just call me karen

karen carpenter, that is.

i seriously have been singing this in my head morning, noon and night since i arrived in columbus on saturday night:


that's right -- i've been in columbus since saturday eve!

i literally walked in the door at 6:30 where my parents were waiting at the dinner table for me. by 7:00 we walked back OUT the door to where else...st. bonaventure. they were so excited to show me the paint & redecorating progress. :) the church is definitely more vibrant than it has ever been. it shall make for some snazzy pics! most likely the MAJORITY of our pics, actually, because mother nature seems to insist upon thunderstorms & 20-30 mph winds. throw me a bone, friday the 13th!!!!!!

on friday, my lovely matron showered me with seven roses and baby's breath that would make the dutchess SWOON - one for each day of singledom until 'i do'!

joel proceeded to tell me that ang is making him look bad. i matter-of-factly responded, "welllll....people ARE asking if they're from my matron of honor before assuming you sent them...." to which he responded with some form of a swear word. ;)

so my 7 roses and i packed up & road-tripped to columbus on saturday afternoon. and let me tell you, we have been BU-SY. most of our friends & relatives will begin arriving on wednesday, and i want as MUCH done as possible prior to the beginning of the madness. so, the wedding party gifts have been wrapped, the nieces' feathery gorge headbands have been packaged, the immediate family seating cards have been labeled, the final headcounts have been sent for the rehearsal dinner and reception, the frames have been assembled (in lieu of a slideshow -- blame the stupid lanterns on the lack of time to compile any sort of video), 310 grandma rosie metal heart-shaped cookie cutter sugar cookies have been bagged, the videographer contract & details have been ironed out, a couple nice cool morning runs around columbus have been completed & nearly a bottle of wine has been consumed.

exhale.

and that doesn't even include the NINE hours spent with mary, my dress gal.

that's right - i hadn't had my final fitting.

thanks to woefully shunning sweets during lent & a new eating plan inspired by lara (a lovely lady i met while visiting my fabulous friend jess in LA), my dress needed a little extra tlc. mary arrived at nine on the dot and didn't leave until after six. i'm quite certain my "cost per wear" on the dress is now in the teens after changing in & out of it all day long... ;)

i will tell you one thing -- that dress will not have so much as a STITCH out of place. those farm gals...i tell you what...they're apparently pickier than a blushing bride to be!

the top of my 'top of the world' birthday began with a doorbell ding at 8:24 a.m.

"happy birthday, sarah rose"

from my darling. :)

i received so many texts (including two different ones shortly after midnight from my brothers tim & al), phone calls & facebook love today! joel texted at 1:00a.m. hoping to be the first to wish me a happy day. he literally must have set his alarm to wake up in the middle of the night to do so -- that's my 'one' for you. :)

i was able to go out to a nice dinner with dear ole mom & dad and my niece mary.

i just hung up the phone with my cousins that JUST ARRIVED from germany! they are staying with my cousin julie & her family in omaha until tomorrow. and then i get to see their wonderful faces in PERSON & not over skype-dom. i truly cannot wait!!

i confess that i also wore my FLAME lipstick ang gave me at my bachelorette along with my vintage flair. that's right, people. i wore that bridal turned birthday bonnet every.where.i.went. today. the grocery store, walmart, el matador ... and my oh my did it feel fine. like the way katherine hepburn said she feels fine when she's drinking the champagne in 'a philadelphia story'.

the only thing that will top my lovely birthday will begin tomorrow when joel & his family start to migrate into my beloved cornhusker state. then my brothers & nieces and nephews begin to arrive. and the fun & chaos & laughter & love will fly by in a blur to the altar. and THAT, my dear friends, will be the epitome of 'FINE'. :)

off the market

that's what my yoga mat said last saturday morning. the weekend i've been using as a landmark distant date on the calendar has come and gone. now there truly is no big even until THE big event.

holy crap.

my weekend began with an early dismissal from work & movie theater popcorn (thank you, mrs. weber). it was hunger games premier day! yet another thing that sounded SOOOOO far away when i was wrapping up my version of speed reading on this addicting series. totally messed up. yet still totally addicting. read for yourself.

the movie ran ultra long, and i did not leave the theater until after six! so much for cleaning up for my girls! cue handsome & helpful fiancé. joel had his home cleaned, vacuumed, dusted & sheets laundered before I came home….he must have a ‘happy & successful husband’ prayer card stashed somewhere…

by 2:00 a.m., four out of my five bridesmaids had arrived, three bottles of wine had been consumed, and far too many stories & laughs to recall had been shared. off to bed we went ---- we had a BIG day ahead of us.

