Remember last year when I wrote about my favorite sister (click here to refresh your memory)?  Well, she’s still my favorite sister, so that’s good news.  


Lakeland School has a prom for the kids every year.  Laura was old enough to go last year, but my mom couldn’t do it.  She couldn’t send Laura to prom.  It’s one of those things where my mom couldn’t send Laura to prom not because Laura wouldn’t have a good time, or because we were busy, or because Laura would be scared.  


My mom couldn’t send Laura to prom because she’s her baby.  Not just my mom’s baby, OUR baby.  She’s 17 years old, but her age will never matter – she’ll always be our baby.


We want her to suffocate us with hugs and sit on our laps.  We tease her and tell her no, but always give in to what she wants.  We play with her and give her candy when Mom’s not looking.  We teach her new things and explain why she needs to do something herself.  


We love her.  More than we love anything else in the world.  She’s the center of our universe.


And because she’ll always be our baby, it’s hard to watch her grow up.  So last year, when Laura was old enough for prom, my mom couldn’t do it.


When the note came home for prom this year though, my mom couldn’t say no – as much as she wanted to.  


My mom couldn’t say no this year because there is a whole team of people at Lakeland School that want the best for Laura, just like her siblings do.  So, my mom let her go to prom. 


And she was so unbelievably beautiful.

Laura’s prom dates

Best mom in the world

Two of the many volunteers at prom making sure the kids made room for Jesus when they were dancing.

And because Lakeland School is amazing, and our lives wouldn’t be the same without it, please help support them, so that they can continue giving children and young adults the opportunities that any other child or young adult can have. 


Lakeland School’s School Fest is coming up in the beginning of May, and they’re selling raffle tickets!  Funds raised help the school sponsor great events like prom for the kids.  Trust me – it’s well worth your dollar.  Just one dollar!  That’s it!!


Raffle tickets are the same as last year – $1 for 1 ticket, or $5 for 6 tickets. 


You can visit my blog post from last year to learn a little bit more about Lakeland School and what a fantastic place it is.


If you do buy a raffle ticket (or ten…), you don’t have to be in attendance to win!  School Fest is on Saturday, May 12 from 9-3 if you’d like to attend.  It really is an awesome day for an even more awesome cause!!!


Email me at sarajvander@gmail.com if you’re interesting in buying tickets, and we’ll get you all set up to help this wonderful school continue to change the lives of children with disabilities just like our baby sister.


Isn’t she just beautiful?

Numbers since February 13, 2012.  Except the ones that are like “number of days until…”   Because those are from today.  But the general ones like crying are since February 13.


Number of days until the wedding: 9


Number of months theknot.com tells me there are until the wedding: 14


Number of times I’ve explained that we won a wedding: 43287194021780


Number of times I told Peter we are not having a Star Wars wedding: 47


Number of times I’ve cried about something with the wedding: 3*******


*******BREAKDOWN


Number of times I’ve had a complete meltdown about the wedding: 1


Explanation: Valentine’s Day.  Poor Peter.  I had a complete meltdown about the wedding because we found out that we won, but we didn’t know ANY details, and I didn’t know if I would like my dress, if we would be getting married in the church that I grew up going to, or if anyone would want to even come to our wedding.  And a lot of other things.  But those were the main ones.  But I’m ok now.  Because everything is turning out perfectly!


Number of times I’ve cried about the wedding, but the crying didn’t include heaving sobs, locking myself in Peter’s bathroom so he wouldn’t see my cry, snot running down my face, and drooling (those are all under meltdown): 2


Explanation: (1) I didn’t think that I would be able to have any say in my wedding dress.  That is very scary.   (2) My bridesmaids’ dresses aren’t coming in until April 20.  Remember how the wedding is April 27th?  I’ll give you a second to wipe your tears for everyone involved.


Number of times we’ve driven down to Lake Geneva from Green Bay: 12 of the last 13 weekends.  Lots of miles.  LOTS of gas.  TONS of money.  


Number of stress-induced zits I’ve had: 5


Number of times I’ve gone tanning for 7 minutes: 3


Number of times someone asks me if I’m going to go tanning for the wedding since I’ve started tanning: A lot.


