023 - Josh's day off = smoked salmon and wedding talk ;)

Today is Josh's first day off since he started at CTN in December! I was not so lucky. Today we premiered the Spicy Chicken Sandwich... If you like spicy stuff, it's my understanding that you'll probably like it. Just order yourself a large drink and get yourself some extra napkins to wipe your runny nose with. But if you're a spicy-wimp (like me) or have a sensitive tummy (like me), do yourself a favor and avoid the stupid sandwich at all costs. I only took two bites, man.

After work, I scooted over to the Taylor household and actually got to see Josh before 5:00pm on a weekday. It's nice, dude. He's enjoying his day off so much! It's adorable. Mr. Ray made the best smoked salmon EV, and we watched lacrosse on TV for a little bit. I like the Taylor family. They can be a strange bunch, but I really like them. And they really like me. WINWIN.

Josh and I are making good progress in planning for the wedding. Having a tight budget has actually been pretty fun.. It's making us be creative, and much more involved than we otherwise might have been. We're doing most of this stuff just by ourselves, too. We're having a blast! I'm excited about sitting down with our photographer friend tomorrow to discuss the big day ;) and I keep thinking about how I'd like to arrange my bouquet. Etc., etc., etc. I'M EXCITED

I don't have a phone until Thursday. If you need me, facebook me or text Josh and he'll get the message to me. :)

Oh, and my family's water heater busted yesterday. So that's a thing. :p

Yay for not having to wake up at 6:30 tomorrow!

021

TODAY WAS FUN. We went to Cedars of Lebanon and made a definitive decision about the tent issue. Sort of definitive, haha. We may change our minds--I'm not sold on it.

Invitations are officially sent! That means we get to really plan the honeymoon. I'm excited..

"Great post," Josh says. I don't appreciate your sarcasm, BUDDY. I'm done.

017 - Lactating Lemonade?

I just spent an hour listening to Fresh Air with Terry Gross and playing Jungle Jewels on facebook. I am fully aware of the lameness this puts on me, but I needed to turn my brain off for a while. I beat my score! Again! haha.

Work was rough, for some reason. We got new registers and monitors and cash drawers, and that really threw me off. I know it's silly, but while I was getting used to the new stuff, I felt like a part of my Chick-fil-A had disappeared with the old registers, haha. We were one of the last stores switching over to the new system, and now that we've done it, I feel like a lost a friend. Suddenly my Chick-fil-A felt like all the other Chick-fil-A's. I got used to it during the lunch rush, but I still feel a little sad about it, haha. I'm sure I'll get used to it and i'll forget about feeling this way, but for some reason, it hit me today.

Then I spilled lemonade all over myself. That part was actually kind of funny.. but embarrassing too. The way it had spilled on my shirt, Joy said it looked like I had been lactating. So I grabbed a new shirt from the uniform closet before anyone else saw, and I was as good as new. And I got to wear a "black shirt" for the first time in years... they're so much more comfortable than the manager's uniform. SO MUCH MORE.

Well, Josh is here. I'm gonna hang out with him since I haven't even been able to text him all day. ALL DAY.

016 - Happy Birthday, Momma.

So. LOST's last episode was really, really good. The end was weird, and I'm still trying to decide what I thought of it, but overall, the episode was great. I really enjoyed it.

I went to work today with a minor bum attitude.. I didn't want to be there, I wasn't going to get a break, and I was on drive-thru headset again. But as the day went on, I began to enjoy myself a little more, I didn't ever get hungry, and there was a meeting that I'd forgotten about :) I haven't been to a manager's meeting since December, and I've felt terribly out of the loop, so it's nice to know what going on again. Also, I like the people I work with. I do, so sue me.

Tonight, the plan is to watch Jimmy Kimmel's post-LOST extravaganza that Mrs. Laurie so graciously recorded for us last night (both Josh and I opted for sleep over entertainment, seeing as we'd already been glued to the TV for a few hours). After that, I'm heading down to Urban Flats in the Gulch with two of my dear old friends. I'm really looking forward to catching up. It's been years since we got to hang out together.

Today is my mom's 50th birthday! I'm gonna go make her a gigantic card to come home to tonight ;)

014

Calista's wedding was today :) it was pretty! I got some ideas, and we talked about things we do and don't want to do at our wedding. I enjoyed it.

I'm tired. Josh and I haven't gotten to sit down and really talk almost all this week. That's exhausting. I'm ready for a chill day.

LOST tomorrow!

