Very handsome guy! My coworker Dema says he is "hunky" and "dreamy". :-)
Good night.
Sunday, September 30, 2007
My Groom In His Suit
Labels: Wedding
My Mama's Mother of the Bride Dress
Labels: Wedding
Three weekends ago my mama and I went clothes shopping together. Her husband had to tag along, but that's another story for another day. [JERK!] Ahem.
Anyway, there were only three that would have worked for her, and the one that looked the nicest on her was lavendar, so it will match the wedding colors! The dress accentuates her figure very well. Here is a photo I took with my camera phone, while she was in the dressing room. It has to be dry cleaned and she has a friend who is a seamstress who will help her shorten it.
Until next time.
TYDSITC - Rattlesnake II
Labels: Things You Don't See In The City
I don't have the time to chronicle the event, but ds2 blogged about it here:
Second Rattlesnake of the Season
Until next time.
Our Special Glasses
Labels: Wedding
One day last week, I think it must have been Wednesday, my boss came to me and told me she needed to speak with me. She pulled a piece of paper from her pocket and showed me the list. The shopping list for the reception luncheon. I had talked with her about what I wanted to have, basically meat, cheese and veggie trays. So the list contained those items. But the surprise to me is she is going to buy all the food on sale. She grocery shops every Thursday afternoon after she gets off work. I will reimburse her, but she is going to get everything at sale price and she's going to do all the legwork. This is a huge task. I was planning to just go to Costco and buy there, all at once.
She also had a list of paper goods that will be needed, and she asked if we had our "special glasses" yet. I had a look at Joann's and Michael's and they seemed to be running around $15. I was thinking I could use a 40% off coupon and get them a bit cheaper, then I remembered I am a cheapskate. ;-) I bought some little white bows with a pearl which cost $0.99 for a little packet of ten, and I already had the white ribbon. I found two champagne glasses at a thrift store for fifty cents each. I soaked the glasses in water and vinegar, cleaned them with dish soap, dried them with paper towels. Then I glued the bows to the ribbon, let them dry and tied the ribbon to the stem. I think they will work just fine. Cost: $2.00.
I also finally found the rose petal leaves that I bought from Michael's, so now I can get on with making the boutonnière's. I'm starting to panic because there is only two weekends left to do wedding stuff. I don't have much time during the weekdays.
Until next time.
Thursday, September 27, 2007
Finished Blanket
Labels: crocheting
Fluff post. I finished this blanket last week. I was thinking about entering it into the state fair but missed the deadline date. Maybe next spring at the county fair. I think that might be fun.
Until next time.
Wednesday, September 26, 2007
High Point of My Day
Labels: Memory Lane
I had a terrible day yesterday. My Grandma's memorial was on Saturday and all but one of my siblings were present. Of course it brought up a lot of issues and feelings. The entire weekend was difficult. I spent every spare moment of the previous two weeks making my Grandma's memory book (meaning I put the wedding entirely on hold). I think it could be a lucrative business one day.
At any rate, both our vehicles are having problems and dh took the day off yesterday (his birthday) to stay home and fix what he thought would solve the problem for the Pathfinder. We bickered in the morning (he drove me to work) and I was just in a funk most of the day. Crying to anyone who would listen, from my boss to our janitor (she's a wonderful lady who hugged me and patted me while I cried, love you Maritza!)
Then I talked to my sis in California and resolved one issue, which cleared up most of my depression. I had been so upset I'd even gone so far as to call my insurance company to find out about getting counseling and was close to calling off the wedding. My goodness, it was not a good day! I think the main thing is my Gma dying and the grieving process. Add the wedding, two vehicles having problems, getting our family together, my other sister is pursuing something unbiblical which scares all of us, and on and on.
But back to the title of my post.
I got to drive a forklift yesterday! It was so exciting! I only got to drive it for a few minutes at dh's job. A flatbed trailer was dropped in their parking lot with pallets on it and the owner was worried they would be stolen overnight. There were no trucks to hook up and move the flatbed, so the guys were trying to move the trailer with two forklifts into the yard. I knew right away it couldn't work. They ended up having to unload the pallets. I was ready to help! But then dh's boss decided that it would be best if just the one guy (with a special forklift attachment that unloaded two piles of pallets at the same time) did the work instead of having too many forklifts running into each other.
For about three years, age 18 to 21, I drove a forklift for a living. I was very good at it.
That's all I have time for right now.
Until next time.
Friday, September 14, 2007
Money Issues and Paying Tithes
Labels: Memory Lane, My Faith
If you just want to know what I'm going to say about this, without reading through my long dissertation, the bottom line is our church believes that we do not have to pay tithes, and that we should not expect any earthly reward for giving to our church.
