Life After I "Dew"

I just wanted to give a huge THANK YOU to all my new blogger friends. You are all so wonderful and supportive and it's amazing how I feel so close to some of you that I've never even met in person.
I think back to when I started blogging, thinking no one could possibly want to read what I was writing, and here I am 68 followers and 131 posts later. This blog started being all about the wedding and I was just using it as a way for friends and family to keep up with all the details in one place. Now I use it as a diary basically. I like being able to put all my thoughts down and get feedback on things that I am thinking about.
I now follow more blogs than I can keep track of and it seems everyday I learn something new. All of the girls I have "met" online have been so sweet, supportive and honest and really, what more could you ask for in a friend. So to all of my loyal friends readers, and even my new ones, THANK YOU! I hope I continue to entertain you, the same way all of your blogs have entertained me.

xoxo

I am thankful for:

• DMB. Saw them in concert last night, always a good time. (more to come on this later).
• My car not being destroyed when it was broken into. I'm glad they took what they wanted and left without destroying anything else.
• My Future Mr for trying his hardest to make this 14 hour road trip a fun one.
• My new bloggy friend Hailey. I swear she and I are twins, and the more I read about her the more I am convinced of this. I wish I could meet her in real life one day.
• Wine, love my wine! I am a total wine-o and the cheaper the better! I discovered that Trader Joe's has bottles for $4.99 and that's right up my alley!
• My FILs. I seriously feel so blessed. I cannot thank them enough for letting us move into their old house.
• Road trips to new places. I have not been looking forward to this OK trip but this week I got psyched for it. I just know we are going to have a blast!
• My dad. He drove here to my work and dropped off my mom's old IPod so that I could have it for the trip (since mine was stolen). Love him.
• My new trainer. He is amazing. He is working my body like it's never been worked before and I can tell it's going to pay off big! Plus he's a chiropractor so I get to have an alignment done each time we meet too :-)
  

Well this week we will be taking a road trip out west to Oklahoma City for Future Mr's friend's wedding. I have to say I have never taken a 14 hour road trip with the Future Mr and I wasn't looking forward to it till this week. I am glad we'll be spending some quality time together in the car, this will give us a chance to catch up on our wedding workbook!
I am also looking forward to being at our last wedding together until our very own. I am an emotional wreck right now so I know when the bride and groom say their "I Dos" I am going to lose it. These two are very special to Future Mr and I know he is going to be so proud standing up next to the groom.
I am looking forward for this time together, as we haven't had much alone time these past few weeks.
As for our wedding...we are in the process of planning the rehearsal dinner, bridal showers, and bachelorette party. Talk about a whirlwind! Once we meet with the venue on the 7th I will feel so much more at ease about this whole process. I also need to make an appointment with my less than stellar florist. We'll see if she redeems herself. I've still got a lot of things to order like my garter, wine glasses, lanterns, and guest book. Wow if only I had a money tree.
I am so excited for our big day seeing as it's just over 2 months away. It seems so surreal that it's finally going to be here. I am so proud to be the Future Mrs. Dew. I honestly can say that I never saw this day coming. When I first met Future Mr I did NOT think anything of him, ask my mom. I did find myself thinking about him often and wondered what that meant. Then when we ran into each other, at a bowling alley of all places, I knew it had to mean something. Lucky me it did. The next two months are going to be busy, stressful, happy, sad, and I can't wait for it.
When we went out with the FILs Saturday his brother called me his sister and I almost cried. I've been an only child my whole life and to know I am going to go from an only to having 3 "brothers" makes me smile so big. I honestly love my ILs and cannot wait to be a member of their amazing family. They really are wonderful.

Not sure if you remember this post but we are MOVING!!! This could not have come at a better time, now that I've been robbed! I am in LOVE with this house and there's definitely plenty of room for babies growth. The puppies are going to love it b/c it's 5 acres and there is an underground fence so they can roam wherever they want! OMG I could not have received better news tonight!!!!

