So the message in a bottle invites are done!  I had mistakenly ordered glass bottles rather than plastic ones, but it worked out very well.  Glass made it more authentic.

Invitation Bottle-includes sandles, beach balls (I bought wooden balls and HANDPAINTED all 43 of them…it was a PAIN, but a cute addition).

Invitation (Letter)
For the invitation itself, I read up on other sites on how to make the paper look aged.  Some said to use coffee grinds, dry it, bake it, etc etc…I decided it was TOO much work.  I ain’t sitting there baking pieces of paper!  Instead, I found a picture of an old map, used Photoshop to alter the image to fit the page and also to lighten the image.  Then I transposed the invitation message over the map image.

I printed it out on parchment paper, then burned the edges using a lighter.  The effect was just as I wanted!  It looked aged without having to do the work.  Plus flatter paper allowed for a readable invite.  I will post picture soon as I take it.

Packaging
Now, as I previously stated, the bottles came with boxes.  Good, but bad.  They were plain white cardboard boxes which had to be taped down to hold shape.  I wanted the packaging to reflect the theme as well.  Most of the invites were to be hand delivered, therefore I thought it would be a great idea to stamp the packaging as if it had came from across the globe.

I went to Michaels to pick up a few things:
1.  Stamp.  I found several with postage markings which were perfect!
2.  Ink.  http://www.michaels.com/art/online/displayProductPage?productNum=pc0161  Any brand will do.  I did select 2 different colors, red and brown, for a more authentic effect.
3.  Brown paper.  To wrap the boxes with.

So I wrapped all the boxes with brown paper (with some help, of course!) then stamped the mock postage in the front.  For an extra OOMPH, I had some hemp cord leftover from making the bottle (I used it to tie the invites to the cork for the ease of pulling it out of the bottle).  I had enough to tie around all the boxes.

Voila ladies and gents!  It’s all about the PRESENTATION.  I bet you wish YOU received an invite!

Data released this past Monday showed promising results for their hepatitis C drug, Teleprevir.  The markets reacted accordingly, with the stock up 20 something percent.

So I don’t know much about this industry. but the company seems poised to gain FDA approval for teleprevir (also their VX-770, targeting cycstic fibrosis received early positive results).  My question is, should I go long and if so, when?  Are the results significant enough or was the run up a combination of good news and covering shorts?  Or should I look at their competitors?

I had this conversation with a co-worker last Friday. He said it was one of the weirdest, but fun conversation he’s ever had. What is a man-crush you ask?Well, it is a crush that a heterosexual man has on another male. For example, Mr J’s man crush is Luke Wilson. This doesn’t insinuate that MrJ has a hidden homosexual fantasy, just that if he were a woman, he’d be all over the guy. A guy that makes another guy take notice and say “Dang, he looks so [insert an adjective here ie cool, sharp, etc]. How do I become like him?”

It also holds true for women. If I was a dude, I’d totally get with Gwen Stefani and Jessica Alba. Of course this is assuming I am a devastatingly handsome model/actor/singer.

On a side note, it’s not my wedding but I feel like I’ve been planning wedding relate events forever. After my sis is hitched, I can start focusing on my pending engagement/marriage. If I really didn’t give 2 shits about what anyone thought, I’d try to have the most tacky wedding ever. But, unfortunately I do, so I won’t.

My sisters and I…

My bf and I are in process of creating invitations for 43 people for our beloved friends wedding, Chris and Joanna. Their wedding will be held in Cancun, Mexico so why not create a fun invite? Beats getting the same old, tired piece of paper, right?

So, what do you need for 43 invitations?

1. Plastic (or if you’re rich, glass) bottles with cork
2. Sand
3. Paper
4. Boxes for the bottles
5. Decorations

Bottles

I’ve looked on EBottles (www.ebottles.com) and found a good selection. You can get either a 7 inch or 8 inch tall bottles (glass or plastic). However, these are pretty pricey. One 7″ bottle will cost $1.45 whereas for 50 units you’re looking at $.88 per bottle, or $44.

I went with Sand Blast Entertainment (http://www.sandartsupplies.com). They only have the 6 1/2 inch bottles, but at $.69 each, 44 bottles only cost me $30.36. I…FRICKIN A. I just realized I accidently ordered the glass ones rather than plastic, but both are the same price. I hope shipping won’t be too costly! Oh well. Note to self: Verify your order before submitting! DUH. Additionally, I ordered the raffia (the bottle tie in the picture above). Looks like a nice touch.

