Wedding Planning Update

So, wedding planning has kind of taken over our lives lately.  I suppose that's to be expected, but it still amazes me all the details that have to be taken care of.

Sam keeps telling me that I'm planning so far in advance, but the reality is I am focused on getting the big contracts out of the way so that we can focus on the little details like our DJ's playlist, the lighting we want during the reception, ceremony specifics like readings and vows.

Things we've already booked:

1. Florist
2. Photographer
3. Videographer
4. Venue
5. DJ/Emcee/Lighting
6. Officiant
7. Hotels for Guests

Things we still have to decide or finalize:

1. Cake (tastings and final selection)
2. Live music (ceremony and cocktails)
3. Menu (tastings and final selection)
4. Bridal party attire
5. Wedding Dress (purchase)
6. Invitations (order)
7. Rehearsal 

We already picked out the invitations, we just need to go in and officially order them once we have our menu items selected.  We need to set up a time to do our menu tastings, but that's all part of the venue so I'm not super stressed about that.  I think I picked out my wedding dress, and I'm planning on ordering it in December when I'm in NorCal, but I have an appointment down here to try on dresses with Jackie in two weeks.  We're also hopefully going to pick out the bridesmaids dresses during her visit.  

The cake is the last of the big stuff that needs to be taken care of.  So we need to make some appointments to do some tastings at different bakeries.  If we don't find live music, our DJ can handle the ceremony and venue does live music on their patio which is just below our cocktail balcony.  So that's not really crucial to the wedding happening.

I am just so excited to start our marriage and become Sam's wife!

Our Officiant is Official!

One of the biggest things stressing me out about wedding planning was that we hadn't found an officiant.

Thankfully that ended on Tuesday night at Starbucks in San Juan Capistrano!

Sam had found a couple of additional officiants for us to interview on The Knot and Tom was quick to respond and easy to set up an appointment with.

We were really impressed with how professional Tom looked and how he carried himself.  He was pretty much exactly what we were looking for!

Tom's an elementary school principal, but he has been doing weddings on the side for 6 years starting when his cousin asked him to perform their ceremony on a family vacation in Mexico.  Tom pursued a career in marriage and family therapy before he went into education, which was an unexpected bonus because he definitely gave us a little mini counseling session and didn't seem preachy or judgmental.

He also shared a lot about his own family and assured us that it's totally normal for couples to struggle setting boundaries with parents and in-laws as they enter into marriage.  He told us that from his own personal experience he cannot impress upon us enough the importance of setting boundaries with our parents and families from the very beginning of our married life.

He reinforced the crappy truth that people's feelings are going to get hurt by us setting boundaries whether we do it now or we do it when we have our own kids.  He said there was so much unnecessary drama with his parents based on his own inability to set boundaries with them and it really hurt his wife and his relationship with his parents.

That totally hit home for Sam and I, because we have two AMAZING families that would love to spend every second with us.  Unfortunately, we haven't been able to master the fine art of being in two places at once, so we're trying to split our holidays and time between our families.

If it were just a matter of our parents and siblings, that would be less difficult, but we have three extended families to fit in as well.  Sam's mom's side of the family spends almost every holiday all together, which is a bit daunting for me because I worry about the expectations they will have for Sam and I.  My parents split holidays between my mom's family (grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins) and my dad's family (grandparents, aunt, uncle and cousins).  We spent Thanksgiving and Christmas Eve with one side, Christmas Day and Easter with the other, and split up Mother's Day and Father's Day.

I think my family is prepared to have Sam and I MIA at family functions and holiday events now that they have to share me (more formally) with the Galles.  It's tough for me though, because I realize that I'm going to miss out on a lot.  We'll only be spending 50% of the holidays with my side of our family.  Of that 50%, probably 33% will be with the Santis, 33% with the Hunters and 33% with just my immediate family.

I am really, really excited about getting married, and I'm sure Sam and I are lucky to have been working on this whole family integration thing over the last 10+ years.  I just wish it was easier.

Nail Polish Shopping Spree

I may or may not have gone on a nail polish shopping spree today...

Hint, I did.

