I need to get a "REAL" job... or so I've been told!!!!

The past couple of weeks have been a whirlwind of on the go for Brian and I! So much so that today, I’m going to take a couple of hours out this morning to just relax and have a little bit of ‘me’ time!

Some may say,

“Why Shelli, you get to stay home everyday ~ how much more ‘me’ time do you need?”

Well, this takes me to a totally different subject. One that has been perturbing me for the last couple of weeks. Let’s see how you all feel about this. Get ready for a mini-vent session

Brian and I have a newly acquired friend. He’s a great guy, but sometimes his ways of thinking is, to me, way off base and borderline offensive.

Recently, during a conversation we were having with a group of friends, “P” (we’ll call him) made a comment to me something along the lines of:

Well Michele, it’s not
like you have a ‘real’ job

You see, I don’t have to get up in the morning and commute to my job. I am luckily enough (if you would call it that) to be able to work from home.

I have a Cake business which has grown into full fledged Event Planning as well.

I have clients who I do wedding cakes for, anniversary cakes, Quincenera cakes, birthday cakes, etc. Along with cakes, I also do bulk cookie orders, cupcake orders, etc. I have clients as far away from California as New York.



I have clients who I plan big events for… weddings, reunions, corporate parties, etc.

I have an existing client base which generates repeat business. I have a website which generates new business. Word of mouth advertising seems to work well for me. And I recently opened an Etsy Store which has generated some clients.

So despite the fact that I don’t work an 8 to 5 job, nor do I have to work for anyone else, I do have a job. And it is so very real. And it’s very fun.



After going rounds for a few with “P”, he throws this out:

Well, you don’t bring
in steady income

Well, true… I don’t bring in ‘steady’ income per say, but can I just tell you that more often than not, one client alone… ONE WEDDING CAKE alone… I will have cleared more than those making $20 an hour who’ve worked an 8 hour day!

Does that make sense? I mean, if “P’s” hourly wage is $20 an hour, and he worked an 8 hour day, he would have made $160 correct? I get paid more than $160 for a wedding cake, AND, I work less than 8 hours on any given cake!! There's even occasions where just ONE wedding cake alone will generate me more $$ than what he would make in one 40 hour week!!!



Using this same scenario, “P” would have to work a little more than three 8 hours shifts to make the same amount of money that I average for any given wedding cake at ONE TIME.

So, given the fact that I don’t have a wedding cake client every single day…. or every single weekend for that matter, I don’t bring in “steady” income.

On the other side of the spectrum, during peak wedding season, I am booked every single weekend with a client for a wedding cake ~ sometimes even double booked. And, during the off season, I still have clients on the books whose weddings I am coordinating.

I get at least one client a week, even if it’s for just a birthday cake….or just a cupcake order, but business is business, no matter how small or large the job is.



Also, who do you all think keeps the house in order? Who does all the laundry? Takes care of the household budget? Takes care of paying bills? Who cooks all the meals? Who scrubs the toilet? Who takes out the trash? Who runs all the errands that need to be done during the day while Brian is at work? ME, that’s who! And I do it because I WANT to do it. That’s my “REAL” job! :) Baking is my “FUN” job.



AND, since I am able to stay at home during the day and work around my own schedule, I have the opportunity to do whatever the H ~ E ~ double hockey sticks that I want. !!!!!!!

So today my friends, while Brian is at work, and “P” is working his 6th day in a row (he was just mentioning to Brian the other night that he has had to work every.single.day for the pass week with no day off) I am taking a little ‘me’ time ~ a break from my menial job of cleaning, doing laundry, etc. and going to head to Starbucks for a nice CARAMEL FRAPPICINNO and browse through my WeddingStar Magazine for more inspiration for our receptions.





Oh, did I mention the fact that I’m also in the midst of planning our wedding?!? Yes…not only our wedding Cruise with approximately 40 guests, but also TWO wedding receptions? One local, but one in another State?!?

So if I didn’t have my job that I have now (even though in some people’s eyes it’s not really a job) I wouldn’t be able to plan my wedding of my dreams!!!

Enjoy your Sunday!!!

xoxoxox

♥Shelli♥

I think I found it!!!!

This is my arch inspirational photo that I’ve been looking for since Christmas!

I originally was going to go with a more traditional look with tulle and all however, my son gave me the more ‘beachy’ theme. During the wedding planning process, we seem to have been gravitating towards all things seashells and starfish.

This is one thing less that I have to worry about now! Yipee! I am going to order the fish netting from an Ebay Seller at a very reasonable price. All I would need then would be the larger shells and starfish, which I also have found on Ebay. :)

Any suggestions? What do you guys think?

