Wednesday, July 29, 2009

i lied.

ok, remember when i said i had no exciting news? that was pretty much a load of garbage. but only until...NOW...i've had to keep this exciting news a secret.

so...


I'M GOING TO BE AN AUNTIE!!
that's right. my sister and brother-in-law are pregnant!!! i am SOOO excited!!!

you can read her telling-of-the world on her blog.


AH! so excited!!!

want.


i want one of these. i plan to get one today.



scotch restickable adhesive glue stick
turns any piece of paper, any size, any color - to an instant post-it.



i know this is a pretty dumb thing to blog about, but this really excites me to use at work. also, i've been wanting one for a while, it's time to get it!
thanks cool tools, you've convinced me!



Tuesday, July 28, 2009

i really should blog...

nothing has really been going on here. i have no pictures to post (a certain blushing bride took my camera on her honeymoon and has been spending time now they are home taking pictures of her cat...), and nothing else really exciting has been going on.

summer has been good so far. haven't been able to enjoy our beautiful presque isle beaches however and it's rained most of July.

Nicole's bridal shower is this weekend, Katie's wedding reception for her Pittsburgh friends is next weekend, Nicole's surprise bachelorette party (that she knows about) is in 3 weeks, and Josh and i are performing (me = singing, him = guitar) at a friend's wedding the last weekend in August. busy, busy month!!

anyway, here are some pics i jacked from my sis, who photographed Katie's wedding. Katie is doing all her own editing, so these are just a few sample photos rach sent to me when i bugged the crap outta her ;)





Monday, July 20, 2009

Gramma Grace

a few weeks ago, mum, rach, and i watched dad plant a new hydrangea bush with my dad's mum's ashes. when we visited them in England 3 years ago, she used to always love the hydrangea bushes at the home they stayed, and made sure to always point out how beautiful they were.








we'll miss you Gramma! i'm glad a piece of you is with us, always.

Friday, July 17, 2009

my dad

my parents are on a mini-vacation in the Finger Lakes this week. i've been staying at their house to watch the kitties, water the plants, and empty the dehumidifier.

my dad was convinced i did NOT know how to empty it (which, in fact, i do...even though i made Josh do it every day i was at Rachel & Brian's!). so, being the awesome, informative, instructive, artistic and funny dad that he is, he drew me a little diagram.




i'm not sure how easy this is to read, but the top says, "EMPTYING DEHUMIDIFIER: Easy Instructions for Interior Designer's." the picture of the person is labeled as me, as well as the sink, water, collector, shoe, ponytail, and volleyball.

i have the exact sense of humor as my dad does, so of course this little diagram was very enjoyable to me. my dad was an art teacher for 7 years in England before marrying my mum and moving to America. since then he has been working as a salesman and doing side artistic work, mainly writing children's worship music and heading up the children's church ministry at Grace Church as "Captain Bill".

Thursday, July 16, 2009

Extreme Events

ok, this is kinda long overdue...

a few weeks ago i was able to help out with Erie's Extreme Makeover home. i was scheduled by the Maleno team to work a 6 hour shift on Monday June 29 (630pm-1230am), and scheduled with Grace to work four hour shifts Sunday, Tuesday, and Wednesday.

Most of my time Sunday was spent at the registration tent helping Danielle & Dave. Then i went around with them figuring out which houses we were going to work on for the side project (landscaping). i also followed them around at the end of the night (with Aaron & Derek), talking about which houses needed what next.

Monday night was awesome. Co-worker Bethany and i waited for almost an hour before we were able to go down to the house, but once we went down we didn't stop working! We helping in the house in the basement, laying down tarp, sanding walls, and sweeping/cleaning. We spent time outside the house carrying stupid things (i think it was all busy work), and moving drywall, blocks, foamy stuff, and various other things to different locations. We were pretty exhausted Monday night, but excited that we got to be in the house and work closely with the contractors in
there.


bethany and i before our attempt at sanding drywall.
we did anything they asked us to, haha!


Tuesday night i didn't go down. i was stuck at work finishing up a bid that was due on Wednesday.

Wednesday night was almost the best. Co-worker Bethany met Tony, the assistant in the Art Tent, and was asked to help with some "projects" for the house, so i worked with them when i arrived. We spent the night threading plastic silverware with paperclips (secret project) and helping move stuff into the house. We ended up staying until 1230am again. Also, we got to see Ty and get a picture with him! It was pretty crazy.


i've never met anyone really famous before...so seeing Ty and the rest of the crew from Extreme Makeover was super exciting. Ty was the only one i saw on a day we could get a picture, though.


late, late, late Wednesday night. waiting to do something with the silverware.

Thursday was the absolute best. Bethany and i left work at 9am and went straight to the art tent to finish the projects. We worked in the house pretty much all day, got to meet Mary J. Blidge, and be on camera! We worked in and around the house until 20 minutes before the family came home, then watched from the upstairs porch of a family that Bethany helped with landscaping. it was an awesome view, so exciting!!


right after they MOVED THAT BUS!!! so exciting!


the "Art Tent Crew" with Tony


That week was such an amazing experience. Working with such incredible and talented people, seeing "famous" people (who didn't do nearly as much of the awesome stuff as you'd think...), helping such an honorable and deserving woman, and being a part of such an awesome side project thanks to Grace was all so awesome.

Wednesday, July 8, 2009

second shooting

here are some pictures i took for Jeremy & Tina's wedding. Jeremy is the brother of one of my best friends (Bethany, we met at walmart 6+ years ago).


bethany and her new sister-in-law




i LOVED her flowers. awesome colors.




these red walls were awesome! too bad it was only in the stairwell...



also, i bought these awesome shoes from marshall's last night...1/2 the price that i found them for online!! except they are pewter and black, not bronze and bright.




also purchased the perfect pair (i think) if peep-toe black shoes for Katie's wedding (SATURDAY!!!) plus some dresses for the many weddings, wedding rehearsals, and bridal showers i have in the next 3 months!!!

i've been staying at Rach & Bri's for the last week and a half. they get back from their Italy trip TONIGHT. i'm excited to get back to my own townhouse! :)

Monday, July 6, 2009

what i've been up to.

wow. i've been completely MIA (in the blogosphere) for about 3 weeks now. here's what's been going on:

June 19-21 weekend: Katie's Bachelorette Party (HER WEDDING IS THIS WEEKEND)
June 27: second shooting a wedding for the brother of one of my best friends
June 28-July 2: helping out with Extreme Makeover Home Edition
June 29-July 8: house/kitty sitting for my sis & bri while they are in Italy


so, that's about it. but it's been BUSY. i'm going to tackle pictures for the first event:

Katie's Bachelorette Weekend
we went to the Finger Lakes in NY. we had plans to go kayaking and picnicking on Saturday, but it rained...so we went to wineries all day!!