I am so beyond frustrated I can't even put my thoughts into coherent sentences. If Aaron knew I was venting this he would probably kill me. We promised we would keep everything pretty much to ourselves (with the exception of a few helpful people...you know who you are) but I need to vent. Trying to conceive is a bunch of crap. I am so sick and tired of being disappointed, and upset every single month. We've been trying for 7 months now.....and nothing. I know that the books and research say that the average couple takes anywhere between 6 months to a year.. but COME ON... IT'S EVERYWHERE RIGHT NOW. Everyone is getting knocked up, and it seems like no one is having any issues. Stupid baby bumps all over the place everywhere I turn. Every time I get on Facebook someone else is popping out a kid.
Don't get me wrong I am 100% thrilled for all of my friends and family that are poppin out kids right now..but when is it our turn!?!? The monthly disappointment is so overwhelming, and lord knows we're doing everything that we're supposed to be doing..Predictor kits, limiting drinking, tracking cycles blah blah blah. I have friends that have said they just stopped keeping track then it happened for them, but I'm scared that if I stop paying attention to everything we'll miss out too.
I used to watch Teen Mom as a sorce of entertainment, now it just pisses me off that these girls are ever allowed to be mothers in the first place. Who's up there saying "yea this chick will make a great mom, let's have her get knocked up" Walking through the mall yesterday I was shocked at the amount of horrible parenting I saw. Yes, I'm judging...I would never let my child run screaming through the store knocking things over. Say what you want "You don't know, because I don't have kids of your own" I'll tell you one thing, if my kid ever acted the way some of the kids I saw yesterday did their but would be in the car on their way home.
I guess I'm venting because we've been starting to get the questions about kids more and more lately, especially with a little nephew on the way (which we're thrilled about) but everyone keeps saying how he needs a little cousin. Yes we know, we're working on it... Why does everyone under the sun think it's appropriate to ask when we're going to procreate? I'm not sure it's ever an appropriate question. The other day at work a parent said "I don't know if any of you have kids.." She was saying it in a real shitty way too. The whole thing really upset me..it's not like I don't have them, or don't have one on the way by choice. It was such a rude thing to say, and really such a slap in the face.
The hardest part is I know how awesome of a dad Aaron would be. We've been talking about different things that we would want to do, especially with it just being Valentine's day and how he would get his daughter flowers, or take her to a daddy daughter dance.
Ok venting done, needed to get it of my chest, now maybe people will stop bugging us.
Sunday, February 17, 2013
Monday, January 21, 2013
A House is not a Home
I am OBSESSED with HGTV Property Virgins, and House Hunters. We used to have our DVR set to record it when we were house hunting..now that we have a house, I still watch it, but not religiously. We were watching an episode the other night where the wife wanted move in ready, and hubby wanted to do a little work to the house. The husband kept making a statement about how no one wants to move into a house and not have to change anything, and it not really being your own. Hmm....
We bought our house and up until this weekend haven't changed a thing. We know we want to paint the butt ugly Michigan State color work out room, but we've held off because of the wedding, and holidays. This house is painted the exact colors I would have picked out. I don't really see the point in changing it, just because the old owners picked the colors not us. We even have extremely similar furniture...which we had before we moved in. We just got really lucky.
Home improvement projects stress me out, I hate starting things and not getting them finished. If I think about things for too long I can't make up my mind, I start second guessing everything. So why stress when everything was already done?. Every project that we have done to this house (mainly landscaping) we've decided to do it very spur of the moment. Most conversations sound like this... "I don't want to put Christmas lights on these bushes, want to just rip them out?" "Sure get the saw" "I hate all these trees, want to cut them down?" "Sure let me call my dad and he'll bring the chainsaw over...he'll be here in 10 minutes"
This weekend was no different. Aaron decided Friday we needed some new lighting in our kitchen. It had the very 90's tack lighting..which we hated, but lived with. Two of the lights have finally burned out, so instead of getting bulbs we decided to just get a new light. As we were walking through Menards trying to pick kitchen lighting the ADD kicked in, suddenly Aaron wanted outside lighting as well, because what we have now is "so ugly, and old."
We got our lights after much debate, and came home to start the project. The outside lights seemed to go up without too many issues. The father in law came over to help see us through our first major project. You know it's not a true home improvement project without at least one extra unplanned trip to the store..but we got it done. It looks great, and the three little lights really change the front of the house.
The kitchen light wasn't so easy. Our first mistake was attempting to do it at 10:30 at night, with the lights all off...genius I know, it's the unfinished feeling I can't stand. We abandoned the project for a cocktail and went to bed. We got up bright and early went back to the store to pick a different light, because we weren't in love with the one we originally bought, and spent about an hour hanging the light. It looks good. It doesn't match any other light, so now we have to replace them all, but one step at a time.
We bought our house and up until this weekend haven't changed a thing. We know we want to paint the butt ugly Michigan State color work out room, but we've held off because of the wedding, and holidays. This house is painted the exact colors I would have picked out. I don't really see the point in changing it, just because the old owners picked the colors not us. We even have extremely similar furniture...which we had before we moved in. We just got really lucky.
Home improvement projects stress me out, I hate starting things and not getting them finished. If I think about things for too long I can't make up my mind, I start second guessing everything. So why stress when everything was already done?. Every project that we have done to this house (mainly landscaping) we've decided to do it very spur of the moment. Most conversations sound like this... "I don't want to put Christmas lights on these bushes, want to just rip them out?" "Sure get the saw" "I hate all these trees, want to cut them down?" "Sure let me call my dad and he'll bring the chainsaw over...he'll be here in 10 minutes"
This weekend was no different. Aaron decided Friday we needed some new lighting in our kitchen. It had the very 90's tack lighting..which we hated, but lived with. Two of the lights have finally burned out, so instead of getting bulbs we decided to just get a new light. As we were walking through Menards trying to pick kitchen lighting the ADD kicked in, suddenly Aaron wanted outside lighting as well, because what we have now is "so ugly, and old."
We got our lights after much debate, and came home to start the project. The outside lights seemed to go up without too many issues. The father in law came over to help see us through our first major project. You know it's not a true home improvement project without at least one extra unplanned trip to the store..but we got it done. It looks great, and the three little lights really change the front of the house.
The kitchen light wasn't so easy. Our first mistake was attempting to do it at 10:30 at night, with the lights all off...genius I know, it's the unfinished feeling I can't stand. We abandoned the project for a cocktail and went to bed. We got up bright and early went back to the store to pick a different light, because we weren't in love with the one we originally bought, and spent about an hour hanging the light. It looks good. It doesn't match any other light, so now we have to replace them all, but one step at a time.
Sunday, January 13, 2013
There's always a system
Aaron and I have lived together for over a year. We had a routine at the apartment, but when we bought the house things changed. I lived with him in our apartment, and we called it "ours" but really it was his, and I just moved into it. I never really felt like it was mine. We bought the house together, picked out the furniture together, and decorated it together, it's OURS.
That being said once we moved into the house we established our duties. Aaron takes care of certain aspects of our lives, and I cook, clean, and take care of the house. Judge me if you want, say "How 1950's of you" but I ENJOY taking care of my husband, and that's all that matters.
All that blabing to get to this point. I have a system, I clean a certain way. It's always been that way period. I clean from top to bottom. I dust before I vacuum, I mop the floors last, blah blah blah. You bet your ass that if Aaron ever volunteers to help I about pee my pants with excitement. When he does the dishes (without being asked) I think it's the sexiest thing in the universe. So imagine my excitement when he offered to help me "de Chrismafy" our house. He was ready to help me pack away our abundance of Christmas decorations. He even helped me reorganize the whole packing system! How helpful right?
