2 down, 1 to go!
That's right! Another bridal shower today...minus the 'surprise' element. Hee hee. This time though it was hosted by a Pampered Chef consultant. See, here's the thing, when I first heard of Pampered Chef, I think of this.
False. Our consultant was fabulous! Although the jalapeno pizza poppers were a little warm (and no, I don't mean spicy...AKA: crispy), no sunscreen was required. Meaning: no tanning. Meaning: happy Whitney. Anyways, because of the wonderful people in attendance, I get FREE stuff!! Wooo! I'm a Mennonite; therefore, I strive toward attaining anything FREE, even if it means scoring a deal where I end up being soaked for a cool $50. Sad, I know, but I call it thrifty and/or moochy. :)
Moving on. I get $65 of FREE goods, PLUS 2 items at 50% off! In Pampered Chef lingo, that means 'You and your guests must spend $400 combined total on exact 27 items of stoneware, while choosing 3 different size paring knives, along with an apple slicer and vegetable peeler to qualify for the above deal'. TRANSLATION: FREE STUFF!!!
So, thank you, ladies! From the bottom of my wallet!
So here's the latest drama filled pre-wedding moment. I tried my dress on the other day...this is where the 'Jaws' music comes in: Dunnn um dunn um dun um dunum dumun. Anyways, lately I've been feeling, well, big. Hahaha- I just laughed on my own poor usage of wording.
Let me rephrase that.
I have this major, oozing fear (yes, oozing) that after all the work that's been done to this poor dress, come August 21, it simply won't fit. I just picture myself forcing my wedding gown on the way I used to try and force Lego pieces together until I shook uncontrollably. But away from that digression.
It fits!
However, I still have this uncontrollable terror that it won't fit. Weird, I know. BUT I also feel the need to remind all of you, I have a greater fear of diets. (I shutter more thinking about that word then I do thinking about tanning, and that my friends, is saying a lot). So here I sit perplexed. Wait, no. I just got an idea. I just got a wonderful, awful idea! Why don't I just maintain the same weight?!
So maybe the Cherry Blasters and large pop at the movie this evening wasn't such a great idea...
Well everyone, I've been had! That's right! The girls planned and pulled off a surprise shower for me. I'll admit, I had about 19% faith that they could do this, so props, guys.
So my sister-in-law, Carly, and my mother (or at least I was led to believe it was these two) came up with the Garden Tea Party/Audrey Hepburn theme, and I LOVED it!
Carly also made a beautiful cake, which I'm sure she will blog about ;) www.carlyfriesen.blogspot.com
My maid of honour planned the games, which if you remember one of my previous posts, this area carries some seriously high expectations. Good thing she did well! Along with the toilet paper dress designing game (forgive me for giving that game the WORST possible name of all time), we
planned 'How Well Do You Know The Bride?', and I got to make the answer key. So obviously, I won. Hahaha Actually, my mom did with 14 out of 20!
I was also showered gifts (that was an intended pun, just so you're aware). Everything from a food steamer (Thanks, Jody) to the most wonderful champagne flutes (Thanks, Carly and Sarah) I've ever seen!
So you're thinking, "Wow! I'm so glad her family and friends were able to pull the wool over her eyes for the past 2 months." BUT I'm thinking, "For one, I could have planned this overnight (bahahaha totally joking) and for two, I now have a SERIOUS bone to pick with mom, Carly, Sarah, Miranda, Anita, Carissa, and Mel."
Watch out.
Oh, and my favorite part of the whole evening: my new sunglasses. (Meaning...I still don't like surprises :P)
So my life has turned into an episode of Toddlers and Tiaras. If you ever seen it, well, I recommend never watching it again. Anyways, my reasoning being that my mother is forcing me to sit on the deck in the hot sun and tan. Did you get that? TAN! (I hate that word so much; I feel like I should go wash my mouth out with soap)
I like to refer to myself as a race known as 'almost albino' because of my skin. For one, you put me beside a piece of chalk, and you could no longer tell which is which. For two, it is UNtanable. It's burnable, however. Yet, here I sit in the dreadfully hot sun (I should also point out that it is approximately 21 degrees outside) burning my skin. I'm wearing sunscreen too, by the way, mainly because I don't feel like becoming the next pig to roast in the pit at my family's annual Pavilion.
Although I'm 100% sure you are laughing AT me rather than showing even a glimmer of sympathy, I like to think you're on my side.
I've come to the realization that beauty IS pain.
So...Mom wanted me to blog about her! [Note: Mom, this is all out of love] Since we all know my mother happens to be an event planner/decorator, it was easy to figure out who would be doing most of the planning for...my...wedding. Me, obviously. Wow, you were about to call her a mom-zilla weren't you? Shame on you!
