happy adoptionday polly!

one year ago, patrick and i got in a huge fight on the way to PAWS. according to me "there was so much traffic" on western that we absolutely, positively were never going to make it before they closed. yes, we had been looking at pups for quite some time, and yes we thought we found a winner in this small black shihtzu named polly, but ughhhh THERE WAS TRAFFIC!

polly's first picture, 9/30/11

we finally made it and miraculously found parking. we filled out the form for prospective puppy parents, still furious at each other and giving one word answers. after we were done, we started to walk around, and politely look at the dogs that we knew we were not interested in, until we heard someone else ask "can we look for polly now?" well to say we made a beeline for polly's room would be a lie. we sprinted. and when the door swung open, and about half a dozen small dogs came running out of the very large room that was their home, polly came politely trotting out, with a cone around her neck, walked directly to pat's lap and plopped down for a nap. i'll never forget the look we exchanged, and i knew it was up to me. "we'll take polly," i said. "as soon as possible."


she was ours within an hour. it was a rainy warm September afternoon, and  at the time she didn't seem to like riding in the car (we now know that isn't true.) she cautiously stared at us as we tried to bribe her with toys and snacks, and she freaked the heck out when we tried to put her in a kennel.

it took us a few weeks to feel like a family, but now that is just what we are. polly has given us unconditional love, she has remained loyal to us as our surroundings have drastically changed. she's a little traveler as we took her on a plane to virignia, and on a 22 hour car ride from chicago to winter park. she's the world's best company when you've had a terrible day at work, and all she wants to do is lay down in your lap and make sure you know how much she needs you. she is, very simply, the best. and both pat and polly are my daily reminder that your family can take years to build, or just hours. and there is nothing sweeter than having a house full of love. i am so lucky to call both of them mine.

happy girl, anna maria island - 8/11/12

c'mon REFS!

the ref (left) whose neck i wanted to break

last night's football game may have been the most frustrating few hours of my life. for someone who excuses herself from the room whenever a game gets down to the last few seconds (big thanks to shaun suishman for that) i thought i was going to explode with anxiety/rage/mostly rage. 

here are a few gems that were said out loud.

"seriously seahawks, just kill yourself."

"i wanna take that white ref and break his effing neck."

"browner you are nothing but a thug"

"these motherf***s"

"what kind of world do we live in?"

"get these scab refs OUTTA HERE!"

"i hope clay matthews rips someone's head off"

"is this the superbowl? why is pete carroll running around like this is the super bowl? does he have a lazy eye?"

"i don't know whether to laugh or cry. or punch that ref in the face"

"mcnabb should return to the nfl now that interceptions count for touchdowns"

"PETE CARROLL GET YOUR LAZY EYE OFF MY TV!"

....praiza lord i can't get fined.

snapshots take two

in the past 10 days we have:

spent a weekend in chicago

picked bridesmaid dresses (!!!!!!)

attended our first pre-cana class

driven to virginia (with polly per my momma's request)

driven back to florida

& only taken one day off from work

it has been so wonderful to see both sides of our family in such a short amount of time and so soon after the engagement. 

to our parents and brothers (and sister in laws!): we appreciate all the love and support. you're the best! 

teeny tiny beers at piece

aml&b

my love in our windy city

polly catching z's somewhere on I-95 south

ps - go pack, go!

 ps again - happy belated birthdays to 40% of k&co. love you ricey & manny.

you've got email

i have sent what feels like one million emails in the last month. i have gone back and forth with the church in fredericksburg, the church in winter park, photographers, videographers, caterers, the venue. i have sent more emails that have asked the question, "does that bridesmaid dress have pockets?" than i am going to admit to. it's been a lot.

but somehow i had enough foresight to realize that if i gave out my personal email address, i would be obsessively checking to see who got back to me with what. and i don't know if this bride stands alone but after this wedding, i'm not going to want to continue corresponding with the knot (no offense). so i created a gmail address for the lewis heckel wedding, that i can check when i get home at night and everything is in one place. i don't have to comb through k&co email chains, or dinner requests from patrick, or order confirmations from anthropologie. it might be the second most brilliant thing i've done thus far in the wedding process.

the first was saying "of course" to this guy

my work husband

patrick and i met through city year. when we started dating, we worked separately, and then about two years into our relationship, we once again became coworkers. and while we barely survived the lions, and tigers, and bears, and hyenas; we survived. patrick has continued his career with an organization that means a great deal to us while i have found a new passion for my (still relatively) new role at united way.

but we miss each other. we miss grabbing lunch together, or chatting throughout the day. we miss being able to commute to/from work together. so when our work does overlap, which it does because this world is so small, i really enjoy it. especially when i get work emails that are addressed to me like this: 

ps - shout out to my REAL work husband, rayshaun! love you boo. 

please attend our wedding as mike tyson.