I've gotta keep this post short as I am at work but I have to share in my rejoicing that my parents have moved back to the United States!

"hooray!!!!!"

I hope everyone will join me in welcoming them back. I will be making a special trip around Feb. 16-20th to spend time with them at their new home in Cedar Falls. Well better get going in case big boss decides to drop in a give me a whuppin'

All work and no play make Katy an unhappy girl... :(

Hello... My name is Katy Obert...

And I am a bride-with-a-gut-and-enormous-TA-TA to be. I need to go on that "Biggest Loser- engagement edition" or something.
This is how my day went:
1.) Went to work (in very good mood)
2.) Talked a bridesmaid into staying my bridesmaid
3.) Went home to meet my soon to be husband. Found my rehearsal dinner dress I ordered had arrived. Got very excited and tried it on... Realized I'm in desperate need of heavy duty undergarments otherwise breasts will fall out of dress and smother friends and family.
4.) Went to talk to woman about baking a cake for my wedding. People... This cake is going to be goooood. Sorry to you people who don't like chocolate (who are you, anyway?) but I'm planning on a Baci candy inspired chocolate hazelnut delight!
5.) Went to Dillards with a nice gift certificate in hand to buy some undergarments for my sexy new dress that actually fits!!! Hooray.
6.) Spent an hour and a half circling lingerie dept. Without help of woman in doctor-like white coat with "fitting specialist" embroidery to help me. Tried on too small undergarments.
7.) Watched as my white skin turned pink from shoving too small undergarments around my body... Torture.
8.) Drove directly to gym to punish myself for being disgustingly overweight slob.
9.) Worked out on bike and treadmill for an hour.
10.) Got the stupid idea that I should try "Bodystep"
11.) Almost died from tripping overmyself trying to follow very tricky and fast aerobic "bodystep" workout. Then almost passed out from my fat suffocating my lungs.
12.) Went straight to car and drank a barrel-ful of water.
13.) Came home to find spaghetti nasty disaster left in our kitchen sink. Apparently Kent got hungry (then, refused to eat carb filled rubbish- ate an apple instead- good job Katy :))
14.) Sat down to computer to buy aforementioned heavy duty keeping in fat underwear for rehearsal dinner dress and wedding dress.
15.) That's it, really.

So you see... I've been very busy. A very busy chubby bride. That's me.

"I'm... gonna rock and roll all night.....!"

I thought of one last thing I want to post about... Wedding music. On my "Knot" website there is an RSVP option. When you RSVP on there you can choose whether you need a vegetarian meal AND what song you'd like to hear! I'm anxious to see what you all want to hear.
This is what I'm thinking about so far:
1st dance (Kent and I)- Fly me to the moon- Franky
Last dance- Unforgettable- Nat King Cole
Father-Daughter- Wink and a Smile or My Girl
Friends (Katy's)- anything Indigo Girls
Other songs:
Forever Young (for my parents- Mike and Annette)
Time after time
How sweet it is -Marvin Gaye version
Unchained Melody (of course)
They can't take that away from me
Anything Clapton, Beatles, Nina Simone
and last but not least-
gotta have Rock Ballads-
G-n-R, Poison, Warrent, Styx, Bon Jovi, Def Lepard, Led Zep, ect...

These pictures look a little awkward stacked on top of each other but it looks better than trying to put them side by side... Anyway, I want to have lanterns for my centerpieces and I'm going to need about 25-30 of them I think (at most). This could get pricey...
If anyone has any ideas or suggestions or finds some- Please let me know. I've already sent out e-mails to some of my family and friends to help look for them but this is turning out to me more difficult than I anticipates.
A few hints:
1. They don't need to match.
2. Used is fine
3. The cheaper the better
4. The more basic the better
5. They don't need to hanging or vice vera. I like the idea of them all being different.
Argh! Help!

The Block of Hotel Rooms

I reserved a block of 40 rooms at the Best Western Longbranch Hotel & Con - (319) 377-6386 - 90 Twixt Town Rd NE, Cedar Rapids, IA 52402

Map of
90 Twixt Town Rd Ne
Cedar Rapids, IA 52402-3205

The rooms I reserved at mostly poolside with the option of non-poolside for a cheaper rate (one or two bed). I reserved mostly non-smoking rooms but all anyone has to do is request smoking. Guests only need to ask for the Olson/Obert block to reserve a room at the wedding rate. Kent and I have also reserved our honeymoon suite here. I plan to also have the sunday brunch for gift opening the next day in this hotel. I will reserve an alternate, more economical, alternative when we find one that is the most accessible to this, original, hotel.