I even forgot to buy the color I was originally looking for, which meant that I had to make TWO transactions on Amazon!  So let's take a stroll down the shopping list:

OPI Tiffany Case

True story, this might be a LITTLE too much for me, but ya only live once, right?  I figured if nothing else, I can maybe stand to wear this for a couple of parties.

OPI Ski Slope Sweetie

I was originally looking for some nice, mellow colors that I could wear on a day-to-day basis now that I have a beautiful engagement ring that is drawing a LOT of attention to my hands.  This one is really cute, and I am hoping it comes off kind of sparkly and silvery.  But let's be honest, this photo is nothing to write home about!

OPI All Sparkly and Gold

This gold one is going to be perfect for the 49er game in December!  I am so excited to try it out, even though I already have a perfectly nice gold nail polish.  What can I say, I am a bit of a gold nail polish slob.  Well that, and I really got excited about this color on the OPI website even though I'm less than impressed with how it looks in the bottle online.

OPI Mermaid's Tears

 I think this is where I got a little too carried away.  I couldn't leave this behind.  It is so absolutely beautiful and while I'm not entirely sure when I can wear it, but I will rock it sometime.

OPI Dulce de Leche

Here's the little troublemaker!  I went online looking for this little color right here, which I have on my nails as I type this.  It is such a nice, creamy pink-nude color.  It absolutely compliments my skin tone and accents my beautiful engagement ring.  It's right for the bride-to-be to feel pampered! :-)

Top Coat & Base Coat

And then I caved and bought the top coat and the base coat because I figured if I am going to make more of a point to be manicured at all times, I might as well do everything I can to keep the paint on as long as possible.  And I guess if I'm going to put so much effort in I should do it the right way.

Kids

Lately it seems that a lot of girls I knew from high school are getting pregnant and having their first (or third) babies.

Is it making my biological clock itch?  Not so much itch, no.  But it does kind of make me pause and realize that Sam and I will (probably) be parents sooner rather than later.  And this whole wedding planning thing is definitely making us think and plan for the future.

On Friday, Hunter was being particularly needy and Sam made the observation that it's going to be really tough for Hunter when he has to share my attention with a baby.  I think life for Hunter is going to get tough long before a baby arrives, he loves to sit on my lap and sprawl across my belly when we go to bed at night so his adjustments will start when my tummy gets bigger.

I suppose there is a bit of a morbid fascination with these ladies who are pregnant because I am so curious about what they are going through, what lies in our future.

And I am acutely aware that life as we know it will completely change with kids.  Completely.

Until we do have our own kids, Hunter is a pretty good practice baby and Sam does such a wonderful job with him that I'm sure our human kids will be in great hands.

Waiting for me to bring out our bagel breakfasts

HBO Documentary Series

This weekend I got really interested in HBO's Documentary Series thanks to Kirellos's visit, during which he showed Sam and I that Apple TV has an HBO Go app.  With the new power of streaming HBO Go seamlessly, I found the amazing documentaries that HBO produces - Mondays in Racine, Open Heart, Lock Up: Prisoners of Rikers Island, First Comes Love, and Last Letters Home.

They have all been really touching in different ways.

And it makes me think that there are so many amazing things going on out there in the world that (thankfully) I don't have to manage on a daily basis.

Coupled with these documentaries, Kirellos, Sam and I went out on the Newport Beach Peninsula last night to a new (to us) bar with Kirellos' sister and one of her friends.  The bar was overly full of dudes, super slutty girls and really hammered people.  As we were climbing into bed at 3:00 this morning, I rolled over and snuggled up next to Sam to say 'thank you' for sparing me years of running around trying to find Mr. Right.  And he agreed that we are both lucky to have found each other so early on.

Slowly Taking Over

Wedding planning is all-consuming.  I mean that in a really good way, but it's true!

I have been trying to take care of something wedding-related every weekend that we're home, but that's not as easy as it sounds.

We took advantage of our road trip up to Santa Barbara to listen to lots of wedding music, but didn't really make much progress with a formal playlist.

We interviewed officiants, but we can't decide which one to go with.

We have narrowed down our decision to two DJ companies, but we're having trouble scheduling a time to meet up with the possible DJs.

