Blissful Days and Change

Life is good. We are moving to our new home this month, a lovely 3 bedroom, 3 bath condo in a wonderful neighborhood. I am being transferred to another department at work as an effect of the recent layoffs, where I will learn to manage new databases and applications. Oh, and I got married. Lots of change and all at the same time. Cousin Dorothy marvelled at dinner last night, "You're going through three big life events (marriage, first home, new career) all within the same month."

Yes, and life is good. God is good.

(Photo by Ashley Horne)



(photo by Ashley Horne)

Just call me...

MINGUILAR!!

Countdown: 38 days

This week, I'm holding it all together. I'm not sure if it's the sickness that's hit me over the head that has made me realize (again) that the wedding will not be perfect and that I can't control everything, so I should just relax and go with the flow. That, and/or the fact that we've gotten lots of things crossed of the list, so I can relax just a bit. Here's what's left of last time's list:

DONE * details appointment
DONE * engagement photo shoot (they came out awesome!)
* finish Snoopy's tux
DONE* buy rhinestone pins for bouquets
* wash scoops and tongs, tie ribbons
* IKEA for tea lights and candleholders
DONE * order gift cards for bridesmaids
* NASCAR cars (Target)
DONE * baptismal certificate
DONE * marriage license (that's a whole 'nother dramatic story)
CROSS OFF * embroider hankies for bridesmaid bouquets
* order candy and arrange for pickup
* fill restrooms baskets (trip to Walmart)
* kids' packs (Walmart, Michaels, OTC...)
* buy flower girl's dress and Bella's dress
* find picture of me and mom, rick and his family
* scan/color copies of photos for photo montage. make photo montage!
DONE * order personalized informals, buy generic Thank You cards for use until then
PSEUDO DONE * reserve rooms for attendants
* not to mention all the paper details: programs, escort cards, menu cards, signs, instructions, etc.

And to add to the list:
* finalize music for ceremony (gotta call Patrick! GUH!)
* confirm and finalize reception centerpieces and payment (gotta call Sheri! GUH!)
* order more cardstock for the programs
* consultation with the DJ
* buy letter charms for the bouquets
* buy veil

Today I'm going in for my trial hair and makeup. Was supposed to do it last Tuesday but I was sick as a dog and wasn't feeling the least bit sexy or pretty. So now that I'm on antibiotics and can kind of function now that the bugs are being killed off along with everything else in my body, I can continue on the daily track of getting things done. Or just thought about. Heee.

This morning Ricklet and I were discussing certain wedding things, and he kept saying, "Stop worrying about that." I said, "I'm not worrying, I'm just talking about it. Because it needs to be decided upon and then carried out. Someone's gotta think about it, make the decision and then follow through so that it does get done. Who's worrying? Not me." But of course, the Ricklet says, "but when you go into so much extremes and details you sound like you're stressing about it." It's been so long that I've been planning the wedding (planning, by the way, means thinking and weighing options and deciding, not just the actual physical courses of action) that I don't even know what it means to BE stressed. Every day is like this, I sleep and breathe thoughts about silk flowers and paper and when to start making things, think about reminding myself to buy this or that, or call so-and-so by this date... all these very minor little things add up so it's one big great stressball.

Just you wait, I'll one day soon blow up and cry about a misplaced scoop for the candy buffet. Just you wait and see.

Hello, March!

I recently received an RSVP to the wedding whose subject line was: "RSVP to 54 days and counting!"

It pretty much freaked me out. There is still so much to do and although I'm ahead in some tasks, I feel behind in others. I mean, I haven't even spoken with the DJ yet! And I still don't know how much left I owe on our flowers! All these phone calls... really, that's what's been keeping me up at night.

It's difficult finding time to do anything anymore. At work, I can't concentrate on work. I keep thinking about what's up ahead for the weekend, what else I need to buy, what I need to finish crafting, etc. And although I have lists, I have many of them in different spots with unsynchronized information on them. Rick just reminded me that we still have to buy NASCARs for the cake! It had totally slipped my mind! And then tealights and candleholders from IKEA! I forgot about that too!

So now it's already March, and I finally bit the bullet and contacted a makeup artist for a trial run. I don't know what keeps me from doing these things in a timely manner... inability to commit??? I think so.

We ended up deciding to do fake flowers after all. (I know, I know, *GASP*). I spent so much $ on floral stems at Michaels to make the pomander ball, but I had so much fun doing it. I thought it looked beautiful and real. Then as I did a bit more research into making our personal flowers, I discovered a website that got a lot of good reviews for their fake stems. And they had green cymbidium orchids too!! So I ordered a sample, and liked most of what I got. They looked so much better than the ones I got at Michaels, so now I can tell the pomander ball looks really artificial. Oh well. So I put in the whole order for all of our bouquets, boutonnieres and corsages. It probably came out to about $200 for everything, but I'm returning some stuff and buying some extra stems. I don't know what the heck I'm doing as I'm crafting these bouquets and stuff, but I think they're coming out pretty good!! Here's what I've done so far:

Bridesmaid bouquets: green confetti rose, green cymbidium orchid, onion grass, and rose leaves.


Groomsmen bouts: mini green cymbidium orchid, rosemary, and onion grass.


Grandmother corsages: open antique rose and pink beauty bud, onion grass and rose leaves.


I started the matron of honor bouquet that is similar to the bridesmaids' bouquets but includes calla lilies, the mini green cymbidium orchids, and white open roses that will be used in my bouquet as well.

Things to do to add to the List(s):
* finish Snoopy's tux
* buy rhinestone pins for bouquets
* wash scoops and tongs, tie ribbons
* IKEA for tea lights and candleholders
* order gift cards for bridesmaids
* NASCAR cars (Target)
* baptismal certificate (gotta go downtown)
* marriage license
* embroider hankies for bridesmaid bouquets
* order candy and arrange for pickup
* fill restrooms baskets (trip to Walmart)
* kids' packs (Walmart, Michaels, OTC...)
* buy flower girl's dress and Bella's dress
* find picture of me and mom, rick and his family
* scan/color copies of photos for photo montage. make photo montage!
* order personalized informals, buy generic Thank You cards for use until then
* reserve rooms for attendants
* not to mention all the paper details: programs, escort cards, menu cards, signs, instructions, etc.

March 10: Trial makeup/hair appt

March 13: Details appointment at reception site!

March 28: Bella's bday party!

April 4: Bachelor/Bachelorette parties

So... lots to do.. this weekend we'll be visiting my paternal grandmother and giving her the invitation in person. I just hope no one's beat us to the punch since all the invitations went out.. and she thinks we're not inviting her or something. Well. Just two more days... then we can get that taken care of.

And then start the workweek all over again.... when wedding plans have to be put on hold all day..

Congratulations (!) and Another List

First off, I'd like to say a big fat CON-FREAKING-GRATULATIONS to Annetterpee and Brian (aka Briannette) because they're engaged! A romantic proposal on Friday the 13th. What could be cuter?! At least it didn't end in any chainsaw massacres from any rejection. ;)

Now it's time for another checklist. Well, I suppose I should sum up how the past few weeks have been. From where I last left off:

Jan 24: We met with Andrea, the church wedding coordinator. She went over a list of rules and regulations, then said she'd be sending us the 6 page list via email. I'm still waiting.. and wondering if she's either forgotten to send it or it's just too soon to do so. I'm not sure. Two things I do remember from that meeting is that pre-recorded music is not allowed, and I have to wear a jacket or sew in straps on my strapless dress. I'm a bit confused by this because I've seen pictures of brides at the altar (of the same church) in their strapless dresses. I wonder if this rule is enforced.. and if not, should I even pay heed to it... and would I feel guilty for purposefully ignoring a rule?

Jan 25: Rick's surprise party. It was a hit! There were some minor confusions, anxious waiting... but when he walked through that door and we all shouted SURPRISE! it was all worth it. Thanks to Raul and Kathleen for opening up their home for us. Now we have all these cowboy and rockstar decorations we don't know what to do with. ;) We also have tons of Oreos left over from the favors. And I still have to find a frame for the signage board where people wished us happy birthdays.

Jan 30: Rick's birthday. I treated us to a couple's massage at Pho Siam, his first time. It was amazing and relaxing. Then we had a fatty dinner at The Boat, which has now reopened after a few years of being out of commission from being moved down the street.

Feb 7: The boys went in for their tux fittings. Rick went to pick up his junior groomsman, and the appointment was for 1pm. Guess what time he left? 9:45am. My man likes to be punctual. Early punctual. ;) Later in the afternoon I get a picture text of the jacket they all chose together. I freaked. They chose a shawl-style 1-button jacket. It reminded me of an awful 80s movie, and I told Rick as such. I didn't mean to be a hater, which totally caught me off guard, but I really just didn't like it. I couldn't see Rick wearing it on our wedding day. Of course, being the cool guy that he is, said we could go back and change the jacket just for him. I felt a bit guilty about this, since he doesn't get a say in what I'm wearing, why should I get a say in what he's wearing?

Feb 13: Cake appt at Rossmoor Pastries. It rained hard all day, but we went out for lunch, then headed over to Friar Tux so I could take a look at the jacket in person and decide together if we liked it. Ricklet put it on, I gave it 5 seconds to sink in... and said, OMG no. Please take it off. It's strange how a jacket can make a person want to vomit. This jacket just really rubbed me the wrong way, and I still can't say how other than I just. Didn't. Like. It. So we ended up choosing a traditional tux with notch lapel, 2 buttons, and no flaps on the pockets. When I told the salesman these details "we" were looking for, he smirked in a way that only a man who's dealt with detailed women before smirk. It wasn't a mean smirk, but a humored "this girl is one of THOSE kinds who knows what she wants" smirks. I wasn't offended, rather proud that I had the power to illicit such a knowing smile from a salesman. And from that point on, he told us detailed information about the different kinds of jackets that (some) guys just don't think to ask about.

