1 month!

I cannot believe it has been a month since the wedding! We might go celebrate our "1 month" (though technically our almost 6 month lol) at a sushi restaurant or something. Unfortunately, we don't know of any good places, so I hope we pick a good one the first time.

Here are some of my favorite pictures from the wedding (I have a lot of favorites, but here are some!) They are in reverse, descending order (from the end of the reception to the beginning of the wedding day haha) because Blogger never puts them in the order I want. And every time I post pictures, they are either way too big or too small. Anyway, without further adieu...

during the "dollar dance" (we made $150!)

The DJ had all of these cool little props, including flashy light-up tiaras lol

our first dance :)

I LOVE this picture of my brother and my mom entering the reception hall :)

cake topper :) those calla lilies were made out of marzipan!

we did a dove release. Eddie & I had 2 in this little heart-shaped basket and the handler had the remaining 10 that he released once we released our 2 :)

you really can't see it here, but during the ceremony I was so nervous that I broke out in red splotches all over my back and shoulders :( They disappeared after the ceremony, though!

mama bear :)

close-up detail of my dress :)

OF COURSE I had to have an Army garter! it might be hard to see but attached to it are my grandparents' (maternal) wedding rings from Poland, which are like >60 years old.

We have had a bug problem lately, though not as bad as those bugs in Oklahoma ;) Just tiny little ants in our bathroom. It's not a few here and there...there are a ton of them. One day I killed 20 (yes, I counted haha) ants just roaming around in our sink, and throughout the day I killed I don't know how many more, but a lot. This has been going on for awhile, actually. I noticed they have been coming from behind our mirror, so I went out and bought some bug spray an sprayed the bottom edge of it. I didn't see any ants for the rest of the day :) I only saw 1 this morning...but if it gets to be bad again, then I'll just have to spray again and hope for the best.

Then there are these damn fruit flies. I set up some fly tape, and this morning there were 7 trapped on there...but there are at least another 5 flying around. And I killed 5 the other day. There are probably more. UGH! On occasional bug doesn't bother me, but when there are a whole bunch of them it's ridiculous!

Eddie has an extended weekend coming up - he'll be off Friday through Sunday :) I'm trying to talk him into either going away for the weekend (either to Corpus Christi (there is a beach there!) or SA, Dallas or Houston) or going to BLORA for a whole day or two (it's like this really big lake and they have super cheap boat/kayak rentals...they also have parks and water slides and things...Eddie told me it's really nice). We'll see. It will beat hanging around this apartment for the whole weekend and it will be my second to last weekend of freedom before I start work. I'll have some of my weekends off, but I don't know how my schedule will be at this moment. We will just have to wait and see :)

I also wanted to buy a ring that I could wear to work instead of having to wear my actual wedding ring, so I found *THIS* and bought it. It is actually a pinky ring, but I found it in a size 4 which will fit my ring finger :) I probably could have gone to some cheap jewelry store but they either have something I don't like or (99.9% of the time) the rings are too big for me. And for $50, it's not a bad price in my opinion.

And speaking of work, I start orientation next week!! Then the following week I will start orienting on the floor. I am excited but also pretty nervous...real-world nursing is nothing like nursing school, and it's really scary to think that I will be doing this all on my own relatively soon. No more "safety" net with the instructors/school, even though I was a damn good nursing student! It's just a big change, especially since I still feel like I know NOTHING even after passing my NCLEX. I've been hitting the books these past few weeks reviewing (because I haven't touched anything "nursing" since I passed my NCLEX back in March) but I realize everything will come with time. I just want to be successful. Especially since I am not doing an internship, and I hope this will be a good enough orientation for me. It's what makes or breaks you as a nurse, including your whole career.

Texas.

The wedding was an absolute blast, and I can't wait to see the professional pictures. I'll post some of those soon once I get them :) I also can't believe it was over in literally a blink of an eye. All of this planning and then it's like, "what? that's it? I want more!" haha.

