1. Started a new job at Fifth Third Bank - I love it.

2. Summer classes have begun and they're already kicking my ass.

3. I think I've lined up a practicum for the fall working in the Byrd Polar Research Center at OSU digitizing some exhibitions to be put online.

4. Still interning at OHS's State Archives, but am taking a couple weeks off until my job at Fifth Third moves from full time Training to part time scheduling.

5. Today is the official one-year mark until the wedding!

6. Matt and I have moved from Westerville to Canal Winchester. Not my completely ideal situation, but it's free for now. We have our own 2 bedroom apartment, kitchen, bathroom, two living rooms... it's just at his parents'. I'm okay with it. Graduation is in December and there are some pretty good job prospects out there making enough for us to buy our own place.

7. Buster has become a full grown dog, weighing in at a whopping 48 lbs. He may grow a bit more, but we think he's probably out of his puppy stage. It's crazy to think that in February when we got him, he was only 21 lbs!

8. Broke like you wouldn't believe right now, but student loans should pull through in 2 weeks and my first pay check will be in my checking account on June 12.

9. I am in the midst of reading Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy. So far, so REALLY good.

10. Last night Matt and I went to see Jane's Addiction (tickets courtesy of CD101!). It was easily the best show I've ever seen. Perry Farrell was dressed in a shiny, tight, green jumpsuit with a thick jeweled belt and a scarf. The drummer was in a wrestling singlet! Navarro, of course, was wearing nothing but some tight jeans and a guitar with a Louis Vuitton strap. I can't even describe how awesome the show was. If they're coming to a town near you, please, I beg of you, GO!!!

That's all here. How are you?

We got a puppy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! He is about 5 months, if we had to guess. He was a lost-n-found puppy who was never claimed :( Got him from Craigslist and he is just perfect. Well, not perfect. He is still a puppy. He's already had an accident and has been eating all of my people food off of my plate when I'm not looking. It's okay though - he just needs trained. Anyway, his name is Buster and he's a lab-mix. Not sure what he's mixed with.... Maybe a little PB terrier? Not sure. Anyway, he's adorable. :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :)

Pictures!!!!!

I've tried on about 30 wedding dresses and haven't found "The One." It's okay. I have plenty of time.

I am getting a kick ASS refund. Nearly $2k. Fuck yeah. Should get it in a week or so.

I've already spend a bit of that money. :) Circuit City is going out of business and Matt and I bought a new tv. 42" Plasma flat screen. :-p It's fucking AWESOME! Nabbed it for a cool $750. ;) Our new TV Baby

While bringing in said TV, I slipped and fell on the ice and dropped my end. On the bright side, the TV was undamaged. On the bad side, my ankle and leg were. No broken bones, as far as I know (though there is a significant throbbing pain shooting through my ankle and leg).

School is massively kicking my ass. I'm taking way too many classes and definitely feeling it. My current schedule is to read around 400-500 pages a week, write about 20 papers, and take 6 exams over the next 10 weeks. AGGHHH!!!!

That's about it for me. :)

superpoop.com

Will sell everything for $150.


DVDs: $3 each (unless noted) or entire lot for $75- All in great condition!

Club Dread (unrated)
St. Elmo's Fire
King of California
Hardball
Closer
Resevoir Dogs
Hotel Rwanda
Runaway Jury
Sleepy Hollow
Finding Forrester
Limony Snicket's Series of Unfortunate events
Desperado
Once upon a time in Mexico
Billy Madison & Happy Gilmore box set ($5)
Losing Isiah
Moscow on the Hudson
Super Troopers
Charlie & the Chocolate Factory
Crash
Special Edition Nightmare Before Christmas ($7)
Empire Falls (HBO Mini Series) ($5)
Sex and the City