Ehhhhh...not so much. His way was so not THE RIGHT WAY. He didn't understand my system, and wanted to do everything all at once. There is no point in vacuuming when there is still tinsel on top of the cupboards and it's going to leave a mess on the floor once it comes down. Not to mention I had to dust EVERYTHING. All he wanted to do was vacuum. Why? I don't know. So Aaron being the three year old he truly can be sometimes, took the vacuum and pushed it around all the boxes, even though I kept saying "don't do that, I'm going to have to redo it in 10 minutes once I've dusted" I finally got so frustrated with him I told him if he wasn't going to do it the way I wanted it to be done, then he could go downstairs and leave me to do it all myself.
Of course he when downstairs.
I don't know if I hurt his feelings or not, at that point I was three hours into the project and didn't really care. Now that it's done and over with I wonder...should I just do what I do at work (with the 3 year old) bite my tongue, and redo it when he's finished or bored with the task. Or do I kick him out and not let him help, knowing that if I do that the chances of him volunteering to help ever again are slim to none.
Oy the real problems of a newly wed.
<3 Mrs. Monzo
That being said once we moved into the house we established our duties. Aaron takes care of certain aspects of our lives, and I cook, clean, and take care of the house. Judge me if you want, say "How 1950's of you" but I ENJOY taking care of my husband, and that's all that matters.
All that blabing to get to this point. I have a system, I clean a certain way. It's always been that way period. I clean from top to bottom. I dust before I vacuum, I mop the floors last, blah blah blah. You bet your ass that if Aaron ever volunteers to help I about pee my pants with excitement. When he does the dishes (without being asked) I think it's the sexiest thing in the universe. So imagine my excitement when he offered to help me "de Chrismafy" our house. He was ready to help me pack away our abundance of Christmas decorations. He even helped me reorganize the whole packing system! How helpful right?
Ehhhhh...not so much. His way was so not THE RIGHT WAY. He didn't understand my system, and wanted to do everything all at once. There is no point in vacuuming when there is still tinsel on top of the cupboards and it's going to leave a mess on the floor once it comes down. Not to mention I had to dust EVERYTHING. All he wanted to do was vacuum. Why? I don't know. So Aaron being the three year old he truly can be sometimes, took the vacuum and pushed it around all the boxes, even though I kept saying "don't do that, I'm going to have to redo it in 10 minutes once I've dusted" I finally got so frustrated with him I told him if he wasn't going to do it the way I wanted it to be done, then he could go downstairs and leave me to do it all myself.
Of course he when downstairs.
I don't know if I hurt his feelings or not, at that point I was three hours into the project and didn't really care. Now that it's done and over with I wonder...should I just do what I do at work (with the 3 year old) bite my tongue, and redo it when he's finished or bored with the task. Or do I kick him out and not let him help, knowing that if I do that the chances of him volunteering to help ever again are slim to none.
Oy the real problems of a newly wed.
<3 Mrs. Monzo
Tuesday, January 1, 2013
A New Year for the Newly Weds
I've been beyond busy, and didn't really feel much need to post after the wedding. I created the blog to help me remember the craziness of the past year. I've decided I miss blogging and sharing stories. I don't want to blog about random nothingness and my boring day to day life, however I do have some pretty interesting/funny stories about being newly weds. I have never made resolutions before and I'm not resolving to blog a certain amount of times a week or month, but I do want to blog on a regular basis.
With that said...that's my blog for this week....haha
<3 Mrs. Monzo
With that said...that's my blog for this week....haha
<3 Mrs. Monzo
Sunday, August 12, 2012
Bundle of Nerves
Thursday and Friday before the wedding are really just a blur. I remember everything that we did and all the things we had to get done, but it feels like those two days flew by so quickly. Thursday morning I had breakfast with my almost mother-in-law. Of course we were saps and got all emotional in front of the whole restaurant...oh well. She got me the coolest gifts! I got a canvas with mine and Aaron's name on it with 4 words I used to describe our relationship. I also got the coolest picture frame with our names all over it and our wedding date. www.personalizationmall.com it's an awesome site!!
Thursday my mom came in to stay with us for the weekend, we had my trial hair appointment, where my mother so boldly told me at the end that they needed to leave some hair over my ears...because they stick out. Awesome, thanks mom.
Friday morning I woke up at about 4 a.m. because Aaron elbowed my in the eye, all I could think about was having a black eye for the wedding...I never got back to sleep. I got out of bed at 7 feeling so sick. Aaron wasn't much better. I couldn't eat anything my stomach was a ball of knots. My mom and I were meeting my cousin Chelsea for spa day..so off we went. I couldn't even enjoy my mani/pedi I was such a freaking mess.
It was never really about actually getting married to Aaron, the marriage wasn't freaking me out..it was the event. The planner in me was out in full force, and I wanted total and complete control over everything. Once we got to the venue and I could see everything, make things how I wanted them, and I started to feel a lot better.
The rehearsal went off without a hitch, even though we couldn't practice in our actual venue. Our dinner was great, we had fun with or family and friends, I was feeling so much better. The knots were completely gone!
No Kissing before the wedding! That didn't last!
One of our center pieces
Thursday my mom came in to stay with us for the weekend, we had my trial hair appointment, where my mother so boldly told me at the end that they needed to leave some hair over my ears...because they stick out. Awesome, thanks mom.
Friday morning I woke up at about 4 a.m. because Aaron elbowed my in the eye, all I could think about was having a black eye for the wedding...I never got back to sleep. I got out of bed at 7 feeling so sick. Aaron wasn't much better. I couldn't eat anything my stomach was a ball of knots. My mom and I were meeting my cousin Chelsea for spa day..so off we went. I couldn't even enjoy my mani/pedi I was such a freaking mess.
It was never really about actually getting married to Aaron, the marriage wasn't freaking me out..it was the event. The planner in me was out in full force, and I wanted total and complete control over everything. Once we got to the venue and I could see everything, make things how I wanted them, and I started to feel a lot better.
The rehearsal went off without a hitch, even though we couldn't practice in our actual venue. Our dinner was great, we had fun with or family and friends, I was feeling so much better. The knots were completely gone!
No Kissing before the wedding! That didn't last!
One of our center pieces
That's all for now!
<3 Karissa
Tuesday, August 7, 2012
The Beginning
So this is the end of the story, but it doesn't seem fitting to call it the end. It's really the beginning of our lives as a married couple. So much has happened in the past couple of weeks, so I'm going to break up these posts so they aren't super long.
I took the week before the wedding off, and the week after...let me tell you what a total bummer it was to go back to work this week!
The week before the wedding was when the anxiety set in. It was never about the marriage, or being married to one person, or questioning anything in regards to Aaron himself...it was all about the actual event. The true planner in me was out in full force. I was running around like a chicken with my head cut off the week before. Up until then we had felt we were doing great on our budget...that's because we only shelled out deposits up until then. Suddenly all the final payments were due. I swear I heard our bank account cry, and our credit card sigh a little bit. We managed to stay within budget...but when you pay for everything all at once boy does it hurt. Thanks dad for paying for the reception!!!
The week before the wedding I got a call from our coordinator (this was the day of the horrible movie theater shooting) saying they were supposed to be doing a "Flash Mob" to promote the new movie..Step up revolution...(whatever it's called) the theater wanted to be sensitive to the victims and decided to postpone the flash mob....can you guess when they wanted to do it? Yep during my reception!
I wasn't trying to be a brat, but when I'm spending thousands and thousands of dollars for my reception I don't want a stupid flash mob interrupting our first dance (that's exactly what time they had planned it for.) So in true bridezilla form I axed the flash mob...total bummer summer...sorry!!
The week of the wedding, I had my phone glued to my ear all day every day. I just don't like leaving things up to other people...again it's the planner in me. It's usually the week before the wedding where I'm telling the bride, "don't worry I'll take care of that, don't worry I'll make that call" and suddenly I was having to worry about everything!!!
