Saturday, March 7, 2009

Look what Love can accomplish!

Ta-dah!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jrhtNsyLwaE

Or watch here now:


Confused?
My brother bought me a Japanese automated bank that has a face. The face eats change. It's called Facebank and it is creepy. The piggybanks developed a tight attachment to him over the past few months. Their worship has gone a little too far.

False idolatry.

Thursday, March 5, 2009

Wed-A-Mania, Bruddah!

Alright, so we have new phones and we have been spending every waking minute with them sending photos and videos to everyone who can get them. The phones have these nifty keyboards on them so I can text like all the young'ins out there.
Anyway, I'm happy to report that we have a scheduled appointment coming up with Route 66 Hotel on Saturday morning We'll give you the full scoop in the next blog, but I hope that they give us a good showing so that we can see what else Springfield has to offer.
Lately, we have been looking at all different types of centerpieces and invitations to see what kind of options we have out there. I think there are some really cool designs that we certainly should consider, though I think it might be too early still to start selecting things. Still, it's good to have an idea of what will be coming our way.
Apart from that, things are going great. We just celebrated our 2 year anniversary yesterday. It is a great feeling know that I have someone in my life that I love so much and can continue to share life with. She has made me a better person just by being in my life.
Well, I'll stop talking, but keep coming back for the full story on Route 66 Hotel. It might turn out to be quite interesting!

Sunday, February 8, 2009

Kitties!

Before I get into more reception crap that no one cares about, here are some pictures of our KITTIES!!!

So, both Wayne and I have been under the weather thanks to people thinking it's okay to hack and cough all over us and the desks we work at. Just in case people are not aware, this is not cool. But anyway, I was napping on the couch this afternoon and this is what happened while I was asleep.


You can sort of see my forehead in this picture. The big blanket lump is me. The big fuzzy lump is Inky and Ada snuuuuggliiiiing. Because they love each other. (ps-Inky sleeps with his eyes open. No joke, most of the time I just think he's dead.)

This is a better angle of their love:


So then I woke up and was told of their love session. I knew something snuggly had to be going on because my feet were so warm. So then, Inky decided to become "Inkybeard" and this happened:


(Wayne couldn't resist)

Also, Ada has started sitting as fat as she can. Think I'm kidding?


I can't figure out why she feels she has to look like a Jet-Puff Marshmallow all the time, but more power to her.

Okay, down to business. This is the set up the Northfield Inn had going on while we were there to check out the facilities.



It was actually a super-nice place. They do their own set up, clean up, food, reserve blocks of rooms for out-of-towners and give discounts to them when they reserve their hotel rooms. It's a really home-y place that has huge windows and is EASY TO GET TO (pretty much the biggest requirement we have). Pam is the woman in charge of receptions and she was super nice and told us all about the place, and if we decide on somewhere else, things we should look for to make our day stress free.

I really like the Northfield Inn, basically because it really seemed like they're going to do everything and all we need to do is let them know what we want done. But, we'll probably be looking at three (maybe four if we get any more suggestions) places and then we'll decide.

Until the next time I get type-y bloggosphere!

Alicia

Wednesday, February 4, 2009

Reception stuff

So it has been a while, but stuff has been rolling along. Inky got neutered, Ada ate a lot and Wayne and I went to a taping of Raw & ECW.

Wayne cheered for CM Punk (obligatory picture time).


(I can't say I blame him)

I cheered for John Morrison with a wicked tie-dyed sign I made.

Be Jealous.

Also, we went to a bridal expo where we got tromped all over by bitchy bridezillas trying to fill out this card with signatures from all the booths there so they could enter a drawing. Silly us, we were actually interested in the businesses that were there that day.

But, good news is, we've found a few places to look at for the reception. This Saturday we're looking at the Northfield Inn and Suites in Springfield. They're a little bit on the pricey side, but they do their own food, decorating, place setting, bar, blah blah blah, and we would get a complimentary honeymoon suite and our guests who needed to get a room would get special rates for being a part of our special day. Not too shabby. Which is why we're checking it out to see if this deal is as good as it seems.

We'll also be looking into the Sangmon Prairie something something reception center (it has the biggest name you have ever freaking heard - but for those of you from Chatham, it's where the old IGA was and it's across from the cremation place. Yummy.) This place is promising because it is seriously just down the road from the church we're getting married at. For everybody who braved my brother Matt's wedding and all the crazy road closings, this would be like our wedding present to you.

