I spent the night with my parents , in my old bedroom . When my alarm went off , I forgot for a second where I was and promptly fell off the bed . After checking for broken bones and bruises , I ran into the kitchen , where my parents were already busy at work on reception food . It was WEDDING DAY ! I sat in the kitchen with them and made ham sandwiches ( Hamlets ) for the reception . We had purchased black forest ham and honey ham , and some really delicious rolls to put the ham in . We also had mustard and mayo , and slices of cheese . So my dad and I did the sandwiches while my mom made the cheesecake tarts . ( Titus Tarts - not made of people . ) We talked while we worked , and my parents were very encouraging and positive about the marriage and about the wedding itself . While I knew it was right and had absolutely no doubts whatsoever , knowing they " approved " still meant a lot . We had a few things to finish up at the theatre that morning , so we planned to meet there and finish everything up . I was fine with seeing him before the ceremony , as long as he didn 't see me all dressed up and looking awesome . So wearing jeans and my " bride " t - shirt , I went up to the theatre and we finished up all the small details we needed to do before the wedding could happen . We went upstairs and started getting dressed about an hour before the ceremony . I had my sound guy ( brother - in - law Rob ) start the pre - ceremony music and we started getting ready . It was so much fun getting dressed and made up with the girls . Our photographer came up and took some photos of the girls helping me with my hair and make - up , and then she took a few shots of me in my dress in the dressing room . I 'm looking forward to seeing how those turned out . She took some detail shots of the dress , jewelry and wrap too , and I 'm sure those are going to be gorgeous ! It was 2 p . m . before we knew it , and I wasn 't quite ready . Everyone went downstairs and I followed . At the last moment , I realized I forgot my bouquet . Hope ran back upstairs ( in her heels ) and got it for me . She totally saved the day ! We all walked down the aisle to " Concerning Hobbits " from Lord of the Rings . I 've loved that piece of music since the first movie came out , and it was important to me to walk to it . I have honestly never felt so beautiful or so happy in my life . I think I floated rather than walked down the aisle . Luckily , I didn 't trip . Walking with my dad , walking toward Jon , who was standing there looking more nervous , happy , and handsome than I have ever seen him , was a moment I hope I never forget . Words cannot describe it . I wish they could , because I want to have a record of this memory and I don 't ever want to forget that feeling . But I 'm at a loss as to how to describe it . I know I couldn 't stop smiling . : ) We stood there while my cousin Bill said a few words , and then he went into the ceremony that included words we chose together beforehand . The words meant so much because we picked them together , and they were exactly how we felt about the moment . When it was time to recite our own vows , we got the scrolls we had written them on and began opening them . But the seals were too good and it took a minute or so to actually break the seals . I got mine finished first , but Jon was supposed to do his vows first , so I wanted . It was a nice ice - breaking moment and we were grateful for it . Jon 's favorite moment was when the preacher offered his pocket knife to help . His vows were . . . perfect . I 've never in my life had anything so beautiful spoken to me . And funny . He has such a fantastic sense of humor ! I almost felt bad that my vows were all sappy without much humor at all . Although they did have some funny moments . I 'll post them in a separate post a little later . The rings were beautiful and exchanging them was a nice moment . Then it was time for the sand ceremony , which I was looking forward to and also kind of dreading . My mom was to sing a song during it , and I really didn 't want her to start crying while she was trying to sing . I didn 't want her to be embarrassed by that - I would have been fine with her starting to cry , but she wanted the song to be perfect and if she had cried it wouldn 't have been perfect in her eyes . But she didn 't cry . I was so proud of her for holding it together ! We poured the sand veeeeery slowly and managed to finish just before the end of the song . We kind of softly talked to each other during that time and laughed a little as well . That was pretty awesome too . And we have a cool jar full of colored sand to display ! We took lots of pictures after exiting the theatre ( to the them from Pirates of the Caribbean . ) Lots of different combinations of people , and then some of just us . We also had a little sword fight , which the photographer enjoyed taking some pictures of as well . I can 't wait to see those ! After the photos , we entered the theatre again , where people were already eating and having some fun . We did our first dance , and about halfway