I Heart Tattoos!

Hey guys!! I saw this link up and I just had to join in. I hope you guys do to! I am linking up with Raven at A Momma's Desires and Pacifiers to show off the one tattoo that I do have and the one.



I got my first and only tattoo when I was 18. My Dad was always very against me having any and would always give me the line, "Not until you are 18 and out of my house!" Which is weird because my Mom has quite a few tattoos and had most of them when my parents were married. Anywho, I had about two weeks before I went to College and so my Dad FINALLY said it was okay to go get one. I think he did this because he wanted to make sure that I went to someone who knew what they were doing and of course my Dad just happened to have a friend that owned his own shop. 
So, I went  in knowing what I wanted and where I wanted it, but it was way too expensive for the almost poor College student, so I had to go with something a little bit smaller and that I could possibly add on to. So I got this, and to this day I still absolutely love it!!

Of course I got a butterfly! This was taken
right after I got it when I was 18.

I have been itching to get a new tattoo for a long time. My mom actually drew one for me that has all of my grandparents initials in it, but I just haven't had the moolah to be able to go and get it. Hopefully soon though. I need a new one so bad. And not to mention, I really need to get my first one touched up.
Well this was fun! You should head on over to Raven's blog and link up if you have a tattoo that you want to share!
Hopefully I will be back soon with some wedding recaps! I am still waiting on pictures right now and I just got back to work, so I have been really busy too! Sorry guys! Hopefully soon!

Wow 10+ Years!: A Guest Post from Nikki at The Field of Life

Happy Monday everyone! Today is my last day off before I have to head back to work, so I have one last guest post for you guys. I hope that you guys have enjoyed all of the guest posts. I know that I have enjoyed reading them.

Today's guest post is from Nikki at The Field of Life. Nikki is pretty new to the blogging world, but we have been friends for a long time. I will let her tell you more about that. Enjoy and I will be back soon with wedding recaps.

“Even though we’ve changed and we’re all finding our own place in the world, we all know that when the tears fall or the smile spreads across our face, we’ll come to each other because no matter where this crazy world takes us, nothing will ever change so much to the point where we’re not all still friends”

~ Anonymous (found on-line)

Friends come into our lives!  Sometimes these friends stay and sometimes they go.  It amazes me that some friends come into your life unexpectedly and you remain friends even though you are miles apart.  That is my friendship story with Megan.

Megan and I met in 7^th grade (I think) when our families went on a family vacation to Lake Powell.  It was by chance that we met.  Our families had never met before this vacation so how did it come to take place.  Well we both knew one person who knew each of our families and had invited both families to come together.  Who knew that we would hit it off and continue our friendship? 

That week at Lake Powell was a lot of fun!  We stayed in contact for about a year after that.  Then we kind of kept in touch here and there.  Whenever I visited my aunt we would catch up.  Well after a few years of not really staying in touch I found out one day that we would be going to the same college.  Who knew we would rebuild our friendship?  Better yet who knew that we would end up at the same college and in the same residence hall?  Weird how things turned out!

Our college years were spent hanging out, getting to know new friends, and rebuilding our friendship.  We were even roommates for a semester before I left to do my students teaching!  Too bad we didn’t try that out earlier.  After college we stayed in touch.  We have celebrated many happy events and some sad ones.  It doesn’t matter how far apart we are we manage to be a part of each other’s lives.

As our lives continue to go in different directions we still take time to make sure we stay in touch.  A year and a half ago she was a part of my big day and just recently I got a chance to be a part of her big day.  We each have taken a huge step in our lives and I hope we continue to stay in touch.  It is amazing how the time flies but you always manage to find time for your friends!  Friends are important, so keep them close because they will be there for you when you need them. 

Congrats to the new Mr. & Mrs.!  I am so honored to call you my friend. 

