#71: Wedding

Phil was in a wedding today. So many weddings lately! Anyway, I love when we get to take nice formal pictures together. I made sure to wear the same color as Phil :-) Aren't we cute!

#70: Wedding Dress

Today I finally got my wedding dress back from my dad's house. And of course, I immediately tried it on when I got home. Who wouldn't?! I was shocked to discover that the thing still fit me. I was certain that I had gained an abundance of pounds since my wedding day, but to my surprise (and delight) it just wasn't true! And I totally forgot how much I LOVE this dress!
Phil and I are going to get some more pictures taken in our wedding attire. We really don't have any pictures of just the two of us from our wedding, so it will be nice to get some. And now that I know that my dress still fits me... Woohoo!!!

#69: Talking Bird

This is Ariel. He is my mom's bird. Ariel is funny, at times, but for the majority of the time he is loud and obnoxious. He likes to yell a lot and make really annoying squaking noises. But, he is a bird and that's natural for a bird. So I'll let it slide.
Ariel's favorite things to say are:
"Saaaarrrraaaah!!!"
"Are you hungry?"
"Mama loves that Baby"
And he will also say "Hello" when the phone rings. And then he will proceed to say "okay. okay. okay. Yeah. Uh-huh. okay. okay"....like he is really talking to someone on the phone.
It's hilarious!!

No Internet

Unfortunately our free internet has met its demise. This is why I haven't posted any pictures all week. We have decided that internet is important enough to us that we will begin paying for it ourselves (another adult decision. Go us!). But we won't get it until next week.

I am at Starbucks right now, utilizing the free internet service they provide. Maybe we should move next to a Starbucks...? Unfortunately though, I have forgotten my camera at home. So, still no pictures will be posted.

Until further notice, just use your imaginations as to what I have been seeing every day. Actually, it's nothing impressive at all.

#68: Slippers

These are my favorite foot wear. I realized today that I wear these things ALL the time. As soon as I get out of bed in the morning, the slippers are on. As soon as I get home from where ever I have been, the slippers go on. I've had these things for many many years. I'm not entirely sure when I got them. But I know I had them in college.
I wish that I could wear them to work. Maybe one day I will try it. The handbook doesn't say anything about slippers!

#67: Broken Goblet

I broke my wedding goblet!!! It just tipped over on the counter and busted in half. I was disappointed. I made one for me and one for Phil, for our wedding. Hopefully I'll  be able to glue it back together. Phil said that we can just go make another one. Actually, what he said is that we can make one every year, for our anniversary. We are going to have so many goblets!!!

#66: Who put leaves under our bushes?!

Phil and I came home one day to find that our lawn had been raked and all of the leaves were under our bushes. Huh? That's weird. We still aren't sure who did it, or why they would put them there. But....there they are. And there they remain.

#65: Lunch with a Friend

I love when I get a chance to hang out with a friend, one-on-one. It is so nice and lovely. Today I got to hang out with Kristin. We went to Panera because it's Kristin's favorite place to eat. I'm not fan, but I did manage to find something that I liked. So win win!

#64: Apple

That's right. It's an apple. I ate this for lunch. 

( I just couldn't think of anything else to take a picture of today)

#63: Love is....

I fully agree with this coffee mug!

#62: Old Stories, Creepy Kid

I was going through a box of papers and such I had from grade school, only to discover that I was kind of a creepy kid. I was reading some of my old stories I had written, and they are all a little bit morbid in some way. I wrote a story, complete with pictures, about a squirrel getting electrocuted. I wrote about my friends and I going to summer camp, and for whatever reason the mob shows up and kidnaps everyone in hopes of getting a ransom from our parents. In the end, the mob gets away and the FBI kills all of the campers thinking that they are the mob. What?! That's just bonkers.
I think I had a few issues or something. I'm not entirely sure why everything I wrote was so tragic. Interesting. Or at least a little bit concerning.

#61: Prom Dress Shopping

I know what you're thinking. I'm too old to go to Prom. But it was such a glorious time, I want to relive it!!!
Well obviously I'm joking. Prom, and everything to do with high school, was anything but glorious. Of course, I somehow managed to get on prom court, and then was voted prom queen. I'm still not sure how that happened. But regardless, those years were anything but glorious. I would not care to relive that.

But anyway, no this prom dress shopping was for my friend Michelle. She was in need of a beautiful dress to wear, so we traveled to St. Louis in hopes of finding the perfect dress.
Michelle must be an easy shopper, because she found her dress almost immediately. Of course, like any girl, she wanted to try on the whole store before she actually admitting she loved one of the first ones she tried on.

A successful prom dress shopping extravaganza!!

#60: Double Shifting it

My poor feet! Today I had to work a double shift. Working 12 hours in a retail store is no fun. My manager couldn't come in for the evening shift and I couldn't bribe anyone else to come in, so I was stuck working that shift as well. I came in at 9:30 this morning and finally got off at 9:30 tonight. It was agonizing!!

And to make matters worse, the weather outside was terrible so no one was coming into the store. Apparently they thought saving their lives and seeking shelter from the tornado was more important. Who does that?!

I'm starting to feel like I live at Christopher and Banks. I even dream about work, which makes it so much worse.

On a side note: Wearing sandals to work does not keep your feet from hurting.

