More dresses

MoJo and mom came to Omaha for Halloween to try on dresses (eeek!). Halloween was my self-imposed deadline, but let's be honest. I haven't 100% chosen a dress yet. :P


At Bridal Details:


Da Vinci


This dress was very pretty, but there just wasn't anything interesting about it. The pics are pretty funny, though. ^_^




^Girly moment
^Akward squat so the lady could plop a veil on me, aka my ANTM pose.


^My badass bridezilla pose, aka pointing at another dress in my room. ^_^

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I don't remember what this dress below was, but it was very pretty. I liked the shape but ultimately it wasn't a winner because I didn't like the bling on the butt.

^lol. Manatee!

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Mori Lee 2322

This is a really new dress, actually, and I really liked it. A portion of the proceeds of every Mori Lee 2322 goes to support breast cancer research. And at about $750, it's charitable AND affordable. ^_^ It was dubbed the Art Deco dress by MoJo and mom.

^I was pink and frankly rather sweaty by this point.

^*Ahem. MoJo failed in her train-fluffing capacity but made up for it with taking a ton of pics. ^_^

^Ok, the sample is a little small for me. When it fits all the pleats lay down flat with no puckering (at least, according to the model picture on morilee.com)

^Again with the lack of train and skirt fluffing. ^_^ Tsk tsk.

So pretty. So unusual. So hard to make a decision.

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So currently I am torn between 2 Mori Lee dresses. The Art Deco dress (2232) and the silk satin (Mori Lee 4501)--the sweetheart, ruched gown from my previous post (with the horribly blurry pic that doesn't do it or me any justice).

Pros and Cons

*I love how unusual 2322 is. My coworkers have all seen a million dresses and this dress is a bit of a showstopper. However, 4501 is arguably a showstopper as well with the dramatic ruching and bubble train.

*4501 is a corset back and honestly I could walk out of the store in the sample tomorrow. It fits like a glove. 2322 is a zipper back and as I am now, it would have to be ordered a size up and altered back down after (god, hopefully) I lose a bit more weight. And frankly, I'm worried about how difficult it would be to make alterations with all those pleats. Also, it's a fact that corsets fit better, allow you more leeway (just in case! ^_^) and help everything stay where it's meant to be, aka boobage.

*Price. My budget was to ideally stay under $800 (yes, that's a very low number for a wedding dress, but I'm paying for part of the wedding myself and in Nebraska dress prices don't seem to be quite as inflated as in other areas.)

2322=$750

4501=$569

And this isn't counting alterations. Which, again, 4501 would not require any (unless I lost like 50 pounds and that will never happen, nor does it need to ^_^). 2322 could potentially require a lot AND might be more expensive due to difficulty.

So currently, due to ease of ordering, potential comfort and price, I am leaning towards 4501.

Sheesh. What an ordeal. ^_^

Mori Lee 4501
Silk satin gorgeousness. Would adding cap sleeves be a possibility, do you think?
If so, plain tulle, plain satin, embellished of some type?


The other front runner, just because. ^_^

Photographic Proof

OR
How I Almost Lost Our Photographer TOO

You would think that after almost losing the reception site I would have learned.
-_-* But noooo.

One blistering hot day in late June (I think it was the last week of June...) I went to Lincoln to meet up with K and go chit chat with Allison Garrett Photography (I think her website is down at the moment--I think she's making a new one?). I'd found her online and I really liked her mix of candids and portaits. Lovely lighting, no trite poses, sounds good to me. Allison is a total sweetheart, and we had a great talk with her. K and I ultimately decided that, even without meeting anyone else, we wanted to take the jump on this and book her for our wedding.

Well...*cough* What with one thing and another, I didn't actually get around to booking Allison until August 28th. I know, I know. Terrible. I called Allison to double check that our date was still open, and thank god I did. She'd recently had another couple calling to inquire about the same weekend. I was like GAH! But out loud, I very professionally assured her that we would like to book her services and that I was putting the check and the contract in the mail that very day (K was on a rotation elsewhere and I couldn't call him to have him run over with this deposit. darn ^_^). Thankfully it all worked out and we have Allison booked, our deposit paid, and both Allison and I have signed the contract. But I am very disapointed in myself for AGAIN almost letting a wedding vendor we want slip through my procrastinor fingers. Srsly. I shake my head at myself.

