{jen}

yikes...almost a month?

i know, i know. i promised photos and a run down of my trip and yet...nothing.  so, my paltry attempt with words now, photos later:

israel was fascinating, heartbreaking, educational, stimulating, tiring, evocative and just wow!  throwing adjectives out there is the only way i can organize my experience at this point. it was  a lot to take in during a very short period of time.  our sightseeing and free time was kept to an absolute minimum - the day following our arrival, a couple late evenings and the 5 hours between our last work trip and getting on the bus back to the airport.  we logged approximately 20 hours in a small bus during the five work days, up and down and all around this little country (the size of new jersey) that felt soooo vast.

if you ever have the slightest chance to visit jerusalem, don't think twice.  jump on it.  it is an amazingly beautiful, friendly and clean city.  whether you are religious or not, one cannot deny the pull felt when looking at the walls of the old city and the significance of standing before something that old and rich in history.  walking inside the winding streets of the shuk (the arab market) it is as if you have been transported to another, fabulous world full of color, beautiful fabrics and scents of spices and foreign foods.  walking through the church of the holy sepulcher and touching the stone that held the crucifix is humbling.  approaching the western (wailing) wall brought chills, while standing among hundreds of the faithful. 

two and a half weeks later i'm still attempting to digest all that i saw and experienced.  once i am settled in my new home i'll post back with some of my favorite photos. 

and speaking of home - the big move is here!  e and i have been moving at least two flatbeds of boxes to the condo each night and i think it's safe to say that we are over halfway done.  the big push is this weekend as my lease officially ends on monday.  few people can honestly say they enjoy moving.  i. can't. stand. it. i love settling in to a new place.  but, the process of packing and moving and getting to that point?  not so much.  however, e and i have been working so well together.  laughing and joking.  focusing both on each other and on getting the job done.

on sunday, it was time to bring my ancient and decrepit couch to the curb to meet it's end.  i've had that big old couch since 1996 and, my grandparents must have had it 30 years before me.  that couch was there for me when i moved into my first apartment and had no money for furniture.  it moved with me twice and provided comfortable cushions for me and a lovely scratching surface (tweed, don't you know) for my cat.  but, it was time to let go of the slip-covered orange and brown plaid monster.  now, when i say this couch is large well, that's an understatement.  about 8 feet long with a curved back.  ginormous. 

the movers got it up the five flights and into my apartment five years ago in one piece.  surely we could get it back out, right?  well we tried it one way, and then another.  e got wedged in between the couch and the wall several times.  we tried, hefted and maneuvered.  and then...i dropped my end and doubled over laughing.  the kind of laughter where you can't even catch your breath.  when i could finally utter a few words to clue e in on what was happening I said, "Pivot, pivot, PIVOT!!!!"  And he joined right in. 

Reason #5, 192 that we are perfect for each other: We always get each other's "Friends" references [Episode 113, Season 5, Title: The One with the Cop" and, yes, I googled it!]

Ross: Pivot! Pivot! Pivot!
Chandler: Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!

almost there, almost there, almost there.  my mantra for the next few days...

celebrate, celebrate...

memorial day weekend this year was one of celebration...e turned 29 (again!) and his birthday weekend happened to coincide with the 125th anniversary of the brooklyn bridge - couldn't have been a more perfect combination!  saturday we spent the day in new york city, walked over the bridge and all around lower manhattan.  it's rare that we take advantage of the fact that the city is at our feet.  so glad we just went for it!

so what's happening around here? so much!  preparing for international travel, planning a wedding AND packing up my entire home all at once is proving to be quite the challenge. i must have temporarily lost touch with reality to have agreed to this trip...seriously! 

anyway, i am about to embark on my trip to israel. i've been poring over my guidebook for the past couple of weeks and think i have a pretty good itinerary of the old city in jerusalem mapped out for my one free day. keep getting chills thinking about walking the stations of the cross and standing in the room where the last supper was held. amazing! i'm looking forward to recording every step in photographs and promise to share the best of them as soon as possible following my return (most likely in several posts!). 

just one last thing...at this moment, exactly nine months from now, e and i will be dancing the night away at our wedding reception!!!

