Humbled

This past weekend, I got to make my way over to my brother Jeremy's house in North Raleigh.  I try to do this AT LEAST every 2 weeks, if not more.  I try to take advantage of the fact that I live in the same town as them and also that I get the opportunity to watch my niece and nephew grow up.

Anyway, so I went over there on Sunday afternoon to find my brother out in the driveway putting together a mini-trampoline set.  I came to discover that the manufacturers basically force all trampolines to have a net around it so that the kids don't jump off or fall off.  Oh, the luxuries that we didn't have growing up.  Honestly, you haven't lived until your siblings send you 25 feet up into the air only to land OFF the trampoline.  I've only heard stories about me being little and being a little bit of a crybaby at that, but I can about guarantee that I cried for a minimum of 2 hours when that happened.  And I'm pretty sure it happened more than once… although my memory escapes me.  Wonder why?  Maybe the net is a stellar idea afterall.  Ok, focus..

So I stroll up to find him putting this thing together, and of course my 3 year old niece Kirsten is sitting in her little pink princess chair just watching Jeremy put it together piece by piece.  It was odd because normally this child never sits still.. but anyway, it was an observation.  And then I look to my right to find my 4 (almost 5) year old nephew Brayden stooped down next to some bricks… out in the open pretty much.  Which leads to:

H: "Bray, what are you doing?"
B: "Hiding from you."
H: "Um.  We need to work on that."

Fast forward about 20 minutes and finally Jeremy's masterpiece is complete and the kids begin to get SO excited because they're so close to getting to try it out!  There's a weight limit on this thing because it's just for kids (wah, wah, wah) and it says no more than 100 lbs should be on it.  Brayden says to me "Man, I wish you could get on it with us."  I say "I know, but you heard your daddy… I'm too big to get on there, remember?"

Brayden: "Yeah… and too fat."

Don't Judge Me

So… this past week, I had a "first time" experience.  As I get older, I've found that those don't happen too often in everyday life anymore unfortunately.  But in true "Haley-form", it didn't come without humor.

I work in Raleigh, around the Poole Rd/New Bern Ave exits off the beltline so my lunch choices obviously don't deviate much from this area.  Well in the last couple of months, a Popeye's opened up and to my knowledge, this is the first one of these in the Raleigh area.  I think.  Anyway, it was new to me.  But every time I ride by it, this place is RIDICULOUSLY packed.  I mean "standing-room-only & cars-wrapped-around-the-building" kind of packed.  Finally after enough times of driving by it and either being in too big of a hurry to wait, or being too lazy to wait, I decided to brave Popeye's.  I think what drew me to it originally is that the name of the place is actually Popeye's "Louisiana Kitchen" and I like spicy food, so I figured it must be good.

Well, as usual, the cars were wrapped around the building, but the inside didn't look quite as packed as it normally did.  So I just decided to go inside.  I walk inside and let me tell you this - I was the only white girl person in the place.  It caught me so off guard that I nearly walked right back out because it was one of those things where I actually thought "Ummm am I allowed in here?"…  buuuuut I wasn't sure if that would be completely obvious so I attempted to pretend like I didn't notice.  So I go up to the counter and wait in line for a little bit - I didn't have a clue what to order.  On top of that, I know I had a "What the hell" face when I saw catfish on the menu.  What??  Catfish?  So I did what every person does when they're scared to try something new and ordered chicken fingers with fries.  BUT, I did try their spicy honey mustard and it was actually really good (I love me some dipping sauces)!  The fries were awesome too… the chicken was okay.  It wasn't bad, but I prefer Bojangles.  What can I say… I'm bojos for life!  (As evidence in some of my engagement pictures taken by Big Star Studios [shameless plug :)]…)

Back to my story… The first thing I did when I was able to was message one of my super awesome friends, Larry (who happens to be black and is totally cool and understanding when I have to ask naive questions, because he's always honest and respectful with his answer… HOLLA!)  Anyway - so I message him and here was our actual dialogue:

me: looking for honestly here...

  what the heck is the deal with popeyes?

  that place is always so packed

  i walked in there and i was the only white person

  what the heck

 Larry: HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

 ummm it's chicken - what did you think?

  the only chicken joint that is likely to not be pro-black is prolly KFC

 andddd prolly the bojos by campus :-P

 that is HILARIOUS :-)

 me: geeeeez... i couldn't believe it!

  do they put something in it? i've never seen a fast food place that crazy!

 Larry: might be a little crack :-P

 me: haha

  i believe it!

 Larry: well you also gotta remember that there aren't that many popeyes around here!

