there's the bit in stories where the guy will go to great lengths to find the beautiful lady he admired from afar, since he got a name, asked around, she was rich/famous/something, he picked up something of hers, she mouthed some words to him that he couldn't decipher, WHATEVER.

this is different.


the end.

so... who would read this? what do you think?

=^.^=

=^.^=

I HAS DRESS!!!!!!!

ashley, amanda, and I went to check it out today and it is fabulous. it needs to be cleaned very badly, taken in, and the threads clipped from missing beads. I don't really care about replacing them, because if someone's going to be that OCD about my dress on our wedding day, I'm going to tell them that the dice in the bowls aren't matched.

the woman who owned it was very sweet and had two totally adorable kids! I could have stood there and squeed for half an hour.... but we had to go.

ashley wanted to visit a yarn shop around this side of town, but it turns out it was closed, so we headed over to where there was supposed to be a bookstore. well, we didn't see a bookstore immediately, but I noticed a Jo-Ann's fabrics, and I wanted to price fabrics for the veil, so we popped in there. turns out we're all wildly tactile, so we went up and down the fabric rows molesting all the fabrics. there were some totally gorgeous colors there, including a whole section of fabrics for kimonos that had stunning patterns. ashley and amanda had great ideas for historical costuming, and we found the perfect shade of green velvet for Scarlett O'Hara's curtains dress. I found out that they had charmeuse and silk yoryu, but it was 17.99 a yard, special order! that's ridiculous. however, they had some totally gorgeous gold lamé fabrics and we all fell madly in love with them. they were slick and stretchy and felt so cool, and they glimmered! so we decided then and there that I'm TOTALLY revamping the color scheme. see how it's good to do all this planning way in advance? this is another of those big changes I'm talking about. so I'm thinking the really nice gold - the kind that looks almost like rippling gold leaf - for my veil, and the brighter lamé as an accent in things like wrapping the stems in the bouquets. speaking of which, we'll have to go for bold yellow flowers, like Beehive Gold or Graham Thomas roses, yarrow, and yellow asiatic lilies. then the roses can be sprayed with that pretty shimmer/glitter stuff that florists put on some prom roses. poof - glittery gold flowers! and on the reception tables, on top of the regular white round tablecloths, I could make squares of the fabric that has the little sparkly gold circles on it - I don't remember what the name of it is - big enough so that the corners just drape over the sides. totally fabulous.

so after we finally ran out of lovely fabric to molest, we went back out still in search of the bookstore. it was in the complex across the street. turns out it was the Barnes and Noble where Richard used to work... anyway ashley's reading these Twilight series of books since evidently there's a tv show of it or something, and the guy who plays Cedric Diggory plays the main guy character, so she went in to get that. I went to get a drink, passing the center cafe island where Richard had gotten a sandwich and I had gotten a dulce de leche cheesecake and mispronounced the name when I ordered it. emily and I had made so many plans to bug him at that place, and the one time we had an excuse to go - I needed "The Things They Carried" for class - he wasn't there. when I got back from my drink, ashley and amanda had found .....

the wedding books. I was in bliss. mostly they were big planners and etiquette books which I don't need, because either the stuff doesn't pertain to me (I'm not doing it, like questions to ask calligraphers) or I've already done the research online (like what to ask reception venues). but amanda and I did find a great book for the bachelorette party while ashley was buying her book - it's called "how well do you know your groom?" and they have a bride version too. basically it's a 100 question quiz on your intended and some of the questions and answers are HILARIOUS. amanda and I (and ashley when she came back) read through some of them and we were laughing so hard I thought we'd get stern looks. one of the questions is "what would he do if he were served raw oysters?" and the answers were along the lines of "enjoy them, refuse them, pick at them, or hide them," and amanda and I decided that deven would hide his in his milk.

anyway, I got dropped off at the dorms at the end (obviously) and the dress will be kept safely at ashley's together with hers. I can't keep it here - I have to move out tomorrow and I'm sure my mom would have words to say about me going off and getting a wedding dress, and they would be words which I would rather not hear. I thought about keeping it at deven's but then ashley brought up that he might peek at it since it's there, and will be there for such a long time.

well, that was our adventure!