You should be able to pan the map over on the link and see how close this hotel is to the reception. I'm pretty sure there is a bar in this hotel as well for some after hours cocktails.

I will have all this information in the invitations as well, of course.

p.s. I bought my attendant gifts today and BOY am I excited about them!

The Bridesmaid Dress
Here is a picture of the bridesmaid's dress I chose. It made by Bari Jay (follow the link for the website).It has an ivory organza sash in leiu of the pink. All the colors will be in the flowers and the attendants will remain neutral. I feel this heightens the oppertunity of being able to wear the dress again. Maybe that's every bride's pipe dream but in this case I think it is at least possible.

There will be one junior bridesmaid, Hannah (dudette). Her dress will be white with a sash to match the bridesmaids. I'll try to find a pic of that, too(went to website and couldn't find the dress. Maybe I am confused on the designer of that dress I found. I will do some investigating).

Here's the dress I chose for the rehearsal dinner. I bought it a size smaller than I should have bought but I want to use it as an incentive to keep working out and eating right. Today is double pay day and yesterday Kent's unemloyment was approved so we went out to dinner to celebrate not being completely broke.

I made a better choice than I could have. Instead of eating Italian or burgers we went to Oyama and had sushi rolls. We were seated next to the special ed teacher from City High. He's a lot of fun and it turns out he also lived in Florence for a year. We had a lot to talk about. His group brought a bottle of rice whiskey and they were nice enough to share it with Kent and I.

I need call Heart to Heart today and get swatches of the bridesmaid dresses for my future mother-in-law, my momma and florist. So I better get a little business done instead of doinking on the computer all morning.

Quick Update

Well, working out has been going fine. I haven't lost any weight yet but It's still early. Today and yesterday I had to work my second job. Tomorrow I will will get back in the gym again. I over exercised on Monday night. I didn't feel sore yesterday until night time. Today, I'm still pretty sore.
Kent is still looking for a job. Everyone should keep him in their thoughts because this thing is turning out to be more difficult than we anticipated. I hope he can find something really nice so I don't have to worry about money for the little things before the wedding.
It has been raining in Seattle for 20+ straight days and they are about to hit record amounts of rain. University of Washington had a frat that was closed down due to mud slides! This is where Kent and I are going to be moving. I hope Seattle gets this kind of rain out of the way before we move there. Or maybe I'll like all that rain. It will be different.
As for wedding business, I'm still worried about finding rustic looking votive lanterns for the reception tables. I also need to find a DJ and think about making a "Kids table". I can't wait until Mom moves back so I can get her working on some of these things. I made hair appointments for me, mom, and the bridesmaids. If anyone wants an appointment or if you are a bridesmaid and don't want an appointment- let me know and I try to find us all someone.
Other than that, Happy Hump Day!

Putting on the dress on the day...

I have decided that its high time I started thinking about my body and how I'm going to look on that Big Day. I received a 6 month membership to Core Fitness from my parents for christmas. I thought about buying a treadmill but decided that having my friends who go to Core motivate me and not having to move that huge piece of equipment was more important. So I've gone three times in the last week and I should be leaving any minute to go again today with my friend Sara B.

Yesterday, I took my measurement and found that in approximatly the last two years I've lost inches on my legs and arms but gained three inches in my chest and waist. Its happening, I'm turning into the beach ball bellied wuenneman woman. My mother, her mother, some cousins, and I all suffer from this horrible fate.

I looked up workouts on the Shape website for toning up my back and arms because my wedding dress will be featuring these areas. I printed them out and am going to try them along with my weight lifting part of my workout or maybe I'll do them after the second cardio... This is my workout (adapted version of fellow associate- Jessica Gordon's workout):

10 min cardio (of my choice) to warm up

weight lifting (alternate days to target areas)

40 min cardio (mixing up 20/20 min on two other machines of my choice)

yoga/pilates - cool down

I've done this three times this week so I hope I can keep it up.

As for eating... Its hard to stay strict when you have a fiance whose cooking up fatty casseroles... but I made a nice chix breast salad last night... sticking to just what I bring to work to eat without too much snacking on what I call "teacher treats" at the school. Lots of fruits and veggies, my jasmine green tea instead of coffee with cream, less chips and bread.

Wish me luck! Well, I got the phone call to get ready and go work out so I have to change...

