It's Something Unpredictable That in the End is Right...

This is a song title post. But it didn't have to be. It could have been:

Flying By the Seat of My Pants...

... or...

Mattresses, Modems, and Marriage...

... or...

This Song (with "Courthouse" in brackets at a key point)...

... or...

I'm Changing My Name, so Why Don't I Change My Personality? (but you'd have to reference the second line in this post to understand that...)

Did you catch that yet? Perhaps you have if you're a friend on facebook (or if you got filled in already). But if not, I'll help you out: I got married on Friday. Go ahead and take a moment to pick yourself up off the floor. Because I don't generally fly by the seat of my pants. And if I do, you better believe there's a good reason for it ;)!

So yeah, it's most un-Nilla of me to tell you that, two weeks ago, Jeremy and I decided it was time to get married. We have known for quite some time (like most of the almost 11 months we dated) that we would get married. It was a matter of when. And then, one day, we decided it was right. And so we moved. And we didn't take our time about it, either ;). Because, if it's right, why delay? So we decided we'd set up an appointment with a judge (a new process for both of us, so we didn't know what to expect). Truth be told, we originally planned to marry on March 16th. Schedules didn't really mesh, so the 23rd was the date! And what would follow would be an adventure in and of itself.

So we agreed to keep this pretty quiet. We planned it quick, we wanted it small and quaint. We didn't want it getting out on facebook. So we mostly only told family. That's why this may be coming as a surprise for most. We told our parents on either Saturday or Sunday. And then we proceeded to tell the rest of our family. (We plan to celebrate publicly and honeymoon in June). And like I said, initially the plan was to get married the very next Friday. And I was pretty set on that. So that Monday, Jeremy showed up at my work, since that's where we had to go for the marriage license. And we had to wait 3 days after getting the license for it to be valid, so time was of the essence. So he came to my work. And everyone recognized him from the pictures on my desk (and desktop). And yeah, plenty of people told me (after he had left) what a cutie he is and how sweet that he came to go on break with me (we didn't tell people at work either, at least not at first). So we went down and got our marriage license and the lady down there recognized me and asked for my extension number. Haha... Well, so much for stealth. Someone else I work with commented that he has the "spark of life" in his eyes and looks so happy. :) Such smiley things. And then, when it didn't work out for Friday, I was slightly annoyed. But I got over it and viewed it as a good thing, because we did have some things to put in place. Like getting a mattress (now you know why we were shopping for mattresses -- that was the day we decided to get married. Also why we were getting dessert at the Chinese place. Also the reason why my fortune cookie fortune that day ("Fear is just excitement in need of an attitude adjustment") was so appropriate). Because, yes, taking a huge step like this -- and so fast -- is a little scary! Even when you know it's the right thing ;).

So Jeremy proceeded to call the judge Tuesday. He got voicemail. Figured he would try the next day earlier in the day. So Wednesday he tried it. Left a message, and also sent me a text that it seemed the judge was out of town, so we might need to find other avenues. But I decided I would also call and leave my number since Jeremy was working swings and she might not reach him. I was able to find out from the person who originally answers the phone that the judge was expected in the next day. So I left my message with my phone number and expected a call the next day. I also knew we could talk to the Bishop of either of our Wards and ask him to marry us, but we were trying not to bother them, because they are busy men, and this was very last-minute. So imagine my surprise when the judge called me back (on my cell phone) that very afternoon! And she had the time open on Friday, the 23rd!!! Wahoo!!! And thus proceeded a classic Nilla moment that left me quite mortified. So here's the story...

So I am trying to be prepared. I want to cover all bases. I work at the County, right across the street from the Courthouse. So when juries are going in, I see the long line of people trying to get in the door and taking forever, because they have to go through security. So I think, "Well, if I know about the security status, I can tell people to leave purses in the car and maybe we can move this forward faster..." Seems logical to me, right? So I ask the judge about security. Which it turns out this is, perhaps, not the best question to ask a judge. Particularly when there had been an incident in a near-by county earlier that very day in which a judge was stabbed and a cop was shot in a courtroom... Anyway, the judge tells me that, no, there's no security because the building will be closed, but there are jailers and she can call for them, and they will come. Oh man. I immediately realize that she has not seen my question as the harmless question I intended it to be. And what follows is a very fluster-filled attempt to try to explain, but which only makes it worse. And she says, "well, tell your guests not to bring any weapons, that this is a security building." And we hang up and I think, "Great. She thinks she's marrying crazy people in a week and a half. She probably is picturing a bunch of tattooed skin-heads with piercings in every orifice of their body and chains hanging off most of them..." I was beyond mortified. So, I did the best thing I could think of. I called her from my office phone. And I said, "I just wanted to tell you I work for the County; they trust me a little bit." Because I can actually get into the Courthouse on my own with my ID badge. I apologized for my nervousness. She laughed, told me I didn't sound crazy, and for me to take a deep breath, because it was going to be a beautiful wedding. Yep... I'm glad it turned out that way... But still. Total mortification. And classic Nilla. There is such a thing as "too prepared." But at least we had our wedding scheduled!

