Eeney Meeney Miney Mo.

So, with 57 days left I should definitely be knocking things off my to-do list. Instead, I'm adding.

Rather, expanding. (this word makes me feel better about giving myself more work)


Tonight- Jeff and I are finalizing things on our Target Registry (I love target). We gave ourselves 2 1/2 hours a few months back to register and everything went great... but by the end of it we were just scanning stuff to get it over with. I've weeded out the ugly impulse things... and now tonight we have a specific list of items to find in the store. I like having a plan. :)

One tough thing is not knowing where we'll be living (or what kind of place we should plan for)... our plan is to start looking within 2 weeks of now for an apartment... but I have to share something that makes me laugh. hehehe....

We're also registered on amazon.com - not sure if you've ever experienced it, but they have the "Universal Registry" option... which means you can go onto any website online that sells things and click "Add to Registry" on your toolbar. So, as a joke... I decided to put it to the test. There's one house on realtor.com that really interests me........... so I added it to the registry.


Yep. There's a house on our wedding registry.


hahaha.... oh dear, I know we won't get it (duh) but it's just funny to look at. :)

Good U-turn :)

Isn't it awesome how life can just turn around in a matter of minutes?

I know I don't mention God on here much... but I just need to give Him a shout out. I believe that all good things come from Him (James 1:17). I've been praying and believing since I got the call a few weeks back telling me that I was no chosen for my dream job I had applied for. (1 Peter 5:7) Then I continued believing that I would be blessed when I got the letter stating that I was laid-off. I continued to talk to God through the process of dealing with unemployment being denied.

Well, let me tell you - God has turned my life around. Yet again. :) I got a call yesterday morning from the Director of HR at my old job telling me to appeal the denied claim. He sent me a letter to attach to the appeal to support me. And then this afternoon I got a call from the place I interviewed with last week.... and........ I got the job! I am now a special education teacher at VisionQuest!!!!!!!!!!!! :) I am so so so so so so happy and blessed!

Oh- and to clear up any confusion from the last post. I'm choosing not to wear a garter. But we are doing a bouquet toss. :)

AAaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaand- today was so successful.
I got about 20 things done on my to-do list and went into town to the dollar tree and got balloons for my twine balls. I should be doing them within the next few days: so excited!!!!

To toss or not to toss. That is the question.

So, Jeff and I were going a tad untraditional (which I realize is not all that uncommon nowadays) with our wedding plans. We weren't planning on having a flower girl or a ring bearer... simply because there will be no children at the wedding. Well, except for his 7 year old son- which we're going to install as a Jr. Groomsman... but now I'm thinking ring bearer (anyway- that's not the point of this post).

I will not be wearing a garter, and he will sure as heck not be sticking his hands or heaven forbid (as I've seen it done before) his face up my dress in front of all those people! (Keep in mind, our first kiss in almost 2 years will be taking place infront of EVERYONE that day). Anyway... point being- no garter/no garter toss.


I just figured since there would be no garter toss... there would be no flower toss either. But then my [single] lady friends said, "Whaaaaaaat??!?!"

And now, there will be a toss. :)

With that being said, I want to show off what my wonderful Bridesmaid, Teddy (codename) made for me with fake flowers we picked out at her store last week!!!!

(I'm in love with it.)
She texted this picture to me earlier today then surprised me with a visit in person tonight so I could marvel in its wonder in person!!! :)
Oh, and the updated version has a band of burlap and a twine bow on the hand held part of it.

isn't it gorgeous?!!?

Also, hope I didn't offend anyone with the garter pictures. That's just not our style. We're much more modest and censored. haha... like I said, not kissing until we're married.

The Money Situation

Alright- so here's what's up. I officially have LESS THAN 2 MONTHS TO GO!!!!!

Also, I've been slacking on posting because life is wreaking havoc on me. I interviewed for a great dream job last month and found out a little over a week ago they did not choose me. I was devastated... but at least I had my main job to fall back on. Well when I got back from camping last weekend there was a letter from my employer telling me that I was no longer employed by them. Now I got a letter from unemployment office that my claim was denied. Obviously, I'm going to dispute it. Because, obviously I"M UNEMPLOYED. And so, Jeff and I have been having a lot of serious wedding money budget concerns.

I am a very organized person, so charts make me happy. I spent the last hour making this one in photoshop. :P I makes me smile because it's pretty... but makes me cry because I'm not sure how I'm supposed to save over $4000 in less than 2 months.

Anybody want to buy one of my kidneys????


I realize I'm putting my pretty personal business out there... but it helps me to have support from wonderful ladies like you all!!! :)

Weekend Updateage. (many pics)

So..... as it turns out... God came through and answered our prayers, yet again! Jeff was able to go camping. The poor guy actually got off of work at 6:30am Friday morning, went to his house to pack, came to my house to help us pack the truck, and then napped for a few hours on the way to the campground. :) As soon as we got there I set up my hammock between two trees and let him enjoy some peaceful slumber for a few more hours. My "mock" as I call it- was pretty popular. We came back from the lake on Saturday to even find my dad snoozing in it!


