1500 pageviews: Thank you, I am honored

Thank you to all that continue to read on.

I can tell you these last few months have been somewhat hectic.

I swear they need a Looney bin for brides after the wedding.  So many things going in so many directions, so many things to be planned, and so many things to manage.  I get the Bridezilla factor now.  If I didn't have so much background in this stuff, I would probably lose it too, and nearly have.

I am thankful that my event planning, menu planning and cake planning were all in one.  Made my appointment schedule so much easier, and everyone that is involved in the vendor aspects of the wedding are super excited as they get to use their talents for such a special event, and in ways that they had wanted to maneuver their talents.  My cake decorator is actually stringing sugar pearls for my cake (he's always wanted to do that), the chef for the restaurant is building my menu from scratch not from the menu (with his signature flair), and the photographer has always wanted to shoot at that venue.

I can honestly say everyone involved is just as excited as I am, and the ways that things have been brought together have just been magical (artistic consciousness??), but it's all coming together as I want and how I hope.  Excited beyond words.

Hugs and love my friends and those who follow me.

I'll post more dating stuff as it comes up from input I get, but it sounds like the reverse of this blog just got turned into a movie. LOL

Tree of Life: the family interactions.

For some reason family dynamics never go as you imagine.  Thanks to our (the general single society) handy dandy habits of falling in and out of love, the family tends to get wary of whomever you drag home and then the fun begins.

It's been a bumpy road so far interacting with family, on both sides, just mine was less so.  With the side of the groom, there are sooooo many more family members to interact with, and for some reason a matriarch who gets offended that I won't spend time with her, but then finds some reason for not spending time with me or some barrier of another sort.  And most of the time the barrier she chooses is rather offensive to me.

For some reason, there has been lack of information flowing from her side as to getting things on calendars.  We are supposed to be going up to the family valentine party (the first in family history, I might add) this weekend.  I was honored with an invitation from a church lady at my own church to attend a program her daughter is putting on, and it's the same day.  I asked my groom to ask his mother what time the party was due to a possible conflict.  What returned as a response was a lot more of a lecture about the importance of family than about simply saying what time the party was.  I texted back to her on his phone, stating that it was me of course, that we were not intending to skip the family party, but that we were not informed on the time of the party, and thus attempted to see if I could squeeze both events into the day, but that since we had confirmed that we were going to the family party, that we would certainly be there.  All that response was met with was a "Thanks so much."

I realize she's trying to keep the family together, but the family will continue to have this disharmony as the family continues to grow and move away, it's normal.  I can't help it that I live an hour away and need to get things on the schedule in order for us to travel rather than being available on a whim.  I'm not one that will live directly behind a family member so that they can keep tabs on me or available at the drop of a hat.  Another brother and his wife live nearly 2 hours away, and it is more so important for them to know what's on the schedule too. 

There are a total of five children in this family, all with their own lives and dramas going on, and of which I have chosen not to get involved in all the family stuff as I try to plan the wedding, the food, the wardrobe, the guest list, the pre-marital counseling, the events I attend in regular life, oh, and also attempting to move two households in all this mess.

My own family situation is also a concern, I have a full family residence at my mom's residence as well, with other various concerns.  I really don't have the time to function on everyone's schedules, or entertain the drama.  I can invest in the people I can reach, and that's about where I draw my line. 

My groom and I are trying to really invest in our upcoming marriage, the friends we are making and investing in at this time, the family members that have extended invitations for visits, attending church, and working on home stuff.  I would really appreciate it if those who were requiring us to spend time with them made it a bit easier in this transition or at least just made things a bit more smooth in this whole situation.

And I would have appreciated that my invitations be taken up on rather than for me to show up and be ready to go, only to find out that plans have changed on a whim.  It's really upsetting that I spend so much time working on presenting myself well and then to have such a reception. 

Wedding Checklist

I finally went over my wedding checklist, from a book I've had for years.  From their 1 year checklist, I've cleared 9 months of hurdles in less than 90 days.  Not too shabby.  Only thing now is to finish the last 3 months of tasks, which get a bit busier: decor ordering, marriage counseling, dress ordering (only thing I didn't achieve in that 9 months checklist), etc. 