We left Tuesday morning at around 0730 central time. For awhile we were not sure if we were going to stay the night somewhere or drive straight through, but we ended up just driving. We switched drivers at every rest stop. KY, TN & AK are all very boring...especially AK, which I believe is trying to strive to be like other states, with city names like Arkandelphia and Texarkana. Really, Arkansas? lol. We got to the apartment at around 0650 this morning, central time. We crashed, got up a couple of hours later, then went to Chopstick to get some yummy pho <3

The pho wasn't as good as the pho I am used to back in Ohio, but it was still very yummy. I went next door to the froyo place and got some taro froyo with slivered almonds and chopped walnuts. There is another froyo place in Harker Heights on the Central Texas Expressway called YoYo that I want to try.

And speaking of Harker Heights, EVERYTHING is there! Target, Bed Bath & Beyond, 2 Walmarts, a USAA bank, Old Navy, Ulta, tons of places to eat, etc etc etc. Nothing like Missouri. I know I am going to love it here :) Especially with the gorgeous weather! We were in the upper 80's today.

E & I also spent over $500 today at Bed Bath & Beyond on necessities. We still need to buy more stuff. It's hard starting out. I think tomorrow our goal is to go to the AAFES on-post and check out their furniture because we do not have a couch. We also do not have a washer/dryer and that is something we desperately need as well. I can't decide if I want to buy them brand new or buy them relatively brand new for a heck of a lot cheaper on Craig's List.

just some pictures from the wedding...

...until more of my friends post my pictures. I should get the professional pictures in about 2 weeks :)

with Ashley @ the rehearsal dinner

My beautiful calla lily bouquet :) the flowers were real.

:) can't see the Army garter tho :(

DIY unity candle

Instead of spending between $40-$50 for a unity candle (and about 99% of them I do not even like!) I decided to make my own. I'm happy with how it turned out:

It was so easy! The monogram is a clip that I found at Michael's, and then I just got some sheer dark purple ribbon and some applique pearls and those swirly pearly-rhinestone things are appliques, as well. All I did was clip on the monogram to the ribbon, hot glued the back of the ribbon and started sticking stuff. I thought about adding some more detailing to the top left and bottom right of the candle, but at the same time I think it looks great as it is - I don't want to add "too much." I kind of like the abstractness of the swirly appliques.

Here is the taper candle:

Same concept with the ribbon and then I just stuck on those pearl appliques with rhinestones down the middle. I might have to go back and hot glue them on, though, depending how well they hold up.

I'm having a hard time finding a unity candle stand, though. Part of it is because I'm cheap (don't feel like paying like $40 for a stand) and don't feel like spending any more money towards this wedding but at the same time you get what you pay for. I got a $20 stand from Pat Catan's and it was sooooooo cheap and flimsy.

I'm also going to make the memory candle. I got a cylinder glass vase and at the bottom I will put clear/white marbles, then fill with water and put a floating white rose candle on top. Only I'm having a hard time finding rose candles, so I might have to get a floating round candle instead (not just a tealight, these candles do not have a metal base to them). I'm going to come up with some nice wording and print it on some vellum paper and then stick it to the glass and viola! I just need to do it in a way where it won't look funky, because you can definitely see hot glue through stuff. Maybe some double-sided tape?

10 more days! Tomorrow I am getting sushi with my brother and Thursday I will be in the Akron area, so I figure I will go to Wadsworth while I'm there and give the reception venue the final count, even though it technically isn't due until Friday. I'm also going for a final fitting and getting my dress steamed.

I also forgot to post a side-view of my hair, so here it is:

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Are YOU ready for the royal wedding?

I sure as hell am. lol.

actually not really. I honestly don't even really care that much. Aaaand I have no cable at my apartment, so it's not like I can watch it anyway.

I did a trial run with my hair for the wedding. I'm pretty pleased with it :)

less than 3 weeks...

The apartment nearly empty :( Both of my roommates moved out yesterday.

Nothingness! My life is in those boxes haha

I'm about 90% packed - all I have left to pack is just random stuff + the clothes that I left out to get me by the next 3 weeks, maybe longer, depending on when our stuff arrives in Texas.

I hate trying to plan ahead like that, because Ohio is so temperamental. It's in the mid 70's right now and will be for the next few days, but it could snow by like the weekend or something. So I have to keep out clothes for that kind of weather, but at the same time keep out summery stuff for when I move to Texas.

