Not Engaged Yet — The Knot Community

AW/WR/PIP: First Dress Fitting

eilis1228 — Fri, 27 Mar 2015 20:36:55 +0000

Here are pics from the initial fitting I had this morning. We weren't able to put the blingy belt on with it because there was too much fabric around the waist that would have put too much stress on the belt. In all, the waist is about an inch too big (score!), the boobs are too big, and it's obviously way too long. It fits really well everywhere else, and it's not too heavy. Additionally, the consultant told me not to wear Spanx as they add an extra layer of fabric that throws off the waist measurement and makes the belt too small. Interesting, no?

Anywho, I need to contact the photographer to set up a date for bridal pics, and then I'll set up alterations.

I also added a pic of the dress in the garment bag in my closet. SO INCONSPICUOUS! Good thing it's going to be stored at a friend's house starting tomorrow.

WR/AW wedding band came in!

bride2b71614 — Sat, 28 Mar 2015 19:27:49 +0000

So my wedding band came last night! I absolutely love it! At this point I'm not sure how I feel about how it pairs up with my engagement ring and I would love your input. Does the wedding band look better with or without my e-ring? Please excuse my nasty nails.

Teacher advice please!

lilacck28 — Fri, 27 Mar 2015 21:07:57 +0000

Today I had a very difficult day as a substitute teacher in a middle school English class. Very difficult. I wanted to cry, multiple times. Today I was also told that I am hired for the long term art sub at an elementary school that I mentioned I applied for a few days ago.

The middle school where I taught is the same district as the elementary schools where I will be teaching. They both have low- school rankings (two elementary schools, on school digger, one is ranked 0, the other 1. The middle school I just taught at was ranked 1), high diversity, low socio-economics.

Basically, I had a lot of trouble with classroom management/ discipline, and I would LOVE some tips, resources, etc. that you guys have found helpful.

I want teaching these kids art to go a LOT better than it did today!

Board Games - Are we missing anything cool?

KeptInStitches — Fri, 27 Mar 2015 15:21:57 +0000

Ok, this is kind of WR and NWR. For the entertainment at our reception, FI and I are putting out a table of board games. I'd like input on our list, and generally if we're missing something really cool, I'd like to know that too.

Age of Steam

Apples to Apples (2 copies)

Backgammon

Bananagrams

Candy Land (I've got bets on who reaches for this first)

Chess

Checkers

Chutes and Ladders (see: Candy Land)

C-Jump

Clue

Elemensus (Scrabble with the periodic table as tiles)

Farkle

Flapjacks and Sasquatches

Mancala

Monopoly

Rory's Story Cubes

Scrabble (2 copies)

Sequence (1 copy, looking for a second)

Set

Skip-Bo

Sorry!

Stratego

Sushi Go

The Game of Life

Tricked-Out hero

Trivial Pursuit Steal

Uno (3 copies)

Yahtzee

8 decks of cards (I'm a junkie for card games)

5 decks of pinochle cards

2 sets of dominos

1 set for Texas Hold'em

Can't have CAH at the wedding (too many family members with no sense of humor), but we're going to get a copy in the near-ish future.

It's Friday!!

cu97tiger — Fri, 27 Mar 2015 12:08:37 +0000

It's Friday, ladies... WOOHOO! Last night I drove down to Richmond (where my sister lives) and am working from her couch today. We're going to go to my niece's elementary school to have lunch with her. And I'll get to play with my 3 year old nephew all day, too. Oh, AND I get to see the new condo my parents had built. They are so proud of it, so I can't wait to see it.

Tomorrow, my sister, brother-in-law and I are walking in a 10k. We are all various shades of injured, so we won't be breaking any time barriers. Sunday morning I'll drive home to DH and the dogs. I already miss them!

What exciting things do you have planned this weekend?

Friday Game: Would you rather?

speakeasy14 — Fri, 27 Mar 2015 13:54:08 +0000

Answer the question then come up with your own:

Would you rather:

Lick butter from a homeless person's toes

Have sex with a wild gorilla

Weight loss plateau advice needed

Loves2dream — Thu, 26 Mar 2015 15:25:35 +0000

Augh, please help! I recently started counting calories again and upping my workouts. My goal was 14 pounds and I lost 5.6 the first month. Now for the last 2 weeks I haven't lost anything. I tried several different things, as suggested by various weight loss experts, such as increasing my calories one day a week, changing my exercise routine, adding weight lifting to my schedule, etc. Nothing seems to be helping.