I have talked before about how when I choose to get into something, it's more often than not something no one else knows about. This time, we've really done it up good. I can't even talk to the majority of Christians about my faith. Our church is non-denominational. I think we are called Berean Dispensationalists. We believe that Paul is our Apostle, and he was ministering to the "Gentiles" which means anyone who isn't Jewish. We are Bible believers. We believe that the Bible should be "rightly divided" according to II Timothy 2:15 - Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. We don't just listen to what our pastor tells us that the Bible is saying, but we read it for ourselves and decide for ourselves. We only use the King James Version Bible (which is a plus for me. I've always been put off by the new versions of the Bible. I have felt offended and like we are being dumbed down to think that the Bible has to be translated into "everyday" language because people are too stupid to figure out what Bible language means.) We believe that we are living in the Age of Grace. Some of what I am learning is hard to grasp. For example, BDs do not believe that God "leads" us. I have still not accepted that 100% but I am still researching and trying to figure out what I'm missing. I have believed for my entire life that God is with me and leading me through life. Well, actually I strayed for a few years, but especially in the past year I felt much leading by God. I will explore this topic at another time, when I understand more about it.
Most everything else makes a lot of sense, feels logical, intelligent, and also confirms lifelong impressions. Take the topic of giving tithes, for example. I've had trouble coming up with 10% of my gross income most of my life for one thing, and secondly, the notion that God will bless you 10 times over for tithing 10%. It has never felt right. In spite of myself, I would always catch myself wondering and watching and waiting for that 10 times the amount I gave to come rolling back into my wallet. From the age of five, I was taught to give 10% of my gross income. For most of my life I've not been in a position to give 10% to the church. When I was in my teens, I was expected to give our pastor (Mrs. So and So) all of my income since I lived in her home and someone had to pay for my room and board. However, she was also extricating fairly large sums of money each month from my mother, for child support. Because after all, someone had to pay for my room and board! (Obviously I was a very expensive boarder. NOT.) My mother also felt guilty and Mrs. So and So was able to persuade her to give much more than 10%. I believe the sum my mother regularly gave to Mrs. So and So was $300 to $400 per month. I'm sure that was most of the grocery money back then (7 children). Since the grocery money was given away, my mother would then go to her mother and "borrow" the money. Mrs. So and So said that since my grandparents didn't pay their 10% tithes to the church, God was taking that money from them. This is wrong, so very wrong. I know for a fact that my stepfather wasn't making $3000 to $4000 per month, so the amount of money was way, way, way over what my mother should have given. I'd be surprised to find out if he was bringing in more than $1200 a month. That would have been back in 1980.
My mother was convinced early on in her relationship with Mrs. So and So to faithfully pay her tithes, no matter what. She was convinced the year I was six. I remember what happened. Mrs. S&S had asked my mother for her tithes. My mother had under $20 to her name at the time. She declined to give it to Mrs. S&S who promptly told my mother that God would take that money from her for her disobedience to God's servant. Later my mom went to the store, with her three little girls. Remember my father had abandoned us approximately one year earlier, so she was all alone and barely making ends meet. Mama bought groceries and we got out to the car and she absentmindedly put the couple bags of groceries on top of the car. She got her babies in the car and... drove away... leaving the bags of groceries on top of the car. They didn't stay there for long. When we got home and the groceries were gone, my mother realized what she had done, and drove us back to the store. We found some of our groceries spilled onto the road, but not much was left. My mother was very frightened by this experience and convinced that God had punished her and took those groceries from us. She was scared from that time on to not give tithes. Ten years later I was sent to live with Mrs. S&S. At that point in time my mother was commanded to give the large sum of money each month to pay for me living there.
For a long time, I considered myself "paid up" with regards to tithing, since I gave my entire paycheck every week for more than five years. I haven't felt a lot of guilt over the past twenty or so years mostly because I'd convinced myself I was paid up. But the idea remained in my mind, that we should be paying 10% of our gross.
The part about where you get blessed 10 times over when you pay tithes has always struck me as the wrong way of thinking, sort of like playing the lottery. I had one Christian tell me that it's okay if I don't pay tithes - God won't punish me. He will just withhold the blessings that He would have given me, had I paid my tithes. Another Christian tried to persuade me to tithe to a specific television minister because he had been blessed financially every time he tithed to this particular minister. This guy has to be THE biggest scam artist out there.
One of the first things I learned about our church is that they don't expect us to give tithes. When I told that to my mother, she asked, "But how do they keep the church open?" I explained that we go by the scripture verse of Paul's: II Corinthians 9:7 - Every man according as he purpose in his heart, so let him give, not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver.
