I am not sure if I have mentioned on here that my brother Joe is getting married in a few weeks to a wonderfully sweet girl named Nicol.  I also think that I have neglected perhaps to mention that Nicol had asked all three of Joe's sisters to be bridesmaids.  For those of you counting, this will be my 9th wedding to participate in.  I am collecting quite the rainbow of dresses, let me tell you.  I know that it is strange perhaps that I have kept them, and this may not make sense to anyone else - but those dresses are very special reminders of very special people in my life.  While 9 weddings may not sound like fun to any of you - each and every single one of those dresses represent significant relationships to me...many [not all - but many!] of the most influential and closest people in my life.  Each tells a story of friendship and shared experience.  I love them.  The girls and the dresses .

I digress.  Back to Joe and Nicol.  The four of us girls that will be standing up with Nicol didn't want to do the traditional bachelorette party for her,[and couldn't have included my sister Jannah if we did that anyway] and she is already having a couple of wedding showers so we decided to do something a little different to celebrate instead.  Nicol has been wanting to go to Six Flags here in St. Louis FOREVER.  Like, since she was a little kid - and for a myriad of reasons, just hasn't been.  So we decided to surprise her and take her for a day O fun at Six Flags. 

My sister and I collaborated on special t-shirts for the day [which basically means that I helped with the idea and supply gathering and she did all of the work - THANKS Hannah!] - white for Nicol, and pink for the bridesmaids, with brown jersey style lettering on them that said 'Team Bride' on the front, with our 'positions' in the bridal party [ie, bride, maid of honor, bridesmaid] on the back with the number 08 [since they are getting married in 2008 - get it? ] underneath.  They turned out super cool - totally not stupid like I was a little afraid they might be.  Ashley, the maid of honor, made a veil for Nicol to wear all around the park...

It was SO.FUN.  The day couldn't have been more beautiful weather wise - everybody was super sweet and attentive to Nicol - congratulations hollered at her from all over the park - we got a TON of compliments on the shirts - the lines weren't long AT ALL [as in, we didn't wait more than 15 minutes to ride anything] and no one got sick.  It was a total blast.

So - here are some favorite pictures from the day.  Enjoy!

thank you all for the gentle nudging to update.

i am afraid there really isn't much going on worth mentioning - so let me see if i can just start typing and come up with something semi-interesting?

living in my new home is good.  i am living with a woman named tina who is super sweet - she is a nurse anesthesiologist and has two daughters that are grown.  because of her job and the crazy hours she works at the hospital, combined with the fact that i work full time and go to school full time - we hardly ever see one another - we pass each other coming and going, but not a lot more than that.  i think tonight is MAYBE the third night that we have actually both been home on the same night together since i moved in a month and a half ago.

with all of that said, she has been sooooooo easy to live with.  we are both pretty laid back and easy to live with, so that makes for really good living conditions.  i cannot tell you how grateful i am for that.

i just finished my third week of school, and so far it is going really well - i was talking to a friend of mine from school the other day who will be graduating with me, and she mentioned that we only have 29 more weeks of actual class time before we graduate.  that is terrifying and exciting all at the same time.  who knew the time was going to go by so quickly?  i sure didn't. 

i don't remember if i mentioned everything that i am taking this semester - for those of you who are curious...i actually have a really good lineup - all of my classes are blocked out on mondays and wednesdays, which is fantastic for time management - making it a TON easier to get a good schedule at work.  it makes for a LONG day on those two days, but they are all super interesting classes so it is fine.

anyway - my school day begins with 'research statistics', followed by my 'industry and society' class, then heading to 'health behavior theory and application'.  on mondays i head straight from my health behavior class to my favorite class of the semester - filipino martial arts, or FMA for short...hopefully i will have pictures of that class soon - it is SO.FUN.  what's not to like about getting to hit other people with sticks?    i have some bruises of my own, but am none worse for the wear - it is so worth it. 