Do you suppose it’ll be too difficult for the people who are setting up the arch?

Honest opinions please?!?

Pictures...Pictures...Pictures

Cute little Lauren Conrad dress I (Brian) found at Kohls. I’m not usually a fan of the style or print, but after trying it on, it doesn’t look too bad. I’m going to wear it one night on the cruise ~ just not sure which night! :)

A fellow soon to be DW Bride shared this cute little bracelet from American Eagle! My daughter works at AE, so I asked her to order these for me. (She receives a generous associate discount, plus free shipping ~ SWEET) I believe I am going to give these as a gift to our officiant who is also a very close friend of Brian’s and I, and one to Brian’s niece who is playing her flute during our ceremony!

This dress is the dress I bought for Elyssa (my 13 year old) to wear for the Captain’s dinner on the cruise. It’s a cute dress and age appropriate.

My friend Renae and I doing a shot of Patron last night at “ $1.50 Margarita Night “………..

Oh, and again…my shoes I purchased at the infamous Target! Did I tell you all how much I ♥ Target? And not just because Brian and I met there… or that I used to work there… or that Brian still works there… but just because they are awesome!

Have an AMAZING Friday!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :)

Amazing Numbers ~ Thanks Followers!!!

Thanks to you AMAZING and WONDERFUL individuals who take the time to follow my journaling of my life, I have surpassed the 100 + followers mark. Well, on my ‘blogspot’ blog that is….. and on my WordPress blog I’m at 50 + subscribers.

{{ * The same post is uploaded to both blogs, so essentially I post the same thing in each blog, however I will be soon transitioning over to WordPress only in the near future. So, if you’re following me thru Google Connect Followers on my BlogSpot Blog, please subscribe to my WordPress blog ~ “Minnesota Meets California”* }} ~

When I first started blogging several years ago, it was merely a way for me to journal my life. I didn’t want or expect anyone to read it other than myself and/or my family later on in life. Then things changed. I ended up changing the way I was journaling things. And I jumped on the bandwagon of bloggers and utilized the whole blogging world as a tool for me to share with my family who live in another state to see what’s going on in my life and my life of my kiddo’s as well.

I then started this new blog ~ journaling my life as a 40 something year old, starting a new chapter in my life. I’ve opened this blog to the public, so not only my close friends and family can read, share and comment on my life, but so I can share with others things that they might not know.

I follow a lot of blogs these days, and I tell you what…. I learn something new every.single.day that I didn’t know when I woke up that very morning!

Of course, the subject that I’ve been gearing my blog to recently is that of all things WEDDING RELATED. And in the same token, I’ve been reading and following many blogs that are totally WEDDING RELATED. I’ve gained so many wonderful ideas and suggestions thru reading other blogs, and I’m so glad that I did!!!

Now On to the subject of all things wedding related!!!

I’m still reeling over the fact that I am leaving for our wedding cruise in 52 days. OMG. All of this is finally coming to a closure!!! Wow!!!

I have a lot of things to do yet, little things, but they are things that need to be done nonetheless, and I need to get motivated enough to just get them done!!!

Brian and I have actually been working diligently on the little things, and in the beginning of this whole planning process, he only had two requests…. #1, the ceremony had to be on a beach, and #2, he had to have an arch. I pretty much did all the planning, researching, etc, and just asked for his yes or no as to colors, flavors, what he thought and such.

In the last month or so, he has stepped up to the plate and has helped tremendously!!! I totally super puffy ♥ him!!!

Thanks for letting me share my whole planning process with you all!!!

And Kallay ~ I’ll be expecting you here in California for my California Reception in May ~ you’ll be making my cake. :) Or in the alternative, you can go to Minnesota in June for our Minnesota Reception and do the cake there…. it’s probably closer for you right?!? :)

Happy Wednesday everyone!!! And once again ~

THANK YOU!!!!!

This Weeks Magic Number is: SEVEN

Seven more Mondays!!!! Seven Mondays from today, I will wake up and say….”Oh my gosh, I don’t have any more Mondays!”

We leave in 54 days ~ Spend the entire day with all of my kiddo’s, Brian’s sister flying in from Oklahoma and her friend flying in from North Carolina, in beautiful San Diego and a wonderful night at an awesome hotel overlooking the marina. Oh, and two very good friends of ours as well!!!

We sail in 56 days ~ with close to 40 of our close friends and family members on board the Carnival Elation! Woo Hoo!!

