Gotta Love Non-Pro Pics

You may remember that I was a bit bummed that our photographer didn't capture quite a few of the details of our wedding. Well, we just received two CDs of non-pro pics, and I was ecstatic that we at least got a few glimpses of the details that were missing.

Kids' Place Setting (after a bit of interference from said kids):

Aisle Decor:
Entry table (pic was taken pre-ceremony--we put bouquets on here once the reception started; you can barely see the bags we had for the centerpiece take-homes):

It looks awfully plain in the pic, but with the flowers, it was pretty. We still didn't get any of the drink table, but I'm slowly getting over it. It's fun to be looking through new pics nearly 4 months after the wedding. FOUR months! Time really flies.

Save 30% at Gap's Friends and Family Sale

Hello, friends! I'm sure most of you wouldn't mind saving a little bit of moolah at Gap, Old Navy or Banana Republic this weekend! Don't have a 30% off code? Shoot me an email (from my profile), and I'll send an email with the code to the first 15 people to email me. (There's a limit to the number I can invite, hence the low number.) Happy shopping!

Today is a New Day

With my cleaning frenzy this past weekend, my mind turned to making a change within myself. I started to question myself when I sorted through all of the baskets in our linen closet. When we first moved in, I found the best way to corral all of our "stuff" was to line the deep shelves with baskets. The closet definitely looks better than it would without baskets, but the products we had amassed were just overwhelming. We had two and a half baskets (and they're big baskets, people) of cleaning products. TWO AND A HALF!! We had one overflowing basket (seriously--there was a ton of crap stuffed behind the basket) of personal hygiene products.... three baskets of extra linens; three baskets of extra towels; a top shelf loaded to the gills with comforters/quilts/blankets. The scene was obscene. Why the heck had we purchased all of this stuff?? And then it hit me. J didn't purchase any of it. It was all me. Ugh.

Lately, I've been feeling overwhelmed. Not with anything in particular... more like every little thing just feels like it's dragging me down. I've been so bleh that I'm annoying myself. On the drive home, I literally drive myself crazy thinking. I can't sleep. My mind is just spinning. I've got the case of "too much".

J and I had a discussion when we first moved in together 4 years ago. He was helping me move out of the two bedroom place I had lived in alone. I had moved in just when J and I had started dating three years prior. While emptying a closet, he exclaimed, "How deep are these closets?? There's stuff in here that I've never seen before!" The closets were deep, and I was housing crap (yes, it was crap) for more than three years without him even knowing it existed. I had moved crap from 1200 miles away four years prior, and it had never seen the light of day since. I had a problem. Admittedly, most of the items were gifts that had been given to me that I just didn't feel comfortable tossing away. Someone spent their hard-earned money to get them for me! How could I just toss it?! Believe me when I say I would have donated it, but most of it wasn't worth donating. I explained to J that I hadn't grown up with much, so when someone gave me a gift, even if it wasn't "me", I felt like I had to keep it. He thought I was nuts. So, with his help, I started purging. I donated what I could from the closets and trashed the rest. Then, a year later, when we bought our place, he urged me to purge more. I did. But, what happens when you move from 1000 sq. ft to 1700 sq. ft.? I bought more stuff. Now, we come back to the linen closet.

J wasn't home on Saturday when I decided to tackle the linen closet. I had been having the bleh feeling all morning and felt like I had to do something. I'd been so unmotivated and was seriously getting tired of hanging out with myself. I pulled myself away from the computer and started pulling out baskets, one by one. Why did we have all of these cleaning supplies? We don't run a cleaning company, for goodness' sake! I decided we weren't going to buy any more cleaning supplies until the ones we had were used up. I made a list of what we had with quantities next to the product and posted it inside the closet door. When I pulled out the personal hygiene basket, I realized we had nearly three of everything. Again, I posted a list on the door. I noticed three bottles of shampoo that I wasn't a fan of. Too bad, we're gonna use it. No more experimental shopping and then tossing it in the closet. There were several bottles of almost finished cleaning products and personal stuff. I combined bottles when I could. By Monday, we had already used some of the lingering product up, and three baskets of product had become two. Next up, the medicine box. Man, was it scary dumping out all of the expired meds! Now, at least we know what we have and won't buy a third tub of Vaporub! By the time I was finished with those, I just didn't have the energy to tackle the towels and linens... but I promise you that donations and Ebay listings are in the near future.

I have to admit-- now that I've aired the skeletons in my "closet", I'm feeling a bit of that dragging feeling disappear. Today is a new day.

