A New Beginning

the last one.

2012-01-16T18:27:00.000-08:00

This will be my last post on this blog. I need to leave it behind and start a new one. I am closing this chapter of my life and if you would like to follow me still you can click on the link below:

www.anewbeginning13.tumblr.com

Its been a slice...

A New Year...what I like to call "The Year of Kristin"

2012-01-10T15:40:00.000-08:00

There are some positives that come with a divorce one of them being the chance to have a new beginning. I know that I have talked about this in my last post but with the new year upon us I found it suiting to talk about it just once more. I have decided that I would close out 2011 by opening myself up to new experiences in 2012. 2011 was a crazy year, with being in my first year of marriage and then a new house, a divorce, etc., 2011 has definitely been a year I will never forget and that is not for good reasons. I am happy to close out that year and begin a new one.

I have decided that 2012 will be "The Year of Kristin." I will take care of myself, do things that I want to do, go places that I want to go...I plan on doing anything and everything I can that makes me happy. For once in my life I am only concerned about myself and that feels good. Last year I had someone else to care about and frankly I cared too much. In the end, I think that I gave up a little of myself. With this new year the Kristin that I used to be is coming back full force and I will be taking down anything and everything that stands in the way of my happiness.

So for the "Year of Kristin" here is what I would like to do:

**Travel more - I want to make it somewhere out of the country at somepoint during this year...I am thinking Europe
**Take care of myself more - I want to splurge on more things for myself. For instance I now get my nails painted every couple of weeks because it makes me feel like a woman and more beautiful
**Run a half marathon - I trained for one once but had to stop when my sister in law passed away and I am back up to 5 miles now and I plan to just keep on going
**Rekindle old friendships - Whether I lost touch with these friends because of me, or them, I want to get back in touch and catch up, even if it is just for coffee
**Spend more time with my family- This crazy experience has brought me closer than ever to my family. They mean to the world to me and they make me happy, especially the 8 nieces and nephews that I am lucky to be an Aunt to
**Any endeavor I encounter I will give 110%

In the end it's plain and simple...This year I care about myself and my own happiness. Who else gets the chance to be married and go through what I am going through only to be able to change as a person and do it all over again in whatever way I choose. I figure the ball is in my court now and I will play this game like it is the best game of my life...because in the end you only live once...

And so far 2012.....you are making me happy :)

A New Begining....PART 2

2011-12-08T17:47:00.000-08:00

I have not been on this blog forever...and I felt it was time to put some things in writing so here goes...

It has been a year. I sat back and read the posts and I will admit I cried...a lot. It is bittersweet. So much has happened in the past year and it has been a whirlwind. I sit and read about how happy I was. I was starting life on my own and I had it all. I had a husband, a new job, a new house, and my family and friends, and I was cooking like crazy. It is absolutely amazing how much life can change in an instant. I am currently going through a divorce, I have found yet another new job this year, we will be selling our home but luckily I still have my family and friends along with some new ones, and right now I barely cook. I sit here in absolute amazement at how much my life has changed. I never asked for this and I sure as hell did not want it to be this way. I have spent countless hours trying to figure out what the heck it was that I did for this to happen to me. I can barely piece together my life these last 4 months and right now I am just trying to find a way to put those pieces back together, but right now I do not know where they belong. Through all of this I have learned to be grateful and instead of sitting here moaning and crying about what my husband did and about what I am going through I want to say what I am grateful for because at the end of the day that is what matters and most of the time the things that I am grateful for are what get me through the next minute, hours, days, etc. This time of year is really hard for me. It is hard to be alone for thanksgiving and christmas and especially new years, mostly because I was with him for the last 10 years of holidays so right now instead of concentrating on being alone and how sad I am I try to look at the positives. So here goes:

I am grateful for:
*my family - they are my core and my families morals and values have shaped who I am today and I am so proud to call them my family. Without them I am pretty sure I would be lost
*my nieces and nephews - there is just something about a smile and a hug and a kiss from little lips that make your day turn completely around. they dont quite understand what I am going through yet they know to shower me with love and i am so grateful to my siblings for bringing them into the world, i could not imagine my life without them.
*my dog cooper - sometimes i feel so lame for having such strong love towards an animal, but when you are going through what i am going through my dog has been there for me for everything. he jumps and kisses on me when i get home. he knows when i have had a bad day and he cuddles so close to me it makes me feel loved
*my job - yes sometimes being a teacher is super stressful and there are days i want to pull my hair out. but each day is a new experience and is different from the last. i am just grateful to have a job right now and deep down my students really do care for me. they know what i am going through and the fact that they even show some sort of empathy makes me feel good.
*my friends - i will admit that i have definitely taken my friends for granted. i always concentrated way more on my love life than on my friends. my friends have truely been there for me and it has meant the world to me. they have saved me and they are slowly bringing me back out of the hole i fell in and i do not even think they know it
*the sunrise - i love seeing it every morning
*hot tea - sitting down with a cup of hot tea really does make my day better
*bubble baths - whoever invented bubble baths is a genuis
*the city - i have fallen in love these last couple of months with the city. i love just walking around down there and spending time. there are so many types of people there and so many new places
*childhood friends - its amazing how much they are there for you and it seems like they never left my life

and last but not least...i am grateful for a new beginning - its kind of ironic that this is the name of my blog but i am truely grateful to have the opportunity to start a new life. i get to start over and do things differently this time. i get to experience things i never have. i get to create my life. take a look at what i want now and in my future and for that i am truely grateful. i do not know why this has happened to me but it must have been for a reason and im hoping that whatever comes next in my life is ten times better than what i had, which is hard to top because i thought i had it all, and i hope that i will be happy again and maybe happier than i ever was.

Well that is it for now...this post has been an emotional one that took me a long time to write. I do not know when I will post again or if I ever will, but tonight this just felt right after I strolled down memory lane reading all the old posts. But I will end with this:

"Sometimes life throws you obstacles which ultimately make you question who you are...why you are here...and where you are going...It will make you think what makes you HAPPY and if your world is built on fabrications or the REAL thing...Are you who you want to be? Are you pretending to be someone you are not? Be true to yourself and what you were brought up on...Never forget where you are from and keep your eyes up, so you don't miss where you are going. Be your BEST you...and your worst critic...Love the life you are in...and don't take it for granted because you will only LIVE it once..."

Drumroll please........

