10, 9, 8, 7....

What a crazy end to the month and year. Christmas in my house is always CrAzY but also always a great time. It was so nice to see my family and just get some R & R, haha yeah right there is no R & R allowed. Our California vacay was jammed packed with holiday parties, wedding tasks, and spending a little time with family. Overall the trip was successful. Not only did we get so many great gifts (a Wii, a set of our china, and tons of other great things) but we made tons of wedding decisions. The cake was decided – future post to come, I got my veil ordered – also more to come, and my mom got so many possible dresses to wear to the wedding. We are excited to be back home and usher in 2009 in Arizona but are already looking forward to our next trip to California (cuz the next scheduled one isn’t until the wedding). Hope everyone had a great Holiday season and has a safe New Years. Get ready for wedding over load in 2009.

xoxo
britt

I Went & Did it!

We have all read/heard about the post wedding chop (well most brides and brides to be have) well I went and chopped mine off last night. Was I thinking about the wedding when I did it? Yeah but not really or I would not have done it. You see I feel so much better about myself when I have a kickass hair cut and well its just hair just like a wedding is just one day so why torture myself growing out my hair when all I care about at the end of the wedding day is being married to Barry. I promise he won’t remember in 25 years if my hair was nearing the top of my booty or if it was at my collar bone. Stay tuned I will post a picture later once the camera is done charging.

xoxo
britt

Why Blog?

Why not? Would be the simple answer but I recently started thinking about why I wanted to start blogging.

For me I like to talk and I figure a blog would be a way for me to talk about things and pretend like others are paying attention to me and what I have to say. I think I also started to blog because I realized that my life was moving past me so quickly and I love to look back and go remember September 19, 2003? You see I have kept all my college day planners that were my life line for 4 years. I wrote down everything in those things – first kisses, first date dashes, first time meeting his mom & sister, a lot of firsts went into those. Now that I am working I don’t really have a need for a paper day planner since all important deadline go into my work calendar and I have pop up reminders to keep me on track so no new first go into it (unless you count the first time I did something at work). So for me blogging is a way to keep track of all the fun things, firsts or not. I am also only planning one wedding (maybe a vow renewal in a few decades or a future kids wedding) but only one wedding of my own. I want to be able to look back at this time and laugh at myself but also remember how awesome this experience has been.

I also started this blog to keep everyone up to date about things I am thinking about, doing, and just giving them a glimpse into my life at the present moment. Last but not least I love public forums – I wish more of our readers would comment – and I love how Jen and I can share such a small space but have such differing views on a variety of topics yet still respect each other at the end of the day. So yeah I think for me blogging has been a good option for me. (Oh yeah and if you do read our blog – and we know you do – leave us a comment, or two.)

xoxo
britt

Another reason why i love him...

I just got a text from my loving future hubbs that says "you are my hero and a genius i love you" What a great little message to get in the middle of a long work day!! I love him too.

xoxox
britt

Parental Control

Let me preface everything I am about to say with I love my future in-laws and am extremely lucky that all four are sane, loving, and caring. Today I got an email in my inbox and the title was Getting Along with Your Future In-Laws. Now this email didn’t look like spam so I opened it up and I guess it isn’t spam but it is from some weird photographers who bought my email address along with all my other personal info from the bridal show I attended, but that is for another day another post.

This article talks all about how in-laws today are different than in-laws of the past. In the past most Americans married the girl or boy next door, who had a similar upbringing, religious beliefs, etc. That made it easier for the bride and groom to understand how each others' parents behaved, and how they are expected to behave with them (e.g., calling them Mr. or Mrs. Whatever versus calling them by their first names). This never occurred to me that I might be viewed as disrespectful because I have always called my future in-laws by their first names. I was just doing what I knew was right and seeing that my parents, grandparents, aunts and uncle have no issues being called by their first names I just made the assumption that it was ok for me to call all of Barry’s relatives (except his grandparents) by their first name as well.

The article also goes on and states you’re not just marrying a person, but their family as well! Plus, since his/her parents are the ones who raised your spouse to be, you can learn a lot about what to expect from your spouse in your marriage, in terms of behavior, personality, etc. This can not be truer. I am lucky that I am getting another KICK ASS family. Barry’s cousins are awesome, his aunts and uncles are great, his parents have been so loving and welcoming, and I can only wish that Barry and I have a successful marriage like his grandparents. I am also confident that his parents have raised a man who is caring, compassionate, driven, meticulous, fun, hard working, and spontaneous, the list can go on and on and for that I will be forever grateful.

So this article opened my eyes just a little more that I need to realize that my norms are not always Barry’s norms and more than likely that means they aren’t his parents or family’s norms as well. And at the end of the day we (Barry and I) are truly lucky to be gaining families that love and care for both of us and will be there to help foster our relationship.

xoxo
britt

No Bride Wars Here

I can’t wait until January 9, 2009. I know it might seem to be a random date but not only is it officially wedding year but Kate Hudson’s and Anne Hathaway’s new movie Bride Wars comes out. I hadn’t heard about this movie until late last week when one of my coworkers told me about it. She said this movie is so Jen and me (well minus the planning of a couple of weddings on the same day part – so I guess in all reality it isn’t us at all). But nonetheless I so want to see this movie. So far Jen and I haven’t had any issues having our weddings so close together (just about 45 days apart) but I think we are both so excited for the other one and planning such different celebrations that we haven’t had to say “but I am doing that.”

I do remember getting advice from someone that I should not go wedding dress shopping with Jen because “what if we fell in love with the same dress?” Well we went shopping together on multiple occasions and I don’t think we even once tried on the same dress so there was not even the chance that we would want the same dress. So I think this movie will be a good laugh and be a look into what our planning process could have been. But at the end of the day I am so grateful that Jen has been a wonderful, calming, voice of reason during this entire wedding planning process. Oh and a friendly reminder: Jen and Matt only have 166 days until I Do!!!

xoxox
britt

My something Pink...

Well I have told you all about my fabulous Jimmy’s for the wedding but who am I kidding there is no way I will be able to wear those all night and party as hard as I plan on doing. Let’s get real. So my next idea was some flip flops. Being that I live in my flip flops almost year round (yes it is a great perk of living in sunny Arizona) I figured this was a great choice. So I looked around for some cute little flip flops. I found some great options. I could do white and be all bridal or I could have my something pink. *Quick side note: Barry’s only two requests for the wedding was that there be an open bar – Check; and that there be no pink – umm no check here.* I was set on having something pink even if no one else would really notice. I would be fine with either these white rainbow’s

or I could go with my something pink.