I know several of you have been successful with weight loss so any insight, tips or other would be very appreciated! Thanks ladies!

Best Invention Ever

Blue & White — Wed, 25 Mar 2015 19:55:00 +0000

When this thread gets found by some random lurker who steals my adventure, I will probably be sad, but I frankly don't have enough time or money to put into this one:

We have pee sticks to tell us if we are pregnant...or ovulating.

We need at home pee sticks to just diagnose us when we are sick. SO much cheaper than doctors.

Flaws: not all disorders are detectable in urine and I am NOT selling a blood dipper or something. I don't believe in using blood in my process!

I came across this idea in my brain while I was waiting for a pregnancy test this morning. Since we just bought a house and are now buying a car, I just really had to make sure I wasn't pregnant too. We are in the clear. for now.

What invention would you make if you had unlimited funds and could bend the laws of science a bit if necessary?

Too-Tired-For-A-Cute-Title Thursday

[Deleted User] — Thu, 26 Mar 2015 12:32:02 +0000

Good morning!

We survived another near-hit by a tornado last night. We got to use our tornado shelter for the first time since we got it installed. The dogs did great, and it was a fairly smooth run. We hadn't packed our emergency bags yet because it's a little early in the season, but I think we did alright! After we got the all clear to come out, we collapsed on the couch and watched some Friends on Netflix.

I could not sleep last night. Too much adrenaline!! I grabbed a Flat White this morning because I have to work late... I have my performance review and a big formal proposal this afternoon, so I need to get my game on. I look pretty professional today, so hopefully the extra caffeine will give me enough of a boost to rock my two big meetings this afternoon.

So what does everyone think about this plane crash in Europe this week? I have been trying to follow the story and this morning they say it might have been intentional. Eek!

What's going on with everyone today?

Favorite Recipes!

nycgal85 — Wed, 25 Mar 2015 14:05:59 +0000

So lately there's been a lot of discussion here about food, recipes, etc. Especially when it comes to cooking healthy. I figured we could start a thread where we share our favorites all in one place!

I'll start, I'm a massive fan of Skinnytaste (http://www.skinnytaste.com/) and a couple of my favorite recipes of hers are:

Smoky Spice Rubbed Grilled Salmon with Corn and Black Bean Salsa - http://www.skinnytaste.com/2012/04/smoky-spice-rubbed-grilled-salmon-with.html

Healthy Baked Chicken Nuggets - http://www.skinnytaste.com/2011/04/healthy-baked-chicken-nuggets.html

I also am a huge fan of crock pot recipes, and some of my favorites are:

Crock Pot Chicken and Dumplings - http://blueskiescooking.blogspot.com/2011/07/crock-pot-chicken-dumplings.html

Crock Pot Lasagna (we've also done it vegetarian by replacing the meat with eggplant and zucchini)- http://www.tablespoon.com/recipes/easy-crockpot-lasagna/fc587848-9ea5-4f95-a1f7-8d50a3f011f9/

Crock Pot Chili - http://allrecipes.com/recipe/slow-cooker-chili-ii/

HUMP DAY

Hummingbird125 — Wed, 25 Mar 2015 13:01:26 +0000

Hey people!!

I thought it was Thursday ALL MORNING. I am disappointed.

FI and I spent a couple of hours assembling our invitations last night. We'll finish up tonight or tomorrow night and they'll be in the mail by Friday! I am SO excited and I will AW them here after I send them out :-)

How's everyone doing?

Tired Tuesday

Swazzle — Tue, 24 Mar 2015 11:43:28 +0000

Good morning. I'm tired and Lucy and I couldn't get out of bed today.

Work changed something with our internet (or maybe TK changed something that's not compatible with my work's internet security) but suddenly, it is a real pain in the ass to post :( How. Dare. They.

Where are my PLL people? Are you as anxious/excited/nervous as I am for tonight? I CAN'T EVEN HANDLE IT.

Speaking of "I can't even"..... I bought this sweatshirt last night and I'm really excited about it lol

Spoiler Alert PLL Discussion

speakeasy14 — Wed, 25 Mar 2015 12:50:31 +0000

So I think this needs a thread of its own after last nights episode.

