And then comes Max in the Baby Carriage....

And then comes Max in the Baby Carriage....


So, I know many have you have been requesting a new blog entry (forever!)  and yes, as much as I wanted to post during my pregnancy, I don't think many would have wanted to read about my constant whining and complaining that would have come along with it.

Of course, I loved pregnancy and thrived through every day of it's nine month journey. Even my husband would agree, I was an absolute delight, a breath of joy in an otherwise dismal day in his life and not at all like those horrible, sobbing, exhausted pregnant women you have heard about in whispers around the Obgyn's office. He would  also say that I am 100% lying about everything I have just said and was pretty much your typical hot mess through the whole experience...but wait! There's more...

I'm not sure what I loved the most about being pregnant. In the beginning, I immediately fell in love with the food aversions which made me dry heave at the very thought of eating as if I had a tiny hair constantly tickling the back of my throat or was being forced to eat a big pile of cardboard covered in dirt.  Perhaps, my adoration for pregnancy stemmed from the constant dizziness and breathlessness, the complete lack of energy, the increasing size of my thighs, stomach, ankles, feet, face, ears, hands and toes or maybe, just maybe it was the repeated nights of vomit that took a direct flight up my esophagus into in my mouth as I slept. It's just so hard to decide what I loved about it the most.

Ok, I know what truly did love the most which is definitely bringing my little man into this world. Yes, it was all worth it (especially because the human body is designed to completely forget about all of this the minute your baby arrives).  I persevered through all of the pregnancy bullshit and brought this wonderful little miracle into this world. It does blow my mind to think this cool little guy was locally grown in one of Western Pennsylvania's most hospitable uterus's and now I get to hang out with him every day.

As time permits, I'll bring you more snippets of my life as Myself filling the roles of Max's mom, Chris's wife and of course just me being me.

_ Mandi

25 Things They Didn't Tell You About Planning Your Wedding

BEHIND THE BRIDE

I'm at sixty days until my wedding and I'm filling you in on the real feelings 

1. Yes, you will want the traditional everything, yes, you will hate yourself for wanting that and then at one point, maybe many years later, you will think it was worth it.

2. You will be so so exhausted that there are points you will want to run away, not from your fiancé, you would probably bring him too, but the daily planning and appointments will get to you at a certain point.

3. It will not work out the way you want. You can dream of something and search and search and search to make that vision come true. It won't. But don't worry you will be so tired you won't care. 

4. Another bride will make it look effortless. And you will hate her for it. 

5. You will scoff at the newly engaged who are all excited and cheery. "Man, they have no idea what's ahead of them" and encourage very small destination weddings.

6. Booking the honeymoon is probably the best day of the whole wedding planning thing. All you can think of is laying in the sun. Wait till a couple months before the wedding to book it and give yourself something to look forward to. You and the wedding will not be on speaking terms by then.  

7. You will feel guilty about everything. People spending money on you. Not being able to have a thousand bridesmaids. The distance people will have to drive. Guilt about everything.

8. You won't lose like 20 lbs before your day. Remember you are the rule, not the exception. You will probably just look like you do now, unless you're a stress eater and you might gain weight. 

9. Matching colors is evil. You have to carry swatches everywhere...just pick black and white. Pure white. Not off-white or Michael Jackson White. Make life easier.

10.Your groom will have an opinion. Whether it's something small or big. You envision it one way and him another, who wins in the end...someone's mother, or grandmother or aunt or not you or him, so quit fighting about it. 

11.  You will realize how many people in one room don't get along when you make your seating chart

12. You wish you would have spent a little extra and splurged on a wedding planner

13. Being engaged for a year is for sheep. Either bust it out in six months or wait a couple of years and enjoy it.  A year is the most inappropriate length of time to plan a wedding. 

14. Standing on the altar for the first time before your wedding is the most exciting, terrifying, surreal moment you can ever imagine.

15. You won't have your nails done for most of your engagement. Ain't nobody got time for that. 

16. All that wonderful time spent together before you get married will probably be spent at home because you can't afford to go out. 

17. You will try on your wedding dress as many times as you can. Because you want to live in it. 

18. You can plan everything down to the minute. Not everyone else lives on your schedule and that will drive you insane.

19. You will not have everyone come. Even those who mean the world to you and you completely understand, but emotionally heart tugging. Eventually, you will get over it and will be pleased at just inviting people who just make you laugh.  

