The Road to Married - Heading into the last 30 days!

OK. I'm not freaking out, necessarily, but this is the last month of preparation!

I have tons of things going on besides the wedding prep that I am definitely running out of time: Nelson is in Indianapolis for 5 days in 2 weeks! I have to ship out the freight in 3 weeks! Labor Day weekend is in 4 weekends after this weekend. That's less than 30 days!! With work and everyday stuff in the way, the days are going to FLY BY! Let's not forget about FOOTBALL. That will definitely have to be counted. In the next 30 days we have 4 pre-season games (2 we will go see live) and 2 more scrimmages we are going to... That takes up more days.

Do you see a pattern? See how I can potentially run out of time?
Relax, Dalia... It'll be OK.

I spent last night researching restaurants and making a few reservations. I also made a list of potential wineries. The Honeymoon plans are coming together nicely. We have tons of down time, which is especially great while we are on the beach and up in mountains. Nelson has plenty of museums, battleships and history and I have a ton of photography spots and foodie choices. Disneyland will be non-stop action so we want to relax during the first parts of the honeymoon.

34 days is the official count until Vegas and it's 38 days until the wedding, but in my mind... it's practically tomorrow.

The Road to Married - Forty Days and Forty Nights

I'm not mocking my Catholic Background, I promise! It was just a fun sign-songy way to state how many days until the wedding.

The biggest struggles I am facing right now are whether to wear a traditional veil or a birdcage veil. I am hoping the girls will help me with that decision on August 13th at the fitting. A traditional veil yells wedding, but the birdcage veil says Vintage Vegas. I am leaning towards VV but I really do love the traditional veil approach. Not sure how my hair will behave.

We leave for Las Vegas 37 days from today. We have quite a bit of things to do before the trip that do not include packing and leaving (those are the 2 fun things!) We still have to finish the goody bags and ship the boxes of wedding stuff to our friend's restaurant in Nevada by Aug 20th. I still have to apply for the marriage license, have to order the limo and make my spa appointments. Nelson still has a business trip to Indianapolis on Aug 13-17. I have my dress fitting on Aug 13th and I want to get at least 2 massages and a facial done before the trip. Sounds like a bit of fluff but everything on that list is important.

Miami Dolphins Training Camp

Few things get me more excited than Miami Dolphins football. It's 6.17am and I'm wide awake in anticipation of my 6.30am alarm bell. Today is the official 2nd day of Dolphins training camp, but it's the first weekend. Opening at 8:00 just means a lot of sweat, a lot of heat, and a lot of people. We are going to be there early! I can't wait to take in the scent of freshly mowed grass, to hear the roar of the fans and to watch the fast paced action that brings me one-step closer to the splendor of football season. Just 13 days until the first preseason game. The anticipation is intoxicating.

For the lot of us, this is the first look, the first anticipation, the first letdown? We always get excited about a new season and this one is no different. I'm bummed I am going to miss the first home game, but it's for good reason. Just 43 days until the wedding. Just 43 short days until the Miami Dolphins have to perform in one of their most difficult challenges of the year... The NE Patriots in our home opener... Will glory be ours?

Our niece seems to think so. My sister-in-law taught her the Miami Dolphins fight song and she just can't stop singing it. Let's hear it for the boys in teal & orange. Look great out there today.

The Road to married - 48 days!

Hey folks (or perchance I'm writing this for my own amusement). Once again, I've abandoned the blog. It's now been 60 days since I've written anything, but there hasn't been much to report. We are diligently finishing all of the to-do things and have paid off most of the wedding. Now the waiting game. The waiting game is such, that I wish the wedding was tomorrow, and then I panic, because I'm not ready, but I am ready, then I realize there's something else to do... confusion ensues...

I actually dont have much to do thankfully. The favors are mostly done, the playing cards are done, the CDs are being copied and the labels are being printed. There is a bit of busy work but we will finish the rest of the stuff in the coming weeks (only seven left!)

