2008

Cory and I had a great 2007 but I am looking forward to an even better year in 2008. I have some high hopes for moving out of my current department to our Institutional Services Group and have been tossing around the idea of pursuing my master's degree. Cory will also be moving from his current position to Technical or Sales. He already has the highest sales on his team so it is just a matter of time before he gets the promotion. We are looking forward to meeting Cadence in March and of course throwing a baby shower for her welcoming party! The highlight of the year will be our first wedding anniversary in September! We are planning a trip to see Brenda, Jason, and the kids sometime in the spring and with Cory and I both having at least two weeks of vacation, hopefully we can add a few more trips to the list. Of course I will be working on my Top 100 list and trying to master, or at least play, a game or two in the Xbox 360 (either Harry Potter or Pacman are my top choices). I know there will be plenty of exciting happenings and I can't wait!

Adding to my list

I also found the start of my 100 things in my happy book so I added some more to my list. Interesting to see how the list differs from when I was 20ish to now. There were a couple of duplicates but for the most part, it should be pretty easy to spot the new ones!

My Happy Book

When I was in college (the first time!) I started my "Happy Book". I put in favorite song lyrics, poems, pictures from magazines, cards, and a lot more. Over the past few years (ok 12 years!) I would take it out and look at all of the things I added. I pulled it out tonight for the first time in quite a while and wanted to share some of my favorites.
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"We'll be friends forever, won't we, Pooh?" asked Piglet. "Even longer," Pooh answered.

Life isn't a destination- its a journey. We all come upon unexpected curves and turning points, mountain tops and valleys. Everything that happens to us shapes who we are becoming. And in the adventure of each day, we discover the best in ourselves.

A sister is a little bit of childhood that can never be lost. -Marion C Garretty

1994-
I've learned that music can almost always make me feel better.
I've learned that nothing makes you feel worse than making someone cry.
I've learned that my mom is usually right.

Relationships are only alive as the people engaging in them. - Donald B Ardell

There are some things you learn best in calm and some in storm. -Willa Carter

1995
I've learned to listen to what others say with an open mind.
I've learned that there is a solution to all my problems but sometimes I have to ask for help.

Life is what happens to us while we are making other plans. -Thomas La Mance

When you hold resentment toward another, you are bound to that person or condition by an emotional link that is stronger than steel. -Catherine Ponder

Life itself can't give you joy, unless you really will it; Life just gives you time and space, It's up to you to fill it. -Author Unknown

1996
I've learned, even though I've grown up, I like to have my mom around.
I've learned money really isn't everything.
I've learned you can grow mold on almost everything (dorm fridge!)

It is my friends who have made the story of my life. -Helen Keller

He is a wise man who does not grieve for the things which he has not, but rejoices for those which he has. - Epicletus

The best and most beautiful things in the world must be felt with the heart. -Helen Keller

1997
I've learned how much I love my friend.
I've learned I am growing up when my plans for the future mean months and years instead of days and weeks.
I've learned I need to love myself but that is a hard thing to do.

Home is not where you live but where they understand you. -Christian Morgenstern

No one knows better than my sister, how we grew up. -Dale V Atkins

People change and forget to tell each other. -Lillian Hellman

1998
I've learned that I can be so sad that my heart actually hurts.
I've learned that sometimes you just have to put your pictures in a box.
I've learned that singing is fun even thought I am not very good at it.

Enjoy your own life without comparing it with that of another. -Marquis de Cundorcet

Your decisions say a lot about what's important to you and what kind of person you are.
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There are a few others that I am going to post on their own because they are a little longer. I will add more of my favorite short quotes over the week.

I Miss You!

