Dinner on the Beach is Not a Cocktail, After Saturday I Would Know.......

A few days ago I celebrated my 30th bday. A few days ago I might have added an exclamation point to the end of that sentence. I'm not so excited anymore. Drink, drank, drunk. There wasn't a moment of my bday night that I didn't have a shot in front of me. Usually when out for cocktails I like to feel just a hint of tipsy, a light shading of that warm, fuzzy feeling you get after a couple of drinks. I like to be the boss of me, not booze. I know my limits and I like to stay inside my self-imposed invisible, electric fence.


However.


I decided ahead of time that I wanted to completely throw caution to the wind and really let loose. Its my big 30th bday right? My last opportunity to make a complete fool of myself before 'officially' entering into my adulthood. And boy did I stick to my guns. I set out to do it big and I succeeded. It was a great night, a blur of laughing and giggling and toasting myself. I did have a minor meltdown at midnight and insisted that I needed a moment to be alone but it passed (thanks to Megan and Jackie) and then the laughing, giggling and toasting myself resumed. All of this was a part of my plan. The getting home and telling John I felt sick then promptly throwing up on the floor (and not into the trash can) was NOT a part of my plan. Nor was the waking up the next morning feeling like there was a hatchet buried in my skull or the constant nausea that was like a mean, little, green-colored friend pointing and laughing at me all day. Literally, I pictured this. I must have been hallucintating from the extreme dehydration.


After enough Advil to numb an elephant and enough water to drown myself, I emerged victorious. I survived the night and now I'm 30! OK I guess I'm ready to be excited again. It feels pretty good actually. I love fresh starts. I love new beginnings. And since this is our wedding blog I must mention John and thank him yet again for a wonderful night, for baby-sitting me, and for holding back my hair. Love you schmutzy!


In wedding related news, its time to pick our wedding package. We are currently mulling over having dinner in one of the resort's restaurants (cheaper) or having a private dinner on the beach (not cheaper). The beach dinner looks so lovely in all the pictures I've seen and I'm afraid I've already made up my mind. See?

Its just so darn beautiful. I'm trying to stay money-minded and frugal but a small part of me is saying go-ahead Tina, splurge a little, it is your big day afterall. I mean come on, my feet would be touching sand underneath the dinner table. What's more 'beach wedding' than that? We need to decide asap though so our wedding coordinator with the resort can reserve the space for us.  I love this part of the planning process. If I'm this excited now, I can't wait to see how I'm going to be when it comes time to pick out the flowers. I'm sure John is excited for that part too. :)

My Dream Life

I found this old entry in a journal of mine from a couple years ago. I thought it was so sweet and it makes me happy to know that a lot of what I dreamed about has already happened and a lot more that is just around the corner. Ahhh the dreams of my younger self.......

My Dream Life
We are both making decent money. At least enough to pay the bills and still have a little left over for fun or saving. We'll get engaged and then a little while later get married. All our closest family members and friends will be there and it will be an amazing night. We'll live in a nice place in an affordable area close to work and our family and friends. I'll plant flowers everywhere and you will become a grill expert. I will learn to make the perfect margarita. We will still go out too, for dinner and drinks in the area and downtown for special concerts and ball games. We will never take our friends for granted and always make time for them, but mostly our lives will be about spending time with each other. Not even doing anything spectacular, just living. Doing all of the normal things people sometimes dismiss as not being special. Spending each day taking care of each other. I'll make our home the most welcoming of places and there will always be yummy scents coming from the kitchen. It will be decorated beautifully, reflecting both our tastes. You will have a place to play video games and I will have my space for reading. The spark between us will never fade over time. Eventually our love will create a baby. Boy or girl, you will teach the virtues of patience and honesty and I will teach our child how to see and appreciate the beauty in the world. We will always remain true to each other no matter how life changes around us. Everyday we'll grow to love each other more.

I talk a lot about how happy I am and how much I love John and I know it can get a little syrupy at times, but if there is ever a time to gush about love its now. So yes, its true, I friggin love this guy and I think he is pretty fing amazing! There. That wasn't too nauseating was it?

The 10,000 Dollar Question

So, as some of you may already be aware, Judy, my totally awesome mom, gave us a choice between using $10,000 for a traditional big day (church, reception, etc.) or not having a big wedding and keeping the money. At first the choice was easy for me, bring on the wedding!! I wanted what every girl dreams about: the big dress, the ceremony in the church that my whole family has been married in, the huge reception with delicious food, lots of drinks, and of course dancing. For John the choice was also easy, take the money!! He wanted what every boy dreams about: being debt free, having a little extra in savings, and just feeling more financially secure in general (maybe a new game system too, a new Wii is what I've been hearing a lot from him these days). We went back and forth and contemplated the pros and cons of each scenario and, after many late night chats while consuming wine on our deck, we came up with a perfect solution, getting married in Mexico!! We both really wanted to go on a honeymoon in Mexico but, unfortunately, that wasn't going to be in our budget if we did the bigger wedding at home. With this new plan we can have a beautiful (and cheaper!) wedding, have our honeymoon, and have some money in the bank. BUENO! I literally could not be happier with how things are turning out. This decision we've made feels so right to us. Me, John, the people closest to us, and a beach. Ahhhh, I'm totally blissing out right now just thinking about it. I also think its really cool that we will not just be having a wedding DAY, we'll be having a wedding WEEK. Its going to be great, a week on a beach with everyone we love, tequila poppers, hanging out at the pool bar, margaritas, eating delicious all-inclusive food, modelo beer, dancing in the discotecs, more tequila poppers, doing all the tourist-y things...and then of course our beach wedding! Not too shabby, right? So this puts a whole new spin on the wedding planning process. So far we've made two big decisions. 1. take the money. 2. get married in Riviera Maya, Mexico. Next up on our list is visit with a travel agent this weekend to scope out the best deals. Let the games begin.....