2473rd place ain't bad

Out of the nearly 24,000 runners who ran the Boston Marathon, Rob was the 2473rd runner to cross the finish line. I could not be more proud of him! His time was 3 hours 8 minutes and 54 seconds, qualifying him for next year's Boston Marathon.

It was a perfect day for the race. After taking Rob to the bus by the Commons at 6:30am, Rob's Dad and I eventually made our way out to mile 16 to cheer on Rob. We saw the elite women and men runners go by, then came the 'regular' but really fast runners, and then before we knew it there was Rob waving and yelling to us. I got a quick picture, yelled out a 'Go Babe- I love you!' and then we hurried to the T station to get back downtown.



We made it in time to see Rob again near the finish. He was going a little slower, and this time instead of saying he felt good like he did at mile 16, he just gave a little wave. Who knows what he must have been feeling at that point- so close yet so far away from being able to stop running. But at least we knew then that he was indeed going to finish, and with a kick-butt time at that!

We met him at the family meeting area, exchanged many hugs, took lots of pictures, checked out his awesome medal and asked to hear all about his 26.2 mile run. He said it went by so fast, so much of it was a blur at that moment. He said it was a difficult course, everything everyone with past experience tells you is right, the girls cheering at Wellesley were crazy, heartbreak hill wasn't as bad as what comes after it, and that he definitely wants to try and do it all again next year.

The last supper...before the race

Tomorrow is the big day! Rob's first Boston Marathon. Sure, he's run other marathons...in Dallas, and Burlington, Vermont. But if I've learned anything dating a marathon runner whose father is also a seasoned marathon runner, it's that qualifying for the Boston Marathon is a goal in and of itself. It is the world's oldest annual marathon and the only major American marathon that requires a qualifying time. Rob met his qualifying time last May at the Burlington Marathon.

Today was all about preparation. His Dad is in town, and though he isn't running it this year, he had some self experience tips for Rob. We drove through some of the course, and stopped at the John Kelley statue for a picture- a statue located along the course that remembers a famous Boston Marathoner, but is easy to miss while running the race. Rob's Dad had never been able to spot it throughout any of his Boston Marathon runs, until today.


Tonight I made a nice carb filled dinner- angel hair pasta with meatballs, garlic bread and salad. Now Rob is preparing for tomorrow morning, when he will wake up at 5:30am to get downtown to catch the bus that will take him to the start in Hopkinton. His outfit is all picked out- he even took a picture of it, and I have a picture of him taking that picture.


Rob is going to bed by 9:30pm, and to be honest I do not remember the last time I went to bed before 11pm. Now we need to plan out our schedule for tomorrow! Good luck Rob, Go Rob GO!!! xo

Bridal shower goodness

Ask guys what goes on at a bridal shower and most will have no clue. Not that there is a real reason for them to know what bridal showers are all about, but I still found this pretty amusing this past weekend at my own bridal shower. While everyone was setting up and getting ready for guests to arrive, an older family friend looked at the prize table and asked if the things on it were the decorations. His wife just looked at him and with a straight face said 'yeah.' I think he believed her. One of my bridesmaids told me she had to explain to her boy friend the difference between a bridal shower and the bridal party, after he asked her if she was "in the bridal shower." It may have confused him more when she told him that the shower is actually a party, and the bridal party is no party at all- just people in the wedding. And my Dad, well all he knew was that once all the women started to arrive he was going to hightail it out of there.

For all the females reading this, let me just tell you I had a wonderful shower this past weekend! Originally, I wasn't sure if I would have a shower because of how spread out many friends and relatives seem to be. But my sisters, bridesmaids, Mom and long time family friend Wendy planned a very special day for me with a bridal shower luncheon at Wendy's home in State College, PA. Rob's Mom flew in all the way from Georgia, I got to hug one of my bridesmaids for the 1st time since I actually got engaged, and it had been quite a while since I last saw my old neighbors from McElhattan.

There were games, pretty flower centerpieces, delicious food, plenty of toilet paper, fabulous gifts and the start to a beautiful ribbon bouquet. I'll share some of my photos from the shower, though I was too busy to take many myself. And the fun isn't over yet- next month I am fortunate enough to have another bridal shower in Rob's home town in Michigan!


Me and the Moms


Centerpieces by Mom



With Lindsey, one of my bridesmaids


Mom and Wendy


Sisters


The whole Eddy family

Back to school

I knew there was a reason why I didn't incorporate 'Boston' into my new blog name/web address. Don't jump to conclusions yet, as of right now we are still one happy Bostonian couple living in Brighton. But as Rob put it, we are a heck of a lot closer to moving South today than we were yesterday! And when I say South, I don't mean Southern MA or Southern New England, I mean Atlanta, Georgia.

