Saturday, October 18, 2008
Last night we just kinda chilled out. It was such a yucky day, and everybody had left the office, that I ended up leaving at 5:00 and went to the nail salon for a mani/pedi. I then went home to kill some time before I had to meet Al for dinner. We had Mexican at our usual place and celebrated the end of a rough week with margaritas. Yay!
Saturday was a hugely busy day! I started the morning early by traveling up to a fellow Knottie's house to purchase/pick up the parasols for my ladies. We chatted for a bit and then I headed to the Shrine to meet up with Al and see Father Henry for the first time. This was our first meeting to start the paperwork and get the ball rolling. We were also able to learn that we will be able to do a full mass and have communion. Al is super excited that we get to do this (me too of course), but that will mean a full hour for the ceremony. Sorry to all our guests, but I promise that it will be lovely!
After we left the church, I headed straight to my mom's house to go take care of her and help her out for a little bit. She's doing amazing and continues to improve. She was getting in and out of the chair and walked over into the other room to check her e-mail.
I stayed with my mom until 6pm-ish, then went to go meet Galina for dinner and head over to Netherworld haunted house. Every year, I go to this particular haunted house to celebrate Halloween which is one of my favorite holidays! Galina is my "haunted house friend" because Al is not fond of haunted houses and won't go with me. So we had dinner, then drove up to Netherworld. As we were trying to get off the exit, we looked across the access road and the entire parking lot was filled with a line of people, so there were no parking spaces available. Galina and I decided to take a rain check and try again another night. We went and got ice cream instead and hung out.
This morning we got up super early so that we could be on the road by 7am. We went to Chattanooga to play in a trash tournament. Trash tournaments are the pop culture equivalent to academic quiz bowl, but instead of being academic based questions, they are questions relating to pop culture. We got up super early, got breakfast on the road, made it to Chattanooga by 9am to start the tournament and made it through the first round robin part of the day. We broke for lunch then came back and ended up fighting it out with the last team to take home second place. Fun times.....I'm exhausted and still can't believe the weekend is over. No break for me.
Sunday, October 19, 2008
Thursday, October 16, 2008
Slow Wedding Week
Thursday, October 16, 2008
I got derailed....not burned out, just distracted.
This week has been pretty devoted to my mom, so I haven't really done much in the way of weddings.
I did catch up on some blog posts and today I sent out the Women of Honor Newsletters, vol. 1.
That being said......
Mom is doing AMAZING!
She was released from the hospital today and was able to get into the car, walk up multiple steps and get settled back into the house. How incredible. Her body has a brand new hip and 3 days later, she's up and walking. I'm so proud of her and she's doing great in the recovery period. Now we have 8 weeks ahead of physical therapy, and then she'll be good to go.
I got derailed....not burned out, just distracted.
This week has been pretty devoted to my mom, so I haven't really done much in the way of weddings.
I did catch up on some blog posts and today I sent out the Women of Honor Newsletters, vol. 1.
That being said......
Mom is doing AMAZING!
She was released from the hospital today and was able to get into the car, walk up multiple steps and get settled back into the house. How incredible. Her body has a brand new hip and 3 days later, she's up and walking. I'm so proud of her and she's doing great in the recovery period. Now we have 8 weeks ahead of physical therapy, and then she'll be good to go.
Monday, October 13, 2008
I will survive!!!
Monday, October 13, 2008
A little bit of catching up to do....
Saturday I shot another wedding at Callenwolde Fine Arts Center. It was a memorable one for quite a few reasons, but the standout moment was the fainting bridesmaid. This was a first for me and I saw her start to go, but couldn't get to her. I felt my heart stop for that brief moment that she fell to the floor. In a way I'm glad to have experienced that, even from a photographer's side, just to know that things happen, life happens and we move on, and that's just how it is. In addition, it was a very lovely wedding and I got to see one of my Bridesmaid's dress choices in action and got to eat some super yummy carrot cake.