Our church teaches that this means we should think carefully about how much we can give, and to give that amount cheerfully. Otherwise, don't give.
Back to the part about my mother getting money from her parents to feed their children. This caused a great rift in our family. Now my Grandma has died and she had some money in the bank 10 years ago. My Grandpa told my Aunt before he died in 1990, "Be sure to get all the money you can from Grandma, before your sister gets it all." So my Aunt started getting large amounts of money from Grandma and BUYING LAND. Big bunches of land. And land for her daughter, too. Where my mother was getting $300-$400 a month for food, my Aunt was getting thousands of dollars at a time. Like, $9000 or $20,000. Then Grandma started getting confused and walking through the neighborhood looking for "Daddy" (my Grandpa) and fell and hit her head and it just got to be where she couldn't live alone, so my mom moved her into her home.
Of course, Grandma's money came with her. My mom sold Grandma's house, too. My Aunt figures she should get around $30,000. But that money was spent taking care of Grandma over the past 10 years. My mother provided 24 hour a day, around the clock care. Seven days a week. Never a holiday or vacation. Constant, every minute of every day. My mom was afraid my Aunt would be mad. She finally got hold of my Aunt's husband to let him know Grandma was in hospice and my Aunt never called her back.
My Grandma paid for her cremation and memorial services at the funeral home many years ago. Probably in 1990 or so. But we live in a state where the whole family has to give approval for the deceased's wishes. This means my mom and my Aunt have to sign paperwork and agree that Grandma can be cremated. My Aunt is now refusing to call the funeral home back. They have been trying to reach her for over a week now. I guess if she won't answer the phone or call back, the next step they take is assembling their team of lawyers to get a court order to follow through with Grandma's wishes.
All over money. Poor Grandma. She never set out to make anyone's life miserable just because she was so frugal. She was the most frugal person I've EVER known. She would put some of today's frugal people to shame. Of course, living through the depression helped her out in that regard. She was generous with her money, but it was embarrassing to ask her for money to pay your electricity bill, knowing hers was only $20 a month because she kept all her lights turned off, except for one bare bulb. She only watched television a little bit each day or week. Her water bill was even less. She rarely flushed her toilet using the handle because she would leave a bucket in the kitchen sink to gather water when she washed her hands (for decades there was only a tub and toilet in the bathroom) or washed a dish. Then she'd carry the little bucket to the bathroom to pour the water into the toilet and flush it.
If you want to know more about why we don't have to pay tithes in the Age of Grace, here is a bible study that explains it in detail.
Until next time.
Saturday, September 08, 2007
Test Hair Updo
Labels: Wedding
Ds1 and I went into town today. My friend did my hair, then he and I went to lunch and then to shop for a suit for him. I think we found a suit jacket that will work with his black pants. And we got some shoes for him. Here's some pics of my sample hairdo. Here were the ones I liked. I think she did an excellent job! It was kind of a hurry job on her part because of my tardiness. I was supposed to be there at 8am but due to being up late because Grandma passed away I didn't get to her house until 10:30. My friend says she wants to do more height on my wedding day, that will be cool. I think it looks great!!
Friday, September 07, 2007
Rest In Peace, Helen Louise Gordon
Labels: Grandma
My Grandma passed away tonight. It was her 93rd birthday. I will write more tomorrow about her last hours with us.
My dear youngest son wrote a poem. He blows my mind, this child.
I am EXHAUSTED.
Until next time.
Thursday, September 06, 2007
Leaving The Nest
Labels: ds2, Memory Lane
Our baby is beginning to venture from the nest! He started talking about attending Wednesday evening services a couple of weeks ago, and decided to try it last night. This was his third time out driving all by himself. The first time he's driven this far all alone (~45 miles to church). The first time by himself where he'd be driving home in the dark. The first time grocery shopping all by himself.
He looks so handsome in his Geoffrey Bean dress shirt and tie.
Uh, sonny... your pockets are hanging out.
I asked him to call me when he got to church, when he left church, when he got to the grocery store and when he left the grocery store. He did as I asked.
It was a little bit nerve wracking. Due to my sleep being interrupted I was extra tired this morning and needed coffee right away (3am) to help me wake up and get going for the day.
I'm very proud of this guy. He's been a great blessing.
His father and I love that his life is so different than ours at his age. We laid in bed last night talking about how different our lives were at his age. Dh had been living on the streets for years... I had been living with Mrs. So and So who told me I was too stupid to learn to drive stick shift. Of course it was just her way of keeping me from driving, from having to pay insurance for me to drive, and to keep me homebound as much as possible.
