~*Kathy*~

Wow....just wow is all I can say to that Mrs. Martin! lol Some people, and then the nerve to tell you that you would have "gotten more" had you married the "right" way. Yeesh! lol I also wonder how my DH turned out so normal too considering his narrow-minded parents hehe.

Quote: Originally Posted by ~Andrea~ I want your take on something since it has to do with our current topic. How would you feel if a coworker that you don't know very well gave you a detailed letter requesting monetary donations to go on an expensive overseas trip to promote their religion? I would feel uncomfortable. I don't think it's very fair for your coworker to solicit funds this way. DH is doing a head shave for cancer in May and he asked me if I could mention it around the office to see if anyone wanted to donate. Instead, I opted to put up a few signs around the office about it but it wasn't pushy or anything. I basically said if they want to they can and if they don't want to that's all good too. Detailed letters to the office staff would have made me seem like I was pushing them for their money. I know I certainly would not appreciate being solicited at work for donations for a cause that I don't believe/support, but that's just me. Alyssa - I totally agree with your answer about this.

katyko - OMG, wtf?!?! I would be livid! Thank goodness you were able to keep your composure...that is just all kinds of wrong lol. harty - hahaha, ah that's awesome! You talk to your FMIL how I WISH I could talk to mine. Where does she get off coming over to do YOUR garden? My ILs invite themselves over all the time, so I know how you feel. lol

Kristy - lol wtf...that's really funny AND strange! Did you demand a refund or replacement?

No problemo, Mrs. Hockey and thanks for the compliments!!

Shameless bump? C'mon girls, I know you've got to have some good ones hehe

We stayed at the Iberostar for two weeks and called it wedding/honeymoon (so weddingmoon I guess) but the second week really sucked for me as I caught a really bad cold...like one of the worst colds I've ever had. I'm still bummed about it. Hopefully we can go somewhere Feb 19/2010 for our first anniversary just the two of us...

hehehe I've been fooled! That was very amusing!

Amanda - that's funny (I think you and me are very alike when I read your posts), maybe we're long lost sisters hehe

Quote: Originally Posted by Mrs.Hockey Does anyone know if there is a wedding gazebo at the Paraiso? If so, do you have a picture? Hi Mrs. Hockey, welcome to our humble little Iberostar thread Which one are you getting married at Del Mar/Beach or Lindo/Maya? I had my wedding (wow, almost two months ago now...time flies haha!) at the Iberostar Paraiso Del Mar/Beach side. Here are a few pictures of the gazebo (with the decorations we picked out). I hope this helps you out!

Quote: Originally Posted by carly I chose "more spiritual then religious". I was raised catholic (12 years of catholic school, then also a catholic college for 2 years), and I really do believe in most of it. I have a problem with the rules of the church though. I don't believe in judging people for their sexual orientation, religious choices, etc. I also don't believe that I have to go to "church" to feel at peace, or confessiong me sins to a priest. I think you can interact with your God (whichever religion you are) in however you see fit, as long as you life your life the right way. Basically, as long as you are a good person. I believe more in the ideas behind the religion, and I don't take anything literally. Most of the stories are told to make a point, and the point is the lesson, not necessarily the story. At least that's what I believe. However, I have some friends that are very gung-ho with their religions and take each story as a literal historical fact and I completely respect that. NOTE: As Alyssa said, this topic can be touchy, so please play nice. Wow Carly, thanks for posting that since I was about to post the exact same thing about myself! I was raised Roman Catholic, baptized, confirmed and all of that but I do not attend mass regularly (only on occasion when I'm visiting my mom because I know it makes her happy). I did go to Catholic school from kindergarten through to the 9th grade and then switched to the public school system for grades 10 - 12. I have my own beliefs and I do disagree (as Carly stated) with many things that the church preaches such as not using birth control and not "condoning" people's sexual orientations (whatever they may be). I do sometimes find it a little close-minded for my tastes but I still believe in a higher power whatever that may be. I believe more in the "church of good karma" as in if you do good then good will come to you and if you do bad then bad things will happen. I feel if you live your life following basic principles such as respect, honesty, etc then that is just fine. About actually going to church, it's not so much that I mind the sermons or anything but I feel like it loses a lot of meaning for me going to the Roman Catholic church where all we do is sit, stand and repeat after the priest. It feels a little robotic to me...like we're saying these words but does anyone actually stop to think about what they mean? Anyway, I picked the option of "more spiritual than religious". Off topic but w00t I totally just dinged "senior member" yay me!

