Category: Love

Family, Life, Love

The Country Western Wedding

nainadg

Saturday was the day of the actual wedding for my nonod and her fiance. The day started out really cold and chilly and by mid morning we had freezing rain coming down. After breakfast, I headed out to the Ranch where Nonod and Nondoi(younger sister in law’s husband) were getting married and helped decorated the arch that was going to be their backdrop. Their original plan had been to marry in a pasture, have dinner in the little Ranch cafe and they also had a tent set up for their band and the dance floor. However b/c of the weather they decided to scratch the pasture idea and just get married in the tent.

img_1618.JPG     

The bride walks in with an orange umbrella! So cute!

  img_1623.JPG

Exchanging vows

The wedding was at 4 in the afternoon, it was freezing by now and we were all bundled up in our warmest winter gear instead of dressy wedding clothes. J was in the wedding, so I was in charge of taking pictures for two people in the wedding. The bride walked in to everyone in the audience playing “here comes the bride” with their little kazoos. The ceremony was beautiful and silly and just amazing. Afterwards, the bride and groom also walked out to kazoo accompaniement.

After the wedding, the family took pictures and i used to this opportunity to snap some shots of the nearby animals and farms until it was time for dinner. For dinner we had BBQ chicken , baked beans and baked potatoes , it was delicious. We also did the toasts and cake right after the dinner was over and then it was off to hear the band.

img_1642.JPG

J and I in front of the Ranch stables

The band was a local bluegrass band and they were a fun bunch of guys. Other than bluegrass they also played some classic rock and country and pop. J was super sweet and even slow danced with me a couple of times. After the band was done, we hung out by the fire pit for a little while and gave a ride to some people and finally ended the night. They had a lovely wedding and we were so glad to be a part of their day.

Love, Wedding

And it begins- Day1

nainadg

Today is day 1 of the wedding festivities, activities, etc etc. We are leaving for the courthouse in about 45 mins to apply for our license and get a judge to sign our wedding certificate. I guess we’ll be legally married, but we are not going to think of it that way until our wedding day. This is just a formality aka…paperwork.

 Our friends DS and Y are going with us as witnesses and then we’ll go out for drinks with a few other friends to have a small celebration.

Funny sidenote J and I realized that yesterday(Sep 20) is the first time he told me he loved me. It again was a technicality b/c we still did not define our relationship for another month after that. Looks like the same thing is happening for our wedding.

 In other news, I leave for utah in 6 days!!! Holy Cow! I can’t believe it was almost a year away at one point. Will blog more when I get back!

Love

Love??

nainadg

This is from my friend JJ’s blog  , She told me to do the questions, so here are some details about my love life

1. Who is your man? J

2. How long have you been together? Friends 3 years, together 2.5 years, engaged 11 mos. Getting married in a month.

3. How long dated? We started dating /hanging out when I was a sophomore in college, but it wasn’t serious or exclusive until 3 years later when  we both were single and ready to be in a relationship. We literally just refused to call ourselves b.f/g.f until 6 months from them. Yes, we were very silly.

5. Who eats more? J , hands down, but I don’t do so bad either. When its Indian, Thai or Chocolate, I would win , but if its meat, or pork products, then I’m convinced J can eat the whole freaking animal.
6. Who said “I love you” first? He did sorta half heartedly and then he took it back and then I did the same thing and then 3 months later we said it again, but he still said it first.

7. Who is taller? J, He’s freaking huge and I’m super short.
8. Who sings better? I dunno, I think we both suck! He is better at playing an instrument though.
9. Who is smarter? He is very smart at Science and Math and I think I’m better at Language and finances.
10. Who’s temper is worse? Mine, I get angry very easily,but I also calm down very quickly, it takes a lot for J to lose it , but when he does, it simmers and lasts a long time.

11. Who does the laundry? We switch around, J has fewer clothes than me so he needs to do them more often so he ends up initiating it and then I take over.

12..Who does the dishes? J, its our deal, I cook, he does dishes.
13. Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? Right now , he does, I just always have to be closer to the door.

