30 day countdown-19

Hmmmm how would I describe the pace of my life right now as we are at the 19th day mark?? Panic!!! There is so little time and feels like so much to do! I make a new to-do list every 5 min. I am typically not a strong finisher in any respect really. All I am trying to do is finish strong. The goal was to get as much stuff done over my holiday break as possible. I would have to say I think I accomplished all I set out to finish before I go back to work. At least that's the upside. But while finishing all of those things I have realized how much more I need to do.

Today was eventful I got plenty done. I finally started on the wedding program and almost finished it in one night. I just need a few more details that I am waiting on from others. With that being said, one may find that people who were planned to be in the wedding may all of a sudden not be able to be in the wedding at the last minute. While I am typing this I am thinking I should probably wait until the 1 week mark to print the programs just in case something else changes. I was trying to get that out of the way NOW too so I can get it off my hands but that may backfire.

I researched songs for our ceremony and part of the reception. Im pretty excited about the selections. The songs feature Tribe of Benjamin, Jennifer Hudson, India Arie and Korey Bowie.

Well I took a car full of my things over to the apartment. The more trips I make the smaller the space gets...sadness.

Life is Sweet,
charlamazing

Great websites#2

Anna Bellagio (beautiful wedding jewelry)

(see November for great websites#1)

30 day countdown-20

Church.Rest.Another Christmas party with future in laws.Researched birth control methods.Skin crawled.NCIS marathon.

Thatisall :)
charlAMAZING

30 day countdown-21

Happy Birthday Jesus! And Merry Christmas to all of you out there!

I felt so conflicted/convicted about Christmas...more than the other Christmases. I'll tell you why. If Christmas is about Jesus then whats with the big party and gift giving to one another? I mean why am I getting/giving gifts for Jesus's birthday. I can understand if my gift giving is in the spirit of the reincarnate love of Jesus to someone in need, but people are just using this as an opportunity to shower one another with gifts. Imgine if someone came to your birthday party and celebrated everyone else.

A few years ago I decided I was over it. Now that I am getting married I have to translate my sentiments with The Mister who may not necessarily agree as much. Imagine what this means for our kids...I dont plan on telling them about Santa and Im not that interested in Christmas trees. When it comes to matters of Jesus and faith I like to keep them as sacred as possible because if our culture decides what is good and proper then we are all doomed to self destruction. The true story of Christmas is greater than any present under the Christmas tree. And if you already believe in Jesus then the reminder of our Savior's birth is still better than any present under the tree.

On that note how do we properly celebrate Christmas? I imagine we should attend the service at church that week or day, do good for those in need, then have a big feast with family and friends (how its done traditionally) going around telling why we are grateful for the His birth and then celebrate in style! I'll admit the harm is not in the gift giving...its in the fact that it allows us to forget that its not about us.

Somewhere beteween holy and a holy mess,
charlAMAZING

30 day countdown-22

Its Christmas eve, why am I still sending invitations in the mail... I'll leave that for you to humor your imagination. Then off to pay off the cake lady. Then back home to clean my house from head to toe for visitors that will be coming for the wedding. I packed my car full of my things to take over to the apartment. Now all I have to do is figure out when I feel like driving over there. Its such a trek. Because of all of the STEPS I am discouraged about the whole process.
Later, spending the night at sister in laws home for Christmas morning. How exciting!

Spending Christmas with the new fam,
charlAMAZING

30 day countdown- 23

Today was pretty much filled with late Christmas shopping, but since I only needed to buy 1 gift then I spent most of my time exploring uncharted territory...the home section! LOL as if I need another reason to shop it was quite the adventure! My hands are burning to buy stuff...something...anything, but looks like I will have to exercise a little patience until after the wedding. As I am starting to observe peoples home more closely, I am learning that less is more.

Thats usually the general principle in life, but in this case it looks great when you have a really nice standout pice of furniture or art piece or centerpiece and everything else just compliments. In perfect world I would want every piece of decor to be intentional and complimentary to the setting of the room and not just something I got for free in a gift exchange for Christmas.

Another reason to shop,
charlAMAZING

30 day countdown-24

Can I just say I am on a roll. Never ever ever have I blogged this frequently. This is how I would like to blog, but there is just not that kind of time. Well, maybe if I was more organized I could make the time. Nonethless it allows me to appreciate it all the more when I do get the time.

