Anniversary, Snow, Mom, and Wedding

Today is my 3 year anniversary. And 5 months from yesterday I'll be getting married. I think that's crazy. I got an anniversary gift that we couldn't much afford, that I hinted at strongly. I love it because Eric, Chloe and Madi can pick out the charms and they'll always be special. I think it's one of the best things I own. 

We've been hit with a bunch of storms around here. I had a snow day on Tuesday. It started snowing Monday night and lasted halfway into Tuesday. By the time evening hit, it was really nice outside. We went out and shoveled out the car and pulled Chloe around in her sled. Then Chloe wanted to climb the 'mountain'. So we did. And somehow we started sliding down on our butts. It was amazing. Some of the best fun I've had in forever. We slide down in 5 different spots. Each place higher than the next. We barely wanted to go in but it was late and supper needed to be made. 

Mom flew away last March. On January 14th I flew out to meet her and we drove back home in her car the next day. It's about 2000kms. We didn't rush. We spent two nights in different places and got home around supper time on the 17th. We had Mom's dog so we couldn't shop or eat in a restaurant or anything but overall a great time. It's nice to have her living in the city and to have someone to stop in and visit after work when I'm bored. 

In other news, I picked out wedding shoes along the trip with Mom. The bridesmaids dresses arrived. Plans have come together for my bachelorette party (most of which I dont know of). Eric's tux is paid off. I won a weekend away at my staff party (that I couldn't attend because I was travelling with Mom) and I booked that for our honeymoon. The hotel room for our actual wedding weekend is almost completely paid off. I've won a few gift cards through work that's helped with that. Air Miles will be used to pay for some of the food. It's pretty amazing how much you can afford on a limited budget when you look at all the options. 

Can't think of anything else too important to talk about. 

I can't believe it's been a month since I've updated. 

An updated on Wedding Planning

I've been doing a lot of wedding planning this week. 

I think we officially decided to just do our ceremony indoors to save money and worry about the weather. 

We've discussed the guest list. 

After discussing the guest list, I finally ordered my invitations. 

I ordered the bridesmaids dresses. They were not cheap. We're paying the shipping, and the girls are paying us back for the dressing. Shipping alone was $70 so hopefully we love the dresses. 

I looked around town for shoes and couldn't find any. I looked online for shoes, found a pair I thought I was going to order, but it was suddenly 'not available' and they automatically took it out of my shopping cart as I was about to pay. That made the decision easier. 

Still so much to do, and feels like so little time. 

303 days until Wedding

Eric worked super early this morning, and it took me a little while to get back to sleep after he left. Of course I went into deep sleep dreaming mode. I had a horrible wedding dream - All us girls forget to get hair and makeup done. All the boys wanted to go to the movies instead of the reception. My mother decided not to come but didn't tell me. Scott said he was coming but still hadn't shown up. My sister fell asleep. And all the wedding boys were hiding in a dark room playing with a tiny baby bat. 

 I hope there isn't a baby bat anywhere near my wedding.

I guess a wedding dream/nightmare is a sign that it's been on my mind a lot. 

A lot. 

I've been selling Chloe's old clothes and other household junk as much as possible and putting all the cash away. We've been making some purchases with Eric's credit card and working hard to pay that back off as well. 

I ordered and received our guestbook: 

It's got a wooden cover, and brown pages on the inside. I quite love it. 

On Sunday, I met up with all my bridesmaids and we pretty much decided on the dress that we were getting. We took some of the girls' measurements and once I decide on the color, we'll probably be putting the order in. 

We picked out our tuxes, but not sure if we're completely sold on the colors. I need to take the fabric swatches from the bridesmaid dresses in to see how well they match. 

One of my bridesmaids and I got together one night to make burlap flowers. Now that the huge burn on my finger from the hot glue is gone, I'm ready for another round of crafting soon. 

I'm making my own bouquets, card box and centerpieces. It's a lot. I need to get it all done as soon as possible or knowing me, I'll find myself rushing to get it all done at the last minute. 

So things are coming along slowly, but I still don't have a ceremony site, and I'm starting to have nightmares. 

303 days to go. 

