Wedding Success (Part 2)!!

I have an amazing friend...her name is Ann. Ann is still in France, in Paris for the rest of the week, and she took the time to download and send me pictures from the wedding!! These are great and you can get a glimpse of what we both looked like. It was a great day...here is a picture she took of me in the cab on the way to the church.

Here is my Mom and I walking down the aisle. My Dad and Sandy were not not able to come because he is not feeling well. I thought of him though and I know he would have been here if he could have.

Here is Cyr and I with my Mom beside me and his mother beside him. I'll have better family pictures later. I think I will probably post them all to a site so you can all go take a look at them when you like.

Here is Ann and I!!
I am wearing a wrap that was given to me by one of my best friends Jen. She was not able to make the wedding but was there in spirit I know. She and her new daughter Mimi (just born in September) were thought of often.

Here we are just married!! I loved my flowers. Just simple roses and greenery, but not red roses. I'm not a big fan of red roses...

Tomorrow I will post some reception pictures for you to check out. We had a great time and I was really happy with the food as well. Now I have to start thinking of real life again I guess. I have a meeting at my new school tomorrow with some of the faculty to discuss the rest of the semester. I'll also get to see my classroom and get my attendance sheets. I want to take it home so Cyr can help me pronounce the names, don't want to butcher them too badly!

Wedding Success (Part 1)!!

WOOHOO!!! It's over!!

Well folks...the weekend was a great success. Even the weather cooperated! It was a beautiful sunny day and crisp, clear evening. I could not have imagined it going any better. Well, maybe a little, the only snaffu was that the bus that was supposed to pick the guests up from the church was 15 minutes late, and then it had a problem getting out of the neighborhood because the streets are so narrow. I was worried it was going to get stuck, but after what seemed like a very long time, many horn honks and frustrated French people later, they were off to Belgium!! Where, by the way, the Champagne was excellent, the food amazing and the Chateau a perfect romantic setting for our little party. (Pictures to come later as our photographer left on a two week vacation yesterday...damn it...)

I only have the pictures from my camera, and as I was the bride, I don't actually have any of myself to post yet, but those will come soon!! So here is a photo parade of the beginning of my week last week. It started in Paris, where I met my friends Lori B., Tracy and Melinda. After heaving our luggage up 5 flights of stairs we went out an enjoyed the town.

My family came in the next day (Monday) and we went on a fantastic tour that included dinner at the Eiffel Tower, a river cruise on the Seine and a show at the Moulin Rouge with Champagne.

Above you can see my friends and family that came in to help us celebrate. From left to right we have Cousin Sally, Mom, Aunt Helen, Joyce and Kathy. The Eiffel Tower is gorgeous right now with the blue lights and the stars representing the European Union. During dinner the lights went off and twinkled brightly as if to sign out "Welcome Everyone! Congratulations Susan and Cyriaque!" It was really the highlight of my trip to Paris. Although the after affects of the Champagne the next day were pretty rough. I have realized that it's not a good idea to drink Champagne in the dark. You don't count your glasses and then before you know it, it's too late...I tried to hang in the next day but I was feeling about a 3 on a scale of 1 to 10.

I also had a great treat in getting to meet Leesa the Cupcake Princess!! If you don't know Leesa, go check out her blog. She is an American who has been in Paris for quite a while and has really been a source of moral support for me in my effort to try to fit in this strange land they call France. Here is Leesa and I right before breakfast.


We had a girls night out the Friday before the wedding in Lille as well. But this time I paid attention, I was not about to have a bad day on my Big Day. Her is the crew from Houston that came to see me (missing is Ann, not sure where she sneaked off to, she will show up in later pictures though!)

There is Lori, Lori, Tracy and Melinda. They all brought awful things they make me wear...someone better put an APB out on Big Bird...I think he is missing...

That is me with Alina, she is married to Cyr's best friend and lives in Romania. She is the bride we went to see in Munich a few weeks ago. After this we all went out salsa dancing and had a great time. More photos to come!!

PS - Thank you so much for all the kind emails and posts!!

Egypt will have to wait...

...for a little while at least.

Oh the joys of trying to be legal in France! So...I won't bore you all with the details of trying to gain a long stay marriage visa thingy in France. It takes quite a large amount of paperwork for a French person to marry a person who is not French in France. One would hope that by completing this task you would then be able to stay in this wonderful country. Oh contraire mon frere! I knew most of this going into this thing so it was no surprise that after you are married in the Marie (town hall) you have to then take your Livre de Famille (proof of marriage) to your home country to get your long stay visa stamped. Once you have done this then you need to return to France and schedule a meeting with the prefecture.

