Tag Archives: wedding

This is going to be long…

I don’t really feel like writing more than one post – but I’ve got a bit to say so I’m just going to have a LONG single post, enjoy :P

Last Friday Paul got a new van – well new for him, it’s a 1996 Chrysler Town & Country – courtesy of his late grandfather. At first, I wasn’t really excited about getting a van because I thought we’d have a whole new host of issues, but it’s actually been really nice! The space is nice – especially with a baby (even if it is only one) and it drives nicely and seems to be working well. Plus it seems to be a luxury model as it has leather seats, premium sound, and power everything. Nice. A/C (VERY important in SoCal) seems to work well, we replaced the radio so it’s up to date and plays our iPhone easily, the engine doesn’t make any weird sounds and the brakes are good too. We’re no longer forced to take my car on account of comfort which means I’m going to go get it cleaned and it’ll stay that way :)

We’re having my nephew’s first birthday hosted at my house this Sunday so I’ve been cleaning a lot this week in preparation. I’m a fiend about cleanliness when others are in a position to judge and comment – even if they don’t. I’m one of those people where I miss NOTHING (well, I’m sure I miss some stuff, but I’m still very observant) and if I can notice it then I assume others will. Paul hates it because I can follow him around the house and tell him what he did based on the mess he left :P It’s nice having the house really clean – now if only I could get into the garage and make THAT clean. What a waste of space, it’s so disappointing.

This Saturday we’re going to a wedding. I’m not very excited about it because I don’t know the couple well, the reception is 45 minutes from the ceremony location, and we’re taking Evy so I’m always nervous about that. It’s going to be another busy weekend!

I tried a new store for ebooks called Kobo. They sell epubs, which my Nook can read, and they’ve been sending me coupons a lot. One such coupon was for $2 off, which is awesome. The regular prices aren’t amazing and they don’t have a great selection but I’ve found their prices are better than Fictionwise (who doesn’t give coupons) and I get the same portability of the books. The bummer is that Adobe Editions handles the files – and Adobe SUCKS. First, I had to download their software. Then I had to create an account. Then I had to “authorize” my computer – but here’s where the trouble started: this past Christmas I helped a co-worker fix their Sony eReader and for some odd reason Adobe Editions automatically authorized the computer under HIS email address. Then when it tried to “authorize” my device by that address I kept declining. But it wasn’t letting me enter in the address to authorize it with! It was so frustrating. Finally I got online and figured out how to deauthorize the software, reauthorize with the correct address and then authorize my device. Then another issue came: because I downloaded the book before realizing that the software authorized under the wrong address the book was authorized to the WRONG address which didn’t match my Nook so I couldn’t put it on my Nook! SUCH A HASSLE. In the end Kobo had to reissue me the book which I had to re-download and then everything was fine. Very quick. Not sure if I’ll use them very often, but if they keep sending me coupons I’m happy :)

We booked a nice Inn in Pacific Grove for our vacation! We got a great rate through Hotels. com and it included free parking and breakfast. It’s only six blocks or so from the aquarium and near the shore so it’ll be really comfortable I think. We’re planning on going the weekend after next – because the weekend of the 17th is Evy’s 1st birthday!!! I just bought the cutest birthday set off line, and as soon as I get the decorations its off to the cake maker!

Today’s Friday – and it’s going by nice and fast :D

A resolution is in the future, I hope.

Last week I wrote about my ongoing wedding photographer ordeal – and today I actually have some positive news!

I edited my last post to reflect some more information about the unknown company who was willing to find her for me for about 1/8th the price as traditional private investigators. As I said, I thought they were a scam. But after my last email to them, they emailed me back asking me to refresh their information on the person I needed found. So I refreshed them on the circumstances, and since they agreed to find some information on her (this was Friday) they've found her. I feel a bit stupid admitting what they found, but whatever – the important thing is that they've confirmed the information and we'll be able to serve her with a lawsuit now.

They found out that she was not widowed – but divorced (so all my pity about her dead fire fighter of a husband has left me, that's for sure). She had moved out of her large house, but didn't sell it. She's since moved back in, reconciled with her husband, and is now using her married name again (the only name I knew of) and is still working as a photographer. In fact, the investigator I'm working with has actually set up a meeting with her to have his pictures taken. He's said I can serve her papers there during his appointment or serve her from the city courts. The worst part of all of this is that she's still living where I last knew her, and apparently still using her old home phone number which I also still have. So in actuality I didn't really need an investigator to find her but simply smoke her out.

Can I get a "w00t w00t"?

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Hm, plot thickens.

Since October, I've let my obsession with finding our wedding photographer slide. I was sick of feeling so angry about it so I let it go. However, it's been reborn in me and I've found out some more information. As I posted last, the website she did her proofing & print ordering through was going to contact us once they'd made a decision. Well they did, they decided that they couldn't get a hold of her, closed her account, and refunded my mother-in-law's money along with others apparently.

I also found her business license information through the city she lived in when we employed her. The license expired before the end of 2007, and I have a feeling she hasn't renewed, but I can't confirm. On that license information it gave an address – one different from every one I'd been given so far – but I've never followed up with it. Now I'm regretting it because she may have moved :(

Today I went to her website and contacted the host, PhotoBiz, asking if they'd heard from her. They explained that her account was no longer active, as of November 2007 and they gave me the same email address I'd already tried :( I wonder why the site is still up and appearing in web searches if it's no longer an active account?

