And the award goes to....

Melanie Richardson, for being the worst blogger of 2012!

I am sure I probably no longer have anyone that even bothers to read this blog, so Im just going to look at it as a tool to see and review my past. And that past includes being very busy with work, home and kids (dog & human alike) and I am ok with that. Not happy about it, I would much rather be able to fill everyone in on the crazy things I think about and document it for all time, but I dont have the time. I could post on my blog at home or play with my beyond adorable and incredibly loving son, and I think at this point he is more important. So Logan, if you ever decide to go back and read this blog when you are older (which I hope you do) and think "man, mom was not good at this, didnt she care?" the answer is yes. I care more than you will ever know (until you have a child of your own) and while I wish I could do it all, I can't, but I can prioritze, and I choose you!

Anyway, its been crazy as always. Its the post holiday time which means we are getting lots of calls from people who got engaged. If this applies to you, please just ignore (or forgive) me, but I dont like men who propose over holidays (be it christmas, thanksgiving, new years, valentines day, a birthday, etc). Now, if you got your lady another gift in addition to the ring, then I dont care (as much) but if all you got her was a ring you owe her an additional gift! Propose when she honestly truly doesnt expect it, when she is a bad mood and has nothing to look forward to, not when she is already excited about a current holiday. Dont you want her to remember her engagment story as a compelety seperate story, not one that just rolled into "christmas 2011"? Maybe not, and maybe she doesnt care either, but that has always irked me, even before working in the wedding industry. Ian proposed when I was dreading finals, trying to find an internship, exhausted from hell week and group projects, and just craving yummy food cause I was on a diet. He turned a shitty week into a great one and gave me something to be happy about during finals week. I heard on the radio that people are now hiring "proposal planners", come on, if you cant figure out how to propose to the woman of your dreams in a way she will love, then maybe you should re-think the situation. It doesnt have to be like in the movies, this is real life. One of my brides got proposed to as she was in dirty working around the house clothes as they were doing yard work, not a picture perfect moment, but she didnt care one bit!

Wow, didnt expect that did you? I didnt either, just kinda came out while Im sitting at work. So, what else have I been up to (other than work), I'll recap it below:

• We have made a few little improvements to the house, ok, maybe I should just say we finally have done a little decorating :) We got a new area rug, put up some new pictures & logans artwork, got a new kitchen light fixture, made Logan a toy room, and got a big garage shelf. I still want to paint some rooms, put up some more light fixtures, and do a mosiac tile backsplash in the kitchen (with lisa's help).


• I have gone through about 10 family size boxes of kleenex in less than a month due to freakin cedar! The other day I swear I had a twig in my eye it was itching and hurting so much. I was trying to fish out the twig with my nails & a wet q-tip, which suprisingly enough, didnt help the situation.


• I am now going to start eating a teaspoon of Texas honey every morning because its supposed to help with allergies, and Ian isnt having any problems and he puts it in his cereal, so maybe it works. I did it the other morning, its not the best feeling in your throat, feels a little icky, but dude, if it will keep my from this hell next year (or later this year when its something other than cedar) I dont care how funny it feels.


• Annie is turning 10 on Saturday, its freakin crazy that she is that old. We are throwing her a bday party on the 29th, hopefully I will post pictures, but you know my track record...


• I have organized my iPod, its is almost perfect now. All the songs have the correct information (no greatest hits albums) and the correct album cover. Now I am going to help Travis learn how to do this as well, he doesnt know how much fun cool stuff he is about to learn!!!


• I have gone back to dark brown hair. I was really liking the red, but when I did red on top of red it was almost purple, and I figured I couldnt do that again, I would look like a clown. So back to brown I went. Im sure in a few months it will change again :)


• I somehow managed to lose a full size sippy cup. How does one lose something so big????

I think thats enough about me, how bout an update on Logan:

• He is the cutest little boy EVER. This is not a biased opinion, it is FACT!!!


• He is still not talking (takes after his mom on this one), but he is making tons of noises. I am trying to not get concerned that at 19 months old he isnt talking. I have heard many stories from other mothers and they tell me not to be, but I just have a little tiny bit of doubt that I cant get rid of. He is a big fan of "mamamamam" but not just towards me, everything is "mamamamam". He also loves to say "tickatickaticka" is so stinkin cute.


