Just Wright

My ManOH and I went to see this movie today and I have been waiting for it to come out ever since I saw the preview when I went to see 'Why did I get married too' anyway so I have been anxiously waiting for this movie. So I went and I can't express how much I LOVED it. It was a great love story. Now it has it's predictable spots but it's still a good movie. The movie just prompted me to thinking about my life and our love and how beautiful this whole experience is. It's amazing how someone can bring so much joy into your life yet get on your nerves at times. I love that about us. I am marrying the man that I really believe is for me. He is supportive, kind, gentle, and strong and much more. I feel that we are AWESOME together and I am so GRATEFUL for him and this experience.

CONGRATS Jeana and Steven

I have to give a shout out to Jeana from http://www.mydreamring.blogspot.com/ whose wedding is tomorrow. I hope and pray that your wedding is fabulous. All your hard will pray off and you finally get to see the fruits of your labor. Congrats and may your union be blessed with longevity and prosperity.

FOUND!!

what??who?? MYSELF! yea I know you are thinking what is she talking about?
well I will explain. when I 1st started blogging I did it to have a memories of the wedding planning {my digital scrapbook} and to have a place to jot down my thoughts and ideas. To my surprise it became addictive and like a support group of people with one thing in common...getting married!!

I started getting lost in blogging whether writing or browsing other blogs but with that came
clouds of confusion and all these different ideas. There's a lot to choose from out there... I became influenced by others...which if you know me you know that is totally not my style. I love the sharing of ideas and how seeing something one way can inspire you to do it your way. Now don't get me wrong I continued with my overall vision but I felt like I was losing myself and creativity in the planning process. So I had to regroup and rethink and NOW I am back and I am going to do me. If no one else understands who cares it about what we want for that day. Its about letting our personalities shine through..it's about having fun and enjoying this once in a lifetime opportunity. We are still having OUR " rustic regal romantic family affair" because I believe that even though it is OUR day it is also about the joining of 2 families because of OUR LOVE for one another. That is some AWESOME ish!!! Its about who he is as a person AND who I am as person AND what WE create as a COUPLE. Our wedding will be just that a fusion of US and I LOVE IT!! Family, friends, fun all in the name of L-O-V-E!!

Internet insanity

Looking at blogs and web-surfing is driving me insane. It can really blur your vision and ideas for the big day. I have all these ideas and thoughts and it's all convulted in my head. When I started planning this wedding a had a clear picture of the end result and now I am shifting all over the place. I can't decide on a dress for me or the girls. When I begin this journey I had it all mapped out. That is no longer the case. Now it's time to re-group and de-stress. So I have decided to take a break from looking at other people's ideas and weddings and focus on reclaiming the vision that I had for OUR wedding. I'M FOCUSed MAN!!!

{letting out a sigh of relief}

I-R-R-I-T-A-T-E-D.....

I just need to vent. I am terribly irritated it right now. Why do you ask??? Because when you are planning a weddding everyone has an opinion or a comment. Did I ask for your comments or advice? NOOOOO. So just keep it to yourself. All I here is why this and why that and when are you going to do this and why did you do that.....my question is WHY DOES IT MATTER?? This is OUR W-E-D-D-I-N-G and WE are going to do what WE want to do. All I want people to do is be supportive and for the most part we have GREAT support from friends and family but today some people just pissed me off slightly.

I am a little stressed right now. I am on spring break from both school and work, and I just wanted to paint my house and do DIY projects and go wedding dress shopping... that's it no extras and I feel that I am being distracted.

Ok now I am going to go and finish my cupcake picks and put on some music and start painting my bathroom or something tonite... WOOSAH.....

jumbled thoughts

I feel so scatterbrained. I gotta clear my mind! I have to get organized with school, work, and wedding planning. I feel like I have a million things to do at one time. I delegate but still it's hard. I am all over the place with the wedding planning. Trying to do DIY projects and hiring a videographer and finding an officiant, and this and that!!!

Right now I need to focus on:
Booking a videographer
Preparing the STDs to go out
Wedding dress shopping
Finishing invites
I will work on DIY projects as I have time.....Woosah!!!

I got GOODIES!!!!

the STDs, gable boxes, and fabric swatches came in today. i will post pics tomorrow i have a BIG exam to study for. Boooo
later

here's a little secret....

i am sooooooooooooooooo engrossed on wedding planning that i am not focused on school. i have to prioritize this is just so much more fun.....off to study....

9 months to go

holy sh!t. we only have 9 months to go! OMG time freakin flies by... starting to feel the pressure!

new years resolutions????

ok so like most i don't make "new year's resolutions" but i do like most take this time and self evaluate and see what changes that i need to make and what improvements can be made.. as i reflect over 2009 i feel that i accomplished most of what i can remember i set out to accomplish and i am excited and thankful for that. but 2009 was about me and now 2010 is about us .... mr htb (hoppinthebroom) and me and it's different b/c i now think about how my actions will affect our lives... so my goal for 2010 is to a better person all around! to accomplish this goal i would like to finally once and for all lose this damn weight! i feel like a slave for food it terrible. and to make it so bad before mr htb i had just lost 75 pounds but hey i am back at it again.