Our meeting is scheduled for November 12th. During this meeting I am supposed to get a temporary something that will allow me to work, but it's not my actual carte de sejour (work permit if you will). That will arrive in about 3 months after that. During the time I am waiting for my CDS to arrive I am not allowed to leave France except for one visit to any other schengen country . I'm not sure why they allow you one visit, and if you drive or take a train they don't check at the boarders any longer so there is no one to stamp the passport. Anyway, all this adds up to no Egypt in November. I was a little upset about this at first, but I know that we will go eventually, just not now. I think I am mostly upset because we used TravelersJoy.com as a wedding site and many people have donated to our honeymoon. We still get to use this for our trip next year, it's not like we loose anything, I just really wanted to be able to post a followup web site to everyone who gave. Guess that can wait until next year when I can legally leave and return. Thank goodness TravelersJoy has no expiration date! (I highly recomend this site to anyone getting married, very easy to use and a great deal when compared to similar sites.)

This also means that I am not allowed to make a trip home for Thanksgiving which makes me a little sad. I have a friend who is about a month ahead of me in this process, that really helps. She also told me that the government will grant each person one emergency trip home if needed. So if something happens and I need to leave I can, but only to my home country. Now I'm getting a little frustrated because I want to plan our trip and book things and I can't because I don't friggin know when I will get this stuff. I am hoping I will know more after November 12th, but that's just a hope...after that meeting I will most likely just start planning for March I guess. Oh well, c'est la vie.

I actually wrote this post prior to leaving for Paris and scheduled it to post on Tuesday. I feel so techie...

Hair Products

When I got my hair cut last week I bought some fancy conditioner that one of the women said I should use. I have rather dry hair, and from what I could make out of the French the woman was speaking to me, if I use this stuff I am going to have some old school Charlie's Angels hair working for me.
I was suckered, so now I sit with this stuff and am not sure how to use it. I thought she was telling me to sleep in it, but I don't think that is right. I think she was just saying to put it on my hair before I shampooed it. Tonight I thought I would put the directions into the Google Language Tools thing to see how to use it. Apparently I will be needing some heavy tools and flower. Here is what the translator spit out at me:

Apply to hair not wet in small quantity sure the lengths and tips, a hammer, using a brush and let set a minimum of 15 minutes, preferably in paper or aluminum-free cello. Eliminating the product followed by a light shampoo refer to your type of hair, or cream flowers if the hair are very dry.

A hammer? Come on...my hair isn't THAT dry. And do I "cream" the flowers myself? How does one do that exactly? I'm thinking a mayonnaise type thing...

Off To Paris!!

Well...my train takes out from Lille in about 8 hours and I am headed to Paris to pick up my friends at CDG. I am so excited to see them! Then my family (Mom, Aunt, Cousin, and two friends that are like family) comes in Monday. I'm looking forward to seeing everyone and trying to show them just a little of why I love France so much.

I often worry that if I try to show people around I will forget something big, or waste a day by getting lost and not seeing the real sites. But the thing about Paris is that even just getting lost is an adventure. You see beautiful things everywhere, not just the well known spots. I also really want them to see Lille. I know the north doesn't get that good of a wrap here, but I really like it. I'm also a bit nervous because the weather has been really great here for quite a while and this can't hold out much longer! I was actually hoping it would rain all last week so that maybe the week I had visitors it would be nice. Seems like every time someone comes to see me we have freakishly bad weather. Maybe it's a ploy...every time visitors come to Lille it rains, that way no one will actually know how great it is here. Man...Mama Nature...that's mean lady.

I won't be blogging until about Thursday, but I have scheduled a few things to pop up over the next day or two. Very techie of me eh? I got the idea from Susan and thought I would try it out. Of course I have had weeks to get ready and I am scurrying around right now looking for battery chargers and hair things.

Wish me luck on being a good tour guide and I hope to meet up with Leesa and Ksam too! I have yet to ever try a rhumrhum, and I think it's time I do...

JAY-OH-BEE!!

That would be a job!! Though sometimes it seems to take forever for things to happen in life, sometime things just fall into place and in the blink of an eye you have a whole new part of your life taking shape. Since Thursday at 10am my life took a nice little turn.

