Being Eco-Friendly

unPaper Towels

I am slowly but surely trying my best to get my household more Eco-Friendly. One of the first things I have done is to use more environmentally safe cleaners around the house. I am a HUGE fan of Vinegar & Baking Soda so I use these products hand in hand, together for a number of household things.

Here's a very inspiring "Ode to Vinegar & Baking Soda" Blog post from author Jaye, from Eco-Friendly & Frugal. The Eco-Friendly & Frugal Blog is very informative. Not only does Jaye share with her readers some awesome ways to become Eco-Friendly, she also combines tips on how you can be frugal in doing so!

It's thru Jaye that I learned about 'family cloth' and unPaperTowels. I've read different articles and such on what exactly unPaperTowels are, but in all honesty, to me, they're just dish cloths. Don't get me wrong, I think they are WONDERFUL. As a matter of fact, I purchased some from Jaye's Eco-Friendly & Frugal Etsy Shop!

The photo at the top of this post is the unPaperTowels that I purchased from her Etsy Shop. I am going to use them in my kitchen as a dish towel. Wiping up spills, wiping down the counter, as a napkin during meals, etc. They will be put to good use, that's for sure. And, the best part of it is that I don't have to throw it away! I can just throw them in the laundry! Love it!

On another note, yesterday, I made some Chocolate Starfish and Sea Shells. I was 'practicing' for when I make my cake for the Receptions. I've made Chocolate Candies before, however I just purchased these particular molds a couple of weeks ago and I wanted to test them out.

I'm satisfied with the way they turned out, but I want to play around with the colors a little. I'm wanting to see the Starfish a little more 'natural' looking. For the most part, I think they all came out okay!

And.........FINALLY......... I've finished the Cruise Cabin Door Hangers!! Well, actually, I only completed ONE of them, but that's the 'model' one now. I purchased all of the supplies needed (ha ha, just ribbon) and will ensure that all 18 of them are completed by the end of the day today!

I like the ribbon way better than the door knob hole! I think I'll maybe add a littl 'flair' to them somehow, but not too sure. I don't want to overwhelm it you know?

Let's switch gears here one more time. I am starting (or re-starting I should say) my weight loss efforts. I am going to start today since it's the beginning of the week, and also because it's the beginning of a new month. (Just about, at least). With that being said, here's a list of my newfound goals for this adventure:

• Journal my starting weight


• Journal my measurements of my hips, stomach area and thighs and re-measure weekly
• Walk on the treadmill for 30 minutes a day
  
• Shred with Jillian every day
  
• Prepare and eat healthy meals

Wish me luck my bloggy friends! I do need to squeeze my tushie into my already purchased wedding dress! I know if I keep myself disiplined enough, I can achieve my goals! I've been inspired by a fellow DW Bride who got married last September ~ Sarah ~ and here's the post on her blog, It's the Bergmans!! that really made me aware of the fact that I CAN DO IT!!!

In fact, here's her before and after 3 the weeks picture:

Tell me this is not MOTIVATIONAL! After three weeks of waking up every morning doing the 30 day shred with Jillian Michaels made a HUGE difference.

With that being said.... off I go to have a field day with Ms. Jillian! Wish me luck!

Hope you all have an amazing Sunday!

T - Minus Two Months and Twenty Two Days

Just a quick little blog post sharing with all of my bloggosphere family and friends that I am seriously starting to freak out. Just a tad.

I have SO MANY wedding related tasks that I need to do, and it seems like TIME is my arch nemisis every.single.day. My first and number one priority SHOULD BE working out everyday.

I have this little "pooch" in my tummy that I want to get rid of before going to have my dress fitted/altered. My days are numbered so I need to find the motivation to do what I need to do to get rid of said "pooch" and feel comfortable enough. I suppose the first step (clearly you would think this is a no brainer) is to make an appointment to get fitted. That way I have a goal... a date in which I need to work toward. So, today is the day I do just that! I'm going to find an alterations shop and make an appointment with a seamstress. Quite honestly, the only thing that really needs to be 'altered' per se is the hem of my dress. 100% because of the fact that I'm short. However, if it were that easy, I'd do it myself. Unfortunately, the hem of my dress is beautiful! Here's a picture of the bottom of my dress:

And, to refresh your memory, here's a full shot photo of me and my dress when I tried it on at David's Bridal:

Yes, yes, yes... I know that I have football, linebacker shoulder and arms, but there is absolutely NOTHING I can do about that. :) I can, of course, work on losing that gut.

