Giving

borrowed from Finding Tara

The first Seven (7) people to respond to this post will get something made by me. This offer does have some restrictions and limitations:

- I make no guarantees that you will like what I make.
- What I create will be just for you.
- It'll be done this year (2009).
- You have no clue what it's going to be. It may be a mix CD. It may be a poem. I may draw or paint something. I might bake you something and mail it to you. Who knows? Not you, that's for sure!
- I reserve the right to do something extremely strange.

The catch? Oh, the catch is that you have to put this in your journal as well, if you expect me to do something for you!

An interesting challenge

1. Go through one whole day of your life with your phone turned off.

2. Take a shower and go through the WHOLE process of getting ready (put on REAL clothes) without once stopping to check email, answer the phone, or otherwise multitask in any way.

3. Run/walk fast for 20 minutes a day for 5 days straight.

4. Spend 1/2 hour of uninterrupted time curled up with a good book and a cup of tea or coffee.

5. Sign up for "keep the change" savings or some other AUTOMATED savings account.

6. Get 8 hours of sleep, 3 nights in a row.  (Preferably waking up and going to bed at the same time).

7. For just one night, go to bed in a peaceful environment: tv off, clean sheets, cool room, no clutter.

8. Do yoga/stretching one night before bed.

9.  Start the day with 25 crunches.

10. Pay $50 extra to one credit card.

11. Call up a friend from the past you haven't talked to in more than a year.

12. Call up a parent or grandparent and talk until THEY say they have to get off the phone.

13. Write a handwritten letter to the most important person in your life and tell them that.

14. Grab lunch with a group of friends: agree that cell phones, to-do lists, or anything else that would distract any of you from being present are strictly forbidden.

15.  Cook a read dinner and ENJOY is like you're on the Food Network: grab your favorite person, pour a glass of wine, cook with fresh, yummy ingredients like basil and garlic that make you feel all professional and like you ACTUALLY know what you're doing...

16. Start the day with a 1/2 hour of quiet.  Just find time to be you again.

17. For 5 days straight, make the time to wash you face, brush AND floss your teeth, put on pajamas, and go to bed BEFORE you fall asleep on the couch.  It's not that comfortable anyway.

18. Take a drive: forget about how much it's costing you in gas, don't have a destination, errands are absolutely forbidden.  Just drive.

19. Cook one meal with a crock pot.

20. Even if you work from home, for one day get dressed up all office chic.

21. Clean your WHOLE house.  You won't believe how much better you'll feel.

22. For one week, take a whole hour for lunch.  No work allowed.

23. Sit in Barnes and Nobles with a coffee and a stack of magazines...they're free if you read them there! :)

24. For one week, recycle your junk mail the second you get it.

25. Sit and pet the family pet for a 1/2 hour...they need lovin' too.

I don't know which ones i'll be doing yet, but i definitely plan on doing them.

That dress that every girl dreams of? It's mine!

That's right! I bought my wedding dress today! It was a tough decision for me because it is such a huge part of my wedding day. I would love to say that i "just knew" the first time i put it on because that's howeveryone in the magazines and blogs and tv shows and movies says it happens, but it didn't happen that way.

Instead the dress was completely different from what i thought i wanted at first. It has a lot goin going on - beading, pick-ups, and ball gown skirt - but the more i thought about it, the more sure i was because

• I couldn't stop thinking about it and looking at it online
• I didn't feel as comfortable or as "me" in any of the other dresses
• I compared every dress i looked at and tried on to that dress
• It will be custom made for me so that i don't have to make my body work for the dress, the dress will work for my body
• I can customize the dress, which means i can have the off-the-shoulder sleeves i've always wanted and a shorter, more managable-for-me train
• The woman who owns the store, The Chic Bride, is the nicest of the women i worked with and did not pressure me at all. Not even when i had the dress on for about an hour yesterday.
• I couldn't stop looking at myself in the mirror when i had the dress on
• Sarah started to cry when she saw me in it, which she doesn't do often.

So, without further ado, here's my wedding dress!!!

You're getting married on September 11th!?!

Some of you may be wondering why in the world we would choose to get married on September 11th. We weren't in any way trying to get that date, but that turned out to be the date that worked the best with when and where we wanted to get married. And in an interesting way, it's somewhat appropriate because it will allow us to pay tribute to Andy's mother who passed away on that day (not in the attacks on the World Trade Centers). The more we thought about it, the more it seemed that that day would work well because we can take some unhappy things and replace them with happy things.

Of course paying tribute to her will not be the same as having her here. I actually started thinking about how hard this has to be for Andy tonight when i was reading An Atlanta Bride's thoughts on having to go through her wedding without her father.

It’s hard to come to terms with knowing that my dad won’t open my hotel room door on my wedding day to see his little girl all dressed up as a bride. I won’t get to see him looking dashing in a tux and have a proud look on his face as he walks towards me to give me a heartfelt hug and kiss. Missing from our guest book will be his name. He won’t be there to walk me down the aisle and ease my anxiety as I take him by the arm and prepare for the next moment when he gives me away. He won’t be there to give a toast to my husband and me and convey genuine sentiments of lifelong love and happiness. Also missing from our reception will be the father-daughter dance. And I feel sorry that my mom will also have to get through my wedding day without her husband at her side.

And, yes, i'm posting about my wedding planning again, but that's because i'm spending most of my free time working on the wedding and it really does seem to help me let go of some of the stress by blogging about it. It gives me a way to get some of my thoughts out of my head so i'm not thinking about things over and over and over...

So i have been doing a TON of planning for our wedding. I guess i've surprised a lot of people, or so i've heard, with how much i have one already, but that's how i am with things i'm excited about. And i was really excited to start planning our wedding!!!

At this point we have the date (Friday September 11th, 2009), the minister (Jenni Crowley), and the reception (and possible ceremony) venue that is absolutely gorgeous!!! I've also gone to three stores to try on wedding dresses. So far there's nothing i'm ready to buy, but i'm definitely getting a feel for what i like and what looks good on me.

With all of that going on and starting second semester at school last week, things have been really stressful. So my new rule of thumb to keep in mind when i'm planning is:

DO have fun. It might be more work when you DIY or have to really search and barter, but the fact is it's not just one day! It can be a whole little journey where you connect with your family and friends and rediscover just how exciting it can be to say "I Love You!"

Do you know that in Judaism, your wedding starts the moment that you get engaged, and only ends a year after your wedding? I love this, because for me the process has been so enlightening, and the journey is perhaps as important as the destination.

-taken from A Practical Wedding who took it from Mama's Getting Married

And as much as i don't want to worry about what i look like for my wedding, i am not happy with myself at the moment. That's not to say that i'm unhappy, just that i could be happier with myself. I would love to be able to say that i was in "the best shape of my life" when i got married, but that's going to take some work... So i talked to my trainer today and we are going to try working out four times a week for a half-hour instead of the two times a week for an hour that i've been doing. We're also going to work on what i'm eating because i haven't been watching that very well. (Of course as i say this i'm eating chips and salsa for dinner...)

Anyway, i know how i am and i know that if i write about it i'll be more likely to stick to it and to let go of some of the stress i'm feeling. As it is, i'm feeling better about all of the stuff i need to get done because i got to write about all the stuff i have gotten done. And of course the wedding that i'm looking forward to!!!