Number of times someone has told me that I have “good color” after they just asked if I was going to go tanning because they want to try to make me feel better: A lot + 1


Number of swimsuits that I bought: 7


Number of swimsuits that I returned: 5


Number of times I’ve looked at my wedding dress online: 7895234785023475820934


Number of times I’ve looked at my wedding band online: 902934850394582039458309458


Number of times I’ve been to the Social Security Administration: 1


Number of guests we have attending our wedding: about 330


Number of scabs I’ve picked: 1.  It’s bleeding right now.


Number of nosebleeds I’ve gotten: 3


Number of days until I’m on my way to the Caribbean: 10


Number of times I’ve practiced writing “Sara Romenesko”: an embarrassing amount


Number of seconds I thought about hyphenating my last name: 1.4


Number of times/day I get all giddy because I’m marrying Peter next week: ABOUT A BILLION TIMES INFINITY.


ho.ly.mo.ly.i.can.not.be.lieve.the.wed.ding.is.on.ly.nine.days.a.way.


EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I’ve been thinking lately, “Gosh, I should let the good citizens of the world know how the wedding planning is going, since they’ve been voting and being so supportive and wonderful.”  


Then I remembered that I needed to finish my taxes.  So, like any good American citizen, I did my taxes and was honest about them.  And then I hit submit.  


For about 5 seconds, I was like “WHEW!  Glad THOSE are done!  And I’m even MORE glad that I’m marrying Peter so that next year HE can do the taxes!!!”


But then I got an email.


My tax return was rejected.  


So, naturally, I had a panic attack.


On this little rejection letter that they send you when your taxes are being rejected by the government, it gives an explanation of what you did wrong:


Rule Number: F1040EZ-524
Rule Number Description: The Primary Taxpayer’s Date of Birth does not match the information currently available in the IRS Masterfile.



If there is one thing I know, it’s my birthday.  If there’s one thing PETER knows, it’s my birthday.  But alas, sometimes my fingers type too fast, so I decided to look back and check to make sure that I entered my birth date correctly.


I did.  I knew I did.  And I did.  Anyways, I proceeded to call the Social Security Administration because that’s what the email told me to do.  After being on hold for 32 minutes, I found out that actually, this happens all the time.  Someone probably just punched in your birth date wrong.  Even though I’ve been my mom’s been filing my taxes for the last however many years, and this has never occurred before, this time, someone just punched it in wrong.  Complete faith in the system…


I’m sorry, this happens all the time?  I mean, it’s only my IDENTITY that we’re dealing with.  The lady on the phone proceeded to tell me that I’d have to go to the Social Security office, which closes at 3:30, asap to get this handled.  Do you have your social security card?  Your birth certificate?  Ironically, yes, my fiance and I are going to get our marriage license this week.  So I’d like to get this sorted out because I’m in my final days as a Vanderstappen, and now I don’t even know who I AM anymore.


So of course, as soon as I got off the phone with her, I started to cry stayed strong because I’m an adult who files her own taxes now, and called Peter.  And my mom.  And then I went to the bathroom to make sure I didn’t look like I was just crying went to talk to my boss.


Sara:  Chief.  You’re not going to believe this.
*Note – I don’t actually call him chief, but I would really like to start.  Maybe tomorrow.  Because it’s AWESOME.


Chief proceeded to ask me about an important shipment that we’ve been having problems with.  


Sara: No news about that, this is more serious.


Chief: … *concerned face*


Sara: So, I was being a good American citizen and filing my taxes.  But my taxes got REJECTED!!


Chief: Well.  That’s not good news, is it?


Sara: So I called the Social Security Administration, and it turns out that I’m having an identity crisis.


Chief: I can’t tell if you’re being serious.


Sara: My birth date is wrong in the social security system.  And now I can’t file my taxes.  And I have to go figure it out.  Chief.  Whyyyy me.  Whyyyyyyyyyyyyyy me???  This is what I get for waiting until the last minute to file my taxes.


Chief: Well, Sara, this would have happened whenever you would have filed your taxes.