I have never been more stressed in my life..planning a wedding is THE BEST weight loss program ever. I had absolutely no appetite at all...it's funny because I still don't...but I shed a couple lbs and I wasn't sad about that! To deal with the stress, we decided to start golfing....I know, help with stress?? Golf didn't help with the stress it made it worse, but we've found out I'm not all that bad!!
I have more posts scheduled but pre wedding I'm starting to ramble...so I'll leave you with a few of my favorite pictures from our photo booth!
<3 Karissa
I took the week before the wedding off, and the week after...let me tell you what a total bummer it was to go back to work this week!
The week before the wedding was when the anxiety set in. It was never about the marriage, or being married to one person, or questioning anything in regards to Aaron himself...it was all about the actual event. The true planner in me was out in full force. I was running around like a chicken with my head cut off the week before. Up until then we had felt we were doing great on our budget...that's because we only shelled out deposits up until then. Suddenly all the final payments were due. I swear I heard our bank account cry, and our credit card sigh a little bit. We managed to stay within budget...but when you pay for everything all at once boy does it hurt. Thanks dad for paying for the reception!!!
The week before the wedding I got a call from our coordinator (this was the day of the horrible movie theater shooting) saying they were supposed to be doing a "Flash Mob" to promote the new movie..Step up revolution...(whatever it's called) the theater wanted to be sensitive to the victims and decided to postpone the flash mob....can you guess when they wanted to do it? Yep during my reception!
I wasn't trying to be a brat, but when I'm spending thousands and thousands of dollars for my reception I don't want a stupid flash mob interrupting our first dance (that's exactly what time they had planned it for.) So in true bridezilla form I axed the flash mob...total bummer summer...sorry!!
The week of the wedding, I had my phone glued to my ear all day every day. I just don't like leaving things up to other people...again it's the planner in me. It's usually the week before the wedding where I'm telling the bride, "don't worry I'll take care of that, don't worry I'll make that call" and suddenly I was having to worry about everything!!!
I have never been more stressed in my life..planning a wedding is THE BEST weight loss program ever. I had absolutely no appetite at all...it's funny because I still don't...but I shed a couple lbs and I wasn't sad about that! To deal with the stress, we decided to start golfing....I know, help with stress?? Golf didn't help with the stress it made it worse, but we've found out I'm not all that bad!!
I have more posts scheduled but pre wedding I'm starting to ramble...so I'll leave you with a few of my favorite pictures from our photo booth!
<3 Karissa
Friday, July 27, 2012
Saturday, July 21, 2012
One week!!
There is way too much going on in my brain right now to even post. All I can say is that I am so ready to stop planning, and just be married! I have so many upcoming posts,but let's be honest... A week before the wedding I don't have time to blog. I'll leave you with some teasers..
budget...what budget? Part 2
Flash mob....excuse me??
Cheap & Tacky
Golf
<3 Karissa
budget...what budget? Part 2
Flash mob....excuse me??
Cheap & Tacky
Golf
<3 Karissa
Tuesday, July 3, 2012
10 Things that Make Me Happy
Of course my wonderful, handsome fiancée, and my friends and family make me happy..they're a given!!
So here's my list of 10 Things That Make Me Happy
10:
The Magic Bullet....sorry ladies it's not a vibrator. It's a food processor, and a damn good one! I love this thing. I've only used it to make mixed drinks so far, but boy can it crush some ice. I'm sure it does everything well, and when we aren't so busy I'll play around with it some more!
9. My complete Friends series on DVD. I LOVE LOVE LOVE Friends. I loved watching it when it was on NBC, and I still love watching it. If there is nothing else on TV I will always watch reruns. I have seen every episode a million times, and no matter what I always laugh.
8. My Apple items Ipad/phone. Love them. I love not having
to fire up my computer every time I want to check something on the internet,
and I love all the apps.
7. Plato's Closet. Ok before you judge let me explain this one. I am a big fan of saving money, and getting my money's worth. I love the fact that I can take my old clothes to the store and sell them for cash! I also shop there on occasion. I buy my work shorts there, since I work with kids, I don't really want to wear my good "going out" clothes. So 8 bucks on a pair of shorts is a great deal..especially if they get a little paint on them!
6. Alright, this one may be a little embarrassing for anyone
to admit, but I have dark hair, and I'm Italian...so we Sopko ladies are
plagued with dark hair...everywhere. I just found this new product for removing
facial hair (upper lip) that works FANTASTIC, and doesn't irritate my skin at
all. I've searched high and low for something that won't give me little red
bumps. OLAY Facial hair removal duo is the bomb! This stuff works wonders, it
makes me so happy that I finally found something that feels so good. It's a
little pricy but it's totally worth it!
4. My kitties. I was never a cat person until I met Aaron. I
still don't think I'm a cat person, I just like my cats. They are so funny, so
cute, and full of cuddles. It makes me so happy to have them both curl up in
bed with me, although they are HUGE bed hogs. As I'm typing this my baby kitty
has the hiccups..so cute!
3. My engagement ring,
and my wedding band. Of course every girl can't wait to get hers. I love mine
so much. Every time I look at it I get so excited to think of the meaning
behind it. To know that Aaron picked it out, and hid it from me for a month
trying to think of the perfect way to ask me.
2. My house. We have so much going on right now. It's hard
to appreciate everything when we're doing so much, but sometimes when I turn
onto our street (Summertime ct)...see I'm a summer girl through and through. I
pull into our driveway and get so happy to see OUR house. When I walk in and
see all we have done to make it our own, I just love it!
1. Reading/my books/ my Nook: I am an avid reader. I love
getting lost in books, I generally read 5 or 6 books a week. Sadly the past
couple of months it hasn't been quite as many since we have been so busy. I
can't shut my mind off unless I read before bed. Even if I'm dead tired I'll
read a couple of pages. I have so many different authors that I love, and so
many different series that I have enough to keep me reading for years. The best
thing ever is my Nook. I love it, and it makes me so happy that I can take
hundreds of books with me wherever I go. I recently got the new glow light
nook...LOVE IT. It's nice that Aaron can go to bed, shut the lights off, and I
can stay up and read without bothering him!
Ok, so there's my list of 10 things that make me happy there
are so many more things, but I don't have time.
Oh one more..I'M GETTING MARRIED IN 3 WEEKS!!!!
<3 Karissa
Sunday, July 1, 2012
The Home Stretch
How is it July already? I swear I woke up yesterday excited that there was 2 months until the wedding..and now we're actually in wedding month...HOLY BALLS!!!
I'll be completely honest... I don't want to wish this all away, but I am also so ready for all of this to be over. I feel like our lives revolve around the wedding right now. We don't want to start any home projects because they'll just sit this entire month. We don't want to spend money because we're about to drop a whole lot of it. I'm just ready to get back to living life.
I'm sure there are tons of brides out there that would smack me right now for saying that I'm ready for it to be over..but I'm sooo tired. I'm sick of having crazy dreams about my flowers (one where we carried coat hangers, because flowers were never delivered). I'm sick of trying to chase people down who have said they were coming, but have yet to RSVP...I'm sick of trying to plan everything and keep everything in motion...I'm JUST SO TIRED!!!
I have always been a planner at heart. It can be Monday evening and I'll be asking Aaron what we're going to do this coming weekend, because I like to know, and I like to have everything planner out. I'm a very spur of the moment person when it comes to implus purchases and doing crazy wild things, but I love to have my plans. It is so freaking hard to plan everything for everyone, and work around everyone’s schedule. We can't even find time to go get our marriage license together..so I have to do it alone. :(
Through this whole planning phase (9 months) I have really tried to avoid playing the "I'm the Bride" card, and I feel like I have done pretty damn good, but sometimes I just want to scream...why are you making this so difficult...I'm the bride, this is what I want, just do it. It's not like I'm asking people to cut their arms off..for the most part it's fun stuff, and I feel like I've had to pull teeth, which in turn makes me feel like the bad guy...and then makes me care anymore.
