I have to be honest, when one of my friends has a major event, I do serious research on the gifts that I plan to give.  I don’t know why i do it, but I do.   So, the site that I frequent most for registry tips is Rookie Moms.  I believe that they have the most comprehensive list available for moms-to-be.

The best gifts  in my opinion, are to give them what they need.  They have to have a car seat and stroller so if that’s in the budget, then go for that.   One of the other must haves is the breast pump and let me tell you, those things are expensive.

I am going to link over to Rookie Moms  and my advice is to look at the essentials and nice to have items on their list and compare it the registry list that you have.  There are tons of ways to be creative with gifts.  For instance, if you know the new mom will breast feed, look into getting her a basket full of nursing essentials.  The items could include nipple cream, nursing cover,  nursing pads, nursing pillow/boppy, etc.

I still haven’t made my final decision on what I am getting for my friends, but I’ll be sure to let you know.

I have heard too many stories in the past couple of days about friends not really being friends.

1. Friends follow through – I understand that things happen, but don’t promise a friend to treat them and their spouse on their anniversary and not follow through. 
2. Don’t get mad if you invite a close friend to stay over and they go in your room to get lotion.  So what you’re not there and it’s your lotion. That’s your friend and you should trust them.  If there is no trust, then don’t be friends.
3. If you have pregnant friends, this is probably the time that they need you the most.  Don’t neglect your pregnant friends.  Call them, support them, take them out and just be a good friend.

There must have been something in the water in Georgia earlier this year because there are so many people are having babies. I have invites for three different baby showers this month.

Sidebar:  I just remembered that I was invited to another baby shower in November. 

The first one is for a co-worker and I have no idea what to get her.  The other two are for close friends and I would like to spend a bit more on them, but I still don’t know what I will be purchasing. 

I am rather excited about my friend’s babies.  One is having a girl and the other is having a boy.  I have really enjoyed shopping for baby clothes.  It was so much fun.  Now, the hubs and I are not getting ready for a baby, but it was fun shopping.  I even got him to come along with me a time or  two.  BTW, he hated Baby Gap in Lenox.  LOL

In this day and age, you can do so many things with a vow renewal.  Let’s start with places/venues.

• Church/Place of Worship – This might be ideal for the traditionalist.  For someone who wants to play out that dream of getting married in a church, then they could renew their vows there.  Most churches don’t charge huge fees but some churches might…. so check around.
• Restaurant – There may be dining establishments in your area that offer banquet rooms or other big open spaces.  Some restaurants even handle weddings on a regular basis.  If you are in Atlanta I would look into places like Joel, Anthony’s Fine Dining, Maggiano’s, McCormick & Schmick’s.
• Hotel/Resort – Most hotels and resorts are beautiful so if you have the money, go ahead and play that fantasy of your dream wedding.  The upside to this is that you don’t have to invite as many people.  Remember you are already married.
• Park -  As I stated in a previous post, vow renewals can be as simple as you would like.  However, a ceremony in the park can still be elegant.
• Beach – I wanted to have a beach wedding at some point.  How romantic would that be to renew your vows at sunset!  The pictures would be amazing.
• Cruise – If you are going on a cruise, you can simply inquire about renewing your vows on the boat.  Most cruise lines have several packages available.
• Your Own Home – This is probably one of the cheapest options. You will have to do a lot of work, but if you want to save money, then this is the way to go.

I decided to do the 12 Days of Christmas for the Hubs starting today.  I am soooooo excited because I think that this will make him smile and I like to see my hubby smile. This is just a sweet and cute little thing to do to let him know that I appreciate him.   Ladies, you know that we have to bring back those  little romantic things that we used to do. 

If you plan to do this for your husband, there are plenty of sites that you can use to help you out, but all of the gifts were focused around women. So my piece of advice is just to be as creative as you can.  The gifts that my husband will get really don’t have anything to do with the 12 Days of Christmas theme, but I don’t think that he cares.  It’s the thought that counts.

1. One Pack of Cushy Socks
2. Two things to shave with (Shave Soap & Shave Oil)
3. It’s Red, It’s Green, It’s a candy cane full of M&Ms

I believe that vow renewal themes will be closely related to wedding themes.  There are so many different things that you could do.  I would scour some of the popular wedding blogs for ideas.  There are no real rules for vow renewals so you can do you what you want.

