Oh my goodness! How utterly tacky!!

I think this might be the tackiest wedding dress I have ever seen.

Where did she even find a dress like that?

From GiggleSugar.

One of my crazy dreams

This isn't a dream I've had while sleeping, but a dream of something I wish I could do someday.

I've always been a cat-lover. Growing up, we took in many stray cats because we just couldn't turn them away. I adopted a cat, Melodie, a few years ago. My cat is the sweetest cat I have ever had. I don't know how someone could have dumped her on the side of a road. It just breaks my heart when I see all the poor animals that have been abandoned. I do donate to the MO Humane Society. I would volunteer, but with 2 jobs (teaching and harp), unfortunately, I have extremely little free time, and my schedule is so random I couldn't stick to a volunteer schedule.

Oh, I do like dogs, too. I've just never had one. Eventually, probably sometime after we have kids, I'd like to get a dog, too.

I've always wished I had a ton of money so I could create what I call a "kitty and puppy farm." It would be a place with a lot of land, where I could keep cats and dogs that needed a home. Since I would have a ton of money, I would be able to either pay some people to help with clean-up or have volunteer. On a blog I read, I saw a lady who did something similar. (No...she's not a crazy cat lady, either. She just wants to help animals.)

She had 6 acres (I think that's what the video said) and was divorced. She'd always wanted a kitten growing up, but her mom always said no. The lady started slowly by helping a few cats. The number has grown over the years, and there are 500-700 cats at any given time on the property. She has helped save the lives of over 16,000 cats over the years. All the cats (and there are a few dogs) are up for adoption. Many are adopted. Those that aren't, though, have a safe home. They're not up to be killed. They're not stuck in a cage all day, either. They get to roam around the house and the acres, living the regular life of a cat.

I think what this lady does is very admirable. She has devoted her live to helping animals. Here's the link to the blog. There's a YouTube video about her.

Here's a cute picture of Mel snuggling with Clifford. (I bought the stuffed Clifford from a book fair for my classroom. Apparently Mel thought it looked comfy to snuggle with!)

Classy people!

On WeddingBee today, there was a funny post about a couple who got tasered and arrested at their wedding reception. A few days later they were arrested again. They sound like classy people!

Below is an excerpt:

Gallery co-owner Tom Burnison, however, said that, fueled by alcohol, it got out of control and potentially dangerous, including when a guest heaved a metal lamp into a plate glass window. "Calling the police was a last resort," Burnison said.

When the only local police officer on duty that night arrived, Burnison and his wife asked him to help break up the party because it had gotten "out of hand," with booze, water and broken glass on the floor, Chikaming Township police said. One guest was seen drinking straight out of a vodka bottle, Sepic said.

The officer called for backup and told everyone the party was over. Many guests left, but some refused and began cursing at officers, police said.

"Andy got angry and started yelling, 'What are you doing? This is my wedding! You're making my wife cry!' " Skowron said.

"The crowd was trying to hold back the groom from mouthing off more, but finally he broke free, and they had to take him down," Sepic said of police. "He was heading for the officers. . . . Then the bride moved in and tried to interfere."

I love that they said the police officers "had to take him (the groom) down."

Here's the link to the full article.

http://www.suntimes.com/news/metro/1112809,CST-NWS-wed18.article

The photo and original story are from the Chicago Sun Times.

What a lovely picture of your wedding day!

Tagged again....

I was tagged by Etta this time!

Here are the rules:

1. Link to the person who tagged you

2. Post the rules to your blog

3. Write 6 random things about yourself.

I'm not following the next rules and tagging people again. If you want to write some random facts about yourself, go ahead!

I'm going to put some of my random (and weird, I know) eating habits.

1. I HATE raw tomatoes with a passion. I won't eat them on anything. I don't even like when the are on food and I have to take them off, because they leave yucky juice and seeds behind. That being said, I eat cooked tomatoes. The taste is very different.

