I'm at home today with a fever - blah. I left work yesterday when I felt it coming on. I was FREEZING and really dizzy. My boss is such a jerk. When I told him I thought I had a low grade fever he said, "I think it's just really cold in this building, my feet are like ice." and I said, "But I'm really dizzy too." and he said, "Well did you eat anything today?" What a jerk! He's not my Dad, he's my boss. My temp was 100.8 when I got home from work. By 6:30 last night it got all the way up to 102.3 and that was even with Tylenol. Tylenol is helping to keep it down, but as soon as that wears off it is spiking back up to 101.7 or so. Yuck. A hang over would feel better than this. Chuck was really sweet. He ran to the store and got me some Sprite and Chix noodle soup. I hope he doesn't get sick too. A coworker told me I have the symptoms of H1N1, because I am really achy too. It is wiping me out to walk across the apartment. But my stomach is fine. I'm hoping to just ride this out. I worry too much, since I have lupus I'm a lot more susceptible, I'm not sure what a doctor would do for me, except give me more Tylenol.... I hope my boss spikes a high fever so we can tell him, "It's just cold in the building."
     Chuck and I got some really, really good news. We are going to be moving into the farmhouse in Wellman after the 15th of this month! We will be out of this apartment by Dec 1st!! We are both super excited. I have been busy scurrying around packing, I gotta admit I feel slightly overwhelmed though. Box by box, I will get it done. Chuck and I will have a lot to do as we get settled in there too. Room by room we will be repainting it and such. I found out one of my coworkers from the purchasing department lives in Wellman and she is interested in car pooling. That would be great! She is a cool cat, I get along well with her and that would help save us both money and miles on our cars. My drive will still be about 30 miles, but it will take about 40 minutes instead of 30. Not too bad. And I won't have to take the crazy ass interstate. Chuck will only have a 14 mile drive to work. Lucky guy. I will miss not being super close to my friends and family, but we have been so busy we hardly see much of anyone anymore anyway. We will only be an hour away from Cedar Rapids. Not so bad. We are going to set up a guest area upstairs that way we can have people over for parties and bonfires and such and they can just stay for the night.
     Getting ready to move has also kept Chuck and I busy tying up loose ends. Sat we put new tires on my car. It seems like I just did that but it was 3 years, and 45,000 miles ago already. So crazy. Where do the time and miles go? We also got to trade in my cell phone. My two year contract was up already! So I exchanged my hot pink razor for a nifty purple one. Yay. Chuck's Grandma has been keeping him busy with projects around her house before we move.
    In spite of it all, Chuck and I are still making time for play. That's us! Gina had a Halloween party and Chuck and I dressed up as Fred and Willma Flintstone. It was really funny. Chuck sort of has a Fred Flinstone personality. I'm lucky I have a guy who will actually wear a Fred Flintstone costume for me. Next we are counting down for our engagement party on the 14th. It will be so fun to get together with all of our old friends again. We are buying a keg of beer. I don't think it's going to last very long, with all the responses we have had. Let the good times roll.

I'm going to get off of this computer and lay down. Maybe watch a movie. I'll leave you with a few Halloween pics.

Fred and Willma, Can you guess who was who?

This picture cracks me up. Very Fred Flintstone like.

I really like this picture of Gina.

Check out our wedding website!

http://www.theknot.com/ourwedding/ChuckVail&KristenHunt2010

Effin' neighbors above us blaring their music at 3 am last night. If I wanted to be kept awake at 3 am on a work night, I would have a kid. I'm soooo pissed! People are beyond stupid... I think right now would be a good time for me to blare my music. (It's only 5:30 am)

The only good news is, if everything works out, Chuck and I may be able to move into the farm house in Wellman the end of November!! I'm so ready to start packing. I'll keep you posted.

