Wedding Trailer

http://vimeo.com/114384173

Blog post to follow :) What a perfect day!

Wedding Ceremony

I won't have time for a long blog post today but we did get a videographer at the wedding and they release different parts to you as they are completed. We got our ceremony today... enjoy!!

http://vimeo.com/113393569

It was a ceremony full of love and laughter just like our relationship!

Wedding- the rehearsal dinner

My wedding is now a little over  a month gone. Married life is fun if not much different than before. Our wedding was the culmination of a wonderful year of planning and a gorgeous weekend.  The rehearsal dinner was perfect and I thought I would start there.

On Wednesday we got our first visitors. Sonja my cousin from Switzerland flew in and Jessica and Dawson our friends from LA came in.  Thursday morning was a relaxing morning thanks to Mom buying me a massage- thanks mom! And the girls getting our nails done. I got a gel manicure which ladies I HIGHLY recommend to anyone. The nails stayed pretty for over 2 weeks and the only reason I took them off was I needed to have my nails short for work.

We got to Thomasville Thursday afternoon and waited for the rest of the overseas family to get in.  Due to some delayed flights and staggered arrival times our dinner reservations got canned.  I had the bright idea to just order pizza buy some beer and wine and we could all eat and socialize in the lobby.  That ended up being a perfect idea! Everyone got to take a quick shower when they got in and then eat and drink as they wanted and go to bed as they wanted!  It was the perfect start to the weekend.

Thanks to my uncle Michi who braved traveling with 8 people and organizing the travel for everyone!

Friday morning we got up and headed to Adaumont to start setting up for the wedding and the rehearsal dinner. Part of the family went shopping and the other half helped set up. Once we got most everything done we headed down to the groomsman cottage to help set up. The rental company was very late with the tent and rentals for the dinner so we had some time to teach my family how to play can jam, ladder golf, and corn hole!

The actual rehearsal went very well.  I love this picture my face is full of pure love and joy!

Once the rentals arrived we helped set up - Terri had an amazing planner who was very creative and made the place look amazing.  It was perfect and exactly what I wanted- pretty but low key!

So pretty!

Aren't the centerpieces perfect?

What a creative idea for a guest book! So unique!

Dinner was fantastic- BBQ catered by Carter Bro's.  The smores bar was made by my amazingly talented husband and was a big hit.

That same amazing husband brewed beer - 3 kegs worth for our kegerator so that everyone could enjoy fresh brewed beer!

Gift were given out as usual- This was what I got my dad. Rocking chair from Cracker Barrel with the writing done by my lovely bridesmaid Britt! It was sitting there all day and he didn't notice it- Had to go point it out to him. He got teary eyed- I think he loved it :)

We opened the floor for toasts and Britt surprised me by giving a speech. A long time before I mentioned to her that I would be doing that but then promptly said I don't expect you to I know you had public speaking....wow she blew me away- you could tell she was a bit nervous but it was so special that she would tackle her fear for me!

Next came my cousins Adi had said that he wanted to do a speech. Little did I know it was very much not a speech.  They made this sheet and outfit by hand and put justins head and hands through as feet and the hands were mine (I was behind him).  

I had to brush his teeth- feed him a banana, and beer.  The speech that goes along with it is priceless I hope to get a video and upload soon. Everyone was in tears they were laughing so hard. I will never forget that!

 Thanks to my amazing in-laws for the wonderful night!

 
 


It got cold and people scurried off to get some sleep before the big day.  Justin was whisked away with his groomsman to have his bachelor party because it was the first time all the boys were together.  When we got back we played some games in our hotel for a bit- Laurie and I had our traditional sleep over before the wedding and chatted excitedly that we couldn't believe it was finally here!

Fun things

Last week was a rush of fun things!

Monday started out with Bark in the Park- it was a fundraiser from the Davie County Humane Society where they opened up Tanglewood early and had the lights on but you could only walk through with your dogs. SOOO much fun. Cooper thought he had died and went to heaven after a fun day running at the barn- with his friend Lucy at the calf raiser's barn and then got to go there too!  He (and I) had never seen so many dogs in one place before. I hope they raised lots of money and will do it again next year.  I have been to Tanglewood many times before but it was very different experiencing it so up close and personal by walking through it- so much better than driving!

Tuesday Mom and I trekked back to Mocksville for the farriers meeting at Davie Co Large Animal Hospital.  I did an internship there back in undergrad and love the practice. Once a month they bring in difficult cases and take x-rays and talk through different shoeing options with many local farriers. It is a win for everyone that comes. Mom loved it and I enjoyed the review and seeing familiar faces- you can always learn a ton!

