Bad Things Happen to Good People

It's amazing how things can turn around so quickly.  A year and a half ago (when I had only been on one date with RJ), I flew to the Midwest to attend the wedding of a great friend from my California years.  Kristin had been dating Nathan for 4 or 5 years, and everyone was so happy to see them get married!  Within a year of the wedding, they announced they were pregnant!  Kristin wanted to name her baby Bernadette Grace.  The end of February marked a full-term pregnancy for Kristin, and her most recent facebook status indicated how anxious she was to have this baby, followed by 21 comments from friends, cheering her on.

I got a call from her husband today.  They lost their baby.  I don't know a lot of details, but she had to go in for an emergency C-section a few days ago, and I think that's the first they knew anything was wrong.  My friend Arlie told me that they were able to hold little Bernadette briefly.  She had Kristin's nose and Nathan's eyes.  It's just not fair.  I hate this.  I know it's a part of the circle of life, but it really, really hurts.

Inclement Weather

What a week!  Forget the fact that it was 75 degrees last weekend.  This week, I don't think it's been above 30!  

RJ left on a 48-hour business trip (to Seguin, TX) Sunday night.  I know it sounds silly to anyone who's been married awhile, but it's really hard for me to be away from him for more than a work day.  I tried to keep myself busy Sunday evening and Monday.  I went for a run with Zack, caught up on some of my bridal TV shows (yes, I'm still watching them!), and worked a full day on Monday.  Well, Monday night, the snow hit.  I grew up in Idaho, and I love snow as much as the next guy... but the problem here in Texas is, when it's cold and snowy, no one comes by to clear off the road.  So you're just STUCK.  I got a text from my boss at 5:18 Tuesday morning that our office would be closed for the day.  Everyone loves a Snow Day, but what fun is it without my husband???  

Then I got a text from RJ that he was sick.  Poor guy!  RJ & I are generally very healthy people.  We eat lots of organic foods, get our exercise, and we definitely don't get the flu shot.  (Everyone I know who gets the flu shot ends up with the flu!!)  So he's not used to being sick, and I really wanted him home with me so I could take care of him.  But with the roads as bad as they were, he wasn't able to leave Seguin until 12:30 PM.  And what should have been a 4 hour drive turned out to be more than 6 hours.  But I guess I shouldn't be complaining - praise God he made it home without an accident!!  


Wednesday was another Snow Day for both of us.  Of course, we both still had to work (check e-mails, contact customers, handle issues, etc.)  But there's only so much you can do from the comfort of your apartment.  I did find time to sneak away to the grocery store (scariest one mile drive of my life!) and then I made RJ some chicken noodle soup.  


I have to say, I was glad to get back to work today.  I'm not one of those people who could regularly work from home.  I need the office environment to keep me on my toes.  So, things are back to normal.  And by the way, my patient is feeling much better.

Newlywed Life

Soooo... this is newlywed life.  I always used to think it would be so exciting and glamorous!  But it's actually a lot like engaged life!  Oh well, we're having a blast.  Here's what we've done with our first two months of marriage:


We got to spend seven blissful days in Hawaii for our honeymoon.  November is an AWESOME time to go to Hawaii.  The high was 83 every day, and the low was usually around 70.  We walked along the beach at sunset, drank mai-tais, toured Pearl Harbor & the USS Arizona, ate a delicious Hawaiian-style Thanksgiving feast, and just relaxed.  One of the highlights of the trip was dinner in a spindle-top restaurant.  Our view of Honolulu changed as the restaurant rotated.  It was gorgeous!  Funny enough though, by the end of the week, we were both ready to come home.  


Going back to work was hard, especially since this has been an unusually busy winter/fall for the moving company I work for.  We normally have crazy summers and relatively slow winters.  But not this year!  I even took on the responsibility of distributing Christmas trees to all the Home Depots in Texas!  That was something new!

