The Night before the Wedding

The night before the wedding was a blast. We had the Mausski Family Bowling Extravaganza - with our family and friends in the wedding party, and their families as well. We rented out the entire Chalet Bowl for cosmic bowling...a post to come on it soon. (no time like 4 months later!)

I had his wedding gift - the rosary I'd made for him over Christmas 2001 (mentioned in this post) which had been blessed by Pope John Paul II at World Youth Day in 2003. With the rosary, I had designed a book for him of the past ten months of our lives. Since somehow it made its way to the reception, and even into the wedding photos, why not upload it? :)

It's been a long time since I've finished any scrap projects (outside of the circle journals), so for all of my scrappy friends, it's a post for you!

The Book for Jonathan

For all the technical deets...the pages were all made in Photoshop. There weren't many kits used...mostly just clean and simple design (thanks for the inspiration, Cathy Z!).

• Fonts • Interstate, Hurricane, and Garamond
• Brushes • Designfruit, a few quotes and elements from Marsha Zepeda at The Digichick
• Colors • sampled from the images and carried across the spreads

a well of wishes

just in time for valentine's day... ♥

one of my very favorite keepsakes from the wedding...our 'guest book'. not wanting to make people wait in a god-awful line to get into the reception, we opted to have a well-wish table, where people could fill out little cards for us - with their best wit, wishes and wisdom.

after the wedding, gallucci's boxed up two dinners for us, and with two slices of our wedding cake, we headed to the silver cloud inn. we had the best time unwinding after the wedding - eating a whole meal all at one time together - and going through the cards.

i loved seeing what messages people left for us...good stuff, indeed.

from my dad's best friend, gary, and his wife, linda:
love takes care of almost everything. forgiveness, understanding, and kindness takes care of most of the rest. the grace, belief and redemption of christ, which you embrace so beautifully, takes care of all - in both good and trying times. love is hard to find, harder to keep, but is it the best thing there is - use it wisely.

from one of jonathan's colleagues, chuck:
never have the same fight twice, life is too short.

from my aunt darcy:
wishing you years and years of laughter and good tears. always say 'i love you', always say 'i'm sorry', and everyday, laugh together.

from jonathan's friend, linda:
never go to bed mad at each other, and never ever throw a water balloon at your wife.

from john, husband of kate, as advice to jonathan:
always get the last words: "yes dear!"

from margaret, the amazing harpist and my friend:
'if it looks fun, and doesn't break the ten commandments, do it!' - attributed to john paul ii.

from one of jonathan's colleagues, avelin:
increase your vocabulary...
sesquipedalian
just don't do it!

from randy, husband of robin, our wedding coordinator extraordinaire as advice to jonathan:
just remember that shelley is always right, no matter what. follow this rule and life will be grand!

from anonymous (big surprise!):
jonathan: remember, you are the head of the house and your word is final.

from paul, son-in-law of mama g, as advice to jonathan:
just say "yes". always.

from chris, one of jonathan's teachers from rainier:
always make sure to talk with your child's teacher before yelling at them, the teacher might have colored in the wrong box and it really is an A- like your child says, and not a C- like the report card says. (a real life story in which Jonathan was lectured by his father for almost an hour before their parent-teacher conference began).

and advice from those who have loved throughout the years...

from my relay sister debbie and bruce:
not that we're competitive or anything, but we've been married longer - 29+ years! xoxo

from jonathan's former co-worker and mentor sydney:
the list is just too long! we just celebrated 30 years together. if i had one thing to say, it would be forgive each other!

from jonathan's classmate at seattle u betsy:
my advice, lots of kisses! kiss goodbye in the morning, and kiss hello when you get home. it worked for my parents - they've been married 35 years.

from mark and peggy, my neighbors growing up in gig harbor:
we wish you the same joy 40 years from now that you are experiencing today...as we do married 39 1/2 years ago.

from steve and sue, longtime family friends of mine:
after 40 years, we are still working on our marriage. after kids, life changes and no there is us. we have always been committed and stuck together through hard times!

from marlene and john, family friends of mine, as advice given to jonathan:
marlene and i were married 40 years in march 2006! my advice for staying married is simple:
1. marry a wise woman
2. do what she says
you can argue about why you should not have done it afterwards.

