it's official

after 9 months of planning, picking out flowers, dresses, ties, music, party favors, the set up...i'm a married woman!

after 9 months of planning, picking out flowers, dresses, ties, music, party favors, the set up....almost nothing went as planned!

the cute ties

koozies

the day began beautifully!  sunny, warm and gorgeous.  all was right and i was so ready for it.

my flowers from joe with a card that read
"the beginning of your first day as Mrs. Harl! I love you"
SWOON

 after getting ready and having lots of champagne, the girls and i headed to the venue.  running a little late (of course) but on our way.  and as we got closer...clouds.  dammit.  after getting dressed, we ventured out for some pictures.  it was humid and a bit cloudy, but overall, still a pretty day.

the boys

joe's ring

 then it was time.  i finally got nervous.  not sure why, i was more than confident in the fact that i was marrying my best friend, i knew he would be up there and not running for the hills.   but, i was nervous.  i think it was all the people.  and the fact that they would all be looking at me.  YIKES!  get me up there to teach sex ed, and i would be cool as a cucumber.  this, me walking in a white dress down the aisle, however, terrified me.  oh well...here we go!

my dad and me.  he did so good!!!

the ceremony was PERFECT!  everyone did a fabulous job.  big thank you to brendan, our friend and officiant, on performing an awesome ceremony.  his first!  it is all kind of a blurr because i just kept chatting with joe.  i thanked him for my flowers and my hanger.  (he surprised me and my dress was hanging on a "Mrs. Harl" hanger) i asked how his golf game was, what else he did during the day....  anything to keep me from crying or getting shaky.  :)

then.....WE WERE MARRIED!!  MR. & MRS. HARL!  WOOHOO

it was over and i was thrilled.  and happy.  beyond happy.  we rushed to take pictures before the light was gone.  as we are standing there, smiling and posing, we heard it.  thunder in the distance.  i was still hopeful at this point.  i mean, it IS oklahoma and we can have thunder and no rain.  happens all the time.  but....despite all my positive thoughts, it came.  ugh....rain!  we hadn't really planned for this.  i mean we had, we could have had a tent set up.  but there had only been a 30% chance of rain.  no biggie.  no tent.

after having a private dinner, we were hopeful that it would pass.  and it did... just long enough for us to run out and be introduced, say a few words and go cut the cake.  and then, then the clouds just let loose and it was a for real deal storm.

sh*t.


after the beautiful set up, and my visions of what our reception would be, it was nothing like that.  our photo booth was ruined, the music equipment was drenched, everything that was to be outside, was done.  people had high-tailed it out of there when the rain came.  i can't blame them, there wasn't a whole lot of room for cover.  the whole time planning, i had looked at this event as a huge party and wanted it to be fun and amazing for all of our guests.  yes, it was our wedding, but i really looked at it as an event for our friends and family.  but the rain put it all in perspective for me.  yes, it was a party.  it was for everyone else, but more specifically, it was for us.  and as much as i hope everyone had fun, the most important part of the night was the fact that we were married.   so, even though we danced to an i-pod, lost many of our guests, and were crammed in a small room, it was the most wonderful night of my life!


i honestly believed that getting married would be fun, but that it wouldn't really be any different.  what difference was a piece of paper going to make?

turns out.....it's a HUGE difference.  i absolutely adore being the wife of Joe Harl!

mums the word

so, i realize i have not been an active "blogger" for a long time now, and my sincerest apologies.  i am sure that everyone has been losing sleep at night.  may i suggest nyquil.
my reasons for not blogging may not be great, but here goes. 
1.  i got lazy. 
2. i became secretive.  well... not secretive but lots of things surround the wedding (which is WAY closer...ahhh) and i kind of want to keep things quiet about that for now.  can't explain why, it's just the way i am.

i will be back if i can even find things to talk about.  daily life consists of going to work, going home, repeat, repeat, repeat.  D-R-E-A-R!  when i die and am on my way to eternity, i sure will happy knowing i spent the majority of my time in an office.

