echo2_62

Tonya - I love the song you're playing!! I'm going to be singing it for the rest of the afternoon. I've only really heard the Metallica version for the most part, but while I was just writing that I went and searched the version you mentioned and it sounds really good! I can see why you'd be worried about how well it was played though. Maybe you could find a copy of the sheet music to send down for them to go over and see if it's something they'd be ok to play? Otherwise I think if you've got a decent enough sound system then it should be okay too!

Okay first off, if that tarantula is one of the SMALLEST and it LIVES in your house then I am freaking out!!! I could never do that even though I'm not particularly squeamish about bugs and crawly things. I guess my take is that they all have a place to be, but inside my house is not one of them! I can handle any (normal!) spider outside, but in my house it meets a sad fate most often. Except daddy-long-legs. They always get taken outside again. Tracy - thanks for the links for the bags. I keep going back and forth about where I want to get my bags from, but I hadn't seen the second site you gave me so I'll def. take a look through there!!

If he's declawed and was somebodies pet, they may have also gone so far as getting him microchipped which the vet could check for as it is undetectable otherwise. If you're not familiar, the microchip is about the size of a small grain of rice and is inserted beneath the skin between the front shoulder blades. The vet would at least be able to contact the owners and see if they even want the cat back (as was similar to my case). And I think by law they have to do that, but I could be wrong on that part. At any rate, I agree that with cats that are in distress, the cardboard box can be the way to go because it will limit their senses a bit (ie. they can't see the world rushing by as you drive!) and can help make sure they don't hurt themselves. We have one cat that LOVES his crate and the other that HATES hers, so we have to use a box even still. Good luck getting him into the vets today and I hope that everything checks out okay. I'd just keep practicing coaching him into the garage and letting him out again after short periods to get him used to it. Likely he'll stop crying as badly after a while.

Jerseykitten - what's involved with the process, and roughly how much does it cost?? I'd be curious about looking into it. My hair isn't too bad but if I can give it a boost then maybe!!! And your hair looks FABULOUS in your picture b.t.w.!

Wow Niki!!! Way to go on the morning workouts! Those are something I find really difficult since I'm not a morning person and yet I get up at 5am everyday still because FI is totally a morning person. But on the plus side, we get to avoid traffic a little so I guess it has trade-offs. Oh and one additional comment I should make is that the whole blacking out thing was also due to heat and standing in the middle of an unshaded yard for the ceremony. And while its sad to say, i'm so glad that I wasn't the only 'oops' of the ceremony. The bride had wanted to release butterflies, but they'd been put in the wrong fridge (they just supposed to be slightly chilled, not COLD!) so when they didn't take flight as intended, someone had to come and collect them from the whole bridal party so we could continue! It was a little funny though and distracted people from my mess I'm super lucky though because FI's mom is diabetic so he is very used to her symptoms to which mine are very similar if I haven't eaten recently. And yes, they've checked to see if I was diabetic but that was a negative. So as much as I'm sure that I could reduce the amount I eat, I would definitely need the help to make sure that I was cramming as much goodness into everything else!! But today I did good.... brought sandwiches for lunch and grapes + yogurt for snacking.

