Train is Back on the Tracks

Ever heard the saying that if you want to hear God laugh, tell him your plans? ha I often times feel like God gets those deep belly chuckles because of me. I am such a planner and I can't seem to help myself.

As my last post stated, there was a whole bunch of chaos going on surrounding our wedding/honeymoon plans. I am happy relieved to report that things have straightened themselves out since then. Thank goodness!

For starters - we booked our honeymoon. We managed to snag a deal on a trip to Playa del Carmen, Mexico for double the length of the originally intended trip, plus it's all inclusive which the other trip was not. And did I mention we got it for less than the buy-in of Eric's ticket for the other trip?!? It's not Hawaii, but my cousins have been to this resort and loved it, so I'm sure we will too! Eric has never been out of the country (or been on a plane for that matter!), so this will be quite the adventure for him. We have his passport papers ready to submit tomorrow.

Secondly, we think we have all the details sorted out for the wedding. We had to change our reception venue, which meant new invites, but we just got the shipping notice on those today, so all is well for now. Over the weekend, Mom, Jordan and I went to measure my uncle's barn (it's massive...and dirt floored...yep, we're going VERY rustic) to get placement ideas. I think we've got it all worked out. New food plans are in place. Flowers have been purchased. A few decorations were finished.

All in all, I know we'll be excited to see the big day come...and go. haha ;) Eric asked me the other day what I'm going to spend all my time talking about after the wedding and I told him I'm going right back to Scentsy! ha He was not so impressed. :p

Things Don't Always Go As Planned

Ya wanna know a secret about me? Sure! Okay, well here it is.... I AM A PLANNER. Not surprised? Already knew that? haha Yeah, probably any and every person that's ever read my blog for any substantial period of time knows that. The other thing you probably know is that I don't like for my plans to not be followed. SHOCKER. ha

Lately, I've been having a heavy dose of plans going awry. I do not like it. I do not like it one bit.

Some of the things I've experienced (and this is not to throw a pity party, just a way for me to document the down moments so when it all works out, I will rejoice that much more):

- Our Honeymoon. Last year I earned this amazing Scentsy trip to Punta Cana, Dominican Republic for 2. It was INCREDIBLE. This year, we had our choice of 6 destinations, with our choice being Oahu, Hawaii. I worked and worked (with the help many times of my lovely fiance) to earn the trip, but due to a different set of guidelines this year, I only managed to earn the trip for 1 and not for 2. *sad face* Normally, this would not be a problem, as the company is wonderful and allows you to "buy in" a guest for the price of your trip. The bad news is that this year...we are both getting back less than half in our tax refunds than we have previously. What does this mean? No trip for us. I will cash in my trip points for 1 of the 2 other much less exciting options and we will stare blankly ahead while we try to figure out somewhere fun to go on our honeymoon, but for very (and I do mean VERY little cash) little cost.

- The Wedding. Over the weekend, we got word that some of our plans may have to be changed. It's really neither here nor there about why we have to change them...it just sucks that they will most likely have to be changed. I won't lie. I cried a good portion of yesterday and Eric tried to cheer me up through it all. It's so hard to change your "vision" when that is all you can imagine. I'm sure it will be fine and still be nice...AND...I may even grow to love it more, but for now I am not all that pleased.

Game face on. We will sort it all out. I have a hard time with patience and unfortunately, we have 75 days until the wedding....and our invites are on the way to me as I type this, so time isn't a luxury that we have. And the funds to reprint stuff isn't budgeted either.

Someone say a prayer for me. PLEASE!

My Life via Instagram

If you follow me on Instagram (emenchho1) you know what we've been up to lately.....but if you're a hold out on smart phone technology, here's the latest:

Eric & I have been getting out an walking - there was an especially lovely 58* day last week!

Eric & mom shot clay pigeons this past weekend

For some (very) odd reason, Toby LOVES to "go for rides" in anything belonging to Eric - his laundry hamper, a boot, a cooler, etc...one night he just laid in the hamper while we watched TV 

Finally feeling a little more settled in my 2 offices at work thanks to some Scentsy!

Jordan & Eric playing Lord of the Rings Trivial Pursuit

Jenna & her coworker got a song stuck in their heads at work and couldn't remember where it was from, but I of course saved the day! Mom & I dug out a few old Kidsongs VHS tapes and I still knew all the words!! ha Eric & the girls were appalled.