on a happy note....we are almost under 100 days until i'm a mrs.!!!!  and then....vacation!!!  WOOHOO

it's spring time ya'll

seriously.  are you in oklahoma and have you been outside today?  freaking gorge!

and yet....this is what i look at....

i don't know if you can tell from this high quality iphone pic, but that is my window, that looks through another office, and then, there in the distance, is beautiful sunshine.  just dripping in here.  and you wonder why this place makes me grumpy?  exhibit A.

but, no negative nancy'ing today.  it is too pretty for that, even if i am in the confines of an aluminum box. 

how was everyone's weekend?  mine was fabulous!  i went and saw joe in mcalester and we did a whole lotta nothin!  (not sure why i'm busting out the okie lingo today, but it's fun to try and figure out the correct spelling of such language) 

friday night we went to pete's place in krebs (which, fyi, is where joe was born!).  this little nothing of a town is known as "oklahoma's little italy."  i must say, first time there, not instant love.  this time, so yum.  and the wine.  OH the wine.  it is so fabulous to me.  i know it is completely against all that is right with the world, but i love red wine cold.  and get this, that is how they serve it here!!!  no need for me to be ghetto and ask for ice.  match made in heaven.  now, if you go there, be prepared to be a bit weirded out.  it is a house looking structure, but it is divided into many rooms.  you may have a room to yourself, or you may be in one with a few other tables.  it's awkward.  and prior to your main entree, you get bread, salad, spaghetti, meatballs, ravioli and cheese.  and it is way more than your table will eat.  i would hate to see how much food is just thrown out.  but, a fun place to visit if you're in the area. 

saturday we watched the Masters, washed our cars and had some mexican food.  such a party pair are we :)

isn't he cute

these pictures do not fully capture the size of these drinks

sunday afternoon, back home in okc, keithley, my dad and i took ruby and lola to church to be blessed.  (unfortunately, dozer was still at the 'hotel' but i did get him his own medallion thingy)  no, i am not a really religious person, but my girl deserves to be blessed and they actually let me in!  it was very cute....

something is right around this corner...

making friends



ruby looking calm, but she wasn't




there were dogs, cats, a rabbit, a hamster and some mice



getting blessed

water laid out for the pups

 i'm glad we went....it was very sweet.




a pretty tree for your viewing pleasure

later...                                     

it's not ALL bad

well...i realize i have been gone from this page forever.  i've known it for awhile now.  i've thought about getting on here and rambling on about some lovely wedding stuff, or griping about the plumbing, or bragging about some fun times.  i've thought about it.  but truth be told, i just haven't felt like it.  i haven't felt like talking about me because sometimes i find me to be pretty boring, and sometimes i just want my thoughts and things for myself.  but mainly i haven't been on here because this little place i have here in the big world of the internet seems so insignificant in comparison to the real world.  the world kind of sucks lately.  not sure if you've noticed, but it does.  one word.  japan.  it is so awful to see the destruction and think, wow!  that is pretty amazing.  and it is in a scientific way.  but then you think, oh my god, those are homes and cars and people!  that is their life, and here i am watching in awe from the comfort of my secure, dry, intact home.  it is hard, sitting here and really, REALLY thinking about it and actually believing it.  i can't even begin to imagine what it really looks like, feels like.  can't imagine.  makes me so sad for all of them, but what makes me even more sad is to see people posting on facebook, saying "good, they hate us" and "no way i'm donating" and other things of such tacky taste.  i really wish i could somehow get through the thick heads of such people and, truth be told, shake the shit out of them.  but, i don't think that's allowed.  the thing is, an event such as this, a NATURAL event, is in no way related to politics.  or even religion (although some might disagree).  these are people.  these are families and friends, just like "us" whose whole world was just, literally, destroyed.  have some compassion.  i don't care if you give money or not, or if you hate them or not, just keep your trap shut!  it could very well happen to you at any given moment.

