IT'S THE FINAL COUNTDOWN......

Oh yes, folks - only a few days away! I am at work today and tomorrow, then it is WEDDING TIME!!!! I talked to all the parents yesterday, and everyone is about ready to head out to NC. Mike and I are pumped up and ready to go, and all our friends are excited and ready to party. SWEET.......

Fans of Arrested Development will surely know what this picture means:

"IT'S THE FINAL COUNTDOWN!!!!"

An Anniversary today.....

This time last year, I worked a half day at work. I then went with Cookie and Lauren to Projekt Revolution in Raleigh. I learned I do not like Linkin Park....at all. But, the cool part of the story is that before the concert, I received a call while we were tailgating in the parking lot.



That call was one that brought me where I am today.

After working with Ambassador Joseph for six + years, I started looking for a new job. I loved the travel, I loved my bosses, but I just needed a new challenge. It was time to leave South Africa behind. I was in a new phase of my life, and I needed new scenery and new experiences. Therefore, I embarked on the very frustrating and scary process of searching for a new job. I didn't want just any new job - I have my standards. I wanted to work for a company that I believed in - one that was guided by mission and not dollars. I am the forever nonprofit worker, but I also didn't want to be stuck making $28K/year.

I had applied and interviewed for jobs at Self-Help in years prior. Marketing jobs, research jobs, I was even offered one, but the pay was so low I had to say no. But in 2007, another marketing job opened up, and I gave it a shot. After a great phone interview, the woman on the other end of the line said, "You know, I think you are just too over qualified for this job. But we do have another position open that may fit you better." I agreed to let my resume be turned over to someone else, and I was asked in for an interview for a "Lending Project Manager" position. Honestly, I didn't really understand what they were looking for at all. But, I liked the people I met, and the prospect sounded promising. It went well, but then I hear nothing. Zilch. Zero. For about a month and a half.

Then, out of the blue, I get a call from Brian (who is now my boss) asking me if I would be interested in coming in to meet the rest of the staff. I was surprised and said sure. So, I came into the office, met with the legal counsel, the closing team, the marketing director and a loan officer. Then, I had to take a financial analysis test (which to this day I have no idea how I performed). It was a good day, but after my last experience, I figured it would be a while before I heard anything.

That brings us back to Projekt Revolution. As Cookie, Lauren and I downed beers in the parking lot, my phone rang. It was Brian - with a job offer and the salary I had requested. It was too good to be true. It was then on the phone that I said, "I accept the offer." It was very exciting, and it still is. It was terribly difficult to say goodbye to Ambassador Joseph and Lance, but they are both still in my life. They were proud of me and sad to see me go at the same time - but they were beyond supportive.

I didn't start the job at Self-Help until mid September, but we will talk more about that when the anniversary hits. I just wanted to celebrate today, as it put me on an exciting new career path (it's not just a job anymore - I have a CAREER) that I never would have expected. Feel good finance - it's out there, and I love it!!!!!

Thank you, Scout!

Mike and I are parents to three kitties - Scout, Buddy and Allie. The three do not get along. Well, Buddy and Scout do (as evidenced by the photo below), but no one gets along with Allie except for the people living in our house. Due to this permanent animosity, Scout resides in our bedroom 99.9% of the time - until now that is. Some sort of confidence has overtaken our all white warrior, and he is now coming downstairs, walking on the floor, and even going room to room. It is an amazing transformation.

Scout (L) and Buddy (R) in a snuggle

With that being said, Scout's new found freedom while wonderful for him, has added a whole new level of kitty antics to deal with for us. For example, Scout LOVES to hug the small Ikea lamp next to my bed; ramming his head into the lamp and causing it to make a loud "thunk" on the nightstand is a sure fire way to wake me up and deliver him to the litter box. After that, it's back to the bed to walk around for a bit, snuggle and purr as loudly as possible. If he is feeling antsy, like he has been here lately, the purring is very loud, the patting on the face and arms becomes consistent, and the banging of the lamp continues for fun rather than for purpose of signaling a need to go to the kitty loo.

This morning was one such morning. Coupled with his brother Buddy's persistent meows for food at 5:30am, I was up and awake. I attempted to go back to sleep, but after 30 minutes of near earth shaking purring coupled with my mind rolling wedding "to-do's" back and forth, it was a hopeless cause to go back to sleep. Therefore, I decided to make use of the time, get up, put on some workout clothes and go for a run. It was actually chilly when I left the house and entered the morning outside. By the time I walked out of the neighborhood and hit my run's starting point, I was feeling pretty comfy. I got in a mile and a half run, but the hills were too much - so I did a nice powerwalk for the next mile or so. I got back to the house 45 minutes later and decided I would rest my eyes for a few minutes. TERRIBLE idea. I have felt sleepy nearly all day now. It was great to get my workout out of the way first thing this morning, but yikes - it sure did make my day go kind of funky.

