Get To Know Me-Pass It On

Jacin-who happens to be getting married in less then a month-over at She Said Yes honored my blog with a mention and a tag to answer eight questions of hers then create eight  more to pass on to eight of my favorite blogs.  I've been meaning to do a get to know you post like this so the timing couldn't be better.  I never feel like I have any "good" or interesting answers so I normally don't like this sort of thing but here goes!  Thanks Jacin and here are my answers to your eight questions.

1. if one song were to describe your life, what song would it be? Wild Horses, by Natasha Bedingfield.  I don't have nor do I want a horse although I do find them beautiful.  I find the lyrics very meaningful and relevant to my life and the journey I have taken. 



2. if you could be another person for a day, who would you be? Nastia Liukin!  I have to wonder what it would be like to be a person determined and talented enough to be an Olympian.  To have the guts to do gymnastics at the Elite level just boggles my mind.  Now that she won her gold medal she gets to do all kinds of cool stuff.  Stuff that I would much rather be doing then sitting here in my cubicle.

3. what has been your favorite aspect of wedding planning?  Almost everything!  It was so, so much fun!  Getting to have control and pick everything was awesome!  When you plan a wedding it really is your party and it's so much fun to have a chance to pick what you like and put it all together.  Who knows when or if I will ever throw a party again?  I lived it up!

4. if you had one wish, what would it be? To be wealthy.  I know money doesn't by happiness but neither does poverty.  I always say it can certainly help.  And I know the question said ONE but I would also like to eat whatever I want and not gain a pound.  It's really a toss up between those two.

5. what is your favorite movie?  There are so many.  One that just really sticks out in my head right now is Black Snake Moan with Christina Ricci, Samuel L Jackson and Justin Timberlake.  It just spoke to me.  She and her love were so emotionally damaged yet they wanted and deserved love like just anybody else.   The story line was so unconventional-risque even.  The acting was great for all three including JT and Christina managed to look hot in a pair of plain white cotton panties.



6. what is your guilty pleasure? (not thinking in the gutter here, girls)  French fries and molten chocolate lava cake.  If I order either one of those I am splurging big time!! Can't happen very often.

7. if the whole world were listening, what would you say?  Uhh....no clue.  I try not to say too much in front of too many people so this is hard!  Ummm....

8. what's the best piece of advice you've ever been given?  "Let yourself be happy."  It didn't come naturally or easily for me at all.  It was such a long hard struggle but to finally be able to do that has made all the difference in the world for me.

Now, for eight of my favorite bloggers.  I can count-I did 9 instead of 8 because I wanted to mention Dancy even though I know she will not be playing along because of the whole getting married any day now thing!

Faith at Life, Love & Marriage

Chelsea at A Colorado Cupcake

Silly Girl at Notes From The Voices

Leslie, A Blonde Ambition

Dawn at Happy Nappy Bride

Natalie, Miss Brightside

Ameena at Fancy That...Fancy This

Steph at Watching Airplanes
Dancy at Beer Budget Bride Musings 

My eight questions that I lovingly pass on to you are below.  No pressure if you don't want to do the questions.  Just consider yourself tagged.

1.  If you could have one wish granted what would it be?

2.  Do people in your real life know about your blog or do you keep it to yourself?

3.  If you could change one part of your body or appearance what would it be?

4.  If you became a billionaire would you quit your current job?

5.  What do you like best about your body or appearance?

6.  What is something that people might be surprised to know about you?

7.  If you were forced to give up one of your 5 senses which one would it be?

8.  If you could have any superhuman power what would it be?

Thank goodness it's a 3 day weekend.  The cleaning and laundry got done last weekend and we are having the best weather right now which we didn't really get during the Summer.  I plan on doing something fun every day.

Enjoy your Labor Day weekend everyone!!!!

Old Pants Die Hard

My two pairs of black pants must be about 10 years old.  I'm not exaggerating.  They are from Express and so old that they don't even use the same clothing labels anymore.  One of them has little white elastics busting through the material in the butt area.  I figure no one else is getting close enough to my butt to actually see it, at least they shouldn't be, so I've continued to wear them because I didn't have anything else.   On one of the legs on the other pair the hem is actually held up by safety pins.  How embarrassing is that?  Not only are they old but they are both way too big for me now.  Too much extra fabric hanging around is so not flattering.

