Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow.....

These last couple of weeks we've had snow off & on. I could be wrong, but I want to say that in my 12 years of living here in Idaho, this is the most snowfall (with snow sticking around for awhile) that I've seen in awhile. Yeah, it makes for crappy driving conditions now & then, but when you're at home, with the fireplace blazing and the front curtains open, it's awesome! I checked Weatherbug and it looks like we can count on more, too. Woo hoo!

On another note, I had forgotten to write about our great Christmas Tree cutting trip. This was the first time I've ever cut down a Christmas Tree. The boys thought it sounded like a great idea so after we bought our $10 tag at the Department of Forestry, we took a drive up to Idaho City. After getting to town we checked with some locals on suggestions for where to go. We went up the road a couple of miles to a forestry road and after a few stops finally found "the tree".

Zach and Randy took turns chopping (they wanted to do it the old fashioned way with an axe--no chainsaws for us!) and got it down pretty quickly.

We hauled it back to the truck, drove it home & later cut it down to size to fit our ceiling. Note to others wanting to try this: "Wild" Christmas trees tend to carry most of their bushiness from the branches way at the bottom. So when you cut down to size, the tree looks a lot different than originally thought. But that's okay, we still love our tree because we made the trip to get it ourselves.

The Dress...Sort of...

Tonight after work I have my "final fitting" on my dress. I can't remember... Did I tell you about the dress? For someone who is doing more of a "budgeted wedding", I can say it is a dream come true. It's really a long story that I won't get into, involving going to a couple of bridal shops and making the mistake of trying on beautiful dresses before looking at the price tags. "Excuse me miss...do you have anything for a lot less that doesn't look like a 7th grade home-ec project?" Behold the sale rack. Some of the stuff on that rack (which was not even as wide as my arms expanded, by the way) was pretty scary. But one dress kept catching my eye, even though it was white.

You see, I thought that the bridal police would come hunt me down if I tried on anything in white. "Ma'am...I'm sorry....You are neither virginal nor chaste, so we'll have to ask you to remove that dress and come with us." It's my second wedding and I thought it was a MAJOR faux pas to wear white. But I'm finding out from a lot of different sources that nowadays the color of the dress really doesn't matter, whether it's your first, second, or fifth wedding. (Okay, I really don't know anyone who has been married five times but that just sounded good...) In fact, they say that wearing a white dress can represent a "fresh start" or "new beginning". So after trying it on I realized I really could picture myself wearing that on my wedding day. The great thing about the dress? It was clearanced out & marked down to $99. Woo hoo! I've seen "Say Yes to the Dress" and let me tell you I feel like that was a major score. No $7,000 dress for me, thanks!
Obviously I don't want to share pictures of the dress itself, since there's the remote chance Randy may decide to read my blog sometime between now & the wedding.

Plus since some of you who are reading this are invited to the wedding, I don't want to spoil that first look. I want my guests to be surprised too, not just Randy.

So I've decided to do a little "teaser" for you all. Just a few random shots of bits & pieces of my dress for your viewing pleasure. (And if you can figure out what my dress looks like from this little snippets, then you're a wedding dress savant...at least in my eyes.)

Wedding Web Sites

After I posted yesterday, I looked at it again and decided I really liked that little graphic at the bottom. I think maybe I should use that in all future wedding posts...kind of as a "warning" that the post is wedding related. That way, for those of you who aren't into the wedding thing can skip past and look for something non-wedding related. Yeah, like I'll post anything non-wedding related anytime soon... (smirk) Too late! You're all in my evil wedding-related clutches now! Mwuhahahahahaahahahahahaaaaaaaa.......

Okay, that sounded a lot more dramatic (and evil) in my head.

It may seem a little strange that a 40 year old woman on her second marriage is getting so into the whole wedding planning thing. I blame it on the internet. Yes, the internet. Do you know how many wedding related web sites there are out there? Especially ones with message boards where you can talk to other brides-to-be and get opinions, advice, suggestions....snark. It sucks you in, I swear.