2010-11-29T12:07:00.000-08:00

This weekend was a busy one, but it sure was enjoyable. Thanksgiving was awesome, great family time and great food of course! Friday Mark woke up early and him and Jeff went out and Mark got us a new nice 55" LED TV. Mark may have broke his hand, but we continued with some shopping at the Aurora outlet mall then ended at the emergency room for Marks hand. Saturday we relaxed, took a nap and woke up when it was dark out (I love those days!). Sunday we put up the lights and this is what this post is all about.

It is great living in a new place after you get married. There are so many firsts that you enjoy and it is the time where you start your own traditions and maybe continue the ones from when you were at home. We strung Christmas lights on our house and the bushes and we made a big spectacle of it at night. We randomly had the Humbert's over and a couple friends to watch the Bears game. When it got dark we made everyone go outside so we could plug in our first ever Christmas lights! I felt like we were the Griswalds, I asked for a drumroll, but everyone just told me to plug them in...Mark plugged in one set and me the other and then we ran out with everyone and checked it out. I was afraid they were not going to light, however....they did....and I love them. I am so excited for Christmas to start traditions with Mark. We decided we would sneak our presents under the tree the night before Christmas. I may even wake up in the middle of the night to bring mine downstairs. I will always be a kid at heart for Christmas and I love that. I leave you with a picture of our newly lit home! It may not be a lot but it is a good start that we will be building on for years to come! :) Happy Holidays!

Looking Forward To...

2010-11-18T06:46:00.000-08:00

spending more time with my husband now that his work schedule is changing

thanksgiving! :)

spending time with my family

our yearly outlet mall trip with my mom and sisters

caramel apple spice

christmas with my husband which, we decided, will include a real christmas tree

putting christmas lights on our home for the first time

decorating our house more

ordering our wedding pictures finally

times with friends

some well deserved time off of work for the holidays

What are some of the things you are looking forward to these days???

random thoughts

2010-10-28T17:59:00.000-07:00

i think about life a lot and how i am lucky for what i have
i miss my husband
i wish i talked to my family more
a full time teaching job really is a full time job - weekends included
i was blessed with awesome nieces and nephews who i miss as well
i love my house but it is kind of far away from people, but it is nice to be on my own
teaching high school sometimes i wish i could go back there
what will it be like when i have my own kids, hard to grasp i am even old enough to have kids
i'm amazed at how much your life can change within a year - marriage, new house, new job - whew i'm tired
sometimes weeks go by too fast and i hope they slow down a bit
weekends are too short
why am i so emotional?
how can i be less stressed when i have so much new things going on and more stressed when i don't?
when will i get home tonight?

what are some of your random thoughts that you think about during the day, or in the shower, or while you are driving?

(I know like 4 people read my blog but hoping maybe some other people do to that I do not know about and they will pop in to give me some random thoughts too!)

3 Years...or 21, however you want to look at it! :)

2010-10-07T05:33:00.000-07:00

My little guy turned 3 years old (or 21 years in dog years) on October 5th. I'll admit that I forgot his birthday only to remember yesterday. No I am not that kind of person who throws her dog a birthday party, but I AM that kind of person who sings Happy Birthday to her dog and goes out to dinner with her parents and husband, orders a patty melt, and takes 1/2 of it home (the burger part only) to her dog so he can have a birthday dinner....

He lived it up and got his belly rubbed while Mark and I watched TV. I apologized for forgetting his birthday (I think the burger made up for it) and made sure to sing Happy Birthday one more time before we went to bed and told him how much we loved him ;)

Hmmmm...me and my dog...I just cannot get enough of him!

HAPPY 3RD BIRTHDAY COOPER! Mommy and Daddy <3 you!

life

2010-09-23T06:41:00.000-07:00

I get to snuggle at night with my lil guy and I am woken up by my husband when he gets home from work to get a kiss goodnight...

Taken by Mark on his iPhone one morning

And when I drive to work on clear mornings I see this

And even though life may not be perfect, there are still those days where you wake up and think to yourself that today is going to be a great day, it is those days that you realize that there really is a lot out there for us and that you just need to let life happen....

What A Difference!

2010-09-09T18:36:00.000-07:00

What a difference working a full time job makes! I am exhausted and I feel bad for Mark because I am probably always complaining, although he tells me he understands! I have started my new teaching job and boy is it a LOT of work! I am teaching a class that I have not taught before or never thought I was ever going to teach. I am a Biology and Chemistry teacher and I am teaching a Research Core class. I plan week to week and never know where I am going with it so far! I work at school, I work when I come home from school, I work on the weekends, its never ending so far and I did hear that is how it is your first couple of years of teaching! Its hard and overwhelming but I am very GRATEFUL to have a job at all, I am very lucky. I commute almost an hour and a half each way and work a part time job still. Mark starts his new job next week and will be working some late nights and he too works another part time job as well... so it is going to be hard to not see him every night, but I know we will get through it. I guess I just needed to write this all out but thanks for "listening" and sorry about all my complaining!

Off to do more work for school.....

Oh and one thing that is keeping me going through all this crazy hectic work stuff....

Fall....its almost here...I can smell it!

Cannot wait for bonfires, cozy nights with the windows open, caramel apple cider from Starbucks, football, family time, changing of colors....mmmmm it gets me through these hard days!

incredible.

2010-08-27T14:01:00.000-07:00

i believe in the saying, "good things come to those who wait."

actually I would revise that to incredible things come to those who wait....

this post does not have fun pictures and cute stories

just plain, simple, and to the point.

i was blessed to get a job for this school year, i will be a first year teacher

and

mark was blessed to get a new job as well

im proud of mark, proud of myself and proud of us...life is good

we are two very happy peas in a pod, well three peas if you include cooper :)

just proves to you that incredible things really do come to those who wait!

Our Home: Before and After

2010-08-17T09:55:00.000-07:00

Mark and I started the process of looking for a home back in March. The process was stressful but fast. It went by a lot faster than I thought it would and we were lucky to find a house so quickly. By the end of May we closed on our first home. We were one of the lucky ones who found an approved short sale so we were able to get our home quite fast. It was a great deal and a home where me and Mark can start a family.

The home was in pretty good condition, there were a few things here and there that needed to be changed but it was pretty much just cosmetics that needed to be changed. Without further ado here our pictures of our home, before and after :)

This is the outside of our home, the only thing that we changed is we painted the shutters and everything that is hunter green to a berry color (Came out a little more pink than anticipated but I love it!)

