Day 09 Blogging Challenge

Something I'm proud of.

That's easy:

And in 4ish months, with a little bit of luck,  I can add this one:

Silent Night

I hope you and yours have a blessed, peaceful, wonderful and safe Christmas weekend.  To my wonderful family--I love you.  Thank you.  To Joe Joe--we miss you every single day.  Luther, Lamont and LuLu were in the tree for you and your sugar booger saved you a piece of chocolate.  To my friends-you are amazing. To the Auburn Tiger Nation--WAR EAGLE! 

Here's to you, friends and family. 

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas!

I'm taking a 3 day hiatus from blogging since we'll be out of town and will have no internet service.  

Merry Christmas!!

Day 08 Blogging Challenge

I'm sick, which makes me cranky, which therefore means this is going to be short, sweet and to the point.

2 days before Christmas and you want to know my short term goals??

Survive.

Pure and simple.

Between raising a three-year-old, being broke, being in school, and the ridiculous amounts of family politicking that accompany the holiday season, survival is the only thing on my mind.

Longer-term than that--there are exactly 143 days from today's date (including weekends, holidays, and days we don't have classes) until May 14th, which to me is a HUGE date, because...

GRADUATION.  

Cannot get here fast enough. Granted, I still have to take (and pass!) the NCLEX, but knowing that the school part is almost behind me is definitely a light at the end of the of the tunnel.

Day 07 Blogging Challenge

The person or thing that has had the biggest impact on my life.

I was convinced that this was going to be a person-so many amazing people have had impacts on my life, in both positive and negative ways.   Everything that I am and my views about the world are shaped by the people I have come into contact with...I believe that it's true that we are all balls of clay that are molded by the circumstances of our lives.

But I realized that:

1.  I couldn't narrow it down to one person who has the biggest impact and

2.  I wouldn't be in contact with half of the people that have had impacts if it weren't for one thing.

The internet. Between blogging, social networking, and the vast array of...STUFF, the internet has completely changed the way we interact, the way we learn, and the way that we view the world around us.  My generation, and all of the generations to follow, have never known life without it.  I was in college when Facebook began, and I wouldn't remember how to write a paper without Google Scholar...kidding.

 

We get the news faster, we are more globally savvy (as a whole), and sites like People of Walmart and Awkward Family Photos give us something to laugh at.  Whole companies freak out when the server is down, and it makes headlines when sites like Facebook are not working.  Like it or not, the internet has shaped our world and the way we feel about the people and things in it.

Day 06 Blogging Challenge...oh, to be a bookworm

So today is supposed to be about a hobby I have.

Reading isn't a hobby.  

Reading is a passion.

Old books.  New books.  Electronic books.  All books. I could go on and on about books...but instead I thought I would list my top books--there are so, so many books, and so so many genres that I could literally list books all day long...these are in no particular order, just great, great books.

1.    The Poisonwood Bible

2.    Acheron  (part of a series)

3.    Escape (from Polygamy)

4.    Outlander

5.    If On a Winter's Night a Traveler

6.    One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest

7.    The Waste Land

8.    Brave New World

9.    The Kite Runner

10.  Eat. Pray. Love. (way better than the movie.  trust me)

11.  Middlesex

12.  The Other Boleyn Girl

13.  On The Road (Kerouac and I don't exactly get along-but still worth it)

14.   The Count of Monte Cristo (probably one of my all-time favorites)

15.   Les Miserables

16.   Dubliners

17.   The Help 

18.  The Clan of the Cave Bear

Books can take you anywhere.  Can make you be anything.  Can help you see things in a different perspective.

And this is, no lie, what my table might look like at any given moment:

Day 05 Blogging Challenge

Oh, the places you will go...

I love to travel.  I love getting lost in a new city and finding some hole in the wall restaurant or store, or discovering some off-the-beaten path pub or bookstore.  I even like sitting in airports and on planes, because you never, ever know who you might see or meet.  On one flight, this H-U-G-E man came rumbling down the aisle and sat next to me.  Five minutes later, he's showing me pictures of his fights.

