Pictures - Lots of 'Em!
When it rains, it pours. For those of you wanting to catch up on the last six weeks of my life in pictorial form, you are in for a treat tonight! Make yourself a cup of tea first, though. And pace yourself. I've picked through the hundreds and hundreds (and hundreds) of pictures I had to choose from, and there are still LOTS for you to wade through if you so choose.
Click here for pictures from Joints in Motion in Athens.
Click here for pictures from our Athens vacation time.
Click here for pictures from Part One of our cruise:
Mykonos, Greece and Kusadasi & Ephesus, Turkey.
Click here for pictures from Part Two of our cruise:
Patmos, Rhodes, Lindos, Crete & Santorini, Greece.
Click here for pictures from our time in London.
And last but certainly not least... Wedding pictures! Here's
Part One and
Part Two, because I had a really hard time narrowing them down. (Thanks, Kristen, for doing such amazing work! We love them.)
So there you go! Enjoy. I've certainly enjoyed experiencing every moment that is captured here, and I'm so excited to share them with you :)
Labels: Greece, Joints in Motion, London, My Life, Photos, Travel, Wedding
Guest Book
Believe it or not, I hadn't really taken the time to take a close look at our wedding guest book - until tonight. We paged through it quickly when our families were over after the wedding, but I had so much fun REALLY looking at it tonight - all the Polaroids of our guests and their quirky little comments. I couldn't resist sharing some highlights...
"Good work! You turned out better than I thought. PS - You picked a nice wife."
- Geoff's nephew Niles
"Lindsay, my favourite niece. (Don't tell the others!)"
- My aunt Verna (sorry)
"We couldn't ave been prouder."
- My dad, being a brat
"Beautiful wedding, especially the flower girls."
- Steve & Val (Anica & Sophie's parents)
"To Geoff and L-Train..."
- Kris (way to keep an old, overused nickname alive)
"God bless as your lives transform into a beautiful marriage..."
- Rocky (was that really necessary?)
"What a beautiful couple you make! (It deserves a double exclamation, but I'll tone it down for you on your special day.)"
- Crystal, my grammar buddy
"Zyra needs a playmate."
- George & Lara (hint taken but not necessarily appreciated)
"I look forward to borrowing your new Tupperware."
- Zack, who never leaves our house (read: fridge) empty-handed
"From: Just Chuck."
- Chuck, single and unapologetic
"XOX XOX XOX"
- Lise pretty much covered the page (how very French of her)
Photo Highlights:
- My cousin Chris saluting the camera
- Rocky, who appeared in multiple pictures with ladies who didn't have dates ;)
- Geoff's 'grandma' Katherine, who was standing near the punch table... and was about the same height as the countertop - adorable
Labels: Family, My Friends, My Life, Wedding
More Wedding Snapshots
Again, these aren't Kristen's pretty ones yet, but a sneak peek of shots collected from friends and family this week...
Looking kind of exhausted after pictures
My bouquet
My Mama
My HUGE new family
LEFT OF US: Geoff's brother Kevin. Geoff's sister Joanne & Al (and their kids: Hannah, Ruth, Libby, and David). RIGHT OF US: Geoff's mom. Geoff's sister Carole & Ray (and their kids: Justin, Cheyenne, Niles, and Sean).
Anica & Sophie's flowers
Foxy Emily
Sophie
Anica
Kevin & Jessica
Jessica & Mom
Me and the GIRLS - Anja and Kari-Ann
Classic shot of the Three Amigos - Chuck and Anja
The ceremony set-up at the Millennium Centre
A shot my sister snatched (sneaky weasel)
Super-classy pic of Anja and Lindsay feeling a little bit hungry before the ceremony
Labels: My Life, Wedding
Married!
So the wedding day was perfect. Not flawless, of course (is that even possible?). But perfect. Thank you to all our friends and family who helped ensure that it all came together. We had such a fun day.
Geoff and I went for a walk this afternoon. At one point, he turned to me and confessed that he doesn't really feel any different than he did last week. And you know what? Neither do I. I think I'm more calm and more happy. But this married thing feels so normal. In a very good way :)
So now the big wedding countdown is over. And the new one begins: exactly one month til we leave for our honeymoon in Greece!
