Reception halls, financing, and everyday stress

I haven't posted in a couple of days, so I figured that it was time for an update. I have been working on wedding stuff, I make it a goal to do something each day, no matter how little it is, because I know that that I have less than a year to go, and that year is going to go by quickly. Last week I looked at a couple of reception halls, we also talked to a potential DJ for the wedding. I have found the perfect place for the reception, the only problem is paying for everything and getting deposits down. I hate pity parties, so I'll make it quick. When Tom and I moved to Maine, we were expecting things to be relatively seamless. We expected Tom to be able to maintain the amount of overtime that he was getting in Kansas City and I was expecting to be able to fall right into a job. Unfortunately, that is not exactly what happened, I'm still unemployed, and Tom is struggling to get overtime hours. Fortunately, my mom is perhaps the most generous person I have the pleasure of knowing. On the downside, on the list of priorities, wedding deposits are not at the top of the list. I'm stressing, I'm not going to lie about it. I just feel like every day that passes without a deposit increases the chance that I'm going to lose the people I took time to pick out. I know in my heart that everything will work out, maybe not exactly as planned, but regardless, I will marry Tom on 9.10.11. I just wish that things would improve on the job front for me. That is the end of my rant.

When I'm stressed, I tend to bury myself in projects to keep my mind off of what is stressing me out. So I have a couple of DIY projects in progress. First, a few weeks ago, Tom and I had the pleasure of having our engagement pictures taken while hurricane Earl was out to sea. The rough surf washed up tons of shells, and I brought home a couple dozen large clam shells. I figured that I would be able to do something with them. Well, that something finally came to mind, and I am now in the process of decorating them into unique table numbers. As always, I'll post pictures and directions once they are done. My other project was a thank you banner for the gift table, which I will post pictures and directions tomorrow. 

I have also discovered and fallen in love with Vista Print. A couple of posts ago, I typed up and posted pictures of my save-the-date magnets and photo sharing cards. Since then, Vista Print has sent me e-mails for free stuff! So, I have been taking my time creating custom brochures for welcome packets that I will be giving out-of-state guests. I also created post cards with directions from the hotel to the wedding venue, those are also free. Any one who is planning a wedding, or any type of social function for that matter, should really go check out Vista Print. I'm in love. 

On a personal note, Tom and I took today as a Jenny and Tom day. Tom works a busy schedule, and we are living in my mother's basement, so it has become all too easy for us to neglect each other as of late. Today, we made up for that by spending the entire day together. We watched football games (I'm starting to figure it out), played with our pets, played some old school mario on my mom's Nintendo, and went against the English on Age of Empires (what can I say, we are geeks). We went out for barbecue with my parents, and on the way home stopped at LL Bean for some window shopping. It was a quiet day, but quite possibly one of the most relaxing days I have had in a long time. Sometimes in the stress of life, we just need to take the time and cherish the things that make everything else worth it. In this case, each other.