tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21292302796584741322024-03-13T00:20:26.794-04:00Chasing... Ever AfterWhere the glass slipper hits the road...Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04915639599195878531noreply@blogger.comBlogger111125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2129230279658474132.post-61630784074281041602013-01-30T11:27:00.002-05:002013-01-30T11:27:27.846-05:00$10 Photo Book<img src="https://files.moolala.com/images/data/deals/w/q/z/89060oywqz-lg.jpg" /><br />
<br />
<a href="http://share.moolala.com/r/QZNW5Q5/deals/deal/U8CFZQA/?cid=5MLQD84&pid=AP19N3D">MOOLALA</a> has a great deal for a <a href="http://share.moolala.com/r/QZNW5Q5/deals/deal/U8CFZQA/?cid=5MLQD84&pid=AP19N3D">20 page photo</a> book for only $10!!!!<br />
<br />
Perfect for birthdays, wedding albums, or family photos!!<br />
<br />DCSquaredAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04915639599195878531noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2129230279658474132.post-39160817588828005992012-11-20T08:24:00.000-05:002012-11-20T08:24:29.575-05:00Long Lasting MarriagesStill doing the <a href="http://dc2squared.blogspot.com/2012/11/welcome-november.html">30 days of gratitude</a>.<br />
<br />
Today I am grateful for my grandparents!!! <br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-5i3FnusXaf0/UKt5lzDbeZI/AAAAAAAAbVs/eto6GiKlnZQ/s1600/598909_4019147924283_1627471918_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" closure_uid_g2bjmd="2" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-5i3FnusXaf0/UKt5lzDbeZI/AAAAAAAAbVs/eto6GiKlnZQ/s1600/598909_4019147924283_1627471918_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br /><br />They are such a
blessing to me. They have been married 55 years! Such a inspiration and example
of an amazing couple!! My grandmother has taught me to lean on God and to trust
Him with all my heart!<br /><br />
<br />
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<td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-erCBbyBIjFk/UKt5Ww9bRXI/AAAAAAAAbVk/8oMyV_eLq6Y/s1600/260071_10151140140324660_1383703078_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" closure_uid_g2bjmd="3" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-erCBbyBIjFk/UKt5Ww9bRXI/AAAAAAAAbVk/8oMyV_eLq6Y/s1600/260071_10151140140324660_1383703078_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
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<td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Aren't they so cute!?!?!?
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<br /><br />I LOVE THEM DEARLY!!!!!!!!!!<br /><br />What are
you grateful for?Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04915639599195878531noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2129230279658474132.post-60990118749981654212012-11-18T09:30:00.001-05:002012-11-18T09:30:44.406-05:00What's for dinner???If memory serves me correctly, I managed to fend for my "single" self without NEAR as much <em>consternation</em> over meal planning! I ate what I wanted, when I wanted and how I wanted with nary a complaint from my dinner guest aka <em>moi</em>. But here lately, meal planning is becoming more of a <u>chore</u>!!! Though I have stacks and stacks of cookbooks, paper clippings and recipe stashes I cannot get into a groove. I find myself either cooking the same-o-thing or worse, ordering out.<br />
<br />
Where or where can a girl find a month's worth of healthy, non-boring, quick-cooking, budget friendly meals????<br />
<br />
<br />
My latest plan of attack is Pinterest! I am continually amazed at how much free time virtual Moms & Wives seem to have. Like seriously, how are you running kids here & there, decorating your house for each season, cooking every night and saving money???? But that's for another post :). <br />
<br />
For now, my plan is to rely upon those ladies to scour the web and lead me to a recipe treasure trove. I just threw this:<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-aELHL1S4DJE/UKjuW_t1WpI/AAAAAAAAASY/JtdLZoXp0Kg/s1600/CrockpotChicken.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" rea="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-aELHL1S4DJE/UKjuW_t1WpI/AAAAAAAAASY/JtdLZoXp0Kg/s320/CrockpotChicken.jpg" width="239" /></a></div>
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Courtesy of <a href="http://livinglifeofriley.com/" target="_blank">Living Life of Riley</a>! Ms. Nikki has a ton of crockpot success stories (cause I wanna know that it actually turned out well) that I'll be relying upon in a quest to get my cooking groove back. To account for the sugar, I plan to serve this with a healthy side that Ms. Giada whipped up this weekend:</div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-liWsISgZsGU/UKjvuSBph0I/AAAAAAAAASg/7Hc3mIXKHUg/s1600/spicygreenbeanskale.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" rea="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-liWsISgZsGU/UKjvuSBph0I/AAAAAAAAASg/7Hc3mIXKHUg/s1600/spicygreenbeanskale.jpg" /></a></div>
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Please share your go to Crock Winners!<br />
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Lady Hawk</div>
S3...SSHhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14347220411615717099noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2129230279658474132.post-75637547770633702672012-11-13T09:15:00.002-05:002012-11-13T09:15:33.413-05:0030 Days of GratitudeAre you all participating in the <a href="http://dc2squared.blogspot.com/2012/11/welcome-november.html">30 days of gratitude</a>?? I have been doing it on my <a href="http://dc2squared.blogspot.com/">personal blog</a>.<br />
<br />
Today (Day 13) I am grateful for my husband. <br /><br /><strong>I LOVE ME SOME
HIM!!</strong> <br /><br />He loves God! He loves me!! He puts up with all my
craziness and is <em>always</em> there for me when I need him. He treats me like
a queen and I am honored to be able to treat him like a King!!<br /><br />
<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-VQKjaMxfrTY/UKJVlDSN1vI/AAAAAAAAbPc/IwpOgzfEKIc/s1600/Capture+One+0059.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-VQKjaMxfrTY/UKJVlDSN1vI/AAAAAAAAbPc/IwpOgzfEKIc/s320/Capture+One+0059.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<br /><br />What are you
grateful for?<br /><br />DCSquaredAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04915639599195878531noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2129230279658474132.post-88977747238462801052012-10-30T14:52:00.002-04:002012-10-30T14:52:41.770-04:00#1 Priority<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GAIkobWIgyA/UI_4MN8eixI/AAAAAAAAD1o/mtJ55zdo78c/s1600/quote2.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GAIkobWIgyA/UI_4MN8eixI/AAAAAAAAD1o/mtJ55zdo78c/s1600/quote2.png" /></a></div>
