For the Win!

Whippie!  The Bears won last night against the Packers!  I took a break from the wedding planning chaos to spend some much needed quality time with my amazing man.  We went to BJ's Brewhouse to watch our rival teams play.  The food was sooo yummy, and best of all Loser paid, so I got a night out on the town courtesy of Jeremiah.  :)  

Today I was able to wake up early and go for a run before starting my busy day.  Things are really getting busy at work with the deployment coming up!  I have some really great NCO's in my unit and they have been really great about pulling together and getting things done.  We do have to work this weekend which is rough, but next weekend my Dad is coming to visit!  So much to do!

Funday Sunday

Spent the whole day yesterday relaxing and working on wedding invitations.  Phew!  Who knew it would take so long to get these done?  I spent eight hours working on them, and there is still plenty to do.  I was hoping to get them in the mail this week, but it really depends on if I can finish all of them soon.   Also, there is apparently a green ribbon shortage in the pacific northwest so there may be a delay lol.

Tonight is the Bears Vs. Packers game, and Jeremiah and I are heading out to watch the game.  Loser pays :)  I got him a new Packers jersey and hat while I was in Wisconsin during the past two weeks.  And I've got my cute Bears jersey to wear myself.  I hope he's ready to pay up! Go Bears!!  

Eye Opener

Last night was the Tomahawk Military Ball and everyone came out in style!  It was an interesting evening with dinner, drinks, speeches, and plenty of camaraderie.  I met some great spouses and really had a great time spending some time all dolled up with Jeremiah.  He looked so handsome in uniform!  

I did, however, have an eye opening experience as this was our first big social event as a dual military couple.  I learned a lot through this situation and lets just say that although I know what the right answer is, it doesn't mean that that is how it works within his platoon/company/battalion/brigade but hey, no unit is perfect, right?  Adapt and overcome!

Our Purposal Story

Deployments are just a fact of life when both of us are in the Army, but it certainly doesn't make it any easier.  Jeremiah deployed in August 2009 with C Co, 1/23 INF out of Ft Lewis for Iraq..  I don't think either of us really expected our lives to become so intertwined while we were thousands of miles away from each other.  But despite the distance, and perhaps as a benefit, our long distance relationship is probably the best thing that could have happened at the time.  

Whether it was through email, instant messaging or phone calls, we tried to talk every day.  I ended up going to Transportation Officer school while he was deployed so it was rough getting time together to talk.  Our schedules were almost completely opposite, and it wasn't unusual for me to get a phone call from him at 3:00am when I had to be up for PT at 4:45am.  

We did get lucky that his R&R was scheduled for February.  Any sooner and I would have still been in officer school, and any later and I wouldn't have been able to make the trip to New York to see him.  He made it to the states three days before I graduated from officer school..  I didn't even stop to change out of uniform after the graduation ceremony before I hit the road!  The irony that after being apart for six months, I was the one that was running across the parking lot in my ACU's to hold him in my arms!

For Valentine's day, Jeremiah told me to dress warm and that it was a surprise where we were going.  He took me to Niagara Falls, NY to see one of the wonders of the world.  Everything was beautiful: covered with crisp, white snow, and the ice crystals dripping from the trees.  We managed to walk right in front of a tour group, so we could hear the guide and as we were exploring the area near the Bridal Veil Falls, the tour guide offered to take pictures.  I got Jeremiah to hand me the camera and I handed the camera to the tour guide and by the time I turned around to pose with Jeremiah, he was down on one knee, with a beautiful ring, purposing!  I was blown away!  (and of course said YES!)

Turns out that Jeremiah had even called my dad, from IRAQ to ask for my hand in marriage!  We spent the rest of the day calling family and friends to spread the good news!  

Crafty Bride

I've been working on a lot of projects for the wedding myself.. because, let's face it:  

1) I love doing crafty things 

2) I'm kind of a control freak and want everything to be perfect!  lol

I wanted something cute for the table numbers and had a hard time deciding what to do.  Then I saw these adorable easels and canvases at the craft store!  Poof!  I had it.  I also made some cute little penguins (their kind of our thing).  If anyone knows where i could get a little top hat and veil for them, let me know :)

I also started working on my bridesmaid bags.  My girls have been so good to me, I want to make sure they get something really fabulous and personal.  These were really easy to make and they look so cute!  Black canvas, cotton lining, canvas straps and some cute green letters pulled this all together!

Growing up in the suburbs of Chicago, one of my favorite parts of the Christmas season was the sidewalks lined with luminaries.  I remember helping my dad set them up a few times, and they remind me of home.  So, it is only fitting that we have our own luminaries at our wedding in December.  I made these using mason jars, die cut paper, opaque paper and double sided tape.  I still need to trim down the top, but they look great so far!  I am excited about walking down a candle lit aisle!

I also really loved the monogram ideas that I have been finding all over the internet and wanted to do one for us.  I found some paper mache letters at the craft store and went at it.  They look really modern and chic which I love!  (See the finished product in the last picture below)

Next up, I got an unfinished picture frame and wanted to create a cute frame to put on the escort card table at the reception.  I used my adorable black and white fabric, some batting, and my hot glue gun to make the magic happen.  It looks really cute, and soon I'll have our engagement pictures printed out to put in it! :)

So here's everything so far!

Getting so excited about our wedding!  It's less than three months away!

Wedding Inspiration

I found an amazing wedding blog the other day, and they are officially my inspiration wedding!  Just Chick Events is an event planner and they did a great wedding for Casey and Matt.  Here are a few of my favorite pictures.  I hope our wedding looks this amazing!

Apple Pickin'

I'm in Wisconsin right now for a Unit Mobilization Planner Course and being away from Jeremiah has been rough.  But, last weekend I got to go to Rochester, MN and visit my future brother-in-law Josh.  I also got to meet his wife, Stephanie, and his beautiful daughter, Sofie, along with his handsome baby boy, Bryce.  They are so adorable!  It was great getting to meet them and to get some home-cooked meals while I was out of town.  On Sunday we went to church and then spent the afternoon at a local apple orchard.  Sofie loved it!  We got some apples and Josh made Caramel Apples later that night- Delish!

Engagement Pictures

A couple of weeks ago, we journeyed to Portland, OR and had a day full of photos and family!  My brother John is an amazing photographer, and he got some great shots of us.  We went out to lunch right near the river and then spent the afternoon exploring the Japanese Gardens.  The weather was beautiful and it was a lot of fun!  Later we took some more shots in the city too.