Day 24...

10 more minutes left in day 24... Wow, what a day! Let's see, what happened. Oh, yes...

8:00 - Wedding License

Wow, I never really thought of marriage being so "official". Bill and I had to fill out an online application, make an appointment, sign a document, raise our right hand and sware to an oath, and then pay $70 for the license. The whole time I was thinking, "this is crazy! so formal and bureaucratic!" But then I really thought about it. Hmmm... Marriage between two people is a sacred bond, whether one is religious or not. However, it is also a political bond. Think of centuries ago when marriage was not just from love but from a joining of two families and the growth of those joined resources. I even think of my grandmother's parents who were not only husband and wife, but uncle and niece! A union to keep their valued property in the family! (Oops, now you know my interbreeding family past. :/ ) And then the issues of citizenship and being able to be a part of a country solely through marriage. I wonder how many times someone has applied for a license just to jump through that citizenship loop-hole. Goodness, and I shouldn't need to get into the issues of marriage equality. Not too long ago a large number of states refused marriage licenses for interracial unions. Oh, and do not get me started on Gay marriage. We all deserve the right to marry who we love... Ok, I'll stop on that thought. So, now that I think about it, I am really lucky that I can go to the County office of records and sign that paper, give that oath and pay that money. I am lucky cause I get to do it to the man I love and for the only reason of love. No one is forcing me, no one is telling me no, and we both really want this. I am quite lucky to be a part of this bureaucratic craziness after all...

10:00 - a dear friend's mother's funeral

Last week, a dear friend of mine lost her mother out of nowhere. It really makes you think and treasure all that is near and dear. You never know when someone will just leave this earth... You never know, so treasure every moment.

2:00 - eye brow waxing!

For the first time! I just made a good amount of appointments to "beautify" myself. You should have seen me at the Origins store yesterday. I think I am ready and have a nice plan to get myself all pretty and perfect for the big day. I talk more about this later...

4:00 - finally did my Tracy Anderson video for the day

Oh, and Tracy A deserves her own blog post as well. I love her, but I am also getting really sick of her. After Bill, Tracy is the most consistent person in my life. I see her everyday. Every stinking day... Much on her later.

6:00 - finally got my butt out the door to do cardio

I walked. Couldn't get myself to run. Hey, it was 40 minutes! My goal for these 25 days is to exercise EVERYDAY. And to do a portion of the Tracy A video everyday (the arms. I want ballerina arms.)

9:00 - finally started some real wedding tasks that were on the list

This was good and productive. I started and almost finished a big task... CAKE PLATES! So cute and perfect! And cheap! I'll give a tutorial on the cake plates on the next post. :)

11:00 - ordered fun stuff (he he) online

Victoria Secret. That's all I'll say. Was able to use a few gift cards, he he... Also bought Bill's swimming trunks cause we need suits to GO TO HAWAII! I keep forgetting that we have a Honeymoon after the big day. That will be SO nice - a break from the planning, dieting, working out, stressing... Cannot wait.

Oops, it's 12:30am. We are now on day 23! But, I'll leave day 23 till tomorrow. This post is technically day 24. Ok? Ok.

Nighty night.

CRINOLINE...

I would be lying if I said I am starting all of the detailed things today. Over the past two days I have been working on a few projects. I have to share and teach you so you can do it too! I really only say this because I learned how to do these on the internet, so now I have to contribute to the community by putting my tutorial on the web too!

Here I go...

Crinoline:

I bought the dye from Jo-Ann's. Goodness, I love that place. The dyes were different than what I researched. I looked into RIT and Dylon, but both had me hesitant since I constantly heard that the polyester/nylon fabrics didn't hold the dye well. Also, I really wanted to do it in my washer machine since I do not have a stainless steel sink and my bath tub is an antique and, well, I am not comfortable with discoloring it at the moment. So I wanted something that could be used in my washing machine.

Well, guess what? The brand has dye that dyes polyester! And has printed instructions for the washer machine! Yep. Seriously. See?



So I bought one poly dye and one just regular dye for natural fibers, both in a nice rich yellow color (by the way, iDye has a nice variety of colors, just like RIT). From there I went to my moms (she lives out of town, which means I go there for an over-night trip) where I did a little research and then changed my mind. According to the iDye website, the most effective way of dying polyester is to use the stovetop. Great. I need to cook this slip like spaghetti. Thus, I discussed the situation with my mom, she filled a few pots with water and we started the task.


We didn't have a pot big enough, and I didn't want to render any pot "unusable" after I soiled it with dye, so we took the very hot water and filled my mom's laundry sink with it. I put both packets of dye into the hot water, shoved my slip into the hot, yellow mess, and the let it dye!


