Dream a Little Dream.....

Our big day has come and gone...but not without memories we will hold close to our hearts for a lifetime. What a perfect day it was!! *Dreamy sigh* I got to marry my sweetheart...my best friend and the man I'm now proud to call my husband, my hottie Scott, under our grand old Oak tree...our Kissing Tree. A venue symbolic of our deep rooted love that continues to branch and grow. What a life we've had so far, and I look forward to all the adventures we are going to continue to have now as husband and wife.

A week later we still have to pinch ourselves to realize we've done it....we took the plunge, we tied the knot, we took that leap of faith to be joined in holy matrimonial in front of family, loved ones and God to become man and wife.

We wanted our day to be filled with love, romance, life and laughter, and it was! The sun was bright and the sky was blue, the sunset was brilliant and the night sky was filled with a zillion brilliant stars. The Gods were smiling down on us that day. We wanted our friends and family to be there to witness our sacred vows to each other, to surround us with their love, good zen energy and spirit as we were pronounced husband and wife. We were enveloped by tons of good mojo as we began our journey and adventures as a married couple. Our guest are our dearest people who have been, and will continue to be, our support system, our morale boosters and our safety net on our journey. Our families came together to celebrate us, with us, and we loved every crazy, fun, loving moment of it!

We are on Cloud 9 and love being married to each other. We are soaking in all the love, well wishes and messages still coming our way. We are basking in our newly wed bubble...beaming and glowing as we are acknowledged as Mr & Mrs. Tobias. Our house that was filled with family and friends is now empty, our wedding stuff has been put away, my beautiful gown has been hung and the last piece of wedding cake has been devoured...today is our first glorious day alone as man, wife and son-son (Coley). Therefore I'm keeping this blog post short and sweet, we dreamed a little dream and it came true ~ we found each other~ 
                                                    
                           October 13, 2012. Our Wedding Day.

 

Wedding Anecdotes

Wedding planning has gone from 0 to a 100 in these last two months leading up to our big day! The countdown has begun on our calendars, checks are being written to our various vendors, crafting parties have been had to get my girl friends to help with all the DIY deco, site visits have been beefed up, RSVP have begun pouring in, wedding bands have been bought, first dress fitting has been had, our pastor who will marry us has been selected, our marriage license obtained and so much more. Here are some anecdotes from the past few weeks, some endearing, some funny:

Free marriage advice with your marriage license: Scott and I headed downtown to the courthouse to obtain our marriage license. It was required that both the bride and the groom go in person. We walked up to the suite and filled up our paperwork and sat down for the long wait. We took a look around and amused ourselves discussing the diverse variety of couples around us. Among them we saw some interested characters dressed in fatigues and a very tough looking woman by herself and we wondered where their partners were...I guess there is a soul mate out there for everyone we joked...only to find out that the suite we were in was for both marriage licenses and weapons carry licenses!! It was quite apparent who was there for what type of license after we learned that. When we joked with the lady handing us our wedding license about the odd pairing, with a dead pan face she exclaimed 'it was better than putting the weapons carry licenses side-by-side with the divorce court two floors below us! That cracked us up! A man there for his weapons carry license proceeded to congratulate us and then shell out marriage advice based on his 30 year marriage track record. Perfect end to the perfect day...for the cost of a marriage license you get marriage advice as a package deal!

Unwelcome guests: So I've been laid up in bed for 4 days now after being visited by the dreaded stomach flu that I would not wish on my worst enemy (not that I have any)...and it so graciously brought some well know friends with it....high fever, horrible cold, body aches, headaches and stomach cramps. They overstayed their visit and left me drained, weak and 3 pounds lighter. I had my first bridal gown fitting and I've lost 3 pounds in 2 days which I'm sure to gain back as soon as I can get off my Gatorade and toast diet. Oh what's a bride to do...the woes of a bride to be!

But my first gown fitting ended up being so much fun, I was weak and sick and had my fabulous friends show up for me. Neha drove me to the fitting which I was so grateful for, I could not trust myself behind the wheel that day. Annette, Amber and baby Josh showed up at the fitting and they all oohed and ahhhed at my gown even though I looked so sick, true friends! Annette brought a whole bag of goodies and made me feel so special with the mimosas, pastries and yummy treats we toasted and made the entire affair a total soiree! Thanks for all the love gals...I'm totally feeling it!