This might be a little of the holiday spirit getting to me but I miss my Iowa-Virginia-Utah-Georgia-somewhereonasailboat family! Maybe I got spoiled with August and September but it was really nice to see everyone and just hang out. I get an email from Andrea and flash from watching Aladin a million times in the basement to sleeping on her couch for 6 weeks. I had a blast catching up with Tiffany on the patio in Iowa and I wish we were lived closer together so we could do that more often. I miss chatting with my brother and wish we could hang out more now that I finally grew up enough to appreciate his sense of humor. I miss my sister because we can just hang out all day and not even chat but it makes me feel better. I miss my nieces and nephews because they all change so much in between visits. I miss going shopping with my mom and getting to go out to eat and talk. Don't get me wrong- there are plenty of things that I love about being in Colorado but I miss you guys. I think about the babies that Cory and I are going to have one day and get a little sad that they won't know the wonderfully strange family that I grew up around! Cory's family is all here so the babies will have a lot of family around but there is something to be said for surviving the holidays- back in the day when Andrea and I would match our clothes and trying to pile all of us into one house! I miss the mass of stockings at the grandparents and the wrapping paper that we thought would never end! I miss Brenda organizing our presents each Christmas morning and dragging me out of bed because she thought she knew what my stocking stuffer was! I miss Barney playing in the wrapping paper and my odd-man-out stocking with the orange stuck in the toe. Even though we all can't be together for the holidays this year, know that I am thinking of you and I miss you!

Melissa's Top 100

Inspired by Andrea's list, I decided to create my own Top 100 things I would like to accomplish. I think this might help my issue of trying to figure out what to do with myself on the nights Cory is working. I realize that it is not at 100 yet but just give me time. My brain likes to sleep on Sundays but I will keep adding more as they come to me!

Day Two

Cory is now working his second full day on his new shift which means that this is the second night that I am home alone with Emma and Token. I am sure there is stuff that I need to be doing but, wow, I just don't know what to do with myself. If only Brenda and her family had moved to CO when I first suggested it, I could just head over and see them. But it seems that Nebraska is in the way so I think I might just have to go visit my old friend- Target.

Cool picture from Vegas

Christmas Party

We went to Cory's work Christmas party last weekend at Invesco Field- what a fun night! Cory threw a few passes on the field. His best was a 50-yard throw that ended up hitting a woman square in her back :o) She was one of the Invesco people and admitted she was stupid for standing in the pass area with her back to place passes were being thrown from. We also got to see the visiting players locker room. It was kind of cool to watch the Monday night game and know that we walked the same hallway that the players were heading down. The rest of the party was on the club level. They had two areas available- one side has the food and the other side had the games. It was amazing to see what the people that already have the good seats during the games get to have for a nice indoor concession/bar area! We got to start with $1000 to gamble with so we headed right for the roulette table- turns out my luck was better in Vegas! We played a lot of blackjack and Cory had a few turns at the ball throwing thing that tells you how fast you can throw. We didn't win any of the prizes that night but it was a fun time. Cory even had his passes on the Jumbotron (but of course I didn't have a camera!). We did manage to get one picture when we first got on the field at least.

A Few More Wedding Pictures

Michael was not too excited to dance with the bride!

Dancing with Carter- he really liked the sparkles in my veil

I just really like this one!!!

The infamous cake topper picture

Another of my favorites

Us with my mom and Ed

Picture for Brenda

Cory's job

Cory started his new job at Comcast last week and loves it! He will be in training for the next 2 months and then free to move about the company. Of course the best part (other than the regular paycheck) is that we now get every channel and it is free! That means when I am looking at the guide and I see something I want to watch- I can click it and watch it instead of clicking on it and getting the sad black screen telling me I don't have the channel. Plus, we upgraded our internet from 4 somethings to 8 somethings that makes it a lot faster for uploading and some other stuff. I think Cory is a little more excited about this one than me (except that our internet is only $10/month) because he knows what it all means.
My job is still going. I have been appointed the "Team Building Coordinator" so I get to organize the department Trick or Treating next week, decorate the department, create trivia games for meetings, and find other random things that I can have the team do while at the same time, making me look amazing because I care so much! Plus I will now be leading a new team made up of members from all of the other processing teams to create team building across all of the TA department. Woo-hoo for me. :o)

Wedding Pictures

I just really like this one!

What an amazing couple!!!

Yeomans side- There certainly are a lot of us now!

Us with the grandparents

Butler/Fanelli Family picture

I figure I should just do a few each time so I can show off my favorites!!! I can't get the Prins Family picture to load right so I will try next time. I hope you like them. Cory's brother is going to make copies of the cd's if anyone wants to see all of the pictures.

