Wedding Planning Part 1- Ceremony & Reception Location Ideas

Saturday, we had an opportunity to view a couple places to hold our wedding and reception. We agreed on one sentimental requirement: Has to be in Tacoma (This is where we became a family)

For the reception, we are pretty well set on having it at C.I. Shennanigans.
The Pros:
Its beautiful, very little to no decorating or setup required

It has a magificent view of the waterfront, Mt. Rainer, The Ram (our hangout), and my work


Has a bar that will feature all of our favorites from The Ram Big Horn Brewery next door.


The cons:
Price. This place is fancy-smancy and and has a high price tag. But... we may get the cost lowered if we negotiate properly. We already give the company a lot of our patronage over at the bar and are well liked and known by everyone.


I'm undecided on a spot for the wedding itself. Or a date for the wedding... I need to make a bunch of calls and find the availability of these places. I wanted a date in April because April 14th is when Scotty and I began dating and its in a month where we don't have birthdays. If April doesn't work, we will try for July, but then it will be hard for my mom to attend as it gets into her busy season for work...

Some ideas include:

Point Defiance Rose Garden
Pros:
Its absolutely beautiful, its an iconic Tacoma location that is very elegant.


Cons:
*Only available begining in June so my target of April would be out of the question.
*Its in a very public park and there would be all sorts of people looking in.
*Its a very popular wedding spot and they usually book up to a year in advance
*Outdoors only. April showers bring May flowers...

There is an indoor pagoda that can be rented for ceremonies at the park as well, but its a bit too themed. My sister had a beautiful traditional Japanese wedding and I don't want to be in a cheesy, untraditional pagoda for mine.


Titlow Beach Lodge
Scotty wasn't sold on this location because technically its in University Place, but I hope to research it more and maybe sell him on it.

Pros
*Very affordable.
*I'll have to double check this one, but I hear it has a view of the Tacoma Narrows Bridge
*This is what I've seen of the interior

Cons
*In University Place
*Their outdated website says its fully booked until June.


Union Station
Can we say "Over-the-top"?


Marble floors and wall, Tacoma History gallore, enough space for 1200 people, unique glass art by Dale Chihuly... This is a take-your-breath-away location.
Cons
*No parking that I know of, guests would have to park somewhere else and either walk or ride the street car to get to the wedding.
*I'm trying hard to find another con, but am distracted by the beauty...


Tacoma Baptist Seminary
We took a walk here not too long ago, it only a few blocks from our home.

There are options for outside or inside. We saw the outside and its very antique. And has a very impressive view of the water from atop the hill.


The interior feels too churchy for me... but this is an option for us. This is also the only venue that has an 'all inclusive' price.



I'd like to get an idea about an average cost people have for their weddings. I'm normally a very frugal person, but my mom is fighting me on it and trying to get me to go all out on her dime... I'm still very hesitant, even though its not going to be my money on the ceremony.

Strange Lunchdate with Sputum and Celebrity Look-a-like?

I know, gross title... but its true. I spent my lunch, scarfing down a sandwich in the van while taking my MIL (to be)'s sputum sample to the hospital lab.

Not much of a conversationalist.

She [MIL]has been having a nasty cough for months now. Doesn't help that she has a weakened immune system thanks to her chronic obstructive pulminary disease (COPD)... She was treated a few months ago for pnuemonia and then when the chest x-rays were clear of pnemonia and the cough still persisted, they treated her for broccitis. She feels better, but the cough is still there...


While at the lab, dropping my icky 'lunch buddy' off, the girl working the front desk told me I looked like the girl from Patch Adams (movie with crazy doctor Robin Williams). huhn. I was intrigued, rarely do I get my looks compared to anybody.
Turns out this actress (Monica Potter)was in a lot of popular movies-including Con Air, Saw, and is a main character in the TV series Parenthood on NBC.

I can see a slight resemblance of her when she was a bit younger, I guess.



