Holy Matri-money

Our wedding is less than 3 months away and our reception is less than 6 months away. Where did the time go?! I'm kind of glad it's quickly approaching though because knowing how I am I need to feel the pressure a little bit to get my butt moving on some projects. Plus I'll be happy to not be draining my bank account anymore. Gah! I know it'll be all worth it in the end but sweet baby Jesus it adds up FAST.

I'm not sure if I mentioned what our final plans were but we are taking a road trip out to Las Vegas starting on August 1st. The goal is to arrive at the ARIA Resort & Casino by August 13th and get married there on the 14th. We're taking the long way to Vegas in a rental car via the Black Hills, Yellowstone, Pacific Northwest, and down the Pacific Coast. We'll stop to see my friend Liz in San Fran and also Roy's sister and brother-in-law in Torrence. We've always wanted to do a road trip across the country and this seemed like the perfect opportunity to do it. Since our time is limited (and we ain't rich) we are going to fly back from Vegas the 16th. Hopefully we won't want a divorce after we've spent two weeks in a car together. I think we'll be okay as long as we're not camping or using leaves as toilet paper. Some family and friends are meeting us in Vegas for the wedding but we are also having a local reception in Pennsylvania later in the year on November 15th.

Here are some updates on wedding stuff:

DRESS: Went to a Nordstroms at KOP with my cousins last Saturday to try on dresses. I found out that it takes 4-6 months for a dress to arrive once you order it so it was just for style reference only I guess. I really want a short dress due to the expected 100+ degree temps in Las Vegas but the short styles they had were frumpy. I tried on a couple of long dresses and fell in love with a Vera Wang column dress. It was mucho expensivo ($3200). I have an appointment at BHLDN next month down in DC so I'll have to pick one from there. It only takes 7-10 days to get those dresses in, thank goodness.  

Big smile for Vera Wang (4003BN)

This off the rack dress looked okay but would need to be altered and I think it makes me look old(er).

SHOES:  My cousin and her husband generously gifted me with wedding CHOOS from Neiman Marcus. They are gorgeous.

WEDDING BANDS: Picked up mine a couple days ago. Roy's is on its way. He is a 12.5 ring size so it's on special order.

WEDDING DECOR:  Roy started working on the project I gave him for the reception this past weekend. The letter cutouts came out really nice. The ampersand was his favorite (not).  I have an appointment to look at linen rentals this Saturday. Sounds exciting doesn't it?

"R" is for...?

FAVORS: Finalizing a design. Need to order before July. What is it? Hint: It's for all you beer drinkers out there and it's not a bottle opener.

FLORAL:  Not even close.

CATERING: On the to-do list...

GUEST LIST:  Uhhh...

INVITATIONS:  Crap...

WELCOME GIFTS:  Help?

And people plan weddings more than once? Why?!

PBF Test: Passed

Just a quick update on my figure skating test from Saturday - I passed!

The judge's comments:

• Half Rotation Jump - Waltz:  Nice hold landing position
• Full Rotation Jump - Toe Loop: Good
• One Foot Spin:  Super!
• Two Foot Spin:  Ok
• Crossovers - Forward:  Good extension
• Crossovers - Backward:  Good power
• Spiral:  Lovely height & position

I had a good test and performed the best I could on each element - even the two foot spin. I suck at it so the "ok" comment was fitting.  Glad it went well and now looking forward to Bronze tests. How many hours of practice will it take to get to Silver? I'm guessing hundreds...?!

Test Practice

More video! I think I'm getting the hang of using Windows Live Movie Maker to edit videos. Here's a run through of the test I'm going to take on May 17th. The elements are a Waltz jump, Toe Loop jump, one-foot spin, two-foot spin, forward and backward crossovers (either direction), and a spiral.




My toe loop needs more knee bend and my front crossovers and swing mohawk need work. Two-foot spins are just awkward but I still have some time to work on those to get them as perfect as can be. It's a PASS/FAIL test so I think I'll be able to pass but there's no nerves involved in these practice runs so what you see isn't always what you get when showtime comes. I am considering taking the Bronze MIF test on June 7th if all goes well next Saturday, oh, and if coach approves of course.

Sunday Freestyle

Jessica, Sophia and I hit up a Sunday freestyle session yesterday. I think I finally got my Camel-Sit figured out and my coach taught me how to scratch spin out of a sit position last week so I worked on that a bit. I was able to put it all together yesterday and catch it on video. The only downfall is I woke up this morning feeling like I needed a hip replacement. Ah, the joys of skating as an old person adult.




I need to work on straightening my leg, lessening the arch in my back, and getting lower in my sit spin. The work never ends but I'm glad there's progress! I have more video but will need to edit it. Hopefully I'll have more to show you here on the blog as time goes on. Now where's my ice pack...