Whoops...sorry about that.

I've been gone a while, haven't I?
So, a few things have happen since my last post about that cute baby. The biggest one is that Erik and I were married this past Tuesday. It was a very small wedding at his Dad and Step-Mom's house. It was fun and funny at times, like when my cell phone went off while our pastor was beginning the ceremony, or when we forgot the ring exchange, or when I was so ready for it to be over I couldn't wait for the pastor to tell Erik to kiss me and I basically pushed my face at him. But everyone had fun and all of our guests ate a good homemade meal.
Now that the business of being wedded is out of the way my new focus is going to be on two things. The first one is finding a job, honestly I'm thinking that my name change will help with that and if it doesn't then I really need to consider getting more education. The second is getting Erik and me healthy. We are what is seen in the media as average Americans which basically translates into Fat Americans. Now I don't hold any false hopes that I'm ever going to be anything other than "Plus Sized" but a healthier and less hefty me would be a good thing. And since I control our food by being the buyer and maker of it, it's my job that it be as good for us as it can be.

Oh he's just the Bee's knees!

This is Ulyssess and he's the sweetest baby in the world. I know this because his mommy says so. :) After 20 hours of active labor he was delivered via C-section last night. Sadly Erik and I won't get to meet him in person until early next year but that will give this tiny Greek man enough time to develop his personality thus making him much more fun to play with, so all's good.
I did learn that when a pregnant woman's "water" breaks it's not just fluid that comes out, it's "chunky" according to Uly's mom and that's just cringe worthy for me.

And I thought I was crazy.

I just learned of a movement that's going on right now by a group of conservatives that are seeking to take the liberal bias and language out of the Bible. Which make me wonder if these folks have read the Bible, because it's not what one would call "Liberal". It's a very fire and brimstone read.

The Conservative Bible Project was started by a group of members that run this website http://conservapedia.com/Main_Page and if you read the ten guidelines they are wanting to go by to rewrite a major religious tool it reads like a manifesto. I think my favorite is number six: "Accept the Logic of Hell: applying logic with it's full force and effect, as in not denying or downplaying the very real existence of Hell or the Devil." I love how they are using terms to sound so official. And I want to know if they even looked up the definition of the word logic. Well, just in case they didn't I did and here it is: logic is - a science that deals with the principles and criteria of validity of inference and demonstration: the science of the formal principles of reasoning. So, they have to demonstrate that Hell or the Devil is real for their followers. How are they going to do that? It's not as if you can call the mighty fallen angel Lucifer over for a potluck or plan a mission trip to Hell.

Another part of their project deals with removing phrases such as this one from Luke 23:34 Jesus said "Father, forgive them, they know not what they are doing" . Because it doesn't appear in the "earliest and best" manuscripts of the Gospel according to Luke. Another reason they want it out is that they assume that "some of the persecutors of Jesus did know what they were doing".

What!

I may be wrong but if you are a Christian you have to believe the words and teachings of Christ and by saying that some of the people knew that they were murdering the son of God, then you saying that Jesus was wrong, thus proving that he was just a man. And it's this double speak that is really upsetting to me. Jesus can't be perfect and imperfect at the same time. You don't get to have it both ways.

They are also saying that the Holy Bible and the teachings of Jesus Christ preach Socialism. That it "improperly encourages the 'social justice' movement among Christians". Please correct me if I'm wrong but the teachings of Jesus mostly focused on loving God, being good to each other, and treating people as a brother or sister? That's my understanding and I have two different Bibles to learn this from.

It's the arrogance of these people that bothers me so much. I can't comprehend how anyone could read the Christian Bible and see it in such a skewed way. And that's really all I have to say about it.

Peace.

The Anti-Pink Ribbon Girl

Would you like these?

