le bridesmaids

it's official! i have 6 bridesmaids!  I wanted to ask these girls all along, but I had to make sure that Taylor had guys to match up with them.  and he did, so here we are! i'm showing a pic of around the time that I first met these girls, except for my sisters of course, and another more recent one.

First off, the Maid of Honor: 

Jenna Piassoli! She's the best friend I've ever had, hands down.  Although I have good friends that I've known for longer, this girl just GETS me.  It was no question that she would be my MOH! but i wont get all sappy... I'll just say that I am so glad you called :)

Then of course, there are my sisters! the girls that i grew up with, laughed with, learned with....gosh there are so many stories.  I cant even begin to tell you girls how much I love you, but i will say this:  I have THE prettiest sisters, no contest :)

I met the next three girls in college.  I gotta say, God knew what he was doing when he got A&M to mess up student housing my freshman year.  We all ended up in the top floor of Kiest Hall, a dorm that's usually only available to the Corps of Cadets.  I think that the peculiar circumstances we found ourselves in really made us stick together and become so close.  We're the ones that got to wake up at the butt crack of dawn along with the morning formations, hold our noses as we walked upstairs so we didn't have to smell the guys doing PT in the hallways, and evacuate the building whenever the upperclassmen decided to smoke their fish.  But really, I feel like we got to see a side of A&M that only a few students get to see.  I loved it. and I love these girls.

Namrata Singh!  We like to call her Nimi. and when we're together, we're Nimi and Nikki, which sounds an awful lot like Minnie and Mickey :) I can talk to her about anything. She's laid back, kick-ass at doing makeup, and i'm super jealous of her hair...  she's my Nimi!

Hannah Matthews!  Hannah is the most genuinely GOOD person i know.  She's the kind of person that makes you relax mentally; i can actually feel it when i'm around her.  She's honest, trustworthy, and has the most contagious laugh you'll ever hear.. She's my Bananas!

Christina Kwon! We call her Stina..and she's...beautiful.  Let's call a spade a spade.  But I've never met someone more down to earth and caring as this girl.  She's so...time..speed of light..sound... well, in any case, she's my Stina!

and there you have it! I'm so excited, proud, blessed, and honored to call these girls my bridesmaids! I love you!

am.excited.

so the planning started on day 3 of our engagement.  leave it to me to sprint to the next milestone after reaching the last.  i can't focus on work, i'm constantly staring at my ring with a ridiculous smile on my face, and i'm contemplating the nickname i'm gonna give my husband-to-be.  this is so girly of me.

a few things are already in place:
-My little cousin Tera will be my flower girl!  She's the cutest diva-rockstar kindergartener you'll ever meet.
-I have decided on my bridesmaids, and Taylor has picked his groomsmen too!
-Colors will be black/white and silver.  (real shocker there)
-It's going to be a winter wedding.  I'm shooting for December/January, keeping holidays in mind.
-I want all white flowers, crystal embellishments, and an all-over wintery theme.
-Taylor and I agree, we want the reception to more like a party! with dinner of course :) we want our wedding to be a celebration of friends and famlily.

venues are another story.  the problem is that i have an idea and then *whoosh!* it goes out of my head quicker than you can say "church? hotel? park?" i recognized this, and so last night before i feel asleep, when i had an idea i quickly texted my mom "PINE CONES!" so i wouldn't forget.  and yes amber, when i thought of that i also thought of Sid the Sloth :)

but i keep telling myself that it's gonna work out! i have so many people willing to help me, and most of them are way more creative than me.  and you know, when it comes down to it, i'm gonna marry Taylor exactly where I was always meant to.  That's such a peaceful thought.

Just pray for me to remember that when i feel like shutting myself in a closet :)

the engagement blog

i am not the girl that cries at chick flicks, when the guy finally gets the girl.  i do not squeal high-pitchedly when something exciting happens, like hearing about a new pregnancy.  i barely even get a lump in my throat when the most heartfelt, sappy love song comes on the radio.