Then it was time to wait. And wait. And wait. You'd think it wouldn't seem so interminable with only 10 days to wait. But it did. Probably seemed longer this way! And it turned out my Bishop would have been happy have made himself available to marry us. But we already had the courthouse scheduled, so we just left it at that. And we decided we had better invite the husband and wife who are responsible for the existence of Jeremy and Hila. (And yes, they attended). Jeremy started moving some of his stuff into the house on the Friday before our wedding. So that was good, because we could at least start putting away the food items and such that he brought over and not have everything to contend with after the fact. We also went and bought a modem and wireless router (and I'm currently blogging from home... :)). And we did a few other odds and ends -- getting money out of the bank to pay for things, etc. Then we had to slog through another week of only talking on the phone (that swing shift schedule is for the birds!). Ironically enough, he found out the day before our wedding that he will no longer be working swings come April. Hmmm.... Perhaps this swings deal was set up as a push to get us to go ahead and get married ;). Oh, and also I had told my boss that I was getting married (long explanation for why I spilled the beans, but I'm not going to go into it here) and she was so excited and wanted to know if she could share the news... I finally just said, "Okay, fine." And so, when I arrived to work on Thursday, it was to find this:



Considering that she was saying how fun it would be to do a lingerie party for me, I'm pretty thankful for the tameness. I mean, seriously, who wants to have their boss and the County Commissioners to know what their lingerie looks like? Ack! Just her suggesting it made me turn red. Oh, and the other cool thing that happened Thursday before work? Jeremy surprised me by coming by the house in the morning so we could have our morning prayer together :). That was really nice :).

So Friday, the day of our wedding...

Jeremy arrived with almost all the rest of his stuff. He moved it all in. We relaxed for a little while, but then had to get going on our day. We went to the funeral home to borrow Bob's (that would be Alligator Bob) truck. We had to go buy our mattress (which we had picked out the week before, but didn't have a truck to get it home...). So we did that. And then we, of course, had to say hello to a few people. And they all knew, by this point, that we were getting married. So we had to hear all the "Just a few more hours!" type stuff. And yeah, we were pretty smiley and grinning ;). We worked a bit on organizing the house, but we also had to work on our dinner. We decided to enjoy our first dinner as a married couple at home. We had planned out our menu and bought all the ingredients the week before, so we were ready! So we made the fruit salad, the green salad, and the no-bake cookies (some of which were heart-shaped, but that was a hard thing to accomplish, so only a few of them were -- and they were ginormous!). Oh yeah, we also had to stop at the bank to deposit the money my co-workers gave us as well as a grocery store to get garlic bread. And before we knew it... Well, it was time to get ready to get married! (But here we are a little bit before that):
So, I had gone shopping the week before with Lea. That was pretty much a fruitless endeavor. I tried on a couple of blouses. They looked a whole lot better on the hangars than on me. I looked at a few dresses, but I didn't see anything I particularly cared for. This was all very low-key, so I didn't want some fancy bouffant wedding dress. In the end, I bought nothing. Except for we went to Red Robin for dinner and then that Blu Berry yogurt place. So mostly we just had an awesome girl night. Even if it was pretty fruitless. So I decided I would just wear the white blouse I had and was planning to wear my skirt that is part of my interview suit. I really love that skirt and its length. Well... I wasn't planning on it being huge on me... Oh well! So, please excuse my sometimes-untucked shirt in the pictures... That was a constant battle, since the skirt was so big!

So we arrive at the courthouse. We are a bit early, but Amalea and Mark have beat us there (they are the couple responsible for us...). So I invited them to come across the street to the building where I work and see the view out the windows. Because I was going over there anyway to take down all the wedding decorations and the balloons, because I didn't want to have to carry them the block I usually walk to my car when I'm at work. So we went and did that and then headed back out to wait. And people arrived. Lea and Morgan. Jeremy's oldest brother. My mom. Jeremy's parents. Jeremy's sister-in-law and his nieces and nephews. Brad and his wife Angie and her daughter Autumn (Angie even brought her big fancy camera to take pictures!). Christina and Emily (Desiree was sick :( ).

So we get inside (no worries, nobody took any weapons!) and we head to the courtroom and start filling out papers. And the judge starts suggesting all these pictures poses. (Some I will have to include later, because my mom was waiting outside for Christina, who got lost on the way, so those weren't on my camera, but I will get them from the others...). But here are a couple where we are signing the "fancy" marriage certificate. We were laughing as I said, "Ummm... I don't think we signed up for this part!" Classic line during the paperwork was from Jeremy, "What's today's date?" Amalea overheard and laughed.

