Weekend Guest

With this girl in town...I never know what craziness will ensue.

Bring on the weekend!!!

Healthy...ish

In an effort to drop a few pounds before our nuptials, Michael and I are watching our food intake with the help of weight watchers. We were awesome all week and decided to save up our dinner points on Friday for a burger and fries. I found this restaurant in Chapel Hill called Evos.

They tout that they are healthy and environmentally sound so we thought we would check it out. They have burgers, salads, wraps and shakes as well as their version of a french fry...an Airfry. We both went with the turkey burger, with cheese of course. We decided to value meal it with a drink and some Airfries.

I was delighted to find that they had a ketchup bar. What? Super fun!

We were able to try a variety of ketchup with our Airfriedgoodies. They even had little stickers to label the various types of ketchup...in case you can't remember the flavor on that long walk to the booth.

Who am I kidding...I am a sucker for stickers so I of course labeled them all!

The burger was very good. Lots of flavor for a turkey burger, I thought. The Airfries were surprisingly good...not super crisp but excellent when dipped in ketchup. The big ketchup winner in my eyes was the Original flavor. You can't mess with perfection.

Top Ten List for Valentines Day

Jess and Andy are currently in their car cruising down I-77 towards NC. We are very excited to have them visit for Valentines weekend although I am guessing my liver will be just as excited when they leave. I was forewarned that Jess is armed with Sparkletini's which were a huge hit at their house recently. Michael and I ventured to the store to stock up on some Neyer favorites: beer, cheese, pepperoni, and the makings for salami wraps (they sound gross, but are oh so yummy).

It's funny that this is the first Valentines Day that I am actually in a relationship. I know... Seriously, right? It's not like I never dated or anything but looking back I have never actually had valentines plans with a significant other.

Now Jessica will argue that I have in fact had a Valentines date. She and I did spend a lovely Valentines evening in downtown Chicago where we enjoyed a tasty dinner followed by a carriage ride.

Yes, we really did this.

See, I tended to be her back-up date when Andy was traveling for work or got called to a meeting. Hell, I was her date on their first wedding anniversary! (I was so tempted to show up in my bridesmaid dress.) We hung out at the hotel pool for the day and enjoyed champagne in their hotel suite. We attended a lovely dinner and I was so close to getting to see The Lion King but Andy's meeting finally ended and the "proxy date" was sent home.

So I admit that I am a tad excited for this Valentines Day. I know "hallmark holiday"...blah, blah, blah but I'm still riding the "engagement high" so let me gush a little. I am going to be ooey and gooey and make a Top Ten List of things I love about Michael. So in no particular order...here goes:

10) He makes the bed in the morning. No, he doesn't just pull up the covers. He knows how to properly make a bed. The sheets are tucked with perfect corners. Susan Smith taught him right and I get to reap the benefits because I love a neatly made bed.

9) He likes cheese. Seems simple but I could never be with someone who didn't love cheese or (gasp) was lactose intolerant.

8) He opens doors. Don't get me wrong, I am a liberated woman and I will hold doors for strangers but I love that he opens my car door for me.

7) He knows "techie stuff." Despite being with Michael for almost a year, I still cannot confidently tell you exactly what he does. I can give a brief dummed down version (which I think is almost accurate) but I still do not know EXACTLY what he does because lets be honest...I know nothing about computers or technology. And I am okay with that. He makes the TV work, the computers run and ensures that I have a cell phone...that's all I need.

6) He has a southern accent. I'll admit it, accents are attractive and when he says "Yes, ma'am" to someone, I melt (and giggle just a little cuz its so darn cute.)

5) He's willing to cook. I love that he cooks with me or for me especially on the weekends for breakfast. Although they are not the most low fat southern breakfasts, they are DELISH!

4) He eats sushi. Again, similar to the cheese thing...I could never date someone who didn't like to eat sushi. We eat it every two weeks...minimum.

3) He likes sports but not in that CRAZY kind of way. Yes, he would most likely choose to watch the Tar Heels than go shopping with me but he's not a crazy fan. Although, he did blame the fact that his UNC blanket wasn't on the bed for their most recent loss...hmmmm.

2) He's kind. Genuinely kind. He hates to see someone in distress and if he can do something to fix it he will.

1) He loves me. When I'm sad, when I'm moody, when I'm pissy, when I'm angry and even when I am irrational...he loves me. And I love him for it.

Happy Valentines Day!! Go Heels!!

PS: Just in case anyone forgets the last time the Neyers' visited...feel free to glance here.

It's mine!

So as I begin to share with people the date of my wedding, I get a mixed bag of reactions.  If I say I'm getting married on the 11th of September sometimes it doesn't click that almost 9 years ago something terrible occurred.  If I say I am getting married on September 11th, I usually get a pity look and an "Oh, that's nice."

Yes, I remember that day too.  I remember being in downtown Chicago for graduate school, waiting for Human Behavior in the Social Environment to start and hearing gasps from a classroom.  I remember walking in the room just as the second plane hit the tower.  I remember watching Michigan Avenue shut down and become silent.  I was shocked and scared and overwhelmed.  All that I knew, had changed.

But, I also remember March 17th, the day my dearest friends mom died.  September 28, the day my grandfather died.  And a myriad of other dates that have historic significance, maybe not to the world, but to me.

So from this day forward, I am claiming September 11, 2010 as MY wedding day.  It will be the day that I marry the most amazing and loving man.  The day I finally get to wear that pretty white dress and walk down an aisle on my dad's arm.  It will be the day I become a step-mom. It will be the first day that I will be called Mrs. Michael Smith.  It will be my best day.

  

Will I ever forget what our country went through on that date?  No.  Where I was?  No.  Who I was with? No. 

Instead, from 9/11/10 and forward I will have many happy memories flooding my mind with moments from my special day.  And I will be happy.  Very happy.

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So,  one more tidbit of wedding day excitement...we secured a venue!  We will be getting married at the Matthews House in Cary, NC.  It is a beautiful little southern home that we are renting for the weekend.  We will have the wedding outside, pending rain or extreme heat and the reception will be in the ballroom behind the house.  It is absolutely perfect!

Hardhats Needed

I have decided to eliminate the dark background and all around dreariness of my blog and perk it up a bit. Why the hell didn't anyone tell me how depressing it was? I am allowing myself to try out some new things so be forewarned many changes will occur before I am content.

In wedding news...we have a place, caterer and date!! Yippee!

Details to follow...later :)