We got to our cake appointment a bit early, but headed in. When we walked in, it looked like a regular bakery, with the giant glass-encased refrigerators, filled with sweet treats, and especially red and pink ones for Valentine's Day. The Wedding Cake Studio was off to the left, and we walked through the archway and saw lots of activity at desks where couples were having their consultations. It was nice to see that the place wasn't deserted. That means this place is good. We got seated right away and Maribel came to help us. She started filling out a form with all of our information, and pulled out a binder for us to look through of the different designs. It didn't take us too long to decide. We knew we wanted something simple without the "curtain" look in the frosting. Then we got to choose 4 different flavors in their lineup to taste. Rick chose them, and when Maribel brought the samples out, we dug in quietly but quickly. Mmmmm. We ended up going with something called the California Sunset, a lemon buttercream with raspberry filling. So tart and sweet compared the other flavors we'd requested to sample. When I spoke up about my Transformers toys that I wanted on the cake, Maribel just stared at me. I could see she was hootin' and hollerin' in the back of her head. But on the outside, she said, "ohhh... kayyyyy...." ;) Hey, it's OUR cake and I want toys on it! ;)

We were still too full for dinner, even though I'd planned on trying out a place called the Crab Pot. So we headed back in Friday rush hour traffic in the rain. Fun stuff. We made our way downtown and then headed through Chinatown, where we stopped to stretch our legs and buy those scoops and tongs for our candy buffet. We'd seen them before in the store but it seemed to early to buy them at the time, especially thinking about storing them somewhere with the other incoming wedding things. But now it was time.

Feb 14: Valentine's Day. I had planned to stay in and work on wedding stuff when my sister called me the night before and asked if I could go over to help babysit the Bihon girl so she and her hubby could go out for a Vday sushi lunch. I suggested even a massage too, and I wouldn't mind playing with the baby. :) Who would? She's such a good girl. I also needed to take a look at the shower favors and see what I'd need to do with them. And I need to pick up Jen's dress at the Alfred Angelo. To sum up, it was a pretty long day. I got home around 6:00pm and I don't even remember what Rick and I did. In-home dinner and movie? Most likely. :)

Feb. 15: Pajama Day. Since I was out all yesterday, I decided to stay home and really do crafting. I worked on the favors literally all day, stopping only to have a quick TV dinner lunch. Rick went to play golf and watch the Nascar race at his parents' house and didn't get home until after 6pm, and I was still on the floor doing stuff. Oh wait, no, by the time he got home, I was quickly but carefully putting labels on the candy buffet bags. And I was still in my pajamas from the morning. Rick was so not turned on. ;)

Coming up:
Feb. 21: Wedding shower. It's going to be about 70 people with a Hawaiian BBQ theme. We're having a whole lechon (roast pig), Margarita man, and the colors are aqua and brown. We're also going to try to go to Montana's afterward and kick up the dance floor, if we're not too tired. Also going to hand out invitations so we can save $30 on stamps. :)

Feb 22: Take gifts to condo. (shh)

Feb. 23: Final fitting at Alfred Angelo at 3pm. Which reminds me I should ask my sister and Carina if they want to come meet me there.

March 7-8: Mom wants to go to SD. No reason, she probably just wants to have a last trip with me before I'm a "woman" and she can give me a bit of a lecture (she calls it guidance) before the big day. She's changed this date a few times already so I haven't booked anything just yet. It might just change again.

March 14: Details appt, Reception Site, 6:00pm

March 28: Bella's Bday party
March 29: Bella's FIRST birthday!!!

April 4: Bachelor/bachelorette parties

April 11: Passover Seder, 4:30pm

April 15: Final Appointment, Reception Site, 7:00pm

April 23: Church Rehearsal and rehearsal dinner, 5pm

April 25: OMG!

There will probably be more things to do... but for now, that's all that's on my calendar. And it's good enough.

Things I still need to do:
* Make personal flowers (we're going the fake route no matter what y'all say or think)
* Get marriage license
* Assemble kids' favors
* Get started crafting menu cards, escort cards, signs, and programs
* Buy flower girl's dress
* Contact DJ
* Order candy for candy buffet

This was a long post. Now I gotta get to work!

Freakouts and The Best, revisited

So. We met with our reception site florist in Murrieta to select our flowers for the reception that were supposed to be part of the package. Unfortunately, the centerpieces that come with the package are only covered up to a $25 value. Huh. Do you know what you get for $25? A square tub with a handful of roses. For a table that seats ten. That wouldn't do at all. In addition, the owner of the store was out sick, but didn't call to reschedule the appointment so we dealt with one of their designers instead. He was nice, but didn't know how much things cost and didn't really help us with alternate flower types when we realized we couldn't afford what I wanted. What did I want?

Green cymbidium orchids
Green hydrangeas
Green and white peonies
Green Ranunculus
Green lisianthus
Purple calla lillies
Seeded eucalyptus
Hypericum berries

and apparently, in a pave style.

But what did I get for $79 per arrangement?
Bells of Ireland
two types of roses
Green spiders
Green button poms
White stock
Fuschia stock
Hanging amaranthus
Leatherleaf

in an airy style so more greenery will be used.

Hmm. Seems like a bunch of filler greens, don't it? Oh well.. it's not like we're going to be bringing them home and taking them to bed with us. Expensive taste with a small pocketbook. That's me.

So in my quest for what kind of flowers/arrangement we liked so we could show the florist, I conveniently kept my eye out for I wanted for our personal flowers. We can't have fillers for that. So I wondered what my cheaper alternatives would be, since a bridal bouquet with white roses, green cymbidium orchids, and "other green/white flowers" would come out to $230 (!). I refused to give up the orchids. I was hell bent on paying up to $20 per green cymbidium boutonniere for the groomsmen. I wanted The Best, as discussed in this previous post. Good Enough just wasn't going to make the cut this time. The boring all-roses bouquet that the rest of the world's brides want for its simplicity and classic elegance just wasn't unique enough for me (despite that I love roses and would have wanted an all-roses bouquet if you asked me a month ago, particularly because it was classic and elegant). My head swirled of tart green cymbidium orchids, expressive white phalaenopsis orchids, lush and romantic peonies and ranunculus, and hydrangeas as fillers. HYDRANGEAS AS FILLERS! (yes, I have a budget of $10,000 for flowers, sure.)

Rick, on the other hand, when presented with a minimum quote of $500 for our personal flowers (with mostly white roses when I wanted green cymbidiums), said:

"We can just get fake flowers. At least for the guys. I mean, we're just going to take off our jackets anyways. And they won't care if it's real or fake."

Then when I told him that our reception site coordinator no longer works there and there's a new hire who responded to my email, he went ballistic.

"OH SH*T!!! WHY?!!!?!?!?!?!!!!"

"I dunno. Maybe she got a better job or something. Why are you freaking out?"

"Because it's just our luck. Now this new girl's going to F everything up."

"?? What do you mean? We have everything written in the contract. Everything."

"Yeah, but she doesn't know that. She's going to get everything wrong since she's new and hasn't worked with us and has to learn all the rules over there."

"Ohhhkkayyyy.... well.. we still have two more meetings with them over there when we'll discuss details. They do weddings all the time and have a manual. And it's not like we're getting married this weekend and she's still learning. She'll be settled in when it's our turn, I'm sure. And maybe she came from another Wedgewood company, there are like 8 locations around here. Oh, and I'm sending out the second payment tomorrow."

"See?!!! And she doesn't even know how much we owe and when we owe it!!! OMG!!"

...

For a while there, I almost laughed out loud. In his freakout, I saw myself and the irrational, totally inconsolable behavior of which I have also been guilty. And then when he said:

"The reception is more important than the ceremony. It's where we're going to spend the rest of the evening with everyone!"

I thought, this is it. We need to re-prioritize. We need to take out our Engaged Encounter booklets and re-read WHY we are getting married in the first place. We need to look each other in the eyes and remember that we are supposed to become the Sacrament of Marriage and demonstrate qualities of a healthy and supportive couple. Making drama about a new coordinator and feeling like a hapless, pathetic little child who doesn't get the flowers she wants hardly demonstrates good, rational character.

So tonight, we will talk. And from this day forward, I will not get drawn into the hoopla about the wedding or demand that we spend more than we should. I will listen to the underlying message when he freaks out and says, "Let's just use fake flowers" and not call him cheap and other impolite names, but compromise on a practical and cost-effective solution. After all, isn't event planning for 170 people so far the ultimate test of our relationship and our communication?

Confessions of a Moocher

Another month goes by, and finally another post. I've been sick for about 4 weeks with this super stubborn cough and I'm getting really tired of it. And being tired and frustrated just makes me have a little less patience and a shorter fuse than usual with all other aspects of life. Not good. So I WILL get better. When? Soon. I hope.

This past weekend as I was doing some more wedding research, it came to my attention that I'm a moocher. I take advantage of everyone else's info, blog postings, forum Q & A's, and pictures of weddings. All of which help me with my own plans. And I don't give back to the online community with my own info, helpful advice, things I've come across in the process, lessons learned in certain shops, DIY things and how to do them, etc etc etc. How inconsiderate of me. So one of my New Year's resolution is to be more vigilant in posting, and posting useful and pertinent info, not just ramblings of my active mind. Part of me is hesitant because of online privacy issues; I found other people's blogs only because they posted names and venues that I searched for. But perhaps I will be more open to posting and posting pictures once we've gotten married and the day is over and I won't have to worry about any hiccups that are the result of any internet stalkers or misbehavings. After all, the internet IS an archive.

So. I finally got Rick to sit down with me, synchronize our calendars, and we called (mostly he called and I sweated anxiously) our vendors, including: the church coordinator, the florist (for reception flowers), the bakery, and Friar Tux. It was such a relief to get those calls out, leave messages or make appts. *whew* I'm NOT that far behind! And perhaps even a bit too soon for some vendors. I mean, sure, 3 months is usually a good "first consultation" time, but I suppose there isn't a rush because these people will be doing quite a few handfuls of weddings before ours.

