that [engaged] girl

Where'd She Go?

2009-09-04T22:12:00.002-05:00

Hey all!
I'm not sure if I ever gave an official "goodbye" post, but this is it!
I'm surprised I have any followers since I have gone so long without posting.

My original blog, That Girl, is still up and running (athough I occassionally get busy with blog and take necessary mini-breaks here and there).

The life as an AF wife has been pretty interesting, but I'm only three months in!

I have found that I am more in love with my husband now, than I was when we got married. It's a bond that is hard to explain, so I won't even bother trying! But he was worth the wait and worth the long-distance!

If you'd like to keep up with my life, then head over to my other blog, otherwise you might as well hit the "stop following" button (unless, of course, you want to check out older wedding-related posts!).

Much Love,

My two cents

2009-06-24T21:45:00.002-05:00

A good friend of mine is getting married in two weeks (I've never actually met her in person!).
She sent me a facebook message asking if I had any advice to help her from going crazy and/or freaking out within the next two weeks.

I surprised myself with how long-winded I was on this topic!
I decided to post my thoughts here, and hope that they are worth something to someone who stumbles upon this post.

Here goes:

First: Sleep is your best friend.
Do not, I repeat, do not put off sleep in order to complete a task, ANY task, regardless of how important you think it is-- whether it be the night before the wedding or any other night between now and then!

Losing sleep is going to cause more problems than it can solve.
The closer you get to the wedding, the more important sleep becomes! It is a great de-stresser.
Did I mention to make sure and get plenty of sleep? yeah. Get it.

If you choose to ignore the whole sleep-is-important thing, then I highly recommend Mountain Dew and/or 5-hour energy shots and a good concealer!

Second: If you have a task, --i.e., printing programs, folding them, putting together random favors, or any other task like this-- and this task is not done within 4-5 days before the wedding, then scratch it off your list and forget about it.
The closer you get to the wedding, the less time you are going to have (I kid you not). Time literally just disappears.

You will want to spend as much time as possible with friends and family. You'll look back and most likely regret it if you don't.

Any task that you haven't completed by that point will erupt and stress you out more than it's worth! If it really is that important that it be done by the wedding, call up a few girlfriends (preferably not bridesmaids) and ask them if they can lend a hand.
I did this and it was a huge help!

I didn't get my programs printed. I ran out of time and ended up trying to do them the night before the wedding. This caused me to lose an extra 2 hours of sleep, and I STILL couldn't get the dang printer to print them. So I said "heck with you!" and guess what? Nobody noticed or cared that there were no programs. The wedding went on without the guests knowing what was going to happen step-by-step. It wasn't a necessity!

Third: If you haven't already, I suggest finding a good, responsible friend (again, not a bridesmaid) to be your VIP person for your wedding day. Someone who can run errands, pick up your dress, get you from Point A to Point B, get your luggage from your house to your get-away car, and be your Go-To person.
Give them all the names and numbers of the important people that they might need to call. Trust me-- this person will help you so much and take so much stress off your shoulders!

Fourth: Have a designated person to get you FOOD at the reception, otherwise you will never make it to the food line. (Unless you are having a sit-down meal, in which case it wouldn't really matter).
You WILL get flooded by a hundred people, congratulating you and saying all the exact same things over and over again. Be prepared to answer the same questions with the same answers over and over again.
Warning: Your cheeks will hurt. Bad. So will your feet.

Fifth (and last, I promise): Try your hardest to not let the little things get to you. I got a little overwhelmed by everything at the reception, and I ended up in a sour mood for a while. Be determined to enjoy yourself, regardless of what went wrong or what went right.
The point is that you are getting MARRIED.

It's not about your guests, whether they absolutely loved or hated the food or favors.
It's not about your bridesmaids being happy with their dress/shoes, or whether your groomsmen behaved well or not.
It doesn't matter if some kid cried during the whole ceremony, or if the flower girl didn't even make it to the end without having a meltdown.
It's not about pleasing your parents, or your grandparents.

It's about you and your new husband, joining forces with God and becoming Husband and Wife. Simple as that.
Always keep that as your focus, and everything else will fall into place!

If anyone has any questions about anything else, I'd be more than happy to answer them! Just shoot me an email, because sometimes my comments don't get into my inbox for some reason so I might not realize they are there!

=)

Veil for sale!!! SOLD!!!

2009-06-16T22:36:00.005-05:00

Color: Ivory

Two separate veils:

1 Cathedral

1 blusher

You can buy them both for $40 (plus $5 to help pay for shipping)

As of right now we are only accepting checks (sorry!)

If you're interested, please email me at hannah_noel_h@ hotmail.com

I loved this veil very much and had a ton of fun in it and with it!

Going Away

2009-06-10T18:00:00.000-05:00

We had no sparklers, no bubbles, no rose petals, no birdseed...

Several of my friends did "Spirit fingers" =)

Heading to my car, aka Bestie/Old Faithful

The End

The Reception

2009-06-10T10:00:00.001-05:00

Arriving at the reception

Our first dance

"Lucky" by Jason Miraz
I love this picture =)

Dancing with Dad

"My Girl"

This is the one and only bite of cake I got all night long!!

Tossing the bouquet..

Deb called Dibs on it (the one with her hand raised!)

And she caught it!!
He was sooo ready for this part
Love that mischievous grin!

One of the little kids caught it, and immediately

handed it off to a "big kid"

Ceremony

2009-06-09T16:00:00.001-05:00

The little ones walked down with the Maid of Honor

Best idea EVER

Walking with Grampa and Dad

btw, if you look closely you'll see a little face peeking up over my dad's shoulder.

That's my little nephew, asher!

We decided he was too little to make it down the aisle without his Papa =)

With this ring..

Action shot-- he was ready to get that veil off!

Best wedding-kiss ever

Walking back to

"This will be (an everlasting love)"

We're married!!!!

Taking a much-needed break before the reception
Getting rid of the veil

I loved it, but I was ready for it to go!
Heading to the reception

More random shots

2009-06-09T11:44:00.003-05:00

They had to pull a prank with fake teeth

Think he got a little embarrassed =)
My tired niece and nephew.. love them!

My oldest nephew strutting his stuff!My other ring-bearer-- so cute!

The crazy bridal party
All the cuties

My family

His family

The Ushers-- my best guy-friends from college!

The Gents

2009-06-08T18:00:00.000-05:00

Men will be.... boys =)

Father and Son

The Ladies

2009-06-08T12:00:00.000-05:00

Having a little fun with our bouquets =)

Very silly, but a lot of fun!

For the record: there will be bugs

And if you go outside with lots of tulle, you're going to be crawling with them.

Just be prepared!

And warn your bridesmaids that they will be official "bug pickers" haha

The Happy Couple

2009-06-07T20:00:00.001-05:00

The sky was perfect

Picking bugs out of my veil.. haha

Getting dressed for pictures

2009-06-07T14:20:00.000-05:00

My beautiful dress =)

Janae and Jill helping me get in it!
Tulle takes lots of adjusting! haha

Can you spot the Bride? :P

I walked through the grass to himFirst Glance
So happy together

Hair and Makeup

2009-06-06T18:29:00.004-05:00

Taming my curls

Applying a LOT of concealer

Getting blushed up
All about the eyes

Finished!

Ooooouuuccchhhh!!
These things take so much work!
Ready for the dress!

While we're waiting..

2009-06-05T09:00:00.001-05:00

for the pictures to arrive, I have a really funny story (it's funny to me at least!).
It's definitely wedding-related.

For a long time now, I've had my heart set on making fan-flippin-tastic presents for all of my bridesmaids.
I bought brightly colored, mini-tote bags and put iron on hearts, butterflies, and cupcake rhinestones on them.
I went to walmart, to the travel section and bought mini-lotion, mini-deoderant, mini-lent rollers, aloe-infused socks (they LOVED those), oil-absorping sheets, foot scrub, and mini-first-aide kits.

I bought 5 of each (at $.97, so it wasn't too bad cost-wise) and split them into the bags.

I had also bought $2 T-shirts from Hobby Lobby and bought some pretty, pink, iron-on letters from Wal-Mart for the names. (I highly suggest you look at walmart before running out to Michael's or Hobby Lobby. You'd be surprised at what all they have for less!).

Anyways, back to the point of the story.

I had also bought a package of alphabet beads from hobby lobby to make bracelets for the girls. Each bracelet would say their name and then be surrounded by lots of red beads.

I poured a few of the alpha-beads into my hand to start piecing together the girls' names.. but I began to notice something a little.. funny about them all.

Can anyone tell what's missing?

Try looking very closely.....

There is no "E"

That's right. I bought a whole bag of alpha-beads that was devoid of the much-needed "E"

So what did I do? I did what every other logical, DIY bride would do.

I took some "F's" and a sharpie and made my OWN "E's"

Tada! The bracelets turned out great and we all got a good laugh from the story.

The end =)

Q & A please?

2009-06-04T12:14:00.003-05:00

Hullo! Yeah, I'm still waiting for my wedding pictures *sigh*.
But at least I know they are in the mail and on their way to me! yay!

For now, I have a question for you all. I also posted this on my other blog, but it's been frustrating the heck out of me so I figured it wouldn't hurt to post it here too.

I've realized over the past couple of weeks that not all of my comments received here are being sent to my email like they should.
I now have to check each post directly on blogger to read all of the comments, and that also means I can't respond directly through email to the blogger who left the comment (cause I seriously love doing that!).

I tried going through the hullabaloo of reporting it to blogger, who then sent me to a Google "Help Group," where I was sent to a specified "Something is Broken" group, where I was told I had to join the group before asking a question.

I joined the group with a "nickname," entered my question, and the next page said,
"You must first join this group to ask a question. Please enter a nickname."

In the words of Peanut: WWHAAAAAUUUUAAAAAAATT?????

I tried a second time, and an error page came up. So I said foo-ey on the whole thing and decided just to ask you guys.

Am I the only one dealing with comments not getting sent to my email or is it a blogger-wide problem?

A few pictures

2009-05-30T21:31:00.003-05:00

I don't have the "official" wedding pictures yet, but I do have a few randoms from throughout the week that my sister emailed to me!

Waiting to get my nails done the day before

My lil' black dress mafia
Chowing down before the ceremony

My best friend caught the bouquet!

Dancing to "Lucky"
Yeah, it was hard not to step on my little train!

It'll probably be a week or more before I finally get the professional pictures up. I'm waiting for them to be mailed to me on a CD! I'm so anxious to see them for myself! Ahhh.

Yay for internet!

2009-05-28T18:59:00.002-05:00

Oh holy crap!
I finally have internet! Praise Jesus!

Wow. So, married life. I'm finally living it!
I haven't been living it for a whole week yet, but I love it.

I love being able to say I'm a WIFE. I love being able to say that Mr. Airforce is my HUSBAND.
I've had to randomly look at him occassionally and say ".... We're MARRIED."

I don't think everything has really set in yet. I think it'll take another week or two more before that "vacation" or "summer camp" feeling goes away.

We have slowly, but surely begun unpacking box after box, putting stuff away, and taking the trash out to the dumpster. The most fun we have had so far is figuring out what to cook for dinner each night, and figuring out how we want to set up our fishtanks.

Dang, we sound extremely lame!
We didn't get to go on a honeymoon, thanks to Mr. AF's work on base, but I'm really okay with that.
He says that he's planning something REALLY great for me within the next year and it requires my passport. Yay!

I feel so out of the loop with the blogging world. It's been Sooooooo long since I've been able to read anyone's blog, or even blog on my own!

I don't have any pictures yet :(
Hopefully sometime this weekend I'll have them so I can post them!
Until then, I'll let you go and I hope everyone is having a great week.

And to the brides getting married this weekend: GET SLEEP.