I know this is kind of a bummer post, and it should probably be filled with many more exciting thoughts. I truly am excited to get married and be Mrs. Monzo, and I am really excited for the wedding itself, but right now at this moment...I'm ready for July 29th so I can be a wife on her honeymoon.
<3 Karissa
Wednesday, June 20, 2012
Welcome to the 50's
Division of labor and assests has been on our minds lately. How does a couple who once lived totally seperate lives, mesh their two lives together? It's a hard subject to bring up. We had the conversation when we first moved in together. We weren't engaged, but we knew we were headed in that direction (or else I never would have moved in).
We split certain bills, and we went every other on grocery trips...seemed fair. Then almost hubs pops the question, and the whole topic comes up again...not to mention I took a different job, which I love, yet doesn't pay me near what I was making before. Suddenly I find myself doing all of the housework, cooking all the meals (at least the meals that we eat at home...we eat out A LOT) and clipping coupons, and all other wifely duties. While almost Hubby took on the brunt of the bills, I turned myself into a nice little housewife!
Don't get me wrong, I like making my own money, and I love my Independence..and I'll be damned if my wedding vows say the word obey. Chances are if almost hubby told me to stand still, I would jump up and down on one foot..I don't "obey" But I love love love taking care of him.
I love cooking for the almost hubs, I don't mind doing all the laundry..I don't love laundry in general, but it doesn't bother me to do his too. Partly because I don't want him to ruin anything of mine. I love cleaning the house, and making it a clean home for him to come home to everyday. If he's going to be doing most of the providing for our family, why shouldn't I be helpful in the places that I can be?
Some people may read this blog and want to totally smack me, and think these opinions are the reason why women still aren't equal to men. I would like to point out..if I had a high paying stressful job that provided a huge chunk of our income, I know I would be singing a different song, however the situation being what it is, I feel perfectly content in contributing in every way I possibly can...so put me in an apron, and stick me in the kitchen...I'm cookin dinner tonight!
<3 Karissa
p.s. 1 month 1 week 1 day till I DO!!! YIKES!!!!
We split certain bills, and we went every other on grocery trips...seemed fair. Then almost hubs pops the question, and the whole topic comes up again...not to mention I took a different job, which I love, yet doesn't pay me near what I was making before. Suddenly I find myself doing all of the housework, cooking all the meals (at least the meals that we eat at home...we eat out A LOT) and clipping coupons, and all other wifely duties. While almost Hubby took on the brunt of the bills, I turned myself into a nice little housewife!
Don't get me wrong, I like making my own money, and I love my Independence..and I'll be damned if my wedding vows say the word obey. Chances are if almost hubby told me to stand still, I would jump up and down on one foot..I don't "obey" But I love love love taking care of him.
I love cooking for the almost hubs, I don't mind doing all the laundry..I don't love laundry in general, but it doesn't bother me to do his too. Partly because I don't want him to ruin anything of mine. I love cleaning the house, and making it a clean home for him to come home to everyday. If he's going to be doing most of the providing for our family, why shouldn't I be helpful in the places that I can be?
Some people may read this blog and want to totally smack me, and think these opinions are the reason why women still aren't equal to men. I would like to point out..if I had a high paying stressful job that provided a huge chunk of our income, I know I would be singing a different song, however the situation being what it is, I feel perfectly content in contributing in every way I possibly can...so put me in an apron, and stick me in the kitchen...I'm cookin dinner tonight!
<3 Karissa
p.s. 1 month 1 week 1 day till I DO!!! YIKES!!!!
Sunday, June 17, 2012
Man Gene and Total Destruction Part 2
So the past few posts have been about how vastly different men and women are. How our brains are totally different, and how we function completely opposite. In my Total Destruction post we covered the topic of our backyard overhaul. I was pretty happy with the outcome of our conversation. We were going to tackle the backyard one section at a time, that way we didn't have to look at a crap pile of a yard the whole season. Well that whole theory went to shit yesterday. I blame my father. What is it about a pair/group of men getting together, and suddenly everything seems possible? "Oh you want to dig a hole for a pool with your bare hands...NO PROBLEM. I bet I can dig faster and deeper than you!" Everything becomes a possibility and everything becomes a giant pissing contest.
Throw in my dad, and suddenly hubs to be thinks he can do it all, and for some reason has to prove it. *Side note, when men are all together why do their ideas become more and more stupid?* We had my dad over to help with some yard work. My idea was to get one whole side of the yard totally cleaned up, and ready for some planting next weekend...Aaron and my dad had a much better idea. Lets get a 15lbs sledge hammer and giant ax and chop at a stump in the ground for 2 hours...just to see what happens! Oh lets also get a saw and cut down two trees in the backyard. Honey it will be a great idea.
EXCUSE ME..HOLD THE PHONE.... What happened to pulling weeds raking up all this dirt and getting some nice stepping stones and potted plants?? Oh I know Father and Son-in-law together...Operation Total Destruction is back on. I'm so glad our logical conversation was at the front of almost hubs mind...oh wait it wasn't.
While I appreciate all the cool news toys my dad bought Aaron, I don't appreciate the fact that he's now got these massive toys that do nothing but create a mess in my yard! So now my yard has to extra stumps from the cut down trees, a "burn pile" the size of a bear cave of wood that we'll have to burn once we get our fire pit, and nothing has been planted yet.
We worked ourselves to the bone yesterday, and my dad was great help, we actually got a lot cleaned up and while it looks worse than before..it also looks better..all the weeds are good, all the dead leaves are raked out. My dad did a great job helping us...I just don't think I'll ever let those two make the plan again!!
Throw in my dad, and suddenly hubs to be thinks he can do it all, and for some reason has to prove it. *Side note, when men are all together why do their ideas become more and more stupid?* We had my dad over to help with some yard work. My idea was to get one whole side of the yard totally cleaned up, and ready for some planting next weekend...Aaron and my dad had a much better idea. Lets get a 15lbs sledge hammer and giant ax and chop at a stump in the ground for 2 hours...just to see what happens! Oh lets also get a saw and cut down two trees in the backyard. Honey it will be a great idea.
EXCUSE ME..HOLD THE PHONE.... What happened to pulling weeds raking up all this dirt and getting some nice stepping stones and potted plants?? Oh I know Father and Son-in-law together...Operation Total Destruction is back on. I'm so glad our logical conversation was at the front of almost hubs mind...oh wait it wasn't.
While I appreciate all the cool news toys my dad bought Aaron, I don't appreciate the fact that he's now got these massive toys that do nothing but create a mess in my yard! So now my yard has to extra stumps from the cut down trees, a "burn pile" the size of a bear cave of wood that we'll have to burn once we get our fire pit, and nothing has been planted yet.
We worked ourselves to the bone yesterday, and my dad was great help, we actually got a lot cleaned up and while it looks worse than before..it also looks better..all the weeds are good, all the dead leaves are raked out. My dad did a great job helping us...I just don't think I'll ever let those two make the plan again!!
Tuesday, June 12, 2012
The Man Gene
Lets talk about the man gene. A gene that resides only in the male species. This gene allows for men to walk in the door, see the mat where shoes are supposed to go, and it somehow signals their brain to put their shoes three feet away from that mat. I don't get it. It's not just shoes either it's all inanimate objects.
Dishes are placed in the sink, when the dishwasher is full of dirty dishes, waiting for the last few dishes to have a full load. Mind you the dishwasher is a foot away from the sink.
Empty glasses are left ALL OVER the house, regardless of how many times he's walked into the kitchen to get something else. Same goes for dirty socks, and walking to the bedroom.
The real kicker is the keys...ohhhh the keys. It's an on going battle and I honestly think I'm fighting it with myself., because no matter how many times I subtly move the keys to the correct spot, I find them resting peacefully two inches away form their true resting place.
Dishes are placed in the sink, when the dishwasher is full of dirty dishes, waiting for the last few dishes to have a full load. Mind you the dishwasher is a foot away from the sink.
Empty glasses are left ALL OVER the house, regardless of how many times he's walked into the kitchen to get something else. Same goes for dirty socks, and walking to the bedroom.
The real kicker is the keys...ohhhh the keys. It's an on going battle and I honestly think I'm fighting it with myself., because no matter how many times I subtly move the keys to the correct spot, I find them resting peacefully two inches away form their true resting place.
Where they should go...
Where they end up.
This BOGGLES MY MIND!!!!!!
Someone please explain to me how as women we can be soooo vastly different from men. How is it that I can walk in the door each day and put my keys in the little box (which was purchased by Aaron not me!!) and he manages to get them about an inch away from the box???
I don't think he's lazy by any means. There are a million and one things that Aaron has going on around the house, but it will never cease to amaze me that the small tasks somehow are nearly impossible to get men to complete!
Sunday, June 10, 2012
Lions and Laughs with the Larners
After a few crazy weekends working on the house, and dealing with the wedding, we decided to forget about our projects, and do something fun! We have both always wanted to go to the Detroit zoo, so we packed our bags and headed to Detroit. Aaron has a cousin that lives there (we went to the Pistons game with them earlier this year) so we crashed their weekend and all went to the zoo together!
Talking a 1 year old to the zoo is SO MUCH FUN!! I'm about to marry a grown child, and Amanda and I joked about how excited Aaron was getting about the animals, but watching their little girl watch the animals was so cute! Plus she is the cutest little baby on the earth! I could watch her facial expressions all day long.
The zoo was lots of fun..it was sooooo hot. Somehow I managed to get a wonderful burn on my left shoulder. I have been tanning so I have a nice base color for the wedding, and I have been really careful about lines, and now I have a lovely strap mark on my shoulder...awesome.
After the zoo we went home, and had grown up's night out! John and Amanda had a sitter all lined up, and it was the first time their little lady wasn't staying with a grandparent it was an actual sitter. It was so funny/cute to listen to Amanda give instructions! I have to say, while we were out, she was a very good trusting mama, and didn't call and check in every 5 minutes! I know I won't be that calm and collected! We headed out for a great dinner, and comedy show! It was so much fun. Aaron and I always go out to dinner, and we hit a movie every now and then, but we never actually get all dressed up and do date night. It really made us think. We promised on our way home today, we would do an official date night once a month. Something that we don't always do, where we have to get a little dressed up (that was my rule) and something that would expose us to different things and activities that are around our city!
John and Amanda live right in front of a pond, so we slept with the windows open, and had nice breeze and listened to the frogs all night, it was so peaceful! This morning we woke up and sadly said our goodbyes, and headed out to Ikea!
Ikea is one of my favorite stores. I would love to be able to walk in to their show room, pick up a "room" and put it in my house. Sadly I'm not a zillionare and can't do that, but we made out really well! We go some decorative pieces, and a new TV stand. We pretty much got everything we went for and then some! Of course I explained to Aaron that the reason we did so well money wise was because we have to put everything together ourselves. Anyone who had every put something together from Ikea knows how OBNOXIOUS it is. It will truly test how solid your relationship is if you can manage to put your stuff together without killing your partner.
We bought a bed side lamp.....took us 25 minutes to put that animal together, and we were on the verge of killing each other. We managed to survive and it's sitting blissfully on our nightstand. Probably mocking us at how long it took us, but regardless..we did it!
We had a wonderful, relaxing (minus the assembly of the lamp) weekend. We spent it with wonderful people, and had a great time reconnecting!
xoxo
<3 Karissa
Talking a 1 year old to the zoo is SO MUCH FUN!! I'm about to marry a grown child, and Amanda and I joked about how excited Aaron was getting about the animals, but watching their little girl watch the animals was so cute! Plus she is the cutest little baby on the earth! I could watch her facial expressions all day long.
The zoo was lots of fun..it was sooooo hot. Somehow I managed to get a wonderful burn on my left shoulder. I have been tanning so I have a nice base color for the wedding, and I have been really careful about lines, and now I have a lovely strap mark on my shoulder...awesome.
John and Amanda live right in front of a pond, so we slept with the windows open, and had nice breeze and listened to the frogs all night, it was so peaceful! This morning we woke up and sadly said our goodbyes, and headed out to Ikea!
Ikea is one of my favorite stores. I would love to be able to walk in to their show room, pick up a "room" and put it in my house. Sadly I'm not a zillionare and can't do that, but we made out really well! We go some decorative pieces, and a new TV stand. We pretty much got everything we went for and then some! Of course I explained to Aaron that the reason we did so well money wise was because we have to put everything together ourselves. Anyone who had every put something together from Ikea knows how OBNOXIOUS it is. It will truly test how solid your relationship is if you can manage to put your stuff together without killing your partner.
We bought a bed side lamp.....took us 25 minutes to put that animal together, and we were on the verge of killing each other. We managed to survive and it's sitting blissfully on our nightstand. Probably mocking us at how long it took us, but regardless..we did it!
We had a wonderful, relaxing (minus the assembly of the lamp) weekend. We spent it with wonderful people, and had a great time reconnecting!
xoxo
<3 Karissa
Monday, June 4, 2012
Total Destruction
Just going to throw this question out there...Why do men love total destruction? What is it about seeing something totally destroyed that gives them such a boner? I can't stand mess, I can't stand the feeling of being out of sorts, and looking at something and seeing it competely torn apart. I don't think we'll ever be able to buy a fixer upper I would probably die having to live in the mess. I felt so out of sorts when we were moving, and that was just boxes.
So back to the initial question...Why, oh why do they love the mess? It's a question that will probably always be answered with "It's just a man thing" and there is no logical answer.
We don't have any work to do in the house, where we do have work is the back yard. It's not horrible, but there are lots of trees in one area, and grass will never grow. So us being the HGTV junkies we are, decided to crash our own backyard, and turn half of it into a "Monzo oasis" We have all these great ideas, and lots of work to do!
Now, here comes the fun part. Yesterday we're out working on the yard, pulling weeds and ripping out bushes when Aaron gets an awesome idea. "Let's just continue to rip up everything we want to get out of here, clean the yard and then we'll piece everything together slowly" UMMMMMMMM excuse me!? You want to do what??? Rip out the whole backyard and then piece it back together? Don't we have a wedding coming up, followed by a honeymoon...sure honey, lets destroy the backyard so we can't host anymore parties the rest of the year!
Luckily for me, my quick thinking worked in my favor! "Babe wouldn't you rather work section by section? Work on it finish it, and then be done with it!? It will be so much more gratifying if we can actually see some finished product. Plus if we rip everything up now, we won't finish this summer!" By the grace of God he agreed with me THANK YOU BABY JESUS! I just saved myself from having to look at a mud pit for the entire summer!
So here's a break down of what took us six hours yesterday. We ripped out two bushes....completely took out all the crap all the previous owners laid down (we're doing things the right way) we put down new soil and planted new flowers.
Yep this took us six hours. So glad we didn't rip up the whole yard!
So back to the initial question...Why, oh why do they love the mess? It's a question that will probably always be answered with "It's just a man thing" and there is no logical answer.
We don't have any work to do in the house, where we do have work is the back yard. It's not horrible, but there are lots of trees in one area, and grass will never grow. So us being the HGTV junkies we are, decided to crash our own backyard, and turn half of it into a "Monzo oasis" We have all these great ideas, and lots of work to do!
Now, here comes the fun part. Yesterday we're out working on the yard, pulling weeds and ripping out bushes when Aaron gets an awesome idea. "Let's just continue to rip up everything we want to get out of here, clean the yard and then we'll piece everything together slowly" UMMMMMMMM excuse me!? You want to do what??? Rip out the whole backyard and then piece it back together? Don't we have a wedding coming up, followed by a honeymoon...sure honey, lets destroy the backyard so we can't host anymore parties the rest of the year!
