Hand Cramps + Pita Chips + Birthdays

Tonight we started writing thank you notes for the millions of gifts we got the week of the wedding and on our wedding day. There are so many to write! Please, if you don’t get yours right away, consider that we are writing 60+ and have just started today. :)

Tonight I made a huge batch of pita chips. They turned out great! Our toaster oven, the food processor, and my Keurig are pretty much the three best appliances in the kitchen. If I were trapped on a desert island, I’d bring all three of those items.

I am so ready for the three day weekend and to celebrate Phillip’s birthday. No plans for the 4th as of yet (any offers?) but Friday and Saturday are already planned. Friday we have Mikey’s birthday shindig to go to since his birthday was yesterday.

Saturday, we are starting the day with me bringing breakfast to my love to celebrate his 23rd birthday! Most likely it will be Whataburger, but donuts are also a possibility. (Special note: “Whataburger” seems to be  recognized word in this spell check… interesting…) Then Saturday night we are eating at JR’s Steakhouse with Phillip’s parents. How fancy and fun!! I have to find something to wear! Phillip and I went for Valentine’s day 2010 and really enjoyed it. It’s a once-in-a-blue-moon kind of place since it’s pretty expensive. So yay!

Let us know if you want to do something with us this weekend. We have new outdoor dishes and accessories ready to use!

P.S. Happy birthday to Samantha, the best big sister in the whole wide world!

Ode to Bubble Baths

It’s been a while since my last ode. For a while there, I was oding every day. Is that even a word?

For those of you who know me, you know how much I love love love love baths. I honestly think when we start house hunting some day, that a lack of a good bath tub would be a deal-breaker for me. I’m serious about my baths. I take one at least every other night.

Tonight will be no different. There’s something about grabbing a glass of wine, turning on the radio, and sinking down into a pool of bubble and warm water. It kind of dissolves the day and puts me in a great mood to sleep.

Random. I know. Just thought I’d share. Remember, I’m on this whole little things kick…

In other news, Manda and Bonnie are moving into our complex! They (along with baby Jaquelyn) will be in the building across the parking lot from us! How fun will it be to have neighbors I know once again!? It’ll be like college all over again.

 

Also, our wedding photographer posted some wedding pictures to his blog. You should check them out if you have free time. If we don’t pop-up right away, just scroll down until you find ours. He did such an awesome job!!! www.ryangladstonephoto.com

The Little Things

Since the big huge wedding of the century, things have really slowed down here. I love that feeling. We had our first free weekend in ages, and it was so nice to relax.

I’ve learned to really enjoy the little things in life, like…

• Spending a date night with my wonderful husband on Friday.
• Our newly installed ceiling fan that really makes the living room and summer days cooler.
• Visiting with my big sister who dropped in this morning on her way home from a wedding.
• Small loads of laundry done each week instead of massive piles resulting from avoiding the dreaded laundry task.
• A clean apartment that was scrubbed from top to bottom this morning.
• Crate & Barrel shopping sprees. I seriously love that place now.
• An evening that ends with a good glass of wine, pandora playing on the snazzy TV, and sitting on the comfy couch next to my love who is reading his book.

Yes bloggers, life is good. It’s actually better than good – it is great. I could really get used to this marriage thing and slow-paced summer days/nights.

Get Back to Work!

Yesterday Phillip went back to work, and today I returned. It has already come back with a vengeance!

Phillip is having to work really late this week to help the store catch up – almost reaching overtime! Last night he didn’t get home until about midnight, today he went in early, and tonight I expect a late return as well.

Today was my first day back. It was fun to see everyone but my chit-chatting didn’t last long before diving into more files. I forgot how quickly the day goes by when I work there. I think that’s a good thing…right?

Side Note: I love love love love love love our food processor! I made a delicious completely homemade (and home shredded) asian slaw salad last night. Wonderful! More to come from this cooking diva since I’ve been brushing up on food network recipes on TV. Yum!

Honeymoon Breakdown

As promised, here is a rundown of our honeymoon. It’s a very brief snapshot. If you want to see more, just visit my facebook album (for all 153 photos).

I know, I know, I know. How is that a “brief snapshot”? Well, I had a lot of favorite pictures! We had a great time and we’re finally finished unpacking!

Gifts are almost all swapped now and we’re slowly but surely finding places for everything. I’ll end on a list I was making in my head throughout the entire cruise:

 

Things I Learned On The Cruise

1. Not every single noise is the sound of the ship hitting an iceberg. I was not prepared for all of the unusual noises and creaks that ships make. The most bizarre of noises was actually people moving their balcony furniture from one end of the balcony to the other – and it was a horrendous noise heard almost constantly.

2. Carnival loves having diverse employees. There was on person we heard of in the entire staff that was from America – and he was from Chicago. Carnival apparently hires all over the world and flies their employees to various ships whenever they need them. It was fun hearing all of the accents of our wait staff, stateroom staff, and even directors and entertainers.

3. Not everyone is equally yoked when it comes to manners. For the most part, everyone was cordial. But every once in a while, you had the parent ignoring their screaming child, the impatient lady that doesn’t even have time to wait for herself, the smoker that thinks the whole ship is a smoking area, the noisy neighbors, new acquaintances that overshare, inconsiderate shoppers, and more. It was pretty pleasant, but I guess even on vacations you interact with ‘different’ people.