because i was taught to share...

two layouts i finished last night - both made in honor of mother's day:

my cousin and her daughter - first child, first mother's day.  and, my sister and nephew, first child, second mother's day.  love you all!!!

in the spirt of sharing, how about winning some scrapbooking and/or paper arts loot?  head on over the 50th sketch party happening on the {sketch this!} blog.  show us what you can do with the sketch in the form of a card or layout and be entered to win great stuff!!!  congrats to janelle on 50 awesome sketches!

and, they're off...

where have i been lately?  working on this...

so, there it is - the official wedding countdown!  e came over tonight to talk about plans for this weekend and surprised me with this clock - so sweet.  worked overtime tonight and, in the pouring rain, still thought to drive to the store to pick this up, because he knew it would make me smile.  as if i needed further confirmation that he's a keeper!

as of last night, our wedding date has been booked, pre-marital counseling is done and we've signed a contract with the church.  on our way home, we even toured a reception hall.  we're on our way!  less than nine months to go until we become mr. and mrs.  what's next?  well, this weekend we are:

• touring (3) reception venues
• designing our save-the-date cards to give our guests plenty of notice
• looking at online photographer's galleries to narrow down choices

lots of thing to do but, we're working well as a team.  as long as we can manage to book our reception in the next couple of weeks, before i leave the country, i'll be happy with our progress!

to end, a couple of layouts to share:

randomness...

• i {heart} springtime!
• i (heart} e lots and lots more!!!
• when bridal shows are good, they are very, very good but when they are bad, they suck!
• leaving for israel in 14 + 29 days.  tickets haven't arrived, have no suitcase, and nothing to wear.  crud.
• my feet are quite literally itching to wear flip flops!
• there is super cute shirt at ann taylor that would be perfect for my trip but, i have to wait to purchase it because my coupon isn't valid until tomorrow.
• getting married in ten months and some odd days, yet to be determined. i can't believe i get to say that!  love is good!
• it is approximately 92 degrees sitting here at my computer and i can't turn off the heat.
• i have been a scrap-loser lately. my saturday crop produced 4 layouts in 11 hours.
• planning a vacation is high on my to-do list (and no, israel is not it).
• moving to a new home in 14 + 29 + 28 days.  don't own a single box yet own enough to fill thousands.  gotta fix that.
• still giddy and wearing a goofy smile  :-)

i fully admit to being a bad blogger but, you got a lot of info in this one bitty post didn't ya?  yup, things have been just a tad busy around here.  my head is spinning.  not quite like the exorcist girl's spin but, you get the idea. 

so, as an apology, two of my fave layouts from last weekend (swing pic taken by my dad!):

          

from somewhere up on cloud nine...

one blissful week later and, yes, i'm definitely still there.  planning on holding on to this feeling as long as i can.  the feeling that is written all over my face in this photo, taken by a passerby just minutes after the proposal...

last sunday afternoon, after spending a wonderful weekend upstate with my family, e and i made the three hour drive back home together.  it was a beautiful, clear sunny day and perfect for the trip.  i love road trips with e - full of laughter and great conversation that make the hours fly. 

when we arrived home it was nearly sunset and e suggested that we go down to our favorite park (see my rain, rain go away post below) to enjoy the rest of the beautiful evening and the sunset over the water.  we changed into more casual clothes (we had driven home straight from easter brunch and were still dressed up), exchanged easter baskets (yum...cadbury creme eggs and mini eggs!) and headed down to the park.  i brought along my camera and he brought a folder of paperwork. 

a while later while sitting on a bench, we were talking about his interest in an educational program and all that it entailed when, flipping though the folder, he said he had found my easter card.  e asked me to close my eyes because he had done something with it (and i was still not suspecting anything).  when he asked me to open my eyes, he was down on one knee in front of me with the scrapbook page in hand and then brought out the most stunning ring i have ever seen.  he said some beautiful and romantic things which i am still desperately trying to remember as they (can't imagine why) were lost on me in the moment. 

and, i said yes!!! 

as i studied the amazing scrapbook page and then, at his request, the ring (i couldn't quite believe it!) he said something to the effect of  "thank goodness you said yes."  my response to him and again here - i said "yes" about 10 minutes after we met on that blind date on july 15, 2006.  we are so, so happy.

one joy-filled week later, i'm fairly certain that i am the luckiest girl in the world.

thank you so much for all of the lovely comments and well wishes on e's post.  we are so happy to be able to share this wonderful news with our family and friends.

