the newest temporary addition

I know this blog RIGHT NOW is mainly about wedding planning, but I have the plan to shift it to a “Kyle + Barbie Shanahan Shenanigans” type keep up with our lives type thing post wedding day.   So I thought maybe I would mix wedding and personal posts in because I know that reading all about flowers and shoes and invitations and dresses can be a bit blah and boring.  So I thought I would humor you with a story about Kyle’s big heart and our foster child, Kennesaw.  And it really isn’t humor – this whole experience has hurt my heart and hurt my faith in people even more.

This past Monday Kyle heard about a dog that was dumped by a family in a neighborhood in Kennesaw that needed a home or some help or both. Per Kyle’s coworker… a car drove up.  There was a bark.  The car drove away.  And then there was a stray dog in this neighborhood. Kyle being the dog lover with a big heart that he is decided he would be the one to take her in.  Me… I was not thrilled. With the stress of planning a wedding and 2 months of constant work travel coming up and already 1 not se well behaved pup I became immediately stressed because I knew her fate if we took her to animal control and I just wouldn’t let that happen.  So, I told him that we could not keep her but we could foster her and actively find her a new home.  But this little Welsh Terrier / Wire Terrier mix has melted my heart of ice (as Kyle was calling it) and everything has been much harder than I thought it would ever be.

The 1st thing I said was that she needed a bath and while bathing her we learned she had fleas – so queue the flea bath and then all the vacuuming of the upstairs.  Kyle took Tuesday off and found out that she was both happy and healthy – no parasites, no heartworms – just a little sad that her parents ditched her but happy we scooped her up.  We got SO super lucky and got a dog that is both house broken and crate trained and she has the sweetest personality ever and has SO much love to give (she loves to give kisses) - we just have to deal with Mulligan being a big old jerk from time to time.  She is our little goldilocks, unable to decide if she wants to sleep In her crate or mulligans or on her plush plaid bed, but that is just one of her many cute characteristics.  I love dogs who cuddle and want to be loved on and all she wants to do Is be by your side, her high jumps and constant wiggles just make you smile and I cannot help but smile when I say “hey Kenny whatcha doing Kenny?!”.

I am a firm believer that a dog knows when they have been saved and to see the joy in Kennesaw’s eyes when we brought her home Monday and then to watch her start to trust us more and more is an amazing feeling.  Kyle and I have had the conversation that he is not to bring home any more strays in the future and I do not think we will EVER foster another dog after this one (even though there are so many pups that need a good home, whether it is a forever home or a temporary one) because it will be hard to watch her go.  (Yes, it has only been 7 days and I adore her.)  I am just so grateful she will go to a home through a rescue organization so there will be a home check to ensure she is going to an amazing family and home that will love her more than her original family did.

Kennesaw had her 1st adoption event today and it went SO SO SO well.  I was a mess the whole time and just cried as families would  kneel down to look at her cute face and accepting smile.  Even talking about her and being introduced to a woman who was handing over her foster to a new home made the water works start more.  But the adoption day went so well because Kennesaw found herself a potential furever home with a woman from Aiken SC who is also adopting another wire haired terrier.  Kenny will have 10 acres of land, a swimming pool, a sister, and a mom who will be home all day long to love on her.  I know I should be happy for her but a piece of my heart is breaking and so sad that I will have to give her up should this woman pass the home check.   I know that is just me being selfish and we cannot give her a good home with Mulligan being a big old bully and her not knowing where she can go and how that big dog will be acting that day, but I could not help but get attached to this little ball of love. 

Needless to say this was our 1st and last foster.  I don’t know how people foster animals and do not get attached.  The potential new momma to Kennesaw gave me a huge hug as I was crying and told me “thank you. there need to be more good people like you and you fiancé in this world.”  I know her words were supposed to make me feel better, but oh how it made me cry more.

work out rut.

It is no secret.  I have been in a total work out rut this year.  I do not know why running has not been something of total interest to me, but I just have not made it a priority and with two half marathons looming in the near future, I REALLY need to get my butt in gear.  I have fallen into the Blast900 on Mondays and spin on Thursdays (if I make it in time) but all my other grand and wonderful plans just tend to fall off the map.