from bob and joyce, who we relay for life with each year:
after 42 years of marriage, we want to share this: never go to bed angry at each other. love and respect each other unconditionally.

something old, something new...

from the wedding...


something old • my mom's pearls
given to her by my dad. a beautiful set that she received for her anniversary years ago.

alternate something old • my pink blanky
surprisingly, this was one of the details that i was most excited about...and i can't find a photo anywhere! i have had a pink blanky, ratted and torn for 22 years. my dad hates it (as does my husband). i always told dad i would walk down the aisle with it...and when i told sandy about my idea, she not only repaired all of the giant holes in it, but she cut a 8 inch by 2 inch section out, crocheted a white border for it, and i had it to tuck into my bouquet to walk down the aisle. i showed it to dad just before we walked down the aisle. it was perfect. :)


something new • my flip flops, with swarovski crystals
anyone who knows me is unsurprised by my wedding day attire for my feet. after receiving a custom purple pair as a birthday gift at this year's relay for life, i knew just what i wanted for the wedding day. jaunty jill's, an online retailer, hand designs custom havaianas to be "your custom crystal solemate"...how perfect is that? the colors in the swarovskis: siam, smoke topaz, crystal, and white opal. super comfortable and wore them all the way to rarotonga.


something borrowed • the ring bearer's pillow
a game time clutch play from mike and kristine. when we realized we didn't have a ring bearer pillow (at about 9 am on the wedding day), kristine found the pillow from their wedding, and brought it down to the hotel as we dressed. doesn't ian, our ring bearer, look great with it? :)


something blue • the garter
handmade by stella, one of my maids of honor. she made a chocolate and cabernet keepsake one, and a blue one to toss. she also tricked out my veil with a custom design. seriously, she is incredibly talented, and i loved that she did these for me. ♥

grumpy gus

jonathan left the house today, for the first time since last tuesday.

it was what you'd call a 'growing experience' for us as newlyweds. he was grumpy. i was grumpy. he was finally getting over his flu, and i was exhausted. if it isn't the dysentery on the honeymoon, it's the biohazard in the living room also known as the kleenex mountain.

by last night, we were both ready for the fresh start that monday morning would bring. we missed several really fun events this weekend (table 10! there's nothing like a night with table 10!) and want to be 100% asap. so glad to be getting back into a 'normal routine'...as much as we've established in the last five weeks.

thankfully, early this morning, erwin emailed us a link to our wedding photos online...a perfectly timed gift to us! we've sat - me in the kitchen on my computer, him in the leather chair on his laptop - looking through photos, laughing through a day that feels like it's ages ago.

good stuff, indeed.

home sweet home...almost

after travelling for almost 20 hours, we finally arrived home from the honeymoon. i think my suitcase is still in los angeles, but since the brownrices invited us over for a super yummy 'welcome home' dinner, i don't really care where it is. it just means there's less to unpack at the house in rainier! :)

right now, everyone's sleeping...jonathan's on the sofa, maggie's on her bed, and viper's sound asleep behind my back on the chair in my yellow room.

we're planning to move my 'vitals' (read: all of my computer and camera equipment) to rainier tomorrow - which means that this is unofficially, my last night in my home. well, my house. my home, our home, is full of boxes and gifts and generally just full. jonathan and i are a little afraid to go see it...so waiting a night for my suitcase isn't such a bad thing.

moving the rest of the stuff will probably come next weekend, after we've unpacked the house a bit in rainier this weekend.

the honeymoon was wonderful - in a 'clark griswold meets the third world tropics' sort of way... :) we had a blast - but wished for more sunshine. just one freaking day of sunshine out of ten days south of the equator!! trust me, it's a post for another day. but we loved the time together - but are glad to be home. lots of pics and a super fun quiz to test your guesses on our honeymoon...so check back once i'm up and running on the farm!

and finally...some wedding photos!! :)

• from our incredible photographer • erwin wijanto, assisted by bill cawley. absolutely amazing. jonathan and i can't stop looking through them. so much fun to see all the moments they captured. cannot wait to see the rest.
• lots of photos from our family and friends •
  we loved reading blog posts on the slower-than-molasses internet link on the island, but it gave us just a taste of what everyone experienced on our wedding day. if you haven't seen them yet, here's a sampling... stella (here, here, and here), the brownrices (here and here), kili (here and my fave of my and my dad here)

and i realize that we are not yet done with the bridal party profiles...so those are to come as well.