But when I was out the day after Thanksgiving (yes I know you are supposed to be buying gifts for others but I couldn’t help but look for myself) I found the most perfect pink shoe from Old Navy and they were only $10. How cute is this little ballet flat.

Love it but more importantly I love this pink way more than the rainbow pink. So these will be my reception shoes or shoes for after Jimmy starts to wreak havoc on my feet.

xoxo
britt

What’s in a Name?

We won’t be numbering our tables. Yes I know, I know it would be so much easier to just number the tables and hope that no one feels shafted for being sat at table 15 when they thought they should be at table 3. So once we were set on not numbering our tables we started to think about fun alternatives. We could do famous couples or better yet couples that we admire (starting with our family of course). After writing down all the couples we wanted to include we realized we would need far more tables or we would be leaving someone out. So we scratched that idea and moved on. We could do cities we have been to or even just cities we would like to go to. But this idea wasn’t all that fun in my book. I could easily name 50+ cities we have been to together or places we want to go so this one was scratched for being a little too impersonal. My next idea was our favorite anything (TV, food, candy, etc.) but sitting my grandparents at a table named WWF (world wrestling federation) or my anti baby friends at Jon & Kate plus 8 just didn’t feel right on so many levels. So I know we have so many University of Arizona tributes going on in our wedding we wondered if naming our tables places in the Old Pueblo would be a little over the top. But after realizing that our little tributes to a place where we met and fell in love would not be taking away from our classic elegant wedding we were set. Our tables will be named after places in and around the University. Things like Old Main (where Barry snapped many pictures of Brittany and Jen swimming in the fountain), University House on 8^th St. (Brittany and Jen’s college apartment complex and where Brittany and Barry first officially met) and Wilber & Wilma (the Husband and Wife mascot team for the University – who by the way were married at half time of a football game, how cool is that?). This is just a little start on the names and fun facts we plan to add at the tables. We hope it will encourage our guest to talk, laugh and maybe even walk around looking at the other table names met a new friend or just learn something new about us. Now I just need to start designing them, and I am stuck on if I want to include pictures that match the name.

xoxo
britt

Pillow Me This, Pillow Me That

We have the rings, we have the ring bearer but do we want a ring pillow? So I turned to the internet in search of a ring pillow that called my name. After thinking about ring pillows I have decided against it. No offense to anyone who uses one but I just don't see our jersey clad ring bearer walking down the aisle with a little pillows in his hands.

Would a lovely pillow with a large orange flower suit us? (think orange flower)

What about a pillow with a gray ribbon? (gray ribbon, although the orange could work)

Oh what about the ever popular Palmoas Nest?

Or what about a pillow with the Arizona A on it? (imagine it with out that other schools logo)

For us none these hit it out of the park. Not to mention the little voice in my head asking, “what would I do with it after the wedding?” So I started to think about toys, yes toys. Something our ring bearer would like to keep and maybe even use long after the wedding. What about an actual bear? Or better yet one dressed in Arizona gear.

(maybe a bear dressed in a letterman's jacket)

But that too didn’t seem right but than it hit me like a ton of bricks. A miniature basketball. Yes I said miniature basketball. How perfect? A jersey clad ring bearer carrying a basketball with our rings securely tied by a ribbon (a ribbon that is easily removed right after the ceremony).

(Remove all Standford images and Replace with Arizona goodness)

So now all that is left in order to officially check “Buy ring pillow (or in our case – ring basketball)” off the to do list is to make a trip to the University bookstore during one of our visit and make the purchase.

xoxo
britt

Viva Las Vegas!!

I just wanted to give a quick shout out to my Cats who beat up on the ScumDevils this past Saturday. Can't wait for December 20 when we head to Vegas.

Bear Down!!!

xoox
britt

Can I Have Your Cake & Eat it Too?

So far during our engagement there are only a few things that have remained constant. One being my want and desire to marry Barry, one being our want for a summer wedding and the last my want for our cake design. When we first got engaged I found the most perfect cake and immediately copied the picture to my desk top, and didn’t think I would need to look for another cake. Considering I don’t even like cake, and in all the weddings I have been too have NEVER, I repeat NEVER had a piece of wedding cake I knew it was and still isn’t at the top of my priority list. So since it isn’t at the top of my priority list I was surprised to hear that cake is one of the things that my mom is really excited about. Based on talking with her I know she wants a big beautiful cake. Maybe not as big has the Donald’s cake (picture to the right) but I think she wants the cake to be a focal point. So since we get a cake with whatever package we go with at our location I started looking for different cake options. Round cakes, square cakes, hexagon cake, cake with flowers, cake with ribbon, cake with crystal bling who would have thought choosing cake could be so hard. After looking at so many beautiful cakes on various websites I keep going back to the original cake that I found over a year and a half ago. I think with a little tweaking this cake can be the elegant beautiful focal point that will make all involved very happy. So now that we have a design concept in mind finding the perfect baker should be a breeze, a breeze considering our location only have 3 preferred bakers and our package cake has to come from one of them. I guess considering all the bakers in the Southern California area our venue is doing us a service by narrowing our choices to three. Next up the search for the perfect cake topper and baker.

My Perfect Cake!!

xoxo
britt

Crazy Orange or Classic Black?

The easiest group to outfit was my groom, his groomsmen, the bridesmen, and my father. Considering they are spread across the country I thought we were going to have to go through a big chain store to get them suited up but within 5 minutes of talking with Clint we knew exactly what they would be wearing and how to get him all their measurements.

I guess Clint deserves a little back story. Clint’s Formal Wear has been in business for a LONG LONG time and when you walk into his store in Buena Park you see all the celebs he has outfitted from former presidents to TV personalities pictured on the walls. Among all these famous people whom have turned to Clint in their formal wear times of need a few special people in my life have also looked to Clint to get their Tux and Suits just right. You see when my parent’s got married in 1981 they too went to visit Clint to outfit their wedding party. I knew we would be in great hands if our wedding party was in Clint’s hands.

