A Few More Pics ...

BabyGurl and BoyChild

BabyGurl and Sweet Thang

Me and BabyGurl

Sweet Thang with her two BFFs.

Family Portrait :-)

BoyChild is off camera encouraging her.  

The best kisses in the world.  

In Pictures .....

Just a small sampling from the big day ...

With the Maid of Honor ...

During ....

After ...

Open wide ...

Girls & Boots ...

Somebody help me! :-)

Boys ...

Sweet Thang dancing at the reception ...

The only casualty of the day ....

(I'm not used to wearing shoes, LOL)

Hitched!

I now present to you ...

Mr & Mrs BabyGurl ...

Henceforth, for the purposes of this blog,

Mr BabyGurl will be know as E or SIL.

Reception Hall Setup and Rehearsal ...

Finished the decorating today.  Not that we are really doing a lot of decorating.  Just putting a few flowers on the tables.  This is a great venue.  The folks that run it are super nice, and so helpful.

Here is a sneak preview of the reception area.  I forgot my camera, so these are just phone pics.  We have a friend (cousin) doing the photography tomorrow, so maybe I can remember to ask her to get a couple of good pic before folks start arriving.

We'll have the food out on that center table, the cake on the far end, and there will be chairs at those round tables. The venue provides the tables and chairs and cloths.

And an outdoor screened area.

We took all the food/drinks out there today and put in their fridge.  Then we had a couple of quick run-throughs for the rehearsal.  And I do mean quick (less than an hour).  We ran through the walk-in, walk-out (with music) twice, and the preacher did a quick synopsis of the actual ceremony on one of the run-throughs. 

The set-up.

More to come later!  

Wedding Shoes .....

Got the toes did this morning.  Now I'm wearing the shoes around the house a bit to 'break them in'.  I figure if they're gonna rub blisters, it will help to know ahead of time where to put the Band-Aids!! 

I told BabyGurl I decided to get a "normal" color for her wedding.  She was pleased.  

Shoes, Earbobs, and Flowers ...

My friend Julie said I had to "accessorize" the new dress.  I'm not much of an accessorer (spellcheck says that's not a word, but it is now!)  I had been looking for shoes though, found a pair at Shoe Dept that I liked, but of course, not in my size.  Got a chance to check out another location today and found it.

Then on to Claire's because I wanted some combs to pull my hair back with (vs the pinchy clips I use now).  So I got some earbobs (my Nannie's word) while I was there.  And you know their earbobs are buy two pair get one free, so .... LOL.  (Not pictured, some plain ol' boring silver loops.  My current ones are getting kinda grungy).

And for BabyGurl's reception:

The indoor table decorations.

The outdoor table decorations.

Seven ....

Seven more days. Though actually only six days of preparation time since it's a morning wedding. we have to be at the venue at like EIGHT A.M.!

Here's a peek at the prep so far:

This is just a portion of the chicken salad stored in my fridge:

Plates, cups, utensils, serving dishes.

The venue actually has some really nice stuff we could use, but 

that means we I would have to stay and wash dishes!

Water, lemonade, cokes, soft drinks, pop, whatever you call it 

in your neck of the woods.  We call it all coke (even the pepsi!)

Heading out in about a half hour (as soon as the rain lets up a bit) to get a few more plates, cups etc. The RSVP list keep growing!! 

Let The Countdown Begin ...

So I said to my friend V this morning ... "remember last week when I said I was in panic mode?" 

V: "Yes".

Me:  "Yeah, well I lied".

V: "So, now you're in panic mode?"

Me: "Yep."

So we re-conferred over the actual amounts of food we believe will be needed (and once again agreed that leftovers will be no problem, we can 'take care of' them!)

She's going to make the Costco run for me probably tomorrow night, and if the 'freshness dates' on the items check out she will pick up the the remaining items for me.  If not, or if supplies are low, she will go back next week. 

So, this evening I plan to go through the items I've purchased (plates, napkins, utensils, etc) and make sure I have enough.  If not, I can make one last mad dash Saturday for the extras. 

Another friend, S, brought me coolers this morning.  We're just having canned drinks and bottled water; none of that frou-frou punch stuff for us! :-)  (We will of course have some sweet tea; it is summertime in the South after all!)