Megan's 21st Birthday

College Graduation

Me and Megan on my big day

Megan and I on her big day

Guest Post: Kayleigh from Down at Fraggle Rock

I hope you guys are having a fantastic week so far. I know that I am definitely enjoying my time off. I have another awesome person guest posting for me today. I have Kayleigh from Down at Fraggle Rock here today for you guys to read. If you haven't read her blog, you definitely should check it out. Enjoy everyone!


Hey All! I’m Kayleigh from over at Down at Fraggle Rock. You can normally find me there ranting and raving about wedding planning, annoying people I work with, a bug that flew up my nose… ya know… whatever strikes my fancy.

And while Megan sits and basks in the glory of being a newlywed, she has asked me to guest post. She gave me the option of talking about whatever I want (which is a dangerous statement given the fact I ramble about nonsense for days) but I thought that since I “met” her through wedding planning, then I should of course… talk about wedding planning!

So you know… I’m Kayleigh and my main squeeze is Big A. He is the macaroni to my cheese. Here’s a picture of us. 

Isn’t he handsome? Love that face! Big A and I got engaged on May 12^th, 2011. Our 4 year anniversary. The happiest day of my life. Seriously. It was amazing. You can read all about it HERE.

There’s a part 2 and 3 as well. It was a long story! Ha! We are getting married on September 8^th, 2012. Which is steadily approaching much to my bank account’s dismay.

Now… onto wedding planning…

Big A was adamant about the fact that we needed to take things slow. He had a huge car show coming up in the beginning of July and he knew that he wouldn’t be able to give me 100% of his attention until after it. I knew he was right. I was just the mistress… his car was his real one true love! Haha!

So… I waited. And waited. And FINALLY the day came. And I jumped in head first. And then the drama started:

Our venue fell through.

People were being jerks.

Budget became an issue.

And just like that… the fun was gone. BUT… I had promised myself that I wasn't going to lose my mind  over this wedding. I didn't want to become a Bridezilla. I didn’t want to devote my entire life to it. AND I didn't want to be one of those people who has a mental breakdown when their wedding is over because they put all of their blood, sweat, and tears into it for 18 months and then it was over. That’s when I   developed my standard list of things that I need to do when the craziness of wedding planning gets to be a little too much. I like to affectionately call it:

Sure Fire Ways to Make Sure You Don’t Get Committed to a Mental Institution While Planning your Wedding

1. It may be the most important day of your life so far, but just remember… it is just one day. The marriage will last a lifetime. That is what you should be focusing on.

2. No one is going to remember that your centerpieces aren’t perfect. Or that your napkins didn’t match exactly to the bridesmaids dresses. They will remember if you have a scowl on your face the entire night though.

3. When everything gets to be too much. Walk away. Take a break. Take a breather. Whatever. Losing your ish over it isn’t going to help anyone.

4. Remember to have FUN. This is a gigantic party all.about.you (well, a little about your fiancé too). ENJOY!

Aaaand… if you are anything like me…

5. Have a drink when you need to.

6. Have an awesome set of friends that you can scream to if need be.

And that’s that. There is no use losing your face over the small stuff. At the end of the day. If the caterer drops all the food on the floor before serving it, the flowers don’t show up, one of the groomsmen is too hungover to function, and one of your bridesmaids missed the memo that this was your wedding, not hers… you will still marry your best friend. And that’s all that matters.

Oh… and as a back-up plan I informed our JP and our photographer that if an emergency is to come up, that they need to follow us to the hospital so we can still get married. Ya know… just in case.

I hope you enjoyed my little ramble, although I am sure you are just here checking to see if Megan posted any wedding recaps. Don’t  worry, she will be back before you know it. And while you wait… you should check me out over at www.downatfragglerock13.blogspot.com I promise it won’t disappoint.


 

Photo Mishaps

I am going to take a break from the guest posts because I have something that I need to get off my chest. And I really need some advice on the subject, so I figured that you guys are the best people to turn to.