I received an email from Mari about a university that was looking for someone to teach 1st year Business English. The class is to familiarize students with things like human resources, company structure and other business type of language. I didn't think I had much of a shot, but I called the woman and left a message. She called me back and said that they had actually found someone already for the role but that she had a schedule conflict with one of the classes. By the time the conversation was over she asked for my resume and thought maybe I could take one of the classes. They were going to move the class so the other person could teach it, but if I could do Tuesdays then it would work out great.

I sent off my resume and received and email right back asking me to come visit with them today. Oh how I love having an actual reason to shower and put on clothes that match...In my usual American fashion I arrived 30 minutes early for the interview. I was to meet my contact at a specific Metro station and it was sunny so I just kind of wandered around a bit. Then I realized I didn't have her phone number in case she didn't turn up or I was at the wrong station. Let's all give a great big "YOU ROCK, THANK YOU SO MUCH!" to Mari in Lille!! I called her and she pulled up the original email and gave me number just in case.

Turned out I didn't need it, she showed up right on time. But if I would have needed it...I had it! We went to the school, I met the dean and they offered me the job right there. It's just one class, but hey, it's a start! I am really looking forward to it. Now every Tuesday I have a place to be at 2pm! I'm meeting my contact again tomorrow at the book store to buy a book for the class. To be honest I don't really think it was my amazing teaching prowess that impressed her so much as the fact that I am a native English speaker and I am breathing. Meaning I think they were pretty desperate. But hey...I'll take that!

I am also super excited about this coming week. I meet friends on Sunday then family on Monday in Paris. I am also hoping to get the chance to meet up with some fellow blogers Leesa and Ksam (of former Sam de Bretagne fame) while in town. I'm feelin a rhumrhum coming on...

Oh...I also got my hair cut and it looks pretty good. There are a lot more layers than I am used to but I think I like it. At first I was a little scared I had a fancy-mullet (if there is such a thing) because it is shorter around my face, but I think I like it. One of my friends said it didn't look that much different, I hope that doesn't mean that I already had a fancy-mullet...

A few good things...

I went to order the flowers yesterday for the wedding. I'm not putting them in the church or anything, I just need a bouquet and some boutonnieres for the people in the wedding and the mothers. I waited until 2:00pm (14h for those French folks) to walk down because I figured they would be closed for lunch. As guessed; they did have a lunch break, but apparently florists are extra hungry folk and they need more than the normal 2 hour lunch break. They take 3 hours and 20 minutes for lunch. So alas I would have to return at 3:20pm (15h20) if I wanted flowers.

I was really glad I returned because I just love the florist! He is a slight man with kind smile that is a bit lopsided, olive skin, dark hair and brown eyes who had no problem with my child-like French. I told him what I liked and didn't like, "S'il vous plait, pas des roses rouge" (please, no red roses). He immediately began briskly walking around the small shop and grabbing things, making a bouquet right then and there to show me what it would look like. I love the colors (will post pictures after the fact) and the fact that they will be made by kind hands also makes me feel good. A little good karma on the day would do me fine. Ahh...the sweet smell of success! I pick them up the day before the wedding. I thought I would pick them up the day of, but he said they would still be fresh for Saturday. I'm sure they will, he seems to know what he is doing. I also have no idea what it is going to cost, probably a car payment...oh well...at least I have flowers! Plus we have even more money to spend because another person is having to cancel the visit. She is sick though, I can't blame her, the flight is hard enough when you feel good. Guess we can put her meal money to the flowers. Ha...

I'm having my British friend (who will be on vacation and won't make the wedding) over this evening for dinner. She has cooked a few times for me and I'm trying to return the favor. I'm planning chicken breasts stuffed with dried figs and blue cheese. Just some simple sides and some sorbet for desert I think. Not getting very fancy, but it will do along with some wine of course. Not too much though, I have a coffee thing tomorrow morning I am planning on going to. I realize I am really going to have to find some sort of work after I get my CDS (November 12 here I come) and so I'm going to bump up my networking attempts. I don't really care what I do here, just a job...

I also got to see Cyr this morning via web cam. Ha...I love those things. He had to make a trip to the Middle East and will be back Sunday. The same day I leave to pick up my friends in Paris...he promises to meet me at the alter though.

Actually we will be back Wednesday so I will get time with him for a few days prior. Plus we have to have dance lesson number 2! Cyr...the waltzing Frenchman...

