Monday

Dignity100

Everybody survive the weekend?

buddysmom80

My weekend was way to fast (as always)!

Friday after work I headed up to Alfred Angelo and tried on my favorite dress again with a belt (A satin ribbon with some jewels on it) and I SAID YES TO THE DRESS!!!! I also had my MOH try on some dresses for the wedding party too, but I won't have people order them until the beginning of May.

Saturday we ran a TON of errands and almost got into a car accident on our way back. When we got home I made ST stuffed pepper soup and it was AMAZING. Everyone needs to try it!

Sunday FMIL came over to drop off a part of my Christmas gift (don't ask, apparently I need a "Pandora" bracelet for every month of the year). She then complained about how her physicians want her to get a masectomy before her gastric bypass surgery. Then she added more people on our guest list. I had to put my foot down since our guest list is set. But, she said one of her nieces will be in Poland for our wedding so "technically she can use those two spots". Later, FI gets a text from the niece (his cousin) that said that even though she won't be at the wedding, she wanted to attend a bridal shower if there is one. So now we're kind of stuck etiquette-wise.

Then I watched 90-day Fiancee which was...interesting. I did some laundry and then we just hung around.

ETA: I forgot to add that we registered Saturday as well! FI had WAYYYYY more fun than I did, he basically picked out all the items for the registry except for the dishes (I fell in LOVE with them). I was shocked he was so into it!

Another ETA: I forgot to add that I encountered another WR issue that I handled very well. We're having an evening wedding and have decided to not invite kids. It's hard for kids to stay awake past our bedtime and our reception is over at 11pm. Anway, my one BM has a 5 or 6 year old daugher and a 3 year old son. She sent me a text that says: ""Jane" wants to know why she's not invited." I texted back and said "tell Jane that no children are invited." My BM texts back with "she'll be good, we'll leave Johnny (her son) at home, since he's uncontrollable". I texted back "BM, if we invite your kids, we have to invite everyone's kids, which is 10 adult meals and that's out of our budget." I just get a text back "damn, okay". Mind you, she has two sisters, both parents and tons of cousins that are more than willing to watch her kids and she always want to go out without her kids, yet she wants to bring her daughter to our wedding...am I wrong here????

Dignity100

Saturday - I did some small clean up projects; still have a long way to go.  I should just totally work on trashing my place a little more and then turn myself into that 'Hoarders: Buried Alive' show and see if I could get them to help me clean my house - think this plan would work?  I did some laundry (I did 3 or 4 loads and there's still a mountain!!).  FI's plane got delayed so instead of getting home at 5:15pm he got home at 7:30pm (but the stupid internet said he wouldn't be home until 8:30 so I was a bit late picking him up - I only live 5 minutes from the airport, but with the snow/bad weather it took me 20 minutes to get there).

Sunday - I dropped Nessie off at the groomers.  Poor dog was WAY overdue.  Took a nap when I got home from dropping her off - got up, got the call that she was done - picked her up.  Went to FI's house so he could catch up on some stuff - including shoveling (grr - why can't his brother help out, he lives there rent-free!).  Ran some errands, went to a mall bridal show which was the worst bridal show for me ever (all I need is a dress and David's Bridal was the only dress shop there).

Here's Nessie after her groom - it at least lasted for the car ride - she totally face planted on purpose once we got home. . . she LOVES snow.

Dignity100

@buddysmom80 - pictures of the finished dress product?!?!  We don't believe it unless we see it .  So glad you got your dress.  I have an appointment on Thursday so I'm hoping to try on some AA dresses too (it's an authorized AA dealer and not an AA outlet - so hoping they have the Disney line dresses!!).  I wonder if your BM was hoping you'd say 'yeah I still need a flower girl, we can make an exception'.  Glad you got it all worked out.

[Deleted User]

@buddysmom80- YAY! I can't wait to see pictures! @lmhollister will have to tell everyone about her experience also, I don't want to steal her thunder.

@Dignity100- Look at the puppy all covered in snow!! So adorable! I have major puppy fever so whenever I see a dog I just want it.

This weekend flew by!!! Friday night we went to the movies after CrossFit and saw American Hustle which actually was a great movie in my opinion! I've heard mixed reviews but I love movies that keep me guessing the whole time and then I'm super surprised at the end.

