Orlando – Day 4

23 Jul 2008 Leave a Comment

by Trish in Uncategorized

Tired, its late and we are getting up early tomorow, so I won’t write much.

Today we started off with lunch, then headed to Hollywood Studios.  Mom, Dad and I went to see the Indiana Jones stunt show while Sis and her b/f went to ride the Rockin’ Roller Coaster.  Then we had desserts at a 50s diner.  Then Mom and Dad went to the Backlot tour, Sis and b/f went to Tower of Terror and I watched the parade.  Mom and Dad never got to see the tour because it started storming.  The parade was cut short for the same reason.  Then we took cover and shopped.  Then we headed to Downtown Disney.  Shopped for a bit, then headed to Cirque de Soleil.  It was awesome!!  Then we had dinner at Wolfgang Puk’s and shopped some more in Downtown Disney.

Time for bed!!

Orlando – Day 2

21 Jul 2008 Leave a Comment

by Trish in Uncategorized

Today Dad and I slept in a little bit, got ready and went to Hollywood Studios.  Which, used to be called MGM Studios (or something like that), but they changed the name recently, because it was still called MGM when we were here this past Oct.  Anyway, we went there today, just Dad and I.

We started off at the Tower of Terror, got a fast pass.  Then to eat lunch.  Then we went to Aerosmith’ Rockin’ Roller Coaster to get a fast pass.  Then back to Tower of Terror to ride it.  Its always a good time.  Then we went to a few other things, Back Lot Tour, then back to ride Aerosmith’s Rockin’ Roller Coaster, which is awesome.  Then we did a few more things, one of which was awesome.  It was the car stunt show.  Exciting and intense, all at the same time.  ha  (I did some video of that one.)  Then we had dinner at a Sci-Fi Drive-In restaurant.  Then we went to the Ampitheatre there to wait for Fantasmic, which was awesome.  Then it was time for the park to close.  Now we’re home, waiting for Mom and Sis.  (They are at dinner with some cake people.  Its the last night of their convention.)

I wish my Bro could/would have joined us, and miss Ric terribly too! 

Not sure what tomorrow brings, but Dad and I are already prepared, because Mom is in charge now, so no more sleeping in!    ha

Orlando – Day I

20 Jul 2008 1 Comment

by Trish in Uncategorized

I’m probably not going to be able to do this every night, but the nights that I am able to, I will go ahead and write.  No pictures until I get home though. 

HI GUYS!  I’m in Orlando.  WOOOOhooo!
Mom and Sis are here for the ICES (International Cake Exploration Societe) Convention.  They left IL Tuesday morning.  Dad left IL to come down (Mom’s car was full with cake displays) on Wednesday morning.  I left Friday evening after work. 

I arrived last night around 11:30 EST, after a ROUGH good-bye to STL.  Well, I was leaving my husband behind, and it was a rough good-bye at the airport (which meant a horrible case of puffy eyes this morning)!  I guess I am just sad that I’m here having a good time and experiencing all kinds of new things, while he is at home, all by his lonesome.  (I’m sure he is enjoying his quiet time!)  (BUT, don’t worry, the first weekend of August, he is on his way to Vegas withOUT me, so we’re even.  ha)