I am officially anti-pink ribbons. But don't mistake that for being anti-women's health research, because I do feel that medical research is extremely important. And let's be honest we need all of the help we can get. We live in a country where tons of prescription insurance companies cover most of the cost for a man's monthly supply of Viagra, but won't cover birth control prescriptions. What I am saying is that all of the junk that get marketed to us every October is just another way for companies to get us to buy their products. And even when they donate "a part of their proceeds" the organization that is usually the recipient of those proceeds is the Susan G. Komen foundation which then turns around and use "a part" of that money for research and the rest (most) of the money goes to supporting their fundraising events.

Please don't think that I'm knocking SGK, I know that through their organization thousands of women who have suffered from breast cancer either themselves or through a loved one have a community that they feel safe in. And that I do support. I just think that if you want to help the researchers then you should take the money you would waste on Pink Ribbon crap and donate to a scientific research organization.

Also, have you actually read some of these Pink Ribbon products? Not all of them donate any of their profits to any breast cancer organization. I found ten today at the "Breast Cancer" display at my local Wal-mart that had no mention of any kind of a donation and there were only about thirty items in the entire display. And before anyone says that a Wal-mart thing, I've seen the same crap at Target and other retailers.

I guess it just struck a nerve today.

Peace out! :)

Dear KFC why do you hate America so much,

This is not a sandwich!

I highly doubt that this will be a long letter, mainly because I am so flabbergasted by the photos that I've seen of your new chicken "sandwich". And, since we don't actually know each other all that well I'm going to write to you as I would my dearest friends because quite frankly I think you need a Come to Jesus Meeting more than anything else right now.

Please understand that I have liked you for a long time but feel slightly betrayed by your indifference to our nations problems. We are all aware that our individual choices are ours to make and ours to pay for. But calling two fried chicken cutlets that have bacon, cheese, and a dressing sauce between them a sandwich is insane and asinine. When I saw photos of this monstrosity I gagged, it was an instinctive biological response to someones abuse of food. Your Double Down Sandwich is honestly a food version of Two Girls and a Cup.

America's been good to you. We have stuck by you when you took the rotisserie chicken off the menu even though it was a healthier and tastier option. We accepted it when you changed your name twice. We bought your mashed potato bowl even when it was obviously just a way for us to give up eating like humans with dignity. Most of us have turned our heads about the fact that your new "grilled" chicken is actually baked and that it has a nice rub down with oil to make it look better.

So, who thought that marketing this disgusting fried turd in a wrapper was a good idea? Why are you hiding it's calorie content? Which according to The Vancouver Sun is somewhere around 1,228. Why aren't you showcasing it on your website? Why aren't you proud of this black hole of a meal? And let's be honest, you couldn't make this anymore of a fat person trap if you had a big box, a stick, and a piece of string.

I know what you're going to say "But Kristy, this is a guys sandwich. You can tell we only think guys are interested in it because in our commercials we only have men showing other men how good the Double Down is". Well, I say to you that it doesn't matter that it's "a guy sandwich", because there are just as many fat men and men with health issues as women who don't need the chance to purchase a product like this. I have Googled it, I have Yahooed it, and I have Binged it and what I see is that it's mostly college age boys in Rhode Island and Nebraska who are eating it on a dare or to win a bet.

If I were a naive person I would ask you to take it off the menu and not introduce it to the rest of America but I know you won't. I know that this will probably spreed to the rest of the states like blood cancer and that some of my friends will wrap their lips around it, then complain that they are fat a few hours later. I know that you KFC are no Chik-fil-A and that I wouldn't even touch this if CfA made it. So, good luck KFC you are going to need it, because now you are going to have to deal with the disgust of the people who actually buy your products, not just PETA anymore.

Sincerly,

Kristy

p.s.

You're douche nozzles.

David's the redheaded step-child of the bridal industry.

Me trying on the gown I'm going to purchase.