I know I know, what a title. And I apologize in advance for the total downer of a post, but this is real, this is my life.
I had a pretty lousy weekend.
Started off great with a date night with my Future Mr. We had a fabulous dinner and some yummy (alcoholic) drinks and went and did a little window shopping. All in all it was a great night and the weather was perfect.
Saturday morning, wake up, CRAPTASTIC day outside. Seriously raining cats and dogs. Future Mr's tee time got canceled so he slept, A LOT (insert upset Miss HoneyDew). We went out for lunch and as I'm standing on our doorstep I notice my center console in my car is up, "Future Mr must have gotten his sunnies out before he went golfing". Not the case. My car was broken into. My IPod, accessories, car charger for the cell, and my emergency roadside assistance kit GONE. Now I don't care about those things, what I care about is the fact that someone I DO NOT know and DID NOT invite into my car was in there. It literally makes me sick to my stomach. I have never had my car broken into or anything stolen and this just makes me feel so violated.
Saturday night we met the FILs for some ABBA cover band and I will say this, it took my mind off the break-in if nothing else. WOW! It was fun but the outfits, WOW. I wish we'd have been allowed to take pics b/c words will never describe what I saw.
Sunday I woke up early (9 o'clock-ish) and did a bunch of chores, sat down to have my morning coffee, check some email and watch E! News and...no Internet, no cable! Our neighbors are putting in a new patio and cut the cable lines. Fan-freakin'-tastic. So I did some laundry and cleaned the kitchen and decided to go to the pool (Future Mr is still sleeping). By the time I was ready to go he was up so he indulged me and went. We came home from the pool and to our surprise our dishwasher is full of water. Awesome, considering that Future Mr just replaced the garbage disposal Friday and now this. So right now we have a non-draining dishwasher, I really hate hand-washing.

So all in all, not a great weekend. I was upset b/c Future Mr slept so much b/c it's hard for him to adjust to the weekends when he works 6pm-4am through the week. I understand that, but I also was really excited to spend the weekend together, since it's all we have now. I also really am still all shook up (uh-huh) about the break-in, especially since I am home alone 4 nights a week. SUCKS. Future Mr tried to show me how to use his gun last night, just in case, and I can't even pull the slide back to cock it, I'm doomed.

P.S. Oh and I am breaking out like a 15-year-old girl now. It's not pretty.

It's not just a Whitney Houston tune from the 80s, it's how I feel lately. I am not sure if it's all the emotions about our upcoming nuptials or what but I am a hot crying mess. This week I have cried over the following things:

First of all I want to say thanks to all of you lovelies for wishing me luck on my 24 hour no Internet ban! I would like to say I was successful, with the exception of checking my bank account this morning. I wrote my TT post early yesterday and had it scheduled to post this morning so those of you who thought I cheated, I did not! I must say I was really productive and it really made me realize that I don't need to have online access all the time. I feel great about myself now!

Now on to today's topic, how to make the most of a crappy situation. Most of you know (because I've mentioned a few hundred times) that Future Mr HoneyDew is back on 3rd shift (6pm-4am). This really stinks, I hate it. He comes home just as I'm getting up for the gym and he leaves right when I walk in the door from work. So we have both been trying to keep our love alive even when we don't see each other Monday-Thursday. Yesterday I got out a simple pad of Post-Its and a pen and left him messages all over the house so that when he woke up and started getting ready he'd stumble across them. He loved this. Here are my "love notes".

• My great boss. He is the best I've had in a while. He knows how to have fun, joke, and talk with all of us but be our boss at the same time. It's a really fine line and I think he does a great job.
• Internet, TV, blogging, Facebook, etc. all things that keep me busy in the evenings now that Future Mr is back on 3rd shift.
• Future Mr's (crummy) work. I know it sucks having him leave the house when I get home from work and come home when I'm leaving but at least he has a job in a time when a lot don't.
• Weekends. Now that Future Mr is gone all week at work I really look forward to our weekends together more than normal.
• My morning radio show. Future Mr hates them/it, I love them/it. I don't know how I'd get through my mornings without the Morning Zoo.
• Three Olives Bubble Vodka. Yest I said bubble as in bubblegum! Mix it with ginger ale, Sprite, Red Bull, it's delicious. Now not something I could commit to all night (even though I did Friday), as it's very sweet, but definitely my new fave.
• Text messaging. Seriously, how did we communicate before?
• Rain. It's been a pretty dry July and it's finally been rainy which is not only good for the grass and flowers but for me b/c it forces me to stay inside and do some much needed cleaning and laundry.
• Roseanne. Yes as in Roseanne Barr. I love that show, love love love it. I watch it every morning at the gym while I'm doing my cardio.