You could try using a song, biblical reference, quote, etc to build your theme.  If you want something more fun, some people do luau themes or use a holiday, favorite event, movie, etc.

I’ve of couples using all of the above so the possibilities are endless.  Throw tradtion out the window if you’d like and once again, do what you want.

I feel that vow renewals are beautiful and should be  celebrated.  I think that it is amazing that couples renew their vows every year.  Why wouldn’t you???  It doesn’t have to cost a lot of money.  You can make it simple or extravagant.  Here are a few reasons to renew to your vows.

1. Keep romance alive.
2. Celebrate your anniversary.
3. A way to refresh your  relationship and  leaving mistakes and regrets in the past.
4. To have a religious ceremony.
5. To have the wedding- like event that you never had.

Marriage is crazy.  You have your ups and downs but this week, I feel like I fell in love with my husband all over again.  I honestly can’t remember what moment made me feel that way, but I do love him.  He’s such a great guy and so good to me.

God has been so good to us and even through yet another job loss, we still rise. We aren’t lacking a thing, because God has been so faithful.  We are truly conquerors. Actually we are more than conquerors through Christ Jesus.

So I complained about many things last week – getting a new microwave, replacing things in the house, letting things go, being in a wedding, issues with friends, etc. Sounds like I had a lot of praying to do. But the most important thing is that I be about it.  I think it’s okay to complain, but you have to do something about the things that you complain about.

One thing that I had complained about for years is my job.  I want a new job, my boss know that I want a new job – who doesn’t know that I want a new job.  Anyway, I recently took a more active approach in my search for a new job.  I actually extended my search to another state.  I am excited about the opportunity.  We will see what happens.

• Shopping for a new microwave is just a part of growing up.  I didn’t deal with these things when I was younger. 
• We are having to replace a lot things lately and it’s stuff that we need – a new computer, water filter system and microwave.
• I admit we’ve probably been a lot shady on replacing the microwave. We should have gotten rid of that builder’s grade mess a loooooong time ago.
• My husband is holding me to this end of the year deadline of letting things go.  He feels that I have ADD when it comes to certain things in my life so the rule was that I had to focus on one thing.  Boy, is that hard to do. 
• There are a group of friends that I hang with from time to time and all of a sudden I don’t want to be around them that much anymore.  My husband seems to saddened by it because he enjoys their company, but for some reason i don’t anymore.   I’m going to have to dig a little deeper to figure out what it is, but right now I have no clue. They want to go on a trip later in the year but I don’t particularly want to go.  The hubs wants to go so we’ll be there. 
• I’m in a wedding that I don’t want to be in but I’m in it because it I said  yes and I following through on my commitment.  However, I am about to pay a total of $210 for a bride and groom that I don’t know that well.  I’ll take that back.  I’ve known the groom all of my life, but we don’t really talk that much and I am not close to either him or his fiance.  I’ve reached out and they are nice people, but I wouldn’t really consider them friends per say. 
• There’s a minister at my church that lives in the same house as his fiance.  The Word of God says to avoid the appearance of evil. Now no one has ever said anything about this and everyone walks around like its okay.  This bothers me.
• I’ve got to get a better grip on this control that my mom has over me.  For instance, she offered to buy me a new microwave, but it’s on her terms. Also, she’s paying for my anniversary party and every idea that I have gets refuted.  It’s one of those things that when she wants my opinion then she will ask for it.  Other than that, it’s her way. But I refuse to stress myself out over this.

I’ve had a couple of headaches in the past few days but I am definitely making an effort to drink more water so I will be fine.  I’m also doing the Lisa Sansone “Walk Away the Pounds” dvd and it’s great.  I did the 1 mile dvd and worked up a little sweat and I realized how out of shape I am. 

I am speaking my weight loss into existence.  It’s a process, but I know that I can do it.  My overall goal is 60 lbs in a year or less, but I plan to lose 10-15 by Labor Day.

My Changes thus far: more water, less candy, less coca cola intake, smaller portions

Sounds like a lot, but I’m working it out – literally.