  

 me: can't be straight chicken

 Larry: HAHAHAHAHA

 

Mild Panic Attack

Surprise, surprise… I'm updating my blog as Craig is out of town for work.  But.. he is currently on a plane, on his way back to RDU… so yay. :)

Anyway, as I was creating a spreadsheet tonight and going over everything that's been booked, and still needs to be booked, as well as expenses… I get a phone call from one of my bridesmaids, Lindsey.  I had just received a text from Craig about 30 minutes before that saying they were shutting the door in Cincinnati, and about to take off.  So when Lindsey called, he was well on his way home and should land at RDU in about another hour.  She and I were talking about some of the vendors that she used for her wedding in September when my phone beeps… it's a call from Craig.  My heart skips a beat and I immediately begin to panic, thinking "He's flying.. and he's calling me.  WHY IS HE FLYING & CALLING ME?!  Oh my gosh, oh my gosh.."  Clearly, my mind automatically switched to thinking it was going to be a scene out of one of the 9/11 movies and he's making the dreaded phone call.  Morbid, right!?  Ugh, I hate that my mind automatically goes there.

So I switched over in a hurry and frantically wait to hear what's coming.  I can barely hear him, which really didn't make things better.  I finally hear him say "Hey, we're delayed in Cincinnati so I just wanted to let you know."  Thank God.  So I tell him what my brief moment of hysteria was about, we say our goodbyes, and I click back over to Lindsey.  I'll also add that I clicked over to her to find that she obviously didn't miss me at all because she was still talking.  Ha!  Love her. :)


To sum up - luckily there was no crisis, I haven't made any progress on any more vendors, and my spreadsheet is basically as I found it… empty.  But - at least I still have a fiance!!

Unconsciously Competent

So… I'm in a wedding planning frenzy right now, and let's face it - I love it (I've only been thinking about this day for the last 26 years).  I've finally asked all of my bridesmaids if they'll be in our wedding, so I can now get started with planning their things (yay!).  Luckily, they all said they'd love to be in it… for some reason, I was worried they'd say no!  I mean, you have to wonder if people really want to be in weddings and you can't just assume… I know I've loved being in the weddings that I have, but not everyone necessarily feels the same way you do about weddings.  Anyway - I now get to proceed with playing dress up with them, so I'm happy. :)

In other news, we've decided on an October wedding and everything is pretty much set with the date and venue, so that is a HUGE relief!  Since we decided on the date this weekend, Craig's wheels started to turn a little bit… like with ideas and stuff.  We were riding in the car after we had agreed on the date and venue and let me just fill you in on a little snippet of the conversation that went terribly wrong:

Craig:  So the wedding is in October…
H:  Uh, yeah.
Craig:  Well Halloween is in October.
H:  G'job.    *this is dripping with sarcasm in case you didn't catch it*
Craig:  I know what we can do!  Let's have a Halloween themed wedding!  Everyone can dress up and..
H:  Just stop.  No.
Craig:  But it would be fun with the cos…
H:  ……….. You're serious……… And you're now off the wedding committee.

Don't get me wrong… I will still ask him what he thinks about different decisions, but any answer he gives me will automatically trigger the memory of his plan of a halloween costume party as we exchange wedding vows.  Unless everyone came to the wedding dressed as Disney princes and princesses… well even then… all I can do is shake my head.

Once Upon a Time

I almost ruined my proposal!  In my previous post, I documented how I nearly fell victim to asking too many questions in order to not miss the Sister Hazel concert.  Well… I guess I'll never learn.

So, here's the background leading into the story.  Craig and I got into a really dumb argument earlier in the week… mainly due to my grumpiness after being woke up abruptly from a nap on Sunday.  The argument literally lasted all of 5 minutes because I quickly went back to sleep and was over it.  I did jokingly bring it up later, reminding him that I hadn't forgot about it, but we were clearly joking.

Fast forward to Wednesday night.  After completing some quick and final Christmas shopping, I went to his house because I hadn't been there in a while… he's been graciously coming over to my house usually because he works at his house during the day, so it's not that terrible for him to leave his house after work since he's been there all day.  But that night, he said he had a lot to do, so I agreed to go there for dinner and gift wrapping.  He asked how long I thought I'd be out and I told him I should be to his house by 7, and he said he'd just take care of dinner.  Business as usual.

I get to his house and walk in to his house, which was filled with yummy smells of pork loin, mashed potatoes, sauteed green beans and a dozen red roses.  He's a great cook, so the yummy smells didn't really shock me, but the flowers… "ok what's this for?"

He told me it was because he was sorry for the argument on Sunday.  I automatically thought that it wasn't a huge deal and wondered why he was making up for it because I hadn't really thought about it since it happened... but I was rather enjoying it.  :) So, I just said "awww" and gave him a kiss.

