3 Weddings and a Funeral (Part 2)

I wanted to write this post about a woman I never knew.

Elaine, a close friend of Dustin's family, passed away over the weekend.  I didn't have the pleasure of getting to know her because she has been sick since Dustin and I started dating.  I have, however, had the opportunity to get acquainted with her husband Bill.  When I asked Dustin to choose a person to read one of the selected poems in our wedding, he didn't hesitate with his answer.  It had to be Bill.  He has been and continues to be an extremely important role model/friend to my husband.

Everyone could learn a lesson from their marriage.  It is something we all strive for -  a story of true, unconditional love and devotion, and of truly living wedding vows... "for better or worse, in sickness and in health."  Elaine was sick for around ten years, in hospice care for nearly two.  She was a strong lady who wanted nothing more than time, as much as she could get here with her family.  To hear Bill talk about her, she was his saving grace and the best person you could know.  Bill never left her side.  And she fought for him.  For ten years.  He never put her in a "home."  He took care of her and spent every night with her.  He did what most people wouldn't do in that situation.  He put himself and his needs behind those of wife.  For ten years.

Her funeral will be on Wednesday, just a simple graveside service.  Exactly what I believe funerals should be - those closest to you remembering and celebrating your life.

I hope we are all so lucky as to experience a love like this in our lifetime.  A love where no one quits or gives up no matter how difficult things get.  It's such an inspirational, admirable and heartbreaking story, all rolled into one.

3 Weddings and a Funeral (Part 1)

Apparently love is in the air!  We couldn't be happier for all of our newly married friends.  We have celebrated and danced until our nearly 30 year old feet couldn't take anymore.  It's true what they say.  Weddings are like crack for a marriage.  We left each event reminiscing of when we made our vows.

First up was April and Trey's wedding.  They had a lovely ceremony outside near Norris Dam.  Dustin and I couldn't believe how many guests attended.  I wouldn't have known where to start making a guest list that huge.  They are such wonderful people, it's no surprise that they have so many friends.  I so enjoyed seeing them together at the reception.  They looked at each other, even from across the room, with such affection.     

With the ecstatic bride and groom

I'm telling you - Crack for a marriage!

With the gorgeous bride, my good friend April

My favorite detail of their wedding was the precious signs leading the way to the festivities

I was honored and excited when Jamie asked me to be her Matron of Honor.  One of my favorite duties of being the Head Broad is planning the bachelorette party.  We headed out to Nashville for a weekend of fun with Jamie's friends.  We started off the day with some swimming at the hotel,  

followed by dinner at Hard Rock.

One blushing bride rode the bull at Cadillac Ranch, 

and one (soon to be) sister-in-law danced on the bar at Coyote Ugly.

Jamie & I

The rest will remain between the 5 of us.  Actually, we made sure that 4 out of 5 of us behaved like ladies.  I'll leave it to your imagination to guess which one didn't.  It's safe to say, everyone had a great time and was sufficiently exhausted the next day. 

Beaches

I know I'm late with this post, but better late than never right? For our first anniversary, Dustin and I went on a cruise. Days before we left, Daisy ate our memory card for our camera. I had no idea, but our camera uses some obscure memory card that can only be ordered online. We had to resort to using the waterproof disposable for all of our pictures, since we didn't have enough time to order one.

We had a blast in Stingray City in Grand Cayman!

My AquaMan "nearly catching" a stingray.

Almost asleep on the beach in Jamaica

Exactly one week after returning from our cruise, I left for Key Largo with my mother-in-law, Jenny. We had a great time staying with some extremely accommodating friends of hers. What a beautiful place to live! If I had a memory card at that time, I would've taken pictures of the barracuda and the many nurse sharks we saw while kayaking.

Two weeks after that was the annual family trip to Hilton Head Island. We have been going there for years now and it has become our home away from home. This trip was spent playing lots of cornhole on the beach.

Dustin perfecting his form

Mom and Dad during a game of putt-putt

Trying to figure out why I'm always on the losing team of cornhole

I'm sad that this brings beach trips to a close for the year. I guess you never know when the ocean will call, demanding a visit. Perhaps I can squeeze in one more?

My $30 Investment

We are the proud owners of a 1970s era coffee table. I found it on craigslist (my new obsession) and it was perfect in my eyes. Here is the before picture:

I had to put wood putty in this gaping crack on one side of the table.

I really love that in this picture you can see the top of Dustin's head and his Sonic route 44 in his hand. I had asked him to pick it up so that I could take this picture.

I sanded the edges to age it a little and allow for the inevitable damage the dogs and the husband will be inflicting on this poor table.

After tons of sanding, some paint, a little elbow grease, and some love, I'm happy with how it turned out... especially for the price!

Finally!

I bought a super cheap china cabinet on craigslist thinking it would be a great project. How long did it take to paint? A couple hours. How long did it take to dry? 4 days. I picked the perfect rainy week to paint it in the garage. Mix that with a husband who loves having the garage door open for long periods of time and you get never ending wet paint. It finally did dry, however, and I'm pretty happy with the results.

Before...

And after... (Please ignore the mess around it.)

I hope that everyone has a happy and safe Memorial Day!

A Pirate Looks At... 29?

I spent the last three days with Mom in Atlanta. We spent all day Tuesday shopping, then the evening at Jimmy Buffett. He has been on my list of people to see live for years now. Finally I got to see him, thanks to Mom. It was a wonderful concert. In fact, it was so great that it made the fact that I spent $10 on one Bud Light ok somehow. Wednesday, we had massages before the car ride home and room service breakfast. Forgive the pics, they're taken on my Blackberry.

Now even though I'm back at home, I miss the pampering that Atlanta had to offer, but hopefully I will be back soon!

Other news, I am currently looking for a china cabinet to redo for the house and gathering up goodies to have a garage sale. Wish me luck!

Growing Older... Not Up

I turned 29 last Friday and I'm not sure how I feel about it. I noticed a slew of new grey hairs the week before, but also realized that I have a pretty awesome life. I am so blessed to have so many people to love. And they love me back! I guess the alternative to getting older isn't that hot, so I'll take MANY more birthdays please!

This is how I picture myself on my 89th birthday...

I hope Dustin will still be willing to put up with me when I'm old and cranky. I guess he will, because he puts up with me when I'm cranky now.

Thank you to everyone for all of my birthday wishes! I had a great one, even if it was the last in my 20's. Next year will be a different story.