fitness update.

so ... we haven't done such a great job since we committed to working out ... but then travis goes and impresses me by running 5 miles in under an hour last night while i was practicing with the guys. he ran from his parents' house all the way to the pool hall! for those of you not from muskogee, that probably doesn't mean much, but as i said, it was 5 miles!! just out of the blue!

tonight we worked out together at the house doing the "arnold workout," as travis likes to call it. he's been reading another of arnold's books {this one i believe is his autobiography}. in it he shows different exercises one can do in one's living room. things like push ups, squats, different versions of sit-ups ... all things that you've probably seen before.

it was a little pathetic because i couldn't even do one push-up! {you have to start in the down position and raise up with out moving your back any}. i couldn't do it, even on my knees, which is really sad {and pathetic} for me because i usually do "guy" push-ups when i'm working out. travis did a great job of pushing me. we had to do 5 sets of each of the things that we did and focus on form more than reps. my legs were literally shaking by the time we were finished, but man! it felt good!

we were headed to run when my parents called us and asked if we could go release justin and lindsay from the pool hall. kerry {of kerry & murray -- family friends} had called earlier in the day to say that her mom had just had an aneurysm and was expected to pass at any moment. kerry and my dad grew up together, and for her to all meant that she really needed my parents there. it was very unexpected and my heart goes out to kerry and her family. at times like this i am very grateful for my mom, and also saddened by the thought that my time with her is limited.

we ended up being at the pool hall for a little over an hour, but it was after 10:30 when we got home tonight. we decided to forego running, but i am going to really try to get us to both go tomorrow after work.

we're planning a camping trip at the lake for this weekend, just the two of us. i'm really excited as i've never been camping before. we both have the day off on friday so i'm not sure if we'll head out there during the day or wait until later in the evening. i'll let you know how it goes.

sounds like life is growing.

sounds like life had a jam session this week ... the first in about a month or so. while it's not great that it's been a month, the past few months dylan and i have done a much better job about getting together and playing.

this week was especially fun and exciting for several different reasons. we added two new members to our band! terry & kaymen. dylan and i had played with terry in college, while he was still in high school. he played drums for the worship team for about a year and then had to quit to focus on school and college. dylan and i have spent much time wishing that terry could join up with us again ... and as it turns out, he has moved back to tulsa now that he has graduated college, and he's ready to rock. kaymen is a friend of dylan's {and a new friend of mine}. he has actually played a gig with us when our former drummer james was unable to play with us. he's joining us on the bass. the two guys are both incredibly talented individuals and are able to follow so well! the first week was a little touch and go as we had to teach each other new songs, but it was still a lot of fun. the other fun piece was dylan's new song. he's been a little uninspired for a while and hasn't written much new music. i really like this new song and think it's one of his best so far.

the four of us have committed to practicing at least once every other week. our ep is close to being finished, and once the four of us {and possibly an electric guitarist} mesh with one another, we'll begin looking for gigs again and really getting out there to start playing. the sound of our music is changing a little bit, and that's exciting, too. it will be interesting to see how it all turns out. if you're interested in hearing any of our music right now, you can visit us at http://sll.dylanallen.net/.

disappointment.

this weekend was my dear kendra's wedding. i was so excited for her. it has been a while since i've been emotional at a wedding, but i was definitely fighting back the tears at this one. kendra has always been like my kid-sister. i felt a little protective of her growing up, and she has always been one of the babies in my life (in a good way!). the slide show that played at the wedding reception made me feel old. there were pictures that seemed they had just been taken yesterday. i remember when they were taken (and i was three, four, and five at the time of some of them). there were also pictures of my granny and pictures of the noonkester kids all grown up. i felt grown. it was a strange feeling.

the wedding was also a little bittersweet. watching kendra stand there and commit her life to this man with whom she is so in love, made a large lump well inside my throat. i want so much to marry the man with whom i am so much in love.

cakes.

another visit.

on monday evening, my aunt brenda, aunt shelly, and aunt sharon brought my mom home (since travis and i had dropped her off). i didn't realize they were going to be headed our direction to spend a little time in muskogee.

they got to spend some time with lindsay at the pool hall and then she went shopping with them. i was at the pool hall for a bit after work, but then headed to the house to take care of connor and tidy up before the aunts arrived.

