Long Beautiful Hair?

Okay, it seems to be common among my fellow bloggers lately to raise some questions and pleas for advice on hairstyles. I grew my hair pretty long so I could have it all fancy for the wedding, but once it gets too long, it starts to drive me crazy. I can see the split ends, and combing it elicits not-so-nice words out of my mouth.

I've got an appointment for a haircut tomorrow, but I'm sorta getting cold feet. Here's what my hair looks like now (with my lovely friend Aletha here; I'm the one on the right):

And here's how I want to cut it (the girl's hair, not Evan Lysacek's, though I do admire his skating):

The front (but maybe have mine a little longer):

The back:

Now keep in mind that I am not the ice-dancer extraordinaire that Tanith Belbin is. She's gorgeous and has the perfect facial features. So take this haircut and picture it on my face. Anyone who's good at Photoshop can feel free to take a crack at it! :)

In the end, I'll do what I want to do. But the advice of my friends always helps. So thanks!

And don't worry--I will have MANY wedding posts up here soon. I'm taking my time so you can get the whole visual!

Just the Beginning

I know I'm WAY late in posting this, but better late than never, right? Anyway, I'm sure most of the loyal readers here have seen the preview of our wedding photos. If not, check them out: http://amycarrollphoto.blogspot.com/2008/05/becky-matt-wedding-preview.html

Amy Carroll and her assistant, Angie, did a wonderful job with everything and couldn't have been more fun to work with.

The week of our wedding was more stressful than I could have imagined, but our wedding day was perfect to us. The week of, I had very stressful work things going on, plus all the last-minute things we had to do (programs, placecards, seating chart, buying ceremony flowers, etc. etc.). Thank goodness my mom arrived in town and went to work. Seriously, she was a lifesaver and pulled out the Mom juice in full force. She's awesome. Not to mention she fixed my dress for me, which we realized was much-too-much big the week before the wedding. And my wonderful alteration lady had jury duty all week and couldn't fix it for us. Let's just say that you could see down the front of my dress, and while I wanted to share this important day with my loved ones, I certainly didn't want to share that much. So my super Mom was able to take the dress in and it fit perfectly the day of the wedding.

I'm going to try to give a review of all our vendors and such, a little at a time. So stay tuned. I'll post many separate entries rather than one big one (this is my goal anyway).

Hallelujah

Babies!

Here they are! Our adorable babies that inhabit the pond behind my apartment. Matt took these awesome pictures. I love the fact that I can just step out on the balcony and watch so many creatures in action. It's like our very own petting zoo!

On Saturday, Matt pointed out the baby geese that are also out there! They haven't been in the water but just kind of wander around the grass, looking for food. The babies are cute, though I don't care much for adult geese. They can be kind of mean, and they're trying to take over the pond, and I'm siding with the duckies. There was also a big, beautiful blue heron out yesterday. I was sort of afraid it might go after some baby ducks. If that had happened, Mr. Blue Heron, your rear would have been mine.

Much of the weekend was spent peeking out the window every few hours to see what the animals were up to. But we did get a lot of other stuff done too. Friday night we went out to Holland and then decided to eat downtown at the New Holland Brewery. I had a fantastic burger and the best chardonnay I've tasted. It's from the local Fenn Valley winery so I'm going to have to see if I can get us some more.

On Saturday, Matt and I joined our friends Dave, Melissa, and Scott for a 5K walk called "Stomp Out Stigma." It's designed to educate people about mental health and treatment. A cause I very much believe in. After the walk, we went out to eat at The Grand Coney, a local place with amazing food. I had a yummy omelet and English muffin toast. Other Saturday activities included running errands, cleaning, organizing wedding stuff, and doing a little work at the office.

On Sunday, we went to church and then I enjoyed a nice long nap. Oh, how I love naps! I did a little more work, dusted, organized the closet (and made room for Matt's stuff), printed menus for our wedding reception, worked on some DIY projects, started packing for the honeymoon, etc., etc. I feel very good about what we've accomplished.

My mom will be in town today and staying for almost a week! I'm off work after tomorrow. Can't believe I'm getting married this weekend! Woo hoo!

I Am Thankful ...

