It started with yesterday. I don’t normally take a day off work, but we haven’t really had a vacation in a long time and I was getting close to hitting the max of 200 hours accumulated, so I decided to take Friday off.

I finally made an appointment to get my eye brows done. I had been wanting to get them done for years, but was too chicken to do because they were in such bad shape (no pun intended). I went to FaceWorks, who specializes in skin care. I went to a “salon” back in high school, but didn’t feel like they knew what they were doing. I’ll post more on this later, but I am pleased.

Benjamin and I went out to lunch. I did some prep work for sewing.

We went to Fleet Feet to pick up my race packet for today and stopped at Smoothie King. We also went to the Mall and we tried to go to PF Changs, but the wait was over an hour and a half. We went to Pita Pit instead and had a fun time.

Benjamin let me open my birthday present a day early- it’s the laptop I’m typing on. I spent a lot of today getting it set up.

We also watched Kinky Boots on Netflix.

This morning started at 6:00am with my pre-race bagel. It was raining, but it was cool. The race started at 8 and by 9, we were done and back in the car. I was pleased with how we did. Lynn and I hadn’t really been training or running in this weather, so we finished in just over 44 minutes, for 4 miles so at an 11 minute mile. We stopped to walk 2 or 3 times.

Benjamin had not been feeling well, since Tuesday. He went to the Minute Clinic this afternoon and they said Strep!! Yuck! I am so glad that I have tried to stay away from his germs! Antibiotics should clear it up in 2 days.

I did some sewing on the Christmas apron.

We went to my mom’s house for dinner, cake, and ice cream.

I got a cute Fossil purse from her! Thanks Mom!

Saturday- July 3, 2010

Left the house around 9:30am, stopped at Heine Brothers to get coffee (iced for me) and we stopped at Jo Ann’s Craft and Fabric store. They were having a huge sale and I picked up some sewing and craft supplies. We then went to Oxmoor Mall for my hair appointment. It was at 11 and I looked through some books for ideas. I didn’t see anything exact, but I showed her a few things and just said- simple.

She started by putting clay in my hair to “make my hair dirty” to hold the curls. Then she sprayed style setter in my hair and used the curling iron, little by little.

Then she started to pin it up, little by little. I was pleased with it and was glad that I decided to get it done. I didn’t even make the appointment until Thursday night.

I got done around noon and then we went to Moe’s for lunch. The bride called and said they were running a little late. We got home, loaded a mini cooler with water, juice, and coke and put some snacks together. Then Benjamin dropped me off at the church. 4 of the 6 bridesmaids were there getting their makeup put on. I went ahead and started. The bride got there around 1:30, and we started to get our dresses on. Then we helped her get her dress on. She said she hadn’t tried it on since January. OMG, what was she thinking? What if it had not fit and we couldn’t get it zipped up? I couldn’t have done that!

We didn’t have a chance to get any pictures beforehand- except Benjamin and I went outside and he took some of me. We got ready just in time and then waited by the door. Noone was there to give us a cue, so we had to keep looking out the door.

The time came closer and we walked down the hallway. I was a little nervous. My groomsman wasn’t at the rehearsal so I didn’t get a chance to practice with him, but he did come down to find out who I was beforehand,  so it turned out fine. No major mess ups or anything during the ceremony. There were some steps added to get up onto the stage that weren’t there during rehearsal, so that threw them off a little bit. Thank goodness I didn’t have to get up there.  The white runner also gave the matron of honor a little bit of trouble at the beginning. My feet and knees were a little sore and wobbly during the ceremony.

The Father and the Bride:

The Happy Couple:

After the ceremony:

We took lots of pictures outside. And more pictures! They should be pretty good. Benjamin got a few too.

We went back inside where they announced our names and then we got to eat! I was starving, so 1 good thing about being part of the wedding party was first dibs! They also had 2 lines of food and you could go on both sides- so the 4 lines moved fast!

The normal first dance, daughter-father, and son-mother dance happened. Then the toasts and cutting of the cake.  I ended up cutting the cake, which was fine- but a little messy and my back hurt- but it was fun! I got to spend time with my other cousin’s girlfriend/fiancé (not sure which it is). We danced a little bit, but started to clean up around 7.

My aunt, mom, grandmother, and I:

We were done and the cars loaded at 8. A busy day, but my day started at 3:30am when I woke up to a dream (nightmare) about my dress and couldn’t go back to sleep until about 5, and got back up at 7.

We went to the Crescent Hill 4^th of July celebration and walked around to see the Peterson-Dumesnil House. Then we went to the Irish Rover for a continuation of our anniversary dinner compliments of my dad and stepmother!

Just wanted to say that weddings are stressful and they really shouldn’t be like that. It kind of brings out all of the emotions for some people (in a bad way). I’m trying to think back 7 years ago when I got married and I remember being a little stressed the day before- just to make sure that nothing had been forgotten- but never arguing or fighting. People are different I suppose.

Cheers!

Look what I got for around $9.50:

Lysol Neutra Air 3.29: $1.50 off coupon = .29

Listerine (Big Bottle) $5.29: $2 off coupon = $1.29

Women’s One a Day Vitamins $5.89: $2 off coupon = $1.89

Secret Deodorant $2.49: $1 off coupon = .49

Chinet 72 ct Lunch Plates $5.39: $2 off coupon = $1.39

Bic Soleil 4 Razors $5.29: $2 coupon = $1.29

Dove Deodorant $2.69: $1 off coupon = .69

Pert Plus for Men 3 in 1 for $3.49: $1.50 off coupon = .49

Yes- something rang up wrong and I had to go to Customer Service, but they were nice and patient with me.

I go into Z Salon. The receptionist greets me and asks me if I would like something to drink. She gives me a little clipboard to fill out my information and then my stylist comes over to meet me. She sits me down and I tell her my hair cutting (only get it cut about twice a year) and styling route. I show her how/where I want it cut (my guess is 3 inches cut off).  She walks me over to the washing station where she first massaged my hands and head- WOW! I wasn’t expecting that. For those 2-3 minutes, I was in heaven.

After washing my hair, we went back to her booth. She started to seperate my hair and then she asked if I wanted to go ahead and take care of my check so that I can leave easily when done. She then asked if I needed any product- “No Thanks.” I gave her my gift certificate and she clipped it somewhere (I have to take off my glasses and I can never see much).  The reception came over and grabbed the gift certificate and then asked me if I wanted to go ahead and schedule my next appointment- I hesitated and then said “No- not yet.”  I wasn’t even done yet, didn’t know if I liked my stylist, or what she did- so I wasn’t ready yet.

As the stylist finished, she sprayed 2 things in my hair and so I asked her what it is- to see how she would react and maybe try to sell it to me. She briefly went over it, but she didn’t go overboard- I guess she knew who she was dealing with. I then flat out said- “Knowing me and my routine- how often do I need to get my hair cut?” She replied back with 10 weeks- so I guess I’ll wait about 6 weeks and see if I want to schedule an appointment to come back.

The receptionist came back with my receipt and gave me a discount card for hair cutting and other services they have. The stylist finished up and asked me if I was happy. It was pretty good and then she said, “Let me touch up your lips.” This salon is affiliated with Aveda, so she took me over to the other side and picked out a lip gloss and put it on me. I was suprised that she didn’t try to sell it to me- but she really attempted to give me a full salon experience- hoping maybe that I would come back. I get to my car and look at the receipt- they also included a check-sheet of all the products they used and what it was called.  Like I said, I’ll wait a while to see if I want to go back.