It's like raiiiiinnnn on your wedding day...

Do you remember this Alanis Morrissett

song?

I sure do!

I remember waking up on my wedding day 

to thunderstorms and thinking of this song.

"It's like raiiinnnn on your wedding day...

Isn't it ironic?"

How can rain on your wedding day 

be a sign of good luck?

What about my hair?

And the pictures?

And my dress?

They could all get ruined!

Thankfully, the clouds parted, we had a beautiful wedding day,

and so far (knock on wood)

Keith and I have had pretty good luck with our marriage.

However, the rainy wedding day streak continued for one of my very 

best friends, Anne, today.

We woke up to the clouds dumping rain.

We tried to stay hopeful that the storms would

finish by the afternoon, so we turned on our wedding day

playlist, and jammed to

"Goin to the Chapel," "I Do",

and "I Wanna Dance with Somebody"

while getting ready.

Here are some pics from our 

pre-wedding jam session.

The bride making sure
she has plenty of fluids

The mantle was decorated,
including the banner I made for
Anne's bridal shower.

Such a thoughtful
gift from Anne's
sister-in-law, Laura.

This candle is a tradition.
I gave this candle to
Anne at one of her bridal
showers. She is able
to light it on her wedding
day and many anniversaries
after.

Time for hair!
The matron of honor, Jenny

The back of my hair!

                                   

Sisters & bridesmaids,
Emily and Julie

Painting some nails

Drinking Mimosas

Time for the bride's hair

The beautiful flowers

My drinking buddy & Me

Look at this handsome dude!
At one point, he pointed to the
backyard where there is
an above ground pool and
said, "I think it's going
to overflow!"

Anne's VERY soon to be
sister-in-law and niece

Anne only let a select few see her dress before the wedding day,

so here are most of the bridesmaids (and the flower girl too!)

seeing Anne dressed up! 

        

Opening her special
gift from Jim

Delta Gamma sisters and friends,
Amber and Me :)

Special moment with Dad

                                                       
                                                 

Boarding the Party Bus!

 

Seeing her grandma for the first time today

Sisters

Time flew by this morning...

Now it's time to go get married!

Let's do this!

Fun Friday!

It is no secret that Keith and I 

LOVE

the Cincinnati Reds.

We have always been huge Reds fans

and decided this year that we would

become season ticket holders.

One of the many perks of being a

season ticket holder is that today

we were able to have lunch with 

the Redlegs.

Of course, I was hoping,

and wishing, and praying
(cue Ani Difranco)

that Joey Votto would be in attendance

today, but I guess these guys

will have to do ;) .

Me, Zack Cozart, Keith

Funny story about this picture with Shortstop Zack Cozart--

immediately after the photographer snapped this picture,

a huge banner on a stand fell down right behind me

and almost hit me in the head.

I was so shocked and a little embarrassed

because OF COURSE this would happen to me,

that I said to Zack,

"That would have been a memorable Reds Luncheon!"

Keith, Pitcher Curtis Partch, Me

 Curtis Partch is one of our newest relief pitchers

and is possibly one of the

quietest but funniest people I have ever

met. 

When asked how he prepares in the bullpen

he stated,

"I make sure that I have really good snacks."

(My first thought was to write

"Such a man!", but who am I kidding?

My friends and I would make sure we had really

good snacks too. That's how we roll. )

Me, Chris Heisey, Keith

I have to admit that the highlight

of the luncheon came when we 

met this fella.

He was SOOOO nice

and when we were finished talking,

he thanked us for being fans.

It seems like such a small gesture,

but it really meant a lot to me.

After the luncheon,

Keith and I made a fro-yo

date to Orange Leaf,

before dropping me

off to spend the night with this girl:

The Bride to Be!

With the rehearsal dinner being on Wednesday,

we had all Friday night to finish up

last minute wedding details and 

then spend some time relaxing in the hot tub.

We stayed up chatting until just after midnight

when I was the first to wish her happy wedding day!

Can't wait to see all of the beautiful details

come together tomorrow!

Happy birthday, America!

July 4th in Cincy was not what we expected.

We wanted sunshine.

We wanted swimming pools.

We wanted barbeques and family.

We wanted fireworks.

Well, this July 4th was not what we expected.

At all.

We woke up to thunder booming and rain splashing.

So Keri and I thought,

well, why not dance in the rain? 

Or at least in a gym in the rain?

So we headed to a special, 4th of July, one hour and twenty minute (woah!)

 Zumba class.

Our usual class is 60 minutes long,

but we were ready to kick it up a notch

with the 80 minute class.

I know I have blogged about Zumba a little bit,

but I cannot get enough of this workout.

It has so many benefits like

burning 800-1,000 calories an hour,

reduces stress, tones muscles,

and it's fun!

By the end of the class,

we were dripping with sweat

but feeling great!

From there, it was a pretty uneventful day due to the weather.

Keith and I cleaned, napped,

and eventually drove up the street

to watch St.Bernard's firework show.

All in all, not an eventful day,

but I did find it rejuvenating.

I leave you with a picture Keith and I had 

taken last year for our 2nd wedding anniversary.

Keith is the biggest America lover I know,

so when we found this American flag flying,

I knew we had to capture this picture.

Happy birthday, America!

Wedding bells are ringing...

This week, one of my best friends in the entire world

will marry her prince charming.

The wedding fun began on Wednesday, July 3rd, with

the Dollenmeyer/Stokes Rehearsal and Dinner.

