Tuesday, March 30, 2010

My Parents Visit

My parents drove all the way to Arizona from Nebraska for our wedding. They arrived on March 19 with mutual friends Tom and Della. The Friday night they arrived we thought it was a good idea for them to relax a couple hours before we headed to grab something to eat. We took them to Red, White and Brew as we always seem to take our guests there on their first night. It was a fairly nice night to sit outside and enjoy listening to the band they had playing inside. Afterwards, we all called it a night because we had some things planned for the next day.


Unfortunately, Saturday held some issues. Their car had a few issues that needed to be addressed and we weren't sure how serious they were unless we took it into the Buick shop. Thinking it would only be an hour, the boys headed to the dealership and I decided to take the girls to the San Tan shopping mall which was next to the car dealership. One hour later, we found out it was going to be another hour. Fine with us, 'cause we were doing good on shopping! Two hours later, found out it was going to be another hour. OK, so I thought Johnny Rockets for a shake was a good idea. Another two hours later, it was finally complete. We ended up meeting back at the house and relaxing the rest of the afternoon. Since our plans were shot we decided to just relax for a few hours and make up for it on Sunday. We decided to take them to South Mountain and just grab Mexican food at Si Senor. That would complete our Saturday.


Sunday, we got going fairly early. Stopped at the Mesa Swap Meet, visited Goldfield Ghost Town (old gold mine town) then headed onto Canyon Lake for the Dolly Steamboat ride in which I had gotten tickets ahead of time for. They loved it all! Especially the boat ride. Afterwards we decided to have supper at the Old Mining Camp restaurant in Apache Junction. We were entertained by a few local old guys dressed up in western gear who one played the guitar and the other guy played the tub and they also told jokes. That concluded our Sunday jam-packed day!


Monday they hung out around the house, glued the ribbon on my veil and then visited Uncle Bill. Once I got home from work it was off to Scottsdale for supper at George and Bev's (Tom's sister). They own a townhome and winter in Scottsdale for a few months. Tom, Bonnie, Ray and Barbara all met us there as well. We enjoyed drinks, BBQ pork sandwiches, pasta salad and Arizona pie. Then Tom and Della stayed with George and Bev for two days and mom and dad went with Ray and Barb to their condo in Surprise. They all arrived back to our house on Wednesday.

Wednesday night we took them to see the landfill park a few miles from our house and then to downtown Chandler. We ate at Keegan's Grill afterwards. We have heard on many occasions that Keegan's Grill was tasty so we opted to try it out for our first time. Generally, if I'm going to take a visitor to a restaurant I like to try it first, but we broke the rule! I'm glad it turned out really good! We'll be going back for sure.

Thursday it was time to leave for Vegas!

Saturday, March 13, 2010

Method

I see Method in Target and Bed Bath and Beyond and I really didn't know what it was. I didn't know if it was a knock off of another product or just another cleaning product out there to take up space on my shelf. I was reading one of my usual blogs and there was a coupon for Method and a little explanation about the product. The coupon link sent me directly to Method's Website where I learned all about their company and products. I became informed and very interested in their products. I went to Target and found a whole Method section! Mind you, I have a shelf in my laundry room filled with a vast array of cleaning products. I bought a few more, the Method brand. I LOVE them! I bought these: The Multi Surface Cleaner (Pink Grapefruit), Daily Shower Spray, Tub 'N Tile Bathroom Cleaner. On their Website it shows the product as costing $4-$5, but at Target they were $2.99. I love the way they smell, so fresh and clean. I don't cough when I use their bathroom products like I do with other products. They are made up of all natural ingredients. Eventually I'd like to get rid of all the other products that take up my shelf space and only carry the Method brand. Their product works very well. I keep the Multi Surface Cleaner under the sink in the kitchen and spray down the counters, stove, cabinets and the sweet smell of grapefruit lingers nicely.

One last product I bought using the coupon was the laundry soap. It's a pump which is easier to use, no product drip and mess, plus it barely takes up any room on my shelf!

That was my Method preaching to you all! Now go buy some and enjoy!!



Today's Temperature: 73*

Wednesday, March 10, 2010

If the Shoe Fits

Ugh I'm exhausted. I couldn't get to sleep until after 1:00 a.m. last night. After work I rushed to bag up the comforter set and headed to the mall. I spent an hour in Bed Bath and Beyond, returned the year old comforter with no problem and found curtains for our bedroom in exchange; it was nice the curtains were on clearance! I also decided to get some new sheets that were also on clearance. I love that place!