We’ll be on the beach in 58 days ~ exchanging marriage vows!!

I can’t begin to tell you how everything is slowly but surely coming together. It’s exciting to me that Brian and I are actually sitting down and ‘talking’ about wedding related issues! We’ve checked a number of things off of our list, and lists of lists, over the past month or so, and can I just say that it feels WONDERFUL!!!

We’ve accomplished:

• 
  
  Table seating arrangements;


• 
  
  I finished hemming my dress (squee!!!)


• 
  
  Got the Welcome Bag tags; (thanks to an awesome friend)


• 
  
  Got my shoes for the ceremony;


• 
  
  Got another cocktail dress for the cruise;


• 
  
  Got Brian’s suit for the Formal Dinner on the cruise;


• 
  
  Ordered the individual wedding cakes for each table;

And I know there’s a few more things as well!

This week I intend on checking off even more and will concentrate on our May Reception (which is 3 weeks after we return from the cruise). Here’s a short list of what I want to have done this week:

• 
  
  Reserve/Rent the tables and chairs;


• 
  
  Get quote from the lady who will be doing the Filipino food;


• 
  
  Get menu selection narrowed down;


• 
  
  Purchase more Apothecary Jars for the “Candy Bar”


• 
  
  Finalize the food menu for my upcoming Shower with the Hostess;


• 
  
  Have Brian’s Suit and both of my wedding dresses dry cleaned, steamed and pressed


• 
  
  Complete Must-Take Photo list for photographer;


• 
  
  Compile Play-List for DJ for reception;

And, of course, I will add more to it as the days go by! :)

I hope everyone has a Happy Monday!

Taking a "Hiatus" ~ For Good Reasons

I've had a TON of wedding related tasks keeping me busy for the last part of the week, and with this weekend being Brian's weekend off, we have tons planned!!! It's been fun so far, and I'll be sure to share with you all on Monday for sure!!

I did want to share with you a picture of a pair of shoes I found at Target! I think they're adorable! I didn't get them though......they didn't have it in my size, but I'm going to definitely hit our local Target here in town as well as others in neighboring cities until I do find them!! I have four different cocktail dresses for the cruise, and I know these shoes will go with at least one, if not two of them for sure! :)

Have a great rest of the weekend!!!

Date Day Thursdays..............

Are always a blast for me! Brian and I had another wonderful day!! We actually got a lot accomplished ~ more than I thought we would, but the BEST thing about today is that I figured out how to hem my dress!!! For those of you who aren't familiar with my delima, here's the scoop.

See the bottom of my dress:

Well, I've had problems trying to get someone to hem it for me at first.... then after taking it to several seamstresses, I was given quotes right around the $300 range. Are they smoking crack and not sharing?!?! So, Brian tells me that he thinks I can do it myself. I agree, I could, but would I want to? I mean come on... it's my WEDDING dress. So, after weeks of trying to figure out whether or not I would attempt this task, I decided to take a stab at it. I brave it out and I start with the lining..... no problemo. I marked and pinned the front panel of the lining two inches and then start tapering the panels on either side of the front panel to make it flush with the rest of the dress so I don't mess with the length of the train. Easy enough! Whew. But then, when I attempt to do this with the outer layer, it's totally not doable because of the three rows of ribbon going around the entire dress. No way to taper that! So, after stewing about it and trying to come up with a way in which this can be done, I still come up blank. I can't just cut it off and hem it at the two inch mark because I'd have to do it ALL THE WAY AROUND the circumference of the dress and the lining would be sticking out from under that.

Today, while out on our date day, we take my dress to an alteration shop in nearby Modesto. The guy tells me that there's no other way to do it other than to either just do it the exact same way as I did the lining ~ um duh...can't do it idiot, there's three rows of ribbon and you can't just taper it without it being totally noticable; or just cut both the lining and the tulle layer two inches around entirely ~ sorry, not an option because first of all, I don't want to lose the length of the train, and secondly, there's buttons down the entire back of my dress. We thank the gentlmen and we leave.

Brian decides to stop back in to David's Bridal to talk to one of the alterations gals to see if maybe he can talk them down little. A different lady somes out to talk to us, and I show her the dress. I show her where I've pinned the liner and how it tapers down to the length of the dress smoothly. She then proceeds to tell me that she can do the outer layer, no problem. It would cost $120. YAY!! I start to get all giddy with excitement knowing that my dress will FINALLY be hemmed, and hemmed properly! Woot Woot. And then the lady says..... BUT....this is something you can do yourself. It's really easy. I do a double take and look at her..... "Say what?" And she says, "If you pinned this (referring to the liner) then you must know what you're doing because you pinned it correctly." Then she proceeds to show me a little 'trick' to pulling up the tulle from the existing top layers of the ribbons going around the dress and tells me how I can do it myself. SWEET!!! I look up at Brian and say..... "Why didn't I think of that?!?!?". The nice lady says "I shouldn't be telling or showing you this, but it is a very easy thing to do yourself if you're a sewer". She then throws in the fact that she'd be more than happy to do it but wouldn't want to see us waste $120 on something very simple.

