North Carolina, Here I Am!

I finally made it safely to Raleigh. Plans changed this morning because Stephanye got sick (feel better!!) and so I had to make the trip alone. Thanks to my dad I am writing this from a very lovely hotel room; which, by the way, has a king size bed so I can sleep sideways. :-)

The drive was nice, I didn't hit any bad weather which was good. I left Charlottesville a little late though because I wanted to wait and see if any of my friends could join me, so I the last leg was in the dark. I checked into the hotel around 7:30 and decided to go explore the area a little (even though I couldn't see a whole lot). I hate that I have to go home tomorrow and won't have much time to wander around the research triangle so I started tonight!

First I went to NC State, Stephanye's alma mater and where Christopher's niece Kendra will be attending undergrad next year. I was accepted at NCSU for my master's degree, but UVA paid me so I went there instead. :-)

Afterwards, I just started driving toward downtown Raleigh. No, I did not have a map. No, the Volvo does not have a GPS system. Yes, my father was scared crapless when I told him where I was - wandering around Raleigh in the dark alone. :-) Anyhow - I stumbled upon the State Capitol building so that was exciting!

Trying to get back from downtown was interesting since backtracking wasn't really an option, nor did I have any idea where I was. BUT - as soon as I called Christopher for help, I found my way. I swear, I am the most directionally-gifted person in the whole world. I guess I get it from my dad. :-)

The gown sale starts at 12:00 tomorrow, so wish me luck! I'm hopefully going to get a chance to see UNC and Duke as well (I saved those two for the daylight hours).

Charity Gown Sale in Raleigh

Tomorrow, Stephanye and I are headed to Raleigh, NC for the weekend. Steph grew up there so it's a nice excuse to visit her family and to see where she's from. We're also going to attend a charity wedding gown sale called "Brides Against Breast Cancer." It is a nationwide tour that stops in major cities and offers designer gowns for $99 to $799. The dresses are donated by designers, manufacturers and previous brides (some are new, some used) and the proceeds of the sale benefit the Making Memories Breast Cancer Foundation.

When I really stop and think about it, weddings have gotten OUT OF CONTROL over the past few decades. Girls buy $5,000 gowns that sit in a box in their closet after they wear them. As much as I want that "dress of my dreams" the thought of my money going to support educational programs and wish-granting funds for breast cancer makes the money worth it. Several people close to me are breast cancer SURVIVORS and I hope that if I do find a dress, my little bit of money can help others survive this terrible disease.

Granted, I may not come home with anything, but I would appreciate you all spreading the word to any future brides you may know. You can visit the website and view the calendar to find upcoming sales...

www.bridesaginstbreastcancer.org

WISH US LUCK!!!

April 9, 2010

We met with Father Dennis this morning and set a date for the wedding - YIPPEE!! We will be getting married...

Friday, April 9, 2010
5:00 pm

Mark your calendars!! April 9th is the Friday after Easter and almost every elementary school in the country has spring break the week between. That means, none of our little kids will have to miss school and all of us teachers won't have to take time off work. :-) Even though I will take a FEW days for our mini-moon. It is a long way off, but it feels so good to finally have something set in stone. And prepare yourselves, it will be a full Catholic mass. More to come later!! :-)

Goin' to the Chapel and We're Gonna Set a Daaaaaate

Later this morning we're heading downtown to have our first meeting with Father Dennis, the priest at our church where we'll be getting married. He knows I'm bouncing out of my shoes waiting to set a date so he promised me we could do it today. Christopher would like to keep the date "tentative" but once that thing books I say it is SET.IN.STONE. No matter what it will be over a year away but the satisfaction of knowing EXACTLY when will be fabulous. Not sure what else the meeting will involve - I'm sure some information on pre-cana and other Catholic things we must attend to before the big day. Wish us luck!! :-D

Happy Birthday Jules!