through , I invited everyone else to join us . Quite a few couples came out and danced , including Hannah and Noah , which was adorable . I danced with Noah too , after he danced with Hannah for awhile . I can 't wait to see that photo too ! We then cut the cake and did the photos with the glasses , but then it was time for the photographer to leave . So we just hung out after that , eating cake and talking with our friends and family . People started leaving at that point , so we hung around until everyone left and then we helped my parents pack some things up and left ourselves . It sounds a little odd , the way things ended , but it was perfect for us . Our friends stayed around longer than family members , so we got a chance to hang out with them for awhile . And we managed to get on the road earlier than we expected , which was also pretty nice . So that was the wedding day ! I 'll have pictures soon , so look for those . And once we have the photos , I will do some little step - by - step things describing how we DIY 'd some of our decorations and things . Jon and I woke up at 6 : 30 . We got the lasagna ready and in the oven . This was actually a pretty fun activity - we love cooking together . When they were ready , we took them out of the oven and put them in the refrigerator to take with us later . It was time then to take the dogs to the vet to be boarded for the next couple of days . We took them down there and said goodbye , and then got breakfast from McDonalds for us and our house guest . While eating breakfast , I called the tux place to make sure Jon 's tux was ready for him to pick up , and then paid for it over the phone so I could go ahead and get to the theatre . We loaded some stuff into my car and I drove to Fairhope . Jon and Russell got Jon 's SUV loaded then and came after me . When I got there , Chris was already there , as was Michelle , one of my awesome theatre friends . She 's the one who did the head pieces for the wedding , and she 's a master gardener , so she was there that morning to plant some flowers and bushes around the grounds of the theatre . She set up the head pieces in the dressing room and they looked gorgeous ! We got right to work , first unloading stuff from my car . Nicole arrived and asked what I planned to do with my hair color - because we had talked about that previously . I told her I hadn 't had time to do anything yet , but that I had a box of hair color that I was planning to use the next morning . She was having none of that . She called Timothy , our friend from theatre , who happens to be an awesome hairdresser , and got me an appointment for later that day . She even paid for it , which was so nice of her ! I had Timothy match my roots and dull the reddish color I had put on there previously . He also put in some highlights , something I 've never had before . It looked so nice ! My hair took two hours , so by the time I got back , the arch was decorated , the tables were in place and pretty much finished , and people were attending to minor details . Jennifer and Chris worked on the arch while I was gone and I think it turned out really beautiful ! We had freshly - cut ivy , lights , blue flowers , a big bow , and six peacock feathers ! They made it beautiful and became friends too ! Jonne Thornton , another theatre friend , had set the lights and instructed Rob ( my brother in law ) on how to use the light board and the sound . Jon and Rob ran through the lights with me , and it all looked great . My mom had also practiced her song a few times and felt more comfortable . She had previously asked if she could sing it from the light booth because there was a microphone up there , but I really didn 't want her to have to do that . She did it without a mic at all , on the stage where she belonged ! We put the finishing touches on everything , and by that time it was time for the rehearsal . People started arriving for that , and we got started . We talked through what was going to happen , then we walked through it once . Then we went through it with the music , but the timing was wrong . I had everyone do it again , only slower , and that worked much better . After making sure the timing was okay with the processional , we walked through the rest of the ceremony , spotting minor problems along the way and correcting them . It went very well and I was really happy with almost everything - the lights were a little off - they didn 't light enough area . Luckily , Jestina ( who did our wedding video and knows everything about theatre tech ! ) arrived and fixed the light plot to give us some more light in the important spots ! After we finished with the rehearsal , we brought in tables and chairs to have the rehearsal dinner . We served homemade lasagna , ( that my mom took home and warmed up prior to the dinner ) salad , cookies , and various drinks . We all sat down to eat and enjoyed some time together . We gave some gifts out to the bridal party and parents , and then we finished dinner and just relaxed for a bit . We removed the tables and chairs and finishing up some