Quote: Originally Posted by SuzyQ76 did 4 sets of abs - I LOVE doing abs just like I LOVE going to the dentist, I'm weird did 3 sets of triceps did 5 mins of leg extensions (before the elliptical because now my legs are jelly!) did four loads of laundry (in the basement of our house so 2 sets of stairs) about to start supper!! lol My Modifications: -NO LOW FAT cheese, that's against my beliefs, lol has to be extra old cheddar... -quadruple the amount of sour cream and I think I can work with everything else!! lol -hopefully salsa is a freebie, it usually is on most diets/low cal ...and don't forget Canadians - this weekend is Canadian Thanksgiving weekend!! Meghan - I love the curling mention!! Sooooo Canadian! I have a ton of friends who do it back home in NS and they love it! I've never tried, but like you said it'll get you out of the house!! I LOVE yoga, I go to Hot Yoga on 17th, correction: have gone to Hot Yoga on 17th...I still have like 20 classes left to use! It also looks like you have natural curly hair too!! how was it in Mexico, harder to handle? how did the humidity affect it? I LOVE THE DENTIST!!!!!! I get freaked out if I'm late for my cleaning by anything more than a week. This past appointment time, I knew it was about six months so I called to book and was disappointed that it was going to take a few weeks... until they realized that I had already booked way back at my previous appointment! That just seems so much more like me to do I'm a freak Way to go on the workout too b.t.w!! Suzy - You and I should totally try and get together for classes somewhere!! And I totally love your modifications to the diet. Honestly though, I just don't know if my body could be sustained on that little food. I have nothing against trying it, but I have also experienced the downside of my limits too (yes ladies, I blacked out while standing up at a girlfriends wedding... twice). Our thanksgiving this year is going to be RIDICULOUS!! So far we have 18 people coming over and there are still some people who haven't replied. This is most definitely NOT the time to start watching what I eat. As for the curly hair, or really wavy hair, yes it is natural and 99% of the time is a pain in the ass! There's that whole if you have it one way you want the other? Well I can have curly OR straight and I want STRAIGHT! LOL! But having grown up in southern ontario I've experienced some unpleasant humidity and I would still say that April in Mexico wasn't bad at all. Make sure that you've got a good gel and hairspray. I found that mouse was too gentle to keep the frizz down and the curls in good shape. I don't think I even tried to straighten it once to be honest. Not worth the headache most of the time. Although it has me wondering what I'll do for the wedding

I'm going to have to RSVP for the grandparents on both sides of my family just because none of them even have the internet!!! Thankfully parents on both sides are okay enough to at least follow the link I gave them and enter the information required! I think only three or four friends have been on the site though, but with thanksgiving dinner coming up (for us CDN's!) it totally gives me the opportunity to harass them!! YAY! I love my friends for putting up with me!

Quote: Originally Posted by SuzyQ76 Meghan, first of all: in that little itty-bitty pic I can see of you in your profile you look fabulous!! I would kill for those shoulders and that tan!! lol Well don't feel too bad! That picture was from my very first vacation about a year and a half ago down in Mexico! That's part A of the tan. I'd also been in Houston for work during the five weeks prior to Mexico, being part B of the tan! I don't really burn, just tan easily so I'm lucky! The funny thing was, in this picture we were out for dinner and I was actually suffering from a bit of heat stroke so I barely remember this and a few other pictures even being taken! Maybe my nice shoulders are from hunching forward in my dizziness LOL! But thank you for the compliments still!!! Quote: Originally Posted by amygirl1169 I had a similar problem with my dress... the measurements for ordering the sizes had a really small waist and huge for the chest and hips... I thought when it arrived it would be way too big, but it really just fits almost perfectly. I will still need some alterations in the bust and hips but thank goodness I didn't order the smaller size or I'd be crying trying to squeeze into it! Hahaha, when I tried my dress on in the store, it was the perfect size for my bust and back, but two sizes too small for my hips so when I tried to sit down I felt like what a huuuuuuge pregnant lady looks like with that super angled, reaching out half backwards, half sideways kind of position. I was seriously scared to fully sit in case I ripped the dress open!! Quote: Originally Posted by caribbeanLover Suzy!! I can understand your fustration, but take it from someone who is very small chested. It's not that fun, Most nice dress's I can't wear cause the dress wont sit right on my chest so I always end up hanging out (tho there isn't much to hang out lol) I even had to put padding in my wedding dress!!!! I can't wear just any sexy night gown has to be one that isn't cut on the chest area (if you know which ones i'm speaking of) It would be nice to be in the middle, not big, not small.. just perfect (is there such thing!) I hear ya sister! Even while i was trying on dresses I had to keep adding in padding just to have some idea of how it *could* look. I even had one dress that caved inwards across the boobs - god that was so depressing Quote: Originally Posted by jerseykitten I have gone to the gym 2x this week...I'm hoping to make it 3x and I'll be happy! For any of you on an eating plan if you want to track what you're eating and calories/fat/carbs etc, I like the site FitDay, which is free FitDay - Free Weight Loss and Diet Journal This one is also supposed to be good but I've never used it: Lose Weight with the LIVESTRONG Calorie Tracker | LIVESTRONG.COM Sometimes when you really keep track of what you eat it helps you stop eating so much. You can also track your weight and BMI on there and your exercise. Not every single food is on it but once you add a food it will save it. Way to go for being at the gym twice already!! I was supposed to have a yoga class last night and the instructor didn't show up. And I'm just having my very first curling practice tonight which although it's not hugely vigorous in the athletic department, it'll get me up and moving which will help get me back to the gym too. Hahaha, and I think I just proved how CDN i am too! LOL! Thanks for the link to the livestrong site too! I'll check that out after work!

