I'm a Mess!

I CANNOT seem to get organized!

Jeff and I went last night and made the final selection on my ring, it's an Ideal cut, colorless stone, round and .96 c. Sweet! This diamond is so pretty it hurts to think about it. Really. I'm getting a little panicked at the thought of wearing it on my finger for the rest of my life. I don't question marrying Jeff, just my ability to not have the stone fall out or something.

Anyway, I meant to start over this week and try and get my tail back on the program. I had been doing so well for the last month and then all of the wedding stuff happened and I sank right back in to old habits. It's a nervous thing, I get that. I just wish I could get on top of it. I keep telling myself that I need to focus on one decision at a time but frankly, I seem to vacillate between forgetting to eat and almost passing out, and gorging myself on comfort foods.

I haven't been to the gym in I don't know how long, though I really want to go! It's just that there never seems to be the time. This wedding is snowballing into twice the size that we originally anticipated and it's freaking me out. I'm a detail person and there are so many initial decisions that need to be made that I can't figure out how to get everything done, still home school, and still function in other areas of my life.

Does that make sense?

It's like I barely had enough time to work and home school before and now that we've tossed wedding planning into the mix, WOW! I barely get laundry done, I barely SHOWER!

I guess it's because I'm planning a huge amount of DIY projects to save money. Invitations were the project of the day- I have NO IDEA what I want. Colors. Nothing. My Save the Dates have to be put together by Oct 6th or I lose the fantastic deal that I found on them. How good of a deal? Try 100 personalized, professionally printed, engagement photo attached postcards for $12 shipping included! Yeah. THAT good.

I just need to quickly teach myself how to use Adobe inDesign or Illustrator to put them together. No biggie right? LOL

I feel gross right now. I've gained about four pounds in the last week and a half and I can't seem to get it in gear. I'd totally step back from everything for a few days, but unfortunately, there just isn't the time. See above for example.

I'm thinking Saturday will be the day. It's my birthday and I'm going to relax and enjoy it. We'll probably take some of our engagement photos then, I'll get my ring (YAY!), and all will be right with the world.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to take an online tutorial of Illustrator.

Hoping for a good week

I'm about to take off and meet my best friend Amanda at the fabric store to look at possible Bridesmaid dress patterns. I've so wanted to try and keep the cost down for my bridesmaids and yet still have exactly what I've wanted. Spoiled, no? Anyway, I'm going to try and do a cost comparison and see exactly how much it would cost to purchase the supplies needed (fabric, notions, etc), the cost of paying someone to make them, and then compare that against the cost of actually purchasing a dress from a store. I have a feeling that it will probably work out better to have them made, but I don't know that for sure. I DO know that most of the bridesmaid dresses that I've seen that I actually like have ranged in price from $150-$275 before shipping. That just seems like too much to me, even though I've been reassured that those prices are really somewhat standard.

Anyway, I'm excited about going to look. I'm really hoping that this will be the week that I get my engagement ring. My birthday is this Saturday so I'm keeping my fingers crossed. :-) David will hopefully call us sometime this week to go and look at the diamonds we requested. He said that once we choose one that we like, that he can have it set in a day. YAY! I'll be sure to post pictures for everyone to see.

Anyway, my mom and I are going to set up a time on Friday to go back to the Lodge and walk around. I need to get a better idea of table placement and set-up, if for no other reason than I need to know how much of what to rent in terms of linens. It should be fun.

Whew!

So let's recap, shall we?

In the last week my car has died twice, been taken to three different mechanics, had four diagnostic tests run, and has gotten a free car wash. Unfortunately, no-one could figure out anything actually wrong with it. Ya know, other than the fact that it died on me twice! Best guess is that there was a loose battery cable and that one of the times that they tested the battery it was tightened down properly and the problem was resolved.

We lost the church that I so desperatly wanted. But that's okay, because we got the State Park Lodge that was our second choice. We put the deposit down on it on Monday and will be married on July 25, 2009.

I almost didn't get the jeweler that I wanted (the only one I'd trust), but my incredible mother was able to track down his home number. I called him, he remembered us, and said that if we didn't mind looking at diamonds over his kitchen table, that he'd be happy to help us. We all (Jeff and I, my mother and my son) went over to his house on Monday and chose from a list of diamonds on a sheet. He's going to have them shipped to him (probably arriving today) and we will go from there. YAY! I'm SO nervous about picking one out though. I have no idea why! Still, David is going to give us the ring for 20% above wholesale and will only charge me $200 regardless of the metal and setting I choose (to set the stone). How friggin' cool is that??

