New blog!!

With a new husband, life, name, place of residence, comes a new blog! You can see my new blog at http://mrspeeples.blogspot.com. Yes, the new address is cheesy and cute all at the same time ;)

We're back!!!

Yes, we're back from our blissful honeymoon celebration and long weekend. Back at work. Back to the daily grind. And back to a somewhat busy schedule.

Stop back for a "real" update, complete with a few pictures. But for now, know that we had a dreamy wedding day and weekend celebration! I'm VERY happily married to the man of my dreams and enjoying the greatest time I've ever known - Life Together!!

More to come...

My last...

Okay, I have time for one more post before I'm off to get married.

I made it through Monday and Tuesday and now it's on to Wednesday! Things start happening on Wednesday - 2 of my best friends fly into town, my parents, brother and sister arrive, I move out of Barb's to my cousin's place for the rest of the week, and probably other things, but I can't think of them right now.

Speaking of moving out of Barb's, this is it!! Tonight is my last night in my bed. It's also my last night sleeping solo because I share a bed with my cousin Jenna for the rest of the week. I guess it's a good warm-up for the rest of my life ;)

I'm sad to be leaving Barb's so am trying not to think about it. We've had a terrific 4.5 years!! Sure, it wasn't the easiest time and we've both had our ups and downs personally, emotionally, physically, and so on. But we've had some fun little traditions... Chili's dates on Friday nights. Hanging out with each other and talking while getting ready for bed. Saturday night fall-asleep-on-Barb's-bed routine while watching Saturday Night Live. Helping care for each other when we had injuries, surgeries, or weren't feeling well. And just simply sharing life together! I've felt privileged to be Barb's "significant other" (at least more so than anyone else) while I've lived with her.

So tonight is my last night in my bed, living with Barb. I (obviously) wouldn't change it, but I'll miss our little life!!

Today was also my last Starbucks date with God before the wedding. Maybe not my last date with God before Sunday, but my last lunch-time-Starbucks date. At one point I had estimated the number of pages I'd write in my journal before the wedding and I was only 2 pages off!

As I journaled today, I reflected on how my single journey is nearly over, only 5 more days! I sure had a good run!! I emailed my friend Stacey that I appreciated her friendship over the past 2 years because I felt like she helped me really fully live out my last single year! Over the past several years I had begun to try and prepare myself for the potential that "the one" wouldn't come along. Sure, I'm young, but I wanted to get used to the idea just in case. I think I got so used to the idea that I was almost surprised when he came along and was thrilled when we got engaged!! And today, the reality that I'm getting married in 5 days to my best friend and favorite person in the world, warms my heart and makes me so thankful to God's gift of Mark! The years of waiting and the fears that it wouldn't happen has made it all even sweeter! I can't believe the waiting and wondering and hoping is over! I can't even begin to express how thankful I am!! I keep trying and I can't see to even come close.

Thank you God, for my future husband!!! Please help me love and respect and never take him for granted, for the rest of my life!!!

What did you do a week before your wedding?

This is what I've often wondered. Although maybe not before I got engaged. This summer I remember seeing a couple in church I knew were getting married the following weekend and wondering to myself, "what kind of things are going on for them right now? What are they feeling? etc". Another couple I know was getting married, I saw on their wedding website they only had 14 days left, what were they thinking? What were they doing with their time? Well, I guess I can say, now I know...

Last Saturday my friend Stacey (soon to be Graves) Dykstra threw me a lingerie shower. It was a little like my bachelorette party seeing as I'm not having one (which was intentional) and we all went to dinner after the shower. It was SO fun!!

Sunday was Mark's and my traditional Noah's breakfast, church, met with the photographer, and I don't remember what else.

Monday night was a dinner party celebrating Stacey and Michael, that Stacey's work threw for her.

Tuesday night my work threw an inter-office party for me, which was super fun. Afterwards, I hit the gym, picked up Mark, and grabbed Chinese.

