so many things, so much time . . .

so i got the notion to check out my blog this morning and realized

*i haven't actually posted anything on here since august.*

matter of fact, i'm not even entirely sure i have a "blog audience" anymore. oh well . . . i feel like writing this morning, so i will write and if someone reads it, i guess it's a bonus (for them, of course).

so much has happened since last august. let's see . . . i left and went TDY to california for a few months; added a new nephew (thanks to brett and cindy) and a niece to the mix (thanks to scott and val); got a new truck (okay, it was used but it's new to me) and oh yeah -- i got married. that is true and correct, my good people. the "anti-married" is now "the married." i'll share my wedding story here, even though i am sure if you are reading this, you already know the circumstances surrounding it.

i met this guy i kinda liked. that slowly turned to love and i decided that i liked him enough to introduce him the parents. they met him and fell more in love with him than i did (just ask my mom . . . i don't believe she has ever said "no" to any of his requests). they bugged us about marrying, but timing wasn't right for me. i was in no rush and neither was he. we just were. and then i went TDY to fort irwin (for those of you who don't know, that's in california, near LA/san diego, etc.). and one day, i got the notion that he and i should run off to vegas and elope. a little for love, a little for the tax break. mainly for the announcing it on facebook (i kid, i kid).

*so i asked, and he said yes.*

he flew out to visit and i took 5 days vacay and we headed out to that great city of sin in the desert, otherwise known as las vegas. we checked into the trump hotel and they upgraded us to a suite since it was to be our honeymoon. we headed out onto the strip and quickly realized, to our dismay and horror:

*we aren't vegas people*

he dislikes crowds, i'm not much for walking miles and miles in flip flops. we both don't gamble (we're the type that want something to show for the $200 we just threw away), nor are we huge drinkers (an occasional beer once in awhile, but not nearly enough to justify a trip to vegas). so honestly, we mostly stayed in the room and hung out. boring, i know.



anyhow, we had arrived on a tuesday. on thursday morning, we woke up and decided

*this is the day*

we got dressed -- i was down for jeans and a tee but the beau made me dress up a little -- and headed down to get our marriage license.



i had previously applied for one online, so the wait was literally 2 minutes. we got our license and the lady at the window told us we had to call the courthouse and schedule an appointment to be married. i called: the wait was 2 1/2 hours. so we scheduled and decided to kill time by driving down the strip.

we passed some landmarks -- gold & silver pawn (featured on history channel's "pawn stars"), some major casinos . . . and the little white wedding chapel. we decided to pull in to see the charge. we pulled up to the window and spoke with a lady in bad make-up with huge, southern hair. we negotiated fees and whatnot, passed over our information and decided to get married at a drive-thru window.

*IT.WAS.AWESOME*

lanette or ladean -- or whatever that lady's name was -- took our money, handed us a "tip envelope" for the reverend and told us to wait and a reverend would be there shortly to marry us. sure enough, pastor max zuniga came to the window just like a mcdonald's clerk would do, and began the wedding procedure. i could see lanette or ladean -- or whatever that lady's name was -- standing in the back with another lady to act our witnesses. pastor max said his piece and we exchanged rings, kissed, handed him his tip and were on our "marry" way.



*the whole thing took less than 30 minutes*

and we were married. pastor max pronounced us "mr. and mrs. gilbert," but i am keeping my own last name. it's not for any reason other than there would be so much paperwork involved to change it and the beau is perfectly okay with me keeping my name. i like my name, he likes his. no need in going through all the muss and fuss; it's already official.

*oh wait -- this isn't even the best part*

the best part is, we announced our wedding on facebook. prior to this, only two people knew. one being my sister, heather, because the beau felt it was important to ask someone for my hand in marriage before actually marrying me. since we wanted to keep it a secret from my parents, he texted her (yes, you have to love technology) and asked. i think she replied with something like, "you better marry her!" and of course, the roommate, cuz i had to get an opinion on my ring, and well, we kinda felt like she should know in advance she does live with us. but otherwise, no one knew.

i think i just posted a pic of our hands with rings and wrote, "look, ma! we got married!"



the parents were in el paso visiting another sister. my brother-in-law called my sister (who was out with my parents) and said, "did holly really get married?" my sister asked my mom, and they said something like, "what are you talking about?" and he told her that we posted it on facebook. the rest is history and

*that, my friends, is how we announced our marriage to the world.*

i mean, seriously . . . i don't know that anyone has a cooler wedding story than that! vegas, eloped in a drive-thru chapel, announced on facebook. it *is* pretty awesome, you have to admit. i feel like the winner in the deal . . . i got a great guy and a pretty nice tax break.

*win/win if you ask me!*