My (muslin) dress!

David, if you're reading, STOP.

For everyone else...

I had my first dress fitting last week! Since I am having my dress made, this was the first step towards a finished product. The dress was made out of a muslin fabric, so that any changes I desired could be made before the cutting of the real materials began.

As a reminder, the dress is inspired by Kirstie Kelly's Cinderella dress from her first collection of Disney Bridal. Here it is:

Source

My anticipation was building as the dressmaker went to pull my dress. Would it be everything I had hoped for? Everything I had dreamed of? Had I really made the right decision in having it custom made?

And then, I put it it on. All of the doubts instantly disappeared.

Personal Pictures taken by my mom
I was thrilled! However, I have shrunk again. Bsaed on the measurements she took in summer 2008, I lost 3 inches around my waist when I went back in June 2009. Trying on the muslin, I have again lost inches! I haven't lost any weight, but I seem to be shrinking anyway. I'm relatively sure that it's stress related, although I might be putting more muscle on from the work and lifting I do around program/musical times.

So, to make up for that, she pulled in the sides. She also messed around with the off the shoulder strap. There will be an organza sleeve on it, she just didn't put one on the muslin because she wasn't positive how much room would be needed in it.

the bodice will have boning in it, so it will actually fit a little bit higher than the picture shows. That makes me happy. I know people say "flaunt it if you've got it" but I'm not a big fan. I like knowing that the girls will be covered.

We are also going to add about 12 inches to the train. She showed my mom and I about where that would fall, and I think it will be the perfect length for me. I don't want a cathedral train, but I do want more than the little sweep. this was something we hadn't discussed, so I know the change will be closer to what I see in my head.

I do need to find the proper long line bra before I go back in February. She made a recommendation of a store, but it's not close to my house, so it is not as convenient as I would like.
For those of you who have a bit more experience in this matter than myself, what color do you recommend? White or nude? I am planning to also wear it under the bridesmaid's dress for my MOH's wedding.

Dining Reservations - for our Honeymoon!

As anyone who has ever planned a trip to Disney World knows, the dining reservations can be very elusive. Tall tales abound of guests' rudeness when calling to get the most sought after places. Personally, I've never had trouble getting into the restaurant of choice - it might have been a different day than we had originally planned, but we always got in. Disney recently upgraded their system to include a way to make reservations online. For someone like me, this was great - I got up about 10 minutes before the system will let you in, got ready, and at 6 AM EST this morning, was requesting our reservation for Cinderella's Royal Table (the tough one to get!). By 6:30, I had made all of the reservations except for the Fantasmic Package - which allows you priority seating at Disney Hollywood Studios' fireworks show. You'll notice we have two reservations that night - I have to see if eating early will be ok, or if we should just try to get seats on our own. I'm really excited about this - we got everything we wanted, approx. times that we wanted, all on the day we wanted - on the first try!

Friday
7:30 PM Cape May Cafe

Saturday
8:05 AM Donald's Safari Breakfast (Tusker House)
8:55 PM California Grill

Sunday
11:30 AM Coral Reef
7:05 PM Artist Point

Monday
12:00 PM Sci-Fi (need something earlier if we eat at 4:05)
4:05 PM Fantasmic Package - Hollywood Brown Derby
5:30 PM Hollywood Brown Derby - this is the time we WANTED to eat, but the package wasn't available. Probably will be canceling this one

Tuesday
8:20 AM The Crystal Palace
12:45 PM Whispering Canyon Cafe - this one could be made later or earlier, depending on what happens with CP
9:30 PM Cinderella's Royal Table

Wednesday
12:00 PM Rose and Crown
7:00 PM Narcoossee's

Thursday
11:45 AM Le Cellier Steakhouse
8:20 PM Les Chefs de France

Friday
8:05 AM Crystal Palace - we are only going to eat at CP once, but it will depend on our flight AND how many theme park days we get on our tickets. Since it is located in Magic Kingdom, we have to have park tickets to eat here.

