Paula

Alright, I don't want to speak too soon (and who knows- by the time people check this, we may have it all said and done), but after a whole day of seeing apartments and houses all around the greater Seattle area, we found the PERFECT HOUSE for the Soldanos, located SEVEN BLOCKS from my current apartment, with EVERY ammenity that we need, for a GREAT PRICE.
Why am I sitting here writing about it rather than signing a lease right now?
Well.  You know us- we can't make any big decisions easily, duh.  Even though this house is exactly what we were hoping for, we must endure the necessary talks with wise counsel and talk to death the pros and cons of said house. 
The best part of the deal?  Paula.  Paula is the Asian landloard who is quite short and manic.  It's fun to follow Paula around her house as she's crawling down in the vent and/or sticking her head in the oven to exclaim, "I VERY clean!" over and over.
She liked us, too.  Apparently we passed her unsaid test of taking our shoes off before coming in the house (it has new carpet) and kept looking at us slyly, like she had found "the ones." 
Or maybe I was just imagining that. :)
Prayers for what's next for the future Soldanos!

Night-Marry

Yes, another one.
All I remember is it either being pretty darn close to or on the wedding day. 
And I forgot the ring.  I never grabbed it- I could still picture it resting comfortably in my sock drawer. My heart was pounding out of my chest and I was a beginning to consider running when my faithful MOH, Jennifer, smirked at me and said,"Do you really think I didn't get it?"
*DEEP BREATH OUT*
There were a few other scary moments in yet another bad wedding dream (of this I'm sure, since I woke up in a panic at 6:30am) but lay there and had a calming thought- my betrothed is experiencing the same thing!  Kenny told me last week or so that he was having some wedding dreams of his own.  Something about not having tuxes and having to call buddies the day-of to scrounge some up.  :)
I told him that must mean he should cross "get tuxes" off of is To Do List.
I'm no Joseph, but I think I know what these dreams are getting at- the Boy Scout motto.
Be Prepared.
Lists, lists, and more lists. Let's hope we get our ducks in a row before we're stuck in Snohomish and Kenny's wedding ring is still snuggled up with my socks and underwear.
Our marriage class finished up last week.  I can't believe that we went through the eight weeks of it already Just goes to show that time is, in fact, passing quite quickly.  It was a very good experience.  We all agreed at our last meeting, a potluck, that we were very fortunate to have the group that we did.  Quality folks and good discussions.  Our mentor couple, Rick and Orleen, were very similar to Kenny and I and they offered much wisdom.  She's has been an English teacher for many years (retiring this year, in fact) and Rick was an engineer. You can imagine the parallels in the relationships when talking about expressing feelings and differing interests.  :)  There were many times when Kenny and I glanced at each other knowingly after they gave an example of how they communicate.  It was very valuable.
Now we are house hunting today and getting excited to find that place (which was NOT, in fact, this place on Genesee that had no closets and the W & D were perched outside, under the carport. No).
Wish us luck!

Onward

The 3rd of June. And it's a doosey.
Had a great weekend at the Canal with everyone and, boy, did it go too fast. I guess that's what happens when you look forward to something so much, seeing every activity and task accomplished as one step closer to it, that no matter how hard you try to hold on to it, it still slips through your fingers like everything else.
Darnnit. 
Makes me wonder what the wedding day will be like...I thought I'd be cool as a cucumber, sitting back with a mimosa to enjoy, but now I think I might freak out- try to grab on to every moment and when I can't, get frustrated.
Well, let's just hope I'm a little bit more mature then.
Can't hold on too tight.
Of course, now that the weekend is behind me, it's "Ready...Set.....PLAN!"
(Won't you be so glad when the marriage-isms are over?)  :)
That is the permission I gave my brain at of 8pm Monday night.  Memorial Day weekend was officially over and I had been waiting to open the Floodgates of Planning.
Consider it done.  It's time to get serious, friends.  No more messing around. Believe it or not, a wedding is happening in about two months and stuff must get DONE. Oh- wait, hold on....is that- your phone ringing?  It is? Oh yeah, it is me! I need your help!
:)

You, too???

Alright, alright- my wedding moratorium is nearly at its end. After this weekend, I will jump back into planning with a flourish and rapidly strike things off my list as we draw ever closer to that magical date.

Well. I'm gonna try, anyway.
For those loyal readers out there, I realized today that I have only been writing on Thursdays (my day off) and I hope this is okay with you.  Maybe it's too "few and far between" to keep your attention.  If so, I'm sorry.  I wish there were some more entertaining happenings to report, but news has been slow.
I did, however, have a lovely conversation with a customer at The Green Bean in Greenwood this morning as I sipped the most delicious americano and logged some thoughts in my journal. He admired the fact that I was even writing in a journal, an archaic activity anymore, and I confessed that it had been awhile since I struck up a blog.  After asking what the blog was about, we chatted about wedding planning and the challenges of it all.  He was very nice and encouraging.  Thanks for your words, Mr. Coffee Customer Man.

Speaking of coffee shop customers, I've been finding it so hard to keep my mouth shut when customers come in wearing engagement rings.  All I want to do as they're digging in their purse, showing off the bling, is lean over the counter and ask, "So, how is wedding planning going for you?"  I am just so CURIOUS.  Of course I bite my tongue, as that question doesn't often naturally follow "would you like a copy of your receipt today?" Receipt talk doesn't really invite I'ma Bride-You'rea Bride chit-chat. 
Then there's the customer who I desperately want to be, coming in on a coffee run on her way to the venue on her wedding day, with "Bride" written in cursive on the back of her white zip-up hoodie (classic), bubbling over with excitement. 

