Mrs. Stephen Paul Jones

Well I did it. I got hitched to my best friend :) I didn't know it was possible to be this happy. I am so incredibly blessed. We had a beautiful outdoor wedding, in which for the record I won the weather bet, and on top of that we had standing room only. It blew me away just how many people came out to support us. I didn't get the final count, but it was well over the expected 50 people. Of course not everything went off as planned, but that makes for some great stories to tell our grandchildren one day. Like the lost shoes, the attacking bees, Justin throwing his sermon at us, the nasty communion wine, or my hubby locking us out of our house on our wedding night. Yep we definitely got some good stories to share down the road.

For our honeymoon we stayed around the area and got some good old relaxing in. It was soooo much needed. I can't even begin to tell you how nice it was to not have a care in the world for a few days. And it totally stunk having to get up this morning and leave my hubby sound asleep as I went to the popo.

So something odd happened during the time we had off. I fell in love with my husband's coffee. If you know me, you would be falling out of your chair as you read this, for thanks to Haiti, I so don't drink coffee. But something happened, and I actually found myself taking a sip of his coffee and a wowzer moment occurred. And thanks to the little timer button on the coffee machine, I enjoyed 3 cups of heaven before going to work this morning. Odd I know...

88 hours...

...and counting! So earlier today I realized that we are 4 days away from getting hitched, and if you look at it in hours we are exactly 88 hours away. That's like no time at all. Eek! The excitement has definitely started to settle in and realization has hit me that in 2 days people will start arriving. I have 2 more days of work, a house to clean, and people to welcome. It is soooo stinking close. And the giddiness and realization has definitely settled in. There is like a huge grin on my face...cheesy I know.

Yesterday Andrea and I got pedis and manis. It's been years since I have had nails on, and it is so odd typing! But it was so nice to get pampered for 2 hours. I was so loving the massage chair! The best news of all is that I found $9 wedge flip flops that are perfect with my dress.

Last night my besties threw me a "bridal brunch" for dinner. It was so nice having some of my closest friends together to celebrate my love life! It was a good mixture of work and school friends. It reminded me of just how loved and how much support I have.

P.S. I feel like it's Christmas. Presents are coming in. My parents are sending boxes of our kitchen stuff. And then the whole excitement of people coming and the wedding it reminds me of the anticipation of Christmas!

Just a reminder 88 hours until I marry my best friend!!!

One week...

One week...one week...one week...EEK! I can't even begin to tell you how excited I am to marry my best friend in exactly one week. I feel like I am in a bit of a dream land to where it's hard to imagine that I am getting married in 7 days. It's just mind boggling. When I wrote out my New Years Resolutions on January 1st, one of my things was just to go on a date, a simple date. That's all. If someone would have told me on January 1st that 2011 was going to be the year that I got married, I would have laughed in their face. But seeing where I am now, I can honestly not imagine not having Steve in my life. Simply can not. People often ask me if I am happy. And I can honestly say, I have never been this happy in my entire life.

Yesterday I had my first "anxiety" freak out. I think that's pretty good considering we are only a week away. We were shopping for the last few items on our to-do list, and bam it hit me. The stress of everything. All at once. It was overwhelming and very hard to explain how I was feeling. I have tried to keep all of my opinions and feelings at bay, and it kinda got to the point that figuring out how much Tull was needed was too much for me to handle. And I almost snapped. Well I kinda did, but in a controlled way. Internally I was screaming for a paper sack to breath into before I completely broke down and cry all over the store. Externally I was a nervous wreck, constantly moving my fingers, very kind of like just taking an med neb tx. I's hard to explain.

I want to please everybody. I want everyone happy. A lot of people are offering their help with the wedding, and it's getting overwhelming. I can't take everyone's ideas, there is a limit to where I have to step up and say "thanks, but no thanks". It's hard for me to do that. But I am to the point that I don't know what I want vs what other people want. Does that make sense? However we couldn't have planned this wedding without the help of soooo many people.

I hate the thought of being the center of attention. And this is the one day that I will be the center of attention, not Steve, but me. Now that's anxiety in and of itself. Oh well.

My face is starting to break out a lot. It takes me to the good old days growing up. It's due to the stress. And it's ticking me off. And no matter how much I wash my face and use ointment's to prevent break outs, I still break out. Let's just say "thank God for makeup"!