Ugh. I think this one below is so dorky looking of me! But Jeremy's facial expression is so cute!
And here I am, supervising... Hahaha...
Awww... We were getting nervous by this point. I think this was when the Judge was going to let us stand there for more pictures (ummm, I think we felt like the paparazzi was following us there were SO many pictures!) and Jeremy was like, "Yeah, I think we're good on the pictures." And we all laughed while the judge went into that room behind to get her robe and we got ready for the ceremony.
And somehow we ended up with another one. Like there were a million flashes at this point.
And then we began. And oh my gosh! So Brad filmed the whole thing, right? So Jeremy and I watched it the other night. And we laughed so hard!! I swear we look like someone was holding a gun to our heads! For one thing, we had to face the audience! That was really nerve-wracking for some reason. I seriously felt so conspicuous. Probably because I was. I am not really a lime-light lover. I am more of a wallflower. I can command a room, depending on circumstances. This was not such a circumstance. I felt really awkward. And flustered.
Seriously can't get over our facial expressions. But it got better, I promise. We eventually got to face each other, and then we smiled :). And really, these were some tender moments. Morgan ended up crying. My mom teared up. The judge cried. She offered me tissue, but I must be cold-hearted, because I didn't cry... (I'm kidding. I think I was way too wound up for that!).
And when it was all done (and yes, he did kiss the bride), I was soooo flustered that Jeremy started blowing on my face. If you look, you can probably tell my face is a tad bit redder and I was glistening. Phew! Seriously. Flustered. With shirt un-tucked. Classy. But isn't he sweet ;)?
So here's our dinner at home. By candlelight. We had pasta which we just made up ourselves. It was a jar of 4 Cheese Alredo Sauce mixed with 8 ounces of tomato sauce (makes a lovely pink sauce, and I'm loving that!) and we had sauteed up mushrooms, garlic, and onion and added that to the sauce plus some cooked chicken. Served over penne. With green salad, garlic bread, fruit salad, and heart-shaped (HUGE) no-bake cookies for dessert.
And here we are, ready to eat. In our pajamas. Hahaha.... And it's still light outside! Aren't we just the party-animals!?!
Dinner was fabulous. And we were stuffed. We enjoyed a mostly relaxing weekend. We got to enjoy church together. Where my mom was called on to bear her testimony (totally shocked her) and then, when she got up to the front, she was asked to also announce that we had gotten married. Yep. I was so embarrassed! It was like flashing back to my childhood days when my mom would bear her testimony and always managed to have some embarrassing comment to make regarding us (her children). Oy. You never outgrow the ability for your mom to embarrass you. Just FYI. I imagine one day my children will attest to the same. So yeah, there was an audible gasp from the congregation. Jeremy was "attacked" after Sacrament by a couple that works with him and had just found out he'd gotten married (!) and then they invited us over for dinner. They happen to teach the Sunbeam class (Emily's class), so when the Primary President announced in Primary that they'd have to start calling me Sis. Something New (since my name has changed), they were present to see me get all awkward and flustered for that (after Amalea told me how I was "glowing"). Yeah, it was a day of more awkward. And then Jeremy got introduced in Gospel Doctrine, but since I wasn't in there, I didn't know that. And I guess some people managed to miss the big announcement in Sacrament meeting, because there was another gasp in Gospel Doctrine. Which Jeremy managed to miss, actually, because he was more focused on just sitting down and not being the center of attention anymore. But Mark (who he sat with) heard the gasp and told him about it. So. Stinkin'. Funny.

I took today off. Because my husband is still working swing shift, and I figured I would like to enjoy one more lazy day with him until he had to go to work. So I decided to take a picture of the gifts people gave us. The crocheted doily is from his grandmother. The "Home Sweet Home" hangar, the candle, and the Pier One card are from Mark and Amalea. The Amazon gift card is from April, Greg, Courtney, and Bennett. The "with this ring" photo frame is from Lea, Chuck, Morgan, and Xavier. The other photo frame (that says "Above All Love Each other Deeply") and the cookbook are from Jeremy's parents.
And THIS is the mess we have to contend with! AAAGGGHHH!!! Where will we ever put everything!?! Well, we have a lot of storage bins stacked, for one thing. This house is tiny. Like less than 500 square feet tiny. But it's cozy. And it's home :). And we're all lovey-dovey newlyweds, so who needs space ;)?!?
And I'm positively sure I'm missing details. I know I'm missing pictures. I will just have to upload them at a later time.

So enjoy this installment of the Nilla Life. That really could have been featured on my sister's (now inactive) blog: "Flying By the Seat of My Pants." Hahaha.....

And P.S... We're working toward forever :).