All Dressed Up - A Wedding Weekend

This weekend started off bad enough - Chloe woke up sick Saturday morning. She was supposed to go to her father's for the night. Eric and I had a wedding to attend. Luckily, her sore belly passed quickly and she went to her father's. She had a fever for most of the day but woke up find on Sunday morning. 

 Eric and I rushed around showering, packing and getting ready Saturday, then drove an hour away to where the wedding would be. A friend of his got a ride with me. I felt a little sick for about an hour and I thought it would kill the day, but it passed. 

It was a cool, windy day, but when we got to the ceremony location (a park) it was perfectly warm and sunny. Weddings tend to make me teary. This one was no exception. 

We managed to take a couple of pictures - when we were getting ready at Eric's mom's, and then another picture outside before the wedding started. 

I bought a new dress for the wedding - it may have been the perfect dress for the weather. With the wind that day, any of my flowy dresses or skirts would've flashed the world. This one stayed in place. 

We drove around with a couple of his friends after the ceremony - we bought some chocolate milk and animal crackers like the children that we are. Afterwards we went back to his Mom's to charge our phones. The boys played pool while I read for 30 seconds before giving up and just watched, half falling asleep. 

Then we went to the dinner and dance. Fun was had by all. I can't wait for our wedding dance. 

On Sunday we woke up (after sleeping in!) to his mom making breakfast. So we ate then she took us to pick up our car. Then! We went to meet up with all my bridesmaids. We didn't get a picture of everyone, but one of my friends, Melanie, always takes a picture when she goes anywhere so we got one of 4/6 of us. 

We discussed bridesmaid dresses, suits and eventually took measurements for some of us. Eric left earlier and drove my sister back to town, and I stayed with two of the girls. We went to Giant Tiger, Starbucks, then drove home, getting Chloe along the way. We hung out at my place for a bit, had dinner at East Side Marios, then visited for a little while longer after Chloe was in bed. Overall, a great day and a great weekend. 

Now it's Monday - a holiday - but I'm back to work anyway. Luckily it's a slow day, but that also means it's going by slow. Eric's home with both girls, and I look forward to getting home and laying around all night before bed. 

8 Things I Did This Week

1. I used Mod Podge and food coloring to tint some mason jars. Some turned out okay, but a few of them had lumps that dried in place that were very noticeable. I'm still trying to figure a way to make them less noticeable. Arts and crafts are hard. 

2. I sold a bunch of stuff, and still trying to sell more. Almost every cent is going into our wedding savings. I'm determined to come out of this with as little debt as possible. 

3. I went to a work friend's birthday party and drank on a roof-top patio. It was pretty sweet. Then we had some Chinese food and I slept most of the day away Sunday while Eric worked. Oh, except I walked hungover to Eric's work to get the car. I needed McDonald's breakfast. 

4. Our fridge broke. We discovered the freezer wasn't freezing on Saturday afternoon, so we moved stuff to the deep freeze. When we got home at 1am Sunday, we realized the fridge also wasn't working. We threw out a nice amount of food. Someone is supposed to look at it today, but that's still 48 hours with no fridge. And I wanted to do groceries yesterday. I'm hungry and were lacking in food options. 

5. I was super sad about the passing of Robin Williams. He's always been a favorite of mine. We finally had the time last night to watch Patch Adams - also one of my favorite movies. So good. RIP, Robin Williams. 

6. I've stopped drinking caffeine on a regular basis. I still drink it somedays, just not all. I find it makes me feel icky some days. Other days it makes me feel great. It's saving me money though. 

7. I've also noticed that eating greasy/unhealthy foods makes me feel icky too. I guess I'm just not that young anymore. I've been trying to have more smoothies and opt for something a little healthier when given the option (banana whole grain muffins vs. chocolate donut). I think it's helping a bit. 

8. I've been trying to arrange to get the wedding girls together at the end of the month. It's hard. But maybe we can at least get a few of us together. Everyone will be in the area on August 30/31, but all with different plans. We have a wedding on the 30th. 

Wedding Stuff

Wedding Planning: 

Venue: Booked and paid in full. 

Photographer: Booked and paid in full. 

Dress: Paid for, hanging in the closet waiting to be altered and cleaned. 

