Postcard to show off!

I have an awesome graphic designer that put this postcard together for me.. forget the fact that I'm very particular... she nailed it.ps-postcard.JPG Yolanda Elicker.... you rock! Contact me if you are looking for fabulous personalized invitations, programs or thank you notes!

Behind the Lines TV spot

My webmaster Brian Shoff has successfully posted my interview with Diane Dayton on Behind the Lines - BTW... Diane has one of the most soothing and beautiful speaking voices I've ever heard. Whenever we're on the phone I always say "OMG, Diane, your voice is sooo relaxing" - I sometimes change the last verb to "soothing or comforting or gentle....". Anyway, check out the video under the press page under "about us."

Relay for Life Brunch

Yesterday I spent the better part of the day meeting up with old friends. We were told that their daughter has cancer. When we left they gave us an invitation for a brunch. Because it's a fund-raiser, I thought I'd post the info herE just in case you felt like supporting this effort.Please support Otterbein's Relay for Life team help raise money for cancer research. Enjoy a continental brunch, silent auction of theme baskets, music, entertainment and inspiration remarks. Saturday June 2nd 10- 12 noon. Otterbein UMC 20 East Clay Street Lancaster Please bring some friends and family!!

Email today...

So you would think that technology has grown leaps and bounds... it has if your internet provider doesn't decide to switch email servers!! So if you have tried to email me and it has bounced back please don't get frustrated... let's try the old fashioned method... give me a call instead.

America finally....

makes the right choice! I've been so disappointed with American Idol for the last few weeks and for the record... Melinda should have won and LeKeisha should have been in the final two. They - by far - and of course in my opinion (this is my blog!) - had the best talent. Kudos to you Jordin Sparks! -you would have been my next choice after Melinda and LaKeisha... thank God this is a Democracy and people don't depend on my sense of style!!Post Script: It came as no surprise that Sanjaya sang tonight... come on people give us a little credit for a season finale twist!

You call that running?

I actually do... I finally got out there this morning to run after 6 years of a hiatus. I have to say... my thighs were screaming and yelling "no fair" - I promised them when Co-Co died that I wouldn't be back out there. During my first block it took everything out of me not to make a pit stop into good ol' Hinkle's and have some sausage and home-fries. They were definitely calling my name. Very tempting. Instead I focused on the smell that could have made you gain a few pounds and decided to push onward. There were many obstacles that made me revisit this run. There was the squirrel that decided he was going to have a good laugh and ran directly in front of me and almost made me eat all of my teeth. Then there was that 70-something y.o. woman who was walking faster than I could run. And lastly, my lungs were acting up the whole time - or at least that's what I'm telling myself. In the end I think I clocked a 2 miler in 25 minutes *gasp* and I may have walked more than half of that. It's going to take a whole other day to convince my thighs, my lungs and my mind that it's going to be just fine and we can do it all over again in the morning. Besides, if I don't convince them they're not going to do very well during this wedding season. I should probably call the Doctor and have an inhaler called in to the pharmacy... hmmm... maybe I should have it called to Hinkle's and while I'm there....

Daisy Pagan enters politics??

Apparently so... the polls open today for the Primary Election and I'm included on the ballot. I'm running for Columbia School Board. What's funny is that my "Pagan for School Board" signs don't include an accent over the last "a" in Pagan so it reads "Pagan School Board". I think that's one to send to Jay Leno...At any rate, get out there and exercise your ability to vote and think of me when you pull that lever... or push that button.

So it's happened...

As I've said before... time misses no one... I've finally reached the 4-0. Does it feel any different? Only if you count the times that people have said "you don't look any older than 37 or 38" ... thhhaaaanks! Time for a tune up. I've decided to start running... NEXT Monday.Well... I have to run off to create the Perfect Setting for myself this weekend! Smooches!

The new season has started!

