Still Busy

You think that after getting married your life will slow down and you will end up doing more with each other. Hasn't happened yet, I'm still just as busy with everything that I do and Chris is still just as busy with work.  It is nice to be in bed though by 8:30 pm.  I do laugh about it because I feel like such and old person but it's dark outside so it helps my mind set.

I'm curious what others are looking to hear from us about.  I want to include my readers into this world of ours but I want to share what you are interested in, not just what we feel you are interested in hearing about.

Feel free to let me know.

Thank you for reading
~Mary

So it begins

Sorry for the delay in posts but we are still in the process of moving everything into our little cottage and the computer is not big on our list of things that have to be moved in right now.
Everything is going well right now we are still waiting on getting my dresser over to our place so everything will be nicer and more organized.  I know I said at first it was small but now that we have moved alot of our belongings into it it is rather large.  We've also spoken with some of our other married friends, they got married in the last year or 2 and we seem to have a little bit more space than some so that's good right?
We do enjoy our neighborhood, it is very quite considering where it is located and I can't wait to get involved with the people in my ward.

Thank you for reading
~Mary

The Final Countdown

With the wedding happening this weekend we are in the final stages of everything we can do for this wedding.  This week will probably be an emotional time for me since I will be moving out of my house for the first time in my entire life.  I didn't think I would see it as this hard of a moment to get through. I'm excited to get married but I didn't expect these emotions to well up like they are. I worry about my little sister and how she's going to handle me being out of the house.  I know she always stick her tongue out at me and does her little downs speech and laughs that funny laugh of hers, how will she take all of this after losing her best friend in my oldest sister a year ago and now losing me who's been her protector over the years. Yes we are planning on spending time with her and planning 'play dates' with her but I'm still worried how she will take this.
I also worry about my dog who I won't be able to see every day and have him wake me up in the middle of the night to be let outside. He was a rescue dog so his owners abandoned him and I feel like I'm doing that to him now.  Chris and I do plan on coming by once a week to take him for walks and to play with him so he knows I'm still around and that I haven't left him completely.  You don't think these things will bother you when you are getting ready to leave home.  I'm ready to be married and start my new life and there will be changes with it and there will be growing and adjusting to each other but it is time that Chris and I stepped into that new life of ours and grow together.
I suppose I'm content with my life and getting married is the right thing for me to do, but I don't NEED to get married like some people feel they do.  I'm not putting anyone down by that because everyone's lives are different and everyone's needs are different so their reasons for getting married and leaving home are different and my reasons are different as well.

I hope to be able to post this week about everything that is going on with the final prep plans but we will see if I am able to or not.
Thank you for reading
~Mary

Not such a Fantasy

Everyone knows that weddings are stressful, it is one of those given moments that you know not to piss off a bride or give her bad news, she's stressed out enough as it is.
Well today I got that not so great news.  I've been calling Fantasy Bridal for the past 2 weeks checking on my wedding dress to see what the progress is on it.  Well last week I was rather rudely told that I would get a phone call when they were done so I just had to wait! Yes the way that is written doesn't sound rude but it was the ladies tone throughout the entire conversation.  So then I called this week, I mean I'm down to less than 2 weeks to my wedding and I still don't have my dress in hand. I got the same lady I had to deal with last week, doesn't she take a break?, And she went back and spoke with the alteration ladies.  They said they would be done with it and pressed  by Wednesday.  Then I get a phone call maybe an hour later from the same old lady saying that there is a problem.  They need to let the dress out 3 inches around my rib cage, no it was not measured and it is not one of the areas that are measured for some reason with their dresses. Well the dress won't allow for a 3 inch let out so I have to go in this Wednesday, now 9 days away from my wedding to get this fixed.  Which will probably mean that I have to pay for more material to get those 3 inches taken care of. I'm so pissed off right now and freaking out because I am getting down to the wire and I shouldn't have to pay for the extra material when this is something gone wrong with their measurements.