Having worked for a stationary company, and having to read wedding etiquette and wedding checklists in order to assist brides in choosing stationary, has helped a bit while working on my own wedding. 

The wedding crazies continue, but having seen the checklist over a year, I feel good about how far I've gotten. :)

A Productive Snow Day: How I spent my snowed in days....

The fun part: I got stuff done.  The not so fun part: Not doing it with my fiancé.

I put up a little bit of spring to remind us what is to come, and the season in which my wedding is. 

I managed to be a little productive this weekend, while snowed in.  I ordered my small amount of invitations, my guest book, and a cooking product I've been eyeing for the last 6 months.  I got bored on Sunday, and started watching QVC.  They had the product I wanted on an easy pay.  How's that for trying to indulge but trying not to blow the entire wedding budget. LOL.

The wedding guest book, I used Shutterfly and uploaded my engagement photos and then placed them into a photo album I already designed.  Should be fun for the wedding. :)  It was on sale. 

The wedding invitations were awesome to order.  I started on Wedding Paper Divas, a company that works with Shutterfly for wedding invites, and they had a sale going on.  I decided to check Vista Prints, who had a better deal.  I got over 100 pieces for less than $55.00, for less than 20 invites.  Not too shabby.

Picking a minister was hard though.  Though I have many connections on ministerial options (there's a word for I know a lot of preachers, LOL).... I decided to go with one whose wife is someone I absolutely adore, and he's in a more advisable location for us to do marriage counseling.  Otherwise, if I had gone with my more traditional choices, we would have been trucking it to Mint Hill either on weekday afternoons, or weekends, depending on whose available.  At least with this minister, who I have a huge fondness for because of his darling wife, will be fun for the wedding, and will be halfway between us as we are in the middle of this transition.

The fun part:  I just found out the place I want to get my wedding dress from- a Chinese dress maker- just got sued in Federal Court for copyright infringement.  Dumb filing though- who on earth sues an international company in Federal Court, and then also sues on Fashion Copyrights.  Morons.  Like it's gonna do any good.

On the hunt for a Mother of the Bride Dress for my mom..... this is gonna get fun. :)

Crazy life, crazy wife-to-be: Wedding planning

My darling friends, blogging has been so not-on-my-mind this week.  I apologize.  It has literally been crazy.  Mailing lists, wedding invites, engagement photos, menu planning, apartment packing, moving, laundry and the majorly mundane all rolled into one.

If you are planning on getting married at any point in your life, get some reading in before any of it starts.  Trust me, it helps in the long run.  However, there is no telling what you can get yourself into until you actually get into it. 

Life this week has consisted of trying to stay afloat with appointments, shopping, traveling, hospital visits (family and friends), etc.  Mad house!

So, I apologize for not staying in the blog this week, just super smashing busy. 

Stay tuned, I'm sure I'll post something soon.  ~M

Praying for peace this morning

My world has been thrown upside down in the last several weeks, with the engagement, and living arrangements and all that.  Let's just say that some of the response hasn't been so easy to stomach.

This morning, I am praying for peace in the situation and for God's hand to move.  God knows that I want to follow what He wants for my life, and He knows what the situation itself requires. 

Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding.  In all your ways, Acknowledge HIM, and He will make your path straight. 

Lord, may this prayer be heard and answered.  Lord please help this situation find peace and a soft resolution.  If I need to cover the minimal expenses to close this matter, then let it be.  Lord, allow a bright light in this person's life to guide them to the gracious answers and gracious response that this situation requires.  You know what this situation requires, what it needs to be resolved.  I trust in You, no matter what.  May Your Hand lead me.

Though there may be a lack of trust in the situation, I pray that You create the environment necessary for this situation to resolve smoothly. 

Alice Paul: A woman who knew what she wanted out of life

Happy Birthday Alice Paul.  American Women's Suffrage owes you a huge debt of gratitude.  Thank you for your hard work in a woman's right to vote, a woman's right to live her life as something other than property.  Thank you for making a difference.