Sunday, July 27, 2014

How it happened...


How We Got Engaged

On the beach...at sunset...

It's true. It's cliche. But it really did happen that way.



Scott and Rachel were in Gulf Shores, Alabama for a family vacation with the Probsts. Their beach house was mere feet from the ocean. They went parasailing, deep sea fishing, and lounged in the surf and sun for hours on end. On the evening of May 24th, everyone dressed in white shirts and khaki bottoms for family photos on the beach. After taking various group shots, the group decided to move closer to water. It was suggested that each couple take turns walking down the beach and someone would take a photo of them from behind.

Scott and Rachel started walking away from everyone to get their photo taken. When one of the family yelled they got it, Rachel turned around to return to the group. Scott grabbed her hand and she turned around to find him on one knee asking if she would marry him.

She replied, "You said you weren't going to do this on vacation!"

He snickered and asked again. She said yes.

They hope to live happily ever after!




Saturday, July 26, 2014

The Story of Us

*This was actually written for my wedding website last spring, but I liked it and want to share it again!
About Rachel




Rachel was born and raised in Council Bluffs, Iowa. She attended Abraham Lincoln High School (Go Lynx!) and participated in band, flags, tennis, swimming and yearbook. As the time came to figure out where to go for college, she declared she wanted to go somewhere far enough away she "couldn't go home every weekend, but could easily make the drive if she wanted." After narrowing it down, she chose Bradley University inPeoria, Illinois. After testing out many majors, she settled with a Bachelor of Science in Sociology and one in Communication: Advertising. With full intentions on moving to Colorado after she graduated, Rachel inevitably accepted a job in Peoria, and "just never left."

In 2007, Rachel bought a house in Creve Coeur, IL. It was a small house that needed a lot of cosmetic changes, but Rachel was excited to get to work. Five years later, there is still work to be done (but isn't there always!), but she has made it into a comfortable home. She lives there with her fluffy, white dog Ellie and chubby cat Teeka.

Rachel is currently working at Belcan Engineering, where she is the Recruiting and HR Administrator. She assist the recruiters with - oh heck, she keeps the place running by planning, organizing and knowing who is where, when.

Some of Rachel's favorite things include cake, chocolate, a good glass of red wine, quiet Sunday mornings, reading, shopping, laughing with friends and rearranging rooms (she wanted to be an Interior Designer for thislong).

About Scott




Scott was born and raised in Teutopolis, Illinois. He attended Teutopolis High School (Go Wooden Shoes!) and participated in band, track & field and cross country. Scott followed in the footsteps of his father and went south to Southern Illinois University inCarbondale, Illinois. He started out with the intention to go into medicine, but somewhere along the way he could not ignore his true calling, and switched over to Television. With a personality like Scott's, it is surprising to find that he does not like to be in front of the camera, but rather the one in charge of the camera! Less than one week after graduating, Scott took a job in Peoria, Illinois and settled in with his good friend Josie on a quiet little street on the east bluff.

Scott currently works at WMBD 31, where he is a Photojournalist. He travels across the viewing area, capturing the news with his camera. He has done stories on everything from the latest homicide to feel good stories about good Samaritans to local sports coverage. He always has a good story to tell when he gets home from work (though sometimes he leaves out the gory details)!

Some of Scott's favorite things include reading, running, bacon, eating meat, eating other foods, telling stories, a good glass of whiskey, watching Da Bears, laughing with friends and family, and being the center of attention - well...maybe not...but he is one of the loudest people you'll meet!

How We Met



Once upon a time...

For the last 21 years in Peoria, the Peoria Jaycees have held Beerfest. This immense event lasts for two days and features hundreds of beers from all over the world for visitors to taste. You can only imagine how may volunteers it takes to put that event on! (This year's event is April 19 & 20 and is going to be AWESOME if you might happen to be in the area.)

Rachel became a member of the Peoria Jaycees after meeting some new friends at an event and telling them she wanted to get involved and meet new people. They sucked her happily into their world and she started attending/volunteering for various events. When Beerfest came up, she offered her assistance as a ticket seller and spent an evening meeting new people.