Today’s Adventure:
Dad and I woke up (we slept in) and got ready.  We ran an errand for Mom to Kinkos for some papers for her demonstration tomorrow (Sunday).  Then we met Mom and Sis at the Contemporary (which is where they are staying until tomorrow, while the cake convention is going on-Dad and I are staying at a resort, which is where they will be staying with us starting tomorrow night, which is only about 5 minutes from Disney world grounds).  Went to the “cake room” to see all the COOL cakes (don’t worry, I took pictures).  Then hung out there for a little while meeting all of Mom’s cake friends and such.  I FINALLY got to meet Nick, a cake friend of my Mom’s, who is a Food Network judge.  (The same guy who did Princess Di’s wedding cake years ago – how awesome is that?!)  He’s a cool guy.  I felt like I was meeting a celebrity.  After that, Dad and I headed over to Epcot.  Got there, went on the ride in “the big ball”, tried to go on the “Test Track” ride, but they closed down because of the weather (it only sprinkled), and then headed to the Space Training ride, got a fast past ticket, went to the Nemo ride (which was INTENSE (exaggerating!)).  Then headed back to the space training ride, which made both Dad and I a little nausious.  Then we headed to dinner, which was the highlight of the evening.  We ate in Japan, at a Japanese restaurant, where they cook the food right in front of you.  It was neat.  (I have eaten at the one in STL, but this was Disney World.)  Right as we were coming out of dinner, the fireworks/laser show started, so we watched that.  Then went back to the Monorail, to take it back to the Contemporary where Dad’s car was.  First we stopped off at Mom and Sis’s room, to help Mom practice for her demonstration tomorrow.  How awesome is this, her demonstration SOLD OUT.  That means she is giving this in front of 200 people.  (She only expected 20-30).  Mom’s a “sell out.” ha  (It only proves how awesome she is.)  Mom is demonstrating these roller things that she invented.  They’re awesome, and only a cake person would understand how awesome they are (and a cake person’s daughter).  She tried to patent it, but it was a pain in the booty (she said), so she didn’t.  Instead, she is going to just show everyone her “trick”, and share her secret.  Isn’t that nice of her.

Well, Dad is already in bed, and I need to be heading that way now.  (Its 12:44 EST).  Another fun day to come tomorrow.  Dad and I aren’t sure what we’re going to do.  But this is some great bonding time for Daddy’s Girl and her Daddy! =D

1 – 2 – 3

17 Jul 2008 Leave a Comment

by Trish in Uncategorized

First things first. . .I just posted a Happy B-day blog to TERESA, and spelled her name wrong.  DUH me!  haha  SORRY about that Teresa!

I read this on Natalie’s blog. . .looks like fun.

1. What are the last 3 things you purchased?*
-Clothes at Kohl’s for my FL trip.  (Mom paid for most of them though.)
-Pull N Peel Licorice from the gas station for Muny night.
-Engraved picture frame for Brayden’s Baptism. (Which I never did post about yet.)

2. What are the last 3 songs you downloaded?*
-We Built This City – Starship
-Drift Away – Uncle Kracker
-You Gave Me A Mountain – Elvis Presley
(This song is amazing!)

3. Where were the last 3 places you visited?
-Springfield, MO
-Orlando, FL
-Western Caribbean

4. What are your 3 favorite movies?
-The Wedding Date
-Mrs. Doubtfire
-Lion King

5. What are your 3 favorite possessions?
-Elvis and Jesse
-My Rebel and my 5D
-wedding set – Ric picked out ALL by himself

6. What 3 things can you not live without?
-family, friends, in-laws
-photography
-computer (with my awesome photo editing program on it)

7. What would be your 3 wishes?
-no more desk job/photography full-time
-Ric to get a full-time job.  Not that I mind him just subbing, but I know that it is driving HIM CRAAAAAAAZY!
-all my family AND in-laws all lived in the same area
(not necessarily right next door, but at least an hour drive or less)

8. What are 3 things you have not done yet?
-birthed a child
-Seen Paris and/or Hawaii
(Hawaii is my dream!)
-LOVED my job

9. What are your 3 favorite dishes?
-Ric’s citrus pork stir fry
-Mom and/or Ric’s spaghetti
-Mother-in-Law’s monkey bread

10. What 3 celebrities would you want to hang out with the most?
-Joey Lawrence
-Reese Witherspoon
-Debra Messing

11. Name 3 things that freak you out.
-lightening
-being startled/scared
-death

12. If you could describe yourself in 3 words, what would they be?
-fun
-loving
-caring

13. Name 3 unusual things you are good at.
-photo editing/photoshop
-I just. . .
-. . .don’t know.

14. What are 3 things you are currently coveting?
-a trip somewhere awesome with hubby and mother-in-law
(plans in the making)
-more new glass (lenses)
-more camera equipment

15. What 3 bloggers would you like tag?
-Anyone who would like
-to
-play!!

Theresa

17 Jul 2008 Leave a Comment

by Trish in Uncategorized

Hey Theresa. . .

