PenMarie

I agree w/you on the dress you ordered from ebay -- the look/feel was just a little "off" compared to the original dress. your new dress: STUNNING!!..WOW

Christine, asking your vet may be the way to go. My mom has a super high strung black lab. She HATES having her nails cut, so my mom has to take her to her vet for this. Sometimes the techs can do it and she's not too bad. But sometimes they actually have to sedate her to cut her nails...it's quick though, and probably a lot safer for the tech and the dog. Our dog doesn't care to have her nails done either..my FI has a strange way of getting her to sit still. He takes a newspaper flyer, folds it, and just sits it next to her -- she still doesn't like her nails cut and will all but sit on my lap while he's cutting (all 65 pounds of her..ha!), but at least she doesn't run away. Funny thing is, she's NEVER been hit with anything in her life, much less a newspaper flyer. She's a silly girl!!

And I thought our office was the only ones who did donuts and bagels on Fridays...I'm on the upstairs floor and the "goods" are on the first floor, so I always forget about them -- but it sure is great if I'm hungry on a Friday morning.

Dear Coworker… I used to like you…that was until I found out what a backstabbing, f***ing MARTAR you are…no, it is NOT necessary for you to feel that every person in the office is your best friend and act like how dare they also talk to me, too…NO, it is not necessary when every time I let you know I’m taking a vacation day for you to give me a big SIIIIIGGGGGHHHHH and tell me how YOU wanted to take THAT day off ‘cause your husband is going to be home all day and your 20-something son(s) is going to be home all day and you have all this stuff to do for your company that weekend – if entertaining your family stresses you out that much then DON’T DO IT, simple as that – but don't make it my problem! If you want a vacation day, then schedule it and take it – it’s YOUR time, so WTF do I care ---- trust me, this place is NOT going to fall apart if either of us are not here….and, NO, unlike you, I will not make you feel guilty for using your OWN VACATION TIME. NO, it is also not necessary when I do have a scheduled vacation day or time off for you to make sure you tell your supervisor that I’m scheduled to leave early or take the day off and YOU wanted to do it, too….NO, it is also not necessary for you to snatch up something that I know very well I have to do that week before I can even get a chance to pick it up and then complain to everyone that YOU did it – I KNOW that whole 15 minutes this week just KILLED YOU!!….NO, it is also not necessary to ask me what my bonus was this year and then TELL ME it had better not been more than YOURS was and/or imply that there’s NO WAY that I should be making more an hour than you do --- even though, I’m skilled at 3 other separate jobs here than you, and the job we both do now, I can wipe the floor up with you…No. 1, that’s none of your GD business what my bonus was…No. 2, I’ve been here for 20 years compared to your 5, and I’ve forgotten more than you’ll EVER know about this company and the work that we do…No. 3., I can run circles around you with my eyes closed and my hands tied behind my back, AND I can get the work done and NOT WHINE AND COMPLAIN ABOUT IT THE WHOLE TIME – JUST COME IN AND DO YOUR WORK ALREADY AND SHUT TF UP!!! Signed, Fed up and about to break bad on your ASS and tell you what I really think of you…keep testing me….PLEASE!!! p.s. Please pull the knives out of my back...there's no more room left back there to put them.

I voted for #1 -- I think you look beautiful in it!

Both are really really pretty! It's a hard choice between the two, but I vote for #1 since you've already tried it on and seem to really like it. I agree w/someone else who responded above in that I couldn't choose a dress I wasn't able to try on first.

This is a BIG dilemma for us as well. We have a dog AND 15 ferrets...yup, 15. It's a "ferret thing" -- hard to explain. Even worse, all but three are 5 and 6 years old this year, so next year they'd be 6 and 7 year olds, God willing. As of right now, the 3 people I trust to watch our ferrets (our two breeders and my friend) are planning on going with us. These little guys can get sick and go downhill so quickly it's unbelievable. So, in our case, we can't even leave them overnight by themselves and have a ferret savvy person come in for feeding and playtime. I can't even think of setting an exact date or start seriously planning until I figure something out for them. We have a show this weekend, so I'm going to be asking an acquaintance of ours who runs a ferret shelter when I see her -- her place is impeccable. She's knows what to look for w/these guys, and I KNOW she'll take great care of them (that is, if i can get on the plane and leave them behind w/out one of us being w/them) -- plus, she uses our same vet should something medically come up. As for our dog, Brandy -- talk about human-like...she's a big baby and goes to work with FI every day -- kind of like their shop dog. We could never kennel her. When we're away for an afternoon/evening she even goes to Grandmom's for doggie daycare. ;-) If my mom doesn't go w/us, she'll stay with my mom. If my mom comes, we're planning on asking my FI's boss to keep her -- he loves her like his own.

I love your dress!!

Quote: Originally Posted by AlmostMrsForbes hmmm ... i'd mail it to her new husband, asking him to please keep his wife dressed. omg, that's TOO FUNNY!!..hahaha

Quote: Originally Posted by beachbride08 I'm a big iced tea fan, and I did not like Mickey D's sweet tea. I love sweetened tea (and I like it sweet), but I was beginning to think I was the only person who didn't like McD's sweet tea. The one and only time I bought McD's sweet tea I took one sip and threw the rest away -- my first thought was "no wonder they only charge $1"...oooooops

I really liked Eric's pictures on his website. Blue Glass seemed pretty good, too.

