Fling before the ring

My bachelorette party has come and gone, already, and now there is o-n-e month left til the wedding! Only having one month until the big day is stressing me out just a little, but what I really want to say here is a big THANK YOU to my sisters, bridesmaids, and friends for making my fling before the ring such a blast. And a special thank you to those who traveled from out of state, you rock!

I loved every minute of it- from my watermelon beer at Boston Beer Works to dancing with Coca-Cola and CaveMan/Jesus to Fast Times 80s music. I woke up Sunday morning with sore abs and tired legs, and the writing on my once glittery silver bachelorette sash was all pink. At first we wondered if we really drank so much we didn't even realize it was pink Saturday night, but then we realized all of my intense dancing and jumping must have took the silver glitter right off. I didn't bring my own camera out with me that night, thank goodness...who knows where it would have ended up or how many pictures of the crazy-haired keyboard player I would have taken...but I'll leave you with this...cheers!

Atlanta, here we come!

So, it's official. Rob and I have decided to make the move to Atlanta. Well, it's as official as it can be without actually having an apartment to move to yet, or in my case- a job, but we're working on it. Add all of these big changes on top of the fast approaching wedding, and man do we have a lot on our plate, but we're up to the challenge.

As exciting and CRAZY as the next few months are going to be, I have to remind myself that I really shouldn't be in disbelief that we are actually moving. A year ago, after Rob and I signed our new apartment lease, we came up with a master plan that included moving to the south and Rob going back to school. We were both serious about the plan we came up with over the phone, but also realized it would take a lot of things to fall into place for it to happen, and that the main reason we came up with the master plan was because we were in sticker-shock over the rent we would be paying for our new apartment!

What makes this move all the more exciting for me, is that I have never even been to Atlanta before (besides the airport for layovers). I know it gets wicked hot there, traffic is a mess, and they have good shopping. I'll get to see it for myself next month when we go down for a weekend to find an apartment. Oh, and I also know rent prices are much more affordable than in Boston woohoo!

Amazing what a minute can do

One of my favorite things about being in a relationship with Rob is our love for the same band. It is more than just sharing a similar taste in music- my favorite band is his favorite band, and it has been that way since before we ever met each other. In a way, this shared love of the band helped bring us together in the first place. If it weren't for the extra large DMB poster covering the wall next to my dorm room doorway freshman year, Rob's roommate Kevin may not have realized I was into the same band as his obsessed roommate who had books and books of burned live DMB CDs. It was the same night Kevin saw my poster that Rob and I were introduced.

July 5th, 2000 was Rob's first time seeing DMB in concert. My first show was only 4 days later, July 9th, 2000. While I will give it to him that he has been to more shows than I have over the years, I think we have both lost count of just how many we have been to. It is the one thing that we will continue to go to regardless of when or where the show is, what day of the week it falls on, or how much the tickets cost. Last night we went to the first of our 2 shows for 2010, and it was excellent. The setlist was right on, not a song either one of us could complain about. Their energy on stage was fun to see, as always, and our seats weren't too bad either. But the show wouldn't have meant as much to me if I couldn't share it with the guy next to me. We have too much history together with this band, and when I see them I think of him.

One of the best moments at the concert last night was when they played So Damn Lucky. Rob looked at me and said 'Hey did we just log onto our wedding website?' We both like the song, but it's not 'our' song and I didn't even ask him before I made it the song of our wedding website. But it was a special moment for us, because it brought me back to the first time we heard that song together live. It was at the Dave and Friends concert in Boston our freshman year that we went to together, though we weren't yet a couple. That was such a special night for us, the start of something great, and here we were over 6 years later, soon to be married, listening to Dave sing the same song.

We're going back tonight for round 2, and we're going to enjoy every minute of it. If you haven't already heard, DMB isn't touring next year. For the first time in 20 years they are taking an entire year off. I have a feeling Rob and I are going to have a pretty busy 2011 anyway, but we'll look forward to more DMB goodness in 2012!

Secret Stash

Usually after a couple moves in together one of the first questions people ask is 'So what has changed?' or 'What have you discovered about your significant other that you didn't know before?' Usually I give it some thought but end up replying with 'Nothing has really changed.' And this is mostly true, except for one thing I never use to do before living with Rob, which is hide food.

Tonight Rob and I were watching the basketball and hockey games on TV, when I got up and went to the kitchen. He found me a few minutes later standing at the counter eating Tagalong girl scout cookies. He took one look at the cookies and said 'YOU ARE SO ANNOYING!' And I started laughing hysterically, and told him 'No, I'm just smart!' I bought those cookies back in March, and up until today they have been sitting in a bag under our bed. They may be his favorite cookies, next to thin mints, but if I kept them in the kitchen like a normal person would do, they would have been gone before I ever saw them.

Just this past week a couple of snacks disappeared out of the cabinet before I ever saw them opened. The can of cashews I originally bought for Mongolian Beef, but then forgot to add to the recipe, were gone the next day. Rob later told me he took them to work and finished them before lunch! A few days later it was the bag of bagel chips. Gone in one day.

