A Note And A Vote

Some answers for your questions:

*There is no picture of the ring because it is extremely difficult to photograph. I am working on it, though. Be patient!!

*The boy on the left in the family picture is my Uncle Ross's (who passed away) son- who we now consider "one of us".

* The tile is ceramic.

*I am back to work.

Now lets vote on bridesmaid dresses:

Dress 1: (The one on the left - sienna color. Though, I like the one on the right - mocha or something, as well - same dress, different colors, love 'em both.)

Dress 2: (sienna 2)
Dress 3: (sienna 3)
Dress 4:

Dress 5:
Dress 6: (gold)

Dress 7: (brown/gold)

So here's the deal: I like all of these dresses and all of these colors for the bridesmaids. I want to do either all different style dresses in the same color or all different colors (just a shade off from one another) in the same style. The removable sashes can be in same shade, ivory or black. I think ivory with the sienna dresses for sure. What do you think? Be sure to weigh in, especially if you are going to have to wear one of these. They are all from Best Bridal Prices dot com.

Day 9, 10, 11, 12

On Day 9 my true love gave to me a plane ride back to Buffalo where we learned that our luggage had conveniently been left behind!

On Day 10 my true love gav to me - My Danny Boy - home from the Pet Hotel at Petsmart and very sleepy and stressed:( Poor guy!! Do note that I was far too sad and upset to take a pic. of him in the state he was in when we picked him up, so this pic. is of a far better, happier day.

On Day 11 my true love brought Danny Boy and myself home to our newly tiled kitchen, that he had done while we were away. He also had the wood floor in the stairway and foyer refinished. It is awesome!!!!!! I can't even tell you how much I love this floor!! Danny Boy likes it, too!

***Notice this horrible green diamond floor we used to have in the kitchen - not by choice, of course!!! TERRIBLE, right?!!

On Day 12 my true love gave to me a road trip to my parent's house to finally celebrate the holidays with them and the rest of my family. What a wonderful holiday!

Today's My Bday!!!

Happy Bday to Me. I didn't want anything for my bday. I dislike bdays very much. So I try to get through as much of the day as possible without acknowledging that it is my bday...I just go on, or at least try, as if it's any other day. There is just one MINOR problem with this! It is also my Gramma's bday. Yep! You heard it right, folks. I was born on my Gramma's bday!!!! Which makes it quite difficult to pretend like the day doesn't exist. That's ok, though. I like to acknowledge my Grandma and simply ignore myself. It's almost easier than if I were alone with the bday!

So we went to dinner with my parents, Gma, Brett and Linds, Aunt and Uncle and their children. Cheesecake Factory - not so yummy:( Josh bought me a new printer. Yeahhhh!!! I'll need it for my homemade wedding invitations I intend to become a pro at. Brett and Lindsay gave me a GC to Pier 1, which is always lots of fun!! My Mom and Dad gave me $$$, as did Gma - which I have just the thing to put it toward....uhhh, a wedding????!!!! My Aunt and her Fam gave me those gorgeous flowers you see above. I used to not understand flowers. I thought, "Why give a gift that dies?" Then when we bought our house and I began REALLY gardening, I grew to love flowers. Now I can tell you...if you want to make me happy, fresh flowers will do it!!! Love them!

My co-teacher, Jean, gave me a gorgeous necklace. My good buddy Terra sang happy bday to me and gave me a really cool planter that I may use for an umbrella stand instead!?!?!?!? My other good buddy Amy gave me a GC to Old Navy, lotion and a candle. Yeahhhh - more shopping. I have just the thing to buy with that GC, too. I plan to purchase flip-flops from Old Navy for all the ladies at the wedding, so when they kick off their heels and head to the dance floor, they can keep their tootsies safe and clean! My friends Nancy and Amy sang happy bday to me on the phone, as did Uncle Craig (his own special version of it anyway!). All this in addition to many text messages, emails and phone messages. But the best gift of all is knowing that I have all of these people in my life that care about me. So now you can see why it is sooooo difficult to pretend like it isn't my birthday. Thanks guys for making my day so special!

Days 6, 7, & 8

On Day 6 my true love gave to me a plane ride to Wisconsin to be with his Mother's family.

On Day 7 my true love gave to me a car ride to Illionois to be with his Father's family.

Larry - I know this was last year's pic., but I forgot to bring my camera this year:(

On Day 8 my true love gave to me a really bumpy truck ride to Sioux Saulte Marie, Canada to be with more family!

No More Excuses - Days 3, 4, & 5

On Day 3, my true love gave to me this bracelet as a souvenir from Red Rock Canyon. Don't you love it?!?!? As if the ring wasn't souvenir enough?

On Day 4, my true love gave to me a DELICIOUS dinner at Terra Rossa!
Home of a previous (two or three seasons back) "Hell's Kitchen" winner - Heather (forgot her last name!)



On Day 5, my true love gave to me another AMAZING dinner at Hachi!
It had to have been THE BEST Japanese food I've ever had. Yuuuuuummmmmmmmmm!!!!!

I am a LUCKY lady!!!

Sorry - Here Is the 2nd Day

I can't stay focused....so, once again, I owe you my apologies for being away for another week. Lets give it another try. Here it goes:

On the second day of Christmas my true love gave to me: a proposal for marriage and a beautiful diamond ring!!!!

Here are a few pictures of the day we got engaged. We were hiking in the Red Rock Canyon. Of all the times either of us has been to Vegas, neither of us has ever been there. I can assure you that we'll be back. It's AMAZING!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm Baaaaaaack!!

Red Rock Casino*Resort*Spa

Wow! What a hectic holiday this year!! I am just now attempting to get back into the groove!! Aaaahhhh! I have so much to say, and I plan to take it one day at a time so now to overwhelm you (or bore you). I thought I would do it in a "Twelve Days of Christmas" sort of fashion. If this gets old just let me know. However, I feel so blessed with gifts and love right now it just seems right!

So..................on the first day of Christmas my true love gave to me a ticket to Las Vegas and a bottle of my favorite wine.

That's right folks! On Tuesday, December 18th Josh gave me a bottle of wine with itinerary attached for Vegas. Sounds wonderful, right?! And I assure you it was, but not before panick struck. The tickets were for Thursday, December 20th!!!!! I had less than 24 hours to be ready to board a plane and not come home for 11 days. You see the plan was originally to go to his family's in Wisconsin and Illionois on 12/23. I was supposed to have four full days to complete shopping, wrapping, washing, drying, packing, cleaning, blogging, mailing, and panicking!! Although, we made our flight, the only thing I really accomplished before doing so - was the panicking!!

What a memorable trip, though, once we got there! I can't wait to tell you about it! Visit tomorrow!!