Stress

I'm stressed. I'm caught up on wedding planning. Still have things to do but I'm in a good spot. I'm current on work but just spent the last two days up in Big Bear photographing cabins, so I will, be sitting in front of the computer for the next four days on and off working on photos and virtual tours. However, let me tell you...I feel the stress. Of course there is more to it than the planning and working. There are family things going on, friend things going on and it all adds up.

And how do I deal with all of this stress. boycott the phone and don't to answer it...at all. Except today I have been good. I made myself answer every call. No passing it to voicemail. In return for being good, I got a good phone call...my dress is in! They originally told me that it would be in 10 days before the wedding...that was killing me. But now it's in! And I'm having a heart attack! I have shoes, but no strapless bra and no slip. Worst of all...I'm afraid to try it on. Can this be a real phobia? It's probably not but what if it's just not what I remembered and I don't like it?

One Benefit to planning a spontaneous wedding....I only have to deal with this stress for two months. It's not a year of planning and stress! If I were a drinker, a glass of wine would be good right now.

Favors

Most everything is under control on the wedding front. There is just one thing that I'm stuck on...wedding favors. What the crap do I do for that. I want something that's us, a little sense of humor in there but fun and something people don't mind. I have some ideas but they're ehh. The one thing I do like is having little pots with herb seedlings and a little bow around the pot. It's green, it's something that people will like and can grow bigger. However, it doesn't hit that funny part that I want. If you all aren't familiar with the 99 cent stores, there are lots of ideas there. Our current favorite is a little 2inch flower with a green candle in it. Very cute but I feel like it's not enough. To suppliment that little favor we can include a towel that you put in water and grows. It also says "Uranus" on it...funny yes...to us...not everyone else though.

More thinking to do...

Celebrity Collage by MyHeritage

So apparently if you put your photo into My Heritage, they will measure your face and tell you who you look like. Here are my matches...hmmm

http://www.myheritage.com/collage

Happy Birthday Dad!

Yesterday was my father's birthday. Every year I wake up and wish him a happy birthday. I still do, even though he passed away in 2003. I miss him so much every day and it's still a struggle to not have him here.

Mario and I have talked about getting married for the last year. My father not being at my wedding has always been hard for me to think about. With us deciding to have the wedding next month, I know I've pushed those feelings back. Staying busy with work and all the details seemed to work for a little while until my mom called last night. Mom's getting very excited about the wedding and declared last night that it's going to be the best wedding ever(at least until my sister's wedding)! Then she got serious. She and my father had been separated since my sister and I were in elementary school. His birthday wasn't something she was a part of for many many years. However, for some reason she said she woke up yesterday and said "Happy Birthday Dennis!". She said, she thought of him just then because she felt like he was there. She told me she knew that he was proud of me. She said that Mario and my dad would have gotten along so well. I know what she said was true, I feel it too but I think it's something I definitely needed to hear. Maybe that's why planning this spontaneous wedding has gone so smoothly, dad's been pulling strings on his side.

I feel for Mario also. His father passed away the year before my father did. It's one of the things that connects us. It's a loss that we both know. So I want to come up with a clever little way to have both of our dads there. Mario Sr. was a musician and I have some songs that take me straight back to hanging out with my dad. I think certain songs in our wedding will be those "dad" touches for us!



I keep looking at the photo of me at the top and dad. We do look a lot alike!

Dress

I found my dress! Woo-hoo! I had looked online a few times and knew what I liked. Emailed back and forth with friends about dresses. Then I showed Mars a few dresses. We totally agreed on dresses we liked. I love that in the end, I bought the dress that we both loved!

On Sunday my sister, sister-in-law and two friends piled into David's Bridal. I knew what I wanted to try on, but I knew that I needed to keep my mind open to anything. It just happened that my favorite dress was the first I tried on, two sizes too small, and everyone absolutely loved it. I tried on other dresses that fit really well and looked pretty fabulous, but everyone went back to that first dress. I'm excited that everyone loved it and even more excited that it was on sale! Still more than I wanted to pay(ok I only wanted to pay $100) but it was within a good price range. The only problem, because I'm a big girl, I had to order it and it will be delivered 10 days before the wedding! Ten Days! That scares the shit out of me! I tried on other dresses in my size and they fit perfectly...only altering will need to be in length. So this dress should fit perfectly except for length. Still I haven't tried my dress on in my size! What if it looks awful! Everyone keeps saying if it looks good in the wrong size, it can only look better in the correct size...I sure hope so!