Maybe I'll learn and won't let this happen again? Surely...

The Epic Wedding Dress Post

Looking for dresses hasn't really been an easy task. Since we got engaged in May 2008, I knew that moving too fast on a wedding dress would open me up to wedding dress regret. And frankly, I don't have the budget to buy multiple dresses just because I can't make up my mind. The dress I buy is the dress I will wear, and that's that.

Since I had the self-imposed stricture of not seriously looking for a dress until we had the date and the reception site set in stone, I've only really started looking for dresses since June (although I did cheat and try on some dresses at David's Bridal over Christmas when MOH-Jo was trying on a BM dress for a friend's wedding). So here is my ultimate dress round-up. I'm including the front-runners and also a few of the laughably unfortunate. ^_^ Starting at David's Bridal (please don't mind the funny faces. They don't reflect my opinions on the dress [for the most part ^_^])

^I called this one the icicle dress. You can't see the detail, but there's clear beading along the bustline that looks like tiny icicles or somethings dripping down. Which...that description does not sound pretty, but it actually really was. ^_^ I liked it when I had it on, but...it's a little meh.

^ Damask-woven fabric. It's actually surprisingly lightweight and has subtle sequins/beads scattered throughout for some shine. My mom looooooved this dress. But, then, she's a total sucker for damask and lace. ^_^ I was just ok with this dress when trying it on, but I have to agree that in pictures, it looks really really nice. I do feel, however, that it's a little more appropriate for a winter wedding than an August wedding. In Nebraska. Woof. :P


^I thought this neckline was very unique. I liked the beading, which I didn't think I would at first, and it has a very pretty scoop back, as well. However, I do think that mermaid dresses flatter my shape more (um, not that you can tell so far from the pics I've posted. Photo proof on its way, I swear! ^_^). Plus, it's a pretty trendy neckline, which puts me off a bit.

However, this is MOH-Jo's very amusing take on this dress:
"It looks like you were at a posh dinner somewhere, the kind with the really nice quality fabric serviettes. And then, oh noes!, you accidentally splashed some red wine on your awesome sparkly tank top. Under the influence of the couple of glasses of wine you'd already had, you decided that the best course of action would be to staple your napkin around your boobs. No winestain visible! Problem solved!

But then the second picture looks like the moment when you got home, after most of the wine had worn off, and you happened to pass the mirror in your living room and realized to your horror that for some reason you have a napkin stapled around your boobs."

Thanks, dude. ^_^ lol

^ I thought I'd really like this one because the picture hanging on the wall at David's was just gorgeous. However, on this one my face really does say it all. The dress fit me pretty well, size-wise, but it just hung there and did absolutely nothing for me. I rather thought that the top and bottom looked like two really pretty dresses tacked together. That, and that the bodice looks like a beetle carapace. Too bad, because the skirt is super pretty. :(

^ This is a discontinued fit & flare dress. I only included this picture because the back is soooooo pretty. This was the seafoam-train dress. *sigh. Unfortunately, the front is heinous--there's funny looking lace applique and a ribbon tied in a bow. No thank you. ^_^



^ Ew. Bad angle on the second one. I look like a stuffed sausage. You should all feel privileged (?) that I posted this despite how bad of a picture it is. Anyways. I like the lace and the v-neck and the cap sleeves as individual elements, but it doesn't do anything for my body shape. Also, my fiance saw a picture of me in this dress and said it "looks like a grandma dress." Ah. Very well. Point taken. ^_^

Please excuse my crazy bra/body armor sticking out over the low-backline. The edge of the dress is the pretty silvery beading that's going on, not the ugly white patch above it.

^ I rather liked this one. The v-neck is really unique (modesty panel is removable) and I liked the shape (although they only had it in a size too small at David's, so it's a leeetle tight. Not as big of a fan of the beads/vertical detailing.

You may have gathered that MOH-Jo couldn't come along for most of these dress try-ons. I did, however, email her all the pictures for her much-needed input. Conversation re: this dress:

MOH-Jo: "Oh, and I'm not saying this to be clever, but I think I've realised what's bothering me about the unusual v-neck and the vertical beading. I hope this doesn't poison you against it, but the vertical beading is kinda giving me a Renaissance Festival vibe."


