Saturday, June 23, 2007

Wednesday, June 20, 2007

Happy (one month) Anniversary to the Todd's!

One month ago today we were here......



Here's hoping for many more months. ;)


Tuesday, June 12, 2007

Picture teaser

This is the teaser I sent my friend, Melissa, after I shot her wedding on friday. It was a gorgeous night and of course she was looking more than gorgeous. I still have a lot of pictures to go through and edit but I wanted to give her a little taste of what they looked like. So far she seems to like them. Whew! I was so nervous.

http://www.tabblo.com/studio/invitation/721848/f3cc0110b83121a6c531532946d752eb

Monday, June 04, 2007

Relay for Life

I know I have to blog about the wedding but this is more important.....

My family and I are doing the Relay for Life in Mansfield in a couple of weeks. Ginny, Jenn, and I are walking for Ginny and anyone else who has/had Cancer. If there is anything you can give we would really appreciate it. Even if it's just a "Good Luck". :)

My website for the Relay is http://www.acsevents.org/relay/mamansfield/michelle

This is usually the email that goes out to people explaining...


Can you believe that more than 1.3 million new cancer cases are expected to be diagnosed in the United States this year? Those are staggering statistics, but there is hope. Each of us can do something to save lives and help those already fighting this disease. That’s why I’ve decided to take action against cancer by supporting the American Cancer Society Relay For Life® event right here in Mansfield, MA.

Relay For Life is an overnight event that brings our community together to help support the American Cancer Society and its lifesaving mission to eliminate cancer as a major health problem. The Society works hard every day to prevent cancer and save lives by supporting groundbreaking research, affecting public policies that protect us from cancer, and educating people on how to prevent or detect cancer early. The Society helps people with cancer right here in our own community, and Relay supporters help the American Cancer Society to keep working toward a cancer-free future.

I want to invite you to show your support in the ongoing fight against cancer by joining us for this year’s event. Please click on the link below for more information, including details on the inspirational Survivors’ Lap and Luminaria Ceremony. We hope to see you there! If you can’t join us, will you please visit the site and make a donation to support our efforts? Either way, you will make a real difference in the lives of people facing cancer – and in the lives of the people who love them. Thank you!

Friday, April 13, 2007

Pledge of the Cute Girl Sisterhood

Alright ladies, it's that time of year once again!!! I think we need to be reminded of a few things. So my sisters, PLEASE, raise your big toes and repeat after me below....

As a member of the Cute Girl Sisterhood, I pledge to follow the Rules when wearing sandals and other open-toe shoes:

I promise to always wear sandals that fit. My toes will not hang over and touch the ground, nor will my heels spill over the backs. And the sides and tops of my feet will not pudge out between the straps.

I will go polish-free or vow to keep the polish fresh , intact and chip-free.I will not cheat and just touch up my big toe.

I will sand down any mounds of skin before they turn hard and yellow.

I will shave the hairs off my big toe.

I won't wear pantyhose even if my misinformed girlfriend, coworker,mother, sister tells me the toe seam really will stay under my toes if I tuck it there.

If a strap breaks, I won't duct-tape, pin, glue or tuck it back into place hoping it will stay put. I will get my shoe fixed or toss it.

I will not live in corn denial ; rather I will lean on my good friend Dr.Scholl's if my feet need him.

I will resist the urge to buy jelly shoes at Payless for the low, lowprice of $4.99 even if my feet are small enough to fit into the kids' sizes. This is out of concern for my safety, and the safety of others. No one can walk properly when standing in a pool of sweat and I would hate to take someone down with me as I fall and break my ankle. (this does NOT apply to Crocs!!)

I will take my toe ring off toward the end of the day if my toes swell and begin to look like Vienna sausages.

I will be brutally honest with my girlfriend/sister/coworker when she asks me if her feet are too ugly to wear sandals. Someone has to tell her that her toes are as long as my fingers and no sandal makes creepy feet look good.

I will promise if I wear flip flops that I will ensure that they are actually flip and flop, making the correct noise while walking and I will swear NOT to slide or drag my feet while wearing them.

I will promise to go to my local nail salon at least once per season and have a real pedicure (they are about $35 and worth EVERY penny).

I will promise to throw away any white/off-white sandals that show signs of wear... nothing is tackier than dirty white sandals.

Don't keep this to yourself - pass it on to other sisters.

