♥ 4 Years Ago Today ♥

I met the love of my life, Mister Roddy!

I can't believe it is 4 years, it really seems like I have known him much longer than that. The Mister joked around and said 20 years, lol... What a jokesta :)

As you all know, I LOVE him very much. These have been the best 4 years of my life and I cannot wait to see what is in store for us in the future!

Te Quiero Mucho, Senor Roddy!!

♥ MUAH ♥



PS: Once you get married, will you be celebrating the day you first met or started dating or will you only celebrate your wedding anniversary?

I'm a Fabulous Sugar Doll Blogger :)

I cannot believe I received another blogger award from one of my FABULOUS followers. I was scanning through my comments on my latest post to find a comment from my fellow blogger, Born To Be Mrs Beaver, and to my surprise she left me a little goodie on her blog... How exciting!!

So for this one, the directions are simple:

Post the award on your site, write 10 interesting things about yourself, and then pass it on to 10 other bloggers.

10 Fun Facts:

1. In college, my bed set was Scooby Doo. I had the glow-in-the-dark comforter, pillow cases and even a Scooby Doo doll.

2. I am a Step-Pawrent to lovable, slobbering, Chocolate Lab named Buddy.

3. I was a cheerleader in high school (Yes, I was a rah-rah).

4. My hubby and I met through Yahoo! Personals. Maybe we should be in a commercial :)

5. Like Born To Be Mrs. Beaver, I LOVE the Food Network and am a self taught cook and baker.

6. I am a shoe-a-holic. At one time I owned approx. 72 pairs of shoes.

7. My Mom and I planned my sister's 200 person wedding in 2 months. Quite the accomplishment and it came out GREAT!

8. My family is so big that we find a new cousin or two almost every year. We are a BIG fat Puerto Rican family.

9. I am very competitive and most of the time people don't see it coming. When I play a sport or a game, I feel like I got to win or at least try my hardest.

10. I am a perfectionist. I am the type of person that who can type out a whole sentence and if a word is incorrect or misspelled, I delete the entire sentence to re-type it. I know, I can be anal. It's not always a bad thing!!


And the fellow Bloggers I would like to pass this award onto:

August15Bride
I Love Love
San Diego Budget Bride
Sweets and Life
Live.Love.Laugh
A Girl with Pearls and a Boy with Toys
Lucky in Love
Cross Country Wed
Encore Bride
"I Do" at the Zoo

Have fun my FABULOUS Sugar Dolls!

Fell Off The Wagon...

The 30 Day Shred wagon that is.

Unfortunately, I have to admit that I have fallen off the wagon. I apologize, Encore Bride, but with the move I seemed to have hurt my back and it just hasn't been the same. It is getting better though, I just have to put that kind of activity on hold. I have been suffering from random flair ups so I have been icing, heating and taking Tylenol to ease the pain and soreness when needed.

To all the shredders, please don't let my excuse be your excuse. You can do this! It is a great workout and I cannot wait to jump back on the wagon!

So good luck my fellow shredders. I can't wait to hear about your progress!

Sticker Giveaway Winner!

And the winner to my Sticker Giveaway is...

Brittney

from the

Sand Dollar and Sunflowers blog

CONGRATULATIONS Brittney for winning this awesome prize! Please contact me with your full name and email address via email to theroddybride{at}gmail{dot}com by midnight EST on Wednesday, October 28 or I will have to select another winner.

A HUGE thanks to all those who took the time to participate in my giveaway. Try again soon for another chance to win one of my fabulous giveaways from UPrinting.com.

The winner was selected at random using the list generator from Random.org. There were a total of 41 entries submitted.

Below is the intial list of each poster and their total entries:

I took the above list and wrote out the poster's name the number of times that match their total entries. I then submitted the list to Random.org.

Below are the results:

Again, thanks for entering! Come back soon!!

Final Reminder for Sticker Giveaway

Just wanted to send out a reminder about my Sticker Giveaway that ends this coming Sunday at midnight, EST.

For full details, click HERE. Be sure to tell a friend too!

Good Luck!

The Music - Walking Down the Aisle

Since some of my fabulous readers have never heard or heard of the song I chose to walk down the aisle to I wanted to post the lyrics...Sorry but you won't find the original video on YouTube.

Anyway, I chose, So Beautiful by Musiq Soulchild.
Lyrics provided by eLyrics.net.