This was my reaction:

The entire episode was intense, but I found the ending to be a let down. I knew someone would have a twin and it would be linked to the DiLaurentis family, but every clue was about a female twin. There were no clues about Charles in any past episodes, so I don't know why all those articles kept saying that you'd see clues from the beginning. I'm still trying to piece everything together, and I watched last nights episode twice.

Thoughts?

Howdy! Need a distraction..

LizzyTish88 — Tue, 24 Mar 2015 19:24:01 +0000

Hey ladies!! It's been a while and I am sorry that I took a hiatus, but work got super busy this year and I had to step back. I will try to get back into the swing of things around here but please forgive me if it takes a bit.

I need you ladies for a distraction. I'm sorry that this might come off a bit odd, but I don't know where else to turn to. BF and I just got back from a ten day vacation. We went to Disney and Universal. While there, I had a few "moments". I tried not to let it get to me that BF hadn't proposed yet, and I tried to convince myself that it wasn't going to happen and to just enjoy the vacation and the time spent together. One night he knew that it was getting to me, and he made a comment of "the weekend's not over yet, it's coming just relax" (said extremely sincere, although that is hard to communicate via written text).

Fast forward to the lat night of the trip we did this event called the dessert party. You get unlimited desserts and a perfect view of the Castle for the fireworks. We were seated next to a couple on their honeymoon and they kept talking about how the Groom proposed there a year earlier. After we left the party BF told me that he knew I was bumming and that it was coming soon and once it does he will explain what happened. He also expressed that he was "kicking himself in the ass" for not proposing at the party. We talked and I put it all aside and we had a great end to the vacation.

Sunday when we got home, we unpacked and got everything put away, and started to go through the mail. He got three envelops from the same company, and they didn't have a company name in the return address, just the street address. Except for one, which in the window where his name was, was also the logo of our local jewelry store. He also got a bigger envelop and while opening it said "What is this? Some type of life insurance from FL?! Ohhhhh......".

So there is a ring, and I need to stop thinking about it immediately! I don't want to obsess. I know there were people who had the ring for a year and didn't propose so I don't want to get my hopes up thinking it's going to be soon. I'm losing my mind trying to stay distracted and I need some help. I also know that I have no right to ask this of you ladies since I am not on here much any more but I know you all know how I feel and this is a great community to lean on. GAH! TIA

Vent/Rant - Mini Pigs

jenjen047 — Sun, 22 Mar 2015 22:19:32 +0000

This is a random vent but it's been irking me all weekend and I needed to get it out. Yesterday I saw on fb that a friend has decided she needs to rehome her 9 month old pig because she's not home enough and doesn't have a yard and it's not fair to the animal. Totally agree, but shouldn't that have been considered before purchasing?? I'm not sure if she has moved in the last year so maybe the yard thing wasn't an issue when she got the pig, but I know for a fact she has the same job she did last year, so not having time sounds like BS to me. I had another friend get a pig two years ago and give him up a year later because he grew larger than expected. I have heard these micro/mini/teacup pigs are a scam and I know this friend had heard that too, but I guess she didn't look into it more before purchasing. I feel like these mini pigs are the new "trendy" pet. It breaks my heart to see this happen. Do your research on the size/costs/lifespan/needs of an animal and be realistic about what you can/want to supply in terms of time/money/space BEFORE you bring him/her home. Ok, end rant. Has anyone else seen this? Am I being overly judgey? TL/DR - I'm tired of seeing friends adopt pets and then re home a year or two later because they don't have the time or space for the animal. ETF Spelling

Random fact challenge?

AlPacina — Tue, 24 Mar 2015 15:26:03 +0000

I was trying to think up a game or something to play on this board, so I thought this one could be funny. Why don't each of you send me a random interesting fact about yourself or your past that you'd hope no one else on here knows (obv. tougher for the sisters), then tomorrow I can post a list of the facts and the SNs of who participated. Whoever matches the most SNs to the facts correctly gets an awesome IRL prize!

You obviously don't have to participate, but if you want to, PM me a fact about yourself!

AW - Shower/Bachelorette Weekend! (SO LONG, LOTS of pics)

GoldenPenguin — Mon, 23 Mar 2015 14:40:37 +0000

I decided to just start a new thread to AW all the things.

My shower was amazing. I was so overwhelmed with almost all of my most favorite people all in the same room together, it was so surreal. The food was delicious, there were so many presents, and mimosas, and SO. MUCH. LOVE.

It wasn't a surprise, as much as I look shocked in this picture:

My momma, me, my sister, and godmother (who is performing our ceremony):

My mom made my bow bouquet:

I got so many fun gadgets - my kitchen is full of awesomeness, and I can't wait to make ALL the things. I got the Kitchen Aid mixer, a Ninja blender, a four-slice toaster, an electric wine opener, a breakfast sandwich maker, a new crock pot, plus the bedding I was dying for from Pottery Barn, a penguin pillow, a wine box with a bottle of Save A Bull wine (proceeds go to support our local humane society!), and the white moose head for the wall. And so many other things that I can't even remember them all. I was spoiled rotten.

THEN it was bachelorette time. My soon-to-be SIL brought me to the hotel, and the girls had decorated the room - all in Red Sox stuff!! There were banners and balloons and streamers and baseballs, it was AMAZING. I had a bride-to-be sash, and @Swazzle made me a veil with a Boston "B" on it - and on the back of that, @hummingbird125 drew and hid a little penis. So it wasn't TOTALLY penii-free (but I didn't find it until pretty late in the night, lol). I had a special "bride" wine glass that my MOH made me. And then I walked outside to find a white limo waiting to take us everywhere!! And that came from my FI!! He's pretty spectacular. :)

We got all decked out and went to a Paint & Sip, which is EXACTLY what I wanted to do!!

After painting, we went to dinner at Margaritas - which just happens to be right across the street from our venue!

My MOH made all of these adorable props for us to use, and @Swazzle & I were convinced that this "necklace" was a beard. I mean, honestly, why would it be a beard??

After dinner, we went to a local bar, drank WAAAYYY too many things, and danced our little tushies off.

Total shenanigans. I was hurting BAD yesterday. I'm still SOOOO exhausted. But it was totally worth it. I drove home with Vi yesterday afternoon, and came home to MORE presents waiting for us - including one from @Phira!!! (Thank you SO MUCH, lady!!!)

FI & I ordered Chinese food, and I was in bed by 9pm.

Thank you so much to @swazzle, @hummingbird125, @buddysmom80, and @csousa1 for helping to make this weekend extra spectacular. I don't know what I'd do without you bitches. <3 <3 <3

Monday Shenanigans

[Deleted User] — Mon, 23 Mar 2015 12:36:22 +0000

Happy Monday!

How was everyone's weekend? We need an update from @GoldenPenguin's bridal bash!

Saturday is here!

jenjen047 — Sat, 21 Mar 2015 13:00:36 +0000

I'm assuming this board might be a little quiet this weekend since a bunch of girls are at @GoldenPenguin shower...hopefully having a blast! Penii and all! So BF is working all weekend. He loves his job but man it sucks being on opposite schedules a lot of the time. Anyone else here in the same situation? Oh and I don't know why I didn't mention this in earlier posts but we went ring shopping on Wednesday! So. Much. Fun. I could do that every day. I was pretty sure I knew what I wanted (simple 4 prong solitaire with round stone) but wanted BF to give his input too in case he had a strong opinion. All the rings were so pretty! But we both preferred the solitaire, so that's good! And I'm happy to say that I'm not obsessing or going BSC. Woo!! It'll happen when it happens. In the meantime, I am focusing on starting a new job on Monday and getting myself in shape (ugh winter weigh gain). How's everyone else doing? Anyone get slammed with snow? Boston got an inch or so I think.

Finally back...

nowittyusername — Mon, 23 Mar 2015 15:23:13 +0000

Didn't post and run! Due to a family emergency I haven't been around. So catch me up! Did I miss anything good? Any drama that is a must read?

Side note, I was in a wedding over the weekend and the maid of honor fainted. Don't forget to drink lots of water on your wedding day ladies! And don't lock those knees. This was a super long Catholic ceremony and for whatever reason the church was about 9000 degrees. We had been standing there for what felt like two eternities, and she just tipped backwards. I was able to catch her, and she's fine. (However psycho bridezilla gave her the cold shoulder for the rest of the evening). Food for thought my friends!

Am I being crazy?- Vent

stefuhknee — Thu, 19 Mar 2015 15:42:14 +0000

Hi Ladies, I've mostly been a lurker but I need some advice/reality check from you wise gals.

Next month my SO and I will have been together for 8 years, we've been living together for 2 1/2 years and have a 2 year old son together. I am more than ready for us to take the next step and plan to get married. We have discussed it and it just doesn't seem to be on his radar. He doesn't understand why it's important to me for us to get married. How can I explain to him that it's not something that I'm willing to not do without giving him an ultimatum? .

I feel like Jennifer Aniston in "He's Just not that Into you". She leaves her guy because he doesn't want to get married and then she realizes that being with him is more important than being married and he ends up proposing anyway.

So am I just being crazy, do I need to be patient and hold out for when he's ready? I don't even know what a reasonable timeline is anymore since we've been together for 8yrs already.

WR: Hotel Contract Jargon - Can someone translate?

WildMagelet — Sun, 22 Mar 2015 21:46:51 +0000

So - the only hotel that "fits the bill" of what/where we want is being a huge PIMA. I really don't even want to block there anymore, except it is where we'd end up staying, block or not, and it is a convenience for our guests.

Most recently, I've asked the hotel sales director for clarification, in writing, of one particular passage and she has failed to do so for me. She responded with why they have the passage in the contract and still failed to tell me what it actually means. I asked for clarification again and she hasn't responded to me - it's been five days.

Here's the passage in question:

Everytime I sit down to think about dealing with it I get in a snarky mood, which puts me halfway between calling over her head and telling FI he can deal with it since he's the one who wanted this particular hotel. He, of course, would tell me just to forget the block if its that big of a deal, but I know that's not the most guest-friendly thing to do.

I'm getting a little BSC on this one, so I'd love it if I could get an outside opinion. I'd like to think that we're reading too far into it, but its also a contract so I prefer to know 100% what I'm signing before I make myself financially liable for something on accident.

On the plus side, if me having a mini-meltdown about a hotel being crappy at communication (this "check" has been a good 3 weeks in the making) is the worst thing that happens during my very short wedding planning experience I'll consider it pretty good :)

It's National Proposal Day??? WTF?!

nycgal85 — Fri, 20 Mar 2015 20:55:21 +0000

http://www.bustle.com/articles/70378-its-national-proposal-day-7-things-you-didnt-know-about-getting-engaged-because-today-is-the

I saw this trending on Facebook this afternoon, so I had to share. I'm not sure if I'm more amused or concerned....

IT IS FRIDAY!

Swazzle — Fri, 20 Mar 2015 11:36:00 +0000

Good morning and happy Friday!!!! I'm at work until 3pm today and then I'm cautiously driving to @hummingbird125's in the stupid freaking snow. Seriously? First day of Spring and we're getting SNOW?! I am so sick of it! Anyway. We'll make our way up to @buddysmom80's house for the night. We're going to her local watering hole and handling some last minute things of which I cannot speak. Tomorrow is the big day!!!! The three of us and @csousa1 are headed to @GoldenPenguin's bridal shower! I'm so excited, it's going to be lovely, and I hope she gets ALL the presents. After the shower, all I can say is there will be MANY penii involved. Sunday, I'll be dropping the girls off and then heading home and I'll cry because I won't see them all for a whole week. EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!

AW: IT'S HERE!

WildMagelet — Thu, 19 Mar 2015 23:20:00 +0000

I'm so excited. It was a huge pain to put on by myself (corset back) and I didn't even bother with the petticoat, soooo there will be a lot more floof.

The straps are going away, debating about adding cap sleeves.

For reference:

Thankful Thursday

Swazzle — Thu, 19 Mar 2015 12:27:06 +0000

I'm thankful for coffee. I'm thankful for my husband. We started dating for 8 years ago in June and I still get flutters when I look at him. I hope that never goes away. I'm thankful for my friends that I'll be with this weekend and for getting to celebrate @GoldenPenguin getting married!!!!! ********** H and I dropped all of our documents off with the CPA last night. He said he'll see what he can do but likely, it's because the tax brackets were reconfigured and we got bumped up to a new tax bracket due to H's raises last year. We'll know more next week. Tonight I'm finally making ST shepherd's pie for dinner. I'll be gone all weekend and this way H will have leftovers while I'm away. We finished The Jinx last night! So, so creepy.

