further confirmation I should not leave the house
Wednesday, January 06, 2010Labels: about me, the one with friends
Just a couple of weeks ago, I left the house and trashed my mom's tire and rim. Yesterday my friend Sondra and I headed into town. I left Jasper with my awesome neighbor/friend and got excited about actually leaving the house.
We literally were no more than two miles out of town when the whole car sounded like it was falling apart. Sondra stopped the car and we both got out. I thought I would see a piece of her bumper hanging down. Nope, just her tire completely off the rim. What the what?? I seriously did not know that was possible. (Apparently the combination of a frozen tire and sitting for four days did it in.)
I called my trusty pit crew (ie. Josh) and he came out to put the donut on. Sondra and I sat in his warm car watching him remove the demolished tire in less than five minutes. So much for leaving town... At least we didn't wreck the car and Josh was there to change the tire.
In other news, I am grounding myself to the house.
lucy love
Friday, June 05, 2009Labels: the one with friends
Jasper, our friend Nicole, and I drove the two hours on Wednesday to see Jess and Lucy. It was so good to see them both! I was so excited to take Lucy's pictures. She's such a little squirt. It was hard to not want to hold her the whole time and focus on taking pictures.
She so did not want to sleep for me but that seems to be typical when I take newborn pictures. Luckily I snapped quickly and got a few when she dozed.
I loved seeing Jess with her little girl. It's still hard to believe that we're both mommies! It feels like just yesterday we were Sophomores in college dancing in our dorm room to "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun". Talking about our current random crushes, eating snack pack pudding without spoons, running to Walmart at one in the morning... Funny how much can change in a few years. 
When we first got to her house Jasper was interested in Lucy. He got a huge smile on his face and reached his pudgy little hand out to touch her. I can't wait to see them together as they grow up.
a girl with kaleidoscope eyes
Sunday, May 10, 2009Labels: the one with friends
Jess and I experienced our first Mother's Day together. Lucy Moxey was born on Saturday night after her new momma pushed her into the world. 
My little family drove down to meet this little girl today and she did not disappoint. At six and a half pounds, it feels like you're holding practically nothing. (Especially after holding Jasper!)
Josh and I took turns holding her and admiring her tiny little face and adorable mouth. I even caught a glimpse of two dimples!
We introduced Jasper and Lucy. Lucy seemed unimpressed with Jasper. Jasper didn't understand why he couldn't put her in his mouth. I think they'll be great friends.
I enjoyed watching Tommy, the very proud daddy. He was changing Lucy's diaper when we got there and doing a great job. I watched as he carefully wrapped her back up. You'd never know that he was new to the whole baby thing.
Jess looked fantastic and I couldn't get over seeing her up walking around. (After having a c-section, I feel like all women should be stuck in bed the day after they have a baby.)
I still can't believe my best friend is a mommy. I'm so excited for her and Tommy. Their lives just changed but for the better. I know they will be great parents.
And to Lucy... Welcome to the world, little one. You are already so loved. I feel lucky to be a part of your life.
a couple of CJ
Monday, August 25, 2008Labels: knight light, the one with friends
Pam and Chris took a little road trip on Saturday to see us and they let me take some pictures of their adorable little guy. I'm not even kidding you when I say I smiled the entire time I worked on his pictures last night. About every other picture I would have to yell for Josh to come and look.
CJ did so well spending the afternoon at my house. He ate a couple times, napped, played, giggled... Oh, the giggling...that could melt anyone's heart! I already can't wait to see them again and do some more pictures of the little guy.
face to face
Monday, August 11, 2008Labels: the one with friends
I'm not sure that I can correctly convey how great my weekend was. I had been planning this weekend for months and finally it was here. Sondra, one of my first Internet friends, drove from Ohio to spend the weekend with us. Sondra and I have been talking about meeting for years since we first "met" online. You know, because Ohio and Illinois are so close... Finally in April we settled on a weekend during the summer and just marked it on our calendars.
All week I had been anticipating Sondra's arrival. I would say, "I get to see Sondra in X number of days!". The weird thing is that I never thought of the weekend as meeting Sondra for the first time. I only thought that my friend was coming to see me. I just didn't happen to know what that friend's voice sounds like!