Wednesday night I ran 6 miles on the treadmill, picked up Mark, grabbed a lovely dinner at Red Robin and headed over to my friend Trisha's for her birthday/housewarming celebration. We finished off the evening with a couple songs of Guitar Hero, it was awesome!

Thursday I got off a little early but ended up driving a ways to the UPS place to get a renegade package. It wasn't there and I needed to get back there before 8. I then did a couple other errands and headed downtown for a going away dinner for a friend. I pretty much spent most of 3:30-7 in the car driving, didn't make it to the going away, did pick up Mark and make it to package pick-up by 8.

Friday I got off work, picked up my cousin Jenna and picked up Mark, who dropped us off at the Max station. We rode to Ikea where we met Barb and Jenna's dad and step mom. Had dinner, shopped, dropped Jenna off, grabbed milk and coffee, and were home around 10:30.

This morning I ran 8 miles on my own (Trisha was kickin' it doing Hood to Coast), made pancakes, watched an HD show with Mark about drifting, packed a little and took a load of my belongings to Mark's place. Rearranged some things so my stuff could be shoved somewhere in the corner and we could make room for my shoe collection ;) We had a snack, Mark headed to work, I headed home. I packed some more stuff, showered, ran a bunch of very productive errands with Barb. We met Mark at Chilis for our last Chilis dinner with Barb before we're married, Mark headed back to work and Barb and I stopped at the mall before coming home. I took over one more load to Mark's, put things away, and folded his clothes (I LOVE taking care of him).

So, a week before our wedding we moved, did social stuff, worked, and had some normal life thrown in there. Other than my HORRIBLE dream a couple nights ago about forgetting to pick up my wedding dress from the cleaners but not realizing it until we needed to put it on me, things have been good ;) Everything is done and ready. And for a rare occasion, I'm looking forward to Monday because it takes me one day closer to my wedding day!!

While I'm writing this, I'm also trying a new 2 hour teeth whitening thing. 9:30 is probably a little late to start but I'm just not sure of another time I'll have 2 hours where I won't be eating ;)

I'm about to do my nails for the last time before my manicure/pedicure next Friday. Crazy that it's all so soon!! While I was at Mark's and folding his clothes, I tried to imagine what it will be like to live in the apartment together, I can't quite grasp it! The thing I DO grasp is how madly in love I am with this man!!! I didn't know it would be like this and didn't realize how awesome it would be!! I'm sure we'll have our rough patches like everyone does but I have NO doubt that this is the man I want to spend the rest of my life with! We laugh together, joke about silly things, and just the touch of his hand makes me feel better about everything. God has blessed me SO richly with Mark, the love of my life!! We've talked about how we're a bit nervous about the "production" of the wedding/weekend (I'm a little nervous about the 18 mile run the morning before the wedding), but are otherwise SUPER SUPER excited!!! Even the production can't keep us from feeling totally stoked about being married and our little honeymoon get away!!

If I don't post again before the wedding, in less than 8 days, let me just say, Thank you Jesus for this oppotunity and amazing and perfect (for me) man!! Yippee!!

Tagged

I was tagged by Brian Clayville. And since I don't play by the rules very well, I'm going to post my 8 but not tag people. Besides, I think all the people I know have been tagged anyway. I think these types of things are silly and I'll just use it as an excuse to give you 8 things about me ;)

So, if I were playing by the rules, this is what they would be.

1. Post these rules before I give you the facts.
2. Each person shares eight random facts/habits about themselves.
3. People who are tagged need to write a post on their own blog (about their eight things) and post these rules.
4. At the end of your blog, you need to choose eight people (or whatever number you want) to get tagged and list their names.
5. Don’t forget to leave them a comment telling them they’re tagged, and to read your blog.