After a quick look around the store we had a couple of options for the guys. Barry knew he wanted suits and that he would be buying his. So our options were the classic black, tan, or gray. I loved the gray. It reminded me of the movie The Wedding Date, don’t ask me why but I would have bet $50 that they wore gray suits. But since these are Barry’s guys and he didn’t get a say in my outfit or the bridesmaids for the big day we went with the classic black. Yes I know it could be worse and while we were in the store it almost was. Orange is one of our colors and at the start of the planning process it was THE color, and as planning has gone one it has become more of an accent color. So imagine my horror when in walked an orange tux and Barry looked GREAT in it. So after humoring me for a few pictures we were out of there. Classic black suit, white shirt, and gray tie, perfect. Done and done.

Yes ladies he is taken!!

xoxo
britt

Huppa, a Whata?

For us the ceremony is important. Although we are letting our officiants (a rabbi and a reverend) have full control over our ceremony I have given great thought into what I wanted the ceremony site to look like and lately I have been obsessed with the huppa. We are getting married at the country club over looking a beautiful lake and golf course so I wanted our huppa and other decorations to enhance the already beautiful terrace and view. In the Jewish religion the couple is married under a huppa. Usually the huppa is held up by the parents of the bride and groom but for us (and our mixed ceremony) our huppa will be a free standing structure. I knew we needed a huppa large enough for Barry and I to stand under along with our rabbi and reverend, I knew we wanted it to be light and airy, and with a little bling to go along with it. So I looked around the internet for inspiration and found a couple huppas that provided inspiration.

White cover, hanging down flowers, bamboo poles, and large enough for us is what we wanted.

When I was home a few months ago I got some fake orchids to hang down, some crystal prisms and my parents even got the bamboo poles so I was just looking for the white shear cloth to drape over the top. Enter Cost Plus World Market for the beautiful cloth that will drape over our huppa. It is white with a little gray detailed border that I have decided to sparkle up by added rhinestones to the edges.

Yes, It is a bed cover but will be our huppa cover!

It is beautiful and perfect, what more could I ask for. I can’t wait because in less than 8 months it will be put to great use.

xoxo
britt

The Newest Member of my shoe family, Jimmy!!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!!! Oh my goodness this year has flow by and before you know it we will be ushering in the New Year and be months away from finally tying the knot. But this thanksgiving I am grateful for so much. I have a wonderful fiancée, a loving family (who all think I am a good cook), great friends, and even a new friend name Jimmy. You see I met Jimmy yesterday while shopping. I know, I know most people don’t shop until the Friday after Thanksgiving but I love how dead malls and shopping places are on Wednesday.

Yesterday my parents and I met my brother at Arizona Mills for lunch and mainly to go check out the Kenneth Cole Outlet (my brother needed/wanted a pair of shoes that had been discontinued). Well I dragged my mom into the Off Sak 5^th Avenue store just to look, maybe even find a Bridal Shower dress, Rehearsal dinner dress, who knows anything. Well little did I know in the shoe area I would find my new best friend, Jimmy, Jimmy Choo. My mom has been great during the whole wedding planning process and one thing she asked for was that I wear orange shoes. Well orange shoes are way harder to find than I thought when I agreed to this great idea. I have spent countless hours searching the internet for orange shoes that are sexy, not that high, just the right orange, and don’t look like striper shoes. I had high expectations for my wedding day shoes as these would be the shoes that would carry me through the ceremony and the ones that would see me through as I walked hand in hand with my husband down the aisle as our family and friends looked on.

Well wouldn’t you know sitting on the discounted rack was Jimmy. Now this story is kind of like the story of the Goldilocks and the three bears. First my mom found one pair that was way to small, than one pair that was way to big. Getting a little disappointed I walked away sad that those damn near perfect shoes would not fit my too big or too small foot (depending on which sample I had on). Well I gave it one last go around to see if I had just missed seeing another pair. And there Jimmy sat beautiful as ever. I grabbed the box sat down and pulled them out and wouldn’t you have known they were BROKEN. My perfect sized shoe BROKEN. Good thing my mom is handy and without missing a beat goes “I can fix these.” So up to the register we went box in hand to see what the store could do in terms of letting us buy a pair of broken shoes. So we politely explained the situation to the woman ringing us up and than the manager and she said 30% off, hot damn, SOLD!!! So I got my perfect $1100 Jimmy Choo shoes for $185, I feel like I damn near robbed the store.

You may be wondering “wait 30% off $1100 is not $185” well let me explain. You see since Jimmy had already been on the discounted rack he was marked down to $345 than since all shoes on the discounted rack were 30% off I got that too thus making my Jimmy’s about 85% off. WOW I love me a great deal. Without future ado here’s Jimmy (please excuse my chubby little toes & my unpainted toe nails).

One Picture of Jimmy is never enough!!

xoxox
britt

Out Fitting the Kids

No I am not saying we have kids yet but Barry and I are really lucky to have some seasoned vets walking down the aisle with us. You see our flower girl and ring bearer have been in numerous weddings and have walked down many more aisle than I or Barry, even though they are many years our juniors. So we have put much thought into what they should wear.

Would I want the flower girl to be a spitting image of myself? NO way. I totally think that is creepy to put a little girl in a replica wedding dress. Would she wear a little UA cheerleader outfit? Nope, my mother vetoed that (and looking back I am glad she did). But than one day it came to me – TULLE. I want our beautiful flower girl, who even walks on her tip toes all the time, to look like a little ballerina dressed in tulle. Well describing this image to a few people invoked this lovely image in most of their heads (above), which isn’t exactly the look I was going for. Now fast forward a few weeks when Jen and I were at a bridal store looking for bridesmaid dresses and we stumbled upon the most perfect little dress (to your right) that I know would look awesome on our lovely flower girl. Upon falling in love with the dress I proceeded to look at the price tag. And who would have guessed that it was so ridiculously priced that for a while I was content on not having it. So turning to the internet I researched online bridal shops and requested many quotes to see if I would be able to actually justify the buying of this dress. Well as luck would have it I did receive a quote that has put this dress within my reach and thus ending the search for the perfect flower girl dress.