sara (hansy pants) was slated to make some little egg muffins. it was a concoction that involved muffin tins, crescent rolls, cheese, eggs, sausage, ham & veggies ---- we just weren’t sure of the exact amounts. hence….volcano egg muffins. but my oh my were they delish! i figured the oven deserved to try some of this yummy overflow.

that is what you call fuel for the journey.

let the fun begin!

activity one: YOGA

We went to jeff’s class at aspen, and he made sure to set out a row of 9 mats for all of us; he seriously rules. and the girls were troopers! some had never done yoga before, but they got their zen on & made this bride-to-be proud! all of the other regulars showered us with questions on what the day was to entail & thought it was super fun to begin the festivities with sun salutations. i couldn’t agree more.

activity two: carefree patisserie

our little kate arrived from southern illinios between yoga & the bakery --- she drove for over 8 hours to join us! she didn’t arrive empty handed either…oh no…she brought pink champagne for the bakery! just like deborah kerr & cary grant in classic movie that began my obsession with TCM. all thanks to kate. to make us sound even MORE awesome, i’m pretty sure we were crocheting as we watched the classic love story in the pi phi house. typical sorority girls, eh?

since my adorable coworker cristy ensured the pope gave me dispensation for my bachelorette day (I couldn’t resist J), I helped myself to not one but TWO slices of this beauty:

heaven.

i opened some enchantingly thoughtful gifts……among which……..was IT. the plate. the girls and i have a tradition of giving personal plates for each wedding. It started with jen (shorty)’s back in 2007 – kara discovered the idea, but we were amateurs at this whole wedding gift shopping thing – so we found one at a fun little boutique in scottsdale where kara lived at the time. it already had a cute wedding cake image on it, and we were able to add a quote & sign the plate in a marker that is eventually “baked” in.

and then we got serious about this whole plate tradition. let’s just say, me & the ‘whatta dish’ crew here in des moines are practically BFFs. i have made a plate for kate, hanson & ang. hanson & kara were married in the same year, so ang had the honors of making hers. since shorty & hanson admittedly have chicken scratch for art skills, ang volunteered to do kara’s. and my lucky matron of honor also work-of-art-ed mine. seriously america, i have been ants in my pants excited for my plate…practically since joel slipped that ring on my finger.

and here she is. in all of her exquisite & lacy glory:

sigh. i am in love.

activity three: jasper winery

have i mentioned that we somehow landed the most fabulous chauffer in the world? who knew she was located in the greater des moines metropolis. mrs. weber escorted us from place to place in the family conversion van – FULLY STOCKED, too, i might add. we had a big cooler of bottled water & a goody basket that puts any vending machine to shame. talk about riding in style!

when we arrive at the winery we decide to bask in the glorious day and sip our vino on the patio. at this point, ang informs me that it’s progressive gift day. i oblige & managed to don this gift the remainder of the day. hello vintage flair. J

activity four: sbrocco

this is a place i’ve been dying to try for a couple years now --- our reservation landed us a prime time long table by the open french-style window doors. it was just so lovely. we ordered more wine (duh) and feasted on salmon, steak, mac & cheese (love it, trish!) & sea bass. we shared dessert (even though i had m&ms from the ‘party van’ stashed in my purse for later. i fully intended to take advantage of my dispensation day from the pope). the whole meal was simply divine. i even received a couple more sassy gifts!

activity five: hessen haus

we walked into hessen haus around 8:30 – the band only plays from 8 until 10. alas, all of the long tables are full. then i hear one of the girls say, “oh aimee must know those guys” & gestured to her sitting at a long wooden table occupied by only two men.

my response: umm…..no, I’m pretty sure aim is just scoring us a table.

sure enough, the gentlemen looked our way, smiled & politely moved to a smaller table. point: bachelorette party.

we gleefully take our spot just one table away from the bar. now, the world’s greatest chauffer gave me a very special present at dinner.

DAS BOOT. she gave us the opening tab for the infamous hessen haus game:

now, the band was playing a polka version of anne murray’s “could I have this dance”, so of course, i call my dad, walk up to the band, and hold my cell phone by one of the speakers. he said he couldn’t hear it. apparently the quality of my iphone doesn’t hold the candle to that of his alltel flip phone in which he uses to play me polka music from his car radio an average of 3 times per week. at work. and i wouldn’t trade this for anything in the world, i might add.

as i walked back to the table slightly defeated, an older couple (i would venture to guess mid seventies) sitting adjacent to us asked what i was doing. i said i was trying to play the music for my dad because he LOVES polka.

“well, we’re in the iowa polka hall of fame.”

well i’ll be darn!

speed dial home.

