The one with the Dress Saga Completed

I have a dress! I love it! Its "the one!" After trying on approx 50 dresses, I finally decided! Yay!..Pictures to come April 17, 2010

The one with the Dress Saga Continued

After trying on dresses at David's Bridal with several of my friends. I still wasn't satisfied with what I was finding. I did find two i like, but it wasn't the "i love it" feeling. So after being depressed about the experience, I was trying to figure out what to do next. Friday afternoon i decided to take an impromptu trip to Alfred Angelo with Cassiopeia. We went in and were immediately greeted by the owner. The gentleman who helped us out was wonderful. He listened to what i said, offered suggestions and brought me dresses to try on that fit what i was liking. He also informed us that we can have straps added to originally strapless dresses. There was a girl trying on a dress next to me that I liked and it was strapless. I discounted it at first but ended up trying it on and loved it! I also found out I like trains that are separate from the dress. The entire experience was great, the lighting in the store was much better for pictures and I felt like i got things accomplished. Today, Cassiopeia and I were looking at dress pictures on the Alfred Angelo website and looked at a dress i had looked at before, but discounted because of the spaghetti straps, and guess what it was the one i really liked!! How interesting...maybe that is the dress for me!

The one with the Wedding Dresses

Yesterday I went with my wonderful friends, Penny, Bethany, Khalielah (and her baby Mahalia), and one of my bridesmaids, Cassiopeia, to try on wedding dresses. We went to David's Bridal in Mission Valley and had a much better experience than at the La Mesa location. I tried on several dresses and definitely figured out some things that worked and some that did not work. It was a lot of fun putting the dresses on and getting feedback. When I came out of the dressing room Mahalia always had something to say, it was as if she was telling if the dress was good or not so good. She was very cute. I did learn a few things though. First, you have to leave the dress on longer than you think. Second, they need to put a mirror in the dressing rooms so the bride can see herself before going out. Third, bring every style of bra you own, and get some more, because the one they give you does not always work. I was a little sad with how the pictures turned out. I think the lighting in David's Bridal is just not flattering. Cassiopeia did her best, but the atmosphere does not cater to the "amazing photo" i am looking for. One of the two dresses that I really liked did not look good in the photographs. So now i am trying to figure out if it is the dress or just the photograph. hmmm.... After trying on dresses we went across the parking lot to Mimi's. Overall it was a good day!

The one at Lake Arrowhead

Our family was celebrating my Grandmother's 80th birthday at Lake ArrowheadThe view...and a storm coming in

The House!

We were able to get almost our entire family together from across the country. Although we were not all there at the same time, most of us were there on Saturday for a big dinner celebration. Scott and I drove up on Friday. We were able to use our bike rack for the first time and loaded our bikes on the back of our car. We were a little scared having them on for the first time, but it worked out just fine. Scott said they felt like a sail on the back of the car. Friday night we walked into the village and got some ice cream. They had Scott's favorite, blue bubble-gum! What a little kid inside! I had kona coffee and espresso chip...got to have my coffee fix! We were hoping that when we got back to the house it would have cooled off, but it was still very, very hot (did i mention there was no air conditioning or ceiling fans). Unfortunately, we were also given the hottest room in the house. We debated sleeping outside or in sleeping bags downstairs, but we ended up just sleeping on top the beds. It did not cool off until about 3am. Saturday morning we had planned to go on a bike ride around Lake Gregory in Crestline. We headed out and found a good spot at the lake. We rode for about 15 min. or so and then Scott got a flat tire. We had bought some things that are supposed to keep the tired inflated or help once you patch it, but unfortunately this whole was not repairable. So we had to walk the bikes back a little ways and Scott rode my bike back to get the car.

Tire tubes should be inside the tire

We loaded everything back up and headed back to the house. When we got to the house, most everyone was already there so we visited and shared our wedding updates with everyone. After dinner and cake we packed up and headed down the mountain. It was a very hot, humid weekend, but we made the best of it.

For more pictures go to: http://picasaweb.google.com/SarahMaltese/LakeArrowheadWeekend?feat=directlink

The one at Cafe Coyote

Tonight we had our McKinney/Ray family reunion dinner at Cafe Coyote in Old Town. (My grandmother's side of the family, she is a Ray) My cousin Laura and her husband Mike and their two kids Kevin and Sean came down for the dinner as well. It was nice to see them becuase we only get to see them a few times a year. Even though they only live an hour away. We also got to visit with my Uncle Ron (Laura's Dad). My dad drove out from Indio, such a long drive for a dinner, but it was great to visit with him for a little while. It was nice to visit with other relatives as well. Next weekend we will be going to Lake Arrowhead to celebrate my Grandma's 80th birthday.

The one with the vacuum

We finally bought a new vacuum! We purchased a Dyson 24 and it works great! I vacuumed with our old vacuum a few days ago and then we vacuumed with our new vacuum today. I could not believe how much stuff it picked up! (Gross!) Thanks to 10% off and lots of shower gift cards we were able to get it!

The one on the Bahia Belle

Tonight was the first official night of the McKinney/Ray Reunion. We went on a cocktail crusie around mission bay. The bartender made great drinks...some of the best I have had! I started with a Margarita (of course) then had a Blue Hawaiian (coconut rum, pineapple juice, Blue Curacao). It was DELICIOUS!!! I drank it to fast....so no picture. I highly recommend this to anyone in San Diego! The boat leaves the Bahia and goes to the Catamaran Hotel every 30 min so it is easy to get on and off.

I sometimes can't beleive I live here!

Could it be any better?

The one with Benihana

Janet and Dave are down for the 4th of July in San Diego! We were able to meet up with them Friday night for dinner at Benihana's. It was so nice to catch up with them and share stories of unemployment! The food was amazing of course, and the knife work of the chef was impressive. We all decided that we need one of those table top grills in our homes one day....and we need sharper knives.

Dave and Scott had Sake Flights:

The four of us....plus Diego the Cat