Now the ring bearer was a lot easier to decide on what he would be wearing once I convinced one person that it is in fact cute and not all my lovely formal photos would have him sporting such an awesome accessory. For the most part our ring bearer with wear the same suit and tie as all the groomsmen, but has he walks down the aisle he will be sporting a lovely UA basketball jersey (don’t worry it matches the wedding color scheme) over his monkey suit. I do think that all our groomsmen will be a little envious of his AWESOME attire, I know the groom is.

So with that almost everyone’s outfit has been set in stone 100%. The only few people I still need to worry about getting outfitted are my 3 lovely ladies who are standing up at the front with me and also my wonderful and supportive mother who has helped keep me sane and grounded during this entire process.

xoxox
britt

Overdue? Really?

With less than 8 months until the BIG day when we finally become husband and wife planning is finally in full swing. As every current and pass bride will tell you online wedding check lists are a great source of information and often a great tool to help keep you on track and ensure you don’t miss something “important.” (I say “important” because in all reality the only important thing is that you have two people who want to make a comment to each other, an officiant, and a witness. Everything else I consider icing on the cake or in this case butter cream icing on a wedding cake). So no matter how much help these tools provide, lately they have been a source of stress for me. You see when we started the planning process in June 2007 (wow that was long ago & to think of all the people who date and marry in a shorter time than our engagement blows my mind) we had plenty of time to hash everything out and the only thing on our “To-do List” was announce engagement, plan a budget, and decide what type of wedding you want. Well as of today I would say only 1 of those has been definitely done. Yep I am 100% positive most people know we are engaged and I also think that might be the only task on the list that was easy to accomplish and hasn’t changed a million and one times. In fact I think all our guest who got our STDs thought “well it is about time, haven’t they been engaged for over a year already?” But the other two plan a budget (we have a general idea of who is paying for what and what we would like to keep it under) & decide what type of wedding you want (this is constantly being altered a tweaked but for the most part is solid) are still fluid concepts in our wedding planning process & by fluid I mean they have the ability to change and be reevaluated as we learn and travel down this fun wedding planning path.

Well I am content with these being checked off the list as they have been hashed out enough and everyone who is important in the decision making process are all on the same page about them so they no longer show up on my list of things to do. But when I signed in a few days ago I noticed SIX count them SIX things that were OVERDUE. Wow who would have ever thought with all the time we have been engaged that we would procrastinate and have things that are overdue. Well I clicked to see what was overdue and they were some “important” tasks. These overdue tasks range from simple (start to think abut how you will wear your hair) to the “important” (Book a DJ & Florist). Good thing I still perspective still – if worst comes to worse I can do my own hair, I can play my Ipod, & I can go to the grocery store for flowers but no wonder women turn into BRIDEZILLAs. Without the help of my family, friends and my future hubbs I am sure I would not have perspective and would fall into the “wedding industry” trap and be all BRIDEZILLA up in here but so far I am cool and collected and after making my own to-do list without things being overdue I have learned I need to use the help of those who offer more and lucky for me I have many talented people who have offered to help. So my goal and on the top of my to-do list for the next 7+ months is to stay level headed and not become BRIDEZILLA.

xoxo

britt

Reasons why

I stumbled upon this while reading other people's blogs today and it was too good to pass up. Hope you all enjoy it as much as I did.

10 reason​ns Why Gay Marriage is Wrong According to those who votes Yes on 8 and 102...

1) Being​ gay is not natural.
*And real Americans always reject unnatural thing​s like eyeglasses,​ polyester, air conditioning, tattoos, piercing and silicon breasts.

2) Gay marriage will encourage people to be gay.
*In the same way that hanging around tall people will make you tall.​

3) Legalizing​ gay marriage will open the door to all kinds​ of crazy​ behavior.
*People may even wish to marry their pets because a dog has legal​standing and can sign a marriage contract.​ Lamps are next.​

4) Straight marriage has been around a long time and hasn’t changed at all.
*Hence​ why women​ are still​ property, blacks still​ can'​t marry​ white​s,​ and divorce is still​ illegal.

5) Straight marriage will be less meaningful if gay marriage were allow​ed;​
*And we can'​t let the sanctity of Britney Spear​s'​ 55-​hour just-​for-​fun marriage be destroyed or J Lo’s...​

6) Straight marriages are valid because they produce children.
*So there​fore,​ gay couple,​infer​tile couples,​ and old people shouldn’t be allow​ed to marry​ because our population isn’t out of control, our orphanages aren’t full yet, and the world needs more children.​

7) Obviously gay parents will raise gay children.​
*Since, of course, straight parents only raise straight children.

8) Gay marriage is not supported by religion.
*In a theocracy like ours, the values of one religion are imposed on the entire country. That’s why we have only one religion in America.​

9) Children can never succeed without a male and a female role model at home.
*Which is exactly why we as a society expressly forbid single parents to raise children?

10) Gay marriage will change the foundation of society; we could never adapt to new social norms.
*​Just like we haven’t adapted to cars,​the service-sector economy, or longer life spans.

xoxo
britt

Just Sad

Oh Catholic Church, how I love thee, but I do not always have to love what you do. This is very frustrating and sad. Religion is supposed to be about love and it is amazing how far away religions can get from that simple principle.

A priest in Greenville, S.C., says that Catholics who voted for Barack Obama should not receive Holy Communion because the president-elect supports abortion rights. "Voting for a pro-abortion politician when a plausible pro-life alternative exists constitutes material cooperation with intrinsic evil," the Rev. Jay Scott Newman writes in a letter to parishioners at St. Mary's Catholic Church.

http://news.aol.com/?feature=247897

Religion is supposed to be perfect, but the people in the religion are not always perfect. I am not defending this priest. What he did is terrible. He probably alienated a good portion, perhaps 50% of the members.

I will continue to go to Mass at a Catholic Church weekly. I view the organized religion as a family member - you may not always agree with that individual, but you continue to love them and forgive.

All churches should remain out of elections. The same goes for the Mormon Church (primarily) and other churches funding against gay marriage. The funding from churches could be better spent helping the homeless, poor, needy, sick - like Jesus did.

I am just tired of hearing about this every election. I think it is time to remove the non-profit status...