So Beautiful

[Verse 1:]

You're my baby
My lover, my lady
All night you make me
Want you it drives me crazy

I feel like you
Were made just for me, baby
Tell me if you
Feel the same way

Cuz it just feels so right
I don’t wanna waste no time
If I had to choose I know
I'm gon' always choose to be with you
Cuz, girl don’t you know

[Chorus:]

Girl don't you know you're so beautiful
I wanna give all my love to you, girl
Not just tonight but the rest of your life
I wanna be always here by your side

Girl don't you know you're so beautiful
I wanna give all my love to you, girl
Not just tonight but the rest of your life
I wanna be always here by your side

[Verse 2:]

When you're not here
You don’t know how much I miss you
The whole time on my mind
Is how much I'm gonna get to make

You feel so good like you know I could
Tell me if you
Feel the same way

Cuz it just feels so right
I don’t wanna waste no time
Girl if I had to choose I know
I'm gon' always choose to be with you
Girl, don’t you know

[Chorus:]

Girl, don't you know you're so beautiful (Baby)
I wanna give all my love to you, girl (My love, to you girl)
Not just tonight but the rest of your life (Your life)

Girl don't you know you're so beautiful (Always here by your side)
I wanna give all my love to you, girl (I wanna, wanna give all my love to you, girl)
Not just tonight but the rest of your life
I wanna be always here by your side

Ooo Whoa...
Ooo Whoa...
(Hey baby...)
Ooo Whoa...
Ooo Whoa...

(Breathing)

Baby don’t you know (Baby don’t you know)
You're so beautiful, beautiful)

Baby don’t you know you're so beautiful
Baby don’t you know (Baby don’t you know)
You're so beautiful, beautiful)

Baby don’t you know (Baby don’t you know)
You're so beautiful (beautiful)

(Breathing)

Sorry!

Sorry for being MIA! I promise I will post again soon once I dig myself out of all the boxes from the move and actually set up my computer again!

Much more in store to read...Stay tuned! :)

Happy Friday Everyone!

HAPPY FRIDAY!!

I hope everyone has a FABULOUS Friday and weekend!

This weekend is the big move for the Roddy family. We are moving tomorrow back to my hometown and finally we will be done with all this packing. I cannot express how excited I am to be back home! I have been away for a decade but it was always home to me.

So a few goodies are to come in the near future...

• A guest blogger will provide a vendor review for Top Hat Tuxedos
• A new blog filled with me and the Mister's favorite recipes that we have gathered through the years. It is our chance to share one of our loves with you.

...more to come so stay tuned!

Don't forget to sign up for my latest giveaway from UPrinting.com, the Sticker / Label giveaway!

74 + 120

74 is for the number of FABULOUS readers that are now following me.

120 is the number of posts that I have created for this blog.

I can't believe it! I have been plugging along I didn't even notice that I hit my 100th post and I am so happy that I have you following me!

I started blogging earlier this year while I was planning our wedding. I was VERY new at it, so I apologize to my early followers on the amateur-ish blog I was providing. As I write more posts, I find myself more comfortable. When I first started this blog I was extremely nervous. For one, I didn't think anyone would find my words interesting enough to read and two I was nervous what people thought about me and of course my writing. BUT you all have proved me wrong and I THANK YOU for that!!

So THANK YOU for being my loyal followers!

The 30 Day Shred - Week 1

Week 1 (level 1) started yesterday for our 30 Day Shred challenge. OK, let me tell you how SORE I am, lol. Just a few minutes after completing the workout, I was so sore I had to find assistance with the walls to walk down the stairs...bad part is that my bedroom is on the 3rd floor. YIKES!

So here is what I think about the dvd... I found the first level to be quite challenging. After completing the first round of level 1, I was saying to myself, "this is it" (not confusing it with MJ's new song title) but then I realized that there were two more rounds. Oh my. Jillian really is good. Very little chit chat and I believe a decent description of every move.

I would actually say this is a good workout in comparison to the p90x. It isn't as intense but I think it was perfect for any woman to participate and get the results they require. Her combination of Strength, Cardio and Abs is perfect for shocking the body into shaping up. The one thing I can't recall is whether we had a good amount of stretching of the lower body before starting the program, which I know I desperately needed. Sadly though, I am looking forward to working out today.

So here are my beginning stats for the week:

1. Starting weight -- 160 (Ouch!)
2. Current weight -- 160
3. Goal weight -- 130
4. What level you're doing -- Level 1

I do not have the following stats as I must have packed up my measuring tape for the move. I will have these results next week.

5. Bust measurements
6. Waist measurements
7. Hips measurements
8. Thigh measurements (widest part of the thigh)

So how did you all do?

Good luck with the rest of the week. Remember that you can do it!