I am going to attempt something very unheard of (for me)...I am going to try to go 24 hours with no Internet. I recently received an email from Proverbs 31 Ministries called "Faith Book", and it really got me thinking about how much time I spend on social networking and not enough time doing things that matter in life. Not saying that my bloggy/online friends don't matter but I tend to get so wrapped up in online stuff that things like work, laundry, cleaning out my closet, and reading often fall to the wayside. So tonight I'm going to do this for me. To prove to myself that I can do it. Sounds silly? You haven't seen my online history.

**Wish me luck**

So in an effort to not focus on my weight and continue on my feeling/being healthy kick I'm not doing Weekly Weigh In Wednesday today. I'm not going to discontinue the installment completely and will still update on my diet/weight loss goals but I will no longer be focusing on my weight.

Instead... I bring you...

Wedding Wednesdays!!!

With the wedding getting so close I thought this would be appropriate to update my weekly "to dos" and whatnots. Basically this is to help me organize my thoughts, aren't you (my readers) lucky? LOL.

So this week I have:

• ordered our cake topper
• made out a tentative guest list
• started making my B pics album

On the schedule:

• second dress fitting (Aug 6)
• meet with our venue and discuss set up, decorations, pick menu, etc (Aug 7)
• bachelorette weekend (Aug 14-16)
• MIL bridal shower (Aug 23)
• MOB bridal shower (Aug 30)
• hair trial (Sept 26)

Still needs done:

• find and order a garter
• order BM gifts
• order lanterns for reception decor
• find a bird cage for cards
• meet with DJ and go over songs
• meet with florist and go over final arrangements
• complete our marriage workbook
• start collecting things for the kiddie gift bags

Wow things are finally coming together. I hope that things continue to go rather smoothly as I haven't really had an dramatic issues yet *fingers crossed*

So I had a few people asking about the "healthy" peanut butter cookie recipe so here goes...
Ingredients
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
pinch of salt
1/2 cup butter
3/4 cup Splenda brown sugar
2 egg whites
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup natural crunchy peanut butter

Directions

1. sift together flour, baking soda and salt- set aside
2. with electric mixer cream together butter and brown sugar
3. in another bowl mix egg and vanilla and then gradually add to the sugar mixture
4. stir in peanut butter and blend. stir in dry ingredients. chill for at least 30 minutes or until firm
5. preheat oven to 350. grease baking sheets.
6. spoon out rounded teaspoonfuls of dough and roll into ball.
7. place balls on baking sheets and press flat with fork (that's how you get the criss cross pattern on the tops).
8. bake for 12-15 minutes, until light in color.
9. ENJOY!

This is what I came home to last night...Future Mr dressed the dogs up in my clothes...



Chanel wouldn't hold still long enough to get a pic but let's just say she had on one of my t-shirts with a belt around her waist. I kid you not.

After Wednesday's post, I realized I never showcased Print Julep's AWESOME STDs we sent out as Christmas cards. Check em out!!!

Aren't those the best? I'm telling you she can do anything!

Today I am thankful for:

• Church. We have decided to get some more of it into our lives and I really think it's going to pay off.
• My seamstress. Met her, love her!
• My PITA neighbor who always steals everyone's parking spots b/c it reminds me that I have two capable legs that can walk.
• My wonderful BFF/MOH for doing my amazing invitations for all my wedding related events, she's the best and a total life-saver.
• The clean eating diet cookbook b/c I am trying so many different recipes that have been AWESOME!
• Future Mr's friends. They are so completely different from my friends (my friends are all "grown up", married, have kids, have jobs and his friends are still wild partiers). They keep me on my toes and remind me to have fun while I can :-)
• Peanut butter cookies. I made a "healthy" version this weekend and Future Mr won't stop talking about how good they are.
• Warm weather. I went to the store the other day and saw they had fall stuff out already and it made me sad, I love summer!
• My online friends. I feel like I know some of these girls and they are like my BFFs and I have never even met any of them in person.
• Online Christian radio stations. I have a SUPER annoying coworker and it's so nice to put this on and pop my headphones in and bring me back to calmness.
• Future Mr for training Miss Chanel to be a good girl.
• Pizza. Now that I am on this clean eating I don't eat pizza nearly as much as I used to and we had it last night and it was YUM-BO!