Nice dress pants are not cheap.  I like to buy them from Express or the Limited because I love the fit and they are long enough for my legs but I'm on a budget so they tend get pushed to the bottom of my list whenever I do have money to shop with.

The time is just never right to spend bucks on black pants.  Yeah, in 10 years.  When I get coupons or have extra money to spend the last thing I wanted to get is a pair of work pants.  I would rather get something fun.  Something to wear someplace other then to go sit in a cubicle all day and at $60 bucks a pop I would much rather get two of something else instead of one pair of pants.  I like to look professional but my job doesn't even technically have a dress code.  Needless to say, my work wardrobe tends to suffer due to this overall attitude.   I did buy some new work pants in Navy and Brown the last time I had The Limited coupons but I didn't get black.  I was trying to expand the variety of colors I had to wear and old as they were I still had black.

When I got some Limited coupons in the mail I told myself once and for all I WILL get a new pair of black pants. According to me the time is never right but the wear and tear on those pants tell a whole different story and I have clearly gotten my money's worth.  It's time to move on.  The coupon was for 25% off and after finding out that all their pants are on sale for $39.90 right now I decided to get grey and black 'cause my grey Express pants are also 10 years old too!  I got The Limited Exact Stretch Boot Cut pant and I love the material.  Mostly something called Viscose, Nylon and about 2% spandex so they have that perfect amount of stretch with a nice classic look that makes your legs look long and lean.  The rise hits my hips perfectly and they have cool textured pin stripes.  I spent a total of $65.00 for two pairs of nice pants that normally cost $59.50 each. 

Oh, I didn't even mention my Express khaki pants. They are part of the 10 year old pant club too but the fit isn't as loose and they are not falling apart.  Yet.  Maybe I'll see if I can get those to last for 20 and if The Limited pants last even 1/2 as long as The Express ones did I won't have to do this again for awhile.

Make It Or Break It: Gotta Love It

Poor Underdog Emily,
Rich Mean Girl Lauren,
Talented Payson, and
Determined Kaylie

Make It Or Break It is so over the top fake.  They probably hire various gymnastics insiders to consult with and then do the opposite.  No one has died and come back yet but it's drama is on par with any daytime TV soap opera.  It follows four teenage Elite gymnasts as they vie for an Olympic berth in the 2012 Olympics.   Their fictitious journey is filled with bizarre gymnastics politics and sub par level 10 skills.  The constant back stabbing, secret romances and affairs among athletes, coaches and parents is nothing like the real gymnastics world.  No elite gymnast would have time to work at a pizza place to help her flaky mom pay the bills at home.  And really, how much money could Emily be contributing anyways with a part time minimum wage job?  You can't be considered an Olympic contender with a only a full twisting yurchenko or handpring front pike as your vault or a double twist for your beam dismount.  You also would never have the president of the National Committee appoint herself as your club coach on the spot in a dramatic show of power in front of everyone.  Oh, and late night training sessions alone without coach supervision is probably no no at most Elite gyms across the nation.  I also doubt anyone's coach would ever ask them to do their floor ex dance in the parking lot on a huge tarp with paint bottles in hand to see what kind of pretty art results as a tool for improving dance.  I could go on and on.  That being said.  I LOVE this show. 

I am a gymnastics fan so if there is a TV show based on gymnastics no matter how loosely, or even if it's geared for people 15 years younger then me I'm going to watch it.  The story lines can be downright aggravating and roll your eyes dramatic but I still look forward to each and every episode.  If it were any other kind of show I would not even like it.  But this is Make It Or Break It and it's about gymnastics and therefore I love it.  They have already had Nastia Liukin and several past gymnastics greats guest star as themselves.  The season finale will feature legendary coach Bela Karolyi playing the role of The Rock team coach Sasha's dad. There are some glimmers of reality. Like Payson's dad working out of state while the rest of the family stays in Boulder for her training.  It also gives you a glimpse of the dedication and sacrifice that is required to be an Elite gymnast.  The tricks are watered down but the awesomeness that is gymnastics is still on full display. It's such a beautiful sport.