Completed:

       * Rings have been purchased for both Chuck and I.
       * Selected Bridal Party. James (Chuck's Dad) Coralie,
           Joni, and Angie. (Non-traditional)
       * Have date, Thurs April 29th 3:00 and location 
          arranged
       * Dress is bought and needs no alterations
       * Chuck's attire has been purchased
       * Bridal party can wear what they want, not my worry.
       * Time request off work for honeymoon has been 
         granted. I'll be gone over 2 weeks with pay!
       *  Reservations are set with hotel for honeymoon suite
       *  I made my bridal bouquet and three smaller ones for
         bridesmaids
       *  Wedding favors, accessories (Cake server set, wine
          flutes, cake topper, etc) and gifts for the wedding
          party have been purchased
       *  Colors have been chosen. Sage green, and pink.
       *  Photography is arranged. Photography comes with
          wedding pkg and Mike will take pics for us too with
           his professional camera.
       *  Engagement party is set for Sat. Nov 14th.
      

To Do:

       * Make reservations with a restaurant for meal     
         following wedding ceremony. Negotiate menus       
         and prices with my parents.
       * Register for South Carolina marriage licence.
       * Contact bakeries and arrange for a small wedding
         cake, and the style I want.
       * Search my Bible for a scripture I want read during
          the ceremony about love.
       * Put together CD with songs for the ceremony.        
       * Purchase undergarments for under my dress
       * Get CD's ready with road trip mixes for Chuck and I's
         drive halfway across the country. We could get an
         I-pod, but we are broke.
       * Have my engagement band and wedding band
         soddered together.
       * Chuck and I need to open a checking account
         together, to make life easier on both of us.
       * Purchase sophisticated looking Thank-yous at a
         decent price.
       * Have a girls craft day with Joni and Coralie, and see
        if they want to help me with some of the gift favors that
         need a little crafty assembly. Also maybe a girls day 
         to Chicago or Minneapolis instead of a traditional
         bachelorette party.
       * A little more planning of honeymoon.

I'm sure I'm missing details. But I feel really relaxed. Everything is smooth and I am running well ahead of schedule. Plus I don't have to worry about things like DJ's, dance floors, napkins, table centers, etc, etc.

Life's a Beach!... Why not get married on one?...

188 Days to go...

    October is ending before it even began. This entire past year has been a blur... a good blur that is. I remember when I was alone and the days felt sooooo loooooong. Now they go entirely too fast. Today is my Friday. Yay! I'm tired.
   Not a lot to really blog about. Everyone has been getting the flu at work. So far so good for me. I was working the Will Call office almost all of last week because Shelli got the flu super bad. I really like working out there. Maybe someday I can be out there full time. It seems like it has been super slow inside the office. I guess it's just that time of year? I lost my Diamond Dave accounts, but I have been reassigned to looking after all of the Paul Reveer and Tilted Kilt accounts. I'm happy about that.
     Last weekend Chuck and I went to a wedding... For his ex-step daughter Belinda. She wanted Chuck to walk her down the aisle as her Dad. The whole wedding was a big ordeal. Chuck had to rent a Al Capone tux. It did look really cool, but we really did not have the money for that. Then I had to be seated with the 'parents' of the bride, since I am with Chuck, and the bride is actually older than me. That was odd. Chuck, me, Chuck's ex-wife and her new man all sitting in the same row. I realized when I watched there ceremony that it really bothered me. Not a single prayer was said during the ceremony, and not a single verse of scripture was read. I told Chuck later I want to make sure our ceremony has at least one prayer and one scripture involved. What's the point in a wedding with out that?? Belinda ended up acting like a Bridezilla and was freaking out about stupid stuff and by the time the night was over Chuck's feelings were really hurt by her. The reception was really slow moving and cheesy. It made Chuck and I super glad we are bypassing a lot of the BS when we get married. We did have fun dancing though. Chuck and I did a few slow dances and a few fast fun dances. By the end of the night Chuck and I ended up in our 1st big fight. He had drank too much and was starting to act like an ass. We were getting ready to go home and I asked him for the truck keys, because I was 100% sober. He kept telling me no he was fine. I asked him 5 times and finally I told him, "If you don't let me drive home I am riding home with Coralie and Mike." He was really offended by that and told me not to even expect him home Sat night. The wedding was all the way in Tama and I cried the whole way home. I was so hurt, not to mention worried about Chuck. It turned out Chuck was home with in an hour after I got home. He had no gas in the truck to go anywhere and no money to do anything. That was a little bit funny. He also told me he got a few blocks away and realized he desperately needed me to drive, but I wasn't there. I'm sorry he had to drive that messed up but maybe he learned a lesson. I should not have to let him get 3 blocks before he decides to pull over and give me the keys. We had a long pow wow the next morning and Chuck promised to give me the keys next time and he also promised he will never threaten not to come home again. Then we made up... a few times. 1 big fight in seven months. I don't think that's too bad.
     This weekend we have a birthday party to go to for Chuck's other ex-step-daughter Aimee's two little girls. (Chucks grandkids.) Madison will be 3 and Brianna will be a year. Secretly, I really had fun buying clothes and toys for those two. I told Chuck he better watch out if we ever have a little girl, I'm going to go crazy buying her clothes! He told me I didn't have to tell him that, he already knew that.

