It’s official. After several days of packing, moving, cleaning, & organizing with the help of some very helpful friends and family (many thanks!), we are now residents of good old Davenport. 
We love, love, LOVE our new house!
For those who have asked, I will be posting photos soon! I am particularly fond of my new AWESOME fun-colored workshop where I expect to spend many fun hours crafting all kinds of fun stuff!
More later…
Before I give anyone a heart attack, let me preface this with IT WAS ALL A DREAM, a very, very bad dream…I don’t want to scare anyone, but I almost titled this “The Wedding is Off” (GASP!) because that’s what I awoke thinking when the clock struck 1:00AM this morning. Let me explain:
* * *
It all felt so real. There we were, at the head of the altar in the midst of the ceremony. Everything was perfect - The sun was shining, weather was great, Andy was gorgeous, the music was beautiful, my dress was stunning. I was standing there listening to Pastor Gary, looking at Andy and out at all our friends and family all weepy-eyed. It was the most perfect moment in my life.
Until I heard “the rings please?”
Smiling like a sap, I look over to Andy, realizing he had turned into this dim-witted Ken Doll, “Oh, yeah….um, I forgot. I need to pick them up at the jewelers. They’re being sized.” And so we took an intermission as though it was a perfectly normal thing to do. Our guest sat happily in faint murmers of conversation as we excused ourselves like it was totally part of the plan.
I sat in the “bridal chambers” (whatever THAT is!) while Andy ran to town to get the rings. Apparently I had some sort of omniscient view because I could see the guest in the chapel, and Andy going to get the rings, all while I sat stressed out away from everyone.
Suddenly I was joined by Andy & Pastor Gary. “They’re not done,” says Andy nervously.
“What do you MEAN they’re not done?” I demand, Bridezilla slowly taking over.
“Well, the store closes at 10PM and the rings won’t be ready for pickup until then,” Andy explains.
You’ve got to be kidding me, I think. With my magical viewing capabilities (that somehow never tipped me off that I was dreaming) I could see all 200+ guests patiently waiting like this little breaks in the ceremony happened all the time. In a calm, but low and steady voice I tell Andy, who had become this not-so-smart-guy, “Go get the rings. They will fit well enough. We’ll fix it later. GET the rings and get back here NOW!”
Off he goes as I wait with my magical viewing powers watching the entire story unfold as though I’ve got internal picture-in-picture view. (Maybe I’m watching too much TV before bed??)
Sitting there alone, I can tell Andy is not able to get the rings. The store will not help him for whatever reason. He must wait until closing time. I can feel Andy move into what he calls MSH (Make Stuff Happen) mode. And I get a sickly feeling about it.
Like in a movie, I see the hands of the clock turn in high speed…5 minutes, 10 minutes, a half hour, and hour. Meanwhile our guests are still happily chatting, just waiting for us to return and finish the ceremony. All of a sudden, Andy proudly bursts through the door, out thrusts his clenched fist that hold two handmade beaded watches made from cheap pink and clear acrylic beads. A price tag of $300 dangles from each one.
“WHAT are those??” I ask, my stomach turning, brow sweating.
“Well,” Andy begins, “I can’t get the rings until 10PM tonight so I did the next best thing. I bought us these nice watches to use instead.” He was so proud of himself; he truly thought he saved the day.
“WHAT????” I scream. “You bought $5 beaded watches to use in place of wedding rings, are you kidding me?” In FULL Bridezilla mode now.
“No, see they were three hun–” I cut him off as he shoves the price tags in my face. He was totally not getting it…he thought because he PAID $300 they were WORTH $300. Not true. A crafter such as myself could recognize those cheap materials anywhere. And who was he fooling?? He was going to wear a pink acrylic watch and cherish it forever??? WHAT was going on???
“Like I said,” I repeated, “you bought $5 watches to use in place of our wedding rings? You better not have paid $300 each for those things. Those are craft projects. Take them back immediately and get your money back.”
Andy, all smiles and with a bit smug look as though saying Aha! I KNEW that was coming, proudly boasts “I knew you were going to say that. So I told the girl to keep the receipt; I can’t return them. We’ll have to use them, come on, it will be fine. Let’s just go finish this.”
I. Am. Livid. Not only are we out our perfect ceremony with our wedding rings, now we are also out another $600 and we still had no wedding rings.
My mind is racing. I consult our wedding program that distinctly says we are about to bless and exchange rings. Still, I wonder, can we really use watches? Will they work? Will anyone notice? Will anyone care? I am desperate at this point, and a complete emotional wreck. I love him to death, I appreciate that he was trying to fix the situation, but then I became furious when I realized the important symbolism of wedding rings in a wedding ceremony, NOT cheaply-made-yet-expensive-to-buy wedding watches. My blood was BOILING.
I sent him out once again to get the rings as I turned into this Incredible Hulk-of-a-bride…screaming, punching through walls, tearing out plaster and lath, just making a huge mess of things. (Somehow I was transported to a house that was supposed to be home. Perhaps I was reliving the days of remodeling of our kitchen?)
Then, it turned into this weird kind of game; my chipper friend/personal attendant, Renee, moved like a robot through doors and windows telling me it was going to be ok. My goal was to shove her and her sunny disposition out and lock the door/window behind her before she could get back in. We had several doors and windows so we went through this crazy routine repeatedly until I blocked every last entry way and kept her out. Once alone I continued to cry, scream, and punch through walls.
Then I was magically transported to various locations and scenarios as I cried and cried thinking how much I wanted to marry Andy and how my fairytale of a life was crumbling before my eyes. I WANTED to be able to continue the ceremony, but HOW could we if we didn’t have rings? I thought we could improvise, change the ceremony, use other rings, not use rings at all. I was flooded with emotions thinking about the months of planning I had put into the wedding. All the time and money spent on projects from big to small. The one and only thing I asked Andy to do is take care of the rings. And here we are, still on “intermission” mind you, scrambling to think of a way to wrestle our rings back from the jeweler that is holding them hostage. And nobody thinks this is a problem but me.
Suddenly I’m an airport diner (don’t ask…I have no idea.) This waitress, straight off the set of Mel’s diner (remember the show Alice??) with bouffant hair and tiny little scalloped apron over her dress, walks over with a half pot of lukewarm coffee, cigarette hanging out of her mouth, approaching this sobbing heap of bridal mess (that’s me) and says, “Oh honey, what’s wrong?” Upon closer examination of the running mascara, falling updo, and full wedding garb she asks, “Did some stupid S.O.B. leave you at the altar? Oh honey, if I’ve seen it once, I’ve seen it a million times” as she goes into the whole “Guys are terrible, they’re a dime a dozen, you’re a pretty girl, there are other fish in the sea” speech. Meanwhile I’m thinking, but cannot speak, wanting to tell her “NO! You don’t get it! I have the perfect guy and the perfect life and we were in the middle of our perfect wedding and poof! Something just happend that I can’t explain or fix.” (And P.S. stop smoking around me and get me a good cup of coffee.) But, I simply cannot speak and nobody else seems to know or understands what is going on so I put my head down on the table and continue to cry.
When I lift my head and open my eyes and I’m back in the house (the one I’ve practially demolished). A group of Andy’s family (that I have yet to meet in real life, but just met in my dream) is sitting around me. They are trying to sooth me but I can also magically read their minds and they are thinking “Wow, we were wrong about this girl. She seemed so nice but what a nutcase! She’s throwing a fit and trashing this house over such a silly little thing.”
So I begin to wonder, Am I being silly? Everything flashes through my head again. Am I being a spoiled brat? Could I continue the ceremony as though nothing was wrong? But I just CAN’T….I had envisioned our perfect day and it was ruined; there was no way I could pull myself together and carry on as though nothing had happened. And furthermore, now his family that I had barely met thought I was a crazy nutcase.
Suddenly as though I’m a ghost being pulled toward the light, I’m floating outside. I pass the chapel as Pastor Gary is standing in front while the guest are chatting, still waiting, like two hours later. But we will not be returning. Although they don’t realize it, the ceremony is over, and I cannot rejoin my Prince Charming-turned ditzy-blonde of a man. The wedding is off and I am sick over it, pondering what went wrong and how we could have prevented it or fixed it. Sadly, I have no answers or resolution although I secretly wonder if I had told Pastor Gary what was going on if he could somehow rearrange the ceremony to cover so we could proceed, but it was too late and I float farther and farther away.
* * *
(Okay, back to real life now) My eyes pop open and adjust to the darkness, peering over at the clock that reads 1:00 AM on the dot. I lay there awhile, taking it all in and reviewing the crazy scenario that just played in my head while I was sleeping. It was terrible, but I am awake now. We’re a good 2+ months away from the wedding so I resolve to make sure we have the wedding rings done in plenty of time before the ceremony. Yet I cannot get the sickening scene out of my mind. I wonder WHY in the world I would dream such a thing. I decide to blame it on my cold, the fact that I went to bed so early (8PM), and the new Tylenol Allergy that I took. It must be the medicine. That’s all. I still have my Prince Charming (who thankfully is very bright, not the dimwit in my dream), and we are living our happy life and planning a wonderful wedding. All is well. Except it is the middle of the night and I am wide awake. I decide I must get up and blog about my crazy nightmare or I will forget all the crazy/funny details in the morning.
As such, it is now 2:57AM and I am still wide awake. Although, thanks to the Tylenol Allergy I can actually breathe, so maybe it’s not all bad. I decide I will not throw away the new bottle of medicine; I will try it again and pray that it does not give me nightmares.
Geeze…do you think the stress is finally getting to me????
I cannot believe it but we SOLD our house tonight!! We are so excited. The girl who bought it is really sweet and she is so excited too. She was the first person to tour the house last week at our open house. She brought her mom back to take a look tonight and we sat down and talked and made a deal. AWESOME!!! Thanks again for all the good thoughts and prayers. They have been workin’ like a charm!!!
Sorry I’ve been MIA. We had terrible storms last week and was without power for three days. Not only that, we were trying to wrap up an online course, which is difficult to do when you have no power and therefore, no internet. Plus, power was out all over the Quad Cities and the places that had power and free wireless internet were jam packed.
We spent Friday & Saturday in Iowa City taking a class and last night FINALLY wrapped up our LAST summer class!!!! I am so proud of us. It was stressful taking three classes this summer but we did it and did it well. We are now officially halfway through the MBA program - Woooo-Hoooo!
Oh yeah, and during that time we’ve been in the process of buying a house, packing, ordering new furniture, doing some engraving orders, and trying to sell our house. P.S. For any local readers who might be interested in a starter house near Augustana College, our house is listed on QCHomeShow.com. CLICK HERE to see the listing. And FYI, we’re offering a closing allowance if we can close by September 5th!!!
So yeah, busy, busy. But, as many of you know, I know no other way. We’ve got three short weeks off from school before we start up again for the Fall. I’ve got some freebies I’d like to upload and other things to write about, but we shall see what I can get done. First priority is selling this house!! Then, we’re going shopping!!!!
Unfortunately, at some point in your life you or someone you know will be affected by breast cancer in one way or another. I have participated in many pink ribbon fundraisers over the years in celebration of my Grandma who is a 20+ year survivor and also in memory of Nancy DeMeyer, who was like a mother to me. Nancy had an unparalleled fighting spirit that never gave up and she is admired and missed by many.
My good friend Kim (who will be doing a reading at the wedding) particpates in the annual Susan G. Komen 3 Day Walk against breast cancer in Chicago. This is the 5th year Kim will be walking 60 miles over the course of three days in memory of her mom. Kim says with her newborn son Luke (who is SUPER cute by the way!) she has a million more reasons to continue to walk for a cure.
If you are able and interested in making a donation to this organization, it would be awesome if you could support Kim in her effort to raise her personal goal of $2,500. Otherwise, I know she would appreciate thoughts and prayers for another good experience this year.
Way to go Kimmie! Keep up the good work!
