The most romantic wedding night you will ever read about

Remember how I booked a romantic room at a local B&B for our wedding night?  Well, this is a story about how we spent $200 to stay in a room for 5 hours, 10 miles down the road from our house and walk-of-shamed our arses back home. 

 Andrew was never on board for the wedding night room to begin with.  He couldn't wrap his head around why we would want to leave all of our friends that night.  I assured him that it would be a little overwhelming and we would want to probably get away at the end of the night (and that I was not going to spend my wedding night in our trailer).

Fast forward to the end of the wedding.  We did our send off and folks started to leave but it just didn't feel right to leave .  I mean, it was OUR PARTY and I wanted to party some more.  My bridal party left one by one, family was gone, and then it seemed like it was just us late-nighters and the band.  Andrew kept asking me if I wanted to leave and go to the room and I kept saying "NO!  Its my party!!!!!!! I cant leave!"

One by one, our sober rides to the B&B left.

Around 2:00 Andrew finally started making sense to me.  All of our safe rides had left. I looked around the barn and clearly, no one left was in a state to drive.  There was only one option---my mother in law.

Andrew tried to talk me out of going to the room at all, it seemed silly at this point to him.  Empasis on "to him".  I put my foot down and said NO.  I MUST GO TO OUR ROOM.  IT IS PART OF OUR ROMANTIC WEDDING NIGHT.

So off we went down to his parent's house to wake up his mom and ask her if she would drive us to the B&B.  Andrew continued to try and talk me out of it, but my heart was set.  She loves me a lot and said yes and we loaded up in the backseat of her Navigator and went down the road.  

So..just picture this.  We are still decked out in our wedding attire, in the back seat of my mother in law's car going to our wedding night B&B.

We arrived at our beautiful room and.....

well...

let's skip over some parts.

I woke up at about 6:30 a.m. and realized I had not packed an overnight bag OR a cell phone.  Neither did Andrew.  So we were trapped in our room and all I had to wear was spanx and a band t-shirt.  

 

I started to have that panicked, without a cell phone and slightly hungover feelings.  (you know what I mean)

I finally got a hold of my mom at the hotel and asked her to bring me some clothes and if she could get us a ride back home.  A few minutes later we hear her knocking at the door and she hands me some pajama pants.  Yup...it's just me, my mom, and my new husband standing beside my wedding night bed.  This is exactly how I planned things.  

Then we had to make our escape.  I grabbed my wedding dress in a huge ball and went for it.  People were in the lobby, and I could hear them say "oh, look! They just got married!  I didn't dare make eye contact.  

We got in the car and all busted out laughing.  How did this end up even happening?  Then we begged my mom to go by Hardees for some biscuits and gravy and the rest is history.  

We got a nice email from the owners a day or so later saying that they were sad to have missed us over breakfast.  Oppsie.  Sorry, I was shoveling Hardees in my mouth and trying to pick up the pieces of my life back from the floor.

It was perfectly "us" and a story we may or may not tell our children.  

And that concludes our walk-of-shame wedding night story.  

How my weekend went from good to SNOW GOOD

 Good Tuesday my dears!

Excuse the hiatus, but I was living in my dream world 3-day-snow-weekend!  (for you non-school workin' types, don't be jealous)

We spent Friday night at home and I took 30 photos of my new pets.  Sounds like fun?  Oh it was. 

 Presenting to the world:  LADY MARY (beta), and FRANK & BEANS (frogs).  Frank is somersaulting over Beans in this pic.  I was worried that they didn't like their new home but they have been quite happy lately.  I'm really digging the new family additions.  (I really want salamanders next..)

Saturday I took a trip to the Asian Market in Charlottesville with some of the international boarders from the school that I work at.  We loaded the short bus and I had my first experience with an Asian market.  I really wanted to buy something so I grabbed candy, tea, edamame, and these cute little asian soaps. 

 Sunday came around and I had so much to clean around the house.  So naturally I sat and watched Oprah's Super Soul Sunday and put all of my dirty clothes on top of the bed and felt satisfied with cleaning. (clean floors = clean room)

Sunday night was extra fun because I played music with a bluegrass band I have been jamming with lately.  The name of the group is the Mason Jars (love) and I am pretty stoked about our first gig. I really love playing in a group and having some voices to harmonize with.  Ill keep you posted.  :)

On Monday morning the alarm went off and Andrew let me know it was snowing.  I brushed it off because we have not had a full snow day all year and I wasn't about to get my hopes up on March 5.  Except when I looked out the window it was really coming down!  I prayed hard while looking at the blue strip on the bottom of the news page and then finally, like a little snow angel, it appeared!  SCHOOL IS CLOSED!  I did a little snow dance in my pajammers.  It was like a do-over day. 

We played in the snow for a bit with the dogs, horses, chickens, and cats. 

Hunter loves snow more than any dog I have ever seen. 

 

 Isn't Little Bit so handsome in this picture?  I love him so.  

AND that was my surprise 3 day weekend.