so, i believe i was the most surprised person to find out that i could be reduced to a sobbing mess when Taylor proposed.  yep, we are officially an engaged couple. *cue sappy love song*

 i was having a bad day.  make that a horrible day. one for the books.  a lot of the reasons for my mood may seem silly, but that's only because they are.  have you ever woken up and just knew, within a few minutes, that it would be better just to go back to bed? yea.  it all started when taylor woke up (this was Saturday, when we usually sleep in) at 9-ish and bounded out of bed and started cleaning.  he was perky too. the kind of unholy perky that makes you want to punch a dolphin.  i am not a morning person, mind you.  so with me wanting to slap that adorable grin off his face, and being all-around mad at the world for waking up so early, i rolled out of bed thinking about clouds, profanities, and why the hell taylor was so happy.
   I almost stepped in Excrement a la Daisy as soon as i stood up.  yay, days without potty training accidents are back to zero.  taylor heard me mumble something about crap, and he walked in and said
  "oh hey! you're up! wanna go for a walk? its beautiful outside."
i looked out the window.  why yes, it looked both sunny and inviting.  alright, i thought, but i won't like it.
  "sure...let me get ready first, and im hungry, and daisy *mumble grumble* on the floor."
  "oooookay!" said taylor, and skipped happily off to do more nice things like washing dishes.  weirdo.

i walked to the bathroom and surveyed myself.  should i wash my hair? naaaah, i'll just tie it back and no one will know.  in the midst of doing this, my favorite hair tie broke.  i tried to throw it in the trash and i missed.  also, taylor didn't put a new liner in after he took the trash out.  i gave up in the bathroom and tried my luck in the kitchen, where taylor has just finished starting a load of dishes.  i gave him a look that dared him to ask how i was doing, and reached in the pantry for some instant oatmeal.  my favorite, maple and brown sugar, was out and all i had left was apple and walnut.  fine.  as i warmed up my oatmeal in the microwave, i saw that i had neglected my house plant too long and it was drooping to the point of exhaustion.  i hastily watered it, and turned back to my oatmeal.  of course! i made it too runny.
   i'm too much of a penny-pincher to throw an entire packet of instant oatmeal away, so i sadly slurped my breakfast at the dining table.  This was the point that i first noticed that something was up, as i watched Taylor in all his engagement-day glory (unbeknownst to me).  but i didn't have long to dwell on that, because i saw that Daisy had just peed on the carpet. 

the rest of the morning continued just as miserably and self-pityingly, but let's cut to the chase. 
so we were on our walk, Daisy in tow, and we had meandered over to the park that was close to our house.  it was right beside the dog park, which was why i thought was the reason for going, because i was under the impression that the walk was mainly for Daisy's exercise.  But first, we sat on the swings where we had once talked on our first date/hang out. 

Then Taylor pulled out an old note I had written a long time ago to him.  One time I sent him on a scavenger hunt for "coupons" for things like a free back rub, a movie, dinner, etc.  But I had run out of ideas and so on the last one i said "Good for anything you want, so make it good!"

As I read that coupon, it finally clicked.  The perkiness, the extra-nice-to-me-even-though-i-don't-deserve-it behavior, the random walk, everything.  I looked up at him just as he got up to stand in front of me and kneel down.  and he said,

"Nikki, I love you and I want to spend my life with you.  Will you marry me?"  -with the most adorable quiver in his voice. 

Of course, my jaw dropped to the floor.  so did the leash and my sunglasses i was holding.  i stood up thinking, i'm supposed to stand up right? --it's funny  how you can see hundreds of proposals on tv and think you know what to do, and then when it's your turn you feel like a football player trying to be the star in Swan Lake.  But besides that, I said yes.  I said yes!  *cue crying*

Yes, I bursted into tears like nobody's business.

And it was as simple and perfect as that!  If only i'd woken up in a better mood.  leave it to me to put a damper on my engagement day.  After talking about everything, ("do you KNOW how angry you looked this morning? jeez!") we started walking back to the house.  I had to call everyone! Mom and Dad, Jenna, my sisters, and then all my friends.  But as i was walking up the stairs to our apartment, I saw Callie, Jenna's dog, come running up to say hi.  It was one of those moments where you think wait, if you're here....then THAT means.....
Yes! My family and Jenna came running around the corner with big "yea, we knew it all along" smiles on their faces.  I should have known that they wouldn't have missed this.  The rest of the day was a blur of hugs and phone calls.

oh yea! here's the ring :)

**i realize that the purpose of this blog was to document the "in-between" times. but how can i not post about this? besides, there will be plenty more in-betweens to come*

So here we are! one of my longer blogs, but i think the occasion justifies the length.  I have a fiance now! and no, I have no idea when/where the big day will be, but we'll get there!

till then, im gonna go look at my ring and daydream a little more :)

haircut from hell. also, i got a dog

i don't know about you, but i always enjoy my 30 minutes of special attention when i'm getting my hair cut.  i actually cut my hair myself a lot, so the few times i have a professional do my 'do are relished even more.  on top of that, i was really looking forward to it, because i'd had a bad day.  last week was not one of those times.  far from it.  in order for you to completely understand the trauma i went through, i need to illustrate. 

