slave labor

This is what happens when you visit the brides family a few days before a wedding... instead of fun and frivolity its slave wedding labor!! After dinner no one was permitted to leave the table until 100 wedding programs were punched, ribbons inserted and bowed!! And yes it took all four of us to accomplish the task... apparently in wedding boot camp there are no breaks even for injuries... My dad insists he deserves a purple heart for his scissor injuries!! And after waiting soo long to own a cropodile (the hole punching tool) I finally found a good excuse to buy one-- shove that expenditure right under the paper goods on the wedding budget and no one was the wiser. But did I get to play with it??? nooo one mention that it was a tool and Mike took over that job... because my bow tying skills were so poor I got stuck inserting ribbons... oh well at least the job is checked off the list!!

6 days and counting

So many last minute details... Yesterday Amanda and I headed out to Herndon for her last hair trial.. and somehow I got a haircut too... Kristen her hairstylist and friend did a wonderful job on Amandas hair--
Nothing brings out ohh and ahhs in a salon like pulling out a veil! I can't wait to see it on her wedding day.

And Last night was Amandas Bachelorette Party! Toni and I went down for to Arlington with Amanda and joined the girls for dinner and drinks and then left them as they jumped into a Cab for a wild night of celebrating Amandas last weekend of a single gal. The girls all looked so beautiful in their "party" dresses and they were definately ready for a night of fun. Boas and a scavenger hunt list... I pity anyone who got near them they were giddy and loud ready to hit the town.

I can shop

I am not a shopper, my mother would tell you that I am just missing the all important shopping gene... my daughter just shakes her head... and when I do shop I don't always make the best decisions--especially when it comes to clothes... I usually buy what I like and not necessarily what looks good on me, or what is fashionable... comfort plays a big part in my choices as does the "happy quotent", yes I buy things that look happy to me.... don't ask its hard to explain, but even when shopping for my couch I told the salesman I wanted a happy couch... try explaining what that looks like...

But this past week I shopped... alone... and I think I did pretty darn good. I wanted a dress for the rehersal dinner..not because I really really needed one but more because I wanted one. My wardrobe sorely lacks dresses and my only real choice was one had worn to several weddings recently... I could have worn dress pants but in my mind I wanted a dress... so a dress it was! I really am quite proud of myself... I found a dress that looks good on the hanger and looks good on me. I bought two other dresses too... its ok you can gasp-- but I was on such a roll and figured they were on sale and I could use one for the bachelorette party and for a dinner party- that has since been cancelled... In all my excitement about this dress... I pulled the bow on it... and of course now I can't get it to bow right anymore... someones gonna have to redo it for me...

Last month at bonco I let everyone know that I needed a sub for March Bonco... I knew these last couple of weeks would be busy.. but Thursday I decided to head over to Robins anyway.. because this girl needed a girls night out! Even it meant chit chatting from the sidelines... but as things turned out my spot was still open--- and it was a good decision... they all told me last month I would need my night out with bonco and they were sooo right..
A couple of the girls have already married off their children -- so they reassured me I wasn't going crazy, and warned me that it could get worse. And being the friends that they are offered extra beds, cooking skills and shoulder to cry on should things get worse... It was nice to share the details of Amandas big day and be greeted with enthusiasm.
As I worry about the little things I keep reminding myself of the big things... In two weeks my baby is getting married.

Breathe

Its all about breathing at this point.. my co-worker informed me that we were 16 days away.... not sure when that happened... I remember cheering at 50 days...

I finally made my decision about what dress I'm buying--keeping--wearing.... and I took it in to be altered today... and for the first time I think I might actually be able to pull this off.. the seamstress assured me I do have a waist.. So tonight (after Bonco of course) I will pack up all the other lovelies and send them back...

Last night Mike and I worked until midnight cutting the pages for the ceremony programs --tomorrow we will finish up with the cardstock and then its on to ribbon cutting!! After that I think my list is down to 5 items... although maybe I should check with the bride and see how her list is coming along..I am hoping that when she comes home next weekend (bacholorette party !! ) that we are done done done....

Helpful Maizy

The caption could read "really I don't remember licking the wall" or perhaps " my ball may have fallen in the paint bucket" or even "aren't you glad I was here to help".....

Yup in between our wedding to do lists we painted Amanda and Christophers old room.. Its officially another guest bedroom. And like the many dogs who have come before her Maizy was intent to help. Thinking back on all of our painting endevors it seems every dog has come out of the project with alittle paint on the tail or maybe alittle on their side as they brushed up against the wall.. But none that I can remember came out of the project with paint on their noses and ears and paws with the gusto that maizy had!! To say the project lasted alittle longer than we thought it would due to Maizy wouldn't be wrong... You see she loves to hide her ball under blankets, rugs, clothes whatever --- to the point that she will drag the cover around the room-- and then she pounces on it (think hopping bunnies) and then uncovers it and does it again and again and again... unfortunately this game was played under the paint tarp... and what we didn't know at the time was "somehow" her ball had paint on it... so the floor under the tarp had little paint spots from the ball ALL over it!! So on my hands and knees I removed the spots one at a time with alittle soap and water...

And the room which started like this . (those white spots are just a few of the zillion holes Mike spackled) and ended up looking lovely... maybe I will find time to take pictures tonight???

If the amount of stuff your child hangs on thier wall has any collation to the happiness they experinced during childhood I think my daughter was an extremely happy child.... This is room number two that she occupied in our house and both of them after she left required a whole jar of spackle... Lucky for her-- her daddy loves her lots... but he did make a note to get Corey his own spackle jar for the wedding...

Speaking of the wedding... the list gets smaller and smaller... This weekend.. Final walkthrough with the officers club, final dress fitting, they picked up the rings and Amanda got her hair done - moving right along!!!

SNOW DAY!

SNOW SNOW SNOW!! After being promised yesterday that the snow was coming we finally got it!!!

So I signed a petition today requesting that the American public be told what has actually happened to the Bail out money... specifically the banking money... but truth be told I could hear from the auto manufactures too... I don't understand how our government has chosen two industries... with multiple businesses to bail out .... what about the local restaurant down the street that just closed? or people at circuit city or the hundreds of other companies that have failed?? What about all the companies forced to lay off workers? Why didn't the government address them? were their business models in worse shape than anyone else??? Seems to me our government needs to rethink helping out businesses that choose to lend money to people they knew couldn't pay it back... who choose not to change the way they developed new products. Who felt that their executives needed more money then they could possibly spend....