Happy Tuesday!

long live the Queen

It seems like just yesterday I was cradling Lil Bit in my arms.  

Today I am cradling Kate Middleton.

My co-worker brought in the Kate Middleton doll that her grandmother got her for Christmas.  My co-worker is in her 30s....her Grandmother is convinced that she still collects dolls.  She was nice enough to bring it in so that we could all take a gander at the Princess herself.  

I might have taken more than a gander.

Ugh.  I love her.  A lot.  You can tell met that you think I look like her.  I won't get offended at all. 

I also thought I would share a picture from a storefront I saw today in downtown Staunton. 

Is that not the creepiest thing you have ever seen?  Very Donnie Darko if you ask me.

annnndddd those are my Thursday Thoughts.  Enjoy!

Leap Year

I heard something this morning about leap year and Caesar and someone was trying to explain it on the news this morning and I hear that Scotland this is the day that women can propose to men but I still have no clue what purpose Leap Year serves.

BUT I can tell you the purpose of my new scarf that my Nanny knit me.  

A Lil Bit Cat Holder! 

On our trip to NJ I told Nan, "I know what you can knit for me!  A SNOOD!  After we finally were both on the same page on what a snood was we looked up the instructions and BAM-two weeks later I got my snood in the mail.  

She said she followed the exact directions but the thing turned out to be like the entire length of my body.  This is a pic I took for her where I doubled it up.

I love my snood.  It's made with love and is all warm and snuggly.  I shall wear it forever and tote all my new kittens in it. 

 aren't you glad I started blogging again so you can read exciting stories like this?  I know I am.  

Happy Hump Day.  

What's up Internet MACHINE!

I'll spare you my lame excuses for being M.I.A and skip the whole part where I think that anyone cares and jump to what's been going on in my life.

After we had a kick-ass Crummett-McQueen wedding we spent a blissful week in Asheville, VA for our honeymoon.  

 Our cabin, "Nice & Knotty"

I spent almost 72% of the honeymoon in the hot tub reading the first Hunger Games book. 

 We also did fun touristy things like visit the Biltmore so I could pretend like I lived Downton Abbey Style (except the hoards of older people walking around passing gas made me get really nauseous and we had to go walk outside for the majority of the visit.)

 

 My favorite touristy adventure was going to eat at the Grove Park Inn.  It was the most beautiful, romantic dinner with the most gorgeous view. 

We had lots of other adventures including the fact that I packed my bag at the last second and brought only one complete outfit (oh darn, we had to go shopping), but the scariest adventure was definitely Andrew dragging me up a trail on Grandfather Mountain that we later found out is described as a "rigorous trek across rugged peaks".  I'm talking ladders bolted on the side of a freaking rock, death on both sides, I thought I was going to have a panic attack and yes I did cry when I got to the top.  Andrew was white as a ghost and kept repeating "I can't believe I took you up here, your Dad would kill me".  It was intense, like camping.  

So we came back from our kick ass honeymoon and then I was all like, Wait--is it over?  For real?  And I sat around numb for a while with the reality of the wedding/honeymoon/Hunger Games series being over slowly sunk in.  But then I read in a book that that feeling was normal and I felt better about life and my marriage.  

Then the Holidays came and we celebrated in quiet fashion, took a trip to New Jersey, and then rang in 2012 ( & I actually stayed up to watch the ball drop this year).  

Other notable happenings since we last chatted:

New additions to the family:  fish, 2 frogs, & 1 horse

My GERD magically dissapeared

New songs to share (I want to make a video!)

My new glasses are coming in the mail

I suck at doing laundry

My dry skin is RAGING this winter

I joined a gym

this list is lame and proves my life has been pretty boring since Oct.

I am slowly coming out of hibernation and have been itching to start blogging again. 

So.  I might go back and forth catching you up on funny stories from the wedding but TA-DA, here I am--back in action.  

XOXO Valerie

Happy Friday Cat Post!!!

I am dying to get my arse in gear and put together a wedding post....but that will take some time and work and well, it doesn't help that Staples called and told me my computer has 9 different viruses on it.  Oppsy.

So I leave you on this chilly Friday with none other than a cat post!!!!

Remember that little fur ball Little Bit that came into our lives?  He is growing up to be quite a handful.  He dominates the house and the other animals (yes, even Olivia.  He tackles her everyday and we now have to feed her seperatly because he refuses to let her eat out of her bowl.  A 3 lb kitten is destroying the life of my 25 lb cat)

He is spoiled.  Rotten.  And he needs to have his balls chopped off...like NOW.  Maybe that will calm him down. 

I saw this video on FB and it perfectly depicts what happens EVERY.SINGLE.MORNING. in bed. 

Just sub the baseball bat for Lil' B biting our faces. 

Exhibit A.

ouch.  what happened to my sweet little kitten? 

 (& why do I have Angelina Jolie lips in this pic?)

 

 

tootles!

You Swept Me Away

V+A = Love: The Crummet Wedding from Danielle Sands on Vimeo.

One of my bridesmaids made this video from the wedding day on her Iphone.  I love, love, love it.