Boxes

I also ordered the boxes from Sand Blast Entertainment. The are only $.38 each!! I think it’s a steal. There will be no worry whether or not your bottle will fit the box.

Sand
Yep, I got sand from Sand Blast Entertainment as well. It’s $1.29 per pound and it will fill 1/2 inch in approximately 30 bottles. I went with the normal sand color, but you can order white sand and go with a tropical theme of whites, blues, greens, and yellows! I figure 2 pounds is sufficient. If it’s not, then playground, here I come!

Decorations
Here’s where you can go creative as you want. And YES hallelujah! I found palm trees at Sand Scripts (http://www.weddingfavoroutlet.com/detail.aspx?ID=290)! It’s expensive..$.39 each. But I can’t find it elsewhere. Let me know if there is a cheaper site, please.

So in my invitation, I will include flip flops, palm trees, beach balls, and seashells. I went to my local craft store to purchase those items. I spent $25.80 for bags of seashells, balls, and flip flops. Yeah..a bit pricey but took me long enough to find the damn flip flops I just had to buy it!!

Scents
Also, to add a lil OOMP to your invite, add some fun scents. When they open the cork to retrieve the invitation inside, they will be hit with a wonderful smell of the ocean (if you pick the right scent!). I got mine at Nature’s Garden (www. naturesgardencandles.com). You can go to any candle making websites (or local craft stores, but they probably won’t have a good selection). I went with Coconut Cabana and Caribbean because it sounded fun. Caribbean scent smells like fruit candy. Coconut Cabana is like…not sure. Sorry, I’ve been sniffing these 2 scents to find descriptive words and managed myself a headache.  It’s a lil coconutty, however. I plan to add a few drops to the cork and into the bottle itself.

So the grand total, thus far…$96.73. Not bad!

More to come~Ill post pics of the progress once my shipment gets in. Wish me luck. I hope the bottles are tall enough.

I lost like 1000 brain cells watching “Dance Wars; Bruno vs Carrie Ann”

Why did I watch it?  Why’d I watch 2 more episodes??  I thought the show may improve.  I’m all about second chances…and third..and possibly, fourth.   But no.  It sucked and continued to suck.

I’ve seen too many movies/shows that just did nothing for me.  As a matter of fact, it decreased by IQ by the number of minutes I allowed myself watch it.  Without futher adieu, here is my Shitmeter ranking for the top 5 shittest movies/shows. 

 Shit=Eh-wasted-money bad to  Shits=I-will-rip-out-the-director’s-heart bad.

DOA (Dead or Alive):  It looked at least entertaining in the previews.  Keyword here is LOOKED.  Just give me your $5 and I’ll dress up like BigFoot and drop kick some invisible space ninja gnomes.  Trust me, it will be far more interesting than this movie.
Crappy Shitmeter:   (3 1/2 shits)

Date Movie:  I know.  I want to shoot myself for wasting $8 to watch this movie in the THEATER.  At least Scary Movie 1,2,3,4,5,6, and infinity had funny moments.  Oh the shame.  But, I had a partner in crime…Joe.  YEAH hon, I am bringing you down with me!!  We both should be hung for the heinous crime of watching the worst movie ever made!!
Shitmeter: 

Meet the Robinsons:  What kinda shit was this?!?  I love computer animated movies.  Finding Nemo, Monster’s Inc, Shrek, etc…so I was excited about this movie.  I didn’t even LOOK at the computer graphics b/c this movie was so horrendous.  The storyline just did not make sense nor was it in any way interesting! 
Shitmeter: 

Dance Wars:  This is no American Idol.  This isn’t even Dancing with the Stars.  It’s Carrie Ann acting all fake nicey nice and Bruno acting like a gay-do (gay weirdo) while throwing their hands around in the air hollaring.  There’s a lack of sincerety that makes for a boring, uninspiring show.  Not to mention the awful singing. 
Shitmeter: 