another thing that has really put a damper on optimism and butterflys and lollipops happened very near to my life.  my work life.  i work in many, many small towns and counties.  one morning i was on my way to watonga, about an hour or so northwest of oklahoma city, for an 8th grade wellness day.  i get a text about a murder.  the victim, a little girl.  i won't go into any details that i know, which is nothing more than what the news has said, but an 8 year old girl was killed by a relative, who then tried to bury her in a field.  this is the stuff you see on tv.  it doesn't happen around "here", wherever your "here" may be.  to think of this little girl, and what those terrifying moments must have been like, breaks my heart.    and to think that people of the murderer's mentality exist, is beyond scary.  but they do.  and they live in our world.  it's reality.

so, not to be a complete debbie downer, but these are the things that have kept me from writing.  to try and sum up things of this magnitude in a few words is nearly impossible.  but to not speak of them would be heartless. 

now that i've brought you down enough, let me lift you back up with some pictures....



wisteria is awake!




poor doze....girlfriend stole his bed




yummy AND fun




sprout




sunbathing




you can't help but smile with this song

HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND!!!!

ever been in a room where people probably die?

because i can now say that i have!  morbid-sounding opening, but the following won't be as bad.  i promise. 

last thursday my sister calls me asking if i've talked to mom.  no...i hadn't, why?  this leads to her telling me that she called mom's phone, some lady answered (obviously not mom) and said that she was taking our mom to the ER  because she was having horrible pain and couldn't move.  i'm sorry, what?  where is she going?  what is wrong with her?  where is the pain?  keithley did not have a lot of answers to these questions, but said she would call me when she found out more.  well...after hanging up, what do i do?  immediately call my mom's phone.  i was pretty much told the same things, they were at the hospital, filling out paperwork (just what people in HORRIBLE pain want to do, right?) and that she would call when they figured something out.  i talk to dad, and then to keithley again and we decide to webmd it.  in our professional opinions, we ruled out appendicitis, but couldn't pinpoint the exact problem!

After a bit, my mom has to get a CAT scan, my dad is out of town on work, and so i head to the hospital.  lovely establishment.  upon my arrival i told them who i was there for and they told me i could wait until she got back from her scan.  umm...okay b*tch.  seriously?  so i wait in the waiting room, which is where they put all the sick people too rather than finding rooms or beds or something for them.  my mom comes out, her friend leaves and after about 10 minutes they take us back to a room scary, scary place.  now this is where dead people come into the story.  and i mean no disrespect here, but i feel i should be honest.  they take us past all the glass-walled rooms, (guessing privacy isn't a big issue here?!) which are all full, and down to the last door.  emergency room 16.  ugh.  avoid at all costs.  now, my reason for thinking this might be a final stop for some.

Number one- it is TILE all around...floor and walls. easy clean up?

number two-  it has a door to the outside.  ambulance pulls up and they go right in.  which...i kept worrying was going to happen as we sat there. 

number 3- there is a hand-held shower on the wall.  maybe to spray the blood away?! 

this is where my mind is going as we are stuck in there for over an hour.  i finally ask one of the 236 people that came in and out of there with questions and needles and directions and he dissappointingly told me it's for poison/chemical patients.  DAMN!  my thoughts were so much cooler and more first 48ish (reference to one of my favorite shows)! 


(seriously....i'm not trying to make light of tragic events, but, well....i find it interesting)

my mom ended up having to have surgery that evening for a hernia.  it was causing other problems and if just left untreated would come back, so they said they needed to go ahead and fix it.  the surgery went great, the recovery a little more interesting.  she was cussing up a storm in her room, which is fine by me, but considering the religious affiliation of this hospital, it may not be the most christian-like behavior.  i personally don't think god minds though.  he has other things besides words to worry about!  after a lot of f-words and enduring a brag-a-doshish nurse, my mom got to go home in the wee hours of the morning.  she has been resting and is doing good.  my dad on the other hand, is a bit lost.  i had to go help with laundry because he didn't know how to work the machines!  you think his mom and my mom have spoiled him a bit?!  but that's okay, give the man a lawn to mow or a car to wash and he's as happy as can be!

all of that said, there is something about waiting or hospitals that is just exhausting.  i woke up on friday feeling like i went on a charlie sheen bender!  rough! 