So I am telling people this now. Do no buy your dresses from Fantasy Bridal and please tell others not to buy their dresses from this terrible store.  The sales women are rude, they measured me in the middle of the store by the windows, yes that makes me feel secure when people are writing down my measurements and knowing that I am cared about.  No I didn't buy a full on wedding dress from them but really who says a wedding dress has to cost thousands of dollars, if it's the right dress, it's the right dress.  Then when I'm told it would be finished with alterations when it came in buy August 20 then I come back and they say it won't be ready til September 3.  You would think that with my wedding being September 8 it would be higher on the list of which dress gets touched first because of how close my wedding date was approaching. I'm not saying that I should get better treatments than other brides but really why work on a dress that the wedding isn't until October when you have ones coming up in September.

I do blame myself for this because we were planning on making the dress so all of this could have been avoided had we just made the dress ourselves rather than giving that over to a store. I hate that hindsight is 20/20.

I will keep you up to date, don't worry.
~Mary

13 Days

Well more like 12 and some change really but it is scary that we have less than 2 weeks left until Chris and I are married. I've had some panic attacks with that realization and yes I knew it would fly by so I was expecting it.
I just keep telling myself to Keep Calm and Carry On. It helps, sometimes but everything will be fine in the end.

Thank you
~Mary

Failure to communicate

This has nothing to do with Chris and I but more along the lines of my families lack of communication skills.  I know that getting married older I'm not necessarily wiser than other brides but I have gone through a little bit more of life so not everything is all polished and new looking to my eyes.  Let's face it, I've become jaded due to my line of work. 
So my older brothers family has practically backed out of the wedding.  Being older you wouldn't think it would hurt so much, yet it does.  I can't up but take it personal.  I know I need to speak to them about this and how much it hurts me because it feels like they don't want to spend time with me.  I know it's one of those languages of love thing and I feel loved when people spend time with me. So by them not spending time with me it feels like to me that they don't love me. I'm not sure if that is their intent with it or that they don't realize that that is how I feel loved by others.
I don't really have a point to this right now, it's just one of those times when you have to get things off of your chest.

Thank you for reading.
~Mary

Bridal Moment

I may have given into a little bit of a bridal moment the other day.  My dress is fine everything will be okay with it so, it's all good. 
I can now see why Brides can turn into Bridezilla, it becomes difficult to keep your composure when things don't always go according to the plans you had in mind. 

The Horrors of dresses

We have already established someplace I think that Chris is a very lucky man for marrying me. However wedding dresses are not very lucky because I have to fit into them and my stupid boobs get in the way. My advice for dress shopping.  Find one that you like and then find someone who can recreate it for you.  You won't have to deal with alterations or that it came in with a major issue that now has to be fixed because someone didn't read instructions! Yes I'm on the verge of tears right now because with buying the dress it was supposed to be less stressful than making it but I'm still feeling the stress of it. And yes alterations are expensive. 

Invitations

I am able to mark another check off of my list of things to do for the wedding.  I honestly believe it is a rather big check because it means that the invitations are now off to the printer and I just need to wait for them to come back to my doorstep so I can start planning a stuffing envelope party. Sounds exciting I know. 
It seems like a big check to me since I've been able to make my own invitations.  Yes it is one of those money saving ideas but I also have Microsoft Publisher for my home computer so it makes creating a publication so much easier. I don't think they turned out bad and when I look at the final draft before okaying for the printing of them I kind of feel like they look just as good as any professional job. But I suppose those receiving the invitations will be the final judge of if they look like a homemade job or if they look like some publishing company did them. 
Oh, I'm also going to be making the Thank You cards myself too with the same type of program and printing company.  Shoot if you can beat 500 invites for under $71 let me know. ;)


Thank you for reading
~Mary

It's a Keeper!

We decided we are going to take the apartment!!!!
The more we think about it the more we see ourselves in it.  We know it will only be for a short time, it had better be for a short time ;).  Yes it is small but my parents said we can keep whatever doesn't fit at their house in my old room. Also when I get a full-time job, see bringing in the positive vibes, we can save and pay off debt and keep our costs down. Then the sooner we pay off enough of my student loan debt then we could possibly get a condo or something and be able to bring Jasper with us then and from there move onto a house. 
I've only had like 4 panic attacks too with the whole thing of moving out, I know I'm slow but what do you expect from a Star Wars fan in their parents basement? Other than a crap load of shoes. 


