& guest

My poor dad. He wanted to look over the guest list before I start making wedding invitations and just about had a heart attack. Originally, the wedding guest list I had comprised of 825 people. Ridiculous.

But after 4 months of painstaking, heartbreaking slashing, I've gotten the "number invited" down to 538 people. The reception hall doesn't really hold more than 375 comfortably, and I'm pretty sure fire code allows 400. So hopefully not everyone comes. (That's kind of an awful thing to say!)

But everyone involved has gone through the list and said who they think will and will not show up. The "number expected" currently sits at 380 people. So still iffy. I know some of those people won't be able to make it either.

If worse comes to worse, I hope we can do banquet seating or something. I don't know what we'll do if all 538 people decide that August 8th is a nice day to go to a wedding. :)

So needless to say, as my dad is reacting to the list I showed him (which was 559 at the time), I was glad I had never showed him the list of 825 people.

The way I was able to cut 21 people off of the list? I cut out a lot of & Guests. Every time my dad saw one of those he exclaimed "What are you trying to say by adding '& Guest'?! This person is single and it's insulting to put that on there. They'll probably feel pressured to go out and get a hooker as their date!"

That's my dad...the classic over-reactor.

So I'm sorry in advance if you either aren't invited, or there is no "& guest" on your invitation. Apparently both Ryan and I have huge families.

duplex

Ryan and I have been doing some planning this week. It feels like we haven't done anything for quite a while! But this week we bought our wedding rings, put a deposit down on a duplex, are working on getting all of the addresses we need for the guest list, and bought all of the paper to make the invitations!

I'm pretty excited about the duplex. There is a strawberry patch, herb garden, and vegetable garden growing along the side of the house! Also there's a duck nest in the strawberries and a bunny nest in one of the flower beds! Yay nature!

This Sunday Joyce is throwing me a bridal shower and I'm super excited! Apparently there will be games...I know one is a questionnaire type game with consequences if I get the answer wrong...so hopefully I've got enough Ryan trivia stored away. I was trying to ask him questions on our way to Virginia last week for my cousin's wedding...but he found me out right away!

C'est la vie!

furry friends

It's been 3 months since Heidi died. It's funny how I miss her in ways I never imagined. Every time I eat steak, I think about saving the "grizzle" for her. I am still careful not to kick her water bowl over when I run into the kitchen. When I go to my parents' house, I'm surprised not to see her running up to the door to greet me and wonder if she's shut up in the basement or office.

My dad adopted a new little friend. It's a squinty (Des Moines terms for a chipmunk) that has been living in our front yard. Everyday my dad leaves a little stash of peanuts right by his front door. One day my dad was moving the lawn as I came over for dinner. He stopped mowing and proudly showed me the front and back door of the little squinty home and told me not to get into his peanuts.

Last night Ryan and I rented "Marley and Me." I had read the book about a year ago and I loved every minute of it! The book is so hillarious! I was laughing out loud every other paragraph at work! The movie isn't quite as good, but still worth seeing. Of course I knew the ending and thought I would be ok, but I broke into hysterical sobbing by the end of the movie. Poor Ryan just held me as I cried myself to sleep.

...I still miss my poor little puppy.

eighty-six

Again, laziness (or busyness) is the way with me. Sorry to anyone who has been frantically checking for updates! Your patience has paid off.

So what's new with life? There are 86 days left until Ryan and I get married. I have a wedding checklist, courtesy of theknot.com that says I have 86 items complted. (And only 184 more to do.) By my own calculations, I have nine or so...

1. Finalize food/alcohol plans
2. Find a place to live after August 8
3. Make and send invitations
4. Decide on accessories for bridal party
5. Decide on decorations for the wedding
6. Plan the wedding ceremony
7. Buy gifts for everyone involved
8. Figure out banking/insurance/etc. for marriage
9. Make the cake

I am probably underestimating how long this will take.

Recently Sarah and Chris took our engagement pictures! I love them and look at them several times a day! Here's a sneak preview...

Other than that, I've been trying to work on invitations. I'll post some sample pictures when I have a clearer idea of what's going on.

So this is really random. I need to get on the computer more often.