agree or disagree?

I feel my future spouse spends too much time in front of the TV...
I sometimes wonder whether or not my future spouse is being completely honest with me...
My future spouse has an anger / temper which sometimes frightens me...
I believe a Catholic who wishes to marry in the Catholic church should practice his/her religion...
Etc., etc., etc., for 164 questions.

This was the "compatibility test" that Dustin and I had to take Saturday morning in order to get married in the Catholic church. 164 questions. They ranged from questions about each other's tempers, beliefs, money spending habits, etc., to how we will raise our children, questions about sex, and other different topics. It was wild. I was expecting Msgr. to put us in different rooms, or at least at opposite ends of the long table he seated us at, but we were right next to each other. So, of course, as you can expect, there was a lot of, "What'd you put for #...?"

I had told Dustin going in to just be completely honest--that way, if there WAS things we disagreed on, it would be better to discuss and get over them now, rather than waiting until we get married for something to blow up in our faces. But, it was actually hard to be completely honest on it! (Especially since we were sitting RIGHT NEXT to each other, and any time a poignant question came up that either of us related to our relationship, we just HAD to ask the other, "What'd you put for this one?") I think if we would have been in separate rooms, or at least farther apart, it wouldn't have been sooo hard to be 110% honest. But this way, we each pretty much knew how the other was answering for everything, and if one of us noticed the other answering differently, it was almost like one of us got offended. I guess, in a way, it was like we didn't want to "open up a can of worms" on certain, touchy subjects, but like I said, I'd rather do it NOW than wait for something to boil and explode later down the line.

Plus, I think it will be easier to get into and discuss all of this stuff w/ a "mediator" (so to speak) like Msgr. present w/ us, and helping us TALK (as opposed to SCREAM) through issues. However, I know the few BIG THINGS that are going to be harder for us to really get into, and (knowing how I am) I'm almost positive there will be tears at some point, either during the talks or once he and I get into the car. But I don't want any arguments, or harsh words, or hurt feelings, to come from EITHER of us before, during, or after the discussions over the test. I want BOTH of us to see this as a learning experience and a chance to really work through our problems and get over our pettier ones NOW, before we let them fester into BIGGER problems down the line. I really honestly think it will be therapeutic for us. (And, in some cases, needed.

keep on truckin'

Talked to Dustin on my lunch break today, and he was out shopping w/ his mom in Fairview. Turns out the boy got two wedding things pretty much taken care of while he was out and about in the mall:
1) Went to the tux place and gave them all the information for the bridal party. He even remembered the color of my girls' dresses (cadet blue) so he could tell the lady at the tux shop and try to match it. They didn't have cadet blue, so he chose silver for the groomsmen / ushers and a navy blue for himself. THEN he adds, "If you don't like the color I picked for myself, we can change it to something different." Now all we need is for the guys to get in and get measured, etc. Luckily, they have more leeway as far as waiting until the last minute to do so...
2) A month or two ago, he and I went ring shopping. I found a BEAUTIFUL wedding set that is antique looking and fell in love w/ it before I even tried it on. Hannoush special ordered the wedding band so we could go in and look at it (w/ no obligation to buy), and it has been in for a bit now. Well, today he stopped into Hannoush and put some money down on it! :) I was grinning ear to ear when he told me that!

This weekend we meet w/ Msgr. Hambrough again, then my mom was talking about going to look at wedding cakes. I think we're ordering invitations in January, and we already have our thank you cards. Wow, I can't believe how quickly it is sneaking up on us...and how many little things we still have left to do! Now if we only had our own place to live...(Hopefully by March!)

i'm home!

Arrived in St. Louis Lambert Airport last night from Vegas at 9:19 pm (only 3 minutes past our scheduled arrival time; not bad considering the flight out there was delayed over an hour.) The above is a picture of the Treasure Island hotel and casino, where our group stayed.