Sticker Giveaway!

Hello my FABULOUS readers! I hope you all are having a wonderful week so far!

Today, I have an awesome giveaway to announce sponsored by UPrinting.com.

One (1) of my FABULOUS readers have the chance to win 250 Stickers / Labels.

Just imagine what you can do with these sticker / labels:

• 
  
  Address Labels
  
  
  
• 
  
  Advertising Your Company
  
  
  
• 
  
  Gift Tags
  
  
  
• 
  
  "Belongs To:" Stickers
  
  
  
• 
  
  Stickers with your Wedding Monogram
  
  
  

...the list can go on and on. Learn more about the Sticker Printing!

I would actually use them for creating our address labels for the new place we are moving into this week.

Prize:

• 
  
  250 Stickers/Labels for One (1) lucky winner
  
  
  
• 
  
  Sizes: 2” x 3.5”, 2” x 4”, or 3” x 3”
  
  
  
• 
  
  Paper: 70 lb Label MatteSpecifications: Full color front, blank back;
  
  
  
• 
  
  4 Business Day printing
  
  
  

Small Print:
FREE UPS Ground Shipping in the USA (Canadian residents need to pay shipping and taxes). Offer is not available to residents outside the US and Canada.


Here's how to enter:
(1) entry - leave a comment on how you would use these fab stickers.
(2) entries - become a follower of my blog or my twitter account, The Roddy Bride.
(3) entries - posting this giveaway on your own blog


Winner will be announced at random using Random.org the morning of Monday, October 26. You will have until midnight of Sunday, October 25 to submit an entry(ies). The prize will be awarded via coupon code from UPrinting.com directly through email on November 6.

Good Luck everyone!!

*As a sponsored blog, I must disclose that I do receive the prize in the giveaway as a gift from UPrinting.com.

Pro - Pictures Coming Soon...

I got notice today from my photographer that I should be expecting pictures hopefully next week or so! Yippee!!

I was getting a little nervous as I haven't heard ANYTHING from her. I still owe her the last payment too. Anyway, I am SUPER excited to see what she has done.

BTW - Guest blogger vendor review coming soon :)

Have a FABULOUS weekend ladies and to those brides-to-be getting married this weekend, Good Luck!

Cultural / Racial Divide by the Bees

Today as part of the Relationship Series, the fabulous Bees from WeddingBee.com posted about their cultural or racial differences between themselves and their SO. This was interesting to me as Mr. Roddy and I definitely have cultural and racial differences...

So to continue the topic...

"Did you expect/consider to marry someone outside of your
race/background/religion, did you do so? If so, how has it been more
difficult/more interesting/etc.?" -- WB

No, I never expected to marry someone outside of my race. I was in search of the right man whose values were similar to mine and who showed me the respect I deserved whether he was of a different race/background/religion.

If you are not already aware, I am Puerto Rican (with possibly a Sicilian touch) and my hubby is my mutt (Irish, Scottish, Jewish & German). The biggest difference between the Mister and I is that my family is much closer to each other and I don't just mean in vicinity even though that is true too. The Mister's family is all over the country with only his dad (who lives with us) and his one g'ma and aunt living in the same town. They really share no holidays together or have that closeness that I have with my entire family. What I am thankful for is that my hubby is a family person. He loves the idea of a big family and luckily was easily accepted as a part of my family the day they met him... Woohoo for me :)

Another difference we have is our background. I didn't grow up with money in my pocket but we weren't suffering either. We always had food, shelter and clothes on our back. My hubby on the other hand, grew up pretty poor. Lived in the projects, evicted from many places (he's moved around 29 times in his life) and even had times where he may have not had food on his plate. This I have to tell you is so hard to hear sometimes. There are other stories that I won't get into but I look at my hubby and is so thankful that he came out OK. Not sure how he came out sane but definitely thankful that he did. His experience has made him humble but he has made significant changes in his life to make sure he didn't fall into the same path. He is a strong man physically, mentally and spiritually making him the man he is today.

The last significant difference between us is our religion. I was a Catholic school girl all my life. When I was home, I'd go to church every Sunday with the fam. Really had no issues with the church and followed what I was taught. On the other hand, my hubby grew up religious but without the church background. He is not Catholic and doesn't approve of some of the aspects of this religion. He'd prefer to build his relationship with the Lord sans the brick & mortar building. He reads the bible everyday and prays himself to sleep. His issues with my religion do not bother me at all. We have talks every now and then but what we believe in is the same. We love the Lord and he has blessed us in many ways. We also believe we can build a relationship with the Lord on our terms.