20. You will be ok giving up on things you thought were the most important things in the world six months before. 

21.  You won't be sure if you love anything at all by the end including your dress, your venue, your flowers. You won't be mad about it though either. Let's do this! 

22. You will be part of a strange social media group of fellow financees that you probably haven't spoken to in years and they will make you feel like you are one of them and peaceful.

23. You will cry, freak out and be overly emotional 5,000 times before that day

24. You will be broke....sooo broke

25. You will hate/love/live every minute of it and know deep down that it will be your best day ever. Tornado, Hurricane, Snow Storm, you don't/won't care by the end! It will be the greatest day ever! 

I Loathe the Word Fiancé and Here's Why...

I Loathe the Word Fiance and Here's Why…

Growing up you have heard the word fiancé many times, however it us unknown until you have a "fiancé that you will learn to hate this word.  I am beyond hate at this point, in fact I loathe the word and avoid using the term at all costs. You begin with boyfriend and end with a husband, so why is there this crazy pretencious french identifier in-between? I mean it even has a ostentacious "acute accent" (which your keyboard doesn't always recognize)  above the "e". Even the way it's said, "Fee- ans- sayyyyyyyyyyyyy" sounds completely over-the-top, so why, why is this archaic term still in use?

Photo Credit: www.volleywood.net

Did you know that it even is spelled differently depending on which gender you are speaking about? You use Fiance' to introduce your male counterpart and Fiancee' for female? So not only do you have to use this foreign term to explain your current relationship status, but you also have to understand the French grammar behind it as well? 

According to Merriam Dictionary the origin of fiancee is a "promise" or "trust", which seems like a feasible definition of the word, but why haven't we come up with something a little more practical and less patronizing? Seriously, just saying the term "fiancé" equates the same response as if you were bragging about your summer home in Vale.

Let's look at some (not all) other french words still used in common vernacular

 'A La Mode, Adieu, Amateur, Ape'rtif, Attaché, Art Nouveau, Au Gratin, Au Jus, Baguette, Ballet, Bon Appe'tite, Bon Voyage, Bouquet, Brunette, Bureau, Cache, Cafe Au Lait, Carte Blanche, Chauffer, Clique, Conceirge, Cordon Bleu, Couture, Creme Brûlée, Crepe, Croissant, Decor, Decoupage, Cul De Sac, Demi-Glace, Eau De Toilette, Eclair, En Route, Entree, Excusez Moi, Extrodanaire, Facade, Faux, Flambe, Forte, Grand Prix, Hors D' Oeuvres , Liason, Marde Gras,  Menage A Trois, Montage, Mousse, Omlette, Prarie, Protege, Rapport, Role, Sabotage, Saute, Triage, Venue, Voila. 

With the exceptions of few, most of the words seem pretentious.  For example: 

"My fiancé brought me a bouquet of flowers while I sipped cafe au lait and devoured my sweet creme brûlée"at the corner patisserie.  The decor of the cafe was art nouveau and smelled of fresh crepes, eclairs, baguettes and croissants.  Perhaps later we will have a menage a trois with the brunette en route to dinner:

As you can see this is a pretty stuffy way of saying "my dude met me at Starbucks and brought me some Gerbers while I had coffee and a pastry. For desert we picked up a woman and had a threesome before heading to dinner". 

winterous.deviantart.com

Ok, maybe that whole story was a stretch, but you can see that our most common french words sound a little grandiose.  And with the word fiancé, it's not like you can get around it, perhaps you can say yes, my future husband, or even go old-skool and say my betrothed with a joking nudge, but basically you are stuck saying it, that awful word,  for the duration of your engagement. 

I had the pleasure of sitting next to another fiancee' and noticed that with little effort the word fiancé floated off her tongue as if she had been saying the word her entire life. She had no hesitation in saying it and even the delivery sounded much more American than French like the words toothbrush or stop light. She made it sound so easy, but it's not that easy for everyone. 

When I say it, somehow it seems like I am making some sort of announcement,  I will be meeting my FIANCE in a half an hour! My FIANCEEEEEE is right around the corner! At the same time my face squinches up and my voice rises into this weird pitchy tone because I am horrified that I have to utter the dreadful word once again. Then when the word finally comes out of my mouth, I internally shudder in shame and my face flushes in embarrassment as if I had just defecated in front of a crowd of strangers.  

