Brack's "New" Do...and That Quiz....

Okay, so it's been cut for a few weeks...but since he never updates his xanga anymore...I thought I'd just post his pic here...

Okay...about that quiz...

1) How old do you wish you were? Hmm...I kinda like my age right now...could have something to do with the fact that I am marrying my guy at this age!! But as far as looks...I looked GOOD four years ago (2002) at the end of a summer of camps in Romania...I was 116 lbs and TAN!! I wouldn't mind looking that good, but being this age!!

2) Where were you when 9-11 happened? Umm...stuck in the Amsterdam airport. I was on my way home from a summer in Romania and got as far as Amsterdam...then was stuck in the airport for four days with no way to get home, no change of clothes, and no way to sleep or shower...yeach!! We were actually in the process of boarding the plane when they turned us around and told us we weren't going anywhere...since a second plane had hit they knew then it was no accident!!

3) What do you do when vending machines steal your money? Bang on the machine, punch a bunch of buttons, then if nothing else works...find out who owns the machine and try to get my money back...if I can't I finally give up mad!!

4) Do you consider yourself kind? I'm a "mercy"...so usually...unless I find someone to be completely annoying!!

5) If you had to get a tattoo, where would it be? I have no imagination...I'd get it on my lower back...right above my butt...where only me and my guy would see it...unless I was wearing an EXTREMELY skimpy bikini!!

6) If you could be fluent in any other language what would it be? Well, I AM fluent in Spanish and Romanian...but I'd love to know French and/or Italian. I just LOVE the Romance languages...they are so beautiful!!

7) Do you know your neighbors? Nope...I am working as a live-in nanny right now and have no clue about my employers neighbors.

8) What do you consider a vacation? No work, no pressure...just chillin'... Now I LOVE working in summer camps and visiting family...but those don't count as vacations...even if I'm off of work for that...

9) Do you follow your horoscope? Nah...sometimes I read old ones out of curiosity...to see if what was predicted came anywhere close to what actually happened...but I don't read 'em ahead of time...

10) Would you move for the person you loved? I think I already did that...just a few months ago...when I moved back halfway around the world to marry my Brack!!

11) Are you touchy-feely? Totally!!

12) Do you believe that opposites attract? Yup, it can happen. Brack and I are very much alike in some things...but we are VERY different in other things...

13) Dream job? Stay-at-home wife and (someday) mother. Entrepreneur...running my own home business!! Writer...of childrens and teen books...

14) Favorite channel(s)? WB (CW), E!, Style, TLC, Disney, ABC Family, Lifetime...yeah...I know, I know....

15) Favorite place to go on weekends? Hmm...just hanging out at Brack's...watching movies, making homemade salsa, going swimming, just hanging out with my guy!! If I could go anywhere, though (and time and gas were not a problem)...probably down to see my niece and nephews in San Antonio...with Brack, of course!!

16) Showers or Baths? Showers...definately!! Though I will probably enjoy baths more once I am married!!

17) Do you paint your nails? In the summer...when I think about it...I paint my toenails...usually a summery, shimmery color...like blue or coral. I HAVE been known to go DARK on toenails in the winter..like a dark blood red or deep purple. I never paint my fingernails though...weird thing, it feels like my nails can't "breathe" if I paint my fingernails...besides the fact that it chips off almost immediately!!

18) Do you trust people easily? As a general rule...yes. I HAVE had a lot of trust issues relationship-wise before...but yay...now I don't have to worry about that anymore!!

19) What are your phobias? Snakes, creepy crawlies of all sorts, horror movies, mice that AREN'T caged, ferocious big dogs....can't think of anything else right now!!

20) Do you want kids? YUP....but it'd be nice to have a whole year as being just a wife...before I even have to be pregnant. After that, bring on the kiddoes...evenly spaced out, of course...and about 3-4 tops...preferrably. Course, it's up to God...

21) Do you keep a handwritten journal? I have TRIED...over and OVER...but nah...most I've been able to keep up with one consistently is just a couple of months in the summer...then it dies a slow death in the fall!!

22) Where would you rather be right now? Umm...already married...so I could be snuggled up to Brack at this time of night!!

23) What makes you feel warm and safe? Curling up on the couch to watch a movie with Brack's arms around me!!

24) Heavy or light sleeper? Medium...depends on how tired I am how deep I sleep and if I drool or not!!

25) Are you paranoid? No.

26) Are you impatient? Definitely.

