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Thursday, November 12, 2009


So it's been a while!! But things are going great. Chad and I are officially (well, almost) Mr. and Mrs. Blake! I say almost because I was supposed to be able to change my name last week but of course the wedding certificates didn't come in the mail until the day after I was off. Anyway, October 3rd went off with, well, very few hitches and the actually wedding day was mostly stress free and one of the most wonderful days ever! It was gorgeous out, the leaves were bright and I was surrounded by those I loved! What more could I ask for? How about a night of gettin' down on the dance floor!! Oh, and that's me driving up to Alvamar with my wedding dress wrapped in a sheet and piled on top. (Mom had to get a pic!)

Life has started to settle down a bit. It's wonderful to actually live in my own home! Scout loves her big back yard and has already dug a hole under the inadequate chain-link. Guess what we're building this spring! She gets to go with me to Lawrence every day where my mom picks her up and takes her home to play with Cassidy, her big, furry brother. No point in her staying by herself. I have to say the the drive is hard, not so much in the morning like you might think, but in the evening when I need to get home and make dinner.

We are thinking of expanding our family soon. I know what you're thinking and don't get too excited. I've got it in my head that I want a cat. I just feel like this big house needs something and since we don't need a baby and think a little fuzzy one might be just the right fit! I will keep you updated.

Things to look forward to:

1. Wedding pix!
2. New kitty?!?
3. Thanksgiving at our house
4. Christmas!!!!
5. Painting the bedroom?
6. Planning the new front garden layout
7. Vacation to New England!!!!!

Tuesday, July 7, 2009

More of the crazies

I'd like to say that Chad and I are settling in to our house all snuggly and tight, but...not so much. Of course, half of that has to do with the little hitch that I only "live" there on the weekends and visit on Tuesday nights. We did get most of belongings moved in over the weekend of June 18th; his from Stilwell and mine from Lawrence. All that remains is my oh-so-heavenly bed that I will not give up until October and some beautiful vintage 1960's vintage furniture his grandparents are giving us as well as some other essentials (some great dining room furniture, washer/dryer!!!, patio furniture).

Chad also picked out an early wedding present for himself; a 40 inch plasma TV which he was allowed to place in what he has lovingly termed the "TV Spot" or the brick area above our fireplace mantel. It, despite my skepticism at first, rely does look wonderful there. We also finally go to hang up our biggest winning from our Las Vegas trip, our Mangelsen original, "Teton Teddy" which was my early wedding present! Oh, and by the way, the new carpet and tile in the kitchen looks fantastic!!!

Chad and I are both having a pretty good month so far business wise. He was recently given a raise for all the great work that he has accomplished and is now an Engineer 3! My lia sophia business is starting to take off. I had my third show last night and really enjoy that effort that goes in and the product that comes out. I'm super excited because I reached my New Beginnings goal and will receive another great jewelry premium in free products which I will be picking out of the brand new catalog!!!

In other news, saving for the wedding had been going extremely, especially with my new business, that is until last night when my Anti-Lock Brake light came on as well as my anti-lock brakes, mind you it's summer and dry as a whistle, and I started to smell a burning. All of this on top of the fact that my whole exhaust system needs to be fixed is not looking good. As I was luckily right near my mechanic who specialized in VWs I very cautiously drove it over and parked it in the lot and waited for my parents to come pick me up. So, hopefully I will still have a wedding after my car is fixed!

Monday, June 8, 2009

Busy Weekend, Busy Week

Chad and I started off our busy weekend with Friday off. We joined our bank accounts, bought home, car and life insurance and even picked out carpet and linoleum on Saturday morning. So far everything seems to be going well with the house and we are just waiting to hear on the appraisal. We are little worried that it may not appraise for our loan amount and we might have to renegotiate, but as long as we get our house it should be okay.



I'm working on prepairing for my tech exam. I'm worried about the math portion as I've always loathed the subject and tend to freak out whenever I see it. Everyone keeps telling me that I will do fine and I hope they're right since I don't want to have to take it more than once both for pride and monetary reasons.


On the wedding front, I'm currently working on the save-the-dates which are made using two pieces of card stock, one bright fall red, the other dark brown. I designed them myself and got a free special font to spice them up. I printed the text on the red cardstock, then using a Marth Stewart scrapbooking punchout here I pasted the brown cardstock to the back for a great fall look. I was originally going to purchase matching envelopes from Michaels but decided that at $5 a pack it wasn't worth spending $190 total. I got a great deal off the internet at envelopemall.com. We also got some great engagement pix via my mom last weekend on the Plaza and at the Nelson-Atkins Museum. Previews to come soon!

In a more fun, need to get done soon but not this very second, note, I bought plans and fabric for a snuggly baby blanket for one of my best friend's (currently baby bump) baby! I bought this great Amy Butler pattern book from Amazon.com a couple of months ago.Then I went to a great local fabric shop, Sarah's Fabrics, and purchased a great print for the blanket, plus a new Amy Butler pattern for a MP3 (Zune 120 in my case) and Laptop cover!


The inside of the blanket will be fleece and will be great for little baby Rider on those cold St. Louis fall evenings! I'm diving in as soon as I finish those save the dates!


Thursday, May 28, 2009

Wow. What a crazy couple of weeks. After falling in love with what I thought was "home" and coming to terms with the fact that it was not right, Chad and I decided to regroup and approach our house hunting in a new way. We let our realtor pick out all of the houses, and even though we had seen them all on the web site, having her bring us there showed them in a new light, especially when it came to THE house!

I had hated it online but as soon as Chad and I walked in we loved it. We just had our inspection today and will close on the 18th! There's no big surprises and we get a flooring allowance so I'm already searching the Internet and begging Chad to take me tile and carpet shopping. Measuring the windows, checking the drawers, picking out welcome mats...it's so much fun!!!

Next, I've decided to become an advisor for lia sopia, a jewelry company that sells from a party setting. I really never imagined myself doing something like this but I love the jewelry and am going to jump on a chance to make some extra money for Chad and I while having fun and getting pretty things in the process! My first party is on the 11th as a hostess and I need to get 2 more bookings for myself from that party to start my own business off! We'll see how it goes!

Last, and definitely not least, I'm finally getting a chance to not only get my tech's licence but actually work as a pharmacy tech. Renee will be leaving at the end of July and I will get to take her place! I'm very excited even though it means passing a national certification and a training program at work. It's a big step up and a huge step toward my larger goals in healthcare!

Wednesday, May 13, 2009

The First Post

Let's see. Planing a wedding, buying a house, working, going back to school, trying to get my tech's licences, driving back and forth to see Chad and trying to keep him happy and playing WoW enough to make him smile...should I add something new?

Blogs have become a bit of a guilty pleasure for me so I guess it's a bit natural that I start one myself. I''ve always wanted to keep some type of journal so here goes. I'll try to keep it interesting!