In short, although we have many differences these differences actually bring us closer as a couple. It's what makes us different from other couples and I honestly would not have it any other way...


So what are your answers to the Bee's question?

The Menus - How To

Seeing the most recent post, "Dry Erase Menu Board", from my fabulous fellow blogger, With This Ring...., I was reminded that I have a few wedding projects that I haven't posted about yet.

This one is for my DIY menu signs that I seriously made at the last minute. I mean the Friday before the wedding, sitting on the venue floor, writing up the drink menu and the food menu...

I knew I wanted some type of menu so that guests have an idea of what to expect since the dinner was served family style but decided to forgo the paper route. So this is what I came up with...


Supplies:

• 1 Canvas (any size)
• 1 container of Chalkboard paint (any color - red was all they had)
• 1 paintbrush (I used a the sponge brushes
• 1 box of white chalk

Instructions:

1. With the paint brush and paint, paint the canvas. You will most likely need to do a few coats of paint. I believe I did 4 but be sure to read the instructions for the paint.
2. Once the paint was fully dried, I wrote out the menus using the chalk.

To display the canvas, you can hang it up, use an easel (like I did) or put it on a ledge for all to see.

So what do you think? Easy right??

Join 30 Day Shred Challenge

Calling all Brides, Newlyweds, Mothers and all of my other FABULOUS readers!

Come join the 30 Day Shred challenge supported by The Encore Bride and myself, The Roddy Bride.

{Buy it HERE}

My wedding has come and gone but it doesn't mean that I can't try to get into shape. I severely lack motivation but after months of hearing about the wonderful Bees @ the Wedding Bee blogging about their experience, I thought that it is about time I give something a try. So now I am going to be the next victim (er...challenger) to Jillian Michael's 30 Day Shred.

If you are fed up with the way you look or are looking for a different routine, come join us. You can follow along and let us know and we'll do a roll call every week.

The Challenge: we will do the 30 Day Shred for ALL of 30 days. We will post every Tuesday the following details:

1. Starting weight

2. Current weight

3. Goal weight

4. Bust measurements

5. Waist measurements

6. Hips measurements

7. Thigh measurements (widest part of the thigh)

8. What level you're doing

Good luck! You can do it!!

Kreativ Blogger Award

I cannot believe it! As I was catching up on what all you fabulous bloggers had to say, I found something that truly made my day!

Lately, I have been seeing many of my favorite bloggers receive the Kreativ Blogger award and was honored to find out that my fellow blogger, "I Do" at the Zoo, chose me as a Kreativ Blogger! Thanks, girly!!

Since I have won this award, I have certain responsibilities. I need to list 7 facts about myself and then pass this fabulous award on to 7 other Kreativ bloggers!

My 7 Facts

1. Before changing my last name to the name of my beloved hubby, my first name, middle name and last name all were 6 digits. So that is 6 + 6 + 6. No, I am not the new anti-christ, just an unlucky individual I guess :)


2. I have serious BABY FEVER - again! The last time I was itching for a baby was over 2 years ago when my nephew was born. Lately though, people are having babies left and right making us wish we had a baby already. Funny part is that if it was up to my hubby, we would have had kiddies a few years ago. Apparently, my Catholic upbringing kept me in check.

3. Speaking of Catholic upbringing - I was a Catholic school girl for 12 years of my life. 1st grade through 12th grade. It had it's advantages and disadvantages but I have to say I do not regret it at all! At the time I would never say this but THANKS Mama and Papi for having our best interest at heart!

4. I am starting to make that transition into an adult, for style that is. I have been an adult for a while now but it has taken me a while to change my style of dress, hair, etc. I made my biggest donation of clothes to my baby sister since her weight loss and my weight gain that I have a very limited selection of clothes. I get to use this opportunity to change the way I dress and be a little more sophisticated. Look for blog updates coming soon!

5. I am a self diagnosed OCD sufferer. I check the locks to the house and car over and over until I can tell myself that they are locked. I do the same for making sure the car is in park and emergency brake is on. Ask my sis, I check the alarm clock over and over all while counting to 8 in my head. There are many, many more crazy things I do. When I lived by myself these checks were overwhelming but since I have moved in with my hubby, I have someone else to take care of some of them. I haven't revealed this to many people so you actually know something about me now.

