Don't tell Dad!!!

So I went to the florist yesterday and after the second meeting with them finally got a price quote (which about made me puke). I thought as I was hearing her read everything back to me "this might get a bit pricey". Oh boy was I wrong. It was beyond that. If I gave you 3 guesses I bet I would have to tell you higher each time. I never knew I liked flowers so much.

......Wait that's the thing I don't. I like simplicity. When this wedding started I was going to have the bridesmaids carry down a sing stem Calla Lilly and now everyone has a bouquet. I also came up with the wacky Idea to have flower balls hanging from the ceiling of the tent and on gardeners hooks around the ceremony site and 16 roses per vase for some centerpieces.

I think I went a little over board. So now we take a step back into reality and revamp my ideas.

Back to Simplicity/Reality!!!!!

Lets just say the price that she told me made my dad use the "F" work followed by no. As I tried to explain to him I know....I know..... I just did not want to look like an idiot saying oh my, we just sat here for a second 1 hr session and now I have to do it all again, start over. Sorry Lady but I need you for another hour. Mom just says quietly after I pulled her in the other room and said "don't tell Dad", "maybe you should try to knock off a few thousand". OH YEAH a FEW THOUSAND.

So how much was the bill going to be?!?!?!?! 8 grand. Yup 8 stinking grand. Who the hell needs 8 grand in flowers. Not me!!! So trust me mom more than a few thousand is coming off of that bill and dad can stop cursing and let his blood pressure settle.

So I resorted back to reality and simplicity and now I think the bill will be one I can bring home and introduce to daddy-as long as he has had a few :).

2 Months Left

I have two months left of unmarried life which is beginning to sound better and better as it gets closer. I think the reason it is sounding better is because I will no longer have to be planning a wedding, calling vendors, finding addresses, contemplating weather or not we have everyone on the address list, cleaning mom and dads home (getting married there), or asking people for help on different tasks which I feel I should be doing. It will be over I will be happily married and calm for a while, well, until we decide children sound like a good idea.

I have spent the last week sorting through details like napkin folding, wine glasses, guest books, and music (special songs). I feel like I am going to explode inside every time I start running through my "To Do List". There is just so much to do and I feel like the water just keeps getting deeper and deeper no matter which way I turn and try to get out. The worst thing is that everyone keeps telling me all this work and that one day will go by sooooo fast. I don't want it to go fast I want it to last for ever or at least long enough for me to enjoy it and not worry about what else is going on.

I am excited and scared, happy and sad, tired and eager, and every other opposite combination of emotions you can think of.

I think the thought that saddens me the most is losing my Niese name. I love being a Niese not just because you can blame any inappropriate/annoying mannerism on the blood line, but because it is a name with a lot of meaning to me. I love sharing the family name and pride myself on being a Niese and having the family I do. Losing that name is like losing part of myself, although I guess you never really lose it you just hide it for a while.

Maybe a hyphen would be cool. Kristen Joan Niese-Schnipke. Or maybe I should make him take my name?!?!?!?!?! That would be fun.

Adding humor to a hectic life.

This past weekend was not all fun and games, we were supposed to clean the whole house for our cookout and that did not get done. So you would think we would have had a little fun but NO, well I guess I did. I went out with friends a couple nights later in the evening for a few drinks. But even then my night not only took a turn for the worse I lost sleep too.

Paul and I both are finishing up with chest colds and his seemed to hit him harder than it hit me. When Paul's was finally clearing I decided to go out and have a few drinks. returning home around 2:30-3 I lay in bed and he begins to fidget with his hands. I am thinking another work dream but NO. Come to find he was scratching uncontrollably. The bright lights at 4 in the morning revealed a rash covering his upper body and swollen hands (twice the size of regular hands). at 5:45 after about 45 min of sleep he can no longer stand the constant itching so I brought the tough man up to the ER.

There they said he had an allergic reaction to something (what we may never know). They gave him a shot of steroids and Benedryl and sent us on our way, but not without a parting gift of one sore butt, one whining mouth ("I need a numbing shot for my butt"), and a great incident to pick on him for.

