Dress Dilemmas

Hello again interweb friends!

This dress stuff is STRESSING ME OUT! Isn't this supposed to be fun? Well, it's not. Let me tell you, it's NOT!

The first reason it's not fun is that since I'm a "plus-sized" girl most stores carry 2-4 dresses in my size and the rest of the time I have to shimmy into a size 14 or so and get an "idea" of what it will look like. Well, here's a clue-- anytime you shimmy into a dress that is 3 sizes too small you will look like SHIT. And not want to buy that dress!

The other reason it's not fun is that dresses in my price range (technically $500... but it's been creeping upwards at an alarming pace...eek!) feel like they're made of shower curtain fabric. Given that I'm going to be wearing this in the middle of August and sweating up a storm this is probably not a good idea.

Another reason it's not fun is that while I can be in the store and say -- this dress is the best of the 4 "plus" size dresses that are available to me-- my mother, and aunt, and grandmother, and bridesmaids live all across the country (and in other continents.) So all they have to go on are the pictures.

When they tell me-- oh, this one looks terrible, that one looks terrible, I hate the hat, I love the hat, I hate that color, I hate beading, I love beading, that one looks like a nightgown, that one looks like a slip, that one has too much rouching, that one doesn't have enough rouching... etc, etc... (and believe me, there are a million etcs!) you can imagine that it does not make me a happy camper.

I really want people to see a dress and have it be so CLEARLY the stand-out winner that everyone says, "THAT'S THE ONE!"

And yet... the more people I ask for opinions, the more differing opinions I get!

Everyone also says, "It's your wedding! Wear what you feel comfortable in! Wear what you want!"

Well, when people tell you, "Oh, that dress is fugly." And that's the dress you wanted... and that person is your mother. Yeah. Good luck ever feeling comfortable in that dress again, right?

So, I was thinking about getting a dress made. (Esp. because the fabric-- even on the expensive dress ($700)-- was terrible.)

I met with a seamstress/designer yesterday... and whooo let me tell you. That was an ExPeRiEnCe. She was a very nice woman, very friendly-- VERY talkative... (too much, I have to say...) She was also more than a bit wacky. Within 5 minutes of meeting her she was telling me about her polyamourous lifestyle, crystal healing, etc... I'm sure you can picture it.

She quoted me $1500 to make me a dress (in beautiful silk). Well, on the one hand I was a bit relieved that it was out of my price range-- not because I didn't want to work with her, but because I was nervous about having a dress made anyway. At least with a store bought dress you know what you're getting from the get-go. With a specially made dress, if you don't like it-- you're shit out of luck.

So, I thanked her, told her it was out of my range... and figured that would be that.

Well, during our conversation I mentioned that I had taken costume design in college and she called me today to offer me a deal-- $800-- materials & labor, and all fittings included, if I worked at her shop (70hours-- $10/hour) in exchange for her making me the dress.

Part of me is tempted. Custom dress? Better fabric? Check & Check. The unknown scares me... the kookiness scares me... being beholden to someone scares me... not being able to have free time for 3-4 months scares me!

I feel like the seamstress is the type to get very emotionally attached and invested and if I piss her off in some way it would NOT be good. I also prefer to keep transactions like that financial so there's no confusion about boundries.

On the other hand... a custom dress... in silk! It is very tempting.

I'm not sure what to do.

I'm trying on more dresses on Friday but I think it's just going to be a variation of what I've tried on so far. There was one dress that jumped out at me (can you tell which one it is...???) but it has not been the favorite of my friends & family, which has been discouraging.

HELP!

Dress Poll #2

Hello everyone- Sorry for the wonky layout of these pictures... Blogger is acting up and I don't have the patience to fix it, so hopefully you can follow along!

Here's another poll--

#1) What do you think of the hat (above)?


Dress # 5 - Back

Dress # 5 Front








Dress # 6 Back

Dress # 6 Front-- (Now, I will tell you that Jedi has voiced a strong preference against anything asymmetrical... So, I'm thinking that I may have to keep to that.)





