I am wearing my mom's veil for my wedding and when I tried on the handmade dress from esty, it just didn't look right. I tried dressing it up with a pair of nice heels, wearing the string of pearls (given to me on my 16th birthday from my mom), and even working my hair a bit to see if it would look right. And it never did.
Bound and determined to wear the veil, something so sentimental to my mom, I ordered another dress. Yes, it is more expensive. Yes, it is fancier. Yes, I do feel a little guilty about buying it. But I LOVE the dress, and I love how confident I feel in it. I cannot wait to wear it on my wedding day.
Saturday, July 31, 2010
Thursday, July 8, 2010
Just got my wedding dress
I chose to have a wedding dress handmade for me through a woman I met through etsy.com. It's a fairly simple design, made with cotton with a black satin sash, and it was made to fit my body. The woman did a fantastic job crafting it.
As an overall plan, I've had no interest in being a part of the so called "wedding industrial complex" that sucks brides into thinking their cake has to cost a small fortune and their invitations must be calligraphied by hand. Note that I said as an overall plan; on occasion, I will (shamefully) drift to theknot.com or look through pictures of friends who are married or local couples who have hired the same photographer, and I start to feel uncomfortable with some of the details surrounding our wedding.
But then I think about the end vision that we have in mind for our wedding. We want community, connection, and a true representation of our love. While the beaded gowns and imported flowers may be beautiful, the contribute in no way to the vision we have. We want to avoid a complicated, overly orchestrated event that is too focused on consumerism. We want to spend quality time with all of our guests.
When it's all said and done, I want to be sure that every detail that is planned has a purpose and fit within the vision and goals that we've established, and that may not mean spending thousands of dollars on floral arrangements. And I'm alright with that.
As an overall plan, I've had no interest in being a part of the so called "wedding industrial complex" that sucks brides into thinking their cake has to cost a small fortune and their invitations must be calligraphied by hand. Note that I said as an overall plan; on occasion, I will (shamefully) drift to theknot.com or look through pictures of friends who are married or local couples who have hired the same photographer, and I start to feel uncomfortable with some of the details surrounding our wedding.
But then I think about the end vision that we have in mind for our wedding. We want community, connection, and a true representation of our love. While the beaded gowns and imported flowers may be beautiful, the contribute in no way to the vision we have. We want to avoid a complicated, overly orchestrated event that is too focused on consumerism. We want to spend quality time with all of our guests.
When it's all said and done, I want to be sure that every detail that is planned has a purpose and fit within the vision and goals that we've established, and that may not mean spending thousands of dollars on floral arrangements. And I'm alright with that.
Sunday, July 4, 2010
Seeking refuge from the fireworks
I'm the scrooge of Independence Day. Trust me, I'm all for having tomorrow off from work, but I'm not keen on my reckless neighbors having a huge arsenal of flaming rockets. Plus, we've been hearing fireworks since May, so by now, I'm kind of over them.
So, I'm hanging out inside, waiting for them to stop and hoping that they don't burn my house down. Ok, so maybe a bit dramatic, but I hate finding the remnants from the crap they shoot off in my vegetable garden.
I get that we should be happy that our nation was founded some 200 years ago, but are the fireworks necessary? There are so many examples of emergency room visits because of burns due to stupidity or faulty fireworks. More stray animals are picked up during the week of the 4th than any other week of the year because animals run scared. And what about young children whose parents are trying to put them to bed?
Not to be unpatriotic, but I could do without the Independence Day festivities.
Bah Humbug
So, I'm hanging out inside, waiting for them to stop and hoping that they don't burn my house down. Ok, so maybe a bit dramatic, but I hate finding the remnants from the crap they shoot off in my vegetable garden.
I get that we should be happy that our nation was founded some 200 years ago, but are the fireworks necessary? There are so many examples of emergency room visits because of burns due to stupidity or faulty fireworks. More stray animals are picked up during the week of the 4th than any other week of the year because animals run scared. And what about young children whose parents are trying to put them to bed?
Not to be unpatriotic, but I could do without the Independence Day festivities.
Bah Humbug
Sunday, June 20, 2010
Pet Food Pantry
Aaron and I have been working hard on a project at Animal Care and Control through FIDO and Indy Feral, and we were just over there working today. Basically, we get donations of busted bags from Kroger, we tape them up, and host the pantry the 1st and 3rd Saturday of the month. It's been a great experience because I know that there are folks who genuinely need the help.
The last time I was there I met a woman who came out to Animal Care and Control to surrender her cat because she couldn't afford to feed him. Because the food bank was there, she was able to take her cat home with her. While yes, this is a pretty dramatic example, it still felt great to have spared this cat's life. For me, that's what it's all about. : )
The last time I was there I met a woman who came out to Animal Care and Control to surrender her cat because she couldn't afford to feed him. Because the food bank was there, she was able to take her cat home with her. While yes, this is a pretty dramatic example, it still felt great to have spared this cat's life. For me, that's what it's all about. : )
Sunday, June 13, 2010
Some cheerier changes
I thought the old blog design was a bit too heavy, so I made the look at bit lighter. I am SO digging the bird template.
Speaking of digging.....