hmmmmmmm - what else?  work is good - my new position as support manager has been going really well and i have a lot of favor there - i have started to put feelers out at the home office in NWA, and i feel like [and perhaps i shouldn't count my chickens before they hatch] it is perhaps not going to take as much effort as i thought to find a good position there after i graduate.  i have a lot of support from the management team at the store i am working at now, and a lot of support from my friends who already work there in NWA...so i am feeling pretty positive about the whole thing.

in case you are feeling out of the loop - basically, my plan at this point is to graduate in may of 2009, and move/get into a position at the home office as soon as possible after graduation.  as soon as i get settled in there, i will start in a MBA program at john brown university in NWA, graduate in a year with my MBA, and then decide from there what the next thing is.  if things are good and i have opportunities at the home office, and i am not too homesick, then i will stay there in NWA.  if not - i can always find a job somewhere else.  i like that i will have plenty of options at that point.  that feels really, really good.

anyone bored yet with the mundane of everyday life?

i am.

what can i tell you that is more fun?  how about some great shopping deals i have found in the last week?  the other day at work they marked a BUNCH of bra in the lingerie department down to three and four dollars - i totally scored three for under ten dollars.  they are pretty AND cheap.  it doesn't get much better than that - except for maybe the sweet rain boots that i found last week for $14 - PERFECT for the rainy days to come when i have to schlep from the farthest parking lots at school to class.  the best part?  they are ZEBRA striped.  i love them - i will try to get pictures later.

I am really going to miss the late night chats winding down together while checking e-mail, puttering around on the computer, or catching up with our shows on Tivo.  I already miss having daily contact with my dear friend, tutor, counselor, personal trainer, life-coach, reality check, and cheering squad.  Not being able to stop by her office in between classes just to say hi, grab coffee and a quick hug before going back to class will be odd.  The everyday-ness of having one of your dearest friends as a housemate and close enough to grab lunch with, or coffee, or just to hang out is not something to be taken for granted.

This is a weird mixture of emotions - I cannot say enough how grateful I am to love someone this much [and to be loved in return] that it hurts this badly to say goodbye.  At the same time, there is huge sadness.  I am optimistic about this next year - looking forward to all of the good in store...scared of it at the same time [because I am now doing it without my Wendy].  I am excited to see what is to come - in my life, in Wendy's life, with their family and the kids.  Hopeful.  But tonight, for just a while - I am letting myself cry and miss my friend.

My life is dramatically different than it was two and a half years ago before meeting Wen...It makes me smile to think about really.  Two years ago I was stuck.  Stuck in a job that paid me well, but that I was miserable doing.  Stuck emotionally and physically.  Pretty much lonely and miserable and at a place where I *felt* powerless and unable to change things.  Without a lot of hope.

Not to set Wendy up on a pedestal, or to not give credit where it is due [yes - saying all of this well aware of the fact that God is the one who put her in my life in the first place, and the beginning/source of the positive changes effected in my life], but meeting Wendy changed a lot of things.

I was telling someone today [and laughing a bit] about how fast things started happening after I met Wendy.  Within three months of knowing her, I had decided to step down from my position at work and go back to school.  To move in with the Mucci clan and become 'the basement dweller'.  Within six months I had run my first 5k.  Wendy has continually pushed me out of my comfort zone, seeming to know just how hard to push me without sending me over the edge...   That is a RARE combination in a friend. 

In all of the transition, trauma, change, loss and growth of the last year, Wendy has been a steadfast constant.

I love her.  And will miss her.  Do any of you ever have those moments where you are super sad about something, and then your own moroseness makes you eyeroll at yourself?  Yeah - that is where I am. 

I just had a really funny thought...I am sure it will not translate well here, but as cheesy as it is, that line from the 1980's classic by Michael W Smith '..friends are friends forever, if the Lord's the Lord of them...and a lifetime's not too long...to live as friends...'  bahahahaha - cheesy and sentimental and true.  [totally a rabbit trail here, but incidentally - that whole album by MWS is an all-time favorite of mine even now] Moving isn't the end - just a little further to travel to get together...