Finally, Dress #7 (Which can come in white on top or other colors.)


Thoughts? I have lots more to tell you about dresses-- and how trying to find one makes me want to kill myself-- but that's for another post.

A conversation about dresses with my mother:

M: All of those dresses are ugly. Why didn't you try on other ones?

H: I DID. I just only put up the pictures of the ones I liked.

M: Well I don't like any of those. Why don't you try a monique l'huilier or vera wang or something?

H: So... do you have $10,000 you're going to give me for that type of dress?

M: Well you can just get a copy made.

H: Even that would be $2-3,000!

M: Well, I think you should keep trying different dresses.

H: In my price point and being a "plus size" bride-- this is about what you're going to get! You'll get variations on this, but these styles are what look good and what I can afford .THIS IS IT.

M: Well, have you thought about losing weight so you can fit into more dresses?

H: Gee, Mom! That's a BRILLIANT Idea! Lose weight to fit into more clothes!? Why haven't I thought of that before! If only you'd mentioned this to me 10 years ago! All this time I've been wearing ugly shapeless clothing... but to think! If Only I'd thought to lose weight I could have had more options! Now that you've brought this to my attention I'm totally going to get on that!

H: You don't have to be sarcastic.

Wedding Dress Poll!

Dress #1

Dress #1 Back- (The lace up back is what they had in the store, but I'd get it like the one above if I got it, I think.)
Dress #1 Back






Dress #2- I was going for a "Mad Men" type look for a wedding dress, but I don't think this is as flattering... thoughts?







Dress #3- This was the saleswoman's idea.



Dress #4- Back
Dress #4 Front


--------------------------------------------------------------

Ok interweb friends! I know I said that I was ordering my dress online because I live in podunksville... it just so happened that I went to the moderately-sized city (3 hours away!) this weekend and it just so happened that they had a David's bridal there.

As you may recall I had wanted to order a dress (for $200ish) and then have my future MIL remake it in a NICE fabric. Frankly, the David's bridal crap feels like it's made from shower curtain liners. However, I do have to give them kudos for not only carrying plus sizes, but also for carrying them in the store!

I figured since I was there anyway I may as well try the dress I wanted on and at least make sure I ordered it in the right size. While I was there I tried on a few others and I sent the pics to my mom, future MIL and aunt...

... SIGH...

While I DO want their opinions I'm now terribly confused! They were pretty adamant the the dress they liked was NOT the one I had originally picked out. I'm not terribly keen on the one they liked best... but in looking at the pictures I do think it was more flattering than the original one I had picked out.

All this to say that I think I'm going to have to go shopping for more dresses!

Oh- one other problem with the dress they all liked? It's $600. And I would still want it in a different color/fabric. Sigh. That would probably bring the price up to $900 and I can't really see that making sense, yanoo--? I mean, if I'm going to spend that I may as well spend it on something I like to begin with! Not something that I would need to completely change! So now I'm totally freaking out about dresses!
(I'm also freaking out about photographers because they're crazy expensive, but that's a post for another day.)

So what say you, interwebs? Dress #1 #2 #3 or #4? Leave your answer in the comments! I can't do this without you!

Therapy, musings & escape

I should be feeling good. I really should. Jedi is in my life, I have my health, I have family that cares about me, I have more prospects than I've had in awhile...

And yet, I'm in a terrible funk. I'm anxious too and it's causing me lots of stomach ailments. I don't know why I'm so anxious, I just know that breathing enough air into my lungs to get through the day is a herculean effort.

I do see a therapist and she's helped quite a bit over the last three years. I don't think I'd be with Jedi without doing the work I've done with her. She's been on vacation for two weeks and I definitely feel myself fraying at the edges. I suppose I could call and talk to someone else in her office but that seems silly. I'm seeing her on Friday by which point many things may have resolved themselves.