I've contact several private investigators asking about how much it would be to track her down, and they all give me a starting estimate of $850+, which we can't/won't pay for a few reasons. 1) We only paid her $1,300 – and she technically fulfilled a portion of her obligations so I'm not even sure if legally we could get our entire amount back. 2) We don't have that kind of money – period. I ended up finding one company, nameless and without a website, through Craigslist who told me they'd find her for $125 – but I'm hesitant to make a business transaction with such an elusive contact.

I'm sad, very sad. As I've said before, karma is not on my side. When we last saw her, she said we were paid up – but we weren't and I knew it. I knew we still owed her half of her contract price and so I wrote her a check and she cashed it. Now I'm wondering if she was trying to let us out of our financial obligations because she was preparing to split anyhow :(

EDIT: I emailed the company who had the best price, asking about some information about their organization and they emailed me back saying they weren't comfortable giving that information out, and I should try a different service like  PeopleFinder.com. Yay, that was a scam.

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Vintage QotD: Here Comes The Bride

What was the last wedding you went to?  Were you in the wedding?

I think I've only been to one wedding – and that was my own – so yes I was in it. January 7th of this year. We've been married for any of the following lengths of time:

7 months and 2 days
214 days
5136 hours
308160 minutes
18489600 seconds

However you want to look at it :)

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I love stickers!

I just ordered my first book of Moo Stickers! I was very impressed with their Moo Cards and I love it that I don't have to pay for shipping if I order them now. It'll come in a book of 15 sheets with six stickers on each sheet. I chose 15 pictures from my Flickr so I'd have exactly 15 sheets with the same stickers on each sheet. It was hard for me to choose which ones I wanted – and it was even more frustrating that I couldn't put captions or something on the images – but I'm still really excited. I had this idea of ordering a single book with one image from our wedding to seal the envelopes of our wedding announcements – that I still have yet to send out! – but then realized that they were perfect just the way they were. I'm such a terrible bride. Of course, at least I got them ordered. Now I just have to buy some labels and print out the addresses on the labels and then mail them out. I'm hoping to go to the post office and pay less by having each announcement / thank you card weighed instead of rounding with stamps – but that might also blow up in my face and cost me more – it's hard to tell with the post office.

Speaking of wedding photos, we have been in spotty communication with our photographer for months now but I think at last we'll have our photobook*, prints, and discs soon. I may have mentioned that our photographer has had some personal issues (I have a feeling that her husband may have been killed in a fire – he was a fire fighter – but I might be wrong…) so I'm not pressuring her as much as I would someone who hasn't had personal issues. Of course, she said we'd get our pictures a month after the wedding and then we'd get our photobook* two weeks after our pictures so we are now… four and a half months behind schedule. Good thing I'm a pretty patient person when I know what's going on.

Speaking of post offices and bad luck – the other day I went to go ship out my Blythe doll and with it I sent a can of matte spray. Well I was honest enough to tell them that there was a can of spray paint in there with the doll and all the sudden I'm a terrorist! They're telling me they don't know if I can ship that and they were going to have to put a "note" on it and maybe a sticker about explosives… I was kicking myself for even mentioning it but I didn't think anything of it because the can was MAILED to me! Mailed to my by USPS too, not UPS, FedEx, or DHL. So what is the difference? Everything ended up being okay in the end because it wasn't going by air mail – but still. That's what I get for being honest.

*Photobook = A 50 picture book of semi-gloss paper with pictures printed on each page. Looks similar to a hard cover photo book / magazine you'd find in a book store. I chose this over a photo album for the price – and also I've grown to loath wedding albums – too stuffy.

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I feel so accomplished!

After I got married & changed my name LEGALLY – I changed it with anyone that would let me over the phone when it came to credit cards and stuff – but a lot of people wouldn't let me do it unless I had my marriage certificate and I faxed it in. And of course, I kept forgetting. Anyhow – today I remembered to take in my certificate and I changed it everywhere! I had two credit cards, my mobile phone, my car loan & Pay Pal to change and I got it all done. Sure, I had to call each one and get the fax number, but then I just made one copy of each and viola! All done!

Note to Korgoth: You'll never have to change your name. I changed my name in a good TWENTY PLACE and you have yet to get an updated drivers license. You suck.

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One ring to rule them all… One ring to find them…

I don't cook. So today's Vox Hunt & QotD are pointless to me.

Today I'm leaving work early to go down to the DMV and get my name & address changed on my license. I'm pretty excited. I've been hesitant to change my name with my credit cards and all the fun stuff because I don't have my license changed. So I'm going to start tomorrow morning to change my name with everyone. I figured by the time that the new cards arrive I should have my new license too.

Yesterday I was on the DMV website and I went to their personalized license plate page because I was telling Paul I was thinking of getting one for my new car. I told him that the "phrase" I wanted was likely taken and how I wanted to check anyhow. So I put in my phrase and it asks for my money. I'm questioning whether or not I want to give my payment information though – because I think to myself, "This one's already taken and I'm not going to give my payment information for them to just say its not available." So I decide to do a test. I know that one plate in particular is taken because it caught my eye on the freeway a few years back. It said ONERING. So I go back a page and delete my wanted phrase and enter in ONERING. Well instantly it tells me on the same screen that the phrase currently chosen was taken. So that meant my wanted phrase wasn't taken! I was so excited! I called up Paul to make sure it was all right that I spent $41 on a needless want (and an additional $30 each year during registration to keep it) and he said it was okay so I ordered it. I should be getting it in about 8 to 10 weeks! I'm so happy :)

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