acireta

what. a. douche. seriously?! ugh. did he get him a nice one or just a daily watch? because you could still do a nice watch for him if the one your ex bought isn't the greatest. how long until your wedding? will the newness of the watch your ex bought have worn off by then?

Damn, those are amazing! Nice work, you should be very proud!!

well, damn, that doesn't make it easy now does it? Good luck, I'm keeping my fingers crossed for you that she doesn't annoy you too much!!

Well put, Lindsey. Don't be sad, be excited about how beautiful you will be and how amazing the pics that last forever will be..... and how jealous everyone who wasn't there will be when they see them! muahahaha, I'm a little bit evil

You're allowed to be frustrated and disappointed! Just don't let it ruin anything for you. You deserve a happy day!

Smaller weddings can be so beautiful and intimate! You will still come home married after the trip of a lifetime, and think about how much more quality time you'll get to spend with the special people who made it down there with you! And everyone else will be super jealous of your pics and experiences! Plus, you can spend more on each OOT bag since you only have a few to make! Just kidding on that one, but it might be a plus for you, I dunno. We had a TON of people who said "I wanna go, I wanna go. I'll book right away." The only bookings are my mom, my two bridesmaids and our best man and his wife. So I'll believe it when I see it. These very special people who already booked will be there, everyone else is just icing on the cake.

Thanks, girl! I'm really happy with my progress and I'm not craving them surprisingly enough. Little craving here or there, but I just use my e-cig and it goes away (I even puff a little at my desk at work sometimes!!). I tried to quit in March 2009 also, but I was back smoking by the end of April 2009. I'm glad one of us made it back then! But I'm here with you now! I've tried multiple times to quit (patches, gum, medicine, hypnosis) - NOTHING worked for me. I have a highly addictive personality (thanks, Dad). The e-cig is my life saver. FI likes it too since I'm not a royal bitch like every other time I tried to quit I was feeling a little weak the other day and I wanted some coffee from the BP. So I made FI go in the gas station with me because I wasn't sure if I could make it through checking out without buying a pack. I know its pathetic, but he is my knight in shining armor LOL I have a little ticker on another forum that shows that in the past two weeks, I've saved $81 and avoided about 270 cigs. Its insane when I look at it that way and it's a huge motivator!! I have so much extra money from every paycheck to play with or to use on the wedding! :-) Thanks for the support, I'm keeping on. Anyway, enough outta me - back to the fitness chat!

Aww I love this, especially the cupcakes!! We have the best state flag, don't we? I grew up in Montgomery County, but I've since been transplanted to Chicago. Love all things that remind me of home.

you need to drop her like a hot potato if you are so unhappy. Have you voiced your concerns to her clearly? If she still cannot live up to your expectations. My TA was a royal B-I-you-know-what, but I laid out my concerns and expectations more clearly, and I also told her to stop trying to upsell my guests!! She's been behaving herself since then. If more problems come up, we'll talk to the manager and let him/her know we're transferring our bookings to a new TA. Is there any reason you can't go with another TA, maybe someone on here instead?

Quote: Originally Posted by PVP2007 My name is Natalie, and I came across you Midwest Brides while doing some research for what I hope to be an April 2012 destination wedding in St. Thomas. (just a few days before you, Erica!) So, anyway, a little more about me: I was born and raised outside Detroit in West Bloomfield (right next to Commerce, BeachBridein11 !) . After college (at WMU) I moved out to Chicagoland and have been here ever since! Well, the Western 'Burbs to be exact. (work in Lombard and live in South Elgin with my FI and our 2 cute kitties.) My FI (Jeff) owns his own business, and because we both work such crazy hours, I wonder if we will actually EVER get a date set and a wedding planned!!! Maybe this will be the push I need to really move past the 'research' phase and into 'planning' and decision mode. Any advice?!? :-) Hey there! We're so close (I'm in Downers). Have you picked a location or coordinator yet? I always swear by Island Bliss Weddings. Janelle has the patience of a saint, but there are other really good WCs down there also. At some point, I just had to say, OK enough research, let's just do it!! I would have made myself insane with the research, so we just booked and let the cards fall where they may. This is probably easier with a cruise wedding, it's just about the itinerary, ship and WC. Good luck with your choice! oh, you mean little thing, you!! LOL

that's one of the prettiest ones i've seen actually. I'm worried about traveling on the cruise with it but they really are unique and can be quite beautiful. i say go for it if you like it!!

how adorable are those?!! do they mail out flat and then the guest pulls it open?