Anyway, thanks, Scout, for the valuable lesson in why I do not exercise in the morning :-)

Not too much to report....

......the wedding is barely over a week away, and at this point there is not much to report. Once the wedding is over, I will be sharing some more details about the celebration, but I don't want to spoil anything for the folks who will be in attendance.

Mike and I were talking about it yesterday, and we both wonder if we should be more nervous! Everything seems to be in place and about ready to go. We are either missing some serious details or are just excellent planners :-)

We are thrilled, excited and excited. Did I mention excited? I can't wait for the day to get here on one hand, but on the other, I know it will go by so fast. Therefore, I am enjoying every moment up to the big event. It is really wonderful!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MADIBA!

Today is the 90th birthday of Nelson Mandela, also known as Madiba in South Africa. An amazing man, an amazing life, an inspiration to the world. Happy 90th birthday, and may you have many happy and healthy years in front of you!

In less world worthy news, Lauren, Cookie and I are off to Charlotte this weekend to party party party. Bachelorette #2 is upon us. Tonight is dinner and wandering; tomorrow is Carowinds and more wandering; Sunday we return home. We are one bridesmaid short as Mer has a once in a lifetime interview with the Humane Society in DC. We will miss her but wish her the best of luck this weekend!

Hopefully I will have some photos to share on Monday!

CIAO!

Digging all the love.....

With the final countdown well underway for the wedding (only 16 full days to go), the response we have been receiving from those around us has been awesome. People tell us how excited they are for us, how much they are looking forward to the wedding, asking us questions about how things are going - and also commenting how calm we seem! Luckily, all the big planning items are in good shape. It's just smaller stuff from here on out.

I just had to mention how wonderful it is to hear so many words of support from the people in our lives. The butterflies are in my tummy everyday - first, because I am about to marry the future father of my children and best partner I could ever imagine having; second because the support we have behind us feels amazing.

Thank you, everyone - and we are just as excited as you are - even moreso!

I love my city

Today at lunch, I needed to run an errand. I had a check to drop off to Duke Tower for the wedding, so I thought, "Hey, I will walk over there and just hand deliver the check. I can get some exercise and check something off my to-do list." So, I headed out to the Towers which is about .75 from the office (I assume). I walk through downtown, help someone get to the bus stop, and I continue my walk past the ever cool West Village, the Durham School of the Arts, past the awesome loft condos and apartments in all the mill buildings, then to Duke Towers. It was a warm walk, but I enjoyed seeing my city by foot.

Dropped off the check, then back to the office - to keep the walk interesting I took a different route back to the office. I traveled past the new Trinity Lofts, a random handbag store, the old Durham Ball Park, the Farmers Market and then back into downtown. Today was rather warm, so I ended up sweating through my shirt and changing into my gym shirt when I got back to the office.

Anyway - it was just a great walk. I love living in Durham, and I know I am at the point where I will have to leave Durham behind soon enough. It always seems that once I feel completely settled, know my way around and have a good network in a city - it's time to go. But that's okay. It's how I get to learn about new places, meet new people and grow and change myself. Mike is on the academic job market right after the wedding, so it is only a matter of time until we say goodbye to Durham. But until then, I am going to keep taking walks and keep showing my city and its people some love.

BACHELORETTE PARTY!

I only have a few pics of the illustrious evening in Raleigh, but let me just say that the Bachelorette Party was a wonderful evening out with my ladies on Glenwood South. Here are a few snippets of the evening for your viewing pleasure.


Getting started at The Red Room

Michelle and Tammy

The Maid of Honor and the Bride to be!

Tammy and Meredith

On the dance floor at the Red Room - who is that guy?? No idea.

Dancing

You may have seen this, you may have not. But I strongly recommend you watch this! It pulls at my heartstrings every time!


Where the Hell is Matt? (2008) from Matthew Harding on Vimeo.

I'm sorry - did I offend you?

When planning any event, there is always etiquette to attend to - the addressing of invitations, the day of the event (beware of holidays, double bookings and on and on), the location of the event (too close to one group, too far for another), the time of the event (she KNOWS I can't be there because of X obligation) - the list is endless. And in wedding planning, we haven't escaped this cold fact.

As we are now only one month and one day from the wedding, I get more and more nervous we have offended or are about to offend people. I worry about who we did and did not invite; I worry about the parties beforehand and those invitations; I worry about those IN the wedding and if I have kept them properly informed and minimally stressed. Are people thinking I am ungrateful? Are we too pushy? Are we too lax and therefore seem disorganized?

Like the post I had up a few days ago - one must not worry too much about what others think of you. It's a fruitless exercise.

But just in case I have offended someone or upset you due to wedding stuff, I truly am sorry. I am trying to balance it all, and sometimes it falls through the cracks. Please, World, accept my apology.......