how can it be mid-january already?!?

introducing...

the new mr. and mrs. jonathan sprouffske!

this self-portrait is our first self-portrait as husband and wife...taken while walking down the aisle, out of our wedding mass. i believe this does mean that i 'shot my own wedding'! :)

seriously, the past four days have been nothing short of amazing. there were so many moments that we loved...and since we're heading to the airport in a bit, we'll blog later...probably in about two weeks!

first and foremost though, a huge thank you to everyone who made this weekend possible - our family, friends and loved ones...you are a gift to us.

and to my new husband, i love you. i promise to let you sleep in on the honeymoon.

a little something to tide you over until our wedding photos are up for preview...shown at the wedding reception...


(if the slideshow doesn't load on your computer, click here)

don't be surprised if there's no action here on the blog until mid-January. we're taking nothing electronic with us (except for my cameras) - no phones, no laptops, nothing. it will be magical!

rarotonga, here we come!

The Wedding Party: Dave

Connection: Friend, Ex-Boss

Where/When/How we met:
Shelley and I both got to know Dave in two very different ways. Dave was my Resident Hall Manager when I started at Saint Martin’s College. He was brand new to the Saint, by way of Linfield College, and I was fresh out of high school. After my freshman year he became my boss as I served as a RA in the dorms until he left the Saint in 2003. Throughout that time we had a lot of great experiences at Saint Martin’s and our friendship continues with Dave’s adventures.

Shelley met Dave, I believe in 2003 (Shelley can edit as she sees fit). By then Dave was working in the Tacoma office of the American Cancer Society, they got to know each other due to Shelley’s involvement with Relay for Life. Dave is a great example of one of the many friends who we are fortunate to have in our lives that knew both of us individually and now still loves us both as we grow together.

Dave and his beautiful girlfriend Kristy:

Dave showing us a bird:

See Shelley and I aren't the only ones that make goofy self portraits:

My top 5 Favorite Memories of Dave:
1. Competing in the RA Olympics at Gameworks.
2. Being the Guinea Pig for his cooking when he was learning how to cook, which by the way he has mastered quite well. Some day when he decides to open up his own restaurant I will be able to say, I knew him when his potato soup tasted like wet cheerios.
3. Being able to live upstairs from Dave, so that we could just shout through the air vents.
4. Playing in the Dorms Jack and Jill Softball tournament.
5. Having game night at Dave’s apartment, especially playing that infamous game “Don’t be a Dork.”

The Wedding Party: Noah

Connection: Friend, Ex-Co-Worker, Board Member

Where/When/How we met:
Noah was a junior when I was a freshman at Saint Martin’s College. Little did we know how much our paths would become intertwined over the next 8 years.

Noah and I both started our appointments to the Saint Martins Alumni Board back in 2003. Then in 2005, he was kind enough to take a chance on a struggling law student and recommended me for a job at Smith Alling Lane. In January 2007, when the Governmental Affairs group performed their “strategic alliance” with Gordon Thomas Honeywell Noah again watched out for me and brought me over in the realignment. Even though we no longer work together, I will never forget his loyalty and friendship. For those of you ladies out there looking for a smart, successful, catholic, single guy please feel free to look him up at our reception.

Noah’s photo from The Olympian when he is a guest columnist:

Noah, Governmental Affairs Consultant Extraordinaire:

Noah, Danny, and I at the President’s Gala in 2006:

My top 5 Favorite Memories of Noah:
1. Working at the Capital Food and Wine Festival together.
2. Watching boxing matches as “legal research”.
3. A variety of Alumni Events, including the President’s Gala.
4. Making runs up to the Greek Restaurant in Tacoma on our lunch break.
5. Playing Softball together on the Pierce County Bar Associations Softball Team.

'twas the night before christmas...