Perhaps you have seen those "Pretty Girls Making Ugly Faces" photos which have been circling the web. Did you know they are not making the ugly faces on purpose, they are simply trying to say the word fiancé?

All I can think is that I still have months of fiancé introductions before I can finally lay this awful word to rest. In the meantime, I will practice whispering the phrase fiancé and mumbling it under my breath in order to draw as little attention as possible. 

Where my hatred of the word began….

Written by Mandi Bridgeman 

Don't forget to like, share, subscribe and comment! 

The Breast Journey of Life

The Breast Journey of Life

Let me start off by putting my breast foot forward and saying that all women should be proud of their breasts no matter the shape, the size, the texture or the color. As a grass-is-greener society we always want what we can't have. When it comes to breasts women want to make them bigger or smaller, less pointy, higher breasts, fuller breasts, smaller aureolas, pinker aureolas, shorter nipples or you may be one of the lucky ones who is pretty content with their breasts from the start

Starting from a very young age girls notice breasts. Whether they want them or they want to tie them down. I knew from a very young age I wanted them and would have done anything to speed up the challenge. My favorite gymnastic leotard had ruching right between my flat non-existent breasts  , just a little line of pretend cleavage that made me feel like I was womanly. At nine, still flat-chested, I insisted on wearing a training bra that looked more like a cropped t-shirt then a brassier,  but still I felt like I was a woman. Then came puberty and I waited and waited for them to come, but to no avail I was flatter then a pancake and took to wearing two bras at a time.  I was teased by boys on my lack of breast tissue development, sigh. This is when I decided extra padded bras were the way to go. Hey, no one was seeing them anyways right?  It was a hard couple of years impatiently waiting for these golden globes to show up and then they finally did. I went from a 32 AA to a 34C in six months at the age of 14. I also went up from a size 12 kids pant to a size 9 juniors in that period of time, which was awful, but thankfully, luckily, at least I had my breasts. My padding went down by two sizes that winter. 

Puberty is all about body self-awareness and because you are so aware of your own body, you also become very aware of everyone else's bodies in comparison. You begin to worry if your nipple size is the right size. You notice that one of your breasts is larger than the other. Damn the right boob bra gap!  It was also the year I started sleeping a bra because I thought if I held them in the right place I would slow down the sagging process. You find out that some of your friends have clear nipples. Others have hairs around their nipples. You watch girls whose breasts over-developed struggling to run in gym class without getting bashed in the face by her own body. You notice the girls with no breasts and feel sorry for them, but yet,  are viciously jealous of their petite, slim hips and flat stomachs. 

During this time you also are likely to explore your sexuality. Remember second base? When a cute teenage boy would so gently fumble to unlock the clasp of your bra and with the slightest pressure touch your breasts with a completely fascinated expression. As you become sexually active your boyfriends start priding themselves on their ability to unhook your bra one handed and fling it across the room. Breast play also gets a lot rougher. I cannot recall the number of times I felt like my nipples were being ripped from my body or bitten off. This would also be the age when men discovered porn. The longer in a relationship you also notice that  less and less time is spent adoring the very commodity you waited so many years to obtain. I'd like to describe this as "T-Shirt Sex Time". This is when you have sex in your T-Shirt, because taking off your t-shirt, unhooking your bra and caressing your breasts is simply too time consuming. 

Eventually you may have a baby, and finally someone wants to touch your breasts again in the most innocent manner. As you nurse, the baby caresses your breast much like those gentle touches years before and even throwing in a few gummy bites and pulls, but, hey, it's nothing you haven't experienced before. Your breasts begin to change, no longer the full, voluptuous pubescent breasts that once only needed a thin wire to dress them up for the night, suddenly they are stretched and worn and padding comes back into play. Your breasts no longer look up with pride, but have relaxed into a sleepy, "I'm tired and need to lay down position", much like when your baby fell asleep on your breasts in their Baby Bjorn.

In the past thirty-odd years you have gone from having no breasts, to tiny breasts, to full breast, to droopy breasts, but just like you, you have matured and changed and so have your breasts. I stopped sleeping in bras on most nights now. Not because I don't think my theory works, but because it's just damn uncomfortable. Also, just as you embraced tailored pants and fitted jackets over ripped jeans and crop tops, you must embrace your beautiful breasts at their every stage.  They are yours and no matter what they look like they are yours and yours to keep. So love them and adore them, because you'll be hanging out with them for a long time and you never know what may happen in the future.