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!! 

Hope its a good one!

Brave Little Me!

13 Jul 2008 4 Comments

by Trish in Uncategorized

First, let’s take a look at past hair!
While you’re looking, notice that my hair has almost always been really long!
(Especially as a youngster!)

SO, This is what my hair looked like yesterday morning right out of the shower.
(no mousse or make-up – ha)

NOT FOR LONG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Now my hair is GONE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

My awesome hair stylist (from Highland) did an awesome job! I LOVE it!
All I told her is that I wanted it to angle in the front and stack in the back.
You can’t tell from the curly haired pictures.
(This is not fixed, just right after the cut!)

So I decided to straighten it last night, because we had a b-day party to go to.

This is BEFORE leaving the house.

This is only about 30 MINUTES after being outside yesterday evening. UGH
(How frustrating! ha)

So, hopefully this is going to “grow” on me. I do like it, I just wish it would stay straight for more than 5 minutes! ha I guess that is the humidity for you!

BYE BYE HAIR!!!!!!!!!!

In other news. . .FIVE MORE DAYS until Orlando!!!!!!! =D

A Little More About Crested Butte

11 Jul 2008 3 Comments

by Trish in Uncategorized

Elevation:
8885
(St. Louis is only at 538 or so.)
[Ric did not know this and did NOT wear sun block the first day of golf. Irish/red-heads don't mix well with bright sun. He came home nice and CRISPY! OUCH, it STILL looks painful. He even has lots of blisters. Guess he learned his lesson!]

Its such an ADORABLE little town.

Winter views.

A New Journey

11 Jul 2008 2 Comments

by Trish in Uncategorized

My first night NOT alone, all by myself, etc. Ric has been gone for a week and 2 days. (So it’s our first evening together since then, and here I am blogging. That’s okay though!)

Last Tuesday Ric and I went to Mom and Dad’s to say good-bye to my brother. Its time for him to start a new journey in his life. Moving to Colorado. We’re a pretty close family, and I have never lived further than about 40 miles from Mom, Dad, Sis and Bro, so this was kind of hard on me! That night I left Ric at Mom and Dad’s so that he could help load up the U-Haul and to make the road trip with Dad and Bro to Colorado. (Bro and Ric in the U-Haul and Dad in his car.)

Crested Butted to be specific. (One of my aunts and uncles lives there, so at least he’ll be near SOME family.)

Packing up the U-Haul.

Bye Bye Brother!

They left on Wednesday morning and drove and drove and drove. After getting there and realizing the the house/apartment he was supposed to move into wasn’t going to work out (his bed was bigger than the bedroom), he had a few days to find something else and for Ric, Bro and Dad to do some sight seeing and play LOTS of golf with my Uncle. It wasn’t until Wednesday morning (the 9th) that Ric and Dad made the drive home. Ric arriving home at 3:00 a.m. (but I’m a light sleeper, so I got to say hello when he got home).

Here are a few pictures of the journey.

This is my brother’s pet bearded dragon (I think that is what “brand” he is, ha). This is at the hotel one of the nights on the way to CO. Meet Peeve. . .(My brother’s Pet Peeve. What a clever guy my Bro is!)

This is actually a picture from my aunt and uncle’s back yard. What a view!!

Here is a picture of the little town of Crested Butte, and I do mean LITTLE!
Population: 1,529.
This was at the 4th of July parade (yes, I spent 4th of July here, and he spent 4th of July there – oh well!)

They have a HUGE water fight – the town firefighters vs. the town. Who do you think wins that one every time?!

Just some more scenic pictures of the area. (Yes, that is some snow still up there, which is why I’m not TOO jealous! Winters have to be ROUGH there! I guess Bro will find out in a few months!)

Ric’s rainbow picture.

And this is what Bro, Dad, Ric and Uncle J did a LOT of! I think Ric said they golfed 5 of the days on this trip (one being on the way there in Castle Rock, CO).
Here’s Dad about to swing! (FYI: My family LOVES golf Mom, Dad, Bro (got a golf scholarship to college) and Sis (also got a golf scholarship to college). When Ric met the family, they convinced him to love it also. Even the extended family loves it. I’m pretty sure my brother could go pro! (I’m not just being biased either, I promise!) There is only one person that hates it, and really could care less – ME! ha)

So, good luck on your new journey Brother!!!  We’ll miss you!