Rob's eating habits are nothing new to me. Back in the days of Warren Towers and Late Nite, he would consume a big bag of reese's pieces in one sitting and then complain that his stomach hurt. And I won't forget the first time I bought a box of chewy bars for him on the way to the Cape...8 bars gone before we even got there. I have come to expect this from him, which is why I have resorted to hiding boxes of cookies under the bed. It's win-win really. I get a bite before they're all gone, and Rob doesn't get as many stomach aches.

Do you know what today is x 4

Today is the 4th straight day of wedding mile markers. This past Saturday was the one year mark since the DMB concert that Rob proposed after. Sunday the 30th marked one year since we technically got engaged, since he proposed well after mid-night. Yesterday was exactly 2 months until our wedding day. And as of today, I can officially say I am getting married next month.

Next month! I still remember very clearly being asked when the wedding was and for the longest time saying 'Oh not until next summer,' as if I had all the time in the world until the big day so don't ask too many questions about the details because hello- it's not until next summer. Then I started saying it's this summer, and now it's next month. Holy cow.

Someone recently asked me if I was nervous, the first of many times I will get that question I'm sure. I confidently said no, and he told me just wait until the week of the wedding and he'll ask me again and we'll see what I say then! I guess part of me is nervous, but just not in the way I typically associate being nervous with getting married. I'm not nervous about actually tying the knot, I'm not nervous about who I am committing myself to, when we've decided to get married or actually being married. If I'm nervous about anything it is the possibility of tripping down the aisle, or hoping nervously that everything falls into place for the big day and that everyone really enjoys themselves.

So, I've got 2 months to help make sure things do fall into place, and tripping down the aisle? Well, I guess there's not much I can do about that except walk slowly and hope my Dad catches me before I hit the ground.

The missing meatballs

Everyone says it won't happen to them, until it does. If you're lucky to grow up with great parents who raise you well, you know that much of who you are has been shaped by their words and actions. But every now and then growing up you hear them say something or do something, and you swear you will never be like that when you get older. Before you know it, you are just like them.

I had an 'I am my mother' moment the other day. Rob said he wanted to make spaghetti and meatballs and garlic bread for dinner, so I said I would pick up the necessary items at the store. I haven't exactly attempted to make my own meatballs yet, so I usually get my meatballs from the frozen section. I thought we still had some in the freezer, so asked Rob to check before I bought more. I was at work, so he checked for the meatballs while I was on the phone with him. None were to be found, but I insisted he look harder because I was pretty sure of the contents of our freezer. No meatballs. I said ok fine, but if I find them when I get home tomorrow, I swear.

The next morning I came home, groceries in hand, and as I open the freezer to put away the new bag of meatballs, I quickly spot the half eaten bag of meatballs that were no where to be seen the night before. I think I let out an Ugghh, and immediately picked up my phone to text Rob what I had found. I made a smart remark along the lines of 'It took me all of 5 seconds to find the meatballs!'

Right after I pressed the send button, I felt bad. I was instantly reminded of all the times my mom got frustrated with my dad when he couldn't find things that were 'staring him right in the face', usually in the kitchen cabinets or the refrigerator. Almost every time that happened, my sisters and I would stick up for my dad, saying so what if he couldn't find it? Leave him alone. And there I was, about to freak out on my fiance for something as silly as a $5.99 bag of meatballs. I guess that's what can happen when you reach a certain comfort level with someone. You don't hold back emotions over the small things like you normally would with others.

This meatball mishap actually happened months ago, I have just been saving this post for a while. It was a small thing that we've frankly almost forgotten about, and will undoubtedly happen again with something other than meatballs. But in Rob and my dad's defense, turns out there may be a scientific reason why men aren't as good at finding things as women. The video clip below sums it up pretty well!

Welcome to the family

The idea of marrying into a family and having in-laws used to seem strange to me. Getting new relatives just by marrying someone seemed too easy. Can you really call someone family after only meeting them twice in your life?

Mother-in-laws are in a category of their own. Watch any sitcom on TV and who always gets the bad rap? Mother-in-laws. Type in mother-in-laws in google and do you know what comes up? 'Mother-in-law problems', followed by 'Mother-in-law hell.' I've had plenty of friends get married, and one thing there was never a shortage of throughout all of the wedding talk was mother-in-law stories!

I have to say, I either lucked out or chose wisely, because my mother-in-law is one of the sweetest women you will ever meet, and I have no such stories as mentioned above. She planned a beautiful bridal shower for me this past weekend in Rob's home town of Grosse Pointe, Michigan. We went on a tour of the Ford House, and had a nice lunch followed by games and gifts. Besides my mom and sister Lisa, the guests were Rob's aunts, great aunts, grandmas, step-sister, cousin, mom and step-mom. The hydrangeas on the tables, German chocolate cake for dessert, and new everyday dishes from Crate and Barrel were all wonderful surprises. But maybe the best surprise was just how much Rob's relatives made me feel like part of the family, already.

So to answer my own question. Yes, you can call someone family after meeting them only a few times. The key is marrying into a family you want to call family after only meeting them a few times.


With my mom, mother-in-law and Lisa after the shower


Out to dinner after the shower with my mother-in-law, step father-in-law, my mom, father-in-law, step mother-in-law, Rob and Lisa