Wednesday I moved a horse that I have on trial to buy to Dana's- more on that to come- I will just say I am excited and can't wait to blog about this pony :)

Thursday was our weekly dance lesson where we learned Cuban walks- whew our hips don't work like Hispanic's and we were beat. But we had a lovely dinner at the Station before which is turning into a wonderful weekly tradition :)

Friday Somer and Steve joined us for the weekend! Initially it was supposed to be a birthday weekend party but I had to cancel because I couldn't find coverage for the weekend. Somer and Steve still decided to come up and chance me getting called. Friday we drug invited them along for our group dance lesson! We had a Mexican dinner first and then we went to group. Group at the dance studio is a bit different. They line up all the girls then all the guys and teach us our parts separately. Then we go down the row and each girl rotates dancing with the guys.  It can be a bit awkward but I just keep it lighthearted and chit chat which helps! Steve says he didn't like it but I think he secretly did and Somer is hooked- she wants to dance in Raleigh now :)

Saturday was a fun day of emergency calls in the morning and a wonderful walk, dinner and a movie in the Evening.

Sunday was a shopping extravaganza and I sure was beat by the end of it.

We are so thankful to have amazing friends that will travel 3 hours to come visit.  We are very lucky people.

Retirement

It is with a heavy heart that I write this blog.  Star has been my partner and main man for the last 18 years.  He has bee not quite right for the last few but the level of work he has been doing for me was adequate and ok for his pain level.  When he moved back home with me he pulled a shoe the first day he went back out. We proceeded to then go on a roller coaster of lame and not lame for the last 4 months.  When he started being 3 legged lame after stall rest I knew enough was enough. Well the old man has great timing because that was a week before the wedding. So Dana (who has been amazing through all of this helping when I can't get out!) was entrusted to make him comfortable and look after my old man.  We had an understanding that if he wasn't doing better by the time the wedding was over I would take him to go get x-rays.  I will tell you when it comes to my own horse I don't want to be a vet!  Mom was great and took a day off and we hauled him to a practice up the street who's opinion I very much trust.  After a full work up my suspicion were confirmed that this was not an abscess - he had severe DJD of the pastern joint.  His feet were also out of balance which was putting pressure on the arthritis making him severely uncomfortable.  After the treatment discussion he looked me in the eye and said it is time- he does not need to be put through the paces of being a dressage horse and should only be plodded around on.  I understood and was even prepping myself for that the days preceding the visit.  I gave him a big hug and left him to be shod by their farrier.  On the way home mom and I digested the news I knew was a long time coming.  For those of you that don't know Star is 27 years old! He has given me the best partnership and I will be hard pressed to find a horse that I click and work with as well as I do him.  That said I am conflicted being excited looking for a new partner.  I know I will not find a new Star but I think he will be excited to see me go and have fun again.
Now for a walk through memory lane with my amazing man.

Our last show at Macnairs probably 2 years ago now.

After a show at Buckhorn where I messed up my ride time and got no warm up...still kicked everyone's butt :) 

Back at an event in high school. Yellow and green were our colors

He will be retired at our house when the time is right and I will be able to kiss him good morning and good night every day- who gets to say that! We are a lucky pair!

Wedding

I know that most everyone knows now that I got married! It was a beautiful day but I am not quite ready to blog about it.  I don't really want it to be over and I want to give it due time.  Be on the lookout for an anniversary blog :)

Wedding....here....already?!?!?!

After 1.5 years of planning in two days I am able to say I am getting married THIS MONTH....cue panic attack! But not really...we are very ahead of the game and have FANTASTIC vendors which made me think about things WAY in advance.  Now there are just a few little projects to be done and we will be there. My goal for the week before the wedding is to do nothing but imagine how amazing it will be.  That said I will not have time for much more than that because I work up until Wednesday night and our first set of guests arrive that night! Thursday we welcome all of our overseas guests and then Friday the festivities begin!!! I am so excited that it is so close!

With all of that said girls always joke that a stomach bug is the best thing that could happen to them pre-wedding. I BEG TO DIFFER!! I was flat on by back last Friday and Saturday. I called out of work which was very hard knowing all surgeries would be cancelled (usually 20+) if I could not make it in...but I made the phone call curled up in a ball not able to move. Mom was a super hero and flew into the rescue to take me to the doctor and cleaned my whole house including laundry while I slept the day away.  She really is the best! One of the perks of being close to Mom when you are sick. I am slowly getting back on my feet did one farm call today and will be back to my normal schedule tomorrow.