1306

What is the signifigance of 1306? That is the number of wedding picture that we have! Eight CD's with all of the pictures from the wedding. We have 286 prints of the best ones and our present from Drew and Juliana (the photographers) was a framed print of our hands with my flowers on my dress. It is amazing!!! I am going to try to load up some of the pictures so they are available to look at. Cory's brother is going to make some copies of the CD's too. I might try to pick out some of the best and load to one or two discs to share if anyone wants copies. Anyway, I am soooo excited to have them and they really are great! I can't wait to share them!

Happy Birthdays Ladies!!!

Happy Birthday!!!

I think I figured out the picture thing!

I think I finally figured out how to load pictures- (inspired by Ken and Vicky's blog!). Cory showed me a while ago so I thought I would finally try it. Brenda sent me some wedding pictures and I love this one. Hope it works! I will post some more over the weekend!

Happy almost Friday!

I just need to vent a little bit!!! So I had to take time off to go to the doctor this morning so I have been working extra time all week to make up the hours. I decided since I was going to the doctor, I would just hit up the social security office to start the name changing process. So I have a great morning, traffic is in my favor and I get to the doctor a few minutes early. Plus I get to go back right away and the doctor actually comes in so I don't have to wait. And to make it even better, I talk her out of having to draw blood at this visit! Although the downside was getting a flu shot, since I didn't cry, I got to pick out my own bandaid- Daffy Duck rocks! We get everything squared away I think (crazy amounts of stuff to take and some are 3 times a day, one just in the morning, one just at night but with food, and who knows about the other two!).
I leave and find the social security office on the first try and then......I wait. And wait. I got my number at 9:30. I was supposed to be back at work (about 30 minutes away) at 11:00. I was slightly optimistic since I was having a great day and there were two windows open. But then...one window closes- down to one person working. So we all waited. Then the lady came back and opened her window.....and the other lady left. So we waited more. Now that an hour has passed I have to call in and see if I can miss more time. My boss ok's the time to be late but now I have to stay late. Finally a second window opens and my number gets called- 2 hours after I walked in. I sat at the window for less than 5 mintues but at least now I am on my way to being Mrs. Butler on paper!
The rest of the day maintained a high level of dissatisfaction and I definitely did not enjoy staying until 6:00. Obivously too much venting would likely violate some sort of security issue but all I know is that I am smarter than every financial advisor I spoke to today and there are a lot of people out there that need to learn how to be nicer to people!
Plus.....I am the "social director" of my team and there is a birthday tomorrow. So now it is way past my bedtime (it is just after 10) and I have to wait for the cake to bake and I was trying to be nice to Cory (since I never made the frosting for the sugar cookies) and make him some brownies. Probably should have noticed before starting that the brownies take almost an hour to bake- ooops.
I guess that is enough for the day except that my back still hurts so I can't sleep through the night (at least I haven't for the last few weeks) so I am not seeing the point in going to bed.
On a positive note though- I have the world's best husband- who made me dinner and watched reruns of Law and Order and listened to all of my rambling and venting about my day and took a nice walk with me to help calm down from the earlier stuff.

Bed Bath & Beyond!!!!

We took our gift cards in and went SHOPPING!!! We had an amazing time and it turns out we are really good spending money! The two things we picked up that I HAVE to share with everyone are---- Dryer Balls and Hercules Hooks!!! Amazing inventions. First, the dryer balls- we got the regular ones with the little nubbies (they also make yellow ones with blue stripes for extra static guard). Instead of using dryer sheets, just toss the balls in the dryer with the wet clothes. The clothes came out normal and they dried in one dryer cycle instead of 2! They say you can use two or three sets if needed. Two thumbs up!
Now for the Hercules Hooks- buy them. We got a pack and Cory was able to hang the picture in less than a minute with no tools. We have yet to try them on something really heavy but I will keep you posted when we try it. Plus, the hole in the wall is so small- much better than the holes from when I hung the picture trying to use the drill :o) Let me know if you need some for Christmas!!!

Finally Married!!!

