A little bit of DIY

I have never realized how expensive a wedding could be until I actually started planning mine. Shaun and I are extremely lucky that my mom is helping us with the majority of the San Diego ceremony, but since most our friends and my family are back in Vernal we are planning a reception here as well.

Anyways, the point of all of that is I'm trying to find decor that can be used in both places, and oh my, that is difficult! Again, I'm lucky that I have an extremely crafty sister who can sew and help me with all of this because I am not crafty at all! And then I discovered the awesome world of Pinterest and it seems like a less daunting task.

Here are a few ideas I have for the wedding. Our reception will be at this awesome restaurant so I want to keep things to a minimum because the view is just awesome!

 The bouquet! Well, technically this is a necklace but I think you see where I'm going. I love flowers, but I love the idea of keeping my bouquet for my daughter (one day) even more! These seems super simple and I'm actually going to try my hand at this today. Wish me luck! Another thing I love about this is all the bridesmaids can personalize them and keep them as well :)

 Another thing I'm loving-mason jars! I'm also into this vintage-feel and I would love to incorporate it into the wedding. I love the lace over it. And, again, SUPER simple! Well, at least I hope it is.

Is anyone seeing a trend here? Mason jars galore! And books! I'm such a nerd and want, almost need, to fit books into my wedding. Shaun's basically letting me do whatever I want so yay :)  I saw a couple bouquets made from book pages, but that takes WAY too much time and I definitely don't have the patience for this.












Okay, now the big question is how to fit all these ideas into a beach theme?! I'm sure vintage-beach is possible, but unless I see a picture of it I have a hard time believing it exists. Guess it's time to get DIY'ing :)

Farewell to a Hero

Officer Jared Francom was laid to rest yesterday and Shaun and I were able to attend the funeral. I've attended many funerals for family members, but I have never experienced any funeral quite like this one.

I didn't know this man, but what struck me the most was how much Officer Francom and Shaun had in common. I kept looking around me at the thousands of officers packed in the building, and it's probably one of the only times I'll ever see an officer cry. I couldn't stop staring at my ring, thinking one day I could be the wife sitting in the front row with my two small children. It's a thought that crosses every police/military/firefighter wife-one night your loved one might not come home. But Officer Francom died doing what he loved, and I know if anything ever happens to Shaun, he will be doing something that matters and something that he loves.

"So how old is your baby?"

I think it's some sort of requirement when you leave home and move out the first time that you gain a good 10 or 15 pounds. And then, following every move after that, you are alloted an additional 5 pounds.

I've moved around A LOT since graduation, and all the nights I was too tired to cook or exercise caught up with me. I decided I was done with the weight thing since last year I started weight watchers and lost around 12 pounds. I was super proud of myself, finally felt good about wearing clothes again, I didn't feel awful being seen in a bathing suit.

Then I met Shaun.

And I realize that sounds horrible, but it was actually a great thing. I had finally found a guy I felt completely comfortable around and so when I gained back a few pounds, I didn't feel a strong urge to race back to the gym. And with our crazy work schedules, I decided it was more important to sit around the house, watching the Food Network with him then go to the gym.

This time last year I was around 139. This year...add about 15 pounds :(  And I realize that I'm just a few pounds over my 'recommended body weight' and while I really have nothing big to bitch about, one thing, well actually 2 things, have caused a wake up call.

On two seperate occassions within a week of the other, I was asked if I was pregnant.

That is probably the worst thing you can say to a girl who isn't pregnant.

Now, the people that asked me this weren't being mean or hurtful. This first lady I see at hearings a lot but never really have had a full blown conversation with her. We were sitting around waiting for the hearing to start, and she made the comment about how I didn't look pregnant anymore and was wondering how old my baby was.

Strike one to the ego.

I don't know what's worse. Being asked if you're pregnant, or having to tell them that in fact, no, you're not pregnant. Just fat.

Fast forward a few days. My fiance and I were eating breakfast at Betty's and I saw an old teacher from jr. high. I was excited to talk to her and after giving her a hug the first thing she says is. "I can see you're doing great. You're married and expecting a baby...."

Strike two to the ego.

Apparently any weight I gain goes straight to my lower belly...making me look like I'm about 4 months pregnant.

So between these two incidents, and after reading one of my friend's amazing blog, I am determined to lose this extra weight. I refuse to be one of those women who look back on their wedding day pictures and complain about how fat and ugly they look. Not. Gonna. Happen. And I also know that it will better for my health and all that stuff. But honestly, you want a woman to lose weight, tell her she has 8 months until her wedding day.

Anyways, wish me luck!

8 more months...

It feels like just yesterday Shaun was proposing, and now we only have 8 months until the big day and I feel like I've done nothing.

Okay, that's not really true. I've logged countless hours online looking up wedding colors, dress styles, centerpieces, photographers, and wedding favors. But as far as actually starting anything, not so much.

I have a lot of things planned out in my mind that I would like to be in our wedding, but we'll see if it actually happens.  Anyways, I thought I would give a sneek peak into some things I would LOVE at our wedding.

First and foremost, the dress....

I found this dress at David's Bridal, and of course, it's almost $300 over my planned budget :/   I'm not sure if I'll let Shaun see the actual dress I pick before the wedding, but I have been asking his opinion. He wants me to be in something form-fitting, which worries me because I've been a huge fan of my body shape (but I guess most women feel that way too). But we'll see....OH! On a side note, all you married ladies, when do you start looking for a dress??



And now, the wedding colors....I'm in love with the red and teal! I think it will be perfect for our beach ceremony and then our reception. I'm so so SO excited about this! I think the hardest part will be finding just the right shade of red and teal.

So that's honestly all we really have set in stone so far. We do have the reception location, but I think I'll keep that a surprise a little bit more ;)

My Worst Nightmare...

Today has been an emotional day for law enforcement around the state.

While serving a search warrant last night, the suspect opened fire on the strike force members, hitting six of them, and killing one, Ogden Officer Jared Francom.

I don't know Officer Francom, but my fiance did. He worked with him during his Ogden days. I know nothing about this officer other than his name, the agency he worked for, and that he left behind a wife and two little girls.

I'm a newbie in the law enforcement family and this is my first real experience with a loss of this magnitude. I can't even imagine what his wife is going through tonight. This is every police wife's absolute nightmare. We send our loved ones out every night to protect the streets of our cities, and we know there is a risk they may not come home. We try not to think about that risk, but it's always there in the back of our minds.

Officer Jared Francom was killed in the line of duty and from what his family has said about him, he died doing something he loved.

RIP Officer Jared Francom

End of Watch: January 5, 2012

http://www.odmp.org/officer/21078-agent-jared-francom