Harry Potter 1-6 (paperback) - $3 each or $15 for the set of 6 - used condition
Living History of the Civil War (hardcover) - $5 - good condition
Citizen Girl (hardcover) - $3 - mint condition
The Nanny Diaries (paperback) - $3 - mint condition
He's Just Not That Into You (hardcover) - $3 - mint condition
1000 Bartender's Recipes (paper back)- $3 - mint condition
The Historian (hardcover) - $10 - mint condition
The Knitter's Bible (hardcover) - $3 - mint condition
The Cool Girl's Guide to Knitting (hardback) -$3 - mint condition
Battle Cry of Freedom (paperback) - $10 - good condition
Beyond the River (hardcover) - $5 - mint condition
The God Delusion (hardcover) - $5 - used condition
Everyday Science (hardcover) - $10 - good condition
Stargirl (paperback) - $5 - mint condition
College Student Cookbook - $5 - mint condition
Teach yourself visually Photoshop Elements -$5 - mint condition

2008 has been a pretty big year, good and bad. Normally around this time of year I would write some sort of reminiscent, nostalgic, chronological, mess. I don't really feel like that now. For the first time in a long time, I'm actually looking forward to the next year more than I'm going to miss the past year. 2009 is going to be great. Hopefully I'll finish my MLIS, the Crew will have another great season, wedding planning will go without a hitch, I'll lose some more weight, and Matt and I will be able to start saving a little nesting money. :)

In other news, I have a new wedding website (a much better one, in my opinion) and have started a wedding blog. I'll keep most of my wedding nonsense there

My NEW wedding site: SashaAndMatt.webs.com

Um, that's about it. How was everyone's holidays? In particular, Mr. Terran, I haven't heard from you in awhile......... Miss you!

Did you know that there are easily three million websites out there for you to create your wedding page?? Did you also know that the majority of them cost a billion dollars a year??

Okay, so maybe I am exaggerating a *teeeny* bit.

Either way, there are too many to pick from and it's so hard to weed out the ones that cost money. So, in a move that will most likely be the first in an ongoing pattern, I did what Laura did and went with MyWedding.com :)

Here it is, folks--- MyWedding.com/SashaAndMatt

There's not much info in there, but it's a start. Now, to get Matt on board with this stuff... It is so tough to get him excited about the wedding! Getting his opinion on things is akin to pulling fish out of a shark's mouth. Okay, so maybe there's that exaggeration thing again. :)

Yes, it's 3 a.m. Since I'm unemployed, I do nothing all day and night. I sleep in until noon and then do Internet stuff, watch tv, and cook dinner. Then, I usually do Internet stuff and watch tv until bed. It's quite pathetic, actually. But, it will all change in January!

I got the Ohio Historical Society internship! :) :) :) Granted, it's unpaid, but I am thrilled for the experience. I will be working in the State Archives, so I'm incredibly stoked. Also in January, my dear cousin Zack will be coming to town!! Yay!!!!

My friends Alyssa and Chris and I exchanged our Christmas presies tonight! Alyssa bought me this beautiful green mosaic mirror and Chris bought me a kick ass FM Transmitter to play my iPod in my car! They are the best friends a girl could wish for!

So, that's pretty much all the news. I think I've decided on the Green + Plum with Gold accents. I'm still planning on May 2010, but if things work out, it might be Oct 09. Yes, I know! I'm awful making decisions! There are so many factors to consider!!! We are looking at a few wedding/reception places and I really have my eye on a couple great spots. I hate to mention the exact places in case it doesn't happen, but if things become a sure shot, I'll definitely update you all!

Yay for good things happening!!!

Merry Christmas everybody! I hope that the holidays find you all healthy, loved, and warm. :)

I have 3 color themes in mind for the wedding.

Green + Gold Green + Yellow Green + Plum

I put together a couple inspiration boards to help me figure it out. I need your opinion! I can't possibly pick on my own. I really like the green and plum combination.. Maybe with some gold accent? I can't pick!


