i am...

i am completely exhausted.

i am completely happy.

i am complete.



it's official.

i am mrs. jelinek!!!

*photos coming soon

In the Home Stretch

After packin' up the kitty and catching a taxi at 4 am, we made it to Phoenix on Tuesday! Planning and Errands the last two days, bridal shower this morning and we're headed to the rehearsal... well... NOW!


Arizona: the biggest sky ever.

Pomanders and Japanese Lanterns
Wedding binder, green tea, journal... pretty much all my down time, right here.


Bridal shower cupcakes!

My bags are packed, I'm ready to go!

(Ok. Bags are almost packed. But who's counting?)

Dropped my gals off at BWI this afternoon after a great morning of great weather in DC. Finally! We have been trying to venture out of the back bedroom (for those just joining: the only room with a wall mounted A/C unit) for 3 days and finally made our way into DC.





A walk up the Mall complete with obligatory "use the landmark as an accessory" photos









And a trip to the National Botanical Gardens and Conservatory which was really relaxing! The outdoor gardens are really beautiful.




Then made our way to Chinatown and had a great lunch at La Tasca! $50 worth of seafood tapas for $25 + gratuity thanks to Restaurant.com. (Seriously. If you guys haven't tried this website... DO. IT. Sign up for their emails because I certainly bought this $25 gift certificate for $0.86 thanks to an 80% off promo.) Yummy yummy FroYo + berries from TangySweet was then smuggled onto metro.

Took the girls to Baltimore just a few hours ago and have since been frantically packing. Just remembered to breathe thanks to Amy at Amy Vs Wild who kindly reminded me to continue filling my lungs with oxygen.

Wedding Dress: packed.
Wedding Shoes: packed.
10 Battery-Powered Paper Lanterns that I should have shipped 2 weeks ago: ummmm....

Off to make Brian a sandwich.

Not stranded on the roof...

Bachelorette Party = Best. Night. Ever.

(No photos posted means no evidence on the cyber web. Use your imaginations.)

Number of guests: anywhere between 3 and 8
Number of brightly blinking and/or sequined bachelorette items affixed to my clothing: 4
Number of noise complaints filed: 3
Number of events that shall never see the light of blog: quite a few :)

Can I say more? Except that I was still able to fit in an hour workout this morning? Twisted= Maybe. Day-Long Hangover= Nope. Score one for sweating it out.

Went to see Salt (let's hear it for $6 matinees!) and quite enjoyed it (and the air conditioned theater...) but let me just say to you, military men. When I've just watched a movie about Russian Sleeper Agents blowing things up... don't walk quickly with your matching camo back packs.

I'm naturally jumpy, a bit overtired and extraordinarily over-caffeinated from the "small" Diet Coke I just consumed. Makes for a very vivid imagination.

The sis, bestie and I spent the rest of the day being fabulously productive. We graced 2 air mattresses in the bedroom that has a wall-mounted A/C unit and watched more movies, slugged water and slept.

First class accommodations at the "oh my god, we sold all our furniture and i have guests coming" hotel. Trader Joe's boxed Mac'N'Cheese for a snack, anyone? Who needs the Ritz?

A total of at least 7 minutes in tears over an overwhelming number of tiny details aside... We're rocking and rolling toward the Big Day on Friday! Sis and Bestie leave tomorrow afternoon, then we're packing up Kitty and heading to AZ!

Wine Country to Kick It Off!

Spent yesterday in Virginia Wine Country with my sis and bestie!


We started with La Grange Winery and enjoyed a wonderful, informative tasting from the lovely staff and enjoyed a great walking tour of the grounds, house and barrel room. We finished up with a fortifying snack of baguette, hummus, olive spread and... of course.. wine! It was the best stop of the day. The scenery was beautiful, the staff was amazing, and B found free Wi-Fi while we gossiped, snacked, and sipped.




We then hit up Piedmont Wineries and enjoyed a tasting and some refreshing sangria (Erin, Lauren and our faithful DD!)


Pearmund Winery finished us up, but suffice it to say... there are no photos. Bertuccis for dinner (also no photos...) and home!

Big thanks to B! for driving with a big ol' smile on his face!


