A Break from the Wedding Grind

The seasons are shifting, The winter shades lifting,

The springtime is filling

Earth's children with mirth.

The daffodil yellow, The south wind so mellow,

The gentle rain falling,

Upon the green earth.

The song sparrow singing, New life quickly springing,

All nature is telling

A tale of rebirth:

The deep wells of being, Beyond each day's seeing,

O'er flowing with new Life,

Restoring the earth.

-David E. Bumbaugh, Spring, 1998

Days 70, 69, and 68. Timo completes a 15K!

You know, you just can't do big projects every single day - especially in this STUPID weather.  However, Mr. Lee is here working tirelessly on the inside of the smokehouse.  He has replaced floor boards to hopefully help people not fall through even though he did yesterday. oops. So this is a lot of what I'm seeing out of the back door.  Before and Afters to come when he's finished.

{cords for power tools, new boards, and oldies}

This weekend was yucky too, but that didn't stop ole Timo from competing in the Huff 'n Puff on the Bluff 15K in Sheffield.  It was a disgusting day.  They all had to run in the rain - gross. 

Here he is a little anxious right before his first race.

After the first mile and a half.  He did not smile at me as he ran past - he says its because he just figured out he was going too fast - not going to end well if he kept it up.

About to cross the finish line!! I'm yelling like crazy, and you can tell he's so excited.

After its over.  Whew.

You can see stats and such on his blog - Run.Ride.Live.

Today's To Do:

1. Address more invitations

2.Purchase more stamps

Day 71. Rain, Rain, Go Away.

Good morning!  Still raining...

Yesterday's trip to Birmingham was so fun.  Mom and I had the BEST time!!  I just love those girls at Ivory and White!

Catherine Ryals is doing my alterations, and she is just one more sweet person that I like there! This is where I stood yesterday getting pinned in my dress, and LOVING it!!!

Also, check out my weddin' shoes.  I feel so lady-like in them!  It did get a little old standing in them for a few hours, but that will just help me break them in.

Next week, I'll get some outside work done, I promise.

Good news - Mr. Lee will be coming next week to work on the smokehouse.

More good news - Timo is visiting today to talk to Dr. Screws! We are going to talk about the ceremony as well as marriage in general.  Can't wait to see his sweet face!
Happy Friday!

Days 73 and 72. Ink Blots and Fittings.

Since there is a torrential downpour going on in the American South, there is no getting work completed outside.  There was one bright spot yesterday when I snapped these pictures:

Yesterday, I started work on addressing the wedding invitations.  For some reason, I was having a hard time with the ink, and I spilled it all over the rug in the living room.  Whatever, it's fine.  If you see my mom, don't mention it.  She hasn't noticed it yet.  The Fed-Ex man delivered the invites the day before and absolutely made my day! 

"I have a delivery"

-I look down, and the box has BetsyWhite plastered across the top. 

"YESS!! They are my wedding invitations!!!"

"Can you just sign in the box, ma'am"

"Oh, I am SO excited!  You have just MADE MY DAY!"

"Lankford, last name? Aiight."

"Thank you Mr. Fed-Ex!!!!!!!"

"Yeah."

He was a happy man.

Today, Mom and I will be heading down to Birmingham for my first dress fitting!  I'm a little nervous that the shoes I bought are going to be too tall, but they are so pretty that it wont matter if they show a little.  I'll let you know how it goes!

Have a FABULOUS day!

P.S. I will be visiting with Miss Scoutie this weekend, so maybe next Thursday she'll make a post.

Days 77,76,75, and 74. Urgh.

I had a lot to do this weekend that did not include wedding stuff, unfortunately.  That was a real bummer because I wanted to be outside in the BEAUTIFUL weather. Hence, URGH - I feel like I'm never going to get finished.  However, I did get a few things accomplished on Sunday and Monday. 

1. Finally finished the back patio.  The reason it was SO junked out was because there was nowhere to put all the treasures I found in the smokehouse.

Before and After

2. Cleaned out more flower beds.

3. Blew leaves, but not enough.

4. Sifted through all the glass jars.  170 and counting. YESS!!  We're definitely gonna have some lanterns!

These blue ones are my favorite.