....and all through the house
not a creature was stirring
not even a maltipomapoo...

christmas.

jonathan and i agreed to a wedding-talk free day for the holiday. with the exception of cleaning and organizing the living room and boxes, it was simply that. 40 hours of family, treats, presents, christmas mass, and us.

it was perfect....exactly what we needed.

the best way i can tell that "i let go" and didn't need everything organized?

the christmas tree was still on the deck, undecorated, on it's side. at least it made it into the tree stand!

the tree was indicative of how this season has flown by - we are 'tree hunting' in the dark with a spotlight on november 30th, hosting the christmas tree open house on the 1st and cutting it down, and we simply never found a night to just bring it in and put it up.

it's almost sacrilege to be on a tree farm and not put up a tree. it was the first time, in 30 years, that i celebrated christmas without a tree (inside the house).

monday, jonathan was sworn in as fire commissioner (since the actual ceremony begins at the same time as our wedding rehearsal on thursday). we headed out to mom and dad's for dinner and christmas with the fam.

on christmas morning, we celebrated mass at st. columban in yelm, and over to sandi and jerry's for jonathan's side of the family. so much fun experiencing christmas through ian and jaren's eyes - they were so excited for everything!

today, i spent the morning with auntie karen and uncle johnie, jonathan's cousins jimmy, jana, her husband tom, their kids max and elise, and alisa, ian, and jared, as we all made the wreaths to line the pews at the wedding. in spite of my terrible talent at wreath making (which should improve next season) - they turned out beautifully. a mix of nobles, douglas fir, and cedar.

it was viper's first time at a family event on the farm - and she came out muddy and sleepy after fending off three big dogs for a few hours. max and elise renamed her peaches and sugar, respectively.

it's really hard to believe the wedding is just a few short days away.

off to head into the office, finish up my last projects before taking time off, and over to the mall to check off the last things before the wedding!

25 days of christmas | day twenty

begins today. the word 'novena' comes from the latin word "novenus" meaning "ninth". the actual feast day of the holy family is december 28th - which seriously, brought tears to my eyes when i found out that it was the day before our wedding.

eight days before the feast day begins the novena...which is today, december 20th. the novena ends on the 28th, nine days later.

why the holy family?

it's what jonathan and i strive for as a couple and future family. after all, mary said "yes" to god when she was asked to have a baby as a young woman, ride on the back of a donkey without complaining at nine months of being pregnant, and have a baby in a stable in the cold night. throughout her life, she always responded without complaint, willing to serve, and loved unconditionally. and if you know me, you know that often times i am more (stubborn) like the donkey, than the gracious woman on its back.

for jonathan, the model of joseph as a loving husband and father, even when life was difficult. while he is loving and supportive, there are times that i can make life difficult, and it's especially then that joseph is a good model for jonathan.

our wedding favors have a blessed medal of the holy family, and one of the gifts for the wedding party incorporate the holy family. being able to bring the focus of the wedding back to the significance of the sacrament through this novena (and taking the focus away from the 'prep work' of preparing the event) is exactly what we're hoping for.

there's a cool download of the novena if you'd like to pray it with us...it just takes a few minutes a day. simply click here to download it.

it would mean so much to us. ♥

nine days to go!!

the wedding mass: music

the wedding mass (and part of the reception) will be filled with the super fabulous talents of a few people we love. without further adieu...here's the five that are behind the music...


art leonard • pianist and peep in charge
the man behind twelve to three music. music minister of st. vincent de paul's life teen for 10-ish years. incredibly talented and uses his gifts in amazing ways. i met him when i was on the core team at st. vinnie's, just after moving home from college. i had the fabulous privilege of shooting his wedding this summer to his bride, kristina. how cool is it that he wrote the song that she entered the mass to? :)


margaret shelton • harpist
now at the university of puget sound, simply beautiful harpy skills. i met her through fr. raftis and bellarmine, where she reminded me of a younger version of myself. when i first heard her play her harp, my comment was "can i book you for my wedding?" never mind this was a year or so back, long before jonathan was on the scene. :) she is simply that good.


amy gallwas • vocalist with an amazing voice
i met amy through st. andrew's catholic church in sumner, when we were both served on the core team for their life teen program. her talent, though she would downplay it because she is so incredibly humble, is awesome. you'll hear my favorite song that she sings, ave maria, in the mass. an incredible friend, and support to me - even from afar as she's studying at franciscan university in ohio.


jeannie williams • vocalist with a super fabulous voice
i met jeannie through st. andrew's and michael g, when she was a teen in life teen. she is so incredibly gifted for her age. she sang this year at the 2007 relay for life of tacoma, during the luminaria candlelight ceremony. just before she went on (a few hours after jonathan proposed), i told her, "no pressure, but this is your audition for the wedding." heh heh...of course, her voice was simply beautiful. perfect for luminaria, and perfect for the wedding.


michael g • vocalist and master of ceremonies for the reception
a long history with michael, dating back to our time together on core at st. vincent's. over the years, we've served in youth ministry together at st. vincent's, st. charles, st. andrew's, volunteered for 4 relays together, and i now shoot for him through integritas photography. one of the biggest blessings of my life was getting to know his family - most especially, his mom, mama g. so loving that he will be in the wedding.