Ok. I shall wrap this up and start thinking about getting ready for work...

Some pics from the wedding...

Chuck looked sharp!!

We make a cute couple. I reused a Bridesmaid dress I wore for a friends wedding a few years back.

Chuck and 'Little Sister' Coralie.

Me and Faith. My future niece. She is a sweetheart!

Chuck and I saw our '7' month anniversary this month. I got home from work and he had these lilies, a penguin, candles lit and fireplace on, and a dinner of steaks and shrimp waiting for me. Such a romantic! I'm spoiled. :)

     To clean the kitchen, or to blog... That is the question? The kitchen will wait, I think I will blog. I don't have to go into work for an hour later today anyway because I'm filling in for a co-worker.
     October has been off to an incredible start! I told Chuck this is a cute month for us, it means we have been together for 7 months, and we only have 7 months until our wedding day. (205 days from today!) Things are falling into place beautiful. The other night as Chuck and I were tripping over each other cooking supper in the kitchen, I had a feeling I had not felt in a long time. Chuck is my family. It's weird, I can't explain when or how we made a transition from living together, to being best friends, to being family, but that is how I feel with him all the time now in the best possible sense. That is special. I don't feel alone anymore. Even if I get home to the apartment and Chuck is gone for a few minutes, I don't feel like it's MY apartment, it is OUR apartment. I love it!
      Angie was in town over the weekend so a bunch of our old crew met up with her during the Iowa Game sat. It was sooo great to see her!! Too bad it was for such a short time. She will be in our wedding party though and I'm greatly looking forward to that, plus we are going to swing through Gerogia at some point on our honeymoon and see her among other things.
      Sunday was the greatest day ever. Chuck and I left early and drove down to the Mississippi river. We were hoping to see the leaves changed, but they weren't changed much. We still had an awesome time!! Chuck drove me all around Lake Odessa, Wapello, Muscatine, into Illinois, we were in the middle of nowhere checking out a bunch of country roads. Chuck knew the area well he used to go down there to camp and fish all the time. We literally spent the whole day enjoying the fall weather and each other driving around. All it cost us was a tank of gas. That's some economical entertainment... The icing on the cake... In an ironic twist of fate... As we were driving home, Chuck's ex-wife called him. He answered the phone and she told him she has a boyfriend in Tama now. Chuck was like, OK, Congratulations. Then she continued, that she is wanting to move to Tama to be with her boyfriend... Do we want the house?... The house is an old 2 story farm house that Chuck and her rented together for years in Wellman Iowa. and the rent is only $250 a month!! Chuck was so excited he had to pull the truck over to finish talking to her. He told her he would talk with me about it and call her right back. Of course I said yes. I have seen the house before and it has very large rooms and an acre of land with it. It would give Chuck and I so much freedom, and help us out a lot financially. Even with the rent and utilities put together, it would still be less than what we are paying for rent alone right now. My drive would be a little longer to work, but less traffic to deal with and Chuck would only be about 14 miles from his job in Riverside. I asked Chuck if that would bother him to live in the same house he lived in with his ex-wife and he said not at all, we would make it ours. We are going to paint all the walls different colors and change it up a lot from how they had it before. We can have bonfires in the yard, we can get a cat and dog, we can set up a pool in the summertime, we would even have the space to start our family as soon as we decide we are ready. (Chuck will be 35 when we get married and I will be 26 so we won't be waiting too long.) All of our dreams our coming true. Right now his ex said she is thinking about moving out in March. That would be about perfect for us, but that could change at the drop of a hat so we are just playing it by ear for now.
      Guess that's about it for now...