I suppose what I can share is what I did this past week. I drafted and sent out to select guests little maps with "what to do between the ceremony and reception" ideas. Rick helped by xeroxing 50 copies double sided and buying stamps. :) I used Wedding Mapper to help draft the maps, and from their sample of "upgraded" mapper, created my own personal map in a Word document, using Google Maps as a template and drawing the freeways and locations of pertinent sites. I'm hoping some people will stay at our hotel with us and have breakfast with us the morning after the wedding. :)

Also during the winter break we got the bridesmaid dresses ordered!!! We ditched the Alfred Angelo store in San Gabriel and met up with the sweetest, friendliest salesgirls at the Alfred Angelo store in West Covina. The type of girls who don't push you to buy today, actually talk with you and help you find a dress for your shape, and spend a lot of time getting to know you like it's social-hour-watercooler-time regardless of whether or not you're going to buy something that day. My bridesmaids (minus one) and my FMOL all tried dresses for hours, chatting, playing, making jokes, and finally put in their orders before leaving the store, happy, unrushed, and content. What a good day that was.

Coming up:
Wednesday, Jan 14: My birthday! Going to Disneyland!
Thursday, Jan 15: day off to work on wedding stuff. :)
Friday, Jan 16: meet with our florist in Murietta. Where? Murrieta. Where TF is that?! south of Lake Elsinore. EEEESH! It's 90 miles from us. But hopefully will be worth the trip, and our one and only trip out there.
Saturday, Jan 17: rest. rest. rest.
Sunday, Jan 18: flea market with the grandparents (maybe).
Monday, Jan 19: MLK holiday!!!

To be followed by:
Saturday, Jan 24: 2nd deposit due to reception site
Sunday, Jan 25: Surprise bday party... shhhhh.... ;)
Friday, Jan 30: Ricklet's 30th birthday!!!!!!! OMG!
Saturday, Feb 7: Tux fittings (I'm not going, but it's on my calendar ;) )
Friday, Feb 13: Bakery consultation (in Long Beach)
Monday, Feb 23: 2nd (and hopefully final) fitting!

Appts to make:
Church wedding coordinator: ???
Florist (personal flowers): ???
Engagement session: ???

Now I'm getting anxious again. Eee.

Holiday Angst

Ahhh, dear reader (myself),
It has been a super long time since my last post about Wall-E. And that wasn't even a real post with my own thoughts. Naughty me.

Speaking of naughty, it's almost Christmas and I've not yet begun shopping. Sure, I went out to the shops, but mainly bought things for myself. Naughty me. But I just couldn't pass up the $19 Brass Plum teal stilettos at Nordstrom Rack, now could I? And I couldn't buy those for anyone I know. Or shoes in general for that matter.

So. I've been busy in my head (as always) and haven't blogged a bit about anything of substance. On the wedding front, we ordered and received our invitations. I ordered and received my dress; and it's in the alterations shop as we speak. Our "no wedding planning" plan for November/December kind of went bust because of the invitations and dress thing. And then the thought of all of it starting back up full force in January scares me so much that I want to take on some tasks now to spread it all out.

Here goes my infamous listing of Things To Do in chronological order (infamous to my small pool of readers, ahem, I mean, myself):

Monday, Dec. 8 (oh right, that's today): Dr.'s appt in the AM, Holiday party at 6.

Thursday, Dec. 14: Staff potluck lunch. I don't know what I'm bringing yet. I volunteered a main dish because I was out sick last week when people were getting dibs on bringing the easy stuff. I just couldn't think about food then.

Friday, Dec. 15: Farewell party for the smartest man I ever met. Good luck, Mitchell! (and it's Jane's birthday)

Saturday, Dec. 16: Help mom move entertainment center to uncle's house. Dinner with grandparents probably.

Thursday, Dec. 18: Bring Sammie and Speedie to my sister's house for weekend playdate.

Friday, Dec. 19: Head down to northern SD with Mom for one night stay. Going to visit some antique shops and bead stores along the way, if we can.

Saturday, Dec. 20: Wedding. All day affair. (aren't they usually? ;) ) Head back up to LA, drop off Mom, head to sister's house for a few days of babysitting.

Sunday, Dec. 21: My cousin in Boston flies in for a week.

Monday, Dec. 22 - Jan. 4: NO WORK!! WOOOHOOOO! But that just means more work at home and running errands for others. *sigh*

Dec. 24: Christmas Eve dinner and gift exchange with my family

Dec. 25: Christmas morning gift exchange with Ricklet's family (and our one year mark of being engaged!!!)

Dec. 30: New Year's Eve party. Assuming that we're invited somewhere. HA!

Coming up in January:
* My bday
* Ricklet's 30th bday (!!!!!)
* possible joint bday bash
* Engagement photo shoot
* Call Church wedding coordinator for all info we need
* Call Florist and choose flowers for Reception; ask about personal flowers
* Find Florist for personal flowers if Reception Florist doesn't work out
* Call Baker and set up appt for tasting, choose cake
* Call DJ (maybe) and fax him list of all songs, etc.
* 2nd deposit due to Reception site

Coming up in February:
* 2nd fitting
* Wedding shower
* Register for gifts
* Send out invitations

Things to do in general with no set due date except for "soon":
* Shop for and buy mulberry paper or other kind of paper to add layer to invitations
* Order bridesmaid dresses (REALLY SOON! EE!)
* Oh yeah, Christmas shopping
* Buy some tulle and make my own veil
* Squeeze in some time at Dland for mindless relief
* Moving ideas (that's a secret for the rest of the internet world until later)

My tummy hurts now.

Confessional

(Melancholy music plays in background)
Forgive me, dear blogspot, for I have let you down. It has been 50 days since my last post.

Things that have happened since my last post:
September 6: Bridesmaid luncheon at Getty Restaurant. I was disappointed with the service and the food. It wasn’t the first time I had eaten there, and all previous meals were excellent and service was attentive. Maybe it was just an off day. Boys had lunch at Gordon Biersch and managed to rack up a larger bill that we did!

September 13: Went with my sister downtown to the garment district and scoured stores for wedding dresses. We were unlucky. And hot. Headed over to Alfred Angelo and found the dress we’ve been looking for. Had Family Dinner for the Harvest Moon Festival and Ricklet was welcomed. :)

September 24: Took grandma to the LA Fair.

September 26: Met Pam the photographer and booked her! Spent the rest of the day at Glen Ivy, where Rick and I hung out by the pools, took naps, and got a massage.

Sept 30: Got ramshackled on my left fender by a car next to me when attempting to make a right turn in the right lane. I give my statement and am in good humor about it all.

October 1 morning: My insurance company appraisers came to look at my damages.

October 1 afternoon: Gave my statement to the other insurance company. The agent then told me “this is partly your fault because you should have looked to your left.”

October 4: Met up with friends at the First Cabin to see Pat O'Brien. Realized time passes faster when there are people there to chat with. Nursed one drink and came to the realization that alcoholic drinks are now an undesirable beverage to my body.

October 7: Received a letter from the other insurance company stating that I am 100% at fault for failure to yield to their driver, who was "first in line to make the turn." MY BIG FAT A$$ SHE WAS FIRST! (*#$(&@!*&$%*&@!!!!!!!

October 8: Case goes to subrogation.

October 10: Tried on my Alfred Angelo dress again with mom, who racked up the potential bill with rhinestone clips, veils, tiaras, crinoline, you name it. Didn’t pay a dime yet, though.

October 12: Attended Raul and Kathleen’s baby shower and feasted on soft tacos made fresh by the catered taco guy. With "all the fixins" as Rick called it. ;)

October 14: Hooky day at Disneyland for my sister’s bday and Bella’s first trip EVER! This is what she looks like now...


October 18: Ordered our invitations! Checked into to Hotel Menage in Anaheim, lounged by the pool, watched clear cable TV channels and had the BEST steak ever in their restaurant, K’ya. Seriously. BEST medium-rare flat iron steak I’ve EVER had.

October 19: Woke up when it was still dark (well, I didn’t really sleep) and got ready for the CHOC Walk at Disneyland! Saw lots of characters, walked at a leisurely pace, and tried not to cry when we saw walkers we met last year whose child they were walking for had passed away this year. Read an article mentioning Janelle's Bells.

Things that I should have taken pictures of to post, as this WAS initially supposed to be a craft blog, after all:
1) Bridesmaid luncheon invitations – printed on cardstock with fun daisy font, finished with fun punched corners, mounted on yellow daisies paper, inserted in ~9 x 5" envelope, yellow daisy sticker on back flap.

2) Engagement brunch invitations – printed on Bazzill red scrapbook paper, mounted inside folded 8.5 x 11" gunmetal gray Bazzill cardstock, front cover design printed on silver cardstock and mounted on pearl Bazzill cardstock, finished off with matching eyelets.

3) Beginning of ring bearer pillow – sage green shantung base with darker green shantung used as ribbon for pillow. Re-design is in progress as the beginnings of sewing the "ribbon" on the pillow by hand revealed that a blind hemstitch was necessary and therefore way too difficult.

Coming up:
October 24: My clothes will visit the laundromat, and the apartment will be re-introduced to Miss Lysol and Mr. Vacuum.

October 25: Scrapbook Expo in Ontario with my sister.

October 26: Engagement brunch for immediate family at Castaway Restaurant in Burbank.

Not to mention work and extra projects, but THANK GOD I’m not in school this quarter!

Position and Positioning

My colleagues and I often discuss the nature of the people who work in our building. We came to a consensus that about 80% of them are super-shy, busy-in-their-heads, academia types who cross that borderline into blatantly rude and unfriendly behavior. Also, a handful of them are elitist, and therefore those who don't blip on their radar don't get a greeting in the hallway.