And there you have it. Just a little random smattering of my life. ;)

Happy Birthday to my little sister, Jenna, today on her 28th birthday!! And to our Uncle Kevin who swears his birthdays stopped at 29...guess he'll have to come up with a new plan in 2 years after Jen surpasses 29. ha

Countdowns & Enough

The countdowns are in full force...my phone looks like a crazy person's calendar. haha

In 24 days, I think the reality of the wedding will hit me full force as we have the first official wedding celebration - the bridal shower! :) My wonderful MOH (who also happens to be my sis) has been working hard on the plans. Everyone has loved the shower invites & recipe cards that were mailed out. I am so very ready for it to be here! Now if I could just find a dress that fits. I have ordered this dress 3 times from the Dressbarn and I truly love it, even though I have to keep going down a size! Who would have thought? However, the size I think it will really take to fit me, they didn't carry in this dress. Ugh. So the newest order is at home right now and I will try it on again tonight. *fingers crossed* If it doesn't fit, I am gonna be majorly hurried to find a dress and I HATE shopping.

.......and of course, that means that we are 86 days away from becoming husband & wife!! :) Woohoo! Definitely ready for that moment. Some of the recent things we've taken care of or are currently working on:
- Met with the cake lady. Plans are in place, need to find 2 items for her to use.
- Eric has started working on his projects for the wedding: table numbers, cake stand, and now possibly a cupcake tower. So glad I have a handy man!
- Wedding invitations are in the final design stage!! We'll be ordering them very soon thanks to the wonderful Jenn! She has been absolutely fantastic through decision making. We have 2 pieces to still design, but I am confident we'll get that wrapped up soon.
- We finally have an officiant! Up until about a week ago, we did not have anyone to marry us. Talk about a problem!?! With Eric having been married before, none of the local clergy would perform the ceremony. Luckily, a family friend who is a judge is going to do the honors. :)
- Hairstyles have for the most part been chosen. I think I find the appropriate style for each of us girls as we celebrate the big day! (and my cousin/hairdresser agrees on mine, so that is the most important part! ha)
- And since our mothers don't read the blog, I can say that I also have gifts for each of the moms from myself. I really love that it is something different. Now we just have to focus on a gift for Eric's dad and for our bridal party. Any good, unique ideas out there? My sister works for a custom design company, so no embroidered or rhinestoned apparel for her! ha
- I started the list for the photographer, not that she really needs a list. She takes unbelievable pictures in all areas of life! Plus, she is getting married in August, so she's definitely in the wedding state of mind. ;) If you didn't catch my tweet the other week, you simply MUST go read L's blog - she's a talented writer as well and really knows how to tell a story. And it's a bridal story!
- We need to start finalizing our music selections for the DJ. We already know the most important song - our first dance. :) The rest will just fall into place...I hope!
- Both moms need to find their wedding day outfits. Eric's mom wants to match my mom in color, so of course there is a stalemate until my momma finds her outfit. I think she has started browsing online and plans to go shopping with my sis next weekend. Praying they find what she's looking for!
- Instead of suits for the little boys, we opted for our "ushers" (aka Eric's nephews and my cousin) to wear black dress pants and white shirts. Talked to the moms of those kiddos the other day and they are on board for that.

And finally - saw these on Pinterest early today, but then saw friends reposting it on Facebook and it continues to strike a chord with me.

Been struggling for the past few weeks...or probably months...with so many things. Do you ever have days when you wonder if you do enough, make enough, pray enough, believe enough, work out enough? If you are pretty enough, thin enough, dedicated enough? Do you show enough love? This little poem/saying was posted on Facebook the other day as part of a long story. It resonated with all those questions I'd been asking of myself...

I wish you enough sun to keep your attitude bright.

I wish you enough rain to appreciate the sun more.

I wish you enough happiness to keep your spirit alive.

I wish you enough pain so that the smallest joys in life appear much bigger.

I wish you enough gain to satisfy your wanting.

I wish you enough loss to appreciate all that you possess.

I wish you enough hellos to get you through the final goodbye.

My friends, I wish you enough...