Luckily for me, my quick thinking worked in my favor! "Babe wouldn't you rather work section by section? Work on it finish it, and then be done with it!? It will be so much more gratifying if we can actually see some finished product. Plus if we rip everything up now, we won't finish this summer!" By the grace of God he agreed with me THANK YOU BABY JESUS! I just saved myself from having to look at a mud pit for the entire summer!
So here's a break down of what took us six hours yesterday. We ripped out two bushes....completely took out all the crap all the previous owners laid down (we're doing things the right way) we put down new soil and planted new flowers.
Yep this took us six hours. So glad we didn't rip up the whole yard!
As we move into June I'm constantly thinking of things about the wedding, having bad dreams of all of the things I forgot to do. Now I know why people hire wedding planners. I always thought it was silly to hire someone, but hey it kept me working....now I need to hire someone, I am so overwhelmed!!!
xoxo
<3 Karissa
Monday, May 28, 2012
Take a Second and Relax!
HOLY CRAP!! I can not begin to explain how busy we have been this month. It is absolutely crazy what we have put ourselves through.
We moved into the house on May 12th. We were pretty settled that weekend, minus our new furniture and some artwork. We've slowly been getting artwork, and our furniture was delivered a week after we moved in. It was delivered on the day of my AMAZING bridal shower.
My wonderful Aunt Terry and cousin Chelsea hosted it for me at Food Dance. Probably one of the most amazing restaurants in Kalamazoo. The turn out was great. I am so lucky to have so many friends and family who love me and were there to celebrate the day with me! Those who couldn't come were missed dearly!! I had so much yummy food, and the decorations we awesome!
My wonderful Aunt Terry and cousin Chelsea hosted it for me at Food Dance. Probably one of the most amazing restaurants in Kalamazoo. The turn out was great. I am so lucky to have so many friends and family who love me and were there to celebrate the day with me! Those who couldn't come were missed dearly!! I had so much yummy food, and the decorations we awesome!
When I got home from the shower I will tell you I was soooo overwhelmed. I had just moved in and gotten everything where I wanted it to be, and now I had all of this stuff to find places for. The gifts sat in the living room for about 2 days while I tried to figure out where I was going to put everything!
Lucky for us (not very smart of us though) we decided to have our housewarming party this weekend. We were forced to find homes for all of the gifts, and start hanging artwork. Three completely packed weekends makes for a very tired Karissa. Our party turned out AWESOME. We had around 20 people and had some amazing food. We'll be eating leftovers for 2 weeks, and we don't need to visit the liquor store for about a year! We woke up Saturday morning extremely sad it was due to rain all day. I was so upset I wanted to call off the party. We have an awesome deck and great outdoor area, we had lawn games, and all of our patio furniture all set to go, and at 8am it was looking pretty gloomy outside. Somehow, someone was looking over us...we didn't get a drop of rain, and the sun came out and we were able to host our party outside without a hitch! I feel like such a grown up, our first really party! Someone asked us if we were going to set up beer pong...um no not in my house. We're adults, lets act like it!
It has been one CRAZY month! I looked at the calendar today and realized...we are exactly 2 months away from the wedding. We've sent out invitations...(Stuffing invitations blows) and we've already gotten some RSVP cards back! I'm getting so excited, but slowly stressed, because I'm beginning to realize I need to start tying up details, and I have so much work stuff going on as well..I'm getting overwhelmed. I don't want to wish this time away, but I'm ready for it to just be here!
Hope everyone has had a great start to summer, and enjoyed the long weekend!
<3 Karissa
Sunday, May 20, 2012
HOLY BUSY
This is going to be super quick, because I have a ton of crap to do.
The past week has been absolutely NUTS. We moved out of the apartment and into the house. Holy overwhelming! I have moved every year for the past 6 years, and I'm so glad to say this is the last move for a good long time! In the process of the move I lost my camera cord..so pictures to come later, and a much more detailed info about the move.
We have so much landscaping to do. It's actually exciting starting the research on what types of plants and flowers we're going to plant!
Yesterday was my bridal shower. It was so nice. We had it at Food Dance in Kalamazoo! I loooooove that place, the company was great and I got some wonderful gifts too! I was sooo overwhelmed when I got home with everything. We had just gotten the house all situated and then I walk in with a boat load of stuff, and we had to find a place for everything. We banged that all out today. The house is back to looking pretty darn good.
We're going to spend all week getting ready for a housewarming party next Saturday. Hoping for good weather!!
More later, with pictures, as soon as I find the cord!
xoxo
<3 Karissa
The past week has been absolutely NUTS. We moved out of the apartment and into the house. Holy overwhelming! I have moved every year for the past 6 years, and I'm so glad to say this is the last move for a good long time! In the process of the move I lost my camera cord..so pictures to come later, and a much more detailed info about the move.
We have so much landscaping to do. It's actually exciting starting the research on what types of plants and flowers we're going to plant!
Yesterday was my bridal shower. It was so nice. We had it at Food Dance in Kalamazoo! I loooooove that place, the company was great and I got some wonderful gifts too! I was sooo overwhelmed when I got home with everything. We had just gotten the house all situated and then I walk in with a boat load of stuff, and we had to find a place for everything. We banged that all out today. The house is back to looking pretty darn good.
We're going to spend all week getting ready for a housewarming party next Saturday. Hoping for good weather!!
More later, with pictures, as soon as I find the cord!
xoxo
<3 Karissa
Sunday, May 6, 2012
Tick Tock
Boy is there a lot to discuss. Now that we're officially homeowners...WE WOULD LIKE TO LIVE IN OUR FREAKIN HOUSE!!!! We agreed to take possession 14 days after closing, but while at the closing our sellers assured us that we would have the keys mid week, or at the latest Sunday (today). Wellllll we have no keys. Apparently they went with a big name lender, and they are dragging their feet getting all of their paper work done. They were hoping to close Friday and possibly still get us the keys today. When I ran into our seller at work Friday evening, she said it was a no go.
I know they are frustrated. They have done everything they can, and the bank is just being plain old dumb right now. I can't imagine how it would feel to be homeless. They literally have no home right now. They had to do all sorts of extensions on their closing for their house. How stressful!!! As much as I feel sorry for them, when Friday morning at 8:00am comes around I will be knocking on the door for the keys to MY HOUSE!!!
As you can see we're more than ready to go...so are the cats!!
I know they are frustrated. They have done everything they can, and the bank is just being plain old dumb right now. I can't imagine how it would feel to be homeless. They literally have no home right now. They had to do all sorts of extensions on their closing for their house. How stressful!!! As much as I feel sorry for them, when Friday morning at 8:00am comes around I will be knocking on the door for the keys to MY HOUSE!!!
As you can see we're more than ready to go...so are the cats!!
We have pretty much everything packed that can be packed, we'll throw everything else into boxes at the last minute. We wanted the keys early so we could spend this whole week cleaning, but it looks like we're going to be cleaning around boxes.
In wedding news things are starting to pick up. We're in the home stretch of the wedding, and it's time to get our act together! My shower is in 2 weeks! I am beyond excited for that! My invitation for my scrap book came yesterday in the mail!! I'm so excited to see everyone! We have all of our gifts purchased for everyone. We worked on address labels all week long. I'm not looking forward to stuffing invites but it has to be done. Wedding invitations will be headed out in about 2 weeks!!! I can't believe it!! It's sooooo close!
That's all for now!
<3 Karissa
Sunday, April 29, 2012
It all comes crashing down....
Ok so the title is a little dramatic, but I'm feeling a little dramatic right now. Good news first. If you've been keeping up with Facebook the past week, you know we're officially homeowners now! How exciting, and scary all at the same time. The closing was so weird. I was so nervous for some reason. Our realtor ended up redeeming herself by buying us a gift off of our registry, and offering to host our housewarming party! Heck yea!! She wants to foot some of the bill, I am all for it! We like her as a person, as a realtor she is a little bit of a flake!