Why is it only Wednesday

Swazzle — Wed, 18 Mar 2015 11:50:49 +0000

This week is draaaaaaaaaagging by probably because I couldn't be more excited for this weekend!

I had 1 too many last night and I'm hurting a little today. I really want an onion bagel with cream cheese but I'm not sure what will happen with dinner tonight so I don't want to risk going over my points for today.

H and I are meeting with a CPA tonight about our taxes. I've always just done them online with TurboTax or H&R but this year when I entered all of our (very simple, basic) information, it's telling me we owe about $5k between federal and state which is fucking insanity. We've never owed a penny, we've always gotten a good bit back before we were married and last year when we first filed jointly. So hopefully we'll get better news tonight.

And now I'm going to watch last night's PLL so that @GoldenPenguin doesn't yell at me when she wakes up!

Tuesday Boozeday

lmcooper86 — Tue, 17 Mar 2015 13:16:05 +0000

Morning ladies!

I am rather sleep this morning...probably because I was up late finishing these treats to bring to work! Chocolate Guinness cupcakes with Bailey's frosting. St. Patrick's Day was a really good excuse for baking!

Yesterday was crazy at work, so update from my weekend: nice dinner with FILs on Friday, went and got my hair cut on Saturday and ran a couple errands, and FI and I went to see Kingsman. Wasn't exactly what I expected, but we had a good time. Sunday was church, a few more errands, nap, and back to church. The Sunday errands were fun, since they consisted of buying FI's wedding band (!!!) and I bought a couple of new bathing suits for our HM. YAY!

Crazy day at work yesterday, and then FI and I went to look at a couple of "special" cars, since we're thinking about booking one for the wedding. I like one of the old Rolls Royces, FI likes the newer one. So we need to agree on something.

Today's topic questions: Will you be having a drink today for St. Patrick's Day? Do you care about St. Pat's at all, or is it just another day? And if you are having a drink, what's your drink of choice today?

This is really the opposite of a problem...new options for e-ring?

bride2b71614 — Tue, 17 Mar 2015 04:31:46 +0000

So the parents got together for a wedding related meeting. It was very comforting to see both families getting along so well. At some point during the conversation, FI's parents mentioned that his late grandmother had a ring, and that they wanted to give it to me. Before any of this was said, my parents told me that my late grandmother left me an unset diamond.

I spoke with my FI at length about what he wanted to do. He knows I love my engagement ring but he also knows that I could make the ring a pendant and assured me that he is perfectly fine with going in either direction. I weighed the pros and cons to each option. Pro for the unset diamond is that we can create a setting that would incorporate my wedding band. My grandmother also survived the holocaust and this was one of the few possessions she had when she was liberated. Con, its not sentimental to FI's family.

While I understand that my future in-laws are able to choose whomever they wish to receive the ring, I don't feel right accepting it. First, I did not know my FI's grandmother. Second, I have a FSIL, and I fear that accepting this ring will cause problems later down the line. I think she would prefer to have a family heirloom as her engagement ring and I would honestly hate to accept something that she would value more than I would. I know that this ring holds high sentimental value and I would feel wrong if I changed the structure of his grandmother's ring. My last reason is super shallow (and I do feel badly even admitting this), but the diamond in my FI's late grandmother's ring is not as large as the one my grandmother left to me.

If you were in my position, would you accept the unset diamond? Accept the family heirloom, or would you skip both? Also, if you chose the diamond, how would you break the news to your future in-laws?

What do I tell my family?

therockerwithin — Mon, 16 Mar 2015 21:45:17 +0000

So my bf and I have been talking about getting married and he says he's going to propose sometime this year (we're both bad with surprises and love to plan things). Neither of us wants a big wedding and would rather go to the courthouse then have a party later with friends and family. I've talked to family members about this and, understandably, have gotten mixed reactions. Most will support me no matter what (including my mother), while others say I HAVE to have a wedding (grandmother and father). We want to just get a little dressed up and sign some paperwork, then have a big potluck where we could see everyone and people could dress more casually. Ultimately, we don't want to step on anyone's toes, but we'd rather spend money on an awesome honeymoon than a big wedding. Thoughts? Advice?