Then we added to the discussion our facility man who picks up the trash at our desks. While he is always very friendly to me (they say it's because I'm a girl), it seems one of my male coworkers has odd feelings about him and is either creeped out or simply uncomfortable in his presence. I asked if it was creepy like he was hitting on him; he said no. I pondered if it was a racial issue. He says this man is unfriendly and has an air of arrogance about him. I wondered if it was a defense mechanism for feeling inferior; I mean, picking up someone else's trash every day is a little humbling, no? Especially if you feel like it's always the white man's trash - and according to our other discussion about the people in our building, one must assume that the head-down ingrates never say hello to the man or thank him for his services. Perhaps he's always been a trash man and has had many people of "station" not acknowledge his presence or even worse, treat him badly. I wondered if he acted like this with all men. Then one day as I passed him in the hallway, he was chatting with a male security guard, commiserating about one thing or another. They both greeted me and I them, and so I had more confirmation: It's not simply a male or racial thing, it is more of a social status thing. Security guards are blue-collars just like himself. And then this popped into my head: Position and positioning are socially conditioning.

It's from a song in the movie-musical The Slipper and the Rose with Richard Chamberlain. It's a Cinderella story. I loved this movie when I was a kid and sang all the songs.

Position and Positioning [click for Youtube video]
(Written by Richard M. Sherman and Robert B. Sherman)

If my father were a chancellor,
How easy it would be -
The lovely Lady Caroline
Would be a proper wife, you see.
But my father was a servant
And my mother same as he.
So the lady of my choosing
Is a world away from me.
That's how it is and how it was,
And how it always shall be

Position and positioning
Are socially conditioning
How you're born, how you're bred,
Predetermine who you wed,
Which means there's nothing changeable;
Nothing's rearrangable,
Position and positioning are everything in life.

Farmer's daughters marry cowherds,
That's acceptable and right.
But absurd and quite unheard of
Is a milkmaid and a knight!

Position and positioning
Are socially conditioning,
People high, people low,
Keep the state of status quo,
Which means there's nothing changeable;
Nothing's rearrangable,
Position and positioning are everything in life.

When a lad first joins the army,
This is what he learns for starters:
Never court your colonel's daughter
Or he'll have your guts for garters!
That's how it is and how it was,
And how it always shall be.

For position and positioning
Are socially conditioning,
How you dress and hold your head
Predetermine who you wed,
Which means there's nothing changeable;
Nothing's rearrangable,
Position and positioning are everything in life.

All the servants in a castle -
They reflect the world outside.
They have rank and they have station
And adhere to them with pride.
All the staff that work below stairs
May have dreams to work above,
But they're locked in their positions by Tradition's iron glove.

That's how it is?
And how it was,
And how it always shall be.

We know our place and happily we bow and scrape and bend our knee,
But woe betide the woe begone,
Who try to join our echelon,
For privelege is not, you see,
Confined to just the royalty.
Behind these doors, I might suggest, I'm similarly blessed.

Yes, position and positioning
Are socially conditioning,
Though you work your life away,
Where you start is where you stay.
Which means there's nothing changeable;
Nothing's rearrangable,
Position and positioning are stuck with you for life!

Now this is not to say I condone this behavior or way of thought because it's just the way it is. Quite the contrary. But I acknowledge that the discord exists in reality despite the happy ending to this silly movie. I also believe that not only is it difficult to break away from one's station because of societal obstacles, often times one doesn't know HOW to break away since it is all one knows. Social conditioning. By the time you're old enough to think you want something better, all previous life experiences point towards the path of keeping the status quo. It can be so difficult that one resigns to the fact that this is just the way things are and things can't change. And unfortunately and ironically, the ones who are of higher position already (by birth or nature) are the ones who don't believe in settling.

Engagement shoot

Time for another post. We had our engagement session last weekend with Miguel Mayo, who is an absolute sweetheart. He was skeptical about his English skills, but we understood everything he said, so I think there is nothing for him to be ashamed about! The session was fun, although Rick and I had a little bit too much face time (literally) than we were used to. Being bubble-burstingly snuggly and smoochy isn't really our forte. ;) That gave way to showing our love in other ways (like making dinner and hemming pants) a long time ago. Romantic love? That was so 1999. ;)

Here's one picture that he emailed us as he works on the rest.

Wedding Dress Fitting, Take 1

So I managed to NOT clean the apartment and NOT send out my STDs. Way to go, me. What happened to those two weeks I said I was going to get this stuff done? I wonder if that means I'm going to be a procrastinating bride who runs late and then yells at everyone for not helping her be on time. ;) Probably not.

Last Friday, I was out in Granada Hills for a work retreat luncheon thingy and it was 115 degrees outside when we left at 3:00pm. WOWZERS, was it hot! As I drove home it even dared to go up to 116 on my car temp gauge, and I felt sorry for the man I passed whose truck had broken down. He was literally on his back on the side of the freeway, giant tummy exposed, underneath his truck, trying to fix something. I was too far over in the fast lanes to pull over, but all I could have done anyway was give him hot bottled water from my trunk.

The heat was really getting to me despite the a/c on full blast, so I started to almost doze off at the wheel. I didn't have any other plans so I was heading home and thought about passing out on the couch with the a/c cranked and fan blowing. As I wilted in my seat, I thought about which exit to take, and realized I would be passing the Burbank mall, and it would be nice and air conditioned in there. So I shook the sleep off my face and exited early to get to the mall. I had to get a gift for the couple whose wedding I'm attending next month as a guest of a friend (the first wedding I'm going to without Rick!).

I don't know if it was the heat or that I had too much caffeine and sugar at the luncheon, but I didn't feel well as I stumbled through the mall, indecisively. Almost like I had low blood sugar and was going to pass out, but was perfectly fine, coherent, just couldn't make up my mind about anything. I walked around the mall aimlessly like a lost child, not knowing what I was looking for, and not remembering what I was there to buy. I ended up getting a strawberry smoothie and that helped, and my consciousness regained.

On my way back to the car, I passed by this huge store in the mall - the size of 5 stores (or two Forever21s) - and saw inside racks of flower girl dresses, formal gowns, and... wedding dresses! So in I went, brave little lonesome me, thinking this was the day I would try on my dress AND buy it! All by myself!

I first browsed the flower girl dresses. They were sooo cute. And very affordable too! Nice fabrics, classic designs, and almost all of them cost less than $40. Wow. This store was like a bridal salon mixed with discount dresses impeccably arranged. The formal bridesmaid and MOB gowns were a bit dated in style; most of them were long and sheath-like, and the fabrics were mainly that stick-to-you satin that I detest. They also had no dark browns. So I kept walking, walking towards the back, where racks of white and ivory dresses hung in thick clear plastic bags that screamed "I'm SPECIAL, don't touch me!"

As I browsed each and every design (and there were seriously, like, only one or two sizes of each design, a 4 or 6 and/or a 10 or 14), I got excited. There were so many really beaded and beautiful dresses! And on top of that, there were a lot of name brand ones there too! Now, I'm not an haute couture type of dresser, nor am I a trendy trendsetter or a label snob, but I really didn't think this "mall store" would have Maggie Sottero or Mori Lee dresses in its collection. I mean, seriously. And on top of that, they were, in my opinion, reasonably priced! The most expensive dress I saw was $1,100, which is also David's Bridals' most expensive (but it's David's Bridals!).

So I made my rounds through the four racks a couple of times and was mentally saving the dresses I wanted to try on, even the $700, out-of-my-budget ones. I didn't care! I was excited! Plus, the only time I had tried on dresses was in January at a David's Bridal, and spent 3 hours in there having to wait for "help," and only being able to try on 3 dresses before I gave up and left, frustrated that I was only able to choose dresses from their 20 page catalog, not allowed to browse the racks, and stood in one dress for 45 minutes as the salesladies puttered around moving TVs (yeah, that's a whole 'nother story). Of course, after the visit, I got unending phone calls, voice mails, and emails to come back for another visit and how is the planning going, we'd like to sell you some essential accessories, and even though you said you don't want a veil, we'll still try to sell you 3 different lengths for an extra poufy veil look.

Anyways, back to the racks. A woman saw me looking at the dresses and came up to me with a frown, and said, "Can I help you?" And I looked at her, caught by surprise with the un-warm greeting, and said, "ohh.. I.. uh, I'm just looking." She gave me a once-over, and obvious once-over, and said, "When's the wedding?" and when I told her, she said, "Ok, you can look. But you have to make an appointment if you want to try any on." And turned away before I could acknowledge (and thank) her.

Nice. That was hot. I felt like Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman, tears streaming down my face, wads of green clutched in my hands, exclaiming, "I have money, I HAVE MONEY, and no one will help me, and I need a dress, and I HAVE ALL THIS MONEY!!!" (except I wasn't crying, and I had only plastic, not paper.) I looked down at myself, observed my Target flip flops, knee length denim shorts, and black camisole tank top. Did I look that awful? Or did I look that young that I didn't deserve to be able to try on wedding dresses? I don't know. I refused to be off-put by the woman, however, and continued browsing. Hey, she didn't say I had to pay to look.

I found one that I really wanted to try on. I went to the register (which took practically a minute to walk to) and asked the lady behind the counter if I could try on one dress. She was young-ish with a naive face, and looked around. She looked uncertain and scared. Hmm. She seemed to be at a loss for words, so I piped, "A woman told me I had to make an appointment, but I was wondering if I could just try one on today." In the whole store there were probably 4 customers in there. Hardly too busy to not let me try on ONE dress, right? Come on, guys.

She kept looking around and not answering me, and I thought, geez, this girl's scared of her boss. Great. She finally said, "Yes, um, you have to make an appointment." So I relented. What I really wanted was for her to say, "Ok, let me go see what I can do for you." And I was thisclose to saying, "I'll go find that witchy woman and ask her if I can try on ONE dress." I made an appointment for the following day. And thought maybe I could get my sister to come with me, so it was all ok.

