My Own Personal Olympian...

Most of you, especially those of you who have known Tom since high school, have seen the dramatic difference in his physical stature over the past five years. It's really been the last two years, however, that have made a dramatic impact onto his physique. Ever since the accident with his ankle in Feb. '07, Tom has been forced to rely on his upper body. This has brought about major changes in the way he competes, trains and practices. As such, he's been garnering much more attention from coaches and trainers.

As a component to his training program, Tom has launched a blog where he interacts with other throwers, weight lifters, and fitness enthusiasts. In a recent post, Tom reveals his career aspirations. And let me tell you, they're pretty amazing. In addition to finding a personal coach and trainer, Tom plans on competing in the professional circuit from 2011-2016. Below is an excerpt from his blog:

"Ultimately in a perfect world ( we all know how that never happens) I would like to end my career representing the USA at the 2016 games in front of my hometown of Chicago."

So there you have it, folks. The normally quiet, modest Tom has revealed his ultimate goals. And I could not be more proud. :-)

If you have some time, head on over to his blogs. Weight lifting exercises and run-on sentences aside, he occasionally posts some pretty sweet and profound thoughts about us and the wedding...

Frivolous, But Factual

So you might have remembered me posting about these in many of my Gocco posts, but alas, I love them, so I'm talking about them again.



Well, okay, I didn't actually talk about these, I just posted the picture.

This clever, clever bride took the time to Gocco 1,000+ napkins, each containing one of five random facts about the couple.

How much fun is that?!? (Crazy ton of work, but FUN!). And considering we're doing the hors d'oeurves-y type of reception, I'm guessing cocktail napkins would be abounding anyway.

So, without further ado, I thought I'd throw some more random facts about Tom and I out there in case I plan to Gocco my life away in the future:

1. So obviously marching band was a huge part of how we ended up dating. (Well, that and a football injury, but I digress.) Normally, Tom played the trombone. When we started dating, however, Tom had a strong command of the finger cymbals, which he aptly renamed "The Man Cymbals."
2. The first time I met Tom's mom was at about 11 pm at night on a Saturday, when she was forced to come and pick us up in her bathrobe and slippers. Tom had broken his key in half and we couldn't get in his car. At this time, I was suffering from "exhaustion," but was being tested for mono, among other things. She later sent me a piece of apple pie to help me feel better. :)
3. When Tom had asked me out for our first date, he was on his way to football practice and didn't have time to write my phone number down. Instead, I wrote it on his arm. He proceeded to sweat most of it off during practice, and almost lost it.
4. Tom and I have both changed our career paths. I once planned on being a high school English teacher, and Tom originally was majoring in History.
5. Not only has Tom picked out the names of his future children (Olivia, Aiden, Declan & Natalie --- okay, Natalie's mine, but I get some say, right??), he's also picked out the names of his future pets. The names for the dogs include Nelson, Godina, Romulus, Copernicus, Sienna, Kingsley, and a big ol' Mastiff named Periwinkle.
6. While we're looking at a Mediterranean cruise as our honeymoon, our dream vacation would be a trip to Australia.
7. Tom has already claimed the basement in our future house as his "Man Cave." Not only is it named, he already has wall paint (Notre Dame green), furniture (a tan/beige sectional big enough to seat 15), and decor (framed Buccaneers jerseys & memorabilia) picked out. Consider this an open invitation to our house for the 2011 Superbowl.
8. In the span of about 2 years, I've had four or five different wedding plans. First was the fall affair at the Chicago Botanical Gardens. That was traded for the fall affair in Door County, complete with party bus transportation. Next came the tapas reception at one of our favorite restaurants, Meson Sabika. Then came the Catholic Church ceremony/tented Lake Katherine reception. Now we're working on the Danada House affair...

Can you guys think of anything random/fun about us?? Please post in the comments section... :-)

Random Fun Facts

So the splitting headache I had yesterday has turned into a full-blown sinus infection (awesome.), which really makes even looking for wedding pictures not really fun. In light of this, and the fact that our five year anniversary is Sunday, I figured I'd post some fun, random facts about us.

• On our first "date," Tom's car broke down and we sat in the parking lot for over 2 hours talking.
• We didn't technically begin "dating" until 3 days later (which we celebrate as our anniversary).
• I memorized Tom's phone number the first time he called just by looking at the caller ID. Weird.
• We never really had "the talk" about continuing to date long distance. It was just understood.
• Our proposal was originally supposed to take place outside, and Tom had even recruited a friend of mine to hide out and take pictures. I, however, not knowing it, complained because I didn't want to go outside and take a walk. At that point, Tom was so frustrated, he completely gave up on trying to coerce me outside. Haha.
• One of Tom's goals is to travel to all 32 NFL stadiums for a football game. So far, we've made it to 1. :)
• Wherever we travel, we always get a local bottle of wine. I picked up a bottle in Heidelberg, Germany and had the label personalized with our names. I also bought a bottle of meade in Ireland. Together, we've picked up 2 bottles, one in Tampa and the other in Michigan.
• Tom collects nutcrackers. Tom was obsessed with them in high school (probably because they have weapons), and I just began picking them up for him. He has 3 that I bought in Germany (imagine going through security & customs with those!), a short, fat 6 inch guy, a few regular looking ones, 1 I bought from Dutch Village in Holland, MI, and one Buccaneers football player.

Anything else you want to know about us?