My Hands

Now. I have to say, this was not my idea. Well, not entirely. But Meg over at A Practical Wedding had this post, and it got me thinking. What do my hands say about me? Not my rings, but my hands?

And then I started thinking. What story do I want my hands to tell? If you look at them, they look pretty soft. I mean that in the no manual labor way. but then I start to think....
*They take a lot of abuse playing the piano. It sounds easy.... unless you are someone who has sprained a ligament. Then you realize just how bad all that wide spreading REALLY is for them.
*They move pianos. that's right - I, with my own two hands (and the elevator!) move the piano for my concerts. By myself.
*They set up, carry, and run sound systems. In fact, that's where most of the scratches on my hands have come from in the past week or so.
*They care for others. Hugs, food for the dog, or dialing the phone to say "I love you"
*They do the laundry.
*They show the world how nervous I am, or have been. I'm not a nail biter - I'm a cuticle biter. Just as bad, but different.
*They also help show the weather - they're already cracking.

The last thing that they do is show other people's love for ME. My right hand ring was a gift from my parents on my 16th birthday. As if that weren't special enough, the diamond is the original diamond from my mom's engagement ring. Talk about emotional significance. And yes, on my left hand, I wear a symbol of David and my engagement. I am lucky enough that neither of us had to spend a fortune or go ring shopping - it is a family ring, passed down to the oldest male in his family to propose with. So in a way, both of my hands not only show others' love for me, but their love for each other. And yes, I think that IS a worthy message to share with the world. I wouldn't trade either of them for a "bigger or better" ring - they are both perfect. And I think they help my hands show the message I would want the world to see.

You might have noticed I've been a tad absent. Yesterday was our 6 month pre-anniversary. Between wedding planning (which there hasn't been much of, just dreaming!), every day happenings, and trying to prepare my students for all of the Christmas performances, there hasn't been a whole lot of time for ANYTHING. But, Jennifer over at She Nests, gifted me with the Happy 101 Award.

Ok- here's the award rules:

List 10 things that make you happy, try to do at least one of them today, and tag 10 bloggers that brighten your day. For those 10 bloggers who get the award, you then link back to my blog and create your makes you happy list.

10 Things That Make Me Happy:

1. Giving gifts. More than receiving, I truly love giving people the best Christmas present I can come up with. I may be a Scrooge about spending money on myself, but I love to make other people happy!

2. Driving. Even though I'm tired of my 40 minute one way commute, I love to just DRIVE.

3. Singing. I love to sing - everything from Christmas carols to pop songs to little kids ditties.

4. Jager. My dog is very astute to what happens during my day, and always seems to know exactly what I need him to do.

5. Disney movies. Beauty and the BEast, Cinderella, Lion King - I love the old school cartoons.

6. David. (I should mention now that the list is in no particular order). I truly can't imagine my life without him!

7. My secretaries. Even on my worst day (like last week when I was sobbing hysterically) they hug me and love me, and do whatever they can to make my day better.

8. My principal and his daughters! Chad is THE BEST principal - he cares about the students AND staff, and does everything he can to make our lives easier. His daughters.... well, they are just two FABULOUS girls. Not many kids that I know would invite their teacher to go swimming - but we went multiple times over the summer. Even when it feels like my life is in turmoil, a smile from those two can make my day brighter.

9. Ice cream. I love ice cream. When I'm stressed, it becomes my meal for one or two meals a day. Healthy? No. Sanity saving? yes!

10. Xavier basketball. I don't watch it very often, but I bleed Muskie blue, no matter how their season goes.

Now here are 10 bloggers that brighten my day!

Carly at Being Carly

Natalie at The Bobby Pin

AmyJean at The Relentless Bride

Hannah at That [Officer's] Wife

Rae at There Is No Wealth But Life

Jessica at from marriage to motherhood

Meg at A Pratical Wedding

Modern Mom at How to Survive Life in the Suburbs (my newest follower - so new I don't know her real name yet!)

Vanessa at Designs by Vanessa

Jessica from The Budget Savvy Bride