Two weeks after our return, it was off to Houston for RJ's graduation & party!  Technically, he graduated back in July when his degree was mailed to him, but I think it meant a lot to his family when he actually walked at the graduation ceremony.  Also, we had celebrated Christmas with his family the night before graduation, and RJ got me an insanely cool Nikon camera with a zoom lens!!  So I was able to take good pictures at graduation. P.S. Great gift, RJ!  Keep it up!!

On Christmas Day, we got to pack up again and fly to Idaho for 9 days.  After a long flight, we spent Christmas afternoon with my brother & his family.  His kids (Avi, 4, & Loie, 1) are absolutely precious!  RJ & I "played football" in the basement with the kiddos for hours.

We spent the next five days with my parents.  I got to show RJ the town I grew up in.  And my mom threw us a party!  Kind of a second reception.  We had a great time!  As a bonus to our Idaho trip, we got to spend two days & New Year's Eve in Boise.  I hadn't spent much time in Boise since high school, and RJ had never been there, so it is a complete understatement to say we were pleasantly surprised by Boise.  What an amazing city!!  We both fell in love.


January has been all about getting back to real life.  RJ is studying for his CCNA (networking) exam, and I'm busy with work and volunteering at church.  We were also able to throw a party with some of our best friends (Jody & Gary, Brett & Diane, Jeff & Emily) one Saturday night.  So this is married life.  Call it boring; call it routine.  I wouldn't trade it for the world!

The Big Day

Whew!  The wedding is over, and we are MARRIED!  What an adventure!  I can honestly say that was one of the most trying weeks of my life... but well worth it.

It started on Tuesday, November 16th.  RJ & I were all packed up & ready to go, and my boss was nice enough to let me off very early in the day, so I was able to go get my toenails done and do some last minute errands.  RJ & I had spoken many times about what we had packed, and we were trying SO hard not to forget anything.  I was in charge of the checkbook, which was clearly a brilliant idea because I never forget anything!  We arrived safely in New Orleans late Tuesday night.  The rest of my family flew in/drove in on Tuesday night as well, but I wasn't able to see them due to the late hour.

Wednesday morning was my nephew Jack's 4th birthday, hosted by RJ's wonderful grandparents.  Now that was a fun party!  It was awesome to see my entire family (minus my brother-in-law, Brian, who arrived Friday) together at once.

After the party, the work (and stress!) began.  The first major hitch was when we went to pay the balance due on the reception (which was no small amount), and we couldn't find the checkbook!  That's right.  Me, Miss Responsible, the girl who never breaks a promise.  I had forgotten to pack the checkbook.  Thank goodness for brothers though - RJ's brother Casey was able to save the day.  Whew!  The second major hitch was when we went back to the Mardi Gras shop where we had planned to buy all our masks for our centerpieces, and their inventory had been significantly reduced since our last visit.  Luckily, RJ's cousin Jennifer, the art teacher, is a miracle worker, and she was able to design and execute gorgeous centerpieces with the materials provided to her.  Awesome.

On Thursday, RJ & I were running around all day trying to get our last minute stuff done, when we realized we hadn't heard from anyone in my family in awhile.  And they weren't answering phone calls/texts.  What the heck?  I'm the baby of the family; I'm not used to being ignored!  We found out later in the day that my dad had passed out due to low blood pressure and gone to the ER via ambulance!!  I was so scared!  By the time I heard about it, they were releasing him.  My family was smart to wait to tell me.  Also on Thursday, my sister came down with a 24-hour flu, and she was unable to attend the Bachelorette Party that she had worked so hard to plan for me.  We had a lot of fun without her, but she was definitely missed!

Friday morning, our photographer, Theodore, took some pre-wedding pictures in the French Quarter.  Then we attended a luncheon hosted by some of RJ's extended family.  The luncheon was lovely, but we got a text from Theodore in the middle of dessert, telling us that one of his two camera cards had been corrupt, and half the pictures were lost.  That was hard to hear!!  He offered to do a make-up session, but we just didn't have time.  Friday night was our rehearsal & rehearsal dinner, and I think those were the only things that went smoothly all week!