- Jen

A True Love Story

We are constantly viewing and reading bad news that it is great to find a heartwarming story. I just had to share this video:

Love always prevails. :-)

- Jen

Crazies

CNN article: Gun sales surge after Obama wins election

http://www.cnn.com/2008/CRIME/11/11/obama.gun.sales/index.html?iref=mpstoryview

People are off their rockers. I am glad to know that we are in terrible economic times and people are running off to buy guns. Nice.

Scary!

According to FBI figures for the week of November 3 to 9, the bureau received more than 374,000 requests for background checks on gun purchasers -- a nearly 49 percent increase over the same period in 2007. Conatser said his store, Virginia Arms Company, has run out of some models -- such as the AR-15 rifle, the civilian version of the military's M-16 -- and is running low on others.

That is indeed what we need - more civilian versions of the military's M-16. I feel safer already.

Crazies.

- Jen

What to watch at the gym

Election Day ended gloriously after an Election Day party full of friends and good food. I am excited and incredibly optimistic about America’s future – excited to close Guantanamo Bay, excited to end the archaic practice of water boarding, excited to end the arrogant practice extraordinary rendition, excited to see funding for stem cell research….

But the news is driving me crazy. At the gym, it was watching E about Hugh Hefner’s ex-girlfriends (no thanks), TNT’s Charmed, or CNN talk about Michelle Obama.

I would be thrilled if they talked about Michelle’s own accomplishments, but I am tired of hearing what type of First Lady Michelle is going to be. We all know she is going to be great, but I am sick of hearing that she is going to “strike a balance between Hillary Clinton and Laura Bush.”

What was wrong with Hillary Clinton? Hillary was just as accomplished at Bill Clinton. People were offended by their professional partnership, something I am very happy I share with Matt. As Hillary said (paraphrased) about being First Lady – I’m not going to just make cookies. I personally do not want a First Lady who “just makes cookies.” And Hillary is not given credit for how well she raised Chelsea in the White House, only now people praise the Clinton’s ability to raise an intelligent and driven daughter.

Michelle Obama is just as impressive as Barack Obama and she is accomplished in her own right. She should not give up her impressive qualities, as Hillary Clinton chose not to do. Hillary is the Eleanor Roosevelt of this decade and I am extremely proud of her work as First Lady. It is just a shame she could not continue that work as the first female President. Someday…

Not that I am not a fan of Laura Bush. I actually admire the First Lady. (I also think she is a closet Democrat as she was a Democrat before she married Bush.) I think she is a very elegant and intelligent First Lady; I just wished she would have done more. Her favorability rating actually increased when she spoke out against Burma and for putting opposition leader on house arrest. I enjoy this side of Laura Bush.

I am also tired of hearing Michelle Obama being compared to Jackie Kennedy. There is much more to Michelle than her clothes and sense of fashion (although I love her “style” and there is a website dedicated to it - http://www.mrs-o.org/). I believe Michelle does a great job balancing the frivolous stuff with the important stuff.

I read the advice that Jackie Kennedy gave to Hillary Clinton when she became First Lady was to not let stylists create a fashion for Hillary, but rather she develop her own fashion. Was this all that Jackie was concerned with? I know she probably espoused advice on how to raise children in the White House and other miscellaneous things, but I believe the First Lady should be more concerned with other things than what she looks like.

I am excited to have a couple (lawyers) who are intelligent, driven, and compassionate in the White House.

How sweet are they?

- Jen

Quote of the Day

Jen shows Eric a picture of her wedding dress and this is Eric's comment "oh that's nice it doesn't have a huge tail you have to drag around all day." HAHA a tail I am 100% sure he was talking about a train on a wedding dress. Gotta love boys.

A dress tail...so LOVELY!

xoxo
britt

NEEDED: Bridesmaid Dresses

Finding the perfect wedding dress was an experience. It was an experience that when I plunked down my 50% deposit on mine I vowed to never look at another wedding dress website again (no 2 dress bride here). But as wedding planning has progressed entering bridal salons and looking at bridal designers’ websites also enters the mix again. You see it is time to find the perfect bridesmaid dresses for the lovely women of our bridal party. So while we were in California over Halloween weekend I drug my two cousins to a bridal salon to checkout their bridesmaid dress selection. They tore through the racks and found about 10 dresses that they wanted to try on. As they came out and model each dress we were able to eliminate most of the dresses and than based on their favorites we left the bridal salon having found 1 dress that would be a great possibility.

Fast forward a week and this morning Jen and I went into one of the local bridal stores and we also pulled about 10 dresses from the racks (some for her wedding and some for my wedding). As we tried them on and tried to ward off the sale woman from coming in while we were still dressing we were able to find another for my wedding and 3 great possibilities for Jen’s wedding. Overall bridesmaid dress shopping has been a delight and I think within the next few weeks we will be making a major decision on which dresses we will wear for Jen’s wedding and by January we will have finalized the dresses for my wedding. Getting things done is really exciting especially when they are HUGE checks like bridesmaid dresses.

Winner Winner? No way!

xoxo
brit

Two Steps Forward, One step Back?

I am sick to my stomach today. I am disappointed in all those Californians, Floridians, Arkansans, and Arizonans who voted in favor of further marginalizing a specific group of people. This appears to be the only LEGAL form of discrimination that is still allowed in a country that has come so far and has even elected our first minority president.

It is my understanding that the United States Constitution and State Constitutions are put in place to protect and give rights to individuals not to contract the rights of certain groups. It makes me sad to see so much hatred toward one group of people who are being targeted by many conservative religious groups whom believe their views and their teachings are good for all.

One of the main reasons the original settlers came here from Britain was the desire for religious freedom. They wanted a separation of church and state. Over the past few years we have seen a major blurring of that line. This needs to stop. We need to protect the rights of all people who want to live in a country without religious pressures being forced upon their government and rights as a citizen.

Proposition 102 passed in Arizona. This defined marriage between one man and one woman. From what I understand this was already the case here in Arizona so why spend so much energy and money spewing so much hate and change the constitution for something that was already law?

Proposition 8 in California also passed. Why? Seriously, it isn’t like the divorce rate has spiked in your state since same sex marriages started and your heterosexual marriage has been 100% unaffected by the unions of the 18,000+ marriages that loving couples have entered into since they have been allowed.

