I See Light!

That will be me on May 7, 2010. (...standing on a cake, surrounded by stars...)

Wow, that date is the day I am officially finished with my MBA and, hopefully, school forever. I started this grad school journey in August 2005, which really does feel like a lifetime ago. In the 4 years it’s been so far, taking 2 classes a semester and 1 this past summer, I managed to hold steady at a GPA of 3.33, all the while working various full-time jobs ranging from 40-55 hours a week.

Steve and I were talking finances at lunch, and jobs. I said we were going to Greenville in May for graduation, and then I started tearing up. I can’t believe it’s so close when, for the longest time, there’s been no end in sight. There is actually a light at the end of the tunnel!

I started digging on the ECU website for more information about graduation. Then I checked Orbitz for hotels and room rates in Greenville. Yes, I am ridiculous enough to book my hotel room 9 months in advance.

So we have the following travel plans for the next 14 months:

• August 27-30 in Pittsburgh, PA for Kim and Matt’s wedding
• October 22-24 in New Bern, NC for Abby and Chance’s wedding
• May 6-9 in Greenville, NC for graduation
• October 9-15 in Las Vegas for MY wedding

Image courtesy of mbaforbetterfuture.com

Booking the Wedding and a Lola Picture

I was just checking out SLVW as I do... frequently.. and noticed a little disclaimer on their front page. All package prices will be increasing as of September 1, 2009. However, wedding booked prior to September 1 are not affected. Guess what I'll be doing as soon as I get my student loan excess funds in 2 weeks? That's right... booking the wedding and paying the deposit!

Yes, I have the "go ahead" to do so. Not for the above reason, but for other reasons, but I'm sure mentioning the rise in prices will only help push it along. =) We're pressed for funds as is, hence Vegas in the first place, and with a total trip budget of $1500, we're not taking chances on going over said budget.

In amusing.. news.. I am taking an Illustrator class this summer.

<---- This is my latest project. I had to use the pencil tool to write my name, or in this case, Lola's name. Then outline a subject from a photo and colorize it however we wanted. I picked our poochie, cuz she's the cutest little thing.

No reason for posting this other than I wanted to show off my lack of Illustrator skills. Gotta get up to speed since I'm designing all the invites, favor labels, etc for us.

Want to Win a Pair of Sandals?

Check it out... there’s a great contest going on over at one of my favorite daily reads, the Budget Savvy Bride blog. She is trying to get the word out about this amazing company...

“Sseko Designs is a company that partners with a school in Kampala, Uganda to employ recent high school graduates to make beautiful sandals as a way to earn money to continue on to University. They employ bright young women who would otherwise not have the opportunity to continue their education. Sseko is passionate about educating and empowering women, specifically in developing countries.”

Go to her website, read the rules, and sign up for the giveaway! I personally fell in love with the serenbe design. Which do you fancy?

Wedding Dress Woes

I am giving my dress until April 1 to sell. If it doesn’t sell by then, I will start on alterations to be able to wear it in Vegas in October. I’m unhappy with this decision only because I really am regretting my decision to buy it so soon. I love the dress. LOVE IT. But... where it would have been wonderful to stick in a car and drive to Miami, and have time to hang and get the wrinkles out, it will not be wonderful to cram into a bag, fly across the country and wear the next day in Vegas.

I’m wondering just how short I can have the seamstress make it and still look good and just how much it’s going to cost. Steve really doesn’t want me to sell it. He knows how much I love the dress and that it pains me to sell it. I really wish we had made more plans before I rushed out and bought a $700 dress. Grrrr.

Oh well. I’m clearly not alone with dress regrets. I’ve seen brides all over my blogs buying 2 dresses, or even 3 because they can’t decide what they want. Well, I know the style I want for Vegas and it’s decidedly cheaper then I initially spent. And honestly, it’s not about money in this case. It’s about changed tastes and venues.

The dress is currently listed on BravoBride.com with over 1000 views. I tried CraigsList, but that was a bust. I kept renewing the ad but never even got a nibble. Ebay costs too much for the probable no bids that it’ll get. Even with a reserve price, I’m not guaranteed a purchase. A girlfriend of mine bought her dress and 2 months later listed it on Ebay when she bought another and got no bids the 3 or 4 times she kept relisting it. Annoying!

What other sites should I be listing it on? Help?

EDITed to add: Apparently PreOwnedWeddingDress.com finally got a clue and opened up their Sell a Dress form to include sizes over, like, 12. When I checked in May, I couldn't list my dress due to it being larger than their listings. It will be listed as soon as the lovely manager from the Raleigh David's Bridal store mails me a copy of my receipt. She is amazing and I love her, without ever having met her. She dug into their system from 16 months ago to find my receipt and is mailing it to me.


Image courtesy of iStockPhoto

Welcome Readers

I am kinda amazed that so many people have been to my little blog, according to my stat's software. I'd love to hear from you, especially if you're a regular reader. :)

Also, what else would you like to see, or not see, on here? Anything more you want to know, just ask! I love comments, so feel free to leave them!

Thanks!

Booking the Wedding

I just spent a good chunk of my lunch break trying to convince Steve that we should book our date with SLVW already. He doesn't see the point seeing as it is over a year away and things could still change. Plus, he wants to get Rosetta Stone so we can both become bilingual (Spanish) to improve chances of getting higher pay. The wedding/ photographer/ flowers/ limo/ minister/ everything else costs the same as the full Rosetta Stone package. Great! He can buy RS, and I'll pay for the wedding. Win-win, right? ;)

I will continue to work on the booking after work. Especially because he tipped the waiter $10.10 "in honor of our wedding date." Yeah buddy, I know that's our date, but can't we make it official? Not that I have the 35% down payment yet, but I will in a few weeks! After all, it's less than $175 to guarantee the date and time we want to be forever tied to one another.

I love my crazy fiance.

She lives: Peace love knit & Go Gators!

Going Incommunicado for a Bit

hahahaha, that made me laugh!

my dead computer, however, made me cry, pull my hair out, and sweat bullets. i also got online with Dell tech support last night for just shy of an hour and managed to get a new motherboard and AC adapter, and fixed webcam. and the tech is coming to me.

basically, outside of work hours, i won't have any computer access for the next few days. my fiance has a computer, but it's so virus laden and painfully slow, that i will do without instead of getting frustrated at his. it was sufficient to chat with Sai in India last night, but that's about it. *sigh*

image source

Birdcage Veil

I was perusing the net earlier looking for tutorials to make a birdcage veil and found this really great one! i think i'm going to make one with another comb - as in, not my specifically purchased "tiara" - and see how it works. for all I know, I won't even like the way it look on my face.

Check out this tutorial to make this gorgeous birdcage veil...


image source

Lola

I help mama knit socks