What a strange day! I am sitting here realizing that I don't have anymore wedding planning to do and my weekends are almost back to normal. Thank you's are coming but I have to just take a few minutes (ok it has turned into a few hours!) and enjoy my day.
I wanted to thank everyone for coming out to Colorado and sharing out wedding day with us. The day was almost perfect :o) I can't wait to see the pictures!!! Our honeymoon trip to Vegas was great- other than the fact that the lows at night we still in the 80's- over 100's during the day! Cory enjoys the warm weather and the sun so I think he had a little better time outside than I did :o) We got in early Sunday morning and weren't able to get into our room until after 4:30 (contrary to what the first lady said at 8:00am when we checked in). The first room they put us in was stupid so I called guest services and got our room changed- so we at least got to stay on the 8th floor- not too bad an we had a great view of the pool.
During our walking aroung on Sunday waiting for our room, we got talked into signing up for time share tour so we got tickets to see Cirque de Solei Mystere and Nate Burton (comedy magician). On Monday, we went to dinner at Areole, a 5 star restaurant in Mandalay Bay. It was an amazing dinner and we had the highest dinner tab we have ever had :o) Earlier that day Cory introduced me to Roulette and it turns out I am really good at it! Tuesday we went to see Mystere which was amazing!!! We were about 10 rows from the stage and people were flying right over our heads. Incredible show!
On wednesday morning we decided to go to the pool in the morning- it was crazier than in the casinos! People are vultures for the "good" seats on the edge of the pool and it was hilarious to watch. The older the person, the more likely they were to steal someone else's chair if they got up! Shortly after we got down to the pool, I realized that I didn't bring any sunscreen- oops! I had to get some at the poolside store- choices were SPF 4, 10, 15, 25, and 50- guess which one I got? Yep, nothing like laying out beside a pool with SPF 50 covering any exposed skin :o) Keep in mind, I am laying beside Cory who just keeps getting darker during the day with no suncreen on. After we left the pool, we hit the roulette tables and won some more money. We decided to go to the Carnaval Court bar where the bartenders do all the flipping bottles and stuff and hang out for the afternoon. We took the rest of our winnings and went out for another nice dinner.
On Thursday morning, we got up early to get the "good seats" at the edge of the pool. We suceeded and had a great day the pool. Carefully following the directions on the bottle, I applied my SPF 50 after each time of getting out of the pool, except the last time when we were just drying off to go upstairs. Turns out, I can still get burned everywhere with SPF 50, a little crazy. We finished the day with roulette and used the winnings from that day to go a little crazy with room service.
We left for the airport a little early because I was worried about the gigantic lines we saw when we came in on Sunday morning. Turns out, the 3 hours I was ready for was only about 15 minutes- oops again. So we had 3 hours to spend at the airport after using the last of our money on the cab ride there. Fun. But one thing happened that I never thought I would see, our United flight left on time. Of course it was a horrible flight and at more than one point I thought we were going to die, but it did leave on time.
But we are home and safe. Back to reality of bills and taking care of the dog and cat. And work tomorrow- two weeks off has been nice! But at least we are married and ready for the rest of our lives now :o) Hope everyone had a safe trip back home and enjoyed your vacation to Colorado (or for those in CO- just enjoyed having a Friday off!!!)
We are still waiting to see the professional pictures but I would love to see any pics if someone has some they can share :o)