Within 20 minutes of Sondra arriving I knew that it was as exactly as I hoped. She's just as sweet as I always thought she was. We spent the weekend talking about anything and everything, just like how you would be with an old friend. It was just so nice to be able to talk face to face. Jess arrived Saturday morning and the fun doubled! We went antiquing and shopping. We did a lot of laughing and even more talking.
After we ate supper and dessert made by my husband (he made a peach pie from scratch!), we hung out on the back patio. Three hours later we were finally able to enjoy a little laptop time. My town had a random power outage that kept us in the dark until 10:30 playing with flashlights, talking about things we could be doing. Finally once the power was restored we geeked out and couldn't have been happier.
Last night I got ready for bed and thought over the weekend. I realized that I was already missing my friends and they had only just left. I feel really lucky to have connected with people through the Internet and made such great friends. Now if only I can get them to move closer...
knitted gift
Thursday, May 15, 2008Labels: bakin' a bun, the one with friends
When my friend Emmy Lou found out we were having a baby, she immediately asked if she could knit a sweater for it. Uh, yes...of course you can! So she wasted no time. I got the most wonderful package from her this week that included more goodies than just the sweater!
The sweater is just beautiful and so soft! I cannot wait to dress my baby in it. Oh and the matching leg warmers and booties. She also included a pair of socks and little stocking hat. They are just perfect and I really can't wait to put them to use.
Such a thoughtful and wonderful handmade gift! Thanks so much, Emmy Lou.
300 miles later
Monday, November 12, 2007Labels: the one with friends
Josh and I drove just over 300 miles this weekend. Friday night we went to see our friend Chrystal and ate way too much food at Olive Garden. And the evening wouldn't have been complete without some wandering around at Barnes & Noble. (Chrystal starts work there today! Good luck, Stick!)
We drove to Champaign on Saturday to do a photo shoot with Pam and Chris. We walked around the U of I campus and went to this really cool Japanese Garden (good idea, Chris!). I definitely have to go back to that in the summer. We always have such a good time with Pam and Chris. This time to commemorate the get-together we did a group picture. I've had these fake mustaches for awhile and have been dying to try them out. We all convinced Pam to do it and I even got everyone to scowl for the picture. So much random fun on Saturday.
Yesterday was church, engagement pictures, a little shopping to pick up random stuff we needed, and then some serious napping. I definitely would drive 300 miles every weekend if they were all like this one!
driving and photo shoots
Monday, October 22, 2007Labels: the one with friends
Josh and I had such a good time at Jess and Tommy's. Bebo...not so much. We haven't road tripped with him in awhile so I think he just didn't understand what was going on. He cried off and on the whole way there. He was very out of sorts for the 24 hours we were there. Honestly I think he missed home. He walked around like he was looking for something. Maybe the arm of our couch, his toys or his favorite chair? When we got home on Saturday night, he practically fell over on the living room floor...like, "thank goodness, I'm home".
I had a blast doing the Jess and Tommy photo shoot. It's great taking pictures of your friends because you can just keep going to different places. We took pictures at an old ice factory (totally trespassing!), the high school, a wildlife preserve, Jess's grandparents, Jess and Tommy's backyard, the neighbor's pond. I also got to take a few pictures of Jess's niece, Clara.
It was a fun little trip!
hoping for blue skies this weekend
Friday, October 19, 2007Labels: the one with friends
Josh and I are headed down to see Jess and her husband Tommy this weekend. Jess booked Knight Light months ago to do some pictures of them. I'm really looking forward to doing it because I can ask them to do all of the crazy things and not worry they'll think I'm nuts. Well, they may still think I'm nuts but I know we'll still be friends! I'm taking them out first thing tomorrow morning and I'm hoping to get a lot of fun stuff. I can't wait!
day change
Tuesday, October 02, 2007It's funny how quickly the mood of your day can change. Yesterday I was having the worst day. I wanted to curl up in bed and cocoon myself in. I had dinner plans with a very good friend and my whole day turned around. I laughed hard, talked a lot, shopped a little, and felt a whole lot better. Labels: the one with friends
You never know what might change your day...