Anyhoo! Our bedroom suite arrived next day! Now thats what I call a quick turnover. They came, they set up within 30 min or less...and left. There, in all its glory, was our bedroom suite. Its quite a beaut' if I must say so myself. How exciting. I mean technically this is the most important room in the house. Sleeping on couches after the wedding is not the business. I look forward to turning the room into a wonderful sanctuary. I get excited about decorating. I've never had my own space to really create. Well I remodeled the guest bathroom in my mom's house and my room in my mom's house not that long ago and now I have to move out of my wonderful creation. Ideas I have so far for the bedroom I am thinking tranquil colors like beige and light aqua. Living room warm colors like tan, cranberry, orange and mustard. Bathroom sort of a rustic feel. Dining nook...red?? Kitchen?? I already know stores I will frequent to find some unique pieces will be Hobby Lobby, Ross, Burlington, TJ Maxx, Marshalls etc...you get my drift. Honestly, Im sure I can find something I like almost anywhere. But at least I know I wont be paying an arm and a leg. I mean thats what its all about right?? Hehehe

From one wonderful creation to my next,
charlAMAZING

Bridal Shower

Dream team...setting up

Food on its way

Arriving late


Proud of my friend for "trying" to use a camera just for me



old friends

Always gotta pause for GOOD EATS

Game we played where everyone had a word on their back and they had to guess what it was based on clues given by audience. Topic was things you do on the honeymoon ;)

This was where everyone gave me advice on how to keep the SPICE in my marriage

Shower of gifts

To my surprise when I remove the paper...

Yaaaay!! My favoritest game in the world! And I have never owned it. No one would probably believe that, but its TRUE!

Me: Hey thanks Cousin...How'd you know I loved this scent?

Cousin: Random...

Me and Mother Dearest. Thanks mom for helping throw me a great party!

I thought this was cute...btw this is most of my bridal party. Arent they beautiful??

Welp, there you have it...bridal shower #1! I had so much fun and many laughs. It was an unforgettable day in the company of unforgettable people.

SHOUTS OUT! Go to my friend who is literally the busiest person I know. She made alot of sacrifices for this party. She asked my mom to send her a picture of me during the process because she had to make sure I was CUTE enough for her to be doing all that work. HA! Gotta love her :)

Guess I passed the test,

charlAMAZING

Pro bono #3

Wedding shoes-bff

check my footwork,
charlAMAZING

30 day countdown-25

What a busy day! Shopping for a bedroom suite is no joke. Mostly crunching all the numbers will make your head spin! Well my old college roomie and I made our first stop at Rooms To Go Outlet. They had some pretty impressive offers. The most competitive one was a King bed, dresser, mirror, nightstand for $844. It was the perfect color and style. Being the competitive shopper that I am I decided to mosey my way on down the street to The Underpriced Furniture Store just a few doors down. They had some very nice pieces. After a long consultation with the sales man I told him he had a very competitive price to beat down the street. After my friend helped me trash talke he threw in a free mattress with the bedroom suite I chose and that was that! I think we all know that nothing in life is free, but the point is I wasnt going to beat the price he offered me anywhere.

Then off to Lenox Mall we went to get find my wedding shoes. Lets just say...HAWT!

Had a few gift cards from my first bridal shower to Macy's and Target. I tried to sepnd them on the purpose for which I assumed them to serve ;) There were many finds but limited gift card so I had fun looking at all of this stuff I never look at. These moments are all the antecedents to the whole new world I am about to enter.

clueless,
charlAMAZING

30 day countdown-26

Furniture shopping has been my biggest focus lately. Now that I have lots of disposable time during my Christmas break I get the chance to shop around without time restraint. Mother in law took me out to Farmers and she wanted to go to Rooms To Go. So we got around. I found this wonderful set at Ashley's on Saturday and when I went to Farmers I saw the exact same set. I think that was confirmation that we should get it. Its within our budget. Never made it to The Dump. Was going to go tomorrow, but I realized that its only open on the weekend. BUMMER! So I'm just going to wing it from here. Go cruising up some access roads to see what I can find.

Also getting amped up about my bachelorette party! Bff has been asking me all of these inconspicuous questions without any context. Its so mysterious and exciting. I have been sending her pictures and finding strappy shoes of a certain color etc. I mean what is she up to?? I know I am in for a treat because she never does it any less than BIG!