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Is it your #1 priority?</div>
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DCSquared</div>
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04915639599195878531noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2129230279658474132.post-91260311997086357402012-10-03T09:20:00.001-04:002012-10-03T09:20:37.594-04:00Happy 20th Anniversary to the Obamas!! <h3 class="post-title entry-title" itemprop="name">
Happy 20th Anniversary to the Obamas!! </h3>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-WJoIj-sGHzQ/UGw6HYsJtoI/AAAAAAAAZ7Y/yLJAAnma9sQ/s1600/ObamasBall905.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" closure_uid_r1ma5h="2" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-WJoIj-sGHzQ/UGw6HYsJtoI/AAAAAAAAZ7Y/yLJAAnma9sQ/s320/ObamasBall905.jpg" width="210" /></a></div>
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President
Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama are celebrating 20 years today. The
couple were married on October 3rd, 1992.<br />
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<img alt="" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-20870402646" height="425" src="http://www.blackbride.com/components/com_wordpress/wp/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/0120-barack-obama-michelle-robinson-wedding-photo_we.jpg" width="316" /></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">The
presidential debate is also tonight from 9:00-10:30 p.m. EST. So this is a big
day for The Obamas! :o)</span> </div>
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</div>
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<strong><span style="font-size: medium;">Happy
Anniversary!</span></strong></div>
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<strong><span style="font-size: medium;"></span></strong> </div>
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<span>DCSquared</span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04915639599195878531noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2129230279658474132.post-41140115103795331202012-06-17T07:11:00.004-04:002012-06-17T07:11:44.683-04:00A snowballining we will GO!My new hubbie and I setup a debt repayment plan well before we were even engaged let alone married. We sat down and had a long heart to heart about our financial ups and downs, lessons learned and hoop dreams. We walked away with a pretty clear picture of where each of us stood individually and where a merging of households would lead us collectively. Shortly afterwards, we started our "debt-snowball" and plowed head first into reaching our <u>ultimate</u> goal: <br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<strong>Pay Everything Off.</strong></div>
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<br /></div>
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Having a laser focus on paying off debt can distract you from establishing a sound savings strategy. In theory, it's really easy to apply every extra penny straight to your debt. Doing so gets you that much closer to dropping a creditor from your master list. But that can also leave you in quite a pickle. Because what happens when the unexpected bill pops up? How are you supposed to pay for that new expense when you just sent your latest windfall to Visa & MC? You are exposed. Adding the new bill to the coals and charging it only kicks it down the road; it's gathering dust (interest & possibly penalties) along the way. Let me tell you, nothing can ruin a "Yay! We paid off So-n-so" party quicker than a surprise guest via the mailbox.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Yes, I know Dave Ramsey says "save up $1000 before you start attacking your debt." But doesn't it seem like there's a $1000 emergency (and I mean a true emergency not a "forgotten" bill) springing up each time you're about to pass GO? <br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
AHA moment: maybe Dave's $1000 target needs boosting in this new millenia? Maybe he's right but just lowballing us or perhaps we just need to take some creative license and set our own target....(it never ceases to amaze me when I answer my own question while sharing my thoughts with someone. Duh!)</blockquote>
So how do you handle shifting focus? What if one or heck, even both spouses, are less disciplined one month? There's a fine line between chastising and correcting. You don't want to come down too hard but you also can't standy by and the let the whole ship go down. And who likes being the bad guy all of the time? Worse than that, it's rather <em>uncomfortable</em> when your shipmate points out your own guilt. Oh, what a tangled web we weave when at first we attempt to build net worth! LOL!<br />
<br />
Wish us luck. We're only 'o-ffficially' 6 months in and the both of us are notoriously impatient when it comes to making progess. We want to make headway yesterday! And one mis-step can readily have us calling "Slacker" <em>if </em>we let it. <br />
<br />
Appreciate any wise words you can share.<br />
<br />
Lady Hawk</div>S3...SSHhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14347220411615717099noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2129230279658474132.post-62713127607831539572012-06-12T11:01:00.000-04:002012-06-12T11:01:13.352-04:00Saving for a rainy day<strong>Hindsight</strong> is usually not your friend. Hindsight is more like a spoiled brat sticking his tongue out at you. The <strong>Obvious</strong> is not much better. The Obvious tends to hide behind Hindsight only peeking his head out right after your watch ticks to "Too Late".<br />
<br />
Your only real defense against Hindsight is to arm yourself with as much info as humanly possible. What did G.I. Joe tell us at the end of every episode? "Knowing is half the battle." Yeah, I'm seriously dating myself but he knew that the only thing worse than Hindsight was her snooty cousin, "You Didn't Know That?"<br />
<br />
Over the past few weeks, I have spent more than enough time with these partners in crime. They have <strong>really</strong> worked my last good nerve. <br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<strong>But that's A-OK. I.AM.NOT going down easily.</strong></div>
<br />
Did you know that there's a super simple blood test that measures your fertility? Yep, you can measure your chances of having a baby with little more than a finger prick.<br />
<br />
Did you know that as of 5 years ago, fertility experts have perfected the art of freezing eggs? Yep, before that, the process was largely unsuccessful. The eggs did not thaw well and so were unusable. But all of that has changed now.<br />
<br />