They were using this as a TV room (Before)

We made it into a comfy office (After)

This was their kitchen (Before)

We made it more colorful! :)

This is the family room (Before)

We made it neutral with greenish/gray couches! That blanket is where Cooper likes to sleep during the day when we are gone (After)

This is the downstairs bathroom (Before)

(After)

Shared master bath (Before)

We did light gray with black and white decor (After)

I actually did not take any before pictures of the bedrooms. The master bedroom was a yellow color and the spare bedrooms were beige and dark blue. Here is how they look now!

This is the master bedroom (with Marks dream bed! (King size that is!)

The spare bedroom pictures did not come out as good but they are painted a blue/green color, this will be our babies room when the time comes since we can decorate with pink if a girl and blue if a boy, and a beige for our other spare bedroom!

All and all it was a lot of work and there are still things that need to be done and decorations that need to be bought and put up but overall we love it and we are slowly making it home for us! :) So, if you are ever in the area please come visit....I will cook for you! :)

Steak and Potatoes

2010-08-14T08:00:00.000-07:00

Once again I am back to post another recipe. Although this one is not so much a recipe as in another way to cook! I cooked us steak and roasted potatoes, the only problem was.....NO GRILL. I used a stove-top grilling pan and the oven. First up....Potato!

Oven Roasted Potatoes

4 potatoes sliced into quarters

Olive oil

Parsley

Salt and pepper

Preheat Oven to 400 degrees

1. Wash and cut potatoes into quarter slices, you can peel them if you want but I prefer the skins on (added nutrition! :)

2. Put on baking pan

3. Coat in olive oil

4. Put some salt and pepper on

5. Bake for 30 minutes until crispy on the outside and tender on the inside

Steak

1. Heat up stove top grilling pan dry until it is super hot

2. Season steaks, I used salt and pepper

3. Place steaks on grill pan, about 2 minutes on each side

4. Place in the oven with potatoes (on a different rack of course!)

5. Cook until you get desired temperature. I cooked for about 10 minutes (It was a little too long but at 6 minutes they were still really red inside)

I served the steak with sauteed mushrooms on top......Here is my end result!

I served this with a package of the steamfresh mixed vegetables...a perfect summer meal!

Honeymoon Part 2

2010-08-13T08:00:00.000-07:00

Riviera Maya

So we left behind our beloved Cozumel, jumped back on the ferry, and headed over to Riviera Maya. We stayed at another all-inclusive adults only resort. This place was HUGE compared to Cozumel. Cozumel had about 80 suites and The El Dorado Royale had about 750! It had like 9 restaurants, 10 pools....it was crazy!

This was a view from the lobby of the resort. No way could you see all of it in one picture like you could have at the resort in Cozumel

Our room here was also quite amazing. We did not do the swim up suite here but we did have an ocean view jacuzzi suite!

Our jacuzzi!

Our wonderful bed! It was coooommmmmfy!

View from our balcony. This was the activity pool. We played water volleyball and Mark dominated on Water Polo...

While in Riviera Maya we did not do as much as we did in Cozumel (I think we were a little depressed to be leaving such an awesome place and awesome people), but we did manage to get in a couple things! We did a couples massage. It was called the Romantic Journey. We each got an 80 minute massage followed by a 20 minute facial. Mark does not like facials so he was going to get a full body exfoliation, needless to say, they messed up and I got the exfoliation and Mark got the facial. Right when the ladies left after we were done, we just looked at each other and started cracking up. Mark looked like his face had a pound of butter on it, with his hair all sticking up, and I have exfoliation all over my body. It was quite funny.

We also went on an excursion. It was called XPLOR. We did zip lining through the trees, about an hours worth...it was crazy! If Mark wasnt there, I would have stopped after the first zipline because I was so freaked out, but I kept going for him :) We rode ATV's and did some underground river swimming. It was pretty crazy. It was an awesome experience but we were exhausted afterwards!

Okay Okay...go ahead and laugh....we both look like we are special people here! They make you wear a helmet throughout the facility no matter what you are doing. It was caves full of stalactacites!

Inside XPLOR, the whole thing is underground. You zipline right through that waterfall there!

To end our awesome honeymoon we enjoyed a candlelight dinner on the beach. Our travel agent (Barb) gave us vouchers for a free candlelight dinner! Or else it would have been 140.00! It was calm and peaceful and it was a great end to our trip!

Menu, winelist, and view of the ocean!

Ring shot once again!

Happy Honeymoon to us!

By the time our honeymoon ended we were excited to go home! We ate way to much, relax too often, and were ready to get back into the swing of being husband and wife! (You can see in the last pic we looked like we gained about 15 pounds! haha) Overall, it was a great honeymoon and well worth every penny :)

Honeymoon Part 1

2010-08-12T05:36:00.000-07:00

Cozumel

Our honeymoon journey began with a 8:35 flight out of O'hare Airport. I hate flying and so my morning started out with an upset stomach because I was nervous to fly. Turns out the flight to Cancun wasn't too bad at all! We landed safely at noon and then we headed to the ferry to head over to the island of Cozumel.

This is the ferry that took us over! It's huge. I was expecting a little wooden boat like The Oregan Trail! :)

Once we got to Cozumel we checked into the Aura Grand Bay Wyndam. It is an all-inclusive adults only resort. When we arrived they gave us champagne with a cherry on the bottom. When we entered our room there was a bottle of champagne and fruit waiting for us. The room was breathtaking!

This is a view of the room looking from the sitting area. The room was gigantic! The big hole with the blinds is where the bathtub is! They had a bathtub and a open shower...it was awesome!

Our bed. It was so comfortable like you were sleeping on clouds. The light in the headboard was turned on for us at night when they came to our room and did turn down service while we were at dinner. These people were good!

This is the balcony. We went all out here and had a swim up suite. There was a bed on the balcony and we could just walk right into the pool...it was well worth it!

Next thing I must talk about is food. The food here was not as good as Riviera Maya but was still fantastic. Since it was all inclusive we ate, and ate, and ate some more! We would have breakfast, then have some pico de gallo and guacamole by the pool, maybe some nachos, lunch, then dinner. We ate non-stop!

Our breakfast usually consisted of egg-white omelettes with fresh spinach and muchrooms (Mark opted for ham and mushroom and he also always ordered another meal with his like french toast or pancakes!)

One great thing about Cozumel is the water. It is crystal clear. You could be in forty foot deep water and be able to see the bottom. It looked as if you could stand. The hotel had its own pier and you could get snorkling gear for free there and just snorkel off the pier. It was awesome and breathtaking. Here is the view of our pier, we saw this everyday, all day! (We even rented a waverunner one day and took it out into the blue!)