Or I can say that I *wish* I looked like her Photoshopped Maxim spread...


I could probably find that website that gives you a celebrity look a like, but it was more exciting her hear it from someone else.

Who do people say your look-a-like is?

Things you can do with candy, besides eating it...

I lied last night... I wasn't completely candy free. Right as we were going to bed, I had one. But no regrets.


A coworker handed me a Tootsie Roll this morning (ah thanks...) and I accepted it, but hadn't had breakfast yet, so I planned on tossing it. But then I got to thinking:

What are other things you can do with candy, besides eating it?

I mentioned last night that I packed the trick or treats away into a pesky drawer and tried to force free treats on my kids. Other options are:

Wear it (sorry 'bout the glare)

I call this: Snidley Whiplash's duckliped lovechild.
I've seen high fashion made from chocolate and candy wrappers. Sure it makes a statement, but not very practical.

Make art from it

^Hee hee, a weiner dog.
They have fancy art museums full of art made from ABC (already been chewed) gum and moldy cheese sculptures, I'm dreaming up a scaled replica of Big Ben made of salt water taffy...

Or, you can always regift it or throw it away. I went with that idea.


Alrighty, about my day so far:
Weather was nice again, so I hopped on my bike and rode in to work this morning. Thank goodness I got that balaclava, it was chilly. Tacked on another 6.9 miles and my CardioTrainer app says that I burned 800kcal in the last 7 days. I feel less like a slacker. :)

Breakfast


Lunch



Then, right after I ate, a meeting got out and they offered me to take one of the extra catered lunches.

Looks like I have lunch for tomorrow

I'm still hungry, so I'm off to nom on the macaroni salad. bleh!

The candy drawer: before and after Halloween

I came home early from work today to take my MIL(to be) to see her pulminoligist. That went well. And when I got home, Scotty had lunch waiting for me.

Lol, a bit overdone? Its a hoagie roll with roast beef that was cooked in french onion soup. And mozzarella on top. It was very yummy. I forgot to add some peppercinnis, but it hit the spot.

After lunch, Scotty offered the idea that we take a bike ride. YAY! We took a 2.5 mile casual ride to the gas station to fill up his tires. Had a few chuckals because my bike seat has holes and soaks up rain water (I looked like I peed myself). After we got home, I dropped him off and went back out, wet butt and all, to complete a quick 5.5 miles before the kids got home.

Since MIL and I were out for the afternoon, she just wanted to do a quick spaghetti. I found some Ronzoni Garden Delight pasta on sale and thought it was adorable.


I got funny looks from my honey because I was taking a pic of my dinner...mmm, reisling...

Project Candy Drawer:
Bags of Halloween candy on my coffee table= bad grubby fingers. Not from the kids, from ME! I knew I had to get it out of sight. Our home has 3 kids and 3 snack-loving adults. We don't have a whole lot of space, so we use an extra drawer in the pantry for candy and individual-sized snacks.
Before:

After:

Hey, grubby fingers, get out!
Other brilliant, anti-candy idea I had was to start finding my favorite candies and doling them out to my kids. They aren't complaining. :) Mom of the year


I'm really enjoying the unexpectedly warm, dry weather here in the Pacific NorthWest! I plan to ride into work in the morning (if I can keep the snooze button out of reach!). Should be the last dry day for a while.

I invited the kids to take an evening walk (in the spooky dark). I didn't think it would work and that Little Duder would drag his feet and complain. To my surprise, he didn't. We did a very very slow 1.3 miles, and it was his bedtime, but he didn't want to go home. We talked about the upcoming holidays and what our favorite parts are.

I ask: "What is you favorite part of Christmas" I totally expect the duet to scream PRESENTS!!!

Little Duder: "Making Christmas Ornaments"
Squeaker: "Spending time with family"
Both: "Oh, and hot chocolate!"

I don't see why we have to wait until Christmas for hot chocolate... Do you?

