Monday, May 23, 2011

Oh, hi there.

It'a me.  The unexciting one.  You know, the one to whom nothing ever happens.
Except that something has happened.  One week ago yesterday (Sunday, May 15, 2011 at 6:00 pm, to be exact) I got married.
Yeah.
MARRIED.
:]

Ryan and I were sitting around, half-heartedly packing for our vacation at the beach and we just thought....why not just go ahead and get married while we're there?  It'll save us a heck of a lot of stress and planning, there won't be any hurt feelings because only certain people were invited (heh.), and it'll be FUN!  So we did.  We called up our parents and siblings and told them they were free to join us if they desired, and we went.  After a long, lovely, relaxing week...we tied the knot at a BEAUTIFUL little chapel next to a lighthouse on Bald Head Island, North Carolina.

Oh, and did I mention that there are no cars allowed on the island--so you have to drive golf carts around all day long?  And it's only accessible by ferry??   It really is TOO cool.  We rented a house (http://www.vrbo.com/162425 --and the blue room was mine!) that I fell in love with, and everyone got along for the week, and I got a tan, and my mom made our cake....  Am I talking too fast?  Because it was/is just too exciting to try and summarize in a blog post.

I managed to book a photographer, and while he said that our website should be up by now...it's not.  :(  But our final photos should be back in three weeks.  All 8,972 of them.  Or something like that.  Anyway, as soon as I get the website link, I'll post it as well.  And as soon as I get photos, I'll send out formal announcements with all sorts of info including reception info.  Because, let's face it, a wedding is something to celebrate!  So keep your calendars free on July 9th, because I want to have everyone come celebrate with us.  With cake!!  And punch!!  And fun!!

Love,

Mrs. Hoffman
(eeek!!!!)

EDIT: PHOTO WEBSITE IS HERE!!!!
http://www.chrislangweddings.com/WebSites/RachaelRyan/index.html

Friday, May 6, 2011

Oi

We're going to the beach!!!  As in, that really sandy place with all the water.  As in, laying out and enjoying the sun  12 hours a day.  As in, one of my favorite places in the world!!!  :)  :)  :)
Monday morning at 6 am, we're headed out!!
(Can you tell I'm a bit excited?)

And because I was so excited, I started packing early.  Responsibly, I made a list of everything I would need for the week.  And once I'd hauled out the suitcase and crossed everything but toiletries off my list...I began thinking.  One day while I was living in Vienna with my friend P., she mentioned she needed to get a bikini wax.  I shuddered, intimidated by the idea.  No, she insisted.  If you get it done right by someone who really knows how, it's totally fine.  After much urging, I shut her up by telling her that one day I would try one, and she recommended someone in the Cookeville area whom she had been going to for several years.  So today... I got brave.  Or stupid.  Quite possibly both at once.  I made up my mind that I was a strong, independent woman (ROAR!!)  who could handle a bikini wax.  I already had my standing monthly appointment for my brows....so why not just add it on?

Right.
First of all, I was unaware of what exactly was involved.  Secondly, I couldn't understand what the woman was saying.  BIG MISTAKE.  Instead of just my bikini line, I apparently ordered the infamous Brazilian wax.  On a scale on 1-10, where 1 is someone poking you with their finger to get your attention and 10 is water boarding at Guantanamo, I'm going to give the Brazilian wax a solid 9.8.

Seriously.

Let me also say this: I'm no baby.  I've had large chunks of glass removed from inside my foot with only local anesthetic.  I've had a tattoo.  I've had a few nasty rope burns.  And I have also fallen 16 feet from the top of a tree.  This was worse than all of those...combined.  Never again.  Ever.  I bit the inside of my mouth so hard, it bled on both sides.  I also cried.  How do women do this to themselves on a consistent basis?  As I waddled out wincing, I could only wonder, do most go do it in groups so they can sit around and commiserate together over drinks afterward?  Because let me tell you--that's MY first instinct...

However, it will be nice to not shave everyday at the beach.  It'll be lovely to not worry about it at all, giving me more time to read my book in the sun.

Also, I think I might have a surprise for you at the end of it.
But more about that when I come back...hopefully not still waddling.     : /

:)

~R.