=^.^=

p.s. the songs on the youtube playlist are:
Save the Last Dance for Me -- Michael Bublé
Sway -- Michael Bublé
That's How You Know -- Enchanted
Happy Working Song -- Enchanted
Upside Down -- A*Teens
Halfway Round the World -- A*Teens
Sugar Rush -- A*Teens
How do I Feel -- Hoku
Californication -- Red Hot Chili Peppers

from bestbridalprices.com:

eden bridals 5004: $398
eden bridals 2148: $498
essence of australia d374: call

from houseofbrides.com:

eden bridals 5004: $424
eden bridals 2148: $498

from netbride.com:

Demetrios Blue B141: $763
Eden Bridals 5004: $309

=^.^=

dear Mari, Amanda, and Lauren,

I found out today that in approximately a month to a month and a half, I need to definitively tell Las Casas/ASU whether or not I will be living in the dorms next year. that means we need to find out if we're going to do this house thing or not. so far, I haven't heard a peep about telling landlords we're interested, looking over houses, et cetera.

so far it seems as though Mari had been the de facto leader of this adventure, but I have a feeling that she's been way too busy at the moment to give it much thought.

however, due to this unexpected time crunch, I would love to do what I can to get the ball rolling again.

so, what are we going to do now?

=^.^=

I promise you, tony-from-the-arcade-and-THEM*, this is not your fault.

however, it makes me think about a certain mindset towards the ceremony part of a wedding that I find all around the wedding community, and I'm not just talking weddingplans (which is my online home away from home).

yeah, most of the planning and anticipation and time is going to be spent on the reception, but heyo - that's just the after-the-fact celebration. it's not the main event. that would be the ceremony, where the two people get married. that's the important part. the reception just says, hey, we got married and we're so happy about it that we're going to celebrate!

what's the pervasive mindset I'm so riled up about? it's the idea that the ceremony is dull as ditchwater, and great pains must be taken to either make it palatable, or shorten it up drastically, or both.

note: I am NOT pointing fingers, and I know that a lot of the comments I get directly are meant as jokes. but inside every joke, there is at least a grain of firmly-held belief. behind those jokes about people falling asleep at a ceremony, being bored, needing to be entertained/distracted, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera, is the firmly held belief that the ceremony is only important to the bride and groom, and sometimes only the bride (and - gasp! - sometimes not even her), and is a complete bore to everyone else in attendance.

there are SO MANY BRIDES bending over backwards and almost snapping in half to come up with exciting, showy, participatory, or extremely truncated ceremonies. we who think about wedding planning for more than an hour a day, more than about eight months prior to the date, are often roundly criticized for thinking too much about the wedding and not about the marriage. (which is another rant, but let's have one at a time.) but guess what -- the ceremony part is the part where we GET MARRIED! so yes, it is EXTREMELY important part, especially with the insane things we're promising to each other.

in a Catholic marriage, unless things are obviously and drastically wrong, there's no going back. this is 100% pure and total gift of self to someone else with no strings attached, no second thoughts, no matter what. around those vows are packed strongly-worded invocations of divine assistance and guidance. we're bound together till we die. we're going to need a lot of help; help of the most powerful kind for which we can ask. besides the window dressing - the readings and the music, which are more like instructions and inspiration - that's the whole thing.

so when people express the desire to get the central part of a wedding over with as quickly as possible, or have no interest in it whatsoever, then why do they care? why do they even bother to show up? why celebrate something that is so dull that no one can pay attention to it?

that's my rant. I have to study now.

=^.^=

*to distinguish you from the other tony.

invitations. remember that gigantic post that listed every single little nibbly thing that would go into those amazing handcrafted creations that I'd handmake with love?

forget that. heh.

I totally forgot that I need to have programs - yes, need, because I know you people, and between the ones who would love to be able to follow along and the ones who'll play word search in it, they're a necessity. so I went back to my fantabulous Catholic wedding program maker site and found out how much it would be. well, when I include all the texts and music so people can follow along, it's $3.25 a pop. If my golden number of 100 actually comes true, I'm thinking of getting 60 programs. that's a whopping $195!

so I went back to the Knot budgeter, looking for something I could hack apart. then I saw that my invitations were at $150, and I distinctly remembered posting cheap commercial invites for way cheaper. I knew I did not want to go with fully commercial invites - I'm too much of a control freak. I must have my stamp on everything. so, the next logical thing to do was to look for...


=^.^=

Tiered Pedestal Serving Plates; 24.99; Target; 13", 10", 8"

issues: online only. are the measurements taken from the base or rim top? "Dishwasher, microwave and refrigerator-safe."

Wilton Cakes-and-More 3-Tier Party Stand; 29.99; Target, Bed, Bath, and Beyond, Wilton; 12", 10", 8"

issues: Target says it's made of plastic. online only at Target, BBB doesn't say, would need to check out stores that sell Wilton. does the measurement exclude the chrome rim, or will the unfrosted cake sides be flush against the stand edges?

well, actually that's all I've found in brick and mortar reputable stores so far that I like.

=^.^=

Amanda, Ashley, and Chrystal:

I have two finals on Friday the 2nd and one on Tuesday the 6th. the THEM end of the year party is on the 3rd.

on that Saturday, or possibly that Friday after my second final (think 2:30-ish), I need to get my butt in gear and make the rest of those cupcakes.

also, I'm thinking of wedding dress prowling. I found a superawesome dress for $75 -- yeah, seventy-five dollars! -- on craig's list in NW peoria (not far from me right here). for that price, and from the pics, to me it's definitely worth going to their place and checking it out. because let me tell you, if it's halfway decent, I would totally get it right then and there. besides that, there are some places near tempe and the phoenix-y area that I'd like to check out pricewise. if you guys want, we can scope out maid's dresses, or you can not think about that for a long time, no problem.

the thing is, I need to move out of my dorm after that final on Tuesday, so it will be a lot more difficult for me to take the shuttle - remember, the shuttle doesn't run on the weekends, only till 5:00 pm on fridays, and not at all once school is no longer in session.

what we could do is make cupcakes on friday/saturday, which I will be doing whether or not y'all decide to come along, go look at the $75 dress sometime after finals, and prowl when I get back from CO and move to tempe.

so what do your finals look like? what are you interested in doing?

=^.^=

I love you, Wilton. always have... always will. you never cease giving me new reasons.

ok, so I was poking around the Wilton website looking at cake stands, because even though I always thought I'd have the tiered cake with columns, now I don't really want a lot of hardware in the cake, because then it looks all torn up when you take the stuff out. so I was in search of cake stands that rose in height, but were separate, so any design on the top could be seen, and the cakes would be easy to cut. anyway, Wilton had just what I wanted for thirty bucks. but the sizes were for a 12 inch, 10 inch, and an 8 inch. I wondered if that was going to be enough to feed 100 people. after all, my mom usually made 8" two layer cakes for our birthdays, and they didn't last very long. then again, we cut it in wedges, and fairly large ones at that; much larger than pieces people would get of wedding cake.

anyway, I found on the website a chart of all the pan shapes and sizes, how to cut them, and how many pieces each yielded. (a lot of other stuff too, it's amazing.) anyway, I added up how many pieces the 12", 10", and 8" gave, and it came out to be 118 slices! excellent! now I don't have to worry about fixing recipes - including oven temperature and baking time - to accommodate huge cake proportions. woohoo!

=^.^=

so yeah. I didn't get to go to the bridal show today. instead I had the wonderful opportunity to sit at the ABC Nissan car dealership, frustrated beyond belief.

this is what we WERE going to do today: go to 9:00 Mass, go to the dealership at 10:00 to have deven's mom sign the papers and put down the down payment, then go to the bridal show.

but no. his parents have GOT to mess it up. "what if you just got a new car?" --which meant we had to stand around in the sun looking at the cheapest MSRP car they had on the lot, and test drive it, even though there was no chance in hell deven would be able to afford the monthly payments even before warranty and everything else. "what about this?" --feet dragging, feet dragging. "what about that?" --phone calls that never ended. "what about the other thing?" --sitting around goggling at each other. it was awful.

but at least some good things got done. we pulled a few things off the warranties end of the car payments, deven's dad said he'd put another thousand down on it, and eventually we got to a monthly payment that was MUCH nicer than before. MUCH, MUCH nicer. about 30 bucks nicer; 30 bucks that made deven and me lose sleep and cry because he couldn't afford it. plus, since the sales manager (a confirmed asshole named Chris) had lied to us about what the 2-year warranty covered, deven will get his car back with a full tank of gas (note: when he got it, it had a quarter tank in it, and he hadn't put any gas in it when he gave it back to them to fix the transmission, so by now it'd be near empty), plus a 10 dollar gas card, which is the most they're allowed to give. so that's pretty cool. koren - the woman we've been working with - is totally a THEMer at heart, and reminds me strongly of Elfling, including appearance and incredibly deceptive age. she's been amazing. she's calling the repair people tomorrow to see when deven is getting his car back.

the sucky thing about not going to the bridal show though, besides the fact that I REALLY wanted to go, is that Christine bought me a ticket to go, and poof - I didn't get to. I'll pay her back, though... Deven and I both feel really bad about it.

=^.^=

so, there's the THEM last meeting of the year tomorrow, the THEM formal dinner on Saturday...

and the Phoenix Bridal Expo on Sunday! from 10am to 3pm.

I'm going with Deven. Amanda said she can't make it - she's got an ugly research paper due the next day... and I have a feeling Ashley won't want to get up that early. : (

So Chrystal -- hey there, long time no see! I don't know what your work schedule is, or when you like to get up in the morning, but would you like to come along?

=^.^=

does anyone know where I can find an amazing hat like this??



no such cool thing at walmart or target, but that's not a surprise. I don't know where to look.

=^.^=

You are a Social Conservative (33% permissive) and an... Economic Moderate (41% permissive) You are best described as a: Centrist Link: The Politics Test on Ok Cupid Also : The OkCupid Dating Persona Test

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=^.^=

What Privileges Do You Have:

Based on an exercise about class and privilege developed by Will Barratt, Meagan Cahill, Angie Carlen, Minnette Huck, Drew Lurker, Stacy Ploskonka at Illinois State University. If you participate in this blog game, they ask that you PLEASE acknowledge their copyright.

What applies is to me is bolded.

1. Father went to college.

2. Father finished college.

3. Mother went to college.

4. Mother finished college. [my dad stole her away... : ) ]

5. Have any relative who is an attorney, physician, or professor. [my uncle is an optometrist. he has his own practice.]

6. Were the same or higher class than your high school teachers.

7. Had more than 50 books in your childhood home.

8. Had more than 500 books in your childhood home. (Maybe. I never counted.) [same as Amanda's comment.]

9. Were read children’s books by a parent.

10. Had lessons of any kind before you turned 18. [I had maybe two months' worth of private snare drum lessons before my parents told me that if I don't practice, they won't pay for them. I hated practicing.]

11. Had more than two kinds of lessons before you turned 18.

12. The people in the media who dress and talk like you are portrayed positively. [I would say yes, but my women's studies class tells me to say no.]

13. Had a credit card with your name on it before you turned 18.

14. Your parents (or a trust) paid for the majority of your college costs. [only first semester freshman year.]

15. Your parents (or a trust) paid for all of your college costs.

16. Went to a private high school. [and grade school, and preschool.]

17. Went to summer camp.

18. Had a private tutor before you turned 18. [I'm not stupid.]

19. Family vacations involved staying at hotels. [only three times, out of sheer necessity, and they were nasty cheap hotels.]

20. Your clothing was all bought new before you turned 18. [consignment for the win! plus when I was little my mom used to make some stuff.]

21. Your parents bought you a car that was not a hand-me-down from them. (I have no car. I can't even *drive*.) [same as Amanda's comment.]

22. There was original art in your house when you were a child. [unless you count the all cross-stitch my aunt made us...]

23. You and your family lived in a single-family house.

24. Your parent(s) owned their own house or apartment before you left home. [paid off the mortgage just as I left!]

25. You had your own room as a child. [not for long.]

26. You had a phone in your room before you turned 18. [there was a jack on my room, and I stole my ancient phone from my oldest brother when he moved out.]

27. Participated in a SAT/ACT prep course. [like I said, I'm not stupid.]

28. Had your own TV in your room in high school. (Nope. I've never been much for TV, and both myself and my parents agreed that it was a bad idea.)  [same as Amanda's comment, except the question never came up.]

29. Owned a mutual fund or IRA in high school or college.

30. Flew anywhere on a commercial airline before you turned 16. [when we moved here from Georgia. YOU try driving across the country with five kids under the age of 10.]

31. Went on a cruise with your family.

32. Went on more than one cruise with your family.

33. Your parents took you to museums and art galleries as you grew up. [we wished we could go...]

34. You were unaware of how much heating bills were for your family. (Then again, I was pretty unaware overall.) [same here. why would parents tell their kids how much the bills are anyway, except for some weird guilt trip?]

16/34

=^.^=

1. Pick 15 movies you know/like/love.
2. Go to IMDb and find a quote from each movie.
3. Post them here for everyone to guess.
4. Strike it out when someone guesses correctly, and put who guessed it and the movie.
5. NO GOOGLING/using IMDb search functions.


bonus cookies for character and/or actor names.

...and I will actually make cookies.

EDIT: when I say wrong title, it's not because I'm being a brat and you actually have the right movie. it's because that is the title of another movie in which the quote does not exist.

