Ready to be a Bride!

Today was a busy day for Mom, Allie, and me. We started the day by visiting a little wedding shop in Decatur called Marina's, desperately seeking a jr. bridesmaid dress for Riley. I didn't realize when we bought the oh so cute bridesmaids' dresses that the brown would be so darn hard to match! My mom had heard that Marina can make any dress from scratch but our problems has been finding fabric. Marina had been on vacation for a few weeks so we finally sat down to discuss our dress wishes before running off to our next appointment. We are in luck. Marina can order fabric that matches the bridesmaids exactly and can also make the dress for little miss Riley. Next item on the to do list: Find adorable dresses for my flower girls- Grace & Peyton!

After visiting Merchant street, we went around the corner to the best salon in Decatur, Fringe. My mom got her hair cut and styled by Alyssa. It is soooo cute and in style! She goes for highlights before they leave for Florida in a couple of weeks! She is gonna look ten years younger before you all see her again! After Mom's appointment I sat down with Alyssa for a trial wedding up do. I surprisingly knew what I wanted and am SO excited for the results. With a cute hairdo- I'm officially ready to be the bride! I can't reveal the final results, but my decision was based off of the ever so beautiful Carrie Underwood. I can't believe how long my hair is and that I haven't gone crazy and chopped it all off. Even though my hair is beautiful, we both agreed I have a little further to go to pull the look off like Miss Underwood. After Fringe we headed to David's Bridal in Springfield to get my dress altered. I love my dress but the store annoys me ever since I was told I had back fat. It was soooo busy with prom and wedding shoppers. I was glad we had an appointment for the back alterations room and I didn't have to model a dress in front of the whole store. My dress almost fits perfectly. The length is just right with my high heels and really fits good. I'm a little self conscious about the top so she is going to take it in just a little so I don't feel the need to tug at it. The only major transformation taking place is the bussles (sp?). I love having my dress on, hair done, and jewelry shining to see what I will actually look like on October 10th! I'm excited.

Our last stop before home was Shoe Carnival where we FINALLY found SHOES for the GIRLS! Hooray! I didn't know if we would ever find something that matched. Allie said they are really comfy so I hope every one else likes them. They do have a good heal on them so I am going to continue to look for the mommy-to-be flats! Don't worry, Tara, I won't stick you in stilettos! :)

Baseball Season is Getting Close!

Jimmy, my good friend/Cardinal ticket provider, has informed me that baseball season is getting cloooooser. Which means spring is just around the corner AND he will be notifying me when his season tickets are up for grabs so I can attend a few games! Since I don't have anything exciting to share tonight, I thought I would incorporate a little baseball humor (Thanks LC for the email!).

THE WINDY CITY TEMPERATURE CONVERSION CHART

60° F: Arizonians shiver uncontrollably; people in Chicago are still sunbathing.

50° F: Californians try to turn on the heat; people in Chicago plant gardens.

40° F: Italian sports cars won't start; people in Chicago drive with the windows down.

32° F: Distilled water freezes; Lake Michigan water gets thicker.

20° F: Floridians don coats, thermal underwear, gloves and wool hats; people in Chicago throw on a light jacket.

15° F: People in Chicago have the last cookout before it gets cold.

0° F: All the people in Phoenix die. Chicagoans close the windows.

10° below zero: Californians fly away to Mexico . The Girl Scouts in Chicago are selling cookies door to door.

25° below zero: Hollywood disintegrates; people in Chicago get out their winter coats.

40° below zero: Washington , DC runs ou t of hot air; people in Chicago let the dogs sleep indoors.

100° below zero: Santa Claus abandons the North Pole. Chicagoans get frustrated because they can't start 'DA car.'

460° below zero: All atomic motion stops (absolute zero on the Kelvinscale); people in Chicago start saying, 'cold 'nuff for ya?'

500° below zero: Hell freezes over. The Cubs win the World Series.

Long Weekend

I am enjoying the rest of the long weekend since my second School Law class is over. It's funny how quickly the cohort classes fly by. This weekend was our second time meeting, and the next time we meet (in April) we take our final and go home. Wow! We talked about more interesting Law subjects and heard some very funny stories from our teacher. I think in order to teach master classes, you have to have funny stories or they won't let you teach. Between now and April I need to get my rear in gear and complete our final paper. My paper is on Student speech. Shouldn't be too tough to get an entire book out of that subject. My other class this semester, Personnel, meets for the first time on my birthday weekend.

Valentine's Day was fun. Doug sent me beautiful flowers to school on Friday. I love that he sends me flowers at work because I get to hear all the other ladies say you can tell I'm still young. Good news for me, Doug has a great role model in the flower business. His parents have been married 25 years and his dad still sends Patty flowers to work!

Doug and I got ready to go to dinner after I go finished with class. We both chose Pastabilities because it's my all time favorite and NEVER gets old. Doug had called earlier in the week to make reservations but I guess Valentine's Day is one of the only days they don't accept reservations. Weird. The gal told Doug that no matter when we arrived we would have about a 30 minute wait. We got to the restaurant at about 6:15 and were told we had an hour to an hour and a half wait. We both agreed we had nothing to do and Doug was craving lasagna... so we waited. After about 20 minutes of waiting, our name was called. The hostesses were not very good at predicting the wait time and lost some business due to the hour and a half prediction. I normally get spaghetti with meatballs and mushrooms or seafood lasagna, but I decided to try something new. I ordered the Pasta Carbonara and don't think I will ever order anything else at the restaurant again except for my delicious meal last night! We were back at my house by about 7:30... so much for our hour and a half wait for a table!

