Welcome to the Hotel California
It's good to be back home.
The trip to Florida was a great success.
All of last week was spent cleaning the apartment, doing laundry and packing... and of course enjoying Zumba!
Nancy took me to the airport Friday morning and off I went. I landed in Orlando a little after 7pm and was met at the terminal by James, his mom and his dad. His dad was all smiles but his mom didn't look too happy to be there. I gave them handshakes and we went on our way. Upon arriving to his dads house I was introduced to the dog, all the cats and the kittens. I fell absolutely in love with one of the kittens and joked with James' sister that if she ended up missing, to please forget how much I wanted to bring her home. Jennie was just as James described her, only prettier. His dad I fell in love with - he has an infectious lovely laugh and he's always joking around. His mom, as James noted, "is weird" and was at times an odd lady. I found my way through her (cause I'm pretty good at this stuff) and I am now to call her mom. At first she really wouldn't talk to me but she'd strike up conversation here and there. The night I arrived, I asked James if his parents knew that we were engaged and he said "Yeah, they know," so I left it at that and thought to myself that things were smooth.
The next day after breakfast, his dad offered me the keys to the car so James and I could go out if we wanted. James thought it would be nice to have some alone time. First we went to the grocery store where I bought stuff to make breakfast the next morning and brought back chocolate for his mom and sister. Later we went down to Orlando's Downtown Disney and walked the whole thing. It was beautiful out. I brought CA weather with me once again (I did this when I went to Washington one Christmas and brought the sun). We went for walks and enjoyed the breezy weather. I bought James' mom a big stuffed Tigger and had James buckle him in to the back seat of her car and we left him there. I was hoping she wouldn't notice it until the next day. That night we all sat at the table for dinner and James took a jab pointing out that she actually used real potatoes in the mash, and she pointed out that it was a special occasion and James said it was always a regular at our house because that's how I make them. I think both his sister and I looked up and held back a "wow" and laughter, but we kept eating. I made a reference to sweet potato mash and his mom lit up. The evening was going smooth and then I wanted to murder James with my bare hands.
I asked to use his computer to check my email. His mom and I had been talking about Farmtown and she's a big fan. She asked if I would add her to my Farmtown neighbors and I said yes, that I would go add her as a friend on Facebook. I was checking my email when she walks in and sits on the floor in front of the bed where I was sitting and she takes off her glasses and says "Well, now that I've read your status on Facebook, you guys want to let me in on the details?" and I must have gone ghost white, dropped my jaw and looked up at James. The first things that came out of my mouth were for James "You told me they knew!" and his mom looked even more shocked and looked up at him and said "You told her we knew?" and then his sister ran in and started laughing at James and his lost expression. It was both hilarious but most of all, to me, embarrassing. Ultimately, it was a good laugh, except I felt like a total idiot. Here I thought they knew and figured his mom would just take some time warming up. She then asked if I was pregnant to which James and I responded with "God no..." and I did get the congratulations and welcome to the family that felt nice. His sister was so giggly about it and it was just cute she was the first to yell out "I'm going to go tell dad!" and James was walking around like a puppy with his tail between his legs. His moms behavior towards me did a 180º - she started spilling family names, showing me pictures of who is who and wanted to know when we'd be getting married in FL. James and I had decided a while back that we'd marry here and then there so that no one felt left out. His mom is on a mission to get me addresses to all her side of the family. We went to bed and everyone was all smiles. Except me. I was pretty happy that his family took it so well but I didn't understand why James had felt the need to lie to me about his family knowing. He said he had just assumed they knew because of the ring on my finger. A hint of me felt a bit of 'he must be ashamed of me' and then a 'he must be having second thoughts that he's not telling his family' - and I was pretty sad about it. My feelings were indeed hurt. Things were smoothed over before getting some shut eye so when morning came, things were peachy.
I got up at 4:15am to make biscuits and gravy, one of James' favorite dishes. James, his mom, dad and I sat at the table chit chatting before leaving for the airport. His dad took him to get his ticket and his mom did not leave my side. His flight boarded early so he said bye to me and his parents and he went on to security check. Once I got my ticket they took me to wait in line and stayed with me. We all talked, joked around and his mom hugged me twice before I was off. His dad gave me a hug and his mom said "You know that's your daughter-in-law now right?" and his dad smiled and said "Yup" and they both waved bye to me.
The flight back was great, Frontier has leather seating and tv's behind every headrest. James was jealous lol. On my way there I took continental and had free meals! I saw "Up" on my way back to Orange County and cried. It is SUCH a great movie and the old guy reminds me too much of James.
James was already with my sister waiting for me. We got home and on the way there both my sister and her husband kept telling us the terror that is Mozart. It was hilarious. They couldn't sleep because Mozart wanted to play, bite and scratch while Juno was freaking out because strangers were in the house. Mozart was so happy to see James and I and he purred a symphony when James picked him up. He missed him so much.
His mom sent me an email and sent her love to both of us. She's such a proud Mother-In-Law and announced it to everyone on her Facebook and posted pictures of us already. It's adorable.
We picked up his tux and the tailors did a great job! Hit Barnes N Noble then came home where I went to bed at 7:45pm. I was pooped. Today I have to talk to the wedding coordinator, call a few family members and meet with Arthur about design work.
Speaking of design, I sent out the invites and my mom loved them. Hopefully the website goes up by the end of today too - I think James is working on it now.