BabyGurl and What'sHisName (I guess in ten days I can change his code name to SIL), worked on the bouquets last week (yes, he helped wrap bouquets bless his heart) so those are all done.

The more I get done, the more I think of to do.  Should be a nice whirlwind of confusion next week dontchathink?   At least I am off Wed, Thur, and Fri of next week. 

Wedding Prep ... (Reception)

Got a little more done toward's BabyGurl's wedding today.  A friend took me to Costco and we got some of the non-perishables and we price checked the perishable/refrigerated items I'll be needing.

We saw this terrific looking chicken salad and both thought it looked delicious but of course Costo deals in bulk so we thought we don't want to get this much and and decide we don't like it so ... brilliant friend that I have said ... "Let's split it!"  So we did and we both had it for dinner and texted each other how much we loved it (and how we ate too much of it!)

I'd love to share with you what it was but she has the container it came in and she put mine to send home with me in a disposable Glad container so ..... but I *think* it was called Cape Cod brand.  It has grapes and cranberries and walnuts and HUGE chunks of white meat chicken in it.  (Guess what we'll be serving at the reception!)  I'll find out the brand and let you know.

I'm going to make a list and my friend is going to pick up the perishables for me a couple of days before the wedding. Thanks Vic!!

One More Hurdle Crossed .....

Got a dress this evening for BabyGurl's wedding.  

All I have is this dressing room self portrait that I texted BabyGurl for her opinion.  However, she took too long to answer (really, only a couple of minutes) and I had it paid for and in the car before she replied.  

It (along with three others) met the criteria of being in my size and not clashing with her color scheme.

It alone met the criteria of actually fitting and being comfortable.  

Sold!!

Getting Close!

I haven't talked about BabyGurl's wedding much lately.  We've been busy though.  She's had two showers - a couples event given by their friends, and a more traditional one for the ladies at church.

Mostly all we have left to do now (well, I have left to do) is getting everything ready for the reception (which is really gonna be sort of a picnic/snack lunch kinda thing since they are getting married at 11am).

Here are the invites (of course we used their real names on the ones we mailed, but maybe we should've just sent them out like this!)  This is just the front view, the inside included directions and a map.

I designed / printed them on just plain cream (ecru?) colored paper.  Not bad for home made.

I'm Baaaaaaack!

What?!?  I haven't posted since JANUARY?!?  Oh my!

So, you don't know that BabyGurl is engaged.  And we have the venue rented. And we have found her dress.  And we just last week found her bridesmaids dresses.  And the date is August 25th.

I can show you the bridesmaids dresses, but not her dress (lest someone share the link with the Groom-To-Be).

Bridesmaids dresses:

Now that we have the dresses, (and a swatch of the fabric) we can move on to table decorations for the reception.  It's gonna be a kind of a picnic theme because it is going to be an 11am wedding, so we will have some chicken salad, potato salad, and some sweet tea, to go along with wedding cake.  

The stress is off of me now that we have BabyGurl's dress and the bridesmaids dresses.  Now, BabyGurl and Groom-To-Be will decide on what the guys are gonna wear.  Jeans (dark blue denim) we know, but they have to find shirts.

Everyone will be wearing western style boots.  None of those "dyed to match" girly shoes for us.  LOL.

And for your viewing pleasure .... a few shots of The Gabster.  :-)

What A Week (Part 2)

I believe I left off with Thursday night about 830, we were all in bed, completely worn out.

About 10pm I heard The Gabster coughing on the baby monitor.  So I listened for a second to see if it was just one cough and she was still sleeping soundly, or if the allergies were wreaking havoc and I needed to go sit her up and let her cough it out.  Then I realized, it wasn't her, it was BabyGirl, and she wasn't coughing, she was sick.

So I headed into her bathroom to make sure she had a cold washcloth and that she was going to be ok.  This went on every 45 minutes or so until about 2am, after which we were able to sleep til 4am.  So I was counting on her to get The Gabster to daycare Friday while I got the rest of the things together for the rehearsal dinner.  Instead, I got The Gabster up, got her fed, dressed, and took her to day care.  While I was taking her to day care, BabyGurl was calling the doctor' office.  So off to the doc we went.  I didn't dare let BabyGurl drive herself, she was so sick and weak.

