My attempt to afford a wedding…after 11 years of dating…we still can’t afford it?

Hey Everyone!
So like many of the brides out there living in this crap economy…I too am trying to find a way to keep from breaking the bank when planning a wedding. Miles (my fiance) and I have been dating for over 11 years now and we’ve been waiting to get married because we wanted to wait til we were financially ready…but we realized that we may never be ready. If we’re not ready by April next year…City Hall will have an extra appointment that day! Anyways, so after contemplating a few things we finally picked a date. Decided no engagement ring and no proposal since we’ve been together so long and it’s pretty much a given that we would be getting married. A few months later, he officially proposed and it was wonderful. I’m not one to be too cheesy, but he really surprised me…I had no idea! Since that day I’ve been stressing about “the BUDGET” since now the clock is really ticking and a few days ago I came across a contest and I’ve decided to join the David’s Bridal contest to help pay for the bridal party dresses. If any of you brides read this…go for it…I think all the brides out there should try! Check out my entry and vote for me if you like it!!! Thanks a bunch!!! here’s the link…

http://www.brickfish.com/Pages/PhotosAlbums/PhotoView.aspx?picid=789489_96389787&=PP_VoteConfirm_401_PPIMEMAIL&isep=1&pbapi=1817071&pbvi=56171761

Thanks again EVERYONE!!!

Pe a Banda Fiesta aka Rock Band Fiesta

So I’ve had a pretty interesting week and a half. Last week (April 10th) was our 11 Year Anniversary. Spent 4 really fun days in Tahoe, but only got to snowboard for 1 day with the warming weather and tight budget we had. The mini vacation went great except for one night when I think I was a bit hormonal. See the thing is I asked Miles to talk to his brother and Lauren about the date they are planning their wedding. Originally, they had made plans to get married in August of this year, but for some reason they decided to change it to next year. Well…that is a huge (and I mean HUGE!) problem. First issue, in the Filipino culture, it is bad luck for siblings to get married in the same year (something about an imbalance in nature and family). Second, they are planning a date so close to ours that it would be a big problem for everyone in the wedding financially (Miles, his sister, me, etc.). Third, also because of they close date, it would be such a burden to have Miles family from out of state fly in twice in a three month period and it would be mean to make them choose to go to one wedding and not the other. Fourth, I think it’s only fair that after waiting 11 years to get married (well it will be 12 by then) that we get to marry first. Especially since this will be his brother’s second marriage and Lauren is like a teenager still. Anyways, so Miles being the way he is did not put his foot down when he talked to his brother and had decided we should change the date we want to marry. I went ballistic of course for all the reasons above and I did not have a very good Wednesday night last week because of it. Miles has finally decided to talk to them again and emphasize the importance of them moving their wedding date. Actually he made this decision after a bit of crying and him realizing that I have agreed not to have an engagement ring or proposal. If I sacrifice something I’ve always wanted, I think he should do everything in his power to talk some sense into his brother and at least give me the date that us two have debated over the last couple years. Drama already huh?

Well I had a great weekend! Saturday, my cousins had decided to have a fiesta for Richelle because it was the first day of her month long leave for her wedding. Our fiesta included: Rock Band, Margaritas, Tequila shots, Tamales, King Taco Tacos, 10 lbs of marinated chicken, a George Foreman Grill, Sombreros, Fake Mustaches, and a bunch of Filipino girls attempting to say everything in Spanish! Great Fun let me tell you! I’ll post the pictures soon. On Sunday my aunt threw Richelle a bridal shower and I thought it would be nice and clean because the theme was a tea party, but holy moly old ladies can be really dirty! The games, decorations, and gifts were almost as bad as our bachelorette stuff!