“dad! i’m hanging out with some polka hall of fame members!”

i told him i’d try & learn some steps so that i had a better performance than that of their anniversary party two years ago. apparently i’m not a good “follower”. sigh. dad has already said we need to make sure the band plays a waltz --- the polka is a little too advanced for me. double sigh. guess what we’ll be doing that whole week prior to the wedding? conditioning dad’s feet. J

at this point, the band leader acknowledged the upcoming wedding of a girl in vintage flair & proceeded to play a wedding waltz.

now, when an opportunity like this presents itself – you take it, ladies.

i turned around, asked barbara if i might have this dance with Roy, and we were off. he coached me through the whole thing...a one, two, three…a one, two three…. and i added a spin at the end for fun.

i have officially danced with an iowa polka hall of famer.

roy, barbara & their family were quite a treat! roy wanted to take pictures with us & we even talked him into taking some passes at the boot! before they left, they made sure to get our address to send us a wedding card. it doesn’t get much more smile-worthy than that, folks.

i love this picture progression here --- and no, we're not quite sure why ang is grabbing hanson's head. i am all smiles when i'm with my girls. you can see roy there in the background; it looks like he's all smiles, too!

the band packed up, roy & family headed home, the lights dimmed & hip hop music replaced the accordion. in came another bachelorette party that REALLY aged my vintage flair, and their dance party included nothing polka related.

so two boots and a couple steins down, we make our way down the street to dos rios for margaritas. why not. ole! and I still had my m&ms! J

we called up mrs. weber and had her drive us home; we were in the driveway by midnight. to our credit, we had started the day over 12 hours ago. to our discredit, our 21 year old selves would have laughed in our faces. but oh what a gloriously perfect day….at least in this bride’s mind…it was very ‘sarah’ indeed.

AND the chauffer had another surprise for us.

frozen yogurt from orange leaf in the freezer.

that quieted those former selves of ours. or maybe we just couldn’t notice them over the brain freezes. ;)

ten rules.

the house in which i grew up was a prayerful one. we have prayer cards in nearly every room, my parents are ultra active in the church, we subscribed to catholic/christian books and newsletters, and we prayed the rosary every time we drove more than fifteen minutes. one time, when i was young, my dad and i drove to texas to see my brothers, and guess what he thought was the most splendid idea ever?

"okay sarah, this is what we're going to do -- pray a rosary for every state we drive though!"

and when germain says something like this, you say - will you be leading or shall i?

(for those of you keeping track, we did indeed say the rosary in nebraska, kansas, oklahoma & texas. that's some quality father/daughter road-tripping.)

some folks have readers digest magazines in their bathrooms...not the engelbert household. we have 'guideposts'. which actually came in handy when my dad decided i should 'make hour' with him anytime i was on a school break or back from college. this is what the catholics officially call 'perpetual adoration'. my home church, st. bonaventure, has had someone praying at church 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year for over fifty years. my dad just celebrated his 50th anniversary, with most of the 'hours' being in the middle of the night -- in my lifetime, it's been from 2:00 a.m. to 3:00 a.m. tuesday mornings. those 'guideposts' were my saving grace since praying the rosary - aloud while pacing the church - only took about 15 minutes of the hour...

where am i going with all of this, you wonder. no, i have not decided to become a nun a mere three weeks before the wedding. but i HAVE decided to give some merit to this whole prayer card notion. so what did i do? i walked myself into the catholic store down the street & found myself a prayer card to start my married life on the right foot.

this puppy was shining like a beacon of light..............

"a wife's daily prayer"

since the card mentions being thrifty, it does me a favor & gives me a bonus! on the BACK, in large print it says:

"TEN RULES for a Happy and Successful Wife"

well i'll be darn. i want to be happy! i want to be successful!

how can i accomplish this? how can all you wives out there accomplish this?

allow me to divulge....

1. Avoid Arguments. Your husband has his share from other sources.

no problem. i already learned this from my sponsor couple: wait at least for 24 hours. and then we can talk all about our feelings.

2. Don't nag.

pssh. who me?

3. Don't drink or eat to excess.

i love how 1940s this is --- my true generation. alas, i will rid the house of microwave popcorn & peanut m&ms. when they say 'drink', they surely can't mean wine because even the bible finds wine acceptable. the verdict is still out on the legitimacy of this 'rule'....

4. If you offend your husband, always ask forgiveness before you retire.

this one is truly something joel and i have tried to uphold since the very beginning. no arguments from this non-nagging bride to be on this rule.

5. Compliment your husband liberally. It makes him a better husband.

:)

6. Budget wisely together. Live within your income.

this will be a new experience for us --- JOINT savings, JOINT checking, JOINT bills. pray for us on this one.

7. Be sociable and go out with your husband.

who am i to turn down a date?!

8. Dress neatly and attractively for your husband, and keep your home clean and cheerful.

this makes me want to wear an apron & pearls & bake pies every day. i suppose not pies, because that might violate rule three...