The hair problem for the wedding is SOLVED :) I was able to make an appointment with a hair salon today. And they're even giving me a free complimentary run-through this Thursday to try out a style and make sure that I like it! With the veil & tiara :) I'm excited! And I'm glad I get to do this run-through because I'm kind of picky when it comes to my hair, but I suck too much to do it myself.

The cake problem is also solved. $80 extra and 20+ servings later, I have a cake that will serve up to 130 :) I have a feeling we're going to have right around 110 people, but if there is leftover cake oh well. I would rather have more cake than not enough.

Empty bathroom! :(

And would I look good with bangs? I've had this hair style for quite awhile now, I think it's time for a change...after the wedding, of course.

I made an effort to make myself look nice today. I usually only make such an effort when I'm spending time with the hubby but today I just wanted to do something. And my skin has been so red and broken out lately it's embarrassing.

It's amazing what makeup can do. Thanks Bare Minerals & Urban Decay! haha.

wordy wednesday.

My goal today was to start packing, but then I couldn't get any free moving boxes. I waited too late in the day. My wedding bands also came in, so instead I ventured out to have my ring fixed and then spent some time in the shopping area by Jared.

Still a gap, but it looks SO much better in my opinion. I did notice that there is a slightly larger gap in the lower left corner than the other corners, which is weird because the center diamonds on the bands are lined up perfectly with the points on the engagement ring stone. I think that band for some reason is shaped slightly different...but I honestly do not care! Looking at the ring in person, you can barely see it. And I am very happy with how my ring looks now, and my happiness is all that matters because I'll be wearing it :)

The side diamonds match up a lot better, too :) Still not perfect, but the other one went waaay past the side diamonds of the engagement ring. It looked really funny. This still is not a perfect match, but it looks a lot better.

I honestly think the other enhancer took away from my ring. These bands enhance it. This is the closest I can get to the ring without having to do a custom (and with gold being $1500/ounce now, forget it!). I am very happy with it :)

My room is completely torn up from trying to sort things out for packing. You can tell I'm making A LOT of progress hahaha. I'm normally NOT this messy!

not a happy panda.

my enhancer for my engagement ring came in and today I got the finished product. they're all soughtered together.

I hate it.

In theory, it looked good, but there is just way too much space between the enhancer and the engagement ring. They told me this was the closest they could get to my engagement ring.

My ring has a unique curve to it and surprisingly, Jared does not carry a matching band for it. For awhile we thought our only option was to do a custom, but for one band it would be over $1,000 and for two bands it would be over $3,000. We decided not to because of the price...and you can get an enhancer for a little over $1,000 (usually) and *most* bands are between $499-$599. The problem was just trying to find one that fits well with my ring.

I talked with a guy and we were trying some contour bands and we found one that fits almost perfectly with the ring. They said this will be the closest I can get without having to do a custom and it honestly looks really good :) There is a little price difference, and I called E to make sure it was okay and he said not to stress out about it or anything, price isn't an issue so do not worry about it. "Have fun and pick out what you like. I picked out the engagement ring and you're supposed to pick out the band(s) that you like." I love him =)

THIS LOOKS SO MUCH BETTER.

I love the enhancer, just not with my ring. It doesn't look good at all. Because I have teeny tiny fingers (size 4) we have to special order the bands, but they should come on or before May 6th. For now, I am stuck with my ring as is until the the contour bands come in, and then they will size everything down, unsoughter what I have now and either soughter one band to the ring and keep one band loose, soughter all of them together or keep all of them loose.

The guy told me to try to enjoy my ring now lol but it will get fixed and everything will be okay. I just might have to wait up to 30 days for it >_<

milball dresses and more wedding stuff

As much as I didn't want to spend money on a floor-length dress for the upcoming military ball because this wedding continues to be expensive *and* I have to do some mandatory repairs on my car which will probably total to $1200...I understand that I have to maintain the car but why the hell does everything have to happen all at once? But anyway, I thought a floor-length gown would be more appropriate for a "ball" anyway so I decided to buy one. And the dress was under $100 which was a huge plus for me. I ended up buying this one:

the halter clasp on this particular one was broken so that's why I'm holding it up so I don't flash all of you haha.

