Good with words or at a total loss?

I've always been pretty good with words...written words that is. I spent my high school career being a composer of words as an editor and staff writer for my high school newspaper. I spent a summer working for the Yale Daily News before heading off to college and (you guessed it) delving further into the field of journalism.


It was a short lived dream however. After spending a night actually working the shift that a journalist works and seeing in my imaginary crystal ball that print journalism was heading no where in this day and age, I quickly switched my career path to something that I believed would never go out of style.


But that never stopped me from writing. Hence my need to indulge my wedding life through a form of written expression.

And I got lucky too...I'm marrying a writer. Someone who loves the written word just as much as I do. So I don't think that I should have been too shocked when he said a few months after the engagement, "Hunny, I think that we should write our own vows."


I said I shouldn't have been shocked, I never said I wasn't. And like magic a giant, and I mean GIANT, wall flew up in front of me. Writer's block anyone?

"You're kidding right?" was all that I could get to come out of my mouth. I mean how could he expect me to stand up in front of all those people and read something that I wrote? And it's not just any "something"...this is a big "something". Something that is expressing my personal feelings. 

Then again, how could he not?

At that moment in time, I realized that it's not going to matter how I tell him I love him or how I tell him what he means to me. Heck we do that for each other every day. But what is going to matter is the fact that we are making this ceremony about us...we are making it our own.

So what am I worried about now? Well I'm still worried about writing them although it's not as scary as it once was. But I'm more nervous about the way my makeup will look after crying from hearing him speak or if I'll even be able to get the words out if I'm crying too much.

I've already told him that I get to go first, I've already told him that this is going to be one of my harder writing assignments, and I've already told him that our mothers are going to be wrecks.

But I've also already told him I love him, I've already told him that we're in this together, and I've already told him that he is my best friend in the entire world and I can't wait to spend the rest of my life with him. So in all actuality I just have to stand up there and let everyone else here the things that I tell him all the time.

Hmm, this just might be the time that I'm not at a loss for any words.

Editor's Note: To all of my friends out there, remind me of this when I am staring into space trying to find the right words...please?

5 months and counting

So yesterday started the 5 month mark and I'm starting to realize that our wedding is slowly acquiring a another "theme"...procrastination.

It's a normal part of conversation these days for someone to simply say, "How are the wedding plans coming?" And sometimes I wish that I had better answer than "They're coming along." Until I stopped to think about it...the plans are coming along but in reality so is this wedding! I just might blink and it it will be here.

So what does that mean? Well I think that it's time to take the "procrastination" theme and toss it out the window...I'm not sure that one is going to incorporate very well with my visions. Next, I have to have some serious alone time with my checklist. After all, it's the only thing that is going to keep me on track.

There are plenty of things to do still...like call a florist for instance. Yes, I know what was I thinking. No florist? But think about how that conversation would go..."How about these ranunculus?...Well they look a little like a rose that's very open and lost some petals" Before you know it, I'd be Google flowers, guessing what they would look like in my bouqet. I think I'll pass. 

And then there's the invitations...I swear, when I head back to Connecticut this month, I'm going to finalize my decision. I just needed a little help from Mom.

And of course the centerpieces, table decorations, church decorations, place cards, cake...See what I mean?

5 months...that's 150 days. It seems like a long time but it's really not. This trip back home at the end of the month is going to be a serious reality check. I've made all my appointments, thought of all the things that I want to accomplish, and rounded up some good ol' fashion help.

By the time we get home, it will be close to the 4 month mark and the clock will just tick faster and faster as each day passes. Whether I get everything done or not..it's still going to be the most amazing day ever : )

Friday Night at the Rodeo

It's starting to turn to summer here in Montana (notice I said turning...we're not there yet) and that only means one thing: Friday nights at the rodeo.

A totally different way to kick off my weekend then I'm used to but it's a part of the culture here. Grab a few friend, a couple of beers and head out to the biggest country showdown that the West has to offer in this day and age. It's a gathering of true cowboys, rooting for a true cowboy sport.

When I was in high school, it was customary to spend your nights in the fall under the lights, watching your hometown boys tough it out on the football field. Here, it's summer nights on the Grandstands, watching your hometown boys and girls ride the bulls, wrestle the steers, and race the perfect barrel pattern.

But what intrigues me the most is the differences that I have seen in the East coast and MidWest. Seriously, how many rodeos do you see in Connecticut, New York New Jersey, or Massachusetts? And if you have seen one in those parts, has there ever been one every weekend? Here in Montana, each city or County will host their prospective PRCA (Pro Rodeo Cowboys Association) function. And trust me, it's the place to be.