Bah.
I think I actually found myself reaching after her as she left, mumbling "I wanna be you...." before I realized how creepy that would be to witness as my coworker and I pulled myself together. 
Soon enough, I know.  87 days, actually.
But who's counting?  ;)

4 years and some change

Friends, we are rapidly approaching our 3 Month Deadline and I want to report this: bring it on.

How did time slow down since the beginning of the year when so much needed to be decided and we were on the fast track to having no wedding (or that's the pressure we felt, anyway, if we didn't figure certain things out)?  This month has felt like we're just waiting in the airport terminal, bags in hand, looking up at the flight board and praying ours is next.

But it's not.

Okay, okay- I've already mused about my impatience.  But the point of this whole exercise, a.k.a. blog, is to keep you posted (ha-get it?) on where I am at.  So here I am!  Still tapping my foot and flaring my nostrils at the fact that we are still NOT DONE WITH MAY!

In other news, Kenny and I just celebrated our four year anniversary on Sunday.  Technically we are approaching more like six years, but for Round Two, it's four.  I'll be honest and say that it was a bit underwhelming this year. NOT that it's a day to forget, but we're planning for something a bit bigger and there wasn't a big "to-do" like there has been in year's past. 

The Rundown: Year One is a big milestone, of course. Then there's Year Two, which just goes to show you're pretty committed and probably haven't celebrated two years with anyone else, so that's a big deal. At Year Three, you're serious and celebrating long gevity. Finally, by Year Four: The Wedding Year, you're just nodding you're head like, "Yup, it's been that long. That's a fact, right there."  (I love you, Kenny) We did, however, manage to take some time for ourselves and hike Mt. Si together (hence the pictures). It was the perfect time to regroup and just spend some time the two of us while testing out our new, awesome hiking shoes!!!

It'll be interesting starting that count all over in marriage.  So much more to get to know, believe it or not.  Suddenly, you're back down to Year Zero, looking over at that person and thinking, "I never knew he had that habit." Seems impossible, but lovely.  I'm looking forward to re-meshing our lives.

Watch out, Kenny- there's so much you don't know... ;)

Come on AUGUST!

On this sunny day, I can't resist coming into this post a bit more chipper than I intended when I was thinking about what to write. Originally, it was going to be a bit on the somber side, but I will now attempt a bit of a lilt in what I type to parallel the nice day.
Kenny and I have been immersing ourselves in so much marriage/relationship talk, it's nauseating.  What with our "marriage homework" from Ryan Church and homework from our Life Together class, we've hardly talked about the wedding, let alone spent any time simply having a relationship.  
Want to cuddle and watch a movie? TOO BAD. Must....discuss....love expectations...*sob*
Don't get me wrong- it's all good stuff and beneficial in its own right, but it's time consuming. Coupled with everything else we have going on, alone time to just spend time together, without an agenda, is nil. Plus, I am itchy enough about being married already without talking about things which can't be applied until WE'RE MARRIED.  "I do" already!
Am I ready to have a wedding yet, on the other hand? Of course not.  HA- that's a totally different thing.  :)
I knew May would be a tricky month, falling somewhere in between big decisions being made and the summer wedding season (and other big decisions) commencing.  It's a lag month and, boy, am I lagging.  I am at the edge of the diving board, ready to jump in, but have to wait for the pool to fill up.  With a garden hose.
Patience has never been a strong suit. :)

For Rent

As I was pondering posting over the last couple of days, I found myself wishing to share so many thoughts with you!  Most of them are lost now, of course, but a few have hung in there and I hope you're ready.

I spent the majority of my morning today rummaging through wedding websites and generally wishing that I were able to include so many more details than humanly possible for one wedding.  We can't have beverages sitting in a wheelbarrow and an antique bathtub. Over the top.  Instead I think we'll just have them....at the bar....
Sigh.  It's a whole 'nother ballgame I have yet to enter- so far I've only compiled decoration ideas and tucked them away, feeling better that I'm doing a little something but not really committing to anything.

On the home-search homefront, Kenny and I looked at a place on Monday.  Yes, it's a bit early, but I seem to be unable to avoid looking at rental ads in the paper...so I saw one that claimed to be "GORGEOUS" and mostly remodeled for a reasonable price in our area, so we had to see it. 
Of COURSE they were lying.
I have two words for you: wet bar.
That's right- a very 70's place, with orange linoleum and formica countertops, complete with a wet bar right alongside the dining room.  Well, really just a little sink and counter, which made it look worse than a legit wet bar that you see nowadays. 
The best part? Walking in and Kenny asking, "So what should we be looking for?" and Nora says, "Well, not the dead squirrell on the balcony. Don't worry, I'll get rid of it." 
Awesome.
It really wasn't horrible, but the pros and cons pretty much cancelled each other out and Kenny and I agreed that "that's not our place."  However, it was pretty neat to check one out.  The moment escaped us at the time, since we got lost on the way and I was distracted by having to pee the whole time, but later we revelled in the fact that we had looked at a place together.  First time I'd ever looked at an apartment with a boy, that's for sure.
I did see this place is available and think it just screams "The Soldanos." Whaddya think?
http://seattle.craigslist.org/see/apa/1727741391.html
Maybe we'll keep looking... ;)