Thank you for reading
~Mary

Just Looking

We checked out our first apartment today.  It isn't too bad of a place, super tiny but my parents said we can store some of our stuff here at the house since it is a super small place.  We are still keeping our options open but it is in a nice neighborhood, we won't feel like we are poor since everyone else is too. ;) Pretty much the size is the only con on the list.  We get free Wi-Fi, water is included in the rent and gas and power are usually like $70 a month year round, but we are pretty much budgeting the full $100.  It has a small stack able washer dryer combo.
This is really hard, trying to find a place that sings to you and will keep you in your budget.  It does keep me farther from work than what I would have liked but it's freeway driving so that's not all that bad. Okay that's another con on the list, it's closer to Chris' work but farther from mine.  Course I work on the other side of the valley so unless we lived outside of our price range would it make me closer to work. But we are still looking.

Thank you for reading
~Mary

Engagement Pictures.....Check

Well we finally got the engagement pictures taken.  They were so much fun, yet so tiring. We went to the International Peace Gardens in Salt Lake.  Very pretty location, if you have the chance I would check it out.  One of mine and Chris' good friends  is our photographer so she knew how we would be and no we didn't do super posey pictures because one I hate those kinds, we did pose for some and we took direction well but we didn't do some of the lame engagement ones, like when the couple looks at the ring, so dumb.  I'm sorry if you had that picture but that's really not my style so we kind of goofed off. And then there was the butterfly who decided to attack Chris. Too bad there wasn't a video camera rolling, that would have been hilarious to see over and over again.  No I'm not laughing at Chris' expense, it was really funny, possible AFV funny. 

Anyway, I need to get back to getting addresses for wedding guests. 


Thank you for reading
~Mary

Apartment Hunting

I never knew how hard it would be to find apartments that you like, in your price range and that aren't too far from work that it's pointless to move there since all of your money is eaten up in gas. 
We also have to find a place that can take Jasper my dog. My parents keep reminding me that I'll be taking him with me when I leave but I secretly think they will ask me to keep him with them since a dog that big shouldn't be in an apartment. I also think they are kind of attached to him too. It makes them feel safer knowing that something will bark and growl at people when they come to the door. 


So here is my question. What are some do's and don'ts of apartment shopping and deciding on what to get?


No I've never lived on my own, I'm that quintessential geek living in my parents basement. 


Thank you for reading and I look forward to hearing your advise. 
~Mary

Moving along!

We are finally moving forward with the wedding! I have the engagement photos scheduled.  I know a little late but really I work amazingly well under pressure. :D I'm glutton for punishment for that I know.


Chris and I did start the wedding registry tonight, we have one location done. We had to stop after an hour and a half because we were both exhausted and we will hopefully be able to pick up again on Saturday. It really is alot of fun scanning items, even though I'm told I'm holding back on picking out items.  But I have my own pots and pans set along with my own knife set so there are 2 huge purchases that don't have to be made by others. I think my most expensive item, which I doubt I will get is a Kitchenaid stand mixer in red.  It is a wishful thinking on that, maybe someone will love me enough to get me one but I won't hold my breath for it.  Oh crap I didn't ask for a mixing bowl, I need to do that I know. I knew I needed to make a list of items I wanted before going out. but we have another store to attend to so we will see. 


As for the engagement photo's current fiasco see my other blog. 


Thank you for reading
~Mary

What my kids will say

No, you did not read that wrong, I did mention my and kids in the same sentence! 
Now you can faint. :) 


This past week with being all domestic and stuff I realized I kind of like making things by hand and/or scratch. They taste so much better and you appreciate it more since you were the one who spent the time making the whole thing. While at work I had this weird though. "It would be so cool if when my kids came home from playing at someone else's house or sleeping over and they tell me "Mom! Did you know you can buy (some baked good that you wouldn't think of making, like marshmallows) at the store!" I know I'm weird that way.  Yes I do make my own marshmallows, I can't stand the store bought stuff and the homemade is really to die for. I will have to do a tutorial on that sometime closer to the holidays. 
I feel much more accomplished now that I can boil chicken, I have fears of touching uncooked meat so putting chicken into a pot and cooking it, I want a gold star for it too. It is the little things that you can do that can shoot you to the moon when you do them well. Chris' mom Carol said that I am now the official soup maker for the family because of the soup that I made. Yeah it kind of made my night. 


