We need more of these

Finally! Memorial Day weekend is here & we have a 3-day weekend! For me, & my company, I think the last 3-day weekend we had was.........New Year's Day. So, I'm due for a paid holiday. Kate & I have been so busy almost every weekend since March, & will continue to be busy, so we specifically planned to stay home & do nothing this weekend. Just RELAX. The only thing on our agenda was to go up to Matt & Haley's (Matt is old co-worker from EmCare) on Saturday. They were having people over for Matt's birthday, Monday. Other than that, we're chillin. And it feels good.

3-day weekends should be more common. The government should mandate that one weekend every month is a 3-day weekend, & all companies must comply. It'll never happen, but it's wishful thinking. So, we'll enjoy this one while we can. Gotta run. If you need us, you can find us either on the couch or by the pool.

--Josh

follow-up by Kate

I don't know if I will ever be able to top Josh's post, but I'll take a stab at it. This is the first picture of Josh & I on May 18, 2007.

Yesterday, as we were driving home from Austin, Josh and I were laughing that we were spending our 1 year anniversary in the car with a high-five. My first reaction was to get kind of bitter and mad, but as I think about it I think it was the perfect way for us to spend the day. We've been so busy the last 2 months, planning a wedding, working and staying in shape that I almost feel like we've forgotten to talk. On the drive home we were singing, dancing, laughing and most importantly talking. So, hun, I'm really happy with the way we spent the day (plus, the pizza was yummy last night!!).

Because it has been a year, I want to list the Top 10 Reason Why I Love Josh:
10) he scratches my back at night
9) he cooks dinner
8) he's generous
7) he's selfless - I can't think of a single time Josh has put him/his feelings before mine. I try to reciprocate the gesture, but fall miserably short.
6) he's motivated
5) he motivates me
4) he's grounded & responsible, yet wildly ambitious
3) he supports me 110%
2) he makes me laugh
1) he loves me

All of the reasons, plus more, are why I can't wait to marry Joshua David Sokolewicz, the love of my life!

I love you! Thanks for a great year, babe!

Lovin life, going strong

So usually I post about the week's happenenings & whatnot, but today is a big day. A year ago Kate & I met, & my life has been better, busier, & happier since that day. Kate gives me so much in life & I can not imagine myself without her. We influence each other in ways that make us better individuals & stronger as a couple. Right away I felt like I had known her for a very long time, & I felt at ease talking to her. I didn't know it immediately, but it didn't take long for me to realize I wanted to spend my life with her. We vacationed together, explored Dallas, cheered on the Mavs & Cowboys, went through a job change for me, & spent the holidays together. Then on March 1 of this year, she said she would marry me. If there was ever a perfect match for me, Kate is it. I can't wait for the wedding!

So, in regards to this week.......on Wednesday Kate got tickets to the Stars/Red Wings game & we had seats 6 rows from the ice. It was an awesome game & the Stars won. Even saw an octopus get thrown on the ice by a guy right behind us. Don't see that everyday. On Thursday we got Kate's wedding band, after thorough shopping around the weekend before. Friday we drove down to Austin, & down there we had 2 wedding meetings & spent time with Kate's fam at the lake on Saturday. We got back tonight & it just took 3 hours to make the drive. Nice!

So it's been a good week, & a wondeful first year. I have the feeling that life is really starting for me, & I'm overly thrilled every time I think to myself that I have found Kate & we will soon be husband & wife. I love you, babe!

ticking timebomb

I'm not sure if its the whole planning-a-wedding-in-4-months-thing, the additional hormones from the overpriced birth control I've been taking, the stress and anguish I endure on a daily basis at work, or if I'm turning into a bonafide bridezilla... whatever it is I've been a total wreck the last couple weeks.

I'm typically not an emotionally person; babies, movies, sappy love stories usually don't effect me. BUT LET ME TELL YOU...lately, I've been a complete mess. Sunday, at church, I started crying when I saw a little baby girl in the pew in front of us. I balled for a good 5 minutes after I saw the SPCA commercial with the Sarah McLachlan "Angel" song. If you do not cry during this commercial, you need to come hang out my house and dog for an hour and you will.

Anyways, I just wanted to share my tales of being on an emotional rollercoaster. Thank GOD Josh is around to help me through this...I don't think I could do it without him. Love you, honey! :)
-Kate

Food, Flowers, & Bling

Sunday night passed us with forgetting to blog. My, how busy our life is! With all the wedding planning comes paying for wedding planning. That, along with the economy the way it is & gas costing us our eventual first-born, we've been eating out less & trying to spend less on optional fun & entertainment. But, every now & then you have to take a break. So we went to Mi Cocina Thursday night & enjoyed a date night with margaritas & tex-mex. We had a great time & look forward to it again. We followed diner with putting together the wedding invitations for our out-of-state guests. One hour later, we had 95% of our invitations put together & ready to go. No sweat! Mailed them out Friday.
Friday came & we're always thankful for Friday to be here. Kate got sweet VIP tickets to Taste of Addison, so we ventured down South for the evening. Switchfoot & Gavin DeGraw (the G is capitalized folks!) played. We enoyed some free beer from the VIP tent, because we're ballers, & waited for Swithfoot to play something good. Still waiting. And yes everyone that's right, I'm warming up to beer & had a few Friday. Anywho, we sauntered around the grounds while Switchfoot played crappy music, & tried some food from a few of the vendors. Texas de Brazil, I look forward to visiting you one of these days. Gavin DeGraw proved much more pleasing to the ears.
Saturday came & went as we met the Rowans at the Arboretum to spend the afternoon with mom & G-ma surrounded by flowers. A good time was had by all, & then it got hot in the afternoon. Kate & I made our way back home & layed by the pool before grilling some kabobs. Yum! Sunday included pancakes, church, & wedding ring shopping. We visited about 5 jewelry stores & looked at a ton of wedding bands for both me & Kate. We got some price quotes & are still waiting for some more, but it got us both even more excited about the wedding. Just over two months away, by the way. The afternoon flew by before we knew it.
So, back to work & the real world today. A visit to Austin awaits us next weekend, which we're ready for already! Thanks for tuning in. We love all our fans out there!
--Josh

May already?!?

Where did April go? Aren't we all like that at the start of every month? Honestly, I'm glad it's May & look forward to June, then July. Don't know why.....I just feel like it'll be a good month for me.

I don't really have a plan for this blog or an order for this week's highlights, so let's just jump into things. Mav got a haircut last weekend. He still has all the spunk & attitude as before, but now more aerodynamic. He's a little more intimidating with all his longer hair. The Mavs gracefully bowed out of the NBA playoffs, reminding us all of the old Mavs. Yippee.

We had a nice visit to Campisi's Saturday night & had a great meal. We also picked up to movies from Blockbuster which I will now review: 27 Dresses - ok, not great, was entertaining and at times funny. Dan in Real Life - overall not good, kinda depressing & wierd, & just one or two "haha" moments. We also ran some wedding errands on Saturday & got a lot done.

So it was a pretty normal week. Tomorrow is Cinco de Mayo, which is a holiday in Mexico & this is America.....so why do we celebrate it here? Whatever. Chips & salsa? Si!

--Josh