Sunday brought catching up on house errands before we left to meet up with friends for dinner and theatre. We had dinner at Figo with the Clements', Steve, Julie, and Carrie. We then headed over to the Fox (and met up with Sam) to see one of my favorite musicals, Wicked. It was AWESOME!!!!! I love that show and it's the second time I've seen it.
When we got home, I packed my bag to head down to my parent's house to spend the night.
Mom's surgery was EARLY this morning, so it was easier for me to just be there. We got up at 4:30 am to get ready and head over to the hospital. I got NO
sleep and was just a big ball of nerves. When it comes to my mom, I lose all sense of bravado and strength. Nothing like a surgery to humble you to your core. So, we got to the hospital, went thought prep, her pastor came to visit and then they wheeled her away as my heart broke into a million pieces. Between 8 and 10 am I clung to hope and literally watched each second on the clock tick away. I had a song playing on a loop in my head (What Sara says by Death Cab for Cutie) which made it a truly surreal experience. When the doctor came out, I held my breath and everything went into slow motion. She had done great and everything was fine and she was in recovery. After another 2 hours they had moved her to a room and we were able to go visit. Coming out of anesthesia is a tough process and different for everyone, so all I could do was be there as she drifted in and out of consciousness. We left the hospital around 2:30 and I headed home to crash and get some sleep. At 7:00 pm, Lyle called from the hosptial because mom was up and slightly coherent. It was so good to hear her voice and she told me I was brave. I lost it.
Let's just say I'm glad this day is over and I feel like I've been hit by a mack truck.
Sleep is good.....
A little bit of catching up to do....
Saturday I shot another wedding at Callenwolde Fine Arts Center. It was a memorable one for quite a few reasons, but the standout moment was the fainting bridesmaid. This was a first for me and I saw her start to go, but couldn't get to her. I felt my heart stop for that brief moment that she fell to the floor. In a way I'm glad to have experienced that, even from a photographer's side, just to know that things happen, life happens and we move on, and that's just how it is. In addition, it was a very lovely wedding and I got to see one of my Bridesmaid's dress choices in action and got to eat some super yummy carrot cake.
Sunday brought catching up on house errands before we left to meet up with friends for dinner and theatre. We had dinner at Figo with the Clements', Steve, Julie, and Carrie. We then headed over to the Fox (and met up with Sam) to see one of my favorite musicals, Wicked. It was AWESOME!!!!! I love that show and it's the second time I've seen it.
When we got home, I packed my bag to head down to my parent's house to spend the night.
Mom's surgery was EARLY this morning, so it was easier for me to just be there. We got up at 4:30 am to get ready and head over to the hospital. I got NO
sleep and was just a big ball of nerves. When it comes to my mom, I lose all sense of bravado and strength. Nothing like a surgery to humble you to your core. So, we got to the hospital, went thought prep, her pastor came to visit and then they wheeled her away as my heart broke into a million pieces. Between 8 and 10 am I clung to hope and literally watched each second on the clock tick away. I had a song playing on a loop in my head (What Sara says by Death Cab for Cutie) which made it a truly surreal experience. When the doctor came out, I held my breath and everything went into slow motion. She had done great and everything was fine and she was in recovery. After another 2 hours they had moved her to a room and we were able to go visit. Coming out of anesthesia is a tough process and different for everyone, so all I could do was be there as she drifted in and out of consciousness. We left the hospital around 2:30 and I headed home to crash and get some sleep. At 7:00 pm, Lyle called from the hosptial because mom was up and slightly coherent. It was so good to hear her voice and she told me I was brave. I lost it.Let's just say I'm glad this day is over and I feel like I've been hit by a mack truck.
Sleep is good.....
Friday, October 10, 2008
Workin' for a Livin'
Friday, October 10, 2008
Good lord, putting in a 12 hour day has become the norm for me. UGH!!!!!!
It puts a strain on my mental capacity.....I start to forget things and experience an all around sense of blah.....
But, since I will be out on Monday with my mom when she has her surgery, I wanted to make sure that I got to all the pressing things and took care of anything that was starting to get old.
Wedding stuff tends to get put on hold during pushes like this and I don't have a chance to take care of things.
