Dress Alterations

Today I went to get my first dress fitting for my wedding dress. I went into it with caution because I've heard of how much this can cost sometimes. So I braced myself for what I thought was the worst...

Wow... that's all I can say! My thoughts of what the 'worst' could be, though not horribly off, was still under what the final bill will come to. At least, it had better be the one and only final bill!

So after that, I'm convinced the whole wedding dress alteration scene is a pure racket! I'm not sure how they can sleep at night knowing how much they charge for things for altering something only to be worn once. And my dress is simple compared to most!! I feel for anyone who might have more detailing that they have to work around when they make alterations - what kind of bill do they get? It's no wonder why more brides are buying real simple dresses off the rack at higher end department stores - no alterations, or even FREE alterations with the purchase!

Anyway... it's done. I can honestly say this was my first real sticker shock for the wedding. The rest of the list I either had no idea what to expect, so there was no shock, or things came in under what I expected. So I guess I shouldn't complain. Even with the alterations, my total cost is still pretty reasonable. But I'm convinced there's no such thing as a bargain dress out there!

A Bridal Shower

You know you're getting close the the wedding date when you have your first bridal shower. Mine was today... so yep, it's getting closer!

Lytta (future MIL), Kelly (future SIL), and Wendy (one of the bestest friend friends ever *grins*) threw me a really nice shower today, complete with beach theme! Unfortunately, the weather didn't cooperate on that front (a high of 59 and rainy, all day!), but we kept the theme going inside with beach towels draped everywhere and a 'beachfront' cake that Wendy made. It really put me in the beachy mood (and the Buffett mood)!

We had a nice turn out and played some fun games that kept us all laughing. Plus, there was a lot of catching up going on since it had been all winter since some of us had seen each other! It just went by too quickly!! But the warm weather is here (well, except for today, it seems) and the time for backyard get togethers is back! So there will be more time for catching up.

But "Thank You!" to those who were able to make it out! I had a good time and hope you did, too!

You Know You Need a Vacation When...

This morning, on the way to work, I realized I have been very bitter. Everything around me just frustrates me and I find my self talking (to myself) bad about everything that is happening around me. The politics, the drivers, the lack of awareness... I could go on. Bottom line... I need a break away from here!

I guess the realization really hit last night, when I found myself venting to Eric about how the State of Indiana is wasteful for those of us who get personalized plates (and of all days, on Earth Day I vent about this). And I know a lot of people out there do have personalized plates! But get this... instead of sending a renewal sticker like everyone else gets, we get a whole new plate, every year! I've have the same personalization for the past three years... and just just got my third plate with the same thing on it! Why?? Just send me a damn sticker!

And the political ads right now are driving me up a wall... I heard one this morning (the politician shall remain nameless) that was talking about how "we" want less government involved in our lives... Indiana is THE state of everything government!! Granted, I haven't lived in too many states (4 with memories, 5 total), but of all the ones I HAVE lived in, Indiana's government, by far, has their hands in more of our day to day lives than any other state! When you get rid of all the township government BS and the multiple overhead led school districts, come back and talk to me about being a state that wants less government!

I know next weekend, I get to go to FL again for some final wedding stuff... very minor items that hopefully won't take up too much time. I'm really hoping to get some beach time in there - I NEED IT!! I think, at this point, that's the only thing that can get me back down to normal levels of bitterness!

Race for the Cure 2010

Well, another very successful Race for the Cure is complete here in Indianapolis! The economy was still apparent in my fundraising efforts, unfortunately... missed my goal, by far, again - my first year in 2008 was still my best year, when I brought in over $500. However, I still raised $250 to date AND... if you are reading this, by chance, and you'd still like to donate, you can still go to my personal page and do so - they will be accepting donations from this page for another month! Anything helps the cause and I will be very grateful! If you go there soon, you may even be included in my company's cut-off where they match all of our donations, dollar for dollar!

The race itself was fun, as always. I walked with Lytta again this year (my future mother-in-law) and we chatted the whole way! I haven't seen the final numbers, but they are thinking the total number was over 40,000 participants. I can't wait to see the final fundraising numbers from this crowd - hopefully, as a whole, we beat years' past donations (even if I didn't).

The weather was perfect for the walk. Started out just cool enough to wear pants, but didn't get overly warm as you walked the 5k, even with the pants on. In fact, in open areas, there was even a breeze that kept it almost too cool! I met up with some of my co-workers before the race, but everyone had their own people to go meet, to everyone was separated before the race started and did their own walk. Still great to see so many people you know out there, though - it's amazing how many people are impacted by this disease!

With this year's race in the books, I'm off to focus on my personal goals, such as The Mini in May... that long distance thing is starting to get me nervous! Thankfully, I'll have Eric with me for that!

Getting Closer...

One great thing about planning a wedding in Florida is ‘having’ to go down to finalize plans. Oh, darn. Well, that’s what Eric and I did this past weekend. And I’m happy to say, I think all the big stuff is taken care of!

