A new home

Hi All!

The blog has moved! A new book in our lives deserves a new home. You can keep up with what's been going on, as well as the last few wedding posts, on my new blog: MeettheQuinlans.blogspot.com! Don't forget to follow it so you can keep up with it more easily! :)

Hope you see you there!
~*Dr.Mrs. Q*~

Catching up

I've been a slacker with the blog. Sorry. :/ Lately, when I get a spare minute I prefer to sit and stare at a movie or something relatively mindless. Not very productive, I know.

A lot's been going on, though! We're really starting to get close... to everything! I graduate in TWO weeks (Wooooo-!!) and I get married in ONE month (-hoooooo!!)! I finished my last rotation and am now observing an OT, learning to make different kinds of splints and learning more about hand therapy. I started applying to jobs and interviewing, so we'll see how it goes. Keep your fingers crossed!! :)

I had my bridal shower about a month ago, and my lingerie shower/bachelorette party was last weekend! I'll post a separate blog about those soon. I promise. I've discovered I get really excited about the mail lately. I nearly sprinted from my bedroom today when I heard the UPS truck pull into my driveway. Haha! Between RSVP cards and wedding gifts, it's like Christmas everyday! My bridesmaid dresses arrived, and they're perfect! I love the color and they fit everyone nearly perfectly right out of the box! We were a little nervous about it, having ordered them sight unseen, but I couldn't be happier about how they turned out. I had my final dress fitting and am picking up my dress this Friday! We have everything pretty much in place. The music, flowers, linens, food, centerpieces, layout, timeline, etc... all done! Now we're just tidying up loose ends.

I'm doing my bridal portraits this weekend..... so excited! I'm so thankful for my awesome friend/photographer, Josh Lucas. He's not only ok with my crazy nagging, but he appreciates it. Definitely looking forward to seeing a preview of myself all done up for the best day ever! I'm also looking forward to having some help from a couple of my ladies for posing and such. I tend to be on the awkward side when it comes to... well, life, so the help is definitely appreciated!

All our cruise documents are in, so I just really want to go ahead and start packing for the honeymoon now!! I've been slowly packing up my room.... Will probably start moving some things after graduation. This is probably what I'm most excited about out of everything going on in the next few months. :) Finally getting to live with my love after over 9 years!

Some things still on my to-do list:

• Make a list of must-play songs (Any requests/suggestions?)
• Print the ceremony programs
• Get everything ready for the bridesmaids' luncheon
• Get our marriage license (Does anyone know if I need a birth certificate for this?)
• GRADUATE!!! :)

Bridal Show

Over the weekend I went to a bridal show with my friend, Amanda. I thought it was a pretty good turn out for an Augusta event. They had all the big wedding vendors represented including a few who we are using (Elegant Bridals, Men's Warehouse, and All Star Rentals). We ate chocolates, tasted cakes, had some cheese ad crackers, and were able to get information on some vendors I have yet to book like our transportation. Men's Warehouse even had a promotion that was able to give our groomsmen $40 off the total price of their tuxedo rentals! That was pretty awesome to me. I also registered for drawings for a free night's stay on our wedding night at a few hotels and a makeover. And Amanda and I were spotted by the Augusta Chronicle!

The fashion show was sponsored by David's Bridal and Men's Warehouse. They presented different bridal gowns, bridesmaid dresses, flower girl dresses, and tuxedos. The ring bearer definitely stole the show.

Afterward, Amanda and I went to Sticky Fingers to use our new free dessert coupon that we got from the bridal show and had some banana pudding! :)

All in all, a pretty successful outing!

We're meeting with the wedding coordinators, photographer, and florist next week to put together the big picture of the day. Really excited to see it all coming together!!

On the school front, we're down to double digits until graduation! :) Woohoo!! I'm actually really enjoying my rotation! My CI is really great and all about teaching moments. And really nice on top of that. So glad that it turned out the way it did! Midterm for the rotation is this week, so it's really downhill from here! May 5th, here we come!!

