Can it get any worse???

Yesterday I get a call from Mike about 4:45 that his father fell in the house, is lying in a pool of blood, and can't get up. Mike calls the police and a good friend of ours to meet them there to kick in the back door if they can't get in. Luckily, the police were able to gain entry.

I went to work, basically to show my face, but I knew I was out of there when the traffic died down a little bit. My mind kept racing thinking about the worse; Mike's mom fell and hit her head, wound up in the hospital, then 2 months later we were planning a funeral. I tried to be upbeat and keep Mike from losing it as he headed home, naturally worried.
He called me a little later and let me know the ambulance was on their way to the hospital with him. I told my Lt. I was leaving and ironically he had to leave too; his mom fell and he had to tend to her. It really wasn't a good night all around.

I get to the hospital and see Pop lying on the board with a neck brace and his head taped down so he doesn't move around too much. At that point, they weren't sure what he had broken, if anything, so they wanted to keep him stable. He was uncomfortable, of course, but talking to me. I could see the gash across his right eyebrow, the point of impact with the coffee table in our family room. He also had a cut on his nose and the entire right side of his face was noticeably swollen. He was waiting for them to take him for x-rays, and growing impatient. I asked him what happened, and he told me he was sitting too close to the TV because he felt his pacemaker jumping, as he described it, so he tried to get up to move and blacked out. Next thing he knows, he's lying on the floor, next to the coffee table in a pool of blood and he can't get up. Luckily, he had his cell phone on his belt and was able to get to it to call Mike.

In the end, we found out he broke his nose in two places and required stitches to close up the two lacerations. The hospital is keeping him a few days for observation. Today the Doc said he may have a concussion. It could've been worse: so many what ifs play in my head, even now. What if he didn't have his cell phone on him? Mike wouldn't have found him until he got home from work, which might've been 2 hours later from when he called Mike. What if Mike would've gone to the gym after work, as he does at times? Well, it would've been later that Mike found him, and maybe too late at that time. I don't even leave work until 1 am so me finding him was definitely out of the question.

I don't know why we are being tested right now. It seems there's always something. Losing his father only 5 months after his Mom would've probably sent Mike over the age, and I can understand why. I hope we can go these next 3 1/2 months without any more issues. Lord, just let us make it to the wedding with everyone we have with us now.

I'm actually going to look into those medical alert things that he can wear on his wrist or around his neck, just in case. And poor Leo, Pops said all he could do was sit there and look at him. Even walked around the blood. Leo is not one of those dogs that calls 911, not happening. But, he did sit there with help until help arrived, so he wasn't totally alone.

Photo sharing cards done!

Another check off the list: photo sharing cards. I got some feedback from the knotties on which sites were best to use for guests to upload their photos. After checking out a few, the best one, overall, is Photobucket. So I created a card that I'm going to print on VistaPrint postcards or business cards to hand out to the guests. Hopefully they put them to use!

• fan programs


• sand ceremony frame trial


• photo sharing cards


• menu cards


• table numbers


• cocktail menu (signature drinks and spirits)


• RSVP cards


• map and directions cards


• fish net for card box

Three things left on this list. Yay! Unfortunately, I recalled some other things I need to add to the list but I'll add them later.

My knottie purchases have arrived!

Fast shipping! Highly recommend. Sounds like what you'd write on eBay feedback. If I could do the same for these products I would. Let's start with the shoes: gorgeous. Love them. Perfect for the wedding and they were even cheaper than what she quoted by a couple dollars.

A different knottie (names escape me now, they are both named in a previous post) sold me the wooden IKEA easels and kids' activity sheets. Paid $16 for everything with shipping. I plan to display my table number/menu cards on them like the 5 x 7 picture is shown below. I think it looks great; not too big but should be noticeable enough for guests to find their table. I'm not painting them either; they're fine just the way they are ;-]

Lastly, the kid activity sheets:

It's in a pack of 12, which should be enough. I hope there's not more than that many children there =)

Our registering experience

Yesterday we went to Bed Bath & Beyond to register, finally. We had a really nice young lady helping us out; she is actually getting married in January and also registered at BB&B. Well, first she asked if we wanted to register for china. Mike and I looked at each other for a sec and then I spoke up, simply with a "sure". Lauren, our rep, showed us a huge book of different sets, which in my opinion were a little on the pricey side. Lauren immediately told us not to worry about prices, or else we would go crazy. She really hit the nail on the head. So, we picked out a moderately priced piece of china. Whatever. (This is Leo and I before we left to register.)

