Who rainydaze--come on over!!

[steph72276]

Ha! I think you would be getting free cupcakes for life for a Leon! It might not be such a good thing for your waistline! I don''t know if it''s against the rules to post a link to the auction, but at least drop a hint when you put it up so I can check it out!

 

[rainydaze]

will do!

 

[Skippy123]

Date: 2/25/2009 8:24:51 AM
Author: rainydaze
oh good! you had me worried there, i am glad to hear it wasn''t because something went terribly wrong! we hadn''t told anyone we were getting married, but right after the ceremony we mailed out little announcements.... well, after a day or two in mexico we checked our messages and the very first one was from one of DH''s best friends. he started off with ''i''ve been hoodwinked and bamboozled!'' that is one of my favorite memories! we had some hilarious reactions.

oh gosh, fave i.c. flavor.... i absolutely cannot pick just one. khalua chip, almond joy, black raspberry, choco chip, m&m, reese''s pieces sunday from friendlys, i could go on..... i cannot get enough of the stuff!! i am with you about ice cream over cake. what is your favorite flavor? oh, fave desserts.... molten chocolate cake, creme brulee, and ice cream

.

i do like to cook although it is not often with little ones that i get the time in the kitchen to ''do it up right''. i look forward to spending more time on meals as they get older, and having them help me, too. i made thanksgiving dinner for the first time the year before last (my dad loves to make tgiving dinner, which is why i didn''t have the chance until then) and i LOVED it! the GD in me came out and i sent out invites to my family with the menu enclosed. it was just for fun, not presumptuous, and they got a kick out of it. i even surprised myself as i chose different recipes and they came out well... except for the green bean recipe which called for 2T of orange juice concentrate. i didn''t pay attention and put in the whole can. gotta have one mishap your first tgiving dinner, right?

heehee, well i wouldn''t say i play tennis. i have never taken lessons or played in a league... i just enjoy it and if we are thinking of something to do outside, it is something i think of first. DH and i are mismatched as he played on a team in HS, and he just enjoys whipping them at me every third hit or so, thus we don''t get very far and i get frustrated. but if he puts away the TM for a minute and takes his skills down a couple of notches, i really enjoy it. we played a few doubles matches (totally casual) with his brother and brother''s GF (now fiance, as of this weekend, YAY!! i love her, she is wonderful) and we had a ball. his brother is a goofball too so DH and BIL goof off making us laugh, and FSIL and i are pretty well-matched skillwise, so it''s a good time.

funny story, a year or so after we were married DH and i were at the post office together, razzing each other, and the clerk chuckled at us and asked if we were brother and sister. she said we looked so much alike and acted like siblings!

then THREE DAYS LATER the checkout woman at wal-mart asked us the SAME THING!?!!!!!

it happened one more time, too, but i forget the details. i was about to go home and bleach my hair and get myself an orange tan or something. lol.

aw, thanks. Funny about hubbys friend re: getting married! hehe

Awesome that your dad does Turkey dinner and kudos to you doing it this past Thanksgiving. My sister always does Turkey day and I am in charge of the pies. hehe Hope you get to cook more.

Wow, that is awesome your hubby was on a tennis team! I want to take lessons someday. Good for you going out and just having fun! hehe Sounds like a good time w/friends and family!

Oh no, that is too funny about siblings! I bet you two are adorable; you sound adorable

You guys are too cute and you sound like a great mom

 

[rainydaze]

hi skippy!

i hope you do (take lessons)! i have to say, the gals who play ... really play.... are sculpted! arms, legs... though i guess you would have to be to wear those short skirts!

mmmm, pies. what kind(s) do you make? my dad makes the pies too - he does them the night before and he is like a kid in a candy shop, he loves it so much.

hehe, well thank ya for all the kind words! we can always count on you around here to make us feel good!

 

[Skippy123]

Date: 3/2/2009 7:47:52 PM
Author: rainydaze
hi skippy!

i hope you do (take lessons)! i have to say, the gals who play ... really play.... are sculpted! arms, legs... though i guess you would have to be to wear those short skirts!

mmmm, pies. what kind(s) do you make? my dad makes the pies too - he does them the night before and he is like a kid in a candy shop, he loves it so much.

hehe, well thank ya for all the kind words! we can always count on you around here to make us feel good!