It's the Bachelorette Party tonight! We're at the ALOFT Hotel at National Harbor and the sister and BFF have planned an amazing evening! SO. EXCITED.

Photos and full recap to follow!

Big Weekend Ahead!

The last few days have been a bit slower - just finishing up some fun wedding stuff and getting ready for the Bachelorette Party! on Saturday! The S.O.B. (sister of the bride) and my B.F.F. (go figure that one out...) get here tomorrow! SO. EXCITED.

For your daily dose of gratuitous controlled chaos I give you:


Our living room / B's office.

Justen has deemed us "rednecks" and said that if we were "so hard up" that we could have called. Hilaaarious.





Next up: wedding central. My overly organized nature has demanded a system of order to keep me from jumping off our balcony.

So I commandeered a box that B had already filled (yes. I demand it be emptied as it would perfectly fit the vertical document holders AND my cup of colored sharpies) and created this masterpiece. Type A, much?



And Kitty's ever helpful self. Here, she is pictured under the table. Usually, though, she can be found perched in the spot where her blanket used to be where the couch used to be.

She's a creature of napping habit. Who am I to judge?



Had a couple of really awesome workouts the last couple of days, which have done SO much for morale. Treadmill (dag) 5K and shoulders/biceps/quads yesterday. Interval training, back/triceps/hamstrings today. And YOWZA are my abs sore from a few days of really kicking their asses (do abs have asses?)

Whole Foods 5 Day Quick Renewal Cleanse and extra clean eating did not fail me and I feeling really really good! Will be on best "health professional" behavior over weekend of general debauchery and should head into the wedding week feeling light and fit!

We've sold pretty much all the big furniture... just holding out for buyers for our living room tables, dining room table and E.T. (my fond name for our PT 4400 Stairmaster... phone home...) leaving me free and easy for a girls' weekend! Stay tuned for photos and hilarity!

By Special Request

Big shout out to my newest follower: Hey, Mom!


A very dear and very far friend of mine has requested that I report on what is actually going on in my life... apparently photos of the chaos that is my apartment ain't gonna hack it.

SO.

Here is what's going on in my life: a whole lotta stress-crazed bride lovin' !!!







(and if you were wondering: correct! that IS the headboard to my bed leaning against the wall behind me...at the foot of my bed)






I spent my morning frantically texting my Farrah Fawcett-coiffed Buddah when stress levels reached critical max and left me laying on my newly de-couched living room floor with my knees tucked up to my chest and my arm flung dramatically over my eyes. (In a subsequent conversation with another very wise friend, it was determined from common experience that perhaps moving more than 1 state away in the same month that one gets married may not be advisable...)

I spent my afternoon running errands and enjoying a deliriously happy hour a Starbucks, enjoying dried cherries and a Passion Iced tea in this:





My adult sippy cup
see also: the best $10 I have ever spent at Target







A trip to the gym for a sweaty non-drug-related high, a ginormous salad and all was right with the world.

(Side note: Because I am a masochist, I am also currently executing Whole Foods finest "Quick Renewal 5 Day Cleanse" Diet not varying too different from my usual... but hard alcohol is calling my name, people. And Stevia-sweetened Organic 100% Cranberry Juice mixed with water - albeit in a kick ass sippy cup - ain't hackin' it.)

A quick final note before I sleep...Spent some time last night (this morning? 1 am?) reading about Ahimsa. A Hindi/Sanskrit term for non-violence, Ahimsa means a lot more than not hitting the Jackwagon next to you. It means not calling him a Jackwagon. It means checking your attitude at the door so that you do not cause harm to others - even if that harm is a nasty look. It means being brave enough to not lash out defensively. And you know what, loyal followers? I've got some work to do.

The Road goes ever on and on...

The Road goes ever on and on
Out from the door where it began,
Now far ahead the Road has gone,
Let others follow it who can!
Let them a journey new begin,
But I at last with weary feet
Will turn towards the lighted inn,
My evening-rest and sleep to meet.'

-Bilbo Baggins

Our new TV stand

Kitty lends a helping hand

Thanks, Giant produce department!

controlled chaos

(it is my uninformed opinion that all engaged couples should be forced to pack a household in preparation for a cross-country move before they are allowed to marry. best test of unconditional love I've yet found.)