Scott got involved with the Peoria Jaycees after his coworker Mary asked him if he'd like to join them in St Patrick's Day parade. He hit it off with everyone there (in spite of knocking someone's tooth out - by accident!) and soon was participating in various activities. When Beerfest rolled around, he was more than excited to offer his help and ended up working security for the event.

But Scott and Rachel didn't meet that night at Beerfest...or at least don't recall. A few weeks later, the Beerfest committee threw a Volunteer Appreciation party for anyone who helped. Rachel showed up with her friends and Scott with his. Still being new to the group, Rachel strolled around mingling with the few she knew. She had met Mary on various occasions, so stopped to say hello. Soon other people were joining in on the conversation and wouldn't you know it, Scott was one of them. Mary casually introduced them and everyone continued chatting. (Side note...even though the party was for "Beerfest" and alcohol was served, neither Rachel nor Scott consumed that fateful evening.)

After some time, Scott said he had to leave...he had a date that night. The group teased Scott about "who this girl was" and "where he was taking her." He didn't have a plan yet, he said. After a short time, he said his goodbyes and left.

About 20 minutes later Scott returned. She had ditched him, so he came back to the party.

He and Rachel continued talking in the same circle of people. They both laughed a lot that night. As the volunteer party was winding down, a group decided to go to "The Basketcase," a local karaoke bar. Scott said he was meeting his friends from work there and Rachel and her group of friends decided to tag along. The group of them had a good time at the bar, drinking, singing and making fun of people. Finally it was time to go. They all piled out around the same time and said goodbye and everyone parted ways.

The next morning Scott began calling around for Rachel's number. He called Mary, who called Steph, who told Nadine, who called Val......Word got back to Rachel that "someone" was asking for her number and she got a little nervous and excited. She hoped it was Scott who wanted that number.

Finally, two days later, Scott called Rachel and since then, they have not gone more than 24 hours without talking.

Friday, July 25, 2014

It's a Cute Shoe Kind of Week

Sometimes getting dressed is overwhelming to me.

Have I mentioned I am not a morning person?   

I try to figure out what I'm going to wear the night before, but it doesn't always happen. And sometimes I'll decide on something at night and in the morning I look at it and am disgusted with it. I know. I have issues.

On Monday morning I was staring at my closet trying to decide what to wear and declared that choosing pants AND a shirt was too much, so I went for the easy option: a dress.  I love me a dress.  It is one simple piece and I don't have to think too hard. I picked out a comfortable and cute dress and decided that I needed to wear my nude heels with it.

Side note here: I work in a very casual office.  Half the staff wears khaki pants and the other half jeans.  Usually, I follow suit and wear casual pants and ballet flats.  So when I wear a dress, even a casual maxi, I stand out a bit. 

But I decided I would dress up.  Plus I had to perform our orientation for new hires on Monday, so I wanted to put on a good front for myself and the company.

Then on Tuesday I decided I would wear my new salmon blazer.  I love the color!  And then I thought, I'm gonna wear my new shoes...my pretty heels!  And at that point, I declared that it would be shoe week! Everyday this week, I would wear a fun pair of shoes that have gotten lost in the depths of my closet and the recesses of the basement (where my overstock is stored). I love a good bargain shoe and have a stack of amazing heels that I have paid less then $20 each for.  Most of the time, they stay in their box, hidden away since I've stuck with mainly flats. But not this week!  This week, they will be front and center of what I wear!

Monday: Classic Nude Heels
Found the receipt in the box...they were $20.99!


Tuesday: Coral Cute Outs
Got these this winter on clearance.  The receipt said $10.99!



Wednesday: Sassy Pink Sparkles
I got these the day before my wedding with another pair.  I couldn't decide which to wear down the aisle.  I chose the others...they were a blue/teal ballet flat. But this pair was only $15!


Thursday: Strappy Leather Sandals
I can't remember when I bought these but I remember LOVING them.  They made me feel sassy!  


Friday: Sunny Sparkles
I also bought these thinking they might be good wedding shoes, but they did not go with the dress at all!  But they were clearance shoes so I couldn't return them, so I decided to just wear them!

Ohhh, I love shoes!  Because I went digging through the shoes I don't wear often and brought them all into my room, it currently looks like Macy's shoe department after a busy Saturday sale.  Guess I know what I'm doing tomorrow!