Confessions by "e"...

Before I tell everyone why Jennifer is no longer my girlfriend, I have a few confessions to make to her, and I will make them through this blog.  Jennifer, I have lied to you a lot this past month and tonight you found out why, but I want to tell everyone my side of the story.

I never had to look at a house in Nyack that was for sale.  I never had a meeting in the city with the Port Authority.  I never had a meeting in Nanuet.  I never spent 2 hours at Best Buy.  I didn't stay up Thursday night until 2 am because of work.

Here's what I was doing - Nyack, I had to show a friend the setting I had in mind.  Port Authority, I had to pick out a diamond.  Nanuet, I had to go and pick up the ring.  Best Buy, I spent 2 hours at a store looking at scrapbook supplies.  Thursday night, used the scrapbook supplies to make the LO below.

Jennifer is no longer my girlfriend because of my many lies... but she is now my fiancé.  Yup, and this is how I popped the question.

P.S. Jennifer will not be able to post for a couple of days because she can't stop staring at her finger.  She'll blog again very soon...

rain, rain, go away. let the spring flowers come out to play...

quite possible my longest blog post title. ever.

why? well, today marks the first day of spring. our southern new york winter followed the trend of the last few years and though there was very little snow and some downright bizarre spring-like days, we had our fill of rain and wind. yesterday, all day, we had a lovely torrential downpour. mother nature seemed to say, "ha! this is the last day of winter and i'll show you!"

i have stopped counting how many umbrellas have defied gravity and turned inside-out on me, had fabric tearing off of the wires or simply failed to open in just this past season alone. can someone please invent an umbrella that will be immune to these failures for at least three months of usage?

people,  i am officially ready for warm weather, sun, flowers and springtime.  like, now. e and i were talking last week about our local park. we have had several picnics there in the past two summers and he was commenting on how long it felt since we were last able to grab our blanket and books, to camp out on the lawns overlooking the river, for a few hours. i had the immediate desire to take off my shoes and walk through the green grass. i think i have a little longer to wait on that one.

anyway, easter is this coming weekend (well, the first of two easters for me) and tonight, i'll be preparing to head upstate to spend it with e and my family. something to look forward to!

what are you most looking forward to as spring arrives???

gotta love a challenge...

challenges have been one of the only thing getting me to scrap lately.  luckily, i'm involved in two challenge blogs and don't like to let the teams down so, i'm completing at least one layout a week for these.  the pages i'm sharing here are from this week's challenges for: double dog dare ya and sketch this (links are in the left sidebar).  i find them to be a great kick start.  if you haven't tried out these blogs and are looking for some inspiration, give them a try!

if you use it, it will come...

that's the theory, anyway!  use springtime colors and patterns and perhaps the season will make its appearance?  here's hoping. 

i ran across this fresh looking mm line while browsing though the aisles of my local target and it just called out to me - those candy pops, gingham and dots!  more "boy" themed pages than anything else have been coming out of my space lately, especially with every new batch of cute nephew pics but, i needed this anyway.  so, what to do?  pull out a "vintage" photo. 

this one is of me and my grandma mary, obviously a lot of years ago.  a few months back, i was writing out some random memories from my childhood as i flipped though old albums and this one came to mind: velamints.  (do they even make them anymore?)  grandma used to "sneak" me velamints candies when i was visiting or, when my mom wasn't looking. 

if i concentrate, i can picture moving the square candy around my mouth, sticking my tongue in and out of the dent in the center, until it wore the thin section into a little hole. then, having  a little contest with myself to see how long i could hold out just sucking the mint, instead of chomping down and releasing the powerful mint crystals that made my mouth tingle. 

have you scrapped a favorite childhood memory lately???