I wouldn't be worried except that our preferred videographer is already booked for our date, as was our preferred photographer.  So clearly people are already on their game for August 2014.  And if Sam had a regular job, this would be less of a scheduling issue, but he's about to start his more challenging rotation November through January.  Which means he won't have as much time to dedicate to planning during the week, and that's when the DJs want to get together.

Wonderful.  I guess if need be I can do some of this myself... but I really want Sam to be involved in our tasting and he is going to have be the driving force when we pick our live musicians.

One thing I haven't been doing enough of is focusing on my fitness plan.  I am simultaneously hopeful that Sam's longer hours this winter will make it easier for me to focus on losing weight and toning up for the wedding, and nervous that I'll be taking on a lot more responsibility and thus will be more stressed and less able to focus on myself.  The accountability is totally with me - so here's to focusing more on my health and less on the rest of the drama.

Especially because I think I found "the dress" on Saturday while I was shopping with Mom and Carina!

Niners v. Cardinals

Sunday was our first San Francisco 49er game of the season.  Sam and I brought Jackie and Joe to the game with us, and we had a great time tailgating with the McHones and Oliveros before we headed over to see the Ward Family.  

 We got to celebrate Matt and Whitney's baby boy who will be joining the family in April 2014.

Mike, Carina, Kelly, Dad

 Carina and Mom

 Jackie and I at the game

Lovely ladies and our amazing gentlemen!

Sam and I can't wait to go back in December for the last home game of the regular season.  

49er Faithful Headed 'Home'

Tonight, Sam and I are flying up to San Francisco to spend what we hope will be a beautiful fall weekend in Northern California.  It will be our first trip home since we got engaged in August, and the first time I've seen my Dad and sister, Carina.  As you can imagine, I am really looking forward to being back in my hometown.  

While we're home, we're going to be celebrating Carina passing her nursing examination and being able to look for a job.  She is the first nurse in our family, so obviously we're all overjoyed and incredibly proud of her.  In fact, she's been home since last weekend so Sam and I will be a bit late to her party, but it will be really good to spend time as a family all the same.

While Carina's accomplishment deserves a good deal of attention, we originally planned this vacation so that we could make it home for the 49er game on Sunday against the Arizona Cardinals.  

Since it's the last season at Candlestick, Sam and I are making an effort to make it up for as many games as we can - which is looking like two so far.  Unfortunately, we're pretty limited in nights that the flight schedule and game schedule line up for us.  

Focusing on the positives, though, we're bringing Jackie and Joe to the game.  I am really excited to see them both and get to share something that means so much to me with a couple that Sam and I are looking forward to sharing lots of future milestones with.  Plus, Carina and Jackie will get a chance to meet again and hopefully bond a little bit over my bachelorette party planning.  Dad is awesome and he's going to sit with the McHones so that Mom, Carina, Sam, Jackie, Joe and I can sit in Papa's seats.  

It will also be really fun to see the whole Tailgate Crew.  Sam has been getting ribbed for years about not proposing to me, so I'm excited to show off my beautiful engagement ring and let him get all the credit.  

In addition to the McHones and Tailgate Crew, we'll get to see Matt, Kelly and Mike Ward along with Chris and Whitney (I hope).  That will be really fun because in addition to celebrating our engagement, Whit and Matt announced that they're expecting their first baby in April 2014 - so we have a LOT to be cheerful and excited about.  I am planning on bringing a couple bottles of champagne to pop in the parking lot. 

View from Papa's seats Jan 12, 2013 (San Francisco v. Green Bay)

Welcome to Orange County Fall!

My little guy is such a handsome puppy!

Fall has finally arrived here in Irvine and I couldn't be happier!  

Fall makes me think of Northern California and I love celebrating the change of the seasons.  And now that we're into October, Sam and I are anticipating Halloween and Thanksgiving and Christmas.  

It rained yesterday for the first time this fall and it was magical.  The smell of the wet pavement and dirt.  The way the air has a bite and chill to it.  Maybe this fall is especially magical because I'm celebrating my engagement to the most amazing future-husband in the world.  