Friday, April 06, 2007

Sad and pathetic

I stole this from another blog...

It’s been alleged that if you’ve seen over 85 movies you have no life. Mark the ones you’ve seen. There are 239 films on this list. Copy this list, go to your own blog, paste it in and put x’s by the ones that you have seen. Add them up, figure out whether you’ve got a life or not, and post it.

My count is 164 :( And I think I've seen more of these but I don't remember the names.


(x) Rocky Horror Picture Show
(x)Grease
(X) Pirates of the Caribbean
(X) Pirates of the Caribbean 2: Dead Man’s Chest
( ) Boondock Saints
( )Fight Club
( ) Starsky and Hutch
( X)Neverending Story
( )Blazing Saddles
(X) Airplane
(X) The Princess Bride
(X) AnchorMan
(X) Napoleon Dynamite
( X)Labyrinth
(X ) Saw
( X) Saw II
( )White Noise
( X) White Oleander
(X )Anger Management
( X)50 First Dates
(X) The Princess Diaries
( X) The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement
( X)Scream
( X) Scream 2
( X) Scream 3
(X) Scary Movie
( X) Scary Movie 2
( X) Scary Movie 3
( X) Scary Movie 4
(X ) American Pie
(X ) American Pie 2
(X ) American Wedding
(X ) American Pie Band Camp
(X) Harry Potter 1
(X) Harry Potter 2
(X) Harry Potter 3
(X) Harry Potter 4
( X) Resident Evil 1
( ) Resident Evil 2
(X) The Wedding Singer
(X ) Little Black Book
(x) The Village
(X) Lilo & Stitch
(X) Finding Nemo
(X ) Finding Neverland
(X) Signs
(X) The Grinch (I'm assuming this is the Jim Carrey one)
( X) Texas Chainsaw Massacre
(X ) Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning
(X) White Chicks
(X ) Butterfly Effect
(X )13 Going on 30
() I, Robot
( ) Robots
( X) Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story
(X) Universal Soldier
(X) Lemony Snicket: A Series Of Unfortunate Events
( X) Along Came Polly
() Deep Impact
( ) KingPin
( X) Never Been Kissed
( X) Meet The Parents
(X ) Meet the Fockers
(X ) Eight Crazy Nights
( X) Joe Dirt
(X) King Kong
() A Cinderella Story
(X) The Terminal
( ) The Lizzie McGuire Movie
( ) Passport to Paris
(X ) Dumb & Dumber
(X ) Dumber & Dumberer
(X ) Final Destination
(X ) Final Destination 2
( ) Final Destination 3
(X ) Halloween
(X) The Ring
( X) The Ring 2
( ) Surviving Christmas
() Flubber
( ) Harold & Kumar Go To White Castle
(X) Practical Magic
(x) Chicago
(X) Ghost Ship
(X ) From Hell
(X) Hellboy
(X ) Secret Window
(X ) I Am Sam
(X ) The Whole Nine Yards
(X) The Whole Ten Yards
(X) The Day After Tomorrow
(X ) Child’s Play
(x) Seed of Chucky
( ) Bride of Chucky
(x ) Ten Things I Hate About You
( X) Just Married
( ) Gothika
( X) Nightmare on Elm Street
(X) Sixteen Candles
(x) Remember the Titans
( ) Coach Carter
(X) The Grudge
( ) The Grudge 2
(X) The Mask
( ) Son Of The Mask
(X ) Bad Boys
( ) Bad Boys 2
(X ) Joy Ride
( ) Lucky Number SlevIn
(X) Ocean’s Eleven
() Ocean’s Twelve
(X) Bourne Identity
(X) Bourne Supremecy
( ) Lone Star
( X) Bedazzled
() Predator I
() Predator II
() The Fog
(X) Ice Age
() Ice Age 2: The Meltdown
() Curious George
(X) Independence Day
() Cujo
( ) A Bronx Tale
( X) Darkness Falls
(x) Christine
(X) E.T.
(X ) Children of the Corn
( ) My Bosses Daughter
(X) Maid in Manhattan
() War of the Worlds
(X) Rush Hour
(X) Rush Hour 2
( ) Best Bet
(X) How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days
(X ) She’s All That
( ) Calendar Girls
(X) Sideways
(x) Mars Attacks
() Event Horizon
(X) Ever After
(X) Wizard of Oz
(X) Forrest Gump
( X) Big Trouble in Little China
(X)The Terminator
(X) The Terminator 2
(X) The Terminator 3
(X) X-Men
(X) X-2
(X) X3
(X) Spider-Man
(X) Spider-Man 2
() Sky High
(X ) Jeepers Creepers
( X) Jeepers Creepers 2
(X) Catch Me If You Can
(x) The Little Mermaid
(X) Freaky Friday (The Jodi Foster one?)
() Reign of Fire
(X) The Skulls
(X) Cruel Intentions
(X ) Cruel Intentions 2
(X ) The Hot Chick
(X) Shrek
(X) Shrek 2
(X ) Swimfan
(X) Miracle on 34th street
(X) Old School
(X) The Notebook
() K-Pax
( ) Krippendorf’s Tribe
( X) A Walk to Remember
( ) Ice Castles
( ) Boogeyman
(X) The 40-year-old Virgin
(X) Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring
(X) Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
(X) Lord of the Rings: Return Of the King
(X) Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark
(X) Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
(X) Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
(X) Base-ketball
() Hostel
( ) Waiting for Guffman
( ) House of 1000 Corpses
( ) Devils Rejects
(X) Elf
(X) Highlander (“There can be only ONE!”)
(X) Mothman Prophecies
( ) American History X
( ) Three
( ) The Jacket
( ) Kung Fu Hustle
( ) Shaolin Soccer
( ) Night Watch
(X) Monsters Inc.
(X) Titanic
(X) Monty Python and the Holy Grail
( ) Shaun Of the Dead
( ) Willard
( ) High Tension
( ) Club Dread
(X ) Hulk
( ) Dawn Of the Dead
(X) Hook
(X) Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
( X) 28 days later
( ) Orgazmo
( ) Phantasm
(X) Waterworld
( ) Kill Bill Vol. 1
( ) Kill Bill Vol. 2
(X ) Mortal Kombat
( ) Wolf Creek
() Kingdom of Heaven
( X) the Hills Have Eyes
( ) I Spit on Your Grave(
) The Last House on the Left
( ) Re-Animator
( x) Army of Darkness (Shop smart Shop S Mart)
(X) Star Wars Ep. I The Phantom Menace
(X) Star Wars Ep. II Attack of the Clones
(X) Star Wars Ep. III Revenge of the Sith
(X) Star Wars Ep. IV A New Hope
(X) Star Wars Ep. V The Empire Strikes Back
(X) Star Wars Ep. VI Return of the Jedi
( ) Ewoks: Caravan Of Courage
() Ewoks: The Battle For Endor
(X) The Matrix
(X) The Matrix: Reloaded
(X) The Matrix: Revolutions
() Animatrix
( )Evil Dead
( ) Evil Dead 2
() Team America: World Police
(X) Red Dragon
(X) Silence of the Lambs
(X ) Hannibal