All the voters who voted for such discriminatory propositions’ (in the 4 states mentioned above) disappointment me greatly. I am also greatly disappointed in the Mormon Church and their parishioners. The made up at least 47% or 14.5 million dollars in support of these props. (Source) SICK absolutely SICK. Don’t talk about being a kind, caring, inclusive, and all welcoming religion and than support such hate.

I do hope one day I will be able to live in a country that does not treat one group differently based on race, sex, sexual orientation, or physical ability. Last night with the overwhelming election of OUR (even those who voted for someone else) new President we took two steps forward, but with the passing of such discriminatory propositions in four states me took one step back.

So today I am excited about what the next 4 years have in store for our country and I am also hoping that one day all couples will know what it feels like to be planning for a marriage to the one they love and intend to spend the rest of their life with.

xoxox
britt

Just a little funny

For all those who are "Fiscal Conservatives"

xoxo
britt

We have an environment!

We now have a livable outside area. It is complete with BBQ area, seating area, and plants. I don't know if Lilly likes the new backyard or if she is just adjusting to seeing other living things out there. So without making you wait any longer I give you photos...

Welcome (Ok it's just the gate but you get the idea)...

First glimpse...

Get a closer look...

A look from the back door...

A view of the area for the table (notice how well the ugly AC units are hidden)...

BBQ area right off the back door...

Lilly gave her stamp of approval only after barking at the plants...

So consider this an open invite to come and hang out in our new and improved living space.

xoxo
britt

Ballot Initiatives...

Tomorrow is a big day. I am excited to see what happens tomorrow, especially with ballot initiatives.

Abortion – South Dakota (once again) is trying to pass an abortion ban. I am so sick and tired of hearing about abortion. I firmly believe BOTH political parties are wrong about the issue. It is not about being pro-life or pro-choice. I asked fellow classmates in law school if they really think abortion will ever go away. If Roe v. Wade was overturned, it would go to the states, and some states would still allow it. Do “pro-lifers” (who also support the death penalty completely drive me crazy) really think they can completely eliminate it? NO.

Abortion has always and will always exist. Get over it.

How about we reduce the number of unintended pregnancies by providing easier access to birth control? Do you know how hard it is to get birth control pills and how expensive it is without insurance?? With taxes and bigger government (better health care), we can provide better access to birth control and thus reduce unintended pregnancies.

How about we reduce the number of sexual assaults in this country? Do you know there are statistics as high as 1 out of 4 females face an attempted or actual sexual assault? That is embarrassing. I am read that a state politician in New Hampshire focused on reducing the number of rapes in her state and it worked! Fancy that. Instead of arguing about whether abortions should be legal or not, why don’t we talk about why there are so many rapes in our country? It is time to move on.

What about reducing the infant mortality rate? Or what about the government providing for the children once they are born? As the saying goes for “pro-lifers,” life ends at birth for these babies… How about better education system, better access to child day care for low-income mothers who are scared?

Point being – so many other issues to talk about than just whether abortion should be legal. President Bush has had 8 years and nothing. What a waste of a vote that was based solely on the issue of abortion. South Dakota and the rest of the country needs to get over it.

And another “controversial issue”…

Gay Marriage – Arizona (once again) has a measure on the ballot to make gay marriage illegal. Who cares if Tom marries Joe? "Straight people" have done enough to screw up marriage. Why do people go out of their way to be so hateful? It is not our job to be judgmental, that is up to our Maker. Arizona voted this initiative down two years ago. What a waste of money to bring it up again. When we pulled out of the church parking lot yesterday, we were acousted with pro-life signs and gay marriage signs. I just want to go to church and be left alone with that stuff.

There are many bigger issues to worry about this election than gay marriage or abortion. Our economy is terrible, we are facing two to three wars (sometimes President Bush brings up the “war on terror”), health care is terrible in this country, people are losing jobs, gang-related crime is on the increase since 9/11 because the FBI has been focused on terrorism…

I am tired of people focusing on distracting issues. Lets talk about the real issues.

- Jen

Equality for ALL

Copy this sentence into your blog if you're in a heterosexual marriage (soon enough), and you don't want it "protected" by people who think GLBT marriage hurts it somehow.

VoteNOon102

xoxo
britt

Toto!

I was annoyed with my rat-looking Toto in a basket, but I just learned it is a purse!!! It has made Toto that much cooler. I am officially excited for Halloween now.

How cool is he?!

I'm off to see the Wizard...

The wonderful Wizard of Oz...

I've never been thrilled about Halloween. I would prefer to take the kiddies (my nieces) trick-or-treating or hand out candy. Matt and I made a decision to go out this Halloween. We went to the costume shop to see if anything was reasonable. I've never done hoochy Halloween before, but there is a first for everything.

I've always wanted to be Rainbow Bright, but she was MIA at the costume store. But I found something that I am pretty happy about - Dorothy! I am taking a chance this year. How many years left in me that I can do this? When the kiddies come (my own kiddies) I can't be hoochy Dorothy anymore.

And Matt got an Uncle Sam costume that is pretty fun. He swears he is going to be Homer next year. I think it would be funny to be Marge (even though I am NOT a Simpsons fan).

Additionally, my niece Bailey is going to be Dorothy this Halloween. I wish we could get a picture taken together, but I do not want to expose sweet Bailey to my version of Dorothy.

Funny side-note. Her twin sister Britney (fellow blogger is Brittany and my niece is Britney - I always have to stop and think) is going to be the Wicked Witch of the West. Too funny. Who wants to be my Wicked Witch or Tin Man or Lion or Scarecrow? Anyone?

And here are the costumes:

Bailey will look sweet and innocent.

And her aunt will wear this costume... It actually doesn't look that hoochy on. I love my Toto in a basket, but he kind of looks like a rat. Only if Lilly was here this weekend. I am just kidding. But I do think she would make a great Toto. :-)

With that - I wish everyone a Happy (safe) Halloween!

(Yay for our wedding colors!)

- Jen

Smooth Sailing, Kinda

This wedding process has been pretty smooth thus far, but for one minor bump (the stupid limo). But even that has worked out.

We have most of the wedding planned: the church, the priest, wedding website, the reception/cocktail, DJ, cake, flowers, wedding dress, limo, STDS sent, and now I am working on hair/makeup appointment. It is a Catholic ceremony so most of it is planned – we even have family friends who are going to play the organ and sing.

