17 days and a wake-up until the wedding. So many last minute details to deal with. At least I found shoes to wear under my wedding dress. I'm working on the veil - good thing it's a very basic veil.

Still need to get a small guest book and gifts for the maid of honor and the best man. 2 more details to take care of before heading for Vegas. Looking at the cost to take a shuttle to the Oakland Airport - it works out cheaper to park in one of the park-n-fly lots. At least we'll know where the car is and not have to worry if the shuttle will get us to the airport on time and be there to pick us up. Can't ask anyone in the family to transport us - they're going to Vegas too.

Packing is going to fun - at least the airline won't start charging for checking a second bag until after we come back. 1 suitcase if going to be for wedding clothes only and I hope it doesn't weigh more than 50 lbs. We'll have to fit everything else in the other bags and my carryon bag. We won't talk about what's in Fred's carryon bag.

Looks like it's going to be a small wedding - 18 people including my better half & myself. Can't complain, last wedding only had 2 guests. Can't remember how many at the first one - way too long ago. My oldest brother, his son and daughter-in-law and their kids aren't going to make it though. The rest of the family is. A few friends are making the trip too so it should be fun for all.

Boy, the Men's Wearhouse really likes us. Day after we bought my wedding dress, we went in to see what they had and ended up walking out having spent over a grand. My platinum card was crying very loudly that weekend.

My better half is now the proud possessor of a full tuxedo - from bow tie to shoes and everything in between. Including the shirt studs, braces and cufflinks. Plus we found a very nice sport coat, two pair of slacks, two shirts w/ties and an additional set of braces.

The nice thing is, for every $500 you spend, they send you a $50 gift certificate (gotta join their little club but its free). So, when the gift certificates arrived, we went back on New Year's Day and found a nice 3/4 length coat for Fred that ended up costing us $11 out of pocket.

Now all I have to do is mail off the invitation, now that everyone is on the list. Got the chapel contract signed and faxed off and reserved the private room at the restaurant for the dinner after the ceremony. Plus the deposit for the private room. Can't forget all those pesky deposits.

Have to talk to my daughter - she's the maid of honor - about what she's going to wear. She's been a maid of honor of brides maid so many times, I'm hoping she has something already that she'd be willing to wear again. The dress she wore at her foster-sister's wedding would be fabulous, if it still fits.

A friend from grade school, who lives in Vegas, can't wait for me to arrive. We haven't seen each other since grade school and only found each other a couple of years ago on Classmates.com and have been e-mailing ever since. It's nice to have someone in the know down there. Especially since we have a lot of similar likes - motorcycles, guns, chocolate and working for a transit district. I don't work for a transit district but my better half does and so does my friend and her husband.

Less than 3 months until the wedding day. Got to make that man of mine an honest man.

On a whim yesterday, my better half and I stopped at a shop in downtown Antioch to see what they had in the manner of wedding dresses. Fred has been after me to stop by and check the shop out because it has clothes that will fit me, from undergarments outward. One of these days, I'm going to just accept and go along with his ideas. He's seldom wrong and usually we get the desired results with a minimum of fuss or expense.

What I didn't realize yesterday was that the shop was having a 50% off sale. We went in and, of course, were asked if we were looking for something specific. My wonderful better half said I needed a wedding dress. This delighted the sales clerk, it was her first day on the job and one of her last customers of the day is looking to spend some serious money. Or so I thought.

Turns out that the first dress I tried on, picked out by Fred, was perfect. I wasn't sure I wanted a traditional wedding gown but I kind of got the vibe from my hubby-to-be that he didn't want me in just any fancy dress. This was on top of the fact that he's been talking about buying a tux - men just don't do that very often. I keep getting the feeling he wants a real traditional wedding, even though we're getting married in Las Vegas. After all, he's waited 25 years for this and it just feels right to me too. So, a semi-traditional wedding it is.

I bought a traditional wedding fown, ivory colored (couldn't bring myself to wear the true white) with a three foot train, beading on the bodice, sleeves (shear material) and hem. For once in my life, I will actually have to wear heels underneath a storebought full length dress. I'll probably have to have some alterations done before the wedding but that really doesn't matter - the dress fits and looks fabulous on me. Fred was a little stunned at the price of the dress but I told him that in a regular bridal shop, the dress would have sold for at least 3 times the amount on the tag. Especially since the dress was a plus size - they always charge you more for that. Then the other clerk in the shop states that the dress is half off. I almost choked and Fred said, "We're buying it". No ifs, ands, or buts about it.

I ended up paying just under twice what my sister paid for her traditional wedding dress 25 years ago. She got a great deal on hers too and I will reap the benefits because hers came with a full length lace mantilla which, fingers crossed, will go with my dress too. Plus, the second clerk said that I might want to get a crinoline (a type of petticoat for ball gowns) for under my wedding dress to help keep the skirt full. I just happen to have a crinoline. I've held onto it even though the two ball gowns I own no longer fit me. Guess it pays to be a packrat occasionally.