they came over after the pool hall closed and we stayed up for a bit visiting, but again, everyone was so tired. sierra had not gone to the wedding, though, and she normally does the girls' weekend with the aunts each year. she headed out for texas today, so they took advantage of last night to catch up with her and get their hugs in.

today was a lot of fun, however. when i learned they were coming, i decided not to drive in to tulsa as early as usual, so travis and i drove separately. after sierra wished everyone goodbye, she headed to the church for texas. we were sad that she didn't get to join us, but it was still a fun afternoon. we spent the morning being lazy and gradually getting around. then we headed for lunch at the harmony house {a tea house & bakery in muskogee}. i've never gotten to go, and it was just so fun. plus while we were there, we learned that the lady who owns it does birthday cakes and wedding cakes ... so no more horrible experiences with wal-mart! haha.

after lunch while the other two went in to gather up a few of their belongings, my aunt brenda sat in the car and talked about ideas for the wedding and showers, etc. i was sad to see them go, but was so glad that we'd gotten to spend some time together. i'll have to get copies of the pictures we took from my aunt sharon.

quick trip to the 405.

when we got home from kendra's wedding and the visit to aunt brenda's, travis and i ended up at the pool hall (imagine that) and then at our friend melissa's for card games. we had fun, but i couldn't keep my eyes open. i ended up zonked out on the couch. her three kids were gone, and travis and i ended up staying the night (after leaving tulsa to stay the night with the puppy!)

we woke up at about 10 on sunday morning (we must have been tired!). the night before, we had talked about going to dallas for the day just to get away from the monotany, but decided that we had woken up too late for a day trip to texas. we went to the house, fed the pups, loaded up connor's puppy bag and headed to okc instead. we had not seen travis's aunt sue and uncle jim in some time (i think since the funeral), so we headed their way. we took connor with us since he had been by himself most of the day saturday and all night long.

the visit with sue and jim was pretty relaxing. travis spent a lot of time getting advice from his aunt, and i was able to spend some time designing. he was so impressed to hear more about what his aunt does at her job and wished that he had discovered sooner that they have this common thread.

we stayed at the house longer than we had intended and at about 8:30 we packed up and headed back toward muskogee. since we hadn't gotten to spend much time with my aunt sharon (and since her visits are so limited) i asked travis if we could head out to aunt brenda's again. neither of us was really ready to go home anyway. when we got to tulsa, we headed out to skiatook. it was almost 10:00 and everyone ended up being much more tired than we expected. we didn't really do much visiting, but we introduced aunt shelly, aunt sharon, and aunt brenda to connor, and then we all curled up in our respective places to watch "he's just not that into you." i hate the movie the first time i watched it, but found myself laughing at it more this time. after the movie, we knew we were too tired to drive home, so we crashed on the pull-out bed of the sofa ... only to wake bright and early the next morning so we could get to muskogee by 7 to get ready to leave for tulsa for work by 8. it actually wasn't bad (for me anyway since i slept all the way home!)

it was an interesting weekend ... but definitely out of the ordinary!

aunt sharon's visit.

every year my aunt sharon comes in for her vacation. she is technically not my aunt, but i wasn't even reminded of that until i began writing this post. my aunt sharon was my granny's best friend. she and my grandmother were friends from the time my mom was a little girl {and probably even before that}. she has continued the tradition of vacationing in oklahoma, even though my gran has passed away, and she truly is part of the family.

saturday night after the wedding, travis, my mom, and i headed to my aunt brenda's to spend some time catching up with her as well as my aunt shellie. we didn't stay long since we still had to drive back to muskogee, but i enjoyed our little visit. we talked about the wedding some, as well as travis's job + interests.

my mom stayed the night, but travis and i headed home to be with the pup. i hate it when he has to sleep alone in the dining room.

my cousin kendra's wedding.

this past saturday my cousin kendra got married! kendra and her siblings were always the cousins that justin and i were closest to growing up. i've not been emotional at a wedding in some time ... but watching the slideshow at her wedding {and remembering when most of those pictures were taken ... and many of them would have been when i was about five} suddenly made me feel old. i am always saying that we're not old, that we won't be old for 40 more years, etc, etc, but i felt a little old and incredibly reminiscent of younger days. when she walked through the door on my uncle randy's arm, i thought that i was going to burst into tears. while she's not the baby of the cousins, i always felt like she was one of the youngest, and was someone i looked out for. {she's actually a year older than my brother}. kendra is one of the few in my family who has always called me, and to this day still calls me, nannon. i don't know what i would do if she called me rhiannon. i was so very excited for her to wed this past weekend, and wish her only happiness. i don't have many pictures because i unfortunately forgot my camera! {how did i manage that?} these are a few taken by her sister, mandi. the blushing bride waiting for the ceremony to start.