Left to do: bridesmaid dresses, minor details like hair, candy/desert bar, picture slideshow, and DIY (do-it-yourself) projects…

Oh goodness DIY… I like being creative. I like scrapbooking, but I do not think I am a DIY bride.

That is the reason for this post. I tried working on my wreaths yesterday. The plan is to have two pink wreaths on the church doors; one with a blue J and the other with a blue M.

I can say I REALLY love my blue letters that I painted yesterday – that part of the project went well. They are the correct blue and right size. Perfect for the pink wreaths.

I started hot gluing the tissue paper flowers on to the wreath and disaster happened. I burned my finger, flowers fell off, and it looks terrible thus far. And the hours worth of tissue flowers I made, only covers ¼ of the wreath. And the little guys (little tissue flowers) do not look correct on it, so those were ditched. Disaster. I wanted to throw it across the room. It is a good thing I have 7 months until the wedding… I just need a break from them.

When the suckers are done, how am I going to get them home? Probably ship it and tissue flowers will fall off again. In the end, probably cost the same to pay the florist to make something. Oh well. At least a lot of TLC will go into them. I am more excited to make the floating balls with flowers for the fountain. I will have to wait until my finger stops hurting.

I am just hoping for a job. Funny story.

I applied for a serving job yesterday. I was rejected, even though I had four years of experience serving, and I must say that I was a pretty darn good server. I was rejected because the manager said I was “too qualified” and that I should lie next time about graduating from law school because they want a 6 to 12 month commitment out of their employees, which I totally get, but the serving industry is notorious for people coming and going. She then told me that it takes about 4 months to make money off of a new server. Totally does not make sense. And I am not going to lie to people about my background. I did not go to school 7 years to lie about it. And I just passed the Character and Fitness portion of the bar.

Oh well. Still unemployed. Lame. And I am not going home for Halloween. Sad.

- Jen

We interrupt our regular scheduled blogging...

...but Jen & Britt will be heading to t-town for homecoming. It is sure to be a blast as we make up for missed homecomings of years past. Hopefully we will have good new to report Sunday morning but if anything will we have tons of great memories to share (if we can remember them after a day & night of drinking.)

Go Cats!!!

xoxo
britt

I'm Voting for who?

I will not be voting for Mrs. Palin. There I said it. But you see I have many reasons for not voting for her but i think the biggest one is that one of her speech writers is an ASU grad. You have to be kidding me. So to me a vote for Palin is like voting for ASU and in my books that is a no go. I also would love to add another ASU grad to the list of unemployed. Read the article here if you must.

xoxo
britt

Oh and get a grip people this blog entry was a joke (well at least the reason why I will not be voting for the McCain/Palin ticket aspect).

Shhhhh listen...

That noise you hear is our backyard being transformed. We are so excited and within 10 days (October 28) we will have a backyard oasis. Oh and we are keeping the final design a secret from everyone…including all you out in blog land. I did want to share pictures of the ugly area that is getting an extreme backyard make over.

xoxo
britt

Who doesn't love a good tailgate?

So I know I haven’t blogged to much about the wedding and the fun events we have planned around the wedding but I have started many projects that will be used throughout the weekend. So I am gonna let you all in on one of my favorite projects so far.

The Saturday night before the wedding we are having a welcome tailgate theme party. This party will let us showcase our love of the place we met and fell in love, University of Arizona. And it will also be a way for us to welcome our family and friends who are coming from all over the country to see us enter into a life long commitment to each other. So once we were set on the tailgate theme I started thinking about fun decorations that are easy to set up, easier to take down, and will liven up the backyard area where the party will take place.

I love team pennants and knew that I would be able to make mini team pennants that I could hang on ribbon and string all over the place. So with that idea in my head I headed out to my all time favorite scrapbook store and went in search for the best cardinal, navy, and white I could find. Within 10 minutes I had what I needed and headed home to start my project. Many cutting hours later (I actually did it over a couple weeks) I had cut 75 12x12 sheets of cardstock into 500+ mini pennants

.

All my supplies (cardstock already cut) & close up of the pennants.

Than it was time to start stringing all them. So I turned to my trusty permanent sticky tape and lined the top of each pennant with it. Pealing and sticking I finished 2 rolls of ribbon when I realized I would need tons more sticky tape and a few more rolls of ribbon. So for now I am at a stand still until I get to the store for more supplies but I wanted to share this fun project because I cannot wait to see them in action – in less than 9 months!!!

Finished pennants -- still a few more pennants to hang!

xoxo
britt

LOVE NKOTB

I am not a music snob. I do not really like music. Never bought lots of CDs. I pretty much like everything. I like popular stuff, old stuff, 80’s music, and Michael Buble (do not care if he is cheesy). As I said, do not really care for music too much. I would rather listen to NPR in the morning or some news channel.

That being said – I reverted back to being an 8 year old screaming girl on Monday night. The New Kids on the Block concert was the best most fantastic music experience. Brittany, Barbie, and I went to the concert.

Our initial seats were pretty good – on the floor, 40 rows back. But there were a lot of screaming girls keeping me from Donnie. About halfway through the concert, a mini-stage popped up right next to our row. I shoved Barbie out towards it and YES! They ran out and performed on this stage right next to us!!!

That moment I knew that I officially luved NKOTB. Seeing them up close and personal was amazing. Barbie made eye contact with Joey, for real! And I touched Jon! I almost got close enough to clobber Donnie (a dream come true). It was amazing.

They played like 3 songs on the mini-stage and sang to us. I luv them. I do not care if we are big dorks. It was glorious.

Luv Donnie!

Joey totally made eye contact with Barbie!

Jordan has aged well!

Touched Jon!

Jon for Obama!!

- Jen

The Best Weekend Ever

I have basically been hung-over from too much excitement and fun from last weekend.

To start off the weekend, last Friday Matt and I found out that we both passed the Arizona bar exam! Yes, both of us! The waiting process was very stressful and I could not be happier the way things are finally working out. All the hard work as well as thoughts and prayers from friends and family definitely paid off. And we even both passed with a pretty good margin.

Then Barbie and Troy fly in later that night, which we picked them up and came back to our house and had some celebratory drinks. I am so thankful for great friends: for driving us to the airport, sharing and buying some drinks at Merc, and even bringing over some champagne for us. It was a great night; thank you to all who helped celebrated!!