So. Truthful moment.  I am a pintrest addict.  And recently I came across these “daily” workouts.  They do not seem hard and seem to include a tiny bit of cardio each day as well as some strength work.

Since I am not going to do Monday’s since I get my butt kicked at Blast 900, I thought I would use Monday as an example.  And you can see that they’re not too difficult but give you a variety of workouts to do.  Many of the workouts are actually workouts we do at Blast so I do know how to do them… I just need to guy buy some weights so I can REALLY do the workouts.  And I know I always talk about this great and grand work out ideas and then I do not stick with them… but I really hope to stick with these ones.

I have a lot going on in my life right now between work and getting ready to travel for work and wedding planning and our foster dog.  (I have a feeling my mom and dad read that line about 97986325 times … yes I said foster dog … we can thank kyle j for that one).  But I really hope to get all the working out back in my life.

I will share the other “daily” workouts with you as I do them – hey that should keep me accountable *hopefully* but I gotta run for now.  Gotta get Kennesaw all ready for her 1st adoption event tomorrow.  Wish her (and me) luck! =)

race i want to do but can't do. waaaahhhh.

I was playing on Run Georgia this morning and I came across The Firefly Run. This 5k seems like the coolest race/run and I am totally bummed that I am running a half marathon the next day.  But I will for sure have to find it in 2012 and run it.

It is a night run and they give you LED lights to wear, just like fireflies and it just seems super crazy cool.  The race starts at 8:00 PM and with me having to wake up the next morning super early is is not gonna happen, but it looks so crazy cool.

I hope the 2012 "tour" comes to Atlanta again next year!

Adventures in “Moneymoon” planning

We have given our honeymoon the nickname “moneymoon” …. because it is so expensive and is going to cost a lot of money. har har har, we’re so funny.

But today was our passport application day and going to the bank to transfer money day and just a morning of time spent together.  And goodness, it was a total adventure.

I had a 9:00 passport appointment and Kyle had his appointment at 9:15.  Thursday night I filled out our applications online and printed them.  Gathered the pictures together and put them in a folder with our check books.  I was super prepared (or so I though).  We got to the Post Office this morning (after dodging about 50 cyclists acting all erratic)  to find out we have my passport photos, but Kyle’s …. yeah they’re at home.  (I somehow forgot to pack them.)  Luckily, we go to the post office at 8:50 so Kyle left to go grab his and I went along and applied for my passport.  Kyle gets back to the post office & is looking over his application and yeah…. our printer ran out of back ink so his application was pretty much blank.  (yeah, I probably should have checked that…) ….SO I was writing super fast to fill out his application.  Needless to say, Kyle made it back in time for his 9:15 appointment and we both paid our $135 to be passport owners.  (Super big thanks to the postman who told me that I have a year to change my name for free on the passport.)

From the post office we headed to Navy Federal so I could give Kyle $1000 so we could put the $2000 down to book our moneymoon to St. Lucia.  (now do you understand why we’re calling it a moneymoon?!?!)  Pretty painless, I may have stuttered when I said transfer $1000 to his account, but it is okay.  We’ve booked our 5 day trip to St. Lucia. (checking another thing off my knot.com to do list)

We then decided to go to breakfast because it was 10:00 in the morning and leaving the bank Kyle’s driving was less than stellar.  He accidently ran a red light as I said “and you’re aware you’re running a red light right?!” (on accident and no worries Mom and Auntie Jean, we’re alive and safe and in 1 piece) and the cars on 85north were less than amazing with their slow driving or erratic changing of lanes. But I introduced Kyle to The Waffle House and a big breakfast for under $20 and we made it there safe and sound.  =)

As a wrap up….  we should have passports in 4-6 weeks, Kyle likes The Waffle House, and Kyle and I decided that nothing good happens before 11:00 AM on the weekends so we should just sleep in or hide out in our house on the couch.  That.is.the.life.

my latest things i love.