2. I don't eat any kind of seafood - no lobster, no shrimp, no fish, any of it. The closest I get is crab rangoon, and most of that doesn't have real crab in it anyway.

3. My mom says I have "texture issues" with food. For example, I don't like water chestnuts in Chinese food because they're too crunchy in with the other soft foods. I don't like chili mac or pasta fagioli because I don't like the texture of beans with noodles.

4. I don't like any kind of melon - watermelon, honeydew, cantaloupe...all gross!

5. I liked my baked goods somewhat undercooked, but my meat well done (which FI doesn't understand).

6. While I like most baked goods and pancakes undercooked, I like my waffles very nice and crispy.

I know, I know...I'm weird. :-)

Tonsillectomy = weight loss!

There were a few things I was looking forward to about having my tonsils removed.

1) Weight loss!
2) Time to relax and sleep!

I scheduled this post for Wednesday because I've been posting so much lately. Hopefully, the weight loss will be even better by today. As of Monday morning, though, I've lost 8 pounds. Woohoo! My goal is to keep it off and lose more. I am now about 10 pounds away from my first goal. Ideally, I'd like to lose 20 past that, but we'll see.

Um...I don't think so!

I found the blog Fit Sugar recently. Their slogan is "Healthy, happy you." One of the posts today is about a yoga move.

Here's what was typed above the picture that inspired the title of this post:

So many people I know are always complaining of lower back pain and tight shoulders from sitting all day. We're either standing or hunched over a desk and we hardly ever bend our backs in the opposite direction. So give this One-Legged Inverted Staff Pose a try. It's similar to the grounding backbend Inverted Staff pose, but you'll also feel this one in your hamstrings and hips.



Sanskrit Name: Eka Pada Viparita Dandasana
English Translation: One-Legged Inverted Staff Pose
Also Called: One-Legged Headstand Backbend

You can get into this pose from backbend or headstand. To find out how read more

I'm pretty sure if I tried this, I would cause myself some SERIOUS pain!

Blurb discount

I was reading Brooklyn Bride's blog and found the following:

I gotta hand it to Blurb, they're really making my job a whole lot easier....since there were so many amazing entries I asked if we could give EVERYONE a discount on making a book, and they agreed! From now until September 2, 2008, type in brookbrides at checkout for a 10% discount on any book you make! Thanks Blurb, and thanks to everyone who entered!

If you end up making one, definitely send me photos of the final result....I'll post a few on the blog!


I know many of you out there might be making Blurb books, so I thought I would post this. Unfortunately, it's before our wedding. Bummer!

Free Redbox DVD rental - today only

I saw another on another blog. Yes, I guess you're only saving $1.07, but hey - it's still saving money!

Enter code: 65QM89 at your redbox. -valid today ONLY.

Hope it works for you!



PS - Yes, I know I've had a LOT of posts lately. I'm still out today due to not having fully recovered from my tonsils. I slept until 10 today and could take a nap! I've just been SO exhausted. I'll have to go back by Wednesday, definitely. Not sure, yet, if I'm going back tomorrow or not. Luckily, before I was out last week, I had 35 sick days. Once I'm back in school, I'm sure I won't have time to post quite as often.

Towel Tender

I stumbled across this interesting invention recently. Quite clever! If you have a really small bathroom, this would be great! Even if you do have a towel rack, it would be handy to have the hand towel right on the sink. It even comes in 4 different finishes to match your faucet.

Another Etsy find

I saw a post a while back on someone's blog about a cute wooden plaque. The seller is Etsy seller TheKotaBox.

What do you think of this sign? I probably wouldn't get the same color, but I like the style. I'm just trying to decide where I could hang it.


I also like this plaque, although I would change the font. I don't like the font at the top. I think I like this one better, because it has "family" rather than our names. Since we plan on having kids, I like that it says "family."

One Hundred Push Ups

Has anyone ever heard of this "program?" You can view the program here. I think I'm going to give it a try starting next week. My upper body has always been weak and is an area that I really want to tone.

