current wedding projects

1. I found an idea for a wedding card holder. It sounds like this could be a do-it-yourself project for Curt's mom or dad. brother in law Josh also said that he could give it a try.
2. I got in contact with the church organist/pianist. She is going to play for us. I am also looking into a violinist and some vocalists.
3. We are putting together a very rough plan for the ceremony...everything from the music to the readings, etc. I hope to email this off to Pastor Al by the end of the week.
4. I've been researching ideas for our wedding favors at different websites to do cost comparisons.
5. I should probably give my measurements to my mom so that she can have my reception garment made. I will be wearing a headpiece that resembles a flying saucer!
6. Finally, I should probably solidfy the person who will do flowers for us or contact a florist.

taste tests

we are looking forward to the taste testing session at our reception site this friday. Country inn and suites will be highlighting their seafood and beef options i believe. they offered a chicken tasting session which we were not able to attend, but Doug and Bev were nice enough to scope things out for us. The pictures were taken by them.

Bridge to Terabithia

Friday night was lots of fun! We had a very nice date in Chaska where we enjoyed dinner (Fish and Chips for me and some sort of mexican dish for Curt) at Paulys and then visited the newly renovated Chaska Rex theatre for the first time! Interesting facts: that was only my 2nd visit to Pauly's and my very 1st visit to the Rex.

Bridge to Terabithia was a great movie. I would highly recommend it. I read the book in one day on a Saturday morning/afternoon when I was like in 5th grade or something. So I had a hard time remembering the details of the plot. All I knew of the story was of a tragedy of some kind occurs. I won't reveal too much though.

It was Curt's idea to spend a night out on town. I got the invitation through email at work which totally made my day! It was fun to get home from school to see Curt primped for the date.

Curt's wild hair

Lately, quite a number of people have asked if Curt dyes his hair. The answer is no. His hair gets kind of frosty and knappy when he swims without a swimcap in a chlorinated pool. You are looking at before, during, and after pictures for Mom's 62 Haircut special.

another low key Saturday

we had carolyn, josh, and angie over for dinner on saturday. very low key. here are the pictures.

Happy Vietnamese New Year!

Well, Saturday was the new year for Vietnamese. My parents had us over for some food and sent us away with some gifts. The red envelope holds money, which is called Lucky Money when it is inside the red envelope. We also got some yummy sesame candy. It's one of my favorites and is kind of addicting.

Homemade pizza in St. Paul!

On friday night we went to Anton and Nicole's place to enjoy some pizza and a movie. And we forgot to take pictures! Oh well. It was really fun. We enjoyed some tea, mochi, cookies, and the movie Family Stone. In the picture I am modeling the scarf my friend Angie knit for me. It was taken while we were waiting at a traffic light in Chaska.

First conversation with Pastor Al

On Sunday we met with Pastor Al in Mankato. It was the first conversation we had with him as a couple to talk about marriage preparations. He started by asking us about our dating process. After sharing our story he then asked questions about finances, children, and creating a physical home. We had already discussed these things as early as a year ago so it was quite easy to share answers. We had a nice experience.

For me I was extra interested in talking about the design and timeline for the ceremony. I guess I kind of had it set in my mind that we would include two new testament readings and one old testament reading. In addition to the classic wedding instrumental music, I also would like to have an old hymn and contemporary worship song sung at the ceremony.

Finally we concluded the day with an evening meal consisting of a crock pot creation, salad, breadsticks, and a yummy chocolate dessert with Curt's family.

Skinny butter!

Fun weekend! We never made it to the Chaska boys swim meet, but you are looking at pictures from our time at Ichiban. The experience at Ichiban is like paying for a meal and a movie. It's very entertaining to have your meal prepared in front of you. Our cook moved with lightening speed which was quite impressive. But I was kind of bummed out when we missed out on the "fried rice beating heart" which we experienced at our last visit for Curt's birthday dinner. We walked away with some memorable phrases though..."more Saki!"..."skinny butter"..."i put pee (it was a single green pea) on your plate!". funny.

The pre-dinner bowling was also fun. I had a not so impressive score of 50. Curt bowled a 134.

me feeling a bit lost

gosh...we've been quite spoiled the past few months. curt has managed to avoid traveling for work...until this week. ah yes...he made the trip to Bentonville, otherwise known as Walmartville. it's been a bit weird not being able to eat mint chocolate chip ice cream with him after dinner. the picture is a great visual of what it was like to eat the ice cream solo the past few days.

this wknd we'll be celebrating birthdays for Brent and Shanna. the saturday festivities will include bowling and a fun dinner at Ichiban in downtown mpls. i will try to remember to take pictures. we may check out a Chaska Boys swim meet too! i have never gone before!

My running plan

I have a different plan for running this year. No more marathons for me. It is super tempting to sign up for one, but I am trying to stick to my game plan. What is the plan? Lots of easy running without worrying about times.

Also, I would like to focus on the half-marathon distance. My favorite half-marathons are the New Prague and Richfield Urban Wildland races. They are in May and August.

If I regain my motivation, increase my flexibility through stretching and yoga (i can't touch my toes), and improve my core strength, then I will reevaluate for 2008. Like Curt, I would also like to get a certain monkey off of my back!!! It would be an amazing personal goal to get a marathon time of 3:59!

praying for Justin

hmmm...there is a situation that has been on my heart for the past few weeks. my sister carolyn has a high school classmate, Justin, who is going through a tough time with cancer. i am not close to him at all, but remember him to be someone with great compassion and charisma. he does have a blog...justinkukowski.blogspot.com. Please check it out and pray for him.

from reading the blog it appears his trust and faith during this cancer fighting period has touched many people. it's been very humbling for me.

11.10.07

We've been engaged for only about three months and it has been a blast. Of course planning the wedding details has been really entertaining, but I get that tingly feeling when I think about the date of 11.10.07. There will be a lot of meaning and emotion packed into that day. It will be fun just to get everyone together to celebrate.

Cakes by Anna!

Tonight Curt and I ventured down to Mankato to meet Anna Bleess of Cakes by Anna. The cold was not enough to keep us from sampling the yummy cake flavors. We sampled traditional white, chocolate, and yellow poppyseed. All flavors were scrumptious! The frosting was incredibly good too! Anna sent us home with cupcake samples. Check out what's left of the half-eaten cupcakes. Her website is www.mankatoweddingcakes.com