The Beginning

Jon and I bought a house! We'll be getting the keys sometime on Monday and moving in mid-October. We didn't tell a lot of people this was happening until we had already been approved for the loan, made an offer, and started escrow. It was the perfect time and we got very, very lucky. So, right now we are living in a sea of boxes and wedding planning has been put on hold. We've got less than 6 months to the big day and I've got a lot left to do - I just can't do it right now when I've got all this other stuff going on. I anticipate kicking wedding planning into high gear late-October so I'll be back to regular blogs soon. Until then ... I thought I'd share the story of how we became us.

How we met: The brides story
In 2002 I started working at a local microbrewery in Sacramento while I was attending CSUS. It was while during the 4 years I slaved for that local business that I met one of my best friends, Ryan. I also met many, many other wonderful people who have become my friends. Ryan and I became fast friends and, along with Linsey, we spent countless hours together. At some point in our friendship, Ryan introduced us to his best friend, Jon. Jon was this tall, hippyish boy who studied Math at CSUS and hung out with us sometimes. Sometime in late 2004 I realized that maybe I had a little crush on Jon and sometime in early 2005 he asked me out to dinner! For our first date we went out to dinner at another local microbrewery and then had drinks at a local bar. At first it was a little strange for the two of to be hanging out without all our other friends - but at the same time, it was nice that it was just the two of us for once. We had a really great time. Then I went out of town on two road trips, back to back. I went to Monterey with Jonalin and Linsey to visit Shalin and then I went to Lake Tahoe for Kylie's birthday. The next time that Jon and I hung out was almost three weeks after our first date! It didn't take long for us to start dating regularly and sometime in early May 2005 we made our relationship official and became a "couple" - just in time for my college graduation and to be able to introduce him to my family as my "boyfriend". We had an amazing summer and spent the next few months really getting to know each other. In the late Fall of 2005, Jon and I decided to move in together. We searched for and found a cute little apartment with hardwood floors in downtown Sacramento that accepted cats. In December 2005 we moved in to our first apartment together and I left my restaurant job to start working for a bank. In 2006 we faced many challenges as a couple - Jon was in a car accident that kept him from working for a few months, I left my banking job without another job and was unemployed for a few months, and Jon started student teaching - a job that is required in the credential program, but that does not pay. We also had many great times and continued to build our lives together. We often talked about our future and we learned that we wanted the same things. In December 2006 I accepted a position in Elk Grove, where Jon was student teaching and would be looking for a position as a teacher once he received his credential, so we decided to move. In January 2007 we moved into our second apartment, a two bedroom palace compared to our tiny apartment downtown. We spent 2007 continuing to build our lives together and Jon started teaching as an intern at a local high school. We had a pretty good year; we had struggles but we made it past them. In January 2008, Jon and I started discussing marriage and on the 22nd he proposed! For those of you that do not already know, I'm sorry to inform you that no, it was not a surprise. I don't do well with most surprises. We picked out the ring together and it was one of the happiest moments of our lives together. Being the organized and planner that I am, I jumped head first into wedding plans. So far, 2008 has presented us with a lot of struggles and a lot of happiness. Jon was temporarily laid off from his teaching job due to budget restraints and I have been faced with many challenges at my job. We have struggled and we have survived. We've started making plans for our future together and we are looking forward to becoming husband and wife in 175 days!

Flower Girl Baskets: attempt #1

Kylie had found me the perfect flower girl baskets - they were adorable and not too expensive ... so Saturday we went to the local bridal shop where she had seen them to pick them up (after we went to David's Bridal and picked up my shoes and all the bridesmaid dresses). BUT the store was out and did not know if or when they would be getting more in ... so, its back to square one with this little detail. I'm going to search the internet for just the right baskets for my two favorite little girls :)