 

how adorable is this mailbox for the cards and gifts table. I sometimes feel like I am squashed between an oh so fabulous shabby chic and vintage wedding. but, I LOVE this little touch.  but, I am actually looking for a vintage-ly awesome birdcage. =)

I am also loving the bouquet below.  I love the simplicity of it but that it has some color so it will pop when held against my ivory dress. I normally hate babies breath, but I kinda like the look it adds to this bouquet.

 

And last but not least, I LOVE the flowers below for the bridesmaids bouquets.  They’re a little blue-er than my potential bouquet. but I could make them the same shade of blue.  I don’t think I would keep the calla lilies in there because I want the bridesmaids bouquets to look semi similar to my bouquet but not totally similar.

But then I also think about how my wedding colors are mainly navy blue, lilac, off white, and a touch of that light blue and I wonder if I should make the hydrangeas a light purple instead?  But…. with that said, the bride bouquet just looks so classic and simple with that light cornflower blue.

So many decisions to be made in a few months about flowers and decorations.  Yikes.

Not a Garmin but a Timex.

if you have been reading my blog you know that I am coveting the new Garmin Forerunner 610 with the heart rate monitor. if you have not read those posts, no worries, it is just me telling you how much I want a new Garmin but don’t actually need a new one and the reasons why I think I need a new one.  well in life I have this rule when it comes to expensive purchases: if I am still thinking about it 2 weeks later then I can have it.  So if I was going to stick by that rule the Garmin would be mine, but I have decided to put it off for a few reasons.  And those reasons are …

1. I am not running enough to shell out that much money.  My battery dying Garmin works just fine for my 3 mile runs.  Once I start running again and a lot – new Garmin it is.
2. I am going to need a new laptop.  For some odd reason my current Garmin will not sync with my laptop so I cannot use the Garmin Connect program.  It synced for awhile (and I LOVED the program) and now it doesn’t.  So if I am going to shell out that much money on a watch I am going to use the Garmin Connect.
3. The price will go down soon enough – must wait it out. 

But just because I have told myself that I cannot get the Garmin, the heart rate monitorr dream has not died and I still want one. So instead I am getting a Timex Ironman Road Trainer from REI.  All I really want the HR monitor for is Blast900, Spin, treadmill runs, dog walks, Pure Barre, etc…  I do want the HR monitor for outdoor long runs, but the majority of the reason I want it is indoor activities that do not require GPS, therefore, I do not really need the fancy Garmin. 

Plus, since I am buying it from REI I can use my dividend from last year and get a discount and then the money spent on this I will get 10% back from REI for next year and if I do end up getting the Garmin 610 next year then I can use my dividend on it and get ANOTHER discount.

Look at me making educated spending decisions.  Such a grown up. =)

invitations {round 2}

I ordered a few sample invitations from Wedding Paper Divas a few months back to start the wedding invitation browsing portion of wedding planning.  What I thought I would like I was not in love with and we all know I want to LOVE things so I am taking the time to make permanent decisions.

From {round one} there are one or two invitations that made the cut to the maybe pile.  but now we’re looking at more invitations (and by we’re, I really mean I am).  So when the big envelope came in the mail I was really excited to look at them.

And here are some samples of invites that I am looking at currently:

I like #2 and #3 the most – mainly because of their simplicity. #1 has a vintage, lace feel to it, but #2 just has the simple, clean lines, kate spade look that I love and #3 – it is just neat looking (this picture does not do it justice).  And one of the many reasons I L-O-V-E Wedding Paper Divas is because their invites are customizable so I can get them in my wedding colors.

I am leaning more towards #2 but with a few changes. A purple tile ribbon thing (rather than the green), navy blue letters (rather than charcoal), and our names in the same purple as the tile ribbon thing.

I am going to send the invitations I like up to VA for my Mom to take a look at and then from there I guess we will come to a decision (hopefully) on the formal invite.  Invites don’t need to go out till January (per our fabulous wedding planning lady) but I figure they need to be printed and ordered sometime within the next few months since I am not sure how long that will take. 

And, when my Dad said, you don’t really have a lot of time left, he was not joking.  Did you know it is August?!