I'm guessing you also assumed that this was a picture of her. Umm, no, that's me coming after you for thinking that my mom was crazy. I'm clearly the coo-coo because I decided to actually grant her wish and write this post.
Anyways, here are a few tips I found on how to relieve the tension between mother and daughter in order to create a long, lasting wonderful memory of my big day:
1) Lose the attitude. Apparently, I'm the one with the attitude (says the article). However, if I'm seeking help on dealing with an overly-passionate mother, evidently, I'm not the one with the problem. (Actually, I'm pretty sure my above comment was exactly why they wrote it as Step 1. Hmm)
2) Listen to what she has to say. If you don't agree, calmly reiterate back that you have already made you decision. Ok, well in the case of my mother and I, if we were to have disagreements, the reiteration part would not be calm. So let's all hope that our disagreements never come to that. Things could get ugly (see above picture)
3) If your mother doesn't understand your vision, calmly show her. Again with the 'calm'-ness. Not going to happen with this family! If either of us have to show the other person, you might as well write the whole idea off. That's right, write if off!...however you would literally write something off, I don't know.
4) If there is a part of the wedding you don't care about, give that project to her. Make her feel useful. Ha! No application for me on the one! She's an event planner, details matter. Good thing she likes the big projects though, because I'm the one wanting to be stuck bedazzling the card box.
5) Don't forget to thank her for all her help, and apologize for being a bridezilla if need be. Need be?! No way!....yet.
Well Mom, since Mother's Day was yesterday, I guess I will apologize for my future plan of becoming 100% unbearable (states this said article). I already love your loads of help, and I'm sure I'll have more to thank you for in due time. :)
Well readers...I got revenge! Woo! So here's the story:
Yesterday was the day I FINALLY got to pick up my wedding dress! So of course, being the stereotypically enthusiastic bride that I am (**note sarcasm), had completely forgotten about all the indiscretions the bridal shop had made with my gown. Let me also point out I had my two prosecutors in tow, Sarah and Kirsten.
So obviously knowing that I would be in to pick up my dress because they had given me a beautiful peach card with nice printing stating: "Pick up April 23", they would have my dress wrapped up and ready to go! FALSE!
Instead, we were greeted by their 'receptionist' who I have talked to probably, oh I don't know, a zillion times, and she politely asked for my name/reason why I was there. That was nice of her. After much shuffling and rustling in 'the back' (Let me digress for just a moment. When people refer to 'the back', I always think that they are just going back there for yet another sip of coffee and catch up on the latest employee gossip, rather than sorting through stock and actually fulfilling the client's polite request. But hey, that's just me) she emerges dress in hand! So remembering that I hadn't been in since I had my bustle put on, she begins to remove the gown from the nice, quality, plastic garment bag and shoving into a sweetly coloured garbage bag. 'Quality' service right there.
At this point, scary images form in my brain of bustles gone wrong. A.K.A Cinderella's step-sisters (**See above picture). So I rush over, and sure enough, the bustle they added created quite the 'lump', if you will, in the rear region. NOT. GOOD. But whatever, because I knew there was a willing and able seamstress in Fort St John that could fix this fiasco.
The garbage bag was a nice touch, by the way, because I got to feel like a professional sausage maker walking back to my car. No joke, my dress looked like a GIANT sausage.
After a heartfelt email from my mother this morning, however, the service at the shop magically increased!
So I went back, and needless to say, I'm one satisfied step-sister! The shoe fits, my friends. The shoe fits. (If you don't get this last riddle... well, think a little harder)
The countdown has begun! 133 days! Ok, I know that's a weird number to start a countdown on, but hey, Ryan's the math guy.
Anyways, I hope you enjoyed my play on words in the title. I'll take all the credit and all the time I can get. My wedding checklist has the miraculous skill of growing before my eyes! I keep being reminded of Jesus feeding the 5000. Ok, Jesus! Good joke, you can stop anytime now! :P However, my excitement is also performing this same growing act. Now that I'm receiving more replies everyday, I can't help but wonder...how big Ryan's family actually is! ha ha bet you thought I was going somewhere else with that one.
Additionally (Ooo, a very essay-like word= too much homework!) my excitement for moving home is rapidly expanding. Kind of like filling a balloon with helium and them all of the sudden BANG!...That's how excited I am. Just so you know.
Even though my to-do list is expanding at the speed of light (literally), I'm still doing my best to enjoy the little things involved with the planning process.
I've decided this whole ordeal is like teething. It hurts really bad sometimes (like Dad's VISA), but when you suck on your favourite candy, it's worth every minute... love you, Dad!