That's my one regret I had the whole wedding day, is that I stayed up late the night before trying to print programs and finish last minute details. They aren't worth it! I didn't even get them printed because my printer wasn't working right.
And ya know what? It didn't matter. It seriously didn't matter that the guests did not have programs to follow along with. We got married anyway. And they were still happy.
But I was tired! And that sucked! haha

And I had always SWORN that I was definitely going to eat some of the delicious food at my wedding. I would find time to sit down and enjoy myself.
If it wasn't for one my old, faithful, highschool bff's forcing me to sit down and getting the food for me to eat, it wouldn't have happened!
Person after person kept coming up to greet me and Mr. AF. I appreciated their love and support, but at one point I wanted to hold up a sign that said,

"Don't Bother me. I'm Eating."

The reception was beautiful though-- I wish I could have had more time to chillax, but I guess that just doesn't happen for the bride haha.

Wait, I thought I said I was getting off? I just wrote a whole flippin' novel.
I do miss blogging!

Alright.
Ciao!

Hannah and Brian (aka Mr. Airforce)

2009-05-23T16:00:00.000-05:00

As you read this, the candles are being lit.
The groomsmen and Brian are walking into the church with my youth director.

My mom and Brian's mom are lighting the tapers for the unity candle.

The song "I don't want to go," by Avalon will begin playing as my best friends/bridesmaids begin their walk down the aisle.
The adorable kiddos will one way or another make it to the end where their mothers will be waiting with candy and toys.

And finally (hopefully), at the right moment during the song, the music will build for our entrance. My dad on my right, my grampa on the my left, and me walking in the middle wearing this..

Here comes the bride =)

They're coming to take me away, HAHA!

2009-05-18T10:07:00.004-05:00

I bet God literally laughed out loud when, during the last few months, I thought to myself,

"Man-- I seriously think I'm going to have a lot of free time on my hands to blog during the last couple of weeks before the wedding.
I mean, I'll need to make a slideshow, mints, and organize a few minor details, but other than that I will be free as a bird!"

Haha, God. I'm laughing at me too.

Time = Non existent
Stress = Omnipresent
Chocolate = Indispensable

So I can almost garantee this might just be my last post before the wedding. My out-of-town family starts coming in today, so I will be spending as much time as possible with them.

And those minor tasks/details that I have to get done have turned into really big projects that will take a large amount of time to accomplish! haha. Silly me.

I have decided though, on Saturday at exactly 4:00 pm, I'm going to have a scheduled post with some of the Bridal Portraits that so many of you have asked for! Yay :D

Alright-- off to be a crazy bride again.
Toodles

Single Digit Days

2009-05-14T23:39:00.003-05:00

Ugh... is there a rule somewhere that says the last 10 days of wedding planning are the worst? Or maybe it's the first 2-3 days of the last 10 days (did anyone else besides me understand that?).

Today was checkouts on campus-- so I've spent ALL day dealing with lazy, idiot, college kids who don't understand what "clean" and "be out by 4:00 pm" mean.

There are a million little things left and right that have been pecking away at my emotions and stress level the past few weeks, and today I had a "mini" breakdown as a result.

You knows its bad when your two best friends from highschool call you on speaker phone to have a pow-wow cause they know something is wrong.
One even offered to be my "getaway" if I get cold feet! I told her that wasn't my problem haha.

Anyways. 'Nuff stress-related stuff.

Tomorrow is my wedding-hair-trial/runthrough and low lights. oh boy.
That's at 1:30.

At 6pm, I head to my sisters house a couple hours away for a Bachelorette party with a few of the bridesmaids-- I'm really, really, really looking forward to a good girls night out!
And knowing my sister and Jill (they are co-hosting it together), it will be JUST what I need! The two people who know me best putting their great minds together just for me! hah. perfect. I love it, it should happen more often.

Okay. I'm blogged out for the day. My google-reader is probably past 1000 at this point.
I'm so sorry. Eventually, I will have the time and energy to re-dedicate myself to blogging! I promise.

B-ling-B-ling

2009-05-11T21:10:00.003-05:00

I know, I know.

My Google Reader is past the 500 mark at this point.

It's finals week and my wedding is in 12 days!

Give me a break ;)

I do have some pictures for you that I'm really excited about =)

If you have reeeally good eye site, then you can see the word

"Beloved"

And yes, I'm totally wearing it even though I'm not supposed to!

Ohhhhmigosh

2009-05-07T22:29:00.002-05:00

Guys......

In two weeks from today

I'll be welcoming out of town guests..
Introducing them to my family and friends..
Having a fun, relaxing cook-out..
My dad (and every other man there) will be standing around the grill..
The Flower girls and Ring bearers will be playing together, chasing our Silky Terrier

I'm hoping that we can go dancing afterwards, just for fun.
Mr. AF and me, and anyone else that wants to join in on the fun!
So we can relax, and just be.
And prepare for the next day, and then the Big Day.

It's happening in Two weeks.

Famous last words

2009-05-04T21:25:00.002-05:00

I had a couple of new experiences this past weekend, one I loved, and one I, well, not so much.

The Good Experience: The Spray Tan, $25
I've seen my fair share of high school girls who show up to prom resembling a cooked carrot, and we have all definitely seen the celebrities looking the same.

But it's been a few years since high school, so I decided that the "spraying technology" is probably better now than it used to be. Why not give it a try?

Long story short, it worked marvelously. I'm way darker than I want to be for the wedding, but I love how my body looks right now. Even my mom kept commenting on how good it looked and decided to get one too!

The Bad Experience: The Bikini Wax, $25
A long, long time ago (I can still remember.. muahaha), when I was an avid Oprah watcher, Oprah did a show about brazilian waxes. The women on her show glorified it, saying it was the best $60 they'd ever spent. ($60? Gulp)
Ever since then it had intrigued me, and I always promised myself I would at least try it once.

One of my best friends (and bridesmaid) Jill said she felt the same way, so we made a deal that we would go together. It took me a whole month to finally get appointments somewhere.

Some people begin getting nervous/freaking out over things for days/weeks in advance. Not me. I don't freak out until the day of the event. Heck. This time, I didn't even freak out until I walked into the salon. Jill quickly took a seat and I realized I was supposed to go first. Crayyup (that means "crap" for those of you with no hint of a southern accent).

I was instructed to climb onto a table where I was to then drop my pants and leave my underwear on. I kept laughing with nerves and saying,
"I can't believe I'm doing this," and "Holy crap, I'm scurred!"

The lady doing the "job" came in and I decided to try to make a joke to make myself feel better.
Me: "I should probably warn you and apologize ahead of time, because I might cuss on accident, haha."
The lady straightened up and gave me a fierce look.
Lady: "Now, I will tell you right now that I do have a problem with cursing. I do not tolerate cursing."
My eyebrows shot up and my mouth dropped.
Me: "Oh, well, I'm sorry. I promise I was just kidding."
Lady: ".. well, I just don't tolerate it."
Me: "*clears throat*.. okay, well. Okay."

I'm very glad that she told me she doesn't tolerate it, other wise I might have had no restraints on my mouth for what happened next.

She told me we would just start with the outside and work our way in to see how much I really wanted her to do.
Me: "Well, let's just do a bikini wax for now and see how I feel afterwards, haha!"

Those were my famous last words.

She applied the hot wax and my nerves sky rocketed. That door looks awful thin.. I wonder if Jill can hear us talking? I hope not. That would make me feel awkward.

Lady: "Okay I'm just gonna apply this little strip right here. Just remember to relax, if you tense up it will make it hurt."
Me: Just breathe deep... huge, huge breaths. Dang, I can hear myself breathing.. it's really loud! Focus, focus. Just relax, it won't hurt, it'll be just like plucking your eye-brows--- "OOOOGGGHHH!!!!"

I forced my squeezed-shut eyes open to see the strip, now covered with hair, being waved in front of my face.
Lady: "See? Came right off!"
Me: WTH?? "Oh my gosh... that hurt so bad!!"

Each strip afterwards hurt double of that of the previous strip. Maybe it was triple... I tried to put it as far out of my memory as possible (that is until I started writing this post).

Me: "How many more do we have left?"
Lady: "Just one more!"
RIP..... mini-rip, mini-rip.....
Lady: "Okay let me just--"
Me: *groan*
Lady: "--- Nevermind, we're all done!"

This is my favorite part of the story.

Lady: "Now, I'm going to ask you not to advertise for me. I usually get much straighter, cleaner lines on a bikini, but because you were in so much pain I just decided to stop and leave it as is.

Also, please don't scare off any potential customers with your horror story.
I promise you, you are the most sensitive person I have had in 15 years, and I don't want my customers thinking they will have the same experience as you just had.
I'll call you as soon as I get a numbing agent in and we might try it again.
I have your number."

Oh dang. Is that a "Don't call us, we'll call you?"
Meh. I think she loved me.

::: Edit :::
I totally forgot to add that my jeans felt like Sandpaper for the rest of the day,
AND
a lot of the hair didn't get ripped out, only broken off at the ends. LAME!

What I need (according to the knot)

2009-05-02T11:48:00.006-05:00

I know we all love receiving those weekly or daily emails from The Knot dot com, giving us minute-by-minute reminders about payments, hair appointments, decorations, cakes, wedding dresses, bridesmaid dresses, color schemes, accessories, tuxes, mother of the bride attire, napkins, favors, music, lighting, candles, .. the list goes on and on.

Lucky for us they do this, other wise we would never get anything done, since we obviously don't have any thinking/organizational skills in our own itty bitty brains.
Okay, that was a bit harsh. I do appreciate all the awesome articles and pictures (oh, the pictures!) the knot has to offer, but occasionally, the knot begins feeling like a nagging old wife.

Today I received an email (as I'm sure several of you did) entitled "Last Minute Essentials. Don't forget these wedding day must-haves!"

Hmm... Hypothetically, let's see exactly and how much it would cost me if I followed the Knot's guidelines for these "must-haves."
( I calculated according to 5 bridesmaids and 5 groomsmen).

Matching T-shirts for the Bride and Bridesmaid: $9.99/each (times 6 girls) -- $59.94
"Flowergirl" and "Ringbearer" shirts: $22.95/each (times 4)--- $91.80
Matching Tshirts for Groom/Groomsemen: $14.95 (times 6)--- $89.70
Personal Canvas Tote: $24.00/each (times 6)-- $144
"Bride" baseball cap: $15.95
"Groom": $15.95
"Father of the Bride": $12.95
"Father of the Groom": $12.95
"Just Married" sleep mask: $19.99
"Bride" and "Bridesmaid" waffle slippers: $14.99/pair (times 6)--- $89.94
"Just Married" flipflops: $2.99/pair (times 2)--- $5.98 (alright, I admit this one is a good deal)

I figured I should stop there before I hypothetically went broke.

So how much would I have spent in the world of The Knot?: $559.15
Let's see. My budget is $3,000, right?
I just hypothetically spent 17% of my budget on wedding day attire that is only good to wear on that ONE day.

Right.

Circus Ring

2009-04-30T14:55:00.004-05:00

So, I started NuvaRing three days ago.

I'm exhausted. Is this due to the ring or to stress from finals and wedding stuff? (definitely not from the lack of sleep). I also just read dozens of horror stories :(

My doctor assured me that if I didn't experience any side effects with any previous birth control, then I wouldn't experience any with the ring, since it's a lower dose of hormone.

Input??

Oh-- and I've been trying all day to read other people's blogs, but I think my internet is screwed up. Google reader won't work at all, and posting this post is the first thing I've been able to do!

Muy Cansada

2009-04-28T21:55:00.004-05:00

First-- is my spanish correct? that means "Very Tired," right?

I'll go ahead and apologize now for being absent ~~minded~~ this week.
I only have two and a half weeks of school left (including finals week).
And then one more week until the flippin' wedding!!

This week feels like it should already be over!

A few random updates:

My doctor put me on the NuvaRing-- Yay!

~~Our photographer gave us the shaft!~~ We have a new photographer-- Woohoo!

Did I mention we made the ring bearer pillows? -- Well we did! Yahoo!

And last, but BEST--- I'm getting married in 24 days!! YES YES YES!!!

