Engagement Shots, Check!

We had a fantastic time yesterday with our AWESOME photographer, Travis Hoehne, shooting in downtown Dallas and the Speedzone. I can't wait to see the results!

It turned out that Travis was going to be in Texas for a workshop this week. Since Cent lives in Dallas, I figured it would work out nicely if we had our engagement photos taken where he lives, since we're having the wedding in California. Plus, it was unknown and new territory for Travis as he is from California and has had several photo shoots in the Bay Area. It was so fun!

We shot around the Dallas World Aquarium (also where we went for our first anniversary) and took some awesome action shots. ::cue Chariots of Fire music:: Then, we went to have some fun. For a unique twist on engagement photos, we went to Speedzone where there were also have the debut of Mario Kart for the Wii. We were able to borrow the Mario and Luigi hats from the Mario Kart people and Travis shot us while we raced. So fun! Then we played a round of putt putt golf, something we'd been wanting to do since we first started dating. Even though we didn't keep score, I won! I got two holes-in-one! It was probably the best round of mini golf I'd ever played. So many thing just fell into place, it was so great!

I'll definitely post some shots when we get them!

Sick + Allergies = No Fun

I can do math. Simple math, as shown in the title of this post.

Well, it's been a hellish week and a half. I somehow jumped on the bad luck train and caught the flu, battled it, broke my hard drive, and got my butt kicked by my allergies and the crazy wind.

On the flip side, I did get a promotion at work and an office which I have personalized to the max. I held a mini sage ceremony (mostly me waving around sage incense that wafted down the hall) to expel all of the bad chi and juju from the office that was previously inhabited by a weirdo. I believe that it has been sufficiently cleansed and disinfected. I can start fresh.

I still have a raspy voice which I think is a result of a dry cough that started from my allergy attack. I'm hoping that once this week is over, I will be well again. I just want to get back to normal and start working out again (didn't think I'd write that!).

Keep your thoughts to yourself

So, I've been hit by some bad luck.

I accidentally dropped the external hard drive that I work off of for all my projects. Yes, I know that I should be working off my computer and backing up to the hard drive. Apparently, I attend the school of hard knocks. Case in point. So when I picked it up to see if it was still working, it started to make awful beeping noises. I didn't even know it could beep. Well, FYI, it can. And beeping is usually a bad sign.

While my natural instinct is to go into panic and freak out mode, all of that is too much for me right now. Besides having potentially lost all the data that I work with on a daily basis, by head feels like it's in a vice. This problem is being put on the back burner for now. I'm hoping that our IT guys can salvage a couple of folders, otherwise I will be attempting to rebuild about 100 gigs of data. My life is fantastic.

Now, I'm going to only think stress-free, positive thoughts. I think that when even an iota of a negative thought passes through my head, it gets repaid in karma. I know it's silly to think this, but with my luck, something really bad could happen. I'm keeping my negative thoughts to myself, well, as much as possible anyway.

Feels like Summer...

And yet it's only April 13. It's been a fantastically warm weekend and I've been working on reclaiming my summer color. My legs are sadly pale (for me) and have serious contrast against my dark denim Bermuda shorts. I saw a picture of myself from 2003 and I was super brown. Oh the days of walking to class and getting some Vitamin D instead of being trapped in a grey cubicle. Alas, it is what it is. Maybe we can migrate lunch outside, then again, with typical Bay Area weather, it might be back to 60 degrees by tomorrow.

The reception venue hunt is on going. Funny how we're contending with a couple in Michigan for our officiant. Oh well, I'm letting it go and then going with whatever we have. All I want, at this point, is a firm date so that we can book a reception venue. How about I win the $10,000 on Radio Alice? Then I won't have to freak out about the costs. But, then again, I don't really want to throw away $10k. I'd rather put that into a house or pay off some student loans.

I'm blown away by some people's budgets. I understand that it's expensive to get married in the Bay Area. But I don't think you have to spend $35k?! on 100 people?! Am I just cheap? Sane? Smarter than the average bear? (All of the above...) I guess there are those women who want to have the "wedding of their dreams". I feel like I can't stress enough that a wedding lasts for a day (a few days at most) and it's the marriage that has to last forever (or should). And if you spend your life savings on a day, is it really worth it? Will you be able to go to bed knowing that you spent (or your parents spent) more money on a day than a car? two cars? medical schools student loans? I wouldn't.

This isn't to say that I don't want a nice wedding. I definitely do. But I'm working with a budget. I'm perplexed at how desensitized I've become over the last month at reception site minimums and pricing. I'm still appalled by some of the pricing, and then feel even more sick when I see some of these people on TheKnot who are booking those places. I know how much they are spending. Part of me thinks it's awesome; the other part of me thinks it's freakin' ridiculous. I'd like to see some statistics on how many of these couples are still together 5 years out. I hate to be so cynical, but I think I'm being real.

That being said, I think my main contenders are: Sunol Valley Golf Club, Wedgewood Banquets at Metropolitan Golf Links, Castlewood Country Club, Dublin Ranch Golf Club, Courtyard Marriott, and Newark Hilton.

I like the idea of a golf course setting. Sometimes I wish we were having an outside ceremony because it would make some things easier, like no travel time between the ceremony and reception. Oh the decisions. If only we had a date.