Updated post wedding to-do list

1. Create and order photobooks for bridesmaids & groomsmen. I'm thinking 4x6 Snapbooks from Shutterfly.
2. Change my name with billers. (bank, DMV, and SS are all done!)
   
3. Make Disney honeymoon scrapbook.
4. Formally change my name at work.
5. Figure out what I want to do with my dress.
6. Sell some wedding-related items.
7. Write more wedding day recaps and start on honeymoon recaps.

All thank yous are written and sent, I've written thank yous to my bridesmaids, and I found a 4x6 silk photo album on sale at Kohl's (seriously one of my favorite stores ever!) for the 250 4x6s that came with our photography package. More than likely I will order 50 more from Shutterfly to fill out the whole album. I also made a password-protected Shutterfly share site for friends and family to view photos and order prints.

I'm opting not to get a professional scrapbook-style album made right now (Like these). My photographer charges $500+ for those types of albums. I already dropped a lot of cash on bouquet preservation and that is more important to me. Honestly, if I brushed up some more with Photoshop, I could order some collage templates from eBay and design it all myself! Plus I have ALL the photos on DVD and that leaves a lot of options open for the future.

I am still waiting for my preserved bouquet to arrive in the mail, along with our wedding video. I am thinking about inviting all our local friends and family over for a wedding video viewing party. Is that a pretentious thing to do? But I've had a lot of friends ask about the video and if they can see it, including friends who couldn't make the wedding. It would probably be the only chance for them to see it. So what do y'all think?

The Rusty Nail

This is what ruined my Saturday. A rusty nail.

First off, I slept in too late and didn't make my hair appointment, so no bobbed hair just yet. I'm going to reschedule for this week or next.

So...the nail. Brian is working on replacing windows in our laundry room, which overlooks the backyard. They're the old louvered glass windows and we're putting in regular glass panes, which put in a lot more light, allow us a better view of th backyard (and Mango's antics in it) and it will help save a lot on heating/cooling costs.

So anyway, Brian had pulled out the old windows an the wood framing. I was working on getting the wood up to the front yard for the garbage truck to pick up. Luckily in our town you can throw pretty much anything next to the road -- tree trimmings, wood, whatever -- and a special garbage truck with a big claw comes by to pick everything up once a week. This is in addition to the twice-weekly regular garbage service.

I took some of the wood to the front yard for pickup, but it was getting nasty after a couple trips because some of the wood was rotted. So I asked Brian where his work gloves were. He tossed his car keys down to me (our laundry room sits up a little high) because his work gloves were in his truck. I went and got the work gloves, put them on, and tossed his keys back up to him but barely missed getting them over the edge. I went to get the keys and somehow misstepped onto a piece of wood that had come from the window framing. Blam! A rusty nail goes through my shoe and into my foot.

We went to the local urgent care and I got a tetanus shot right away. I got x-rays and luckily they didn't see that any rubber from my shoe had gone up there. As a precaution, they numbed my foot --which was totally the worst part -- the numbing injection hurt like hell -- and the doctor explored the area and irrigated my foot. They gave me prescriptions for antibiotics and generic Lortab.

So that was my Saturday. I hope your Saturday rated better than mine!

Now I am at home with Brian eating a late dinner and watching The Wrestler. He has taken great care of me and did a great job of calming me down and making me laugh all day. Husbands rock.

The wife chop!

Well, tomorrow at 10 a.m. is the big day...I'm getting my hair chopped! We're going to the water park Sunday and I wanted to have it done before then for sure.

I'm going for the look of one of these:






I will be sure to take before and after photos!

45 life lessons and 5 to grow on

I got a variation of this column in an e-mail from my mom this morning. The e-mail claimed that Cleveland Plain Dealer columnist Regina Brett is 90 years old, but in fact she just turned 50 in 2007. I always check out all e-mail forwards that I get to see if they are true or not...guess it is the journalist in me.

I need to really follow so many of these life lessons. I struggle with several of these on a daily basis. The original column can be found here.

Regina Brett's 45 life lessons and 5 to grow on

To celebrate growing older, I once wrote the 45 lessons life taught me.

It is the most-requested column I've ever written. My odometer rolls over to 50 this week, so here's an update:

1. Life isn't fair, but it's still good.

2. When in doubt, just take the next small step.

3. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.

4. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.

5. Pay off your credit cards every month.

6. You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.

7. Cry with someone. It's more healing than crying alone.

8. It's OK to get angry with God. He can take it.

9. Save for retirement starting with your first paycheck.

10. When it comes to chocolate, resistance is futile.

11. Make peace with your past so it won't screw up the present.

12. It's OK to let your children see you cry.

13. Don't compare your life to others'. You have no idea what their journey is all about.

14. If a relationship has to be a secret, you shouldn't be in it.

15. Everything can change in the blink of an eye. But don't worry; God never blinks.

16. Life is too short for long pity parties. Get busy living, or get busy dying.

17. You can get through anything if you stay put in today.

18. A writer writes. If you want to be a writer, write.

19. It's never too late to have a happy childhood. But the second one is up to you and no one else.

20. When it comes to going after what you love in life, don't take no for an answer.

21. Burn the candles, use the nice sheets, wear the fancy lingerie. Don't save it for a special occasion. Today is special.

22. Overprepare, then go with the flow.

23. Be eccentric now. Don't wait for old age to wear purple.

24. The most important sex organ is the brain.

25. No one is in charge of your happiness except you.

26. Frame every so-called disaster with these words: "In five years, will this matter?"

27. Always choose life.

28. Forgive everyone everything.

29. What other people think of you is none of your business.

30. Time heals almost everything. Give time time.

31. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.

32. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends will. Stay in touch.

33. Believe in miracles.

34. God loves you because of who God is, not because of anything you did or didn't do.

35. Whatever doesn't kill you really does make you stronger.

36. Growing old beats the alternative - dying young.

37. Your children get only one childhood. Make it memorable.

38. Read the Psalms. They cover every human emotion.

39. Get outside every day. Miracles are waiting everywhere.

40. If we all threw our problems in a pile and saw everyone else's, we'd grab ours back.

41. Don't audit life. Show up and make the most of it now.

42. Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful or joyful.

43. All that truly matters in the end is that you loved.

44. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.

45. The best is yet to come.

46. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.

47. Take a deep breath. It calms the mind.

48. If you don't ask, you don't get.

49. Yield.

50. Life isn't tied with a bow, but it's still a gift.

The cakes!

I'll just let these photos speak for themselves. (c;

Movies I can't wait to see!

Movie Trailers - Movies Blog

What movies are you looking forward to this year?

'PWD' and Find Your Spot

Without fail, I always have a tough time on Monday mornings. Pulling into work, I literally felt like I could fall asleep right then and there.

I am feeling very blessed today because the hubby got his work schedule changed! He was working from 4 p.m. til close (which is 10 p.m.) M-Th at his restaurant, which amounted to about 26 hours per week. Now he is working noon-8 p.m. M-F giving him a full 40 hours a week. Now we can actually eat a late dinner together and spend some time together in the evenings. The only downside is that Mango is alone for about 6.5 hours in the afternoon now. She is still crated because she is still a chewer, but I hope in the next year that she can be let out of the crate when we are gone.

PWD: Like the Broke-Ass Bride, I have been experiencing a little PWD (Post-Wedding Depression). I've completely fallen off the fitness wagon but have been easing myself back into it with some Wii Fit and walks with Mango. I am most likely going to cancel our YMCA membership to save money and instead embrace the Wii, my workout DVDs, and more walks with the pup, who is always happy to oblige. I also have a Tony Little Gazelle that has never been used. It's tough to be active in the South during the summer. The humidity makes me want to curl up somewhere soft, cool and dark and take a nap after work every day.

Find Your Spot: Hubby and I are thinking seriously about changes we want to make in our lives. We are making our careers a priority and so because of that, we are fairly certain that our future may not include Birmingham. I took the FindYourSpot.com quiz and here are the results. I designated only the Southeast plus Arizona, Nevada and California as places I am interested in living. I also designated medium and large cities -- no small towns.