Bridal party: Chosen. 

DJ: Booked, and deposit paid. 

Make-up Artist: Booked and deposit paid. 

Hotel room: Booked. 

Rings: Paid in full, waiting on their arrival. 

Colors: Eric's okay with light pink if I so choose. 

So basically,all necessities are paid for except Eric's clothing. And our credit card debt is minimal. We only used Eric's credit card for a portion of the rings. Looks like we're almost ready for a wedding. 

Ps, the one year anniversary of our engagement was yesterday. I remembered it all last week, but it slipped my mind yesterday. Eric surprised me with a rose after work. I'm not sure who was more excited, me or Chloe. 

Around here, lately.

It's the first day of my second week at my new job. I'd say I'm settled in well. It helps a lot that I've worked in two of the hotels within the company. It's still a little weird to me that all I do now is answer phone calls, but better than my last job. 

Chloe's been pulled out of daycare due to my slightly later hours, and is now in home care. The person watching her is someone who's babysat her before, and she seems to really like it there. 

I recently got my taxes back, and the tax Gods were smiling down on me. For the last time, since next year Eric and I will be common law so we won't get near as much back. 

But we've made some large payments towards our credit cards. Before the taxes, we booked and paid for our wedding venue. With our taxes, I booked and fully paid our officiant. I plan on writing a nice cheque for our photographer as well, as they are by far our biggest wedding-related bill. One thing I said I would never skimp on was the photography at my wedding, and as big as the bill is, this is one of the cheapest local photographers, but they also take some of the best pictures. Win win. 

I also may have bought a Keurig (on clearance, score!) with my taxes, and of course a few things for Miss Chloe. 

Next up will probably be the wedding rings. After that I'll slowly start gathering decor and everything else we need. I'm still trying to think up a ceremony spot. Using the hall that our reception will be at is my last resort. 

I just need to hurry up and narrow down what I want to do with colors. Colors are hard. 

Otherwise, not much else is going on around these parts.

I bought a wedding dress

So I bought a wedding dress yesterday. It was a great price, a great dress. It was second-hand. Obviously I can't show anyone pictures, except the bridesmaids that helped me come to the conclusion that I must buy it. Eric's sister is the only person who's seen the actual dress, since she was visiting yesterday when it was still sitting on our bed. In the garment bag, of course. But she's also a bridesmaid. 

Eric and I just had this weekend off together. We wanted to sell some crap at the flea market but the weather crapped on that idea, so instead I'm blogging and he's playing a video game. 

So yesterday we bought that dress with money we'd been stashing away for months. Then we shopping around Michael's and they had a 40% off sale on certain fake flowers, plus a 25% coupon for sale items to I used that to buy some pink flowers to play around with later. Bouquets maybe. Either way, amazing deal. 

This past Wednesday we went to look at a wedding hall in the community where we used to live. It looks like it'll do the job, but we were only able to get in and see it while a seniors dance was starting, so it was awkward and we couldn't really look around. So I think we might go with it, but I wouldn't mind getting a second look. I still don't know where the kitchen or bathrooms are, and those are very important. We're leaning more towards this location because we want to have a BBQ/finger foods/potluck style reception. We're poor people. 

I just can't wait to book a venue so our date is locked in and I can finally start planning the other details. 

On another random note, I bought myself this book as an anniversary present to myself (how romantic, I know). I started writing one detail about my day, every day, starting January 1st, 2012. It's been going strong for two years and now they have a book for it! It's probably one of my favorite things that I own. I'm going back and filling in all the old stuff from 2012/2013 right now to get it up to date. It's really fun to look back on, and makes me feel less guilty that I don't keep a real journal anymore. 

We've been up to lots more, but mostly it's just work and toddler stuff so I'll save it for another day. 

Not so wedding planning

Wedding planning is not my friend. It really isn't.

 

I don't really know what I want in terms of colors or décor.

 

I've picked my venue, but I keep having doubts. I can't think of an alternative spot to have the wedding, and this place is gorgeous and we got a great deal. But I still have doubts about it.

