Yeah Dress!!

So this weekend I did one of the most important things I have to do for the wedding....I got my dress!!! Thank you mom for the dress!! I tried on at least 8 dresses but the dress that I got was the first dress that I tried one. It is so beautiful and it makes me feel beautiful!! I can't wait to wear it!!! I also picked out my bridesmaids dresses and they are so pretty. I can't wait to get married!! Well right now I am on spring break and I am going to use this week to de-clutter my life. I'm going to go through my closet and donate clothes I don't wear anymore, donate things around he house I don't need and clean, clean, clean, clean!!!

This morning, I was reading on CNN.com about our economy and it seems that every time one checks, the recession gets worse. Cnn.com took a pool and said that 45% of people think that we are going to go into a depression within a year. If that doesn't send panic through one's body, I don't know what will!! I am scared for this economy, not only because I will be graduating within a year but also because my future hubby is looking for a job as well as my father is looking for one. I was just reading on CNN that AIG gave out bonuses this year. They took the money they got from the government and spent that on bonuses. This outraged me!! Here is our economy struggling to make ends meet and these big shots get bonuses for a company that was failing!! Well I'm glad that they are feeling the recession as well. They all should be fired and AIG should hire people that wouldn't care if they received bonuses or a $100K plus salary. There are many deserving people in this country that don't even eat every day that would kill for that job. Those AIG executives should really be thankful that they have money and a job. The way the economy is failing makes me worry, but what keeps me going is the thought that our grandparents survived a depression and hard times. If they can survive, we can too!! Until then....I'm saving my money!!

The Best Workout EVER!!

Ok, so I'm not trying to loose weight but I am trying to tone up for my wedding. Who doesn't love a buff bride walking down the aisle, right? Well I have tried so many types of workout DVD's, from Pilates to Hip Hop Abs. I bought the total gym, you know the one with Chuck Norris, and I also bought a gazelle. Call me ADD with workout objects, but non seem to catch my attention. I stumbled upon Hip Hop Abs and I love it!! Shaun T is probably the gayest man I have seen in a while, but he keeps your attention and he gets you moving. Well I started me exercise program and I was doing hip hop abs almost every day but then they weren't fun anymore because I knew what to expect from the DVD. So yet again I was on a quest to find a better workout DVD that kept my attention and that would make me feel like I was actually doing something. I went on amazon.com and found "The Biggest Loser" workout DVD. I read the reviews and they were excellent and so I thought, why not? I ordered my DVD's and when they came, I put them on the shelf until I was ready (does that seem like everyone's excuse about exercising or is it just me??) One day, when I couldn't close my pants, I decided to try the dvd out. OMG!!! This dvd is AWESOME!!! For anyone who is trying to loose weight...this DVD is for you!!! It totally kicked my butt and I was sore for about 2 days afterword. But the great thing about this DVD is the fact that you can mix up your workouts so you don't have to do the exact same workout everyday. For example, one day I did the low intensity workout and the boot camp and then the next day I just did the cardio. It was GREAT!! I highly recommend The Biggest Loser DVD 1 and The Biggest Loser 2 to everyone!!!  Right now, my bun feel tight, and my stomach feels flat!! Buff bride...here I come!!!!

Alright.....

Alright....I have finally decided on my wedding!! Ben and I are getting married at the Piper Palm House in Tower Grove park and the reception is at Orlando Garden's! That was probably the HARDEST decision that I have ever made. Ben and I bounced around the idea of not getting married in the church and yes we were both raised catholic, but I was the one who didn't want to have a church ceremony. Catholic churches have to many strict rules in my opinion. Don't get me wrong, I believe in God and I believe he died for our sins....I just don't want to be in a religion that lets you worship the way you want to worship. With the catholic church, ben and I would have had to do catholic premarital counseling, we would have had to do an engaged couple retreat, we would have had to had our ceremony be during a mass. It's just to much for me. I wanted the 30 minute ceremony and thats it. After breaking down crying and drinking some whiskey, Ben and I decided to forego the catholic church and so it in a place that gives us a warm feeling inside. We are still going to do premarital counseling....Purdue has a family therapy clinic that offers premarital counseling. I was so upset a couple of days ago because I wanted to please everyone else with this wedding. I was brought to tears!! But, Ben said something to me that made me love him even more. He told me that it doesn't matter what everyone else thinks or where we get married, as long as he gets to marry me and as long as we are happy, it doesn't matter. What a sweet man!! I can't wait till I get to marry him!! So all in all.....we are super stoked about our location and we are super stoked about our reception. Now I can relax a little. You know what....no more wedding talk for at least 3 days. It is tiring me out!! Well I'm of to bed...have a long day tomorrow!! Chao everyone and best wishes and sweet dreams!!!

Recession, Recession, Recession...