9. Keep your household troubles to yourself.

i wonder if i can vent to harvey....surely that doesn't count? at least during the 24 hour 'grace period'? no?

10. Pray together and stay together.

to me, this is like peanut butter & jelly. mashed potatoes and gravy. microwave popcorn & m&ms for that matter....

so there you have it. ten simple rules.

i'm not sure if i can pull off the prayer card notion like my mom, but heck, if the shoe fits, i figure i had better slip it on for a while. unless of course, it's the two-tone pair of chanels i have been dreaming about for over five years --- driving me STRAIGHT into violation of rule six. sigh.

houston, we have a typo.

"go ahead and cry."

these were the words uttered by my future mother-in-law.

we were about a dozen programs into the assembly process. i was meticulously placing a new cover page between the two cuttlebug plates.....which, by the way, is the coolest crafty invention EVER. aunt tricia - aka my invitation angel - had the brilliant idea to emboss parts of both the invitation and envelope! i now want to emboss everything in my house. and i'm not kidding.... now, where was i? oh yes, the embossing card flap was carefully closed over part of the cover sheet & placed between the two cuttlebug plates. just as i was about to put it through the ringer, literally - that's how you emboss, i saw it. dun dun DUN.

THE typo.

really, it wasn't a typo so much as a margin malfunction.

regardless, there it was. in all of it's texting lingo glory.

"U".

not YOU. just U.

just U was nearly blinding me on the online-ordered-and-completely-used-up-in-the-printing-of-these-programs paper.

just

U

"go ahead and cry."

so yes, while a quilt & silverware chest DO have the capability of making me cry, this JUST U apparently only enticed me to swear. a lot.

there is one invitation store in des moines. they do not carry stardream text paper in opal. as if. we decided to drive over there anyway to see what in the world we could come up with for plan B. it turns out the invitations store has a smaller selection of 8 1/2 x 11 'fancy' paper than my favorite superstore, wally world. plan C? there is an office max in the same little shopping center. we talk to a nice lady, eileen, at the printing desk, and she proceeds to show us our options. roxanne suggests we scrap the whole let's-try-to-find-something-close-to-stardream-opal-metallic and opt for a CONTRASTING cover page.

cue: pretty gold metallic CARD STOCK.

so, not only are we going for a different color, we are using a different paper weight. why the heck not. joel had done a quick edit to the program he helped me layout so that there were 3 cover pages on an 8 1/2 x11 page. all eileen needs to do is plug that little thumbdrive into her PC and print & cut & viola. turns out the blasted font i picked for the majority of the program isn't compatible to their software. so i call my darling and interrupt their basement work so that he can save it as a .pdf that poor eileen could work with --- mind you, i was keeping my bridal zen going. i contribute this to the 100+ degree yoga class roxanne & i attended that morning...

needless to say, two hours from the time we had discovered JUST U, we were back at the cuttlebug with plan C. and i must say, i loooooove the gold cardstock.

never one to waste anything, roxanne decided we must do something with all of the poor, lowly, tainted JUST U cover pages. and so we did. cue the seating cards for the head table and immediate family members!

also never one to be understated, roxanne thinks a pearl is JUST the finishing touch. i, of course, never turn down a pearl.

now truly --- look at the bottom of that card --- don't you just want to emboss your life?! i'm obsessed.

next on the agenda? the SECOND most anticipated day for this bride-to-be since joel slipped that gorge (he LOVES when i talk 'tween) ring on my finger....

i can't WAIT to give a full report on this jam-packed agenda; my matron has compiled ALL of my favorite things into one glorious day - WITH my favorite people. yes, i am one lucky LUCKY girl.

p.s. to my loved ones, please please please visit our website or call my sweet, dear mother (or MOTB as she has been signing emails -- isn't that adorable?!) with your rsvp. :)

p.p.s. my parents have taken over the lace lantern making since i am no longer on speaking terms with wallpaper paste, lace cut-outs & balloons. my dad has really been bonding with those balloons....he has even gone so far as to allude to the fact that he would rather spend time with harvey. which would ultimately mean 'hell hath frozen over'. so comments such as "my goodness, those are the most delightful and enchanting things i've ever laid eyes on" while you're at the reception will be graciously accepted. we might even act surprised. ;)

stay tuned for my next post regarding "ten rules for a happy and successful wife" according to the prayer card i picked up at the catholic store the other day. it led me to wonder why there wasn't a 'happy wife, happy life' prayer card... hmph.

;)

surprise 'guests'

twenty six days. i just logged in to post, and the little countdown clock ang added to the layout of this blog eagerly displayed TWENTY SIX days. completely and utterly surreal.