I felt inspired to find something that looked more natural because I've been spending a lot of time outside lately working out in my garden and enjoying the sunshine. I am so proud that I've actually got vegetables growing! We've got cucumbers, tomatoes, onions, and cabbage growing right outside our back door. It has been such a joy to work the soil, plant the seeds, and watch the tiny seeds grow into plants that will hopefully provide food for us.
I'm a proud mamma of some healthy tomato plants!
Speaking of digging.....
I felt inspired to find something that looked more natural because I've been spending a lot of time outside lately working out in my garden and enjoying the sunshine. I am so proud that I've actually got vegetables growing! We've got cucumbers, tomatoes, onions, and cabbage growing right outside our back door. It has been such a joy to work the soil, plant the seeds, and watch the tiny seeds grow into plants that will hopefully provide food for us.
I'm a proud mamma of some healthy tomato plants!
Thursday, May 20, 2010
Bullet point blog post
- I'm getting a lot more efficient and confident with my job - yay!
- A custom made wedding dress is in the works right now-for cheap!
- Wearing my mom's veil for my wedding, and I can't wait
- Got our security deposit back from the office we used to rent, and it was about 1/2 of what we expected because of "referrals" and "commissions." Oh yes, someone's going to feel my irritation.
- My cute little dog has a pair of doggles for sticking her head out the window, and she loves them.
- Going to Kentucky this weekend to hang out with the hillbilly side of my family, and I couldn't be happier!
- So far in the last couple months, I've gotten the following for free (either from various curbsides, from freecycle/craigslist: a coffee table for my back porch, a glider chair (for the porch), lots of red landscaping bricks, 2 maple trees, a dehumidifier, and an air compressor that needed a little tlc. Free is a good price : )
- I've started on my wedding quilt. It's going to be used in the unity portion of the c
eremony. I'm gathering scraps of fabric from family members, and combining them all into the quilt. Can't really do a unity candle outside, and I am not a fan of the sand-doesn't it look like the sand art you did as a kid?
- I bought an old-timey looking bike that I don't have to hunch over to ride. It's a light yellow, and it's so fun to ride! No matter how dorky it is!
- Aaron and I have been recently volunteering for Indy Feral, which is a local non-profit that helps stray and feral cats. We usually volunteer 6-7 hours each time, but it is so rewarding.
Sunday, April 18, 2010
My choice not to have children
It's no secret that I'm a huge animal lover. In discussions with people, I refer to all the animals that live with me "my children." Some of the people on the other side of the dialogue really seem to get it, and they even smile, knowing how important my animals are to me. Others have told me, "they're not really your children," which I find to be a little frustrating because I do everything for my animals that a mother would do for their human children.
I feed them, buy them clothes (collars, leashes, sweaters, etc.), comfort them, take them to the "doctor," show them affection, bathe them, buy them toys, participate in activities with them, and of course, love them. I am also planning on enrolling Angel into school to become a therapy dog. While I may not use the English language to speak to my kids, we still communicate.
My animals depend on me to care for them, provide them shelter, and love them unconditionally. I believe that they view me as their mother.
I know that I'm also not the only person who views their animals as their children. Recently, a couple at my parents' church requested prayer for their daughter whose dog had recently died. She unable to have children herself, and she'd decided to adopt a dog instead. That dog became so important to her, that the loss of the dog was devastating.
I've been asked when Aaron and I will have children, and I think that most people assume that young couples will have children, and of course, I don't fault anyone for assuming. Some seem confused as to why Aaron and I have chosen not to have kids. While there are many reasons, the answer is pretty simple: we don't feel like we have to have our own children in order to nurture children, and having our own kids doesn't fit into our plans for life.
We hope to be able to nurture kids in the church that we go to, our sibling's kids (if they decide to have them), and our friends' children. I can't wait to be the fun aunt!
We also plan to continue to spend a lot of our time volunteering to help animals and pursuing our goals of traveling.
If we ever change our minds and want to have children, we will adopt a child. But whatever our choice, we are determined to avoid being persuaded by others' thoughts and expectations of what we should do.
I feed them, buy them clothes (collars, leashes, sweaters, etc.), comfort them, take them to the "doctor," show them affection, bathe them, buy them toys, participate in activities with them, and of course, love them. I am also planning on enrolling Angel into school to become a therapy dog. While I may not use the English language to speak to my kids, we still communicate.
My animals depend on me to care for them, provide them shelter, and love them unconditionally. I believe that they view me as their mother.
I know that I'm also not the only person who views their animals as their children. Recently, a couple at my parents' church requested prayer for their daughter whose dog had recently died. She unable to have children herself, and she'd decided to adopt a dog instead. That dog became so important to her, that the loss of the dog was devastating.
I've been asked when Aaron and I will have children, and I think that most people assume that young couples will have children, and of course, I don't fault anyone for assuming. Some seem confused as to why Aaron and I have chosen not to have kids. While there are many reasons, the answer is pretty simple: we don't feel like we have to have our own children in order to nurture children, and having our own kids doesn't fit into our plans for life.
We hope to be able to nurture kids in the church that we go to, our sibling's kids (if they decide to have them), and our friends' children. I can't wait to be the fun aunt!
We also plan to continue to spend a lot of our time volunteering to help animals and pursuing our goals of traveling.
If we ever change our minds and want to have children, we will adopt a child. But whatever our choice, we are determined to avoid being persuaded by others' thoughts and expectations of what we should do.
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