Green + Gold:




Green + Yellow:




Green + Plum:

Matt and I traveled up north today to see my family. We started in Fremont to see my Mom and Frank, drove over to Firelands Hosp to see my Grandma, went out to dinner with my Dad and Liz, headed over to Sirka's for some Christmas decorating fun with the nieces and nephews, then drove back to Columbus. And, out of all of that, I am so very blessed to be alive, breathing, have a supportive family, and in such a loving relationship.

Frank had cooked us a delicious pot roast lunch with biscuits and sweet potatoes. Mom gave us all kinds of free food, spices, trinkets, and my favorite Korean jewelry box from when I was a kid.

My grandma is doing very well, albeit extremely drugged up. She was being hilarious though. She was telling us all kinds of drug induced stories. For instance, last night, for some reason she didn't want to take her heart pill. So, she decided to hide it in under the ice bag that was on her bruised leg. She said that she wanted it in the ice "so it would keep" and that she was being very nasty and bad for not taking it. The funny thing? Dad told us later that the story must have been true because the nurses randomly found a pill in her bed this morning. :)

Dad took us out to dinner to one of my favorite Sandusky diners/delis. I had a delicious sandwich and some of the best french fries you will ever have. We had an opportunity to talk and just have a nice dinner together. And, like the great Dad he is, he paid for both of our meals without expecting a Thank You.

My sister Sirka and her husband and 3 kids were a blast tonight. It's always so much fun to hang out with the kids (ages 6, 4, and 2). They're just so cute! And so loving. We watched them put ornaments on the tree and we all danced to Christmas music.

Around 8 pm, we decided we should start heading back to Columbus. We started driving and were surprised that the roads were pretty decent. However, once we hit the Mansfield area, it was like nobody had ever heard of road salt. I made one little mistake and we began swerving into the other lane. We missed one oncoming car and fishtailed backwards. After getting us out of our spinning/skidding, I managed to get us to the side of the road, but we drove headfirst into a ditch. Matt got out and started pushing while I tried reversing back into the road. We got it out and back onto the correct side of the road and threw on the hazard lights. Know what? No damage. Sure, some minor stuff- the license plate bent a little, but we were so lucky. I can't believe how bad it could have been. I am so thankful and grateful that we are both alive, not hurt, and that my car is still running fine. (Just to be sure, though, I'm going to take it into my car guys on Monday for a quick inspection)

Anyway, after my entire day, I've really realized how lucky I am. I have no reason to believe that things won't begin to look up eventually. And, though things might suck now, I'm a graduate student. I can't expect too much. I need to take the little wins while I get them and when those big moments in my life come naturally, I'll appreciate it more.

The only downside of today? Matt has been super sick the past couple weeks and I have come down with it as well. I am on a no-cigarette, all-dayquil/nyquil diet this week, which means that I am going to be extremely jittery and bitchy, yet in a drug induced coma all at the same time. Wish me luck. ;)

Sometimes, you really just need a body-shaking, nose-snotting, can't-see, glasses-fogging cry.

Tonight was one of those times.

I lost my job today.

I drank a 6 pack of Full Moon.

Listening to Radiohead.

Playing While My Guitar Gently Weeps on my uber shitty acoustic.

I have so much work to do for my semester that ends NEXT WEEK!

What, oh what, am I gonna do?

Rent, car insurance, bills......


Fuck.

Okay.  I've gone through about 50 mood swings in the past 3 days. 

I don't think I can plan a wedding.
I don't think I have enough money.
I don't think I have the ability to decide everything.
I don't think I will enjoy myself if I did it all by myself.

All of my bridesmaids, except Alyssa, live in different states.
I don't know the Columbus wedding scene, despite reading just about every single local forum board.

I'm serious, my wedding budget is only around $6500-$7000.  That is impossible!!  The places that take care of the small stuff for us require $7000 as simply a catering minimum!!!  That doesn't even include the facility rental.  The cheap way to go is doing a ceremony and reception in public rent-able places, but that requires us doing all of the decorating and set up on our own.  We can't decorate on the day of our wedding!  Plus, we would only have it for like 4 hours.  And, I'm fairly certain that it will be impossible for us to do a reception and ceremony in different places because we won't be able to decorate the reception hall if we are getting married.  (Most of the cheap places rent by time-slots, so we wouldn't be able to get in the day before)

Matt suggested we run away to Vegas. 