25 days of christmas | a whole bunch of days together

a little quiet on viper's world recently, huh? :)

call it the 'ten days before the wedding-itis'!

the last week has definitely had it's lows (a repeat of the icky grossness of march 2006 when the main line backed up into my house) and its highs (an amazing blessing and mass last night at becky's house)...but we're surviving the craziness just before christmas and the wedding.

that said, here are the things that i'm incredibly grateful for...

• my mom - who brought me chicken noodle soup tonight
• the blessing and mass last night - becky and crystal, two of my bridesmaids, put together a mass for jonathan and me and invited those who have been there through our faith journey, with one of the coolest affirmations afterwards. i left there with my heart full and tears in my eyes. thanks, father raftis, for coming down to say mass. it was truly, truly a gift. deserves a post all its own.
• the key wedding peeps - who are the reason that the type-a personality like myself will be able to enjoy the wedding day without worrying about details (consider them the wedding logistics team!). meeting with them today at union station, finalizing all the details. good, good stuff. also deserving of a post all its own.
• rich - who helped navigate the nightmare that was my main sewer line in the house. you are seriously, seriously an angel from heaven.
• jonathan - who puts up with me, day in and day out, and still wants to marry me. :) you are so good to me. i love you.

more to come. i promise. :)

25 days of christmas | day thirteen

now, for the good perspective of marriage...

snagged from my friend matt's blog, is exactly what jonathan and i have been talking about - in bits and pieces - over the last few weeks. however, matt is much more eloquent than i...so here it is.

I feel bad for folks that just wander into marriage - even more worried for those that don’t have a real Christian understanding of marriage (that includes a lot of Christians too by the way). Marriage is the monastery in which one joyfully/willingly enters to die to themselves. It’s the relationship in which you realize the Christian ideal that life isn’t about you any more. Hopefully, you see this before you decide to say “I do” and enter into that understanding/living willingly. Hopefully too, you find someone else to give that too that feels the same way! Sadly, even in the Christian community, most probably do not. To the Christian, marriage is the place and time and maturity where they are ready to stop living for/about themselves and can die to self in the ’safe place’ of reciprocating love of another. This isn’t about being a floor-mat for another person - it’s about finding another that wishes the same thing for you. It requires two mature adults that have their stuff together. They need to be able to maturely call “schenanigans” on each others behavior when it’s selfish, they need to be able to challenge and support each other as equals. One can’t do this if they don’t have their own issues worked out. If both of you are looking out for the two of you, then the other, then themselves (in that order) you’ll find the real tranformative power of marriage.

That’s why having kids is so intimately linked to marriage for the Christian. If there was ever anything that teaches you life isn’t about what you want anymore, it’s having kids. Children are an extension and expansion of this self-giving. If one isn’t mature enough to be married, one is likely not mature enough to have kids - and vice versa. Yes, parenthood is often thrust on people due to poor choices, but the folks I know in those situations said they sure grew up a lot as soon as their kid was born. Often via a painful moment of ‘Come to Jesus’/realization about the way their lives are now going to go - very differently than they expected. So, hopefully, marriage is the place where children are welcomed into the world witnessing/seeing this kind of self-giving love between their parents.

thanks, matt, for blogging about this. for helping me re-find perspective in these last days before the wedding - when things seem out of control and the focus shifts to things that really aren't that important.

25 days of christmas | day twelve

yes, this blog is supposed to focus on christmas. however, i offer you a slight detour. i just turned in our marriage application and received the marriage license...so i'm in a wedding-crunch-mode kind of mood.

check out what came in the mail today!!

this handy little postcard, addressed to simply "sprouffske + mauss"....seriously, the ink on the marriage application wasn't even dry yet!


the wedding hustle bustle is over!

my favorite features of this guy?

