You are getting married in 83 days!  This is what I was greeted with when I logged into my facebook account this morning.  I’m starting to regret installing the wedding application in my profile now, and each day that my wedding day grows nearer, the black cloud of “dumb things I’ve gotta do” grows bigger and bigger.

I’m going back to school in three weeks, yes count them dear readers, three!   Which means that I not only have to prepare for the ordeal, but also have to finish my invitations and programs for the wedding.  I’ve finished designing both, but I have yet to actually print them.  Since Matt owns the world’s crappiest printer, I’ve ordered this beauty, the epson stylus1400 photo printer.

Needless to say, I’m pretty excited for its arrival next week.  I’ve been wanting a new photo printer for a while now, and after my awful experience with the hp large format printer my parents bought me as a christmas gift (it went back to the store after it decided to mysteriously stop working all together), I was a little wary about making another photo printer purchase.

I knew I wanted something that was capable of printing in large format and print quality was my biggest priority.  I had used an epson stylus for a few digital photography courses I had taken through CU, and liked it well enough.  I’m just hoping it works with my smelly dell.

Matt’s boss thought it would be a good idea to send him out of town for the next two weeks, so it looks like he’ll be missing our tasting with the wedding caterer and our first natrual family planning course, which is fine.  If his boss sends him before the wedding again though, he should be expecting a call from me.

Happy Saturday, dear readers!

Matt and I are adjusting to living in yuppie-ville (that’s what we’re calling it now).  I miss where we used to live more and more each day, and it’s been really hard not having my mom ten minutes away.  Everything (including the people) is different out here, and the only good thing right now seems to be that the light rail is closer which makes Matt’s commute less of a hassle.  It doesn’t affect him as much as it does me, seeing as he didn’t have to leave his job and friends behind.

My new store is in a sad state, and so many corporate rules are being broken there.  I’ve already talked to my store manager twice about these rules, and he doesn’t seem to care.  Yesterday a girl came into work dressed inappropriately (she looked like a prostitute), her clothes completely violating the company dress code, and the shift supervisor on duty didn’t care.  It’s hard to watch things like this happen and not be able to do much about it.  I’m getting screwed on my hours (promised at least 25 hrs/week, getting only 15), so I can’t pay my bills.  When I spoke to my assistant store manager about my lack of hours, she told me I needed to get a second job.  I honestly can’t believe the amount of bullshit going on at this store, and I’m ready to leave the company.  I’m tired of making coffee for asshats all day, and I really need a change of pace where I won’t get screwed all of the time.

Because of my lack of hours at work, my paycheck has taken a huge dive, and I’ve had to push getting Matt’s wedding band back three months now.  I finally took the money out of my savings account to purchase his ring, so hopefully that can be done on Friday.  The wedding is less than 3 months away, and I’m starting to get a little bit excited…

Last night Matt and I had our wedding cake tasting with Kelley of Kelley Kakes!  After she finally found our house (this area can be a pain in the ass to navigate some times), the fun started.  We began our session by looking through books to decide what we liked and didn’t like.  From there, she was able to sketch an idea of what we wanted, and I must say, just from the sketch, the cake looks gorgeous.  It’s going to be a 3-tiered square cake with off-set layers, ivory buttercream icing, and “lacy” designs piped in chocolate brown and apple red on each of the layers.  The most fun part was the actual eating of the cake samples she brought (chocolate explosion, almond sour cream, french vanilla, and white chocolate raspberry).  Each slice of cake was divine…it was almost like it melted in my mouth and left me wanting more than just the samples she had brought.  The flavors we chose should be quite yummy, starting with a red velvet for the bottom (the largest layer, most of our guests will get this flavor), white chocolate raspberry for the second (this was my absolute favorite flavor), and amaretto for the top layer (which will be eaten at the reception-we aren’t freezing it).  Kelley was nice enough to include a complimentary 1-year anniversary cake, so we won’t have to worry about freezer burned wedding cake next year.  Matt still hasn’t decided on a groom’s cake, but we jokingly suggested a golf-themed cake with a monkey (matt’s favorite) and Allie (our border collie) playing golf holding cigars and apple martinis (light on the tini!).  If you really knew Matt, you’d understand more I think about the cake jokes, but Kelley’s Bailey’s and Chocolate cake looks tempting for the groom’s cake!

Things are going pretty okay with the wedding planning.  I still have a lot to get done in the next couple of months, but I’m starting to feel like things are finally coming together.  I have the cake, the church, the flowers, the photographer, and the reception venue all booked.  I still need to get Matt and my passports sent in, go for my dress fitting, book my hair and make-up for the day of, choose the food for the reception, make menus and programs, confirm the ceremony time with the church, finish the marriage prep classes, plan the rehersal dinner, get the marriage license, and ORDER THOSE DAMN INVITATIONS!  It’ll all get done…somehow.

I miss the way things were, two weeks ago.  Now I’m sitting here in a new apartment alone, it’s just me and Allie (who is currently sleeping on my couch).

I hate my job; my new store is awful.  I want to go out and look for a new job, but the state I’m in right now is keeping me from doing so.  My skin looks horrible, my hair is limp, and I just need someone to talk to.  Anyone.

My wedding is in three months.  I’m not even excited.

