What have I gotten myself into lately?!
Well, first of all, I got bitten by the travel bug and have this urgent need to book hotel rooms in any location. Let's get a room in the next city! It's just too far to drive back home!
But I seriously need to get cracking on these final papers. I've got one due on Sunday and the other due on Tuesday. And I just started my first one yesterday. Don't even know what I'm going to write for the second one. YIKES! *sigh*
So here's my calendar. I'm such a social butterfly these days it seems.
Tomorrow, March 12: Lunch with Lizzy Lucus and Evie. I met Liz back in my piano-pounding days. We were duet partners. She grew up and got her education in piano performance. I grew up and forgot all about my key signatures and technique. Through the magical world of Facebook, I discovered that Liz was a mutual friend between me and Evie, a girl who works in my building. So that's what this lunch is all about. And baby Madeleine, Lizzy's 2nd child, is turning ONE! Lizzy managed to make it to our wedding and then gave birth to Madeleine two days after!
March 14: Paper due. Also going to California Adventure to redeem the free part of Ricklet's 2fer ticket. Not sure how that will work out....
March 20: Possibly lunch with Viv, who's getting married on the same day as Carli. :) All this Clairbourn activity.
March 27: Bella's 2nd birthday party!!! Gotta help out with the carnival set-up. I think I'm manning the tattoo booth.
March 29: Bella's REAL 2nd birthday! And Spring quarter starts. ;(
April 3: Paul and Sarah's baby shower. *sigh*
April 10: Joey's 1st birthday party, up in Santa Barbara.
April 16: Taylor Swift concert with Carina!
April 17: Victor and Wendy's wedding in Fullerton. Annettie pie's wedding is this day too :( so I can't make it to what I imagine will be the most unique wedding ever with some traditional Armenian flair.
April 24: Glen Ivy! This is our $ saving idea for our anniversary celebration.
April 25: Madeleine's 1st birthday party! Already RSVPed no since it's our anniversary weekend... but maybe I'll change my mind later since we're planning on Glen Ivy the day before.
May 28-30: Carli's bachelorette party in Napa!!
June 13-19: Our annual summer getaway trip. We just decided today to head up the California coast again and do a road trip during single week of my "summer break," up through Cambria and Big Sur to Monterey (just for the aquarium), stopping up and down the coastline for a week. :) At the end of which is the beginning of the Summer quarter. ;(
July 10: Carli and Don's wedding in Sorrento Valley! (and Viv's wedding in Fallbrook).
Gosh. That's a lot of parties and stuff. I don't know when I'm going to have time to concentrate on hardcore stuff like digital library technologies and competitive intelligence. Huh?
:)
Showing posts with label Bella. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Bella. Show all posts
Thursday, March 11, 2010
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
Valentine's Day 2010
This post is not actually about Valentine's Day 2010. But I thought it would be better to have a neater title than OMG I HAVEN'T POSTED ANYTHING SINCE OCTOBER?!
But it's true. Egads. Holy what. No post of any substance since the wedding. Oh, the wedding. *tear* I miss wedding planning! Now my life is all about me-time in the car on my commute, and school. It's week 6 of Digital Libraries and Information Services in Organizations. Both have heavy workloads, but the DL class is probably by far the most interesting and challenging course I've taken. Too much to learn and coherently spit back out, and there doesn't seem to be enough hours in the day for learning before the assignments are due.
Well anywho. There are lots of odds and ends that I could talk about. But then they'd be just that: odds and ends.
So I guess I'll just write down my schedule for the sake of additional content. ;)
Feb. 6: We went to a cute baby shower that had a Dodger theme. There was a cotton candy machine, a popcorn cart machine, hot dogs and nachos and all that. Fun!
Feb. 7: We had a Super Bowl party at our house. Carina and I finished off 2.5 bottles of wine by ourselves. I was feeling pretty awesome until they all left and I laid down. Then I morphed from Mrs. Happy Drunk to Mrs. Hold Your Hair Vomitus.
Feb. 13: Chinese New Year dinner at 4:30pm. You heard me. 4:30pm.
Feb. 14: The "real" Chinese New Year date, but it's Valentine's Day! Also known as VD Day. HAHAHAHA. ;) Not sure what we're doing yet... but probably just having people over to watch the NASCAR race.