Losing a worker bee to the NFL: Scott has been such a trooper during this planning period, helping out with any task I give him. No task too tough to tackle, he seeks out items for me while he goes picking, he fixes things up, he paints things, hammers items, he gets half the tasks done like the scoping out the DJ, pastor, does site visits with me and has input on all pieces that goes into our wedding. It's not just the brides day after all...this is our wedding. Now as Scott's excitement mounts with the pre-season of the NFL here that signals the inevitable start of the NFL...my heart sinks knowing that I'm soon going to be short one wedding planner, one worker bee. Sigh! oh well...we are on the home stretch and hopefully most of our work is done and we can relax and enjoy the ride from here soon...Scott from the couch with a beer in his hand watching the NFL and me from my DIY workshop in our garage...

My deep knowledge on wedding ceremonies: Scott found a great pastor after talking to a few and narrowing it down to someone he thought I would like. We wanted someone who was young, spirited, personable and took the time to get to know us as a couple. Scott did good and got me on the phone with the pastor he had narrowed it down to. I had a bunch of questions for him and it started off well till my questions turned to and when will you say (in a dramatic voice) "...and Scott will you take Angali to be your lawfully wedded wife" and when will you say "I now pronounce you husband and wife" and I rattled on till I noticed a silence from both Scott and our pastor and so I had to confess "Sorry, everything I know is from the movies, I'm a Hindu" and Scott and our Pastor cracked up! So glad this journey is so entertaining for everyone.....

MIA RSVP card: Our RSVP's started pouring in a week before our deadline, Aug 20...early deadline for an October 13 date? Yes, but that's the planner in me who wants everything buttoned up early so I can kick back with our family and friends closer to our wedding. It was exciting to check the mail everyday and get more RSVP cards that we would rip open with eager anticipation of who's attending our big day.

One Friday night Scott and I were driving to the movies for a late show and as we parked the car I found some mail on the back of the car on the trunk...some junk mail and 1 RSVP card! Scott looked at me in panic exclaiming that he had left it at the back of the car while playing ball with Coley in the yard. He distinctively remembers us receiving 3 RSVP cards in the mail that day. So we had basically lost 2 RSVP cards somewhere between home and the movies!! Scott took one look at me and knew I was panicked and asked if we should ditch the movie and drive back to look for the missing RSVP cards. Now, I've become a bit of a perfectionist and I've been desperately trying not to sweat the small stuff. This was the perfect opportunity not to, so I insisted we not ruin our date night and go ahead and watch our movie. Of course right after our movie was over at midnight I was barking orders at poor Scott, "Drive, high beams on...slow down!" and I've got my head out the window scanning the road for our RSVP cards. We got home and walked our neighborhood with flashlights at midnight still looking for them and telling each other these are the stories we'd tell our grandchildren one day and voila! we find one! That's half the problem solved.....there is still one out there so the mystery of the missing RSVP card continues...so if you...Mr & Mrs. wedding guest have sent it in and still get a call from us asking if you've replied, please forgive us as it may be your RSVP that is lying in the grass off a road somewhere in Roswell!

Bridal craziness: Here are some things you'd only do as a bride:

• Walk around the house in thick socks with your bridal heels to loosen them up...doing it in my undergarments added to the drama, poor Coley thought his mama was finally losing it!
• Figure out the words for a bridal veil lengths, cathedral vs. chapel. I think I mistakenly asked for the  'chandelier' veil to some blank looks around me, I crack myself up!
• Scott's packing for his bachelor party in Tampa FL entailed tees, shorts, sunscreen, cap, glasses...done! Same outfits to be used for deep sea fishing, golfing, beach time and party time on the beach. My bachelorette party packing had all the glitz and glam needed for Vegas, silver heels, gold heels, black heels...I mean come on, I need them all for different outfits. Accessories to go with each outfit, different clutches for each outfit. Bikini for the pool, fedora, sun glasses...the list goes on!
• Buying our wedding rings was so much fun. After we chose ours I got to secretly write my inscription for Scott on his wedding band that he only gets to see on our wedding day. Three little words that sums up the depths and layers of how I feel about our relationship in such a simple clean manner...and it's not 'I love you' which is obvious I do. I can't wait for him to see it :) the day I slip it onto his ring finger and make him my husband!
• My lovely florist/ day-of-planner who I love gave me some advice for the bachelorette party in Vegas: do have the pineapple upside-down cake martini, don't wear an extra short dress that hikes up when you are drunk and you are exposed to the world LOL, only play the slot machines by the entrance as you'll win since the casino wants everyone to see people winning when they walk in, go see a show buying the half-off tickets the day of. She is the cutest sweetest thing ever but never expected to get Vegas advice from her....unexpected and endearing!