So on that note, I'm going to head out for a fun Saturday of shopping at Michaels. More DIY supplies are needed for several of my DIY projects!

Happy Saturday friends!! It's the last Saturday of January, 2010!!

Let's talk Clearance Shopping!!!

We all know how much I absolutely ♥ Target correct? Well, I absolutely ♥ Target's clearance!

For example ~ take a looksie at the photo above. A screen tent. (It's 'formal' name is a Screen Pavillion) It was regularly priced at $92.99. We noticed that it was marked down at 15% off....then a couple of weeks later it went 30% off....several more weeks later, 50% off ~ $46.49. I kept thinking, hmmmm maybe we should buy it....there's only one left on the shelf! Brian on the other hand said..... "eh...let's see if it goes 75%". So, after a few days, I resigned myself to kiss that screen tent pavillion goodbye! It was too good of a deal for anyone to pass up, should they run into it.

However.....guess what my lovely honey brought home with him from work today?!? You guessed it! The Screen Pavillion! And guess what else?! Are you ready for this?!? It actually went 75% off! Yes siree Bob!! Guess how much it was marked down to?!?

$23.24

Yes, $23.24! And, don't forget..... Mr. Lovely's Team Member Discount on top of that! Woo Hoo!! Score!!! Let me take a moment here to do a:

♪♫♪ haPpY dAncE ♪♫♪

So, with that being said, can I just tell you that not this past summer, but the summer before, we bought over $300 worth of camping equipment all clearanced at least 50% off, so we actually spent right around $150. However, did we go camping that year? Nope. Did we go camping this past summer?!? Nope. So, this year in between our Wedding Cruise in April, the California Reception in May, the Minnesota Reception in June and two weddings in July (which I'm coordinating), we are definitely getting some camping time in there FOR SURE.

Target + Clearance = Awesomeness!!

Definitely walk the perimeter of the store and you'll be sure to find some great clearance items! Despite the fact that Brian spends over 40 hours a week in his SuperTarget, he doesn't always get the chance to check out everything ~ so it's nice that we can pop into our local Target (which, by the way is located about 2 minutes from our place) and we walk the perimeter of the entire store! The good clearance stuff is usually on end caps, but depending on which department you're in, they sometimes have them in the aisles as well.

Besides Target

I was very fortunate enough to get my Wedding Dress on clearance as well. Everyone knows that David's Bridal almost always has a $99 dress sale. The dresses are usually those that are no longer in production ~ usually 'last seasons' styles.

Well, when Brian and I went looking together (yes, he came with) we found a dress that I was totally in love with - mind you it was after I tried on about 4 other dresses! So after debating on several different dresses, we decided to go with THEE one. The price wasn't too bad either ~ the tag said $799. Pretty reasonable, so my Sales Associate that was helping me said she'd write everything up for me while I was getting dressed. As we were at the counter getting ready to pay for my dress, she says, "Um..wow... this dress is on clearanced for $99."

SAY WHAT?

I was very, very, very excited, but then she says... "Let me put enter the numbers in the computer one more time just to be sure." UGH... can she burst my happy little bubble or what?!? Well, turns out that the dress was indeed on sale for $499, ($300 off) but just that very morning apparently it was supposed to have been clearanced! Yay me! So, in the end, I got THEE dress for a whopping $99.00. S.W.E.E.T.!!!!

So, can I just say that CLEARANCE shopping is the BOMB!

Happy Friday!!

Destination Wedding??? Why, of course!!!

"Why did you guys decide to have a Destination Wedding?"

That was (and continues to be) the very first question people asked.

Although there are multiple reasons an engaged couple chooses to have a Destination Wedding versus a Traditional At Home Wedding, here are some of the reasons why WE chose to have one:

• Brian's family and very close friends all live in Minnesota;


• 95% of my family live in Hawaii and the rest along with 99% of my close friends live here in California;


• Brian and I have both been married before and we wanted to do something 'different';


• Since early on in our relationship, Brian had coined the phrase: "Barefoot on the Beach with a Flower in your Hair";


• We didn't want to spend hundreds and hundreds of dollars on this event; (which by the way we're doing anyway)


• If our family and friends were going to travel anywhere, we wanted them to have the best 'mini-vacation' for their money;

With that in mind, deciding on the location was at first a very, very easy one for us. We immediately chose Hawaii! My family lives there and Hawaii has tons of beaches! We picked a date...found a location... and then went from there. Problem solved correct?!? Wrong..... after doing all of the research and working with a fabulous Travel Agent from Beach Bum Vacations we found out that all of Brian's family and close friends who were part of the bridal party would have to pay over $18oo alone just for travel and accommodations. That's NOT INCLUDING meals or souvenirs. We couldn't ask our family and friends to fork out that kind of money, nor could we afford to pay it for them ourselves.