I've been wanting to write a post about David's Bridal and it's bad reputation. I am actually David's neutral, neither a champion or a nemesis of the company. I'm just going to describe how the company works.
A lot of people compare DB to big box stores like Wal-Mart, Target, and K-mart. So, why don't we do the same?
Let's pick one.
Let's take Wal-Mart.
Here are some ways these two stores are similar:

• The floor sales people at David's have commission based pay, where at Wal-Mart the employees are paid a set amount of money and don't really have to interact with customers. I have actually had staff at Wal-Mart walk away from me as I was talking to them.



• The pay scale at David's goes like this: you will either be paid $7.25 to $7.75 an hour depending on the persons retail sales experience OR if you sell to your goal you will be 3% of your total sales for the month.



• Add to this really poor pay scale all of the Bridezilla's, Princess's, and Lookyloos and what happens is that the good people will quit and the people who don't care will hang around. But just like Wal-Mart the majority of the stores across the country are understaffed and not supported by it's management system. And this leads to the long waits.



• Employees at both stores have to deal with adults and children who like to scream.



• Both are retailers that offer items that people who are on the lower end of the income bracket can afford to purchase.



• Both have customers that may or may not smell like cheese. Although only one of them sells soap.

Okay so that last one was a bit catty. But I have measured people who smelled just like cheese, it's not pleasant. The best thing you need to have when shopping at either of these stores is patience. If relax and let the staff help you find what you are looking for or their closest thing to it you will be rewarded. My point about all of this that even though David's Bridal may not be Kleinfeld's, we still need to respect the people who work there and realize that you are shopping there too.

Adios y'all.

Woo-Hoo Wedding Stuff!

How sneaking do my eyes look?

This sparkling item is my first wedding purchase and I'm very excited about it. Erik and I had decided to try and not purchase anything that wasn't food or cleaning items for the entire month of August. It's really hard to do that, but we were doing well. Ten days ago I went grocery shopping at Wal-Mart, now I know that a lot of people have a problem with Wal-Mart and honestly for a long time I didn't shop there either. But in this economy we've found that Wal-Mart is one of our best friends.

So, there I was taking a shortcut down the DIY party aisle and something caught my eye. There it was sitting among the glittery three inch plastic crowns and flower girl combs was this little guy. I was gobsmacked! It was so cute and pretty and smallish and exactly what I wanted! I was also excited because it looks just like a tiara that I've been drooling over on the David's Bridal website that is selling for $119.99. Of course I checked it to make sure that all of it's stones are secure and were all in attendance and that it wasn't tarnished. And I even checked the price at one of their little price scanners, it was $16.00. It was MINE! I even put it in the little cart seat so I could keep an eye on it as if some other bride would see it and attempt to snatch it away.

Let's think about the price for a second.

$16.00.

That's $103.99 less than one that looks exactly the same.

I even took it with me when I went to pick out bridesmaids dresses and my veil at DB this past Tuesday. I asked the girl who was helping me if I could use my tiara to get a better look and she said "Oh, yeah that's no problem" and she walked away to help another bride (I'm going to do another post about this because I know that this practice really bothers some people and there is a reason why it happens). When she came back I had my little find on and the veil I had decided was the one I wanted. She asked to see it and said "That is really pretty. Where'd you get that?" I smiled and told her where and how much it was and her eyes got huge and she said "Really?"

That's all for this one.

Grooms Syndrome at a picnic

The observation tower

The larger and cuter lodge

The smaller lodge

Since Erik and I are getting married in Akron, Ohio we need to have a party here in Iowa. I've been putting off even thinking about it because I don't really know anything about the area. It's also sad because I don't have a job which turns it into how inexpensively can we throw a good party for the people we love and not be eating ramen noodles for six months.

There is one other thing.

Erik hasn't been into anything wedding related. I call it Groom Syndrome (GS) and if you are wondering if your fella is suffering from it here are some helpful ways that you can diagnose it.

Ask for him to give you a rough estimate of how many people he will be inviting. If he doesn't flinch and simply says "I don't know", you have a GS sufferer.