So many stories.....so little time so had to put it all in one blog posting...hope you guys enjoy it!

My Picker for Wicker

I'm the luckiest bride-to-be with the wedding deco items I score from my fiance the 'picker'. What's a 'Picker' do (no it does not mean one who picks their nose LOL), here are some Wikipedia definitions for Picker:

• A farmworker at harvest time
• A common job title for order picking in a warehouse
• Guitar picker, a country music term for guitarist
• A person noted for collecting or hoarding

My fiance Scott is the last one, he collects/buy and then sells them....I hoard some of the items he picks that I wanna keep LOL! His specialty is antique electronics that he sometimes restores before he sells them all over the world. I love going 'picking' with him on weekends, I score things for our house and he scores antiques & unique items that have high resale value. This year I've been picking items for our wedding...frames, silver tea sets, silver trays, vases, window panes etc. But my favorite pick thus far has been the wicker furniture that Scott scored for outdoor seating at our wedding.

For our outdoor wedding we wanted a space that had outdoor seating for our guests without breaking the bank. White wicker set with pillows that we could totally restore:

So Scott is the process of giving it a fresh coat of white paint while I create fresh pillow covers for all the pillows.

And voila!..we'll have our wedding outdoor seating during cocktail hour set up for our guest to sit on while they sip on their cocktails and watch the yard games. Hopefully we can recreate this type of outdoor seating (below) on our wedding day to make it as magical at 1/5th cost :)

Thank you my wicker picker....my fiance & love Scott!

The Kissing Tree

Right after we got engaged we started thinking about what type of wedding we'd like to have, starting with the setting- the venue. I started looking up pictures online for inspiration knowing we wanted an outdoor wedding.  Scott and I love being outdoors on lakes, rivers, oceans and the seas and surrounded by trees. We did look for venues by a lake and even thought about a beach wedding. But it's these pictures below that sealed the deal that I was going to marry my sweetheart Scott under a big old grand tree. Something so symbolic of deep rooted love that grows ~ *heart*

Our wedding venue's heart and soul for us is this grand old oak tree.  Under this tree we will exchange our vows and become man and wife on October 13, 2012. It's our tree of life, our kissing tree...it's this tree, towards which I will make my way down to my groom and my future, waiting for me under the magnificent branches of this beautiful romantic old oak tree.

A lot of thought and planning has gone into, and continues to go into, how I'm going to decorate this important tree, that's a the focal point of our ceremony.

The old oak tree at The Farmhouse Inn @ Hundred Acre Farm

When it comes to decorating wedding ceremony trees my research has made me come across it ALL....pom-poms, flowers, string lights, kissing balls, chandeliers, ribbons, paper lanterns, bird cages and more....all hanging from the branches of these trees.

But I know EXACTLY what I want on my tree...ahem correction, our tree. Lanterns, lots of pretty hanging lanterns with candles! I've visualized it, researched endless pictures, thought about how it's going to look over and over. I've done everything short of actually hanging lanterns in my wedding tree! It's so important because based on what I choose, I'm only going to see the final effect of my hanging lanterns on our wedding rehearsal day, the day before our wedding!

Finding the exactly type of lantern, and deciding between hanging them with white ribbon vs. black ribbon are the decisions I need to make in the next couple of months. This is one decorative task I do not take lightly, after all we chose to get married at The Farmhouse Inn at Hundred Acre Farm in Madison GA because we found our kissing tree here!

~Come meet me under the oak tree
You will be able to find me there
Smelling of jasmine flowers 
As I have weaved them through my hair~

Will work for shoes!

I'm 5ft 3in...and therefore live in my high heels for work, dinners, parties and more. I went from being a tomboy to a heel wearing chica only a couple of years ago. This was in a large part due to influences from my European business school friends, Cristina & Viktoria. They showed me the more you live in your heels the more accustomed you get in them. "No pain, no gain" was Viktoria's favorite line. Now I wear heels to work almost everyday and call them my power heels...it's second nature for me to slip into a pair. Of course the tomboy in me comes out as needed to throw on my hiking shoes, softball cleats, water shoes, flip flops, and running shoes as need be.

So as I approached my 1st wedding gown fitting appointment I panicked! With everything else going on I had not given any thought to, let alone had an idea yet of what type of heel I'd like to wear on my wedding day. At first I'd want to be adventurous and have a pop of color under my gown...a fun hot pink/fuchsia heel maybe? This idea was soon discarded as after two whole days of shoe shopping, and my best friend Kirti doubling up looking for me as well, not a single hot pink pair 'got me'.