Rob started the process of applying to business schools last month, and he's just about done submitting all of his essays and letters of recommendation. As far as he knew, he still had another recommendation to send to Georgia State University when he gets an email on his phone saying Congrats on your acceptance to Georgia State! I think we both felt a number of things after hearing that. First and foremost we were excited...Rob excited/shocked, me excited/proud. Then came all the questions and the what if's- What if we really end up moving to Atlanta? Can you imagine moving across the country and starting grad school all within 2 weeks of our wedding/honeymoon? Then the financial aspects, logistics of it all, what would I do for work, etc.

It was a very happy day for us- Rob getting his first acceptance letter (email) from a business school, knowing that all of the time and effort he put in to the application process paid off, and that he will indeed be going back to school this Fall. However, we're still far from making any sort of decision. As exciting as the idea of moving to a different city, beginning a new chapter as a married couple, and living closer to our families sounds- we can't possibly make that decision until Rob hears back from the other schools he applied to. The other schools are in Boston, and paying in-state tuition and Rob possibly being able to keep his current job while taking classes might be the best option for us right now. Good thing I have wedding planning to keep me busy, otherwise I'm sure my time would be spent making pro/con lists for the potential schools Rob applied to!

Fulfilled by me

If there's one thing I love it's a good deal. It's sometimes difficult for me to pass up a sale, especially if the thing that is on sale is something I think I really need. This made picking out things for our wedding registry slightly more difficult for myself, as Macy's was having a huge home sale at the time. I felt I could justify buying some of the things we registered for right then and there at the store, because it was such a good deal...but Rob restrained me.

Fast forward a couple of months, and here I am today anxiously awaiting my Macy's package to arrive in the mail. Lets just say I was really getting sick and tired of my current paper thin, next to nothing of a pillow, and the pillows we picked out were on sale for over half off, not to mention I had a $20 off coupon! When I told Rob I had been looking at the registry, he was like 'Jess you need to stop doing that.' And I was like 'well I had to, I was buying something off of it.' He then told me I was insane. Hey, at least I bought him a new pillow too!

I didn't realize how ridiculous it sounded until I heard myself say it out loud. We were at Rob's Aunt Susan and Uncle Simon's place for Easter dinner and they surprised us with some early shower gifts, as she probably won't be able to make it to my shower in Michigan. After opening them she said I would need to update the registry by removing the things she bought us, and Rob told her that wouldn't be a problem as I know all about the registry. I said 'he's just saying that because I bought some things off of it the other day.' Aunt Susan also told me that was insane haha.

This might be an embarrassing thing to admit to on a public blog, but what the heck. I bet more brides are guilty of this than you think. And to be fair, if I am going to write about Rob and all of the amusing things he does, I should expose myself now and then as well ;)

On your mark, get set, PLAN!

While Rob is gearing up for the Boston Marathon, I feel like I'm in a different kind of race...

Venue? Check
Band? Check
Dress? Check
Florist? Check
Bridesmaid dresses, cake, hair/makeup and lighting? Check, check, check and check

Since the day I got engaged, it has felt like I'm in a race against the clock..or calendar. Ok, maybe I gave myself a week or two to just get used to the new relationship status, share the news and enjoy my new bling, but soon thereafter I realized along with the ring came a checklist a mile long. I started setting goals for myself each month. I wanted a church and reception venue by the 4th of July, a band picked out by the end of August, and to find and order my dress within the 2 day span in October when my Mom and future Mother-in-law flew to Boston to go shopping with me...luckily I fell in love with and ended up buying the very 1st dress I tried on. Somehow I've met almost all of the timeline goals I have set for myself, and it feels so good each time I can say check! Each check brings you one step closer to the day you have been waiting for, the day you can't wait for.

But what I am realizing now, more so than at any other point in the last 10 months, is that what people tell you when you first get engaged is true. Enjoy all the planning, no matter how stressful or overwhelming it may seem, because your engagement goes by before you know it. Take the time to enjoy being the bride-to-be, because it'll only happen once. Buy the wedding magazines, spend the extra time and money on the things you want for your big day, and try to have fun picking out just the right font for your invitations even when the website is driving you crazy!

My wedding is less than 4 months away now, and I can't even explain how crazy that sounds to me. I've reached an in between time, where most of the major things have been checked off my list, but the craziness of meeting with all the vendors to finalize the details hasn't yet begun. So I'm going to put down the pen and checklist and just enjoy this special time, because July 31st will be here before I know it, and once you are married you can never be the bride-to-be again.