On Friday afternoon, we had a food tasting at the hotel to finalize our food selections for the reception. It was a nice surprise to be given a bottle of champagne with our samples. Woo Hoo! We hung out at the hotel for bit since we had no other commitments for the evening – only had to worry about getting some dinner later. Which we pushed back because we weren’t expecting out sampling to be so much! But it was a gorgeous evening and we watched a spectacular sunset from our balcony. But we did end up having a later dinner on St. Armands Circle. Seafood is so much better when it's fresh!!

Saturday we had a few more things to do, the first being a cake tasting at Publix. I don’t understand why anyone getting married in FL would get a cake anywhere else – they have the best cake ever! Nothing like throwing down some cake at 10am in the morning, too. But it went well and got that ordered. From there, we crossed the store to the floral department. Yup – getting my flowers there, too! Publix is known for their customer service, so I had no doubt in my mind that they’d get me what I wanted and not charge an arm and a leg for it. Nor did they push anything more on us – in fact, when I asked about some additional stuff, they recommended against it since we’re having such a small wedding. Way cool!

After that, we headed over to meet our officiant to actually meet him face to face and talk about what we wanted for our ceremony. He was very cool and easy to talk to. I have no doubt he’ll conduct a great ceremony that will make everyone happy.

Finally, after a short breather back at the hotel, we met face to face with our photographer. Again, very happy with my decision there – I’m sure we’ll get plenty of great photos of not only us, but the family, since we’re doing the family only ceremony thing.

So here we are, now, exactly two months away. I still have things to do back here in Indiana (like get my dress altered, pick out my veil/headpiece, etc.). In the meantime, Eric and I are working towards our Indy reception plans for July 31st. I think that’s going to be more stressful than the wedding!

Spring is REALLY here now...

Sure... the weather warmed up over the past couple of weeks. It's been beautiful!! The calendar even said it was Spring. But for me, Spring came this evening... when I mowed my grass for the first time!

Now, the mowing isn't what bothers me. It can be nice and mind numbing if conditions are right. But that's rare. It usually stresses me out... because I see weeds!!

For some reason, I'm a bit of a perfectionist when it comes to my lawn. Seeing one weed drives me up a wall. Seeing more sends me into a pulling frenzy with the mind racing on how to kill them. When I see a NEW type of weed, I just get downright pissed and start trying to figure out which neighbor isn't taking good enough care of their yard!

This year, though, I blame it on the rabbit(s). I saw numerous piles of evidence that I had a rabbit or two hanging around my back stoop. And go figure... right where those piles were are new weeds. Ones that are thriving quite well... which one would suspect when its seed is placed with natural fertilizer.

So it looks like I'll be applying my weed prevention fertilizer a little earlier than anticipated this year. Not to mention doing walks of my lawn with my weed killer to catch them individually. Joy.

Easter

Hard to believe Easter is already here. And gone, for that matter!

This Easter was spent with Eric's family at his house again. Once again, we had a wonderful lamb dinner - Eric's getting good at this hosting thing! Better each holiday! The boys had their Easter egg hunt in the backyard and dug through all their candy in their Easter baskets afterwards. it was even more fun watching Nolan this year, really figuring out the hunt and wanting to find more eggs when it was all done. To top it all off, the weather was gorgeous!! it was sunny and in the mid-70's all day! Can't beat that weather - can't remember the last time we were able to spend a majority of Easter Sunday sitting in the backyard!

Some more fun came in the form of two new little puppies! Eric's Mom got a new little Puggle (Otis... for now), and when Kelly picked him up for her, she ending up picking up the runt of the litter for herself! The little girl puppy (Trixie) was almost half the size of the boy... but then, he was also bigger than most of the litter to begin with! Needless to say, we all had a lot of fun with these little guys.

All in all, it was a great Easter. Now the countdown it really on until the wedding... just over two months to go!

One Month Down...

Yesterday was the one month mark for my personal training. And I have to say, so far, I am very happy with things! My trainer still kicks my butt and wears me out every time, but I'm seeing results that make it all worth it!

I took my measurements (twelve on various parts of the body) and I've lost 6.75" so far. I know that may not sound like a lot of loss, but I can feel my clothes fitting differently. I figured since I was looking to sleek and tone, measurements would be a better way to judge things than weight. I don't see myself averaging that much each month, but you never know. Laura (my trainer) said you normally start slow and then, with a couple of weeks span, see a huge difference, and then it'll slow again once you get closer to your ideal build. So I guess we'll see.

The food hasn't gotten boring on me yet, though I have utilized my 'cheat meals' very well, I think. The first one at St. Elmos was actually a relatively good meal compared to some of my other cheat meals... pizza, Yat's (Cajun/Creole), a handful of sour gummies (okay... not so much of a meal as a straight cheat!). But all in all, the smaller meals are keeping me full and I don't find myself even thinking about the snack machine in the breakroom or the girl scout cookies in my pantry at home. Still have two months to go, though!