So far no floaters

We got new fish (and 2 frogs) Saturday. They survived the critical 24 hour mark and I think they may live now.

A bit of back story - when Jim was moving (early Feb) he took the fish tank apart and put the fish in a bucket to be moved. All survived the move except one jumper. He landed on the kitchen floor.

The remaining 4 lived in that bucket on the kitchen counter for several weeks because we needed to get a tank stand.

Finally got a tank stand, set up the aquarium again, filled it up and then the waiting game began. Test water, try to balance Ph, lower ammonia, etc etc etc. Thought we had it ok and put the fish in.

Dead in less than 24 hours.

Oops.

A few more weeks go by - vaccum, add water, add water treatment. Think we have it set ok again. I picked up some fish and another frog. Fish lasted about 28 hours. Frog survived.

At this point I have decided I have a black thumb when it comes to fish and won't buy any more fish. I'll just buy frogs.

A week or so later frog died. We think he got too hot. The heater was heating up too well and we think he cooked.

Oops.

Did some more testing of water, got it figured out again and Saturday we decide to add 2 frogs and 4 fish.

So far so good. I think it's because I didn't pick them out :)

Wedding Countdown: 5 months to go

5 months until the wedding!

In addition to what has been mentioned in my other post a month ago I have:

- Ordered our cake topper
- Ordered our knife and serving set for the cake
- Ordered champagne flutes
- Ordered personalized napkins
- Decided on the officiant for the ceremony
- Picked out the basic design for our cake
- Have bridesmaid and MOH gifts
- My MOH has ordered her dress
- The bridesmaids are making final decisions on their dresses

Still alot to do but it'll get done.

Surprise

I found this on my laptop this morning when I got up:

Day 2 of Spring

and we got about 4 or inches of snow.

Sigh.

The average high for this time of year is normally around 50. The rest of the weekend is supposed to be in the mid to upper 30s.

Did I fall asleep and miss spring?

Signs of spring

It looks like spring may arrive sometime after all. For a few weeks I really thought it would just never stop snowing.

This weekend our backyard bird feeder saw a bunch of action. The cats and I spent some time at the sliding glass door watching and saw robins, finches, a woodpecker, and a blue jay.

We bought a bird feeder for the front yard this weekend. Spoiled cats will now have bird watching out the front window as well.

Hopefully we'll see our first 60 degree day of the season soon!

Willow the water bug

Wedding Countdown: 6 months

Six months to go!

At the six month mark I've:

- Secured the ceremony and reception location
- Picked out invitations
- Purchased my wedding dress
- Hired our photographer
- Decided on the basic idea of how to wear my hair and what kind of veil/accessories I want
- Have someone(s) lined up to cater the reception
- Picked the flowers I want
- Started my registry
- Have someone lined up to do our cake and flowers
- Picked my maid of honor and bridesmaids
- Have a basic idea of what to put in the bridesmaid and MOH bags

I'm feeling pretty good about what is done so far.

One word

After reading a post on Scrapshare and seeing some great layouts I decided to take this challenge.

If you had to describe me in one word what would it be?

Feel free to leave a comment with your one word.

Wedding things

I'm finally settled on colors.

I have been changing my mind on colors several times in the last month or so. Jim has jokingly asked me what are this weeks colors? :)

I'm finally set on black and aqua with silver as an accent. Since I agreed to not have a pink Barbie wedding the flowers will be pink and white and maybe some yellow gerber daisies.

Melissa and Heidi have helped me find some cute bridesmaid dresses. The dresses will be black with an aqua sash or ribbon.

I ordered some samples of invitations and can't wait for them to come in! They have daisies on them and they look great in the catalog and online but I'll know for sure when I hold them.

Oh, I mailed back a check and the rental agreement for the reception site today. I feel like things are slowly starting to come together.

Date and a Diagnosis

We have a wedding date. It is officially 8/23/08. This date came about because we wanted something in summer and warm weather. Also a date in 2008 that was not too far away but far enough to be able to plan.

Jim thought of 8/23/08 and I thought it sounded good. We were originally looking at 8/30 but that is Labor Day weekend. 8/23 it is.

I heard back from a place about the reception site and it is available! She is sending me the rental agreement and I will just need to send it back with a deposit. Yippee!

As far as diagnosis, I have viral bronchitis. I've got some cough syrup with codeine for nighttime and an inhaler to help me get some air when I get on a roll with coughing. I'm starting to feel better already but it is sure slow going!

Next on the wedding list is to decide on colors and start dress shopping!

Any day now

this cough will end, right?

I had to get chest xrays today and I have a Dr appt tomorrow afternoon to look at said xrays and hopefully find out what is wrong with me.

Oh, and I'm waiting for a couple places to call me back about having our wedding reception at their location. I really want to lock in a date.

Not much else going on.

5 things I really miss

Remember how in my last entry I thought I might be getting sick? I was right. I got that nasty virus going around that leaves you with a horrific cough even you feel 100%.

I have had it for several weeks and I'm now thinking it's just part of me and will never go away.

Because of how often and how hard I cough it's causing me to miss several things.

1. Being able to sleep on my stomach. I am not cut out for sleeping propped up on 2+ pillows for weeks at a time.

2. Singing in the car. Singing leads to coughing which leads to choking and gasping.

3. Speaking a whole sentence without coughing.

4. Eating. My appetite is only about 35% returned

5. Sleeping through the night.

I hope this goes away soon. I just want to sleep on my tummy for a whole night without waking up choking and gasping.

I said yes!

Jim and I got engaged Friday night :) We had planned to do our gift exchange just the 2 of us on Friday after the hockey game.

We were back at his apartment and I was telling him he needed to open his gifts because I was super excited (I got him a leather jacket and a bread machine that he's been wanting) and he said that he wanted to give me my gift first and he proposed!

I said yes (obviously lol)

It took about a day for it to really sink in and I really don't think I've stopped smiling since Friday.

I don't have any pictures yet (he's been sick and I think I'm getting sick) but as soon as I have some pictures I'll update this poor neglected blog.

This may turn into a wedding planning blog before long :)

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas!

Christmas shopping

I am about 90% done with my Christmas shopping and the UPS man and I are just about on a first name basis. 2 days in a row last week I came home from work and followed him to my door.

I still need to a few more things and get some things mailed off to my family and then I'm done!

The only task I don't look forward to that much is wrapping everything.

Not much going on with me - looking forward to some upcoming vacation!

Real Men of Genius

Have you heard those beer commercials on the radio? I normally flip stations when commercials come on the radio but I always stop for these and I heard a new one tonight about "Mr scoreboard proposal guy" Funny as always.

Not much else going on. Saturday I went to Cedar Point with Jim and his boys in Sandusky, Ohio for the day. I'm not big on roller coasters but I like spinny rides so it was fun :)

The best part? There's a Chick-Fil-A in the park! Had a nice lunch there. We were there from about noon till after 9pm on Saturday and then drove back - long, tiring day but lots of fun!

And so he's not left out - Hi Dad!