Saturday H did really well in his CrossFit competition! I was so proud of him! I felt like one of those soccer moms cheering on their child at their game haha. I loved watching him compete, it was actually very sexy hah.

Sunday I went dress shopping with @lmhollister. I'll let her tell y'all about the shopping trip but it was very successful! Sunday night H and I stayed up too late and now I'm tired...blah...I need caffeine.

buddysmom80

 

@dignity100, I attached some pics below. I'm not getting the belt from AA since it's way out of my budget. I found a few on Etsy that I liked so I'll probably order it from there. Have fun dress shopping, I loved my experience at AA, way better than DB.

In re: BM, FI and I decided early on we didn't want kids at the wedding. We're not having a flower girl or ring bearer and I'm glad I stuck with my guns. All the people who we invited with kids know the date so they can find a babysitter in 10 months. I don't feel bad about it at all. We love kids, just not at weddings

 ETA: Formatting FUBAR

Dignity100

@buddysmom80 - That belt really makes the dress (even though it's not the same belt).  It makes you look super slim!  Love the dress!!

[Deleted User]

@buddysmom80- You look so beautiful in that dress!!! Love it!

labro

@buddysmom80 YAY! I'm so glad you found your dress!!! I am so happy for you! As far as your BM goes, I think you handled it well. It sounds like she really tried hard to guilt trip you into letting her bring her daught....especially with the whole "daughter wants to know why she can't come?". It's totally your decision to have or not have kids at your wedding and you were completely fair and reasonable with her.

Friday night FI and I decided to go out to a local bar that was hosting their three year anniversary party. We put our name on the list but never got a table. After just over an hour a couple spots opened up at the bar and we finally got to order some food. I was pretty much drunk at that point though cause I had had two beers on an empty stomach. We got home and I completely passed out.

Saturday FI had to log in to work to help with some changes (he's in IT) so our day got started kind of late. We were supposed to go to a wedding registry event at Macy's but on our way there I decided I wanted to pop in to Shane Co to look at wedding rings first. We somehow ended up spending nearly an hour and a half in there because the first sales person we dealt with was trying to help us plus several other people. BUT we finally got a sales person all to ourselves and....we bought our wedding rings! YAY!

Here's mine:

And here is his:

So after all that we didn't have time to go register anymore because the dog hadn't been outside in nearly four hours, plus the event was over at that point. So we went home and I made delicious butternut squash ravioli with a pumpkin cream sauce and roasted asparagus.

Sunday was dress shopping day!! I had three appointments but we only went to two of them because I found my dress!!! I am SO excited. I'll do a dress porn thread separately to share the whole story. Later that evening, one of FI's friends came over to smoke some ribs and we all had dinner and played games together and FI asked him to be in the wedding and he said yes! And now I really really wish I could just have the day off because I am exhausted.

[Deleted User]

@buddysmom80 - GORGEOUS.  you look so beautiful!  that dress is perfect for you.

I am home from work today with a bad case of PINK EYE.  I thought I had some symptoms last night before bed, but I wasn't able to sleep most of the night because my eye was burning and crusting over.  this morning it was swollen shut.  my doctor is out of town but another doctor can see me at 11...  so I'll sit here knotting and watching Netflix until I can go get some relief.

beanbot2002

@buddysmom80 good for you handling those WR issues!

Our weekend was a bit nuts...Friday night we dropped Bean off with my brother for a sleepover. Brother and Dad took Bean and nephew to NatsFest-this big preseason thing for the Nationals- on Saturday. They had a blast, got to meet a bunch of players, the new manager, and do some fun activities. Afterwards they took the boys to a burger joint where Bean ordered a Tilapia burger. Yep. My kid ordered a healthy grilled tilapia with tomato salsa burger...over a bacon cheeseburger.