And finally we'll be checking out the Secret Recipes reception center. Their food is awesome and from what I've seen their facility is really beautiful.

So hopefully one of these will fit the wedding of the century's reception site expectations.

In other news:

Still no real decisions made on bridal party whatnots. I've been looking at dresses some (I found these wicked polka-dot tea dresses for bridesmaids, but not everyone is as polka-dot obsessed as me) and found a few styles I liked for myself as well as the bridesmaids. I think I'm definitely looking for something tea-length or a little higher for the bridesmaids *contrary to popular belief, showing leg, no matter how hefty, is flattering* and definitely something with straps *eat that inconvenience*.

For me, well, that's different and a topic I promise I'll cover closer to the wedding.

Also, since it's a fall wedding I've convinced Wayne to promote a moderate-to-high frequency of mums in our flower arrangements (they're totally the fall flower and come in the most beautiful colors). For the reception we've been talking about painting coffee cans and actually planting flowers in them so we don't have to spend ludicrous amounts of money on stuff we can't actually use again.

Hm, well, I guess that's all for now. I plan to be back on Saturday to talk about how awesome/un-awesome this reception area we're seeing that day is. And there will be photo evidence.

Until then, much love!

Alicia

Monday, January 19, 2009

Dinner for two

So I was reading our wedding blog, because you know, we are getting married and we are blogging about it and I saw that Alicia mentioned Caitie Girls.
Oh Caitie Girls, I remember when we first heard about it. It was either the exact moment before or after we produced the check for our new place to the landlord. The woman working at the desk of the office of the landlord was idly chatting with us about how she went to this new place called Caitie Girls and said the food was delicious. We kept that little token in mind and proceeded to move into our home and all that fun stuff.
We decided to go into Springfield for a nice day together and we visited the Illinois State Museum. Caitie Girls just happened to be just a little bit down the road.
Let me preface this story about an awesome dinner with a little bit of info about the Illinois State Museum. The museum is quite entertaining. When you enter, they give you these little cards that you can slide into random machines throughout the museum. Sometimes it makes something happen, other times it starts an audio recording. Nifty stuff.
We saw the naked Indians. They were naked and terrifyingly life-like. Did I mention they were naked?
Then we went into the art gallery that was a special event. It was ok, there were some really interesting pieces, but nothing really stood out.
We looked at some really cool displays of what Illinois looked like all the way back to the beginning of time (or near about). It was pretty cold back then, like it is outside right now.
Anywho, you should go if you come into Springfield, it's fun stuff.
So, after the museum, we ventured over to Caitie Girls, which is located on the first floor of one of the buildings in the heart of Springfield. It took us a moment to find a spot to properly park and then another moment to find the door. Once we entered, however, we were very impressed. As Alicia said, the inside of this place has a blast of bright color, the walls are adorned with artwork like Van Gogh's "Starry Night." One of the employees saw us enter and said he would seat us in the most popular area of the dining area, just in front of "Starry Night." It was quite romantic to say the least.
Then we got to the menu, which was filled with a variety of dishes including a high brow macaroni and cheese dish, meatloaf and roast beef among other things. I opted for the roast beef, Alicia challeneged the meatloaf. We also had some of their delightful mixed drinks, which were quite excellent to say the least. When our food arrived, we had to do a double take. Alicia and I, who are fervent "no food mixers," gazed upon these dishes that had been artfully mooshed onto a single plate. I had corn, green beans, mashed potatoes, roast beef and a cheese biscuit all nestled against one another on my plate. It was intimidating at first, but after that first bite, I gorged down like Ada when we leave for more than one day. It was a good meal and a great experience.
I suppose the point of this story is that places like Caitie Girls seem so cool for possible locales for our wedding reception. Good food, good environment and great service with no hassles and all the attention and care a business should give to paying customers. I don't know if Caitie Girls is where we will set our hearts, but I would hope that any other location is just as good, if not better than CGs.
HA! I just got delayed by Youtube. I could rant and rant about the power of the Internet to impede progress, but chances are, you are reading this at work and looking over your shoulder, worried that you might be caught! Muahaha!
Well, I don't know what more I can think of to type that would be a fun read, but I can say this much, I'm super excited about this wedding, I think it is going to be incredible. Not just because I'm marrying a super funny, talented, gorgeous and overall fantastico gal, but because we are the ones who will make sure that this will be an enjoyable experience for everyone.
What can I say? We love each other and we love sharing our happiness with you all. Until another day, I shall end this rambling blog with a quote:

"Life is like a box of chocolates, and chocolate is delicious."

