How Cool!

Mine and Ruben's wedding was featured in a very cool Blog called "2000 Dollar Wedding" and I was so excited I wanted to repost!! I visited this blog quite a bit during my wedding planning phase. It was nice to find a down to earth resource for weddings, that helped keep things into perspective when dealling with budgets and wants and desires for the perfect day. Indeed, I feel, we had the most perfect wedding, and wouldn't have been possible with out all the love and support of our family and friends. Thanks so much, and be sure to check it out below.

2000 Dollar Budget Wedding: Inspirational Weddings: Shannon + Ruben

Time to Catch Up!

In an effort to catch up and get back into the routine of blogging, I have created a TOP 8 list of events that have happened in our lives since the wedding. (Pictures are limited due to my MIA camera)

1. Wedding Reception in Chicago:

Two weeks after the wedding we held a reception in our back yard to celebrate our union with our Chicago buddies. It was a great pot luck party, that lasted from late afternoon into the evening.

2. When it rains, it pours...literally...into our basement:

A week after our party we had a terrible flood in our basement. Unfortunately a bunch of our stuff was ruined as we got up to 16 inches of standing water. We were blessed to have Ruben's brother, Rick, in town. He helped us get a pump and pump out all the water and figure out if our insurance covered the damage. (Which it didn't, go figure.) Of all the stuff lost, I was most sad about the damaged wedding supplies, however, at least they had been used for their purpose.

3. Our First White Sox Game:

While in Chicago, Ruben's brother Rick became friends with the pitcher for the White Sox, Mr. Gavin. Who, was nice enough to offer us 4 tickets to a game! We had great seats and really enjoyed the winning game!

4. My 29th Birthday:

Was sort of dwarfed by the effort that was required to clean up the flooded mess in our basement. However, we took the night off, and Ruben fixed an awesome dinner and had some wine prepared. He and the dogs made me an awesome card, and my boss got me some nice flowers.

5. Wacker Moles Softball team and Party:

So, I played softball again this year. Of course all the games I played we lost, and the 2 games I missed, they won. Go figure. At the end of the season, we had a fun party at a bowling alley. I really enjoy playing and hanging out with my co-workers. They are a fun group of people.

6. Ruben's Auditioning, Playing and Teaching with Success!:

Ruben has been auditioning like crazy, working for some future opportunities. So far he has had some great success with winning jobs, and opportunities to get paid to play for other regional symphonies. So far this season he has gigs with the New Philharmonic Symphony, Northwest Indiana Symphony, a symphony in Benton Harbor, Michigan, and another in Cedar Falls, Iowa. He is also teaching in Merriville, Indiana once a week, as well as preparing for gaining some private students. Ruben also will be in a new play written by Chicago playwright, Bret Neveu and composed by Josh Schmidt. This is an exciting opportunity, because Ruben will be the only musician and onstage with 3 actors!! I'm so thrilled!

7. MOVING:

After almost 5 years of living in our little brown house, Ruben and I have decided to move. The mess that the flood left behind left our basement uninhabitable. Which, is unfortunate, because with out the basement, the house is very small. Too small, in fact. After searching for a few days, we learned of an open apartment that is just down the street. It's perfect! A larger space, with a big kitchen, and a great layout. The only downside of the place is that it has no yard. Oh well, at this point, I'm OK with container gardening, and excited about starting out in a new place. We will be out of our old house by the end of the month, and have been slowly taking things over bit by bit. (Thus the missing camera.) God Bless my Husband! (He's been doing most of the work himself!) Mainly because my evenings have been filled with...

8. JOB #2:

Over the past month, I have picked up a second job working for the Goodman Theatre downtown. I am an assistant for their subscriptions campaign. I am basically organizing the department, taking care of filing and entering orders. It's made for some really long days, as I work a 5-9pm shift 3 to 4 days a week. However, the extra money has been awesome, and really a blessing.

So, that is the short of what has been happening in our lives over the past few months. Married life is fun, and sometimes stressful. And no matter what people say, things do change when you get married, even if you have lived with the person for a long time beforehand. Change for the good, and not so good sometimes, but always growing and (hopefully) learning from mistakes. I feel so blessed that God sent Ruben my way. He is truly a dream come true! I look forward to keeping you posted on our new place, and how life is treating us!

Much love to you all!