seen the ceramic & silver plates you can sign & I've seen the photo mat deal. Neither one really appeals to me. If you have any clever ideas please share them with me! I'd be ever so grateful.

Gotta jet...super wonderful weekend wishes to you all!

Ahhh...relaxation!

In just a couple of hours, this will be me. I have an appointment today to get my hair colored/cut. I cannot explain to you how much I look forward to this little splurge every six weeks. DeAnn is my 'stylist' & we have so much fun, chatting & catching up on each other's news. She does the best job - a nice little massage when she washes my hair, a cozy little salon, never in a rush, & she can straighten my hair like no other.

Did I mention that I'm looking forward to a little pampering? And just maybe we'll have a few minutes to play with hairstyles for the wedding - less than four months to go!

Hurray!

Yeah, I'm a happy dancing girl b/c I just made a phone call to Menard's to ask if they would honor their sale price on our ceiling fan even though it was purchased the day before the sale began. Their answer - a store credit could be issued for the difference. Yay! Cash would be even better, but considering the fact that I have a kitchen faucet on my Wish List that is available at their store, I won't complain. I love it, I love it, I love it!

Kitchen Update

I know these pics are a little sad b/c they are so little, but I uploaded them from my phone so it's the best I could do. You can see in these pics the wooden countertops Mike has built. I love them! They are stained but not sealed yet. Hopefully we can get some warm, non-windy days soon so that he can take them outside & finish them up.

Mike got a kit & converted the dummy drawers in front of the sink into those little flip out things. So nice! One side even has a little ring holder. And he thought of that all on his own. I came home one day & he had just done it. What a guy!

This built in hutch had enamel paint on the counter top part. We hadn't done anything with it yet b/c a surface with enamel paint has to be roughed up or paint will just peel off of it. When Mike started to sand the boards he decided just to sand the paint all the way off. Voila! We have a beautiful old wood counter top for the hutch now. I think it looks great!

We also decided that the ceiling fan needed to be replaced. It was a nice one, but it was brass & cherry wood. All of our hardware is brushed nickel & the wood is definitely not cherry. We found this one at Menard's & installed it Saturday. The following day it went on sale for $21 less. *sigh* I guess you can't win all of the bargain wars, can you?

Anyway, for once we had a productive weekend! I wasn't working or sick so we were able to tackle our To Do List with gusto. Also, on Friday I got to meet with my two bridesmaids & get them fitted for their dresses. So we got a little bit of wedding stuff done, too!