Hoping for success,
charlAMAZING

Morning Worship

I was reading the book of Proverbs this morning. Somehow I ended up in the 20th chapter so I just started reading from there. The thing that I love about Proverbs is that I will learn the gamut of things in one chapter or from one verse to the next. However in the middle of my reading a song resonated in my spirit so I stopped reading and looked up this song on Youtube and started worshipping to "How He Loves" by The Glorious Unseen, but then by The David Crowder Band. The words display one of the most beautiful pictures of how God has bestowed his relentless love upon us!

I think I want someone to sing this at our wedding for this reason...For me, my FIRST LOVE was Jesus Christ. He taught me all His truths about what it means to have love, give love, recieve love, walk in love, talk in love etc. That doesnt mean I get it right everytime, but if it had not been for His true example then I would not be in the place that I am now. I was at a crossroads when I faced the fact that I was in love with another person so deeply because this meant that I was going to have to divide my time between this lifelong relationship and God. Up until this time I was giving my WHOLE heart to God. My whole heart will still be with Him, but now He is giving me the opportunity to share this love with the one who will make me whole. But there is no condemnation in our desires to be married, besides, God is the one who created the institution of marriage. He said that it was not good for man to be alone...and there it was. She was bone of his bone and flesh of his flesh and he declared it good. Genesis 2:23-24.

Here is a picture of my crossroads. Check this out... 1 Corinthians 7:32-35

32 But I want you to be without care. He who is unmarried cares for the things of the Lord-how he may please the Lord.

33 But he who is married cares about the things of the world-how he may please his wife.

34 There is a difference between a wife and a virgin. The unmarried woman cares about the things of the Lord, that she may be holy both in body and in spirit. But she who is married cares about the things of the world-how she may please her husband.

35 And this I say for your own profit, not that I may put a leash on you, but for what is proper, and that you may serve the Lord without distraction.

WOW!!

3-in-1 (God, me, husband),
charlAMAZING

30 Day countdown-27

Today is The Mister's birthday!! He has always been an old soul who is a child at heart if that makes any sense at all. Well his age is finally catching up with his soul..hehehe! I'm taking him out to The Real Chow Baby. I look forward to a fun time and good eats.

Celebrating,
charlAMAZING

30 day countdown-28

First thing this morning I went to go get fitted for a Body Magic...basically a girdle. Ha! No shame in my game. After that I spent time looking for bedroom furniture after The Mister put his foot down on a great deal this Indian store owner at Gwinett mall offered me. Its not like one of those reputable stores with a track record, but obviously they stay in business somehow. The guy offered me a king bedroom suite with EVERYTHING including mattress and boxspring for $1400 with a 6 month layaway (payment) plan!!!...hmmm maybe thats the catch :/ I guess it sounded a little too good to be true.

Visits to American Signature Furniture, Haverty and Ashley Furniture proved to be an eye opener because now I have to pay the real price for this stuff...doggit! The cost of furniture is no joke, but I must admit I love furniture shopping. Furniture makes a statement about who you are and how you want to feel when you step into a room. I liked serveral different styles, colors and themes. Thats usually the case with me on almost everything anyways. At least I am consistent. But I did find a FEW pieces that tickled my fancy and my budget. Course I live to beat the prices I have already found while not compromising quality :) It s like a game for me. Somethings its okay to trade quality for quantity, but not furniture. Its best to make that good investment the first time and you will have a set you can count on for life. Anyhoo, hopefully the next stop is Farmers and The Dump.

Since its Christmas break for me I have had time to stay up late and do some things. I cleaned and packed up some stuff I need to take over to our apartment. How can one person who has never really lived on her own have so much STUFF...mostly useless stuff like arts and crafts, too many novelty t-shirts, and BAGS! Im talking bags that were souvenirs, paraphenalia, free, gifts, and the like. I mean how do I know what to keep and what to let go. I want these bags, but do I really need to hold on to them?? One good episode of Hoarders will take care of that problem. Everytime I watch that show I just start throwing things away.

Welp, I started my spreadsheet of RSVPs for wedding to get a total of how many "say" they are coming because the deadline to RSVP was last weekend so far we are about 75% of the way there. Lastly, all of the bridesmaid dresses have been picked up and almost everyone has gotten their shoes except 2 people. So things are moving along with decent timing.

Next on the list...get pix from my friend from bridal shower so I can post, send out thank you's for shower and early wedding gifts, email hostesses updates and reminders, start working on wedding program and DIY projects for wedding.

TICK tock,
charlAMAZING

30 day countdown-29

Today I did nothing...The shortest part of my workday is/was the longest part of my day. I came home, watched 2.5 episodes of NCIS and dozed off for the night!

Good night & Good Riddens!
charlAMAZING

Pro bono! #2

Ring pillow, flower girl baskets, garter, guest sign in book-aunt
Bride and Groom sparkling cider flutes-aunt
Earrings for big day-mom
Sparkling cider flutes for reception-mom
Plates, saucers, cups, forks, knives-mom of groom
Wedding dinner-mom of groom

(See 4/6/2010 for Pro bono #1!)


My cup runneth over,
charlAMAZING

30 day countdown-30

Boy did time fly! Here we are 30 days out from the wedding day. This has been quite a journey. In the midst of this I got my first full time job, started graduate school...and planned this wedding. AAAAALLLL of this was so new. I guess I took it a little lightly. Everyone says enjoy being a bride because it will be all over in the blink of an eye, but I must admit I have hardly enjoyed it. Mainly, due to the fact of spending money. I set a LOW budget, but that was still too much. I also get weirded out with all of these parties that are all about me...too much attention that I am not used to. Almost all accolades and experiences in life I have been able to hide in the crowd. So what does that mean for the wedding day??? Im going to be SUPER weirded out, but mostly happy and relieved. I am super humbled that people have gone out of their way to throw me these FANTABULOUS parties! Sure does show you who is really committed to you. Though its no surprise. But its humbling to see HOW committed. So I have been all out of my comfort zone. Meanwhile school got harder this last quarter and I epically failed myself. In light of that I will be taking a quarter off to adjust to life as a wife. Clearly I like to take things 1 at a time, which is so unAmerican, but I have always been a little special
:-)

Last weekend I had my first bridal shower hosted by Friend and Mom. It didnt take long for the party to go wild starting with the games and ending with the gifts! Everyone seemed to have enjoyed themselves and especially the food. Thanks again Mom and Friend.

As of today...I am compiling my list of RSVPs, emailing hostesses, and addressing more invitations that never got sent (=0

So close-yet so far,
charlAMAZING

One Hitter Quitter

The Mister dropped a one liner on me one day it SHOOK ME TO MY CORE:) As I was warming up my car to leave his house he was expressing how he felt about the fact that we cant spend more time together and get this...he said, "You know how they say home is where the heart is? Well I feel like my home is leaving me every night." WHOA! I had to give him props on that one. It was pretty smooth, yet he was completely sincere. I had no choice but to agree, I couldnt have said it better myself.

falling but i cant get up,
charlAMAZING

Take your Vitamin "C"

You dont have to be unhappy or having problems in order to take premarital counseling. Its kinda like taking your Vitamin C everyday in order to prevent getting sick. Premarital counseling is your Vitamin "C" (C stands for counseling) for learning how to prevent compounding issues in your relationship. The Mister and I found it especially necessary to take it because we wanted to make smart decisions on the front end so we wont have to wait until things get all ugly before learning skills and tools for having a healthy marriage.

I felt especially compelled to take the classes even before engagement. We already knew that we wanted to be married, but we were not officially engaged because I did not have a ring yet, but many of us know that if our pockets could catch up with our hearts many of us would have been engaged long before we acutally were...I digress. I felt that it would be unnatural to accept an engagement before taking advantage of the classes and breaking down some walls that we could not do on our own. Worst case senario would be to say "YES" then take the class and realize this may not be the best for us. So if anyone would ever ask me...I would say take marital classes when you KNOW you desire to be married. Its definitely worth the investment.

The class we took called Radical Love is for married couples, but some will allow you to take it before. Nonetheless find the class that is best for you. It was 12 weeks long. We met every Sunday for 2-3 hours. It was a pretty Radical experience. We broke down walls, learned about God's purpose for marriage, tools for communicating and solving conflict, principals to live by daily and made some pretty amazing friends along the way.

Our class was a family for 12 weeks as we were "naked and unashamed" (transparent) before one another and God. I appreciated the community of friendship, trust, and strength that was built as a result of being in a class with others. You learn so much from other peoples experiences. One quote I like to live by is "You must learn from the mistakes of others. You can't possibly live long enough to make them all yourself" ~Sam Levenson





Healthy heart, mind, soul,
charlAMAZING

Isnt it just dreamy...

"Olivia Riegel Celebration"
8 oz. Flutes- $163
Cake/serving knives- $148

I wont be getting this, but maybe you can some day ;)

ChEeRs,
charlAMAZING

Our Photographer

Nowvision Photography will be our designated photographer on our wedding day and I CANT WAIT because they do awesome work! Check'm out! They are good people...young, successful and love Jesus :) I will be sure to post some pix when mine are finished...Did I mention I CANT WAIT!!

*cLicK*ClIcK*
charlAZMAZING

Places I frequent

DOLLAR TREE (go on the nice side of town. They have great decor supplies such as vases, crysal, flowers, and candles.)


MICHAELS (They send coupons if you sign on up online)


HOBBY LOBBY (sign up on their website. They send a 40% off coupon every week and they have AWESOME SALES weekly...especially on ribbon, fabric, floral and the bridal section...well everything!)


DAVID'S BRIDAL (One stop shop for bridal/party attire. Be sure to take advantage of the deals they offer. Be sure to ask if they dont tell you. If you buy your dress there your party will get discounts)


FORMALLY YOURS (Bridal boutique in Lilburn GA. I love their bridesmaid dress selection! Although I did not buy my gown from there I have seen some head turners on display)

Great websites#1

THE KNOT (Plan your wedding, create free wedding website, and manage your checklist or to-do's)

SMARTY HAD A PARTY (Great prices from a small party to a large reception on a budget)


ORIENTAL TRADING (supplies)


TRAVELERS JOY (Want to put your honeymoon as a gift? Friends and family can give towards the cost. Its safe and easy)

EXCLUSIVELY WEDDINGS-Nice and classy.

What a Tease

The apartment folks told us we could come get our keys to our new place (!!!) on Saturday November 13th. When we arrived I sat on the edge of my seat as I listened to her grind our copies of the key in the other room. When she returned she handed us our GOLDEN KEY. All of my other keys are silver. Clearly it was meant to be set apart. Anyhoo when we got there 3 staircases later (I will have beautiful thighs before this is over)I stuck my key in the the lock and it fits!!! Then I turn...NO GO!!! Then Donnie tried his, but to no avail we had to wait another day to get a new lock.

Got the keys on November 15th! So excited. I have never lived away from home (without the possibility of me coming back). Now its official...I feel old. What I look forward to the most is sharing it with my best friend, the dishwasher (mom's has been broken for years now!), and entertaining company! Its small, but not tight, intimate, and cozy. It features a one bedroom with walk in closet, living room with fireplace and built in bookshelves, sunroom that has a balcony that adjoins to bedroom, small dining nook and of course the kitchen that has a 3 person capacity :)

God is so good that so far his mom donated us her whole living room suit from couches to tables. His sister and brother in law gave us their flat screen tv and tv table. It is already looking like a home.





Ecstatic,
charlAMAZING

Doing something right...

Since my last post I managed to lose 6 pounds. Hopefully I can lose another 6 and I will be content. Stopped working out long ago. Im not proud of that, but it is what it is. However I have changed my eating. I eat a light, but wholesome breakfast like yougurt with Kashi cereal, or smoothie from Smoothie King, or Frosted Mini Wheats etc. Then by around 10-11 am I am eating a snack such as fruit, apple sauce, whole wheat Ritz crackers with peanut butter, or yogurt with Kashi if I didnt eat that for breakfast. I will burn that off in about an hr or 2 so then I eat veggies for lunch like Green Giant health blends (in frozen section). Many of them do not have high sodium, but some do so I am careful to check the label. For dinner...I just snack on small harmless stuff or have a smoothie. Also cut back a great deal on BREAD especially and sweets. One thing I have learned is that a small piece of chocolate really will curb a sweet craving which is totally harmless :)

Welp, Im sure that was all blah blah blah, but thats what I have been up to. Starting next week I will be working out with a co-worker so I finally have some accountability and motivation to get out there and get physical.

Less than 3 months left!!
charlAMAZING

LoVe LOvE LoVe www.theknot.com!

I am my own worst enemy

OMG...its been ages! Forgive me. I had a faithful follower write me a message demanding that I update this thing. What better reason than to give my followers what they want RIGHT...! All 5 of you are the BEST!! :) LOL

Today was the first day that I officially made it my business to start my wedding "diet" (in my whispering voice...to afraid to say it out loud or I may jinx myself). So from here on out lets just refer to it as my eating regimen (ER). Some people felt that I started too late, but truth is if I would have started way back when I would have messed it up by now anyways so I didnt even lie to myself. Starting now, I have more than enough time to get right. I gave myself plenty of time to get right...mess up...and get back right. Im nervous, but I think I will be ok. As long as I dont GAIN weight from where I started then really its all good!