• no wedding chapel gift shop hustles
• no waiting in a court with criminals
• afternoons, evenings, even midnight appointments
• 2000 couples married in pierce county by this guy since 1998!

and the best?
elopements are just $40 on mondays and wednesdays!

stay tuned for tomorrow...for a super fabulously awesome perspective on marriage.

25 days of christmas | day eight:an open letter to my in-laws

it's december 8th...and three weeks from today, i have the honor of marrying your son, jonathan.

what i would give to have you with us in person. you have given me a gift far beyond anything i could ever have imagine - a loving, caring, thoughtful man who puts up with the lights on all over the house. larry, i realize, it would drive you nuts too. like father, like son. thank you for the time you spent with him, one on one, as he grew up. from everything he's told me, he learned from you the value of hard work, persistence, laughter, and the importance of thanking god for all he's been given - both the good and the bad.

mary, you give me small little gifts all over the house as i clean it. of these, my favorites are the notebook journals you used to keep of daily life. through them, i get to see and experience a little of what life was like with jonathan as a wee one, a growing boy, and a young man in the time before you both passed away. one night, when jonathan was at the fire station and i was cleaning things out, i found myself laughing through tears at how jonathan tore apart your freshly cleaned house. you called him 'your little tornado'. trust me - your little tornado is now a big tornado. he still tears apart a room as fast as he enters it. :) and he does not do bathrooms.

i love that you sent christmas letters. i loved that you baked him his favorite cake (which ironically, is white with lemon filling) for birthdays. i love that you wrote everything down. i can't tell you how significant that is to me and to us - when he and i share stories of our future children's grandparents with them.

thank you both for loving him as completely as you did. you taught him to always share his feelings, and to love others even if they are - at times - unlovable. god knows i will definitely need that trait from time to time!

i pray that i can be a good wife to him. i pray that your memory stays fresh in his mind, though i know that time will slow it down. i pray that our family will find all the joy in the world as yours did - even and especially in the midst of challenges that will come our way.

please keep us in your prayers as we prepare in these final days for the wedding, and our marriage. i trust that through the intercession of the saints, you've got our back. ♥

on our wedding day, the pew where you should have been seated will be empty. we have two bouquets (that match the bouquet i will be carrying) in your place. the swags down the center aisle will be from the farm where you raised jonathan.

know that i will live my life loving and honoring your son.

you have given me an immeasurable gift.

thank you.

odds and ends

{a glimpse of the projects we've been finishing up for the wedding}

this week feels like 'crunch time' to get the last major things finished before the holidays begin. everyone warned me about the 'waking up in the middle of the night' - and since i normally could sleep through anything, i laughed it off.

until yesterday. i woke up monday morning at 2:30 - and couldn't get back to sleep. not wanting to waste that valuable time...i crossed about a dozen things off the remaining 'to-do' list. by the time liz and i hit the pavement in the north end around 5 a.m., the list was considerably shorter. life was good.

a little random Q&A about the wedding...since it's just one month and nine days away. taken from emails and recent random conversations.

why are you making me go bowling? i don't want to.
well, mom, you're going to have to. :)
with our families, for the most part, being spread out across the northwest and midwest, we wanted something fun for everyone to do the night before the wedding. since the venue for the rehearsal dinner is meaningful to jonathan and me (it's the place of our first date) - but really really small - it can really only hold just the people who are involved in the wedding Mass. we decided to find something more interactive than everyone sitting around tables at a dinner - and the mausski bowling extravaganza was born. we rented out all of chalet bowl in the proctor district, and are hosting a cosmic bowling tournament. everyone in my family gets red glow necklaces, and the sprouffskes get blue glow necklaces...to help everyone recognize who is who. and since everyone pretty much sucks at bowling, it will be perfect.

are you changing your name?
yes. while i will still have mauss in my name at the office, legally, my last name will be changed to sprouffske. there's a new email address and i've already ordered the address embosser for the house in rainier.

and what about shelley mauss photography?
that, too, will be evolving. come 2008, shelley mauss photography will be transitioning to finian road image & design. thanks to my fabulous fiance, my company's already changed from a sole prop to an llc, and i'll be adding a design element to what i do. it's really pretty sweet -- the whole wedding invite thing finally spurred me onto things i'd always wanted to try. i seriously can't wait.