This was a view from breakfast one morning :)

This was when we were walking down the pier. You just jumped in wherever and could snorkel! Jealous yet?! :)

Next was the pool. There were two pools but we stayed by this one everyday because it was the pool that was attached the lazy river that went right by our room! The view was unimaginable. To sit there everyday and just look out from the pool to the ocean was inspiring.

Missing this place right about NOW!

I have a minor obession with my feet and even more so now that I have a tattoo on one! Mark and I always laid on this pool bed...it was comfy!

Although it did rain from time to time, almost every day. It would be random. It could be completely sunny there and it would downpour! Even so we did not let it bother us, we enjoyed Cozumel rain or shine! We met a great couple there, Andrew and Weslyn, that we did some activities with. It was fun to hang out with another couple and enjoy some sites! First up.....Moped rental. We took these scooters around the island. We literally drove around the whole island! Mark and I leading and Andrew and Weslyn close behind!

This picture just shows how much fun we were having! We laughed the whole time! We were talking about how we felt like we were on Dumb and Dumber when they are riding the scooter in the freezing cold. It did start to rain when I was driving!

Thats Mark and I along with Andrew. The boys were feeling the need for speed! ha!

We also went snorkling with them where we saw a gigantic green eel (looked like it came right out of The Little Mermaid), a sea turtle (Just like Crush from Nemo! Just huge!), barracudas, and everyone else but me saw a 7 foot shark! It was awesome!

Our second to last day there we met some great people. We had a whole crew of us from all around the United States (but mostly from down south). When it came time for Mark and I to leave the island, I must admit, we were a little depressed to be leaving such great people! We were just getting started!

All of us, minus me cause I'm taking the pic, at the pool. That lady in the background decided she wanted to join us right before the pic! haha

Overall, it was a great start to our honeymoon. We soon packed our bags and were off to another great destination! Riviera Maya.....

Here are some extra pics from our trip to Cozumel....

Must do ring shots on your honeymoon! These were after dinner drinks we had one night....

Could not get over the towel animals...I think I had a snail, dog, and swan....

Mr. and Mrs. Humbert :)

Chicken, Chicken, Chicken

2010-08-09T15:30:00.000-07:00

I have grown up eating a LOT of chicken (thanks mom!) We would have chicken ALL the time at my parents house. There was a point I believe where me and my siblings boycotted my mom making chicken because we were eating it so often! We've had fried chicken, shake and bake chicken, lemon pepper chicken, barbeque chicken and so on and so forth. Mark is a HUGE fan of chicken, he cooks a big bag of chicken and eats it during the week at work. I wanted to make chicken one night for dinner but wanted to do something different. As I looked for chicken recipes this one caught my eye. If you like chicken and cheese, with some spice this one is for you!

Stuffed Buffalo Chicken Breasts

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (or more depending on how many you are feeding)

1/4 pound blue cheese (I despise blue cheese so I used Mozzerella, use any cheese you want!)

Salt

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 stick of unsalted butter (I used 1/3 of a stick to cut down on fat)

2 tablespoons hotsauce (I used Lousiana Hot Sauce and I probably used 1/4 cup)

2 tablespoons vinegar

Celery, sliced thin to serve

***

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees

2. Pound out your chicken until it is thin. Split up cheese between each chicken breast. Lay the cheese on one side of the chicken breast

3. Fold chicken and close the sides on end with toothpicks, season with salt and pepper

4. Heat oil in non stick, oven safe skillet over medium heat and sear the chicken on both sides until browned (about 4-5 minutes)

5. Put chicken into oven until it is cooked through (about 10-12 minutes)

6. In a small pot, add the butter, hot sauce, and vinegar and cook over low heat until bubbling Pour half the sauce over the chicken and let cook for 1 more minute.

7. Remove the toothpicks and serve with the extra sauce and garnish with the celery

***

Unfortunately I do not have a picture of this one. I didn't think to take a picture. I will take pictures of my recipes from now on. This chicken was great! We served with farmer's market fresh corn and the cob and steamed zucchini and asparagus. It was just the right amount of spice and the cheese gets all gooey and good!

***

Recipe from foodnetwork.com

Frittata's

2010-08-09T15:06:00.001-07:00

As I am slowing moving into my new life as a wife I am finding joy in things that I never have really LOVED until now! One thing I have become slightly obsessed with is cooking. I love looking up recipes, trying new things, and tasting food that I made on my own. It may have something to do with the fact that I was blessed with many great kitchen appliances, pots and pans, and gadgets for my bridal showers, they definitely make cooking easier! On that note, here is a great recipe.

Asparagus and Mushroom Frittata

1 tablespoon butter

3 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 pound fresh asparagus cut into 1/2 inch pieces
1/2 pound fresh mushrooms, sliced

6 eggs (I used 3 eggs and 3 egg whites)

1 tablespoon water

1 teaspoon fresh thyme

1/2 cup cheese (any kind really)

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees

2. Melt butter and add olive oil and asparagus to an oven safe skillet over medium heat

3. Cook till tender then add mushrooms and cook 5 more minutes

4. In a medium bowl whisk eggs, water, and thyme. Pour into the skillet and reduce heat to low. Cover and cook 5 minutes

5. Transfer the skillet to the oven. Bake 10-15 minutes, until eggs are no longer runny. Top mixture with your cheese and keep in oven until cheese is melted and browned

In the end you will end up with something looking like this:

This recipe is great for a quick meal! It only takes 10 minutes to prepare and its done in 30 minutes or less! It tasted great! Mark and I were not huge fans of the thyme in it but overall it was great! I also made a breakfast frittata for Mark, his mom and Stephanie and it was sooooo good. I used turkey bacon (just cut and cook the bacon and then continue with the recipe) You can really put anything you want in it. If you try it, let me know how you like it!

This recipe was taken from allrecipes.com

I'm back...

2010-08-03T16:24:00.000-07:00

With just something a little different.....

I am officially Mrs. Kristin Humbert!

Mark and I were married on July 16th, 2010 on a hot summer day. It was beautiful and memorable and I will never forget that day. I am proud and happy to be Mark's wife!

In other news, today I officially changed my name. It was a painless process that did not take to long. I've been a Demski girl for almost 26 years and to change my last name was emotional! (But what's new with that? I'm always emotional!) We've been married for a little over two weeks but it seems a lot more real when you see your new name on your driver's license! I have a lot to share and a lot of pictures from our honeymoon but my computer is broken so that will have to wait. Also to come, recipes from a new wife that is loving to cook for her husband with all her new kitchenware! :)

Until then here is a sneak peek of professional pictures from the best photographer, Beth! Check out a slideshow of pictures at bethlaurrenphotography.blogspot.com

Another knot has been tied.