Feb. 21: I just bought 6 tickets to the Auto Club 500 at the California Speedway. We're going to get there at the buttcrack of dawn to watch cars go around in a circle for 250 laps of 2 miles each. Awesome. What's really cute is that Ricklet told me he's excited that I'm coming! That really got me stoked! Whenever do husbands want their wives going with them to traditionally "just the boys" events? ;)
Feb. 26-28: Disneyland! This 3 day weekend trip includes two nights (at a hotel that I researched for days that included the creation of an awesome spreadsheet of hotel comparisons that boggled Ricklet's mind) with at 2-fer ticket! The trip itself is my Christmas gift from Ricklet, and Ricklet's Dland ticket is a Christmas gift from my sister! That's really a 2-fer! ;)
March 27: Bella turns TWO on the 29th and we're having a huge carnival themed birthday party!
April 16: TAYLOR SWIFT concert at Staples Center!
April 17: Cousin's wedding in Fullerton. Fullerton? I think so.. can't remember.
April 25: Our 1st year anniversary. I should start planning something now!
Okay, that's far enough ahead. Be back soon(er or later)....
But it's true. Egads. Holy what. No post of any substance since the wedding. Oh, the wedding. *tear* I miss wedding planning! Now my life is all about me-time in the car on my commute, and school. It's week 6 of Digital Libraries and Information Services in Organizations. Both have heavy workloads, but the DL class is probably by far the most interesting and challenging course I've taken. Too much to learn and coherently spit back out, and there doesn't seem to be enough hours in the day for learning before the assignments are due.
Well anywho. There are lots of odds and ends that I could talk about. But then they'd be just that: odds and ends.
So I guess I'll just write down my schedule for the sake of additional content. ;)
Feb. 6: We went to a cute baby shower that had a Dodger theme. There was a cotton candy machine, a popcorn cart machine, hot dogs and nachos and all that. Fun!
Feb. 7: We had a Super Bowl party at our house. Carina and I finished off 2.5 bottles of wine by ourselves. I was feeling pretty awesome until they all left and I laid down. Then I morphed from Mrs. Happy Drunk to Mrs. Hold Your Hair Vomitus.
Feb. 13: Chinese New Year dinner at 4:30pm. You heard me. 4:30pm.
Feb. 14: The "real" Chinese New Year date, but it's Valentine's Day! Also known as VD Day. HAHAHAHA. ;) Not sure what we're doing yet... but probably just having people over to watch the NASCAR race.
Feb. 21: I just bought 6 tickets to the Auto Club 500 at the California Speedway. We're going to get there at the buttcrack of dawn to watch cars go around in a circle for 250 laps of 2 miles each. Awesome. What's really cute is that Ricklet told me he's excited that I'm coming! That really got me stoked! Whenever do husbands want their wives going with them to traditionally "just the boys" events? ;)
Feb. 26-28: Disneyland! This 3 day weekend trip includes two nights (at a hotel that I researched for days that included the creation of an awesome spreadsheet of hotel comparisons that boggled Ricklet's mind) with at 2-fer ticket! The trip itself is my Christmas gift from Ricklet, and Ricklet's Dland ticket is a Christmas gift from my sister! That's really a 2-fer! ;)
March 27: Bella turns TWO on the 29th and we're having a huge carnival themed birthday party!
April 16: TAYLOR SWIFT concert at Staples Center!
April 17: Cousin's wedding in Fullerton. Fullerton? I think so.. can't remember.
April 25: Our 1st year anniversary. I should start planning something now!
Okay, that's far enough ahead. Be back soon(er or later)....
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
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!
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!
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
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!
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!
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
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)
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)
Monday, April 21, 2008
An entry from the Dictionary of Bella Grace
Minnie Bihon - /MIN-nee BEE-hohn/. n. Origins: Philippines and US. Evolution of and pun on Filipino noodle dish, Miki Bihon, and Disney character used to describe a particularly cute baby named Isabella. See fig. 1. Also Monkey Bihon, Monster Bihon, Hungry Bihon, Naughty Bihon. Created by Momma Hsiny, authored and documented by Auntie Mingy.
Monday, April 14, 2008
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!
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!
Sunday, March 30, 2008
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.
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.
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