The main thing is BB&B gives the bride and groom "incentives" to register for certain items. For example, if your registry has $500 in Calphalon products, they send you a free knife (retails around $50, or something like that). So while we are walking around the store with Lauren, we're adding things to the registry with the free gifts in mind also.

Overall, it was a fun 3 hour experience. Yes, 3 hours. We were in almost every room and chose items from art to bathroom items. We added a broad price range of products also, from $9.99 to $249. It wasn't like that from the beginning, I must admit. The first product we looked at was cookware. Of course, Calphalon. Well, I let Lauren talk me into adding the 2nd most expensive set to the registry: a 12 piece non stick set for $449. What the hell was I thinking?

Honestly, I thought about it more today and took it off the registry. I added a less expensive set. People are going to buy you what they can afford; people might pool their money together to get a more expensive item but I feel better now that it's not as expensive. Either way, I like that BB&B keeps the registry active for 2 years and gives us a 10% discount 2 months after the wedding to purchase our items off the registry. Plus, you know I KEEP the coupons and I have already started accumulating 20% coupons. They take expired coupons too. I have at least 5 now and counting!

Time to register

Well, after what seems to be much drama, one of my Bridesmaids texted me today and ask me where we are registered. Huh? Honestly, I didn't think to register because I didn't think about people buying wedding gifts and I didn't think I would be having a shower. She basically confirmed today that she is handling things and a shower is under way. Yay! Secretly, I'm happy. So we're off tomorrow to Bed, Bath and Beyond to register. Here comes the fun part.

I also spoke to my MOH today and she told me there is no way she is not being a part of my wedding. I didn't even bring up wedding because I didn't want to hit her with anything at this point; I just want her to focus on her. However, I am so touched but I also reassured her that I didn't want her to put any strain on herself considering what she has just been through. There is so much to do to catch her up with everything and hopefully we can rush order her a dress. I'm just happy that she is doing better; she sounds great and seems to have a new outlook on life in general.

We'll see how everything plays out. First, I'm going to call the bridal salon on Monday and see if putting a rush order in is doable.

Table number update...

See this is the problem when you have too much time on your hands. Why did I have to go and mess with these table numbers? Now I am confused. Here's the old one:

Now here's what I've been playing around with:

Using the engagement photos, I love them! I think I'm totally going to scrap the first one. Help! What do you think? I'll keep you updated with what I chose.

Menu cards and Table numbers

Another check! I decided to kill two birds with one stone and do table numbers and menus combined. One for each table and they will sit on the easels, that should arrive any day. Only a few to go and I'm done with this list. I think I can only do the photo sharing cards now because I don't know yet what will go in the programs and I don't know what alcohol we're serving yet. So, those will have to wait. Not bad, if I knock everything else out.

• fan programs
• sand ceremony frame trial
• photo sharing cards
• menu cards
• table numbers
• cocktail menu (signature drinks and spirits)
• RSVP cards
• map and directions cards
• fish net for card box

So here's my table numbers/menus. What do you think?

I will probably print them on ivory colored cardstock and glue them brown cardstock or I might make them two layered, with pink and brown cardstock. I used the same fonts that are on all things paper: georgia, majestic, and passions conflict. I think they're simple enough; just our colors with no designs or motiffs. They are actually going to be 8 inches tall and 4 inches wide. It looks bigger here because I saved it in MyPublisher to get it to save in picture format.

Gotta love the knotties!

This is why I love the knot, not only do I get to talk with other women who are going through some of the same things I am, so they can totally relate, but because we share many similar ideas, former brides are always selling something you can find useful! I love it!

Right now I am in the process of making purchases from 3 different knotties. Knottie jenn248 is shipping me 15 easels that I plan to use at various locations throughout the reception. I know I'm not going to need that many for the reception tables, only if all 120 people come, which I doubt. So whatever is left over, I will use to hold the cocktail menu at the bar, a sign by the guestbook, possibly a memorial table sign, the possibilities are endless! Can you tell I'm excited?

The easels are from IKEA and while I thought they were the cutest things to hold table numbers, I didn't feel like going to IKEA to look for them. IKEA is nowhere around me. So this deal works out perfect. Plus, this knottie also had 12 kids activity sheets which is perfect. I was going to hit the dollar stores for kiddie stuff, but I am getting all 12 for $2. Hello? Total sale price $16 with shipping. Deal.