hey jude
Wednesday, August 15, 2007Labels: the one with friends
I got to see one of my favorite babies last night. Jude! I met up with Emily and Jude for what was supposed to be coffee but turned into ice cream. (Our coffee place closed at 5:00! Who does that???) After a little supper, he was happy to just lay there and smile at us. Although he got a little concerned towards the end. He is so adorable!
the only time I ever seriously considered crashing a wedding
Wednesday, June 27, 2007My best friend found out that she was not invited to a good friend's wedding this coming Friday. This good friend also happens to an ex of hers but was a friend before and after. So my question is, how could we show up in another state (looking smokin' hot) at a wedding we weren't invited to without looking like stalkers? We could just say we're venture capitalists or maybe that we have an emerging maple syrup conglomerate. Labels: the one with friends
guarding the beads
Tuesday, June 12, 2007Labels: the one with friends
After Jess and I had checked into our hotel room in Milwaukee on Friday night we decided to walk down to the convention center. We were anxious to get a peek at the bead show and see what it was all about. We checked things out for a bit and then headed back down to the lobby. Coming into the lobby I noticed a security guard in the corner keeping watch. As we walked past him I smiled at him but he didn't seem very friendly and didn't smile back.
The next morning Jess and I were talking and she mentioned the security guard. She thought it was weird how they had a fake guy in the lobby. Um, he wasn't fake! I couldn't believe that she thought he was fake and told her that he was real. She asked why he was behind a little rope thing and I told her I figured that's just where he was standing. Jess finally agreed that he was a real person.
We headed down to the bead show and a couple entered the lobby just ahead of us. They walked right up to the security guard in the lobby and leaned in real close to him. I actually felt embarrassed not only for them but for the security guard. And then I realized that Jess was right...he was fake!
He looked so real! Later in the day while waiting for Jess I sat across from him in the lobby and watched everyone's reaction. People nervously walked close to make sure that he was in fact fake. They should have a little video camera built into him to get the reactions. Of course, then I thought about how I had smiled at him the day before and felt a little miffed that he didn't have the courtesy to at least smile back.
that was a lot of beads
Monday, June 11, 2007Labels: the one with friends
Whew, seriously...that was a crazy amount of beads. I have never seen anything like the Bead & Button Show in Milwaukee this past weekend. There was table after table of beads. It all kind of feels like a blur now but we did make it through the whole bead show. Jess and I developed a system and by the end had it down. We would look at every booth but some we wouldn't spend hardly any time at. This way we could spend more time at tables like this one.
I found some awesome ceramic beads by Earthenwood Studio. Jess and I basically just wanted to find unique things that she couldn't get around home. There were some crazy talented beadmakers there too. Some of the glass creations...wow. Like this crab made completely from glass.
I found some really cool pendants made from the tagua nut. It's grown in the Amazon rain forest. By purchasing some of these pendants, we helped support the 35,000 people that harvest this nut.
Jess and I had a lot of fun. It was excellent to take a mini road trip and hang out with my best friend. I took a bunch of pictures and uploaded some to flickr. Hopefully they captured some of the craziness.
they grow up so fast
Tuesday, June 05, 2007Labels: the one with friends
I had the chance to meet my friend Sarah and her little guy Denver for ice cream last night. I can't believe how much he's grown! Last summer I shot his one-year pictures. Now he's running around like crazy and talking up a storm. I had to be quick because he did not stay in one place for very long. I'm really looking forward to his two-year pictures this summer. This was just a little preview for this summer.
emily & jude
Thursday, May 10, 2007Labels: knight light, the one with friends
A few weeks ago I had the chance to shoot my very first maternity pictures. My very good friend, Emily, is due at the end of May and said that she would love to have me experiment with a maternity shoot.
Emily was pretty much the ideal first maternity shoot. Besides the fact that she's beautiful, she was so willing to try anything. I walked her around the house and we tried different positions everywhere.
It was kind of surreal to see her with that little baby belly. (Other than the bump in front, you'd never know she was pregnant!) Emily and I used to say that we were going to marry best friends, have houses right next to each other and our kids would be friends. As I grew up I knew that the chances of that were slim, but I still always kind of thought that we'd be pregnant at the same time. It didn't cross my mind that our kids wouldn't be the same age.
