Wedding Website

I set up a little page for news about Josh and I’s wedding. Feel free to check it out HERE!

Every Mile a Memory

I’ve lacked quite a bit when it’s come to blogging since November. I was away from my computer for about two weeks and wasn’t in the writing mood while out of town. Since my last blog post, I’ve graduated from college, bought a wedding dress, had a wonderful Christmas and made it to another year: 2011.

I usually make resolutions to some degree, here are this years:

• Work out at least 3 days a week. While I don’t have Lose Weight Exercise that I need to loseWeight Exercise, I’d still like to get into shape and stay healthy. I’m not going to have a set regiment, but rather do what I feel like doing that day. My wedding dress is a perfect fit, so losing too much Lose Weight Exercise could be troublesome.
• Pray daily, at least three times a day.
• Stress and worry less. This is huge because I’m always fretting about such non-consequential things. I need to focus on now, today and understand that ultimately God has things under control.
• Make more real meals/eat out less. So far so good, no eating out this year yet!
• Read at least one book a week.
• Eucharistic Adoration (1x a week)
• Be a better friend

Those are just a few things I hope to accomplish this year. Among this list I have other things that I will be dedicating time to. I’m currently looking for a new job. I’m unsure if IndyMet will be keeping me, I’m unsure if they have the money available. I’m also planning a wedding! I may make a wedding website, although I haven’t found any layouts I like yet.

What I hope to make 2011 into is a year full of memories. I year of growth, a year of good health. A year full of love.

Quilted Coves

This is the first poem I wrote this semester. It’s called an Ars Poetica, which literally means the art of poetry. I thought about what poetry was to me and wrote a poem based on that. Part of it is fictional but the whole vibe of it, I think comes from being in high school and little moments that stand out, especially with Sylva and Bryan. They’ve often been the inspiration of my poetry. I’ll be reading it along with one other poem that I’ll post when it’s completed about my grandma being a ghost.

Poetry is a chameleon
in a cove of hidden secrets
and lost love that you return to
when you wake the dust
in your attic and uncover
the moth-eaten quilt.

Poetry preserves moments
makes them eternal like the initials
of her name you carved
into your arm with your fingernails
when you were sixteen
on the back of your tailgate.

Poetry becomes the warmth of a flannel
holding off autumn’s first chill.
It floats by on the wind
the scent of a lost lover,
and lingers in your mouth
like the taste of a first kiss.

It takes you to the hill
rolled with sleeping spools of hay
and the pink hued sunset
you tasted her under,
on the quilt you drenched with sweat
before you moaned goodnight.

Books to Read Before 2011 and Winter Activities

As my semester draws to a close, I must begin making reading lists. Why? Because I love to! So far it’s not a huge list but this is what I’ve got. I’ve already started on a few (LOTR and Matilda). This list may expand if I end up reading faster than I think. I will have lots of holiday activities planned as well as starting a workout regime. I will probably also be applying for jobs just to see what’s out there (I’m still very hopeful about staying on at the MET).

Movie wise, I plan on seeing The Dawn Treader (Chronicles of Narnia), maybe Yogi Bear with my nieces. Joshua is going to start listening/reading to Harry Potter so that in July we’re able to share that experience.

This weekend is shaping up to be a really great one. On Friday, Joshua’s art starts being displayed in Fountain Square. I’m really looking forward to seeing his and Datruce’s pieces. On Saturday we’re doing different things around Indy, buying a Christmas tree and decorating it. That of course means hot chocolate and Christmas music! I love the Christmas season!

• Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen
• The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
• The Lord of the Ring: Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkien
• Matlida by Roald Dahl
• The Great Gatsby by F Scott Fitzgerald (I think I may have read this in high school but I don’t remember much from it.)
• Animal Farm by George Orwell
• The Diary of Anne Frank by Anne Frank

“Time is Not Yet Equal*”

Joshua and I’s wedding is in 304 days. Less that a year. In terms of everything that comes with that date: excitement, love, the anticipation, the actual ceremony, the reception, the honeymoon and you know, the actual being married part makes 304 days seem like an eternity. It’s something I just want to happen (while at the same time, the planning and waiting are a great experiences).

Yet, as I talk with Mrs. Wilson and hear snippets of conversation around the house or overheard phone conversation and I hear, “That’s cutting it close for her” or along the lines of her not making it to an Oct. 1st wedding and suddenly time is much more precious, suddenly each day needs to be a year long.

I hate how unequal those two time feelings are. It makes me regret setting an October wedding (even though I set it with the knowledge of her cancer) because Mrs. Wilson has been and is such an important person in my life. The thought of her having less than 304 days left is terribly heartbreaking. I don’t know if I even know how to put into words what I’m trying to say.