Anyhow, Saturday morning I woke up, had breakfast with my mom, and then we headed to BRU for their clearance sale. I got some super cute little outfits for baby. I really got a shit ton of stuff. Mom bought a few outfits as well. After that we headed to Kohls to get our BFFs son a birthday gift. He wanted shirts and ties. While there, we ran into an old friend from church. It turned into a bit of a shit show, and I ended up screaming angry. Everytime I see this friend (she's an older lady-the mother of an old old old crush) she asks me when I'm going to come back to sing at the church. She says that I have to honor God with the gift he gave me. Ok, I sing. I just don't go to mass anymore. Usually I just nod and nervously laugh and say "Yeah. I know. Ok. Soon. Mmmhmm." while she badgers me for 20 minutes about "coming back to the church". Then my mom chimes in, "Yes. You know, Bean is almost ready for confirmation and if we don't get him signed up for Religious Ed this year, he's going to miss that boat. He won't go though, if he doesn't see his mother setting the example. blah blah guilt guilt blah." I finally got upset, but managed to keep my cool. I explained that I had no problem with God whatsoever, but that I had a huge problem with the institution of organized religion, especially the catholic church (because that's where I was raised, so that's where I have the most 'experience') and the church's teachings. I went on to explain that a little further and tell her how I do pray and talk to God, in my way. Friend responded, "But it has to be in HIS house." To which I retorted, "How is the world that he 'created' not more his house than a brick building??" She had no answer but just continued to say that I just needed to come back to church. I fail to see how my prayer is more relevant and better received within the confines of a brick building. I was so steamed because I hate being pressured and tag teamed and guilted into going to church. If I make my peace with the church, I'll go back. But right now, it ain't happening. It sparked a conversation with my mom regarding Bean and my desire to allow him to decide for himself if he wants to be confirmed. The WHOLE IDEA behind confirmation is that when they were born, they parents decided for the child, but now that they are older and can understand better, they choose for themselves to be a full member of the church. Bean already expresses conflict with the teachings of the church and I'm not going to force him into something he's not ready for or doesn't want. The whole conversation probably fell on deaf ears though.      \end rant

After that whole debacle, el Senor and I picked up Bean from my brother and drove to BFFs house for his son's bday party. It was really cute. BFF is Army SF, so he set up this whole scenario and got all of our friends in on it. He convinced son earlier in the week that there were people in the neighborhood messing with the house, putting tracking devices on his cell phone, and stalking them. It helped that they've also been doing helicopter flyovers the last week for training. When we got there he gave el Senor some water balloons. El Senor slipped out while the kids were busy playing video games and started throwing them at the door and windows all around the house. It sounded like explosions going off. The kids were so freaked out. I had a hard time not laughing my butt off. BFF then ran upstairs got the kids camo shirts and did a VERY realistic mission briefing. After that, he went downstairs to the garage to get the last of son's gifts and el Senor and BFF acted out a whole gift stealing scenario. The kids mission was to follow the target to the local laser tag place and seek him out. Friends were set up as helpers and other's were with the bad guy. They were holding 'intel' (slips of papers with clues about who the bad guy was). The kids had to retrieve the intel, get the bad guy, and get the gifts back. It was freaking awesome. I spent the night being the coat check for the group lol

Yesterday I was so exhausted I slept for 3 hours when we got home from BFFs. Other than that we did some cleaning and I made ST fish tacos for dinner (Bean's fave).

Ummm...sorry for the Tolkein length novel...

 

Swazzle

@buddysmom80 - I can't even handle how gorgeous you are in your dress. I think you handled the situation with your friend perfectly well.

@cocobellaf - Feel better! Pink eye is THE WORST.

**********

I had a great weekend! Also I'm still in bed

Friday, H and I went to the Devils game and we won! Woo hoo!

Saturday, I was a little hungover so I lounged all morning and then deep-cleaned my apartment. I tried to change my nose ring for the first time and had some serious issues. I managed to get the old one out but then couldn't get the new one OR the old one back in so I had to make an emergency stop at my tattoo place for some help. I was embarrassed!

Saturday night, H's friend and his wife came up to our house. We went to dinner and then out for drinks in NYC.

Yesterday we all bundled up (seriously: 4 pairs of socks, 3 pairs of pants, 2 thermal shirts, a hoodie, a coat, a jersey, 2 hats, a scarf, gloves, boots, and hand warmers) and braved the cold for the Devils/Rangers Stadium Series game at Yankee Stadium. It was SO MUCH FUN! It was really cold and it snowed and the Devils lost but we had a blast.