Today my grandma, grandpa, Aunt Deb, and possibly Jamie are coming over for a visit. My mom and I were going to make lunch but my dad says we should just go out to eat. I'm looking forward to visiting with all of them again. My grandpa and Deb came over to Alex's game not too long ago, but I haven't seen my grandma & Jamie since probably Christmas.

Fingers crossed that Doug hears good news from Masterbrand sometime this week. He felt his 2 hour and 15 minute interview went well and he couldn't do any better. I'm praying...

Praying for Good Luck!

I realize that I haven't posted recently even though a lot has been going on. I have mainly been working on homework for my School Law class that meets this weekend... on Valentine's Day weekend. The class is very interesting but the homework gives me a migraine. The first task was to write two case studies on court cases that have occurred within the last 10 years. I found a court case on a school district that makes all student who participate in extra-curricular activities take a urine test to prevent drug use. All extra-curricular participants including athletic teams, educational teams, band, chorus, future farmers club, future homemakers club, etc. A little extreme, maybe? My other case deals with different religious groups challenging student-lead prayer before football games over the PA system. Both interesting but a little over my head when it comes to summarizing. I'll summarize it for my readers in a nutshell- drug taking is okay, prayer is not... GO FIGURE! :( My other assignment was to write an eight page paper summarizing our school's elementary handbook. I'm just wrapping up all assignments with a few days to spare before class actually meets!

I have two major prayer requests for the week:
1) Doug has an interview with Masterbrand Cabinets in Arthur, IL tomorrow morning for a pre-engineering position. They have reviewed his resume and have called him for an interview... good news, eh? The position sounds like something Doug would really enjoy and he is SUPER excited about the possibilities all while trying not to get his (and my) hopes up. Of course we know, if it's not meant to be, bigger plans are already in the works.

2) My dad has been struggling with losing the feeling in his arm and hand lately. He of course tries to act "tough" but the rest of us have become VERY concerned. He went to the dr. today for some Xrays. The doc thinks his carpal tunnel (which he had surgery on both wrists not too long ago) may be back AND he may have should impingement syndrome which would lead to a MAJOR surgery. Ugh! Everyone who knows Dad, knows he is a workaholic so this news is KILLING HIM! We are praying that the test results come back with positive news and that the numbness can be solved with minor procedures. Looks like Dale's may see more of Daddy Doug in the next coming weeks!

On an exciting note: My school is going to participate in an attempt to break a Guinness Book record. The last Guinness record in the category for "Most People Reading Aloud Simultaneously in Multiple Locations" was set in December 2006, when 223,363 participants read from E.B. White's "Charlotte's Web." Our school, along with millions of other students, plan to break the current record by simultaneously reading the Gettysburg Address, in celebration of Honest Abe's 200th birthday! It is organized and will be on webcast through the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library & Museum tomorrow morning at 9:30a.m. Abe Time (central time) when the reading takes place! The organizers have also heard from schools in both Germany & Japan that are interested in participating! This really will be a global birthday celebration! My class is super excited and have been practicing daily for our participation in what will go down in history. If you are in Blue Mound tomorrow at exactly 9:30 and have nothing better to do, Meridian Intermediate School would love to have you in the gym when we start our "Four score and seven years ago..."

I will of course let you know tomorrow how our activity goes! I bet Lincoln would be amazed at how technology has been developed since his time and make it possible for the entire world to not only participate, but also watch as his historic speech is recited again... to make history... again.

Legally Blonde.... "Oh my gosh, you guys!"

I just got back from St. Louis, my favorite city to visit! I have two very special places that I LOVE visiting while I'm in St. Louey~ Busch Stadium & The Fox Theater. When I was a senior in high school I decided to make it a hobby to attend Broadway shows whenever possible. Since then I have seen 42nd Street, Radio City Rockettes, Chicago, Annie (my engagement treat!), Sweeny Todd, and the latest~ LEGALLY BLONDE! I have always been a huge fan of Elle Woods (and the color pink!), but after today's show.... I am obsessed!

After purchasing the tickets, I have to admit I was a little disappointed when I found out I wouldn't be seeing Bailey as Elle Woods. Bailey was the winner of The Search for Elle Woods MTV show. I loved her during the reality show, cheered for her during the finale, and was mega bummed that she wouldn't be in St. Louis. Even with a bit of disappointment, I knew that BECKY GULSVIG would play a fabulous Elle!

When we arrived at The Fox we had a while to wait in the lobby. After visiting the ladies room, I was checking out a list of the cast for today's show when I read:

Now playing:

Elle Woods...... Laura Bell Bundy!

I had to look twice. THE LAURA BELL BUNDY!? As in Laura Bell Bundy from the ORIGINAL Legally Blonde The Musical? No way!

I guess Ms. Gulsvig broke her ankle during practice or a show so Laura Bell Bundy re-joined the group and is filling in for her while she is healing. It was a very special treat and I am still singing songs from an amazing (and hilarious!) performance. Doug even decided that it was okay that he had to watch a DVRed Super Bowl. He's such a trooper!

A picture from my favorite scene: