OLW

KeptInStitches

Dear FI,

I hope work projects treat you better today. It means so much that you still take time away from your day to have lunch with me - it's nice to connect then.

Love,

FI

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Dear officiant,

You wanted us to do premarital counseling. Why aren't you scheduling it with us when I let you know both my schedule and FI's schedule?

No love,

Impatient

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Dear NEY,

I've been holding out on you with centerpiece photos - here they are:

labro

Dear septic guys,

Please do a good job today!

Love,

People with a shitty shit system

~~~

Dear @southernpeach89,

I love you! You are my favorite sister!

Love,

Your big sister

[Deleted User]

Dear @KeptInStitches,

I LOVE your centerpieces!!  They're so colorful!!

Love,

Color-obsessed girl

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Dear Job Applications,

Let's rock this, shall we?

Love,

Girl who will be unemployed after May unless we find something soon

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Dear NPR,

Thanks for keeping me occupied while I work this morning...but could you talk about something OTHER than the State of the Union?

Love,

News geek

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Dear Tummy,

WHY YOU SO HUNGRY ALL THE TIME?!?!?!?!

Love,

Cranky

[Deleted User]

Dear @KeptInStitches‌,

Your centerpieces are beautiful. Great work!

Love,
Dramatically Uncreative

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Dear BF,

Please call me if you get confused when you go grocery shopping today. I know I sent you on a task normally done by myself, but don't just guess. Match the coupons to the sales! Use the list! I love you. You can do this.

Love,
An Unapologetic Cheapskate

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Dear Body,

Stop being so warm. You have work tomorrow. Cool down to at least 98, if not your usual 96? Also I wouldn't be too sad to lose the congestion, either.

Love,
Done With This @$!#

(P.S.: What does OLW stand for? Hope I did it right!)

Peaseblossom55

@Keptinstitches I love the centerpieces

Dear H,

You are so wonderful and amazing.  I love you more and more every day.  The 65inch ultra HD TV is actually really awesome.  I hope you love it too.

Love,

Me

Dear March 12th,

Just get here soon. I need this vacation so badly. 

Love,

Tired and Cold

Dear snow,

Either snow a lot or don't snow at all. Pick one, either will be fine.

Love,

Me

Dear Body.

What is going on? Seriously you are stressing me out and this is no fun at all.

Love,

Me

Dear

[Deleted User]

Dear @lapeanut1018 ,

I love you too! You're the best sister ever. Thank you for listening to me cry about all the things.

Love,

Me

Dear Maddux,

I want to kiss you so hard all the time. I can't handle your cuteness. I just hate walking you because you don't know your strength and you pull me over.

Love,

Mommy

Dear H,

Sorry for the lack of sexy times lately, I've been feeling icky. Hopefully soon because I've been having sexy time dreams.

Love,

W

[Deleted User]

Dear Weather,

PLEASE snow a ton tonight so that I can work from home tomorrow. 

Lots of love and snowy thoughts,
Coco




Dear Hair,

Thanks for looking so pretty today.  I good hair days!

Love,
Curly Coco

minskat30

@KeptInStitches - Love the centerpieces!

@LaPeanut1018 - All the good vibes for the septic system.

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Dear Coffee,

Y U No work this morning?

-Tired

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Dear Plumber and Electrician,

Please fix the rest of my kitchen so I can AW it to these lovely ladies!

-Minskat30

Hummingbird125

Dear checking account,

Thank you for not being empty despite the beating I'm giving you lately. I'll try my best to avoid more car repairs and shopping sprees for a few months at least.

Love,

Me

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Dear most-affordable-hairstylist-I-found,

PLEASE make my hair look perfect at my trial on Saturday. Finding a stylist and MUA has been the least fun part of wedding planning thus far, and I want it to be at least half over. 

Sincerely,

Girl who can make her hair look great herself and doesn't want to spend $300 when she's not even getting an updo

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Dear self,

Keep up the almost-always-healthy eating and daily exercise, and I promise you'll love how you look in May. Don't screw it up now!

Love,

Girl who's workin' it

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Dear puppo,