1. Baton Rouge, Louisiana
2. Austin, Texas
3. Houston, Texas
4. Little Rock, Arkansas
5. Memphis, Tennessee
6. Charleston, South Carolina
7. San Antonio, Texas
8. Fort Worth, Texas
9. Orlando, Florida
10. Augusta, Georgia
11. Tampa, Florida
12. Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
13. El Paso, Texas
14. Jacksonville, Florida
15. Las Vegas, Nevada
16. Phoenix, Arizona
17. Nashville, Tennessee
18. Dallas, Texas
19. West Palm Beach, Florida
20. Alexandria, Louisiana
21. Shreveport-Bossier City, Louisiana
22. Bryan-College Station, Texas
23. Brownsville, Texas
24. Ocala, Florida

Haha, notice how the list is totally dominated by Texas and Florida, both states I have previously lived in. And no Alabama cities! lol. Is your city on this list? What do you love or hate about it?

Wedding Day Part 3

After my MOH and I got back from the hair salon at 4 p.m., I just sort of wandered around the condo for a minute in a daze, looking at the beautiful bridal party flowers. Then I decided to get my clothes off and put on my undies and robe in preparation for getting into my dress. I also put on my jewelry, refreshed my makeup, and fretted with my hair, which was still super curly. But of course the wind and the salt and the humidity would do their work on it later on.

Fretting with my hair.

Here's me looking dazed, anxious and sort of out of it. This photo cracks me up.

Our officiant was supposed to be in the condo at 4:15 to meet with me, but she was 20 minutes late. We sat down when she arrived and went over the ceremony so I felt a little better after that. But I was still nervous about the fact that we didn’t have a rehearsal. (BRIDES TAKE NOTE: ALWAYS HAVE A REHEARSAL!) I knew that my girls would know what to do, but I was unsure about the guys. And I didn’t know this at the time, but the bouts hadn’t even made it over to the guys’ condo at this point.

Our photographer Donna arrived to start taking photos at 5, and so did Brian’s stepmother and stepsister (one of my bridesmaids). I gave both of them their bridesmaids and mom gifts and they were both really happy with them.

Giving out gifts to moms and bridesmaids -- it's a large embroidered canvas bag filled with goodies that I will go in detail about later on.

I was feeling really anxious and the condo was starting to fill up with lots of people – sorority sisters, various family members, etc., and it was more people than I thought would be there so I was a little frantic but happy to see everyone. I was feeling like I had to entertain everyone all at once and my immediate family was still nowhere to be seen. I'm also pretty sure that Brian's mother was in the condo at the same time as Brian's stepmother, but I think there were enough people there that it wasn't totally awkward.

My parents and sister and baby nephews finally arrived and I felt way better. I felt sort of half naked running around in a robe, so my bridesmaids and my mom and the photographer and I all went in the master bedroom and got my dress on and took lots of great photos.

Donna took some photos of me looking out over the ocean and I really relaxed during that time.
Basically the 5 ‘o clock hour was full of picture taking and people just milling about in our condo. Finally it was getting closer to ceremony time, so we headed downstairs to take some more photos and get ready to head out onto the beach….

6pm.com

Have you guys heard of 6pm.com?

It's a new site from zappos.com. Basically it is all discounted even more than the stuff on Zappos.

Currently, I am lusting after:Harvey's Original Seatbelt Bag large satchel in Rugby Sailor & White. It's $77.05, 40% off the original MSRP.
Tommy Bahama Sea Renity sandal. Marked down to $97.75, 48% off MSRP of $175.


Derek Lam Emma Sunglasses. $143.75, 55% off MSRP of $320.

Of course I can't afford any of this. haha.

There's also some Lilly, Vineyard Vines, and a lot of other popular brands on the site. Check it out!

Still alive

Hi everyone!

Just a quick post to let everyone know that I'm still alive. My impromptu 3-part series on wedding gift giving threw my blogging plans off a bit. The last thing I want to talk about now is wedding gift giving.

Anywho, Brian and I had a productive weekend. Speaking of wedding gifts, I bought some for 2 other couples (BB&B online and Target in person). I was off work Friday and got my name changed at the DMV and the bank. This weekend we also took our pup Mango for a much-needed "pawdicure" at Petsmart. They're running the pawdicure special through June 29 which includes nail trimming, nail grinding and ear cleaning. We bathe Miss Mango ourselves and clean her ears once a week, but have to trust the nails to the professionals because she is such a squirmer! She is a very energetic Labrador but we wouldn't have it any other way. Besides, she's not even 2 years old yet.