Last night, we ordered pizza and watched the Grammy's. Beyoncé and Jay-Z KILLED it and Taylor Swift's dress was my absolute fave.

Swazzle

@LivLeighton - Thanks, that makes me feel better! I know the piercer at the tattoo place (we chatted a lot while H and I were there getting our tats earlier in the fall) and she's super nice so I didn't feel too dumb once I got there. I was pierced with a corkscrew ring so that's the type that I bought recently. I like them because they're the most secure but definitely the hardest to get in and out. I won't be trying to do it again on my own, honestly. My nose is so sore/swollen/tender that it's like I just got it pierced.

KeptInStitches

@buddysmom80, beautiful dress! I think you handled the kid thing well.

Friday night I worked on knocking back Mount Laundry. Odds of imminent avalanche are significantly lower, but I still need to work on it.

Saturday I went up to the music store and picked up sheet music for "On Eagle's Wings" plus a book of songs called "What Can I Play for Funerals?" Apparently this exists. Then I went to campus and grabbed a practice room to work on relearning the piano. I'm unpolished but not terrible. I also need to get my hands on an accompaniment copy of With One Voice and Evangelical Lutheran Worship - anyone know how I can do that for relatively cheap? The ELW is $65 and I'd rather not spend that if I can avoid it. Plus if anyone knows how good the overlap is, maybe I can get away with just the ELW.

Anyway ... Saturday a natural gas pipeline exploded upstream of my service area. The fireball was apparently impressive. It also potentially damaged another couple of pipelines, so my whole are got put into reduced natural gas usage just in time for the blizzard to blow in. I think this is officially our third blizzard of the month. I was lucky - I have baseboard electric heating - but a lot of people, including my family and BF, were shivering with the reduced heat. Good timing, energy company. Good timing.

Watched the Pro Bowl - it was a hell of a lot better than the last couple of years. Also, my brother owes me $1 because I won the Pro Bowl bet again. That sucker's going on my fridge.

loves2shop4shoes

Blah…why can't it be Sunday again?

Friday I came home from work.  DH and I ordered food and snuggled.  Then we went over to my brother's, hung out, and watched a movie.

Saturday, I was awoken by a hysterical phone call from my coworker (long story.)  I dealt with that, ate, showered, played with Annie, and then went to volunteer orientation for the animal shelter I am volunteering at.  Then I went to the adoption side and played with a bunch of dogs and cats.  It was awesome.  Then I came home, threw together a crab dip, and DH and I went over to @suzie211's for an awesome Dip Off party.  I also got to hang with @minskat30 and her DH.  It was good times.  We had so much fun.

Sunday, DH and I slept in.  It was glorious.  Then we made breakfast together, snuggled, did a little shopping, went groceries, came home, snuggled some more and had sexytimes.

I had a LOT of trouble sleeping last night, so I'm really exhausted today.  And I just wish I could rewind and relive Sunday.  *Insert whining*

GoldenPenguin

I worked on Friday night, slept in on Saturday, then had to work Saturday night. Our hockey game turned into a shitshow - we won, but there was a huge brawl between the two teams, including the coaches, so that made things interesting. 

I didn't get home until almost 1 a.m. Saturday night because of all the craziness of postgame, so yesterday I slept in till almost 1030, and it was FANTASTIC. BF & I made breakfast (brunch), watched Silver Linings Playbook, and then an all-day marathon of SVU. We had avocado BLTs for dinner (YUM, BTW), watched True Detective, then I read for a bit before passing out around 1045. 

Hopefully this week isn't as long & draining as last week.

[Deleted User]

@buddysmom80 - You look so beautiful! in that dress! Love the belt too.

 

H and I had a dinner party Saturday night. Everything went great. Had a lot of fun, but everyone ended up staying until about midnight and I really am not good at staying up that late.

Sunday we lazed around in the morning. Cleaned up from the party and did laundry. In the afternoon we went for a nice long walk with the dog. I watched a couple more Breaking Bad episodes and then we watched The Butler over dinner. Overall a pretty relaxing weekend and I'm so excited to have a clean house!

buddysmom80

Thanks everyone !

bethsmiles

@buddysmom80 - I love your dress! You look amazing in it!