Me: "Oh dear. ^_^ No, I know what you mean. They kinda made ME think of the dot detailing on the cartoon Supercalafragilisticexpialidocious people in Mary Poppins. So, no worries. They're a little odd but they didn't make me hate the dress."



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Bridal Details, Omaha, NE


^ No pictures allowed at the store, but I tried on this DaVinci dress (and then used my google-fu to track it down online) and it was very lovely and fitted and simple. And cheap. At $400 it's the cheapest of the dresses that I like, which definitely is in its favor. ^_^


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Bridal Outlet in Lincoln, NE

^Designer: Mori Lee. Mmmmm. Gorgeous silk satin, ruching, corset back...MOH-Jo and I love this one for its Victorian-feel and because it's just so darn flattering. I could buy the sample for this one, honestly, because it fit so well (I'm not laced in very well in this picture, though--it's a smidge loose). This is an illicit picture taken in the dressing room so you can't see the corset back and the unusual, and pretty, bubble hem and train. I really like this dress, even though I would prefer a dress with straps. My mom actually really liked the bubble hem, too, which surprised me. ^_^


^Designer: Jacqueline. I think this may be my frontrunner. I really like the v-neck and the shape (another bubble hem!) with the ruching and the softly diagonal seams down the front. The back comes down to a low-v and it closes with a zipper. Unfortunately, it has fake buttons with ugly rhinestone flowers on them (wtf Jacqueline?) but I'm willing to ignore that and/or remove the sequins with nail scissors if I must. ^_^ I am not the biggest fan of taffeta dresses, however, because, as you can see, they wrinkle SO bad. I've seen so many dress pictures at work and it's just a fact. Taffeta dresses wrinkle up after you sit down. :( Also of note: This dress was a tad too small when I tried it on and both my sister and my mom laughed hysterically at the "back cleavage" that was created once I was squeezed into this dress. Thanks guys. Jerks. ^_^

So those are the highlights. I have some other pics of various dresses that are no longer in the running, but I may post them for shits and giggles. Stay tuned for more lacy dresses that don't do anything for my figure and the dress that my sister begged me to buy.

Adding realism (?)

While I knew that paper flowers were the way to go for our wedding, I couldn't help but develop a fondness for all the yellow bouquets with green hypericum berries I was finding online. (Hm, I think I have neglected to mention so far that our colors are navy, kelly green and yellow.)


source
But how to incorporate them into our bouquets? Buy them from a florist and pop them in? Buy in bulk through an online distributor? How long would they last fresh? Is there a dried alternative?
Mostly what I found online was about $110 for 80-100 stems but I just wasn't sure about going the live route. I remembered a post from Miss Beagle on WeddingBee about her brilliant fabric bouquet and the faux berries she found in the silk flower department, but for the life of me I couldn't find anything similar. So I bought some green polymer clay and figured I might try making berries out of that. I've made things out of clay before. I mean, my sister and I made the most adorable little cheerleaders out of clay in high school for Christmas ornaments. Berries? Pfft. Pas de problem.

Well, I can't report on the clay berries because earlier this week on another trip to Hobby Lobby (I like to go browse occasionally ^_^) I found these interesting little styrofoam balls in a pale green. I was a little unsure on the shade of green as they seemed a little too pale and perhaps a smidge too small, but figured, what the heck. It's $2.50 for this big ol' bag, I'll give it a whirl.

Supplies:
Itsy-bead-sies, $2.50
Floral wire, $2.77 (but I think I got it on sale, actually)
Floral tape


An idea of the scale of the berries. They aren't uniform by any means, but this gives a good idea of the size range.


I cut a piece of floral wire (about 2-3 inches) and carefully pierced a styrofoam ball with one end. Make sure the wire is as straight as you can get it or you'll pop out a big chunk of styrofoam when you come out the other side, which makes things more difficult later on. Twisting slightly, I slowly pushed the wire through the ball, out the other side. I made a small loop on the end of the wire and then pushed the ball back up the wire so that the loop was mostly embedded in the ball. I thought this looked more realistic, like the little bitty stem on the end of a real hypericum berry, and would also help the ball stay in place. Repeat on other end of wire. Fold wire roughly in half so both berries stick up. I bent the wire so that the berries would be at slightly different heights.


