29!

Today my fiance is 29 years old! I hope he enjoys his last birthday in his 20's, and his last as a free man! Haha

Happy Birthday, Tom!

P.S. I'm taking bets on if he'll have any hair left by his 30th birthday, ;)

The name debate

2010 is like the year of weddings for me. I know tons and tons of people getting married this year. (myself included!) Some of these women struggle with the decision to change their name or not. It's a super easy decision for me.

I'm changing my name.

I have no connection to my last name at all. It's technically my ex step-dad's last name. My mom got married when I was 4 or 5? And I hated that my mom was changing her name and I would have a different name then her and my future siblings. So I went to court, stood in front of a judge, and at 5 years old, changed my name.

However, that step-dad turned into a giant tool and he's not someone I wish to share a name with. I can't wait to take my Fiance's last name. I feel like that will really make us a family. I also want our future kids and me to all have the same name.

There's one kink in this plan...I've heard of it taking up to 6 months to get your official marriage certificate from Jamaica. Which means I can't change my name or be added to his insurance for up to 6 months. And even then that doesn't mean the process will be easy. I work with a girl who got married a few weeks ago. (Here in MN) and she's even having a hard time getting her name changed and everything switched over. And she has a US marriage! Who knows the hoops I'll have to jump thru to validate my Jamaican marriage. So while we may be married on 12/31, the USA might not agree with us right away.

Divorce

The divorce rate right now is high. Too high. I'm only 25 and I already have numerous divorced friends. In some cases, divorce is needed. (cheating, abuse, etc.) I also believe if two people really tried every option and are still miserable, it's better for the children to have to single, happy parents then married and miserable parents.

But sometimes I think people give up too easily and don't try hard enough to keep their marriages together. I also think gay people should have the right to get married. At least at the court house. I have nothing against the Catholic church banning gay marriage. However, church and state are separate. And I think they should be able to get married elsewhere.

Anyway, there was an article printed in the local paper today about the divorce rate. Apparently it's increasing. It's 8% higher than 2009. And one idiot posted this comment...

"Marriage is a thing of the PAST... I truly believe if we could only see marriage as a thing we did in the past we won't have so many messed up kids. I live with my girl friend and we both take breaks from one another which make the relationship stronger. She has kids and they don’t need to see how frustrating normal life gets between two people."

WTF. So instead her kids get to see mommy and her boyfriend bang other people during one of their "breaks?" How is this normal? How is this better for the kids? I think they should see that life isn't roses all the time and mom and dad do get frustrated with each other but that it takes hard work and communication to make a relationship work. "Taking a break" when life gets tough is NOT something I want to teach my future children. That comment is so wrong in so many ways.

Relaxing Weekend

This weekend has been pretty nice. Yesterday we ran a bunch of errands and went out to lunch. Then we came home and watched movies and drank a pitcher of frozen margaritas. (Oops, I'm on a diet...now I remember!)

The weather has been nasty here lately. FINALLY today it went from 95 degrees and 70% humidity to a nice 73 degrees and breezy. It finally feels like Minnesota again!

I just finished my 30 minute jog and now I'm off to do the 30 day shred. (trying to make up for those margaritas last night! ;) Haha) I've worked out 5 of the last 6 days. My calories have all been right on target. (except for Saturday) I really don't have a lot of time left before my dress fitting, I need to get to my goal and stay there. I'm also thinking about running a 5k if I can find someone to do it with me.

I've also need to give my blog a facelift. A lot has changed in the 2 years I've been blogging and I'm ready for a change! So I entered a giveaway to hopefully win a gift certificate toward a blog makeover!

"Bloggy Blog Designz is having a Giveaway!!! They are giving away all kinds of goodies. Plus ALL entrants will receive 20% off any purchase through the end of the month! Be sure to check out their website for more information, or to enter yourself. "

How is it August 11th already?

This summer has gone by SO FAST! After buying the house last summer and doing all the work on it, we figured this summer would be nice and relaxing. Somehow, we have managed to stay really busy and the time is flying by!

The end of this month (Aug 27th) is Tom's 29th birthday. We are going up north to stay the night at a hotel and go out on a charter fishing trip. Then we are going to a dinner cruise up a river the following night to celebrate. I can't believe that Tom will be 29. And next year will be a HUGE change for him. He'll be turning 30, be MARRIED, and we will be trying to get pregnant (or be already?). He better enjoy this birthday while he can! haha.

I don't have a ton of stuff left to do for the wedding. I have to buy a garter and the sand ceremony set. And we have to get our birth certificates notarized and all the paperwork sent off to Jamaica. And then in October I have to get my dress fittings done. Christmas will be here before we know it and then---JAMAICA!

Let's see...I haven't been up to anything else it seems. Enjoying this season of Big Brother and keeping up with my running. After I finished the C25K program I was having problems finishing the 30 minute runs. I was getting so upset! So I decided to slow the treadmill down a little bit. Instead of jogging at 5MPH (Yeah, that's even SLOW!) I went down to 4.8 and it made a HUGE difference! I am finally able to finish my runs in full now. And that's a good thing since I have my dress fittings in about 2 months...Where did this year go? I feel like I just got engaged!

The "One"

They (whoever they are) say that when you meet the right one, you just know. What does this even mean? It wasn't love at first sight with Tom. It took awhile to decide if I wanted to get serious with him. And we dated 4 years before we got engaged...and I still have days where I question if we're making the right decision. I do love him, but marriage is supposed to be forever...and that's scary. We're both from divorced families. We're both still in our 20's and we already have multiple friends who were married, and divorced already. And I'm scared. I really want to get married once, and only once. So how do you make it work against all odds? How are you sure you're making the right decision? I guess it's "blind faith" because nobody ever knows 100% about it, you just make it work somehow. That terrifies me. The unknown...

Any advice? How do you "just know" that someone is the right person for you? And any tips on making a marriage work forever?

(Nothing happened to make me feel this way. I've been semi-nervous about marriage forever.)

What to do with those sexy pictures?

Why, pick my favorites and make a hardcover photo book, of course! :)

(I'm not getting paid for this, I'm not getting anything for free other than the code I'm showing all of you as well.)

Right now you can get a free photo book at picaboo (just pay shipping) I'm so excited I found out about this because I'm going to make a book for Tom of my B-pics and give it to him as a wedding gift. I've never used this site before, but you can't really go wrong with free stuff!

I've seen people turn engagement pictures into a photo book and use it as a guest book for their weddings as well. Or maybe a book of baby pictures for a new mom? Lots of options!

Follow the link below!

http://www.picaboo.com/promo/free-book.html?siteID=URCqYLoo2ow-U4Py0VW8TPLfr_HP00Aj8w