 

And I have doubts about our budget. I'm not sure we can afford this wedding, even with the great deal we're getting. Even if we switched to a cheaper location, what we'd save in money we would lose in quality and decorations.

 

I finally picked my wedding party, and I feel good about that. I only wanted 4 people to stand with us on each side, 8 total, but we've ended up with five. Just couldn't think of anyone to cut.

 

I'm waiting to see how our tax return goes before I start making any payments, just in case we can't swing it. It's a sad way to live.

Wedding Planning: Choosing a Venue is Hard

Wedding planning is so hard. 

I never had a dream wedding growing up, like some girls do. I went into this not knowing what I wanted at all. I knew I wanted something small. That's about it. 

Once I tentatively booked a hotel for my reception and dance, I realized I cared more than I thought. It didn't feel right. I went back and forth over it for a week or two, before finally cancelling the hold on that hotel at the beginning of this week. 

That was kind of huge for me, because this hotel was affordable. It was convenient. It just didn't feel like us. 

Our wedding song? We chose that already. It's a song I liked a long time ago. Google tells me it was released in 1992. It was mentioned on a local wedding group on Facebook by one girl who had it as her song. I looked it up on YouTube a few days later and I felt something. I showed Eric a few days later. He didn't say much during the song, and we got distracted before anything was said afterwards. It was only a week or two after that when the song came on and he called it our wedding song. And that was it. 

I found a spot for a wedding that I really liked before I ever booked the hotel. I requested information but didn't get a response so I forgot about it for a bit, but my mind kept going back to that place. When I cancelled the hotel, I called this new place, and when I didn't hear back 48 hours later, I sent an email. I finally heard back today. 

The price is great for what's included, which is the hall, bar, and a lot of accommodations. But in reality, it's more than we can afford. We haven't ruled it out, and we haven't actually sat down to talk about how much it will really cost. We're going to take a look at it Monday evening, and I'm half hoping that we don't like it as much, so it will encourage me to find something cheaper. 

I really don't want to love this place. 

Isn't it gorgeous though? 

Wedding Planning: The Beginning

If you asked me a month ago, I never would've thought that I'd be engaged and wedding planning right now. I haven't dug too far into the planning process, but I have been scrounging up information from as many different places as I can, trying to figure out our budget. Once I know how much we need, then I'll know how hard we need to save and how much money we need to put away monthly to do this.

The hardest part of wedding planning? 

Picking a photographer. If I wasn't on a budget, I know exactly who my top three choices would be. Being on a budget means I'm messaging anyone who's photos I like to get their pricing information. I can't afford to go overboard, but photography is the one part of my wedding I don't want to go too cheap on. Even Eric agrees - we would never have huge regrets if the food or decorations weren't great but we would regret it forever if we didn't have great photos to look back on. And with that same mindframe, we've decided we'll spend the extra to also have it videotaped. 

We've picked our year. 2015. We don't want it too early or too late, so I was hoping for late June or early July. Lately the 4th of July has been stuck in my head. We're Canadian, so it doesn't mean anything to us but wouldn't it be fun to give it some special meaning? 

Eric immediately picked his best man and one of his groomsmen, and they both already know it. There was no question. We know we want 1-2 other people in his party, then there's my side. I know who my options are, and who I'd most like to be in my wedding but it doesn't seem to be as simple as that. I can't fit all the people I'd consider, and some I wonder if they would want to be anyway. 

The night of our engagement Eric told me that I should pick the people who bring it up the most and seem the most excited. That's how you know they want to be a part of it. By that logic my wedding might end up being all male. 

Since the announcement, I've spoken to my mother on the phone at least 5 times, and spent the night at her house. She has not mentioned it once. We've talked about other people's weddings and engagements. I guess mine is so unimportant that she's forgotten it's even happened. Now I'm just playing the waiting game - not saying anything about it to see how long until she brings it up. She would've been happier if I was knocked up, which she made apparent when we called and told her the news. I guess I'm on my own. 

We're thinking of doing a very informal ceremony and reception. We're not high-class, formal people. We're cheap and we just want to party. 

But I'll save more of those details for when they're actually decided. On another note, I finally got my ring back yesterday. Finally!

On a completely unrelated note, Chloe is 21 months old today.