I hate to admit it, but I will have to start with modified push ups, like below. I plan to work my way up to doing regular push ups!

I wouldn't have the guts

Desire to Inspire is one of the many blogs I have in GR. This photo was on the blog today. I LOVE the green color on the walls. I wouldn't have the guts to do that in my house, though. I'd probably want to change it not long after, which would take too much time and money.

So addictive!

I decided to check out Etsy after hearing raves about the site on StlWed. I just decided to look through the necklaces, and it took FOREVER! It was really hard narrowing it down. I ordered 4 for myself and 2 for my sister (to save until Christmas).


I like "funky" (for lack of a better term) necklaces, but I can't really put off that look. So, I chose ones that are a little more classic, but not too small or dainty. One of my new favorite colors is blue, so I chose 2 blue necklaces. The color of blue is different in each, though. Originally, I was going to get a necklace with a black pendant, but it was all sold out. So, I decided to choose 2 others that were clear so they could go with anything.


For me, from seller dote:



From seller mayerain:



From seller letitiah:

From seller Falsedesire:


For my sister, from seller crystalvibe:




For my sister, from seller nhubs:

Dress label

A friend (Beckie) had an adorable dress label made for her dress that said "Happily Ever After." The last shot in her wedding album is a shot of the dress label. I decided I wanted something similar so I could have a cute photo, too! Amy posted that The Garter Maker is having a 15% sale. I'm glad I waited a little while to order! Here's a sample design of my label:

Another hair trial

When my stylist dyed my hair last week, the dye didn't take like we thought it would. I had to go back to the salon for my make-up trial yesterday, anyway, so she dyed it again. Below are pictures from my hair trial and make-up trial. (Yes, they're bad...I took them myself with my tiny digital camera.)



I think I want my bangs going across my forehead more in the front, like below, from my first trial. I guess I'm just used to seeing myself with more bangs. What do you think, lovely readers? More bangs? Maybe also a little poofier on the top and sides?

I'm going to buy some fake hair from Sally's to put in the chignon at the back to make it a little bigger. I'm definitely going with this style - it's more me than the one with the big curls.

My hair is darker. I think it will lighten a little bit in the next week or two.


For my make-up, each eye has a different color. :-) The left eye is smoky gray and the right is a smoky eye with brown. I think I'm going to go with the brown, but a little heavier on the brown. The gray seemed SO dark and dramatic (and not me) in person. However, it looks pretty good in photos. Hm....

My first (wedding) shower!

My first wedding shower was held in Alton on July 13th (the day after my birthday). It was great! A family friend hosted the shower at her house. The attendees were all from Alton, excepting my cousin (bridesmaid) and aunt who drove in from Ohio.

The cake was based on the design of the shower invites that said "Showers of joy..." They thought it was cute with my last name. :-) I think the baker must have scanned in the invite, enlarged the picture and words, and laminated them to put them on the cake. It was delicious. I love white cake!

Photo of me and my 2 bridesmaids. My sister, Shannon, is on the left. She's the MOH. Yep - we look nothing alike. On my right is my cousin Kristin.


Photo of me with 2 of my good friends. Anna is on the left and Alison is on the right. Anna and I have known each other since we were about 5. I've known Alison since 6th grade. They are going to be readers at the ceremony.


Alison didn't get the memo about colored shoes. All 3 of us happened to wear black and white. Anna had pink shoes and mine were red.


We had a yummy lunch of chicken salad sandwiches, pasta salad, mini quiches (spinach and bacon), and salad.


My sister got me a little crown that I had to wear while opening my gifts.

My mom and my sister made yummy butter cookies as part of the favors for the guests. They also got lotion from Bath and Body Works. We decided on sweet pea because I am going to have sweet peas in my bouquet. (My umbrella cookie broke on the way back to my house.)


My work shower is coming up later this month. I can't wait!

Invites are out!

We actually sent the invites out over a week ago. I just haven't had time to post about them.

Here is the front of the pocketfold with the band around it.