After making 3 pieces of wire (6 berries total), I bound them together with a piece of floral tape. I tried arranging them precisely, but the act of taping made them shift anyways, so I ended up just bending the wires around to a natural-looking shape. Then I taped the bunch to a longer floral wire that could be taped to the bouquet stems.

The finished product:




Unfortunately, I think they're a little too pale next to the yellow. They look washed out (of course, the lighting in my apartment really sucks, so that doesn't help). But I'm toying with the idea of watercoloring them with a wash of slightly darker green, just to tint them a little richer shade of green. What do you think?

Les fleurs de papier

Despite having read that red is the most popular wedding color, it's never been a favorite color of mine and just seemed too predictable or traditional for our wedding. Same with all white flowers--pretty in real life but in pictures I think they blend into the wedding gown. So I knew very soon after we got engaged that I wanted yellow flowers for my bouquet and some type of blue dress for the bridesmaids (oh, who am I kidding? I totally have known this for years ^_^).

However, there was a small hitch in considering the flowers. One of my bridesmaids, M, is very allergic to flowers. She does pretty well in the outdoors but holding flowers near her face? Not so much. In her own wedding she went for all silk flowers to prevent having red streaming eyes all night. I knew I would feel horrible asking her to suffer through our wedding, so I started investigating alternatives.

Enter the wonders of the internet.

1. Shutterlove Modern Photography 2. Dozi Design 3. Martha Stewart 4. Martha Stewart 5. Brides 6. Craftster

ALL of these flowers were made from crepe paper, tissue paper, vellum, construction paper or coffee filters. Some, like the coffee filter roses, look insanely life-like. Others, like the white vellum flowers or the spiral roses, are unique and architectural. Naturally, I was entranced by the idea of making all of our flowers. Unique? Hypoallergenic? Cheaper than real flowers? Check, check, and check again.

These flowers are well suited for a budget bride with a lot of time on her hands (or at least a nice long engagement). Aka, me.

I didn't take pictures of the process of each flower, but here are some images of some of the flowers I made. I bought crepe paper in flat sheets for $0.99 at Hobby Lobby in the party section. If you can't find the colors you want in stores, this website has pretty comparable prices, but you have to pay shipping, too. I bought some in yellow, white and green and was very pleased with the turnaround time and selection of colors.

Why yes, I did get dressed up to take a picture of my paper flowers. Ignore my damp hair, plz. ^_^ I've actually made more flowers since taking this picture and increased the size of the bouquet as it seemed a little chintzy this small.

I was pleasantly surprised by how quickly you can make these flowers once you get the hang of it. Instead of buying the Martha Stewart kits (which they didn't sell in yellow. Pfft.) I looked at the online templates and cut out my own petal guides from a cardstock brochure I got in the mail. Does that count as up-cycling? The first flower has your average petal-shaped petals, the rose petals are heart shaped and the peony petals...sort of look like a flipper. I really have no better description than that. The sweet peas and carnations (which I forgot to take pics of) are folded and smushed round pieces of tissue paper. I attached the petals to the floral wire with floral tape and once I had a bunch of flowers I grouped them together in my hand, starting with one big rose then building around it in a circle, to create the bouquet.

Thoughts?

Moving In For The Kill

OR
How I Almost Lost Our Reception Site

So. Where were we? Ah yes.

The rustic Country Pines had been eliminated due to heat and bug concerns.


The affordable but generic HiMark was nixed due to an ugly ceiling and a lack of ambience. (Doesn't K look giant in there? Yeah, 6'3 is tall but he looks crazy tall in there!)


The charming, Spanish-style (in Nebraska, no less) Hillcrest it is!

After dragging both K and sister Joyce to sneak a peek at Hillcrest and get their opinions, all we had to do was send in the deposit to save the date. Which is why it's totally embarassing to admit that we had decided on Hillcrest around the 20th of June and I didn't call about sending in the deposit until July 9th.

So I called around 10 am to double check they had the date open and the best way to send in the deposit (have K drive over after work and do it in person? or mail a check?). I put on my best professional voice and prepared to make our first big commitment to wedding planning.