Did you know that armed with those two bits of information, you have the potential to A) track your fertility by having your gynecologist administer the <a href="http://www.news-medical.net/news/20110610/Antimullerian-hormone-test-can-help-indicate-number-of-eggs-pregnancy-in-women.aspx" target="_blank">Anti-Mullerian Hormone</a> (AMH) test annually and B) <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2011/10/06/health/fertility-eggs-embryos-empowered-patient/index.html" target="_blank">set aside</a> some of your eggs while they are younger and fresher? <br />
<br />
I seriously believe the AMH test should be offered along with our annual Pap Smears to any woman of childbearing years. The final decision to take the test should be the patient's but our gynos should make it common practice to make us aware of this test. If you agree, please sign my <a href="http://www.change.org/petitions/the-american-college-of-obstetricians-and-gynecologists-offer-amh-blood-tests-to-patients-30-establishing-a-fertility-baseline" target="_blank">petition</a>.<br />
<br />
Yeah, it's a long shot but I have to do <em>something</em>. I have to tell <em>somebody</em>. I wish someone had told me.<br />
<br />
Friends: save for a rainy day!<br />
<br />
Lady HawkS3...SSHhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14347220411615717099noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2129230279658474132.post-44469661844084700512012-06-11T19:00:00.000-04:002012-06-12T11:19:32.963-04:00Time keeps on ticking...Ahhh, the ever-present biological clock! Mother Nature keeps time like no other. You can lollygag about life if you want to, but you may end up on the short end of the stick!<br />
<br />
That's where I am, friends. On the short-end of the stick. All reports point to our having a very narrow window to get knocked up. Even then, we're gonna need "assistance". My long battle with the broids has left my uterus a bit, shall we say, bumpy? Actually, the fert specialist said it was "distorted". He confirmed that the mass on my left fallop tube was not a fibroid...it was 4 fibroids. Awesome.<br />
<br />
While last year's UFE took care of my symptoms, the broids have not completely disappeared. So to decrease my chances of a miscarriage, he has steered us towards a top-notch uterine surgeon in hopes of smoothing out the landing strip.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<strong>Yay! Another surgery :) </strong></div>
<br />
I shouldn't say that. There's no pity party over here. Seriously. I've had so many that it really isn't a big deal anymore. Sad, but true. Plus, it'll totally be worth it <strike>if</strike>WHEN our prayers are answered.<br />
<br />
From what I've learned so far, this is all a numbers game. How old are ya? How many eggs do you have? How many good eggs do you have? How many other chicks like you wound up preggers? So after the surgery, we'll be sipping on an "ovulation stimulating" cocktail. And the odds say that if this is gonna work for us, the magic will happen in one or two cycles.<br />
<br />
I should have dubbed this the "Amazing Race"!<br />
<br />
Lady HawkS3...SSHhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14347220411615717099noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2129230279658474132.post-60272596520650542382012-05-31T16:36:00.001-04:002012-05-31T16:36:53.177-04:00QOTD: Quote of The Day<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><em>One of the first keys to a successful Marriage, is
Communication; The first key to successful Communication, is Listening. </em></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">-Husband and Wife for Life</span></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04915639599195878531noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2129230279658474132.post-89972278188855985972012-05-20T10:52:00.001-04:002012-05-20T10:52:32.643-04:00I HEART MixBookI often joke that my family is forever looking for a reason to bake a cake. We celebrate <em>something</em> just about every weekend. Unfortunately, I miss a good deal of these simply because I do not get back to TN as frequently as I'd like. I average about once every two months or so and A LOT can happen between my visits! But I do try to make it home for our "big" holidays. One of those is definitely Easter. After church, we all gather in Granny's front yard for "PICTURE TIME!" I literally run around singing "It's picture time, it's picture time, it's time to get your ready for your pictures!" sung to that "Crayons and your pencils" ditty. After the pics, we try to have our annual Egg Hunt just before sitting down to a proper Southern Sunday dinner :).<br />
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In recent years, the popularity of our Easter Egg hunts have tapered off a bit simply because we didn't have any younguns. But thanks to a recent baby boom that has us blossoming with new babies, we've been able to bring back the family tradition. This year marked the first hunt for one of our youngest grandkids. Here he is just after getting caught stuffing eggs in his pockets!</div>
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<img border="0" height="320" kba="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-8diDx1FPC8g/T7j6iTp8RCI/AAAAAAAAAOM/9eLdvgEIFsA/s320/102_1334.JPG" width="213" /></div>
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After the hunt, two of my all-time faves snuggled up on a lawn chair for a chat:</div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-cwdwhn7Hdmg/T7kApyOANDI/AAAAAAAAAOY/ewBdNz-Bq6o/s1600/102_1348.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" kba="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-cwdwhn7Hdmg/T7kApyOANDI/AAAAAAAAAOY/ewBdNz-Bq6o/s320/102_1348.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
I absolutely love this pic of my Sweetie and my Granny. After I took this, Granny got to fussing about how much she hates digitial cameras. "I never gets to see pictures since they came out with those thangs. Y'all don't never print pictures off anymore!" I cracked up! But she's right. The most we'll do as far as sharing goes is to post them on Facebook. So she does miss out. That got me to thinking...<br />
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<strong>Ding! Ding! Ding!</strong> </div>
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I'll make her a MixBook of these pictures for Mother's Day! She'll love that! Since not all of my own pics turned out well, I collected pictures from my relatives who were there that day. I even snagged some off of Facebook. Two of my uncles couldn't make it home, so I had them email me pics of their families. Once I had all of those together, I used the "Classic Easter" template to build a photobook and had it shipped directly to her.</div>