I just want a small, decent wedding.  I want a simple ceremony in a beautiful garden.  I want a simple reception with a basic buffet and quiet music.  I want a basic wine and beer open bar for just a couple hours.  I want just a few dances, not a huge dance party.  I want a regular old wedding dress that makes me look like a million bucks, even though it may only cost $200.  I want a wedding that I can enjoy and truly celebrate the beautiful life that Matt and I are starting.  Not one that I have to stress about every tiny little detail.  Caterers, table/chair rental, flatware, glassware, flowers, decorations, linens.......

I am so alone.  Matt is helping and is being very supportive, but there's only so much we can do.  I wish my sister lived in Columbus.  I want her as my matron of honor to help me.  But, of course, she has 4 kids and lives 2.5 hours away.  I can't even get a 20 minute phone conversation with her.  I wish I could just book one of the really nice all-in-one package deals that include all of those details.  Then I wouldn't have to deal with any of this!  But, they are about double my budget.

I need help.  Any wedding advice out there??




PS... Though October would be fabulous, almost all of the places are already booked for October 2009 and I am absolutely positive I wouldn't be able to put it together by then.  So, May 30, 2010, it is........

Matt and I have decided that we need to make this decision by Monday. (yes, we decided a deadline to make a decision...)

Wedding date: October 10, 2009 or May 30, 2010

I have made a Pros/Cons list. I'm a big fan of Pros/Cons.

10/10 Pros:

• 10/10 is a pretty sweet date. Plus, our first year anniversary will be 10/10/10!
• October is the DRIEST month in Ohio. This is very important considering our schizophrenic weather...
• We can get married sooner!
• I love using bold and bright colors during the fall, in that non-traditional autumn way
• Columbus Day Weekend- A holiday weekend without any other planning complications
• Possible discounted price (October isn't really a big wedding month)
• (selfish for me!) I could combine an anniversary gift with a birthday gift for Matt in the future (his birthday is 10/12)
• I can start planning right away! Fun!
• I can talk about my happy and frustrating planning with Laura, as she is getting married a month before me!

• Some quick, rushed decisions must be made
• Not as much of a holiday weekend
• It's a bit unfair to Matt to have our anniversary take his birthday thunder
• Saturday in Columbus during the fall = Stupid Buckeyes Traffic... I hate OSU.
• I'll have less time to lose weight!
• I will be swamped with school and work til July-ish - it will make planning very difficult.
• We won't be able to see how the venue looks during that season- if we see it now, all of the leaves are gone from the trees, there could be snow, and the lake may not be as full as it would be. Plus, what if there is some awful problem with mosquitoes or something that only happens in October? We'll never know.
• If Matt decides to begin law school next year, he will be halfway through the semester- hard to get time off for a honeymoon and stressful on his school work.

• Memorial Day means a definite three-day weekend. Great for a Sunday (cheaper) wedding and great anniversaries!
• It's far enough away that it will be easier for those far-traveling family members to make it here (especially my aunts Karol and Liv from Norway).
• I'll be done with school, (hopefully) have a decent job, and will have been able to save a bit of money.
• May is a sort of empty time for personal holidays- My birthday's in Jan, there's the 4th of July, Matt's bday is in Oct, Thanksgiving in Nov, Christmas in Dec ... May deserves a personal holiday. :)
• I love Spring colors- I am obsessed with this Spring Green and Plum combination that would be great during the Spring.
• We can view the venues in April-May 2009 and see how they look in the Spring.
• Earlier in the year is generally easier to get holiday time off of work, if need be.
• We can enjoy just being engaged for awhile without rushing into wedding-mode.
• There is lots of time to plan and make wise decisions.
• Laura can help me and give me insight/tips/advice on planning a wedding! (I am incorporating her in all of these Pros)