I love that so many of you here have rescue dogs!! I used to foster boxers and my own boxer was my very first! We think she wasn't well socialized to basically any other animals that move as a pup so she can act very aggressively which of course we have to be careful with. When I got her we were told she'd be a no-cat, no-dog kind of pet... and yet we now have two cats and she's lived with numerous other foster dogs. She just needs her transition time and to learn right away who's boss (ME!). She now has doggy friends that come over, but we don't think she'll ever be an off-leash candidate. And for those of you who saw a drastic difference in the behaviour of one dog once you got the second - there's a reason! I'm a total believer in Caesar Milan (the dog whisperer), the fact that dogs by basic nature are pack oriented and are mostly submissive to whomever shows leadership over them - like you or a more dominant dog. So with your first dog, even though you might have given them rules, they maybe didn't have a pack relationship with you leading to the more hyper erratic behaviour. So when you added the second dog to your house that had a more calm personality, this would have appealed to your first dogs basic nature thus making him more calm as well. And this doesn't mean that they are going to behave calmly allllll the time of course, just that as a pair they are more likely to revert back to calm, submissive behaviour that is typically oriented with a pack. Hehe, and that's my doggie lecture for the day! LOL, and I totally hear you about the living room turning into a wrestling ring!! Often when we have friends over the visits involve their dogs. Last time we had my boxer, a retriever, a lab and a border collie mix all together in my house. Talk about insanity!! It's hilarious to watch them all play together though so we don't mind.

Well here's my problem... I had to order my dress in the largest of my three measurements but only because that size happened to fall on my hips and coincidentally the least adjustable part of my dress! According to the numbers I fall into the pear shape body type although I'd never, ever been like that until the last year. I just think that I'm wrongly proportioned and should get a boob job to even out those measurements!! LOL! But alas, that isn't going to happen (before the wedding at least! HA!) and I was too scared to order the mid size in case I couldn't narrow down the hips a little before the wedding. A long story to say simply that I think my dress is going to fit too big right from the get-go so how in the world do I get the motivation to tone down my hips, and all over, when I know that I'll be getting the dress altered to whatever size I end up being!?!?! Stupid me and always being right in between two sizes. And yes, what is Zumba??

Has anyone from the rescue been able to go door to door in the neighborhood to ask who might've seen him or taken this little guy in? Either that or hopefully he's hiding underneath someone's porch or deck etc. I hope you find him soon! This guy has had a rough life as it is and he deserves some security.

We're just getting the last of our invitations out (gotta love when you don't get addresses for people that you need to invite!) so while everyone has received the RSVP link in an email, they might not realize what it is just yet! Oops! I put up a little quiz/poll on our website just to get people a bit involved and I'm glad that I did! So far it's the only evidence I have that our friends have started to check out the site! There are about five places that I've asked people to leave messages and comments so hopefully as we get closer, or as more people start booking etc. we will see more activity. I hope the same goes for you girls!