I'll try my best to find time to keep up with everyone else's blog this week, but I probably won't have any brain-activity left over to create my own posts.
Pray this week goes by fast! And next week... And the next week... and ... You get the point.

Evidence

2009-04-27T14:15:00.003-05:00

And this is why I felt like a little hussy in my dress

...

Because it kept riding up to THERE!

There's my first attempt at the Two-Step!

The poor guy.

My friends forced him to do it!

Shower love

2009-04-26T17:00:00.004-05:00

Remember the post about sweet Renee who got married 6 months ago?

Well, she has graciously offered to throw me a shower! It's set for May 9th -- just two weeks!
I'm so excited :D
Here's the dress I ordered for the occassion from Forever 21!

I Looove it! I ordered it last Saturday, and it arrived in the middle of the week. Talk about fast service! I haven't tried it on yet-- I probably will tomorrow. I'm excited :)

I don't have any shoes to wear with it though!! Oh darn ;) Guess I'll just have to order a pair!

Party hardy

2009-04-25T18:10:00.006-05:00

Ohhhh wow. Back from my Bachelorette party!!!
Alright, here's how the evening went down:

I went to my friends house where she helped me do my hair and instructed how I should do sexy makeup =). But I'm sure she was ready so smack me the whole way to Olive Garden!

Me: Oh my gosh, this dress is so short. I can't go to Olive Garden in this!
Alicia: Oh Hannah, you are so gorgeous! You look fine!
Me: I look like a HUSSY!
Alicia: No you do not! You look hott and sexy! You're so glamorous!
Me: But I look like a ho!!

After a few minutes, I received a text message from Kristi, who was already at Olive Garden, and apparently had received a heads-up from Alicia about my self-conscious state-of-mind.

Kristi: Hannah you look sexy!! Now get your sweet little a$$ here so we can worship you
Hmm... I could get used to this!

Introducing the girls:

Me and Kristi, aka "The Wild One"

Jessie, Tiffany the "Tease," and Alicia

My sash said "Miss Outta Control Bachelorette"

(doesn't my chicken parmigiana look oh-so-good?)

I have the most glamorous friends!
Jessie and Tiffany on the way to the
"big surprise"
Present #1: The inflatable man

He was so sweet the whole time!

I was also given a "decorative" necklace and bracelet

but I figured I shouldn't put a macro-shot of it ;)

Dancing away at Buffalo Run!

Kristi being Kristi

We were so tired from dancing!

I love these girls

Thank you so much for an awesome night!

Anyone else notice how white I am????

I got a shout-out from the lead singer of the band, the DJ often referred to me as "our resident Bachelorette" and kept calling me out to the dance floor to "show 'em how it's done!"

My 4.5" heels were almost the death of me! I haven't worn heels in a long time, so my ankles were very weak. They were pretty slick on the dance floor.

My friends and I were passed around from cowboy to cowboy for the Two-step!

Some of them could really dance, and well... some of them were really enthusiastic anyways. (yikes!)

I woke up with really sore legs and sore feet! I need to wear heels more often!

It was so worth it though. I'd do it again in a heart beat!

Mint DIY

2009-04-24T12:00:00.001-05:00

By popular demand, here is the mint making process!

Ingredients:
1 (8-oz) pkg. cream cheese (room temperature)
2 teaspoon flavoring (mint, butter, or whatever-- they even have rum!)
food coloring (optional)
2 pounds of C & H powdered sugar (or more, as needed)
C& H granulated sugar (the finer, the better)

Directions:
Trust me, you will want a mixer for this-- or your arms can and will fall off.

When your cream cheese is at room temperature, mix it until its creamy and soft.

Slowly add your flavoring and coloring until everything is mixed together.

Gradually, begin adding your powdered sugar (this will take a while! so do what I did. Put on some great music and pretend you're a famous broadway singer).

This is where is gets tricky.
You want your mixture to be the consistency of pie dough. The stiffer it is, the easier it is to handle and put into the molds.
However, the more powdered sugar you put in it, the less flavor you will have.
I had to play with it for a while (adding sugar, then adding cream cheese, then adding a little more sugar) before I was 100% happy with the texture.
It was a little sticky, but still managable.

Put your granulated sugar into a bowl

Sprinkle a little granulated sugar into your molds (to help prevent stickyness!)

Sprinkle a good layer of gran. sugar onto some wax paper, and put a good sized dollop of your mixture onto it. Sprinkle it with sugar, then flatten it out and sprinkle a little more sugar onto it (this helps it dry a little, making it less sticky and easier to handle).

Pull off small pieces and dip them in the sugar, and roll them into marbles. Make sure you fully coat them in granulated sugar.

Press them gently into your molds and sprinkle a little sugar on top of them

Test a couple before you fill the whole mold

To get them out, I flipped the mold over and twisted it like an ice-tray. Be careful though, cause if your mix is really soft you could smash the flower design if they land face-down!

Let them dry on wax paper for 24 hours

Store them in an air-tight container

Best if they are put in the freezer until the wedding (or whatever event!)

I've made three batches so far, and got about 575 mintes (minus the ones my family and I insisted on taste-testing!)

Oh yeah-- Taste testing is a crucial part of the process ;)

We used yellow, rubber molds-- hearts and flowers!

I just realized I made that extremely detailed, but that's okay!
Let me know how your's turn out!

Bach Bash

2009-04-23T13:57:00.004-05:00

I'm so excited!!!

Tomorrow night, some of my girlfriends from my Comm. classes (we call ourselves the "Commies") are taking me out for a Bachelorette night!
One of the girls, Alicia, and I went shopping in Springfield yesterday for my party outfit.

The girls are all going to wear black dresses, and they told me to wear a colored dress so that I was the "pop" of the group lol. Alicia told me none of the dresses I already owned were short enough!
"We'll hook you up girl, we're gonna go shopping!"

I ended up getting the first dress I tried on! (after thoroughly searching the rest of the store first!). I bought the dress for $22.50 and the shoes for $15 at Wet Seal-- how have I NEVER been in this store to try things on before??

By the way-- I know this is totally un-modest of me, but I just thought I'd mention that the dress looks SO much better on me ;). Add a smaller waist and bigger hips and it rocks! And the shoes make my legs look so good! I usually don't feel that sexy in an outfit, so I'm really excited about it (in case you couldn't already tell lol).

I'm not sure where all we are going, but I know we're going to eat first at Olive Garden (cause it's my favorite!) and we'll also play games in one of their private rooms.
I love these girls so much!

Oh--- and I'm totally going to do a DIY on the mint-making process! In the next few days :)

Mint Mania

2009-04-22T22:41:00.007-05:00

Ever considered making your own mints? I sure did. And boy am I happy about it!
They are Soooooo good!! I'm making a batch every weekend between now and the wedding (freezing them) to make sure we have plenty.

Here are a few pictures of the adventure... :)

I'm pretty durn proud of myself!

DIY Diva

2009-04-19T13:40:00.004-05:00

This weekend I sat down with my mom and sister (MOH) to complete a few DIY projects!
First up: finish the bouquets:

Here's mine (which you saw last in this post)

and two of the bridesmaids bouquets

Here are the roses used for the bout's and corsages

(we used the fuller ones for the corsage)

Me and my awesome $25 bouquet!

MOTB corsage-- made my the mother who's going

to wear it!

All of the bout's are done!
We still have to make three more corsages (silly me, forgot that we would need two roses per corsage, and that we'd need some for the grandmothers too!).

Including ribbon and tape, we probably spend ...
My bouquet: $25
Five Bridesmaid bouquets: $40 total
Corsages and bouts: $32
Ribbon, tape, wirecutters: about $10

We bought everything from Hobby Lobby on their 50% off sale.
I'm so happy with the results =) =)

Birth control questions

2009-04-18T19:43:00.001-05:00

A'ight, I need to ask a few questions to the experienced pros out there.

I've been on Ortho-Tricyclene (and the generic version), Yaz and Cryselle before. When I was younger Ortho TriC. was great. The last couple of years I've tried all three and nothing has controlled my periods at all (which is why I was using them).

I've been on The Pill for 7-8 years. In the last few months, I decided my body must be tired and in need of a break from the pill, so I stopped. Yeah, I quit birth control two months before my wedding-- good idea, huh? Now I'm terrified that I'm going to get a freaking annoying visit from mother nature on my wedding day. Also, the idea of using condoms until we decide to have kids does not sound like my cup of tea.

This is where you come in-- and I'm hoping I get lots of feedback on this!!
What methods have you tried/do you use and what worked best?

Help a girl out, ladies! Thanks bunches!

Drama, drama, drama part 2

2009-04-18T13:00:00.001-05:00

problem solved! But it took me a little while to get there.

I called Davids bridal (if you read this post, you understand how much I didn't want to do that).
First, I called the local one-- the one that gave me so much grief in the past.
I explained my situation concerning the bridesmaids and asked if she had a size 6 in the little black dress. Then she asked a dumb question.

Deaf woman: "Well, was the dress just too big for her? She could just get it altered."
Me: "Well.. the original dress is a size four (like I just told you) and it's too small for her, that's why we need a size six..."

Embarrassed woman: "Ohhh! right, I gotcha! Okay, let me look here.. what did you say your name was? .... and what's your wedding date?.... and what was your original bridesmaid's name?... And when did you buy the dress?.. and did you get it from this store?"

Me: "Hannah .... May 23... Amanda.... November. Yes, I got it from this store ~~duh, that's why I'm calling THIS STORE~~ . (Would you like the name of my favorite color too?)"

After a quick search she cheerfully said,
"Okay Hannah, it looks like we don't have that particular dress in that size and color in this store and there is no way we could order the dress and it get here in time. If we ordered it it would come in the week after the wedding.
But, but there is a store in Ankridge that has it!"

Me: "... Ankridge? Where is that? Is that another store in Missouri or around the 4-state area?"
Woman: "Umm... I have no idea! It just says it's in Ankridge. You can order it from that store and they can mail it directly to your house but they'll charge you an extra $20 or more in shipping."
Me: ".... Oh, okay. Well thanks for all your help."
Woman: "No problem! Have a great day!" Click.

After a little googling, I discovered "Ankridge" (complete with an Oklahoma accent) is actually Ancorage. As in Ancorage, ALASKA! Surely there is another way to fix this!

I called up the David's Bridal in Tulsa and crossed my fingers. I talked to a new girl, named Mikel (I love that name as a girls name btw). I explained my situation again and also told her what the other girl had said.
Mikel: "ugh, really? Well. I tell you what, I'm gonna try to help you out!"
Me: "Really? ~~really and truly??~~ Thank you so much!"

She took my number, and within 5 minutes was calling me back.
This sweet, sweet angel had gotten an over-ride code from her manager, that would ensure that THE size six little black dress would be on their next shipment of dresses and would be IN their store on May 13th!
She then waited patiently while I called Deb (the new 'maid) to tell her about the offer. Deb called her up and ordered the dress!

YAY!!

Drama, drama, drama!!

2009-04-17T17:00:00.001-05:00

Something always has to go wrong, right? I mean. Something.

The DJ goes out of business, the photographer ticks you off, your hairdresser is rude to you so you fire her, your officiant goes to jail, ....okay that last one was a bit of a stretch.

They warn us all ahead of time that something WILL go wrong and that we should try our hardest not to let is stress us out.

Well. I'm trying my hardest. yeah!

A few weeks ago, one of my bridesmaids sent me a text message saying those four dreaded words. Those four words that NO ONE wants to hear: "We need to talk."

Turns out, she had signed up to go on a mission trip to Turkey and will be leaving the day before my wedding! I told her I in no way wanted her to miss out on an amazing opportunity like that all for an evening at my wedding.
Do I want her to be there? Of course I do. But I know this trip will be a great experience for her! So no hard feelings, at all. I love her very much!

This, in a way was a blessing--- because for a while I've regretted not also asking my old best friend from highschool to be a bridesmaid. So I called her up, and she said yes!
I was pretty sure that she would wear the same size dress as the other girl, so I brought the dress home for her to try. I hoped it fit perfectly, but figured it would be a little big.
No problem. Just needs alterations, right?
Wrong.