I then had the 'comfort vs.couture' debate with myself, and yeah couture a.k.a really pretty heels won! I did give mid-size heels and pretty flats, a.k.a 'not-as-chic-to-wear-on-your-wedding-day-shoes' a good shot, but found nothing that appealed to me. I finally decided on finding really pretty high heels that was more me and would made me feel like a bride. I must admit finding about these little things called sole mates helped seal my decision. They are little clear blocks that you can put over your skinny heels to broaden the base so your heels don't sink into the grass...why didn't I come up with that...it's genius!

But the road to finding my perfect princess-bride-super-chic heels was not an easy road. I trekking through every store in the mall, outdoor boutiques & specialty shoe stores after work, using my summer hours, my weekends too, but to no avail. Now a girl in a mall, or shopping anywhere for that matter, is unlike like a man with a mission....we tend to get side tracked, distracted or easily excited by shiny stuff he he. So as you may have guessed, the road to my delightful bridal heels had a lot of detours along the way :)

Distraction #1...was due to none of the above reasons...this one was brought on more so by curiosity! I've always wondered how those scary looking eye lash curlers worked. Hmm...maybe I'll try them on my droopy non-existent lashes to see if they do some magic. The prospect was scary but while I wandered past the Sephora store curiosity got the better of me, so I paused, turned, and went right in. A guy showed me how the eye-lash curler works and proceeded to tell me how he uses it every morning...."honey it's so easy and pinch-less you'd do it in your sleep"...sold! Tee hee. So I bought one of those scary looking contraptions, tickled to see Scott's reaction...which he did not fail to rise to when he saw this and said, "And that goes where?' Priceless!

Distraction #2...you can blame this purchase on our upcoming nuptials and all the time I spend discussing/ thinking about roses, petals, hearts, cutesey love saying and quotes, romantic songs for our first dance, love letters, wedding vows. My in-the-clouds-of-love-foggy head stirred me towards this book filled with love quotes. After all I could use this as inspiration when it comes time to writing my own vows!

Distraction #3...now this purchase I blame on the euphoria and high I'm on as the count down to our wedding begins. This walking-on-sunshine gal, me, did a double take when I came across this book, a New York Times bestseller - 'The Happiness Project', that sounds like a title of a book I would write. I had to have some light fun reading to decompress from my crazy wedding planning days. I already love this book and reading it make me even happier..as if that was even possible!

And finally back to the mission in hand. All those things I told you that catches a gal's eye got mine...when ahhhhhhhhhh....I saw these rock-star, blinged out, sexy and oh-so-chic heels. They were calling my name and I knew I had found them.....my wedding heels!

With everything I bought in my quest for these beauties (above)...I literally will work for shoes!

Prelude to the Honeymoon

We spent a glorious week in Hawaii to attend Scott's older brother Jason's beach wedding. It was one of those once-in-a-lifetime-trips...sigh! We stayed in an amazing beach house that had huge windows through which you could only see sky and ocean. We had the beach in our back yard. We slept to the sound of the ocean every night, and woke up to walks on the beach with warm mugs of coffee in our hands.

I got to wear a flower in my hair everyday...be barefooted a lot...and get really brown from being sun kissed everyday....I found my bliss in being a wanna be island girl for at least a week!

I teared up at the beautiful heartfelt wedding of Jason and Marsha, held at sunset on the gorgeous Papa'iloa beach. The entire wedding party was barefooted and lei'd for the beautiful ceremony, present to celebrate the handsome couple as they made their vows to each other. A true celebration of love!

Jason and Marsha tie the knot!

Scott and I spent a lot of time with his folks going for long hikes with breathtaking views of Hawaii, eating at local eateries all along the North Shore and in our quaint little town of Haleiwa...the highlight was the shrimp scampi from a local shrimp truck on the North Shore, Giovanni's, I still dream of that shrimp! We grilled fresh fish and made mango margaritas from mangoes bought at the local farmers market...we sipped on local passion fruit wine and ate Scott's homemade yum guacamole. Beach life was gooood!

Beautiful Diane with the wind in her hair~the Lighthouse hike

Sunrise over Hawaii-Diamond Head

We visited various beaches, swam in a gorgeous waterfall, saw the most colorful birds. Scott and I paddle boarded with sea turtles swimming...gliding....so gracefully under our paddle boards and popping their heads up besides us.

Anytime we were alone we inevitably got asked if we were honeymooners :) ....and our response was always 'not yet, but soon!'