I think the dress is very flattering on me and like I said, it was under $100 on sale :) These pictures make it appear more blue but it is slightly more purple. The other dress I was considering was this one:

$10 more, I loved the color (slightly brighter blue than this picture depicts) and I love the single strap but I wasn't too crazy about all of that frilliness on that strap. So I went with the purple one instead :)

I also met with the church organist and chose music for the wedding ceremony. We have to use the organist, so that limits me in my music choice. But here is what I chose:

seating of the mothers: Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring by Bach

bridesmaids processional: Grazioso by Telemann. I listened to some recordings on youtube of this and I actually didn't like it. It sounds so much better on an organ.

wedding march: Trumpet Voluntary by Clarke. This is the same wedding march Princess Diana used :)

recessional: Rondeau by Mouret

That's another thing I can cross off my list :)

The bakery quoted me on the price for marzipan calla lilies on my cake...freakin' $185. ON TOP OF an already $500-$600 wedding cake. I feel bad for declining because I know they worked with it in the shop for awhile to make sure it was doable, so I feel like their efforts would be wasted...but that's a lot of freakin money just for some flowers. I thought about doing a mix of buttercream callas and marzipan but I don't know how well that's going to look. I don't know what to do, ahhhh!

The necklaces for my bridesmaids came in today, too :)

Not the best picture but I didn't want to take it out of the bag and (wo)man handle it before the wedding lol.

So finally that's another thing I can cross off! Their jewelry is on me...but I don't know if I should get them another gift as well? I would love to at least buy mani/pedis for them but that's going to be expensive as well and I only have a few more weeks left to work...so I won't have my own income any more :(

I also got offered an interview for an ICU internship at a level 1 trauma center! But I had to regretfully decline it, and the hiring manager totally understood. He believes in honesty, and he told me that if I were to get hired in another position in the hospital, all I would have to do is wait 6 months and then I can transfer into an internship. They have another one that starts in January and he said my chances are a lot better to get into that one than the one that starts in June. I would have to fly down for the interview, too. I looked up flights to Texas and they average around $500...so really, he was telling me to not waste my money and just wait lol. I'm hoping I'll get more calls in the future. I sent in a lottttt of apps! keeping my fingers crossed :)

This came in the mail yesterday :D

along with my NCLEX-RN candidate report and some other things. I look TERRIFIED in my candidate report picture lol.

Wedding planning is really coming along :) The invitations have been sent out and the RSVPs are slowly starting to trickle in. I finally found jewelry for my bridesmaids and jewelry for myself. I think I'm going to opt out of a necklace and just wear these diamond/pearl drop earrings and this diamond/pearl bracelet instead. They're not REAL diamonds...but they look expensive! The only reason being because my dress has so much detail in the bodice a necklace might take away from it...unless I can find a very dainty single pearl necklace that won't be too long.

I met with the florist! I'm very excited to see how she is going to do everything. She gave me a price quote before but when I met with her we added more stuff...I was thinking it was going to be very expensive but when she gave me the new price I was surprised. It's still a lot of money, but cheaper than the average cost of flowers. And these will be fresh flowers :) Now the question is, do I tip her? How much should I tip? This is her own private business so I don't know...I feel stupid for asking her haha.

We're going to have bows on alternating pews. They will be a dark sheer purple with white and then some random flowers on them. My bouquet will have white calla lilies with a purple center along with purple alstromerias; my bridesmaids will just have the calla lilies. Both will be wrapped with a pretty dark purple ribbon :) We're also going to do some arrangements in the front. I can't wait to see everything! She is also going to do my centerpieces. Awhile ago I posted pictures of those kusudama flowers, which I still love, but that will be too time consuming. Instead, I'm going to do these:

It's called Ting Ting, it's sparkly and can be twisted...and it comes in any color! I requested a dark sparkly purple instead of the silver...and then it will be placed in a vase on a piece of mirrored glass with 2 votive candles like in the picture. We're also going to sprinkle some (fake) purple/ivory flower petals on the tables.

I'm going to alternate with THESE to give the reception hall some depth and dimension. But instead of rocks (which I don't really like anyway lol) we're going to put purple marbles in there and put the same calla lilies that will be used in the bouquets. These will also be on top of mirrored glass. :)

I'm happy that things are finally coming together :) I'm meeting with the organist this Friday to discuss music for the ceremony.