Thursday, July 24, 2014

Be Positive



Sometimes, 

Nope, I take that back.

You should always surround yourself with positivity.  Sure, it isn't easy, but do your best.  



Over the last few years I have really come to understand that removing the negative people from your life and surrounding yourself with positive people can really make a difference. I'm not sure if I just didn't notice when I was younger, or I just wasn't friends with Negative Nancy then, but something in the last few years has caught my attention. I'm not saying that I can only be around people who are happy all the time, but people with a positive outlook makes a difference!  I realized that being around unhappy people started making me unhappy.  If they're putting everyone else down, they're probably putting me down too!  Their crabbiness rubbed off on me. 


 

It is exhausting: being cranky and crabby.  I always feel like once I start going down that path, it is so easy to just keep going that way. Getting out of that funk and finding the positive takes some work, but man, I realized it is so worth it! It starts with getting away from the people who keep you down and finding people who have that positive attitude. Their attitude starts to rub off and you start feeling better pretty quickly.  And when you feel better, you find more things that make you happy, which improves your mood. 

See above.  


 Surrounding myself with a good group of friends and coworkers though has helped me become a better person.  Not just to others, but to myself.  I feel better and I do better.  

There's no magic spell to do it, you just have to find those people who make you feel good and make you happy and gravitate toward them.  Spend more time with them and less time with people who leave you feeling empty. Need to find more? Try finding a volunteer group; their members are usually focused more on helping then putting people down.  Whoever it is, just remember, surround yourself with people who make you happy as it will make you happy!



Monday, July 21, 2014

Best Day Ever

Did you know yesterday was National Ice Cream Day?  I could have sworn there was one earlier in the year, but apparently not...apparently I made the other one up.  Can you blame me?  But seriously, it was National Ice Cream Day!  I made the husband take me out for some...really had to twist his arm too! 
What I didn't tell him was that I had actually purchased some Klondike bars earlier in the day! Ha!  But they are sitting comfortably in our freezer, waiting for me to come home and devour them!
I am an ice cream freak.  Especially when it gets warm outside.  I would be happy to eat it every day.  And then I start thinking of all the calories and fat and bad stuff.  On those days I buy sherbert or lemon ice.  Seriously. I'm addicted.

Favorites: 

Off the shelf: Ben & Jerry's Phish Food
Oh my goodness! The chocolate ice cream is amazing, the swirls of caramel and marshmallow add dimension and the chocolate fish make for a delightful crunch! I'm drooling just thinking about it!


Best Fast Food Ice Cream: Culver's Chocolate Frozen Custard
I know, it's not really ice cream, but its darn close!  Oh, the smooth texture of their frozen custard is amazing.  I know they have a million flavors, but I like to keep it simple with the chocolate base and a scoop of crushed Heath on top.  Mmmmm.

Sherbert/Sorbet: Kroger's Private Selection Pomegranate Acai & Blueberry Sorbetto
I am not a fan of super sweet stuff. I really like this Sorbet because it is cold and delicious and has just the right amount of sweetness.  If you like sweeter stuff, their Strawberry flavor is pretty good too.  It's about half the price and half the calories and still satisfies my cold craving in the summer, so I try to have a carton or two in the fridge during this time of year!

I'm pretty lucky that I live in a town that apparently really likes ice cream too!  There are a ton of local places that have delicious options!  If you want a creamy and yummy homemade flavor, check out the Spotted Cow!  If you want a large serving mixed with a variety of treats, check out the Ice Cream Shack (it may be in the ghetto, but as long as you go during the day, you're fine!)! Theo's and Emo's are great neighborhood shacks where you can't go wrong with a twist dip cone!  Emack & Bolio's opened a new location near my work and I have yet to visit...need to fix that!  In addition, there is this fantastic little Mexican ice creamery Las Delicias that has unique flavors and fresh made ice cream bars in all sorts of flavors!

Mmmm!  All this writing about ice cream has made me hungry!  I'm going to have to eat some now.  Would it be wrong to stop and get some on the way home when I have Klondike bars in the freezer?

Friday, July 18, 2014

What? There's such thing as professional emails?

