Determined to organize!

Due to the fact that we were busy planning a wedding for the past 8 months, and more so the past month or so, other parts of our life were put on hold for a little bit. Once the wedding buzz was over with, I was able to sit back and see things for what they were and I noticed a commonality...unorganization! It was (and still is!) driving my nuts and I am determined to get organization back in my life! I started last week with my craft room. This once safe haven looked like a tornado had hit it...hard! I am lucky enough to be able to work on craft projects at my day job, so I would pack wedding stuff up, complete projects at work, and then bring the bags back home and dump them into the craft room. Since the room is upstairs, Brian and I are really the only ones that see it. However, I was realizing that looking for something was taking a lot longer than it usually did. And I found myself not even wanting to step foot in the room because of the craziness of it. So, when Brian went to work last Saturday night, I spent hours cleaning the room, organizing it again, and even finding things to throw away and put aside to sell in an upcoming yard sale. phew...I felt better!
Then while cleaning my "Purely Pomegranite" craft space, I came across many items that I had purchased over time for projects that I intended on putting together. I ended up organizing all of these items into bags for the project it went with and even started completing some of these projects! My Italy album is almost complete...Mason's 1st birthday album is finished...a scrapbook of Ollie and Sophie is finished...and I was even able to put together a little album for myself of my nephews! Fabulous! Now to tackle the larger ones such as the wedding, bridal shower, and then Disney!
Another BIG accomplishment that I am proud of is the purchase of a new washer and dryer this weekend! I have been asking Brian for awhile if we could get a larger washer and dryer, so that it could cut the loads of laundry down, while saving water and energy at the same time. We looked here and there, but nothing really jumped out at us. It helped us a lot that we received a good amount of money for gifts from friends and family from the wedding, so we took a trip to Home Depot yesterday and purchased a set! Thursday is going to be a fabulous day since that is when they will be delivered! It's everything I could have hoped for! Front loading...very large...and a great price! Who knew that I could ever get excited over purchasing a new washer and dryer?!
So, while getting organized is a lot of work and the house will probably get messier before it gets cleaner during the process, I know that it will be a great sense of accomplishment when things get back to normal. And hey, if our "trash" can become someone else's treasure at the yard sale, then making some extra cash doesn't hurt either!

Hello, my name is Mrs. Soucy!

It has been several weeks since I last posted. I needed time to relax and take a break after the wedding was over, so I just sat back and did just that!
I know you are all dying to know how the wedding went! hehe...
The wedding day was the most amazing day of my life. It went better than I have envisioned it in my head and I think everyone had a really good time. Even though it started pouring on us when we started taking pictures (apparently, rain is good luck!), we still pulled through and took pictures in the rain. Our wedding party was awesome and was so agreeable with whatever Brian and I wanted them to do. I seriously could not have picked better people to be in the wedding party. I had read so many horror stories on my wedding website theknot.com about how some people had bad experiences with maids of honors, bridesmaids, and such. But honestly, we had no drama...everyone got along...everyone was helpful above and beyond what was expected of them...and I am closer to everyone now than before the wedding, which is a great feeling.
Everyone keeps asking me what it's like to be married. Honestly, I can't say that much has changed between Brian and I. Him and I have always been close, so I guess we have gotten closer since tying the knot, but I don't feel any different. Maybe it hasn't really hit me yet. Seeing as we just got our marriage certificate last week and I have started the process of changing my name, so maybe I will feel it soon (whatever it is I'm supposed to feel!).

And where are we going on our honeymoon you ask? We took a long weekend in Maine the weekend after the wedding, which was soooo nice! Brian works nights and I work days, so we rarely have time together, so to have that time was priceless. It was so peaceful and our hotel was beautiful...right on the water and so quiet. We had no real plans, but had a great time. Our "real" honeymoon is coming up in a couple of weeks. We are headed to Disney World, which we are really looking forward to! And then after all of this fun stuff is done, I will have time to scrapbook it all, which will be lots of fun! I have already started buying some stuff for my projects and hope to get started on some of them soon! My first project I want to do is my trip to Italy, which was last summer! That's how busy I have been! I haven't even scrapped something that happened last year!

So, that's the update. Nothing too exciting. Just trying to get back into "normal" life. Work is busy and I am enjoying free time and no wedding planning! Ciao :)

A moment's rest...but not for long!