Fights.

The Huge Man was a professional wrestler. Like, Monday Night Raw professional wrestler.

And then there's the little old lady who chatter the whole flight, or the guy who falls asleep and drools the whole time, or the woman working on her "novel."  

But I digress.  Somewhere I've traveled.

I've been all over the country.  I've been all over the UK.  I've been to Mexico.

But one place stands out for me.  

 

I loved Stonehenge.  I loved the mystery, the unknown.  I loved the raw open field with absolutely nothing around except the towering stones.  I would go back in a heartbeat.

Day 04 Blogging Challenge--the Soundtrack

15 songs that represent my life's soundtrack.

This is a lot harder than I thought it was going to be. I've gotten up and walked away and come back to this a bajillionty times this morning.  

Numbers 1 and 2 and 3 are easy.

1.  Aslyn's-That's When I Love You.

I walked down the aisle to my husband with this song playing, and it will forever be a part of my soundtrack.  I can't find the version that we used, but it was a little more acoustic and slow compared to this version.

2.Allman Brothers-Soulshine.  

This is "our song."

3. Israel "IZ" Kaʻanoʻi Kamakawiwoʻole- Somewhere over the Rainbow/What a Wonderful World

Same as number 1 and 2.

4.  Bowling for Soup- 99 Biker Friends

When I was going through a really, really, really dark period in my life, one of my best friends, who happens to be a biker friend, played this song for me, and it was kind of my mantra.  I mean, who doesn't need 99 biker friends to go kick someone's ass?

5.  Cherry Poppin' Daddies-Zoot Suit Riot

This is just one of the more popular songs  that's indicative of all swing/jive music.  I love, love to dance and sometimes think I would have been better suited to having been born in the 20s.

6.  Jesse Cook- Tango Flamenco

Any flamenco music, really.  How many can claim that they were on the flamenco dance team in high school? Yeah, I'm a dork.  Yeah, I don't care.  I loved it, and I still love flamenco guitar.

7.  Alanis Morrissette-ummm, really anything from the "Jagged Little Pill" album

How many angsty teenagers DIDN'T have this album when it came out?

8. Jimmy Buffett--Fruitcakes

Do I need to say anything more? My nickname has been "Fruitcake" since I was 11.

9.  Jimmy Buffett--When the Coast is Clear

I am a Gulf Coast girl from the tip of my head to the polish on my toenails.  I was devastated when the BP oil spill happened, and I was sitting on the beach listening to Jimmy Buffett when he played this song in Gulf Shores. 

10.  The Proclaimers-500 Miles

If there is ever a song more designed to get stuck in your head, this is it.

11.  Michael Franti/Spearhead--Hello Bonjour

The whole album is pretty politically charged, but the messages in nearly all of his songs are pretty powerful. Hello Bonjour is my favorite--why are we so intolerant of people who are different than we are?

12.   Nickel Creek-When You Come Back Down

My mama and Joe dedicated this song to me when I graduated from high school.  And I still believe with all my heart that Joe is and will forever be there for me, even though I can't see him here.  He and my mama always supported my dreams, and they were my "solid ground" while I was flying high. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ng5-VUDcjJ8&feature=related

13.  Cowboy Mouth-Hurricane Party

This was my absolute favorite Cowboy Mouth song before Hurricane Katrina ravaged their hometown, and they have done a lot to rebuild their city.  And anyone who has every lived in a hurricane area, this song is so true--it means one things--a hurricane party! If you've never listened to Cowboy Mouth, check out some of their other songs as well.

14. Weezer--Undone

Straight back to 7th grade.

15.  Cheap Trick-I Want You to Want Me.

This song has cheered me up from many a miserable mood.  It is the best down-in-the-dumps antidote known to man, especially when dancing to it with your favorite Mr. Fabulousness.

Day 03 Blogging Challenge

A habit I wish I didn't have.  