I have no idea why you were snuggled in my arms when I woke up at 2:30 this morning, since you always sleep in your dog bed, but it was seriously the cutest thing ever and I wish you would snuggle with me EVERY night.

Love, 

Mama

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AlPacina

@ourladyofpotato - It's Open Letter Wednesday. You did it right!

@southernpeach89 - Walking my dog was hell because he's so strong. I started with the gentle leader head collar and it reduced his force by at least half. I highly recommend it!

@CocoBellaF - Good hair days are the BEST days. I can accomplish anything when my hair looks awesome.

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Dear vegetables,

I am so glad that I cooked an all vegetable dish for dinner last night. It was super easy, and super good, and I really need to rely on you for the majority of meal substance from now on, rather than minority. Especially zucchini! Yum yum yum. So glad I got extra at the store!

Dear books,

I've bought a billion of you lately, and yet the last one I read was a re-read. I hope one of you magically falls off the shelf or someone mentions you in passing conversation, because I am having a super tough time deciding which of you to pick up next.

labro

@minskat We're looking good so far! Working on trench #2 now.

They are digging where we THOUGHT the system was. But apparently it isn't there at all which works out even better for us. The old system is located right next to a giant oak tree....that was SMART because those roots would NEVER have interfered with the pipes...not EVER.

eilis1228

Dear FI,

I'm worried that you're having issues sleeping at night, and I wish you'd be more blunt with the cause of your stress. I can guess that it's work-related, but I can't help you do anything unless I know more. It makes me sad when you're stressed and exhausted.  

All the love,

Concerned FI

Dear PiYo,

Holy moly! My twenty-minute lower body workout had me drenched in sweat yesterday! My average heartbeat was 155/min, and I burned 160 calories. Wow! 

-Super Excited to Do This Program

Dear Ann Taylor/Loft,

I have about $200 in gift cards and reward cards to spend with you right now, and I'm not feeling anything you have in my size. Why you no have awesome dresses in petite sizes right now? I don't need anymore pants, and I don't want to buy anymore sweaters/long-sleeve shirts. *sigh* 

Sadness,

Itching to Spend that Money

PS: Same goes for your Old Navy/Gap!

Dear Foam Roller and Heating Pad,

I love you!

-Not as Sore Today as I Could Be

Dear Wedding Party,

I get that you guys are excited about the wedding this year, and I love your enthusiasm, but please chill! I'm usually the early bird, and when you guys are trying to get us to book things and buy things before I'm even ready, then it's definitely way too early. There's still plenty of time for BM dresses, suits, and our weekend in Vegas... we still have 9 months until the wedding! 

Love,

Bride Who's Trying to Keep Her Cool

minskat30

Ugh @LaPeanut1018 - I'm sorry but I AM glad they are fixing it.

speakeasy14

@lapeanut1018 Hopefully they get it fixed soon!

eilis1228 Have you tried the outlets? They usually have different stuff than the stores so you may be able to find something there.  I know the outlet by me had a ton of really cute petite dresses.

southernpeach89 Do you use a harness for Maddux?  I have one for Callie and it stopped her from pulling.  The one I have is from Petco, but I don't think they carry it anymore, but the ones they have now look even sturdier than the one I have. 

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Dear Bf,

I loved hearing about your adventure helping your brother move.  Loved even more snuggling up in your arms all night; getting up for work was extremely difficult this morning. And holy cow, I can't believe you're in three weddings this year; at least one is in Colorado so we get a mini vacation out of it.  

Love always,

Your super sentimental gf

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Dear girl scout cookies,

So good! I want all the boxes, but that would not be healthy so you need to leave my office.

Love, cookie monster

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Dear stomach,

Sorry, that I ate a whole sleeve of girlscout cookies.  I promise I'll eat a healthy lunch.

Signed, my eyes are bigger than my stomach

[Deleted User]

@speakeasy14 I think we definitely need to get one. I'll have to check our Petsmart to see if they have any.

Peaseblossom55

@lapeanut1018 ugh this sucks at least it is all getting fixed!

MsSparky

Dear people I need to call,

Do not schedule an 11am conference call with me and then not be available. It throws off my whole morning.

No love,