1. lose weight
2. lose weight
3. fit in a beautiful wedding dress
4. obsess over losing weight
5. obsess more over losing weight
6. start a new blog about my weight loss journey :0)

but seriously i am really going to devote 100% to this lifestyle change. i also plan to get my business off the ground and profitable during 2010. i would like to spend more time with our families at least visit his once a month and do more with my mother. with all the wedding things to be done what is be easy to accomplish. i also plan to strengthen my relationship with God and loosen up a little. i turn 30 this year and i am excited! i feel good so what are if any your new year's goals or resolutions??

THE SEMESTER IS O-V-E-R!

SCHOOL IS FINALLY OUT! THANK GOD I MADE IT THRU A GRUELING SEMESTER! I took my last final yesterday! I can officially began my 5-week marathon wedding planning. Two days ago we hit the 10 month mark. Time flies by! So we have to decide on a DJ and hire a baker!
I got some pics from our new house that I will share them later and we made an appt for a pre-marital counseling for the first of the year. I am sick right now so I am stuck in the house but it gives me some much needed rest and I can catch up on my blogs!

I feel so out of the loop with the wedding planning. I have been so busy with school now I don't know where to pick-up. Some of the girls and I are going dress shopping for them during the break so that should be fun! We are scheduled to take the 2nd set of ePics @ the top of the year and I plan to have the STD's out by Feb. So that's about it from the wedding standpoint.

Our mini house renovations are coming along. We just got our living room floors finished and it looks pretty good if I must say so myself. If I must offer one bit of advice to other brides or brides-to -be don't buy an house and plan a wedding at the same time. In my mind it seemed like a good idea but in reality the house stuff is more important to me than the wedding so I am so much more focused on creating this house into a home than I am planning the wedding. I know that's seems crazy but it's true! anyway I'm going to read other blogs now!

i'll admit...

that i have become a slack blogger. i have been so busy and i know i say that everytime but good gosh i am ready for things to slow down a bit. the summer was wonderful. with x-mas quickly approaching i can get some much needed rest and relaxation. my 30th b-day is right around the corner and i'm about to embrace another chapter of my life. i can't believe how fast time goes by. now i think about one day becoming a mother and in a few month becoming a wife. my fi always says that that commercial is true. LIFE COMES AT YOU FAST! at the close of every year i always reflect back on the things that i have accomplished and the things that are still a work in progress and i have come so far and i am so grateful for all things and people in my life. on a lighter note ..... we have a 2 cake tasting coming up during the break so hopefully we will be booking a baker soon. i am still in turmoil about the dj i just can't decide that yet. that is a very important decision for us. i did get a new camera on black friday so plenty of pics to come.
i am starting a slew of dyi projects on the break as well as getting the house in some type of order...other than that we are getting the accustomed to living together...teehee i am proctoring an exam so i gotta go.....

Updates

i'm back! our house is a mess because we are doing a few renovations and school is taking a large chunk of time so we have to do things in intervals. i can't seem to pick out paint colors to save my life and deciding b/w carpet or hardwood has been a arduous task. i know... i know.. hardwood! but i hate hardwood in bedrooms..that's a whole other dilemma. there are only 4 weeks of school remaining and i am uber excited about that. i will have a month off of school and work to do some serious wedding planning and get the house done. i can't believe we finally live together. its different...we are learning each other's habits and i have never lived with anyone before...the first week was hard b/c i was super stressed....purchasing a house and making it a home is expensive..i haven't been doing much of anything wedding related. we did take our epics at the fair..it was a really short photo session b/c it was packed and fi wasn't really cooperative. i think b/c of the amount of people that were there. i am interested to see how they turn out. of course i will be posting a few once i receive them... gotta go get ready to take a test. later!

I'M SAD!

This is how I feel right NOW! I am so overwhelmed. It's not even the wedding planning it's just life. Unfortuntately for me I am one of those people who plan everything and I can't help it. I know and totally understand that everything will not go as planned but I like to have what I call a blueprint. But this past week has been so STRESSFUL! School has been extremely difficult and we haven't closed on the house yet! It's so much red tape! Everytime I turn around its something new and it's wearing me thin. I really don't know how much more of this I can handle. I have to be moved by MONDAY of next week. I am exhausted! FI's cousin passed away and he has to go out of town for the funeral. From the looks of things I will not be going with and that sucks but there really is no way around it.