A habit I wish I didn't have.

This one is probably the easiest to answer, but it doesn't come without some close second-placers.  I am a hopeless electronic junkie. I compulsively buy shoes.  The concept of organization means nothing to me--I live in organized chaos.  

But in the end, how could I choose anything other than the habit that is dangerous, expensive, and nasty?

 

As if we didn't all know by now that these were a load of baloney.  I hate it.  I hate smelling like smoke.  I hate actually smoking.  I hate how much it costs.  And I have every single intention of quitting in 2011. 

Bank on it.

Day 02 Blogging Challenge

Today is supposed to be a photo of something I cannot live without. And I went through my head.  Was is my handy dandy notebook (computer)?  Was it my cell phone?  Was it my camera? Was it my Kindle? And then I realized that everything that I was listing was an expensive electronic device.  

So then I started to think a little more on a basic level.  

Sushi? 

Nursing textboooks?  (no, I could really, really live without those...)

No, what I realized that in the end, it wasn't the stuff. It never was.  This is what I couldn't live without:

The people that make up my world, my family and friends.  That's the one thing I couldn't live without. They are my world, and without them, everything is....just stuff. I can live without the electronics, the gizmos, the gadgets.  But these people are irreplaceable.  Some are gone, to be seen again in Heaven.  Some I don't talk to nearly enough.  And some I didn't have recent pictures of.  But my family and friends, that is the one thing I couldn't imagine life without.

Except maybe chapstick :-)

Freedom!...and Day 01 of the 30 Day Blogging Challenge

I finally have a few minutes to myself.  No class.  No care plans.  No case studies.  Bliss.

A friend of mine challenged me to blog daily, and even though I couldn't find the site she recommended, I found one that challenged thirty continuous days of blogging.  Sounds like fun to me!

Day 01- A recent picture of you and 15 interesting facts about yourself.
Day 02- A picture of something you cannot live without.
Day 03- A habit that you wish you didn’t have.
Day 04- List 15 songs that represent your life’s soundtrack.
Day 05- A picture of somewhere you’ve been to.
Day 06- A hobby you have.
Day 07- A picture of someone/something that has the biggest impact on you.
Day 08- Short term goals for this month and why.
Day 09- Something/someone you’re proud of.
Day 10- A story about a past relationship.
Day 11- A picture of something you dislike.
Day 12- A picture of your room & don’t cheat by cleaning it. Share a secret.
Day 13- Write a letter telling someone something you could never tell them.
Day 14- A picture of something you ate and 10 confessions.
Day 15- Put your iPod on shuffle & share the first 10 songs that play.
Day 16- Something you could live without.
Day 17- Someone you would want to switch lives with for one day and why.
Day 18- Plans/dreams/goals you have.
Day 19- Nicknames you have & how or why you have them.
Day 20- If you had 3 wishes, what would they be.
Day 21- Share a picture from your day.
Day 22- What makes you different from everyone else.
Day 23- What is something you crave.
Day 24- Share a story about your past that you are ashamed of.
Day 25- What I would find in your bag.
Day 26- Places you want to visit before you die.
Day 27- Why are you doing this 30 day challenge?
Day 28- A picture of you last year and now, how have you changed since then?
Day 29- In this past month, what have you learned.
Day 30- A picture of you today & 20 goals you want to accomplish.

So.  Today is the first day.  Without further ado, a picture of yours truly:

And fifteen interesting things about myself...

1.  I am, and forever will be, a band dork.  I loved being in the band in high school.  My best friends were in the band with me, and some of my fondest memories from high school are from trips to games and competitions, not to mention "band camp."

2.  I am a reader to the very core of who I am.  I read cereal boxes, blogs, shampoo bottles, magazines.  If it has words on it, I will read it.  I have been to every country, even countries that don't even exist, within the pages of books.  A child who doesn't know how to read is one of the most negligent things a parent can do to a child.  It's an education, a mystery, an escape.

