Becky's Recommendations

Ready for my recommendations? OK, here they are:

#1: Every bride needs a wedding planner!
I worked a total of 29 hours just Friday & Saturday alone ... and most of that was with help. I had Katie (my very capable "assistant"), my cousin Tammy (and her daughter Amanda), my friend Kelly, and Michael.

The rental company was 3 hours late, we were shorted 12 napkins, one hairstylist couldn't show due to a death in the family (luckily I snagged one of Michael's 2 nieces who are hairstylists ... yay, Heather!), about 40 of the goblets were dirty and had to be handwashed at the last minute, the large floral arrangement at the church fell (and thus fell apart) twice, the bride's bustle broke, etc., etc. And you know what? We were able to troubleshoot every single problem. The bride never even knew about 90% of the issues that arose. I watched she & the groom have the time of their lives with huge smiles on their faces and not a care in the world ... and I knew I had done my job and done it well. They thanked me profusely several times, even by pulling me up in front of the whole crowd and giving me a $250 gift certificate for Spa Bliss (massages, here we come!).

I could have never done it without help, and I will be adjusting my prices to account for paying for help in the future. It makes me feel good that I can use the gift card to treat Tammy & Kelly to massages along with me.

All Michael wants is dinner out. That and all 200 or so of the used candles from the reception. They were high-quality candles and so look "barely used" after several hours of burning. But there was no way I was going to keep them all. That's way too many even for a candle-freak like me. But Michael, bless his heart, couldn't stand to see them going to waste. He made us dig them out of the trash for him!!! If you don't believe me, ask Kelly! We were dying laughing. And when Tammy & I went out to collect the battery-operated candles from the luminaries, I made her hide them as we passed Michael so he wouldn't make us dig those out of the trash as well. That's my man -- funny, thrify, and romantic.

#2: MomFaves.com

The link to this site was sent to me by my friend Stacie. It's a new site for moms of all ages and was started by some PLNU Alumni. It's a pretty cool way to network and to find out (and share!) all kinds of "Mom Favorites" in just about any category you can think of.


#3: SafetyTat.com
This website was sent to me by my friend Rebecca. You can order temporary tattoos for your children that are personalized with your cell phone # in case your child gets lost. How cool is that?? One day I hope to be able to afford to try these out. They could truly be invaluable. And there's one very creative parent out there who could very well get rich off this great idea. Now why couldn't I think up something like that? ...

#4: When you catch a mouse, don't empty the trap; JUST THROW THE WHOLE THING AWAY!

Yes, sad to say, we had a mouse in the house that needed to be caught. I made Michael set the trap, so I'm not sure what possessed him into thinking that I would EMPTY the trap once the mouse was in it. Are you kidding me?? No sirree, once the boys had the privilege (and excitement) of seeing the mouse, that whole trap went in the trash. And that whole two feet to the trash can, I was petrified that somehow the mouse wouldn't be dead and would jump at me from the trap. Another one of my paranoid, irrational fears.

#5: Take these for PMS!

I had been trying another brand of "PMS" Vitamins/herbal supplements that I thought was working just fine. This time when they ran out I decided to try something new just to see. Boy am I glad I did! Wow! I love these things. You don't take them every day; you only take them when you need them. And they work immediately. That in and of itself amazes me. I am duly impressed!!

I realize that last picture is blurry (I'm still learning how to use my new camera). My eyes are blurry as well. They're calling for bed. I was so incredibly tired from this wedding weekend. I'm doing better today, but still wanting to get in bed a little early.

With a good book.

More tomorrow.