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It arrived a week early and before I had a chance to tell her it was on the way. So when it arrived, it just had the shipping address with no indication who sent it. She was blown away. She told my mom, "Look at what somebody from CA sent me! I don't know how they got a hold of these pictures or how they put this picture book together but I sure am grateful they did it. I just love this!"</div>
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After a good laugh and some splaining, Mama tolder her that I was the culprit and that the book was her Mother's Day gift. She was tickled pink.</div>
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Major. Score.</div>
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I highly recommend this as a surprise for your older or less-than-tech-savvy relatives :).</div>S3...SSHhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14347220411615717099noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2129230279658474132.post-51476537524982704052012-05-17T15:52:00.000-04:002012-05-17T15:52:23.030-04:00Excited to see Hubby??Do you get excited to see your husband when he gets home??<br />
<br />
Remember Ricky Ricardo used to announce himself to Lucy???<br />
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<img height="275" id="il_fi" src="http://imagecache2.allposters.com/images/DES/D632.jpg" style="padding-bottom: 8px; padding-right: 8px; padding-top: 8px;" width="350" /></div>
<br />
Maybe it's the newlywed stage, maybe I love me some him. But I really do get butterflies when I hear the keys in the door! My baby is HOME!! I go up to him and hug him! it's really so corny, but I LOVE IT<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<img alt="" class="rg_hi uh_hi" data-height="275" data-width="183" height="275" id="rg_hi" src="https://encrypted-tbn1.google.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcT5om2xRhqiVwEQSP4-wTrXK6N3C8BgjDKOipfnnmYQRUwyqKnO" style="height: 275px; width: 183px;" width="183" /></div>
<br />
Is it just me??? LOL<br />
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E=DC2Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04915639599195878531noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2129230279658474132.post-86374975442041824952012-05-17T08:00:00.000-04:002012-05-23T04:34:35.654-04:00Runners, take your mark!I meant to post this on 5.18.12 so my references to "tomorrow" are actually in the past. Sorry :)<br />
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As I mentioned in my <a href="http://fightingbridezillas.blogspot.com/2012/05/lets-play-little-catch-up.html" target="_blank">previous post</a>, I had the <a href="http://www.atlii.com/uterine_fibroids/ufe_faqs.cfm" target="_blank">UFE</a> surgery last September. This was our first strike against our arch nemesis: da broids. I immediately saw an improvement in my quality of life. My cycles jumped on a normal 28 day schedule and the heavy flows were gone ending my chronic anemia symptoms. We timed the surgery to allow me plenty of time to recuperate before the wedding & honeymoon. So as soon as the dust settled from the wedding, I found a gynecologist who specializes in treating "moms-to-be-with-challenges". I knew going in that we had several strikes against us:<br />
<ol>
<li>I'm getting a little long in the tooth. I'll be 40 this December. My eggs are not getting any younger!</li>
<li>Though dead and significantly smaller, the aforementioned broids are still in my uterus. I still have some shrinking to go; it's something that continues over time. But until they are all shriveled up, they are still taking up precious cargo space.</li>
</ol>
So one of the first things my new gyno wanted to do was establish a baseline on my fertility. She ordered two routine tests to give us a snapshot of what we were up against.<br />
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The first test was a simple blood test to measure my Anti-Mullerian Hormone (<a href="http://answers.webmd.com/answers/1189988/what-do-i-need-to-know" target="_blank">AMH</a>) blood levels. This substance is thought to be a strong indicator of a woman's "ovarian reserves" or egg supply for short. The experts have established a chart based upon a woman's age, uterine history and AMH levels to gauge her egg supply.<br />
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<strong>CHALLENGE #1:</strong> My AMH levels are below normal suggesting that I have a low egg supply. Awesome.</div>
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The second test was a hysterosalpingogram (<a href="http://www.webmd.com/infertility-and-reproduction/guide/hysterosalpingogram-21590" target="_blank">HSG</a>) to determine if my fallopian tubes were up to the task. During this test, a radiologist shoots dye into the uterus and tracks how the dye travels through your pipes. Ideally, the dye should fill up the uterine cavity, flow through the fallopian tubes and spill out into the abdomen.</div>
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<strong>CHALLENGE #2:</strong> My left fallopian tube was blocked by some mass (not a fibroid). Wasn't nothing flowing over there. Even. More. Awesomeness.</div>
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With those results, my gyno ordered me straight to a reproductive endocrinologist. I didn't get to pass GO!, collect $200 or pick up a 'Get out Jail Free!' card. She was done with me. How exciting!</div>
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Tomorrow's our first meeting with the repro man. I'm not expecting much from this session besides orders for even more tests. I'm hoping these will just call for blood samples cause my uterus is still a little salty with me over the HSG (a common side effect is "uterine discomfort"). So I'm surprisingly calm as I write this with our session just hours away. Week before last week was a whole 'nother story. That's when my gyno first delivered...rather ungraciously...the news (She SUCKS so I'm planning to find me another gyno as soon as I can). I was incredibly upset, completely overwhelmed and pretty sad about my outlook. But the initial shock has worn off plus, I've since had a chance to speak to a nurse with the dern decency & patience to explain my results and possible resolutions. More importantly, I've been praying...ALOT. So I'm ready to face this thing (well, at least tomorrow) head-on. </div>
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Plus, my sweetie will be by my side.</div>
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Lady Hawk</div>S3...SSHhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14347220411615717099noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2129230279658474132.post-78505004914555936682012-05-16T19:18:00.000-04:002012-05-16T19:18:08.346-04:00Let's play a little catch-upThe other day, Donnica sent me a link to a <a href="http://faith-lovefamilymarriage.blogspot.com/2012/05/if-you-want-to-know-now-you-do.html" target="_blank">Life.Love&Marriage</a> blog post on fibroids. After reading Faith's post, I left the following comment.<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
