Yikes!

This picture pretty much sums up yesterday for me--just substitute the cigarettes for chocolate and the prozac for a massage and it will all be okay!

I never believed in the phrase "Bridezilla" until yesterday. I can honestly say that yesterday was one of the worst days I have had in a very, very long time (I'm talking years). It started out at 4:45am when my alarm went off, I woke up just as tired as I was when I went to sleep...work was pretty bad, by 10:00 I had 2 nurses gripe me out for no apparent reason-I though I was being very nice and considerate. (I'm assuming they just let their frustration out on me for something else that was going on). Among other things, It was just a bad day at work overall. Next we had a "miss-communication" about living arrangements when Jonathan and I get married (long story). I basically just feel like I have lived out of boxes since last May when I moved out of my old apartment and haven't had a true "home". I'm ready to feel at home again somewhere! Anyway, back to the story...lastly, I was just frustrated with my heart problems...I hadn't felt good for a couple of days and it finally just caught up with me yesterday and felt REALLY bad. But I'm going to see my cardiologist on Friday morning to pray it goes well and we might get this thing finally figured out and under control. I know a lot of people who have more things to be stressed out about than me so I know I will be ok and--this too will pass! Now, I wouldn't say that I was a bridezilla by any means, just stressed out and probably griped out a few people who are closest to me. So I'm sorry if I did get testy with anyone yesterday, I truly didn't mean it and my frustration just happened to be aimed at you at that moment. PLEASE forgive me!!

Never Alone

I was listening to a CD on my way to work this morning and one of my favorite songs came on...Never Alone by Barlow Girl. If you haven't heard it before I suggest you try to find it and listen to it. Here are the lyrics to the song:

I waited for you today
But you didn't show
No no.
I needed you today
So where did you go?
You told me to call
Said you'd be there
And though I haven't seen you
Are you still there?

Chorus
I cried out with no reply
And I can't feel you by my side
So I'll hold tight to what I know
You're here and I'm never alone

And though I cannot see you
And I can't explain why
Such a deep reassurance
You've placed in my life.
We cannot separate
'Cause you're part of me.
And though you're invisible
I'll trust the unseen.

Chorus

I love this song because it is a reminder of how much Christ loves us and will always be there for us. It basically says that when we talk to Christ and don't hear him reply it's because our walk with Him isn't as close as it should be. He is always there and will always hear us, we just may not hear Him...that's when we need to strengthen our relationship. On the flip side, at times, He may be silent in our lives, and it isn't necessarily because we aren't close enough with Him. I heard someone say something a while back at a conference... he said, "When Christ is silent, He is not still." Just because Christ isn't talking to you He is still showing you things and working in your life. Anyway, back to the song above...the part that I love the most is when it says "And though you're invisible, I'll trust the unseen." So even though you can't hear Him, He's there and just trust the unseen! Simply put--Have Faith!

WOW

I never thought the day would come where I would have to ask "Permission" from someone else to spend my money...well, okay so it's not entirely ALL my money. Jonathan and I just made a pretty good sized purchase and before I could buy it I had to ask him if it was okay--Wow, I can feel my independence slipping away. I am a pretty independent person and always have been, but it just dawned on me the other day that in about 2 months, I'm about to lose some of that. I guess that comes with the territory huh. But I would rather be married with less independence than single with all the independence in the world. I'm sure there's a lot more that I'm going to have to get use to though.

Check It Out!

Jonathan and I just went live with our wedding website. Check it out
sometime - www.casadeblundell.com

We also both have new email addreses through this domain.
laurie@casadeblundell.com
jonathan@casadeblundell.com

Jonathan's blog has already moved to this location and mine will be
soon
www.casadeblundell.com/jonathan

Service

I got this in an email today and couldn't help but share it. It is hilarious and I can just picture this happening at church...

One Sunday morning, the pastor noticed little Alex standing in the
foyer of the church staring up at a large plaque. It was covered with
names with small American flags mounted on either side of it.

The seven year old had been staring at the plaque for some time, so
the pastor walked up, stood beside the little boy, and said quietly,
"Good morning Alex."

"Good morning Pastor," he replied, still focused
on the plaque. "Pastor, what is this?" he asked.

The pastor said, "Well, son, it's a memorial to all the young men and
women who died in the service."

Soberly, they just stood together, staring at the large plaque.

Finally, little Alex's voice, barely audible and trembling with fear,
asked, "Which service, the 9:45 or the 11:15 ?"

Engagement Pictures

Jonathan and I went to Las Colinas yesterday and took some engagement pictures. These are two of my favorites but you can check out Jonathans Flickr page to see the rest of them. Enjoy! Jonathan's Flickr page

Old to New

As some of you know, I love to re-do old furniture and make it look all
pretty again. I have re-finished a lot of my furniture and I decided to
re-finish a dresser that Jonathan had so it would match the rest of the
furniture. Well, I started on it yesterday and forgot how much work you
have to put into it. I just got the drawers sanded and that took a lot
of work. Granted it probably took more work than necessary because the
type A personality and perfectionist in me was coming out. That and I
had a dog circling me and barking at the sander the whole time. But I
still love to do it...there's just something about taking something that
has been beat up or is just old and making it look new again. I'll show
you pictures when I'm all finished with it.