Wednesday, April 04, 2007

Invitations are in the mail!!!!

FINALLY!!!! I got them all done (except for a few that I need addresses for)

My mom feels so badly b/c she has been sick and not able to help. it's ok, she didn't do it on purpose. It was a lot of work but I think they came out ok. :)



All boxed up (sorry for the blurry pic)
**picture to come later**




The invitation....

Sunday, April 01, 2007

Today was a bust

I called my mom first thing in the morning and I heard this horrible voice on the other end. She was VERY sick. She had even been throwing up over the night. it was her first time ever...poor thing. :(

Well, we were supposed to go to Andi's Baby Shower and Aidan's 1st birthday. Needless to say, we didn't make it to either. My mom was too sick and I had been with her for the past 4 days so I didn't want to infect anyone.

I spent the day (after I dropped on Andi's gift.) writing out wedding invitation envelopes. Mom was too sick and I wanted them out on monday. I don't think I'm going to make it. I started to feel crappy in the afternoon too. :(


This was the gift I made for Andi. The nursery is going to Peter Rabbit. If you knew Andi, the onesies are VERY appropriate.


Saturday, March 31, 2007

I think there are some ice chips in hell

This morning and the lovely time of 9am (UGH!) my mom, MY DAD, and I met up at Lake View Pavilion for our final details meeting. And believe it or not, it went AMAZING! Everyone was agreeable. There was no yelling. It was a lot of "What would you like?" "oh that sounds good." "What ever you think is best." I think my parents were invaded by Pod People. ;)

Sunday, March 25, 2007

The gift that brought me to tears.