Back to the drawing board for us. I did a lot of research on other locations, and the one thing that I kept going to was a Cruise. I've cruised in the past and had a very great time. Brian has cruised in the past as well and agreed that it may be a fun thing. So I did more research and made a ton of phone calls.

We ended up having to switch our dates (only by a week though) and I locked into an AWESOME deal with Carnival Cruise lines for a Monday thru Friday cruise!

Our cruise leaves on a Monday, we are at sea for the entire day on Tuesday, Port in Catalina Island on Wednesday, Ensenada Mexico on Thursday and return to San Diego on Friday. I was able to lock in at a rate of $199 per person double occupancy, plus taxes and fees. AWESOME! Plus, since I booked an entire group and blocked a certain amount of cabins, we received several amenities which included a 1 category upgrade on cabins, a $50 on board ship credit for all guests, and a 1 hour shared cocktail party for our entire group. SWEET!

We absolutely couldn't pass up that deal at all! It isn't too expensive for our guests, and since we booked this group rate just about 10 months in advance, it gave everyone enough time to request time off of work as well as save $$. After paying a $150 deposit per person, they had the rest of the time to make small monthly payments as low as $14 per person or save up and pay it off prior to Feb. 16th, 2010. So, either way it was a win win situation for everyone involved!

Even Brian's family members and close friends who are traveling from Minnesota, they had enough time to book their airplane reservations without having to pay an outrageous amount! PLUS, the cruise provides breakfast, lunch and dinner as well as offers a 24 hour all you can eat buffet. So paying $199 per person is AWESOME. I figured it breaks down to $40 per day which really isn't bad.

We really wanted to have the people that mean the most to us, with us, as we enter a new chapter in our lives and are extremely grateful that they're going to be there. For everyone else, it would definitely be a bonus to have them there as well, however we know that not everyone can be there. What we believed to be maybe 10 to 15 people at the most cruising with us, we are so very happy and excited that we have close to 40 people!! It's going to be truly an amazing time!

For those of us who couldn't cruise with us, we are going to have TWO, yes, not one, but TWO At Home Receptions (AHR). One local here in California and one in Minnesota. I'm very excited and am very grateful that we're surrounded by a circle of friends and family who are supporting us 100% of the way!

We're blessed to have such a wonderful friendship with our friends, Kristen and Adam.

They've generously offered to have the California reception in their back yard. So in May, we're going to have the biggest, most fantabulous AHR ever! Um.... yes, I still have yet to rent the tables and chairs...figure out the menu... and all of that other fun stuff!!

Again, we're blessed to have awesome friends. For our Minnesota AHR, we're fortunate enough to have the owners of a local Bar/Grille/Lounge allow us to use their venue for the event ~ as a gift. SWEET!!!

We're going to utilize the back patio of Boomers for the most part. AND.... it gets better:

• 
  
  Brian's best friend of over 35 years caters, so he'll be catering the entire event as our wedding gift!;


• 
  
  Boomer's will be having a live band in the lounge area, so we'll have our 'DJ' taken care of;


• 
  
  Boomer's will provide all of the paper products for the event (ie. paper plates, napkins, utensils, etc.)

The one issue that I had with the fact that Boomer's is a public venue and we're not able to "close it down" for the night just for our event, there will be other patrons of the establishment coming and going out on the patio, which I'm totally fine with. The problem lies in the fact that we're going to have a keg or two available for OUR GUESTS. How can I make it so that OUR guests are getting the free flowing beer and not just some other person who is at Boomers for a night out?!? Do I have those cheesy paper wrist bracelets that the Boomer's management has suggested? Do I have our guests show a 'beer pass' to the person at the keg? Do I just say screw it and let everyone drink our keg? Decisions, decisions, decisions......