95 Days!

Yes, my friends...the countdown has been on for awhile now. ha It was so exciting to hit double digits a few days ago when we made it to the 99 day mark. I think Eric believed it would never get here! ;)

We have been keeping VERY busy. As always. I know. ha Same story, different day.

An update on some of our recent wedding accomplishments:
- bought Emma & Jordan's junior bridesmaid dresses (there was a sale at David's Bridal & the dress I wanted for Jordy was being discontinued, so we HAD to go! ha)
- bought all the bridesmaid jewelry & shoes (thanks to Jen for driving all over Indy with us to pick it all out)
- bought my wedding shoes (already had my jewelry)
- bought my bridal shower shoes & jewelry (had ordered my dress online the week before)
- solved our cake topper dilemma & went somewhat traditional, but are using our non-traditional items for the head table
- started looking at wedding bands online & think we know what we want, probably gonna do that this next month
- meeting with our cake lady this upcoming weekend! (hoping that our vision will be clear...haha)
- emailing the ideas/inspiration for the invites, rsvp cards & program to our fab designer, Jenn and anxiously awaiting the first draft
- ordered the bridal shower invites & thank you cards, just waiting on them to arrive so they can be mailed out
- ordered the favors for the reception (and have them safely stored in one of the MANY tubs in mom's living room!)
- washed & stored all the jars for our table decorations (and stored them in the tubs)

It's coming right along. I know it'll be here pretty soon. It's just a short 3 months away! For the most part, we are set on everything. Our last big purchase is the wedding bands. Everything else is scheduled, just need to finalize a few things...like food! Hoping to meet with the caterer soon. Their granddaughter was diagnosed with leukemia at just 1 month old, so haven't really pushed them about "business" stuff when family is so much more important.

We still need to figure out where we are going to spend our wedding night. The local inn that we wanted to stay at is closed according to their Facebook page. So, we've been searching and think we may have found another great (and private) place to go for our first night as man & wife. :) Probably will try to go check it out at some point in the next month and get it booked if we like it.

I never believed I would be one of those girls that had wedding nightmares. I have read plenty of blogs and have numerous friends who have shared some of their "funny" (to me) stories about nightmares they'd had in the months proceeding their weddings. Now that I am to that point, I guess the fears (sometimes unrealistic) come out while I sleep! The other week I dreamt that it was 2 hours before the wedding and our tent company still hadn't set up the ceremony chairs or the tent for the reception. hahaha Yowza. I was luckily able to laugh about it when I woke up, but I remember the intense feeling of dread and anxiety I had during the dream when it was NOT going as planned. Hopefully no more of that nonsense!

In other news - today marked the first day of the girls not attending public school. I said what??!? Haven't had much time to log on and blog about that decision, but suffice it to say that the girls have been struggling majorly in school and as an alum of two great schools, I have to say that it is apparent the school doesn't want or care to offer their students the help they truly need. The sad thing is...the girls are very bright, and we're hoping this is the answer. They are now "attending" the online public school here in IN. It's all done over the web, but they have access to real teachers and get graded just like in school. They have to complete so many hours a day as well. We're really hoping this works because they have been warned that they have this semester to improve their grades or else they are going back to a traditional public school, wherever that may be.

So Much To Update

Good intentions never get me anywhere! ha

Well, once again I feel like I am so far behind. I do my best to keep updated on reading everyone's blogs, but I never seem to find time to post anything on mine!

We've been busy busy busy with wedding plans. We are officially 104 days away from our I Do's! :) This weekend Jenna came home and worked on Bridal Shower stuff. She kept mom busy helping her get some decorations ready for the shower...and for the wedding! So glad they agreed to take that on because it was many hours worth of work! ;)

We have tubs stacked up in the living room full of wedding supplies - our toasting glasses, cake knife/server, my jewelry, the cake topper, beer cups, decorations, etc. One of the tubs is stored in my Scentsy room (aka the utility/laundry room). My dress and Eric's suit are tucked away in closets. Mom's also got the garters hid for safe keeping. haha It's a surprise for Eric! (Hi hunny!!)

In other news, I'm back on the healthy eating and exercising bandwagon. I am having more trouble than before with tracking my daily points! Ugh. I think it's because so much other stuff is going on in life that I find it hard to take the few minutes needed each day to sit down and make plans for food and/or record what I've eaten. I am not going to give up. I want to feel my best on our big day! That's some serious motivation. :)

An Update on our "I Do's"

Well, I do believe it's been a week since I said I would post an update on our upcoming nuptials...and I have surely passed the deadline I had set for myself to do such. haha So here goes nothing!