Rock of Love 2 (Bret Michaels):  I kid you not, the girls here are mental.  What self respecting woman would agree to appear on Rock of Love aka Look-At-Me-I’m-A-Whore Show??  One french girl can’t keep her damn clothes on for longer then two seconds, Ms. Daisy has the biggest, nastiest, collegen injected super DSLs (yeah, I said it.  What else would those grotesque, lab manufactured things be good for?), and no, girls, that 2×2 piece of cloth is NOT an appropriate attire for ANY occasion.  However, for the pure entertainment of watching a train wreck in progress and Michaels justifying his actions as a Man-Whore, I won’t give it five shits. 
Shitmeter: 

Bring it On-All or Nothing:  Um, I’m so ashamed to admit I watched this.  And this time I dragged Joe into it.  At least I didn’t pay for it.  All I could focus on was how stubby Hayden looked.  The “cheer-ocracy” was just too annoying.
Shitmeter: 

Wow.  This ad is promising you the fountain of youth.  Seriously, this is one of the worst ads I’ve seen!  Come on now.  Even a complete idiot wouldn’t buy what they’re selling.  First, they’ve done a HORRIBLE job with photoshop.  They took a transparent gray to smudge color in the circles under the eyes and managed to do a 2nd grade level job of drawing in the wrinkles.  Secondly, they’re are taking us as complete morons!!  This company isn’t even putting in the effort of trying to trick consumers.  I am offended!  At least give us credit for realizing the BS they’re trying to sell. 

Wow.  If anyone actually bought this product purely on looking at this ad….

I feel sorry for you.  You’re prob the type of person that gets tricked into buying bottles filled with air or pay for using the sidewalk.

It’s imminent.  It’s all anyone talks about once they’ve hit 30 and still unhitched.   Your parents, their friends, their friend’s friends, your relatives…all the way down and up the chain.

For those who are engaged or about to be that decide to participate in all the hoopla, good riddance.  Now you can look forward to months of important decision making (and possible subsequent arguing) that will affect the rest of your lives….

Which color flower?  What color theme for the wedding? What fonts for the invitations?  Strapless or strap?  What type of sequins?  How many guests?  What type of cake?

And if THAT wasn’t enough to make your head reel, get ready for the knockout…a fat ass 30K+ bill waiting at the end of a very long and dark tunnel.

Are you telling me that it costs at least $30K to decide to commit yourself to a relationship? Yea, sure, like I have that laying in my Wedding Fund to blow on feeding guests whom I don’t even KNOW (I should mention that parent’s friends make up about 1/3 of the guest list in Korean weddings), to rent (buy) fu fu wedding dresses that look the same as every other wedding dress (if it’s not from the future nor made specifically for YOU by a designer, they look the SAME), and to buy flowers that will simply WILT the following day.

I’d be just as content getting hitched in City Hall or Vegas.  10-15 minutes you’re done and married.  I don’t need the rest of the fiasco that comes with it.   I don’t see a reason why any couples would want to start their lives in debt b/c of the cost of a wedding.  Wouldn’t you rather use that money to buy a car, put a down payment on a home, or start a college fund for your future kids, or just take a nice vacation?

Yes, I wasted my childhood years shameful activities such as reading and drawing, instead of conjuring up my ideal wedding day.  
But in the spirit of weddings, I came up with my idea of a perfect wedding:

1.  none
2.  Vegas
3.  City Hall
4.  Destination Wedding
5.  Wedding with less than 25 guests (if i must do a traditional wedding)

Simple, uncomplicated, fast, and intimate.

Imma buy you a drank, party like a rock star, smack that…

No i AIN’T letting you buy me a DRANK nor would I even THINK about partying like a rock star and no one’s is going to smack a THING. I can’t believe some of these rap songs are even considered as LYRICS or getting airplay. Seriously, these people must’ve smoked one too many b/c they are running out of things to write about. Kids will listen to anything on the radio, even if the entire song contains 2 repeating lines telling them to “walk it out”, huh? I bet the only reason why these songs even make it on top 10 is b/c they’re paying off radio stations to play it!

I’m going to make up my own words, deliberately make no frickin sense, use three words “do the thoing” as my refrain, gather an entourage of Gangsta AsianaHos, and construct a song brilliant enough to compete with the likes of “Smack That”. It’ll shoot straight to number one.

…it is time. It is Thirsty Thursday Time for this newly inducted member of the 30’s Club.

Time to bid farewell to a decade lost to a beer guzzling frenzy.