Have him look at photos of cakes. Show him a few that you actually like and a few that you don't really care for, make sure that there are several different shapes (squares, rounds, ovals).

Chances are this is when he will give the first little glimmer that he is actually interested in the wedding. Cake does that to a lot of people.

Bring up the topic of his wedding attire. This is a big one. My suggestion is to just ask him what he wants to wear. If he sticks to the tried and true GS answer he will say "I don't know". He may not be aware that he actually has a choice, so lay all of the options out there for him: Tuxedo, Suit, the new White button down shirt and khaki pant look, or Board Shorts and a funky bowling shirt. But this is also one where you as the bride need to tell him a little about what you are wearing and let go a little bit. You do not have to control everything, your Groom is a grown man and he will make the proper decision for himself.

But how does this swing back around to spontaneous wedding planning? Well we went on a picnic don't ya know.

That was it. I love going outside when nothing is expected of me other than sitting in nature, you throw food into the mix and I'm a happy girl. So, picnicin' we went. The location fell on Erik's shoulders and the food on mine. He picked Pinicon Ridge Park, it's about twenty minuets from our apartment complex and is simply fantastic. There is a lake, camping facilities, cabins, lodges for functions (weddings), canoes and paddle boats for rent, and many other things for people to enjoy. It is a beautiful place.

As we were driving around trying to find a picnic spot, Erik offhandedly said that the park had areas you can rent and have weddings or receptions. Since I am up for anything that has to do with weddings I wanted to look around and see exactly what these places looked like. So, after we ate lunch and climbed seven and a half stories up an observation tower (do not do it in that order you will want to throw up) we went to look at the lodges. This was when Erik broke through his GS haze and I saw for the first time what I've been dreaming about for months.

Green and brown everywhere and two cute timber and stone lodges that we want to reserve. One is larger and has more flowers and grills. The other is smaller but has a volley ball court and horseshoe area. I like them both, Erik likes the lager one. So tomorrow I'm going to be calling to park service in Marion to ask about the rentals and nail down our party date.

And I'm out!

Keep on, keeping on.

*Warning: Adult Language Ahead*

A lot of people live with things that they are not very proud of. It could be a past choice that they made that didn't work out the way they wanted, a medical condition they don't want to discuss, or a habit they hide or can't break.

For me it's the wonderful wacky world of Depression. This sneaky Bastard runs rampant in my family like Al Gore trying to selling carbon credits at a Hummer dealership. Now some of us have started using anti-depressants and they work wonders for them. I am happy for these people, if you manage to go your entire day and not attempt to punch someone in the face, You Sir are a winner. I however am currently not able to go to a doctor to get a magical prescription because I don't have health insurance; so if I'm not crying, I'm pushing down the urge yell at my neighbors for being..........neighbors.

But there is also a problem that taunts most of us, the dreaded evil little monkey called Side Effects. If there is even a chance that something other than the ideal outcome of a medication is possible, it's going to happen in my family. Let me give you a sampling of some of the shenanigans that have happen over the years of pill popping in our little clan.

• 1985: My mother had some dental work done and was prescribed Percocet. A hour after taking the first one she was on the phone with a friend when she noticed a small hole in our dining room where she had been sweeping. The hole, no bigger than a dime, had been left when the cable guy had drilled in the wrong place to run some wire. As the conversation went on she noticed that the hole was getting bigger and bigger, after fifteen minuets she saw what looked like a giant dog's nose peeking through the hole which was still getting larger. After twenty minuets a snout was coming through the hole. This went on and on until Mom asked her friend if they could "Please hold while I beat this giant bear out of my house". Thus commenced ten minuets of watching my twenty-nine year old mother beat the wall of our dinning room with a corn husk broom. Hallucinations, check.


• 1997: Uncle H. has heart surgery, pain medication of the VA's choice, Morphine. What a ride! We would visit him every single day and every single day he would beg one of us not to leave because "the nurses are planning to steal my organs and sell them to the Chinese". Auditory Hallucinations, check.