final touches for the next day , some of us went over to McSharry 's , a local Irish pub , for a low - key , co - ed bachelorette party . It couldn 't have been a better evening . We all just sort of hung out and chatted . So many of our friends didn 't know each other , so it was cool to I stayed with my parents that night , so after spending a few hours out with friends , I drove over there . I slept in my old bedroom that night " for the last time as a Havel " as my mom said . I spent most of the day Thursday and Friday cleaning up the house and getting ready for guests . On Friday afternoon , Chris came over and we had a great chat . We caught up on each other 's lives and had a wonderful time just remembering things from the past and telling each other about the present . It was so nice to have a few moments of calm before the crazy weekend really started . Jon and I made lasagna for the rehearsal dinner , so my job on Friday was to stir the sauce . It had to be done every 30 minutes for about 7 hours , so I set the timer each time to make sure I did it right ! Poor Chris - he had to deal with me jumping up every 30 minutes to stir the sauce ! Jon 's bachelor party was that day , so he was gone most of the afternoon . After it was over , some of the guys came over and we grilled hamburgers and just sat around and talked for awhile . Jen came over too , and we ended up sitting on the couch while the guys sat at the table . It was good to catch up with her too ! At about 10 : 45 that night , Jon realized he hadn 't picked up his tux yet . He had a moment of panic , but we decided to pick it up the next day and the crisis was averted . The previous day , Jon 's work gave him a party and gave us some great gifts . Here 's a photo of two of those gifts , the really pretty wall sconces ! We put them up the day we got them ! And check out the extremely clean living room ! : ) Jersey City . Because it was horrible . And that 's all I have to say about that . You need more ? Okay , I 'll set it up for you . My research led me to believe if we drove into Jersey City and took a ferry to Liberty Island , that we would be able to hang out with the Statue of Liberty for awhile and get some nice photos of the NY skyline while we were there . I was with my parents and nephew . My parents were not keen on the idea of us driving in New York City , so we were trying to avoid that . So we followed the maps that I had carefully printed out and still got lost . We stopped at a McDonald 's to get directions and were told that we would have to buy something in order to get directions . We bought a coke . My mother and nephew needed to use the restroom , but in order to get the key , we were told we had to buy something . We bought two more cokes . We ended up buying another coke after that for some other reason - I think my dad had to use the restroom too - but I am certain they did that to us because we were obviously from out of town and had southern accents . So aside from that experience , the roads were horrible , we got lost trying to find our way around , and we got to the ferry after the last one had already gone . So yeah , I have no desire to go back there ever again . Next time , I believe I will brave the streets of NY and just deal with the traffic and the expensive parking , because that was the worst day of our entire vacation . Posted by My current backyard is great - I truly love it , and can 't wait until we buy the place so I can do all kinds of cool stuff out there . We have fig trees , kumquat trees , blueberry bushes , and flowering plants . We have some awesome bamboo that grows along the fence line where the two next door houses are . They provide an awesome barrier for sight and sound . There 's plenty of room for the dogs to run and play , which is one of the reasons we wanted this house to begin with . There are bird feeders on many of the trees , and a perfect spot for a garden when we buy the place and I can plant one . The best part , of course , is that the back fence has a gate , and if you go through that gate and down a little path , you get to a beautiful creek that is on protected land . It 's clear and cold and there 's a waterfall that always produces the most lovely sound . There 's a fallen tree that makes a perfect bench . I like to go down there and just sit and listen to the water and nature around me . But the magical backyard will always be the one from my childhood . I grew up on an 80 acre farm . All of that land was my backyard , and we always played outside . We had fields of soybeans and hay , and sometimes corn . There were cow pastures and pecan orchards . There were forests of pine trees , one of which had a hidden surprise , a little pond , nestled in the small gathering of trees . I had many adventures , both real and imagined , on that land . It is part of my soul in a way I can 't quite explain . My favorite part was this tree in the backyard . It had vines climbing all over it , and one of the vines , for some reason , grew down and then up again . It created a perfect swing . I can 't even