14. Who pays the bills? Both of us, I pay the utilities, cable and phone, he pays the rent.

15. Who is better with the computer? He is, but not by much.
16. Who mows the lawn? We don’t have a lawn, but when we get one, it will probably be J, I have no strength. However, if we got those riding lawn mowers, I’d totally do it.

17. Who cooks dinner? Its always me, unless we are having, Steak, Brats or Chicken Nuggets, then its J’s speciality

18. Who drives when you are together? Usually him but sometimes me. We always take my car though, b/c his car doesn’t have air conditioner

19. Who pays when you go out? Both of us, same account.

20. Who is most stubborn? Me, by far. Not that J can’t hold his ground, but I am stubborn and persistent.
21. Who is the first to admit when they are wrong? Usually me, because I calm down quicker.

22. Whose parents do you see the most? Mine, they travel more so they come over to our place more and we go to CA more often.
23. Who kissed who first? J kissed me,  it was dark and we were in the mountains around a fire, it was the sweetest kiss ever. Also,my ex was right around the corner. Oops! We have been in each other’s life ever since then
24. Who asked who out? We had always hung out together , in the same group of friends, but he asked me out specifically a couple of times, once to go to a party and I said no and once to go over to his house and watch a movie. Other than that we just ended up in the same place at the same time.

25. Who proposed? He did , but I sorta knew it was coming, it was sweet!

26. Who is more sensitive? Me, atleast on the surface. J keeps his sesitivity very private.

27. Who has more friends? He has more work friends and acquaintances, I have more close friends.
28. Who has more siblings? J does, I am an only child, he has two older sisters.

29. Who wears the pants in the family? Its a constant battle over those pants. We both want to be the boss.

30. What do you like to do in your free time? Travel, read, watch t.v, cuddle, sleep in, play with our dog, hang out with friends, eat good food.

Life, Love

Swirling and Whirling

nainadg

After a few days of not posting anything, I am now bursting inside. Who knew blogging would be so addictive. I love that I  can vent and show off my dorky side on this blog. Life has been chugging along slowly. J and I are going to DC and Richmond this weekend so I am really excited for that. I have never been to DC and I am just dying to check out the cool museums and even the old government building. My inner anarchist is just going to have go along for the ride.

Its been a rough week emotionally and I hope DC can finally make J and I break out of our rut. We have been fighting and bickering a lot lately. Usually we get in a fight and then we make up and we are good for a while. But lately, it seems like we can’t make up, even if we try , it just ends up into another bickering contest and we just clam up. I told J this yesterday , that I know we are not going to 100% happy with one another all the time. Its just not possible and I hope I’m finally  mature enough to understand that concept. What makes me sad, is that I wish that these last few weeks before the wedding, wasn’t a low phase. Oh well, life is what it is, even though we are less than thrilled with each other at the moment, we both know we love each other and we would never trade that in for anything.

One last thing, I need to bitch about is my car. I took it in this morning expecting to get a broken axle fixed and it was going to cost me $330 , which is a lot , but the guy just called to tell me, both axles are broken and the total will be $497. Grrrrrrrr…..I am so tired of this . Why does everything have to fall apart at once.

Love

The Gift

nainadg

 42-15541069.jpg

Maybe I’m getting carried away by the wedding planning hysteria but reading this today made me cry.

Even after all this time
the sun never says to the Earth
“you owe me”Look what happens
with a love like that
It lights the whole sky.

      -from The Gift by Hafiz of Shiraz

*photo by Corbis*

Love

Flowers

nainadg

img_1299.jpg

J and I had dumb fight last week b/c we have been so stressed about the wedding but he made up for it by buying me one of my favorite flowers Daisies. This is huge becasue J doesnt’ “believe in” flowers, he doesn’t understand why girls like them or why they are so expensive so it was a gesture that he did just for me and it was very sweet! I am a lucky girl to be marrying him.

Life, Love

Lucky

nainadg

I have been reflecting the past few days and I have decided I am a very lucky girl. This has been a rather calming thought in the times I get anxious about my upcoming wedding or life in general.

 When I think of the different elements that are coming together for my wedding , I am so grateful for all this grace in my life. 