This photo pretty much sums up Mango:


And man, is it already Tuesday afternoon?

I am working on part 3 of my wedding day recap, and then a post on the wedding cakes!

Last reply to anonymous commenter

My anonymous commenter felt compelled to comment again on my last post. He/she says:

"I am sorry if my prior post led to a misunderstanding. I totally agree that if you are invited to a wedding event, and most especially if you attend, you need to give whatever present your budget will allow. It is rude not to do so. But a scorecard has no place in social relationships, especially those with your closest friends and family. And I take exception to your using a public forum to air your dissatisfaction with the number of gifts that you have received. If invitees do not send a gift, that should be their private sin, and to bemoan in public the fact that your expectations of receiving a gift were not met seems, to me, to be an equal breach of etiquette. These are your closest friends. Be gracious in ignoring their lapse. It is, as you say, about mutual respect."

A "scorecard." I have been thinking about this for a couple hours now, and honestly, no, I don't think I keep a scorecard based on what my friends and family have or have not given me in material gifts. I love my family and my husband's family regardless of what they do or do not give me. And most of our closest friends have given gifts, and some sentimental ones at that. As for the ones who didn't give? Well, as Anonymous says, it is their private sin. To me, it's just vexing more than anything else that a good portion of our invited guests -- I'm not sure of the total percentage -- have not followed proper wedding etiquette.

Is it a generational thing? I think so. I think Generation Y and their parents are to blame. Most of our invited guests are in their 20s and I think a lot of them were not taught correctly by their parents on how to handle themselves when it comes to weddings and other social events. As for me, my mother taught me to always RSVP, to always give a gift, and in the case of receiving a gift, to promptly write a thank you note. "Promptly" to some might mean within a week, for others, within a month, to others, within six months. But I always try to follow those rules because it's not only socially accepted, but it's the right thing to do.

As for Anonymous' claim that I am using this blog as a public forum to air my dissatisfaction, well I suppose that's my prerogative, although I don't really see it as a public airing. They say blogs are the finest form of navel-gazing, and as such, I can write about whatever I so choose. I certainly have not been walking around bemoaning and counting receipts. I just think the "rampant non gift-giving" (as one of my other commenters put it) is something worth discussing, especially among those in my age group. It seems to be a very common thing, and it is of course going to be something that every bride will notice.

I count my blessings every day, not my receipts and my wedding gifts. But it's a fact that in this day and age, you cannot expect something from everyone. It's sad that a lot of twentysomethings are too wrapped up in their own world (or simply don't consider themselves to be a part of the real world) to follow proper etiquette. I've seen this illustrated not just with my wedding, but with many other situations over the past few years.

I don't consider it bad etiquette to talk about this situation on my blog. "Be gracious in ignoring their lapse," Anonymous says. If I individually named off non gift-givers, or contacted them and asked for a gift, well that would be a definite faux-pas and something I would never care to do.

But to start a discussion about a situation, to get feedback from others... that's what having a blog is all about. Ignoring a situation will never yield any progress.

So, as Forrest Gump says, "That's all I got to say about that."

Reply to an anonymous commenter

I received this from an anonymous commenter on this post:

"I have a comment on your complaint that not enough of your wedding party have sent gifts. It is very expensive to be in a wedding-especially a destination wedding at a resort. Added to the other expenses-shower gifts, dresses,parties etc. that are required, I think that you expect lot from your friends who may be on a budget. Perhaps you should focus on the fact that so many of your close friends made the financial commitment to share this special time with you and focus a little less on receipt counting. The pleasure of having your friends share your wedding should be much more important to you than how many gifts you receive."

This commenter of course does have a good point to make, but I have mine to make as well. I think that my family and I were very generous toward the wedding party throughout the planning process. We did not have an engagement party. I had just one bridal shower (unlike the Southern tradition of having SEVERAL). Two out of five bridesmaids attended that shower and gave gifts, and one other who could not attend sent a gift. I had an informal lingerie shower the night before the wedding, and four out of five bridesmaids were there and gave me some really awesome gifts.

The costs for my bridesmaids were:

1) The dress, which ranged in price from $120-$150 depending on where it was bought.
2) Alterations for their dress.
3) Travel to and from the resort.