27) Who can you relate to? Well, I relate well with my guy...most of the time. I suppose that I can kinda relate to Jess..in that she was doing the whole wedding planning stuff very recently. I can kinda relate to some others cause we are all nannies. But really, I get along with lots of people...but as far as relating in all areas...hmm...that's kinda hard.

28) How do you feel about interracial couples? It can be hard for the couple to adjust if they grew up in different cultures...but if they both grew up in the States and just have different shades of skin...I don't see what the problem would be...

29) Have you been burned by love? In the past? Oh YEAH!! Thank GOD that is all behind me now!!

30) What's your life motto? Seize the Day!! Tomorrow is another day with no mistakes in it...

31) What's your main ringtone on your mobile? Right now...just a generic latin salsa-type sound for peeps I have programed into the phone. A VERY generic ringtone for those that aren't programed in (so I can screen daytime minute calls). I have special ones for my boss and for Brack.

32) What were you doing at midnight last night? Surfing the net...

33) Who was your last text message from? Hmm...it was in Romania... Probably Ella, one of my "Sunday Lunch Bunch" girls...sending me a wish for a safe trip back to the States. I really don't do text messages here in the States...but that is almost ALL I did in Romania!!

34) Whose bed did you sleep in last night? Mine...at my live-in nanny job...

35) What color shirt are you wearing? A grey t -shirt from Memorial Day back in 2002...I use it for a pj top now....

36) What are you listening to right now? Sunshine & Summertime--Faith Hill...off an I-Tunes internet radio station

37) Name three things you have on you at all times? Cell phone, keys, wallet...

38) What color are your bed sheets? White.

39) How much cash do you have on you right now? Umm...too much...I gotta get to the bank!!

40) What is your favorite part of the chicken? The leg...I like dark meat...and the leg is easiest to eat too...

41) What' your fav city/place? My grandpa's farm for country, San Antonio or Chattanooga for their city charm without being TOO big, Romania for a foreign country, the beach for chilling out....

42) I can't wait till . . . November 4th!! Wedding Day!!

43) Who got you to join xanga? A friend in Romania...another American girl that taught English at the same foundation that I taught English at...

44) What did you have for dinner last night? Cheese pizza...

45) How tall are you barefoot? 5' 4"

46) Have you ever smoked? Never...I got really sick because of cigarette smoke when I was a baby...oxygen tent in the hospital and all that...so I have never been tempted to try smoking...though I don't mind the occasional cigar or pipe smoke around me...it's a sweeter smell than stinky cigarettes...

47) Do you own a gun? Nope...and only ever shot one off once at a friend's house in the country. I don't really like them. I am not anti-gun...I just don't like them around me. Which is gonna be interesting, since Brack likes guns...

48) Water or tea? Water...with plenty of ice. Some lemon in there is great too...

49) What is your secret weapon to lure in the opposite sex? I have no idea. Guys in the past seemed to like it that I was just a friendly person to everyone...and didn't try to flirt. There is no explaining why Brack loves me...but I'm glad he does!!

50) Do you have A.D.D.? I doubt it...if I get involved in something I hardly get distracted...whether it is a book, a movie, or whatever...

51) What time did you wake up today? 7:15am...when my snooze went off for the second time!!

52) Current worry? Just that everything will work out great for the wedding and after...that it won't rain on the day of the wedding, that we can get the bridesmaids dresses done on time and looking beautiful, that Brack and I can make wise work decisions...etc....

53) Current want? At this moment? Food...my tummy is growling at me. Overall want? To be healthier and to lose a few pounds before the wedding....

54) Favorite place to be? Anywhere with Brack...

55) Where would you like to travel in the future? Back to Romania. To Italy and Ireland. On the QE II on a cruise around the world. (It didn't have to be a realistic wish, did it?)

56) Where do you think you'll be in 10 yrs? Location-wise...no idea. Otherwise, I see myself and Brack as having 2-3 kids, a house, and hopefully our own businesses...so we can homeschool our kids (NOT with ATI) and have a flexible schedule!!

57) Last thing you ate? Umm...a couple chicken nuggets and a few tater tots...when I fed Makena her dinner...

58) What songs do you sing in the shower? Umm...usually stuff I can sing pretty well with some lung power...like "When You Say Nothing At All" or "Amazing Grace"....but it just depends on my mood...

59) Last person that made you laugh? Brack...he's a nut!!

60) Worst injury you've ever had? Broke my big toe a few weeks before my college graduation...and two days before I had to sing in a choir program for two hours in high heels!! Messed up my knee climbing a mountain in Romania a few years back and it still gives me problems sometimes. Fallen on my tailbone too many times to count and injured it pretty bad...That's about it....