They gave her shots for the nausea, and some other meds to take once she could keep them down.  So then we headed over (just down the street from the doc) to pick up the last few things I had ordered and was supposed to pick up at noon.  Fortunately it was all ready a little early.  Thank you Karen at Winn Dixie for all your help!

About 2:00pm Ma was released from the hospital, but was in no shape to go to the rehearsal dinner.

Later Friday afternoon BabyGurl was able to go pick The Gabster up at day care and get her to the rehearsal (I also had her car stacked full of coolers and stuff).  The rehearsal dinner went great except I had WAY (WAY) too much food.  I left some of it for the guys to eat later, and brought some of it back home for our Sunday dinner.

We came home pretty early Friday night (about 7pm).  We would've loved to have stayed and visited a bit, but we were just whupped!!  I didn't sleep much Friday night (although everyone else slept soundly).  I think I was just too tired to sleep.

Saturday we were all getting ready for the wedding.  When The Gabster took her nap, I laid down and tried to rest as well.  I didn't really rest much, but it was better than nothing.  Finally when BabyGurl got ready to head to the wedding (the girls were dressing there) she dropped The Gabster off with Ma and Pa so I could have just a few minutes to myself to get ready.  They brought her to the wedding with them and we dressed her after they got there.

The wedding was lovely ... went off without a hitch.  (See pics in post below).  I was really beginning to wonder considering how unorganized things suddenly seemed about 15 minutes before time to start.  But once the music started and everyone was being escorted out things fell into perfect place.  It couldn't have gone any better.

The reception / party was great.  Everyone had a good time.  Even this old Momma.  The band was really good and everyone had a good time dancing and just hanging out.  With all the excitement and lack of sleep from the previous few days I finally had to beg off and come home about 10pm.  The band played until well after 11pm, then after packing up their equipment, they stayed and hung out with the diehards that were still there around midnight.

The happy couple left Sunday morning driving to Jacksonville FL for a cruise to Key West and the Bahamas.  The bride has been on cruises before but the groom had not.  He had a great time though, and said we should all go on a cruise sometime.  He said "and Momma, it won't even cost you very much 'cause you don't drink!"  LOL.

They arrived back home the following Saturday (this past Saturday) and came and picked Natty up.  She was happy to see her daddy.  While I'm glad I don't have to put her out these recent cold mornings, I kinda miss hearing her 'voice' when I come home for lunch.

Ok, I think you're all caught up now.  Whew!  That wore me out just thinking about it all again!!!

We Now Interrupt This Blog .....

 to present to you:

 Mr & Mrs BoyChild!

What A Week!! (Part One)

In my last post I said ...... I will try to remember to take pictures as I'm working on it so you can get a feel for my stress level (which is very low now but will probably increase drastically as I remember all the things I'm currently forgetting).  LOL.  Well ... the stress level was high, but there are no pics.  Here is the story .........

A lot (a whole lot) has happened since I last posted.  You might want to get a cup of coffee, or a glass of wine or something before you start reading.  :-)

Last week we were getting some new software at work (well, an updated version of our current software).  So we had two days of training scheduled to get comfortable with the changes.  This was to take place Wednesday and Thursday.  So, Tuesday afternoon they (the IT / GIS guy and a tech) confiscated our computers to load the new software.  That left us pretty much dead in the water.  So I took a couple hours of comp time and BabyGurl and I went to get our nails did for BoyChild's wedding.  Tuesday afternoon was actually a fairly productive time as we also picked up a few of the items I still needed for the rehearsal dinner on Friday.

Wednesday is when it started getting hairy.  Our computers were being set up in a conference room in a facility about a mile from our office so we could all be in the same room (with training materials, overhead projectors, instructors etc).  We were to report directly to that facility Wednesday morning because the IT guy was setting our computers up Tuesday afternoon.  As my good buddy / songwriter Wynn Varble says in a song ..... "yeah, right" <insert sinister chuckle here>

I arrived about 7:40 Wednesday morning (because arriving early is what I do).  No one was there.  So at 7:55 our IT person in charge of this project arrived and went in.  I was getting out of the car and heading in when he came back out and left again.  Not a good sign.  I went on in.  Others arrived.  Our computers were not set up.  In fact, they were still in our office a mile away.  Finally the techs arrived with them.  We were asked to "wait outside" while they set them up.

