Wedding…

I’m not gonna lie, I am a little overwhelmed about this wedding thing.  I started doing this about a decade ago and that didn’t work out – fortunately – but so much has changed in the wedding industry in the last decade that it’s like I have no idea what I’m doing.

I went to my first bridal show a few weeks ago, armed with Liz, my MOH, and Charity, my work wife, and Monica, who is a hopeless romantic.  We learned so much that day.  For starters, I learned that if a bridal show gives you the option to register as a bride, you do it.  Charity and I didn’t have to pay admission and we got goody bags full of stuff.  Among other things, a gel eye mask that can be heated or cooled, and cute little stud earrings.

We also learned that if two brides go together, vendors think there’s just one wedding.  *sigh*  And clearly I’m slow on the uptake, but we were almost done with the show when it dawned on me why it was so hard to get stuff for both of us.  We’d walk up together and we’d have to point out that the other person was also a bride and then demand the handouts.  It wasn’t until about five vendors from done that someone said “Is one okay or do you both need one?”  that it clicked they thought we were marrying each other.  LOL!

So, some things I learned that day:

1. Everyone wants you to buy everything and nobody has ever heard of a budget.  Seriously, the show was put on by a vendor that wanted to show off their location spaces.  Their full package – that still didn’t include everything – was $23k.  So, $23k for location, food, tables, cloths, etc…  But not clothes or some vendors or personal touches.  OUCH.  Another was a florist.  For $960, I could get my bouquet and four small ones, six boutonnieres… and nothing else.  WTH?  I could go to Wal-Mart and buy fifty bouquets for that much money.
2. Weird vendors will appear – botox people, weird ass health supplements, etc.  I don’t know anybody who ever sat around and thought “OMG, Wedding Botox, WOOT!”
3. Try all the food.  I mean, I knew damn well I wasn’t going to use their in house caterer or rent out the food truck that had been parked in the building, but there was admission, and I was going to get my (or at least my bridesmaids’) money out of it.  Besides, I had figured that the first one I went to was at least going to point out what I didn’t want, so try all the things.  We got lots of food, though.  First there was a cake guy that was so good my MOH said she’d get her birthday cake there.  A food place with a fabulous cheesy potato thing that I want to try to remember to make for my own wedding.  Then Sangria, which was horrible, the in house caterer had fruit, cookies, pulled pork sandwiches, etc.  Enough to get one of those small appetizer plates nice and full.  And water, which was very nice at that point.  Then a second cake place that was okay.  The food truck was high-end southern.  BBQ White Mac N Cheese, Sweet Potato.. something with caramel on it.  Fruit tea.  I don’t like pretty much any of that, but I ate it all and it was actually quite good.  Nothing Bundt Cakes was there and their white chocolate raspberry cake was so good I went and bought myself one a week later.
4. You will be tired and overwhelmed.  Check and check.

 

So in the end, almost nothing there was an idea that I’d want again.  And all I know is that I don’t want some over the top ridiculous soiree either.  I seem to be most comfortable with rustic modern.  I think I knew that before, but that confirmed it.

I did walk away with some decent freebies, though, so at least I can start collecting swag.

 

 

Trying to nail down my venue before I do anything else, and the worst thing in the world happened – my dream venue, that I’ve thought about for YEARS – has a five year wait.  Apparently I should have just booked it way back when, because that sucks.  I cried ugly tears a lot of times over that.

I have a second place in mind that I need to call and ask a bunch of questions.  But it looks like they might not be a bad location.  Still a state park, and one I’ve been to a bunch of times, so there’s always that.  Just really sucks that the one thing that I would have given the rest of everything up for, I can’t have.

 

 

When all is said and done, I think I’m going to write a book for brides on a budget.  Every single one I’ve checked out from the library has sucked – budget or not – and I really want brides to have options and not feel as overwhelmed as I did at first.