Poor!

06 Jul 2008 1 Comment

by Trish in Uncategorized

I jumped on the bandwagon and took this test which Lynn posted first.
I knew that it wasn’t going to be a good outcome. . .mainly because I don’t do much. Ric cooks and does the laundry. He cleans most too, even though I certainly do my fair share now-a-days. Its kind of like we switched “roles”. I go to work all day and he stays home (teacher, off for the Summer).

All I have to say is, good thing it isn’t the 1930′s anymore!! =D

40 As a 1930s wife, I am Poor Take the test!

Scoring:

0-24 – Very Poor (Failure)
25-41 – Poor
42-58 – Average
59-75 – Superior
76+ – Very Superior

A Little Wedding Survey

04 Jul 2008 Leave a Comment

by Trish in Uncategorized

I was reading through my good friend Kim’s blog (she’s a designHer).
I found this cute and FUN post about her wedding and thought I would “steal” it and have a little fun of my own! Thanks Futtsy!

We all know how much I love “visuals”. . .so I’m going to have to add some in myself also!
Here we go. . .

1. What month & year were you married?
November 2005

2. How did he ask you?
I had a “PJ Luau party” for my 25th b-day. We were all having a good ol’ time and sitting out on the back patio at our apartment when Ric called us all in the house. Some of us thought we were “in trouble” for being so loud (we were having a good time!). Well, we all came into the living room, I sat on the couch next to a few friends. Ric stood up in front of everyone and gave a speech about how he was “going to wait, but that he couldn’t wait” (my real b-day was 3 days later), and then got down on one knee in front of me, and all our close friends and his sister, and asked me to marry him. I loved that he did it in front of some of our closest friends. It was bittersweet!

3. Where did you honeymoon?
We went on a Caribbean Honeymoon Cruise through Carnival to San Juan, Puerto Rico; St. Thomas; and St. Maarten. It was a first for both of us (cruising), and turned out absolutely awesome!! The honeymoon was a surprise to me. I didn’t know where we were going until 4:00 a.m. the morning after the wedding as we were heading to the airport.

4. Can you still fit in your dress?
Yes, I’m sure I could! Though there is no way I would be able to tell because it is boxed up and at Mom and Dad’s house. Mom paid double to have it boxed up too, because she wanted to make sure it came back clean before it was boxed up, so I wouldn’t want to take it out to try!

5. What was the worst gift you got?
I can honestly say that we did not get one bad gift!

6. What flavor was your wedding cake?
Honestly, I couldn’t tell ya. Didn’t get to choose, the whole cake was a surprise to us.
The only piece we got was the itty bitty piece that we fed to each other also.

7. Were you a bridezilla?
Absolutely, positively the total opposite of a bridezilla. I have Mom to thank for that though!!!
She was absolutely AWESOME. If it weren’t for her, none of this would have been!

8. Whats one thing you would change about your wedding?
There are only a few things I would change, and they only have to do with the decisions that I made on my own. The main one would have to be the dress, I LOVED my dress, though I would have had some “cap sleeves” added to it, if I were to do it all over again. That is pretty much all I would change.

9. Do you still look at your wedding pics?
ALL the time. I see at least one of them either on-line or on the wall at least once a day. I have an awesome photographer to thank for that! The one below I see at least once a day, if not more, because it is the one and only picture that we have had printed out and have hanging on the wall in our living room.

10. What colors did you use?
Fuchsia and black. I LOVED it!

11. Where did you tie the knot?
St. Henry’s Catholic Church, Belleville

12. Whats one funny thing that happened that day?
It was the start of the day actually. My Mom and I were getting in the van to head to Belleville (we were in Highland at the time) to head to the church. We were standing there and this leaf just blew right in my Mom’s hair. Its not really that funny to read about it, but apparently my Mom and I thought it was the FUNNIEST thing ever!!!!!!

