More housing woes

Yesterday was a national holiday so everyone had the day off. Chechu and I took out time during the morning hours to clean the apartment and get more things together. Ángeles dropped by with a friend of hers to help clean, which didn't really amount to much in comparison to all the hours that Chechu has put in over the past week to get everything together. On Thursday Chechu went with her to sign the rental contract, so now (as of Monday) the place is technically ours.

Between Chechu and me I'm not sure which one of us regrets renting from Ángeles more. Sure she's a sweet lady, a fine Christian y todo lo que tú quieras, but on the professional level she is completely irresponsible. Renting this apartment has been an uphill battle from day one, because getting her to do what she is required to do as a landlord has literally been like pulling teeth. We expressed to her that we wanted to rent this apartment at the end of August and even now-- a week before the wedding, we still don't have some of the basic necessities- like a kitchen. The washer, which was promised to arrive this morning, has now been put off until Tuesday afternoon. The refrigerator-- which Chechu and Josh had to go get and install this morning, is totally dirty, and surely it will be at least another week before the kitchen is installed.

For as much as this woman talks sweet and nice, it's clearly evident that she doesn't give a damn about either of us or the fact that we're getting married in a week's time and the apartment is still not complete. Both of us feel totally disheartened and deceived.

This morning was supposed to be productive. I have so many errands to run, both personal and for the wedding, and yet I'm sitting here at Charo's writing in this blog. It'll definitely be close to 1 by the time Chechu and Josh get back here, and by then all the stores will be just about ready to close until noon. Chechu has to be at church this evening to play and after that there will be no time to do anything.

I feel totally frustrated right now. God really has to move in this.

Two more to go 'till "onederland"

I ended up going to bed last night at close to 1:30am-- yet another non-stop day. Thankfully though, this morning I don't feel as tired as I thought I would. Today looks like another event-filled day without a break.

Mi amorcito isn't feeling too good today though, which is a real bummer--I have a feeling that I gave him the cold that I had last week :o(.. This would be a perfect day just to cuddle up at home in some comfortable pj's, a few good movies and some homemade chicken soup. I'm so excited about the two of us beginning to build our lives together-- 9 days and counting!

This morning I had a doctor's appointment to follow up on the birth control pills I've been on. Since everything has been going well with no complications, the doctor told me I could go ahead and continue with them. She also set me up for another blood test so to check on my cholesterol. She noted that I had lost weight since the last time that I had been in the office, and I'm sure that's had a positive effect on this cholesterol too. I also got on the scale this morning at the pharmacy- and I've come down a couple pounds!! I'm now at 202, which is quite exciting. I feel confident that between now and Monday I'll come down another few pounds at least. I would LOVE to be under 200 by the fitting, and I think I'll be able to get there. GLORIA A DIOS!!! :)

Errands

So here's a sneek peek at what our place is going to be like. I grabbed these shots from a website advertising an apartment identical to ours for rent, although our setup is on the right instead of the left. Our kitchen still has to be installed, and its arrival is in fact questionable for before the wedding. At the very least we should have the refrigerator set up by next week at some point. Chechu has put in a huge number of hours over the past couple of weeks to get the apartment cleaned and set up. We're praying that Ángeles will take all of that into account when it comes time to sign the rental contract, because technically all of the work to set up and clean the place is her responsbility. It's been a frustrating experience dealing with her at times, because unless you stay on her, she'll put things off until the last possible minute.

Today has been another long day, and it's still not over yet. This morning I was busy doing transcriptions and other tasks here at the office, as well as making phone calls for different things we'll need for the wedding. Right now we're in the process of finding a red carpet for the ceremony, since the hotel does not have one nor are they willing to supply it. :P I think we have a pretty good idea of where we're going to get the carpet from, which will only cost us around 70 euro as opposed to 140 to rent it. Aside from that we also have to pick up other accessories to finish packaging the favors that we'll give out at the reception. I guess that'll be this weekend's project, between finishing up the house and other stuff.

Today Chechu and I had lunch at the Centro Comercial in Roquetas, and afterwards we went to Eroski to look at kitchen appliances. We picked up the major stuff- microwave, coffee maker, mixer, sandwich maker, extra pillows for our bed and a shower curtain. We had just enough time to buy the stuff and drop it off at the apartment before I had to be back here at the office. I have about an hour or so left to be here before heading down to the church for bible study.

