Wedding Website?

I need to start one. What are some popular/fantastic sites? Something other than blogspot, because...well I already have one of those. I want one geared towards weddings so I don't have to do all the work :) Which ones did you use or have you heard are good?

I've really started to get a kick on the planning. Once I start, I have a hard time stopping. We can't even set the permanent date until next summer, but I bet you I have everything planned out before then. I'll know where it's going to be, what cake we're ordering, what dj we're using, when songs we're having, the bridal party gifts bought...everything. It's just what I do. Especially since I quit my job and have very little time left to work out my notice. (The newest Jeans Devil development is that the teachers aren't aloud to play games with girls anymore, old with the boys. That's surely not sexist at all. I'm sure the girls parents will love that when they go home and say "the teachers aren't allowed to play with me because I'm a girl". Yea, that'll go over really well.)



I made the "crap I have to do" list this week, and started on it. Today I took my ring to be appraised for the insurance and have to go back next Wednesday to get it photographed and pick up my $35 appraisal, seeing as how it is currently out to the jeweler to be tightened and polished but should be back on Tuesday leaving me ample time to get to the other jeweler for the appraisal.

I've recently started checking out rates on reception halls and what we'll have to do at the church to be married by them. And cakes. And photographers. And a list of other things that are fun! I ordered the "will you be my bridesmaid/maidofhonor" cards a few days ago, and am thinking of making the song for our first dance "cotton-eyed joe". Yes, that's how we roll. Where did you come from? Where did you go?

Photocenter at the Reception?

I original got this/these idea(s) from Jess over at Jesstagirl and her Officer, and although I thought she was slightly crazy at first I have fallen in love with the ideas! :) (That's right, I do steal your wedding ideas if you are getting married. Good thing we aren't related!)

I want to have some kind of fun-photo-taking place at the reception. She talked about a photobooth, and personally I think that would be awesome. The guests would get in the photobooth, take four photos, and two strips would print out of the same pictures--one for them and one for me. The strip for me would go into a scrapbook specifically designed for the photostrips and the guests would write their advice or wishes or whatever next to it. Which, as Jess mentioned, would take care of the favor thing and basically the wish tree at the same time--especially since it's unlimited photos.

The only problem? 4 hours of service + the scrapbook option + one idle hour for dinner + tax = approx. $1,000. That's several hundred dollars more than my dress.

The other option is something like this (also found on Jess's blog)...


I did a little digging and found out that it would be simple to make. So simple, in fact, that if I had too I could personally make this (assuming I can operate a hammar, nails, and a handsaw and have very forgiving guests when it falls over on them)and decorate this with zero problems, and could even make it personalized with photos of my own families & B's families weddings. It would probably cost more like $300, which would include paying someone to take the pictures of this separate from my main photographer.

However, there are no instant prints. I thought about polaroid but it's so expensive anymore because it's discontinued (10 photos=$20) and plus those fade after awhile. I thought about a digicam printer hooked up right there, but those cost so much for the ink and the ink doesn't stay on the paper very well and I don't want the pictures to scratch. So I would have the pictures, but it wouldn't satisfy the favor issue or the wishes issue. So we'd have to do this, do something else for favors, and then do a wish tree. Cheaper....but better? Hmm.

Any thoughts?

Googlisms

I love the fun ways in which people find my blog. Really. There are some amazing searches!

Picture of a cute female devil
(sure, you can find those here. there is one on my header, even. you can also find the inquiry for "photos of people feeling like they are on cloud nine" here)

girlfriends for 10 year olds
(...are not a good idea)

my charming kids real names
(trust me, you will not find them on this blog)

jeans devil 2009
(yes, I do discuss my boss quite often on here)

jeans for dogs
(come on now, that's just mean. at least make it sweatpants)

seven frayed jeans
(no really, I only have two pair of them)

jobs for 10 year old boys in weddings
(I'd actually really like to know the answer to this one. and also to the "what to do when you know you're getting sick" one and to the "careers for english majors in the air force" one...because I'm really just curious on that one)

good burger jobs
(the answer you are looking for is "go back to college")

monster monterey bay boat murder
(...I was home all by myself that night, I swear)

importance of making pants
(I find it important for other people to make them, and more important for them to be given to me.)