One of the more popular things these days is DIY. Yes, as in "Do It Yourself". I'll admit I bought my wedding invitations at a craft store and printed them myself, then spent a whole night meticulously peeling & sticking little adhesive dots & aligning ribbon. But some of these brides are SERIOUS DIY'ers. They make their own aisle runners, place cards, card boxes, veils, hair pieces, invitations, favors, candle holders, bouquets, centerpieces...you get the idea. It all sounds very inspiring, but do I have the time (not to mention the energy) to do all of this? And boy, do some of these girls make you feel guilty if you aren't doing all of the extra little details. It can drive a person crazy. My favorite quote is from one of the ladies over on the "Second Weddings" board on The Knot:

"And every day there's a new post in which Suzy Homemaker bride is DIY'ing her hand monogrammed napkin rings made from all the movie tickets she and her fiance have ever seen together with the couples' reviews of the movies typed, laminated and tucked inside with gold plated embossed signature logos on them!!!"

And the acronyms? FI, FMIL, RD, BM, MOH, GM, WC, STD... (Anyone care to guess what all of those mean? Go ahead, I dare you. Leave your guesses in the comments.) Do you know how frightening it was to go on a wedding web site and see all of these women posting messages about whether or not they should do STD's??! Yikes!

What I'm learning mostly is this....it's our wedding. If we choose to thumb our noses at tradition and have our wedding in a really cool restaurant instead of a 100 year old cathedral church or at the hottest country club, so be it. If I think sunflowers would look awesome at a wedding, regardless of the fact that it will be winter and 31 degrees outside, who cares? What?!! I'm not having a Maid of Honor and he's not having a Best Man?? And we're not having an exactly matching number of bridesmaids and groomsmen?? Pfffffft! Another great quote from one of the gals on the "Second Weddings" board, and kind of a motto for everyone there: "Do what makes your heart happy." Yeah....my heart is pretty damn happy....

We interrupt your normally scheduled program...

Yes, it's been awhile...I think I blogged enough during that 30 day thing to make up for the rest of the year, lol. But the real reason I haven't blogged lately is because I've been pretty busy. Changes abound in our household! Here's the latest update...most of you know all of this already, but I'm just putting it all out there to get everyone up to speed. If you have to ask, you probably don't know me that well:

Randy is now living in Idaho. He made it out here in November with his oldest son Zach in tow, who wanted to "start over" away from the lifestyle he had gotten used to out in North Carolina. His younger son, Trevor, was living with Collin & I already so he could start school at the beginning of the year and not have to transfer to a new school in the middle of the semester. So now our household consists of myself, Randy, Collin (16), Zach (18), Trevor (15), my two dogs Rowdy & Zoe, and Randy's dog Roxie. Oh...and let's not forget the cow.... So my life has been busy getting everyone all settled in, rearranging rooms, making room for everyone's storage, getting used to new routines, etc.

(Trevor, Zach & Randy on the night Randy & Zach arrived)

Another reason my life has been busy lately is because now that Randy is out here, we've decided to get married. People will have their opinions, and I say let them have them. I'm 40 years old, I know what I want out of life, and I'm done playing dating games. Actually that pretty much goes for both of us...except that Randy is 39, not 40. (He's quick to remind me, lol.) We're both very happy, our kids are happy (or as happy as teenagers can be) and everyone gets along (for now.) Sure, with 3 boys in the house between the ages of 15 & 18 there's going to be testosterone overload now & then. I'm learning to deal with it. We've made sure we keep the lines of communication open and not let things fester. We plan to have "family meetings" on a regular basis (once a week of possible, maybe twice a month more realistically) so everyone can air out their opinions, etc. and we can get everyone's schedules coordinated.("The boys" relaxing out on a fence in the pasture)

All this brings me to a warning...if you don't want to hear the mad ravings of a 40 year old bride-to-be who is planning a wedding that's rapidly approaching and dealing with venues, officiants, florists, bakers, family, teenagers and a fiance....you might want to turn this channel off for awhile. Because this is pretty much going to turn into the wedding channel for the next couple of months. Don't get me wrong--I'm no Bridezilla...but having to plan something like this can make any sane person a little temporary insane. I welcome opinions, suggestions, help, etc. and would love to hear from anyone who wants to chime in on any of my wedding subjects.
You've been warned...