Thankfully I'm still mostly on track with my wedding related things. I hoping to mend a minor snafu that has recently occurred, but refuse to be derailed from it.
Tomorrow, I'm shooting another wedding at Callenwolde, which I'm pretty excited about. Another crazy long day. I seriously need a vacation. A real one. A do nothing, think about nothing, sip cocktails on a beach one.
I just need to breathe and remember that there is light at the end of this tunnel.
Good lord, putting in a 12 hour day has become the norm for me. UGH!!!!!!
It puts a strain on my mental capacity.....I start to forget things and experience an all around sense of blah.....
But, since I will be out on Monday with my mom when she has her surgery, I wanted to make sure that I got to all the pressing things and took care of anything that was starting to get old.
Wedding stuff tends to get put on hold during pushes like this and I don't have a chance to take care of things.
Thankfully I'm still mostly on track with my wedding related things. I hoping to mend a minor snafu that has recently occurred, but refuse to be derailed from it.
Tomorrow, I'm shooting another wedding at Callenwolde, which I'm pretty excited about. Another crazy long day. I seriously need a vacation. A real one. A do nothing, think about nothing, sip cocktails on a beach one.
I just need to breathe and remember that there is light at the end of this tunnel.
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
Happy Birthday Mom! (wedding goodies arrived)
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
After spending the entire day driving in the southern most part of middle Georgia doing foreclosures, I was ready to take a break and celebrate with my mom.
We spent some time hanging out, chatting wedding and surfing the web. We somehow got on the subject of bridesmaids dresses and since we were close to a David's Bridal, we decided to walk in to check out some of the dresses and see how they went with the flowers.
The Green options available were:
Fern - Chiffon, flimy-er fabric, and some jersey fabric styles
Olivine - Taffetta, stiff fabric
I found three dresses that I really like, two in Olivine and one in Fern. I only considered David's Bridal as an option because we have people in different states. We'll see what the girls think about the different options.
Then we went to Longhorn steakhouse to have a birthday dinner, yum!
After dinner I came home to watch the second presidential debate.
The second debate was interesting and again, I'm super excited that I get to be a part of this historical election.
When I got home, my order from foreverwed had come. It was my engraved gold cake knife/server set and my engraved ring box.
The ring box is AWESOME!!! It is line with a soft blue velveteen and has just the right amount of cushion for my ring. It's about 4 inches long and 3 inches high. The top is engraved:
Alicia Przygocki
June 13, 2009
Al ended up really liking the box. I think he wants one of his very own now. :)
Here's a picture of the gold cake and knife server. It's perfect! Not too brashy and it photographs as a rich gold instead of super shiny and cheap. I LOVE IT!!! I also had this engraved as well. It says :
Alicia and Al Przygocki
June 13, 2009
I am SO pleased with the quality of the items from Forever Wed. They arrived exactly as promised and with speedy shipment. I would definitely use them again. These are more items to check off my list of little details.....WOO!
After spending the entire day driving in the southern most part of middle Georgia doing foreclosures, I was ready to take a break and celebrate with my mom.
We spent some time hanging out, chatting wedding and surfing the web. We somehow got on the subject of bridesmaids dresses and since we were close to a David's Bridal, we decided to walk in to check out some of the dresses and see how they went with the flowers.
The Green options available were:
Fern - Chiffon, flimy-er fabric, and some jersey fabric styles
Olivine - Taffetta, stiff fabric
I found three dresses that I really like, two in Olivine and one in Fern. I only considered David's Bridal as an option because we have people in different states. We'll see what the girls think about the different options.
Then we went to Longhorn steakhouse to have a birthday dinner, yum!
After dinner I came home to watch the second presidential debate.
The second debate was interesting and again, I'm super excited that I get to be a part of this historical election.
When I got home, my order from foreverwed had come. It was my engraved gold cake knife/server set and my engraved ring box.