I think part of my difficulty is that it feels like I'm now not only responsible for my life and well being, I'm responsible for Jedi's. I've been helping him apply to a new school and to new jobs-- both of which have been Sisyphean tasks thus far. In the meantime I'm trying to get my own life in order and he requires so much hand holding and direction that I feel like I'm a lifeguard swimming for two.

I knew going into it that this is what I was getting myself into though. Believe me, I know. His other--amazing-- qualities more than make up for this. I'm hoping that he can get into a program at a local college (whose term starts in early Sept) that would be a much better fit than what he has been doing (in my estimation-- but I know him very well.) The program would be a degree in radiology and it would be much more hands-on than what he is doing now. His program now requires a lot of essay writing-- which he despairs at. There may or may not be someone who is dropping out of the Radiology program between now and the start of the term and Jedi may or may not be able to take that spot. I'm really hoping the universe takes pity on him and makes this possible.

In the meantime I'm both hopeful and despairing about my own prospects (complicated, isn't it? Let's just say that I'm waiting to hear back about 3 different things-- Thing # 1 I really want, but am not likely to get. Thing #2 I might want under the right conditions, but it seems growingly unlikely those conditions will be there. Thing #3 I can likely have if I want it... but I totally don't.) I'm thinking in cases 2 & 3 it might be a case of going from the frying pan into the fire. *sigh*

A few weeks ago Jedi very seriously wanted us to pack everything up and leave that very day to go (back) to the midwest. I admit, I was tempted too. However, as we all know-- wherever you go, there you are. I know leaving won't really solve anything-- esp. leaving without having anything else planned-- but it is so tempting at times. And you're always reading those stupid eat, pray, love type memoirs about people who chucked it all and found bliss. Could that possibly be that the people who chucked it all and ended up homeless didn't end up with million dollar book deals? Hmmm...? I want to hear from those people.

In the meantime I'm just plugging away... trying to get up enough energy and courage to get out of bed each day to face the world.

Come out, come out, wherever you are...

So, in checking my site traffic I'm finding that I've had a lot of hits recently coming from facebook.

Hmm...

This is... odd... to say the least.

I'm most curious. I can't follow the link back to anything other than the generic facebook homepage but based on the locations I don't think it's anyone I know personally.

Any facebook stalkers care to come out of hiding and elucidate me?

Light at the End of the Tunnel?

I don't know if there's a light at the end of the tunnel... it's starting to feel like it but at the moment I don't want to jinx anything. I'll let you know in a month or so. :-p

Additionally, I just wanted to point out that in 365.25 days I will be married! How crazy is THAT to think about???!?

A Bad Day

Tomorrow will, very likely, not be a good day.

I got an email from my boss' boss on Friday (my day off) that ruined my weekend, left me sick to my stomach, asking me for a meeting first thing 9am on Monday. Tomorrow.

*sigh*

I'm pretty certain that this meeting will be to put me on warning for being insubordinate.

*sigh*

Nevermind that the email this meeting is going about was only to point out how it would not really be feasible for me to do the work they want done in the time period they want it done, (and oh- btw- had they looked at the spreadsheet I'd sent them 2 days ago because if they had bothered to open it they would have seen that it was already formatted in exactly the way they were requesting me to format it in the subsequent email.) Ok. I said it a bit more nicely than that, but I'm sure my frustration came through. Bad me.

Like I said, I"ve been SICK-- physically, emotionally, mentally-- about this all weekend. To the point where I started cutting myself again.

I KNOW this is stupid, believe me, I know. I also know that nothing makes me feel better faster.

I know that I will not care about the office I work in 5 minutes after I give my resignation. For all that I've been looking for new positions over the past year I've been somewhat lackadasical about it too-- only applying to jobs that I would REALLY want.

Yeah. No more of that. At this point I feel like I should just go an apply for anything and everything I'm qualified for and hope something sticks.

Jedi and I were talking about just packing everything up and moving back to the midwest without having any jobs lined up-- just giving 1 months notice and --boom-- we're out of here. It's very tempting, though not very practical, I know. It would feel super satisfying though!