Laura Helvey
(...who IS that?)


I am going out of town tomorrow, but I'm going to write a few scheduled posts tonight I believe to post while I'm gone because things are crazy fun right now!

Ciao!

Old Houses with Rotted Floorboards

Just down the street from me there is this really old, really abandoned house on a busy road. I decided it would be fun to risk getting arrested for trespassing yesterday and go take some photos of it. I love pictures of old houses. I don't know why, I just do. I did go IN the house, although I didn't stay long when I realized it had a basement/cellar/dungeon as I prefer not to fall into it, but I got a few fun shots. But I did manage to talk myself out of going up the stairs to the second floor.

Wedding Gowns and Bridesmaid Dresses

I have them! All of them :) I took my grandmother and my sister back up to the bridal shop downtown and tried on my three dresses and we came out with a final decision! I am going with a MoriLee gown--ivory, sweetheart cut, A-line, beaded, and stunning!! Of course, I'd love to show you a picture, but I don't really think I should. Need to have something a surprise!

I also made a decision on the bridesmaids dresses! That's probably the most exciting (sad, I know, but it was a tough decision!). I have five girls total: three girls who are rather busty, two that have nothing, two with a butt, three without any butt, and one plus size. Let me tell you, it is NOT easy to find a dress to fit all of them well and look fantastic while doing it. But I think we've done just about as well as we can with this one...



The dresses themselves will be navy blue, and the ribbons will be different colors. The maid of honors (yes, two)ribbons will be a soft yellow (also known as "maize") and the three bridesmaids ribbons will be a light blue (also known as "dusty blue"...). That way they are distinguishable but not "Ohmygoshlookatmeandmyyellowdress"! The flower girls (yes, two) will not wear this dress, they will have something frilly and pretty. Do you like them?

But I must give this shop a free plug. There are only two shops in our bridal district that are open on Sunday's and they are right across the street from each other. Last Sunday I had a consultant named Korie, and she was fantastic. Anything and everything I wanted, she was great. She picked dresses for me better than I could have and was just amazing. So I scheduled an appointment with her for today to show my Gram and sister. Turns out she wasn't even scheduled to work today and she came in just for me. And stupid me, it's all the way downtown and I don't live anywhere near there so I'm 10 minutes late and probably freaking her out, but she was so helpful and didn't seem to mind at all that this was her day off! She even put my hair in an up-do to show me what the hairpieces would look like (and I tell you, that is no small feat!).

So this is a free plug for this fantastic shop. If you get the right people in the bridesmaid section, they are fantastic too. Last Sunday they were very helpful, this Sunday they were...okay, but not amazing. They have shoes there and jewelry and veils and do the alterations next door and if you want to know if something can be done on a particular dress they won't hesitate to call the label and ask. It's fantastic, and I recommend it highly!

So excited to be moving along here! :)

Real Celeb Names

I was playing around on babynames.com the other day and I came across this "celebrity real names" link. Celebrities are lying turds when it comes to their names! Here are a few of the best ones...

Akon's real name is Aliaune Damala Bouga Time Puru Nacka Lu Lu Lu Badara Akon Thiam
....try filling the bubbles out for that one!

Muhammad Ali's real name is Cassius Marcellus Clay, Jr.

Patsy Cline's real name is Virginia Patterson Hensley

Elvis Costello's real name is Declan Patrick McManus

Portia De Rossi's real name is Amanda Lee Rogers

Carmen Electra's real name is Tara Patrick

Whoopi Goldberg's real name is Caryn Elaine Johnson

Cary Grant's real name was Archibald Leach

and Marilyn Monroe's real name was Norma Jeane Mortenson.



Oh geeze, celebrities. And I thought you all were completely honest...;o)

Surgery, Horses, Giant Holes, Flamingo Nuns and Wedding Gowns

This weekend has been by far one of the most productive ones and full ones of the last year.

Friday
My mom had a hysterectomy at 730am. It went really well, and we were home by noon.
I fell asleep sitting up doing an Italian lesson on Rosetta Stone at 3pm.

Saturday
My mom is feeling sore but my dad is home, so I go on adventures.
Jayna and I head out to a state park about 3 hours from here and ride horses for 2 hours.