After watching Obama's speech last night, I am more worried than ever. Yes, we will find a way, and Yes, we will emerge from this recession, but when. Everyday I check CNN.com to see if the recession has ended. Call me crazy, but I am hopefully waiting that one day a message will appear on the website and say "Recession is over....every one gets their job back!!" Because of this recession, it is putting finical woes on my friends, family members, and my fiance and I. We don't know how we will afford school, or if Ben will find a job after he graduates. This couldn't be a worser time to graduate. Even though the job market is still there, companies are being picky in their graduation choices. Money is the root of all evil. A wise man once said "If you always worry about money, you will never get anywhere in life." Money problems will always be there, not having enough, will always haunt a person. There is never enough. We as americans are greedy. Since when did 1 million dollars become not enough? Ben and I, we worry about financing our wedding, our college career, finding jobs, buying a house, getting a loan for our house, starting a family. These things worry us and will probably always worry us, but we are determined to work through it. Isn't that what a good marriage is all about?

Yeah for Wedding!!

So I officially booked the reception hall and the church for our wedding!! Ben and I are really excited for it!! We decided on a date.....June 19, 2010!! Both the church and the reception hall are open....so I grabbed it up!!  Now we just have to focus on all of the other things...party favors, music, cake, music, wedding dress...and the list goes on and on and on and on..... 

Holy Moly!

Wow....is it monday ALREADY??  Holy Cow...where did the weekend go?? I went home to St. louis over the weekend to look at Orlando Gardens and to my surprise, I really like it!! I think that is the banquet hall that Ben and I are going to go with. We checked ont he church today and well...we are back to our original date of June 19, 2010. It must be fate. We originally wanted June 19 but then we got to thinking and we decided on June 12.....well that was booked!! So we then decided on June 5th....BOOKED AGAIN!!! So the only date open in june is.......June 19th!! We are excited anyways!! THe date doesn't REALLY matter...what really matters is that we are Happy!!  This wedding planning stuff is already starting to stress me out. Ben told me that if I had $30,000 then I could hire someone else to do this for me. Does anyone have $30,000 that I can borrow?? I think that once I have the reception hall and the church booked....I will take a rest for a bit. Anyways.....everything is good over here in good ol' Indiana!! Teddy and Bella are getting along great!! She sits on top of Teddy while he is chewing on his bone. It's cute!! Bella and I start puppy classes in 2 weeks. I can't wait till I can get her to sit on her own. Bella's potty training is going ok. She keeps going to the bathroom in her crate so I had to move the partition of the crate closer so she won't go to the bathroom in her crate. But other than that....everything is just GREAT!! Well I gots to go and study for my stupid midterm that is tomorrow!! Hope everyone had a great night and stay warm!!

Where did this weekend go?

I've got a case of the monday's!! Why does it seem that monday thru friday go very slow, but once the weekend hits...bam....you blink and the weekend is gone! Sorry it's been since friday since I have written in my blog. Stuff's gotten crazy!!! Let's see....Valentine's day was a no go for ben and I. We (well mainly HE) decided that the engagement proposal made up for our anniversary and also for Valentine's Day. It's alright...Valentine's day is over rated!! (Can we say bitter... party of 1?) Anyways, I am already starting to plan the wedding. Ben and I decided on JUne 12, 2010 for our wedding date. I never knew how much there was to planning a wedding...now I know why women hire wedding planners to do it for them!! I am going home this coming weekend to look at banquet halls with my mom and maid of honor. Ben and I are also looking at churches but man...they are soooo expensive!!! We were looking at sacred heart in valley park but they cost $400 just to RENT the church!! And they get to keep all of the flowers that we bring into the church. Not fair!! That is too expensive when you are living on a college budget. Ben and I are going to try and throw this wedding for under $10,000. We also have a big guest list because both of our families are big and we have quite a few Purdue friends as well (Boiler Up!!). We figure we will start trimming the list once it gets closer to the wedding. Poor ben...he doesn't like any of this wedding planning stuff and I keep asking him for his opinion about things. He is being a good sport...besides our little tiffs here and there about stupid things like what flowers to have!! I'm a pretty easy going "bride" and I won't be "one of those" who has to have every detail in order. Ben broke me of that habit about 5 years ago. I used to be a person where everything had to be perfect and it was the end of the world if plans changed. Now I just go with the flow!!

Well good news about Bella!! She slept through the night!!! It may not mean much to you but for me...I'm going on about 5 hours of sleep every single day since we have gotten her. We put her in our room and she actually slept through the night. Two nights ago she woke up around 4:00 a.m. because she needed to be let out...but last night it was great!! I finally have gotten a good 8 hours of sleep!! If you can't tell..I'm REALLY excited!! I value my sleep highly and getting 8 hours is a miracle!! We got Bella a new crate because she was sleeping in teddy's old crate with a pillow put in the back of it. But I soon realized that she was going to the bathroom in the front of the crate and climbing over the pillow and sleeping in the back. So after she ruined her bedding, I took a journey to Petsmart and bought a wire crate WITH a divider! Well it turns out that all that crying she was doing in her old crate was because she couldn't see anybody out of the little hole in her crate. But when we put her in her wire crate, she could see EVERYBODY and she won't cry anymore. Sometimes she will fuss a little but thats because she wants attention.  It's so exciting to have another dog who loves their crate!! Teddy absolutely LOVES his crate!! I've never felt prouder as a puppy mom knowing that my dogs love their crates!! Well breakfast is calling my name and stomach and I can smell my yummy coffee that I have a brewin'....Wish me lick with the banquet hall search and luck so that I don't get too stressed out with all this wedding stuff!! Only 481 days till the wedding!! Have a great day everyone!!