My family graciously paid in full for accommodations for 2 nights for my bridesmaids, and my mom also paid for the bridesmaids' sandals and manis/pedis. And of course their meals were provided during the rehearsal dinner and the wedding day. So honestly I don't think the expenses were that outlandish for my bridal party. Beside the fact that most of them got me a gift anyway.

The costs for the groomsmen were:

1) Their shirts, which were $20 apiece.
2) Khaki pants if they did not already have the correct shade of khaki.
3) Travel to and from the resort.
4) My family paid for a portion of their accommodations, and the groomsmen each paid another portion since they stayed in the NICEST penthouse on the property...it was much more expensive than the bridesmaids' condo.

The groomsmen received Rainbow sandals as part of their gift for serving in the wedding party and they wore those for the wedding. And only the best man got us a gift -- and an extremely generous gift at that.

Blueprint Bliss wrote this comment on the last post: I do think the non-gift giving is rampant these days with people under the age of approx 25. Both girls and guys are bad about it... I've seen that some people give a shower gift (bridal shower) and count it as their wedding gift... guys just don't buy gifts.

And I really have to agree with this...single guys and those still in college just don't give gifts. As for the wedding party, it's not like I was ever expecting for each of them to buy us a china place setting or anything like that. But I did make sure to load up our registries with several gifts at price points below $50. I myself can't give gifts over that amount because I work as a Web journalist and I'm certainly not made of money. And I don't expect my friends, especially those in the wedding party, to be made of money either.

But really, the wedding party is just cracking the surface of the non-gift giving. I failed to mention this before, but there are family members who did not give us wedding gifts. And like I mentioned before, there are married couples that I either attended their wedding or sent them a gift, and we have yet to receive anything from any of those couples.

I don't mean to assume anyone's financial situation. But not receiving gifts, let alone an RSVP, from family and from friends who I once considered to be close is very disconcerting and it makes me feel as if I've been FORGOTTEN. Maybe this is because I'm an emotional person, or maybe it's because I've always gotten a lot of pleasure out of picking out gifts for my friends and family.

Believe me, I know that once you hit your mid-20s and start getting those Save the Dates and wedding invites in the mail that the cost can really add up. I've already attended 2 other weddings this year, sent 1 gift and will buy 2 more this weekend. Then there are 2 more couples that I need to give gifts to later on this year. And 4 out of 5 of my bridesmaids are still single, and I fully expect to invest as much in their weddings as they invested in mine, both time and money-wise, because they are my 3 closest friends and my sister-in-law.

What this really boils down to is The Golden Rule: Do to others what you would like to be done to you. It's about reciprocity and mutual respect.

The wife chop

Yep, I am going to long-bob it sometime in the next couple of weeks...once I work up the courage! Do y'all prefer any of these styles over the others?

Post-wedding to-do list...and a confession.

I still have a lot of things to do post-wedding.

1. Write handwritten thank yous to bridesmaids.
2. Create and order photobooks for bridesmaids & groomsmen. I'm thinking 4x6 Snapbooks from Shutterfly.
3. Change my name on my driver's license - doing this Friday.
4. Change my name with bank & billers.
5. Make Disney honeymoon scrapbook.
6. Find pretty wedding album for 250 4x6 photos - any suggestions?
7. Formally change my name at work.
8. Write a couple more thank you notes for late gifts.
9. Figure out what I want to do with my dress.
10. Sell some wedding-related items.
11. Write more wedding day recaps and start on honeymoon recaps.

What I HAVE done:

1. Changed my name at Social Security office.
2. Added hubby to health and dental insurance at work.
3. Ordered 250 4x6s that came with our photo package.
4. Wrote & sent the majority of thank you notes.
5. Made a wedding keepsake shadow box. (will take a photo of this tonight!)
   
6. Had my bouquet preserved with Keepsake Floral.

OK, now I have to confess something now re: wedding gifts. A LOT of our friends did not get us anything and I am kind of bummed about it. We've gotten some truly great gifts, but honestly not as much as I thought we would. Only 1 out of 5 groomsman (the best man) and 3 out of 5 bridesmaids have bought gifts for us so far... is this normal? Also, a lot of couples that I have bought gifts for over the past couple of years have not sent anything our way. I know the economy is bad, so are my friends just forgetful or putting it off? I don't know. Yes, even I am the type to buy and send gifts late, but I usually make sure to have them bought no more than 6 weeks after the wedding.