Thirty-five MILLION birthday wishes to my cousin Julie today! Julie is my first cousin, mother of our flower girl Sadie. Because she moved to Virginia ten years ago, it has always been easy for me to visit with her while I lived in the DC area and now in Charlottesville. When I am in need of "family time" I always head up to Julie and Steve's since my parents live four hours away.

Julie is a huge reason for my successful recovery. When I was in the hospital in Baltimore, some weekends I would want to drive home to Charlottesville for a day or two. The drive was too long (I didn't get out of the hospital until 8:00 pm), so I would stop at Julie and Steve's, spend the night, and finish the drive the next morning. No matter how bad of a week I had in the hospital, I was always able to talk about it with Julie and know that I was understood. So, on to the wonderful things about the birthday girl!

Just a FEW things I love about Jules

• She is beautiful, always has been. You should see pictures of her as a child, she was the cutest darn thing in the world.
• She is so funny. Must be where her kids get it.
• She is obsessive compulsive about cleaning. Really, this just makes me feel better about myself - but, a reason I love her nonetheless.
  
• She has such a good heart and is such a supportive friend.
  
• She loves her children to the end of the Earth.
• She loves Christopher (a little too much at times...hehe)
• Our personalities are so similar it makes me feel like I'm not alone in my crazy world (again, really just helping me out here!)
• She loves to organize. BEAUTIFUL.
• She loves candy. I love anyone who loves candy.
  
• She is so generous. I can't even list the things that she has done/given/provided for other people in her life - she is the least selfish person in the world.
• She is a fabulous photographer. I'm going to have her take some engagement shots of Christopher and me when the weather gets nicer.
  
• I love her!!

So happy happy happy birthday, Julie. I hope you get everything you ever wanted and more. (And that includes your Ruth's Chris dinner... call and tell me all about it please). We both love you so much!!

Asking for Prayers

Last night, my cousin Johnny's wife passed away. She was 37 years old. She went into cardiac arrest on Valentine's Day and was put into an induced coma. They found a hole in her heart that could have been there since birth. After a week on life support, they let her go last night.

Johnny and Lisa have three young children, ages 7, 5, and 3. A few years ago, Johnny lost his son Josh in a tragic ATV accident and his father passed away in 2006; life has not been easy for him. I would appreciate any prayers for Johnny and his family. Especially my Aunt Nancy. That family is so full of love and we can only hope and pray that God carries them through another difficult tragedy.

Happy (Belated) Valentine's Day!

I have been a bit behind on the blogging lately... So I'm posting my Valentine's Day ramblings a week late. Oops. :-) I woke up Valentine's Day morning to find my car gone, along with my fiance. He came back with a dozen long stem roses, 1/2 light pink and 1/2 dark pink. These were exactly what he got me last year and they brought back so many wonderful memories.

Last year, we said the big "I love you" for the first time on the 14th. It sounds uber cheesy, but really I think that it just happened to slip out that day and had nothing to do with St. Valentine. I remember thinking, this is CRAZY. We have been dating for THREE WEEKS. You can not possibly be in love with someone after THREE WEEKS. But I was. Totally and utterly head over heals in love with him. :-) The first chance I got I ran to the bathroom with my cell phone to text Robin to tell her he said he was in love with me. Robin was really a great confidant the first few weeks when I felt crazy to tell anyone else that this was the guy. Plus, she knew I was going to marry him anyway - I had decided that on our second date...

This year, Chris and I had a lovely little Valentine's Day, thanks in part to my parents. Mama and Daddy knew that with everything going on, we had been VERY stressed, so they sent us a little cash to take ourselves out to dinner. (Otherwise, it's doubtful we would have indulged in this economy). We decided not to go OUT persay, but rather to get some food and dine in. We stopped by a place in town, Mona Lisa Pasta where they make everything from scratch and picked up some manicotti. Then we went in search of dessert. We drove all over town and by this time, most of the bakeries were completely sold out. We got 3 "peanut butter balls" from Feast! to hold us over (naturally a healthy appetizer) and then ended up at Crazy Cakes on the downtown mall. We picked out a bunch of very cute cupcakes and headed home.