Office workout for the day... more story for this workout "Make it a daily challenge to find ways to be more active and move more" This is a (5-minute) workout that can be done at home in the kitchen or at the office. The only thing needed is a CHAIR and YOU. For the advanced, add weights or time for more intensity (think ankle weights - you know, those ones you can strap on for walking?!?). Source." Jamel Davenport, lifestyle and fitness expert. SEATED LEG EXTENSION Place feet in front of body, about shoulder-width apart. With hands at sides, or on arm rests, extend legs forward and point toes toward the ceiling. Rest and repeat. * This exercise can be done by lifting one leg or both. Continue motion for 1 minute.

Quote: Originally Posted by Billisa FOUND AN ONLINE SITE for cheap tote bags, thanks to another thread I found... Anyone else heard of it or used it? THis is it: Promotional tote bags custom sizes and styles from cheap totes now with t-shirts and screen printing I calculated that with 14 bags it will cost $22.85 US, including shipping and handling! Compare that to my original Discount Mugs order coming to about $100 US and it's a no-brainer!!! I'd been looking at this site and seriously considering getting mine here but it all depends on numbers. I asked for a quote to ship here and for smaller numbers, the shipping was nearly twice the cost of what my bags would be!! Count yourself lucky on this one if you don't have high shipping costs. That being said however, the bags still worked out to just over $2 each which in the long run isn't bad at all. It just sucks to have such a great per piece cost and have it more than double because of shipping with little change with the volumes many of us are working with. (30 bags was about $2.30ea. while 60 bags was about $2.20ea.). BUT it's a GREAT find for you over the ones from discount mugs!!! Quote: Originally Posted by caribbeanLover Nice!!! Congrats on the great find!!!! I have a spanish vs booklet you print yourself. I thought it'd be cheaper and just the same. You should check it out, maybe you would consider it, and it's free!!! Print a Free Pocket-Sized Phrase Booklet | Spanish - Espaol Thanks for posting this link! A few of us have been talking about this one on the side as well. One idea was to laminate some cardstock or similar to make a front and back cover so that the booklets would be a bit more durable and still simple and easy to personalize.

Quote: Originally Posted by ebredhawk i have a feeling i may love/hate you all for telling me about this kijiji thing! i haven't even looked at it, but it's very fun to type! your puppy is ADORABLE!!! what breed(s) is he? what's his name? i am dog-obsessed.. seriously. since my FI has a daughter, i joke that my dogs are my biological children. wow, it sounds even more pitiful when i type it out! Erin - kijiji is an awesome source because its local, and people can be very reasonable when you're willing to take things off their hands! I find it's one of those things that I just check into every once in a while so don't worry too much about developing new obsessions Also, I laughed at your comments about your dogs being your children because I am totally the same way. We have running jokes of "like puppy, like mummy" stories like the fact that my dog doesn't like going outside in the rain - just like me - unless she has someone to suffer the misery with her - yep, that's usually me... at 5am... in my pj's.... enough said. She even knows to wait for me to get my umbrella open now! And besides, like babies, dogs poop, pee, throw up, need to be fed, need lots of attention, don't want to share the attention, don't like it when mum & dad are away, want you to play with them all the time etc... I think they are a perfectly acceptable substitute!!!

Okay it should be ready to go!! Check your Unread Posts for the new APRIL 2010 BRIDES - GET FIT thread that I just posted. I started off with a few broad-based ideas to get the ball rolling but let's add what we can!