I am so happy for her and her husband, Abe. I know that they'll be great parents to little Jude. And if they ever need a good babysitter, they know who to call...
aggie
Wednesday, April 04, 2007Labels: kodachrome, the one with friends
I met up with Jess yesterday for supper and she brought me this little camera. It's my first antique camera to start my collection. It's a Agfa Isoflash-Rapid C, which was manufactured around 1966 in Germany. Of course I didn't know all of that just by looking at it. Josh googled it for me. The really crazy cool thing about it is that there is used film in it. We are so going to try and get it developed. Oh and Josh named it Aggie.
Speaking of Jess and cameras, Jess got a Nikon D40 after careful counsel from the Knight's. She's snapping away like crazy and my little protege is even testing out the waters using Aperture Priority. [tear] I'm so proud. Check out her photostream on flickr.
pammiecakes & chris
Thursday, March 22, 2007Labels: the one with friends
This past Sunday Josh and I had over our friends Chris and Pam, also known as Pammiecakes. The weather was absolutely gorgeous so Josh and I suggested we do a mini photoshoot. Luckily Pam and Chris are very easygoing so they agreed. Yesterday I mailed off a cd of 30 pictures for them. I was really happy with how they turned out. It was so much fun and totally random! Josh said that we are so "those friends" who can take pictures. I love being "those friends"!
day at the spa
Monday, January 15, 2007Jess's husband, Tommy, called me a month and a half ago wanting some help with a Christmas present for Jess. He wanted to get her a gift certificate to "one of those places that does your nails and stuff". I did some research and found a spa in Springfield that does just that. Tommy wanted me to surprise Jess and meet her there. In his words, "you should be there since you're pretty much her favorite person". So we worked with Jess's mom and planned the whole thing. Labels: about me, the one with friends
I got there early on Saturday and hid in the nail room. I was so excited peeking out the window waiting for Jess. Jess was so surprised when I walked around the corner. All of the ladies that worked there were so excited too. We both got manicures, pedicures and facials.
I've never had a facial before so I wasn't sure what to expect. Towards the end of the facial, I got a mask and then hot towels laid over my face. I was left in the little room to relax for awhile with the towels. I realized that I have a hard time just relaxing...just sitting.
Here is a little bit of what went on in my mind for those 10 minutes.
So these towels are pretty warm.
I hope my hair isn't getting wet.
I can't believe we actually surprised Jess.
I wonder what kind of stuff is on my face right now.
I wonder what it looks like.
Maybe I could peek in the mirror.
Probably not without messing up the towels.
Then the lady would know that I moved them.
I should try to stop thinking.
I hope my mascara isn't smeared all over my face.
I liked when she used the paint brushes to apply the goop.
Wonder how Jess's manicure is going.
Man, those other ladies are really loud.
I haven't listened to this Norah Jones cd in forever.
Jess said that Enya was next. I'm not really fan...I'm sure it'll be relaxing.
Relaxing...I think that's what I'm supposed to be doing.
I really hope my hair isn't going to look all nasty after this.
I need to stop worrying about my stupid hair.
My stomach is growling really loud.
I wish my teeth didn't hurt.
I wonder if my mom would be too claustrophobic to do this.
It's not too bad because I can move the towels.
Geez, I've got to stop messing with these towels.
The lady said I had nice eyelashes. Huh.
Stop thinking. Relax.
I wonder if I should wear my flip flops for the rest of the afternoon.
I don't want to ruin my pedicure.
The manicurist was really nice. I wish I had an art studio like she has.
I wonder how long I've been in here.
After this is done I'll check my face for running mascara.
I'm glad the weather wasn't so bad I couldn't come.
Hmm...I'm really hungry.
I wonder what Josh is doing. I hope he's feeling better.
I hope I don't get his cold.
Stop thinking. Enjoy the warm towels and relaxing music.
The towels aren't really that warm anymore though.
Maybe I can feel underneath the headwrap thing to see if my hair is getting gross.