As a longtime lover of gymnastics I was super excited that there was going to be a show about my favorite and little publicized sport.  I didn't realize it was going to be this unrealistic but what can I expect?  Television and movies are notorious for distorting the truth and adding drama to increase ratings and entertainment value. The acting is good, it is well produced and I love checking out their cool leo's and warm ups so as long as it's on I plan to watch it in all of it's over dramatized glory.

The Hunt For Drapes

We put blinds or shutters on all but two windows in our house.  We left the downstairs sliding glass door and the kitchen windows open to add some texture and color to our decor with curtains.  It took us forever...well about 1 1/2 months to find curtains for the sliding door.  I didn't want a solid.  I wanted something bright and with a modern print but it turns out that is virtually impossible to find.  Contempocurtains.com has some really cute prints but none of them were quite right and unless I absolutely LOVED them for our house I couldn't justify spending that much.  We finally ended up with a neutral striped curtain we found at Bed Bath & Beyond two days after our wedding.  The greens, tans, and golds match the walls and our couches and will go with everything.  I also love the grommets.  Underneath we layered white sheer panels with gold circles.  I really like them but am now even more determined to add some color into the kitchen window treatment. 

There are a lot of really ugly kitchen tiers out there.  Garish plaids, funky fruits and tacky teapots is what I came across most often and unless I am decorating grandma's kitchen that is just not going to work for us.

Really?  Do people actually buy these?

It is becoming increasingly clear that the kitchen tiers I want do not exist.  I have scoured countless websites and catalogs only to find nothing.  The closest I came was Countryporch.com.    This place is awesome!  If you are interested in totally color coordinating your life look no further.  You can match your bible book cover, to your place mats, to your curtains, to your oven mitts and rugs.  They've got their share of really awful prints but I found a few striped ones that incorporated some of the colors we want-namely red.  Good thing I sent away for fabric swatch samples.  They were way darker and kinda drab in person unlike how they appeared online.  Back to the drawing board.

A new pattern popped up on Bed Bath & Beyond in my latest search that I thought might work.  But the more and more I look at them the less and less I am so sure that it's what I want.  There is definitely red but I don't want anymore stripes.  At only $19.99 for the valance and $19.99 for the tier pair the price is certainly right.

I like the bright colors but.....

I would really like the option of being naked in my kitchen if I want to but I can't do that without curtains.  Kitchen tiers require a lot less fabric then full drapes so we explored the custom option. Last Saturday I had JC Penny's over to see about custom tiers.  These are the top picks.  I'm really trying to envision the way they will look as curtains in our window.

A modern bright floral print

Nice bright red and a modern floral print

Has the variety of colors we want.  A pastel rainbow

I went for the design basics.  No fancy swags.  The price started out at around $400 for tiers and valance but I told her I needed to be in the $200's.  By cutting down on the fullness and using less fabric we can get a 14" Valance and a 24" tier pair for about $220 plus our hardware.  Never in a million years did I think I would feel the need to buy custom curtains.  That's just for rich people in their big fancy houses right?  Well, I'm not rich and my house isn't huge but I am trying to make it fancy so if what I want doesn't exist then I guess I gotta get someone to make 'em.

what we picked and how they turned out.....

Tuesday Night Ball Game

Perfect View

We went to the ball game last night.  On a Tuesday night of all nights.  If Mj gets the tickets for free from work then we go and if it just so happens to be on a Tuesday at 7:00 pm then so be it.  This is our 3rd game this season.  We went in April to see his Braves and in June with my parents.  Aside from the fact that the trolley ride back to our cars took way longer then usual I enjoyed this one more then the others for the following reasons:

1. I wasn't freezing my butt off.  It's really hard to focus on the sometimes anti climatic game of baseball when your nose feels like an ice block and the breeze feels like it's biting through your clothes.  I am always amazed when I see people wearing tanks and shorts and trying to look all cute while I am wearing gloves and a double layer of shirts. I get cold easy and being cold sucks. It's a form of torture for me and if I am being tortured I am likely to care more about how soon I can leave then what is actually going on in the game. 
2. Our seats were awesome.  Our April seats were close but these were close, at the perfect height and right beside home plate.  We had a nice view of the entire stadium and the field.  The guys didn't look like tiny little figurines that I should just ignore and I felt so close to the action that I really wanted to become interested in what was going on and follow the game. I even learned a little bit more about some of the rules.
3. The game was actually exciting!  Someone got out while trying to steal a base and the home team scored two home runs.  One of which I missed while in the restroom changing into a warmer top.  The chronically cold have to be prepared.  The score actually got up to five which means there were five times in the game that there was some real action going on which is not often the case with baseball where it can go on and on forever and finish 1 to 0 with not much in between.

You will never catch me watching baseball on TV.  It's just way too boring for me.   But I really enjoy the experience of going to a live game.  You get to watch people make a fool of themselves on the jumbo tron and at this game they even had a croquet demonstration before the game started.  You can actually order food right from your seats in this section but we chose to use our own legs instead to save us the 15% service charge.  The food is already expensive enough.  I didn't get my usual beer and a giant over sized hot dog this time.  I enjoyed my $8.00 turkey wrap while Mj ate his $6.00 hot dogs and we shared his his $4.00 water. 

Good thing the tickets were free.

A Look Back: Bride Getting Ready

[July 10, 2010] So, it's taken me quite awhile to finally get to pro pic posting. First it was because we didn't get the disc as quickly as we were supposed to and then it was because I was simply overwhelmed. Our photographers took over 1300 pics and I didn't know where to start! We had to find the time to go through them together to weed them out a bit. Then from there it was up to me to get them organized and sorted into something manageable so we could decide which ones to order. We get 10 5 X 7 and 4 8 X 10 prints. I had all of these sheets of papers full of numbers scribbled all over the place.  It was a mess.  I finally was able to translate that madness into organized folders on my flash drive. Jeez...who thought organizing pics would be so darn complicated?  Then, after all of that it took me a while to get to posting.

It would have been nice to get some of those nice classic getting ready shots taken by our photographer.  The dress hanging beautifully in the window with the light filtering through and all that.  But, we wanted shots pre ceremony and I was afraid we would run out of time at the end.  In lieu of that I pieced together the shots I did manage to get from other cameras.  Not my mom's because her photos are still inside her camera and she hasn't gotten around to finding the cord that is necessary to get them OUT!  Incidentally, she has photos dating back to two Christmases ago still in her camera so chances are it wouldn't be any time soon.  Mj's aunt took a lot of pics though and he somehow got them out of her camera for me so between those and Facebook steals from friend's pics this is what I got.  These are not pro pics but I'm starting with these because the OCD person in me wants to do this in order. 

The before shot.  Pre make up magic.

Getting ready was a blur like everything else.  I didn't get to sip champagne, munch hor's deourves and chat with my bridesmaids.  I drank a glass of wine, knocked over half the other one by accident and shoved some street tacos down my throat that the hotel was kind enough to arrange for me since I starved myself all day.  I did not get to leisurely put on my dress, giggle in delight with my mother-ok maybe there was some giggling- or gaze serenely into the mirror.  It was make up, take down my pin curls, get into the dress, throw on the jewelry, get last minute touch ups and GO....FAST!

Last minute touch ups

I rushed through the entire process which I wasn't really aware of at the time but in retrospect it was kind of a bummer.  But, I got myself together with help from everyone else and in the end I was happy with the finished product.  The necklace and earrings were given to me by Mj's grandma.  I had the hair.  My stylist is also a friend so she was right there to take down my curls and style my hair.  The make up artist was fabulous.  My nails and toes were perfection and of course the dress-which was the very first one I tried on.  I have never felt so glamorous.  This must be what celebrities feel like every time they go out.  Must be nice!  I planned on enjoying every last minute in that white dress.  And I did!!!

Mom and I.  It's show time.

Did you think I was done talking about my wedding? Not just yet. Next wedding Post.....PRO PICS!!! 

Pro Pics in the Park