Tomorrow? The Engagement Partae Hoedown Deluxe.

50-60 people.

One house.

Many Mexicans.

And gallons of wine. California wine.


"I am of the opinion that an assembly of this kind, thrown by good respectable people, can have no ill intent."

I drank eggnog yesterday. It's a bit like drinking yogurt. But with less nutrition. And more egg.

It was a hellish week at work. HELLISH. But it's done now. And I'm knee deep in Saturday putzing, thinking about tomorrow and what I'm going to wear.

The menu? Carnitas. Rice. Maybe some Tamales. Tortillas. Salad. And maybe some mole. Maybe:)

I think I'll make a batch and tupperware it over. If people ask where I got it (and they will) I'll share. If they don't, it's mine! All mine!

There really isn't anything to update. We still don't have a date. The dress STILL needs cleaning (though I did try it on for the girls on Thanksgiving. I thought Lisa and Dana were going to burst into tears). And I'm generally swamped. But no matter. We will prevail.

On registries. As stated before, Joe and I don't need stuff. We have stuff. Lots of stuff. Though, honestly, I wouldn't mind having a few of the cooking items I placed on my Amazon Wishlist. So aside from that, if people WANT to send us things, a Home Depot Gift Card is currently the approved non-stuff gift of choice. We have a house to fix and major appliances to buy (dryer, stove, dishwasher...) and it makes the absolute most sense for right now. A few people have asked about this and if you are one of them, send me an email and I'll provide the neccesary address.

Let me also say, from both of us, that this is not a plea for gifts. We'd actually prefer people just be happy and joyous with us and send us all manner of good vibes and wishes for the future, as those hold more value to us than anything else. Letters. Cards. Magical Joy in a jar. All are being accepted and treasured.

Now it's December 4th. We think:)

The people who Joe wants to come the most, can't. This makes us both sad and frustrated, since I'm not sure we have a real say in the when this is supposed to take place.

Le poopnuts.

We'll hopefully be talking to Edwin today. Which means settling a date. So that's progress.

ACK! Saturday AFTER THANKSGIVING!!!

Eeep! Runs around! Gathers names! Ack!

Nita's home and married. I have a new brother-in-law. In a few weeks I'll have a new cousin-in-law. And after?

Craziness.

I've gotten the impression from a folks (this isn't aimed at anyone in particular. It's the general feel I've received from several people) that I'm not being as 'geared up' for this as I should be. I dunno, but I thought that's what I should try to avoid? I'd like my dominant memory of this wedding to be yay! and not fuck!. Thing are in motion, though the major hold up's right now are 1: Father Edwin and his popularity among his current parishoners. Apparently his voicemail is beyond nightmarish, and in open revolt he often refuses to listen to his messages. Can't say I blame him too much. 2: Mom and Gloria are corraling together to try and plan the engagement party, which will be more of a bridal shower if she postpones til January like she thinks they will.

But not pressed really. REALLY. It will all happen when it happens. So many details are dependent on others right now. And I'm totally fine with that.

I do have my dress in hand now. Nita told me to take it after the wedding. So I did. FILTHY! We don't wear white for a reason. So off to Yelena Bridal for a once over, repair, and thorough cleaning.

A. called last night asking about dates for a shower, and like most things wedding oriented, I had to say I had no idea. Blech to life's distractions. It showed too because I also forgot to tell her not to plan anything for my birthday. Though in hindsight that wouldn't be a big deal, assuming my mom doesn't have anything planned. Kill birds, I say.

And I must call Mona. Yes. Mona will know...

Current Mood: blah

I love my ring.

Mom and I went a cruisin' today, looking for an event site that would meet our budget and tastes.

Three-ish locations.

First was the Altadena Country Club, which is where mom and dad had their wedding reception all those years ago. Her guest list was 150ish people. But it was 1971. The bill came to around $700.

$700?

::weeps::

IF ONLY.

Next was Castle Green I and II. Castle Green is in fact one building. But due to some weird property arrangement, its ownership splits the building in two. So Castle I is the Romanesque Room. And Castle II is basically the whole first floor of the main entrance to the front of the building. I costs less than II. I is air conditioned (II is not surprisingly). II IS much prettier than I, but I isn't so ugly by comparison as to make it undoable. And I may allow us to have the wedding we want without killing us in the dollar bills.

Assuming we can keep the guest list down.

Altadena C.C. is extremely nice too, and recent renovations have made it clean, classy, and elegant, without being gaudy or over the top. For aesthetics, I prefer the A.C.C. For cost, Castle I. For originality, Castle II.

Next step, check the local museums to see if having the receiption there would suit our tastes and budget.

Joe and I went looking at invitations at Vroman's last night. They have a new stationary store on the corner that handles their fine pens and papers inventory. Carl, our 'outgoing' counterhelp, chatted us up while we meandered through binder after binder of poofdie nonsense. Carl informed us the "Precious Moments" binder would probably not be to our liking. So he steered us over to some impressive letterpress selections.

People throw the invites away, I know. So why spend a bucketload? I never saw the value myself until we were introduced to Julie Holcomb Printers

Stunning.

I would just like to say that at no point during this process has anyone mentioned registering for gifts at I Dig My Dog. Remember, I'm the one who gets ignored while they're off galavanting in the southern hemisphere. I'm the one who will nervously chew her own foot out of worry for their safety.

I'm the one who keeps them safe at night.

Jus' sayin'...

As my Joe would say, here's the deal...

We have stuff. We have lots of stuff. We don't need stuff.

We need house repairs. We need furniture. A refinished floor. A new bathroom. Property tax. Honeymoon. Shelves. Landscaping. Roof.

Don't get me wrong. I love opening up a present. I like stuff. But the reality is we've been living a life together for five years. We have all the little doodads and cups and saucers and blenders and frames.

What we need is cold hard cash. The kind that will let us really make our house our home.

So I've been trying to find alternatives. And I found two:

aperfectweddinggift.com's mission is to provide wedding couples the service of a money gift registry that is safe, convenient and reliable, thus providing the bride and groom the ultimate freedom to choose the gift they really want.

Cool.

Sometimes what you really want isn't something that can be wrapped up in a gift box and sent in the mail. For instance, if you'd rather have money towards a new car than a 7-speed blender, you should register for -- and receive -- exactly what you want. Our "create-a-gift" service enables you to receive American Express Gift Cheques to be used towards whatever it is you want for your wedding gift -- traditional or not.

Nice.

And while I was looking for alternatives, I also stumbled on a Sound Money piece about wedding gifts.

And a Consumer Reports guide to wedding registries.

Engagement ring in hand btw. Just not on hand. Too small. So getting it sized later. Thanks, Grandma!