With about six months left until we're all getting into our wedding dresses, it sounds as though we're all feeling the crunch of wanting to get back into the gym, or at least back in to shape, but are lacking a bit of the motivation, variety, knowledge etc. Since we are all working within the same time frame and I imagine have some common goals between us (ie. tone arms/shoulders) I figured we could use a separate thread just for posting any related issues and get ourselves moving. - If you have some fitness magazines lying around, flip through and see if they have some good five minute exercises. - Anyone stuck at a desk - add some simple ideas that can be done while working (if you can stand up and work, do some calf raises while you do a query or draft up an email). - You at-home-moms -> we know you've got a baby there somewhere (!) do some over head presses with that little one to work your arms. They'll love the attention and it's something you do often enough anyways, just maybe not in such repetition Bonus -> This one can also be done laying down! - Post some interval workouts that can be done around the house, like lunges from one end of the house and back for the duration of your commercial break. - If you're like me, you curse when you run upstairs and realize you left something downstairs, or vice-versa. Well watch that tongue and run up and down those stairs another five or six times! - See that treadmill in the corner? See that remote on your lap? Well crank up the volume and have at it! In my books, nothing gets me through a half hour interval jog better than an episode of Jeopardy! You get regular breaks at commercials and you learn a few things at the same time. Any quick tips and tricks that can be done will be a good way for us to break that laziness barrier and get back into it. Also, if you happen to come across a good healthy recipe that you've enjoyed, throw that on here as well. My personal belief is that getting into shape requires a combination of exercise and healthy eating (not just one or the other) so let's attack that side of it too. At the end of the day, we're each responsible for working towards the goals that will have us looking the way we want for our wedding day - or as close to that as we can reach. So while I'm definitely not an expert on any of these subjects, I think that if we can bounce ideas off each other and hold ourselves accountable to the group then it could definitely be worth while! Let's see what we can do here ladies!!

OMG ladies! I can't keep up with all of you right now LOL! Trying to make our new thread as quickly as possible here now that I'm on lunch so hold your thoughts for just a few more moments and then get posting on the new thread!!! hahahaha!

okay sounds like we have a few people interested so I will get a new thread set up for us April girls soon! I can't promise that I have the greatest knowledge on weight loss or on weight lifting, but I figure that if we can all add some little pieces here and there, it will help one of us along the way. Start checking any of your fitness mags that you might have lying around under your coffee mugs or holding up that wobbly table (ha!!) to see if they have any quick little dailies that might get us started. A little bit goes a long way right?

Okay so ladies, since we're all in the same boat with our weddings just six months away, and the time ticking rapidly - I thought that maybe we could start our own thread for working out to keep each other motivated, knowing we have the same timeline in common. Now I know there are one or two other threads with a similar purpose in mind, and we could certainly make use of those as well, but this just might be one more way to get back into workout mode! I thought we could post helpful tips, mini workout ideas (maybe some office workouts for those of you who are stuck at a desk like me!) or even some healthy (but YUMMY) menu ideas/recipes. If anyone is interested in an APRIL BRIDES GET-FIT thread - or something like that! - then let me know and we'll get it going. And Tonya - the picture of your puppy is super cute!

Vikki - that was some of the most complete and wonderful advice that I've heard!! I'd think you've been rescuing for a while now Miranda - I'm glad to hear that you've made progress with this cat and you're awesome for trying to help provide for it. I was faced with a very similar situation last winter here in Calgary too! My sister was frequently seeing a cat outside around a neighbors house when it was -30 degC so finally one evening I saw it out there, scooped her up and took her home. End of story! We took her to the vets nearby, kept her segregated from our other pets etc. but because she had a tattoo we felt responsible to try and get her back with her original owners. We ended up taking her to the local humane society so that they could work to track down the owners - which they did - and the owner flat out said he didn't want her anymore. Nice. So after that point we were officially allowed to adopt. The humane society said she was about nine yrs old, but later my vet said she was more likely 16!! We think the age and some dental problems were the reason the other owner didn't want her Now here's what might help you, if you start allowing this kitty in your house. Our new cat (Onyx - she's the most black kitty ever) made her bed under our basement stairs, I think she felt secure and was hidden from the dog and cat we already had. We didn't see her on our main floor for five months. No amount of food or coaxing would bring her up voluntarily. She is a VERY people friendly cat and would snuggle and purr and love you if we were in the basement but that was it. One day, I came down from the upstairs early in the morning and she was sitting there meowing at me. Then ran away. This continued for another month or two then all of a sudden her new bed was on my couch It has been almost ten months since we got Onyx, and we've seen her on the top floor just under a dozen times now, but she'll never stay up there long, or sleep up there. So my point in this rambling - BE PATIENT ALSO, since Onyx was prone to using her claws if the other animals approached, we bought the little tips called Soft Claws so that she couldn't hurt them. It was really effective because all three pets learned where the boundaries were and who ruled the roost, but we didn't have to worry about anyone getting hurt (our other cat is declawed but we didn't feel it was right for a 16yr old cat!). I would highly recommend these if the new cat will be staying inside around your pets. If she will continue to be an outdoor kitty, then you probably won't need them so that she can still defend herself. We had a few times that we questioned whether or not we did the right thing only because she is fairly old, had to go through some pretty extensive dental work and maybe would have been just as well of getting put down instead of being adopted, but in the end we're happy that we kept her because she is such a snuggly, loving little kitty and we're happy that her last years will be warm and safe and secure - AND NOT IN FREEZING COLD ALBERTA WINTERS!!!