013

Today, I went to Hobby Lobby and got ideas for wedding decorations :D :D :D I had fun. I'm looking forward to sitting down with someone who's detail-minded, and fine-tuning my ideas. But I did enjoy myself! I got some fabric samples and some flowers. Also a glass candle holder. The Cashier made a comment about my Cardinals t-shirt and we talked about Ryan Adams while he was ringing me up! Love when that happens.

My Dad is on the phone with my aunt, and it sounds like my cousin just got engaged? Maybe? AWH. I think she did. <3 Yaye for Steffie!

I need to go figure out what dress I'm going to wear for Emily's birthday party. Hey, I get to see my man in like 5 minutes!

011 - An Attitude Adjustment, Organization, and Admiration.

Today felt long.

I got to work and nothing was stocked, or done to prepare for the new shift coming in at 2. I would be okay with it if thay had been busy, I can understand that. But when I walked in, they were all just standing around, talking. It took me about an hour and a half to get caught up to where we should have been when I got there. Through that, though, I felt God trying to show me that I'm not entitled to have an easy time, haha. I get easily frustrated when other people seem to be unthoughtful, especially when it means I'll have to pick up the slack for them, haha. I just felt God saying, "Kelli, this is how I want you to love them and love me today. Get over it." IT TOOK ME A LITTLE BIT, but I finally was able to turn my attitude around. There was also a large group of loud teenagers (a local youth group that comes in every Wednesday night after church) who always, always, always try my patience. I could go on forever about what a bad witness they're setting for Christianity, but really, I just don't like how rude and messy they are. Tonight, though, I was able to make a game out of being the friendliest I could. That was a step in the right direction for me.

Hey, so I just finished organizing the guest list! Well, we had a guest list on the computer, but since I'm tactile, I wanted to get it down on paper and into some sort of organizer. I've got a few more addresses to find, but it feels good to have the majority of them written down and tucked away, nice and organized. It just feels good.

My little brother graduates tomorrow. Er... Today. OH AWESOME. the electricity just died. Good thing I'm on the laptop.

Er, my youngest brother graduates high school tonight. I can't believe it.. He's only a couple years younger than me, but he's the youngest, haha, so it's super weird that we're all out of high school now. I'm proud of Joshua--of the three of us, he's had the most trouble with school. He's got a "learning disability" (I hate that phrasing, because he learns really well--just differently than what the schooling system is set up for). But he's persevered through it, dude. And he's a smart kid. He's got a pretty good GPA and everything! His plan is to go to King College in Bristol, TN and he's got a few scholarships... I'm really proud of him.

Speaking of being proud, I can't believe my dad sometimes. He's a trooper! Since losing his job, he's the hardest working unemployed man I've ever heard of. It's 1:00 AM and he just left the house to be trained on a paper route. He's only covering for a friend while they're out of town, so it's not a permanent job, but still dude. He wakes up at like 3 some mornings to go work part time at the theater (I think that you're allowed to work 7 hours a week and still claim unemployment checks, so he works only that). I really admire Dad for how hard he's always working.

I feel like I'm just rambling on. Maybe tomorrow I'll tell you guys about my other brother, Alex, and my mom. Yeah. In the meantime, I'm really tired. Please excuse any spelling or grammar errors, haha.

See you cats tomorrow.

OH'P. There's no electricity. Which apparently means I don't have any internet access. Guess I'll post this tomorrow.

010 - Why I smell like peaches.

Today I worked a very short shift. Those are nice when we're really busy, but when we're slow, they're the worst. It's like. Why did I even have to come in today. That being said, I had fun today, once I got over the initial, "What the heck this is stupid," attitude I walked in with. One of the other managers even squirted my right leg with peach, "accidentally" (I can't decide whether I believe him or not. He was laughing really hard about it.) Which normally would have probably irritated me, because, y'know, I've got nasty, neon-orange, gelatinous goo on my leg. But it was pretty funny, even as it happened.

My phone is driving me crazy. The antenna or something isn't working, so it won't keep service for more than a few minutes (if I'm lucky) at a time. It's incredibly frustrating. I keep getting time-sensitive messages hours after they were sent. And even just trying to communicate with Josh throughout the day is practically impossible. I can't wait to get a new phone.

Man, Fulin's was so good last night. I tried the shrimp lo mein, and OHMY. I was delicious. I even had the leftovers for breakfast, haha. I'm sure it has MSG in it, but I don't care. It didn't make me sick or anything.

Well, I'm going to go work on invitation-related things. We're trying to do a lot of DIY stuff for the wedding, so it's time consuming, but IT SURE IS FUN. I'm enjoying this.

OMG LOST TONIGHT.