• He loves trains! Thomas or Dinosaur Train, he doesnt care, he just loves trains. He was pushing them around last night and was kinda saying "choo choo"


• He LOVES the Dinosaur Train (a show on PBS), its hands down his favorite. I have a feeling his 2nd birthday will be dinosaur train themed. He could spend all day sitting on his bottom watching that show if we let him.


• He loves to run and push things. He especially loves to push things right into his mama's feet (which she doesnt love so much). But it is so much fun to just sit around and watch him run and play.


• He is a sleeper. They say at school he is their best sleeper (no surprise there). The problem is he goes to bed with me (so around 10, 10:30 or 11) and then he doesnt want to wake up in the morning. I know he should go to bed earlier but then I wouldnt be able to see him. So I try to let him sleep as much as possible in the morning and then he takes his full 2.5 hour nap at school. I think he will survive, might have some bags under his eyes sometimes, but he doesnt worry about those :)


• He is not really an eater. He loves mac n cheese, raspberries, blueberries, mandarin oranges, fruit & veggie melts (the gerber treat), and those fruit & veggie pureed pouches. He sometimes really likes beans (baked, garbonzo, black), luncheon meat, fig newtons (if his dad doesnt eat them all first), spaghetti. He is pretty picky (again, not surprising). He does love himself some chocolate milk, thats for sure!


• He has a bit of a temper and doesnt really have any patience. Lisa thinks this is a sign of him being spoiled, could be, or it could just be that I am his mother and he is taking a bit after me. Either way, he can sometimes make me want to scream but then he always ends up smiling at me and I just melt.


• When I enter a room he is in, could be that Im coming home from being gone 12+ hours, or that I left for 1 minute, when he sees me he waves and gives me the biggest, cutest, most heart warming smile ever, and no matter how crummy I might be feeling I know that I am loved and needed. However, when he does this when I know I am about to leave him for 12 hours to go to work, it makes that trip even tougher than it was already going to be.

Well, those post will probably take up the entire page, so I think I'll wrap it up (as interesting as it is). I'll try to do better (again, you have heard this many times and history isnt in my favor), but maybe one day I can change!

Anyawy, I hope everyone had a great holiday and is looking forward to a great 2012!!!

Photo Card

Joy In Pictures Holiday

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1st REAL Halloween

Technically last year was Logan's 1st halloween, but he was so little that he didnt really do much, so this year is his official 1st. Ian got him an official NASA Astronaut outfit when we were at the space center in FL, Ian wore his NASA hat when we went trick or treating, but since he was taking pictures you would never know, so now its down in writing for the rest of time :)

It was a busy day, we started off Pam with a'La Vie doing a photo session with us again. We should have those pictures in a few weeks. We met her at Zilker Park but Logan wasnt quite having it. We think she got some good ones but we shall see, we might have to do take 2. He just doesnt want us to hold his hand or tell him what to do anymore, and he certainly has a temper!! So we did that, then went to Sams Club to buy some fruit and have lunch and then came home and relaxed. I relaxed a little too much and fell asleep (as logan was also napping) and we woke up a little later than we should have to get to the costume parade at his school. We got there just in time for it to start, but he was still sleepy and it was so crazy there, he was just not a happy camper.

After that we went home to chill for another 2 hours or so and then Mom, Eric & Nessa came over for trick or treating. Eric & Nessa passed out candy in the driveway while we took Logan out. He had SO much fun, he was running free and yelling and laughing, he had a blast. But if we tried to touch him to lead in the right direction (not in the street) he would just throw himself on the ground :) Anyway, he had fun and his outfit was quite a hit, everyone kept telling us how cute and one of the parents who were at school parade stopped by the house to get candy with their kiddos and recognized Logan cause they said they couldnt stop talking about how cute he was at the parade :)

So here are some pictures of the parade & trick or treating!

Thanks Julie!

My amazing fellow catering manager (thats right, fellow, not my assistant), the wind beneath my wings, sent me an email this morning with the following quote to lift my spirits (which have been down recently). I have decided it is going to be my life, but especially work, motto. Its PERFECT!!!

"Before you diagnose yourself with depression or low self-esteem, first make sure you are not, in fact, just surrounded by assholes.”

Oh, how I love my Julie :)

Where are you fall?