My sister actually was able to come with me the next day, and she even brought baby Bella. As a matter of fact, this is what Bella looks like now, at 13 weeks. :)


As we walked through the mall back to the store, I thought out loud, "I bet it's going to be that same damn woman who's going to end up helping us today." And sure enough... I walked to the cashier and told her we had an appointment to try on dresses, she left us standing there while she went to go notify the woman and we stood there stupidly. So of course, we started browsing again. I pulled two dresses that I wanted to try on and put them on the rack by the dressing rooms. Finally the woman shows up to "greet" us in the wedding gown aisles and I'm ready for her this time! Well, not really. I mumbled that I was her 3:00 appointment, something something. She asked me again when the wedding date was (why that is so important to keep asking as the first question, I don't know) and then what kind of dress I wanted. A-HA. I was ready to answer her:

Sweetheart or regular strapless neckline or V-neck sleeveless; slight A-line, maybe trumpet if it will look good, and with a train.

She stared at my body, thought a bit, and said, "Ok. You pick two dresses, I pick two dresses, and that's all we're doing today."

I saw the reaction on my sister's face and was tempted to either reciprocate or elbow her in the stomach. I didn't want to piss this lady off; I still wanted to try on these dresses without feeling confrontational, and if this is what we had to put up with, then so be it. Hey, it doesn't mean I have to buy from her, and it's only my real first dress shopping!

There was more rough-around-the-edges talk, as my sister tried to pull in a chair into the fitting room with the baby stroller... the woman said she would be helping me so my sister didn't have to come in, and also it was too hot in there and she didn't need a chair. This pissed my sister off even more than she was already. We all fit comfortably, and it really wasn't THAT hot in there; only the woman got hot as she had to manhandle the 15-pound dresses and throw them over my head. I personally think that gets more makeup on the inside of the dresses; I have no hips so it would be easier for everyone if I could just step inside the dresses. But anyways...

The first dress she picked for me was hideous. Well, I guess I shouldn't say HIDEOUS because it did come out BEAUTIFULLY on me. On the hanger, the bodice was ornately beaded, ruched and pulled to the side, and encrusted in diamonds. And it looked expensive and mermaid-y. I *sigh*ed and decided to try it; my sister, knowing my personality and customary inability to tell people what I want and don't want, piped up, "Do you want to try those on? I don't think you'll like them." And I responded to the both of them, "Yes, I'll try it." And I heard my sister mutter under her breath, "since she only gets to try on FOUR, we don't want to waste a try on something she knows she doesn't like." The woman had her back turned and didn't respond. But I think she heard.

It was a nice dress. As the woman was lacing up the back (something that I knew I didn't want because it looks messy back there and I like the streamlined look of buttons with a hidden zipper underneath), she stopped and said, "I have to ask before I continue because if I don't ask people get mad." And I looked at her reflection in the mirror as she was talking and I didn't understand. She went on, "because I'm going to start pulling this tight and if you don't tell me not to pull too tight, how am I supposed to know." And I still didn't know what she was talking about, so I started to say, "okay, you can pull tight.." and she continued, "because sometimes girls come in here and they all have different body types and I can't tell sometimes.." and then I understood what she was getting at, and in realization of it, laughed and said, "No, I'm NOT pregnant, cinch as tight as you want!"

So off she went, cinching and pulling, and I have no idea what it looks like from the back doing that sort of thing, but I felt like a British countess being corsetted in by attendants before heading to the parlor to greet a possible suitor who came calling on me. I waited patiently as the breath was pushed out my lungs down into my stomach or up into my head. But oh, how I watched my waist disappear in the mirror! I hated the dress only because it had an asymmetrical design in the ruching, which gathered into a giant cluster of rhinestone decoration two inches left of my crotch. Why did they have to ruin a good dress by doing that? Of course it LOOKS ok. But my OCD complex would not have it. I walked out into the main dressing area and stood on the dress block and looked into the mirror ahead of me. Niiice. I did feel like a princess. But wait - was this the look I was going for?

Through the years of looking at bridal magazines and imagining myself in lavish wedding gowns, I had come to realize that it is highly impractical to wear such overly stated things. It may be the bride's day (edit: the bride AND groom's day) but no one stays perched perfectly at the edge of a settee for 10 hours or stands against a wall with her hip jutted out, arms slightly open like Cinderella. Those magazine photos are outrageously impractical. It's not like I'm going to be standing on a pedestal the whole day of the wedding, looking pretty while pouting with half-closed smokey eyes, and frozen in time like a sculpture. Heck no! I anticipate running around, rolling around in the grass, taking lots of fun photos, and dancing until my feet break off. Well, okay, maybe not rolling in the grass. That would be the day after. ;)

This was the first dress:
(Maggie Sottero Coco, $720)

So off that dress went. I tried on four others (the woman pulled a fifth that she wanted me to try) so by the end of that, I was hanging on to her every word, roughness and all. She actually kind of grew on me. And she never tried to sell me anything, get me to buy an expensive dress, or make me change my likes/dislikes in what I wanted. She merely gave me her opinion, good and bad, about what would look best on my body, and she really did have my best intentions at heart (it was almost like having my mother there.. but she was a professional wedding gown fitter). Things she said included, "That looks okay, you look fine. But okay and fine are not good enough," "No, no, no... take that off, no. That doesn't show anything, nothing good about that dress," and my favorite, which she kept repeating, driving home the point, "You need to get a dress that ties up in the back, for more control. You can even fit into a size 2, prettier to see the ribbon ties that way, looks nice, and you have most control than a zipper." I like the size 2 part. And that also meant I didn't have to worry about alterations for the wedding - the corset back would take care of me gaining or losing weight!

The other dresses paled in comparison to the first. The two that I had picked, an empire waist, notched neckline strapless gown, and a strapless mermaid/trumpet (couldn't tell on the hanger) with a plain front except for beading at the sweetheart neckline, were awful on my body. The fifth dress the woman pulled for me to try was a pick-up skirt ballgown. I hate pick-up skirts. I looked like an effing cake. But she tsk-tsked at me and said that since I was not wearing heels for the wedding, this way I wouldn't have to cut the dress, I simply, PICK UP, or pinch, equal parts around the dress and secure the spots, which pull it up the hem. Very smart, this woman was. Really made up for her brusque manner.

But here are examples of a pick-up skirt; this is for you if you love cake so much that you feel a need to look like one on your wedding day:

(Destinations by Maggie Sottero SD3006)

(Maggie Sottero Emme)

But I shan't get ahead of myself and make this post a rant about fashionable and popular designs. After all, who am I to judge fashion????!

After the fittings, she lead me to the front of the store and pulled out Maggie Sottero catalogs, told me to go through them and write down the ones that I would look good in. It almost felt like a test! Like, now that we've had our lesson, here's a test. Don't forget what I've taught you today! She obviously had no intention of making me buy any of her dresses, and encouraged me to go to other stores and try different styles but to remember this was what looked best on me. She told me to try to find something similar to what I had tried on, to NOT look just at the brand names, and feel the material, no matter what it was really made of. I left there feeling very happy, a satisfied customer (who paid nothing), and thanked her sincerely. Her face had been bright red in the fitting room from helping me dress and undress, but by then her colors had returned to normal. I don't think she smiled the whole entire time. I don't even know if she had teeth. But she said, "You're welcome" as many times as I said thanks, and that was good enough for me.

So here is what I'm looking for:

One-piece, sweetheart neckline, ruched EVEN bodice (not asymmetrical), natural waist, corset (or tie-up or lace-up) back, beading mainly on bodice, and chapel train.

Things to avoid: all-over beading and lace (she said, "too messy"), empire or basque waist delineation (she said, "too long-waisted"), smooth-paneled bodice (she said, "shows your skin" and "creases", aka my fat) and asymmetry (because I don't like it).

This is closest, but doesn't have the train length:
(Maggie Sottero Irina)

And I might be able to force myself to be ok with the asymmetry of this:
(Maggie Sottero Ariana Taffeta)

2nd week of break...

Ahhh, June 17. I've combatted my stupid 2-month-long rash outbreak of eczema. Finally broke down and went to Urgent Care on Saturday and got oral corticosteroid pills and steroid cream. And 3 months' worth of Claritin. My skin is super happy, at least for now.

So what have I done lately? Not much. Peddled around the house, stayed indoors from the heat. Although I have made some really pretty coffee filter roses, pattern taken from Martha Stewart and originally designed by Mommy Makes Roses. So pretty.

I've also resumed my quest for a wedding photographer. Everyone is so expensive, and I'm so picky about what I want now that I've done research and seen what types of photography is out there and what kinds of artistic shots and effects some really great photographers do. But of course, the really great photojournalist photographers cost half our whole wedding budget. So out that goes. *sigh*

Researching and learning is heartbreaking. Because then you come to realize that you can't afford the best and what you are forced to settle with doesn't compare to that perfection you witnessed - and even though what you're settling with is probably decent, you've already been exposed to something better. What is with human nature and the unsatiable desire to have the best and be unsatisfied with the mediocre?

This is who I found that I have deemed "the best" for our wedding so far in my research. She's already booked for our wedding date and didn't tell me how much she charges: Nataly Lemus. Every picture that she takes (at least the ones that she posts) is a piece of art itself. The shots are aesthetically composed and balanced, and the retouched effects she adds afterwards are beautiful.

And of course, Greg Bumatay of Bumatay Studio was the first photographer I happened to stumble upon. And of course, he's way out of our budget. But his photography and style are oh so hot.

And by association, Miguel Pola, again out of our budget. But a bit more affordable.

And also Desi Baytan. His basic package starts at $1,500, which is totally awesome.

