My First Time |
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I'm in a wedding craze. Getting things checked off the list right and left. Today we went to Bett's Bridal in Valley Junction to pick up some items. Being the bargain shopper I am, I checked Michael's wedding selection to compare prices. I love the idea of supporting small business so when I found the prices were comparable, I went back to Bett's. Two sisters, Nancy and Betsy, run the store. It's named after their mother Betty. Anyway, we ordered our personalized unity candle and picked up a flower girl basket, a cake topper, and not one, but two garters. Apparently, you need one garter for the groom to fling that the guy gets to keep and another for my keepsake. I'm not sure if that means I should wear both to the wedding or what... We also stopped by Skeffington's formal wear to check out suits and tuxes for Lucas and the groomsmen. I had no idea how much a rental cost so I was thinking around $100. I was close. The ones we liked at Skeffington's, were the most expensive, of course, coming in around $150. However, they have a coupon for $40 off which makes a dent. Lucas likes the darker gray suit pictured with matching vest. He'll most likely wear that with an ivory tie and shirt (my dress is a light ivory). He gets a free rental since we have 6 groomsmen renting a suit, so that's a big perk for us. We didn't book anything because we don't need to give them sizes for another 6 weeks.
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I think weddings have become way too commercialized. Am I falling into the trap? A bit. Is it Lucas' fault? A bit. I personally don't think we need personalized toasting flutes and cake cutting set. Lucas, however, thinks we do. So I caved, and we got them ordered at Things Remembered today. All said and done with the personalized engraving it came to $180. I freaked out, and we reduced the engravings a lot to knock the price down to $105. Things just get so expensive so quickly: $60 here, $100 there, just $120 more. We're not trying to go broke, but it will be close.
Today was my first wedding dress fitting. I bought my dress of the rack to get a 40% discount. However, I'm not paying A LOT in alterations to have it fit me. My dress has a zipper back rather than a corset. That means the fit has to be spot on. I'm using Transformations by Kerri to alter my dress. She is the preferred seamstress of the Bridal Boutique where I bought my dress. Her prices are reasonable compared to the other shops I went to. The dress was just not meant for my body, but we'll make it perfect if it's the last thing I do.
I should have done this a long time ago. Today I finally met with the wedding coordinator at the Shepherd of the Valley Lutheran Church where we are getting married. We talked about specifics, decorations, and cost. I also made the deposit to hold the date. Luckily, no one else wants to get married Easter weekend and the pastor has known about our wedding since August. It sure felt good to get it figured out though.
What better way to spend Christmas Day than with family watching The Avengers. I've actually never seen the movie. It may come as a surprise, but I'm not much of a superhero/comic book person. However, it was actually a really good movie. I like to think I'm open to most movies and am willing to give credit to a fine movie. This is such an example. I think Thor's my favorite. It could be his long blonde hair, sweet accent, or raging muscles; it's a tough call.
My niece/goddaughter is just too stinkin cute. She's about 10.5 months and experiencing her first Christmas. She got a lot of great presents, but what did she spend most of the evening playing with? Her socks, wipes, and a banana. This girl loves bananas. The best part of her banana obsession is that she says "mamanana" in this creepy exorcist voice. Like I said, super adorable! She did a pretty good job opening presents too. She enjoyed pulling the tissue paper out of bags and could rip off some of the wrapping paper. She's the best age for a Christmas first-timer.
This is our first Christmas together. Christmas Day will actually be our 10 month anniversary. Spending a couple days with Lucas' family in Creston was a lot of fun. We ate some amazing food, played some games, had quality girl talk and watched Lucas' parents renew their vows for their 30th anniversary. The next however many Christmas' have a lot to match up to!
Nothing like waiting until the last minute to get holiday shopping right. You all know what I'm talking about. Well, I didn't even really know what to get my brother. I'd seen this Asian store at Jordan Creek and my brother is into many things Asian. The store is called Far East Treasures. It has a great collection of knives and swords. Only one other guy was in there while I was shopping around. If you're looking for a little something different for that unique person on your list, maybe this store should be on your list.
It took three weeks, but I made it through the 8 CD's of Ladies of Liberty. I learned about some really great women who lived next to the men we've all learned about growing up. For example, Abigail Adams was the second First Lady. She spoke her mind very freely to her husband, as well as Thomas Jefferson when he became president, which was unheard of at that time. Jefferson was not a strong believer in women's rights or education and especially their involvement in politics. Another example, take Alexander Hamilton's wife Eliza. After Hamilton was killed in a dual by VP Aaron Burr, Eliza was left to raise their kids. Not only did she do that without a job, but she founded the first orphanage asylum. So while women could not even own property in the early 1800's, women could create a corporation and convince Congress to allocate them $5,000 a year. That's breaking the glass ceiling! Also, Dolly Madison was an amazing First Lady. She held parties, pulled strings for men to get jobs, and had everyone's respect. If you wanted something done during James Madison's presidency, you went through Dolly. She even had the nickname of Queen Dolly. One of her greatest credits is saving a portrait of George Washington during the War of 1812. The feminist and historian in me really enjoyed this read (listen).
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