Simon Says

Okay I'm not normally the one to like put downs or anything like that
but when you're watching American Idol you can't help but laugh at some
of the things Simon says to the contestants. Here are just a few of the
funnies from this season so far. To make them even funnier you have to
say them with a British accent.

"We could have had breakfast, lunch, dinner, flew back to LA, come back
again and you'd have still been singing that song, it's like
never-ending."

"Sandie, I didn't understand a word of that ... literally [it was] like
some language I've never heard in my life."

Simon: "What normally happens when you sing in public, Deborah?"
Deborah: "I've had a few people cry."
Simon: "I can believe that."

"You sounded like Cher after she's been to the dentist."

"You are fabulous but it was the singing that was slightly
off-putting."

"Unfortunately, not a note is in tune."

"I have got no idea what this show is any more. I'm serious. I've got
you standing in front of me looking like some Easter Bunny nightmare
experiment."

"You look like one of those creatures that live in the jungle with
those massive eyes."

"What I wanted was apple pie on its own. Instead I've got apple pie and
a gallon of cream on top."

"I'm not sure I would have chosen a song saying 'I want to go home
tonight,' Elliott, not the smartest lyric in the world."

"It's like you've gone to Dolly Parton School the way you look
tonight."

But he can also dish out compliments:

"You walk in here with no confidence and no attitude and yet you are a
brilliant singer. . . . You are in the top 2% of good singers this
year."

"Alaina, I thought that was really, really, really great. I like you a
lot."

"I thought it was very good, excellent choice of song. Reminded me of
early Dionne Warwick, I thought."

My Wife at Jiffy Lube

I always hate driving into the garages when I get my oil changed because of the big whole in the ground. Now I understand why the employees always offer to drive it in for you. Hopefully this never happens to you!

Alterations

So my dress came in about a month ago and when I tried it on I couldn't
zip it up all the way....because I'm a McFatty! Just kidding, somehow my
dress was made a little too small. So I went and had my alterations
done yesterday and hopefully I'll be able to breathe when I zip the
dress up. Actually, I'm just thankful that I will be able to zip it up
all the way. Let me tell you, alterations aren't cheap either! But then
again, nothing about a wedding is cheap. Now let's just hope my dress
is finished in time for my bridal portraits, and it fits!

Moving

I think I have, or will have, the record for moving the most in one
year. Let's see, From this time last year, I moved from my apartment
with Jen to a house with two other friends, from that house to a new
house my friend bought. Then this weekend I just moved in with my
brother in Forney for a coule of months before the wedding. Then in 3
months I will be moving to Waxahachie then 3 months later when the lease
is up on Jonathan's loft we will be moving again! That will make 5 moves
in 1 year, wow. The good part about that is that with each move I get
rid of more and more stuff. I will say that it comes to a point where
you are tired of living with half of your stuff in storage or at least
not with you. My brother has been gracisously storing a lot of my
things at his house and now I finally get to live where all of my
belongings are...but they are still all in boxes and will remain that
way until May. Ok, I feel like I'm talking in circles so the point to
this is that I am sick of moving and I'm ready to just buy a house and
stay there for a REALLY REALLY long time! Oh and we (Jonathan and me)
calculated it and it's going to cost us roughly $15 in gas every time we
want to see eachother. So by the time we get to eachothers place we've
already spent the money we were going to when we went out. GEEZE...but I
guess it doesn't help that neither one of us have a car that gets good
gas mileage Have I ever mentioned how much I dislike traffic and that I
think the majority of American's spend probably a total of 10-15 hours
in traffic a week. That's just wrong I tell you, wrong. I took me over
an hour to get to work this morning--too long!

What To Do

Have you ever felt like your life was stuck in a rut, you just do the
same thing day in and day out. Well, mine is anything but that right
now. But I have felt like that before and thought to myself, "What is
the one thing, or maybe two things, that I could do and be the
happiest?" Not necessarily for a job or pay or anything - money or time
is no object.
Jonathan and I have talked about this before and besides the obvious of
being a spouse and parent I would have to say that if I could do
anything at all and it would make me the happiest in life, I would work
in a childrens home and just love the kids who don't have parents. I
have a huge passion to go to Russia and work in an orphanage (short-term
of course). But there are just as many parentless kids in America.
Every child needs to feel the love of a parent or a parent figure. They
simply need to feel loved! I would also work for Habbitat For Humanity
building houses. I love the fact that I can use my hands and my
abilities to help build someone else a house. What would you do, what
would make you the absolute happiest in life?