Next to check out is Sandra P. Photography. She's a friend of someone who Rick and I went to high school with, and maybe we can swing a deal with her. Without totally asking for a favor from a person I used to know. One of my pet peeves is getting a note from someone from my past life only when they want something - and then after they get it never contact me again.. So I wish to NOT be a hypocrite about that. (hi Austin!)

What's so great about these photographers is I can see that they can take anything - a detail, a moment, a venue - that is possibly lackluster and banal and make it look beautiful. A warped box of Cracker jacks comes out looking elegant in muted tones, in off-centered, crooked shot. Other photographers (or simply a person with a point and shoot camera such as myself) would have taken a macro shot of it in full color and be done with it. Why is this important? Because I've seen some beautiful places in person that don't photograph well if done in an amateurish sort of way, and some pretty ugly places that translate horribly into square shots; our ceremony and reception sites run the risk of this and despite that people who are at the wedding will see these places in person, I'd like to remember our sites as beautifully as I can.

I'm also re-addicted to Wicked and its soundtrack, and am now starting to read the book, which I have had in my possession for over 3 years and failed to pick up the hefty 2-inch fat volume. I read a little bit every night before bedtime and hopefully will have finished it by the end of the month. :) I want to get tickets to see it again, and maybe have Rick take his mom for her birthday next month.

I guess that's it for now. Oh, and I got an A in my last class. Whoo hoo!

Is it time yet? Can I send them??

So this past weekend, while out at a birthday party in the scorching heat of April, I found out that one of Rick's aunts reads my blog (hi Auntie Lola!). Now the pressure's on to post good and interesting stuff and not just ramblings of my unkempt mind. Sort of. ;)

My envelopes and embosser arrived today! I was so excited that I ripped the boxes open and started punching away and assembling. I've only made about 20 STDs, and half of them (the first half) I decided are substandard compared to the rest. So I don't think I'll be sending them out. Too bad. Such a waste of good paper. They're off center and the punched holes are too close. Anyone will tell me they're fine and to send them out anyway. So maybe I will. To those who might not notice. ;)

The embosser is my new favorite toy. Because it's customized, the envelopes look like we've had them professionally printed. Now if I could just master my handwriting skills... I've already addressed a few of the envelopes in a very fine point brown pen (this includes you, Auntie Lola). To those people, I apologize for my awful penmanship. As for the rest of them lucky ones, they'll be getting clear, computer-labeled envelopes. :) Then they'll really look professional. AHAHA!

The envelopes aren't as good as I had hoped, but they'll do. The color is pretty close to the right shade of sage, and when you order this kind of stuff online, it's hit or miss with the quality and color you expect.

I'll be sending out the STDs soon enough. I realize (again) that we're not even 365 days and counting yet - no need to rush the STDs. I hope to patiently hang on to them until July or August. *sigh* But it will give me some more time to hum and haw over whether or not to send out the slightly retarded STDs that people will just throw away anyways.

List of reminders for this month:

April 19 - Kathleen's bday party
April 25 - 27 - San Diego! Every year, Rick and I plan a mini-vacation the last week of April; a weekend getaway to celebrate our anniversary (April 30). And this year, it's a very special weekend because our wedding date will be exactly one year from then. :) Kind of a pre-wedding anniversary / last trip of our boyfriend-girlfriend relationship. And it's all coincidental because we booked our trip before we booked our wedding date.

There should be more reminders. But I can't remember them. Darn.

Gotta finish my homework before we go down to SD. Which means I should finish week 2 early this week and start on week 3 by Saturday.

Pictures of Isabella to come soon. Actually, I can post this one that I really like. This was taken just a few hours after she was born. Of course, she's already grown a foot and a couple of pounds, but she still kind of looks the same. ;)



I'll post a REALLY cute picture of her as soon as I get my brother in law to send it to me. It's totally frickin hilarious!

STD time...

No, I don't mean it's time to visit the doctor. It's time to post about Save The Date cards!!!! In wedding lingo, they're called STDs.

It's about time that I post some pictures about my crafting. I've made a couple of grocery totes, but no posts or pictures. So now that I'm on to paper crafting and will take a long time doing each set, here's the first of many wedding-related posts to come.

So I've had a lot of ideas on how to make my STDs. With all the DIY sites and projects as well as commercially printed ones, I ended up with something quite classic. And easy to do. I went through a bunch of ideas and formats, and although the ones I ended up making weren't my finalized ideals, they're much simpler and easier to make.

Here we go. My pictures aren't that great...
In progress...


My STDs consisted of a brown textured cardstock layer, then a printed sage green floral scrapbook page layer, then a printed layer of vellum, all tied together with a brown bow. Oh, and I attached a magnet on the back. :)

Here's what it looks like underneath:


I originally used tracing paper, which printed beautifully, but after cutting it down to size, about 4" x 6", the paper curled up at the edges so I had to go buy a pack of vellum instead. I wanted to create the look of the vellum without using vellum because it's so much pricier. My book of Strathmore tracing paper was less than $4. The pack of vellum for 50 sheets was $17.

And the final thing (with the vellum turned slightly because of how it's placed):


Materials:
Strathmore textured brown 80lb. cover, 19 x 25 (cut 5 x 7 pieces)
Anna Griffin sage floral scrapbook paper 12 x 12 (cut 4 x 6 pieces)
Translucent vellum by WorldWin, inkjet printable 8.5 x 11 (print in 4 quarters)
Brown satin ribbon
Magnet strip (4 foot roll)

Cost per STD:
Brown paper $0.12
Sage floral paper $0.042
Vellum: $0.085
Brown ribbon: $0.01
Magnet: $0.11
Sage green envelope with felt finish, 70lb weight (coming in the mail from Envelope Mall) @ $12.95 per 100 = $0.129

So grand total cost for one STD: $0.496, which rounded up, is 50 CENTS!!!

I paid retail for the brown textured cardstock, the vellum, and the magnets. But the floral paper and brown ribbon were on sale at Michael's (you know, those 4 for $1 type sales!). The green envelopes were the most expensive because of the heavy felt finish, but also because they're size A7 (5 x 7) and no office supply store carries these special sizes.

It still takes me a while to create each STD because I'm just picky and meticulous about the sizes being just right, and making sure I cut straight with the rotary wheel and paper cutter is tedious and time consuming. But I have so much time, I'm relishing making each one perfect!!!!

Truly Grateful

Sometimes it takes a miracle for me to realize how blessed I am. And that miracle this time was the birth of my baby niece, Isabella Grace. I don't mean miracle in that she-was-never-supposed-to-live sort of way, I mean a simple, ordinary miracle of life itself.

I'll recount the events as they unfolded yesterday:

5:50am - I get a call from my brother-in-law. They're back in the hospital (after being there the morning prior, they were sent home until my sister was "ready" to go back). I pseudo jump up and ask if she's in full labor and he says no, it's still going to be a long while. I slump back down into the bed and think about getting up.

7:00am - I finally get out of bed and gather up my gear for the day. Rick and I have an initial appointment with the priest of the church we'd like to have our wedding at at 11:00am. I don't think we'll make it since we're planning on being in the hospital all day, but just in case, I put on makeup and a nicer pair of jeans. I'm selfishly disappointed, but shake it off and say that we can meet with the priest another day and if the sites get booked, then it wasn't meant to be.

9:00am - We arrive at the hospital and my sister's stomach is enormous. She must have grown another few inches the last two weeks! She's exhausted, having not slept more than an hour in the past 48 hours due to contractions and pain. She'd just gotten her epidural when we arrived, so was slightly subdued and apparently much calmer than the previous hours. ;) But she's lost a couple centimeters in terms of "readiness".

9:20am - My sister reminds us to go feed her bird and asks that we bring her pillow back. The hospital pillows are flat and she wants her own. She tells us that it's still going to be a long while and tells us to keep our appointment with the priest. We leave to go feed her bird, get her pillow, and while we're there notice that the a/c vent in the baby's room has partially fallen down. I'm not sure if this was intentional for any reason (you'd have to know my brother-in-law) so I call and he has no idea what we're talking about. At the slightest touch, the vent completely comes out of the ceiling and the paint/drywall falls all over the crib. AACK! We tear up the house looking for tape or nails or screws. We find pushpins in the office and a plastic bag, and secure that sucker over the vent.

10:15am - We head out to the church and get there 15 minutes early. A quinceanera celebration just let out and the girl was so cute in her white ballgown. These things always seem like someone really young is getting married. Although the "bridesmaids" or attendants or whatever really could have used more appropriate hem lengths and heel heights, in MY opinion. You're in a church!

11:00 - We sit down with Father Dennis and have a chat. A lot of what went on in that office is very personal so I won't mention any details. I think I've been missing the church a lot and let down my walls as soon as I stepped into his office. It was as if I'd been waiting interminable years for a safe haven to share my thoughts and feelings. Let's just say that we "passed" with flying colors and the priest happily agreed to marry us. Unfortunately, the afternoon wedding times were all taken up, not just for OUR proposed date, but for ALL Saturdays before and after ours! ALL of them were already booked! I couldn't believe it. So we ended up choosing a noon ceremony time.

11:30 - Back in the car, I feel very loved and slightly embarrassed. We call the reception site to see if we could go down and finally put our deposit down since we got our date at the church, and we were closer by. I make a point to say, "We want to put our DEPOSIT down TODAY." The director says her next available appointment is 4:00. I *sigh* but agree, thinking I'd be back in the hospital and then have to drive back out there. I figure I can cancel later if necessary.

11:35 - In our haste to get to the church on time (haha) I left my sister's pillow on the couch. So we head back to her house instead of the hospital. The director at the reception site calls and says she's had a cancellation and she can see us at 3:00. I agree without thinking about it, but then wonder if the later time would be better if my sister has her baby soon.

12:00 - We get the pillow, grab a bite to eat, and head back to the hospital.