My weekend was not the greatest. I had the cramps from hell all weekend and I thought I lost my wallet on Friday which was really stressful.

But BF had a job interview on Friday that went really well. We're hoping he gets this job!

Dirtybella1

I feel like my weekend passed me by! Saturday I hung out around the house. I meant to clean but just ended up being lazy instead. That night I met my best friend to smoke hookah and hang out. Sunday a friend had a baby shower and now here it is Monday again! Although I'm hoping we have a snow day tomorrow and I'll have a chance to get some cleaning done! We have a winter storm warning starting tonight through tomorrow which is rare in South Texas. So fingers crossed they cancel school tomorrow!

Peaseblossom55

My weekend was good went by too fast! Saturday I had rehearsal in the morning.  Then we met up with our parents at our venue for our food and menu tasting. The food we tasted was so good.  I'm incredibly happy.  FI loved and so did our parents.  We chose the 10 apps, 4 chafing dishes, 3 manned station, the 4 course dinner and then cake and vienesse table.  We have to go somewhere else for the cake tasting though.  We chose for the main course options salmon in a hoison (sp?) sauce, chateaubriand, chicken breast stuffed with roasted pepper, spinach and cheese, and the vegetarian meal is tofu with roasted red potatoes, with spinach. The other meals will get a veggie mix and potatoes au gratin. After we went shopping at an outlet near by.  Then came home and stayed in the rest of the day.  I also got a call from the church I can walk down the aisle to the song I always dreamed of, FI doesn't find it to be that impressive. I agree with only an organ it sounds kind of weak so I have to think about what I want to walk down the aisle to, keep the song as it or look for something better. What did you walk down the aisle to?

Yesterday I had 4 hours rehearsal it was tiring and I was sore from all of the dancing.  It was fun though.  The rest of the night we just hung out and relaxed.  This morning I had my annual doctor check up.  Our Bailey was really sick and possibly blocked so FI called I came home from work and we took him to the vet so he is there now for observation.  He is not blocked but he still having issues, so please think good thoughts for Bailey! Working from home the rest of the day.

GoldenPenguin

OH, I forgot to tell a fun story from yesterday. 

I'm not sure if anyone has seen the Overstock.com commercial where the couple is talking about how they got their engagement ring from the website, but that came on while we were watching our SVU marathon.

I was in the kitchen & BF pipes up from the couch "Should I get your ring from overstock.com?" (this is when I was glad I was in the kitchen so he couldn't see my uber excited face.) I said "Sure, as long as you remember what stone I like...." and he said "Morganite." And I said "Yup! But I don't care where you get it from." Then I walked back over to the couch, and said "You could get me a bread tie for all I care." and leaned over & kissed him, and he smiled, and that was that.

I tried not to get OVERLY excited about it, but I'd be lying if I said I didn't get some butterflies in my belly.  

Ollie08

Wait, it's Monday? Where the hell did my weekend go?

We went out to dinner on Friday night and dropped the girls off at their dad's. We went home to watch some of our shows from that week and about an hour later, I got a call from their step mom saying that she found some lice eggs in my oldest DD's hair (they got lice from their step sister's last weekend and I was stuck trying to get rid of it), so they sent them home that night. Saturday I spent over 8 hours washing and combing their hair to get rid of everything. Then cleaning the whole house AGAIN. 

Sunday I had to meet two clients to sign contracts, and another to show a few houses, so I worked most of the day and it was over before I knew it!

Our plans initially were to paint our bedroom this weekend, but that didn't happen. And now it's Monday. Mondays suck. 

[Deleted User]

@Peaseblossom55 - I'm so glad you enjoyed your tasting and found some amazing meal options for your event! The tasting was one of my favorite parts!

I wanted instrumental songs, but not the traditional wedding ones for our processional and recessional. I walked to an instrumental version of Falling Slowly from Once by Piano Music Guru. I can't pull it up at the office, but it was on YouTube and I believe it was all piano. Our recessional song was an instrumental version of A Thousand Years from Twilight (I know, I know) by The Piano Guys. The version had piano and cello I believe.

Keeping Bailey in my thoughts today too!