He is getting better now for all of those who found sympathy for him in this story. Although he will never live down the conversation had at the ER.

Paul: "which arm do you need?"

Nurse: "We need to put them in your butt."

Paul: "OK!?!?!"

Nurse: "Drop your pants. And FYI these steroid shots can be painful."

Paul: "OH I am tough I don't mind shots/"

Kristen: "Paul, really they do hurt, I have had one they ache."

Nurse: "Yup they sure do"

---and then the shot---

Paul: "That was not so bad."

---the nurse leaves---
-----5min later-----

Paul: "oh my God my butt hurts. I need a shot to numb this pain. It feels like there is a knot in it. It really hurts."

And that is about when the pacing started for him and my uncontrollable laughter began.

Great trip!!!!!!!!

Some days.......

Some days I want to sleep in till noon.

Some days I want to eat until I explode.

Some days I want to watch CSI re-runs all day.

Some days I want to cuddle with Paul on the couch while we both doze off.

Some days I want to lay in the sun all day long.

Some days I want to go shopping with intent to buy everything I like.

and then there are the days of my actual life where I spend 7am-6pm watch 4 children who on some days (most days) I would like to ........well we won't go there. During that time I also try to sneak in studying for a math exam, planning my wedding, planning practices for varsity volleyball. Than from 6-8 I usual work out while I think about my wedding, my math exam, volleyball, and why I can't win the lottery and never work another day in my life. If I am not working out I am at volleyball thinking about how my body needs this work out because I not only have a lot to do before the wedding I also have a lot of weight I want to lose.

My day ends with going home and taking a bath while planning more wedding stuff and or trying to catch up on my cousin's blog and or planning volleyball crap. I usually make it to bed around 1am and then back up to do it all over the next day.

Fridays I have a day off and sure you say well that's nice you should get a lot done. NOPE!! Volleyball open gym 10-12, training session, 1-2, and softball 6-8 and my house needs clean. I need a clone or just a reality check and someone to slap me in the face and say

"STOP you are too busy, don't add on planning a cookout, picking up another day of volleyball (other than Mon open gym, Tuesday at the Y, Thursday bar league, and Friday open gym), or anything else I like to pile onto my already hectic life. I know this is all my fault, I am just venting/giving myself heck for being so busy.

All the things I wish I could do on my "some days" I never really get to do. I am too busy to sleep all day, watch TV, cuddle, lay in the sun and shop (plus I need the money so I can't shop) and I can't eat until I explode because that is no where to be found on my diet plan.

Some thing needs to go but what?????

I have been out of the loop

I have been so busy trying to plan the wedding, we took a trip to Alabama for my cousins wedding (which was a blast), I have been sick all in 2 weeks. I think I need a vacation. Is it wrong for me to be looking forward to the honeymoon almost more than the wedding, when me and Paul are finally going to get to spend time by ourselves and actually relax away from the tuxes and the dresses and the loud parties.

Don't get me wrong I can not wait to become Mr. and Mrs. Paul Schnipke but I think all the stress that goes into planning a wedding makes anyone long for a much needed break to the beach and/or remote cabin in the woods. We are lucky and actually get both of those things the day following the wedding we are headed to Hocking Hills and then after our volleyball season is over we are going to Mexico, Riviera Maya to be exact. I am looking forward to both trips.

I now have 2 1/2 months left and am semi lost I started thinking about all the details that need done such as napkins for the bar and times vendors need to get into the hall and when the tent is going to be set up and..... and..... and..... Ahhhhh------HELP!!!!!!

So ya still freaking out but wanting it to be here and over with so we can start our new life together as husband and wife. We have our first kick off the wedding parties party next weekend so getting back into blogging is a way to keep me out of cleaning for now. Most of our wedding party is coming over for a cookout and some cocktails. It will be fun and then a month later my shower will be here and then 3 weeks later my baccalaureate party and the 2 weeks after that is the big day (I think my timeline is right anyway).