Finally to the story that inspired this blog post- Sea Kayaking. My most favorite part of our trip was the sea kayaking trip....though this statement is still a dispute in our household today :) We planned on renting sea kayaks and following a map from a local adventure company. We were river kayakers after all, we didn't need a guide...pffft! We were also taking individual kayaks vs. taking out a tandem one. Enter 'Crazy Bob' who gave us all the instructions on our sea kayaking trip. It started off pretty standard with him showing us the map with 3 islands off the coast. The first was the easy island to paddle to...20 minutes away. Scott and I scoffed at this one...too easy! Next was a beautiful island which was a protected bird sanctuary that was a 45 minute paddle distance away, kayakers were allowed to land there but you have to follow a very strict sea route to get there. And the third island was off limits to land on. Scott and I glanced at each other & said "second island" in unison...definitely the second island.

So crazy Bob proceeds to tell us the 'route' to get to the second beautiful island 3 miles away...that went something like this "...you have to paddle away from the island and not directly towards it. If you leave this path you are in dangerous waters and people have died doing this! Launching and landing the kayak with the waves are the hardest part as it can capsize your boat. Once you reach the island you can explore but make sure when you walk around the rocky terrain that it's not high tide, as the waves will slam you up against the rocks and 6 people have been reported dead there!!'....sooooo after this super encouraging instructional talk I'm admittedly scared and jittery! After I admit to 'crazy Bob' that I'm nervous...his response...are you on your honeymoon? are you Pakistani and don't be nervous unless you have a life insurance policy against you. "Huh?" He proceeds to tell us about a Pakistani couple honeymooning there who go kayaking in a tandem kayak. They find the husband washed up on the island who tells authorities they were attacked by a shark and his wife went down while he clung to the kayak. He then went back to Pakistan and cashed in on the huge life insurance policy he had taken out on his new bride. When the authorities eventually find his wife's body, there are no signs of a shark attack on her or the kayak!! I thank crazy Bob for that lovely story that has helped me calm my nerves...NOT! LOL

We proceed to the beach where we are going to launch our kayaks.We had heard that we chose the perfect day as the wind speed was low, and the waves were moderate. We find ourselves on one of the most postcard perfect beaches...white sand, crystal blue waters and blue skies. Scott' parents lay on the beach and watch us launch our kayaks and until we push off past the waves into the blue.

Sea warriors before our 6 mile journey

While we paddled out into the blue waters, the scene laid out before us was breathtaking. We had kitesurfers all around us with their colorful kites catching the wind. We had paragliders dotting the blue skies...and we had fellow kayakers in the distance making it to the 'easy' island. It's was the most perfect day and I took it all in wanting to preserve this moment forever...trying to imprint it into my brain. We pass the 'easy' island with ease. This island looks flat and boring and we see a lot of kayakers landing there and on the island exploring it. We paddle on and Scott and I are having a grand old time, with our sights set on the second island looming in the distance...and then the wind picked up! It got harder and harder to feel like we were even moving forward. The wind was hitting us head on and if we even took a break you were moving backward and losing mileage...so we paddled on without a break. I got more and more frustrated and it was now mind over matter. The island was like a mirage, seemed so close but was yet so far.

Scott saw how hard it was for me with the wind and gave me more than one out...which I never took. He tried to get me to hold on to his kayak saying he would pull me along. "Never" I said...I'm not a weakling..I will do this with my own power even if it kills me. He asked if I'd like to turn back....as we saw so many others do along the way. "As if"...I said exasperated. He also pointed out that I was the only girl in my own kayak trying to make it to the second island. I look around and notice the only others heading to the second island are either men or tandem kayakers with a girl and a guy...usually a pretty beefy looking guy who's obviously doing most of the work. And now I was even more determined to make it...it now became a challenge. 'Challenge' I call it...Scott's calls it 'pride'...'pot-a-to'....'poo-taa-toe'....whatever!

I ducked my head from the wind, gritted my teeth and kept paddling at a constant steady pace...it almost seemed impossible to make it. I got my second wind when Scott said 'Ang, look right besides you'. And there they were, a mommy sea turtle and her baby swimming right besides us. The baby kept bobbing his/her head up in the water right next to my kayak and my heart melted. I paddled right besides them talking to the baby 'Hiiiii honey, I'm coming with you....you're so cute!!....awwww' yup I'm a bit crazy hehe.