So....... after leaving David's Bridal with excitement that I can potentially have my dress all nice and hemmed by tomorrow, I'm soooo ready for $1.50 Margarita Night! :)

Now that I've had time to absorb it all in, I'm starting to freak out a little.... but... worse case scenerio is that I get the lining done (which is a total cinch) but then end up having problems with the outer tulle layer and have to take it back to David's to have the nice lady finish the rest! :)

So, wish me luck people!!! I'm going to attempt to hem my own wedding dress and do it properly. Funny thing is.... if it were someone else's dress, I'd have no problems doing it, and doing it right....however, since it's MY dress... I'm second guessing myself.

Stay tuned for the outcome!!!!!!!!

Zumba Anyone?!?!?

So, a neighbor of mine and I happened to both be getting out of our vehicles at the same time earlier today. She was carrying a gym bag and looked like she just had a work out from hell. Mind you, she’s older than I am, by maybe 10 years or better, but I always see her either coming or going to the gym.

Today, I asked her if she had a great work out, and she said “Yes, I did ~ two hours of non stop Zumba”. She opened her jacket and showed me her shirt which said “ZUMBA” on it in bright colors. She then proceeded to tell me that she’s a Zumba Instructor at a local In-Shape City gym. Wow.

We got to talking for a bit, and she invited me to join them this Saturday for a “Master Class” where there will be 5 different instructors. Are you serious?!? Can I actually do this? I’m so un-coordinated, it’s pathetic!!! I’ve always wanted to try it because I’ve heard it’s a lot of fun and a great work out. But seriously, me?!? In front of others? Zumba? Do you think I can do it?

I have exactly 60 days before we leave for the wedding of my life. I need to get rid of my poochy stomach, (although, I fit in my dress perfectly as I did back when we purchased it in July). Most say I don’t have a “pooch”, but I do…I see it.

So, it’s clearly a matter of whether or not I have the ability to throw caution to the wind and just do it, or let my self-consciousness get the best of me and chicken out. Ugh!!!

So many decisions to make these days!!!

*********************

On another note.... today was the last day for all guests who are cruising with us to have their cabins paid in full. And guess what?!?

Each and every cabin is booked! Yay!! Another step closer to reality!! Yikes!!

The next 'major' thing I need to do is get the seating arrangement figured out and give it to Carnival by March 5th. Carnival will keep our group together, however they have tables for 4, 6, 8 or 10 people. I figured we'd do the tables of 8. So, in our case, we have 34 people in our group, so we'd have to do three tables of 8 and one table of 10. This seating assignment is only for Dinner, and it's for all four nights of the cruise.

At least I have several weeks to come up with a plan that everyone will be comfortable with.

Hope you all had an AMAZING Tuesday!

My Kiddos.....Part Three!!!!

My baby girl!!! My love!!!

She is my silly one! 13 years of pure joy and happiness!

Very witty, very smart mouthed, very sassy, yet very lovable!!

My life would never be the same without my three wonderful children!

They are my life!!!

My Kiddo's........Part Two

My 20 year old daughter has a very good head on her shoulders!! I'm proud to have such a beautiful young lady for a wonderful daughter. Although at times she can be a little rough around the edges; played sports when she was in high school, she's still the 'girly girl'. She's a full time college student and holds down two part time jobs. She knows where she's going in life. I'm very proud of her.

*** CAPPUCCINO TORTE RECIPE ***

Happy Valentines Day! Please venture over to my WordPress blog for an awesome recipe!! It's a Cappuccino Torte Recipe and it's DELICIOUS!!!!

My Kiddos.........Part One

The first thing my son’s Drill Sergeant told me when I met him at Joseph’s Boot Camp Graduation in January, 2007 is this:

Mam, I had your son down on the pavement giving me push-ups more these past couple of months than anything else..….even then, I still couldn’t get him to wipe that grin off his face”

My son…..he’s given me 22 years of love, stress, worries, happiness and joy! I wouldn’t change any one thing about him. His smile is infectious and often times, you won’t find anything else but just that on his face!!