3rd Race at the Honeymoon-Is-Over Downs

Ok, this is a bit crude...but I cracked up when I watched it! Now Cyr and I are not running in this race of course. Being from Texas I like to compare our relationship to team roping rather than racing. ;-)

Anyway, I am feeling much better about life today. I am truly excited about the people that are coming in and am thrilled that I am going to have time to spend with each one of them. Enjoy this little video, I am off to buy my bouquet and the boutonnieres!!

Wedding Plans

Well there is less than two weeks until the big church wedding!

Things are falling into place and I am fairly sure it will all go off alright. The only things I still have left to do are the flowers, pick the menu, sort some music out and confirm the number of guests. The last one is something that has been bothering me for a few weeks to be honest. I know it shouldn't, I know I am asking too much of my family and friends to come all the way to France for a wedding. The thing that actually bothers me is that there were a large amount of people saying they would be here and of course the number is (literally) now less than half of what I expected from my side. Yes, I know the economy is not well right now. Maybe I'm just a selfish brat. But I had people telling me all summer how they would see me at the wedding. Oh well, I know my Mom will be here, an Aunt, a cousin and handful of friends.

No matter how many times I read and retype this post I just sound like a whiny bitch. I am very excited about the day and the people that are coming. The truth is that most of my best friends and family can't make it for real reasons. One just had a baby less than a month ago, another has two kids she needs to take care of, my Dad is sick and can't make it, and some people just plain don't have the money. It's ok, I understand. Truth is that it's going to be just about the perfect size. With all of Cyr's family and friends coming I think there will be about 45 people total for the dinner and reception with a few more at the ceremony.

I'm also really excited about the people that are coming. I have some friends arriving this weekend in Paris and I'm going to meet them and have a great time. My family (Mom, Aunt, cousin and family friend who is like family) comes in on Monday and we are also going to spend a few days in Paris too. I think I am actually more excited about this than anything else! They have even booked a tour with a chance to see a show at the Moulin Rouge! Ha! I can't wait! Next week is going to be one of the best weeks ever, I can feel it. I have two more friends coming in next week the Thursday before the wedding and will get to spend time with them too. Then there will be the wedding, where the most important person of all will be; Cyr. Now that I think about it, I guess it is the perfect size. Just enough folks to really be able to share something special, not just have a huge show. I guess I can say that it may sound super dorky, but the wedding will actually be "intimate" which is usually code for "small" but the more I think about it, the more I like it. It's a special day for a small special group of people.

Plans are next year to have a big "not-so-intimate" party in the states so that we can celebrate with all the people that can't make it this time. And you can bet your ass I am going to wear my dress again. ;-)

A Night at the Opera

Sorry I have been so slow to post this week, but I STILL can't breath and therefore can not get the oxygen I need to my brain in order to put together logical thoughts. But hey, thought I would try anyway...

This week Cyr had to go on his (as of right now) second to last trip of the year. I bought Opera tickets not knowing his schedule and just hoped it would fit in. Well, he was lucky, it didn't. A group of us bought tickets together, I was able to sell mine and off we all went for an evening of opera. I must say, I was really surprised at the cost of the opera. They had tickets starting at 11 euro. We ended up at about 40 euro each and those were great seats. Floor level, back of the pack. The building was much smaller than I pictured. I kept looking at the balcony level thinking I would see good old Abe up there watching his last show. It was quite cozy actually. It even had dark red velvet chairs. I have loved the Opera building here in Lille from the first time I saw it. It's gorgeous. Since my computer crashed I can't get my pics onto this new hard drive, so I can't post pictures. Darn it...

We saw The Marriage of Figaro. I had never seen it before, so being the curious person I was I looked it up online to get the story prior to the show. Which, by the way, I'm glad I did. The opera is sang in Italian and had the subtitles in French. It was like watching a tennis game you don't really know the rules of.
I still had (and have) my nose issue. I did have Afrin though and took a hit right before the show so I wouldn't be the mouth-breather-girl-in-the-back-row. I was so glad I did. But of course the minute the lights go out I have to cough. I went armed though. As the first chords rose up from the orchestra I held cough drops in one hand and tissues in another.

Act I: This consisted of me doing my best not to cough or blow my nose. My throat all of a sudden became very itchy and filled with mucus when I knew I could not clear it. I would wait for people to clap and cough. My timing was impeccable if I do say so. Once I got a Drill (cough drop) down I was much better. There was a scary moment when I felt a little tickle in my nose. A familiar buzzing sort of itch that I immediately recognized as a sneeze. I knew it was coming and I was prepared. I knew I could do the quiet sneeze, but what if a sqeek escaped? You know what I mean, you try to stiffle the sneeze and end up sounding like a nail being pulled out of a tin roof. Again I was lucky, no sqeek, just a jumping of shoulders and quick jerk of the head.