Life's a Beach

It doesn't get more Southern than:


Sweet Tea (ok... fake sweet tea with Splenda)



and Hush Puppies

Or more vacation-y than:
Ocean Spray


Piers


And beach reads

We're back home and back to the grind... putting together a cyber "moving sale" and packing stuff up for the big move.

Kitty is helping...


Sort of.

I Love Summer Vacation!

We have spent the last few days with some amazing friends, eating at some fabulous restaurants and thoroughly enjoying our first "summer vacation" in years!

Board games, beers, and sweaty sweaty workouts with best friends are seriously the most amazing reminder of how amazing it is to be young and unfettered. Hanging in Pinehurst, NC and touring Raleigh-Durham and Chapel Hill ... highlights include:

• Cranium: 2.25 players-vs-2 players
  
• Taboo: Couple-vs-Couple
• Michelob Ultra Peach/Dragonfruit
• Fresh vegetarian sandwiches at hippie markets
• Despicable Me (SO CUTE!)
• Trashy Reality Television
• Running and Plyometrics with a Kick-Ass fitness buddy
  

Speaking of unfettered... because we have really no where to be (hellooooo summer break!?) we're headed to the North Carolina shore, rather than heading home today! We're driving on down to Wilmington, NC to soak up some sun and some good Southern food.

Oven Fried Chicken

my major accomplishment for the day was crispy, golden brown oven-fried chicken, organic red potato salad (which was awesome!) and organic purple cabbage and carrot slaw. Welcome to summer. Now... if only I ate chicken... Good thing B is home!

Other conquests thanks to a LivingSocial coupon recommended by Meg V:





(strawberry margarita by OPI. Mmm... Strawberry Margarita...)








and





(Salon deZen in Old Town!)

Sharpie-d the To Do List

Last weekend's Milwaukee adventures included:

1. Driving a brand new Mustang Convertible in the Cudahay, Wisconsin 4th of July Parade with a hyperactive DJ in the back seat. (god forgive me, I ran the air conditioning with the top down. black leather is HOT, people!)

2. Twilight Double Feature: New Moon in the Fritts Household Man Cave promptly followed by Eclipse at the swankiest movie theater I have ever been in. They gave us wine glasses and an ice bucket for our Reisling. Check, please!

3. Two Words: Rocky Rococco.

I would like to have a plausible explanation for having no photos, but alas... You get a thousand words instead. (for illustration purposes, here is a photo from Milwaukee-fest 2009)

After neatly writing out my to-do list today, I systematically and with no apologies sharpied the hell out of all tasks completed. Immensely satisfying.

At the end of it all, I sat down to do some scrapbooking and found myself confronted with a former self strikingly similar to my current self. Page for today: October 2005 trip to Washington, DC, just three months before I packed up the Corolla for the first cross-country move.

Maybe it was the Mason Jennings on my iPod. Maybe it's that I'm writing again. But I feel like the old me - the young, carefree, adventuresome, take-no-prisoners 'me' - is back.

Jumping Ass First...

Chute Assis:
French for "sit flying", or free falling with one's seat presented to the relative wind.

I ended my gainful and enjoyable employment last week, choosing to take the month of July to prepare myself for jumping "with my seat presented to the relative wind" into the best journey I could have imagined for myself! In the next eight weeks, I will travel the east coast, marry my best friend and the love of my life, pack up my 3-bedroom apartment into a mini-van and a Toyota Corolla and move from Virginia to Northern California.

I read a particularly inspiring memoir 'Floor Sample' by Julia Cameron this past week - the unexpectedly amazing product of guilt brought on by too many chick-lit novels. (A girl can only read so much Emily Griffin by the pool before brain cells begin to die), and I find myself called again to creative writing in conjunction with my passion for yoga, nutrition and general ass-kicking in the name of fitness. I figured: what better way to share my journey with the amazing people in my life AND get my writing bug started than: a blog.

SO. Consider this blog my way of updating ... with photos and a few words (some inspired. some, I'm sure, rather uninspired) ... all of you that I love and treasure on what I anticipate being the most exciting few months of my life yet.