We are just busy around here getting the final things ready for the wedding and still trying to keep up with daily life. Somehow we manage!

Here's some Cooper cuteness for your day!

Settling into a routine

Taking a break out of invoicing and writing medical records to post a quick update.  Life in Hickory is going very well. It seems that just this week Justin and I have really settled we are getting back to the things we love. As I type this I am listening to him doodle on his banjo! It has been soo long since he has had the time or energy to actually want to play it. It makes me very happy that he has picked it up again. I am now re-reading the Harry Potter series. Not tearing through it like I did the first time thanks to work picking up but it is fun to dive into books again! We are very happy here and it shows in our hobbies.  Tomorrow it is time to see my pony again and take advantage of this beautiful fall weather.

Work has steadily increased and I am thrilled to be working so much!

Now here's to a glass of wine and finishing invoicing so I can go to bed :)

Fun in Hickory

The biggest fear I had about moving back home was not having anything to do!
We have kept ourselves very busy working on the house, wedding planning, but we have had time to enjoy some things around Hickory.

Justin and I went to the Hickory Farmers Market a few weeks back in order to hand out business cards to the local agriculture producers.  It was very nice chatting with people and we had a great time!

Cooper is a fan of adopting homeless animals!

Also a few weeks ago the Catawba County Fair took place and Justin, Mom and I had a date night to the fair and then out to eat at the Station. The weather was fantastic and it was so much fun just wandering around looking at everything.

It is sad to think that we will be missing the State Fair this year- not only is it not (literally) around the corner anymore but we are getting married during the second weekend of the fair so I don't think a quick trip up to Raleigh will be happening unfortunately.

Tomorrow I have my bridal portraits taken by a dear friend Britt Gillis- check out her Blog I have been very fortunate to have her photograph me and my horse on many occasion, she is very talented and I am so excited for tomorrow! I just have to remember I can't share any of them before the wedding day! Those of you who had bridals HOW DID YOU DO IT??? I'm so excited and I haven't even had them done yet!

Sage

Thanks to Dana I have had a horse to work with while Star decides how to be sound again. He is doing well again but he goes through bad days where he just needs some rest. Sage is a blast from my past. Star was used for an IDA show back in Hickory during Vet School and Dana sent Sage with me to try and sell him.

Sale photo when he was a 5 year old.

He did not find the right owner to buy him during that time and came back to the barn. Since then he has not found his rider yet. Dana has been nice enough to let me work with him and I love the time I spend with him.

We are hopefully going to a hunter show in a few weeks so we have been working on our jumping.  Our goal is to event next fall so we spend half our time doing dressage working on suppling in front of the withers and the other half getting ME comfortable jumping again after being a DQ for 9 years!!

Trot flat work:

Canter flat work:

Heres a video of our last gymnastic school.  He isn't picking his knees up great because he really isn't challenged yet- he is a really big boy. Unfortunately the battery died when we pushed up the height. 

Wedding festivities

Wow my friends are putting my blogging to shame- I am so behind!

My wonderful maid of honor has blogged about both my wedding shower and bachlorette party.
For now here are her links and I will be sure to put my take on both days as soon as life slows down.


Bridal Shower

Bachlorette party

Thank you to everyone that could come down and celebrate I had a fabulous time :)

Life and Home improvements

Moving in and getting settled with the new job has kept me pretty busy! I am grateful to my horse network which got me a running start with the business.  The first 3 weeks were very steady and I had my first week last week with no calls. That is unnerving.  But that time allowed me to catch up on wedding preparations- get ready for a post wedding DIY post (don't want to ruin surprises now!!)

Justin has improved so many things around the house. The hallway going down the stairs has probably a 12 foot ceiling and the light went out (go figure). So he had two choices build scaffolding and try and change the light bulb or be handy and re-wire new lights on the side that would be easy to change in the future. With a little encouragement from me he ended up doing the 2nd option - I didn't want him climbing up there!!!!

Monster hallway and the light is all the way at the top!

Aren't the lights beautiful?

Also we now have a fence and on our way to my childhood dream of having horses in the back front yard! Sam my first horse that I started from a baby has been retired to the mountains after a long battle with lameness. He is now going to come back and live close to me again which makes me such a happy little girl! He is a great man and I'm excited to have him close again soon.

This is my favorite picture of Sam and Megan. He has such a great personality!