The dress is too small. Oh. Crap.

Dang it, now I have to deal with Davids Bridal people again...

I'm currently on the phone with DB people across the 4-State area to see if they have this dress. yeah, I could order it easily. But it wouldn't get here until AFTER the wedding.
I don't think Deb would appreciate being naked for the wedding. Yikes!

I need a glass of the good stuff right about now.

I won!!!

2009-04-17T16:30:00.002-05:00

I finally won something! haha and I'm SO excited about it!

Look :)

I won this awesome scarf and earrings from Stylish Events.

Go check out their website-- they always have great contests and advice! Love it :D

One Sweet Love: The Reception

2009-04-16T17:00:00.002-05:00

The amazing cake!!

The toasts

Father/Daughter dance
They had so much fun dancing to "My Girl," by the Temptations

James and Renee danced to "Inspiration," by Chicago

Everybody doing the Cha-Cha Slide

The Garter toss

Sparklers

The Get-Away car

Happy 6 months Renee and James!

LOVE YOU!!

One Sweet Love: The Ceremony

2009-04-15T17:00:00.004-05:00

The musicians
(there's me singing "Bubbly" as the bridesmaids came down the stairs)

The Groom and the pastor (aka, my dad)

The precious flower girls

Here comes the bride to "Forever" by Ben Harper

Giving away his baby girl

She couldn't stop smiling and giggling!

So sweet =)

Exchanging "Unity hugs" with their family to

the song "When you say nothing at all"

The first kiss as husband and wife

Renee, her brother, her father, and a picture in memory of her mother

James and his parents

Renee being serenaded

Showin' the Groom some lovin'!

The whole gang

Finally united in faith and love

Next up: The Reception

One Sweet Love: Getting Ready

2009-04-14T17:00:00.002-05:00

While waiting outside the house, where the ceremony would take place, we could occassionally hear high-pitched squeals and screams coming from upstairs where the girls were getting ready.

The most stunning bride I've ever seen

Wearing her new house shoes with her new initials :)

Striking a pose!

The flowers and shoes were so perfect!

Boys will be boys... (Groom in the white tie)

Run, James, run!!

~~Gripping~~Shaking hands with his future father in-law

(I love the look on their faces)

Daddy's little girl

The Blushing, jubilant Bride

She's ready to walk down the aisle!

Next up: The Ceremony

One Sweet Love: The Location

2009-04-13T17:49:00.006-05:00

After nearly two weeks of being barely-here, I'm making up for it by giving you LOTS of eye candy and inspiration.

Are you having a fall wedding? This inspiration is definitely for you.

The Wedding of James and Renee

I've known James since I was a toddler, and I met his wife when he started bringing her to our church. They are two of the sweetest, most genuine people I've ever met, and I'm so happy that I got to be a part of their special day :).

They said their vows and partied the night away at the Mildale Farm in Edgerton, Kansas (very close to Kansas City).

The Entrance

This was one of the most beautiful places I've ever been!

The house where the family stayed

Is it just me, or does this house look like it came straight out of a Jane Austen novel?

The Stables where the reception was held (how awesome is that??)

The Inside

The inside of the stables had been completely re-done.

It looked amazing at night when all of the christmas lights were lit and the flowers were on the table!

And here is one more picture, taken from the Rehearsal.
Renee (in the middle) with two of her maids.
She is one of the cutest girls ever!

I can't wait to show you the rest of the weekend!

Interesting fact of the day:
I caught Renee's bouquet at her wedding.
Two days later, Mr. Airforce proposed!!

excuses, apologies and fashion

2009-04-11T14:31:00.003-05:00

Won't I ever get back into the swing of blogging?

This week has been a roller coaster of emotions, complete with the ups, downs, swirly-twirling, twisting and motion sickness.

Take that and add a photography and a drawing class and I have ZERO time or desire to blog. I even have a few things that I need to update everyone on, and I just haven't been able to make myself do it!

I didn't realize how hectic these last few weeks would be! Back to the roller coaster analogy: I feel like I've been standing in line for hours and hours waiting for the Wild Fire ride, I finally got on it, and am now racing towards the finish line!!

anyways. 'Nuff said.

In my attempt to make amends, here is some factual fashion for the week. Factual because it's actually HAPPENING. This is the dress my mother will be wearing for the wedding:

Talk about Va-Va-VOOM!

Her baby girl is getting married, and she's making sure everyone knows she is still a babe herself ;)

435

2009-04-08T13:18:00.002-05:00

According to Google Reader, that is the number of blog posts that I have to catch up on.
HO-LEE CRAP.

Good thing I have an hour or two at work with nothing to do, though I won't get through a fraction of them in that amount of time! hah.

On a brighter note, I bought the flowers for corsages and bout's from Hobby Lobby yesterday! I also bought some stuff that was half-off for Bridesmaid gifts.

I can't wait to do a DIY-tutorial on "how-to-make-your-own-blasted-corsages-and-bouts".
Maybe next week when I actually have time to breathe? yay!

Can you tell that I'm a little nuts right now? When spring break is over, the semester always gets harder and hectic it seems.
Any other college-brides dealing with this?

Oy Ve

2009-04-06T23:19:00.002-05:00

As I JUST said in my other blog, sorry to be MIA the last few days (and for the next few days).
The last few weeks I've been reading TONS and TONS of blogs, and trying to keep up with blogging so I'm a little burnt out on it! (yes, you can have too much of a good thing, or at least I can). Homework and wedding-stuff has also been keeping me really busy too.

Give me a few days and hopefully I'll have something fun, exciting, and wedding-related to post about!

Oh yeah-- I DID pick up my Bridal Portraits on Saturday, but that'll have to wait for another post!

I hope everyone has a great week ahead of them! Ciao.

I got lucky

2009-04-02T10:25:00.002-05:00

My flower girl already has great style

(she gets it from her aunt :))

And my ringbearer is already cute as a button

and would do anything for his favorite aunt in the

whole wide world.

I can't wait to see them all dolled up!

(for the record: I also have an older FG and RB, but I don't have pics of them!)

As much as I hate to ruin my chances..

2009-04-02T09:03:00.001-05:00

Sweet give away over at With this Ring

But, please, don't go check it out. Because I really really want to win!! You'll ruin my chances if you do! ;) ;)

Okay, OKAY, go check it out... *sigh*

I can officially say...

2009-04-01T15:37:00.001-05:00

I'm getting married next month!!

HOLY CRAP.

Poor Mr. Airforce :(

2009-03-31T14:36:00.003-05:00

I feel so bad for him.

We've had a long-distance relationship since Day One. Naturally, we are having the wedding in Oklahoma where I am from, and his family and friends will be traveling over from Mississippi and a few other states.
I've been getting lots of RSVP's on our website, and a few of them have been a couple of his friends letting us know they can't come to the wedding.

When I told him that another one of his friends had RSVP'd "Unable to attend" he seemed so sad and down about it. It's bad enough that he has to live in Texas all by himself where he doesn't know anyone, but now, on one of the most important days of his life, the friend he DOES have can't make it.
I feel guilty for having the wedding in Oklahoma, but I literally had no choice (long story.. for another post!).

I wish there was something I could do to cheer him up :(

Is anyone else having a problem like this?

The results.. dun dun dun!!

2009-03-30T12:21:00.002-05:00

Well, my hair is still pretty frizzy after oiling it down--- but I didn't use much mousse today, so that is to be expected!

After I doused my hair with extra-virgin olive oil, I figured instead of rinsing it out, I'd just let it dry in-- ya know, just in case my hair decided it was still thirsty-- makes sense, right? I ended up having a really shiny neck and shoulders, and everytime I touched my hair I had to wipe my hands on a towel. The hair closest to my head feels GREAT! nice and soft and really smooth. The other foot-long curls are still dry though.

I'll probably try soaking it in olive oil again this weekend (hairstylist said as often as possible!). Maybe I'll even try MAYO!
Did you know that eggs and beer are also really good for your hair? (not together, by themselves). Yeah, the beer, I was told, makes your hair SUPER shiny. Maybe I'll try that? .............. yeah, probably not.

I'm gonna see how long I can go without washing my hair. That sounds awful haha.
My stylist-- lets call her Mrs. H (ya know, "H" for hair)-- said to sleep with it in a bun on top of my head at night so it doesn't get rubbed too much against my cotton pillow.
While I'm at it, she said I need to get a silk or satin pillowcase, cause the cotton causes too much friction to my poor, frazzled curls.

She also said that everytime you color your hair, it's a good idea to bleach the old color out (at that point I got scared!). She also also said she's going to dye my eyebrows because I over-plucked them once in the 8th grade and they've never fully grown back!! Yikes!

Man, I feel like I'm on What Not to Wear without the $5,000 American Express card. Which is totally fine. No, seriously. I've always wished someone who knew what they were talking about could completely make-over me. How cool would that be?

Anyways--- who is bored with reading about my hair now??

On a more fun, upbeat note: some of my college-buds are throwing me a Bach party! YAY!! I'm soooo excited :D

Extra-virgin

2009-03-29T16:44:00.002-05:00

Olive-oil that is. In my hair. soaking.
Long story.

I have REALLY curly hair. Curly hair is pretty easily damaged.
I'm good though-- I NEVER straighten it, but I DO diffuse-dry it every other day. And I wash it every other day. I guess that's not good enough though.

The woman doing my hair for the wedding (who knows her stuff) talked to me at church today. She felt my hair and said it felt really dry and damaged.
She told me I needed to quit washing my hair so often (go a whole week without washing it).
She told me to soak my hair in Olive oil as often as possible.
Oh yeah-- and Mayonaise (sp?).

So I put extra-virgin olive oil in my hair-- I'm not quite ready to experience the nastiness of Mayo quite yet-- and put a warm towel around my head. My year-old nephew stared at me for a really long, long time when he first saw me. I'm sure he thought I looked like a moron!

I'm sure it'll make my hair moisturized-- but my hands are already SUPER soft!!! :)

I hate bad dreams

2009-03-27T12:21:00.003-05:00

I've read when other blogger-brides talk about their bad dreams-- and most seem to be wedding related. I've had one wedding related dream and I can't even remember what it was about.

I've been having other dreams though... atleast one to three times a month, I have the worst dream anyone could possibly imagine (okay, maybe not the worst dream anyone can imagine, but for a bride, it's the worst).The story line is always different, but they always end in the same way: Mr. Airforce leaving me.

In the first few dreams I can remember (when I realized the dreams were a reoccuring event), Mr. AF would be very angry with me for something I did, or he was being really mean, or he got mad at me and cheated on me. I was never angry with him for any of this, but I always felt extremely desperate. In several dreams, he disappeares and I spend the whole time calling him and texting him. I keep entering the wrong cell phone number. When I finally get the number right, I usually get his voicemail or he answers, gets angry, and hangs up on me. Other times I finally find him, and he tells me he doesn't love me anymore, that he doesn't want to be with me or marry me.

Last night's dream was just as bad.

I dreamt that, for the first time, he wasn't angry with me. He hadn't cheated on me. I hadn't done something to make him angry. He had simply fallen out of love with me.

"I used to know that you were the one I wanted to marry.. but my feelings have changed. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to hurt you. This just isn't what I want anymore," he said.

"You mean you don't want me anymore.." (I'm pretty sure I literally was crying in real life as well as in my dream).
Then he said, "If you want, we don't have to tell anyone for a while, if it will make it easier for you. We don't have to change facebook or let friends know until you're completely ready." (Know what's sad about that line? It's the exact same thing an old ex said to me once.)

So we continued on for a couple of months, and we were only weeks away from the wedding, and we had still not told anyone. Then one day, I realized that he still acted like he loved me. He was always excited for the gifts we were receiving for our apartment, and he was always talking about our future together. I cried to my dad and told him what was happening, and also cried to a friend or two. For some reason, my friends wrote him a really nasty letter, saying that what he was doing to me was cruel and he deserved to be shot.