-Mandi Bridgeman 

Honey, Let's Go Camping and other tales of the Wilderness

Every woman has heard it, "Honey let's go camping"…Some women awkwardly laugh like it is a terrible joke, some simply make a small grunting noise and ignore their partner completely and others for some odd reason start excitedly packing the minute they hear it. When my fiancé Chris asked me I personally went through all the stages of grieving. First, I was in denial, he's not really serious is he? He is not really suggesting I spend my weekend in a tent on the ground, in the mud, is he? A tent which is susceptible to bear penetration.

 Anger and Bargaining

Ok, so I really didn't get angry. I probably skipped the whole anger stage and went directly into bargaining. Wouldn't you rather go to a comedy show and dinner? How about a big steak dinner? A huge steak dinner…I'll buy.  What about we go in a few weeks? It might rain, we should wait to go. Luke Bryan is in town? You love Luke Bryan. We should go see him INSTEAD.

Very soon after my bargaining skills failed I hit stage four….Depression. It's really happening. I'm going camping. How did this happen? Isn't there someone I can call? I feel so trapped and alone. Why? WHY?! 

www.personal.psu.edu

Which eventually led to acceptance, although I did revert to bargaining again just before giving in. 

I packed quickly the morning of the trip throwing random stuff from around the house in a bag. I left behind my …gasp...makeup (which I put on everyday whether or not I leave the house because it makes me feel more put together). I left behind my expensive shampoos, my hairspray, lotions, potions and spells, my blowdryer and my sundresses.  Sigh…my coffee maker, air conditioning, my vehicle, my dog and cat, my computer and all of the other things that I hold dear to my heart and headed off into the wilderness.

The drive through the county to Parker Dam was beautiful with puffy white clouds hanging like overstuffed pillows over pristine farms and rolling mountains. The clouds looked exactly like the overstuffed pillows that I, ironically, was leaving behind. 

We rolled into a pretty little campground full of happy campers doing happy camping things, in their happy camping clothes and I was optimistic. I even began thinking I should have brought my Brownies sash because I would be rolling in new  outdoor achievement patches by the end of the weekend.

So, you pay a fee to rent the "area", which consists of a grassy patch that comes with a complimentary fire pit and a picnic table. Amenities also include large jutting rocks and roots, poison ivy,  stinging and crawling bugs, wild rabid animals and of course extra mud for the ladies.  

The Spot

After setting up it was time to fish! Now, I actually fished quite a bit when I young, so this part was really exciting to me. That was until we had to find "the spot".  Now the park was situated adjacent to a very large lake funneled in from a nearby creek, so I thought "the spot" would be rather easy to find. We started by circling the lake and parking by the beach area. "This was not the spot". Then we drove to where the boat ramp area was. "This was not the spot". Then we parked and walked through the woods   along the edge of the creek in tall snake filled grass, only to realize this "WAS NOT THE SPOT" and we had to turn around and head back. Walking back out of the woods we determined that the mouth of the lake was also "NOT THE SPOT!!!!!". Finally after two hours, we walked back to the truck and I said there was a trail at the top of the hill and determined "that was the spot" basically because I was not going to look for another one. 

Here I am at the "spot", finally 

At the spot we set up our fishing zone. We picked up fishing licenses, so I was determined to catch a trout, however all I caught was a bluegill by the eye. I didn't have a picture, so the one below is an exact replica of the fish that I caught.

Yup, totally the same size

After a couple hours of fishing and snagging another bluegill it was time to head back to camp to cook up some yummy food. Chris was sweet enough to bring me healthy veggie and meat shish kabobs because I had been putting so much time and effort into my diet. We mistakenly forgot to bring tongs, so we had to figure out a makeshift way of removing the food from the super-hot flame-licked grill. Now this is where men and women differ. I chose to use a pair of scissors. Easy, simple and effective. Chris, however, decided on two pieces of sliced wood. Was it more effective then the scissors? No, but I saw that he chose it because it made him more of "mountain man". I said nothing and just sat bemused at his primal wilderness tactics.

Literally, the look on his face…

After dinner and a couple drinks, I was able to get him to slow dance under the stars. One of my favorite memories of the night.  Afterwards, he brought me to the outdoor amphitheater to stargaze. It was probably no more then a quarter mile into the woods, however he did not want me to use my flashlight because he wanted my eyes to adjust to the darkness to see the stars better. 