Intermision: One Leffe Blond for only 3 euro! No way! In the US they totaly stiff you on drinks at events. The $9 Miller Light kills me. 3 euro for a 33 cl Leffe was actually better than some of the bars I have been to. Rock on Lille...

Act II: By this time it has been about an hour and a half since the show started. Of course there were people in the auditorium prior to the start. I'm sure they helped to warm up the place. I was actually starting to sweat a bit. About 15 minutes into Act II I feel a bubble in my stomach. Uh-oh. That would be a beer burp. You can't burp at the opera! That's like peeing in the aisles of the ballet for goodness sake! Well maybe not that bad, but still bad. I am the ruler of my bodily functions dear readers. With my hardly noticeable throat reflex and controlled exhale, I think only the nice woman next to me noticed. I did have the slight hiccup like bounce, so I think she knew. That actually happened twice. Then I was so hot I had a hard time focusing on the opera. Yeah, yeah...person hides behind a chair, no one notices, people dress up like others...is anyone else hot? No? Really?

Clapping...I hear clapping...Oh yeah! I can now find oxygen! Must put on jacket so no one notices sweat stains (if they are in fact present). No, you must clap some more. Man, the French really like to clap. My arms actually got tired. We clapped for everyone, and finally when the best friend of the second cousin of the guy who is in charge of the third light to the left took his bow, we filed out.

Now don't get me wrong, I actually do like the opera. Except for Madame Butterfly. I have seen that one 3 times and each time I don't like it. Unless you count the time I saw it at Miller Outdoor Theater in Houston and we drank wine on the grassy hill. I liked that time. I like Figaro too. The music even without the lyrics is amazing. That Mozart was a heck of a composer I say. I just had a hard time focusing when I was not feeling well and was sweating. I never thought I was high maintenance, but maybe in the case of opera I am. I need to have the elements working in my favor. Unlike ballet or really any kind of dance. I could be puking and sweating and I would still enjoy a dance production. Or a musical. I could sit through Les Miserables or Cabaret in 104 heat with the flu. Now that I think about it...maybe I don't like the opera as much as I thought I did. Oh gosh, I am so uncultured, and disappointed in myself really. I probably should not admit that the opera is not my favorite art eh? I should pretend to like it a whole bunch, like most of the people that were there.

Great Sunday Food

Although I still have a completely clogged up nose, the weekend was pretty good. Sunday we went to Cyr's Mom's house and had lunch with her and his brother C. Lunch is always good at the belle-mere's, she's a great cook.

I think I mentioned once before how time here seems to move faster than in the US, it's really strange. Somehow we left our place with 15 minutes to spare, stopped by the bakery to pick up a desert and then were almost an hour late for lunch. How does that happen?! Very strange...

Our tardiness was not a big deal though, we arrived just before the rain started. I really like meals at the beau-famille (in-laws) because we always have a bunch of little appetizers. We started with a glass of Champagne with little toasts that had chevre and bacon on it that were grilled in the oven. Along with that there were some banana peppers stuffed with some sort of cream cheese like filling and of course saucisson. Not just any saucisson either, my favorite; St. Agaune. It's soooooo good. It seems to have a lower fat content and the meat is tender and a bit salty and somhow even juicy. Can dried sausage be juicy? Probably only if it's really fattening.

She also had what looks like a layer cake but is in fact (I found out after I was eating) cow tongue with layers of foie gras. It's a specialty of the city where they live. Don't cringe, I know it sounds awful, but it's actually wonderful. She also made some gelatin to go with it and cut up a few figs. All two million calories were fantastic. Lunch was a lamb stew with carrots, potatoes, beets and peas with a great bottle of red wine. I think I could talk with his Mom more this visit. My French is getting a little bit better each time I think. Her English is really good though, so she can always save me when I don't know what's going on. I'm also a bit limited on topics I can talk about because I don't have a wide variety of words to choose from. I wanted to ask her about work and a few things but didn't know the words. Maybe next time.

We hung out most of the day and then came home and tried to get things done for the wedding. Everyone clap your hands in appreciation of Cyr's first dance lesson!! I think I fell in love all over again...he's a natural waltzer people.