Neither of us had our driver's license as teenagers. Neither were allowed that right.
I'm so glad we have been able to give him a different life than we had.
I love you, son. You make a mother proud. And thanks for humoring me and calling me all those times, even though it interrupted my sleep. But see, I'd rather have my sleep interrupted, than worry for not hearing. Yeah, I could have called him on his cell phone, but I didn't want to interrupt the bible study, nor have him answering the phone while driving. Although I did call him twice and catch him while he was driving.
Until next time.
Sunday, September 02, 2007
402nd Post
Labels: crocheting, Wedding
I like to announce when I get to a 100 mark on my post. I noticed that I was nearly at 400, but when I got to 400 I forgot to announce it, so I'll announce my 402nd post. Close enough.
I worked on the veil again tonight. I took more than a week off, mainly due to my Grandma being placed in hospice last Sunday. I spent an hour sewing 20 three-bead pearl clusters onto the bottom tier. I am thinking about sewing 1 pearl sporadically all over the top tier. And I also bought Swarovski crystals from Joann's today. They are normally $2.49 for 10 crystals, but on sale for 25% off, which brought the cost down to $1.86 for the pack of 10. These are also for the veil. I was chagrined to discover another section of beads coming apart due to my ineffective knot tying. I guess I am going to have to break down and buy some fabric glue or something to glue every single end. I can't be wasting time resewing the beads on the edging because the nylon thread is untying itself. I'm starting to understand why people use GLUE instead of spending the time sewing the beads in place. I just like the idea of sewing. It seems like the RIGHT way to do things. I guess the right way for me also means the OTHER way is the lazy way. I should get that out of my head. Maybe fabric glue is just as good if not better, than sewing. It sure seems like it would take less time, and wouldn't keep coming unknotted!
I bought a newspaper today to get the Michael's 50% off coupon. I bought the pre-lit wedding arch for $15.00 plus tax. I was pretty excited about that!
I enjoyed crocheting so much the other day that when I was digging through my stash I came across a baby blanket I'd started but had never finished. So I started working on that again, put a few rows on yesterday and today.
I really want to be a good knitter, and I will continue to work at it. I know the more I knit, the better I will become. However, unless I'm doing straight knit or purl, it continues to be quite confusing to me. And therefore not as relaxing as I'd like it to be. Takes too much brain power, depending on what I'm trying to do. So for now, in my spare time, I'll see how far I can get on this baby blanket.
I'm pretty worn out. Good night.
Until next time.
Saturday, September 01, 2007
Wet Washing the Wedding Gown
WHEW. I have to say I have been somewhat hesitant at taking on this task. Several people cautioned me against cleaning the gown myself, two even offered to pay for having it cleaned. But I could see that $100+ being spent a lot more efficiently. I just had to give it a shot myself.
So I scrubbed the tub, then filled it with cold water and a capful of Woolite. I then commenced to scrubbing the grime off the bottom of the dress. There were a few dirty spots like this, mostly on the back where it is longer.
The underside of the hem looked like this pretty much all the way around, including the inner skirt hem. I scrubbed both all the way around. I used a toothbrush dipped in Woolite for most of it. When it was worse, I'd use some baking soda for a little bit of grit and at the worst spots I used a drop of Dawn Dishwashing liquid.
Here's how the water looked after scrubbing and for comparison, the rinse water:
And here's a closeup of the clean hemline! Beautiful!
I was apprehensive about hanging the dress on a hanger... fearful that it would 1) stretch itself from the weight of the water 2) the dogs might be able to reach it. So at first I went with lying it on a piece of canvas outdoors.
Then I noticed the wind was blowing and flies were lighting on my dress and you know they poop on things! Little round brown specks of fly poop would not be appropriate. And if the wind kicked up hard enough, a dust devil might swirl past my dress or worse yet, a big gust of wind might pick my dress up and fling it into the dirt somewhere. Finally I decided that the dress had drip-dried long enough (therefore not too heavy), found a hook, put it up in the ceiling over the tub and that's where the dress hangs now.
While I was outside messing around with the dress, I came upon LJ cooling off in the pink doggie pool, but totally on guard to everything going on around him.
I do realize just because I got the stains out doesn't mean I'm home free. The dress could shrink or something else could happen, I could even do something wrong while ironing it. Once the dress is dry, I'm going to sew another bit of lace decoration to the area where the train would be.
I'll need to iron it and restitch the sides once the date gets closer. I don't want to end up sewing it too tight or too loose and have to rip it out and do it all over again.
I worked on the invitation envelopes yesterday. I'm tired again. What else is new?
Until next time.
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