Vikki

I bought a second dress about 6 weeks after the first. *sigh* I wish I had waited. Quote: Originally Posted by SusieQ I hear ya... i am having my dress made, I took a dress I loved on paper and done a few alterations, now i am freaking out because oher brides are totally against the soft flowy dress... mine totally is that fabric. oh well i will see how it looks in Nov. That sounds so pretty...you'll have to post pictures when you get it.

Ashley: I'd boot her from the wedding party. But, that's just me, I can't stand drama like that. And......how's Cuji? I don't think I've seen an update since the vet trip. Is she settling in back at home? Cherie: Your wedding will be perfect and if you chose a DW to avoid some of the additional details don't feel pressured to add them. It's going to be perfect, just enjoy the anticipation and don't stress :-) Erika: Good luck in surgery today! Melissa: Yay! Can't wait to see them. We got our travel letters out but haven't done the welcome letter and ceremony schedule yet so I'll be watching for yours for some ideas. I'm starting to think about my planning thread. With less than 3 weeks until I leave the time seems to be crawling by at top speed...if that makes any sense??

Quote: Originally Posted by ebredhawk my FI has a daugther who is 6 and every once in a while she will slip up and call me "mom" and of course i correct her. she went on to tell me that, in her mind, i'm her mom when she's at our house, and her real mom is her mom when she's there. while that is 100% not true, i totally got where she was coming from. "mom" to her and at her age means more "female adult" than it does what we see it as.. the person who gave you life, etc. it was interesting to see her mind working through things, but i have been trying to explain to her what the difference between mom and stepmom are. my mom told me once to stop trying to give FI's daughter the mental capacity of an adult when it comes to things like this. kid's don't always understand the situation the way we do or express themselves the way we think they should. i know it is nearly impossible not to take what they said personally, but i am certain your boys didn't mean it that way. if this is any consolation, your sons could just be trying to work through what it means and who this lady is to them now that their dad has remarried. I am so sorry you're going through this but I think this is a really good point. Maybe there's a name you and your ex can come up with that your kids can call his new wife. Not mom but something that will help them identify her role in the family. I agree, hearing that coming from your child to another woman would be heart wrenching. It's great you and the ex can talk about this though. Good luck and remember-your kids will always know who their real mom is-nothing can take that subconscious knowledge away from them.

Quote: Originally Posted by jerseykitten I tried it and did not like it. My old neurologist wanted to try it for my migraines so we did...she was a licensed acupuncturist as well as a neurologist. She put all the needles in and told me to relax. I couldn't and felt kind of sick afterwards. I know a lot of people swear by it but for me personally it was not a good experience. I'm a needle freak so the first couple sessions my provider was very reserved in the treatment, started out putting the needles in places I couldn't see to help keep me from passing out from the anxiety. She's constantly asking for feedback and only on one occasion has she caused me discomfort-and it wasn't even pain it was just a huge wave of dizziness. After that treatment I did feel kind of ill-but she explained that the meridians she was working with might cause that. For the most part though I don't even feel much, just some stinging.

I found a ton at Zurcher's Party and Wedding store. They're a little smaller that the ones at Michael's but at $3 for 30 I'm ok with that, I'm just arranging them together with fishing wire.

May is coming but you still have time..... I would caution you against buying a dress just to check it off your list. That's how many of us (myself included) ended up with 2 dresses. Are there many bridal stores in your area? If not could you plan a weekend trip with you MOH somewhere to just try on dresses? Might be a fun girls weekend. I think many people have a dress that's "the one" for them. Not all but definitely most so just take your time and try to have fun. And try on EVERYTHING, even if it looks awful on the hanger or is way out of your price range. Even if it costs too much you'll know what style to look for in a less expensive dress. Good luck!

I doubt he is currently a pet. And if he is shame on his owners for letting him get like that. You can let him cry all night if that's what it takes to have him on hand when it's time to go to the vet, just make sure he has an enclosed space he can hide in while he's in the garage. It will help him feel safe-something as simple as a cardboard box with something to snuggle in and a towel hanging over it. He'll panic but after he figures out it's warm, you're going to feed him and he's safe it will be much less stressful for him than living outdoors is. I had a spay and release experience that was similar-I brought the kitty home from the clinic and couldn't let her back out for a couple of days so she just lived in my laundry room. She cried a ton and was really scared but in the long run she needed the enclosed space to heal and was no worse for it. Good luck :-)

3 weeks and 6 days. I mailed our travel booklets today and I'm making copies of all the hotel information, vendor contract and wedding consultant conversations. I think this weekend I want to do a trial pack-minus the dress since it's going to be at the alterations shop until 2 days before we leave. Has anyone else done a trial pack yet?

I am so glad this got bumped! This is the list I've been trying to compile for a couple weeks but always get distracted. I love BDW members

Wow - I love that you are doing that. I wanted to do the same but my mom was married in a long-sleeved, heavy cotton hippie dress :-) Way too hot for the beach.... I did a google search for wedding dress restoration new york city and came up with a ton of responses but I don't know what area you're in so I didn't want to post any. I would specifically look for somewhere that can handle vintage clothing though because with the length of time that has been bundled up it's probably in worse shape than a dress that had just been in a closet. Good luck!

Quote: Originally Posted by KLee147 I'm bursting today!! I am officially 1 month away from becomming Mrs. Hansen!! Yippie-o-i-ki-eh!! Yay! Almost there.....

Hmm, I really don't know but I found this site, you might check it out. Mexico Weather & Mexico Seasons @ Mexico Travel 101 Guide. I would think the slightly cooler temperatures might make Mexico more pleasant for a wedding-but that's just me. You do run the risk of more rain but either way I think you'll be happy with your choice. Happy planning!