We won't have professional pics back for a month or so, but I'll post some as I receive them from other people. And we'll start with these ones, courtesy of my friend Erin.
Labels: My Life, Wedding
The Countdown is ON
...I'm getting married in less than three days! Holy crap. Not really sure how this happened so quickly. A little bit in shock. But feeling pretty calm, cool, and collected about the whole thing. And excited :)
Today was an absolute whirlwind at work, but then Geoff and I took the evening OFF. Did a couple of little wedding things - mostly just collecting everything we need to remember to bring to the rehearsal tomorrow and making a few lists (that part was rather obviously me...). And then we did nothing. Or more accurately, we warmed up leftovers and watched a movie. It was exactly what I needed.
Tomorrow's my last day at work, then - as Geoff pointed out this evening - the Official Weekend Schedule kicks into action. Rehearsal after work, then rehearsal dinner. Then a family brunch on Saturday morning, and separate guys and girls stuff during the rest of the day (Darcie's coming to do mani/pedis at my place... so happy). And then it's HERE.
In related news, I signed off on a proof of my new business cards today. My new name looked so strange. It weirded out my coworkers too. Especially because Chuck made an additional change - the proof had both a name change and a title change ('Proofreading Assistant to the Art Director'). Fortunately, I'm a very good proofreader :)
If you think of it, please say a quick little prayer for me this weekend. I have not been feeling well - a sinus cold and a possible ear infection - and I'd really like to be healthy and fully enjoy our wedding day. Here's hoping that a little Cold FX does everything the packaging promises...
Labels: Cocoon, My Life, Wedding
Update and The Parents Meet
So this morning's appointment went pretty well. The test results came back normal on everything, which you'd imagine would be a relief. It was in some ways. In other ways, it broke my heart just a little bit - it means that the problem is ME. And it means that there's no quick fix. I must be the first person in history who was actually wishing for negative test results, because it might have meant that there could be an easy answer to make me feel better. And then we tried acupuncture. It really freaked me out - and it didn't feel GOOD - but it wasn't as horrible as I'd been imagining. He recommended three treatments before we make a real decision about whether or not this will help me, so I'm willing to try it until then.
In the evening, I headed out to Niverville with Geoff and Marilyn to have dinner with my parents. I *think* it went pretty well. And it was nice to have a quasi-relaxing evening. Geoff and I booked tomorrow night OFF and it was supposed to be a do-nothing evening. But my to-do list before the wedding is getting crazy and so it might be more like half of a do-nothing evening. Whatever. I'll take it :)
The rehearsal is the day after tomorrow! NO idea how that happened. This has been the fastest four months ever.
Labels: Arthritis/Fibromyalgia, Family, My Life, Wedding
The Brave One
I did something today that felt a little bit brave. I had dinner with Geoff's mom, his brother, his sister, his brother-in-law, his three nieces and his nephew. And Geoff was at work.
Marilyn arrived yesterday around lunchtime, and Al and Joanne and the kids arrived early this evening. Marilyn and Kevin made dinner for all of us at Geoff's house, and it was kind of awesome to arrive 'home' after work to the smell of dinner cooking! It was so fun to see everyone, and I think my new family is great. I giggled through most of dinner (at least 50% at Elizabeth's expense... sorry!).
Five days until the wedding!
And tomorrow, I'm doing something that sounds like a small thing, but feels incredibly brave to me. Tomorrow morning is my first acupuncture appointment, and I'll also be meeting with the doctor to find out the results of all the tests we ran two weeks ago. I don't really feel emotionally equipped to deal with this right now. But I also don't feel like being sick anymore. I just can't really handle any more bad news for a while. Heck, I don't even know what I'd do with good news at this point. Geoff is coming with me, which helps me feel a little bit braver.
Anxious
of course I'm anxious
afraid
of course I'm afraid
I don't know what about
I don't know what of
but I'm afraid
and I feel it's
right to be.
(Miriam Waddington)
Labels: Arthritis/Fibromyalgia, Family, My Life, Wedding
Weekend Update: Ultra-Fabulous Girls Night Edition
Spent Friday night with my mom and her sisters, celebrating my mom and Val's freakish double birthday (for the uninitiated, my mom's littlest sister was born on her birthday, exactly 10 years later). Basically just ate and sat in the hot tub and relaxed, and it was great. Got back to Winnipeg just in time to jump in the shower, head over to Geoff's place, and get kidnapped.