Saturday was THE BIG DAY!  I woke up early in my parents' hotel room and was ready to start my day!  My dad, on the other hand, wasn't feeling so well.  I guess he came down with the flu, and he was miserable all day.  I told him all I cared about was that he walk me down the aisle (which he was able to do).  My father-in-law told me later that my dad had his head resting on the pew in front of him during part of the ceremony.  Poor guy.  

Anyway, back to the wedding morning - my sister, my mother-in-law, and I had a hair & make-up appointment, and they served us mimosas - yum!  Two major hitches that day, and each one almost caused me to have a breakdown!  The first was when my brother, who was also my DJ, was unable to get into the restaurant and set up the PA system at 1:00 as scheduled.  The owner of the restaurant promised Ryan would be able to set up then, but no one showed up to let him in until 3:00, which is the time our family pictures were scheduled to begin!  A complete stranger saved the day on that one.  The guy my brother had rented the equipment from set it all up for him as well.  He got a BIG tip from us!  Also, RJ realized at 1:30 that he never got his tux pants hemmed!  His grandma and his Great Aunt June make wonderful last minute seamstresses.

I have to say, even though all those things went horribly wrong, when it was 5:00, and my guests had all arrived, and I was waiting in the bridal room with my mom and my sister, and the church decorations were perfect, and the flowers were better than I could have imagined, and the bagpiper was playing his beautiful song, and my dad was in the entry, waiting to walk me down the aisle, and I knew RJ was waiting for me at the front of the church... all the stress melted away, and I was intensely happy.  Maybe the happiest I've ever been!  The ceremony was ABSOLUTELY WONDERFUL.  Every single person in my family & RJ's family helped to make sure it was that way, and I am so thankful for each and every one of them.  And the best part was, when it was all over, RJ & I WERE MARRIED.

We drove in our rented truck, which RJ's brother Sean decorated with “JUST MARRIED” in shoe polish and cans strung to the back bumper, to the reception.  We had dropped our decorations off at the restaurant previously, and we were really counting on the staff to decorate it nicely, and we couldn’t have been happier.  It was gorgeous!  My anger at the fact that they hadn’t let my brother in until 3:00 disappeared.  And the reception was perfect.  We ate, we drank, we danced.  My sister & our best man Curtis gave awesome toasts.  We got to talk to everyone (I think!), and it was just a dream come true.  Thank you to everyone who was there for our special day!!!

 

Two Wedding Showers

I think wedding showers are my new favorite pasttime!  I've been to a few as a guest and even threw my sister one (rather blindly), but now I know what it's like to experience my own... twice!  

My first shower, on October 20th, was a complete surprise.  My co-workers led me to believe we were having a Customer Service Luncheon, complete with ribs and all the fixins.  I wasn't too excited, since most ribs are pork ribs, and I don't eat pork.  The party was in a portion of the warehouse we call "The Vault" because it can be locked and secured.  It's actually kind of scary!  But when I went back to see what other kinds of non-pork foods were present, to my surprise, they had decorated, brought presents, and even a cake!  And to top things off, the ribs were all beef!  How sweet.  My co-workers are awesome.

My second shower was just this weekend in Conroe, Texas.  It was not a surprise.  Soon after we got engaged, RJ's mom's best friend Kim offered to throw me a shower, and she's been keeping me updated on the planning and guest list the whole time.  There was one surprise though - Kim and Anita (my mother-in-law) got me a veil and a sash that reads "Future Mrs. Johnson" - the PERFECT thing for me.  I was elated!  Kim did an amazing job decorating and serving us the most delicious food I've had in a long time.  And I think the best thing about it was getting to know a lot of RJ's family friends and relatives that I haven't been able to spend much time with.  They are all so welcoming.  I feel so blessed to be marrying into this amazing family.

So the countdown continues... only 12 more days!

Wedding Planning

Wedding planning is, in a word, stressful.  Before you get engaged, you dream of a beautiful wedding & the perfect gown, but you don’t actually have to figure out any of the details or concern yourself with a budget until you get engaged.  Then everything changes!  All those glorious ideas you had for how everything would look… those cost money!  And lots of it. 

