Monaca's Oxymoronic Ramblings

Fantastically Delightful Geekery

http://www.engadget.com/2008/04/22/cat-5-wedding-rings-help-nerds-couple/

Read the comments below the rings, some fantastic and funny stuff!

Wedding Snapshots

Does anyone have photos from the reception that they could send us?  We don't have many photos of friends, good ones and silly ones.  If you could e mail what you have, that would be great, so we can make a photo book of candids.  Thanks!

New House Stuff

We pooled our wedding money and got the following things:
10 piece Cookware Set
Panini Press
Duvet, Shams, Sheets
Down Comforter
King Size Bed (this comes on Wednesday....ahhh, blissful sweet sleep and not having to sleep on the edge of the bed)
Two brown leather club chairs and a double ottoman

We still need to make a trip out to Crate and Barrel on Saturday to pick up our wine cabinet and some extra place settings.

So, not that getting married is all about getting stuff.  This is the first time I have ever lived with someone....anyone.  I went from my parents house to living alone for about 9 years, so this has been a switch, but a really good one.  It is great to get to come home to my husband.  I love snuggling when I can't sleep, watching late night movies together, cooking weekend breakfast together and never having to clean the kitchen.  Will has been on kitchen duty, and I love it.  It is so fantastic to get to share in the day to day stuff with someone. 

Jobs are keeping us too busy.  We've become that couple that eats dinner at 8pm.  I think we are both still trying to get caught up from taking time off.  Married life is good, I like it!

Bells Hoppy Goodness

Founders + Bells = Bliss

Beer.  Good Beer. Yum.  We got to visit a few breweries on our honeymoon.  Here are a few of my favorite snapshots.

I'm So Blessed

I just got to marry my best friend.  It is amazing.  I am so glad we saved so many things for marriage.  I never thought I could have so much fun getting up in the morning and making breakfast with someone.  My heart is full.  When I think about the wedding I am so overwhelmed by our community.  During the reception Will and I stood back and looked at the room full of people who helped us along on our journey.  It was magnificent.  We are so blessed to have so many people in our lives who were so excited to share in our joy.  We have this amazing family of friends that....honestly I am at a loss for words...enhance and enrich our lives with their love, laughter and support.  Love, friends and family, what amazing and powerful things.

I am going to post some photos over the next few days....

If you haven't had a chance to see the wedding photos you can visit www.willandmonaca.net to see them.

To all of you who participated in our day.  I love and appreciate your love, friendship, support and beauty, you are all amazing!

Hippies and Wedgies

So last night I wasn't feeling well at all. Had a lot of ear pain, so I went to the local after hours urgent care in Okemos.  My dr was a total hippie.  I am a fan of the hippies.  Long hair in a pony tail, earrings, hippie-speak and a tie dye under his buttondown...anyway..I was sitting on the table and he went to pull up the back of my shirt to listen to my lungs and he grabbed my underwear (which were the same color as my shirt) and pulled them up.  Needless to say, an akward moment for both of us.  Note to self: wear smaller undies.

This was my first wedgie from a hippie. 

Great New Local Food

A few of the girls at work had told me about the new Gumbo and Jazz on Grand River next to Bell's (where the crepe place used to be).  Will and I went to check it out and MMMM, it was fantastic and amazing.  Great home cooked creole food.  They have gumbo, jumbalaya, red beans and rice, black beans and rice and some soups of the day.  The atmosphere is great.  For 10 bucks you get a dish of your choice, a mixed salad with this great dressing made of peanut oil, sesame and soy sauce...a garlic couissant....and cake. 

Here is the review from the hub: http://hub.lsj.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071121/NOISE20/711210307/1139/HUB03

Go check it out....it is unlike anything we have around here for sure!

Christmas Cookies

http://www.joyofbaking.com/ChristmasCookies.html

This is an amazing baking site that has great photos of each receipe.

First Big Purchase

Today Will and I made our first joint purchase....a 2007 Malibu Maxx.  It has really low mileage and we got it for about 5k under bluebook.  We pick it up on Thursday.  I will be really glad to get rid of my Saturn!

Happy Birthday, Will!

Happy Birthday!  I hope you have a great day doing things you love.

The Flu Won

The Flu Won. I wasn't able to take my boards.  I had a bad flu/birthcontrol combo that made me a mess both physically and emotionally.  I hope over the next couple of days to regain my strength and get back to my old self.

Engagement Photos

http://brandibrownphoto.com/clients/eaton_brown/

You can click on the bottom right (box with squares in it) to look at the one at a time.