Here's what's left on our Macy's registry. Everything was bought on our Pottery Barn registry and nothing has been bought from our Amazon registry.

I think a few more gifts will trickle in over the coming months, but I think we've received the majority of everything. Only 2 out of 8 of our silverware sets have been bought, so I am going to purchase the remaining 6 sets myself directly through Oneida.com ...they have some great sales.

As for the fine china we registered for?Isn't it gorg? We registered for 8 sets of Kate Spade Bonnabel Place, but we have only received 1 5-piece place setting and 1 pasta bowl...and that's it! Obviously we don't have $2,500 laying around to complete the set, so I am agonizing over what to do. I have the 5-piece place setting still in the box but I can't find the receipt, and the pasta bowl doesn't even have its box anymore.

So what are y'alls opinions on fine china? We also registered for casual whiteware china from Macy's The Cellar line, and it is very functional and I think it can be easily dressed up with my new Oneida silverware and nice linens. We also have a vintage set of 8 blue Wedgwood place settings that we bought from our neighbors for $35!

So should I just use the Wedgwood as our "fine china" and forget about the Kate Spade? Hubby says yes -- he doesn't think we would ever use the Kate Spade. My sister also says yes -- hers is still packed away in boxes after getting married in 2002. But I LOVE this china! Seriously the paisley on it drives me mad because it's so beautiful and whimsical. Bonnabel Place is really the ONLY set of china that has ever really jumped out at me and said, "Buy me! use me! Love me!"

Ack! The agony!

100th post!

I can hardly believe it -- this is my 100th blog post!

So in honor of my 100th post, I am going to do the '100 truths' meme. It's a little high school but it's still fun! See, I even made a MySpace glitter to go along with it...lol.

1. Last beverage → Diet Buffalo Rock Ginger Ale -- this is a local Alabama thing, it's awesome!
2. Last phone call → to my friend who I had lunch with
3. Last text message → A friend texted me for my address for her wedding stuff this morning.
4. Last song you listened to → A song parody that a coworker sent me on YouTube.
5. Last time you cried → Sometime last week I think.

SIX HAVE YOU EVER:

1. Dated someone twice? → I'm not sure what this means...like of course, I have been on two dates with my husband...?
2. Been cheated on? → I don't know. It's possible.
3. Kissed someone? → Um yeah.
4. Lost someone special? → Of course.
5. Been depressed? → Yes.
6. Been drunk and threw up? → Haha, yes.

LIST FOUR FAVORITE COLORS:

1. Blue!
2. Blue!
3. Blue!
4. Blue!

HAVE YOU:

1. Made new friends → Yes.
2. Fallen out of love → Yes.
3. Laughed until you cried → Yes. I often get hiccups too.
4. Met someone who changed you → Yes.
5. Found out who your true friends were → Absolutely. My wedding helped with that. A lot of supposed friends fell off the face of the Earth or didn't RSVP or didn't fulfill promises and to be honest, it really hurt.
6. Found out someone was talking about you → I'm sure. I've been a sorority advisor!
7. Kissed anyone on your Facebook friend's list → My husband, for one!
8. How many people on your Facebook friends list do you know in real life →The majority!
9. How many kids do you want to have → I'm wavering between 0, 1 or 2.
10. Do you have any pets → A chocolate Lab, Miss Mango!
11. Do you want to change your name → I just did when I got married! lol
13. What time did you wake up today → 7:20 a.m.
14. What were you doing at midnight last night → Going to bed.
15. Name something you CANNOT wait for → For this weekend to begin!
16. Last time you saw your father → About a week ago.
17. What is one thing you wish you could change about your life → More freedom. I often feel tied down to my job, my house, etc. and sometimes just want to take the hubby and pup and just run away from it all and go RVing across the U.S. or something.
18. What are you listening to right now → Nothing.
19. Have you ever talked to a person named Tom → Yes, I work with one!
23. What's getting on your nerves right now? → Work.
24. Most visited webpage → GMail.