Our asses kill when we get off, but we are so close to a cave that we have to go.
We get to the cave and find out it's not really a cave, it's really just a huge hole.

We also discover that I've been there before, as I recall photos from a girlscout outing when I was 8.
But, they have this awesome bridge that is perfect for stupid photos.

Plus I got a fantastic new bag.
We got into the nearest town and attempt to eat at a coffee joint that has pictures of flamingos wearing nuncaps in it.
Instead we eat at a pub with a huge sandpit in the middle of it and head home.

Sunday
My mom is feeling 100x better and decides we are going wedding dress shopping.
My best friend and cousin join.
There are a total of two shops open in our bridal district (does every city have a bridal district or are we just psycho here?) and the first one is huge.
The first dress I try on is damn near perfect.
The second dress is damn near perfect.
The fourth dress is damn near perfect. More perfect than the second.
It's now a toss up between the fourth and the first, with the fourth winning on a 70/30 split.
We went acrossed the street to the other open bridal shop and found $138 bridesmaid dresses within 10 minutes of being there. Chose the colors, and left.
Came home and shopped the dresses online that I chose, and found out that the fourth dress has a sister almost exactly like it except the top cut is different and matches the top cut of the bridesmaid dresses.
Calling tomorrow to see if this place carries that style so I could see it on.
Decide to do this all over again next Sunday with my Grandmother and sister so they don't hate me forever.

I'm currently fighting the urge to post pictures of all of these dresses. Really, really hard apparently. I will say that the two that I am fighting between are a Mori Lee gown and a Watters gown. With a whole $100 in price difference and both being very reasonably priced it's not easy. One is pretty traditional and sliming with a long train, and one is more modern and busy with a short train. They both have beading that is gorgeous.

But, I think being in the bridal district for 3 hours and coming out with a wedding gown and bridesmaid dresses is amazingly awesome. I'm so proud! ;o)

Two Weeks Notice and Three Things

I turned in my official two weeks notice today. This will give me a perfect amount of time to get two more paychecks, and get me off just in time to go on vacation. I'm going to miss the kids like crazy, but recent events in the workplace have managed to thoroughly piss me off to a point of zero redemption unless they raised my pay $5.00 an hour--then it might buy me off until Christmas. I don't have another job lined up, and I don't know where I'll be applying. I did apply for two individual sitter jobs for infants, but only to cover half the time so I'm not expecting much to come of those. I may even pop my way back into retail instead of childcare--maybe even a quaint little cupcake shop/bakery I've had my eye on. We'll see. Frankly, the fact that I gave two weeks notice rather than just quitting today was astonishing. That's how horrid the week was.

I'm very happy with my decision, though. Happy day :D

Now onto Writer's Workshop from Mama's Losin' It. This weeks topic is Three Random Facts About Me.

I kind of picked three things that will never come up for any real reason in this blog to tell you about.

One
I have an issue with socks.
When I was younger, I literally used to miss the bus because I couldn't find a pair of socks to wear that "felt good". The end of the toe seam that sits on the pinky toe used to drive me nuts. I don't know why this was, I don't notice it anymore, but I still have to have the perfect pair of socks to be comfortable. I'll even buy cute socks because they are cute and never wear them because I hate the way they feel. One time, in Georgia, I found these Champion socks that were just the perfect amount of plush and the perfect length. Not too thick, not too thin, toe-seam-less, and just high enough to keep my sneakers from rubbing on my ankles.
Then these socks got old and needed to be replaced. I looked for these socks forever and never found them. I finally just settled on a pack of Sonoma Life&Style socks that I found randomly by themselves on a shelf in Kohl's and they were perfect. I went back for more and was told I could find them in kids. Kids.

But you take what you can get, so I bought 5 packs of little girls Sonoma Life & Style socks and continue to wear them every day.

Two
My mom and I sound exactly the same on the phone.
We speak differently in person, and we are never confused for each other by our in-person speaking voices. But I have 5 minute conversations on the phone with people who think I'm my mother. Our house phone does this thing where the phone will ring four times, but if you don't pick it up by the third ring it goes to the answering machine anyway. When my mother calls, this happens a lot, and when you listen to the message even I can't tell who is saying what.
It's creepy, but I don't mind it.