That's how it goes, right? (Just finished eating a bag of Milky Way Caramels, so it sounds right.)

Saturday, January 17, 2009

Speaking of Wedding Parties

Just like Wayne, I also am struggling with the thought of who will be on my side of the wedding party. But the dresses will have straps. I figured it would be easier than this to choose who would stand up for me, but, eh, deciding this is a long way away.

I know...let's have a spelling competition. (a box of Lucky Charms if you can name where that's from)

Wayne and I talked about color scheme and stuff like that. I don't think we'll be going with the traditional two-color scheme. It's way too restricting, plus Wayne would like red and I would like purple and the two colors don't mix as well as they could. So I think we're going to throw in some orange, yellow and green to make it all fall, all mixed and all awesome.

On a completely different note - why does Kid Rock suck so much yet sell so many records? It's a mystery I've never been able to solve and seems even more important as he white-trashes up the TV show I'm watching. Take a shower dude. And a hair cut never hurt anyone.

Back to wedding - we're going to a wedding expo next Sunday and hoping that we'll be able to find a good sampling of reception venues. We've been talking about having it at Caitie Girls, this completely chic and quirky restaurant downtown that is painted within an inch of its life with renditions of famous paintings and so homey-yet-modern it defies all logic. But parking would probably be an issue and blah blah blah, so we'll see.

I just can't wait until October 23, 2010 so we can all eat, drink and be married! (AHAHAHA ooo I'm sorry for that one)

I'll leave you with something that makes family happy - pictures! And a fond reflection on our relationship so far (awwwww):



This is us on main street in Louisville, KY. I can't remember who the statue was in honor of, but I believe it was a former mayor. We took a daytrip there after I got my new car as a celebration that one of us actually had a car that would be trustworthy on long trips. We also went to the Louisville Slugger museum (here's us in front of the huuuuge bat at the entrance):



We saw the Superman ride at Six Flags where one of the wires snapped and cut a girl's feet off a mere few weeks before we were there and then goofed off on the river walk where yet another statue so selflessly gave itself for an awesome picture:


Well anyway, that's the Wayne and Alicia history lesson for today. I'm hopeful that once we go to this expo, we'll be on our way to having more decisions made.

Catch you on the flip side!

Alicia

Wednesday, January 14, 2009

The Following is a Message From Wayne

Hey folks, Wayne here. Psst, I'm the lucky guy marrying Alicia if you didn't see her introductions yet. I'll be adding my own thoughts throughout the process of the planning and implementation of our wedding. It should be fun, since writing about those types of things always prove to be interesting reads.
So where to start?
It's a good question and one that has a few good answers. First, I have been pondering what exactly we need to do first to get this shindig underway. We've already set a date, so I guess the next logical step would be to get a reception hall booked and the sort. I'm not sure what the Springfield area has in terms of places to host a wedding reception, but I think we'll manage to find a great place at a great price.
Another topic that has been lingering on my mind is the selection of groomsmen, ushers and a best man. I know at least three people that I want to participate in the ceremony, but the last few spots are proving to be difficult. It's mostly because I don't know what chapter of my life to pull groomsmen and ushers from.
Do I go with family? Do I go with friends before college? Do I go with college friends?
I'm not sure, but it's something that I need to figure out and soon. I don't want to spring my decision on those selected at the last moment. I'd have them all compete in dance-offs or singing competitions, but I can't find a smarmy judge of foreign residency to cut them down. I guess that means the decision will be mine.
In terms of what the man-side of the wedding will wear, I don't know exactly if I will be implementing a color. If I do, I'll need the help of my lovely Alicia because I stink with colors. They would end up dressing in something that looks like a prom out of Hell. I looked pretty awesome in a black tux with a black vest, so I think that might be a good choice for me.
I actually feel quite prepared and educated when it comes to the wedding decisions. I say that not because I have done extensive research, but I have seen so many wedding shows that it would be impossible not to have gleaned some fraction of wisdom about the big day.
So, expect to hear more from me as we move closer to the wedding. I think it's going to be quite fun keeping this site updated with news!

Thanks for reading,
Wayne "Baconator" Utterback