"so is everything all wrapped up?"

"are you all ready for the big day?"

"what REALLY is there left to do?"

these are questions i hear on a daily basis.

i simply smile and answer respectively...

"uhhh NO."

'loud chuckle' followed by a look that says - are you kidding me?!

"ummm....i have a 'to do before i do' list in the double digits."

so there you go. twenty six days, eh? bring it on. :)

i CAN officially say, however, that the shower season has officially wrapped up!

three of my favorite girls in the world - also in the bridal party - came to columbus from sioux falls and omaha to join us! they drove in friday night, and we gathered around our big dining room table in the home i grew up - one which my parents built in 1963 - and poured wine and played catch up. my mom even took a spot at the head of the table and listened as we carried on about all things female. slumber parties and giggling are FAR too underrated. in typical fashion, the words and the wine went long, and we stayed up way past curfew....

my dress gal - that's what i have grown to call her - showed up at 8:00 a.m. on the dot the following morning. she is my cousin's sister-in-law and a retired teacher that has lived on a farm her whole life. let's just say, these aren't your typical bridal shoppe alterations sessions. :) she looked at all the girls in their dresses and noted any adjustments necessary. she's also adding a sash & brooch-like piece to the front. AND....dun da da da!....she brought over my finished VEIL. alllllllllllllllllllll of that tulle. with lace trim.

i die.

that aisle at st. bon's won't know what to do with itself.

mary the dress gal was still working on my bustle at 10:15 a.m. the only problem with this is that a) i was still IN the dress and b) the shower was kicking off at 11:00. mary finally dismissed me, and i was off in a mad flurry - one has to be presentable when being the center of attention!

i had a lovely bridal shower hosted by my aunts last weekend in my hometown. it was held in the parish center and had delish muffins (which, luckily for me, did NOT count as sweets according to my mom. i gave up sweets for lent & i grumble to myself nearly every day. pout.), fruit and coffee. the ideal brunch food groups if you ask me.

i was SO thankful to my cousins and aunts that came to celebrate with me -- some traveling from surrounding cities! it's all so surreal to be the center of attention and express utter glee in opening a NINJA blender in front of a group of women. this is what they call bridal bliss. i was SO dang excited about that blender among all the other delightful kitchen and home-making gifts. i also received my first piece for my place settings! seeing that beautiful pattern in person and knowing that it will one day be a part of hosting a big family gathering just makes me plain giddy!

now, when we initially arrived at the parish center, my mom toted in three packages. i tsk tsk'd her because, my goodness, she has done MORE than enough throughout this whole process. as i was unwrapping gifts, my aunt handed me one of the gifts my mom brought in; i opened the card to the bag and saw that it wasn't from my mom after all. inside the gift bag was a beautiful & meticulously stitched quilt. done by the hands of my grandma mary who passed away when i was in high school. she came to america by herself from germany at the age of 18 to take care of children on a farm in nebraska. i will forever remember her as an eternally optimistic woman with a distinct german accent. she loved to play cards, host gatherings for her family and QUILT. she oftentimes had a quilting stand in her living room in humphrey, nebraska. when she moved to the nursing home, they would assemble a large quilting stand in the living room as you entered the building. EVERYONE loved grandma mary. apparently. she made a quilt for each of her grandchildren when she was alive, and Mom has been saving it for me all these years. now tell me, what spare bedroom is every going to be good enough for THAT?! :)

a few more wonderful gifts were opened & ooohed & ahhhed over, and then my aunt handed me another package my mom brought in. i opened this one & immediately recognized it. inside was an old wooden silverware chest with one silverware setting and a note my mom gave me on behalf of my grandma rosie ---- wishing me many happy hosting events, just as she loved to do; she passed a way when i was a junior in college. my grandma rosie & grandpa tony lived five houses down the street from me as i was growing up. she was the one that took care of me when mom & dad needed a babysitter. she made the best pies & sugar cookies you have ever tasted, and she let me put as MANY sprinkles on my cookies as i wanted. all of my aunts & uncles went over to their house for sunday dinner & cards every week. she could peel an apple in one long strip. she would always read me the school lunch menu from the bulletin every saturday night after mass and giggle and giggle when we reached the day where peas were served. i HATED peas. she taught me how to play gin rummy & i taught her king's corner. she would let me sit on her lap as we looked through the american girl and jc penney catalogs, and i would point out alllll the things i REALLY wanted.

so after this second surprise gift, what do you know, this bride starts crying.

seriously america, if i'm this much of a bawl baby at a joyous SHOWER, what am i going to do come april 13th??! just warning y'all. and i may have to do some serious shopping for 'weather-proof' makeup. recommendations welcome. sheesh.