I have battled fibroids for 10+ years. More than a dozen of the boogers have pitched a tent in my uterus. I'm sure you know by now that the qty of the invaders doesn't really matter. What matters is their individual/collective sizes and positioning. Have one sit on your bladder or bowels and the pain can drop you to your knees. But have an innocuous one in your uterine wall and you may never know it's even there. With that, some women are fortunate enough to have broids and never experience a single side effect - either during their cycles or pregnancies. My broids were such pests that I dubbed myself the modern day "woman at the well". They triggered monthly cycles that ran every 3 weeks & came along with the heavy sloughing, cramps etc. I've had more accidents, mostly really public, and missed more days of work, more celebrations, more outings, etc. than I care to recount. The excessive blood loss also meant that I had to get regular iron infusions to deal with the chronic anemia. I've had two myomectomies and one really scary ER visit in 07 that brought me within days of an emergency hysterectomy. I literally couldn't walk for 2 weeks: my broids were so swollen and so painful that my abdomen completely spazzed out on me. I thought my pelvis was gonna split in two. Fortunately, I had some serious prayer warriors on my side and was blessed with a reprieve. For about 2 years, my cycles were normal, at least for me, and the pain was gone. But then they flared up again last year...engaged but childless, I began reviewing my options. Another myomectomy likely would not have given me long term relief. Wanting to try for kids, a hysterectomy was out of the question and an ablation was just as bad that. Lastly, the magnetic resonance was too unproven to consider (plus, it wasn’t covered by insurance). Luckily, I knew of uterine fibroid emobilization (UFE) and Dr. John Lipman, <a href="http://www.atlii.com/index.cfm">http://www.atlii.com/index.cfm</a>. I'd considered it off and on for years but never pulled the trigger.</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Thankfully, I got my life back on September 29th, 2011. A few well-placed micro particles starved off the monsters in my belly :). My periods returned to a normal 28 day cycle with NO pain, NO sloughing and NO excessive flows. Even better, I haven't needed an iron transfusion since before the surgery. My energy and overall health went through the roof! My DEEPEST regret was that I did not pursue the UFE when I first heard of it, probably in 06 --- I hesitated time and time again. I urge you to visit the site and consider this option. You don’t have to go through the crap that broids bring. They can seriously TAKE. OVER. YOUR. LIFE. The babies will come but you need to be able to enjoy your life and your new marriage. </blockquote>
<br />
Writing that seemed like the perfect intro to bring our readers up to speed on what I like to call "Da Quest". Da Quest is quite simply Team Hawkins' plan/hopes/dream/faith-driven quest to build a family. As this journey will be <strong>my </strong>top priority over the coming months, I've decided that I'm going to share the experience here. I'm hoping doing so will help me cope with the physical, mental, emotional and hormonal roller coaster that I'm about to jump on (I was a complete wreck 2 weeks ago but more on that later). I'm hoping that sharing will help me sort out my feelings and fears. I'm also likely to VENT about the countless people who bombard me with the "when are you getting pregnant?!?" <strike>questions</strike>DEMANDS...sheesh.<br />
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Please know that I have absolute faith that God's good and perfect will for our lives and our family will prevail in this situation. But I'd be lying to you if I didn't admit that worry sometimes consumes me. When it does, I've found that prayer and submission has been my sole comfort. I've accepted that this situation is in God's hands and totally beyond my control. So I hope you don't mind hearing about this from time to time. I promise not to get too sappy! :)<br />
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Lady HawkS3...SSHhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14347220411615717099noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2129230279658474132.post-3174323404913428642012-05-14T16:57:00.000-04:002012-05-14T16:57:11.479-04:00QOTD: Quote of The Day<h6 style="font-weight: normal;">
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<span style="font-size: large;">”More marriages might survive if the partners realized that sometimes the better comes after the worse”</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"> ~ Doug Larson</span></h6>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04915639599195878531noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2129230279658474132.post-51225458659601414092012-05-08T13:03:00.000-04:002012-05-08T13:03:01.522-04:00God's Plan for Happy Marriage<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-UooXnyqvKzo/T6lRorbEV6I/AAAAAAAAVqU/7frHB0AcPFY/s1600/imagesCA3HRXUW.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-UooXnyqvKzo/T6lRorbEV6I/AAAAAAAAVqU/7frHB0AcPFY/s1600/imagesCA3HRXUW.jpg" /></a></div>
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<br />
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Yes, God really does have a plan for marriage. Here is a great FREEBIE that goes over a few of the things that God purposes for us in marriage.<br />
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<a href="http://www.tomorrowsworld.org/booklets/gods-plan-for-happy-marriage"><img border="0" height="102" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-LtsGtrIPQW4/T6lRPh5cg5I/AAAAAAAAVqM/1vjGOLGR2Y8/s200/Free-Download.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.tomorrowsworld.org/booklets/gods-plan-for-happy-marriage">Click here</a> to download the free PDF or ebook version.<br />
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Have you thought about what God's plan is for your marriage?<br />
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E=DC2Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04915639599195878531noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2129230279658474132.post-35972315104105173082012-05-06T18:17:00.001-04:002012-05-06T18:17:50.692-04:00Hawkins Affair Recap<h2 class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #073763;">Hawkins Affair Recap</span></h2>
