WOW! They Like Me! They Really Like Me!

Saturday was a major turning point for me emotionally. Big Engagement Party that Rich's family and friends on that side put on.

I was so nervous that I was sick to my stomach starting that afternoon. Couldn't stand up without shaking and this is just the engagement party!!! I'm gonna be a wreck on the wedding day if I don't get the nerves under control.

Marg (Rich's Aunt) came down from Kelowna for this. Completely surprised us! Wonderful surprise! So glad you came Marg. So good to see you!

Glen (Rich's dad) made a BEAUTIFUL toast. It was so hard not to get emotional with everything going on. My mom made the most amazing Big Ben tealight candle holder. It is stained glass. Absolutely beautiful! It was even set to 10 o'clock (the time that Rich proposed).

Mary and Dave Gates (family friends) were so generous to provide their home etc for this lovely event and I would like to thank them for their incredible contribution. The food was amazing. (Thanks Glen/Bev and Carol/Gary).

Thanks Sandra for doing the Maid of Honour duties of writing everything down! You are AWESOME! (BTW, Sandra is also blogging. You can check her blog out at http://lifeofsandra.blogspot.com).

An interesting factoid was that Lori (Glen's cousin) works with my godmother Janice. They saw each other at the party and you can imagine the "Small World" comments that occurred.

Thank you all for coming to the party. And for all you did. I know I don't know what each and every one of you did. We are both so grateful.

I can't express how wonderful and special I feel! You brought tears to my eyes. (But I made sure I waited until we drove away before I let the waterworks start).

October 22nd is fast approaching. So many things left to do.

Happy Birthday Mom!

Thursday June 9th was my Mom, Patricia's Birthday.

Happy Birthday Mom!

She's also known as Trish, Trisha, and most recently "Mother of the Bride". :) If you know what's good for you, don't call her Pat or any derivative of the like.

Tonight, all of us (my brothers and our families) are going to Kobe Japanese Steakhouse to treat Mom. It's VERY seldom we're all able to get together. (Work hours are all whacky amongst us). But tonight, we're all going to be together.

I don't think Mom knows what is so special about Kobe. When I talked to her on the phone yesterday, she said, what's the big deal. At that point, I just clammed up. No one else ruin the surprise for her ok?

Kobe is just so amazing in its concept. A Japanese chef cooks your meal right in front of you. That doesn't sound too creative yet. What's neat is that these guys aren't just chefs, they're gastronomic jugglers. They LITERALLY throw the food around on the grill that is in front of the guests and makes the food dance. Juggling pieces of steak and shrimp while only using chopsticks and knives to touch the food. Talk about skill and art combined. I keep thinking of the Karate Kid scene where Mr. Miyagi catches the fly in the chopsticks.

I think what will make Mom's day even more enjoyable will be my nephew Sébastien's reaction to all this. I just know he's going to be enthralled by all of this. He's 2 and a half and just LOVES anything that flies around.

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Now for the wedding update...

• The reception is going to be at the Four Seasons in the Garden Terrace (it's indoors). We should have the contract signed early next week.

• Sandra (my Maid of Honour) got her dress ordered. It's Alfred Sung (like mine) so they will match in terms of train etc...

• We've figured out our invitations, favours, flowers and other things. (Don't want to give TOO much away).

• Richard and I start our Marriage Prep course on Saturday. We have 3 half-days to go to before "graduating".
• I have to say a special thank you to Bev (Mother of the Groom) and Carol (Aunt of the Groom) for helping with the "Invitation Goose Chase". Carol is going to try to get our invitations tomorrow morning at Michael's when they go on sale since Rich and I have to be at the course. (Bev found the flyer that showed that they were going on sale - I was JUST about to buy them at the higher price).

I know that many of you are reading my ramblings to get the latest and greatest on the plans. Thanks for all your comments and notes of encouragement. I truly appreciate knowing that people are actually reading this. :)

Have a great weekend everyone!

Walking Through the Bay with a fully-loaded UPC Gun

Last sunday, Rich and I took about 2 hours to visit the Bay (www.thebay.com) and actually do the wedding registry thing. We had already gone in during a couple of lunch hours and tried to figure out what we needed and what we didn't.

For two people who have been living on their own for a while, we noticed that we didn't have very much on our list. For example, we don't really need pots and pans (I've got my favourite Lagostina set that my Mom found for me when I moved out), and neither of us are into the idea of China. Just a nice set of informal dinnerware is fine by us.

So, I was given a whole bunch of reading materials and a clipboard while Richard was handed a UPC gun. He had a TOY to play with. I saw a little twinkle in his eye every time he got to "zap" something into the system. (I was only able to "pry" it from his hands when it didn't seem to work. Then I got to try but only to find out that it wouldn't work for me either).

I didn't realize how tiring just zapping stuff (not buying but zapping) could be. I was exhausted for the rest of the afternoon. To be honest, I think I slept for 2 hours in the heat afterwards.

We're not nearly done on the gift registry yet. We really only focused on the Dinnerware and Bedding. (Although neither of us really think we need anything else I'm sure we'll find out we do).

As you can tell, the wedding plans are progressing. We should have our reception venue finalized very soon. Hopefully by end of week. We're just waiting on some director's ok at the venue. Keep your fingers crossed for us.