I think I am starting to ramble alot, so I am signing off for now.

hello weather.com!

So since today is almost over, we are officially to the 10 day countdown. That's right the 10 day forecast is almost here and that means I get to pay very close attention to my wedding day weather - which I am forecasting as being sunny with a slight breeze and in the upper 60's. Beautiful weather! Yes I am very stubborn and am believing that it will be a fantastic day for my outdoor weather.

Last minute plans are quickly coming together. I honestly believe we will be able to pull off this shindig. I may be cool and calm on the outside but internally the "eek...omg I am getting married in a week and a half...oh crap" moments are starting to set in. It's hard to imagine that in 10 days I will be married and have a hubby. How odd to imagine. I got paid yesterday and had a bizarre thought that "next time I get paid I will be on my honeymoon!" I think I am more excited to just get away with Steve, away from the stresses of life, and just enjoy some time together then I am to get married. We desperately need some time away together. So soon!

Steve works in the evenings, and so I spend my evenings around the house and usually end up chatting with Brittany. I love talking with her. She has become a good friend of mine. I find myself excited to come home from work just to talk to her and see how she is doing. I am sad that she is sick, but happy that I have become good friends with her. I love you Brittany and am excited to come visit you soon!

Me love you long time.

Expecting a emotional love blog dedicated to Steve? Ha well that's so not what this is. But quickly let me update you on the wedding plans. My dress came in! Only two people have seen it, my friend's mom who altered the bust, and Kaytee. It needed to be brought in by a couple of inches. She did it last night, so now the dress is hanging in the closet ready to be worn. I have to wear heals with this dress, as it sits on the floor with flip flops; but with the heals it just grazes the floor and looks really good plus helps with posture. I personally love the dress and was thinking of going to Columbia and getting a shawl for it, since it might be a little chilly outside. But today Kaytee came over and saw the dress on me, and totally got the best feedback from her. She loved it on me and said it was perfect and that I was glowing. It totally helped ease my nerves. I am just so paranoid about it looking good on me...especially cuz all eyes will be on me. And might I remind you that I hate being the center of attention. And the thought of all these people watching me, just makes me straight out nervous. I am so thankful for Kaytee's reassurance.

Not many people know of how deep Kaytee's and my past is. We go back a long ways, even before CCCB. We have been there for each other in almost all of life's huge moments in the past 7 years. She has known me at my worse, when I was making stupid boy decisions, and at my best. She has lived with me in college, overseas, and here in Moberly. We have had crazy moments in outhouses, orphanages, hospitals, cafes, dealerships, etc. She knows me better then a lot of people out there. She has seen me grown up. We have had our moments, especially the past yearish, and I have greatly missed her being part of my life. She was my best friend. It's like a part of me had died, when we stopped talking last August. In the past week it got to the point of being too much for me, and I decided to stop being stubborn and apologize for our problems, and as a result we have moved on and started being friends again. It's like picking up where we left off before our problems started last summer. A huge part of me regrets not having her in my wedding. She deserved that maid of honor spot. And part of me wishes she was. Not a lot of people agree with that, but it's how I feel. But what's done is done. Last night I went over to her house, and I can't begin to describe how it felt to spend time with her, with a clean air around us. It's like good friends reuniting and moving on. It's like the old days. It was much needed. I can hang out with a lot of people, but it's never the same as just her and me. No one compares. It's hard to describe it for others to understand. We have both changed a lot in the past several months, and it's a good change. We have grown up, cleaned up our acts so to say. I am proud of the way she is raising Carigan and I am even more proud to call her my friend. Me love you long time Kaytee.

Anyways back to the wedding, yesterday after work I stopped by the beauty school and made hair/makeup/nail appointments for the 21st and 22nd. The overall picture is definitely coming close as we are making last minute plans. My sister bought her plane ticket yesterday, and the thought of seeing her and Matt in a little over 2 weeks is quite exciting. I am so ready for Steve to just start staying here at the house at night instead of leaving to go to his place. It's really getting old him living in 2 different places, especially when most of his free time is spent at our house or at work. It stinks when he leaves at night to go back to Kevin and Laurens. But in 2 weeks it will all be over. Anyways I am tickled pink that I get to marry my best friend in 16 days.