img_0006.JPG Actually lots of things have just started... it's starting to get nice out (finally), I see a bee outside of my window so that means bugs are starting to come out (ugh!), spring fever has started (why does everyone start wearing shorts the very first day the sun says "hi"?) and last but not least... wedding season has just started - for me that is. My first wedding was this last past Saturday and as it happens every year... I'm hooked. My assistant couldn't join me this past Saturday and I had the pleasure of working with Whitney. I would much rather work with Whitney than to hire another assistant b/c Whit grew up in the industry and has probably been to more weddings than most people. There are just certain things you can't train a person on when it comes to weddings. Anyway, the logistics of the church were a nightmare. The church was this old Victorian/Gothic church which had the organist's back toward the pews. In order for the organist to know when to switch songs he needed a que from us. There was this little button on the back of the last pew. Well... I'll tell you what. That little button was very stressful. Whitney ushered the boys in from the front.... ran through the graveyard and in through one of the front doors to the pew while I stayed with the bridesmaids and bride. She pushed that god-forsaken button 2 times at very critical points - I pushed it 2 other times. At rehearsal Whit said "I think I should wear sneakers tomorrow" - but she didn't. No one was the wiser and everything went very well. 2 hours after the wedding - at the reception I asked Whit "how are your feet" she said "you know back centuries ago when they used to bind Asian girl's feet?.... that's what mine feel like right about now" Oh, Whitney.. taking after her mother even when she doesn't want to. She'd never admit it but she loves weddings as much as I do and mark my words... Whit will join the family business when she's not looking.

Isaac!

Anyone that knows me knows that I just love Isaac Mizrahi - however, I don't like the way he says "ok, clap for her, clap for her!!" - that works on my last nerve! Anyway, he is a great designer and all of his lines are carried at my very favorite store, Target. Well, I got a Daily Candy email blast today and they were "unveiling" (love the pun) Isaac's Bridal line. Here's the blast: I was previously told by a colleague on the web but I hadn't see the line. Very nice, Mr. Mizrahi!!

The waiting is over!

I've been in blogger's withdrawal for some time now. Updating and redesigning a web site isn't as easy as it sounds. Trust me. I'm no writer so if you go through some of my pages and find that something just doesn't sound right... just call me!I'm glad I can finally post. I've had a ton of things that I wanted to post about... like Sanjaya singing "Bésame mucho" .... *sigh* how sexy was that? Mind you... I'm no fan of Sanjaya Malakar but I give credit where it's due. (the link is actually sung in English... however.... it's much sexier in Spanish - definitely lost in translation!) I'm not sorry that he's gone. I think there is a lot of good talent on the show. Speaking of... how cruel was that last week? That was awful. You can tell I watch hardly any TV; I get totally involved and hear nothing else going on around me. Sad but true. Anyway, back to Sanjaya... I hadn't heard that song in so long and maybe it was that but, I tell you, that was the sexiest rendition of "Besame" that I've ever heard. Now that I have the opportunity... I'm complete tanked out. I've suddenly lost my train of thought. Trust me.. it will come to me...

Pass the coffee!!

Every time I go to my girlfriend Sue's we always have the best coffee ever! She has this vintage percolator that she's had for a long time. I told her I was so jealous and she said "I have an extra pot downstairs but it's a lot smaller" .... not a problem! Just for Tony and me! So she gave me a coffee pot just like this one. It's probably from the 1970's... can I tell you how wonderful this coffee is? OMG... talk about a good cup of coffee... I'm so addicted. I almost ripped Tony's arm off this morning when he went to unplug it. DON'T TOUCH THE PERCOLATOR!We need to get back to the basics, people ... no wonder everyone was happy in the 70's. The coffee was great.. what else could you want? I love mornings now. It gives me something to look forward to after a night the Willow... yes, she's still in diapers and yes, I'm still dog sitting. UGH! I just have to keep counting my blessings! Starting with Sue giving me the percolator of the year.

Guanabana

Pronounced: gu-wa-na-ba-naMy mom called me and told me that Hector fell out of the bed like a guanabana. Of all things to fall like he falls like a guanabana. She said when he hit the floor he was tangled up in his sheets and his face was pressed against the floor and he couldn't breathe. You think I'm making this up, right? Nope. My mom... the queen of comedy. She opened the front door and saw some guy walking the street and said "hey, come help me" the guy points to his chest and says "me?" and she says, "yeah, JEW!" (that's a Spanish pronunciation of "you" - jew know what I mean?) and so she has this perfect stranger coming into her house at about 4 am to help her with getting Hector off the floor. He comes in and says (in Spanish) "ma'am don't strain your back" and Hector yells "get me off this *%$# floor!" - mind you, he doesn't even know this guy who has now become a good Samaritan and he's cursing him. The guy asks "should I call 911?" and Hector yells "get me off this *%$# floor!" so the guy picks him up and tucks him back in bed. The world is a better place now.... Mami and Hector didn't get mugged and Hector and his foot are back in a warm place. I told Mami that this is precisely why Hector is in a nursing home. She told me he was to be at the home by 3 pm..... she had him there at 2.

I just hate cicadas!

