Transformers 3 in our 'hood!

I'm starstruck. I just found out Patrick Dempsey is in town filming "Transformers 3," and he is just blocks away from our apartment. Whoo hoo! (I guess Shia LeBeouf and Tyrese are here too, but I'm more of a McDreamy fan.)

Crews are filming all over the Chi, including in our front yard! This morning, low-flying helicopters flew in our 'hood, and then parachuters jumped out, and landed in the park out front, including in this children's park. No worries...children and parents weren't allowed in the park during filming.

Apparently, crews filmed all morning long, starting at 7 a.m. Residents were given flyers, warning us that we wouldn't be able to drive in front of our building, and at certain times, be allowed to walk in the park.

Exciting, right?

It would be if Mike, the dogs and me didn't sleep through it. I guess when you live in the city long enough, minor distractions outside, like helicopters and stuntmen flying by your window, are pretty much the norm. During their last jump, I was doing laundry and didn't even hear anything, hence why I have these pathetic pictures. I was too late to get anything good!

When you're used to the sounds of sirens, concerts from Millennium Park, drunk bums fighting, dogs barking and kids screaming in the park, filming a major blockbuster isn't anything that bothers you.

(Check out this cool story done by CBS)

I was wrong...

Awe, we are back home in the Chi. It's about 10:30 p.m., and Mike and I had a long day of driving home from our laid-back honeymoon in Jackson, Tennessee. We were looking forward to sleeping in tomorrow morning, only we just found out they may be shooting scenes from "Transformers 3" early in the morning involving low-flying helicopters and parachuters right in front of our apartment. 7 a.m. on a Sunday morning is apparently a good time to shoot a movie scene. It should be cool though...

Do you remember a few weeks ago, I complained about people not calling me back? Yep, I pretty much used this blog as my personal rant.

To my horror tonight, I realized they did call back. Weeks ago. Something must have been wrong with our land-line phone, because when I just checked our messages, we had 20! Some went as far back as 2 weeks ago.

So to the two women I talked badly about before, I apologize.

Here were some of the other messages we missed...

* My cousin's wife saying they were in Chicago and wanted to meet up. (Sorry Rory and Brianne!)

* The audio guys in Jackson, Wyoming, calling to confirm if we still needed a mic at the wedding

* A reminder for my manicure a week and a half ago

* The transportation folks asking if the groomsmen still needed picked up before the wedding. (Even though the day is a blur, I clearly remember Mike being there, so luckily our lack of response didn't stop them from picking the guys up)

* The audio guys in Jackson, Wyoming, calling to cancel the mic since they hadn't heard back from us (Thank God we had a wedding planner who fixed this problem, and we had a mic)

* The limo driver, calling to tell us we left food in the limo. (The nice people at our reception packed up dinner for Mike and me, knowing we didn't really have time to eat, and we'd be hungry later. Dang, I hear the food was really good. )

* One of our wedding guests, asking what time the rehearsal dinner was (Mellinda and Dennis were there, so I guess they figured it out!)

* My mom and future mother-in-law calling, saying they had questions for me before the big day. Oops! Sorry Gail and Barb!

* The nurse at the lab, confirming Mike's DNA, and that he is the father of little Timmy. (Just kidding!)

To everyone I didn't call back: please forgive me! I guess land-lines really aren't any more reliable than cell phones.

Wedding depression

No one ever prepares you for the sadness that comes after a wedding. Seriously, I could cry every time I think about it being over. For two years, my life was all about choosing a wedding location, deejay, photographer and flavors of cupcakes. Every week, and sometimes everyday, I would makes decisions that would affect the happiest day of my life. Really, when you think about it, I was planning for the big day for 32 years. Every little girl dreams of her wedding day; if fact, I started pulling the pages of wedding magazines years ago, when I started thinking about what dress I wanted to wear. I always dreamed of walking down the aisle to a devastatingly good-looking man, who surely would be tall, dark and handsome.