I changed my blog in hopes that fall will get the hint and head to texas. Maybe i should have actually updated it to a rainy background (since we are in severe need of that) but i feel like the cooler temperatures would help everything. It has been far too hot here for far too long, the couple days of temps in the 90s were great, but they didnt last. im not asking for 60s or 70s, high 80s would be fabulous. So this is my note to fall and my desperate plee for it to arrive, hopefully much sooner than later.

Observations from a Flight Attendant

Hold on, I’m not “just a flight attendant” I must be a doctor, that sounds better. But know what, I’m not a doctor either, I’m not that special, I just I’m just a catering manager, oh well! Either way, I am an observed (and commenter) of lots of things, so here are just a few of my recent thoughts.

1) Being manipulative and aggressive might get you farther in life, but it also creates a lot more enemies, so take your pick.
2) People really don’t know how to drive, its quite scary and probably best not to think about.
3) Toddlers put things in weird places, my advice is to not turn anything on without looking inside first, who knows what might in there.
4) When the traffic light turns green that means go. What that entails is taking your foot off the brake, moving it to the gas pedal and then actually applying pressure so the car will move at more than a mere crawl. I realize it will coast and that’s great, but don’t all have time to coast through life.
5) When you hire someone to a do a job let them do a job. Trust their expertise, if you don’t then why did you hire them in the first place?!?!?
6) When you have an expired car registration sticker, no front license plate, no insurance card, and have a lead foot, its very nerve racking when a cop follows you 45 minutes to work, very nerve racking….
7) Toddlers and dogs are very good judges or character and react the same to the same people, its quite funny.
8) Canon in D will be played at my funeral, its best to just accept it now and since its in writing I expect SOMEONE to hold to this request.
9) Tagging along with #8, my death will either be caused from weddings or from me flipping someone off while driving. I realize I could probably control the latter but its tough.
10) It is not necessary to make employees at social functions wear all black; the name tag, walkie-talkie, running around and looking like crap, usually give them away.
11) Its never too late to stop or start being nice. If you stop all the good stuff you ever said will be forgotten and if you genuinely start, all the bad things you said (given the nature of the comments & actions of course) can be moved past
12) If you ask someone something and they either say no or tell you what the policy is, its really not polite to ignore them or ask for an exception “just for you”. Tell you what, its ok to ask for an exception, but if they say no, don’t argue with them. You are most likely not the only one asking for an exception and its best to come to terms with that.
13) If you schedule an appointment with someone that means you have reserved a specific time. Lets say 11am for example. That means at 11am they are prepared to meet with you and have blocked that time and structured their day around it, that means you show up between 10:55am and 11:05am. If you arrive substantially early or late it is not polite and don’t be surprised when the person can no longer meet with you. Just because I am not a doctor doesn’t mean that you can treat me differently and not expect me to have the same policies.
14) Ceremony rehearsals are pointless if you are not going to listen.
15) Are you able to go into a grocery store or restaurant or retail shop and demand a discount, no, thats right, no, so please accept that other truth about life and assume that all businesses are the same!

Thats all I can think of right now, I think I might try to make this a daily (but who I am really kidding) so maybe a weekly thing. You will eitehr get to truly experience what goes on in my brain and see my crazy life or you will discover how working in the hospitality industry has made me bitter and not very hospitable :)

27 Weddings

As you most are well aware, I like weddings. Sometimes I dont like them as much (like right now) but generally conversations or movies or pictures about weddings tend to make me happy. One of my more favorite wedding movies is "27 Dresses" and I was thinking about it the other day and thougth to myself, I should do a blog post about my past 27 weddings or if I've done that many in 2011. So I went into my work email folders to see how many I had in my "past weddings" folder (this was last week). I had already deleted the weddings from Jan & Feb, but since March 5th I have done exactly 27 weddings, how freakin crazy!

Now I have to do this post today because I have a wedding tomorrow and will no longer be at 27, so here goes (while Im sitting at work waiting for their 8pm rehearsal to start anyway). Actually, let me 1st say, I thought to myself "27 weddings, that doesnt seem that bad" but then I thought about the fact that since March 5th there has only been 23 weekends and to be honest, weddings are exhausting. If you thin 27 weddings is nothing you have never delt with a bride for over a year planning her dream day or been the one left to pull it all together and deal with her bridesmaids, mothers, friends, etc...