begin to calculate the hours I spent sitting in that vine swing , reading a book or writing in my diary . I 'm sure this explains why I love being outdoors . I haven 't done enough of that lately - just going out to sit and commune with nature . I should get back to that soon . Got my wedding dress back yesterday . I tried it on and it fit like a dream . It 's very slimming now that it actually fits , and the hem is perfect . You can just see my sparkly gold shoes when I walk in the dress . I hope I don 't trip over the small train , because I opted not to have a bustle . I hate how they make your butt look huge ! I put the completed wrap on to see how it looked with the dress and shoes , and it was magical . No , really . I 've never seen anything so pretty . Soooo excited ! No photos because I don 't want Jon to see me in it before the wedding . Hey , did I post a photo of the completed wrap ? Did I ? If not , here it is ! If I did already . . . well , too bad , you 're gonna see it again ! My name is Kaylee and I 'm an escape artist . Yesterday , I greeted my mommy at the door when she got home from work . Now , normally , this would be normal behavior for a canine - American like me , but mommy and daddy keep little brother Simon and me in crates during the day so we don 't destroy the house while they are gone . They always come home for lunch and let us out to run and play for an hour , but when they have to go back to work , we go back in our crates . They are really nice crates , bigger than we really need and right beside each other so we can talk during the day . We usually nap most of the time . But yesterday , daddy was in a hurry to get to the bank and back to work and he didn 't lock the bottom lock all the way . I saw immediately that I could get out with just a little effort . And that 's just what I did . I had the run of the house for several hours ! And here is how I spent my time . I tortured my little brother because he was still locked in his crate . I tried to tell him I didn 't have the proper hand dexterity to unlock his crate . I stood outside his crate and looked at him for awhile , but when it became clear that I was only upsetting him ( he pushed the bottom tray of his crate completely out of the crate itself out of frustration ) I decided to explore the house alone . I walked around , enjoying my newly discovered sense of freedom . The humans had closed all the bedroom doors , so that was sad , but mommy left the bathroom door open . Awesome ! I drank from the toilet . Sweet nectar ! Then I got in the bathtub and noticed some hair in the drain . It was just a little , but I thought it would make a great snack . I was wrong , because I threw it up later . I drank from the toilet again , and then somehow fell into it . I managed to get out , but then I was all wet . So of course , I decided to roll around on the dining room floor for awhile ! I knocked pillows off the couch and went to the corner of the living room where my bed was , and rolled around on it for awhile . That 's when I threw up . Yuck . After that , I just rested Posted by I 'm loving these topics recently ! So much fun ! The actress I would choose to play me in a movie , assuming I couldn 't play myself , would be Drew Barrymore . One reason is because I 'm often told I resemble her in some small way . I can see it , especially in this photo . But another is because we talk similarly , if that makes sense . We form our words the same , and our voices are similar in quality . I love when she plays dorks , like in Never Been Kissed , because that 's when she 's the most like me . : ) But I admire her free spirit and her " who cares what everyone else thinks " style . I love that and wish I could be more like that sometimes . Oh , and we 're nearly the same age , so that would work out well too ! I 'm going to start trying to do Sunday Scribblings more . Maybe not every week , but as often as I can . Today 's scribbling prompt was a photo of what looks like part of a map with the words " You Are Here " written on it . Here is the photo . To me , " You Are Here " is about living in the moment , something I 've blogged about recently . It 's also about knowing where you are and what you can do about your surroundings and circumstances . In some cases , it 's about making the best of your " Here " until you can get to a better place . I 've heard a lot of people talk lately about how much they hate their jobs . Well , in this economy it 's not really possible to just go out and find a new job because you don 't really like the one you have , with a few exceptions . But it IS possible to take a " You Are Here " attitude and understand that while you are there , you should make the best of it and do something positive . So make a difference where you are . Because , like it or not , " You Are Here , " at least for the time being . Do what you can to make " Here " a great place to be . - Reception for my cousin 's wedding . They were married on Oct 8 in Boston and are having an Alabama reception for family here . They had a medieval wedding . We