This is it... this takes the cake... I found this article about wacky weddings and I can really tell you, there's a difference between a wacky wedding and a bizarre wedding! I've been kissed by drunken men and that's a wacky wedding (that's not what Tony calls it) but inviting cicadas to the wedding via a favor... nope that doesn't do it for me! And let me forewarn you... don't ever ask me to capture a gator... I have to draw the line somewhere!http://specialevents.com/newsletter

Encore please...

I thought this was interesting. It's an article from Special Events Magazine (the same magazine that featured Perfect Settings last year) that talks about second time around marriages. Normally, when I see brides that are being married for the second time (no matter their age) they know right from the door what they want... no questions asked. These women have given their wedding a lot of thought... it's more like hindsight being 20/20.http://specialevents.com/newsletter/I_do_redo_Encore_weddings_on_the_rise_20070321/ I especially like the last line in the article. Cracked me up!!

Hurry, do something!

Whit brought Willow for the weekend because she was to get spayed on Monday. Turns out, Whit probably waited a little too long.... I told her that if she didn't find something to do with this dog she would have to go back home... this was the result....

As you can see, Pebbles was as dumbfounded as Tony and me when we got home from a dinner party (BTW... it was the best meatloaf ever!) I had to deal with this dumb puppy all weekend with the swishing diaper. I guess God was smiling on us and figured we don't have enough to laugh about in our lives..... I beg to differ! Guess what? Whit had the wrong date written down and Willow isn't scheduled for surgery for another 2 weeks! UGH!

$85?!

My daughter bought me eye cream for Christmas and it was just this tiny little thing. Well, I decide that I'm going to treat myself and go buy a new one. I get to the cosmetic counter and say "I'd like to buy some "Perfectionist"" "sure" she says "which size?" and takes out all of the sizes they offer. Well, I may have grown up poor but my mother loved Watt & Shand's Department Store - so I'm forewarned. "How about the smallest one?" - when I say small... I mean really small. "how many ounces is that?" "That is our one ounce size" she says in her most proper diction. "That will be $85.00." "Hmm.... I think I'm going to think about that one" - she's thinking "yeah, lady, I bet you are" but truthfully, I am thinking about that.... I'm thinking what in God's creation can be in that tiny bottle that would justify Estee Lauder to charge $85.00 for an ounce of cream! I mean, I could be a spokesperson for Perfectionist - I really could. I lost quite a bit of weight while crying over the reception hall and in the process have lost the fat pads under my eyes.... age gets you one way or the other... fat and happy or slim and ugly. What's the deal? Anyway, Perfectionist is a tiny little magic wand in a bottle. When you put that stuff on and then put concealer on to hide the raccoon eyes that you have now that you don't have fat pads, the little wand just fills in those ugly little creases that the concealer makes. *sigh* creases or raccoon eyes.... I'm going to have to deal with the raccoon eyes for a little while. I can't justify buying an ounce of glory for $85 when taxes are just around the corner. They must put a little drop of water from the fountain of youth into that bottle.BTW.... I should call the Bon-Ton! They have a $30 mark-up on Perfectionist!! When I went to create my link I see that I can buy it on line for $55.00.... I may be able to justify the glory cream for $55.00! In Tony's eyes $85.00 may as well be $100.00 but $55.00 is truly just $50.00... right?!

Soup Party

I'm sooo looking forward to this! It's my favorite time of year. We've been hosting soup parties for quite a long time but this is the first time that I'll be able to host one in the Reception Hall Ballroom. I'm really excited about this. I sent out an email blast on Saturday morning and forgot to attach the e-vite - DUHHH. If you were one of those people, I apologize. If I forgot you in the blast - I apologize for that too! Try to make it to the party. I normally have over 15 different soups. If you are a "soup person" you're going to love this party!

Susquehanna Glass Open House

Calling all DIY brides!! Susquehanna Glass Company - here in little ol' Columbia - is having its annual Open House. Last year I was asked to talk about "Why every bride in every budget should hire a wedding planner." I bet there were over 125 people there. This year they are having the Fabulous Claudia Himes from Special Occasions. If you have missed most of the wedding shows this year be sure that you don't miss this one. I'm not just saying that. Claudia is truly amazing with linens. She can dress a high-top 15 different ways with the same linen... OK maybe not 15 different ways but you'll lose count after the 5th one anyway. She's awesome. Claudia has some of the most luxurious linens on the market. I'm a sucker for nice linens. Even if you aren't into linens you may want to stop in and see Nancy Gingrich for decorating ideas. She's no chopped liver either. Nancy works for Longwood Gardens and she's the queen of stunning and simple centerpieces. If none of this brings you out.... come anyway so you can people watch and see that you're not the only one obsessing over the details. You can compare nightmares and dreams with some other brides.