So the other day I told you guys that there were a few things about our wedding that I would have changed if I had the chance to go back and do things over. Well, I am here to tell you about one of those things.

Let me start by saying that I am so excited that we are finally married. I couldn't be more happy that we are finally husband and wife. However, something is really bothering me and it is making it really difficult for me to look at and focus on the positive and happy moments of our big day.

It all started when we got to the church. My girls were getting dressed and everything seemed to be going okay. Once they were getting done getting dressed, it was my turn. Well, apparently we didn't pay very much attention to the clock and were running behind schedule. We were supposed to be dressed and ready for pictures by 1 pm. Well we didn't finish getting dressed until closer to 1:30 so by the time that we were ready, it was too late to take pictures with my girls. I figured it was no big deal because we could always get them after the ceremony.

Well, after the ceremony I don't know what happened but again we ran out of time. See with us getting married in the Catholic church, we had to be out of the church by 4. We had a full Catholic mass which was a little over an hour and then by the time we rounded everyone up to start getting the formals done, we didn't have a whole lot of time. I know the photographers were trying to get as many pictures in as they could, but they left out some that were really important and of course no one realized it until the next day. And of course when I say no one realized it, I mean no one realized it, except me of course.

Now, we were able to get a few shots of me with my girls at the reception, but it just didn't seem the same to me. We didn't get to do a ton of different posed photos that were fun or cute or anything like that. And those pictures were the ones that I was really looking forward too. I was looking forward to coming up with those creative poses and just having fun and relaxing with my girls while we took some cute pics, but I didn't get that.

This may have been the only picture of all of us taken
and this was taken by my sister in law. I don't even think
the photographers were in the room at this point.

The other photos that were left out, and in my opinion this one was a big one, was a photo of just me in my dress standing on the altar at the church. How could we forget this picture? I just don't understand it. I don't understand how I could have forgot and I really don't understand how the photographers forgot. I mean, I even gave them a list of shots that I absolutely wanted and I know for a fact that one was on there. And another photo that was not taken was one of me and Aran with our Maid of Honor and Best Man.

The more and more I think about the whole thing, the more and more I am upset. I know that I shouldn't be focusing on something so negative, but it is so hard when all I can think about is how something could have been done differently. Like maybe I should have had my girls get dressed before we got to the church, or maybe I should have had someone in there letting us know what time it was and if we needed to hurry up(I partially think our photographer should have been on top of this).

I just can't get past the "what if's", and I hate it. I hate that I don't feel a sense of satisfaction with our wedding, especially since this is not even close to what was important about this day. And I probably won't until those pictures come back in a few weeks. I feel like such an awful person for not being able to see past this. And poor Aran, I just keep getting upset and worrying about this when I should be focused on the fact that we are married and that is all that should matter, but I can't help but feel that I was ripped off of some of the experiences of having a wedding and all that goes along with it.

Don't get me wrong now, for the most part, our wedding was amazing, but there are just these little things that keep bothering me. And for some reason, I can't shake them. At this point, there isn't anything I can do to fix them so I don't know why I am getting so hung up on them, but I am. What is wrong with me? Why can't I see all of the positive and good things that came out of this day? Like I said, I feel like such a horrible person right now.

Sorry this post is so long. What do you guys think? Am I being ridiculous about this? Or do I have a right to feel this way? I really just need some advice on what I should do and you guys are the ones that are best at giving advice on this type of stuff. So please help me out here. Thanks in advance guys and I hope that you guys are doing well.

Thanks again,

Wedding Withdrawal: Guest Post from Laura at "Saying I Do"

Hey everyone! I hope everyone's week is going well so far. I have another great guest post for you today. Laura from "Saying I Do" is here to talk about something that most people probably don't think about until it happens. Enjoy everyone and I will hopefully be back soon with some more details about our big day!

Hi guys, I'm Laura from "Saying I Do" and I'm so excited to be blogging for Megan today! I got married in May, and I have had a blast counting down the days to Megan's wedding: I know just how exciting this time is for her!