p.s.  that guy is a total whack job!

next time....mcalester, usa

manly overload

in the past week or so, i bought a bathroom cabinet, assembled said cabinet, dealt with plumbing issues, found and called a plumber when my skills failed, bought a new microwave and trashed the old one (those are heavy), been knee deep in my pond, cleaned out nasty-fish poo-and whatever else is stuck in the pump with bare hands, dealt with direct tv men, one who was particularly creepy, and been on the phone with at&t for 30 minutes only to have them hang up on me.    whatever happened to getting mani's and pedi's and massages?  not that that has ever been my life, but i do like to imagine what it would be like.

other than all of that stuff, things are pretty calm around here.  the wedding plans are going, although slightly stalled.  STILL waiting for that perfect dress.  it'll come, i know it!

this past saturday was PERFECT in every way!  spaghetti eddie (also known as brendan parker) was playing at the oklahoma city museum of art.  the plan for the day was to go there and rock out with some kiddos and then afterwards head to Eischen's in Okarche.  i tagged along with gena & blake, and we met carrie & brendan, ashley & garrett, april & dusty, and meghan & tyler at the show.  it was so funny to watch all of these kids....especially miss p. cates.  i don't think she ever stood still! super cute.  well, mid-show i run to the restroom and am headed back to my seat and just happen to look over to see joe walking towards me!  he got a quick break from work and surprised me....SO FUN!  he is so good at that :)  i was so happy to see him and pretty pumped that i had a 'partner' for the day and was no longer the 3rd 5th 7th 9th wheel! 

after the museum we met up with sally & ted, but lost the cates, to head to eischen's.  we were planning to caravan out there, but thought it would be a lot more fun if we could all ride together.  Soooooooo....we got a limo!  sounds a little pretentious, but really it was just so we could all have fun together there and back and not worry about anything. it was an absolute blast with fun, fun people!  the night was literally perfect! 

sadly, joe had to get up early the next morning and head back to work.  but i was so happy he came home, even if it was just a few hours!  one thing about his job, you realize how precious time is and learn to enjoy it as much as you can!

SO MANY PIECES!

after HOURS of assembling and developing man hands



showing off her fierce yoga skills



that would be a phone book.  that he ate.  guess he was bored.  and that drawer in the background....he opened it to get to his new-found toy




can't really see it, but in the left corner of this back window is a condom that says "wear it"
i want those for my students

 and to send you off.....





gena & i walked into the LADIES room at eischen's and discovered this....





Until next time......

xoxo

going for a strong title...

like WORST blogger ever.  LAZIEST blogger ever.  absolutely-zero-to-say blogger!
all of these are slightly accurate, but the truth is, between work where we're writing a grant and learning to be tai chi instructors, and all things wedding, i just haven't had the mental capacity to sit down and share thoughts.  because my thoughts are all over the board right now.  nothing i could want to write will cohesively go together, but hey....we'll give it a shot!

last week was one of those weeks where the world just seemed like a vile place.  one where you just wonder "What the hell is wrong with people" over and over again.  first thing, which if you live in okc i'm sure you've heard, but an off duty police officer was beaten so badly his neck is broken.  he has a wife and three children and now he's lying in a hospital bed with the very real possibility of never walking again.  it all happened because he was trying to appease the bar staff where he was watching the Thunder game with his dad and deal with some unruly patrons, when they just decided they could do whatever they're pea sized brain wanted to do.  these people are the epitome of trash.  just complete douchebags.  it is most definitely a moment, without even knowing any of those involved, where the anger and sadness takes over and it seems like the world is just a mean and awful place.  there is absolutely zero sense to this whole tragedy.

then, i'm driving home the other day and there are cops surrounding a bank near my house.  come to find out someone robbed it just a few short hours after they attempted to rob another bank a couple miles away. WHY, WHY, WHY do people think that they can take what isn't theirs.  thieves run a close second to people who harm others or animals in my mind.  (and yes, i put animals and people in the same category which is a whole post for another day.  but today, just go with it.)  i can not comprehend why people think that they have the right to take what is not theirs.  for someone to work incredibly hard to live the life they want to, just to have some thug come and take it...UGH, it infuriates me.  i've had my purse stolen, joe has had his golf clubs stolen, my brother has had his tv stolen...although all different, they all piss me off to no end!

after all of this anger i'm spewing, i'm going to do my best to go into this week a happy person and look for the good in the world.  in spite of the crap i've listed, i know that the good IS out there and it is important to look towards that, without turning a blind eye to the bad.