So as if you are interested I will tell you what I ate today. A bowl of frosted mini wheats, lite yogurt with kashi oats, banana, preseasoned steamed mixed veggies, dry cheerios, banana, strawberry blueberry smoothie (I made it), and some chicken w/o the skin and some pasta! I am currently trying NOT to eat bread or sweets. Im just going to take it 1 DAY-AT-A-TIME. I am notorious for breaking my own rules.

All Im going to say is I was hungry between each one of those snacks throughout the day which I know is a good thing, but it becomes a bad thing if I dont have one of my healthy choices available. I am liable to slip up...in a major way. People should always be afraid of a hungry woman on a di....eating regimen. Luckily I was very busy and on the move so I was distracted from the hunger.

I almost thought the devil was conjuring up an evil plan to ruin my ER because I went to the grocery store yesterday and spent too much money on almost nothing (healthy foods cost too much) and had this blender incident featuring: globs of smoothie in my hair (fresh press), all over my arm, the counter, the floor, my clean pjs I had just put on fresh out of the shower SO I gave up on the smoothie project for the night and just put it in the refridgerator til the morning. When I woke up to blend my smoothie the blender wouldnt come on. So I thought it was dead because all the juice spilled all over the buttons last night, but when I tried again when I got home today all it was was the reset button on the outlet. Dont you HATE those things!

So anyways in the midst of telling a friend that I didnt have a blender anymore (before I realized...) he recommended Shakeology by Beachbody. Im still thinking about doing it depending on what I am getting for my money.

Finally did a real workout. I walked 2.5 miles and ran 1 mile. Im pretty proud of that as my first workout. I plan on working out 5 days a week. Preferably Monday-Friday, but if I miss a day I plan to make it up. My mom gave me this great idea to walk this MONSTER hill near our house which I never thought of...gonna try it one day this week. Its pretty intimidating and I wish I had someone to walk it with for motivation. It is not for the faint of heart.

Trying not to self destruct. Life is sweet,
charlAMAZING

Wedding Dress

Totally forgot to tell you guys that I got my wedding dress!! On April 12th. Got it from Davids Bridal for under $300. It was love at first sight. You know how you dont specifically know what you want, but when you see it you JUST KNOW? Well thats pretty much what happened. Just like with the invitations. I bought it the same day I found it...online.

My mother gave me much grief about the fact that I bought it online and did not allow her to experience her dream of going around to stores with me and trying on dresses. There are so many implications of being a bride. One of which is that you are held to so many different expectations of everyone including ppl that know you, but that I dont know all that well. They just put all their dreams on you. So excuse me if break traditions and debunk all of the cliches. Gonna have to live vicariously through someone else. Still love yall though :)

Soooo today I waited to try on the dress for everyone to seem as if I were trying it on in the store. Thats the best I can do. When I go to buy the veil we can try it again. I saw someone trying on a dress with their veil and it made me feel a little warm and fuzzy inside. It will be a new experience for us then too.

Reluctant vessel meeting in the middle. Life is Sweet,
charlAMAZING

CHECK BACK...

Next on the calendar is to meet with the cake folks and the designer for the brides maid dresses to look at fabric next week. Come back to find out what happens.

Too GOOD to be True

Sorry I am a few weeks late...Please forgive me as the demands of life are ever present :)

Anyhoo...I have been busy. Met with Mr. Planner last week to go over timeline stuff and choosing an invitation design. We paid our money for the venue. Its at Mr. Planner's church now. Decided that I would rather go the DIY (do it yourself) route on the invitations and make them myself or at least buy the imprintable invitation kit. But having a company do it is out of the question. So here is the conflict I ran into after making that decision.

On Monday morning I began doing my research for some invitation templates. Found 2 that were the perfect design, but one that was the MOST perfect design AND PRICE...