3.  Life is unfair.  Brutally so.

4.  I believe in loving life for everything it is worth.  We are not guaranteed tomorrow, and life is far too short to give two flying flips what someone else thinks about the kind of person you are.  Quirky?  Goofball?  Weird? Yes, please.

5.  I am terrible at math.  

6.  People will never cease to disappoint and disgust you.  But people will also never cease to surprise you, either.

7.  I am a Taurimi.  My birthday falls on the cusp of Taurus and Gemini, and though I don't put a lot of stock into horoscopes, I like to read both and pick the one I like better.

8.  Some of my very best friends are the ones that I never get to see.  I sometimes think that we have such a strong friendship because we are never together, and the stressors of daily life don't take the same toll that they would if we lived in the same town and saw each other all the time.

9.  I think my mother is one of the strongest people I know.

10.  It is rare that I get angry.  Even rarer that I hold a grudge for very long.  But some of the events that have recently transpired have tarnished my faith in a lot of things, and I don't know that time or patience will heal those wounds.

11.  I wear a 7 on my right foot and an 8 on the left.  Shoe shopping is a nightmare.  I'm probably the one to blame if you can't find the mate to the shoe you're in love with at Target!

12.  I have a very strong dislike of cold weather.  I was told that there is a town in Florida called "Frost Free."  I think I need to live there.  

13.  I'm a big, fat redneck at heart.  I love to play in the mud, drive big trucks, make a mess, play in the woods.  I'm just not quiet enough or cold-blooded enough to hunt.  I can't sit still that long.

14.  My husband is my very best friend and champion.  I consider myself to be one of the luckiest women on the planet.

15.  The glass is ALWAYS half-full.

shamefully loved

After reading this article this morning, I had to compile my own list of foods that I shamefully admit that i lurrrrve. There are some foods that, no matter how bad I know they are for me or how many ingredients I'll never be able to pronounce, they still sing their siren songs from the aisles of the grocery store or the drive-thru line...

1.  Ketchup-flavored Pringles.  Once a limited edition and now freely available on the grocery shelves, my friends cringe when I pull them out.  But to a ketchup-loving fiend, these are the gods of the cylindrical cans...

2.  Fried bologna.  Maybe it's a southern thing.  I don't know.

3. Cherry 7UP. It's a Shirley Temple in a can. 

4.  McD's Big Mac and fries.  I know.  One of these alone can cause heart failure, death in minutes, pimples, a massive weight gain, a diabetic coma, etc.  But it's what's calling my name when I see the golden arches...

5.  Banana-flavored moon pies.  Growing up in the south, especially in parts of the south that celebrate Mardi Gras, I have always loved moon pies.  Even if they're a weird shade of yellow and sometimes get crushed in the street before making it into your loot bag, they still taste amazing, especially after you zap them in the microwave and pair it with some vanilla ice cream...

MULLET

My husband and I stalk mullets. Actually, we score points for mullet sightings (as well as fanny packs, but that's a different kettle of fish). And I scored the motherload with this sighting...it doesn't really count, because I didn't take the picture, but it's still one of the best fem-mullets I've seen in weeks.


Crane Gang

(did i mention that I also love the People of Walmart site?)

it's not trash!

I am a certified pack rat.  I should have an episode on "Hoarders" about me.  

Not kidding.

Not even a little.

My husband and I are in the process of trying to do the "big purge."  You know, where you go through the mass quantities of crap that you've accumulated since you moved out of your parent's home...me 10 years ago, him nearly 20.  In doing said "big purge," I have discovered a few things:

1.  I need an AA program for shoe addictions.

2.  I have more "gadgets" than one person should be allowed to have

3.  My husband needs an AA program for hunting/fishing gear

4.  Sometimes being a sentimental freak pays off.  Like finding the scrapbook I made in high school.

5.  I should not be allowed to go to yard sales.

6.  Books that sucked the first time around should be discarded because..you know..they still suck the second time around.