Alabama was a great get away and a beautiful wedding; free wine, you can't go wrong with that. Well one can, if they drink too much which was my case and it went really wrong that next morning. Enough that the thought went through my mind of a dry wedding.......ha.......putnam county ya right nobody would show, especially our wedding party!!!

House and vehicle damaged by Tornado
Garage destroyed by Tornado
House which lost roof while woman slept in her main level bedroom (never woke up)
House demolished along with 2-3 Morton buildings

Long Weekend

"I can not upload pics right now (not sure why) as soon as I can I will upload the pics."

It has been a wet and windy weekend here in Putnam County. A tornado swept through the Glandorf area on Friday night/Saturday morning at 12:30 am (about a mile away from my parents home and 1-2 miles away from ours) and around 1:30 our basement flooded due to lack of power.

Paul and I spent from 1:30 in the morning till about 3 bucketing out water (approx. 750 gals). Then at 3 my dad finally arrived with a generator and it was a bit easier to sit around and drink beer while the pump did all the work. So we made it to bed at 6 am and were supposed to be up around 7 to have our engagement photos taken, needless to say we canceled our pictures and are now preparing to take them this weekend.

The tornado did quite a bit of damage as it ripped through an area deemed Schroederville, due to the amount of families who live there and have the last name Schroeder. I believe in total 8 houses were damaged one being pretty much leveled, another lost the roof, one lost a garage, many trees were up rooted, and many barns were damaged.

The pictures I took do not due the devastation justice. To see it in person looks horrifying and the pictures only give you a minute idea of what it looks like. My heart goes out to all the families that had destruction done to their property and I hope Putnam county has seen the last of its natural disasters for years to come.

....and the Jitters Begin

I was looking at the calender at work today to confirm what days I would need off for the wedding, honeymoon, another out of town wedding, wedding preparation (can I just take the summer off) and I think my pre-wedding day jitters began. I am not sure if it because the thought of getting married sounded more like this is it, you and Paul the rest of your lives, together forever, until you die, oh my gosh that is a long time. Ahhhhhhhhhhhh!

Regroup..................

It also may have been because I noticed I now have in reality 3 months left and have a lot of things to complete yet. The fact that our countdown was supposed to official start after the tux fitting but did not really set in because not many of the groomsmen could make it and now that we get engagement pictures taken in 42.5 hours could also be contributing to the nervousness I am experiencing.

My heart is racing just thinking about all the stuff I have to do yet. I don't know how I am going to last 3 more months (it is my honeymoon yet????) I want to wake up and everything is planned and it is the morning of the wedding but then I would miss a lot of things that hopefully increase the joy of that day (those that do not make me have a nervous breakdown along the way anyway).

Priceless Treasures

While cleaning out the old fish/pet shop, which is attached to our garage, I found so many old tools, old containers which were used to hold pet food, and other old odds and ends. It was really fun to see all the old supplies in it with my grandmother's handwriting written on them.

While cleaning, I came across 2 boxes labeled "bench" and being the curious individual that I am, I decided to open the box and put the object together. It was a fun little project and even sentimental because I know at some point my grandmother had the idea of putting this together.

The bench turned out rather nice although while putting it together (nothing was open yet not even the bag of bolts, nuts, and screws) there was one piece missing, and the directions were for a similar but obviously different bench (it gave the right directions only extra steps and parts that were not included in the version we put together).

As I said it is a nice little bench, it was scary to sit on at first, worried it would crack due to old age. Now the problem is....where do I put it, so many choices.

Example of Restlessness

As I stated in an earlier blog, I am the type of person who likes to stay busy (but also complains that I have too much to do and am always tired). Well today is a prime example of how restless I can become.

Paul and I finally have a day off together which he does not want to spend out doing yard work, which does need done but to keep our sanity we thought we would take a break for once in the last 2 months. This is something I have been waiting for for a long time, and what is my reaction to this new found laziness he is displaying...

"Let's do something like go on a walk, on a picnic, SHOPPING (to finish purchasing our engagement photo outfits), anything to get out of this house and use up this energy I have left before I grow too old to use it anymore or even have it."

