Mr. Bentley reading the paper

Okay. The engagement party is over which means that all of the work to mom's house is over too. I am engaged to a wonderful man. I have a wonderful, supportive family. I am healthy again. Business is moving along steadily. People in our business are being removed from our lives. How much happier can I be? Oh yeah!

I am taking the time to count my blessings today!

Bentley gets a little snip

Today I attempted my first use of the clippers which is mighty better than using the scissors. More even than the scissors, but still not perfect. Next time we won't look like the rats got you, will we Bentley.

All better!

Just a few residual small red spots...but sooooo much better!

so so sleepy

This last week has taken its toll and i am ready for a long winded sleep. stupid medicine has been messing with my sleep. adjusting medication tonight. its 7:34 pm, do you know where your sleeping tonight? i do, and i off to bed!

over and out

Day three on the 'roids

Looking better, but not 100%. There are now mostly just red dots on my face with a few bumps.



Still not feeling and 'roid rage as Kendra says. Phew!

Mr. Bentley is here snoozing next to me and looks so cute.



He's so cute when he sleeps. ....and then he wakes up and barks at Gary.

SO happy it's Friday! More painting in store for me this weekend. Mom is doing a facelift on her house before the engagement party on the 26th. So, I am up to my eyeballs in paint. Kendra gets reprieve this weekend because she has some dancing thing she already paid for. She got a full weekend in last weekend though, heh! Hopefully this will be mostly the end of it this weekend. Then it's on to the other projects mom has lined up. Installing a new mailbox, new door, lights.... The list never seems to end~ I am not sure how the current post on mom's mailbox is still upright. This woman has been living with this thing like this for years! It won't even nail on to the post anymore. Se everyday, she stops at the end of the driveway and puts a the box back on the post after the mailman has knocked it off putting junk mail in. We have had a PO BOX for several years now, so she doesn't really receive much mail anymore. But she still get the junk mail plus a few other tidbits and the thing is still is on the ground everyday! The wood has been eaten so much by termites that it is completely hollow.

So, this week, she finally gets a new one and hopefully a thank you letter from the mailman :)

Oh the itching!

This is getting to be old. I am ready for this stupid thing to be finished! The steroids are s.l.o.w.l.y helping, but i only have two days left of them and am hoping this thing is done by then. If not, I guess I'll be back at the urgent care again.

On the bright side, at least I have gotten a little forced vacation...although not my idea of a great time.



Day two on the 'roids.

It's official....I'm allergic to myself

I have been home all week with a very bad allergic reaction...eh...to myself. It all started in 4th grade when apparently, I got so stressed out from this teacher I had that I left school a month early to deal with hives. And, I have learned over the years that they apparently never go away. In periods of stress, I get them again. It's just, usually, I only get them around my joints, below my lip, or on my stomach. Well, this time, I must have been freakin' stressed out because I got them on my face and down my neck. It was oh so attractive. They got so out of control that I am now on steroids. But, I have decided to make the most of it and start working out in hopes that I will quickly bulk up and look like a champion body builder.

Yesterday...pre steriods




Today....post steriods. Lookin' good people!

An engagement....

Being engaged is a very weird and surreal experience I have decided.  I still have a hard time referring to Sean as my..ehem...fiance.  Sounds weird.  Thankfully he is having the same problem, so we have just resorted to calling each other boyfriend and girlfriend for now.  It will be even weirder to use the word husband.  ack!  

This wedding business is such a racket!  I, of course, have started doing a little planning by at least booking a venue to have the thing at.  Things get filled so fast!  In looking around at all of the things to buy, it amazes me how much people spend on weddings!  The venues alone are outrageous!  It's crazy!  I am desperately trying to keep the costs down because it kills me to spend that much money on one day when it could be used to invest in something...anything tangible!   I have decided to wear my mom's wedding dress, which will not only save a ton of money, but it will make it all the more special.  Thank goodness she picked a very classic style that is still nice for today.  I tried it on a couple of weeks ago and left her house smelling like formaldehyde.  ick!  Had to shower after that one.  She had had the dress "preserved" so to speak in this box.  It was actually still white and not discolored at all....and the seams still were intact.  bonus! I think I am still going to have them looked at to verify their integrity.  I don't want another incident like the one I had at the Mark of Excellence awards.  (my beautiful vintage dress that I bought still had the original beautiful vintage thread holding the thing together that all popped loose during the ceremony.  Let's just say the entire thing self destructed before my very eyes.  It wasn't a pretty sight.  And neither was the jean shirt I was forced to wear over it the rest of the night!)

So we have pretty much settled on a date.  May 22, 2009.  It will be exactly six years from our first date.  It is kind of weird trying to actually pick a date.  There is no real significance to any one date, and if you are trying to make it meaningful, what date do you choose?  One of my friends just picked a date because it "felt like a special date."  Nothing really came to me other than the 22nd of May.  So, it is a Friday night, but will be great anyway because (a) hopefully things will be cheaper and (b) I will be able to have an evening wedding.  

It still amazes me how many people pay attention to these types of things.  I didn't even have to tell anyone that we were engaged...most everyone just ran up to me screaming.  "Is this new?!"  "When did it happen?!"  and "It's about time!"  Mostly the latter.  With my favorite being "It's about bloody time!"  In some ways it seems like forever and in other ways it has flown by.  I can't believe we have been together that long.  All that dreaming and planning we have done is finally here.  It's very surreal.