13. How many showers did you have?
2. One couples shower in July and one “girlie shower” in August. They were both SO awesome!
Everyone involved did such an awesome job!

14. Did you cry?
Not even once. I was too “in my own little happy bubble.” ha
My husband did a good job of that for me though!
P-R-I-C-E-L-E-S-S!!!

15. Did you give any wedding favors away?
We had a candy buffet. It was more of a “help yourself” favor. Apparently it was a big hit, because by the time we (and the photographer) got to the reception, 98% of the candy was already gone. haha

16. Who caught the flowers and garter?
Ric’s cousin Peggy caught the throw-away bouquet. And my cousin’s son, William, caught the garter.
Thought William was too embarassed to get in the photo, so his younger brother Jake stood in.

17. Who was your officiant or minister?
Monsignor Voss at St. Henry’s

18. How much was your wedding dress, undergarments and all?
Let’s not go there! ha It wasn’t THAT bad. Especially with the AWESOME seamstress I had, even with all the stuff she had to do when she took in the top of the dress.

19. Was there dancing?
OMG, yes – TONS!!!

Check out my 86-year-old Grandma breaking it down!

20. Where was the reception?
The Fountains at the Four Points Sheraton

21. Would go back and do it over again?
I WISH I COULD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Looking at these pictures, is really making me relive that day and I wish I could do it FOR REAL!!!
I want to go back and do it all again, right now!

22. How long did you have to plan your wedding?
Well, pretty much all my life. ha Mom is in the wedding business, so we had a lot of stuff figured out already. Not really “put in place or reserved” just ideas. But we had officially from 9/25/04-11/12/05.
There was a little glitch with these candybar wrappers my Mom ordered. Mom thought Ric was proposing ON my b-day (the 28th) when really he proposed on the 25th. When she found out, she had to go to the store, buy “ivory-out” (as opposed to “white-out”), pink marker and change all the 8s to 5s. WAY TO GO Ric. haha (This one is a little messed up, it is quite old by now! ha)

23. What kind of car were you in when you drove away?
We didn’t drive away in a car. When we walked out of the church there was a surprise horse-drawn carriage waiting for us. We hopped in there and rode away in that, just for a short period while the guests were leaving. Then we went back to the church for some more pictures. After pictures at the Church we drove away in a trolley to go to Downtown St. Louis to take some pictures there.

24. How many in your wedding party?
Let’s see. There were a LOT. 23 total people.
We had one maid of honor, one best man, 5 bridesmaids, 5 groomspeople (one was a girl). We had a flower girl and a ring bearer, we had a jr. bridesmaid and a jr. groomsman, a mini-bride and a mini-groom and one “vow keeper.” Oh, and 4 ushers, 3 of which were named Mike.
(Mini-groom is missing, he was not having a happy day.)

25. Did you do anything different in your wedding or reception?
At the reception we played our love story, on a large projector on the wall. It was awesome. I have my awesome videographers to thank for that. If you’d like to watch, you can go here to see that!
(It was apparently really funny!)

25. Where did you get your rings?
Ric was sent to Lordos Diamonds in Clayton to check out rings there. A friend of his knows the owner. So, that is where he went, along with check out other places, but this is where he ended up getting it. I am proud to say that Ric picked out my ring/wedding set on his own, without me!! He did an awesome job. After getting my engagement ring, I ended up going there to look at rings for him, one of which we both fell in love with but was a little (okay, I mean a LOT) out of our price range. Well, after getting the price down a little and setting up a payment plan, I was able to make it happen. I didn’t know what my band looked like and Ric didn’t know what his band looked like until THAT day when we slipped them on each others’ fingers.

I must say, I’m pretty proud of Ric’s ring, it is awesome. I love showing it off, though he shows it off more than I do! The little diamonds slide back and forth. I did gold and white gold because Ric likes gold and I like/my set is white gold, so I wanted to match at least a little.

I’m also excited that now that we have new furniture (more on that later), I’m going to have a place to put my coffee table album. Its going to go on the new coffee table, what a concept!
(You can click on the pictures to make them bigger.)

Don’t worry, the weird picture here looks normal in the album.