It’s our 1st Anniversary!!

Alex and I celebrated our 1st Anniversary this weekend.  He’d wanted to go away for the weekend, but Dodi’s Bridal shower was today, so we’re going to just take a mini-break some other weekend.  We might try and go to the NYC Food and Wine Festival that the Food Network is involved with in October.  There’s a Saturday night event that’s Chocolate, Champagne, and Vodka and it’s hosted by Chef Duff from Ace of Cakes (one of our favorite shows).  The tickets are expensive – and for all I know they may be sold out – but if we could make it happen it would be awesome.  I’ll be able to take more time off in the Fall and I’d rather take a mini-break on a weekend when I won’t feel so rushed.

So we celebrated locally this weekend.  Friday night we met up with friends at Ravenswood and then spent most of the day on Saturday running some errands.  We did have brunch at Peaches, which was nice because that was something that we used to do all the time but haven’t done in a while.  We had dinner out Saturday night at 677 Prime.  It’s known to be one of the nicest places in the area to go have a steak – or at least it’s known as the most expensive.  We figured that there wouldn’t be another occasion where we’d let ourselves go there, so we tried it out for our anniversary dinner.  The food was fantastic – but the service was just ‘great’ and not ‘phenomenal’ like we expected of a place with such a reputation (and such high prices).  We both had steak, since it’s called 677 ‘Prime’ because they are a ‘Prime’ steakhouse serving ‘Prime’ cuts of beef and apparently that’s very rare.  The steaks were probably the best steaks we’d ever had and the salad course was amazing as well (I had the beefsteak tomato and gorgonzola salad which was incredible).  Our calamari appetizer was a little chewy (the Pump Station still has the best calamari in the area) and our sides – blue cheese gnocchi, tempura fried asparagus, and broccoli rabe – were all great tasting, but they were on the chilly side of warm.  We had to wait until our meal was more than half over for water and we had to pour our own wine and the dining room was rather noisy.  Wow, after having written all that, it seems like I hated the place.  I didn’t.  I think that the food – for the most part – was outstanding and I think that had we had another waiter/busboy team we would have had a perfect meal.  We enjoyed ourselves very much – but probably won’t be going back again.  Especially since our bill was very near to $300 when all was said and done, and that was without dessert.

1st Anniversary Cake

Alex surprised me with a cake from Villa Italia for our anniversary.  He knew that I was dying to have a slice of our wedding cake again and so he got a miniature version with our monogram on top and I have been in Chocolate Mocha Cream with Chocolate Buttercream frosting heaven all weekend.  Yumm!  He totally surprised me with the cake and I actually got tears in my eyes over it.  Crying over a cake… Hmmm…

Today was Dod’s Bridal shower – and Nora’s first birthday – as well.    The shower went pretty well, I think.  It was a little hot and a little crowded, but I think that everyone had a great time.    And Dodi didn’t seem too tortured by it.    Her wedding is coming up so quickly!  It’s going to be a great time.  Hair of the Dog is playing at the Pruyn House, where her wedding will be, in a couple of weeks.  I hope we go – it’d be great to see the place “in action” before her wedding day. 

Off to bed… I totally hate Sunday nights…

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We're Married!!!!!!

I can’t believe that the wedding has already come and gone! It was amazing – the happiest day of my life!! I was beaming from ear to ear all day long. AND I didn’t even cry during the ceremony! I was just SOOOO happy!!!!!

I’ve got pictures from me, Dodi, JJ, and Brenda posted so far in My Wedding Album. I’ll be adding to these as I get more pictures from friends (keep sending them my way!!!). Eric sent me a link to his album from my wedding and I’ll be adding those pictures to my collection after we return from the Honeymoon.

Speaking of the Honeymoon – it’s been fantastic so far! Our trip down to JFK got a little hairy with A LOT of traffic, but once we got on the plane it was smooth sailing. Or flying, as it were. Anyway, our room is fabulous and we got out a bit today to do some “pre-sightseeing”. We rode the London Eye and walked around and snapped a bunch of pictures. I’m now trying to figure out what we want to do tomorrow (well, I’m SUPPOSED) to be doing that now anyway…

We’re having a great time, but I know that this trip will be over too before we know it and then it’ll be back to reality. Life will be pretty busy the week we get back – we’ll want to go visit Beck and Kevin and meet their NEW DAUGHTER!!! Eleanor Patricia Fournier (Nora) was born the night of our wedding!! Alex’s mom gave us some pictures Saturday night – look how beautiful Nora is!!!