I work in a recruiting department.  All day I email back and forth with managers and candidates. If it were solely up to me, half of the candidates would be out of the running due to email etiquette and resume mistakes.  The obvious is spell check, but there's so much more!

1. Include a signature at the end of your email.  I'm not talking about anything fancy.  I'm saying, put your name at the end of the email.  If you're feeling fancy, add your phone number. You would not believe how many emails I get with no signature.

2.  Professional email addresses.  I think you know what I mean.  I'm not going to lie, my first email address was flighty56 and it is still used.  Its how I communicate with my friends and its so old, I hate to part with it.  But when I started looking for a job, I got myself a email account with my name.  This isn't hard. They're free!  And if you don't want to check yet another account, you can forward incoming messages to another account (just watch what account your reply comes from!).

3. This leads me to my third issue. When you start communicating using email, make sure your email account is titled something appropriate.  Not your address, your account. When I get an email, the sender shows up as Joe Smith .  I'm not lying when I say that sometimes instead of "Joe Smith" I see something like "The Dude" or "Job Account."  Try again.

4. One word emails are NOT OKAY in the midst of a job hunt.  If I email to confirm an interview time, please do not reply, "ok" and nothing else (also refer to #1 again). I'm not saying I want paragraphs in return, but it would be nice to see you regurgitate the date and time so that I know you have it correct.

5. Along the same lines as #3, I would like to see emails with complete sentences.  I know. I'm demanding.  If you cannot write an professional sounding email, why should I introduce you to the managers?  Again, I'm not talking about the five paragraph essay each time, but put a little thought into your emails. Show me you are interested and intelligent.

6. Respond properly. I do a lot of the scheduling of interviews.  Often times the emails I send ask the candidate to provide a few times they are available to talk.  It makes me want to pull my hair or throw something when I get an email back that says, "Yes I am interested" and that is all.  Just as bad is "Wednesday at 4."  No.  First, I asked for A FEW times.  Second, don't tell me when.  Do you know how many schedules I am trying to coordinate?  The likelyhood of everyone being available at that one very specific time is small. Now we have to stretch the process out longer because I have to email you again and wait for another reply.  So, read emails all the way through and answer the questions asked or could be putting your job search in jeopardy. 

7. Spell Check! Always. This is not a Facebook status (though you should spell check those too!).

Wednesday, July 16, 2014

Do it.

I am going to start writing again.
I am going to start writing again.
I am going to start writing again.
I am going to start writing again.

I figure if I write it out a bunch of times, maybe I'll be more prone to follow through.  You know, like they made you do in school (well at least what they made Bart Simpson do in school)! I went to an author event at the library here and she said that writing was just part of her and I thought, I know exactly what you mean.  I miss writing.  I write emails for work, but that IS NOT the same.  At all.

I don't really know where to start, so I'm just going to start today with what is on my mind. 

It has been just over a month since the death of a friend.  And a month and half since the death of a good friend's sister.  In a way, I am waiting for another.  They say things come in threes...

But these deaths have made me think a little more about my life.  About what I'm doing and what's important. About friends, and calling them up and keeping in touch and making an effort to get together.

I've known Lori for nearly 14 years.  She was one of the first people I met when I started working at Ned Kelly's Steakhouse during college.  We weren't best friends or anything, but we hung out together.  Over the years, we haven't seen as much of each other, but with Facebook we've kept in touch.  When I bought my house, I found out her parents lived across the street.  I'd see her picking up the kids after work and we'd wave and sometimes meet in the middle to chat for a minute before she had to run off.  When I got my current job, I realized she worked just down the street and we agreed we should meet for lunch.  I think we did once. One of the guys we worked with at Ned's opened a deli near our jobs, so I had the intention of suggesting of meeting up there.

But that never happened.  I'd think of it too late or I had other plans and we never got together.  She had been on my "to do" list, but I kept pushing it down. 

And now I can never cross it off. 

To me, its a lesson to follow through.  Call your friends.  Set up lunch dates.  Make time. 

I am also reminded at how life is unpredictable.  No one saw this coming.  Both ladies lost their lives with no idea that it was coming.  So my take away from these tragedies is to make life worth it.  Do what you love.  Surround yourself with those you love.

So I'm going to write.  And I'm going to call my friends and family and make an effort to see them. 

You just never know.