I have very supportive parents. Yeah they drive me crazy sometimes, but I always know that I can count on them

Reasons why my wedding shows I’m lucky:

My super awesome fiance J. He is the sweetest and funniest guy I know and it doesn’t hurt that he is HOT! Sometimes, I can’t believet that he actually loves me. We have had our share of problems and we both know that we’ll probably have more, but I know that we’ll always find a way to work through them. I am so happy that I’m the lucky girl who gets to marry him

 My friends. My best friend KD is my rock! Because of our busy schedules we don’t really get to talk much these days but I know I can turn to her whenever I need a good vent or need some advice or opinion.She is my biggest cheerleader and now she is going to be the officiant at my wedding.

My good friend JJ is an inspiration to me. She is a such a great photographer and a has such a great imagination. I love reading her blog and looking at her great pics. I am so grateful that she is helping me plan this wedding. She has been invaluable to me by giving me advice, scouting out a location, giving me neat ideas for dresses, etc.

My friend JE is actually flying across the country to come to the wedding. I know thats hard for her, because she is a student and a single mom and its hard for her to get away. The fact that she is willing to make so much time for me makes me feel really special.

My cousins, aunts, uncles, grandparents, etc. My extended family are a crazy bunch, but they sure know how to have a good time. Same goes for all our family friends as well.

There are so many more people and so many serendipitious things that I am grateful for as these plans start to fall into place. I have said before that one of my core values is that of a community and I couldn’t ask for a better one than the one I’ve got. 

 I am humbled by the grace in my life.

Life, Love

Promotion

nainadg

I have a new office/cubicle and a new job role! I am going to be a tech support coordinator for my company, which means ensuring that our customers are getting the required and timely responses from our tech support team. I am excited about the new job but I’m even more excited about my cubicle! I have never had my own cubicle before, I finally have my own three walls. I am super excited to put up pictures and a plant and all sorts of fun little toys that I have!

Right now life is good! I have the best fiance in the world, he spent all weekend taking care of me and another friend SVS when we got drunk at a party and he took me to a really yummy seafood dinner on tuesday to celebrate my promotion. We went to a restaurant called Fishmongers in downtown Durham and we ordered so much food! We got raw oysters and curry calamari as appetizers, I got a blackened Reddrum Fish as an entree and J got BBQ shrimp. We also got yummy sides of jalapeno corn and sugar snap peas. It was a great celebratory dinner.

Life, Love, Wedding

A June Wedding

nainadg

Saturday, one of J’s coworkers and good friends B got married to his long time sweetheart. They had a small and simple ceremony by the side of a lake and fun reception in the clubhouse right after. The ceremony was beautiful but they were a little too prompt, and a lot of guests missed the ceremony.  However, in their reception they had fun norwegian and scottish touches because the groom was half norwegian and half scottish. He wore a kilt to honor his scottish traditions and they had a norwegian cake and his dad wore a traditional Norwegian military outfit.

I had worn a black strapless dress to the wedding and I felt very sexy dancing with my friend ST, who is a really fun dancer because he does all the twirls and dips and turns. Anyway,  he spun me out for this really great turn and my dress went flying up my waist. I flashed everyone at the reception, little kids, grandmas, J’s boss.

Thankfully nobody mentioned anything and the rest of the night went without incident. It was a very mellow night, with good friends, and food(smoked salmon….aaaha….) and drinks and dumb jokes about wedding nights.

Also going to a wedding at this stage of wedding planning was very calming for me! It actually helped me realize that it is all about how happy the bride and groom were that day! None of the guests cared that much about the details and we were all having fun just because our friends were having fun! This is an important lesson for me to remember!

Life, Love, Travel

Boone NC

nainadg

J and I went to Boone last week for a mini getaway. It was really fun to be taking a sort of impromptu trip. We spend all day tuesday exploring the area and hiking around. We did a killer hike called Linville Gorge and the river at the bottom of the gorge was beautiful. We also drove on the Blue Ridge Parkway for a bit and of course we managed to get lost. That night we went swimming and hot tubbing and it felt so good after our day of hiking.

The next day, we went on another little hike around a lake and explored some more.  J had to go to his conference in the afternoon, so I just relaxed and in the evening J played with his band- Awake Behaving Animals. It was a really cool show and I think everyone there had a really good time. I was so proud of J and I was really excited to be the hot drummers fiancee.