We didn't get to take our engagement pics last week because of a scheduling conflict and now we are scheduled to take them on Sun. I hope that works out if not there goes another problem. I really didn't want to come on here and sound so negative but I just need to vent. I am thankful for all things in my life and I don't take anything for granted but these little things are starting to add up and the pile is high and its really starting to get the best of me. I am going to keep pushing because it will eventually level out. But in the meantime wish me luck and send postive vibes my way. I hope all is well with you guys! I have to go study for an exam tomorrow. Later!

Things 2 Do

Starting this week we are on Fall Break from school so we have a marathon of wedding planning to do while we have a few days off.

1. Taking 1st set of engagement pics
2. Meeting a potential DOC
3. Make decisions about DJ and Baker
4. Meeting with florist
5. Hopefully CLOSING on OUR 1st HOME!
6. Studying!

My brother's wedding is this weekend so I have to go prepare for it. Hope everyone has a great week!

FOLLOWERS/ READERS

To all of you who follow/read this blog I want to say I really appreciate your comments and suggestions!!!

I don't always reply to your messages and comments but I really appreciate everyone's insight!!!

I LOVE PICS

So I am a scrapbooker! I just started when we got engaged and I love it. But b/w working and planning and blogging, I got backed up! Basically, I am attempting to capture the whole engagement thru marriage via photos so I take pics of everything and I mean everything. However I haven't scrapped since March and a lot has happened since then so last night I pulled out my suppiles and like a million pics and got started...

Well I came across some pics that I want to share....

Us at his cousin's wedding in April

These are some of my fav pics even though they are 'posey'shots

Us at the rehearsal dinner for his cousin's wedding

FI's mom, cousin, and me at Tam's bridal shower!

All in a weekends work...

Today is Sunday and I am taking a rest. I think I will go to some thrift stores and to the bookstore with IPOD and camera in hand to look a wedding mags. I am not sure if the Aug issues have hit the racks. I cancelled my PT session for today. I need to rest after a long weekend. I had 2 events this weekend both were out of town so after all that driving...I'm beat...Here are some pics...

I did not get to see the final product of this reception. It was a tropical theme. My FSIL was a guest so I will have more pics.

I think that this wedding reception came out really cute. I loved to damask print hints that were through out the room!

tunnel vision

we went looking for invites today (later on that), it was an interesting experience which caused me to think about the total feel of the wedding. i'm seeing clearly.....

we want our wedding to be a reflection of who we are indivdually and collectively! there will be elements that represent us and our families. we want it to be very family-oriented and we want our guests to have a good time. that's why we plan to kept our guest count low and limited to family and close friends. this marriage is uniting 2 families into 1 and although we will create a family in our union. we are the extensions of our immediate family so therefore we want to keep our wedding a intimate affair.

i was reading about setting your budget and how you should pick 3 elements to spurge on (the most important to you and FI) and 3 things that you could careless about or should i say scale down a bit. we will not start a marriage in debt from having a wedding!

here are my top three:

1. photography/videography- very important to me!
2. dj/entertainment- i want a great party!
3. venue-i want it to be a place that we can always come to and visit and i wanted ceremony and reception in the same location!

gotta be for the lo in order to go:

1. stationery- don't get me wrong i want cute paper but i refuse to pay $5 or more for an invite that will in up in a landfill (not even recycled) not happening..
2. florist- i am not a flower girl. i want some for accents and that's all folks
3. cake- i want it to taste good but not $5 per slice good!

the middle child:

1. dress- i want a dress that fits my personality but i am not willing to pay but so much for it sorry! not happening!
2. honeymoon- we deserve a nice vacay so i willing to budget a little extra this way!
3. catering/bar- i want good food and drinks but i don't think we should pay for people to get inebriated! not happening!

what is the most important aspect of you wedding budget?

hodge-podge.. i think that how to spell it :)

we have a little less than 15 months until the wedding and hey for some that's plenty of time..but for me it's just right. we went on our 1st cake consult last week and we received the estimate back and i'm impressed so right now this baker is in the running. we will schedule tastings with 2 other bakers before making the final decision.

today i went apt hunting and that sucks. it so hard deciding this stuff. we have too many options and that's my prob. my head hurts even thinking about it. we only need a short-term lease so that complicates it even more and we have to be settled in by the time school starts. i need to be settled and organized before the semester starts.

i feel like i am wondering aimlessly with the planning. i mean we have been looking at invites and monograms. we already know what we want to do for the STDs. we have decide which photog we want for the e-pic session. and i guess i need to start seriously thinking about the attire for the 'maids. i have a blueprint just not the full concept yet.

thinking about diy invites but i don't know if it really a savings or not. paper, printing, design...

have decided on that one. but we have plenty of time.

IN DIET NEWS: i fell off the wagon..missed my training session again on tues. i will be there tomorrow but my diet has been AWFUL. i have to do better. i have to constantly think about my health and finding that damn dress.