So, all in all, our choice for a Destination Wedding is by far the most AWESOMEST decision we've made! I don't think I would change my mind ever.ever.ever. I can't wait to be able to spend an entire week with our family and friends while we're cruising, and again during any of our AHR's. :)

Happy Thursday!!!

Wordy Wednesday! :)

So, what do you guys think of these Chair Sashes? Pretty simple, yet it dresses up the chairs a tad don't you think? I am fairly confident these are not the type of chairs we'll be having for the ceremony on the beach, but at least it'll give whatever chairs we have a little kick.

This is a still photo of a Web Cam shot of the beach where we'll be having our ceremony at. You can actually view the Live Web Cam by clicking -----> Here.

I realize there are much more secluded beach areas where we could have our ceremony, however, we've chosen this location for sevearl reasons. Most imporatant one being we have several elderly guests who are cruising with us and this beach location is literally right off of the pier in which we're tendered to from the cruise ship. :)

I am finally getting the motivation I need to make sure all of my DIY projects get done in time. Today, I actually worked on the Cruise Cabin Door Hangers.

The one on the left, in blue, is the final one. The one on the right was just a "mock-up" one I did. All I have left to do is have the ones on the right (the good ones) laminated, then I'll hole punch the door knob hole in them. I was debating whether or not I should actually do the hole punch thingee or do some sort of ribbon or string. Kinda like this one:

Any thoughts? Suggestions?

My next hunt will be for a "Bride to Be" hoodie! I've browsed several sites, but haven't found the "right" one just yet! I've thought about making my own, but I think I'll do a little more searching first. Something along the lines like this:

So, if you know of any good sites where I can find these, please pass it on to me! :) I would greatly appreciate it!

Hope you had a Wonderful Wednesday!

Date Day Thursday! Among other things....

I know, I know....it's not Thursday! But you see, Brian has an important visit coming in the store on Thursday, so he switched his day off for the week. (Important "visit" = head honcho's from Corporate). So, we had our Date Day Thursday today!

We started out at Panera for breakfast as usual! It was a very enjoyable time ~ we sat at a table right in front of the fireplace so it was very nice! We actually got some wedding related issues solved! Can you believe it?!? Brian actually initiated the conversations! Usually I'm the one who brings up any wedding related topics, but not today! I think he's starting to feel the pressure now as well. And he most certainly should! We're down to what..... 84 days until the big day. Wow.

We actually got a lot of 'discussions' done. But in the same token, said discussions had generated more questions which requires more phone calls and research to get answers to. But that's okay.... it's better to be safe than sorry right?!?

After a lengthy but very accomplished outing at Panera, we went home to hang out for awhile. We had to meet a friend of ours for a late lunch so we decided to start the above referrenced research. Again, we got a lot of stuff done! Woot woot!!!

We then had a wonderful and very filling lunch at BJ's Brewhouse. We actually met our friend Renae (who is also going to be our officiant for our wedding) and her 3 year old daughter there and again, had a great time socializing! Let me tell you, despite the fact that I ordered a mini one topping pizza, I couldn't finish it yet I was stuffed!!!

After BJ's, we made a quick walk thru the mall. I had to walk off the meal I just ate, and also, I wanted to hit the Coach Store! Brian is NOT A FAN of Coach at all ~ he thinks it's so overrated! I agree with it being overrated, however I just wanted to see what they had that was new! :) Just browse ~ that's all. Lucky thing for him, I didn't see anything worth spending hundreds of dollars on.

On to wedding related topics ~ look at what I picked up at Michael's awhile back.....

My intentions are to find cute little T-Shirts and use the above sequin iron on's to create shirts for some of the gals going to the Bachelorette Party on board the ship Monday night of the cruise! I know we'll have more than 8 gals, but that's all that was left of those!!

I have 4 gals in my bridal party ~ (we didn't designate a Maid of Honor or Best Man) so I thought it would be cute to do shirts for the girls with the "Brides Maid" Sequins! :) What do you think?!?

I also FINALLY ordered my bridal party flowers and boutonnieres thru an Etsy Seller! I'm very excited to see the final product! Here's the inspirational photo of what my bouquet will look like with the exception of the Plumerias..... I went with Gerbera Daisies and Orchids instead of Plumerias and Orchids.