At 9:15 we began with the first item on our agenda.  The item that was scheduled for 8:00am.  Yeah.  That was pretty much the theme for the day.

On my way home Wednesday afternoon BabyBrother called and said to come to Mom's.  He was there, and she was sick.  Bad sick.  My dad was at work.  He only works one day a week.  We called and told him to lock up shop and come home.  We called 911 and got Mom a ride to the ER.

After much blood work (they drew blood three times) and a CT scan and xrays, they determined she had a severe gastric infection.  Normal white count is 8 to 12.  Hers was 30.  This all took until after 10pm.  Once the dr made a diagnosis and signed the paperwork to admit her it took FOUR more hours to get her into a room.  The ER response was great, the transfer process sucked.  However, after we got her to a room everything was great again.  There is a big black hole between the ER and the admission process.  we finally left the hospital a little after 2am.  Sheesh!!  (At least Mom was feeling well enough by then to keep telling us to go home!)

So Thursday morning I woke at about 7am.  I usually get up aboug 615 but I reset my clock before going to bed at 3am, knowing full well training would not start on time.  I still managed to arrive right at 8am.  We got started about 815 I think.  Not too bad.

The morning progressed pretty well.  At the 10:00 break I told my boss I wanted to cut out at the lunch break if that was ok and he said sure.  By 11:00 I'd had all the fun I could stand so I slipped out the back.  I was pretty much dead on my feet and I still had wedding stuff to do.

BabyGurl and I went to see Mom, then had a late lunch (2:00pm) at Ruby Tuesdays.  Then we went to WalMart and Winn Dixie picking up the last minute things we needed.  (Still had to go to WD Friday to pick up the chicken platters they were cooking for us).

Came home did a few household chores and got ready for The Gabster invasion.  She stays with Ma and Pa most of the time, so this weekend she was ours.  Wasn't exactly planning on that since I had wedding preparations, but The Gabster is always welcome.  Like Mary Tyler Moore, she can turn the world on with her smile.  :-)

She arrived about 7pm, (she'd been to dinner with her Mom) so I got her washed and ready for bed, and got her a bedtime snack (milk and granola bar, her favorites).  So by 8pm she's in bed and asleep before 830.  About 9pm BabyGurl and I headed to bed ........... that didn't last long.

To be cont'd.

(I will go ahead and let you know Ma got out of the hospital Friday morning and is doing well; completely recovered.)

Stuff ...

BabyGurl and I went this afternoon and "got our nails did" for the wedding.  Just a simple (short) pink/white manicure.  Nothing fancy.  We are not used to nails so we don't want to go around stabbing things we are trying to pick up, or type the letters one row up from what we intend.

Also picked up a couple more things for the rehearsal dinner on Friday (don't worry, nothing that will spoil before then!)  Tomorrow I have to call and order the chicken tenders and wings (I'll pick them up Friday morning).  Thursday evening I will get the fruit and dip and fix those trays and get the potato salad, and get everything ready so all I have to do Friday is pick up the chicken, load up the coolers in the car and head to the BoyChild's future in-laws house for the rehearsal and dinner.

I think I have it under control.  I will try to remember to take pictures as I'm working on it so you can get a feel for my stress level (which is very low now but will probably increase drastically as I remember all the things I'm currently forgetting).  LOL.

It's gonna be fine, it's gonna be fine, it's gonna be fine ...... (I'll just keep telling myself that!)

Yep.  It's all good.

Change Of Plans ...

Just because a day doesn't go the way you planned, doesn't mean it wasn't a good day.  Maybe even better than the one you planned.  Even if you had a million things that had to be done, and not one of those things got done.

Today I took off from work so I could get a few absolutely necessary things done before BoyChild's wedding.

One priority .... getting my toes did. ;-)

Second biggie .... purchasing non-perishables, and getting arrangements made for chicken tender / sandwich / wrap trays and fixin's for the after-rehearsal feast.  It's the only "task" I've been "assigned" for the wedding, so I want to do a good job.

