Archive for 2011

Vacation = EFFING ANXIETY

Posted 12 Jan 2011 — by Mrs. Jenna
Category not so much, other people are morons

Remember when you were a kid and your parents would plan a vacation and it was SO AWESOME AND FUN and you couldn’t wait to go? When someone took care of all the planning and travel arrangements so you didn’t have to worry about ANYTHING?

OMG y’all. I leave for Mexico on Sunday morning and I could NOT BE MORE ANXIOUS. Yeah, I’m excited but I’m more nervous than anything.

Let me backtrack. We’re headed to Puerto Vallarta…to the exact same hotel where we stayed when this happened. (Side note: I am happy to say that almost two years later and I finally look like this again. HIGH FIVE.) Anyway, this is my attempt to do that vacation again, the right way, with zip-lining and mas tequila. We’re doing this trip with three other couples, two of which are on our reservation with the airlines & hotel through Expedia. If you don’t follow me on the twitter, then you didn’t see this go down on Monday:

So yeah. Why was I putting myself through hell to talk to someone at Expedia? Because since I booked the trip for myself, the hubs and 4 of our friends in September, this message has been on our itinerary:

Awaiting confirmation from the airline? I have been checking back every 24 hours waiting for this confirmation SINCE SEPTEMBER and IT’S STILL NOT HERE? We leave Sunday, assholes.

So…I (finally) talk to Expedia, request ticket numbers, and they inform me that they have a confirmation for our flight, but I’ll have to call TransGlobal Vacations to get ticket numbers. GREAT.

I call them, talk to someone within 5 minutes, but then spend 20 minutes on hold while they try to find our reservation. Even WITH the confirmation number. Eventually they find it. And then tell me we’re supposed to have a “E-Travel Document” and that Expedia must have it. Okay…Expedia is a website. I don’t think they “have” anything, aside from the worst travel-themed hold music on the face of the Earth.

Which is where I stand now. I have a confirmation number, we all paid for our plane tickets…now we just wait to see if we can get checked in for the flight at 6am Sunday morning.

Meanwhile, between freaking out about packing, making sure Abby is all set to be away from momma & dadda for a week (which is pretty much causing me to cry on a daily basis) and thoughts of us arriving at the airport only to be told they can’t find our reservation, I am nearing critical anxiety levels.

Once I get on the plane? I will be excited. Until then? PASS THE ZANAX.

(No really. I could use some. Or send wine. Wine works too.)

I’m trying not to be smug.

Posted 06 Jan 2011 — by Mrs. Jenna
Category motherhood, other people are awesome, RAD

But, dear internets, it is SO VERY HARD not to. I would like to scream “I told you so,” but I won’t.

(i told you so)

Yesterday, this story hit the newswire…again, discrediting “Doctor” Wakefield and severing the ties between vaccines and autism. From the article:

In the United States, more cases of measles were reported in 2008 than in any other year since 1997, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. More than 90% of those infected had not been vaccinated or their vaccination status was unknown, the CDC reported.

“But perhaps as important as the scare’s effect on infectious disease is the energy, emotion and money that have been diverted away from efforts to understand the real causes of autism and how to help children and families who live with it,” the BMJ editorial states.

These two paragraphs speak VOLUMES. I’ll reiterate from the post from a little over a year ago that I wrote on the same subject – I’m not going to make any valiant attempts at changing anyone’s mind about whether they will vaccinate or not. However, if you’re on the fence, PLEASE look at the facts, and think about your child’s future. Or how horrible you’d feel if not only your child contracted measles, but then gave it to your best friend’s kid who also wasn’t vaccinated.

Autism SUCKS, I understand that. However, from what I understand polio sucks a lot harder. Like, a lot. I mean, FDR was a great dude but he suffered pretty bad. And whooping cough is no walk in the park either.

Let’s just break it down here; science is awesome. Smart people are kick ass. They know what they’re doing. Vaccines were created because of both of those things. Take advantage of them. Pretty please?

Do it again.

Posted 04 Jan 2011 — by Mrs. Jenna
Category marriage, other people are awesome, wedding whatnots

I’ve been married to the hubs for a little over 3 years now. Nearly an eternity, am I right?

(insert nervous laughter here)

Anyway, when I got married, half of my friends from my hometown/high school had already tied the knot. However, only a few friends in the great city of Minneapolis had gotten married. So, while I got some broad tips & tricks from my long time BFFs, my bestie in wedding planning became The Knot. Every single vendor I booked was due to recommendations from people on The Knot. While it was an awesome resource, it lacked the personal experience of seeing the vendor/venue’s work first hand.

Recently, a few good friends have gotten married in the MPLS, and another is planning for her big day in June. I’ve been lucky enough to join her in wedding dress hunting, and have been hearing about venues and vendors that are the hot pick of today.

Honestly…it makes me want to do it again. I mean, you know, again to the hubs…with an unlimited budget…as if we’d never done it before.

A big reason for wanting to do it again is a photographer that my girls have been using. She takes absolutely GORGEOUS photos and I could only DREAM to be in one of them. For example, my beautiful friend Regan:

(source)

Is that not breathtaking?! You can see the rest of Regan + Mike’s photos here, at Ai Ling’s photography site. Between her photography, and looking at the new styles of wedding gowns, it has me wishing that it would be kosher to renew our vows at our five year anniversary. Complete with a new gown and venue and lots of cocktails.

What would you want to do if you could do it again? Or if you haven’t tied the knot, what is a dream you have for your big day?