More to come- I promise to keep updating more regularly!

Blogging hiatus

Sorry for being so MIA in the blogging world. Life has really picked up. The business got a great running start and I have been relishing the last couple slower days to catch up on the business aspect of it!  Cooper is being a great dog and we love having him in the family!  The house is really coming together thanks to Justin's hard work and determination- it only took him 3 weeks and multiple plans to get the outside speakers working :). He is the best! I will detail some of our home improvements and give a wedding update soon!!!

Cooper- puppy woes

So you are probably thinking this is the beginning of the end. To be honest with you I didn't think I would get a dog after only being home a few days.  It was by chance really- I was talking to a friend of mine about my future truck dog who exclaimed she knew the perfect match.  A facebook friend of hers had found a dog and was fostering it until she found a home.

Here is the first picture I ever saw of him:

Well the foster mom was out of town but we got in contact and I agreed to meet Cooper.  After a meeting in a driveway at dark I decided I would try him out.  I saw really good things- he didn't pull at the end of the leash to get to other people/pets.  I had Fletch with me who acted like an idiot and came after me when I tried to coax him out of the car...thus began Fletch's hate of Cooper.
We agreed to meet the next morning and I try out Cooper for a few days.  When I brought him home it wasn't instant love for Justin.

Cooper's first ride home

Cooper kept trying to play with Fletch and he was having no part of it. He chased the cats a few times, pooped in the back bedroom, and ate Justin's flip flop- lets just say he didn't have a good first day.  That night he barked in the crate but only for about 5 minutes.  The next few days continued to be trying- we contemplated many time to take him back.

He made up with Pete the next day.

We had friends, Somer and Steve, visiting that Thursday and decided to wait and see how he did with them and Kiwi (their dog/our niece).  The first day they also weren't crazy about him but he and Kiwi became fast friends.  For the fourth we went on a hike at Pisgah National Forest- the road was pretty curvy and Cooper was in the back. Lets just say when we were all about to puke from motion sickness he actually tossed his cookies- poor guy!  The hike was great and he was a perfect gentleman on the leash!  He actually saw across the creek crossings where we had to pick up Kiwi and Fletch (chickens!).

He continued to be a perfect angel until the last day that Somer and Steve were here when I let him go off leash to run with Kiwi. He proceeded to take off and play keep away- damn dog!  I had had enough at that point but Justin reminded me my parents were coming home the next day and we wanted to get their opinion. When mom and dad met him I was sold when mom said he was a great dog and when dad obviously loved him.
This week has been fantastic for Cooper he has been a great dog!  Monday I did a dental on Star and brought him with me tethering him to the area where I was working and he just was content laying down and chasing flies. He got car sick again so I realized I just got a truck dog that gets carsick on country roads---uhho!
The next day was Coopers day to get really smart- he was getting neutered!!! He did great during the procedure- shoutout to Blue Skies Veterinary Hospital! He came home and was so excited to be home and jumped around and played while we caught up on the Germany game. Yesterday was a full day at the barn doing dentals and with some Dramamine on board he was a much happier camper in the car- again he was an angel at the barn and passed out after a long day at work with me!

I think I got to perfect truck dog but will for sure have some blog updates with funny Cooper stories- the last one being that we tried all week to find the perfect name....we couldn't get one to stick but I started calling him Goober because lets face it that is what he is!  So his "real" name is Cooper but he will always be my Goober!

Welcome to the family bud!

Home is in Hickory!

Who would have thought I would say that again! Of course home is where you grow up but after 9 years in Raleigh it was my home. We are officially moved in...a week tomorrow. The house was very well unpacked and lived in thanks to Justin (I'm so lucky!). The cats had their first successful day outside and LOVED it.  Here are a few pictures of the house and adventures. Longer post coming soon!

Pete! How did you get up there???

cautious

Don't worry Sofee it's FUN!!

Ok if you say so!

Half Marathon- WE DID IT!

I am very late blogging about this. Life has been pretty busy!

We completed our first Half Marathon almost 2 weeks ago now.  I still can't believe I completed it!  It was iffy if I was even going to run it. The Thursday before I went home from work sick and took my first sick day in years- I had a high fever body aches and GI upset.  I have no idea what I got into. I even went to the doctor the next morning because I almost passed out that morning after walking down the stairs.  After staying off my feet all day Friday and drinking lots of fluids I was back to 70% that night packing up the UHAUL. I told myself that if I could pack up the UHAUL I could run the next day.  I was determined to try since I had trained for this for 6 months now!!