walking down the aisle with her daddy.

walking down the aisle as mrs. olsen.

mandi and her husband chris {i love this picture of them}.

mandi and chris's boys {chase & chance} + levi and kendra's daughter {kambry}
they thought it was just too funny to see pawpaw {my uncle randy}
dancing with kendra. kambry kept kicking her feet and pounding her fists on the floor laughing. it was the funniest thing!

the weekend was so fun {and it definitely made me ready for mine ...

i don't know if i can wait a year!

all american billiards photography.

on friday night david mcdonald met travis and me at my parents' pool hall to take some pictures of the place. he ended up shooting for about 4 hours! we haven't gotten the pictures back, and i can't wait to see them. we needed them for advertising and website purposes, as well as for another magazine in which my family is hoping to be featured {billiards digest}. once we get them, i'll post them. :)

drinks with kate.

last tuesday kate and i met at what we like to refer to as "our place" {fat daddy's at 81st and memorial} for drinks and appetizers {kate's favorite food!}. we were both so excited to see one another, it was a little ridiculous actually. kate and i do a better job of seeing one another than i do with beeka, but when we get together, we still talk and talk for hours. when kate reminded nick that she was meeting up with me, he said, "i'll see you on thursday!"
we always spend time talking about love, life, growing up, business, our families ... the list never ends. her sister will be here in august (lindsay, her twin) and i absolutely can not wait to meet her. if she is anything like kate, i know i will love her!

20 july 2009: lunch with beeka.

on monday beeka and i met for lunch at camille's. it had been about a year since we had seen one another and we were slapping our wrists for allowing such a large amount of time to pass between our visits. beeka is one of my friends from the university of tulsa. she and i were both very involved in xa and served on the leadership team together. our lunch ended up lasting about 3 hours! i was updating her on our wedding and she was telling me stories of her sister's soon-to-be new baby boy, her trip to see her in tennessee, her love life, and dreams and goals she has for the future. we always have so much fun and usually have lots to catch up on. we've promised to not allow so much time to pass before we get together again.
below is a flashback to 2005 {was that really 4 years ago already??} : beeka & i karaoke-ing our little hearts out! gotta love it!

the weekend of the 17th.

i have been hoping for pictures, but they've not come my way yet; i've decided to post without them.

the weekend of the 17th, my parents, sierra, travis and i loaded up our vehicles and headed to arkansas for an afternoon poolside with nancy and wes gibson. with the 14:1 tournament the weekend before (a tournament that lasted 15 hours!) and a busy, busy summer, we were all ready for a break.

we got to nancy and wes's around 12:30 or 1:00 and quickly made our way to the pool. connor had never been in the pool before, but he jumped right in and swam to travis ... then he quickly found his way out. he sat close to the water and watched us all day, but was never too thrilled to join us when someone would put him back in the water.

the weather was perfect! it wasn't blistering hot, but it wasn't too cold to deter us from the pool either. we snacked on chips and homemade salsas and dips. we had a couple of bloddy marys and then travis and wes headed inside to fix a pitcher of pina coladas. after about a half hour, they finally re-emerged.

after swimming for a bit, the men headed off to the local pool hall while my mom and nancy finished preparing the food ... and there was so much!! homemade pesto, homemade bruchetta, pork loin, chicken breasts, multiple chips and homemade dips, several desserts ... we ate all day long! once the sun went down, we sat around with the tiki torches lit, eating watermelon and visiting. travis and i headed back while my family stayed the night so we could take care of our family's lab ivory that evening.

it was such a fun time, though, and we can't wait until we all go again. nancy and wes continue to say how much they loved having everyone over, and we've promised to do it again before the summer is over.

designs by rhiannon on etsy.com.

i finally did it. i finally opened my etsy shop. there are only a few items as it takes quite a bit of time to add items to an etsy account, but it's exciting to know that my product is out there. to check it out for yourself visit designsbyrhiannon.etsy.com.

this is my avatar (my thumbnail image on the etsy website).

again, the shop is not perfect as i am just now accquainting myself with it, and some of the images need to be resized, but for now, i am happy to have my work out there. please be sure to refer your friends and check back often as i will be uploading product here regularly.

if you have an etsy shop and would like to add any valuable suggestions for making my shop more successful, please, please, please feel free to do so.

i started a blog before under cordially invited, but i will be deleting the old and creating a new one for designs by rhiannon. thank you all for your encouragement! wish me luck and much success!! :)

***here's a sneak peak of what you will find on the site***

happy birthday, jen!