The next thing I am working on is saying my vows, but my hormones have gotten the best of me. I am mostly finished writing them and I keep practicing saying them to a picture of Nelson. I cry every single time. I think that if I read them from a paper, it will be easier, because if I have to look into his eyes, I'm a mess. I'll report on the progress.

Not much today. Just felt like getting some thoughts on screen.

The Road to Married - 115 days!

It's weird. This past year has brought about lots of changes in my personal life. I had a job change, which was quite the momentous occasion. After working with a company for 23 years, I decided it was time for a switch. And so I happened to lock in a position with a Candy distributor that gave me the freedom to pursue sales on my own and create my own company. I work about 18 hours in an office a week and the rest of the time is my own to create and build my business... Gives me a bit of free time, which I'm thankful for since I am also planning OUR WEDDING!! Time to get back to the blog. It was meant to open a window into our life and I have failed by not posting since our Mediterranean Trip.

I titled this post The Road to Married since that is my soon-to-be status :) In 115 days, I will be his new Mrs. Today 5/15/14 is actually 7 years that Nelson and I started dating. That's a lot of days; over 2500 of them (2556, to be exact). It's kind of sad to think that May 15th wont be our "anniversary" anymore. I mean, we will still celebrate it as our special day, but soon, it will be all about September 7th!

We are getting married in LAS VEGAS!! Planet Hollywood, here we come! We have lots left to do: make ribbon wands, fill favor bags, sticker the playing card favors, rolling the wedding programs and addressing the invitations. All stuff I can handle in the time I have left. We have a lot of the usual wedding stuff going on: deposits due, trying to lose weight, getting reasonable flights. We also have some of the not-so-common stuff, like the Best Man dropping out 4 months before the wedding and the wedding party being MIA for helping us do stuff, but HEY! We are coping!!

I promise to write more. I haven't done a very good job of giving The Raven's View it's due time. Here are a few Planet Hollywood Hotel and Chapel Pics and a sneak peek of Engagement pictures. Can't wait to share the remainder of the journey from Engaged to Married...

All about cruising

I have always thought that I feel more at home in the ocean, I just never realized how much...

Cruising (the experience) has been eye opening. The next time I'm suggested a vacation somewhere, my first question is likely to be... Is there a cruise going there?

RCCL is a fine dining experience, in my opinion. I don't know if it's like this for everyone, but for me, it's been spectacular, awesome, amazing, epic and legend (wait for it) dary...

From the first night, I have felt like royalty. Not because the statesman, Marlon, was a nice guy and made sure we had ice and made us cute towel animals, but because, the people that needed to remember our names, did so, and with a smile. Sure, there were things, there are always things, like the obnoxious pool attendant that told me I couldn't have a drink in the pool after his guy sold it to me to begin with... The kids that insisted on hanging out at the adults only Solarium Pool, the reservations at My Time dining that were almost always late, but all in all, they did a great (see above adjectives) job.

Whether you cruise with RCCL or not, I have to acknowlegde a few staff members from Navigator of the Seas: Christian at the Pool Bar (Mr Mojito Maestro), Asta, Ray, Vasant and Regino, in the Swan Dining room, and of course, Simona, our a cruise director, who always did everything with a smile and great enthusiasm. You have made my maiden voyage on your cruise line my most special vacation ever.

I say maiden voyage but something happened on the 2nd night that was a nice surprise... Nelson went to the Crown & Anchor station (since he has cruised before) and they linked his account to mine, so I'm officially a return customer! We went to the Captains Welcome Back cocktail party and even had special treatment for pool chairs. If Gold has it this good, I can't wait for Platinum in just 15 more cruising days.

The Casino has been loads of fun. Ernie taught me how to play craps and we enjoyed a pretty good run on the Blackjack tables. Not anything too outrageous or I'd be staying for another week! LOL

The food is of course, great. I avoided Windjammer because the one time we went, of course, I overate! I offered to stay limited because given the chance... Ugh, I could be in trouble... Thankfully, the excursions have worked us out enough that decadent dinners were our treat for the day.