Nope, can't do it without messing up the towels.
Oh well, who do I have to impress?
I cannot find a comfortable spot for my feet.
Okay, I'm totally going to stop thinking and relax now.
Jess and I had a really good time. I'm sure we looked silly walking around Springfield's mall in flip flops but at least our feet looked really cute. I told Jess that we should make it a yearly thing although I don't know that I'll get a facial next time. I'm just too...um, easily distracted.
stick of bubblegum
Thursday, October 05, 2006Labels: the one with friends
Last night I dyed my friend Chrystal's hair pink. I've never dyed anyone's hair pink before. I was a little nervous because first we had to bleach it since her hair is brown. There are a couple pictures on flickr, including an embarrassing one of me. I think the hair dying fumes went to my head.
The process took all evening but in the end it turned out crazy cool. I think I may have missed my calling as a beautician.
going country
Monday, September 25, 2006Labels: about me, music, the one with friends
That's my friend, Nicole, and I...at a country bar. Saturday night I went along with Nicole to hear the band Trent Willmon. Anyone who knows me even a little bit knows that I'm not a fan of country music (to put it lightly). I did go through a phase for about 6 months in high school but I eventually snapped out it.
Walking into the bar, I felt immediately out of place. Dangit, I had forgotten to wear my cowboy hat and confederate flag t-shirt. Nicole and I found a place to stand by a counter. Within 20 minutes of being there a very drunk man came by and gave us a hug. An opening band that I assume was local played a lot of cover songs (although they were all new to me). We met a bachelor party that was making a pit stop until they hit the strip club. One of the guys from that group was busy smacking girls' butts as they walked by him. Of course that particular drunk guy wanted to ask me to dance when I slow song came on. I was never so happy to tell him I was married.
Here is a video clip that I shot with my camera to prove I was there. Unfortunately when I turned the camera around it's too dark to see me. Oh well.
All in all it wasn't too bad. I do think I heard enough country music to last me at least five years. But I got to hear some really crappy pickup lines and hang out with my good friend...it could have been worse.
i wish everyday were saturday
Monday, August 28, 2006Labels: the one with friends
Josh and I hung out with our friends Brett and Jen on Saturday. They even came over to a Cruise-In with us. We somehow got stuck at the registration table for THREE AND A HALF HOURS. Luckily Josh's sister came to rescue us. It actually wasn't really a bad time. We visited and got free food.
Yesterday was pretty much the laziest day ever. Josh and I got ready for church and then just didn't go. Weirdest thing. We were both ready to go but Josh started flipping through his Bicycling magazine. I laid down on the big pillow. Once we realized what time it was, it was too late for the early service. By then we just didn't even feel like going...so we changed out of church clothes and laid around the rest of the day. Seriously I spent practically the whole day on the bean bag. The cool thing is that I didn't feel bad about it one bit. I also read the book, The Perks of Being a Wallflower.
Sometimes you just need a day like that...
inspiration
Thursday, August 17, 2006Labels: inspiration, knight light, music, the one with friends
I don't know if it was the double shot of espresso in my latte or the time I spent with my friend Emily but I drove home tonight feeling so inspired. We talked a lot about photography and I just really feel like I'm supposed to develop my couples portfolio. We talked about me doing some pictures of Emily and her husband. I just feel like I have loads of ideas for cool couples shots. So I drove home talking a mile a minute to Josh on my cell phone. I decided that I'm going to do as many pictures of couples I know to expand that portion of my portfolio. I already have some specific ideas for my brother and his girlfriend and they don't even know that they're going to be models for me. I want to take pictures by old buildings, in alleys, by brick walls...my list could go on and on...