I have to work the next 3 evenings. I feel like crap :( My sinuses are all jacked up and my throat really hurts...and I have really bad cramps on top of it :( Part of me wants to call off (I have 15minutes to decide if I only want 1 point instead of 2!) but I think I'll just suck it up and deal with it, especially since I will not be working at this hospital much longer...I want to continue to make a good impression because that will be so important when I'm being considered for my grown-up nurse job. I do not want my current employer to tell them, "yeah she called off sick" (which I have done maybe TWICE in over a year I have worked there) or telling them I had a no-call, no-show (which I almost had...thank goodness I checked my schedule!) I just wish this crappiness would have happened on my 5 days off, not when I have to go back to work!

I am a REGISTERED NURSE!!

That explains why I've been on a mini hiatus :)

I took my NCLEX on Monday morning and I'm not going to lie, I thought the test was AWFUL. I studied SO MUCH from the time I finished my NCLEX course until the time I took the test, and to me the NCLEX was a mind game! I left the testing center certain that I failed. I wanted to cry.

There is a thing you can do called a Pearson Vue Trick, or PVT. After you take the exam, go home and log into Pearson Vue and try to register for the NCLEX again. There is a "good" pop up and a "bad" pop up. The "good" pop up says something like "Our records state you have recently scheduled this exam. Please contact your board of nursing for further details. Another registration cannot be made at this time." That supposedly means you passed. The "bad" pop up takes you straight to the credit card page, which supposedly means you did not pass. The page has to say "delivery successful" before you can try the trick.

Waiting for it to say "delivery successful" was maybe only about 30min, but it was an agonizing wait. When the status changed, I went into sympathetic nervous system overdrive!!! But I got the good pop-up!! The PVT is said to be 99% accurate, but I still wasn't convinced.

Pearson Vue also gives you your "unofficial" quick results, which are still accurate, 48 hours after you test. The only reason why it is "unofficial" is because Pearson Vue doesn't actually issue the license - the BON does, and sometimes the BON is slow with updating their records. Not all states participate in quick results. Thankfully Texas does. I just got my unofficial results and I passed!!!! I am an RN, FINALLY!!! Those dog days are over ;)

Aside from studying my butt off the NCLEX, I was also busy with some other things as well:

1. I met with some friends from the sorority I used to belong to - they are my "family" (my big, my grandbig, and my twin) and we ate at Rocknes. It was really nice to be able to catch up with them :)

2. Saturday I met with the church pastor to discuss ceremony stuff. I also told him that E and I already got legally married in December, but we decided to keep it quiet from pretty much everyone except for our parents and some friends. I was afraid that would change something, but he said that's fine - he usually has at least one couple/year who does this and they are military :) So that made me feel better! He said they will just make some subtle changes in the actual ceremony, but nothing really noticeable. The vows will sort of be like a renewal (saying that we will CONTINUE to promise, etc etc etc).

3. Mama bear and myself spent Monday addressing, stuffing and stamping all of those invitations. That took FOREVERRR. I never want to do that again. If I have a daughter, I'm telling her she's on her own with her invitations lol (probably not). We mailed them out on Tuesday :)

This Friday I am meeting with my florist at the church to discuss options on decorating, as well as for the bouquets and boutonnieres. I just hope she does not go into anaphylactic shock on me!!

She has a problem, and docs can't figure it out. Between January and now, she has gone into anaphylactic shock at least 11 times and has been in and out of the hospital. They can't isolate the cause. It's so bad that she'll be driving and then she'll stop breathing. My big from my sorority and this girl are best friends which is how I know her. My big was explaining to me that doctors are trying to rule some stuff out...and she couldn't remember what they were trying to rule out, but if it is what the doctors think it is, then this girl probably won't live past 30. She's like my age. We're hoping it isn't that, but regardless, it doesn't seem good. The doctors suspect it is some sort of autoimmune reaction that is causing her to go into anaphylactic shock so many times...it is just so strange.

Some big things I can cross off on my list of shit to do. now I can focus more on wedding planning, as well as working on my resume! And so the job hunt begins!

:)

ATT...and cake!

I got my ATT today! Finally!! Apparently the finger prints went through this time! I checked on the TX BON the other day and saw that they received my background check so I was thinking I was going to get my ATT soon...and lo and behold, I was sitting in my class this morning and got the lovely e-mail!

