Texas Sent its Finest
My longtime friend/pen-pal and now bridesmaid Veronica came all the way from Texas with her sister, Jessica, and two boys, Jason (soon to be 10 years old)& Joe Joe (soon to be 8 years old), to visit and help with wedding plans. We made lots of centerpieces, drove by some of the upcoming wedding sites, and tried on our dresses and shoes. Andy was nice enough to setup every game system known to man to help entertain the boys while us girls watched movies and had a chance to visit and catch up.
Over the course of three days we got to visit with Josh & Rachel, who stayed over Saturday night, we took the kids to Jungle Bungle one afternoon, walked around Northpark Mall (per Jason’s request!), did a little engraving, and Veronica and I even tried our luck at the Isle of Capri. Turns out we weren’t so lucky that day. 
The few days flew by but I think we made the most of it. We’re looking
forward to seeing the whole family (hopefully) in November for the wedding.
The Countdown is on…
Yay! Only 3 more days and my bridesmaid from Texas (Veronica) will be in town for a few days with her sister and two little boys!!! I can’t wait. I haven’t seen Veronica for about 5 (?) years. Wow. Andy’s already got the TV, Xbox, Nintendo, and who knows what else ready to help entertain the boys. Whatta guy!
Apparently I’m Not Busy Enough…
Ha! That’s so far from the truth and it’s not quite April Fool’s Day yet! Being my usual self, I have continued to pile more and more on my plate, full-time job, full-time MBA program, full-time fiancée, and when-I-have-time, a side business…but that just wasn’t enough for me. Oh no. I’ve gone and bitten off another huge piece to chew.
I’ve been having SOOOO much fun planning and making things for the wedding that I think I’ve finally found the perfect niche for my business. (For those of you who don’t know, I’ve owned and operated Etched in Time Engraving, a laser engraving & personalized gift business since 2004. I’d include a link to the website but as my life got busier I had to list the site as "under maintenance" and put off orders because I couldn’t keep up with everything.) I absolutely love laser engraving and I love that I can do about a million different things with my engraver and other equipment. The problem has always been that in fact, I tried to do a million different things because I could. Not a good idea if you want to maintain a *profitable* small business. At least I had fun and broke even if nothing else.
When I started planning for the wedding I thought about all the fun things I could make for the wedding. As we flipped through page after page of the same boring invitations I kept thinking, I want something different, something fun, and I can make something better than what’s in the catalogs for a lot less. Somehow it hit me that I could make some really unique and upscale invitations with equipment I already had. (I can’t wait to send them to everyone!) I started showing people and my wedding coordinator said "Those are WONDERFUL. You could sell those you know." Indeed the thought had crossed my mind. But, I’m too busy for that I told myself, maybe later.
As time went on I talked about the idea with Andy and he’s fully supportive and thinks it’s the best business idea I’ve had yet, aside from my lack of time at the moment. I posted a few photos online on some wedding forums and got a really positive response. I tossed out the idea of designing and selling custom invitations for other brides and well….I’m now working with 7 girls across the country from California to Canada designing their dream invitations!! (Not to worry, they are 2009 brides so I do have time!)
I am SOOO excited about this and I’m having a lot of fun. My only problem is finding another 8 hours in my day.
It’s going to be a slow process for awhile, but I’ve got a tiny website/blog started. I will be posting photos and virtual samples of designs I’ve created when I find more time (ha ha!)
So…if you know anyone in the market for 2009 or later :::wink, wink, nudge, nudge::: 
Send ‘em my way!
Walking With Dinosaurs = Fantastic!
Walking with Dinosaurs gets a 2 thumbs up.
Very entertaining and fantastic scenery.
But not even the T-Rex finale…
…could wake up a snoozing little girl.
Good thing Andy’s 6′2" and strong; he was nice enough to
carry her two blocks to the car.
How Cute!
My niece, who will be our flower-girl, is spending the night with us tonight.
We’re going to see Walking With Dinosaurs at the i wireless Center, which happens to be the same venue we’re having our reception. We have some time to kill before the show starts so Andy thought he’d show Aaliyah how to rock out like her idol Hannah Montana, with amp, whammy bar amp & all!
What’s Up With USPS???
We recently learned that a good portion of our Save the Date Postcards & Magnets did not reach Andy’s family in Florida, which, by the way, was probably the main reason we have them in the first place. I know for a fact that I mailed them out in January yet here it is early March and none of them have seen them and we have not gotten them back in the mail either. I don’t know what is going on but it’s rather upsetting. It seems that all others have received them just fine, as far as I know anyhow. Guess I’ll try to send out another small stack this week and see if those make it.
All for One, One for All
Are my fellow co-worker wonderful or what? Despite their warnings that they are not crafty, Renee (my personal attendant) and "Schmeed" have been helping me assemble invitations over lunch. We’ve managed to get about
100 done, so that leaves about 100 more!