I've never liked the idea of an all inclusive because then I think I'd feel like I was tied to the place I was staying. If i'm going to travel I want to sight see, too -- I don't want to have to worry about being back at the resort/hotel every time I want a meal. Of course, if you're staying in a destination where it's not so safe to leave the resort, then that's a different story. But, then again, I don't think I'd be inclined to go to a destination like that anyway.

there were rates on his site?

haha, my FI would LOVE that walk-in closet. We have one, but he really needs a second. He's a clothes horse, and I could care less about clothes -- he has more clothes and shoes than I'll ever have -- in fact, he told me last night he thinks he needs a new shirt/sweater for this weekend 'cause he has nothing new to wear for Easter -- we're not even going anywhere for Easter..ha!! I think Maria just gave you some really good advice with regard to your bid, and the motivation of the sellers...I second what she said! Good luck in getting that gorgeous house!!

yuck!...no seafood for me either...I can't even get past the SMELL...ewwwwwwwwwwwww

plus, I believe in the listing and pics you sent it actually said "motivated sellers". I'd definitely go in at $10, to $15,000 lower and see what they come back with. I wouldn't worry about offending them -- they'll just counter offer at a higher price and put it back in your corner until you all agree on a price. Once they come back w/a yes or with a/counteroffer, I'm not so sure at that time i'd start talking about them paying closing costs -- i think if you're going to go that route, i'd do it straight up when you put your offer in....and with going in at $10 to $15,000 lower than the asking price I'm not so sure I'd get into them paying closing costs, too. Good luck -- I really love the house!!

I'd definitely recommend having your own real estate agent (buyer's agent) to represent you. The realtor your working with right now is actually working FOR the seller to sell their house -- so instead of splitting the commission with another realtor (your buying agent) she'll get the full commission, so of course, she's working hard...even still, she is representing the seller, and not necessarily you. I'd want a separate agent to represent you in buying the house. I like the offer that Ann proposed. BEAUTIFUL house by the way!!

okay, so I was right then, Jessica, you were the one who did this -- thanks for verifying. I was actually considering accommodations at Mafolie's if we're unable to go the villa route. Nice to know that you also like the location for dinner afterwards. Thanks for the recommendations! :-)

coquetayloca, yes, your wedding does sound almost identical to how we want to do ours. The biggest difference is we’d LOVE to be able have the actual ceremony at the villa – of course, we’re always open to other ideas as well. From some of the villas I’ve checked out on line, you may be able to find two villas you can rent that are adjacent to one another to accommodate all of your guests if you can’t find just one villa that’s large enough. I think “Sherri†who’s on some of the St. Thomas wedding threads here works with one of the management companies for the villas and also works for one of the wedding consultant firms. I’ve contacted her privately to see if she might be able to help me. Unfortunately, we can't visit beforehand...I'm hating the idea of leaving our pets behind for someone else to take care of -- we haven't been away more than 2 nights together since we've had them...usually one of us stays behind if we have to travel for anything. So I'm hoping we get this wedding thing right the first time. :-)

I may have to do that, LadyP...for now I'm trying to find a Travel Agent first -- not having much luck so far. Do you have Angela's contact info and website info?

Hi, Kim. I'm with you and agree 100%. First of all, we're only going to have 12 people total (including us). AND, we're definitely on a limited budget, and want to do it as cost effectively as possible, keeping it very simple. For this reason, my first thought for us was for everyone to rent a villa together and actually get married right at the villa (if that's possible). And then have drinks and hors d’oeuvres after the ceremony right at the villa -- then maybe head out for dinner afterwards (?) Is all of this even possible?...who knows at this point. Personally, I think $85 a plate is outrageous, even though it's probably in keeping with most of the resorts. But, again, you could take them all OUT for dinner for less than that a plate. I'll look in my stuff I've saved from BDW so far to see if I can find the person on here who got married on a Wednesday (?) and then had their reception at a restaurant/bar type place where they just "happened" to be having their big entertainment night that same night. She said it was fabulous, but I don't recall who it was?...it could have been JessicaLovesBrian (who's on this thread), but my memory isn't too great. If I find the info I'll post back with it unless it IS Jessica and she responds here with the info. There's another thread under the "vendor" section or somehwere where someone asks how much you'd be willing to pay for what boiled down to one of those basic wedding packages the wedding consultants offer: one-tier cake, his/her flowers, officiant, help w/wedding license, photographer to include 50 digital pics on cd, and a few other very BASIC things. I've seen the wedding consultants charge anywhere from $500 to $1,500 tops for this basic package (and probably, more like $1,000), but yet the responses were coming back that they'd be willing to pay $5,000, $8,000, and i may have even seen a $10,000 response. I was like, HUH? -- talk about having disposable income..ha!...Thank goodness, a few people finally responded with reasonable amounts they were already paying for the same such package. So, what i'm getting at Kim, is I think we have to be realistic and NOT get so caught up in this "wedding game", and just stick to what you feel is comfortable and within your budget -- I think it can still be a very nice affair w/out getting totally ridiculous with $$$$. I think you have every right to baulk at that price and those minimums.

I think the very best thing both of you could do when she does this is to totally ignorer her...no response...nothing. She's looking for a reaction from her ex. If she gets none, most likely, she'll stop once she catches on. If she calls him after the fact, he can always play dumb and say he didn't get anything from her (little white lie)...so in addition to getting no response maybe she'll realize she's doing wrong, and it will cease.

Great review, Kim!...and beautiful pics of your hotel and Megan's Bay. In case we end up not going the villa route, can you tell me if your hotel is an all inclusive, as we weren't looking to go that way. I'm going to do some more research on Frenchman's Marriott since you liked it so much. Thanks again for all the great info! Also, do you know if the hotel has a wedding consultant on staff?

I love #1...I also love Blue Nile!! Your ring is GORGEOUS!