{i intended to publish this before midnight hit, but i didn't manage to do so ... it doesn't mean i wasn't thinking of you all day, jen!}

today was ms. jen collier's birthday! in honor of her i've decided to mix up my birthday post just a bit. i've done the "top 10" before and thought i would instead describe jen using her name. (even though i rarely call her jenny, for the sake of this post, i'm going to do so).

j . ournalistic photographer

e . ntrepreneur

n . ew (and incredible) mommy

n . aturally beautiful

st y. le (sorry "y" was very hard!) -- she definitely has a sense of fashion & i wanted to incorporate that. :)

c . reative

o . riginal

l . oyal

l . istener

i . nteresting

e . ntertainer

r . eminiscent

i hope your birthday was exactly the birthday you deserve! happy birthday, love!

xoxo

thursday: we're doing really bad.

we didn't run again today. travis is having a hard time feeling motivated because he's been a little down lately. we talked about it tonight though and determined that even on days when we don't run, we will do our exercises (push ups, sit ups, curls, etc) at the house. we also want to get better about stretching each day. tomorrow is friday night, but i really want us to make an effort to run!

wednesday: 0 for 2.

since tuesday was our rest day, we should have hit it hard on wednesday ... but travis had a not-so-great day at work and was feeling a little down about the way things are going right now ... so instead of working out and releasing endorphins (which make you happy) we sat at the house bored, wondering what to do. we did watch the first movie of the godfather (an all time favorite of travis's) and then we sat around just talking with one another. i will give travis brownie points, because while we were talking and playing ball with the pup, he was doing push ups, sit ups, leg lifts, etc. did i join in on the fun? oh no, who would have thrown connor's ball?

sheesh. i (we) have got to get better at this!

tuesday: wohn wohn woohhnn.

did we run? oh no we didn't. did we work out? oh no we didn't. i was dressed and ready to go so that when travis got home from the pool hall we could head to the track. when he found out we were going to harry potter at 12:01am, however, travis decided that he couldn't work out and go to a late night meeting, and then be okay for work the next day. we decided that tuesday would be our rest day.

harry potter and the half-blood prince.

on tuesday night (really wednesday morning) sierra, her friend jordan, and i set off for the 12:01 am premier of harry potter and the half-blood prince. travis was supposed to go with us, but changed his mind at the last minute as he was tired and had to work the next morning. wednesday afternoon, however, he was regreting his decision to not go. the movie was great. i am a huge fan of the books and have read each of them multiple times. the last two or three books i have probably read the least amount of times, and it has been a while since i last read them. there were things i had forgotten from the books in that time, so the movie was still a bit of a surprise to me. i didn't always know what was going to happen next. as far as books-to-movies experiences go, i think the harry potter series does a good job of staying as close to the books as possible. if everything was included there would have to be 2-3 movies per book! if you haven't seen it yet, you definitely should!

back in shape.

when travis and i met, we both did a pretty good job of keeping ourselves in shape. he was built like a superhero, and i was running, taking ballet, and working out for another hour each day. those days seem to be long gone as we've both gotten out of the habit of exercising regularly. we've been talking about it for a while, and got on an "eating better" kick after reading arnold schwartzeneggar's encylopedia of body building and watching a documentary on his life ... but we didn't get much further than that. last night travis asked me to bring him his shirt for league, as well as running shorts and shoes. when leagues wrapped up last night, we waited for it to get dark, then we headed to the fort gibson high school track. we were surprised to see how many people were out there running. we stretched out and headed onto the track. since we hadn't really done much in a while, we decided to take it easy. i had to get control of my breathing and we didn't want to do more harm than good. (i understand that you, reader, may not find this next part interesting, but i'm writing to hold us accountable and to track our progress). we ran a lap and then we walked, then we ran another lap, and again we walked (4 laps total). while we walked one of our laps, i did different curls (without weights). at the end of the fourth lap, we stopped to stretch out. we ran one more lap and walked a lap, and then we were finished. we made it to the top of the hill where our car was parked (i think travis thought he was going to have to carry me). we did one more quick stretch out, and then we headed home. it was hot outside, but not so stifling that it was unbearable. we are supposed to go again tonight and then wednesday will be our rest day this week. it feels good to be working out, and i really do hope that we stick with it.