7.  We could run our own costume shop from the closet.  Wanna be Jack Sparrow?  The Good Witch?  a Pregnant Priest?  We've got you covered.

8.  Boas?  Yeah, they multiply.

Someone please come over with a bobcat/bulldozer/dump truck and HELP ME!!  I have an inability to be rational about getting rid of things like bundt pans (i have 3), cassette players (how else am i going to play the NKOTB tapes and the random mix tapes from middle school??), prom/anchor ball dresses (like I'm ever going to be a size 4 again), stilettos (who am i kidding?  I don't wear shoes that don't inspire comfort...hellloooooo, Dr. Scholl's...), vacuum cleaners (why do I have 4?), tupperware (i will never, ever, ever have this many leftovers), crockpots (i have 2), and assorted other items.  


Not to mention I keep losing the dogs. 

stoopid night class and summer boredom

Who in the world dreamed up the concept of night classes?  While I understand that some people can't go to school during the day, and night classes work as part of their schedules, i have ZERO motivation to go to class at 6 pm.  I'm supposed to be at home in my old-lady recliner at 6 pm watching Jeopardy!

The good news?  By this time next year, I'll be d-o-n-e with nursing school and d-o-n-e with school, period.  At least for the time being.   

On the plus side, I have read more in the last 3 weeks than i have ever read.  Most recently, all of Pamie's books.  "Going in Circles" is a great, easy, true-to-life read.  Lurved it. And made me want to join roller derby even more.  But that has to wait until after nursing school, since apparently care plans are more important than giant hematomas from busting your ass.


Jimmy Buffett.  Next week.  Happy me.  Even if the reason he's playing here is a shitty-ass reason--the oil spill is depressing, to say the least.  Being the hardest hit county so far is definitely taking its emotional toll.

...

one day at a time, one step at a time. 

JTB, I love you and I'm proud to be your daughter.  I'm proud of the legacy you left behind with me and with your "sugar booger."  I may have a few screws loose, but I came by it honestly and am proud to be stubborn, pig-headed, a dreamer, a lone wolf, a dream catcher, a reader, a grammar Nazi, and a few other choice descriptors.  I'm proud that you challenged me to find my own way, and that way may still yet lead to a law degree.....after nursing school.  I'm proud of these blue eyes, so much like yours.  And I'm proud that you taught me to be stronger than the people that try to drag you down to their level.  

I miss you every single day.

the sun sets

On March 10, 2010, I lost one of the best men I have ever known.

Exactly one month to the day from his surgery, my dad lost his battle with liver cancer.  

Words can never, ever adequately convey what we're going through.

MIA

I've been MIA lately, and will continue to be MIA for a few more days.  My dad was diagnosed with cholangiocarcinoma, which is cancer of the bile ducts of the liver.  The good news is, as of today, he's a candidate for surgery, which will happen on 2/10/2010 (this Wednesday).  The bad news is the surgery is a liver resctioning, which is a huge, huge deal--the surgeon plans to remove about 45% of his liver. 

I haven't decided yet if I'll be updating for everyone here or via Facebook, but please keep my family in your thoughts and prayers this week and in the weeks to come. 

Many thanks.

Awesome Book: "The Help"

I stumbled across this book on Amazon and bought it on a whim.  I have a Kindle, so it was there for about a week before I started reading it.  And once I started, I couldn't put it down.

If you grew up in the South, or knew someone who grew up in the South, or had parents who grew up in the South, this book will speak to you. The Amazon review doesn't do it justice. It tells the story of the black maids that work in the homes of the white families in Jackson, Mississippi in the late 1950s and 1960s, just about the time that the integration movement was sweeping the United States......unless you lived in the Heart of Dixie.  It's the story of the women that came into the homes and raised white children, while leaving their own children at home so that they could have food on the table.  It's the story of their hearts and the joys and heartbreaks that they faced, and of the dichotomy of love and hate that they shared with the white families that hired them.