Trip to Iowa

We are back and settled in from our latest trip to Iowa. We went back to celebrate my grandparent's 60th wedding anniversary. We left work early on Thursday to get to the airport in time to figure out our flight was delayed. Then when we did get to Omaha, it took forever to get our bags (but at least we got them- right Tiff?). Then came the long wait to get a rental car but we did get a Toyota Prius which was awesome! We drove to the fair and met the family there for a day of great food and curious smells. After as much as we could handle, we grabbed a quick bite to eat (that wasn't fried on a stick) and headed to Brenda's house. Saturday morning we all went to the grandparent's house where my sister threw me a surprise bridal shower with my grandma, mom, aunts, cousins, and nieces that weren't able to make it to the Colorado shower. It was great! I had a really good time and won the games!!! We spent all day Saturday at their house, eating, hanging out, and taking pictures.
We had to leave on Sunday but we were able to meet with my friend Steph and I got to meet her new baby boy, Carson. After lunch, we headed to Omaha only to learn that our flight was delayed (which was good because we were running late- this one I will admit was my fault) until 8:00ish. We decided we didn't have enough time to stop in Council Bluffs and headed straight to the airport. After we turned in our rental car (using only 1 gallon of gas from Des Moines to Omaha- $30 total for the entire trip!), we got in line to check in for our flight and found out it was delayed until 10:35. We were annoyed that we already turned in the car so we couldn't really leave. The only good point of being stuck in Omaha was that we did get to meet Ken Shamrock (awesome MMA fighter). Cory introduced himself and shook his hand. We didn't get a picture though- we were a little nervous because he has a reputation of being not the nicest guy and he was also stuck in Omaha. Somewhere between the time we went to sit at the gate and 10:30 when our flight was supposed to leave, it got pushed back to 11:30ish. We made it home eventually and our belongings made it safely. What a weekend!!!
The wedding is now less than 16 full days away! Cory's bachelor party is this weekend and I am going use this time to practice what I want to do with my hair. We are just excited for the day to hurry up and get here. Of course the week in Vegas will be awesome! We can't wait to get to see everyone again and catch up with those we haven't seen in a while.

IOWA!!!

In just under 2 weeks, we will be in IOWA!!! I can't wait to see everyone and of course, Cory can't wait to see the Iowa State Fair :o) Who doesn't get excited about seeing the Butter Cow? Work is going well- I just got out of training and seem to be doing well. The wedding plans are pretty much completed (or at least that is what I keep telling myself!). We are meeting with the cake lady on Sunday to get something picked out. A highlight for the weekend----- we are going to Bronco's Training Camp on Saturday morning! Even though it is just a fancy name for practice, I am excited to go sit at a wet field at 6:30ish and wait to see some guys I don't know run around and get paid a lot of money for it! Cory's problem is just trying to figure out what to take to get autographs on- apparently it is not a special teams practice so people will be signing stuff. That's about it in our bubble.

Wedding website

I forgot to add the website for anyone that wants to see it:

www.theknot.com/ourwedding/melissaprins&corybutler

Let me know if you need any other information!

Room info and Bed Bath and Beyond

Just in case anyone is really checking this and needs the room info- Hampton Inn at Arapahoe and I-25, $69.00/night, blocked from Thursday through Saturday but you can reserve just one night too, contact person is Kellie Premo 303-792-9999.
We learned while doing our registry that Bed Bath & Beyond will do free shipping for gifts- just to pass on the happy note. We will have stuff on the Target one soon. It has been a crazy week- Harry Potter is out!!!! I am a little over halfway done so the rest of the wedding will be finished soon! :O)

923

That is our new apartment number. The rest of the address is the same- we just moved to the other side of the building. For another positive note- we have our place for the wedding!!! I am waiting for the hotel lady to call me back and I will have the invitations out. I have also been working on our wedding page some more so as soon as we have the hotel info, I will make that page viewable. I am exhausted after this week so that's all for tonight. Did I mention that we did the entire from giant black lawn bags and 6 boxes? Plus the fact that we only had about 30 minutes notice from the time we settled the move to the moment the people showed up to help us move? And since other people "packed" the stuff in the bags, I have NO CLUE where anything is!!!!! Happy Friday- at least we have the place for the wedding!

We might be moving.....

What happens when some rotten kids plug up the drains and turn on the water in the vacant apartment behind us? You guessed it- at about 10:00pm yesterday, our kitchen floor was covered in water. By 11:30, when the carpet guy FINALLY showed up, our bathroom, dining room, kitchen, laundry room, second bathroom, entry way and hallway were all flooded. That leaves us with a small space in the living room that isn't cluttered with everything we moved and our bedroom. Keep in mind that we are also sharing these spaces with the cat and dog.
We now have 6 fans and 1 industrial dehumidifier (never thought I would need one of those in CO) running and the carpet is pulled up in all the places mentioned above. I won't even begin to describe the smell in the apartment but it tops out anything I have ever smelled including the barns at the state fair!
I went to the apartment office after work and requested a new apartment, cheaper rent, and I want them to pay for all moving expenses. I am also requesting an addition to my lease stating what happened and that we will never be liable for any of the damages in the apartmet. This of course has to be approved so we won't know anything until tomorrow morning. But if it is approved, we are moving tomorrow! Good thing I already took the day off. So for the night, we are trapped in our stinky apartment where it is so humid the mail in the wall holder is damp and the noise from the fans had given us both horrible headaches. Woo-hoo.