RJ & I decided that planning a wedding wasn’t a stressful enough endeavor for us, so we added the challenge of planning it 500 miles away in New Orleans.  Did I mention I had only been to New Orleans once in my life?  Luckily for us, his grandparents live there, and he has visited frequently since he was a child, so not only is he pretty familiar with the area, but his grandma has been an absolute gem, visiting churches and reception sites for us, gathering all the little wedding extras so that we don’t have to ship them all.  And we were able to visit one time in July, about two months into our engagement, so we could make some vendor selections and meet our pastor and the church-provided wedding coordinator.  What a relief that trip was!  I find that every time I get something accomplished, even if it is relatively small, I breathe a huge sigh of relief.  Still, I feel an ever-present anxiety, and I think I will until the wedding is over, and we are relaxing on the beach in Hawaii! 

What we’ve accomplished so far:

1.)    Booked our church/met the pastor/went over the vows. (I just need to add that I adore the church & pastor we selected; they seem to be right in line with our values.  For example, the pastor does not present us as “man and wife” or request that my dad “give me away.”)

2.)    Selected our reception venue, which is all-inclusive.  Alright!

3.)    Picked out a cake.

4.)    Chose our flowers.

5.)    Set up an appointment at a beauty salon for the morning of the wedding.

6.)    Booked our photographer – though that was pretty easy.  My brother’s friend Ted, who I’ve known since I was four (!) offered to do our photography.  He currently lives in the Boston area, but his wife is from New Orleans, and he actually got married in New Orleans!

7.)    Booked our DJ.  Another easy one – it’s my brother!

8.)    Got my dress.  This was tougher.  My sister came out to Dallas for a long weekend, and I knew I absolutely had to pick my dress during those 4 short days.  I couldn’t imagine dress shopping without my sister.  Fortunately, we found “the dress” on Day 2 of her trip.  Yay!

9.)    Selected our honeymoon destination (Hawaii!), and my in-laws were kind enough to help us out with the flight! 

10.) Sent out our invitations.  These were hand-made by my sister-in-law, Marisa. 

And my parents helped put them together.  We have received so many compliments on them.  People say they are the most creative invitations they have ever seen!

11.) Purchased numerous other wedding necessities – RJ’s tux, our attendants’

clothes, guest book, earrings, favors….  I could really go on & on.  But you get the idea.

What we have left to do:

1.)    Decide on ceremony music & reception music.

2.)    Finalize the menu – though I must say, the restaurant laid out a wonderful baseline menu for us.  We won’t have to make many changes.

3.)    Get our hotel & rental car for the wedding day lined up.

4.)    Figure out centerpieces & other decorations for the reception and church.

5.)    The only other things left to do will have to be last-minute things – getting our marriage license, putting together favors, decorating….

Wow.  It doesn’t sound so bad when I write it all out like that!  We’re almost done!  Thanks, blog.  I feel a lot better now!

Miss Gibler (Not Yet Mrs. Johnson)

Hi everyone!  If you don't know me already, I'm Valerie, and I'm getting married in 48 days!!!  I've been thinking about starting a blog for quite some time, but wasn't sure I'd have enough to say.  Now that I'm embarking on the exciting new adventure of marriage, I'm confident that I'll have plenty to share.  

Who am I?  I am a fun, responsible, healthy-food-eating, animal-loving girl from Idaho, but I have been living in Texas for almost 3 years.  In college, I studied psychology, and my true passion is working with adults with developmental disabilities, which I did for about 6 years, and then somehow made a switch to the moving/storage industry.  I love my current job as a coordinator for Suddath Relocation, but I do miss what I used to do.  I enjoy volunteering at my church in the Special Needs ministry.  

Who is my fiance?  His name is Ryan Johnson, but I call him RJ.  He is a very intelligent, hard-working, quiet person who is interested in computers, politics, history, and economics.  He is an absolutely perfect match for me!  We have many shared interests, such as traveling, exploring, Oktoberfests (or any "fest" that involves beer and good food), and walking our sweet dog, Zack.  We have a cat too (Emilia), but she isn't so sweet.   

That's all for now.  Thank you for reading!