So here is my recap of my past 27 weddings

3/5 - indian wedding for 300 ppl, 3 day celebration
3/12 - another wedding for 300 ppl, very young bride & groom but super nice
3/19 - super great couple and parents of the bride, they were very much in love, the groom kept kissing the brides forehead :)
3/26 - super normal & easy wedding, need more like this one
4/1 - beautiful bride and her navy groom, so nice and such great photos
4/16 - older couple, she was a dancer, fun night for everyone
4/20 - i think the date says it all (it was a wednesday if you are curious)
4/23 - groom was very active in this one, he was an engineer, i dont have the best track record with engineer grooms
4/30 - was supposed to be 300 ppl, ended up being 150 :( they were from england and got married the day after kate & william, i was really hoping to see hats but sadly enough didnt see any
5/6 - beautiful wedding & couple, mom was a little emotional
5/7 - super down to earth and easy going, the bride looked super cute & kinda retro, loved it!
5/14 - this one started out shaky, dad wasnt my biggest fan, but i won him over and he danced the night away
5/20 - i looked up at one point to see the pregnant bride all alone eating at the head table, but she didnt care so thats all that matters
5/21 - one of my favorite families (on both sides), beautiful wedding, but the band was 2 hours late and didnt even give a crap, this was a long night!!
5/28 - loved them and found out at the reception the brides family was from Carmel, IN
5/29 - no words
6/4 - another 300 person one, didnt meet bride until wedding day, super easy going groom, but did burgundy velvet linens in june?
6/11 - another super great family, bride & groom both went to college on sports scholarships, you could tell by their guests, a fun night!
6/17 - the mother of the groom owned her own party supply store and dabbled in wedding planning
6/25 - a nice quiet wedding, expect when i had to repremand the bride & groom right before intros for bringing in outside liquor!!
7/2 - another beautiful bride & her man in uniform, they had a marachi band!
7/8 - another older couple, had 6 kids between the 2 of them, one of the girls did flips down the aisle after the ceremony, i loved this wedding, i even gave them a nickname "Kendy"
7/9 - got a 1 day bug and paid for it for about 3 weeks
7/15 - another dad who wasnt my biggest fan but loved me at the end, had casino tables at the wedding, a 1st for me
7/16 - 36 extra guests showed up, 259 guests drank enough for 340 guests, it was a fun night :)
7/28 - one of my all time favorites ever, i bet she is even reading this now!!!
7/30 - this bride should have been a wedding coordinator, i think she might even be more organized than i am

technically these are # 28 and #29, but i am just going to include them since it took me too long to write this post

8/5 - 3rd of 4 daughters to get married, they knew the drill and put their own little twists in it too
8/6 - one of my favorite moms, i dont think ill ever forget this one. the dad died unexpectly a few weeks before the wedding but they went on with the show. it was a beautiful and emotional day. she always made me laugh, called me "my melanie" by the end

that leads up to #30 tomorrow, but you dont get to hear about it because its not done yet! and in honor of this blog post, i did watch the movie yesterday as i attempted to have a day off.

here is to weddings!

Family Photo Attempt

Anyone that knows us at all knows that ian & i both hate pictures and have maybe 2 or 3 of us over the past 10 years. So I really wanted to try and get one from logan's bday party, we didnt get it so we tried a few days later. It was really a sad attempt but Im sure you will get a chuckle from them...








I just love that last photo, he is just the cutest little boy, it just makes me melt!!

Logan's Birthday Party

Again, for the sake of posting more stuff this will be a picture book (maybe a few tiny comments) but it was a fun party and we only had a small meltdown after a few hours of fun, so I think pretty good!!

logan's cake #2 cause annie ate #1

lisa & i made chocolate covered marshmallows


lisa & i also made the super cute cupcakes


nessa only did water balloons that would match the color and organized them so pretty for us

his favorite aunt & uncle but his not favorite party hat

eric & nessa didnt mind the hats

















hope you enjoyed the party, wish you all could have been there!!!

Logan is One!!!

My little boy is one, and has been one now for over a month but I am a busy lady and I think you have all come to terms with it at this point. Im going to try and post quite a few backlogged events so it will primarily be photos and you can add your own text!!

These photos are from his actual birthday, he spent the day with me & lisa and then everyone joined him at chuck e cheese for a mini celebration. as for his stats, i dont have the paperwork with me right now, but he is in the 50th percentile for height & weight and 75th for his head, so pretty much like he has been all year!








I have some pictures from his chuck e cheese celebration and lunch at steak n shake, but not on my laptop, so ill add them on here later, promise...