Congratulations and welcome! Check out the Jamaica threads. Depending on how many guests are planning on and the type of resort there are quite a few options. We have a really small, all adult group so we went with an AI in Ocho Rios because it was quiet and the ceremony was pretty simple. Either way you decide there is a ton of great info here so happy planning!

Congratulations and welcome. What part of Australia are you going to be married in? You'll find lots of great ideas to help you start planning here.

Hi Kelli and welcome. February is still a little way off so I think you have plenty of time to plan the wedding of your dreams. You'll find lots of great ideas here to help relieve some of the stress. Happy planning and congratulations on your recent engagement!

Hi and welcome Julie, I think you'll love the extra advice and ideas you can find here, especially since you have so much time to plan and arrange the perfect wedding. Congratulations!

Hello and welcome! You're date is coming up so soon you must be excited! Congratulations and happy planning.

I agree - in the long run a DW can be much cheaper than a local one. Sorry to hear about the major changes but something better will come along.

That's great!

I think the fact that you're sensitive to it means a lot. This is a really hard time for many people and there are so many unknowns. However, there are so many people that are forced to make a change in careers that they never would have had the courage to make on their own and end up going back to what they really want out of life and benefiting greatly from the career change. This happened to my father when I was growing up. He was laid off and out of work for 2 long years during a really tough economic time and things were really hard for my family-but the job he left was killing him and the job he moved to turned into a successful 25+ year career.

That's awesome lol.

First of all I think it's awesome that you and your honey have compassion for this little guy. There are so many animals that suffer and even helping this one little one makes a difference. I have a couple strays I feed and have provided shelter for in the winter for the last 4 or 5 years. They are perfectly happy with the arrangement and are probably curled up out there as I type. I have two little cat houses that are water/wind-proofed and have two little heated cat beds in them. When the temperature starts to drop I put them out, nestle some old towels in them and plug in the heaters. I usually leave them up all winter. The heated cat beds are about $20 and up. I have had one of them spayed through a spay/release program. The other is much more feral and I'm hoping next year to be able to get him in as well. To attract your kitty: I would put out a heated cat house for a couple days and put some really yummy (moist food, tuna, ect) food in there. He'll get used to going in there and associate it with a pleasant experience. After the first couple times you see him go in, stay close after you put the food in so he gets used to associating you with that pleasant experience. Once he doesn't run out when you move closer try closing him in while he eats then open the cat carrier and let him out. That way he knows that if he goes in he can come back out. If you trap him and take him to the vet the first time he'll never go near it again. Do that a couple times then you should be able to get him to the vet. One the vet gets his shots, de-wormer, and neuter he may fly like a bat out of hell from that box and stay away for a day or two but his hunger will be stronger than his fear and he will come back. Just slowly work back up that same process of moving closer while he eats and encouraging him to eat in the cat house. Depending on how quickly you want to integrate him you can continue progressing like that until he's willing to come into your garage to eat. If he's really feral you may just want to continue to provide him a warm, dry place to get out of the elements for this winter and see where it goes from there. Not to discourage you but to help protect you and the kitty here are a few things to keep in mind: Even if you don't end up taking this cat into your home if you're willing to at least get him to the vet please please please have him neutered. Even if he remains a stray the rest of his life he will be less likely to engage in risky behavior that will shorten his lifespan as well as reproduce and multiple the problem. It may lessen some of his feral behavior as well. Stray cats almost always have worms. If you want to bring him into your home you'll want to make sure to quarantine the new kitty for a while and treat his litter box with extreme care. Your vet will advise you further. It's not the end of the world but something to be aware of. Fleas are a nuisance but pretty easy to get rid of with treatment prior to introducing kitty into your home. You could have the vet apply the first dose of medication during the initial visit. FIV is a common virus cats contract and carry. It's not devastating but you need to be aware of how it works. Several cats at the shelter I work with have FIV and are happy, healthy cats they just have weaker immune systems. FIV Facts has some great information. Note-it is species specific (won't spread to you or other kinds of animals) and once an animal is spayed/neutered it is unlikely to spread between cats. The most difficult thing I would suggest watching for is ringworm. This site has some pretty basic info and images for what to watch for: Feline Ringworm (including pictures) - Causes, symptoms, photos & treatment of ringworm in cats You can ask your vet to check your cat under a special light as well as culture some of it's fur. These will usually indicate if there is ringworm present although it's not 100%. The main problem with ringworm is that it can take a long time to show up and is extremely difficult to treat because you have to treat not only the animal but the environment the animal is exposed to and avoid re-contamination. I had foster kittens one time that had ringworm and we had to be extra careful with their environment. This is where your quarantine will come in. I wish you both the best of luck, that kitty is lucky to have you to watch out for him! Whew - I'm done rambling :-) PM me if you have any other questions.

Quote: Originally Posted by YaelM Yay cant wait to see all the new siggys! Thanks Tammy Wow. Nice job girl. You should hit up SNL for a Tina Fey backup....

Time is starting to fly so fast-I can't believe the wedding less than a month away. We leave in 25 days...... My shower was today-we had so much fun! My aunt drove in from Spokane and wanted to see my dress so we scheduled my final dress fitting this morning. I decided it would be a great day to have one of my "hair trials" so I had my hair done then headed to the alterations shop. It was great to see the dress with my hair and makeup done as it will be for the wedding. My mom brought up my grandmother's pearls and we got some fabulous mother daughter shots..... Next we had lunch then headed to the shower. It was at a traditional english tea house and we had a great time. I love this picture, it kind of sums up the location and captures the moment. So now I'm home working on thank you cards and since tonight is Brandon's bachelor party he's out with the guys working on his best hangover ever!

Have you ever been treated? What did you like/dislike about it? I've been receiving treatment the last month or so and the results are hard to measure but I definitely know something feels different. I'm curious to see what other people think :-)