In other news (like the wedding) OH YEA, we're getting married, totally forgot about that with all the house crap! I got a lovely email from our wedding coordinator this week stating some "wonderful, and exciting news" Our venue has merged with a new catering company. Can you imagine what my heart did when I read that line. It stopped. It fell to my stomach. I thought I died for a second. Luckily she followed that sentence up with, you can keep all your menu selections from our catering company, or you may choose from the new menu. Welllllll, fantastic. I've already ordered, paid for, and received our wedding invitations..including the RSVP cards which have our menu options on them. Things better not change!!!!
She also assured me that they were keeping their executive chef, so the food we tasted would be the same. However, if this chef doesn't like new management he could up and quit..which will change everything. Fan-flippin-tastic. She also told me, I now have 2 points of contact, someone for food, and her for the venue. AWESOME. One more person to throw into the loop. One more cook in the kitchen. GAHHHHH.
I calmed down, and responded to her email...this isn't the death of our wedding, things will be fine. Friday I got another email...
Here are my new issues:
Our Wedding is the same weekend the new Batman movie comes out...so not only with the theaters be packed with whack jobs (lets be honest, those batman fans are slightly nuts and obsessive) We can't have our rehearsal in a theater without paying for another theater rental. I'll be damned if I pay $500.00 for a 30 minute rehearsal. I am SOOOOOOOO PISSED. I figured we don't need a long rehearsal it's not hard to walk in a line, but since it's kind of an unconventional setting I would like for everyone to practice at least once. We get a rehearsal, but in a random room. AWESOME.
Our coordinator told me she "doesn't work weekends" UMMM hold the phone. You are a wedding coordinator..how can you not work weekends? Who the heck is going to be running our shindig? Apparently I have to ask someone to help with the ceremony. How much are we paying the place?? Needless to say I'm now fuming reading this email. Finally the kicker...the catering company that they are now working with, is the company that we intentionally avoided while selecting our venue. We went to a venue and saw this company, and didn't like them at all. They were touching glasses with bare hands, they were touching silverware with no gloves, and one of them made a rude comment under her breath about something I said, and I happened to hear it. I want nothing to do with this staff. I am hoping they are still going to at least use Celebration Cinema's serving staff. If not I'm going to pitch an epic fit.
Everything was going so smooth, everything was moving along at a perfect pace, and then wham, this hits us. I'm hope it doesn't turn into a hot mess...
In more news.. Packing sucks. I always forget how much I hate to pack. The apartment is a mess, there is crap everywhere, my hands have this dust/dirt film feeling all over them. We can't really clean because there are boxes every. The cats love it..they have kitty jungle gyms everywhere..but for us it's no fun!
Enjoy the week, I can't believe it's already May. Also I just realized when I previewed this the punctuation is weird... the exclamation points look like the letter l..I'll make changes soon.
<3 Karissa
In other news (like the wedding) OH YEA, we're getting married, totally forgot about that with all the house crap! I got a lovely email from our wedding coordinator this week stating some "wonderful, and exciting news" Our venue has merged with a new catering company. Can you imagine what my heart did when I read that line. It stopped. It fell to my stomach. I thought I died for a second. Luckily she followed that sentence up with, you can keep all your menu selections from our catering company, or you may choose from the new menu. Welllllll, fantastic. I've already ordered, paid for, and received our wedding invitations..including the RSVP cards which have our menu options on them. Things better not change!!!!
She also assured me that they were keeping their executive chef, so the food we tasted would be the same. However, if this chef doesn't like new management he could up and quit..which will change everything. Fan-flippin-tastic. She also told me, I now have 2 points of contact, someone for food, and her for the venue. AWESOME. One more person to throw into the loop. One more cook in the kitchen. GAHHHHH.
I calmed down, and responded to her email...this isn't the death of our wedding, things will be fine. Friday I got another email...
Here are my new issues:
Our Wedding is the same weekend the new Batman movie comes out...so not only with the theaters be packed with whack jobs (lets be honest, those batman fans are slightly nuts and obsessive) We can't have our rehearsal in a theater without paying for another theater rental. I'll be damned if I pay $500.00 for a 30 minute rehearsal. I am SOOOOOOOO PISSED. I figured we don't need a long rehearsal it's not hard to walk in a line, but since it's kind of an unconventional setting I would like for everyone to practice at least once. We get a rehearsal, but in a random room. AWESOME.
Our coordinator told me she "doesn't work weekends" UMMM hold the phone. You are a wedding coordinator..how can you not work weekends? Who the heck is going to be running our shindig? Apparently I have to ask someone to help with the ceremony. How much are we paying the place?? Needless to say I'm now fuming reading this email. Finally the kicker...the catering company that they are now working with, is the company that we intentionally avoided while selecting our venue. We went to a venue and saw this company, and didn't like them at all. They were touching glasses with bare hands, they were touching silverware with no gloves, and one of them made a rude comment under her breath about something I said, and I happened to hear it. I want nothing to do with this staff. I am hoping they are still going to at least use Celebration Cinema's serving staff. If not I'm going to pitch an epic fit.
Everything was going so smooth, everything was moving along at a perfect pace, and then wham, this hits us. I'm hope it doesn't turn into a hot mess...
In more news.. Packing sucks. I always forget how much I hate to pack. The apartment is a mess, there is crap everywhere, my hands have this dust/dirt film feeling all over them. We can't really clean because there are boxes every. The cats love it..they have kitty jungle gyms everywhere..but for us it's no fun!
Enjoy the week, I can't believe it's already May. Also I just realized when I previewed this the punctuation is weird... the exclamation points look like the letter l..I'll make changes soon.
<3 Karissa
Sunday, April 22, 2012
Budget....What Budget??!!
When we started planning for our "big day" we both knew we didn't want to go overboard on our budget. Neither one of us could ever imagine spending obscene amounts of money on just one day. That being said, we also knew we wanted to have a day to remember, something special, something that was ours, and something that people would remember. There are things in the budget that you don't really need, and there are other spots in the budget that you really shouldn't skimp on. Here's my list of the things you can cut or cut back on, and things where you're money should be spent.
Food/Drink: You're on the verge of feeding a fairly large amount of people (anything over 20 is large considering you're footing the bill. I'm not saying 20 is a large wedding, however, it's a lot of people to pay for) Don't go cheap on the food, don't try to cook it yourself, or hire someone you know. That puts a huge amount of pressure on everyone involved. Leave it to the professionals. They are pros for a reason, they've studied the art of fine food, and they cook for large amounts of people all the time. One way to keep the costs low (and very easy to predict once you have your final count) is to pick items on the menu that all cost the same thing. Pick a meat, and chicken plate that are both $15.00 rather than a steak that's $20, and a chicken that's $16. This way no matter what entree people select, you'll have a round about idea of what you'll be spending. It's also wise to choose a more common cut of beef. Rather than ordering prime rib for everyone...why not pick a 6oz sirloin (it's about 5 dollars cheaper).
In regards to your drinks...There are so many options for your bar. Personally I think cash bars are tacky (gasp) or insert eye roll here, I don't like the idea of making my guests pay for drinks. If you can't afford a hosted bar, then by no means should you put yourself in a situation where you're going to be in debt forever to pay your bar tab, but if you can host your bar...it's a nice treat for you guest. If you're scared people will take advantage of an open bar (they most likely will) there are a few options to keep costs low. You can offer drink tickets. Pay for each of your guests to have 2 drinks on you. Your catering company will put "drink tickets" at there place setting and they may use those at the bar to pay for their drinks. Once their tickets are gone, then they can pay for the rest of their drinks. Chances are some people will get drink tickets from the non drinkers and will still get away with not paying for a single drink.