Y mañana más... I think we're going to try to make it to the Hong Kong Warehouse to buy the rest of the items we'll need for the house, since it's SOO incredibly cheap there. We're talking less-than-Walmart cheap, and that's a big deal. Ángeles has given us some things to help furnish the house, but a lot of it just doesn't go with our style. I definitely want this house to be a home for us, where we'll be comfortable and feel like the place is really ours. I'm enjoying the time we have to buy our own stuff for the apartment, but it kind of sucks that there's so much rushing around in the midst of it all.

Josh is coming in on Friday, to make it in time for our despedida de solteros, which should definitely be an unforgettable experience. Friday is a national holiday here anyway, so I'm sure that before the party we'll be working hard at the apartment, getting more things together.

True to form, I've had no time to work out today. Considering that the gavilla probably won't be over until at least 11, it'll be close to midnight before I get back to the house, and very safe to assume that I'll have 0 ganas to do anything but fall in the bed. I suppose that if I want the numbers on the scale to change between now and Monday, I'll have to go that extra mile though. We'll see what happens!

Overdue update

I can't believe that in less than a week and three days I'll be a married woman. Everyone has told me that during the last couple months up until the wedding, the days just fly by unbelievably fast. Over the past couple weeks I've gotten caught up with all the preparativos and getting things together for the house, work, etc. I've involved myself so much in everything that needs to be done before the wedding that I've forgotten to document it all. I know that once October is over I'll want to be able to look back to this blog to remember all of the major and minor details leading up to my big day. I can't wait for it to finally get here.

The dreaded fitting the other Friday actually went much better than anticipated. Granted, it couldn't be zipped up the whole way, but you could definitely see a huge difference between this time around and the first time that I tried the dress on- nada que ver. Paqui has been very encouraging and I feel bad for having such a negative attitude about her and the dress. After all, she has only offered to help, which has been a huge blessing. This coming Monday evening we've arranged to have our final fitting. She said that with the progress I've been making that I should be able to zip up the dress by then. But if a few inches need to be taken out then it can be done in less than an afternoon. So I feel a lot more at ease, knowing that if an inch or two needs to be taken out that it can easily be done. In the best case scenario the dress will fit by Monday, but if it doesn't the end of the world won't come either.

I must say that I'm pretty content with the fact that I currently stand at 204 pounds. It's been a long road travelled thus far, and there's still quite a ways to go, but I'm glad that I'm halfway there essentially. Between now and Monday I would like to lose between 4-5 pounds before the fitting. I'm not sure if that will be enough to fit me in the dress, but at 199 pounds, I should definitely be there or damn near close. I'm excited that I'm learning with this whole proces, and that losing weight hasn't just been a quick fix to solve a problem; rather, it's a lifestyle change towards healthy living- a byproduct of which is weight loss.

At times I get caught up in the fact that this is one of the biggest moments of my life, and nevertheless my closest family members haven't been able to be here with me to share all of the experiences- from trying on the dress, to buying accesories, to organizing the ceremony and reception, etc. In fact, I've allowed myself to get pretty down and out about that recently- more than I care to admit. But in spite of the validity of those feelings, I can see now that it's quite a thankless attitude to taken on. God has truly blessed me in this time, going above and beyond to show me that despite my manias that I'm all by myself and no one understands me, I'm surrounded by so many people who love and care for me like one of their own. Charo has been a mom to me in so many ways, including how a mother would be there for her daughter who's about to get married. Paqui is like aunt Mim- a seamstress to rival all others, and on top of that a heart of gold and a divine willingness to give. There are so many other examples as well of people who have stepped in to help, and really gone out of their way to make me feel welcome and loved. So when I think about all that I can't, in all good conscience, allow myself to fall into the negative, "oh-woe-is-me" mindset.

Josh is coming in this weekend and the rest of the fam arrives next Thursday. I'm excited that Josh will be able to spend some time with us, because this really is a golden opportunity to witness to him. He and Chechu will be staying together at our apartment until Leonard and Candace get in, and from there he'll be staying with Chechu at his gram's.

I'm so excited to see Riss and Mom too, and I'm definitely counting down the days until Christmas. I can hear the Christmas carols now!!

This whole week has been nonstop, and next week will be much of the same-- Chechu has been going back and forth to the house to fix things and get everything together to move in. We'll be ogg to Mallorca for our honeymoon and I am just thrilled that we'll actually be going somewhere! A full, blissful week away from everyone and everything!