I have been addicted to this song by Hellogoodbye called "Oh, It is Love". I think that has inspired me as well. Anyway, I'm excited to start on this. I think I could just keep rambling about this. This is me hopped up on caffiene, feeling really tired but very I.N.S.P.I.R.E.D. It's a good feeling. More to come...
love without restrictions
Friday, August 11, 2006Last year I got a chance to get to know a friend of Josh's from school. Brett isn't like anyone I've ever met. He is more okay with being himself than anyone I've ever been around and he doesn't apologize for it. It's hard not to like to be around him. He has a million friends because he's just so crazy and likeable. I think the thing that balances his craziness is that he's super intelligent, a writer and enjoys philosophical ideas as much as Josh. Labels: the one with friends
Josh and I got a chance to talk to him the other day since he's home from France (where he spent most of his summer) and done working at a camp for kids with AIDS. We talked about hanging out again this semester and Josh and I are both looking forward to it. I sent him a message after we chatted to say that it was great to talk to him, I've missed him this summer and can't wait to see him.
Brett wrote this back: "I miss you terribly. I find that I try to surround myself with empathetic persons who love and love and love without restrictions. Thank God for you and your husband. As the world spins faster and faster, velocity out of control or bondage, you keep me connected to a reality I could not stay glued to alone."
I kind of think that might be one of the best compliments I've ever received.
first meeting
Saturday, July 22, 2006Labels: coffee talk, the one with friends
Today I met my very first Internet friend, Pam, in "real life". We met for coffee in Champaign. It is the weirdest thing to get to know someone purely online and then finally meet them. I was so excited to really place a face and voice to Pam. I felt a little nervous like I was set up on a blind date except that I really already knew the person.
Pam was so sweet...very soft-spoken and nice. Her voice totally fits her and of course I felt like such a loud mouth. We chatted for almost two hours and I think we could have just kept right on talking for another two. We've already set up another "date" but we're going to include our husbands next time. I am already looking forward to that and so glad that we were finally able to meet. Thanks for meeting up with me, Pam...I had a great time!
anniversary gift
Tuesday, June 20, 2006Labels: knight light, the one with friends
I met up with my very good friend Nicole tonight. She of course, was the first to give Josh and I an anniversary card and gift! Nicole is such a sweetheart and never forgets your birthday, anniversary...that sort of thing. She got us this awesome mocha mix that I love called "Mighty Minty! Mocha". It really is like a peppermint patty in a coffee mug. Thanks, Nicole.
In other news, I got a custom made stamp with my business logo! It is so cool. Now if I make a card or something I can stamp the back with my stamper. All I had to do was upload a tif file of my logo. You can check the company out here.
The baby onesie I ordered my sister-in-law also came in the mail the other day. She's having another shower and even though I'm not supposed to bring a gift, I couldn't resist this. Afterall...I am the cool aunt.
something
Thursday, June 15, 2006So I have some pretty great friends. After my post yesterday I got emails that were so encouraging and caring. They reminded me of how lucky I am to have an awesome husband, great friends and family... Labels: about me, deep thoughts, the one with friends
Basically today I've been telling myself to snap out of it. I'm so blessed. So I need to get off my mopey ass (sorry Ma) and do something.
But what is that something???
the weekend is finally here
Friday, May 19, 2006My new website seems to be going over pretty well. My mom is passing the site around to her friends from work so who knows what might come of it. I started to panic a little yesterday because I still have to figure out tax stuff and how that all works. I'm hoping to talk to the local attorney soon. Maybe he can give me some free advice... If this business thing takes off, I want to be sure I'm getting a good start! Labels: knight light, kodachrome, the one with friends
I'm so glad that it's Friday. I hope to spend a lot of time adjusting Jess & Tommy's wedding pictures this weekend. They're going to be back from their honeymoon this weekend and I know anxious to see the shots we got. Other than that I really don't have anything scheduled for the weekend which is a first in quite awhile.
Have a great weekend.
wedding vids
Monday, May 15, 2006Talked to Jess this afternoon. They had just gotten on the cruise ship. She said, "Yeah, I'm just sitting by the window looking out over the ocean, eating lunch and MY HUSBAND is getting me a drink." It made me happy for them. So tonight I thought I'd look over their wedding video. Here are a couple clips from Jess & Tommy's wedding video. Labels: about me, all you need is love, the one with friends
This one is pre-wedding. You'll see Jess looking totally chill...I'm looking um, not. Also the crazy little junior bridesmaids...
This is their first moments of husband and wife. Watch to the end for nice little clip of my hubby.