• It's pretty far off ... I could book and plan and make contracts, but with such a long time in advance, anything could happen...
• With an aging grandmother (she's 93 years old) and poor health in the family, I'd hate to not see some of my family members at my wedding...
• My mom is convinced that a long engagement = a broken engagement... I don't agree with her, but it made it to the Cons list anyway.
• May is pretty wet weather- it's very unpredictable and could be sunny, rain, or even snow! Sometimes, I really hate Ohio.
• Even though it would be a Sunday event and thereby a little cheaper, it would also be during Wedding Season and would probably be a little pricier than October.
• Lots of potential invitees have annual family Memorial Day plans that would be interrupted.
• It's also Graduation Party season and there could be many scheduling conflicts with that.

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I bought my first two bride magazines yesterday! :) Matt would like a longer engagement, so we're thinking maybe Spring 2010, perhaps Memorial Day Weekend. I'll keep you all updated!

In other news, Brianna's baby shower went splendidly! I think they all had a lot of fun and it was great seeing her baby bump! I poked it a few times and then caressed it a few times more and I even felt the baby kick! I think the baby was sick of me bothering her.


And, a bit more good news: THE CREW IS GOING TO THE CUP! We put up a great fight and we "pissed on the Chicago Fire," pulling a 2-1 win. We'll play New York on the 23rd in Los Angeles for the game of all games. :) You better believe that Sunday I am wearing all of my Crew gear and heading to Fado's to catch all the action.



All in all, I had a GREAT weekend. Next weekend poses to be pretty awesome as well, besides the Crew game Sunday of course. Thursday morning/afternoon I think Mandy (Matt's mom) and I are going out to look at some places and shop and just hang out. Thursday night, my sister will be in town and I'll be taking her family to the airport Friday morning for a Florida Disney Vacation! Then, Friday afternoon/evening I'll hopefully be seeing Laura and Jimmy here in Columbus and celebrating both of our engagements (I don't think we properly celebrated theirs and we definitely need to go out for a Cameron Mitchell meal and drink!).

Keeping busy, like always. Of course, I'll be finishing up my classes within the next few weeks and looking to score some extra work time, so that's going on as well. PLUS, Mandy mentioned that she's interested in throwing us an engagement party! Lots of exciting things happening. :) :) :) I'm pretty sure that I'm going to be smiling for the next several months.

Yesterday, I finally decided to buy a Crew jersey. This has been about 3 years in the making, as I have wanted one ever since I went to my first game with J-Dawg and Laura. I went to Soccer Unlimited in Gahanna and, noticing that the Youth jerseys were $20 cheaper than the Adult, bought the XL replica home jersey. Total: $50 + tax

The game was amazing, albeit very cold. Hot chocolate was abundant and cheap though, so that was good. We pulled a 2-0 win! The games have a DSW "Soccer Rules" promotion. When the opposing team gets a yellow card, you hold the DSW yellow card in the air and if the camera focuses on you on the big screen, you win a DSW gift card. I have been to countless games over the years and have always waved my card to no avail. But, yesterday, I finally won. I jumped and screamed and looked like an idiot in front of 11,000+ fans. Total gift card amount: $50 !!!

In other news, Matt and I went to a jewelry store yesterday and a few more today.... :) :) :) I looked at a few rings and I think I found "The One." Very exciting! I'll be sure to keep you all posted on how this unfurls. :)

Please go out and vote today. I don't care if it's for McCain, Obama, McKinney, Barr, Baldwin, Nader ... I just hope you let your voice be heard. :)




My Halloween

From E-money ......

( 7 of my interests )

Now, if you comment here and acknowledge the existence of such a "meme" then I will go ahead and pick 7 of your interests for you to post about in an explanatory manner and the cycle will continue forever and I will stop writing this run on sentence.

(1) Blog
(2) My HTML site that I made for class
(3) Vote Nader



<3