REBECCA

Yeah, that's true. Stew is heartier (is that a word?? ha Ha) Sounds reaaly good. I' m going to try it!

I had two girls that were very important to me, but not bridesmaid, do my guest book. I treated them like wedding party, but they didn't have to buy a dress or stand up at the alter. They seemed pretty happy with this role. I also included them in the BM pedicures and got them gifts along with the BM's.

Hey Kash, I love the knock off. In fact, I like it a little better that the original. I like the neckline better and the bottom portion of the dress (it looks more mermaid). The back is very similar. It's beautiful!!!

Wow My first one Thanks!!!!! I love this little elephant guy!!

Quote: Originally Posted by LALA Here is the beef barley soup recipe: 10 oz round steak cut into 1 inch cubes 1/2 cup pearl barley 5 c water 2 carrots - chopped 1 onion - chopped 2 celery stalks - chopped 1 tsp salt 1/4 tsp fennel seeds (optional) 1/8 tsp pepper 1 cup thawed frozed baby lima beans 1 cup sliced mushrooms 1) Large saucepan, combine meat, barley, water; bring to boil. Skim off foam, then add carrots, onion, celery, salt, fennel seeds, pepper; bring back to boil. Reduce heat and simmer, covered for 45 minutes 2) Stir in lima beans and mushrooms; cook covered until meat tender - about 15 minutes. Serving: 1/4 cup Per serving: 5 points Are you sure that's 1/4 of a cup for 5 points So 20 points for a cup? That seems really high??

I just love looking at these slideshows. The Riu is a beautiful place and I hear their AI food is amazing.

Thanks ladies! Juan also e-mailed me yesterday and told me that he think he will have them done by the end of today at the latest! Thanks girls!! It's fun when everyone is just as excited as I am. Well, fun for me anyway, not Juan. Ha! Ha! Oh BTW, Juan has a picture of himself posted on his website (at the bottom under bio.) There is also a picture of his son! What a cutie!

It always hurts to add that up. But it itsn't cheap to throw a wedding. And with Cabo's popularity growing it's not going to get any cheaper! It is good to do that every once in a while. It is east to get out of control. My budget (for everything) was 14K, we ended at around 19K

It was amazing! And your will be amazing too!!! Tammy (Host) was right, I wish I was planning my wedding again!!! I want to do it again I thought I'd for sure I'd get alot done once my wedding was over, but I'm addicted to this damn board! There is so much to read!!

RIGHT ON SARAH !!!!!! That is a HUGE accomplishment! Just keep it up, before you know it you'll have another 10 off! I liked Friday Weigh in for the same reason Kash likes them. I can control myself during the week, but not on the weekends. So it gave me a whole 4 or 5 days to make it up! Keep up the good work girls!!!

Quote: Originally Posted by JUANCARLOST I just finished Rebeccas photos, just doing a few details on them but I am also tired and I also want to go watch a movie so I will completely finish them tomorrow morning. I just remembered I dont have any popcorn!!! Thats it!! I am not working anymore, I am going to go to the supermarket, get some popcorn and forget about work! and watch a movie, I hope a good one! Your comments are great!! No more work for today Juan C. WHOO-HOO!!!!! Feel free to post the slide show as soon as it's finished. I don't need to see it first, just post away and shoot me an e-mail that you did so. Thanks for everything Juan!! Sorry I've been so impatient. I forget that you have a life outside of your work (Ha! Ha!). Your work is so amazing and I feel really blessed that we had you shoot our wedding!!!

I recommend staying at Dreams to get the a good feel of the place. That is what I did and it made a world of difference to try the food & the drinks, sleep in the beds, etc. We stayed at Dreams for our rehearsal dinner instead of going offsite. I would have loved to do that, but #1 we had people there (my parents) who wouldn't leave the resort because they were paranoid and had never been out of the country before. I didn't want to set up tables and do the catering thing, because it just seemed to me like another reception. I wanted my wedding dinner to feel different. SO we had our rehearsal dinner at Portofino at Dreams. It was really good and worked out perfectly. However, we did a rehearsal dinner, not a welcome dinner. We included bridal party and family only, which ended up being 40. We only paid $18pp (for set up and service) and that included alcohol...not a bad deal.

Quote: Originally Posted by TAMMYM We had the same issue, we knew we wanted to be on a beach we can swim in so we opted to stay at a resort in the corridor, (were staying at Villa Del Arco, which is a sister company of villa del Palmar and Villa La Estancia) For us the beach area is WAY too busy for a wedding and the pools at most of the resorts were packed full of people (we even checked out Melia San Lucus) So were going to get married at the Sheraton but stay at Villa Del Arco (our wedding night will be at the Sheraton) This my be an option for you. I fell in love with Melia San Lucas resort, the rooms were very nice and like I said it's on a beach you can swim in. However the only spot to really have a wedding is pool side and even then it would have to be a somewhat small ceremony becuase it's a thight spot. Wasn't the "look" we wanted for our wedding but its very pretty. I think Rebecca's suggestion of Villa La Estancia might be a good choice for you, it's a little pricy but might be worth it to get what your looking for. Tammy, The Sheraton Hacienda Del Mar is such a gorgeous spot! Some of our wedding guests stayed there and we got to see it when we dropped their welcome bag off. That will be a beautiful wedding!!