Chuck and I.

Angie my BFF and I

One of a Million pics I took of the Mississippi. I won't bore you with that.

I love how happy Chuck looks in this pic.

        Not a lot going on since my last blog. Nothing wrong with that either. I started my oven on fire one night last week. And Chuck and I both remembered at that point why he does the cooking. My Mom was in town last week and I was off work on Friday so she hung out with me all day. We had a great day together. I was able to show her a lot of wedding details in person and she was so excited. It's a lot different seeing the stuff in person than describing it on the phone. Chuck got home from work and cooked Steak Omelets and french toast for her. Charming, I know. Those are the highlights.
     Saturday night my brother Jeremy called me. He told me that some friends of ours, Brian and Trisha had died in a motorcycle accident on Friday. They were only 44. That was really unexpected. My brother and Joni were really close with them. I did not know them as well, but I knew them well enough to consider them friends, and to know that they are good people. Joni used to rent out big 18 passenger vans and hire them to drive us around for different occasions and be our designated drivers. They did not drink, but they loved having a good time. They drove us to Iowa City to tailgate before an Iowa game a few years ago, they drove us to all these small town country bars for Joni's birthday a few years ago (the same night I called in sick from a bar, using Brian's cell phone.), they drove us all around downtown for St Patricks day another time. Trisha was a dept manager at WM and we would vent to each other about the stupidity of the store. She was cheering me on when I got fired, because she knew how unhappy I was, and she believed in my potential to achieve what I was really wanting. I had her name programmed into my cell phone and she had told me if I ever needed a DD I could call her 24-7. The last time I saw Trisha was sometime last summer. I was shopping at WM just before a camping trip and my cart was loaded with alcohol. She saw that and just started cracking up laughing. We talked for a long time that morning.
     Death has a funny way of bringing reflections on life. I was a bit melancholic the rest of Saturday night. I could not help to think about how unfair it seemed, how young they really were. 44. That's younger than my parents. That's only 10 years older than Chuck. It made me realize how we need to enjoy each day, and never stop loving life, never stop having fun, and never stop loving and giving to others. I started to think a little bit deeper. A lot of times when someone passes away people always say, "Oh they were such a 'good person'" whether they really were or not. But Trisha and Brian, they really were good people. So I started thinking about, what makes someone a 'good person?' I don't think being a good person is about anything huge or noble, but it's about all the small details day in and day out. Good people are the people you can trust enough to watch your purse while you use the restroom. Good people are people you can be honest with and you know they won't judge you, but they will point you in the right direction, and make sure you don't fall along the way. Good people will be honest with you. Good people will buy you a round of drinks when you are really down on your luck, and then they will tell you when its time to get back up again and lay the drink aside. Good people are never too busy to make the time for you. Good people know what it means to work hard and earn a dollar. Good people take pride in their work and in their life, yet are the humblest of heart. Day in and day out good people make the right choices, even when it seems like it doesn't matter or noone notices. Good people are hard to come by in this selfish world. They truly are a treasure. Take notes from good people and learn.
      Fall is officially here. The weather is chilly this morning and the leaves are changing. This is my favorite time of year! I couldn't be happier. Just another way of marking time, really. Chuck made some homemade Chicken Noodle Soup yesterday. So perfect. I've actually never had homemade Chicken noodle soup before. Good for the heart, and soul.

This is a pic, of an average steak that Chuck and I eat about once a week on average. Just a huge perk to his job. This one was over a pound and a half, no we didn't share either. We each ate our own!! I love Iowa beef. Nothin better.