I know that it's a HUGE difference between Plumerias and Gerbera Daisies, but I liked the look of the Gerbera Daisies for the Bridal Party bouquets so I wanted to tie them together someway. The Bridal Party bouquets will look like the bouquets in the picture below (the Blue Gerbera's) however, they will be the HotPink/Fushia colored Gerberas. :)

And last, but not least, the guys will be sporting the following boutonnieres, however the Orchids will be the Deep Purple/Hot Pink Orchids as pictured above in my bouquet!

I'm keeping my fingers crossed that the final product will be as amazing as I'm imagining they will. The Etsy seller says it will take about 3 to 4 weeks for me to receive my order so we shall see! I will definitely post pictures once I get them!!

Hope your Tuesday was as enjoyable as mine was!!!

Etsy Sellers

Okay blogosphere world!! How many of you like Etsy?!?

What Etsy Sellers do you like? I know that Etsy has a vast variety of sellers so, share with me (and my awesome readers) which Etsy Sellers have awesome stuff!!!

Please leave your comments below! Thanks!!

ELEVEN...EIGHTY FOUR...EIGHTY SIX...

ELEVEN

Mondays left.

EIGHTY FOUR

Days until we sail.

EIGHTY SIX

Days until our vows.

Can you all start freaking out with me please?!? I haven't even ordered my bouquet yet. Nor have I ordered the gals' bouquet. Or the the guys' bouts. What is with me?!? I mean seriously shouldn't these have been done already? Especially since these have to be Silk Flowers? Aye Carrumba!!! I'll be working on that today for sure!! :)

Book Goal

Did you guys noticed that over the weekend, I finished book number 9. I'm very excited! I love to read and can lounge around all day if I could and just read, read, read!

A friend of mine, who is also a Destination Wedding Bride to Be told me about this website called PaperBack Swap. It's a web site where you can trade your books that you have at home. So, if you have books sitting at home collecting dust and you want to 'recycle' them, you can swap them for another book with other readers. You list your available books and other members will be able to see what's in your library. You'll have to mail it to that person who requests it, but in the same token, when you request a book, it'll be mailed to you at the shipper's expense. I just recently signed up, but haven't had the opportunity to actually 'swap' anything just yet. I'll definitely be taking advantage of that today though. It's something worth checking out!!!

Well, I just finished my 'Quiet Time', reflecting on today's Verse of the Day along with my morning Fruit Smoothie, so now it's time to let Jillian do what she wants with me. I know I'll be hurting later this afternoon, but remember.......... I only have 86 days left until I need to fit properly in this:

So, with that being said....let the Shredding begin!

Happy Monday!!!

Interesting Evening!!!

So, the Vikings lost to the Saints. At least they went into OT, so it was a very close game. There was, of course, two very questionable calls at the end of the game which would have made a difference in the outcome, but it is what it is.

It's the Saints vs. the Colts in the SuperBowl. I'm not really a fan of either team to be quite honest, so I really don't care who wins. I have tons friends who are Colts fans, and some who are Saints fans so, may the best team win.

We had a great day at our favorite joint in town, Cool Hand Lukes watching both games today. I made some home made Cinnamon Rolls again and brought them to the restaurant for all to enjoy. Today was Brian's day. It was his team playing so it was all about him. Needless to say, all of our friends were quick to buy Brian rounds of beer. And so despite the fact that Brian doesn't usually drink more than a couple of beers, he tied one on this evening!!! Well, why not?!? His Vikings were playing for a spot in the Super Bowl!!! I am grateful for the fact that #1) this doesn't happen very often; #2) Brian is a FUNNY drunk; #3) we had a great time with friends!!!!!

A Cat named "Mo-Mo"

We have a stray cat that the entire neighborhood adores. He belongs to nobody in particular, yet everyone feeds him and looks out for him. Brian and I have named him "Mo Mo", short for Maury...which is a nick name for Maury. :) Well, since it's been raining the last week, poor Mo Mo has been taking refuge underneath cars to keep dry and out of the elements. Three days ago, Mo Mo curled up into a little ball and plopped his happy little butt at our front door. Brian literally has had to step over him on his way out the door every morning. Well, with the weather being as bad as it is, I made a little shelter for Mo Mo. I took a large Rubber Maid storage conatiner, set it on it's side, put a rug in it along with a few American Airlines blankets in it and placed it outside our front door, to the left. Sure enough, Mo Mo took refuge in there to keep warm. Well, for the last three days, he didn't budge. I really didn't think anything was very odd because I figured that I just happened to check on him at the right times... I never saw him leave or anything...he was always in his little home.

