Some Updates

Obviously my posting frequency has diminished over the last few weeks. I have had a lot of things going on between the Thanksgiving holiday, work, and wedding planning. It is probably a good sign that I am not always in the mood to sit down and blog about everything. Anyhow, it is time to play catch-up...

Thanksgiving was great. I felt like even though the balance of time between families was uneven, Chad and I spent time doing the things that we wanted to do at the holiday. Thanksgiving eve we spent with my mom at my house. Actually, she came over earlier in the day and chatted with me as I wrapped up my work day and worked some in the kitchen. Chad and I started the turkey cake and got pizza for everyone for dinner. Mom didn't really have the appetite for a traditional turkey dinner, and I found it pretty refreshing to get to eat something besides turkey.

The Turkey Trot was fun. I ran comfortably hard without looking at my watch. It was great! I saw several people during the run (including John F who sometimes reads my blog) and it was nice to catch up with everyone on a holiday.

We went with some of Chad's family to the Austin Club at lunch for their Thanksgiving meal. The food was better this year, as it was less creamy and heavy. We also were surprised that Chad's grandma Gene was in attendance because we thought she would be out of town. She gave Chad his grandfather's wedding band to wear when we get married and made it clear how happy she was that he was going t0 wear it. We are really excited that his ring has been passed down to Chad.

Immediately after our Austin Club dinner, we went to my Dad's house and made it just in time for our circle of thanksgiving. Everyone (15 or so people) makes a big circle and holds hands and declares what they are thankful for each year. This year was significant because it is the first Thanksgiving without Grandpa Sanchez, and it was really hard to see tears in everyone's eyes.

Since Thanksgiving, I have been working hard. My job picks up significantly in December and January, so I have been rather distracted during the day. I wish the time would go by faster and that February would come sooner. I am looking forward to the holidays, but really I am more excited about the wedding.

This past weekend my cousin Traci got married. I have to admit that I was not as excited as I should have been for her.

This is totally selfish of me, but I am going to be honest about my feelings...I have been holding on to some negative feelings for a while now because Traci and her husband got engaged after Chad and I did, but decided they wanted to get married as soon as possible in the Fall. Traci was the 3rd girl in my family to get engaged recently (I was the 2nd and Crystal was the first). Crystal had been engaged for a while and had finally set her date for November 10. I had considered dates in November, but thought it would be too close to Crystal's wedding and couldn't find a fall weekend that worked. Traci stepped in and was going to have her wedding one day after Crystal's wedding until someone told her it was not good to do that. It would have been kind of rude to step in and 'steal some of the thunder' of the weekend, especially since Crystal had been engaged for a while. It is better that Traci decided on December 2. Even still, I felt like being the 3rd cousin in the same family to get engaged that she should have waited until after our wedding. It's not like our engagement is particularly long...9 months. Like I said, it is totally selfish of me to think that way, but I can't help how I feel. I know that I don't own the calendar and that I should not feel bad about another person's decision on their own wedding.

Anyhow, their wedding was elegant and beautiful, and I'm happy for her and my aunt and uncle. They had an intimate ceremony and a reception that was pretty. We enjoyed all of the food, beer and champagne, and the dancing music was fun (though I danced with my niece, Avery, not Chad). I am really excited that ours is next!

That is all for now. We continue to dance, go to counseling with our minister, and make more decisions about the ceremony. I have also decided to hire a wedding coordinator to begin taking over the planning before the ceremony, yay!