I love the waltz. It's a dance that always makes me think that maybe I was a princess given away at birth to protect me from the evil doers of my land. To be raised by a nice family to maybe one day be brought back to rule in my castle and have the stable of horses I so deserve. I also don't really look like my parents which has always aided this fantasy. But I do act like them. Guess you can't get away from the DNA too much. Plus I wouldn't give them up for anything, not even a castle. But if they threw in a stable of horses...well it would be tempting...naw. Not really.

Difficult French

Currently I am trying to type but I have a very strong urge to blow my nose. Which by the way, won't blow when I blow it. I just end up forcing air to the top of my throat, then my ears threaten to pop. Of course there is that odd running thing every now and then so you have to keep a tissue near so you don't drip on yourself and offend the people around you.

Cyr took me to the pharmacy and I got some kind of spray and some pills to take. These are serious pills too! Four times a day then one at night for four days. Maybe tomorrow I won't be the irritating mouth breathing person you can actually hear.

Inhallllle....exhaaale.

Ewe...that's me.

I also discovered something interesting about the French language. It's virtually impossible to speak French as a non-native speaker (ok, complete beginner) when you have a stopped up nose. It's like my mouth can't form the words because the pressure is off or something. I have suddenly forgotten how to form the words. Example: We went to lunch and I wanted a hot mint tea. You would have thought I was trying to order a 5 course meal. I could not get it out, I had to say it I think three times before the waiter got it. Cyr was so patient, he just smiled and let me talk loud and spray spittle on the waiter. I think the waiter thought it was amusing. He had that raised eyebrow (both of them) look and a smile. Like I was a three-year-old trying to do a magic trick. For a person who really doesn't like three-year-olds.

Cyr didn't try to order for me because he knew I was already irritated at the lady who sat us and offered "Shall I bring you a menu in English?" said in French very quietly to Cyr. My poorly tied scarf must have given me away as being non-French. Cyr declined, saying; "No thank you, she understands." (in French of course) Then the lady says; "I'll bring you one anyway."

What....Did.....You....Say?

Granted, maybe I'm a bit touchy because someone filled both of my nostrils with cement glue last night, but I was offended. Seriously lady, guess you people don't get the "no means no" thing here eh? When she came back with the menus I gave her the one eye brow raised look and Cyr reaches out and takes the English menu. Ha...how sweet is that?! Low and behold I was even able to find my agneau (lamb) without a problem.

Of course she was not our waiter, that was the guy mentioned above. Darn it...I would have felt much better getting a little spittle on her and forcing her to hear my stuffy nosed French. Oh well, maybe next time. Even if I feel fine. :-)

Computer Germs

Oh man!! So my computer was acting a bit funny, not letting me get to some sites, redirecting me when I did searches to sales or porn sites. This bug is super smart. It also blocks access to any anti-virus pages, so you can't get to NOD32, Norton, Symantec or anything out there that can help. Then my little guy went into a coma. Just a frozen screen with no movement. I would have to force her off by holding the power button and then the screen would go black and a noise similar to static would be heard as she painfully powered down.

Lucky for me (right now) my computer completely freaked out two days before I was to move to France. I went to Micro Center and bought new memory and a new hard drive because I thought it was fried then. When I got to France and ran some add-ware program it went back to normal so my memory and hard drive have been sitting in the closet up until now. Plus, computer items are WAY more expensive here, so I now have a better set up for much less than I would have had to spend here.

A second lucky thing; Cyr is a brain and can actually replace these items, get my computer up and running and is going to somehow get the files off my old hard drive. The only pain in the butt is that all my docs and things I am going to need for the wedding including budget, guest list, addresses and old pictures are now sitting on my sick hard drive here on the table. I can feel the files looking at me, wanting to be part of my day, almost pleading to be placed back in their natural habitat on my little Dell here. I hope my hero Cyr can save them!!

So watch out people! I have no idea how I got this. But it's bad news...I'm not opening any attachments until my anti-virus, anti-spam and anti-whatever else is out there is fixed.

Good news - we booked our photographer for the wedding!! His name is Luc and he is great. I can't find his link right now...but I will update this post later and include it so you can check him out. I think he is fantastic, he really takes very unique pictures. Plus we actually saved money with him because the one we were going to use was referred to us by the Chateau (reception site)and they really mark up the prices. Woohoo! No mark up for us, we will just pay the already a bit high regular price thank you!