Hope Still Flies

All right... This is going to be a not-so-wordless Wednesday... My apologies. But... since I only work 3 days a week, and Mike's gone from 1-8 Monday-Friday... I have a bit of down time. As a result...

Now... I love Twilight as much as the next teenage woman, but this... this is ridiculous. I came across a couple of New Moon trailer reaction videos. This first one... I... I don't even know. But this is a person you would not want to sit next to while viewing New Moon. The first four minutes or so are the best part... after that she's just a little nuts. But the first four minutes make me laugh everytime. (Because it's so nuts.)

sidenote: Make sure you've seen the trailer for New Moon, or these might not make much sense.



Wow.. Really?! This one's not as bad until the end of the trailer. Their reaction's pretty priceless, too.



Just in case you needed something to make you feel a little more sane brighten your day. =)

Also, if you're in need of a laugh... check out this guy's youtube channel. His name is Phil, and every Monday-Thursday he does a little recap of stuff that was important (to him) for the day. It really is usually pretty hilarious, and Michael and I always watch the video before we go to bed.

Anybody else have any hilarious videos for me?

"Air still trapped while I still can't breathe, and I'm screaming out. Give me hope somehow, and I know, yeah I know, yeah I know you stay true when my world is false. Everything around's breaking down my chaos."
-"Chaos" by Mute Math

Mute Math is a new discovery of mine... New as in I've only listened to Chaos, but I like what I hear so far...

I've finally got my blog look to a point where I'm at least kind of happy with it. I designed it by myself (as if you couldn't tell.. it definitely doesn't look like those on TCBOTB...) but I'm proud that I actually did something. Though, I'm pretty sure this means I have too much time on my hands. I'm not real used to having nothing to do during the day. I've been spending too much time inside, so today I went out to an elementary school playground down the block, and read a little bit. (A Carl Hiaasen book... one of my dad's favorite author's...) I also took the camera and decided to take a few pictures...







I'm starting to feel more comfortable with the camera... and even not completely shunning the telephoto lens we got as a wedding present from Michael's dad.

It's weird not having any sort of TV channels, too. I've had cable ever since I can remember, so I'm kind of floundering, here. It's cool that most shows are online now, but, of course, So You Think You Can Dance, the one summer show I watch, they don't put online. I have to go scouring high and low, through some sketchy sites... but thankfully I can still find at least parts of the shows. I'm really happy I got to see this dance on Wednesday...





Hot, right? (He really did rip her dress). They're not even my favorite couple on the show... The guy who choreographed that dance was from season 2... great dancer, and apparently choreographer. The two dancers who did it are contemporary dancers, so it's their style, but the way they were in sync through everything's just amazing. Oh, if only I could dance.

I'm not ready for all of the stress that classes will bring another month and a half from now.. but I think I'm ready to start having things to do again. I dunno.

But, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go play Sims 3... one other thing that keeps me occupied now... Ooh, or make no-bakes. There's an idea...

I thought it'd be cool to do this again this week... I don't have pictures for all three, but I'll just go with it...

1. I have Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis in my hands and feet. I was diagnosed when I was 16, and there's only a small chance it'll go away because it was so late to onset. I'm down to one medication, though, and the only problems I have are stiffness in the morning, unless I do something (like bowl).

2. I am a bookworm. Ever since I started reading... I just love getting caught up in a story and just hiding from the world for a little bit. =)



3. I looove musicals. Pretty much every musical I come into contact with, I love. Spring Awakening, the Last Five Years, Wicked, Moulin Rouge, RENT, Phantom of the Opera... all my favorites.


much love,
alex

"Cause when I looked into your eyes, and you dared to stare right back, you should have said, 'Nice to meet you, I'm your other half' "
-"The Best Thing" by Relient K

I've loved Relient K for years. They've got all sorts of good stuff out there. Mood Rings, anyone?! =)

So, tomorrow, I'm heading back to Manhattan. And though I'm really excited to see Michael, I'm sad that I have to say goodbye to the rest of my family. I love all of them, and it's great to be around them.

I also love babies.



Baby fingers and toes and smells (well, the good ones) and grunts and whimpers...



and gadgets...