You know that saying that you really get to know yourself in times of crisis and/or under great stress...oh boy did I get to know myself. I had no grace under pressure! hehe...I was cussing the wind, the waves, the island. Scott on the other hand looked like he was gliding along smoothly. There was one point when I had to shoo Scott away from me so I don't ruin his experience with my cussing out loud. He pulled ahead of me....and at one point he looked back and I was doing the ugly cry out of pure frustration while digging my paddle into the surf..LOL! Scott said "Thank God this is not our honeymoon!" LOL

It took us two hours of continuous paddling to land on the island. We almost thought we'd get applauded when we landed on the beach. It really felt like I had completed the Ironwoman! It was a huge accomplishment and as I've tried to explain to a skeptical Scott over and over...it was so worth the sweat and tears...and I would do it again a heart beat. We lay on the white sand beach, ate our lunch, swam together in the blue waters, floated on our back looking at the blue skies and just took it all in. We asked fellow kayakers to take our picture and as we kissed...she looked up smiling and asked "Awww are you guys on your honeymoon?"....."NO" we said in unison and burst out laughing!

The Long Engagement

There is such an euphoria that comes with being engaged...being a 'fiancee'..wearing an engagement ring...flashing it with glee when asked by strangers and friends alike...referring to my boyfriend here on forward as 'my fiance' and never going back to the term 'boyfriend'. The whole engagement period is one big giddy, happy & totally in love phase that is heightened knowing it comes with an expiration date...our wedding date-October 13th, 2012!!

I love all the one-time, temporary things or incidents that come with being engaged.

The one time Facebook status updates and relationship changes announcing our 'engagement' are just fun and exciting~ I guess this replaces the old school newspaper announcements that couples used to do.

Scott's Facebook status when he announced our engagement~ <3

My Facebook relationship status change ~ engaged to Scott!

My first Facebook profile picture, us as an engaged couple :)

Here are the funny cute stories during this phase that we'll never forget:

• One fine day Scott made that inevitable phone call that was going to change his life forever...the call to my folks to ask for my hand in marriage. My folks live in India and we live in Atlanta, so he had to do it over the phone though he would have liked to do it in person. He later told me how nervous he was while he dialed their number, country code first, then area code and finally their number. He got a very enthusiastic "Yes, we love you and are so happy for you!" from my mom. My dad on the other hand said a lot about me, his beloved daughter, but instead of getting the "yes" from him he ended with "Scott put it in a letter and mail it to me"~LOL. So here's Scott writing the most important letter of his life and having to wait a good 2-3 weeks with bated breath to get a letter back from my dad...the wait was excruciating! But the day the letter arrived not only did he get my dad's "yes", his blessing, but it was also the most heartwarming letter I've ever read that it brought me to tears. All I can say is "Scott, great things come to those who wait"~ me hehe. 

• Was very tickled to learn a new word for 'Fiancee' when Scott's 93-year old grandma introducing me around as Scott's 'intended'~ adorable

• Right after we got engaged in India (Thanksgiving day 2011), my dad came up to Scott & I to give us an awesome honeymoon gift..a week in the beautiful Bahamas. The deal was that we had to go in 2012 as it was part of my parents Time Shares. The words were barely out of my mouth telling my dad I had no unplanned vacation time left in 2012 with our two weddings and Scott's brother getting married in Hawaii, before the brochure was outta our hands and my dad was hollering to my mom "Jyothi, we are going to the Bahamas next year!" ~Hilarious. 

• One of the flower girls for our wedding is my adorable 3-year old niece Neharika. Ever since I got engaged we've been talking to Neharika about being Angie Boji's (i.e.me-Aunt Angali) flower girl when I marry Uncle Scott. We even had a gift for her, a story book about a little girl named Fiona whose aunt asked her to be her flower girl at her wedding. By now we thought Neharika would have comprehended everything..we thought wrong! My maid of honor a.k.a. my big sis Anu, and little Neharika came to see me try on my wedding gown. When I came out of the fitting room in my white gown...her eyes got wide and she had a light bulb moment when she exclaimed "Angie Boji (Aunt Angali), you're getting married?!!!" Unforgettable memory *heart*

Our little flower girl N'ika with her Flower Girl gift

Us with our soon-to-be Flower Girl- N'ika

So may our engagement period be the long engagement that never ends~ or will that take away all the joy if it's forever with no end date? Hmm...so just like the saying goes about life..live each day like it's your last. I'll cherish each day being engaged like it was my last being Scott's fiancee...because before I know it the end will come, my engagement band will have a buddy..a wedding band nuzzled up next to it, and I'll embark on the next wonderful adventure when I become Scott's wife :)