Bridesmaids Laura & Emily

Matron of Honor Jenny, Grandma,
and Bridesmaid Julie

Bridesmaids Amber & Me

Some of the Stokes Family

3 Generations of Dollenmeyers

Ring bearer Jaegger and Flower
Girl Ada

So cute!

Practicing for the big day!

  

 

Soon to be Mr. & Mrs.
Stokes

One of my favorite pictures
of the evening

Joey, Laura, Jenny, & Joe

Loved the decorations
at the rehearsal dinner

We had the party table!

Delta Gamma sisters

Delta Gamma (take 2!)

Jim's Speech

Cheers!

Wishes for the Mr. & Mrs.

 

Mine & Keith's lantern

So excited to be a part of her big day!

When we got home,
of course we had to love on
our furry little baby!

 

Such a fun night!

Can't wait for the wedding day!

History Being Made

As many of you know,

Keith and I are Reds

season ticket holders.

Tonight, we were 

scheduled to go to a Reds game.

With Keith being swamped at work,

though, we almost didn't go.

I had to beg Keith to bust

his booty during the day

to get his work done so

that we could go to the game.

We hadn't been to a game in a while

due to the Reds being out of town,

so I was itching to get to the ball park.

Luckily, Keith was able

to stay a little bit after work but

still make it home in time for us 

to make it down to the ball park.

Thank goodness we did 

because Pitcher Homer Bailey

threw his 2nd no-hitter within

a year

(His first one coming on September 28th, 2012,

in Pittsburgh against the Pirates--

Amy, you knew I had to throw that in there!)!

Could you imagine if we would

have missed this game?!

Thankfully, I have am a powerful

persuader!

Here are some pictures that I took 

in the stands of this historic event:

Congratulations Homer Bailey!

I feel lucky to have seen history

in the making.

It's Friday!

I cannot believe that it is the last Friday in June already! 

Where did the time go?

It's going wayyyyy to fast for my liking is all that I can say.

Anyways....

Here are my top five things (or six, or seven, or eight)

 I loved about this week

(In the order they occurred):

1. Family Dinner Sundays

             After a few weeks of some outings (festivals, Reds game,   etc.) we decided to stay at home this week and have everyone over to our house for a fiesta! Chicken taco dip, soft tacos, hard tacos, quesadillas, churros, and apple enchiladas were all on the menu. Jaida swam in my new pool (kiddie size!), and everyone else sunbathed (minus Keri and Keith who would have blinded us had they exposed themselves to the sun...gotta love those gingers!). Later, my sister sent me a text saying, "Jaida just said she had so much fun at your house today." Melt my heart!

2. Zumba

              Lisa, Keri, Nicole, and I started Zumba back in March.  I cannot believe that I was missing out on this fun time! Zumba is such a phenomenal workout, and I was sweating my tushi off this week.  I have so much fun dancing, I forget I'm working out. Now only if I could talk my instructor into teaching a class more than 2 days a week...

3. Lunch with Amanda

              I met my friend, Amanda, this past school year when she subbed in my classroom. She did such a fantastic job, that I recommended she take a long term sub position for my teaching partner who was going on maternity leave. We became such good friends through this experience, and I am so happy that she is staying in the great city of Cincinnati for a little while longer. We met at Panera on Wednesday and talked for at least an hour and a half. I think I could talk to this girl for days! Next time, we will have to hit up Orange Leaf after our lunch date!

4. Dinner with a new friend, Shawna

              A couple weeks ago my sister-in-law, Keri, text me about a friend at her work,Shawna, who was also experiencing some fertility issues. She thought it would be helpful for us to talk to each other since we are having some similar experiences. We started out Facebook messaging each other, and decided to meet on Thursday night. It was such a fun time that we didn't realize we had talked for 2+ hours! Sometimes just being able to talk about fertility makes the journey a lot less lonely!

5. Drinks with Nicole

              After my dinner with Shawna, my sister, Nicole, text me and said that she wouldn't mind coming over and having some drinks with me.  I love this girl and was so happy that she wanted to spend time with her big sister. We chatted about life until 1 in the morning! As she was leaving, my neighbor across the street needed some help putting out his recycling, so she was a kind citizen and helped him. High five for that!

6. Maddy

             Today, Maddy had a grooming appointment. Usually when she is finished being groomed, the groomers just let her run around the haircutting room.  She loves it because she gets so spoiled by all of the workers.  Today, I decided to see how she would do in the daycare room after her haircut.  When I picked her up, she had a glowing report! It said that she was not shy/timid around the other dogs, and it said that she was a "social butterfly."  haha Just like her mama!

7. Pool days

            Today was such a nice day in Cincinnati, so I decided to take advantage of it.  A day at the pool was just what I needed. Sun & Summer...what more is there to ask for?!

8. Nights with my hubby

           And so another long week comes to an end for my hard-working hubby. Tonight we are enjoying Larosa's pizza for dinner and hanging out on the couch where we will probably watch the Reds game. I swear, I love these nights more than when we go out!

My only regret of the week....

why didn't I get any pictures?!?!

I MUST get better at this!

Oh well,

enjoy your weekend Bloggy friends!

             

A Year Later

One year ago today,
I woke up with an excruciating pain
under my left arm.
I told  you about it here,
but long story short it was a swollen lymph
node due to Shingles.

I wanted to post really quick today because
I feel that this day marked the beginning of a 
crazy year for us.
Between the lump, the shingles, the Strep B,and the fertility issues,
it's enough to drive someone crazy!

Today, as I pop my first Clomid pill of this cycle,
I am going to be positive that June 25, 2013
marks the end of a difficult year 
and the beginning of a prosperous and joyful
one.