Less than 4 Months to Go!

So here's a brief update on everything that's been going on. It's a little different format, but it was easier for me to organize my thoughts this way. :)

Invitations - they're awesome. I went to The White Crane... Totally recommend them! They were so helpful and nice, even with all my crazy invitation wording/addressing etiquette questions. We looked through quite a few very large books - literally hundreds of invitations! I had already ordered a few samples online to show my parents and Tim so that when I went to the store I knew exactly what to look for. This saved me a ton of time and helped the sales associate find options for me that met my criteria. We had a sample in a few days and in about another week we received the invitations! It's kinda cool seeing it on paper like that. Makes it really real.... Not that it wasn't before, but now I've got a piece of paper with our names, the date, the place, and the time on it!

Bridesmaid dresses - ordered! A few last minute changes, but I think it worked out pretty beautifully! Special thanks to all of my amazing bridesmaids for putting up with me through that process!! I'm really excited to see them in person. And to see them next to my dress! :)

Tuxedos - chosen. :) Tim and I went to Men's Warehouse where we got great service. The associate who helped us, Nigel, was awesome. He and I were on the same page with everything. The color of the vests matches the bridesmaid dresses perfectly! We're doing something a little different with the shoes, which I'm excited about. It's not everyone's cup of tea, but it's one of the few things in the wedding that you can look at and think, "That's so Tim."

Chair covers - My mom's been in sewing mode non-stop. She's been slowed down a bit due to her serger breaking and having to take it to Duluth to get fixed, but she's still trucking along! She's making chair covers and sashes for all of the chairs for the reception. She's kind of awesome. She's also adding some sparkle to the vases and candle holders for the centerpieces. We're meeting with the florist in a couple of weeks to finalize the look of the tables, centerpieces, and bouquets, etc. Excited to see it all put together!!

Programs - I printed up a program that I put together.... It looked so good! I was really excited about it. When I read through it, holding it in my hands, I got a real picture of how the ceremony will go.... from walking down the aisle to being pronounced Husband and Wife. I was practically giddy about it. :)

Wedding bands - I got Tim's wedding band last summer and last week Tim got mine! It was so fun trying on all sorts of rings. I had gone to look before, but this time I tried on rings that I never thought I'd even like. In the end, we chose a ring from Jared that matched my engagement ring really well.... Can't wait to wear it forever!!

Music - For our ceremony musicians we decided to go with the Symphony Orchestra Augusta. They said they can do all of our music, and my dad really likes that they have tons of experience. Soo... check! I've also started putting together a list of songs for the DJ for the reception. My dad and I have been listening to songs here and there trying to choose a song that suits us best. Any suggestions of intro songs or Mother-Son dance songs?

Ok. That's it for now. Lots going on right now, so I'll have more to post soon! :)

Disney 2010

I know it's a little late, but here's my Disney blog! :) I was soooo lucky to be able to go to Disney for almost a week with two of my best friends, Sarah and Amy. We were able to visit Animal Kingdom, Hollywood Studios, Magic Kingdom, and EPCOT. I was extra excited about this trip because the last time I went to Disney was more than 12 years ago... probably closer to 15 years, and I had never been to EPCOT before. I vaguely remembered Hollywood Studios, Animal Kingdom had just opened and was pretty empty, and I was just tall enough to ride Space Mountain. I have always been a fan of anything princess related, in fact, I'm known at home to wear a Disney princess tiara to do random housework. (It seriously helps everything go by a little smoother.) Anyway, I was pumped.

Sarah was an excellent hostess for us. She developed an itinerary that allowed us to do everything we wanted in 5 days. That's impressive planning! :)

Our first day in the parks, we spent the morning in the Animal Kingdom and the afternoon in Hollywood Studios. It was the perfect introduction to our week! We rode pretty much every ride, watched the Lion King show, the Beauty and the Beast show, saw the coolest Rhino ever, danced alongside the Block Party Bash, and sat through some freeeeeezing wind to watch Fantasmic! My favorite moment from this day was walking through New York with all the holiday lights, "snow" falling all around us, Christmas music playing from every corner, and a cup of hot chocolate in my hands. Pretty awesome....!