 

So onto this year…

So as promised, 2018 has started off better.  I went to Ohio in December to get a car, and came home just in time to make it to the Corner of Wrongness Christmas party, which is held on NYD every year because we are -sadly- grown-ass adults with busy lives and that works best with most of us traveling for the holidays.  These are the same group of NaNo friends that I’ve had for ten years in some cases.

CJ got himself invited when I was gone (he probably was anyway, but I’ve got a nasty habit of not assuming anyone’s invited anywhere ever because reasons), and showed up under the intent of taking photographs of the event.  I made dessert in a hurry when I got there, which was vanilla mousse, and used mini candy canes on the top.  The dishes I used were actually from the hospital stay* – LOL!  And everybody loved it because reasons.  Also, look at the pic.  How freakin cute is that??  My original plan had just been crushed up candy cane bits, but then I saw the minis and they were absolutely perfect.  In many ways.  But more on that in a sec.

We drew names this year because some of the group felt bad they couldn’t afford amazing presents for everyone, which I understand.  I was a little disappointed that I didn’t get the fun of going around and trying to get something for everyone on my budget**, but I understood too.  We set a price range, but I don’t think anyone stuck to it, or like me everyone managed to get such good sales that it just looks that way.  I got a friend a T-shirt and a Hardback and I was under our $25 limit, but the stuff should have been almost $50 otherwise.

The best part has a little bit of a back story to it.  I had found a book at the library that was a choose your own adventure retelling of Romeo and Juliet, and of course I checked it out from the library and promptly took it to writer’s group where we passed it around.  I checked Amazon so I could put it on my wish list and then found out there’s also a Hamlet one.

So fast forward to Christmas-At-New-Year, where we decided we’d go youngest to oldest to open presents, which puts me near the end of the list and is kinda fun because I get all the fun of watching people open presents, but I still have the anticipation of what mine is until almost last.

So just before me is Steph, younger by about three months, and she opened Choose Your Own Hamlet.  Then I opened my present – From Steph! – and got Choose Your Own Romeo & Juliet!  We laughed about that for a while!

Afterwards, I had a game to play, so we cleaned up the wrapping paper and were about to start it when CJ said he had something for me and to hang on a sec.  I had to close my eyes because he was “too lazy to wrap it”.  Ahem.

I said, “Yes, Stupidhead.”  Hand in question is his.  Oddly enough, we have the same ring size… 

So I stood there with my eyes closed, and he started in on how last year sucked and “I think that we should put last year behind us and start this year off the right way.  I couldn’t think of a better way to do it than this…”  I opened my eyes and there he is on one knee and my friends – who were pretty much all there when we met, who were the same group that actually stood up and applauded when he was able to walk in to Panera again after everything – were there cheering us on, so it was really sweet.  I don’t like proposals in front of a crowd just for crowd sake.  But it was really nice to have the people there that were there when we met.  (Two of them are going to be in the wedding, so you know…)

I did the hand over my mouth crying thing, I kissed him, I put the ring on, I kissed him, I kissed him, I kissed him, and then he said…  “You haven’t answered me yet…”

Oh, honey, in girl-speak I did.  Like eight times.  So I said “Yes, stupidhead.”

Because, really, what else do you say to that??  Like I put the friggin ring on!!

 

Anyway, here’s to a better 2018.  More stuff coming up, but this is where I have to end it for now.  I still have a few updates to come and I’m a little behind on LetterMo, but I’ll get them up as soon as I can.

 

 

 

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*So, every meal in the hospital, they’d waste one of these black plastic dishes to bring us two packs of pepper and if we were lucky, salt.  I saved about 30 of them.  I wish I had kept more.  They’re fabulous for individual desserts.