My 2nd find is from knottie Emmie2008. I am purchasing coral (pink) flip flops from her. I was going to purchase them online; how ironic that she posts she's selling 2 pairs, white also, and in my size? The flip flops retail at a little over $35 with free shipping from Shoebuy but I'm saving $10 getting them from her. Savings is savings, no matter how much! Deal.

3rd and final find is still up in the air; this knottie is selling a piece of fuchsia fabric that she used for her arch. The fabric is 27 inches wide, 16 feet long. I'm actually waiting to hear back from my florist, Jonathan's Flowers, to see if he can work with it and what he thinks about it.

I will post pics of everything after I get it.

I can mark off the RSVP cards, they are done! Three down, don't wanna count how many more to go. I think the RSVP cards are simple enough but they tie in to all other things paper that I've created and that the guests have seen.

• fan programs


• sand ceremony frame trial


• photo sharing cards


• menu cards


• table numbers


• cocktail menu (signature drinks and spirits)


• RSVP cards


• map and directions cards


• fish net for card box

I know this list is going to grow because I haven't thought of everything yet; in the meantime, it still feels good to scratch some things off. Here's pics of the front and the back of the RSVP card. Again, I will make them using free Vistaprint postcards.

I think they're cute! I also added the line for shuttle transportation because I need to get a head count of who's going to need it so I'll know what type of transportation to get. We have a couple of options, some cheaper than others, so it really depends on how many people are going to use it. So, we'll see. On to the next project.

Home sweet home!

I called Mai on Friday and gave them the security code as usual in order to speak to her. A few minutes later the woman who answered the phone comes back to tell me they don't have anyone there by that name. Yippee, my girl is outta there! It's about time! I called her sister after I hung up with the hospital to confirm, and she told me that it was true. I am so relieved.

I haven't called her yet; I want to give her a few days to settle in and then I'll reach out. I just pray that everything works out for her. I'm not even going to bring up the wedding unless she does; I don't expect her to be able to still be my MOH, but I hope, as I said before that she can at least be in attendance. In the unlikely event she still wants to be in it, we are going to have to see what magic we can make happen in order to rush her a dress. The other girls ordered their dresses almost 2 months ago, and they aren't even due in until January. Yikes. We'll take it one day at a time.

Sand ceremony trial

We are doing the sand ceremony instead of the unity candle. I first found out about the sand ceremony on theknot, of course and found a slew of information here: http://community.theknot.com/cs/ks/user/page.aspx?username=sandceremonybio

The above link has an abundance of information regarding the wording for the ceremony as well as the different bottles and other containers you can use to hold the sand. If you google, sand ceremony, a ton of info will pop up also. The newest trend is the sand ceremony frame. The frame is a shadowbox umbra ether frame and it has 4 panes of glass. One of the panes can be removed to hold the sand while a picture is displayed in front like this:

Getting the frame is another task: the one pictured above is from http://www.sandframes.com/. They customize your frame; you choose the wood and the send everything you need for the ceremony. I didn't want to pay that much, so I found the umbra frame at Kohls, on sale nonetheless for $14.99, and followed these instructions http://share.shutterfly.com/share/received/welcome.sfly?fid=a88f97c87060743e&sid=0QctHDFm1bMXbg to seal the frame to keep the sand from falling out. You can also purchase the frame from Amazon for $20. Right now, Kohls is running a special online to buy one frame get one free for $15. Great deal if you know someone else who could use the frame too. By the time I purchased the Flora Bond from Michaels, my frame cost me under $20, versus the cost from sandframes.

I decided to do a trial run, so I would know how much sand I'm going to need and if the bottles I purchased are big enough. This is the frame after I used the Flora Bond and put the glass back in place. I let it sit upright for at least 24 hours to dry.

The 2nd pic is a close-up of the Flora Bond. I scraped off the excess glue once it dried so it wouldn't be so caked up in the corners like the above picture.

I purchased 2 cork stopper bottles from AC Moore for like $1.50 total and I bought a 2 lb bag of sand for the trial. The bottles aren't big enough to hold 1 lb of sand each but from the trial I see that 2 lbs of sand will fill it up to the top almost; I just refilled a bottle with the remainder of the sand and that did it.

After it was filled, there was maybe a 1/4 of an inch of space left, which I plan to fill with the Flora Bond after the ceremony so the sand won't leak out of the top space. If you don't want to do that, you can leave the frame in the upright position but just know the sand will leak out the top if it's turned horizontal.