Trying to fight Halloween Candy Urges

Fact: I'm getting married soon.

Fact: I love candy.


I mentioned last night that I have having difficulty keeping my hands out of the kid's candy bags... I was shovelling candy in into my (blackhole of a) mouth all day long.

That's one holiday down and 2 more to go. I'm not doing well so far. And since I'd like to look fit and healthy in my wedding dress, I decided I need to have a game plan.

Water. Preplanned meals. More activity. These are things I need to work on.

Water is easy, I take down water like a champ. I think my boss calls me Princess Pees Alot, but oh wells its worth it.

Preplanned meals are easy-ish. I plan my work meals (edit: I go buy a piece of produce and call it planned) but my mother-in-law to be usually cooks our dinners. I'll plan out snacks and try and keep my grubby lil fingers off the kids candy. I'm probably going to empty their bags into the snack drawer (yes, we have one) tonight, outta sight outta mind sorta deal...

Activity. This will hopefully get a lot easier. I'm joining a bowling league on Monday nights and that will get me out of the house for a few hours. I'm also looking into other activities (more details later)


I'm going run a quick experiment to take pics of everything I eat. Then I can go back and review it. (and maybe I will be less apt to eat 4 Reeses PB cups right before bed if I have to post it up here...)

7:30am

I always have my morning coffee. I probably won't take pics of that everyday... or the giant amounts of water either. That Burt's Bees is my all-time favorite! It happens to be chapped lip season, so make sure its close by. (Look honey, this one didn't wind up in my pocket in the dryer! ...yet)

10:00am- Breakfast

A D'Anjou pear and a non-descript cereal bar. At work, I keep it simple. I don't like keeping food in the fridge because its crowded and stuff disappears. I'm also really bad at remembering to bring home my dirty tupperware.

That's all for now. I'm leaving work early today so I need to get my work done. I'll be taking my MIL(to be) to the doctor.

Taste Review: Newton's Fruit Crisps

Sitting here, watching Biggest Loser... Been drinking water like crazy trying to flush out my omg Halloween candy obsession that I've been unable to satiate...

After having a sandwich thin with PB and cinnamon, I wasn't satisfied. So I thought I'd try a Newton's Fruit Crisp that Scotty had at his office.

I didn't take a pic, myself for 2 reasons.
*battery is low and camera wouldn't open.
*it was gone before I knew it.

It was crispy, for sure. Satisfied my sweet tooth. But I wouldn't see myself eating one outside of snack time. This is definitely not a meal replacement bar, just a dessert replacement.

Back to the show peeps.

Virtual Cross Country Trip

I've just added a 'gadget' to my blog that tracks my Virtual Cross Country Trip.


Let me explain: This summer I began commuting to work by bike. I don't ride everyday, and I'm kind of a wuss when it comes to commiting to waking early enough... But, I thought it would give me inspiration to have a visual indicator of how far I've come along since making this commitment.

Sadly, the snooze button and weather report are giving me excuses to not get out there and add milage to my goal... so, I'm revisiting this plan by adding the visual to my blog. Now ANYONE can see it and hopefully, I'll feel more compelled and accountable to it. (gotta love self-blackmail)

This is how it works:
*If I ride my bike, take a walk, attempt to jog/run. I use my CardioTrainer app and its handy-dandy GPS to tell me how far I went.
*I used Google Maps and their newer option to get recommended directions by bike.
*My goal is to go from Tacoma, WA to Lubec, ME (which is as far East as I could see before hitting the Canadian border.
*Then I go to mapmyride.com, and follow Google's directions and trace the route until I reach my total miles.

It's easy, and all I have to do is update my map as I add mileage. I find it rewarding when I reach certain landmarks.

Just for spits & giggles, I'm testing embedding the map on my post as well. The gadget can't be seen from Google Reader, so I may occasionally update in a blog post if I reach a specific goal.

Enjoy.

EDITED The map doesn't show in my reader, it would be helpful to know if it does in other's