     Wow, time is flying by so fast!! I'll try and catch you up for the month of September. Let's see... Labor Day weekend was good. I had 4 days off of work. I made flower bouquets for my wedding and I was really proud of myself, because I had no clue what I was doing and they ended up looking really good. I also got Chuck to go to JcPenny's with me and I got some really good sales. We got the stuff we want him to wear for the wedding. He is going to be wearing khaki cargo pants and a long sleeve button down light green shirt that I will have him roll the sleeves up to his elbows. Sandals, etc. It will be a great beach look I think. I finally told Chuck I was feeling over whelmed and having trouble finding a place for us to stay, also looking into flight rates for guests. He said no problem, he would take care of it. He has spent the past week researching honeymoon suites and packages. I should have let him have the wheel on that a long time ago. I really don't have much planning left for the wedding, and I still have 7 months to go. Lol.
     Coralie's 30th birthday was also Labor Day weekend so a big group of us went out to Carlos. Then Chuck and I had her and Mike over the next night for burgers and movies.
     Chuck and I have been talking about trading in his truck for awhile now, and we finally did last week. We traded in his blue 2000 Chevy Sierra with 132,000 miles for a red 2006 Dodge Ram with 30,000 miles! We love our new truck and are really phsyced. We put both the loan and the title in both of our names too, so the truck is truly Ours, not mine or his. I like that.
     Last weekend I went on a shopping trip to Chicago with Coralie and Gina and a bunch of their Nordstrom coworkers. It was a really fun day. They dropped us off at the 2nd largest Nordstrom store in the country, and then we went to a discount Nordstrom store called the Rack. I spent entirely too much money (what else is new) but found some great things!
     Chuck decided to quit smoking. The difference in his new truck payment was the deciding factor for him. He has been using the patches but he says they aren't doing him any good at all. He hasn't had a cigarette since Sunday morning. He has been a bear cat to be around, by I am really happy for him. Tonight he decided to celebrate making it through day 4 and he drank too much lemonade and vodka and passed out on me before 8:00. Lol. I took advantage of the time to take a bubble bath, do my nails, and well, blog I guess. He did make me a really great supper before he got too messed up. It was baked chicken with cream of chicken soup, wild rice, cheddar cheese and fresh broccoli on top. I am so spoiled. He is such an amazing cook. I love it!!
     This week is trucking past. I guess that's it for now...

**********************************************************************

qUESTION OF THE dAY:

tONIGHT, IN cHUCK'S DRUNKENESS WE WERE TRYING TO DECIDE, IF gOD CALLED YOUR CELL PHONE, WOULD IT SHOW UP AS AN 'uNKNOWN' CALL, OR WOULD IT SAY 'gOD'??

wHAT DO YOU THINK? i THINK IT WOULD SHOW UP AS AN 'uNKNOWN' CALLER. i MEAN WOULD YOU REALLY ANSWER YOUR PHONE IF YOU KNEW gOD WAS CALLING YOU? i WOULD BE AFRAID i  OF BEING IN TROUBLE OR SOMETHING.

****************************************

Our new truck.

Proud Owners.

Me and Coralie in Chicago.

I really did not do THAT much shopping. I just posed with the bags for a more dramatic look... Really. Lol.

Downtown Chicago

You know you're from Iowa when you take pictures of really tall buildings. Lol.

    Who says you have to blog with words? Thursday night I hopped in Chuck's truck and we drove around aimlessly drinking beers and checking out the flash flooding. The night ended at the bar. The next day started with a hang over. Lol... My weekend went by way too fast. Mom turned 48 on Saturday. Chuck worked Saturday morning. I broke down and decorated for fall while he was working. Lol. The weather has been the best!! It's my FAVORITE time of year. 40's-50's at night 60's to 70's by day... Saturday afternoon Chuck and I spent a lot of time at Palisades Park along the river. Just relaxing  and loving life and each other. Chuck cooked steak omelets Saturday night, Wow!! I got him to watch the movie Fried Green Tomatoes. He actually liked the movie. It was a great evening together. I worked yesterday, but that gives me a 4 day weekend next weekend! Yesterday was shot. He made me watch Harley Davidson and the Marlboro man last night. Haha. I'll post the pictures of the park Saturday and let them preserve my happiness forever... 

I love this pic! I think it should be our engagement picture. It's so us!

I like the river in the background, but the lighting was bad.

I can't wait for the leaves to change!! Bring it!

How can you not like the geese??