The day after we get back, the family moves to Dubai. I was pretty shocked when Dad told me the day that they were moving – I thought we’d have a few days after Alex and I return from the Honeymoon. I was really, really upset about it on Saturday night – I think that I’ve never really conceptualized what exactly was happening. I figured that I didn’t have to worry about all that until after the wedding – and now that it’s after the wedding (which, in itself, I can’t believe) reality has hit me hard. I’m going to miss them SO much. I know that it’s only 2 years but still, it’s two years! The boys will change so much during that time. I’m feeling better about it now – Dad told me to focus on the fact that we’ll see them every few months and it’s not forever and that helps. And I know that it’s a huge opportunity for them and they’re very excited. I just can’t wait for the next two years to be over and have them back! Although, in two years I will be turning 30 and that is absolutely insane. INSANE.

Anyway, enough about that. I’m on my Honeymoon! Since it’s now past midnight London time I’m going to try and throw together a quick outline of a plan for tomorrow and go to bed!

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Doubly Exciting!

More great news!! Patty called me earlier this morning to let me know that Beck’s in the hospital with contractions 4 minutes apart!! She’s totally having her baby today!! HOW EXCITING!!!!! I hope that everything goes well and I can’t wait to hear if it’s a boy or a girl and what they name baby etc! Hopefully Alex and I will be able to see mommy and baby on our way down to JFK on Sunday to leave for our Honeymoon. YAY!!!!

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OMG WE'RE GETTING MARRIED TODAY!!!!

I’m SOOOOOOO excited!!!

I woke up right at 6:30 this morning like I’ve been doing every day so far this week. Ah well. At least I’m consistent.

I figured that since I was already awake, I’d put up my pictures from yesterday. So the wedding album is started and you can View It Here.

I’ve still got hours before I need to be anywhere, so I think I’m going to try and go back to sleep (ha ha) or try and at least relax and read for a bit.

Only 10 and a half hours left!!!

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We're Getting Married TOMORROW!!!!!

Oh. My. God!!!!!!!!

First of all, how much of a complete geek am I that it’s the night before my wedding and I’m sitting in my hotel suite with my laptop posting to my blog? It’s sad, really.

Today was an alternately stressful and then very relaxing day:

6:30am – Woke up. Dammit. Could not get back to sleep. Tried for a while then gave up and ready Harry Potter.

8:00am – Got out of bed, took shower, finished packing. Realized that I’d been holding my breath nearly that entire time.

9:30am – Went to Panera, car packed, Harry Potter in tow. Had breakfast (bacon egg and spinach souffle and hot chocolate). Headed to Kimberley’s for a Spa Day.

10:30am – Had Hot Chocolate Bath at Kimberley’s. Was very nice but I wished I had a bath pillow so the back of my hair didn’t get so wet and I wished the water actually looked like Hot Chocolate – it had chocolate oil in it but that was clear. Sang to myself in the tub and giggled about getting married tomorrow.

11:15am – Had Chocolate Massage. Was my first professional massage given by a guy – was awesome. Michael did a great job and I’m noting his name in my blog in case I want to book another one with him in the future. Chocolate Syrup (chocolate scented massage oil) smelled just like Chocolate World and reminded me of being a little kid so I smiled like a big idiot throughout the very relaxing massage.

12:20pm – Had Chocolate Body Buff. Was amazing. The tech, Sarah, rubbed chocolate scented sea salt mixture all over me, then sent me to the shower to get it off, then coated me with chocolate butter cream, wrapped me in plastic, put a warm blanket over me, gave me a scalp massage, and then left me to relax in the warm chocolate cocoon for 20 minutes. I dozed. It was wonderful. Wonderful. My skin feels incredibly smooth and I am chocolate scented.

1:30pm – Had Manicure. Anne seemed rushed but did a good job. Not GREAT, but good enough.

2:20pm – Met Amy and Dad at Yvonne’s where we picked up my dress. Drove to Franklin Suites and checked into my Suite – it’s large nad has a big fancy bed and a whirlpool tub. It’s my favorite hotel room ever. It’s filled with antique looking furniture so it feels homey and there’s free wifi. Life doesn’t get much better than this.