Fruitcake Wedding: The Ceremony

I've already written about our ceremony, and I can't say enough how many people commented, complimented, and have shared in the words we chose to live by.  I think the one thing I'm most proud of is the script to the ceremony, and I've felt honored that people have chosen to use it, in whole and in part, in their own weddings.

The actual ceremony went by so incredibly fast.  One minute I'm freaking out behind closed door about not tripping and falling and the next, Mr. Fruitcake and I were walking back up the aisle...married!

My dad walked my down the aisle, and I don't have words for how proud my daddy was when he put my hand in Mr. Fruitcake's.  He stood with us while Mr. Fruitcake's Man-Wife read our opening prayer:

(Did I mention that it was about a million degrees?  It wasn't SUPPOSED to be, but in South Alabama, the first weekend in May is always a crap shoot.)

My best friend read her reading, which I had tailored specifically for her:

I was so proud of her--she was so afraid that she wouldn't be able to make it though the reading without crying, and while she visibly struggled, she managed to keep it together.

Niecey, on the other hand, had never been to a wedding, had never been in a wedding, and...well, let's just say that she didn't really see the point in having to stand up for a ceremony when there were so many other things to do...

Did I mention that the Reverend looked like ZZ Top?

We had decided that we wanted to say our vows together, rather than reading them one at a time.  When it came time to say them, we...well, we both forgot the words.  And had ourselves a good laugh standing in front of all of our family and friends.  All we could think was that everyone knew at that moment that it was truly a Mr. and Mrs. Fruitcake kind of wedding...it was so typical of something we would do.

I had promised myself that I wasn't going to cry, and i ALMOST made it though the ceremony.  Until, near the very end of the ceremony, when Mr. Fruitcake caught my eye and mouthed, "I love you."  Aaaaand, I lost it.  Predictably.

And when I lost it, so did Mama Fruitcake:

But guess what?  The next few seconds were the ones where the Reverend pronounced us Mr. and Mrs. Walters--and the tears?  They vanished :-)

 

We were MARRIED!  And it was officially time to celebrate!!

I had one more little trick up my sleeve--Mr.Fruitcake had been a part of all of the wedding planning, but I had saved a trick for him.  I had arranged for fireworks to be set off as they pronounced us husband and wife, and for the fireworks to go off over the lake.  Unfortunately for me, I had undercalculated what time the sun would go down, so the fireworks were somewhat lost in the setting sun.  But Mr. Fruitcake was surprised, nonetheless, and he'll tell you that he loved being halfway up the hill and turning around to see them.

Party time!

Fruitcake Wedding: Showtime!

After the craziness of the morning of our wedding, it had somehow become afternoon.  And "afternoon" meant "ohmygodthisweddingishappening...soon."

I had been prettified, my shadow Niecey had been prettified, all of my favorite girls were on hand (except Mama Fruitcake.  She was manically shampooing the carpet in her bedroom.  At home.  45 minutes away).  And when Mrs. A pulled into the parking lot at the Lodge, everything had been finished.  Everything.

Giving Mrs. M a huge hug for taking care of all of the details

After the frantic morning, we had about an hour left before I had to sequester myself in my room away from earlybird guests and, more importantly, Mr. Fruitcake. I got a chance to really look around and see the transformation.  We had chosen the Lodge for a lot of reasons, but it had taken a lot of work to take it from a hunting lodge on a lake to a spot perfect for our wedding. But the hours of work that my friends and family put into our wedding made it perfect.

Have I mentioned that our wedding was....um...colorful?  And by colorful, I mean crazy explosions of bright summer colors?  The thought of having a monochromatic wedding was my idea of hell, and our wedding was anything but white lace and roses.  We were more of a hot pink, neon yellow and flaming orange kind of couple.

Have you picked up on the pinwheel theme yet?