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Here is it, a few days past my 6 MONTH anniversary and I'm STILL slacking ont the recap! </div>
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<strong><span style="font-size: large;">For shame! </span></strong></div>
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You, see, what had happened was...the photographer sent our wedding pics on 2 CDs. The ceremony was on one and the reception on another. </div>
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Well...I lost the ceremony CD. I know. WHO does that? Who plans for months, gets married and then loses their pics!?!? </div>
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I do, that's who.</div>
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Worse yet, I totally stalled asking her for a new one just hoping that my forverlosingsomething self would remember what I did with it. </div>
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<strong><u>NO LUCK. </u></strong></div>
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So I finally sucked it up and asked her for a copy. It arrived broken. And somewhere along the way, I have managed to lose the CD with the reception pics.</div>
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So you see, I'm in a bit of a quandry here :)</div>
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But never fear, I'm working on a 3rd copy of our pics and am pulling pics from the guest photos. Hopefully, I'll have things sorted out before our 1 year anniversary :).</div>
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Lady Hawk</div>S3...SSHhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14347220411615717099noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2129230279658474132.post-61850854716313013802012-05-02T10:43:00.000-04:002012-05-02T15:04:09.672-04:00Blog Name Change<div style="text-align: center;">
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-O7Kl8WpSDrQ/T6GFI6__wiI/AAAAAAAAVS0/MRW5QUsp3nQ/s1600/change.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" mea="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-O7Kl8WpSDrQ/T6GFI6__wiI/AAAAAAAAVS0/MRW5QUsp3nQ/s320/change.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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We's MARRIED NOW!!!!!!!! :)<br />
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Now that we are all married we are no long FIGHTING BRIDEZILLA!! Whew...thank goodness! That was almost a losing battle LOL<br />
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Now we are...<br />
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DRUM ROLL<br />
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<b>CHASING EVER AFTER</b>!!! :)<br />
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What do you guys think of the new name?? :)<br />
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E=DC2Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04915639599195878531noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2129230279658474132.post-55090075610154341212012-04-30T15:56:00.003-04:002012-04-30T15:56:42.458-04:00QOTD: Quote of The Day<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="color: purple;">
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<span style="font-size: large;"><i><b>Stay busy doing what is required to strengthen your
marriage. This will leave less time to be concerned with what can
destroy it. </b></i></span></div>
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<b> -Husband and Wife for Life</b></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04915639599195878531noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2129230279658474132.post-25616680630837286672012-04-24T10:24:00.001-04:002012-04-24T10:24:39.940-04:00Why Are Men So Upset about "Think Like A Man"?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<i>Why are the men so upset about this movie/book??? </i><br />
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Really...they are NOT giving away secrets!! LOL! This is really some old school advice. Better known as <u><b>common sense</b></u>.
Unfortunately, everyone does not have this. When you have babies having
babies, sometimes that good advice does not get passed along.<br />
<br />
Is it wrong if a women comes out of the theater thinking...<br />
<ul>
<li>I need to develop some standards for myself and require some respect</li>
<li>I don't need to sleep with every Tom, <b style="color: #cc0000;">DICK</b>, and Harry...maybe they should wait for my loving</li>
<li>Maybe <i>just maybe</i> the man of my dreams does not have to be 6'4", tall, dark, and handsome <strike>oh wait...that's my boo LOL</strike></li>
</ul>
So you see, there really is some sound advice. No giving away
the game, not man bashing...just arming women with some COMMON SENSE!!<br />
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<i><b>WHY Y'ALL MAD??? </b></i>LOL<br />
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<i>Think Like A Man </i>came in #1 in the country. Making more than $33 Million
this opening weekend. Can we not just <i>at least</i> be excited about that? <br />
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And outside of it all of that, this was one of the funniest movies I've seen in a while. I know about a month ago I posted <a href="http://dc2squared.blogspot.com/2012/03/whos-funny.html" target="_blank">Who's Funny??</a> I just was NOT on the <a href="http://dc2squared.blogspot.com/2012/03/whos-funny.html" target="_blank">Kevin Hart</a>
bandwagon. Well how about I'm ready to catch a ride??? LOL He really
did make this movie. I feel like I need to see it again just so I can
hear every bit of his foolishness! SMH<br />
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Anyway, GO SEE THE MOVIE!! Don't let the title fool ya!!<br />
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E=DC2Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04915639599195878531noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2129230279658474132.post-9239602757009733692012-04-18T10:36:00.000-04:002012-04-18T10:36:36.613-04:00Long overdue recapI went back through some of the posts from 2011 and I saw that I did an introduction of <a href="http://fightingbridezillas.blogspot.com/2011/09/im-mrs.html">being a Mrs </a>post as well as a <a href="http://fightingbridezillas.blogspot.com/2011/09/bouquetsrecap.html">bouquet </a>recap. I also did a post about my horrible experience with my <a href="http://fightingbridezillas.blogspot.com/2011/09/is-there-doc-in-house.html">Day of Coordinator</a>. Somehow I've forgotten to do a whole wedding recap. And being that it's been almost EIGHT MONTHS...I'm not even going to TRY to pretend to remember all the details!! :o)<br />