are having a Shakespearean wedding . I 'm a little worried my family is going to think we copied them . I swear I had no idea what their theme was when we picked ours ! My name is Kaylee . Jon got me when I was a puppy . My mom had puppies and her owner couldn 't keep all of us , so she gave me to Jon . He lived in an apartment by himself , and I think he wanted company . I 'm convinced he picked me because I was the same color as his carpet and all his furniture . No , seriously - everything the guy owns is the exact color of my fur ! Of course , it 's a pretty awesome color ! Jon thinks he taught me a lot of tricks , but really , I taught him to be a great pet owner ! I 'm pretty sure he loved me right away , I mean , I 'm pretty lovable . I have tons of energy , and in that small apartment sometimes I just went a little crazy . I would run around and around and around . . . but he would just laugh and let me do it . Sometimes he would encourage it by shining a light around for me to chase . It was awesome . ( he still does it a lot and I still love it ) One day , he had a visitor . She was nice and let me lick her face . I climbed onto the back of the couch and licked her ears . She laughed and rubbed my head . I liked her a lot and really didn 't mind when she started coming around more . She moved in with us eventually and spent a lot of time with me while she didn 't have somewhere to go during the day . Even though she seemed sad , I know spending time with me was fun for her . I tried to keep her cheerful by being silly all day while she was home . Jon started calling her " mommy " to me , so I guess she 's my mom . He 's my dad , so that works for me . We moved to a new house after she found somewhere to go during the day again . The new house is big and pretty and has a big yard I can play in ! I jump off the porch and they both throw my favorite toy across the lawn for me to catch and bring back . I make sure to get a lot of slobber on it so they can see how much I love them . I bring it back and place it at their feet . If they don 't pick it up right away , I push it closer to their toes with my nose . They eventually get the hint . Sometimes people are slow . One day , sometime after we moved , they took me to a place that smelled like a lot of dogs and cats . They brought out a puppy and we said hello . He was okay . A little small , and he had a LOT of energy . I vaguely remember having that much energy once . They brought him home with us that night . They called him Simon . We started playing immediately and I decided I loved him . He needs a lot of instruction , though . Maybe I can help him out a little . My name is Simon . I had a mother and two sisters . We were abandoned by our owner and found wandering on the side of the road together . We were brought to a local shelter and my mother and sisters were adopted . I was not . I started to wonder what was wrong with me , that nobody seemed to want me . I was sent to a rescue shelter , someone said it was no - kill , which sounded good to me . I went to several adoption events and watched a lot of my friends go home with humans . But I didn 't get to go . Even when I looked at them with my sad puppy eyes . Don 't get me wrong , I loved the people at ARF , and I loved my furry friends there , but I wanted a home . One day , two people came to ARF and said they saw my picture on the internet . They wanted to meet me . They brought another dog with them and we played on the lawn for a few minutes . She was nice - bigger than me and a little bossy , but we still had fun . I hoped so much that they would take me home ! We went back inside and stayed there for what seemed like forever while the humans passed paper back and forth . They took my collar off and the female held me in her arms . They took me to their car and we drove away . I didn 't get to say goodbye to my friends at ARF , but that 's okay . I had a new family ! We went to the pet store where I had been to several pet adoptions . They put me in the basket and picked out a bunch of things - toys , treats , a new collar and leash , and other stuff too ! When we checked out , the cashier gave me a treat . I felt like a king ! They renamed me Simon . I had been called Enzo for most of my life , but I didn 't care . It only took a few times for me to get used to the new name . I had a hard time with going to the door when I needed to go to the bathroom at first , but they were very patient and calm with me . These people are so loving and affectionate ! I love lying beside them on the couch , with one of the humans on one side of me and Kaylee , my big sister , on the other side . The other human is on the other end of the couch when we do this , so we both have a humOne day , mommy and daddy took us to the pet store again . There was a pet adoption event , and I got to see some of my old friends . They couldn 't believe how big I 've gotten and how healthy and happy I look . " It 's love , " I told them . " Don 't worry , someone will love you and take you home too - then you will be as happy as I am . " I