Here is how I felt at that moment. 

Needless to say, I made it safely down the dark woodsy path (after insisting on using my flashlight). He chose this particular campground because it was in one of the darkest spots in Pennsylvania which meant we could see even more stars then normal. We laid a blanket down on the ground and pointed out stars, satellites, planets, jets and constellations. I was also delighted to see four shooting stars. It was truly the most stars I have ever seen in one place. That was definitely my favorite moments of the weekend…that was until he pointed out an odd glowing red light in the woods which he claimed was Sasquatch …yep, time to go back to camp.

I slept fairly well overnight with no crazy bears, raccoons or other rabid animals disturbing my slumber, but I awoke the next  morning to this in my face. Now, in reality this  darling Daddy Long Legs would do me no harm, however it was magnified because of it's close proximity to my eye causing me to gasp out loud and frantically kick and jump  to get away from it. Oh….camping….and all of its perks.

A few hours after the spidey scare I was ready to fish again. Crawling back down to the now designated "spot", we were surprised to see that at 9:30am we were the only ones fishing. Once again this spot, turned out to not be "the spot", so we decided to travel to a new lake altogether, so we packed up and wished Parker Dam a fond farewell. First, we tried Treasure Lake only to find out it was more like a weird Stepford wives private community in the middle of nowhere than a great fishing spot. After that, we tried Kyle Lake, however our GPS continuously told us to turn around while passing the lake on 79 in both directions, so after off-roading on some country path we gave up and decided to drive to the ever-familiar Moraine State Park. 

ahhhhhhh…my heaven

Did I mention, I love boats and water! I have no complaints about our three hours on the boat, except when we illegally jumped into the water and I badly bruised my foot trying to get back into the boat sans ladder. It was so hot though it was worth it.  I caught two more bluegill, tried once again to catch a trout, practiced using a crank bait, wore flip flops, a bathing suit and got a nice tan, I was in heaven. We finished up with blue Slushies and headed home, but the camping didn't stop there! After watching the U.S. vs Portugal he cooked me Turkey Hot Dogs and made stovetop s'mores! A great end to a pretty great weekend.

Boat time with my beau! 

All and all, I …ahem…had a pretty good time, but don't tell him that because then he will want to take me more often then I would like.  Would I consider myself a camping fanatic? Absolutely not. Would I go again?  Perhaps in a month or…so…. I need to go through the grieving process all over again. The moral of the story it: You gotta do what you gotta do for the one you love…all so you can get a fancy dinner once and awhile.  

A Woman's Brain on a Diet

So, in your thirties it has become just that much harder to lose weight. Ok, it hasn't really, but you definitely don't care as much as when you were twenty. But now I've decided I wanted to lose 10lbs and I am on a diet.  I wanted to show you all how crazy a woman's mind gets on a diet. I also added some links, which back up my craziness. 

Ok, so don't eat fat, ok you can have healthy fat like nuts, legumes, avocado and olive oil, but olive oil can only be used at room temperature and not heated because then it becomes carcinogenic and no one like a cancer molecule!

Choosing Healthy Fats

Don't eat red meat. Is horse a red meat? Aldi's sold horse meat. Either way it's full of cholesterol. No ground meat. I need to eat turkey, chicken and pork, but not turkey, chicken or ham as a deli meat because they are processed and full of nitrites. Definitely no salami, pepperoni or bologna- salt/ salt/ who knows. Tuna is good, but only in small amounts for a woman of child bearing age.

The Truth About Lunch Meat

No soda, fried foods, sweets and absolutely no white sugar. No refined sugar. No agave sugar either because they just realized that is basically high-frutose corn syrup, thank goodness for brown sugar of course used sparingly.

The Truth About Agave

No white anything really, no mayo,no white bread, no white rice, no full-fat cream cheese, no ranch (ouch), blue cheese, no alfredo or any other white pasta sauce or clear sauce (butter), red sauce is fine, but again without meat and preferably made from scratch, so you reduce the added sugar which is in store bought sauce. Forget it: Just eat it plain.

The Danger of Refined Sugar

No sports drinks, fruit juice, lemonade or alcohol. Diet soda's can make me hungrier. Regular soda will make me fat. Blue Moon and other craft beers are around 400 calories a pop, which four equals my entire diet calorie limit for the day, no wine, it's sugar and calories, occasional red wine (one glass), note vodka is only 60 calories, straight bourbon, whiskey and tequila is ok too,  but avoid flavored vodkas which have added sugar.  No mojitos, margaritas or even moscow mules, all sugar. Forget it: Just drink water.