• 1995: Grandmother is dying, there is no way to sugarcoat it, she is simply dying. She's in pain and the doctors have prescribed a cocktail of medications to keep her comfortable. She has developed a belief that she is living in an episode of Gunsmoke.


• 1998: Mom is officially depressed and the antidepressant of the day is Zoloft. She is suddenly not sad anymore, however she is now verbally abusive and critical of everything. She no longer laughs. My wonderful parent is now an After School Special villain. We flush the Zoloft.


• 1992: Aunt J. is put on Redux, the new be-all end-all weight loss pill. After six months of perfectly following the pill routine and the lower calorie diet that was prescribed with the medication, Aunt J. has lost FIVE pounds. A person on this treatment plan should have lost Eighty.

Now I know that there are ways to naturally fight off depression and raise your serotonin level, like exercising. It sounds simple, right? But what if you are so paralyzed by the depression that you can't leave the house? Roughly ninety percent of the time I am terrified of leaving our apartment, I still do but it fucking scares me. I could say that I'm going to grab this thing by the balls and run until I'm well, but I would be a liar. Honestly all I can do wake up every morning and if I manage that it still a good day. If I leave the house it's a better day. If I go for a walk it a fanfuckingtastic day!

So, there you go.

ps

I have no idea why two words in this post are yellow. I guess they are the zazziest words at the party.

SPF + Foundation + Camera Flash = a Wicked lie!

Did you know that if you wear a makeup foundation that has SPF of any kind in it and you have your photo taken something evil happens?

You get white face.

It's true. The light of the flash reflects off of the sunscreen causing you to look pale. Also, SPF in makeup bases are really just a buzz word. Usually any benefit from the small amount of protection that's added is diluted by the other elements in the product.

So, here is what you should really do: apply a moisturizer that has a SPF level that you need for your skin type, then a makeup primer with no SPF, and finally your SPF free foundation.

If you go shopping you'll most likely see that it's really very difficult to find a foundation that doesn't have any sunscreen in it's formula. But I did manage to find some on a trip to a local K-mart, I haven't been there in forever.

• Wet-n-Wild - Ultimate Minerals Powder Foundation & Ultimate Cover Smooth Foundation


• Rimmel - Lasting Finish 16 Hour Foundation


• Revlon - New Complexion Makeup

Fin.

Operation Natural Skin Color Begins Today!

This is a tiny bit wedding related, but it's mostly make-up related. I don't know about anyone else but finding a foundation is nearly impossible for me. My actual skin color is a very light and pale ivory, however because of normal sun exposure my arms, face, and chest are a medium color. Can we say "Sun damage"?

Now, when you buy a foundation or base you are suppose to match it to your neck because of blending. If you do this you will look strange because you are obviously wearing something that doesn't match your face. And you don't want a medium face and chest rolling around with a pale neck, you'll look silly. As I do. But if you put medium base on your neck you'll have to make sure you don't have lines.....and on and on and on.

Now you're probably thinking how does this loop back around to our wedding next year. Well, when I was in Shannon's wedding two years ago I honestly had a farmers tan that I was unaware of. So there I was green dress with a white tank top attached to my body. I hate looking at the photos taken of me that day. So, in order to avoid my derma-wifebeater I am starting a lengthy endeavor, eighteen months actually.

1. Daily application of sunblock to all exposed areas


2. Exfoliation twice a week to all exposed areas


3. Moisturizer with spf 30 even while in the house (but not with the sunblock, they counteract with each other)

The idea is that with attempting to work with simple available products and by putting in the effort I will be avoiding having to get weird fake tan that Erik will hate the day we get married. It seems strange that I've put doing this off for so long, because I love my natural skin color. Light ivory is just so vintage.

I have to say, I like it.

from trixiedelicious @ etsy

In consideration of the first Tacky Tuesday post I didn't have to look to hard. I found a lovely little item on etsy. It's simple, to the point, and I don't have to go into a heavy description of why it was picked.