Just wanted to say a quick thank you to all the new peeps that are stopping by and especially the dedicated people that check in on a regular basis. It’s so nice to know my stuff isn’t wandering aimlessly out in cyberspace.
We’ve received a lot of hits most recently from Laurie’s awesome blog called Tip Junkie. If you haven’t been there you need to check it out. I am obsessed. It’s a wonderful resource and wealth of information, fun ideas and projects. What’s really cool is that Laurie promotes other bloggers and work at home moms. Gotta love networking ladies! Laurie included my CD Jewel Case Calendars in one of her recent posts. Once my life slows down a bit (I know, I know, yeah right, huh?!) I would like to share more DIY freebies.
In the meantime, please keep reading and posting comments and if you use one of my freebies please share photos!!
WE GOT OUR DREAM HOUSE!!! Well…the offer was accepted anyway. The process is in progress and we’re one more step closer to being in our dream home before the wedding WOOO-WHOOOO!!! We are SO excited!!!
Thank you to everyone who had their fingers crossed and said an extra prayer; it worked and we appreciate it!! Now you’ll have to come over for a BBQ!
Queue the angels “AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!”
THIS is one of the several houses we toured today and we are convinced. This. Is. It. THE ONE.
It was the gorgeous window Great Room that got us hooked:
Or, possibly the loft area to the three bedrooms upstairs:
Or, the HEATED TILE in the fabulous kitchen or the brand new granite countertops:
Wow. That’s all I can say. Wow, wow, WOW! 4 bedrooms, tall ceilings, nice neighborhood, literally move in condition. We love everything about this house and wouldn’t change a thing - not the decor, not the paint, not anything. (Well, just a few minor adjustments to make the yard dog friendly, but other than that it’s simply perfect. I would greatly appreciate your thought, prayers, well wishes, ANYTHING to help us get this gorgeous house. We’re going to try to make an offer ASAP. PLEASE don’t let anyone else beat us to it!
Although it may not happen until next year, but because it could possibly happen as soon as next month, Andy & I have decided get a head start on finding a new home. As such, we are going through all our things. I am told I am a pack rat and need to get rid of all excess “stuff,” including the inventory I have in stock from my old engraving store.
So…I’m having a sale!! I have a lot of very nice engraving materials & gift items in stock leftover from when I had my store. They are in brand new condition, just have been in storage since I closed up shop. What better way to get rid of “extra stuff” and help pay for our upcoming shindig?! Check back to see what else I can find.
Here’s the first item:
I have a limited number of beautiful 5×7 marble plaques that can be engraved with your favorite photo and quote. This design as shown above will feature one photo of your choice and one title/quote/saying. They make great gifts for parents, grandparents or to display in your own home…or garden! $40 each or request exact duplicates at a discount: 2 for $70, or 3 for $100. Price includes shipping & a display easel. (Sales tax will apply to Illinois residents.) Professional photos require a signed release from your photographer, no exceptions.
To order, please email me a high quality (300 dpi) scan of your photo along with how you would like the plaque personalized. I will send you a draft to approve and e-mail a bill via PayPal. Payment in full will be required prior to shipping. Other sizes and shapes are available, please contact me for details.
Thank you in advance for helping me efficiently unclutter my house & save for the wedding (& new house!)
I have been e-mailing back and forth today with Kate Harrison, author of The Green Bride website and book
I have actually been getting quite a few compliments on the calendars. (Although why doesn’t anyone leave comments on the website??? We are getting tons of hits every day but very few comments.) :-( Oh well. Perhaps I can bribe…er um, I mean…encourage comments by offering some wedding freebies?? I will add things as I can find time. The more comments and encouragement I get from my readers, the more I’ll try to share with you!!
So check out the new page for Freebies and check out the post about us on Kate’s site. And for Pete’s sake (whoever Pete is) please start leaving me comments so I know the 20 hours a day I spend online are for a purpose greater than talking (typing?) to myself!!! Okay, yes I am over exaggerating a bit; I do sleep some nights so 18 hours is probably more truthful…although sometimes I dream that I’m online, but that probably doesn’t count, does it? Anyhow, I digress… :-)