Ollie08

@buddysmom80 & @Imhollister - You ladies look so great in your dresses! Seriously knock-outs!

@swazzle - I'm sorry your nose hurts. My cousin went to the Devils game this weekend too! I seriously would not survive in that cold. You're brave.

Peaseblossom55

@allusive007 The food tasting was so much fun.  I'm glad the food was good and that they made me something really good to accommodate my vegan diet.

I"m limited to what I can have played because I'm getting married in the catholic church I was shocked they would do the processional from the sound of music actually.  It sounds so much better with the trumpets/trombone but it seems silly to hire these extra musicians for a minute or less walk down the aisle.

Ollie08

@BriSox81 - Can you tell me that story again? Maybe as a bed time story? Cause it sounds like the beginning of a fairytale. I it even more the second time!

Hummingbird125

I am still in bed and it's fantastic :-) 

Friday was a rough day. After a lot of thought, and consulting a bunch of people who's opinions I trust, I decided to turn down a job offer. The pay was significantly lower than even my lowest expectations, and they did not offer benefits. I was stressed about turning it down, but later that day the father of the child I babysit for offered to double my hours on the weeks the kid is with him. I'll be doing some things for his business, and maybe some errands. With that pay, at least I know I'll be able to pay all of my monthly bills. Sigh of relief there. FI stayed in the city for happy hour with his coworkers, and didn't let me know until it was the time he was supposed to be home. I got really upset over how he handled it, and we got into a fight about it when he got home. I was also. upset that he didn't eat anything all day, and then started drinking. It's not healthy, and I don't want to have to worry about him doing that. We also got into a 2nd fight that same night, this one about wedding stuff. Ugh. I know he had a really bad week at work, and was super stressed about it, and I had been upset/stressed about the job offer situation, and we both just took it out on each other. Luckily, we talked through everything and worked out our feelings before going to bed. I just cried way too much last week, and I'd like to avoid any tears for the near future.

Saturday night we went out with two friends for my birthday, and had an awesome night. Sunday evening we went out to dinner with my parents. I wasn't expecting any gifts from them, but my mom surprised me with a a really cute sweater dress. Last night, I baked brownies and watched the Sean & Catherine wedding special, and we went to bed early.

audrewuh

@beanbot2002 - wowzers! What an incredibly awesome birthday party!!

@brisox81 OMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMG

I'm trying so hard to get off my ass, but it's not working. 

Friday, the temp hit in the 20's, so the city literally shut down. I stayed home and worked on my quilt and made some yummy chili. 

Saturday was much warmer. H and I went and toured a local distillery. It was so much fun! Four guys run it out of a warehouse and make four different kinds of liquor. Then they bartend for you before and after the tour. It was really neat. Gave me all the small business fuzzies. 

Then I went to Joann's and dropped a pretty penny on some fabric for my next quilt. I'm irrationally excited about this one. It's going to be a monster. 

Saturday night I almost had my quilt finished, and then I sewed the binding on upside down and had to rip out the whole seam. H made me go to bed. 

Sunday morning I was at church for the first time in two weeks. Got to answer a lot of questions about where I've been. I wasn't there last week because I was interviewing for a job at another church. We don't have youth activities on the last Sunday of the month and I was so grateful. I had lunch with my pastor and her H and then went home to, you guessed it, finish my quilt. I had about 15 minutes left and took a break to go drink with my friend. Came home, drank some more, and finished my quilt! 

TK is being a whore or I'd show all the pictures...

ETA: Tomorrow temps will be back in the low 30's and everything will ice again, effectively shutting down the city once more. I have stuff I NEED to get done today, but I can't get off the couch...  It's 12:25.

audrewuh

The fabric for my next quilt. 

My finished quilt for my goddaughter.

phira

@buddysmom80 LOVE THAT DRESS. Holy crap. All this dress porn is making me want to go dress shopping again.

Where did you register? We're just starting to do registry stuff. We're hoping to register at Crate&Barrel for dinnerware, flatware, and a bunch of kitchen stuff, and then Bed Bath & Beyond for more kitchen stuff, and a lot of linens. We're running into some issues with registering at a 3rd place, which is that there are a handful of items that are not available at C&B or BBB, but aren't all available at some third place. For example, the towels, pillows, and comforter we want can be found on three different websites. We're thinking of using myregistry.com for stuff like that, so it can all be in one place.