It was a pretty jam-packed weekend. Camping vacations are never long enough! I got to grill a good bit- YUM! I love me some grilling!


We hit up the lake/sand- and made a pretty sweet dragon/gator. haha... looks like a gator with wings. Oh well. It's still pretty sweet.


Also got some sweet tan/burn lines. :)


Had a pretty decent fire Saturday night- kept that puppy blazin!!
Most importantly, spent some good quality time together in God's creation!!!



OH oh oh - aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaand- I found time to set up some pics for the table numbers for our reception!!!
(I'm just going to post all of them I have arranged so far. Some have been posted before- but they're pretty cool all together.)

Still need an 8, 9, 11, 13, and 14. :)

Bridal Shower question

So, how are you supposed to look cute for your bridal shower (hair, clothes, shoes, make-up) if it's a surprise?!? I mean, some days I like to wear skirts and dresses... other days it's gym shorts and a beater. That's quite a difference... and I don't want to look like a bum on my shower day. What do I do???

A case of the Blahhhhhhhhhs.

So... I am currently suffering from PID (I just made this up- Post Invitation Disorientation). I kind of like it. (Not the feeling, just the acronym.) Here's the problem... I went from spending every free minute and even non-free minutes planning and doing invitations. And now I find myself feeling quite depressed, because I don't know what to do next.

Here's a link to one of my first posts:
http://mrandmrsvarner.blogspot.com/2011/01/d-i-y-gone-wild.html

I have a quite ambitious list of DIY projects to work on, and I've added to the list since then too.

I just don't know what to do next.

I feel a bit lost.

Also, I leave tomorrow for a weekend camping trip with my family. Due to unforseen events (required overtime and other things), my Jeff is about 90% sure he can't go now. (SAD FACE)

(you get the point)

I'll be fine without him, but it's also just nice to have time with him in our favorite setting- nature... boohoo. The point of this post isn't to mope- it's actually to help me figure out my next step. I'd like to take supplies along tomorrow to work on/ accomplish something weddingy this weekend. But, what?

Options:
-collect sticks for centerpieces
-take naturey photos for table numbers
-make some wedding pointer signs (requires me to bring supplies)
-create a complete list of all DIY projects, required steps, and supplies needed (will make me feel like a more organized bride)
-blow off wedding planning and enjoy a relaxing weekend...


When I get home then I can kick it into high gear and:
-finish crossword puzzle
-get material for liners of baskets for Trail Mix Bar
-make petal cones out of Kraft paper
-make all my Bridesmaid gifts!!!!
-make wedding pointer signs
-create a wedding update newsletter for my ladies :)
-scope out deals on S'more ingredients for our favors (now's the time of year for bargains!)
-make my three wooden cake stands
-make some twine balls
-set up a hair trial with my aunt
-set up a make-up trial with my Mary Kay consultant friend!!!
-send out an S.O.S. email/ facebook alert for another large canopy and white Christmas lights!!
-plan more DIY projects :)


Okay, I feel better now.

please excuse my lame humor :)

My babies (our invitations).

That title is no exaggeration... haha. I created these puppies with my own two hands. Nurtured them. Primped them. And then I sent them off and gave them wings. If you didn't design/create your own invitations you might think I'm nuts... but seriously, after investing 60-80 hours on them... I feel like a proud parent. :)

In the beginning.... :)

orange, cream, white, and eggplant (wedding colors)

I made a nice little stack of my necessary supplies. Organization is key.

Here's my printer- it should receive a gold star and some kind of an award after all the printing it did.

the enclosures:

I enlisted mom's help to glue orange and white pieces together-


I used purple scraps from the invitations to make the little foldy flaps to go inside the pocketfold.
see :)

my invitation structure after folding 80 of them!

kitchen table workstation-

map enclosure!!!!!!!!
reception/ odds~n~ends enclosure!!!!!
RSVP postcard!!!!!!

RSVP Postcard!!!!!!!!

front and back together :)

separated into stacks depending on how many people were in the invited party-

beautiful :)

60 wooden hearts burned around each edge and a J + H in the middle (aww)

our guest list-

all assembled with burlap fabric, hemp, and wooden heart!
the invitations that were being mailed couldn't have the wooden heart on them (too thick), so I made some makeshift paper ones out of kraft paper!

the mailables:

ready to be enveloped!

to save my tongue, I used a sponge on the envelopes :)

FINISHED PRODUCT: don't stalk me :)

So, there you have it! My pride and joys!!! Many hours spent, but so worth it! I love them, and they represent our wedding perfectly!

...Aaaaaaaand, we got our first RSVP postcard back in the mail today!! Yay- and its a YES! :)

I had to call the post office yesterday and tell them that I would be expecting things in the mail for (soon to be) Mr. and Mrs. Varner since there aren't any Varners that live here- I wanted to make sure they got delivered!!

Success.