weekend update.

on friday night we spent some time at the pool hall (it wouldn't be friday night if we didn't, now would it?). then we headed to a late dinner at red lobster with our friends melissa & danny. we had just gotten to dinner and ordered our food when travis received a phone call from my mom. my sister had been injured at a birthday party when a porch swing with three girls in it had fallen on her leg. we were told her leg was mis-shapen and were asked if i could run to the party and check on her as the game room was busy. i let everyone wait for the food and went to check on sierra myself. i was expecting the worse because we had been told, "if there is anyway travis can go, it's probably best; rhiannon will freak out when she sees it." i didn't get that message until i was already en route, and i'm not going to lie, i was a smidge offended by it. i always handle things well in stressful, chaotic situations. my brother has had major appendages hanging before and i've been the one to see him first. oh ye people of little faith.

when i arrived at the house, the birthday girl's mother was waiting on the porch. "brace yourself," she told me. i walked in to find sierra surrounded by party-goers. she stood up when i came in (that was a good sign), told me she was fine, and turned around to show me her leg. the area below your calf normally slims down for your leg to meet you ankle; sierra's was swollen with a long tube-y lump circling from the back of her calf to the front of her shin. it didn't look anywhere near as bad as i had anticipated. i was told that the swelling had already gone down considerably and was looking much better. i took sierra to my parents and then home to put her leg on ice. i met back up with the dinner party, but their food had already come and gone and they were finishing dessert. we headed to melissa's house and spent the night visiting and playing wii.

saturday our entire day was spent at the pool hall for the 14:1 tournament. travis competed and we were both helping with the electronic bracket. unfortunately my baby did not win the tournament, but he has high expectations for the upcoming 9-ball tournament. it's a qualifier for nationals, and he has a good feeling about the competition.

sunday was a lazy day. we spent time just driving around all of muskogee. as we passed different homes and landmarks, travis would tell me stories about his childhood. i love listening to his stories. we drove out by the lake and dreamt of owning a sailboat and spending all summer on the water.

we headed to his parents' house to tell everyone that the wedding has been postponed. dee quickly began calling all of the family. while most of my family members live in tulsa (except for my aunt sharon in phoenix), many of travis's family members are making arrangements to come into town. we needed to let everyone know quickly before flights and hotels were booked.

travis's friends from high school ambre and chris stopped by while we were there and we got to meet their three little girls, serenity, cadence, and zaylynn. (they are mine and travis's age and have three kids already. i can not even imagine!) they are both in the military and have been stationed on the east coast, but they are now stationed in oklahoma for about a month or so while they await their next assignment. it was fun meeting people who have known travis since he was in 8th grade.

the rest of the evening was spent at the house looking up other opportunities, discussing a move out of state, and being lazy together. i think it was my favorite part of the weekend.

obsession: google reader.

my good friend jen collier introduced me to the world of google reader. i immediately fell in love with this handy tool (isn't google terrific?). admittedly, i've gone a little too crazy with it. for those of you who don't know, google reader is a tool that allows you to follow all of your public blogs in one place. when you access reader, it shows you exactly which blogs have new postings, and how many postings have been added since you last checked. this is much easier than checking each of the blogs you follow multiple times a day to catch the latest news and designs. i also love that i can "star" my favorite posts and it saves them for me in one place for safekeeping. this has been especially handy as i've comes across different pieces of inspiration for the wedding. in an effort to get you addicted as well, i've decided to post the blogs i follow. (granted, many of them are wedding blogs, but there are also food, photography, and entertaining/hosting blogs). here's to being inspired!