I also totally hear you about not wanting kids at the wedding. My brother and ex-SIL had a no kids wedding. There was a lot of drama involved (my maternal grandmother was particularly upset that not all of her grandchildren were invited to the first grandkid wedding--not that all of the adult grandkids were there anyway!), but it was worth it. I wanted a no kids wedding as well, but my partner insisted on inviting his godson, who is the youngest of his cousins, and is going to be 13 at the time of the wedding. That would leave only a handful of my cousins we could leave off the list, and we'd rather pay for the kiddie meals and lose maybe 4-5 adult guests than deal with my grandmother's drama.

@Dignity100 I LOVE the Disney line. If I had decided to wear a white dress, you can bet your ass I'd have been at an Alfred Angelo store/authorized dealer, debating whether or not I should pick a dress based on princess.

@lmhollister LOVE those wedding bands!! I especially like the bling in your fiance's ring. I've got no problem with super plain men's bands, but hey, it's a wedding band! I wish more guys would get rings with gemstones.

@beanbot2002 First of all, LOVE the birthday party BFF threw. I love when kids can get really into scenarios like that! Not that traditional kid birthdays aren't fun for kids, but this sounds like it was fun for everyone, adults included!

I also agree with you about confirmation. The whole darn point is that it's supposed to be Bean's decision. It sounds like the pressure is getting really annoying though. Props to your for recognizing it for what it is: pressure, not reasoning.

@livleighton Slow service is the number one thing I hate at restaurants. There's a place near campus that my friends and I go to a lot, and there were several months in a row where service was so slow that we'd frequently be there for an hour and a half for lunch. We'd ask for the check and get it, and then it would be 30 minutes before we'd have our cards run, or we'd get change back (that we'd asked for). And yet we still go there all the damn time so I guess we're not really making a statement by avoiding them?

I have a friend going through a weird break-up right now (they were never officially a couple), and she's also not cutting the guy off cold turkey. I think that it's really important to give yourself what you need, and in this case, if it's seeing B and spending time with him so you don't lose your ENTIRE relationship with him (just the boyfriend part), then there's nothing wrong or foolish about spending time with him. It sounds like you're both really clear on what you each want and need, and there's not a lot of confusion about what hanging out together entails.

@TwoDimes That's the biggest reason why I hate seeing movies in the theater! I also hate when people are texting, even with the sound off. The screens are so bright! We just went to the theater a couple weeks ago, and there were two older ladies sitting behind us. They not-so-quietly complained as soon as we showed up (about how UGH there were PEOPLE in FRONT of them now--except obviously that would be the case because they didn't buy tickets at the front of a row!), they kicked against our seat backs, and then talked throughout the entire show. Given that I was incredibly emotionally invested in the row, I was seriously offended. When they started eating TIC TACS, I almost got up to find an usher.

@KeptInStitches I'm always astounded by how expensive music is. We're making our wedding flowers out of sheet music, and I'm photocopying everything so I don't have to use my originals. I'd much prefer to use the originals (since the paper is off-white instead of gross, bright copy paper white), but it's too expensive to buy new sheet music.

@Peaseblossom55 I'm so sorry that Bailey is sick! My best friend is a vet and she has a cat with FLUTD who's on a strict regimen to prevent him from getting blocked. It's very stressful.

@allusive007 We're using the Vitamin String Quartet version of Falling Slowly for our processional. I can't usually listen to any version of that song without crying, so we'll see how I do at the wedding.

@hummingbird125 I'm sorry to hear how rough things were on Friday. First of all, it is REALLY difficult to turn down a job offer, especially these days where it feels very "take what you can get and be grateful." But sometimes, turning down the offer is better than taking it. It's still a stressful decision to make. And ugh, my partner is infamous for not letting me know when he's going to be home from stuff. I'll find out only after texting him sometimes that he's decided to stay longer at a friend's house. Last weekend, I was having such a rough time depression-wise (which he knew) and he did exactly that, and then was surprised when he came home and I was in rage-tears over the situation.