This lovely plate is a perfect gift for those of us who have a sense of humor to our home decorating. It's food safe so you could use it for serving and have a sweet little surprise reveled as the tasty treats are consumed.

I happen to love the trixiedelicious shop, it has a fun vintage feeling with the kitschiness of pop culture. It is a New Zealand shop so shipping will be a bit higher than a parcel shipment here in the states, but it looks reasonable. For instance if you order the Redneck plate the shipping is nine dollars, that's not bad. The actual item costs are not hard on the budgie either, prices range from fifteen to fifty-five dollars for single items and as always prices will very for custom or large orders.

Possible series of posts?

Mad as hell Monday

Tacky Tuesday

Wicked Wednesday

Truth Thursday

Free for all Friday

Wedding Weekends: this would be one post either on Saturday or Sunday about our wedding planning.

Yep, this starts later today.

Paper Heart

Ok, so the indi-film lover that I am is freaking out. Michael Cera the new geeky god of the indi scene has a movie coming out August 14, 2009. The trailer for Paper Heart is the sweetest looking thing I've seen in a while. What came to mind for me when I saw it over at A CUP OF JO was that the style looks to be in the same vein of Punch Drunk Love, which tickles me as I lurved Punch Drunk Love.
I'm not going to describe the movie because if you are reading this then you can go look it up yourself.

So, here's hoping that Paper Heart doesn't disappoint.

2000 Dollar Budget Wedding: Indonesian Wedding Ritual

2000 Dollar Budget Wedding: Indonesian Wedding Ritual

Hmmmmm, this gives me ideas.

Go Iowa! Now everyone can get married.

It's a proud day in Iowa. Same sex marriage is legal and since Iowa doesn't have a residency requirement people from everywhere can get married here legally. Gay Marriage is a topic that's off limits for some people. They think that it's wrong, dirty, or violates religious teachings. I can understand the religious beliefs, I just don't agree with them. The wrong and dirty part, that's just ignorance.

I know that a persons upbringing has a lot to do with what kind of adult they become. So, I suppose that if you grow up being taught that being homosexual is wrong then of coarse that is how you will think. But at what point do people being to think I for themselves?

Maybe I'm biased.

Maybe I'm guilty of the same thing. I didn't grow up with negative boundaries on most things. I call it my "Hippie Childhood". I wasn't introduced any formal religion. I wasn't restricted on what I was allowed to read or watch. I was introduced to people of other cultures, something my schoolmates were not. I was allowed to make my own decisions and form my own opinions.

I remember when I learned what homosexual meant. I was about six and had been watching television when a new show came on. It was a show that I had been waiting all week to see. Maude was on it. I was too little to realize that she wasn't actually Maude Finley, but was in fact the wonderful talented Beatrice Arthur. I knew I was going to like this show because I loved Maude. I also knew I was going to learn a lot of stuff from this new show.

For instance, I learned what divorce was from Maude. I also learn what abortion was, although I needed to ask my cousin Dar to clarify it a little, she was four and a half years older than me so she knew more about the world. Maude taught me that women could do anything, she was cooler than Wonder Woman and Superman combined. She was my superhero.

That night I knew I was in for television greatness. And my six year old self was right! The Golden Girls was obviously not a show that was intended for children but that didn't mean anything to me. And it had other people I was familiar with on it. There were two women from Mama's Family and a funny tiny old woman that I hadn't seen before but that was alright with me.

And there was Coco.

I liked Coco, he was a cook and seemed reasonable in the flurry of what the women were going through, and he liked the tiny one. She called him a "Fancy Man" and that sounded nice to me. I liked fancy things. They were prettier than other things and that made them better than everything else. I couldn't wait for the following Saturday so I could watch them all again. But, sadly Coco was gone. He was just like Ritchie and Joanie's brother Chuck, he was never to be seen again.