I don't know why I always feel I have to be doing something, I guess the normal 8-10 hours of sleep that I get a day may contribute to my activity level (but oh I love my sleep).

Oh well yard work will wait, we will be lazy, and my restlessness will continue until I become tired later in the day and decide naptime or bedtime has approached.

Sun Rises are Beautiful....

.....especially when they come with a few bottles of wine (and a bit of beer), a camp fire, and great friends. You know the whole thing about trying to stay young by staying up late, well last night I was 17 again. Katie, Jamie and I sat around the camp fire last night acting like top notch boy scouts keeping the fire going when it got cold, stirring it when the coals need oxygen the whole nine yards.

We talked about the past, the future, the wedding, and anything else we could conjure up (the conversations got more and more pointless but yet the time we spent out there was fun and you know how they say time flies when you're having fun...well time flew.

When one of us finally spoke up and said "man I am getting tired" it was 4:30am. So we packed some things up and heading inside only to discover that our sleep would not come easily due to our hunger and what better than pudgy pies on the fire at 5 in the morning. So we roasted pudgy pies on the fire and ate and laughed some more and gasped as we watched the sky gradually get lighter and lighter (it was really neat to watch; it has been a long time since I have seen that, like 6-7 years).

Then finally at about 2 till 6 we decided it was time for bed. They slept on the pullout sofa and I went to stealthily crawl in to bed as to not wake Paul, ready with an excuse like I just got up to get a glass of water. Although as I lay down cautiously, low and behold his alarm begins to blare through the silent air. He switched the noisy thing off look up at me, frozen in my get in bed quite cause it is late, pose and began to laugh. Our conversation was short due to my drowsiness.

Paul - "I see you girls had a fun night!"

Me - "Yup"

Paul - "I have to go into work for a bit, you get some sleep and when I get back we can do yard work, cause if you sweat it out you feel better."

Me - "I don't believe you, I am going to sleep for a while you wake me up when......no don't wake me up at all I want to sleep.

So our campfire was great along with our conversation, wine, beer, company and our sunrise, well, that was bittersweet; beautiful yet exhausting.

All in a days work.

Although being around children all day can cause you to lose you sanity there are certain measures you can take to make your day a little less hectic. That is............bring in a bit of humor.

Summer has officially begun!!! yay!!!

Summer officially begins for me when our summer league volleyball starts and we have a reason to stay up late and act like young college kids again and drink till we have to take work off the next day (not me I have Fridays off - sorry Paul). And that starts tonight with our first game of the season at 11pm.

The last 3 years we have won the tournament at the end of our 12 week league season although this year we may have to suck it up and give away our winning streak. I purposely scheduled my bachelorette/bachelor party in the mid of August since the end of August is usually when tournaments are. Well a couple friend (the guy is on our team ) of me and Paul's, getting married 2 weeks after us, decided to schedule their bachelorette/bachelor the weekend after ours which falls at the end of August.

So my initial thought was that we would need to find 2 guys to play in that day while Paul and John celebrate John's bachelor life by golfing (since Paul is in the wedding). Well this year time frames have changed we started earlier and their are less teams so either tournaments will be at the beginning of August -or- on OUR bachelorette/bachelor party day. If that happens we are in a pickle since everyone on our team........is in our wedding.

So here is hoping for a fun season full of lots of beers and laughs. Since it will be depressing if we can't take the prize money home this year. Oh well as one of our teammates/bridesmaids stated "if they fall on the same day we have better things to do that day then play volleyball." - I agree. I'm getting married we need to celebrate my single life - and oh what a good one it was (not as good as spending the rest of my life with you though Paul)

~I guess we will find out what will happen with the end of our summer tonight when we get the schedules. Cross your fingers "August 9th, August 9th, August 9th".

Our pre-wedding decisions.

When Paul proposed to me he handed me a round solitaire white gold perfect fit ring and then almost wet himself as he told me about the wrap HE picked out for me to go on and use as our band, and asked me over and over if I wanted to see it (he was a little excited about it).