On Saturday night we ventured into the devil’s territory and went to the Big Bang, which is, as usually a great time. Barbie and Troy both enjoyed it so the night was definitely a success.

Saturday night was such a success, that it made Sunday morning very, very painful. We wanted to go hiking so we invited friends to come along. Neither Matt nor I had hiked Camelback Mountain so we had no clue what we were getting ourselves involved in.

Ryan, Chris, and Chris’ girlfriend Carrie met up with us. Oh my goodness. I wanted a nice walking trail full of glorious desert beauty. I got that, and then some. We did not go on the trail that Ryan had been on and liked, but a different one that Chris picked. I expected leisure walk in the mountains while taking fun pictures with friends. I did not get that. It started off bad, I fell behind from the beginning, and well, I finished last. I am not a cussing person, but I definitely uttered lots of cuss words. There was not much hiking Camelback Mountain, but rather we scaled it.

But we all made it to the top and the view is amazing. It was worth the hike (once I got over from Saturday night, which was still totally worth it). I just would do it again at a leisurely pace, taking more pictures, enjoying the views. I do not hike to time myself; I hike to enjoy the beauty. If I want a workout, I go to the gym.

Then Monday was the most glorious day of my life (besides getting engaged, our future wedding day, and perhaps the birth of my nephew and nieces).

- Jen

With this ring...CLINK

Oh yeah this is a fun story that came out of having to go to the bank and the safe deposit box. You might remember we already got our wedding bands way back in April. Well today was the first time I tried it on (since we were there and they were there I figured why not) and well it is HUGE. My ring falls right off my finger. I guess all the working out and watching what I am eating is paying off but I really didn’t need to lose any weight in my fingers, there are a few other trouble areas I would have picked well before my ring finger to loose some inches. But nonetheless it is nice to see that my hard work is really paying off even if I have to pay for an entirely new wedding band because my eternity band CANNOT be resized. All I can do is laugh and roll with the wedding punches.

xoxo
britt

To the DMV with Love!

I feel like I have so much to blog about (mainly wedding stuff) but all I really wanna write about it LAME stuff that is going on with everyday life. So once again I give you a look into my life.

Today I figured was a good day to go and get my Arizona registration figured out. I needed my mom (yeah she owns my car) to make me power of attorney so I could handle all the necessary paper work for her. Well when I first walk into the DMV they ask me if I have the power of attorney paper work and I hand it to the woman (mind you the DMV has 2 women sitting behind one desk giving out numbers – seems like they only needed one but I guess the job is keeping the other off welfare). So the first woman says I need it notarized and I said it is. She asks me to point to where it was notarized and I explained to her since the lovely DMV did not have a specific place for the notary to actually notarize the form she stapled her own notary form to the DMV’s form. So this woman hands it to the other woman sitting at the desk (I guess she is useful) and asks if this was ok and the second woman say “I don’t see why not.” So than they go have you gotten your car wellness check? My car’s what check? I say no and they point me in the direction of outside. Before leaving I ask do I need anything else and the woman asks if the car is paid off. Wondering what this has to do with anything I say “yes” and she says well than you will need the title as well. So add bank to the list of places to go so I can get the title out of the safe box. So I take my car to the “wellness check’ area pull up shut my car off like instructed and get out (it gets warm in a car when the AC isn’t going). So another lovely DMV employee comes outside and yells at me to get back in my car. Umm ok because I look so intimidating in my pink Ralph Lauren sweater and work pants. So she is writing down all info and gets to the VIN number area of my car and goes “there is something blocking it” so of course I shoot off a smart ass comment that goes to the effect that I don’t know what she is talking about because I can’t get out of my car to see it. Yeah I know not the nicest thing but come on had she not yelled at me I would have not given so much attitude. Anyways she goes “Ok your done” and I ask “Is that all, I don’t need a SMOG test or anything like that?” And with all her attitude in the world she proceeds to tell me yep I do need a SMOG check and would need to go to another place to get it. I ask for directions and ask her to clarify what street it was on for a second time and of course she gave me wrong directions – can you see why I am really loving the DMV at this point.

So to the SMOG place I went. Waited in line for a half hour and out the door I went $40 poorer but with my certificate that my car passed her test. I felt like a proud parent waiting in line to pay because some cars didn’t pass and I am sure the bill for those parents will be much higher.

Back to work for a few hours, waiting to met Barry at the bank so I can get into the safe box to get the title out. Lunch time arrived and the bank went flawlessly and back to the DMV to get my new Arizona title and my registration taken care of.

Get inline, get my number, get called, sit down, explain what I want to do, hand him all documents. He takes a look at them and goes I need to speak with my supervisor about this. Really? Come on. So he leaves for 10 minutes, comes back and all is well. Sign some papers as my mother’s power of attorney, pay my money, and I was out of there with a new shinny license plate and a new Arizona Car Title for my paid off car. Gotta love government agencies. Today I came to the conclusion they (the DMV) need checklists for customers and their employees for two reasons. The first being that their employees are really incompetent to fully explain the process that a customer needs to follow to perform a certain task for example register an out of state vehicle. And second they need a check list so it seems on the surface that their employees are not incompetent after all.

xoxo
britt

Oh baby, baby...

Yeah I know we need to get married first but with all the prego women in my office and than all the baby talk in blog land I couldn’t help myself. Many bloggers have stumbled upon makemebabies.com and well I couldn’t resist any longer. So after giving in to temptation I logged in and uploaded a couple photos of Barry and me and clicked submit. I let the computer pick the sex and the ethnicity (it claims to be 90% accurate which is good enough for me) and just named them Baby 1 through 4. I choose 4 for no specific reason but figured it was a good even number. So with that I give you our future children.

Baby 1 & Baby 2

Baby 3 & Baby 4

What scares me most is not that our first child looks nothing like the last three (don't worry no milk man for me). What I am a little scared about it the fact that the last three look almost identical like we might have some triplets in our future (I guess I could have labeled the last three A, B & C.) Now that scares me. Going from 1 to 4 in less than 9 months. WOW. It was fun to find out what our kids would look like if all we had to do was put a face photo into the computer and out popped some kids.

The site is fun. They even let you make babies with celebs. Now that is for a whole other day.

xoxo
britt