TO DO:

1.  My mom is SO mad - I totally tore up the back steps.  There was some ugly old outdoor carpet, and I tore it off.  It looks better, I promise.  I now have to start working on scrubbing off the adhesive and maybe fashion some stone.  We'll see - lets not dream too big here, Katie.

2. Finish the flower beds.

3. Finish blowing leaves.

4. Figure out something to do with this mess that I pulled out of the smokehouse.

It's going to rain this week, we'll probably deal with it next week.

Whatever.

Day 78. - Nada

Today, nothing was accomplished.

Goals for tomorrow:
-blow leaves
-pick up sticks
-clean out flower beds
-throw away old highchair (don't even ask)
-sift through glass jars

Timo is such a cool customer.

Mr. Timothy Wakefield has decided to start contributing to a REALLY neat charity while doing what he loves - being active outside.  The more miles he racks up, the more dough he forks out.  Pretty neat - you should check it out and see if that is something you would be interested in doing on your own too or help timo donate.  Soles for souls.
Timo's page (for reference): http://www.soles4soulsfundraising.org/timothy_wakefield

Have a great day, y'all!

Day 79 - Yard Work, Not Hard Work

Hello all.  WHAT a beautiful day we've had today.  A lot of things have been accomplished (wedding wise).  Oh yes, and side note - Scouter the Pouter isn't posting today because she's pouting with me since I left Florence yesterday.  I called her, but she won't answer.

I know that y'all probably don't care what I'm doing in regard to the wedding, but this is more for me than anything.  It helps me to see what I've finished, and what still needs work.

So, back to the progress made today.

1. I started pulling down boards from the smokehouse before Mr. Lee gets here to work his magic.  He will be adding 2 doors and replacing any rotten boards.  I thought I would get a good start on some of the little stuff, but after I almost slapped myself in the face with a wooden plank, I figured I would leave it to the pros.  No picture, thankfully.

2.  Picked up sticks from the front yard.  Since we had a gravity wave and lots of wind storms this fall and winter, there were LOTS of sticks on the ground.  Last week I did quite a bit with this in the back yard, but not finished yet.

This was one of four I took to the road today.  I stopped when I started getting REALLY dizzy from all the bending over.

-second side note: I belong to dailymile where I log how far I run, or if I do yoga that day or whatever.  My question is why don't they have gardening as an option for a workout?  There is spinning, climbing, aerobics.. gardening is just as serious.

I found this in the yard while I was picking up sticks - cool horseshoe!

3. Cleaned out some pots.

Before and After

We are officially ready to plant after April 15th.

4. Tripped over Prissy to land face first onto the front porch.

Take a look at these pretty little flowers.  This makes me think that Spring is calling to say, "Hello there, I'm on my way, and heres a little sumthin for ya while you wait.  See you soon!!"

Have an excellent day everyone.

Day 80 - Anxious

From hence forth (or at least until May 21st) this will be the official wedding countdown/"what have you accomplished today for the wedding?" blog.  Before and After pictures will begin in the next few weeks, and maybe some emotional breakdowns should also be making an appearance.  I don't know if you readers know this about me or not, but I live in a house pretty close to 900 sq.ft. with two other women (one being my 95 yr. old grandmother).  "What?!" you say. - "Yes", I say back.  This is a difficult situation (being the wearer of so many hats), but I'm going to just kick it into high gear anyway and scream Yee-haw into my oblivion of planting, painting, construction, and forking over dough.  Wish me luck, all.  I sure will need it, and a drink, when its all over.

sooo....

I just cried HARD for like 15 minutes straight. A complete sob-fest.  Timothy got scared, and Scout ran off.  Why does it matter?  I think its because Tenley was just so sweet, and open - I just have a tender heart for her.  I guess everyone needs an outlet to cry every once in a while.  so there.

D-Bag

Monday's Thought for the Week

However shallow it may be, this is the thought for the week:

If Jake picks Vienna tonight, will the world come to an end?  Probably not, but my friends and I will have a lot to talk about until next Monday's thought for the week.

picture from here