here are a couple pics from the shower...(don't worry, i started tanning. i will NOT match my dress)...

afterward, we snuck over to the church to see the painting progress. my oh my is it....vibrant. gone are the earth tones of taupe and ecru and gold. hello BLUES! and REDS! and MUSTARD! and gold. i have been told that it won't be finished in time for Easter, thus, it will not be finished in time for my nuptial mass. sigh. the priests have made several announcements at mass and in the bulletin to refrain from coming in & talking to the painters as they work. father mike went so far as to approach my dad after mass & shake his finger at him. my dad? talk? to strangers? pshhhh. ;) let's just hope my fabulous photographers will be able to avoid the scaffolding....

coming up next.........tackling the programs.........easy task, right? about as easy as having 'everything wrapped up' twenty six days out.

:)

FOCCUS

remember my 'not just 20 quesitons' post?? let's go ahead and revisit that....


foccus stands for 'Facilitating Open Couple Communication Understanding and Study'. sounds like fun, huh? we spent several wednesday evenings with our sponsor couple from saint francis as a required part of marriage prep through the catholic church. i was a little worried how my social butterfly would handle talking about all personal matters under the sun with complete strangers, but he totally surprised me! it helped that our couple was real. they weren't perfect. their marriage isn't always perfect. but it, too, is real. they gave so much helpful advice and told stories that related to daily interaction between any committed couple.

i must also admit, it was fun to see how each of us answered questions...every time we would get to a new section, and dan would begin to read the overview of the topics covered, i could see both of us trying to peer across the table and see if our filled circles aligned. when we didn't agree with each other, the program writes a serious of discussion topics in the margin. some sections were really 'clean'. some........not so much. for a couple that can't seem to agree on music, movies, most television shows, books, fashion... i'll take it. ;)

let me walk you through one "disagreement".


statement:
nothing my future spouse does annoys me.


agree
disagree
indifferent


joel: agree
sarah: disagree


of course, joel turns and gives me a smiling, yet accusatory look.


come on people....nothing??!!....NOTHING???!!! nothing in the whole wide world gets on your nerves??!!


for the record, he had told me JUST the prior evening that i TYPE TOO LOUD.
i type too loud!
and apparently i'm not supposed to leave lights on in rooms i leave (even for a teensy moment).
and i won't even go into when i helped haul all the 2x4s for the basement finishing project (which he conveniently started in the midst of wedding planning...men...playful eyeroll) and i had a bit of wood-to-walls/doorframe proximity issues....


nooooooooooooo. nothing bothers joel.
;)


i received many valuable pieces of advice from jeanette:


for instance, i actually do have to give joel time to digest things we might disagree on or items we heavily discuss. apparently he might not be ready to 'talk it out' right away (doesn't talking ALWAYS make it better??!!). i agreed to give him 24 hours. at 24 hours & one minute, i may squeeze out his feelings.


another tid bit. i can only ask/approach three items. anything over three, and men tune us out (as if). so, she says she mentally priortizes things in her mind throughout the day --- if it's not 'top 3' importance, she'll wait for the next day or two. good thing that's not the case for men, or joel never would have been able to address my LOUD TYPING. (still hmph-ing).


yet another...we can "rank" things we say. "sarah, your typing is really loud, and it bothers me---i'm talking a 10". but they said (staring directly at me) that **not everything can be a 10**. what....they think i'm dramatic?? ;)


we had many good laughs, intense discussions, and great advice received in our time with our sponsor couple. we spent a lot of time talking about problem-solving, communication, family, children and most importantly religion. we talked about things that we most likely would not have discussed without, how shall i say this, every-wednesday-meetings we had to attend in order to have the church's blessing. and for that, i'm actually quite grateful. i know my fiance is an extraordinary man and father. i know i love him so, and he feels the same. and i now know that we can compromise and more fully understand one another and our expectations when it comes to everything our future may hold. i also know that i'm so eternally grateful that God gave me this almost-husband.


so it was truly a rewarding experience. i think even my darling not-so-wallflower would agree.
but i'm sure i still type too loud.

grab your umbrella.

ella.

ella.