Now back to the guest list and the search for a kilt rental/store. The good times never stop around these parts!

Now a Wedding Blog

Until further notice.

Happily.

And I'm totally freaking out. My jeweler of like, oh I don't know, FOREVER has retired. This was evidenced by the gaping hole in the side of his building! He was there two months ago. Now? NOTHING!

We picked out our rings at another store and was just going to go to "David" to have him put together what we wanted (at a greatly reduced price). Now? I have no idea what we're going to do. I tracked down the man's home number, I heard that he might still do some work on the side for friends and family, but I don't know if that's actually the case. So now I'm trying to screw up my courage enough to call this poor man at home and beg him to make my engagement ring and our wedding bands.

Oh, and the church we had previously picked out? The one that was perfect in Every.Single.Way? Well... they've just instituted a new policy that says that only parishioners are allowed to get married there. ARGH!!! I spent the whole afternoon wandering around the down town area looking at all of the old historical churches and asking about policies. I found one Catholic church (which was pretty from the outside, but frankly had scary blue carpet that was who knows how old throughout the inside), that might be an option. They only want $300 for the use of the chapel, not too bad, but still... not perfect. There was the beautiful historical Methodist church that had a stunning sanctuary but was really run down everywhere else. Plus parking would be a total nightmare. All of this for the low low price of $1200.

I could just cry. Jeff and I both wanted a church wedding in a place that didn't feel totally commercialized (my problem with most modern churches), but also that didn't cost an arm and a leg. I could use my church but frankly, it feels like a convention center. It doesn't have the atmosphere I was hoping for. Jeff is Catholic but hasn't practiced down here and hasn't found a church since moving.

So I have no idea WHAT we're going to do. Who would've thought that getting married in "a House of God" would be so expensive and or impossible!

I think I might just go and have a good cry while I try and figure out ways NOT to sound totally scary and stalkish when I call the jeweler at home.

Catchin' up

So in the last almost month I've been really really busy. Here are a few highlights:

* Heard from an old cop buddy that tried to convince me to join the force. I turned him down.
*Agreed to consider probation and parole.
*Had food poisoning... and what fun that was!
*Sent Michael off for a week with his grandma, a weekend with his scout troupe, and tomorrow, will send him for a week long camp out again with the scouts. I haven't seen a lot of the boy, but the rapidly decreasing amount of food in my pantry assures me that he's still around.
* Joined the YMCA at a discounted rate. Those people are phenomenal! I start working out tomorrow.
*Gained five-seven pounds. Ugh! I feel gross!
* Planted waaaayyyy too much in the way of flowers and shrubbery on the apartment patio. Looks pretty though.
* Enjoyed summer time with the family.

The next couple of weeks look like they're going to be equally busy, I have to get ready to fly out to Utah to visit my mom's family in a couple of weeks. I also kinda sorta need to find a job.

Happy Father's Day everyone!

Playing in the Swamp

An Awesome Weekend

Just a quick post to update:

Jeff and I have enjoyed the rare weekend alone. Michael went to visit his grandmother out of town and my mother went out of town on business. Being that those are the two people that, while I love them dearly, also demand the most of my time, Jeff and I actually got to spend the weekend together alone. It's funny, we're the two people that have always made or invented work to do. Neither of us are really capable of taking a real day off. A day of from work usually means an opportunity to clean up the house or beat the yard back into submission.

But not this weekend. This weekend we went for long drives in the country, we walked through a swamp (trust me, it was cool!), we ate out- waaaayyyy too much!, and we took naps. It was awesome!

This week brought the return of work. Because Michael is out of town I am actually able to pick up a few extra hours and work during the day.

Oh, I almost forgot! Guess what Jeff surprised me with?

A cell phone!

I've been without one for the last year and a half because I couldn't justify the expense. Apparently he sat down and determined that of the 1500 minutes he was using on his phone, all but less than 200 were used talking to me. He looked into it and discovered that he could add a second line to his phone for an additional $15 a month. Because he has T-Mobile he put us on the My Favs plan. This means that we can talk as much as we want a month. How cool is that?!! So... for the first time in ages, I actually got to talk to him while I was at work yesterday.

I had forgotten how much I missed having a phone.

Anyway, I'm trying to make the time to construct a much longer post wherein I completely wig out... but that's for another day. Here's a hint: Jeff's job is going to very soon require that he attend opening tour parties and rehearsals for major music stars. Guess who is going to be dragged along kicking and screaming? Yep. Me. And no, I wasn't being sarcastic. I really don't want to go with him. This now introduces a new sense of urgency into my 'I gotta get back into shape' whine. AGH!