3:45pm – Amy and I head back towards Clifton Park while I fret over there not being enough time to get to Crossgates or Colonie Center to run an errand and clean my ring. We stop in Clifton Park Center and are able to accomplish both tasks. Stop on the way to the Parent’s house so that Amy can pick up Phil’s suit. Drop off Amy at the folk’s and realize that I haven’t eaten since early this AM and the spa treatments have taken a lot out of me (shut up – it’s totally true). Stop and get a 4 piece chicken McNugget which I eat on the way back to the Hotel.

5:20pm – Arrived back at the Hotel. Ironed my dress for rehearsal. Fielded some phone calls. Did hair and makeup, got dressed.

5:50pm – Dad arrives with JJ, Jen, Jonathan, and Ashley, who’ve just arrived by train. They take quick showers and get dressed and we head across the street for the rehearsal.

6:30pm – Rehearsal begins. Goes very quickly because we’ve got a simple ceremony. Diana is our on-site coordinator and she rocks. She looked through my program with me, asked me a few questions and then ran the rehearsal. Our tables were all set up and looked fabulous. She told me that I should go into business for myself because in the 14 years that she’s worked with the Plaza, she’s never seen anything like the menu cards, place cards, and programs that I made. Damn right!

7:30pm – Rehearsal Dinner at the Dakota begins. Food is excellent and everyone seems to have a great time. Alex thanks everyone for coming while I hide behind him – when did I become shy? We hand out gifts and I hand out an itinerary for tomorrow’s events. The girls giggle at me while the boys look at me like I’m a freak. Whatever – it stems from all those guard shows – you can’t go to a show without getting a sheet about it first. Knowledge is power, people, and I want to keep everyone well informed! Begin to get a little hyper/excited/freaked out when dinner is coming to an end: “Oh my God, tomorrow is really here. Tomorrow is really tomorrow.” Wish for tomorrow to be in a few weeks or months. I’m excited for everything but that means that the planning will have to end. And I SOOOOooo enjoyed the planning!

10:30pm – Arrive back in hotel room. Tell myself not to turn on the computer but can’t help myself. Start writing long rambling post about tomorrow. Keep yawning. Should go to bed. Hopefully I will not wake up at 6:30am tomorrow like every other day this week. Oh well. If I do, I’ve got Harry Potter to keep my company…

Yawn. Sleep Now – I hope! And then Tomorrow – Wow. Tomorrow….

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I'm Getting Married the Day After Tomorrow.

How freaking crazy is that?! CRAZY!!!

I woke up today again at 6am. Annoying. I think it’s nerves. I’m not sure why I’m feeling like that – I’ve got pretty much everything done. Amy and Wham helped me tons with some of the DIY stuff so that was all done pretty much by Sunday night. All of the “wedding crap” (accessories, props, etc) is out of the apartment and either already down at Franklin Plaza or is at the Folk’s house waiting to be taken over this AM. I feel like I’ve got everything pretty much under control!

I guess the nerves come in because while I’ve consulted my many, many checklists, I’m nervous that I’m forgetting something. I know what I need to do to get finished up in the next two days: pack for my nights at the hotel, confirm the hotel for the honeymoon, start packing for the honeymoon, make sure that I have the marriage certificate in with my “wedding day stuff”, make sure the boy puts someone in charge of my ring, get a pedicure and eyebrow wax, have my spa day tomorrow, pick up my gown, and check into the Franklin Suites. Once that’s all done, it’s really wedding time! I just hope that I’m not forgetting anything important.

We found out on Monday night that Beck is not going to be able to be at the wedding. It’s sad, of course, that she can’t be there but Mother Nature will do what she has to do so there’s no use getting too upset about it. She also found out that she’ll be getting induced on Sunday so that means that probably by Sunday night she’s going to have her baby!!! We’ll have a ton of photos and our DVD – which our videographer ships to us within a week after the wedding! – to share with her afterwards and I’ll make sure to set aside one each of the DIY projects that I did so that she can have some little pieces of the day. Her mom told us Monday that Beck was really upset about it, but I hope that she’s doing better now – I hope that she’s focusing on the little peanut that’s on his or her way! That’s the most exciting thing ever!!! I hope that she has the baby early in the day on Sunday – maybe Alex and I can stop by the hospital on our way down to JFK. I don’t want to go to London without knowing that everything went OK!

