We ordered our unity candle on December 30, and I was just able to pick it up today. I ordered it with plenty of time to spare and told Bett's Bridal in Valley Junction I wanted it by March 1. I figure it's always good to have some wiggle room, and boy, did that come in handy! We went to pick this up 1.5 weeks ago and instead of saying Jessica and Lucas, it said Jessica and Luke. Not many people call Lucas Luke, and by not many, I mean his mom and brother sometimes do. I never do. I wasn't all bridezilla on the store owner, but I let her know I needed a new one in a week. She was able to get it in 9 days. And I still have wiggle room. My plan is to have NOTHING to do next week though. So I'm glad this is one more thing I can cross off the list. T-11 days!
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It's taken a lot of months, prayers, hard work, patience, ambition, early mornings, coffee and desire to get me to my decision today. Changing jobs is always a big decision; changing careers is an even bigger one. I've known since Day 1 what TV journalism is all about: bad hours, bad pay, oh, and informing the public. I've covered a lot of stories and learned a lot these past 4.5 years. I've interviewed famous people and people at their most vulnerable moments. I've had strangers completely open up to me and others completely cuss me out. I hope I've informed, entertained and even at times inspired people. I wouldn't trade my experiences for the world.
Unfortunately, like many journalists, it's just no longer for me. There are other things that have become more important like being at home at night, not running around with a camera in a snow storm or covering a murder, and not being taken for granted. I truly believe my next opportunity at Two Rivers Marketing in Des Moines will allow me to have more time with my very-soon-to-be-husband, more chances to get involved in the community, more opportunities to take in all of what Des Moines has to offer, and set me on a stronger career path. While I don't know where I see myself exactly in 10-20 years, I know it won't be as a reporter or anchor. As a public relations associate, I can use all the skills I've honed as a journalist and learn a lot more. In "the biz," working in PR is known as "the dark side." Well, bring it on, Dark Side. I got my ring cleaned for the first time today. Lucas bought it last June, but I didn’t start wearing it until July 21. I can imagine it would get pretty dirty from washing dishes, grimy kids at gymnastics, shaking hands every day with people I interview, etc… Good thing my ring comes with free unlimited cleaning from Jared’s. It took maybe three minutes, and wow, did that cleaning do wonders! So glad I did it before the wedding. I may even go back next Friday for a final polish before the big day.
As much as many of us think getting married is a religious thing, it's also a government thing. They can allow, or not allow, you to get married. They do this by making you apply for a marriage license. (I really think they should do this for having babies too.) It's a two-page form you can print of the county recorder's website. The bride and groom fill in the information, have a witness sign it, and have a notary give their seal. $35 later the state gives you the paperwork to fill out the day of your wedding. You then send that back to them and they mail you your official marriage document. I can use that for the fun task of legally switching my name on all my important documents. Fun.
My journey to become more country continues. Today my CD review is of the country duo Thompson Square. Their self-titled debut album was released in 2011 and includes their hit Are You Gonna Kiss Me or Not. I will say they have a lot of other great songs on here too. Their songs are not hokey and predictable like other country stars. I also really like having a male and female sing each song. It really brings something different to the songs. Their songs can go to a different level thanks to the two parts.
Lucas has a big family. I am still meeting them and have come to accept the fact I will for probably a few years. Well, one very important relative I got to meet for the first time is his cousin David who is also a groomsman for the wedding. He has been serving in South Korea and was able to come home for a break and squeeze in our wedding. After landing at the Des Moines airport, I met them at IHop on SE 14th for a late night meal. This was also my first time eating at IHop since college. It was nice meeting David and spending time with his family.
There are some very good sushi places around the metro. I’ve been to quite a few of them, but I checked another off the list today: Samurai in Jordan Creek. Between the four of us we ordered 8 or 9 different rolls. The hands-down best was the Iowa Roll. It has a little bit of tempura for that crunch and a blend of ingredients that made me want more. The prices were also comparable to all other sushi bars. I don't live close to Samurai, but if I'm in the area again I'll swing by.
What girl doesn’t love getting all dressed up? This girl does, especially when it’s my wedding gown. Today was my trial run for hair and makeup and my final dress fitting. Over the past several months, I’ve looked at picture after picture of hair dos to find the perfect one. I didn’t put too much thought into the makeup because I already knew I didn’t want to do anything super dramatic. Lucas doesn’t like when I wear makeup at all, so I don’t want to look unrecognizable. I had a great time at Estilo Salon in West Des Moines with Laurie and Annie getting me all dolled up. Once the makeup was done, I headed over to the Bridal Boutique for my fourth dress fitting. As I zipped it up, I held my breath. It fit like a glove. I have been worrying to death over this dress fitting just right. When you buy a dress 3 sizes too big off the rack, be prepared to do what it takes to shrink it down.
There's just days when you have a craving. Nothing will satiate your tummy except that craving. (No, I'm not pregnant). Yesterday it was sushi. But because I refused to leave my house, I did not fulfill it. So today was the day. I have never gotten sushi from the new massive H-yVee in Urbandale. The chef makes it fresh for you or it's a couple hours old in a case ready for a fast get away. I got a salmon and a big daddy. While they tasted good, shortly after, my stomach was revolting. I can't say for certain it was the sushi when I was still wasn't 100% back to normal after bachelorette bootcamp. The big daddy has some funky minced crab meat stuffing. That particularly didn't even go down well. I had to scoop it out. Maybe one day I'll be brave enough to try again.
Preface: If you aren't planning a wedding or don't care about planning a wedding, I understand this blog is probably getting very old. Well, only 27 days left to put up with this constant blabbering.
This weekend a friend gave me a great idea for the name cards at the wedding reception. Since we are doing assigned seating, people need to know what table they are sitting at, but how? Lucas and I had very cool invitations that included a great black and white photo of us that was on the back side of the RSVP. Many people told us they didn't want to send it back. Well, we are going to include a table number on each RSVP and use those as our name cards. That way people get a great picture of us, and I don't have to waste the $120 I budgeted for these little place cards. |