10 years old?!? wow. what an amazing guy you are marrying! I was 23 and overwhelmed taking care of him, I can't even imagine. The lapel pin is so beautiful, and the watch idea is just precious. He is lucky to have such a thoughtful fiancee!

you've got that right!

what a great thread!! 1. I am an Excel junkie. People at my company call me the "Go-To-Excel-Expert", and it makes me incredibly proud. 2. I hated college. It was three of the worst years of my life, and I graduated early to get out of there. 3. I was a county 4-H fair queen in high school, and I still have the crown and sash! 4. I hate mushrooms and peppers. (I just asked FI to supply #5 and he said the following:) 5. "Tell them you can cook the shit out of some kielbasa! Oo, can we have that for dinner tomorrow?!?" LMAO I love this guy.

I'm an only child and not particularly close with any of my uncles (even though I have 14 of them, not even kidding LOL). But you know, I don't really feel like I'd be alone, I know he's there with me, and I think I want to keep that place for him, even though he can't be there in person. It's not that I have to, it's a choice I'm making. Its very sweet of you to suggest though - I don't want you to think I'm discounting your ideas at all!!!!

Damn too bad... I think the Alsip one is called Swap-o-Rama on 129th Street. I also just found this one, which I haven't been too, but will probably check out at some point: ELMHURST - 2ND SUNDAY Flea Market. 310 W. Butterfield Road, Elmhurst, IL. American Legion Hall. Ample parking. Market is primarily antiques & collectibles. Glassware, vintage clothing, coins, silver, jewelry, linens, advertising items, primitives. Some quality secondhand merchandise. Food available, restrooms, h/a. (312) 393-1795. Good luck with your search!!

Me too, love them! I wonder if there's any of them i HAVEN'T looked at :-) Since we're doing a cruise, mine won't be very detailed either, there just isn't a lot to plan for the cruise weddings!

I thought the same thing. As I get further into the process, I'm missing him more, and I'm also starting to really shy away from asking my step-dad to walk me down the aisle. I think I'll do it myself, but there's still plenty of time to decide.

Are they silk or real-touch? Just make sure you know what you're getting ahead of time, especially if you're using a vendor that doesn't have a ton of reviews.

Honestly, the one huge swap meet/flea market I know of is in Alsip (south-side) and it's really hit or miss. I've gone there on a Saturday at 7 am and found amazing paintings for my house, and then a few weeks later, it'll be all crap. Have you checked ebay, craigslist, freecycle?

The WW thing has been good for me because I have the worst eating habits in the world. Seriously - lazy and terrible. And this is helping me to learn how to eat and live right. Life change not a diet is what I need to do right now. If you have an iphone there are a ton of free apps with which you can track your points, and you don't have to pay for the actual WW program. Let me know if you want me to calculate your target points!

no way! seriously awesome for those of us who aren't professionals. I would be beyond excited if I were one of your guests who got one of these! if these are just your invites, can't wait to see your planning thread LOL

oh my, those are gorgeous!! Not only did you do an amazing job on the invites, your instructions are awesome. I'm DIY-challenged most of the time, and I could actually follow this! Thank you so much for a good lesson and great inspiration!!

Hey there, I'm a 2012 bride who's trying to work on this! I'm doing Weight Watchers. I really like the program, but of course, my first weigh-in was the first day of my period (sorry T.M.I. lol) but it was so incredibly frustrating to go up .2 lbs the first week when I was so good with staying within my points every single day!! I just had to tell myself to keep the faith, and it will pay off eventually!! I think I'm down about 5 lbs since the new year now, which sounds like a lot, but really I have alot to lose. At least my pants fit a bit better. I love winter because I'm a naval orange addict and they're in season so its a good time for me to start this process. I'm re-learning how to eat since this needs to be a life-change for me, not a pre-wedding diet. Now I'll need to start learning how to stick with being more active a few times a week! I'm also one week without a cigarette so it's life-change time! (LOVE the e-cig for any of you smokers out there!)