Warm Sleepy Bed

I could have stayed in bed for ever this morning! Tuesdays are tough, I have to be here by 7 for class.  Which means up, dressed and alert, which can be a challenge for me in the early AM.  We often have events early morning, which have me leaving my house by 6, so slowly I am being forced to become a morning person.  All though school I took night classes, so my sleep schedule got all flopped around.

I started taking birth control this week.  Interesting Stuff.  I feel kinda off, but not too bad.  I am hoping for some of the side effects to subside soon.  Keeping my fingers crossed on that one. 

The wedding is so soon.  I am nervous about a whole host of things.  So much to do....which is hard when I have so much else I have to do.  I need a wedding planner for sure.

I am taking my board exams on 11/27....that is consuming sooo much time right now....wish me luck on all fronts, I suppose!

More Wedding Planning

When Will was in Vegs for the bachelor weekened, I went to my Mom's to get some serious wedding stuff done.  We consumed massive amounts of coffee and then headed out to Ikea to get things to make the centerpieces.  5 hours later (yes that place is a timeless vortex) a few hundered dollars and 3 carts full, we loaded everything into the SUV and headed home.  Since it is a cocktail reception, we are doing 15 round tables of 8 and 15 tall cocktail tables.  The rounds will have a large vase of flowers (a mixture of jade roses, french tulips and hybrid blue dephinium) surrounded by tall glasses with taper candles and small glasses with candles.  Each centerpiece for the tables is about 12 pieces.  The tall tables get a smaller mix of flowers and 5 small candle pieces. 

After we recovered from Ikea, we went to every printing/stationary place between here and there and I found nothing!  I have been looking for months with no luck.  So today I went with a graphic designer to make something custom.  I should get the proof of my idea later this week.  I think this is a good solution.

Free Magazines

Ok, yes, ironic after my earlier post.

http://www.freebizmag.com/welcome.asp?FBMVisitId=4842844971

If you sign up with your profession and e mail, everytime they have free magazines you qualify for, they e mail you.

So far I have gotten:

Nylon, Hallmark, Psychology Today, World Travel, Golf, Modern Photography, Spin and Body and Soul

Never paid a cent. 

View From The Back

This is why I love where I live.

Magazines - The Death of Literary Culture?

Early in life I loved to read.  I was that odd kid who had read most of Shakespeare by 7th grade.  High school was marked by English lit and anything old and obscure.  In college I discovered a life long friend and beat literature.  We used to swap books and meet over coffee discussing the odd philosophical twists and turns of the page.  I also learned that reading too much Kerouac and Burroughs will make your mind a disheveled mess.  Truly, those books are like odd alcohol and opium for the brain. Then grad school hit, I was overwhelmed with reading and I turned to magazines.  Quick bite of wit and information.  You can read them in line at the store.  You can read them on the can.  You can read them when you are indecisive and don't know what else to do.  They were great for airplanes and late nights in hotel lobbies.  Somehow in my world, they replaced books.  Some were purely for the artistic vibe, others for mindless fluff.  Some informative, most just time wasters.  None of them like the true experience and escape of reading a book.  So in a time where my bookshelves have collected dust and my coffee table runs over with stacks of flashy, attractive, glossy periodicals, I wonder if magazines are going to be the death of literary culture?

I am Not Happy

I need to do something different.  I am happy about my pending nuptuials but aside from that I am really not happy, maybe happy is too strong of a word.  I feel bleh.  My job has become frustrating.  I spend most of my time here with little reward.  I can't seem to get my house organized or projects finished.  I rarely see friends or go out....I think because I have so often had to say no that people have just stopped asking.  I am finding myself feeling ansty, edgy and frustrated.  Not even 100% sure why or what to do about it.  I just feel cranky and underappreciated or overlooked.  Now I am just rambling.  Oh well, back to the grind.

Wedding Hints

The Blog!

Green Dimes

Greendimes.com is this amazing non-profit that stops your junk mail and plants trees in your name.  With 15 bucks, they will plant 10 trees and stop at least 90% of your junk mail.  Check out their site, they have some great tips for green living.