(each of the blogs below include a hyperlink ... it just doesn't look like it on the blog. simply click on the name of the blog in which you are interested, and you should be taken right there.)

wedding blogs:
from i will to i do
grey likes weddings
little white book
100 layer cake
idiy
my diy wedding
intimate weddings
2000 dollar budget wedding
a very chocolate wedding
bridetide.com blog
inspriations & creations
michele rago
perfect bound
snippet & ink
something old something new
style me pretty: the ultimate wedding blog
the brides cafe
the brides guide: ideas from the editors of martha stewart
the preppy wedding
vintage glam weddings
wedding chicks
weddingbee
{ritzy bee blog}

entertaining, food, etc:
hostess with the mostest
hip hostess
paper & cake
ilovelolliblog
swanky tables
the tomkat studio
the cooking photographer
the party dress
cupcakes and cosmos
head of the table
most likely late
my baking addiction
giverslog.com

photography:
jenny collier photography
color me katie

nesting & home design:
grey likes nesting
creature comforts
lucky me!
design*sponge
glamour this!
the vintage moth

my friends' public blogs:
tales of the trees
conversations

article i wrote, published in rack 'em magazine!

i am super excited! an article i wrote for my parents' business all american billiards was published exactly as i wrote it in rack 'em magazine. it's not really a magazine that i would read on a normal basis, but it's one of the largest pool magazines distributed in the midwest. they didn't post the pictures that i wanted (and i was not the one to design the ad that's also on the page), but it's still a great expose. below is the online version of the magazine. flip to page 7 to see the article.

http://issuu.com/rackemmagazine/docs/rackem7-09

we do.

russell + hazel obsession.

i came across this wedding organizer offered by russell + hazel yesterday while i was using one of my other new obsessions, google reader (thank you, jen). one of my favorite blogs is anne chertoff's from "i will" to "i do". anne suggested the organizer (i later discovered that she helped design and create it), so i thought i would check it out. it's funny that i would stumble across it yesterday because andrea had just asked me for a good wedding planner suggestion.

i told her that i had purchased one produced by target.

it had more features than several others at which i had looked, and the layout was more straightforward. at the time, i had just liked it better. now after using it for eight months there are several things i would change about it.

i especially like this jewel from russell + hazel, and while i recommended it to my good friend andy, i believe that i am going to purchase it as well. i also decided that it would be a good pick-me-up for having to go through another 15+ months of wedding planning. it comes in fifteen different binding options and the corners are re-enforced, which i can appreciate (as much as you cart it around, it's certainly an added bonus).

i particularly want the black patent leather (no picture available), but i am also considering one of these:

i like that the binder comes with a notebook so that one can jot down ideas. mine doesn't really offer that. also, if i'm not mistaken, the tabs are at the top of the binder, much like a file cabinet. in the binder i am currently using, the tabs run along the right side, and most of the pages are wider than the tab pages; my tabs get lost in the jumble and i'm not able to quickly flip to any particular section. other fun features? the inside of the binder is a whiteboard so that ideas can quickly be jotted down and erased easily. there is a sketch pad that allows room at the top of the page for sketches and notes at the bottom. i could go on an on, but i'm sure you're bored by this point. here are a few more pics to feed my obsession.

postpone? {heavy sigh}

i contacted skelly lodge earlier this week to find out if we could postpone our wedding without incurring additional fees. half of me was hoping she would say yes; half of me was hoping she would say no. we can postpone it for up to one year without any penalty. i couldn't even tell travis for a full day. he didn't know that i was checking, but i knew what his thoughts would be since we are unable to contribute to it at this time.
i finally told him last night, and as i suspected, he thought it would be for the best. he wanted to know what my parents had to say about it first though. we called my mom into the room and told her, and she didn't say much. she just started asking questions about what the lady at the lodge had said. my dad had already gone to bed so we weren't able to talk to him about it. i had to run him on a couple of errands this morning because my mom had his truck, and so i told him then. he didn't say a single word. not one word. i explained that travis and i were unable to contribute to the wedding at this time, and still he said nothing.

today was 101 days until our wedding ... we had almost made it to 100 days. now if we postpone it, it will be 465 days away. we were planning showers and parties, i had just finished designing a super cute newsletter-thing to introduce all of the bridal party to one another and provide them with one another's contact information, the ball was really starting to roll.

i'm trying to look at this positively and think that now i have time to make things that i wanted to make for the wedding. now i have time to save more money and maybe even do more things than we had originally planned, things i was going to get rid of in effort to cut corners. at the end of the day, though, i'm disappointed that travis won't be my husband in just a few short months, and i won't be his wife. nothing else really changes.

i'm not looking forward to announcing it to everyone. i know my friends will be supportive, but i still am not looking forward to the conversation(s).

the week has taken a weird, disheartening turn, that's for sure.

andy's getting married! mauiandy!

andrea emailed me earlier this week to let me know that she's getting married in maui next june! 06.10.2010! i couldn't be more excited for her. she has been waiting and waiting for this. right now she and ryan are not officially engaged, but he told her to go ahead and book their location so they wouldn't lose their reservation! i wish i could be there to hug her! i can just imagine how excited she must be. she has already set the ball in motion, working with her wedding planner and figuring out exactly what she wants to do. i can't wait! sounds like 2010 is going to be a great year!