    I have a case of Anal Glaucoma today... I can't see my ass coming into work. On a serious note, for whatever reason I woke up wide awake at 2:30 am last night and could not get back to sleep for the life of me. I decided to call in and use one of my sick days today, because I knew it would hit me about 2:00 this afternoon. I still have 3 and a half paid sick days I can use before the end of this year... So I'm having a relaxing day around the house. It's rainy and cozy. I've actually been getting a ton of stuff done today. Sorting through and organizing stuff, cleaning, monkeying around with the bills, etc. Up all night and wired this morning. Crazy! You would think I've been smoking crack or something.
     Keeping busy, just like the rest of the world. Last week Chuck and I went on a wild goose chase. We drove around the town of Tiffin. We found tons and tons and tons of really nice Condo's for rent. We did not like that option though because the rent is well over $700 a month for the condos and we just can't justify paying that in rent when it's not even a house payment. Also Condo are just a glorified apartment. You still have to watch your TV volume, you don't have a yard to call your own, etc. We did find a trailer for sale. The trailer was in a really up kept trailer court. There was a pond in the back yard!! (Clear Creek fills it.) We contacted the owners and they were asking $30,000 for it. Chuck and I were thinking it would be a good option for a starter home for us, then maybe turn around and sell it in 5 or 6 years. We went to view the trailer and it was so beautiful inside! It had the tile that looks like hardwood floors. It had cathedral ceilings. The ceiling fan in the living room had mirrors above it. The kitchen had an awesome breakfast bar in the center with ceramic tile and marble counter tops. The cupboards were oak and the cupboards above the breakfast bar had glass etched windows. The master bathroom had a garden tub, a double vanity sink and a sun roof. There was tons of closet space and all the rooms were large. There was a huge deck newly built on to the side of the trailer and a large storage shed that was newly built as well. We loved it! But when we sat down with the bank it was time for a reality check. They did our credit check and it was super cool to see Chuck and I's combined credit score was 717. (720 is perfect credit. That was a kick butt feeling learning our credit score!) The bank would have loaned us anything. The trouble we ran into was it wasn't realistic. For one we have no money to put down on the trailer. The interest rate on trailers is a lot higher, and even with excellent credit they wanted 9.75% interest. On a 10 year loan it would have made our payments 400 something a month. Combine that with the monthly lot rent and our payments would have been $767 a month. Chuck and I talked it over and it seemed like a stupid move to both of us. 10 years is a longer commitment than what we wanted. Trailers have no resale value, and you are stuck paying the lot rent until someone buys it. We decided to focus on paying for our wedding right now, and maybe in another year we will try again, only for an actual house. So, once again I got over my anger with Cedar Rapids and decided to be happy with what we have. We took anything valuable out of our garage. So I now share my pantry with Chuck's fishing poles and his bike on my balcony. Lol.
    Had a candle party last week. It was super fun. I got tons of product for free and it was great to see my friends. Saturday Chuck and I went to Tama to see his ex-step-daughter Belinda. (Quick history... Chuck's ex wife was 15 years older than him. (Yes, that's right. That's makes Chuck's ex-wife older than my Mom!!... Chuck was 20 when he married her... Chuck is 9 years older than me... Chuck's ex-wife had 3 daughters... Belinda is the oldest, and she is only 7 years younger than Chuck... Chuck has 9 grandkids through his ex-step-daughters... Chuck has no biological kids, but his step-kids claim him 100% because he is the only father figure they have ever known... How I became a redneck 101...) Anyway Chuck had to get fitted for a tux for Belinda's wedding in October. Belinda wants Chuck to give her away, as her father. She picked out a mobster Tux for all the men. Really fun and cool. So Saturday turned into a really drunk day. It was a lot of fun! Sunday we spent a lot of time with Coralie and Mike.
    Wedding planning is going better and better. I'm starting to get organized and have fun with it. I did decide to do a cake. I found pics online of what I want. I was proud of myself because my Mom has these two kissing fish figurines and I asked her if I could borrow them for a cake topper. I was proud of my conservative creativity. Mom was proud she was able to help with something. It is amazing that almost all of my wedding planning and shopping I am able to do online. I discovered the North Myrtle Beach chamber of commerce. Duh! I don't know why I didn't think of that sooner. That will be my Bible for planning, places and events. 246 days to go...
     I guess that's about it for now. I should actually leave the house and run a few errands. Then I can come back take a nap, light some candles and wait for Chuck to get home from work.

A picture of what I want my wedding cake to look like... Same color too. Just imagine it with some funky colored ceramic kissing fish on top!

Flowers from Chuck. I had a bad cold and was really sick a few Sundays ago. He surprised me with these...