What are you thankful for?

All these bloggy awards in less than one week! I feel the love!!! Thanks to the lovely Arlynn over at Fleur De-Licious for honoring me with this lovely award!

And now I pass it on to these favorite bloggers:
Domestic Goddess
Kara at Live Inspired
Quite Contrary
Slynnro
D.A.R. at Just Another Day In Paradise

OK so how cute are these? My BFF/MOH is the best ever (THANKS K!). Please visit her website and check out her amazing work.

For those wondering we are going with B. It's so girly and perfect for my garden party themed shower. I can't wait to get guests reactions, I know they will just love them. She did our Christmas card/Save The Dates and I got nothing but raves from everyone who received one. EnJoY!

I was tagged by my date twin Hailey to do the Honest Scrap challenge. So basically the rules are - I have to tell you 10 honest things about me that you may or may not already know. Then I tag 3 new bloggy friends.

1. I am deaf in my right ear. "Huh?", you say? Yeah, I've heard that one already.
2. I CANNOT wait to have babies. I mean I would have had them yesterday if I could! I have never had a desire to have an awesome career or travel the world, I just want to be a mom.
3. I am an only child and I like it that way. When I was younger I sort of wanted a sibling but now that I am older I love being the only. Was I spoiled? No.
4. Before I met Future Mr HoneyDew I had never tried venison, now it is a staple in our house. It's really not that different than beef. You should try it before you judge.
5. I can be very critical. I am not saying this as a good thing either. This is one characteristic I dislike about myself and I'm trying really hard to not be so judging. It's a very ugly quality.
6. I used to not believe in God. I renounced God when I was about 14-years-old and it wasn't until this past year that I have opened my life up to a higher being. I thank Future Mr HoneyDew for that. I pray daily now and spiritually feel so much better about myself and life. I can feel myself becoming a better person each day.
7. I am a reality show TV whore! There I said it! You name it, I watch it. Bachelorette? Check. My Life on the D List? Check. RHO-NY, NJ, ATL, OC? Check, check, check, and check. Big Brother? Check. Real World? Check. Kendra? Check. Oh I could keep going but you get the idea.
8. I secretly (not so much now that it's on the Internet) LOVE the new Eminem CD, Relapse. He's vulgar, gross, violent, mean, angry, etc but he's a genius. You can't deny it.
9. I like to read but it takes me FOREVER to get through a book. Every time I sit down to read I either a.) fall asleep or b.) think of all the other things I could/should be doing, i.e. cleaning, laundry, vacuuming, etc.
10. Most of my friends do not get along with their in-laws and I don't know how they do it. I love love love my future-in-laws and couldn't imagine it any other way. As a matter of fact we spend more time with them than my own family and I'm perfectly OK with it.

Now I pass the Honest Scrap torch to:

• Suzy at Suzy's Sanctuary. She always posts really great inspirations, from room decor to celeb styles.
• Cassi at High Heels and Huntin' Boots. Just the name of her blog alone makes me smile.
• The New Black. She really cracks me up!

Please check these ladies out!

Future Mr's uncle will be marrying us therefore we don't have some of the more strict requirements of pre-marriage counseling. We did, however, purchase 'Before "I Do": Preparing for the Full Marriage Experience' so that we can at least get some of the aspects of pre-marriage counseling that I think are important. We have only completed 4 days of the book but I can already feel us getting closer. I like it because it forces you to ask each other questions like "What is your definition of love?" and "How will your relationship represent God to society?". These are questions that we would never ask each other without this guide. It's also nice to be able to do this on our own schedule when we can really sit down and talk to each other in depth rather than in a quick session with a minister.
What do you think about pre-marriage counseling? Did you have to go through a church or were you able to do it on your own?