I also scheduled my test. I'm not telling anyone when I'm taking it, because I don't need any false reassurance and if I end up failing, I really don't want anyone to know about it. All of my other friends have passed so far so we'll see! I scheduled my day and even though it's not for awhile, I'm already stressing out and feeling very sick to my stomach. This test will determine if I'm competent enough to be an RN. Although it won't be the end of the world if I fail, I'd rather not pay another $200 to Pearson Vue just to take the damn test again!

But now that I have a date, I feel like I can focus more. It's crunch time now!

I also sampled cake today! We went to The West Side Bakery, which apparently is the place to go in my area! They allowed us up to 4 flavors to sample. I loved them all except for the hazelnut torte with chocolate ganache (too dry, but I realize that style of cake is different than the other three)...but the almond cake with raspberry preserve filling blew me away. The two went so well together and the cake itself had a lovely almond flavor. I decided on the design:

it'll be up to a 4 tier cake (depending on how many people come) with buttercream frosting...basically what is shown above but with dark/light purple calla lily flower accents. I gave them a fabric swatch of my bridesmaid dress colors to try and match up with the flowers on the cake. The flowers in that picture are buttercream but I'm trying to see if they can do marzipan flowers instead. They said they can, I just don't know how much extra it will be. Calla lilies are less intricate than other flowers (like roses or mums) so to make them out of marizpan (which is similar to fondant) shouldn't be that much more expensive, and I'm keeping the flower accents similar to the those in the picture - so it's not like there will be a ton of flowers. I haven't decided if I want to keep the top with just flowers or some flower accents and a cake topper. we'll see. but needless to say, I am very excited about this cake!

Another thing to cross off my list :)

kusudama and work...

I was browsing on random websites yesterday and came across kusudama, a type of Japanese modular origami that usually takes folded pieces of paper with the same geometric shape and they're taped/glued/sewn together into a sphere, kind of like this:

I thought it was interesting, so I learned how to make the flower. It was actually very easy, but somewhat time consuming. I used computer paper and had to tear them into square pieces. I used 5 pieces of paper and then taped them all together with medical tape lol. It is nowhere near perfect, but here is what mine looked like:

Then I was looking to see if you can make them into flower arrangements, instead of the traditional spherical arrangement, and sure enough you can!

Red/white arrangement

Pink/blue flowers

White flowers

I think these are so cool! and different and unique. I'm thinking about making these into centerpieces for the reception. It would be a lot cheaper than using fresh or even flake flowers to decorate...all I would have to do is buy some nice paper, buy some green wire or something else for the stem, maybe a spool of ribbon to wrap around the stems and maybe some pearl/rhinestones to either jazz up the petals or put in the center of each flower. And borrow a glue gun. and buy some pretty vases, which I can get for cheap at Michael's/Pat Catan's/Dollar Tree. And maybe some purple pebbles to go at the bottom of each vase. Probably be about $30 for all of them vs. $100's for fake/fresh flowers. The Galaxy already has squared or round mirrored glass that I could use. Maybe I'll put a couple of votives around the glass. And my MIL already bought ivory petals with our names and date embossed on them in purple writing. That + purple fake petals sprinkled around the table and cake table would look really nice, too.

The Galaxy has these brass lamps that they would use to decorate the tables, but honestly I wasn't too crazy about them. I'd rather use this idea. Or I could go with the very easy bowl of water, floating tea lights, colored marbles/pebbles at the bottom and put the bowl on mirrored glass with some flower petals sprinkled around. I like the first idea better. I'm not crafty, but I'd like to do something different. And these flowers aren't hard to make, they just take some time.

and a vent about work last night:

1) I hate how the dayshift NA's literally "pick and choose" who they want to bathe. we occasionally get bariatric patients on our floor and who do they always leave for evening/night shift to bathe? them. Now I don't mind giving bed baths/doing AM care. That's part of the job of an NA/tech and yes even RN's/LPN's too but 99% of the time the nurses on my floor has help from supports so of course they will be delegated. What I DO mind is when they pick and choose. They can't do that. YOUR JOB in the morning is to get vitals Q4H and to get patients up and ready for the day. Yes, I know sometimes the shift can get crazy and you can't get the whole floor done and I know some patients are off for tests all day or refuse to do anything. Well this patient yesterday told me she has been asking all day to get cleaned up, but of course the dayshift NA's didn't want to do it. They usually have more supports for day shift (a lot of times 3!) and for evenings 1-2 and for nights, lately it's been none. One of the RN's who now took a full-time position on our floor (and yay, because I love her!) asked me how long this has been going on and I told her for awhile...and she said that myself or the CN or someone should write them up for that, because they are NA's, and they can't be delegating stuff to me. which is true.