*ring ring* Hi, yes, I'd like to book Hillcrest for a wedding on August 7, 2010...The wedding coordinator doesn't come in till 11:15? Ok, I can call back. Could you double check that the date is still open please?....Someone is already penciled in?!...Is it possible my future mother-in-law penciled us in? Would you mind telling me the last name?...Oh. No. That's not us...I'll call back. Thanks.

NOOOOOO! After a year of being engaged, worrying about how to afford a wedding, touring a million sites, waffling over what to choose and someone else is penciled in on MY date at MY reception site?! Oh nuh uh!

I'll be honest, at this point I was a nervous wreck. It's a good thing it was a quiet day at work, because I was a ball of self-loathing anxiety. I spent the next 45 minutes on gchat sending panicky messages talking to Joyce--How could I be so lax about booking such an important thing? What if we didn't get Hillcrest?! My heart was set on it now! Why didn't the world revolve around my wishes to have the reception at Hillcrest?!?! WAAAAH!

There was a lot of whining on my end and a lot of reassuring and efforts at distraction on Joyce's end. I'm kinda embarassed about how pathetic I was acting. I was all keyed up like I was on a bad caffeine high. But finally it was 11:15 and I simply couldn't wait any longer to call the wedding coord. at Hillcrest.

The wedding coord., Kim, was very nice and said that yes, someone was penciled in, but they had been penciled in for weeks now and that she would call them immediately and ask them to reserve the date for real or release it so I could book it, and she would call me back as soon as she heard. I thanked her and got ready to spend the rest of my day distracted and anxious. She literally called me back in less than 10 minutes to say that the other couple had released the date! Victory in our time!

Filled with the sweet feeling of relief, I gchatted Joyce with the good news, left a message on K's phone so he could take a check over after work and put our names down in indelible ink for the date, and proceeded to go home for a comfort lunch of Mexican casserole and a coke. Which after all that anxiety, I felt I deserved. ^_^

So we finally have one big decision made for our wedding. Next major task: booking the photographer.

Hunting the Elusive Reception Site

Oh dear. I'm embarassed that I put the blog away for so long. I blame it on the busy cycle at work. :P

So. After being engaged for 10 months, I figured it was time to get off my lazy butt and start hunting for a reception site. So in the lovely month of March (ha), I set out with my FMIL and FSIL to go have a look-see at what the great city of Lincoln had to offer.

Even getting so far as deciding on Lincoln over Omaha had been a big of a struggle. I wasn't sure if I wanted to plan a wedding in a different city, even if it was just an hour away. All I could think of was, "Oh man. That's going to be so inconvenient, not being in the same city." But a good portion of the guest list was coming from Lincoln. And even though Omaha would be convenient for me, I just couldn't justify asking over half the guest list to stay in hotels when we could just do the darn thing in Lincoln. Besides, Lincoln is a lovely city and pretty easy to navigate, so at least there's that.

So one Friday afternoon in March (actually, it really was a lovely day. It just usually isn't in Nebraska in March ^_^), I took off the afternoon from work to go to Lincoln. After getting mildly lost trying to find FMIL K's work, we met up and set out with our google maps. I swear to God, that was the longest day of my life. I think we went to 6 "potential" sites in one afternoon. I add the quotes to "potential" because most of them were not suitable at all--they were big enough but some were in rough areas of town (um, by the train tracks near a glorified waste river? No thanks) or were inconvenient (I need to pay extra to use the kitchen, bring a caterer, rent plates, glasses, servers, bartenders, security AND I have to mop the floor afterwards?! Um, dream on).

But after the end of the weekend we had it narrowed down to 3 locations. A rough-around-the-edges outdoor location, a generic but still lovely room at a golf course, and a gorgeous ballroom at another golf course. Though seriously tempted by the outdoor location (mason jar vases! gingham check! outdoor ceremony under an arbor!) I had to come to terms that August + outdoor ceremony/reception in Nebraska = a good chance of all our guests being reeeeeally uncomfortable, dare I say miserable. Plus, when my mom came up from Missouri to check out the top 3, she absolutely hated it. HAAAAAATED it. Which irritated me because I really liked it, but I have to admit it forced me to look at the potential problems as well as all the cool decor ideas I had. *sigh* Oh well. Practicality enters the scene and starts making itself heard. Darn it.