The instructions said 30 minutes to 1 hour for letting the dye set. I decided on 1 1/2 hours. I really wanted a yellow crinoline! I made sure to give the sink a nice stir every 15 minutes (with gloves and long sticks since the water stayed really hot the whole time!). Here it was after that nice, long bath.


Once done, I threw the slip into the washer machine with some Woollite and gentle cycle. My mom then hung the crinoline to let it dry, I was sleeping during that task. And, well, this is what I woke up to!:



Overall, I love the slip, the color is PERFECT and it looks fun under my dress. :)

it starts today...

Today is the day that I begin my daily journal of the last few days of our wedding. Why not? Why not create a daily blog to list the crazies, the busy-s, the fuss? A place to see the progress? A place for me to vent so I do not have to vent or get really excited to just Bill? Why not? So, let's go...

Here are the details so far:

• Where: Mendocino, CA
• When: June 25, 2011
• How: I get my dress on, walk down the aisle, say "I do" and then party
• Why: Cause I love that guy with all my heart and it's time to take this relationship to the next level (it's about time!)
  
• What: A wedding, big dummy
• Who: Me, Bill and quite a few close friends

So, as you can tell, I only have 25 DAYS until the big day. Surprisingly, I am not freaking out. However, I am getting busier with all the things I have to do. Thus, I will write as the tasks unfold and as I prepare... for the big day! We have a long list, I have a full agenda, I am not going to rest until the details are settled. Oh, and should I mention that the rest of the items are just details? The big stuff is taken care of:

venue, check;



invites, check;



Bill's suit, check;

(That's not it, but you get the idea)

my dress, check;

(also not my dress, could you guess that?)

vendors (cake, food, DJ, flowers, hair, photographer), check;

So, yes. A lot of stuff is figured out! And now on to the smaller things. Watch me figure things out, put things together, gets things sorted out (sorta).

And thus, I begin...

25 days until the day! YAY!

I have learned A LOT about weddings...

Getting married is great. Uh-huh. Yep. That is what I have to constantly tell me myself after dealing so many things that a wedding entails! Location, place-settings, time limits, food, outside, inside, hotel rooms, money, money, money... Bill and I really do not know how people do it, but it seems that so many people out there drop $1,000s on weddings! $10,000s! I wish we could too! But we can't, and that is what makes it so hard. I love the idea of marrying Bill and having a great day, weekend or week to celebrate with our families and closest friends. However, it is a long and stressful process finding the "perfect" place that works with what we want and what we can spend. Well, what is it that we want? Well, here is the vision:

• A pretty place that is a little more un-conventional (ranches over hotels; local restaurant over chains)
  
• A June 2011 wedding
• A place that stays open past the 9 or 10 o'clock noise ordinance (preferably till 12am or 1am-ish?)
• A place where EVERYONE can just walk back to bed, so we can all party without worrying about getting home
• Good food (preferably organic and local) and beverages
• Warm-ish (I say this cause the Nor-Cal coast can be cold and foggy during the summer months)
• Possibly a place where we can chill over a few days, not just get bussed in and out for the wedding and reception

It is tough, especially since we live in some of the most popular and in-demand wedding areas of the world - Napa, Carmel, San Fran, Mendocino... There are MANY places to get married, but MANY places that are just out of our price range. For example, I want to get married at the MacCullam House in Mendocino. Look at it!:

This place is perfect - at a hotel, the party moves indoors after the music outside shuts down, beautiful area, everything is included in the cost of the place, comes with a wedding coordinator, they even shuttle the guests to and from the ceremony site! However, this place is about $5,000 out of the price range. Plus, people will be expected to drop a few for hotels and it gets cold and foggy in Mendocino during the summer. Dang.

However, there are some other options that I'll show below. Bill and I visited places last weekend and yesterday. It is looking more promising, especially as we are finding it easier to give up a few things to make our vision work. So, here is what we have so far:

Randonich Ranch in Los Gatos, Ca:

Map:
Place:
Thoughts:

• Love the look of it - open ranch, pretty area, tables will be set up outside, the house with the big door will hold the DJ and dancing, great location near the beach and cute towns
• The lady who we would work with is AWESOME! So sweet and caring. I feel like she would be very mothering, helping us solve problems with a great smile and pat on the back. Love that!
• The food will be local, grilled on site, fresh...
• We will provide alcohol, which sounds nice and kinda fun (I think) since we will choose.
  
• Ceremony will happen onsite
  
• Ok cost - $3,000+/- site rental, $80+/- per person for food (not alcohol)...
  
• CONS: Ends at 9:30pm, is 20 minutes down a windy road back to a hotel site
• We are thinking of this place, and thinking that if we do this, we will DEFINITELY have to rent a shuttle.