Ok, so this thread is idea is kind of copied from a thread I saw on another forum but this is just too hilarious to pass up. I'm sure many of you girls here are like me....stuck with a crazy MIL or FMIL. I'm not saying that my MIL is evil or anything but boy does she have some real doozies sometimes. I think we should all share our funny stories just for the sake of them being so damned funny...and I sure love to laugh so here goes mine! Not long after DH and I were engaged last August, MIL and FIL came down for a visit. She was talking to me about dress colors and I simply noted that some brides go with colored dresses these days (aka dresses that are NOT white) and I think some of them really pull the look off nicely and its different and unique. So after I say this she turns to me and says "well you better get a white dress because white is the color of PURITY" (yes, she emphasized purity lol). She is stuck in the 1950s, seriously. At the time I had been living with DH for damn near six years and I know she was just hinting that we shouldn't be sharing a bed because she didn't think it was "pure" of us lol. May I just point out that she and her DH had BIL when she was 17...heh. AND that same day in another totally different conversation, she randomly just drops this bomb on me "women should be submissive to their husbands" (yes, she said SUBMISSIVE, I was flabbergasted! lol). I said "says who?" she said "The Bible" so I said "Well, that's nice of the Bible but that's not how I feel" and then I dropped it. She is unbelievable and sooooooo hypocritical since she is hardly "submissive" in her marriage...she brags about the fact that she tells FIL what to wear and basically runs their lives and wears the pants in the relationship, oh yes, submissive indeed *eyeroll*. Feel free to share your funny run-ins with ignorant family, friends, strangers, whoever. I have many more stories about this woman lol I could literally fill a book!

I love your dress, it looks like it fits you perfectly! Your hair is beautiful as well, it kind of reminds me how I had mine done for my wedding!

Thanks for the link iberostar09, I'm going to read it right now!

Awww that's so sweet! Congrats on your upcoming elopement and your son's prom!!

Wow...the story is so inspiring and yet sad. My condolences go out to her family with regards to her father's recent passing.

Good luck Calia, I really hope that your friend is ok. This sounds so scary!

mummergirl - That's the thing, the Iberostar has tons to do!! They have a golf course too!! Sigh, I don't know...I guess there's just no pleasing some people. They did do an excursion to Xcaret which I think they really enjoyed so that's good but overall I don't think they had a ton of fun. But yeah the Iberostar has all sorts of games and sports activities for people, sometimes I think my step-dad's idea of fun is sitting around all day watching Judge Judy and Jerry Springer on the boob tube lol.. harty - LOL oh yes, that sounds just lovely!! I feel for YOU too because I have crazy in-laws and the things they've said to me over the last 8.5 years would shock and disgust you lol I promise. *HUG* I'll be thinking of you while you're gone lol I hope you tell us all about it hehe.

Great pics, you look too cute! Congrats to both of you!!

Quote: Originally Posted by mummergirl OMG!!! that would have made me furious. and hello? how are you "bored" at a resort? oh i get it: it must be that laying around doing absolutely nothing isn't out of the ordinary for them, so they don't know how to appreciate it, lol. lmao pretty much! You should have heard my step-dad...all he did was bitch and moan about how bored he was and how boring the resort was. He's a retired veterinarian/farmer so I guess he's used to the "always doing something" lifestyle and doesn't know how to relax but I was so hurt that they didn't seem to enjoy it as much as I had hoped they would. They (my family) basically made me feel like they're only doing this to shut me up and they would have been much happier if I had had it back home. My step-dad even said stuff like this to my in-laws: (who go on vacation every winter just to get away and unwind) "I don't know how anyone can just sit on their ass all day and do nothing". Like WTF?! It's bad enough DH's parents aren't my biggest fans and then my parents have to insult them (perhaps inadvertently, perhaps not) on their vacation? Ugh!!!

Maybe instead of an electronic picture slideshow montage you could make some sort of poster with the same pictures and put it up where you are having your reception? I didn't do anything like that but it would definitely be more cost-effective than spending $350 on a projector rental. Good luck!

*sniff sniff* oh great, now you've got me tearing up! I think it's so wonderful and amazing that she was able to marry her DH before she passed away and they both looked so happy.

SunBride - Oh I agree, I was very glad to have my sisters there but the real "salt-in-the-wound" thing for me about them being there for FREE and getting a week-long vacation for FREE was that they moped around the resort all week and whined about being bored even though I did my best to entertain them...they weren't even that grateful to my parents for the trip!! (Again little sister moreso than older sister, at least older sis got her scuba diving certification which she was genuinely thrilled about so that was cool). Quote: Originally Posted by CaboBride2010 im just wondering, if your Mom has shrugged off the issue when you try bring it up...what are you trying to get out of this by going to your parents about it? I just mean this as will this just cause more stress and cause family fights and in that case is it better to try let it pass as much as it may sting? It may be a fight not worth picking in my opinion I'm going to my mom about this because it is the principle of the matter...something that happens all the time in our family. The kids that work hard, do well, and don't generally complain or ask for help get nothing while the kids that are not hard-working and aren't grateful get everything (case-in-point my one step brother and my little sister). I haven't really brought it up with my mom in a while because like you said, it won't get me anywhere. It's nice to be able to vent to my BDW ladies about it though.

Great review and congrats Mrs!! You looked so amazing and I'm glad that everything went so well, congrats again!!

YoursTruly - I brought it up with my mom a month ago or so and she just shrugged me off so I'm not sure how/what else to do.