The ring box is AWESOME!!! It is line with a soft blue velveteen and has just the right amount of cushion for my ring. It's about 4 inches long and 3 inches high. The top is engraved:
Alicia Przygocki
June 13, 2009
Al ended up really liking the box. I think he wants one of his very own now. :)
Here's a picture of the gold cake and knife server. It's perfect! Not too brashy and it photographs as a rich gold instead of super shiny and cheap. I LOVE IT!!! I also had this engraved as well. It says :
Alicia and Al Przygocki
June 13, 2009
I am SO pleased with the quality of the items from Forever Wed. They arrived exactly as promised and with speedy shipment. I would definitely use them again. These are more items to check off my list of little details.....WOO!
Sunday, October 5, 2008
Wedding Band Shopping....for Al
Sunday, October 5, 2008
I put in a few hours of overtime today in order to avoid completely drowning in crazy work. This next week is going to be CRAZY!!!
Then, I convinced Al that despite his hesitation at possibly being completely overwhelmed, that we should consider actually going to a jewelry store to put the ring on his finger and actually try it on. He eventually consented and we drove up to the Shane company to just get an idea of what is out there. My argument is that exposure to these things is the most valuable tool when it comes to making a final decision. Going into this venture we had no idea what brushed finish versus polished would look like. We didn't know that you could get two toned rings or what they would look like. We were able to finally see what a "hammered" texture looked like up close.
After sifting through almost 25 rings, Al decided upon this one:
I was really surprised with this ring. Much like my dress, it was not at all what we envisioned when going in. However, when he put this ring on, it just seemed to fit, and he just knew.
This ring is now our benchmark for the great wedding band search that is officially on. Since I operate on the 3 vendor motto, we still have at least 1 more store to check out. We ended up hitting both the Shane company and D Gellar and Sons since they were quite close to each other.
It was like night and day. D Gellar seemed to be run by a bunch of high school kids who really didn't want to be there and had nothing to offer in the way of customer service. They had an "ok" selection of rings, but there was nothing there that even remotely caught Al's eye. The only thing we did take away is that D Gellar is so desperate for business that they actually told us that if we found something at another store that we should bring them a picture of it and they would get it for us at a lower cost. Honestly it seemed a bit odd. In addition, their "layaway" plan required a 50% upfront deposit and if it was a custom piece there was not guarantee. Eh......we were not pleased and do not intend on going back. Erin got her ring at Soloman Brothers, so we're going to check them out next.
Since we're not in a huge rush, I feel like we can really take our time on doing our research and really get what we want.
Ok, and so I looked for mine too.....but, what we quickly realized is that I have two options. Either I get a guard (a single piece that basically consists of two rings soddered together that the engagement ring slips in between) or I wear my engagement ring on my right hand and get a stand alone band to wear on my left. I also have to decide if I go with the second option whether or not to get a band to match Al's or something that will match my engagement ring. Decisions, decisions....I ended up finding a ring that was perfectly curved and would fit flush against my ring with not too much of a gap. It was gorgeous with milgrain, pave channel set diamonds and just an elegant feel to it. Then I looked at the price tag and had a minor heart attack. Back to square one, but now at least I know what I'm looking for.
More to come.....
I put in a few hours of overtime today in order to avoid completely drowning in crazy work. This next week is going to be CRAZY!!!
Then, I convinced Al that despite his hesitation at possibly being completely overwhelmed, that we should consider actually going to a jewelry store to put the ring on his finger and actually try it on. He eventually consented and we drove up to the Shane company to just get an idea of what is out there. My argument is that exposure to these things is the most valuable tool when it comes to making a final decision. Going into this venture we had no idea what brushed finish versus polished would look like. We didn't know that you could get two toned rings or what they would look like. We were able to finally see what a "hammered" texture looked like up close.
After sifting through almost 25 rings, Al decided upon this one:
I was really surprised with this ring. Much like my dress, it was not at all what we envisioned when going in. However, when he put this ring on, it just seemed to fit, and he just knew. This ring is now our benchmark for the great wedding band search that is officially on. Since I operate on the 3 vendor motto, we still have at least 1 more store to check out. We ended up hitting both the Shane company and D Gellar and Sons since they were quite close to each other.
