Blog Challenge Day 18: Our Wedding

Good Evening Humble Readers...

Why is it that whenever we change the clock, no matter if we spring ahead or fall back, I end up exhausted?  I literally did next to nothing today, and I'm pooped. 

Anyway, today's assignment is to tell you all about our wedding.  I did a post on our second anniversary about our wedding... the theme (whimsical), the colours (red, white, with a splash of yellow), things that made our wedding unique (lollipop bouquet, candy buffet, cupcakes, and goldfish).  It was a very happy day, and even though it was stressful leading up to it, I am so very glad we decided to get married quickly... less than a year after we first met face to face. 

Because we got engaged in October and married in April, we had to hurry up the process a bit.  I had to find my dress on the rack (not easy for a plus size gal... but miraculously I found the dress that I had already fallen in love with, for far less than I was anticipating spending), a venue for the reception (actually had it booked two weeks before Beloved proposed), and a photographer who wouldn't charge us a bloody fortune. 

All while working full time, with my Beloved living 10 hours away, and taking care of my mom as she had surgery to remove two cancerous lesions from her brain (in February)... It was a bit insane. 

So, it's no surprise that a very important detail got overlooked in the run up to the wedding.  The shoes (very cute strappy sandals) that I bought were very comfy for walking around in, but I didn't think to practice just standing in them for more than a half hour at a time.  By the time I got to the church, after the prep photos, and all the pics with my parents and my sister, my feet were already aching.  Then I had to stand at the front of the church for more than 30 minutes trying to focus on what the pastor was saying and not thinking about my squished toes.  I was never so relieved as when I got to sit down to sign the licence. 

When we got to the park to do our portraits, I couldn't take it any longer... I had to take the sandals off.  Thankfully I had thought to buy a pair of platform white flip flops, just in case.  They totally saved my bacon.  I ended up wearing them for the rest of the night. 

And my poor, long-suffering Beloved ended up carrying my sandals (and my purse) all over the park as we had our pics taken.

*****
When I woke up this morning it became apparent why my hip was so very sore yesterday.  The Halfling has dropped WAY down.  I can breathe so much easier today, even though I can only waddle.  I don't look as pregnant as I did a week ago because he/she is so much lower. 

Funny moment of the day... I was standing in the kitchen this morning, and my belly was against the counter.  I wasn't leaning, but the Halfling musn't have liked the counter touching me... he/she pushed me right away from it.  It was hilarious.

Show & Tell: A Cop-Out and A Grateful Heart

Hello Humble Readers...

(Before I get to my Show & Tell, an update for you. Yes, AF has shown her face. Yes, I feel silly for being sooo hopeful, but am ready to move on to a new cycle with renewed optimism. One interesting trend I've noticed in my last three cycles now... my LP seems to have gained half a day. Odd. It's been making the end of the last couple of tww's rather confusing. I am now going to operate under the assumption that my LP is now 12.5-13 days, which should be a good thing, right?)

Ok, so on to S & T part one... Otherwise known as the part where I cop-out. I have no new pics this week, so I am reverting to some old stand-bys.

My Beloved and I had our engagement pictures taken in the same park where we had our wedding pics taken. Although our engagement was short, we still wanted something to commemorate the time. We had gotten engaged in October (he proposed on a pizza... but that's a story for another time), but the pictures were taken in mid-February.

The first is one of my favourite pictures of my Beloved (ignore the double-chin sitting beside him)... I love his smile and how relaxed he looks.

How did I manage to get such a looker?

The second two pics are of us in the same location... just two months apart.

All through March and the first half of April I was praying for some leaves to pop, so that it would look at least a little like spring in our pictures. The week before our wedding the park took on that lovely shade of pale green and the leaves were on their way.


And now for my homework... it was actually fairly easy for me to pick a Show & Tell post that was more than memorable for me. But before I tell you about the post I need to tell you a little about the author.