I should take lessons; they offer tennis at my gym too! Oh well if I have to wear short skirts that is OUT. lol

I made pumpkin and baklava. Awww, that is so cute about your dad!!! My dad is great at decorating cakes; I can just imagine your dear dad!! What pies does he make? What is your favorite pie? I will take pie over cake any day too, like ice cream!

Awww, I feel the same about you; you are a fabulous person!!! I am so glad you have a WW.

 

[steph72276]

Hey, Rainy! Just thought I would pop over here and say hello

. How are you enjoying that beauty of a ring? Did you get your matching band yet? Do you just love the OEC? I am really thinking of an OEC for my next project. I was thinking a pendant.....how was OWD to work with? Do you happen to know if they have an upgrade policy, I didn''t see it anywhere on their site. Anyway, hope you are doing well

 

[rainydaze]

Date: 4/17/2009 9:55:18 AM
Author: steph72276
Hey, Rainy! Just thought I would pop over here and say hello

. How are you enjoying that beauty of a ring? Did you get your matching band yet? Do you just love the OEC? I am really thinking of an OEC for my next project. I was thinking a pendant.....how was OWD to work with? Do you happen to know if they have an upgrade policy, I didn''t see it anywhere on their site. Anyway, hope you are doing well

hi steph!

always nice to hear from you - sorry it took me so long! i am very well, thank you for asking! how is orlando (orlando, right?), are you guys happy there?

i am SO enjoying this ring - i keep looking down expecting it to be ''blah'' and i am still surprised that it never is! these OECs, man, they are something else! you have definitely got to make an OEC pendant your next project.... so long as you can get used to people not making eye contact with you any more!

i think think this cut, with all of its twinkling and fire, would be perfect.

OWD was great, IMO. i worked with adam, and he is very straightforward, no fluff, and talks kinda fast, but he was always pleasant, patient and helpful. i genuinely got the sense that he wanted to find the right diamond for me and didn''t mind at all going through multiple tries until we got there. i was vague when i first contacted him about what i wanted, and i ended up in a different place with size, color and clarity than what i originally thought i wanted which is a testament to his patience and his skills... plus, the stone i ended up with was one HE recommended (after pulling and evaluating LOTS of stones over the phone and sending me four to look at, all with free overnight shipping). in fact, i asked for pics on a few and he did come through, but it took a reminder email to get them. i think he would actually rather send the stones out than take pics - he said several times that with the antique cuts you just really need to see them. i agree! he was never pushy or salesman-y either. all of the ones he sent me were stunners, so i think it is safe to say he has a good eye. also, i felt he was honest - he told me when stones seemed nice on paper but weren''t ones he would pick for himself because of inclusions, etc. he was flexible with the return period to give me plenty of time and he wasn''t fazed by me saying i wanted to take it to an independant appraiser (which i did, and he was impressed).

i dont'' know if they have a trade-up policy - DH wanted me to ask but i guess i forgot! if you find out, i would be curious to know myself, although i can tell you right now i have no inkling of ever wanting to trade this stone in. it really is ''the one'' for me, so i highly recommend working with them. oh, and i found OWD''s pricing to be very good. i contacted ari at singlestone and while he was very nice, helpful and fun to communicate with, but his pricing was SO much higher than OWDs that i never could get off the ground with them. i didn''t try to negotiate, though. grace from JBEG was absolutely a delight and i would have loved to buy from them... but OWDs shipping policy and return period was more attractive to me as i knew it might take a couple of tries to nail it down.

oh, and yes i did get the band. i love it! i wasn''t in love with it at first, but after wearing it for a few days that has changed. i think i just got used to wearing the ring alone and appreciating it that way, and adding the band changed the effect. i may shave down my original wband for days when i want two rings, but want the ering to really stand out. i should post some pics of the set, though.

gotta go, mom-duty calling! i hope you go for an antique, i will love following your quest!

 

[steph72276]

Rainy, thank you so much for the response. My project probably won''t get started until later this year (birthday, anniversary and Christmas are within a month of each other so I usually do something big combined). I sent Adam an email and he was very helpful and nice. He said they would be happy to buy back their diamonds minus 10-15% of the purchase price...so not an upgrade policy exactly, but they will buy it back if you want to upgrade at some point. I''m still deciding between them and JBEG. I do adore your ring, and I''m so glad you are happy with it. Can''t wait to see it with the band. Thanks again for all the info, friend