Wedding Checklist Part Deux

W-Minus 6-9 Months.

• Send "Save the Date" cards to alert guests of the wedding date. - Not doing any. Brides who refer to them as "STDs" make me queasy.
• Begin dress fittings for gowns and veils. Bring stockings, heels, a strapless bra, and a hair clip to each appointment. - I've done this! But I wore sweatpants, so LOL.
• Shop for bridesmaids' dresses. Allow 6 months for ordering and sizing.
• Get in shape for your wedding gown by starting an exercise routine. - Oh god.
• Get ideas for honeymoon locations and research pricing. - See, now that sounds like something I want to do. Research a vacation!
• Start looking at floral designs and interview florists for style and cost. - *Shrugs.*
• Search for menu ideas and start meeting with caterers. - Hotel reception stuff.
• Research wedding photography and interview wedding photographers/videographers. - I'm hoping this works out. Videographer?
• Get ideas for music and interview bands/DJs. - iPod playlist?
• Choose your officiant and discuss ceremony ideas. - Dad thing.
• Start thinking about all your gift registry options. - Not registering.
• Select three hotels in varying price ranges and reserve rooms for out-of-town guests. - Ceremony/Reception is at a hotel.
• Launch a wedding website. Note the date of the wedding, travel information, and accommodations. Then send the link to invitees. - ?? Maybe.
• Start composing a day-of timeline. Draw up a schedule of the event and slot in each component (the cake-cutting, the first dance).

Okay, overwhelmed again. LOL

More On Organizing [LIST]

Kitchen: "Even Emeril doesn't need 6 spatulas and 4 whisks!" 2 each, max!
          Appliances (microwave?) off the counter! Keep counters clear!

Desk: Create Zones (Bills, Stationary, Mail, Reading, etc.)
          Purge!

Books: Donate ALL that do not fit into 3 criteria:
          -Books you love.
          -Books you read regularly.
          -Books whose content cannot be found on the Internet.

Knick Knacks: "You should own nothing that is not useful, beautiful, or loved."

Photos: Keep the gems, toss the rest.
          Ex. blurry, unflattering, redundant, bad shots. Organize into broad categories rather than labeling each.

Makeup: Sort & Purge! (Older than 6 months, etc.)

Closet: Let things go. Turn hangers backwards and purge unused items in 6 months.
          "When something new comes in, let something go."
          *Shoe storage ideas: Ikea Hemnes? Trones?

Clutter: Be sure ALL ITEMS HAVE A "HOME."
         

Wedding Checklist [LIST]

Okay, here is the "Wedding Checklist" I pulled off the internet. We're at 9-12 Months Before Wedding. (Well, to be honest, we've past that time frame, but we should start from the beginning, right?)

• Announce your engagement. - No.
• Plan an engagement party, and
• Place an engagement announcement in the newspaper. - Um, no and no.
• Set a budget. - Sounds like a Dad thing to me.
• Hire a wedding planner or purchase wedding planning software. - LOL. No.
• Select a date and reserve the venue. - Extenuating circumstances deem this impossible; no.
• Start a guest list. - Ok, I've got like 17 people on the guest list. Handled! LOL
• Find an officiant. - Dad thing!
• Start a separate folder for receipts. - Um, what?
• Select your wedding party. - Maybe.
• Start shopping for your wedding gown. - Haha, no thanks!
• Attend a bridal show and note vendors. - Nah.
• Purchase a calendar to keep track of important dates and appointments. - Isn't this called an iPhone?

I'm doing pretty damn good I think...

Stressors [LIST]

• Work.
• Continuing work after Chris goes to basic.
• New opportunities. Interview?
• Wedding.
• Everything! Ack!
• Moving.
• Packing? Organizing? Purging? Oh my.
• House.
• Smh. Idk.

Also, this:
"Being nice to the people you don't like isn't called being two-faced, it's called growing up."

The Happiness Project Continues...

So I've had a little bit more time with my Happiness Project. Some gems I've found are:

• Stop telling yourself to get "organized." Start actually getting rid of stuff. You don't need any new nifty organizing containers if you PURGE!
• Don't keep excessive amounts of anything. The example the author gave was: A house with 2 adults doesn't need 15 mismatched coffee cups. So I started getting rid of coffee cups I didn't want/need.
• Get rid of anything for which you have duplicates. I had two mixing bowls for cakes. I kept the one that matched my kitchen and gave the one I bought when I was first starting out in my house to my M.I.L.
• Don't mark ANYTHING as "Misc." I have been super SUPER guilty of this one. I started making specific places for things that I wanted to keep for projects and stuff, instead of placing them all in one catch-all box. Separate boxes for stamps, greeting cards, and keepsakes have gotten me a little further in actually having a place for everything before everything can be in its place. 

Things I want to do or need to get better at doing:

• Make the bed every day. Makes a big difference.
• Get rid of old clothes. When I lose weight, will I really wear my old clothes or will I want to enjoy buying new clothes?
• Eating better - "Moderator" or "Abstainer" ?
• Go to bed on time. Make an "evening ritual" i.e. Make tea, read in bed, etc.

And the major road block in my own Happiness: the Workplace. I have resigned that I simply do not like my job and would rather not go. However, at this point in my life, quitting and starting anew is not a viable (or logical) option. Is there anything I can do to make my workplace more fun?

• Gather everyone's birthday and do something monthly (cupcakes, treats) for workplace morale.

Ok, that's all I've got for now!

My Happiness Project

So I heard there are two types of people on Facebook: Those who brag about how awesome they are, and those who want to share how miserable they are. Too much of either annoys me. In fact, I probably have more people on my "Hide" list than on my actual news feed. I like people who are funny, and a balance of awesome and misery. And who post pictures of cats. But I digress. I started to notice my own posts involving more and more of the latter. Mostly b!tching about work. And in real life, being irritable. Tense. Anxious.

I remembered this saying from the internet that stuck with me:
When I was 5 years old, my mother always told me that happiness was the key to life. When I went to school, they asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up. I wrote down ‘happy’. They told me I didn’t understand the assignment, and I told them they didn’t understand life.

Am I happy? Not really. I'm tired and cranky and I hate my life five out of seven days of the week. Do I want to be happy though? Sure!

One day, while pretending to be a librarian at work, I ran across a book that a lady wanted to renew but couldn't, because it was on a waiting list. The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin. Reading the reviews on this, I realized I had to take what she says with a grain of salt: the author is also an attorney, Yale graduate, lives in Manhattan, has a nanny, housekeeper... in other words, likely enough money to buy a little happiness.

Still, this book has a few good, if not common sense gems: Make your bed! Clean out your closet! Organize crap! Be nice to your significant other! The author had an epiphany on a bus and wrote a book. I'll write in my blog.

Shit I want to do this year. [LIST]

In no particular order
(3/22/12)

• Write a novel.
• Record videos.
• Take more pictures.
• Drop some lbs.
• Swim with some manatees.
• Have more fun/be more positive.
• Rule #32: Enjoy the little things.
• Make more art.
• RELOCATE!

In no particular order
(1/3/11)

• The Wizarding World of Harry Potter
• Record videos.
• Take more pictures.
• Stop eating. LOSE WEIGHT.
• Have more fun/be more positive.
• Rule #32: Enjoy the little things.
• Work on my website.
• Make more art.
• Learn more songs on guitar! (1/6/11)

Will continue later.