My Godmother made me a memory quilt. She got pictures of Shawn and I when we were little, with important family members, and then pictures of us together. She also put our wedding and shower invitiations on it. All the buttons and bows are from outfits of mine when I was little (even one of my school uniforms). Some buttons are from old clothes of my grandmother (Nonna) who passed away.

I cried and cried and cried when I opened it.


Sorry it's so shiny. I really hate not having my good camera anymore.

Saturday, March 24, 2007

We are Blessed

Today everyone surprised me and what I thought was Shawn's Dad's retirement party was actually my bridal shower. They almost pulled it off completely but I saw some of my girls heading into the restaurant. Not wanting to spoil it for my mom and my bridesmaids, Shawn and I held back and then went back to his truck for my jacket. What I didn't know was that everyone could see us through the front window of the restaurant (Beijing Duck in Braintree). When we headed back to the truck everyone thought we were leaving. LOL!!!!


We are trying blessed by how many people came to celebrate with us. And a bonus to that is that they wiped our registry clean!


Here are some pictures from our wonderful day.

My Craft Girls



Our cake with bling! (Wait until you see the wedding one!!)



Towel Cake made by Auntie Nancie


Gorgeous favor bags (with votive candles inside) made by my bridesmaid, Melissa


Me and my bridesmaids

Friday, March 23, 2007

What we were doing last thursday

I finally have pictures to post in my blog!

Here is a little sneak peak of what Shawn and I were doing last thursday (3/15). If you want to see them all let me know and I'll sent you the link. :)

I'm not overly thrilled with them but there are a couple I can use. I knew going into this that I was getting a REALLY good deal so I didn't expect fine art. There are a lot of pictures that I know we took but they must have been horrible b/c she didn't send them to me. I'm going to have to do some photo editing on these...big time!


















Friday, March 09, 2007

First Gift!!!

Last night I was brushing Bazzill's teeth and Shawn yells, "What did you buy at Bed, Bath, and Beyond?" So I yell back, "I have no idea what bag you are looking at." Then he tells me that it's not a bag but that a box was just delivered to us. OMG!! I dropped Bazzill and ran to the front room. "Our first gift!!!!!!" I think Shawn was a little afraid at how loud I was yelling. He asked if we should wait to open it. HA!!! He's a funny guy sometimes. ;)
I opened it and finally found the card inside. It was from my cousin Jimmy and his family. They said that they were sorry that they couldn't be there. Hmmm, couldn't be where? The wedding invitations haven't gone out yet. ;) of course Murphy's Law, they bought us the breakfast griddle that Shawn registered for. Lucky duck! LOL!!!

Monday, March 05, 2007

YAY!!!!

My dress came in last week and I got to visit it and try it on Saturday. I was really nervous b/c I told them to order it I size smaller than what I was measuring at in November.
So we all held our breath as I put it on.....

It's too big!!!!!!! I can't believe it! I'm hoping it's even bigger when I go for my fittings in April. it means I lost over 2 inches in my waist since November.

It made it glaringly obvious that I have to work on my arms though. YUCKO!!!! Oh well, I can always get a shawl.
After the dress shop, my mom and I went to Natick/Framingham for some retail therapy. I got a couple of cute dresses for the events I have coming up and to take on the cruise.
I got the cutest pair of red sandals too. I can't find a picture of them. I guess I'll have to take my own later.

Thursday, March 01, 2007

I take it all back

My future in laws came through. They called the travel agent and paid for the remaining balance on our honeymoon. I was really surprised. The deposit was still ours. So it ended up that we paid a third and they paid two thirds. Regardless, I am VERY grateful.
They didn't do it out of love or anything like that. They did it b/c the settlement they received was bigger than that thought but we are happy just the same. ;)
I guess I should get rid of the voo doo dolls in their image, huh? Nahhhhh! I bet they will come in handy again.

Wednesday, February 21, 2007

Too good to be true

I know I shouldn't trust them but I did and of course I'm paying for it. Well, we are paying for it. When Shawn's parents said they would pay for the remainder of the honeymoon I thought they meant it. In the scheme of things, what's remaining isn't all that much. We've already paid almost a 3rd of the total with the deposit.