Sara: *Dramatic Sigh* This is awwwwwwwwwwwwfuuuuuuuuuuuuuuullllllllllllll.


Chief: Gosh, I could have hired an illegal immigrant and not even have known it!  Well, this is a first for me!


Sara: CHIEF.  I’m NOT an illegal immigrant!


Chief: I sure hope not!!


So then I went to the Social Security Administration office and took a number.  I was there for a total of 7 minutes.  The guy got it all taken care of for me, and then he felt bad that I was there, since I’ll have to go back in SEVENTEEN DAYS BECAUSE I WILL BE CHANGING MY LAST NAME.


Which is crazy.  


I’ll give you an update soon, but in a few words – things are going well and coming together nicely.  But I seriously cannot wait for one week of nothing except my Kindle in one hand and a margarita in the other.  


Oh, and quality time with my husband.

Now that the wedding is less than a month away, I’ve decided to (finally) get serious about making sure that I look like a toned, bronzed goddess on our wedding day.   


At work, they have a program for 6 weeks where a personal trainer comes in for 30 minutes, and there is a group exercise class twice a week.  You know – a “light workout” during lunch.  LIGHT workout.  I decided to join.  What have I got to lose?  Nothing but pounds, baby.  The night before the first class, I was telling Peter that I was a little bit nervous about doing a fitness class in the middle of the day with people that I work with.  


Peter: Sar.  It’s a “light workout”.  You’ll be fine.  
Sara: But Peter.  I get REALLY sweaty.
Peter: Yeah, but the trainer knows that you have to sit at your desk for the rest of the day.  You’ll be FINE.


You know how everyone is at the lowest point on their attractive scale when they exercise?  Well I am BELOW the lowest point.  My face gets all red (and stays red.  For hours.), and I sweat like there’s no tomorrow.  My hair gets slicked back to my head.  It’s disgusting.  But I’ve accepted it, because that’s the way life goes.  Anyways, in your place of employment, you should try to look your best and not your worst.  So I was just really nervous about potentially looking beyond my worst for an entire afternoon twice a week.  


The first workout was FAR from a light workout.  There are about 30 or so people doing it, and we were all like ohmyGAWD this is REALLY difficult.  Look at how sweaty I am!  Look at how red my face is!  I need a sweat rag.  So, I changed back into my work clothes and sat at my desk for the rest of the day disgusted by the mere thought of people seeing me in this grotesque state.  

When I got home from work, I noticed my elbows hurt.  Why the heck did my elbows hurt?  Turns out that I was sweating SO much that even my ELBOWS were sweating, so when we were doing planks, my elbows kept sliding back, and I HAD RUG BURN ON MY ELBOWS.  I felt like I was 8 years old.  Why me?  WHYYYYY me??  So for two weeks I wore bandaids on my elbows because they hurt, and I didn’t want big ol’ scars from the scabs that were going to form since I’m getting married in a sleeveless dress in a short time.    For the love.

In my efforts to become bronzed, I decided to go to a tanning booth.  Before I start getting hate mail telling me about how horrible tanning booths are for me, let me tell you that I know.  Have you met my mother?  I don’t go often.  Only when I want my skin to be a shade lighter than white.


Anyway, on Monday I went to a tanning salon.  The girl told me that I had “pretty fair skin” (thanks), so I should probably only go in for five minutes.  Five minutes?  Seriously?  It was going to take me longer to take off my clothes, get lotioned up, and put my clothes back on again.  But alas, they are the professionals, so I figured that I should listen to them.  


Five minutes seemed like nothing.  I called Jenna and told her about it and she laughed at me.  “Tomorrow, I’m going to do six.  I hope I make it out without blisters.” I told her merrily.


Yesterday, I got to the tanning place and went for six minutes.  A whopping sixty seconds longer than I had gone the day before.


And now my entire body has a pinkish hue and my skin is raw.  Who knew that there would be such a difference between five and six?  Not me.  But apparently the tanning lady knew it.  


Better luck next week.  I mean, I have to go again.  The wedding is in THIRTY DAYS.