The next thing I knew, Mr. AF was sitting me down to talk again. This time, he said that his feelings for me had come back. "I don't know why they went away, but I know that they are back now, for good. You are the person I want to marry, I want to marry you, not anyone else. This is the life I want."

Then I woke myself up and immediately felt my chest getting tight and twisted. I started breathing faster and it was as though I could see myself getting more and more upset, like an out of body experience. I thought the dream was real. I laid there for a minute trying to convince myself that it was okay, that he still loved me, like he said. Then it dawned on me that I was laying in bed and had just woken up.

It was just a dream..

I hate these dreams. Mostly because they are just like things I've experienced in the past. And the dreams are so realistic. When will they go away?

For the record: Mr. AF has never ever been mean to me, never cheated on me, and never wanted to leave for any reason at all. He never gets angry with me, he is very patient. All of these dreams are a 100% contradiction to his character and personality.

:) :) :)

2009-03-26T19:12:00.002-05:00

yeah!

Invitations were sent out on monday and so far I have a few RSVP's on our website!
Attending: 38
Not attending: 3

so far so good!!

I think not :)

2009-03-26T10:36:00.002-05:00

"Dear HANNAH,

There are now 8 months , 1 week and 6 days until your wedding.
Because you registered with David’s Bridal, you’ve been given a free account with OurWeddingDay.com, including advanced wedding planning tools and a free website. We’ll send you weekly reminders about the tasks you should be concentrating on at this time."

SIGH

"Dear OurWeddingDay.com,

Actually, there is only 1 month, 3 weeks and 6 days until my wedding.
I have no idea why in the heck David's Bridal gave you the wrong wedding date, as I have only given them May 23, 2009 since day one. You would know this if I actually signed up with your website, like you've been asking me to for the last several months, but apparently you don't know how to take a hint.
Further more, I think I am fully capable of knowing exactly what I should be concentrating on at this time, and even further more, I am fully capable of reminding myself when it needs to be done.

Sincerely,
That [Engaged] Girl

P.S.
Quit emailing me. It's annoying."

Please pray

2009-03-25T13:20:00.000-05:00

A couple complaints... bear with me ;)

2009-03-24T09:07:00.003-05:00

First off, is it "bear with me" or "bare with me"? haha. Or maybe I should say "beer with me" cause I need a drink. Except beer is gross-- how about wine? Okay, that was really lame, sorry.

After my 8 hour drive from San Angelo visiting Mr. AF, I finally got home where I could relax! After spending some quality time with my mom and youngest nephew, Asher, I pulled out my laptop to start catching up on everything. That's when I randomly decided to check up on all of our registries (Belks, BB&B, and Walmart).

Belks wouldn't allow me to login. After a 10 minute conversation with a customer service rep (I can't believe they were still available at 9:30 pm!!), she said someone would email me soon with the answer to my problem. I hope they do it soon!

BB&B went smooth, as always-- it's a good place!
Walmart, however, gave me extreme grief. As I scrolled down our list of items, I began noticing lots of items were missing their pictures... on top of that, they had "n/a" in place of their price and description. After a little poking and prodding, I realized the items were no longer available.
CRAP!
After going through and deleting all the unavailable items, our list went from 107 items to 37 items. And we just sent out invitations with a list of our registries.
CRAP!
And I won't have time to go to Walmart until Friday, and I'll have to go re-register for things in store by myself.
CRAP CRAP!
I'm not going to even bother registering for stuff online through W.M. Last time I tried that, it kept making me re-enter my pin number every time I wanted to add something!

Hey BLOGGER.COM--- I have a bone to pick with you too! Recently, you changed the format of the "Followers" section. It has become a thorn in my side!
I try to always check out and/or follow those who follow me, however, you have now made it nearly impossible. Half of the time when I click on a person, I have no way of getting to their actual blog!! Is there something obvious I'm missing? Has anyone else had this problem, or do they know what I'm doing wrong? *huff*

60 days and counting

2009-03-23T15:50:00.003-05:00

60 days sounds like such a long time. Not so much when I say "Two months" instead.
Holy crap! I'm getting married in two months!!

We finally got the invitations in the mail yesterday!! (Yeah, yeah, we signed and sealed them over a week ago.. but we are procrastinators!). But, wouldn't you know it? Mom added two more to the list ;) -- of course!

I came back from Texas with my wedding band from Brian! I love it, its gorgeous. My future cousin-in-law (Hi Shae!!) said she has this exact same band and had to get her's soldered together so the ring wouldn't pop out. I plan on going ahead and having that done before the wedding.

I just don't know how soon in advance should I get this done? Hmm..

Oh yeah-- I forgot to mention (I think) that we have the flower girl baskets. My mom and Sara (sister/MOH) bought them for $2 a piece from Hobby Lobby. Sarah spray painted them ivory and I think is going to wrap satin ribbon around them or something. Not really sure, haha. Either way they'll turn out great!

Award lovin' :)

2009-03-22T20:05:00.005-05:00

Ya know what is SO nice? Being gone a week and still gaining followers while also receiving a blog award!! -- makes me feel like my blogging skills are actually good ;)

I received the Kreativ Blogger Award from Very Married. If you haven't already heard of her blog, you should definitely go have a look! (Especially if you love purple!!). --- and by the way, she's not married yet, but is planning her wedding. I LOVE her blog!! Thanks so much, girl!

Alright, alright,
Here are the award rules:
List 7 things that you love, and then pass the award on to 7 bloggers that you love! Be sure to tag them and let them know that they have won. You can copy the picture of the award and paste it on your sideboard letting the whole world know...you are Kreativ!

7 Things That I Currently Love...
1. My handsome, rugged, strong, sexy, tall, smart, military, hunk of a fiance
2. Our dishes we registered for (how lame! haha)
3. Aquariums--- I LOVE them!!
4. dark wood furniture
5. horses-- I'm one of the most horsecrazy people you will ever meet
6. Piano music
7. All things Twilight

And since I got this award for supposedly being Kreativ, I'm going to pick every 7th person on my followers list!!

PM Custom Weddings ---great wedding designs and inspiration!!
The Undomestic Army Wife -- a very devoted military wife with Spunk!
Bride Sophisticate --- A newlywed chic who ALWAYS has great photos for inspiration :D
Well, Hello There! --- A recently engaged, Florida original who is full of ideas and cute pics!
The Indecisive Bride --- Definitely one of my favorite bloggers planning her Chicago wedding!
The Peacock's Nesting Place --- A devoted mother who always has crazy stories to tell about life! I hope I can manage life as well as she does when I have that many kids!
And last but not least... another favorite,
The Pissed Off Bride --- This girl ALWAYS has something great! whether its pictures, ideas, or personal experience (serious and funny). I swear, you aren't a real bridal blogger if you haven't heard of and/or are following her.

The end!

First gift!!

2009-03-13T21:22:00.003-05:00

Well, technically, it's our 70th-something gift. HOWEVER, it is our first gift from my side of the guests!

I got home today to find a Bed, Bath and beyond package waiting impatiently for me! Inside were two of the dishes we registered for. I Love them! They are Denby, Azure blue. Soo beautiful. They're from a very sweet couple from my church. They must have found the information from our website. Told you that thing was a good idea!!

I'm going to be absent from Bloggy-land for a little over a week.

Why, you ask? because tomorrow, at the butt-crack of dawn, my mom and I are driving to San Angelo, Texas to SEE MR. AIRFORCE!!!

Holy freaking, crap you guys!! I haven't seen him since January 2nd. Seriously, it's been all I could do to keep from losing my mind! so I'm signing off and going to pack. I apologize in advance for the lack of comments on your wonderful posts-- I'll be sure to do lots of catching up when I get back :)

Love you all--- be safe and have an awesome spring break!!! (for those of you still in school ;))... for everyone else, be safe and have an awesome... week!!

Wedding advice-- got any?

2009-03-12T12:00:00.001-05:00

I'm sure all of the fellow knot.com followers received the newsletter featuring an article about wedding advice.
Here are a few pieces brides were given:

"The worst wedding advice anyone has told me was to sing our vows to each other." Erin, Richmond, VA
--- whoa, first of all, can you even sing? and second of all, who would actually have the guts to do that on their wedding day? Mr. Airforce tried to tell me once that I should sing at the wedding. He didn't understand why it was such a big deal. Such a man.

"My mom insisted that I wear my gold-colored junior prom dress as my wedding gown. She thought it was silly to buy yet another dress that I'd only wear once." Alyssa, Madison, WI
--- Um, no. Just, No.

There were a few pieces of advice, that if tweaked a little, could actually be good advice (to me at least! To each ~~his~~ her own, right?) For example:

"My mother said that to cut costs, we could send invitations without an RSVP card. Guests could go online instead and RSVP on the web page my dad built for us. I thought it was a good idea, but only two people RSVP'd! I ended up having to call my entire guest list to find out who was coming." Nicki, Oklahoma City, OK
--- Alright, I can see good things and bad things about this.
The good: TONS of people use the internet, and it's so much easier than remembering to put something in the mail (we are a lazy people).
The bad: I guess she didn't give the guests any other options. There are still lots of people who don't have internet, so how will they RSVP?
On our RSVP cards, I listed our wedding website and also gave the option of calling my mother to RSVP. So far, I've received about 25 RSVP's on the website-- and we haven't even mailed the invitations yet!

"My mother-in-law said that it was perfectly fine to spend $9 a plate on dinner for our guests. She based this on my sister-in-law's wedding, where they served cold meat sandwiches, au gratin potatoes, and questionable-looking fruit salad." Morgan, Madison WI
--- Hold the phone!! So is there a certain amount you are supposed to spend on food for guests?
Because $9 a plate is too expensive for me. No, you shouldn't get crappy food, but you shouldn't have to break your budget just to look good.
If I spent $9 a plate for our estimated 350 guests, I would spend $3150. That's more than my entire wedding budget!

The best wedding advice I have personally received several times since becoming engaged is all summed up into a simple sentence: "Don't sweat the small stuff."

What good or bad advice have you been given?

I got them!!

2009-03-10T20:37:00.002-05:00

Scores..
Hannah Noel: ONE!
David's Bridal: ZERO.

Dang it, David's Bridal!!

2009-03-10T13:20:00.003-05:00

Warning: This is a HUGE vent. Read it only if you have nothing better to do with your time!

Ya know how it feels when you deal with certain customer service that is really not your cup of tea?

I ordered my shoes sometime at the end of January/beginning of February from David's Bridal. The girl who took the order said they wouldn't get them in until the end of March or beginning of April. I told her I had a Bridal Portait sometime in the beginning of March.
She said "Oh well the best I can do is write down that they need to be picked up by the 15th of March."
So I said, "Uhh... Okay, I guess."

She assured me that there was a big chance they would be in way before that.

A week before the scheduled portrait, I called DB to see if there was any update on my shoes. The girl told me that they had been shipped to the store on February 25th, so they could be there any day, so I should keep calling back to see if they'd arrived.
I called two days later, and the second girl seemed very concerned about my situation. She took my number and said they would call as soon as my shoes got in (but she also asked that I continue calling just in case).

Three days before the portrait I called again. This time, a girl curtly told me that they had my number and would call as soon as the shoes arrived.
Monday....
Tuesday....
Wednesday.... Bridal portrait came and went (I had to wear black heels!!)
Thursday...
Friday...I received an email from the Davids Bridal website that said my shoes have arrived in store.
Hmm. Really? So did they arrive Wednesday or Thursday? And why didn't they call like they promised?

I called the store and asked if I could pick up my shoes now, and the, again, curt girl replied, "Well you want them died Ivory, right?"
me: "Well yes.. they were supposed to be died as soon as you got them in"
curt girl: "Well, you have to let us know when they arrive when you need them died."
irked, me: "Well, I've called multiple times and have told you that they need to be died ASAP so I can pick them up."
rude, girl: "Ugh.. well let me put you on hold. Hold on a minute, please."......................................
.................. "Okay, Rose is the woman who dyes the shoes, and she may or may not get to them this weekend. They might be ready by Monday. You'll just have to call and see."