After our wedding, my husband was driving me home from the train station after work in silence. We hadn't fought, there was no tension between us, there was just...nothing to say. Finally, Chris said "So...what do we have to plan next for the wedding?" I immediately burst out laughing! It was painstakingly obvious: After two years...that was all we knew how to talk about! It's sad, but our lives had been a constant array of appointments, decision making, planning and discussions and then, all in one day...it's just over. Done. Just like that.

Source

On one hand: I missed the excitement - the thrill and anticipation of what our day would ultimately be like. Every decision mattered, every step brought us closer and closer. On the other hand, it was nice to finally relax. I think every bride can agree that by the end, we are all just ready for the wedding to be over so normal life can resume.

Source

Of course conversation has resumed in our household, now we ask each other how our days were, we talk about our future together, not just our future wedding, and there is always something to talk about or share when it comes to our puppy Zoey!

Yes, we did have to sort of "re-learn" what to talk about, but in these months following our wedding we have definitely grown as a couple and have had real, strong conversations about things that matter much more in the long ran than what kind of cake to serve on our wedding day. 

Congratulations to Megan and Aran!! May you have a lifetime of happiness, good health, constant love, and endless conversation!

Officially a Mrs.!!!!!!!!!

Well, I'm officially a Mrs.!! Whoop whoop!!

Our big day was definitely great and I am so excited that we are finally married. It feels great to be married and to be done with all of the planning, but there are definitely a few things that I wish we could have changed. I will get into that in later posts.

Overall though it was a great day. Our ceremony was beautiful and so was the reception. We danced our butts off and rocked the photo booth all night. And wouldn't you know it, it snowed. We even went out and took some photos in the snow. I can't wait to see how they turn out.

Well, I will definitely have more posts to come, but for now that is all that I have. I have a few more guest posts this week so look out for those. Have a great week everyone!

Guest Post from Lou at Guinn & Bare It

Good morning everyone. Lou from Guinn & Bare It is here to do a guest post for me today. She just happens to be one of my best friends in the entire world. I am so thankful for her and I am so excited that you guys will get to read a little bit about how we met and became friends. So without further ado, here is Lou;

Hello readers, followers and browsers. My name is Lou from Guinn and Bare It and I am here because Megan is getting married this weekend! Megan isn’t just some girl getting married this weekend; Megan is my best friend in the entire universe. I know she’s lucky right?? No I’m lucky!  Megan and I met our first year of college in cheerleading and believe it or not we didn’t like each other why you may ask?? Apparently I was too loud and well she was just too nice…like so nice it had to be fake. Turns out I was wrong she truly is that nice and probably one of the nicest people I have ever met…damn did she get a crappy end of the stick. I’m not that nice!

Any who Megan is my best friend and she is getting married and I am oh-so excited for her!  I know Megan has been dreaming of this for years and my best friend deserves the best day ever!! I mean that because really how can someone like this not deserve an amazing wedding day?

That’s me in the middle and her on the right…who would’ve known shed be stuck with me for years to come!!! ( oh that’s Vero next to her on the left, she’s our other bestie)

Were pretty crazy the two of us….we do a lot of dumb things together…

(yep that’s us sledding on my poster board presentation for a final in college)

(duck face)

(if you don’t know who we are in this photo…you may just wanna leave because it’s party time and you’re not invited!!)

Anyways i am truly truly blessed to have Megan in my life…beyond blessed! She has been there for me when I have cried my eyes out, she has been there for me when I have laughed so hard I couldn’t stand, she has been there through black eyes, through breakups, through my marriage, through my moves, through my first deployment and I know she will be there for me when the future comes and I can promise you meg I will be there also!

So right now your super jealous right? You want Megan as your best friend…well ladies I’m sorry she’s taken! She is all mine and we will be best friend married for years to come I can just feel it…yep that got awkward quick.