We eat and talk - same as always.  And then I'm ready to start wrapping gifts because there were TONS.  Before we do that though, Craig goes to the steps and lingers around where his formal living room is & turns the lights on in that room.. and then walks back in the kitchen.  I immediately ask him what he's doing and he just says "nothing".  Then I ask him why he turned the lights on and left the room (I know how anal he is about leaving lights on in rooms when you're not in them anymore).  He just says "It's Christmas."  Do what??  Then he keeps on.. "All the candles in the windows are on.. look I'll turn this one on too (which was the light in the foyer).."  Immediately, I said "What???  Turn that light off (weirdo)."  I just shake my head and head to the family room where the stack of gifts are.

On top of one of the boxes was an envelope, which I thought was Casey & Leslie's so I gave it to him to put aside.  Then I go through some bags and I actually found Casey & Leslie's… so then I turn around and asked what the other envelope was that I gave him.  He says "Oh, this is your's.." and he proceeds to open it.  Which leads me to ask "Uh, well if it's mine - why are you opening it??"  He then tells me to read the card itself and give the card back to him and he'll read what he wrote on the side.  So I frantically read the card, and quickly skimmed the left side through his little passage and look for keywords (like "marry"), and found nothing.  So I obliged and gave it back to him and listened to him as he read and it was a playful little poem about how sometimes he's wrong, sometimes I'm right, etc., etc… and basically the last line is about loving me for eternity.  And then he hands it back.

So… puzzled, I ask him why I couldn't have read that myself.  He said that it was because I didn't know the last line.  Still confused, I said that I'm looking at the last line and I can read that just fine.  He just politely said "No", got down on one knee, and asked me to marry him!  Surprised?  Yes!  And of course, I said yes.  Probably the most surprising part is that I didn't cry like a baby… I think it's because he went the playful route and didn't go on a mushy rampage because I am a BIG baby when it comes to sentiment.  I was really so proud of myself for just gushing and laughing.  It was a very happy moment for both of us.

Side note:  the mysterious light on in the formal living room was to provide lighting for the video camera he had set up.  Although, I haven't watched it… I imagine it's boring because I'm not sure how much you can hear and I didn't have a crazy reaction - just happy and surprised!

He filled me in that he went to see my dad earlier that day at his office and asked his permission, so he was in the loop, as well as his parents.  He had also mentioned it to my mom as well so she was in on it too.  I was on the phone for the next 2 hours calling family and my bestie (Brookes).  And now, the insanity has ensued… feeling a little stressed to get the ball rolling, but with it being the holidays, I'm a bit stalled.  I'm sure it will begin to come together soon… hoping for a Fall wedding, so we'll see how it goes!  Here's a good quote that was on my desk calendar a couple months ago that I thought was pretty profound and I kept it to remind me:

"Success in marriage depends on being able, when you get over being in love, to really love…"  - Eleanor Roosevelt

What a smart lady. :)

Not Easily Surprised

The other night Craig attempted to surprise me with the Sister Hazel concert that I had been nagging asking him about since mid-November.  Rather than cleverly making something up like "Ah, I'll be out of town for work that night" (totally believable because he travels almost every week & shoots stuff down all the time because of it), or "I have a work dinner", or ANYTHING that indicates that he considered it at some point, and that he was sad he was going to miss it (the last part is important)… instead, he just pretended like I never even said it. I even brought it up in person once and he completely ignored me, and somehow I missed the opportunity to pout about it.  I don't know how he distracted me from the subject, come to think of it.

Anyway, so I finally asked him again last week as the date kept creeping closer, because normally he at least rejects it.  Ignoring me was completely new.  In case you haven't caught on to that yet.  I asked him via text because (guess what) he was out of town for work.  And then (guess what) he IGNORES me.  So then, I'm irritated.  Inside, my mind goes something like "What the FRACK??  I'm totally losing my touch."  After I push again, he says "Let me check my schedule - I might have to work."  Um.. HELLLLLOOOOO.. I asked him about this almost a month ago!  So, I have a little pow-wow with myself and just chalk it up to "Ok, the boy doesn't want to go.. I've seen them in concert before… same venue…  so it's not a huge deal…………………... But gah, he's just straight up IGNORING me!"

…and back to the happy place…

"Not a big deal."

Fast forward a few days when I ask too many questions and it comes to light that he bought the tickets weeks ago and had even organized a group to go.  Woopsie.  Ok, I'm a jerk but YAY SISTER HAZEL!

PS - I loved it. :)

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So, on a more random, yet related note - I was playing one of Sister Hazel's songs called Champagne High to get me in the mood on Tuesday.  Has anyone else really listened to the lyrics of that song and wondered what the hell the dude was doing at that wedding?!  I'm just sayin'.

Giddy & Grateful

For the first time in a long time, I am at absolute peace.  Everything feels perfect.  I love my family, my friends, and my faith… they always pick me up when you least expect it.  I don't really want to air out what, when or why - I just wanted to reflect.  Sweet Serendipity :)