I put on my *angry face*

I decided to give them an extra day before I called again on Tuesday (aka, today).

hopeful, me: "Yes, my name is Hannah and I was wondering if my shoes were ready yet?"
girl: "Were they needing to be dyed?"
me: "Yes"
girl: "Okay let me put you on hold while I go check."............................................................................
......."Okay, Hannah? It looks like your shoes aren't scheduled to be picked up until March 15th, so they won't be dyed until then."
irate, me: "Okay, look. I have called 5 times or more trying to get those shoes for two weeks now, and the girl I talked to this past Friday said they could be done by now."
scared girl: "Oh! Well, I had no idea, no notes were written here about that! I'll go take care of it right now and have them ready for you by tonight!"
dumbfounded, me: "Oh!... alright, that's good. Thank you."

Is anyone still reading this? I might actually have my shoes by the end of the day. YAY!!

Yessssss!!

2009-03-08T19:11:00.002-05:00

I'm DONE!!! Invitations, RSVP cards, and Registry information have been stuffed into the envelopes and now all they need are to be stamped and sealed!!

My hands hurt... lol.
What a long two days!!

Finally!!

2009-03-07T12:05:00.002-06:00

I'll be absent from Blogger Land this weekend.

Why?...

Cause I'm printing the envelopes for our invitations!! It was a hassle trying to figure out how to do it at first, but I finally got it!! YAY!!

See you guys on the other side! lol

Let there be light!!

2009-03-07T11:00:00.000-06:00

Here are a few of the centerpieces and decorations we are using at the reception-- just to give an idea of how it will all look.

LOVE this!! (of course it will not have pink candles in it for my wedding ;))

I need to put more candles in this lol

We're going to paint this black!

That's all for now--- gotta run!

Cardbox.. Check!

2009-03-06T11:00:00.000-06:00

Look what I got for my card box! I love this thing. I found it at hobby Lobby on sale for $10 !! It's a metal box with handles and a little latch in the front. It has a very vintage feel to it.

I can't decide if I want to keep it the color it is, or spray paint it black (since my colors are ivory, red and black). What do you think?

Earrings and eyes

2009-03-05T10:32:00.006-06:00

Okay, so I uploaded the photo of my hair and makeup, but the picture was of my whole body, and when I cropped just my head it was extremely pixelated!!
But, I WILL show you my gorgeous earrings that I got to wear for the first time!

I'm so glad I didn't do a necklace too-- it was perfect with just the earrings!

Oh yeah--- and I ended up going with the natural eye =)
I did make it a bit more dramatic than this though...

Hope you have a good day!

Bridal portrait was awesome!!

2009-03-04T21:48:00.007-06:00

Hello! I'm back :D

I had SOOO much fun at the Bridal Portrait-- thanks so much for all the "Good luck"s you left in comments!

It took me about 10 minutes to get used to the camera, but I fully enjoyed every second of it!The shoot took place at a big house called The Kennedy Mansion in Tulsa, Oklahoma. It serves as a Bed and Breakfast.

I was pretty wary when we first got there, because it was kind of in a scary part of town! Also the mansion owners were running a little late so we had to wait a little while before we could actually go in.

Once we (me and mom) walked inside though, all of our fears were cast to the side!

The place was GORGEOUS!! I didn't take any pictures (I have no idea why), but here are some pictures I found from their website.

Here is the room where I got dressed

A picture of a staircase where they took a few shots

The bottom of the staircase

The outside of the Mansion

Isn't the place gorgeous? The pictures of the staircase do NOT do it justice-- it was very beautiful!

My photographer was a lot of fun to work with and made me feel super comfortable.

He also asked me if I had any modeling experience, because I seemed to naturally "fall" into beautiful poses (yeah, yeah, I know. That's what they say to every girl... let me dream a moment!!).

He even had a bouquet for me to use since I forgot to get mine!

I really loved getting to spend time with my dress (sound silly?). My dress and I have had to fight for each other since day one! lol

But today, we were made for each other =)-- and I really fell in love with how I felt and looked in the dress :D.

oh yeah--- and I'm pretty sure my hair and makeup looked good too! I took a couple of pictures, but I'll have to post them tomorrow because I forgot my camera cord :(. However, I promised mom that I wouldn't post any pictures of me in the dress until AFTER the wedding.....

but I'll crop one of the pics so you can still see how my hair and makeup turned out haha. (maybe).

Overall, it was a TERRIFIC experience and it seriously put me back in the mood for having a big wedding! Everyone needs to know how good I look in my dress =) (I promise I'm really modest in real life!)

Oh---- and Olive Garden ROCKED!!! It was the perfect reward for waddling around in my dress all day, haha.

Bridal portrait is tomorrow!

2009-03-03T19:37:00.002-06:00

My Bridal portrait is tomorrow! =)

I've got the dress, the earrings, the veil, the hair clips, the bra, the slip-- all I'm missing are the shoes! With or without them, I'm going in!

I hope I end up with shots as great as these!

Wish me luck!

But ya know what I'm most excited for tomorrow?

Two Words: Olive Garden.

Etsy, my love

2009-02-28T17:16:00.005-06:00

Guess what arrived in the mail? =)
My beautiful clips that I ordered on Etsy a while back!

I bought them for $22.50 from JMG Jewelry design.
They have lots of other gorgeous things like this-- you should go look at their stuff!

These pictures I took don't do them justice. I literally gasped when I opened the box, they are so perfect! They looked great in my hair too =)

Check out this poor kid.. lol

2009-02-28T17:00:00.000-06:00

I guess this poor little guy got his teeth knocked out and had to visit the dentist for stitches! Apparently, he was high by the time he went home!

This video will have you cracking up!!

If the video doesn't work, click here..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=txqiwrbYGrs

A little preview...

2009-02-27T17:00:00.000-06:00

My invitations aren't 100% done.. but here is a glimpse of how they look so far.. They are very clean, simple and elegant. I love them =)

(no.. it doesn't really say "Mr. Airforce")

The date =)

What? Oh. right.

I just really like this picture.

And I can't WAIT for the movie to come out on March 21st :D

Hey.. I said it was a preview, right?

Whad'ya think?

2009-02-26T23:12:00.004-06:00

Okay. I ran out and bought some new eye stuff.

First option: blue smoke-eye-- but it's not something I do on a regular basis, so it looks really extreme in person! I will say, that I couldn't do black-liner on the inner rim because I would be screwed if I cried (which I will).

The second is simpler, brown shadows with a teal eye liner on top.

Third-- simplest of all! It could easily be more dramatised by adding more dark brown, but it is over all neutral, and that's what they always say the bride should wear, right?

Opinions, please? I gotta figure out what to do for my Bridal portrait on Wednesday! :)

Holy crap!

2009-02-26T13:05:00.002-06:00

So much is happening all at once!

My invitations should be arriving within the next week or so, so I'll probably be very busy next weekend addressing them and mailing them out soon after.
After lunch, I received an email from my photographer-- my Bridal Portrait is THIS WEDNESDAY!! March the 4th-- how did it creep up on me so fast? I could have sworn it was still weeks away!

Now there are a million things to be done-- oh boy.
I have to pick up my dress on Saturday (and pray to God there are no last-minute alterations that need to be made).
I think I'll end up having to do my hair myself... :S :S :S-- not good!
I also have to figure out how to do my makeup-- another not good!
On top of that, my shoes aren't in at David's Bridal yet-- what should I do??

Oy ve... Oh yeah-- and now I have a week to not eat so my stomach is perfectly smooth for the portrait, lol.

Good grief!

In case you haven't heard...

2009-02-25T13:09:00.001-06:00

The Knot is having a great sale on bubbles!!
$4.99 for a pack of 48.
Any takers?

I didn't mean it!!

2009-02-24T21:32:00.002-06:00

Remember when I said that I wasn't going to specifically tag anyone for the "love-ya" award?

I would like to formally retract my previous statement, because I remembered a very important blogger-buddy I need to thank and show off!!!

I've become good buddies with miss Tameka from The Mistaken Ex-Bride, formerly known as Authentically-U! A "Diamond & Sapphire" Bride.
Tameka is taking her life in a new direction and hopes that we all join in on it! She's very sweet and a GREAT blogger!! Even when she was dealing with her break-up with her fiance, she took the time to send me a sweet Valentine's Day card via Snail Mail!! (See above pictures).

She is awesome! So go check her out! Love you girl :D

Give-Away!!

2009-02-22T22:56:00.003-06:00

Do you know Three Times a Bridesmaid?? If not, you should go check her out! Up until recently, she has been known for showcasing the ugliest bridesmaid dresses on her blog, but NOW she is engaged herself!! She's really sweet and a lot of fun-- AND...

She's hosting a give-away to celebrate her engagement! She's giving away a Target Gift Card!

Choxie, anyone??? =)

Piece by piece....

2009-02-22T21:55:00.002-06:00

My veil and earrings came in the mail this weekend!! But stupid me forgot the camera, so you'll have to wait until NEXT Week to see the pictures..

I also meant to take pictures of ALL our reception decor that is crammed into my room right now, but, again, you'll have to wait till next week.
I need to be more on top of things and remember to bring my camera!!!

Hey ladies, question: What are you doing for your groom's wedding gift? I've been bouncing back and forth between a few ideas-- of course, none of them that I can post here because he reads this blog. Hey Honey!!

I believe "thanks" is in order

2009-02-20T22:05:00.003-06:00

Melissa from M and M Wedding, Erica from Rick & Erica Always, Forever, Caroline from A Lady and and Officer, and hisMrs. from Blushing Bride Bulliten gave me lots of love this week!!

“These blogs are exceedingly charming. These kind bloggers aim to find and be friends. They are not interested in self-aggrandizement. Our hope is that when the ribbons of these prizes are cut, even more friendships are propagated. Please give more attention to these writers. Deliver this award to eight bloggers who must choose eight more and include this cleverly-written text into the body of their award.”

Thanks so much ladies--- after the last two weeks of mostly-absent-minded blogging, it's a wonder I still have any readers, let alone loving buddies! I really appreciate it =)

I'm not tagging anyone specifically, because there are just way too freakin' many!! but know that I do love you all and I love reading what you have to say and share with us!

Something to think about

2009-02-20T21:22:00.006-06:00

The past two or three weeks for me have been a roller coaster of emotions.
Missing Mr. Airforce has been the #1 problem--- or so I thought (more on that later).
It has been one month and 18 days since I've seen him-- it's been very wearisome. I officially have three weeks until I get to see him again. Woo hoo!

If you read my other blog, then you'll have noticed that my "valentine's day" blog was pretty much down in the dumps. I tried my hardest to still be encouraging and happy, but who was I kidding? Probably just myself. I was seriously depressed. Every day it seemed things were getting harder and harder. Every day that went by, I had needs that were being unmet.

I hoped that Valentine's Day would fix my "funk"-- but it only made things worse.
I allowed myself to become immersed in self-pity, all because my fiance didn't send me roses like I thought he was going to (that also is mentioned in my pathetic vday post). And because I was immersed in that pity and disappointment, I couldn't appreciate the adorable Build-a-Bear that he DID send me. What I needed most though, at least, so I thought, was to spend TIME with him.
If we could have spent an hour of time together on V-Day, I could have cared less about the difference between red roses and a build-a-bear named "Chief."

People all over the place kept asking me about my V-day plans. They had no idea they were only reminding me of my aloneness. Celebrating that day, still feeling like a single gal, is the pits!!
I even began avoiding blogger for the couple of days surrounding Valentine's because I couldn't stand seeing soooo many of my bride-buddies receiving flowers and sweet things from their future hubbies. Why can't that be me? Why do they get to be so happy and not me? Why does everything always have to be so hard and so complicated, why can't I just get it easy for once?