Well tonight, with Brian being a little intoxicated, he decided something is wrong with Mo Mo because he hasn't moved from the shelter I made for three days. Brian wants to keep Mo Mo in the house for the night because it's expected to rain overnight and it's obvious there's something wrong with him. After discussing it for a few minutes I relent and gave permission to have this cat brought into our home. BUT.... the RubberMaid home along with the cat has to stay in the bathroom with the door shut! Ya think that worked?!? Nope.

Intoxicated Brian + Stray Cat =

After approximately 15 minutes later..................

I was able to get Brian in bed and the cat back outside where he belongs! It was difficult convincing Brian that Mo Mo would be fine outside. I even put used an extra blanket to drape over the RubberMaid container to keep it a little warmer for him. He'll be okay. He's a cat. Cat's can survive in nature! :)

Off to bed I go now ~ it was a long day!!!! Hope everyone had a great Sunday!!!

P.S. ~ I finished my 9th book of the year this morning! Woo Hoo!! :)

Are you ready for some Football?!?!?!?!

GO VIKINGS!!!

If the Vikings pull off a win against the New Orleans Saints tomorrow I will be estatic! So will Brian!!

We're talking

SUPERBOWL BOUND

But, they have to get past this one game before that can happen. So, I wish them lots of luck!!

I will be making some cookies and Eclairs for our football group.

Today was a very nice and relaxing day for Brian and I. I woke up early in the morning, got a lot of computer wedding related tasks done. I even printed all of our Cruise Cabin Door Hangers that I had saved as a Word Document. I'll cut them to size, mount them onto Card Stock, have them laminated then hole punch the door knob hole. I'll be sure to post a photo when it's done!!

Happy Saturday Night!!!

TGIF! Horrible Thursday ever!!!

Thank goodness it's Friday! What a week!

I FINALLY got my business completed at the DMV yesterday, but not without more drama. Let me fill you in on my day yesterday.

Yesterday being Thursday, is usually Brian and my DATE DAY. However, this particular week, Brian had to go into work for half a day. I ♥ Target! Well, I decided... gee...since he was going to be working from 8 a.m. to noon, I'd just go with him, drop him off at Target then hit the DMV in Merced. When I get done there, I'd do a little shopping or stop at a nearby Starbucks and do a little reading. Sounds like a plan huh?!? Well, let me tell you...... so not the way it transpired!

I get to the DMV at approximately 8:20, get my number - B-29 and take a seat. I look up at the monitor and they've just called B-15. Ah....not too terribly bad. I break out my book (book #8 by the way) and start reading. Time passes, the numbers are getting called. A's, B's, C's, D's, and so on. All the other number's are getting called rather slowly, but the B's are going quite smoothly.

At about 10:15, I look up at the monitor again and they're on B-26. Woo Hoo! They call "B-27" and I'm totally getting excited!! I'm only two numbers away! A few minutes later, this lady comes to the front...... she makes an announcement.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, right now, all of our systems are down."

WHAT?!? All systems are down?!?

Yes, they're down Statewide. They expect it to be back up and running in about 30 minutes.

I figured it's only 10:15, I can politely wait for 30 minutes. No biggie. I continue to read my book; i's a very interesting read and I'm just about done, so I'm totally into it. At about 11:30 right as I finish my book, here comes Miss DMV lady to the front again.

"We've received an update and they're now saying that it'll take another 30 minutes to an hour or so."

At this point, I can't wait any longer. Brian will be getting off of work soon and I need to go. So, I'm lucky enough to receive a handy, dandy little orange post it not which says that the next time I come I get to have an "Appointment Number" which drastically cuts the wait time down. Woooooo. Whatever.

So, I head back to Super Target, go to the Grocery side and look for Brian. When I saw him, I immediately tell him about my horrible wait FOR NOTHING and he just shakes his head and laughs. Not nice!!

As we're leaving Target, I advise Brian that he's taking me to lunch. It's still Thursday, and it's still our Date Day whether or not he worked! Humph...that will teach him! We go to our usual Thursday Morning establishment and have a bite to eat. He decides that maybe we should drive by our local DMV to see how long the lines are, and maybe by this time their systems are back online. So we do just that. There was quite a line outside in the wind and rain. Brian suggests that we stop and see if the nice lady from the day before happens to be back from her "break". (Remember she told me to go home and get my check book and come back ~ avoid the lines and she'll take care of me.) So we bypass the 20+ people standing in the yucky weather and walk in. And viola! She's back from her "break" and so I get her attention. She remembers me! Yipee! She takes my check and returns with my 2011 Tags.

