The Best Honeymoon Story EVER--Part III (Scroll Down for Parts I & II)

Needless to say, she stamped our declarations immediately and we were on our way.  But Josh didn't forget to take the trash bag out of the can and take it with him.  He actually said, "I'm just going to take this with me!"  It was hysterical.

On a side note: Josh has never been out of the country.  He was HONESTLY scared that if an airport person saw him sick, they would immediately assume that he had acquired malaria or yellow fever from a foreign country and hold him in a holding tank in Houston forever... You know? so they could spare the American population.

So when multiple people came up to Josh and asked him if he was okay, he would just wave them off and say, "Airline sickness!  Airline sickness!"

We started on our way to get our luggage with only 15 minutes until our plane left.  Josh was about 20 steps behind me throwing up into a plastic trash bag while I was hauling a$$ through the Houston airport.  I got to the luggage claim things and of course our luggage was not there.  Our flight attendants said Baggage Claim #5, didn't they?  I wait another minute just in case.  Nope.  Then I finally look at the sign and it says Taiwan.  Yep, definitely not us.

I find our luggage eventually.  I grab our 50-lb suitcase, our 27-lb suitcase, my carry-on bag, my purse, and Josh's laptop and start booking it for the Customs baggage check.  (with Josh in tow a few steps behind me).

I throw all of our luggage on the belt and help Josh with his shoes and belt to go through the scanner.  After this, we look at the clock.  6:48.  Our plane leaves at 7:00.  And it is on THE OTHER SIDE of the airport.

I am practically running.  Josh is still a few steps behind me and is stopping every minute off to the side to heave into the trash bag.

We finally get there at about 6:55 or 6:56 and we are the last ones on the flight.  Josh hands off the bag, sits down in the seat, asks for a drink of water, and says he feels a little better after throwing up so much.

This flight is much better because I overdosed him on Dramamine soon after we got on the plane.  (Just kidding... it wasn't that much.)  We landed in Pittsburgh, took a shuttle to our car, and I drove us home to Morgantown.  We arrived at 1:30am.  Josh was still asleep from the meds.  He literally didn't wake up the next morning until about noon.

We later found out that he had strep throat.  Yes, seriously.  He took an old prescription of mine of penicillin and was fine :-)

But, honestly though, a GREAT story to tell the kids someday!

The Best Honeymoon Story EVER--Part II (Scroll Down for Part I)

Once we finally got on the plane, both of our stomachs were hurting.  Neither of us likes to fly.  We find it terribly uncomfortable and awkward.

The flight itself was okay.  Only about 2 hours long.  We landed in Houston for our layover.  The layover was supposed to be almost two hours, but we were a bit late, so we had about 1 1/2 hours to kill.  We walked in to see that the customs line had about 400 people it.  I am not kidding.

We took our place in line.  At this point, Josh was having a hard time standing for so long.  He was getting dizzy and gradually feeling more and more sick.  There was no water in sight.

As a side note, while we were standing in line, I happened to run into one of my students' parents!  I also know them from my church.  So I talked to them a little.  They had just got back from a vacation to Costa Rica (one of my favorite places)!

OVER AN HOUR LATER, when we were about 15 people from the customs desk, Josh looks at me with glazed eyes and says "I don't think I can stand anymore.  I think I am going to pass out."  Just at that instant, a pregnant woman about 4 people in front of us passes out and hits the ground.  Once again, I am not kidding.

People start yelling "Emergency!"  "Help!"  "Emergency!".  Tons of people rush over, but I stay and stand with Josh just in case it happens to him, too!  Everyone rushed over except actual airport workers.  After a few minutes, an old, overweight woman with an airport uniform came strolling over.  She lifted the woman up to her feet and later another man come over with a chair.  They sat the woman in the chair and gave her a Huggie.  Yes, that's right, a huggie.  Remember?

Once they got the line moving again, we were almost to the end and there were only 25 minutes left until our flight was leaving!

I walked up to the customs lady with our passports, declarations, and boarding passes.  Just as I get up there and hand her the forms, I take a good look at Josh.  I immediately knew what was in store.  I say to the customs woman "He is going to throw up! Right now!"  She puts her trash can on the desk and Josh vomits into it and on her desk.  She starts to gag.  I am not kidding...

...to be continued....