I guess I have exercised my train of free thinking here long enough - sometimes blogging is just good for my head and heart...thanks for reading.  If you think about it - please pray for my heart and my sweet friend as she and her family transition and unpack...

I love you friend!

I have to tell you - I am grateful for my family on a continual basis, but today watching my dad and sweet brothers sweat and drag all of my accumulated crap from one home to the next I was almost overwhelmed with gratefulness that they would give up a Sunday afternoon/evening to help and bless their big sister.  I am a blessed girl.

They were actually quite speedy about the whole process - from the time that they showed up with the trailer, got me loaded, drove to the new place, unloaded, placed all the furniture where I needed it, made the bed, got my closet and bathroom situated, hung mirrors and pictures for me and hooked up the television and DVD player, and drove back to Wendy's - it was only two and a half hours from start to finish.  Pretty impressive really.

The lady that I will be living with for the next year is super sweet - I know that I promised to tell you the story of how I ended up at her home, but I just can't right now - perhaps next week when things settle a bit.  I haven't forgotten - I promise.

At any rate, she is in the army reserves and is gone for training the next two weeks in Texas, so this week I am going to still be here with Wendy and the kids until they leave on Friday.

My last class of the summer wraps up on Thursday.  I am really grateful that I am going to have a three week break to settle and breathe for a bit before the fall semester kicks off full force.  I am looking forward to spending some time with my family [who have been rather neglected the last few weeks], doing some reading and scrapbooking, and getting unpacked and settled in my new home.

Blah, blah, blah - I need to go work on a paper.  Just wanted you all to know that I am still here and kicking.

*Starting my third [and last] class of the summer tomorrow.

*Got promoted at work to the position of 'Support Manager' - which basically means, 'Let's give you a bunch of responsibility and a couple bucks more an hour'...  No real power, but every little bit of extra $$ helps at this point! 

*Through a 'random' sequence [it really is a God thing, and I will have to come back and do this story justice later] of events it seems that I may have found a new place to live here in town when Wendy and the family make the big move to Nashville.   HUGE answer to prayer because while I was looking forward to living with my parents and younger siblings again, I was DREADING the added hour and a half drive EVERY day.  The thought of losing that amount of time when I could be studying or sleeping just about made me cry.  This new place will be 6 minutes from work and 10-15 from school.  Totally doable. 

*I am completely addicted to 'So you think you can dance' right now.  I really want to sign up for some kind of dance class!  I think that it is so cool to be able to express yourself with your body like that...LOVE IT. 

*I am still driving my parents little Geo Tracker around.  I am super grateful for this vehicle - pretty good gas mileage, gets me from here to there...it doesn't have air conditioning,  but so far the summer hasn't been super hot, so even that is not a bad thing.  I just talk louder on my cell phone when I am driving because the wind through the open window gets pretty loud. 

*Yesterday was my parents 34th anniversary - they went away for the whole weekend and it sounds like they had a great time.  I love that they like each other even more now than they ever did.  They are such cool, humble, content, godly people.  My parents embody so much that I want to be....maybe with time???

*Wendy, Flo and I have a new hobby - BINGO.  I am pretty sure that Wendy is going to post about our first time...she has pictures and tells it way better than I do.  If anyone is in the area and wants to join in, we will be playing on Thursday nights at the fireman's hall in Collinsville!  As an added incentive, there are some pretty cute firemen there staffing the events...

*I learned how to use a powerwasher on aged wood this last week.  It is one of my new favorite things to do.  Seriously - I am such a geek...I am out there spraying away and thinking to myself 'How cool would it be if I could start up a powerwashing business [in my SPARE time of course - ha] and get paid to do this!?!'  Seriously.  It is SO fun.  There is something so satisfying about seeing things that don't even seem that dirty at first get really, super clean.  I LOVE it.

Okay - I really need to get off here and try to be productive or something.  Have a great day everyone!!