I did all that, and it was amazing.... but now it’s over.

Now it’s back to the reality that I’m underemployed, living in a 660-square foot apartment, and have a ton of bills to pay.

Depressing, right?

Well, it would be if the end prize didn’t mean I have a fabulous man to call my husband. I truly hit the husband jackpot with him. I’m also pursuing a writing career and have one book written and another started. And we may not have the largest apartment, but it’s filled with a lot of love.

To everyone who made July 3, 2010 the most amazing day of my life--I thank you. After waiting my whole life, I thought surely I had created expectations that couldn't be lived up to. I’m happy to report the wedding not only met those expectations, it exceeded them ten-fold.

Jacob vs. Edward=who's the better match?

Okay, I’m officially addicted to Twilight. Mike and I saw Eclipse last night, and I’ve been dreaming of Edward and Jacob ever since (what every woman should be doing on her honeymoon.) Women across this country are screaming “Team Edward!” or “Team Jacob!” as I exclaim “I want them both!”

I didn’t realize just how much this series is geared towards women. As we were giving our tickets to the ticket taker, he turned to Mike and laughed, “Oh, so she dragged you here.” Mike told him he likes Vampire movies, only not ones where the vampires are “sissies.”

Here’s the thing--every women dreams of two men loving her, and being caught in a love triangle-- and that’s exactly what’s happening for Bella. Edward is the good-looking, mysterious vampire. Jacob is the strong and hot Werewolf. I say both have pro’s and con’s...so let’s break down who is the better match.

• Edward tells Bella he loves her and wants to marry her. You might think that’s pretty mature for a high school senior, only quite the contrary. He’s like 200 years old, but he never ages, so at 200, he’d better be ready to settle down.

  
  

  Jacob has the body of a roman god, and likes to show it off by never wearing a shirt. Hot to look at, but c’mon, he totally knows it! He doesn’t even wear a shirt when it’s snowing, which is one-way ticket to pneumonia.

  
  

  Edward never ages. Cool, except Bella is going to have to get a lot of Botox to keep up with her ageless beau. Eventually, Edward will probably get tired of her, and trade her in for a younger version.

  
  

  Jacob says things like, “Loving me would be as easy as breathing.” Sweet, but guys who usually talk like that are named Jake Pavelka and are the Bachelor. They also cry at the drop of a hat, and their relationships don’t last.

  
  

  Edward clearly knows the dangers of the sun, and has pale, silky smooth skin. He won’t have to worry about skin cancer, but he also melts in the sun. Not. Good.

  
  

  Jacob is willing to fight for the love of Bella, so he instantly turns into a Werewolf to fight off the Vampires. Super sweet, yet he rips all his clothes when he makes the transformation. I’m sure after a few years, Bella will get tired of sewing and mending his jean shorts.

  
  

Flying vs. driving=which is better?

Good afternoon from Jackson, Tennessee! Mike and I decided on a laid-back honeymoon at my parent’s summer home which is in the middle of nowhere. It’s great--there are no telephones, cell service, TV’s, or neighbors. To publish this blog, we have to drive into town and find WI-FI service (and I will have to charge you $9.95 for that effort.)

We drove down last night, which took about 7 hours from Chicago. Considering we’ve taken trips both driving and flying this week, I’ve decided driving is way better. Here are some thoughts about flying I jotted down in Jackson, Wyoming while sitting in the very crowded airport.....

What is it about flying that’s so terrible? Really, it shouldn't’t be that bad considering you’re super excited to go on a family vacation or a wedding, and when it’s over you’re usually super excited about going home and finally using your own bathroom.

Waiting in the security line is just brutal. Why are people so stinkin’ slow? I get that we now have to take off our shoes and belts and just about everything else. Here’s my solution: wear flip flops, no jewelry and go sans belt. I say we should all become accepting of showing some butt crack if it means getting through security faster.