People who get cookies so far:
Ashley
Sunshine
Teresa
Christine

=^.^=

what I did ask, followed by what I wish I could have said... when, in high school senior year College 101 class the people from Catholic colleges/universities would come in to give their plugs and take questions.

(what actually transpired)

Me: Yes, umm, has your theology department taken the official oath of loyalty to the Magisterium?

Them: Uhhh... Actually... ummm... We don't know. [I later found out this was code for "Hell no, we won't go."]

Me. Oh. [alternatively: "Uh huh."]

(what I wished I could have said afterwards)

Me: Oh, I see. So you're in direct violation of Pope John Paul's "Ex Corde Ecclesiae." Thank you for clearing that up. I have one additional question; is apostasy included in tuition or is that covered by a mandatory activities fee?

Them: (thinking) We hate you.

by the way, also during senior year I once had the misfortune to run into a young man in our cafeteria who was a college rep from... Oh, I think it was Marquette University. I asked him about the oath to the Magisterium. (It's one of my stock questions for Catholic institutions of higher learning.) He gave me a look which combined blank and quizzical and said, "Are you talking Latin to me?" When I gave him the same look back, he said, "Was what you just said Latin?"
Me: "Umm, yeah, I said 'Magisterium.' "
Him: "Oh... could you translate that?"
Ok, feller. if you don't even recognize the word "Magisterium," one of us is definitely not in the right place.

=^.^=

a while ago I thought I was all wedding-ed out, as though everything were already planned and I really couldn't do much more until I actually started going out and looking at/buying things.

ha. ha ha-ha. ha ha-ha ha-ha ha-ha.

there will be a list after this funny bit from the blog of a wedding planner, when another poster was planning her own wedding:

"Me: So much, I need an aisle runner for one thing.

Joe: What do we need him for?

Me: Him who?

Joe: A runner, why do we need him?

Me: You have no idea what a runner is do you?

Joe: Yeah like the kids you have that like go and run down the aisle in front of you and like throw down flowers or whatever.

Me: Geez, no, it’s the material that you walk on down the aisle.

Joe: Oh well, can’t you get that at your dress shop?

Me: No, why would the dress shop have it, they sell dresses.

Joe: And you have to buy your own runner from somewhere else? Doesn’t it attach to the dress?!

Me: That would be a train."

list:

envelope holder-thing
garter
diy programs?
tighten up invites: directions/map, etc.

more notes:
where can I get something that perforates paper? how can I get paper perforated? can I get perforated paper? if I'm going to use my invite idea of all the "pages" connected at the top, I need the RSVP part to be easily torn out. I will draw a picture at some point.

talk to Jen the Elder regarding the vellum she got for last year's formal dinner invites. in fact, just talk to her about them in general. did she print them herself, how much was it, where did she get everything...

so far there is the kitten graphic on the vellum and colored, centered text all in one font but varying sizes underneath it. obviously I can't have side graphics on the invite itself because they would show through and compete with the kittens. but side graphics for the RSVP part? the directions? and HOW do people make those cool maps?? must mess around more on photoshop.

MUST GET A LAPTOP FOR THIS SUMMER OR I WILL BE SUNK!!

do identical-sized envelopes fit inside each other? how about when there is other stuff in the outer envelope? how about I just make the RSVP part small enough to fit into one of those little regular white envelopes? POST OFFICE, STOP SCREWING AROUND WITH STAMP PRICES AND JUST GIVE ME A DECENT IMAGE!

table "numbers" = different sci-fi/fantasy/anime characters we like, and a little description? I have this sudden urge to incorporate Sailor Moon into this somehow... since it seems like most of the personalizing details of the reception are geared towards Deven.
the short list: someone from Sailor Moon, someone from Dragonball/Naruto (must ask what his favorite anime is)... OR favorite couples from those things? like Buttercup/Westley, Leia/Han, Luke/Mara Jade, Buffy/Spike, Robin Hood/Maid Marian (1938 version of course), Minako/Kunzite, Usagi/Mamorou, the Dark Crystal kids, et cetera.

wow I need to wrap this thing up.

HERE! from a list of ways to tell you're way to into Sailor Moon. it fits me rather well:

"You can get up at 5:30 am to watch Sailor Moon, but can't get to a 1:00 pm class on time."

=^.^=

http://www.veritas-ucsb.org/library/russell/FlatEarth.html -- the link

The Myth of the Flat Earth


=^.^=

what? it made ME giggle.

=^.^=