I’m going into work today because I am a crazy person, which means that I need to start getting ready. I really, really, really would rather not go into work because I’m starting to feel insane and work stresses me out and I really don’t need that on top of everything else. I’ve decided that I’ll only go in a half day, though. There are some things for a couple of my clients that I really want to get done so that no one else has to get saddled with it while I’m gone and once I get that stuff done I’m out of there today! Then, it’s off for a pedicure and eyebrow wax and then back here to start packing.

40 hours, 45 minutes remaining!!!!!

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Oh. My. God.

I will be married at the end of this week. Today is Monday, I get married on Friday. Insane. Insanity.

I was up pretty late last night trying to pull together all of the remaining projects. Amy came over and was here for almost 6 hours helping me finish off the DIY stuff for the wedding day. She then brought it all up to the parents house so that they can take it with them to Franklin Plaza today when they go to meet with them and finalize everything. She is a saint. I can’t believe how long it took to finish everything up. Things I’ve learned about DIY projects: you always need more materials than you think and it will always take longer than you expect. Oh, and you’ll always think of just one more thing that you wanted to do or you think you should have done. Wham will tell you that Dad acts the same way with the house. It must be a Wollyung thing.

So yeah. It’s Monday. I have today, tomorrow, and Wednesday left to finish up any of the Wedding related chores that I want to get done. Unfortunately, I have to work as well. I don’t have too much left to do – must write Thank you notes for attendant/parent/reader gifts and wrap those gifts, have to finish up two very simple DIY projects for the out-of-towner gift bags, have to pull together a list of people for group shots for the photographer, have to confirm all the vendors, etc. Not all that much left, actually. There is a ton of stuff to be done around the house (my DIY whirlwind has left the apartment a MESS) but Alex has the entire week off (brat) and so I’ve got a list started for him on the fridge.

I can’t believe it’s so close. I can’t believe it’ll be here so soon – and then it will be over. Insane. So much planning goes into one day – I’m very happy that we’ll be getting a DVD and tons of pictures to remember it all! (Which reminds me that I’d like to be able to somehow get the word out to folks that if they’re taking digital camera pictures, I’d love for them to share them with me… Have to figure out what the easiest way to do that is…)

I should be getting ready for work (which is going to be busy and hellish these next few days) but I’m glued to this computer obsessing over what I need to make sure that I do. I need to relax – I’ve got a VERY detailed to do list with 26 open items to be completed this week and I’m pretty sure that I’m not missing anything off the list. I woke up this morning before the alarm went off and was immediately wide awake. I think the freaking out is beginning. Hopefully I can ward that off with organization and planning.

In other news: Beck should be having the baby very shortly! She’ll be going to the doctor today and is a week over her due date so will be able to “talk inducement” with the doc. Hopefully everything goes well for her today! I can’t wait to meet her baby… I can’t believe she’s going to be a mommy! I predicted that the baby is a little girl. I guess that’s my “official” prediction now as it’s on my blog. Can’t wait to find out!

Also, we got our Harry Potter books on Saturday morning and I’m already a third of the way through. Can’t wait to finish up all the wedding projects tonight so I can get back to the book!!!

July Rocks.

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Two Weeks

clipped from www.bestweekever.tv Earlier today, I referenced one of my favorite scenes in cinematic history, from the movie Total Recall: The famous moment when a heavy-set woman is at an airport on Mars, answering security questions, only to repeat the term “Two Weeks” over and over again and start flipping out. Her eyes roll back in her head, she practically foams at the mouth, and THEN… her hair falls off. Just when your mind is about to be blown, everything stops. Her ear comes out like a doorknob, and is twisted, allowing her face to open up like an automatic door. Then, it is revealed: We are actually watching Arnold Schwarzenegger trying to escape Mars in a dress (it’s good to know rubber fat suits are still available hundreds of years from now). “Get Ready for a Surprise” indeed.

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Wedding Related Hilarity

Surprise Dances RULE!

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I'm annoying.

clipped from www.glamour.com The most annoying coworkers The Bride-to-be

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