We're 5 months out from the Big Day!

And we have so much left to do.
We have yet to book our flight to Italy, so who knows if the wedding will actually be in Italy (just kidding).

We've registered at 2 places (1 here in Houston & another in Atlanta, TX), but we need to go to a few more places here in Houston.
We plan to schedule a time for Dan to try on outfits this week. I don't know if that will actually happen.
We need to start designing our invites.
And we need to schedule a time to go to Louisiana to check out wedding bands (we can get a better deal there--I think).

Time is just flying by. I'm excited because it's getting closer, but I'm also really anxious and stressed when I think about all that is left to do.

Yummy Treat for the "kids"

I found this recipe in my veterinarian's newsletter.

Pumpkin pup puffs

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups canned pumpkin
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 1/2 cups oats
1/4 cup applesauce

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix all ingredients together thoroughly. Drop teaspoonfuls of the mixture onto an ungreased baking sheet and press flat with a fork. Bake for approximately 15 minutes and then cook on a baking rack before serving. To maximize freshness, be sure to store the puffs in an airtight container.

If your dog has a pre-existing medical condition, consult your veterinarian before adding a new food to your Pet's diet.

Baby Dan looks content

Sissy, on the other hand, looks downright full

She never lies on her back for so long, I was getting worried, but she's fine

Yummy Noodle Dish

Living in Houston has its pros and cons. Living near my parents being one of the pros and not having fabulous Japanese food being a major con! We have decent Japanese sushi, but it's hard to find other good authentic dishes (I'm not talking about chicken teriyaki). Having lived in California for 3.5 years we quickly experienced some great Japanese food and grew accustomed to eating it at least 2-3 times a week. We used to go to this little mom & pop restaurant in Pasadena and they had the best udon noodle dishes, one of my favorites was nabeyaki. We've found a couple of restaurants that serve nabeyaki, but it's definitely not up to par with what we had in Cali. When we lived in Orange County we used to go to this Japanese market and loved their delicious Shio "salt" Ramen. Well since we won't be in California I had D make this wonderful dish for us---it was quick and easy (well at least it seemed like it was). We'll (he'll) have to play around with the recipe to make it even better, but it was really good even though he forgot the ginger. :)

Go to NigellaExpress for the recipe.

and yummy Gyozas! Mmmm.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

My lil' Snow White

Halloween 2007

Sissy dressed as Snow White.
She's our little princess and she's dressed as one for Halloween!

It looks perfect on her!
And no she didn't keep the bow on---
I had to put it on her right before D took each picture.

My lil' devil

Halloween 2007

Baby Dan dressed as a devil.
He acts like a little devil (towards his sister) almost on a daily basis,
so this is a perfect outfit for our baby boy!
This costume, like the pumpkin one below, works best for him because
they are just like a shirt and this boy loves wearing shirts!

Ooooh Scary (he was actually just yawning)!

Their Previous Halloween Costumes

For some reason we didn't get them costumes for Halloween 2005.

Halloween 2006

Baby Dan was a Pumpkin and
Sissy was a Ballerina!

Halloween 2004
Dan wanted to dress them up as SuperHeroes--
Sissy was Supergirl (or SuperRoost) and
Baby was Batman (or BatToosh)

6 months from today...

Dan and I will be married in Italy!
Now the stress REALLY sets in. Actually, now I feel more motivated than ever to get stuff accomplished.

We are trying to plan our Destination Wedding and At Home Reception.
We are hoping Dan's mom will take over planning the At Home Reception.
It would be a huge help and she's an expert when it comes to hosting parties so I wouldn't feel uncomfortable about leaving it in her hands.

It is important that we book our flights and our honeymoon soon.
We were hoping that the flights would've dropped in price by now, but it is Europe and will likely not drop much more.
We're hoping to enjoy Capri, Rome, and Florence Italy; Paris, France; Madrid or Seville, Spain and maybe London, England on our honeymoon.

So far, we have 8 confirmed guests--we're hoping a few more people will join us for what will be a fabulous vacation and a beautiful wedding!

I have a secret

and it won't be a secret for much longer...

This may sound really weird to a lot of people, but I thought I would share my problem to the readers.

I don't like calling people on the telephone
and
I don't like ordering food from a drive-thru

I get really nervous or anxious about picking up the phone and calling people. The only person I don't have a problem calling is D.

We don't eat fast food very often now that we're coming up on 6 months to the wedding, but if we do I don't want to drive---when I do drive, my heart begins to race, but I get through it.

I suffer from a bit of anxiety when it comes to these two activities, but thanks to D's help I don't let it control me--he encourages me to do drive to help me overcome my nervousness. I just have to push myself to get through it.

So this may answer questions my friends may have as to why I don't call as often as I should. :\

Dad's 60th Birthday Party

I've gotta say--I was a bit surprised when my Dad said he wanted to have his 60th Birthday Party at Chuck E. Cheese's. When I turned 6 or 7 I had my birthday party at ShowBiz Pizza Place (which was bought out by ChuckECheese years ago) and a few years later we have my Dad blowing out his candles here---I think that's awesome! We all had a fun time! The manager came up to him and said this was the first time he's had a birthday party for someone his age and it was great to see! I think so too! Below are a few pics from the party.
Oh and my nephew was terrified of the robotic ChuckE.Cheese on stage so I had to block his view the entire time, he actually pulled me down several times and begged "Sit with me, Sit with me!". I know exactly how he feels though because I used to be terrified of the huge gorilla 'Fatz Geronimo' at ShowBiz.

They usually put the birthday boy's/girl's age on this sign,
but my Dad didn't want 60 on there.
They announced it on the loud speaker.

The Birthday Boy!

Dad & his two youngest grandchildren

Me & D

My brother & his wife

Birthday Cake!

My sister greeting my dad with her gift

ChuckE.Cheese & Dad

Dad with the gift my sister gave him
(yep, that's an IV drip bag on the right)

Lighting the candles

Dad & Me

Dad, his sister & her grandson

The Whole Group minus 1
(Ashley was missing, she was cashing in her tickets).