2) ...and of course while Shannon and I were in the middle of bathing this patient, I had to leave the room to grab some stuff and immediately one of the RN's asked me to get a blood sugar on this patient because she had to go call the doctor. I wouldn't have minded if I wasn't already in the middle of the something, but I was kind of annoyed because she was basically asking me to drop everything that I was doing just to get her blood sugar. Yes, she had to call the doctor. But yes, there were other RN's who are also capable of getting blood sugars that weren't busy, so why couldn't she ask them?

Other than that, work was fine yesterday. I successfully started another IV! I'll take all of the practice I can get :)

the verdict...

we went to the tasting today.

I feel like such a fatass haha.

But this what we decided on for the reception:

1. baked scod with beurre-blanc and tomatoes; rice pilaf and roasted mixed vegetables

2. prime rib au jus with horseradish cream; roasted rosemary-garlic redskin potatoes and roasted mixed vegetables

3. chicken marsala with garlic smashed redskin potatoes and roasted mixed vegetables.

for hors d'eourves we are doing pork potstickers and stuffed mushrooms with Italian sausage :)

We're doing a cake tasting this upcoming Thursday, and we'll be sampling:

1. almond cake with raspberry preserves

2. hazelnut torte with chocolate ganache

3. white cake with strawberry buttercream

4. red velvet with cream cheese

:)

I'm slowly starting to knock things off the list.

I still have A LOT I need to do, though.

[] schedule a meeting with the church and plan the ceremony and all of that.

[] meet with my florist to discuss options.

[] order invitations (which I plan on doing so very soon)

[] send out invitations.

[] look for BM gifts. and a gift for my mom. do you get a gift for your mother in law, too?

[] look for reception favors, and other details (like toasting flutes, memory candle, guestbook...)

[] pay for doves (I'm doing a 12 dove release after the wedding ceremony outside...that's $225)

[] pay my final church payment (which is like $750...)

[] pay for wedding pictures (which my M/FIL might pay for as our wedding gift)

[] pay DJ

[] pay my florist

yikes!

totally unrelated to wedding planning but still very important:

[] go back to FLW to 1) see my hubby! :D and 2) do taxes.

[] get my ATT and schedule my damn NCLEX!

traditions.

I love getting these red packets, even though Chinese Year Year was about a week ago. My grandma is the only one in my family who still gives them, but I guess it's still kind of cool to have that "tradition." We don't have very many traditions in my family. Red packets is one, as well as observing random Chinese customs and etiquette, such as never sticking your chopsticks straight up in a bowl of rice (E does this to me all of the time and while it doesn't offend me THAT much, I think of the others around me) and showing respect to those who have passed away by bowing at their site three times...and for the Polish side of my family, we always have the traditional Christmas Eve dinner complete with oplatek (Christmas wafers and honey, I love that stuff), mushroom/noodle soup (with these $80/lb mushrooms imported from Poland), fried cod, pickled herring (which I don't eat), three different kinds of pierogi (potato & cheese, saurkraut, and plum) and of course tons of dessert lol.

Do any of you have any family traditions?

This year is the year of the rabbit. I'm a rabbit, and I'm hoping good things will come this year (passing my NCLEX, having a successful formal wedding, getting an RN job, continuing to have a happy marriage...)

新年快樂

恭喜發財, 利是逗來!