Have you girls seen the new Bridal Suite from Dogeared? OMG it's so adorable. I am a huge Dogeared fan anyway but this stuff is beyond cuteness. These would make great bridal shower gifts (hint.hint.wink.wink)
Some of my favorites




My ALL time favorite

I got tagged by Jess at Project: 10K Wedding today and here are my rules:


Tag and link back to the person who tagged you. List six little things that make you happy. Tag six bloggers and let them know they're “it".

My 6's:

1. My pup Chanel, who turns 3 tomorrow!
   


2. Sunglasses. I am obsessed. I am hoping to prevent crows feet too though.
3. Going to the pool. I just love sitting in the sun. It's so relaxing. I even fell asleep at the pool yesterday.
4. Blogging. I have become really obsessed lately. I love going through all my favorites and finding new ones to follow.
5. Future Mr HoneyDew. He is the sweetest. While he was working night shift we had to keep coming up with new ways to keep our relationship alive. The one morning I came downstairs and he had a note on each step on the way down. I should have taken a picture of that...too cute for words.
6. Chicken Soup for the Bride's Soul. This book has some of the most romantic stories. I could sit and read it for hours.

Now my 6 favorite bloggers- TAG You're it:

1. Dana at Possessionista. If it was worn on The Bachelorette, she WILL find it!
2. Polka Dots and Protein Bars. I just started following this one and I love it. She is a hoot!
3. Hailey at hailey and matt tie the knot. Hailey is my date twin and her blog is adorable!
4. Erynn at Rollin' With the Rooney's. Truly an inspiration.
5. Caitlin at Healthy Tipping Point. Not only is she the founder of Operation Beautiful, she also has a fantastic food and fitness blog.
6. Tara at Jimmy Choos and Tennis Shoes. She has awesome style and quite possibly the best Bachelorette commentary out there!

Please check these lovely ladies out!

I totally forgot about this post regarding my DIY pomander balls! Well with the help of my FLo-ma they are done! They aren't exactly what I wanted but for a 15 minute ceremony and a lot less money they will work! What do you think?

**EDIT**
I made a new button for Thankful Thursdays! If you decide to follow me and start your own TT please use my button! TIA!

WWWI has returned! Although I am up 3 pounds from where I was 3 weeks ago I am down 1 pound from last week. Yes I gained 4 pounds from vacation *blushing*. Oh well. I have decided that the number doesn't matter. I am learning (slowly) how to have a healthy relationship with food and my body and that makes me feel great! I am realizing that I need to view food as fuel for my body, so the food I eat now is food that will give my body what it needs to run. So here is my updated pic for the week.


I have my first dress fitting tomorrow so we will see how my dress fits now! Stay tuned!

Well yesterday we got two checks done! We FINALLY got our passports! OMG talk about weight off my shoulders!
Last night we went home and went through our list of "top 100 reception songs" and crossed off the ones that ABSOLUTELY cannot be played and picked our songs for all the events.

Cocktail- All Rat Pack
Dinner- jazz (compilations)
Introduction- ?? HELP!
Bride/Groom- Lucky by Jason Mraz ft. Colbie Caillat
Father/Daughter- I Loved Her First by Heartland
Mother/Son- ?? HELP!
Cake Cutting- Sugar Sugar by The Archies
Bouquet Toss- Single Ladies by Beyonce
Last Dance- ?? HELP!

My list of NO PLAYS consists of:
YMCA
Electric Slide
Macarena
Hokey Pokey
Chicken Dance
White Wedding
No 50 Cent- not appropriate for a wedding
Come on Eileen
Pour Some Sugar on Me

Now, I ask you, what songs are on your DO NOT playlist? Also HELP me find an intro, mother/son, and last dance song! Also what are you MUST PLAY songs for the reception? I have tons of slow songs I want to play but I'm having a hard time coming up with more upbeat ones that will satisfy everyones taste.

It's officially less than 3 months away now! I have this vision of how the whole look of the wedding is going to be and I love it! I want it to be romantic with a sort of vintage feel. I want it to be girly but not so much that Future Mr goes running down the aisle in the opposite direction. I want it to be fun. I want it to be warm but not hot. I can envision it in my head and it's stunning. I hope it plays out as beautifully in real life on October 3.