The next morning I felt a bit light headed but I think it was from nerves. We made it to the start line at 6am and had about an hour to wait and eat some breakfast.  We caught up with Adele and Jen and were able to catch up before we started running. For those of you that don't know me I have a nervous bladder so I peed 4 times that morning. The first couple times the line was really short but then I went 20 min before the race was starting and gosh there were probably 50 people in front of me.  I was 2 people away when they let the first people go (wheelchairs get a head start).  Man I have never seen people run and pee so fast so I got to actually go before we started the race (thank goodness).  I got back to the group right as they were counting down and we were off!

Right after the finish line! 

The first mile was downhill and really easy pace- I was overwhelmed with emotion running because I kept thinking- OMG I'm really doing this- I'm really accomplishing this goal!!!  After that I settled into my slow and steady pace. It was well under what Danielle and Justin were comfortable running but they were very supportive and stayed with me.

It was an out and back race which was cool because about mile 4 people started coming back the other way on our first out and back leg.  It really kept me distracted which makes the miles go by faster. Justin started having knee problems about mile 7 but I was running so slowly that he could take walk breaks and then catch back up.

I ran straight through until mile 11 then took a quick break -decieded that walking hurt worse than running and kept going. Remember when I said the first mile was downhill- well that means the last mile is uphill STRAIGHT uphill.  But we got through and picked up the pace as we saw the finish line. What a cool experience!! Jen and Adele even waited even though they finished right over and right under 2 hours (we finished right under 2 hrs 45 min.

I will definitely do one again but I have taken a week off from running and am excited to get back into it just waiting on this heat wave to pass :)

Shout out to my coach and friend Danielle- I would have never/could have never/ wouldn't have finished without her!  She is the one that got me following a training plan and met me at 6am even if she didn't sleep at all the night before to run. Thanks so much for your support, drive, and love over the last 6 months! Thanks for running by my side through the whole thing!

Moving

As we pack up the final boxes it hits me that I'm leaving the first place I called my home away from my childhood home. I was fortunate enough to go to college with my closest high school friends (or at least have them right down the road) so I never learned to say goodbye. Most of us stayed after college so again goodbyes were not in mass. In 3 weeks I have to say goodbye to all of my fiends at once....probably the scariest thing ice ever had to do. For those of you that picked up an left last year after vet school I can now understand what all of you went through. I am so fortunate to have Justin move with me and have my family so close. But this is still probably the scariest thing I've ever done. I have so many great friends I just hope that I am able to maintain all my friendships when I move. I don't know what if do without each and every one of you in my life.

The little empty townhouse- weird to see it like that. 

Packing up the house was a gradual process since we closed on the house in Hickory last year. We were able to take truck loads (or horse trailer loads) back every couple weekends. It helps to space it out but I am not going to lie I was DONE moving by the time we had the big load to go. Remember those awesome friends I was talking about - this is where they come in! We packed the UHAUL on Friday night after work and then got up the next morning to run a half marathon (more on that later). They were there with us every step of the way moving our heavy crap and tetris-ing the UHAUL so that everything would fit. Pokey sticks made the night go by so much faster and we couldn't have packed up without them!

Packed with room left for our mattress left to be packed the next day!

Justin was not thrilled with this selfie opportunity. 

Saturday after the race (and after Danielle helped us cram the last of our stuff in the van() Justin went on down the road and met Steve on the highway. I proceeded to return the Time Warner Cable box.  Anyone in Raleigh that uses them is now groaning.  They are AWFUL! So I then spent an hour and fifteen minutes of my time (which I am never getting back) waiting on my number to be called so that I could return my equipment - it took literally 3 minutes once I was up there! AURRRUUUGGGHHHHHHH. After that debacle I was on my way to pick up Somer.  Since we were so far behind when we got to Hickory the UHAUL was unloaded! WOW talk about efficient.  The boys worked their butts off - and I'm sure Steve carried 90% of all the weight because poor Justin was pretty gimpy from the race.  After that mom treated us to a wonderful lunch where Somer and I guiltily sat since we didn't feel like we had done much thus far - but it was delicious!  The rest of the night was spent unpacking and playing games.  Mom and Dad kicked our butt on Besserwizzer again- we thought we had their number after the last time they played but it must have been a fluke.

We are so thankful to Somer, Steve, Andrew, Danielle, and my parents for helping us move. We couldn't have done it without you guys!

Roxy didn't care that her bed had bags and boxes- she knew that was her bed and she was going to sleep in it!