I do believe I stole this checklist from a couple lovely bloggers!

E+E WEDDING CHECKLIST

Set a Date: 5/4/13

Book venue: Crossroads Restaurant

Book photographer: Jean’s Boots Photography

Book band/DJ: K’Rox DJ Services

Ask bridal party to be in wedding

Book caterer: Crossroads Restaurant

Book bartenders: Mike & Bonnie Raney

Create wedding website

Register: Target, BedBath&Beyond, Carson’s, Wal-Mart

Book florist

Shop for wedding dress

Book rentals: Negangard’s Party Rentals

Take engagement pictures

Select bridesmaid dresses

Make sure bridesmaid dresses have been ordered

Select groom & best man attire

Find veil: not wearing one

Book cake baker: A Piece of Cake

Hire coordinator

Buy cake knife & server

Order Save-The-Dates

Send Save-The-Dates

Book officiant

Pre-marital counseling

Bachelorette Party

Order guest book

Finalize guest list

Calligraphy

Engagement announcement in local newspapers

MOB & MOG dress shopping

Find wedding shoes

Find wedding jewelry

Order garter

Book makeup artist: Jerri Lynn Hedges

Book hair stylist: Odyssey Salon

Menu tasting

Take bridal portraits / hair & makeup trial

1^st dress fitting

2^nd dress fitting

Make ceremony programs

Figure out where we’re getting ready

Order invitations: In Munchkinland Designs

Address invitations

Mail invitations

Book rehearsal dinner venue

Buy rehearsal dinner dress

Buy bridal party gifts

Buy gifts for parents

Bridal shower: 3/3/13

Purchase wedding bands

Create wedding day timeline

Put together picture list for photographer

DIY signs for ceremony & reception

Create wedding favors

Get marriage license

Book honeymoon

Rehearsal dinner invitations

Rehearsal dinner: 5/3/12

Final vendor payments

Music selections to DJ: 2 weeks before wedding

Music selections on iPod for ceremony

Book wedding night hotel room

Order thank you notes: In Munchkinland Designs

Wedding announcement in local newspapers

Walk down the aisle & say I do!

As you can see, we've managed to accomplish quite a bit. Of course, we are officially 117 (and counting) away from the Big Day and there is still much to be done! We have our tent, tables, chairs and linens booked. I have filled out the "beer and wine" permit, we just have to get the 2 required signatures and pay the fee. The lovely Jenn (who also did our Save The Date card and is doing all our stationery) is working on the bridal shower invite and my new recipe cards! Yay!! So excited about all the upcoming activities. 

Next month we'll buy Emma & Jordan's bridesmaid dresses. We had to wait because those 2 are growing like weeds and if we'd gotten them in October when we bought Jen's MOH dress, the girls probably wouldn't fit into them now. Crazy!?! We bought Eric's suit. He originally wanted to do a tux, but since his Best Man already has a suit, we figured we'd just bite the bullet and spend the money on a suit since he doesn't have one. We found the ties - champagne for Eric and a dark purple for Mitch. I really need to get after a few florists that I contacted about quotes. 

We don't need a mega amount of flowers, but I'm considering buying a bulk bunch from Sam's Club (they had the ones I want on their site a few months ago, so I need to recheck) and doing them ourselves since nothing is really all that complicated. I bought my wedding jewelry and am just waiting on it to arrive! Also purchased the garters and they have arrived (one to keep, one to toss). ha Etsy was a great place to find the perfect pieces to compliment the wedding. :)

We will be meeting with the cake lady and the caterer this month to finalize the food plans. Nothing too outrageous or difficult to decide. Oh, except our cake topper! Goodness sakes. I can't begin to tell you how many hundreds, possibly thousands, of cake toppers we've looked at online...and nothing fits us. We have a couple options in mind for right now, but I don't want to ruin what could be fun and unique, so I guess you'll have to wait. ;) hahaha

Other than that...I'm on a mission to lose the weight I've gained since I bought my wedding dress. UGH! Let's just say it isn't pretty right now. Tomorrow morning is weigh in after my first week back on the healthy eating/exercising band wagon!