The next day, we ventured "off property" (like my cool Disney lingo?) to go have lunch with my Aunt, Uncle, and cousins! It was sooo much fun to see everyone - it really had been too long! We ate at a wonderful Puerto Rican restaurant... mofongo and tostones... yummmm!!! :) That evening we went to the Magic Kingdom for the Christmas party! It was pretty much the coolest thing ever. Unlimited hot chocolate and sugar cookies, the Christmas parade, and meeting tons and tons of princesses! I kept my cool pretty well with all the royalty around until I got to Belle.... I turned into an 8 year old - stumbling over my words and awkwardly taking my autograph book away from her. :/ All in all, an amazing evening!!

The next day we spent entirely at the Magic Kingdom. We rode a ton of rides, met more princes and princesses, and tried to find sweet potato fries to no avail. And I wore my Belle tiara all day. :) And I danced with Flynn Rider. Our eyes met across the stage, probably because I was closer to his eye level than the <7 year olds all around me.

We spent our last full park day at EPCOT. As I said above, it was my first time there. And I LOVED it! I loved walking around and seeing all the different representations of the different countries. The only thing I really didn't like... not being able to get to the Eiffel Tower!! I mean, come on!! It's such a tease to hide it behind buildings! And although its lights were nice, they were nothing like the real thing. We had lunch in Japan, beer in Germany, chips in England, and dinner in France. A perfect evening. :)

We ended our trip with lunch at Earl of Sandwich, then it was off on the road back to Augusta. I seriously had so much fun on this trip, and I know that so much of it had to do with the people I was there with! So, thanks to Sarah and Amy for making this trip the bestest Disney trip ever!! Love you girls!!!!!

Words of Advice

Today was my first day of my last clinical rotation! I'm working in an outpatient ortho setting that is staffed by only one PT and a part time OT. I'm curious to see how this plays out. The place/population is soooo different from Grady, so it's definitely an adjustment from last semester. My new CI is great - really smart, helpful, friendly, and a great teacher already!

All day, the sweet patients commented on my ring and wanted to talk wedding and marriage. I got a lot of advice from people who have many many years under their belts - one is celebrating her 45th anniversary this year, a couple who is celebrating their 40th anniversary, a woman who has been married for 25 years, and my CI, who has been married for 20 years. The three most memorable pieces of advice:

1. Don't try to change each other
2. Choose your battles
3. Be a good forgiver

I thought these were so true to everything Tim and I have worked on during our >8.5 year relationship. We have supported each other and changed together over the years, which has led us to grow closer together. We never try to change each other because we know who we are together and as individuals, and we love each other for it.

Choosing our battles.... I'd like to honestly say that I don't fret over spilled milk and all, but I do. Tim is way better at this than I am. He is way more gracious at humoring me and my neuroses than I am at letting things go. I've gotten better about it, but it's something I continue to work on. I feel that this is something every couple continuously works on.

Be a good forgiver. When this one was mentioned, all married persons nodded fervently in agreement. I think that this can go hand in hand with choosing your battles. Letting go and moving on, forgiving each other rather than holding grudges, and knowing that you love each other at the end of the day no matter what. Also something to work on for many years to come.

It was really nice to hear "marriage" talk rather than just "wedding" talk. Not many people bring up the day after the wedding, they're mostly concerned with colors and flowers and cake, etc. Not that I'm complaining about that, I love talking about all that as well! But I also love to think about where we'll live, how we'll split up household chores, how often I'll be able to wrestle the TV remote away from him, and how I'm ever going to cook a meal that he and I will both enjoy. I love thinking about what will happen after we're wed. And this outpour of advice from patients today sent me to that place. :)