Trip booked!

We booked our trip to Sandals Grande St. Lucian resort today for January. Airfare wasn't too expensive but we haven't really tackled the stuff of the wedding yet. Definitely have narrowed the finer details down though which is a plus. At this point I'm ready for the beach. Oh well, only a few months to go until the beach vacation!

Update on Wedding plans

We're starting to narrow down the wedding plans. I'm hoping that some of my out of town friends will be able to get updated with this blog but anything is possible.

Current plans (nothing booked)
We're getting married at a Sandals in St. Lucia in January
Reception tentatively scheduled for May 17, 2008 in Champaign

Things we have done:
Bought my dress & shoes, veil is being made by a friend
Gene's suit is in and being altered
Bought wedding rings
Narrowed down invitation style for reception
Narrowed down dates for events

Things we haven't done: too many to list!

Cassie crossed the Rainbow Bridge

It has been a month but I'm still getting used to the fact that Cassie is no longer around. She passed away on July 11, 2007 with Gene & I holding her at the vet's office. I always knew that she was going to lose her battle with lymphoma; it is a nasty disease that hides but never fully goes away. Her last few days were a struggle for her as her breathing became very shallow and she no longer was willing to take her pain medication that she had been on the last few weeks of her life. When we could get the pain meds down, it was obvious it was only making a dent in her pain. She had had a vet visit on July 3 and at that point there had been little change in the size of the lymph nodes since early June. A week later, they went from nickel size to nearly golf ball size. She was helped across the bridge by her oncologist, just before her oncologist left to start her new practice after her residency. I miss Cassie a great deal but I'm glad that the struggle is over and that she isn't in pain. Miss Cassandra Scylla is now at peace at the age of 7 years and 4 months. Chemo gave me 2 good years and I don't regret it at all. It was worth every moment and every penny.

Cassie was treated at the University of Illinois Small Animal Clinic in the oncology department. She loved going there and loved the people she encountered.

Just in case you don't know what the Rainbow Bridge is, the following is a poem describing it.

Rainbow Bridge

Just this side of heaven is a place called Rainbow Bridge.

When an animal dies that has been especially close to someone here, that pet goes to Rainbow Bridge.
There are meadows and hills for all of our special friends so they can run and play together.
There is plenty of food, water and sunshine, and our friends are warm and comfortable.

All the animals who had been ill and old are restored to health and vigor; those who were hurt or maimed are made whole and strong again, just as we remember them in our dreams of days and times gone by.
The animals are happy and content, except for one small thing; they each miss someone very special to them, who had to be left behind.

They all run and play together, but the day comes when one suddenly stops and looks into the distance. His bright eyes are intent; His eager body quivers. Suddenly he begins to run from the group, flying over the green grass, his legs carrying him faster and faster.

You have been spotted, and when you and your special friend finally meet, you cling together in joyous reunion, never to be parted again. The happy kisses rain upon your face; your hands again caress the beloved head, and you look once more into the trusting eyes of your pet, so long gone from your life but never absent from your heart.

Then you cross Rainbow Bridge together....

Author unknown... (http://www.petloss.com/poems/maingrp/rainbowb.htm)

Indy here we come! (Eventually)

It appears that Gene's transfer to the Indianapolis Airport Tower is going through and were tentatively scheduled to start living in Indy in Jan 2009. Which seems like forever until you realize that it is a year and a half from now. The reason it is tentative is the fact that we'll get a more firm date around the holidays of this year after Champaign tower reviews its staffing after a bunch of people have transferred out and some newbies have transferred in. We actually may be living in Indy towards the end of next summer but nothing can be promised.

Gene got the job offer on Thursday, we talked about it over the weekend, he accepted the job on Monday morning, and within hours we had a tentative release date. I expected the release date to take a month but it looks like Gene's got a great manager and set of supervisors which try to do their best to do right by the folks in the tower. I'll definitely miss seeing everyone in Champaign but part of me is excited by the idea of having more job options than just U of I. Which honestly is probably just the difference between the devil you know and the devil you don't know. :)

Hawaii Pictures

I finally got off my bottom and uploaded our Hawaii pictures to Picasa. Hope you enjoy them! This was from our trip from late Feb to early March of this year with Gene's family.

Hawaii trip

Wedding update

At the moment, there really is no update for the wedding plans. We've pretty much decided to do a destination wedding and have a reception in Champaign when we get back. Since the next time Gene has vacation is during hurricane season (August), we are thinking of doing the wedding in the spring. So not much to update but that's what we know at the moment. Nothing is booked yet, so anything is possible. :)

Picture of the engagement ring

I'm finally getting a picture of the engagement ring that I'm happy with. I've been happy with the ring since we picked it out but haven't been able to take a picture I'm happy with. I still don't think that the picture does it justice though. It is a Jeff Cooper design with 4 princess (aka square) cut stones on either side of the main diamond. The main diamond is a 1 carat ideal cut round diamond. One of my favorite aspects of the ring is the side view "architecture" which is why I've included the side picture.




The best place to view the side of the diamond setting is probably Jeff Cooper's website.
Go under Collections -->Bridal Sets --> Style R3102
My wedding ring is a different ring than the one paired on the website. I think I have the model R3100B (or its R3101B). The two models are so close I can't tell from the picture. You get the idea anyway.

Announcing our Engagement

When you're a little girl, one tends to dream like the fairy tales that the Disney company turns into movies. Prince Charming is going to come and sweep you off your feet to take you away from your misery and heartache. And then you've got Barbie that tells you it's good to have a career but still be Ken's girlfriend/wife/significant other. Once you're an adult you realize that if you're the girl that has to be "rescued" you're probably never going to get a date or if you do it is with someone that you don't want to date. At the same time if you're "too smart" then sometimes you're not asked out because people expect you to want more than what they have. Truth of the matter is that what I think that most girls want is someone that's willing to work for a living, get along with our friends and family to some degree, and doesn't mind leaning on the girl when he needs something as long as she can lean on him when she needs support. No matter what the salary or education level, that can be a challenge to find.

So what's my point? (since I do tend to ramble a bit)
I managed to stumble into a relationship with a guy that gave me more of what I was looking for, especially the things I didn't know I wanted. We clicked and it works. And the guy is crazy enough to think he wants to spend the rest of his life with me. So who am I to argue?

Although how on earth does one plan a wedding? Guess I'll find out.

Finally moved!

Well it is official!

All of my crap is finally over at Gene's house. Cassie seems pretty happy about it, seeing the stuff that she's used to seeing with all of Gene's stuff. Thank goodness Gene has a full basement. I can't believe how much crap I've accumulated in the past six and a half years in one place. Ugh! Now time to go through it better.

Now to clean up the apartment. Which shouldn't be too much of a problem, but like everything else takes time.

Yeah, I know thrilling news... why do I even have a blog in the first place? :)