I was cruising the net when this little jewel popped up. I thought it would be fun to read and relate to my wedding and see what the differences were....

1. The bride refuses to let the groom choose the cake.

We had lemon cake made and decorated by my aunt and grandmother, not only was it tasteful, it was tasty! Roundeye and I talked about it and we decided lemon would be flavorful and pleasing to most guests. I think I had about 3 Pisces!

2. The groom lets his Mom call the shots.

We stood hard on some things, but Roundeye's Mom wanted us to have a catered dinner. We were going to do an "everyone's favorite dinner" (fried chicken, mashed potatoes, mac-n-cheese) you know, things people actually like to eat and don't cost 12$ a head? Well she offered to pay for the catering. We went with this guy she knew named Zaki. Little Lebanese man who was so adorable! He made hummus, tabouli, and many other things for the appetizers. Folks thought the aps were the main course there was so much food! Then he grilled out and made chicken shishkabobs, and amazing lamb stuffed grape leaves. That was my one request. My mom used to make them and that is one of her dishes i miss the most. They were superb! So I guess the short answer is....I am glad my mom-in-law stepped in! She rocks!

3. The bride blows half the budget on her dress or flowers.

Roundeye and I had a medieval themed wedding. What else would you expect from us? Matt's mom was getting ready to go to Mexico for vacation. I went to the local fabric store and got swatches of the fabric I wanted my dress to be made from. Took them to M-I-L and when she was in Mexico she went to a fabric market there. Cost of royal blue satin here...18.50 a yard. Cost in Mexico.....2.50 a yard. The fabric was gorgeous. I had my mom make my dress, the total cost was around 30$ plus labor (which i did not pay for). As for the flowers, I am not a flowery person. This is one of the reasons we got married outside! The only flowers we bought were a dozen roses the night before on a "Friday after 5 p.m. sale" for my bouquet. None of my bridesmaids were into flowers either, so they got to carry swords like the guys, that made them happy! I just don't see the point on spending money on something that will die soon anyway.

4. The Bride and Groom fight about the big day publicly.

I am sure that we squabbled, but I can't remember any big fights, it was all kinda laid back, enjoyable really.

I was glad when I read that list and realized that we didn't fall into any of those points. Here is a breakdown of what we spent on our wedding. I swear you don't need to spend a fortune to have a great time and share your love with all all of your friends....

Things we did not pay for
Catering - 1200$ (or so?)
Keg of beer- 70$ (good German beer from the Haufbreau)

Things we did pay for

Flowers - 5$
material for groomsmen and bridesmaid dresses - 50$
material for wedding dress and Roundeye's garb - 75$
Bag Piper - 250$
Hall, kitchen and site rental - 200$
Soda - 40$
Misc (card box, plastic cups, etc) - 80$
Table decorations - 25$
Kids table decorations - 30$
Invitations and postage 60$
Photos and video - 200$

Total - 1015$.
Now in the world of weddings that's dirt cheap, we had everything we wanted and our friends had an awesome time! We spread out the cost of things over the year prior and it made the budget a lot easier for us. I for one am glad that we didn't do a huge blowout affair. This was so much more enjoyable relaxing. And we got a bag piper!

back to work

Hey everyone, it's been a while. I am going back to work on Monday, hopefully this will be a little longer than the last job! Anyway I made cheese soup last night with the girls and I wanted to share it here. My kids love this soup, it's so easy they can help with it and they also eat their veggies without complaining! When Nadia was first trying solid food she loved this. I couldn't make it fast enough! For those of you who attend Freak Out this is one of the soups we serve every year.

you will need

large soup pot
large bowl
blender

4 baking potatoes
2 large onions
4 carrots
4 stalks of celery
8 oz cream cheese
6 cups water
3 cups milk
shredded cheddar cheese (2-3 cups)
butter
salt
garlic
pepper
Bacon (optional)

chop the onion finely and saute in butter. Chop the potatoes, carrots and celery. Once the onions are translucent add the other vegetables and saute all for about 5 min.
Add six cups of water and simmer until vegetables are soft.
Take vegetable and stock, puree in blender with milk and cream cheese. You will need to do this several times, so have your large bowl ready and pour the blended contents into it.
Once you have pureed all the veggies, stock, milk and cream cheese together return to stove and re-heat slowly adding spices to taste, and cheese a bit at a time. Stir often so that the cheese melts evenly through the soup.
*You can fry and crumble bacon in if desired.
**This recipe can be tripled, but after that the measurements become off.
***This recipe feeds us for 2 meals, and it can freeze well for up to 8 months. Just put in an airtight container, take from freezer and sit in hot water to thaw.

Recipe

Ok here is a good recipe that is cheap, any my family loves...
Tater Tot casserole
1 l.b. ground hamburger
1 onion chopped
4 celery stalks chopped
1/2 - 3/4 cup sour cream
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can drained sliced mushrooms
Cheddar cheese
one bag tater tots

Brown meat and onions on the stove. Drain and add salt, pepper, garlic to taste. Mix soup, sour cream, celery mushrooms and a hand full of the cheese. Mix in meat and onions. pour into a 9 x 13 baking dish. Top with a little cheese and tater tots. Bake one our at 350. Enjoy, I think this is on the menu tonight!