Although he may have still been shaking from nervousness a bit also because it took him asking me 3 times before I remembered I had to say "yes" instead of "gasp" gasp" "ahhhhhh" "om my, really" and as if that and tackling him was not enough (geesh what does he expect I have been waiting for 4 years now).

Anyway half way through our engagement we (or I, can't quite remember) decided WE wanted to get a band to go with it also. So the beautiful wrap (which remember he picked out himself) was fitted to the solitaire and I now have a larger engagement ring and a band for our wedding (NICE!!!)

-Again WE decided this, I want to stress that although there may have been a little bit of encouraging on my part. Which only adds more truth to Paul's famous words "what do women want?" ANSWER= "more".

Wedding Count Down

I have been very organized with my wedding plans and it is a pleasant surprise since the rest of my life is as unorganized as one can get. I have all of the major things booked, I have most of the minor stuff done and am working on minute details now.

Tonight my sister and I are going shopping so she can help me pick out what to wear for engagement photos (my hardest task yet). I want something cute yet nice looking, young yet mature, and dressy yet casual where and the heck do you find an outfit that fits that description. The answer is you don't, you find 3 and that means Paul gets 3 too (poor Paul).

You know what not poor Paul all he has to do is change his shirt. He is getting out of the whole picking 5 out trying them on putting 2 back trying 9 more on and putting them all back than going to another store and trying on 6 more.......................(I am tired already can I go home).....

~but that also means I do not have to put up with the inevitable whining that comes from him when we shop for anything other than tools of food. Win-win I guess but I am not sure it is totally a win for me.

So tonight after work my sister and I embark on a, more than likely, nerve pinching quest of finding color coordinated outfits for Paul and I and another shirt for Paul's daughter (who also will take a few photos with us).

Although after these pics are done the count down really begins. Pictures at the end of May, wedding party cookout at the end of June, bridal shower at the end of July, bachelorette party mid August and it all is a build up for the Sept 6th wedding, I don't think I can wait much longer....when is it going to be here. The count down begins.

When will I learn??

I have found myself at a fork in my path. I am not one who loves, or for that matter even remotely likes cleaning, but due to the anal ways that my fiance's upbringing has brought him to regarding cleanliness (everything has a place and everything in its place) I feel I am beginning to develop a desire for wanting my place to look like a home and not a dorm room anymore.

"Thanks for gradually tearing me away from what remained my last hope at staying young dear" - Luv ya

I guess it is time for me to accept that if I don't make such a mess I won't have to fight myself to clean because it would not take hours to get it cleaned to Paul's discretion (that's Mr. clean to you).

So I am embarking on cleaning out our garage which is already a nasty feat within itself, with spiders and bugs and whatever else could be lurking in a 50+ yr old garage and old pet building. On top of all these wonderful things I had decided that when we moved in I would keep my 5 cats in there.

~ which multiplied almost immediately to 12 (one large liter) and then back down to 10 and further down to 8 and then up to 11. Then there were 9 and we are soon going down to 0 (maybe 2 - both fixed though) so I can get a dog.

Anyway their lovely presence has made that garage even more filthy than before. So tonight I dive into that mess and hopefully check one large job off my list. Again when will I learn???

Mondays need to be removed from the calendar.

I think for one year they should swap the Mondays and Fridays. Fridays should be the start of your week and Mondays the end. I think more than anything the word has embedded itself in our vocabulary as a term which means...suffering through 5 days of sheer H-E double hockey stick. If they were only to switch the words for a while maybe the word would lose some of its bad reputation.