Some of you may remember this post where my Flo-ma gave me her ring to use as my wedding band. I am in love with the ring AND it's almost identical to the one I wanted. I couldn't help but think that something was off about the way it looked with my E ring, though I loved it by itself. Well last week I was trying it on again and a lightbulb went off! I thought to myself "...wonder if I can have the two bands of diamonds separated and wear one above the E ring and one below it...". Well I took my chances and went to the jeweler yesterday and good news THEY CAN DO IT!!! Oh I am even more excited about these rings than I was before! I just can't wait for them to get done, they say by the 15th I can pick them up! Stay tuned for new pics! I can't wait!!!

I hope everyone has a safe and happy holiday weekend! Future Mr and I will be spending the day with the soon to be in-laws and I made these bad boys...YUM-BO!

For those that have yet to see my dress here is the stock picture.

It's the Maggie Sottero Melena. I love this dress, love it. Now I am meeting with the seamstress next Thursday and I am debating whether I should turn the neckline into a sweetheart or leave it alone. What do you think?

My senior year of high school I took a class called "Short Stories and Death". To this day this class has had the most impact on me, more so than any college course. My teacher, Mrs. Moone, had us keep a gratitude journal and each day we would have to write down things we were thankful for. At first I thought "oh, puhleez!" but after just a week of doing it I realized it's purpose. I even bought my mom a gratitude journal for Christmas one year because I thought it was so inspiring. I kept up with my gratitude journal for a little while and then it sort of fell to the wayside. SO now I am starting Thankful Thursdays. Each week I will share a list of things I am thankful for and hopefully inspire some of my readers. Enjoy.

• I am thankful for my wonderful Future Mr. He came into my life just when I needed him and I will forever be grateful to him.
• I am thankful for my job. I have had some really crummy jobs in the past and I am so happy to have a job I like, especially in this economy.
• I am thankful for blogs like Oh She Glows, Eat Live Run, and Operation Beautiful-all of which inspire me to become the best person I can be.
• I am thankful for all my girlfriends. We are having a girls night tonight and I am so thankful to have such a wonderful group of ladies to be able to do this with.
• I am thankful for my soon to be in laws. They have welcomed me with open arms and truly treated me like a member of their family since day one.
• I am thankful for blueberry vodka tonics. I seriously don't know what I drank when we went out before these came into my life. YUM-BO!
• I am thankful for hot summer days. I know a lot of people think the heat is miserable but I could live in it year round.
• I am thankful for my achy body today because it means I had a really good workout yesterday.

I encourage you to think- What are you thankful for?

In case you still haven't done so, please check out
Operation Beautiful. It's such a wonderful movement. I have been trying to spread the word whenever possible. Here are my most recent postings.
My friend at work has been having a rough time w/her long distance boyfriend and he was supposed to come visit her this past weekend and he let her down (again) and didn't show. I gave her this today.

Another coworker just found out that her husband of 10 years is leaving her (I know total bummer) so I gave her this one today.

To which she left me this one

And finally I was at Walmart last night and left this on the bathroom door


I just love spreading the word! I think this is such a neat idea. I have now started carrying a Post-It pad in my purse so that I can leave one no matter where I am. Are you guys joining the movement?

This is who I spent Friday evening with...






Anyone that knows me knows I love love love babies and want to be a mommy more than anything in this world. My friends (all of which have babies) kept saying how Friday night was going to be birth control for Future Mr and I...YEAH RIGHT!!!! I loved every minute of it and now I WANT ONE!

That's my new word for something that's SUPER YUMMY! Over the weekend I borrowed this recipe from Angela. Future Mr HoneyDew said that it was "award-winning" and that he'd "pay $20 for this at a restaurant".

I served it with veggie kabobs and a glass of pinot grigio with tomato, basil, and mozzarella salad as an appetizer. It was a gorgeous evening so we were able to eat outside at sunset. oooh it was so romantic. So thank you Angela for this yum-bo recipe! I will definitely be making it again!