(that is for you, jen weber...)

hello hello!

i must say my first bridal shower was almost like a flashback to my 5th birthday party at pawnee park. how often in our adulthood do we get a party with fabulous food, games & all eyes on you as you open present after beautiful present??! oh and wine. but i didn't know what i was missing in preschool....

i must thank aunt tricia, aunt nita (who flew in from colorado!) and aunt nancy for throwing me a lovely bridal shower --- my very first one!

here are my hostesses with the absolute mostesses (i know -- ginormous fail on the rhyme.)

the day was filled with gold & ivory & lace & incredible homemade party favors.

my fabulous matron of honor made the trip to join my new minnesota family in celebrating! isn't she just cute as a button?!

it was such a wonderful turnout! it's so humbling to see all of these new friends and family members come to wish us their best. to share in my excitement & not make fun of me for the smile that seems to be permanently planted on my face AND to saunter up to that bridal pictionary board like we were on the game show network. for the record...team bride won with a clutch point at the end. sorry joel.

after the shower, many of my guests stayed to help assemble the invites --- even uncle jim pried the corner embosser puncher thing away from me before i injured myself. i realized then that i could never be a scrapbooker.... i wish to thank ALL of you for helping to get those beauties in the mail! you should have seen the assembly line we had going -- and the contraptions that aunt tricia owns to make all of these masterpieces...and we're not talking pinking shears, folks. there was a sticky tape gun thingie that blew my mind.

joel's cousins stacey and anna (also our photographers) captured pictures throughout the afternoon & made this slideshow... i am so grateful for them to capture all of these moments since my phone has now become my camera. that's right, i honestly couldn't tell you where my real camera is right now. probably in harv's tummy.

speaking of harvey...he squeezed in a little snuggle time with his buddy ethan during the road trip. mind you, ethan & harvey get along just like brothers ----- constantly pestering one another.

after ethan woke up...
"hey ethan! you & harvey were cuddling! it was SO cute! i took a picture; do you want to see?"

no thank you.

sigh.

another memorable weekend in the books......my goodness we're creeping up to april 13th quite quickly, aren't we? :)

invites went in the mail on saturday! my parents stuffed the freshly assembled invites into the envelopes that aunt tricia individually embossed --- yes, she thought of embossing the envelopes --- i adore her. my mom has spent the past few weeks carefully addressing each one in her dainty & oh-so-perfect penmanship. i had her write out a cursive alphabet (upper AND lower case) on a piece of paper for me this past weekend. i am going to start practicing. and i'm not kidding. put that lost art right up there with letter-writing.

i hope all of the invites reach our loved ones unscathed. my mom meticulously packed them in two boxes, and we toted them to the post office here in des moines. we gingerly handed them over to the attendant, and she measured and weighed them, assuring us the sixty five cent stamp was ample postage for each item. we were quite pleased with ourselves & smiled at each other. and just at that moment, out of the corner of our eyes, we saw that same postal woman worker HEAVE the box on its side, its contents avalanching into the 'OUTGOING' bin. i thought my mom was going to have a heart attack. so yes...please tell us they made them to you in utterly perfect condition. ;)

and forgive us for the unconventional rsvp --- how can we buy more stamps from the woman that all but used her ugly black boot to ensure they all fit in that blasted bin.

no bridezilla here. :)

**ting ting**

....that's the sound i heard on the bathroom floor right after my alarm went off far too early yet again.

what was it?!!?

my wish!!!

i must briefly interrupt this story & wish everyone a belated happy heart day! i started off my morning with an adorable card from my adorable parents & ended it with ethan rushing to the door after work: "sarah! sarah! we've got a surprise for you!!"

and we were only supposed to exchange cards... thank you, my valentine(s)! :)

carrying on....at the beginning of august, i ordered personalized wish bracelets for all my bridesmaids & two personal attendants from an etsy shop.

aaaand one for the bride, of course. ;)

i had no idea how long these little buggers would last --- i have never personally worn one. a couple of the girls' fell off fairly quickly, but mine just hung on. it literally became a part of my wrist. me & my little black string excitedly boasting "bride". my little bracelet loved to come with me everywhere. i was starting to fret that, perhaps, she wanted to walk right down the aisle with me.

a few weeks ago, my dear friend jen (also a personal attendant) and i were instant messaging back & forth at work about some very important topic -- probably the headline on people.com for the day -- when all of a sudden she interjected:

"OMG!"

what?

"IT'S GONE"

what's gone?

"my wish bracelet! it's gone!!"

oh that's so fun!

"no! i don't know where it is!!!!"

i don't get it

"i don't know when i lost it!!"

umm...that's okay? now your wish can come true!!