Busy, busy Monday.
The trip to Florida was a great success.
All of last week was spent cleaning the apartment, doing laundry and packing... and of course enjoying Zumba!
Nancy took me to the airport Friday morning and off I went. I landed in Orlando a little after 7pm and was met at the terminal by James, his mom and his dad. His dad was all smiles but his mom didn't look too happy to be there. I gave them handshakes and we went on our way. Upon arriving to his dads house I was introduced to the dog, all the cats and the kittens. I fell absolutely in love with one of the kittens and joked with James' sister that if she ended up missing, to please forget how much I wanted to bring her home. Jennie was just as James described her, only prettier. His dad I fell in love with - he has an infectious lovely laugh and he's always joking around. His mom, as James noted, "is weird" and was at times an odd lady. I found my way through her (cause I'm pretty good at this stuff) and I am now to call her mom. At first she really wouldn't talk to me but she'd strike up conversation here and there. The night I arrived, I asked James if his parents knew that we were engaged and he said "Yeah, they know," so I left it at that and thought to myself that things were smooth.
The next day after breakfast, his dad offered me the keys to the car so James and I could go out if we wanted. James thought it would be nice to have some alone time. First we went to the grocery store where I bought stuff to make breakfast the next morning and brought back chocolate for his mom and sister. Later we went down to Orlando's Downtown Disney and walked the whole thing. It was beautiful out. I brought CA weather with me once again (I did this when I went to Washington one Christmas and brought the sun). We went for walks and enjoyed the breezy weather. I bought James' mom a big stuffed Tigger and had James buckle him in to the back seat of her car and we left him there. I was hoping she wouldn't notice it until the next day. That night we all sat at the table for dinner and James took a jab pointing out that she actually used real potatoes in the mash, and she pointed out that it was a special occasion and James said it was always a regular at our house because that's how I make them. I think both his sister and I looked up and held back a "wow" and laughter, but we kept eating. I made a reference to sweet potato mash and his mom lit up. The evening was going smooth and then I wanted to murder James with my bare hands.
I asked to use his computer to check my email. His mom and I had been talking about Farmtown and she's a big fan. She asked if I would add her to my Farmtown neighbors and I said yes, that I would go add her as a friend on Facebook. I was checking my email when she walks in and sits on the floor in front of the bed where I was sitting and she takes off her glasses and says "Well, now that I've read your status on Facebook, you guys want to let me in on the details?" and I must have gone ghost white, dropped my jaw and looked up at James. The first things that came out of my mouth were for James "You told me they knew!" and his mom looked even more shocked and looked up at him and said "You told her we knew?" and then his sister ran in and started laughing at James and his lost expression. It was both hilarious but most of all, to me, embarrassing. Ultimately, it was a good laugh, except I felt like a total idiot. Here I thought they knew and figured his mom would just take some time warming up. She then asked if I was pregnant to which James and I responded with "God no..." and I did get the congratulations and welcome to the family that felt nice. His sister was so giggly about it and it was just cute she was the first to yell out "I'm going to go tell dad!" and James was walking around like a puppy with his tail between his legs. His moms behavior towards me did a 180º - she started spilling family names, showing me pictures of who is who and wanted to know when we'd be getting married in FL. James and I had decided a while back that we'd marry here and then there so that no one felt left out. His mom is on a mission to get me addresses to all her side of the family. We went to bed and everyone was all smiles. Except me. I was pretty happy that his family took it so well but I didn't understand why James had felt the need to lie to me about his family knowing. He said he had just assumed they knew because of the ring on my finger. A hint of me felt a bit of 'he must be ashamed of me' and then a 'he must be having second thoughts that he's not telling his family' - and I was pretty sad about it. My feelings were indeed hurt. Things were smoothed over before getting some shut eye so when morning came, things were peachy.
I got up at 4:15am to make biscuits and gravy, one of James' favorite dishes. James, his mom, dad and I sat at the table chit chatting before leaving for the airport. His dad took him to get his ticket and his mom did not leave my side. His flight boarded early so he said bye to me and his parents and he went on to security check. Once I got my ticket they took me to wait in line and stayed with me. We all talked, joked around and his mom hugged me twice before I was off. His dad gave me a hug and his mom said "You know that's your daughter-in-law now right?" and his dad smiled and said "Yup" and they both waved bye to me.
The flight back was great, Frontier has leather seating and tv's behind every headrest. James was jealous lol. On my way there I took continental and had free meals! I saw "Up" on my way back to Orange County and cried. It is SUCH a great movie and the old guy reminds me too much of James.
James was already with my sister waiting for me. We got home and on the way there both my sister and her husband kept telling us the terror that is Mozart. It was hilarious. They couldn't sleep because Mozart wanted to play, bite and scratch while Juno was freaking out because strangers were in the house. Mozart was so happy to see James and I and he purred a symphony when James picked him up. He missed him so much.
His mom sent me an email and sent her love to both of us. She's such a proud Mother-In-Law and announced it to everyone on her Facebook and posted pictures of us already. It's adorable.
We picked up his tux and the tailors did a great job! Hit Barnes N Noble then came home where I went to bed at 7:45pm. I was pooped. Today I have to talk to the wedding coordinator, call a few family members and meet with Arthur about design work.
Speaking of design, I sent out the invites and my mom loved them. Hopefully the website goes up by the end of today too - I think James is working on it now.
Busy, busy Monday.