4. My husband is a world champion in suitcase lifting. Our suitcases are massive – so massive that we each only had to bring one suitcase and a garment bag between us. That’s how big they were. Phillip carried the full and heavy (from shopping) bags by himself from the 7th floor to the 3rd using only stairs. He’s pretty much awesome.

5. Liquor is so cheap in other countries. No taxes, no duty, and tons of sales. We got two bottles of rum, a bottle of gin, two bottles of tequila, a bottle of kahlua, a bottle of jack daniels, a bottle of vodka, and a bottle of lemonade vodka all for less than $125! All but one of the bottles of rum were each a liter. Do you realize how cheap that is!?!?

6.Cozumel shopping was all about bartering. We ended up getting a souvenir for someone for $68 less than the original asking price! Every where we went, the sales people were yelling prices and bids and begging us to come in. It was insane.

These Gifts We Have Received

Last night, after returning from our honeymoon, we went to Phillip’s parents’ house for dinner. My parents and brother met us over there for honeymoon stories, visiting, fathers day, souvenir handing out, and opening of wedding gifts.

We are so blessed by the many gifts we received from those who came – and even from some that didn’t.

And now, we are so overwhelmed. Where are we going to put everything? When will all of these thank-yous be finished? And how in the world are we going to get that car load up to the third floor? See how this can get to be a bit much? Exciting still, but consuming nonetheless.

It can all wait for later today, right? I’m ready to enjoy the rest of my days off. I don’t work until Wednesday so I have a second great sleep-in-with-coffee morning in my future.

P.S. Josh and Tristan got Phillip an xbox for a wedding gift. So long honeymooning couple, hello video games. I don’t mind sharing, though. :)

Welcome Back!!

What a great wedding and fantastic honeymoon!! You will get to hear all about it in the coming days - so I don't have to write a really long post today.

Last weekend was magical. I have never felt that much love from Phillip and seeing him tear up at seeing me walk down the aisle was so moving.

The honeymoon was great too!! So many great memories and life experiences. The rundown of the ports will take an entire post on their own.

We also already got one great stand-out picture from our photographer. He is pretty much incredible.

More updates to come this week. Driving back from Galveston as we speak - we'll be back home between lunch and dinner.

Thank you everyone for blessing us with your support through the wedding experience and into our future. You are awesome.

Love,
Ashley Nicole Long :)

Twas the Night Before Wedding

And all through the house... Not a creature was stirring, not even the bride.

Bloggers, tomorrow is the day we have all been waiting for. It's six and a half years in the making.

I GET TO MARRY MY SOULMATE.

What God put together, let no man put asunder.

Good night everyone. See some of you tomorrow and I'll be back to blogging in a little over a week.

This is too exciting!!!

15 hours, 45 minutes!!!!

Ready for a Slow Down

Things are winding down here. Almost all of the to-dos have been completed and we’re just ready to relax the rest of the week and enjoy every second of the coming days. The suitcases are almost all packed. The apartment is pretty much cleaned. I am ready.

Today at work, my coworkers surprised me with a yummy lunch in my honor. They also gave me a gift card so Phillip and I can use it on anything we want. So thoughtful! My big boss and my mom’s coworkers (since my mom and I share our boss) all got us a gift card too!

I’m already feeling so blessed. The outpour of love, support, and gifts to start our married life together has been so incredible. People have surprised me and it makes me feel so unbelievably loved.

Tomorrow is more miscellaneous errands and waiting for the big sister to come in town tomorrow night! I will also be getting my bangs trimmed, eyebrows done, and go in for a wonderfully relaxing massage. I get my ring back too! (Though I can’t wear it until after the I-dos on Saturday.)

Time to relax with a glass of wine and sleeping in tomorrow.

3 days, 15 hours, 10 minutes CRAZY!

Last Day of Work Tomorrow

I get two weeks off from work and I am so ready for it. I am ready to have a few days off to relax before the wedding festivities, as well as a couple days after the honeymoon to unpack and recuperate. I am so fortunate to have a job that allows me to do this. I guess things do happen for a reason.

Things are getting so exciting and time is going by faster and faster. I want to hold on to these next two weeks for as long as I can and feel this way for the rest of my life. I am already on cloud nine.

4 days, 16 hours, 35 minutes

One Week

Well bloggers. The time is coming closer. One week from this very minute, I will be sleeping in a honeymoon suite with my new husband and anxiously awaiting the early departure for our honeymoon cruise the next morning.

Yes. In one week I will be Mrs. Ashley Nicole Long. And two weeks from tomorrow, we will return from our honeymoon to live our lives together forever.

I know it sounds sappy, but I can’t wait. The wedding emotions set in this week and I have a feeling I will be crying tears of joy – I mean I practically am already when thinking about it. And for those of you who really know me, you know I never cry. But it’s Phillip and he's always had that affect on me. I can’t help it.

Heather came in town tonight to help me this week, which will be nice when all of those little things pop up out of nowhere. All we have left to do is print/assemble the seating chart and finish tieing ribbons on the programs. Then we can call this wedding done after planning for 1.75 years.

I can’t wait to marry the love of my life!

6 days, 14 hours, 40 minutes