really hope that happens for all my friends , the way it happened for me . Posted by I have a little stat page that tells me how many people visit here on any given day and what posts they are reading . I 've noticed since I 've made more of an effort to post here , I 've had an upswing in my page views ! Just goes to show you that content is key . Lol . Anyway , I just wanted to say hi to all the new viewers out there ! Please feel free to become a member through the link in the sidebar and follow my posts . If you follow me , I 'll follow you ! Also , feel free to comment or click my buttons ( I 've noticed a few people have clicked " cool " and " agree " lately and that 's awesome ! ) I 'm looking forward to blogging more about my new married life after this month is over , and looking forward to constructing many posts about our special wedding touches in case anyone else ever wants to rip off our theme . ( And you are totally welcome to rip it off , I promise ! We had so much fun coming up with everything ! ) I plan to get back to writing and blogging about writing and knit blogging as well , and will most likely blog about the many crafts I want to try in the coming months : mosaics , jewelry , sewing , and more ) and some of the other activities I want to pursue ( disc golf , regular golf , tennis , etc ) and my attempt to lose some weight so we can be healthy when we start our family ! And look for more posts about the furbabies . Just because I can . So anyway , welcome to my blog ! I hope to see you back sometime ! As usual , there are at least two different ways to answer this question . Firstly , there are many things I wouldn 't share with anyone , and the reason for that is always hygienic . I would never share my toothbrush , my deodorant , or my contacts . Eye drops are also very bad to share with others , but I have done it when a friend really needed it . Lipstick and lip gloss are very bad things to share with others . Basically anything that was meant for a single person 's use , I wouldn 't want to share with another person . I tend to have extras of these items in my house in case people come over and forget them . I also don 't believe in giving away someone else 's stuff , so if someone let me borrow something or if something belongs to someone else , I wouldn 't share it with anyone . But the other way to answer would be when someone shares something with me , when would I share it with others . I 've thought about this a great deal in my life , because people tend to tell me things I really shouldn 't know . For some reason , people think of me as a trustworthy sound board , someone they can just tell secrets and opinions to , and I won 't reveal these things to others . This is true , of course . If someone shares a secret with me , I feel honor - bound to keep that secret . And with the exception of a couple of times when I was very young and a secret slipped out before I thought about it , I 've been very good about keeping secrets . I can 't stand a person who goes off and shares something that I 've shared with them in confidence . And since this has been done to me several times in my life , especially in my career ( I still don 't believe adults behave that way ) I am very careful about not doing that to other people . In the midst of all the wedding planning and finishing up final details , I think somehow Jon knew I needed a moment away . He suggested we go for a walk early Saturday afternoon with the dogs , and we decided to go to a local botanical garden that is literally less than a mile from our house . I took my camera and we took the dogs , and had a lovely time walking around , looking at the fall blooming flowers and enjoying the gorgeous weather . Of course , during the walk , I was also texting and emailing people about wedding details , but it helped to be in such a peaceful environment . And it was very peaceful . And lovely . Here are some photos from the day : It 's an early fall or spring night . Being presented with flowers . Getting all dressed up and going out to dinner at an intimate restaurant with candles and soft music . Going to a play - something romantic or funny . Holding hands while watching the performance . Taking a walk along the beach afterward , stopping at the swings for a little fun , and having a picnic dessert on the beach while looking at the stars . Talking about everything . . . and nothing . . . for hours , and then going home . Preparing dinner together at home , stopping for a little good - natured food fight . Eating dinner by candlelight with the dogs sitting around our feet . Enjoying conversation and just being together . After dinner , snuggling on the couch while watching a movie while dessert is baking in the oven . But the more important issue is how these things change as people change . When I was younger , the " perfect romantic evening " would have been a completely different scenario . It most likely would have included dinner and dancing . . . and I have never been able to dance . So that 's a bit silly . And it certainly would have included