2 days, 2 days, 2 days! I can't believe that the day is almost here! It's surreal. I don't know if it's really hit me yet...despite everything coming together, it still doesn't seem like something that I have wanted for so long, could finally be happening. I think I might need to pinch myself a few times to make sure this is all happening and it's not just a dream!
I am so glad that I only worked Monday and Tuesday this week! Those 2 days were enough for me and trying to juggle work and all of the last minute wedding stuff was driving me crazy! I was more stressed than I should have been and wasn't feeling good! Today went better. I am exhausted right now and haven't stopped all day, but it's nice to sit on my butt for a minute and relax. However, it's already 10pm and I still have plenty that needs to be done before bed.
I keep reminding myself that as stressful as some of these days have been in the past 8 months of our engagement, everything is going to be worth it on Friday because I am marrying my best friend. Many people spend their whole lives looking for "the one"...I was lucky enough to find him in 7th grade and to reconnect with him after some time apart.
I'm off to do more stuff...I know I will be sleeping good tonight!!!

Adventures in Wedding Planning

*Since my sister-in-"love", Holly, just titled her recent blog, "Adventures in Babysitting", I decided to take her idea for my title!*

Today I am tired (and annoyed). I really have had it up to here (my hand is above my head).
This is what I am tired about:
I am tired of people telling me what I should and should not be doing for our wedding.
I am tired of people making it seem like I have done so many things wrong (not just with wedding stuff, but with "everyday" stuff).
I am tired of people making me feel like I am at fault for things that they know nothing about.
I am tired of feeling like I "have" to do something just to please other people. Like my counselor, Alexis, always tries to tell me..."Whose needs are being met when you do what other people want of you all of the time?" (sidenote...I love Alexis because she is really working hard with me to ensure that I am getting what I want [within reason of course!] and that I am not always trying to please other people).
I am tired of feeling like if I don't do what people want from me, then I am going to disappoint them and that it will be held against me.
I am tired of everyone worrying about other people being hurt. What the heck about me?! Do I not matter? Maybe if people took the time to dig deeper into things, they would realize that I have been hurt a lot in the past and my actions have reasons behind them.
I am tired of people not seeing me for who I really am. To this, I say, the people that do know are the people that matter to me. They are the ones that love me for who I am...that don't judge me...that know that I would give you the shirt off of my back if you needed it.
I am tired of people being 2 faced. Don't act one way in front of me, only for me to find out from someone else something different. Liars are a pet peeve of mine...it bugs me...there is no need for it. Just be honest. It might not always be the most comfortable thing at the time, but at least nobody can look back and say, "Well, you never knew how I felt".

Where I am today is for many reasons. Where everyone is today is for many reasons. We make decisions everyday that can affect our tomorrow. Sometimes these decisions are obvious and we know that when we make the decision, we are essentially "laying our own bed". Others are not so obvious. This is part of what life is all about. I have made decisions in my past that I am not happy about, but at the same time, if I didn't take the "right" instead of the "left" then I wouldn't be here today. My life would be completely different. This is true for everyone. People need to realize that what they have done in their life not only effects them, but it effects others as well. These effects can last days, or they can last a lifetime.

In closing, I need to just say that wedding planning hasn't been very difficult for us. I have heard some horror stories from others and we have had it pretty easy, which I consider us lucky for. However, I just wish these final 6 days would go smoothly.

Licensed to marry!

Brian and I now have the go-ahead from the City of Manchester to marry! Woo hoo! We arrived at city hall not really knowing what to expect, but a half an hour later of painless paperwork, we were finished!
In addition to getting that checked off our to-do list, we were able to find a white dress shirt for Brian. You see, for some people this wouldn't be a big accomplishment, but when you work out like Brian does, it's a little more difficult to find a shirt that fits your shoulders and chest, while not being ginormous on your waist. That is exactly the problem we ran into! After a few hours of looking, we ended up finding one that he was happy with. Although it isn't short sleeved like he was hoping for, at least he will be able to roll up the sleeves. Task completed! I told him (jokingly) that he should just stop working out so his shoulders and chest wouldn't be so big and his waist wouldn't be so small...yeah right! He's a workout maniac! Good for him...God knows I don't have the motivation for it!
Tomorrow, we are headed to Sam's Club very early in the morning to purchase beverages for the wedding. I say very early because they open 7-9 for "special" people, so we decided to go at this time to avoid the crowds. Although, I must say I am a little disappointed that we won't get any yummy Saturday samples!
A nap will probably be in order tomorrow...especially since I didn't fall asleep until 12:30 last night and had to wake up for work this morning at 5:30. My mind is on overload...too much to think about...but it's all good stuff :)