Disgruntled potential colleague

Dear BF,

Please help me plan what we're doing for your brother's birthday. He's turning 18 and wants to do something with us. I've given lots of suggestions, time to start planning.

Love,

Your GF

Dear BSC customers,

Please control your crazy, and stop being upset with me for things I have no control over, like what colors manufactures make products in.

No love,

Shop Owner

marylab

@KeptInStitches beautiful choice of centerpieces!And I love the mirror too!
How many left to do?
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Dear cat,
You made my night yesterday a nightmare,but
it's ok,everything is washed and mommy got her sh*t together.
She needed that cleaning frenzy-workout.You are so cute sleeping
on my favorite blanket again,so it's ok again.
Love,
Your crazy cat mom

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Dear Fi,
I wished I could take some of your tiredness and not
feel like poop sitting at home these days.And thank you
for being a rock yesterday when I couldn't take it anymore.
I love you honey,
xxx yours M.
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Dear self,
You need to push yourself,more,even more.
And believe in yourself too.You can lose that weight,
you can handle that work,you can be done organizing the house,
you can eat better and find the enjoyment in cooking again,
you can pass these exams and you can deal with people.
You know you can.Because you will feel better,you will be happier.
Love,
You
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Dear NEY,
After a week of posting,all I could say is thank you.
I'm not the best person,and I wish I wasn't so stupidly complicated
in my actions and thoughts.I also wish I thought more than I act.
It's the first time I feel calm.I don't stress over things I did,I don't
worry about things I did.I take it a step at a time and feel happy.
I appreciate when I'm talked to honestly.And I enjoy myself where
I am for the first time in a long time.I hope to start this journey from the
begging and enjoy it to the very last piece.
You seem cool.
Yours,
That weirdo

GoldenPenguin

Jumping in to recommend the EasyWalk harness for @southernpeach89. LINK

The leash clips to a ring in the front of the harness, so when they pull/jump, it spins them around, but they aren't getting pulled by their throat. We have one for Violet because she's a jumper, and it works really well. 

AlPacina

@marylab - All the laundry/cat puke stuff sounds awful! Do you air dry your laundry? That would be super annoying in a humid area. I lived in Costa Rica for 3 months with no drying machine, and my clothes started to smell like mold at a point because they would never fully dry. It was terrible!

Also, I love how weird you are. I think your English is difficult to understand in written form, but I'm really starting to get used to it. You're not stupid and complicated.

KeptInStitches

@marylab, 14 more to make. Plus some more of the sprays (it's two sprays around the candle) to set various places like the cake table. My mom is doing them (thank you Mom yet again in case you ever find this), but she's got lots of time before the end of April.

labro

GoldenPenguin said:

Jumping in to recommend the EasyWalk harness for @southernpeach89. LINK

The leash clips to a ring in the front of the harness, so when they pull/jump, it spins them around, but they aren't getting pulled by their throat. We have one for Violet because she's a jumper, and it works really well. 

Plus one to this! We have the harness and also the PetSafe Gentle Leader which is a head harness. Both are super effective at stopping Cinders from pulling although I think the EasyWalk Harness is going to be a better jumping deterrent than the head harness.

http://www.petsafe.net/gentleleader

Avoid a traditional harness because it will just give Maddux more pulling power.

marylab

@AlPacina Yes we do.I'm looking into getting a dryer in the future,
when we get our own house.It's usually always sunny even in the
winter and not humid at all.I did three loads of laundry and already
folded them,but it was humid the day before,and I had Fi's work wool
sweaters outside not completely dried out.It's very rare for people to get a 
dryer here,but I feel like it will be a good help with a baby in winter one day.
Costa Rica sounds like a little piece of heaven besides that.
You gotta spill some details over that stay.How was food?Did you enjoy
the beaches?

I may not know you but you sound like an interesting person
And I'm usually correct in my first impressions.I think that I'm getting
my English back,slowly though.I try to think in English when I'm writing
