Wedding Plans

Amanda asked about wedding planning. Thanks for stopping by, Amanda. How interesting... we have the same wedding date.

Wedding planning is... well, it's going. I am obviously not the typical girl when it comes to planning a wedding. Honestly, I would rather someone else do it. I find it stressful and a little annoying at times. September 25 is our date by default since we originally planned on getting married in Mexico. We booked our trip for October 2 but then our parents had major issues with us not getting married at home. So everything changed and now September 25th is the date - we are getting married at my parents' house in their backyard.

I refuse... refuse... to spend $20,000 or more on a wedding (and I wouldn't even allow my parents to spend that kind of money, either... I think it's ridiculous). I don't care if some stranger walked up to me and gave me the money, I certainly wouldn't use it for a wedding. Neither M or I want a big wedding. At least for me, I think this has a lot to do with being poor for so long. I worked full time while going to college and while my dad and stepmom did help pay for some of my loans once I graduated (and I am SO grateful for that!!) I had to work my @ss off while I was in school. There were times when I literally only had cents in my checking account. While M and I are much better off now, I am still very careful about my spending. Crap, when I bought my car last year, M basically spent the whole time calming me down - I was ready to have a panic attack every 5 minutes talking about car payments, etc. Even if I had a money tree growing in the backyard, I would still probably freak every time I had to spend a large amount of money.

Anyway, things are coming along. I have 5 bridesmaids and all of the dresses have been ordered. We are only waiting on two more to come in. My dress is ivory and their dresses are chocolate brown... each bridesmaid has a different style dress. The guys will not being wearing tuxes. They will wear khaki pants with ivory shirts.

We are using fall colors and I want the arch to look something like this...

I haven't decided on flowers for me or my bridesmaids yet, but I think I will stick with the sunflower/fall theme. Same for the center pieces. My stepmom and I are going to look at some flower ideas this Friday.

So far we have the minister, DJ, caterer, and videographer (this was my parent's doing... they want pay for a video of our wedding as part of their wedding gift to M and I) booked. The photographer is up in the air. A friend of ours was going to do the photography, but was recently in a motorcycle accident and will probably not be able to do it. I am so incredibly glad he is ok - but you have no idea how stressed out I am about trying to find a photographer with a little over 4 months until the wedding.

Since we will be having a bonfire when it gets dark (I HOPE it doesn't rain!), these are our favors, hot cocoa mix...

Oh, and here are what our invitations look like...

For the bridesmaids, I am buying them necklaces to wear on the day of the wedding. I also bought them these... I would like to find one more thing for them as a thank you gift. I also have something special in mind for my sister in law (my matron of honor) who is already making plans for my bridal shower and bachelorette party. By the way - I am SO excited about the bachelor/bachelorette parties. We are going on an overnight trip to some wineries in the Geneva area. It's going to be a blast!

So it's all coming together. I still need a bustle/alterations on my dress. All of the bridesmaids will need alterations. We still have to figure out exactly what the guys are wearing. We know where we are getting the wine/beer from, it's just a matter of buying it. M needs to decide on gifts for the groomsmen. M & I need to come up with a special gift for my dad and stepmom who are helping us out A LOT with the wedding. My stepmom is helping me decide on flowers this Friday. And we need a PHOTOGRAPHER!

Did I forget anything? I think I pretty much have it covered. I feel like I'm running around like a chicken with my head cut off. A lot of the wedding planning is already done, but I know there is still so much to do!

I've Got Nothing...

Seriously. I have been in such a funk lately.

What do you guys want to hear about? Any blogging suggestions??

I Made It Through The Challenge...

I haven't been so good at blogging lately. Work has been busy... and so has life, in general.
Yesterday was my last day on the Advocare 24 day challenge. The results? I lost 10 lbs. That's right kids, I'm barely in the 170's weighing in at 179 lbs as of this morning - but it's still exciting. I gained a few lbs towards the end when I started running, but they came off within a few days.

My thought on the Advocare challenge? Well... I lost 10 lbs in a little over 3 weeks. Not amazing, but not bad. I'm glad I did it, but I'm not sure I would do it again. However, I do have to say, I know I lost some inches. I did my measurements before I started the program and again half way through and I was surprised. I have do my final measurements today, but I'm pretty sure I will be happy with the results. Bottom line is, if you eat the way they tell you to eat on this program, you are going to lose weight anyway, even without the supplements. And let's be honest... I did have a couple of cheat days while doing this.

Now, I think I'm going to continue to watch my sodium intake and go back to only weighing myself every 2 weeks. I'm still running... and dare I say, gasp... I actually look forward to it. I've been running almost 2 miles 3 times a week and I think I will stick to that for now and try to improve my speed. I also usually hop on the elliptical for 10-15 minutes. It seems like cardio gets done so much faster with the running and I feel like I have been getting a better work out. No shin splints... yet. I hope I didn't jinx myself!!

Moving on...

Did anyone see the Rielle Hunter's interview with Oprah? What a joke. Not that I really care what Hunter has to say, I was just kind of curious as to the stupidity that would be coming out of her mouth and what kind of comments Oprah would have. What a hypocrite, seriously. I had to laugh when she tried to justify her relationship with John Edwards. Not only is she delusional, but she's not exactly the sharpest tool in the shed. And the pictures of her from GQ magazine with no pants on in her kid's bed?! Creepy!!

Happy Hump Day everyone!!

Post It Note Tuesday

If you want to play along, go here...

Post It Note Tuesday.

Ugh... People

Warning: This post is going to be a huge rant. If you're not interested, I wouldn't read any further.


My brother's former partner and one of his very good friends, MV, (who was also going to possibly be the wedding photographer for M and I) was involved in a motorcycle crash at work yesterday morning. You can read about it here. It's the postings in the comments section (as well as the comments on other articles relating to this) that are the reason for this blog post.

While MV will be ok, he broke his femur (the hardest bone in your body to break) as well as several vertabrae. He had to have pins put in his leg/pelvis and may need to have back surgery. Really, he was lucky the back injury didn't result in paralysis. He has a long recovery ahead of him, but we are just glad that he is going to be ok.

Before I continue, this is where I should say that MV is one of those officers who loves his job and loves serving his community. He is so grateful for all of it.

I am disgusted by some of the comments that I've been reading on this story, although comments such as these, unfortunately, no longer surprise me. Where has this complete lack of respect for law enforcement come from?! People who hate police officers so much that they feel the need to make ignorant, disrespectful comments on something they clearly know nothing about. It's sad, ignorant, and angering... and this is the exact reason I chose not to go into the law enforcement profession. I have a hard time not losing my temper when it comes to this...

These people should spend less time criticizing and instead, be thankful there are people like MV who chose this profession, serving and protecting regardless of how they are treated because of it.

For the record, MV did not "forget" to put his kickstand up. There was an issue with the spring and it kept falling down as he was riding.

Prayers for you, MV - stay strong and get better soon!