Mrs. Wilson has the will and hope that she’ll live that long but I still wonder if the thought crosses her mind daily that she may not make it that long. How does one live their life, even in their own mind, with the knowledge that life is coming to a close. For her, her faith in Christ’s redemption helps her along but I know she’s not done. I know she wants to be there on October 1st and even more importantly be there when Matthew graduates college, gets married or when Jenny gives her a grandchild. I know she’s not ready to leave everyone behind, to stop having multiple hour phone conversations, to stop receiving/send cards on a daily basis. I know she’s not tired of yelling, “Jeff” from the kitchen to him in the living room snoring in front of the television. She’s not ready to leave Sadie behind, her little doggy shadow. She’s not ready to stop exclaiming in her high pitched voice about anything she finds over the top (which can be very little at times). She’s not ready to stop visiting Kohls and talking with all of those people she use to work with. She’s not ready to stop mothering everyone. She’s not ready to stop saying (which she has nearly daily since I’ve known her) that she needs to “get things done” and clean the basement out.

So how do you live when the grains in the hourglass are so few (presumably).

*Note: This was the title of Tanya Smith’s poem presented in poetry workshop recently. All due credit to her.

Obituary Poem

Tonight in poetry class my group (persona/voice) presented our information and poems. Along with this we were to come up with an in class writing assignment. One of our poems was an obituary that used a household object as a metaphor throughout. I printed out about 20 obituaries. I read through many of them and tried to pick and choose ones that would give my classmates something to write about. As I passed them out and they were talked about, I had this weird and sweet attachment to the people.

Here is the in-class writing I did. I’m not great at writing on my toes but I liked this a bit. My house hold object was scrabble letters.

My life was the letters of scrabble
jumbled in incoherent fumblings that
I mumbled while leaning against
the brick wall out the back of
BBQ Heaven, where I sweated for
35 years, since I was 21 when
my life seemed like I could
take those tiny tiles with double digits
and place them just so on triple
score squares,
The board got
shook and the tiles went flying
into women, into grease into that
high that knew how to get us by.

Mama expected us in church on Sunday singing, “Ill fly away”"
Oh Lordie, let me fly away.

Wedding Progress Update

Over Thanksgiving break, Joshua and I did lots of wedding shopping. We first tried to narrow some dates down. Once we did that we checked with a few halls to get an idea of the dates they were open. We called the church office and went over to find out dates our church, St. Sebastian would be open. The priest we’ve chosen is Father Gene. Way back, last fall, over a year ago when I first went to Ohio, the priest for the mass on Sunday was Father Gene. I said to Joshua, directly after mass that that was the priest I’d want to officiate our wedding. I think it’s something about his voice or just how sweet he is.  He went over things with us and congratulated us and what not. On Saturday we checked out one more hall but decided on one his brother used in July.

Our date is: October 1st, 2011. We chose this date for several reasons. It gives us enough time to accumulate money to pay for all of the things we’d like to do. We don’t want to start out being in debt because of our wedding. We both love October–our favorite season/time of year. It’s less busy than every other month–for us, our family and friends.

I’ve also chosen a my side of the wedding party.

Matron (she’ll be married by then) of Honor: Kayleigh Wilson
Bridesmaids: Jessica Ross, Bridget Schmackers, Stephanie Schmackers, Erica Schmackers and Jenny Young.

The ring bearer will be: Maximus Ross (Joshua’s nephew/godson/Jessica’s son).

The flower girl situation is under review. I have three nieces but I’m not sure the youngest one will stay focused enough to do it. They other two would like to be in the wedding and they may be junior bridesmaids.

I’ve picked out the color purple (plum) which can be see here (top middle&right dress): click me!

Photographers are under review at the moment. The next steps will be wedding dress shopping (I’ve looked at a ton online) and picking out my wedding ring and his band. I’ve researched a tad about honeymoons but haven’t made any real strides in that area.

This process has been virtually stress free. I checked a few books out and bought a wedding planner and they all give a ton of advice. At the top of the lists: plan early, stay organized and don’t stress out. I’ve done all of these things and I do think it’s made the start of this journey much less painful than it can be. One thing I have noticed is: everyone has an opinion, about everything. I think we’ve done a good job of listening and considering everything people say but we’ve been able to make our own decisions because of what we want. The truth is, Joshua and I are fairly laid back about things. We don’t have a huge vision of what we want, we’re just taking it a step at a time. He’s been supportive, made calls and wants to be involved–I knew he would be.

This next year will pass before my very eyes, the wedding will be over and things will become relatively quiet…you know until the babies .