Today I finally got to talk to my parents since Miles and I first told them about our decision to have a wedding next year. My parents are ten times more excited than I am! So my mom has spoken to a priest that is a family friend and he has agreed to perform the ceremony for us. He also gave my mom advice on how to take care of Miles and my situation. Since Miles is not Catholic and he has never been baptized nor ever practiced any type of religion, the marriage process gets a little complicated. Apparently the best way to take care of business is to ask for permission for the Bishop or Archdiocese to assist Miles in becoming a Catholic or allowing us to marry without him converting. Miles and I will be going to Our Lady of Angels Cathedral on Friday with my parents to take care of this situation. We will also be meeting with the church we want to get married in to see if we can reserve the date. I guess St. Charles is super popular and there is sometimes a year waiting list. So much crap and comes out of making one single decision. My mom and dad have so many plans already. My mom wants my dress made in the Philippines, my dad wants me to have at least 21 sponsors, and we all decided if the music center prices come out reasonable…that is the reception location. Thank goodness my parents have decided to help out a great deal in this wedding! I think it’s mostly because I will probably be the only one of their kids who will have an actual wedding and give them grandchildren. LOL!!! Miles for some reason really wants to pay for it all because he fears allowing my parents to pay for the bulk would allow them complete control over everything. I really don’t think so.

Anyways, what a long blog! Wow! Ok I shall go now then. Dawson’s Creek is starting in 20 minutes. I have time to Mar Bath before it starts! LOL!!!! I crack myself up!

Save The Date…

So nothing in my life is very interesting right now. Still jobless, still bored, still broke…But I know the people who read this and I thought it would be interesting to put it out this way.

Just to let ya’ll know Miles and I had a very important discussion a couple days ago AND nothing is official, nothing set in stone…BUT please save this date and keep it in my mind not to make any plans on this day. If all falls according to plan, October 10, 2009 will be a most interesting day! FYI, no rings, no proposals. Been dating way too long!

The Not So Cute Mouse!

Ok, it looks like I am the last of my college roommates to start blogging, but here I go….

What can I say, my life has been boring and crappy as hell recently…well, actually several people in my life have actually kept me sane these past 8 1/2 weeks of joblessness. Since most people work during the day, I have been keeping myself busy with Harry Potter books and cooking (reruns of What I Like About You in the afternoons and Saved By the Bell late at night). I guess I’ve had a few enlightened moments ever since I’ve had a lot of time to think. The one thing that I’ve been noticing more and more recently though is that the more time you spend with a certain group of people in your life, the less you seem to spend with the other groups. BUT it’s really good to know that with everyone in my little groups, no matter how often I see them, it’s like time can never change our relationships with each other. During college, I sort of distanced myself from my extended family (my cousins). I used to see them almost everyday, but for reasons I don’t really care to discuss I started seeing them less and less while I was in college (sometimes months even a year passed). I feared trying to bring myself back into that relationship again, but I guess I was just being plain stupid. Seeing my family again in the last couple years has really made a positive impact in my life and I soon noticed that nothing much had changed between us. My best friends and my roommates are exactly the same. Time will pass, but when we see each other it’s all still the same. I guess it’s always good to know that most likely I won’t be alone to face all that crap life throws at me.

Anyways, the one thing I have not had a chance to talk to anybody about is this ugly disgusting rodent that decided to say hello to me late last night while I was making T-shirts for the Price is Right (Yes I will be going again…hopefully this time I’ll get a chance to bid correctly!). So I was using puff paint to write on the shirts on an ironing board at Miles’ place when I heard scratching by the door. I thought it was Buttercup, but when I got to the door no one was there. As I was closing the door I see this mouse running down one of Miles’ closet!!!! Holy crap, I had no idea mice can jump and climb and do all this crazy stuff. AND LET ME TELL YOU….Miles was no help. He was freaking scared of the mouse too! We had the little sucker cornered after a half hour of debating and planning our trap and we tried to catch him, but he got away and I know the little bastard is planning to come back. He had these beady eyes and a long brown tail…ewww he was gross. Miles didn’t want to kill the stupid thing, but after he got away, we made a decision to set up some traps ’cause I really don’t want to see any more of Mickey Mouse’s ten million siblings.