A Modern day Robert Frost among us in Iowa City

Tonight when I came home from work I watched a little of my favorite television programming (Can anyone guess? Yep. Project Runway). However, its what I watched after P.R. that got me logging on to write about it.
I was watched Iowa Public Television. There was a program on made by a resident of the Iowa City senior center. Her name is Barbara Hackman. She made her show about the snow removal after a storm early in the morning in February, 2004.
I'll be honest. My first impression was, "Here is potential for comedy." I braced myself to engage in a little black secret behavior that only a few friends know about... For those of you who watch P.R., I'm a little like Santino when I'm this way. I get pretty full of myself and make fun of the ridiculous antics of those around me. Its a dangerous game (guilty pleasure). The irony is, of course, that I have been and continue to be the butt of many people's jokes and criticism. Maybe its my defense mechanism and personal coping skill.
However, I got off topic. This show really sucked me in. The way it was filmed and narrated was very artful. It was all shot from her 10th story window at the senior center. The climax was when the empty trucks lined up beside a massive snow blower to be filled. She presented it as if it was an exciting snow parade. She slowed down the footage to show in detail how beautiful the snow was when it was forcefully shot out of the tall blower into the massive truck. It was a little like watching those desk ornaments that were really popular for awhile. You could turn them upside down and watch the sand stream into different designs that resembled either a mountainscape or a sand dune sunset.
The narration was nothing other than sheer poetry. I felt like I was listening to a modern day woman Robert Frost. I was inspired. I was able to leave myself and see the world through this woman's eyes and feel the excitement she felt to be watching the city remove snow early in the morning while she ate her breakfast.

The New Year's quiz

1. what did you do in 2005 that you’d never done before?
Started planning a wedding, got engagement pictures taken.

2. did you keep your new years’ resolutions, and will you make more for next year? I kept most of them at one time or another. I didn't go to Europe with Kent, however.

3. did anyone close to you give birth?
My Cousin Chu had his second baby this year.

4. did anyone close to you die?

My grandpa Charles Anthony Wuennemann died around St. Patty's day

5. what countries did you visit?

Mexico and America

6. what would you like to have in 2006 that you lacked in 2005?
More money and a single job that makes me happy.

7. what date from 2005 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
Hurricane Katrina and the poor doggies left in the storm.

8. what was your biggest achievement of the year?
Being a good girlfriend to Kent and trying to be a good friend.

9. what was your biggest failure?
Not going to Europe.

10. did you suffer illness or injury?
It was decided that I suffer of depression

11. what was the best thing you bought?
I bought a bike off my friend, Melissa's, Dad.

12. whose behavior merited celebration?

My girlfriend Genevieve and her husband Dr. Rich got knocked up!

13. whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?

I plea the right to stay silent!

14. where did most of your money go?

Bills.

15. what did you get really, really, really excited about?
Planning my wedding, the prospect of moving and going to school, seeing my parents.

16. what song(s) will always remind you of 2005?

17. compared to this time last year, are you

i. happier or sadder?: Happy- horray for medication!

ii. thinner or fatter?: maybe a little fatter
iii. richer or poorer?: Approximately the same.

18. what do you wish you’d done more of?

Traveling

19. what do you wish you’d done less of?

sleeping. I slept most of 2005 away.

20. how did you spend christmas?

With my honey, Kent, warm and cozy.

22. did you fall in love in 2005?

I am always falling in love again with Kent.

23. what was your favorite TV program?

Project Runway

24. do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year?

No

25. what was the best book you read?

Harry Potter #6 was pretty good.

your greatest musical discovery?
That I hate R. Kelly's multi par song "In the closet"

(I don’t know what happened to 27 and 28)

29. what did you want and get?

I wanted a nice place to have a wedding and I got it... wedding still on the way!

30. what did you want and not get?

I generally want too much so I won't bore you with the list.

31. what was your favorite film of this year?

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.

32. what did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?

I turned 28. I can't remember. Must not have been too exciting. Unless it was the one where I got the New England travel guide from Andy and JR- In which case I had a nice breakfast at my friends' Melissa and Sarah's house.

33. what one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?

Traveling to Europe with Kent.

34. how would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2005?
Kinda sloppy. Sometimes i dressed up but mostly I just wore what I've been wearing for the last four-ten years. I don't buy new clothes very often.

35. what kept you sane?

Looking forward to moving, going to grad school, my friends, and Kent.

36. which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?

Definitly Colin Firth.

37. what political issue stirred you the most?

Hurricane Katrina and the poor doggies that were left in the storm.

38. who did you miss?

My parents in Mexico and Kara in Australia.

39. who was the best new person you met?

i think my best new people are the new associates that worked in the same classroom with me, Jessica Gordon and Brian Rath.

40. tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2005:

There is no such thing as constructive criticism. To construct is to build up and to cricize is to break down and pick apart.

41. quote a song lyric that sums up your year:

The lyrics to "I'm telling you now" by Keb Mo'