Main invite inside

Reception card


RSVP card



I bought a calligraphy pen that came with a little book telling how to make the letters. It didn't have cursive in there, so I just printed. It looks nicer than my regular writing. Apparently several people asked my mom who did the writing on them. :-)


I don't know why this one look kind of orange. It's the same color - white.

Hair trial

Last week, I went to get my hair dyed and trimmed. The stylist also did a trial for my wedding hair. It was ok, but I don't think it's exactly what I want. The dye didn't take right in my hair, so I'm going back today (right after my make-up trial) to get the top a little darker. I asked if we could do another quick trial, this time without the curls. I thought I would like them, but not on me.

Side view. I like the poof on the top.


Back view. The top is really poofy here and the bottom is small. I think I just want a simple chignon.


Another back view:


I want something more along the lines of the styles below. Simple and classic. I won't be wearing a hair comb in my hair during the ceremony because I have my mom's gorgeous cathedral length, Belgium lace veil. I think I'm going to buy a hair comb, though, to put on for the reception.

Shoes!

I love shoes. I have WAY too many pairs, but that's ok. This post is dedicated to my wedding shoes. I've had them for a little while and forgot to post about them.

I wanted fairly traditional shoes for the wedding, but I didn't want white shoes. I wanted to get a pair I would actually wear again. Since there is some silver thread and light beading on my gown around the waist, we decided silver would look nice. These are Naturalizer, so they have a little extra padding in them compared to most heels. I also bought some foot petals to put in to help.



Next are my reception shoes. I love the photos of the bride showing her colored shoes and the groom showing his colored socks. (Still working on the socks - haven't seen any yet.) My FI is Taiwanese, and red is a lucky color to the Tiawanese, so I thought it would be fun to get some red shoes.

.
Since they're a wedge, they're comfier than heels that are that high. I'm probably going to bring a pair of flip flops along just in case I need them.

Surgery

Yesterday morning I went in for my tonsillectomy. It is so odd being awake, feeling fine, and then next thing you know - they're waking you up telling you it's over!

I did well at first. No nausea when I had some ice chips or a popsicle. However, when I stood up to change into my clothes several hours later, I was feeling REALLY nauseous. It got better when I sat down, so I was fine on the car ride home. However, just getting in the house from the car made me really nauseous again. They said it's because a bit of blood gets in your stomach. Luckily, I've only been nauseous once today. I was able to talk yesterday, even, without pain. We think that's because some of the anesthetic was still in me, as well as the morphine they gave for the pain.

Today, though, my throat is hurting more (even with 2 different kinds of pain meds). It really hurts to swallow and to talk. I've also had the hiccups twice today, which really doesn't feel good, either! Coughing hurts, too! :-(

The ENT said my tonsils were really infected (lovely) and that they also took my adenoids, because I guess they were really large. Adenoids can also cause excess mucous production, which I have had problems with. It should help that and hopefully help with me not getting so many sinus infections. Yeah!

My mom ended up staying over last night because I had to get up every 2 hours to take pain meds. FI offered to stay, but he had to work today. My mom didn't, so it made more sense for her to get up with me throughout the night. I'm using my cell phone to set an alarm for every 2 hours. Between being sleep because I'm getting up every 2 hours and the medicine making me sleepy, I'm sleeping quite a bit!

FI was sweet and brought over some of my favorite flowers - purple tulips. He even brought my mom and bouquet for taking care of me. How sweet!

How cute!

My sister introduced me to LOLCats a while ago. It is one of my favorite blogs to read (Icanhascheeseburger.com) They always make me laugh or go "Awww!" Apparently they have one for dogs now, too. I'm a cat person, though, so I stick with these. Here's a few. Hopefully they'll make you at least smile! :-)


I saw this one the other day and thought it was so adorable! I want that kitten!






This is like my cat. She loves to sit in all kinds of things. Her favorite, though, is boxes and paper grocery bags. She especially enjoys sleeping in a box in which she BARELY fits.