This is just after the ceremony...it shows just how extremely dorky my husband and I are...
the moxeys
Sunday, May 14, 2006Labels: knight light, the one with friends
Whew, what a weekend! Jess is officially a wife...Mrs. Moxey! I got down there on Thursday night and we started decorating the church. Jess's little cousins (3rd, 4th, & 5th grade) helped along with her aunt, sister-in-law and mom. Those little girls were a huge help and they kept us entertained. We got quite a lot accomplished but still needed to finish up on Friday morning. There was a whole lot of running here and there and doing wedding related things.
Friday night was the rehearsal. Nicole picked up Josh so they got there just in time for the rehearsal. We ran through the program and ironed everything out, then headed for dinner at Jess's folks. It was fun to hang out with the whole wedding party and the rest of the family. After dinner, Josh and I ran to IGA to get lunch food for Saturday. Then we just hung out with Jess, chilling on the Eve of her wedding!!!
Jess said she woke up at 6:30 on Saturday which is to be expected. We headed for our hair appointments. The morning zoomed by...honestly I'm not really sure what we did. Once we were at the church and the rest of the wedding party got there, we wrapped up the loose ends. I was so thankful that my husband was there with me. Josh was all over the place helping where he was needed. He got put in charge of the music and sound system in the gym. At one point I was called into the gym to do a mic check. All of the groomsmen and ushers were taking full advantage of the amp. Suddenly I was surrounded and got serenaded with "You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling". I was especially bright red because my husband was watching the whole thing from a few feet away. Once the photographer arrived we started pictures. She decided to drive down the road a few blocks so we piled into cars. Unfortunately we weren't really prepared for the COLD. I'd say it was high FORTY'S. Oh my goodness, I was freezing. I mean, it was totally worth it for the pictures...but dang it was cold.
The photographer was all about Josh and I taking pictures too so she encouraged Josh to get up there to take shots. At one point she even asked Josh what settings he was using!! Josh did awesome taking pictures and really got some great shots. We headed back to the church just before guests started arriving. Us girls were hidden away in a room, all feeling a little anxious. The ceremony went smoothly and everything went as planned. I was a little disappointed because the pastor didn't really even do a little sermonette. Probably a good thing though because I only got choked up once. Soon Jess and Tommy were pronounced husband and wife!
The reception was right there at the church which was nice. We headed to the gym and the food was served right away to the bridal party. Jess and I realized that we didn't have anyone to dismiss tables so I hunted down Josh. Seriously, he stepped up. I started getting nervous about doing my matron of honor speech but I had practiced a ton. I was actually feeling really confident because I hadn't cried during the wedding and felt good about the speech. Well of course, once I got to the part in my speech about Jess being the best friend you could ever have, I had to stop for a second. I was doing great and then looked down at Jess. She was looking up at me with those blue eyes and this nice smile and I started to cry. Everyone started clapping because they just thought I was done so I had to say, "Wait, I'm not done!". My parents said it sounded good though but I was glad when it was over.
We visited with people and it seemed like everyone was having a good time. Jess's cousins were my shadow for the weekend which I loved. They all had little crushes on Josh because "he's cute". I was even informed that they were going to go on a date with him and also marry him. Towards the end of the evening Josh and I shaving creamed Jess and Tommy's truck. We videotaped the whole thing which was hilarious. Did I mention that Josh was the videographer? I checked out what he had taped on the way home and had to laugh because it's like the "Josh and Kimberly Show". Funny stuff on there though. Once the guests had pretty much left, Josh and I decided that we needed to head for home. Of course I felt bad for not helping to tear down but it seemed like they had enough help.
The weekend was exhausting but good. Honestly I was more stressed this weekend then I ever was for my wedding! Ha, I think that comes with being the matron of honor. Jess looked absolutely gorgeous. I have looked through all 514 of our pictures a bunch already and was so pleased with them all. I have uploaded 36 of them that I color corrected and adjusted to flickr.
I talked to Jess earlier this evening. Their flight to Florida leaves early tomorrow morning so they were just hanging out at their hotel. I'm sure they'll have an awesome time on their cruise as husband and wife. How exciting.