Suddenly, my girls were on me like flies, herding me into my "suite" because Mr. Fruitcake had arrived on scene.  The "suite" was actually the room that we had used to stash all of the decorations that we had taken down. Which resulted in one of my favorite pictures from our wedding.  You have to know me and Mr. Fruitcake, and know how much of an outdoorsman Mr. Fruitcake is, to truly get the irony of the picture, but it makes me laugh every time I see it:

 Yes, my wedding dress is hanging from a deer head.  With a tractor supply company hat.  And rose petals.

Mama Fruitcake finally shows up, and it's suddenly time to get into my dress!  My dress, my dress, which I love, love, love. 

Of course, Mama Fruitcake, Mrs. A, Mrs. M, Miss E, Miss S, and Sis Fruitcake all start crying.  Which causes the classic Fruitcake gesture:

 

Meanwhile, Mr. Fruitcake is being subjected to the photographers and last minute preparations:

And then, there's a knock on the door from Torrie, our coordinator, and it's time to get this show on the road!!

My dad met me at the door, and literally had to keep me from falling down.  The nerves were getting the best of me. Don't get me wrong, I was ecstatic to be marrying Mr. Fruitcake, but suddenly, the idea of eloping held a lot more appeal!

We had made the decision, way back when we first started planning our wedding, that we both had too many close friends to avoid hurting someone's feelings by choosing a wedding party.  If we had chosen everyone that is truly important and close to us, we would have had 20+ people on each side.  So.....we got rid of the whole idea of a wedding party.  Sort of.  We asked his then 7-year old niece (Niecey) and 8-year-old nephew (D-man) to be our maid of honor and best man.  And my 2-year old niece (Fruitcake Jr.) and 2 year-old godson (A-man) were our ring bearer and flower girls.  We also let Niecey and D-man pick the song that they would come down the aisle to. 

The Little Mermaid's Kiss the Girl it was.

 

Seriously, the sweetest kids ever.

The opening strands of Disney started playing, and D-man and A-man started their long walk to the altar.

 

I was watching from around the corner, and could hear our guests awe-ing over A-man's cuteness and inability to pass a single pinwheel without wanting to spin it.  It took more than three quarters of the song for these two to make it to the end of the aisle.

Then it was time for my girls.

Niecey, normally a hellion who never slows down, was suddenly shy!  And Fruitcake Jr.  couldn't wait to be in the spotlight, but didn't quite have long enough legs to make it down the stairs alone. Fruitcake Jr. was pulling Niecey down the aisle!

And then it was time.

I had chosen, thanks to Mrs. A, a far more contemporary grand entrance song than I had originally planned--I had kind of pictured myself walking to Pachabel's Canon in D or something similarly "wedding-y."

But the more our wedding took on a life of its own, it just didn't fit.  And when I heard the song that I chose for the first time, it fit perfectly.

• That's When I Love You by Aslyn

 

More Aslyn music on iLike

We didn't use the particular version, but I can't find a clip of the version that we used online.  The words are the same, but it's a more mellow version.

Daddy Fruitcake and I started our walk, and I remember thinking that I wasn't sure that it was possible to be any happier than I was at that exact moment.

I didn't get to see this picture until long after the wedding was actually over, but it immediately became my favorite, because the camera caught what I had not been able to see----Mr. Fruitcake's expression the first time he saw me as I walked down the aisle:

The next thing I know, Daddy Fruitcake is putting Mr. Fruitcake's hand in mine, and the ceremony is under way!

 

 

Fruitcake Wedding: The Pre-Game

The morning of the wedding was a TOUGH one.  Because of some pre-wedding jitters and the fact that we had a bunch of friends coming in from miles and miles away, we had gone out to the Flora-Bama the night before after the rehearsal dinner.  Thoughful (thoughtless???) friends made sure we had drinks, shots, and other nameless concoctions to celebrate our wedding, and Fruitcake was a RumCake that night.