Yeah. Definite, miserable, embarrassing self-pity. That was my low point.

For the next few days, I was nearly unbearable to be around. I'm sure my oh-so-faithful girlfriend was getting very tired of my moaning and groaning. My fiance was frustrated because he couldn't make me happy and it was making him feel helpless. I wanted to quit school and move home. My campus job as an RA seemed more like a prison every morning I woke up. I was beginning to feel like I was serving time for some horrible sin I'd committed against nature.

One night, while sitting at--- you guessed it--- my computer, I looked up and saw my Bible on the bookshelf. What could it hurt?

I pulled it down off the shelf and read a chapter or two from Proverbs. I washed my face, I crawled into bed. I knew something needed to change.

When I woke up the next morning, without even thinking, I began praying for the day ahead. Praying for my classes and work, praying for my relationship with Mr. Airforce, praying that something would change. That I would change.

The next morning, I did the same thing.

Without realizing it, I was suddenly optimistic. I was smiling more, and laughing even. I picked up "Chief" and looked him over. He really is cute... poor guy, he probably thinks I hate him. I don't hate you, Chief, we just met under bad circumstances. I'm sorry :(
I gave Chief a hug and we made up. [btw-- he is a Koala bear in an Airforce uniform=) ]

That night on the phone, I knew Mr. AF and I needed to talk this out-- to figure out what was wrong and how we could fix it. We talked a lot about "The Five Love Languages," by Gary Chapman, and I told him he needs to read it. (honey, please read it! please?).

If you have yet to read this book, I would highly recommend it. It will seriously change the way you look at your expression of love towards your loved one.

At one point, I told him that I'd been doing a horrible job the last few months in my prayer-life-- and asked him how he had been doing. He admitted he wasn't doing too good. Bingo. The light went on in my head, and I knew immediately that that was our problem all along.

When we first started out in our relationship, we were so happy and cheerful all the time. I always felt love radiating out of him and I wanted to give it right back. What is the big difference? We prayed. We prayed for our relationship, we prayed for each other as separate people; we knew that God was the only thing that brought us together, therefore He was the only thing that could keep us together.

How could we honestly expect to stay happy when our glue was gone? We aren't strong enough to stay together on our own. Sooner or later, we would break apart and fall to the wayside in pieces.

Since that conversation, I have noticed us both being more optimistic about our relationship and life. I'm OKAY about not seeing him for another three weeks. I'm happy. And I want to make him happy, roses or not. But most importantly, I need to always put God first in our relationship.

Sorry, I know this is really long!! But as you can see, I've had a lot on my mind lately (if you are even still reading this!!!)

By the way--- here is a picture of Chief and me =)

The Galway Girl

2009-02-17T22:57:00.002-06:00

I've kinda been in a funk lately when it comes to wedding stuff (hence the rare postings).

SO, I found something via facebook that CRACKED me up!!

RULES:
1. Put your iTunes, Windows Media Player, etc. on shuffle.
2. For each question, press the next button to get your answer.
3. YOU MUST WRITE THAT SONG NAME DOWN NO MATTER HOW SILLY IT SOUNDS.
4. Tag whoever you want including me
5. Have Fun - you will be surprised on how it works sometimes.

HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOURSELF?
Bella's Lullabye- Carter Burwell

WHAT DO YOU LOOK FOR IN A GUY/GIRL?
"Lucky" by Jason Miraz feat. Colbie Callait

HOW DO YOU FEEL TODAY?
Save the Last Dance for Me, Michael Buble

WHAT IS YOUR LIFE'S PURPOSE?
Claire De Lune, Debussy

WHAT'S YOUR MOTTO?
Goodnight, my Angel, Billy Joel

WHAT DO YOUR FRIENDS THINK OF YOU?
At Last, Etta James

WHAT DO YOUR PARENTS THINK OF YOU?
For Always (forever), Josh Groban/Lara Fabian

WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT VERY OFTEN?
L.O.V.E (is made for me and you)

WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT YOUR FIRST KISS?
Love Bug, Jonas Brothers

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR BEST FRIEND?
Everything, by Michael Buble

WHAT IS YOUR LIFE STORY?
You make me wanna SHOUT!

WHAT DO YOU WANT TO BE WHEN YOU GROW UP?
Twist & Shout

WHAT DO YOU THINK WHEN YOU SEE THE PERSON YOU LIKE?
She's a Lady (lol), Tom Jones

WHAT WILL YOU DANCE TO AT YOUR WEDDING?
My Girl, the Temptations (how ironic!! that's our father/daughter dance!!)

WHAT WILL THEY PLAY AT YOUR FUNERAL?
I say a little prayer for you--- BAHAHAHAHA!!!

WHAT IS YOUR HOBBY/INTEREST?
This will be (an ever lasting love)

WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST FEAR?
Awake, Josh Groban

WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST SECRET?
Sway, Michael Buble

WHAT DO YOU WANT RIGHT NOW?
Love You Till the End, P.S. I love you soundtrack

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR FRIENDS?
Kisses and cake, John Powell

WHAT WILL YOU POST THIS AS?
The Galway Girl, Gerard Butler

I didn't tag anyone-- but you are definitely welcome to steal it, just link back to me!

Check, check, check...

2009-02-14T20:11:00.003-06:00

I have more updates!!

I ordered these shoes in Ivory from David's Bridal-- the total with tax and all that was $57.00. I'm sooo excited about them!! I actually felt like I had beautiful/sexy feet for the first time EVER when I tried them on.

Next, I bought these little hair pieces from JMGJewelDesign on Etsy for $22.50.
I'll wear these at the reception! They are so beautiful.

And finally, I bought these earrings at White Aisle for $29.99

I decided to nix wearing a necklace-- I think these beautiful earrings are all that me and my dress need =)

It's so strange to be getting so much stuff checked off my list. We have about $1100 left to spend in the budget-- we have to buy two or three sheet cakes and order the food, and I know there are other things here and there that will find their way into the budget.

Think we can do it?

The cake of cakes

2009-02-13T11:49:00.008-06:00

Okay, so I'm sure, no, I KNOW you can find much more elaborate and fancy cakes-- but this, this is the cake that I want, that I'm in love with. It's so simple, elegant and beautiful.

The end result will be three separate cakes! I plan on having them on three different stands, at three different heights.

Alright, I'll try to explain this as best as I can!

See the cake on the left? (how can you not, I made it so obvious!). See that tear-drop design? That happens to look exactly like the centerstone in my engagement ring. Perfect!

This will be the main/highest level cake =)

Alright-- now see the cake on the right side? Those will be split up into two separate cakes.

I got all crafty and made a sketch of exactly how I wanted everything to look for the baker. I'm sure she was rolling her eyes in the back of her head, thinking,

"Oh great... another one of those anal-must-have-everything-perfect brides..."

But I'm sure she already knew that, because she went through the dress search fiasco with me. She knows me well by now!

We ordered the cakes last saturday, finally.
I think the total cost was about $180 for all three cakes (that's with delivery costs). Albeit, they'll only serve 80-90 people, but I plan on buying regular sheet cakes to cover the rest!
Any idea how much those cost?

Great find number two!

2009-02-11T21:53:00.004-06:00

First off-- sorry I've been such a bad blogger friend this past week. I've been so busy! I've hardly commented at all-- but I PROMISE I'll catch up on EVERYone's blog this weekend!

Second off--- I ordered my veil!!! YAY!

I ordered from Megsveils on Etsy for $49.99 (that includes shipping!). I told her I want a veil that looks like Anne Hathaway's veil in this picture..

And here are a couple of pictures she had on her profile...

She said she would have it ready and sent out in about a week. I am SOOO stankin' excited!

I'll let you know how it turns out!

Shopping extravaganza update

2009-02-10T11:43:00.002-06:00

Gosh, it's been four whole days since my last post. I'm slackin'!

To update on the big shopping trip:

ordered the cake! (I'll post more about that later!)
bought the last of the reception decorations (minus the Betta fish!)
bought a card box
found my shoes (have yet to order them)
tried on my dress and we decided to add straps to it
bought Mr. AF's ring
saw LOTS of great ideas for Bridesmaid gifts (more later!)
bought my wedding-dress-bra (yessssss)
found out I get to pick out my own wedding jewelry-- YAY!!

Anyways-- I have to go to class, so that's all for now. I'll post pictures and stuff later!

Shopping time!

2009-02-06T16:47:00.002-06:00

I'm not going to blog for the rest of the night-- I'm taking a break to do some sketching assignments and also watch "Enchanted"!! love love love this movie =)

Tomorrow, however, will be a very busy wedding-related day!

I'm going with my mom and sister (moh) on a hunt for wedding things! Here is our "To Do List":

Go to Jo-Ann's, Michael's, and Hobby Lobby
Check out the following: baskets, pillows, and tulle
Hobby Lobby is having 50% off all candles and candleholders, so I am hoping we can buy the rest of the decorations for the ceremony AND the reception!! Oh boy...
Shop for my wedding shoes
Shop for bra/lingerie to wear under my dress
Buy Mr. AF's ring
Look for a "Going Away" outfit
Shop for brooch, hair pins and hairclips
Hunt for Bridesmaid gifts!

And if we have time...

Take an example picture to the baker and get our cake ordered
Dress alterations with shoes and bra

Wish me LUCK!!!

Great new find!

2009-02-06T14:25:00.002-06:00

Check out this site I just found! I'm so excited about it :D
It's got all sorts of gorgeous wedding jewelry & accessories for GREAT prices!

Look at these great brooches and hair pins/clips

Glamorous!!

^^Anybody need clip-on earrings?^^

I NEED these earrings.

They would go perfect with my engagement ring!

How about this for your Something Blue?

I'm going to keep my eye out for more great finds like these!

I don't know how legit this is.. lol

2009-02-06T11:44:00.003-06:00

But I figured I should pass it along just in case!! The secretary of my church mailed this out to all of the staff members, and it was then sent to me! It may or may not be a hoax, but at least we will be forwarned!

"HUGE VIRUS COMING!!! PLEASE READ & FORWARD
Hi All,
I checked with Norton Anti-Virus, and they are gearing up for this virus!
I checked Snopes, and it is for real!!
Get this E-mail message sent around to your contacts ASAP.

PLEASE FORWARD THIS WARNING AMONG FRIENDS, FAMILY AND CONTACTS!
You should be alert during the next few days. Do not open any message with an attachment entitled 'POSTCARD FROM HALLMARK,' regardless of who sent it to you. It is a virus which opens A POSTCARD IMAGE, which 'burns' the whole hard disc C of your computer.
This virus will be received from someone who has your e-mail address in his/her contact list. This is the reason why you need to send this e-mail to all your contacts It is better to receive
this message 25 times than to receive the virus and open it.

If you receive a mail called' POSTCARD,' even though sent to you by a friend, do not open it! Shut down your computer immediately.

This is the worst virus announced by CNN. It has been classified by Microsoft as the most destructive virus ever. This virus was discovered by McAfee yesterday, and there is no repair yet for this kind of virus. This virus simply destroys the Zero Sector of the Hard Disc, where the vital information is kept. "

What's ironic, is I JUST Sent someone a hallmark e-card yesterday!! haha.
Anyways-- take it or leave it!

Gifts for the girls

2009-02-05T22:25:00.001-06:00

Since you all are so GREAT at giving tips, advice and ideas, I'm going to throw some more questions out there for you!

It's time to start thinking about Bridesmaid gifts!! I'm not really sure if any of them ever read this blog, but just in case they are.....

( GIRLS IF YOU ARE READING THIS, YOU'D BEST EXIT OUT IF YOU KNOW WHAT'S GOOD FOR YOU!!!!! I MEAN IT!).

....

...

....

....

...

...

...

....

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...

.....

..

..

Okay, if you haven't exited out yet--- then you better keep your mouth shut and don't complain about not being surprised, haha. Love you! ;)

I want to give each girl a gift the morning of the day before the wedding. Does that make sense? Okay. Let's try again. I'm getting married May 23rd. I want to give a gift to the girls on the morning of the 22nd. Haha.