El Dorado Kitchen in Sonoma, Ca:

Map:
Place:

Thoughts:

• Love the location - downtown Sonoma, across the city square (where the Bear Flag Revolt happen, the fight for California Independence. Gotta love history!). Sonoma is also close to Napa, San Fran, Sac, pretty places, great shops and restaurants...
  
• Has a hotel on site - the El Dorado Hotel
• We can move the party at 10:30 to the Meritage which is described below
• May stay open a little later if we rent the whole place, otherwise shut-down is 10:30
  
• May work with our budget, but still need to get the details
• CONS: May be out of budget? May need to rent all 27 rooms? The people were nice, but not helpful. First time we were more confused after viewing than before. Will need to figure out a ceremony site elsewhere.
  

Ramekins in Sonoma, Ca:

Map:

• Same as above

Place:

• Obviously under construction - $30,000 renovation to the outside

Thoughts:

• Again, like the location. However, it is NOT in the town square but about 1/2 mile away.
• It is in a building that would be very much like a hotel reception room. It is nice, but newer, more conference-room like
• The lady we talked to was AMAZING! She asked tons of personal questions to get an idea of who we are, I loved that!
• Ceremony can happen there, outside in renovated outside
  
• Can go late (I think maybe 12?)
• 6 rooms will be available there
  
• Can work with our budget - site fee is $4,000 on weekends, $2,500 on non-weekend and probably about $80 for each person for food AND alcohol
• CONS: Not liking the ambiance
  

Meritage in Sonoma, Ca:

Map:

• Same as above

Place:


Thoughts:

• This would be the "after-hours" place in Sonoma, if needed
• $2,000 to rent this place from 10pm to 1:30 am, DJ included. The bar will be open and we could do light appetizers
• Nice option to party late, if needed

So, this is where we are at. We are going to "chew" on these options a bit, try to make it work in our heads. Who knows, maybe we'll find something else? Maybe something perfect and beautiful will fall in our laps? Who knows... We have got time!

that love happens...

I learned that love happens. All my life I have dreamed of being in love, getting married, having a family... And now it is happening. Bill proposed on November 21, 2009, in Mendocino. Right at this spot:


It was short, sweet, and very quick. It was very much like Bill, and it was very perfect. Well... except that he didn't go on a knee, which I complained about the next day. Yes, we argued over it. However, when we got home, he got down on a knee and proposed to me a third time (the very first time was done "informally" in Vietnam). Here is the ring:


The inscription is perfect and Bill did it all by himself (ahh...) - Feb 12, 2005 - (eternity symbol). Here it is on! (Just got it back, re-sized and beautiful!)

I learned that I love to take pictures...

Here are some of the highlights of my last trip to China and Vietnam...Taking pictures of Hong Kong.
Yangshuo, China. Beautiful rice paddys and crazy mountains.
Right outside our hotel in Yangshuo, China.

Hanoi, Vietnam.

Our hotel in Sapa, Vietnam. Northern Vietnam and a place that is so beautiful you would sware it was heaven.
Picture I loved in Sapa, Vietnam.

Pink skies, purple roads - I love Hanoi! Such an amazing city....

my "high" of the day...

I thought I would be fun and mention the "high" of my day today. Well, there were a lot of lows - I have been sick for a few days, I have been bombarded with tons of grading and I my house has been a mess (and will stay a mess) for the longest time. However, I have to say that I have the most wonderful guy in my life... My "high" of the day involves a trip to the emergency room at 1 am. I woke up feeling HORRIBLE; my throat hurt, I couldn't breathe, I had a horrible headache and I wanted to die... I knew I couldn't make it, and I knew that hospital was the only option. SO, I woke up Bill, cried, and then he drove me to the ER. Now, I live near downtown, so this had to be the most interesting ER EVER! While waiting, a man with only a few teeth told me he was as old as the bible (I think that is what he said, I couldn't really understand him), some very masculine women were drunk and one looked as though someone scratched her really bad across the face, tons of bums (and regulars that I have seen in the neighborhood) were sleeping, other crazy people were coming in and out.... Oh, it was a SIGHT! I was a little nervous, but I felt bad for Bill - he was sick too and had to get up early for work. I told him to go home (since it was only three blocks away), and he said he will... "in 15 minutes..." But, 15 minutes turned into 2 hours of waiting. I loved him for that, since he knew and I knew that I would have been fine in the waiting room of the crazies. However, he knew he didn't want to think of me being in such a place without him. I totally love that guy, and was so glad that he stayed and kept me company. So, that was my high of the day, the feeling that my significant other does love me and is willing to sacrifice a little for me...