So, the plan is to go back and get one more bottle which I will use for the Officiant to pour sand for the "foundation" and on top of ours, sealing the deal. That sand will come from Paradise Cove. I'm going to decorate the bottles minimally, just a pink bow ribbon on mine, which will have pink sand, and a brown ribbon on Mikes' to go with his brown sand. Or vice versa, who knows. =)

Oh, I don't want to forget this, I was confused about adding the picture. What happens is you slide the first piece of glass up and tape the picture to the 2nd piece of glass. If you want to change pictures in the future, like we will, just remove the 1st piece of glass. No problem.

As far as sand, I'm going to purchase 1 lb each of the Azalea and Chocolate from http://www.moonglowcandles.com/wedding_sand.htm They have the most amazing colors and they match the colors in the David's Bridal and Alfred Angelo lines. How cool is that!

If it's not that serious with you, as far as the colors, the craft stores sell them too. Like I said, I bought the natural color in the photo above from AC Moore for $2.

Hope this helped someone and have fun!

Map and Directions card completed!

So, this is the list of what I have to do left:

• fan programs
• sand ceremony frame trial
• photo sharing cards
• menu cards
• table numbers
• cocktail menu (signature drinks and spirits)
• RSVP cards
• map and directions cards
• fish net for card box

I'm quite sure there's more; I'll just add it as a I remember it. For now I can scratch off the Map and Directions cards. I haven't ordered them yet because I will probably wait until I complete the RSVP cards since they will both be mailed with the invitations. Hopefully, I'll get the invites soon. That's a story for another day. So here's the DIY map and directions cards (1st draft):

This is the front:

This is the back:

I'm going to use free postcards from VistaPrint to make them. I like how they turned out but I wonder if the palm tree is too much. I'll get some opinions and go from there. Simple but fun and they tie in with my save the dates and the overall beach theme of the wedding.

This was fairly easy to do following the instructions that is. There are several resources that can help you too. On TheKnot, you can use the Map Bio. You can also use Wedding Mapper. After you customize your map on wedding mapper, they can show you how to create one for your guests. I actually used the directions from knottie themarshmalo. She created a blog entitled "The super fabulous guide to creating super fabulous pocketfolds". Not only did I use her blog for my STD pocketfolds, but I learned how to create my map here also.

*****************UPDATE*******************

After having the knotties review my work, there were a few things pointed out that I updated on the final map and direction cards. Here's the new version:

I lightened up the lake, took out a "Lake Bryan" and took the US off after the Orlando zip code. I also made the street names all the same size and closer to the streets. I also realized that the font was Arial, which hasn't been used in any of my stationary thus far. So being anal as usual, I changed the fonts of the street names to Georgia to match everything else.

On the directions portion, I made sure Rd and other abbreviations ended with a period (.) I shortened one sentence under the Holiday Inn directions because Kim made a valid point; Vistaprint will cut off anything outside the dotted lines, which draw the line as to how far the printing will go. Another important point was brought up by another Paradise Cove bride about the directions I have listed from the North: you can't actually make a left turn onto Lake Bryan Dr. without making a U-turn. I don't know how I forgot that because coming from Kissimmee we had to do the same thing. So I added the U-turn info as well.

Now, I am happy with them. Oh, someone else mentioned not using the heart bullets; I thought about it, but I used them on my STDs so I might as well carry out the same design, to a certain extent. I don't want to use numbers or dots, so hearts it is!

Upcoming projects

This is my first weekend off, yay! I still have so much to do wedding related as far as diy projects. I plan to tackle them one by one each weekend that I'm off. During the week the gym pretty much takes up my time. So far this is the list of upcoming projects that I can think of, or what's left to do:

fan programs
sand ceremony frame trial
photo sharing cards
menu cards
table numbers
cocktail menu (signature drinks and spirits)
RSVP cards
map and directions cards
fish net for card box

I think that's it for now, and that's plenty! I really need to get started. Whew, a lot of work ahead of me.

Make an impression early.....

I had my first meeting at Compstat today in my new position. I wore a toned down gray suit for the look, and I was prepared with all of my case information. They only asked about three cases pertaining to my shift, but I knew my stuff. I had the answers to their questions which is what they want. I see the biggest thing about this job is staying up on where the Detectives are in their cases so when questions are asked, they can be answered.

I left the meeting feeling like I presented well; to confirm that fact I saw the Deputy Chief of CIB and he told me, "You did well today!". Coming from him, that is something!

Of course, it could be a different story next week. That remains to be seen....

So far so good....

I'm on day 3 of my new assignment and it's going pretty well. I have a lot to learn but once I get the hang of it, it'll be a breeze. Most of all, I love coming to work in regular clothes and working Monday through Friday with the weekends off, like Mike. I can actually bring my lunch to work, heat it up, and sit down to enjoy it versus eating on the go, usually in my vehicle, as I've done in the past.