what are you doing with the house?
...in tacoma
getting ready to pack up, move, and put it on the market. thanks to the super fabulous brownrices, the blue room has been moved to rainier. the yellow room is in process, and we'll be a good deal closer after rich, becky, and i make a trip south this afternoon. then it's cleaning, organizing, and unpacking.
...in rainier
helping transition the house to a home again. with jonathan in law school over the last three years (with much of that time spent living in seattle), the house sat empty. we've already replaced all the windows in the house with new vinyl milgard windows (much better for energy consumption and heat) and cut into the main wall in the living room and the kitchen to make the windows more than double their size. the house has an incredible wrap around porch - but the porch prevents a good deal of light from shining in. with the windows enlarged - it's so much brighter. it rocks. also, we're planning to replace the major kitchen appliances soon, and that should hold us over until the spring...when the paint rollers make their arrival.

how are the rsvp's coming?
well, as of yesterday, we'd received 48.21% of them back. thank you to those of you who've sent them in...and if you haven't yet...you have about a week until i send maggie and viper out after you. trust me, they are a force to be reckoned with.

what are you doing for centerpieces?
not quite sure yet. that's one of the last decisions to make.

are you having a guest book?
i was originally planning on having a few albums of our engagement photos for everyone to sign - but realized that the number of guests would have made that a nightmare. inspired by this post on weddingbee, we are opting for a cool well-wish table, with custom little cards for people to complete at their leisure. a few samples are above.

how long is this wedding Mass going to be?
about an hour-ish. there's some really cool things to be included in it - and normal catholic Masses are an hour. this one is no exception. :)

what if i'm not catholic?
no worries. we have a program that's designed to help you understand what's going on - complete with the scripture, prayers, instructions on when to sit, stand, and kneel (which, i understand, can be a little nerve wracking if you're not used to doing it all the time). it also gives a bit of the background into some of the catholic traditions, so it all makes sense.

what are you thankful for?
ahh...a post for tomorrow. i think the prince and i will tag up on that one. :)

showered with lemons and watermelons

last saturday, vickie and stella threw a fabulous bridal shower...hosted by lindsay's fam, and assisted by the bridesmaids...a good mix of gals from my life - old and new - from the estrogen militia to st. andrew's to relay to my fam. i loved everyone getting to meet the gals in the sprouffske fam, and vice versa.

full of all the little details that i adore.

• a full table of lemon desserts - including sandy's amazing lemon cheesecake bars
• honey prawns - that vickie masterfully whipped up like the best honey prawns that we ever had in portland
• recipes from everyone to start our new family cookbook
• sweet and funny advice on 'how to have a happy family'
• cool shower favors with tags that read "treats for my peeps"

the best surprise?

one of the wedding games, which closely resembled one of the 'newlywed style' games from the couples shower. except this time, it was me who was answering the questions, and stella asking them.

jonathan was concerned that i'd cheat without him there...so he and stella arranged a video shoot of him answering her questions. it was absolutely hysterical.

among my favorite questions? the q&a, straight from jonathan...notice how specific they are? if i didn't get it 100% right, vickie handed me a giant piece of watermelon bubble gum to chew.

• what award did i win in preschool? the social butterfly award
• favorite children's book? i am a bunny
• what was my high school mascot, grade point average, and 2 awards i won in high school? rainier mountaineers, 3.99, salutatorian, and the 'citizenship award'.
  (it should be noted that he also brought the actual awards to the shoot, so he pulled them out and showed them on the video for props)
• what two teams were playing in the nfc playoff race the day that jonathan applied to SU law school. i'll give you a hint. it was a day that seahawk fans will forever remember, because just after the seahawks won the toss matt hasselback uttered those famous words, “we want the ball, and we’re going to score.” which was quickly followed by matt throwing an interception and al harris of the opposing team running it back for a touchdown. seattle seahawks and the green bay packers

and he even knew what questions i'd get wrong - including forgetting that my brother played college football...never mind that mike was the captain of the football team...and i still missed it!

thank you, vickie, stella, lindsay, and everyone for a fabulous shower. i love you!

ps - for stella's pics, see her post: the best wedding shower ever
(there is a really cool pic that stella pointed out the similarties to - click over to check it out!)

good things

the 2004 leadership team (plus a few)
relay for life of tacoma

it's like riding a bike. after a long hiatus where marlow and i have only worked on small projects together (with our big project being the 2004 relay - where we are the yellers in the top middle, above), we're heading to salt lake city, utah for a targeted project.