61 Days Until the Wedding

So the ONLY person that can do rentals at the hall is on VACATION!!! Seriously? I know it is my fault for waiting until two months before my wedding but couldn't he find a better time to take a vacation? Completely selfish I know but it would realy help me fall asleep again if this part was done. I don't want to secure the rooms until I know that the place is ours because otherwise who knows how far everyone will have to drive. On a positive note, I just finished reading "Diary of a Mad Bride" (compliments of one of my bridesmaids)and found it all entertaining. Reading a story about another person's wedding issues makes mine seem just a little less overwhelming. Now I just need to get a few more things marked off the to-do list for my wedding and I am good to go. If nothing else, I have a perfect dress, someone to do my hair, a handsome groom in a great tux, and friends and family. What does it matter is I will be barefoot, in the parking lot, and the reception is pot luck on blankets in the grass- the marriage is the important thing, right?

Only 63 Days Until The Wedding!!!

Perhaps I have just tried not to notice time slipping away why I am working on wedding plans but according to my "myspace countdown", there is only 63 days until the day I have set to have my wedding. Interesting, isn't it? To settle the questions, the wedding will be 1:30ish on Friday. The hotel rooms should be finalized tomorrow. And PLEASE cross your fingers for me tomorrow- I am just going to the place we want for the wedding and reception and wait for the guy to show up. Plus there has been a small bump in the catering plans but no worries....I will figure everything out!
A small side note (I need something other than work and the wedding to think about) I created a team for the Walk Now for Autism walk in Denver in October. If anyone wants to join us or make a donation to our team, I will be emailing the information out as well as posting it on here. We are walking under "Justin's Super Team" (Cory picked the name) in honor of his (and mine soon!) cousin Justin that is living with autism. My job at Oppenheimer hasn't given me much time to volunteer with autistic kids so I am trying to get the ball rolling with the walk and try to get back into programs with the Autism Society of Colorado.
Keep checking back for more info on the wedding and the walk! Happy Thursday!!!

I GOT THE JOB!!!

Just a quick update- I got the promotion and start the new position on July 16th! I am now a Tier 2 Level 3 processor. Not that exciting sounding but I got a nice raise! I go to another training class at the end of July- it will be nice to learn something new! Cory's job is going great and he is excited that the office is growing. He will get to do more interviewing and hiring. The office was top in the nation in the last quarter for anual premium placed with the main company that they represent- very cool! (Plus if you need some life insurance....Cory can get you a great deal!) Things are going well in CO and we can't wait to see everyone in August or Septmeber (or both!!!)

Happy Tuesday!

Wedding plans are still comong along....slowly. We almost have the place locked in and that will complete all of the big stuff. We are trying to come up with a room count for out of town guests but I think we are close. Thanks to everyone for your patience with us while we are trying to put together our wedding! Sometimes I wish I had been the little girl that planned my wedding from 10 years old- it might have made this easier! I am having a blast with most of the stuff though and Cory has been a big help. We should have everything by the end of the week and I will let you know our wedding website to see details before the invitations get out. Still no news on my promotion yet- my boss has been out for over a week now and I think that is slowing it down. Please cross your fingers for me!

Part of the Family Fun!

Ok- jumping on the family blogging crazies! To give a quick update on our world in Colorado.....Cory is the office manager of a life insurance company. I work in the processing department at Oppenheimer Funds. We are madly trying to plan a wedding and we have everything except the big stuff done! I promise to those of you able to make it out, we will have everything done soon. Our puppy is a year and a half old now and she is awesome. Norwegian Elkhounds are great dogs and we can't wait to get her a friend as soon as we buy a house. It is great reading what everyone is up too and I love seeing the pictures. I will try to keep up with the rest of you the best I can!