I never forgot Coco, he was always running around in my head and the next time I saw Dar I asked her if she knew what I could do to be fancy like Coco. And, that's when I learned what homosexuality was. I was also told that most people thought it was gross. But that didn't make any difference to me, I knew Coco was a good person and to me that meant that people like him were good people too. So, at six years old without any reservations I knew that homosexuality was perfectly natural.

About three years later I had one of the best days of my life to that point. My Mom and I spent the day with her friend Tom and his friend Bill. I had grown up around Tom and loved him, I thought of him as part of our small ever changing family. We all went to lunch at a tiny restaurant near Bill's house in an area I wasn't familiar with, I want to say that it was still in Akron, but I'm not certain. It was like one of those old diners you see in movies about a struggling blue collar family, it was great! I remember having a cheeseburger and thinking that Bill was super nice.

After lunch we went to Bill's house, on the way there my Mom began to explain to me that Tom was living with Bill for "a little while". Even then I knew "a little while" meant for good. I thought to myself "So what." and "She's hiding something. I wonder if Tom's gay?". I already knew Bill was gay, he was fancier than Coco had been. And, I liked him even more for it. I knew being different was hard, Dar had explained to me that gay people were sometimes hurt or had bad things said to them because of something that they couldn't help.

When we finally got to Bill and Tom's house I knew that I was right. If a house could be gay, that old house was Elton John, Dar had told me Elton John was gay too. Bill had painted every room on the bottom level bubble gum pink and trimmed it with magenta. There were feather boas in every room and the lamps all had tiara's on them. Autographed photos of celebrities covered the pink walls and I had to fight with myself not to ask for his Liza picture. There were jewelry boxes as tall as I was and they were overflowing with sparkling gems. I never got to see the upstairs, but I still imagine it in much the same way. I remember having hot chocolate while the adults talked and liking that Tom seemed so happy with Bill.

It was either late autumn or early spring that day and it was decided that we would all go to the local cemetery and look at gravestones. I ran through the graves looking for the children, I still do. I love cemeteries and it's because of that day. When Mom and I got home she said she wanted to have a talk with me. I had things to do and didn't want to waste time with silliness, so I asked "Is this about Bill being Tom's boyfriend? Or am I in trouble?" From that point on my Mother would ask me if I ever had any questions that I hadn't cleared up myself or any that Dar didn't have an answer to.

So, I want to give my best and most sincere wishes to all of Iowa today. I get goosebumps when I think about how lucky I am to live in such a great place. It's been a long time coming, but we live in a very progressive state. Iowa has been a trailblazer for a long time. It was the first to legalize inter-racial marriages. It was the first to have integrated schools, one hundred years before any other state. It was the first state to allow women to become lawyers. And, Iowa was the first state to outlaw slavery.

Let's just hope it sticks. I just have to be ready to help protest.

ps

Erik is thrilled too!

snacky, snacky, snacks

For those who don't know I love snacks. Which leads me to think of all of the people who will be hanging out with us on when we get married. Which then I think of what everyone will be doing and how to keep everyone happy. And after all of that we are back to snacks.

Now one thing that I'm am wanting to be careful of is making sure that peoples needs are met without having everyone weirded out by saying things like "Sorry but we can't have that Soandso is vegan/religious". So, thanks to PETA2 I now have a long list of tasty snacks that everyone can enjoy. Also, it will make having a candy table much easier as we will be able to have things for everyone.

Candy Table possibilities:

• Airheads Taffy


• Blow Pops


• Chick-o-sticks


• Cry Babies


• Dots


• Dum Dums


• Jolly Ranchers (lollipops and hard candy)


• Laffy Taffy


• Ring pop lollipops


• Smarties (U.S. version only)


• Sour Patch Kids


• Swedish Fish


• Sweet Tart


• Twizzlers

Snacks for throughout the day:

• Cracker Jack


• FritosLance's Toasty Crackers


• Lay's StaxLay's


• WOW! potato chips


• Microwave popcorn (minus the real butter flavor)


• MunchosPeanuts


• sunflower seeds


• almonds


• cashews


• Pistachios


• Pretzels


• Trail mix


• Wheat Thins

I mean these are tasty things that everyone can anytime and they aren't gross and can be shared with everyone without infringing on any beliefs and can be bought anywhere.