Which is a nice little transition into my shout-out to my girls, who surprised me with Girls Night on Saturday. I'm quite literally battered and bruised, but I can't remember the last time I laughed so hard.
Emily, Anja, and Kari-Ann kidnapped me around 6 pm, and we met up with Erin and Mel. We started out at a dance class, which was where most of the battery (and the giggling) took place. I can remember lying on the floor - following a somewhat-less-than-graceful landing - and just laughing and laughing and laughing... After that, we classed it up a bit and had a sleepover at the Hilton. Nothing too crazy, but it was really nice to spend time with my girls. In the morning, a bunch of us headed over to Cora's for brunch, which was a nice ending.
Of course, it's real life, so nothing ever really goes off without a hitch. We all woke up early-ish on Sunday when Em's phone rang with news that her grandma had passed away in her sleep. She left for Pennsylvania this morning to go and say goodbye, and my heart is breaking for her and Mandy. Wishing you safe travels and a really special time with your family... You know she loved you enough that you can never doubt it, and I can just imagine how she announced her arrival in heaven: 'Hello, this is LOIS EBERLY. From PENNSYLVANIA...' :)
Labels: My Friends, My Life, Wedding
Engagement Pics
Those of you who are on Facebook can view some of our favourite shots there. Those of you who aren't can
click here!
Labels: My Life, The Boy, Wedding
Fully Engaged
So, the shower was yesterday. Today was (1) engagement pictures with Jessica, (2) marriage license, (3) wedding favour finalization, and (4) meeting with Kristen to do a walk-around and plan locations and shot lists for wedding day photography. Oh, plus normal Saturday errands. Lindsay is exhausted. But happy that I got so much crossed off my list.
Geoff could sense my growing exhaustion and anticipated the perfect solution: a half-hour in Chapters. And while they didn't have the book I *really* wanted (
The World Without Us by Alan Weisman - SOLD OUT), I found a few others I'd been eyeing for a while (
Giving: How Each of Us Can Change the World by Bill Clinton,
A Brief History of Globalization by Alex McGillivray, and a book of absolutely gorgeous photography and historical information about Greece). I figure it's cheaper than a session with a therapist, and it lasts longer :)
Anyway. More pics to come very, very soon - but here's a sneak peek. (One of the pics that my hair isn't going crazy in... Today was WAY too windy for engagement pictures!)
Labels: My Life, Wedding
Tale of a Non-Shower
I love my friends. I love them for lots of reasons. But this weekend, I love them most of all for throwing me a non-shower bridal shower. There were no streamers. There were no balloons. There were no awkward 'make a dress out of toilet paper' games. Instead, there was a group of lovely ladies who met for dinner, spent a lot of time talking and laughing, and just happened to open some gifts afterward. I loved it.
Thanks to Emily, Anja, and Jessica - you girls are awesome :)
Caitlin (roommate -slash- brother's girlfriend -slash- person I like a lot)
Emily (apparently trying to out-daughter me) with Mom
Opening a particularly pink present...
Nice, Sara... :)
Cait (sorry), Val (her typical picture pose), Jessica (a lovely surprise)
Erin and Jessica, superfoxes extraordinaire
Jessica and Anja (mostly enjoying her very first Canadian bridal shower experience)
Me and Em (not the most flattering pic we've ever taken... but whatever)
My personal favorite shower pic: Kari-Ann with Loraine. The pastor's wife :)
Labels: My Friends, My Life, Wedding
Spiraling
Ooh, I HATE the feeling of being out of control. And that feeling has kicked in hardcore this week.
Wedding planning is one thing. Wedding planning and moving at the same time is another. And wedding planning and moving and having a high-stress job in the middle of the advertising world's busy season is *quite* another. I had a few moments last night when I wished for a job I could give half my attention to, and not bring home with me. Just a few moments. And then I remembered that I'd be bored with a job like that in about seven seconds flat, and that I have the best job in the world. On a similar note, I had more than a few moments last night when I was cursing my book collection, as I packed all the boxes full one more time. How many times have I moved those books?! Actually... I think this is eight. Which explains my weariness. But at least the piano's gone!