Every so often I like to make a list of things I'm thankful for--just to keep it all in perspective and to remind myself how blessed I am. Today I am going to share my list with you:

I am thankful for:

1. My really cute new notecards from Papyrus (they're thank-you cards for wedding stuff).

2. Getting to dog-sit the PAWS dog, Daisy, in my office the other day (a really sweet black lab!).

3. Spring weather. This is my favorite time of year. I just hope it holds on for the wedding.

4. My facial the other day--pure relaxation. This was a splurge for the wedding. I'd never had one before, and I would highly recommend it.

5. Sleeping in (this one is always on my list).

6. My mom. She's pretty cool to say the least. And Matt--for obvious reasons. They are my best friends.

7. The baby ducks in the pond behind my apartment. They are the tiniest little duckies I've ever seen in the wild. They swim around and explore and are about the size of a rubber duckie. I'm tempted to live in the apartment forever just so I can see them every spring.

8. The awesome HUGE clock my colleagues gave to me at my work shower yesterday.

9. Handwritten letters.

10. My brother's chocolate lab, Oscar.

11. Getting married next week!

12. Being able to say I'm getting married next week!

13. Homemade strawberry jam on my PB & J.

14. Watching The Office on Thursday nights. Made better by the fact that the next day is Friday!

15. Gilmore Girls on DVD.

16. Driving with the windows down.

17. And so much more! This is just one installment. Maybe I'll do a regular post, like "Thankful Thursdays" or something.

18. Oh yeah, I'm thankful for my blog readers too!

People Who Are Too Much

There are a few people in my life who are too much. And by too much, I mean very generous and kind. I love their too-muchness. It reminds me that people can be good even when life hurts.

One of those too much people is an author of mine--Karen Spears Zacharias. Karen is an extremely generous, tenderhearted woman. She's a talented writer from the South traveling the country to impart her wisdom to other students and writers. Though she's an author I'm supposed to edit, I very humbly realize that she has more wisdom than I, and I relish the opportunity to learn from her about writing and about life.

Things I love about Karen:

She is real. She doesn't put on a certain "author" persona or have a big head.

She is socially conscious, involved in her community, and generous with her time.

She is near to God. This is evident very quickly after you read her writing or talk to her in person.

She is very accessible as a friend. I've never met her in person, yet I know I could call her up at anytime or show up on her doorstep for a glass of iced tea (if only I liked tea; sorry to you southerners). But for Karen, I would drink all the iced tea in the South.

What has made Karen a too much person for me? Her generosity has overwhelmed me. Ya know when I was leaving for Lake Placid to compete at the Adult Nationals? She sent a lovely flower arrangement to work for me, with a note telling me to skate my heart out. And now, 10 days before my wedding, she sees the pretty clutch I posted about last time and sends me a note that it's in the mail. What? No way! How cool and kind is that? I'm planning to carry this on my wedding day. It will add a bright splash to my outfit and remind me of Karen--and of how I want to be like her in my life and in my marriage.

And lest you think it is only tangible gifts I'm overwhelmed by, Karen has been a sounding board to me from day one. I always wonder how much of my personal life I should share with an author. Usually, I just don't know if they will care. Many of them are so busy that they don't have time for the personal relationship of author/editor. But I do like authors to get to know me as another person, not just someone at a desk. Well, I took a chance by telling Karen all about myself, and I immediately received a wonderful response. All through my planning process and her writing process, she has been more than ready to email about weekends, fun tidbits in the news, or even just to ask what my momma's dress for the wedding looks like. She cares about other people so deeply and vividly and makes me want to care about others the same way.

So, Karen, I know you can't make it to the wedding next Saturday (though if you did show up, you'd have a place set for you), but here is a toast to you and your friendship and for showing me that people can be good.

Much love,

Becky

P.S. Check out Karen's blog: http://www.heromama.org/

And order her book Where's Your Jesus Now? It's fabulous, if I do say so myself!

Purty

I am in love with this clutch purse. It is handmade by a member of etsy. If you don't know etsy, you must become acquainted, but then again, be prepared for hours of your life drifting away into Internet land. This is a really fun site where buyers and sellers of handmade goods can go and, well, buy and sell stuff. I've found many great things here and bought a few of them. This purse is from seller muchachak. And while I haven't bought it, I'm still considering it. But then I did just get a new swimsuit for the honeymoon today ... perfect excuse.