The wonderful world of Etsy

Beautiful flowers by petalsandpaws.etsy.com (Talented, huh?)

I don't know how many people are aware of Etsy.com but it's the site if you like unusual things. Most everything is handmade by creative people with loads of talent. So far I've only bought one thing off of Etsy, a small silver ring with a pink pearl and I love it.

Etsy is also a great site if you are an "Indie Bride" and want some inspiration for your wedding. One of the better services that they offer is Alchemy, where you can post an offer for a customized item. Say you really want a funky cake topper with kissing pandas or that you would really like to keep your bouquet forever, but don't want to dry real ones or deal with silk that can loose it's shape, so you might want to have your flowers made out of clay. You simply post what you want and how much you're ready to pay and Etsy vendors can vie for your order. It's like a reverse ebay.

Kristy vs. Wedding Industrial Complex

Every woman has at some point thought of what they wanted as their wedding day. I've have been very influenced by wedding shows on television, bridal magazines, and popular blogs. But these media outlets have actually turned me against the Wedding Industry.

Well, to be honest the pimping of linens and favors has 50% to do with my thoughts of what I want for our wedding. The other 50% has to do with the irresponsibility of spending money on those unneeded "Necessities". At this point I'm (me not Erik) looking at church mice and thinking that they are wealthy, so there is no way in hell that I'll be thinking of personalized napkins or notebooks that people will throw away. Seriously, 200 dinner paper napkins go for about $37.90. PAPER NAPKINS!!!!! Really? Do we honestly have to have these things? That's $40 that I could put toward more yummy food or tasty beverages for people to drink.

Here's another money sucker, unity candles. The center pillar candle if you purchase from a bridal retailer will burn your wallet for $25 to $80. The taper candles will run around $10 to $25 for the pair. Now here is where they get you, the holder will on set you back $25 to $125. So, the money spent on a tradition that was reportedly started on The Young and the Restless in the mid-70's will be $60 to $230. I'm not spending any of my soon to be hard earned cash on a dramatic waste of time from a soap opera that was silly. Everyone knows the real stories are on ABC.

I admit that WIC has already stolen some of my pennies. I have bought one wedding magazine (InStyle Weddings) and one fabric swatch. Not surprisingly both items have already been thrown away and I now want my eight dollars back. However, now that I can buy Martha Stewart Weddings without feeling guilty and weird, I'm going to buy every one that comes out until I get married. I love that magazine.

And I do watch bridal television with a tiny bit of yearning, but those over the top bank busting parties aren't who Erik and I are. We're backyard barbecues and ice cream in the summer folks. Bonfires and marshmallow in the autumn people.

Laid back.

Yeah, Laid back. That's what we're going to have.

Target silliness

So, after lunch today we went to Target to look at wedding invitations. We found a good way of selecting things together.

This is what we do:

• We each pick out the ones that we like
• Then we narrow the selection down by looking at the ones we have in common
• If only one choice is left then that is what we go with
• If there is more than one, we use the same process to eliminate the choices down to one

I think this works well.

Getting Married.

We have been engaged for two and a half weeks, but have at this point only spent two days together. Tomorrow we are going to have lunch at one of our favorite places and discuss our wedding. It's odd thinking that we are actually getting married and that we will do it the way that Erik and I want.

So, here's what we have so far:

• It will be as environmentally friendly as we can make it


• We will make choices together


• We will not be the "Bride" or the "Groom". We will always be Erik and Kristy.

More to come tomorrow. Hopefully.