[EDIT]

Freaking. LOST is so good. I can't believe it's going to be over. I can't wait for Sunday.

008 - 15 weeks to go!

I look forward to not having to say goodbye all the time. I'm ready for "I'm really tired, I need to go to bed" to no longer mean, "You need to leave so I can get some sleep," but instead to mean, "Hey, let's go to bed already."

Also, I'm ready to have my own place. My parents were out of town last week, which left me in charge of the house. I loved it. I can't wait to have my own house to take care of and be in charge of. Iono, it's just... time.

Don't get me wrong, I'm really enjoying this time in my life, but a huge huge part of my life right now is about said future. Which just makes me want it all the time, haha. Patience is key!

On a more upbeat note: Fulin's tomorrow, YUSSS. I can taste the Crab Rangoon Wontons already!

006 - Why I Hate Fridays

Whatever, I couldn't find the USB cord for my camera. Honestly I didn't have a cool picture from today to upload anyway, haha.

Fridays are my least favorite day right now in my life. It's the main night manager's day off, so I can't get out of closing. Which wouldn't even be a big deal, but 1) I like working day shifts better because it allows for other stuff to fill my day. Ya feel me? Oh, and 2) We have to scrub the large side of the dining room on Friday nights, and recently we've been uncharacteristically busy on Fridays. We just get out super late, and then it's 11:30, and then I can't sleep because I just spent an hour basically working out. Also it's a bummer not getting to see Josh for a couple hours or so at the end of the night, haha.

Well, I can't remember anything else about this day. Tomorrow promises to be much more exciting --WEDDING BANDS! (I'm getting married---this is finally feeling real. I LOVE IT.)

Day 005 (Proof that I'm a huge LOST geek)

>: 4 8 15 16 23 42 |

[EXECUTE]

whirwhirwhirwhir click click whirlydewhirlclick..tickticktick......click

108 days (and counting)

until THE BEST DAY EVER.

I feel like I may have done my math wrong or something? 108 + 5 = 113, not 112. But I know that I counted today. Three times. So. I know I'm just thinking about something wrong here or something. (I'm not really numerically-minded.) Whatever, I'm celebrating my 108 today!

I did some cleaning and organizing today, and I always feel better after I do that. It overwhelms me every time (at least before I begin) but at the end of the day, I can usually look back and be pleased with what I've done.

Josh and I are OFFICIALLY REGISTERED as much as we can be for now. Target and Bed, Bath, and Beyond were good choices, I think. The selections complimented / rounded each other out nicely. I'm really excited about building a home out of our little apartment we've picked out. I know it's cheesy, but srsly.

I meant to take a picture to post today. I'm going to try to take and post a picture every day--that is my goal! I realized today as I went through my old film photographs how much I miss being creative in that way. To get back in the swing of things, I'll make a point to take at least one picture each day. Ooh, both with digital AND film! FUN. Guess I'll start tomorrow. In the meantime, here's an old scanned 35mm print, since I spent a good amount of my day was going through these.

That's about it. Except to say, I'm really happy that Josh and I understand each other. That is important to me. I'm blessed to be in love with my best friend.

oh oh oh it's almost midnight PUBLISH POST

Day 004 (Yeah, I'm a few days behind)

HI. I've had so much fun watching Josh blog this week, I figured I'd get in on the act too. :D

QUICK RECAP:

Day 001 = JOSH GRADUATED. I was so excited for him. I'm still incredibly proud of him! A 3.925 GPA and Graduating with Honors... And he even got a job in his field before he graduated. I mean... I'm so proud.

Day 002 = I worked, then Alex and I went over to the Taylor's house. Alex was feeling down. I felt bad leaving him alone. Our parents and little brother left for the beach on their school beach trip on this day, super early in the morning. I don't know, not much happened for me, but it was nice to hang out with the Taylors for a while.

Day 003 = Yesterday. Worked again, then Josh and I were supposed to register at Target, but we decided that we'd rather use the opportunity to hang out together for a little while. OH YEAH and we reordered our invitations since we'd messed up on the previous order.

Day 004 = TODAY I lazed about a little bit, did a very little bit of cleaning, then went to dinner with Josh at Panera :) we picked up our photos, and then REGISTERED. It was so much fun. I had a blast dreaming and shopping with him. Right after that we went to the grocery store and did more shopping. I'm excited about learning how to get better at grocery shopping, haha. I'm sure one day I'll look back and think that I was naive to say that, but really. I'm enjoying growing up, haha. I'm getting so excited about moving in with Josh after the wedding. It's going to be so cool to have our own place that we can do whatever we want with.

So now that I'm caught up, I'm going to bed.