I was so glad to be a part of their day!
headed out soon
Thursday, May 11, 2006So excited that I'm leaving work at noon today. Headed down to Jess's to get busy on my matron of honor duties... Labels: about me, the one with friends
Hope everyone has a great weekend. You can bet there will be pictures on Monday!!
busy, busy
Wednesday, May 10, 2006I was a busy little bee last night. Although I was a grump, Josh ran into town with me to pick up some things we needed. (For one, video tapes to tape Jess's wedding!) We got home and I worked on some graduation party postcards I'm doing. I finally got them to print right... [side note: I seriously am a perfectionist.] Labels: music, the one with friends
So while those were printing Josh and I worked on our OUT OF CONTROL cd collection. I don't know how it happens ... actually I do know how it happens... We don't put cds back in the binders for like six months. I really need to do some revamping to get the new ones alphabetized but for now they're semi-organized. After the cds were organized, we went through and pulled out music for Jess's wedding reception. I volunteered to make some playlists of music for the dinner time. I love doing that stuff. The only problem is getting it done before I leave tomorrow!
Luckily I finished all of the wedding programs on Monday night. Whew. I talked to Jess last night and she was saying how she did pretty much nothing all evening! She played in make-up with a Mary Kay lady and chilled out. She says, "So basically you're saying that you were more productive than the bride". Um, yeah but that's the way it should be just a few days before the wedding!
tennis
Monday, April 24, 2006Labels: the one with friends
Before Saturday morning I had never been to a tennis match. Our friend, Brett, plays tennis for Eureka so we headed out to see one of his games. Honestly for the first 2 1/2 hours I was completely confused about the whole scoring thing...30-love, 2 to 5.... What??? The last half hour Josh and I went and sat right by the court that Brett was playing on. I could hear the guys saying the score so I started to catch on. I would even start to tell Josh the score before the guys said it.
The weird thing about tennis is that I felt like we couldn't really cheer. Tennis is one of those sports that you "golf clap" at, isn't it? Oh well, I still cheered for Brett. And we got some cool pictures of him playing. Plus he won...Go, Brett!
bm
Friday, April 21, 2006Labels: the one with friends
I'm picking up my bridesmaid dress this weekend from Jess. I am completely paranoid that it's not going to fit. It just sucks to not really try on the real dress when you pick it out. My fingers are crossed so tightly. If it doesn't fit...I'm going to have to quote Never Been Kissed: "Alright girls, nothing but water and ex-lax until prom".
The picture is of Jess giving the maid of honor toast at my wedding. It must have been funny...honestly I can't really remember it. I wish it had been videotaped. I still have to work on my maid of honor toast. Let's just hope I don't cry through the whole thing and I obviously have to be funny. Oh, the pressure of being a bridesmaid!
jess's shower
Monday, April 03, 2006Labels: the one with friends
This Saturday was Jess's bridal shower. I think it was a very nice shower. I had enough favors, enough food...those are the important things! Nicole was a huge help with setting up and making sure food was out. Jess got a ton of great gifts so that was exciting! The only bad thing was that the room we were in was pretty much the worst lighting possible. I kept alternating between flash and no flash because I couldn't decide which was better. Ugh. It was terrible and my pictures show it. But...you can view all the pictures at flickr.
Afterwards we ate pizza and watched Must Love Dogs (which is an excellent movie). I addressed all of Jess's thank you notes for her and finished up the wire centerpiece thingys. I had to feel productive because I'm not sure if I'll be back down again before the wedding except to pick up my dress. Only forty more days! I still kind of can't believe that my little Jess is getting married.
It was good to get home yesterday. My boys missed me which was nice. I enjoyed a two hour nap on my wonderful bed which felt especially great after sleeping on the floor. Last night I sat down at the computer to work on the shower pictures and Josh plopped down on our bed. I opened up Photoshop and got to work. After a couple pictures he said, "So are you going to go through all the pictures right now and edit them?" I said, "Yeah, I kind of planned on it". I looked over at him and he yells, "ALRIGHT, I'LL JUST SAY IT...I'M STARVED FOR YOUR ATTENTION!" Of course I left the computer immediately. Gosh, I love that man.
It was a good weekend.