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We were featured on <a href="http://yeswewed.com/2011/10/06/reader-feature-donnica-edward-georgia/">Yes We Wed's</a> blog site. There are tons of great pictures there! I guess you can say that I'm cheating <i>a little</i> and just directing you to the link for that post! But hey...I did SOMETHING, right??? :o)<br />
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<a href="http://yeswewed.com/2011/10/06/reader-feature-donnica-edward-georgia/"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ebLendHJ24g/T47Hxjm4ZjI/AAAAAAAAUd8/zaGxn4UjM0g/s320/IMG_5406.JPG" width="213" /></a></div>
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Anyway, <a href="http://yeswewed.com/2011/10/06/reader-feature-donnica-edward-georgia/">head on over</a> and check out a few of our pics as well as some dialog about how we met and how E proposed (I know...a repeat) Goodness...I'm trying!!! :o) LOL<br />
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Also, be on the look out for more post about life after the wedding!! Hope you all stay with us and enjoy our lives as well go on this journey called marriage!<br />
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TOODLES!!!<br />
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E=DC2Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04915639599195878531noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2129230279658474132.post-31624464232124745742011-12-01T09:11:00.001-05:002011-12-01T09:18:14.895-05:00Now It's Time To Say Goodbye...<em>Really??</em> 2011 is over??<br />
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31 more days and then it's a wrap!!! On to 2012!<br />
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We have our last wedding in TWO DAYS!! WOW!! S3...Shh has worked her butt over these last couple of weeks with tons of DIY projects. She is as ready as can be for her day! Then after that...<em>what???</em><br />
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Ohhh ...<br />
Looking forward to S3...Shh recaps (Dang have <em><strong>I </strong></em>even done any recaps??? LAWD!!!) <br />
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I guess we go on living without wedding talk. We move on to MARRIAGE talk! :o) Maybe even BABY talk?? LOL<br />
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Hopefully we can still blog from time to time...maybe even turn this into a marriage blog? But until then...all wedding talk is coming to an end. *sigh* Bitter sweet...<br />
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E=DC2</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04915639599195878531noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2129230279658474132.post-16781262469870262632011-11-30T21:06:00.004-05:002011-11-30T21:28:00.013-05:00DIY CorsageSo I've asked 8 ladies to serve as hostesses on my big day. One is a friend that I met through work and grown close to over the years. The others are my buddies from college. Though we are spread out over the South, we have been thick as thieves through the years. And since we tend to travel in packs of 7 so we nicknamed ourselves the "The Septuplets" or the "The Tuplets" for short.<br /><br />At any rate, each of these ladies has <em>relentlessly</em> teased me about my aversion to over-arching DIY projects involving feathers and sequins...so when it came time to order their corsages, I knew that an ordinary flower just would NOT do! At first, I toyed with a sassy wrist corsage but thought those would not make it past the Prelude. Plus, they would only shrivel up and die double plus, those things are PRICEY!<br /><br />Belatedly, I enlisted some help for an Etsy search. But by the time I was ready to pull the trigger, my shipping window was busted. I searched The Hob and my home away from home, Michael's, for feathers, sequins and whatnots but came up <strong>empty</strong> handed. I was beginning to get frustrated! I really, really, really wanted some grey feathers and NONE could be found. I thought about buying a boa and pulling feathers off of it...but that seemed like a waste. I even had trouble find a reasonably priced decent bunch of pink flowers for my base.<br /><br />But I lucked up on a trip to old faithful, The Dollar Tree. So with flower bunch, sparklies and glue gun in hand, this:<br /><br /><p align="center"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-YZscola3qGY/TtblKjhccWI/AAAAAAAAAMY/Gs7LpzKe1hQ/s1600/Matls.png"><img style="WIDTH: 200px; HEIGHT: 158px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5680979949471428962" border="0" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-YZscola3qGY/TtblKjhccWI/AAAAAAAAAMY/Gs7LpzKe1hQ/s200/Matls.png" /></a></p><br /><br />Became these:<br /><br /><br /><p align="center"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ql_qVr0dZ3k/TtblnYHzVlI/AAAAAAAAAMk/6dgfmJ5wOoY/s1600/Corsages.png"><img style="WIDTH: 200px; HEIGHT: 162px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5680980444627293778" border="0" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ql_qVr0dZ3k/TtblnYHzVlI/AAAAAAAAAMk/6dgfmJ5wOoY/s200/Corsages.png" /></a></p><br />These are still wanting for some over the top embellishment that I hope to find over the next two days. But it's a start. I'm hoping the girls will get a lifetime of jokes outta these!S3...SSHhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14347220411615717099noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2129230279658474132.post-156818209473301472011-11-30T05:50:00.003-05:002011-11-30T06:07:35.029-05:00Introducing....The Escort Board!Well, that's what Michael's calls it! was looking for a stylish but <em>easy to read</em> option for displaying our placecards. On one of my MANY trips to Michael's s, I happened upon the "Wedding Project" display. You know that little flip-picture-binder thingee that can lull you into thinking that you can DIY every LAST detail of your wedding day? Yep, that one.<br /><br />At any rate, I happened upon <a href="http://www.michaels.com/Escort-Card-Board/e09963,default,pd.html?start=44&cgid=projects-wedding-decorations">this</a> jewel and said, "Self, now that's some DIY we can get behind!"<br /><br />To macth my color scheme, I used a silver satin material from JoAnn's (super cheap), a broad navy ribbon with a skinny pink ribbon (both from <a href="http://www.hobbylobby.com/">The Hob</a>) overlay. To make it easier to navigate, I glued the pink ribbon on to the blue. Else, I woulda needed another set of hands and those are generally in short supply at 4 AM!<br /><br />I affixed all of this to a piece of foam poster board. To hide the backside construction, I centered a plain piece of white posterboard to the back. Everything was tacked on using packing tape. The instructions said to staple it but I could not get my head around how doing so wouldn't leave small punctures in the facing fabric. So I opted for the tape. I'm pretty anal so I felt confident eye-balling the spacing. The bottom row is drooping a bit in the pic but I have since tacked the blue ribbon onto the silver backing with a smidge of glue.