2010-07-30T20:01:00.000-07:00

Mark + Kristin = Mr. & Mrs.

Happy 2 weeks, Newlyweds!

Believe in forever ...

(PS- I hope you like your blog makeover!)

9 YEARS!!!

2010-02-09T09:50:00.000-08:00

Its Kristin's better half, ha...yes its me, Mark, and I thought I would give this blog thing a try for once and since its our 9 year anniversary, what better time! This will probably be long so either bare with me or enjoy. Here we go!

Let me first start out by saying how truly, madly, and deeply in love I am with you. I remember the first time we met I knew then you were special. I know this saying is used a lot but you really have a smile that lights up the whole room, honestly. I remember every time I seen you I tried to do the whole "high school" show off thing, whether it was doing back flips at Nicole's or trying to tell the best jokes so you would laugh at them, I just wanted to be with you. We gave it a try and you shut me down, was a little mad about it but kept on trucking, then we gave it a second try, thought it was going good until out of nowhere you stopped calling me, literally, that's when I actually started hating you, literally! But you know what they say, "third times a charm," and you called me out of the blue a few months later to go to the movies and the rest is history.

9 YEARS!!! Its just insane to think we've been together that long, its over a third of my life! High school sweethearts! Can you believe when we started dating you had only Josh & Kelsey as nephew and niece, and now you have Madeline, Ella, Quinn, Myles, and Eli! (I'm sure there is more on the way) My brother was 10 years old, jesus, and my sister was only 14, now Anthony is 19 and going to college and Stephanie is 23 and out of college and working! Neither us or our friends had intentions of getting married, buying a house, and having kids, now we have at least a few good friends married and a couple of them having a kid in a few months. Crazy!
Time is just flying by way to fast and you know how much I hate that. I'll tell you this though, if its going to continue at this rate I want to spend it with you. I remember being asked my someone back in high school or early college how I knew I was in love and at the time I really didn't have a great answer but I would say the biggest thing now is that it honestly feels like I've been dating you no longer than a year. That I still have that feeling of puppy love after all these years. That when we laugh and joke around I feel like we're 17 again. That I'm still not contempt with just being with you that I want to go above and beyond the call to show you how much I love you still and want to make you the happiest girl in the world. That's love!

I want to say more but its getting too long already. I'll end it with this, you mean so much more than the world to me. I'm so happy that we are getting married this year and that I get to call you mine for the rest of my life. I know you're going to be a great wife and I hope to be just as great of a husband. For as long as we've been together I know its just the beginning to all the great things we are going to do in the future. Again, I cant say it enough but I LOVE YOU SO MUCH! Happy 9 year anniversary!

Our 1st year anniversary to our engagement pictures, man we age like wine!!

P.S: This is my first time ever doing this blog and can i get some props on the new background and figuring everything else out by myself!!!

158 Days.

2010-02-08T17:41:00.001-08:00

Yes that is right...158 more days until I walk down the aisle and become someone with a new last name. We started out at 572 days to go...

I cannot believe it is coming up, only 5 1/2 more months to go
Every major big thing is booked
Wedding Dress ---Check
Bridesmaids Dresses and Shoes ---Check
Flower Girl Dress ---Check
Save the Dates Out ---Check

Its getting real...and it is coming up REAL fast :)

I am excited, sad and nervous all at the same time

Excited for the new memories that will be made

Sad to leave my parents house and begin a life on my own

Nervous to acquire a new last name while holding onto what it means to be a Demski

This Saturday marks an ending to an era.

Mark and I will be celebrating our 9 year anniversary as "boyfriend/girlfriend." It is the last. Beginning next year we will have a new anniversary date, no longer February 13th. Next year our 1st year anniversary will be July 16th. This makes me happy and sad. We are ended something great but beginning something even better.

Each year I get a frame and this year I will hopefully get my ninth and final frame. I wonder if next year we have to start out at 1 year again?

It Has Been Awhile....

2009-10-14T17:25:00.000-07:00

Since I have posted!

I have been out of control, crazy busy. I have no communication with the outside world during the week and on the weekends all I want to do is SLEEP and lounge around. I miss chatting with my sisters and my weekly visits to my brother and sisters house and visiting and playing with the kids. I miss hanging out with my parents at night and watching TV (when I get home all I do is go upstairs to bed) I miss doing things with my friends and I miss spending time with my fiance! I am missing out on a lot but it will be worth it.
Why am I so busy you ask? Well...I have been student teaching and it takes up a LOT of my time. Along with student teaching I am working and going to seminars for school every once in awhile.

Needless to say, I have time for nothing other than student teaching and work. I have not done much wedding planning except we did book a DJ, but wedding planning has come to a slow halt and I am sure it will pick back up in January! The big stuff is done so I am not too worried.
I am sorry to those 4 people who actually read my blog about not posting but its just been to crazy around here. I am counting down the days till Dec. 11th when I am done student teaching and Dec. 19th when I graduate with my masters and teaching certificate! :)

Another reason I have not posted is because I do not want to give too much away about the wedding. I have talked a lot about what we are going to do and from here on out I want things to be surprise to my guests!

So farewell for now, I will post when I can but check back around the holidays!! :)
Happy Halloween
Happy Thanksgiving
Merry Christmas
Happy New Year
and have great days!
(That should cover everything I will be missing while I am not posting!)

8 Years and Counting!!

2009-05-07T13:09:00.001-07:00

**February 13th, 2009**

So this post has been a long time coming and I haven't had time to work on it yet. Me and Mark celebrated our 8 year anniversary on February 13th, 2009. It was an especially special anniversary because we are now engaged.

I have had some of the best times of my life with Mark, we have been through a lot, but in the end we have come out of everything together, if not stronger. I love him like crazy and I cannot wait until I am married to him. One thing that Mark does every year of our anniversary is get me an engraved frame with our names, the date of our anniversary, and how many years it is. So far I have 8! They are so fun to look at because we have both changed so much over the years and its fun to look back on. So I scanned all of our yearly pics that our in my frames today and here they are! So Mark...thanks for 8 great years and here's to MANY MANY MORE!!

I love you!