 

**On my budget, past years have had $1 or $5 limits.  It’s amazing how happy you can make a friend with a token gift that means something just to them.  Steph loves bread.  One year she got a bread scented candle.  Liz got nail polish in the right shade of purple.  Small bags of coffee are fabulous for the coffeeholic in your life.  Dollar tree is always a good choice if you’re careful and know what you’re doing.  It’s great to get some big item that you have on your wish list, but I’m of the opinion that it’s just as great to get something small that shows you’ve been paying attention to what your friend likes and doesn’t like, too.

My little Bean-Bean

 

So, I have been a three-cat household for years.  Alix, my baby, is about to be seven.  But I’m about a week into being a two cat household.  Let me tell you that I absolutely, positively hate it.

This is my Brynnie.  Brynn Diana.  Born May 4, 2006.  Who breathed her last breath on January 2, 2016.  She didn’t even make it to ten.

And while I know that there was nothing I could have done for her, even if I had every dollar in the entire world at my disposal, I still hate that I’ve gone 8 days without a light in my life.

This is the kitten that was so little when I got her that they weighed her on the medicine scale and gave me a weight in grams.  The one I used to carry around the house, who would perch on my shoulder like a parrot because she hated being held.  I nursed her when I first got her, and I nursed her at the very end.

I hope she understood that everything I ever did for her I did with love.

She almost died the day I brought her home.  Nine and a half years later, it was the same type of illness that we treated and hoped beyond hope for a miracle that never came.

I’m okay during the day.  Cats sleep a lot, and during the day wasn’t a time that I saw her all that often.  But at night – when I’m relaxing on the couch or going to bed.  Or early in the morning – which was her favorite time to bother me…  I just feel empty.

Who knew a few pounds of fluff could make such a big impact on a life?  Who knew that a few pounds of fluff could make such a big hole when it was gone?

I never knew that a heart could break like this.

 

What A Week

It’s been quite a week.  Sorry it took so long to blog again, although I’m at roughly a post a week, so I guess I’m not doing too badly.

Sunday was Shakespeare in the Park.  If you’re around Nashville, I highly recommend it, because, well, they’re awesome.  

Before we left, we had a couple things to do at/near my house.  My aunt did the ALS Water Bucket Challenge, challenged my favorite uncle, and he did a stupid thing.  He challenged my mother.  I was safe.  Even my sister challenged not me.  And then he challenged my mother.  Although, it’s been stupid-hot lately.  Like third level of Hades, 100+ in the shade stupid hot.  And I was really okay with that.  Mom was too.  My boyfriend didn’t even flinch.  Bastard.  I did it to the cat.  She liked it.  So much, in fact, that she licked the shot glass of ice water when I put it in front of her and licked the puddle after.  Yeah, she was good.  

Anyway, then we grabbed food and headed for the park.  I grabbed roughly the same spot I’ve had for five years (benefit of getting there really early) and we had drinks in McDonalds until it was closer to time.  Heat index was supposed to be 105, but we had clouds and a bit of a breeze, so I think it was more like 90.  Thank the Gods.  

Pre-Entertainment was supposed to be a band, but we got a swing dancing flash mob performance before that – and then during it – which was decent.  Liked the band a lot too…   

This year is “As You Like It” with a 30s/40s flair.  Honestly not the best performance I’ve seen from them, but last year’s is going to be pretty damn hard to top ever.  And on the way out, we got to listen to some chick who knows way too much about Shakespeare’s plays give us analysis as to why this isn’t his best work and how they did a good job anyway.  (She was behind us walking to our cars)  

This guy was the music between scenes and stuff.   He was awesome.  Two guitars up, or something.  Totally gave the feeling of the transient you see in the old movies playing something as he meanders through town.  I love love loved it.  Totally made the play for me.
(I didn’t take this pic.  I totally took it from Nashville Shakespeare Festival’s FB page.)

 

I conked out on the couch not long after I got home.  I was exhausted.  So exhausted that it was hard to get up this morning.  But it was an awesome date, so I call it a win.  

 

In better news, my niece was born yesterday, too.  One more reason to love.  😀

 

 

You know, I don’t think that