"no! i want to find it!"

but...it's supposed to fall off...

at this point, i think she had left her desk & started retracing her steps for the day. :)

then i began to get paranoid over my charm...would i be able to find it and keep it forever? even though i was setting an imaginary deadline in my mind of when i'd start fumbling with the bracelet (i had even started wearing my big heavy watches over the top of it --- nothing. my little string had wits of steel), i began to more regularly check if she was still along for the ride. i mean -- my wrist would probably feel totally naked without her, right?!?

so i must say, i was happy that she didn't go quietly...i scooped her right up...it's faded out letters and all.

here's hoping she keeps her promise. :)

by the way --- jen found hers on her kitchen floor tucked under one of her cupboards.

and a word to the wise for any future wish bracelet wearers...don't cut your strings too close to the knot, even if they get so straggly you can barely stand it. silly notion or not, that little charm made me smile every time i glanced at it. a little reminder of the day i get to marry my valentine. my one.

coming up this weekend:

the too-cute-for words and TOTALLY handmade invite courtesy of Aunt Tricia...i'm so excited!!

no julia roberts here!

fret not, friends! my two month haitus was not the result of a 'runaway bride' tragedy. although, these lace lanterns HAVE become the bane of my bridal existence. but i shall save that rant for later in this entry...

hello!

it's been a while! grab a seat. grab a coffee. a lot of boxes have been checked on the endless to do list.

my darling german cousin posted on my timeline (which i'm still getting used to --- thanks mark z-something-long-last-name for shaking up my my facebook comfort zone) just yesterday: "11 weeks!" first of all -- YAY for trans-continental wedding visits! second of all -- OMG IS IT REALLY THAT CLOSE ALREADY??

okay....yes, it is saturday night. yes, i am blogging. no, i am not depressed by this fact in the slightest. this has been the first free weekend of 2012! cheers! my darling & i have had the most lovely weekend so far! we had our first popcorn and wine night of the year & watched 'moneyball' last night. the verdict is still out as to whether this is considered a 'joel movie' or a 'sarah movie'. it is CLEARLY not black & white, it is all about sports & nerdy math stuff & it is SOOOO a 'joel movie'. period. regardless of the fact that i totally enjoyed it.... :)

so what in the world have we been up to? holy moses...where to begin...

christmastime.

i had the engelbert christmas in omaha a couple weeks before christmas, but we actually spent the holiday in minnesota with joel's family (since i had my way for thanksgiving).

dad & sweet little lizzie --- she seriously hearts grandpa gerry:

one of my most fave presents was from my super incredible friend jen weber. i mean, seriously, how is this not the most fun thing ever??!!

my parents picked out a sweet sweatshirt for mister ethan robert:
annnnd harvey helped me bake. don't be fooled; he's not as angelic as he looks, & i don't think he was lurking all day just to critique my frosting skills.

before i knew it, december was gone-zo & we were already mid-january. this is when joel & i went to nebraska for a weekend of appointments. well....i had appointments. joel helped my dad change oil in my car & became immersed in ger-isms. i'd say he had the better end of the deal.

mom & i started with a floral appointment. first of all ---- flowers are stupidly expensive. and i don't normally call pretty things stupid. i have been utterly amazed throughout this process how MUCH things cost! holy cow! take heed, future brides....what you think REALLY matters....doesn't. nobody is going to notice the excess shallac'd oak in the schuyler ballroom after drink number whatever ---- so give up your dream of the complete elegant "coverage" and save yourself mucho mulah on hanging linens. okay, fine. that MIGHT have been what i had to pep talk to myself & will never pertain to anyone else in this world...but mind you, this was a breakthrough!

back to the flowers. after meeting with a local, small-shop, florist, we all came up with a plan that we think will knock your socks off. i am veering far off the beaten peony path & going with a brand new approach. get excited, guests. or at least pray (for my sake) that it's not a complete disaster. :)

off to meet with the decorator. again. reality check. "no, sarah, you may not use the parachute idea you saw on pintrest. do you have any idea how low that ceiling in the oak ballroom is??!"

(pout with head hung low)

apparently not

(pout)

needless to say, we're throwing many a chip into the lace lantern basket. oh lace lanterns and the little brat in the pintrest picture....why must you torment me so?

roxanne (joel's mom) and i spent NINE hours last weekend doing balloon after balloon after 12th balloon. a snapshot of them drying (as i crossed my fingers).

prior to starting...oh...the 9th balloon, i decided i needed to also start this:

there is STILL so.much.lace.left. (which will ultimately come in handy because i will beat myself to the punch & let you know that only approximately half of the above jerks actually turned out. and yes, i did call the balloon/lace/glue concoctions jerks. because they are. and i'm not kidding.

HOWEVER, roxanne & her "astro-physicist" (verbatim) yoga friend have discovered the trick. you poke those suckers with a hole the size of a pin prick & wait for them to deflate. even if it takes two days. you wait. and they will turn out. now that i know this, perhaps the final 7 or so won't be too bad. note to my guests: even if you hate these lanterns, please tell me they are the most fabulous things you've ever seen. thank you in advance. :)

i think that's enough wedding talk for one day. no worries ---- PLENTY more to come. in parting, my mom came over to des moines for a few bridal fairs. we decided to sample the photo booth. if i had an endless budget, i would love to have one of these beauties at the reception. i'm keeping this strip forever.