1st Year Anniversary

This one is priceless! We both look so young and you can see it. This was our first year. Mark "made" me dinner (later I found out he picked it up at Buca Di Beppo, where he was working at the time) and we dined on lemon chicken and had raspberry cheesecake for dessert (too bad I don't like cheesecake, but I tried it anyway!) We also sipped on sparkling grape juice while eating at a fold table in his room listening to water sounds on his stereo. Afterwards we went downtown to see Blue Man Group and then we went to Baskin Robbins on our way home....it was fun and special, and I am actually surprised by my great memory!!

2nd Year Anniversary

I love this picture...this is our 2nd year anniversary and I think this is one of my favorites out of the eight. April took this picture while we were on our way to tabbagon(not sure about the spelling but it is where you sled down on those sleds). Once again we both look so young! Actually to be honest, I don't remember what we did for our 2nd year anniversary!!

3rd Year Anniversary

This is our 3rd year picture. It was taken when me and Mark went to Ixtapa Mexico for Spring Break our sophomore year of college. It was a fun time spent hanging out by the pool and going on a scary snorkeling trip! I think that we saved our money up to take this trip for our anniversary so once again I cannot remember exactly what we did on Feb. 13th but I know we saved for this trip...and it was very nice! This is also the year me and Mark took a "break" (geez, I hate that word, and breaks are stupid!) I'm grateful it didn't last too long and we both learned about ourselves during this and I definitely think it made us stronger!

4th Year Anniversary

This is our fourth year picture. I think that for our fourth year we went out to eat at Biaggi's where Mark had worked. This was the first time I had ever been there and Mark worked there for awhile! It was my first and only time I ever went there and it was AWESOME! They had awesome bread pudding!!

5th Year Anniversary

This was our 5th year and it was the year I graduated college. I went home and Mark stayed down at school. This was hard but we got through it. Once again I cannot remember what we did for this anniversary (Sorry Mark!)

6th Year Anniversary

This is one of my favorite pictures of Mark and I. This was taken when I visited Mark in Arizona where he was doing his internship for school. It was so fun to visit him! It was hard for him to be gone for the 4 months, I was on my own, but thankfully we got through everything and once again came out stronger! :) This anniversary we went to this place in Arizona where there are only like 8 tables and the chef cooks the food fresh and there are 6 courses, and the menu changes every day. It was so fun and great to have this new dining experience. Arizona was awesome!

7th Year Anniversary

Here is another one of my favorite pictures! I love it, Mark looks so happy in it! We were out for Mark's sisters, Stephanie's 21st birthday downtown. And for some reason I cannot think of what we did for our anniversary. How come I can remember our first year but not our 7th year?!?! (Mark help me out with these!)

8th Year Anniversary

I am not a fan of this picture, but it was taken on our actual anniversary. We went to Francesca's in Frankfort. I was soooooo good. One of my favorite restaurants.

I love this picture. It was just taken in Florida a couple weeks ago by April.

I am so happy to be able to say that I have 8 awesome picture frames of Mark and I over the years that have so many memories behind them. This year will be full of wedding planning and before we hit our 10 year anniversary we will be married and we will have to start all over again! :(

Thanks for the memories Mark, LOVE YOU! They went by sooo fast!

Remembrance

2009-05-07T04:01:00.000-07:00

So while I am super excited for the wedding next July there is a part of me that gets sad thinking about it because there are people that aren't going to be there that I really wanted to be there. Two of them are my grandpas who I love and miss terribly and I know they would be so proud of me and happy to know I am marrying a guy like Mark. I cry everytime I think of them not being there. Second is Uncle Lee. While I did not know him that well and he passed when I was younger, I still remember him and how he liked to always hang out with the kids and buy us shirts from all the great places he visited. There is also my sister-in-law Carrie. It just plain sucks that she won't be there. She won't be there for me and Mark, she won't be there to see Kelsey all dressed up in a junior bridesmaid dress, and she won't be there for Dan.

Since unfortunately four people that I love won't be there I want to be able to remember them somehow. I thought about pictures with candles at the ceremony, but we don't know if it will be a church or not and I am sure that in a nice garden they won't be letting me light any candles. So instead, I think I have decided on this project that I found on weddingbee.com.

They are bouquet charms. I would make them myself from glass scrabble tile and a picture of the loved one I want to remember. You could make them easier by just buying memorial charms that are little picture frames but they are expensive and we do have tight budget so I plan on making them on my own. Here is an idea of what they would look like: (and no, I have no idea who the person is on this tile...its from a weddingbee's blog!)

I think it is a great idea, its small but I will be holding my flowers so that means I will be holding them too and they will be there for me on my big day :) So no matter what, Grandpa Pultz, Grandpa Demski, Uncle Lee and Carrie will be there!

Oh, and I just purchased a kit for 14.00 and will be able to make all of the charms with it!!

DONE-ZO!

2009-05-07T03:59:00.000-07:00

So yesturday I finished my last class I need to take to get my teacher certification and my master's degree...I'm done and it feels OH SO GOOD! All I have left now is student teaching in the fall.
This summer will be filled with work and babysitting but I am looking forward to it being full of fun too! Hopefully I will also be able to update the blog a little bit more and catch up on wedding planning! We still need a place to have a ceremony!!

Ceremony Sites

2009-03-25T11:01:00.000-07:00

Okay...back to some wedding posts. I've been slacking off lately, as I said in the earlier post, but I hope to get back to a normal life.

So, for our wedding ceremony we want something simple. We want it short and sweet! We are having some troubles finding a place to have the ceremony. We were going to get married in a church but the prices are ridiculous. You would think that all you would have to do is give a donation, but NOOOOOO lots of fees are involved and the grand total of the churches we have looked into comes to about 700-1000 dollars. I think that is just insane.

We are looking into getting married at the Birdhaven Greenhouse in Joliet. It will be July so flowers will be in full bloom and we would have the ceremony in the gardens outside. I think it would be beautiful....what do you think?

The only problem is...what if it rains?! We would have to move the wedding inside the greenhouse which is something I really do not want to do. What would you do? Take the risk or find something new?

Arms of an Angel

2009-03-25T10:51:00.000-07:00

Gone...but never forgotten...

Carrie Ann Demski

8-1-1976 to 3-19-2009

In the arms of the Angel far away from here

From this dark, cold hotel room, and the endlessness that you fear

You are pulled from the wreckage of your silent reverie

In the arms of the Angel; may you find some comfort here

You're in the arms of the Angel; may you find some comfort here

Its been awhile since I have posted. There has been a lot going on with school and with the family. Once again our family has proven strong and has banded together in order to try and pull each other together to keep each other strong. Carrie's passing was horrible and has taken a toll on everyone, especially Dan and Kelsey. No one will ever understand what they are going through and the obstacles they will endure, but to know their family will always be there for them will bring them hope. She is in heaven now watching down on her sweet little girl Kelsey. I just hope that while she is there she says hi to my Grandpa Pultz and Grandpa Demski for me.