TLC...you scare me

Today is a big day in the steps to getting married.  it's dress shopping day!  i'm excited and nervous, but hope it will be a good experience.
i have a few reservations.  mainly, i am nowhere where i need to be body-wise.  i haven't really jumped on the dieting/exercising wagon that is staring me in the face.  i need to.  i know that.  but i guess i'm putting it off just a bit because i know once i start, that's it.  i have got to go at it hard core!  but, today, i'm not there.  so i'm hoping that i can envision what these dresses WILL look like on in shape, tan tyler!
secondly.  i watched say yes to the dress last night.  i've never watched this show before.  it was kind of fun.  but kind of daunting.  but the thing about this episode was that it was brides and moms disagreeing. now, janice and i don't always agree on things.  i know, shock!  but it's true.  i just hope we can find something that we all (keithley too) like!  i think we will, i'm just hoping it's not a long, drawn out process! everyone says you'll know when you know.  i hope so.  that's how i felt when i walked into my house before i bought it.  i just felt it.  so, let's hope this is like that too!

wish us luck!

back to life, back to reality

hi my friends-

we did indeed get a snow day yesterday.  although i was slightly disappointed with the weatherman's inaccuracy, it was enough to keep us home.  i did enjoy some laziness, but amazingly got some things done too!

girlfriend helped me with my taxes

this was after she got rid of some pent up energy....



hauling ass!


i also made some wedding related phone calls.  can't say that i got very far, but what can you do?  i'm  trying to be organized (which is not a 'tyler' word) and keep everything straight, but it's proving more difficult than you would imagine.  even with a planner, calendar, notebook, sticky notes, and mags-out-the-you-know-what, some form of a.d.d kicks in.  i'll start looking up flowers and before you know it i'm trying to find good honeymoon spots for october!  (ps...any suggestions?) 


today was back to work, and even though we opened 2 hours late, i am dragging!  i have not had a full 5-day work week in four weeks and it is going to has completely spoiled me.  next week should be interesting.  you might want to stay far, far away from me!

here we snow again....

ba-dum bum!
i know....corny.  but, here in oklahoma we like to do fun word things with our weather.  i.e. snowmagedon, ice storm 2009, 2010. blizzard.  you know.  real creative things! 

after our snow action last week and pretty much the whole state shutting down, we are getting ready to have another fight tomorrow.  i'm okay with this.  we get to do some of this....

and wear some of these...

don't let that look fool you...he LOVES it

while this is going on....

maybe.  we shall see i guess!

i should probably get some things done with the time, like my taxes, maybe some wedding planning...but sometimes doing nothing is so much better!

speaking of planning, we're moving right along. 
date-check.
venue-check.
photographer-check.
now on to everything else!
i'm hoping that it will be less stressful from now on.  trying to decide on where we wanted it to take place was brutal!  between our indecisiveness and places being booked, i was becoming a bit grumpy!  (me?  never!)
but i'm super happy with how it turned out and hope everything just falls into place!