A little over a year ago I started posting on a TTC message board that catered particularly to Canadians. I started to get to know people, learn the lingo, and had begun the crazy up and downs of this road. One of the people I got to know through this time was the Steadfast Warrior. We shared the excitement about the prospect of being moms and month after month we cheered on each other and the others on the boards. We both got BFPs last summer, and we both miscarried at around the same time (my first loss, her second).

We had moved from the ttc boards to the pregnancy boards to the miscarraige boards together. We cried on each others shoulders via the internet, supported each other (and others on the same road) as we dealt with the grief and anger. Eventually, we both moved on to trying again.

When I experienced my second loss, she was there. She read my rants. She sent me emails to support and encourage me when I disappeared from the boards. And she encouraged me to blog. She told me about the ALI community, and about the support she received here. And she cheered me on as I picked myself up and started again... and when I started to blog.

At one point, shortly after we lost Olivia, I clicked onto her blog, and it happened to be this post. It made me laugh, as she often does, and it was exactly what I needed. I want to say thank you, Lindsay, for being a friend and a support and a cheerleader. Blessings on you, girl! (and your little bean, too!!)

Ok, so now that the sap-fest is over... head on over to Mel's place and check out what everyone else is showing this week! And don't forget to bring your homework!

Show & Tell: Two Whole Years

This is my first time participating in Mel's Show and Tell... so I hope I do this right. :)

This week we are celebrating our second anniversary. I can't believe that it's been two years already! I am so blessed!

I decided to share a few random pictures from our wedding. These are all things that illustrate the theme of our day... whimsy! As you can likely already tell, I chose red and white for our main colours for the wedding (with a little yellow and orange thrown in for contrast).

We wanted our special day to reflect us... and as neither of us is particularly elegant or sophisticated we thought that trying to be that way at our wedding would be silly. Most of all, we just wanted to be relaxed and have fun!

Instead of a wedding cake, I chose to do cupcakes! Not only was it a whole heck of a lot cheaper than a wedding cake, but it set the mood entirely. And they tasted great (even if the red icing did stain my niece's face).

Instead of having fancy little bags of almonds or other froo-froo favours to give away, we had a candy buffet. At the end of the Valentine candy season, I stocked up on cinnamon hearts, candy hearts(the ones with little messages on them), jelly beans, chocolate kisses, and m & m's.

We had little red and white chinese food take out boxes with our 'Thank You' tags attached with our signature red and white polka-dot ribbon. Everyone was able to choose what they liked and have their own little stash of treats for the end of the night.

Our service was presided over by a wonderful lady who is a children's pastor. We were fortunate enough to be able to have the service in the church building where I grew up (even tho I no longer attended there). Pastor J, who presided, chose to use "Everything I Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten" as a part of her sermon. It was absolutely perfect and a total fluke!

My niece, R, was our flower girl. When we went looking for her dress, I had no real picture in my head as to what I wanted for her. But when we saw her dress... white and foofy, with red rose petals in the skirt... I fell in love! And so did she! She was a real trooper that day, four years old and trying on dress after dress. Seeing as she had flowers on her dress, I chose for her to carry a bouquet of lollipops. She was very excited, until she found out that she was going to have to share them with her brother, N. N served as a very special usher (I think that almost six is too old to be a ring bearer, so he walked my grandmothers, and my mom to their seats).

The last picture I want to share is one of my favourites from that day. We had the majority of our pictures taken at a park in my hometown... and as it was April, the trees were just starting to bud and leaf out. The grass was particularly soft yet, and that combined with my aversion to high heels, I quickly changed from my pretty strappy sandals, to a pair of platform flip-flops (totally hidden by my dress). As we made our way around the park that afternoon, me fighting with my dress and veil, my beloved was extremely helpful... he carried my shoes and my little handbag without embarassment and in true manly style.

I love remembering that day. It went by so fast! I loved every minute of it. I'm so thankful to have such a wonderful man in my life... supporting me through all our ups and downs. He is my best friend, my soulmate, my beloved.

Don't forget to stop by Mel's to check out what the rest of the class is showing this week!