I like to think of myself as a well-kept person.  even when my hair is in dire need of some TLC, it doesn't look all that bad.  i should note that i drew these pictures on my iphone with limited tools, so please add in your own imagination on what a good haircut looks like.  this is what i wanted: a classic, easy-to-grow-out style.  it's as simple as that.

but no,  it was never to be.  first off, i only wanted a trim, but i told the lady to go ahead and wash and style it for me too.
 
1. she washes my hair.  no, she stratches my head for about 5 seconds with a tiny bit of shampoo.  she conditions the same way.  she finished up and while i walk to the chair, i feel the back of my head and confirm my suspicions that half of my hair wasn't washed, or even wetted.  yep, completely dry back there.

2. she combs my hair out before cutting. no, she yanks the top layer straight, leaving the rest a gnarled mess.

3.  she carefully trims the ends, keeping in mind that i told her i was trying to grow my hair out.  no, she lobs off about an inch of the length. nevermind the layers i have, it doesn't matter if only about a fourth of my hair gets cut.

4.  she blow dries and straightens my hair into submission, knowing that i have thick hair and stubborn curls.  no, she scalds my head with the blow dryer, manages to create a huge rat's nest in the back, and singes the top of my hair when she held the straightener in the same place for over 5 seconds.  i called it quits by then, so only the very top layer got straightened, leaving the rest a curly mess. 

5. she noticed that she missed a spot in the back, and offered to fix it.  NO! at that point i said, in a carefully controlled voice, that i didn't want her to cut any more, and that i was leaving.  yes i paid...because i am a pansy.

needless to say, i walked out of the salon looking something like this:

absolutely awful.  i left steaming, with full intentions of calling somebody and complaining.  but by the time i got to my car i was crying.  that's what i do, i cry when i'm mad.  it's pathetic.  i cried pitifully for about 15 minutes when i got home (after finding a glob of shampoo that was dried into my hair) and then sucked it up and told myself i would just go get it fixed the next day.  and i did, and its fine now, thank gosh. i still dont think that taylor understands what happened, poor guy. i'm sure on his side of the story, when he saw his frizzy, weepy girlfriend storm through the front door and march straight to the shower, he was a little confused. 

now that i've got that out of my system, here is the new addition to the family!

I've name her daisy :) and she's the cutest little cuddly thing i've ever seen. I've only had her for a while, so i'll post more about her another time, when i've gotten to know her better.

till then, never get your hair cut at Urban Salon in College Station, especially from a girl who looks like this:

i should have known that any beautician that wears a hat was something to be afraid of....

jane eyre = need to learn french?

i decided i'm going to try to learn French on my own.  it popped into my head after i finished reading "Jane Eyre" yesterday, and i realized that back in the day, well educated women could speak, read and write 2 languages, if not more.  well....i'm well educated, aren't i? time to hit the books.

I'm doing this the hard way, with a book and a dictionary.  The book is titled "Cortina's French in 20 Lessons," and the 81st edition was made in 1971 if that tells you anything.  and its laid out like a school book, with a ton of vocabulary at the first of the lesson that you need to master before you can go on with the lesson.  Lesson 1 has a whopping 71 words i need to memorize, pronunciation and all.  it explains how to say it too, but so far i suck at rolling my r's and making that throaty sound that comes after a lot of the words.  but i feel good about it!

and then i happened to come across a podcast that teaches you spoken french; its called Coffee Break French.  this guy is awesome.  he does spanish too, for all you people who don't insist that the hispanics in america learn english.  :)  so with studying the grammar and spelling, as well as practicing the spoken, maybe i can do this! (and it would really come in handy for my trip this august.)

on another note, i finally broke down and started to read Eat Pray Love.  i'm not usually the type to want to read a book after i've already seen the movie (bc all i can see in my head are the actors, and i cant make anything up myself).  i'm only to chapter 9, (short chapters) but at least i haven't given up yet.  its easy enough to read too, and she writes with my kind of humor.  anyway, this isn't a book club. 

aaaand i woke up with a sore throat and a headache today. (i think the headache is just from reading from my kindle app in the dark last night)  when did i start being a sickling? this sucks.

till then... au revoir!