This gift will consist of the following (So far):
A tote bag
A white "Bridesmaid," "Matron of Honor" or "VIP" t-shirt
Black or red flipflops
A hand-made, beaded bracelet that says their name on one side and "Bridesmaid" on the other!

What else though? As always, being a poor college kid, I'm on a low budget.
Can you think of anything else really fun that I could stick in there? I know Hobby Lobby has a TON of cute stuff in their Valentine's Day section!

Watcha think?? =)

Peeping Tom Bride

2009-02-04T21:32:00.001-06:00

Do you all ever go check out your registeries to see if anything has been bought yet? ... Is that bad? cause I do lol.

We had one shower in December for Mr. Airforce's family and friends (they were definitely Belks people!). The shower for my hometown probably won't be until sometime in April-- we don't even have it planned! I feel like a little kid sifting through Christmas presents before I'm supposed to.

Where did you register at? For how many showers? Did you register for a certain number of items for a certain number of guests, or just based on what you wanted/needed?

DIY help, please!

2009-02-04T15:00:00.000-06:00

Does anyone have any experiencing making:
A Veil
Flowergirl Basket
Ringbearer pillow

My sister, mom and me are going to try to make these things to save extra $$ and I just wanted to see if anyone had any advice/tips!

My veil is going to be an ivory, cathedral with a blusher.
Maybe someone has a used on that they would like to sell? :) :)

Thanks!

I got me an interview

2009-02-04T14:20:00.001-06:00

Yes-- I know how grammatically incorrect my post-title is. I did it on PURPOSE!
Katy from Tripping Down the Aisle sent me some fun questions!

1. What order do you do things in the shower? (Shampoo first, shave…)
I get in, adjust the water temp. until it is just right, then I shampoo my hair, then condition it, and then wash my face while the conditioner is soaking in.
On days I have to dress UP, I shampoo, condition, wash face AND shave my legs/armpits while my hair is conditioning. lol

2. Have you ever thrown up in a car? Why?
Um. No.

3. What is your weirdest "quirk"?
Quirk? Uhh.. hmm. When people passing by say something stupid/I don't agree with I argue with them about it under my breath. I do the same thing with people on TV. Is that a quirk?

4. What was your security item when you were a kid?
When I was really little, I had various stuffed toys I slept with-- but my sophomore year of high school, two close guys friends gave me a teddy bear that I have slept with ever since!
Yes, I am a Junior in College, soon-to-be married, and I sleep with a teddy bear.

5. If you were guaranteed three honest responses to three questions,whom would you question, and what would you ask?
Well crap, I don't know. Actually, I CAN think of some for just one person in particular, but I can't ask them here because that person might see them and get mad at me! They are way too personal lol.

Here are the directions:
1. Leave me a comment & your e-mail address saying, "Interview me." If you dare.
2. I will respond by emailing you five questions. (I get to pick the questions).
3. You will update your blog with the answers to the questions.
4. You will include this explanation and an offer to interview someone else in the same post.
5. When others comment asking to be interviewed, you will ask them five questions. (you get to choose the questions.)

Miss budgeteer

2009-02-03T15:00:00.000-06:00

Anyone know where to buy some terrific broaches? I've looked online at places like JCPenny's, Dillards, Sears and Macy's, but I can't find anything! Maybe they have stuff in store that they don't show online? hmmm....

Anyways, so I was thinking the other day "I need to save more money on the wedding! What else can I do??"
But then I thought, "Wait, just how much money have I saved anyway?"

Alright. First comes first.

How much does the average OK wedding cost?
According to costofwedding.com, couples spend on average $18, 215 to $30, 358 on their wedding in my area.
My budget right now is $3,000. Ok. Big difference.

But there are a lot of other things involved in those weddings that I'm not having at mine, like live music, a dj, videographer, catering, an official wedding planner and all that jazz.
I want to know how much I'm saving per item!

Photographer: $1,292 - $2,154
My photographer: $400
Saved: at least $892

Flowers: $1293- $2153 (this includes: Bride, bridesmaids, Boutonnieres/Corsages, flower girls, ceremony and reception).
My flowers (so far): $65 (this includes: Bride and five bridesmaids)
Saved: $1,228

Favors: $227 - $379
My Favors: about $30 (dove chocolate!)
Saved: $197

Cake: $341 - $568
My Cake: about $125 (I haven't officially ordered it though!)
Saved: $216

Bridesmaid gifts: $301 - $501
My gifts: about $75
Saved: $226

Wedding Dress: $846 - $1,410
My Dress: $379
Saved: $467

Save the Dates: $104 - $174
My std's: $40
Saved: $64

Invitations & Reply cards: $272 - $453
My invitations: $100
Saved: $172

Ceremony Location: $416 - $693
My location: about $60 (I think?)
Saved: $356

Reception Location: $1,559 - $2,599
My location: umm... I think it's free.
Saved: $1,559

So how much have I saved so far?
$5, 377.

I love budgeting this stuff. I have NO idea why.
Okay. That's a good number, right?? Now I don't feel so bad about deciding to do more food! Of course there is still a lot left for us to do!
Order the cake, food, make the rest of the bouttoneirres/corsages, get the rest of the decorations for the reception and ceremony, get my lingerie/veil/shoes and what not.

When will I ever get it done haha.

Hanky Panky

2009-02-03T11:50:00.002-06:00

Blue-Eyed Bride is doing an awesome give-away for Valentines day!!

Go check it out!!

Inspiration DO'

2009-02-02T15:14:00.007-06:00

Because I'm bi-polar when it comes to exactly what I want my hair to look like on the wedding day, here is some more eye-candy and possible options!!

I found all of these from The Knot!

Who said??

2009-02-01T18:30:00.000-06:00

... that I have to pay big bucks for great engagement pics??
Take a wild guess at how much? (And no, they weren't free, lol)

stupid blogger.

2009-01-31T19:26:00.001-06:00

I'm getting ticked at blogger!! I keep scheduling things to be posted on certain days and the next thing I know they are posted TODAY instead!! ugh.

Calling all prayer-buddies

2009-01-31T16:08:00.003-06:00

I know many of you out there are strong, Christian women who have offered up great encouragement to me. I also know that some of you aren't.
But right now there is a little girl and her family who need ALL of our prayers, wishes, thoughts and encouragement.

Update: Tuesday died yesterday of cancer =(
Please, please take a moment to go read her story and say a prayer for her loving family.

Wedding Musica!

2009-01-31T14:00:00.000-06:00

Here is a list of music I'm doing for the "big moments" at the wedding.

Pre-Ceremony: Mixed CD of piano music
Bridal party and Bridal entrance: "I don't want to go," by Avalon
Lighting of the Unity Candle: "Captivate Us," by Watermark
Walking back down the aisle: "This will be (An everlasting love)," by Natalie Cole
First Dance: "At Last," by Etta James (right?)
Father/Daughter dance: "My Girl," by The Temptations
Bouquet Toss: "It's Rainin' Men"
Taking off the garter: "Let's get it on"
Garter toss: "Mission Impossible Theme"

Am I missing anything?
What songs are you using?

Meet my Mr. Airforce

2009-01-29T22:50:00.002-06:00

Hosted by Cecily and MamaGeek

In many of my posts and in the comments I leave on other blogs, I often mention a certain "Mr.Airforce." It occurred to me just now that I haven't really told any of you that much ABOUT him, that is, my fiance.

Mr. Airforce is a 2nd Lt. in--- you guessed it-- The Air Force!! (btw-- for those of you who don't know, "2nd Lt." is the same thing as an Officer ;) ... *O, Swoon*)

He is currently in training, and it's tough! But he is an amazing man and he does a great job.

Why I love this man:

Mr. Airforce is my best friend-- I literally tell him anything and everything. Seriously. There are things I tell him that I've NEVER told anyone else! He always listens when I'm upset, and is always trying hard to make me happy and cheer me up when I'm down.

He doesn't even get grossed out when I let it fly that the Raging Red River has come to visit, leaving cramps in her path (or at least he puts on a good show!).

He listens patiently while I complain about the latest, irritating breakout on my face; when I gripe about my instructors or annoyances with other people I know; he listens when I'm being pouty and acting like a baby; regardless of the topic, he always listens to me.

He's also there for me as a leader in faith. He's a strong believer in Christ, and has prayed for me and for "us" countless of times. Being in a relationship with him has definitely been a huge leap of faith for me (ya know, with the whole meeting-him-online thing), and he has helped strengthen my trust in God.

Oh yeah-- and he's an UH-MAZING kisser. He can be crazy and passionate or soft and sweet.

I love it most when he is kissing me very gently, holding my face and brushing my cheek with his hand-- he makes me feel like the most cherished girl in the world.

Did I mention he loves horses? And that I also love horses? What girl didn't grow up wanting a man who not only HAD a big steed, but could also RIDE The big steed?
Here is Mr. Airforce with his "first love," named Cash

(I get the feeling, sometimes, that she doesn't like me. I think it's because she knows I stole her man ;) )

He's also a big dork-- as evidenced in this photo :)

Did I mention how romantic he is? I mean-- take a look at this picture. It was all his idea! (this is from our First date!! he took me to an adorable, cozy Italian place ).

And I know that our kids are going to be adorable, because he was when he was a baby! Wasn't he soooooo precious??

----And just one more reason why I love Mr. Airforce...

Really, what girl doesn't love a man in uniform?

I'm sorry ladies, but he is mine all mine =)

I know. Be jealous.

Honey, I know you'll read this-- I love you! =)

DIY: Bridal Bouquet

2009-01-29T17:00:00.001-06:00

Fake Flowers! They are a life saver for people like me who are on a low budget of $3,000.
I LOVE my bouquet, so here are the steps!

Step one: Go to Hobby Lobby.
Gawk at the rows and rows of gorgeous flowers of all colors, shapes and sizes.
Pick out the ones you want; place in shopping cart.

Step two: Lay out your flowers and your tools for making the bouquet!
This includes: flower tape, wire cutters, and ribbon

Step three: make a collage of all the different flowers you are using for absolutely NO reason.

Step four: Arrange flowers in a way that is to your liking
Wrap the stems tightly with the green flower tape (be careful, it tears easily!)
Cut off excess stems with LOTS of elbow grease

Step five: Conceal entire stem in floral tape, then proceed to decorate the stem in whatever way you want! I used ivory satin ribbon and wrapped the whole thing.

Tada!! And there you have the bouquet! Sorry I didn't get a picture of the ribbon-covered stem. I'll get one sometime for you!

One more time..

2009-01-28T18:00:00.000-06:00

Okay, I'm going to revise and repost something I blogged about a couple of weeks ago, because I've been blessed by a lot of new commenters!

Did you know that you can respond to comments directly through email? So, when someone asks you a question on a post-- rather than leaving an answer within that same post (that they will probably never even realize you left) or hunting their blog down and leaving a reply that has absolutely nothing to do with the post you are leaving it on--- you can respond, instead, by EMAIL!! *cue angels singing*

If you leave me a comment, I want to be able to reply to YOU directly! I feel kinda silly when I have to go leave 3 or 4 comments on your blog that has NOTHING to do with the post I'm leaving it on. Trust me-- I'll leave you plenty of comment-love on your post that pertain to the post!

Is there anything I can do to convince you to change your settings so that I can reply directly to your comments by email? Half the time I end up having a really good conversation with the commenter!
Well, if my pleading and begging has persuaded you at all, then here are the steps! It's not hard, I promise!!

Step One: Open your profile page, click EDIT Profile on left side of profile.

Step two: make sure the box marked "show my profile" and "show my email address" are checked.

Step Three: Under Identity, add the email address you want comment replies to be sent.

Step Four: scroll to bottom and click save.

TA DA!! Now I can reply to you!! Because I really, really, really want to!
If you choose to leave your settings as is to protect your email and identity, of course, I understand =)