I WANT TO BE A TONED, BRONZED GODDESS, DAMMIT.

When someone starts a sentence saying, “I really hope you don’t take offense to this…” the reality is that you will probably take offense to whatever is coming next. 


Earlier today, Peter and I were driving home from our first meeting with the priest who is marrying us.  This meeting was a here-is-all-of-the-stuff-you-have-to-do-really-soon meeting, which included us going under oath to answer questions like if we were related (no), if I was being forced into this marriage (…no?), and if my last name was, in fact, Vanderstappen (yes).  The next meeting will be the one where we talk  about super serious things like faith in our marriage and things like that.


Now, Peter and I have obviously had a lot of serious conversations about our future, like when we want to have kids, where we want to live, what cable TV package we’re getting, why we won’t be getting a dog, you know, important things like that.  Since we’ve been engaged, the conversations have gotten a lot more serious and real.  Since our wedding got pushed up 13 months, the conversations have gotten REALLY real.  All of a sudden, we are talking about things that are going to be real in 8 short weeks.


One thing that we didn’t talk about until today was home security.  You know – how are we going to protect our home when it comes under attack?  Fireball launcher, or tranquilizer darts?  Home security wasn’t something that I had ever thought about much.  Until today.


As we were talking about home security, Peter said, “Sar.  I love you.  And I hope that you’re not going to take offense to this… [Me (out loud): “Oh God.”] but if someone broke into our house, I know that you would be useless.”


Me: ………. Peter.  I can’t believe you just said that.
Peter:  Well?  What would you do if our home was under attack??
Me: I don’t know!!!  Cry or something!!!!
Peter: EXACTLY!!!!!!  That’s why you’d be useless!!!!!


Unfortunately, I couldn’t say “PETER ROMENESKO.  I would NOT be useless.  I would PROTECT us.”  Why couldn’t I say this?  Let’s rewind about 3 years…


So this one time, I was visiting Peter in De Pere for a weekend.  He was an RA, so he had a dorm room that had a bathroom, and the bathroom was shared with a room on the other side.  Note: you couldn’t lock the bathroom doors when you were in the bathroom.  You could only lock them from the outside, so to speak, but the outside was the dorm rooms.  I hated this set up.  I hope that what I just wrote makes sense – the main thing that you need to know is that the shared bathroom acts as a portal between dorm rooms.


One night, I was soundly sleeping, when all of a sudden I was jolted awake.  Peter was screaming “GET OUT OF MY ROOM, GET OUT OF MY ROOM!!!!” and I was thinking WHAT THE EFF IS GOING ON????  And Peter was screaming “THAT’S MY STUFF, PUT DOWN MY THINGS!!!!” (but there were SWEAR words in there!!!!) and in my head I was like OH MY GOSH WHO IS THAT MAN????????  Because there was a STRANGER in Peter’s ROOM, and he was STEALING Peter’s THINGS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  AND IT WAS SOOOOOOO SCARY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


And then all of a sudden, Peter goes, “Tyler??” and I was thinking, “We KNOW this MANIAC?????” And then the lunatic left and my heart was beating so fast I thought it was going to leap out of my chest.  And then Peter explained what had just happened.


Someone forgot to lock the bathroom door when they were done getting ready for bed (it wasn’t Peter…  Oopsie!!).  Neighbor Tyler got wastey face and after going to the bathroom accidentally went into the wrong dorm room and was confused and disoriented.


The next morning, Peter and I were discussing the events that had ensued.  Peter was telling me about how Tyler was taking things from his night table, and that’s when he woke up.  And then he leaped out of bed and punched Tyler!  And Tyler was trying to take Peter’s coat!  And Peter was screaming and yelling and protecting the love of his life!!  And “Sar, didn’t you notice he was naked?”  I stared at Peter blankly.  I did not remember any of these things.  I remembered Peter leaping up and yelling.  And then I remembered Peter saying Tyler’s name and telling him to go back to his room.


Apparently, when someone breaks into the place in which I am dwelling, I black out, scream, and cry.  And because I black out, I don’t remember screaming and crying.  