The Dungeon Disco reminded me of my friends back home. We would have danced the night away if this had been a Bahamas trip, but of course, once 11pm rolled around (and we knew the following morning was an early one) we went back to bed!

Tonight is another formal night. Tomorrow we are At Sea, and Sunday, we are back in Italy for a night.

Will write soon.
Love and Miss you all!


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Mediterranean Sea

A step back in time

Imagine a land where you can find a blend of Christian, Muslim, Agnostic and Jewish faiths are all accepted. Now imagine an area so diverse that it holds many summer resorts, some of the most important places in all of Antiquity AND the final resting places (or assumptions into heavenly glory, as we were corrected) of St John and the Virgin Mary... I bet you didn't think we would be describing Ephesus,Turkey.

The Ephesus and the Kusadasi area completely shocked and pleasantly surprised us. We arranged for a private tour through Trip Advisor reviews with a company that sent us a tour guide named Samiy. We were in for a treat. Samiy is a linguistics professor with a Masters in Archaeology and History. Can you get any more knowledgeable? We felt like we were Indiana Jones himself!

First stop, the Church & final resting place of St John. This was a very peaceful area, which overlooked the farmlands of Ephesus, as well as one of the local Mosques. In the distance, we saw what remained of the Temple of Artemis, which had been taken apart as the popularity of Christianity grew. The Church of St John actually had some of the marble and stone from the Temple of Artemis used for its structure. Turkey is surprisingly religious and rich in Christian history. The area is constantly being excavated and more things are discovered as the years go by.

Next stop was a local pottery shop. The artisan pottery maker created three pieces before our very eyes within 4 minutes. Craftsmanship and Originality are very important to the Turks. No "Made in China" pieces... LOL. The Turkish people are also very welcoming. I must have heard "this is your home" over a dozen times. Everyone speaks English too. The American influence is very prevalent. Almost everything is in both Turkish and English. They also accept the USD and the Euro as currency, along with the Turkish Lira.

The House of Mother Mary (House of the Virgin Mary) was a revering experience. This is where Mother Mary, the mother of Christ, was believed to have spent the last years of her life before being assumed into heavenly glory. Sidebar: Nelson asked Samiy at what age did Mary pass away, and he was immediately corrected. "She was assumed into heavenly glory, its not said that she died". BUT, the short answer was 65 or 66. It was very interesting to hear his reverence for the religion, history and beliefs that he held. We WILL be coming back to Ephesus to see him. I know it.

After walking though the house, Nelson and I collected some of the Holy Water and we lit candles in honor of our families health and my Father's soul. After, I asked Mother Mary to please pray for all of my friends back home, who I was missing very much at that moment. This stop was the second time (the first time being the Vatican) that we actually said out loud... "if only you guys were here, it would have been even more amazing to share this with you."

Then came Ancient Ephesus...
Imagine a place so old (over 3000-4000 years) with so much life and history still within its walls that it actually gives you chills when you walk down one of the avenues because the structures came to life in your mind... Well, at least in our minds.

We took so many pictures, but nothing can describe the works of art and the history trapped within the stones. For the next two hours we slowly walked and listened to the stories of the ancient pieces that had been trapped in rubble, buried under catastrophic earthquakes, and only recently (in the last 100 years) brought to life once more by many teams of skilled archaeologists.
The Greek Theatre, Hadrians temple and the Library of Celsius are only a few of the pieces that we came across. The pictures tell the story much better than I can.

It's late, and tomorrow is Athens. We look forward to the Acropolis, the Temple of Zeus and the Parthenon, to name a few. I'm sure many more stories will come from there. I look forward to telling them.

By the way, the cruise is going great. I have a separate Entry regarding the cruise that I shall post all at once. Most of my readers have been on a cruise before and I can tell you that as much fun as I'm having on the ship, it pales in comparison to the unique and breathtaking stops we have been experiencing.

Love and miss you...

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Kusadasi, Ephesus, Biblical Ephesus