The name of the product at Party City was "Platinum Damask Imprintable Invitation Kit" which included 50 invitations/envelopes; 50 reply cards/envelopes for the clearance price of $18.74 (orig 24.99...which still isnt bad)! Here is where conflict no. 1 comes in....I need 7 boxes. They only have 5 left online in stock. I ordered them as soon as I called around to 3 stores to find out if they had more. Only one had them. This store just so happens to be on my aunts side of town so she agreed to pick them up for me and I pay her back later. GREAT so I went ahead and ordered them. As I am arranging for them to put some on hold for me conflict no. 2 rolls around when I called the store to make sure the guy is pulling the right item I need off of the shelves. So I clarify by saying "the black and white damask right?". THEN HE SAYS no actually they are silver >>screeching halt noice<< "Um so..." He says, "yeah as I was walking up to them they did look black but when I got to them they are actually platinum...like silver."


So lemme get this straight...
~I checked out the picture online-CHECK
~Stared at it many times bc of the simple fact that it was too good to be true-CHECK
~It says "platinum" but I assumed it was black with a lining of platinum (that I cant see)-CHECK
~I got super excited and ordered them online and forgot to ask when I called the stores the first time-CHECK
~Thinking about revamping my color scheme just to match all of these invitations I have ordered-CHECK! LOL


And thats exactly what I did until....conflict no. 3 greeted me the next morning in my inbox.

The next morning I got an email saying that my order has been CANCELLED because they were out of stock! So my thing is, why didnt the product say out of stock instead of letting me go through the whole ordering/paying process? My aunt had to take back the invitations and waste precious time and gas. And we all know those are precious commodities no one can afford to waste in 2010! They did not charge my card so that was not the issue. But the website still doesnt say that they are out of stock...what is that about?!





"Platinum" invitation that threw me for a loop...still got me fooled.



back to []one. Life is Sweet,
charlAMAZING

Engagement Party

Well our immediate families finally met! It was a wonderful success. Endless THANKS go out to the Maid of Honor for hosting and delegating and to all other parties involved behind the scenes. It was a fabulously simple gathering full of games and laughs among family and our wedding party. I hope everyone enjoyed themselves as much as I did. Unfortunately, we did not have anyone on hand with a camera so as my aunt showed up she snapped a few shots and saved the day! Thanks Aintee!

BFF/Maid of Honor/Hostess

Accepting a toast to US! (apple cider)

Deciphering handwriting (facial expression) on our "say whats on your heart" cards.
Most people said "Keep God first" and "Never stop dating".








Future Grandmother-in-law and future Sister-in-law.






Future Brother-in-law/Best Man.





A bouquet from one excited mother to another...aaawww!






Mother on left; Future Mother-in-law on the right.



Life is sweet,
charlAMAZING

They Say It Gives You Wings...

So I met with my wedding planner (friend of mine) yesterday and he was READY! He kinda made me feel like I should be more into my wedding because he sure was....kidding ;) No but really I live for a TO DO list! I typically write so many that I will misplace most of the random sheets that I had to spill my thoughts on throughout the day that I may or maynot accomplish all of my tasks. With Mr. Planner's help and direction it has given me peace of mind!

The funniest part about the meeting with the wedding planner is that The Mister came in with his executive notebook ready to take notes and be engaged in this whole process and by the time Mr. Planner began asking questions, making suggestions and giving tasks...The Mister had scratched his head, wrinkled his brow, gave me his pen and closed his notebook. HA!! Meanwhile, Im just barely keeping up. LOL

There were several points in the conversation when I plainly said "I dont know" for questions like: what is the theme of your wedding? what kind of flowers do you want to have? real or fake? who is your bible bearer? who is your bell ringer? when are you going to take your engagement photos? do you know what kind of table settings you want to have for the reception? And it felt like all the questions poured out of his mouth just like that. And THAT is why The Mister had a mental meltdown and I was just barely keeping up.

In the end he reassured me that time is on our side and we are on track. He told The Mister that "it aint about you so you may as well keep an open mind". And that was that...meeting #1 with my awesome wedding planner.

Red Bull anyone?...Life is Sweet,
charlAMAZING

Pro Bono!

God has been so good to us during this process... As you know, weddings are costly and we are trying to execute a complicated operation at a nominal cost. Many spend a great deal of money on a one day event when there is life after the wedding and I refuse to go in debt in the name of a wedding. I can totally see how we can lose sight of all that we set out for in the beginning when trying to appease others, be the talk of the town, have a memorable event etc etc. But in the end our ultimate goal is to HONOR GOD. More specifically, that we have something that caters to our personalities, neat and organized, share this time with our loved ones, and be good stewards of our money. If we stay true to our #1 goal everything else will fall in place.

With that being said, so far I am blessed that God has impressioned the hearts of others to gift items or do services for our big day for FREEEEEE! Thats right F-R-E-E.