I slept in an extra hour or so this morning, then made myself some breakfast.  I was sitting at the desk checking facebook and eating my bacon and bagel when I heard someone come up the driveway.  BoyChild comes in the door with his breakfast (from Jack's) in hand.  He'd gone by my Mom and Dad's to sit and eat with them and they weren't home.  So he went by my office (forgetting that I was off today), and finally arrived at my house.

He was looking for a facilitator for his last big independent adventure before the wedding.  He needed someone to drive him to the car lot (over an hour and a half away) to look at a truck he'd found online.  He had it in his head he was gonna get that truck today and he needed someone to take him so he could drive it home.

I hemmed and hawed a bit, then got dressed, put on a little lipstick, and we hit the road.  We left at 9am, and arrived back home about 630pm.  It was a long day!

Let me see if I can give you the Reader's Digest version.

Drive to Cullman, AL - look at truck, drive truck, decide this is the truck he really needs.

Apply for loan with dealership's financiers.  Terms not acceptable.

Talk to BoyChild's financial institution on the phone - go to lunch while waiting - get approved.

Drive to Birmingham to sign paperwork and pick up check.

Drive back to Cullman to get truck and sign paperwork.

Head home with truck - get stuck in "rush" hour in Birmingham.

We traveled 265 miles (back and forth and back and forth).

BoyChild has new truck.

Momma is wore slap out.

Momma's toes are not pretty.

There is no food ordered / purchased for rehearsal dinner.

Momma will be busy tomorrow doing what she was gonna do today.

Momma had a good day with BoyChild.  Nothing else really matters.  

(Of course, trucks do not come with fuel.) 

Back On Track ...

Well, back on the treadmill actually.

Today was my first day at the gym in over two weeks.  Between being sick, having The Gabster, and then being sick again, I just didn't have it in me.

I did pretty good today, I just didn't hang in there quite as long or walk quite as fast or lift quite as heavy as before, but I got in a pretty full workout.  Did my arm/ab workout, walked on the treadmill and used the elliptical/bike for a bit.  I might could've gone a bit longer, bit didn't want to burn myself out the first day back.  I'll work back into it over the next few days.

The BoyChild's wedding is rapidly approaching.  Less than two weeks.  I'm taking off from work this Friday to get a few things taken care of (like "getting my toes did") and organizing the buffet for the rehearsal dinner.  Since the wedding (and rehearsal) will be at the home of the bride's parents, I'm going to put out a little buffet afterward for the wedding party.

I'll take off next Friday as well so I can finalize everything, and get it all to the location for the rehearsal / dinner.  Would love to take off a half day Thursday as well, but we're having some in-house training on new software on Wednesday and Thursday, so unless we finish early (or I just bail), it looks like I'll just be starting early Friday and "getting it done".

Oh, and thanks to everyone who "voted" in the "which dress" poll.  It was running neck and neck so I asked the bride and groom's opinions.  The groom of course said it didnt matter to him, and the bride said though she liked both, she liked the 'green' one a little better.  So, Option #1 it is!

I will however be the only "bootless" one.  The bride's mother has bought a dress "similar" to mine (according to the bride) and she found a pair of boots to wear with it as well.  It'll be ok.  I'll change into jeans and boots for the reception / party.

Option #2 ...

As promised, Mother-Of-The-Groom Dress Option #2.

I haven't really accessorized this one.  I think it needs colorful earbobs.  Oh, and I am going to "get my toes did" too, no matter which dress I choose. 

Daughter-in-law-to-be posted on her facebook this morning "sixteen more days!"

Falling Behind ...

Will have to do some more posting / catching up later this week.  Was sick last week, and had the Gabster over the weekend.  Then sort of relapsed with the sickness on Sunday night / Monday, so haven't even posted a few pics of the precious angel yet. 

Been so busy / sick there's been no gym time (tomorrow will be two weeks, yikes!) but because of the loss of appetite I've still managed to lose this week.  Gotta get back in the routine soon though.  Might actually make my interim goal before the wedding (in just over two weeks!) and then I'll still have another five pounds to go after that.  I feel good that I'm gonna get there (and stay there) this time though.  Of course, I'll need all new winter clothes (Ross' here I come!)

Will try to get you a pic of "Mother of the Groom Dress Option #2" soon.  Maybe even tomorrow.  :-)

(Oh, and I went to Nashville last night too, so I'll try to recap that in the next day or two as well.)

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