I trudged over to JoAnn Fabrics afterward and wondered around trying to remember all the little things I came there for like (forgot my JoAnn coupons) fabric glue, pins, and other things that ended up in my hands that I didn't need. Onward to DSW to see if I could find some better shoes for the wedding. I have tried twice to "break in" the shoes I bought from Macy's and they are just terrible. Who are the people that have feet for these kinds of shoes?! I need a heel, so I can't just do a flip flop. I found some sexy shoes that have a strap around my ankle, now I won't have any shoes slipping off and most important they are light weight and don't hurt my feet! I finished my shopping trip with In and Out Burger! YUM


Today's Temperture 60* and very windy

Tuesday, March 9, 2010

Cake Ordered

The cake has been ordered and I'm so excited about the design! It is going to be awesome! Everything is set up to go, now we just need to show up and have a good time! Presents have started coming to our front door. I wish every holiday or occasion was like that :)

My sister has lined up a limo service to pick up our guests at their hotels and take them to the chapel and then to the restaurant. I'm glad she took that over, I was worried about transportation. She is also working on getting us a Cabana for a day! Maybe I should had her be the wedding coordinator!

My parents will be here next weekend and their schedule is busy! We'll have them busy on Saturday, Sunday and Monday. My uncle will have them busy on Tuesday and part of Wednesday. Thursday they will be able to hang out and relax at the house while J and I head up to Vegas.

I guess there is only 1 thing left to set up...a caretaker for Tory. Since none of the hotels accept pets in Vegas and our usual sitter is coming to the wedding, we'll need to see if someone will be able to watch her for a few days. It shouldn't be too hard since she's very well liked by everyone.

Today was another cold, windy rainy day :(

Today's Temperature: 55*

Monday, March 8, 2010

Curtains Galaore

It's Monday night, what do you do? Watch the Bachelor wedding? Nope I completely forgot about that! Do laundry, yep, did some of that, dishes, yep, watch T.V., did some of that too. One thing I bet you can't guess I did...ironed curtains. Yep, I have ironed 3 out of 7 curtain panels. When we put these up a year ago I just hung them and thought most of the wrinkles would work themselves out over time. Well, they didn't. I've ironed the 4 curtain panels in the upstairs bedrooms over the weekend and I'm not sure if I should do the dining/sitting room. I am going to buy MORE curtains for our bedroom this week so we shall see if the ironing continues! I'll probably finish the living room/kitchen over the next couple of days. The next major thing is to clean the base boards. They sure get dusty! The entire house is lined with them too.

If the rain ever lets up, I'd like to work on the yard that I've neglected. It rained all day on Sunday and although it didn't rain today, it was cloudy and gloomy the whole day. More rain to come tomorrow :( I really hope this rain stops and the sun comes out over the next 2 weeks!

J purchased a suit over the weekend and I picked up a new comforter. The one I bought a year ago has been a real pain. It makes a lot of noise, too heavy, not breathable, has white patches all over after receiving it back from the dry cleaners. I'm packing it up and sending it back to BBB where they will return it to the brand. Luckily I did not wash or use the two sheet sets it came with. I got a great deal on a reversible comforter with bedskirt and two shams from Dillards. Oh, and 100% cotton is the way to go. Don't buy that foreign fabric, shiny looking stuff.


Today's Temperature 58*

Tuesday, March 2, 2010

Current Wedding Plans

The next couple of weeks will be extremely busy. I need to up my gym time. I've only been doing Pilates and Yoga once a week and although my body is sore after each workout, I need to get the cardio in. My goal of losing a couple of pounds before the wedding haven't been working out like I wanted. I know that in order to burn fat, cardio is the only answer.

My engagement ring was sent off to be rodium plated along with sizing my wedding band. Once I receive them back this week, the rings are taken care of! J received his wedding band a couple weeks back.

As far as wedding plans, I have the wedding cake left to choose. Our dessert menu includes 2 desserts and a wedding cake! The hotel, chapel, resturant, dress, rings, hair, accessories are complete. J needs to decide on his attire, I need to work on my veil and wear my shoes around to break them in. We submitted our menu selection on Monday. My sister has lined up some things for us too.

My parents are coming down a week before the wedding and they are already making plans with friends that are down here visiting for the winter. We'll have a full house and be on the run for 2 weeks straight. I'm excited for my parents to come down and see what Arizona has to offer them. I'm sure they will enjoy it just as much as I do (as much as they may not want to admit).

J will be traveling to Chicago next week. This is the first work related trip he's been on in 2 years due to budget cutbacks. While he is away, leaving me in this house by myself for the first time, I'll be busy cleaning the house and getting it ready for our guests.





Today's Temperature: 75*