It was like night and day. D Gellar seemed to be run by a bunch of high school kids who really didn't want to be there and had nothing to offer in the way of customer service. They had an "ok" selection of rings, but there was nothing there that even remotely caught Al's eye. The only thing we did take away is that D Gellar is so desperate for business that they actually told us that if we found something at another store that we should bring them a picture of it and they would get it for us at a lower cost. Honestly it seemed a bit odd. In addition, their "layaway" plan required a 50% upfront deposit and if it was a custom piece there was not guarantee. Eh......we were not pleased and do not intend on going back. Erin got her ring at Soloman Brothers, so we're going to check them out next.
Since we're not in a huge rush, I feel like we can really take our time on doing our research and really get what we want.
Ok, and so I looked for mine too.....but, what we quickly realized is that I have two options. Either I get a guard (a single piece that basically consists of two rings soddered together that the engagement ring slips in between) or I wear my engagement ring on my right hand and get a stand alone band to wear on my left. I also have to decide if I go with the second option whether or not to get a band to match Al's or something that will match my engagement ring. Decisions, decisions....I ended up finding a ring that was perfectly curved and would fit flush against my ring with not too much of a gap. It was gorgeous with milgrain, pave channel set diamonds and just an elegant feel to it. Then I looked at the price tag and had a minor heart attack. Back to square one, but now at least I know what I'm looking for.
More to come.....
Thursday, October 2, 2008
VP debates, get your lipstick ready
Thursday, October 2, 2008
My good friend (and bridesmaid) Erin is the founder of the Atlanta chapter of a National group called Drinking Liberally. It's a really great politically charged group that gathers everything Thursday at a local watering hole in Decatur called the Thinking Man Tavern. She and Charlie invited Al and I to come hang out, watch the debates, and hang out.
For the Vice President Debates, the Thinking Man hosted quite a few groups and had the debates playing on a projector screen and piped the sound through the speaker system of the bar.
It was interesting because the hugely crowded bar became so quiet when the debates started and the only noise came from responses to Palin's use of the word Maverick.
My good friend (and bridesmaid) Erin is the founder of the Atlanta chapter of a National group called Drinking Liberally. It's a really great politically charged group that gathers everything Thursday at a local watering hole in Decatur called the Thinking Man Tavern. She and Charlie invited Al and I to come hang out, watch the debates, and hang out.
For the Vice President Debates, the Thinking Man hosted quite a few groups and had the debates playing on a projector screen and piped the sound through the speaker system of the bar.It was interesting because the hugely crowded bar became so quiet when the debates started and the only noise came from responses to Palin's use of the word Maverick.
It was a really cool environment and actually standing room only when the Debates started.
A CNN crew was there and actually interviewed Al which was really exciting. He spoke very well on camera and made some amazing points. I don't think we'll have any way of finding out if he actually made it to TV, but it was still pretty cool.
It's so awesome to be able to document such an exciting part of American history in one of the most historical elections ever. How exciting to see the progression of our country when candidates on the each side of the ticket transcend race and gender. Can't wait for election day!
A CNN crew was there and actually interviewed Al which was really exciting. He spoke very well on camera and made some amazing points. I don't think we'll have any way of finding out if he actually made it to TV, but it was still pretty cool.
It's so awesome to be able to document such an exciting part of American history in one of the most historical elections ever. How exciting to see the progression of our country when candidates on the each side of the ticket transcend race and gender. Can't wait for election day!
Mexican Wednesdays
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
I'm SO thankful/happy/excited.....etc. that she's back in Georgia and even though it's been four LOOOONNNG years, it feels like we just picked up where we left off. It's so nice to have her back and I really didn't realize just how much I missed our weekly get togethers.
I would usually never compare Lindsay and I to anything Sex and the City related, but having her back in my life again really reminds me how good it is to have a girlfriend around to just chat/vent/share life with again. I realize that I need that in my life to have that balance (and sanity).
So cheers to good girlfriends and yay for Mexican Wednesdays!
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