Tomorrow is my first Compstat meeting in my new position and I literally JUST finished putting together all of the packets I need to answer any questions the big bosses may have for me regarding the cases we are currently working on. Wish me luck!

Finished aisle runner!

Whew! My aisle runner is done and I am happy with the results. I got instructions from knottie heatherjk on her blog at http://roadtotheaisle.blogspot.com/2007/07/diy-aisle-runner.html
The only thing I did different, which was minor, was use a regular pencil instead of a mechanical pencil mentioned in the link above, thanks to knottie kim&josh. Here's my version of the diy aisle runner. I bought the paint and an assortment of brushes from Michaels, using coupons of course to save some cash. I purchased an ivory french lace aisle runner off eBay for $13.95. It is so beautiful I was tempted to leave it as is:

I took my monogram to Kinkos as a jpeg and had them blow it up to 36 x 36. I then traced the monogram on the aisle runner. First tape the blown up version down then the aisle runner on top of it like this:

I'm tracing away...Finally, it's ready to be painted. This is probably really light, so you can't see it traced on the aisle runner. You can see the blown up version off to the right of it. Pops took this photo for me. He's so helpful!

The next day, I started painting the trees first using the pink color. Make sure you tape wax paper down first, then tape the aisle runner over the wax paper, Mike made himself useful and took these pics for me:

I was rusty at first, but after awhile I got the hang of it. Here's one finished tree:

The trees were a PITA! I decided for the next one it was easier to trace the outline first and then paint it:

I did a total of two coats of acrylic paint on the trees. The finished trees:

Yesterday, I finished the aisle runner using the brown paint on our names and dates. The finished product:

I love how it turned out and it will be a beautiful decoration for the ceremony. I forgot to mention that Mike suggested the monogram be in the middle so I measured it out and put the monogram approximately between 23 and 27 feet. The aisle runner is 50 feet.

I'm emotional...

and I can't let go, I am trying to...okay that's enough of Carl Thomas.

Seriously, I did have an emotional moment or two. We took my parents out tonight to celebrate their anniversary and my father's birthday. Pops came along with us too. We had a nice dinner and conversation; there was some reminiscing of Momma and the things she used to cook because Pop had commented that the mashed potatoes he ordered weren't his wife's. We all laughed and I felt myself reflecting on how empty the dinner table felt without her and how odd it really is to see Pop every single day without her. I held back my emotions and continued talking and trying to enjoy the rest of dinner. We finished up and heading out.

Once we got comfortable in the house I went back to finishing up the aisle runner while Mike and Pop were settling down. Pop came into the family room and I stopped to put on the television for him. That's when he started talking, he told me he wasn't going out anymore because he sees these couples, mostly seniors who remind of the years he won't have with Momma, and starts thinking too much. Then he broke down. I talked to him and listened to him talk and then the phone rang, bringing a welcome distraction. The phone was for him, so he stepped to his room to take the call.

Even though the 7th of this month will be 4 months since Mommas' transition, it still seems so unreal. I'm sitting here typing this now with Pops sitting not too far from me, Snapped playing on the TV, thinking about how we should've had more time with Momma. I don't want to get upset again so I'm going to stop now.

I just know the wedding day is going to be a joyous occasion but her physical absence will be a lot to handle.

Goodnight.

New Assignment

Well, after today I can say farewell to patrol for now. Starting tomorrow, I will be in the Detective Bureau working evenings, with the weekends off. Sounds good, huh? It does, but we'll see. The only crappy thing is that I had to do a ton of shopping for the new assignment because you have to dress the part. Think CSI or any of the cop shows with the Detectives rolling up on the scene in business attire.

Tomorrow is my day off, since the schedule change goes into affect on Sunday, so we plan to take my parents out to celebrate their anniversary and my Dad's birthday. Then it's time to get ready for Monday. Detective Sergeant, I like the sound of it.

OMG!

Okay, I had no idea how tedious this DIY aisle runner would be. Lawd have mercy! I think it's much easier if you choose letter monograms and not some gigantic palm tree ;-)

I started painting tonight; I traced it yesterday. When I'm done, I'll post pics and helpful hints along the way if you choose to do monograms that don't just have letters.

Even thought it's a lot of work, I love how it's turning out so far. It's late and I'm tired; I've been working on the palm tree portion for 3 hours, with a couple of breaks in between. Time for bed. Goodnight ^.^