• 10 oz Margarita – 550 Calories (4 oz. tequila, 4 oz. margarita/sour mix, 2 oz. triple sec, lime juice, 1 
• McDonald’s Big Mac®- 540 Calories

Craft Beer Calories

Wine Calories

 Fruits are only to be eaten in the morning and alone, I forget why, but obviously I thought it was a pretty legitimate when I read the various articles. Something about the time of day and digesting a fruits natural sugars. 

The Major Rule for Eating Fruit

Reduce carbs! Yes, eat less of the following pretzels, bread, pastas, pitas, breadcrumbs, croutons, buns, popcorn, potatoes, no bagels, no english muffins or waffles, no bread rolls, crescent rolls ect… ect… ect… . Only multi-grain bakery baked bread, nothing pre-packaged because of preservatives.

Ten Reasons White Bread is Bad

Eat Mor Chicken! except make sure you don't cook it in olive oil or canola oil,  sugary marinades, breadcrumbs, white or butter sauces, take the skin off of it and just basically use chicken broth preferably organic, yeah, make sure the chicken is organic, antibiotic free, a virgin and has a southern accent. No wings! Fried Chicken! Nope even those that are "grilled" at the restaurant were pre-fried before the company ordered them.

Chicken Buyers Guide by WEbMD

Veggies, eat all in site, you should basically become a piece of lettuce. Organic only. 

The Ten Healthiest Vegetables

Eat pickles, but only the vinegar pickles as the bread and butter have added sugar. Only shop on the outside of the grocery store. Buy nothing in a box except multi-grain pasta and nothing frozen except vegetables. Don't even think of the low-fat frozen entrees with the ridiculous amounts of sodium. 

How Processed Foods Affect Your Health

Eat yogurt, even if you don't like it, Greek yogurt is high in protein, but can have a ton of sugar, check the label, no yogurt with granola or crunchies, granola is fattening and crunches, are processed something or other.  Oh and creamer, don't get the regular which is high in sugar and fat, don't get fat free because it has hidden sugar, sugar free is the way to go.

6 Myths about Greek Yogurt

Cereal: Only low sugar cereals, preferably one that tastes like cardboard because it is high in fiber and protein, which keeps you full and keeps you regular. Check sugar content always.  Granola bars check sugar, buy high-protein. 

How to Choose Healthy Cereals

Check the side of the box. If there are more then eight ingredients involved don't eat it. If sugar is in the first three ingredients don't eat it. If there are ingredients you can't pronounce it is probably processed, don't eat it. Basically go back to what i said before, don't eat anything in a  box. 

Soup: Don't buy the soup in a can or anything in a can, carcinogens. Buy the soup in the cardboard box, but check the sugar and sodium content

Campbells lied about BPA in Cans

Going out to eat, just don't!  No pizza either. Or Chinese. Sushi can be just as bad tons of salt, MSG's and just say no to tempura or sushi with a sauce. Opt for brown rice. 

So basically at the end…you are left wondering what the heck you should eat!

If you made it through this list. You are probably a woman and were interested in getting a diet brain of your very own. I don't follow all of these all the time and I am not a nutritionist and some of this is probably wrong, hearsay or will change according to webmd in a week, but this is literally how my brain processes eating and grocery shopping while on a diet. It's exhausting and mentally taxing, on top of you being well…hungry. Thank goodness for cheat days : ) 

I wasn't a Bridezilla until...

www.sheknows.com

So, I'm in full on wedding planning mode and I mean, I could be on the verge of becoming a Bridezilla and I didn't even know it was happening. Here is why...

Setting a Wedding Date

 Ok, so I was like whatever, I'll let the venue choose my date. I thought I was acting completely laid back about the whole thing, right? We initially selected a spring wedding for ample planning time and I digested it fully that I was not getting married in the fall, which I had imagined initially. After a few weeks however, friends, family and countrymen suddenly start convincing me that I should change the date to back to the fall because of pregnancies (theirs' not mine), because of flower availability, because of leaves, because of football season, because of everything. (I love you all, but you did make my mind blow up for a minute).  So, I decided to change the date to this fall, only to say "hold up!" how did I just lose six months!  So now I am left to call everyone back and change everything again…not so laid back now…am I.  Aka…The date will be May 16th, 2015. Bridezilla points 20 out of a possible 100.