<br /><br />I also opted to run it horizontally because I'm sitting this on a knee wall. Running it vertically may have put the top rows out of reach for some of my vertically challenged guests. A verticaly run would have been fine for a table-side setup.<br /><br />But enough yakking....<br /><br /><br /><div align="center"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-7gdcbHSRcy8/TtYMn_LwvmI/AAAAAAAAAMM/A_w3l2lazvw/s1600/EscortCardBoard.png"><img style="WIDTH: 200px; HEIGHT: 174px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5680741861089656418" border="0" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-7gdcbHSRcy8/TtYMn_LwvmI/AAAAAAAAAMM/A_w3l2lazvw/s200/EscortCardBoard.png" /></a></div><br />The hostesses will slide the placecards in between the ribbon so that the pink ribbon holds them in place. I have 7 rows which should be plenty to hold my ~130 cards.S3...SSHhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14347220411615717099noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2129230279658474132.post-43267475428853348492011-11-19T08:45:00.014-05:002011-11-19T10:14:22.441-05:00Out of the ashes arose...<div align="center"><strong><span style="font-size:130%;">A Card Box!!!<br /></div></span></strong><br />Yeah, that's a little dramatic but this project was <em>almost</em> a basket as in, "I'm just gonna throw a basket on the gift table and call it a day!" But DC2 would have <strong>NONE</strong> of that! She'd already gifted me the cardboard boxes that went unused for her big day (she opted for round boxes) and the "H" was already spray painted (NO returns!). So it was time to get CRAFTY!!!<br /><br />First, CTE pitched in and painted the boxes:<br /><br /><br /><div align="center"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-fgacFZTT1us/Tse0BKyJRFI/AAAAAAAAALQ/jf-4DQ4ors4/s1600/JustSilver.png"><img style="WIDTH: 183px; HEIGHT: 200px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5676703787491345490" border="0" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-fgacFZTT1us/Tse0BKyJRFI/AAAAAAAAALQ/jf-4DQ4ors4/s200/JustSilver.png" /></a></div><br />The smaller box had a grapevine imprint on it. Since that did not go with our theme, I needed to cover it up with a strip of wide blue ribbon (see above). That hid the vine action but looked <u>really</u> plain. So I topped it with a skinny pink ribbon and repeated the same on the larger box.<br /><br />On one of our marathon Michael's run, DC2 & I had picked up some wooden letters to spell out "Hawkins". So I layed those out on a strip of blue painters tape and painted them "fuchsia". Don't believe me? Here it is:<br /><br /><div align="center"><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-K1Rj3OFSViY/Tse2VeJnEbI/AAAAAAAAALc/ddpfv4l4vpg/s1600/Fuchsia.png"><img style="WIDTH: 186px; HEIGHT: 200px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5676706335310680498" border="0" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-K1Rj3OFSViY/Tse2VeJnEbI/AAAAAAAAALc/ddpfv4l4vpg/s200/Fuchsia.png" /></a></div><br />Maybe my eyes are playing tricks on me but this "fuchsia" looks more like "pepto bismol" pink to me...<br /><br /><br /><div align="center"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-wfrM-qlLXk0/Tse3cfGVyTI/AAAAAAAAALo/XtHbaBu080E/s1600/LightPink.png"><img style="WIDTH: 145px; HEIGHT: 200px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5676707555336112434" border="0" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-wfrM-qlLXk0/Tse3cfGVyTI/AAAAAAAAALo/XtHbaBu080E/s200/LightPink.png" /></a></div><br />Oh well! It's on there now (<strong><em>If</em></strong> I have time, I'll see if I can find a true "fuchsia" and paint it again but I AM NOT gonna worry about it)! Since I had a ton left over from the Table # project, I added the sparkly doodads to the corners.<br /><br />Next up was the dreaded "<strong>H</strong>". I said dreaded because I initially wanted to <em>cover it </em>with our Engagement pics. But my initial project plan was thrown off when I printed the pictures vertically instead of horizontally. Plus, it turned out that I did not have enough unique shots to cover the whole thing. Double plus, I had underestimated navigating those corners! Though I fancy myself a crafty DIYer, this was only my second time popping open a jar of Modge Podge (MP) and I kept second guessing my plan. Triple plus, the dang price tag left a rough spot when I removed it. I probably wasted a good <u>2 weeks</u> fretting about how I could cover that up - ribbon, spackle, sand it, start over, trash the "H"???<br /><br />SO I kept procastinating about starting it...Even today, I left it to the end! But DC2 has been on TOP of my task list (that's another post) so <strong>T.H.A.N.K.S. </strong>to her, I can proudly say that I FORGED AHEAD!!!<br /><br />First, I laid out the pics using blue painters tape. I left a little edge around each so the underlying silver could "frame" each image. Once I had a good layout, I cracked open the MP and went for it! Once the pics were in place, I went back to my overflowing stash of sparkly doodads (already open so again NO returns) and glued a row down each side. I have to say that after all that hemhawing around, this wasn't NEARLY as hard as I'd drummed up in my head. And, <em>if I may so myself, </em>turned out pretty darn good!<br /><br /><br /><p align="center"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-OLpP7t2i6uo/TsfAl0ts4iI/AAAAAAAAAL0/-LrNWplWvGE/s1600/H.png"><img style="WIDTH: 114px; HEIGHT: 200px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5676717611361821218" border="0" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-OLpP7t2i6uo/TsfAl0ts4iI/AAAAAAAAAL0/-LrNWplWvGE/s200/H.png" /></a></p><br /><p>I haven't yet cut a hole in the box. I'm going to consult an expert (DC2) in the matter before I do. But I've done enought to <em>o</em>-fficially cross this off my "To Do" list! I am pleased with the final result. I am especially tickled that I managed to get her done <em>WHILE</em> writing a blog post about it! </p><br /><p>DC2 - I hope you're proud of me!!!</p><br /><br /><p align="center"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-dQx5oi4aahY/TsfFmyn2R_I/AAAAAAAAAMA/OG9cjetiBhk/s1600/CardBox.png"><img style="WIDTH: 102px; HEIGHT: 200px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5676723125538408434" border="0" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-dQx5oi4aahY/TsfFmyn2R_I/AAAAAAAAAMA/OG9cjetiBhk/s200/CardBox.png" /></a> </p>S3...SSHhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14347220411615717099noreply@blogger.com2