It helps so much to know that, at the end of all of this, I get to marry Geoff in 25 days. Oh, and I went for my first dress fitting on Saturday and it's absolutely perfect. Two words for you: super and fox.
Labels: Cocoon, My Life, Wedding
Wedding Update (for anyone who still cares)
It feels like I've been talking about wedding stuff forever. I realize it's only been around three months - and that I certainly could have done a better job of this whole bridezilla thing so far - but still. A few people have asked recently about how wedding stuff is going, so I thought I'd summarize a few recent developments here and you can read at your own risk :)
Got the call last night that my dress is in! I'm so excited. And trying to figure out when I'll have time to go and have my first fitting... My life is SO incredibly busy and fabulous right now.
Everything's finally done for our guest book. Geez. Who knew that such a simple idea could be so incredibly complicated to pull off?! Good thing I put Geoff in charge of the hard stuff.
I had my first shower last night, complements of Laurie and Val and the rest of my mom's family. It was very sweet, fun, and Geoff and I will enjoy our new dishes, serving pieces, storage containers, and (shhh...) gift certs for La Senza. A huge thank you from Geoff and I to all of you! We love you all :)
Premarital counselling is going swimmingly. I think we only have one or two appointments left and, so far, the minister isn't begging us not to do this. I consider that success.
Sold my piano last weekend, and it got picked up today. Kind of a bittersweet moment. It doesn't really fit in the new house, and I'll miss it - but it went to Steve & Val, and Anica is starting piano lessons next week. Any kid who's as creative and mathematical as she is MUST have access to a piano during their formative years, in my humble opinion. And so I can rest easy, knowing that it went to a good home. At the same time, we moved out my bed - also going to a new home. So I'm back on my old trusty twin for this month. AWESOME. These are all very sure signs that the wedding - and the big move into our house - is coming up quickly. As a matter of fact, NINE DAYS til I need to be down to my bare essentials here at the Alice in Wonderland House, to make room for Ally. Craziness. (Remind me again why I can't just move in with The Boy now?)
Flights for our honeymoon are BOOKED. We're flying from Winnipeg to Athens (via Toronto and Zurich) on Oct 31 / Nov 01, from Athens to London on Nov 09, and from London to Winnipeg (via Montreal) on Nov 13. Very excited would be an understatement. We're also working to finalize details on a Greek Islands cruise from Nov 05 to Nov 09 that includes Mykonos, Kusadasi/Ephesus (Turkey), Patmos, Rhodes, Crete, and Santorini. Insane. We're actually kind of giddy about it.
And the best wedding news of all... We *officially* have one month to go!
Labels: My Life, Wedding
Weekend Update: Losing My Mind Edition
Okay, so I spend most of my life trying NOT to be That Girl. You know which girl I'm talking about. The one who absolutely requires the support and assistance of a boy, who cries to her girlfriends when he's busy for an evening, the one who obsesses about 'what he really meant by that.'
And I don't think I am that girl. But I had a truly girly moment this weekend that I feel a need to confess.
Geoff left for his week at camp yesterday. As a camp nurse, not a camper, you dorks. Emily and I drove him to CMU to meet the bus and immediately after unloading his luggage into the parking lot, he realized he'd forgotten the little first aid kit he likes to take with him. I volunteered to run to the drug store and pick him up a replacement while he checked all the kids getting on the bus for lice (seriously... EW). Em and I zipped around looking for a kit, and came up empty-handed. We got back to CMU and the bus was there, Geoff's luggage was there... but Geoff was not. I walked around for a few minutes looking for him, totally without luck. I settled for scribbling a quick note on the back of a receipt and tucking it into his bag.
But seriously. I know it's only a week (and a ridiculously busy week), and it really has nothing to do with him being gone - we've been apart from each other lots in the past year. But I HATE that I didn't get to say goodbye to him.
The rest of the weekend was good. Didn't do much on Friday - watched TV and cuddled with The Boy. Ran errands, sent out invitations, ordered Geoff's ring, decided on favours (and sampled LOTS of chocolate!), and watched a movie on Saturday. Went to church and had brunch at Cora's with Emily on Sunday, then spent the evening with my parents.