Spring, Er, Fall Cleaning

I went nuts this weekend. Something stirred inside of me that would not die down until I had purged my heart out... yet there is still more to do. I hate to say it, but I've let the house go a bit since the wedding. One entire room--okay-- two whole rooms are stacked full of wedding decor. I couldn't quite bring myself to tackle those hard-core, but I got a good start by breaking down empty boxes and then moved to other rooms. The kitchen bar still had stacks of papers hiding underneath the top counter, which is very unlike me. I'd finally had enough. What did I find? Receipts from wedding purchases, items that were to be sent as gifts to others, coupons that were expired, extra house keys and much more. Once the counter was free and clear of clutter, I tackled the "junk drawer". It's amazing how quickly things can pile up. I found a receipt from 2006 for a spicket we had installed outside. Why was this even kept? Who knows? I can say that it's absolutely freeing to see the clutter disappear. I have a good feeling that I'll be posting quite a bit to Ebay in the near future. Thanks for the Craigslist advice! I hope to list some unwanted furniture and TVs soon. Now... on to those two rooms!

No!No!

While we were on our honeymoon, a Sephora giftcard came in the mail. It was my birthday present from my mom. My birthday was in August. I got a laugh out of it... and promptly logged on to my computer to purchase the No!No! that I blogged about here. As a dark-haired girl, I've definitely made friends with my laser hair removal specialist. Unfortunately, my pocketbook didn't. I had amazing results, but I just couldn't justify spending the money for follow up treatments. Because it's been about 2 years since I've been in, it was time to find another option. I'll be sure to give you all a review once I've given the No!No! a couple of tries. Have any of you tried laser hair removal? Ever tried the No!No!?

You Gotta Love the Blotter

One of the things I enjoy every morning is reading the blotter in the local newspaper. This one made me laugh out loud.

5:38 p.m. Police were called to a report of a suspicious incident in the 2900 block of West Acres Drive where a woman reported that she found feces in her toilet that she did not think she put there. There was no damage to the house and no other reason to believe someone had been inside the house.

Remember to flush, people.

To Craigslist Or Not to Craigslist?

I've looked on Craigslist before, but only once. Steamboat is fairly remote, so I'm not sure how well Craigslist listings really work here. Have any of you bought/sold anything on Craigslist? Was it a fairly easy process? Do you live in a rural area or the city?

Thanks in advance for your responses!

Back to Reality

Nothing like a 60 degree temperature difference, snow, your "friendly" time of the month, an astronomical kennel bill and work to snap you back into reality after your honeymoon... but we're back. I'll be back to posting once I dig myself out of the 2000+ posts in my reader. Yikes.

Okay, I Lied

I had to post my new stationery obsession. This site has me lusting after everything.

Why, Thank You! I'm Blushing.

I've been graced with a few blog awards in the last month and have failed, until now, to post them. I can't tell you how appreciative I am of your comments. I've made some amazing blogger-friends and am continuously amazed at the "love" shown across this great big world of the internets. So, keep leaving comments... I love making new friends.

First, thanks to the lovely Cyndi of Southern Daze for giving me the Honest Scrap Award (nearly a month ago). She's a doll and always seems to be in good spirits. How is that possible? :) She's so nice that I wish I weren't so crabby.

Second, thanks to Padgett Hoke who gave me the same award, also nearly a month ago. She has the cutest Etsy shop that you have to check out (I linked to her shop in my birthday post back in August). If anyone were to buy me this, I'd be a happy camper.

Third, I was given the Kreativ Blogger Award from Ams. She's fairly new to my blog, but I've appreciated the love she's been throwing my way.

Okay, I'm supposed to list 7 and 10 honest things about me, so I'm going with 10 and covering all the bases.

1. I get serious road rage. My drive starts out in a normal way, but one slow driver and I'm whipped into a frenzy.

2. I take advantage of my drive home to call my parents. Every time I use that time to call my father, I end up mouthing off at another driver.

3. I'm already growing my hair out. I do this every time I cut my hair. It takes so many frequent salon visits that I break down and let it grow again. I cannot wait until I can have a mini-ponytail. Every day I try to make one, just in case it grew overnight.

4. I am afraid I'm turning into my mother.

5. I am afraid I'm thisclose to becoming a hoarder.

6. I've never flipped anyone off before.

7. I'm good friends with the HR Director at work, who happens to love flipping people off. She knows I've never done it, so she told me I should just make the sound of your finger flying through the air... similar to bshh-pshhh... say it really fast, and you'll get the idea. It actually makes me feel better... especially when I'm driving. Apparently her family (who are all now grown) use the sound when they know an argument has gone too far, and it lets everyone know it's time to back off. I love it. What's that sound? "Oh, it must be static on the phone." Kidding...

8. I've never had coffee before, and my best friend works for Starbucks.

9. I've fallen off the Weight Watcher wagon. When I looked in my trash bin at work, I was almost sick... a mini bag of Doritos, four mini bags of Starburst Gummibursts, and two 1-point Weight Watchers bars. I secretly wanted to move everything to another trash bin just so the cleaning crew wouldn't see. No wonder I've put on a few pounds... well, that and the fact that my gym membership ran out... and I'm honeymoon poor. Just a heads up-- mini doesn't matter if you eat four.

10. My husband calls me "the bear"... as in, "Whoa, don't wake up the bear! She might eat your head off."

Well friends, you now have a glimpse into the "real me", so I hope I don't lose any followers. I'm signing off now. I'll talk to you again when we're back from the honeymoon!