61) Does someone have a crush on you? My SOMEONE does!!!

62) What is your favorite candy? Chocolate...European chocolate...like Heidi, Milka, and Poiana....SWEET!!!

63) What song do you want played at your funeral? No clue...what a weird question!! Like it is gonna matter what they play at my funeral...I won't be there!!

Currently Listening To: Dragostea Din Tei by O-Zone (The Numa Song)

Dancing kids, country music, and so on...

Well, Peter and Sheryl were out of town last week for most of the week...so Sheryl's mom came in and we took care of Makena together.

Makena now has five copies of that crazy t-shirt and she wore them ALL last week!! She also came down with an ear infection and the croup while her parents were out of town and so she stayed home with me and her grandma a couple of days last week and two days with me so far this week...and more than likely will stay home tomorrow too!!

Well, even though Peter and Sheryl are not fans of country music...they may end up with a daughter who is...if she sticks around me too much longer!! Makena LOVES to get down to country music ( I will have to see about posting a video on here of her getting down one of these days)...and has even hollered "yee-haw" a few times in the car....hehehe!! I may start playing some of my WOW cd's too...just for some variety...and cause my former nanny charges (Sera and Skye) loved to listen to them so much in the car back in the day!! They would specifically request..."play the spinning around song" or "play the yeah-yeah song"!! Hehehe!!

Well, last weekend we started addressing envelopes...and this weekend we hope to get the invitations printed. Brack thinks I am the coolest fiancee for letting him "evite" a bunch of friends from tehC...instead of sending them traditional mailed invitations. However, I said that family, the wedding party, and anybody who would consider evites tacky should get a regular invitation. So anyway, we are sending both invitations and evites off by the beginning of next week at the latest...yay!! We also went shopping for the attendants gifts and I am proud to say that I have MY attendants gifts bought...at least!!

Good news...the majority of the things I had to leave behind in Romania is coming!!! YAY!! My fam was supposed to bring it in the fall when they came for the wedding...but now that they are moving back themselves there didn't seem to be any way for the stuff to make it back...which was both annoying and disappointing...as that stuff accounts for about a third of my worldly belongings...one third being in storage in East Texas...the other third being either at my live-in job or over at Brack's apartment!! Well, now it seems that most of it WILL be making it's way back to me by way of other missionaries...with the exception of my sewing machine (the loss of which is a bit disappointing...but, oh well)!!

Anyway...I decided that my blog NEEDED updating...so this is it...

I will come back later to fill out the survey that has been making the rounds...gotta go "steal" it from one of the girls!!

Meanwhile...I am listening to Gretchen Wilson. Those of you who pick on me for listening to her...you be nice!!

Currently Listening To: Here For The Party by Gretchen Wilson

I Can't Sleep...

I am tired but can't sleep...so I just decided to change the look of my blog...and blather on a bit too!!

How many of you have had to deal with a kid having an all out temper tantrum? Yesterday I went to Ross to see about buying a couple pairs of capris for wearing while doing my nanny job...cooler than jeans, but covering more than my shorts do...and the only ones I brought back from Romania with me were of the pretty short variety!! Anyway, while I was there someone's little girl got REALLY mad and started a screaming fit...and it went ON AND ON!! The parents really didn't deal with the screaming until it really started getting on people's nerves. I swore then that MY future children will never get away with that!!

THEN today I was the one who had to deal with a temper tantrum. Makena has a favorite t-shirt that she loves (it makes no sense, since she has such cute clothes from some pretty nice stores...but this is just a generic tee from her daycare). Anyway, she wore it today and all was well...UNTIL bathtime rolled around...then the fit started!! She began screaming for the shirt and would not be distracted. I even tried putting bubbles in her bathwater, but to no avail...she kept crying and screaming till I thought she was gonna make herself sick!! She finally calmed down fortunately after her bath so that she was no longer screaming when her parents got home...but she was still whiny and cranky...meh!! Again, I swore that my future children will never get away with that!!

In other news...Brack has strep and I haven't got to see him in two days...I miss him. At least there is the phone, though convos have to be kept short so as not to strain his throat. It is now 87 days till the wedding and there is still much to do...but at least we have the church, reception hall, honeymoon locale, and my dress squared away.