Indie Coffee

  I found this great search engine that will help you locate indie coffee shops and houses across the country.  I think it is great to support the local economy whenever possible!

www.indiecoffeeshops.com

Calliope: Scene-MetroSpace

CALLIOPE / AUBURN LULL / A.M. SYNDICATE / MASON PROPER

Calliope
Auburn Lull
AM Syndicate
Mason Proper

Saturday, September 29
8:00 PM
ALL AGES, $5
(doors at 7:00)

"Calliope nuzzle contentedly against post-rock and dream-pop, and flirt with electronica, showing remarkable restraint and good taste in their dalliances with each."
- splendidezine.com

www.scenemetrospace.com

Calliope is one of my favorite local bands.  They haven't played in a couple of years, but their shows are always great.  I highly recommend the show if you can come.  Also, Scene metrospace is a sweet new place in East Lansing (On charles street behind the EL Starbucks) they have all sorts of film, music, art, etc.  Very edgy and modern.  All shows are drink and smoke free, which is a nice change!  Check it out.

Reception Struggle

I am having a struggle with planning the reception around alcohol.  Since Will and I are both active in a ministry, it is important to me that we honor God with our entire wedding and set an example of moderation.  Also, I am really concerned about setting an environment that will encourage much drinking and then sending people out at 1am on to winter streets.  If someone was to get hurt, or hurt someone else as a result of decisions I made, I would seriously be heartbroken.

I want this to be a great time of celebration.  I am so thrilled to be marring Will.  I am proud that we have honored God through our relationship and really believe that our life together will be blessed.  It will be amazing to have our close friends and family together to be witnesses to out life commitment and to celebrate this event with us.  I want the reception to be an environment where everyone can relax, visit and enjoy the party we have created for them.  I just don't want alcohol and drinking to be the focus of it.

Birthday Flowers

Thanks Will!  They are beautiful!

Happy Birthday

....Tooooooooooo Meeeeeeeeeeeee!

So, am I allowed to post random birthday facts about myself?  Ok, gonna do it anyway.

I was born in Orange County, Ca.

I've been to nearly every type of school, public, private, homeschool, community college, seminary and a public university.

I love artichokes.

This is my last birthday as a single girl!

I have had many cats throughout my life, Noel, Harvey, Poco, Smokey, Mya, Mr. Woolsey and now Quincy who is the second love of my life (yes, Will is number 1)

Our wedding is going to be artistic and very non-traditional. 

If I wasn't a social worker I would be an artist or musician.

I hope to get together enough work to filly a gallery exhibit some day.

Although I am outgoing, I am actually very introverted and get nervous around new people.

I always have my toe nails painted.

And.....I think my next computer will be a mac.

.............and my first birthday call of the day was at 12:01 and from Will.  Followed by my dad at 8:00 this morning.  :-)

Isn't It Ironic

That I have to leave work to be able to get work done?  Even with my door closed people keep calling, e mailing and stopping by....going to pack up and head to beaners in okemos.  Hopefully I can get some work done there!

Etsy

Etsy (http://www.etsy.com/buy.php) is this sweet on-line market place where you can buy handmade goods.  They have everything from art, jewlery, homegoods, stationary, clothing, accessories, dishes, etc.  Very cool place to browse around, you can even sort by color.  Check it out, and support area artists.

We Want a Trader Joe's

I too really want a trader joes...

From..danprice.net

My wife wanted me to post this. I guess Trader Joe’s ask for location requests and if we get enough people who want one in Lansing, we might just have the opportunity to have access to Three Buck Chuck. Just fill out this form.

Suckie Day

I feel that many of my posts have to do with how worn out my job makes me.  Truth be told my job is really hard and complex, but I do like it.  I just wish there was a little less of it.

I left this morning at 5:30 for Bloomfield Hills and then Pontiac to conduct focus groups.  Just got home about 10 min ago.  This day is too long  and I have to do it all over again.  The topic we are investigating is stressful, compiling this data and writing the report is going to be really frustrating because it is so political in nature.  I just feel like I can't get ahead lately and it is really frustrating.

I am getting tired of working this hard.  I miss my friends.  I miss having a social life.  I'm tired of stress.

Wedding Countdown

From and including: Wednesday, August 29, 2007 To, but not including : Friday, February 29, 2008 It is 184 days from the start date to the end date, but not including the end date Or 6 months excluding the end date Alternative time units 184 days can be converted to one of these units: 15,897,600 seconds 264,960 minutes 4416 hours 26 weeks (rounded down)

Wowzers.

Summer Bliss

A few of my favorite photos from the summer.

One Semester Down, One Semester Up

Wow. What a summer.  Hardly felt like a summer.  I think I am going to use fall as my surrogate summer.  Well, at least I hope to.

This summer's classes were insane.  It was this really strange mix of too much.  Too many classes, too many students, too many problems and too much time in the car.  This was my first (and last for a while) time teaching graduate classes.  My group of 99 freshman this morning was refreshing.  Granted the class is too early for me to really think well in the morning, but it felt good.  I got to class at about 7:30 this morning to find about 75 students sitting in the hall on the floor.  Turns out no one tried to open the door.  Cute little sheep following the leader.  It was a good class though, we will have a good time this semester.