Three
I'm really defensive of my dog.
He does not play well with other dogs. I know this. It's sad, but it's true. He is an anklebiter. But when someone says something like "you need to socialize him more" I say something like "he's socialized just fine, thank you." I don't mean to be defensive, but I want to raise my dog the way I want to raise him. And frankly, at this point, he's not going to change with all the socializing in the world. We only have one dog and are not getting another one, so he doesn't need to get along with them. He is fine with people. That's all I care about.


And now you know three things you never cared to :)

A Few Wedding Questions

This is pretty much the first you'll be hearing from me on wedding things, but I need your help!!

B and I have pretty much gotten the guest list worked out. It's the "I wish" list, basically, so by the time the wedding roles around I'll probably cut the list by a few choice names. Right now, the list is at about 315. I have a feeling that before cuts, it'll probably be somewhere around 335 or 340. I'm going to try to keep it under 325. Most of the list is family (we both have huge families) and most live within an hour of here. Out of this number, how many/what percentage should we really expect to show up?? What did you all plan for out of your entire guest list? Did it work?

And also, when you sent out invitations what did you go by? I always thought it was anyone over 18 gets their own invitation and a guest invite, even if they were living at home. B's family thinks it's one per household, no matter how old the people are who live there. What did you do?

Also, I need color help. I think, think, I want yellow. It'll be a summer wedding, so I want something bright such as this yellow. B will be in his uniform, which is dark blue, so we'll use dark blue as the accent color for the flowers and such. However, we still need another main color to go with yellow but also look good with the dark blue. I don't really want another really dark color since it's summer and we already have the dark blue, but I also don't really want anything "faded" (i.e. lavender, pale blue, etc.). Any suggestions??

My eternal love to anyone that can help! :o)

Kansas O'Brien Goes Airborne

B is in Kansas for the next two weeks for ...some training that he told me what is but I can't remember for the life of me. But I had to leave you this fantastic photo of his first major tubing wipeout. You'll notice B still hanging onto the tube on the bottom.



We also lost that tube later in the day.


And in other news, does anyone watch the Bachelorette? Is anyone else as disturbed by Ed's horrible outfits as I am? Dull blue muscle shirt and bright green short shorts? White dress pants, aqua dress shirt and baby blue sport coat? No, I say. No to horrid fashion.

There are Places on Base to Dock a Boat!

This last weekend was B's first boating adventure. I should probably start by saying that B is not an avid camper/boater in the least. His parents took them in a tent once when they were really little and decided never to do it again. Other than field training, that was all of B's camping experience. He's never seen how we camp--in our nice A/Ced trailer and portable grills and speedboats. Needless to say, B is not upset with the fact that we camp in this manner. This is B on day one:

"There are places on base to dock boats. ....if we had one."


The man was in heaven driving that thing! I really have a strong dislike for driving the boat, however. I really enjoy wheels sitting on non-moving pavement. But now that I've turned B into a boating-lover, I guess I don't have to worry about that :)

He also had his first tubing adventure and had a seriously amazing wipeout that you can be sure was photographed, but it wasn't by me so that picture will have to wait until later this week. But, in the absence of a diving board, deck or cliff this time, we made due with the six person tube...


And B made friends with all the ladies...

(seen there with Cabbage)

Oh, and the sandal debate? We went caving when we got there on Friday through basically a cave with a creek running through it and a ceiling so low that you have to walk like a duck to get through it. And since he only brought one pair of shoes, he put the sandals on when we got back from the cave and then proceeded to keep them on until we left for home today.


Literally, he changed back into his sneakers while we were sitting in the car getting ready to take off. I say that's 1 Point for Via :)

How were your all's weekends?

One Week

Over the last week I...

...was not drunk during the taking of this...


...bought, made, and decorated this in two hours for my sister's July 4th birthday...


...spend two hours talking to my grandma about how getting a german shepard mix puppy would not be the right dog for her and how she knows that, and then came home and found this...


...and then went next door and found this one, his sister (literally)...


...watched Brady's Mozart skills...


...set off some of these...


...bought this for our large group of partiers this weekend...


...and purchased these for B for the weekend in my hopes of turning him into a sandal-wearer.