And wedding planning is going fantastically.  This week we pulled the trigger on a videographer and a DJ/Emcee who will also handle our lighting.  So now we've got a couple more big things crossed off our list.  The only things that we have left are to decide on an officiant, string trio or quartet for the ceremony, the cake, our menu, a hairdresser, a makeup artist and my wedding dress.

My sister is going to be in NorCal this weekend and she and my mom and I are going to check out a bridal salon that has "the dress".  There's been one dress in all my perusing that I keep coming back to and thinking that it's just perfect.  Yes, I'm nervous about what will happen when I put it on, but I am really excited to share this moment with my mom and sister.

Weekend Recap

Sam has taken up soccer and joined a men's league that plays on Sunday afternoons about 10 minutes from our house.

He played a little bit last season (summer) with Ryan Quigley, but this season (fall) he made his own team and recruited two of Ryan's teammates to play with a bunch of the UCI surgical specialty residents.   

It's been interesting, because the surgeons are so back with commitment since they've got call, vacations and really busy schedules in their free time.  Finally, this week, they were able to get together a group of guys who have been at several of the games and are getting used to playing together.  Additionally, Bo brought two of his friends who are pretty good.  

Last week was the first goal of the season, and this week they scored 4 - 2 of which came from MY FUTURE HUBBY!  :-)  I am still super proud of Sammy if you can't tell.  Not only did he score twice, he made a huge save while he was playing goalie at the end of the first half.  It was a great day for him and I know he finally felt like he was getting his touch and endurance back.  

Luckily, next we the team has a bye coming up because we're going to be gone in NorCal this weekend.  The following weekend, they have a double header so I'm going to bring an ice chest of water bottles, gatorade and orange slices.  I haven't done that yet this season because I don't want to be TOO much of the team mom, but I do think they deserve a little pampering if they're going to play two games in one day.

In other news, the Niners looked fantastic against the Houston Texans and I cannot wait to be at Candlestick this Sunday night!

Succulents and Cactus

With all of Sam's free time, we're working on cultivating hobbies that we both enjoy.  

One of the things I suggested is gardening.

I love gardening!  

I wish we had a real backyard so I could really do some serious landscaping, and it turns out Sam really likes outdoor home improvement activities.  Win-win!  

I've had a couple of different plants since I moved to Southern California.  There were some short-lived  geraniums on the Newport Peninsula that fried in the all-day direct sunlight.  Then I had an orchid that lived for about 2 years but couldn't find the right amount of sunlight in our current apartment. 

So far, my biggest success has come from a rubber plant my brought down after we moved into our apartment.  It's managed to survive (barely) for 2 years despite numerous periods of neglect.  Which got me thinking, maybe we needed to rethink the kinds of plants we were trying to cultivate.  Perhaps we should move away from the florals in favor of succulents.

So Sam agreed to check out succulents with me this morning and we headed to Lowes to see what we could find.  When we arrived, Sam found some cactus plants that looked pretty neat next to the succulents.  He also found some really neat pots that fit in with the ones we already have as well as the patio furniture for housing potted plants at different heights.  Major win-win!

Interestingly enough, we bought one pre-potted compilation of low-moisture succulents and cacti but we bought loose plants to put into 3 additional pots.  It's the perfect mix of do it yourself meets prefabrication.  And they are actually pretty cool looking when you mix them together.

 So hopefully we'll have better luck with these bad boys than I have had with previous iterations of potted plants and patio gardening.  At the very least, hopefully Hunter won't be eating these plants since these plants have spikes and prickly needles. 

First Dance Idea

So I'm thinking about using this as our first dance... it still needs to pass Sam's approval, but I do think that it would be a nice song and it's very pretty and classy without being Etta James (which I love, but Margaux and Pete just used that at their wedding and it's a BIT more appropriate for them than for us.)  Also, I think it would be pretty easy to take some dance lessons and choreograph a very nice dance to this song.  

I also have to work in the recessional song (and get Sam's approval for) "From This Moment" by Shania Twain.  Now there's a song that was practically written for that moment in a person's life.  We'll be introduced for the first time as husband and wife and then the lyrics will fade in, "From this moment life has begun, from this moment you are the one, right beside you is where I belong, From this moment on..."