The truth is that my patience with where we live is running out. There are basically 2 employers here-- the hospital and the college-- and all the other businesses service these other 2 businesses. We have a wal-mart, a kmart and a khol's and that's basically it. It is very pretty, but soul crushing with the cost of living and the lack of activities and non-transient young people.

I'm just feeling very discouraged at the moment. I know I don't technically have a lot to complain about-- I have Jedi, I have a roof over my head, I have a full stomach... But is it too first-world of me to want a job that's fulfilling and with people who value my input and insights?

When I was a kid I was "diagnosed" with Oppositional Defiant Disorder
This has to be the most seriously fucked up diagnosis ever, to tell you the truth--

Symptoms of ODD may include:

• Frequent temper tantrums
• Excessive arguing with adults
• Often questioning rules
• Active defiance and refusal to comply with adult requests and rules
• Deliberate attempts to annoy or upset people
• Blaming others for his or her mistakes or misbehavior
• Often being touchy or easily annoyed by others
• Frequent anger and resentment
• Mean and hateful talking when upset
• Spiteful attitude and revenge seeking

Um... Yeah. Could all of these symptoms also be explained by the fact that the adults AROUND me were complete controlling asshats who gave orders that made no sense and were frequently narcissistic and controlling also?

So, yes, I recognize I have a bad attitude at times... As an adult I've learned to control it most of the time and at least pretend that I"m semi-civilized... but I swear! My workplace is making me want to react in childish ways. (You'll have to take my word for it that 3/4 of my colleagues are CRAZY people... but trust me, they are.)

*sigh*

Anyone want to hire me?

(I know, I know! After that you surely will, won't you?! But trust me! I'm a fantastic employee when my employer isn't insane!)

My new favorite website

http://wedinator.com/

Prospects

It's job hunting season where I work. Now that the layoffs are past and the company has started rehiring again it seems like everyone is job hunting. In fact, it's almost like a game of musical chairs... (or is it more like rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic? Ha. It's hard to tell sometimes.)

It's hard here because not only is the hiring process "as slow as molasses in January" as one of my friends put it, but now that it's all limited to internal hires, it seems like everyone is competing with their friends for the same handful of positions.

One good thing about working in such a tight-knit community is that everyone knows the dirt about everyone elses' office. That's also the bad thing! There are a fair number of positions that seem interesting on paper/good to an outsider... but we know better! We know that particular supervisor is terrible... or that that particular office is being consolidated and so who knows who is going to be made redundant... or that that office is horribly disorganized... or that that office refuses to get rid of the dead weight and keeps on a receptionist that makes everyone's life hell.

Therefore, not only is there a small pool of positions to choose from, but the pool of positions that are in offices where people aren't certifiably crazy is even smaller. Picture a kiddie wading pool.

Amongst friends we try to feel each other out... Oh- Were you interested in that? If so, I wont apply... Oh, are you looking to leave? Does that mean your position will be open? What's it like to work there?... do you know so-and-so? Why is that person leaving?

My job is actually going a bit better these days. However, the fall is quickly approaching and I know that it will soon mean that my peaceful weekends will be at an end. There are aspects to my job that I enjoy but being asked to work 90% of the weekends between September and June is just hell-- and inhumane-- (well, at least it is at the piddly salary I'm making.) So, right now I'm keeping my eyes open for something that will let me have some semblance of a personal life.

I'm also keeping my fingers crossed for 2 friends who have yet to hear back about positions they were supposed to hear back about last week. I hope we all make it out of all this reorganization with our sanity intact and better, more fulfilling jobs on the horizon.

Moderate comments?

Hmmm... I've been thinking that I should maybe start moderating comments.

I don't want to discourage people from commenting but at the same time I'm starting to get a fair bit of spam (which I think also discourages people from commenting if I'm not fast enough at removing it.)

What say you internet folks?