i think my browser will be constantly open to this site for the next 10 days. right now, it's looking promising:

but then i skipped to the next page (11-15 days out) and look what greeted me:

wow. i wish i had isight on these monitors so i could share my expression with you guys right now.

i'm so excited

and i just can't hide it!

really. i cannot wait. every time i think about marrying this kid i get all chicken-skinned and stomach butterflies.

on a side note, we're following dave ramsey's total money makeover plan to pay off my student loans. i borrowed the book from our friend zac, and i'd recommend it for all of you students with loans & credit card junkies. and nerds like me who get all excited about money. to prove my enthusiasm, here's the sweet poster i made that's (not yet) hanging in our office:

we're going to be writing about our trip to estonia a little later on, so watch out for that.

first dinner in the new apartment : crêpes

okay so it was at 10:45 pm by the time i made it. and it was breakfast.

it was good.

and we ate them on bird plates, which made them even better.

the reason it was so late: we had to buy food! it was our first trip to aldi, as recommended by our mentor couple. it was no whole foods but we saved a bunch of money. (I compared what we bought to the store brand at Ingles later that night.)

yup, we're big kids now.

üheksateist päeval. pole ammu näinud!

19 days.

{long time no see}

livin' like cavemen.

Sara has moved into our new apartment and will be cable-less and internet-less for a while.  Just thought we should let everyone since internet is such a big part of our lives.  In fact, Sara and I first started talking on AIM 7 or 8 years ago.  Thank goodness for AOL.  Where would I be now if it had not been for you??

In other news....

Invitations went out last week much to the hard work of Sara and Mrs. Hanks who both laid it all down to make it happen. Scott and I stayed up about 6 hours past our bedtime as well. That's saying a lot for 2 dudes who need adderall. Mall of Georgia Kinko's wouldn't cut our invitations so we had to revert to our boy Royce at the Gwinnett Place Kinko's. He was super nice and stayed up late with us and had the biggest eyes I've ever seen.  It was like he was constantly shocked.  I love that guy.  Here's a quick phone shot of Royce doing his thang:

Anywho.... more pics and info on invitations and moving all coming up.  Also, I got my suit for the wedding and it rules.  19 days....

bling bling.

My ring came yesterday. We ordered it from the same place Pete ordered his - RobandLean. I'm pretty pumped on it.


Also, I called Pallets Inc. in Dacula and talked to a very nice lady named Elizabeth Brock. She hooked us up with as much already disassembled pallet wood as we want. Elizabeth is the bomb. This will save incredible amounts of time and energy. Thanks to the Hanks for picking the wood up today.

Sara moves in to our apartment on Saturday. She's really pumped. Time is just flyin'!

invitations : praxium press

whew. what a day. pete, glo and i headed over to berwyn & toni's praxium press around noon for some good ole' fashion letterpressing. it went very smoothly, and 6 hours later, with aching feet, backs, and arms, we finished all 3 runs. HUGE thank you's to them for hanging out, loading paper, doing quality control, carrying wet plates- ya know- the works. i'll post up photos of the invites once we send them out; until then, enjoy a sneak peek of the color above.

and on a side note, kc made me an appointment this morning with a new ophthalmologist (my 7th? 8th? eye doctor appointment since march). he gave me my first real diagnosis and it looks like we're going to be able to clear up the inflammation permanently. thank you, baby! this is such a relief.

pallets: a key element to a glamorous wedding

This weekend kicked my butt. It started Thursday night at the PureFun! warehouse with my bud Zac. We took on the task of disassembling pallets for ceremony props (the picture above is a sneak peak of one of the props, I'm stoked). It was tough. I quickly realized I was going to need a better plan, more tools, more people, and more days to get all the pallet wood I need. Zac and I called it quits for the night and had some time to hang at his new apartment. Sara was able to tag along and Zac's lady friend, Lauren, met us there as well. It was fun - like old times.

I geared up for an early morning and headed back to PureFun! on Friday morning. This time I brought reinforcements: Sara's dad. We knocked those pallets out. We got together as much wood as we could fit in my pop's 4runner in about 2 or 3 hours. It took it's toll on us though. It was hot and the physical labor was seriously draining. That night we headed to Monroe to celebrate Mammaw's birthday and saw longest firework show of my life in good ol' Gratis, Ga. Gran Fanalley!

Sunday, I played at The Bridge and then proceeded to head back to Monroe. We spent most of the day working on wedding stuffies. Jonathan and Momma Hanks hung lights in the pavilion and out over where our dance floor will be. They ain't scurred of no lightnin'. Scott and I finished two window frames....4 more to go. Sara addressed invitation envelopes, we helped put up a wall on the other side of the pavilion, Momma Hanks bravely battled poison ivy, and Mammaw whipped up some sexy homemade chicken pot pie. What a weekend. We have a few more of these left. Thanks to everyone for helping. This could not happen without your generosity. You rule.

craft party : guest gifts

this morning the moms, brenna and i wrapped most of the guest gifts. we didn't get completely finished, and it would have been nice to check this off the list, but i'm excited about where these are at. each jar (i won't say what they are, but i assure everyone they are yummy. especially with tortilla chips.) had to be wrapped with paper i designed, held in place with a rubber band, and wrapped with twine. it was a pretty good time, complete with delicious blueberry pancakes made by MamaG. thanks for the help ladies!

birthday / fourth of july cookout

friday was our annual fourth of july / mammaw's birthday cookout. it was good to get together with (almost) everyone. our family has grown a lot in the past 6-7 months. 4 weddings and a new baby between december & august. mammaw & pappaw have been so awesome, letting us use their property for the wedding. it's all coming together out there, and we can't wait for everyone to come see it.

ina + florin

ina & florin are our mentor couple for our 2-to-1 premarital counseling through North Point. we have a such a good time with them, and leave their house every Wednesday really energized and bursting with excitement about each other & our upcoming marriage.

i love this couple so much. they're Romanians that have been living here raising their kids since the early '90s, and are working to start a strategic partnership back home in Romania. they've been a great couple for us to spend time with. they are so candid about their struggles & triumphs in their marriage through their many years together. we've also gotten a sneak peek at their incredible parenting skillz. 

i think one of the reasons kc & i have felt so connected to them is the huge heart we four share for the same region of the world. i'm looking forward to staying in touch with them as they venture on to do some really challenging things.

below is a map with Romania & our beloved Eesti highlighted for you geographically challenged folks. thanks google!

ONE MONTH!

Wowzer.  I can't believe that one month from now I'll be married to a beautiful Sara Giessen.  Virtual high fives to everyone around.

We had a big meeting tonight with our parents and we discussed where everything is at wedd-ing-wise (the picture above is from an ADD Sara and Casey moment). There is a lot to take care of as of yet buuuuut every day that passes, the whole marriage thing has been much more real to me.  I have never been so pumped about anything in my life.

highlights of last week or so:

: mission trip retreat : tons of fun, productive meetings

: mcDonalds : I ate a cheeseburger without the burger....garbage

: Sara graduated : no biggie(jk), bring on the loans!

: met with Rod : he's officiating the wedding and is a true baller

: found an apartment : norcross, good location, middle mark between both our jobs (although sara's commute is longer), application goes in today

: gas sucks : stupid jerk oil prices

: Uncle Jerry and  Aunt Denise : the ultimate travel guides.  our honeymoon is going to rock hard.

: wedding shower : we feel loved.  thanks to everyone, especially Pete and Glo for throwing the shower.

: finished wedding invitation design & ordered letterpress plates : yep, it's late, but it's gonna be smashing.