more as well,like I used to.Maybe I'm still as horrible though,and it's in my head haha
One day we will have a hangout and you will hear what a horrible
British accent I have 

marylab

@KeptInStitches You have a great mom!And she must
be excited to help you for the big day.Are you
giving them to your guests or reselling?

AlPacina

LaPeanut1018 said:

GoldenPenguin said:

Jumping in to recommend the EasyWalk harness for @southernpeach89. LINK

The leash clips to a ring in the front of the harness, so when they pull/jump, it spins them around, but they aren't getting pulled by their throat. We have one for Violet because she's a jumper, and it works really well. 

Plus one to this! We have the harness and also the PetSafe Gentle Leader which is a head harness. Both are super effective at stopping Cinders from pulling although I think the EasyWalk Harness is going to be a better jumping deterrent than the head harness.

http://www.petsafe.net/gentleleader

Avoid a traditional harness because it will just give Maddux more pulling power.

I tried a couple front clip harnesses, but my dog is JUST between sizes. So either it rubs him under his armpits, or he's in the bigger size and can work his way out of it! I need to find a different brand than the one they sell at PetSmart, but the gentle leader works well enough that I haven't found the motivation yet. I could see the harness being nice for hiking though.

KeptInStitches

@marylab, we're keeping some of them, and then (I actually haven't shared this here yet) we're giving some - probably most, honestly - to the assisted living/nursing home where my grandparents spent the last years of their lives. It's a way to honor them (the place was FANTASTIC, I cannot say enough good things about them). The facility is used to having flowers left over from funerals, but these will be more fun. After all, funeral flowers always look like funeral flowers, no matter what you do to them.

AlPacina

@marylab - The food in Costa Rica isn't very exciting, haha. It was a lot of rice and beans. But they did have Lizano salsa, which is now my favorite sauce in the world! And they definitely know how to make an amazing cup of coffee...... The beaches were fabulous, and the animals there are amazing! The roads are beyond terrible, though. I had a hard time getting around on an ATV, and there were Ticos driving sedans through enormous potholes.

I forget that you typically learn British English! I got to go to my friend's English class at her school in Germany, and it was super weird hearing terrible British accents rather than terrible American accents.

marylab

@KeptInStitches It is a very beautiful way to honor your grandparents
indeed.I assume the staff know your family very well and they will be
happy to receive them from you.To me,there is a lot of santimental value
in them.

marylab

@AlPacina I'm not a happy traveler,but I love hearing stories
of other people travelling and visiting places.Really?I'm a foodie and
from some recipes I have come across I thought it would be more
exotic.Did you see sloths?
I actually got both Michigan and Cambridge degrees,but you can't
tell any difference when you're taught by a greek teacher,other than
in vocabulary.It really hit me when I started
watching British/American tv shows.And there is a lot of things going on
in different ways when you compare these too,especially reality shows.

labro

@AlPacina I think my only dislike of the GentleLeader over the EasyWalk Harness is that it sort of resembles a simple muzzle. If I'm walking Cinders on it I'll see people side-eye her and edge away and sometimes grab their kids to keep them away. While I obviously don't want people rushing my dog, it kind of bothers me that it makes people feel nervous around her.

AlPacina

@marylab - I also spent the majority of my trip in the middle of nowhere. Our meals were typically prepared with things that were grown where I was staying, and a lot of people in the rural areas don't eat meat because it's expensive. The food is ridiculously cheap at restaurants, but it's because they use inexpensive ingredients most of the time.

I did see one sIoth. It was near the path when I was entering Manuel Antonio park in the morning, and when I left in the evening it was still on the exact same tree, haha. It was way bigger than I expected it to be!

@LaPeanut1018 - I have had one person ask my why my dog had a muzzle on, haha. I thought it might look like a muzzle, until I realized his mouth was still open most of the time. My comfort is much more important than public perception. However, I definitely think it's hilarious when people are being dragged around by their dog because they clip onto the back of a harness rather than their chest.