#59: Old Passport, Meet New Passport

Well, I guess I should have just waited a few more days before I got all distraught about not getting back my old passport. Apparently they don't mail them together. Weird. But whatever they want to do, I guess. I was so excited to get back my old passport. Obviously, the new one has some living to do in order to even remotely resemble the old one...which looks like it has been through the ringer a time or two.

Let's reminisce about where the old passport has taken me through the years:
Panama. My first trip out of the country.
Costa Rica
Thailand
Japan (just the airport though, no stamp)
Peru (twice)
Columbia (just the airport though, no stamp)
Dominican Republic
Kenya
London (just the airport again)
The Caribbean
Canada. Does Canada count?

The old passport has been to so many places, and I just hope that the new proves to be as faithful.

#58: Out with the plastic, in with the sun

We finally took the plastic off our windows! It's so amazing what the sun can do for you. I love opening up the curtains and the window shades and letting the light pour in. It is just wonderful and it makes me feel so much better about life. Not to mention the cost effective-ness of not having to turn on the lights. This place is so bright without the plastic covering up the beautiful sunlight!

#57:NOW it's official

Well, I am officially Sarah Kemp! Okay, so I'm quite aware that I have officially been Sarah Kemp for almost a year now. But not all of my documents had my new last name. Until today. Today I got my new passport in the mail, and so I am Sarah Kemp on all of my documents! I don't know why it is so exciting, but it is.

On a sad note though, they didn't not send back my old passport. So I am pretty bummed about that. I have traveled to many places and I had a lot of stamps in there. I would have liked to keep it.

#56: Home at last!

Finally! I made it home. This is a picture taken from inside my house...safe at last!

I had to run to Walmart after work today to pick up some much needed items. I wasn't aware how terrible the weather would become. I saw that the sky looked ominous, but I didn't know it was so bad. Well unfortunately for me, just as I was about to check out, they made everyone go to the back of the store. It was hailing so loud I thought the roof my come down on us. It didn't. I was stuck in Walmart...one of my worst fears (that was actually going to be the title, but I felt such relief from being home that I put that instead).
Anyway, they eventually let us go and I added flashlights to my list. But once I got outside it started hailing again and pouring down rain. I sped all the way home. Yeah, hindsight tells me that probably wasn't a great idea in this weather. But I was...well, I'll just admit...I was scared!

But I'm home now. And I have my flashlights, my tea, my books, and a basement (which just so happens to be my kitchen!). So I'm all set in case that tornado wants to come back.

#55: Bye bye post wedding weight!

It makes me sick to admit it, but yes, I am one of the woman that gained weight after getting married. It's the sad truth. I'm not about to divulge how much weight I gained, but lets just say its in the double digits. It's maddening! I'm frustrated and disgusted and bummed...and a whole slew of other things.
But today I stop complaining and today I start doing something about it.

Diet and exercise....here I come! I'm cutting out the junk food, and I'm going to be exercising every morning. And now that I've posted it on here, I'm going to have to stick with it.

So here's to sticking with it *raises slim fast can* Cheers!

#54: A great ending to a horrible day

That's right...new furniture! Well, new to me and Phil. My dad surprised me today by asking me if I wanted his leather couch and chair. Uhhh YEAH! Of course I want it. It's awesome!

Okay, but that's just the awesome ending. Now for the horrible rest of the day:

I had to open at work this morning. No big deal, really. Well today my stomach was acting up. It was not being pleasant to me at all, and I felt absolutely miserable. On top of that, I decided that it would be a great time to stop drinking caffeine. Maybe I was having one of those crazy moments, I'm not really sure. But it was a dumb idea. By about 2:00 p.m my head hurt so bad I thought it might explode. No one had any Tylenol or any kind of medicine at all. I felt doomed.
Finally the next manager came in at 4:30. I asked if she'd be okay if I left early since I felt like crap, and she didn't seem to mind. So I did. By then I was starting to feel queasy.

I got in my car and remember that I needed to get gas...I thought I was running out on the way to work this morning. Well, I drove a few feet and the car died.  I WAS running out of gas this morning.
Crap! No literally...I felt like I was going to poop my pants, my stomach was hurting so bad. I texted my dad to tell him I was out of gas and needed help, and my younger brother came to save the day. In the meantime, I needed to take care of this caffeine headache and this disturbance in my stomach.
I went back inside to get coffee from Gloria Jeans. Maybe that would help. Well just my luck, I forgot my wallet at home. I wouldn't have been able to get gas anyway!
As I was leaving to go  back to my car, I felt this overwhelming urge in my stomach. I felt like I was going to have diarrhea and throw up at the same time. I managed to make it to the bathroom....and...well, that's just what happened. It wasn't pretty. It was absolutely horrible.
I went back out to the car to await my rescue.
Jake finally came and put a bit of gas in my tank and then we went to my house where I preceded to take lots of medicine and laid down while we waited for my dad to come and bring me my awesome new furniture.

And now... I feel so elated that we actually have real furniture! I've never had a matching couch and chair before, so this is totally awesome! I feel like a real grown up for some odd reason.

#53: Guatemalan Worry Dolls

My friend Danielle gave me this little worry dolls. Apparently the Guatemalans have a legend that goes a little something like this: If you have problem or a worry, then you share it with a doll. You tell each doll one worry and then you put them under your pillow when you go to sleep. While you're sleeping, the dolls will take away your worries.
I was looking at them today thinking about how wonderful it would be if that were really true. I'm almost tempted to try it. But, I think Phil would be totally creeped out if he found tiny dolls under our pillows.