Derek Paul McWhorter - R.I.P.

One year ago, Derek (my cousin) lost his life but gave life to others. Today was a sad day but I decided to give a speech at work. I gave a speech about the importance of donating organs, tissues, and corneas. Remembering the impact Derek had on the lives of those he never met made me want to spread the word about transpants.

If you live in Illinois, please consider adding yourself to the new organ/tissue donor registry. You must be registered in order to donate. You can register here: https://www.iamareyou.org/donatelife/registration.asp

Rest In Peace, Derek. We love you.

Derek Paul McWhorter

9-20-1983 / 1-24-2007

Christmas in January!

Merry Christmas! Oh wait... it is only January. Well, I have to tell you that I bought my FIRST Christmas present already. I was at Target and saw a good deal. Now... you just can't pass up a good deal when you see one! I am excited. One down... ump-teen-million to go.

Terry and Chad worked hard this weekend to get us ready for carpet... AND... it can be installed as early as Saturday! THANKS GUYS! That is if our carpet is in by then. They said it would take a week (we thought it was already in). So... if not, it will be in early next week. Mike finished our mantle... it is gorgeous! Thanks Mike! Pictures will be posted later. It is stained and has the first coat of varnish. The stair skirting, hand rail, etc. are pretty close to being installed also. It should all be finished this weekend. I am THRILLED! I can't wait to see the house with carpet and have a toilet. It will be nice to not have to go to Subway just to use their bathroom!

I had an After the Diamond meeting tonight. This bride has two dogs and a cat. The dogs are huge... but a lot of fun! Her cat is adorable too although it doesn't hang around much. Go figure!

Speaking of pets, I was playing with the girls this morning. Tempest had rolled to her back so I could rub her belly. I was also petting her under her mouth and noticed a lump. We aren't sure what it is but it is definitely swollen and it is hurting her. Therefore... we will be visiting the best doctor on the planet tomorrow (Dr. Tackett as Eastland Animal Hospital). I really hope it is nothing to get too concerned about. I don't want her to have to have surgery!

Okay... now I am off to look at a some of the bills... sigh...

More on the house... more on the business...

Tonight Chad got some more of the trim hung and I stained the stair parts. We are really hoping to get the stair parts installed this weekend. Keep your fingers crossed for us. We have someone coming out on Friday to give us an estimate on closet shelving. I am anxiously awaiting the installation of our bathroom countertop so that we can finish the plumbing.

On another note... the bridal show is tomorrow in town. I am not going but one of the vendors that I recommend asked me to bring them some of my brochures and they will spread the word for me. So... I delivered them today and hopefully I will get more business!

Business & House

This is going to be a quick update but I have some exciting news! I have 4 weddings booked this year and one has already came and gone. I had a wedding on January 5th. The bride wore her grandmothers dress. We were all a little nervous about it ripping because the material was so fragile, but it didn't fortunately. Everything turned out great. Julie came down to help me out. It is a good thing... I could never had accomplished everything on my own. I had a meeting with a potential new client for full service coordination the following Monday (January 7th). She called and let me know I was hired last night. YAY!!! Then the next day I received an email from the videographer from MY wedding. She wants to hire me for day of coordination. I am thrilled. It really is a compliment to be hired by one of your own vendors! WOW! I also have Heathers wedding... coming right up in April. Lots going on with my business. Now I just need to get cracking on my business cards and brochures (I need to get my last name changed on them) and I want to work on my website. This all will come... after we are in the house!

Terry and Chad have all the doors hung in the house and the entire upstairs in trimmed (except a couple of windows). We are working on staining the stair parts now. Hopefully they will go in this weekend and we can get carpet the following week. We still need to look into a water cleaning system and closet shelving. Lots of little things that add up in $$$ and in time. Hopefully it will all work out (including the lien) by Febuary 7th!

Life, schedule, and "kids"

Well, I have been wanting to start blogging for a while now. I included "start blogging" as one of my New Years resolutions. It is hard to find time for these extra curriculars with everything we have going on. With that said, we set a new closing date on the house today.... February 7th. Lets just hope everything works out including getting the lien off the house and finishing the long list of to-do's. This list may be long but it gets a little shorter every day. Right now we are living with friends... THANKS again to Elizabeth and Steven for housing the homeless. It will be nice to settle into our own place, unpack, and reopen our wedding gifts - which the Roethles' have graciously been storing for us. We have great friends!


Rhyme and Tempest, our "kids", are adjusting to their new surroundings. Rhyme adjusts much faster than Tempest. Tempest is scared of everything. I think she is even afraid of Elizabeth and Steven. She doesn't seem to come out of her crate unless we are there. However, Steven stated that she is starting to come around. Rhyme is always around wagging her tail and following everyone around... especially if you venture towards the kitchen. She is always happy to clean up the kitchen floors. I think she follows you into the kitchen and stays close enough to you, hoping she will 'accidentally' trip you and you will spill whatever food item you may be carrying. They are adorable, lovable, and lickable. Well, they do the licking - but you got the idea. One more big adjustment for them make...

I attached an old picture of them... they are a little bigger but just as cute!