a serenade of some kind , perhaps involving a guy with a guitar singing a song he composed for me . But that 's a bit silly too because it 's not a measure of love or devotion , just a measure of talent and ability . I think that romance is most certainly unique to the person giving and receiving the romantic gesture . What 's romantic to me may not be romantic to someone else . And that 's why I think this is an interesting question , because it 's different for everyone . Posted by So here we are , at the beginning of the Wedding Month . I feel as if this event has taken over my entire life , and I 'm not really sure what is going to happen when it 's over . I know one thing - I plan to do some detailed blog posts about planning a Shakespeare - inspired wedding so that if someone else ever decides to do what we did , they will have some info to use as inspiration ! We have had to do so much of the research ourselves ! ( Okay , so that was one of the fun parts of the planning process , I won 't lie . ) As a huge fan of roller coasters , I love to use them to describe the anticipation of a big life event . I feel like the past 6 months or so , we 've been standing in line , getting into the car , and making the slow climb toward the first drop . Right now , I feel like we are waiting on the top of that first hill , sitting in the first car , just waiting for the drop . Final details are being taken care of , people are doing their RSVPs by phone and through our website , and parties / showers are being planned . I have to admit , I 'm pretty excited about the whole thing . Part of me wants to go to sleep tonight and wake up on October 28 ( the start of our Wedding Weekend ) and another part of me wonders if I will have enough waking hours to do everything I need to do as it is . I think that 's pretty normal , but not really a consolation when I wonder if I 'm going to finish the wrap I 'm making and the bouquets and about a thousand other tiny details ! I will say this : the decision to do things ourselves has paid off Big Time . We have saved thousands of dollars on flowers , food , etc , by doing it ourselves rather than hiring professionals . In fact , the only " wedding professional " we actually hired was a photographer , because I wanted to be sure we had great photos . After all , in this world of digital photographer , blogs , twitter , and facebook , the motto is " pics or it didn 't happen ! " So this begins our roller coaster ride . We will start the descent into the first drop of the coaster on October 28 , and will finish the ride completely when we get back from our honeymoon on November 4 . Maybe then life can get back to normal ! But for now , I 'm going to enjoy the anticipation and the final days of planning . Because this is the last wedding I 'll ever have , and I couldn 't be happier about every detail ! Write a letter to yourself as a childDear Young Anita , There are so many things ahead of you , even though it doesn 't feel like it now . You will go through a lot of difficulties , but you will also have a lot of happiness . Keep pressing on , and you will succeed and be happy . A few words of advice to make the road easier : - Always treat your parents with respect . They really do know better than you do , even when you are absolutely sure they don 't . Your mother will become your best friend one day . Enjoy your relationship with her and make it as great as you can , and you will reap the rewards in adulthood . She has so much to give - so much love and wisdom to share . Take her advice always because she will never lead you down the wrong path . Your dad really is the superhero you think he is . Trust me - the man can leap tall buildings . But never forget that he 's a person too , and deserves to hear as often as possible that you love him and that you appreciate everything he does and everything he is . You will not believe it right now , but one day you will marry a man who is a lot like your dad . And you will be very happy about it . - Your sister is an incredible person who will overcome some huge obstacles and will still be an amazing mother to the most special kids in the world . Become her friend early . Don 't wait until she nearly dies to realize how much she means to you . You will wish you were closer to her one day if you don 't become friends with her now . A sister is a special kind of friend . - Make mistakes - but always learn from them . You absolutely don 't want to keep repeating the same mistakes over and over . That just makes you feel awful about yourself and it makes you look kind of stupid . - Speaking of looking stupid , just say no to the apricot hair color when you are 16 . It is not flattering . - Express yourself creatively and do more theatre and music . You will start a love affair that will last a lifetime and will eventually lead you to the love of your life . Yes , it 's that important . Write more . Keep your diaries foPosted by Dear Nicholas , Hi there , little guy ! It 's your mommy . I know I haven 't done these for you like I did for your brother before . . .