might grow a third eye

since i've had my babe, and been unable to drink or eat dairy, i've been searching for an alternative. there is nothing worse than having to go almost ALL fall & winter without a coconut latte from zanzibar's, but somehow i survived.

what did happen was i found an alternative. i have been ordering (through the drive-thru of course, all you moms understand) my decaf tall soy mocha from starbucks GASP! for the last several months, almost everytime i leave the house. it is my medicine. it is what makes everything ok in my little world.

but again i have been reminded that if it's too good to be true then there is something wrong. so i looked up soy on the wonderful website full of nutrition information WAPF, and found all i needed to know in order to stay away from my warm, chocolate delights every time i venture out. CRAP!

rocket transfer

go to: www.rockettransfermusic.com

this is the hubby's newest endeavor that is taking up all of his time...amongst other things.

listen to them all. tell me what you think.

http://theycallmemrsrichards.blogspot.com

so i'm married!! mrs. erica rene richards, they call me. well not 'they' really, just j & i and occasionally a family member. they think they're so cleaver.

seattle felt like home but we are glad to be back in the 'real world'. found a coffee joint out there by the name of 'cafe ladro' which was our favorite, and even now i'm finding it hard to locate a coffee house in which the espresso tastes so much like dark chocolate.

we walked and shopped and ate. those are the 3 things we did a lot of, and well, of course one other thing, but not sure my blog is the appropriate place to go into detail. regardless, it was good!! (the walking and shopping & eating of course)

i discovered on our honeymoon that planning my wedding really did change me. i was a different person while organizing that event. and i'm still wondering why that happens. i know it's because it's something that girls think about a lot when they're young, there are so many other people's ideas & feelings involved and of course the $$. 1 thing it did do was strengthen j's & my relationship. so for that reason, i guess i'm thankful for it.

how i noticed this was that during our days in the crisp, bright northwest town of heavenville i was totally relaxed. i was able to think about the things that were going on right then, engage in conversation as it was happening and i was also able to sit in silence, totally content.

i guess i'm not sure what i would recommend to the newly engaged. having a wedding & everyone witnessing such sacred vows is very important to me. but also not giving into the expectation that it has to be a stressful, life-altering time is key. it REALLY does all go so fast. be careful not to lose yourself completely. and definately DO NOT let it come in between you and your spouse. THAT would be the biggest tragedy of all.

so we've got pictures of the shindig, but i've been busy ya'll so you're just gonna have to wait!!

HELLO HELLO!!

less than 4 weeks till the big day. because i have the most richeous boss in the world, i will have the next 5 weeks off to plan my wedding and enjoy my honeymoon, paid. i know, i cannot believe it either. but i'm taking advantage of it. today i got more done that i have in the last month.

so here's a question for ya'll. is it appropriate to send thank you postcards? my mom & dad designed a monogram for us, that we are using for the wedding & i'm having them printed on our thank yous. here's the problem, i don't have envelopes. so i'll have to buy them & postage and blah, blah blah. and with this purchase, like most, i am forced to ask myself, 'why?'. not why do you send out thank yous, i know that it's the good thing to do and i WANT very badly to say thank you (many people have been very generous) but is it innapropriate to write thank you on a post card? does it need to be placed in a envelope??

i'll also be spending at least 2 afternoons a week at the crack doctor's office aka the chiropractor. strained my back while i was pulling weeds and sawing trees this last month. i had a hunch that i probably shouldn't be too physical too close to the wedding seeing as i need to be in TOP physical condition for my honeymoon ;) pray that my weak backside would heal quickly.

my showers are coming up soon!! YIPPY!! first one is this sunday at church and the next one (the PERSONAL one--vahvahvoom) is on the 18th. YAY!! it's like my birthday but better.

5.5.07

it's official. we're engaged.

it's weird even now, saying that.

here's how it happened...

we were hanging out saturday over at his apartment. we were unpacking boxes, cleaning, organizing, cooking, all very normal activities.

as dinner was getting closer & closer to being done, he asked me to change into the fancy dress i brought. (i didn't know why i brought it, and when he told me we were staying in, i figured maybe plans had changed)...meanwhile he was acting very much himself. very calm & collected. so we changed (he into my favorite shirt of his) me into a little red dress. we sat down to dinner, had great conversation, nothing out of the ordinary.

then he put on some music and we danced and talked and laughed. after a bit of that, he called his dog chewbacca over to us. j. bent over and attempted to pull off a little black bag from his collar (this i saw earlier & didn't think much of) and after some difficulty, he got the bag off.

..just so you know..even up to this point i was convincing myself it wasn't what i thought it was, just in case. but when he pulled out the little black box, i had a feeling. and when he knelt-down on one knee i knew.

of course i began sobbing and he waited patiently for me to get most of it out. then i sat down on the coffee table so we could be on the same level. we just stared at eachother for a while and then i said, 'you are not doing this...' and he said, 'i haven't said anything yet' like the smartass that he is ;)

and he took the ring out of the box (a peridot, not a diamond, just like i wanted) and put it on my hand, asking, 'erica rene, will you marry me? will you live with me forever?'

and i said yes.

here she is. lauryn charlotte. i took this the day after she was born while getting her vitals checked. she is so calm and mild-tempered. beautiful dark eyes and huge cheeks. jet black hair. and a snort warning us of her frustration.