The Best Honeymoon Story EVER--Part I

Our honeymoon was awesome.  We had a great time relaxing, meeting people, eating, drinking, and laying on the beach.  Unfortunately, my most memorable experience was the one you are about to hear:

The day before we left to go home, Josh was complaining of a sore throat.  So, that afternoon, he went to the room, took some Tylenol, and took a nap.   I stayed in the pool drinking mojitos with my 45-year-old Mexican friend and hot-mom, Linda.

He came back a few hours later feeling a bit better.  Later that night, at dinner, he said the throat pain was getting worse and was having trouble swallowing his dinner.  We had plans to go dancing that night with Linda and her husband.  But as soon as we got back to the room, he said his whole body was hurting, kind of like a flu.  So we just went to bed and watched some TV, hoping it would be better in the morning because we had a lot of traveling to do the next day.

Well, I woke up early to get ready and pack and he was out for the count.  He didn't want to talk, move, eat, or even shower.  I packed up all of our stuff, got a shower, went to breakfast alone, and came back.   I had to force him to get in the shower before we left.  We walked all the way to the lobby while I was carrying both suitcases, the carry-ons and my purse.  He was a few steps behind me moping along.  After check-out, we took a taxi to the airport.  And... we were there about 3 hours early.

We just sat there, waiting, and not talking.

You should know something about my wonderful and awesome husband, Josh.  When he is sick, he is a big baby.  He will admit that you himself.  This is an obvious problem for me because it is most definitely annoying to hear a 24 year old complain about a sore throat like a baby.  However, this time, I could honestly tell that it was real.  I knew that this was no sore throat.  He was truly sick.  We weren't sure if it was something he ate, drank, or caught.  But we knew that this was no common cold.

So there we are, just waiting, and waiting, and waiting, and waiting....

Honeymoon!

When we got to our room in Cozumel, we were greeted with a fruit basket and a bottle of tequila  :)

The view from our room, with the ocean in the background.  This was taken the day we got there, as Hurricane Alex was leaving.  The sky looked much better a few days later.

Our adorable deck, fully equipped with hammock and frozen fruity drink.

A photo of some of the other "bungalows" at our resort.

Our bed, made pretty with towels, flower petals, and chocolate!

A beautiful pyramid at the Mayan ruins of Chicen-Itza.

Me, posing in front of the pyramid.

Josh and I tried forever to capture a photo of us with the pyramid in the background.  This is the best we could do.

A swimming hole... used to be a cave until the top collapsed in on itself.

Josh took a photo of me reading from one of my favorite authors, Ayn Rand.  I was SO excited to read that book!

The beach at our resort.  We stayed out and read until the sun went down :)  Josh is so artsy.

Josh and I one evening with our cervezas... Dos Equis.  mmmmmmmmm.

Mr. and Mrs. Mengel

We Are Married!

... and we are back from the honeymoon.  ...and Josh is sick.

We got back at 1:30am and I am exhausted and it's my birthday!  I am going out to dinner with Josh, Bryana, and Stephen soon.

I can't wait to post wedding and honeymoon photos and tell some fun and awesome stories.  But for now, just a glimpse of our PERFECT wedding (click on any photo to enlarge it):

I LOVE this photo.  It captures so many emotions.

Aren't we just so darn pretty?  We should probably get our hair and makeup done EVERY day.

And another favorite.

60 Days!

Two months 'til our wedding.  Some thoughts that crossed my mind on this day:

• I am going to be a wife in two months.  I better learn how to fold clothes better.
• I wish my brother could be there.
• I love Zumba.  I absolutely love it.  I hope to be a Zumba instructor some day.
• I can't wait to start grad school. Wait... scratch that.  I can't wait to finish grad school.
• I hate cancer.
• I am currently eating dinner: rotisserie chicken and a glass of red wine.  Oh yes, and a dark chocolate truffle.
• I punished a student today for doing something that just wasn't safe.  He didn't hurt anyone, but he could have.  He was terribly upset, because he is normally a wonderful student.  I felt really bad, but I apologized and explained to him why I chose to give him the reminder.  After that, I think he understood.  But he still cried a lot.
• Josh and I both got interviews for Baltimore County!!! Woo-hoo.  But we can't go until June 9.  I was hoping to have a job by then! Oh, well.
• I love rain.  I used to hate it.  But lately I have been thankful for our rain.
• And another thing--I still hate bees.  But I am thankful for them.  And I am pleased to see them.  Then I run.
• I want (more than almost anything) to have my very own classroom.  I love my job at my school right now.  But I keep thinking of the wonderful things I can try with my students once I have the access to floor space and instruments.  Let's hope for that next year!
• And I am getting so fed up with this long hair.  I am literally getting it cut on the way to the airport to our honeymoon.
• We are going to Cozumel in 62 days!  A picture of our resort:

Cozumel... Here We Come!