THANK GOODNESS!!!

You can bet your bottom dollar that I'm not going to wait until the last minute to ever to this again!

Yes, so that was the whole DMV fiasco yesterday. We also had several other bad issues transpire as well, but I won't bore you all with the details.

To make a long story short:

• 
  
  We got into a heated discussion with Verizon Wireless because although we're paying for 5 friends and family numbers where we can call those numbers and not get charged any minutes on TWO SEPARATE phones, TWO SEPARATE accounts, for some reason it's not letting me choose my 5. It's linked to Brian's 5 and I should be able to have my own 5. Anyway, when it came down to it, they knocked $40 off our bill, and will work on the issue.


• We discover that there was an error on one of our charges from Dinner the last week. What was a $18.00 transaction at the restaurant went thru as a $27.10 transaction thru Wells Fargo. Um.... $9.10 more than what we actually signed our credit card slip for. It was an honest mistake by the restaurant for sure, but we still had to go and take care of it.


• We get to our Thursday night $1.50 Margarita Spot, and discover that the parking lights on my Honda was staying on. Nothing we could do would get them to turn off. So, we had to ditch our Margarita night and head home. Brian then disconnects the batter cable from the battery so it doesn't drain over night. He'll have to take a look at it this afternoon when he comes home from work.

I suppose it allowed us to stay home and enjoy a nice, yummy Lasagna dinner at home. Here's a picture:

This lasagna was YUMMY!!! In fact, I've posted it on my Recipe tab. I'll have you know that I bought ALL OF THE INGREDIENTS at Target! And they were all Target Brand. I used Archer Farms Italian Sausage, the Ground Beef was from Target as well. The Pasta Sauce, Ricotta Cheese, Eggs, Italian Cheese Blend and Oven-Ready Lasagna Noodles were all Market Pantry Brand from Target. Did you all know that I ♥ Target?!?

I suppose it was a nice ending to a horrible day for me. I'm hoping today will be a little better!!

My wedding ticker just climbed under the 3 month mark! Yikes!!

And I've got tons of stuff left to do.

• 
  
  Get fitted and have dress altered


• 
  
  Figure out the chair situation for the beach ceremony


• 
  
  Get marriage license


• 
  
  Ensure sailing guests that haven't done so yet pay off their balance by Feb. 16th


• 
  
  Finish Cabin Door Hangers


• 
  
  Create Welcome Bag tags


• 
  
  Make the inserts for the travel mugs for the Welcome Bags


• 
  
  Create the Welcome Letter


• 
  
  Have the Photo Share Cards Printed


• 
  
  Have the Wedding Day Timeline Printed


• 
  
  Decide on Make Up and Hair


• 
  
  Put together AHR Menu for the California Reception AND the Minnesota Reception


• 
  
  Reserve the tables and chairs for the California Reception


• 
  
  Finish the AHR Boarding Pass Invites


• 
  
  Make the soap and candy favors for the shower in March


• 
  
  Decide what to do with the Palm Fans

And that's just the beginning of it all. Don't you guys feel the least bit sorry for me?!? Or at least sympathize with me?

Have an AWESOME Friday!! Be safe out there and brave the weather!

Decision at Three Months!!!!

Yes, we're down to three months. I still haven't ordered, let alone picked out my bouquet nor those of my lovely ladies in the bridal party.

I can't take real flowers on board the Cruise Ship, therefore I need to do Silk and/or Real Touch flowers. I haven't found any that I really like. I've seen alot that are cute, but nothing that has caught my eye. Plus... I have to make sure that they match somewhat with my bouquet right? Kinda hard to do when I haven't even decided on that yet.

::: Sigh ::: What to do, what to do......

Here's a photo of a bouquet that I like, (minus the Butterfly w/ Swarski Crystals):

So, if I go with that, I can't find flowers for my gals that would come close to matching that. This is what I've found:

Yes, that's the dress the gals are going to be wearing... so the flowers have to match that as well. Tough one huh?!?!? Yeah, tell me about it! I'm going to have to re-visit this issue tomorrow!!!

Have a good one!