Friday night when we got to our hotel and checked in (about 7 pm Vegas time), me & the 2 other secretaries from my office (who are 2 and 4 years older than me, respectively) changed, got tidied up, & headed out to see the nightlife. Ate at Harley Davidson cafe (had a wicked good Monterey chicken sandwich w/ chipotle mayo and pepperjack cheese--yum!), then just started walking down the strip. Passed the M & M shop (which I now wish I would have had more time to check out) and headed into MGM. Looked around, dropped some cash into the slots (didn't win, of course), and took lots of pix inside & out. Took pix of Excalibur and other hotels/casinos around the area, then walked over to New York New York. We were mainly looking for a "happening" bar/dance club to go into so we could DRINK our hearts out, when we stumbled upon..."Coyote Ugly"!!! So yea, we definitely had to go in there! It's JUST LIKE the movie--girls dancing on the bar (and getting free shots for it--not from glasses, but poured down their throats straight from the bottle!), loud music, spunky all female bartenders, big male bouncers guarding the bar & dancing girls, and water getting sprayed at patrons whenever the gals felt like doing it. It was AWESOME! Yes, I danced on the bar--I was the first one up there out of our group!--and got my free shots, but eventually the other 2 gals joined me. We had a BLAST! That's all I'm going to say about "Coyote Ugly", though... ;)

Saturday morning the 3 of us got up at 6 am (after getting into our hotel & into bed at 3:30 am) to sightsee. We walked from Treasure Island down to the Stratosphere (which took a bit over 2 hours), stopping into the Riviera, Circus Circus, the Sahara, and a few other places along the way. Went up to the top observation deck of the Stratosphere, but didn't have enough time to ride the coaster at the top of the building. Instead of walking the 2 + hours BACK to our hotel, we all agreed to take a cab--especially since our legs and feet were KILLING us from Friday night's "excursion". Ate lunch at Emeril's/Delmonico steak house (located in the Venetian) w/ everyone from the office Saturday afternoon--good food, but too much of a hoity toity attitude in that restaurant. (Bit more upscale.) Looked through the Venetian hotel at the gondola rides and fake outdoor scene upstairs (we seriously thought we were outside; the sky is painted to perfection on the ceiling, and it looks like Italian store fronts.) The 2 secretaries and I did some shopping, then went to see Carrot Top at MGM. I've never been a Carrot Top fan, but he was hysterical!!! I loved the show! He never stopped from the time he got onstage until the show was over--90 minutes later! It was really cool. After that we took a cab to Jimmy Buffet's Margaritaville, where we met the 2 'fashionista' paralegals. They were sitting on the roof top level, so we joined them for a bit...until I was bored (and FREEZING!) stiff. No one wanted to walk across the street to check out Caesar's Palace and the Bellagio (and fountain show) w/ me, so I went by myself. Bummed around there for a while, then took a cab back to the hotel room. Played blackjack for 4.5 hours on the same $20 and didn't do too bad. (Ended up losing my winnings--$150 after I cashed out--but it was ok bc I only lost $20 of MY OWN money that I brought.) Went to bed about 4 am when the other gals got back to the room.

Sunday got up at 7 am to shower and pack. Bummed around our hotel, checked out some gift shops for last minute souvenirs, then sat down in the lobby waiting on everyone. Left our hotel about 1:15 pm and then proceeded to sit in the airport from a little before 2 pm until we boarded our flight at 4:15 pm. That SUCKED. I was so tired and just beat--completely exhausted--that all I wanted to do was sleep. But I ate some lunch and bullshitted w/ other people in my office and 2 friends who happened to be on the same flight as me.

All in all, it wasn't a BAD trip--but there were parts that were better than others. (Friday night was honestly the BEST time I had out there all weekend.) Saturday night was hard for me bc I was exhausted and just plain emotional. I was watching the fountain show at the Bellagio and I remember just standing there, crying, wishing so bad that Dustin was there w/ me. I know it was only a couple days apart, but it's something we're not used to--and seeing all the lovey dovey couples holding hands, kissing, and holding ea other was just too much for me. So I kinda lost it. I was just ready to come home. LOL

I'm hoping that, once I get my pix developed, I can find someone w/ a scanner who can help me scan and post 'em on the blog. I think that'd be pretty cool. So we'll see. Anyone want to offer to help me out w/ this endeavor? Let me know...

viva las vegas

Leaving the office in an hour and heading to the airport for our office XMas party to Vegas. Our flight leaves St. Louis Lambert Airport at 1:45 pm, so we should arrive in Vegas at 4 or 5 something their time. (They are 2 hours behind us.) I'm starting to get a bit nervous--bc of going to a strange city w/ people I work w/ (not sure how THAT will work, but I guess I'm soon to find out), not wanting to lose TOO much $, and I'm a tad bit frightful of flying. I'm sure things will be fine, of course, but I still have an upset stomach, knots, and butterflies. Wish me luck!