12:15 - My sister is really uncomfortable now, and when the nurse comes to check her we leave the room and wait to be let back in. There are no other visitors around, and many of the rooms are empty. While loitering in the hallway for just 30 seconds with Rick and my brother-in-law, another nurse comes by and asks us if she can help us. I gesture to the closed door and just mumble something about waiting. And she says shortly, "You need to wait in the waiting room" and walks away. And I roll my eyes, but think, My sister is allowed 5 people in the room with her and we've just stepped outside because she's getting her hoo-ha checked, and then we'll go back in and WAIT. OK?!" My brother-in-law laughs, and says we might as well wait in the waiting room then. So we head over. Moments later, my brother-in-law chases us down and says that his wife has asked us to go, and that he'll call me when the baby's here. He acts like he feels bad about asking us to leave, so I fake pout, the boys laugh, and Rick and I head out.

1:00 - We sit in the car and wonder what to do for two hours until our appointment. We're tired too from all the driving. I rack my brain and think about what's along the way. We've already driven more than 100 miles. [For those of you LA-ites, we live in Burbank, the hospital is in Baldwin Park, my sister's house is in Glendora, the church is in Diamond Bar, and the reception site is in Corona. Yep. Practically three different counties, and we're doing this diagonal zigzag driving pattern.] We decide to go to the Brea mall.

1:30 - We arrive at the mall and just take a stroll. There are lots of people at the mall and lots of sales. The only thing we buy is a fishing video game. :)

2:15 - We head out to the reception site and get there 15 minutes early. We poke our heads in the office to see if she's with other clients, but the ladies in there are just at their computers. So we settle in, discuss our package, Rick makes some big decisions for us, I write the giant check that is our deposit, and she takes out this giant box. Inside the box is a binder. Inside the binder are tabbed sections of everything I want or need to know about everything that comes in our package. I'm so ecstatic because I'd been asking random, detailed questions over email and getting half and unclear answers.

3:30 - While going over the details in the binder, my phone rings. Loudly. I apologize, but answer the phone - it's my brother-in-law. I say, HELLO? And he says, "When can you come back here?" in a new-father tone that only a new father has. And I laugh and share the excitement with Rick and the girls in the office.

3:40 - We rush out of there and head back to the hospital. We decide to take a different, straighter way back to the hospital, which also passes by the church. It's a great route and there are new shopping complexes on the highway - perfect for our guests to waste time between our events.

4:15 - Isabella Grace is so pretty! She's 6 lbs. 13 ounces, 21 inches of pure delight. 10 fingers, 10 toes. LOTS of hair!! I get to hold her first and she opens her eyes and looks at me and yawns. It's precious. She has the softest skin and is perfect. My mom arrives and oohs and aahs over her first granddaughter and we all take pictures. We debate about whose nose she has.

The next few hours were a blur. We left the hospital because my sister needed to breastfeed and she was exhausted and starting to get snappy. Rick and I headed back (again) to her house, packed up her bird and his accessories, stopped in San Marino for Italian fast-food to-go and a quick chat with friends, and finally got home to eat and have the bird settled in.

I climbed in the shower at 8:00pm and cried. Bawled like a baby. But for the first time in my life, this sudden outburst was not sad tears, but tears that were so happy and so grateful that my cup literally runneth over. You ever see those televised chuch gospel things where they show some lady singing with her hands raised in the air, and tears are streaming down her face as she shouts the hymn? And you wonder, what in the heck is going on? Why is she sad??? Now I get it. It's not sadness, it's an emotion so profound and so overwhelming that the only way to really soak it all in is to let it all out.

The way the whole day unfolded was a miracle, like God had planned this whole day filled with excitement and anticipation. After weeks of frustration and waiting for appointments with the church and site, and anxiety for the baby, never did I imagine that we would get both our church and reception site booked let alone a brand new life introduced to the world all on the same day. And we didn't miss anything. I am so grateful for everything and everyone I have. It definitely was a day of vulnerability for me, and Rick was by my side the whole way.

Back to the Grind... for Two Weeks

No doubt you may have noticed my wedding links have tripled over the past few weeks. At least I have. 'Cause really, who's reading this stuff besides me? I'm really just using this blog to log reminders to myself. Not as adventurous as my title claims.

Anyways, it's been almost a whole month since my last post. Really a whole month? Yep. I was busy with the last few weeks of school (SPRING BREAK! WHOO HOO! *rips bikini top off*) and then was in San Diego for a few days for the VRA conference.

Better write down my list before proceeding; otherwise I'll forget:

March 23 - Easter. We should probably go to church... Also one of my mother's birthdays... and someone else's birthday too. I know many people who have their birthdays at the end of March, all one day after the next. Can't keep up with all these Pisces-Aries kids...

March 28 - My sister's due date. If she doesn't go into labor, they will induce on the 30th.

March 31 - Begin Spring quarter: the second reference course. I have two weeks of "normal" life before I have to get back to my alternate life of schoolwork and not doing any housework or cooking. I suppose this next course is "advanced" reference... I hope it won't be too hard and that I won't have to write papers. I got lucky with the first quarter.

April 19 - Kathleen's 40th birthday party! I think they're hiring salsa dance instructors and we're having a real dance party. But she just found out that she's pregnant too, so the party will probably be a little bit more on the cautious side. They're handling the pregnancy very carefully this time around. If all goes well, that means I'll have two mamas with babies in my wedding party. :)

April 25 - San Diego anniversary trip. And if all goes as planned, this would be a coincidental, pre-wedding-to-the-day anniversary trip.

So last night as I was just about to drift off to sleep, I jarred myself awake with a shocking realization. Rick and my family structures are very alike. What I mean is - on his mother's side, he's got three aunts and one uncle. On my mother's side... I've got three aunts and one uncle. It gets crazier. I compared the offspring of each aunt/uncle on our sides respectively. 4 kids, 4 kids... 1 kid, 1 kid... 2 kids, 2 kids.......... there were two families that didn't QUITE match up, but if we bring the 4th generation into this comparison game, THE NUMBERS MATCH. It's crazy. 25 direct descendants of our grandparents on our mothers' sides.

What's more, on our paternal side, Rick's dad has one sibling, MY dad has one sibling. These sibling have 2 kids. EACH!

What does this mean???? It was slightly creepy. Because seriously, what are the odds that something like this happens?? Our maternal grandparents each had five children: 4 girls and one boy. Our paternal grandparents each had two children, and we each have 2 cousins. SERIOUSLY??! SERIOUSLY!!!!!!

So I fell asleep thinking about how cool it would be to have these family trees on giant poster boards up for the wedding. I even entertained the idea of doing a whole freakin presentation with powerpoint and laser pointers. ;) So this morning when I got up, I grabbed sheets of paper and made the family trees as similar in format as possible for comparison. It was great. Slightly creepy, but great.

The rest of today was spent throwing stuff out. We purged what felt like 200 lbs of clothes, got rid of our old TV that was sitting in the living room taking up precious space, and cleaned out old stuff that we didn't want anymore. We filled up my whole car with bags of clothes, household items, rugs... and my turtle pillow that my college roommate gave me. (ack, I just realized that it's gone! I kind of want it back... *anxiety attack*) Sadly though, after coming back from our dumping trip at the thrift shop, we looked around and there was still so much clutter. So tomorrow will be another cleaning day for me while Rick is at work.

So anyways, back to the wedding links and their tripled factor. This wedding stuff is SUCH an industry. But it's so nice to find blogs about bargain weddings and DIY stuff so I can get ideas on how to do stuff and find resources like free, already-made templates and REALLY CHEAP paper products. The only problems are that I want to DO IT NOW (and then I'd just sit and stare at them for oh, another YEAR) and the plethora of new ideas that I hadn't even thought of overwhelm me. I like having options, but this is crazy. How many ways and styles can we make our monogram? And what SHADE of brown to choose from their 100+ browns?! Should we get certain monograms for certain purposes? And are we really going to use the monogram with our wedding date on it after our wedding? It's all making my head spin.

I suppose that's why I've added those links. I can refer back to them when the time is right and I don't have to worry about losing a certain idea and having to retain all the information a year in advance. Did I mention that I still have a year to go? Just checking.

Really, the thing we need to do quite immediately before the rest of these details is set the date with our church. I've got a week before I become uber-busy again.

Reinventing the Wheel

Why do I feel like I'm reinventing the wheel with wedding planning??? A million other people have planned their weddings, done it this way or that, and lived to tell the tale. (And then often wished for their money back.)

I suppose it's because there are so many options. I know what I want and, for the most part, how I want it. But choosing between 25 different kinds of flourishes to add to the invitations, for example, is supremely difficult. I like them all. And doing it DIY style doesn't allow for me to go to The Decision Maker (Rick) to get the vetoes and yays. I have nothing in print to show him.

I'm constantly reminding myself that even though I like the look of the pretentious, vintage, ornate swirls and flourishes, that doesn't represent the (in)formality of our wedding, so I should shy away from these beautiful designs. Designs that give the impression that the wedding is going to be some very formal and extravagant event where guests must dress in their name-brand tuxes and haute-couture gowns with fancy footwear. Not so. Stainless-steel chafing dishes hardly qualify for luxurious. Yet going the more casual route can be a bit too modern for me. The wedding isn't going to be a backyard BBQ either.

I've added a few links to my blog for DIY and budget ideas. And even if they aren't cheap ($1,100 for 100 invitations? You must be joking!), I can get an idea of how I could do it myself.... which leads me to WHERE can I find these designs so I can LEARN to do it myself? And why don't I have some graphic arts friend who can do this for me for free?????? ;)

Hopefully as I browse through other women's blogs about budget weddings, DIY ideas and such, things won't be as intimidating. And it's also not necessarily the cost of things that's making me freak out (because I haven't let myself reaaaally think about my whole life savings going down the tube for ONE FREAKING DAY despite the fact that my whole life savings was started solely for this occasion, hA!) - more so that I'm waiting for our deposits to be put down so I can start crafting already. But even if I started crafting, HOW would I do it? I have pictures in my head, but no details. Cardstock, vellum, brown ribbons, pictures, even basic text... but HOW? And what font is BEST?