The Venue

When I lived in Florida I was all about a beach/destintation wedding. I mean, come on, the beach is practically free and gorgeous and Florida has beautiful weather almost daily, except the occasional hurricane, but now I have returned back to my hometown of Pittsburgh, so my wedding has taken roots in tradition rather than destination. I'm going to admit, I've always been kind of a princess-type and admittedly imagined a wedding in the Omni William Penn ballroom, however due to financial complications (aka lost my job and am now broke), I have fully accepted that this venture is not a possibility. I have moved on selecting the most adorable barn, which honestly, I dream about at night and is just unique enough for my "I have to be different" personality that obtained as a child, but every once and a while I linger at my ballroom dreams.  Now I worry about whether my venue will be comfortable for the fact that is not heated or cooled and having to acquire an extra porta-potty… A porta-potty..lol! Bridezilla points 10.

My old fantasy

My new venue

Just kidding…it looks like this : ) 

Do-It-Yourself 

 Initially, this is a great idea. You are going to make everything by hand and save millions! This is all well and good till you realize one handmade flower can take 20 minutes. Not to mention, I was covered in glue up to my elbows today making my own lantern. It doesn't help my fiancé doesn't understand the DIY aspect. I'm a creative soul! I need to do this…babe, wanna cut out some circles for me! I have a few helpful friends and family members, but it's definitely hard scheduling a get together, understandably. So, I continue cutting and gluing hour after hour and think after all of this I will have a more intimate relationship with my glue gun then with my fiancé. Bridezilla points 10!

The Gown

 I am fully aware that I have champagne tastes on Colt 45 money. I always walk in the least expensive stores (aka TJMaxx) and find the most expensive items just by sight so with my vast knowledge of fine fabrics and exquisite beading and seaming, I thought possibly buying a pre-owned designer gown was the the best bang for my buck however, I still can't wrap my head around buying a pre-owned wedding dress, Vera Wang or not. Just thinking of someone previously wearing it and having just married relations in it or even near it,  getting boob sweat in it and a hemline that has been rolled around in spilled beer gives me the heebie jeebies.  Ewww. And so, my search continues at an affordable price point while trying to get through the many extra tacky, the uber-sequin blinged,  terrible tulle journey…. Bridezilla points 10!

www.jessicalaurenphoto.com

Booking Vendors

 Caterer, Shuttles, DJ, Photographer, Videographer and various other important vendors…There are suggestions and suggestions of those suggestions from outside  sources and really you barely know anything about any of the vendors. I just want them to be booked, the good, the bad and the untalented. I don't care anymore, I just want it signed, sealed and done. Bridezilla points 10!

weddings.thefuntimesguide.com

Bridal Party

 I love so many of my friends and cousins and hate making people mad, really hate it, but I would be all "27 Dresses" if I had all of my closest girlfriends in the wedding. So, making the selection between friends who would be considered automatically included, versus the ones I talk to regularly, versus the ones who might be mad, versus the ones who probably won't be mad, but I still feel bad, versus his relatives, versus my relatives, versus, versus, versus…....Bridezilla Points 10!

cosmogirlwedding.blogspot.com

 Losing weight

 Every bride wants to lose a little weight, including myself, so here  I am trying to eat healthy and exercise, while making phone calls, emailing, visiting, preparing for waist-busting evil cake tastings, oh, yeah, and I'm trying to have that thing called a regular life too. Nothing like a semi-stress eater, stressing while trying to not eat. Bridezilla points 10!

www.smartbrideboutique.com

Here is also a list of things that surprisingly don't bother me at all:  Getting small wedding cake and giving all of you something else, mud being a possible issue, a house being right next to the venue,  having no idea what shoes I will wear, having fancy schmancy hors d'oeuvres and getting married in a town called Irwin. I just have to start thinking like the Honey Badger to get through this whole wedding.  Bridezilla Points -10

And neither do I

I'm already at 70 points of a possible 100 on my Bridezilla scale, so I have to stop before I get ahead of myself.  Although these stresses seem to be overwhelming, I am very happy and excited to be marrying Mr. Pryor. As an event planner by career, I know this is the road which must be driven, that all of my efforts will be rewarded in the end and that I must relax or I may end up on "My 600lb Life" instead of a honeymoon.