Stay safe, dry & warm!

later

a long, way overdue post-trip update

hi my friends!  i have been meaning to write this post for some time now, and i have no other excuse except that  my mind has been elsewhere.  i have most definitely had the time since oklahoma (and much of the country) has been dominated by snow!



our trip to crested butte.  AMAZING!  even without the engagement, it was a perfect trip.  if you have never been there, i highly recommend.  even if you aren't a snow person.  something about that town just makes you happy.

to begin our trip, we drove.  which we swore we would NEVER do again.  but, sometimes plans just don't work out.  so we left OKC at about 3:30-4ish and headed west on I-40.   we didn't even make it out of the metro area when we saw our first "road trip sighting"  and it was a good one.  in the median of I-40 were two horses, cowboys on back, looking over a rather large, black mound.  we get closer and see that the cowboys (seriously...real life cowboys) have ropes in hand and have roped a big cow!  now....i don't really do rodeos, at least not the roping part.  it makes me sad.  BUT, this appeared to be a happy roping experience.  from what we could tell, this cow had escaped from somewhere, was cruising I-40, which is NOT a place for a cow, and these lovely cowboys stepped in and helped!  joe assured me that the cow was okay, that the roping wouldn't hurt him.  it was quite a sight and one of those moments when you remember that people ARE good.

we continue on our way....west to the Oklahoma/Texas border, and then start to veer northwest.  the fun thing about our road trip was that blake, gena, carrie, brendan and james were about an hour or so behind us, so we were non-stop communicating via text with updates on our trip and what they could expect, so it was kind of like we were all together.  somewhere in the middle of the texas panhandle, we see flashing lights in the rearview mirror.  awesome.  seriously....this was a prime example of a bored cop.  there was nothing around but fields of who knows what!  (it was dark at this point).  but, he was nice and gave us a warning and sent us on our way.  6 miles after that, stopped in a town for water and restrooms, got back on the road, and i am not kidding you, within 2 minutes we saw flashing lights again!  we were not speeding this time....for real!  this fellow was a highway patrol and really just wanted to warn us of the weather we were getting ready to encounter.  we told him we had just had a lovely visit with another law enforcement gentleman and he was actually irritated that someone else was on his turf!  HA!

cut to somewhere in the middle of New Mexico.  WHITEOUT conditions.  the blowing snow at this point was unbelievable and i don't know how joe did it because i almost had a heart attack every few minutes.  it would be okay....and then nothing but white.  to add to this lovely experience it was a 2 lane highway with construction!  awful.

we finally made it to our pit stop in canon city....at about 2:30 am...local time.  we were exhausted.
the next morning we were up and at em and ready to make the significantly shorter drive on to crested butte.  PLUS, it was scenic so it was so much better.....

leaving canon city

loved these guys

so bizarre...there were houses and little towns in the middle of these mountains, close to nothing

Monarch's Pass....gorge!

after a few hours, we made it to crested butte....

one of the shuttles.  no need for a car here

the town is just littered with cuteness

our hotel (or lodge)
LOVE

i am not so much a winter weather vacation girl, but i was instantly in love with this place.  

 we went and met the bride and groom at a place within the lodge complex called Butte 66 (which us okies kept referring to as Route 66).  we ate, had a drink and then headed into town to celebrate the kickoff of the wedding festivities.

this bride danced her bootie off!

i hated seeing this moose on the wall, but had to show him some love and let him know i would never do such a thing to him

 the rest of the weekend was spent shopping, drinking, eating and enjoying the company and surroundings.  it was perfect.

the wedding was wonderful as well.  the couple looked like they stepped out of a magazine and were so happy!  i wish i had more pictures of that night, but i was busy celebrating the occasion!  a side note here....in crested butte, no one gets dolled up.  which was awesome!  but the night of the wedding we all looked a fool in our dresses and heels, suits and ties!  but it was cool, we like to stand out and make a statement!

scott loved him some champagne

cute family

The next morning joe and i got up and headed to Colorado Springs, where we relaxed, ate, went up pike's peak, went to the Garden of the God's, tasted the spring water in Manitou Springs (ick!) and just enjoyed our new engagement!

that sticker would be two elks humping

frozen lake about 6 miles up Pike's Peak

SCARY!  driving along an icy ledge.  joe kept saying, "if we go over, the trees will stop us"
comforting

13 miles up!  the rest of the way was closed due to weather.  (thank goodness!)

it was a wonderful, perfect trip! i really hope we can repeat it soon!

getting to spend that much time with joe was pretty awesome.  but coming home to reality not so much.  :)

Sorry for the world's longest post EVER!