WHERE IS THE METADATA?!????!??!??!!!

Someone tell me what to do so I don't have to think.

Internal contemplation ... external explosion

In the days since my last post, I have probably gone through all the stressed-out emotions that probably should have occurred earlier. And I had thought I was maturing! Psh-ahh!! ;)

Valentine's Day was wonderful. The day before Vday, Rick gave me my present early (and again, I wasn't expecting anything since I've been busy since before Christmas I haven't had time to anticipate any gift giving and all that.)

After dinner, he said, "I kind of want to give you your Valentine's Day present early." I was surprised, and got up from my permanent position at the computer with my butt imprint on the task chair, and said, "Oh yeah? You got me a present???" And he replied, "Well, it's not really romantic..." and I asked, "What did you get me? Mouthwash? Socks??" AHAHAHAHAHAA..

He bought me an Optimus Prime mini remote-controlled car. How CUTE is that?! I immediately tore it open (as immediate as one can tear hardcore clear plastic packaging with seams that appear to have been heat-fused together), put in the AAA batteries, charged the car (that took some time figuring out) and zoomed it around our 3' x 3' linoleum floor kitchen. I was so happy. :) And Rick had fun watching me drive the truck around uncontrollably. It was the best present ever.

The next morning as I was rousing from sleep, Rick placed a card on my chest. I opened my eyes and saw the card, rubbed sleep from my face, put on my glasses, and opened the envelope to find a card with a cute Dalmatian sitting on a plush red heart pillow. And on the inside was the same Dalmatian, but its black spots had been photoshopped with red heart spots instead!! And in Rick's boyish handwriting was:

Can't Wait!

And I laughed out loud because I had sent him an e-card to be delivered that day, which of course he hadn't gotten yet, that had the same sentiment of "Can't wait" (to be your wife). So it was very sweet indeed.

This past weekend, my sister and I went to the Mongolian BBQ restaurant where we're having her baby shower just to check it out and taste the food. We liked it and for buffet at $5.68 per person, it was a great deal. The restaurant was small and the food was just okay, but the biggest problem was that we left there smelling like food. Like we had been in the kitchen all day slaving away over grease and soy sauce. Not the best place to have baby gifts opened up, but we figured my sister was going have to wash everything anyway before the baby gets to wear anything. We met up there with her friend, Vanessa, who is getting married this May and also in the process of moving into her new home, but her newborn nephew is not doing well, so she was in a sad mood. We had such a nice time talking and having our meal together that it wasn't until we got back in our cars that I noticed it was 1:40 and I had an appointment with a church coordinator at 2:00 that was 40 miles away!!!

I immediately grabbed my phone and called to let her know I was running late. The coordintor seemed a bit peeved that we were going to be late, but simultaneously convinced herself that it would be okay because the appointment before us was late as well, and she could meet with us at 2:30. After that phone call, everything became chaotic. My sister and I were in separate cars and we both needed to get gas, and somehow our communication broke down. After lots of driving behind slow people, freeway traffic, and pregnancy brain (and hormones) kicking in along with my own stress hormones, we finally made it back to her house so we could drive together in one car. And by then it was 2:15. We were never going to make it by 2:30.

We finally got in the car, argued some more, and then I burst into tears. My sister demanded, "WHY ARE YOU CRYING?!" and I shouted, "I'M SO EFFING TIRED!" (with the real expletive). And she was quiet for a bit. And in that one weak moment where I just needed to scream and cry, I let out all my frustrations, my stress, the irritation of my inability to finish my homework, worrying about riding the train to SD, my engagement announcement drama, getting to all of these places on time, having to get up super early the next day to take my grandparents out, and all the other minor details that on other days would just have been minor details.

That took about 60 seconds of full-on wailing. And then it was over. I didn't want to have smeared makeup all over my face at our appointments. And my sister said, quietly, "You have to tell Rick to stop waking you up so early." And I laughed through my tears. Because Rick likes to call me every half hour when he's at work and I'm home and sleeping in. He wakes me up when he gets up, when he leaves at 7:30, and then starting from 8am, the every-half-hour phone calls start. Just to see if I'm up and what I'm doing. I never get upset or anything, but there are times when a girl just needs to sleep for 10 hours without being disturbed.

When we finally arrived at the church, it was 3:00. I had called the lady again to tell her we weren't going to make it for the 2:30 appointment. She didn't give me any lip, but didn't sound very pleased. And I was upset. Not really with her, but that our situation made us late. I hate being late, and even though I'd called twice, I still found myself to be rude to be so egregiously late. My sister was on the polar opposite, saying that the lady should be the one to be flexible, she should be catering to ME, not the other way around. And while that rang partially true since I'm the one who would be potentially paying $1,450 for her services of TWO HOURS (and apparently for her leather-interior Saab sedan with sunroof), it also sounded a bit Bridezilla-y to me.

We made it to the church but the 3:00 appointment had already arrived, and the coordinator was just about to take them on a tour of the sites. She greeted us, shook our hands, and when I apologized again for being late, she just smiled and scrunched her nose at me. And I didn't really like that. She didn't say, "oh, that's alright" or anything. Just that smile/grin/chortle that conveyed that "Yes, you should be sorry."

We were there for an hour, first sitting in her office that was one of those office/trailers and after seeing the coordinator and the group get into a golf cart and drive off to the other sites, we walked around the site by ourselves and saw two of the outdoor chapels. The place was HUGE. Not the sites themselves really, but the campus was huge and there seemed to be a lot of paths. And it didn't seem very churchlike. They even had separate Bride and Groom trailers. REALLY! Are we at a church? Or are we at a place that solely does weddings?! The coordinator and the couple came back into the office, so we then got in our car and drove over to the other outdoor chapel that I was interested in, took some pictures, and talked about what we liked and didn't like about the site. For $1,450 I wasn't really impressed. The nearby freeway was VERY noisy, airplanes flew overhead, and a row of new houses sat at the top of the hill, looking down at us. Plus, it didn't feel church-like at all. The place looked nice in pictures (even my own) but in person... it left something to be desired. And I didn't even know where the Sanctuary was. So we drove back to the office and the 4:00 appointment was already there, so I just poked my head in and said we'd be taking off. She squinched her eyebrows at me and drooled, "Oh, I'm sorry," and I said, "No no, thank you for your time."

Then we got on the freeway when we finally realized that it was Presidents' Day weekend and that's why there was so much traffic. It took us 40 minutes to get to the next church, which was probably only 10 miles away. The church campus was HUGE too, brand new and very modern looking. It looked like shopping mall, really. But with a giant cross on top. We parked after driving around their enormous lots and walked the campus a bit. There were a few groups of kids doing some activities, but no one else was there. We walked around but couldn't find the chapel we were looking for. Asked around, but no one had any idea what we were asking. Their Sanctuary, which wasn't the place were looking for, was more like an auditorium, like one of those televised shows on Sundays. So we left.

After getting back on the freeway and heading INTO traffic so my sister could see our reception site, we were both a little disappointed and a little tired. With my emotional meltdown, bad traffic, snotty wedding coordinator, and being confused and lost, it was turning out to be a waste of a day. However, upon exiting the freeway and following the tranquil road to get to the golf course where the reception site was, my sister commented how nice and EASY it was to find the place. She called it "secluded" which was a great contrast to the adjectives we were calling the churches. And we couldn't hear the freeway. We were late (again, of course) so the wedding reception that we had intended to photograph prior to any of the guests arriving was already in full swing. We quickly ducked into the foyer just to get a glimpse of the appetizers and the bar and hid in the bathroom to try to figure out our next step. My super pregnant sister needed to go to the bathroom anyway and while working out a plan, we saw the bridesmaids primping.

The bridesmaids wore these hideously tight, pink, two-piece, floor-length mermaid gowns in that awfully thin, "satin" polyester fabric. The kind of cheap fabric that, in a light color such as pink, showed every bulge, every shadow, every crease of your body and undergarments, and the girls had not worn any slips underneath - probably because there was no room for it! Even the thinnest bridesmaid looked bad in her dress. All topped off with a brown satin sash that was supposed to lightly rest around their corsetted waists, but ended up being tied so tightly that the satin knots were creased. It was sad. They all looked like king-size pillows stuffed into standard-size pillowcases with belts cinched around the middle. And the poor groomsmen had on pink vests and pink ties with brown suits. Oh the madness of it all. It seemed obvious that the pink was definitely of the bride's choosing.

Anyways, please excuse my diatribe. To my own gals - don't worry, I would never make you (let alone ALLOW OR ENCOURAGE YOU) to wear such awful things. Especially on my wedding day. You're permanently in the pictures, you know. ;)

What we saw of the reception we liked. Mariachi music blaring from inside, the din of the guests having a good time, people helping themselves to the appetizers and drinks.. It all had a positive aura and feeling of warmth and celebration.

On our way out, we saw the bride and groom coming towards the banquet hall, riding in on the back of a golf cart. The bride had on her husband's jacket (it was cold!) over her dress, her crinoline pulled up on her lap so as not to drag on the ground, and oh boy, did she look happy. :) That was nice to see. Almost made up for the hideous pink dresses.

The next day I stayed home in my pajamas all day, finally finished my homework, and started on my final project. I ended up not having to take my grandparents out after all, which was a big relief. I watched Charlotte's Web in the afternoon and cried when Charlotte died. That just shows so tired I am. Then I watched The Devil Wears Prada on YouTube (the whole thing!) because I had just finished reading the book the previous night and wanted to compare. When Rick came home after a day of golf and racing, we watched 300, which was okay. A day of watching three movies made me really happy.

And then I'm back at work, on a holiday, no less. What's going on this weekend? Nothing yet.....