Alright Sarah! I have always heard that Boot Camp kicks your ass! I have always wanted to do that. Sounds fun (except the part about getting up at 5AM or whatever time that is!?!). Nice work on the loss Kash! No matter if you think you did bad or good, try not to miss any weigh-in's. That is what keeps you accountable. But a pound down over Thanksgiving is pretty darn good!!!

Hi Jen, We chose Dreams because I really liked their wedding package. And we wanted to do AI because it acutally cut down the cost for us to throw our dream (no pun intended wedding. Our friends are drinkers and we knew our bar bill would be outrageous. But it worked out to be more cost effective for our guests too. It is a really beautiful location! Regarding not swimming in the ocean. There is a very strong undertow and, basically if you try and swim in it, it pulls you straight out to sea. When we were there we had head about a child that had drowned (not at Dreams, I think in front of the RIU) because they were swimming in the ocean. So SAD. You can walk down and put your toes in, but the waves crash really hard on shore. It sounds crazy but you can feel the power of the ocean. Once I saw that, I understood why you can't swim in there. I think the only swimming beach is Playa Medano. But that is in the craziness of Cabo San Lucas and problaby not the best spot for a wedding? Check out Villa La Estancia. They are condos, on the swimming beach, but in the quieter part of Playa Medano. If you have you wedding there, there are tons of other hotels nearby, of all price ranges. But, again, you are in Cabo San Lucas, not the corridor.

I'm sure he will! You both will be so happy!

I got the tiki torches from Dreams. They charged me $10 per torch and I think we had 10. Marc hates to be the center of attention too (an so do I actually). But it was really different on our wedding day. Marc was really good about photos and listening to Juan. He didn't complain one bit. We were both just so happy, he probably would have done cartwheels if Juan asked (well maybe not..

Quote: Originally Posted by jilly76 Sarah, I save all my flex points for the weekend too, because FI and I will usually have a few drinks. Thanks for the food tips TammyM, I too had planned to start back to the gym on monday along with ww, but those plans got fouled up by the football game, so I figure at least I started one part, I can start the gym later this week or next week. Ladies... A really good zero point salad dressing are "Salad Spritzers" by Wishbone. The flavor I have is Balsalmic Breeze and 10 sprays is 10 calories, 1g fat 0 fiber. SO, zero points?? It is SOO good!!! You can just spray each bite!

I had 7 rounds at Oceana Terrace. We had 60 total (including us). The way the tables were sest up it was very intimate and they were circled around the dance floor so everyone could see us dance, etc.

Quote: Originally Posted by LALA Thanks Sarah! Cascade terrace is the more private one, right? The more private location is Ocean Terrace (by the pool). Cascades is below the main pool and there are shows and music in the lobby area, which isn't too far from Cascades. However being right near the ocean, I'm sure you can't hear all of that going on. Oceana is on the other end of the property and it very quiet

Marc hates that he blinks so much in photos. He would just rather never take another picture at night time again. Daytime is fine because there is no flash or he has sunglasses on. Too bad because he has very nice blue eyes! And we can't ever get nice pictures out together when we're all dress up, etc, bcz it;s usually nighttime

Wow Natialie! It sounds like your guest are going to get styled out! You didn't miss a beat! And 6 hours of photography! I'm soo jealous. You are going to have great pic's. I wanted the same thing for my reception. Candles, candles and more candles!! And with the tiki torches, white lights, chinese lanterns and the luminaries around the pool, my reception was well lit! Funny you mentioning about your FI hating his picture taken, so does my husband!!! He ALWAYS blinks when there is a flash involved. Oh, but first he has to say "I'm gonna blink" just before the photo. WELL OF COURSE you are going to blink if you say it everytime just before the photo is snapped! SO ANNOYING! I'm curious to see how many photos Juan tricked him into NOT blinking in.

Quote: Originally Posted by jilly76 Day 1 - what a long day it has been. I'm soooooo hungry right now, all I can think about is what I'm going to eat for dinner. I'll have to fill up on lots of vegetables, no points, haha!! I just want it to be next Tuesday so I can weigh myself! To keep from getting hungry remember to Snack snack snack! Also, protein keeps you fuller longer, so if you eat higher protein/lower starch meals, you won't get as hungry as fast.. Also...chew gum! That always helps me when I get really hungry or just want to eat for no reason at all....

Quote: Originally Posted by AQHARIDER Thanks! Fortunately I'm not a big turkey and stuffing person, so Thanksgiving really isn't that hard for me. It's the pizza the rest of the year that gets me! YAY Sarah!!! Again, when you are concious of what you are eating, you tend to do better...even if your bad! Pizza was/is my weekness too! I just used flex points or ate the Lean Cuisine Pizzas. They are really good. And just make a big salad with it so you are satified!

Wow? 50, huh? That would be beautiful though! You probably wouldn't need any additional lighting!