So. We were down to two. And when it came down to the generic but lovely, slightly more economical choice vs. the charming ambience of the slightly more expensive choice...Well. Though I was immediately drawn to the charming ambience of Hillcrest, I just couldn't be sure I was making the right decision. K's mom and my mom just refused to say which one they preferred. My mom--I don't think she had a preference. K's mom--I think she didn't want to step on our toes, so she was holding back. Frankly, I wanted someone else to give me their own strong opinion and debate the pros and cons with me instead of being so darn polite and deferring to my "wishes as the bride." Ok, even more frankly, I wanted my sister there to tell me what she thought so we could hash it out with no worry about potential hurt feelings. No one will tell me the truth quite like her. Which will be readily apparent in any and all dress-related posts. ^_^

So after wibbling over the choice for, um, 3 months or so, dragging K to see the choices as well and dragging Joyce to sneak in and see Hillcrest, (making my number of visits a whopping three for HiMark and four five for Hillcrest) yesterday we finally took the steps to book the site. And oh. The drama that ensued. But more on that in the next post. ^_^

Churchy McJesus

I'll be honest, when I started my job, I tried to hold out from being seduced by all the wedding porn. Seeing all the wedding pictures, reading the articles on flowers and decor, the dresses? It was hard, but I did it. For about 4 months. And then, the mulling started. Oooh, that's pretty, I'd think. And before you knew it I had a mental file stuffed full of wedding ideas. I committed specific dresses and designers to memory and stored away ideas for flowers and decor. Some of it was incidental, some of it was on purpose. But after awhile I pretty much had all the basics mentally dreamed up for a beautiful garden ceremony and simple, rustic-chic reception.

And the reality checks have begun already. K. confessed to me that getting married in a church was more important to him than he'd originally thought. Bless his traditional little soul. I had suspected. I mean, we go to a homemade ice cream store with creative flavors like Cinnamon Graham Cracker? The boy gets plain vanilla. Plus, we live in the Midwest. Church weddings are what you do. I am a dirty heathen hippy by Midwest standards because I'd really prefer to get married outside in a casual ceremony that mentions love more times than religion.

His mom emailed me today to offer church suggestions for the area. Don't get me wrong, we get along great and like each other very much, so it's not like it pushed my buttons. But I know it's super important to them to have a traditional church wedding, especially to his grandmother, an active member of her Methodist church and volunteer at a Methodist hospital.

So for the last 2 hours I've been here at work, sighing to myself, because even though K. had acknowledged that it was important to me not to be married in a church, I now have to acknowledge how important it is to his whole family that we do.

I'm working my way through it and already let his mom know I welcome suggestions and have started locating churches near our possible reception sites. I know this is one of the few things K. has a strong opinion about regarding wedding planning. It would be ridiculous and bridezilla to not acknowledge his wishes and dreams for our wedding, as well as my own. A little part of me is whining, "But K. already said he was ok with a non-church wedding! He promiiiiiised!" But I'm squishing that part because refusing to compromise is a difficult road to start down. It won't kill me to get married in a church. I'd just prefer not to.

So. A Methodist church it is. But if I get struck by divine lightning on the wedding day for blasphemy...well. ^_^

Inaugural Post

Welcome to my handy dandy wedding blog! Inspired by the hundreds and hundreds of wedding blogs out there, I figured, what the hay, I have opinions too. Guess I'll blog about our upcoming nuptials and my cheap-ass ways. ^_^

A little something about myself:
We've been engaged since May 17, 2008 and we are shooting for the end of August, early September 2010 for the wedding as K. will be graduating from PA school then.
I live in Nebraska, proofreading at a bridal magazine, and no, that doesn't mean that I have all the inside info on the wedding industry. Sadly, I am just as bewildered and overwhelmed as most women starting to plan a wedding, it's just that I get to look at wedding porn all day for work. ^_^

We're planning to have the wedding in either Omaha or Lincoln, NE and, if all goes to plan, I'm shooting for a low budget, DIY enhanced, cheap ass wedding. Because dudes? Proofreading does not earn the big bucks, no matter how much fun it is. So please, bear with me while I plan our wedding and hopefully have a little fun along the way. ^_^