Unfortunately, Peter seems to recall this little incident.  Because when he tells me that I would be worthless if our home was under attack, I can’t say that yes, I WOULD be helpful!  Because unfortunately, the one time my “home” WAS under attack, I was completely worthless.  And Peter was there.  


So then, we seriously discussed our home security.


And how if he was ever traveling, I would be spending the weekend with my parents.

Things I would never do naked:


– Walk in front of my deck doors at night with the blinds open and lights on.
– Iron.
– Stand in front of my deck doors at night with the blinds open and lights on WHILE ironing.


Yesterday morning I got my first nosebleed of 2012, because I’m too dumb to be proactive about my aching sinuses and dry boogers until my nose starts bleeding.  It’s clear that at this point in my life I’ll never learn.  I’ve accepted it.


Peter hasn’t.


Because Peter loves me and cares more about my dry sinuses than I do, he told me that he was  going to take me to Fleet Farm to get a humidifier.  I think that he decided to take me there because I’ve been talking about getting a new humidifier that holds more than a gallon of water and costs more than $10 (when it comes to humidifiers, the more you spend, the better.  Trust me.) for months, but hadn’t done it.  And I also think that he is starting to think about the fact that in two months he will be waking up next to me for the rest of his life, and he doesn’t do well with blood.  But that’s beside the point.


ANYWAY, we got to Fleet Farm 5 minutes before it closed, so I pretended like I was on Supermarket Sweep and ran around the store until I found the humidifiers, told Peter to pick one out, and ran to the front to pay.  We even had a minute to spare!  I would have been so good at that show.  When we got back to my apartment, it was snowing, and I was walking to the door as Peter was getting the humidifier out of the car.


Because I am a creep and nosy, I always look into other people’s windows when the blinds are open.   And I should have learned my lesson.  When I looked up, I saw a naked man walking in his living room!  With the lights on!  And the blinds open!  I quickly averted my gaze and then I couldn’t stop laughing.  I was so shocked!  I was not prepared to see that!  


Of course, after that little incident, I didn’t learn my lesson to mind my own business, because if you don’t you might see a naked body that you aren’t supposed to be seeing.  


Tonight when I got home from babysitting, I looked up into the apartment where lives the naked man.  


And this time, he was ironing.  
In front of the window. 
With the blinds open.  
And lights on.  
And naked.  


Now THAT could end very, very badly.

First of all, I would like to thank everyone for all of your support, love and help.  You’re making planning my wedding a lot easier, and it’s a wonderful feeling knowing that so many people want to make the day perfect for me and Peter.  You are all doing a wonderful job of making sure that I am getting my top choices (venue, for example), and I am beyond thrilled  and really, really cannot thank you enough!!


However, now I need to throw something out there, and I don’t think you’ll like it.  I’ve thought long and hard about this, and yes, I need to say it.  You won’t be happy.  Ok.  I’ll just say it.  My hands are sweating.


I don’t know.  


I do not know.  
I, Sara Jane Vanderstappen, do. not. know.


MAN.  It feels GOOD to get that off my chest!!  Allow me to explain:


I know I said it in the last post, but I have no other way to describe it – these last few weeks have been such a whirlwind.  I really can’t even begin to describe all of the emotions that have been running rampant through my mind, body, and soul.  Yes.  All three.  It’s THAT intense.  I need to really try hard to give you an idea of these emotions.  I’ll start with a timeline:


November 25, 2011: Peter asked me to marry him.  I said yes.  And I was quite thrilled.  Still am, actually.


November 27ish, 2011: Peter and I decided to get married in June, 2013.


December 5, 2011: I called the church and booked the date of June 8, 2013 for our wedding.  This was quite an exciting day.


December 15, 2011: We met with the photographer that would later become our wedding photographer.  For our June 2013 wedding.


January 3, 2012: Peter’s mom told us about a wedding contest that she thought we should enter.


January 10, 2012: We sent in our application for the “win a wedding” contest.


January 19-20, 2012: Peter and I went down to Lake Geneva to look at wedding venues for the date of June 8, 2013.


January 24, 2012: We found out that we were semi-finalists in the contest.  We also found out that if we won, the wedding would be on April 26 or 27.  2012.