And holding them... and all sorts of other things about them. Ever since I was little, I've been fascinated by them, and it's always been my biggest dream to be a mom. As I've grown up, none of that's gone away. But now, it's been put more into prospective, because I've realized that I need to get through college and get a job, so I can provide the best possible life for my kids. So, of course, the plan (ooh, but you know what they say about "the best-laid-plans"...) is to get out of school and all that jazz... but I still can't wait for the day when I can have a family. I've got an amazing husband, who is going to be a fantastic father, and an amazing support system through my family.


After Garrett was born the other day, all sorts of stuff dawned on me. It was amazing to see my brother-in-law really step into the father role with a newborn. Also, how we've all spent nine months talking about the baby, and what he'll look like, and how he was kicking the crap out of my sister, and he comes out and he's just a little stranger to us still. Beth is learning what each of his cries mean... his facial expressions...



and now we try to figure out what his personality is going to be like. And all of it is just such a blessing, and babies will never be anything but miracles to me.



Oh goodness. Okay. I'm done. Basically, I'll be really excited to start a family. For now, I'll just deal with my Chemical Process Analysis classes, (and others of the sort) and all sorts of labs... because... I have to. I'll get my kid fix through my nieces and nephews, because they're great kids.

Hopefully I'll have something cool to blog about one of these days... :) Until then, you all get to deal with classes and nieces and nephews and husbands.. ooooh boy! but, until next time..

much love,
alex

"One night of magic rush, the start a simple touch. One night to push and scream, and then relief." "Heartbeats" by Jose Gonzalez


That's the song Michael and I had playing during our unity sand ceremony... Everytime I hear it, I automatically relax... Which is probably a little weird. It's just a really relaxing song, I suppose. =)

I'm sorry I haven't updated more recently... Things are really finally starting to settle into a new routine. After my last post, I headed back to Wichita and hung out with my family for a few days. When I got back here, I had over 800 wedding pictures to go through... Finally I've got those at least kind of settled, and as promised, here are a few more. I think I'll just try and update every day or two with some more pictures, because there are so many great ones... Just a great day in general...

Here's our awesome wedding cake.

Mike gave all of his groomsmen pocketwatches... this is one of my favorites.. (That's my oldest nephew, Gage right there... Junior groomsman.. how handsome is he?!)

Michael and his littlest niece, Aubrie. (*melts*)

Everyone's favorite... my mom requested it.

Hahaha. A little blurry, but so awesome. We'd already given each other the cake, but I picked up the rest of the piece and was going to shove it in his face. I didn't. I decided to be nice. I should have done it, though.

Michael and I are settling into a new routine... and of course, learning new things about each other. For instance, I'd rather there be noise (music or something) if it's quiet, but he'd rather it just be quiet. On the other hand, he'd rather be with friends than be alone, but (sometimes) I'd rather be alone than be with people. We're learning though, and I'm loving every second of it

I'm sadly back to work on Wednesday. I've had plenty of time off, so it'll be back to making coffee at Hastings. Things could be worse. I've enjoyed my time off, and today even had time to revamp my blog. There's a bit of an autumn feel to it. I'm already praying for autumn, and the worst of the Kansas summer is still to come. Ugh. Anyway. There are still a few kinks I'm trying to work out, but hopefully for now, it works. The picture of the two of us in my header is another one of my favorites. It makes me smile every time. (The header is a little pixel-y... I'll work on that, too).

Okay, I've gotta run and make dinner (another thing I'm learning and loving... especially with the help of allrecipes.com)...
much love,
alex

p.s. I haven't really mentioned much about this season of So You Think You Can Dance (SYTYCD) yet... but Randi, Evan, Melissa and Ade are my favorites. Here's a vid of Randi and Evan's dance from this week. I love it!

Since I can't be with my dad today, I thought I'd write a post about how much he means to me...


There aren't too many pictures of just me and my dad... mainly because my little sister and I are so close in age that she just happens to be in all of them too... Which is why I love this picture from the wedding. He wasn't completely gung-ho for Mike and I getting married so soon, but the closer it got to the wedding, the more he seemed at least kind of okay with it, and he was awesome on the wedding day.