We are all registered too...at Bed/Bath/Beyond, Walmart, and Amazon.com. Brack of course had to add a few joke things to the registry ;-P Last night I got about 70 packets of bird-safe rice made up...yeah, I know it's a bit early...but I felt the need to do SOMETHING and get it checked off my list. I bought the petals for my flower girls, a toss bouquet, and the garter (the "something blue"), and the cake knife and server. The glasses for the toast we ended up getting at IKEA...a totally cool store, in my opinion.

BTW...Brack got a haircut...he is shaggy no longer...it's short and spiked now...

There are some weird things on TV at night...like plastic surgery, "In Living Color", and lots of infomercials...

Tomorrow I need to burn a cd for Jess...it will have some Romanian and Spanish songs on it...hehehe!!

Okay, I ramble...gotta try to get some sleep now...maybe I'll be able to sleep now...

Currently Listening To: Somebody To Love by Queen

WOOOOT!!!

WOOT!! Well, this week's goal was deciding about a dress. So I went to this dressmaker on Thursday...she does awesome work...I had seen her fashion show at the Dallas Bridal Show last month.

What she told me is that she could do a very simple medieval style dress WITH the sheer long sleeves like I wanted but WITHOUT the lacing in the back like I wanted...out of a softly draping fabric that was reversible (I could either go with the silky shiny side, or the soft crepe-type side) and she would trim the bodice and the sleeves with some lace from the Phillipines. The price she quoted to me for the custom-made dress, with two pressings and the bustling...was $389 plus tax. Sounds awesome, right?

But I still wanted to explore my options...so Brack and I hooked up with the new Scumblats yesterday so that Jess and I could check out more dresses while the guys hung out. The list of places to check out were Alfred Angelo, David's Bridal, and Group USA. So anyway, at Alfred Angelo I tried on two dresses just for fun (the moms would def not approve of them--one was strappy and one was strapless--but I thought they were cute). The third dress I tried on was GORGEOUS!!! It was not white, but rather what they called "candlelight"...and it was WOWOWOW!! Jess and I both agreed out of all the dresses we saw yesterday....that was the most gorgeous (see pic above--the dress above is white, though)!!Unfortunately...the price was not so "gorgeous"...it was $869!!

So then we headed over to David's Bridal. We found several possibilities and I wanted to try them on...but their customer service left something to be desired!! Finally they let me have a room. First dress...strapless, but with a lace "coat"-type thing that has a train...also gorgeous...also expensive at $649!! I followed that one up with a couple of nice ones that were on sale...but they didn't just scream out to me....so I moved on.

The next one, I have to admit...when I first looked at it...it didn't just stand out to me as spectacular...then I put it on, added a tiara and a veil...and VOILA...a princess was looking back at me in the mirror!! Seriously, I have felt conflicted about the whole wedding thing. I think secretly every girl wants to feel like a princess on their wedding day and I am no exception...but I detest frou-frou and floof!! This dress however was perfect...enough to make me feel like a princess without feeling like I am drowning in floof!!

I went ahead then and tried on the last one...which was very similar to the one that the dressmaker could make for me...and it was nice, but didn't have the same oomph as the previous dress...besides the fact that the wedding is in three months and they didn't have it in my size!!

So I decided that I really didn't care to look any further and to go with the dress that made me feel like a princess!! The dress was originally priced at $699, but had been marked down to $199...then the girl came back and said it was on sale for even less...it was one of the ones on sale for $99!! Then when we got up to the register it rang up as $99 exactly...I had forgotten that it is tax-free weekend here!!

So now I have my dress!! It will need some hemming...but my mom can do that...she did my sis-in-law's dress hem the night before the wedding (when the dressmaker had goofed the hem length). I will also still have to pay for the bustling and pressing...but at $99 for the dress...I can afford to pay a little for those things!!

Another WOOT---this one from last week...

We decided before trying to order invites out of a catalog and hoping that the printers would get everything right and back to us really quickly...I mean...those invites need to go out in like a month...that we would check out making our own.

So we headed to Michael's and started looking at craft paper and trying to figure out how exactly were we gonna do this. Brack headed off down another aisle and I (being the talkative, outgoing person that I am) struck up a convo with a girl who was picking out some scrapbooking stuff. I told her that we are gonna try to make our own invites and such and she told me what she had done for her wedding...then she headed on around the corner. Later, when Brack and I were still trying to figure out how we are gonna do the invites, she came back and told us they have kits for printing up your own invites...with response cards and envelopes and such...a few aisles over!!

Well..to make a long story short...we got 100 blank invites...that ended up being on sale...for like $40!! AND we found matching blank programs too!! How awesome is that?

Currently Listening To: Unwritten by Natasha Bedingfield