And this weekend will rock the socks off the past week :)

Dear Pearl Vision,

(this is apparently letter writing week for me)

Dear Pearl Vision,

I came to your store today planning on getting a contact lens exam so that I could renew my contacts, and I only came because my insurance changed and no longer covers lenscrafters. I don't really care about the health of my eyes. I had an exam last year. I haven't been to the dentist since 2006, would you like to lecture me about that too? I asked for a simple lens exam. At the front desk I asked to not have the dilation. I have this thing called a job to go to after the appointment. In her robot voice that sounded like the fine print on any credit card agreement, she said I could flatly refuse any service and that was fine. Then your doctor picked it up and told me he wouldn't give me a prescription without the dilation. He then informed me that I am not to wear my night-and-day 30 day wear contacts for more than two weeks in a row. Um, hello...they are called 30 day night-and-day contacts. Plus, I wear them for more like 3 months in a row no matter what you say. The exam took an hour. I walked back and forth at least 5 times from one side of the building to the other to different rooms. It cost me $60 and an hour worth of pissedoffness and really bad breath in my face.

So thank you, Pearl Vision, you have solidified my hate for you. And after I come back in two weeks to do the stupid dilation and get my prescription you will never see me again. I'd rather pay the $80 for an exam with no insurance at Lenscrafters than the $10 with insurance at your place.

Stick that in your juice box and suck it.

Love,
Via

Dear Ms. Scholarship

I received a scholarship this week for $2,000. This company also gave me a $2500 scholarship last year. It's a memorial scholarship and it's based on my father's company. I will and never will see this money, since it's based on my father's company and things that go through him never make it to me, but I'm really impressed that they thought enough of me to give it to me two years in a row and the fact that my father is an ass is not their fault. So, what this post is really about, is the letter they wrote me to tell me I received the scholarship. Most scholarships are given with a generic "yay, congratulations" letter, but this one was personalized and something about it just made me all happy and want to marry this Shelley person, who happens to be the widow of the person who the scholarship is in memorial of.

"Dear Via,

Congratulations! On behalf of the scholarship committee, I am please to notify you that you are, once again, a recipient of the Blank Blank Blank (insert actual person here) Memorial Scholarship. As a group, we are impressed with your application and success in college thus far. You maintain a strong GPA, make the Dean's List regularly, particulate in extra curricular activities and work. What is more impressive to us is you accomplish all of this while dealing with two close family members who have/had cancer. From my own experience I can honestly say there is nothing more stressful. For you to be so successful thus far in college while dealing with the stress from family illness and financial worries is amazing. It is our sincerest hope that this scholarship will alleviate some of the stress.

Best Wishes,
Shelley Givesyoumoney"

I don't really think it mattered what was said, I think just the shear fact that she took the time to recognize that me and Bobby Joe would not get the same value out of a standard letter made me smile. Widely.

Thank you, Shelley. You made my week :)

Imagine That!

I went and saw this movie at our cheap ($3) threate last night, and it was really quite cute. 100% predictable, but cute. But, the whole time I'm watching it, all I can think of is how much the little girl reminds me of Brady. So, I've officially decided that Brady is going to grow up (...or to 6 years old) and look like Yara Shahidi..

Brady

Yara


This kid did so many faces in the movie that just remind me so much of Brady it's unreal. So this is my hypothesis. We'll know in 4 and a half years.

I Like my Rosetta Stoned

That's right. I said it. I officially own Rosetta Stone: Italian, Levels 1, 2 & 3. And only for a mere $449.10+tax.



Why you ask? Because I have to pass this stupid Italian class to graduate. And because Rosetta Stone products have a 6 month money-back guarantee on them, and since I only have 5 months to learn all this crap, I ought to know whether or not it works by then.

Should I actually pass this course, I'll be selling the one download left on the product out for like 50% off the original or something. No matter what, I still say it costs way too much for what it's worth!!

I'll let you know how to goes when I get it downloaded and set up. Which, with any luck, will be today. I had planned on doing it this morning but I had Brady unexpectedly and multiple dogs and...it just didn't happen. But as soon as I'm done cleaning (...which usually comes after I start cleaning...) I'll get on it!