narcos and flexerols and aleves, oh my

i've never been much of a pill taker myself. i was actually well into high school before i managed to swallow one...i had previously gotten by on chewable children's tylenol and that delicious pink stuff i always requested from the pediatrician. i may take an ibuprofen from time to time, but i'd say i only average about four per year. donald finds this moderately ridiculous and always encourages me to take at least two if i'm having a headache or something, but i'm pretty firm on my one pill at a time rule. so when i woke up on a friday morning writhing in pain and asked for 'as many pills as i can take'...he knew there was a problem.

it was exactly one month ago, the day after the first of our two back to back snowstorms, and the day before our kansas city open house. we'd spend a little time shoveling show on thursday and apparently my back was not pleased. the pain was significant, but seeing as how i don't have a doctor, i figured i'd just wait it out. sore muscles typically last only a day or two and i figured it could only get better, not worse. i was wrong. after enduring three days of constant pain, and hobbling through our open house, i gave in. first thing monday morning we went to urgent care and i finally found a bit of relief in the form of narcotics and muscle relaxers. assured that time would heal [a week, two at the most] i gratefully took my pills and headed home. long story short, that didn't happen. another doctor, a round of x-rays, lots of drugs, a massage and three chiropractic visits later...i think it's finally improving. in fact, just yesterday i had a day where my pain, on a scale of zero to ten, was a one. a ONE!  glory hallelujah!!! i'm really hoping it will all be over soon, because i think dear donald is getting tired of my furrowed brow.

it hasn't been all bad. donald and i have played a lot of ticket to ride...and i am proud to say that despite my handicap, i am currently at the top of the leader board. my mom came to visit and helped kick start the 'clean out the basement' campaign [and if you, or someone you know, has ever lived in this house you will understand that this is a monumental task], and of course, dag has been very supportive.

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the fun facts

as part of the wedding decor we had donald & shelly fun facts scattered around the lodge. not only did they provide some (hopefully) interesting tidbits about the two of us, they also aided those guests who were anxious to complete their very own donald loves shelly crossword puzzle, which came complete with a matching pen.  

and just in case you missed them, here are all twenty four...

#1 : donald proposed to shelly on the front steps of the nelson-atkins art museum in kansas city.

#2 : shelly’s all time favorite tv show is the cosby show. she just loves those huxtables.

#3 : donald has a large, loveable australian lab named dag. yes, shelly is going to live with a dog.

#4 : donald and shelly are going to live in raytown, affectionately known as raytona beach, where donald owns the house he grew up in.

#5 : shelly occasionally writes a blog titled ‘the many adventures’. visit it at www.themanyadventures.blogspot.com.

#6 : donald loves the dew. mountain dew is his beverage of choice, code red if you get specific.

#7 : donald and shelly will be honeymooning in warm and sunny palm springs, california.

#8 : shelly has a lot of school spirit and still loves to cheer on her francis howell vikings.

#9 : while at sbu, donald was known as ‘the movie guy’ due to his impressive collection of over 1300 vhs movies.

#10 : donald and shelly met in college at southwest baptist university. bearcats, bearcats, go, fight, win!

#11 : shelly firmly believes that the haygoods have the best show in branson. she is a big fan.

#12 : donald has many fond memories of his years as a warrior at blue ridge christian school.

#13 : no in state rivalry here, donald and shelly are both big fans of the stl cardinals.

#14 : shelly plays the accordion exactly one day a year. it is her instrument of choice during the annual sing-a-long on christmas night.

#15 : along with playing on noteworthy intramural teams in college, donald also had a job as the student intramural director.

#16 : for her last birthday, donald hid thirty three pennies for shelly to find. one from each year she’s been alive.

#17 : shelly’s favorite food is corn.  popped, frozen, canned, cobbed. it doesn’t matter.  she loves it.

#18 : donald graduated from sbu with a degree in psychology. shelly’s degree is in art.

#19 : after getting engaged, donald and shelly dined on the plaza at buca di beppo.

#20 : they have e-mail. shelly: knowandrely@yahoo.com  donald: sbubigsmooth@hotmail.com

#21 : shelly danced in high school. she won the ‘most spirited pommer’ award both years she was a golden girl.

#22 : donald’s high school sport of choice was basketball, where he earned the first and only 'mr. dependable’ award.

#23 : donald is an accomplished fantasy football owner and regularly dominates in a number of leagues.

#24 : last summer donald and shelly camped out in a chick-fil-a parking lot for twenty four hours to be two of the first 100 customers and get free chicken for a year!

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the d[r]yers

some days i have to stop and remind myself that our wedding already happened. as much as i tried to take time that weekend to look around and soak everything in, i couldn't stop time from racing by. we thoroughly enjoyed the time we spent with family and friends, but just one short month later i can already feel the memories fading.

before we left on our honeymoon donald and i jotted down a few memories we didn't want to forget in the hustle and bustle of newlywed life. here are some of our favorite wedding moments...

• donald running up to hug me in the reception room as soon as he arrived at the lodge on thursday
• watching my bridesmaids open their gifts at the rehearsal dinner and hearing their laughs and excitement

• gathering in our room with all the girls as they went around and said what they loved and/or appreciated about me before they prayed for me
• playing a big, hilarious group game of catch phrase/charades in the lobby with so many of our favorite friends
• watching my friends have fun together and become friends themselves
• getting to greet our guests as they arrived and the laid back feeling of the day
• seeing my whole life gathered in one room as i walked down the aisle
• mark praying about donald 'loving his body' and how he didn't know why we didn't get married ten years ago

• danny and david's 'awesome family' high five
• being introduced into the reception as "mr. and mrs. dryer"
• wedding toasts that were personal, heartwarming and hilarious
• dancing...just all of it, from the first to the last
• seeing so many friends at brunch on sunday and getting to spend just a bit more time with the people we love
• riding the ferry back home and spending the day with matt and tara

our wedding was wonderful. it wasn't free from imperfections, but nothing is. in the end, donald and i got married. we gathered the people we love. we threw a pretty awesome party. and we were certainly filled with joy.

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