I came home last night and Shawn told me that they called and said it was too much for them and that they could only give us XX amount. A difference of about $700. That's fine but don't tell someone TWO YEARS prior (in front of my whole family) that you are going to pay for our "Honeymoon". No! What you really meant was that you were going to pay TOWARDS our honeymoon.

Ok, so some would say, "Michelle, cut them a little slack. Shawn's dad isn't working now and is only getting disability payments." And I would totally agree with them if not for a few things.

1. They have known about this for 2.5 years. We didn't spring it on them nor did we ask for the $. They announced that they were doing this at our engagement party. 2.5 years is plenty of time to save this amount. We could have if we had know what was going to happen.

2. We saved them over $500 by convincing them to have the rehearsal dinner at their house. They were less than 24 hours away from putting a deposit on the function room. So they already had about $1000 budgeted for that.

3. And this is a good one - The are going on a cruise themselves in April. All 3 of them. Which I don't begrudge them. It's their money they should do what they want with it...just don't promise it to other people and then say, "Nah, changed my mind."


For what they are offering to give us we could have gone on a honeymoon to Cape Cod. LOL!!! Thank god we decided against the Mediteranean cruise. ;)



As I promised - here is the sweatshirt I had made. Really rethinking this b/c I don't want the same name as my MIL. (just kidding)



Ciao!

Tuesday, February 20, 2007

Crazy Good Weekend!

I can't believe how much stuff I got done this weekend!

-Received my cake topper in the mail - GORGEOUS (see below)

-Bought gifts for my readers

-added to my BM gifts

-finalized what FI is getting his GM's

-my mom FINALLY got her outfit for the wedding

-got my tiara

-brought my sweatshirt in to be embroidered only to be called an hour later that is was DONE!! Huge rave for Embroidme in Weymouth. (picture to come later)

-FIL's finalized the rehearsal dinner (with some persuasion from us). It's going to be in their gorgeous backyard, catered by our favorite restaurant in Quincy - Gennaro's.

- and the biggest one - FIL's said that they would pay for the remainder of our HM!!!! I thought I was going to faint. :) They promised this to us 2 years ago but never said anything when we told them we booked the cruise. This frees up so much money for us. I'm so excited I'm floating!!!

Ciao!

Wednesday, February 14, 2007

Do you forgive me?

I've been gone for a very long time. Christmas, New Years, My birthday etc. I'm a very bad blogger. I'm blogging today not b/c I have anything really profound to say but b/c I promised a few people I would start blogging again.

One thing did happen today (besides the cute card that Shawn spent all afternoon making me). I got my cake topper in the mail. it's GORGEOUS!!! Should I show you? What if you are going to my wedding? Then you won't be surprised? oh well, it will look much better that day anyway with the spotlight one it. I might as well post a crappy picture of it now.

In real life it's VERY sparkly and a light light pink. I LOVE IT!!!!

Ok, off to spend some time with my man on our last single Valentine's Day. Hope you have a great one!

Ciao

Wednesday, December 20, 2006

apparently I'm only funny in my own head

Back story - I've been on loan to another dept for 6 months and I'm due to return the second week of Jan to my original dept.

We got an email that one of the ladies in my dept (my real dept) rearranged all the mailboxes in alpha order. It was a big praise email. So I thought I'd be funny and reply that she will have to change them all again in May.
This started a big thing b/c people thought I wasn't coming back to the dept until May.
Hello people?!?! I'm getting married and my name will change! You ask me every day how the plans are going. This is not a new thing.

Oy!

Thursday, December 14, 2006

What is wrong with people?!?!

Ginny called me last night b/c she had a question for me.

Apparently, my dad was at the mall shopping and saw someone that knows both my mom and dad. Dad was telling this person (Ginny wouldn't tell me who it was) how excited he was about the wedding and how his only job was to look pretty, be at the church, and walk me down the aisle. To which this person says to him, "I heard her mom is walking her down the aisle." He was crushed!

Who does that to a person?? Even if it was true, obviously my dad didn't know, why would you say it to him? For the record, I want both my parents to walk me down the aisle. I hadn't mentioned it to Dad yet b/c I didn't think he would think it was a bad thing (and neither did Ginny) I just haven't had a chance to talk to him face to face when it hasn't been a holiday. I didn't want to bring up wedding stuff when we were celebrating other things. It's not all about me. :)

I think I know who started the rumor. I hope I can get Dad to tell me who told him. Mom is LIVID.

People are a$$holes!