1. I have moved 20+ times. I stopped counting a couple moves ago.

2. I have never known what I wanted to do with my life. Still have NO clue!

3. I LOVE picking at, touching, stroking, trimming, and plucking my eyebrows. It's more of a habit really and I'm kind of embarrassed about it. Mark notices but is nice enough not to say anything. Although he sometimes enjoys pushing the hairs the opposite direction because he knows it drives me crazy. I leave them as long as possible and fix my brow when I don't think he's looking ;)

4. Mark and I won't have Internet in our new place. We aren't sure when we'll get it, probably not before the end of the year, if then.

5. I never went to any form of public school (except for driver's ed) until college.

6. I like to get ready for bed in the same way and in the same order each night. Pjs, go to the bathroom, pluck a few eyebrow hairs, brush teeth, wash face, etc. I try and make it efficient and I think this simple routine makes me not feel so displaced when life might be up in the air... like when moving 20+ times ;) I'm assuming this routine will get tossed out the window as I'll soon be getting ready for bed with someone else. I'm trying to prepare myself to roll with the punches since even if I create a new routine, Mark may not follow it and then there is no routine.

7. My brothers and I LOVED playing with legos and did so up until I was in high school. Every few months we'd bust out the legos and build entire cities that we'd set up on plywood boards (we always seemed to have one hanging around). We'd spend days building everything. Some out of pre-designed sets and others from scratch. We'd get the city all built, complete with roads, and then wouldn't really play with it, we'd just set up scenes (crashes and demolition mostly) and take pictures.

8. My senior year of high school I decided I wanted to learn about cars so I applied for a job at a local auto shop that my dad took his cars too. The guy gave me a job in the office with the understanding I could go in the shop whenever it was slow. I wore the shop shirts and overalls with my hair in brains with red ribbons and steel toed work boots (I thought they were cool even though something could have fallen on them and mutilated my toes). The guys liked to put me on projects and just stand around and watch and walk me through it. I didn't mind, I learned a lot. I remember one time when driving one of my dad's cars and it broke down, I took it into the shop and one of the mechanics helped me diagnose the problem (fuel filter needed to be replaced). I replaced it all on my own without any help and it came out perfectly! I was pretty pleased with that. I didn't have clean hands for the entire time I worked there and when taking my senior pictures tried to make sure my hands didn't show since they had black in all the creases.

New Camera!!

Here are some fun pictures we tood with the new camera. Isn't his face dreamy!!
The last one is funny! It was taken inbetween expressions ;)

And life keeps going...

We're 18 days away!! 2 weeks from today 3 of my best friends will be arriving!

And life keeps going... I still go to Starbucks for dates with God. I still pick Mark up from work (remember he has no car). I still try and figure out what to bring to work for lunch every day. We're still trying to finalize some wedding details. My car still needs new tires. I'm still running. We're still trying to be careful with how we spend our money. We're still saving quarters to gamble in Vegas ;)

Here's a SWEET thing!! Several of my friends went in together on a camera as a wedding gift for Mark and me. We LOVE the camera!! Thanks Marla, Stacey, Noell, Adri, and Trisha!! Now all we need is a little case and memory card.

I have continued reading in 2 Samuel and it's like a soap opera!! Yesterday's chapter (13, I think) was about David's son raping his half sister and then hating her and sending her away. The woman's full brother waited 2 years before carrying out a plot to kill the half brother who raped his sister. The chapters before that were about how David didn't go to battle, saw a beautiful woman bathing and slept with her. Later when she came to tell him she was pregnant he sent for her husband to come home from battle to sleep with her (apparently he wasn't much worried the boy would look more like the king than his own father). The man wouldn't sleep with his wife out of guilt for not being at battle with his men (where David should have been to begin with). Then David decided to just have the man killed! So he arranged for it to happen during battle so no one would know. Then David took the woman as his wife. But as a consequence, God killed off the baby. And in the end, David repented and all was forgiven. Doesn't seem like it should be that easy, huh? It is!

Geez!! It's like Days of Our Lives. But I guess it's more redemptive ;)