Anyway... My Monday started out very typical. Paul kisses me goodbye as I, still with my eyes closed, half sit up in bed and say our normal byes and I love yous; see you tonight when we get home and continue with the yard work (a 2 month process so far - if it grows back God wants it that way let him do his job, dang weeds) and then come in and lay down, him on the couch me on the chair in utter exhaustion and await an hour that deems appropriate to actually go to bed. See I think we wait around to go to bed because we do not want to admit that we are getting older and need the sleep. "Look at me I can stay up until midnight" - I will just need a nap sometime tomorrow, a coffee, and 2 mountain dews that's all. After Paul leaves in the morning I go back to bed until my alarm rings usually 15-25 min. later and then I spend 2 minutes trying to talk myself out of getting out of bed just to get my phone to call in with a headache. "Get up you need the money, soon mom and dad will be giving you ALL of your bills, since your getting married and it is not appropriate for a married woman to have her parents still paying her car insurance, cell bill, and school loans." - but they can do it as long as they like I don't want them to lose all there responsibilities, that is when roles start reversing and children start looking out for and taking care of their parents - I am not ready for that!

And so I rise out of bed, do the usual routine, which only takes me 5-10 min. since I do not have to look like anyone important for my job and out the door I go by 7 am (oh I am not a morning person). I do not think I am completely awake until I actually get to work, which is a 30 min drive, you know what I think I am still half asleep and I am and hour and 1/2 into my day. I wonder when I will wake up. Maybe after my afternoon nap since I was up late telling myself "see I am still young I can stay up till the AM's, I am NOT getting older."

I think tonight I will pull an all nighter!!!

Here I go watch me try something new!

Bare with me as I get the hang of this whole new activity. Like many of first time bloggers out there (hoping I am not alone) I am unsure of where to start. My cousin blogs and reading her blog and talking to her is what got me started thinking about creating one myself. So here I am world, be prepared for some less than perfect grammar and some awful spelling if I forget to use my spell check. While contemplating a place to start where better than to get you up to date on what I have encountered so far on My Life's Path.

Childhood: I grew up like many children do carefree and wild. I grew up next to my grandparents (at least until I was 7 then moved 5 minutes away). Time spent with my Grams and Gramps are one of my most treasured memories from my childhood. I was close and still remain close to my cousins with whom I spent a lot of summers with at grams and gramps' house and their cottage. These times did not last long enough for any of us. As time goes on things change and they sold there house and the cottage after my grams had health issues in 95 and then in Nov of 2000 when my grams passed away (the worst day of my life) life did not so much change as it stopped completely for a moment and went in a totally different direction. I still hold on to the memories and although they mostly make me cry I smile knowing I had that time and I am blessed to have shared it with such special people. Those are days one never forgets.

Growing up: I became more active the older I got and participated in Dance (14 years), Swim Team (8 years), Volleyball (6 years), and other activities like softball, gymnastics, and choir. I had a large group of friends throughout high school and always had a boyfriend (When I dated it was long term or no term). After high school I found myself in a bad relationship which took a while to realize the severity of. After much growing up and developing a bit more self confidence I was able to see my way out and into a better life.

My better life: I graduated in 06 with my Associate degree in Early Childhood Education and then in 07 I graduated with a 3.9 (small ego boost) with my bachelor degree in Psychology, concentration substance abuse ( I have to complete on math test to actually have the degree - but it states I graduated - just no certificate yet). I currently work for a family as a nanny, they have 4 children (9, 7, 4, & 21 months) - oh am I busy there. I actually took over the job for my cousin to whom I owe thanks for the job and the idea to start this blog. I coach volleyball year round and play whenever I get the chance including on a summer co-ed league at a local bar. And for my most exciting news yet I am planning my wedding which is 4 months away - AHHHH. Got a lot to do yet. My fiance and I live in the house where I grew up next to my grandparents, which actually used to be their home when my dad was little. Paul, my fiance, is a sweet man, when he wants to be and is an excellent cook, laundry doer, and dishes washer, among many other talents - his momma taught him well. He has a 9yr. old daughter who thinks she is 16 but a sweet heart none the less. I am excited to start my family and hope I can raise them as well as my parents raised my sister and I. I love my family very much and am excited about the new phase in which I have found myself.

Well that is me in a LARGE nutshell I hope I did not scare anyone away, again I am new and as of right now writing what I know - the basics. Who knows where my path my lead me but I sure plan on enjoying sights along the way this is just going to be the place where I can store more memories along the way.