Blessed Mary, I have wonderful friends.  M and A got up before the buttcrack of dawn to go to Chick-fil-A (did you know that they open at 4 am?  Seriously?).  So when I woke up (grumpily to the sound of an alarm), they had hot coffee for Mama Fruitcake, a ginormous Diet Coke for me, and chicken biscuits all around.  Happy Fruitcake.  Except that because of a scheduling problem (the girl that was supposed to do my hair, and Niecey's hair (my niece) went into premature labor, and we had to rearrange our day), I had to be at my hairdresser at 8 am.  (Did I mention that the wedding was a 6?  That night?)

Mr. Fruitcake, in keeping with the tradition that we wouldn't see each other after we parted ways at the FloraBama, agreed to bring his 8-year-old niece back to the hair salon on his way home from his sister's.  However, on the way to the hair salon, I get this picture from SIL Fruitcake:

Mr. Fruitcake, still on the couch at his sister's condo.  Oops. Running a wee bit behind schedule.

Thanks to one of my very best friends, I only had to worry about climbing in and out of her car.  Mrs. A took care of the rest.  And thankfully, SIL Fruitcake threw some cold water on Mr. Fruitcake and got him up and moving, and my niece came around the corner just in time to hop into the stylist's chair.

Because of the rather awkward location of our wedding (I LOVED the Lodge.  Getting to it was another story), we had to go around the world and back the morning of the wedding.  Not to mention that the ONLY MAC counter is in Mobile, which meant driving 30 minutes in the opposite direction.  But lordy-loo, it was so worth it.  First of all, MAC makeup is incredible, especially for special occasions where you know you're going to be photographed.  Secondly, their makeup artists are incredible.

Suddenly (ok, it was really like 2 hours, but whatever), I went from plain-jane Fruitcake to feeling very much like a bride on her wedding day. And a very real set of butterflies set in!

(And yes, I totally rocked the fake eyelashes.  I love them, since mine are naturally blonde and straight as a stick, which also means invisible.)

Did I mention that my makeup artist (Sharon) rocked? (If you're in the Mobile area, go check her out.  Get a free makeover.  I promise that you won't be sorry).

Niecey was getting bored and cranky, so Mrs. A took her to the Disney store while I finished up.  And somehow, Niecey managed to finagle a promise for a milkshake.  Cue a drive-thru stop at Checkers for a strawberry milkshake for Niecey and a loaded order of fries and another giant Diet Coke for moi. (I should add the Mrs. A was freaking out inside, but did a beautiful job of hiding it from me.  "A freaking milkshake.  Everything we have to do, and we have to stop for a freaking milkshake.")

While Mrs. A, Niecey and I were being prettified, Miss S, Mr. J, Mrs. M, and a horde of other people were working their hineys off getting the Lodge ready for our ceremony.

Flowers:

(Mr. J with our daisies)

The ceremony site:

The pinwheels:

The tent:

 Our favors:

 Our guestbook:

i LOVED our guestbook.  Instead of doing something that was ultimately going to end up in a box in the attic, my dad gave us a copy of The Best of Life, which highlights the best photographs taken over 75 years of Life magazine.  We provided a basket of Sharpies, and our guests signed the pages. We have some hilarious and touching pages, and it's something that we can now display on our coffee table.

And suddenly, it was time to boogie on to the Lodge to finish up our last minute preparations and get this show on the road!

Did I mention that we had a photo booth?

Meant to Say Wednesdays

Chief started something fun!

To Mr. Fruitcake: "The trash ran this morning."

What I meant to say, "Why the EFF was I outside in blizzard conditions this morning when you promised to take out the trash, told me you were GOING to take out the trash, and even said you DID take out the trash.  WHY was the trash still in the kitchen this morning, a full 3 hours after you left for work, and why am I schlepping it out to the ROAD?"

To uber-snotty classmate: 'Oh, you have test again?"

What I meant: "FINALLY!  I have outscored your utlra-studying ass on SOMETHING!  Eat my shorts!  Booya!  Ha!  HAHA!  I haven't cracked a book since before Thanksgiving and STILL outscored you!"

To classmate: "I like your new 'do!"

What I meant: "What in God's green earth were you thinking with THAT?"

Gah...I could go on and on and on...