Here is my main thought, I just have a hard time spending that much money on something I will wear once. I love that I have a dress but I'm not overly emotional about it. For me I'm a lot more invested in just having a great weekend with our closest friends and family. Of course I want to look damn good, but I don't see myself keeping the dress wrapped up in a box in my closet. Of course this is before the wedding thinking, maybe it will be more for me later. What do you all think? Am I odd for thinking that I would sell the dress on...pass it to someone else getting married? Or keep I keep it in hopes that if I have a daughter later, that she will want to wear it?

Teaser alert...Here is a link to the dress. If you want to be surprised don't click here...didn't pay that price! woo hoo!

Getting Hitched

News on the home front...Mars and I decided to get married next month. Crazy...yes, Pregnant...no. We had planned on next spring. Then last week Mars thought why not now. We won't be any richer next year and the bonus...I get some rockin health insurance. Couldn't turn that down. It was all very romantic. Honestly the wedding I'm planning now is no different financially than I would have planned next spring. So moving it up felt right and a little spontaneous. We're pretty excited. So now this blog will probably be all wedding talk. I had no idea how consuming it would really become. I actually think that it's better to plan it all in a short amount of time. Compress all that stress down to two months rather than dragging it out.

So far everything has fallen right into place. The wedding will be at the Santa Barbara Courthouse. It's a beautiful historical site. We'll have the ceremony in the mural room. I've had it in mind for a while and was lucky to get it. Take a look at the photos. It's a pretty cheap place to get married at and tons of locations for awesome photos!




The reception will be taking place at this great restaurant called "Stella Mares". I started searching around and was reminded of this restaurant that had great rooms for parties. I sent them an email and they called me right back. The price was right and the food is excellent! I'm so excited to have gotten Stella Mares. They really are my first choice for the reception. Take a look at the site. We will be in the greenhouse room. It's going to be relaxed and beautiful! I can't wait.





Both of the locations fell into place in one day. I think I was more worried about how we were going to feed everyone than anything else. Now that those are booked we are so excited and a lot more relaxed. Now my sister Lindz is flying in tonight and we'll spend the weekend looking for a dress and taking care of little details. I'm so excited to have her help me. I've gotten tons of help and support from my friends and especially Mars' sister, but it's exciting have my little sister here! I'll keep you updated. Oh by the way, here's our engagement photo...

Influence

I get quotes from a friend of mine at least a few times a week. They are generally nice, having faith in yourself , your actions, and working hard. She is also a hard working photographer and chooses nice quotes to keep us hard working photographers going.

My mother on the other hand sends stuff like this...

"I want to live my life in such a way that when my feet hit the floor in the morning, Satan shudders & says...

"Oh shit....she's awake!!"

Yes this is totally my mother and of course she sent it in bright pink for flare(I had to tone it down). Honestly I think the devil already knows he's screwed.

Send This Email to 2000 People and Nothing good Will Happen...

My friend just sent me one of those emails that you have to pass on to 200 people and something good will happen. I hate those emails. I never never pass them on. I delete them. However, this email had something nice to say...read below. It said other nice things too, but that one sentence is what stuck with me. Now here is the question, if the email says something nice but it has that stupid-ass pass-it-on at the bottom. Do you pass it on because it's nice or do you delete it because you don't want people to think that you would pass on an email because someone said to?

'To get something you never had, you have to do something you never did.'


...I deleted that shit and just posted the good part here

Great Video

I found this video over on MetroDad's blog and he's right it's just a great video. It's really fun but brings a little tear. Also makes me think I need to add to my travel log.



Where the Hell is Matt? (2008) from Matthew Harding on Vimeo.

What You Dreaming About Laura!

I was just reading a blog that brought back some bad memories. A couple of years ago I had a terrifying dream. It was one of those dreams that stays with you. After that dream, I was always looking around and feeling paranoid. I knew it was dumb to feel that way about a dream but, it really was one of those dreams that struck a cord with me. It stayed with me for a while

I dreamt someone had broken in to my apartment and was sneaking around while I was sleeping. A noise woke me up. I jumped up just as he was launching for me. I was running around my apartment trying to get away from this guy who was trying to kidnap me and do who-knows-what. I was terrified, crying, screaming and trying to get away from...Gary Coleman. Seriously, it scared the shit out of me. I have nothing against Gary Coleman but I had a serious problem even looking at him for a while. It still brings up a little anxiety. I can't even explain it, it was just one of those dreams that made me feel fearful. I can laugh a now, but it was really a pain in the arse to try to explain to someone about your scary Gary Coleman dream while they laugh at you. Jerks.