And now, somehow, it's AUGUST 20th. Which means that it's less than 6 weeks until the wedding. And a ridiculous 96 days til kickoff at Grey Cup (more on that soon). And 55 days til my biggest client launches their new brand. And 71 days until we leave for Greece. And 2 days until a major photo shoot that I'm still trying to cast.
And about ten seconds until I lose my mind...
To demonstrate the full effects of my insanity, I'm actually attempting to pack, move, and unpack my kitchen on my own tonight. I'll let you know how that goes :)
Labels: My Friends, My Life, The Boy, Wedding
Special Delivery
I had a lovely surprise today. Yes, I actually called a surprise 'lovely' - turns out that small and/or semi-planned surprises are actually kind of fantastic. Who knew? :)
I was sitting in a client meeting this morning when I heard the front door of our office chime. There was Kurt, my favourite printer, with his arms full. After the meeting, I rushed out to see what he'd left behind and - just as I'd suspected - there they were: wedding invitations, programs, dinner menus, and notecards. Lovely. They look beautiful, and I'm so excited to show Geoff after work tonight - and to start mailing them out to friends and family.
With that comes just a tiny little bit of apprehension... We made a decision that we wanted to have the smallest wedding we could, and I'm so worried about hurting people's feelings. I know that - at the end of the day - it's our wedding and we can do it however we want to. But you know. I just don't want anything to take away from the day's happiness.
Labels: My Life, Wedding
Music and Lyrics
Had lots of fun with Mel last night trying to pick songs for the wedding. Seriously, if you ever need a laugh, try Googling something along the lines of 'classic love songs.' Ugh. The day that Britney and Jessica are actually considered CLASSIC anywhere other than on the internet is the day I pay someone to hit me over the head with a bat.
Oh, and the tree in our new backyard? Crab apples. I'm so thrilled :)
Labels: My Friends, My Life, Wedding
Countdown
Check out the ticker in the right-hand column... Today marks exactly TWO MONTHS until our wedding day :)
Labels: My Life, Wedding
Back in Action (kinda)
Sorry, faithful blog readers. I've been MIA for nearly a week!
A couple of reasons for that:
(1) Work got even crazier and even busier. A few more new clients, and no amazing candidates from the first round of resumes and interviews for a new Project Manager - so 'imminent' is not looking so 'imminent' at the moment.
(2) A weekend OFF, which I very much enjoyed. Other than being sick for most of it. Which sucked, but kind of forced the whole 'weekend off' idea.
(3) I've been taking care of weddings details I'd been avoiding or procrastinating on. The good news is that *almost* everything that needs a decision will have a decision by the end of this week. Our invitation design is SO CLOSE to done, and it kind of takes my breath away - it's so incredibly perfect. This is the moment in life when cultivating a close friendship with a graphic designer / art director finally pays off - LOL.
(4) Finally managed to see Harry Potter last night. Enjoyed it. A lot.
(5) Actually went shopping for myself - and nothing wedding-related - which was kind of fun. Finally picked up the Amy Winehouse CD I'd been wanting forever, and a pretty sweet little black dress. The best part? I got a bunch of gift cards from people for my birthday, so I spent next to no money.
(6) Started pre-marital counselling with Geoff, which is super funny to me. Not sure why.
(7) Sketched out a thousand versions of a plan for the office/library in our new house, which is proving to be a gigantic, complicated project because of our (my) need for lots of shelving - in an oddly-shaped room. Picked paint colours for that room and our bedroom, but haven't gotten around to picking up paint or actually making it happen. Baby steps. We still have two and a half months.
It's ridiculous, but I'm still not feeling healthy. And tonight's another busy one: going for a quick hair cut and wedding consult, then whipping out to Steinbach to meet about flowers and centrepieces. Maybe tomorrow? :)
Labels: Cocoon, My Life, Wedding
Weekend Update: July Long Edition
Friday night, I attended a rather impromptu Cocoon wine tasting party at Kyle & Jill's place, complete with ridiculously complex worksheets and charts. Our very mature little wine tasting party evolved into a karaoke party, which is not particularly noteworthy because EVERY Cocoon get-together eventually ends up turning into a karaoke party - and participation is not really optional. But it's one of the things that makes me love my job.