We had our dinner of manicotti, salad, diet coke in wine glasses, and bread. Then we cleaned up and ate our cupcakes while watching "My Big Fat Greek Wedding." Christopher had never seen it before and since then has been chasing me around the house with a bottle of Windex. After that, I went into a cleaning frenzy since Mama and Daddy were coming the next day and hadn't seen the house since we moved in August. Very romantic, Minsterman. VERY romantic.

All in all it was a wonderful little Saturday and a very nice break from the chaos that has been happening around us lately. Love, ain't it grand? Hehe.

West Main Bridal Show

Yesterday the only bridal shop in Charlottesville hosted its annual bridal show. It was held at a local country club (can't you tell by the wallpaper in the photo above?) and lasted most of the afternoon. Robin, Joey, Stephanye and I all went together, and although I know they enjoyed the "fashion show" I caught Steph more than once at the cake tasting table. :) Below is a photo of the girls taking a break from all the vendors.


Life as a country club member has to be rotten. Since it was over 70 degrees in Virginia, we got to sit outside and enjoy the sights of the mountains.

A lot of the vendors were really great but the majority were WAY out of our price range. There was one photographer and a wedding coordinator that I absolutely loved and was devestated to find that I did not win their door prizes. Unfortunately we didn't win ANYTHING, but a nice lady from a local florist let me take a pink and green bouquet home. Maybe she thought it matched my outfit. :) We did get to sample some fabulous food and met a caterer from a local resturant whose menu looks delicious (and for me, that's saying a lot). The restaurant serves only South African food but they cater a lot of everything (especially Italian - I want this event to be a starch fest).

So although a good bonding experience with the girls, we didn't get much out of the day. The runway show was fun though - they had models of all different shapes and sizes. And all three of the dresses I loved from the salon were featured so Steph got to see them in person. All and all - it was worth the free admission.

Happy Happy Birthday Sadie!!

Happy happy happy third birthday to our flower girl Sadie Quince. Sadie is my cousin Julie's daughter and is, quite frankly, the most beautiful child on the face of the earth. But there's more to this little tyke than just blond ringlets. She is absolutely HYSTERICAL. Christopher and I went to visit on Sunday to watch the Superbowl and I couldn't get a word in because it was constantly, "hey Kristi" with that cute little lisp.

Sadie will be four by the time we get married so she'll be just the right age to toss down some petals and drastically improve the beauty of the wedding album. Julie and I asked her this weekend if she was going to wear a beautiful dress at the wedding and she stopped, thought pensively for a moment, and replied, "naah - I think I'll wear a sweatshirt." Much to her dismay, Jules and I have already picked out 87 dresses for her so the sweatshirt is out.

Some Beautiful Things About Sadie Quince

1. She is so loving.
   
2. She is perfectly fine playing alone for awhile and then it's "hey mama. MAMA."
3. She never stops talking - definitely a Graft girl.
4. She runs - all the time. Just runs in circles. You would think it would wear her out but it doesn't. She could go for hours.
5. She is gorgeous (see photos).
6. She is so smart. Yeah - every family member thinks THEIR kid is the smartest but she really is top notch. Her vocabulary is out of this world and she comes up with the craziest things sometimes.
7. Her imagination. Scribbles come with markers and oh, remember that time she rode on the back of a seal lion? Yeah - that was a little squishy.
8. She is hysterically funny.
9. Along those lines - she has the best giggle.
10. Ok, so it's basically Joey. Beauty, brains and humor. Where do these people get it?!?!

So cheers to our little one who is finally 3!! Have the best birthday EVER, Sadie, and I'm sorry that I can't be at your tea party tomorrow. CHRISTOPHER AND I LOVE YOU!!


Oh - and is it wrong to be jealous of a toddler's clothes? Because if it is, who wants to be right?? (Both pictures by Julie)

Happy Birthday Joey!