Another option for your bar is to host beer and wine only, and make it a cash bar for all mixed drinks. This way you're still covering people, and if they want other beverages then they can pay for it themselves. The final options is to host the bar but pay based on consumption rather than pay per person. If you know you have a mixed crowed of drinkers and non drinkers, pay per drink rather than per head. This way you aren't paying 20 bucks for people that aren't going to drink anything. **warning*** If you know your wedding will have lots of drinkers...pay per head, otherwise if you pay based on consumption you could really shoot yourself in the foot and end up owing a lot more, than if you just paid per person.
Photography: Don't go cheap on your pictures. This is the one thing you'll have forever, you'll look back on these for the rest of your life. Don't let your Aunt Sally who takes pictures as a hobby do your wedding pictures. You can save money by hiring a photographer that will give you the rights to your pictures, and will give them to you on a disk. If you have your photographer make you albums you'll be paying upwards of $600.00 for a photo album...when you could make one yourself on shutterfly. Find a photographer that will edit, and photo shop, and change the color on your pictures, and then give you the CD. These photographers are everywhere!!
**On that note, don't waste your money on the disposable cameras on the tables. You'll end up with inappropriate pictures, and half of them won't turn out. People get picture happy when they get drunk, and they tend to take horrible pictures once they have consumed too much!
Chair Covers and Linens: Some people will disagree with me on this one, but I believe everyone should spend the money on chair covers. Banquet chairs are some of the ugliest chairs on the planet (I don't know who designs them, but they should be unemployed) Chair covers are a great way to transform your entire venue for a few hundred dollars. You can save money by agreeing to put them on yourself (If your rental company will allow that) you can also save by not getting a sash to tie around the chair. I have always said the one place I will not compromise is chair covers...lucky for me Aaron completely agrees! You can also save money by using the catering companies linens. Yes it would be nice to have floor length linens in different colors, with runners down the table, but if it's going to stretch you, don't do it!
Favors: Don't buy your wedding guests expensive favors. I hate to break it to you, but 9 times out of 10 they forget them at the end of the night, or they find them useless and leave them behind, for you to have 100 extra (insert favor here). A way to leave your guests with a little gift of appreciation is to make a donation to a favorite charity. The charity will send you little cards with information on them about the organization and you can place those at all of your tables, or treat them to a little snack. We're hosting a candy buffet. Giant jars of all of our favorite candy with little take home boxes. Something that is much cheaper, and most people will enjoy the candy. A lot of catering companies will make special deserts for you too. You can have cookies with your monogram wrapped up and at each setting. These types of things will get used, or taken. Many Mommies and Daddies take things like that home for the kiddos, who didn't attend the wedding! Everyone wins!
Menus: Don't make them, don't waste you time or money. The food isn't going to change whether they have a menu in front of them or not, so don't tempt people, by showing them all of the main entree selections again. They'll try to change their order. Nothing is more annoying to a server than when a guest says "can i get the chicken instead?" "no, no you can't you pre ordered, so you get what you get" They had a chance to see a menu, when they RSVP'd. Plus it's a free meal, suck it up! Menus end up being a waste of space, and you'll be sad at the end of the night to see all your hard work, crinkled up, spilled on, and left to be forgotten.
That's all for now, there are more budget saving tips coming!
<3 Karissa
Food/Drink: You're on the verge of feeding a fairly large amount of people (anything over 20 is large considering you're footing the bill. I'm not saying 20 is a large wedding, however, it's a lot of people to pay for) Don't go cheap on the food, don't try to cook it yourself, or hire someone you know. That puts a huge amount of pressure on everyone involved. Leave it to the professionals. They are pros for a reason, they've studied the art of fine food, and they cook for large amounts of people all the time. One way to keep the costs low (and very easy to predict once you have your final count) is to pick items on the menu that all cost the same thing. Pick a meat, and chicken plate that are both $15.00 rather than a steak that's $20, and a chicken that's $16. This way no matter what entree people select, you'll have a round about idea of what you'll be spending. It's also wise to choose a more common cut of beef. Rather than ordering prime rib for everyone...why not pick a 6oz sirloin (it's about 5 dollars cheaper).
In regards to your drinks...There are so many options for your bar. Personally I think cash bars are tacky (gasp) or insert eye roll here, I don't like the idea of making my guests pay for drinks. If you can't afford a hosted bar, then by no means should you put yourself in a situation where you're going to be in debt forever to pay your bar tab, but if you can host your bar...it's a nice treat for you guest. If you're scared people will take advantage of an open bar (they most likely will) there are a few options to keep costs low. You can offer drink tickets. Pay for each of your guests to have 2 drinks on you. Your catering company will put "drink tickets" at there place setting and they may use those at the bar to pay for their drinks. Once their tickets are gone, then they can pay for the rest of their drinks. Chances are some people will get drink tickets from the non drinkers and will still get away with not paying for a single drink.
Another option for your bar is to host beer and wine only, and make it a cash bar for all mixed drinks. This way you're still covering people, and if they want other beverages then they can pay for it themselves. The final options is to host the bar but pay based on consumption rather than pay per person. If you know you have a mixed crowed of drinkers and non drinkers, pay per drink rather than per head. This way you aren't paying 20 bucks for people that aren't going to drink anything. **warning*** If you know your wedding will have lots of drinkers...pay per head, otherwise if you pay based on consumption you could really shoot yourself in the foot and end up owing a lot more, than if you just paid per person.
Photography: Don't go cheap on your pictures. This is the one thing you'll have forever, you'll look back on these for the rest of your life. Don't let your Aunt Sally who takes pictures as a hobby do your wedding pictures. You can save money by hiring a photographer that will give you the rights to your pictures, and will give them to you on a disk. If you have your photographer make you albums you'll be paying upwards of $600.00 for a photo album...when you could make one yourself on shutterfly. Find a photographer that will edit, and photo shop, and change the color on your pictures, and then give you the CD. These photographers are everywhere!!
**On that note, don't waste your money on the disposable cameras on the tables. You'll end up with inappropriate pictures, and half of them won't turn out. People get picture happy when they get drunk, and they tend to take horrible pictures once they have consumed too much!
Chair Covers and Linens: Some people will disagree with me on this one, but I believe everyone should spend the money on chair covers. Banquet chairs are some of the ugliest chairs on the planet (I don't know who designs them, but they should be unemployed) Chair covers are a great way to transform your entire venue for a few hundred dollars. You can save money by agreeing to put them on yourself (If your rental company will allow that) you can also save by not getting a sash to tie around the chair. I have always said the one place I will not compromise is chair covers...lucky for me Aaron completely agrees! You can also save money by using the catering companies linens. Yes it would be nice to have floor length linens in different colors, with runners down the table, but if it's going to stretch you, don't do it!
Favors: Don't buy your wedding guests expensive favors. I hate to break it to you, but 9 times out of 10 they forget them at the end of the night, or they find them useless and leave them behind, for you to have 100 extra (insert favor here). A way to leave your guests with a little gift of appreciation is to make a donation to a favorite charity. The charity will send you little cards with information on them about the organization and you can place those at all of your tables, or treat them to a little snack. We're hosting a candy buffet. Giant jars of all of our favorite candy with little take home boxes. Something that is much cheaper, and most people will enjoy the candy. A lot of catering companies will make special deserts for you too. You can have cookies with your monogram wrapped up and at each setting. These types of things will get used, or taken. Many Mommies and Daddies take things like that home for the kiddos, who didn't attend the wedding! Everyone wins!
Menus: Don't make them, don't waste you time or money. The food isn't going to change whether they have a menu in front of them or not, so don't tempt people, by showing them all of the main entree selections again. They'll try to change their order. Nothing is more annoying to a server than when a guest says "can i get the chicken instead?" "no, no you can't you pre ordered, so you get what you get" They had a chance to see a menu, when they RSVP'd. Plus it's a free meal, suck it up! Menus end up being a waste of space, and you'll be sad at the end of the night to see all your hard work, crinkled up, spilled on, and left to be forgotten.
That's all for now, there are more budget saving tips coming!
<3 Karissa
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