My dad's not a hugely emotional guy. He's got a hilarious, dry, sarcastic sense of humor (that I seem to have picked up), and is joking a lot of the time. He loves watching sports (especially the Pittsburgh teams) and always pushed my siblings and I to do what we wanted to do. I've only heard him actually yell in anger a few times in my whole life. One time... was at one of my soccer games. I got taken out by someone on the other team, and my dad was yelling at the ref... I was hugely embarrassed. The ref yelled something back (he was only a teenager) and my dad actually yelled out an apology. I don't think I'll ever forget that.

As time goes by, especially now that I'm out on my own, I find some little things that I do, that reminds me of something he would do, or say. And I'm okay with that. He's an amazing dad, and I know I got extremely lucky with him (and my mom.. my parents, in general, are awesome.). So happy Father's Day to my dad, and all of the other dad's out there!
much love,
alex

ps... Colorado was awesome... more wedding pictures and Colorado pictures to come!

"I can finally breathe, suddenly alive. I can finally move. The world feels revived."
"Breathe" by Anberlin

Soo... The wedding's over! Good timing, too. Was just about to completely lose my mind. =) I guess I can give a little recap...

I slept really well Friday night, which I wasn't expecting, especially because at the rehearsal I was a bit of a basketcase. But even when I woke up on Saturday I was feeling good. I was actually relatively calm all day. Got my hair done and we headed to the church. We (my bridesmaids and family) all just kind of hung out in the room, getting ready and stuff. Michael somehow avoided me all morning and everything. After getting some wrinkles out of my dress I got it on, but still had it on for too long. (I was feeling pretty sick from it being too tight by the end of the reception.) But I didn't really get nervous until right before I walked down the aisle. We got up there and Michael was crying, but I just couldn't stop smiling. He looked pretty handsome, if I do say so myself. =) But then we read our vows and were both crying and I could hear everyone else sniffling in the background... even my daddy. But the rest of the ceremony and reception went well. Tons of pictures and leftover food, that hopefully my family is eating. Haha.

We've decided that we're going to head to Colorado tomorrow, and I'm really excited. I'll be sure to take lots of pictures there, too. We even bought luggage, among other awesome stuff, from Target with some of our crazy amount of giftcards. For anyone who reads this... thank you for everything, helping out with the wedding, or even just sending warm wishes. It is all very much appreciated.

I guess I can share a few pictures... =) Mike's dad still has our memory card with all the pictures, and I won't have the ones from Abbey (the photographer) for a couple weeks. But my older sister put some on facebook... so...

Michael and my nieces. So much adorable-ness.

Me and my brother and sisters. Beth (2nd from left) is due with my new nephew in less than a month!


One from a family I used to babysit in Wichita... I love it.

more to come, I promise. Plus a new look for the blog.
much love,
alex

"No, I don't wanna drown."
-"Drown" by Chasen

Yeah... That's pretty much how I feel right now. There's so much to do before Saturday, it's kind of ridiculous. I've tried to take some time to just relax, but I'm not good at doing that when there's stuff to do. Like, right now, I should be either sleeping or cutting out more programs.

I think sleeping is going to win out.

I can't believe that the wedding is 5 days away and closing quickly. Tomorrow I've got a kind of spa afternoon with my mom... my godmother is a massuse (oh heck, I have no clue how to spell that) and she's going to hopefully help destress me a bit.

Until I come back to cut out more programs.

Sigh

Seriously though.. Wednesday, Michael's back in town, and Mandy's flight comes in (AHHHH!!! SO excited to see her) and Thursday family starts flowing in and Friday's the rehearsal and dinner and Saturday is the wedding and Sunday we may/may not be leaving for Colorado. Oh gosh. Seriously. This is insane. Still surreal. Still procrastinating. This... is crazy. Have I said that enough yet??

I was going to make this a post about how Michael and I are so different in some ways, but the same in others, but I'm so exhuasted right now, that that'll have to wait for another day. I surprised him yesterday for his (20th) birthday by driving up to Manhattan bright and early. It was a great day, filled with printing programs, blacklight miniature golf (I beat him. mwhaha.), arcade games, more programs, Target, and Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist. I had fun, hopefully he did too.

I'm off to bed.. but I'll leave with a few pictures of my nieces and nephew from when I went out with my sister's family last week. And if I don't update before the wedding, I will afterwards as soon as I get the chance.

Gage

Madison
Megan (being chased by step-dad, Phil)

Beth and Megan
Phil & Madison

much love,
alex