Today is my dear friend Joanna's 26th birthday. Joey is one of my very best friends from grad school, as well as one of my bridesmaids. (She is also pictured in a previous post accompanied by a creepy bridal doll). Jo is one of the most wonderful people that you could ever meet and I am so blessed to have her as a friend.

Some wonderful facts about Joey

• She has the uncanny ability to bring laughter and lightheartedness to any situation, but also knows how to give fantastic advice.
• She gets the best grades yet still has an amazing social life. I admire her ability to balance her professional and personal lives.
• She exercises regularly and follows through on plans to hike and enjoy the outdoors.
• Her dog Lola has the funniest underbite you will ever see.
• She looks gorgeous ALL.THE.TIME. It's actually kind of irritating that someone can get away with not wearing makeup and still being that beautiful. Those blue eyes are a killer!!
• She wants to move to Portland. I bought her a yellow umbrella in support of this decision but secretly and selfishly hope she stays in Virginia.
• She can handle more than one drink (which, sadly, I can not).

... and the list goes on and on!!

So happy happy birthday to my sensational friend and bridesmaid! Here's wishing you the most wonderful day. I love you!!

Gown Shopping

This morning Joey, Robin and I went gown shopping at the only bridal store in Charlottesville. Two hours and 15 dresses later, we felt good about the experience. I found three dresses I really love and all at a relatively good price. It was hard not having Mama here but Robin was paparazzi (120 photos) so we could send her some visual evidence. Here's a picture of my girls before we headed into West Main.

We had so much fun looking through all the gowns. We had help from a lovely woman who had me try on some dresses that she knew I would hate just so I could see what they looked like... (Maybe that's why the count got up to 15!!) When Joey started fading, this little lady below perked her right up. I think it was the laser beam eyes that made her so super-special. (Don't worry, she had an African American friend on the other side of the shop to keep her company).

Joey, with the bride of Chuckie

As happy as I am that we're postponing until next spring, it is REALLY hard not to do everything way in advance. Plus, my gown is the only thing I have to keep secret from Christopher and it is SO hard. I'm excited and want to share all the details with him - but I have to wait for-ev-er. I guess that's what it's all about though. :-)

We have two special birthdays this week so be looking for some VIP posts!!

One For The Other Thumb!

STEELERS WIN! STEELERS WIN!

Ms. Miller and Mr. Ward at halftime

Excellent News!

I know that it's Super Bowl Sunday and I should be mentally preparing myself for a big Steelers win (or studying in the meantime), but I had to post a quick item of good news.

CHRISTOPHER DOES NOT NEED TO GET CONFIRMED BEFORE WE GET MARRIED!! Now, I know I may be a little too excited about that - but it's a pretty big deal. It's church law in Roman Catholicism that both the bride and groom must be baptized, but only one needs to be Catholic in order to receive the sacrament of marriage. Although the Vatican says it's ok, I have found that certain churches require both participants to be Catholic and confirmed as adult members of the church.

Now, being the good Catholic girl that I am - I have received all scheduled sacraments to date: baptism, reconciliation, communion, and confirmation. Thankfully, Chris is a cradle Catholic so he was also baptized, and received first reconciliation and communion in the Catholic Church. Yet he skipped that pesky sacrament to become a full member of the church. I wasn't worried until I started reading through my Catechism book and noticed that some churches require confirmation. After going through MONTHS of classes serving as Suzie's sponsor, I was dreading the thought of doing it all again. Looks like we got off easy on this one. :)

We will still have to go through pre-cana classes (marriage prep) through the church which is totally fine. I'm just happy that this is one less thing I have to worry about.

P.S. We are getting married in Charlottesville at our church in town: Holy Comforter. I'm hoping to get downtown one of these days to get some photos of the church - it is gorgeous. It's small - holding 210 MAX - but it feels more like home than any other church besides Saint Matt's in Dauphin. Father Dennis will be marrying us - he jumps up and down. I heart him. :-) More to come later - I'm off study/get ready to go to Julie and Steve's for the big game.

GO PITTSBURGH!!