Among the services that will be free are:
videographer
minister
caterer
purchase of food
wedding planner
runner
Engagement photos

Life is sweet,
charlAMAZING

Love Jones Lane

A high school friend of mine interviewed me via facebook about our relationship. CHECK IT OUT!

http://www.lovejoneslane.com/black-love-story-headed-to-the-altar/

Found A Venue!

Porch wraps all the way around the building!

The pic doesn't do it justice

yucky green chairs...may have to rent different ones

Downstairs


Upstairs...main assembly space

Well its official...I have found my venue for the wedding! I must admit I was really on the verge of throwing in the towel and going to the courthouse. Truth is, I have never really dreamed of having a wedding. Since I was a child I prayed for a husband. Thats all I ever really wanted. This whole wedding thing is over my head and it requires a lot more effort than I care to exert. So the night before I went to visit the venue I was having wedding blues. I was really trying to figure out how was I going to break it to the family that there wouldnt be a ceremony, but that their invite to join us at the Justice of the Peace was on its way!

But I had not completely given up ALL hope. There was still a glimmer left enough to get me to this facility to check it out. As soon as I got there and got the full scope of the place I was overcome with joy and a new found hope. Not only did it look great but the price for all that I was getting was what made it a winner in my book. Thats pretty much how my mind works. In the overall scheme of things "if I dont like the price then it aint nothin nice". That applies to all things that I shop for. Is it just me that when you go shopping and you are look at something and you are like "its alright" but then after you look at the clearance price you are like "thats hot!" or vice versa LOL That is the story of my life.

SO! This new venue has put the wind in my sail, the ribbon in my sky, the ROCK in my ROLL...yeah, all that good happy stuff. Lets just hope things stay this way. I am currently trying to lock in a date and playing the waiting game with the facility coordinator so please be praying that God has favor with the date. Im tired of having to push my date back everytime I turn around. This is yet another bump, but a relatively small one. I wont focus on the small obstacles or you will have your invite to the Justice of the Peace sooner than later ;)

wind...sail, ribbon...sky, rock...roll, LIFE IS SWEET,

charlAMAZING

Visiting for the first time?

If this is your first time visiting my blog FIRST I want to say WELCOME! I am so elated you stopped by. Please feel free to stop by anytime at your leisure. Just so you know I update about once a week.

Also you may want to check out the beginning of how this blog started on my OTHER BLOG http://charlamazing.blogspot.com/ .

The first two posts on that blog are the beginning of this blog. Check it out if you wanna...or not :)

See you when I see you...Life=sweet,
charlAMAZING

One of many "Firsts"

As the old addage goes..."There is a first time for everything." Im sure you will hear about my many firsts as you follow my story. Today was the first official day that I forgot to put on my ring after taking it off to shower. Its slightly too big so any contact with soap and water there is bound to be an "oopsy!" moment. Honestly, I fear forgetting to take it off before showering or swimming etc more than I fear leaving it on my bathroom sink.


Back in the day they used to wrap tape around the inside part of a ring that was too big to compensate for the extra space. Wouldnt that just be a hot ghetto mess if I did that? LOL Correct me if Im wrong, but doesnt Claires or Icing have the non-ghetto version of tape that goes on your too big jewelry. I need to remember to check that out.


Im not really a ring person. I have not worn rings on my finger since like jr. high. You know how these BIG rings are so in style now to accessorize your 'fit. I have not even hopped on that bandwagon yet. So what I am trying to say is...I am still getting use to this whole concept. Im sure the day will come when I will feel naked without it on. Or what about the first time I get the tan line on my finger in the summer (I digress).

BTW is it totally vein that I went and got my nails done for the first time I think since I graduated from high school (boy was that LONG AGO) just to make my ring more flattering? I feel it has made a huge difference thats for sure. I dont really like my hands and I feel they are more flattering now. I kept it really simple. I got my natural nail length and some unoffensive polish. I dont know if its a lifestyle change, but it works for now. Sometimes its the little things that make all the difference in how you feel about yourself. Those that know me took notice. I got positive responses. Others wont be the wiser.

This thing has proven itself to be a weapon as well. Seeing as how I am not used to wearing rings there have been times when I may have been a little careless and snagged some fabric, or scratched myself, or scratched someone else...Hopefully, some time in the near future I will use its powers for good and not evil ;)



Til next time...Life is sweet,

charlAMAZING