Josh and I finally made a decision about our honeymoon.  We are going to an all-inclusive resort on the island of Cozumel, Mexico.  We can't wait!

Wedding and honeymoon are less than 4 months away now!

My life is moving too quickly!

I feel as if I am just getting really comfortable in my school and the people I work with.  And now I am already getting ready to submit applications and resumes to other places :-(

I think Josh and I are going to a job fair in Howard County, MD on Feb.2.  All I need is a sub!  I am glad we are trying to get a head start, but geez, give me a break!  I am trying to plan a wedding and plan for 650 kids/week!  I get myself into these things...

On a lighter note, Josh and I are meeting with a travel agent today to discuss some of our options concerning a honeymoon, so we are pretty excited about that. 

And I have zumba tonight!  This is my third time going to zumba.  I can't go to the rec anymore because I am no longer a student!  So I PAY to go at my church.  And I'll tell you what, it's as much fun as it used to be!  I love it :-)  Working out is super hard lately.  Maybe it's because I didn't do much of it for a long time.  Crap. 

There are two things holding me back from fitting into my wedding gown: FOOD and MOTIVATION. I can work out every day, and usually once I get started I love it.  I don't want to stop.  But it's the getting started that sucks.  Also, I love chocolate.  And most things with sugar.  And fat.  And calories.  And all of those things combined.  Wish me luck!

Honeymoon Registry

So we have been debating this honeymoon business.  We REALLY want a honeymoon registry.  Basically, (for those of you who don't know what it is), here is the process:

-Go to a travel agent
-Tell them what you want to do for your honeymoon
-Agent sets up registry website where your wedding guests can go online and give money using their credit card that will go toward the cost of your honeymoon
-Bride & groom sign a contract promising to foot the remainder of the bill if it is not covered by gift money

Here's the thing:  If we don't do this, we are going to Morgantown, WV for our honeymoon.  Keep that in mind.

PROS:

• We can potentially get a free honeymoon, or at least part of it paid for.
• We can get a gift that we will not only use, but be happy about and remember forever :-)
• We already have plenty of things.  I honestly cannot think of enough things to put on a store registry that we want or need.  This way, we could have some of both

CONS:

• With my luck, only 10% of our honeymoon bill will be paid and we will have to pay a bunch of money that we don't have--just saying, it's a possibility
  
• I feel odd asking people to pay for a beautiful vacation for us that they themselves may not be able to afford.

Yes, the pros outweigh the cons.  Any advice would be appreciated!  We may contact a travel agent this week to at least see what our options are and ask some questions.

Wedding Updates!

So I just recieved a BUNCH of stuff in the mail.  Josh is starting to cringe every time he sees the UPS truck come up the road!  haha *whoops*

All DIY projects:

• Just recently got all of the business card magnets and attached our Save the Dates to them.  That was fun.  Still not sure how I will send these out yet.
• All of my invitations!  I am excited.  These are the kind you put together yourself.  Josh's mom is coming this weekend to help me put them together.
• Huge box of styrofoam balls and HUGER box of the realest, coolest, most awesome 260 silk rose heads.  Which I will attach to the balls to make pomanders.  Seriously, the roses even feel like real roses.  I think it's in my mind, but when I open the box, I swear I smell them :-)
• Josh's mom is also hemming all of our beautiful red silk table runners that I found for SUPER cheap.

Did I mention?  All of this stuff came from Ebay or on clearance/super cheap.  We are lucky! Can't wait! 

So, what do I have left to do, do you ask?
-We need to find Josh's ring--eek.
-Men's tuxes
-Possible hair/makeup appts--still not sure if I want to pay for this!
-Transportation for wedding party
-Bon-Ton registry and HONEYMOON registry
-Meet with our pastor for pre-marital course
-Make final arrangements for decoration
-wedding party gifts
-bridesmaid's dresses... buying them TODAY!
-place for me and Josh to stay the evening of the wedding

Almost there!  Just over 5 months!  :-)