I asked my friend of 9 years, Whit to be my maid of honor in my wedding.  At first she sounded like she was okay with it, but now she’s ignoring my calls and won’t answer any of my emails.  She ignores me unless she needs something, and even though I’ve always been there for her when she needed me, but any time I need her to be my friend, she’s not there.  I don’t understand why our friendship has become so one-sided; she’s willing to take but not give in our relationship.

I’ve tried to fix things, to tell her how I feel…nothing.  She won’t even return my damn phone calls.  It’s like our friendship is getting shittier and shittier.  I’m ready to give up on her, but I don’t know if I can.

As some of might know, my dear readers, Matt and I are in dire need of a new computer and won’t be able to afford one for a while.  My laptop needs a new processor and hard drive and lord knows we can’t afford either.  It really looked like we wouldn’t be getting a new computer for at least another two years, so I was pretty excited when I came across freeimacoffer.com.

All you need to do is:

Sign up and complete an offer (by clicking here http://www.freeimacoffer.com/default.aspx?r=1146706) - most of which are merely free trials!

If you do, I’ll love you forever and bake you cookies (serious!). Remember though, you have to go through the previously mentioned link in order for me to receive credits.

…but magic erasers  are pretty rad!

Matt and I are moving across town Saturday, so my house is lying in shambles (well boxes really…) and it’s making me really anxious.  It’s really hard to put all of your belongings into boxes, seal them up, and trust other people to get them to your new location safely and all in one piece.  Nerve-wracking if you ask me.

I’ll be without the internet starting Friday, but only for a couple of days.  Fear not my dear readers, you won’t be without me for too long!

About  the wedding, and to be completely truthful, Matt and I want no part in getting married in my parents’ church.

From the beginning we’ve wanted an outdoor wedding, somewhere with a natrual feel, not a stuffy church.  We began searching in some of the places we thought would have this kind of a feel.  Estes Park, Beaver Creek, Vail, Winter Park, Red Rocks, Garden of the Gods, need I go on?  We thought we were out of luck on the outdoor venue, so we gave up and settled for my parents’ church.  It never felt like it was the right place for us to get married, we had longed for so long to be married outdoors, and now were left to a stuffy church.

Yesterday Matt and I started talking once again about the ceremony venue and how we still wanted it to be outdoors.  Matt suggested jokingly that we try Washington Park, and it hit me.  Washington Park would be absolutely perfect…it is absolutely gorgeous during the first part of October and Matt literally grew up in that park.  So many memories lie in that park for the two of us, and to have the ceremony by the lake would be reminicient of something out of a dream.  Just think: a quiet little ceremony of 75 people on the bank of a lake, with the leaves turning colors all around on a perfect autumn afternoon.  Sounds perfect if you ask me.

So now that we’ve talked this over between the two of us, we have to break it to my parents that we don’t want to get married in their church.  I honestly don’t have any idea how they’re going to take the news…could be good, could be bad.  We would eliminate the need for flower arrangements in the church and such, but would have to pay for chair rentals and a site fee of $200, which my parents will most likely be less than thrilled about.  There is also the issue of the church, being as the Catholic church has some riddiculous rule (as they do about everything) about wedding ceremonies outside of the church not being valid.  If there were some way around the church thing and maybe Matt and I cover the cost of the ceremony then maybe, just maybe our ceremony dreams can come true.

We’ll have to see how it works out.

Since you all saw my embarrassing vacuum photo in this post here is an important announcement:

Kristen of An Ordinary Life is giving away a Dyson DC25!

Here are the specs on this super-powered DC25:
With the new Ball™ technology
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Like I haven’t heard that one a million times.  Working in a coffee shop (a rather well known coffee shop to be precise), I’ve heard them all.  “Have a grande”  “Thanks a latte”  “It’s in my mochachinos”  Customers think they are being witty, but instead they show how ridiculous they really are.  That aside, I had this craving for coffee this morning and it could not be satisfied by the usual cup of joe.  No, this time it had to come in the form of an icy creamy treat.

Instead of rushing to the nearest Starbucks to spend $4.00 on one of their 1,500-calorie frozen nightmares (which my dad reffers to as flappachunos), I decided to invent my own version.  I started with a “base” of iced coffee, milk, and a dash of coffee creamer, then added ice.  It didn’t come out with the creamy texture I had hoped for the first time around, so I added a little whipped topping to the mixture, and ta-da!  A creamy icy coffee treat ready in minutes that doesn’t have 1,500 calories or cost $4.00 to make.

I got to thinking after downing my blended coffee treat, and came up with the idea of doing a coffee-drink week here at sweetsugarspice.  I think it would be fun to share some of my coffee recipies with you, dear readers.  My coffee addiction spans far more than the occiasional latte or black coffee, so here we go: the launch of Coffee Week at Sweetsugarspice.net!  Seems appropriate for me to launch something fun with the return of my cooking blog, and this time it’s going to be better than before.

‘Nuff said, onto the coffee!

Moch-a-Chinos

2c.  brewed double-strength iced coffee
1/4c. milk
2tbs. coffee creamer (I used international delight marshmallow mocha)
3 c. ice
2 tbs. low-fat whipped topping (I used cool whip)

Blend ingredients on low to crush ice, then on higher setting to whip.  Pour into glass and top with more whipped topping and serve with straw.  Makes 2 servings.  Enjoy!

As always, happy baking!