I woke up today to the gorgeous sun shining through the clouds – a great site after seeing reports for 100% chance of rain today! It is beautiful outside and the weather should be perfect for our outdoor ceremony.

Last night Carrie and I really enjoyed hanging out with family and friends at our house after the rehearsal. It’s hard to believe that the wedding date is here – it seems like only yesterday that I proposed!!!

Carrie and I are definitely ready to take this next step in our lives! I know that we are both really looking forward to the honeymoon as well – should be a very relaxing time!!

She really is an amazing woman and completely is my best friend! I am so happy she said YES!!

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Carrie and I just returned Sunday from a weekend in Birmingham, Alabama. Carrie was there teaching at a scrapbooking event – isn’t that what all brides do one week before their wedding?!?

When Carrie wasn’t teaching we had a good time just hanging out together, crusing the Galleria mall that was attached to the hotel, and enjoying a late birthday dinner for Carrie at Shula’s Steak House! Definitely something we wouldn’t have taken time out to do if we stayed home for the weekend. However, since we were out of town there wasn’t much that we could busy ourselves with!

We met some really cool people over the weekend – some new to both of us, and some Carrie’s online friends, but first time for her to meet in person. A group of us went out to dinner late Saturday night – me and seven scrapbooking women! Isn’t that what all grooms do one week before their wedding?!?

The experience was a little different – it was fun watching Carrie teach, although I swear there were flashes going off right and left!! With 350 or so scrapbookers there were cameras everywhere! Of course, I dutifully took my share of photos as well (thanks to Raven for already having some of her photos posted!) Many of the girls wanted their photos with Carrie, of course – and wanted her autograph!! Wow – she’s famous! Don’t let it go to your head, babe.

Also, with no kids and only one dog, let’s just say that I am the subject of many of Carrie’s layouts! So, as I sat observing her class Saturday, I was up on the projector – larger than life – on just about every other slide! That, and everyone already knowing my name, that I referee, that we are getting married in a few days, etc. was a little funny. The funniest thing though has to be the question I was asked on the shuttle ride to the airport by one of the attendees: “So, did y’all meet because of scrapbooking?”

Uh… no.

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I’ve enjoyed a good week of poker. I placed 6th in my first ever live Vegas poker tournament — just in the money!

Then, Brendan and I sat down at a $1/$2 game for a few hours and made a few bucks before catching our flight home… I would have made more if I hadn’t have called drunk-boy with my pocket 8s when he had Aces, but that is how it goes sometimes.

Tonight I played in the FT 9pm $8K guarantee and also in a satellite. Made the final table on both!

I was chip leader for quite a bit of the tournament. When I got to the final table I was 2nd in chips, but couldn’t run AK through A10. Then, a few hands later I moved in with pocket 8s and ran into kings. Can’t really do much about that!

In the satellite I did much better…

So, I have a free entry into the $200 + $16 tournament on Sunday… So, all-in-all, I profited almost $500 tonight — not bad!

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Well, things have been busy around here!

Of course, Carrie and I have been nailing down the last few details of our wedding… One of which we just decided on last night – my tux! The first one we picked out didn’t look so great “on”, so we tried another one and, after I tried it on last night at a “groom’s fitting”, we decided to go with it. It’s this one:

Once again, the “tux model” is incredibly goofy… Just try to ignore his goofy-ass smile and focus on the tux… That is the tie and vest that we went with for everyone as well.

I’m headed out tomorrow for the week! First to Dallas for a meeting with C-USA, then out to California for an all-day session with the Pac-10 on Tuesday — both of these are more orientation / get-started meetings so that we can have a chance to meet all of the coordinators, etc. Then we (Jimmie and I) head over to Denver for a Wednesday morning meeting with the WAC to try to get some new business from them.

After that I am headed to Vegas — Woohoo!! — for a little refereeing and poker! There is a huge basketball tournament out there Thursday through Sunday of the week, so me and several friends are going out there to referee and do a little bachelor partying! Fun, fun!!

Finally, today is the one year anniversary of arguably one of the smartest moments of my life — the night I asked Carrie to marry me!! Wow – that year went fast!!

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