grapesky

a few Pics HERE….

It’s now sinking in… I am going to be married. After almost 35 years of being single, I will now be married.

I think I have a lot of adjusting to do.

However, I think about the fact that I get to adjust to a new life with Mark, my best friend… the one person I think about the most… and, yes, that’s just fine with me.

There is an adventure ahead. Nothing’s ending, everything is beginning.

I’ll probably make a lot of mistakes, but that’s ok, so will Mark. We will learn and grow together. What fun!

Next time I post, I will be Mrs. Mark Bryan!!

‘Til then…

There is a flurry of appointments, to-do lists, arrangements to be made, people to communicate with. Yet, despite all the planning, despite all the things I will most likely forget to do, time continues, the clock hands tick and May 9th–only 24 days away–approaches.

I am getting married.

It is something some people look forward to every day of their life, something others regret every day of their life. In today’s society, the choice I am making to enter into a life-long covenant with a man (a GREAT man) is considered risky, foolish and only a good choice when it’s financially and socially convenient.

I can go down to the local Wal-Mart and purchase a T-Shirt, a bride a groom icon on the front, with the line “Game Over” printed on it. Marriage is not held in honor in our country. It’s seen as a old fashioned tradition, a ball and chain, a hold-over from the Victorian era. Why get married when living together is easier and less of a risk?

And yet, I see the elderly couple at the park holding hands. I hear stories of couples dying within minutes of each other. I think of the sacrifices my parents made to stick it out and stay together. I think of their hard work and the many choices to look out not just for themselves, but for their children and grandchildren.

And I think…. No, it’s not “Game Over.”

It’s “Let the Games Begin!”

So you may have noticed that I haven’t been blogging much lately… Partially it’s because I have been blogging over at our wedding website: http://www.markandjenniferbryan.com.

But really, it’s because I am just totally overwhelmed right now with all the wedding planning and just trying to keep my head above water.

However, we did get some really cute engagement pictures taken and I posted a few on Flickr.

It’s 50 days until the wedding and sometimes it feels like all I do is eat, sleep and breathe wedding planning…

I am so ready for the Honeymoon!

Here are a few ways I have found I can save money and live within “The Budget.”

1. Use a library to feed my reading habit.

2. Make Coffee at home using a french press, warm milk and a mini “frother.”

3. Take an afternoon and make a bunch of meals to eat for lunch all week.

4. Cook as much as possible.

5. Invite friends over instead of “going out.”

I know that there are a multitude of ways to save money and I look forward to learning them.

For the first time in my life, I went clamming this past weekend.

I acquired a pair of rubber boots, a waterproof hat, waterproof pants and we headed out toward Grays Harbor last Saturday. We arrived just after sunset, so we took a nice moonlit walk on the beach with Mark’s parents. The moon was gorgeous and the air was cold. As J and J had already dug and cleaned their quota for the day, we just took a minute to dig up two clams with the “clam gun.” Lucky for us (we didn’t have our clam license yet), J and J decided to walk back early with the clams and got stopped by the game warden who made fun of them for not catching many clams. We ate fried clams for dinner and played a game called Settlers. A bit of a cut-throat game–I didn’t really do well at all.

The next morning, we got up and drove down the road to get our clamming license. After that, we took a nice long walk through the dunes to a deserted beach where we all pulled out our cameras and took lots of pictures. We flew the kite and chased the waves and all the other beach walking activities that you do. Then back for lunch and packing up the car. After that, it was about time for the main event of the weekend as the tide had finally gotten low enough. We all put on our boots and raincoats and hats, picked up the clamming guns, nets and buckets and headed out to the beach. There were many people out there ahead of us, but no worries, enough clams for everyone!

The goal is to find a little volcano in the sand, where the clam is blowing up air, but watch the waves that come in, or else you will get soaked and your bucket will float away! When you see where the clam is, you put your clam gun down over the hole and push it down. Then you pull it out, shake out the sand, then push down once more. After pulling it out one more time, you quickly put your hand in the hole and grab the clam because just as much as you want him, he is not wanting to be caught, digging as fast as he can down into the sand.

It can be hard to catch the clams, but the time goes fast as you only get 15 clams per day per person. In no time at all, we all had our quotas and we were only partially soaked. We headed back to the clamming room to clean the clams. This was not my favorite part at all, and I just couldn’t do it all because the clams keep moving, even after they are dead. *shiver*

All in all, I’d say that I would go again in a heartbeat!

More Pics HERE.

If by chance, you own an old house with a narrow staircase to an upstairs bedroom, make sure you measure when you and your fiance are deciding which size bed to buy.

Thank God for split box springs, delivery trucks and warranties.

So, now all the names are in and we are left with the task of cutting or just inviting them all and hoping that a ton of people don’t show.

One good thing about blogging/social media is that I can all invite you to my blog, my website or my facebook page and you all fit.

But a wedding? I only get 250 chairs.

Maybe people can sit on laps