(Happy New Year)

(Happiness & Prosperity, and more red packets, please! :D)

I saw this garter at David's Bridal today. All of the Army garters I have seen I haven't really liked but I like this one. Camo + black and the Army seal :)

I still need my "something blue" and I thought about either having another blue/white garter or even buying these calla lily earrings that have 18k white gold plated calla lilies, 12mm Swarovski crystal aquamarine flowers and cream pearls. I think they are very pretty :) Of course, I need to get over my fear of needles/pain and get my ears re-pierced :)

I also still need a "something borrowed."

bridesmaid attire update

I went dress shopping with the other girls today! We decided on the strapless dress and as for shoes...I spoke to the other girls and they prefer comfort over really high heels lol which is fine...so we opted for these:

Which are the same exact shoes I'm wearing, but mine are the dyeable white color to match my dress. The girls will be wearing silver. There's a little bit of bling on the straps - I think it will look reeeeally nice the the lapis color! Everything will also look really nice with the calla lily bouquets I plan on getting for the girls :)

As for jewelry, so far everyone seems to be leaning towards pearls, which I also like, but it's trying to find something that everyone will like! And then of course there is purple jewelry...I don't know what to do! I guess I still have some time to think about that lol.

I'm getting really nervous about driving to Fort Leonard Wood by myself. I think I'm more so worried about my car, even though I had it inspected and everything is fine. It's still 11 years old. I also like to sleep in cars...so I might get sleepy...and 10-11 hours is a long time but the end result will be worth it :)

wedding update post

Click to enlarge pictures :)

I keep looking at wedding cakes and this is the one that I keep coming back to! It doesn't really go with the "calla lily" theme because those flowers obviously aren't calla lilies but there is something about this cake like I love...maybe I love it for its simplicity and elegance. I would need a 3 tier at most. I also really really really want to substitute fondant for marzipan, but I have yet to find a baker who can and is willing to do it. If not, I might opt for a smooth buttercream icing with an almond flavored cake with either strawberry or raspberry filling. Or I might opt for an Italian cassata cake instead!

I randomly came across this on Google. I LOVE it! I was originally just going to do some glass bowls with purple glass marbles at the bottom, fill with water and put some floating tea light candles in them, place the bowls on a piece of mirrored glass and decorate with purple flower petals or more tealights or both. But I also really like this centerpiece, too.

I decided I MUST have these flowers until I find something else that I like lol. I just loooove these calla lilies with the purple center! The left is the BM bouquet and the right is the bride's bouquet. The girl who is doing my flowers said she would substitute the purple hydrangeas for cheaper (and better looking) almosteria flowers. I'm doing real flowers for the bouquets.

Now, onto BM wear!
Shoe option #1..called Snappy. Obviously they would have to be dyed in the needed color. I love these shoes!

Shoe option #2....Maribelle. My roommate didn't get her shoes yet because she wanted to see what the other girls thoughts are. One of my other girls saw everything and said she loves the dresses (#2 better than #1) but then she told me "as for shoes...umm...idk." Now, I hate telling people "you have to wear this!" and I truly want everyone's input and everyone to be happy with everything, but I just thought that was kind of rude. It is *my* wedding, btw.

Dress #1. Looks great in person. Great for us girls who are lacking on top lol, because dress #2 would constantly be falling off. My roommate went with this one.

Dress #2. Doesn't look all that special in the picture but it looks reeeeally nice in person. Everything is pretty reasonably priced in my opinion.

I'm thinking about getting jewelry for my girls as gifts along with other things, but I honestly don't know what. I suck at accessorizing haha. I've been looking on Etsy and they have a lot of cute things but I just don't know! I also need a necklace for myself, but I just need to find something that doesn't hang too low (because my dress has a straight neckline) and also something that will look good with my dress. So far I'm liking:

This crystal flower & pearl necklace,

This pearl drop necklace

Another pearl drop necklace...I would either get purple or blue (and that could be my "something blue!")

This "simple delight" necklace...It's different. But I kind of like it.

This necklace/earring set...David's Bridal had something similar to this but this one is sooooo much prettier. The problem, tho? I don't have pierced ears anymore haha

And another pearl drop necklace.

Etsy has a huuuuge selection. I'm still looking, but this is what I've come up with so far.

For my girls, so far I've come up with:

These amethyst earrings.

These stardust/dark purple earrings.

These pearl/Swarovski crystal earrings. I would get purple.

This cascade crystal necklace, but I don't know. it almost looks kind of cheap.

I also love this bracelet!

And this isn't wedding related, but I came across this bird necklace and I thought it was so cute!