The Belvedere Chateau

2009-01-28T04:37:00.001-08:00

This is where Mark and I's reception will be held. It is on 103rd and Roberts Road. It is so beautiful. We were both blown away by the outside as well as the inside. It has three banquet rooms and we will have our reception in the Garden Room. This room is perfect. It even has a private entrance (You can see the entrance to our room in the picture below). The other rooms you use the main entrance and lobby. Ours has its own entrance and own lobby along with our own restrooms and bridal suite. I like this because then we don't have to see other weddings that night. Now that we have a reception location I can start to work on my first project, our save the dates!

Date Change!!

2009-01-28T04:35:00.000-08:00

So...Mark and I booked a reception hall and I couldn't be more excited!! But they were booked already for every Saturday in 2010!!! We were so in LoVe with it that we couldn't pass it up so we changed our date to.....

Friday July 16th, 2010! :)

PhOtOgRaPhY!!

2009-01-23T08:05:00.000-08:00

Okay so this post comes from PURE JOY! I have been really wanting our wedding to be photographed by Beth Laurren Photography. I came across her blog from a friends facebook page because she had her as her wedding photographer. I immediately fell in LoVe with her style. She is a photojournalist and really captures beautiful photos full of meaning and vibrant colors! I found her way back the first weekend me and Mark got engaged. I did not even e-mail her about prices because I had looked at some other photojournalist prices and just figured hers would be just TOO expensive for us.

For some reason today I was looking at her blog and decided to e-mail her because I figured it wouldn't hurt to ask! Turns out, I think Mark and I will be able to afford her for our pictures!! She is so nice and willing to work with our budget so I am really getting excited! Nothing is set in stone yet but I hope it will be soon!!

I am just soooo ExCiTeD about this!! It has made my day!
Here is her blog if you would like to look at her work....her photos are stunning!

http://www.bethlaurrenphotography.blogspot.com/

Centerpieces

2009-01-23T04:12:00.000-08:00

Here is an idea for our centerpieces. For the flowers though it would just be gerber daisies....just an idea

Table Runners

2009-01-23T03:59:00.001-08:00

I am not sure if that is what they are even called! Once again I came across a bio on theknot.com and I found a picture of a table runner a bride used at her reception. These are our two colors, but we might be changing our colors up a bit...hmmm....I bet you wonder what color or colors they are!?! Well, I am not telling just yet!

But here is the picture of the idea I have for making a white table not so white....

The Fiori

2009-01-16T18:12:00.000-08:00

In English that is FLOWERS!! I just wanted to make the title sound cool :)

*Right now I am in LOVE with Gerber Daisies...they are my favorite flowers and I love the vibrant colors

*As of right now this is what I want for my bridesmaids...maybe the multi colored ones or maybe just the bright pink...it would be a small bouquet and I would probably make them myself with the help of others hopefully! :)

*Maybe the girls could have the bright pink bouquet with lime green ribbon around the stems and I could have a pink and white bouquet of Gerber Daisies....

*They are just show big and colorful...how do you not sMiLe when you see them?!

My Brain Is On Overdrive...

2009-01-16T18:04:00.000-08:00

So my brain is on OvErDrIvE....I think I am dreaming about wedding planning now...I was telling Mark today that I seem to always be thinking of random ideas and thoughts about the wedding...I like to randomly throw ideas out when we aren't even in a conversation about the wedding...

Here is my new idea: The Guestbook

*I got this idea from a fellow knottie on www.theknot.com. She bought the guestbook and then she put the different colored envelopes on each of the pages and each person took a little piece of cardstock and wrote down a message to the bride and groom and then put their message in one of the envelopes with their names on the outside of the envelopes....

*We could use envelopes that are the colors in our wedding...

*LoVe this idea...

In My Dreams...

2009-01-16T08:11:00.000-08:00

So the New Year has begun and Mark and I are searching for a place to have the wedding reception.

My #1 choice:
My Parent's Backyard!
...that choice was quickly crossed out since my parents might be putting the house up again for sale this spring..but just imagine:
*Me walking down our deck stairs in my mom's wedding dress, getting married in the backyard
*Floating candles in the pool, and laterns hanging from the trees
*A large white tent with sides that holds 200 ppl and has a dance floor
*Some bags and horseshoes for anyone who wanted to layback and relax
*Just a nice informal reception in the backyard at the house I lived at since I was born...PERFECT! :)

I guess that will just have to stay put in my imagination while Mark and I continue the hunt for the perfect reception venue that doesn't break the bank! Its StReSsFuL....but I am taking it day by day...

Hand Crafted Flower Bouquets

2009-01-07T04:56:00.000-08:00

Okay so of course I am doing my daily run through of theknot.com and weddingbee.com and I came across this girl who just became a wedding bee pro (not sure what that means yet, but I am sure I will figure it out in the next year and a half) Anyways, this girl is totally unique...I love it! She did a crazy wedding...she wore a dress that was handmade and it was pink and black polkadots and short and puffy, it was totally cute. What I liked the most about her wedding was her handmade flower bouquets.

She makes them out of buttons and felt. They are super cute. I am definitally thinking about doing this for the wedding...either seeing how much they are for her to make them or attempting to get some information on how to make these myself. Tell me what you think....I know its different but its cute!

This first one is the corsages for the men...she also made them for the mother of the bride and mother of the groom:

The second and third are pictures of bouquets she made for two brides:

So......what do you think?!?!

The New Year = Wedding Planning Begins!

2009-01-05T07:07:00.000-08:00

It is now 2009 and Mark and I are officially going to start to plan the wedding! Although I have started looking and planning a couple things here and there nothing is set in stone. I only have ideas of what I want.

First up...A Date!
July 17th, 2010

Our next step is booking a place for the reception. I am excited and nervous at the same time. I want it to be someplace fun but I am also worried that they are all going to be too expensive. I am excited to look at the places and get an idea of what we want.

Although we are not getting married for a year and a half we want to plan the wedding this year and then have the last 6 months to relax and hopefully pay off the wedding!

My New Years Resolutions:
**To get healthy and lose some weight of course...this is every
year! :)
**To plan a wedding
**To enjoy life and try to not be SO stressed out all the time!

So Many Colors!! Which to choose?!?