06 jul: tabby & the boys

on monday tabitha and the boys came down for a visit. we hadn't even seen them since cayden was born. the boys get a little shy when they haven't seen us in a while, but tyler and ryan both said my name when i got to the house. travis had pool league, so he wasn't able to come over until later in the evening. cayden is adorable. he is solid, too! he doesn't look very big at all, but i now understand the phrase "solid as a rock."

i forgot to mention that travis has been learning to play golf. he and zach have gone to the driving range a couple of times and then on tuesday they went and played 9 holes together. travis and i went to the driving range on the fourth, and then he and i also went to play tennis on sunday. golf and tennis are two things i've always wanted to learn, so i really hope that he sticks with it and that i'm able to learn as well.

tabitha picked up a set of clubs for travis and had brought them down with her. he couldn't wait to see them. like i said, he and zach went and played golf with them the very next day.

tabitha and the boys are headed on vacation later this week so they were unable to stay very long. while she was down we looked at dresses online that she is considering for the wedding and talked a little bit about everyone's plans for that weekend. it makes me so excited to feel like everything is slowly but surely coming together.

04 jul: independence day

on thursday night justin and lindsay went to georgia to pick up teddy. that night joe church housesat for them, but then travis and i housesat for them the rest of the weekend. on friday midmorning we went to check on them and then ran around together the rest of the day. travis had friday off for the holiday and it was nice to have him around. we stayed the night at the leaches' and sarah and amanda came over to watch a movie with us. we only watched one and then we went to bed ... this is very unusual for a friday night movie fest. the next morning, we took care of the pups and then ran a few errands. my parents had already left for carrie and murray's house (long-time friends of my parents). travis didn't want to meet a lot of new people, so we decided not to go. with everyone out of town it was unusually quiet. it kind of reminded us of vacation. we watched wimbledon and ran a few more errands, then we met amanda at the lears' house for dinner. steve was working and zach was working, so travis, dee, amanda, and i were the only ones there. we didn't let off any fireworks and the neighborhoods seemed unusually quiet. after dinner we watched a movie with amanda at her apartment since she doesn't like to be there alone when zach's working. we were pretty tired that night, too, though, so we went back to the leaches', dried off the pups because they were muddy messes from the rain, and we fell asleep before midnight. it didn't feel like the fourth of july, but we had a good day together just the same.

01 jul: coffee with greg.

on thursday morning i met with greg bright and early to see how his recent trips have been and to tell him about Élever. he was excited to hear what we are doing and said that we could meet to discuss business next week. fingers-crossed that he and his partners actually go for what we propose.

30 jun: mcnellie's burger special

on tuesday night i met up with kate and roxie at mcnellie's for their burger special (mmm, i love their sweet potato fries) and girl time. earlier in the day i had asked kate if she would be our guest book attendant at the wedding, and she said she was honored. i miss seeing her every day. the girls filled me in on the changes at addison. i am thankful every day to not be working there anymore. our evening didn't last as late as it normally does when we're together, but it was great to see them, and we promised to do it again soon.

25 jun: girls' day in tulsa with amelia

on thursday i set up some girl time for myself. i was supposed to have coffee with shannon and then amelia called to find out if i could hang out. i told her that i could probably do dinner. she found out i was having coffee with shannon and suggested we combine the two over dinner. i thought it was a grand idea, so when shannon got off work, the three of us met at cheddars. i hadn't had cheddars in so long! it was delicious. we spent time catching up on each other's lives and then talking a little about the wedding.

shannon and i had talked earlier in the week for well over an hour just trying to catch up with one another and listening to one another's heartbreaks and frustrations.

shannon wasn't able to stay long after dinner because she had to bake for a shower at work the next day. kate was supposed to meet amelia and me after dinner, but her meeting went long and we ended up taking a rain check. i was supposed to pick up my wedding gown the friday before, so amelia and i swung into david's bridal to pick it up. it worked out well because she'll need to know how to bustle it the day of the wedding and the seamstress was able to give her a lesson.