6. Although I may seem outgoing, I am truly a shy person. Some people have mistaken me as a biatch but when they get to know me their views change immediately. When I liked my first boyfriend and he was approaching me to say hi, I hid behind a tree. I didn't move, it was like I was stuck in a pile of mud. You can laugh, it is OK! :)

7. I really liked #7 that "I Do" at the Zoo mentioned, so I will say something similar. I have known my hubby for nearly 4 years and we have lived together for a little more than 1 year before marrying. When we got married, nothing physically changed at all. Like many other brides have talked about, there was an unconscience change between us. We feel a bit closer than we have prior to the wedding. It is a sense of permanency and feeling secured. I honestly cannot explain it and maybe it is the "honeymoon" stage that many people talk about it. I just hope this continues for the rest of our lives together! :)


Now to pass this on to 7 other fabulously Kreativ Bloggers in random order:

1. Encore Bride
2. Miss to Mrs: Becoming the Wife
3. The DJ & The Bride
4. Pink Sass
5. A Wedding Story
6. Jesstagirl & Her Officer
7. Wifetacular

You're Invited...

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{source}

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The discovery of something unexpected, something that imbues the day-to-day with a little magic - these are the "ooh la la moments" we long for. And you'll find them here."

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Happy Shopping!

Moving Announcements...Check these out!

Yesterday on our 1 month anniversary (Yay! 1 month already!!) I had received an email from The Nest about the Newlywed's To Do List and number 6 on the list was to give everyone your new address. Since this is exactly what the Mister and I have to do this month I decided to read on.

In the article it mentioned the online store, MovingAnnouncementStore.com, as one option to create a moving announcement so I checked it out.

WOW! I am in LOVE with this shop. Their styles are just too cute and I am seriously now thinking of forgoing the blah email announcement just to buy one of these.

If you are moving or when you decide to move you should really look into these announcements. Most if not all the paper is 100% recycled paper and the cards are usually shipped within 3 business days. Did I mention that they are about 99 cents a piece... So what's not to like?

Go check them out!

Below are some of my fav from the site...

The Love Birds:

For the New Yorkers!

I just love the modern look!

Isn't this cute? Simple but cute!

They even have the military covered!

Have you created a moving announcement? What company did you use?

We are looking for ideas.

I'm Ready To Shred...

{source}

So it's a little late for the wedding but it is NEVER too late to get your a$$ in gear in order to be healthy. I'm ready to get myself in decent shape for my hubby, my future kids and most importantly me, myself and I!

For me it is all mental. I have zero motivation to make any changes but this isn't something new for me. This is a struggle I have had all my life. I. Am. Lazy. Even when I was physically fit in high school I didn't want to go the extra mile to do anything.

I revealed my goal to my hubby last night thinking he would laugh at me since I have a collection of work out vids at home. We have P90x, 10 Minute Trainer, The Firm, the Total Body Gym, Perfect Push-ups and more... I was pleasantly surprised when he responded with, "I'm proud of you." AW - isn't he so freakin' sweet?! This is why I LOVE this man!

Anyway, the reason I chose to add 30 Day Shred to my collection was because many wonderful bloggin' Bees on WeddingBee.com swore by this video and the results they had. The Amazon.com ratings helped a bit as well not to mention the $10.99 pricetag.

Wish me luck as I take on this new venture!

Have any of you tried 30 Day Shred with Jillian Michaels? Your results?

The Guest Book - Our Wedding Tree

Before the wedding I had shared our idea of what we wanted for our guestbook that came from an inspiration provided by The Classic Bride blog.

It was our chance to show a little bit of our creativity inspired by another. It also was our last minute project. We were up until 1am the night before I was leaving to head to my hometown 2 days before the wedding. A great bonding moment for us. Mister, me and some wine and beer :)

So to make ours a little different than our inspiration, I decided we were going to paint our tree on a canvas. A canvas should be easy to hang up in the house but it also brings in our passion of painting into the wedding. Also, instead of having separate signage for the guestbook table, I thought it would be cute to also paint the signage on the canvas as well.

So a little paint, color pencils, Sharpie fine point markers and Martha Stewart ink pads and voila!

Pictures courtesy of Ute.

Close up of guestbook signage.

Used the "leaf" idea that the CB blog had.

So how do you think we did?

Did you find any inspiration from another and "alter" it to best fit you?

The Bridal Shower Thank You Cards

Just the other day I had wrote a post on the Thank You cards that I created for our wedding and I stated that I didn't even purchase the shower ones yet...Oops!

Well as I was strolling through Acme to find a great Get Well card for G'ma Davidson, I came across these little puppies...

They caught my eye immediately...Black & White - I'm sold! They weren't terribly expensive either at $4.49 for a pack of 10. It worked for me.

So let's see how long it takes for me to write these bad boys (er...girls) up!