Confessions of a Disorganized Person

Posted by Emily , Thursday, October 21, 2010 7:51 PM

So, I really meant to continue the post about the Catholic Engaged Encounter, and I will, but a while ago (not sure when) I lost the USB cable to my camera.  In order to get pictures from my camera to my computer, I have to go to Wal-Mart, put my memory card in one of those photo kiosks, and pay for a digital photo CD.  I haven't figured out a better way to do it, but if you know of one, let me know!

Anyway, moral of the story, I might have to wait until I have some more pictures before I bite the bullet and pay for a CD and continue the saga.  In the meantime, some updates on our lives.

I am honestly enjoying my job a lot more this year, but that's not saying much. Last year, I'm pretty sure Matt was close to walking out on me since I was such a Debbie Downer. Thank goodness he has the patience of a saint. It was a rough year, and this year I'm focused on not letting my job take over my life.  It's taken a serious attitude adjustment and also an adjustment in my work habits.  I cannot possibly procrastinate in my job if I want to enjoy the rest of my life. I'm still not totally happy there, but I feel much less overwhelmed and I am not being as hard on myself as I was.  Our CEE weekend really helped me in this area, because I am now thinking more about how my attitude affects Matt, and I'm more conscious about bringing all of it home with me.

Matt is happy at his job, despite annoyances such as the water lines being frequently cut off of late.  His school is older and strapped for cash, so there are a lot of problems like that, it seems.  He is very busy with coaching cross-country, and soon it will be even busier with basketball. The upside is that he really enjoys coaching basketball even though it takes a lot of his time.  I miss him a lot sometimes during the winter!  I look forward to someday being able to come to more of his games since hopefully I'll work closer to him.  It's an hour drive between my school and his.

We had our engagement pictures taken by Taisia Gordon last weekend, which was a lot of fun.  I can't wait until they come out! Taisia was beyond fun and we felt totally comfortable with her.  It was much easier than I thought it would be. A couple of weeks ago I met with a florist and tried to sort out flowers, which was a LOT harder than I thought!  Who would have known there were so many decisions to make?  I've had some trouble with our coordinator at our venue, so we had to scrap some things originally planned just to save my sanity.  My dress came in and it fits like a glove and looks gorgeous.  Next up: invitations.

The latest wedding issue is whether to continue with our plan to "iPod" our wedding reception, or get a DJ.  There are pros and cons to both, and we are starting to doubt our original plans a bit.  The money-saving aspect is definitely the ULTIMATE pro of the iPod, but it would be nice not to have to worry so much and let a DJ take care of things.  Decisions, decisions.  Regardless of what we choose to do, I know that we will throw a great party!

Catholic Engaged Encounter Epic Adventure - Part 1

Posted by Emily , Sunday, October 3, 2010 3:19 PM

Last weekend, much to our dismay, Matt and I attended our Catholic Engaged Encounter.  We were both kind of excited about it at first because Matt's sister Amanda had gone to one before she got married and enjoyed it.  However, as the weekend drew nearer we began to think about it and realized that we would probably have roommates.  Bleh.  I haven't had to sleep in the same room with a stranger since freshman year of college.  I didn't enjoy it then and I don't enjoy it now.  Suffice it to say I was DREADING the weekend, at least the sleeping part.  Matt was dreading it also, but mostly because there would be no TV's or radios and therefore, no football.

Anyway, we decided to take the day off on Friday so that we could run errands in the morning and then drive down early to make it a little less stressful. After an unsuccessful morning at the DMV, we set out for Kansas City, Kansas. On the way, I called The Pasta Factory hoping to book our rehearsal dinner. 

No dice.  Already booked. 

And here I thought I was being Bridezilla by trying to book THIS far ahead!   It took me a little while to realize it was just tough noogies and move on.  Matt talked me off the ledge and reminded me that it's really not that big of a deal!

Back to the trip - we got to KC around 1:30 and found our building, which I forgot to take a picture of.  The place is in a really nice area near a motor speedway and so theres's a lot of shopping and restaurants around. We had 6 hours to kill, so we went to Cabela's.

And we killed 2 of our six hours looking at hunting paraphenalia and giant fish, like these:





Gross.

We also looked at some four-wheelers and pontoon boats that I'm pretty sure Matt sees in his dreams.

Like a kid in a candy store.
Next we went to Nebraska Furniture Mart, which I think may be one of the reasons people in other countries hate Americans.  It was huge and totally overwhelming.  We laughed when we got to the TV section, because there was an aisle full of 32-inch flat screens labeled "Small Televisions."  It was kind of creepy because they had all these TV salesmen standing around waiting to attack you like in the used car lot. 

After that, we decided to head to dinner, where I encountered the most delicious burger I've ever had.

TO BE CONTINUED...