it took longer than we expected at david's. we headed over to dillard's to work on our wedding registry, but the system wasn't able to pull up what i had already created online. by the time a new account was created we only had about 15 minutes. the sales associate was such a sweet lady, though. she told us we could stay until about 20 minutes after closing. we hurried through trying to get a good start on the registry. when we finished there we made our way to target. we were so busy talking, though, we found that i would scan any random thing that caught my eye! we started cracking up. we just hadn't had anytime to talk with one another in quite some time. after the store closed, we made our way outside ... and ended up talking in the target parking lot for an hour after closing! our feet were hurting so bad ... and then we looked up and saw a bench not even 10 feet away that we could have been sitting on the entire time. what crazy girls are we.

13 jun: kendra's wedding shower

the saturday following the weekend we got home from vacation, my cousin kendra's wedding shower was in owasso. it was nice to get out of town again. coming back from vacation was nice, but it was also a little frustrating, too. claudine and i were supposed to meet and all week long she never wanted to meet; one of the proposals we had presented couldn't come to agreeable terms for both parties; vacation was over and i was doing things like laundry and dishes again.

i don't have any pictures from the event, but sierra and i went up, and it was fun getting to see kendra. i can't believe that her shower marked 6 weeks until her wedding! she is my younger cousin; a year older than justin and two years younger than i.

she's marrying a wonderful man dean (but i've not yet gotten to meet him). i hear that he is quite a catch, and that he is really good to her, and i couldn't ask for any more than that.

06 jun: goodbye tennessee. goodbye vacation.

on saturday morning, travis and i woke up earlier than i would have liked and began the journey back to oklahoma. i couldn't have asked for a better birthday present or a better time with my fiance. i'm looking forward to taking trips and discovering new things together for many years to come.

that morning we finally saw why the "smokey" mountains have their name. we had been warned before driving there that we had to be careful of the fog; it sometimes gets so bad you can't see anything at all. we didn't experience the fog the entire time we were there ... until our morning departure.

when we got back to muskogee travis wanted to go straight to the pool hall. he absolutely couldn't wait. i knew we were home ...

05 jun: museum of appalachia

most of the week while we were at her house lou had to go to bed much earlier than the rest of us because she had to get to work so early. travis, cyle, and i entertained ourselves with movies, books, chinese food, and visiting. on friday, however, lou took the day off so she could spend some time with us. she wanted to take us to the appalachian museum.

the museum is a collection of many settlers' old cabins and their former possessions, furniture, and tools. (mark twain's cabin from when he was a child even rests here!) the cabins have been purchased and moved to the museum to be preserved. there is also a huge building filled with old tools, guns, and artifacts. it's incredibly interesting.

john rice irwin, the creator of the museum says, "Scratching through the discards of Granny’s kitchen, I uncovered one small item which simply brought tears to my eyes. It was a tin spice grater. From my earliest recollections, it had hung on Granny’s kitchen cabinet. In this grater Granny kept her aromatic smelling nutmeg, which she used for making pies. . . . A thousand times I had watched her lift the little lid and grab a nutmeg seed and rub it over the perforated grater to shave off enough of the surface for her pie. Here it was, the conveyer of so many pleasant memories for me, and now it was a mere rusty trinket that wouldn’t bring $2.00 at a flea market. It was only natural that I should want to preserve some of these antiques, whose history and background I knew. . . . I began to think about how important it was to preserve these items, and the memorabilia of all the people who represented a passing culture."

(mark twain's cabin)

the entire museum is a preservation of the history of the appalachian's earliest settlers. it is a living museum, and was filled with so many wonderful artifacts and stories. unfortunately, it was one of the coolest days that we spent on vacation and i didn't have a jacket. i also wasn't feeling well, which is evident in the pictures from the day. i never would have dreamed how much fun we would have tucked away in the smokey mountains. it's not a vacation i would normally plan, but i enjoyed it thoroughly.

after our night at the museum, we headed back to lou's where she cooked roast and stayed up visiting with us. she asked about the wedding and kept telling us that we're so quiet. i tried to convince her that we are off-the-wall crazy and act goofy more than anything, but i don't think i was able to convince her. i was sad because i knew our vacation was quickly drawing to a close. i was enjoying being away from anything dramatic and it even felt nice to not have to be responsible. we stayed up late again to watch movies with cyle and spend as much time with him before we headed back to the south/midwest.