Maybe next week we'll go look at tuxedos. I definitely will need shoes to go under my dress and I have to consider jewelry too. But the jewelry can be borrowed.

I'd also love to find a sixpence - I'll have a look at all the leftover coinage I have from my trip to Europe 10 years ago. Maybe I'll find one. For those who don't know, it's part of the saying, "Something old, something new, something borrowed, something new and a sixpense for her shoe."

Don't you just hate brides-to-be? Always going on and on about their wedding plans? Well, get used to it! 142 days until I stop. 140 days until I head for Sin City to accomplish the fact.

Found our wedding rings yesterday and got a very good deal on them. Mine fits but my better half's needs to be re-sized up a size and a quarter.

Had to redesign the wedding invitations but I came up with a better design, plus my better half came up with a better idea for the response cards, so I re-designed those too. Oh the best laid plans of mice & men. Just need to print them, buy the stamps and mail them.

I can't imagine trying to put a wedding together in this day and age without a computer, let alone without the internet. Can you imagine what your phone bill would be? Yikes! What would we be without the instant gratification of the internet?

Yes, I consider my fiance my better half. Without him in my life, I lead a very dull and boring life. He definitely keeps me on my toes, emotionally, physically and financially. He likes to spend and I like to save, which is why I get control of the finances - his idea, not mine. Works out rather well, since we'll be able to afford the wedding without going very far into debt, if at all.

Have the chapel & minister reserved for the wedding. Travel arrangements have been made, at least for the groom and me. Invitations have been designed and are ready to print, address labels are ready to go - just as soon as I get a couple more addresses. Paperwork for the license has been filled out - just need to drop it off and pay for the license when we get to Las Vegas. Still haven't figured out what I'm going to wear yet but at least I do know who my Maid of Honor will be.

My daughter has agreed to stand up with me, since she was way too little the first time and the second time I didn't have any attendants. In fact, my parents were the only witnesses to my second wedding. We decided that if certain important family members couldn't attend due to such short notice then we wouldn't invite anyone. We got married in Tahoe and my parents were already up there celebrating my father's birthday so they asked if they could come. We did, however, have a really good reception a couple months later.

Yes, this will be number 3 for me. Like a friend once said, "it's either third times a charm or three strikes and you're out!" I'll take third times a charm, thank you. It's my better half's second marriage and since his first was performed in Reno, we decided Las Vegas would be a good place for this one.

Having the mortgage & student loan almost paid off will help financially with the wedding. Mortgage ends 12/31/07 and I'll probably pay the student loan off completely on 1/15/08. Granted, my mortgage payment is under $400 a month and the studen loan is under $125, it'll help pay for the wedding. Can't believe it's been 10 years since I started paying on the student loan. Let alone lived in my place for 20 years. Longest I've ever lived in one place, even growing up the longest I ever lived in one place was 12 years.

Trying to plan a small wedding isn't fun - especially if you're planning on going to Las Vegas for the wedding.  Reserve the chapel, make flight reservations (not fond of flying either), get a room at one of the casinos, get the wedding license and pay for the minister, print the wedding invitations and mail them, rent a car, make a list of guests to invite, find a place to board the cat & dog, find a wedding dress, rent a tux,  and most important of all! Figure out how to pay for it all with out using the credit cards.

Even quickie weddings in Vegas aren't cheap. $55 for the license and $55 for the officiant. Chapels run from $99 for a 1/2 hour up. All depends on what you want. Want a theme wedding? Be prepared to pay extra. Medieval costumes at the Excalibur run $75 per person. They aren't bad but most look like they are the ubiquitous 'One Size Fits All' which anyone with any brains in their head knows that isn't true.

I guess this means I don't get to play with my income tax refund this year. Nor does my fiance so at least we'll both be in the same boat. Home mortgage is almost paid off so that will help also - unless I use it to pay off the other bills. I don't want to be in anymore debt just to get married. I want to be less in debt - better way to start married life.

 Mind you, this isn't my first wedding. It's #3 for me and #2 for my better half. I guess third times the charm? Or is it three strikes and I'm out? What ever! My better half says this one is for good though - he's waited long enough for me to come to my senses. Long story and maybe one of these days I'll tell you all about it.  Until then, I'll let you wonder.

To live in Paradise - glorious green forests, lovely blue seas and people that believe in being nice. What happen to America that we don't have these things much any more?

On another note - I get to see my greatnephew for the first time this weekend up in Oregon at a small family reunion. Looks a lot like his big sister but I have a feeling he's going to be a good sized kid like his dad. Not a bad combination. Poor boy could have gotten his petite mother's build and his father's looks.

Coastal Oregon can resemble Paradise at times, much more so than eastern Oregon. Lots of green trees, gorgeous coasts and the people can be nice [if they don't realize you're from California ;-)]. Sometimes the anti-California sentiment rears its ugly head in Oregon and sometimes it just stays sleeping.