Thank you for reading
~Mary

I did it!

With my family away this week camping I have had the pleasure of taking on 3 roles in the house. I have had to keep the house put together for my mom, kept the yard work up for my dad and then there are my own regular tasks that I normally undertake. I have to tell you.
I am exhausted!
Having to do all three jobs and then taking care of work I would shoot myself if I had to do this every single week. I have always appreciated the work that my parents do but every time they leave I always feel even more appreciated towards them. 


But I am excited for today because I made homemade chicken noodle soup from scratch, yes I even made my own broth, kind of amazed myself. I also made up another batch of bread, this time without any help my mom and all while getting the lawn watered because our sprinklers are broken. 


I'm not looking for praise I'm just very excited that I accomplished so much when I have told people I'm not a cook, I am a baker.  Well I can now cook!


Thank you for reading
~Mary

Being all Domestic and such

Well I did it, I made my first batch of bread today. I'm really proud and excited for myself because I did it on my own.  Okay there was some help from my mom with the technical parts of it only because I didn't know what to look for in certain stages of the process. But here is the finished product of 3 hours of hard work.  

Four, what I would consider, pretty awesome looking loaves of bread. My parents are taking 2 up camping with them and that leaves one for me and one for Chris' family. I'm sure I will make up a whole new batch of loaves later this week that I can share with coworkers and that way Chris' family will get a fresh loaf of homemade bread. 

Favorite store closing

I found out the other day that my very favorite store, the only reason I would ever go to Gardner Village, is closing at the end of the month. Luckily they are still keeping their online store Anastasias attic so I can still buy the items I want but hope they keep with the same selection.  I'm really bummed about it because I was planning on purchasing all of my wedding parties gifts there for my line since we are doing a vintage type wedding I figured having vintage type jewelry would be nice.

I just wanted to share in my sadness over this treasure that will never be there again.  If you check out the site I advise buying the room fragrance satchels in Orange, lemonade and hope. they smell the best.

Excitement

Now that we are only a few months away I'm really really starting to get excited about getting married. We have almost everything planned out, just waiting on a few loose ends to come in and then we can pretty much go full steam ahead. 


I do have some questions though, where are some good places to go for engagements that won't cost us anything and do you bring more than one outfit along for them? I know I'm weird but this is how my mind works. 


Oh and Chris and I have chosen where our honeymoon will be.  We will be going with my entire family to Disneyland for a memorial for my sister that passed away last year since we weren't able to go for her birthday like we had planned. I know it isn't the ideal honeymoon to go with your parents/ in-laws but we will have been married for 6 weeks by the time we leave so I'm hoping a lot of the newness and awkwardness isn't there.  But I could be wrong and I probably will be.  What will be nice though is Chris' family is planning on joining us one weekend during the travels in Vegas to celebrate Chris' birthday.  I'm looking forward to spending time with his family there since the last time I went I didn't really see much. 


So if you know of any pretty locations that would be great for an engagement photo please let me know.   


Thank you for reading
~Mary

Wedding Updates

I hope you all are dying to hear about what updates we have so far for the wedding. 
First we found some amazing deals on invitations.  I'm not going to give it away until after the wedding so you'll have to just hang tight about it okay. :) 


Next one of my coworkers is willing to make the wedding cake for cost of ingredients so that's around $100 so that is a load off of us with that cost. 


I'm still looking for photographers, I know that is a huge part of the wedding budget and you don't want to skimp on them but I find it ridiculous to pay $750 or more for just the wedding day itself and then extra for the engagements and the bridals. If any of you know of some decently priced companies that will help us out as well if our guy ends up falling through.  I'm hoping he won't so you can also keep your fingers crossed for us too.


DJ's.  I'm on the fence about them.  I know they can make a reception fun but are they worth it as a apposed to putting together a play-list on mine or Chris' iPods.  


Flowers I'm going to end up doing myself since we still have our wholesale license to florist places and with going the fake route we can save more and get them done up labor day weekend that way they are done and ready to go. 


I also want to thank everyone who reads these posts and leaves comments.  It makes you feel all special knowing that others out there care about you and that have advice that I can use for later on in this new beginning of my life. 


Thank you for reading
~Mary