Not a whole lot of news on the wedding front.  The colors for the wedding are mocha, sapphire, raspberry and royal purple.  It is going to be a little more edgy-artistic than the regular wedding style.  I am artsy-fartsy, what can I say?  We have a lot on our plate for planning this month.  We did hire a great photographer, found a florist (I think), and found invitations.  Trying to figure out the guest list makes my head explode.  I wish we could invite everyone.  Yet, at the same time, I have always wanted a really small, intimate wedding.  I think big weddings get too impersonal.  We are limited by the size of the chapel, which holds about 185.  We have found some ways to cut corners with the guest list.  No kids, not everyone can bring a guest and trying to limit the people we have come from work.  But I have been with the School for 7 years now, so that may be tough.

People keep telling me not to stress and that people will understand.  Still I stress that we are putting together a wedding that will not meet people's expectations, that people will be hurt when they aren't invited or asked to participate in the ceremony, that the things that are important to me won't be important to others.  I am stressing hardcore about the alcohol issues.  I have some really strong opinions on this one for a whole host of reasons (none of which have to do with cost, by the way).  I don't know how to get this all done in the next six moths and keep my sanity.  I don't even know if I know what the heck I am doing either.  The whole thing is just really overwhelming.

Enough doom and gloom.  There were a few upsides of the summer.  I made a couple of new friends who I am really excited to have in my life, got to spend time with Will's family including the little ones, got to go see Over the Rhine with some good friends in a beautiful outdoor venue, got a couple of pedicures and the construction on campus is finally done.

Shiny Noses

Today I went to support Sooze as she got her nose pierced.  I didn't hold her hand, but I did rub her fuzzy foot.  Katy and I also had to sign a waiver saying that we too could pass out watching the proceedure.  Sooze hardly flinched at all, it looks like she has had her nose sparkle for ever!  The girl who was doing the piercing had some sweet tatoos. I had tatoo envy big time. After the 5 hours of instructions she got on how to give her nose a salt bath, the three of us grabbed some coffee and chatted.  In the words of Sooze, "I think you get less instructions when you take a baby home!" Sad but true! It was so much fun!  You guys are great!

Exhausted

Another week down.  Still a long week.  I have so much on my plate for the next six months that my head could fly off.  Really, if I suddenly found my head across the room, I really wouldn't be all that surprised.  One thing that I have constantly been reminded of the past couple of weeks is the importance of what we communicate and how we do it.  To borrow a line from my mom from my teenage years, "It's not what you said, it's how you said it".  Been experiencing that a lot lately.  I also have realized that I am so tired and stressed that it isn't talking much to break me down lately.  I hadn't realized that exhaustion can make you feel so vulnerable, but it does.

Overwhelmed

Wow, it's been a while since I have posted here.  Probably because my life has resembled complete and utter insanity.  I am teaching 2 grad classes on top of my regular 40+ hour a week job and am utterly drained.  I haven't felt this exhausted and drained in a long time.  My weeks seem to zoom by, leaving me with a work filled weekend.  I try to squeeze a few things in here and there, but it is getting harder and harder to do.

I've had some big changes the past couple of weeks and am finding that I am being tested to really find out what I am made of, both personally and professionally.  It has been an interesting time of growth, but a really overwhelming one as well.

I really need some rest.  I need to find a way to recharge.  I need to find a way when I am living in a sea of chaos to find some peace and quiet.  Life has been really hard lately, and going way to fast. When I come out the other side of this...hopefully I will have more to say.

Back to work.  errrr.

DRESSES!

I found a dress last friday at fantastic finds.  It is by Essence Couture.  Kinda pricey, but sooo beautiful.  But it's now paid for (thanks to my mom!!) The dress is everything I imagined and more.  Very vintage and class, all made of lace. We picked out some great bridesmaid dresses by Bill Levkoff in sable, which is a rich, mocha brown.  I can't wait to wear it!  Now I just have to find SHOES!  Little baby wedding shoes, I am sure that will be so easy to find!

Going Private

Due to some ethical concerns and need for some professional privacy, my blog will be password protected.  If you wish to have access to my blog, please e mail me at eatonmon@msu.edu.

Sorry for any problems this may cause, especially for those of you who use the RSS feed.

Happy Birthday Maddie

Maddie is one of the smartest, coolest girls I know and I love spending time with her!  Maddie, I hope you have a great birthday and I can't wait to see you soon!