2008-12-29T15:43:00.000-08:00

Okay so Mark and I have had some color choices for the wedding. Our original color choice was teal, then we saw a bright green and LOVED it! More like an apple or a lime green. We want something bright but not tacky. So I think we are debating on two color choices...

The first one is Green and Pink:

* I see a lot of green and pink together and it looks super cute. I love the bright colors and since it is in the summer I think it would be perfect! We could even have the girls were pink dresses and the guys were green ties or vice versa...or we would have green as our main color with pink as an accent.

* Here are some green and pink wedding pictures: Tell me what you think!

Our second color idea is Green and Teal:

* I did not even think of this as a possibility but My Aunt Kathie Demski bought me a wedding planning book for Christmas and it has pictures of a green and teal wedding..it was beautiful.

* Once again both would be bright colors...I think these two colors look cute together also! Here are some pictures:

* Green and Teal pictures were harder to find than the Green and Pink pictures....

Hmmm...what to do?!!? Maybe we can do all three? Decisions, Decisions, Decisions....at least I have a LOT of time!! :)

**A Side Note**

By the way, if you look at the pink and green pics there are two ideas Mark and I have...we are definitely doing a candy buffet and for our favors we are thinking of doing the chinese cartons with stickers for our guests to load up with their favorite candy!

Another Wedding Idea!

2008-12-23T03:50:00.000-08:00

First of all, Mark signed us up for a website called http://www.theknot.com/. It is awesome! I love it and I think its cute that Mark took the initiative and signed us up for it. It has awesome ideas and pictures and it has a checklist of stuff to do each month before the wedding. You can organize your guest list and even calculate your budget. Its great. Me and Mark have a bunch of ideas about what we want for our wedding and I cannot wait to share them with everyone. Other than the wedding cupcakes here is another idea that we have:

Me and Mark love the idea of using polished black river rocks as our escort cards. We think it is modern and cute and I have never seen anyone do this ever. You write the people's names on the top of the rock and then on the back you write their table number. The rocks are cheap and I think it is something different that people will be talking about! Check out the picture!

A Side Note:
Thank you Mark for being so excited to plan the wedding. I love your ideas and I am glad we are working together on this. It just makes me that much more excited to plan when I have a fiance (starting to LOVE the ring of that word!) who wants to be involved! :)

White Christmas!

2008-12-23T03:46:00.000-08:00

So Mark got a little incentive when he bought my engagement ring. If it snows 6 inches on Christmas Day up at O'Hare Airport then Mark gets the ring for free. So I am asking that everyone pray, hope, and wish for snow on Christmas Day! This money could help us with so much; paying off credit card debt or we could use it on stuff for the wedding.

Of course the weather people are predicting snow on everyday but Christmas, just our luck! Maybe this post will help!

Plus...who doesn't like snow on Christmas!?!?!

***PRAY, HOPE, WISH***

Wedding Cupcakes?!? Yes or No?!

2008-12-16T06:24:00.000-08:00

So...I have said that I would not start planning the wedding till after the New Year but I am too excited! Me and Mark are just browsing ideas and getting our thoughts together. We are trying to save some money here and there and one of the places we wanted to cut costs was the wedding cake. I feel like a lot of people don't eat the cake and it usually just sits on the plate while the icecream melts all over it. So, our first choice was a fake cake. A styrofoam cake that is decorated to your likings and either a real cake for the top tier or a hole in the side where real cake is inserted so you can still cut the cake. Love the idea, but I wanted something more fun/modern. So I did a lot of research and found the idea of WEDDING CUPCAKES!! Its cute, modern, and looks yummy...and the best part is its CHEAPER! I could even commission some of my bridesmaids to help bake and we could do it ourselves and get a pro to just make the top cake...here are some pics of my favorites, tell me what you think?!

This one is one of my favorites..its a little too small, but its more modern!

This one is simple and cute...I love the modern look and we could easily tie ribbons around it in the wedding colors!

This one is cute...it might be a little too tall, but it is simple and elegant!

So that is my idea, I am loving it! Maybe I will host a cupcake tasting night with the girls and some drinks! YUM!

The Engagement

2008-12-09T04:03:00.001-08:00

Dec. 5th, 2008 - The Night My Dream Came True

*Mark made me get off work to go to Mongolian Barbeque for dinner with Pat and Elisabeth
*Pat all of a sudden "lost his wedding ring" at work and now him and Elisabeth wouldn't be able to meet us for dinner because he wouldn't leave work until he found the ring

The Dinner

**We ate at Mongolian Barbeque in Naperville. It was great. It is my favorite restuarant. I had stir fry with smoked sausage, tofu, any veggie you can think of and for a sauce I chose shitake mushroom and chile. It was awesome. Of course Mark had stir fry with every meat you could think of with pasta.

**He said his stomach was hurting and he was full (This should have been my first clue, but of course I was ClUeLeSs!!)

**I then had to decide if I wanted to go the Chocolate Bar for dessert or go and do the RiverWalk. It was freezing, but for some reason I chose the RiverWalk. I am a sucker for romance I guess.

The Walk

*It was cold, but I held his hand in his pocket and we walked down the block, over the bridge and down the river. We turned around walked back over the bridge and stopped by the big lit up Christmas Tree.
*Mark asked if I wanted to sit down, the benches were covered in snow so I decided to stand.
*We stood there hugging and talking. Marks told me he wanted me to know that he wanted to marry me and asked me if I was willing to wait longer. I said yes. He asked me if I was sure I wanted to marry him. I said yes. He asked me this over and over again. Then he said one final time. "Are you sure you want to marry me?" Once again I said of course. Then he got down on one knee and said, "Then will you marry me?"
*I said Yes, and cried and cried. Hugged him and didn't want to let go. It was perfect. He asked if he could put the ring on my finger. It was more perfect than I ever imagined it could be.

*I was more happy than I have been in awhile! :)

*Thank you Mark for making me the luckiest girl in the world. I look forward to being your wife and making you happy. I cannot wait to start our life together! I love you! Thank you for making my dream come true!

A New Beginning

2008-12-09T03:59:00.000-08:00

I have always wanted to start a blog but didn't feel that I have much to blog about. This past week has been incredible. Monday I get a new car and Friday I get engaged to the best guy ever after ONLY 8 years of dating! :) I am sure that with wedding planning and finishing school, I will have a lot to blog about now...so here goes...This blog is for my family and friends and people who I don't even know. A place I can go and share things I cannot say out loud or things that make me happy and sad. EnJoY!