1. What's your name? → Kristen
2. Nicknames → KK
3. Relationship Status → Married
4. Zodiac sign → Aquarius
5. Male or female → Female
6. Primary School → Timber Ridge
7. Middle School → Dickerson
8. High school → Walton
10. Hair color → Blonde
11. Long or short → Long
16. Height → 5'5"
17. Do you have a crush on someone? → My husband!
18: What do you like about yourself? → Responsible, communicative, always have a goal and a dream.
19. Piercings → Just my ears.
20. Tattoos → Nope, never.
21. Righty or lefty → Righty.

FIRSTS :

22. First surgery → Never had surgery.
23. First piercing → My ears.
24. First best friends → The Lukes.
26. First sport you joined → Soccer.
27. First pet → Andy, our insane Lhasa Apso.
28. First vacation → Too young to remember.
29. First concert → New Kids on the block in 2nd grade, in 1990! lol
30. First crush → haha, Jordan from NKOTB.

RIGHT NOW:

49. Eating → I had a great salad for lunch and a cupcake for dessert.
50. Drinking → Water.
52. I'm about to → Post this blog.
53. Listening to → Nothing.
55. Waiting for → The weekend!

YOUR FUTURE :

58. Want kids? Still undecided.
59. Want to get married? Already am.
60. Careers in mind? I'm a web journalist but think about teaching and PR/marketing quite often.

WHICH IS BETTER WITH THE OPPOSITE SEX? -

68. Lips or eyes → Eyes
69. Hugs or kisses → Both!
70. Shorter or taller → Average to tall.
71. Older or Younger → Hmm...about 4 years older. ☺
72. Romantic or spontaneous → Both!
73. Nice stomach or nice arms → Both!
74. Sensitive or loud → More outgoing.
75. Hook-up or relationship → uhhh...relationship? lol
77. Trouble maker or hesitant → Oh the hubby's definitely a troublemaker.

HAVE YOU EVER :

78. Kissed a stranger → No.
79. Drank hard liquor → I live in Alabama! What do YOU think?
80. Lost glasses/contacts → No.
81. Sex on first date → No.
82. Broken someone's heart → Yes.
83. Had your own heart broken → Yes.
85. Been arrested → No.
86. Turned someone down → Yes.
87. Cried when someone died → Yes.
88. Liked a friend that is a girl? → No.

DO YOU BELIEVE IN:

89. Yourself → Absolutely.
90. Miracles → Yes.
91. Love at first sight → No.
92. Heaven → Yes.
93. Santa Claus → No.
95. Kiss on the first date? → Sure!
96. Angels → No.

ANSWER TRUTHFULLY:

97. Is there one person you want to be with right now? → absolutely not!
98. Had more than one boyfriend/girlfriend at one time? → haha, no.
99. Posting this as 100 Truths? → um...yes?


P.S.: Enter Lauren Nicole Gift's latest giveaway here -- it's a super cute Vera Bradley Tiki Clutch!

Animal shelter in dire need of help

Just helping to spread the word...

The animal shelter in Anniston, Alabama is in dire need of donations. They are in danger of closing and all 300 animals there may have to be euthanized. Click here to read info about the shelter. You can also donate at that page through Paypal.

The flowers!

You'll see a recurring theme throughout these photos -- BLUE and HYDRANGEA! Seriously I love hydrangeas so much, and they are a great choice for weddings as they are a lot cheaper than a lot of popular wedding flowers. Flowers are from All Island Flowers in Orange Beach, Ala.


One of the bridesmaid bouquets. They're mostly white hydrangea with some blue hydrangea with blue ribbon wrap.

Bouquets waiting to get handed out.

One of the bridesmaid bouquets again.

My bouquet! Blue & white hydrangea with ivory roses. It's getting preserved now at Keepsake Floral in Orlando.

Flower girl basket.

Brian's bout.

Close-up of our rings on my bouquet.

My bouquet again.

Flower girl basket again.

Centerpiece at our sweetheart table.

What all the other centerpieces looked like. Hydrangea, roses, curly willow and greenery.

A shot of my mom's nosegay. Spray roses and greenery.

The total cost for bride's bouquet, toss bouquet, 5 bridesmaid's bouquets, 8 bouts, 3 nosegays, 2 wrist corsages, flower girl basket, and 9 centerpieces? Less than $1,000. I kid you not. I HIGHLY recommend Sandra and All Island Flowers if you are getting married on Alabama's Gulf Coast.