you say you never forget how to do it. it's simply a good thing. he and michael g have two of my most influential mentors in the world of public speaking - and to be able to present with either of them is always a blast.

in honor of the good thing above...here's a few of my favorite good things from the week:

• sweet potato fries with banana ketchup
  heaven in each bite - thank you, room service in saskatchewan! you opened my eyes to a whole new world!
• securing two major peeps for the wedding
  the day of event coordinator and the hospitality team director. :) those who know me will understand why delegating these two pieces are so incredibly important. but there are 2 fabulous women who are involved...so all is good!
• already receiving 24.88% of the response cards back for the wedding
  but we're not counting...yeah, right! the prince and i have a big bet going right now...and we both think we're going to win. details to be posted later.
• the brownrices
  for so many reasons. for early morning runs and chats. for fixing garbage disposals. for helping life remain as normal as possible when things seem crazy. for keeping viper and maggie happy.
• that i will be in salt lake on friday when this is happening
  oh, the joy of not having to deal with "shut down downtown tacoma!" so much for peaceful protests.
• my last travel-related relay project
  before the end of the year. after i get home, everything switches gears - to the holidays, photography finishing up before the wedding season begins, the end of the year for work, and the wedding. relay picks back up in february when we kick off our team.
• the 2007 holiday card designs
  seriously, aren't they cute? :) here's a wee sampling...but anything is possible! early birds get the worm on this one...
• super cute bowling extravaganza invites
  the invites for the big family celebration for the night before the wedding arrived...and they are perfect for that night! it's quite possible that i was doing the running man in my front living room tonight because of it...
• finally...jonathan winning last night in his election for fire commissioner
  clearly, i did not follow through on my promise to start a write-in campaign for myself against him. otherwise...he might be congratulating me. :)

of toilet paper and functional bouquets

the scene last saturday night, out at the house in the harbor. kristine and mike threw a shower for jonathan and me, with hosted out at mom and dad's. a mix of family and friends from all stages of my life - and jonathan got to hear stories from all of my awkward and amusing ages and stages.

kristine put together some hysterical games - the first (above) where everyone divided into teams of 5 and had to decorate a bride. Check out the good looking brides above! (from left to right: eddie (husband of crystal), my aunt sue, eric (husband of my god-sister jen), joan, ben, and jonathan, who claims he should have won the competition because he was the only one who "had a functional bouquet".

the top contenders:

eddie, complete with grapes over the ear


the first place winner: eric


and i love this shot of jonathan with my maids of honor - how can you not love that "take one for the team" attitude?


some fabulous gifts including my sentimental favorite...the daily missal from my confirmation sponsor, monica - that she was given on the day she was confirmed. she passed away earlier this year from cancer, and her daughter, robin, gave it to us for our family.

it was a good thing the world series was going on behind us as we were opening presents - it kept the guys (and crystal!) happy. :)

to mike and kristine, mom and dad, thank you for bringing together everyone to meet jonathan. we had a blast. less than nine weeks to go!

for a few more photos...
randy and robin's blog
stella's blog

of tropical heatwaves and nutty fish

a few recent happy joys:

• voting for jonathan for fire commissioner in rainier
• our brand new netflix subscription - though somehow, after jonathan logged in, pretty in pink and st. elmo's fire are now replaced near the top of the queue with ghost rider and 300.
• martha stewart's latest blueprint
• viper's halloween costume - she will be the terror of n. 33rd st
• macadamia nut crusted mahi mahi (in the oven right now)
• receiving all three designs of my christmas cards (for ml, photography, and jonathan & me) that i designed - there's something about holding them in hand after only seeing them in photoshop - pure creative joy :)
• confirming the northwest's best up-and-coming harpist, margaret shelton, for the wedding, complete with a "live from my living room" performance last night
• finding this blog post from one of her 'roadies' :) -- can't wait to meet you too!
• 72 degrees the other afternoon on the farm...and 31 degrees tonight - the tropical heatwave has become a christmasy cold. i love that.
• leaving for canada in a week, and salt lake in two weeks. time to get the purple relay blood flowing again.

off to shoot some photos of the giant glowing moon...here's hoping that it wants to be photographed! :)