For me, the sport is really interesting. I have always loved horses and the thought of being a true cowboy. Now I'm not saying that you'll find me picking up the sport of rodeo anytime soon but I can totally see myself becoming a true fan of the old pastime. Since I've started working at the ExpoPark, I've learned so much more about the sport and will even be involved in the 5 nights of rodeo that will accompany the State Fair. 

I'm still learning...like how roughstock events like bareback riding, saddle bronc riding and bull riding scores depend upon a cowboy's performance and the animal's performance; how in timed events like steer wrestling, team roping, tie-down roping, barrel racing and steer roping, cowboys and cowgirls, compete against the clock, as well as against each other; and how mutton bustin is the start to a boy's rodeo career. Get it yet?

This year, I'll get to be a part of some of the coolest events I've come across, like "Tough Enough to Wear Pink" which is a night that everyone in the rodeo arena will support the Fight Against Breast Cancer. Running alongside that is the Chicks n' Chaps event. Any girl that ever wanted to know about the sport of rodeo will get the chance to learn three of the staple events from the cowboys and cowgirls who have made barrel racing, bull riding, and bareback riding their lives. And I'll even experience my first rodeo dance with country artist Keith Anderson as he performs live at the rodeo this summer. C'mon what is cooler than that?

This summer will be my first official Rodeo Summer and it will be chock full of nights rooting on the cowboys. For a horse lover, and a closet wanna-be cowgirl, there doesn't seem to be any better way to spend those nights.

The 2 Month Deliberation

Never thought that you would take 2 months to deliberate over a piece of paper? Wait till you start trying to decide on wedding invitations! I mean seriously, why has it taken me 2 MONTHS to decide on an invitation? Actually, scratch that - I haven't even decided yet...

Embarassing? No. Obsessive? I'm starting to think so but I feel that I have good reason. Mainly the invitation has to match the "feel" of the wedding. The colors have to go with my theme - green, brown and a touch of orange all encompassing that barn/fall wedding that I'm going for here - my wording, my size choice, and most of all my price range.

Ahh the price range...doesn't everything revolve around the price when you're on a budget?

Griff tells the funny story of a friend of his who's getting married and the conversation that he had with his fiancee about invitations. She called to say that she found the invitations and when he asked how much it would cost, she cooly replied "Oh just $900". He told her that unless someone was personally going to the doors of each of their wedding guests to do a song and dance, they wouldn't be looking else where. But $900 isn't even that terrible. Some people will spend upwards of $2000 on wedding invites...oh but not me!

At first I was on the DIY kick..."I'm going to sit down and design these babies myself, print them on the printer in my house, and hand address them." Until I realized how much work that really is. See being a perfectionist, nothing would have been easy in that scenario. I would have agonized and obessed over the littlest things. And to top it off, not having the correct computer software would have driven me insane.

So I moved onto the "semi-DIY" invitation option..."I'll find a graphic desinger who would design the invite and then send me the files so that I can print them and assemble the invites." This is where my love of Etsy came into the picture again. Sifting through the invites for hours, I found a few contestants and fell in love with one in particular. For $50 she would send me the files to my customized invite, RSVP card and reception card...the rest was on my plate. Perfect!

Then I found a site that would send me the paper, envelopes and pocketfolds in my colors for a VERY LOW price...even more perfect! Until I was perusing their site and found the winner of a DIY contest and fell in love with her invitation...just great.

Back to square one I go and the deliberation over the piece of paper continues.

Movin' On

Wow..I am really slacking with all of my blogging! But I have good reason...so let me explain.

My last day at the Foundation was on Friday so I was trying to get myself caught up there and get ready for the HUGE benefit that I was organizing basically by myself. My hours were getting longer and longer and the time that I was having at home to relax was shorter and shorter.

To add to that, Griff went back on his alert schedule of going out to the field about 8 times a month. So I was trying to get in as much time with him as I could and still figure out everything at work.

Yesterday, I started my new job. I know, no time off in between?! Am I crazy?! I'm starting to think that I am but I had promised the Foundation that I would stay until after the benefit and the new job needed me right away.

So here I am, at my new job...and I have to tell you, I'm happy as a pig in mud. This is the job that I have been wanting for a very long time. I'm back to my calling...back on my career path...planning events. And these are BIG events.

Here at the Montana ExpoPark, I'll be planning concerts, sporting events, tradeshows and rodeos (I mean c'mon I live in Montana. I have to plan a rodeo!). And then there's the big one, the State Fair. What can be more exciting than planning the STATE FAIR?!

It feels so good to be able to say that I am finally working a job that is right in line with what I want to do - plan events and work with people to make them happen.

Although the last weeks of my old job were stressful, planning that benefit made me realize that coming to the ExpoPark was the right move for me. I love events. I love the details, I love the people that you get to work with, and I love the creativity.

And now that the transition is starting, maybe I can get back to loving the details, loving the people, and loving the creativity of planning my wedding...nah, I'll wait till next week ; )