Quote: Originally Posted by SuzyQ76 Sweet DEAL!!!! congrats!! I love good deals especially when they're better than expected!! Did you find it on Kijiji...I'm addicted to kijiji, lol I think I'll go and surf the wedding deals on there now! What are your colors again Meghan? Purple right? Yep it was from kijiji!! My sister had reminded me to keep an eye there and one morning I just happened to get lucky!! I'm definitely going to keep my eyes peeled. And yes, my colour is PURPLE! Quote: Originally Posted by ebredhawk FI actually ordered his band ON HIS OWN last night! talk about a victory! he works all the time and we hadn't been able to have his finger sized, but when we were at walmart yesterday he randomly decided he'd go up to their jewelry counter to see if they had those sizer things. they did so he got his size and as soon as we got home he was online ordering! I agree about the pigs flying comment! LOL! My FI would never go out and actively do anything like that without having specific instructions from me in hand LOL! Sadly his comment last night was "enough with the wedding talk. it seems to consume just about everything these days and it's too far away for that." Since you're all my April brides I'm sure you can understand my silent screaming when he said that the wedding is TOO FAR AWAY! I'm sorry but six months is going to fly by!! Maybe fly like the pigs, who knows! hahaha!

Wow! You wouldn't imagine that someone would try to pull that kind of thing in a mall parking lot of all places where there is such a high chance of other people being around anyways. Good for you to get in the truck right away once his behaviours were obviously escalating. I would honestly still report this guy to the mall security as well as police. Give them a description of both the guy and his car as best you can because they may have had other reports of the same which might help them to increase their security more and keep an eye out for the guy. Glad to hear that you're alright though and that you made it out with dress (and shoes!) intact. Can't wait to see the pictures after your party

I just got the best steal of a deal this morning and I had to share!! I'd found someone in town selling chair ribbons/sashes from her wedding that looked close to my wedding colour from the pictures she had posted. I went over this morning to double check of course, thinking that I'd probably only need half of the 100+ that she was selling. When I got there I was happy that they were the colour I wanted and then she told me that I could just have all of them since she hadn't already counted them out. I felt bad because I hadn't actually brought enough money for the whole lot but she said it was totally okay. So in the end, I walked out with 100+ sashes/table runners that are at least 6 ft. long each... for just $40!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Let's just say that I was completely shocked and totally greatful for how generous this girl was! And now I have enough sashes to decorate just about anything that I can think of LOL!!!

Quote: Originally Posted by Billisa I shopped around online and locally and really, I don't know if there is a better deal than I found at discountmugs.com...it's been listed on this site many times. I ordered 24 with one colour...here are my prices: Price ( 24 @ 5.12 ) : $122.88 1 Screen Charges : $49.00 Subtotal : $171.88 Ground Shipping : $22.66 Shipping Insurance : $3.89 ************************************************** ****************************** Item Total : $198.43 Which works out to $8.25 per mug...best deal I could find! If anyone knows of a better deal for us Canadians, let me know! oh, and here's the design: Design Image I love these mugs and am totally getting them too. I was really surprised at the price though because I had thought they worked out less expensive so I went to price out the number I need. For all you ladies who are ordering MORE than 24 as posted here, there is good news. I priced out either 50 or 55 and they work out to just under $5 each because you get better per mug prices and the flat rate for the custom designing is spread out more. So if you'd been thinking about these mugs previously then there may still be hope!!