The funny thing about it is that we didn't really plan ahead - and managed probably 85% attendance. I think that long weekends are kind of like New Years Eve... Everyone assumes that everyone else has all kinds of fabulous plans - but if you call up a couple of people on December 29, you're pretty much guaranteed to have a house full of friends on December 31. In any case, we had a ton of fun on Friday night and it was a great start to the weekend.
On Saturday, I met my mom for breakfast and we made a trip to the fabric store to find something suitable for the wedding table runners. Check! The fabric I loved was ridiculously expensive - but it was 70% off this weekend, so it fit neatly into our budget. And my mom 'volunteered' to take care of measuring and cutting and hemming and all that other stuff I really, truly hate - so as far as I'm concerned, my table runners are DONE :)
Geoff was working Friday night, so we met up after he woke up in the afternoon and picked up some groceries before hearing out to George & Lara's place to help celebrate Zyra's christening. Their families are Polish and Filipino, which equals really, really amazing food... Then we were off to my cousin CJ & Erin's wedding, which was lovely and quirky and a very nice evening.
Geoff, Rocky, and I spent all day Sunday and part of Monday at the lake with my parents and Bob & Pat (my aunt and uncle). We sat around, played tennis, went for walks, played on the water, read a book cover-to-cover, ate really well, and just kind of generally relaxed. I think that tennis was my highlight - I hadn't had a chance to play yet this summer, and me and the boys had a great time playing doubles. I had a particularly great time because I just so happen to have a collection of very pink tennis balls (bright pink AND a very lovely baby pink). They were kind of embarrassed, and the guys on the next court kept mocking them - which only made it more fun for me. The anti-highlight would be sleeping in a tent that was kind of infested with spiders. Shudder. I was very brave, but that doesn't mean it wasn't gross.
And then The Boy was working again last night, so Rocky and I went to go see 'Live Free or Die Hard' - which I enjoyed very much. I love brainless summer movies where things explode... And lots of things exploded. A lot. When Bruce Willis took out a helicopter with a car, I was positively gleeful. Happy sigh.
I got into work this morning and the lilies that Geoff brought me on Friday are blooming a brilliant orange. What a great start to a short week :)
Labels: Family, My Friends, My Life, Wedding, Weekend Update
Identity Crisis
It's official. Geoff and I are registered for Athens. Kind of excited and exhausted and terrified all at the same time, because that means I need to get my ass in gear to be able to run the 10K four months from now. I did all the sign-up stuff online last night, which ended up being super-funny because I had to do it all with this strange name - because by the time we're travelling, I'll be married and will no longer be Lindsay Hildebrandt.
And I completely forgot that they'd instructed me to do that, because I had another weird moment this morning when I checked my email and I had a message confirming travel details for Lindsay Wright. I was like 'WHO?!' And then it all connected again, but it was still strange. Even though that change is still three months away, I've had a few moments today where I think I've been mourning the loss of ME just a little bit. I'm so excited to marry Geoff, but it's a little bit funny to think that my name is going to be different. I have a lot invested in being me (and at least some of it is good!).
Another weird thing that happened yesterday... I stopped at Superstore after work to pick up a few things, and I had midway through my shopping when I heard this announcement over the intercom: 'All shoppers and employees should evacuate the building immediately. Please remain calm and move quickly to the nearest exit.' Apparently, there was a gas leak or something... Anyway. I went next door to Rona and picked up some Tim's and looked around for a half-hour, then returned to Superstore (which had since reopened). Call me crazy, but I had been almost done my shopping and I did NOT feel like starting all over again somewhere else - and having to go to two or three different stores to pick up all the random things I could get in one stop at Superstore.
I walked to the deli section and retrieved my basket from the floor, exactly where I'd left it - and had an awesome time zipping through the almost-empty store in record time. It was kind of surreal to walk through the aisles with randomly abandoned carts and baskets left all over the place. Almost like the rapture or something. (Do all Superstore shoppers go to heaven?)
Labels: Joints in Motion, My Life, Wedding