February 4-12, 2012: Voting for the winning couple.  You all helped us win, and it was SOOOO exciting!!!!!!  THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!! 


February 13, 2012: We found out that we won the wedding.  But that is all that we found out. So we knew that we were getting married sometime at the end of April 2012, but that is all we knew.  So we contacted the photographer, the DJ and our bridal party to tell them that our wedding date was going to change pretty drastically, but we didn’t know when the wedding would be.


February 18, 2012: Peter and I had to make a guest list.  We hadn’t even really thought about a guest list.  Because we weren’t supposed to get married so soon!!


February 19, 2012: We registered for our April wedding at two stores.  Peter also made the invitations, and got them to a place where the only thing left was putting in information that we didn’t have.  Like date.  And church.  And venue.  You know, the little details.


February 20, 2012: We found out the venue and the menu.  We found out at 11:15 when the radio announced it.  We didn’t get called before anyone else.  With this, we found out the exact date.  From there, we were able to book the church, finish the invitations, get accommodations, and did I say book the church?


Also on February 20, the voting for my wedding dress began.  


I have a confession: I didn’t know what dresses were going to be put online for everyone to vote on.  So when you asked, I was being honest when I said that I didn’t know which dress you should vote for.  No, I did not try on any of the dresses before the voting began.  I like dress 2, so please keep voting for it.  


More things I know about my wedding dress: the dress that gets voted on WILL be the dress that I wear on my wedding day (so again, I’ve fallen in love with choice 2, so vote away!!).  I will be able to make changes to the dress as I see fit (ie. add a belt, change style a little bit to make sure it fits my body well, add straps, shorten train, etc.).  The dress is being sponsored by a custom designer, so it will be one-of-a-kind made only for me.  When I make changes to the dress, I will not be telling anyone, and when I have my fitting I will not be taking pictures of myself in my dress.  The only people that will see my REAL wedding dress before the wedding are my mom and Peter’s mom.   This is one aspect of the wedding that I want to keep a surprise.  Again, you will all know the dress that I’m going to wear, but it won’t be the EXACT dress.  


Peter isn’t going to go on the WLKG website from here forward, because I don’t want him to see my dress.  He’s ok with that.  He won’t know anything about my dress until he sees me walking down the aisle on our wedding day.  I know he’ll love the dress that I wear.


When I say that I don’t find out anything until everyone else does, I’m being 100% honest.  I’m not just saying that because someone tells me to.  I really do not know anything more that what I’ve written on my blog or shared on Facebook. 


As for things that are being voted on in future, I also don’t know that.  I mean, I know the categories that are being voted on (click here if you missed the last post), but I don’t know what the specifics are.  I have not seen the bridesmaids dresses that you will choose from.  I have no idea what the flowers look like.  I do not know what flavor cake will be voted on.  


So I’ll make you a promise – when I find something out about anything that has to do with the wedding contest that we won, I PROMISE that I will let you know.  It will first appear on Facebook, because that’s the easiest.  It may take a day or 3 or maybe even 4, depending on how busy I am, to put it on my blog, but I promise I will.  Mondays are going to be very busy for the next couple of months, because those are the days that we find out one more detail of our wedding, and we are able to do something with it.  But I promise you that you will know things when I know them.  


I want to tell you that I’m not upset for all of the questions that are being asked.  The questions show me that you really do care, and you want the day that I marry my best friend to be the day of my dreams.  But please be patient with me – because a lot of your questions I really just don’t know the answers to.  


I have had every emotion possible in the last few weeks, but the one that I’ve had the most is awe.  I’ve been in awe about how supportive everyone has been.  You’ve all been so wonderful and kind, and I truly do not have the words to show my gratitude for that.  


I never would have dreamed that Peter and I would win a wedding contest to have our wedding essentially planned for us.  While I’ve had my moments of stress and anxiety, I can honestly say that now that we have the main details figured out, the only emotions I have a positive ones – happiness, excitement, gratitude, love, inspiration, amusement, awe… the list goes on and on.  So thank you. 


And keep up the good work 🙂