Also, why do people have so many damn bags? Yes, I have 3 bags today, but Mike has 1, so it evens out. But I just got married people, so that excuses my 12 pairs of shoes! What’s your excuse? What the airlines are making in charging people for shipping bags, they have to be losing in delays because everyone now carries on bags the size of The Biggest Loser's sweatpants. To add to the fun, carry-ons are so stuffed and heavy, passengers can’t lift them up into the overhead bin, so we wait twice as long to board.

Seriously parents, do you need to pack so much stuff? I can appreciate that little Johnny loves Toy Story 3 and wants every toy from the movie with him. I can also appreciate that you want him to have his playpen and crib and special travel seat. But does he need it? My mom jokingly tells me my bed when we traveled was a dresser drawer filled with blankets, and I don’t seem too emotionally damaged.

And as I’ve said before, there’s something rank about airport bathrooms. Have you ever noticed they always smell like poo? What is with that?? Have we ever heard of courtesy flushes, people?? Or going before you head to the airport??

P.S. I know this picture posted has nothing to do with this post, but I just love our wedding pics, so get ready to see more!!

Sleep, what sleep?

Oh sleep, how much I missed you! I knew right before the wedding, I wouldn't sleep much because I was excited. The night of the wedding, I thought I'd sleep great because everything went well, but then I just replayed everything in my head and I was too excited to get any shut eye. The night after that, I thought surely I'd get some sleep, but then I awoke at 2:30 a.m., wide awake, and I decided to start writing a book about my experiences at the wedding. From there, I didn't go back to sleep.

So finally yesterday, I took a nap from 2:00 p.m.-8:00 p.m. When I awoke, I realized Mike had walked about 2 miles to our favorite Sushi place, and picked up dinner so I didn't have to get ready. Isn't that sweet? I figured by now, we'd both be on each other's nerves and if I asked what we're having for dinner, he'd reply, "Whatever you can find in the kitchen."

After my amazing nap, I then slept another 12 hours last night. Love it!

Today, we're slowly getting moving, and heading for a relaxing vacation in Jackson, Tennessee. My mom and step-father have a home there, so we're going to spend a few days relaxing by the pool, eating deep-fried Southern food, and just soaking up being husband and wife.

We'll chat again soon!




Where do I begin??

Okay, if someone told me how crazy fun my wedding would be, I would have done this years ago!! Are you kidding me with the coolness of it all? You get to a) wear a gorgeous princess gown, b) have people make and serve you dinner, c) never pay for a drink and c) have people tell you all night how pretty you are. (Oh ya, and marrying Mike was pretty darn cool too.)

Plus, here's the thing...it wouldn't have mattered if I had a big zit, kept my unibrow, and opted for a Mohawk-- because people would still have told me I looked good. It's like newborn babies...they usually look wild-eyed and gooey with their huge heads, but people squeal at their cuteness.

For those of you who just started following the blog, (like Mama Louise, Jim and Leslie, holla!) I've been engaged to my now husband, Mike for two wonderful years. (I can now say husband, holla!)

We met 6 1/2 years ago while working at WINK-TV in Fort Myers, Florida. Who knew all I'd have to do to find my husband is move to a state during the worst hurricane season on record, while dodging debris and cheating death during 4 major hurricanes. I say it was worth it!

We chose Jackson, Wyoming as our destination because I was born and raised in Wyoming, and I wanted to show Mike's Ohio family the most magnificent place on earth. If you've never been to the Grand Tetons, put it on your Bucket list, because it's incredible. As we wrapped up the ceremony, as if on cue, 2 beautiful bald eagles flew right above us. I loved the symbolism of the eagles flying together. (I was also glad we opted not to have our Chihuahua's in the wedding, because having my babies picked up and carried away by eagles would surely have ruined my night.)

There is so much to blog about, and I can't wait to share all my experiences with you. Weddings are incredibly wonderful and yet wacky wild at the same time. I made some great observations about life and family. Please stay tuned...I think you'll enjoy.

Now, I've got to go catch up on 2 weeks worth of lost sleep.


Evanchan!